Browsing by Subject "American South"
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Item Destabilizing myths of the American South : Allison Janae Hamilton’s haints and landscapes(2020-08) Urbano, Rachel Patricia; Reynolds, Ann Morris; Chambers, EddieIn this thesis, I examine the notion of myth in the work of Allison Janae Hamilton (b. 1984) who in the last several years has emerged onto the American art scene with great success. I argue that selections from her exhibition, Pitch, and her photographic series, Sweet milk in the badlands, facilitate a discussion on structures of myth and how they operate in Hamilton’s work overall. I contend that the simultaneous presence of dualities, such as familiarity and unfamiliarity, in Hamilton’s work complicates notions of the South as fixed and static. In addition, I go beyond identifying and explicating structures of myth in Hamilton’s work in order to address the problems of metaphor that surface when myth is destabilized. Throughout this thesis I also undertake a speculative exercise in thinking through the unique challenges of writing about a young, early career artist who is emerging into the art world in a temporal moment in which identity and place are especially charged. I use examples from Hamilton’s practice in the effort to grapple with the more general question of how to write about and theorize the work of a young artist who is still developing her voice and her practiceItem The effect of a supreme court opinion outside the judicial system : an analysis of Brown v. Board of Education and the American South(2009-05) Allen, Neal Robert; Perry, H. W.This dissertation seeks to describe and explain the connection between The Supreme Court and politics outside of the judicial system. It is a case study of the reaction to the Brown v. Board of Education integration decision in the American South. I apply a theoretical model of “judicialization,” arguing that when courts affect politics outside of the judicial system, they reshape politics to resemble the adversarial legal system, sparking polarized conflict and causing non-judicial political actors to make arguments in the form of constitutional doctrine. Analyzing editorials and letters to the editor from Southern newspapers, I show that debate after Brown was characterized by appeals to constitutional principles, and that Brown increased the salience of segregation in schools as a subject of political debate. I also supplement my Southern newspaper data with data from African-American newspapers and analyze Southern elections in the periods immediately before and after the education integration decision to assess the impact of the Court’s education decision on both voters and candidates.Item Environmental Integrity : interpreting historic indoor conditions(2013-05) Frederick-Rothwell, Betsy; Holleran, MichaelIncreasing concern with the amount of energy required to maintain static indoor conditions in hot-humid climates is encouraging designers to again contemplate passive methods of indoor environmental control. Yet prevailing cultural perceptions of acceptable comfort levels make building occupants wary of any suggestions to reduce the mechanical control of building interiors. The rapid deployment of air-conditioning in the building sector over the past fifty years and its consequent pervasiveness nearly guarantees that most Americans have had little conscious experience with non-conditioned space. This thesis considers the potential for historic sites in Texas to interpret pre-air-conditioned indoor environmental conditions and to demonstrate historical approaches to climate mitigation. Within the context of preservation practice and theory, this study examines the historical context for these sites, particularly the professional and cultural constraints on architectural design in the nineteenth-century American South and architects’ strategies for managing environmental conditions within the limits of prevailing stylistic modes. Three case study sites are explored as potential venues for discovery and interpretation of traditional or transitional methods of cooling and ventilation: Historic Texas (Goliad and Comal county) courthouses, Galveston Historical Foundation’s Gresham House (Bishop’s Palace), and the University of Texas at Austin’s Battle Hall. Issues of historical interpretation are discussed and strategies that could be deployed in an indoor-climate interpretive program are proposed. With the rest of the world poised to follow America’s lead into a fully air-conditioned existence, it is critical to understand the modes and methods building designers used in the past in order to imagine alternate futures. Historic buildings and sites are well positioned to be the interpreters of those conditions and activities that made life in a hot-humid climate manageable. However, the ways in which preservationists value and evaluate historic buildings may have to change in order to participate meaningfully in this discussion.Item Music culture in America's southern music cities : Memphis, Tennessee and Austin, Texas(2021-05-10) Judd, Abbey Elisabeth; Oden, Michael; Pedigo, StevenThe term “music city” has emerged in the broader context of economic development throughout the twenty-first century as a local branding strategy, tool to enhance cultural tourism, and establish place-based identity through both public policies and private investment. This report explores the “music cities” movement through a comparative case study of Memphis, Tennessee and Austin, Texas music cultures, communities, and local policies and strategies. Research methods include both quantitative economic analysis and qualitative interviews with local musicians and music industry professions in both cities. This study examines the emergent themes around the strengths and weaknesses in each city’s music industry, discusses past and present music policies utilized to cultivate music, and traces music identities and cultures. This comparison outlines how two southern cities that serve as global music hubs with immense musical heritage struggle with rapid growth and disinvestment in the urban core, while attempting similar music-based economic development strategies with varying outcomes