HIS 3150 REVIEW

• Wizard of Oz


  It became a pivotal place in American history as it became America's Inaugural fairytale
• Wizard of Oz protagonist


  • Exemplified American values of resilience, courage, and the pursuit of adventure
• The novel influenced adaptations, idiomatic expressions, and cultural references
• Baum's embrace of innovation and imagination mirrored the spirit of a changing America at the turn of the century
• The Wizard of Oz was very big and started a lot of consumerism with merchandising, which would be even more popular later in the 20 and 21st centuries
• Double Consciousness


  It encompasses both their African heritage and American upbringing
• Double Consciousness


  Black individuals, forced to view themselves through the white lens of racism, must negotiate this interaction between external racist perceptions and their own self-view
• This balancing act gives rise to a dual, contradictory consciousness, where African Americans simultaneously experience being both American and Black
• Until reconciliation occurs between these two perspectives, true progress, freedom and peace remain elusive
• Jane Addams


  • An American social reformer and pacifist, left an indelible mark on American intellectual and cultural history
• She co-founded hull house in Chicago, one of the first social settlements in North America
• Hull house aimed to aid needy immigrants, providing essential services such as a day nursery, a gym, a community kitchen, and college-level courses
• Addams' commitment to social reform extended beyond hull house. She championed issues concerning children, public health, and world peace
• Jacob Riis


  • He exposed the harsh realities of slum conditions in New York City through his groundbreaking book, "How the Other half Lives" (1890)
• Riis' factual descriptions of tenement life shocked readers and prompted urgent action
• His use of flashbulb photography to document the interiors and exteriors of New York slums was pioneering
• His work served as a precursor to muckraking journalism that would emerge after 1900
• Randolph Bourne


  • Bourne emerged as a spokesperson for the young radicals during WWI
• He was extremely anti-war, denouncing his early mentor, John Dewey, along with other pro-war thinkers
• He advocated for a more accommodating America for immigrants, rather than the usual Anglese assimilation approach
• Edward Bernays


  • Significantly shaped the field of public relations
• He is widely regarded as the first to develop the concept of the professional public relations counselor
• Bernays drew upon insights from the social sciences to motivate and shape the responses of both general and specific audiences
• His impact on American intellectual and cultural history is profound as he transformed the way information is dispersed, influencing public opinion and behaviour
• Dorothea Lange


  • Important because of her powerful documentary photography during the great depression
• Her empathetic images of migrant workers, suffering families, and tortured landscapes etched the faces of that era into America's collective consciousness
• Lange's work not only documented the human cast of economic adversity but also influenced subsequent generations of photographers and journalists
• The council on books in wartime orchestrated a massive program to print and distribute books to U.S. service members
• When the soldier voting bill was passed, an amendment prohibiting the government from distributing any material considered propaganda threatened this program
• The navy resisted outright book bans, fearing it would mirror the Nazi's oppressive censorship
• Instead, they produced lightweight volumes across genres, from cowboy novels to poetry, which reached theaters worldwide and even POW camps
• Guerilla girls


  • Founded in mid-80s, group of American art activists with a mission to bring attention to women artists and artists of color as well as to expose the domination of white males in the art establishment
• The group's members remained anonymous, adopting pseudonyms of famous women artists from history
• Through strongly worded yet humorously ironic posters, they addressed issues such as female nudity portrayal, unequal pay, and lack of representation
• With gorilla masks, they staged demonstrations and mounted their posters in public spaces, aiming to provoke discussion and change
• The Silent Spring by Rachel Carson


  • This book served as a call to action, awakening the world to the plight of environmental degradation caused by chemical pesticides
• Carson, a biologist and author, exposed the devastating effects of indiscriminate pesticide use, focusing on DDT