Department of American Studies
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The Americanization of Italians in Thurber, Texas, 1880-1920.
(2020-12-03)Italian families arrived in Thurber, Texas, at the beginning of the twentieth century, fleeing conditions of extreme poverty and high rates of unemployment in Italy. They responded to the American demand for low-cost ... -
Land acquisition in Coryell County, Texas, for the formation of Camp Hood, 1942-45 : a civilian perspective.
(1988-05)This thesis examines the acquisition of land in Coryell County, Texas, for the formation of Camp Hood during the years 1942 through 1945. It focuses on the effects that event produced on property owners who surrendered ... -
Journalism in the curriculum of Southern Baptist colleges and universities.
(1960-08)This thesis is a study of the development and present status of journalism education within the thirty colleges and universities operated by the Southern Baptists. It includes a listing of the earliest courses in journalism ... -
“To Keep and Bear Arms" : Heller and the public understanding of arms rights.
(2019-11-08)During the first two centuries of American jurisprudence, numerous constitutional doctrines were established, yet the Second Amendment doctrine was almost entirely ignored. In District of Columbia v. Heller, Justice Antonin ... -
Finding Harvey : the impact and iconography of album cover art on Black Gospel Music during the golden age.
(2019-07-17)At a critical time for gospel, and at a critical time for the history of recorded gospel music, one of the most influential gospel record company’s decision to break away from conventional album packaging and unleash ... -
A different kind of reservation : Waco's red-light district revisited.
(, 2018-01-22)Similar to other American cities after the Civil War, Waco, Texas, maintained a large red-light district. Commercialized sex boomed in Waco, as hundreds of itinerant prostitutes lived among working-class minorities, plying ... -
The Waco lynching of 1916 : perspective and analysis.
(, 2018-01-22)Many lynchings have occurred in the United States. It is the purpose of this study to isolate one incident and compare its characteristics to other lynchings in Waco and to lynchings across the country. Though all lynchings ... -
A history of integration of the Waco public schools : 1954 to the present.
(, 2018-01-22)American public schools were segregated racially in most of the nation for more than a century after the first public school system was established in 1837 in Massachusetts. Desegregation and integration of the public ... -
From extremism to extravagance : the impact of U.S. television on Iranians and Persians.
(2016-03-23)Middle Easterners are often negatively stereotyped in television, including the shows examined in this study: Showtime’s Homeland, and Bravo’s Shahs of Sunset. Both represent Middle Easterners poorly; in Homeland, they are ... -
Up she rises : the birth and legacy of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.
(2015-07-29)Historic county courthouses, the crown jewels of Texas architecture, are facing serious threats both physical and political in nature. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named them one of America’s 11 Most ... -
The women of Supernatural : more than stereotypes.
(, 2014-09-05)This critical discourse analysis of the American horror television show, Supernatural, uses a gender perspective to assess the stereotypes and female characters in the popular series. As part of this study 34 episodes of ... -
Until vision and ethos reunite : Christian higher education’s struggle for academic faithfulness.
(, 2013-09-24)Fundamentalist/modernist controversies at Southern Methodist University, Baylor University and Rhodes College illustrate the consequences of a truth/value split that ultimately created an epistemological crisis across ... -
Here we remain : the legacy of El Movimiento in Crystal City, Texas.
(, 2013-09-24)Few examples of El Movimiento, remain as visible as the Mexican American experience in the South Texas town of Crystal City. “Here We Remain” traces the evolution of Mexican American history, offering context through which ... -
Humans on display : searching for purpose among museum exhibits featuring live humans.
(, 2013-09-16)The purpose of this study is to explore why modern exhibits featuring live humans on display are so popular and what societal behavior patterns it reveals for the twenty‐first century. The research for this assessment ... -
Designing a wilderness : the legacy of Benton MacKaye and the Appalachian Trail.
(, 2012-08-08)Forester and regional planner Benton MacKaye first published a plan for a long-distance hiking trail along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains in 1921. Ninety years later, MacKaye's greatest accomplishment is the ... -
Stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S. media : appearance, disappearance, and assimilation.
(, 2011-09-14)This thesis commits to highlighting major stereotypes concerning Asians and Asian Americans found in the U.S. media, the “Yellow Peril,” the perpetual foreigner, the model minority, and problematic representations of ... -
The professionalization of youth sports in America.
(, 2011-09-14)Adolescent athletes in America have unknowingly been turned into de facto professionals by existing organized youth sports systems. The current approaches have become overly injurious to participants and their families. ... -
Sino-Soviet border clashes of 1969 and its implications on the making of U.S. foreign policy.
(2010-10-08)Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Sino-U.S. relations have experienced twists and turns. Along with the changing postwar international situation, both Washington and Beijing turned to develop ... -
Beck Boots : the story of cowboy boots in the Texas Panhandle and their important role in American life.
(2010-06-23)Merton McLaughlin moved to the Texas Panhandle and began making cowboy boots in the spring of 1882. Since that time, cowboy boots have been a part of the Texas Panhandle's, and America's rich history. In 1921, twin brothers ... -
The great American disappointment : an introduction to the Great Disappointment Theory as a way to explain the unique evolutionary processes of socially-guided religion by means of American civil religion.
(2010-06-23)America is unique when compared to the rest of the world for many reasons, but especially so for its religion. To this, as human beings evolve socially, in the same way animal species evolve in order to seek out variable ...