Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Barry A. Joyce, Dept. of History. Includes bibliographical references.

As the twentieth century unfolded, American writers, critics, and boosters presented a narrative of the arid Southwest as an exotic place blessed with a romantic history that could inspire, captivate and renew the many new white citizens flocking to rapidly growing cities. The history of Spanish colonialism in the area became a precious and exclusive cultural and economic resource. This dissertation tells the story of the commemoration of the Spanish past from 1848 to 1940 in three Spanish towns that grew into prominent American cities: Tucson, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and San Antonio, Texas. In chapters centered on space, historic preservation, Mexican folk ritual, and pageants, this work examines the stories told about the Spanish past in these cities and reveals how people of differing classes and ethnicities gave meaning to the places they lived and to the process of American annexation of the region. That meaning shaped individual and social identities as well as the flow of power between them.

University of Technology, Sydney. / The reenactment of the past itself has a history. This thesis analyses self-styled 'historical reenactors' in the West and traces the history of the broader phenomenon of historical reenactment in the Australian context from the late nineteenth century to the present. The historical section focuses on several events significant in Australian cultural memory that have been reenacted over time. Historical parades, pageants and reenactments dramatically narrate culturally specific historical sensibilities and demonstrate inter and cross cultural exchanges of historical consciousness. I contend such performances have had a significant position in the formation of popular history since the late nineteenth century and that there is a continuity of conventions in performing the past. I have addressed the position of reenactments as part of a constant interest in the status and power of history in, and for, popular culture. I have shown how a form of history that operated for the public was transformed into a form of history operated by the public in a struggle for authority over the form and content of history. Historical reenactments have been useful avenues for elites to create didactic spectacular history that have also offered the opportunity for marginalised groups to make social and political gains through their participation in the making of public history. Considering the significance of reenactments in the formation of a distinctly Australian public history, they have received little attention from historians. As ephemera, reenactments sit awkwardly in the explanatory frameworks regularly used by historians. Using methodologies from a range of academic disciplines such as performance studies, anthropology and cultural studies, this thesis documents and interrogates the specific form of historical reenactment. In the sections of this thesis that analyse contemporary historical reenactments, I use my own experience as an historical reenactor of more than ten years in an ethnographic approach that reflects on the pleasures, promises and problems 'dressing up as if from the past' offers. In this history I draw continuities between past reenactments and present practices that assist in understanding historical reenactment as a specific cultural form. This thesis contends that reenactments over time have been characterised by three main elements: a collapsing of past and present, an avenue for a 'connectedness' with the past through a sensual experience, and an essential relationship with I authenticity.'

University of Technology, Sydney. / The reenactment of the past itself has a history. This thesis analyses self-styled 'historical reenactors' in the West and traces the history of the broader phenomenon of historical reenactment in the Australian context from the late nineteenth century to the present. The historical section focuses on several events significant in Australian cultural memory that have been reenacted over time. Historical parades, pageants and reenactments dramatically narrate culturally specific historical sensibilities and demonstrate inter and cross cultural exchanges of historical consciousness. I contend such performances have had a significant position in the formation of popular history since the late nineteenth century and that there is a continuity of conventions in performing the past. I have addressed the position of reenactments as part of a constant interest in the status and power of history in, and for, popular culture. I have shown how a form of history that operated for the public was transformed into a form of history operated by the public in a struggle for authority over the form and content of history. Historical reenactments have been useful avenues for elites to create didactic spectacular history that have also offered the opportunity for marginalised groups to make social and political gains through their participation in the making of public history. Considering the significance of reenactments in the formation of a distinctly Australian public history, they have received little attention from historians. As ephemera, reenactments sit awkwardly in the explanatory frameworks regularly used by historians. Using methodologies from a range of academic disciplines such as performance studies, anthropology and cultural studies, this thesis documents and interrogates the specific form of historical reenactment. In the sections of this thesis that analyse contemporary historical reenactments, I use my own experience as an historical reenactor of more than ten years in an ethnographic approach that reflects on the pleasures, promises and problems 'dressing up as if from the past' offers. In this history I draw continuities between past reenactments and present practices that assist in understanding historical reenactment as a specific cultural form. This thesis contends that reenactments over time have been characterised by three main elements: a collapsing of past and present, an avenue for a 'connectedness' with the past through a sensual experience, and an essential relationship with I authenticity.'

<p>Christian engagement with beauty contests shifted dramatically between the initial Miss America pageant in 1921 and its 90th anniversary in 2011. This dissertation explores how and why many Christians found the organization an institution worthy of partnership with the church. It examines three aspects of Christian involvement in the contest: the long history of beauty pageants, the persistent emphasis on individual physical attractiveness, and the idea of witness in southern evangelical culture. It argues that after 1965, at least two factors enabled the unlikely marriage of Christians and the Miss America Organization: the perceived threat of second-wave feminism and evangelicalism's increasing desire to engage culture. In addition, Christian contestants gained rewards, both tangible and intangible, from their pageant participation. Most significantly for some Christian women, the competition functioned as an arena in which women could serve as Christian evangelists. Pleasure, prizes, performance, and purpose: contestants found all these and more on the stage. The goal here is not to prove that the Miss America pageant is somehow inherently religious, but rather that the Christians who participated in the contest were dealing with multiple expectations from church and culture that dictated, influenced, and explained their experience. This dissertation describes the place Christian women found in the Miss America pageant for their religious self-understanding. By telling the story of Christian women in a gendered and sexualized arena, I hope to emphasize the flexibility of gender roles and religious mores inherent in Christian participation.</p> / Dissertation

abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which childhood was perceived in the circuit Chautauqua movement. The methodology followed a threefold approach: first, to trace the development of the Chautauqua movement, thereby identifying the values and motivations which determined programming; next, to identify the major tropes of thought through which childhood has been traditionally understood; and finally, to do a performance analysis of the pageant America, Yesterday and Today to locate perceptions of childhood and to gain a better understanding of the purpose of this pageant. My principal argument is that the child's body was utilized as the pivotal tool for the ideological work that the pageant was designed to do. This ideological effort was aimed at both the participants and the audience, with the child's body serving as the site of education as well as signification. Through the physical embodiment and repetition of different roles, the children who participated performed certain values and cultural assumptions. This embodiment of values was expected to be retained and performed long after the performance was over - it was a form of training through pleasure. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Theatre 2012

No description available.

Les expériences théâtrales au-dehors sont multiples, à Paris et à New York entre 1913 et 1939, et plus largement dans l’ensemble du monde théâtral. Comment les interpréter, et les resituer dans l’histoire générale des formes théâtrales? Leur extrême diversité empêche tout discours homogène et invite à adopter une méthode d’analyse procédant par cas d’étude plutôt que par système. Cette thèse se propose de forger un concept opératoire, celui de « dehors », qui permettrait d’analyser ces formes et d’en restituer la polysémie. En se concentrant sur le contexte urbain et en faisant le choix d’une attitude comparatiste, cette étude vise à prendre en compte le spectacle des et dans les villes de Paris et New York, à un moment où les échanges entre les deux métropoles sont extrêmement féconds. Jacques Copeau, André Barsacq, le groupe Octobre, les représentations du Vray Mistère de la Passion dans les années 1930, les spectacles du Front Populaire, ou encore Jean-Richard Bloch sont quelques-unes des figures et des séances théâtrales sur lesquelles la partie française s’arrêtera. Pour le contexte américain, l’étude s’appuie notamment sur les expériences des Provincetown Players, sur la tradition des pageants et leur réorientation idéologique dans certains cas, sur les conceptions théâtrales de Percy MacKaye, sur les projects architecturaux de Friedrich Kiesler ou Norman Bel Geddes, mais aussi sur le Federal Theatre Project. L’objectif de cette thèse est ainsi d’analyser de quoi ces appropriations théâtrales diverses du dehors peuvent être le signe, au sein de quelle histoire théâtrale elles peuvent s’inscrire, et dans quelle mesure leur oubli relatif est révélateur, sur le plan tant esthétique que politique. / Many outdoor theatrical experiences could be observed in Paris and in New York, between 1913 and 1939 and, more broadly, in the whole theatrical world. How can we interpret them? And how can we insert them in the larger history of theatrical forms? Their extreme diversity prevents us from having a homogeneous discourse about them and calls for a method based on case studies more than on a systematic approach. This thesis aims at creating an operative concept, the « outdoor » concept (« dehors » in French), which will enable us to dig deeper into those theatrical forms and to restore their polysemy. By focusing on an urban context and by choosing a comparative approach, this thesis aspires to take into account the spectacle of the cities of Paris and New York and the spectacles in them, at a time when the exchanges between the two cities were very productive. Jacques Copeau, André Barsacq, the « groupe Octobre », the showings of the Vray Mistère de la Passion in the 1930s, the great shows during the Popular Front or Jean-Richard Bloch are some of the figures and theatrical events discussed in the first part of this work. The second part deals with the American context, it draws on experiences such as the Provincetown Players, the pageant tradition and its ideological shift, the theatrical vision of Percy MacKaye, the architectural projects of Friedrich Kiesler or Norman Bel Geddes, or the Federal Theatre Project. This thesis will hopefully help to understand these outdoor performances, what they indicate in terms of history and aesthetics and how their relatively cursory consideration can paradoxically be meaningful in several respects.