Department of American Studies
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Recent Submissions
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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 ... -
American Indian stereotypes in early western literature and the lasting influence on American culture.
(2008-10-15)This thesis commits to highlighting three major stereotypes concerning Native Americans, found in early western literature between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The three defining stereotypes of Native Americans ... -
The fantastic and related subgenres in three contemporary novels.
(2006-07-29)Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine (1984), Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter (2001), and Cynthia Ozick's The Puttermesser Papers (1997) manifest the fantastic and related subgenres. According to structuralist critic Tzvetan ...
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