From 1865 to 1920, Thoroughbred horse racing matured in Louisiana, developing into a national sport shaped by the processes of modernization, professionalization, and reform. Before the onset of the Civil War, the leaders of Southern thoroughbred horse racing came from the planter elite who used African-American slave horsemen in shows of amateur recreation. Combining upper-class recreation with lower and middle-class entertainment, horse racing was a performance of social power. The Civil War devastated the Louisiana turf, scattering horses and men but sportsmen proposed that post-war racing would help the state recover. The once-independent New Orleans turf joined an interconnected network of major tracks as the professional turfmen adopted national racing ideals and standards. Thanks to the turfmens efforts to promote and democratize the sport, New Orleans became the national capital of winter racing. The professional class leading the Louisiana turf reflected the fusion of gambling-as-business with a larger organizational transformation that was occurring. The modernization of the track brought more lucrative prospects to everyone in racing, including black horsemen and professional gamblers. After emancipation, black horsemen prospered on the track; their continued success in a meritocratic profession allowed them to earn a significant salary, widespread acclaim, and social mobility. But the equality espoused by some of the black horsemen troubled white turfmen who then enacted widespread informal policies leading to the national subordination and exclusion of African-American jockeys. Emphasizing gambling also piqued Progressive and moral reformers seeking to cleanse the tracks of an ostensibly undesirable element. The means to reform was uncertain, and a debate between regulation and prohibition arose in the Louisiana Legislature. In the end, the legislature passed laws that banned racetrack gambling and, effectively, shut down the New Orleans tracks. When Louisiana gambling laws were repealed, a decline in public interest meant fewer tracks reopened, leading to increased competition for mounts, and no opportunity for black horsemen thanks to Louisianas solidification of Jim Crow. The convergence of racial ideology, economic interest, and moral reform all fundamentally influenced the reemergence and decline of thoroughbred horse racing in New Orleans from Reconstruction through the Progressive Era.

Alfred Russel Wallace, a Victorian naturalist, firmly believed that based on his own extensive research there were theories that could effectively provide a means of studying the natural world and improving society. Although he became a respected naturalist his interests in mesmerism, socialism, and spiritualism disconnected him from the mainstream scientific community. Following the tradition of early nineteenth-century naturalists, Wallace was self-trained and self-educated, traits that allowed him to study multiple fields of interests and conduct personal experimentations. In these formative years, he was influenced by British popular culture, interactions with the working class and the latest trends of intellectual curiosities. These impressions remained with Wallace throughout his scientific career and years of political activism. In 1844, he attended public lectures with the working class at the Mechanics Institute in Leicester where he witnessed mesmeric demonstrations performed by professionals and amateurs. After conducting experiments he became convinced such techniques were valid methods of researching the natural world. Wallace was critical of professional naturalists who shunned new research merely because it originated from unconventional individuals. As a land surveyor, Wallace witnessed the unjust seizure of Welsh lands, an experience that pushed him to later advocate for the social rights of the working class. In 1889, Wallace declared himself a socialist with the intention of promoting the benefits of land nationalization to correct social injustices such as Britains land policies. He became a devoted supporter of spiritualism, a choice that created a professional rift between him and his fellow British naturalists. This thesis will demonstrate that Wallaces personal experiences throughout his formative years from 1823-1848 influenced his scientific research and personal convictions. Wallaces formative years shaped his perception as a naturalist dedicated to empiricism and the accumulation of facts to support his theories. As a self-trained naturalist, he relied firmly on his observations and experiments to draw his conclusions. Wallaces further skepticism of socially privileged naturalists persuaded him that all discoveries should be equally considered despite their unconventional origins. Wallaces formative years shaped his perception as a naturalist dedicated to empiricism and the accumulation of facts to support his theories.

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This dissertation examines the battle between various ideasâpsychiatric and feminist in particularâsurrounding sexual violence in the 1980s. Womenâs advocates worked tirelessly in the 1980s to redefine rape as an act of violence rather than one of sex. This argument hinged on an understanding of gender roles as largely sociologicalâmen and women were socialized in vastly different ways and the product of this socialization was a patriarchal system in which men expressed their dominance over women through acts of violence. For psychiatrists, however, sexual violence was a more specific problem and one that might be dealt with through psychiatric means. Attempts to research and theorize sexual violence were simultaneously attempts to treat sexual violence by treating sex offenders. Psychiatrists involved in this type of work consistently argued that existing solutions for sexual violence were not sufficientâincarceration did not solve the underlying disposition of the sex offender, and therefore neither did feminist legal advocacy that pushed for higher conviction ratesâwhereas psychiatric treatment might offer a more productive way forward in the long-term. This dissertation argues that these two groups became caught up in a political battle that focused on somewhat semantic differences (rape as sex versus rape as violence, when in reality both groups weighed both factors) and legal questions (how rape-as-mental-illness would affect conviction rates), rather than working together to offer alternative solutions to Americaâs problem with sexual violence. This debate ultimately distracted from the issue of how society could best deal with rape, and became instead a space for both groups to talk about gender roles, and the importance of socialization in shaping mental illness. The dissertation also discusses the ways in which these various ideas about sexual violence were taken up in other arenas (the courts, popular media, and fringe sexual groups), in ways that neither psychiatrists nor feminists had initially envisioned.

On the southern escarpment of Black Mesa lie the longest continually inhabited settlements in North America. In a land where water is scarce and fierce winds move shifting dunes of sand, the Hopi people continue to dry farm fields of blue corn, irrigate terrace gardens, and tend livestock in one of the world's most biologically diverse food systems. Rooted in an intimate knowledge of local resources and ecology, Hopis produced the majority of food consumed in their communities well into the 1930s. Over the course of the twentieth century a cataclysm of social, economic, and environmental forces reshaped Hopi food and water systems, shifting the use and management of Hopi resources including labor, crops, livestock, and water. As Hopi relationships with these resources changed, so too did the production and consumption of Hopi foods. Farming, ranching, and gardening declined, as did agrobiodiversity. Food from the grocery store replaced food from the fields, contributing to rates of diabetes and obesity significantly higher than the national average. At the same time domestic and industrial development of Hopi ground and surface water transformed Hopi water systems. Today Hopi agriculturalists report declines in the water resources upon which agricultural success depends. These declines are limiting the decision and ability of Hopis to continue traditional agricultural practices. The persistent and long-term ecological observations of farmers, gardeners, and ranchers who continue to interact with these specific resources and the local environment through their agricultural practices are valuable in understanding ecological change over time, including how natural resource development and climate change are affecting traditional subsistence practices.