p a t r i c k g a r d n e r originally from sacramento, ca, is a senior i n the college of arts & sciences and wi l l graduate i n the spring with a b.a. i n english and communications. after graduation, he plans on moving to new york city and pursuing a law degree. his article, "the de-evolution of fema," was written for donald fishman's crisis communication course. m a r i a l a g o r i o wil l graduate from boston college i n may 2008 with a b.a. i n history and a concentration i n hispanic studies. a native of lynnfield, massachusetts, maria enjoys exploring the lives of historical figures hailing from the state she calls home, from benjamin franklin to mary baker eddy. currently, she works at the connors family learning center, where she tutors a number of subjects. next year, maria wi l l join the alliance for catholic education (ace) through the university of notre dame. she wishes to thank her history professors over the years for their dedication and inspiration. c o n o r m c c o v e r n ' is a member of the arts & sciences class of 2009, double majoring i n history and slavic studies. he is a native of albany, new york. his main academic interests lie i n the study of the culture and history of the balkans, especially the former yugoslavia and bosnia-herzegovina i n particular. m i c h a e l m i n k o f f is a senior i n the college of arts & sciences and is a philosophy major and a music minor. michael is a member of alpha sigma nu, the boston college "screaming eagles" marching band, and bc bop! he hopes to continue his study of philosophy at the graduate level. michael dedicates his article to his loving girlfriend lindsey for her constant support. • • • • • • • • • • • • i •• •• •• •• 4 •• •• 4 •• •• •• •• i • • • • • • • • 4 • • • • • • • • • • i •• •• •• •• •• 4 t l m m o o n ey hails from grand rapids, michigan. a senior political science major, t im has worked as a research assistant for professors david deese, and kay schlozman. t im spent the summer of his sophomore year on an advanced study grant, researching "casino proliferation i n the great lakes region," a project which helped spur the paper published here and which has formed the basis for his senior thesis. he served two years on the heights editorial board as special projects editor and opinions editor, and has signed on to work as a business analyst with deloitte consulting after graduation. w i l l i a m s a d d is a member of the lynch school of education class of 2009, double majoring i n secondary education and history, with a minor i n eastern european studies. his research interests include state-building i n fractured societies, contemporary desovietization, competing historiographical perspectives i n the former soviet union, separatism i n russia's borderlands, and inter-ethnic relations and language policy i n the south caucasus. this past summer, william interned as a research assistant for the kluge center at the library of congress studying the georgian-abkhaz conflict. in the future, william plans to study ethnosymbolism i n the former soviet republic of georgia. n i c o l e w o n g is a senior majoring i n english with a minor i n american studies. originally from santa monica, california, she has been a lifelong fan of ieil-0 pudding and american cheese. she is fascinated by the connections between literature, pop art, and consumer society. written for professor laura tanner's junior english honors seminar, nicole hopes her essay wi l l help guide her through the "never-ending neon." list of a r t w o r k 1 i in ole vircinny i l l u s t r a t i o n © bettmann/corbis s e c o n d a n n u a l o z o n e awards backstage a n d s h o w © ray tamarra/getty images special cast a n d crew s c r e e n i n g of l i o n s gate fi lm s' " i n t h e m i x ' © vince bucci/getty images president bush makes a s t a t e m e n t o n iraq © w i n mcnam.ee/getty images bust of father of soviet u n i o n , v l a d i m i r l e n i n © 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ti l l sonburg/ istockphoto c r i n k l e d dollar bill i n h a n d © narvikk/ istockphoto russia russan jou rnalist a n na politkovskaya © peter endig/corbis v l a d i m i r l e n i n a d d r e s s i n g large c r o w d © fpg/getty images print of police s e a r c h i n g a p r i n t i n g press © bettmann/corbis russian prime m i n ister v l a d i m i r p u t i n © afp/stringer/afp/getty images thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. all submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover mosque in queens, new york © michel setboun/photononstop/corbis periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 11, issue 1, spring 2015 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by flagship press,150 flagship drive, north andover, ma 01845 copyright © 2015 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief marissa marandola managing editor frank a. direnno deputy editor ellen white layout brandon bavier, senior editor betty yunqing wang, editor kelsey xizi zhang, editor treasurer lydia orr humanities grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor jacob ciafone, editor domenick fazzolari, editor annie kim, editor marie pellissier, editor sciences corleone delaveris, senior editor saljooq m. asif, editor david fu, editor alex gilligan, editor michelle kang, editor alessandra luedeking, editor jingzong yan, editor nick yu, editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick dear readers, as an undergraduate research journal, we often confront the question of “so what?” yes, this article is well written, meticulously sourced, and clearly developed; yes, it presents an interesting concept about a topic rarely considered in depth, but why should i read it? how is it related to my life? why is this research significant in any sense beyond the purely academic? the “so what” problem presents a challenge to publications like elements that gather work done by students in a wide variety of disciplines without a clear benchmark for “real world” applications. we find ourselves carrying an indispensable obligation to justify the relevance of research to our fellow students. this issue of elements seeks to meet that burden by presenting a unique collection of pieces that clearly articulate why original research is more important in our increasingly complicated, globalized 21st century world than ever before. in our cover article, saljooq asif tackles the endemic post-9/11 problem of “muslim identity in 21st century america” through the lens of author ayad akhtar’s works. given the rise of the islamic state of iraq and syria (isis) in the middle east, the recent shooting of three muslim students at the university of north carolina chapel hill, and the impending trial of alleged boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev, the questions and conflicts saljooq explores hold great importance to present and future efforts to resolve the problem of radical islam and to offer full acceptance to muslim americans. rachel aldrich’s “trauma, fear, and paranoia” further studies the domestic implications of 9/11 for muslims in america, while caitlin toto examines the international consequences of these sociopolitical phenomena in “behind the veil.” these three articles, constructed through approaches and views from three distinct academic fields, offer us insight into some of the most pressing dilemmas, on a national and global scale, that our generation confronts. research allows us to better understand the world in which we operate. david querusio contextualizes the constant debates about michelle obama’s role as “mom-in-chief” within the parallel traditions of black and white feminism in “from mammy to mommy.” the historical and sociological narrative he creates helps the casual cnn viewer to grasp the layered issues underlying a seemingly superficial controversy. this function of research is not limited to matters of culture or politics, but also extends to our comprehension of the natural world. in “new research in solar cells,” michelle solomon and alison johnson explain how recent advances in the study of urbach tails open a wide range of possibilities for innovative forms of alternative energy. the potential implications of her work present dynamic options for how we will think of fuel and power in generations to come. the articles we publish make critical connections between events and issues past and present, tracing threads of intellectual and popular life through the centuries to their contemporary iterations. if elements features a student’s work that provides analysis of the legal and technical nuances behind the comcast-time warner merger, as harrison tune’s “positive law vs. good intentions” does, or unravels some of the complex historical strands that inform our ongoing debates about race in america, a task attempted by danielle nista’s “a vigorous affirmation of life,” then we continue to prove the pertinence of research, of a liberal arts education, and of the university model itself. a publication like elements ties together the toooften separated fields of research at a university like boston college. we encourage you, as you peruse these pages, to look for the ways in which the diverse disciplines we have highlighted inform each other. happy reading! best, marissa marandola editor in chief editor’s note t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: keit h ake, assistant director of marketing and design dan i el bai ros, technology consultant ben birnbaum , executive director of the office of marketing communications cut bert o garza, provost and dean of faculties d on ald hafn er, vice provost for undergraduate studies joyce mannix, business manager for the college of arts and sciences david q ui cley, interim dean of the college of arts and sciences barbara v i ech n i cki , associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. please consider submitting your own research to the next issue of elements. our next deadline is friday november 7, 2008. for submissions guidelines, visitwww.bc.edu/elements. cover man on ladder © john henley/corbis p e r i o d i c i t y elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring semesters. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 4, issue 2, fall 2008 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 copyright © 2008 by trustees of boston college e l e m e n t s staff ed i t o ri n ch i ef t i m kelly m a n a g i n g ed i t o r eri n e. ei c h a n d epu t y ed i t o r jen n y bress h u m a n i t i es sv et lan a t uro v a, senior editor alyssa d u q u et t e, editor kat ie h alsey, editor z ach ary m arkari an , editor m ary sasso , editor n i c o le wo n g , editor n a t u ra l sc i en c es a n n e ko rn a h ren s, senior editor eri n c r o d en , editor ka t h eri n e wu, editor so c i a l sci en c es est eban uri be, senior editor joy batra, editor jen n y bress, editor evan speec e, editor brian v ari an , editor paul wen d el, editor l a y o u t alyssa d u q u et t e, senior editor brian vari an , editor web m a n a g er jen n y bress f a c u l t y a d v i so r eli z abet h c h a d wi c k the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. mailto:elements@bc.edu http://visitwww.bc.edu/elements e d i t o r ' s n o t e as boston college itself plans for future development with the establishment of the io-year master plan, it at times seems overwhelming to consider the changes the future might hold. it is important to remember that the core mission of the university is nonetheless carried out by its students, whether it be i n classrooms on the heights or in far off areas, of the world. the excellent work done by students speaks volumes of the university itself. our nation is closing i n upon an election that promises to break ground with either the first black president or first female vice president; it is, perhaps, a good time to thoughtfully examine what we may assume in a variety of fields. the papers we've selected ask us to reconsider our preconceived notions about a variety of topics. reminiscing and daydreaming takes a closer look at the l ink between memories and imagination, emphasizing the similarity of the two processes, and challenges assumptions about their difference. irish vernacular poetry brings to light important facts about the irish and their struggle against british rule. root root root for the ??? team invites us to reflect on the way professional sports teams become identified with their city and to what extent owners are beholden to their fans. this edition of the journal also highlights the variety of fields that boston college undergraduates are interested in . abusive tax shelters analyzes the sometimes shady actions of individuals and corporations in their efforts to reduce tax payments. drips, scratches, and strokes examines the role of edvard munch as the father of the abstract expressionist movement. elements, once again, hopes to showcase a variety of the work produced by boston college undergraduates. submissions continue to become more competitive and each semester the staff of elements makes tough decisions in selection to the journal. this issue was no exception and the articles were chosen from a larger base of qualified and well-written papers. elements is beginning its 5th year here at boston college, and we begin it with a renewed interest i n bringing to the community intellectually stimulating pieces. there is much we can learn from the work of our peers, and we hope that you find this edition both informative and thought-provoking. sincerely, tim kelly editorinchief is a senior in the school of arts and sciences at boston college. he plans on studying neuroscience at a graduate level after graduating from bc. a native son of new jersey when not committed to his studies, kyle can often been found hiking, canoeing, or simply enjoying the great outdoors. is from dekalb, illinois and is currently a junior in the college of arts & sciences, spending the year abroad at university college cork. she is pursuing an independent major in irish studies. research for her essay began in her history class entitled "ireland before the famine." sara would like to extend many thanks to professors kevin o'neill and joe nugent for their help and inspiration in writing this paper. evan speece is a senior in the carroll school of management at boston college. he is originally from blue bell, pennsylvania, a small suburb just northwest of philadelphia. evan is concentrating in finance and accounting at bc and is hoping to pursue a jd/mba joint degree after graduating from bc. he would like to thank his professor, greg trompeter, for his guidance and aid during this research. is a senior majoring in art history with a minor in hispanic studies. originally from belarus, svetlana came with her family to the united states when she was six years old. she received an advanced study grant to study french in montreal in 2007 and spent the 2008 spring semester studying abroad in quito, ecuador. her article was written for the art history seminar "symbolism and art nouveau." many thanks go to her professor and advisor, jeffery howe. c a i t l i n p e t e r s o n is a graduate of the college of arts and sciences honors program as of may 2008 with a major i n history and a minor in latin american studies. during her senior year at boston college, she interned at physicians for human rights, a non-profit that promotes international human rights from a medical perspective, as well as neighbor to neighbor massachusetts, a small organization that fights for the rights and political involvement of working-class state residents. she is particularly interested in public policy, specifically in the fields of health and international relations, and plans to pursue a law degree and a career in the policy arena. k r i s t i n a a s t e is a senior in the college of arts & sciences. a double major i n music and english with a minor in philosophy, krishna loves to explore interdisciplinary connections. originally written for professor laurie shepard's course "dante's divine comedy," her essay also provided the inspiration for her english honors thesis, which wi l l discuss how seventeenth century musical trends influence john milton's paradise lost. accepted to the fifth year master's program in english secondary education, krishna also hopes to pursue a doctorate in early modern studies. b r y c e d o n o h u e is a native of baltimore, maryland, and graduated from the college of arts and sciences i n may 2008 with a b.a. in history and philosophy. he currently attends law school at the university of maryland baltimore and plans on becoming a judge. he would like to thank professors gelfand and lowell for their guidance. the development of various emerging photovoltaic technologies, as classified by the national renewable energy laboratory, has experienced very different rates of progress over the last five to ten years. in particular, two thin-film technologies, quantum dot solar cells and perovskite-based solar cells, have achieved drastically different values for power conversion efficiency as quantum dots have failed to keep up with perovskites. clearly, the materials are very different, but in order to quantify the discrepancy in efficiency, we focus on measuring the tail of the absorption past the nominal band edge and therefore the urbach energy of the two materials. we discuss a theoretical relationship between urbach energy and open circuit voltage based on the original considerations by shockley and queisser on the efficiency limits of solar cells. new research in solar cells urbach tails and open circuit voltage michelle solomon and alison johnson one of the main concerns of photovoltaic technology for the consumer is the cost, specifically the fabrication cost per unit of energy or power produced. one way to minimize the cost is to decrease the amount of material by using thin film solar cells. thin films also have potential for nonconventional realizations of solar cells that require only simple mounting apparatuses, even as simple as a sticker. however, a key issue that arises with most thin films is a low power conversion efficiency compared to thick, crystalline cells. both the path length of the light within the absorptive layer of the cell and the path length of electrons excited by the absorbed light decrease in a thin film, which creates a tension of optimization. the former feature makes it difficult for a thin film cell to absorb light, while the latter makes it easy for the electrons to get out as electric current. thus, if the layer is made too thin, little light is collected, but if it is made too thick, the conversion efficiency again decreases. this issue has stalled many thin film technologies, but emerging research is taking different approaches to attempt a solution. two areas in particular, quantum dot solar cells and perovskite-based solar cells, have experienced similar popularity, but very different rates of progress toward increased power conversion efficiency. quantum dot photovoltaics first gained popularity in the early 2000s, when it was predicted that quantum confinement should lead to a quantized density of states in the zero-dimensional nanoparticles. such a property, in contrast to the quasi-continuous nature of energy levels in a bulk semiconductor, should then allow the electron relaxation time to increase, potentially allowing for either multi-exciton generation or extraction of hot electrons. this, in addition to the tunability of absorption into the near infrared region should allow for an unprecedented increase in efficiency of photovoltaics, up to 66%.1 however, experiment has not nearly reflected this theoretical increase, as quantum dot solar cells have only reached a maximum efficiency of 8.55%.2 lead-halide perovskites, in contrast, have seen rapid progress, up to the current confirmed record of 17.9%.3 perovskites have a highly ordered crystal lattice that allows for good optical and electrical properties, but they are not unique in this characteristic. crystalline silicon, for example, is similarly ordered. the interest in perovskites, then, stems from their potential as a particularly thin, and therefore cheaper, crystalline material. perovskites have been synthesized with a diffusion length of up to 1 micron, which is an order of magnitude higher than the absorption depth, which can be as small as 100 nm. crystalline silicon, with its similar amount of order exhibits a longer diffusion length, but its optical properties are not as good, and its absorption depth nears 100 microns in the vis-nir range that is of interest for photovoltaic applications.4 here we will address a fundamental optical property, the urbach energy, of the two materials (lead-halide perovskites and lead sulfide quantum dots) that can provide a more quantitative explanation for the discrepancy in the efficiencies seen in the two materials. theory the urbach energy is connected to the theoretical limit of the efficiency of a single p-n junction solar cell, but goes past the treatment given by shockley and queisser in their famous detailed balance limit. this limit, initially derived for material with a band gap of 1.1 ev, gives a value given for efficiency, η, that depends on four terms: the first term, ug, is defined as the ultimate efficiency, and represents the efficiency the cell would have if every photon with energy above the band gap of the material in question were to excite an electron that would then provide the exact energy of that photon to the cell. the third is an impedance matching factor that accounts for the balance between the highest possible values for voltage and current, which cannot occur simultaneously. the fourth is the probability that a photon with energy greater than eg will excite an electron and produce and electron hole pair; the value’s upper limit is 1. the second term, v, is the ratio of the operational output voltage to that of the band gap, and it is of particular interest here. it accounts for recombination processes in the cell, making considerations for both radiative and nonradiative recombination. to find the maximum value for the open circuit voltage that a solar cell can attain, and therefore the ratio of that open circuit voltage to that of the band gap, shockley and queisser first consider the steady-state condition that will occur when the cell is surrounded by a blackbody of temperature tc. in this state, the rate of radiative recombination is given by a value fc0. this is determined by the numη(χg,χc, f , ts) = ug(χg)v(χg,χc, f )m(χg,χc, f )ts 1 46 elements : : spring 2015 ber of photons incident upon the cell with energy greater than eg, which is derived from the blackbody spectrum at tc. when solar radiation hits the cell, the original state is disrupted and the new steady-state is given by where fs is the rate of electron-hole pairs generated due to solar radiation (and is determined by the blackbody curve of a body at 6000 k), fc(v) is the new rate of radiative recombination, r(0) is the rate of radiative recombination, r(v) is nonradiative generation, and i is the external current. in the ideal situation, nonradiative processes will obey the ideal rectifier equation, and the fc(v) term is determined by the new concentration of electrons and holes after the fermi-level split into quasilevels due to the incident radiation, and is therefore defined as equation (1) can also be written as where the term in the brackets represents the net rate of generation of electron-hole pairs when a cell is surrounded by a blackbody at temperature tc, since fs – fc0 will be zero at that point. using this term, the fraction of recombination that will be radiative can be written as the steady-state can now be expressed as setting i equal to zero in order to find the maximum value for v, and using the definition in (3) solving for v, since fs, based on the blackbody curve at 6000 k, is much greater than all other terms, as long as fc, which is assumed to be 1 in the final calculation, is not too small.5 the absorption coefficient for solar energy striking the surface of the cell is also assumed to be 1. in other words, the assumption is made that photons with energy higher than eg are absorbed and excite an electron with a probability of 1, while photons with energy below eg are absorbed and excite an electron with a probability of 0. however, this assumption does not hold for the low values of fc that the detailed balance limit does not consider. in such a case there will be an exponential tail present in the absorption spectrum of the material being studied. highly ordered crystalline materials exhibit very sharp absorption edges, but for both amorphous materials and films of quantum dots the disorder leads to a broad absorption tail below eg. the breadth of this absorption tail is often well described by a value eu, the urbach energy, and an exponential such that the open circuit voltage of the cell, when the absorption tail is considered, can now be represented as6 here, α(e) is defined as the exponential absorption edge below eg and 1 above eg. when voc is calculated for different values of t and eu, this inverse relationship becomes clear. as is evident from the calculations, eu, when greater than kbt at different values of t, leads to a significant decrease in voc compared to the given value of eg, which was taken to be 1.3 ev for the purpose of the calculations. also noteworthy is the trend toward zero of the difference eg – voc as both t and eu go toward zero as well, which is in agreement with the predictions of shockley and queisser. literature data, gathered by de wolf et al., show a nearly linear relationship between urbach energy and losses in voc. these are shown in figure 2 along with the calculated value from eq.10. except for one point, the calculated voc is larger than the experiment which is fine since the calculation does not introduced additional efficiency losses. the same positive relationship can be seen between eu and losses in voc in both calculation and experiment.7 0 = fs −fc(v )+r(0)+r(v )− i q (1) 1 r(v ) = r(0)exp ( v vc ) (2) 1 fc0 = fc0 exp ( v vc ) (3) 1 0 = fs −fc0 +[fc0 −fc(v )+r(0)+r(v )]− i q (4) 1 fc = fc0 −fc(v ) fc0 −fc(v )+r(0)−r(v ) (5) 10 = q(fs −fc0)+ q(fc0 −fc(v )) fc − i (6) 1 fs −fc0 = fc0 fc ( e v vc −1 ) (7) 1 v =vc ln ( fcfs fc0 − fc +1 ) (8) 1 α(e) = α0 exp ( e −eo eu ) (9) 1 voc = kt e ( ln ( ∫ ∞ 0 α(e)φs(e,t )de∫ ∞ 0 α(e)φt (e,t )de ) +1 ) (10) 1 47 new research in solar cells this relationship indicates that the value for the urbach energy should give a prediction as to the upper limit that the open circuit voltage of solar cell can attain based on its material characteristics, taking into consideration more than simply the band gap of those materials. methods to confirm the value of this prediction, we compare eu for quantum dots and perovskites, specifically lead sulfide dots with absorption peak near 950 nm and lead-halide perovskites with absorption edge near 800 nm, in order to better understand the power conversion efficiencies that have already been attained with such materials. the synthesis used for the lead sulfide quantum dots is based on a modified version of the hines and scholes method.8,9 briefly, 0.09 g pbo, 0.27 ml oleic acid, and 3.8 ml octadecene (ode) were mixed under a schlenck line in a three-neck flask. the mixture was degassed at 95105ºc for 10 minutes and then heated to 150ºc under argon for another 50 minutes. 42 µl of bis(trimethylsilyl) sulfide (tms) was dissolved in 3 ml ode in a glovebox and then injected into the heated solution. the mixture turned to a dark brown within a second of injection. the temperature dropped to around 115ºc at which it was allowed to react for 20-30 seconds. the flask was cooled back to room temperature using air flow. the quantum dots were precipitated with ethanol and/or acetone, and dissolved in a 9:1 hexane/octane solution. the lead sulfide substrates were prepared by cross-linking with ethanedithiol (edt). a glass slide was cleaned using acetone and ethanol. the glass was then covered with 3-(mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (mpts) to bind the quantum dots to the glass. the methoxy groups bind to the glass and the thiol groups are available to bind to the pb. the cleaned pbs qds were dropped onto the glass slide, which formed a thin film on the surface. the film was covered with edt in ethanol for a few seconds before washing with ethanol. the films were dried and the process was repeated until a dark, smooth layer was formed. these films were measured with the cary uv-vis or pds before any degradation from air could take place. the method for the synthesis of lead iodide perovskites was based on that used by im, et al.10 the methylammonium iodide precursor was prepared by reacting methylamine (2.0 m in methanol) and hydriodic acid (57% in water) for 4 hours at 0ºc. the methylamine solution in methanol was prepared by bubbling methylamine gas through 223 ml of methanol while swirling the flask. this resulted in a 1-2 m solution. the hi was added slowly drop-wise to the methylamine which had been cooled to 0ºc. the solution changed color from clear to yellow upon addition of hi, and the solution was a reddish hue by the end of the 4 hour reaction. the precipitate was collected using a rotary evaporator overnight at 80ºc. the precipitate was redissolved in 3.5 ml ethanol at 70ºc and recrystallized to remove impurities. the crystals were washed with diethyl ether and filtrated. because the crystals still had a yellow tinge, they were recrystallized until a white powder was obtained. the powder was dried overnight in a vacuum oven at 100ºc. in a glovebox, approximately 0.5 g of lead iodide and 1.3 g of methylammonium iodide were dissolved into 2.3 ml γ-buteralactone, heated to 80° c, and reacted for 2 hours. the perovskites were then spin coated onto glass coated with polyethleneamine and rinsed with water at 6000 rpm, and baked at 100° c for 15 minutes. the perovskites were never exposed to air throughout the synthesis and measurements. to measure the absorption spectrum of the materials, and therefore the urbach energy, photothermal deflection (mirage) spectroscopy (pds) was used. the measurements were done using a 100 w tungsten lamp as a white light source, a monochromator based on a 1200 groove/mm diffraction grating blazed at 1000 nm and 1 mm slits, and a 635 nm red laser. the resolution of the monochromator was calculated to be approximately 0.7 mv (where the slit width was taken to be 1 mm and the focal length was taken to be 10 cm), which is well within the resolution needed to measure the steepest absorption tail expected, around 1020 mv. the white light is modulated at a frequency of 20 hz, and after passing through the monochromator, is focused to a 5 mm by 0.5 mm area on a 5 mm wide sample, which is immersed in filtered hexane and sealed in an airtight quartz cuvette. the red laser skims the surface of the sample perpendicular to the diffracted monochromatic light. therefore, when the sample absorbs a certain wavelength of light, it heats the hexane, changing the index of refraction and bending the red laser beam. the change in position of the red laser beam is the direct measurement, from which the absorption spectrum is obtained after normalization with the spectrum of the lamp measured using an opaque graphite sample. filters are used to block the second order diffraction and extend the measurement into the near infrared region. the absorption spectrum can be plotted on a logarithmic scale, with the steepest slope corresponding to the minimum value of eu 48 elements : : spring 2015 results and discussion the absorption spectrum was measured for pbs quantum dots using pds, and is shown in figure 3. there are two distinct linear areas when plotted on a logarithmic scale, corresponding to two different tails. the minimum slope is 98 mev, measured through an order of magnitude, which is therefore the minimum urbach energy measured for these dots. this value for the urbach energy, at room temperature, can be calculated to correspond to losses in voc from eg in the range of 0.8 v – 1.0 v at room temperature, 270 k (see figure 1). this is further supported by experimental values; the maximum reported value of voc for a pbs quantum dot solar cell, to our knowledge, is 0.692 ± 0.007 v, attained from dots of 2.9 nm with a band gap of 1.4 ev – a loss of 0.7 v. a range of dots of different sizes and band gaps were fabricated and measured by yoon, et al., as seen in figure 4.11 a linear fit to these points gives the relation voc = 0.519(eg) – 0.0221 which indicates that the maximum open circuit voltage achieved from a photovoltaic device fabricated from pbs quantum dots has only slightly exceeded approximately 50% of the measured value of eg, which, in order to absorb in the desired region of the near infrared, is generally near 1.3 v, as is the band gap in the dots that we fabricated as well. this relationship holds true not only for high voltage cells, but also for high efficiency cells, which is logical since η depends on voc. the highest reported efficiency for a pbs solar cell to date is 8.55%, which was achieved with dots with eg 1.3 v. the maximum open circuit voltage attained for these cells was 0.6 v, using dots capped by 1,2 and 1,3-benzenedithiol ligands. again, we see a loss of about 0.7 v from the band gap voltage for a lead sulfide quantum dot solar cell.2 the width of the urbach tail is indicative of the level of disorder in a material, which for quantum dots, with a high surface area to volume ratio, is fundamentally connected to the nature of the surface of the dots. imperfections in stoichiometry and passivation at the surface, as well as the type of ligands that cap the dots are often the most significant sources of disorder. it is therefore possible to increase the sharpness of the tail by optimizing the types of ligands used. for example, different ligands can either passivate the surface more or less efficiently, affecting the amount of trap states on the surface. furthermore, urbach energy generally increases with increasing ligand length, possibly due to decreased coupling between dots.12 the effect of different ligands on the urbach energy in cdse dots has been explored using pds, and was found to be significant, with cdse dots caped by hda exhibiting a minimum eu of 25 mev, while the same dots capped with s2had an increased minimum urbach energy of 80 mev.13 clearly, then, there is some potential in this area for improvement in the absorption tail of quantum dots, but attempts at optimizing ligand use has not lead to the increases in efficiency that were originally predicted, indicating that the urbach energy for pbs qds is still too high to attain the necessary values for voc. perovskites, with their crystalline structure, are inherently more ordered than quantum dots, leading to a much lower value for the urbach energy, and therefore higher values for the open circuit voltage. for example, the highest value for open circuit voltage attained up to this point is 1.40 v, which was achieved using a wide band gap bromine based lead perovskite with a band gap energy of 2.30 v. to make a more direct comparison to measurements made here, the highest value achieved for ch3nh3pbi3, is 1.05 v, from a band gap of 1.57 v.14 the most efficient perovskite cells have been based on mixed-halide perovskites, of the form ch3nh3pbclxi3-x, which have the same band gap as pure iodide perovskites, but a higher reported value for voc, at 1.13 v.15 the absorption spectrum measured for ch3nh3pbi3 using pds is shown in figure 5. the exponential curve is fitted to a region that stretches through two orders of magnitude, giving a value of 45 mev for eu. this is somewhat higher than the lowest reported value of 15 mev, but it is substantially lower than the measured value of 98 mev for the pbs qds. when compared with the highest reported value for voc above, it agrees well with the calculation, which predicts that an urbach energy of 45 mev should give a loss of just over 0.5 v from the 1.57 v band gap. considering the brief period of time that perovskite research has had to mature, it is likely that 1.05 v is not the maximum value that a solar cell fabricated from ch3nh3pbi3 can attain for voc. a larger voc is also predicted by the lower 15 mev reported value for eu. some reasons for the discrepancy between reported data and measured data in49 new research in solar cells clude high noise levels–ideally we would measure the absorption tail through another order of magnitude to get a more accurate number–as well as difficulties forming a film thick enough to see a high signal in pds measurements. conclusions and future work the values measured using photothermal deflection spectroscopy for the minimum urbach energy of lead sulfide quantum dots and lead iodide perovskites are 98 mev and 45 mev, measured over a maximum of two orders of magnitude. these values lead to a good agreement between the calculated open circuit voltage and the reported values attained by solar cells fabricated with these materials. although a little bit more work needs to be done to obtain a more precise determination of the urbach tail with these materials with absorption data extending over more orders of magnitude, the initial results are very promising in showing that the consideration of the urbach tail is a very valuable input to choose the best materials for solar cells. endnotes 1. nozik, 2002. 2. brown et al., 2014. 3. green et al., 2014. 4. stranks et al., 2013. 5. shockley et al., 1961. 6. guyot-sionnest, 2012. 7. de wolf et al., 2014. 8. hines, 2003. 9. lu et al., 2009. 10. im et al., 2012. 11. yoon et al., 2013. 12. erslev et al., 2012. 13. guyot-sionnest et al., 2012. 14. ryu et al., 2014. 15. lee et al., 2012. references nozik, a.j. “quantum dot solar cells,” physica e. 2002. 14, 115-120. p.r. brown, d. kim, r.r. lunt, n. zhao, m. bawendi, j. c. grossman, and v. bulovi, “energy level modification in lead sulfide quantum dot thin films through ligand exchange,” acs nano 2014. 8, 5863-5872. green, m.a., ho-baille, a., snaith, h.j. nat. photon., 2014. 8, 506-514. s. stranks, g. eperon, g. grancini, c. menelaou, m. alococer, t. leijtens, l. herz, a. petrozza, h. snaith. “electron-hole diffusion lengths exceeding 1 micrometer in an organometal trihalide perovskite absorber.” science, 2013. 342, 342-343. shockley w. and queisser, h.j. “detailed balance limit of efficiency of p-n junction solar cells.” j. appl. phys. 1961, 32, 510. guyot-sionnest, p. “electrical transport in colloidal quantum dot films.” j. phys. chem. lett. 2012. 3, 1169-1175. de wolf, s., holovsky, j., moon, s.j., löper, p., niesen, b., ledinski, m., haug, f.j., yum, j.h., ballif, c. “organometallic halide perovskites: sharp optical absorption edge and its relation to photovoltaic performance.” j. phys. chem. lett. 2014. 5, 1035– 1039. hines, m.a.; scholes g.d. “colloidal pbs nanocrystals with size-tunable near-infrared emission: observation of post-synthesis self-narrowing of the particle size distribution.” adv. mater. 2003. 15, 1844-1849. lu, s.; lingley, z.; asano, t.; harris, d.; barwicz, t.; guha, s.; madhukar, a. “photocurrent induced by nonradiative energy transfer from nanocrystal quantum dots to adjacent silicon nanowire conducting channels: toward a new solar cell paradigm.” nano. lett. 2009. 9(12), 45484552. im, j.-h.; chung, j.; kim, s.-j.; park, n.-g. “synthesis, structure, and photovoltaic property of a nanocrystalline 2h perovskite-type novel sensitizer (ch3ch2nh3) pbi3.” nanoscale res. lett. 2012. 7, 353, 1-7. yoon, w.; boercker, j. e.; lumb, m. p.; placencia, d.; foos, e. e.; tischler, j. g. “enhanced open-circuit voltage of pbs nanocrystal quantum dot solar cells.” sci. rep. 2013. 3, 2225. p.t. erslev, h.y. chen, j. gao, m.c. beard, a.j. frank, j. van de lagemaat, j.c. johnson, j.m. luther. “sharp exponential tails in highly disordered lead sulfide quantum dot arrays.” phys. rev. b 2012. 86, 155313. p. guyot-sionnest, e. lhuillier, h. liu. “a mirage study of cdse colloidal quantum dot films, urbach tail, and surface states.” j. phys. chem. 2012. 137, 154704. 50 elements : : spring 2015 s. ryu, j.h. noh, n.j. jeon, y.c. kim, w.s. yang, j. seo, s.i. seok. “voltage output of efficient perovskite solar cells with high open-circuit voltage and fill factor.” energy environ. sci. 2014. 7, 2614. m. lee, j. teuscher, t. miyasaka, t.n. murakami, h.j. snaith. “efficient hybrid solar cells based on meso-superstructured organometal halide perovskites.” science, 2012. 338, 643−647. figure 1: voltage drop from band gap energy vs. urbach energy figure 2: voltage drop from band gap energy vs. urbach energy table 1 material eg (ev) eu (mev) eg-voc (ev) (experiment) eg-voc (ev) (calculated) gaas 1.42 7 0.3 0.213 c-si 1.12 11 0.37 0.199 ch3nh3pbi3-xclx 1.57 15 0.41 0.24 cigs 1.18 23 0.57 0.237 a-si 1.75 48 0.88 0.939 51 new research in solar cells size (nm) eg (v) voc (v) 2.9 1.40 0.692 3.1 1.30 0.657 3.3 1.24 0.629 3.5 1.18 0.602 3.8 1.09 0.545 4.0 1.05 0.542 4.1 1.03 0.483 table 2 figure 4: open circuit voltage vs. energyfigure 3: absorption vs. energy figure 5: absoprtion vs. energy 52 elements : : spring 2015 on november 21st, 2013, politico magazine published michelle cottle’s piece titled “leaning out: how michelle obama became a feminist nightmare.” cottle pinpoints several explanations for obama’s degeneration into such a “nightmare,” including the first lady proclaiming to be a “mom-in-chief” and focusing on healthy eating. melissa harris-perry, correspondent for msnbc, retaliated quickly and criticized cottle for her remarks, insisting that she should better study her black feminist history. this article argues that cottle is oblivious to obama’s standpoint as a black woman, and that by embracing motherhood, obama is doing what many black women have been prevented from doing throughout history. this article draws from both historical accounts of black women during slavery and modern constructions of black femininity to address cottle’s claims. from mammy to mommy michelle obama and the reclamation of black motherhood david querusio instead of being a unifying experience for women to celebrate, motherhood has actually divided women throughout history. societal norms and conventions have constructed various versions of motherhood that have evolved with different trajectories. however, many white feminists still view motherhood through a universal lens that omits the collective and unique histories of mothers of color. michelle cottle’s article, “leaning out: how michelle obama became a feminist nightmare,” demonstrates this basic lack of understanding of the differences between black and white motherhoods. cottle pinpoints obama’s self-appointed title as “mom-in-chief” as problematic and simply exacerbates the distance between black and white feminists and their struggles to understand each other’s standpoints. melissa harris-perry responded scathingly to cottle’s argument and denounced her for her narrow characterization of black motherhood. the tension between melissa harris-perry’s and michelle cottle’s views of michelle obama echoes years of distance between white and black feminisms, as white women vie to free themselves from the very domestic sphere that black women struggle to enter. white women have a tumultuous relationship with the role of motherhood, due to white males historically manipulating white women’s reproductive capabilities to ensure racial purity. coerced into certain parameters of what the patriarchy wanted motherhood to be, white mothers had very little agency when it came to how they used their own bodies. because white women perpetuated whiteness through their lineage, the patriarchal white supremacy institutionalized tactics to control their behavior and “instead of protecting white women according to the southern code of chivalry, they undermined white women’s cultural value and social power and isolated them within their own racial group.”1 one such tactic was the 1924 preservation of racial integrity act in virginia, which “codified the one-drop rule by restricting white status to persons having no ‘discernable trace’ of non-white (negro, indian, or asian) blood, which prevented near-whites from claiming the benefits of whiteness. as in most anti-miscegenation regulations, however, white women’s relationships with black men were the real focus of the act.”2 subjugated and confined, some white women obviously felt natural tendencies of aggression towards the system. cermichelle obama at mary’s center for maternal and child care in washington, d.c. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 54 elements : : spring 2015 tain laws emerged that were meant to assuage the fear of deviant women who adhered to the feminist prototype of the new woman, as scientist francis galton called for laws that “particularly chastised the white, upper-middle-class, educated new woman who seemed most in danger of devaluing or foregoing motherhood.”3 there was even a proposed amendment to the aforementioned preservation of racial integrity act that would have addressed white men’s roles in miscegenation, but it was never passed, again proving the misogynistic edge of the legal system.4 the socalled new woman was inherently white, implying that only they were capable of challenging conventions and endangering the purity of the race by rejecting motherhood. with such a history of coercion into the domestic sphere and subsequent rebellion, white feminists still feel remnants of this oppression even today through their wariness of privileging motherhood over a career. as white women fought the restrictive institutional practices of the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries, black women were fighting just to be seen. doubly oppressed, black women faced sexism from their black male counterparts and indifference from white males who perceived black women as bodies that could only produce undesirable black children. while laws were almost obsessively focused on monitoring white female activity, “the legal system became less interested in black women or mulattas, since they could still transmit only black blood, as far as the law was concerned. white supremacists ignored black mothers because they figured very little in the calculus of white blood domination.”5 of course, most white women were not too eager to offer support to black women, either. they were constantly grappling with their own reputations, and “perhaps it was the strain of that balancing act that kept so many white women from empathizing with their black sisters, who were effaced almost entirely by their underserved licentious reputation among whites and had no legal standing to make rape charges against the white men who had historically committed the most interracial rapes.”6 white men exerted control over both black and white women to affirm their own masculinity and racial status, since dismissing women’s agency in their own sexual bodies helped to solidify white men’s power. white women’s obedience and fidelity bought them the protection they allegedly needed against black men. black women had no bargaining power at all, since even their protests did little to contradict the widespread belief in their need and desire for white men’s sexual advances.7 white women were monitored closely by the patriarchy, but they at least had protection – black women were left voiceless and bereft of agency. despite both being victims of patriarchal rule and manipulation, white and black women had very little solidarity. such societal invisibility and lack of solidarity with their white counterparts was and still is a major historical barrier preventing black women from embracing their roles as mothers. there is a fundamental difference, derived from class distinctions, between black and white motherhoods that originated during slavery and still persists today. writing for clutch magazine, tami winfrey harris cites author deesha philyaw, who “writes that historically, black women have rarely had the privilege to choose motherhood over career. black women have always worked outside of the home– have almost always had to–even when society forbade ‘good’ white women from leaving their pedestals. we have ploughed the fields and raised other folks babies, as well as our own.”8 harris, through philyaw, argues that while white women were fighting for the right to pursue a career instead of motherhood, black women wanted the opposite. she illustrates the tension between cottle’s white feminist standpoint that views motherhood as a remnant of patriarchal oppression and black feminism’s desire to claim motherhood in its purest sense. as harris mentions, economic class plays a major role here. this economic barrier prevented black women from truly embracing their identities as mothers. additionally, slave masters “figured that slave mothers were less likely to escape than slave men because of their attachment to their children…and they were mostly right. few women escaped with their dependent children.”9 black mothers were simply unable to relinquish their position for freedom due to their children, depriving them of their autonomy and establishing a nega“as white women fought the restrictive institutional practices of the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries, black women were fighting just to be seen.” 55 from mammy to mommy “obama actively subverts the historical traditions of black women having to compromise their motherhood due to white patriarchal supremacy and provides black women with a new model to follow.” tive precedent when it came to their experiences with motherhood. most white women can afford to either just pursue a career or be a mother, but black women often had and still have to balance both. the ironic objectification and sexualization of black women by the white patriarchy, in spite of their inferior status in society, further obstructed the path to black motherhood. white men focused heavily on maintaining the purity and chastity of white women, but they had few issues with perpetuating stereotypes of black female’s hypersexuality and “exotic” bodies, even as they ignored their status as human beings. in fact, scientists were particularly fascinated with african bodies and the “protuberance of the buttocks…and the remarkable development of the labia minora, which were sufficiently well marked to distinguish these parts from those of any ordinary varieties of the human species. the racial difference of the african body…was located in its literal excess, a specifically sexual excess that placed her body outside the boundaries of the ‘normal’ female.”10 because of the emphasis placed on their genitals and excess, black women had to fend off rumors of licentiousness and sexual promiscuity, which conflicted directly with the virtue of motherhood. the very physicality of african women’s bodies “became increasingly associated with sexual availability…those associations helped to establish a hierarchy between the races.”11 with a history of these stereotypes, black women struggled to enter the domestic sphere as simply mothers while fighting the promiscuous jezebel label. the historical context of the suppression of white women’s agency in terms of their reproductive capabilities and confinement to the domestic sphere provides readers with a better understanding of cottle’s limited standpoint in her analysis of michelle obama’s motherhood. to cottle, obama’s celebration of motherhood comes off as resignation and compliance instead of as a move of activism. cottle uses language of confinement, which was once used against white women, to describe obama’s role in the white house, declaring, “the 2012 election did not set her free. even now, with her husband waddling toward lame duck territory, she is not going to let loose suddenly with some straight talk about abortion rights or obamacare or the common core curriculum debate. turns out, she was serious about that whole ‘mom-in-chief’ business.”12 cottle’s very word choice, insisting that the first lady is still confined and unable to let loose, emanates contempt for obama’s opting for motherhood. she even references how feminists hoped that the reelection would liberate her. as a white feminist, cottle has an inculcated aversion to domesticity that she equates with patriarchal complacency, a remnant of the historical context of white male subjugation. cottle even takes to objectifying and criticizing obama for flourishing her body, as she states snidely, “flotus has managed to remain above the fray—with her toned arms and her veggie garden and her radiant mom-in-chiefness.”13 another feminist cited in the article comments on obama’s arms, complaining, “i for one have seen enough of her upper appendages and her designer clothes.”14 maybe for cottle, a “mom-in-chief” who displays her body is a feminist nightmare, but she lacks the historical authority to speak for the experience of obama and black women as a whole. applying her white history to obama’s black present, cottle fails to notice the nuanced distinctions within her monolithic definition of motherhood. melissa harris-perry retorts derisively to the idea that obama is playing it safe. in reality, obama dismantles the historical obstacles (invisibility, economic dependence, and objectification) that have obstructed the path to black motherhood for years. michelle cottle insists that obama sticks to mild and almost irrelevant tasks: she cites one feminist who asks coolly, “how can you hate a vegetable garden?”15 this construction of a demure and safe first lady recalls black female voicelessness throughout history. black women have a history of being ignored for their 56 elements : : spring 2015 deeds, and cottle offers a similar argument surrounding obama’s ostensibly innocuous campaigns. melissa harris-perry efficiently counters this argument by citing the impact of obama’s childhood obesity campaign, along with the controversy surrounding her desire to help lower income students attend college. harris-perry declares the first lady is not playing it safe with this work. she has drawn plenty of right-wing criticism. no, ms. cottle, not everyone loves a vegetable garden… the president has been ridiculed as an elitist for suggesting that more people go to college. so if you think there’s no political risk, maybe you haven’t been paying attention. also, you misunderstand the place michelle obama occupies as the first african-american first lady.16 harris-perry’s most important argument comes from her assertion that cottle merely fails to understand the place obama occupies. cottle, ignorant of the historical context of black women and their own version of motherhood, cannot speak accurately on that topic’s behalf. as harris-perry illustrates, obama actually dismantles historical bondage that once deprived black women of their voices and exerts her own agency to make her country finally listen to a powerful, black, and female voice. after explaining how influential and controversial obama’s platforms are, harris-perry makes another major point — obama’s declaration of motherhood rejects the role of the mammy. despite what cottle thinks, what makes obama so revolutionary is that, “instead of agreeing that the public sphere is more important than sasha and malia, she buried mammy and embraced being a mom on her own terms.”17 obama is able to do what black women have sought for centuries — just be a mom. a belittling title to white feminists, black motherhood carries connotations of autonomy and independence from white patriarchal stereotypes rather than the submission associated with white motherhood for some feminists. the mammy stereotype implies economic dependence and inadequacy that force black mothers to work in order to support their children; but obama, by placing her children first, reclaims wholly both that domestic space and economic agency. she, unlike many of the black slave mothers before her, leaves the plantation that is the modern day public arena for her children. obama actively subverts the historical traditions of black women having to compromise their motherhood due to white patriarchal supremacy and provides black women with a new model to follow. obama even challenges the objectification of the black female body. kat stoeffel writes for new york magazine about how harris-perry saw michelle as subverting expectations in more subtle ways. take her anti-obesity and fitness campaigns. where cottle’s feminists see a policy issue domestic enough for the “lady of the manor” to dip her “fashionably shod feet” into, the msnbc host sees a defiant response to the media that reduced her to a set of upper arms. “for me, the immediate rational, reasonable response to that is to stop performing your body, to cover it up,” harris-perry said. “instead the first lady did this extraordinary thing where she’s like, oh you want to scrutinize? here i am. she went more sleeveless.18 stoeffel brings up an interesting point about how obama once again actually defies expectations rather than simply playing it safe as cottle suggests. instead of succumbing to the white male gaze, obama finds empowerment through her body, and she does not care how tired white feminists are of seeing her arms. while this opinion of harris-perry comes from a source outside of her direct letter to cottle, her point still stands. of course, as a white feminist, cottle’s perspective of obama is influenced by the experience of white females and patriarchal control of their sexuality, rather than a point of view supported by intersectionality and inclusion. the lack of understanding on cottle’s part illustrates the history of tension between black and white women in their respective quests for equality; white women assumed that their struggle against forced domesticity was and is universal, despite black women hoping to just occupy that sphere. black women have had to overcome certain economic and social barriers to enter the domestic sphere, while white women broke free from restrictions that confined them to such a sphere. cottle’s white, narrow-minded, and implied “universal” feminism is more damaging than obama’s proud allegiance to her daughters. melissa harris-perry offers her more appropriate standpoint and perspective to analyze the situation and determines that, in fact, michelle obama’s title of “mom-in-chief” redefines and reclaims black motherhood after a history of oppression. feminism fails to be feminism when it discounts the histories and differences of all types of women — there is no set of feminist rules up to which cottle can hold obama, making her groundless hyperbole the real feminist nightmare. 57 from mammy to mommy endnotes 1. kitch 150. 2. kitch 153. 3. kitch 152, emphasis added. 4. kitch 154. 5. kitch 151. 6. kitch 148. 7. kitch 84, emphasis added. 8. harris. 9. kitch 150. 10. somerville 26. 11. kitch 74. 12. cottle. 13. ibid., emphasis added. 14. ibid. 15. ibid. 16. harris-perry. 17. ibid. 18. stoeffel, emphasis added. references cottle, michelle. “leaning out : how michelle obama became a feminist nightmare.” politico magazine. november 21, 2013. accessed december 23, 2013. harris, tami w. “a black mom-in-chief is revolutionary: what white feminists get wrong about michelle obama.” clutch magazine 11 sept. 2012. harris-perry, melissa. “michelle obama a ‘feminist nightmare’? please.” msnbc.com. nbc news digital, 01 dec. 2013. kitch, sally. the specter of sex: gendered foundations of racial formation in the united states. albany: state university of new york, 2009. somerville, siobhan b. queering the color line: race and the invention of homosexuality in american culture. durham: duke up, 2000. stoeffel, kat. “michelle obama is no one’s feminist nightmare.” new york magazine. 22 nov. 2013. 58 elements : : spring 2015 "emotion must not be discarded by logicians as inherently fallacious; however, it must also be used cautiously by rhetoricians in order to secure influence over an audience without infringing upon the veracity of one's assertions." i n t r o d u c i n g e m o t i o n : the use of emotion and character in presidential speeches t i m h e n d e r s o n t h i s p a p e r e x p l o r e s t h e re l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t r u t h a n d e m o t i o n i n r h e t o r i c w i t h s p e c i a l f o c u s o n t h e o p e n i n g m o m e n t s o f t h r e e s p e e c h e s b y a m e r i c a n p r e s i d e n t s , t h e f i r s t c r u c i a l m o m e n t s o f a s p e e c h a r e p r i m e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o a p p e a l t o t h e e m o t i o n s o f t h e a u d i e n c e , a p r a c t i c e w h i c h i s a r g u a b l y o f d u b i o u s v e r a c i t y . t o c o u n t e r t h i s s u p p o s e d f a l l a c y , t h i s p a p e r e x p l o r e s t h r e e s p e e c h e s w h e r e e m o t i o n i s u s e d t r u t h f u l l y a n d e f f e c t i v e l y . g i v e n t h e s e r e s u l t s , t h e u s e o f e m o t i o n i n p r e s i d e n t i a l r h e t o r i c i s s e e n t o b e n o t o n l y p e r m i s s i b l e , b u t n e c e s s a r y t o i n f l u e n c i n g o n e ' s a u d i e n c e . i n t r o d u c t i o n during the crucial opening moments of speeches to the american people, american presidents often use emotion i n an attempt to influence their audience's views. without a convincing and intriguing introduction, rhetoricians are likely to fail in their later attempts to persuade their audience. but the appeal to emotion is often considered a logical fallacy because of the supposed inconsistency of emotion in judgments of truth. i n order to judge the relationship of these emotional introductions to truth, three introductions to presidential speeches are defined according to three emotion-based argumentative tactics identified by douglas walton in the place of emotion in argument. the tactics are the argumentum ad populum, argumentum ad baculum, and argumentum ad hominem. speeches by presidents lyndon b. johnson, john f. kennedy, and george w. bush serve as examples of these arguments in political rhetoric. each speech enhances its appeal to emotion through the use of allusion to character, a tactic treated by alan brinton in his article, "character i n ithotic argument." brinton's three examples relate to seneca's works, but they also shed light on these cases, i f i n slightly different forms. a n examination of these three introductions demonstrates that the opening moments of the presidents' speeches are based on logical, yet emotionallycharged, arguments. although usually suspect in the field of rhetoric, both walton and brinton support the claim that emotion can be used effectively and truthfully in political discourse. the speeches below offer views of the president playing the roles of unifier, commander-in-chief, and politician. although the admiration and trust held by the american people for their president has without doubt declined i n the past decades, there is still an expectation that political leaders wi l l speak truthfully to their audiences. this paper considers only the beginning of each of these speeches to consider the way in which an appeal to emotion at the beginning of a speech is meant to immediately impact the audience and prime them for greater persuasion. this paper wi l l focus especially on the importance of the introduction in american political rhetoric and the unique relationship between the president and his fellow citizens. walton describes the argumentum ad populum as an "appeal to popular sentiment or opinion" in argumentation. 1 this appeal presupposes that the audience of the speech has some widely held beliefs which the speaker can safely assume hold universal appeal. but walton identifies a number of reasons why many logicians immediately discredit the argumentum ad populum as fallacious. most significantly, they maintain that the appeal to emotion automatically makes the argument invalid and assumes a universal audience where one does not exist. 1 1 walton states that neither of these reasons is sufficient to discount the truth of some arguments based on popular appeals. most basic to walton's argument against the discrediting of the ad populum is the mistaken presumption that "appeals to popular emotions are in a separate category from logical reasoning." 1" rather, as wi l l be seen i n the beginning of lyndon johnson's speech "we shall overcome," the appeal to popular sentiment can draw truthful conclusions. l y n d o n b. j o h n s o n speaking during the tumultuous civil rights era, president lyndon johnson appeals to the universal themes of "the dignity of man" and the "destiny of democracy" in his argument for greater equality for african americans. although these themes are expressed i n phrases with positive connotations, president johnson's opening remarks .. the opening moments of the presidents' speeches are based on logical, yet emotionally-charged y arguments." e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 are meant to suggest a lack of equality. that is, by suggesting "dignity" and "democracy" he is really referring to the injustice and inequality in america, triggering in his audience an emotional response of shame and regret. while it could be argued that the appeal to emotion i n this argument makes it immediately erroneous, the issues of race and discrimination are more adequately discussed by a "mutual interaction of thinking and feeling in ethical decision making. " 1 v indeed it would be nearly impossible to discuss the racial inequalities i n america at this time without infusing some elements of emotion into one's argument. topics such as human dignity do not lend themselves to discussions based solely on facts and data. as president johnson implores his people to look to selma, alabama as an example of the undeniable prejudice i n america, the truth of his argument is not threatened by its use of emotions. the topic of johnson's speech suggests, however, that the larger audience is not a universally coherent group. the divisions within america at this time need to be discussed i n relation to the second criticism of ad populum arguments, that they make a unified audience out of a limited group. president johnson states that i n order for racial inequality to be erased in america, "members of both parties, americans of all religions, and of all colors, from every section of this country, [must support] that cause." the american populace is a large and varied group, with different viewpoints and values, which could call into question the use of the ad populum, challenging the existence of a unified opinion to which to appeal. but walton states that it is more important that "the audience to whom the argument is directed accepts these premises enthusiastically" than that the premises are universally valid. v it is certainly easier to speak to people who already agree with the speaker's position. in this case, however, it can be assumed that at least the majority of the population agreed in principle with the goals of achieving "dignity" and "democracy." this practical approach offers the speaker more flexibility in his approach while still being able to maintain a level of relative truth. although this is not a perfect and undeniable truth, relative truth can be acceptable in complicated cases. the people who president johnson most needs to convince are those who hold racial prejudices. these same people would contest the notions of dignity and democracy being inclusive of african americans and thus call into doubt the veracity of the argument. walton again offers important insight in stating that one must be a "rational respondent" i n the audience to qualify as an important judge of an argument. v l the argument could be made here that those who believe that african americans are not worthy of equal treatment are themselves not rational. this may be using i n t r o d u c i n g e m o t i o n ! t h e use of e m o t i o n a n d cha ra cter i n p r e s i d e n t i a l speeches historical hindsight, but it must be considered that in this case the possibility of having a universal audience in america is not plausible. while it is important for the president to convince those who do not agree with h im, it is more practical to try and convince those who do not hold radical views. indeed the message of the speech is to rally support behind the president's racially unifying policies i n the hope that an american consensus may be forged. so while the president's ad populum argument is based on some important presumptions, these assumptions are both reasonable and necessary to the continuation of the discussion. having established the necessity of emotion in president johnson's introduction, it is possible to examine how the president expands upon his original appeal to emotion through the first of brinton's appeal to character. following his universal appeal to extinguish the flames of inequality i n america, president johnson refers to the "unending search for freedom" which has roots i n places like lexington, concord, and appomattox. much like the events in selma, alabama which spurred the president's remarks, the battle of appomattox is one symbol of the struggle to secure the freedom of african americans. many years after the end of the civil war, african americans during the 1960s were still unequal citizens. one of the three appeals to authority comes in the form of what brinton calls "the exemplar. " v u described as a "reference to actual historical examples," the audience is encouraged to remember the importance of this event, and the people who died to establish a precedent of racial equality. v l l i president johnson's earlier exhortation to realize the "destiny of democracy" is supported by the sacrifice and principles that led the soldiers of the north to fight against the injustice of slavery in the south. by using this exemplar, president johnson's abstract appeal to emotion is given a more tangible representation by referencing america's history. as brinton suggests, the exemplar suggests the virtuous actions which should be emulated by the audience. ix in this sense, the exemplar provides factual evidence to support what was previously an almost entirely emotional appeal. although most in the audience had no personal involvement in the civil war, they all knew what occurred and what was at stake. by drawing the connection between the 1860s and the 1960s the president hopes that the shame of america's continuing inequalities wi l l be intensified. rhetorically speaking, the argument is based less on strict emotional appeal, being supported by this reference to the past. j o h n f. k e n n e d y the argumentum ad baculum is defined by walton as an "appeal to threat of force or to fear ... in a critical discussion.'^ walton spends considerable time discussing this definition and whether or not an ad baculum argument must include a threat or i f fear alone can define the ad baculum.™ walton also states that the "context of the dialogue" determines whether the ad baculum wi l l be deemed valid or fallacious. x n for the purposes of this discussion, the situational definition proves more enlightening to the discussion of the truthfulness of his claims. it would be inappropriate for a direct threat to be made in a speech. it would be more appropriate to carefully use threat or fear i n an argument in what walton describes as a "negotiation dialogue." x u 1 i n the case of a negotiation, there is a greater expectation on the part of both parties that threats may be used should resolution of a conflict reach an impasse. the following speech by president john f. kennedy is an interesting variation on the typical negotiation dialogue between a speaker and an opponent. rather than a threat of force against his or her opponent, the third party of communist russia serves as the threat to both speaker and audience. nevertheless, this is an ad baculum argument because of the fear the president's argument is meant to arouse in his audience. a n examination of president kennedy's "the berlin crisis" wi l l then serve as an example of the use of the emotions aroused by fear in an argument. domestically and internationally, the perceived threat of communism had created a climate of fear in post-world war i i america. fears were realized when, in 19 61, soviet russia contested america's claim to parts of the city of e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 berlin, which had been divided at the end of world war i i . in this time of crisis president kennedy spoke to the american people about the threat facing them and the need to meet this crisis with fortitude. to begin his speech, president kennedy referenced the "grim warnings about the future of the world" offered by russian premier khrushchev weeks earlier. although the american people would not be directly harmed by this action, there is an implied threat that i f the soviets forced the americans out of berlin, they could emerge anywhere. in this case the threat could do harm to both members of the dialogue; both parties in this speech could be harmed by the same source. it is apparent that the emotions aroused in both parties as a result of this speech are fear and uncertainty. but does this use of emotion constitute a logical fallacy? this question may be better answered by examining the larger purpose of the speech. later in his speech, president kennedy asks congress for more money and support for the armed forces to help the people of berlin. but the president also states that the american people must be aware of "new threats in berlin or elsewhere" because "[americans] cannot afford not to meet this challenge." president kennedy's aims in this speech are more wide-reaching than simply freeing the oppressed people of berlin. as a means for asking for more money and supplies to fight this threat, the president evidences his appeal to fear with an event occurring at the moment. although the president hopes to use this incident as a means for building up the military, there was at least some semblance of a threat to american interests to warrant this reaction. so while historians have and wi l l argue about the actual threat of communism, in this case it can be said that the argument ad baculum was based upon evidence. the appeal to fear i n this case was a truthful representation of the situation facing the united states at the time. his argument appeals to the emotions of the american people, and president kennedy uses techniques to rhetorically exploit these emotions. president kennedy completes his ad baculum argument by becoming the savior of the american people, the suppressor of their fears. by speaking "frankly" and "openly" about the situation, the situation does not seem so grave. to conclude his introduction, president kennedy uses an allusion to the past to shore up his ad baculum argument and appeal to fear. exploiting the division between security and anxiety, the president references the victory of the allied powers over nazi germany which led to the partitioning of berlin. here we find another example of an appeal to character and authority as defined by brinton. this reference to nazi germany may be defined as a mix of an "exemplar" and a "spectator."x l v the spectator is defined by brinton as an example which forces the members of the audience to ask themselves: what i n t r o d u c i n g e m o t i o n : t h e use of e m o t i o n a n d cha ra cter i n p r e s i d e n t i a l speeches would this person do in this situation or what would i do i f this person were watching? in this context the exemplar reminds the audience of the courage and sacrifice required to win that war and the spectator asks them what those who sacrificed for that war would do i n this situation. many in the audience had fresh memories of either fighting in the war or living during war time and would have easily drawn the parallels between this new dilemma and w w i i . this is another reversal in language in president kennedy's introduction. after the strength conveyed in the second paragraph, the president again resumes his somber-toned allusion to a time of victory achieved through great hardship. by constantly shifting the emotions he is appealing to, president kennedy further exploits the alarm created in the first lines of his speech and garners more leverage to convince his audience of his proposals later i n the speech. this allusion to w w i i is the final piece of the ad baculum because it references a threat that had already been faced and defeated. but this allusion also implies that without similar sacrifices the new enemy, unlike the old one, may be victorious. it is apparent that the ad baculum argument must be carefully used. clearly the united states was facing a threat and the president wished to inform his people. but the repeated appeal to fear is cause for reasonable suspicion of the truthfulness of his argument. as walton suggests, the ad baculum argument may be used as "scaremongering." x v it is difficult to believe that many americans at the time viewed the president's remarks as such given the larger situation. instead, it should be remarked that the president met this situation with appropriate concern and persuasive rhetorical techniques. the leaders of the soviet union were listening to the president's speech and were themselves targets of the president's attack. in this sense, the speech could function on two levels according to walton's division of the ad baculum.xy1 on the level already discussed, the president's use of fear was indirectly targeted towards the american populace in order to stir an awareness of the situation and support kennedy's cause, what walton describes as a "non-threat. , , x v 1 1 on the other hand, i f viewed as being directed towards the soviet union, this speech could be viewed as an indirect threat, because it is not specifically addressed to the soviet u n i o n . x v i i i while the president knew the soviet leaders would be listening, it was the support of his constituency, the american nation, that was most important to h im. they serve as the primary audience of his ad baculum argument. george w . b u s h in the final emotion-based argument, the argumentum ad hominem, president george w. bush contends that his opponent i n the 2 0 0 4 presidential election, senator john kerry, has dubious credibility for the position of president because of his inability to establish consistent policy positions. according to the subdivision of the ad hominem arguments by walton, this argument by president bush should be classified as a circumstantial ad hominem or the "questioning of an arguer's position by citing a presumptive inconsistency within that posit ion." x , x in fact, president bush's attack is a textbook case of this type of argument, one that many raised against senator kerry during the election. at the beginning of his opening statement, president bush (referring to kerry) states he "can see why people think he changes positions a lot, because he does." the president uses as evidence in his introduction senator kerry's record with regard to the war in iraq: he supported the war before it occurred, but condemned it when popular sentiment changed and his opponent howard dean spoke out against it. president bush is implying, and later explicitly states, that because of such uncertainty, senator kerry's ability to lead the country in a time of war is dubious. president bush does not concentrate on his own policies directly, but does this indirectly by pointing to the matters which senator kerry has changed positions on and he has continued to support. the strength of this argument relies on the audience's belief that what the president has done has been beneficial, but most important is that bush defends the consistency of his own actions. in his introduction, president bush sets himself up against senator kerry as a man of deep-seated beliefs, worthy of a second term as president. undecided voters are left wondering about the elem ents s p r i n g 06 character of senator kerry in opposition to the president who has not wavered from his position despite controversy. by placing this attack at the beginning of the debate the president is able to point out this character flaw throughout the debate. the ad hominem in the introduction of the debate can serve as the theme of the debate, to which the president may continually return. although the argument is backed up with examples by president bush, it is primarily an appeal to the abstract, emotional characteristics senator kerry exemplifies. president bush's reference to senator kerry's record to call into doubt his character is another use of one of brinton's appeals to authority. in this case, the president is appealing to a very straightforward "citation" of his opponent's voting record. x x the citation is described by brinton "as a form of ithotic argument [which] involves the direct or indirect quotation of a source with the intention that identification of the opinion or attitude expressed with the source wi l l influence hearers or readers toward acceptance."3041 it is clear from the discussion above that president bush's quotation is an indirect one which references changes in senator kerry's beliefs on a number of issues. this example relies on the premise that the american populace is suspicious of politicians who do not keep their word and are unsure of what they support. through this example, the president hopes to show that the senator is unfit to be president. in making this argument the president insists that he represents the opposite of the values which he claims senator kerry has exhibited in his "wishy-washy" voting record. as a means of rhetorical strategy, this argument both condemns one's opponent and extols the virtue of the speaker. this is a dual nature which has not been seen i n any of the previous arguments and is an important device for speakers to use. although the ad hominem has a reputation for being fallacious, and nothing more than an attack on one's character, i t should be considered relevant and important criticism in a critical discussion. according to walton, this importance is primarily derived from the personalization which occurs when an ad hominem is used because it concentrates its attack on the character of one's opponent.™ 1 but rather than considering this personalization as a negative aspect of discussion, walton goes so far as to say that this is "the most important single benefit of a successful critical discuss ion. " x x l i i while it is clear that raising character issues is important to debate, it is also important to recognize that there is the possibility that such arguments can be used excessively and insultingly. in such cases, the ad hominem loses its effectiveness with the audience, which is also able to recognize the subtlety and importance of the argument when used well. the overuse or abuse of the ad hominem can be more injurious to the speaker than the intended target of criticism. when used i n t r o d u c i n g e m o t i o n : t h e use of e m o t i o n a n d cha ra cter i n p r e s i d e n t i a l speeches in president bush's opening remarks during the debate, however, the ad hominem immediately imprints a negative image of senator kerry's character upon the audience. whether or not he directly addresses this again is not as important as the fact that it remains i n the back of the audience's mind throughout the rest of the debate. this is then an exceedingly effective method to use during a debate because it figures greatly into the later discussions without having to be mentioned. c o n c l u s i o n from this discussion it is apparent that the opening lines of presidential speeches are often filled with rhetorical strategies that are primarily based on emotions. this discussion has focused on three introductions, three arguments based on emotion, and three appeals to character. in light of each of these sources the richness and complexity of introductions to rhetoric is undeniable. without a convincing and appealing introduction, a speaker's ability to influence an audience later in the speech is greatly inhibited. the importance of emotion, as discussed through walton's presentation of the emotion-based arguments, has shown that, practically speaking, emotions are sometimes the most accurate judges of truth available. similarly, brinton's article offers three appeals to character which have been shown to enhance arguments based on emotion. the argumentum ad populum, argumentum ad baculum, and argumentum ad hominem must be used with appropriate decorum to the situation to be persuasive. should these arguments extend beyond the boundaries of decency in a civilized forum, such as the president's podium, the audience may be unconvinced and the fallacious argument wi l l harm the speaker instead of his opponent. emotion must not be discarded by logicians as inherently fallacious; however, it must also be used cautiously by rhetoricians in order to secure influence over an audience without infringing upon the veracity of one's assertions. e n d n o t e s i . walton, (65) i i . walton, (66) i i i . walton, (67) iv. walton, (67) v. walton, (70) v i . walton, (69) v i i . brinton, (252) v i i i . brinton, (252) ix. brinton, (253) x. walton, (145) xi . walton, (152) x i i . walton, (144) x i i i . walton, (144) xiv. brinton, (252-254) xv. walton, (174) xvi. walton, (180) xvii . walton, (180) xvii i . walton, (181) xix. walton, (202) xx. brinton, (251) xxi. brinton, (251) xxii . walton, (192) xxii i . walton, (192) references brinton, alan. 1986. "character i n ithotic argument." history of philosophy quarterly, 3, pp. 245-258. bush, george w. 2004. "second presidential debate of 2004 election." retrieved f rom http: //www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/08/ politics/main648302 .shtml. johnson, lyndon. 1965. "we shall overcome." speech. retrieved f rom http://www.tamu.edu/ comm / pres / speeches/lbjovercome.html. kennedy, john f. 1961. "the berlin crisis." speech. retrieved f rom http://www.tamu.edu/ comm/pres/speeches/ j fkberl in.html. walton, douglas. 1992. the place of emotion i n argument. university park: pennsylvania state university press. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/08/ http://www.tamu.edu/ http://www.tamu.edu/ "paradigms and brain imaging technologies art becoming progressively more exacting, allowing cognitive scientists to investigate the ... neural circuitry responsible for abstract and uniquely human traits." r e m i n i s c i n g a n d d a y d r e a m i n g investigating the similarities between episodic memory recall and imagination k y l e f i s c h e r t h e p o w e r o f i m a g i n a t i o n h a s l o n g b e e n t o u t e d a s a d i s t i n c t i v e p r o p e r t y o f h u m a n c o g n i t i o n a n d r e m a i n s a h e a t e d t o p i c a m o n g s t p h i l o s o p h e r s , s c i e n t i s t s , a n d d a y d r e a m e r s a l i k e . d e s p i t e p l a y i n g a c r i t i c a l r o l e i n t h e m a j o r i t y o f h u m a n i t y ' s f i n e s t a c h i e v e m e n t s , l i t t l e is k n o w n a b o u t h o w t h i s f a c u l t y a c t u a l l y w o r k s . r e c e n t f i n d i n g s f r o m l e s i o n p a t i e n t s p o i n t t o t h e i n v o l v e m e n t o f t h e h i p p o c a m p u s in i m a g i n i n g n e w s c e n a r i o s . t h e h i p p o c a m p u s is h i s t o r i c a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h l o n g t e r m m e m o r y c o n s o l i d a t i o n , a n d m e m o r y m o d e l s a r i s i n g f r o m n e w f i n d i n g s in t h e m o l e c u l a r p a t h w a y s o f m e m o r y a l l o w f o r a m o r e f l u i d t r a n s i t i o n b e t w e e n i m a g i n a t i o n a n d m e m o r y . e l i z a b e t h l o f t u s ' f a m o u s s t u d i e s o f f a l s e e p i s o d i c m e m o r y r e c o v e r y f u r t h e r d e m o n s t r a t e o v e r l a p b e t w e e n i m a g i n e d a n d r e c a l l e d e v e n t s . f i n a l l y , a n f m r i s t u d y i s p r o p o s e d t o c o m p a r e b r a i n a c t i v i t y d u r i n g b o t h e p i s o d i c m e m o r y r e c a l l a n d t a s k s t h a t r e q u i r e i m a g i n a t i o n in o r d e r t o p i n p o i n t r e g i o n s f o r f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n . as the field of neuroscience expands, it is increasingly entering uncharted territory; the pieces of human experience that were once major arguments for cartesian dualism, including morality, foresight, and theory of mind, are quickly finding neural homes. paradigms and brain imaging technologies are becoming progressively more exacting, allowing cognitive scientists to investigate the brain regions and neural circuitry responsible for abstract and uniquely human traits. one of these traits is imagination, the ability to produce vividly detailed episodic events. recent studies of hippocampally-lesioned patients have shown that these injuries result in the inability to formulate new imaginative experiences,1 suggesting that these regions, classically linked with memory, are also necessary for imagination. new findings i n memory research have offered a modified memory model 1 1 suggesting a fluid continuum between real episodic memories and episodic imaginative experiences. the error-prone nature of episodic memories as evidenced by false memory experiments 1 1 1 supports the theory of a synonymous relationship between what is currently conceived as episodic memory and imagination. i n light of this evidence, we wi l l discuss a possible experimental paradigm that wi l l investigate similarities i n brain activity induced by episodic memory recall and the production of an imaginative narrative. imagin ing a dragon is a process wh ich likely occurs in t h e h ippocampus. episodic memory is a uniquely human trait that expresses information i n a detailed narrative fashion, coding for who, what, where, when, and why . l v v when conventional speech refers to 'memories', it is most likely referring to episodic memories. for example, recall a childhood memory, perhaps your first baseball game. you may remember stepping up to home plate, hearing your mom and dad cheer, and striking out in humiliation. perhaps you may remember the smell of the grass, the warm summer light, or the taste of the snacks back in the dug out. now imagine a completely fanciful event, perhaps a dragon attacking a ship full of vikings. again, you can hear the sea, taste the salt water, and feel the heat of the dragon's breath. as a final exercise, try integrating the two; while stepping up to the plate in your first baseball game, have a dragon stroll out into left field. ridiculous, perhaps, but this brief exercise illustrates that as far as the nature of the mental experience is concerned, imagination and episodic memory seem, i f only anecdotally, identical. although some nonhuman animals have displayed episodic-like memories,v 1 homo sapiens are the only known species to possess this ability.v 1 1 as one might surmise from the previous exercise, classical false memory studies have been able to modify, falsify, and even produce new fictitious memories of fantastic proportions. one of the more classical studies, by loftus, v m asked participants to recall a series of childhood memories that were given to the researchers by the participants' parents. during these sessions, the investigators would also ask the participants about having been lost i n the mall as a child, which the parents of the participants confirmed had never happened to their children. nonetheless the participants recalled confidently the fictitious event, even creating precise details. 1 x the suggested nature of episodic memory supports the fluid model, which integrates imagination and episodic memory, but an understanding of the underlying mechanism of memory production is necessary to further investigate this theory. memory is comprised of past events, but the function of memory is strictly future-based. a n e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 ever-changing environment behooves an organism to record responses in the chance that similar events occur in the future. in humans, the seat of memory is the hippocampus, a bilateral pair of horns that curl in the subcortical region of the brain, ending with the amygdala.x as lesion patient studies have shown, loss of the hippocampus results in profound short-term memory loss, as well as a deficit in the ability to create new long-term memories.x 1 the findings from these and other memory studies have led to the proposal of a memory model in which short-term memories, lasting from a few seconds to a few hours, are recorded i n the hippocampus and are later consolidated to the cortex as long-term memories, where they can remain for a l i fet ime. x 1 1 ' x 1 u synapses. subsequent co-activation of these two synapses further increases a m pa numbers unti l these neurons fire swiftly with the smallest synaptic activity.™ behaviorally, the pavlovian response is observed; if, for example, a rat hears the tone that is followed by an electric shock, it wi l l quickly behave in response to the tone as i f it were being shocked. the activation provided by the neurons responding to "tone", after a repeated exposure to the tone-shock pairing that induced long-term potentiation, is enough to elicit a shock response without co-stimulation. the manner in which the hippocampus codes for the information that comprises such memories remains unknown. however, injection of a protein synthesis inhibitor such as anisomycin during training sessions blocks "memory is comprised of past events, but the function of memory is strictly future-based. an ever-changing environment behooves an organism to record responses in the chance that similar events occur in the future." recent neurobiological research has challenged, or at least modified, this long-standing memory dogma. at the neural level, memory encoding begins with a process called long-term potentiation, in which the co-stimulation of a neuron by two separate neurons at the same time molecularly increases the efficiency by which that neuron can later be activated under a similar circumstance. x i v this coincidental strengthening is often referred to as hebb's law, expressed as "neurons that fire together, wire together." x v costimulation leads to molecular changes facilitated by magnesium ions and voltage-gated nmda channels, which respond to the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, causing an influx of calcium ions and, after a short metabolic pathway, protein synthesis that produces a m pa receptors that are inserted specifically in the activated the production of a m pa receptors, long-term potentiation, and subsequent memory of the association between tone and shock. x v n surprisingly, recent findings from nader x v m show that i f a protein synthesis inhibitor is injected when the learned behavior is recalled at a later date, the presentation of a tone long after the inhibitor has worn off wi l l elicit very little behavioral response. in effect, the memory is erased when it is recalled in the presence of a protein synthesis inhibitor. nader has proposed that instead of a shortterm and long-term memory system, memories are rather in a labile, active state or an inactive, consolidated state, and the process of consolidation and reconsolidation are practically identical. x l x r e m i n i s c i n g a n d d a y d r e a m i n g the study has caused much excitement and controversy in the psychology field due to its potential as a therapy to erase or dull traumatic memories, but it also raises questions as to the evolutionary selection of such a memory system. according to the active/inactive state memory model, every time a memory is recalled it is liable to be disrupted. the nature of this model seems very unstable, especially when one considers that those memories that are recalled the most are probably the most important. however the system seems highly evolutionarily conserved, with the same effects of protein synthesis inhibitors dulling or erasing behavioral memory responses i n rats, chickens, and crabs. x x the positive attribute of this system is that the labile state achieved i n recalling a memory allows it to be brought back to the mental drawing board, where it is open to editing. thus an individual can continually add to several memory scripts; a memory for "tone = shock = freeze" recalled to a labile state can easily have another stimulus added to it , increasing the efficiency of behavioral learning, a trait that could dramatically increase the survival of an individual. for example, a rat that remembers "tone = freeze" wi l l very quickly learn "light flash = freeze" when a light flash is placed directly before the tone/shock training. in humans, lesion patients without the facility of a hippocampus are unable to arrange remembered events in a correct order, supporting the idea of the hippocampus as the region responsible for the assembly of a memory narrative.™ it could also be possible that the only memories prone to error in an active/inactive memory model are episodic memories. memories are split into two categories: declarative and nondeclarative. declarative memories are further split into episodic and semantic memories, the latter of which deals with facts and certain language skills. nondeclarative, or implicit memories, record procedural memory, perceptual representation systems, classical conditioning, and nonassociative learning. x x i i few nonhuman animals display semantic memory capabilities, but the majority of cognoscente species have nondeclarative faculties.x x u 1 i n an active/inactive model of memory, the implicit information coded by these types of behavior, like a tone beep or the motions used for riding a bike, are unlikely to be falsely modified as the only equivalent data that can replace the coded information is derived from environmental stimuli. as we have seen from false memory studies, episodic memory seems to have the unique characteristic of being highly susceptible to thought-provoked reconsolidation error. interestingly, it wasn't unti l 2007 that hippocampus lesion patients were tested for their ability to create mental images in response to a verbal prompt . x x i v episodic memory production is practically nonexistent i n these individuals, and i f imagination is synonymous with episodic memory recall, one would expect to see retarded imaginative processes. compared to control individuals of the same age and iq, the responses of the amnesic patients were severely fragmented, labored, and non-descriptive, leading the research team to conclude that imagining new events was impossible for hippocampally-lesioned patients. to decisively test whether episodic memory and episodic imagery are the same wil l require a comparative study of brain activation during both tasks. before the experiment begins, participants wi l l be asked to send their parents a short questionnaire about events from their child's past. while lying i n a function magnetic resonance imaging (fmri) machine, the participants wi l l be prompted with either one of their childhood memories or an event that never occurred. they wil l then be asked to recall the event and mentally relive the experience, regardless of its validity. i f the prompt is of a familiar event, the participant wi l l be asked to recall the specific memory. i f the prompt doesn't ring a bell i n the mind of the participant, they wi l l be asked to imagine the event as i f it had truly occurred. for the comfort of the participant, the parents wi l l be asked for only positive events. the participants wi l l be told to be as vivid as possible in recalling the memory, and upon finishing the session, lasting only a few minutes, they wil l need to describe their mental responses. the participants wi l l also be asked to acknowledge which scenarios they recalled and e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 08 e n c o d i n g o f e p i s o d i c m e m o r i e s a c t i v a t e s n u m e r o u s parts o f t h e bra i n,as s e e n h e r e in t h i s s e r i e s o f mr i s . which they imagined occurring, and brain activities between these two groups wi l l be compared. past positron emission tomography (pet) studies have found different activations during the encoding and retrieval of episodic memories, x x v often termed 'hemispheric encoding-retrieval asymmetry > x x v 1. encoding activity has been shown to activate left prefrontal cortex and right hippocampal regions in the majority of individuals. retrieval has been shown to activate only the left prefrontal cortex, and i f imagining and episodic memory retrieval were of the same nature, one would expect similar activations. despite these illuminating results, the majority of the paradigms that produced these patterns of activation used single still images as cues, which are poor real world examples of episodic memory. the paradigm proposed here uses real autobiographical episodes rather than single images. also, retrieval required acknowledging familiarity when new and old images were presented to participants, while this proposed experiment requires a mental recount of each episodic event. although the cues used in these past experiments would qualify in content as episodic memories, they are poor examples of the powerfully expressive nature of human episodic memory. that being said, regions of activation could vary widely from these previous results in lateralization, but wi l l most likely still occur within the left prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate gyrus xxvii>xxviii other interesting considerations could be applied to further experiments; i f imagination and episodic memory utit h e brain u n d e r g o e s a complex process when ch ildren use the ir i m ag i n at ions. lize the same brain regions to function, does forcing one function hinder the production of the other? for instance, would accuracy in passive memory tasks decrease while a participant is daydreaming, or vice versa, while hippocampus activity remains the same? what roles do attention areas play in switching classically episodic regions from recording real life to reliving fictions? x x l x do these areas play a role in the dream production of rem sleep? the frontal lobes are known to play a large role in global brain activities, including working memory, novel object recognition, and planning for the future.30™*** 1 i f the frontal lobes are the region associated with baddeley's central executive, 5 0™ 1 is episodic memory one of the processes of a visuospatial sketchpad, the other being creative imagery? what role would the switch between the imagined and the real play i n a schizophrenic's notorious misinterpretations of imagined events? imagination is one of the cognitive abilities that, unt i l recently, most cognitive neuroscientists would not touch with a long pole; it reminds one too much of the ambiguously defined subsets of the dualist mind. with increased understanding of our species cognitive abilities, research scientists are quickly closing i n on subjects once left only to the discussions of philosophers. some of this research raises questions about the way we perceive imaginative processes. findings describing the neural basis for memory reconsolidation allow for a more fluid memory model that explains the errors notorious to episodic memory as seen in false memory studies. hippocampus lesion amnesiacs not only display a loss i n short-term memory and long-term memory production, but also the inability to create episodic narratives. as abstract as it may sound at e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 first, imagination is a concise cognitive ability that may be synonymous with episodic memory recall. understanding the mechanism underlying the similarities and differences between these two cognitive abilities could have implications in attention theories, rem dream theory, and memory models, as well as our perception of reality. e n d n o t e s i . hassabis (2007) i i . nader (2003) i i i . loftus (1997) iv. sudderdorf (2007) v. gazzaniga (2002) vi . gazzaniga (2002) v i i . sudderdorf (2007) v i i i . loftus (1997) ix. loftus (1997) x. gazzaniga (2002) xi . gazzaniga (2002) xi i . nader (2003) x i i i . gazzaniga (2002) xiv. frey & morris (1997) xv. gazzaniga (2002) xvi. frey & morris (1997) xvii. frey & morris (1997) xvii i . nader,(200o) xix. nader (2003) xx. nader (2003) xxi. shimamura (1990) xxii. gazzaniga (2002) xxiii . tulving (2005) xxiv. hassabis (2007) xxv. haxby (1996) xxvi. gazzaniga (2002) xxvii. cabeza (2003) xxviii. gazzaniga (2002) xxix. cabeza (2003) xxx. knight (1996) xxxi. henson (1999) xxxii. baddeley (1996) references baddeley, a. 1996. "exploring the central executive." the quarterly journal of experimental psychology 49a, 5-28. cabeza, r. et al. 2003. "attention-related activity during episodic memory retrieval: a cross-function fmri study." neuropsychologia 41, 390-399. frey, u. & morris, r. g. m . 1997. "synaptic tagging and longterm potentiation." nature 3 8 5, 5 3 3 5 3 6. gazzaniga, m . s. et al. 2002. cognitive neuroscience: the biology of the mind. 2nd ed. new york: w. w. norton & company. hassabis, d. et al. 2007. "patients wi th hippocampal amnesia cannot imagine new experiences." proc. of nat. asso. sci. 104, 1726-1731. haxby, j. v. al. 1996. "face encoding and recognition i n the human brain." proc. natl. acad. sci. 93, 922. henson, r. n. a. et al. 1999. "right prefrontal cortex and episodic memory retrieval: a functional mri test of the monitoring hypothesis." brain 122, 1367-1381. knight, r.t. 1996. "contribution of human hippocampal region to novelty detection." nature 383, 256-259. loftus, e. f. 1997. creating false memories. scientific american 277. nader, k. 2003. "memory traces unbound." trends in neurosciences 26, 65-72. nader, k. 2000. "fear memories require protein synthesis i n the amygdale for reconsolidation after retrieval." nature 406, 722-736. raby, c. r. et al. 2007. "planning for the future by western scrub-jays." nature 445, 919-921. sudderdorf, t. & corballis, m . c. "the evolution o f foresight: what is mental time travel and is it unique to humans?" behavioral and brain sciences 30. shimamura, a. p. et al. 1990. "memory for the temporal order of events i n patient w i t h frontal lobe lesions and amnesic patients." neuropsychologia 28, 813-813. scoville, w. b. & milner, b. 1957. "loss of recent memory after bilateral hippocampal lesions." journal of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry 20, 11-21. tulving, e. 2005. "episodic memory and autonoesis: uniquely human?" the missing link in cognition: origins of self-reflective conciousness. ed. terrace, h . s. & metcalfe, j: oxford university press. r e m i n i s c i n g a n d d a y d r e a m i n g after t h e fall! reevaluating whiteness in j.m. coetzee's disgrace brady sm ith i n l i g h t of t h e u n f a v o r a b l e way i n w h i c h m a n y w h i t e s o u t h a f r i c a n s h a v e reacted to black m a j o r i t y rule i n c o n t e m p o r a r y s o u t h a f r i c a , t h e r e has been a t e n d e n c y to read j . m . coetzee's 1999 n o v e l disgrace as a c o n d e m n a t i o n of t h e s o c i a l d i s r u p t i o n t h a t has c h a r a c t e r i z e d s o u t h a f r i c a n life s i n c e 1994. w h i l e t h e n o v e l c e r t a i n l y expresses a degree of u n e a s e over t h e p o l i t i c a l l y p r e c a r i o u s s i t u a t i o n of w h i t e s i n t h e new s o u t h a f r i c a , s u c h r e a d i n g s t e n d to i g n o r e t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s of b o t h t h e n o v e l a n d t h e p o l i t i c s of life after a p a r t h e i d . rather t h a n a n attack t h a t describes w h i t e life as n o w e s s e n t i a l ly i m p o s s i b l e , i try to u n de rstan d disc race as a m e d i t a t i o n o n t h e m e a n i n g of w h i t e n e s s i n t h e new s o u t h a f r i c a , o n e t h a t seeks to leave b e h i n d t h e racist a n d i m p e r i a l i s t d i s c o u r s e s t h a t p r e v i o u s l y d e f i n e d w h i t e n e s s as a s o c i a l i d e n t i t y . i n t r o d u c t i o n racial segregation has existed in south africa in various forms from the arrival of the first dutch settlers i n 1652. it was not unti l the 1930s, however, that a growing afrikaner intelligentsia began articulating a system of strict racial separation that would, i n theory, allow for the self-determination of coherent racial groups within their own politicalcultural space while at the same time providing an assurance that afrikaner identity would not be threatened by the assimilationist tendencies of a modern capitalist economy. 1 the institutionalization of south african identities began in earnest after the 1948 elections in which the afrikaner nationalist party won a majority of seats in parliament and thus seized control of the government under prime minister d.f malan." within two years of the nationalist victory, the new government enacted the prohibition of mixed marriages act, the immorality act, the population registration act and the group areas act, all of which sought to control interaction among races and in doing so ensured the privileged place of south africa's minority white population for decades to come. 1" it is not at all surprising, then, to witness the tremendous anxiety of many whites in the aftermath of south africa's transition to democracy. i f apartheid as a system sought to separate races and distribute rights along the hierarchical model enshrined in the south african union, it also sought to do so along the lines of power, something from which all whites i n south africa benefited whether they agreed with apartheid or not. thus the decline of apartheid is necessarily a challenge to the whiteness it helped to so clearly define. "south africans, willingly or unwillingly, successfully or unsuccessfully, are engaged i n one of the most profound collective psychological adjustments happening i n the contemporary world," writes melissa steyn in "whiteness just isn't what i t used to be" a study of whiteness in south africa after transition. i v those cited in her study frequently speak with anger at the fact that whiteness, formerly a sign of power, has become, in their eyes, a sign of vulnerability. "a few years ago," writes one rather short-sighted respondent, "being white did not have a serious affect on my life, but it is beginning to have an effect now." v e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 it is in the context of this reevaluation of whiteness in the new south africa that i want to consider j.m. coetzee's 1999 novel disgrace. while attacked as racist by south africa's ruling african national congress, the novel has been widely acclaimed elsewhere as a scathing indictment of the treatment of whites under anc rule. v i these readings, however, have by and large ignored the complexities of what is a profound and telling meditation on the meaning of whiteness in postcolonial south africa. v i i the novel, as david attwell notes, is written with a strong sense of 'post-ness,' a term he uses to describe the post-apartheid, postcolonial and, importantly, post-historical mood pervading i t . v m i n this environment coetzee traces the relationship between david lurie, a former cape town university english professor, and his daughter lucy in the aftermath of a brutal attack that leaves h i m literally burned and she reeling from a vicious rape. here we see not only a father and daughter trying to come to grips with a horrific trauma, but the attempt of two separate conceptions of whiteness to negotiate the radically altered power relations of postcolonial south africa and to forge an identity commensurate with life in this new society. through an examination of the interactions between the two, and in particular their private responses to lucy's rape, it becomes clear that, while whiteness is not a barrier to life in south africa after apartheid, as an identity its existence cannot continue on the terms of whiteness as historically constituted. while the theoretical implications of the fragmentation of apartheid's attempt at strict cultural borders wi l l always be complicated by south africa's complex social and economic realities, disgrace i l lustrates how the decline of apartheid is also the decline of whiteness as rigorously defined along the lines of western modernity. power a n d s u b j e c t i v i t y from the outset david lurie appears as an individual thoroughly defined through the discourse of this modernity and thus, for coetzee, one thoroughly implicated in a legacy of sexism, racism and imperialism. but there also exists a tension between lurie's identity, which is constituted through power, and the power relations of the new south africa which continually frustrate his attempts at realizing his own subjectivity. after a failed relationship with a prostitute named soraya, lurie turns his attentions to one of his students, a girl named melanie. in his first attempt at seducing her he tells her that she should give herself up "because a woman's beauty does not belong to her alone. it is part of the bounty she brings to the world. she has a duty to share i t . " l x this "bounty" is something lurie eventually decides to seize for himself when, in a troubling display of the relationship between power and lurie's status as a subject, he arrives unannounced at her home. here coetzee's choice to relate the story through a close third-person narrator allows h i m to relate lurie's thoughts and feelings while simultaneously commenting on them through the language he uses to do so. the scene is carefully described in the language of domination even though lurie, drawing on a western poetic tradition thoroughly awash in sexuality, bathes it in the language of desire. "strange love!" he thinks to himself as she crumples before h im, unable to rebuff his advance. "yet from the quiver of aphrodite, goddess of the foaming waves, no doubt about that." x yet no matter how fully he masks his urge towards power in flowery language he cannot, in the aftermath of his desire, ignore something of its underlying motivations. "not rape, not quite like that," coetzee writes, inhabiting lurie: but undesired nevertheless, undesired to the core. as though she had decided to go slack, die within herself for the duration, like a rabbit when the jaws of the fox close on its neck. so that everything that might be done to her might be done, as it were, far away.xl here the language of domination with which coetzee paints lurie seems to coincide, i f only briefly, with lurie's own momentary realizations about himself. the image of the crumpled marionette in which coetzee communicates lurie's actions at the beginning of the scene matches the image of the rabbit submitting, at the end of the chase, to the fox that wi l l consume the rabbit and further his own existence. the image thus suggests that whatever knowledge lurie gains about the relationship between power and his after t h e fall: r e e v a l u a t i n g w h i t e n e s s i n j . m . coetzee's disgrace own subjectivity, it is only significant by way of clarifying, not altering, the mode of his existence. the fox, after all, needs to eat. in the new south africa, however, the women upon whom lurie has preyed are endowed with the power to resist. while his previous falling out with soraya, the prostitute, was a purely private affair, melanie is a student and thus the incident is thrust into the public eye. lurie suddenly finds himself subordinated to the judgment of the community and a panel of colleagues established to decide his fate. in the absence of the power structures that once made possible lurie's sexual antics he is left vulnerable, i n particular, to the women whose subordination has hitherto underwritten his identity. lurie, in short, is put at the mercy of a radically new order. though the university is prepared to offer leniency, lurie, out of nothing more than stubbornness, refuses to cooperate and resigns. lurie's move to his daughter's small landholding i n the fields of the eastern cape is not, as it initially appears, a retreat from the complexities of life in postcolonial south africa. the primary importance of this shift from the cosmopolitan city to the site of south africa's historical frontier lies in coetzee's utilization of the conceptual space implied in the term 'frontier,' the space in which whiteness as a modern, western identity was formed in the crucible of colonial experience. this shift, then, involves for coetzee an appropriation of the historical relationship between european and african—one defined, by and large, by violence—in the service of a re-inscription of whiteness. though separated from the increasingly urban life of contemporary south africa, the countryside forms, i n the context of the novel, a theoretical blank slate upon which a new culture is to be formed. the drama that plays out on and around lucy's tiny strip of land is thus the drama of a south african future, one defined, at its inception, by lucy's brutal rape. "a h i s t o r y of w r o n g " it is in the aftermath of this attack that the relationship between father and daughter becomes a proxy for the decline of one conception of whiteness and the rise to prominence of another. the attack, in which both lucy and her father are brutalized, signifies, in the course of coetzee's examination of whiteness, a fundamental caesura in its history as a social identity in south africa. indeed in the aftermath of the fire that ravages lurie's face and head, coetzee deploys the perfective, in the words of attwell a "syntactic marker of aspect" that signifies an action carried through to its conclusion, and in particular one that "lies i n the recent, rather than the distant past." x l i coetzee writes "save for a patch over one ear, he seems to have no hair; his whole scalp is tender. everything is tender, everything is burned. burned, b u r n t . " x m the fire that marks coetzee's most straightforward attack on the character he criticizes throughout also announces the passage into a new kind of 'post-ness,' to borrow the term attwell uses to describe the effect of the perfective, one in which lurie wi l l face an irreversible decline. lurie's reaction to the attack is defined throughout by the way in which its implications contest his own status as a subject insofar as it is constituted through a power whose continued efficacy the attack calls into question. in the face of his inability to control the situation he posits the attack as inevitable, the result of a deterministic historical process over which individual human beings can have no control even though the post-historical mood coetzee utilizes negates such a sense of history from the outset. " i t was so personal. it was done with such personal hatred," lucy tells h im, trying to come to terms with her attack, "....why did they hate me so? i had never set eyes on them." x ' v though it is not clear that the question is one lucy meant to be answered, lurie does so anyway. " i t was history speaking through them," he tells her. "a history of wrong. think of it that way, i f it helps. it may have seemed personal, but it wasn't. it came down from the ancestors."x v but however inevitable he views the violence of the new south africa as being, it is not something he sees as justifiable, tolerable, or wholly attributable to the history of vioe l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 lence defining the history of european colonialism in africa. the attack, for lurie, was a fundamental assault on his identity; and unable to uphold that identity through direct and overt expressions of power he continually conceptualizes his african counterparts, regardless of their relationship to those who attacked h im, as inherently barbaric. as he is beaten by his attackers, lurie imagines himself to be alone in a savage, foreign land about to be turned into a meal by the cannibals who besiege him: he speaks italian, he speaks french, but italian and french will not save him here in darkest africa. he is helpless, an aunt sally, a figure from a cartoon, a missionary in cassock and topi waiting with clasped hands and upcast eyes while the savages jaw away in their own lingo preparatory to plunging him into their boiling cauldron. mission work: what has it left behind, that huge enterprise of uplifiment? nothing that he can see. x v l the statement regarding lurie's linguistic prowess can be read equally as lurie's own admission of his utter alienation from the new south africa, a place he views as "dark" in the traditional colonial sense and as an instance of the narrator mocking lurie and his latent racism at the moment his disempowerment is realized. coetzee's final line, "nothing that he can see," however, is somewhat easier to grasp insofar as it is a sign that the question is lurie's own. still the question itself can be read in one of two ways. the suggestion that the missionary activity whose language he utilizes in describing his attack ultimately failed in its mission of upliftment could be, perhaps, an acknowledgment of the role violence and oppression in counteracting the benefits it sought to accrue. another reading, however, sees lurie as negating the possibility of "civilizing" african peoples because they are, in a very real way, prone to violence in a way that westerners are not. lurie's relationship with lucy's xhosa neighbors suggests that the latter is more accurate. suspecting petrus, lucy's neighbor, of being involved i n the attack, lurie generates a conspiracy theory in which petrus, i f he does not plan it, allows the attack to occur with the goal of forcing lucy off her land. yet, he qualifies this theory in another instance in which he sees violence as endemic to black south africa and not a product of the conditions under which it has existed for nearly 350 years: the real truth, he suspects, is something far more—he casts around for the word—anthropological—something it would take months to get to the bottom of months of patient, unhurried conversation with dozens of people, and the offices of an interpreter. x v i i the narrator's use of "he" to refer to lurie i n the passage indicates fairly clearly that the ideas in question belong to lurie, preserving distance between narrator and character i n a passage that would otherwise muddle the ideological rift coetzee has worked to create between narrator and protagonist. for lurie the savages preparing to burn h i m alive "mission work: what has it left behind, that huge enterprise of upliftment? nothing that he can see." are not an aberration but an essential part of the cultural fabric of southern africa. not only does the attack have meaning in the historical sense, it has a logic rooted in the anthropological foundations of african life. violence takes on the meaning of a "tribal" gesture he cannot so immediately understand but whose meaning can be uncovered in the course of careful research. thus petrus, his family and the xhosa people who live near them in the eastern cape are reduced to objects ultimately under lurie's own intellectual control. after t h e f a l l : r e e v a l u a t i n g w h i t e n e s s i n j . m . coetzee's disgrace p o s t c o l o n i a l perspective lurie's racist and typically colonial assumptions and presuppositions about the attack i n particular and life on the frontier generally are, i n almost every instance, countered by those of lucy, who is unburdened by the rigid constraints of her father's identity and possesses a particular connection to south africa that he does not. confronted by the complexities of the new south africa, lurie's first instinct is to return to the europe with which he so deeply identifies. "lucy, it could be so simple," he tells her. "close down the kennels. do it at once. lock up the house, pay petrus to guard it. take a break for six months or a year unti l things have improved i n this country. " x v i i i the assumption that flight to europe is a viable option is itself informed by the assumption that lurie and his daughter are essentially european but lucy, from the outset, is not. her concern is for her relationship with the south africa she sees as home: " i f i leave now, david," she says, calling h i m by his first name, " i won't come back. thank you for the offer, but it won't work. there is nothing you can suggest that i haven't been through a hundred times myself. " x i x this insistence on negotiating her identity as both white and south african governs the whole of her response to the attack. her distance from the europe of her father is also a distance from the fractious and destabilizing sense of identity he possesses. she refuses to deal with the abstractions she locates firmly within her father's system of thought: "be sensible," he tells her, trying to dictate her actions i n terms of his own logic. "things have changed, we can't just pick up where we left off," he says, sensing the shift announced in the attack. when lucy asks why he tells her simply "because it's not a good idea. because it's not safe." lurie speaks with an obvious ignorance his daughter immediately corrects. " i t was never safe," she reminds h im, "and it's not an idea, good or bad. i 'm not going back for the sake of an idea. i 'm just going back."** lucy's insistence on remaining in south africa and forging an identity commensurate with its post-apartheid, postcolonial and post-historical structures of power lead her to what, in her father's eyes, are incomprehensible extremes. lucy's consistent evasiveness with regards to whether or not she took the "appropriate measures" to avoid pregnancy culminates in the realization that not only is she pregnant, but she intends on keeping the child of her attacker. the difference between lucy and her father, and the difference between their disparate conceptions of whiteness, are exhibited even more clearly in the final resolution to the question of lucy's security at her rural home. petrus, whose own kin, it is realized, is one of rapists, ultimately proposes marriage, something lurie views as insanity. it is another instance in which the subject-object distinction structuring lurie's overtly western relationship to power enforces rigid and interminable conflict. "you wi l l marry lucy. explain to me what you mean," he fumes, unable to process the widely divergent meanings of marriage in western and xhosa culture. "no, wait, rather don't explain. this is not something i want to hear. this is not how we do things," lurie tells petrus. coetzee, emphasizing the unbridgeable difference between the two men and the cultures defining them, adds "we: he is on the point of saying, we westerners."™ lucy's manifestly diffuse, hybrid conception of whiteness, however, refuses to see things i n the terms of such a rigidly binary logic. " i don't believe you get the point, david" she {[lucy] never ceases, of course, to be white, but her imminent assimilation into the power structures of the new south africa drastically augments the meaning of the term." elem ents s p r i n g 06 tells her father. "petrus is not offering me a church wedding followed by a honeymoon on the wild coast. he is offering an alliance, a deal. i contribute the land, i n return for which i am allowed to creep under his wing. otherwise, he wants to remind me, i am without protection, i am fair game." x x n the narrator remains oddly silent for most of the exchange, allowing the debate between lucy and her father to speak for itself; however, as it becomes clear that lucy wi l l accept petrus's offer, coetzee reinserts the narrative voice. while the tone of the passage suggests that it should be aligned with lurie's own hopelessness about the place of whites i n the new south africa, coetzee leaves it empty of anything to indicate that the opinion is solely that of lurie, suggesting, at the very least, an undercurrent of unease on the part of the narrator: more and more she has begun to look like one of those women who shuffle around the corridors of nursing homes whispering to themselves. why should petrus bother to negotiate? she cannot last: leave her alone and in due course she will fall like rotten fruit.xxiii lucy's acceptance of petrus' offer announces, in effect, the impossibility of whiteness as a rigorously defined social identity i n a south african context. she never ceases, of course, to be white, but her imminent assimilation into the power structures of the new south africa drastically augments the meaning of the term. she becomes, in the truest—and perhaps most troubling—sense of the term, a white south african, one whose subjectivity is no longer constituted through a relation of domination but one whose identity exists in a state of true hybridity alongside a plethora of other new, post-apartheid identities. lucy becomes a part of a transitional new south african culture in which the former distinctions have no relevance. marrying into the family of one who raped her, she admits, is not dignifying or a thing done without fear, but insofar as her aim, as she says, is to stay on, to forge an existence in postcolonial south africa, it does not seem that there is any other choice. her father, at least, represents the utter impossibility of the alternative being a purely western existence, insofar as the term has been defined throughout south africa's long colonial history. as long as the term "postcolonial south africa" signifies a place in which the terms "white" and "power" are theoretically disengaged lurie, whose subjectivity, as we have seen, is constituted through domination, can have no legitimate place within it. this is depicted nowhere as powerfully than in what comes to be one of his primary distractions, the writing of an opera based on the life of one of byron's ex-lovers, an overweight, middle-aged woman named teresa. alone with only a handful of love letters to console herself she longs for the return of her lost lover. "come! come to me, i plead, my byron!" she calls. 5 0™ the character, with which lurie increasing identifies, becomes by the end of the novel nothing less than the projection of lurie's dispossessed self in its necessarily female form. byron, in this context, takes on the position of the west itself, long dead, leaving nothing but a pile of paper and a few dejected lovers. teresa's longing for byron is lurie's longing for the west, a culture that in its clearly defined form has vanished from the african continent. c o n c l u s i o n this sense of dispossession has, by and large, defined white responses to the politics of south africa after apartheid. many young people claim that jobs are difficult to come by, many professionals claim to have been arbitrarily replaced by less experience, less qualified black employees and many whites have followed lurie's suggestion to his daughter emigrate, frequently to britain or australia. x x v and as i have already said, this sense of dispossession has largely defined responses to coetzee's novel and to related examinations of the new south africa i n general. indeed to paint the country as i t exists today in broadly optimistic terms would be to grossly misrepresent the situation there. while whites still enjoy relative privilege, the country's sizable african population labors in poverty, suffering from continuing violence, the hiv/aids epidemic and living in an economy that offers few opportunities beyond mining for the legions of unskilled workers apartheid left behind. after t h e fall: r e e v a l u a t i n g w h i t e n e s s i n j . m . coetzee's d i s g r a c e just as it would be a disservice to paint the new south african in utopian terms, it would not be correct to call disgrace, in most senses, an optimistic novel. but there exists, nonetheless, a glimmer of hope i n its pages that in postcolonial africa an inclusive, hybrid and non-oppositional culture can be formed that erases the rigid social divides erected in the preceding centuries. the collapse of the apartheid regime brought about the decline of whiteness as an institutionalized sign of superiority, laying the groundwork for a democratic, cosmopolitan south africa i n which the power relations inscribed by apartheid become, in theory at least, impossible to uphold. this shift in power relations, this impossibility of whiteness as historically constituted marks a fundamental challenge to the concept of identity as constituted through expressions of power. i f so then we find in the structure of truly postcolonial societies, for all their difficulties, the kernel of a world i n which subjectivity is not a function of power and in which difference is not a cause of confrontation. thus in lucy we see, at the novel's end, the expectant mother of a new nation, a new order at the threshold of its being. e n d n o t e s i "afrikaner" is the term used to describe afrikaans-speaking south africans of dutch colonial ancestry. the brutality of the anglo-boer war, fought between british and afrikaner forces between 1899-1902, instilled i n the descendents of south africa's original colonizers a deep sense of animosity towards the british, wi th whom they were forced to live as inferiors i n the racially stratified south african union that was formed i n 1910. at the beginning of the twentieth century, british south africans controlled almost all of south africa's rapidly emerging industrial economy, an economy i n which afrikaners found themselves not only subordinated to their british counterparts but constantly i n competition wi th black migrant workers imported to labor i n south africa's mines f rom all over southern africa. the communal memory of the anglo-boer war, which killed some 75,000 people and saw thousands of afrikaner men, women, and children confined to british concentration camps, coupled with an emerging sense of powerlessness i n a growing industrial economy forged a potent afrikaner nationalism that grew dramatically i n the early part of the twentieth century. louw (28) i i davenport and saunders (369) i i i davenport and saunders (378). the prohibition of mixed marriages act (1949), as the name suggests, outlawed marriages between members of different racial groups. it was supplemented by the immorality act (1950) which outlawed sexual intercourse between unmarried couples of different racial backgrounds. the population registration act (1950) assigned every south african to a specific racial group. the group areas bill (1950) allowed the government to reserve residential and business districts for specific racial groups, paving the way for forced removals that uprooted nearly 30 m i l l i o n people throughout the national party's tenure, iv steyn (xxi) v steyn (69) vi a n anc representative, speaking before south africa's human rights commission i n 200, cited disgrace i n a speech on the problem of racism i n the south african media. nonetheless the novel won coetzee an unprecedented second booker prize and likely secured his nobel prize i n 2003. the text of the anc complaint can be accessed at http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/misc/2000/spo405.html v i i see for example "darkness i n the rainbow nation," david sexton. yorkshire post. 14 october 1999; "why we r u n away f r o m the harsh truth about south africa?" anne mcelvoy. the independent. 28 october 1999; "braving cape fear." trevor royle. the herald. 18 july 1999; "crying for the beloved country." the sunday times. 31 october 1999; "is there a future for the white tribe of africa?" fergal keane. the independent. 22 v i i i attwell (865) ix coetzee (16) x coetzee (25) xi coetzee (25) x i i attwell (865) x i i i coetzee (97) xiv coetzee (156) xv coetzee (156) xvi coetzee (95) xvii coetzee (95) xvi i i coetzee (157) xvix coetzee (157) xx coetzee (105) xxi coetzee (203) xxii coetzee (203) xxii i coetzee (203) xxiv coetzee (213) xxv coetzee himself, not long after disgrace appeared i n south africa, left his job as professor of english at the university of cape town and moved to australia. references attwell, david. 2001 "coetzee and post-apartheid south africa." journal of southern african studies. 27 (4), pp. 865-867, december. coetzee, j.m. disgrace. 1999. new york: penguin davenport, rodney and saunders, christopher. 2000. south africa: a modern history. new york: st. martin's press louw, p. eric. 2004. the rise, fall and legacy of apartheid. london: praeger steyn, melissa. 2001. "whiteness just isn't what it used to be":white identity i n a changing south africa. albany: state university of new york press. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 0 6 http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/misc/2000/spo405.html a p r e v e n t a t i v e a p p r o a c h to m a l a r i a : some preliminary considerations em i ly h. roh f o r t y o n e percent of t h e w o r l d ' s p o p u l a t i o n is c u r r e n t l y at risk for m a l a r i a . t h i s d i s e a s e , spread v i a m o s q u i t o s , is especially p r o m i n e n t i n dev e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s . alt h o u g h we h a v e c o m e a l o n g way i n o u r k n o w l e d g e of m a l a r i a a n d a t t e m p t s to f i n d drugs to c o m b a t it, t h e a b i l i t y of t h e m a l a r i a plasmodium to a d a p t to t r e a t m e n t is p r o b l e m a t i c . c h l o r o q u i n e a n d d d t , t w o f o r m e r l y effective c o m p o u n d s , h a v e a l r e a d y been r e n d e r e d useless. t h i s m a k e s p r e v e n t i t i v e a p p r o a c h e s , s u c h as e d u c a t i o n , especially i m p o r t a n t . i n t r o d u c t i o n epidemics like malaria strike on a large and seemingly uncontrollable scale. while it is often difficult to comprehend the notion of eradicating such widespread diseases, recognizing the connection between humans, nature, and the diseases themselves is an essential first step. like many other infectious diseases, malaria has had devastating effects on both public health and the economy. because of the incredible adaptability of the mosquito and its anthropophilic tendencies, methods for slowing the spread of the disease should not only include treatments with drugs and pesticides but also involve the education of those at risk as well as of those treating the disease. it is not enough to simply address the biological mechanisms of malaria, of the mosquitoes that spread it , or of its victims. humans, mosquitoes, their respective natural and social environments, and the interaction among all of these factors must also be strongly considered. t h e o r g a n i s m b e h i n d i t a l l malaria is caused by plasmodia (single-celled and usually microscopic) parasites. there are hundreds of species of plasmodium parasites each of which infects specific vertebrate hosts. among these, four particular species infect human beings: plasmodium vivax (p. vivax), plasmodium malariae (p. malariae), plasmodium ovale (p. ovale), and plasmodium falciparum (p. falciparum). of these four species, plasmodium falciparum is responsible for most deaths, whereas other species of the parasite, although not as fatal, cause high morbidity and affect national economies. the less deadly species have an impact on economies for logical reasons: the presence of the vector i n the population may not k i l l nearly as many people as p. falciparum does, but i t does damage the health of the working population. not being able to work means less production which discourages trade and business both locally and internationally. i n s i d e t h e h u m a n b o d y the malaria parasite enters the human host when an infected mosquito takes her blood meal. the parasite inside the mosquito is transmitted into the human blood through her saliva, which she injects into the flesh as she sucks her meal. the parasite, as a sporozoite, reaches the liver where it invades liver cells. inside the liver cells it changes into round forms called merozoites, which are released into the blood to invade red blood cells. inside the red blood cells they multiply into more merozoites and are finally released. the cyclical development and release of the parasite in blood cells causes the disease malaria. the falciparum malaria makes the infected red blood cell sticky, causing them aggregate to the endothelial wall of the blood vessels. this can block blood flow in small capillaries and can cause cerebral thrombosis, which essentially is the formation of a blood clot in an artery supplying the brain with blood. this gradually cuts off the blood supply to that particular area of the brain and causes a stroke, often leading to death. sometimes, some parasites in humans can go on to transform i n a sexual stage and become a gametocyte. when a mosquito then feeds on the infested blood of the infected individual, the parasite enters the mosquito as a gametocyte. gametocytes live inside the red blood cells of a mosquito and emerge from it. here, sexual fertilization occurs, and the union of two gametes forms a zygote. the zygote transforms into a slug-like structure called an ookinete. the ookinete then egresses from a mass of blood called the bolus and crosses the mosquito's intestinal wall. it remains attached to the intestine and grows as a cyst, now becoming an oocyst. inside the oocyst the parasite multiplies a thousand-fold of sporozoites. the sporozoite is the form into which the parasite develops to invade the salivary glands. p h y s i c a l s y m p t o m s the release of the parasite from the red blood cells coincides with the violent rises in body temperature during the fever attacks commonly seen in malaria. the body tempere l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 ature can reach an astonishing 106 degrees fahrenheit. however, this massive fever is preceded first by a series of other unmistakable symptoms. andrew spielman's book, mosquito, gives a very vivid account of the body under attack by this debilitating disease: seven to fourteen days after an infecting bite, malaria begins with a chill that spreads like jack frost on a windowpane. the victim's skin becomes pallid, and shaking begins. then the cold plunges to the body's core and deep tremors called rigors come in waves. though weakened by the disease, a man who feels the ice of malaria will shake with a violence that can propel an iron bed across the floor. completely out of the victim's conscious control, the spasms are the body's vain attempt to generate the heat. of course, the man, woman, or child who lies in the parasite's grip soon comes to understand that fever will inevitably follow the chill, and bring the next stage of suffering. the fever from malaria...brings a sweat so profuse that doctors can almost see the droplets forming on the patient's forehead. they certainly see the rivulets that run down the temples and onto the pillow. the bedclothes and sheets of the malaria victim become soaked with salty perspiration that is the by-product of the body's valiant effort to cool and protect the vital organs. death is usually unavoidable for those who are physically weakened by age or previous illnesses. the dying decay physically while their red blood cells, made sticky by the parasite, form into a plaque that clogs the vascular system and starves the brain. most cases usually follow the common pattern of lethargy, delirium, and then coma. unfortunately, those who have survived the initial episode of malaria are not necessarily cured of it; the progeny of the original parasites can remain in the body for months or years. they are usually held under control by the body's immune system, but any cause of decline of the immune function can trigger the disease to return in all its virulence. trans m i t t a n c e malaria was originally thought to have originated i n rancid marshes; hence mal aria is an italian phrase meaning "bad air." contrary to early understanding, however, it was actually a result of little creatures in the air which had been no more than an outdoor nuisance. i n fact, many people did not realize that this minute insect was responsible for a worldwide epidemic. malaria is transmitted to humans by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito, which i n turn needs human blood to nurture her eggs. anopheles mosquitoes mainly hunt for blood between dusk and dawn. though some may feed at other times of the night, rarely are they around during the bright, sunny parts of the day. this is an immense benefit to the mosquitoes, especially in countries like africa, because it gets cooler between dusk and dawn. people usually sit outside and rest or eat after a long day of work in the sun, making a buffet of human blood available to the mosquitoes. however, these insects are not only found in hot, dry climates like that of africa because they can thrive anywhere from temperate to tropical climates, from europe to south africa. they can breed in any area with high humidity where there is warmth and a relatively permanent source of water. distinguishing an uninfected mosquito from an infected mosquito cannot be done easily,1 but now there are molecular techniques available to detect malariainfected mosquitoes within a population. a p r e v e n t a t i v e a p p r o a c h to m a l a r i a : s o m e p r e l i m i n a r y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a s p r e a d i n g t h r e a t malaria has had an effect on human history since ancient times. in ancient china, men would arrange for the remarriage of their wives i f they ever planned to travel to malarious areas; alexander the great is thought to have died in 323 b.c. as a victim of malaria; the city of carthage was known to be plagued by malaria during the time of christ; malaria probably defended western europe from falling into the hands of genghis khan. despite its profound existence since the very first human beings, malaria was carried, undetectedly, by mosquitoes unti l the 1890s. today, approximately 41 percent of the world's population, mostly those living i n the world's poorest countries, is at risk of contracting malaria. 1 1 "developed countries are likely to stay malaria-free," said professor andrew haines of the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. any outbreaks would be scattered cases, from insects unwittingly stowed away on airplanes. countries currently most at risk are i n the third world or at the fringes where healthcare systems are weak. some studies say malaria may reach higher altitudes i n mountainous areas of developing countries. 1 1 however, the malaria epidemic could easily become an international issue. while the improvement and success of many national economies is a result of globalization, the fading of geographical barriers introduces malaria vectors to vulnerable areas and drains those national economies. when malaria hits, it leaves the region's economy damaged. sick people are unable to work; crops and other goods are ruined and left abandoned for fear that they are swarming with the parasites and wi l l affect the remaining healthy population. the community may be forced to evacuate the area and populate other regions originally free of malaria. unfortunately, those displaced introduce the parasite to more unprotected people. human carriers of the disease often show no symptoms, and when they move into previously malaria-free areas, the mosquitoes that bite them can pick up the parasite and go on to transmit it to other people. the chain of events can lead to a debilitating drop in the region's economy, which makes it difficult for the residents to afford the proper medication and treatment, which then leads to more sickness and death. the cycle continues as malaria spreads, ultimately becoming an international economic issue in this age of globalization. malaria is also spread to unprotected communities through the increasing popularity and ease of overseas travel. infected mosquitoes may be introduced to new areas by being transported in planes or ships, or the parasite can be introduced to a new area via infected but asymptomatic returning travelers and foreign visitors. this is similar to how many of the immune african slaves unknowingly brought yellow fever to the west, or how the europeans introduced foreign diseases that wiped out entire indigenous populations in the new world. it illustrates human means of transportation as an aide to the longer-distance journeys of the mosquito across borders and over oceans. malaria made its way to the united states through the importation and exportation of certain materials. these materials were then redistributed to other formerly non-malarious parts of the world, thus continuing the spread of malaria. the journey of aedes albopictus (the asian tiger mosquito) is an example of how a species of mosquito, though non-malarious, can come into the united states. anopheles mosquitoes that carry malaria may have made their way to the united states in a similar manner. the asian tiger mosquito arrived i n the u.s. in the late 1970s because the u.s. began to import many used tires from asia, where recapping worn tires and reusing them is illegal. however, reusing tires is not illegal in u.s. the tires were shipped to houston, the tire recapping capital of the world, along with their unwelcome guests. mosquito larvae were present in water that had pooled in these tires, while their eggs adhered to the inside walls of the tire. this type of mosquito usually breeds i n water-filled cavities, like rot holes i n trees. thus, when humans began to save used tires, mosquitoes found the most ideally textured and the most perfectly simulated tree hole. since it is difficult to e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 0 6 empty used tires of the water inside them, they make the perfect mosquito maternity wards. roughly four billion old tires are piled up on the american landscape today, with millions more being added every year. due to the fact that many of the tires that arrive in houston are redistributed worldwide, there is no stopping the spread of the asian tiger mosquito. fortunately, malaria i n the united states was only a close call, although that does not mean that malaria wi l l not be able to strike again with worse consequences. the largest single factor that allowed the defeat of malaria in the united states seems to be the tennessee valley authority (tva), which designed every water project to l imit mosquito breeding. dams, irrigation networks, power systems, and drainage projects were built i n the most malarious parts of the south. where standing water could not be avoided, it was monitored for anopheline larvae, and larvicides, which are insecticides that float just on or under the fi lm on the water's surface, were applied. these larvicides destroy anopheline larvae easily because an anopheles mosquito feeds on material that is directly associated with the surface and breathes through two pores located at the end of its abdomen, which is kept in close contact with the water surface. as shown by the tva, civilization and the productive use of land can be beneficial not only to the health and wealth of the inhabitants, but also an effective way to keep the malaria epidemics at bay. however, other cases show that mosquitoes, no matter what the circumstances, malarial or not, constantly adapt to new environments. this poses an incredibly difficult challenge to overcoming malaria. the introduction of artificial containers to the environment was a great benefit to the tree-hole mosquito. these insects prefer any small openings in which water can be collected. in our throwaway society, discarded food containers that accumulate near houses can serve as tree-hole replicas where a mature female mosquito can readily find sources of blood needed for egg production. ultimately, people supply the mosquito with all she needs: artificial, water-collecting tree holes and a blood supply. although this particular case does not involve the anopheles species in particular, it indicates how mosquitoes have learned to survive among us. in the early 1880s, the french attempted a canal project to connect the atlantic and pacific. the failure of this project unlocked some of the mosquitoes' secrets: the camps built to house the panama canal workers were probably the best in the tropics. but because mosquitoes were considered nothing more than a nuisance, screens were one luxury that was not indulged. in time, the barracks and even the hospitals built for construction workers became feeding areas for local mosquitoes. the french aided the insects' breeding as well, by decorating their compounds with lavish gardens where pottery rings filled with water were used to protect hundreds of trees from ants. these rings teemed with mosquito larvae.w a p r e v e n t a t i v e a p p r o a c h to m a l a r i a : s o m e p r e l i m i n a r y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s another example of precautions to be considered in housing appears i n parts of africa. andrew spielman, a leading malariologist at the harvard school of public health, explained in a conversation that maize fields around african homes serve as locations for mosquitoes to be closer to their human feed. mosquitoes use the maize pollen as their food and lay their larvae in the mud, which is used to build the houses. furthermore, there are usually mud ditches close to the homes for convenience. many of these ditches are left open after the mud has been dug out, leaving ideal breeding sites for mosquitoes when they are filled with water. clearly, it is important to assess the housing situations for places that are threatened by malarial mosquitoes for indirect relationships to malaria transmittance. futhermore, u.n. reports say rising temperatures linked to human burning of fossil fuels are likely to widen malaria's range in the tropics because mosquitoes and the malaria parasite they pass on (when sucking human blood) thrive best i n hot, wet climates. paul reiter, professor of medical entomology at the pasteur institute in paris, admits mosquitoes and plasmodia parasites reproduce faster in hot, damp climates but says that, on the other hand, higher temperatures might trigger floods that wash away stagnant pools in which malaria larva breed or spread deserts to dry up the waters. "more rainfall sometimes means more malaria, it sometimes means less," he said. a l l experts agree that there is slight risk that clouds of malaria-bearing mosquitoes wi l l eventually make their way north to make the disease again endemic in nations from the united states to russia.v f i g h t i n g m a l a r i a although medicines were developed to mitigate the victim's suffering, the evolution of drug-resistant malaria parasites soon followed. the compound known as chloroquine was developed after world war i i and was thought to be the ultimate cure for malaria—not only was it highly effective with fewer side effects, but it was also inexpensive, costing no more than a few cents compared to today's cost of approximately eight dollars a p i l l . v l chloroquine's miraculous abilities, however, were short-lived after its popularity led to widespread drug resistant malaria parasites, which were first seen in south american mosquitoes i n i 9 6 0 but later spread around the world. after the creation of the controversial ddt, the united states was able to stay malaria-free, europe eradicated malaria. believing that ddt was the ultimate weapon for mass destruction of the mosquito, many other countries jumped on board with ddt; for a while, it was very effective. australia began to spray their tire shipments, and other countries began to fumigate the cabins of aircrafts arriving from abroad, even with passengers in them. because of ddt's reputation as the "end all, be all" solution, research grants for ddt disappeared overnight. there was no need for further research because it was assumed that the battle had been won. soon enough, the hype of ddt caused an unnecessary overuse of the chemical, allowing the mosquitoes to quickly build resistance. moreover, rachel carson showed that, among many other hazards, ddt was found in mother's milk and could accumulate in babies, illustrating the chemical's ability to reach and harm the public. consequently, the federal food and drug administration announced that, "it's extremely likely that the potential hazard of ddt has been underestimated."™ workers who handled the chemical developed health problems, and liver cancer was found in exposed fish. to make matters worse, malaria had begun its return. some recent developments in medicinal treatments include the use of a fungus fatal to the mosquito™ 1 and tests with the ancient chinese plant artemesia. however, as new drugs come and go as a consequence of the parasite's everincreasing resistance, and as there is a continuous chase to remain ahead of mosquitoes' resistance to man-made chemicals designed to ki l l them, it becomes increasingly imperative to stress the importance of making changes in our daily habits and in our surroundings as the most effective protection from malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. elem ents s p r i n g 06 c o n c l u s i o n in some ways, it seems that the refinements modern society continually brings have worsened the malaria epidemic. both the industrial progress of mankind and the ever-evolving nature of the mosquito make fighting malaria a difficult and exhausting battle. however, there is no doubt that our knowledge of malaria and the behavior of the mosquito carriers have progressed immensely since it was first observed. instead of pouring money into more and more pills and shots, it is now evident that investing in proper education about the mosquito and malaria can lead us to effective prevention methods. this is especially important to countries that do not have the medical resources or other proper means of protection. a simple change i n habit or lifestyle can dramatically decrease the number of bites that an individual gets in a day. most malaria vectors bite at night; some like a. gambiae generally bite predominantly indoor late at night, while others such as a. albimanus in central america attack outdoors early in the evenings. the time of biting and whether it occurs indoor or outside are both epidemiologically important and relevant to control strategies. the on-going and uphill battle against malaria needs to utilize all viable methods, after the many previous failures in the search for a way to eradicate malaria. f u r t h e r study i n light of trying to present the power that anthropological and environmental factors have over infectious diseases, i would like this project to continue into an exploration of the cultural beliefs held by endemic regions that influence the population's response to the disease's presence. this includes the general attitude to western medicine and treatment. ultimately, the objective is to encourage western medical practices to work with a region's culture and its traditions instead of blindly implementing their own methodologies. this wi l l not only show respect for tradition, but wi l l also be a more effective solution to the issue. a friend mentioned an interesting belief that lies around the river ganga (pronounced ganges i n the west) in india. the ganga river is testable for mercury, arsenic, and dozens of other poisons, along with various parasites and bacteria. some of this is due to the ritual of interring the dead in the river. yet, i f one asks a traditional, spiritual indian about the river, he wi l l insist that it is the purest water in the world. to them it is, after all, holy. l x to the west, however, it is clearly unsanitary. and i f the ganga ever became a cause for an endemic disease like malaria, westerners would react very differently than indians would. from my observation, westerners seem make it a priority to put the safety of people before cultural beliefs, whereas indians may find prefer to endure the disease rather than to disregard tradition. i hope to ameliorate the situation without infringing on anyone's cultural beliefs, but it is questionable i f this is completely possible. e n d n o t e s i . beier et al., 1990 i i . center for disease control i i i . doyle, alister. planetark.com, july 29, 2004 iv. spielman v. doyle v i . spielman v i i . spielman v i i i . new york times article: june 10, 2005 ix. this is an anecdotal tribute to my friend wesley saavedr, although i am unsure where the story originated. references alzate, alberto; spielman, andrew. "a sustainable antimalaria strategy for a region of intense transmission." i986(?) beier, et.al. "malaria transmission i n urban sub-saharan africa." the american society of tropical medicine and hygiene 2003, pp. 169-176 doyle, allister. "global warming effect on malaria." 2005, planetark.com hoffman, stephen l. malaria vaccine development: a mul t i immune response approach. i996american society for microbiology, washington d.c. a p r e v e n t a t i v e a p p r o a c h to m a l a r i a : s o m e p r e l i m i n a r y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s http://planetark.com http://planetark.com lane, richard p., crosskey, roger w. medical insects and arachnids.1993, chapman & hall , cambridge, uk. lehane, m.j. biology of blood-sucking insects. 1991 harper collins academic, london, uk. lipowsky, renate, et.al. "sociomedical aspects of malaria control i n colombia." social science medicine magazine, vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 625-637. 1992, great britain, uk. spielman, andrew, dantonio , michael. mosquito: the story of man's deadliest foe. 2001 hyperion, new york, new york. yamin, gavey. "malaria drug politics." may 8, 2000. essentialdrugs.org world health organization (www.who.int) center for disease control (www.cdc.gov) net doctor (www.netdoctor.co.uk) www.raintreenutrition.com, 2005 www.malariafoundation.com. may 17,1998 www.seniorhealth.com www.cancerweb.com. online medical dictionary, 2004. new york times article, june 10, 2005 http://essentialdrugs.org http://www.who.int http://www.cdc.gov http://www.netdoctor.co.uk http://www.raintreenutrition.com http://www.malariafoundation.com http://www.seniorhealth.com http://www.cancerweb.com q u i nti n barn es is a member of the arts & sciences class of 2009 and graduated with an honors degree in philosophy and a degree i n political science. he is an alpha sigma nu member and a golden key scholar and was president of the volunteer organization hoops for hope. "today's russian intelligentsia: a new role i n the post-soviet political order" is adapted from professor paul christensen's course, post-soviet politics. c h r i s t o p h e r b r u n n e r hails from oak park, illinois. he is a junior i n the lynch school of education where he is currently studying mathematics and secondary education. his research interests include social and cultural issues affecting youth development, especially i n education. he has recently completed a project with the community research program studying the effect of socioeconomic stress on parental involvement i n high schools and wi l l be continuing to do reseach with lsoe this fall. alyssa h u g h e s originally from kea'au, hawaii, is a junior i n the college of arts & sciences majoring i n history and completing a minor i n secondary education. she wrote this paper for professor dana sajdi's course "the study and writing of history: arabian nights." she currently volunteers at the haley house soup kitchen with the 4_.oston program. she would like to thank professor sajdi for all her guidance. n a t h a n keegan graduated i n may 2009 with a degree i n linguistics and latin american studies. his interest i n popular music studies grew from his experiences as songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist i n the awardwinning bc hip-hop group the keegan brothers trio. he is currently serving as a worldteach volunteer fellow i n kosrae, micronesia, where he teaches mathematics. c h r i s t o p h e r m a r o s h e g y i graduated from bc i n may 2009 with a b.a. i n international studies, concentrating i n political science, and a minor i n islamic civilizations and societies and economics. christopher drew his inspiration for this piece from his parents, whose stories as immigrants from hungary as a result of the cold war implanted a sense of purpose to study development and migration. this article has been expanded i n a recently completed thesis, titled exporting citizens: the power politics and economics behind moroccan emigration policy. christopher is currently researching economic development i n hungary on a fulbright scholarship. like his mother and doug flutie, is a native of natick, ma and a graduate of boston college. a communications major and history minor, his past research has concerned doctor/patient relationships, new media, and european nationalisms. he was the president of college bowl for two years and once hit five half-court shots i n a row i n high school. he dreams one day of employment. c h r i s t o p h e r scu lli n studies political science and philosophy, and both looks forward to and dreads graduating from the boston college honors program i n may 2010. chris spends most of his time missing the weather i n los angeles, his native locale, and attempting to be as awesomely multifaceted as possible. he is also most interested in the crossroads of his two subjects of study, how individual needs do battle with those of society. this paper was written during a junior-year semester abroad at king's college, london, for the course global conflict i n the contemporary world. a b u s i v e tax shelters an ethical, historical, and legal analysis e v a n s p e e c e i n r e c e n t y e a r s , t h e l i n e b e t w e e n t a x a d v i s o r y a n d i l l e g a l t a x s h e l t e r s e r v i c e s h a s b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y b l u r r e d . t h e e t h i c a l d i l e m m a s t h a t t a x s h e l t e r s p r e s e n t c h a l l e n g e p r o f e s s i o n a l s t o m a i n t a i n t h e i r i n t e g r i t y a n d o b j e c t i v i t y . t h i s e s s a y e x p l o r e s t a x s h e l t e r s e r v i c e s f r o m h i s t o r i c a l , l e g a l , a n d e t h i c a l v i e w p o i n t s . it a l s o e x a m i n e s l i t i g a t i o n , b o t h r e c e n t a n d l o n g s t a n d i n g , t h a t h a s b l a z e d t h e p a t h f o r t h e t a x s h e l t e r a d v i s o r y t h a t i s c u r r e n t l y p r o v i d e d by b u s i n e s s p r o f e s s i o n a l s . t h e d i s c u s s i o n i n t h i s p a p e r is e s p e c i a l l y a p r o p o s g i v e n t h e s p a t e o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l t a x s h e l t e r c o n t r o v e r s i e s t h a t h a v e e m e r g e d i n t h e p a s t y e a r . i n t r o d u c t i o n for decades, tax advisory services have represented an integral business segment for public and private accounting firms. although tax counseling has traditionally been considered a non-attest function, many large and renowned accounting firms regarded tax advisory as an indelibly complementary service to auditing in the early 1900s. gradually, this philosophy became outmoded as a consequence of the explosive growth i n the accounting industry and the divergence of the auditing and tax professions. presently, auditing and tax advisory are prevalently considered professional services that should be rendered independently. however, the issue of tax shelters blurs these seemingly distinct lines. furthermore, the "abusive" applications of tax shelters provide many financial incentives that elicit legal and ethical dilemmas for several classes of professionals. recent litigation highlights the importance of examining these "abusive" tax shelters from a historical, legal, and ethical perspective. conceptually, there seems to be an ethical boundary that is either approached or crossed i n the design, implementation, and usage of abusive tax shelters. this essay wi l l examine the structural imperfections that engender these ethical quandaries within the context of the modern-day accounting and legal industries. in order to complement this composition's external view of the subject, i interviewed three professionals who have significant experience with the types of tax shelters delineated in this paper. to facilitate a reduction of bias and to provide a more wellrounded internal outlook, two of my interviewees were tax lawyers and one was a tax professional working for a public accounting firm. however, both lawyers are also licensed cpas who practiced in public accounting before joining their respective law firms. their opinions and observations are incorporated throughout the paper in order to present an integrated, organic approach to the topic. this examination wi l l conclude with suggestions for further research and a demarcation of possible solutions for the future of abusive tax shelters. the proposed strategies wi l l be founded on an amalgamation of legal and ethical perspectives and wi l l elucidate the probable role of the professional in the continually dynamic world of tax shelter activity. b a c k g r o u n d a n d h i s t o r y in its simplest form, a tax shelter is defined as "a strategy, investment, or tax code provision that reduces tax liability." 1 however, this seemingly uncomplicated meaning has evolved dramatically over the past several decades. the national laws that regulate our taxation system and the usage of tax shelters are promulgated through the internal revenue code (irc). consequently, the irs is also responsible for the enforcement of our nation's tax laws. it is important, then, to understand the lens through which the irs views the usage of tax shelters. essentially, there are two types of tax shelters available to the general public. first, there are intended tax shelters; this class encompasses uses which were intended by the irs through the creation of the various tax shelter regulations. a n example of an intended tax shelter is a typical 40i(k) plan. the second group includes all of those uses not intended by legislation. this class of unintended tax shelters includes the focus of this paper, abusive tax shelters. examples of these transactions wi l l be detailed later in this paper. the irs officially defines abusive tax shelters as "transactions promoted for the promise of tax benefits with no meaningful taxes and tax shelters : s imple def in it ions under c o n t i n u o u s evolut ion. e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 08 change in a taxpayer's income or assets."11 thus, the engineering of tax shelters which have no clear economic substance with respect to the taxpayer are regarded as abusive tax shelters. the idea of "transactional economic substance" is a key concept and wi l l be discussed more thoroughly in a later section of this essay. .. the promulgation of the 'passive loss' rules achieved an unintended effect; the hulk of abusive tax shelter activity shifted to the corporate sphere, where the new regulations did not apply and the tax law is exponentially more intricate." as tax advisory has become an increasingly important and profitable industry, the amount of legislative scrutiny and political efforts aimed at curbing the usage of abusive tax shelters has also intensified. from the 1950s through the 1980s, the government attempted to address the issue almost entirely through judicial proceedings and the case law which ensued. federal courts mainly attempted to erase the economic effects of the abuses and imposed monetary penalties on wrongdoers. 1" however, the government's strategy was largely ineffective, and the number of tax shelter abuses continued to rise. the continued spread of this exploitation necessitated an expedient response. in 1976, congress passed the tax reform act of 1976. this legislation created certain "at-risk" rules which prohibited taxpayers from claiming losses for investments in which they maintained minimal financial risk. this act was the first substantive response to the rapidly growing usage of abusive tax shelters. the revenue act of 1978 and the economic recovery tax act of 1981 both extended the aforementioned "at-risk" regulations to a further extent. unfortunately congress was just beginning to recognize the increasingly popular financial temptation to utilize abusive tax shelters in business transactions. the year 1984 brought the next landmark in the history of abusive tax shelters. in that year, congress enacted the deficit reduction act, which aimed to close a number of loopholes in the tax code. most importantly, this act made it mandatory for taxpayers to register tax shelters with the irs. 1 v this requirement was meant to aid the irs in the location and evaluation of tax shelter activity in the united states. furthermore, engineers and sellers of "potentially abusive tax shelters" were compelled to retain a list of investors participating in registered tax shelters. monetary penalties were also strengthened via the deficit reduction act. i n the tax reform act of 1986, congress created the "passive loss" rules which have remained important in evaluating the validity of tax shelters to this day. these regulations "prevent an individual (but not a corporation) from claiming a loss from an activity, unless the individual materially participated in the activity. " v 1 however, the promulgation of the "passive loss" rules achieved an unintended effect; the bulk of abusive tax shelter activity shifted to the corporate sphere, where the new regulations did not apply and the tax law is exponentially more intricate. this shift has remained largely unchanged as the majority of abusive tax shelter legislation and enforcement is currently targeted at the corporate and governmental arenas rather than at individual taxpayers. in 1998, the irs restructuring and reform act was initiated. through this act, congress explicitly directed the a b u s i v e t a x s h e l t e r s joint committee on taxation (jct) and the u.s. treasury to perform studies examining tax shelter law (current to that time) and interest provisions and then to "make legislative or administrative recommendations." v n this research was intended to uncover and eliminate the activities of abusive corporate tax shelters. one year later, the two organizations presented the jct penalty study v l i i, the jcx 84-99 i x , the treasury white paper* and the treasury penalty study x i. contemporaneously, the irs effectively "closed" several abusive corporate tax shelters in which numerous corporations and individuals had invested. the irs established the office of tax shelter analysis (otsa) to operate as the governmental stronghold i n the fight against abusive tax shelters. concurrently, the treasury enacted circular 230, which recommended regulatory changes to standards of practice for tax professionals that severely impacted the manner by which they advised tax shelter investors. as one lawyer noted, "2000 was the apex of the government's war on tax shelter abuse."x l i in that year, many new regulations were enacted in a concerted effort to curtail the use of aggressive tax shelters. the most salient of these new rules required corporate taxpayers to disclose investments in certain "reportable transactions" (tax shelters) in their tax returns . x m another regulation introduced the mandatory maintenance of lists of those investing i n certain corporate tax shelters delineated i n irc section 6112. irs notices 2000-15 a ^ s o distinguished ten different "listed transactions" as examples of abusive tax shelters in order to aid corporations in compliance with the new regulations. in may of 2000, the irs issued the notice of proposed rulemaking (nprm) which amended circular 230, the foundation for the standards of practice for all tax practitioners before the irs.x 1 v the nprm was an extremely significant piece of legislation as it was a direct warning from the government to all tax professionals. in essence, the nprm "warn[ed] the law and accounting firms that put together tax shelter transactions, as well as the practitioners and chief financial officers who used them, that their professional reputations and fortunes might suffer i f the rules were not followed." x v thus, the government's attitude and legislative intent was becoming increasingly transparent. the responses of the respective industries to new tax shelter legislation were consistently and extensively solicited by congress. the most important of these hearings occurred i n june 2000 when official comments were given (under oath) by the aicpa, the tax executives institute, and the chicago bar association. the consolidated response from industry professionals was that the regulations were excessively broad and could possibly lead to the unfair pursuance of individuals and businesses that were conducting legitimate transactions and engaging in legal tax planning. it is not surprising, therefore, that all three of my interviewees believed that the tax shelter legislation currently in place is "sufficiently, i f not overly, broad." x v 1 clearly, tax practitioners were worried that the government would impinge too heavily upon their business interests. f o r m s of abuse a n d case law h i s t o r y "anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which wi l l best pay the treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one's taxes." x v u esteemed judge learned hand famously declared this idea in a 1934 judicial ruling. however, in contrast to this opinion, the oecd stated in 1998 that "many forms of harmful tax competition are aimed at taxpayers will ing to engage in tax evasion . . . or tax avoidance. from the perspective of raising revenue and controlling base erosion . . . preventing tax avoidance . . . is as important as curbing tax fraud. " x v u i these two quotes highlight the tension that permeates the debate over abusive tax shelters. this tension is the manifestation of the ethical boundary which i referenced at the outset of this composition. tax shelters garner "abusive" status either through legislation, which identifies a specific transaction as such, or via case-by-case judicial decisions. usually, abusive tax shelters involve exotic investment schemes which are engineered and are not typical financial strategies. in e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 recent years, several landmark cases have altered the legal environment underlying tax shelter transactions. judges in these cases have continually relied upon the equitable doctrine of "economic substance," which was first utilized in the supreme court case of gregory v. helvering.xlx in one such case, long-term capital holdings v. united states of america,™ a corporate taxpayer significantly reduced its tax liability through an outlandish financial arrangement. in the disputed transactions, the lessee, who was organized under british law, attained lease prepayments on subleases. these prepayments were then exchanged for preferred stock of several american corporations. after the lessee gave the preferred stock to certain taxpayers for a partnership interest and then sold its interest back to the taxpayers, the taxpayers sold a large portion of the contributed preferred stock to generate the supposed losses. the court decided that the business deal lacked economic substance and had no business purpose other than tax avoidance. thus, it had to be set aside for tax purposes. also importantly, the court imposed substantial fines on the corporation by assessing tax underpayment and gross valuation misstatement penalties. 5 0 0 blips, among other innovative tax shelters , cost t h e t r e a s u r y $1 .5 b ill ion of uncollected revenue. there have been numerous cases that have addressed deals exactly like the one transacted in the long-term capital case. these deals, which primarily involve the contribution of high-basis, low-value assets to a partnership, have been continually struck down by our nation's courts. i n response to these monumental judicial proceedings, the government enacted the jobs act of 2004. as one article noted, "the provisions [in the jobs act] represent the most significant effort by congress to crack down on tax-motivated transactions since the tax reform act of i 9 8 6 . " x x n simultaneously, there was a proposal i n congress to clarify and codify the economic substance doctrine used by so many of our nation's judges. however, the movement was widely criticized and eventually dropped by the house. there is another proposal to codify the economic substance doctrine which is currently circulating through the government. i f accepted, the doctrine could further solidify the government's efforts against abusive tax shelters. many unintended tax shelters occur through inter-jurisdictional transactions. myriad international companies have realized that shifting finances, materials, and other intangible assets from a domestic division to a foreign subsidiary division can result in substantial tax savings. in accounting, these types of transactions require the performance of transfer pricing. without exploring the technical details of the process, transfer pricing is simply the method of setting the price at which a product or service is transferred between two divisions in the same organizat i o n . x x u l the taxation of assets passed through these transfers is extremely complex and thus engenders the possibility for the use of abusive tax shelters. essentially, companies can attain lower tax rates by inflating the value of products, including intangibles such as licenses and trademarks, transferred between a subsidiary and a parent company. the recipient then deducts the cost of the item in its home country to offset profits. indeed, irs commission mark everson labeled international transfer pricing "one of the most significant challenges . . . in the area of corporate taxation. n y x i w in the fall of 2003, the senate permanent subcomittee on a b u s i v e t a x s h e l t e r s investigations carried out hearings on the questionable tax shelter activities of kpmg. the investigation eventually uncovered that "from the late 1990s into the next decade, kpmg devoted significant resources to developing and mass marketing hundreds of abusive tax shelters." x x v kpmg, which made hundreds of millions of dollars exclusively through its tax shelter business, was one of many large accounting firms accused of marketing abusive tax shelters. the negligent tax shelter activities of arthur andersen, pricewaterhousecoopers, ernst and young, and deloitte were all exposed contemporaneously with kpmg's troubles. over 30 kpmg partners were criminally indicted and more indictments of former tax partners are i n c u r . x x v m kpmg charged clients a contingent fee of 1.25 percent of the tax loss claimed for this product. the product earned kpmg approximately $53 mil l ion in revenue, but was discontinued when the irs listed it as an abusive tax shelter i n 2002. in sum total, blips is thought to have cost the u.s. treasury at least $1.5 billion of uncollected revenue. i f the government hopes to continue to curtail the creation and usage of abusive tax shelters, it must work to elucidate the line between unintended, but legitimate tax shelters and truly abusive tax shelters. as one interviewee noted, "there are many unintended tax shelters which are accepted "if the government hopes to continue to curtail the creation and usage of abusive tax shelters, it must work to elucidate the line between unintended, but legitimate tax shelters and truly abusive tax shelters." likely.30™ curiously, it was lawyers at kpmg, rather than accountants, who were the main tax shelter consultants at the f irm. this is not surprising, however, given the large influx of lawyers into big four accounting firms during the late 1990s. accordingly, both of the lawyers whom i interviewed had worked for big four accounting firms within the past decade. x x v u this association between lawyers and accountants in tax work is a microcosm of the tax profession, in which both are positioned to provide tax consulting. i n the late 1990s, kpmg and several other firms created "tax innovation centers" through which the firms marketed their innovative tax shelters to potential clients. one such product created by kpmg was blips, or bond linked issue premium structure. blips allowed corporate taxpayers to create large deductions resulting from prepayment loan penalties that the corporate taxpayer did not truly throughout the industry and, i n some instances, even encouraged by irs officials. , , x x 1 x these types of shelters are allowed, but not statutorily set forth. one example of this concept is the use of funding deferred qualification plans in corporate environments. employee deferred compensation plans and "rabbi trusts," which create tax shields through trust arrangements, are both illustrations of these types of shelters. another prime example of unintended, but legally eligible tax shelters involves the movement of passive income through affiliated entities i n different states. for instance, a corporation doing business in pennsylvania may transfer the passive portion of its income to an affiliated entity in delaware. this allows the corporation to avoid the pennsylvania state corporation tax, which is the second highest rate in the nation, and pay the delaware state corporation tax, which is zero percent. see container corp. v. franchise tax board.xxx e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 through adjudication, the supreme court has interpreted the law to say that i f congress does not take certain actions to allow states to implement certain tax regulations, then the commerce clause set forth in our constitution should remain dormant. in response, congress has chosen not to override this principle. essentially, therefore, i f congress wanted to grant the states more powers i n terms of tax legislation and enforcement, it could. however, congress has chosen to remain silent on the issue, thereby furthering the legitimacy of the use of unintended, un-abusive tax shelters. as one tax professional noted, "congress passes laws, and reasonable people interpret them." 5 0™ t h e role of t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l the "reasonable people" left to interpret tax shelter legislation, case law, and governmental actions are lawyers and accountants who practice as tax professionals. those professionals who have continued to use potentially abusive tax shelters have prevalently espoused the "strict constructionist" view. i n this outlook, statutes are thought to be susceptible to interpretation. for the most part, case law in our country has reinforced this philosophy. on the downside, one interviewee noted that the continuation of this attitude may lead to courts being overburdened with interpretation of complicated tax rules . x 5 ™ 1 coupled with the overly l i t i gious nature of our society, this potential imposition could further intensify the debate over abusive tax shelters. the same interviewee has observed that case law is moving in the direction of "smell tests." this type of evaluation, he believes, would create a much more difficult business environment for salesmen who aggressively market abusive tax shelters. one question that has continually plagued the tax profession is whether accountants or lawyers are better positioned to provide tax shelter advice. much of this debate centers on the regulatory environment within each profession. accountants providing tax shelter advice have been severely limited by the passing of the sarbanes-oxley act and the simultaneous creation of the pcaob. according to the tax professionals whom i interviewed, these events, coupled with the continually intensifying scrutiny of the irs as well as the sec and the kpmg proceedings, have caused a significant decrease i n the number of accountants marketing and implementing abusive tax shelters. x x x i i i indeed, several public accounting firms are currently working to adopt internal professional standards which wi l l allow their tax professionals to more effectively comply with external regulators. thus, accountants working with tax shelters have both internal and external pressures to conform to less aggressive tax shelter policies. i n comparison to accounting businesses, law firms are much less regulated. the primary source of regulatory pressure for lawyers is the irs's enforcement capabilities. law firms monitor their attorneys' tax shelter work, but to a much lesser extent than their counterparts in accounting firms. both of my attorney-interviewees, who had worked i n public accounting firms before transitioning into the legal arena, confirmed this conclusion. 5 0 0^ thus, with respect to the professional regulation surrounding tax shelter work, lawyers have much more incentive and less discouragement to push the envelope. this creates a situation where accountants are more likely to be the developers of abusive tax shelters and lawyers the promoters of and consultants for these shelters. indeed, one of my attorney interviewees termed his job as primarily consulting work rather than legal w o r k . x x x v scrutiny from the irs and the sec has decreased the number of accountants implement ing abusive tax shelters . a b u s i v e t a x s h e l t e r s i n researching and analyzing the role of the professional in the tax shelter industry, two common threads became apparent. first, there is an obvious conflict of interest present when auditors and accountants develop and market tax shelter strategies. the important principle of independence, which is mandated in a cpa's practice, is compromised through the provision of tax advice in an auditing engagement. this is why the pcaob adopted new auditor independence rules that constrain firms' participation in selling tax shelters to clients. x x x v 1 i f the client being provided tax shelter advice is a non-audit client, then this standard of independence may not be compromised. however, attorneys are legally not allowed to practice law i f they are an employee of an accounting f irm. this is an important distinction as it elucidates the assumption that tax advisory services from a public accounting f irm should only be provided by accountants working for a non-audit client. i believe that this assumption, however, is also incorrect. as one interviewee noted, "the gray areas of unintended tax shelters are subject to legal interpretation and not accounting interpretation. i don't see how you can issue a tax opinion without practicing law." x x x v i i since "opinion letters are the stock in trade of tax lawyers," x x x v 1 u tax shelter work seems to be a function of legal advisory rather than of accountants' recommendations. the second ostensible common thread involves the concept of legal privilege. i n the legal industry, attorney-client privilege is one of the most sacred professional principles. i f compromised, this breach of privilege can result in attorneys losing their licenses to practice law. because accountants do not maintain this same level of privilege, they are more at risk to compromise their duties as professionals with respect to the confidentiality and privacy of tax shelter information. therefore, lawyers have more extensive access to documents used in the analysis of tax laws. in this way, lawyers are better positioned to provide tax shelter advisory services that comply with irs and other external regulations. the final and possibly most important issue for professionals is the pricing of tax services. before the explosion of litigation and governmental regulation related to abusive tax shelters in the early 2000s, many professionals assessed fees on a contingency basis. for instance, a group of kpmg tax professionals collected 10 percent of the tax loss claimed for each tax shelter transaction. x x x l x this type of pricing is blatantly unethical and unprofessional and is no longer used in practice. aggressive pricing policies like those used by many kpmg professionals engendered many of the psychological forces which drove the growth in abusive tax shelters. essentially professionals are more likely to market their own products, even i f they do not think that they wi l l pass statutory muster, i f fees are on a contingent basis. i n the current environment, tax professionals bi l l their tax shelter work on an hourly basis. this pricing policy provides a fairer estimate of the professional's actual work output and negates the psychological bias that pervaded tax professionals in previous years. also, service prices are more closely correlated to the professional's legal opinion of the transaction. as one interviewee stated, "lawyers are needed to provide independent opinions of risk and assurance levels. lawyers have i n this sense become risk management experts with respect to tax shelters."x l because fees are closely correlated to the legal risk inherent to the transaction, lawyers' fees for advice regarding unintended shelters are higher than for advice regarding intended tax shelters. lawyers are careful to point out, however, that this form of pricing is not meant to encourage "pushing the envelope" with tax shelter advice. rather, it is meant to reflect the fact that unintended tax shelters require more legal analysis and research than intended tax shelters, which are more easily comprehended and implemented. hence, lawyers expend more time and effort working on the interpretation of unintended tax shelters and consequently earn more for this type of work. from the client's point of view, there is a risk/reward proposition for every tax shelter product. economically, then, clients' willingness to pay higher prices should and does increase proportionately to the risk of the tax shelter transaction. e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 enforcement is a crucial factor in br inging about a more ethical and lawfultax shelter env ironment. possible f u t u r e s o l u t i o n s the future of abusive tax shelters wi l l be primarily determined by the efficiency and competence of the irs's enforcement. as my interviewees have echoed, the legislation currently in place is more than sufficient to curtail the usage of abusive tax shelters. the irs, sec, and the government i n general wi l l simply not be able to correct all of the loopholes i n our complex tax code through continued legislation. as one interviewee affirmed, "there wi l l always be financial engineers out there who are creating intricate, exotic tax shelter products."*" intensified enforcement of the disclosure and registration requirements, greater monitoring of the tax shelter industry as a whole, and continued judicial reliance on the doctrine of economic substance should produce a more ethical system. this structure wi l l hopefully allow advisors (accountants and lawyers) and clients (companies using the tax shelters) to more easily identify potentially abusive tax shelters and to reject such transactions. the irs's level of enforcement wi l l be the most critical factor in creating a more ethical and lawful tax shelter environment. i n the 1970s, the irs conducted a drastic reduction in its enforcement workforce. the aim of this business decision was to cut costs and improve revenues in the short term. since the use of abusive tax shelters was still in its nascent phases then, this action seemed logical. however, the irs did not anticipate the monstrous long-term costs of reducing its enforcement powers so radically. the irs did not return to its pre-reduction enforcement workforce levels unti l the early 2000s. it has been argued, therefore, that the irs's economically rational decision in the 1970s cost our country (the treasury) tens of billions of dollars in taxes. as a result of this realization, many states have begun to increase funding and workforce levels for tax enforcement. earlier this year, for example, california governor arnold schwarzenegger mandated the hiring of 500 new tax collectors and investigators in an effort to close california's $6.5 billion tax gap. ! t l advanced enforcement measures such as these must be implemented in order to effectively reinforce the regulatory restrictions created by the irs and the government. another suggestion would be to establish more uniformity among statutory and international tax laws. as aforementioned, many unintended (and potentially abusive) tax shelters are part of inter-jurisdictional transactions. creating greater uniformity among tax statutes and regulations would largely counteract the financial incentives engendered by disparate statutory regulations. this action would significantly curb the use of inter-jurisdictional tax shelters, and therefore inherently reduce the usage of abusive tax shelters. as in the accounting world, all stakeholders involved wi l l be better served i f tax laws and regulations are comparable and understandable across jurisdictions. x l m a third solution which may aid the irs in targeting abusive tax shelters would be to improve information flow among state tax organizations and the irs. in addition to strengthening the power of the disclosure and registration requirements, this improvement would widen the irs's awareness of the countless types of abusive tax shelters. enhancing information flow would also provide better accuracy with respect to the irs's understanding of the location of abusive tax shelter activity. from this point of view, the irs could more precisely delegate enforcement powers to state authorities who are more familiar with their individual tax jurisdictions than federal officials. additionally, there must be more exchange between institutional a b u s i v e t a x s h e l t e r s representatives of tax professionals, such as the aicpa and the american bar association, and the irs. improved relations and discussion between these two organizations wi l l positively impact the tax shelter industry; i f the relationship between the two sides is stronger, then the internal and external pressures on tax professionals wi l l increase. the ethical disincentives fostered by such pressure wi l l help to constrain abusive tax shelter activity. although tax planning wi l l probably always be offered as a service by public accounting firms, i believe that the provision of tax shelter advisory should only be undertaken by attorneys working for law firms. in complement to the earlier discussion, the determination of whether a tax shelter is legal or illegal can only be made by lawyers, since tax shelters are ultimately the product of the interpretation of tax law. as such, lawyers are most aptly positioned to render ethical and legal tax shelter advice to clients. the pricing structure for tax services is also an integral issue that wi l l have important implications on the tax shelter industry for many years. it is obvious that the old practice of earning contingent fees based on tax losses claimed is unethical and unconscionable. the current method of pricing, in which professionals bi l l at an hourly rate just as i f they were providing auditing services, is the most accurate and ethical pricing method. because the amount of a professional's time spent on tax shelter interpretation is closely correlated to the difficulty and client risk inherent in a transaction, this pricing structure is an earnest compensation measure for professionals and should be used for all tax shelter advisory work. on a macro level, in the long-term, the tax shelter industry must move towards a principles-based system and away from the current, overly rules-based system. i n the accounting industry, this change is already underway. lawyers and other tax professionals are hired and respected for their professional judgment abilities. i f our nation excessively restricts this judgment, then it wi l l actually hurt our economy. it is intuitive that "the more detail that is required, the less room there is for judgment . . . rules increase complexity and actually can decrease the meaningfulness of information. " x l i v a principles-based system would allow more room for professional judgment and also diminish the complexity of our tax system. i n turn, our nation's courts would not be overburdened with unnecessary interpretation of convoluted tax rules; rather, the courts would establish principal guidelines (such as the economic substance doctrine) which would allow tax professionals to more easily evaluate the legality and legitimacy of tax shelter transactions. as the ceos of the "big 6" elucidated, "one of the most important lessons from the recent spate of financial reporting scandals is that the world's complex business transactions cannot be communicated through proscriptive rules: clarity relies on adhering to sound principles applied with expert judgment." x l v the tax industry must therefore follow its brother, the auditing industry, into a principles-based future. e n d n o t e s i . merriam webster online dictionary i i . "overview and history of tax shelters" (2008) h i . "the legislative history o f abusive tax shelters" (2005) iv. irc section 6111 v. irc section 6112 vi . "the legislative history of abusive tax shelters" (2005) v i i . "the legislative history of abusive tax shelters" (2005) v i i i . joint committee on taxation-penalty study ix. jct examination of abusive tax shelters-jcx 84-99 x. treasury white paper on corporate tax shelters xi . treasury penalty study on corporate tax shelters x i i . interviewee b x i i i . irs announcement 2000-12 xiv. irs announcement 2000-51 xv. "the legislative history of abusive tax shelters" (2005) xvi. a l l interviewees espoused this opinion. xvii . gregory v. helvering (1935) xvii i . salsman (2002) xix. gregory v. helvering (1935) xx. long-term capital holdings v. united states of america (2005) xxi. keinan (2006) xxii. keinan (2006) xxii i . hi l ton (2008) xxiv. beale (2006) xxv. rostain (2006) xxvi. rostain (2006) xxvii. interviewees a and b e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 08 xxviii. rostain (2006) xxix. interviewee a xxx. container corp. v. franchise tax board (1983) xxxi. interviewee c xxxii. interviewee c xxxiii. a l l interviewees espoused this opinion. xxxiv. interviewees a and b xxxv. interviewee a xxxvi. rostain (2006) xxxvii. interviewee a xxxviii. interviewee a xxxix. rostain (2006) xl. interviewee a xl i . interviewee a xl i i . sheppard (2008) x l i i i . dipiazza (2006) xliv. dipiazza (2006) xlv. dipiazza (2006) r e f e r e n c e s beale, leslie. "glaxo transfer pricing settlement." a taxing matter. http://ataxingmatter.blogs.com/tax/2006/09/glaxo_transfer_. h t m l . accessed 11 september 2006. cma consolidated inc. v. comissioner, 89 t.c.m. (cch) 701, 2005 tax. ct. memo lexis 16. container corp. v. franchise tax board, 463 u.s. 159 (1983). dipiazza, samuel, et al. "global capital markets and the global economy: a view from the ceo's o f the international audit networks." global public policy symposium. november 2006. gregory v. helvering. 69 f.2d 809, 810 (2d cir. 1934), aff'd, 293 u.s. 465, 55 s.ct. 266, 79 l.ed. 596 (1935). hi l ton , ronald. 2008. managerial accounting. 7th ed. new york: mcgraw-hil l/irwin. i . r . c § 6 i i 2 . i.r.c. i 6111. interviewee a. apr i l 2, 2008. interviewee b. apr i l 4, 2008. interviewee c. apr i l 2, 2008. irs announcement 2000-12. joint committee on taxation, special tax penalty study. june 1999. joint committee on taxation-examination of abusive tax shelters-jcx 84-99. july 1999. keinan, yoram. 2006. playing the audit lottery: the role of penalties in the u.s. tax law in the aftermath of long term capital holdings v. united states, 3 berkeley bus. l.j. 381. long term capital holdings lp v. united states, 150 fed. app'x 40 (2d cir. 2005). "overview and history of tax shelters." tax shelter lawsuits. 2008. http://www.tax-shelter lawsuits.com/pages/overview.html. penalty study on corporate tax shelters. october 1999. u.s. treasury department. quill corp. v. north dakota, (91-0194), 504 u.s. 298 (1992). rostain, tanina. 2006. "travails i n tax: kpmg and the taxshelter controversy." legal ethics: law stories. ed. rhode, deborah and luban, david. new york. chapter 3. salsman, richard. "treasury secretary paul o'neil confuses tax avoidance versus tax evasion." capitalism magazine. 13 september 2002. http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?id= 1856. accessed 4 apr i l 2008. santa monica pictures, llc. v. commissioner, 98 t.c.m. (cch) 1157 (2005). sheppard, harrison. "schwarzenegger targets tax cheats." the mercury news online, http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_8228577?nclick_check=i. accessed 11 february 2008. "tax shelters." merriam-webster online dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tax%20shelters. accessed 4 apri l 2008. "the legislative history of abusive tax shelters." 2005. abusive tax shelter history. internal revenue service. http://www.irs.g0v/pub/irs-utl/i.b_-_history_of_shelters.pdf. white paper on corporate tax shelters. july 1999 u.s. treasury department. irs announcement 2000-51. a b u s i v e t a x s h e l t e r s http://ataxingmatter.blogs.com/tax/2006/09/glaxo_transfer_ http://www.tax-shelterhttp://lawsuits.com/pages/overview.html http://www.capmag.com/article http://www.mercurynews.com/lohttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tax%20shelters http://www.irs.g0v/pub/irs-utl/i.b_-_history_of_shelters.pdf d o n q u i x o t e a n d t h e l i a r 's p a r a d o x em i ly cersonsky " l a m l y i n g . " it m i g h t be s a i d t h a t t h i s state m ent is, i m p l i c i t ly, t h e s i n g l e real t r u t h of t h e fict i o n f o r m i n g a u t h o r , a n d its c o m p l i c a t i o n s are b o t h t h e e m b l e m a n d b a n e of a l l n o v e l s . i n h i s epic don quixote, m i g u e l de cerv a n t e s e x p l o i t s t h e p r o b l e m of m a k i n g lies real by i n t r i c a t e l y w e a v i n g t o g e t h e r s u c h dl spa rate e l e m e n t s as a u t o b i o g r a p h y a n d h i g h f a n t a s y w i t h i n t h e u n r e l i a b l y u n r e l i a b l e v o i c e s of several subjective s t o r y t e l l e r s. a n d h i s c o n c l u s i o n , it s e e m s , is d o n q u i x o t e h i m s e l f , a m a n w h o c o m b a t s t h e p r o t e a n s t r a n g e n e s s of t h e w o r l d by r e p l a c i n g it w i t h a deli berate reality of h i s o w n . at t h e cusp of t h e e u r o p e a n r e n a i s s a n c e , c e r v a n t e s ' d o n q u i x o t e m a k e s t h e c h o i c e w h i c h w i l l be co me a necessity for p o s t c a r t e s i a n t h i n k e r s , n a m e l y , a p e r s o n a l d e t e r m i n a t i o n , a n a u t h o r s h i p of " t h e real" i n a w o r l d w h e r e i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s a n d s u b j e c t i v i t i e s c o n s t a n t l y t h r e a t e n to c h a i n t h e t r u t h s e e k i n g m a n , l ike p r o m e t h e u s , to t h e c o n f u s i o n of t h e liar's p a r a d o x . "in a literary work, is reality secreted or is reality secreted? i n the late twentieth century two sociologists, bruno latour and steve woolgar, spent several months in an eventually nobel prize-winning biology laboratory in an attempt to study how scientists' social interactions construct the reality which their science purports. the conclusion from the study was a seemingly simple one: "reality is secreted."1 their intended implication was that the fact of science is as much authored as fiction, but curiosity provokes the question, what i f this idea is applied to actual, acknowledged fiction? i n a literary work, is reality secreted or is reality secreted} miguel de cervantes' don quixote de la mancha is "the child of [his] brain" (15), a masterwork of fiction that laces together an unprecedented tapestry of these two aspects, both secreted and secreted reality. as such, it is an emblem of a great conundrum of humanity and the especial fascination of the european renaissance, the problem of reality and fiction. i . i think of cinemas, panoramic sleights with multitudes hent toward some flashing scene never disclosed, but hastened to again, foretold to other eyes on the same screen.11 centuries before pirandello's six characters in search of an author, don quixote first introduced the problem of reality and fiction through ambiguity of authorship. its narrative consists of a diagram-worthy lineage, beginning (or ending) with cervantes himself and following to the book's narrator, who claims to learn his story from several sources but mostly (from p9 on) through the further remove of a castilian translation of cid hamet ben engeli's moorish chronicle. it is worth noting, too, that although cervantes' spanish text does exist, many an american reader is obliged to encounter it through an english translation.1 1 1 don quixote's authorial lineage is porous as a sponge and saturated with equivocations that combine to drown out any concept of "truth." at the base is straightforward authorial suspicion: although ben engeli is a self-designated "arabian historiographer" and the narrator says that "historians ought to be precise, faithful, and unprejudiced," by the next page he, himself a historian, voices his own prejudice that "the author was an arab, those of that nation being e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 not a little addicted to lying" ( 6 8 6 9 ) . ben engeli, for his own part, readily admits his plethora of sources including other historians, hearsay and his own opinions further complicating the quest for an ur-text of don quixote's story. the unreliability of the chronicle is enough to confuse even the identities of the characters themselves: sancho introduces himself as "sancho panza, am i , unless i was changed in the cradle, i mean the press" (663). such interaction between different levels of the authorial lineage form the supreme complication of don quixote's telling. ben engeli's omniscience poses a problem because it is not merely a device of fiction; sancho and don quixote are aware of his omniscience and wonder "how the historian who wrote [the book], could come to know" of "things which passed between [them] only" (483). although this might lead the reader to posit "ben engeli" as a penname for don quixote (or sancho), the fact that neither character gives any hint of authorship and further, that ben engeli at times states his own judgment and conjectures because he lacks knowledge of the story's details (cf. the name of "barataria" on 753), proves otherwise. thus, ben engeli's tale seems neither completely autobiography-worthy truth nor fully-fashioned fiction, and in pascal's words, its imagination is "all the more deceptive for not being invariably so."i v as the characters' consciousness "infiltrates" every level of authorship (except for that of the primary narrator), even cervantes' identity is complicated by the priest's citation of h i m as "a great friend" whose galatea is in don quixote's library (53). this meta-confusion gives us a firsthand insight into how the inherent, inescapable blurring of fiction and reality in "foolish books" is enough to instigate the madness of that "unhappy gentleman," don quixote (262). further, it proves problematic for us as well, because though we "cannot persuade [ourselves] it is a true story: and i f it be a fiction, the author has erred against probability: for it cannot be imagined, [...] there is something impossible to i t " (321). as pascal says, such fiction "would be an infallible criterion of truth i f it were infallibly that of lies. since, however, it is usually false, it gives no indication of its quality, setting the same mark on true and false alike."v i i . much madness is divinest sense to a discerning eye; much sense the starkest madness. 't is the majority in this, as all, prevails. assent, and you are sane; demur,—you're straightway dangerous, and handled with a chain. vl however we might believe his various authors, the deepest fissure of complication splits open when we address the authorship of don quixote's self. is he truly, unconsciously mad, the product of the "inventions and lies" and the "style and manner of his foolish books" (262)? or is he genuinely sane and the author of his own mind, a knight whose "profession [...] requires [him] to understand everything" (204) , even what the seemingly-sane cannot understand? d o n q u i x o t e a n d t h e l iar's p a r a d o x to claim don quixote as mad, we would require some contextual measure for sanity. yet we can only call his madness relative he is "but mad north-north-west" for his castle ellsinore is peopled by characters of such questionable sanity that they must not only distrust "all that the enamoured poets tell [them] for truth" (300), but distrust their very selves. cid hamet avers that "the mockers [of don quixote] were as mad as the mocked; and that the duke and duchess were within two fingers' breadth of appearing to be mad themselves, since they took so much pains to make a jest of two fools" (919). tom cecial points out to sampson carrasco, "don quixote is mad and we think ourselves wise: he gets off sound and laughing, and your worship remains sore and sorrowful. now, pray, which is the greatest madman, he who is so because he cannot help it, or he who is so on purpose?" (560). i n such a world where all sense of sanity is relative, don quixote's only recourse is to create a system of sanity in which he can live himself; where reality is secreted, he secretes his own reality. though this may make h i m seem conventionally mad, his reality is of no more or less verity than the "reality" that is assumed by others, and indeed it may be worth more, as it at least allows quixote to trust in something within the "cave of montesinos" that is the apparent world. unlike others, don quixote can claim that "the coherent discourse i made to myself, convinced me, that i was then and there the same person i am now here" and not some "empty and counterfeit illusion" (614). and unlike others who have "done amiss in suffering [themselves] to be carried away by the current of those, who take it for granted [chivalric stories] are not true" (564), quixote at least chooses his own beliefs. thus, don quixote forsakes the search for reality in favor of the creation of contentedness. he evades the "unexpected accidents" that "perpetually befall those who live in this miserable world" (824) by recasting them as "enchantments." as a self-made knight, he is "able to penetrate into the designs of the enemy, to form stratagems, overcome difficulties, and prevent dangers which threaten: for all of these things are acts of the understanding" (338). when faced with adversity, he must merely turn to the self that he has created and say, " i n truth [the situation] is so frightful, that, were i not who i am, i should be afraid myself" (555). by the end of his story, don quixote's method of realityconstruction (latour and woolgar would call it "agonistic" activityv i i) has spread to others, including the duke and duchess, who, "having executed their design so ingeniously and happily," realize that "nothing real could have afforded them more pleasure" (703). in the end, the world's chosen reality becomes the "madness" of don quixote himself. don alvaro tarfe, for one, negates the reality of his own self he becomes "persuaded he must needs be enchanted" (932) in favor of believing the self-asserted reality of ben engeli's don quixote. further, don antonio admonishes sampson carrasco for "the injury [he has] done the whole world" in "endeavoring to restore to his senses the most diverting madman in i t . " by the end of don quixote, it might be said that the reader and even cervantes are ready to proclaim with don antonio: "may don quixote never be recovered!" v i i i (895). i i i . j no longer strive to strive towards such things (why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?) why should i mourn the vanished power of the usual reign ? i x don quixote is an emblematic work of the renaissance because the agnostic method which facilitates don quixote's mad, self-created "reality" becomes the relief, liberation, and final recourse of an era which, in emerging from the medieval religious tradition, must discover a new opiate. thus, renaissance literature is marked by the intellectuality of reality-construction, at first as a necessary remedy to the human being's inability to understand or derive certain happiness from the apparent "reality," and later as the only option when "reality" is defined by descartes as defined solely by the human mind. elem ents : : s p r i n g 06 of any renaissance literature, william shakespeare's plays best represent the progression from the insufficiency of apparent "reality" to a compensatory reality-construction. richard i i ( i 595) x presents the king as at the mercy of his situation's supposed reality which he assumes is beyond his control. he tries i n the "pomfret castle soliloquy" (v.v) to make his "brain [...] the female to [his] soul" yet he generates only "still-breeding thoughts"; "no thought is contented" because he fails to prepare a womb, a world in which to construct his mind. the "hard world" and its "rugged prison walls" still exist for h i m as fact, and they preclude self-mastery, leaving his thoughts only to "flatter themselves | that they are not the first of fortune's slaves." in king john (1596), shakespeare implies a hope for richard i f only he could attain it: cries grief-stricken constance, " i am not mad; i would to heaven i were! [...] too well, too well, i feel | the different plague of each calamity" (iiliv). i n hamlet ( 1600), the prince partially actualizes this idea. hamlet "put[s] an antic disposition on" (i.v), indeed, yet he fails to find relief in his madness-altered reality because he does not believe it. still on his mind is the absolute of "is" ("to be, or not to be") that arms h i m against "outrageous fortune" and "the thousand natural shocks | that flesh is heir to" (iii.i) only with death (an out for which king richard ultimately opts).x l shakespeare's great change of his characters' minds comes with king lear (1605), where several characters set out to fight nature by their art of reality-construction. here, "the excellent foppery of the world" and the "admirable evasion of whoremaster man" is acknowledged so that "fortune," which is "often the surfeit of our own behaviour," may no longer be allowed to excuse "villains by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion" (i.ii). lear appears mad as he first radically alters the custom of primogeniture and posthumous inheritance and then, when the "reality" becomes that his premature-heiresses forsake h im, he has the satisfaction of condemning them in an imaginary court of law. edmund, for his part, seems not mad but devious in his " invention" of a world where the gods might change the reality of birthright and "stand up for bastards" (i.ii). like don quixote's duke and duchess, edmund consciously flouts the nonexistent rules of the universe to construct the reality that he desires. though shakespeare is the final decider of their destiny, lear and edmund both strive to fare better along the path to tragedy by achieving not only self-construction but world-construction. through all of this, though, the question nags: what i f don quixote is ultimately right, and "art cannot exceed nature" (568)? what i f the secreted reality cannot be fully or wholeheartedly replaced? constance claims, " i have reason to be fond of grief" because it seems that "grief fills the room up of my absent child, | lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, | puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, | remembers me of all his gracious parts, | stuffs out his vacant garments with his form" (iiliv). thus, self-inflicted "reason" yokes her to an insufficient "reality," almost identical to that of jan kochanowski in his laments. kochanowski, for his part, does attempt the agonistic approach by deifying and devoting himself to "wisdom," yet such an approach leaves h i m unconsoled, and he is "hurled, like all the rest, from the topmost stair" ("tren 9" ) . yet i f he made the effort, why does his secreted reality fail? i v . everything i say is a lie...except that...and that... and that, and that, andthatandthatandthat...and...x™ the failure of reality-construction is revealed in kochanowski as it proceeds from the intrusion of the liar's paradox, the self-defeat of perpetual disbelief that pascal cites in his criticism of skeptics.™1 such is the problem that complicates the fictionality of don quixote both within the tangled lineage of authorship and the uncertainty of quixote's madness, and such is the problem that makes such construction-attempts as quixote's, lear's, and kochanowski's ultimately unsuccessful in achieving happiness. at some point the rules set out by a self-constructed reality a reality created i n deliberate disbelief of the apparent "reality" wi l l either be disbelieved themselves (in the case of kochanowski) or wi l l be so fully believed that they d o n q u i x o t e a n d t h e liar's p a r a d o x trip the constructionist right back into slavery of an apparent "reality." like don quixote, the intellectual is brought into "so many disadventures" that he does "not know which is [his] right foot" (126) but that it is shackled to his self-created fate. this outcome is the case for lear, as his inheritance-scheme backfires by his daughters' ingratitude and cruelty, and also for don quixote, as chivalry finally requires h i m to surrender to sampson carrasco and end his career as a knight-errant. the failure of agnosticism leaves the renaissance with one of its greatest quandaries. by the time of descartes' "cogito," such declarations as montaigne's "nature always gives us happier laws than those we give ourselves" cannot be adopted as resolutions because no two views of nature (the apparent "reality") are the same. man seems doomed to jansenism's sentence of "subterranean conduct" regardless of whether he has "supercelestial thoughts" or no, because "[j]ustice and truth," the bases of happiness, "are two points so fine that our instruments are too blunt to touch them exactly. " x 1 v in short, reality-construction becomes not only a remedy but an inevitability. kochanowski defines the problem in "tren 1": "what is not vain, by god, in lives of men?" "in short, reality-construction becomes not only a remedy but an inevitability.77 yet the key to the renaissance's resolution hides at the center of this. after the melancholia of the intellectual agonistic and after the failure of panglossially-optimistic "reason, the sport of every w i n d , " x v there is faith and there is god. the difference between the renaissance's choice of faith to that of the medieval tradition, though, is that faith cannot be taken on faith alone. faith's obstacle is that, like milton's satan, we "novel, [...] monstrous, [...] chaotic, [...] paradoxical, [and] prodigious"x v l humans find that our "wonted pride" and "proud imaginations" persuade us that we can "seek | our own good from ourselves." our "[v]ain wisdom" excites the "[fallacious hope" that "[a]s [god provides] our darkness, cannot we his light | imitate when we please?" the snag is that we and our constructed world " i l l become this throne" x v n of wisdom, and like satan and kochanowski, we soon tumble "from the topmost stair." the consequence of our prideful intellectuality is that we are left little better than melancholy hamlet, saddled either with satan's choice "rather than be less, [...] not to be at all" or the implied alternative "to be." yet how can we happily "be" when we cannot sustain an agonistic, when (in wallace stevens' words) we cannot "be one thing and be it long"? x v , r ' as pascal wi l l tell us, we "must wager;" we must gamble on whether to stake our reality-construction in god and, concomitantly, on whether to have faith. laid on the betting table are life's little trivialities: "the true and the good [...] [our] reason and [our] wi l l , [our] knowledge and [our] happiness."x i x in wagering for faith, we must realize that, because invisible faith trumps more tangible forms of salvation i n the post-lutheran renaissance, we are merely choosing another agonistic; such a choice is inescapable, for "[c]ustom" abidance to a created reality "is our nature." yet in this wager "there is an infinity of infinitely happy life to be won," and even i f we can never know truth, we can recognize don quixote's claim that "where truth is, there god himself is, so far as truth is concerned" (489), and as pascal adds, " i f men are capable of any truth this is i t . " x x what remains, then, is to put this newly adopted reality of faith to the test and find whether it provides the happiness which eludes all other intellectual constructions. are we "yet happiest i f [we] seek | no happier state, and know to know no more"? x x l the resounding answer, at least in the literature of the renaissance, is "yes." the affirmation of a reality of faith comes from all quarters. kochanowski finally asks himself "why is your mind a e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 burning candlewick | wasting itself?" then consents to the reality that "[t]he lord's ways are not ours. | our task is simply to accord with them" and "try to live on | consoled by changeless heaven's certainty" ("tren 19 albo: sen"). in king lear, gloster gives over his "proud wi l l " and believes his life has been saved by "the clearest gods, who make them honours | of men's impossibilities" (iv. vi). with such reassurance, he then dies peacefully as his "flaw'd heart | 'twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, | burst[s] smilingly" (v.iii). lear, for his part, finally dies calling "look there, look there," leaving us to wonder whether he has seen truth or god or both, but unequivocally leaving us with a better "inheritance" in the recognition that he has had some spiritual vision (v.iii).™ don quixote, though, offers the paragon of affirmations. sancho, who like so many other characters (fictional and otherwise) has been wooed to the trust of don quixote's "mad" reality, argues fervently with his master that "the greatest madness a man can commit in this life is to suffer himself to die, without [...] being brought to his end by any other hand than that of melancholy™1 1" (941)unfortunately for sancho, though, his pleas fall on changed ears. don quixote now "alonso quixano" renounces his previous "folly" through "the mercy of god," (940) and dies " i n so composed and christian a manner" that the notary does not recognize h i m for a knight-errant (943)thus, choosing faith over his intellectual melancholy, cid hamet ben engeli's "true and genuine don quixote" (944) exits the final world which he has created. with h i m departs the chance of innocently following an intellectual agonistic scheme of reality-construction. yet what he bequeaths to us is a distinctly renaissancian nuance in the tradition of faith; whether or not god's supremacy is the true secreted reality, insofar as secreted realities are our only recourse, it is still the most fulfilling. after all of our intellectual pursuits, we must "descend now therefore from this top | of speculation" and simply begin to "cultivate our gar dens.' , x x 1 v e n d n o t e s i latour and woolgar, 206. i i crane, hart. "proem: to brooklyn bridge." the complete poems of hart crane: centennial edition. ed. marc simon. new york: liveright, 2001. i i i such as that of charles jarvis, f rom whose edition i w i l l quote don quixote. v ibid. [italics are my own.] v i dickinson, emily. " x i . " emily dickinson: the complete poems. boston: little, brown, 1924. quoted f rom <http://www.bartleby.com/113/1011.html>. new york: bartleby.com, 2000. v i i the "agonistic f ield" is where "reality is the consequence rather than the cause of this construction." p. 204. v i i i is the translator speaking here merely about healing don quixote's sanity or f inding his character? the wordplay exists i n english, however i n spanish the verb is sanar, which means "recover" exclusively i n the connotation of "healing" [not "f inding"] . don quijote de la mancha. <http://www.intratext.com/ixt/esl0027>. intratext/eulogos, 2002. ix eliot, t.s. "ash wednesday." collected poems: 1909-1962. new york: harcourt brace, 1991. x these dates are of the believed first performance. <http://wwwshakespeareonline.com/keydates/playchron.html>. xi i am indebted i n the selection of these three plays to stephen greenblatt's essay "the death of hamnet and the making of hamlet." x i i "episode 15: save the children." family guy. x i i i pascal, 34. xiv montaigne, 107 and 135; pascal, p. 12. xv pascal, p. 10. xvi pascal, p. 34. xvii mi l ton, 21, 30, 37, 45, 37, and 42, respectively. xvii i mil ton, p. 31. stevens is quoted f r o m "the comedian as the letter c." xix pascal, p. 123. xx pascal, p. 125,123, and 124, respectively. xxi mil ton, p. 106. xxii "with a sudden intensity, as i f she saw it clear for a second, she drew a line there, i n the centre. i t was done; it was finished. yes, she thought, laying down her brush i n extreme fatigue, i have had my vision." woolf, virginia. to the lighthouse. xxii i the spanish word here is indeed "melancholia." thus, we can legitimately relate the text to albrecht diirer's depiction of deep intellectual melancholy i n his woodcut "melencolia i . " it is followed i n diirer's sequence by "st. jerome i n his study," a work depicting the acceptance of the human lot through faith. xxiv mil ton, 306. voltaire,. 328. d o n q u i x o t e a n d t h e l iar's p a r a d o x http://www.bartleby.com/113/1011.html http://bartleby.com http://www.intratext.com/ixt/esl0027 http://wwwshakespeare-online.com/keydates/playchron.html http://wwwshakespeare-online.com/keydates/playchron.html references cervantes, miguel de. don quixote. trans. charles jarvis. new york: oxford university press, 1992. don quijote de la mancha.. <http://www.intratext.com/ixt/esl0027>. intratext/eulogos, 2002. greenblatt, stephen. "the death of hamnet and the making of hamlet." the new york times review of books. 21 october 2004, vol. 51, no. 16. latour and woolgar. "the social construction of scientific facts." readings i n the philosophy of science: from positivism to postmodernism. ed. theodore schick. new york: mcgrawh i l l , 1999. milton, john. paradise lost. ed. merritt y. hughes. new york: odyssey press, 1962. montaigne, michel. selections f r o m the essays. ed. and transl. donald m . frame. arl ington heights, 111.: harlan davidson, j973pascal, blaise. pensees. transl. a.j. krailsheimer. new york: penguin putnam, 1995. voltaire. candide. the portable voltaire. ed. ben ray redman. new york: penguin, 1977. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 06 http://www.intratext.com/ixt/esl0027 "by defining the metrosexual as a high-end consumer, derived from gay stereotypes, simpson has provided the 'buzz word' needed by marketers to target and expand a profitable market." c o n s u m i n g q u e e r ! the commodification of culture and its effects on social acceptance m i c h a e l j. y a k s i c h c o n s u m e r s h a v e b e c o m e a t t r a c t e d t o " e x o t i c " o r c u l t u r a l l y r e l a t e d t r e n d s . b y e x t r a c t i n g a n d c o n s u m i n g s t y l e s a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h m a r g i n a l i z e d c u l t u r e s , s o c i e t y e l i m i n a t e s d i v e r s i t y t h o u g h h o m o g e n i z a t i o n . r e c e n t l y p o p u l a r t e l e v i s i o n p r o g r a m s s u c h a s queer eye for the straight guy, w h i c h d e p i c t s t h e m a k e o v e r o f a s t r a i g h t m a l e b y f i v e g a y h o s t s , d i s p l a y s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e g a y c o m m u n i t y a l l o w i n g f o r t h e a b s o r p t i o n o f s t e r e o t y p e s . f o l l o w i n g t h i s , t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f t h e " m e t r o s e x u a l " b y m a r k e t e r s h a s a l l o w e d s t r a i g h t m a l e s t o a d o p t t h e p o s i t i v e q u e e r s t y l e s . d i s c u s s i o n g r o u p s w e r e c o n v e n e d t o v i e w a n e p i s o d e o f queer eye t o d i s c u s s t h e p r o g r a m a n d t h e p o r t r a y a l o f g a y i m a g e s . f o c u s g r o u p s i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e p r o g r a m i s a p o s i t i v e s i g n o f a c c e p t a n c e a l t h o u g h i t r e i n f o r c e s m a i n s t r e a m s t e r e o t y p e s . b o t h q u e e r e y e a n d t h e m e t r o s e x u a l a r e a r e s u l t o f t h e b r e a k d o w n h e t e r o s e x u a l g e n d e r n o r m s a n d p r o d u c t i o n a n d r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f s t e r e o t y p e s w h i c h g e n e r a t e p r o f i t i n a c o n s u m e r s o c i e t y . i n s t e a d o f d i s p e l l i n g s t e r e o t y p e s , p r o g r a m s l i k e queer eye r e i n s c r i b e a n d v a l i d a t e t h e s e i m a g e s . w h i l e t h e p r e s e n c e o f g a y c h a r a c t e r s i n t h e m e d i a s h o w s a m o v e m e n t t o w a r d s g r e a t e r a c c e p t a n c e o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y , t h e c o m m o d i f l c a t i o n o f g a y s t e r e o t y p e s d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e h e g e m o n i c n a t u r e o f m a s s c u l t u r e a n d t h e j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f e x p l o i t a t i o n t h r o u g h t o l e r a n c e . "commodijication prefabricates culture into easy to consume products and images that allow the dominant culture to utilize stereotypes in constructing 'lifestyles'for consumption." the commodification of culture is a process through which the habits of the consumption of real commodities spread into relationships with culture. this results in the liquidation of cultural traditions whereby fundamentals of a particular culture are taken from their traditional context and engaged as "free-floating [postmodern] signifiers, put to decorative uses for removed from their original references."1 with the rise of global capitalism i n the mid-1970s, mass production and marketing replaced traditional production and began to form a saturated and sophisticated market system. as a result, culture is drawn into corporate production in an effort to target niche markets, while individuals are increasingly socialized to engage culture with the same habits they employ in consumption. as american consumer culture reacts to the introduction of new products, marketers strive to profit by presenting new styles in the form of trends. in recent instances the marketing industry has homogenized traits associated with marginalized cultures, allowing for the consumption of stereotypes.11 specifically, the visibility of the gay community has come to depend on the exploitation of stereotypes via mass media and the marketing industry. 1 1 1 these stereotypes include "an obsession with fashion, cultural trends, and overt expressions of femininity. " 1 v while cultural visibility is essential to a positive portrayal of gay individuals, the commodification of gay culture may perpetuate negativity. images of middle-class gay consumers define queer identities only i n terms of "style, textuality, or performance play [to] produce imaginary gay/queer subjects that keep invisible the division of wealth and labor these images depend on. " v commodified imagery also disguises homosexuals who are manual workers, unemployed, or imprisoned. one quarter to a half a mil l ion homosexual and bisexual youths are thrown out of their homes and endure violence i n the streets.71 the dissection of these experiences, via commodification, must be addressed for progress to be made. postmodernism links the effects of consumerism and media-saturation to the modern development of industrial, capitalist societies. once a system of production was established, consumption began to grow, and people needed to acquire a leisure or consumer ethic i n addition to a work ethic. v 1 1 a n increase in affluence and types of conspicuous consumption drove the process, precipitating a growth i n consumer credit, advertising, marketing, and the "emergence of a postmodern popular culture which celebrates consumerism, hedonism and style, "vi i i the rise of mass media also contributed to the commodification of culture by portraying the dominant norms that assist in the assimilation of marginalized cultures. modern consumer culture currently considerers the term 'lifestyle' in vogue. within "contemporary consumer culture it connotes individuality, self-expression, and a stylistic self-consciousness" which establishes taste and a sense of style. 1 x mike feather stone explains that, rather than accepting gay culture, lifestyles "display their individuality and sense of style in the particularity of the assemblage of goods, clothes, practices, experiences, and appearance and bodily disposition they design" regardless of stereotypes.x commodification prefabricates culture into easy to consume products and images that allow the dominant culture to utilize stereotypes i n constructing "lifestyles" for consumption. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 theorist antonio gramsci defines hegemony as a cultural and ideological means whereby the dominant groups in society maintain their dominance by securing the "consent" of subordinate groups. x l this "consent" is achieved by negotiating the construction of a political and ideological consensus which incorporates all groups. gramsci states that hegemony "assimilated the world-view of the dominant group; an assimilation which allows the group" to extend its cultural norms over those of other groups and even assimilate marginalized groups in an effort to remain principal.™ as homogenization and assimilation lead the media to state that differences no longer exist, the cornmodification of queer transgresses cultural taboos surrounding sexuality. the commodification of difference promotes paradigms of consumption wherein difference is eradicated, via exchange, by a consumer who not only displaces the other but also denies the significance of that other's life-story by decontextualization. c o m m o d i f y i n g q u e e r by presenting the makeover tactics of five gay male hosts, television's popular reality program, queer eye for the straight guy, has captured the attention of millions. the program, which appears on bravo x m , depicts five professionals including interior and fashion designers, culinary and cultural experts, and a hair stylist, who redesign numerous aspects of a selected straight participant's wardrobe, apartment, and mannerisms i n an attempt to make h i m trendier. x l v the five hosts' use of flamboyant forms of presentation, while entertaining mainstream audiences, reinforces stereotypes that surround the gay community. the program entertains viewers i n a manner that screens them from the non-stereotypical aspects of the gay community. mass media "has to balance the need of majority interests against those of specialized minorities." x v it is a reflection of the homogenized middle whose "tyranny of audience ratings and readership studies forces a consistency on content that is designed to attract the most" by screening content for its audiences.xv1 media use this method because it is easier to depict preexisting ideas surrounding a culture than introducing new ones. this "is a paradox because the increased visibility of marginalized groups often creates restrictions and recycles old stereotypes."50' 1 1 this paradox allows for a more effortless consumption of ideas that might otherwise be considered proscribed. i n portraying stereotypes, the media allow for society to be "embracing [of] images of gay life but still all too reluctant of a society readily embracing the realities of gay identit ies ."™ 1 1 the society "we live in is deeply conflicted about homosexuality but no longer able to deny its existence. " x 1 x media tactics "makes gay people simultaneously an ideal group for niche marketing and for the containment inherent in commodification to straight consumers."x k while gay individuals may appear more in entertainment, depictions of their coming-out stories and cultural styles have either been transformed into mainstream versions or ignored. i n relation to queer eye, the openly gay hosts are valued only as entertainment and a means for profit. as entertainers, who appear only on television, they no longer threaten society with their way of life. the gay individual has moved from being hidden and ridiculed, to out of "the closet" to perform. guy debord terms this "the spectacle," stating that " i n societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. everything that was directly lived has moved away into representation."™ the spectacle, which surrounds the practices and lives of its members, drives american consumer society. i n consuming the media-propagated spectacle of the gay man, the consumer internalizes the stereotypes that surround it. programs like queer eye have a duplicitous nature which both help and hurt the gay community. while offering selfgrooming and personal wellness advice, the program uses stereotypical hosts to convey to the audience how the "queer eye" is stereotypically better than the straight one. by "mainstreaming homosexuality, we are homogenizing the gay society to a point in which that they are believed to dress and act similar in all fashions of their l ives." x x n this homogenization could either damage gay culture by reinforcing a spectacle of reality or help it by existing in a time in which homosexuality was once considered a mental disorder x x i i i and taboo. 5 0^ the presence of popular gay programs such as queer eye in the media within the past 5 to 8 years demonstrates that marketers have focused on the idea of targeting a profitable gay market. advertisers consider the gay consumer a "dream market." according to research conducted in 1997 by simmons market research bureau, the gay market was found to have an estimated spending power reaching $35 billion per year.30^ dr. daniel wardlow, associate professor of marketing at san francisco state university, stated, "as a 'dream market' gays and lesbians are reported to have significantly higher-than-average disposable incomes and a near-rabid desire for consumption."^ 1 in contrast, gay economist m.v. lee badgett released a study entitled income inflation: the myth of affluence among gay, lesbian, and bisexual americans, released by the national gay and lesbian task force, 5 0™ 1 that indicated that "the gay population's average wealth is no different than that of heterosexuals." the 1998 study, which was an update to the 1990 u.s. census and general social survey, stated that "most marketing studies have mistakenly focused on upscale gays and does not accurately reflect the gay population." x x v 1 1 1 the depiction of this "dream market," whether correct or exaggerated, in combination with preexisting stereotypes, has contributed to the development of a new image to expand a lucrative consumer segment. t a r g e t i n g t h e c o n s u m e r : m a r k e t i n g t h e " m e t r o s e x u a l " in 1994 mark simpson, a british writer, coined the term "metrosexual" shortly after the publication of his book male impersonators: men performing masculinity.™* simpson's aim in creating this term was to offer a slightly satirical critique on the effects of consumerism and media proliferation on traditional masculinity. in describing the term, simpson stated, "gay men provided the early prototype for metrosexuality."5 0 0 5 they are mostly "decidedly single, definitely urban, dreadfully uncertain of their identity (hence the emphasis on pride and the susceptibility to the latest label) and socially emasculated. gay men pioneered the business of accessorizing and combining masculinity and desirability." 5 0 0" simpson's definition of the metrosexual, derived from gay stereotypes, raises interesting questions around the descriptor as a marketed idea. metrosexuality is a result of the production and redistribution of stereotypes that generate profit in a consumer society. the distinction refers to a male who has taken on fashionable characteristics, via consumption, that are stereotypically associated with homosexuality. its existence is owed to the gay individual and his perceived excessive consumption habits. with the formation of the metrosexual, queer culture is being homogenized into a single stereotype that is easily absorbed by mass culture. in eating the other: desire and resistance author bell hooks states that modern depictions of the other, marginalized minorities, have been transformed through a consumer culture that seeks to profit off of perceived difference. from this it can be noted that "the commodification of difference promoted paradigms of consumption wherein whatever difference the other inhabits is eradicated, via exchange, by a consumer. ' , x x x u for much of the twentieth century, gay males relied upon the feminine image as a means to express their sexuality. from this notion came the culturally accepted association of homosexuality with feminine fashions. in 1965, j.l. simmons believed that these stereotypes stemmed from two parts: "stereotypes are variable: at one extreme they may be myths invented from superstition and misinformation; at the other verified [they are] scientific generalizations. they may be prejudices immune to reality testing or they may be tentative appraisals with the built in notion that their validity and applicability to all class members is problematic." 5 0 0 ' 1 1 1 in the absence of any other information the effeminate stereotype became a template for the gay man's expression of sexuality. from these stereotypes the metrosexual not only forms his appearance but also does not have e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 to denounce it by acting more masculine. 5 0 0 0^ i n a january 2005 interview simpson stated that "metrosexuality is problematic because it speaks openly what should not be spoken i n that kind of grouping: the possibility of male desirability and by implication, passivity. , , x x x v this observation of consumer culture and masculinity provides further insight into how metrosexuality may garner social acceptance via the possibility of challenge of norms. the perception that gay men are trendy pioneers of shopping for stylish and tasteful articles of clothing is supported by the notion that "the gay quest for distinction is based the report surveyed 510 single males between the ages of 21-48 and 548 with wives. 82 percent of the male sample considered good grooming essential for businessmen today and the majority saw nothing wrong with a man getting a facial.5 0™* the report also stated that 76 percent of those surveyed considered themselves as "easygoing," 74 percent as "caring," and 68 percent as "open-minded." x l i n contrast, many traditional male attributes were given a very low rating. "the metrosexual represents the tipping point of a shift that parallels the process—though not the passion or the politicization—of the women's movement," says marian salzman, chief strategy officer at euro rscg metrosexuality is a result of the production and redistribution of stereotypes that generate profit in a consumer society." on a more complex and subtle dynamic" which uses subcultural appearance standards i n competition through consumption. 3 0 0™ 1 marketers then "ransack the vast array of cultural traditions in order to produce interesting and exotic material for wider audiences" i n an effort to profit. 5 0 0™ 1 simpson's description of the metrosexual portrays h i m as a consumer who values products that hold high cultural value and give way to individual distinction. by defining the metrosexual as a high-end consumer, derived from gay stereotypes, simpson has provided the "buzz word" needed by marketers to target and expand a profitable market. this market expansion was first conceived by the marketing industry after the article, meet the metrosexual, in which mark simpson described the metrosexual. 5 0 0™ 1 1 1 international advertising giant euro rscg, which holds 233 offices worldwide, decided to conduct several metrosexual focus groups in the new york metropolitan area to discover i f the metrosexual market was lucrative. after holding groups, the company published a report entitled the future of men in which the consumer habits of metrosexual men were examined. worldwide and one of the architects of the study. x i l " i n the 1900s, women had to struggle to win parity with men. i n this new century, men—still the dominant gender—are finding the courage to explore the female domain without fear of losing their status as 'real' men. as the survey results show, more and more men are willing to take that r i sk . " x l u the report conducted by euro rscg was intended not only to gain a better understanding of the emerging metrosexual market, but also to advertise an upcoming trend. f r o m c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n to s o c i a l a c c e p t a n c e the relationship between the commodification of culture and acceptance of homosexuality is ambiguous. the intensified marketing of gay images is less indicative of a growing acceptance of homosexuality than of capitalism's appropriation of gay "styles" for mainstream audiences. queer visibility is vital to "prepare the ground for gay civil rights protection [and] affirmative images of lesbians and gays in the mainstream media," and can assist i n further exposure in the dominant cu l ture . x l m rosemary hennessy states in the article queer visibility in commodity culture c o n s u m i n g q u e e r : t h e c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f c u l t u r e a n d its e f f e c t s o n s o c i a l a c c e p t a n c e that, "visibility i n commodity culture is in this sense a l imited victory for gays who are welcome to be visible as a consumer subjects but not as social subjects." x l i v the increase in gay images in consumer culture affects audiences by perpetuating stereotypes, and thus possibly limits the knowledge that is essential i n advocating acceptance. a study entitled the effect of consumer prejudices on ad processing: heterosexual consumers' responses to homosexual imagery in ads documents how consumers react to ads subjectively on the basis of their membership in groups defined by ethnicity or gender, or their life themes or experiences. the authors examine how heterosexuals react to the portrayals of homosexuals i n advertisements. the research finds that "heterosexuals' emotional and attitudinal responses to a homosexual ad depend on their general attitude toward homosexuality" and that the "more exposure an individual had to homosexuals the more positive their reactions were." x l v the results demonstrate the diverse opinions of consumers regarding social issues such as homosexuality. to further examine public opinion concerning homosexuality in the context of consumer culture data, expansions on the general social survey have been collected. given the attention given to the gay community in recent years, the statistics may show a trend in acceptance due to wider media exposure. differences between males and females in the usa according to general social survey data found that female's opinions changed more than males in accepting homosexuality. x l v i attitudes towards homosexuality have traditionally been one of the very few areas where females equal or exceed males in the acceptance of a sexual behavior. recent data from gallup and pew research polls indicate that americans feel some tension between their desire to be fair to those who are different from themselves and a l ingering unease with homosexuality itself. a 2003 gallup survey indicated that while 47 percent of americans strongly or not-strongly believe homosexuality should be accepted by society, 46 percent believed that it should be discouraged. x l v n while americans are split over the issue of acceptance, surveys demonstrate that acceptance of gays and lesbians has risen significantly. 2004 survey data show that 54 percent of americans believe homosexuality should be an acceptable lifestyle. x i v i i i i n determining levels of acceptance, television programs have utilized the role of consumer society to extend trends and challenge gender norms. the program he's a lady transforms several heterosexual males into women and has them accomplish feminine tasks, including weekly challenges which "include learning how to walk, talk and dress like a lady, followed by going out in public to find out how convincing they are; learning to flaunt their new attitude with t ra in ing . " x l l x this gender switch demonstrates a new level of exposure for the gay community. judith butler deficure 1-1 pew research center june 2003 americans are div ided on whether homosexual ity should be accepted or discouraged by society sample: 1,000 adults m e t h o d o l o g y : telephone interview conducted june 4-8, 2003 n o t e : percentages may not add to t o o percent because o f r o u n d i n g scribes in her book gender trouble a rearticulation of gender identity and sex and gender limitations. she states, "drag exposes the heterosexual matrix as a fabrication and sex as a performatively enacted signification." 1 in relationship to consumer culture, the performances which participants take part in on he's a lady allows for the fabrication of identity. while this is a reaction against dominant culture, it maintains that heterosexuality is "real," exposing a "pseudo-original" copy or representation that perpetuates dominance. despite the increased exposure, these representations of stereotypes and gender twists are superficial and may not affect acceptance of the gay community. acceptance of homosexuality has risen over the decades, yet exposure via consumer culture may l imit the circulation of true-to-life gay images. whether commodifiying a particular culture actually increased acceptance of the culture being commodified is hard to ascertain. while media portrayals provide wider exposure, commodification also assimilates trends and styles into the dominant culture. these trends assist in devaluing the gay community's lived experience and problems while providing pseudo-false information to consumers. a consumer culture that utilizes trends allows for the continuation of these labels and stereotypes. f o c u s i n g t h e t o p i c ! is t h e r e a t r e n d ? after the initial introduction of metrosexuality into the mainstream by the st. john's article and the efforts of euro rscg, it becomes important to ascertain how viewers of queer eye, a pinnacle of the phenomenon, relate to the commodified images of gays. a university in the new england area was selected as a site from which to assemble focus groups and gather data from college age students. male, female, and male/female groups, consisting of six students per group, were formed. the all male group consisted of five students and the all female group consisted of six students. the 36 participants were selected randomly from those who responded to advertising for the study. the following quotations reflect a sample of the data collected. in engaging with an all male focus group, members enjoyed queer eye while offering criticism of the straight male participant in the episode. the group's reaction to interactions between the hosts and participant demonstrated how the gay individual is a pure object for entertainment and when displaced the reassertion of masculinity is unnecessary. " i think that it adds to the humorous value of the show, but i don't know i f it advanced the whole acceptance of gay rights any further because it just projects them as like the stereotypes" (m2). from this notion group member m3 mentioned that " i don't think you could be like that in real life. but they still are so damn funny it's sick." much of these responses show how the participants enjoyed the program for its entertainment value, but when asked what they felt about the show in relationship to how the majority of americans may think about the gay community, they responded by stating that " i t reinforces stereotypes and possibly limits acceptance" (m2). the subject of acceptance brought about ideas surrounding the purpose of the program in relationship to the stereotypes the group believed it reinforced. group members were very quick to note that "ratings are the main purpose of the show. ratings equal money" (m2). the mention of ratings led to the observation that "the show may be skewed towards the flamboyant side to do well on television, but they do not do a good job of representing everyone" (m4). "they play off of the two extreme stereotypes. so, like these flamboyantly gay people come into the chip eating, bud drinkin', football watchin' guys house... and they fix h i m up" ( m 3 ) . the conversation turned to the issue of acceptance of the gay community by mainstream society, in relation to programs like queer eye. " i think what started off as a stereotype for the gay man is becoming sort of our pop culture's belief, and the majority of people in america believe that this is more than a stereotype," stated m3. a serendipitous idea that emerged from this exchange was the 'comingout' of m3 as a metrosexual and how the group reacted to the concept. c o n s u m i n g q u e e r : t h e c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f c u l t u r e a n d i t s e f f e c t s o n s o c i a l a c c e p t a n c e the idea surrounding gay male and metrosexual consumer trends sparked comments such as "people think it is trendy to have a gay friend right now" (mi) and the observation that, "people are buying into the stereotype and want the associated expertise that comes along with being gay" (m3). they also recognized that "ten years ago we wouldn't be able to have this discussion about how we all feel that gayness is trendy because it was taboo and just not talked about." (m3). group members valued the presence of a gay program on television, and the opportunity for discussion it provides. from the reactions regarding how society viewed the gay community, it was clear that the group identified a "gay trend" that "demonstrated a trend at this point in time, selling itself, by making it trendy to look nice like they do" (m4). while exposing the gay community to mainstream culture was considered to still be positive, the group viewed with caution the idea that the continuation of stereotypes in the mainstream could hurt the community in the future. female group members also discussed both the stereotypical portrayal of the hosts and how the program's entertainment value was important to the show's popularity and media exposure. " i n some ways this is the first tv show based upon gay men doing anything, it's something showing how things are changing in the media" (f3). al l members of the female group believed that the program was entertaining and the exposure of gay individuals to the general public was a positive step. in an effort to change the conversation about gay stereotypes, the focus of the end of the conversation, f6 stated that her "guy friend wears all these [trendy] things, but he also identifies himself as a gay-straight man." this statement led the group into a frenzy of excitement over the topic. "oh my god, i know that word. it's metrosexual," stated f2. the understanding of metrosexuality by f2 demonstrates the filtering down into society of this new social trend and term. the identifications of metrosexuality by group members demonstrate how this new term has begun to permeate into popular culture. this is further supported by the act of self identification that group members stated. the results of the focus groups support the theory that the marketing industry is succeeding in forming a new demographic. d i s c u s s i o n within popular american culture, people seek out what is different establish individuality. 1 1 in searching for this consumer individuality, presenting oneself as or with the gay man may confirm one's positionality. 1 1 1 the metrosexual is an example of american consumer culture's desire for marketable stereotypes. marketers, such as euro rscg mainstream a stereotypical version of homosexuality by homogenizing it. as gay individuals are colonized by the majority culture, they may be absorbed by the dominant culture, even i f it excludes or diminishes them. the results of focus groups show that the consumption of queer has permeated american culture. while enjoying the entertainment value of queer eye for the straight guy, focus groups commented on the perpetuation of stereotypes. these stereotypes, which include knowledge of fashion, style, and personal care, were then later reintroduced to describe the metrosexual. participants saw the formation of the metrosexual as something that was not necessarily good or bad, but instead new and trendy. i n a society that thrives from the very nature of what it is consuming, the possibility that consuming queer wi l l result i n wider acceptance of the gay community seems problematic. the high turnover rates of consumer trends may mean that the metrosexual and television programs that feature gay casts may also be considered a consumer trend. metrosexuality is not necessarily a signal of wider acceptance of homosexuality by mainstream society. the metrosexual, according to simpson's definition and marketing efforts, is identified solely based upon consumption habits and mannerisms. simpson stated that this signals that "every aspect of masculinity wi l l be commodified and sold back to men especially when it is sold as being 'authentic' or 'traditional'." 1 1 1 1 consumption devalues the lived experie l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 figure 1-2 pew research center various years acceptance o f homosexual ity has grown s ignif icant ly sample: 1,000 adults [the number o f respondents varied f r o m year to year] m e t h o d o l o g y : telephone interview conducted various years n o t e : percentages may not add to t o o percent because o f r o u n d i n g 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 54%' 35% • not acceptable acceptable . 38%' • 5 0 % . -44% ' . 51%•45%. -52%-44% -54% •42% 2002 2004 ences of the homosexual while assuming the positive styles and traits with which it is associated. "for the time being...there is nothing straight about metrosexuality. the appeal of metrosexuality for many is precisely the transgressive association with homosexuality" and may not be a signal wider acceptance. l lv the relationship between consumer trends and social acceptance demonstrates the influence of the new consumer culture. the commodification of homosexuals and other marginalized cultures calls into question the ethics of modern consumption. at this point, it is unrealistic to expect media alone to encourage challenges to societal norms of sexuality, gender, consumption, and class. but i f television is where a conversation about human sexuality is taking place, it may at least be a starting point.lv i n the end, consumers must begin to value and learn from the differences that exist between cultures and communities i n order to bring about true social acceptance. e n d n o t e s i featherstone (1991) i i hebdige (1979) i i i hooks (1992) iv hennessey (1994) v hennessy (1994) vi galst (1992) vi i strinati (1995) v i i i strinati (1995) ix featherstone (1991) x featherstone (1991) xi gramsci (1971) xi i ransome (1992) xi i i bravo is owned and operated by the national broadcasting corporation (nbc), which is wholly owned by general electric. xiv queer eye (2003) xv bowes (1996) xvi bowes (1996) xvii walters (2001) xviii walters (2001) xix schulman (1998) xx schulman (1998) xxi debord (1977) xxii gross (1989) xxiii the american psychiatric association decided that homosexuality is not itself a psychiatric disorder. the change was an amendment to the official diagnostic and statistical manual o f mental disorders. the decision was also impart to the political struggle, and successful social movement and impact or counter culture i n the 1960's (spector, 1978, p.30). xxiv debord (1977) xxv chasin (2000) xxvi wardlow (1996) xxvii walters (2001) xxviii badgett (1998) xxix the introduction of the term metrosexual into mainstream american consumer culture occurred i n the new york times article metrosexuals come out i n which the writer, warren st. john, interviewed several metrosexuals i n new york city after discovering the report by euro rscg (st. john, 2003, p.1,9). xxx simpson (2003a) xxxi simpson (2003a) xxxii hooks (1992) xxxhi simmons (1965) xxxiv b reward (1999 xxxv yaksich (2005) xxxvi kates (2002) xxxvii featherstone (1991) xxxviii simpson (2003b) xxxix metrosexual man (2003) c o n s u m i n g q u e e r : t h e c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f c u l t u r e a n d i t s e f f e c t s o n s o c i a l a c c e p t a n c e http://point.lv xlvi i princeton (2003) xlvi i i gallup (2004) xlix he's a lady (2004) 1 butler (1990) l i kates (2002) hi hooks (1992) l i i i yaksich (2005) liv yaksich (2005) lv gamson (2005) xl metrosexual man (2003) xl i metrosexual man (2003) xl i i metrosexual man (2003) x l i i i hennessy (1994) xliv hennessy (1994) xlv bhat, leigh, and wardlow (1998) xlvi bhat, leigh, and wardlow (1998) references badgett, m . v. lee. 1998. income inflation: the myth of affluence among gay, lesbian, and bisexual americans. new york: a joint publication of the policy institute of the national gay and lesbian task force and the institute for gay and lesbian strategic studies. bhat, subodh and leigh, thomas w. and wardlow, daniel l. 1998. the effect of consumer prejudices on ad processing: heterosexual consumers' responses to homosexual imagery in ads. journal o f advertising; vol. 27 issue 4, p9, 2op, 3. bowes, john e. 1996. out of the closet and into the marketplace: meeting basic needs i n the gay community. i n wardlow, d. 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(2003b, july 25). meet the metrosexual. retrieved november 4, 2003, from salon.com web site: http://archive.salon.com/ent/feature/2002/07/22/ metrosexual/ spector, malcolm. 1978. the american psychiatric association decision on homosexuality. new york, ny, p-30. strinati, dominic. (1995). an introduction to theories of popular culture, london: routledge. st. john, warren. (2003, july 22). metrosexuals come out. the new york times, p . i section 9. walters, suzanna. 2001. all the rage: the story of gay visibility in america. chicago: university of chicago press. wardlow, daniel l. 1996. introduction to gays, lesbians, and consumer behavior. i n wardlow, d. (ed.), gays, lesbians, and consumer behavior, (pp.1-8). binghamton, ny: hawthorn press ed. yaksich, michael j., personal interview wi th mark simpson, january 30, 2005. c o n s u m i n g q u e e r : t h e c o m m o d i f i c a t i o n o f c u l t u r e a n d i t s e f f e c t s o n s o c i a l a c c e p t a n c e http://www.web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document http://bravotv.com http://www.bravotv.com/ http://marksimpson.com http://www.marksimpson.com/pages/ http://salon.com http://archive.salon.com/ent/feature/2002/07/22/ caroli n e n. g elm i is a junior majoring in english from union, new jersey. she spent last semester studying abroad in london, and much of her work was accomplished there. she hopes to attend graduate school after completing here education at boston college, and she would also like to travel. she has two pet dogs whom she loves, and she would like to thank her family for all of their support. lau ren l. g i l f eat her is a senior human development major in the lynch school of education concurrently pursuing her masters in social work at boston college. lauren's academic interests focus on family dissolution and preservation and adolescent psychology, and she is presently an intern at the comprehensive school age parenting program in jamaica plain. lauren is the vice president of the boston college chapter of the golden key international honor society and works as both a research assistant and tutor in the field of social work. kaeli n g rant is a sophomore in the college of arts and sciences, majoring in philosphy and french language and literature. she hails from wisconsin, and she wil l be studying abroad in paris next year. mark i rvine is a junior at boston college, majoring in international studies with concentrations in economic relations and security studies with a minor in economics. he was born and grew up in phoenix, arizona. he is involved in the fulton debating society, model united nations, and the college federal reserve challenge competition. other research includes a senior project studying the uses of deterrence by the threat of punishment in counterterrorism policy, focusing specifically on its long history in the israel-palestine case. erin l. m c c u t c h e o n is originally from ridgewood, new jersey and is now a senior at boston college. she is majoring in art history and english, with a minor in studio art with a concentration in oil painting. her essay represents a section of a larger honors thesis she is writing this year focusing on the artists ana mendieta and frida kahlo and a discussion of identity in their work. julie b. mcn a m a r a is a sophomore in the school of arts and sciences and is a double major in classics and linguistics. she is especially interested in studying bilinguals from both sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives. the original paper was written for psycholinguistics under the supervision and tutelage of professor margaret thomas. it provided ms. mcnamara a starting point for her research into how bilinguals manage two competing sets of vocabulary. a special computer program was written expressely to aid in this study by mr. joeseph t. connolly, arts and sciences class of 2005. she is also a member of the boston college "screaming eagles" marching band. scott m. o'leary is a senior philosophy and history double major with an emphasis on religious history and thought. born in lima, peru, scott has lived throughout south and central america before settling in traverse city, missouri. scott is active with the st. thomas more society, phi alpha theta, and the father fred foundation. he is also the regional director of the soapbox coalition, a non-partisan political outreach group dedicated to 18-30 year olds, and is a philosophy teaching assistant and a resident assistant. inspiration for his work came from studies with professor kearney in existentialism and theories of self-hood, as well as overcoming onto-theology by merold westphal. h eath er k. speller is a senior psychology major in the college of arts & sciences. she has conducted mental health research in the acute psychiatry service at massachusetts general hospital for two years, and recently completed her senior honors thesis, entitled "mental health literacy: a comparative assessment of knowledge and opinions of mental illness between caucasian and asian american college students". she wil l be attending medical school next year, and is considering a career in psychiatry. m i c h a e l j. yaks i c h class of 2005, is a sociology honors student studying consumption and popular culture. michael has presented work at the 2004 american sociological association's annual meeting and conducted research as an undergraduate fellow under dr. juliet schor. he also serves as a resident assistant; director of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender issues for the undergraduate government; and is a member of the order of the cross and crown honor society. "munch transcended the artistic conventions of his time and began to formulate ideas that would lay the groundwork for expressionism in art." d r i p s , scratches, a n d strokes the new language of expressionism from edvard munch to willem de kooning s v e t l a n a t u r o v a w h e t h e r o n o d d l y s h a p e d p i l l o w s , s h r i e k i n g d o l l s , o r b a s i c c o f f e e m u g s , t h e e m a c i a t e d p r o t a g o n i s t w i t h g a p i n g m o u t h a n d t h e s w i r l i n g l a n d s c a p e o f e d v a r d m u n c h ' s the scream i s o n e o f t o d a y ' s m o s t w i d e s p r e a d i m a g e s . t h o u g h m u n c h d i e d j u s t a s a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m w a s b e i n g b o r n , h i s e m p h a s i s o n t h e h i g h l y p e r s o n a l a n d t h e u n c o n s c i o u s t h r o u g h a b s t r a c ­ t i o n , b r u s h w o r k , a n d i n t e n s e l y e v o c a t i v e c o l o r s l i n k h i m c l o s e l y t o t h i s i m p o r t a n t a m e r i c a n a r t m o v e m e n t . t h r o u g h t h e s p e c i f i c c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e oeuvre o f m u n c h a n d t h e a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s t w i l l e m d e k o o n i n g , t h i s e s s a y w i l l e x a m i n e h o w a n d w h y t h e n o r w e g i a n pa i n t e r b e c a m e k n o w n a s t h e " f a t h e r o f e x p r e s s i o n i s m " i n t h e h i s t o r y o f a r t . the scream is n o t c e n t r a l t o t h i s d i s c u s s i o n , b u t i n s t e a d w i l l b e l o o k e d a t i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h o t h e r e a r l y p a i n t i n g s a n d p r i n t s , s u c h a s the sick child a n d the kiss. t h e s e w o r k s a n d o t h e r s r e v e a l m u n c h ' s a r t i s t i c p h i l o s o p h y a n d t e c h n i q u e a n d a l l o w u s t o d r a w b r o a d e r c o n n e c t i o n s t o f u t u r e m o v e m e n t s , n e o d a d a i s m a n d e x p r e s s i o n i s m a m o n g t h e m . norway, 1893: one of the most repeated, exploited, and recognized images in the history of western art is born. 1 the scream (figure 1) by edvard munch (1863-1944)11 is familiar and identifiable today, yet, when first exhibited the painting shocked most audiences, spurring harsh criticism from art critics and viewers alike. munch had clearly defied traditional views of painting. more than half a century later across the atlantic, dutch-born abstract expressionist willem de kooning proclaimed, "every so often a painter has to destroy painting. cezanne did it and then picasso did it again with cubism. then pollock did it—he busted given to the following works by munch: the sick child (1885-6), the scream (1893), and the kiss (1898). i n the process, surprising connections to the works of arshile gorky and jackson pollock wi l l be discussed. munch transcended the artistic conventions of his time and began to formulate ideas that would lay the groundwork for expressionism in art. norwegian painters of the late nineteenth century gravitated toward naturalism, realism, and impressionism, drawing inspiration from the external world and relying on observation in their creation of art. v "every so often a painter has to destroy painting. cezanne did it and then picasso did it again ... then pollock did it—he busted our idea of a picture all to hell. then there could be new pictures again." our idea of a picture all to hell. then there could be new pictures again." 1 1 1 after a closer look at the scandinavian master's oeuvre, it is not only tempting but highly appropriate to squeeze munch between cezanne and picasso in this list of "destroyers." de kooning's word choice above is provocative, indeed; while "destruction" implies violence and annihilation in most contexts, de kooning applies i t to art, designating it a harbinger of renaissance, a sort of tabula rasa for the artist, a chance to redefine the artistic vocabulary and revolutionize painting. edvard munch's "proto-expressionist formal vocabulary" i v—his exploitation of line, color, and form to convey subjectivity—and his enlistment of the unconscious in the artistic process foreshadowed major twentieth-century artistic movements, such as surrealism and abstract expressionism. this essay wi l l relate munch's work method, technique, and themes to those of de kooning in order to examine munch's broader relationship to abstract expressionism. particular attention wi l l be landscapes were especially popular. the landscape painting might encompass naturalist themes, but munch would instead portray it as reflection of inner feeling and the soul. munch received formal education i n the arts i n oslo and even obtained several grants to study in france, the latter of which would forever alter his outlook on painting. in modern painting and the northern romantic tradition, robert rosenblum comments on munch's experiences abroad: "like van gogh, munch changed drastically the surface appearance of his painting by absorbing the newest artistic vocabularies that he could study during his frequent sojourns in france," adding that, like van gogh, "munch could almost always mold this foreign vocabulary to his own emotional needs."v! indeed, the thirst to express his moods and emotions became munch's dominating motivation. the munch household was one of repressed anguish; in fact, edvard munch commented about his childhood, " i was born dying." v i i both munch's mother and sister died of f i g u r e 1 . e d v a r d m u n c h , the scream ( 1 8 9 3 ) . tuberculosis within a decade of one another. munch suffered from bouts of life-threatening bronchitis at a young age. the patriarch of the family dr. christian munch, fell into severe depression as a result of his helplessness in the face of the disease and, being a christian fundamentalist, attributed the illness as a form of punishment from god. these experiences would doubtless haunt edvard munch for the rest of his life and career. hence, while i n france, munch became extremely receptive to experimental artistic forms and methods, most likely searching for a way to exorcise the traumatizing memories of his childhood. regardless of the true reason for munch's attraction to works by van gogh and gauguin, it is evident that munch began to reform his artistic philosophy and to develop expressionist aesthetic vocabulary and ideas. in expressionism: art and idea, donald gordon outlines the "ground rules" of expressionism as dictated in 1937 by the ten, one of the first publicly recognized expressionist art groups in the united states: 1. the attempt to reduce the interpretation of nature or life in general to the rawest emotional elements. 2. a complete and utter dependence on pigment as an expressive agency rather than an imitative or descriptive one. 3. a n intensity of vision which tries to catch the throb of life, necessarily doing violence to external facts to lay bare internal facts. v i i i gordon adds that expressionism was first and foremost a familial revolution because " i t was a protest by adolescents against [the] ignorance, intolerance, and materialism of their parents and teachers." 1x he cites munch, who came from a conservative background, as a prime example of those liberated by expressionist art and culture. how did munch then relate to the expressionist ideals enumerated above? on new year's eve i n the year 1889, munch articulated his artistic aspirations in the so-called st. cloud manifesto: "no longer would interiors, people who only read and knit, be painted. there should rather be living people breathing and feeling, suffering and loving. i felt i have to do this. it would be so simple. the flesh would take on form and the colours come to l i fe." x this vision rejects the goal of the naturalists and the impressionists to paint objectively, that is, directly from nature. instead of painting what he sees, the artist should paint what he saw i n that specific moment, allowing it to be molded by his mind and soul. " i t is true that a chair can be just as interesting as a man," munch explained, "but the chair must be seen by a man. i n one way or another, he must have had an emotional reaction to it and the painter must cause the viewer to react in the same way." x l the external is subordinated to the internal, and the internal, i n turn, is projected onto nature. his insistence that the audience be moved by the picture suggests that his "subjective psychological experiences" can be raised to the level of "universal statements analyzing the soul of modern man. " x l i in his oeuvre, munch aspired to express the first impression or moment of an experience. one of munch's intellectual companions, swedish playwright, sculptor, and painter august strindberg, may have encouraged munch to pursue this agenda more fervently. i n his essay, "the new arts, or the role of chance in artistic creation" from 1894, he wrote: now freed from the trouble of finding the right colours, the soul of the painter enjoys the freedom to elicit shapes, and as his hand manipulates the spatula at random, still retaining nature's model in mind without seeking to copy it, the result reveals itself as a charming combination of the conscious and the unconscious.xm the juxtaposition of the words "manipulates" and "at random" is peculiar because it foreshadows the remarkable paradox so apparent in paintings by the best known abstract expressionist, jackson pollock. the idea of "randomness" is more complicated than it seems and rather difficult to achieve. while the artist relinquishes control, allowing his conscience, not his intellect, to guide h im, he still manages to "manipulate" or control the composition of the piece. the "alloverness"—the fact that the viewer's eye travels all over the painting without settling on any single focal point, a term coined by art critic clement greenberg—of pollock's larger paintings and the seemingly spontaneous curves and sinews of the poured paint, to which the mainstream audience often responds, "anyone could do that!" illustrates the contradiction. several of munch's paintings, among them the madonna and the scream, contain drips, a result of the runny, thin quality of the paint munch employed. heller explores this detail in his thorough discussion of the scream: "like the visible retention of changes in other paintings by h im, these drips are intended to leave the impression that the artist created during a fit of passion, almost unconsciously, instinctively and directly without prior thought or study." x l v this idea of the passion, instinct, and the unconscious—all removed from the cerebral realm—prefigures the surrealists. i n his essay, strindberg also introduces the term "art automatique," x v the same term used thirty years later by the "pope" of surrealism, andre breton, and other surrealist artists like max ernst. the spontaneous technique of writing, drawing, and painting extended into jackson pollock's vocabulary and was monumentally reconfigured to "destroy painting" only decades later. while it is intriguing to associate the drips on munch's canvases with those of pollock's, one must take care to distinguish the working methods of the two artists. while munch propped the canvas or board vertically so the thin paint ran down it as he worked (it was not necessarily splattered), pollock placed the canvas on the floor and enlisted gravity to create his poured paintings. apart from drips or pours, however, the sinuous, impulsive line imbued with blood-red hues in munch's fjord sky demonstrates his use of color and line to evoke emotion. in munch's case, the artist finds inspiration in introspection, and the sensations conjured up by this reflection cause h i m to manipulate the medium, thereby distorting the features of nature, unti l he has fully conveyed what the original psychological experience inspired in h im. nearly ten years after the death of his sister sophie, munch painted the sick child (figure 2), a clear departure point for his mature works. he was continually disturbed by the memory of her suffering, perhaps by the horrific image of the coughing up of blood, and would even paint several versions of this work at later stages of his life. he commented, "when i saw the sick child for the first time—the pale head with the vividly red hair against the white pillow—it gave f igure 2. edvard m u n c h , the sick child ( 1 8 8 5 6 ) . me an impression which disappeared while i was worki n g . " x v l munch later "discovered that my own eyelashes had contributed to the impression of the picture—i therefore painted them as hints of shadows across the picture." x v n after painting the figures and periphery of this key work, munch scratched and scored the surface, destroying the polished look that had characterized a "finished" work in western art for centuries. i n this sense, one can see where de kooning got his idea of "destroying" painting. d r i p s , s c r a t c h e s , a n d s t r o k e s on the one hand, the violation of the canvas renders the work raw and immediate. on the other hand, it expresses munch's frustration or failure i n seizing the initial feeling of the original experience. john boulton smith expounds on this issue, quoting munch within, ' " i n the course of a year i scratched it out countless times—i wanted to catch the first impression—but gradually i tired out and the colours became grey', an effect exacerbated by the careless treatment the work received later, being left outdoors to gain a 'patina' as might a sculpture."™ 1 1 exposing the work to the elements might not have been unintentional on munch's part. this "weathering" may have added expressive value to munch's work, just as munch deliberately exposed the grain of the wood or the bare canvas beneath the paint to intensify the evocative powers of the painting or print as a whole. the deliberate distancing of the artist from the total control of his work foreshadows twentieth-century composer john cage and his musical composition "four minutes and thirty-three seconds" (1952), in which cage instructed the performers to not play their instruments. the result consisted not of pure silence, of course, but of the sounds of the environment (e.g. an audience member coughing, a truck passing by the venue outside, the faint hum of the central air, etc.). x l x around this time robert rauschenberg created his white canvases. the viewer, part of the environment, would influence the work of art in this case by standing in front of the blank canvas, thereby projecting his or her shadow onto it . the unpredictability of how the environment could impact the work reflects strindberg's fascination with the unconscious and spontaneous. while munch's immediate influence can be felt more strongly in abstract expressionism, the circulation of these neodadaist ideas hark back to some of the most influential figures in munch's career, namely strindberg and his ideas in the "role of chance in artistic creation". munch's frustration with the sick child and his consequent reworking of the painting through deliberate damage to the canvas recalls willem de kooning's tendencies i n the woman series. woman i (figure 3), executed over two years in six documented stages, also witnessed a type of gradual obliteration. i n de kooning's painting, however, the destruction did not involve scraping the surface, but rather abstracting the figure in a tornado of agitated brushstrokes. i n his discussion of abstract expressionists, donald gordon explains that the "gestural activity of woman i, i f taken literally, records the countless hours, days, and months of rapid but wholly tiring arm and hand movements, movements which bespeak aesthetic tension, artistic frustration, and motor conflict. " x x this citation brings to mind the idea of the work of art as a process rather than a finished product, exhibited in the working method and oeuvre of both munch and de kooning. american critic harold rosenberg created the term "action painting" in 1952. just as munch subordinated external reality to internal subjectivity in his works, rosenberg's theory argued that the aesthetic product is always subordinate e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 to the event of painting. thus, the act of painting is also an existential affirmation for the artist, blurring "every distinction between art and life." : rosenberg's favorite action painters included pollock, gorky, and de kooning. the pouring of paint across a large surface in pollock, the scumbling of the wax crayon in gorky, x x 1 1 the innumerable campaigns i n de kooning, and finally the scratching and scouring of the canvas i n munch are all labor-intensive processes through which the artist manipulates his medium not only to make his mark, but to also transmit the essentials of his unconscious at the moment of inspiration. munch's repertoire embodied and foresaw recurring expressionist themes and techniques, but what did it share with the "abstract" nature of abstract expressionism? munch's use of symbols and his eclectic portrayal of figures adhered to the path towards abstraction. nearing abstraction is yet another way to interpret de kooning's idea of the destruction of painting since western art, unlike islamic art, which has a strong tradition of geometric and floral motifs, has for centuries been so invested in figural representation. both munch and de kooning diminished the figure-ground relationship in their works. they achieved this effect by flattening forms, expanding solid areas of color, and almost completely eliminating modulation. they reduced the sense of illusion so the figures are simplified and distorted, thus less lifelike. the works were no longer descriptive of what the artist sees, but rather a sign of their subjective vision. the kyss (figure 4) of 1897-1902 exemplifies munch's embrace of abstraction. interestingly enough, strindberg described the pictures with misogynistic overtones: "the fusion of two beings, the smaller of which, shaped like a carp, seems on the point of devouring the larger as is the habit of vermin, microbes, vampires, or w o m e n . " x x m the figures constitute a black and white blob; this form even predates picasso's biomorphic forms. the complete "fusion" of the faces summons the psychological melting together and the loss of individuality of two beings engaged in an erotic act. in a different version of the same year, the grain of the wood with nails visible reinforces the flatness of the figures; moreover, its curvilinear pattern echoes the gentle wave that forms the figures. perhaps munch saw the rings in the wood in this particular woodcut as a symbol for infinity, a reflection that he took love extremely seriously. he might have also associated the shape with the never-ending cycle of love and death that he witnessed and himself experienced throughout his childhood and adolescence. de kooning's woman i is arguably less abstracted than the figures in munch's comparable image. de kooning represented the looming eyes and the large, swelling breasts of the female figure, reminiscent of ancient goddesses of fertility, with simple ovals; the skirt, with swabs of red and ochre; and the legs, with flesh-toned rectangles. the gestural commotion around the torso is evocative of de kooning's pentimenti**™; the need for abstraction attained via multiple campaigns attests to the "utter dependence on pigment as an expressive agency" and to the fact that the process of creating, destroying, and recreating reveals something fundamental about the artist. d r i p s , s c r a t c h e s , a n d s t r o k e s although munch abstracted the figures in the kiss to a considerable degree, the human power of projection would almost immediately create for us the image of a man and woman embracing, even i f we had never seen the work i n alternative media. in this sense, abstract expressionism is misleading. the degree to which expressionists can reveal the inner workings of their soul through pure abstract i o n — i f there even is such a thing—has been tested. mark rothko oscillated between abstract expressionism and color field painting by replacing the human figure first with symbols, then with colored shapes, which seem to float off the canvas.30™ de kooning, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable with completely abandoning figuration. even his most renowned works attic and excavation recall human form i n their fleshy tones, limb-like linear forms, and faint references to women's breasts and buttocks. for this reason, british art critic and curator david sylvester observes that de kooning's work "reflects a total commitment to an ongoing dialectic between figuration and abstraction.' > x x v l despite his significant experimentation with abstraction, de kooning himself admitted that "even abstract shapes must have a likeness.' , x x v h i n 2001, the arken museum of modern art i n denmark and the munch museum in oslo organized echoes of the scream, a stimulating exhibition that compared munch to artists of the second half of the twentieth century, among them jasper johns and francis bacon. the curator holger reenberg encapsulated the overarching theme of the exhibit in the following quote: the artists in echoes of the scream all evince a striving towards man, however removed or absent the figure of man may seem. when the artist jasper johns (1930) says of his abstract pictures that they are meant to suggest physical presence and closeness, he is in effect describing many of the works included in the exhibition—an exhibition very much about the question of how to liberate oneself from figurative painting without surrendering the story of man.™-™1 d m u n c h , madonna ( 18 since many abstract expressionists found the complete avoidance of figuration challenging and seemed to return to the figure i n one way or another, it can be devised that munch's frequent depiction of figures does not distance h i m from said movement, but instead intensifies his connection to it. apart from figural depiction, another interesting relationship between the two artists' oeuvre is the environment i n which the figure is placed. the sharp angle formed by the bridge barrier in the scream, despair, and angst, among others, creates an antagonism between figure and setting. this is also the line that divides the "twisting torso" and the "art nouveau curvature of the landscape" x x i x and symbolically alienates the artist as he hears the infamous shriek pierce through nature. munch has painted not a landscape but a "soulscape" x x x and "inscape," an idea theorized by jesuit poet gerard manley hopkins. christian gether e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 wrote in echoes of the scream, "here we no longer find the ideal, geometric space of the renaissance, symbolising god's perfect creation and occasioning utopian dreams— instead we find a whirling vortex of colours and shapes, breaking and straining against each other in a dystopian vision of horror. " x x x 1 he highlighted defining features of our century such as electricity, nuclear power, and mass consumerism in order to illustrate how the scream's easily comprehensible themes of fear, suffering, and isolation reverberate in our era. the vortex to which christian gether referred is also present in de kooning. the jagged, agitated brushwork that envelopes woman i without concealing or revealing makes up the "no-environment" of many of de kooning's woman paintings. the eroticism and overwhelming physical presence of the woman echos munch's madonna (figure 5). the madonna has her arms behind her back, f igure 6. edvard munch , the hands (1893). thrusting her chest forward. the neutral yet incredibly sensual facial features reflect the importance of the unconscious in erotic and religious experiences alike. indeed, the vortex of swirling colors that extend at the tips of the madonna's hair and surround her immaculate body, create a "sense of liquid space, a type of fluid environment." x x x u this attribute, while still implying some depth of space, places the figure in an ambiguous setting. here the early portraits of seated men by arshile gorky and de kooning come to mind. the painting of the hands (figure 6) by munch shares the no-environment, the vortex, and even the color scheme of woman i. i n de kooning, restless smears of heavy impasto replace the truncated hands reaching for the naked figure in munch's hands. in the late 1960s and early 1970s, de kooning continued this trend by blurring the distinction between the human figure and nature in such works as woman in landscape iii.xxxm i n all these ways, munch and de kooning can be united across the century-old history of expressionism. such a connection allows the art historian to discover even more relationships among munch and other modern artists. i n particular, arshile gorky, jackson pollock, and francis bacon share many formal and thematic aspects with edvard munch. one of the recurring ideas in the work of all these artists is unmistakably the role of the unconscious and the enlistment of randomness, spontaneity, and chance in artistic creation. certainly the duality of a work of art as both process and product reveals the importance of the self to the artist and hints at the many philosophers and theorists whose writings paralleled and perhaps inspired these creative minds and talented hands, whether it be s0ren kierkegaard or claude levi-strauss. lastly, one cannot ignore the overlapping sensations and moods evoked by these works. fear, hopelessness, isolation, even revelation and irony, constitute the universal emotions that these works help us clarify for ourselves. in 1953, austrian expressionist oskar kokoschka, inevitably influenced by munch, wrote the following words: d r i p s , s c r a t c h e s , a n d s t r o k e s edvard munch, too, has turned to ashes; but as long as he lived he wore no blindfold. he kept his eyes wide open, his gaze reached into our time of transition, into our most intimate self where fear lodges in our hearts. i ask: can anyone ask for a better public? does not his art show the solution of the problem of life to the many who today believe in a third world war as in an inevitable catastrophe? . . . he knew that he had breathed a new spirit into the language of pictograms which is older than all spoken or written language.™™ kokoschka's reference to a blindfold stresses the indifference and impersonality of the modern society scarred by the horrors of war; in fact, for modern audiences the war imbued munch s art with so much significance and relevance. munch "wore no blindfold" because he was not intimidated by the inner world. he yearned to look inside himself and contemplate what he found, no matter how dreadful or uninviting. through hundreds of pages of writing, munch constantly reflected on his moods, often provoked by the emotive norwegian landscape, and channeled his fear and anxiety into countless paintings and prints. perhaps the "solution to the problem of life" is to exercise our creativity and thus reflect more deeply on our external and internal realities. kokoschka's view of munch as the creator of a new artistic language, echoed by the many art critics who have dubbed munch the "father of expressionism," appropriately parallels de kooning's comment on the destruction of painting that served as the departure point for this fascinating discussion. e n d n o t e s i . artists rights society i i . edvard munch bestowed 1,000 paintings, 15,400 etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts, 4,500 watercolors and drawings, and six sculptures to his hometown of oslo, norway upon his death i n 1944. clark (13) h i . quoted i n gordon (198) iv. heller, edvard munch: the scream, 1972 (43) v. heller, "munch, edvard", 2007 vi . rosenblum (104) vi i . heller (2007) v i i i . gordon (195) ix. ibid (27) x. clark (12) xi . heller (1972) (23) x i i . ibid. (39) x i i i . strindberg (103) xiv. heller, 1972 (52) xv. strindberg (106) xvi. munch (147) xvii. ibid. (147) xvii i . smith (42) xix. kostelanetz (69-70) xx. gordon (203-4) xxi. carpenter xxii. messinger (55) xxii i . quoted i n clark (7) xxiv. a n underlying image i n a painting, as an earlier painting, part of a painting, or original draft, that shows through, usually when the top layer of paint has become transparent wi th age. xxv. clearwater xxvi. sylvester (29) xxvii. prather (93) xxviii. reenberg (36) xxix. heller, 1972 (90) xxx. ibid. (96) xxxi. gether (16) xxxii. heller (i972)(53) xxxiii. grunenberg (3) xxxiv. kokoschka (17) r e f e r e n c e s artists rights society. 2007. "most frequently requested artists." new york, http://www.arsny.com/requested.html. accessed 16 december 2007. carpenter, ken. 2007. "rosenberg, harold." grove art online. 7 december 2007. http://www.groveart.com. clark, kenneth. 1974. "edvard munch" i n edvard munch: 18631944. great britain: arts council. clearwater, bonnie. 2007. "rothko, mark." grove art online. december 7, 2007. http://www.groveart.com/. gether, christian. "the bridge to the 20th century." in echoes of the scream, ed. christian gether and holgar reenberg. denmark: arken modern museum of art gordon, donald e. 1987. expressionism: art and idea. new haven: yale university press. grunenberg, christopher. 2007. "de kooning", grove art online, http://www.groveart.com. accessed 7 december 2007. e l e m e n t s i '. f a l l 08 http://www.arsny.com/requested.html http://www.groveart.com http://www.groveart.com/ http://www.groveart.com heller, reinhold. 1972. edvard munch: the scream. new york: the viking press. heller, reinhold. 2007. "munch, edvard." grove art online. http://www.groveart.com. accessed 7 december 2007. kokoschka, oskar. 1953. "edvard munch's expressionism." college art journal 13, no . i 17. http://www.jstor.org. kostelanetz, richard. 2003. conversing with john cage. new york: routledge. messinger, lisa mintz. 2007. abstract expressionism and other modern works: the muriel kallis steinberg newman collection in the metropolitan museum of art, ed. gary tinterow et al. new haven: yale university press. munch, edvard. 1929. "the genesis of the life frieze." i n r. rosenblum et al., edvard munch: symbols and images. washington: national gallery o f art , 1978. "pentimento." http://www.dictionary.com. accessed 10 december 2007. prather, maria. 1994. willem de kooning: paintings. new haven: yale university press. reenberg, holger. 2001. "echoes of the scream." i n echoes of the scream, ed. christian gether and holger reenberg. denmark: arken modern museum of art . rosenblum, robert. 1975. modern painting and the northern romantic tradition: friedrich to rothko. new york: harper & row, publishers. smith, john boulton. 1993. munch. london: phaidon press limited. strindberg, august. 1996. "the new arts, or the role o f chance i n artistic creation." i n selected essays by august strindberg, ed. and trans. michael robinson. new york: cambridge university press. sylvester, david. 1994. "flesh was the reason." i n willem de kooning: paintings, ed. maria prather. new haven: yale university press. d r i p s , s c r a t c h e s , a n d s t r o k e s http://www.groveart.com http://www.jstor.org http://www.dictionary.com "as the revolution approached ... the tables turned slightly in women's favor. educated women ... posed by themselves and projected their own selfimage. family scenes became popular ... [and] often exalted the mother as the central figure in the compositions ... some women even paid for their own portraits ... " w o m e n of copley's b o s t o n changing gender roles on the eve of the american revolution m a r i a l a g o r i o i n t h e t i m e p e r i o d s u r r o u n d i n g t h e a m e r i c a n r e v o l u t i o n , s o c i a l r o l e s f o r w o m e n e v o l v e d a l o n g s i d e t h e p o l i t i c a l g a i n s m a d e b y t h e c o l o n i e s . n o l o n g e r r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e d o m e s t i c r e a l m , a m e r i c a n w o m e n b e c a m e i n t e g r a l t o t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e n e w d e m o c r a t i c r e p u b l i c , w i n n i n g r e s p e c t i n t e r m s o f m a r r i a g e , m o t h e r h o o d , e d u c a t i o n , a n d e v e n b u s i n e s s . a s a l l c i t i z e n s r e c o g n i z e d t h e i r o b l i g a t i o n s t o t h e r e p u b l i c , r e p u b l i c a n m o t h e r h o o d e m e r g e d , c h a l l e n g i n g w o m e n t o e d u c a t e t h e m s e l v e s i n o r d e r t o r a i s e c o m p e t e n t c h i l d r e n . w i t h a f i n e e y e t o t h e p a s t , o n e c a n s e e t h e i r s o c i a l p r o g r e s s d o c u m e n t e d i n t h e p o r t r a i t u r e o f t h e m o s t c e l e b r a t e d c o l o n i a l p a i n t e r , j o h n s i n g l e t o n c o p l e y . d u r i n g h i s r e s i d e n c y i n b o s t o n , c o p l e y p a i n t e d t h e p o r t r a i t s o f h u n d r e d s o f w o m e n . w h i l e m a n y o f h i s s u b j e c t s h a i l e d f r o m t h e u p p e r c l a s s , a s e l e c t f e w r e p r e s e n t t h e s m a l l d e m o g r a p h i c o f s e l f m a d e w o m e n . a s a w h o l e , a s t u d y o f c o p l e y ' s p o r t r a i t u r e o f b o s t o n i a n w o m e n p r o v i d e s a n i l l u s t r a t i v e e x a m p l e o f h o w w o m e n p r o j e c t e d t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e p r o g r e s s i v e r e v o l u t i o n a r y e r a . i n 1771, three years before acclaimed american portraitist john singleton copley left the revolutionary fervor of his home i n boston for great britain, he sat i n his studio at a blank canvas with a curious scene before his eyes. his model, lounging on the rich red sofa i n front of h im, was a beautiful young woman. she held a crinkled piece of paper i n her hand and slight circles surrounded her deep-set, almond eyes. both of these physical qualities indicated her intimidating intellectuality i n a time when other women rarely read. he struggled to portray i n paint all of the aberrant inner traits she exuded i n person: wisdom, sensuality, and confidence. though copley was perhaps the most talented and popular artist i n the colonies during the american revolution he presented quite an anomaly. while copley had previously painted countless portraits of "ladies," a term frequently used by colonists to describe women, this portrait of a visually self-sufficient woman would alone bear the distinguished title, portrait of a lady. of copley's approximately 250 "sitters"—the name given to people that pose i n a portrait—during the entirety of his american career, from roughly 1760 to 1774, women comprised nearly half (45 percent), and just i n the years from 1762 to 1764, women made up two-thirds of his sitters.1 prior to this particular portrait done i n 1771, copley had captured the likenesses of commissioners' daughters, young wives, older matriarchs, and widows. in typical colonial-era portraiture, according to historian deborah i . prosser, painters depicted the visual identity of women i n contrast to that of the men who appeared next to them, either immediately on the same canvas or i n matching paired portraits. 1 1 this "lady" appeared alone and instead expressed an individualized sense of identity; she was a lady unto herself. copley frequently featured men i n individualized, realistic scenes, surrounded by props that related to their lives. he painted men i n action, working at their desks, poised to write with quill i n hand. women, conversely, often appeared at the men's side as beautiful accessories or as figures that fulfilled common i8 t n -century stereotypes, such as the ideal wife or mother. 1 1 1 a n astonishing 35 percent of all of copley's american subjects were housewives.1v these statistics, i n addition to an understanding of the context and content of copley's american portraiture, reveal much about the condition of women during the time of the american revolution. as the 18^ century approached its close and as the revolution gained momentum, copley and many other americans noticed a shift i n attitudes about women. many citizens i n the burgeoning republic applied the same ideologies that spurred the american revolution—democracy, equality, and independence—to the traditional social order. as a result, new doors for american women slowly opened. colonial women did not actively seek a complete social revolution to ensure equal rights and independence, but they did reach beyond their domestic realm, gain respect as moral agents, and earn themselves rightful roles i n the new nation. the majority of citizens, for instance, eventually considered mothers as the ethical educators of children who would become the next generation of participants i n the democratic republic. as historian lisa kerber argues, this newfound responsibility, which she termed "republican motherhood," called for mothers to educate themselves.v moreover, those involved and affected by the revolution placed virtue above all personal traits, which led colonists to believe that "a virtuous man needs a virtuous mate," and that "public good must grow out of private virtue," according to historian jan lewis. v l consequently, the pervasive sentiment of equality found its way into american marriages after the revolution, and married men and women began to enjoy more mutual partnerships. each relatively small step toward women's equality during the american revolution advanced american society at large toward the greater goal of true equality for all. not surprisingly, these small steps are often evident i n copley's portraiture of women at the time. however, it is important to note that he produced all of his american pore l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 traiture before his departure i n 1774, which was before the colonies defeated the mother country and british troops f i nally evacuated i n 1776/" a study of copley's portraiture of colonial women, then, can only reveal the condition of and attitudes toward women i n the mid-to-late 18 t h century, before and during the social shift that some contend accompanied the american revolution. furthermore, as men almost always commissioned portraits, women i n 18 t h -century america did not control their depiction i n portraiture.™1 also, portraits are a product of visual perspectives and are susceptible to the prejudice of the painters, commissioners, and sitters. nonetheless, portraiture provides an excellent tool to learn about the social condition of women during this era because it served as the sole means to capture a realistic likeness i n the 18 t h century. those featured i n colonial american portraiture, however, reflect a very small segment of the fledgling nation's population. most of copley's commissioners belonged to the upper class and constituted an overwhelmingly white, wealthy, privileged, and socially-connected minority, including paul revere, samuel adams, and john hancock. throughout copley's entire career i n america, 53 percent of his commissioners had incomes that one historian terms "high" or "very high" (which meant estimated incomes of £500-1 ,000 and over ^1,000, respectively).1x after 1765, after about a decade of steadily increasing his prices, 90 percent of copley's patrons belonged to the "very high" income category.x on average, a painting cost fourteen guineas, which would cost even a skilled artisan like silversmith revere nine weeks' wages.x i the majority of copley's commissioners, though, were not skilled artisans. in fact, merchants—commonly considered the elite of the colonial community—composed most of copley's clientele at a whopping 55 percent, though these men made up a mere 16 percent of the population of boston, the city where copley and most of his sitters l ived. x u i n fact, among male sitters, copley painted five times as many merchants as the next most popular occupational group, ministers and government officials. the dis"colonial women did not actively seek a complete social revolution .... but they did extend beyond their domestic realm, gain respect as moral agents, and earn themselves rightful roles in the new nation." proportionate number of merchants is evidence of the disparate cultures and wide gaps between social classes i n the wealthy waterfront city of boston at the time of the revolution. i n order to interpret the content of copley's portraiture, it is first necessary to understand the context i n which it was created. for most of his american career, copley lived and worked i n boston, the wealthiest port city of the time and the birthplace of revolutionary patriotism. over half of copley's sitters hailed from boston, and 80 percent resided in the colony of massachusetts.x iv citizens of boston i n the 18th century lived within the confines of a social hierarchy based on wealth and property ownership. by 1771, 80 percent of the commercial shiploads i n boston belonged to those who made up just the top quarter of the population. x v probably fewer than 75 people, as historian benjamin l. carp points out, owned the majority of wharfage i n boston x v 1 the economic elite of the city, including the traders and merchants, depended greatly on trade with the mother country to perpetuate their prosperity and lifestyle. they often mingled with imperial officeholders, and they w o m e n o f c o p l e y ' s b o s t o n also enjoyed authority within the local militia and government™ 1 the most privileged people i n america turned to copley the most prolific, prosperous, and sought-after painter at the time. he painted one portrait every two weeks x v m for those fortunate americans who had extra money to spare on investments such as portraits, which had no residual market value x i x moreover, copley's own life reflected that of his clientele. as a well-connected, born-and-bred bostonian, he did not venture far out of his social circle when he married susannah farnum clarke ("sukey") i n 1769, the daughter of a successful boston merchant.** his mother was a financially self-sufficient "she-merchant," or woman retailer, who held shop i n boston's long wharf. x x 1 both his in-laws and his mother remained loyal to the crown throughout the revolution, a sentiment that sometimes concerned copley, who tried to stay publicly neutral throughout his american career. historian jules david prown writes that copley felt torn between his family's loyalist inclinations and his commissioners' patriotism: "he found himself cast i n the role of mediator between his merchant in-laws and the radical revolutionaries."™1 finally, on june 10,1774, copley departed for england, and the rest of his family, including his wife and four young children, joined h i m the next year. x x m copley never returned to america, a wise choice that later, according to prown, "enabled h i m to refute any charges of toryism."305™ a prolific collection of published letters between copley and various acquaintances reveals how much his contemporaries esteemed h i m . a1768 letter from benjamin west, a well-known english artist at the time and copley's friend, sings accolades and adoration for copley. he praised copley's artwork and applauded a recent exhibition of it i n london. west raved: "the length to which you have advanced i n the art of painting shows the high light you hold that noble art i n . . . ' , x x v furthermore, west compared copley to "the living masters" of italy (probably referring to contemporary italian artists like giacomo amiconi or francesco zuccarelli), among whom, he assured copley, "you may not meet with a r i v a l . " x x v l west's unabashed admiration for copley, as expressed i n this letter and i n others like it demonstrates the impact copley had during his lifetime i n the world of art, both i n america and europe. copley, described by lovell as a "ruthless empiricist," reportedly spent an average of 90 hours on one painting, far more than the estimated seven hours less prestigious portraitists of the time period spent on their w o r k . x x v n copley's dogged professionalism and resolute work ethic made his artwork even more appealing and valuable to upper-class americans. furthermore, copley depended on word-of-mouth marketing to attract clients; upscale artists of this time period did not advertise, for their upper class targets viewed such a practice as unprofessional and l o w l y . x x v m consequently, copley's boston patrons consisted of a circle of elites that all knew one another and were often kin . in fact, over a period of 25 years, approximately 80 percent of copley's clientele belonged to the same 28 family trees. x x l x it is no wonder, then, that copley was never at a loss for work during his residency i n america, for the families of his regular and loyal customers were constantly growing and changing. since the early 1750s, copley could always count on loyal clientele who were almost all men to commission portraits, which often featured women. many male commissioners hired copley to portray them as commanding, authoritative, and noble. i n contrast, women often appeared as spectacles on the side, especially i n earlier portraits produced i n the 1760s. women acted as dazzling accessories next to men, showing off the patriarch's possessions. wives dutifully sat alongside their commanding and accomplished husbands to accentuate the men's authority. young brides posed as the archetypes of beauty and virtue covered i n frilly white wrappings. in the years leading up to the colonies' gradual revolt against the crown, portraiture of upper-class women adhered to these popular stereotypes. as the revolution approached, however, the tables turned slightly i n women's favor. educated women like the sitter i n portrait of a lady (1771) posed by themselves and projected their own self-image. family scenes became popular as a result of a newfound shift i n popular attitudes towards dynamics within the nuclear family. these scenes often exalted the mother as the central figure i n the compositions. additionally, some women even paid for their own portraits, such as financially autonomous "she-merchants" and widows. x x x i n the majority of copley's portraits, the demeaning perceptions of women were portrayed through the canvas. in some rare examples, however, the sitters enjoyed the most freedom to express their own self-images, and this considerable social autonomy is evident i n their depictions on canvas. tic likeness of all his sitters. thus, the term "realism" only applies to copley's portraits of men i n the time of the american revolution. i f one examines his range of portraiture i n depth, it is obvious that he used a different approach for painting women. upon study, it seems that copley's sitters belonged to a land far-removed from the revolution, where luxury, beauty, and image were valued more than democracy, fraternity, and equality. some historians, like t.h. breen, argue that americans with disposable incomes communicated perceptions of status via items of everyday material culture and took part i n a consumer revolution, which "pro"women acted as dazzling accessories next to men, showing off the patriarch's possessions. wives dutifully sat alongside their commanding and accomplished husbands to accentuate the men's authority." scholars like historian margaretta m . lovell tend to regard copley as a realist and even see his work as the beginning of a three-century tradition of realism i n american painting/™ to be sure, he painted men i n biographical settings engaged i n their actual work, usually at their desks with logical instruments like quills i n their hands. portraits portraying women, however, often ended up improved, modified, "stronger, and more perfect," as an i8 t n -century century art manual instructed painters to make their subjects. x x x n women sitters for copley typically posed i n anonymous dark settings, wearing costumes from another era, and glowing with creamy white skin and unnaturally red cheeks. they often have empty, idle hands, and sometimes they hold or reach for fruit or flowers, items which many art historians argue symbolize women's multiple roles as nurturers i n the garden and at h o m e . x x x m the omnipresence of such unrealistic props i n copley's portraiture of women shows that he did not intend to portray a realisvided a common framework of experience.' , x x x 1 v despite some of his sitters' patriotic sentiments, americans of the upper class embraced a decidedly anglophilic style that shows up through the type of clothing, make-up, hair, and poses. upper-class colonial americans thus created their own subculture—a safe haven distant from the reality of revolution—by surrounding themselves with items denoting luxury. colonists frequently commissioned portraiture during the time of the american revolution to mark life-changing achievements. these pivotal transitions often involved the families and included such events as births, new jobs, and, most often, marriage. lovell argues that patriarchs commissioned portraits at such pivotal times because they marked the movement of "family substance—that is, money—between generations or along the line of inheritance. x x x v marriage was an occasion that particularly called w o m e n o f c o p l e y ' s b o s t o n for a portrait of the bride-to-be. i n the 18 t h century, women viewed marriage as "the defining life event", lovell asserts, "whereas men had a wider lexicon of achievement. , , x x x v 1 thus, copley frequently captured images of young women on the verge of wifehood, but never painted a portrait of a man soon to wed. the portrait of mary turner sargent (mrs. daniel sargent) (1763) represents one such painting commissioned to celef i g u r e l . j o h n s i n g l e t o n c o p l e y , ezekiel goldthwait (1 771) brate the sitter's entrance into her new life as a wife. sargent, who posed for this portrait on the eve of her wedding, came from a well-connected, established, and prosperous family. x x x v 1 1 predictably, she married into a similar one, for both the turners and the sargents were among copley's most loyal and regular patrons. in fact, six members of her family and seven from her husband's family commissioned portraits from h i m i n the years between 1758 and i 7 7 4 . x x x v i i i when sargent posed for copley, she most likely already knew how the portrait would turn out. similar to the women i n her family who had posed for marriage portraits i n the past, sargent appears as the archetypal young bride. she radiates the ideal feminine characteristics of an 18th-century woman of the upper class: refined, graceful, and virtuous. copley used a number of artistic techniques to portray these inner qualities. the blush on her cheeks, for example, suggests female virtue. i n many popular british novels of the day—ones that literate, upper-class women like f i g u r e 2. j o h n s i n g l e t o n c o p l e y , mrs. ezekiel goldthwait (elizabeth lewis) (1771) sargent read—authors frequently described female protagonists with pink cheeks, "the most becoming clothing and best ornament of a w o m a n . " x x x l x thus, painters like copley utilized the socially accepted connection between the blush and the feminine ideal as symbolism to communicate desired messages i n his portraits of women. i n addition, sargent's body language depicts her place i n the society of colonial boston. she stands with impeccable posture, her notably long neck aligned with her torso and e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 her left hand resting delicately on her hip. her stance signifies the buoyant pride with which she carried herself, but she looks humbly to the side and slightly down. sargent's body language, simultaneously confident and modest, indicates her social status as a woman of gentility. x l even her adornments show high status, for the stomach-skimming, breast-lifting, elegant corset she wears beneath her dress creates lines down her torso and denotes refinement/ 1 1 her dress of heavy blue silk came either from continental europe or asia, and undoubtedly cost a fortune, since such fabrics were either heavily taxed or smuggled. x l n the fact that sargent models such a valuable commodity suggests to the viewer that she, as well, has value and intrinsic worth. portraiture not only functioned as a visual reminder of important moments within the immediate family sphere, but also served to preserve the likeness of sitters for generations. in lovell's words, portraiture can sometimes bring "the sitter into the presence of the viewer. " x l m thus, many is^-century commissioners hired painters so that their images would transcend time and serve as physical reminders for onlookers. furthermore, commissioners instructed copley to portray them as commanding figures to assert the "old money" mercantilist authority i n the face of the new laboring population. various visual cues—props, poses, and settings—all coalesce to transmit messages, and i n most of copley's portraits of upper-class male americans leading up to the revolution, the finished products communicate messages of power, superiority, and status. copley's clientele interested i n conveying these messages most often opted for paired portraiture, i n which husband and wife mirror each other i n scale, context, and posit ion. x l l v the finished products typically hung next to each other i n the room with the most foot traffic i n the household to function as surrogate hosts to welcome i n guests. x l v these portraits ushered i n guests and served as a reminder to the figure of authority i n the household. the patriarch, via his likeness i n a portrait, constantly kept guard over the goings-on i n front of h im. his obedient wife patiently and effortlessly sat beside h i m . copley's ezekiel goldthwait (1771) [fig. 1] and its companion portrait of the same year, mrs. ezekiel goldthwait (elizabeth lewis) [fig. 2], provide excellent examples of how wealthy boston men wanted themselves and their wives to appear in paired portraiture i n this time period. the former appears professional and focused as he sits at a desk i n his biographical and realistic setting. he firmly grasps manmade instruments, a book and quill , which he would have used i n his life as a bostonian businessman. ezekiel appears intelligent, accomplished, and worthy of respect. while ezekiel's portrait might inspire or intimidate viewers, his wife's portrait fails to stir any emotion. instead, elizabeth appears stripped of setting, duties, and personality. she sits on an embroidered chair wearing an ornate dress in a seemingly uncomfortable pose. she looks neutrally at the viewer from under her bonnet, and rests primly at a polished table i n an anonymous black setting. both her hands are empty, but one gently reaches for the topmost piece of fruit from a tidy pile on the table. while ezekiel's are appropriately chosen considering his employment, f i g u r e 3. j o h n s i n g l e t o n c o p l e y , mrs. isaac smith w o m e n o f c o p l e y ' s b o s t o n elizabeth's prop of a fruit bowl merely symbolizes certain traits stereotypical to colonial housewives. given elizabeth's domestic duties, fruit might symbolize hospitality, wealth, and fert i l i ty. x l v i even the round shape of her props implies amplitude and plenty. x l v u elizabeth's life supports this portrayal; she gave birth to thirteen chi ldren. x l v i i i the mere contrast between props and poses i n copley's separate portraits of ezekiel and elizabeth goldthwait show how ezekiel controlled viewers' perceptions of h i m and his wife. through his portrait, ezekiel exudes a commanding presence and indirectly asserts his hegemony of the household. elizabeth, accordingly, represents her husband's ideal wife: a generous, accommodating matriarch unaffected by affairs outside of her own domestic realm. contemporary viewers of copley's work can learn a great deal about its social context, especially the treatment and perception of women i n 18th-century upper-class american society, even i f viewing only the woman's half of a standard paired portrait. one can aptly interpret mrs. isaac smith (elizabeth storer) (1769) [fig. 3], for example, without its companion portrait, mr. isaac smith (1769). copley linked the husband and wife duo through harmonious color schemes and poses, but elizabeth's depiction by itself is filled with symbolic minutiae that one could easily overlook i n a comparison viewing. each aesthetic characteristic of this portrait transmits a message about mrs. isaac smith. elizabeth lies back on a roomy upholstered seat, an expensive and imported chippendale chair, to be exact. her relaxed and reclined pose indicates she is content with her life as the wife of a justice of the peace with a "high" income. x l l x she holds a bunch of grapes, a symbol of fertility, alluding to her husband, who imported wine. at the time of this portrait, elizabeth, age 43, was pregnant, and it is possible that isaac, afraid his wife might die i n childbirth, commissioned these paired portraits as a final effort to capture her image. regardless, elizabeth sits i n an indoor setting saturated by rich colors that lighten up the otherwise somber scene: the yellow of the upholstery, the blue of her dress, and the green of her collar.1 this environment indicates the household, where she spent most of her time. beyond elizabeth, i n the landscape outside her window, stand two entwined trees, which symbolize smith's status as a married woman. 1 1 as she sits contently i n her realm, elizabeth casts a steadfast gaze directly at the viewer with an expression of seriousness, tranquility, and fulfillment. as revolutionary ideologies swept through colonial society, traditional family roles started to change. many historians contend that a shift i n the mother's role occurred after 1760, when patriotic colonists truly mobilized against the mother country. as historian jan lewis points out, many saw the family as a microcosm of the state: "society writ large", or the "little commonwealth". 1' 1 the forces that motivated the colonies to claim independence from great britain also proved propitious for mothers of the revolutionary era who yearned to gain more control. mothers found a way to indirectly influence the world outside the home—children, the future citizens of the new republic. as more americans recognized the mother's role i n family and political life during the revolution, artwork became increasingly "matricentric", or centered on the mother. 1 1 1 1 f i g u r e 4. j o h n s i n g l e t o n c o p l e y , the copley family (1776) e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 f i g u r e 5. j o h n s i n g l e t o n c o p l e y , mrs. james smith (elizabeth murray) (1769) one of the most telling matricentric family portraits of the revolutionary time period is copley family (1776-1777) [fig. 4], which copley painted of his own family. many wealthy americans desired family portraits to celebrate the new optimistic attitude toward the family that emerged during the revolution. copley's family portrait reflects the respect with which copley treated his wife and the harmonious relationship he maintained with each member of his family. copley family features the seven members of copley's family and glorifies his wife, sukey, as its central figure. copley's four small, energetic yet elegant daughters clamor i n the foreground. his father, on the left side, appears disinterested i n the granddaughter that seems poised to fall off his knee. his look to the side indicates that something off the canvas has distracted his attention. copley sits behind and above h im, alone, i n the background. the painter distinguished his own figure i n the composition by setting h i m on what seems like a completely different plane from the rest of the group. unlike the other six, moreover, copley directs his formidable gaze at the viewer, as i f he were claiming possession of the beautiful scene encapsulated within the composition. despite sukey's position just right of center, she manages to attract the viewer's attention immediately. her highlighted skin has the lightest hues i n the entire composition. also, she tilts her head into the center at an angle running parallel to one daughter's face, nearly touching as they wrap their arms around each other. as she embraces her two daughters, sukey's facial expression remains composed, patient, and loving. the body language i n copley family suggests affection, intimacy, and respect. copley's aesthetic exaltation of his wife and family shows how much the artist valued them. although the majority of copley's female sitters were housewives, he also painted the likenesses of women who departed from social norms and established themselves as accomplished citizens i n their own right. among these anomalous sitters was a bostonian "she-merchant," or female shopkeeper, named elizabeth murray, who hired copley to paint her portrait i n 1769. she posed for mrs. james smith (elizabeth murray) [fig. 5] i n 1769 at age 43, just after the death of her second husband, james murray. i n her life, she had played various roles: single woman, wife, widow, and businesswoman. l l v the artistic elements of murray's portraiture can instruct onlookers today about the life and style of an exceptional, multifaceted 18th-century american woman. she strikes a dynamic pose i n motion, mid-step towards her left. her draped scarf dramatically sways i n the wind, and she coolly clasps one side of her dress to avoid tripping. meanwhile, murray safeguards two pieces of round fruit and a bunch of grapes i n the folds of her dress i n front of her stomach, which probably suggests her benevolence and wealth. l v her forward motion signifies that she was a woman of progress, while the props she holds denote respectable qualities that she apparently valued i n herself. copley painted the portrait of mercy otis warren, a patriot who became one of the most respected and renowned w o m e n o f c o p l e y ' s b o s t o n poets, playwrights, and historians during the revolutionary era. i n addition to her life as a wife and mother, i n the words of historian carol berkin, warren was "boston's leading propagandist for the colonial cause." l v i the sister of one of massachusetts's leading radicals and wife of another, she penned political satires leading up to the revolution that undoubtedly helped turn her fellow colonists—men and women—against the crown's officials and policies. in 1772, under the pseudonym "a columbia patriot", warren published her first work, a propagandistic dramatic sketch called the adulateur, which quickly gained attention amongst colonists. l v u then, i n 1805—less than 20 years after great britain recognized the united states as a sovereign nation—warren published history of the rise, progress, and termination of the american revolution under her own name. l v u l from the start of the revolution to its conclusion, warren's career as an influential writer evolved from anonymous to renowned. "both women symbolize progress, were intellectually and professionally accomplished in their own right, and were hopeful of a bright future." warren posed for mercy otis warren (mrs. james warren) at age 35 i n 1763, the year that some historians note as the turning point i n popular opinion i n boston, when new imperial policies like the stamp and sugar acts caused a shift i n climate and made the waterfront city the official site of colonial rebellion. l l x warren seems to project her own inspiring self-image i n this portrait, greatly resembling elizabeth murray. both women symbolize progress, were intellectually and professionally accomplished i n their own right, and were hopeful of a bright future. like murray, warren strikes a dynamic pose marking movement. also, both women stand outdoors i n front of landscapes of blue skies and swaying trees. this refreshing environment suggests their position as people worthy of respect outside of the home. also, warren holds a blossoming branch of flowers, which signifies her role as a mother of three sons. l x although warren and murray had opposing political inclinations, different careers and family lives, they enjoyed lives of considerable freedom i n a pre-revolutionary society that rarely entrusted women with responsibilities outside of the domestic realm. thus, it is clear that the depictions of colonial american women i n copley's portraiture depended largely on the intentions of the commissioners. unlike the majority of copley's representations of women, elizabeth murray and mercy otis warren had the ability to communicate their own self-perceptions through the canvas. their portraits reflect the fact that they earned their own living and, thus, functioned with considerable autonomy i n society. at this time of otherwise heightened anxiety and image consciousness, most of copley's women sitters appear as unrealistic illustrations of female stereotypes, according to the commissioners' desires. copley, therefore, often adhered to the instructions of an early 18th-century art manual, which advised students to portray women as "stronger, and more perfect." l x i in a sense, copley followed his commissioners' orders by painting what they wanted to see. he transformed apprehensive young brides-to-be into immaculate wives, made middleaged housewives look like ideal personifications of virtue and obedience, and glorified patriarchs by depicting their admiring wives at their side. in an effort to fulf i l l the i m possible task of improving a superlative, copley embellished, erased, and amplified his scenes. i n other words, he manipulated the images of average people to create a more favorable likeness that would transcend their lives and exist for eternity i n the form of oil-on-pastel on canvas. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 in the words of historian laurel thatcher ulrich, objects help us read the "unseen technologies, interconnections, and contradictions that lie beneath audible events."1*11 when one contextualizes copley's portraits and analyzes the motives for commissioning them, it is evident that these paintings are more than mere commodities. they are rich primary resources, products of a complex culture, and windows through which today's viewers can come to appreciate and understand the lifestyles of some of the first american "ladies". e n d n o t e s i . prown (1966) i i . prosser (1995) i i i . ibid. iv. prown (1966) v. kerber (1980) vi. lewis (1987) vii. bourne (2006) viii. prosser (1995) ix. prown (1966) x. ibid. xi. lovell (1994) xii. prown (1966) xiii. ibid. xiv. ibid. xv. henrietta (1965) xvi. carp (2007) xvii. ibid. xviii. lovell (1994) xix. lovell (art in a season 2005) xx. letters and papers (1914) xxi. cleary (2000) xxii. prown (1966) xxiii. ibid. xxiv. ibid. xxv. letters and papers (1914) xxvi. ibid. xxvii. lovell (2005) xxviii. lovell (1994) xxix. ibid. xxx. cleary (2000) xxxi. lovell (2005) xxxii. richardson (1722) xxxiii. prown (1966) xxxiv. breen (2004) xxxv. lovell (1994) xxxvi. lovell (2005) xxxvii. kerber xxxviii. lovell (2005) xxxix. lovell (2005) xl. ibid. xli. lovell (2005) xlii. ibid, xliii. ibid. xliv. lovell (reading) xlv. lovell (1994) xlvi. prown (1966) xlvii. ibid, xlviii. prown (1966) xlvix. prown (1966) 1. prown (1966) l i . lovell (reading) l i i . lewis (1987) l i i i . lovell (reading) liv. cleary (2000) lv. ibid. lvi. berkin (2005) lvii. elmer (2000) lviii. warren (1988) lix. carp (2007) lx. norton (1996) lxi. richardson (1722) lxii. lovell (2005) references berkin, carol. 2005. revolutionary mothers: women in the struggle for america's independence. new york: vintage books 2005. bourne, russell. 2006. cradle of violence: how boston's waterfront mobs ignited the american revolution. hoboken: john wiley & sons. breen, t. h. 2004. marketplace of revolution: how consumer politics shaped american independence. new york: oxford university press. carp, benjamin l. 2007. rebels rising: cities and the american revolution. new york: oxford university press. cleary, patricia. 2000. elizabeth murray: a woman's pursuit of independence in eighteenth century america. amherst: university of massachusetts. american national biography online. elmer, jonathan. feb. 2000. "warren, mercy otis." received from <http: / /www. anb.org/articles/20/20-0108 6 .html>. henrietta, james a. 1965. "economic development and social structure in colonial boston," the william and mary quarterly, 22(1). w o m e n o f c o p l e y s b o s t o n kerber, linda k. 1980. women of the republic: intellect and ideology in revolutionary america. chapel hill: university of north carolina press. 1914. letters and papers of john singleton copley and henry pelham, 1739-1776. boston: massachusetts historical society. lewis, jan. 1987. "the republican wife: virtue and seduction in the early republic". the william and mary quarterly. 44(4). lovell, margaretta m. 2005. art in a season of revolution: painters, artisans, and patrons in early america. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press. lovell, margaretta m. 1994. painters and their customers: aspects of art and money in eighteenth-century america, in carson, cary, ronald hoffman, and peter j. albert, eds., of consuming interests: the style of life in the eighteenth century. charlottesville: university press of virginia. norton, mary beth. 1996. liberty's daughters: the revolutionary experience of american women, 1750-1800. ithaca: cornell university press. prosser, deborah i . 1995. the rising prospect or the look: conventions of gender in american portraiture, in peter benes and jane montague benes, eds., painting and portrait-making in the american northeast. boston: boston university press. prown, jules david. 1966. john singleton copley in america, 1738-1774. cambridge: harvard university press. richardson, jonathan. 1722. an essay on the theory of painting. london, pp. 173. eighteenth century collections online, gale group, received from <http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.bc.edu/servlet/ecco>. warren, mercy otis, and lester h. cohen. 1988. history of the rise, progress, and termination of the american revolution interspersed with biographical, political, and moral observations. indianapolis: liberty classics. http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.bc.edu/servlet/ecco s t a g i n g t h e n a t i o n : theatricality in the law carloi n e gem t h e a t r i c a l p r a c t i c e s i n t h e c o u r t r o o m s o f t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a n d g r e a t b r i t a i n a r e e x a m i n e d i n t h i s a r t i c l e . t h e s e p r a c t i c e s a r e v i e w e d s p e c i f i c a l l y i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e c o n c e p t o f " s t a g i n g t h e n a t i o n . " t h i s c o n c e p t d e a l s w i t h t h e n o t i o n o f t h e n a t i o n a s a n i m a g i n a r y e n t i t y , a n i d e a c o n s t r u c t e d t h r o u g h c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s . t h e a t e r p l a y s a s t r o n g r o l e i n t h e w o r k i n g s o f t h e i m a g i n e d n a t i o n . y e t , t h e a t r i c a l p r a c t i c e s , o u t s i d e o f t h e o f f i c i a l t h e a t e r , o p e r a t e i n m a n y o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t c o m p r i s e s o c i e t y . t h e l a w , a s a f o u n d a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n , c o n t a i n s t h e a t r i c a l e l e m e n t s t h a t a i d i n t h e " r e h e a r s a l " o f t h e n a t i o n . e x p l o r a t i o n s o f t h e i d e a o f a n i m a g i n e d n a t i o n , t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f n a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y i n t h e t h e a t e r , a n d t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e a t r i c a l i t y i n t h e c o u r t r o o m a r e s y n t h e s i z e d i n a s t u d y t h a t s e e k s t o e l u c i d a t e t h e p o s s i b l e f u n c t i o n s a n d p u r p o s e s o f t h e a t r i c a l i t y i n t h e l a w . "nationality is a 'cultural artifact' and can, therefore, he understood in terms of cultural practices." most people, at least in the democracies of the west, would agree that the courtroom contains extreme dramatic potential. the entertainment industry recognizes and exploits this potential with each new television courtroom drama and f i lm it produces. some of hollywood's most beloved stars are best remembered for the roles they played as men of the court, such as gregory peck's portrayal of atticus finch i n the f i lm version of to kill a mockingbird. the courtroom drama is also no stranger to the stage; its presence there reaches back to the roots of western theater. aeschylus staged, to the best of our knowledge, the first trial scene in the eumenides, and many playwrights since then, such as arthur miller i n the crucible, have represented versions of the courtroom in the theater. we seem to recognize the presence of theatrical elements in the courtroom that can be manipulated and exaggerated to produce riveting entertainment. though we recognize that these elements exist in the actual courtroom, we seldom attempt to articulate what they are beyond the shallow acknowledgement that law and the court can be "dramatic." what, i f any, are some of the major theatrical practices and characteristics of the court system in western democracies such as the united states and the united kingdom? furthermore, what are the theatrical elements doing there in the first place? what purpose do they serve? the legal system as a whole is not an isolated entity. it does not exist for itself but for the nation, as one of its defining institutions. yet, what is a nation? a good deal of recent thought has explored the view that the nation is an imaginary entity, a collectively constructed concept. according to many thinkers, cultural practices create a sense of national identity and thus construct the idea of the nation. recent theater criticism, for example, examines the role theater, as a cultural practice, plays i n constructing the imaginary nation. the concept of "staging" or "performing" the nation has emerged as a way to describe the theater's contribution to creating, supporting, or criticizing national identities on the stage. yet, why should the "staging of the nation" be limited to the stage? if, as we seem to think, there are theatrical elements in the courtroom, then we must question what role these elements play in "performing" the nation. a careful examination of the theatrical characteristics of the courtroom, in relation to the concept of "staging the nation," reveals the ways in which these characteristics aid the creation of the concept of the nation. t h e n a t i o n as a n i m a g i n a t i v e e n t i t y before we can investigate theatricality in the courts, we must attempt to come to grips with the notion of the nation as an imaginative entity. i n his work, benedict anderson pioneered the view of the nation as a construction. despite their seeming legitimacy, "nation," "nationality," and "nationalism" usually elude definition. anderson suggests that the nation is "an imagined political community." 1 this definition rests, first of all, on anderson's implicit argument that there is nothing self-evident about a nation. the political boundaries that ascribe nationhood did not exist at the beginning of the world or even the beginning of civilization; rather, nations are created. for anderson, they are created through an imagined sense of community on the part of the inhabitants of a particular area. most of the inhabitants of a nation wi l l never meet the other inhabitants; yet, in their minds, they believe there is a connection between them, a common national identity 1 1 anderson not only proposes the understanding of the nation as a created entity, but he also attempts to explain how these imagined communities come to exist. for h im, nationality is a "cultural artifact" 1 1 1 and can, therefore, be e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 understood in terms of cultural practices. the cultural practices of print media, he says, have played the largest part in forming imagined communities. the concept of the nation only became possible with the advent of "print capitalism" l v following the invention of the printing press. newspapers, books, and magazines could be distributed and read on a large scale. certain ways of thinking were made simultaneously available to all, creating and reinforcing a sense of common identity/ anderson's thoughts provide the foundational argument for a view of the nation as a constructed entity. many other thinkers address aspects of this, exploring and developing them further. one idea developed from anderson's work emphasizes the importance of the written word, and specifically the narrative form, in constructing the nation. i n nation and narration, for example, homi k. bhabha has collected essays pertaining to "the nation as it is writ ten." v i in these, contributors explore the ways i n which authors tell stories about the nation, ranging from harriet beecher stowe's uncle tom's cabin to the works of virginia woolf. the collection as a whole contains the notion that the history of the nation is really a history of competing narrative discourses, stories about what the nation is and whence it has come. these narratives are constantly evolving, but through the dominant narratives, we come to collectively imagine our nation and our national identity. many people involved in theater studies recognize the importance of benedict anderson's views and of subsequent inspired projects, such as nation and narration, in so far as how we examine the existence of nations. yet, as critic s.e. wilmer points out, these studies have largely ignored the significant role the theater plays i n creating, sustaining, or overthrowing national identity/ 1 1 the significance of this role is conveyed by william butler yeats' query in 1938 regarding his 1902 production of kathleen ni houlihan. reflecting on his life's work, he wonders, "did that play of mine send out certain men the english shot?" v i i l referring to the irish nationalist uprising of easter 1916. the question yeats poses here is not just whether his play inspired the nationalists, but whether it actually created them. yeats' ultimate question regarding the nature of the relationship between theater and the nation is explored by many theater critics as the notion of "staging the nation." s t a g i n g t h e n a t i o n this "staging of the nation" functions on many different levels and in different ways within the theater. theater critic loren kruger focuses on the role the theater, as a cultural and social institution, plays in the construction of nationhood. kruger argues that in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, politics in england, france, and the united states were conducted on a mass scale. the notion of popular representation became a central concept i n the functioning of democratic society, but that popular representation had to cohere and become the popular representation of a nation. kruger argues that the theater was the place to deal with "making a nation out of an audience, citizens out of spectators." 1x the actual physical existence of the theater is important to this transformation from audience to nation; hence, "place and occasion thus signify the means and the site on which national prestige the legitimacy and the renown of the nation in the eyes of its citizens as well as its rivals is staged, acknowledged, and contested. " x the building itself and the physical nature of the theatrical event provide a context for the creation of national identity. the movement in england for a national theater, begun by effingham wilson i n 1848, exemplifies the importance of the theatrical institution to the nation. x l the national theater was to be a place that could unify the heterogeneous population of england by representing a version of "englishness." x i l the content of what is staged also contributes to "staging the nation." in examining how the nation is formed in the united states, s.e. wilmer cites the chautauqua movement as one that "helped solidify the notion that america was homogenous and rural, despite (and because of) trends to the contrary. " x m the chautauquas were annual cultural events dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. they lasted several days and included speeches, s t a g i n g t h e n a t i o n : t h e a t r i c a l i t y i n t h e l a w music, and plays, in which the dominant values expressed were white, protestant, and capitalist. 3^ for example, the extremely successful play, the melting pot (1908), insisted that immigrants could be successful in the united states i f they abandoned their own cultural values and assimilated into the "dominant" culture. plays like this one created a sense that the white anglo-saxon protestant (wasp) represented the majority of the united states and its values. x v in truth, the wasps were losing their hold on the majority as the country became more diverse, but chautauqua theater gave the wasps the hegemony regarding the national identity. they became the dominant representations of "americans" for many years to come. in some cases, those involved i n the theatrical collaboration engage overtly and directly in the process of constructing national identity. the field day theater company of northern ireland is one such group that, as marilynn richtarik puts it , "concerned itself with the relationship between myth and present-day perception, history and politics. , , x v 1 the company was founded i n 1980 in a country where national identity seemed a dire and combustible topic. their hugely acclaimed production of friel's translations explores the ideas of "irishness" and "irish" identity. x v u seamus heaney, author and member of the field day board of directors, later articulated one of the company's major goals: "we would try to redefine what being irish meant in the context of what has happened in the north over the past twenty years, the relationship of irish nationalism and cu l ture . " x v m the work of the field day company reminds us that the "staging of the nation" is not always a tool used by the power elite to manipulate and indoctrinate the masses. sometimes, the "staging of the nation" challenges current notions of national identity, re-imagining, as anderson would see i t , the national community. t h e a t r i c a l i t y i n t h e c o u r t r o o m we can see how cultural practices aid in constructing the concept of the nation. the forms of those cultural practices, such as print media and physical theater, help establish a popular identity. the content of the practices, such as the narratives of both literature and theatrical events, also works to imagine the nation and its identity within the stories told. yet, why should the process of constructing the nation end there? are there not other aspects of society, other institutions, which are tied firmly to the concept of the nation? aeschylus was right to portray the founding moment of the world's first democracy as a trial. the law is a key component of the democratic national identity. democracies generally define themselves by the notion of equality, especially equality in relation to the law, and they offer "justice for all" and a law under which "all are equal." i n the imaginary institution of society, cornelius castoriadis argues that the significance of societal institutions, such as law, is not only practical but also symbolic. x l x the decisions of the court "are symbolic and their consequences are almost entirely so, including the hangman's act which, although eminently real, is also immediately symbolic at another l e v e l . h e n c e , the legal system functions on two levels. although capital punishment is not wholly imaginary, for someone certainly dies, there is also something symbolic about it and about the laws in general, in that they are emblems of national structure, unity, and authority. before examining the presence of theatricality in the courtroom, i would like to forestall one possible objection that could be made against relating theatricality to the law. one could argue that the consequences of the theater are imaginary, whereas the consequences of the law are real and, therefore, incomparable to theater. yet, as castoriadis argues when discussing symbolism i n society, the functioning of something on an imaginative, immaterial level does not negate its material consequences. theatricality is used here largely as a model for interpreting characteristics or elements of the courtroom in terms of how they function in the imaginative concept of the nation. using theatricality in this way does not transform the courtroom into theater and render its consequences imaginary. in fact, i n a theatrical interpretation of the court, its symbolic characteristics may actually aid its practical concerns. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 just as kruger is interested in the physical theater's creation of a performance space, alastair blanshard emphasizes the importance of creating a forensic space, a context in which the court proceedings can operate. blanshard asserts that forensic space can be established either through monumentalisation, in which the "huge scale, rich and elaborate fittings, and authoritarian detailing" of the court buildings "swamp and oppress the viewer," x x 1 or through ritual, in which performance and props aid in establishing the atmosphere of the court. although both methods play a role i n the modern courtroom, blanshard focuses on monumentalisation as the defining phenomenon of the court system in modern democracies. he presents the royal courts of justice in london as one example of monumentalisation and examines their high victorian gothic architecture and the effect it has of diminishing the individual in its immensity. 5™ 1 11 can further add my own observations of the "legal costume exhibit" at the courts, in which mannequins in glass cases wear various wigs, robes, and mantles of the english legal profession. plaques explain the history of these costumes and assert that the "remarkable longevity of some of the forms of dress used in english court is symbolic of the essential continuity of the legal system in this country." another example of monumentalisation is the supreme court building in the united states. blanshard examines the symbolism of the large-scale, neo-classical architecture of the building. he describes the different sculptures on various parts of the building, such as contemplation of justice and authority of law. the entrance of bronze doors contain eight panels depicting the "evolution" of the law, from the shield of achilles through the signing of the magna carta to the landmark marbury v. madison court case. even the elevators are decorated with tablets of the ten commandments. no detail is overlooked.5™ 1 1 1 the physical features of both the royal courts of justice and the supreme court building contribute to the "staging of the nation" in several ways. the size and forms of architecture create a sense of power and authority, but perhaps the greater significance lies in the attempt to establish a sense of tradition. the costume exhibit in the royal courts of justice displays the long tradition of the costume in the english court system. the panels on the entrance to the supreme court building attempt to create a narrative of tradition a progressive story of the law, i n which the united states' court system is the triumphant conclusion. the traditions displayed in these buildings are fabricated to create an authoritative foundation for the nation. the costume exhibit associates the continuous tradition of the legal costume with the "essential continuity" of the english legal system itself, even though there is no evidence that the law has remained continuous just because the costumes have. the entrance panels in the supreme court building take separate historical events and force them into a teleological narrative in which the united states is the end. the tradition invented in both of these buildings grounds the nation in an established moral authority that can be "traced continuously" back through the ages. the narrative of tradition in these buildings gives the individual involved in the court system a sense of his identity and of the significance of his duty as a citizen. tradition represents this duty as crucial to the existence of the nation; without it, the social fabric would unravel. as with "staging the nation" in the theater, what is staged is just as important as the site of the staging. when one considers then the content of the court systems, the actual legal proceedings, one again finds the significant presence of a narrative. blanshard begins his essay with the observation that the courtroom is a place of competing narratives, where one's fate "ultimately depends on the ability to produce the more believable narrative of events.' , x x i v in his essay "life is not a dramatic narrative," alan dershowitz also recognizes the theatrical element inherent in the production of narratives in the courtroom, the model for which is dramatic. for instance, i f a prosecutor is trying to prove that the defendant murdered his business partner, the prosecutor wi l l arrange the facts of the case into a story, informing the jury that the defendant took out a life-insurance pols t a g i n g t h e n a t i o n ! t h e a t r i c a l i t y i n t h e l a w icy on his partner three days before that partner was murdered .^ what the lawyer hopes is that the jury wil l interpret his story the way they would a dramatic narrative. dershowitz quotes anton chekhov's advice to s.s. schovkin to explain the construction of a dramatic narrative: " i f in the first chapter you say that a gun hung on the wall, in the second or third chapter it must without fail be discharged."*™ i f a gun appears at the beginning of a drama, someone wil l be shot by the end. juries often apply these teleological rules of drama to the narratives of the courtroom; hence, the defendant who took out the life insurance policy must have done so because he was planning to murder his partner. dershowitz finds the presence of the dramatic narrative in the courtroom problematic because real life events, to h im, are not teleological; they are often meaningless, irrelevant, and coincidental. warping these events to conform to the paradigm of the dramatic narrative can sometimes force undeserved guilt onto the defendant. dershowitz has used this argument regarding the unfairness of the dramatic narrative in the courtroom to secure acquittal for several of his c l ients . x x v u yet, he does not consider his own success in using this argument in relation to what he finds problematic with the dramatic narrative, though this relation is important. some "theatricalist" plays consciously point out their own conventions, point out their constructed, illusory nature. in much the same way, dershowitz introduces his own theatricalist narrative into the courtroom, exposing a particular dramatic technique in the court in order to point out what (for his story) is the "real" situation. the dramatic narrative at play in the court underpins the court system and, thus, the nation itself. on one level, the dramatic narrative has emerged as a way, in peter brook's words, "to formalize the conditions of telling" 5 0™ 1 1 in the courts. it gives a structure and a consistency to the kinds of narrative performed in the court. furthermore, as the implications of dershowitz's essay show, these narratives are linked to theater for a good reason. theater seems particularly well suited to pointing out its own presence, to exposing many of its illusions, including the contrived nature of the dramatic narrative. the dominance of the dramatic narrative structure in the court leaves inherent space for a meta-narrative, for a story pointing out its own fiction. much like the conscious agenda of the field day theater company, which allowed for a certain amount of imaginative freedom in the creation of national identity, the presence of dramatic narrative in the courtroom allows for different narratives to compete with one another, providing the national justice system with a strong but flexible framework. perhaps the most significant theatrical element in the democratic court system is representation. in the theater, an actor, a professionally trained representative, represents a character who cannot be there, who cannot speak for himself. in the courtroom, a lawyer, a professionally trained advocate, is permitted to represent his client, to speak for him.5™5* in both cases, the actor and the lawyer take on roles. the actor plays the role of the character he is representing; the lawyer, on the other hand, does not usually pretend to be his client. rather, the lawyer in court plays a lawyer who is representing his client. the lawyer must roleplay "the lawyer." in the english court system, for instance, the lawyers and the judges wear wigs and robes. at the royals courts of justice, the barristers and the judges wear these costumes in the courtroom. yet, when outside of the actual courtroom, many of the barristers stand around and chat without wearing their wigs. the costumes, in both the court and the theater, signify their common characteristic of representation: both actors and lawyers step into and out of their roles. costumes, however, are not the only means by which men and women play the role of lawyer. they must also act the part. janet malcolm reveals yet another layer of this representation in her examination of the side-bar conference in the united states. the side-bar conference is a discussion between the trial judge and the two competing trial lawyers. the two lawyers argue their points in a particular conflict, and the judge adjudicates them. the most important aspect e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 of the side-bar conference is that it is conducted out of the hearing of the jury and the spectators, so that they do not know what is being said. the discussion is transcribed, however, and can be referred to at a later t i m e . x x x malcolm studied the transcript of the side-bar conferences in macdonald v. mcginnis, a particularly impassioned murder trial. what surprised her, she says, "was the way everyone's mask suddenly dropped. out of the hearing of the jury, the lawyers were free to change from dire antagonists to men calmly discussing business. they were free to talk about their competing narratives rather than to enact them. they were like actors sitting around the dressing room putting cold cream on their faces and arguing points of craft and turning to the director to decide who was r i g h t . " x x x l malcolm invokes a stereotypical image of actors i n order to convey her realization that the lawyers, like actors, are professionals communicating their narratives. in order to do this, the lawyers must play the roles of prosecuting attorney and defending attorney, two titanic arch-rivals. the lawyers themselves, however, usually only feign antagonism. they are really just men or women working together in the same craft. these conferences are held out of the hearing of the jury and spectators in order to maintain the belief in the spectacle, to keep "the illusion-destroying activities of backstage firmly h i d d e n . " x x x n c o n c l u s i o n politically speaking, the conclusion that the court system is founded in a theatricality that supports the imaginary entity of the nation can be problematic. does the presence of theatricality in the law support an argument for anarchy, an argument that there is no true authoritative reason for anyone to abide by the law or recognize the government? while one could find anarchistic implications in the presence of theatricality in the law, its existence does more to argue for the advantages of a democratically imagined community. one of the challenges of a democratic nation is to uphold a created national identity whose defining characteristic is its heterogeneity. the presence of the flexible dramatic narrative and universally available representation in the law demonstrates an attempt within the democratic framework to include and accommodate the diverse multitude. this is not to say that theatricality cannot be used to manipulate or intimidate the people in the way, for example, monumental architecture oppresses the viewer with its authority. we need not accept democracy at face-value: we must continue to try to understand its benefits and its injustices. the theatrical model of interpretation deeply penetrates many societal institutions with its understanding that theatricality is not limited to the actual theater. it is also a possible way of examining our lives and the world around us. the kind of representation here discussed provides the strongest example of theatrical elements in the law aiding the "staging of the nation." representation and role-playing in the courtroom "stage" the process of justice itself. the roles taken on by the lawyers lend gravity to the trial proceedings, but they also create a sense of popular representation through a production that can, in the aforementioned words of kruger, make "a nation out of an audience, citizens out of spectators."'0 0' 1 1 1 while it is imperative that the spectators not see the "business" side of the court, it is also of equal importance that this side exist. the right of all democratic citizens to have fair representation from a trained, impartial professional bears out the equality that is so crucial to the democratic national identity. e n d n o t e s i anderson (1983), 15. i i anderson (1983), 15-16. i i i anderson (1983), 13. iv anderson (1983), 40. v anderson (1983), 41. vi bhabha (1990), 2. v i i wilmer (2002), 1. v i i i grote, (2003), 3. ix kruger (1992), 4. x kruger (1992), 12. xi kruger (1992), 85. xii kruger (1992), 85-86. x i i i wilmer (2002), 11. xiv wilmer (2002), 11. xv wilmer (2002), 12. xvi richtarik (1994), 10. xvii richtarik (1994), 28-29. xviii richtarik (1994), 68. xix castoriadis (1987), 115. xx castoriadis (1987), 118. xxi blanshard (2004), 13. xxii blanshard (2004), 14. xxiii blanshard (2004), 16. xxiv blanshard (2004), 12. xxv dershowitz (1996), 99. xxvi dershowitz (1996), 100. xxvii dershowitz (1996), 100. xxviii brooks (1996), 19. xxix i would like to acknowledge that i produce this particular notion based on the classroom comments of dr. nicholas ridout. i am taking his suggestion and exploring it i n the context of my own topic. s t a g i n g t h e n a t i o n : t h e a t r i c a l i t y i n t h e l a w references anderson, benedict. 1983. imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. london: verso. bhabha, h o m i k. 1990. nation and narration. london: routledge. blanshard, alastair. 2004. "the birth of the law-court: putting ancient and modern forensic rhetoric in its place." oratory in practice. michael edwards and christopher reid, eds. manchester: manchester university press. brooks, peter. 1996. "the law as narrative and rhetoric." law's stories: narrative and rhetoric in the law. new haven: yale university press. castoriadis, cornelius. 1987.the imaginary institution of society. trans, by kathleen blarney. cambridge: polity press. dershowitz, alan m . 1996. "life is not a dramatic narrative." law's stories: narrative and rhetoric in the law. new haven: yale university press. grote, georg. 2003. anglo-irish theatre and the formation of a nationalist and political culture between 1890 and 3930. new york: the edwin mellen press. kruger, loren. 1992. the national stage: theatre and cultural legitimation in england, france, and america. chicago: university of chicago press. malcom, janet. 1996. "the side-bar conference." law's stories: narrative and rhetoric in the law. new haven: yale university press. richtarik, marilynn j. 1994. acting between the lines: the field day theatre company and irish cultural politics ig&o-ig&q. oxford: clarendon press. wilmer, s.e. 2002. theatre, society, and nation: staging american identities. cambridge: cambridge university press. sotheby's describes the blue koran as 'one of the most luxurious manuscripts ever produced in the early medieval period in the islamic world.' i would argue that it is also one of the most important." early k o r a n i c m a n u s c r i p t s ! the blue koran debate emily n e u m e i e r t h e art of c a l l i g r a p h y a n d i l l u m i n a t i o n of m a n u s c r i p t s h o l d s a revered place i n is la m i c art because m u s l i m s believe t h a t c o d revealed to t h e m t h e w o r d t h r o u g h t h e p r o p h e t m u h a m m a d i n t h e f o r m of t h e k o r a n . t h e beauty of t h e blue k o r a n , o n e of t h e m o s t e x q u i s i t e early m a n u s c r i p t s of t h e k o r a n , speaks for itself w i t h its r i c h l y dyed p a r c h m e n t w i t h g o l d a n d si lver i n kl n g . b u t t h i s o b j e ct o f b e a u ty i s a n o b j e ct o f m yst e r y a s w e l l. a c e n t u r y l o n g debate a m o n g s c h o l a r s centers a r o u n d t h e blue k o r a n a n d its p r o v e n a n c e . here t h e i r o p i n i o n s w i l l be w e i g h e d a n d n e w e v i d e n c e a n d t h e o r i e s w i l l be b r o u g h t to l i g h t . t h i s project was b e g u n i n a n t i c i p a t i o n of t h e e x h i b i t at t h e m c m u l l e n m u s e u m i n t h e fall of 2006 of t h e d a v i d c o l l e c t i o n , a n i m p r e s s i v e a n d v a r i e d c o l l e c t i o n of i s l a m i c art. "...the manuscript is not only stunning in its visual appearance, hut it is also the center of an ongoing debate among scholars concerning its place and date of origin, method of production, and patronage." i . i n t r o d u c t i o n in the west the term "artist" connotes a painter or sculptor; i n the islamic lands, however, this title is more applicable to a calligrapher. muslims revere the message of their sacred text, the koran, as holy and thus avoid figural iconography for fear of idolatry. therefore, their artists strive to make the written word itself beautiful. muslim calligraphers focused upon copying the koran, a task both of religious merit and aestheticism. one of the finest and most unusual of koranic manuscripts is the blue koran, thus named because the parchment of the manuscript is dyed blue with indigo. with its gold ink upon a blue ground, the manuscript is not only stunning i n its visual appearance, but it is also the center of an ongoing debate among scholars concerning its place and date of origin, method of production, and patronage. because the koran is a fixed text, it is possible to extrapolate the number of folios in an entire manuscript from the number of lines to a page, in this case fifteen. this would show that there should be around 650 folios of the blue koran, a testament to its cost of production: one animal skin provides enough parchment for only a single bifolium. using gold ink outlined with black gallnut ink, the calligrapher wrote i n kufic script without vowelling but with the occasional use of non-systematic diacritical marks. the mcmullen museum's exhibition of the david collection in 2 0 0 6 wi l l include a folio from this manuscript. the specific page contains the text from the second surah of the koran, al-baqarah ("the cow"). the david folio measures 25.7 x 37.5 cm; it seems that the page has been trimmed because the largest folio from this manuscript measures 31 x 41 cm, found in the national institute of archaeology and art in tunisia. i i . p a t r o n a g e because most of what we know about islamic manuscripts has been exclusively derived from the manuscripts themselves, there are few facts about the blue koran's origin of which we can be absolutely certain. however, as time unearths more relevant evidence and folios from the manuscript, certain hypotheses become stronger. the first issue to be dealt with is who may have commissioned the blue koran. the extravagant cost of the blue koran, as one would surmise from the gold ink, dyed parchment, and the number and size of pages, limits possible patrons to the caliph himself or other high-ranking officials of his court. i n 1912, the collector f. r. martin attributed patronage to the abbasid caliph al-mamun (r. 813-833 ce) who had supposedly commissioned the manuscript for the tomb of his father. this iranian attribution was accepted by grohmann in 1929 and repeated consistently in auction and exhibition catalogues unti l the 1970s when folios from north africa began to appear. it seems unreasonable to attribute patronage solely based upon the authority of martin, who provided no evidence for such a conclusion. in 1986 the islamic scholar jonathan bloom challenged the long-held attribution to al-mamun, declaring that the style of writing does not necessarily point elem ents s p r i n g 06 directly to 9 t h century iran, and that martin's attribution is based only on circumstantial evidence. the attribution to the abbasid caliph seems to originate more from martin's unsubstantial provenance than anything else. i i i . r e g i o n of p r o d u c t i o n the next issue that naturally follows the patronage is where the blue koran was produced. paleography is useless in settling this question. the monumental kufic script, suited ideally for stone inscriptions on buildings, coincides with the abbasid caliphate (750-1258), but because this consisted of a region unified artistically from north africa to persia, it is very difficult to say where the manuscript is from based on this. because of the attribution to the abbasid al-mamun, scholars assumed for decades that the manuscript was from iran. yet, in an exhibit during the 1976 festival of islam i n london, pages of the blue koran surfaced from a sizeable portion of the manuscript in modern day tunis. this new claim to origins in north africa caused some confusion, best evidenced by the hayward gallery's exhibit in the same 1976 festival, which simultaneously attributed their blue koran pages to mesopotamia in the 9 t h century. after 1976, most scholars attempted to reconcile the abbasid commission and the north african provenance into one convoluted explanation: " i f the manuscript was ordered by al-mamun, it must have been produced in north africa, whence it never left or to which it was later returned." 1 since al-mamun's patronage has no real paleographic or documentary support, it is probably best to stop stretching the available facts to associate the blue koran with mesopotamia and, instead, to begin focusing primarily on the possibility of a western origin. jonathan bloom has brought forth an interesting theory that points to a western place of production based on the unusual numbering system found in the blue koran. he observes that calligraphers from the maghrib, or western islamic lands comprising of spain and north africa, sometimes use different letters than their muslim counterparts i n the east to represent numbers in the abjad system. bloom bases his argument upon the differences between markings on iraqi and on andalusian astrolabes made around the same time. he assumes that the same numbering system would be used for the verse markers in a koranic manuscript. for example, the letter used to mark verse 6 0 on a blue koran folio from the chester beatty library is a sad, the maghribi letter for 6 0 . in the muslim east, shin represents 6 0 , while sad stands for 9 0 . i f there are such irregularities in the blue koran, it may have been produced in the maghrib. a n inventory of the library of the great mosque of kairouan in tunsia from 1293 may shed more light on this issue. the first item of the inventory, described as a koran divided into seven large sections, was first associated with the blue koran by the scholar ibrahim shabbuh i n 1956. it refers to a manuscript in which each page is written on blue-black parchment with five lines of gold kufic script with verse markers, chapter titles and the number of verses in a surah done in silver. there is one inconsistency between this description and the blue koran: the blue koran has fifteen, not five, lines to a page. bloom simply rationalizes that this mix-up is an "easy slip in arabic as it is in english." 1 1 curator t im stanley offers a more convincing explanation to solve this problem. he suggests that due to damage of the inventory document, shabbuh may have conflated two entries. stanley's updated version of the inventory places the 7-section koran dyed blue as the second item, with the number of 5 lines to a page left to the first item. i n order to confidently affirm that it is the blue koran described in the 1293 inventory, one must deal lastly with the silver chapter headings and verse numbers mentioned in the entry. the problem unti l now is the lack of folios with the beginning of chapters on them. yet the recent observation of two such pages has strengthened the hypothesis that the blue koran was in kairouan as early as the 13th century, and has perhaps uncovered another surprising peculiarity of the maghribi numbering system. in a catalogue featuring early korans, t im stanley discusses an exciting folio of the blue koran which contains the first fourteen verses of surah eighteen. sure enough, on side a there is silver writearly k o r a n i c m a n u s c r i p t s ! t h e blue k o r a n debate ing in the top margin adjacent to the first verse of the surah. the writing is translated by stanley as reading "the cave", the title of surah eighteen, and the number of verses in the chapter, i n . this is just as the inventory described. as exciting as this confirmation is, the fact that the quaritch page lacks the elaborate chapter separation that one would expect from such an exceptional manuscript is bothersome. there is only one other page of the blue koran published which has the beginning verses of a chapter, and it does provide a simple but beautiful decorative band in gold terminating in a marginal palmette with a symmetrical arabesque motif. stanley suspects that there may be writing in the margin, but he was unable to confirm this fact from the black-and-white reproduction. upon obtaining a color reproduction of this particular folio and carefully scrutinizing it , the silver writing now tarnished black is obvious the writing is directly above the palmette and in the margin, exactly as the silver writing in the quaritch page. i f the silver writing contains the chapter heading and the number of verses in the chapter as described i n the inventory, the writing should read "al-sajdah" and provide the number of verses in chapter 32, which it does. thus, scholars now know of a folio from the blue koran with both a terns also arises from the folio with a gold band. the marginal silver writing reads "twenty-nine", indicating the number of verses in chapter 32 of the koran. however, the text literally reads "twenty" and "nine", differing from the normal arabic form of "nine" and "twenty." the scholar estelle whelan has also noticed a similar discrepancy, conveniently with the number 29 as well, in a group of early koranic manuscripts from the chester beatty library. whelan believed that this order was characteristic of semitic languages once spoken in arabia and may have been a remnant before the codification of arabic grammar in the 9 t h and 10th centuries. thus she claims that this unusual rearrangement is an indicator of a koran created very early on in the days of islam . however, at the time whelan wrote her article, she was unaware of the folio from the blue koran under discussion. because it is doubtful that the blue koran was created earlier than the late 9 t h century, as wil l be discussed later, whelan's theory that the descending order of the numbers makes an extremely early date of production unlikely. rather, this unusual numbering could be a new method for localizing early islamic manuscripts, since it is reasonable to say now that the blue koran was produced in the islamic west. "the only theory that has been generally agreed upon is that the blue koran was in the library of the great mosque of kairouan in the 13th century." gold separation band and chapter headings i n silver. this solidifies the blue koran's connection to the inventory entry from the 13th century. the manuscript's preservation in entirety in the library of the great mosque i n kairouan would be the earliest documentary evidence of the blue koran's existence. a n illuminating development i n magribi numbering syswhile most articles in the last decade have accepted an iranian association as doubtful, there is still contention as to where in the maghrib the blue koran was produced. after stanley made a convincing argument i n his article that the blue koran is the manuscript described i n the inventory from kariouan, he argued against a north african attribution and proposed a spanish origin. stanley noted that the use of the blue koran's archaic features, such as the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 lack of diacritical marking and the decorative surah band may be a technique by a new regime to connect itself to great dynasties of the past. with this in mind, stanley concluded that the neo-umayyad dynasty in spain cannot be ruled out as the producer of the blue koran. stanley supports a neo-umayyad patronage with the fact that the mihrab i n the great mosque at cordoba has epigraphy in gold, outlined in red, "just as the text of the blue koran is outlined in a reddish ink," on a blue-black ground. he also cites a story of an umayyad caliph commissioning a koran in gold ink i n the early 8 t h century, and suggests that the neo-umayyads imitated their ancestors, the umayyads in syria. 1 1 1 stanley's theory of spanish patronage is possible. technically, the writing on the mihrab in the great mosque is not exactly like that of the blue koran because the gold writing in the manuscript was outlined in a gallnut ink which was originally black-blue and has only faded to a reddish color. nevertheless, the key connection of gold writing on a blue ground between the blue koran and the mihrab remains. in a 1998 article, jonathan bloom supported the idea that the neo-umayyads "consciously recapitulated the real or imagined umayyad past i n syria," at least in the construction of the great mosque. stanley simply expanded on this idea and surmised that the neoumayyads would want to equal their forebears' production of manuscripts scribed with gold as well. i believe that there is no evidence as of yet pointing to a place of production with any amount of certainty. the only theory that has been generally agreed upon is that the blue koran was in the library of the great mosque of kairouan i n the 13th century. there is a centuries-wide gap between the inventory and the production date around the 9 t h or 10th century. the koran could have been made in kariouan, but i n that amount of time the manuscript might have been carried from anywhere, including spain. i f the manuscript was not made in kairouan, its high quality suggests that it was probably a gift from a person of high status from another islamic dynasty, given not only to show respect but also to demonstrate the giver's incredible wealth and claim to greatness, as the neo-umayyads may have done. i v . date of p r o d u c t i o n dating the blue koran proves to be just as difficult as naming a place of production. calligraphers did not usually sign these early manuscripts. also, the colophon, a dedicatory page naming the patron, place of production and calligrapher, is not present i n this case. to the dismay of scholars, few colophons survive because they are located at the end of a manuscript, a part subject to the most damage. scientific methods of dating the blue koran are few and ineffective; curators are naturally hesitant to burn a piece of the manuscript required for carbon dating, and radio-carbon testing by an electro-spectrometer may have a 100to-200-year margin of error. the most unobtrusive method of dating is historical analysis. the first islamic dynasty conceivably wealthy and capable enough to commission such a fine manuscript in north africa was the aghlabid dynasty of the 9 t h century. many catalogues, including that of the khalili collection in 1992, do attribute the blue koran to the late 9 t h century, the height of aghlabid splendor. however, jonathan bloom pushes forward the date of production to the middle of the 10th century. he points out that the art of the aghlabids is "sub-abbasid" i n that it looks directly to models from baghdad for inspiration. considering the amount of time it would take for such models to travel from mesopotamia to north africa, bloom imagines that i f the manuscript was made by the aghlabids, it was produced at the very end of the century. unfortunately, around this time the aghlabid dynasty was overthrown by the fatimid dynasty. because the first few decades of fatimid rule were turbulent, bloom is forced to date the blue koran i n the middle of the century under the reign of either al-mansur or al-muizz l i-din allah,when the economy and political stability were favorable for the production of such a fine manuscript. another method of dating is paleographical analysis, i n which scholars identify different styles of calligraphy in early k o r a n i c m a n u s c r i p t s ! t h e blue k o r a n debate manuscripts. i f one manuscript has a colophon or perhaps a waqf deed with a certain font, the date of production may be tentatively applied to manuscripts of the same style of calligraphy. the scholar frangois deroche has taken great pains to develop his own identification system for early kufic scripts. in his system deroche labels the blue koran in sub-section iv of group d, a script characterized by a thick, horizontal line and vertical strokes perpendicular to the base line. there are only two manuscripts with dates in the d.iv grouping; the first is a waqf deed from 883-84 ce, and the second is a "surprisingly late" waqfiyyah deed from 940-41.^' unfortunately, this range of a century does not help to narrow the production date of the blue koran, and these dates only serve as termini ad quern for the script. v . d i v i s i o n a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n of m a n u s c r i p t determining how the blue koran was divided and distributed after the 13th century is difficult but necessary. i n 1986 jonathan bloom counted 18 known folios of the blue koran in private and museum collections. today, in 2005, after more publications and pages have come into view, there are as many as 37 separate folios known; of these, 29 are certainly due to their confirmed textual position. that these folios are from the same text can be assumed because the gaps between extant pages are consistent with the logical sequence of pages. this can be observed with a bifolium from the second surah from the chester beatty library, one page ending with verse 65 and the other picking up with verse 93. extrapolation of the text reveals that there should be about 4 folios, or two bifolia, between these pages, which would be the middle of a quire. the last time the blue koran was reported to be in entirety was the 1293 inventory. at some point later, it appears that the first volume, or sub, of seven was separated from the manuscript. this can be concluded from the fact that most folios in early 2 0 t h century western collections begin before verse 4:55, which is around where the first section should have ended. a good portion of the remaining six volumes is rumored to remain in kairouan; however, officials of the national institute of art and archaeology have resisted all attempts by western scholars to examine their blue koran manuscript pages. after examining the folios of the blue koran from the sackler museum at harvard and the boston mfa, both of which have a distinctive vertical fold mark suggesting a surreptitious removal, one can hardly blame the wariness of the tunisian authorities the recent, sudden appearance in the art market of folios from later volumes in the text also lends merit to the tunisians' uneasiness. after 1293, the blue koran left no historic trace unti l the 2 0 t h century, when f.r. martin reportedly purchased some folios from the blue koran in constantinople. in 1977, christie's reports some loose pages of the blue koran 1 *«•»—** ( y* m \d m ***m>*g %ji til 1, m * * t"" i * » j ' \ ilm» . « r a m t » > ^ * «lk . aj l . * '>•*». x-b t i l l i i i l l l l ii ^ (a 4ft i — * . . 9 wf> e «ih ^ i f ' a s l jmat* & — ^ '. tfi—u » — l. a u l m ~ a yt n f ..-•<•< u> yi!j*~ fc >»i»» — # j*** a .-.—-* elem ents : s p r i n g 0 6 "within a fine 16th century dark brown tooled morocco binding from persia. " v bloom believes that this binding indicates that by the 16th century the first volume of the blue koran had entered into ottoman hands. it apparently remained there unti l martin purchased the folios i n the 2 0 t h century. the story is complicated by a modern customs stamp found in the top margin of side a of the folio now owned by the harvard museum. according to the violet stamp, bloom reports that the folio was '"reviewed and passed in the year 1320/1902."' because the stamp is in persian, it must be from iran. thus, after buying the manuscripts in constantinople, martin then traveled to iran before he returned to europe, where he sold the folios. v i . m e t h o d s of p r o d u c t i o n though the blue koran's dyeing of parchment is quite unusual, it is by no means unique. some other examples include a koran in the freer gallery with a light blue ground v i and a leaf at the metropolitan museum of art's khalili collection that is dyed red with silver verse markers of particular interest is a hafsid koran manuscript endowed to the mosque of kasba in tunis i n march 1405 by al-mutawakkil, with silver ink on paper dyed in a range of colors from light brown to purple . because the manuscript was created i n tunis only a century after the inventory of the kairouan mosque, it may have been directly inspired by the blue koran. the production of an expensive manuscript such as the blue koran was very complex. first, the hide of either a goat or sheep was cured, scraped to remove any remaining fat or flesh, sanded, stretched, and dried to create a bifolium of parchment. then, the parchment was dyed with indigo. the method of the islamic dyers can be imagined from 15th century instructions on how to tint goat parchment by the italian cennino cennini. he advises soaking the skin unti l soft, then stretching it over a board like a drumskin and nailing it down. the indigo tint is painted onto the parchment with a soft-bristle brush and must be repeated several times for a darker hue. the skin may also have been dipped like paper. the dyeing of the parchment itself is unusual, but the use of indigo and the color blue is not. indigo was an essential part of trade and manufacture in the islamic world, especially because the area's economy relies heavily on textiles. the scholar s.d. goiten, famous for his work on the geniza documents, testifies: "the supply of dyeing materials and mordants was one of the main branches of international and local trades, with indigo leading the l i s t . " v i i we know that indigo was traded in kairouan at the time of the blue koran's production from a 10th century hebrew document that recorded the export of indigo from egypt to tunisia. after the parchment is dyed and trimmed, the manuscript is ruled in preparation for the text. francois deroche defines ruling as "the system of horizontal, vertical, oblique or circular lines drawn on the page before the copying of a text or the execution of a decorative scheme, with the purpose of allowing the scribe or artists a planned layout." he asserts that usually gridding is done with a dry point, but that on occasion black lead or ink may be used. v i l i the blue koran may be a very unusual exception to the rule. scholars including bloom, deroche, and stanley have all stated that the blue koran was ruled with a dry point. however, upon examination of the folio from the boston museum of fine arts under both microscope and uv light, it appears that the ruling could possibly have been done with a white substance, either calcium carbonate (chalk) or white lead. the use of the white substance rather than the usual black makes sense because of the unusual nature of the dyed parchment white shows up better. under the microscope, the surface of the parchment does not seem to be cut or disturbed as with a dry point, nor was any shadow apparent due to dry scoring; rather, there seems to be a material sitting on the surface of the skin. this is further supported by observation under uv light where the lines of the grid sit on the surface but do not shine nearly as brightly as damage incised into the parchment itself. i n order to conclusively determine how the blue koran was ruled, it would be best to carefully extract a minute particle of the substance where there is a small buildup on the surface and to run the sample through an electro-spectrometer. a less intrusive method would be to dye a sample piece of parchearly k o r a n i c m a n u s c r i p t s : t h e blue k o r a n debate merit and compare a dry scoring and a white chalk-ruling to the blue koran manuscript under microscope. i attempted such a test, but unfortunately under time constraints i could not produce a satisfactorily dyed sample. i did at least compare the semi-dyed sample to a un-dyed piece of parchment and noticed that the chalk ruling appears well on the darker surface, while the deep lines on the parchment from dry scoring are not very noticeable on the blue koran folio. no matter how exactly the parchment was ruled, once it was prepared, the calligrapher would ply his art in gold ink i n "clearly, the function of the blue koran is intended more to visually please than to act as afunctional text." kufic script. kufic, named after kufa in south mesopotamia, has pronounced horizontals and stunted verticals pen strokes. clearly, the function of the blue koran is intended more to visually please than to act as a functional text. the lack of vowelling and limitation of diacritical marks, as well as the habit of the calligrapher to stretch out the same word to different lengths to suit his preferences shows that the koran is a poetic text that was originally meant to be recited, not read. there are also words and letters which are broken apart and continued onto the next line. this lack of readability is not surprising, as luxury texts such as the blue koran would be used for ceremonial purposes in large congregational mosques by readers who had memorized the koran. close examination of the inking reveals how the calligrapher enjoyed stretching out his words on the right side of the page, but the text gets more and more cramped on the left side as he runs out of room on the line. the calligrapher is also particularly fond of creating "columns" of isolated letters at the beginning of a line. the gold ink is obviously very expensive. the fatimids i n cairo, after moving there from their capital from kairouan, were said to have several korans in gold in the great mosque in 1012-13, around the same time as the production of the blue koran . once the pages had been inked, bookbinders would arrange the quires into their respective volumes. a l l of this arrangement requires an impressive amount of organization; it is a small wonder that the great mosque at kariouan was also well known for its expert bookbinders. a strange issue about the arrangement of the pages has arisen with the recent appearance of what seem to be an end-piece of the first volume of the blue koran. quaritch's catalogue features a folio with normal writing on one side and with a fully illuminated gold panel on the other. the gold panel, roughly the same size as the ruling grid on other folios, has a design consisting of three bands radiating from a central field, consisting of vegetal and geometric designs. a large palmette with arabesques blossoms into the right margin, very similar in design to the palmette on the folio with a gold band. tim stanley believes this panel represents the end of the first sub of seven of the blue koran. this supposition is logical because the text ends at verse 4:62, very close to the approximate ending of 4:55 for the first volume calculated. the fact that the panel seems to have covered verses 62 through 65 indicates that this piece was not originally intended. there could have been an error by the copyist, or more likely, the decision to bind the manuscript into sevenths was made later and alterations for finished pieces were executed. on that note, it is also possible that the silver writing is a later addition as well. this is evidenced by the silver chapter titles hastily scribbled into the margins. i f anything, there was a period between the gold and silver inking wherein the illumination was created, because on the illuminated folio the writing underneath has the gold text, but no detectable silver verse markers. elem ents s p r i n g 0 6 v i i . c o n c l u s i o n sotheby's describes the blue koran as "one of the most luxurious manuscripts ever produced in the early medieval period in the islamic world . " l x i would argue that it is also one of the most important. the blue koran deserves attention for two reasons. first, the unusual nature of such a sumptuously made manuscript excites by sheer novelty. the deep, matte royal blue paired with glittering gold has a certain glamour that begs the question to be askedwhy make such a fantastic object? second, as can be seen above, the blue koran has proven to be a key point of reference i n many issues of the field of early islamic manuscripts, a field in which much remains unknown. e n d n o t e s i welch, 49. i i . bloom, "al-mamun's blue koran?," 68. i i i . stanley, 14. iv. deroche, 36. v. christie's vi . at i l , 17. v i i . balfour-paul, 24. v i i i . deroche, 20. ix. bloom, jonathan m . "the blue koran, a n early fatimid kufic manuscript from the maghrib," 98. references ati l , esin. art of the arab world. freer gallery of art . washington, d.c.: smithsonian, 1975. blair, sheila s. and bloom, jonathan m . the art and architecture of islam: 1250-1800. new haven: yale, 1995. bloom, jonathan m . "al-mamun's blue koran?" extrait de la revue des etudes islamiques, tome liv, 1986, pgs. 59-65. bloom, jonathan m . "the blue koran, a n early fatimid kufic manuscript from the maghrib." les manuscrits du moyenorient. istanbul: institut francais d'etudes anatoliennes d' istanbul, 1989. bloom, joanathan m . "the revival of early islamic architecture by the umayyads of spain." marilyn j. chiat and kathryn l. reyerson, eds. the medieval mediterranean: cross cultural contacts. medieval studies at minnesota, 3,1988, pgs. 35-41 bosch, gulnar. islamic bindings and bookmaking. chicago: university of chicago, 1981 cennini, cennino a'andrea. trans. daniel v. thompson. ii libro dell'arte. new haven: yale, 1933 christie's catalogues: november 9,1977 (lot 66) deroche, francois. the abbasid tradition, qur'ans of the 8th to the 10th centuries ad. the nassir d. khalili collection of islamic art , volume 1. new york: nour foundation, 1992. fantar, muhammad, de carthage a kairouan. exhibition catalogue, musee du petit palais de la ville de paris, 20 octobre 1982-27 fevrier 1983. gameson, richard. the codex aureus: an eighth-century gospel book. copenhagen: rosenkilde and bagger, 2001 golvin, lucien: "tunisia" grove art online. oxford university press, 3/30/2005, http://www.groveart.com/ harvard art museums, visit to the arthur m . sackler museum to view their blue koran folio. march 2, 2004. hayward gallery, exhibition catalogue "the arts of islam." the arts council of great britain. james, david. qur'ans and bindings from the chester beatty library. exhibition catalogue, chester beatty library 1980. lings, mart in and safadi, yasin hamid. the qur'an. exhibition catalogue for the british library, 1976. mart in, f.r. the miniature paintings and painters of persia, india, and turkey. london: bernard quaritch, 1912. museum of fine art , boston, visit to view blue koran folio. march 22, 2004. sotheby's catalogues: may 22,1986 (lot 243), november 20, 1986 (lot 279), october 12, 2000 (lot 5), october 12, 2004 (lot 1) stanly, t i m . "the qur'an on blue vellum. africa or spain?" the qur'an and calligraphy, a selection of fine manuscript material. catalogue 1213. london: bernard quaritch voguet, e. "linventaire des manuscrits de la bibliotheque de la grande mosquee de kairouan (693/1293-4)." arabica. 50/4 (2003): 532-544. welch, anthony . "the arts of the book." i n the exhibtion catalogue the treasures of islam. the musee d'art et d'histoire, geneva, 1985. whelan, estelle. "writ ing the word o f god." ars orientalis. no. 20,1990. early k o r a n i c m a n u s c r i p t s : t h e blue k o r a n debate http://www.groveart.com/ s o v i e t i z a t i o n of t h e b a l t i c states independence negotiated, then stolen w i l l i a m s a d d t h i s a r t i c l e e x a m i n e s t h e f o r c e s a n d c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f t h e e a r l y 1940s d u r i n g w h i c h a u n i q u e c l i m a t e w a s c r e a t e d f o r t h e s o v i e t i z a t i o n o f e s t o n i a , l a t v i a , a n d l i t h u a n i a . i t a l s o c o n s i d e r s t h e l e g a l a s p e c t s o f t h e c a s e , n a m e l y t h e i n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e s e t h r e e i n d e p e n d e n t , s o v e r e i g n s t a t e s i n t o t h e s o v i e t u n i o n w h i c h v i o l a t e d n e a r l y a l l m e a s u r e s o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w . t h i s , h o w e v e r , w a s m e t w i t h l i t t l e r e s i s t a n c e f r o m t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y , p r i m a r i l y b e c a u s e o f t h e r i s e o f n a z i g e r m a n y , t h e g e n e r a l c h a o s i n t h e e a r l y y e a r s o f w o r l d w a r i i , a n d t h e s h i f t i n g a l l i a n c e s a l o n g t h e e a s t e r n f r o n t . w i t h m a n y f o r m e r s o v i e t r e p u b l i c s i n t h e s p o t l i g h t t o d a y s t r u g g l i n g t o s t a b i l i z e a s i n d e p e n d e n t s t a t e s , a n d w i t h t h e r u s s i a n f e d e r a t i o n s t i l l o c c u p y i n g s e v e r a l t e r r i t o r i e s o f t h e f o r m e r s o v i e t u n i o n u n d e r t h e a u s p i c e s o f p e a c e k e e p i n g m i s s i o n s , t h e r e l a t i v e l y s e t t l e d c a s e o f t h e b a l t i c s t a t e s s e r v e s a s e x a m p l e t o a n a l y z e p r o c e s s e s o f s o v i e t i z a t i o n , a n d s h o u l d a i d i n f o s t e r i n g g r e a t e r i n t e r e s t i n t h e v a r i o u s w a y s b y w h i c h d e s o v i e t i z a t i o n i s o c c u r r i n g i n t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y w o r l d . i n t r o d u c t i o n by 1940, the baltic states were firmly and decidedly trapped i n the doom of their own geo-strategic location. caught between the dangerous and concurrent rises of nazi germany and the soviet union, the baltic states had few feasible options outside of cautious, prudent diplomacy. the three baltic countries, lithuania, latvia, and estonia, while largely unrelated historically, shared the common plight of having been marginalized under the russian empire, and subsequently finding internationally recognized independence following its collapse. this independence, however important to the baltic mentality and diplomacy abroad, would last for not even a quarter of a century. ' the trans-baltic realization of independence, though principally a result of the russian revolution and the ensuing dissolution of the russian empire, must also be viewed within the context of the horrors and irrefutable devastation that devoured eurasia following the first world war. as a result of the war and its ruin, much of europe and parts of asia witnessed a total reorganization of their political geographies, as well as the restructuring of an international balance. the redrawing of maps was also related to the break-up of the three great land-based empires which had dominated a large portion of greater eurasia: the russian empire, the austro-hungarian empire, and the ottoman empire. 1 i n examining baltic national emergence and its corresponding defeat, it is important to recognize both the broader parallels and specific connections among the baltic states, as well as the unique differences between the three. with the most obvious observation being modern paternity, i t is worth noting that the emergence and re-emergence of several of the central and eastern european independent nation-states—especially finland, poland, and the three baltic states: latvia, estonia, and lithuania 1 1 —was a direct result of the disintegration of the eurasian empires, notably the russian and austro-hungarian empires. the individual experiences and grand narratives of the three, however, were markedly different i n several respects. latvia's emergence as an independent country i n 1918 was a defining national and, i n some ways, ethno-national moment for the latvian peoples.111 at the conception of the latvian state, the latvians were already well-acknowledged and documented as being an ancient people with a unique, baltic, indo-european language. but while the lithuanians had, at one point i n history, established an empire i n eastern europe i n conjunction with poland, the latvians had never before been united as an independent political entity. 1 v and thus, the year 1918 saw the inception of the first latvian republics concurrently, estonia had come from different historical, linguistic, and cultural ties which were largely connected with finland and thus had different experiences from the other baltic countries.v 1 estonia emerged following the upheavals of the first world war, the collapse of tsarist russia, and the defeat of imperial germany, as a modern, unicamerally legislated, liberal estonian nat ion. v n f o l l o w i n g w o r l d war i, latvia was an i n d e p e n d e n t stat e wixh its o^x/ n st a n dl ng army, despite the differences from country to country and from ethnicity to ethnicity, the baltic experience as a total, indissolvable focus is certainly contendable to a great extent. to be sure, the baltic states were experiencing a western type of institutional modernization and renovation.v 1 1 1 there is surely a unified, common baltic identity which, to a large e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 extent, emerges as a baltic factor i n times of confusion—as it did during this period of 'independence'.155 moreover, from this perspective, it is important to appreciate that the three baltic states were increasingly inundated with bipolar manipulations from their two evermore powerful neighbors, the soviet union and nazi germany, which truly bound and connected such a 'baltic factor'. the mark of the demise of the baltic states lay entirely i n these inter-war years, which were concomitantly their inter-empire years of independence. during the innumerable contrived and natural shifts of this inter-war period the major surviving powers of the first world war succeeded and progressed as per their own political and military calculations. the united states, for example, was riding a wave of mostly inter-war inaction, while great britain, france, and the rest of western europe were largely utilizing any and every possible avenue of preclusion, coming i n the form of subservience and acquiescence toward the increasingly international dictatorship of hitler, all i n an attempt to avoid a follow-up to world war i . x ironically, the failures of western europe's attempts to appease hitler ran straight into nazi germany's consumptive actions i n the late 1930s, thereby leading to the second world war. toward the end of the 1930s, the baltic states could not support any hopes of preserving their independence through balancing the dichotomy of the aforementioned growing nazi and soviet hegemonies. in conjunction with their according policies with said neighbors, this balance was what unified the baltic states to a great extent i n those precarious pre-1940 years. but it was the irrevocable and ineradicable memory, however, of estonian, latvian, and lithuanian consumption, in toto, into the union of soviet social republics (ussr) by way of "voluntary incorporation," 5 5 1 as well as the forcible, unmitigated, and systematic sovietization of the predominantly unwill ing baltic peoples, that unified the three countries i n those perilous postannexation years. by the summer of 1940, the independent baltic states of estonia, latvia, and lithuania—independent states and symbols for perhaps the last strand of inter-war attempts at general international bipartisanship and neutrality i n central and eastern europe—were irrefutably victimized and robbed of their independence by way of imperial design. t h e m o l o t o v r i b b e n t r o p pact in order to best comprehend the complexities of the soviet infiltration of the baltic states from 1940-41, the span of a single year, it is first worth examining how soviet foreign policy and its main players prefaced the summer of 1940. there was a vast degree of political calculation and international presupposition on the part of moscow i n order to facilitate such an easy annexation of three independent countries. concurrently, i n the post-world war i years there were immeasurable apprehensions, anxieties, fears, and ultimate inadequacies and shortcomings regarding transeuropean and trans-national affairs.5 5 1 1 even still, deconstructing the road to what became the hegemonic rumination, systematic annexation, and eventual sovietization of the baltic states, leads to a foundation of events being rooted most closely i n the late 1930s agreements between the soviet union and nazi germany. soviet-german rivalries began to really flourish with germany's rise i n the early 1930s.55111 as germany continued to strengthen itself and precipitously weaken its neighbors throughout the 1930s, the baltic states focused much of their attention and interest on pursuing neutrality as much as possible, while at the same time attempting to achieve a very difficult balance between german and soviet regional interests. x l v a l l of these attempts, however, were ultimately doomed by the negotiations between the soviet union and germany, culminating i n the august 23, 1939 signing of the molotov-ribbentrop agreement.5^ the agreement, also referred to as the molotov-ribbentrop pact or the nazi-soviet pact of non-aggression, i n some preliminary ways, solidified what was already a long-standing baltic fear of the imperial aims of its neighbors. to a certain extent, the pact superficially and temporarily disens o v i e t i z a t i o n o f t h e b a l t i c s t a t e s tangled some of the increasing tensions and complexities surrounding the nazi-soviet balance of power. while not expressly mentioned i n the text of the pact, eastern europe and its constituent space between the soviets and nazis was divided into spheres of influence. x v l this was stipulated i n a secret supplementary protocol to the pact, as now recognized by historians . x v n molotov and ribbentrop's 1939 pact was, i n many ways, the result of several examinations made by each side on the balance of eastern europe and the baltic states (including finland), with regard to the strengthening of the pact's signatories and europe's undeniable descent into war. the pact was a ten-year agreement of non-aggression and was conceived after a series of discussions between ribbentrop and sta l in . x v m the importance of this emerged through the affordance and emergence of the aforementioned secret protocol. i n the discussions surrounding the preparation of the protocol, it became clear that both sides knew each other's desires well enough. while establishing germany's claim to poland, hitler recognized stalin's long-willed desire for the curzon line as the russian border; and he gave it to h i m . x l x as per the secret protocol i n the august agreements, the soviet union was to have estonia, latvia, bessarabia, and the eastern part of poland as its sphere of interest and according influence x x and though lithuania was initially to be germany's concern, x x l it was subsequently added to the soviet sphere i n september of that year.™1 x x m at the same time, however, both sides recognized the validity of the lithuanian claim over poland regarding the vilnius region. x x i v unsurprisingly, shortly after the pact, hitler proceeded to invade poland on september 1,1939, and saw not a glance from the soviet side, as promised; stalin subsequently moved i n from the east on september 17. and while the details of the protocol and the ensuing systematic eightmonth deconstruction of estonia, latvia, and lithuania would see each of the baltic states dismembered as independent states and simultaneously incorporated into the ussr as union republics, it is worth noting that almost every article of the protocol contradicted principles of international law, and few states resolved upon recognizing stalin's patent annexation. m u t u a l a s s i s t a n c e a g r e e m e n t s a n d " v o l u n t a r y i n c o r p o r a t i o n " throughout the 1920s and into the early 1930s, the baltic states had all pointedly concluded agreements of non-aggression and neutrality with the soviet u n i o n . x x v the three also signed an extended treaty of peace and cooperation i n i 934 , x x v l as well as a similar pact of neutrality and non-aggression with nazi germany i n i 9 3 9 x x v 1 1 the complication was of course the lack of continuity i n the realities of the people. while the three states were all ultimately conquered because of their undeniable geo-strategic importance between the soviet union and nazi germany, each had different levels of concern i n response to each power. the soviet union was more of a direct threat for estonia. nazi germany and the perpetual question over vilnius with poland were major concerns for the lithuanians; latvia was troubled mostly by soviet russia. although such a 'baltic entente' and other unifying exchanges were attempted,^ 1 1 1 the three countries were often divided when it came to foreign defense and policy i n the years leading up to annexation x x 1 x further still, by the time of the molotov"the progression of the treaties ... truly showed the extent to which the baltic states were manipulated, exploited, and then systematically seized ..." e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 ribbentrop pact and during that final year before annexation, belated baltic attempts at convening and coordinating efforts for preservation provided little more than a pretext for stalin's 1940 absorption and occupation of the three states.5™ the progression of the treaties, however, especially at the close of the 1930s, and especially with regard to the soviet union, truly showed the extent to which the baltic states were manipulated, exploited, and then systematically seized; the calculated nature of all this is indelible. undoubtedly, the baltic states would have been occupied once world war i i commenced. but the manipulative procedure by which moscow achieved mutual assistance pacts and military and economic agreements with latvia, lithuania, and estonia cannot be ignored.5™1 serious questions and arguments come to mind regarding the legality surrounding the soviet incorporation of the baltic states. the methodology behind their incorporation was purposeful. molotov himself said to a lithuanian minister i n july, 1940 that the goal was to absorb and assimilate the states into the ussr, citing that russia had desired the baltic region since ivan the terrible, and that small, independent states had no f u t u r e . x x x l i and while the three states had probably still hoped for a potential rift i n german-soviet relations,™ 1 1 1 latvian, lithuanian, and estonian leaders surrendered their countries' autonomies by signing their respective mutual assistance pacts with moscow.x x x 1 v moreover, while estonia, for instance, allowed soviet air strikes off of estonian bases during the 1939-40 winter war with finland (largely to avoid antagonizing moscow), x x x v the legal claims regarding the progressive soviet encroachment remain. x x x v 1 i n fact, the kremlin's subjugation and 1940 absorption of the baltic states contravened a series of treaties existing between moscow and the three republics including: the 1920 peace treaties which had outlined the maintenance of peace and good-neighbor principles; the 1929 "protocol" repudiating war, as sponsored by maxim litvinov; the 1926-32 treaties for peaceful conciliation and non-aggression; the 1933 conference on aggression which indicated and itemized that no political, economic, military, or other claims may serve as validation for an armed offense or invasion; and finally, the 1939 mutual assistance treaties which plainly and unmistakably promised "never to infringe upon the sovereign rights of these states, with particular pertinence to their political structure and social and economic organization. " x x x v u a meager e s t o n i a n army m o b i l i z e s to resist t h e soviet takeover, unsuccessfully. soviet incorporation of the baltic states was illegal; it undeniably infringed upon each of the countries' internationally recognized legal right to be treated as a sovereign nation— seemingly unconditional rights, despite the previously discussed molotov-ribbentrop pact, approval or disapproval from moscow, or any local referendum. 5 0 0™ 1 1 because of these unconditional rights, as well as other forces such as international pressures from allies and geo-strategic apprehensions, few states recognized soviet annexation of estonia, latvia, and lithuania i n 1940. moreover, the annexation must be viewed as a sort of argument; it was—to be sure—a prosecution. moscow went to great lengths contriving pretexts for more debilitating actions with its baltic neighbors; but at the same time, it made equally critical strides to disguise the integration of the states as a popular upheaval, national transformation, and corresponding alliance. s o v i e t i z a t i o n o f t h e b a l t i c s t a t e s t h e s ovi et b a l t i c states: early p o l i t i c a l s h i f t s a n d i n t e r b a l t i c c o m p l e x i t i e s by june, 1940, stalin was ready to cash i n on the baltic republics.*™ with each republic, beginning with lithuania, moscow alleged a series of accusations citing that lithuanian, latvian, and estonian governments needed to be replaced with governments capable of upholding the previous agreements regarding mutual protection and assistance. with each country given the same ultimatum, lithuania on june 14, i 9 4 0 , x l and latvia and estonia on the 16th of that same month , x l i x l l i the option was either to relinquish the government or face invasion. with the red army already at the borders with great numbers of troops (estonia had approximately 25,000 red army soldiers at its border) , x l i i i the government of each respective baltic state viewed concessions and surrender as the only possible option. the soviet union had not offered an ultimatum; it handed each baltic state a diktat. with each state having capitulated with little or no hesitation, the red army immediately poured i n . x l i v shortly thereafter, elections were held, i n a manner mocking the democratic process, all attempting to legitimize the new governments; the communist parties i n each state won overwhelmingly, taking as much as 95 percent of the lithuanian vote. x l v from here, the process of sovietization and systematic deconstruction, or reconstruction per soviet vision, and inclusion within the ussr occurred fairly rapidly. in rather traditional soviet fashion, moscow imposed its pattern of forced incorporation and sovietization i n each baltic state quite formulaically. there was a structure to the incorporation and sovietization based upon a central hypothesis: compliance of its fragile and 'ineffectual' national political adversaries would preclude, to an extent, by which an avenue could be taken advantage of, and essential submission of the subjected states would occur. the systematization of the baltic states naturally followed after ini tial soviet successes, while further progressing i n tandem: the communist parties were legalized i n each country, while former ruling parties were banned, effectively creating one-party systems; non-communists were banned by july, 1940 f rom baltic governments, and the majority of cabinets were communist. that same month, two waves of mass arrests removed uncooperative elites from the baltic political scene. then, elections were held and the poll results were doctored to soviet desires when needed. the newly elected people's diets convened i n july and formally requested admittance into the ussr as ssrs; and finally, by august, 1940, moscow approved the diets' requests, creating estonian, latvian, and lithuanian republics within the soviet u n i o n . x l v i s o v i e t s a t t e m p t e d t o p o p u l a r i z e c o m m u n i s m , s u c h as w i t h t h i s s t a t u e in riga, latvia. while moscow went to great lengths to make it seem as though the 1940 baltic transition and its succeeding political reconfiguration was popularly driven, the latvian, lithuanian, and estonian communist parties had, i n fact, been very small and largely unfavorable to the general baltic populations. upon soviet occupation and legalization of the communist party i n the three countries, membership was negligible. in lithuania, party membership stood between 1,500 and 1,600 at best; x l v i i it was only between 800 and 1,000 i n latvia; and still fewer, only 133 to 150 i n estonia. x l v i i i x l i x of course, some legitimate, new communist support i n the baltic states was coming from crypto-communists who had previously posed as affiliates e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 "while rural economic life was subjected to less sweeping changes in the first year of soviet transformation, the urban sector witnessed massive changes in banking, commerce, industry, and transportation." of other parties. by and large however, the native communist parties of the three baltic states had been inconsequential, sectarian, and clandestine.1 the above figures suggest that any perceived support for the new, ruling, communist parties i n the baltic states must be taken critically. surely, there were a number of new communist party members or pro-communist sympathizers. even still, this cannot be examined outside the framework of soviet pressures which created a simple reality: those organizations which did not align themselves with the new forces soon faced the reality of their own forced disintegration.1 1 concurrently, there was a fair degree of contrived support for the communist party via foreign implantations. the ussr had appointed high-ranking envoys for each baltic state i n order to oversee operations and soviet development. most notably, leningrad party leader andrei zhdanov was sent as the emissary to estonia, while vladimir dekanozov and andrei vyshinskii were sent to lithuania and latvia, respectfully.1" aside from the above, a fair number of soviet citizens were brought i n as communists of baltic extraction, i f you wi l l , for the purpose of dictating political life and its direction. 1 1 1 1 at the same time, indigenous party members were not wholly inexistent. while still miniscule compared with the population of lithuania, the communist party had achieved some support. with the invasion of the red army, and perhaps using this as a justification for membership, a number of new members from various social strata joined the party in lithuania. among the higher fraction of members was a jewish minority, representing approximately 36 percent of the party. , i v this high percentage of jews can be attributed to a number of reasons, but perhaps the most comprehensible reason is simply that a substantial number of jews pragmatically benefited from the new order, as they were afforded greater access to higher education and better jobs than were previously available to them. l v surely though, the prevailing sentiments among most jewish communists were deeply rooted i n fear for physical survival. l v i while the jews would not be spared from the mass deportations that were to come, they would be largely identified by lithuanians and latvians as part of the communist regime, and would consequently face backlash from these local populations according to an easily propagated 'scapegoat' mentality when the nazis invaded i n the summer of 1941. s o v i e t i z e d b a l t i c e c o n o m i c s for all of the deception and convolution that came with notorious political shifts i n the impressive first year under the soviet union rule i n the baltics, the soviet regime had dedicated the majority of its energies into the transformation of baltic urban economies. i v i l while rural economic life was subjected to less sweeping changes i n the first year of soviet transformation, the urban sector witnessed massive changes i n banking, commerce, industry, and transportation.1™1 further still, the changes occurred almost overnight, with the banks and large-scale industries being almost immediately nationalized, and smaller private businesses, with increased rents and taxation, finding continued existence nearly impossible.1 1* s o v i e t i z a t i o n o f t h e b a l t i c s t a t e s flawed wage, monetary policy, and inflation led to a nosedive i n living standards.1* nearly all industry and transportation was rapidly falling under the aegis of the state and its operatives. the soviet ruble was introduced as the new form of currency, and at drastically low exchange rates; anyone possessing savings of more than 1,000 rubles had the excess confiscated by the government.1*1 moreover, with collective farms on the mind of many soviet authorities, nearly 100 collective farms were established i n estonia alone during 1940-41.1x11 during the collectivization period, many new farmers were favored, while the recognized, medium-sized farmers who had established themselves during the years of independence were, i n many ways, now discriminated. 1* 1 1 1 from june, 1940 to june, 1941, many other new guidelines including increased length of the work day and intense new restrictions on movement between jobs, coupled with policies which enforced the confiscation of private land , l x i v and the still-increasing political tensions, pointedly undercut what were relatively stable social infrastructures, especially i n latvia, and ultimately heightened class antagonisms. l x v and while the drastic regulations i n the economic realm were harsh toward the already fairly established socio-economies of each country, they seem minor compared with the brutality that would face those deposed baltic peoples i n the final moments of soviet rule prior to the june, 1941 nazi-german invasion. many c i t i z e n s o f v i l n i u s , l s i b e r i a a n d pies massively organized i n enclaves of prepared resistance on the other. l x v i the nazi-german troops had entered countries which had just been bestowed by stalin and his supporters with what would eventually become known as the year of terror}™11 over the course of 1940-41, i n addition to all the aforementioned changes affecting baltic society, estonia, latvia, and lithuania saw mass levels of emmigration and forced deportations. primarily i n the form of repatriations of the socalled baltic germans back to germany (which took place i n two waves i n 1940-41), many others military officers, anti-communists, and political rivals to the soviet administrations fled the r e g i o n . l x v m this exodus of people was followed by an even more haunting and unforgivable purging of local peoples, as presided over by the soviet union. of course, it was planned i n advance as a repressive measure to fracture any possible resistance to soviet rule i n the a r e a ; ] x i x that w a s the t a r _ get. this vision became realized by soviet bureaucrats as they deported mass numbers of intellectuals, former government officials, members of the bourgeoisie, and other 'unreliable elements' to siberia and soviet asia . l x x this of course—while undoubtedly a major aspect of the purges—was only the theoretical portion; i n reality, soviet repression hit a tremendous amount of innocent and entirely neutral people within the three countries.1™ t h u a n i a w e r e d e p o r t e d t o s o v i e t asia. t h e p u r g e s a n d t h e i r i n e r a d i c a b l e i n h e r i t a n c e when the german troops invaded the baltic states on june 22,1941, they found peoples i n chaos, emotionally troubled and demographically unstable on the one hand, and peoironically, however, because of the general repression and terror of the deportation experiences, and the fact that the victims were often suggested at random, as available evidence suggests,1™1 the aim of the brutal soviet repressions failed at-large to achieve their goal. further still, the purges e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 were probably counterproductive. in the one year before the soviet retreat from the baltic territories, it is estimated that, through deportations and executions, the three countries combined lost over 100,000 members of their populations with an approximate break down of 39,000 i n lithuania, 35,000 i n latvia, and nearly 61,000 i n estonia. l x m numbers from estonia were the highest since the estonians were under red army occupation for the longest period of time prior to german invasion; nearly 2,000 estonian citizens had been executed over the course of the years, while an additional 33,000 were forcibly conscripted into the soviet army. total population losses for estonia alone neared six percent.' x x i v further still, i n the last week of soviet occupation, tens of thousands of baltic people were deported to russian work camps. this came to fruition i n the disastrous night i n baltic memory that was june 14, 1941, when some 12,000 estonians, 15,000 latvians, and 34,000 lithuanians were deported. l x x v the trans-baltic reality for 1940-41 was as illustrated above: a year of radical change, death, exodus, mass deportation and conscription, and i n many ways general terror. could this have been justified by soviet administrators and functionaries as having been a necessary cruelty for the greater good of defeating the nazis and re-stabilizing europe? perhaps. i f meant as a policy of repression, it was surely flawed, as massive armed insurrections throughout the baltic states i n 1941 showed irrefutable rejection of the ruling soviet regime. l x x v i but even still, such a line of reasoning does not explain the overtly brutal treatment toward the estonians, latvians, lithuanians, and the respective minority groups of their societies; nor does it provide an adequate justification for the deportation of the hundreds of thousands sent to siberia and soviet a s i a ; l x x v n nor any reasonable account that would vindicate molotov and moscow's unquestionably calculating manipulations that led to the private recognition of eastern european spheres of influence, and subsequently saw the systematic deconstruction and sovietization of the three baltic states. for 1940-1941, the memory is glaring and seemingly ineffaceable. however as inheritors of such a history, of a destroyed and ultimately regained independence, and as new members of the european union, the difficult challenge wi l l be for the peoples of all three baltic states to move forward through these post-soviet years and the discord of ever-shifting balances of power, to afford a new way with their still ever-influential neighbor to the east. e n d n o t e s i . smith, jeremy (495) i i . read (22) i i i . pabriks & purs (14) iv. ezergailis (35) v. ibid. (37) vi . much of what was evident with estonia's development as an independent nation between 1917 and 1920, at the turn of that decade, and throughout the 1920s, was rooted i n a series of agrarian and educational reforms which had been implemented i n estonia i n the first half of the 19th century. and consequently, following these advances came a determined enough estonian national awakening i n the 1860s. some argue that many of the advancements of estonia following independence—insofar as the fair degree of political, cultural, and socioeconomic modernization that was evident—emerged as a result of several 'estonian' developments that had begun during 19th century. toivo u. raun speaks more of this i n his book "estonia and the estonians." vi i . raun (99) vi i i . norgaard & johannsen (55) ix. ibid. x. many argue today that failures of anglo-french appeasement hit its nadir with the virtual rape of czechoslovakia. while austria had been annexed to nazi germany with little more than a glance from other european nations, czechoslovakia's destruction was internationally presided over and allowed to occur without even the presence of a single representative from prague. conclusively so, it would not be so unfair to recognize that this i n many ways—as perhaps the most significant central european preface to the second world war—saw the pointed ruin of hope for any real continuity of central european democracy from those uncertain inter-war years. xi . lacis (11) xii . this can also be read—with regards to the united states, among other major non-european players on the international stage—as trans-continental. xi i i . norgaard & johannsen (45) s o v i e t i z a t i o n o f t h e b a l t i c s t a t e s xiv. ibid. xv. sakwa (235) xvi. westwood (113) xvii. sakwa (238) xviii. westwood (113) xix. roskin (45) xx. yekelchyk (537) xxi. westwood (113) xxii. yekelchyk (537) xxiii. it is also worth recognizing here that while the baltic states, poland, bessarabia, etcetera were undoubtedly divided amongst the soviets and nazis, the molotovribbentrop game and secret handlings in no way acknowledge that spheres of interest or influence meant automatic right to the integration, incorporation, or absorption of the subject territory. this, however, happened over the course of the war i n effectively every case. xxiv. sakwa (238) xxv. yekelchyk (533) xxvi. haab (126) xxvii. yekelchyk (533) xxviii. aragon (346) xxix. kirby (80) xxx. ibid. xxxi. westwood (114) xxxii. smith, david j. (28) xxxiii. kirby (78) xxxiv. ibid, at 81 xxxv. smith, david j. (26) xxxvi. the fact that soviet forces launched attacks on finland from estonia bases at all—whether tacitly permitted or not—was concomitantly a violation of the aforementioned mutual assistance pact which had been signed by both soviet and estonian representatives. xxxvii. clemens (54) xxxviii. ibid, at 55 xxxix. sakwa (248) xl. clemens (52) xli . smith, david j. (27) xli i . pabriks & purs (24) xl i i i . smith, david }. (27) xliv. clemens (52) xlv. snyder (85) xlvi. clemens (53) xlvii. eidintaas (133) xlviii . kirby (79) xlix. clemens (54) 1. ibid, l i . kirby (79) hi. clemens (53) hii. ibid. liv. eidintaas (133) lv. kirby (79) lvi . eidintaas (135) lv i i . smith, david j. (33) lvi i i . raun (151) lix. smith, david j. (33) lx. ibid. lxi . raun (151) lxi i . smith, david j. (34) lxi i i raun (152) briv. smith, david j. (34) lxv. ezergailis (39) lxvi. ibid, at 40 lxvii. lacis (15) lxviii . ezergailis (38) box. shtromas (86) lxx. yekelchyk (538) lxxi. shtromas (87) lxxii smith, david j. (34) lxxiii shtromas (87) lxxiv. smith, david j. (34) lxxv. clemens (5) lxxvi. shtromas (90) lxxvii. roskin (18) r e f e r e n c e s aragon, louis. 1964. a history of the ussr: from lenin to krushchev. london: weidenfeld and nicolson. clemens, walter c. 1991. baltic independence and russian empire. london: macmillan. eidintaas, alfonsas. 2003. jews, lithuanians, and the holocaust. vilnius, lithuania: versus aureus. ezergailis, andrew. 1996. the holocaust in latvia, 19411944: the missing center. riga, latvia: the historical institute of latvia. haab, mare. 1998. "estonia." bordering russia: theory and prospects for europe's baltic rim. ed. mouritzen, hans. aldershot, uk. pp. 109-130. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 09 kirby, david. 1994. "incorporation: the molotovribbentrop pact." the baltic states. ed. smith, graham. london, pp. 69-85. lacis, visvaldis. 2006. the latvian legion: according to independent observers. riga, latvia: jumava. norgaard, ole & johannsen, lars. 1999. the baltic states after independence. 2nd ed. cheltenham, uk: edward elgar. westwood, j. n. 1966. russia, 1917-1964. london: b.t. batsford. pabriks, artis & purs, aldis. 2001. latvia: the challenges of change. new york: routledge. raun, toivo u. 2001. estonia and the estonians. 2nd ed. stanford: hoover institution press. read, christopher. 2001. the making and breaking of the soviet system: an interpretation. hampshire: palgrave. riasanovsky, nicholas v. 1984. a history of russian. 4th ed. oxford: oxford university press. roskin, michael g. 1991. the rebirth of east europe. upper saddle river, nj: prentice hall. sakwa, richard. 1999. the rise and fall of the soviet union, 1917-1991. london: routledge. shtromas, aleksandras. 1994. "the baltic states as soviet republics: tensions and contradictions." the baltic states. ed. graham smith. london, pp. 86-120. smith, david j. 2001. estonia: independence and european integration. london: routledge. smith, jeremy. 2006. "non-russians i n the soviet union and after." the cambridge history of russian, volume iii: the twentieth century. ed. ronald grigor suny. cambridge, pp. 495-521. snyder, timothy. 2003. the reconstruction of nations: poland, ukraine, lithuania, belarus, 1569-1999. new haven: yale university press. yekelchyk, serhy. 2006. "the western republics: ukraine, belarus, moldova and the baltics." the cambridge history of russian, volume iii: the twentieth century. ed. ronald grigor suny. cambridge, pp. 522-558. s o v i e t i z a t i o n o f t h e b a l t i c s t a t e s t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e c u l t u r e w a r for h a w a i i the arabian nights in nineteenth-century hawaiian newspapers a l y s s a h u g h e s t h i s a r t i c l e d i s c u s s e s t h e m o t i v a t i o n s b e h i n d t h e t r a n s l a t i o n s o f the arabian nights in t w o c o m p e t i n g n i n et e e n t h-c e n t u r y h a w a i i a n la n g u ag e n e w s p a p e r s : ka hoku pakipika a n d ka nupepa kuokoa. t r a n s l a t i o n s o f the arabian nights s e r v e as an e p i c e n t e r o f c u l t u r a l c o n f l i c t in t h e war f o r s o c i e t a l a n d p o l i t i c a l d o m i n a n c e o f t h e h a w a i i a n i s l a n d s o n t h e e v e o f t h e i r a n n e x a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s . f u r t h e r m o r e , t h e r o l e o f t r a n s l a t i o n i t s e l f in t h e f o r m a t i o n o f c u l t u r a l i d e n t i t i e s is d i s c u s s e d , f o c u s i n g o n t h e r o l e o f t h e t r a n s l a t i o n s o f the arabian nights in t h e war for c u l t u r a l h e g e m o n y in n i n et e e n t h c e n t u r y h a w a i i . i n t r o d u c t i o n : s h a h r a z a d ' s t a l e a r r i v e s i n t h e h a w a i i a n i s l a n d s on april 24, 1862, the hawaiian-language newspaper ka hoku pakipika published the story of samesala naeha, "moolelo no samesala naeha! o ka moolelo keia o ka mea nana i haku i na kaao arabia" ("the arabian tale of samesala naeha"), a translation of the frame tale of the arabian nights. though the story of samesala naeha does not itself function as a frame tale i n this newspaper, it introduces naeha as the author of a series of tales that would appear i n ka hoku pakipika f rom 1861 to 1862. these tales, as published i n ka hoku pakipika, were adapted to reflect classical hawaiian traditions. for example, the naeha of ka hoku pakipika chants her tales with the use of an instrument i n traditional hawaiian fashion, as her sister, haikanaau, dances hula to naeha's chants.1 fourteen years later, on september 26, 1874, ka nupepa kuokoa, the rival newspaper to the ka hoku pakipika, published, "he kaao arabia unuhia mai ka buke moolelo arabia mai" ("an arabian tale"), its own translation of the frame tale of the arabian nights' frame tale. ka nupepa kuokoa's translation is unique i n its omission of the shahrazad figure. instead, the tale focuses on the public's negative reception of king shahriyar's cruel practice of marrying and executing a new woman each night. "he kaao arabia unuhia mai ka buke moolelo arabia mai" concludes with the condemnation of king shahriyar by his people: "because of this cruel activity, he [the king] became a person scorned by his people."1 both translations of the story emerged i n a series of tales from the arabian nights featured i n each of the hawaiian-language newspapers. are the translations of the arabian nights i n hawaiian-language newspapers simply another manifestation of the tales' widespread popularity? from its pre-arabic roots i n ancient india, to the middle east, western europe, and all the way to the location of our focus, the hawaiian islands, the arabian nights has a truly global audience. in each context, the arabian nights is adapted from oral and written traditions to music, art, dance, and f i lm. however, thevarious translations of the arabic tales i n hawaiian-language publications are more than simply another example of the arabian nights' dual nature—the tales' ability to exist i n oral, printed and illustrated forms i n societies so far-removed from that of their inception.1 1 1 i n the case of the arabian nights in hawaii, the tales act as a reflection of colonial hawaii mediated through language. lv this paper wi l l explore the role of translation i n the cultural and political power struggle between native hawaiians and haole ("european or american") immigrants i n nineteenthcentury hawaii. though a number of hawaiian-language newspapers from this period featured translations of tales from the arabian nights, this paper wi l l focus on the role of these translations i n two rival papers, the native-run ka hoku pakipika and the haole-xun ka nupepa kuokoa. as publications engaged i n a direct struggle for domination i n the hawaiian-language newspaper arena, the rival translations of the arabian nights i n ka hoku pakipika and ka nupepa kuokoa manifested the conflict between native hawaiian and haole imperialists. the existence of the arabian nights i n hawaiian newspapers is reflective of the role of translation i n the cultural war that pitted zealous members of the haole class against native hawaiian resistors to cultural imperialism on the eve of hawaii's annexation to the united states, a significant moment i n hawaiian history. the success of the annexation movement, however, does not indicate that the hegemonic process of the haole class was fully complete. fissures within the colonial press emerge i n the study of one tale of the arabian nights i n the haole publication ka nupepa kuokoa. "no ke kanaka lawaia! ke kumu o ka pomaikai" ("the story of the fisherman") appeared i n ka nupepa kuokoa i n 1875/ in the case of this particular tale, scandal surfaces i n the translation strategies of the native hawaiian translator, s.k. ulele, illustrating how translation functioned as a site of contestation i n the war for cultural hegemony i n nineteenth-century hawaii. d i s c r e p e n c i e s i n t r a n s l a t i o n translator lawrence venuti claims that "translation wields e l e m e n t s fall 09 r i i l w s i u x a r c h i p e l a g o i ^ k n 4 r j? " v 1 — the hawaiian islands were a cultural background during the nineteenth century. enormous power i n constructing representations of foreign cultures." x v i venuti's assertion that translation is never impartial is manifested i n the varying forms of the arabian nights. translation, even i n the form of entertainment, "inevitably domesticates foreign texts, inscribing them with linguistic and cultural values that are intelligible to specific domestic interests." translation maintains institutions by conveying and transmitting ethical values and simultaneously "embarrasses the institutions that house these categories and practices because it calls attention to their questionable conditions and effects."vl 11 translations of the arabian nights are no exception to what venuti calls "the scandals of translation." each circumstance of translation, from the arab world to the west and all the way to the distant pacific, brought about a significant moment of cultural contestation. interestingly, the hawaiian translations of the arabian nights were generated from western representations rather than from their eastern origins. therefore, it is relevant to briefly examine the contestation of the arabian nights translations i n europe, for it is from these translations that the hawaiian versions emerged i n their colonial context. ix this conflict is illustrated i n edward william lane's (d. 1876) english translation of the arabian nights, a likely source for the hawaiian versions i n the native hawaiian publication, the ka hoku pakikipika, and the haole-ran press, the ka nupepa kuokoa." in lane's version of the arabian nights, the text is "prudishly censored," intended for family reading. lane's translation, which appeared i n monthly segments from 1838 to 1841, introduced the arabian nights to england and simultaneously worked to promote the puritanical values of victorian england held by the translator, himself, the son of a clergyman.^ lane's case is indicative of the power of translation i n forming cultural identities, for "every stage of production, circulation, and the reception of the translation . . . continues most forcefully the development of a translation strategy that rewrites the foreign text i n domestic discourses, always a choice of certain domestic values to the exclusion of others." x i i lane practices exclusion i n his translation of the arabian nights, effectively rewriting the tales as part of victorian moralistic discourse. i n contrast, the ten-volume edition of the arabian nights published by sir richard francis burton (d. 1890) reflects opposition to the stringent moral climate of great britain i n the victorian era as championed by such puritanical discourse as lane's bowdlerized translation. burton published his translation i n 1885 under the imprint of the karma shastra society, a subscription society founded by burton to evade censorship of pornographic material/ 1 1 1 burton's need to use his karma shastra society i n the publication of his translation is clarified by reading his "obtrusive, kinky, and highly personal" footnotes. burton's notes also incorporated condescending slights directed at the works of his fellow translators of the arabian nights, particularly the work of lane.3™ it is not surprising that burton's provocative translation received heavy criticism from adherents to lane's translation. x v i in the publication of his scandalous translation, sir richard francis burton acted as an agent of opposition to restrictive victorian morality. in the case of the english translations of the arabian nights by lane and burton, translation served as a site of cultural contestation in victorian england. the friction created by translation, as evident i n lane's translation and burton's counter-translation, is further t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e c u l t u r e war for h a w a i i exemplified i n the case of the arabian nights i n nineteenth-century hawaii. the arabian nights i n the native ka hoku pakipika publication and it's rival haole newspaper, the ka nupepa kuokoa, illustrated distinct cultural conflict and change i n the context of the political power struggle between the haole establishment and the native hawaiians. a n a t i v e v o i c e e m e r g e s : t h e o r i g i n of ka hoku pakipika a n editorial from ka hoku pakipika on october 3,1861 proclaims to its hawaiian readership, "when it [ka hoku pakipika] was born, it was the face of a hawaiian, it was hawaiian people, it was a hawaiian body, with hawaiian feet." the native-run publication-founded by david kalakaua, who would become king of hawaii i n 1874, emerged from the condition of colonialism and the accompanying cultural imperialism i n hawaii brought on by the arrival of missionaries from boston i n the early-nineteenth century.5™11 upon examination, it is clear that the missionary message was greatly informed by its role i n the plantation economy, emerging from the forced adoption of the haole economic system, which included the privatization of land i n the midnineteenth century. missionaries played a key role i n the implementation of this new economic system known as the mahele. according to political scientist noenoe k. silva from the university of hawai'i, "missionaries were the primary information gatherers for this enterprise, and thus directly linked to the mahele and to the acquisition of land by foreign capitalists. " x v l i i as a result of the government privileges afforded to missionaries following the implementation of the haole economic system, they and their descendents emerged as a powerful class of plantation owners. in 1850, former missionary edward bailey (d. 1903) founded hawaii's first plantation for the production of sugar, the crop that would dominate the islands' political economy throughout the nineteenth century. x l x the linkage between missionary zeal and economic ambition is crucial i n understanding the motives behind the assault of colonizing discourse on the native hawaiian people. missionary-driven citizenship discourse is further evidenced by the proliferation of instructive guidebooks attempted to civilize the native hawaiians into industrious, productive persons. the mormon missionary walter gibbson's (d. 1888) sanitary instructions for hawaiians, published i n 1880 i n both english and hawaiian, is typical of this authoritative discourse. i n his instructional book, gibbson urges the kanaka maoli (native hawaiians) to engage i n "labor or exercise—this rule of course, does not apply to hawaiians, who work hard on plantations . . . but to those who pass the time loitering about; or i n lolling upon mats." x x members of the missionary class condemned what they viewed as frivolous components of native hawaiian culture i n order to assimilate the kanaka maoli to haole values of productivity. the crusade for assimilation, as evidenced by the proliferation of missionaryproduced guidebooks, was largely driven by the economic ambition of the missionary class. as early as the 1 860s there was already a burgeoning colonial presence on the islands. as expected, newspapers played an influential role i n this imperialist project. the tradition of missionary-sponsored news publications began with ka lama hawaii on february 14,1834. x ! ka lama hawaii ran out of lahaina, maui unti l december 1834 and set the tone for the subsequent hawaiian-language newspapers, with more than one hundred founded throughout the nineteenth century, e l e m e n t s fall 09 many established with christian missionary objectives, as catholic, protestant and mormon groups were each represented i n the hawaiian-language publishing arena.™1 a majority of the hawaiian-language newspapers that emerged out of the ka lama hawaii tradition proved to be influential tools i n the propagation of haole values over kanaka maoli (native hawaiian) culture. the adaptation of the written hawaiian alphabet i n july 1826 and the integration of weekly newspapers as a popular method of exchanging news and ideas are two basic examples of haole cultural hegemony i n a society where oral communication dominated as the traditional tool of exchanging information. x x ! l i this case of successful cultural hegemony, mediated through missionary-backed hawaiian-language newspapers, is further illustrated by the fact that hawaiians themselves contributed letters to the ka lama hawaii, apologizing for the lifestyles of their ancestors.50'™ alongside the imperial ambitions and cultural hegemony came an assault of a different nature: disease. diseases introduced by europeans following captain cook's 1778 arrival i n the islands brought mass death to the native hawaiian population. tuberculosis, typhoid fever, measles, smallpox, influenza, and leprosy ravaged the kanaka maoli population while members of the planter elite increased i n numbers and continued to encourage the immigration of asian workers to hawaii as a source of cheap labor. from 1877 to 1890, 55,000 foreign i m m i grants arrived i n hawaii to work on sugar plantations. in that same thirteen-year period, the native hawaiian population decreased by one half . x x v leaders i n the native hawaiian community, aware of growing foreign influence amidst the decline of the native population, initiated a resistance movement aimed at the reassertion of kanaka maoli authority i n their ancestral home. the establishment of the native-run newspaper ka hoku pakipika is evidence of this native hawaiian initiative to resist haole cultural imperialism. i n founding the first anticolonial nationalist newspaper, native hawaiians used the tool of their oppressors for their own purposes. this act by "the linkage between missionary zeal and economic ambition is crucial in understanding the motives behind the assault of colonizing discourse on the native hawaiian people.77 david kalakaua and his compatriots provoked conflict with the missionary community who feared the potential power and influence of the first native-run paper as a threat to their position of political and economic power i n the islands. a n editorial from october 3, 1861 illustrates missionary opposition to kanaka maoli mastery of the haole media. a native hawaiian writes, forty years have passed since this people began to be taught to know reading and writing, and the civilized things of this life, under the instruction of the american missionaries. .. . [now] the children have become adults . . . however, the parents are opposing us, as if saying, you have not reached the years of maturity.™1 ka hoku pakipika avowed native hawaiian identity i n the midst of population decline and cultural imperialism. in the newspaper ka hoku pakipika, native hawaiians criticized missionary efforts to subjugate the indigenous population and to force them to work under haole plantation owners. the native publication counteracted missionary opposition as demonstrated i n the response to an editorial letter from j. bicknell, a missionary descendant, i n the summer of 1862. bicknell wrote, "the pagan chants t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e c u l t u r e war for h a w a i i published i n ka hoku pakipika are against civilization. i f the people want songs, why aren't hymns composed by the poets of christian countries translated?" ka hoku pakipika printed the letter with a response stating, "this newspaper was established so that the opinions of the native hawaiians would be published, not to help a particular religious denomination." 1 while attacking the motives of the haole class, ka hoku pakipika simultaneously worked both to preserve traditional hawaiian culture and to reestablish kanaka maoli identity, strength, and power. kalakaua's publication printed foreign news but also included classical hawaiian mo'olelo (historical narratives) and mele (songs), content misrepresented i n other hawaiian-language newspapers. x x v m abrahahm fornander's (d. 1889) editorial i n the english-language newspaper, the polynesian, is telling of the ka hoku pakipika's role i n native hawaiian resistance of the 1860s. on november 23,1861, he wrote, "the truth is, that there is a mental revolution going on among the native population, which the missionaries are equally incompetent to comprehend, to master or to avert. " x x 1 x t r a n s l a t i o n as r e s i s t a n c e ! the arabian nights i n ka hoku pakipika as the political and cultural power struggle between the haoles and the native hawaiians took place i n the publication arena, translation emerged as a point of conflict. the arabian nights translation i n ka hoku pakipika acted as an instrument of resistance to cultural imperialism. the appropriations made to this tale, as exemplified i n the tale of samesala naeha, reflect traditional hawaiian cultural practices. the incorporation of haikanaau's hula dancing and the chanting of her sister, samesala naeha, are illustrative of resistance to cultural imperialism. the emphasis upon haikanaau's dancing i n samesala naeha's tale is i n direct opposition to the colonizing discourse that promoted industrious labor. missionaries found the hawaiian tradition of dancing hula to be excessively frivolous—haikanaau's dancing i n ka hoku pakipika's version of the arabian nights came two years after the hawaiian evangelical association's final attempt to legally ban hula dancing i n i 859 . x x x this act of cultural preservation, manifested i n the translation of a foreign tale, upheld the traditional kanaka maoli identity at a time when native hawaiian control was threatened by haole cultural imperialism and simultaneous rapid depopulation of the native hawaiian people. the practices of hula and chanting that are incorporated i n the tale of samesala naeha worked to preserve the native hawaiian identity. according to amy stillman, director of asian/pacific islander american studies at the university of michigan, hula and chanting are key sites of "cultural memory." x x x i she asserts, "for hawaiians, the hula encodes and transmits key knowledge illustrative of the adoption of the historical past through which they define themselves."nxxi l in the wake of mass death, native hawaiians promoted a cultural remembrance through such traditional practices as chanting and hula. the translations of the arabian nights i n the native publication ka hoku pakipika served as a defense of native hawaiian culture against haole cultural imperalism through the assertion of kanaka maoli identity. t h e c u l t u r e wars! the arabian nights appears i n a r i v a l n e w s p a p e r in light of the threat to haole political dominance posed by the ka hoku pakipika, henry m . whitney (d. 1904), son of samuel whitney, one of the first missionaries to arrive i n hawaii from boston, endeavored to wrest control of the nationalist paper from native hawaiian hands. x x x n i after a failed attempt to control ka hoku pakipika, whitney established ka nupepa kuokoa as a rival newspaper, hoping to undermine the influence of the native-run press. 5 0 0^ henry m . whitney's position of influence i n the publication arena enabled h i m to produce the "longest-running, most successful of mission-supported newspapers. , , x x x v ka nupepa kuokoa's success can be attributed to a number of factors linked to whitney's position of privilege. i n the year of its origin, 1861, ka nupepa kuokoa held a circulation of five thousand and was distributed on seven islands— hawai'i, maui, molokai, lanai, oahu, kauai, and niiahu. the ka hoku pakipika, i n contrast, was only distributed on four islands: hawaii, maui, oahu, and kauai. e l e m e n t s fall 09 t h e september 26, 1874 issue of t h e ornately decorated ka nupepa kuokoa featured a parti al tran s latio n of the arabian nichts. "the tendency of the ka nupepa kuokoa's editors to include translated foreign tales over native hawaiian stories sent a message of western cultural superiority to the native hawaiians, who made up a majority of ka nupepa kuokoa's readership." furthermore, whitney employed illustrations and elaborate style to add to the professionalism of ka nupepa kuokoa. the first issue, from october i , 1861, featured an elaborate border and a large illustration of a camel, titled "ke kamelo 0 arabia."™™1 the inaugural issue preceded a tradition of professionalism further exemplified i n ka nupepa kuokoa's introduction of color illustrations i n january 1862 with an issue featuring a red and blue hawaiian flag.x xl l j these elements greatly contributed to the popularity and influence of ka nupepa kuokoa as a rival paper to kalakaua's ka hoku pakipika. ka nupepa kuokoa claimed to be hawai'i's first secular newspaper, a departure from the bible-centered writing and preaching that pervaded earlier missionary-run publications. despite its commitment to secularism, ka nupepa kuokoa's did not differ from these denominational publications and their central goals of assimilating the kanaka maoli and subverting native cultural identity and power. i n fact, ka nupepa kuokoa enjoyed the sponsorship of the hawaiian evangelical association, the same organization that attempted to outlaw the hula from from 1857 to 1859.xi whitney's adherence to missionary cultural imperialism is evidenced by his objectives of the paper, as detailed i n both hawaiian and english i n ka nupepa kuokoa's first edition. it is worth quoting the entire statement: first — to furnishing the people with a full and interesting record of events transpiring in foreign countries, embracing whatever in this line may tend to instruct and interest them. second — to a dissemination of foreign ideas, both as regards mode of life, habits, business and industry; with a view to improve, expand and elevate the native mind; that the natives may rise to an equality with foreigners. third — to disseminate correct information regarding the best method of farming, tilling, use of labor-saving implements and machines; in short to instruct, and encourage them in habits of industry. fourth — the paper will be illustrated with pictures of passing events or of men and scenes, as soon as such pictures can be obtained from new york or london. fifth — while the paper will stand firmly on the side of truth and religion, it will carefully avoid religious disputations. sixth — it will be firm and loyal to the king and queen, the young prince and chiefs, inculcating obedience to the laws, and loyalty to the sovereign, as the first duty of every subject. seventh — the paper will also be devoted to local news, giving all that may be of interest transpiring in the group. in short, it will endeavor to furnish from week to week such reading matter as may tend to develop and enlarge the hawaiian mind, and enable hawaiians to think, feel, act and live more like foreigners.xl] upon examination of whitney's agenda for ka nupepa kuokoa, it is clear that his mission to "civilize" the native e l e m e n t s fall 09 population through the promotion of productivity and f i delity to the ruling elite was driven by a desire to maintain political and economic control of the islands i n the face of native hawaiian resistance to waxing foreign power. the first issue of the publication featured an article titled "the advantages of the plow over the digging stick," an advertisement for hale kuai buke, a foreign bookstore announcing the availability of primary "abc" and arithmetic books, i n addition to guidebooks for hawaiians and a story about a wealthy man from rhode island sweeping the floor of an army barracks who, as the article claims, "loves his country. " x l i i in this issue, it is easy to see cultural hegemony as part of the haole imperial project at work. the advertisement for the foreign bookstore parallels the colonizing discourse as exemplified in the previously discussed guidebooks for native hawaiians. the promotion of the plow and the admiration laid upon the rich man who takes up industrious work to promote the puritan values of industrious labor and exhibit the essentials of colonial discourse. as previously discussed, motives behind the propagation of these values were related to the economic and political ambitions of the haole class. the content of the ka nupepa kuokoa's first issue is illustrative of haole efforts to subvert native hawaiian power and recast native hawaiians as productive laborers on haole owned sugar plantations. the articles and advertisements from the inaugural issue of ka nupepa kuokoa are demonstrative of haole efforts to "civilize" native hawaiians and subvert traditional culture. the content of ka nupepa kuokoa further illustrates whitney's agenda and contribution to aggressive colonizing discourse following ka hoku pakipika's provocation of native hawaiian nationalism. the inclusion of the arabian nights i n ka nupepa kuokoa is reflective of the role of translation i n the contestation of haole cultural imperialists and native hawaiian resistors i n nineteenth-century hawaii. i n this context, translation is scandalized "by the very choice of a foreign text. . . which answers to particular domestic interests." x l i n the arabian nights translations were printed i n ka nupepa kuokoa's mo'olelo ("historical narratives") section i n 1874 and i875x l l v here the act of exclusion by owners of the haolerun press functions to subvert native hawaiian culture and to promote the assimilation of native hawaiians to western practices. though native hawaiians had "an extensive literature accumulated i n memory . . . chants, stories and traditional lore i n which were imbedded fragments of history and bibliography" traditional hawaiian mo'olelo were often ignored i n the missionary sponsored ka nupepa kuokoa i n favor of translations of foreign works. |v the tendency of the ka nupepa kuokoa's editors to include translated foreign tales over native hawaiian stories sent a message of western cultural superiority to the native hawaiians, who made up a majority of ka nupepa kuokoa's readership.x ! v i this inclination suggested to native hawaiian readers that native traditions and education should be abolished in favor of western practices. this practice is exemplified by the presence of the arabian nights translations, despite the fact that the tales have arabic rather than european origin. by the nineteenth cenqueen li li uokalan i represented an obstacle to those attempting to westernize the area. t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e c u l t u r e war for h a w a i i tury, the arabian nights had been adopted or transformed as a western product, utilized to educate and initiate children to european values. thus, translations of the arabian nights appeared i n conjunction with european fairy tales, including "snow white," "cinderella and the glass slipper," and "the frog prince" among others. x l v n the presence of the arabian nights i n the ka nupepa kuokoa demonstrated efforts to subvert indigenous culture and assimilate the native hawaiian population to haole cultural values. the translation strategies employed by translators of the arabian nights i n the ka nupepa kuokoa further censored lane's already tame text. christina bacchilega, a historian at the university of hawaii who has researched the arabian nights i n ka nupepa kuokoa, concludes that the further expurgation of lane's translation allows for "making shahriyar's tale assume a localized, possibly political, function i n 1874 hawaii." moreover, she attributes the translation of the aforementioned "he kaao arabia unuhia mai ka buke moolelo arabia mai, no ke kuokoa" to a "christianizing process." x l v m ka nupepa's emphasis on the condemnation of king shahriyar's cruel practice by his subjects further subverts native hawaiian nationalism. whitney and ka nupepa kuokoa outrightly opposed the reign of hawaiian sovereigns, referring to kamehameha iv (d. 1863) as a tyrant and later condemning supporters of the fiercely nationalistic queen liliuokalani (d. 1917) as anee-alii, or hangers-on for royal favor/1 la translation strategies employed i n "he kaao arabia unuhia mai ka buke moolelo arabia mai, no ke kuokoa" emphasizing the cruel practices of a despotic king worked to undermine the authority of native hawaiian sovereigns while simultaneously promoting haole, christian morality. in the case of the arabian nights i n the ka nupepa kuokoa, translation strategies acted i n concert with political "factors of reception" i n the subversion native hawaiian culture by the haole establishment.1 fissures a n d f a u l t l i n e s i n t h e c o l o n i a l press this paper has already examined the role of translation as a site of contestation manifested through rival newspapers. yet the curious case of a single tale published i n 1875, "no ke kanaka lawaia! ke kumu o ka pomaikai" ("the story of the fisherman") i n the missionary-sponsored publication ka nupepa kuokoa warrants further discussion of conflict within the colonial press itself. the presence of this tale i n ka nupepa kuokoa is further evidence of the scandals of translation. the translation of "no ke kanaka lawaia! ke kumu o ka pomaikai" is indicative of a fissure between the agenda of whitney and that of s.k. ulele, the native hawaiian translator of this tale. it is reasonable to assume that the agenda of ulele, as a native hawaiian, conflicted with the hegemonic objectives stated i n the ka nupepa kuokoa by his editor, whitney. in this case, translation was provocative of contestation within the missionary-sponsored publication itself. examination of the translation strategies employed by s.k. ulele i n "no ke kanaka lawaia! ke kumu 0 ka pomaikai" indicates an act of resistance on the part of the hawaiian translator.1 though ulele's work is derived from edward william lane's family version of the arabian nights and was included i n the ka nupepa kuokoa as a form of colonizing discourse, his translation strategies simultaneously promote reverence for the traditional-hawaiian civilization and thus conflict with the agenda of his haole editors. noelani arista, the hawaiian translator who worked with cristina bacchilega on the arabian nights translations, provides an example of ulele's determined strategy i n the translation of this poem from "no ke kanaka lawaia! ke kumu o ka pomaikai": lawaia moewaa ka upena ume iki anu hewa ike ao ke kuuna ia ole unlucky fisherman the net that attracts little bitterly cold in the day the cast that snares no fish —s.k. ulele (kuokoa may 1, i8y^)lii arista determines from ulele's translation that he utilized specific strategies to evoke remembrance of the classicalhawaiian tradition, "ulele had many choices for the word i have translated as 'unlucky.' he could have used something very conventional. . . . instead ulele decided to illustrate his knowledge of the cherished past when he chose the word moewa'a, literally "a dream of a canoe," which i n former times was considered bad luck, a portent disappointment, or even death." ! i i i the word selection of s.k. ulele, as exemplified i n the poem, works to preserve the traditional native-hawaiian identity as a form of resistance to the cultural hegemony propagated by the newspaper, itself. arista's reasoning concerning the motives of s.k. ulele is further supported by the speculation that s.k. ulele is a pseudonym for s.k. kaai, the named translator of the samesala naeha story and three others i n ka hoku pakipika}"' i f s.k. ulele is indeed the same translator that implemented the previously discussed appropriations to the arabian nights as a means of preservation of nativehawaiian traditions and identity, then it is likely that he adhered to native nationalism championed i n ka hoku pakipika. this speculation provides further evidence as to the objectives of the native-hawaiian translator, s.k. ulele, and indicates that ulele's agenda was i n direct conflict with the imperialistic objectives of his haole editor, henry m . whitney. ulele's translation strategy to promote the preservation of the native-hawaiian identity i n a publication founded for the very reason of subverting that same identity is another example of translation as an instigator of cultural conflict. in the case of "no ke kanaka lawaia! ke kumu o ka pomaikai," translation of the arabian nights provoked a fissure within the colonial press itself as the agenda of the haole editors conflicted with that of the native-hawaiian translator. c o n c l u s i o n in the nineteenth-century hawaiian newspapers ka hoku pakipika and ka nupepa kuokoa, translations of the arabian nights served as a site of contestation between native-hawaiian nationalists and haole cultural imperialists. the translations worked to promote the conflicting interests of haole cultural imperialists and kanaka maoli nationalists i n the two rival papers. in the native-operated ka hoku pakipika, translations of the arabian nights served to evoke a remembrance of the traditional hawaiian past i n the face of mass death and oppressive colonizing discourse. in ka hoku pakipika's rival paper, the missionary-sponsored ka nupepa kuokoa, editors included translations to further promote european values and aid i n the assimilation and subjugation of the kanaka maoli to haole dominance. i n the case of ka nupepa kuokoa, the translations provoked fissure within the publication itself, as the agenda "if s.k. ulele is indeed the same translator that implemented [these] appropriations to the arabian nights as a means of preservation of native-hawaiian traditions and identity, then it is likely that he adhered to native nationalism championed in ka hoku pakipika." t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e c u l t u r e war for h a w a i i of the native translator s.k. ulele conflicted with that of the paper's editor. different translation strategies and factors of reception worked i n concert to promote the agendas of both the native hawaiians and the haole immigrants, two groups warring for cultural, political, and economic domination of the hawaiian islands. the arabian nights i n hawaiian-language newspapers served as the root of disagreement i n the bitter war for cultural hegemony, just as the translation of the tales had precipitated conflict i n other cases around the globe. the case of the arabian nights i n nineteenth-century hawaiian-language newspapers is reflective of the power of translation i n the construction of cultural identity and change. the ability of translation to act as an instrument of both creativity and destruction of cultural identity is not to be underestimated for, as venuti said, "translation looms large among the cultural practices that at once join and separate us." l v e n d n o t e s i . bacchilega and artista 2007 (171) i i . bacchilega and artista 2004 (197) i i i . i r w i n (113) iv. sajdi v. bacchilega and artista 2007 (192) vi . venuti (67) v i i . ibid. v i i i . venuti (2) ix. bacchilega and artista (192) x. ibid. xi . i r w i n (23-24) x i i . venuti (67) x i i i . i rw in (29) xiv. i r w i n (34) xv. ibid. xvi. i rwin (35) xvii. bacchilega and arista 2007 (171) xviii . silva 1999 (49) xix. silva 1999 (50) xx. gibson (41) xxi. mookini (19) xxii. mookini (19-34) xxiii . mookini (3) xxiv. quick (9) xxv. trask (10) xxvi. silva 1999 (35) xxvii. johnson 1976 (217) xxviii. silva (42) xxix. silva (37) xxx. silva 2004 (52) xxxi. stillman (188) xxxii. stillman (189) xxxiii. mookini (1) xxxiv. silva (80) xxxv. chapin (53) xxxvi. johnson (162,185) xxxvii. "ke kamelo o arabia" xxxviii. "ka hae hawaii" xxxix. chapin (53) xl. johnson (58) xi i . whitney (2) x l i i . rubellite (1-5) x l i i i . venuti (67) xliv. bacchilega and artista 2007 (199) xlv. kuykendall (10) xlvi. chapin (47-86) xlvii . bacchilega and artista 2007 (179) xlvi i i . bacchilega and artista 2007 (197) xlix. mookini (21) 1. venuti (68) l i . bacchilega and artista 2007 (179) l i i . bacchilega and artista 2007 (197) l i i i . ibid. liv. bacchilega and artista 2007(180) lv. venuti (7) references bacchilega, cristina and noelani arista. 2007. "the arabiannights i n the kuokoa, a nineteenth century hawaiian newspaper: reflections on the politics of translation." the arabian nights in transnational perspective. ed. ulr ich marzolph. detroit: wayne state university press, pp. 157-179. bacchilega, cristina and noelani arista. 2004. "the arabian nights i n a nineteenth-century hawaiian newspaper." tabula 45, pp. 189-204. chapin, helen g. (1984) "newspapers of hawaii 1834 to 1903: from he liona to the pacific cable," hawaiian journal of history 18, pp. 47-86. gibson, walter m . 1880. sanitary instructions for hawaiians in the english and hawaiian languages. honolulu: j.h. black. i r w i n , robert. 2004. the arabian nights: a companion. new york: st martins press. johnson, rubellite k. 1976. kukini aha tlono, carry on the news: over a century of native hawaiian life and thought from the hawaiian language newspapers of 1834 to 1948. honolulu: topgallant publishing company. elem ents fall 09 johnson, rubellite k. 1975. ka nupepa kuokoa: a chronicle of entries 1861-1862. honolulu: topgallant publishing company. "ka hae hawaii." ka nupepa kuokoa. 1 january 1862,1. "ke kamelo o arabia." ka nupepa kuokoa, 1 october 1861, 1. kuykendall, ralph. 1947. the hawaiian kingdom 1778-1854. honolulu: university of hawaii press. mookini , esther t. 1967. "a brief survey of the hawaiian language newspapers." committee on library prizes for pacific island area research, honolulu. morris, nancy j. 1975. "ka loea kalaiaina, 1898: a study of a hawaiian language newspaper as a reference source." m.a. thesis, university of hawaii. quick, sarah. 1977. "ka lama hawaii: hawaii's first newspaper." m.a. thesis, university of hawaii. silva, noenoe k. 2004. aloha betrayed: native hawaiian resistance to american colonialism. durham: duke university press. silva, noenoe k. 1999. "ke kue kupaa loa nei makou: kanaka maoli resistance to colonization." phd diss., university of hawaii. stillman, amy k. 2001. "re-membering the history of the hawaiian hula." cultural memory: reconfiguring history and identity in the postcolonial pacific. ed. jeannete m mageo. honolulu: university of hawaii press, pp. 187-204. trask, haunani-kay. 1999. from a native daughter: colonialism and sovereignty in hawaii. honolulu: university of hawaii press. venuti, lawrence. 1998. the scandals of translation: towards an ethics of difference. london: routledge. whitney, henry m . "ka nupepa kuokoa." ka nupepa kuokoa. 1 october 1861, 2. t r a n s l a t i o n i n t h e c u l t u r e war for h a w a i i l i s t o f a r t w o r k c a l i f o r n i a w i l l a l l o w i n d i a n c a s i n o e x p a n s i o n © david mcnew/getty images g r e e k t o w n c a s i n o detriot, m i c h i g a n courtesy o f the private col lect ion o f t i m mooney, boston college slot m a c h i n e s i n m i l l e lacs i n d i a n reservation g r a n d c a s i n o © phi l schermeister/corbis i n d i a n tribes profit f r o m g a m g l i n g i n c o n n e c t i c u t © getty images ezekiel g o l d t h w a i t © [1771] m u s e u m o f fine ar t s , boston. mrs. ezekiel g o l d t h w a i t ( e l i z a b e t h lewis) © [1771] m u s e u m o f fine ar t s , boston. mrs. isaac s m i t h ( e l i z a b e t h storer) (p) ya\e t jniversitv a r t gallerv/art resoure. tspi 2q yale univers i ty a r t gal lery/art resouce, ny. 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for undergraduate studies joyce mannix, business manager for the college of arts and sciences david quigley, dean for the college of arts & sciences barbara vi ech n icki, associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts & sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. please consider submitting your own research to the next issue of elements. our next deadline is friday, november 6, 2009. cover usher i n concert toronto, canada © george pimentel/getty images p e r i o d i c i t y elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 5, issue 2, fall 2009 boston college, 14° commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 e l e m e n t s staff editor-i n-ch i ef erin e. eighan m a n a g i n g edito r brian varian deputy e d i t o r jaime crowley h u m a n i t i e s brian tracz, senior editor alyssa duquette, editor sarah ko, editor karen kovaka, editor natural s c i e n c e s anne kornahrens, senior editor aditya ashok, editor jamie crowley, editor erin groden, editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s chris sheridan, senior editor sarah collier, editor tim kelly, editor vinodh mechery, editor philip mercadante, editor daniel sologuren, editor lea yared, editor layout alyssa duquette, senior editor jaime crowley, editor sarah ko, editor webmaster daniel sologuren faculty a d v i s o r elizabeth chadwick printing: dynagraf advanced printing solutions, 5 dan road, canton, ma 02021 copyright © 2009 by trustees of boston college mailto:elements@bc.edu e d i t o r ' s n o t e over the past three years, i have had the privilege of experiencing the vast and varied research endeavors of my fellow students. each year i grow more humbled by their work. i have learned that the boston college student—and subsequently his or her research—is of an exceptional and rare breed. there are students of academia and there are students of the world. some perceive the college experience as i f from within a tightly confined box, squared off by the four walls of a classroom i n which the college student presses his or her nose to books. a somewhat claustrophobic, rigorously academic perception which is all too often true. however, you, as boston college students, have filled that box to bursting and extended education into the open world. the following essays from your fellow boston college students have taken the academic principles your professors have so graciously taught you and applied them critically to elements within their own experienced world, a true sign of a living education. mr. keegan's linguistic curiosity, for example, did not rest i n the abstract realm or historic realm, disconnected from the active present world. rather, his article "call-and-response" featured on the cover critically links past and present i n academic dialogue by engaging popular culture i n linguistic and historic critical theory. mr. brunner's "barrios, gangs, and enclaves" and mr. morris' "oklahoma city plunder" also find it necessary to critically reexamine elements of contemporary culture—our culture—while mr. scullin's "judging harshly" and mr. maroshegyi's "exporting citizens, importing remittances" challenge the current political and economic climate. the authors featured i n this issue of elements have met their call as boston college students to educate the person and extend the bounds of academia from abstraction into action. in many cases, for a student of academia—a student who separates learning from life—a typical friday night might mean singing along to usher's "love i n this club," it might mean taking i n a basketball game, but it may not extend further. the active student engaged i n critical discourse with his or her culture embraces the opportunities that lie i n each waking moment of life. you, the boston college student, can do just that. your propensity for critical thinking and evaluation begins i n your monday morning classes, seeps into your friday nights, and then impels you into a future ripe with opportunity. this fall 2009 issue of elements showcases the boston college student's ability to look critically—yes, academically—at every facet of his or her life. you are becoming academics of your generation—critics of your culture—engaging yourselves i n a spritely dialogue with your world. take these articles as inspiration, and i n the year to come, i urge you to take advantage of every opportunity you have to do just that. sincerely, erin e. eichan editor-in-chief all chicanos need a sense of belonging, respect, and opportunity. due to the exclusion from the surrounding region, however, the only space where these opportunities could possibly exist is in the barrio." b a r r i o s , g a n g s , a n d e n c l a v e s a socioeconomic reading of luis rodriguez's always running c h r i s t o p h e r b r u n n e r t h i s p a p e r w i l l e n g a g e in a s o c i o e c o n o m i c a n a l y s i s o f l u i s r o d r i g u e z ' s always running. t h e p a p e r w i l l i d e n t i f y t h e lo mas b a r r i o as an i m m i g r a n t e n c l a v e i s o l a t e d f r o m t h e g r e a t e r l o s a n g e l e s c o m m u n i t y . w h i l e an i m m i g r a n t e n c l a v e t y p i c a l l y s e r v e s as a t r a n s i t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y f o r e t h n i c i m m i g r a n t s , t h e g e o g r a p h i c , p o l i t i c a l , a n d s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n o f t h e e c o n o m i c a l l y d e p r i v e d b a r r i o l e a d t o e x c l u s i o n o f t h e r e s i d e n t c h i c a n o p o p u l a t i o n f r o m t h e s u r r o u n d i n g c o m m u n i t i e s . as a r e s u l t , r o d r i g u e z a n d t h e o t h e r y o u t h a r e t h r o w n i n t o t h e n i h i l i s t i c g a n g l i f e s t y l e o f la v i d a l o c a , a r e b e l l i o u s a n d m i l i t a n t r e s p o n s e t o t h e m a r g i n a li z at i o n o f t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d . t h e p a p e r c o n c l u d e s t h a t w h i l e g a n g l i f e s t y l e is n o t t h e b e s t o p t i o n f o r t h e y o u t h o f t h e b a r r i o , it is t h e o n l y c h a n c e t o e a r n t h e r e s p e c t , i d e n t i t y , a n d s e n s e o f b e l o n g i n g t h a t t h e b a r r i o c a n n o t p r o v i d e . in luis rodriguez's memoir always running, rodriguez describes a youth lifestyle of gangs, violence, and discrimination. the setting of this lifestyle is a los angeles "barrio"—an inner-city ethnic neighborhood typical of a spanish-speaking population. while every city has ethnic neighborhoods and the divisions accompanying these neighborhoods, the barrios of los angeles have an identity and strength to which few neighborhoods can compare. using the prevalence of gang culture and violence i n the barrio, rodriguez looks to paint the barrio as a neighborhood detrimental to the individual and to social psychology. nonetheless, rodriguez continually returns to the barrio throughout the story. due to the isolation of the barrio from the greater los angeles community and the inability of the barrio to respond to this isolation, rodriguez defines the gang culture as an emulation of the barrio identity as well as the only possible source of social structure not provided by the barrio. a neighborhood's isolation begins when the group residing within the neighborhood is either excluded or chooses to be isolated—the latter being a desired rarity. the first and most prominent form of isolation rodriguez describes is geographic. when rodriguez first introduces the reader to las lomas, or "the hills," he calls "the hills . . . unseen. unvisited. cars flew past north of here on the san east los angeles barrios are bernardino freeway... a place you could have found i n the ozarks or the hills of tijuana."1 the readers' initial introduction to the barrio paints it as cold and secluded. originally, he does not describe specific geographic features, yet he compares lomas to the ozarks and the hills of tijuana. in this account, rodriguez transforms the freeway into artificial hills to isolate lomas from the east los angeles area. this serves as a precursor to the development of many social issues within the barrio, including the development of gangs. in her book going down to the barrio: homeboys and homegirls in change, joan moore chronicles the beginnings of select east los angeles gangs by first highlighting the neighborhood's history. according to moore, i n the 1950s, the city made a series of land grabs for freeway construction i n the region, and "two of the freeways (the san bernardino and santa ana) cut through the heart of the east los angeles barrios."51 the removal of large tracts of land combined with the increasing population density served to effectively isolate east los angeles, and it is doubtless lomas would have been included as well. having only grazed the driving narrative, rodriguez uses spatial and geographic isolation to close lomas off from the surrounding community. besides the geographic isolation of the barrio, political and social isolation were equally as prominent and historically isolated from neighboring nities . elem ents fall 09 "with such social, political, and geographic powers opposing the development of the neighborhood, the barrio lifestyle became one of alienation from the greater los angeles community." more powerful. the barrios served as homes to a migrant and impoverished population, an outcast group forced to live i n strictly defined areas. in the beginning days of urban sprawl i n los angeles, what often defined a neighborhood was its annexation by the neighboring city. the remaining "unincorporated county territory was generally where the poorest people lived, the old barrios, which for the most part didn't belong to any city because nobody wanted them." 1 ' essentially, an unincorporated city is politically isolated; government and other institutions are not established i n these areas, and access to many basic elements and utilities of a city, such as sewage systems and paved roads is lacking. these measures of isolation for the barrios which were [not] incorporated, including las lomas, became self-contained and forbidden, incubators of rebellion ... for years, nobody ventured into las lomas unless they had to be there. buses refused to provide residents there any service. sheriff's deputies entered it with full firepower and ample backup, hardly ever alone.w this passage from rodriguez describes the psychological and social isolation of the neighborhood. the barrios are excluded by the greater los angeles community due to their image as havens of crime and poverty. the media also rode on this wave of intolerance, expounding upon tales of criminal youth and gang dominance i n these areas. with escalating notoriety seizing the neighborhood, lomas becomes socially isolated. no one wants to enter the neighborhood without firepower and basic civil services—such as the bus lines that refuse to enter the area. with such social, political, and geographic powers opposing the development of the neighborhood, the barrio lifestyle became one of alienation from the greater los angeles community. this isolation, i n turn, plays a pivotal role i n the development of many families, including the rodriguez family. with these issues, rodriguez paints a bleak picture of the community. yet the lomas community is further isolated by its mexican culture. las lomas is an ethnic community intrinsically different from the white, middle-class neighborhoods that enclose it. i n john logan, richard alba, and wenquan zhang's article immigrant enclaves and ethnic communities in new york and los angeles, the authors analyze post-vietnam development of the ethnic enclave i n social and psychological contexts. curiously, the authors make a distinction between what they term as "immigrant enclaves" and "ethnic communities." immigrant enclaves are driven by "people's limited market resources and ethnically bound cultural and social capital," and these neighborhoods are intended to be "transitional neighborhoods— they represent a practical and temporary phase in the incorporation of new groups."v additional identifications are "physical characteristics (by the usual standards of mainstream society, they are less desirable as places to live) and by the characteristics of the people who live i n them (they concentrate immigrants who are recently arrived and have few socioeconomic resources.)"v! a n ethnic community, on the other hand is a term used "to refer to ethnic neighborhoods that are selected as living environments by those who have wider options based on their market resources."1' this distinction the authors make is interesting as sociologists do not often separate ethnic communities into transitional and permanent neighborhoods. their study is a sociological analysis of immigrant neighborb a r r i o s , g a n g s , a n d e n c l a v e s hoods, yet they choose economic resources as the determitant for a homeowner's choice between these two areas. while it is often economic resources that determine a family's ability to move out of a poor area, the "transitional period" that accompanies the immigrant enclave may be an extended or permanent period of time. many families i n the barrio, such as the rodriguez family, may have had intentions of leaving the barrio, yet the economic, political, geographic, and cultural isolation may have prevented them. the rodriguez family's transitional period is an active one as they move to new homes and work places. the majority of the first chapters are dedicated to rodriguez's descriptions of each new neighborhood to which he moves. nonetheless, the relocations are constrained by their economic resources; they "often changed houses because of evictions. [his] dad constantly tried to get better work."™1 logan, alba, and zhang postulated the transitional period of the immigrant ended when "people with more financial resources and mainstream jobs avoid ethnic zones . . . i n search of the 'promised land.'" when rodriguez's father secures a new job and believes he has the economic resources to move out of the lomas neighborhood and into reseda, a middle class suburb, rodriguez views his father's new job as "a miracle." rodriguez's father "went nuts i n reseda," purchasing a new home, car, and several new appliances, all with the "attitude [of] 'who cares?' we were americans now. we were on our way to having a little bit of that dream." this american ideal of homeownership comes with its share of changes. reseda is a starkly different neighborhood from lomas, with a completely different identity. although rodriguez does note that taft high school was for "well-off white children," he never explicitly says that their neighborhood is a white neighborhood. 5^ i n fact, reseda lacks any ethnic identity, but of the ethnic enclaves of los angeles, the rodriguez family is free to roam without any confinement. ultimately, though, this suburban, "ethnic-less" identity is not ideal for the rodriguez family. the rodriguez family leaves within a few months of entering reseda after rodriguez's father loses his job. as the rodriguez family pulls away from their former home, rodriguez sees the "sad faces on our neighbors were our farewell. i supposed they realized we [were not] so bad for being mexican. we were going back to an old friend—pobreza." << rodriguez's description allows the reader to see that for rodriguez, the mexican family does not fit i n this suburban lifestyle. when they moved to reseda, the rodriguez family was "the only mexican family around." x i v rodriguez is harassed by the children at his elementary school, his mother is insecure about her body image i n the face of the other suburban mothers, and the high school students could not understand his father's accent. although the neighbors do not directly discriminate against their family, the strong mexican culture and ethnic identity the rodriguez family possessed was "bad" and not welcomed i n the suburban environment. rodriguez uses the spanish word pobreza to describe poverty instead of an english term. the irony of returning to the barrio, however, is that i n order to gain acceptance i n their surrounding neighborhood, they must return to the "friend" of poverty. the rodriguez family's desire for identity and acceptance is not an isolated incident. these desires are key themes throughout much of chicano literature, including always running. rodriguez's personal search led to a changing identity throughout his story. in paula m.l. moya's article "this is not your country!": nation and belonging in chicano literature, moya contends that when rodriguez "began to educate himself through the chicano movement about the economic and social institutions that put h i m and others like h i m at a structural disadvantage relative to other americans ' . . . rodriguez was able to break free of gang life and begin the long, arduous process toward achieving ful l , substantive u.s. citizenship." x v moya is certainly correct that rodriguez's education does change his identity, his view of the barrio, and the marginalization of the hispanic population i n los angeles. after rodriguez is introduced to the library at taft high school, " i t [was not] the same as before. a power pulsed i n those books i learned to savor, i n the magical hours i spent i n the library. " x v 1 it is far-fetched, however, to say that rodriguez's ultimate identity is shaped by his obtaining u.s. citizenship. rodriguez never mentions citizenship i n his novel, except for a fleeting moment i n his description of applying for college. learning excites h i m , but his academic interest is never an antecedent for desires of citizenship or american nationalistic identity. moya herself even mentions this impossibility i n her closing analysis of rodriguez: always running "contests the idea that latina/os must forever be outsiders to the us national imaginary."x v [ i moya aims to classify the chicano identity as a separate nationalistic movement within american borders, despite the fact that an author identifying this movement is something she herself deplores. nonetheless, whether moya's united states is defined by citizenship or the suburban reseda lifestyle, moya is correct i n noting that the chicano identity exists separate from the american identity, and rodriguez seemingly has set out to isolate the barrio as the only space were his chicano identity is welcome and identifiable. the question remains, however, as to why the barrio is not only necessary space for the chicano family but the only space. according to logan, alba, and zhang, any forms of acculturation are inversely associated with residence in ethnic neighborhoods for almost all groups. in some cases, the ethnic neighborhood tends to be chosen by those for whom it serves their practical needs (as indicated by their socioeconomic position) for an inexpensive and congenial setting. and for several groups, the neighborhood may also link members to ethnic employment. these are the functions of immigrant enclaves. x v l u rodriguez furnishes his book with examples of his family's lack of acculturation; from the language barriers his father faces to the neighbors of the reseda suburb, the rodriguez family has an inherently chicano cultural identity that is incompatible with the area surrounding them. logan, alba, and zhang are certainly correct to say that families of immigrant enclaves such as the barrio choose an immigrant enclave out of a need for inexpensive residence. the choice, however, may not be as free as implied. their definition of the immigrant enclave as a transitional period may be marred by the economic and social conditions that surround a neighborhood, such as the economic, geographic, social, and cultural isolation of lomas that rodriguez highlights. for a family living i n a barrio, the transition period is not temporary; their isolation leads to a a complex dynamic of inclusion and exclusion underlies the formation of neighborhoods such as barrios. b a r r i o s , g a n g s , a n d e n c l a v e s permanent transitional state. the barrio, then, must lack the means of assistance or aid that helps families find future success. logan, alba, and zhang identify two needs for a functioning immigrant enclave: an economic practicality, and a congenial association brought on by connection with others of similar cultural backgrounds. undoubtedly, cheap housing is an economic practicality of the immigrant enclave, but for the barrio, the practicality ends with the fulfillment of low-priced land. the employment market of the barrio is far from sufficient to sustain the economic needs. rodriguez's "mother worked on and off, primarily as a costurera or . . . cleaning homes or taking care of other people's children." x l x her odd jobs were mostly i n "nice, american, white-people homes" outside of the barrio neighborhood. rodriguez's father settled for a job at pierce college, a community high school i n los angeles, which required h i m to get "up every day at 4:30 a.m. and [ g o ] . . . almost forty miles away to the other side of los angeles," simply to be employed as "an overblown janitor."1 j the menial, m i n i m u m wage (or less) jobs could never provide for rodriguez's family of five. lacking a sense of belonging, many young men turn to gang involvement in the barrios. moreover, these jobs require travel to outside neighborhoods. for a teenager like rodriguez, the challenge to find work is even greater. his mother tells rodriguez that "'you have to work, to help us out here. . . you're a big man now. there's got to be something you can do. ' . . . i was nine years old—a good working age, as far as my mother was concerned." ; ! i rodriguez's mother expected h i m to mature at an alarming rate and enter the working world to support the family; however, with the scarcity of jobs for adults i n the barrio, it would be difficult at best for rodriguez to f ind a job as a child. besides economic necessities, logan, alba, and zhang seem to identify cultural necessities. the "congenial setting" they picture seemingly describes a unified, pleasant, cultural community within the borders of the immigrant enclave. yet, lomas is far from any of these descriptions. the barrio lacks any sense of cultural unification. within the barrio, rodriguez never mentions a successful community movement to unify the area. the la casa community center i n sangra that "offered dropout programs, welfare assistance, federal job placements, a teen mother day care, and places for young people to hang out" eventually succumbs to "the scourge of pcp." x x m rodriguez remembers "the san gabriel mission held an annual 'fiesta days' celebration to honor the spanish-mexican heritage of the area," and at night, after the "anglos" left, "the fiesta belonged to the mexicans." x x n yet, "by the midnight hour . . . lomas and sangra soldiers began to congregate i n different sections of the enclosed area."x x v nothing within the barrio is free from the hands of gangs and conflict. the festival, in a sense, mirrors the surrounding neighborhood: what could potentially be a haven for families i n a safe, culturally saturated environment turns into a battleground for the gang soldiers whose presence permeates the area. gangs are a critical element i n always running which infi l trate the barrios to satisfy a need within the neighborhood. lomas lacks the strong, proud cultural identity and economic prowess necessary to function as an ethnic community; the gangs, however, are highly organized, hierarchal, e l e m e n t s : : fall 09 and efficient groups. rodriguez describes the beginnings of these gangs as groups of youth, calling "ourselves clubs or clicas. it was something to belong to—something that was ours. we weren't i n boy scouts, i n sports teams, or camping groups." it is interesting that rodriguez notes the importance of club affiliation. although he was a resident i n the barrio, he does not seem to be able to connect to it. the borders of the barrio are formed by social conditions, and rodriguez seems against joining organized social groups, such as the boy scouts. i f rodriguez is alienated by the world outside the barrio and unable to deduce a connection to the barrio, then the only remaining option is to find identity amongst the gangs. the gangs did not just provide an individual identity; they were more structured and encompassing than a simple group of friends. rodriguez noted that some groups "became more organized. they obtained . . . their own colors, and identification cards. later a few of the cliques became car clubs . . . then also some of the clubs metamorphosed into something more unpredictable, more encompassing. something more deadly."**™ this level of exclusion and identification could be alarming for any group of people, especially a group of adolescent teenagers. the gangs had immense power; the animal tribe gang i n lomas "pulled i n dudes from all over south san gabriel, even from areas east of the hills . . . which had long-running feuds with las lomas." v ! i l essentially, the gangs begin to define these communities. when the crime rate i n lomas begins to rise, "gang members were interviewed and news photographers worked the hills to depict the poverty. " x x l x the community borders do not exist i n the eyes of rodriguez's youth or the eyes of the surrounding los angeles region. these reports paint an image of universal poverty and crime, even though gangs may not entirely make up the population of the neighborhood. the gang members themselves also follow this idea; when young luis, wilo, and chicharron ask miguel why they were harassed by sangra members at a quincinera, despite the fact that they were not " i n their barrio," miguel's explanation is, "you ain't i n lomas e i ther . . . that's the problem. you guys live i n between the two "logan, alba, and zhang identify two needs for a functioning immigrant enclave: an economic practicality, and a congenial association brought on by connection with others of similar cultural backgrounds." largest 'hoods. you got to figure out which one to claim or you're going to get fucked by both of them . . . i ' m telling you there's no choice. . . . you wanta live, you wanta breath air, you got to be i n the tribe man. " x x x miguel's explanation and subsequent suggestion demonstrate the power of these barrio gangs. there was no escaping them, especially i f one was young; eventually, all must, for the sake of selfpreservation, declare allegiance to a gang. for miguel and many other characters, the gangs were the neighborhood. one identifies himself not by his barrio, but by his gang. eventually these terms become synonymous, as "there were dudes who didn't even claim the tribe anymore. just lomas."x x x i just as rodriguez must join a gang to find personal identity, his family had to return to their barrio to find cultural identity. joining a gang to find identity, however, comes at a price. rodriguez describes the gangs as deadly, a term that can barely begin to encompass the violence and brutality surrounding gang life. from the moment he joins the gang, rodriguez becomes involved i n drugs, murder, and de struction on an unimaginable scale. this violence is inb a r r i o s , g a n g s , a n d e n c l a v e s credibly harmfuf to rodriguez, himself, from injuries and hospitalizations to the emotional strain resulting from his allegiance to a gang. claudia durst johnson, in her book youth gangs i n literature, comments on the emotional aspects of many literary works depicting youth gang life. according to johnson, rodriguez "emphasizes the self-destructiveness of the mexican american community as members of rival chicano gangs ki l l one another . . . gang members not only ki l l mexican americans i n rival gangs, but they ki l l members of their own gangs, a truth that is brought home, to luis when he is shot at by his friends." x x x x 1 1 johnson stresses the very prevalent self-destructive aspect of rodriguez's work is very prevalent i n the novel; few of rodriguez's anecdotes about gang life do not include some form of violence. puppet, i n trying to organize a hit against sangra, tells his fellow lomas members "this means we got to take care of each other. and we have to be trucha for dedos ['watch out for snitches']."n x' i ! 1 while this ideal of group defense seems noble, any protest to his plans—such as luis's questioning as to the purpose of convincent perez analyzes nihil ism as a psychological phenomenon. this phenomenon occurs when "the expression of undaunted yearning, desperate (violent so, perhaps even to the extreme of self-destruction), but not hopeless, meaningful i n its furious revolt against a world of bewildering violence and meaningless death." rodriguez describes "locura, the spirit of existence which meant the difference between living life to the fullest or wandering aimlessly upon the earth, taking up space, or getting i n the way. the vatos hated those without daring, those who failed to meet the challenge, the fear and exhilaration of this presence.' , x x x v l for a gang member, there seems to be no moderation i n living their lives; they either choose to live their life to the fullest expression of emotional prowess, or they wi l l waste aimlessly on the earth. this attitude is extremely nihilistic: the gang members have an undaunted yearning to revolt. yet their yearning is not against violence but is expressed through violence. perez explains this expression of violence is a thematic expression of nihilistic antagonism: "the barrio gangs are not the best solution to make up for what the barrio cannot provide; however, in the face of discrimination, marginalization, and identity formation, it is the only option." stant and consistent revenge—yield only "a fist slammed against [his] m o u t h . ' , x x x l v rodriguez can certainly seek protection and defense from his fellow gang members, but any deviation from the violent plans of the gang is simply unacceptable. this violent drive does not consist of only violent gang plans. it is a deeper consciousness that permeates the gang identity. in his article "running" and resistance: nihilism and cultural memory in chicano urban narratives, author rodriguez thematizes nihilism as a strident oppositional voice irreconcilable with the practices of racist institutions such as the legal system which not only fail to address the needs of the minority community, but also actively criminalizes its youth. though nihilism can be self-destructive, violent, antisocial, anti-intellectual, and apolitical, rodriguez suggests that it can also be constructively channeled. yet, even if the sentiments which define it (despair, rage, fear, and anger) are not directed into more traditional conduits, nihilism for rodriguez constitutes a militant poe l e m e n t s fall 09 litical consciousness entirely justified given the social circumstances and conditions of urban chicano life.xxxvii rodriguez chooses constructive channels for his personal nihilism. he explores art and murals through his paintings, he becomes heavily involved with tohmas (a chicano support program), and he gives some effort towards his education. still, the image persists of rodriguez as an usher of violence, a perpetrator of destruction, and a harbinger of menacing ferocity. nonetheless, one must consider that rodriguez also attempts to make social commentary through his work. his novel is not simply autobiographical musing. as a commentator on the psychological identity of the gangs as a whole, rodriguez feels their violence is justified. i n the final scene of the novel, chava confronts rodriguez, and rodriguez "can see h i m pulling out a knife and stabbing [him] just to salve his p a i n . " x x x v m this pain is that of the barrio gangs. rodriguez never condemns his own personal actions, but the marginahzation of the community has created an economic, social, and, most importantly, an emotional pain that is only alleviated through violence. i n the epilogue to his novel, rodriguez explicitly completes his social commentary. he realizes the necessity of gangs i n the face of marginahzation: gangs are not alien powers. they begin as unstructured groupings, our children, who desire the same as any young person. respect. a sense of belonging. protection. the same thing that the mca, little league, or boy scouts want. . . gangs flourish when there's a lack of social recreation, decent education, or employment.... if there was a viable alternative, they would stop. if we all had a choice, i'm convinced nobody would choose la vida loca, the "insane notion"—to "gang bang." but it's going to take collective action and plan.™^ i n this passage, rodriguez has described exactly what logan, alba, and zhang called for i n an immigrant neighborhood. a l l chicanos need a sense of belonging, respect, and opportunity. due to the exclusion from the surrounding region, however, the only space where these opportunities could possibly exist is i n the barrio. rodriguez's family returns to the barrio and their "friend" pobreza. yet the barrio lacks these critical opportunities for the neighborhood to truly be a transitional period, and often families fall prey to a state of permanence i n impoverished communities. this is where the gangs step in . lomas gave rodriguez everything his family had been searching for—respect, identity, and a sense of belonging. this comes with the price of the nihilistic expressions of the spirit of locura, or, as perez notes, a militant, political, and conscious response to the marginahzation of the neighborhood. the barrio gangs are not the best solution to make up for what the barrio cannot provide; however, i n the face of discrimination, marginahzation, and identity formation, it is the only option. e n d n o t e s i . rodriguez (39) i i . moore (15) hi . rodriguez (38) iv. rodriguez (41) v. logan et al. (299-300) vi . logan et al. (300) vi i . ibid. vi i i . rodriguez (30) ix. logan et al. (300) x. rodriguez (30) xi. rodriguez (31) xii . rodriguez (30) xi i i . rodriguez (31-2) xiv. rodriguez (30) xv. moya (183-4) xvi. rodriguez (139) xvii. moya (184) xviii. logan et al. (320) (italics original) xix. rodriguez (23) xx. ibid. xxi. rodriguez (135) xxii. rodriguez (67-8) xxiii. rodriguez (112, 240) xxiv. rodriguez (87-8) xxv. rodriguez (89) xxvi. rodriguez (41) xxvii. rodriguez (43) xxviii. rodriguez (52) xxix. rodriguez (112) b a r r i o s , g a n g s , a n d e n c l a v e s xxx. rodriguez (54). xxxi. rodriguez (73) xxxii. johnson (180-1) xxxiii. rodriguez (208) xxxiv. rodriguez (209) xxxv. perez (113) xxxvi. rodriguez (206) xxxvii. perez (139) xxxviii. rodriguez (244) xxxix. rodriguez (251) references johnson, claudia d. 2004. youth gangs in literature. westport, conn.: greenwood press. logan, john; alba, richard; zhang, wenquan. 2002. " immigrant enclaves and ethnic communities i n new york and los angeles." american sociological review, 67(2), p. 299. moore, joan w. 1991. going down to the barrio : homeboys and homegirls in change. philadelphia: temple university press. moya, paula m.l. 2005. "th i s is not your country!': nation and belonging i n latina/o literature." american literary history, 17(1), p. 183. perez, vincent. 2000. " 'running' and resistance: nihi l i sm and cultural memory i n chicano urban narratives.(critical essay)." melus, vol. 25. rodriguez, luis. 2005. always running: la vida loca: gang days in la. new york: touchstone. one of the most popular television shows of the last decade, lost (2004-2010) confounded many of its viewers with its twisting, convoluted plotlines. this article is an exploration of the many elements of the show over its first few, dynamic years that ultimately weave together to form a subtle, subversive image of post-9/11 american society. through an examination of specific characters, and the cast as a whole, as well as various distinctly terroristic and apocalyptic components of the show’s plot, lost is revealed as both a reproduction and a critical re-imagination of the american response to the events of september 11th, 2001. lost becomes not merely an artifact of post-9/11 american society but a means through which viewers are invited to see ways in which our world can grow and change. trauma, fear, and paranoia lost and the culture of 9/11 rachel aldrich the events of september 11, 2001, not only permanently disfigured the face of new york city and greatly changed the lives of thousands of americans, but also created a cultural shockwave in america that is still felt today. american society was transformed almost immediately after the attacks; this response to terror can be seen in much of the visual culture that followed. when viewed in a post-9/11 context, the television show lost (2004-2010) simultaneously reproduces, comments on, and reshapes the american response to 9/11 in the imagery employed, the topics discussed, and the characters depicted in its episodes. by subtly playing with the themes of tragedy, loss, and terror, lost draws upon america’s cultural memory of the events of 9/11 and subversively provides a critique of our responses to terror. the pilot episode of lost aired on september 22, 2004, and the significance of that date—with its visual and numerical similarities to the date of september 11—was hardly lost on viewers. the show follows the survivors of the crash of oceanic flight 815. the cause of the crash is a mystery. as the first season progresses it becomes clear that no one beyond the bounds of the island upon which the plane crashes has any idea of what happened to the survivors. the first episode, which details the events immediately following the crash, uses imagery that draws heavily upon representations of 9/11 and acts profoundly as a reproduction of this culture of fear and trauma. as marita sturken explains in her book tourists of history, “reenactment of dramatic events is a staple of popular culture in the form of television programs, documentaries, and feature films.”1 in paralleling the events of 9/11, lost is not alone, joined by a slew of other war-on-terror television dramas such as 24 and sleeper cell but also feature films like traitor and the kingdom. lost is unique in that its imagery is much more subtle. the first scene of the pilot episode depicts jack shephard (matthew fox), a surgeon and the main character of the series, sprawled on the ground in the middle of the jungle. he is wearing a tattered business suit and looks remarkably like a corpse. the positioning of his body and his costuming is meant to align him with those many victims of 9/11, the men and women working in the offices in the towers who died inside or even those who flung themselves from the buildings. this parallel is somewhat obscured by the surrounding jungle; the viewer, removed from the exact setting of 9/11, is initially able to dismiss the similarities between these two images. this, however, becomes impossible, as it is made clear that jack is anything but dead; he stands, brushes himself off, and immediately begins to sprint to the beach where it seems as if nothing is amiss. the scene is almost idyllic— beautiful palm trees and bright white sand with the clear water ahead—but as jack scans the coast, the faint sounds of a woman screaming can be heard. he begins to run in the direction of the sound, and as he nears the shouting, pieces of the plane come into view; twisted metal, incinerated luggage and mangled limbs cover the surface of the beach. after briefly observing the scene, jack immediately takes on the role of protector and hero. rushing from person to person—at one point, as an act of chivalry, assisting a young pregnant woman who is having contractions from the trauma of the crash—jack suddenly embodies the ultimate hero, one who becomes a leader in the moment of chaos; here, rather than resembling those men and women who lost their lives in the world trade center, he becomes those firefighters, policemen, and everyday brave figures who helped hundreds of men and women escape the towers on 9/11. by saving lives and delivering orders amongst piles of twisted steel, jack becomes a conflation of both victim and hero, thus morphing into a symbol for a majority of american affected by the attacks. while jack shephard stands in for all american people in those first scenes of lost, the most obvious 9/11 image employed in these first few moments is that of the plane, oceanic flight 815. although few images of the hijacked planes exist, this first image on lost of the plane cut in half and partly in flames, dozens of frightened and injured people running about, is clearly reminiscent of the events of 9/11. this initial view of the plane is accompanied by a visual and aural hush, as the background noise dulls and the camera seems to steady for the first time since the frenzied start of the show. this pause suspends both the viewers and the characters in time, allowing for a brief moment of title screen from the abc series lost (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 60 elements : : spring 2015 stasis and reflection in the chaos and emphasizes the terror and horror of the image. the familiarity of the scene also becomes apparent in these few frozen seconds. such depictions of a mangled plane almost necessarily evoke memories of the events of 9/11 and their immediate aftermath. the viewer, bombarded with imagery of destruction and simultaneously reliving the trauma of those horrific terrorist attacks in only the first fifteen minutes of the pilot, is invited to view nearly every event that follows the initial crash through a post-9/11 lens. as the show progresses, it is natural to assume that these contexts of terror would gradually begin to drop out of the viewers’ perception as they distance themselves from this emblematic and emotional 9/11 image of a crashed plane, but since much of the narrative of lost is framed around flashbacks into the pasts of the survivors of oceanic flight 815, it is almost impossible to forget these images. many times these flashbacks bring the characters back to the first moments of the crash, and the result is a narrative structure that continually progresses and regresses with the moment of trauma being repeated countless number of times. as sturken explains, “in psychoanalysis, compulsive repetition occurs when subjects are traumatized to the extent that they repeat their moment of trauma over and over again and are unable to either narrativize it or move beyond it to make it a memory”.2 both the characters on lost and the viewers are not only traumatized by the crash of oceanic flight 815, but also by the repetition caused by this narrative structure. this clearly parallels the repetition of 9/11 images in american media following the attacks. the result, for both american society and the community of lost, is a group of people that are unable to move beyond their trauma, whether this be by choice or not. while the now-marooned survivors attempt to cope with the loss and trauma of the crash, they slowly begin to form a community amongst themselves. asians, african americans, arabs, and other ethnicities, as well as diverse religions and backgrounds, are all represented in this cast of characters. promotional cast photographs for these earlier seasons depict a mini-community that is, although small in numbers, quite diverse. the diversity of this group is meant to stand in as a small-scale representation of american society. they manage to function even in the face of both their extreme trauma and their differences. this concept of community and unity amongst all peoples is consistent with much of the political rhetoric following 9/11. george w. bush’s speech to the american public on the evening of september 11, 2001, is emblematic of this concept of the diverse community and world-wide unity. as he states, america and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world and we stand together to win the war against terrorism … this is a day when all americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.3 not only does he promise that all americans will unite— no matter their race, religion, or origins—but he also reassures the american people that the entire world is part of their unified community. the american public and all worldwide lovers of freedom will come together to fight evil in the hopes of achieving “justice and peace.” this concept of all races throwing aside their differences to work toward the common good is one which was seen nearly everywhere following the events of 9/11; it also carries with it the implication that all americans, not simply those immediately connected to 9/11, were affected by the attacks. the cast of lost is this idealistic post-race unified community on a smaller scale; although the survivors have their differences, they are bound together by their common tragedy and provide a unified front, physically standing in a line as equals in their promotional photos to combat whatever dangers may come their way. while the diverse survivors of the crash are initially able to create a community that unifies them, as time goes on this harmony slowly begins to erode. the first of these breaks occurs after the survivors spend the first few days waiting for assistance to arrive. as more and more time passes with no sign of rescue, it becomes evident that they may be lost for a while. with a new goal of long-term survival, they begin to search for more permanent places to set up shel“this concept of all races throwing aside their differences to work toward the common good is one which was seen nearly everywhere following the events of 9/11.” 61 trauma, fear, and paranoia ter. a shared trauma cannot hold them together for long, and even this relatively innocuous task of establishing a settlement creates a virulent faction within the survivors; half of them, led by jack, head deeper into the jungle to seek shelter in caves, while the other half remains on the beach. a rivalry forms between these two sub-groups from the originally harmonious mini-community of crash survivors. as stand-ins for all of american society, this division between the survivors illustrates a parallel to many of the policy debates that ensued almost immediately following the events of 9/11. one such debate was centered upon the issue of whether or not the american government should invade afghanistan. both officials and citizens debated whether or not war would be beneficial, heated discussions often resulting in anger and resentment. hostility also appears in the now-broken groups of survivors on lost. the destruction of a unified community in a dangerous and foreign land poses many issues for the survivors, not the least of which being the mysterious and almostmythical beasts lurking in the jungle of the island, creatures that include a massive polar bear and a smoke monster. the survivors soon realize that, separated into two distinct groups, they hold almost no chance of survival; they may have been united by their trauma and divided by their opinions, but now they must reunite to survive. in this the writers of lost provide their critique; in the minicommunity, viewers are invited to see a parallel to the greater american society. the realization that the community on lost cannot survive as separate factions forces the viewer to consider that the same may be true for american society. if the experiences of the survivors on lost are any indication, then it is clear that the anger and debates in american society will only serve to further endanger a country that is already living in a world of loss, terror, and trauma. while the survivors on lost eventually do find a way to move beyond their differences and work together, they have a clear limit as to with whom they can and cannot ally themselves. even in the face of their reunification, they continue to draw clear lines between themselves and other people on the island. as they explore deeper into the jungle, they come across a group of people that had not been on the oceanic flight. these people are part of a group that has lived on the island for decades in a compound-like community, living off the grid and completing scientific experiments. the survivors name these strangers the others. while this name is simply meant to provide a clear and succinct distinction between the survivors and the settlers, the wording of the phrase is reminiscent of and almost implies a racial difference. this division between the familiar and the other is a mirror of the typical post-9/11 american response toward arabs or muslims in which, simply due to skin color or religion, they are deemed as other and are subjected to intense racism and racial profiling. as cynthia young explains in her essay black ops, the widening of the “we” of us citizenship to embrace those who were formerly marginalized, be they african americans, asian americans, or latinos, allows war on terror dramas to mark a new boundary between citizenship and “alienness” that includes some but still excludes arab americans and muslims.4 just in the way that american citizens created a new dynamic of “we” versus “alien,” so do the survivors on the island. the differences between the survivors and the others are not based fundamentally on skin color or religion— there is even a prominent arab character accepted in the survivors’ group as a part of the “we”—but rather on ideological differences. however, the immediate marginalization of these settlers on the island is a definite parallel to the american response toward arabs and muslims following the events of 9/11; taking no chance to examine their point of view or to create an ally with the settlers, the survivors take their perceived alienness as a reason to give them the name of other and to treat them as such by attacking them and, as is more often the case, fearing them. “prior to this revelation, however, the survivors had been blissfully unaware of their own role in their crash, much in the way that american society seems to have forgotten the preceding events leading up to the attacks of 9/11.” 62 elements : : spring 2015 in the face of this clear division between the “we” of the survivors and the “alien” of the others, the character of sayid jarrah (naveen andrews) and his past come as a surprise. sayid is an arab man who, prior to crashing on the island, was a member of the iraqi republican guard and served for many years as an interrogator and a torturer. sayid is often depicted in such a way that showcases his brute strength, symbolizing both classical masculinity and violence. however, despite sayid’s violent and dark past, the survivors—many of them with difficult pasts as well— still accept him wholeheartedly and consider him to be a member of their community. this somewhat contradicts evelyn alsultany’s argument in her book arabs in the media, in which she claims in post-9/11 american society there is a shift in the representation of arabs in which, there is indeed a process of rehabilitation taking place, but it is one in which images of acceptable arab and muslim americans are produced through the figure of the arab american patriot or victim of post-9/11 hate crimes.5 the character of sayid seems to contradict this, being neither victim nor patriot. sayid is, on paper, an entirely unlikable character; he shows little emotion, his violent past is abhorrent, and both his race and his former occupation draw upon the raw trauma and fear surrounding the terrorist figure that still festers in american cultural memory. in spite of all of this, sayid is a character with whom the viewer is meant to—and does—sympathize. sayid also raises issues with alsultany’s concept of the “simplified complex representation” of arab males in the media. she explains that this is a new trend in television and film dramas in which whenever a negative or stereotypically violent arab man is portrayed, he is “balanced” with the figure of an arab patriot who is ally to the united states government. this device, she claims, is meant to combat potential critiques of racism toward arab americans; in including a “good” arab, they mean to counteract the blatant stereotyping of the “bad” arab. sayid certainly does not fall into this category of the simplified complex representation; sayid, a man who is still considered to be a protagonist, is at once both good and bad, both torturer and redeemer. rather than having two arab figures acting as either extreme, lost depicts one arab figure who encapsulates both ends of the spectrum. viewers, in finding themselves sympathizing with a character who in any other circumstance would be considered reprehensible and potentially even labeled a terrorist, are invited to reconsider the typical american response to 9/11 that was characterized by fear, paranoia, and hatred of all arabs and muslims. while sayid himself has the capacity to be a terrorist like the hijackers on september 11, knowing his life and his story makes him more human; this raises the question of why our society has chosen to vilify an entire ethnicity and an entire religion following 9/11 and whether or not— even in the case of the terrorists themselves—this perceived evil is the reality. much of the first season of the series is focused on the main characters’ acceptance of their new situation. as the survivors struggle to come to terms with their new lives of fear and paranoia, many people on the island turn to different and often opposing methods of coping. jack shephard, de facto leader of the survivors and a proclaimed “man of science,” attempts to rationalize every strange and foreign danger that comes their way. he tries to analyze the actions of the treacherous smoke monster that plagues the survivors’ camp, and in leading the group he seeks the most efficient and structured methods of completing tasks. acting as his foil is john locke (terry o’quinn), an elderly man whose enlightenment namesake would have appreciated his belief in faith. prior to living on the island, an accident bound him to a wheelchair, unable to walk. this disability was the greatest curse of his prior life. however, upon landing on the island, locke awakes amidst the chaos of the crash and, as he lies incapacitated on the sand, notices that his toes can move for the first time in years. he walks. the look of wonder on his face is a clear indication of his new-found faith. now a firm believer in destiny and fate, locke repeatedly tells jack in their arguments that most things in life are “a leap of faith.”6 while both men seem to firmly believe in their own methods of coping and of searching for answers, neither manage to accomplish much; the island is still shrouded in mystery and although the survivors establish themselves there, it is indebris on rooftops near world trade center (courtesy of fema photo library) 63 trauma, fear, and paranoia explicably against their presence. at every turn, it thwarts their attempts at reaching a new level of normalcy. the island is their primary obstacle in healing following the trauma of the crash. however, as sturken explains in tourists of history, “american mythology clings tenaciously to the belief that one can always, heal, move on, and place the past in its proper context, and do so quickly”.7 even a man like john locke, who is physically healed by his appearance on the island and whose narrative most supports the idea that trauma and loss can provide a way to become a better individual, is unable to solve the questions that the island presents. this farcical belief that healing after a trauma can be done quickly—a concept that arose in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in the frenzied attempts to clean and rebuild the urban wound of ground zero—is negated by the survivors’ trials on the island. they, unable to find answers for the many mysteries of their trauma and of the island itself, are caught in an emotional purgatory. similarly, life is clearly continuing beyond the bounds of the island. as shannon (maggie grace), a minor character in the first season, argues with her brother in the pilot episode, she shouts, “the plane had a black box, idiot. they know exactly where we are. they’re coming.”8 this suggests that the survivors are aware that life is continuing outside of the realm of their static life on the island, and yet they are never helped. they are literally left behind, and this seems to parallel the unhealed pain and fear following 9/11 in that both american society and the survivors on the island are trapped in their trauma, left unassisted while being caught in an inescapable cycle of paranoia and fear. many mysteries unfold in the subsequent seasons of lost, but as the series approaches its end few of the questions that arise are answered. the most decisive answer that the survivors get, however, is to the question of why the plane crashed and how they ended up on the island. the answer confounds them: it is their fault. prior to the fifth season, lost introduces many pseudo-scientific themes and it turns out that the island and its inhabitants are able to time travel. in a strange twist of events, the survivors of flight 815 are sent back to the 1970s and they detonate a hydrogen bomb, sucking themselves into a time warp and setting off a surge of electromagnetic strength that, ultimately, is the cause of their crash in 2004. prior to this revelation, however, the survivors had been blissfully unaware of their own role in their crash, much in the way that american society seems to have forgotten the preceding events leading up to the attacks of 9/11, instead choosing to view that day as a strange, unprovoked anomaly. sturken explains this well when she states that our society relies heavily upon, “the image of the united states as a country of pure intentions to which terrible things can happen, but which itself never provokes or initiates attack”.9 just as the crash of oceanic flight 815 was the result of a long standing, albeit warped, past involving the survivors themselves, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were also the explosive result of decades of political tension between america and various arab states. however, while the survivors on lost are ultimately forced to confront their role in the events that led to that fateful plane crash, american citizens have yet to truly accept the fact that america, through a series of ill-advised political endeavors, helped to breed a climate in which the events of 9/11 could occur. in forcing the survivors to examine their past actions, lost in turn forces the viewers to dig deeper into america’s role in the lead-up to september 11, 2001. in a post-9/11 society that constantly reproduces and repurposes the culture of fear, paranoia, trauma, and terror that arose from the terrorist attacks, lost serves not only as a reproduction of the american response to 9/11, but also as an example of the ways in which america fell short in addressing the changes that occurred in society. through the imagery employed, the topics discussed, and the general themes of the show, lost is able to hold a mirror to the face of post-9/11 american society and provide a critique of how, if at all possible, americans can change the reflection they see staring back at them. endnotes 1. sturken, 26. 2. sturken, 27. 3. bush. 4. young, 45. 5. alsultany, 14. 6. lost, 2.3, “orientation”. 7. sturken, 14. 8. lost, 1.1, “pilot: part 1”. 9. sturken, 15. references alsultany, evelyn. arabs and muslims in the media: race and representation after 9/11. new york: new york up, 2012. anker, elisabeth. “villains, victims and heroes: melodrama, media, and september 11.” journal of communication 55.1 (2005): 22-37. 64 elements : : spring 2015 bush, george w. “9/11 address.” cnn. cable news network, 11 sept. 2001. lost (2004-2010). american broadcasting company. new york, new york. sturken, marita. tourists of history: memory, kitsch, and consumerism from oklahoma city to ground zero. durham: duke up, 2007. young, cynthia a. “black ops: black masculinity and the war on terror.” american quarterly 66.1 (2014): 35-67. 65 trauma, fear, and paranoia "a new model must be proposed that is not based on one language's strong link and the other language's weak link to the concept, but rather a dynamic link, which can switch strengths (or the amount of neurological activity it receives from the brain) between the two languages, regardless of the proficiency level in either language based on the active language." b i l i n g u a l l e x i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n julie m c n a m a r a t h i s e x p e r i m e n t s t u d i e d l e x i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h i n b i l i n g u a l s u n d e r t h e c o n c e p t h e a d i n g o f c o l o r . t h i s e x p e r i m e n t was c a r r i e d o u t u s i n g a c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m , t h e b i l i n g u a l s t r o o p t a s k , w h i c h a s k e d u s e r s t o n a m e t h e c o l o r o f a w o r d t h a t was f l a s h e d o n a c o m p u t e r s c r e e n , r e g a r d l e s s o f w h a t t h e w o r d i t s e l f s a i d . it s o u g h t t o c o m pare v a r y i n g a m o u n t s o f i n t e r f e r e n c e t i m e g e n e r a t e d by t h e s t r o o p e f f e c t a c r o s s d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s o f w o r d s ! w o r d s t h a t w e r e c o l o r r e l a t e d a n d w o r d s t h a t w e r e n o t c o l o r r e l a t e d . it was f o u n d , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e m e r e p r e s e n c e o f i n t e r f e r e n c e in r e l a t i o n t o c a t e g o r i e s o f w o r d s was n o t s u f f i c i e n t for e x p l a i n i n g t h e p s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c i s s u e s s u r r o u n d i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o l a n g u a g e s o f a b i l i n g u a l , b u t r a t h e r t h e d e e p e r s t u d y o f a m o u n t s o f i n t e r f e r e n c e wit h r e s p e c t t o e a c h l a n g u a g e was n e c e s s a r y . "the stroop effect was used to examine several leading hypotheses about lexical organization in bilinguals." this paper wil l attempt to draw some inferences on lexical organization in the bilingual brain based on a study of french-english, greek-english, and spanish-english bilinguals through analysis of the amount of interference observed through a computer program, the bilingual stroop test (bst). interference is defined as the difference of time between the naming of the ink color of a word and the average time required to read color-naming words and to name ink colors. the stroop effect was used to examine several leading hypotheses about lexical organization in bilinguals. this experiment sought to research questions such as: is there a separate lexicon which is activated by stimuli of one language and not another? is there any interplay between the two languages at all? what is the nature of the link between the bilingual's two languages, i f there is one? the difficulty in proposing and supporting a model for lexical organization for bilinguals is manifold. first and foremost, the model must explicitly state whether or not it is going to argue for two distinct lexica, one for each language, or a mutated super-lexicon that is twice the size than that of a monolingual's and has its own system for demarcating li words from their l2 counterparts 1, where li is the english language and l2 is the foreign language. much research has been done on both sides of the issue. in a 1969 experiment which sought to understand the organization of the bilingual lexicon, the conclusion of total autonomy was reached due to results from a lexical decision task. in the task, study participants had to determine whether a string of letters formed a legitimate word or not. in that particular experiment, about half of the words were real and the other half, although phonologically sound, were not real words. 1 1 when considering the reaction times, which were within the expected timeframe of that of monolinguals, the researches were led to question how one could search through two lexica in the same amount of time that it took a monolingual to search through one. this was known and referred to as "the mantiness problem [since] how could we decide so rapidly that mantiness was not a word in english [or i n the l2?]" 1 1 1 another study, which argues for a single integrated lexicon, done in 1966 "showed that in recalling lists of unrelated words, subjects are influenced by the frequency of the presentation of a word even when it is presented in the other language." 1 v a lexical priming effect, which occurs when a presented word stimulates related lexemes of a concept, was evidenced in this experiment trough the difficulty experienced in recalling a list of unrelated words. it follows that a word that shows up once in li and once in l2, but which activates the same concept in the mind twice, is easier to remember than a word and its related concepts that are only shown once. there exist several theories that attempt to explain the relationship between words and their representations within the bilingual lexicon. of these, the concept mediation model, and its two subordinate theories of bilingual lexical representation wil l be examined herein. the concept mediation model and its subordinates assume a relationship between words in the lexicon that are organized not by phonological or orthographic similarities, but rather by association with abstract concepts. instead of the word "room" jointly activating the word "boom" (due to their phonological similarity), the concept mediation model, the word association model, and the multiple access model would argue that "room" would activate something more like "house". these three models share many similar characteristics except for their theories on the interplay between the li and l2. g u re 1-3 multiple access model v m concept • • i the bilingual lexicon. first published in 1935 by j. ridley stroop, l x the task had college students perform different identifying tasks involving color naming words written in different colored ink on different colored backgrounds. the students were asked to name the printed word, the colored ink, and the colored background. for the purposes of the bst, a modified stroop task was implemented. the tasks were adjusted to take advantage of the assistance of computers and to investigate the concept of interest. control data was collected by recording the average time needed to read color-naming words printed in black ink and the amount of time needed to identify the color of an arbitrary symbol (cf. xxxx). the background was a neutral color, to decrease the number of variables. in addition, words that were outside the concept of color were used alongside of the color naming words to verify whether or not there was an effect on lexical interference. the most significant aspect of the bst was the implementation of variable languages with respect to the stimuli and the completion of the task. this experiment sought to assess the validity of the various types of concept-based models. the testing of words outside the concept of color was done deliberately with the expectation that the interference would be higher than that from the mismatched color pairings. the reaction times for these tasks would be significantly higher than the test completed wi th color naming words because the color naming words would provide an additional lexical pr im-ing effect. the two conditions i n which the color naming word matched the color of the ink in which it was presented were expected to yield the lowest reaction times. a l l of these hypotheses were held across the cross-linguistic perspective, although the greek-english bilin-gual times were expected to be slower overall due to a compensation for the orthography of modern greek. m a t e r i a l s a n d m e t h o d s the experiment was conducted using sixteen test subjects. subjects were chosen based on the criterion that they were bilingual with english and either french, spanish,or modern greek. ideally the participant would have grown up hearing and learning both languages simultaneously, however exceptions were made for three subjects who had at least ten years of active partici pation with the second language. a control group of two participants also completed the task that did not have significant exposure to the l2. they were required to complete the experiment, with the exception that they were not asked to name the colors in a foreign language. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 the word association model, as illustrated in figure i . i , argues that "languages interact at the lexical level, based on translation equivalents " v where the l2 is subordinate to the li by means of a subconscious translation effect. figure 1.2 depicts the concept mediation model, which argues that both li and l2 have direct access to the overarching concept that is controlling lexical activation. the multiple access model shares the same characteristics as concept mediation model except for a key difference shown in figure 1.3 that asserts that there is a connection between not only the shared concept, but also between li and l2. to accept any of the concept-driven models, regardless of which of the three one chooses to support, a valid and indepth definition of the "concept" must be established. for this experiment color was chosen because it has a complete one to one translation ratio between all languages. color was important as the overarching concept for another reason: colors exist everywhere in the world and everyone has had equal exposure to them. therefore, it was clear that the differences in reaction times between different languages was a function of the language or the mental processes involved in finding the right word as opposed to a function of categorizing and identifying a constituent of a category. having chosen to study concept mediation models and to use color as the concept, it seemed only natural to use the stroop task to unearth findings about the mechanisms of figure 1 concept mediation model vii spanish response english response spanish billingual interference time english color naming words printed in incongruent colors english color naming words printed in congruent colors creek color naming words printed in congruent colors creek color naming words printed in incongruent colors creek color non-color naming words printed in color 0.5 0 . 0 the task was presented on a laptop computer using a specifically designed program, bilingual stroop task, bst. al l interviews were recorded on a tape recorder for further data analysis and interpretation of results. a short tutorial session was administered on how to use the program and to get acquainted with the laptop. the participant was encouraged to complete a practice application to familiarize h i m or herself with the mechanics of the program. the importance of rapid response was also stressed to encourage applicable results. in the first task, the participant wil l press a button labeled "english" and read a list of five english color-naming words printed in black ink (blue, green, red, orange, yellow) pressing the space bar to advance the screen. in the second task, the participant wil l press a button labeled "xxx" in which a series of xs are presented that have been colored in with different colors (yellow, blue, green, red, orange) once again pressing the space bar to advance. the computer recorded the amount of time between space bar presses to calculate the data. they wil l name the color of those xs. i n the third task, the participant wil l be asked to name the color of a series of 25 words that are presented. this step is repeated, with the inclusion of instructions in the foreign language, except that the participant is instead asked to name the color of the ink in his or her l2. results this graph shows little conclusive data. over all of the categories, the test seems to have a generally longer interference effect when the task is completed in spanish, independent of the type of stimuli. the astonishing predominance of longer reaction times for the spanish language portion of this test can possibly be explained by the extreme variance of language competency seen among the spanish speakers. since earlier attempts to classify bilinguals based on their individual skill levels proved to be impossible, grouping weak spanish speakers who weren't speaking spanish regularly with extremely strong spanish speakers who professed that an english-spanish hybrid "spanglish" — was part of their daily speech pattern contributed to conflicting results. in addition, these results are suspect as two out of the six participants admitted to attempting to focus at a point on the screen to name colors without having to read the word. since these participants constituted one third of the sample set, no viable data are gleaned from this group, without further testing. this graph shows a strong trend: when the stimulus is in english, the interference time for naming the word in french is noticeably higher than the interference time for naming the word in english. the reverse is shown to hold true in naming french words in english. an exception is b i l i n g u a l l e x i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n 86 the middle bar graph that shows that interference time for naming french words is considerably higher in french. this is firstly an indication that working with a small group of participants is likely to provide inconsistencies and secondly is a result of many of these data points being misnamed by participants. although in all (cross-linguistically) of the trials, the second word was the non-english word for 'orange' printed in orange, in the case of french, that word is printed with the same orthography as the english word. thus, it was ambiguous as to which language it belonged. by the time the next french color naming word printed in the same color appears on the test, it is the sixth word of the test. most participants, expecting difficulty with reading the color were thrown off guard by the congruency of the colors, and were likely to misname it. there were only five french speakers who completed the test, and three of them made mistakes in this data set. the speakers who named the colors correctly could have been slower, more cautious test takers overall, which would have contributed to a longer reaction time. it is interesting to see in this graph that as predicted, orthography does have a noticeable effect. the average time for reading colors and words was 1.058 seconds, as compared to the spanish average time of 0.755 seconds and the french average time of 0.678 seconds. almost all of the greek bilinguals, when compared to the spanish bilinguals were considered to be very strong. the reaction times for naming colors was proportionally larger, but the amount of interference seen is about the same as the other two language groups, as the longer control reading time is equally balanced by the longer experiential reaction times. in this data set, the trend that was hinted in the french data set becomes glaringly apparent. stimuli that were printed in greek took much longer to complete in english and vice versa. d i s c u s s i o n in considering the results and their relevance to the various posited models of lexical organization, conflicts arise. the concept mediation model seems to be an unlikely candidate for explaining bilingual lexical organization because of the differences in interference times observed for the li and l2 responses. i f language competition were not a factor and both languages could have equal access to the concept, then there would be no disparity in interference times for stimuli of li while the task was being completed in l2, or vice-versa. this was clearly not the case, so an ideal situation in which two separate lexica are permitted equal access to the overarching concept is not supported by these results. in considering the multiple access model, the results obtained do not seem to support the idea of two lexica, which both compete and communicate equally with each other. some evidence was gained for this view, such as speech errors during testing where during the english version of the bst a bilingual would accidentally lapse into his or her l2 and name the correct word in the incorrect language, but that view holds that one language is constantly dominating french response english response english color naming words printed in incongruent colors english color naming words printed in congruent colors french color naming words printed in congruent colors french color naming words printed in incongruent colors french color non-color naming words printed in color french billingual interference time figure 1 greek billingual interference time creek response english response english color naming words printed in incongruent colors english color naming words printed in congruent colors creek color naming words printed in congruent colors creek color naming words printed in incongruent colors creek color non-color naming words printed in color over the other, which would have to manifest itself in strong communication between the two languages. i f the two lexica were able to communicate with each other so completely, it would be unusual to see the difference in the amount of interference based on language, as shown in the french and greek data sets. i f the lexica for each language were really equal and granted the same amount of access to the concept, there should have been no difference in interference time. further, it would seem that due to the vast amount of communication available through the two lexica, that reaction times overall would be slower between both languages, even i f the l2 was significantly weaker than the l i . the word association model, however, is capable of explaining the results reasonably well. it does not assert that the two languages are always balanced and equal, instead it suggests that being a "perfectly balanced" bilingual is nearly impossible. there must be a stronger li , which has the most direct link to the concept. i f this is the case, however, that must mean that some degree of "back translation,"" the cognitive process of calling up a word in the stronger language, and then 'translating' to its equivalent in the weaker language, is going on between the li and the l2. this brings up an entirely different psycholinguistic issue, which reaches beyond the scope of this paper, but which is interesting to consider nevertheless. with the idea of "back translation" in mind, kroll and stewart propose a "revised hierarchical model"" 1 (fig 1.4) which seems to be the most accurate model of bilingual lexical representation figure revised hierarchical model xii in that it offers the predominant link to the concept from the stronger li but still allows for a weaker link from the l2. overall the experiment was highly enlightening and a success, but there were a few aspects that could have resulted in discrepancies in the data. the greek language test was unsuccessful in the control group subjects, since over half of the words were written in the greek alphabet and the subjects did not even attempt to read the words before deciding in which color the words were printed. this was a process acknowledged by the participants and shared with the interviewer. the result was an observed decrease in interference in the bst. in addition, in one example it took more time to read the ink color of the colored 'xs' than it did to read the color of the greek word. the greek test was originally chosen as a control element because of the average person's limited exposure to the greek language. it is clear from the sparse interference effects that were observed in the control group that taking the time to test monolinguals in a language whose alphabet they could at least sound out (and therefore would take the time to read) a much stronger stroop effect would have been noticed. in the cross-linguistic perspective, the greatest interference seems to have come in the experience of french-english bilinguals, who show almost one second of measurable interference in the fourth data. it was expected that the reaction times for the greek-english bilinguals would have been significantly higher than those of the other two bilingual groups, due to the added variable of orthography, but, as aforementioned, the initial delay in reading the control words balanced out the later delay in naming colors. in the case of the foreign non-color naming words printed in colored inks, a significant spike in reaction time was expected, but experientially it had a comparatively average amount of interference. this is doubly surprising because it seems to violate the rules of cognitive efficiency (in that a definition for a word from a completely different concept must be found, discarded, and then reanalyzed in terms of its ink color) but also because, at the conclusion of the test, many participants expressed the difficulty in naming the color of those particular words, because they were surprised by non color-naming words. while most of the data are extremely valid and telling, there is still the problem of the spanish data set. based on the extreme sensitivity of the stroop effect that the very nature of the spanish bilingual test was flawed. for example, when a spanish bilingual saw the word "orange" anywhere on the test, they might say "anaranjado," an extremely long word that takes a large amount of time on the stroop effect scale. this is because, when taking the test that was spanish color-naming words printed the same color ink, "anaranjado" came up as the second word, and slowed down the reaction time. this is significant when compared to the one and two-syllable words that were predominant on the french test. although greek words are comparatively long, e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 the test self-corrected for this as discussed earlier. the polysyllabic nature of spanish, when compared to the monosyllabic nature of english and french affected all of the groups of data points. it would have been a better choice to have used the word "naranja," since many spanish bilinguals substituted it anyway when orange reappeared on the test as a later data point. another difficulty was found in the location and placement of the actual test data. the bst used two colors that the original stroop test did not: pink and yellow. pink was the color most often forgotten by weaker bilinguals. in addition, the specific hues for black and brown caused some confusion in that they were both identified as black or both identified as brown for 3 out of the 16 participants. the colors should have been calibrated to eliminate ambiguity. as a result, some of the data collected which were completely inconsistent due to outside stimuli and unrelated to lexical organization, were discarded. c o n c l u s i o n this experiment hypothesized that interference times would be relatively stable across all tested categories with a huge spike of interference in the category that included non-color naming words since a completely different cognitive process is suspected to be involved in retrieving words from a different category. this hypothesis was not supported, as the non-color naming word results were of comparable interference times to the others. following from this conclusion, attention was deflected from comparing simple amounts of reaction time to where and why interference was occurring. the varying competency levels of the participants posed a significant problem, as well as the multiplicity of languages studied. a n in-depth study of one language would be more beneficial for future research. in addition, a more precise method for having the participants self-assess their own language ability should have been used: most notably the likert scale, utilized by delia kothmann in her stroop effect experiment, which asks a series of questions relating to perceived ability in speaking, writing, and auditory comprehension, as opposed to the nebulous interview questions posed by the researcher in this experiment. it is necessary for further research to separate the subjects based on their language skills. i f bilingual competency can be quantitatively established, then the study can more evenly compare interference times, which would provide more telling results, and could perhaps support a different model of bilingual organization. the results of this study have shown that the revised hierarchical model is not an adequate representation of lexicon organization. a new model (c.f. fig 1.5) must be proposed that is not based on one language's strong link and the other language's weak link to the concept, but rather a dynamic link, which can switch strengths (or the amount of neurological activity it receives from the brain) between the two languages, regardless of the proficiency level in either language based on the active language. this revision fully supports the results: i f the stimulus is an english word and the task must be completed in a different language, there should be an easily measurable interference effect. in this experiment, it was found that the amount of interference between the two languages is completely dynamic. since there is more interference when naming foreign mis-colored words in english, some type of different language mode is "switched on." with the results observed from the later part of the experiment, in which the english mis-colored words took longer to name in french or spanish, it is evident that the bridge between the language and the concept is able to "switch back." once in the french or greek language mode (and vice-versa for results observed while in the english mode) it seems as i f the brain suddenly decides to treat english words as i f they are foreign and need to be translated before a decision about their ink colors can be made. in this way, the true complex nature of the bilingual is discovered, because i f there are back-translating effects, they are happening from both directions. in this model the stronger link which is shown in the revised hierarchical model is here intended to be dynamic and able to become the stronger or the weaker link depending on what type of input is coming in . in addition, this model attempts to show the constant, bidirectional, backtranslation effect. b i l i n g u a l l e x i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n to take this study of bilingual lexical organization further, it is clear that much attention and focus needs to be shifted from the various concept mediation models, all of which have some basis for merit, although the revised hierarchical model, along with the recently revised model, based on the results of this experiment stand out as the most relevant and satisfactory. they focus on the mechanics and cognitive psychology surrounding "back translation" and its relevance to the idea of concept mediation, as discussed in salamoura and william's paper. there is obviously a deeper neurological network that connects words to each other, as kothmann notes in her "hidden units" in a parallel cognitive processing model. parallel in that the stroop task is taxing the attention, visual, and language centers of the brain, which far exceeds the scope of this psycholinguistic paper. this demonstrates that there is much going on below the surface of even the most intricate processing models. x l i i the results provided by the interference in both the frenchenglish bilingual task and the greek-english bilingual task point to a strong correlation between the input language of the stimulus, the output language of the participant, and the related stroop induced interference effects therein. e n d n o t e s i grosjean (1982) i i nicol (2001) i i i nicol (2001) iv grosjean (1982) v bhatia and ritchie (2004) vi kothmann (2004) vii kothmann delia (2004) viii kothmann (2004) ix http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/stroop/ x salamoura and williams (2001) xi salamoura and williams (2001) xii salamoura and williams (2001) xiii salamoura and williams (2001) references bhatia, tej k., and ritchie, wil l iam c . 2004. the handbook of bilingualism. blackwell publishing ltd. grosjean, francois. 1982. life with two languages. harvard university press, cambridge, ma. kothmann, delia. 2004. "stroop effect in spanish english bilinguals." ma thesis. rice u. nicol, janet l. 2001. one mind, two languages. blackwell publishing ltd., 2001 rosselli, monica, alfredo ardila, mirtha santisi, maria del rosaria arecco, judy salvatierra, alexander conde, and bonnie lenis. stroop effect in spanish-english bilinguals. department of psychology, florida atlantic university, davie, fl. november 2001. salamoura, angeliki. , and john n. williams. backward word translation: lexical vs. conceptual mediation or 'concept activation' vs. 'word retrieval?'. research center for english and applied linguistics, university of cambridge. http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/stroop/ e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/stroop/ http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/stroop/ i n c o r p o r a d o s : the art of ana mendieta t h e a r t o f a n a m e n d i e t a , t h o u g h s t i l l l a r g e l y u n r e c o g n i z e d , h a s a n i m p o r t a n t p l a c e i n a r t h i s t o r y . n o t o n l y i s i t s i g n i f i c a n t t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w w a y s o f c r e a t i n g a r t , b u t t h e i d e a s p r e s e n t e d c a l l i n t o q u e s t i o n c o m m o n l y a c c e p t e d a t t i t u d e s o f a m e r i c a n s o c i e t y i n r a d i c a l w a y s . i n h e r r e j e c t i o n o f t h e g a l l e r y s p a c e a n d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f p e r f o r m a n c e a r t i n t o s c u l p t u r e w o r k s , i n t o a r t a s a d i s a p p e a r i n g a c t , m e n d i e t a e x p l o r e s t h e s h a k y b o u n d a r i e s o f w h a t a r t a c t u a l l y i s a n d c o u l d b e . i n t h e s e e x p l o r a t i o n s , s h e d i s s e c t s t h e i d e a o f i d e n t i t y a n d g i v e s a n e w d e f i n i t i o n o f i t o n h e r o w n t e r m s . t h i s e s s a y e x p l o r e s m e n d i e t a ' s m o s t l y i g n o r e d e a r l y w o r k s i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h h e r m o r e w e l l k n o w n l a t e r p i e c e s i n o r d e r t o g i v e a m o r e f u l l e x a m i n a t i o n o f b o t h t h e i d e a s p r e s e n t a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e t h e w o r k h a s b e y o n d h e r o w n p e r s o n a l l i f e a n d t o t h e w h o l e o f s o c i e t y . "her work is based on the belief that there is no one true way to statically define identity and that true identity can only be found in the rejection of individuality." ana mendieta's work consists of revolutionary concepts. it revels i n calling into question traditionally accepted views of life and society as a whole. one of the most commonly recognized concepts of human life is the notion of personal, individual identity. i n general, most people assume that they are all individuals and find their identity aligned i n a fixed way with their own race, gender, heritage, creed, and political status. due to her own complicated upbringing, mendieta was not will ing to accept the conventional notions of identity as a fixed concept. her work is based on the belief that there is no one true way to statically define identity and that true identity can only be found i n the rejection of individuality. her beliefs stem from a profound understanding of the afro-cuban mystical religion of santeria. using the culture of santeria and her own personal beliefs, mendieta's artwork expresses the problematic connections between traditionally opposing forces and the complications of commonly understood concepts. she matured through her work by exploring innovative ways to create that, in their own definitions, challenge traditional views of art itself. through the progression of her work, mendieta formed a sophisticated way of exploring and uniting the boundaries between supposed opposites. she walked a tenuous line between meanings which served to enrich her work with a multitude of underlying implications. although her artwork does not find its sole basis i n biography, it is important to understand the upbringing of ana mendieta in order to appreciate how she came to her radical views later i n life. mendieta was born to a privileged family in cuba; however, as a teenager, mendieta was sent to the united states as a part of the catholic-based initiative, operation pedro pan, to escape the dictatorship of fidel castro. she was bounced from orphanage to foster home and back again in different iowa neighborhoods, never really finding one true place to call home. during these formative years, mendieta was treated as an "other." she had no family to remind her of her own heritage and strong background or to help her cope with being in this strange new place. she lived in neighborhoods where she was one of a very few latins and has stated that she felt isolated and ostracized by other children and adults. because of this particular situation, mendieta developed a different way of looking at herself and her own identity. she was uprooted from the homeland with which she would have traditionally associated her identity. her sense of identity, and what it means to have one, was complicated by her own situation. instead of remaining confused and searching her whole life to find one true identity, mendieta used her artwork as a means of complicating and reversing traditional views of identity as a fixed, immovable thing. through her work she attempted to expose the complications that arise from fixing identity, in a gendered, political, or social sense. e a r l y w o r k i n her earliest experiments with this concept, mendieta attempts to call into question the most basic forms of identification. in her series, facial cosmetic variations from 1972, mendieta photographs the facial distortions that occur as she dons different colored wigs and paints her face with theatrical makeup to change her skin tone. the effects are so subtle that in each picture it appears to the viewer that he or she is looking at a completely different person altogether. through very little effort on her part, mendieta plays with the most personal aspect of a human being's individuality, his or her own face. by showing that she can manipulate her face into something that is entirely e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 foreign to how she actually looks, mendieta exposes the problem with fixing one's own identity on facial features. she uses herself as a clean slate to question the notion of true individuality. i n her m.a. thesis project, facial hair transplant from 1972, mendieta goes further in her investigation by exploring and challenging the notion of gendered identity. here she documents the transplant of the freshly-shaven beard of her male friend, morty sklar, to her own face. his hair color matches hers almost identically and the transition from female to male is almost effortless. she says of the piece in her thesis statement, "after looking at myself i n a mirror, the beard became real. it did not look like a disguise. it became a part of myself and not at all unnatural to my appearance."1 by simply gluing hair onto her face, mendieta straddles a line between the sexes and exposes the complexity of commonalities between the two. as lane blocker explains, "by working with the conventions of the binary to represent identity but being unable herself to fit their regulatory practices, her work exposes their untenability." 1 1 she suggests, as she did i n her facial cosmetic variations, that she can inhabit the identity of a male even though she is only altering her surface appearance. she represents maleness with facial hair; however, i f a woman can just as easily take on that particular part of the male identity, how firmly rooted is that gendered identity? i n her glass on body series from 1972, mendieta further challenges the notion of gender by using a glass sheet to distort the forms of her naked body, most successfully in the piece where she completely eliminates her nipples and distorts her breasts; she blurs the edges between male and female, creating an alternate human form. according to gill perry," she both takes control of the experience, directing the viewer's gaze towards the ways in which a woman's body might be abused or disfigured (as, for example, through rape) and alienates herself from it, creating a more emblematic image." 1 1 1 in part of the same series she presses her face against the glass, violently distorting her features, producing an almost grotesque and inhuman creature. here she exploits the human form i n ways to disassociate it with any kind of gender identity. mendieta's lack of roots from childhood caused her to research where she came from during her more adult years. she found a strong connection with the religion of santeria, which furthered her efforts to challenge traditional values and concepts present within society. the religion of santeria does not connect with modern, american notions of identity, life, or death very well. santeria practice and mythology places an importance on the connection of seemingly opposing forces. mendieta's performances expose the falsehoods of traditional views on fixing identity to external characteristics. she attempts to apply a santeria explanation to modern day societal problems. i n f l u e n c e of s a n t e r i a through the influence of santeria, mendieta uses her talents and abilities to try and uncover what has been hidden from the waking world. her early opposition to the "secrets" that are kept in modern society perhaps grew out of her anger and reaction to the rape and murder of a fellow student at iowa university. this personal situation which confronted mendieta caused her to react i n a surprisingly radical way. her performance art pieces which she entitled rape scenes, present a startling and gruesome look at the reality that is covered up by our world. "these works, made as feminist statements of protest, graphically depicted the horror and brutality of this everyday occurrence which is so ineffectively addressed by the police and legal system." 1 v mendieta would invite friends, professors, and students either to an "art happening" or simply over to her apartment for the evening. before they were scheduled to arrive, mendieta would stage herself in such a way so to appear as i f she had been raped and murdered. guests would arrive under the false pretence of a casual event or gathering of people, only to be confronted with the horrible and terrifying reality of the rape of a woman. instead of covering up these awful occurrences, mendieta exposes them to the public in order to instigate an upheaval of their mental reliance on the media. she in turn also gives more meaning i n c o r po r a d o s : t h e a r t o f a n a m e n d i e t a to the appalling events by giving them a real, raw quality for the public to see. mendieta's art work is an attempt to break away from tradition, to form a new way of seeing the female form, liberated from male desire; her "use of the female body as a naked protagonist, not as subject, but as woman unclothed, unveiled, potent and sexual, is radical." v ana's rape scenes show a gruesome defilement of the female body; however, they turn the focus from the victim to the participant. the entire event is staged in order to force the viewer to confront the physicality of their own presence somewhere that they have not expected to be. they are the only active participants in the scene, as the subject has been "murdered." the acknowledgement of the viewing of the aftermath of a scene that only the perpetrator might see, implicates them in the crime. this personal experience of the piece serves to free the raped woman from the silence of the crime she suffers. the recognition of the event has an element of power in it. mendieta's close ties to santeria illustrate her more complex understanding of these different levels of identities and meanings. in particular, she begins a direct dialogue with a more complicated notion of blood and the sacrifice. ritual sacrifice is a central part of religious life to practitioners of santeria. the sacrifice is not treated as a victim, but as a transcendent being giving its divine force to the one offering it to the gods. "the rituals of santeria are intended to reinforce and strengthen the orisha (god) while bestowing ashe on the believer. ashe is power, divine power, the grace of god, the life force of god... blood has ashe. blood also contains the potentiality of life and is a symbol of l i fe . " v i her rape scenes expose this complicated nature of the sacrifice. violence and sacrifice in the myths of santeria and pre-colonial religions existed not as forms of punishment or horror, but as integral tenets of life. one story involving the origin of woman, which ana wrote about for a book she planned on publishing, centers on a woodpecker, "taking the women who had no sex, they bound their hands and feet and tied the bird to their bodies. the woodpecker began to work where the sex of women is ordinarily located. " v 1 1 this violent story about the carving out of woman's genitals by a bird's beak was intended to be accompanied with a quiet and unassuming drawing of a figure's silhouette on a leaf. the juxtaposition of the horrifyingly graphic with a kind of tenderness is something that mendieta wi l l use later in her work. she may be even illustrating this myth in her performance piece bound woman of 1973 in which she rolls and writhes around naked on the floor with her arms and legs bound together. in this story, sacrifice is illustrated and played with almost as an initiation rite or rite of passage for women. women and birds are often conflated within mendieta's work. this is especially important due to the predominance of the chicken in santeria sacrifices. in her piece entitled feathers on a woman of 1972, mendieta glues white feathers to the entire face and body of a nude woman so that only her hands and genitals are left exposed. in the photographs she takes of her subject, mendieta poses the woman i n a proud and forceful way. her female sexuality, the source of life, confronts the viewer in its essence, completely unapologetic. i n a piece executed in the same year, death of a chicken, mendieta sacrifices a live white chicken by having its head cut off. she lets the chicken's blood flow out of its decapitated body, staining its own virginal white feathers, and holds it upside down while it fiercely struggles with its last dying impulses, splattering blood all over her body. the dying blood pouring out of the flailing chicken has a primal, spiritual energy that perhaps only a sacrificial entity in that last dying moment can contain. here the images of blood and sacrifice are viewed as positive. in light of this perspective, mendieta's rape scenes take on a new significance. as a sacrifice, the woman is the ultimate victim of traditional notions of male desire; however, mendieta wishes to distort this view in order to give the woman's death more profundity and significance. as mary jane jacob suggests, "mendieta began to invest the image of blood with an ancient meaning and its more positive e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 interpretation in santeria as the essence of l i f e . " v m by associating the raped woman with a sacrificial being, she calls forth the complicated notion in santeria of blood sacrifice as a source of power, divinity, and life. santeria taught mendieta that life and death, male and female, violence and nurture are all concepts that exist i n direct connection with one another, not in opposition. mendieta's art attempts to explore this instability i n a visual way. mendieta often quoted octavio paz in her artist's statements, saying, "our cult of death is also a cult of life i n the same way that love is a hunger for life and a longing for death." l x in this sense, a scene of death or murder is at one time a place of intense violence, but with that death, a kind of power and life for the victim may be found. later w o r k the silueta series, perhaps mendieta's most well known work, shows the movement of her art toward a more primal state. she wishes to insert herself within the land, but she also is well aware of her own physical limitations and the fact that there is no real way to do this other than through death or burial. she solves this problem by tapping into a different way of seeing herself; she "evokes the body (and its death) through memory and association, rather than through more obvious signs of violence and mutilation." 5 4 instead of using her body physically, she uses her shadow image, or silhouette, to make marks into the terrain i n various ways. by doing so, she relinquishes her own personal identity as it is known in the bodily sense and offers the earth the imprint of herself. she leaves her own mark on the earth and relishes in its ability to absorb it back into itself. in this way she is also furthering the ideals of performance art i n the fact that these supposed sculptures are intended to disappear. they are inherently impermanent, intended as momentary glimpses of the human form which wi l l sooner or later, depending on the process involved, be consumed by the power of nature. in many pieces, she carves and sculpts her outline into the earth and mud, allowing it to be eaten away and reappropriated by the landscape over time. in another piece, she allows the ocean's tides to take away her silhouette that has been filled in with red flowers and berries. these pieces exist as a trace of abstract sculpture and self portrait, male and female, earth and body, at once solid and present and at the same time decomposing and absent. due to many factors mendieta's work is often marginalized by critics. due to the time period and her presence i n the circumscribed feminist sector of art, she is often written off as a goddess worshipping artist. her use of the earth as a mode for creation juxtaposed with her feminist leanings also traps her i n the category pertaining only to feminist issues. in the same instance, her complicated background and use of her own body forces her into the categorization of a narcissistic self-worshipper. it is thoroughly impossible to suggest that any one of these criticisms is wholly right or wrong. one is able to assert, however, that there is an element of truth to each one, but that no one meaning or explanation can be attributed to her work. her critics may have all been partially right in their categorizations, however in fitting slightly into all of these categories, she thus resists specific classification. in her choice of performance art as a medium, mendieta's work functions both with and without an "author." while bits of her biography, personal beliefs, and politics filter i n through the works, their explanation does not rest on them. while she does work within the confines of what is known as the feminized earth, it is mendieta's interest in the complicated notion of the purity of nature and the land that causes her to work in this field. land and the earth have been associated with the female body for centuries, and for centuries, just like the land, the female body has come to be known through a culturally constructed sense. keeping with her theme of the more complicated notion of identity, mendieta suggests that just as gender is a culturally constructed, and thus a false marker of identity, so are the culturally constructed territories of the land. she executes her pieces in different parts of the world with the same style. they function as a whole unit and are not noted to have any particularities in them other than what nature had ini n co r p o r a d o s : t h e a r t o f a n a m e n d i e t a tended (i.e. in different climates or natural zones, such as forest or ocean). the natural and thus more pure and true delineations of identity that exist in the land are more important to mendieta than the superficial ones suggested by cultural confines. critics also often come to the conclusion that mendieta's silueta series represents the culmination of an ongoing search for a personal identity. mendieta has previously outlined i n her speech entitled "art and politics," her belief that art is intended for a high, noble purpose: exi le ." x m the emphasis on disappearance and remaining unmarked by time and place is at the forefront of these works. the power of the physical terrain to remain unchanged by politics and societal conventions is where mendieta finds solace and power. c o n c l u s i o n mendieta furthered the santeria belief that there is not one individual or national identity, in a spiritual sense, but there is only the concept of "the all." i n an artist's statement mendieta explains: 'art's greatest value is its spiritual role and the influence that it exercises in society, because art is the result of a spiritual activity of man and its greatest contribution is to the intellectual and moral development of man." x i critics tread upon the essentialist view that her work can be summed up as an autobiographical journey, landing ultimately in moments in her works where she places herself within the earth, finding a constant source of fixed identity from which to define herself. more refined interpretations would suggest otherwise: "the persistent characterization of mendieta's work as signifying her personal loss, a loss forced on a member of the so-called third world by the west, works only to rehearse the script of dominance and submission on which both colonialism and imperialism are based. " x i r i n fact when looking at her work and writings at the time, all evidence points to mendieta's reveling in the concept of loss and exile. she does not align herself with any one nation in her siluetas, rather she inserts them into the ground of iowa, new york, mexico, rome, and cuba in the same way. her longing was not one for a nation to identify with, but an all encompassing force to let go within. for mendieta, the earth provided such an option because it "is not a place but a ubiquitous concept, one that makes national identification uncanny. that is, to identify herself with the 'earth' and not with cuba or the united states means that mendieta can sustain rather than assuage my art is grounded in the belief in one universal energy which runs through everything from insect to man, from man to spectre, from spectre to plant, from plant to galaxy. my works are the irrigation veins of the universal fluid. through them ascend the ancestral sap, the original beliefs, the primordial accumulations, the unconscious thoughts that animate the world. there is no original past to redeem; there is the void, the orphanhood, the unapprised earth of the beginning, the time that from within the earth looks upon us. there is above all the search for origin.xlv mendieta formed her concept of identity as orphanhood and a loss of origin. identity then becomes, logically, a form of exile and isolation. jane blocker explains that in accepting this paradox there is actually "no essence, only the search for essence; there is no identity, only the name; there is no origin, only the cinder"5™ mendieta's work asserts that there is no real origin or true meaning, only the search for this origin and the interplay between different meanings. in her use of her deconstructed body she has not found the origin, but has begun to create a search for that origin. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 by creating her siluetas, mendieta attempts to create a collective identity for both herself and perhaps even the whole of human kind. she inserts her earth sculptures into the land untouched by markers of time or place. in doing so, she suggests that history and culture do not exist in a linear sense, but can be understood as more of a collective understanding amongst peoples. as mendieta herself asserts, " i t is because culture is a historic phenomenon that we must refer to it not just in past and present tense but i n the dialectical effect one has on the other, as well as dialectically with other cultures... civilization emerges as the gathering and use of past experiences, more or less done i n an intuitive way."™ in the human being's quest for the origin and thus identity, which wi l l inevitably turn up without an answer, he submits himself to the power of communion with others. in that submission to the community of the all, the collective search for origin becomes the origin in a sense. mendieta's "imagined community crosses all territories, escapes all border guards, can be found anywhere on the planet, [and] is tied neither to language nor to race."xvii the messages and memories collectively conveyed throughout the past and into the present to formulate a kind of shared and universal identity are what mendieta attempts to elevate, give power to, and spread throughout the world. i f the viewer accepts mendieta's deconstruction of the commonly accepted notions of gender, identity, and basic human experiences, such as life and death, he or she can better enter into mendieta's rather different and innovative world. in this world, the person occupies no place, no time and is, in effect, no one. however, in this loss of national, gendered, and individual associations, transcendence from the falsehoods and masks of modern day society can be attained. i f one can separate oneself from these everyday associations, then maybe life can be lived better and more fully. mendieta's work was tragically never allowed to develop past september 8th of 1985. her fatal fall from a 34th story window marked the end of her life and career. her works, however, still live on as reminders of both a particular time in history and also a universal fluid that runs through all time and cultures. e n d n o t e s i mendieta, (164) i i blocker and mendieta, (49) i i i perry (173) iv jacob (193) v sabbatino (150) v i jacob (192) v i i mendieta (185) v i i i jacob (193) ix merewether (101) x perry (173) xi mendieta (167) x i i blocker and mendieta (82) x i i i blocker and mendieta (78) xiv blocker and mendieta (34) xv blocker and mendieta (34) xvi mendieta (171) references blocker, jane, and ana mendieta. where is ana mendieta? identity, performativity, and exile. durham nc: duke university press, 1999. jacob, mary jane. "ashe i n the art o f ana mendieta." i n santeria aesthetics in contemporary latin american art, ed. arturo lindsay. washington: smithsonian institution press, 1996. mendieta, ana. "art and politics." i n ana mendieta, ed. gloria moure. centra galego de arte contemporanea, barcelona: ediciones poligrafa, 1996. mendieta, ana. "cultural warfare: the struggle for life." i n ana mendieta, ed. gloria moure. centra galego de arte contemporanea, barcelona: ediciones poligrafa, 1996. mendieta, ana. "personal writings." i n ana mendieta, ed. gloria moure. centra galego de arte contemporanea, barcelona: ediciones poligrafa, 1996. merewether, charles. "from inscription to dissolution: a n essay on expenditure i n the work of ana mendieta." i n ana mendieta, ed. gloria moure. centra galego de arte contemporanea, barcelona: ediciones poligrafa, 1996. perry, gill . "the expanding field: ana mendieta's silueta series," i n frameworks for modern art, ed. jason gaiger. new haven: yale university press, 2003. sabbatino, mary. "ana mendieta: identity and the silueta series." i n ana mendieta poligrafia, 1996 i n c o r p o r a d o s : t h e a r t o f a n a m e n d i e t a "historically, the russian people are understood as a mass molded by two forces: the rulers and the intelligentsia." t o d a y ' s r u s s i a n i n t e l l i g e n t s i a a new role in the post-soviet political order q u i n t i n b a r n e s a v i b r a n t i n t e l l e c t u a l c l a s s is an i n t e g r a l c o m p o n e n t in a n y h e a l t h y s o c i e t y . t h e i n t e l l i g e n t s i a d e v e l o p e d in r u s s i a in t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a n d a r e h i s t o r i c a l l y d e f i n e d by h i g h m o r a l p r i n c i p l e s , j u s t i c e , f r e e d o m , r u l e o f law, a n d t h e i r r o l e as p r o d u c e r s o f t h e p r e d o m i n a n t r u s s i a n d i s c o u r s e . in t h e p o s t s o v i e t p o l i t i c a l p a r a d i g m , i n t e l l e c t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t was n e e d e d m o r e t h a n e v e r . h o w e v e r , i n s t e a d o f an e m e r g e n t i n t e l l e c t u a l c l a s s f r e e f r o m g o v e r n m e n t c o n t r o l , t r u e i n t e l l e c t u a l s w e r e u n a b l e t o t r a n s f o r m in t h e i n t e r i m y e a r s a n d s u b s e q u e n t ly r e t r e a t e d f r o m t h e f u n ct i o n s t h e y h i s t o r i c a l l y p e r f o r m e d . t h e i n t e l l i g e n t s i a w e r e c o o p t e d by t h e p o s t s o v i e t r u s s i a n g o v e r n m e n t m u c h as t h e y w e r e in t h e s o v i e t u n i o n . e v e n t h e w o r d h a s l o s t its s o c i a l v a l u e t o d a y as a d i f f e r e n t c l a s s o f s o c i a l e l i t e s is i n c r e a s i n g l y p r o m o t e d in m e d i a a n d p o l i t i c a l c i r c l e s . s o m e g r o u p s s t i l l r e m a i n t r u e t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l i n t e l l i g e n t s i a , b u t t h e y a r e t h e f e w w h o k e e p t h i s i m p o r t a n t r u s s i a n s o c i a l c l a s s a l i v e . henceforth, a poet will be . . . well, just a poet, vying on the bookstalls with angelique, james bond and horoscopes. this is a change of history of russian culture which may prove as profound as the collapse of communism.1 — simon franklin, cambridge slavonic studies. august 28, 1991artists, literary scholars, academics, critics, and other members of the intelligentsia, like poets, were forced to transform during the emergence of a post-soviet political order. the problem of understanding who the intellectual has become is one of interpreting cultural forces. historically, the russian people are understood as a mass molded by two forces: the rulers and the intelligentsia. while the ruling class changed throughout russian history, the intelligentsia remained the conscience that spans time to give the mass shape, voice, and direction. despite its potential after the soviet collapse, no vibrant social intellectual force emerged i n its traditional role to provide the guiding discourse. the identity of russian intelligentsia is complex, and to explain its phase shifts and historical importance is difficult. to understand the intelligentsia's absence as a critical agent of social and political production i n russia today requires understanding the historical identity and importance of the intelligentsia, its particular constitution during different eras of russian history, and a closer look at how the intelligentsia adapted and was forced into a subordinate role i n the post-soviet environment. in its purest sense, the notion of "intelligentsia" is a russian invention since employed to help explain similar social groups and cultural phenomena i n other regions. despite its clear origin, some scholars suggest it has lost any objective meaning. 1 the intelligentsia has been responsible for much of the political, ideological, and cultural transformation in russia and is traditionally associated with civic opposition, high moral principles, incisive moral criticism, and freedom as a necessity for social justice, human rights, and the rule of law. the roots of the term are traced to the 1800s, especially the 1830s and 1840s when democratic ideas first penetrated the student consciousness, but "intelligentsia" was not used widely unti l the 1860s and 1870s when it became associated with the educated classes and the socialist, revolutionary class. the term continued to gather meaning i n the early 1900s as it became associated with a burgeoning class of professionals and intellectuals. one common element is an "otherness" understood both positively and negatively. the intelligentsia understood its role as the engine of "real" russian progress, but this otherness also manifested itself i n a perceived alienation, depicting the intellectual as out of touch with mainstream society. v 1 regardless of the differing perspectives, there is a consistent notion of isolation, especially from the state autocracy. the intelligentsia gained special status through passionate personal engagement i n ethical questions that separated the group along different national, social, and ideological lines. v n intellectuals are often classified as noble, but the russian nobility, like the intelligentsia, was historically multidimensional: rich, poor, rural, urban, and occupying a variety of posts. thus, the "class" distinction is problematic. additionally, proximity to authorities, wealth, and social status were not traditionally considered a sign of intelligence or talent. v m a generational variable also must be addressed because, as ideological foundations passed from father to son, the shape of intellectual society shifted accordingly. historian and philologist yuri lotman denies any class identification of the intelligentsia and rather defines the group as people who acted from conscience and shame rather than fear and profit . l x the soviet era drastically changed the traditional concept of russian intelligentsia, clarifying the identity of this eclectic group. the soviet intelligentsia became the "broad occupational stratum similar to the bureaucratic, managerial, and technical elite referred to frequently in western studies of modernizing countries."x these intellectuals, however, were mired i n soviet ideology, characterized by inclusion rather than otherness, and underscored the cooptation of the intellectuals under the soviet regime. the more traditional intelligentsia was forced to do intellectual work for the party and the working class. under lenin and the party, the prevailing bolshevik vision of the intellectual was "thinskinned, detached from life, incapable of taking action and unwill ing to get his hands dirty." the departure from the traditional cultural value of the intellectual is clear. perhaps the best way to understand the intelligentsia is as a subculture—loosely associated individuals with varied structural roles, ideas, and opportunities, as well as diverse relationships with the state, bureaucracy, and each other. the advantages of the subculture distinction are its emphasis on disassociation, focus of values outside normal russian society, and its mutability. a subculture shifts form to align with changing empirical conditions. as noted before, the traditional intelligentsia was not particularly identified with authority, power, wealth, or social status, whereas many of today's intellectuals are public figures who value material goods and the state and break from the traditional intelligentsia mold. implications of the connection with the bureaucracy and, having thus cleared the bad conscience predicament once and for all, i n good conscience assumed the right way of life, prescribed by the communist state. " x m the intellectuals i n this group were successful within communism's framework, comfortable with it, and produced the dominant cultural discourse. the second group is smaller and well-educated, defined by their inability to move up the soviet social scale. the distinction comes from their emphasis on "actual" intellectual achievement rather than capitulation to communist hierarchy and the party's monopoly on professional success. they believed the genuine intelligentsia should not be bureaucratic and were often considered dissidents. i n their society, this group produced the majority of true intellectual discourse and held positions such as lower journalists, talented writers rarely published, lower assistant or associate professors, and some creative artists. this classification is the most troubling; while they differentiated themselves enough to be depicted as the intelligentsia of a group, they often acted as intellectuals from the first category. "the soviet era drastically changed the traditional concept of russian intelligentsia, clarifying the identity of this eclectic group." i n his extensive analysis of the russian intelligentsia, alexei elfimov differentiates three intellectual groups. based on the soviet era, his classification characterizes the bureaucratization of the intelligentsia and the divisions the inherent contradiction the term "soviet intelligentsia" implied. the first and largest group consists of individuals who held positions of power, management, or control over cultural production and occupied posts i n journals, newspapers, film, tv, radio, or as art producers, department heads, deans, or academics. this group "dismissed moral the final classification is the smallest group: those who believed i n the traditional oppositional and alien role of the intelligentsia (like the second group), but were responsible for actual dissidence and opposition. unfortunately, few managed to navigate the soviet era and survive. many were sent abroad or to the gulag. their important role was to consolidate and maintain the identity of the true intellectual, even i f only as martyrs. a modern example of this category of intellectual is journalist anna politkovskaya, whose death showed that fear still exists to quash outspot o d a y ' s r u s s i a n i n t e l l i g e n t s i a kenness and underscored the gap between those who serve the state those who serve the public. x l v despite constructing this classification based on conditions of the late soviet era, elfimov's demarcation is also useful to analyze mobility and production of different intellectual groups after the soviet collapse. the term "intelligentsia" is still widely employed but is now accompanied by the question, "which type?" although there is less political violence in today's russia, the state maintains an important role i n intellectual and cultural production. using elfimov's account today, the regime and bureaucracy can generally be inserted i n place of its soviet counterpart. i n his classification, comfort and proximity to the communist regime becomes comfort with current nationalistic policy, authoritarian characterization, and materialism. capitulation, participation i n the regime, and departure from the traditional intellectual role remain the differentiating criteria. using this understanding of the russian intelligentsia to analyze today's political and cultural order, the question becomes: "with glasnost, perestroika, and the fall of the soviet regime, why did the third class of intellectuals not reinvent themselves as the influential, widely-recognizable intelligentsia, the engine of thought and real progress? i n the mid-nineties, how can the intellectuals possibly be associated with power, corruption, failure of liberal democracy, and deference to the state?" only through the analysis of the intelligentsia's hisjournalist anna politkovskaya was found shot dead in the elevator in her apartment. torical antecedents can the shift be accurately understood. after 1917, prominent leaders such as lenin and bukharin took special interest i n the neutered status of the intelligentsia. "the bolshevik revolution," writes boris kagarlitsky, "which the intelligent)? had done so much to prepare, trampled upon the very ideals that had led them to fight against tsardom i n the preceding decades."xv the dominant perception was that the intelligentsia was bourgeois, aristocratic, and distinct from the socialist intelligentsia that made up the bolsheviks and the emerging bureaucracy. i n a 1919 letter to writer aleksei maksimovich, lenin wrote: "the intellectual forces of the workers and peasants are growing and getting stronger i n their fight to overthrow the bourgeoisie and their accomplices, the educated classes, the lackeys of capital, who consider themselves the brains of the nations. in fact they are not its brains but its shit." lenin considered the constitutional democrats the center of conspiracy against the bolsheviks and initiated the massive arrests of a wide variety of past leaders. x v n lenin's revolutionary theory characterized the group as the "proletarians of mental labor," relegated them to slaves of the party and the working classes, and concretized the juxtaposition to the russian worker through the constitution which defined the intelligentsia as a "layer," thus stripping the intellectual of legal status as a c i t izen. x v m lenin and stalin effectively wiped out the intelligentsia as a elem ents fall 09 political force by absorbing previous intellectual arenas to control and force the intelligentsia into poverty. elfimov characterizes the intellectuals of the early soviet era as "servants with no rights." x 1 x starting i n the 1920s, plots of land and special privilege were given to artists, scientists, and other intellectuals who became the "favourite child" of the government. scientists were especially important and received special treatment, housing, exemption from party membership requirements, and direct access to the kremlin. x x any other concentration of intellectuals i n places like universities, humanitarian institutions, or publishing houses was controlled via this system of servile dependence or tightly monitored by nomenklatura. i n this condition, a political class developed that generated the mildly critical soviet intellectual discourse, wanting no restrictions, but did not desire to dismember the system (i.e. intellectuals of type one and two).™ this political philosophy set the conditions for perestroika and the intellectual class to emerge after the collapse. lenin and his followers had their own view of pression i n addition to state support while occupying an ambiguous moral middle ground—a split from the traditional intelligentsia's critical moral and political roles. ironically, the second class of intelligentsia was the group most co-opted by the communist regime. elfimov notes, "the trap was not just that the intelligentsia was given an unambiguous choice—either to serve the party or go to the gulag—it was rather that even serving the party, it could not be sure that it was doing the right thing and that its position was secure. " x x l v early i n perestroika, the intelligentsia supported gorbachev against the party's conservative elements, but i n later years the intellectuals radicalized and began to support yeltsin when gorbachev reacted against the intelligentsia's increasingly activist democratic opposit i o n . ^ 1 despite its prior position of non-acceptance and opposition, the intelligentsia had firmly rooted itself within the cold politics of the regime. the soviet era's requisite double-role of intellectual survival was alluded to above: "power worked through language as the population . . . identified with the regime through 'speaking bolshevik'. . . . like the rest of the population, the intelligentsia engaged i n doublespeak through which they succeeded i n their careers and, during stalinism, survived."™1 writers like voznesensky supported the soviet discourse by writing pro-communist, patriotic poems, earning h i m the lenin komsomol prize, but also fulfilled his intellectual responsibility through "dissident" poetry. x x l j 1 the intellectual enjoyed freedom of exin the late 1980s and early 1990s, the intelligentsia transformed itself from above by consolidating its efforts during perestroika as well as initiating a metamorphosis from below. through historical discourse, the intelligentsia became a political force, delegitimizing stalinism and lenin's totalitarianism and supporting western l iberal ism. ' 0 1 it united with yeltsin and the state. in 1988, the first opposition group was created—the democratic union—which proposed a liberal model of capitalism, self-determination of the republics, and withdrawal of soviet troops.30™! through the congress of people's deputies, the intelligentsia was able to gain t o d a y ' s r u s s i a n i n t e l l i g e n t s i a power and civil groups emerged such as the moskovskii klub intelligentsii and moskovskoe ob'edmenie izburatelei. together with the democratic russian movement, the intellectual force drew followers from the communist party and nominated yeltsin for president i n 1991 on the foundation of liberalization and nationalization.™111 during and after the collapse of the soviet union, the intelligentsia traditionally manifested itself politically as the dissenting voice of opposition i n accordance with its high moral standards. the intelligentsia's organization of new political and social groups indicated that intelligentsia subculture was capable of surviving years of suppression and co-optation. this healthy cultural status, however, waned during the 1990s as the state collapse also revealed a collapse of the intelligentsia, which was wholly unprepared for the tasks of building state institutions, assuming managerial roles, or coping with the economic downfall. despite direct political participation, by 1993 rifts within the intelligentsia were widening as awareness grew of yeltsin's authoritarian, non-democratic tendencies, as well as the "unconstitutional" constitution. x x l x some intellectuals joined the conservatives. theater directors, writers, editors, physicists, young liberal economists, and former dissidents like egor gaidar, anatoly chubais, and grigory javlinsky became deputies and assumed prominent positions within the emerging regime. others like sergei kovalev, the ombudsman of human rights, were labeled anti-russian. kovalev lost his post for documenting atrocities during the first chechyn war i n 1994—what marina peunova calls the "final blow to the intelligentsia's belief it had leverage on the government." the intelligentsia broke apart, and its inter-regime efforts left behind no legacy of consolidated parties, institutions, or freedom but rather a paradigm shift from liberal democracy and dissent to conservatism and compliance.™1 1 on august 28,1991, franklin prophesied: "one result made stunningly plain over the past week, is the death of the party. another less visible but i n its way no less traumatic wi l l be the death of throughout russian history, literature was traditionally controlled. the russian intelligentsia." v l i his insight was the collapse of the national russian myth, which ultimately forced the intelligentsia identity crisis of the mid-1990s that remains problematic today. i n many ways, the intelligentsia sowed the seeds of its own demise. part of the intelligentsia, however, was successful i n the inter-regime period and lives on today. i n 1993, yeltsin thanked the intelligentsia community for its support and important function in forming public opinion and culture that was the basis for russia's emergence as a political power. x x x l v again, one must ask, "which type?" it became clear he was directly thanking members of the creative intelligentsia: type one. this is an important distinction, for many intellectuals were already alienated by the changing political order and had retreated from a public, participatory role to uphold the traditional philosophy of the russian intelligentsia. traditionally, the term "creative intelligentsia" signified the genuine intellectual—spiritually rich, genius, and inspired—but i n modern russia it came to describe a new group of non-government intellectuals that did not produce true intellectual discourse, was enamored of its popular e l e m e n t s fall 09 image, characterized by unhealthy ambition, and unable to differentiate between official and unofficial discourses.5000' much like the party intellectuals who constructed soviet realism during the early soviet era and other intelligentsia who fed off public stature and privilege, the creative intelligentsia today is nurtured by publicity and materialism characteristic of close proximity to the regime. far from the traditional view of the intelligentsia as producers and actuators of "real" progress, the creative intelligentsia was born out of the "yel-cynicism" that produced a negative russian future by rejecting true ethnic russian government, autonomy, education, and culture. 1 "the yeltsinoids' regime turned us into zombie-like tv-viewers," said sergei oushakine of the russian federation's first president. "by substituting our values and passions with totally foreign desires, the regime—just like a circus magician—manipulates the individual and collective consciousness of russia's peoples. it is the method ofhermeneutics that serves as the main tool of this manipulation." the intellectuals who thrived i n the post-soviet atmosphere were the nationalists and chauvinists that were able to outmatch the liberal, democratic intelligentsia in the limited interpretive space characterized by cynicism and hypocrisy. the elite political intellectuals could be found on state councils and boards such as the foreign ministry or within the soviet military leadership and were responsible for the changing strategies, policies, intellectual exchange with the west, and geopolitical discourse that shaped emerging nation-state ideology. x x x v i i despite the important role of this class i n generating the prevailing cultural identity, its position within the bureaucratic elite eliminates application of the term "intelligentsia" i n its truest sense and questions the character of russian progress. instead, members of this group are characterized as "technicians of practical knowledge" (polittekhnologi) or "people of air" (ljudi vozdukha)—politically apathetic spin-doctors who created the official discourse with a new type of information and rhetor ic . x x x v i i i the entire spectrum of russian society, and the intelligentsia i n particular, suffered an identity crisis i n the postsoviet order. the official discourse promoted russia's power and status more than human rights and individual liberties, and the soviet-trained, administrative intellectual force looked upon the non-consolidated, non-government intelligentsia as irresponsible, unpatriotic, ignorant of the reformers' plan, opposed to any government, and incapable of feeding itself because of its principles. x x x m conservative figure mikhail leont'ev wrote: "the circle of people that i belonged to perceived the events of the beginning of the 1990s as a tr iumph of liberalism. i am ashamed of this . . . the russian soviet intelligentsia did the same thing i n 1991 that it did i n i9 i7 . " x l the intelligentsia searched its collective soul extensively. i n the 1990s and into the new millennium, intellectuals gathered i n multiple congresses to discuss their role in the new political order. the 1997 congress' stated goals were broad. firstly, it desired to use the intelligentsia's power for the improvement of society, which is consistent with the traditional view of the intellectual as a progressive social servant, and second, the congress wanted to overcome the traditional gap between the intelligentsia and power. special attention was given to the moral climate, the spiritual remaking of society, and the fate of the russian society, state, and national idea: the last congress was i n 2003, and the intelligentsia had not changed significantly. a closer look at modernity, literature, and academia during the regime transition is integral to understanding this stasis and the constructive efforts of the intelligentsia to advance the intellectual discourse. the intelligentsia misunderstood the fall of the soviet union much like it misinterpreted the regime transition i n 1917, leaving russian society i n a crisis of modernity. elfimov notes basic russian linguistic challenges of modernity, but even more fundamental is the notion that russia never encountered modernity i n the same manner that the west experienced this important temporal and cultural concept/1 1 [ social exploration during the regime transition included extensive investigation of new ideas and translation of t o d a y ' s r u s s i a n i n t e l l i g e n t s i a many texts. russian anthropologist serguei oushakine characterizes this examination as "intellectual indigestion" and notes the fundamental problem of its multi-paradigmality: non-parallel intellectual strands such as structuralist and post-structuralist accounts emerged simultaneously and were interpreted as parallel phenomena.v ! 111 what transpired was a troubled attempt to account for the universal social condition during the transitional phase that was rooted deeply i n the past. unlike soviet marxism, however, this emerged outside the political context. the crisis of modernity prompted the beginning of genuine discourse—a search to understand the present and build the future by examining the past. i n literature, the intellectual discourse also required a look to the past and a resurgence of old texts, western and domestic, while simultaneously affecting fresh analysis of literature as an intellectual discussion. i n russian history, literature was traditionally controlled, but i n the soviet era, the suspicion and control of the independent word enhanced literature's authority and fueled important political "the intelligentsia as a cultural group and political player suffered greatly in the immediate post-soviet order, but for each destitute analysis, there exists an effort to reinvent the intelligentsia in its traditional context." discussion through cryptic images, allusions, and metaphors. x l l v under the controlled, complex organizational structure of writers' unions, publishing houses, and popular newspapers, literature was an incredibly important mode of cultural production. however, during glasnost, non-literary forms of expression were liberated and the former creative monopoly of the small literary elite was broken. 5 ^ a linguistic vacuum emerged i n the inter-regime period. people were looking between the lines for the truth and realizing the authors had nothing real to say.xivi today, there is a struggle between the state and efforts to reinvent literature. new intellectuals strive to stretch the imaginative freedom of the new russia while the state reacts to bring cultural activity back under its control . x l v n like literature, academia's influence sagged after the collapse. in the soviet era, an academic post was very secure because it was one of the most bureaucratized and usually meant lifetime job security. , v l ' 1 academics lost their intelligentsia status by shrinking from their traditionally public, creative role into the comfort of the soviet bureaucracy, but the end of perestroika signaled the end of academic privilege. x l l x i n russia today, the academic is on the same plane as all other public figures and simply cannot compete. humanities academics are especially marginalized, often seen as marxist retrogrades, and are ignored i n favor of the modern, creative intelligentsia. professors also make very little money and lack a healthy labor market. in 1997 an assistant professor made roughly thirty dollars per month, three times less than a secretary and fifteen times less than a poorly qualified bus driver. ; despite the poor condition of the russian academy, among many there is still the "feeling of responsibility before oneself, one's occupation, the future of the country and finally before the students who cannot be left without knowledge, even i f one is paid almost nothing." 1 1 the intelligentsia as a cultural group and political player suffered greatly i n the immediate post-soviet order, but for each destitute analysis, there exists an effort to reinvent the intelligentsia i n its traditional context. the altai state elem ents fall 09 russian prime m i n ister vladi m i r putin. university faculty of sociology and the regional intellectuals work to stop the "endless movement of symbolization," provide a starting point for dealing with the past, and create a foundation for the future russian ethos j11 organized around the "russian tragedy," the group posits a teleological organic body—a "primary embodiment" from which one can rediscover the vital force i n the russian ethos.1"' although the discourse sometimes turns xenophobic, it is integral to escape the mechanical functionality of the post-communist, neoliberal order. it provides an alternative post-soviet cosmogony and tries to solve the problem of the state under attack—a vision of a collapsed system of spiritual and moral values signifying the state's lack of true social capital.1 !v this work is very important to overcome the problems of modernity and engenders further discussion and development within academic circles and the broader intellectual community. similar production is visible i n other regions that also hold critical academic responsibility i n high esteem. in general, academics lack an extensive organizational structure and social and political opportunities. similar efforts exist i n literature. a group called "non/fiction" intends to emphasize serious literature over banal entertainment of russian literature today. sincerity exists within the intelligentsia directly connected to the traditional moral high-ground, responsibility, and missionary obligation characteristic of intelligentsia of the i8oos. ; however, this is counterbalanced by the continued degradation of literature i n other parts of society. formerly a fountainhead of intellectual writing, the publication junost' proclaimed its new goal i n 1999, "to stay away from the questions of ideology, politics, economics, law, national, and religious relations," and i n the same issue, it mocked efforts to publish journals as "a sweet fruit of the bitter russian roots, the roots of lack of possessions, and therefore, of idleness. " l v i this is indicative of the modern intellectual retreat from the political discourse and also reflects the unsuccessful efforts of the intelligentsia to organize effective opposition. government interaction remains nuanced. at the turn of the century, the intelligentsia began to cooperate more with the putin administration while retaining elements of its traditional philosophy. to some intellectuals, putin was seen as the savior from chaos and anarchy of the yeltsin years as well as a benefactor of the arts, and he thus garnered support from public intellectuals of the first type. ! v i ' the intelligentsia's reaction to putin's step-down as president i n may 2008 is indicative of the degree of intellectual politicization. a n open letter was written by representatives of the creative intelligentsia pleading putin to remain i n power which prompted a letter from the opposing camp opining i n favor of his removal. scholarly reaction characterized this moment as a "blip" on the intelligentsia's "cardiogram"—highlighting the general lack of resistance by the part of society meant to provide intellectual t o d a y ' s r u s s i a n i n t e l l i g e n t s i a opposition. today, the intelligentsia is largely represented by the yabloko party, but this impoverished group was only able to garner 1.7% of the vote i n 2007 (zero duma seats).'"despite this failure, putin and yabloko head grigoriy yavlinskiy met i n march 2008 to signify that the kremlin—as it transitioned to the medvedev administration—wants to accept the intelligentsia into the political discourse.1 what remains to be seen is the particular development of this relationship and i n what fashion the intellectuals work with the state to develop russian culture and healthy discourse. the modern political atmosphere was apparent i n a may, 2008 roundtable discussion on state tv rossiya channel titled "intellectual literature i n debates on the 2020 strategy." the guests suggested the intelligentsia actively participate i n the country and society by providing a new ideology to aid putin's plan for russia's development. the chairman of the free russia public association union even said that the intellectual not participating i n the country's life was a traitor, terrorist, and worthless/ 1 whatthese state intellectuals failed to understand is that to ensure the country's healthy development, the intelligentsia must remain outside such vapid discourse. only by denying the with-us-or-against-us ultimatum can the intelligentsia stay true to its founding philosophy and reassert itself as the conscience of the russian people. the fall of communism did not stop the soviet regime's coopted intellectual and cultural stranglehold from becoming the new russian nationalistic machine that similarly blocked intelligentsia's entrance to the political sphere and meaningful dialogue. the chance to reawaken vivacious intellectual culture was lost i n the convoluted post-soviet political order. the russian intelligentsia is still hindered by limited access to political and cultural intellectual opportunities, but is also hobbled by internal problems i n academic literary fields. there is a real chance for russian society to reinvent itself. the true intellectuals can play an integral role i n the discourse, but the intelligentsia needs time to organize its efforts. "the room for honest speaking is far greater than russian intellectuals make use of," says marietta chudakova, a historian of russian literature. yet she recognizes the paralyzing stasis as well: "nobody has been commanded to lie down—and everyone is already on the ground. " l x i i e n d n o t e s i . franklin i i . ibid. i i i . "the hand that feeds them; russian intellectuals" iv. brower (638-647, 638) v. brower (639) vi . kagarlitsky vi i . brower (639) v i i i . matsuk ix. ibid. x. brower (645) xi. matsuk xi i . elfimov 2000 (226) x i i i . elfimov 2000 (235) xiv. "speaking truth to power" xv. kagarlitsky (56) xvi. "letter from lenin to gorky" xvii. "attacks on intelligentsia: early attacks" xvii i . elfimov 2003 (26) xix. elfimov 2000 (232) xx. "the hand that feeds them; russian intellectuals" xxi. ibid. xxii. peunova xxii i . elfimov 2000 (231) xxiv. elfimov 2000 (233) xxv. peunova xxvi. ibid. xxvii. "declaration of the democratic union of russia" xxviii. peunova xxix. ibid. xxx. ibid. xxxi. ibid. xxxii. "the hand that feeds them; russian intellectuals" xxxiii. franklin xxxiv. "russia; yeltsin talks to intelligentsia; mentions differences w i t h rutskoy" xxxv. peunova xxxvi. oushakine (181) xxxvii. holden (164) xxxviii. peunova xxxix. matsuk xl. leont'ev xl i . aleksandrova xi i i . elfimov (230) x l i i i . oushakine (172) xliv. franklin e l e m e n t s fall 09 xlv. ibid. xlvi. elfimov 2000 (241) xlvii . o'brien xlvi i i . elfimov 2000 (239) xlix. ibid. 1. elfimov 2000 (242) l i . elfimov 2000 (250) l i i . oushakine (182) l i i i . oushakine (185) liv. ibid, lv. o'brien lvi . novodvorskaia lv i i . korchagina lv i i i . "the hand that feeds them; russian intellectuals" lix. country profile. russia lx. "russian tv examines significance of putin-yavlinskiy meeting" lx i . serova lx i i . "the hand that feeds them; russian intellectuals" r e f e r e n c e s aleksandrova, lyudmila. october 14, 1997. "constituent congress of russia's intelligentsia to be held". tass. lexis nexis academic. accessed 24 november 2008. "attacks on intelligentsia: early attacks." library of congress. <www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/atte.html>. accessed 25 november 2008. brower, daniel r. 1967. "the problem of the russian intelligentsia." slavic review, 26.4 (december). country profile russia. "declaration of the democratic union o f russia." 19 december 1993. accessed 1 december 2008. <www.du.ru/ust.htm>. elfimov, alexei. 2000. "academics and the production of an intellectual discourse of modernity i n russia." para-sites: a casebook against cynical reason. chicago: university of chicago press. elfimov, alexei. 2003. russian intellectual culture in transition. new brunswick: transaction publishers. franklin, simon. "end of the intelligentsia." the times. 28 august 1991. accessed 1 december 2008. lexis nexis academic. holden, gerard. 1994. russia after the cold war: history and the nation in post-soviet security politics. frankfurt: campus verlag. kagarlitsky, boris. 2002. russia under yeltsin and putin: neoliberal autocracy. london: pluto press. kagarlitsky, boris. 1988. the thinking reed: intellectuals and the soviet state igiy to present. london: verso. korchagina, valeria. "intelligentsia shifts to support putin." the moscow times, sec. 1848, 30 november 1999. accessed 24 november 2008. lexis nexis academic. leont'ev, mikhail . interviu nomera: mikhail leont'ev: putinu trudno preodolet'liberal'nyi totalitarizm. 30 september 2005. politicheskii klass. "letter from lenin to gorky." 15 september 1919. library of congress, <www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/atte.html>. accessed 25 november 2008. matsuk, tatyana. "intelligentsia and power." the moscow times, sec. 1295, september 17,1997. accessed 24 november 2008. lexis nexis academic. novodvorskaia, valerja. "shestidesjatniki i pustota." novaia lunost, 1.34. <http://magazines.russ.ru/nov/_yun/1999/ novodvor.html>. accessed 3 december 2008. o'brien, sean. "review: commentary: a troika pul l ing i n the wrong direction: sean o'brien on old problems facing the intelligentsia i n the new russia." the guardian, 28 december 2002. accessed 24 november 2008. lexis nexis academic. oushakine, sergei. 2007. "vitality rediscovered: theorizing post-soviet ethnicity i n russian social sciences." studies eastern european thought, 59: pp. 171-193. peunova, marina. 2008. "from dissidents to collaborators: the resurgence and demise of the russian critical intelligentsia since 1985." studies in east european thought, 10 may 2008, 11. "russia; yeltsin talks to intelligentsia; mentions differences wi th rutskoy," itar-tass news agency, moscow from bbc summary of world broadcasts, 17 apri l 1993. "russian tv examines significance of putin-yavlinskiy meeting." bbc worldwide monitoring. march 15 2008. accessed 4 december 2008. lexis nexis academic. serova, natalya. "intelligentsia invited to walk a different path" i n "russian intellectuals invited to conform or face 'marginalization'—website," bbc worldwide monitoring. 2 may 2008. accessed november 24, 2008. lexis nexis academic. "speaking t ruth to power." the economist. 9 august 2008. accessed 24 november 2008. lexis nexis academic. "the hand that feeds them; russian intellectuals." the economist. 9 august 2008. accessed november 24, 2008. lexis nexis academic. t o d a y ' s r u s s i a n i n t e l l i g e n t s i a http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/atte.html http://www.du.ru/ust.htm http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/atte.html http://magazines.russ.ru/nov/_yun/1999/novodvor.html http://magazines.russ.ru/nov/_yun/1999/novodvor.html t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with the inaugural issue of elements: ben b i r n b a u m , executive director of the office of marketing communications elizabeth brandes, art director for the office of marketing communications d o n a l d hafner, chair of the undergraduate fellowships committee joyce m a n nix, business manager for the college of arts and sciences a n n a marie m u r p h y , deputy editor of boston college magazine j o h n n euhauser, academic vice president and dean of faculties joseph q u i n n , dean of the college of arts and sciences george restrepo, senior designer for the office of marketing communications barbara vi ech n i c k i , associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. cover portrait of stephane mallarme by edouard manet. © archivo iconographico, s.a. /corbis elements, undergraduate research journal, issue i , volume i , spring 05 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 for submissions guidlines please refer to www.bc.edu/elements/ copyright © 2005 by trustees of boston college e l e m e n t s staff e d i t o r i n c h i e f gregory wiles m a n a g i n g e d i t o r rebecca kraus h u m a n i t i e s kirstin kramer, senior editor emily cersonsky, editor caroline g e l m i , editor kaelin g r a n t , editor s a m a n t h a koller, editor n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s bill h i l l m a n n , senior editor paco k a n g , editor a l l i s o n lord, editor m e g h a n t o z z i , editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s kerry b r e n n a n , senior editor marisa c o c h r a n e , editor pete ringlee, editor s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s n a t h a n i e l campbell, senior editor l a y o u t kathryn brady, editor d a m i en c r o t e a u c h o n k a , editor maria m a s a v e u, editor w e b m a n a g e r d a m i en c r o t e a u c h o n k a a r t d l r e c t o r george restrepo f a c u l t y a d v i s e r prof. mark o ' c o n n o r , director, college of arts and sciences honors program http://www.bc.edu/elements/ e d i t o r ' s n o t e throughout the summer of 1873 stephane mallarme visited edouard manet's studio every day; the painter took one such opportunity to capture the poet in the famous work of art that decorates the cover of the inaugural issue of elements. the meeting of these two brilliant minds represented a crucial moment in the history of intellectual thought. as western civilization sought new perspectives through which to view the world, manet's painting and mallarme's poetry would serve as a crucial element of modernism, continuing to influence artists for over a century. manet and mallarme remained friends unti l manet's death i n 1883. during their ten year relationship, an ideal that strongly united the two men was their belief in artistic democratization: that art should become a source of pleasure for all, not just the aristocratic echelon of society. similarly, research need not be the province solely of professors and graduate students. it is in the collaborative spirit of mallarme and his friend manet that, as a staff of committed undergraduates, we begin elements. intellectual expression cannot and should not be confined to the classroom; rather, as our two guiding artists show us, nature and the world around us provide the greater challenge to human creativity. through the works of bc students, this publication wi l l serve as a forum for the exploration of the numerous academic disciplines. each semester elements wi l l present a distinguished and engaging cross-section of such research endeavors to the wider academic community. we hope that this journal wi l l provide us with a few more strokes toward painting the portrait of boston college. the nine articles in this first edition of our journal, selected from over 40 outstanding submissions, represent what the editors of elements believe to be the most credible, clear, and thought-provoking of these manuscripts. from social studies of teen living centers and asian american mental health treatments to a scientific inquiry into bilingualism and an essay on the possibility of the conversion of oil prices to the euro, the articles in this premier issue demonstrate the breadth of undergraduate inquiry within the university. in the future we seek to expand subject matter into the areas of nursing, education, and business, and exhibit original poetry and artwork, for they are all key "elements" in boston college's intellectual life. elements seeks to explore the full possibilities of the research journal genre to serve best the intellectual interests of bc undergraduates. i f you have any questions, or would like to contribute a letter for our fall issue, feel free to contact me at elements@bc.edu. gregory wiles editor-in-chief mailto:elements@bc.edu saljooq m. asif is a senior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in biology and english. a member of the arts & sciences honors program, he is also a science editor for elements. his writing has appeared in both the heights, the independent student newspaper of boston college, and dianoia, the undergraduate philosophy journal of boston college. asif’s article was written for professor susan michalczyk’s senior honors seminar, autobiographical novel/memoir, which focused on the autobiographical genre in literature and film. he would like to thank professor susan michalczyk for her creative guidance, as well as professor ronan noone for introducing him to ayad akhtar’s work. author biographies danielle nista is a junior, double majoring in history and french. she is a member of alpha sigma nu, the national honors society of jesuit colleges and universities, and phi alpha theta, the history honors society. she is also a choreographer for bc full swing, boston college’s swing dancing team. in high school, a combined interest in tap dancing and postbellum southern history led to a research paper on the connections between minstrel shows and hollywood musicals of the 1930s. following this article, danielle’s interest was piqued to continue to combine two of her passions: dancing and studying the history of america before, during, and after the civil war. she hopes to one day write a book about the full history of tap dancing. rachel aldrich is a junior in the college of arts & sciences majoring in english with minors in creative writing, american studies, and management and leadership. the inspiration for her article in elements came from her work in the american studies minor. in addition to interning at post road magazine, she is a staff member for stylus, features editor for the gavel, and the music librarian for the university chorale of boston college. after graduating next may, she hopes to continue on to graduate school. david querusio is from millis, ma, and came to boston college in 2012 as an english major, but quickly added a minor in sociology. he enjoys all kinds of literature, especially contemporary works. he is interested in how literature intersects and interacts with social theories such as feminism, postcolonialism, queer theory, and marxism. possible future plans include graduate school. harrison tune is a freshman in the college of arts & sciences honors program, currently studying biology on the pre-law track. his focus on agency law and patent law often spurs his interest in current events in the legal world such as the one discussed in his article. at boston college, harrison is involved in the gabelli presidential scholars program and is an eco rep in the residence hall administration. most of his spare time, however, is spent practicing with the bc fencing team, where he holds the position of sabre. caitlin toto is a senior in the college of arts and sciences, majoring in political science and minoring in economics. while at boston college, caitlin has been an active member of 4boston and is currently the co-president of americans for informed democracy. additionally, she is an undergraduate research fellow for professor lindsey o’rourke, researching cia covert operations during the cold war. caitlin’s article was written for professor krause’s “terrorism and political violence” class in the summer of 2014 and was inspired by her interest in female terrorism and muslim minorities in europe and asia. she will be attending law school in the fall with a focus on either international or healthcare law. michelle solomon is a senior physics major at boston college and has been working in the lab of professor michael naughton of the physics department since the fall of 2012. she has mainly worked on a thin film photovoltaic project that aims to increase light absorption in thin films using an embedded metal nanopattern. this past summer, she participated in the research experience for undergraduates program funded by the national science foundation at the university of chicago, where she was a research assistant in the physical chemistry lab of professor philippe guyotsionnest. while there, she worked with both quantum dots and perovskites. she is planning to pursue her ph.d. in materials science and engineering after graduation. list of artwork writer ayad akhtar © wikimedia commons 10 13 15 18 24 36 38 54 60 63 68 71 islamic cultural center in manhattan © wikimedia commons ground zero mosque protestor © wikimedia commons disgraced performance still © geraint lewis/alamy chechen women © wikimedia commons corn shucking song © wikimedia commons slaves dance to music of banjo © wikimedia commons michelle obama © wikimedia commons lost title screen © wikimedia commons debris on rooftops near world trade center © fema photo library john sherman © library of congress comcast and time warner cable logos © wikimedia commons recipient of the 2013 pulitzer prize for drama, ayad akhtar has been lauded as the de facto voice of the american muslim in theatre and literature. akhtar, a pakistani american, claims that all of his works are inspired by his life and personal experiences; they are, he admits, a form of autobiography. in a post-9/11 world, however, where the position of muslims in the united states has become increasingly scrutinized, akhtar’s works purposely play upon american fears and anxiety in regard to islam. indeed, akhtar’s works rely heavily on muslim stereotypes in order to unsettle american audiences and gain artistic recognition. by doing so, akhtar not only continues the clichéd depiction of muslims in american media, but also upholds stephen spender’s theory on autobiography: that the perspective of the autobiographer, his self, is forever forced to submit to that of society, the other. muslim identity in 21st century america ayad akhtar’s works as autobiography saljooq m. asif introduction “everything i write is some version of autobiography,”1 ayad akhtar claimed in a 2014 interview. a well-established actor, writer, and playwright, akhtar prefers to see himself as a “narrative artist” whose literary works are extensions of his existence, his own narrative.2 “it’s often a deformed version of autobiography,” he insisted in the same interview, “but everything i write is drawn from personal experience, whether it’s observed or lived.”3 born in new york city, and raised in milwaukee, to pakistani parents, akhtar seems to embody the very essence of the american dream: a second-generation immigrant who received an ivy league education, he catapulted to fame upon winning the 2013 pulitzer prize for drama for his play disgraced. although the play, described as a “combustible powder keg of identity politics,”4 has garnered both praise and criticism, one fact remains irrefutable: ayad akhtar is now a star artist in modern-day america. and yet, akhtar’s rise to fame is not as simple as it may appear to the unsuspecting reader or viewer. akhtar’s newfound stardom owes quite a lot to not only the controversial content of his own works, but also the current consciousness of the american public. indeed, the fact that akhtar has received worldwide attention nearly thirteen years after the september 11th attacks is no coincidence. only now, when universal concern over religious terrorism continues to grow and islamophobia has become a serious concern, can akhtar rise to success. if disgraced is a combustible powder keg, then akhtar himself is the one who set the match at the right time and the right place to create the loudest explosion possible. after all, never has the position of muslims in the united states been more scrutinized than in the post-9/11 world. akhtar is in a strange and unprecedented situation as a pakistani american writer. until recently, very few muslim voices have dared to speak about their thoughts and experiences, let alone achieve recognition. akhtar, by default, has become one of the most significant muslim artists in america today. his works, he admits, are essentially a portrait of himself and form his own autobiography. nevertheless, akhtar insists that he is in no way obliged or responsible to depict islam in a way that will correct western misapprehensions. several of his works, including disgraced, have ignited serious controversy over akhtar’s incendiary depiction of islam and muslims. akhtar’s narratives may explicitly deal with muslim identity in a post-9/11 world, but he broaches the subject in a manner that incites rather than enlightens. akhtar’s recognition stems from his artistic decision to readily play into american anxiety and concern over the role of muslims and islam; only then can he provoke and discomfort his audience. although based on his own personal experiences, akhtar’s pseudoautobiographies seem to be shunted through another channel. indeed, in an attempt to grasp the internal essence of his life as an american muslim, perhaps akhtar has been forced to approach his own existence through an external viewpoint – the western perspective that associates islam with hostility and aggression. the autobiographical tradition some academics would claim that the roots of the autobiographical genre originate somewhere during the middle ages. this period in european history, after all, not only witnessed the rise of increasingly complex art, architecture, and social structure, but also laid the foundation for the renaissance. at the turn of the fifteenth century, an english mystic named margery kempe chronicled her life, travels, and divine revelations in written form; her resulting work, entitled the book of margery kempe, is credited as the first autobiography in the english language.5 writer ayad akhtar (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 10 elements : : spring 2015 perhaps the autobiographical genre does owe its birth to the union between the fallow medieval period and fertile renaissance, and perhaps kempe’s literary work is in fact the very first english autobiography. nevertheless, the exact origins of autobiography are of little consequence; more important is the fact that the autobiographical genre was created and has persisted ever since. indeed, the birth of autobiography is less important than its permanency and resulting urgency. what lies inside the autobiography, and what is at its very core? what is its essence, and what does it demand from both the author and reader? the autobiography is a work that contends with time in an attempt to eternally preserve something about the self. according to georges gusdorf, the autobiography is simply “a useful and valuable thing to fix [man’s] own image so that he can be certain it will not disappear like all things in this world.”6 man is in constant dialogue with himself in order to secure his own immortality through autobiography, “the mirror in which the individual reflects his own image.”7 william l. howarth similarly describes the autobiography as a “self-portrait,”8 while james olney goes a step further and refers to it as “an attempt at explaining something about human nature and the human condition.”9 the essence of the autobiography is the essence of its own author, “the isolate uniqueness that nearly everyone agrees to be the primary quality and condition of the individual and his experience.”10 the goal of the autobiography, therefore, is to offer the reader a sense of the autobiographer himself by creating a soulful reflection of the autobiographer. only then can the reader grasp the essence of the autobiographer, and only then can the autobiographer master time by becoming the “rightful possessor of his life or his death.”11 certainly, the autobiography has flourished and undergone several transformations since margery kempe recorded her divine visions several centuries ago. the victorian era offers countless examples and innovations of the genre, including fictionalized autobiographies. charlotte brontë’s jane eyre and charles dickens’ david copperfield exemplify the creative and metaphysical powers that belong to the genre. both literary works not only allow the reader a glimpse into the emotional and psychological turmoil of their eponymous characters, but are also rooted in the authors’ own personal experiences.12 such novels, therefore, are examples of a two-fold autobiography; they detail both the fictional narrator’s life and journey while also building from the author’s authentic essence. indeed, “the man is forever adding himself to himself,”13 as gusdorf remarks. the autobiography is a mirror as well as an addition to the autobiographer: every autobiography is a work of art and at the same time a work of enlightenment; it does not show us the individual seen from outside in his visible actions but the person in his inner privacy, not as he was, not as he is, but as he believes and wishes himself to be and to have been. what is in question is a sort of reevaluation of individual destiny; the author, who is at the same time the hero of the tale, wants to elucidate his past in order to draw out the structure of his being in time.14 jane eyre is an extension of charlotte brontë, and david copperfield is an extension of charles dickens. both of these characters are fictional, but they nevertheless stem from the most private essence of their respective authors and add to the self-portrait that each autobiography attempts to illustrate. gusdorf clarifies that the autobiographer, however, is acting on a much larger scale by trying to provide more than “only an exterior presentation of great persons.”15 the autobiographer combines his multiple faces as an artist, model, and historian in order to depict himself as “a great person, worthy of men’s remembrance.”16 gusdorf offers jean-jacques rousseau as an example, who, being “no more than a common citizen of geneva,” was nevertheless “a kind of literary adventurer.”17 indeed, rousseau begins his confessions by proclaiming, “i am not made like any that i have seen; i venture to believe that i was not made like any that exist.”18 rousseau offers such an intimate account of his self, but goes even further by lacing his autobiography with a sense of self-confidence that verges on egoism. the autobiographer takes on a herculean task by “the autobiographer takes on a herculean task by writing his autobiography; it requires an unparalleled sense of self-assurance and conviction.” 11 muslim identity in 21st century america writing his autobiography; it requires an unparalleled sense of self-assurance and conviction. only with this aplomb, gusdorf implies, can the autobiographer truly offer his private and most intimate self. he claims: our interest is turned from public to private history: alongside the great men who act out the official history of humanity, there are obscure men who conduct the campaign of their spiritual life within their breast, carrying on silent battles whose ways and means, whose triumphs and reversals also merit being preserved in the universal memory.19 if rousseau immortalizes his private self through excessive self-confidence, then saint augustine does the same with the help of christianity. saint augustine offers quite an unabashed record of his life in his confessions, and does not attempt to hide his sins or misdeeds. by exposing himself to the reader, showing himself naked and vulnerable, saint augustine finds his greatest strength: only by revealing his most private self can he become invulnerable. saint augustine claims, “i intend to remind myself of my past foulnesses and carnal corruptions, not because i love them but so that i may love you, my god.”20 by blatantly discussing his terrible acts, ranging from promiscuous sex to stealing pears, saint augustine convinces the reader that “every destiny, however humble it may be, assumes a kind of supernatural stake.”21 saint augustine’s confessions is a self-examination of his own relationship with god and christianity, a mirror “whence a new fascination with the secret springs of personal life.”22 rousseau and saint augustine succeed, according to gusdorf, by exposing their private selves to the utmost degree and reveling in their own intimacy. perhaps the autobiography is something even more intricate, mired in the complexities of both the inner and outer selves. stephen spender believes that the autobiography is a genre that “is no longer the writer’s own experience” as “it becomes everyone’s.”23 the autobiographer searches through “the vast mine” of his personal experiences to discover the “ore” of his inner essence – but this personal ore is not enough. indeed, spender argues that the autobiographer must “convert this ore into forms that are outside the writer’s own personal ones,”24 thus rendering the autobiography a product caught between the inner and outer selves. spender maintains: yet unless one is to oneself entirely public, it seems that the problem of an autobiographer, when he considers the material of his own past, is that he is confronted not by one life – which he sees from the outside – but by two. one of these lives is himself as others see him – his social or historic personality – the sum of his achievements, his appearances, his personal relationships. all these are real to him as, say, his own image in a mirror. but there is also himself known only to himself, himself seen from the inside of his own existence. this inside self has a history that may have no significance in any objective “history of his time.” it is the history of himself observing the observer, not the history of himself observed by others.25 the autobiographer is caught in a peculiar dilemma: the autobiography consists of observations that not only he makes about hielf, but also observations made by others about himself. thus, the autobiographer is a dual product consisting of the inner self – the ‘ore’ mined by the autobiographer from his own personal field – and the outer self – the ‘ore’ mined by the autobiographer from stranger fields. the autobiography, consequently, is a product formed by the inner, personal self as well as the perspective and impressions made by society, the outsiders, the observers. spender’s theories about the autobiographer and his two lives have some serious implications. few autobiographies exist that unite these two lives, and according to spender, even rousseau and saint augustine fail to do so. what about the personal life prevents such a union? spender insists that “the inner life is regarded by most people as so dangerous that it cannot be revealed openly and directly.”26 the true self cannot handle exposure to the other, as it will be criticized, dissected, and ripped apart. perhaps, then, spender is correct when he states that the autobiographer is indirectly “commenting on the values of the age in which he lives.”27 indeed, the perspective of the autobi“anti-islamic incidents were the second least reported hate crimes before 9/11, but are now the second highest among religious-bias incidents.” 12 elements : : spring 2015 ographer, his very self, is shunted through another channel, that of society and the other. ayad akhtar’s case is no different, but to examine his autobiography, one must first gain a deeper understanding of the self and the other with which he interacts – muslims and the american public, respectively. perceptions of muslims in the post-9/11 world although negative sentiments toward muslims can be traced back to qur’anic times, the terrorist attacks on the world trade center on september 11th, 2001 seem to have ushered in a new age of islamophobia in the annals of history. while american media was intensely focused on osama bin laden and the nation’s relations with the middle east, few headlines reported on hate crimes against those of south asian or middle eastern decent. anti-islamic incidents were the second least reported hate crimes before 9/11, but are now the second highest among religious-bias incidents. indeed, from pre-9/11 to post-9/11, a startling increase of 1600% in anti-islamic incidents took place.28 more than thirteen years later, the 9/11 attacks continue to serve as a reminder of the united states’ vulnerability in regard to international relations and terrorism. indeed, perhaps more pressing today is the ongoing isis crisis. the rise of the islamic state in iraq and syria was both unexpected and startling, immediately appearing in headlines across the globe and striking fear into the hearts of millions. the very goal of isis – to “establish[…] an independent islamic state ”29 – is the ultimate fear that terrorized the american public following 9/11. a group constructing a caliphate in the middle east, with the threat of apocalyptic expansion, forms the basis of nearly every post-9/11 nightmare. and certainly, the isis crisis does seem to be a cause for concern: the organization has seized a considerable amount of area stretching from northern syria to central iraq. the fact that 57% of american citizens approve of u.s. military action against islamic militants in iraq and syria should therefore be no surprise.30 the isis threat has stimulated mass anxiety in the american public, and prominent speakers are adding to the hysteria of the supposed threat against western democracy. on his october 3rd, 2014 episode of real time with bill maher, cable talk show host bill maher insisted that the fraction of muslim extremists in the world is more “than just a few bad apples.” he also related muslims to the mafia and even derided islam as “the mother lode of bad ideas.”31 maher is one among countless individuals who equates islam with terrorism and questions the allegiance of the american muslim population. perhaps the most noticeable islamophobe is pamela geller, executive director and cofounder of stop islamization of america (sioa) and the american freedom defense initiative (afdi), an umbrella group including sioa.32 although both organizations are classified as hate groups by the southern poverty law center (splc), geller continues to spread her campaign via anti-islamic ads on buses, taxis, and subway stations in new york and massachusetts.33, 34 maher and geller are only two vocal figureheads who have the resources to broadcast their message to the american public – and yet, perhaps most unsettling is just how many american citizens agree with their sentiments. according to a 2010 time poll, 61% of americans opposed the construction of the park51/cordoba house project, or as geller herself calls it, the ‘ground zero mosque.’ furthermore, 28% of respondents believe that muslims should not be eligible to sit on the u.s. supreme court, while ground zero mosque protester (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 13 muslim identity in 21st century america nearly one-third of the nation thinks muslims should be forbidden from running for presidency.35 such attitudes, unfortunately, do not seem to have diminished with time. according to a 2014 survey conducted by the pew research center, the american public views muslims in the coldest manner and least favorably out of several other religious groups.36 findings from another 2014 poll conducted by the arab american institute are consistent with such data. in addition, the latter poll revealed that “a growing percentage of americans say that they lack confidence in the ability of individuals from either [the arab or muslim community] to perform their duties as americans should they be appointed to an important government position.”37 indeed, never has the position of muslims in the united states been more precarious than in the post-9/11 world. portrayal of muslims in american media the inclusion of minorities in american television and film has been an ongoing issue, with many critics claiming that the american media whitewashes important characters of color. the portrayal of muslim characters, however, may be a bit more problematic; indeed, whenever muslims are represented in media, they are constantly depicted as violent or terroristic individuals. depictions of muslims that gain success are often those that somehow associate islam with terrorism or other stereotypes, and as a result, muslim characters in television or film are always defined by these qualities or themes. one might think that this issue arose after the 9/11 attacks, but such demeaning depictions of muslims have been present throughout the western world for ages. disney’s 1992 animated blockbuster aladdin is only one example of racism and stereotyping.38 the winner of two academy awards, aladdin is a loose adaptation of “aladdin and his magic lamp,” a tale in the famous literary collection arabian nights. although an extreme success for disney, the film met with such controversy upon release that entertainment weekly ranked it in a list of the most controversial movies in history.39 the american-arab anti-discrimination committee (adc) objected to the opening lines of the movie, also the opening lines of the song “arabian nights”: oh, i come from a land, from a faraway place where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face, it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home. the adc claimed that these verses perpetuated the view that the islamic world is a realm of barbarism and aggression. the lyrics “where they cut off your ear / if they don’t like your face” were ultimately changed to “where it’s flat and immense / and the heat is intense” after the theatrical release of the movie. the adc and other critics, however, continued to point out several issues with aladdin. the depiction of princess jasmine, who is trapped and oppressed by her patriarchal society, aligns with the stereotypical belief that muslim women are trapped and subjugated. similarly, the citizens of the fictional kingdom of agrabah are uncivilized, rude, and barbaric; at one point in the film, a merchant nearly cuts off the princess’ hand after she gives an apple from the merchant’s cart to a poor boy. the adc also took offense to the depiction of the two main characters, princess jasmine and aladdin, for having more anglican features and accents, whereas the citizens of agrabah possess darker skin, heavy accents, and grotesque facial features. disney’s film, the adc argues, promotes the idea that the arab world is “alien, exotic, and ‘other’… a place of deserts and camels, of arbitrary cruelty and barbarism.”40 after 9/11, however, the american media became a hotbed for muslim characters. now, muslims and the middle east provide perfect characters and settings for real-world drama and conflict. in 2011, the political thriller television series homeland premiered on showtime and won a series of awards and accolades, including the 2012 primetime emmy award for outstanding drama series. nevertheless, the show has been criticized for its portrayal of muslims and the middle east, with american journalist laila al-arian lambasting homeland as “tv’s most islamophobic show.” “all the standard stereotypes about islam and muslims are reinforced,” she claims, “and it is demonstrated ad nauseam that anyone marked as ‘muslim’ by race or creed can never be trusted, all via the deceptively unsophisticated bureau-jargon of the government’s top spies.”41 al-arian’s argument is not unfounded: the first three seasons of the show revolve around marine sergeant nicholas brody, a prisoner of war by al-qaeda who is finally rescued after eight years. although hailed by the american public as a war hero, cia officer carrie mathison suspects that brody is now a sleeper agent on american soil. the crux of the television show raises the neurotic question: can a white, male american turn against his own country after converting to islam? al-arian insists that brody “is such an awful pastiche of american fears and pseudo-psychology that only an audience conditioned by the islamophobic, anti-arab tropes in our media could 14 elements : : spring 2015 find him consistent.”42 mathison’s fears about brody are ultimately grounded: not only does he attempt to commit a suicide bombing, but he also aids al-qaeda in assassinating the vice president. depictions of muslims in a positive light are rather rare; more importantly, any such attempts are often unsuccessful in mainstream american media. in 2005, the television drama sleeper cell also premiered on showtime and won rave reviews. the show centers on an undercover muslim fbi agent who must infiltrate a terrorist sleeper cell. actor michael ealy, who portrays the main muslim character in the show, claims, “that’s the one thing i think is very subversive about this show that we set out to sort of do, is to say, ‘we want americans to root for a muslim.’”43 although some critics maintain that the show perpetuates stereotypes, ealy makes an important point: sleeper cell subverts stereotypes to a greater extent than homeland ever has. despite the accomplishments of sleeper cell, a range of critics insisted that the show is far too sympathetic to terrorists and their motivations.44 the show ultimately ran for only two seasons and a little more than a year; no proper explanation was given for its abrupt cancellation. nevertheless, there have been other creative attempts at television shows that focus on muslim characters without the backdrop of terrorism. in 2011, tlc premiered allamerican muslim, a reality television program that followed the daily lives of five lebanese-american shia muslims in dearborn, michigan. the show generated significant controversy during its run, with the florida family association labeling it as “propaganda that riskily hides the islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to american liberties and traditional values.”45 ultimately, all-american muslim turned out to be a bit too bland for viewers: the premiere attracted 1.7 million viewers while the finale garnered only 900,000 viewers. tlc cancelled the program after one season because, as adam martin for the wire points out, “nobody wants to watch a show about a normal, all-american family.”46 indeed, the show met its end not because viewers were repelled by its supposed islamic propaganda, but because of its boring and average depiction of american muslim families. a similar situation happened with the sitcom aliens in america that aired on the cw from 2007 to 2008. the show, about a muslim exchange student from pakistan who moves in with a host family in wisconsin, earned positive reviews but failed to attract any viewers. aliens in america was also cancelled after just one season.47 in early 2014, controversy erupted over abc family ordering the pilot for a new television drama entitled alice in arabia. the show was intended to be a “high-stakes drama series” about a “rebellious american teenage girl” who is “kidnapped” by her saudi arabian relatives and forced to be a “virtual prisoner in her grandfather’s royal compound” while “surviving life behind the veil.” abc family’s announcement of the pilot program was lambasted by nearly all american muslims; buzzfeed derided alice in arabia as “the latest in a line of simplistic stereotypes of muslims on american television,”48 while time declared it “racist.”49 four days after the pilot was picked up, abc family announced that it was no longer moving forward with the project. of particular interest in the entire alice in arabia scandal is the role of brooke eikmeier, the creator of the show as well as an arabic-speaking u.s. army veteran. in a piece for the hollywood reporter, eikmeier insists that her concept for the show was drastically different from the way abc family decided to advertise it. eikmeier states that she envisioned a unique program, “a series that showed [muslims] fairly and with admiration and complexity, that islamic cultural center in manhattan (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 15 muslim identity in 21st century america would give opportunities to arab writers and arab actors,” and that abc family’s press release left her “horrified.”50 although the full story will likely remain unknown, the scandal around alice in arabia hints at a deeper and more complex issue: exactly how does the american television industry – and by extension, american arts and media – choose to depict muslims and islam? if eikmeier is telling the truth, then abc family purposely and needlessly advertised her show through the most stereotypical lens possible. the adc and council on american-islamic relations (cair) insisted that alice in arabia perpetuated stereotypes and islamophobia, and that american media continually misrepresents muslims. what these organizations and critics fail to note, however, is that the american media has attempted to put forth accurate and positive depictions before. perhaps alice in arabia was a step in the right direction marred by terrible wording and advertising, but shows like all-american muslim and aliens in america were heavily divorced from any stereotypes or islamophobia – and unfortunately, that is what led to their respective downfalls. several shows that have attempted to holistically portray muslims, including sleeper cell, all-american muslim, and aliens in america, were cancelled shortly after their premieres due to low viewership and interest. in contrast, aladdin reigns as one of disney’s stunning achievements while homeland will be entering its fifth season in 2015. the protests of the adc and cair are futile; the general american public does not wish to change its opinions, and they do not want to waste their time on a show that does not appease their presupposed notions of muslims and islam. in such an atmosphere, how can muslims voice themselves and be heard? few muslim artists have gained success or recognition in american society, and one cannot help but wonder if spender was correct in his theories about the autobiographer and his dual lives. he insists that “the inner life is regarded by most people as so dangerous that it cannot be revealed openly and directly.”51 likewise, muslims are unable to depict their own narratives in american media due to ignorance and lack of interest. if the true self cannot be exposed to the other, then perhaps the autobiographer is indeed indirectly “commenting on the values of the age in which he lives.”52 the perspective of the autobiographer, his very self, is forced to be told through that of society and the other – and ayad akhtar has done exactly that. culture clash: ayad akhtar and his life as an american muslim born in new york city and raised in milwaukee, wisconsin, ayad akhtar always struggled with his identity and place in american society. from a very young age, akhtar was drawn to his faith and even went through a phase of intense religious commitment. his parents, both doctors who emigrated from pakistan in the late 1960s, are “secular humanists,”53 according to akhtar, who did not impress religion upon their children. akhtar, in fact, taught himself how to pray and read the qur’an. in an interview with national public radio (npr), akhtar had this to say about his childhood: i was obsessed with what [the qur’an] meant and understanding how i should live, and it was a very important part of my childhood but it really didn’t come from my parents… i think it had a lot to do with trying to understand how and why i was different and what that meant, growing up in milwaukee, where we really were the only muslim family in the ’80s in our area of town.54 akhtar admits that in his youth, he struggled with his identity and was caught between two worlds. “i didn’t have a place in the [american] culture in the same way that my white friends did,”55 akhtar recalls in another interview. after studying theatre at brown university, akhtar traveled across europe and studied acting under renowned actor and director jerzy grotowski. and yet, akhtar was not ready to explore his heritage or culture in his work; indeed, his first novel, centered on a poet who works at goldman sachs, only tangentially related to islam and failed to secure a publisher or literary agent. by the time akhtar enrolled in columbia university as a graduate film student in the 2000s, however, he was ready to confront his identity. with two fellow students, akhtar co-wrote a screenplay entitled the war within, focusing on a radicalized pakistani student who plans on carrying out a suicide bombing in new york’s grand central station. the film, released in 2005, proved to be a creative turning point for akhtar. “the film was the preparatory gesture,” he claims. “it was part of a process of coming out in some way. it was me fully accepting that i was going to represent myself as pakistani, as muslim.”56 akhtar’s comparison of his own cultural acceptance to ‘coming out of the closet’ is rather fascinating. similar to how closeted individuals may feel shame or guilt, akhtar 16 elements : : spring 2015 implies that he, too, used to feel a sort of discomfort as a pakistani american. akhtar used his creative epiphany to propel his career forward – and with startling success. less than a decade after the release of the war within, akhtar irrevocably found himself “the de facto voice of the american muslim in theater.”57 the self and the other: akhtar’s autobiographical works in the post-9/11 world akhtar has repeatedly insisted that the inspiration for all of his works stems from his culture, religion, and heritage. “everything i write is some version of autobiography,” he said in a 2014 interview. “it’s often a deformed version of autobiography, but everything i write is drawn from personal experience, whether it’s observed or lived.”58 in another interview, akhtar elaborated on his relationship with the autobiographical genre: guernica: what do you make of the american preoccupation with memoir and the autobiography? novelists will write a book in the first person and many readers will think, “that has to have happened to them in real life.” ayad akhtar: especially if you’re a writer of color or if you’re a woman. because if you fall into either of those categories, you’re expected to be writing of your experience. but if you’re not, then you can write about anything. it’s always perplexing to me, the ways in which my own autobiography has found its way into my work. and it’s often very misleading. i’ll take details, and they are working in the opposite way from which they existed in my life. the story begins to have its own demands: i need this, that, and the other, and i could use this thing, but i have to change it. and so that comes into the story, and it has the register of authentic life, and people think, of course, it must have happened exactly like that. they’re going to get confused if they keep reading what i’m working on. they’ll think, “how can he be that and that? it doesn’t make any sense!”59 akhtar maintains that although his works are based on his own life, they nevertheless occupy a different sphere, one of artful authenticity and literary fantasy – and yet, the very nature of these works is what seems problematic. his works may be a blend of reality and fiction, but that they all paint muslims in a negative light is somewhat disturbing. akhtar distances himself from his bigoted, oppressive, and violent characters, but the question remains – why solely create characters like these in the first place? akhtar’s first novel, published in 2012, was instantly met with critical acclaim. his manuscript american dervish, in fact, was picked up by little, brown and company for a six-figure sum only one day after the publisher received it. the new york times, among others, reviewed it quite favorably, calling the novel a “pleasure,” a “self-assured and effortlessly told”60 debut. american dervish centers on a young boy named hayat shah, a pakistani american living in suburban milwaukee who must grapple with his culture, faith, and identity as he enters adolescence. although his novel resembles a bildungsroman in many aspects, the inclusion of bigoted muslim characters interrupts akhtar’s narrative and forces it to take on a darker tone. one pharmacist idolizes adolf hitler, and in one of the novel’s most upsetting scenes, the imam at the local mosque delivers an anti-semitic khutbah and calls the jewish people “loathsome.”61 even akhtar’s protagonist is unable to resist such prejudice: when mina, the object of hayat’s adolescent affections, begins to fall in love with a jewish doctor, hayat “turns to a more conservative, literal version of islam” and unfortunately “gravitate[s] toward those aspects of muslim scripture and culture that cast jews in a negative light.”62 other muslim characters, in addition, are subtly misogynistic, and as hayat becomes jealous of mina and her jewish lover, the reader cannot help but wonder how toxic of a combination anti-semitism and misogyny can truly be. akhtar continues his discussion of women in his 2014 play the who & the what. described as a “fiery-flavored stew” that stirs “matters of faith and family, gender and culture,”63 akhtar’s play centers on zarina, an ivy-educated young muslim woman who ruminates on the role of women in islam. controlled by her rigid father, zarina critiques both islamic history and the veil; she is convinced that “misogyny [lies] at the heart of islamic history”64 and longs to pen an exposé. “i hate what the faith does to women,” she admits in one scene. “for every story about [prophet muhammad’s] generosity or his goodness, there’s another that’s used as an excuse to hide us. and the story of the veil takes the cake.”65 where zarina is critical, her father is conservative: when instructing another male muslim about how he should treat his wife, afzal states, “she has more power over you than she really wants. she can’t help it. and she won’t be happy until you break her, son. she needs you to take it on, man.”66 akhtar describes his story, about the clash between two different generations, as a “very old tale which is told again and again.”67 in 17 muslim identity in 21st century america many aspects, akhtar is correct – but despite the play’s forced happy ending, the issues of misogyny and oppression are raised and subsequently left dangling, never truly resolved for the audience. but compared to either american dervish or the who & the what, akhtar’s 2012 play disgraced is probably the most controversial work of all, as well as the most praised. indeed, the winner of the 2013 pulitzer prize for drama, disgraced began its highly feted broadway run in october 2014. the play centers on mergers and acquisitions lawyer amir kapoor who lives with his wife in a post-9/11 upper east side. ashamed of his pakistani heritage and desirous of a successful career, amir goes as far as to change his name and renounce his faith. whereas at least two other characters are supporters of islam, amir emerges as islam’s most aggressive critic in the play. amir constantly equates islam with violence, oppression, and bigotry; at one point, despite his wife’s counterargument, he even maintains that the qur’an endorses wife-beating. in a hateful rant at the dinner table, amir spews the following to his wife and guests: [islam] goes way deeper than the taliban. to be muslim – truly – means not only that you believe all this. it means you fight for it, too. politics follows faith? no distinction between mosque and state? remember all that? so if the point is that the world in the quran was a better place than this world, well, then let’s go back. let’s stone adulterers. let’s cut off the hands of thieves. let’s kill the unbelievers. and so, even if you’re one of those lapsed muslims sipping your after-dinner scotch alongside your beautiful white american wife – and watching the news and seeing folks in the middle east dying for values you were taught were purer – and stricter – and truer … you can’t help but feel just a little bit of pride.68 akhtar, ever the keen playwright, uses amir’s “blush of pride”69 at the 9/11 attacks to invoke the doubt and suspicion of the american audience toward muslims in a post9/11 world. indeed, akhtar effectively plays upon the fears of the american public to create shock value and controversy – so when amir admits, “i guess i forgot … which we i was,”70 and when amir’s guest calls amir a “fucking closet jihadist,”71 the lines between ‘them’ and ‘us’ are quite clearly drawn. but akhtar takes everything a step further. in one of the play’s most harrowing scenes, amir viciously beats his wife when he discovers her infidelity. he assaults her in a “torrent of rage”72 until he realizes the inhumanity of his own actions; by the end of the scene, his wife’s face is covered with blood. amir’s violence connects to his earlier comments about how islam promotes wife-beating – the image from performance of disgraced at the bush theatre (courtesy of geraint lewis/alamy) 18 elements : : spring 2015 paradox, however, is that amir detests islam and is an apostate. consequently, how could the american amir slip into the supposed behavior of his ancestors? “it’s tribal,” amir tells his guests. “it is in the bones… you have to work real hard to root that shit out.”73 akhtar paints a disturbing portrait of a man who angrily flees from islamic culture, only to discover it silently lurking within himself. indeed, amir becomes the bigoted and violent stereotype that he so detests, and consequently, akhtar’s protagonist perpetuates muslim stereotypes in a society that is already anxious about the role of muslims and islam. akhtar does the same with the only other pakistani character in the play, amir’s nephew. near the end of the play, abe tells his uncle, “[americans have] conquered the world. we’re gonna get it back. that’s our destiny. it’s in the quran.”74 abe’s dreams of establishing a worldwide islamic caliphate are eerily similar to the current goal of isis, and once again, play upon american fears. akhtar’s pulitzer prize-winning play ends with a tragic silence and no redeemable muslim character standing on the stage. what exactly is the american audience supposed to take away from a work like this? all three of akhtar’s main works have a common theme: muslim characters that are painted in a less than flattering light. indeed, while “some muslims have accused akhtar of employing negative stereotypes for dramatic effect,” others even claim that he is “airing the muslim community’s dirty laundry for an outside audience.”75 akhtar, however, maintains that instead of purposely depicting unlikable muslim characters, he is simply “writing about the american experience.”76 in regard to such criticism, akhtar responds: [readers] have wondered why, in an age of very real anti-muslim bigotry, i am choosing to delve into the more shadowy elements of modern islamic identity. the issue is not unimportant. and the response to it is not simple. “correcting” the impression many in the west have of islam is not an artistic project; it is a public relations matter. as such, the optics of how islam is perceived cannot be of concern to me except insofar as it is of moment to the characters i am writing about.77 akhtar echoes his sentiment about the game of public relations and optics in a 2012 interview with bill kenower: i think there’s this sense that as a muslim american artist of some visibility, where there’s a real dearth of that in the culture today, that i am seen as having some sort of responsibility and that that responsibility is unfortunately seen as a, or formulated as, almost a pr strategy or an optics game, in which i am called upon to reflect back an image of islam that is going to correct the [western] misapprehension or misperception of it. and that is a very valiant job; it’s just not the job of an artist.78 akhtar insists that as an artist, he should not be expected to clear up any misunderstandings about islam or muslims, and perhaps he is right. akhtar has repeatedly stated that it is not his responsibility to offer a “message or some higher meaning”79 to his american audience. there is no doubt that akhtar’s formula has succeeded: now a pulitzer prize-winner in the midst of elite company, akhtar has become the most prominent muslim voice in american literature and theatre. and yet, although he admits his works are autobiographical, akhtar continually attempts to divorce them from the aura of muslims, the other. in an interview with the wall street journal, akhtar says: i think the alleged proposition is you are going to go see my work and learn something about “those” people. and a lot of times people come away thinking, “actually, i’m illuminated about myself.” but that’s my intention. i’m writing to the universal. i’m not writing to some specific ideal that fits in with the zeitgeist. i just happen to be situated, because of my history, my upbringing, my passions, my ecstasies and my demons, to be writing about subject matter that seems to be meeting the world in an unusually direct way. but that’s not a conscious strategy on my part. that’s just luck. i think i’m writing about the american experience.80 according to akhtar, his works are not about muslims or the muslim condition; instead, they focus on americans and the american condition – but to make the american experience the centerpiece of one’s works, akhtar claims one must “wrestle with your demons and your passions, and to celebrate and criticise your traditions and your community.”81 and so, consciously or unconsciously, akhtar seems to have realized spender’s theories on autobiography. by casting the american muslim community in a negative light, akhtar is “commenting on the value of the age in which he lives.”82 no one except akhtar himself truly knows whether or not he is using the american anxiety of muslims and islam to jumpstart his career, but the american artist is quite open about his literary difficulties: 19 muslim identity in 21st century america so my idea of being a writer meant writing like a european modernist, and i needed 15 years to get over that. i was working for a long time with the wrong idea, which was not bringing me close to my own subject matter, because i never thought that anything i experienced as a kid or that i saw in my community would be of interest to anybody else. that imprimatur took a long time to work out of my system, and it didn’t happen until my early 30s.83 the implication is clear: only when akhtar began to focus on his own community and heritage was he able to achieve success – but success itself stems from society and its consciousness. in a society that immediately discards any medium that portrays muslims in a positive light on the basis of it being boring or average, such as all-american muslim, while championing medium that perpetuates islamic stereotypes, such as homeland, how can a muslim or pakistani artist ever expect to achieve recognition? even akhtar himself admits that he is sometimes taken aback at the incendiary and unsettling things he has written: “an actor will say something and suddenly i’ll be shocked that i’ve written this thing. i can’t believe it. i want to leave the room.”84 and certainly, one cannot blame akhtar for his shock and disquiet. the mercurial and tempestuous hayat from american dervish, the impetuous zarina and prejudiced afzal from the who & the what, and the conflicted yet callous amir from disgraced – they are all characters that akhtar himself created, characters formulated from his own personal experience. who knows what akhtar will write next? what stories will he tell, and what characters will populate them? to firmly claim that akhtar has totally bowed to american consciousness, the other, and let his self and experiences be dissected and shunted through another channel, another pair of eyes, another consciousness is a bit extreme. and yet, with the material that akhtar exploits in his works, one cannot help but wonder what role he is playing on the stage of american media and politics in a post-9/11 world. in fact, perhaps abe jensen from disgraced has the final word in these matters: for three hundred years they’ve been taking our land, drawing new borders, replacing our laws, making us want to be like them. look like them. marry their women. they disgraced us. they disgraced us. and then they don’t understand the rage we’ve got?85 but then again, who knows? endnotes 1. trussell 2014. 2. sriram 2014. 3. trussell 2014. 4. gerard 2012. 5. encyclopædia britannica 2014. 6. gusdorf 1980. 7. gusdorf (33). 8. howarth 1980. 9. olney 1972. 10. olney (20-21). 11. gusdorf (29). 12. mcaleavey 2014. 13. gusdorf (45). 14. ibid. 15. gusdorf (31). 16. ibid. 17. ibid. 18. rousseau 2008. 19. gusdorf (31-32). 20. augustine 2009. 21. gusdorf (33). 22. ibid. 23. spender 1980. 24. ibid. 25. spender (116). 26. spender (122). 27. ibid. 28. muslim public affairs council 2014. 29. thompson et al., 2014. 30. “support for u.s. campaign against isis; doubts about its effectiveness, objectives.” 2014. 31. real time with bill maher 2014. 32. steinback 2014. 33. fermino 2014. 34. personal experience. 35. altman 2010. 36. “how americans feel about religious groups.” 2014. 37. the arab american institute 2014. 38. rudner 2014. 39. entertainment weekly 2014. 40. wingfield and karaman 1995. 41. al-arian 2012. 42. ibid. 43. sydell 2006. 44. ibid. 45. memmott 2011. 46. martin 2012. 47. weisman 2010. 48. jha 2014. 49. chaudry 2014. 50. eikmeier 2014. 51. spender (122). 52. ibid. 53. npr 2012. 20 elements : : spring 2015 54. ibid. 55. levingston 2014. 56. ibid. 57. cohen 2014. 58.trussell 2014. 59. sriram 2014. 60. langer 2012. 61. ibid. 62. al-shawaf 2012. 63. isherwood 2014. 64. ibid. 65. ibid. 66. ibid. 67. raymond 2014. 68. akhtar (54). 69. akhtar (55). 70. ibid. 71. akhtar (57). 72. akhtar (66). 73. akhtar (55). 74. akhtar (74). 75. qureshi 2014. 76. cohen 2014. 77. al-shawaf 2012. 78. kenower 2012. 79. bushtheatre 2013. 80. levingston 2014. 81. whatsonstage 2013. 82. spender (122). 83. cohen 2014. 84. levingston 2014. 85. akhtar (74). references “25 most controversial movies ever.” entertainment weekly. entertainment weekly, 14 may 2009. akhtar, ayad. disgraced. london: bloomsbury, 2013. akhtar, ayad. interview by aditi sriram. “notes for the stage.” guernica / a magazine of art and politics. guernica / a magazine of art and politics. 2 june 2014. akhtar, ayad. interview by angela carone. “ayad akhtar’s muslim-american culture clash comes to la jolla playhouse.” kpbs public media. kpbs, 14 feb. 2014. akhtar, ayad. interview by bill kenower. “ayad akhtar interview.” youtube. youtube.com, 7 dec. 2012. akhtar, ayad. interview by dominic cavendish. “interview with ayad akhtar, winner of the 2013 pulitzer prize for drama.” the telegraph. telegraph media group, 16 apr. 2013. akhtar, ayad. interview by gerard raymond. “the who & the what interview with ayad akhtar.”the house next door. slant magazine, 30 june 2014. akhtar, ayad. interview by rayyan al-shawaf. “an interview with ayad akhtar.” islamic monthly, summer/fall 2012. akhtar, ayad. interview. “pulitzer winner ayad akhtar: islam is ‘ripe territory’ for drama.” whatsonstage. whatsonstage.com, 20 may 2013. al-arian, laila. “tv’s most islamophobic show.” salon. salon, 15 dec. 2012. altman, alex. “time poll: majority oppose mosque, many distrust muslims.” time. time inc., 19 aug. 2010. “american attitudes toward arabs and muslims: 2014.” the arab american institute. the arab american institute. augustine. confessions. trans. henry chadwick. new york: oxford up. 2009. “autobiography.” encyclopædia britannica. encyclopædia britannica online. encyclopædia britannica inc., 2014. bushtheatre. “meet the playwright: ayad akhtar, writer of disgraced.” youtube. youtube.com, 15 mar. 2013. chaudry, rabia. “abc’s ‘alice in arabia’ is racist.” time. time inc., 19 mar. 2014. cohen, stefanie. “’disgraced’ playwright: ‘i’m writing about the american experience.’”the wall street journal. the wall street journal, 7 nov. 2014. eikmeier, brooke. “’alice in arabia’ writer: media mob killed my pro-arab, pro-tolerance tv series (guest column).” the hollywood reporter. the hollywood reporter, 27 mar. 2014. fermino, jennifer. “shocking anti-islam ad campaign coming to mta buses, subway stations.” ny daily news. ny daily news, 19 sept. 2014. 21 muslim identity in 21st century america gerard, jerry. “pacino’s $377 ticket ghettoizes broadway: jeremy gerard.” bloomberg. bloomberg, 29 oct. 2012. gusdorf, georges. “conditions and limits of autobiography.” autobiography: essays theoretical and critical. trans. james olney. princeton: princeton up, 1980. 30. “how americans feel about religious groups.” pewresearch religious & public life project. pew research center, 16 july 2014. howarth, william l. “some principles of autobiography.” autobiography: essays theoretical and critical. ed. james olney. princeton: princeton up, 1980. 85. isherwood, charles. “the shadow of the patriarch.” the new york times. the new york times, 16 june 2014. jha, rega. “we got a copy of the script for “alice in arabia” and it’s exactly what critics feared.” buzzfeed. buzzfeed, 21 mar. 2014. langer, adam. “stumbling through an american muslim maze.” the new york times. the new york times, 04 jan. 2012. levingston, steven. “ayad akhtar: on muslim identity, and life in america.” the washington post. the washington post, 19 july 2014. martin, adam. “tlc cancels ‘all-american muslim’ due to lack of controversy.” the wire. the atlantic, 7 mar. 2012. memmott, mark. “lowe’s ignites controversy by pulling ads from ‘all-american muslim’” npr. national public radio, 12 dec. 2011. olney, james. “a theory of autobiography: my metaphysics… my physics.” metaphors of self: the meaning of autobiography. james olney. princeton: princeton up, 1972. 18. qureshi, bilal. “in stories of muslim identity, playwright explores fault lines of faith.” npr. national public radio, 10 july 2014. real time with bill maher. hbo. 3 oct. 2014. rousseau, jean-jacques. confessions. trans. angela scholar. new york: oxford up. 2008. spender, stephen. “confessions and autobiography.” autobiography: essays theoretical and critical. ed. james olney. princeton: princeton up, 1980. 117. “statistics.” muslim public affairs council. muslim public affairs council. steinback, robert. “the anti-muslim inner circle.” southern poverty law center. southern poverty law center, summer 2011. “support for u.s. campaign against isis; doubts about its effectiveness, objectives.” pew research center for the people and the press. pew research center, 22 oct. 2014. sydell, laura. “’sleeper cell’ draws fire for soft take on terrorists.” npr. national public radio, 3 dec. 2006. thompson, nick, richard a. greene, and inez torre. “isis: everything you need to know about the rise of the militant group.” cnn. cable news network, 25 sept. 2014. trussell, robert. “kansas city repertory theatre rep stages ayad akhtar work about the american experience.” the kansas city star. the kansas city star, 18 oct. 2014. weisman, jon. “two years later, ‘aliens in america’ cancelation still worth lamenting.” variety. variety, 26 mar. 2010. wingfield, marvin, and bushra karaman. “arab stereotypes and american educators.” american-arab anti-discrimination committee. american-arab anti-discrimination committee, mar. 1995. “writing about the midwestern muslim experience.” npr. national public radio, 7 jan. 2012. 22 elements : : spring 2015 "consciousness implies choice, and thus the self is freedom: 'the more consciousness, the more self; the more consciousness, the more will.. a person who has no will at all is not a self1 for kierkegaard, despair must be a free act, and not simply a characteristic of mankind." s i n , d e s p a i r , a n d t h e o t h e r ! the works of soren kierkegaard scott o'leary s o r e n k i e r k e g a a r d , t h e m y s t i c e x i s t e n t i a l i s t , q u e s t i o n s t h e r o l e o f d e s p a i r i n g h u m a n l i f e i n h i s c e l e b r a t e d t e x t , t h e s i c k n e s s u n t o d e a t h . i n a d i s q u i s i t i o n b o t h p e r s u a s i v e a n d t r o u b l i n g , h e i n s i s t s t h a t d e s p a i r , f a r f r o m b e i n g a s t a t e o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s w h i c h s h o u l d b e a v o i d e d , i s i n f a c t a s pi r l t u a l m o o d t h a t b r i n g s t h e i n d i v i d u a l d i a l e c t i c a l l y c l o s e r t o t h e d i v i n e . b u t h o w c a n w e a c c e p t t h e p a r a d o x e s o f f a i t h t h a t c a u s e s u c h t e r r i b l e d e s p a i r ? o u r i n a b i l i t y t o c o m e t o t e r m s w i t h t h e e l e m e n t s o f c h r i s t i a n i t y t h a t k i e r k e g a a r d h i m s e l f c a l l s o f f e n s i v e , s u c h a s o r i g i n a l s i n a n d c o d ' s t o t a l a u t h o r i t y o v e r m a n , l e a d t o a p e r v a s i v e l o s s o f s e l f c o n s c i o u s n e s s t h a t k i e r k e g a a r d s e e s a s t h e e p i d e m i c o f m o d e r n c i v i l i z a t i o n . l i k e a p h y s i c i a n , k i e r k e g a a r d d i a g n o s e s o u r s i c k n e s s , a n d h i s p r e s c r i p t i o n f o r r e c o v e r y i s p a r a d o x i c a l a n d p r o v o k i n g . "for kierkegaard, the self becomes impossible without the existence of a divine "other," who exists outside and beyond the human.77 "whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent," writes ludwig wittgenstein at the end of his tractatus logico philosophicus. martin heidegger is more explicit: "theology is a positive science, and as such, therefore is absolutely different from philosophy" 1. many continental and analytic philosophers agree that the subject of god must remain apart from philosophy. however, soren kierkegaard protests precisely the opposite: only a metaphysical system that removes the mystery of god must be avoided. kierkegaard sees that man's problems lie in his sickness, a sickness caused by despair. it is only through a personal god that one can overcome despair. i n the sickness unto death, kierkegaard develops a psychospiritual analysis of despair and illustrates that the only solution to this is a personal relationship with the divine 'other', god. 1 1 the first section of this work shows how kierkegaard develops despair as a psychological and spiritual mood that transcends finite existence. following the theistic existential tradition of augustine and pascal, kierkegaard elaborates on the understanding of despair as a being out of place in the world. kierkegaard uses a psychological description of an underlying, primordial, and existential emotion as an important component of his solution to despair. for kierkegaard, the self becomes impossible without the existence of a divine "other," who exists outside and beyond the human. the sickness unto death is not without precedent. soren kierkegaard's work follows a tradition of christian existential writing that began with saint augustine. in his confessions, augustine hints at the emotional analysis one finds at the heart of kierkegaard's writing. the confessions is a wholly existential work, and augustine anticipates kierkegaard by writing, "thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is restless, unti l i t repose in thee." 1 1 1 blaise pascal continues this tradition of theistic existentialism even amidst enlightenment rationalism. pascal writes of the human condition as a great fallen-ness, rendering the human being a miserable and weary entity. "nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without study. he then feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his dependence, his weakness, his emptiness." through the intensity of emotional experience, man recognizes his weakness and despair, leading pascal to remark, "we know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart. " 1 v kierkegaard is not alone i n predicating religious and philosophical belief upon an emotional torment that he terms e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 anxiety. yet he sets himself apart, as this "restlessness and weariness'™ become the focal point of his philosophical studies. the sickness unto death begins with the metaphor of the physician at a sickbed. just as a physician examines the inf irm to diagnose the problem and discover a cure, kierkegaard depicts himself as a "physician of the soul" intent on resolving "a sickness of the spirit.'™1 the role of physician is established within the full title of the work: the sickness unto death: a christian psychological exposition for upbuilding and awakening. the description of despair cannot be understood as a purely theoretical sketch, but instead, as a clinical and psychological analysis. the author clearly states that the sickness unto death is both a rigorous scholarly work and a religious exhortation to overcome the despair which leads to sin. v 1 1 unlike other philosophers of his time, such as hegel, kierkegaard avoids any systematic definitions, preferring instead to use metaphorical examples. he also employs dialectics, in which a thesis and antithesis join to form a synthesis, to describe a number of his ideas, most notably that of the "self." i n this sense, kierkegaard incorporates hegel's dialectical approach in his analysis, while at the same time refusing to reduce his ideas to a formal system. the sickness unto death begins with the conception of the self. i n many ways, it is the divided self of descartes, in which the individual subjective consciousness is the foundation for interpreting the world. yet kierkegaard adds certain qualifications. while he accepts the subjective self, kierkegaard avoids the "false step" of descartes' artificially created concept of "inwardness.'™ 1 1 1 yet, since kierkegaard explains that since the health of the self is attained through faith, some form of inwardness is essential for the self. like descartes, he rejects the aristotelian psychology of health as an outward self measured by social ethics, but in opposition to descartes, kierkegaard posits his own analysis: "a human being is spirit. but what is spirit? spirit is the self." unfortunately, this initial analysis of the self as spirit is not immediately useful. he adds, "but what is the self? the self is a relation that relates itself or is the relation's relating itself to itself i n the relation." 1* kierkegaard's complicated conception of the self can best be deciphered by a careful analysis of its parts. firstly, we see that the self exists as a relation: it is not a substance or a single "point" of consciousness but instead can be conceived of as a "relational field."* through its simultaneous relation with itself, and a reaching beyond itself to related to the "other," the self becomes "concrete" in a synthesis of its finite and infinite qualities.* 1 for kierkegaard, god is the ultimate "other," to whom the self is necessarily and absolutely related such a relation that relates itself to itself must either have established itself or have been established by another. if the relation that relates itself to itself has been established by another, then the relation is indeed the third, but this relation, the third, is yet again a relation and relates itself to that which established the entire relation. the human self is such a derived, established relation, a relation that relates itself to itself and in relating itself to itself relates itself to another." x n the self arises from the divine other, and as such, the self can only be explored dialectically via the analysis of its relation to an "other." the self's realization that it has not "itself established itself" leads to two forms of despair.*111 i f the self did indeed establish itself, then there would be no dialectical conflict with the divine other. this position would closely reflect heidegger and sartre's interpretations, which portray despair i n only a singular form. yet kierkegaard cannot agree with this. whether this belief is solely on a religious level or also philosophical is an untenable question, as the two are inextricably linked i n his thinking. the relational aspect of the self, the always-becoming and always-in-flux, requires this "other" to continually establish the self. s i n , d e s p a i r , a n d t h e o t h e r : t h e w o r k s o f s o r e n k i e r k e g a a r d kierkegaard's perceives the human being is a series of three syntheses: "a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of the temporal and the eternal, of freedom and necessity, in short, a synthesis,"and it is the mediating relation between these opposing pairs that constitutes the self. x l v despair arises in the "mis-relation in a relation that relates itself to itself." x v i n the possibility of each synthesis becoming a "mis-relation," there lurks the possibility of despair, which then must be traced dialectically. that this is so is due to the dialectic inherent in the self as a synthesis, and therefore each constituent is its opposite. no kind of despair can be defined directly (undialectically) but only by reflecting on its opposite factor. x v i rather than immediately engaging in this dialectic exploration, it is helpful to use kierkegaard's ideas of the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious as the three stages of life, and to compare these stages to the different types of despair present in the three forms of syntheses. the life of the aesthete, personified in don juan and faustus, is a self that attempts to completely free itself from finitude, falling into the despair of infinitude. "this initial wakening to imagination...this passion for the possible," allows for infinite freedom and creativity; yet as kierkegaard himself warns, "you are king of a kingdom of nothingness." x v n this infinite has no grounding in reality, and thus the aesthete is destined to a life of continuous self-creating. like prometheus, the aesthete's desire to become a god is impossible. "such exercises in 'promethean hope'," kierkegaard admonishes, " invariably culminate in despair." x v m the ethical life, by contrast, becomes grounded solely in the finite, the temporal, and the necessary. characters such as judge wilhelm in either/or entirely lose their consciousness of the infinite and the eternal. while the ethical man chooses a self, he thinks only in relation outward, to others around h im, neglecting the eternal quality of his soul. finally, with the famous example of abraham, in fear and trembling as the "knight of faith," the author describes the third, and culminating, stage of life. the religious life is the synthesis of the aesthetic and ethical life, and in this sense reconciles the dialectical elements of the soul. the freedom, imagination, and possibility of the aesthetic are grounded in a necessity that is stronger than the ethical: the divine. these three stages, the aesthetic, ethical, and religious stages, depict the self's outward relations. in the sickness unto death, kierkegaard turns his attention to one's inner relations. because this relation is inward, kierkegaard relies on a dialectical, psychological, and more abstract mode of analysis. he avoids the concrete models of abraham, judge wilhelm, and faustus i n favor of three distinct dialectical pairs: the temporal/eternal, the finite/infinite, and possibility/necessity. each of these pairs is more than simply a collection of opposites, or a "negative unity". the synthesis of each of these dialectical pairs begets freedom, and this freedom is the grounded, concrete self. the self is the right relation between the six constituents of the synthesis, each of which, i f it becomes unbalanced, can lead to its own form of despair. the temporal and eternal are discussed in great detail another work by kierkegaard x 1 x in the sickness unto death, he focuses upon the second two kinds of despair. in the first, the dialectical mis-relation of finite and infinite, the despair of finitude forgets the spiritual, the inifmite, and lives only for the day to day. by contrast, the despair in infinitude occurs when the self immerses itself in the spiritual and infinite, but loses its relation to the world, living entirely in fantasy and imagination. as for necessity and possibility, a balance of the two relations would function dialectically to prevent the self from becoming lost in endless and imaginative possibility, or trapped in the fatalism of necessity. though despair is intricately linked with this dialectic of self, it "must be considered primarily within the category of consciousness. , , x x why is this so? because for kierkegaard, the "level" of the self's despair has a profoundly direct relation to the self's consciousness. consciousness implies choice, and thus the self is freedom: "the more consciouse l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 ness, the more self; the more consciousness, the more wi l l . .a person who has no wi l l at all is not a s e l f " ™ for kierkegaard, despair must be a free act, and not simply a characteristic of mankind. a l l despair contains at least some element of consciousness, although "very often, the person in despair probably has a dim idea of his own state."™ 1 even when one is ignorant of his despair as despair, he chooses to be i n despair by not being conscious of himself as spirit. the more developed forms of despair arise proportionally with an increase in self-consciousness. consciously, one despairs by either willing to not be oneself, or will ing to be oneself the first of these opposing states is a despair of weakness: the individual wills to be something or someone that is not his own self. a person cannot acknowledge the totality of his own selfhood, and thus resorts to a number of escapes: " i n despair not to wi l l to be oneself. or even lower: i n despair not to wi l l to be a self. or lowest of all: in despair to wil l to be someone else, to wish for a new self ." x x m what delineates the stages of this scale is the level of concealment of the self as self. the lowest form views the self simply as the outward living of an individual. when a man sheds his self and wants, for example, to be caesar, napoleon, or a bourgeois gentleman, he is hiding in weakness from his true self and from the conception of self as personal and internal. to despair either to not be a self or to not be oneself are also weaknesses because " in no way does it come from within as an act. ' , x x 1 v this occurs because one despairs as a "man of immediacy," concerned only with the earthly and outward world. or, having a real conception of the self, one falls into "inclosing reserve." the man of inclosing reserve acknowledges spirit in the self, but out of weakness goes no further; he resigns himself to an inexplicable solitude. proceeding one "dialectical step further," we reach the despair of defiance. the despair of defiance "is really despair through the aid of the eternal, the despairing misuse of the eternal within the sel f . "™ one in defiance wills to be oneself, but i n a twisted and flawed manner, will ing itself to relinquish its temporality through an act of stoicism and resignation, confirming only its abstractness. or i n another example the self attempts, through a promethean imagination, to "reconstruct" itself in thought. as the author puts it , the "acting self...constantly relates itself to itself only by way of imagining constructs...it recognizes no power over itself."™ 7 1 both forms of defiance are despair, because they refuse to submit the self to the divine other, and instead defiantly challenge the other or simply falsely repudiate the temporality of the self. yet kierkegaard makes clear that despair, while something that must be overcome, is a thing that points one towards a solution. as one's understanding of despair grows, the feeling of despair intensifies. "the level of consciousness intensifies the despair."™ 1 1 this anticipates kierkegaard's rejection that knowledge of despair can become the cure. the second half of the sickness unto death focuses on a possible solution, however, kierkegaard does not claim to offer the solution. the divine other cannot be spoken of or fully understood, and thus even "transparently resting in the other" lacks complete certainty.™ 1 1 1 however, kierkegaard sees the role of the other as central to a solution, as essential to the cure of this sickness unto death. the solution lies in the self, but as seen in kierkegaard's description of the self, this cannot be found solely in the individual. he turns i n the second half of the sickness unto death towards a possible solution, and at the same time turns from a primarily psychological description to a religious undertaking. while some like james l. marsh see this as a division in the author's spheres of thoughts, our argument is that only in the religious can a solution be found.™ x here, kierkegaard links himself with the christian tradition, bringing sin into the discussion. for here, the sickness "is sin and [sin] is: despair in not wanting to be oneself or wanting to be oneself."™ it is "sin" to be in despair "before god." x ™ sin is despair at a more intense level, as the divine is higher than the human level. however, because all human beings are related to god as the other i n the self, every human is i n despair before god and therefore is also in sin. s i n , d e s p a i r , a n d t h e o t h e r : t h e w o r k s o f s o r e n k i e r k e g a a r d kierkegaard rejects the socratic belief that sin is ignorance. knowing what is right does not necessitate acting rightly. "the greek mind does not have the courage to declare that a person knowingly does w r o n g . ' , x x x n instead, kierkegaard contends that the wi l l chooses to sin. "therefore, interpreted christianly, sin has its roots in willing, not i n knowing, and this corruption of will ing affects the individual's consciousness." x x x m rather than knowledge producing a solution, despair increases with the understanding of despair. this leads the individual to seek a cure, forcing h i m to choose between despairing in sin and resting transparently i n god. sin must be a choice and not simply the 'human condition'. i n the wi l l , in willing to be oneself, an individual begins to overcome despair. however, willing alone is incomplete. a person cannot simply wi l l a solution to sin; he has need of the divine other. despair as sin is singularly before god. like king david, kierkegaard can say, "against you, you alone, i have s inned. m x x x i v the relationship between sin and despair is inside the self, as the "other" is part of the self. it follows logically, then, that a solution must also be inward. as sin is singular and personal before god, so is the solution to sin: faith. man overcomes despair by resting transparently in god, and thus, "[b]y relating itself to its own self and by will ing to be itself, the self is grounded transparently in the power which constituted i t . ' , x x x v without the divine other, the self cannot completely wi l l to be itself. the self lacks the constitutive power that created it, and yet remains still part of the self. a n individual, which is a self always in flux, cannot cure himself of the sickness caused by despair. only through god, through faith, can the self find a peace that comes from acceptance of the other. one cannot strive beyond what kierkegaard describes as the aesthetic sphere without an 'other'. kierkegaard sees the only possible solution in the self's relation to the divine other, yet even this remains uncertain only with fear and trembling. e n d n o t e s i heidegger (1988) i i for brevity and simplicity i use kierkegaard i n place o f 'anticlimacus' and his other pseudonyms throughout this work, understanding that while kierkegaard used a variety of perspectives, i am mainly concerned wi th the wr i t ing and thinking of anti-climacus. examples from other writings are used to reinforce and clarify certain points. h i augustine (1993) iv pascal (1941) v pensees, fragment 131. vi kierkegaard (1980) vi i the sickness unto death, 5. v i i i westphal (1987) ix the sickness unto death, p. 13. x mooney (1996) xi the sickness unto death, p. 30. x i i the sickness unto death, p. 13-14. x i i i the sickness unto death, p. 16. xiv the sickness unto death, p. 13. xv the sickness unto death, p. 142. xvi the sickness unto death, p. 30. xvii the sickness unto death p. 207. xviii the sickness unto death, p. 207. xix see lowrie (1944) xx the sickness unto death, p. 29. xxi the sickness unto death, p. 29. xxii the sickness unto death, p. 48. xxiii the sickness unto death, p. 52. xxiv the sickness unto death, p. 51. xxvthe sickness unto death, p. 67. xxvi the sickness unto death, p. 68. xxvii the sickness unto death, p. 48. xxviii the sickness unto death, p. 30,124. xxix james marsh i n "kierkegaard's double dialectic o f despair and sin" divides the sickness unto death into the religious and ethical spheres, stressing the dialectic between each. however, he himself writes that there is only a single dialectic but two different 'aspects'. xxx the sickness unto death, p. 77. xxxi the sickness unto death, p i i3 references p r i m a r y w o r k s augustine, saint, bishop o f hippo. confessions trans. f.j. sheed. indianapolis i n : hackett publishing company, 1993 heidegger, martin. being and time, trans. johnmacquarrie and edward robinson. newyork: harper and row publishers, 1962 . heidegger, martin. "phenomenology and theology" i n pathmarks, ed. wi l l iam mcneill new york: cambridge univ. press, 1988 e l e m e n t s s p r i n g o 5 kierkegaard, soren. the concept of dread. trans.walter lowrie. new jersey: princeton university press, 1944 . the sickness unto death, trans. howard v. hong and edna h . hong. new jersey: princeton university press, 1980 pascal, blaise. pensees. trans. w.f. trotter. new york: the modern library, 1941 s e c o n d a r y w o r k s caputo, john d. radical hermeneutics: repetition, deconstruction, and the hermeneutic project. bloomington: indiana university press, 1987 dreyfus, hubert and jane rubin. "you can't get something for nothing: kierkegaard and heidegger and how not to overcome nihi l i sm" inquiry. march 1987; 30: 33-75 dreyfus, hubert l. being-in-the-world: a commentary on heidegger's being and time. cambridge, mass: m i t press, 1991. gouwens, david. kierkegaard as religious thinker. new york: cambridge university press, 1996 kearney, richard. modern movements i n european philosophy. wolfeboro, new hampshire: manchester university press, 1987 . the wake of imagination: toward a postmodern culture. minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 1988 marsh, james l. "kierkegaard's double dialectic of despair and sin" international kierkegaard commentary: the sickness unto death ed. by robert perkins. macon, georgia: mercer university press, 1987 mooney, edward f. selves in discord and resolve. new york: routledge publishing, 1996 ree, jonathan and jane chamberlain ed. kierkegaard: a critical reader oxford, uk: blackwell publishing, 1998 westphal, merold. "kierkegaard's psychology and unconscious despair" international kierkegaard commentary: the sickness unto death ed. by robert perkins. macon, georgia: mercer university press, 1987 wyschogrod, michael. kierkegaard and heidegger: the ontology of existence. new york: humanities press, 1969 s i n , d e s p a i r , a n d t h e o t h e r : t h e w o r k s o f s o r e n k i e r k e g a a r d "the great armies of the turks may be attributed to their small skill and rare use of fighting with guns, which only some part of the janissaries use, though they have a great store of artillery, which in like sort they cannot generally so well manage as the christians." fynes moryson, itinerary, seventeenth century1 g u n p o w d e r e m p i r e the mighty ottoman military outpaced c o n o r m c g o v e r n t h e o t t o m a n e m p i r e ' s a d o p t i o n o f g u n p o w d e r a s a w a r w i n n i n g w e a p o n p r e d a t e d o t h e r e u r o p e a n s t a t e s a n d s i g n a l e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e m i l i t a r y r e v o l u t i o n w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i z e d t h e e a r l y m o d e r n e r a t h a t b e g a n i n 1453 w i t h t h e f a l l o f c o n s t a n t i n o p l e a n d e n d e d a r o u n d 1800. h o w e v e r , t h e t u r k i s h a d v a n t a g e i n a r m s w a s s h o r t l i v e d, a n d b y t h e e n d o f t h e e r a , t h e e m p i r e ' s m i l i t a r y w a s o u t d a t e d a n d a t t h e m e r c y o f i t s e u r o p e a n n e i g h b o r s . f o c u s i n g o n t h e t h r e e m a j o r a r e a s t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e d t h e m i l i t a r y r e v o l u t i o n — a r t i l l e r y , f o r t i f i c a t i o n s , a n d f i r e p o w e r — t h i s p a p e r e x a m i n e s h o w t h e o t t o m a n e m p i r e ' s m i l i t a r y s t a g n a t e d a s a r e s u l t o f i t s r e f u s a l t o i n n o v a t e . i n t r o d u c t i o n the ottoman empire lasted over six centuries; like most empires, its rise was astronomical, and its decline long and drawn out. at its height i n the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it spanned three continents, stretching from gibraltar i n the west to the edge of persia i n the east, from the edge of ukraine i n the north to somalia i n the south. during those days it was one of the world's great powers, the mighty vanguard of the muslim hordes that christians saw knocking on the doorstep of continental europe. even the year that many historians set as the beginning of the modern era (if one must set a date) is inherently connected with the turks, as 1453 marks the ottoman conquest of constantinople and the end of the last ancient empire i n europe. arthur goldschmidt refers to the ottomans as the greatest of the "gunpowder empires" of the early modern middle east.11 one of contemporary scholarship's great debates involving the early modern period involves the notion of a military revolution, and it stands to reason that the ottomans must have participated i n such a revolution. a closer examination of ottoman history i n the context of the military revolution debate, however, is required. unlike its christian neighbors who became considerably stronger and more stable as time passed, the ottoman empire stagnated and declined, militarily and structurally, after a certain period. if, indeed, the ottomans were a "gunpowder empire," then what sort of role did advancing technology, and the ottoman's use of i t i n a revolutionary context, play i n the rise and fall of the ottoman military? this essay wi l l focus primarily on rogers' infantry, artillery, and fortification revolution, as well as a further examination of the turn of the 18-century firepower revolution, to provide an answer. t h e i n f a n t r y r e v o l u t i o n first we turn towards clifford rogers' first stage of the mi l itary revolution, the 14th-century infantry revolution. this period, he says, was revolutionary i n character on the european battlefield because it saw a switch from a focus on heavy cavalry as the determinant factor of battle to dominant infantry wielding polearms and missile weapons capable of high maneuverability.1 1 1 "the ottomans retained their taste for melee and horsemanship ... even as cavalry became a supporting unit on the battlefield and the gun-line became the norm for european armies." this switch from cavalry to infantry elite on the battlefield was achieved by the ottoman's own elite infantry, the janissaries, though such a change occurred later than it did elsewhere i n europe and only up to a point. the janissaries, a unique unit created by weaning the male children of non-muslim subjects of the ottomans on a dose of islam and war, were first mentioned as early as 1396, and their adoption of firearms as their weapons of choice must have occurred sometime before the 1449 battle of kossovo polje, making them the first elite battle-winning infantry unit i n europe to adopt gunpowder weapons as their weapon of choice. that said, the janissaries never gained the tactical flexibility of other european battle-winning troops. john guilmartin attributes this to janissary musketry's core role i n victories over the musket-less mamluks, postulating that they became too set i n their ways as their system had worked too well for too long. the ottomans were never beneficiaries of guilmartin's combined arms revolution, which originated with the spanish around the turn of the sixteenth century and allowed for compact, rapidly maneuverable bodies of infantry armed with the correct combination of shock and shot. i v aside from the janissaries, however, the ottomans retained their taste for melee and horsemanship for too long to change into an infantry force even as cavalry became a supporting unit on the battlefield and the gun-line became the norm for european armies. their famous cavalry had ruled the battlefield for too long and was too ingrained i n the structure of battle. while i n the seventeenth century, according to geoffrey parker, proportions of infantry to cavalry i n european orders of battle were climbing steadily, i n ottoman armies the proportion remained at one infantryman to every three horsemen. the strength of the janissary corps peaked at 40,000 men i n the second half of the seventeenth century with just over half of those actually available for service, when troops with handguns were winning battles and the numbers of infantry i n european armies were rising exponentially.v such was the ottoman infantry revolution, encapsulated i n the muskets of the janissary corps. was it, indeed, revolutionary? to a certain extent it had to be since it led to early victories over other muslim powers that lacked similar elite units wielding modern firearms and because it anticipated such developments on the european battlefield by several years. however, its universal success was limited as the janissaries refused to adopt modern tactics to go along with their guns, and their numbers were always less than those of the cavalry, even at a time when cavalry was being relegated to a secondary role on the battlefield; though the revolutionary candor of this parallel innovation cannot be denied, its overall legacy appears to be negligible. for the ottomans, success i n the short-term for their gunpowderarmed troops would lead to long-term stagnation. t h e a r t i l l e r y r e v o l u t i o n we turn to the year 1453 to find the first truly revolutionary expressions i n the ottoman military machine. here is the siege of constantinople, the boldest expression of the might of the ottoman military and the first example of rogers' artillery revolution of the fifteenth century, when advances i n artillery technology caused it to become devastatingly powerful, thereby rendering old-style masonry fortifications obsolete/1 though gunpowder artillery had been i n use by both muslim and christian forces i n europe prior to the siege of constantinople, there is no finer example of the power of gunpowder against old style fortifications. sir steven runciman acknowledges that earlier artillery had been unable to damage solid masonry; it was not unti l sultan mehmet's foundries and the hungarian engineer urban devised a mighty cannon "that would blast the walls of babylon itself" i n 1452 that artillery became an important factor i n siege warfare against heavily fortified city and castle walls/ 1 1 while smaller, more mobile artillery was used to take the less-fortified outlying towns of therapia and studios, the mighty mortar of the urban cannon, drawn by sixty oxen over a bridge specifically built to hold its heft, was used to blast away the walls of constantinople herself/1" though this one gun—the basilisk—was by far the largest, the ottoman army was equipped with further batteries of heavy gunpowder artillery, the like of which had never been seen on a battlefield before. this represents both a revolution i n technology, with the first mighty cannon capable of devastating heavy masonry, and tactical thinking, as the expertise required to move and handle such a weapon must impressively large c a n n o n s were i n s t r u m e n t a l to t h e o t t o m a n victory at c o n s t a n t i n o p l e . g u n p o w d e r e m p i r e have proven a unique challenge for engineer and general alike. how the ottoman artillery fared i n the battle becomes an important question, as its effectiveness is an important issue i n evaluating its revolutionary value. though one might have thought that the ottoman conquest of constantinople was easily achieved due to numerical superiority, i n personal and naval combat the christian forces proved superior. it was only because of the work of turkish gunpowder artillery that the siege was successful; ottoman and thus any future revolutions i n early modern warfare. x l clifford rogers agrees, claiming that this "artillery revolution," begun by the turks with the invention of such heavy artillery, was one of the stages of the early modern military revolution. it was the causative factor for the "fortification revolution" of the sixteenth century, rogers' next stage.x11 here, at the walls of constantinople, is the first evidence of a military revolution, years before charles viii 's 1494 invasion of italy, the campaign most often associated with being the spearhead for the artillery revolution by modern scholarship^ 1 1 1 "the ottomans continued to prefer the larger, more unwieldy pieces of artillery even as the french proved that smaller, more mobile artillery was more efficient... 77 attempts to breach the city's walls by mangonels and sapping were ineffective. l x kelly devries points out that the large guns employed by the turks were invariably highly vulnerable to defensive artillery fire, but the byzantines had very few of these guns, and those they did have were i l l placed and incapable of dealing with the heavy volume of large-bore cannon fire. x here can be seen the massive advantages that an army utilizing the new devastating turkish-style artillery during a siege had over both a besieging army using old-style siege engines and a defending army that lacked batteries of gunpowder artillery of its own. there can be no doubt that the technology utilized by the turks i n 1453 was revolutionary. i n fact, it is truly the causative and decisive factor i n all the other military revolutions that were to come. i f the military revolution was, as geoffrey parker argues, essentially driven by the spread of the tract italknne fortress, designed to withstand the roar of artillery when older style masonry fortifications could not, then it was this single invention—the turkish bombard— which would bring about the invention of these fortresses though the origins of the artillery revolution belong to the ottomans, the aforementioned case of charles viii 's campaign i n italy i n 1494 does give us some notion of why the ottomans failed to keep up their advantage. guilmartin explains that while the mighty turkish bombards of the midfifteenth century were capable of inflicting more damage shot-for-shot, the mobility and rate-of-fire of the french cannon were more impressive x 1 v ostensibly, their smaller size also allowed them to be produced faster and cheaper and thus would allow them to be fielded i n larger numbers, to say nothing of the need for less space per artillery piece and less draft animals to move the pieces. however, the ottomans continued to prefer the larger, more unwieldy pieces of artillery even as the french proved that smaller, more mobile artillery was more efficient than the massive turkish bombard, despite the fact that most of the cannonmasters employed i n the foundries of the sultans were europeans x v it is interesting to note that england was employing engineers from the same places the ottomans were, yet the english were able to, by the mid-sixteenth century, break free of their reliance on continental founders e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 09 and keep pace with the modernization of artillery.x v 1 again, the theme of ottoman anticipation of a period of military revolution with innovative work followed by a refusal to change a winning, but quickly outmoded, formula crops up; i n reference to advances i n artillery, paul coles calls them "prisoners of their origins." x v l 1 their supreme stubbornness would, over time, undermine the turkish mi l i tary machine i n every aspect. lack of materials hurt turkish foundries as well. iron, the material of choice for artillery manufacturing i n europe, was scarce i n the empire while copper was plentiful. therefore, the ottomans continued to predominantly make use of brass i n casting pieces. indeed, european observers noted their lack of cast-iron artillery as late as the later half of the eighteenth century, and claimed that any found i n fortifications or aboard ships had been taken or purchased from christians . x v m iron reduced the price of a gun enough that european armies that embraced iron founding were able to field about twelve iron guns at roughly the same cost as one bronze piece. in addition, engineers in the low countries and france made advances i n gunpowder technology that allowed for a more explosive ignition as well as advances i n iron cannonballs that were more damaging; both of these advances increased the difference between christian and turkish artillery that had already become apparent less than a century after constantinople. x l x i n a sign of how little the turks had advanced from their origins, on the other hand, incredulous english sailors i n the bosphorus i n 1807 were bombarded by t h e sixteenth century, i r o n c a n n o n s were at t h e v a n g u a r d of artillery. by stone balls which had been anachronistic elsewhere for centuries. x x the perfect example of ottoman passion for the huge, outdated siege guns comes as late as the russo-turkish war of 1768-1774, at a time when elsewhere i n europe founders had developed extremely mobile and efficient artillery i n a modem vein. a french officer, baron de tott, who had been placed i n command of the defense of the dardanelles, related an episode involving such an artillery piece. a bronze gun of preposterous size that fired a marble ball was placed i n the castle overlooking the strait. in event of a siege, it would take so long to fire that it would be nearly useless, but the turks were obsessed with the idea of such a massive gun and urged that a single shot would be enough. the officer decided to give it a test run, which caused the entire turkish crowd to run away; the shock from the blast was "like an earthquake," and the marble ball divided into three pieces at three hundred fathoms.™ such an artillery piece, so revered by the ottomans, would have been next to useless i n defense, as the french officer who was well-acquainted with european artillery knew, yet this serves as a perfect example of the turkish obsession with large, unwieldy, outmoded cannons made from and firing anachronistic materials. furthermore, the ottoman obsession with these big siege guns was detrimental to their success i n the field. coles claims the reason was that the ottomans had originally been irresistible as a cavalry force i n the open field, so artillery had never been necessary, and indeed would have slowed down their mobile forces. the ottomans became convinced that artillery was a siege weapon and not necessary for success i n pitched battles.5™1 whatever the reason, it is clear that the turks never caught on to the revolution i n field artillery. raimondo montecuccoli, who routed the turks at st. gothard i n august 1664, wrote: . . . [this] enormous artillery of the turks produces great damage when it hits, hut it is awkward to move and it requires too much time to reload and sight. furthermore, it g u n p o w d e r e m p i r e a n o u t m o d e d t u r k i s h fort consumes a great amount of powder, besides cracking and breaking the wheels and the carriages and even the ramparts on which it is placed....our artillery is more handy to move and more efficient and here resides our advantage over the cannon of the turks.™11 a century later, during the russo-turkish war, baron de tott made similar remarks, saying that "the first work of the new foundry was to be a train of field artillery of which the turks were entirely unprovided. " x x l v according to carlo cipolla, the advantage of the europeans was relatively small while the development of light field artillery was still i n its infancy throughout the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, but by the mid-seventeenth century enough progress had been made i n the development of highly mobile field-guns with a good rate of fire pioneered by the swedes i n the thirty years war that the ottomans were at a substantial disadvantage. this became a decisive reason behind their decline when, still stubbornly clinging to the notion of artillery as a mere siege engine, they simply could not stand up to mobile european artillery trains i n the field, which became increasingly evident i n the russo-turkish wars. x x v interestingly, historian rhoads murphey disagrees with the idea of inferiority, but agrees that the ottomans gained no inherent advantage over their european rivals because of their early revolution i n artillery. while the ottomans may not have had effective field artillery, it did not particularly matter unti l the latest stage of the early modern period, long after rogers' proposed artillery revolution, because of the range of artillery pieces. seventeenth-century field guns could only fire at a range of 200 to 300 meters, while the heavier siege guns had to be placed right i n front of their targets, and their effectiveness was often dampened by the instability of gunpowder and relied on the expertise e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 09 of the artillery crews. murphey claims that ottoman success against non-gunpowder states such as the mamluks and safavids had more to do with the janissaries and their handguns than artillery, an idea cipolla agrees w i t h . 5 0 ^ 1 between the lack of materials and the seemingly perpetual theme of the ottomans being unwilling to change a winning formula, no matter how outmoded it had become as their european rivals developed further innovations, the pathway to stagnation had been laid. the innovative ottomans of 1453 turned into the stagnating ottomans just a century later, though it would take further revolutions before the lag became evident. t h e f o r t i f i c a t i o n r e v o l u t i o n the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries are generally acknowledged as the golden age of turkish civilization, an era when it was amongst the greatest powers i n europe. at the beginning of this era, as we have seen, it had toppled the once-mighty byzantine civilization with the use of the most devastating gunpowder siege artillery ever deployed on a european battlefield. though they refused to adopt field artillery when other european powers did, they continued to produce impressive siege pieces. in the sixteenth century, the preponderance of artillery fortresses that began to spread across europe following the turkish innovation i n heavy-bore artillery and the subsequent adoption of such heavy guns by european armies strangled the turkish military head-start i n its infancy. mcneill notes that by the 1560s, modern style fortifications had spread throughout europe enough to halt ottoman expansion and render their advantages i n siege technology useless. his basis for this assumption is the failure of the 1565 siege of m a l t a . x x v u guilmartin believes that the fortification revolution had come as early as 1532, when a seven hundred man garrison at guns withstood the entire ottoman army for twenty days. x x v n i whatever the case, it appears clear that by the mid-sixteenth century, the turks' european rivals had developed technology that blunted their previous advantage i n siege weaponry. however, murphey disagrees with this notion. he concludes that: .. .the expense of introducing these improvements removed in terms of the everyday practice of warfare any theoretical advantage such improvements might have conferred. several of the fortresses, newly constructed or thoroughly upgraded to conform with the 'modern style' and considered by then-current standards virtually impregnable, still succumbed in the face of determined ottoman attack.xxlx his examples are uyvar i n 1663 and candia i n 1669, two sieges that occurred at the twilight of the ottoman military machine and over a century after the two dates offered by guilmartin and william m c n e i l l . x x x according to h im, relatively few of the fortresses protecting the border between ottoman and habsburg territories were "contstructed elaborately enough . . . to withstand even the haphazard attacks "like with their attachment to cavalry and giant guns, the turks continued to prefer old medieval style castles with very few modifications of hungarian insurgents, let alone more determined assault by fully-equipped and well-trained ottoman armies." x x x 1 however, murphey does not address the siege of malta, one of the best examples of the failure of ottoman siege warfare facing a new-style of fortification. though he makes it clear that these innovative designs were not necessarily as impregnable as parker may have claimed, they still obviously existed as a massive barrier to ottoman forces, even i f their use was not as widespread as imagined. g u n p o w d e r e m p i r e while the ottomans were challenged to besiege their rivals' new trace italienne fortresses, they themselves never actually participated i n the fortification revolution. like with their attachment to cavalry and giant guns, the turks continued to prefer old medieval style castles with very few modifications to account for modern siege engines. logically, the habsburgs should then not only have been able to contain the ottomans with their own forts but also to rollback their advances and capture swathes of territory for themselves. in practice, this did not occur unti l much later, and turkish armies continued to advance into habsburg territory and besiege their fortifications and cities unti l the end of the seventeenth century. likewise, the habsburgs failed to gain any territory worth mentioning unti l the treaty of karlowitz i n 1699. i f the new style of fortifications were indeed revolutionary, the existence of trace italienne fortresses i n one realm and the lack of them i n the other should have produced rapid and noticeable changes i n military outcomes; as i t stood, however, there was no distinguishable advantage gained unti l long after the end of the fortification revolution.50™1 while the ottomans displayed their characteristic attachment to the past when dealing with new style fortifications, this seems to not have had the blatant debilitating effect that their backwardness i n other realms of the military revolution did. they were able to effectively besiege new style bastions on several occasions and their own outdated fortresses did not begin to fall unti l the end of the seventeeth century, which was long after the fortification revolution as proposed by rogers and parker. its particulars elsewhere i n europe notwithstanding, the idea of a fortification revolution had only a minimal discernible effect on the mi l itary realities of the ottoman empire. t h e f i r e p o w e r r e v o l u t i o n though guns and field artillery had begun to rule the open battlefield, shock weapons still had their uses i n warfare up unti l the eighteenth century. murphey writes that despite their diminishing importance i n the field, they were of ultimate importance i n the siege when it came time for an assault. handguns were restricted to providing cover for soldiers rushing i n with swords, hatchets, and halberds. firing muskets was too risky i n the midst of a general melee; stopping to reload would put soldiers i n a fatally vulnerable position, and any non-fatal shot would undoubtedly result i n the musketeer being killed by an enemy armed with an outmoded, but more useful, hand w e a p o n . x x x m i n an assault on a fortification, it remained numbers and personal skill and not technological superiority that determined the victor. that lasted unti l two infinitely important innovations, the flintlock handgun and the socket bayonet, were adopted i n the seventeenth century by the vast majority of european armies. x x x l v a flintlock firing mechanism allowed a gun to be reliably fired i n wet conditions, while matchlock guns had suffered when powder became wet. additionally, the quick-fire at the pull of a trigger as opposed to a slow burning match meant that it was much easier to aim and thus hit a moving target, rendering the guns more practical for use up close. the elimination of the match also drastically reduced casualties from accidental discharge or ignition of nearby sources of powder. the socket bayonet was introduced around the turn of the eighteenth century, and allowed an infantryman to serve as both a missile and shock troop at once (earlier models of bayonets had plugged the muzzle of the bayonet, preventing the gun from firing). this eliminated the need for pikes and meant that soldiers with firearms were no longer susceptible to cavalry charges, ending their most glaring vulnerability. these two inventions changed the lay of the battlefield forever, as the standard infantryman became quite versatile, capable of laying down fire, defending against charges, and counter-charging itself; the ottomans, by this time a "third tier arms producer" according to jonathan grant, had to rely on european imports to get these weapons, as their factories i n istanbul were incapable of producing them. the matchlock without a bayonet remained their weapon of choice until the nineteenth century. x x x v e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 o t t o m a n s o l d i e r s d i s p l a y t h e i r t e c h n o l o g i c a l m i g h t in t h e v i c t o r i o u s s i e g e a g a i n s t c o n s t a n t i n o p l e . for the ottomans, the results of this firepower revolution were devastating. as we have seen, the ottomans continued to rely on their cavalry, and now that cavalry had no advantage i n the open field as it had before. without flintlock weapons or bayonets, the janissaries, formerly able to keep pace with their european counterparts i n the period of relatively little change between 1500 and 1700, were quickly outmoded. due to their lack of any sort of light, mobile field artillery only served to compound the problem. beginning with the treaty of karlowitz i n 1699, the ottomans began to lose large amounts of territory irrevocably. belated attempts i n the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to reform the military were either resisted by the old guard or too late to be any use i n preventing the ultimate decline of the ottoman military machine. the military revolution had, at last, taken its toll. c o n c l u s i o n in a greater context, what does the ottoman case tell about the early modern military revolution? starting from the end of the era, it certainly fits into jeremy black's theory of a later revolutionary period rather than an earlier one; despite their eventual backwardness, the ottomans managed to keep pace militarily with their european rivals and even continue to threaten them up unti l the all-important flintlock and bayonet were introduced. x x x v i it also holds up clifford rogers' infantry and artillery revolutions, and even i n some ways helps to impel them, courtesy of the janissaries and artillery. parker's fortification revolution, however, while existing i n the ottoman context, provided very little actual change i n the realities on the ground. the case of the ottomans is a particularly interesting one because of how the empire's military history truly begins with a revolution of their own i n firearms, from handguns to artillery, and ends with their inability to join another revolution on similar grounds several centuries later. were they a "gunpowder empire"? because goldschmidt never defines what, exactly, a gunpowder empire is, the answer is open-ended. however, despite murphey's reluctance to use such a term to describe the ottomans, the evidence remains that, at least i n the early modern period, the turkish military establishment first lived by its revolutionary use of handguns and artillery and later died by its inability to do the same.™™ e n d n o t e s i . cipolla (99) i i . goldschmidt (111-135) i i i . rogers 1995 (56-60) iv. guilmartin (302-3) v. murphey (35-40, 47); parker (340-341) vi. rogers (109-10) vii. runciman (77-8) viii. nicolle (41-2) ix. ibid. (64-5) x. devries (160) xi. parker (338-345) xii. rogers (63-70) xiii. raudzens (407) xiv. guilmartin (304) xv. adyuz (n-13) xvi. krause (40) xvii. coles (186) xviii. cipolla (99) xix. mcneill (85-88); carlo cipolla (40-42) says that the cost of a cast-iron gun was three to four times less. regardless, it is apparent that it was far cheaper to field iron pieces than bronze pieces, and the lack of cast-iron guns was a major deficiency in the ottoman army long into the modern period. xx. cipolla (98) xxi. ibid. (96-97) xxii. coles (186) xxiii. cipolla (98-99) xxiv. ibid. (99) xxv. ibid. (98) xxvi. murphey (13-15); cipolla (93) xxvii. mcneill (91) xxviii. guilmartin (309) xxix. murphey (15) xxx. ibid. xxxi. murphey (113) xxxii. guilmartin (310-312) xxxiii. murphey (121) xxxiv. guilmartin (308) xxxv. grant (196-197) xxxvi. black (95-108) xxxvii. murphey 13-14 e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 09 references adyuz, salim. "artillery trade of the ottoman empire." <http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/artillery%20trade %200f%20the%20ottoman%20empire.doc2.pdf>. accessed 23 april 2008. black, jeremy. "a military revolution? a 1660-1792 perspective" in rogers, ed. the military revolution debate, pp. 95-116 cipolla, carlo. guns and sails in the early phase of european expansion. london: collins, 1965. coles, paul. the ottoman impact on europe. london: thames and hudson, 1968. devries, kelly. medieval military technology. peterborough, ontario: broadview press ltd, 1998. goldschmidt, arthur. concise history of the modern middle east, 8th. ed. boulder: westview press, 2005. grant, jonathan. "rethinking the ottoman 'decline': military technology diffusion in the ottoman empire, fifteenth to eighteenth centuries." journal of world history 10:1 (1999), pp. 179-201 guilmartin, john. "the military revolution: origins and first tests abroad" in rogers. krause, keith. arms and the state: patterns of military production and trade. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1995. mcneill, william. the pursuit of power: technology, armed force, and society since ad 1000. oxford: basil blackwell, 1983. murphey, rhoads. ottoman warfare 1500-1700. london: ucl press, 1999. nicolle, david. constantinople 1453oxford: osprey publishing ltd, 2000. parker, geoffrey. "in defense of the military revolution" in rogers, ed. the military revolution debate, pp. 337-362. raudzens, george. "war-winning weapons: the measurement of technological determinism in military history." journal of military history 54:4 (october 1990), pp. 403-434. rogers, clifford (ed.) the military revolution debate: readings on the military transformation of early modern europe. boulder: westview press, 1995. rogers, clifford. "the military revolutions of the hundred years war" in rogers, ed. the military revolution debate, pp. 5594. runciman, sir steven. the fall of constantinople: 1453. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1965. g u n p o w d e r e m p i r e http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/artillery%20trade%200f%20the%20ottoman%20empire.doc2.pdf http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/artillery%20trade%200f%20the%20ottoman%20empire.doc2.pdf http://%200f%20the%20ottoman%20empire.doc2.pdf%3e. m a r k r o t h k o : a cross-modal approach a n n s a r n o s y n e s t h e s i a i s n o t o n l y h i g h l y i n s t r u m e n t a l b u t p r i m a r y i n o u r f i g u r a t i v e t h o u g h t a n d e x p r e s s i o n . t h e o v e r l a p p i n g o f s e n s o r y m o d a l i t i e s c a n b e u s e d t o e l u c i d a t e c o m p l e x l a y e r s o f p e r c e p t i o n t h r o u g h a u n i v e r s a l t y p e o f m e t a p h o r . i n r e g a r d s t o a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s m , a v i s u a l s t r a g e d y t h a t i s v a g u e a n d v a s t , r e f e r r i n g t o a l t e r n a t i v e m o d e s o f p e r c e p t i o n t o c o m p r e h e n d p a i n t i n g p r o v e s e x t r e m e l y u s e f u l w h e n e x e r c i s e d w i t h d i s c r e t i o n , t h e r e s e a r c h i h a v e c o n d u c t e d i n c l u d e s p s y c h o l o g i c a l e x p e r i m e n t s , s t u d i e s o n c o l o r , g r a v i t y , p h y s i c s , a c o u s t i c s , a r c h i t e c t u r e a n d a r t c r i t i c i s m , b y a n a l y z i n g g r a v i t y , v o l u m e , p i t c h w e i g h t a n d s a t u r a t i o n i n m u s i c , i h a v e i d e n t i f i e d t h e m i n a b s t r a c t e x p r e s s i o n i s t m a r k r o t h k o ' s a r t . a l t h o u g h t h e s e c o m p o n e n t s a r e m u t a b l e i n r o t h k o ' s c a r e e r , t h e y a r e c o n s i s t e n t l y p r e s e n t . " i became a painter because i wanted to raise painting to the level of poignancy of music and poetry.77 i n t r o d u c t i o n mark rothko once proclaimed " i became a painter because i wanted to raise painting to the level of poignancy of music and poetry."1 this tragedy which rothko hoped to communicate through visual art is often experienced while listening to music. even before rothko's time, painter wassily kandinsky yearned to replicate the emotional impact of music in his art. indeed, the visual and audible arts have been related since the time of aristotle, who asserted in de sensu, "we may regard all colours as analogous to the sounds that enter into music." the competitive relationship between music and art has an intricate history which is currently under review by neuroscientists. s y n e s t h e s i a evidently, music, particularly mozart's don giovanni, greatly influenced rothko throughout his career. as a college student who lived in rothko's flat for a short interim recalled " i n the evenings he would lie on the couch for hours saying nothing, just contemplating or looking at one of his pictures that was hanging up and listening to music." 1 1 in order to evoke the same energy and emotions as the opera, rothko painted in a studio saturated with music. as a self-taught mandolin player and pianist, he used musical expression to arrive at emotional realization i n the past. additionally rothko's musical talent resulted i n his marriage to his first wife. while strolling through central park, edith was attracted to rothko's beautiful, enrapturing mandolin playing. although he ultimately abandoned music for painting, it is clear that it impacted his life as well as his cognitive processes. untitled 1932 is a blatant attempt to convey his passion for music. the ethereal string quartet plays vigorously. rich blues and browns project a solemn and nearly spiritual quality. because he had tremendous respect for musicians, especially the classics, rothko "could spend very happy hours, flat on his back on the couch, listening to mozart." 1 1 1 music served as a muse and an aphrodisiac for h im. neuroscientists have considered the synthesis of various modes of perception i n the brain for decades. they have coined the term, "synesthesia," most simply defined as "inter-sensory association." while several forms of synesthesia exist, the most dominant type melds the domains of the seeing and hearing. additionally, overlaps between the bodily kinesthetic and music have also been noted. resulting from a severe psychological disorder, color appears spontaneously to synesthetes upon perceiving auditory stimuli. kandinsky may have asserted himself as a synesthete, but he probably was not. this self-declaration was more likely an egotistical attempt to propagate his unique and advanced painting abilities. on the other hand, david hockney and his neurologist richard cytowic maintain that kandinsky possesses this extremely rare condition.^ he painted sets for stravinsky's opera rossignol by listening to the music in his studio and using the color and rhythm he perceived from the music. whether or not these artists truly suffered from severe synesthesia is questionable. their claims however, support the notion of translating music into color and the audio/ visual cross modal perception of paintings. scientists have broadened their definition in light of the nonsynesthete's capacity to transfer between sensory realms through learned metaphor. according to bulat m. elem ents s p r i n g 0 6 galeyev, scientist and artist, "synesthesia is an essential aspect of language and, more generally, of all figurative thinking, including all imaginative thinking (for all kinds of art, including music)." v synesthesia is not only highly instrumental, but primary in our figurative thought and expression. i do not propose that rothko was a synesthete. nor do i propose that the abstract elements of painting—line, color and form—are synonymous with the line, pitch and timbre of music. creating cross-field analogies is arbitrary i f not futile. neurobiologist jean-pierre ternaux maintains, "transferring structural or numerical features from one domain to another may thus in many cases result in some quite bad category mistakes, i.e. mistaking principles of organization in one domain as valid for other, totally different domains."v 1 the overlapping of modalities can be used instead to elucidate complex layers of perception through a universal type of metaphor. in regards to abstract expressionism, a movement that is vague and vast, referring to alternative modes of perception to comprehend painting proves extremely useful when exercised with discretion. the research i have conducted includes psychological experiments, studies on color, gravity, physics, acoustics, architecture and art criticism. although my sources seem far and too many i n between, i have discovered several remarkable elements present in rothko's work which reify the conm a r k r o t h k o ! a c r o s s m o d a l a p p r o a c h cept of synesthesia. by analyzing gravity, volume, pitch, weight and saturation in music, i have recognized them in visual art. these components are mutable in rothko's career but consistently present. "the subway series," "multiforms", "fat rectangles" and "the houston chapel" distinctly engage the spectator with cross-modal effects. this presentation highlights the synesthetic qualities of his paintings from each period. g r a v i t y beginning with the subway series, rothko facilitates gravitational tension through hyperbolized body proportions. in "subway of the 1930s," the height of the figures strains from the platform to the ceiling. with the exception of the young woman depicted on the left, the images have a striking resemblance to caryatid or atlantes figures. the caryatids of the porch of the maidens at the erectheum extend gracefully from the entablature. although they are very serene and stoic, with their hands positioned calmly at their sides, the immense weight they support with their heads is alarming. these women serve as architectural constructs, as emblematic retribution for the females of the village caryae who betrayed the greeks by siding with the persians. the expressionless faces of the subway figures evoke the same quiet stillness as the maidens. like the greek sculptures, they do not appear punished by their physical state, but their body language indicates tension. although they do not uphold the architecture of the station and the woman on the right leans against a column to support her own weight, it appears that the subterranean environment would collapse in their absence. scientist bulat m. galeyev has examined the properties of gravity in visual art. he proposes that there are two distinct versions of gravitational synestheses: "spatial or static" and "kinesthetic". the static applies to abstract art, "spatial synestheses arise due to our experience of the static gravitational field and arise in static arts (such as painting, architecture, etc.). for example, the horizontal line at the lower edge of a picture is perceived as more 'heavy' and 'stable' than the vertical lines that delineate the sides." v u the contrast between this sense static gravitational synesthesia portrays the thick, horizontal ceiling and floor and the vertical floppy, emaciated subway figures. because the precarious stability of caryatids and of rothko figures is assimilated into our own perceptions of gravity, the onlooker cannot evade the sense of weight expressed in these works. this kinesthetic synthesis is also applicable to later work, particularly his signature horizontal compositions. i n contrast contextually, the caryatids are not responsible for upholding their surroundings nor held blatantly against their wil l . rothko's figures and the caryatids share states of immobility that are exacerbated by looming gravity, whether it is the heaviness of an entablature or a boisterous new york city street. similar to the caryatids, the individuals in the subway station cannot control or predict their own mobility. the arrival and departure of the trains are beyond their locus of power. their "sentence" of waiting is indefinite. they cannot predict the duration of their time i n the station or influence the speed and regularity of public transportation. clearly, they possess the freedom to leave at anytime to pursue other means of transport but this is unlikely. once an individual engages in the act of waiting, passed time resembles progress towards the goal. presumably, the longer one has waited, the less time they have to wait i n the future. the omnipresent gravity in this setting, due to the psychological captivity and the physical confinement, agitates this psychological trap, and anxiety ensues. rothko's rejection of the figure in later works expands the perception of this spatial synthesis to the spectator's realm. through the depiction of physical bodies, viewers become witnesses. without figurative representation, onlookers do not merely observe but experience. the subway figures are surrogate victims of gravity, whereas rothko's untitled work elicits the viewer's own kinesthetic response. gravity is also a component of sound, which is increasingly elem ents s p r i n g 06 relevant in rothko's multiforms: "...gravitational-audile and gravitational-visual synestheses rise to the level of consciousness. they can be found in ordinary speech in the form of veiled metaphors and conventional allegories based on intersensory transfers, such as baritone' (heavy sound) 'light music' 'heavy chords' etc."™ 1 the properties of gravity correlate with the protopathic element of sensations and are exposed in the most typical emotional responses such as a "heavy mood" being weighed down or as light as a feather. number 18 for example, includes many fluffy, light bodies that do not appear burdened with gravity. rothko's loose application of paint and the undaunted organization of forms suggest buoyancy. they are not restricted like the subway figures but have a nimble autonomy. their weightless quality compares with the lightness of musicians like scriabin, shoenberg and messiaen. without concrete borders, the forms appear to float and swirl in motion like the nonchalance of shoenberg's compositions. s o u n d a n d color s a t u r a t i o n visual movement and actions are clearly linked with the creation of sound. consequently, listeners wi l l often create an internal image which depicts the creation of a sound. marching or beating a drum may come to mind when an individual hears a certain sound and assumes its origins. neurobiologist jean-pierre ternaux distinguishes two groups of sound-producing actions, ballistic and sustained. ballistic refers to "a brief, concentrated effort immediately followed by a phase of relaxation, as in the case of hitting or kicking and in performance on percussion instruments and certain keyboard instruments such as the piano . . . the moment of impact is immediately followed by a shorter or longer period of energy dissipation in which the sound usually has a decaying shape." 1x this vibrating description of shock followed by decay is reminiscent of these early multiforms. the blue form in the upper register for example, has a thick, concentrated application of paint that diffuses and decomposes. like striking a chord on the piano, the sound is initially sharp and rich and then it becomes softer and dispersed. this is also true of the blue forms in untitled 1947. whether communicated by a stroke of a paintbrush or piano keys, the reverberating effect is the same. the spectator perceives the initial, intense effort and the subsequent ease of the ballistic. vibrating energy is conveyed in lieu of intersensory transfers. "saturation [of color] is comparable to volume [of sound] in many respects. " i n the early 1950's, rothko's style took a dramatic turn. the majority of his signature compositions were created during this phase. although they are renowned for their bold color, it is not their most significant feature. in fact, color is not the driving force of the emotion in this work. saturation, rather than the distinct color, engenders more visual force. d'andrade and egan (1974) discovered that "color-emotion associations were not due predominately to hue (i.e. the spectral wavelength) but to the degree of saturation and brightness of the color." x rothko, who always insisted his work was not about color, would probably prefer this approach. saturation is comparable to the volume in many respects. the amount of paint or the amount of sound is more aggressive in greater magnitudes. i f volume fades, or color fades, the effect is more gentle or weaker. in number 7 of 1951, rothko presents a variety of color tones and levels of saturation. the top register of blue rubbed cryptically over orange is an example of low saturation. the under painting is highly visible beneath the soft blue. each tier becomes progressively more saturated. thick, light green spreads m a r k r o t h k o ! a c r o s s m o d a l a p p r o a c h " rothko's compositions do not rely on color tone alone to communicate. saturation and volume are essential to the emotional force of his work." nearly to the edges completely concealing the orange. a narrow band of white is another example of low saturation whereas the final tier is punctuated by a heavy, dense red. these fluctuations of saturation are similar to fluctuations in volume. the wispy blue is meek, translucent, barely visible and barely audible. it attempts to conceal the orange but is too weak. green booms with greater intensity and overtakes the orange under layer. the center of this form is slightly yellowed and softer but still opaque. the ending red is most aggressive because of its high saturation. unlike the other registers, there is no indication of color change or brushstrokes. it is loudest of all. these forms compete to be seen as music played at a variety of volumes compete to be heard. strength or weakness is communicated by magnitude. in light of the perceivable discrepancies i n volume or saturation, it is clear which forms dominate in this composition. a n even stronger illustration of this idea is a comparison of three works with nearly identical color palates but very distinct levels of saturation. untitled 1955, yellow and gold 1956 and untitled 1956 are composed of yellows and oranges. despite the similarities in hue, the level of saturation i n each painting engenders a very different effect. untitled 1955 has a very translucent, blurred application of paint. it lacks volume and visual strength; consequently, it is very soothing to the eye. the opacity in yellow and gold 1956 are relatively opaque but not nearly as saturated as untitled 1956. the yellows in both compositions are nearly the same but have a completely different result. inarguably, the untitled piece is extremely forceful i f not violent due to the magnitude of saturation. it is clear to the onlooker that the final canvas is piercing in volume in relation to the gentle volume of untitled 1955. rothko's compositions do not rely on color tone alone to communicate. saturation and volume are essential to the emotional force of his work. l i g h t n e s s a n d p i t c h the next comparison of untitled 1954 and purple brown, 1957 demonstrate the correlations between visual lightness and auditory pitch. experiments have demonstrated that people make consistent associations between particular pitches and value. as early as the 1940's, researchers recognized that "auditory stimuli that are lower in frequency typically evoke visual sensations of stimuli that are darker, and auditory stimuli that are higher in frequency typically evoke visual sensations of stimuli that are lighter." x 1 the light visual stimuli presented in untitled ig$4 and the dark visual stimuli presented purple brown generate distinct cross-modal associations. as the spectator attempts to derive meaning from these works, the element of pitch is highly conductive to his or her perception of the painting. i n a recent study in the american journal of psychology, subjects were asked to assign auditory pitches to a visual scale of value on a luminescent column. researchers concluded "a clear relationship was seen between the direction and size of an auditory melodic interval and the visual luminosity judged as fitting best with that interval. lighter visual stimuli were judged to fit best with descending intervals. additionally, the size of melodic intervals (within the octave range used) led to preferences for more extreme levels of lightness or darkness; specifically, visually lighter stimuli were preferred for larger ascending intervals than for smaller ascending intervals, and visually darker stimuli were preferred for larger descending intervals than for smaller descending intervals." x u i n summary, scientists elem ents : : s p r i n g 06 have proved a precise relationship between pitch and visual lightness. this interplay of the senses produces the emotive characteristics of rothko's work. like the previously discussed component of saturation and volume, perceived pitch contributes to the amount of perceived energy in the composition. for example, untitled ig<j4 would be categorized as visually bright, especially in direct contrast to purple brown whose darker palette of brown, purple and black would pertain to a very dim level on the luminescent scale. the viewer is likely to associate brightness and high pitch with an increased level of energy. accordingly, low pitch and low visual light would be related to a decreased level of energy. this energy relates to the previous discussion of gravity and weight of the multiforms and subway series. referring to black on dark sienna on purple, i 9 6 0 , the wide rectangles hover clumsily as though they are unsure where to settle. in an anxious state of hesitation, they express a sluggish kinetic pattern of behavior which induces a lethargic, yet tense mood. the slow, cumbersome compositions i n his later years reflect his own heavy, somber mood. rothko translates his bouts of depression onto many of his canvases. in turn, the hulking forms impose their immensity on the viewer. e n e g r y a n d e m o t i o n researchers have also noted this connection between energy or movement and emotion. speed, franc and graves say, is "a rapid movement (allegro) is generally more joyous than a slow movement. a person who is depressed has lower muscular tone, so to speak, compatible with slow body movements. consequently, a slow form i n music, associated, thanks to another explicative link, with a certain type of movement (a kinetic pattern of behavior) can evoke an emotional state." x m ironically, rothko's work, in addition to his own physical condition, adheres to this pattern. black on dark sienna on purple reflects this lack of physical exuberance. without marked brightness or pitch, nor intense saturation or volume, the forms appear weak, tired and muted. this description cannot be separated from rothko's own body. a relative vividly recalled that "he had a body like a ferryboat tied to a port . " x i v this image recalls a thick clumsy shape banging against a rectangular frame, an image of a frustrated body that lacks direction and autonomy. this insecure and confined positioning recalls the organization of the subway series. just as these rectangles may be imagined as trapped or as emerging, the individuals i n the subway station are capable of waiting or leaving. it is this hesitation, the uncertainty of one's due course that can be gleaned from considering the kinesthetic cross perceptions of visual art. art historian anna chave also recognizes the kinesthetic properties of rothko's paintings. regarding to composition chave observes, "his rectangles did not simply define the picture plane: they may be seen as floating parallel to that surface, but they are also perceived as locked into spatial struggles both against the picture plane and against each other, as variously obtruding from and receding into space, and i n some viewer's eyes as evoking mysterious and unsounded depths"^ despite rothko's obvious avoidance of any reference to the third dimension, it is nearly impossible to perceive these works without reverting to spatial metaphors. this perplexing organization disturbs the spectator. determining the nature of the black, the dark sienna, and the purple is a daunting task. however, rothko's title, useful to a degree, informs us that the black is on the dark sienna which is on purple. this would lead one to conclude that the black is above the dark sienna but the dark sienna is above the purple. a confusing juxtaposition places black as the dominant, emerging form which violates the viewer's expectations, for darker colors are supposed to recede i n most paintings. as the audience struggles they ultimately rely on cross-modal processes to perceive these images. mark r o t h k o : a c r o s s m o d a l a p p r o a c h again, rothko plays with the viewer's sense of gravity. is the purple dissolving or receding? how does the dark sienna act to separate these forms? chave asserts that "by leaving separations among the rectangles, or between them and the edge of the support, and by layering and modulating the surfaces of the rectangles, rothko created a subtle visual gyration or friction, as between entities that are close to touching but stop just short or layers that closely blanket one another while retaining pockets of space between t h e m " x v l this spatial organization befuddles the observer. chave continues that "a subtle but tense visual tug-of -war is waged in rothko's canvases between the later pull of the individual rectangular areas and the vertical movement of the gestalt comprised by the stack of rectangles."x v ! i this perpetual "tug-of-war" could only be recognized through cross-modal association. " tragically, rothko would never see the realization of his most dramatic work.77 the function of the borders is particularly instrumental towards comprehending the position of these forms. here, chave discerns that, "by contrast with the insubstantiality of the borders i n rotko's paintings, the rectangles take on the appearance of something material or in the process of materializing and emerging. " x 1 x it would follow then that the black form emerges before the dark sienna whereas the purple materializes behind the dark sienna border. t h e h o u s t o n c h a p e l tragically, rothko would never see the realization of his most dramatic work. the houston chapel was not completed unti l after his suicide i n 1970. he ultimately achieved his desire to convey tragedy and poignancy in this project. although the canvases are completely devoid of contrast and consist of a limited palette of mixed blacks and reds, they are profound and engaging. while the dearth of imagery stifles stimulation, the cross-modal synetheses generate the acute drama rothko aspired to inflect on his audience. i n response to the stark canvases, art historian robert rosenblum commented, " i t as i f the entire current of western religious art were finally devoid of its narrative complexities and corporeal imagery, leaving us with the dark, compelling presences that pose an ultimate choice between everything and n o t h i n g . . . the very lack of overt religious content here may make rothko's surrogate icons and altarpieces, experienced in a nondenominational chapel, all the more potent in their evocation of the transcendental."x 1 x by creating a bare environment, the large scale canvases immerse the spectator. content and scale do not act as barriers between the viewer and the work. rather, i f "you paint the larger picture, you are i n i t . . . " x x in this regard, rothko hoped to incorporate the onlooker's kinesthetic perception. the houston chapel inspired composer morton feldman; the menil foundation recruited h i m in 1971 to write a musical composition in rothko's memory, entitled the rothko chapel. with the houston chapel as his inspiration, rothko's canvases were feldman's direct source. the musical program states " i tried to create a music that walks the thin line between the abstraction of all art and the emotional longing that characterizes what it is to be 'human'. the chorus symbolizes art's abstractness; the sola viola, the need for human expression. it is only at the end of the work that i think of rothko and his own love for melody. here, i collage a hebrewesque melody which i wrote thirty years ago-at sixteen. , , x x 1 clearly, feldman noticed the audible nature of rothko's work. although i have not listened to this particular song, i am doubtful that feldman could truly captivate the essence of the chapel with a violin and chorus. feldman's ambition, however, demonstrates rothko's appeal to audio perception. these bare canvases with little evidence of brushwork and no contrast evoke a simpler and purer sound. elem ents s p r i n g 0 6 recalling the previous discussion of ballistic sound producing actions, rolf ingre godoy designated the term sustained sound-producing actions for its opposite. ballistic actions have a definite beginning and end. sustained sound producing actions implicate "the more continuous effort required in blowing, singing and bowing, and the shape of the sound may just as well be flat or even ascending (ie having a crescendo) because of the continuous transfer of energy i n the sound-producing actions." x x n sustained sound producing actions have no visible start or stop. whereas the ballistic is finite, the sustained is infinite. the houston chapel exudes the notion of infinity. individually, canvases reverberate without any discernable fluctuation of color or texture so each distinct painting lacks indication of variation. without discrete interruption of color and tone, the panels i n the chapel exude a constant, guttural tone. considering the cross-modal association with pitch, it is likely that the spectator would correlate these works with a low pitch. with respect to the sustained nature of these canvases, this pitch is monotone, or "continuance or uninterrupted repetition of the same tone; the utterance, i n speech or singing of a number of successive syllables without change of pitch. " x x m monotone has been used in certain musical scores and even as a special effect in opera. i n act two in the finale of mozart's cosifan tutte, for example, the notary speaks in monotone to enhance the drama of the scene. his flat and even tone is awkward and discomforting. monotone also appeals to the ethereal environment i n the chapel through prayer and chanting. monotone exudes a disquieting constancy. the sustained, consistent volume exhibited by the houston chapel crosses through the spectators' audio, visual and kinesthetic modalities. fixed tone is extremely disconcerting to auditory perception, so listening to a sustained tone for a period of time agitates an individual. the lack of contrast or variety is in direct opposition with the dynamic pitches i n the natural world. without interrupting the same tone over time, a state of anxiousness and pressure is induced. a monotone alarm is a blatant example of this auditory stress. the alarm is monotone because the sustained pitch is so uncomfortable. we respond immediately to the noise. the effect of the houston chapel canvases are marked by this phenomenon. a beholder wi l l search futilely for evidence of contrast or change in the panels. with the exception of a few subtle color changes, the viewer wi l l be unable to see beyond the uniform velvety surface of the canvases. just as a person listening to a monotone prayer or song, he or she innately longs for relief from the same sustained pitch. it is something that is impossible to perceive i n the chapel. consequently, a state of hopelessness overwhelms the spectator. the effect of monotone is violent and engrossing. whether it is experienced through the ears or eyes is immaterial, the subject is helpless and tortured by the steady, immutable tone. the emotional poignancy here that rothko determined to instill in his audience is indisputable. c o n c l u s i o n after assessing the elements of gravity, volume, pitch and tone in the domain of visual art, it is evident that it is conductive to understanding particular aspects of abstract expressionist works. there is a fundamental relationship between all realms of perception that cannot be overlooked during our interpretive processing. although most individuals wi l l never experience a crossing of modalities as severe as a diagnosed synesthete, it is inevitable that we rely on multiple forms of perception to comprehend visual stimuli. trepidation to cross these domains of sensory modalities and reluctance to place music and art on the same level exists among many stubborn artists, critics and musicians. i n response to the armory show i n chicago in 1914,1 believe henry mcbride says it best, "what was the use kicking because painting had become another form of music?" x x i v or has music become another form of painting? from the synesthetic perspective, there is no question. the finest music has lightness, saturation and weight. the finest art has pitch, volume and tone. both realms reverm a r k r o t h k o ! a c r o s s m o d a l a p p r o a c h berate with the capacity for emotional projection. mark hubbard, timothy l. "synesthesia-like mappings of lightness, rothko's fascinating career substantiates the credibility of pitch and melodic interval. american journal of psychology. the cross-modal approach. i o 9 : 2 (summer 1996) 219-39. e n d n o t e s i . breslin, 173. i i . breslin, 173. h i . breslin, 174. iv. "david hockney's melodic palette," 70-2 v. galyev, 120-34 vi . godoy, 326-28 v i i . galyev, 120-34. v i i i . galyev, 120-34 ix. godoy, 326-28 x. hupka, 156-78. xi . karwoski, osgood, 1942, marks, 1975,1978; orman, 1933, as cited i n hubbard x i i . hubbard x i i i . ternaux, 321-22 xiv. breslin xv. chave, 128. xvi. chave, 117. xvii . chave, 132-33. xvii i . chave, 184. xix. ashton, 184-85. xx. ashton, 122. xxi. ashton, 185. xxii . godoy, 326-28 xxii i . webster dictionary xiv. risatti r e f e r e n c e s aristotle. de sensu et sensibilibus. trans. art ross. new york: arno press, 1973. ashton, dore. about rothko. new york: oxford university press, 1983. breslin, james e.b. mark rothko. chicago: university of chicago press, 1993. chave, anna. mark rothko: subjects in abstraction. new haven: yale university press, c1989. "david hockney's melodic palette". u.s. news and world report. 107:19 (november 13,1989) 70-2 glimcher, marc. ed. the art of mark rothko; into an unknown world. new york: clarkson n . potter, inc., 1991. hupka, ralph b. et al. "the colors of anger, envy fear and jealousy: a cross-cultural study." journal of cross-cultural psychology. 28,2 (march 1997) 156-178) galyev, bulat m . international society for the arts, sciences and technology. "evolution of gravitational synesthesia i n music: to color and light!" leonardo. 36:2 (2003) 129-34. godoy, rolf ingre. international society for the arts, sciences and technology. "motor-mimetic music cognition" leonardo. 36:4 (2003) 326-328. international society for the arts, sciences and technology. "intersenses and new technologies." leonardo. 36:4 (2003) 316326. jungheinrich, hans-klaus. trans. sherbert, catherine. "lachrymae" munich: ecm records, 1993. poast, micheal. "color music: visual color notation for musical expression." leonardo.33:3 (2000) 1-5. risatti, howard. "music and the development of abstraction i n america: the decade surrounding the armory show." art journal. 39:1. (fall 1979) serota, nicholas. ed. mark rothko. london: tate gallery publishing limited, 1987. ternaux, jean-pierre. international society for the arts, sciences and technology. "synesthesia: a multimodal combination of senses. leonardo, 36:4 (2003) 321-2. wood, tony. "prisoners of paradise: the caryatids and atlantes of st. petersburg." things magazine. 17:18 (autnumn 2003) 114. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 0 6 .. it appears that the call-andresponse as a linguistic operator signaling cultural information is vibrantly alive in a medium more often praised for its ... thoughtlesness than for its academic merit." c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e an ancient linguistic device surfaces in usher's "love in this club" n a t h a n k e e g a n t h e c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e , o r i g i n a t i n g f r o m a f r i c a n t r i b a l r i t u a l s , h a s b e c o m e part o f t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f m o d e r n a f r i c a n a m e r i c a n c u l t u r e . t h i s a r t i c l e e x p l o r e s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e in u s h e r ' s " l o v e in t h i s c l u b " a n d r e l a t e s s a l i e n t f e a t u r e s o f t h e m u s i c t o t h e c l u b c u l t u r e t h a t u n d e r l i e s it. " c l u b h i p h o p " e m e r g e s as f i r m l y r o o t e d in t h e u s e o f c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e . t h e r i t u a l s o f t h e c l u b a r e l i k e w i s e m i r r o r e d in t h e s t y l e o f t h e m u s i c , w h i c h at t i m e s c a n b e a r t h e im po r t a n c e o f s a c r e d c e r e m o n y . the call-and-response, a pattern of two distinct phrases played by different musicians i n which the "response" is a commentary on the "call," has likely existed since the dawn of africa's language-proficient communities. it developed over millennia through sacred rituals, spiritually-tinged conversations with the sounds of africa's wildlife, and community-based interactions that fostered the growth of a common identity. it came to be ubiquitous i n pan-african music; its penetration of almost every sub-saharan african tribe, nation, or ethnic group was due to nomadic movement patterns, wars, empires, and geographic proximity.1 the call-and-response followed the first african slaves to the americas, where it ceased to be a universal musical technique and adopted the survivalist tone of slave work songs. though the slaves were not allowed to express the music of their cultures, they punctuated the day's work with the rhythm of the call-and-response. this use of calland-response—sanctioned by the slave masters because it brought consistency to fieldwork—helped inspire a sense of spirituality and community among slaves. early slaves used it i n much the same way as their african decendents: obviously, the melodic and rhythmic characteristics of [longjohn, a slave song which makes prominent use of the call-and-response], the vocal style, and the performance mannerisms of the singers are african-derived. only the language is afro-american.u but what do the characteristics of slave songs tell us about the role of the call-and-response i n america? first, we know that repetition—a vital feature of the call-and-response—was an important part of the african worldview. a call-and-response sequence may go on for several hours, with apparently monotonous repetition of the same short phrase sung by a leader and answered by the chorus.... the repetitions of african music have a function in time which is the reverse of [western classical] music—to dissolve the past and the future into one eternal present, in which the passing of time is no longer noticed.111 besides dissolving past and future into eternal present, the call-and-response i n africa was a democratizing process that rendered the responding vocalists "colleaguefs] i n the creation" instead of merely listeners. iv james snead would later explain how this african approach to repetition affected the african-american worldview, a view constantly clouded by the burden of slavery. for snead, repetition was now "a means by which a sense of continuity, security, and identification are maintained." the call-and-response was no longer a culturally-contingent event appearing i n rituals and music, but a viable linguistic device that helped slaves derive both sense and culture out of their surroundings. while it later became abundant i n african-american musical styles like blues and jazz, the device more importantly littered the everyday speech of slaves, former slaves, and those haunted by the specter of slavery. over two hundred years later, call-and-response still remains a salient feature of african-american culture and language. as such, it operates on two levels: a secular level and a sacred level. as smitherman describes, the secular level might include call-and-response examples you could hear on the street, phrases like 'oh, you mean, nigger', get back, nigger'... [or] hey, the other day i was... uh-huh... yeah... i hear you, [where] the response can take the form of a back-and-forth banter between the speaker and various members of the audience}' the sacred level, on the other hand, was most carefully preserved i n the church: preacher. how many of y'all wanna live to a old age? congregation. hallelujah! preacher. or is y'all ready to die and go to heaven? congregation. [uncomfortable; some laughter] well, no lord, not yet, suh! preacher. y'all wanna stay here awhile? congregation. praise the lord! preacher. well, y'all better quit all this drankin, smokin, and runnin round. cause, see, for me, i got a home in heaven, but i ain't homesick^1 these examples of call-and-response transmit important cultural information, as the responses can signify both active listenership and accordance with the content of the calls: [such words and vocalizations as 'yeah,' 'right,' 'uh-huh,' and 'hmm'], although referentially meaningless, have great interactional import by indicating one's attention to and ratification of the speaker's talk. . . . [these] responses may also indicate extremely powerful affirmation of what the speaker has said.wn in this we see the echoes of african and slave society: the call invites a responder to a conversational community, and the responder supports that community through his attention and affirmation. be it a small conversation held i n passing on a street or a preacher's emotional sermon, the call-and-response creates the bond of community between all its participants. rap music, a powerful vehicle of the african-american rhetorical tradition, stands out because it uniquely showcases the call-and-response. when attempting to define any call-and-response i n modern rap music, one must look to the example of the church or to the example of everyday conversations. while many understand the call-and-response primarily as a musical interchange between a blues singer and guitarist or between two jazz singers, modern rap's call-and-response owes more to the linguistic tradition above than to any musical tradition. this article argues that the call-and-response i n modern hip-hop and rap is just as culturally and linguistically significant as the above examples i n continuing the development of community and identity. the call-and-response i n one specific song, usher's "love i n this club," contains evidence for this interpretation. examining this song develops a more universal understanding of the call-and-rethe call-and-response was integral to the fabric of slave society. sponse i n modern hip-hop and rap which is translatable to other songs, proving i n the process that popular hip-hop— a genre brimming with a potent combination of violence, drugs, and sex—is worthy of scholarly examination. i d e n t i t i e s of c a l l e r a n d r e s p o n d e r i n c o n t e m p o r a r y h i p h o p usher raymond iv, a popular r&b and hip-hop artist whose laurelled career boasts record sales of almost forty mil l ion internationally, rose to the top of the charts i n march 2008 with a song titled "love i n this club." the lyrical theme is quite simple—usher and his friends are at a club when usher has the urge to have sexual relations with his dance partner, perhaps right on the dance floor: i know you scared baby/they don't know what we doin' let's both get undressed right here/keep it up girl then i swear i'mma give it to you non stop/and i don't care who's watchin' watchin', watchin'/watchin', watchin', ohh in this club, on the floor/baby let's make love v i l i though the song's themes echo much of what today perc a l l a n d r e s p o n s e whether knowingly or not, polow da don, featured here, participates in a rich li n g u istic traditio n. meates pop and urban radio, of more scholarly interest is the prominent call-and-response utilized i n the refrain, where a chorus of males responds with a systematic, identical "hey" on the last beat of three successive measures. this "hey" is shouted after usher employs the call " i n this club": usher. i wanna make love in this club chorus. hey usher. in this club chorus. hey usher. in this club chorus. h e y i x this call-and-response brings us to a pressing question: who is the male chorus? a number of clues might help us better discern the identity of usher's male chorus. taking into account both the song's lyrics and the song's music video, it appears as though a prominent member must be the principal producer of "love i n this club," polow da don: usher. where we at polow"? chorus. [in response] heythe music video supports this assertion; when "where we at polow?" is uttered, the camera cuts to an unmanned dj table. in exact sequence with the "hey" response, polow da don appears, throwing his arms up i n the air and offering a few introductory dance movements from behind the table, where he remains for the duration of the song. in addition to polow da don, other members must comprise the chorus. i f this call-and-response is viewed as a democratizing technique within communities, both the lyrics "leave them with my niggas let 'em know that i got you" x l and the song's club setting can be viewed as significant. since according to the lyrics usher is at the club with his e l e m e n t s fall 09 posse and other festive partygoers, the multi-layered "hey" easily transforms itself to a voice of the community. while contextually this "hey" must come from polow da don, the multiple voices lend credence to the idea that this response comes also from friends and club patrons. i f this "hey" is coming from usher's friends and club patrons, two things must be true: i) the response must have some measure of conversational import, and 2) polow da don must have a viable reason to give the song this effect. t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i m p o r t of t h e " h e y " response to affirm number 1 above, it is necessary to explore the human interaction inherent i n the call-and-response. as stated previously, the call-and-response i n africanamerican culture can affirm and signify accordance with what the speaker has said. thus, polow's male chorus could be seen as a linguistically important operator i n the affirmation of usher's words. this "hey" response could serve to strengthen usher's claim that he wants to "make love i n this club." in a sense, one does experience this feeling when listening to usher's song. the ludicrous idea of conjugal relations i n a public place is rendered slightly more credible by his posse's affirmation. it might sound less legitimate or believable without this affirmation. nevertheless, why would polow, one of the most visible producers i n a profession known for its egocentrism and selfimportant swagger, decide to create the male chorus effect? a n examination of the different levels of conversation i n the call-and-response is helpful here: a) on one conversational level (the conversation that includes only usher and his male chorus), the "hey" response is an affirmation that denotes total agreement and active listenership. this is the "local response." b) on a more global conversational level (the conversation that includes usher, polow da don, his friends, clubgoers, and song-listeners), the same accordance can be ascribed, only instead of agreeing with usher's words, they are agreeing with the content of usher's song: its musical merit, its rhythm, and the enjoyable club setting it portrays, fraught with alcohol and women. this is the "global response." the "global response" points to the reason behind polow's creation of the male chorus. by creating a call-and-response effect, he is inviting all listeners into the conversation. he invites each club patron, regardless of location or affiliation with usher, to throw up their hands and shout "hey" at rhythmically appropriate times. to give another example, this interaction appears prominently i n the video for asher roth's "college," where a multiracial chorus of college coeds shouts "hey," hands waving, on every eighth beat of the song's 4/4 t ime. x l ! this invitation to conversation is also an invitation to music; this invitation to music could lead to participation and enjoyment, which leads to consumption and makes polow an in-demand producer. "hot" producers sell their beats for considerably more money, so this invitation might help polow da don attain power, wealth, and status. "the 'global response' points us to the reason behind polow's creation of the male chorus. by creating a call-and-response effect, he is inviting all listeners into the conversation." c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e "... we see many of the features of the call-andresponse—its rote formula is perfect for easy memorization and audience sing-alongs, and its ability to incite enthusiasm in the listener is manifest in the enthusiasm of the male-chorus." it would be difficult, however, to establish a correlation between monetary success and the call-and-response. surely, producers have signature styles that help them achieve strings of hits (notable examples include timbaland and pharrell) and many, like polow, use the call-and-response to help establish this style. though the assertion that call-andresponse begets both community and participation can be academically verified by referring to african studies (i.e. kubik) and african-american studies (i.e. smitherman), this call to community does not necessarily determine a hit. in establishing a more academic rationale for polow's employment of the call-and-response, two sources wi l l prove valuable: a rap genre typology put forth by adam krims i n his 2000 work rap music and the poetics of identity, and the greek chorus i n sophocles' antigone as described by kevin hawthorne. a g e n r e e x a m i n a t i o n of party rap i n krims' work, he describes party rap as "[rap] designed for moving a crowd, [and] making them dance."x l i l krims and others, such as toop, actually believe this appeal to a moving crowd may have been the origin of rap, since the "african-american tradition of dj toasting and rhyming often served similar purposes i n similar contexts."x1v krims goes on to lament the disappearance of party rap, including the sugar h i l l gang, early wil l smith, and ll cool j. party rap, krims says, was almost entirely supplanted by gangsta rap, and this transition signified an "early fall from innocence," for the ethos of "fun" was lost i n rap. x v krims develops the genre identity of party rap by exploring what he sees as an inherent contradiction of party rap, the commercialization of subcultural capital: its generally optimistic tones and faster, often more danceoriented beats have an appeal that crosses over from hip-hop audiences into the more general record-buying public.*-" this quote points us toward the future, toward the example of polow da don and other call-and-response-toting producers to be discussed i n depth below. like early party rap i n the 1980s and 1990s, contemporary urban hip-hop is supremely commercial. but also like party rap, polow's tracks follow the "musical ethos" of party rap, which for krims is "consistent with the goal of 'moving the crowd,' getting heads nodding and bodies dancing." in terms of party rap's flow, the mc uses "frequent twoand four-bar groupings": the rapped rhythms in this genre are thus also more conducive than many to audience memorization and singalongs [especially in the choruses]; and djs in dance clubs not surprisingly often value party rap for its ability to incite enthusiasm through listener [and dancer] participation.™1 here we see many of the features of the call-and-response—its rote formula is perfect for easy memorization and audience sing-alongs—and its ability to incite enthusiasm i n the listener is manifest i n the enthusiasm of the elem ents fall 09 male-chorus i n "love i n this club." but it would be incorrect to categorize any urban hip-hop, much less usher's "love i n this club," as party rap. it simply does not fit the same bil l as biz markie's "just a friend," naughty by nature's "hip-hop hooray," or even wil l smith's "gettin' jiggy wit i t . " perhaps it is that, as krims laments, these songs had an "ethos of fun" that has since been lost. or perhaps it is simply because of a decade of temporal removal that these songs have very little i n common, outside of the few mentioned similarities. since none of krims' other genre billings, e.g. reality rap, mack rap, and gangsta rap, fit this brand of call-and-response heavy urban hip-hop, i wi l l suggest a new term. "club rap" or "club hip-hop" appears a suitable name for this subgenre. though it may seem hastily named after "love i n this club," which i regard as a flagship "club hiphop" song for a number of reasons, we wi l l see below that this is only incidental. "club rap" is a commercial hybrid of gangsta rap and party rap. on one hand, the singer touts violence, drugs, and materialism, as young jeezy, featured on "love i n this club," raps: pulled up like a trap star ... you ever made love to a thug/in the club with his sights on '87 jeans/'and afresh pair of nike's on . . . x v m on the other hand, it champions the mainstream commercialism of party rap since "love i n this club" spent five weeks on top of billboard's hot 100—a feat not achievable by a true gangsta rap song. the naissance of "club rap" is not entirely surprising since the 1990s and early 2000s saw increasing preference for gangsta rap on the radio, resulting i n its subsequent commercialization. nonetheless, the systematic call-and-response heard i n "love i n this club" was never present i n either gangsta rap or party rap and constitutes a sizable part of the identity of this new subgenre. its invitation to community and participation is noticeably foreign to gangsta rap. this invitation is also at home i n clubs, where singalongs and hand-waving are often the norm. s o p h o c l e s ' c h o r u s : a s i m i l a r e f f e c t ? though the rap genre study cited above is sufficient to describe the reasons for the use of the call-and-response i n modern rap, sophocles' antigone offers an interesting, compellingly similar chorus. kevin hawthorne understands the all-male chorus i n antigone as a rhetorical audience. consider a present-day debate when barack obama addresses a debate moderator such as jim lehrer; obama is actually speaking to the millions of americans watching at home. in this way, jim lehrer is a rhetorical audience— a stage stand-in for all those watching from outside the actual play: as characters in tragedy maneuver and pursue their discursive goals, they may not only argue about issues among themselves but also perform to the members of the chorus as present representatives of a community.xlx i f usher's male-chorus is taken as a similar rhetorical audience, a stand-in for the club-goers enjoying his song i n real clubs outside the fictional world of his music video or song, some interesting comparisons come to light. after a fight i n which haemon chides his father, king creon, for being stubborn, the chorus responds, "oh, king, give heed i f sense be i n his words." x x this response is very close to an assertion of accordance with haemon, similar to the assertion that smitherman contends is explicit i n the "hey" of the call-and-response. thus, we have an all-male chorus agreeing i n response to another male's call. the all-male chorus, as a fictional audience, is ostensibly a stand-in, guiding the emotional responses of the real audience. certainly this is an apt comparison to usher's "love i n this club," enlightening and strengthening assertions about the global conversational level. i f the greeks made use of this sort of rhetorical audience, then usher certainly can. c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e c l u b rap as r i t u a l t h r o u g h t h e c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e i contend that "club rap," a hybrid of party rap and gangsta rap, is a subgenre that showcases participation and community and uses them to promote the content—and perhaps the profits—of the song. a glamorized club environment is present in many of these songs through titles and lyrics. i argue that producers, i n conjunction with artists, are purposefully labeling "club hits"—the club rap tracks designed to make people dance and sing-along—as appropriate vehicles for the call-and-response. tellingly, of the nearly thirty songs explored i n the thesis from which this excerpt was taken, all are singles. these singles receive heavy airplay on radio and i n clubs. like party rap singles, these club-ready singles are made for a singing-and-dancing environment. for certain danceable, singable, club-ready songs, audience participation is even more important; listeners who might be under the influence of alcohol and drugs are likely to be participants i n a club musical community. therefore, producers such as polow da don may add them after the fact. of little importance is the moment at which the call-and-response is finalized on any certain track. the club environment constitues a social ritual i n contemporary hip-hop and calls for the appearance of a meaningful, cummunicative musical technique. this social ritual is by no means as sacred or as important as those of africa, but there are similarities. it is entirely possible that a connection of call-and-response to ritual through its prevalence i n african-american churches helped establish the call-and-response as its own invitation to a ritual of revelry i n "club rap." this ritual can also be seen as a cultural process similar to african examples valuing rhythmic response and repetition as unique creation. the "hey" chorus is a local and a global ritual that exists i n two conversational realms. it both affirms usher's statements and invites the community. i n this ritual we see a call-and-response which, i f not sacred, is at least a communicative, culturally-tinged affirmation. secular or sacred: u s h e r as r i t u a l leader? a more i n depth way to understand the call-and-response as a ritual indicator is by viewing usher as a ritual leader, like the bandleaders i n african communities who represent patriarchal structures. in yoruba vocal music, we see this example; in most genres, the bandleader (often called a captain) is a praise singer who initiates solo vocal phrases ... segments of which a chorus doubles. he also sings responsorial sequences, in which his improvised phrases alternate with a fixed phrase, sung by the chorus. . .. the social structure of [this] is closely linked to traditional ideals of social organization, which simultaneously stress the "naturalness" of hierarchy and the mutual dependency of leaders and supporters.™ taking into account carey's ritual view of communication: [it is] directed not toward the extension of messages in space but toward the maintenance of society in time; not the act of imparting information but the representation of shared beliefs™' we can see how in yoruba music, the "naturalness" of male hierarchy is being ritually transmitted through music. their call-and-response, based on social organization, is not simply meant to transmit information or music; it is a means of both subjugating supposedly inferior groups, such as women, and solidifying social structures. correspondences exist between this ritualistic maintenance of social structure and usher's "love i n this club." both usher's treatment of women and his bold exclamations of heterosexuality work to maintain the prevailing social structure of the club. firstly though he avoids disparaging women openly, he does dismiss the wil l of the elem ents fall 09 woman. he "[doesn't] care," and he can't "take it no more," implying that he cannot resist the urge to make love i n the club, though the woman is at times neither dancing with h i m ("you on the other side"), nor complicit with his urges. moreover, he tells his partner that all of her female friends can be left with his posse, reinforcing a paternal hold on this group of young women, who likely came to the club without any men.™ 1 1 secondly, strong proclamations of heterosexuality reinforce a hetero-normative worldview, championing an imposing heterosexuality that promotes itself as a more culturally appropriate orientation for public conversation. i f usher's partner were a man, or i f usher were openly gay, this sort of assertion would likely not receive airplay on radio stations. there is a double standard of the hetero-normative society that champions boisterous heterosexuals, but derides equally boisterous homosexuals. thus, the "hey" response can also be seen as an affirmation of ritualistic communication. i n supporting usher's proclamations, the male chorus is simultaneously affirming the social structure that permits the objectification of women. moreover, it condones the social structure that permits public exclamations of sexuality, so long as they are heterosexual. the male chorus is, therefore, seeking through ritual to maintain the patriarchal society that usher presents to them, viewing h i m as the bandleader who, through his leadership, represents the "naturalness" of a hierarchy that subjugates women. usher raymond iv, a contemporary hip-hop returning briefly to sophocles' antigone, an interesting comparison can further our understanding of usher's ritualistic communication. when creon ends his famous speech, " i won't be called weaker than womankind," the chorus immediately responds, "we think . . . that what you say is sensible and right." x x 1 v here there is an assertion of male-dominance affirmed immediately by a male chorus, just as i n usher's "love i n this club." another salient example appears in popular music when the following lyrics i n kanye west's "heartless" are interspersed with systematic "heys": you run and tell your friends that you're leavin' me they say that they don't see what you see in me just wait a couple months and you gon' see you'll never find nobody better than me.™ kanye is almost echoing creon's claim, " i won't be bested by womankind." time and time again, the affirmations of the call-and-response can be interpreted, sometimes almost word-for-word, as some embrace of a patriarchal society. the patriarchal figures of usher, kanye, and the yoruba bandleader are more commonly represented i n africanamerican communities by ministers i n the church. just as usher can be seen as the yoruba bandleader, he can also be seen as the african-american preacher. this ascription is upheld by examining the linguistic content of the call-andresponse i n the church. cobb's the roots makes the connection more explicitly. c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e "by understanding cobb's historical examination of a rapper and preacher's cultural similarities, we can see that usher-as-minister is perhaps not the sacrilege we imagined../' for pawelczyk and other scholars, since "black verbal style exists on a sacred-secular continuum," the call-and-response necessarily exists on its own plane. x x v i a traditional interpretation of usher's conversation would plant it securely i n the secular realm, where examples might include smitherman's previously mentioned response techniques, such as "oh, you mean, nigger" or "uh-huh" or "yeah." the sacred realm, on the other hand, traditionally cites the black church as the most prevalent example: " i n the sacred style, the minister is urged on by the congregation's amens, that's right, etc." but a more in-depth look at smitherman's example cited earlier yields comparisons to usher's "love i n this club." looking at the content of the preacher's questions, they are often purely rhetorical, designed to energize, motivate, and stir emotion i n a unique manner. smitherman describes them as "high-keyed, emotional and animated." surely everyone would like to "live to an old age." shouldn't everyone want to "stay here awhile"? we can ascribe this sort of value to usher's words. i argue that usher—and by proxy all call-and-response—draws on this tradition of easily answered questions as emotional reinforcement. usher desires to have sex i n a club, going as far as to implicitly suggest the "velvet rope" as support for his lady i n a remix of the song. painting usher's words as sacred renders them equivalent to rhetorical questions for his festive posse. since his words are sacred, his rhetorical devices are simply taken at their word. i f usher wants to "make love i n this club," then amen, according to his friends and other clubbers. evidence supporting this comes midway in the song's video, where usher's "love i n this club" call meets its expected "hey" response, as all of the club patrons throw up their hands i n perfect t iming, signaling both active listenership and powerful affirmation. is it really sacrilege to call usher's words sacred? in some ways, certainly. the african-american church is vibrantly alive today and the sacred call-and-response between preacher and congregation remains of high importance, both academically and culturally. but two scholarly sources point to the relevance of the usher-as-minister metaphor. w.j. cobb explains that the preacher was the most unique personality, and the first black artist i n america—an artist that lived and died by the call-and-response. he then goes on to cite mase, rev run, and other rappers-turned-preachers i n an effort to show the similarity of the two careers. by understanding cobb's historical examination of a rapper and preacher's cultural similarities, we can see that usheras-minister is perhaps not the sacrilege we imagined—especially since they both utilize the call-and-response so effectively. x x v i i secondly, robin sylvan i n an article on popular culture and religion, might support this assertion, arguing i n favor of popular music as religion: for the millions of people who have experienced something similar to the accounts above, religion and god are not dead, but very much alive and well and dancing to the beat of popular music; the religious impulse has simply migrated to another sector of the culture, a sector in which religious sensibilities have flourished and made an enormous impact on a large part of the population.™™1 sylvan argues that i f today's youth cannot identify with traelem ents fall 09 ditional religions, they search elsewhere, sometimes ending that search at popular music. consequently, we can posit that while the notion of usher as sacred might be appalling to some, it may be considered a valid claim by scholars such as sylvan. s u m m i n g u p : t h e role of t h e c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e polow da don's "invitation" discussed above can also be seen as an invitation to community similar to the call-andresponse of slave songs or preacher-sermon interactions. when viewed i n conjunction with its highly rhythmic, systematic appearance i n the measure's last beat, it is easy to see that this example of call-and-response owes more to the linguistic tradition of the call-and-response than it does to improvisation-heavy african-american music like jazz, blues, or swing. gone are the highly creative lyrical calls from ella fitzgerald and the freewheeling beauty of louis armstrong's gravelly responses. they are replaced with a linguistic call-and-response, a repetition that i n many ways is closer to the methodical responses of slave songs like "long john," or "follow the drinking gourd." this relation explains much about the identity of and communication between participants. the call-and-response has value to the communication and identity of african communities and those of african descent. taking into account the example of usher's "love i n this club," it appears that the call-and-response as a l inguistic operator signaling cultural information is vibrantly alive i n a medium more often praised for its bland nature or thoughtlessness than for its academic merit. usher's calls present his words as sacred i n some respects, and the chorus' response creates a sense of community, both between usher and his friends, and between usher and his audience. i n usher's "love i n this club," the call-and-response stands as a ritual that showcases both community and identity. by using historical call-and-response to better understand this 2008 song, we can conclude that the linguistic call-and-response is flourishing i n an arena thus far not examined i n popular music studies. e n d n o t e s i . stone (361) i i . kebede (129) i i i . small (54-55) iv. rose (46) v. smitherman 1977 i n pawelczyck (104) vi . smitherman 2000 i n pawelczyck (105) v i i . pawelczyck (416) v i i i . raymond ix. ibid. x. ibid. xi . ibid. x i i . roth x i i i . krims (55) xiv. ibid. xv. ibid. xvi. krims (56) xvii. ibid. xviii . raymond xix. hawthorne (26) xx. sophocles (11) xxi. stone (161) xxii. carey (20) xxii i . sophocles ( i i . 677-80) xxiv. raymond xxv. west xxvi. pawelczyck (416) xxvii. cobb xxviii. sylvan (3) references carey, james w. 1989. communication as culture: essays on media and society. boston: unwin hyman. cobb, w.c. 2007. to the break of dawn: a freestyle on the hiphop aesthetic. new york: nyu press. hawthorne, kevin. 2009. "the chorus as a rhetorical audience: a sophoklean agon pattern." american journal of philology, 130, pp. 25-46. kebede, ashenafi. 1995. roots of black music. trenton: africa world press. krims, adam. 2000. rap music and the poetics of identity. cambridge: cambridge university press. c a l l a n d r e s p o n s e pawelczyck, joanna. 2003. "redefining femininity: call and response as gendered features i n african-american discourse." multilingua, 22, pp. 415-437. raymond, usher, jones, jamal, & jenkins, jay. 2008. "love i n this club." on here i stand. [cd]. new york: laface records. rose, tricia. 1995. "rhythmic repetition, industrial forces, and black practice." i n adam sexton (ed.), rap on rap. (45-55) new york: bantam doubleday. roth, asher. 2009. " i love college." on asleep in the bread aisle. [cd]. new york: universal motown. small, christopher. 1996. music, society, and education. middletown: wesleyan university press. smitherman, geneva. 1977. talkin' and testifyiri: the language of black america. boston: houghton mif f l in sophocles. 1998. antigone, oedipus the king, electra. new york: oxford university press. stone, ruth m. , ed. 1999. the garland handbook of african music. new york: garland publishing. sylvan, robin. 2002. traces of the spirit: the religious dimensions of popular music. new york: nyu press. toop, david. 1984. rap attack: african rap to global hip-hop. london: serpent's tail press. west, kanye. 2008. "heartless." on 808s and heartbreak. [cd]. new york: roc-a-fella records. why is the proportion of female terrorist attacks in chechnya high compared to the rest of the world? chechnya has undergone years of trauma, and a number of chechen females, labeled “black widows,” have attempted to enact social justice through terrorism. however, why is it that fewer females are engaged in terrorist attacks in other war-stricken parts of the world? to explain why chechnya is an outlier in this respect, this article will analyze chechen terrorism on the individual, organizational, and strategic levels and then compare these findings to the terrorist dynamics of al-qaeda in iraq. this comparison will allow the reader to gain a better understanding of the types of environments that are more likely to foster female participation in terrorist attacks. behind the veil a study of chechen black widows’ web caitlin toto introduction during the winter of 2014, as people from around the globe finalized their travel plans to watch the sochi olympics in russia, the country was preparing itself for certain, more malicious visitors: chechen black widows, who claimed they were going to make an appearance at the games. although the chechen insurgency ended in 2009 and the city of grozny had risen from the ashes, the infamous female terrorists continued to partake in attacks and threatened the security of the olympics. the city of volgograd experienced this terrorist activity with full force. between october and december of 2013, women carried out two of three suicide attacks by blowing themselves up on public transportation.1 certain chechen female terrorists released videos, claiming that there would be bloodshed in sochi as a means of revenge for the loss of their loved ones. thus, the saga of the black widow once again captivated russia and the world. female engagement in terrorist attacks is far from a rarity in russia. since the beginning of the chechen insurgency in 2000, women have participated in 80% of terrorist attacks and comprised 41% of suicide bombers.2 this is compared to female terrorism in iraq, which accounted for only eight percent of all suicide bombings since 2003.3 the global count averages six percent female involvement,4 thus distinguishing the chechen structure and strategy of female terrorism from the norm. this article seeks to explain this disparity and understand terrorism in chechnya on the individual, organizational, and strategic levels compared to terrorism in other regions. the “individual level” refers to the personal reasons as to why one may join a terrorist organization, while “organizational” and “strategic” levels refer to the recruiting processes of the group and their strategies for carrying out successful attacks. embedded in this research question are discrepancies regarding the degree of agency within a woman’s decision to become involved in terrorism. are women actively seeking out these organizations? are the organizations seeking out the women? or is it both? how does this differ from the dynamics of other organizations? to begin unpacking these questions, this article will analyze the term “black widow” and explain the current studies on female terrorism in chechnya. it will then break down its hypothesis and subsequently delve into a comparative case study of female terrorist participation in chechnya and iraq, testing the variables predicted to be factors for this gender divergence. the case studies will explore female liberties in the two regions, the proximity of females to recent political violence in the regions,5 and organizational dynamics of the chechen terrorists in russia and al-qaeda in iraq. finally, it will attempt to identify how distinct the chechen case is. studies show that female terrorism is on the rise. would the answers to the questions posed help us understand why females participate in terrorist organizations, or is the chechen case an outlier? what is a black widow? before analyzing the current literature concerning female terrorism in chechnya, it is important to first ask who the black widows are and where the term originates. in recent history, “black widow” has come to describe murderous women who have committed crimes directed at men in their lives. just as the black widow spider poisons her male victim after mating and leaves him to an agonizing death, a woman described as a black widow is supposedly cruel and vengeful when carrying out her crime. this term appeared in the russian media after to the moscow theatre crisis, in which women dressed in black islamic garbs comprised almost half of the 43 terrorists who took the auditorium hostage.6 journalist leela jacinto commented on the event, “covered from head to toe in all-black islamic robes with only their determined, kohl-lined eyes showing, they quickly came to be called the ‘black widows’ as the horrified world watched a new chechen female suicide squad in action last week.”7 the term, since 2002, has been blanketed over all chechen female terrorists. the description of the chechen female terrorists is an interesting play on words, as it is meant to not only capture their chechen women plead for russian troops not to advance towards the capital grozny (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 24 elements : : spring 2015 crimes, but their garments and grief. the chechen female terrorists are usually dressed in their full length black hijabs when recording a propaganda video for the public and carrying out attacks. additionally, the term is meant to describe the sorrow and grief of chechen females, as many of the terrorists lost their husbands or loved ones in the chechen war. thus, this label stresses the emotional component of female terrorism in chechnya and adds the stigma that chechen female terrorists are crazed, desperate widows. competing arguments since the rise of female terrorism in chechnya, scores of scholars and journalists have attempted to explain what has led chechen females to become involved with terrorist organizations. the theories of female involvement vary in the degree of activity and passivity throughout the women’s recruitment process, and thus vary in the reasoning as to why women participate in attacks. the “avenger theory,” devised by the russian media, branches off the “black widow” stigma and implies that women are crazed with revenge and are thus lured into terrorist organizations. as stated, the notion that chechen terrorists are drowned in their revenge and grief became prominent after the moscow theatre crisis. hostages recounted the women repeating similar stories: “my whole family was killed. i have buried all my children. i live in the forest. i have nowhere to go and nothing to live for.”8 thus, it is believed and relayed by the media that emotions and vengeance are the paramount reasons behind females turning to terrorism. the “avenger theory” is used to take away the decision-making power of the female and delegitimize the chechen terrorist organizations. according to the theory, women are easily influenced by terrorists groups, whose “recruiters lurk within an atmosphere of emotional fervor, and take advantage of personal loss.”9 therefore, this theory identifies the chechen women’s grief as the catalyst for their involvement in terrorism. the “avenger theory” has prompted many refutations, which are most clearly summarized by scholars anne speckhard and khapta akhmedova. speckhard and akhmedova created a comprehensive list of all the chechen terrorist attacks between 2000 and 2005. after conducting numerous interviews with the family members of 26 of the 43 female terrorists, the scholars affirmed that revenge and trauma were factors inciting female membership to terrorist organizations, but with certain reservations. first, these emotions are not elements specific to females, as “the motivational mechanism for seeking out a terror group generated at first by deep personal traumatization did not differ by gender in any way. both genders in [the sample had suffered violent losses of family members].”10 second, the stress on emotions undermines the agency of the women. according to their studies, there was “strong willingness to martyr oneself on behalf of one’s country and independence from russia” with motives of enacting social justice and expressing their political grievances.11 the scholars additionally stress the idea that trauma is not enough of a reason for the amount of female participation in chechen terrorist attacks—the chechen organizations have capitalized on the stigmas that have been created from the “avenger theory” to create psychological fear. the scholars state that “the use of women bombers on planes, trains, and in the subways has implanted in russians a feeling of all-pervasive danger, potentially presenting anytime and anywhere, from the gentler of genders.”12 there are numerous other theories worth mentioning before introducing the paper’s argument. alisa stack’s study for the national defense unit focuses on the organizational level of terrorism. she emphasizes the idea that women are used as a last resort, as many men have been taken hostage and are always the first to be interrogated.13 another argument popular among russian journalists and politicians is the “zombie theory,” which asserts that women are drugged to perform these attacks against their own wills. “trauma and independence created fertile ground for terrorism, and more importantly, there was an organization that quickly understood why and how exploiting females in their terrorist plans was beneficial.” 25 behind the veil this article focuses on uncovering the reasons as to why the chechen case is an outlier concerning gender norms and terrorism. many of the competing arguments explain why females join or are forced into performing terrorist acts. however, most do not acknowledge what makes the chechen case so different from other terrorist organizations. many other regions have had political turmoil and women who want to enact their own vision of social justice. it is the organization and its strategies that make the real difference. speckhard and akhmedova prove through their interviews that the “avenger theory” does have some credibility; however, as stated, grief is not the raison d’être for female terrorism in chechnya. a “perfect storm” has occurred. on an individual level, the personal proximity of females to the gruesome chechen war has created a battlescarred generation of women. also, chechen women have more liberties than many of their arab sisters living in regions where terrorism is present. this factors into terrorism because their independence has allowed them to react to their grievances with options. while most chechen women opened businesses and turned new leaves, others used their emancipation to seek terrorist organizations. however, it is important to note that while these factors have influenced how females turn to terrorism in chechnya, my argument stresses the decisions made by the chechen leadership as the most important aspect of chechnya’s heightened instances of female terrorism. additionally, it is important to focus on the importance of the organizational and strategic levels and analyze the dynamics of the chechen terrorist organization. as speckhard and akhmedova have stated, trauma alone is not enough for female participation in terrorism.14 thus, this is where the “perfect storm” comes into play and where mere thoughts are actualized. the strategies of chechen organizations are the main reasons why females are employed in such acts. the organization has used women from the beginning of its insurgency because, like speckhard and akhmedova have stated, the prominence of black widows in russia has become a self-fulfilled prophecy due to the public’s captivation of the “crazed widow” terrorists of chechnya. thus, the notion of the “black widow”— which is bolstered by the “avenger theory”—has become a double-edged sword for the russians. the term was meant to delegitimize the chechen terrorists as cowards who hide behind women, but at the same time, the idea of a black widow gave the terrorist organization a reason to continue using female terrorists. shamil basayev, who led the chechen insurgency until his death in 2005, understood the captivation and fear that came along with the usage of the term “black widows.” he additionally understood very early on the degree of costly signaling imposed by a female suicide bomber, and how employing females as suicide bombers had many benefits which translated to economic success. thus, the individual situation of the women has created an environment for female terrorism; however, the organizational and strategic level is where the real difference is made and explains why females have a much higher presence in chechen terrorist attacks. research methods a spatiotemporal case study based on empirical and theoretical evidence will be used to reach a proper conclusion to this research question. the first analysis will be of the chechen case and subsequently compare the chechen case to female terrorism within al-qaeda. al-qaeda is an organization with many different cells. al-qaeda will be studied within iraq, where terrorist activity has been rampant for the past ten years. the chechen case study will span over five years, from 2000 to 2005. not only were these the five years with the most instances of terrorism,15 but they are also the range of dates with the most precise data, offered by speckhard and akhmedova, about chechen suicide attacks. female trauma and women’s liberties within the region as well as the strategies of the chechen organization will be analyzed. “while al-qaeda in iraq has remained wary about using female terrorists, chechen terrorists are able to carry out attacks without extensive worry about ideological backlash from al-qaeda central.” 26 elements : : spring 2015 the chechen case will be compared to al-qaeda in iraq because al-qaeda falls within the gender norm and is representative of a region that has considerable terrorist activity. the iraq analysis will focus on the years between 2003 and 2008, as terrorism was most prominent during this time period.16 this information is the best platform for critical assessment of its strategies, which will give clues as to why or why not al-qaeda in iraq chose to use female terrorists. additionally, the cultural differences concerning gender and the role of women may indicate why females turn or do not turn to terrorism. roots of violence to understand the plight of chechen female suicide bombers, one must first understand the chechen war and the proximity of chechen women to the horrific violence between chechnya and russia. in the past 20 years, russia and chechnya have undergone two gruesome wars and a bloody insurgency that had tremendous impacts on the chechen population. animosity between russia and chechnya dates back to the time of the tsars. however, the first modern war began in 1994 as a result of attempts by the chechens to create a sovereign state after the dissimilation of the soviet union. laura sjoberg explains, “the chechen conflicts are connected to the broader problems of post-communist transformation in the former ussr and as such hold substantial symbolic value for russia’s state legitimacy.”17 thus, the stakes of the first chechen wars were substantial vis-á-vis russia, as it tested the federation’s ability to hold together a functioning state. guerilla warfare lasted for almost two years. “peace” arrived in 1996, but the ceasefire did not last long, and in 1999, fighting resumed. the second chechen war had its roots in the radicalization of a small group of chechen islamists, led by dokka umarov, who invaded dagestan with the goal of creating an islamic state. after a full-scaled russian intervention and a horrific death toll, the federation claimed complete control over the region in may 2000.18 although the “battle phase” had ended, violence associated with terrorism and counterterrorism continued until 2009, with the heaviest fighting until 2003. it is estimated that in the past 20 years, over 20% of the chechen population has been killed.19 chechen women’s proximity to violence the chechen wars have taken an extremely large toll on all of the population. significantly, women suffered the brunt of this violence, which provides one explanation as to why chechen women participate in terrorism within the region. most women were not fighting on the front lines in a conventional sense, but due to the nature of guerilla warfare, the collateral damage that affected noncombatants, and the complete absence of human rights, there was no way to hide from the battlefield. while certain wars have designated combat zones, this was not the case for chechnya. the roads of grozny soon turned into the pits of hell. paul murphy explains, “she’s been bombed, shelled, strafed, mined, shot, robbed, left homeless, imprisoned, tortured, kidnapped, raped, victimized, and had her husbands, sons, and daughters taken from her.”20 russian violence towards noncombatants was ruthless. in addition to extreme brutality, most chechen women experienced excruciating loss. of the 26 families of female suicide bombers interviewed by speckhard and akhmedova, 24 claimed data from 26 female terrorists that performed terrorist acts between 2000-2005. 27 behind the veil that the female suicide bomber had suffered a personal loss. half had lost more than one family member. therefore, understanding the proximity of chechen females to the wars is the first factor in understanding female suicide bombers in chechnya on an individual level. in addition to the trauma experienced by chechens, women in the region are relatively independent and have become more so since the wars. this proves to be a factor when considering the participation of female suicide bombers because it allows for a degree of agency within the woman as she deals with avenues to express the trauma she has undergone. speckhard explains, “while family structure is still traditional, it is common for chechen women to attend university.”21 the female suicide bombers reflect this fact, as 65% of the studied bombers had finished high school and the other 35% were either currently in college or had finished their studies.22 further information about the autonomy of the chechen females can be seen in the table on the previous page. the literacy rate of chechen women in particular is unknown, but the literacy rate of chechnya is around 93%.23 in addition to their relatively high educational and literacy status, a large number of women in chechnya have become the breadwinners of their households, as many male family figures have either been murdered or gone missing. since the chechen wars, it is very common for females to be part of the entrepreneurial class. nonprofits such as the international medical corps have supported a number of businesses started by women since the end of the turmoil.24 thus, the fact that women in chechnya have certain degrees of freedom should be taken into account when analyzing female suicide bombers because it demonstrates the options that women have had in the post-war chechnya. the majority of women have turned new leaves and have used their independence in beneficial ways. however, independence has also provided women with the option to turn to other, more malicious means to achieve what they believe to be social justice or revenge. devastation and independence are two factors that explain the individual level for chechen female suicide bombers. however, the decisions made on the organizational level appear to be the most important aspects of the employment of female suicide bombers. marc sagemen, in his study “joining the jihad” explains that recruitment of suicide bombers is a top-down process. the organization decides which bombers allow for the costliest signaling.25 nabi abdullaev furthers this claim when describing the chechen organization by stating that “it is the existence of the [chechen] organization, rather than the existence of grievances, that determines the occurrence, scope, and pattern of suicide attacks.”26 the factors on the individual level prove that there are many women who are willing to sacrifice themselves for chechen autonomy or social justice causes, and they have the independence to make these decisions. thus, while there is a high degree of autonomy in the chechen women’s decision to turn to terrorism, the organization actualizes this potential. the chechen terrorists, from the start of their insurgency, have employed females for a number of reasons. first, the chechen terrorists have used the term “black widow” to their advantage and have understood the fear created from the media hype. as margaret thatcher stated, “the hijacker and the terrorist thrive on publicity: without it, their activities and their influence are sharply curtailed.”27 thus, the media is a very important factor, as terrorist organizations want to attract the most attention as possible. the idea and stigma of black widows has become an international phenomenon since the moscow theatre crisis, inciting high levels of fear among russians. abdullaev explains, “the media is sucked in by the drama of self-sacrifice for a cause, with the centrality of women having a force-multiplying effect on the viewer’s consciousness” and therefore, for the chechen terrorist organization, “the ominous title of ‘black widows’ by the russian media has proved to be paying off.”28 thus, the idea of the black widow has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the media hype has created incentive for the chechen organization to further employ female suicide bombers. second, and most importantly, chechen terrorist leader shamil basayev realized the effectiveness associated with female suicide bombers. these benefits include low degrees of suspicion and high degrees of precision. in addition, the more effective a suicide attack is, the more money a terrorist organization will receive from outside donors, including al-qaeda and other extremist islamist organizations.29 thus, this has created additional motivation for the usage of female suicide bombers. the russians’ brutality and crackdown on chechen terrorists forced basayev and terrorist organizations to find cunning ways to employ terror because “chechen men between the ages of 16 and 60 have been the targets of detention and interrogation.”30 as scholar lindsey o’rourke has stated, females can hide suicide packs and thus pass through security more easily. thus, the chechen terrorists have understood from the beginning of their insurgency that employing females in their terrorist attacks has numerous benefits. the case 28 elements : : spring 2015 study above proves that there are a number of factors that have created a “perfect storm” for the implementation of female suicide bombers in chechnya. trauma and independence created fertile ground for terrorism, and more importantly, there was an organization that quickly understood why exploiting females in their plans was beneficial. why is the chechen case an outlier? if female terrorism is so effective why is it still relatively uncommon? what is it about the chechen case that has rendered it an outlier? female terrorism is on the rise, and this insinuates that terrorist organizations are starting to realize the effectiveness of a female suicide bomber. however, the proportion is still much lower than that in chechnya. there is a fundamental difference in either the lifestyles of females or the way that terrorist organizations run their operations. a study of female terrorism in iraq between 2003 to the present will aid us in this endeavor. this timeframe demonstrates that lack of female autonomy and differing opinions among al-qaeda leaders have led to wariness in allowing women to engage in terrorist attacks. the rise of al-qaeda in iraq before delving into female terrorism within iraq, it is first important to gain an understanding of the political landscape of the nation. iraq has been subject to invasion and political instability since the fall of the ottoman empire in the 20th century. recent turmoil ironically came in the form of the american led “operation iraqi freedom.” the baathist regime soon fell, and its leader, saddam hussein, was captured in december of 2003. although americans thought they had captured the enemy, a more lethal foe began to rise—al-qaeda in iraq. bruce riedel explains: al qaeda also moved swiftly to develop a capability in iraq, where it had little or no presence before 9/11…on february 11, 2003, bin laden sent a letter to the iraqi people, broadcast via satellite network al jazeera, warning them to prepare for the ‘crusaders war to occupy one of islam’s former capitals, loot muslim riches and install a stooge regime to follow its masters in washington and tel aviv.’31 iraq soon became a hub for international terrorism as jihadists from around the world came to fight under al-qaeda. the political landscape for the past ten years has been extremely unstable, as its citizens have been plagued by both a discriminating shia leader, nouri al-maliki, and the terrorist organization al-qaeda in iraq. the role of women in iraq like chechen females, iraqi females have undergone extensive trauma and the loss of loved ones. however, due to cultural differences and lack of rights, women do not appear to have as many choices as chechen women do to either act on their grief or to turn their lives around. for one, the education and literacy rates are much lower among women in iraq. unesco reports, “significant gender disparities are also a matter of concern with illiteracy rates reaching higher than 47 percent among women in some areas.”32 like chechen women, iraqi women have undergone extensive trauma in the past fifteen years inflicted at the hands of american soldiers, iraqi sectarian powers, and terrorists. however, when one loses a husband, “it is considered dishonorable for a widow to remain alone, and families are expected to provide for her and her children.”33 women whose families cannot provide for them are left with few options, as the iraqi system is extremely patriarchal. the international red cross fund reported, “without a male relative, a woman lacks economic, physical, and social protection and support” and “social barriers and discrimination limit women’s access to work.”34 thus, while many chechen women became even more independent after the war and became the breadwinners of the households, the iraq war has only further tied iraqi women to male relatives. on an individual level, the trauma factor is present. however, there is a clear lack of freedom among iraqi women. this factors into iraq’s minimal female terrorist presence because iraqi women, unlike chechen women, may not have the resources or connections to seek out terrorist organizations. thus, there appears to be a link between female emancipation within iraq and female participation in terrorist attacks in iraq. female terrorism and al-qaeda in iraq as demonstrated in the chechen case, the dynamics of the terrorist organization appear to have more weight when understanding the makeup of those involved in suicide attacks rather than the individuals that decide to join. therefore, it is necessary to study the organizational structure and beliefs of al-qaeda in iraq, a direct branch of al-qaeda. as stated, since the iraq war, there has been a large influx of jihadists fighting under al-qaeda leadership. because al-qaeda is a primarily religious organization, the group has certain ideological views that affect its strategies. one of these views is that women should not be per29 behind the veil mitted to implement jihad. a letter by an al-qaeda leader, yusuf al-ayeri stated, “we don’t want [women] to enter the battlefield during strife. we want [women] to emulate our female ancestors in their incitement to jihad, their preparedness for this, their patience and passion.”35 however, since 2003, the late leader of al-qaeda in iraq, al-zarqawi, has utilized females in his terrorist attacks. al-zarqawi’s decision created much negative backlash among the alqaeda community, as the idea of female suicide bombers was, and remains, a very controversial topic among alqaeda leaders. numerous fatwas and counter fatwas have been issued over the topic.36 mia bloom, in her work female suicide bombers, a global trend, states, “the use of women remains a point of contestation among different streams of salafism in al-qaeda central …37 as long as the majority of suicide bombers in iraq come from the gulf, the numbers of women will remain low since neither the saudis nor other more conservative wahhabis will permit women to go on jihad.”38 this strengthens the notion that the number of females participating in terrorist attacks depends on the organization, and furthermore, who is leading the organization at the time. thus, it appears that on an individual level, iraqi women do not have the freedom to network and independently seek out terrorist organizations, and on an organizational and strategic level, the use of female terrorists is limited as al-qaeda leaders still find it to be a very controversial topic. conclusions and looking forward chechen female participation in terrorism, when compared to other regions in the world, is an anomaly for individual and organizational reasons. upon further analysis, much of the reason the region is an outlier is due to the “black widow” stigma created by the media, which has generated a lot of hype and encouraged the terrorist leadership to further employ women in battle. the chechen terrorist group has realized that using females in attacks brings attention, fear, and efficient results. the personal level appears to be important in the chechen case, as women have had the liberty to seek out and fight for terrorist groups. per speckhard and akhmadova, it can be concluded that most women that do participate in chechen terrorist cases are self-recruited, which helps understand their purpose for terrorist involvement. while the “avenger theory” is correct in a sense, it is not specific to women, and it does not speak to the larger political purpose that many of the chechen women have when carrying out these attacks. the passive and active notions remain less clear in iraq. there is insufficient evidence to show whether the women involved in terrorism seek out the organization or if the organization recruits them. however, the lack of freedom among women in iraq does appear to be linked to the low level of female involvement in iraqi terrorist organizations. thus, the individual level does appear to have a certain amount of influence when explaining female participation in terrorist attacks. when comparing the organizational and strategic level of chechnya and iraq, there are clear differences wedged between the two organizations. the chechen struggle, although financially linked to al-qaeda, has remained quite autonomous in its decision-making strategies, and the targets of their attacks have been russian. thus, while alqaeda in iraq has remained wary about using female terrorists, chechen terrorists are able to carry out attacks without extensive worry about ideological backlash from al-qaeda central. these differences demonstrate organizations’ powerful effects on the degree of female terrorism within a terrorist group. looking forward, it appears that for at least a while, chechnya will remain an outlier. as demonstrated in the sochi olympics, female terrorism in the northern caucuses is still present and the hype of the black widow remains influential. chechnya is growing and healing from the extensive damage from the wars. however, terrorists have diffused into neighboring dagestan and ingushetia. thus, it appears that female terrorism will still be used as a strategy for the chechen organization. concerning iraq and many other parts of the middle east, it appears that the percentage of females employed as terrorists will remain low for as long as female terrorism is controversial. as mia bloom has stated, many jihadists fighting for al-qaeda come from all over the world, and thus, there is no dearth of male recruits.39 however, the landscape of terrorism is changing in al-qaeda. for example, al-qaeda in iraq recently broke away from al-qaeda central and has created a new organization, the islamic state. led by abu bakr albaghdadi, it will be interesting to see if ideological concerns surrounding female terrorism will become less controversial now that the organization is independent from the al-qaeda central leadership. 30 elements : : spring 2015 endnotes 1. tsvetkova, 2013. 2. university of chicago. 3. ibid. 4. ibid. 5. by recent political violence, i refer to the effects of the chechen war in chechnya and in iraq. 6. cbs news, 2003. 7. jacinto, 2002. 8. stack, 2009. 9. sjoberg and gentry (101). 10. speckhard and akhmedova (71). 11. speckhard and akhmedova (70). 12. speckhard and akhmedova (72). 13. stack-o’connor, 2007. 14. speckhard and akhmedova (70). 15. university of chicago. 16. ibid. 17. sjoberg and gentry (90). 18. gilligan (1-20). 19. sjoberg and gentry (90). 20. murphy (28). 21. speckhard and akhmedova (72). 22. speckhard and akhmedova (66). 23. hanemann, 2006. 24. murphy (228). 25. sagemen (123). 26. abdullaev, 2007. 27. thatcher, 1985. 28. abdullaev, 2007. 29. murphy (210). 30. stack-o’connor, 2007. 31. riedel, 2007. 32. unesco, 2014. 33. international committee of the red cross in iraq, 2009. 34. ibid. 35. al-saleh, 2014. 36. ibid. 37. it is important to note that although chechen terrorists have been trained by al-qaeda members and do adhere to wahhabi ideology, the group is not a part of al-qaeda central. the leaders of the chechen organization, although islamic, are not directly tied to al-qaeda central and thus have been able to act with more autonomy than other islamists groups. 38. bloom, 2007. 39. ibid. references abdullaev, nabi. “unraveling chechen ‘black widows’” ru studies and research centre. n.p., n.d. al-saleh, huda. “the women of al-qaeda.” asharq alawsat. n.p., 5 jan. 2014. bloom, mia. “female suicide bombers, a global trend?” daedalus (2007): 8. bowers, s.r., a.a. derrick, and m.a. olimov. “suicide terrorism in the former ussr.” mothers, monsters, and whores. by laura sjoberg and caron e. gentry. new york: zed, 2007. 101. chicago project on security and terrorism. university of chicago, 2014. gilligan, emma. terror in chechnya. princeton, nj: princeton up, 2010. hanemann, ulrike. literacy in conflict situations. unesco. united nations, mar. 2006. jacinto, leela. “chechen black widows bring new fears.” abc news. n.p., 29 oct. 2002. “literacy and non-formal education in iraq.” unesco office for iraq. united nations, n.d. murphy, paul. allah’s angels. annapolis, md: naval institute, 2010. riedel, bruce. “al qaeda strikes back.” foreign affairs 86.3 (2007): 24-40. sageman, marc. understanding terror networks. philadelphia, pa: u of pennsylvania, 2004. speckhard, anne, and khapta akhmedova. “black widows: the chechen female suicide terrorists.” female suicide terrorists. ed. yoram schweitzer. tel aviv, israel: jaffe center publication, 2006. 71. stack, alisa. “zombies and black widows.” women, gender, and terrorism. ed. laura sjoberg and caron gentry. athens, ga: u of georgia, 2009. 87. stack-o’connor, alisa. “picked last: women and terrorism.” joint force quarterly 44 (2007): 99. “terror in moscow.” cbs news. n.p., 24 oct. 2003. thatcher, margaret. “speech to american bar association.” london. 15 july 1985. margaret thatcher association. 31 behind the veil tsvetkova, maria. “second suicide bomber in russia’s volgograd kills 14 on bus.” reuters. n.p., 30 dec. 2013. “women in war.” the international committee of the red cross in iraq. n.p., mar. 2009. 32 elements : : spring 2015 "research in the last decade estimates that as many as sixty percent of teenage mothers are living below the poverty line, and as many as 80 percent rely on welfare support for at least some portion of time following a teen birth." t e e n l i v i n g p r o g r a m s i n m a s s a c h u s e t t s ! a policy analysis and recommendations for change t e e n p r e g n a n c y i s a p r e v a l e n t p r o b l e m i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s . w h i l e n a t i o n a l e f f o r t s a r e m a d e t o r e d u c e t e e n p r e g n a n c y r a t e s , f a r l e s s h a s b e e n d o n e t o a s s i s t t h o s e a d o l e s c e n t s w h o a r e e x p e c t a n t o r a l r e a d y p a r e n t i n g . t h e d i f f i c u l t l i f e o f m o s t t e e n a g e m o t h e r s a n d t h e i r c h i l d r e n c a l l u p o n p o l i c y m a k e r s a n d s o c i a l s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r s t o f i n d u n i q u e w a y s o f s u p p o r t i n g y o u n g m o t h e r s i n t h e i r e f f o r t s t o b e c o m e s e l f s u f f i c i e n t , d e l a y s u b s e q u e n t c h i l d b e a r i n g , a n d p r o m o t e a w a r e n e s s o f c h i l d d e v e l o p m e n t e a r l y i n t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s l i v e s i n o r d e r t o b r e a k t h e c y c l e o f p o v e r t y a n d r e l i a n c e o n w e l f a r e . o n e o f t h e s o l u t i o n s b e i n g i m p l e m e n t e d i n m a s s a c h u s e t t s s p e c i f i c a l l y i s t h e t e e n l i v i n g p r o g r a m ( t l p ) , o r s e c o n d c h a n c e h o m e s . t h e p o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e a s p e c t s o f t h i s p r o g r a m w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d , f o l l o w e d b y s u g g e s t i o n s f o r i m p r o v e m e n t . p r o g r a m d e s i g n , i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , a n d e v a l u a t i o n w i l l a l s o b e f o r m u l a t e d a n d d e l i n e a t e d . "over 800,000 american teenagers — aged 15 to ig — still become pregnant each year, the highest rate of teenage childbearing in the industrialized world by fifty percent." teen pregnancy is a prevalent problem i n the united states. though statistics show a decrease in pregnancy rates over the last twenty years1, over 800,000 american teenagers aged 15 to 19 still become pregnant each year1, the highest rate of teenage childbearing in the industrialized world 1 1 by fifty percent. 57 percent of these american pregnancies result in live births and 29 percent result in abortions; the remainder end in miscarriages. teenage pregnancy causes innumerable documented problems for mother, child, and society. teen mothers are less likely to graduate from high school and more likely than their peers who delay childbearing to live in poverty and to rely on welfare 1 1 1. children of teenage mothers are often born at low birth weight, experience health and developmental problems, and are frequently poor, abused, and/or neglected l v. finally, teen pregnancy poses a substantial financial burden to society, estimated at $7 billion annually in lost tax revenues, public assistance, child health care, foster care, and involvement with the criminal justice systemv. while national efforts are made to reduce teen pregnancy rates, far less has been done to assist those adolescents who are expectant or already parenting v l , v l l .the difficult life circumstances of most teenage mothers and their children call upon policymakers and social service providers to find unique ways of supporting young mothers in their efforts to become self-sufficient, delay subsequent childbearing, and promote awareness of child development early i n their children's lives in order to break the cycle of poverty and reliance on welfare 7 1 1 1. one of the solutions being implemented in massachusetts specifically is the teen living program (tlp). tlps are group homes, clusters of apartments, or networks of homes that integrate housing and services for teenage mothers and their children who cannot live at home because of abuse, neglect, or other extenuating circumstances. even though these programs greatly help teen mothers while they are enrolled, l x> x ' x l several policy changes could be made to ensure the long-term attainment of all goals for these young mothers. p r o b l e m a n a l y s i s although teen living programs offer a response to legislation mandates of adult supervision requirements, the success rates of those enrolled decrease dramatically as soon as two years after their exit from the program. teen living programs should not be simply a response to legislation, but a platform to promote long-term goals of self-sufficiency, the delay of subsequent childbearing, and breaking the cycle of poverty and reliance on welfare. to analyze a problem with a policy, one must "examine what is known about the problem, both locally by contact with people who are affected and more globally by searching the literature to explore the etiology and epidemiology and available responses to the problem" 5 0 1 . it is also important to consider different facets of the problem, beginning with the broad context before focusing more narrowly on the specific area of the policy to be changed. to analyze this policy, the issue of poverty wi l l be discussed, a brief history of tlp's evolution given, and strengths and weaknesses of current policy articulated. t e e n m o t h e r s a n d poverty though there are many obstacles teen mothers must overcome, one of the greatest is poverty. research i n the last decade estimates that as many as 60 percent of teenage mothers are living below the poverty line, and as many as eighty percent rely on welfare support for at least some portion of time following a teen birth x i i i ' x i v > x v ' x v i this poverty seems perhaps inevitable for teen mothers, in the eyes of those who see teen childbearing as a symptom of poverty, "a legacy of growing up in an impoverished environment, e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 with deteriorating schools and dangerous neighborhoods, and few opportunities that provide meaning and status in l i f e ' , x v i i . this poverty is not isolated to the time immediately prior to or immediately following a teen pregnancy: compared to women who delay childbearing beyond their teen years, women who have their first child as a teenager work less, earn less, and are more dependent on federal aid for longer periods in their l i fe™ 1 1 . because most teenagers who become pregnant are economically disadvantaged many teen mothers wi l l apply for federal aid independently of their parents x 1 x ' x x this aid is to be used for themselves and their dependents. legislation has increased restrictions on and requirements for teen parent eligibility for services. on august 22, 1996, president clinton signed into law the personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (prwora), a "comprehensive bipartisan welfare reform plan that dramatically change[d] the nation's welfare system"xxi.one specific change in the eligibility for temporary assistance for needy families (tanf) is the requirement that teen parents must fulfill certain living requirements in order to obtain assistance. specifically, teens must reside with a parent or legal guardian or in another adult supervised setting in order to receive welfare benefits. to respond to this legislation, massachusetts, using federal block grant funds, has "implemented a formal program and statewide network of alternative living arrangements" x x u h i s t o r y of t e e n l i v i n g p r o g r a m s a n d s e c o n d c h a n c e h o m e s abraham lincoln chartered the first second chance home, st. ann's, i n i 8 6 3 . x x i i i x while churches and non-profit organizations have been operating similar group homes or maternity homes for teen mothers for many years after that, there has been a resurgence of interest in teen living programs that has been driven in part by the prwora and support of the president, many members of congress, and state of f ic ia ls .^ massachusetts has used these tlps as a method of responding to the new legislation mandates that disallow states from spending tanf funds on minor, unmarried, custodial parents who do not live at home or in an adult supervised setting. x x v while most minor mothers live with family members or other adults, there are some who are not able to live at home or with relatives. these minor mothers on welfare are most likely i n need of an alternative living arrangement. teen living programs in massachusetts are called second chance homes. massachusetts (as well as states such as new mexico, rhode island, nevada, georgia, and texas) has allocated resources to second chance homes, making a statewide commitment to serve young mothers who have no other place to go.**™ the second chance homes national directory, published by the social policy and action network (span) in october 2000 lists one hundred homes in 29 states x x v n massachusetts alone is home to figure 1-1 graphically represents the decline in teen pregnancy rates from 1950 to 2000. twenty-one2 of these sites. x x v i i i organizations such as span and the child welfare league of america (cwla) have been actively encouraging the creation and expansion of second chance homes because of the demonstrated effectiveness of their programs. massachusetts second chance homes are designed to provide a safe place to live where teens are "supported by a combination of mandated and voluntary services to develop skills that lead to good parenting and self-sufficiency".3™* second chance homes potentially offer the opportunity to address a wide range of needs for teenage mothers and their children. the desired outcomes of tlp services have been outlined by the department of social services (dss) and include completion of high school or high school equivalency program; increased parenting skills and promotion of a nurturing relationship between parent and child leading to a reduction in the numbers of supported reports of child abuse and neglect; reduction in repeat pregnancy rates; im proved health outcomes for teen parents and their children; attainment of healthy growth and development of the children of teen parents; and an increased ability to live independently, including the reduction of dependence on welfare.xxx the underlying intent of second chance homes is very much in keeping with the objectives of the welfare legislation, promoting the self-sufficiency of young mothers while at the same time emphasizing the well-being of their children. p o l i c y s t r e n g t h s massachusetts' requirement for providing adult supervised housing for teen mothers i n need has innumerable strengths. second chance homes really have provided a "second chance" for the young women who enroll in them, helping young mothers to get their lives back on track and become productive members of society. sites offer educational programming, employment services, childcare, health services, life skills/parenting training, housing search assistance, counseling, and case management to those enrolled. teens are more likely to use these services because they are all in one location. studies show that these dynamic, adaptive, and responsive programs reaped many positive outcomes, especially in areas of educational progress, utilization of health services, and reduction i n use of tanf/tafdc*™' 3 ™ 1 another strength of second chance homes is their structured nature. this "stems from a belief among program operators that in order to really help young mothers and enforce behavioral change, they need lots of structure and opportunities to learn all the skills that are intended to help them improve their parenting and be able to provide for their children". 3 0™ 1 1 1 even though some teens report being dissatisfied with the amount of rules placed on them, 3 0 0 0 ^ most flourish i n a structured environment. 3 0 0™' 3 0 0™ 13 0 0™ 1 1 finally, second chance homes allow members of the social work profession to become actively involved in implementing welfare changes. the massachusetts tlp model of services is "delivered through state contracts with private agencies, and in many of these agencies social workers have key roles as direct service staff and program admini-strat o r s " . x x x v n i social workers have been underused in the prevention of teenage pregnancy and the monitoring of wellbeing during pregnancy; most of the responsibility has laid in the hands of educators, who provide sex or abstinence education in a school setting, and physicians or medical staff, who offer contraceptive advice and medical options counseling. social workers have received training that wil l allow them to assist i n all areas of these comprehensive programs, allowing the best possible help to be given to these clients. p o l i c y weaknesses while second chance homes are comprehensive and effective, there are three major weaknesses inherent i n current policy. first, while program goals and objectives are met while teens are enrolled in the program, once relinquished from adult supervised care, many clients revert back to habits of sexual activity, poor parenting, school truancy, and reliance on the welfare system within a matter e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 of m o n t h s . x x x l x ' x l ' x l l ' x l i l this demonstrates that follow-up services are lacking in most second chance homes. teens can exit the program by choosing to leave or becoming ineligible when they turn 20x, 1 1 1 1 and the average stay in a home is only six monthsxliv. since service is not long term, it is even more important to follow up with clients to ensure self-sufficiency. second, while teens tend to flourish in structured environments, xlv.xlvi.xlvn t h e r e i s a i s o evidence that many young mothers in massachusetts have dropped out of tlp programs due to the severity of rules and regulationsxlviii. in one study clients' main dissatisfactions with tlps were proved to be lack of independence and too many rules; x l i x " this dissatisfaction caused 26 percent of those clients studied to voluntarily exit the tlpl. third, since second chance homes are independent agencies contracted by the state, there is no standardization of services or requirements for program personnel. client success in second chance homes is largely contingent on the services provided, 1' and all clients, regardless of the tlp site they are enrolled in , should be given the opportunity to receive the same comprehensive services. a proposal for c h a n g e : goals, objectives , a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a l t h e o r y according to massachusetts dss program specifications, the goal of second chance homes is to "enable teen parents to develop, in a safe and supportive setting, the requisite skills and knowledge to be competent parents and to lead independent and productive lives after completion of the program".' 1 1 the objectives, however, are incompatible with this overarching goal. in order to lead independent and productive lives after completion of the program, clients must be monitored after program termin a t i o n . 1 1 1 1 ' 1 1 ^ 1 ^ 1 based on current developmental theory, adolescents are at a stage in maturation in which many important cognitive skills are coagulated. these cognitive skills are crucial for successful adult living, and can not be "taught" to an adolescent in a mere six months, the average stay in the program. rather, these proficiencies are built over time. for example, adolescents revert back to a sensorimotor egocentrism, in which they find themselves preoccupied with their own behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, and activities most of the t i m e . l v n this is not conducive to becoming a good parent. teen living programs have the unique ability of monitoring adolescent behavior twenty-four hours a day, and can offer strategies for becoming less egocentric. this also comes with age. metacognitive skills are also honed in the stage of adolescencel. l v m teens begin to grasp self-regulatory behaviors, in which they self-monitor thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to reach a goal. while this is a natural stage of development, awareness of self-regulatory behaviors can be heightened under the supervision of those more experienced than the teen themselves. this is another crucial developmental process that directly affects the success of the teen mother and the wellbeing of her child. i f teens relinquish their right to be enrolled in the program and are not monitored after exit, these skills may not be in place and wi l l prove detrimental to long-term achievement of program goals. finally, sternberglix proposes a triarchic theory of intelligence}, which consists of three subtheories: analytical/componential, experiential, and contextual. sternberg's theory mandates that experiential learning is imperative in successfully completing the adolescent phase of development. this is one of the strongest rationales for program modification; teens must gain socioculturally relevant contextual experience in order to become competent caregivers and adults. this experience can be gained only through guided supervision of novel and complex tasks/situations, and is best provided for teen mothers i n an adult supervised environment such as a second chance home. s t a t i s t i c a l j u s t i f i c a t i o n proving statistical justification of the need for this type of extended service is difficult; there have been few studies that have examined the outcomes of clients enrolled in teen t e e n l i v i n g p r o g r a m s i n m a s s a c h u s e t t s ! a p o l i c y a n a l y s i s a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r c h a n g e living programs because of several specific challenges. first, the majority of existing second chance homes are residential in nature, accommodating small numbers of teenage mothers and their children. l x this structure is often conducive to the program setting and service delivery, but it makes any kind of rigorous impact evaluation more difficult due to smaller sample sizes. also, while many of the skills targeted are easily quantified, such as the attainment of a high school diploma or ged, others, "such as parenting skills or increased self-sufficiency, are more difficult to measure and the anticipated impact may not surface for extended periods of t ime" . 1 x 1 finally, a rigorous impact evaluation requires the comparison of two groups that are otherwise uncomparable except for participation i n a second chance homes. however, neither program operators nor researchers would support the denial of services to teens and their children solely for research purposes. l x u the limited, preliminary evaluations of second chance homes in massachusetts are promising. the most current statistics show that only two percent of teens residing in tlps had a second pregnancy while i n the program. also, about two-thirds of former second chance home residents continued with job or education training; nearly half had found work; and nearly one third had left the welfare rollslxiii. with continued support after exit from the program, teens would be more likely to continue with their job or educational training, find work, leave welfare rolls, be nurturing parents, and lead fulfilling lives.lxiv,lxv,lxvi j 0 ensure that support is continued in all second chance homes, current policy must be modified. u t i l i z i n g dye's f r a m e w o r k with the need for change justified, the next step of the process is the determination of what change should be made. dye proposes the rational choice framework for making this decision, which proposes that "policy choice...refers to the selection of the alternative with the greatest potential for maximizing agreed-upon values and goals". l x v n he suggests generating a list of alternative strategies for achieving the goals, ranking those alternatives in order of the degree to which they are perceived to be likely to achieve the goals being sought, generating a list of the alternatives' potential consequences, and, finally, calculating the net value ratio of each alternativelxviii. the net value ratio is "an index of the extent to which alternative choices maximize the values of goals deemed important...the alternative that best maximizes such values after its consequences have been taken into account is the one with the highest net value rat io" . l x i x table i depicts the use of dye's framework in choosing the best course of action for policy change. a l t e r n a t i v e s t r e n g t h s c o n s e q u e n c e s n e t v a l u e r a n k make it mandatory for teens to stay in the program unti l counselors and teens both decide that teen has acquired skills necessary to exit successfully •assurance teens are getting services •best way to meet all program goals •wil l have less room for new teens or wil l cost money to expand program •mandate might stop teens from entering in first place require counselors to follow up with each teen for a period of three years after exit •allows teens to be on their own, but continues limited supervision to discourage regression into disadvantageous patterns •wil l take counselors' valuable time away from new intakes and those currently enrolled i n the program ask teens to check in with counselors when they need help •allows teens to be on their own schedule •wil l not assure that teens are getting services based on analysis under dye's framework, the second alternative, requiring counselors at all massachusetts second chance homes to follow up with each teen for a period of three years after exit, has the highest net value rank of the three. this alternative wi l l be designed and implemented. p r o g r a m d e s i g n a n d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n program design for this policy is relatively straightforward, considering the staff that is to do the follow up is already hired and i n place, the site is already available, and no e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 specific curricula need be followed. second chance homes would require that the case manager or counselor assigned to each client keep this client on his or her caseload for a period of three years after exiting the program. counselors at all second chance locations i n massachusetts would be trained over a two-day seminar one month prior to implementation of this policy and once yearly for the duration of their tenure at the home. training would include how to correctly use follow-up progress note and evaluation forms/)., a refresher course on finding resources for teens, a class in teaching parenting of toddlers and young schoolage children (the age ranges that most teen's children wil l fall under after program exit), a refresher course on lead-ing group therapy/discussion, and discussion with other counselors on issues surrounding teenage pregnancy and parenting. counselors would be required to follow up with each client once every three months for the first year after exit and once every six months for the next two years. during each year, counselors wi l l run two group sessions (one in january and one in july). these sessions are mandatory "gatherings" where teen moms formerly enrolled in the second chance home wil l come together to discuss their progress and any problems they may be finding. counselors are encouraged to collaborate together for these sessions, and include clients from more than one caseload in each group. al l follow-up sessions wil l take place at the client's current place of residence, so that the counselor may get the most accurate portrayal of the teen's living situation. i f possible, the teen's child should be present for the session. followup sessions wi l l be conducted informally over at least two hours, with basic areas of concern—found on the evaluation forms-discussed using open-ended questions. the goal of these sessions is to ensure self-sufficiency and healthy personal and social development. successes and weaknesses alike should be topics of conversation, and the counselor should work with the client to remedy any setbacks. after each session, the counselor wil l completely fil l out the evaluation form provided and include the form i n the client's file. once yearly the counselor is responsible for meeting with his or her supervisor to discuss the progress of those clients who have exited the program. the supervisor is responsible at that time for compiling the data obtained from follow up sessions to be included in later statistical analysis of the program's (anticipated) success. three years after exit a client's file can be considered closed, but it is essential that lines of communication remain open for those teens who wish to continue a working relationship with the home. the two potential consequences of this new policy include taking counselors' valuable time away from new intakes and those currently enrolled in the program and budgeting for staff training sessions and additional hours accrued from new standards. however, both seem easily surmountfigure 1-2 com pon ential s u b t h e o r y m etacom pon ents p e r f o r m a n c e k n o w l e d g e a c q u i s i t i o n t r i a r c h ic t h eory experi ential s u b t h e o r y novelty automation c o n t e x t u a l subth eory adaptation s e l e c t i o n s h a p i n g sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence r a t e s o f p r e g n a n c y , b i r t h , a n d a b o r t i o n p e r l o o o w o m e n a g e d 15-19, a n d a b o r t i o n r a t i o , by r a c e a n d e t h i n i c i t y , i 9 8 6 2 o o o r a c e / e t h i n i c i t y & m e a s u r e t o t a l p r e g n a n c y rate * b i r t h r a t e a b o r t i o n rate a b o r t i o n rate j w h i t e a l l p r e g n a n c y rate * b i r t h r a t e a b o r t i o n rate a b o r t i o n rate f n o n h i s p a n i c p r e g n a n c y rate * b i r t h r a t e a b o r t i o n rate a b o r t i o n rate 'j" n o n w h i t e all p r e g n a n c y rate * b i r t h r a t e a b o r t i o n rate a b o r t i o n rate j black p r e g n a n c y rate * b i r t h r a t e a b o r t i o n rate a b o r t i o n rate f h i s p a n i c p r e g n a n c y rate * b i r t h r a t e a b o r t i o n rate a b o r t i o n rate j 1986 1987 1986 106.7 106.6 111.4 50.2 50.6 53.0 42-3 41.8 43-5 457 45.2 45-i 90.0 89.6 93.0 42.3 42.5 4 4 4 35.6 35-1 36.1 457 45.2 44.9 u u u u u li u u li u u l! 180.7 180.1 l8g. l 84.8 85.5 89.2 71.8 70.4 74-5 45.8 45.2 45-5 u u u 95.8 97.6 102.7 u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u u 1989 1990 1991 114.9 116.9 115.3 57-3 60.3 6i .8 42.0 40.5 374 42.3 40.2 377 95.8 98.8 96.6 47.9 51.2 52.6 34.8 33-9 30.4 421 39.8 36.6 u 87.3 82.7 39-9 41-5 42 7 u 32.9 28.7 u 44.2 40.2 1934 189.4 188.5 95-9 96.3 97.8 71-3 67.0 64.7 42.6 41.0 39.8 u 223.8 223.3 111.5 112.9 114.8 80.3 76.9 u 41.6 40.1 u 162.2 169.1 100.8 995 104.6 u 38.9 39.6 u 28.1 27.5 1992 '993 1994 111.0 108.0 104.6 60.3 59.0 58.2 35-2 33-9 31.6 36.9 36.5 35-2 92.3 90.0 90.0 51.4 50.6 50.5 27.9 26.6 24.7 35-2 344 32.8 77.0 74.6 71.8 41.0 40.2 39.8 25-3 24.0 21.8 38.1 374 354 183.5 177.6 169.0 94.6 91.2 87-5 63.6 62.0 58.2 40.2 40.5 39-9 216.6 209.9 198.7 111.3 107.3 102.9 75-5 73-8 68.3 40.4 40.7 39-9 169.7 165.8 164.4 103.3 101.8 101.3 41.6 397 39.0 28.7 28.0 27.8 1995 1996 1997 99.6 95.6 91.4 56.0 53-5 5i-3 29.4 28.6 27.1 34-5 34-8 34.6 87.8 84.9 81.4 49-5 47-5 45-5 23.2 22.2 21.1 3i-9 31.9 31-7 68.8 65.5 62.9 38.6 36.9 35-4 20.5 t 9-3 18.6 34-7 34-3 34-4 155.1 148.9 141.6 80.5 75-9 72.6 53.2 52-5 49-4 39.8 40.9 40.5 181.4 175.1 168.1 9 4 4 89.6 86.3 61.9 61.4 58.7 39.6 40.7 40.5 158.3 152.8 143-5 99-3 94.6 89.6 35.8 357 32-7 26.5 274 26.8 1998 1999 2000 88.7 85.7 8.36 50.3 48.8 477 25.8 24-7 24.0 33-9 33-6 334 77-9 73-4 7i-4 44-9 44-0 43-2 20.0 18.7 17-9 30.8 29.8 29.3 60.2 574 54-7 34-7 33-6 32.2 16.9 15-5 14.6 32.7 3i-7 3i-3 136.2 130.8 128.2 70.2. 66.1 64.4 47-3 46.8 46.3 40.3 4i-4 41.8 162.0 156.1 153-3 83-5 79-i 77-4 56.2 55-7 54-9 40.2 4i-3 41-5 142.5 139-4 137-9 87.9 86.8 87.1 33-7 32.1 30.3 277 27.0 25.8 * includes esitmated number of pregnancies e n d i n g i n miscarriage or stillbirth. i abortions per pregnancies e n d i n g i n abortion or live birth; d e n o m i n a t o r excludes miscarriages ad stillbirths. notes! i n t h i s a n d subsequent tables, data are tabulated according to t h e w o m a n ' s age at the pregnancy outcome a n d , for births, according to the mother's race ( n o t t h e c h i l d ' s ) . numbers a n d rates may differ slightly from those publish ed previously because we revised the number os abortions i n 1 993 t h r o u g h 1997 an used population estimates that cam e from th e 2000 census. u = u n avai lab le. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 able. because each counselor only monitors several clients at a time, they should easily manage the extra eight hours per year (four sessions at two hours per session). also, training sessions would only be for sixteen hours annually, again not mounting to too much time. while there could be arguments that it would be difficult to find money to pay counselors for those hours, because this is to be a state-implemented and regulated policy, provisions should be made by the state. fiscal expenditures are minimal for the potentially huge success rates this new policy wi l l entail. p r o g r a m e v a l u a t i o n two types of evaluation should be used to monitor the progress of this new policy. the first type is formative evaluation "which occurs as the program is initiated and implemented, primarily to address such questions as 'is the program reaching enough of the at-risk population?', 'how much service is being provided?', and 'how many resources, and what kinds, are being expended?"'. l x x this type of evaluation wi l l occur continuously as a counselor meets with clients over the three years. the evaluation form includes space to discuss these evaluative questions. the second type is "summative evaluation, [which] looks at how the program has fared during a specified period of time and examines performance on process objectives, outcomes for clients, and sometimes impact on a target comm u n i t y " . l x x i this wi l l be completed by the home supervisor, who wi l l compile and analyze all counselors' data yearly. the data of each home wil l be compared and compiled to create the state's annual report, which wi l l be sent to the department of social services, the department of transitional assistance, and to the governor's office. by implementing this new policy, teen mothers in massachusetts have a greater chance of achieving the longterm goals of self-sufficiency, the delay of subsequent childbearing, and breaking the cycle of poverty and reliance on welfare. e n d n o t e s i "contraception counts: massachusetts." i i harris (1997) i i i walker and kotloff (1999) iv walker and kotloff (1999) v walker and kotloff (1999) vi kirby (2001) v i i kaplan (1997) v i i i "second chance homes: providing services for teenage parents and their children." (2000) ix collins, lane, and stevens (2003) x collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xi kirby (2001) xi i mattaini, lowery, and meyer (2002) x i i i maynard (1993) xiv maynard (1993) xv kaplan (1997) xvi "second chance homes: providing services for teenage parents and their children." (2000) xvii harris (1997) xviii harris (1997) xix cherry, di l l ion, and rugh (2001) xx horowitz (1995) xxi "personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 fact sheet." (1996) xxii collins, lane, and stevens, (2003) xxiii "second chance homes: providing services for teenag parents and their children." (2000) xxiv "second chance homes: providing services for teenagt parents and their children." (2000) xxv kaplan (1997) xxvi "second chance homes: providing services for teenagf parents and their children." (2000) xxvii "second chance homes: providing services for teenag parents and their children." (2000) xxviii "second chance homes: providing services for teenag parents and their children." (2000) xxix collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xxx department of social services (dss) (1996) xxxi collins, lemon, andstreet (2000) xxxii collins, lane, t.s, and stevens (2003) xxxiii "second chance homes: providing services for teenag parents and their children." (2000) xxxiv collins, lemon, and street (2000) xxxv collins, lemon, and street (2000) xxxvi collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xxxvii kirby (2001) xxxviii collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xxxix kaplan (1997) xl collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xl i horowitz (1995) xl i i maynard (1993) x l i i i collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xliv "second chance homes: providing services for teenage parents and their children." (2000) xlv collins, lane, and stevens (2003) xlvi collins, m.e., lemon, c , & street, e. (2000). xlvii kirby (2001) xlvii i "second chance homes: providing services for teenage parents and their children." 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"a consumer view of teen living programs: teen parents' satisfaction w i t h program components and services." families in society: thejournal of contemporary human services, 81 (3), 284-296. "contraception counts: massachusetts." retrieved october 14, 2004, from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ state_data/ states/massachusetts.html department of social services (dss). 1996. "teen living program specifications. teen living programs: request for proposals." boston: author.harris, k.m. 1997. teenage mothers and the revolving welfare door. philadelphia: templeuniversity press. horowitz, r. 1995. teen mothers: citizens or dependents? chicago: university of chicago press. kaplan, a. 1997. "teen parents and welfare reform policy." welfare information network. retrieved november 12, 2004, from http://www.financeprojectinfo.org/ publications/ kaplan.htm kirby, d. 2001. "emerging answers: research findings on programs to reduce teen pregnancy (summary)." washington, dc: national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy. mattaini, m.a., lowery, ct. & meyer, c.h. (eds.). 2002. the foundations of social work practice: a graduate text. (3rd ed.). washington, dc: nasw press. maynard, r. (ed.). 1993. building self-sufficiency among welfaredependent teenage parents. princeton, nj: mathematica policy research, inc. maynard, r. 1995. "teenage childbearing and welfare reform: lessons from a decade of demonstration and evaluation research." children and youth services review, 17,1-2, 309-332. "personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 2996 fact sheet." 1996. retrieved november 13, 2004, from http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/prwora96.htm santrock, j.w. 2003. "cognitive development." retrieved november 13, 2004, from http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/ sites /00724919 9x/ student_viewo/chapter/key_terms.html "second chance homes: providing services for teenage parents and their children." 2000. retrieved on november 18, 2004, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/2ndchanceh0mes/ sternberg, r. 1997. thinking styles, new york: cambridge university press. walker, k.e. & kotloff, l.j. 1999. "plain talk: addressing adolescent sexuality through a community initiative."the annie e. casey foundation. retrieved november 18, 2004, from http: //www. aecf.org / publications/data / fullplain. pdf z immerman, s. 199 5. understanding family policy: thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 http://www.alliancei.org/ http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ http://www.financeprojectinfo.org/ http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/prwora96.htm http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/ http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/2ndchanceh0mes/ http://aecf.org "amid the debates, there remains one thing that is uncontested ... another failure is not an option.'" t h e d i s a s t e r a f t e r t h e d i s a s t e r the evolution and de-evolution of fema p a t r i c k g a r d n e r s i n c e t h e f e d e r a l e m e r g e n c y m a n a g e m e n t a g e n c y ' s ( f e m a ' s ) i n c e p t i o n d u r i n g t h e c a r t e r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n 1979, i t h a s u n d e r g o n e a t u m u l t u o u s h i s t o r y m a r k e d b y a s e r i e s o f p r a i s e d s u c c e s s e s a n d g r a v e f a i l u r e s . i n i t s e a r l y s t a g e s , i t w a s h i g h l y c r i t i c i z e d f o r s l u g g i s h r e s p o n s e s t o c r i s e s a s w e l l a s p e r v a s i v e m i s m a n a g e m e n t . j a m e s l e e w i t t r e v o l u t i o n i z e d t h e a g e n c y , c r e a t i n g o n e o f t h e m o s t r e s p e c t e d a n d e f f i c i e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t . a l t h o u g h m a n y p e o p l e t h o u g h t t h e p r o g r e s s h e m a d e w o u l d b e l o n g l a s t i n g , t h e a g e n c y f e l l b a c k i n t o p u b l i c c r i t i c i s m w i t h a s e r i e s o f p o o r o p e r a t i o n s a f t e r w i t t ' s d e p a r t u r e , b e g i n i n g w i t h t h e 9/11 a t t a c k s a n d p e a k i n g w i t h i t s m i s m a n a g e m e n t o f t h e h u r r i c a n e k a t r i n a r e s p o n s e . t h i s p a p e r e x a m i n e s h o w w i t t t r a n s f o r m e d f e m a i n t o a f u n c t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , a s w e l l a s w h y i t f e l l a p a r t d u r i n g t h e b u s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . i t f o c u s e s o n t h e k e y d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n h o w j a m e s l e e w i t t a n d h i s s u c c e s s o r s h a n d l e d t h e s t a g e s o f e m e r g e n c y m a n a g e m e n t s t r a t e g y . i n t r o d u c t i o n disaster. it strikes anytime, anywhere. it takes many forms—a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, afire or a hazardous spill, an act of nature or an act of terrorism. it builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning. every year, millions of americans face disaster, and its terrifying consequences.1 so begins the description listed on the mission page for the federal emergency management agency (fema). this passage captures the frequency and unpredictability of disasters. in times of such crises, victims need help creating order out of chaos as local public services come to a halt. to this end, i n 1979, president carter combined many of the separate federal agencies related to disaster response into one over-arching organization, fema. the agencies absorbed included the federal insurance administration, the national fire prevention and control administration, the national weather service community preparedness program, the federal preparedness agency of the general services administration, and the federal disaster assistance administration. in addition, civil defense responsibilities were also transferred to the new agency from the defense department's defense civil preparedness agency." the primary mission of the newly formed organization was: . . . to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the nation from all hazards . . .by leading and supporting the nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation.111 despite the clarity with which fema's objectives are outlined i n the agency's mission statement, many believe its performance i n handling national emergencies has been less than satisfactory. this paper examines the mechanisms through which director james lee witt transformed the agency into an efficient organization, as well as why these changes did not persist under the bush administration. finally, i wi l l describe the current opinions on reforming the organization i n the future. o v e r c o m i n g a legacy of f a i l u r e known to many as "the disaster after the disaster," fema's reputation was that it "would lumber i n after a catastrophe, and anger local officials with its ineptitude." 1 v fema lived up to its reputation most egregiously after hurricane andrew struck southern florida, causing the agency to president c l i n t o n a n d james lee witt anticipate h u r r i c a n e floyd. come under public scrutiny. the hurricane leveled a 50mile area, leaving 200,000 residents homeless and 1.3 mi l l ion without electricity. necessary materials such as food, clean water, and medical supplies where scarce, but fema was nowhere to be found unti l three ful l days after the crisis. when representatives finally arrived, "their incompetence further delayed relief efforts. " v the aid workers who arrived were grossly underprepared to meet the victims' needs. food and water distribution centers did not have enough supplies, causing lines of hungry victims to stretch for miles. even mobile hospitals arrived later than planned, adding to the chaos.v1 many wanted to have the organization disbanded after this debacle, but the clinton administration decided to reform i t . v 1 1 part of this process included appointing a more capable management team, at the head of which clinton placed james lee witt i n 1993. this was, perhaps, the decisive move that allowed the organization to enjoy what some have called "one of the most remarkable e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 transformations of a government agency i n recent memory. " v i i i only a year into his tenure as head of fema, witt received widespread acclaim for his performance i n handling the 1993 flooding of the mississippi river. congressman norman mineta, then chair of the committee that oversees the agency, was so impressed that he pronounced, "fema has delivered finally on its promise to stand with the american people when [natural disasters] . . . devastate their communities." 1 x the newfound success appeared to be a lasting change for the agency. with approval levels higher than ever before, optimism for fema's future skyrocketed. jane bullock, witt's chief of staff and a member of fema since 1980, went as far as to claim, "the reorganization and new systems that witt installed at the agency ensure that we wi l l never be the fema we were before." such optimism, however, becomes almost ironic i n light of fema's rapid descent into disfavor soon after witt left office. t h e l e a d e r s h i p of james w i t t since president carter's administration formed fema i n 1979, the agency had been known as one of the biggest abusers of the patronage system i n the government. when george h . w bush took office, the number of political appointees to fema exceeded those named to other organizations tenfold. x many of these individuals were "terribly inexperienced'^1 for the job—a trait which impaired the agency's ability to respond to disasters effectively/11 the presence of so many political appointees later gave president clinton and james witt freedom to replace them with new, more qualified individuals of their own choosing. clinton also agreed to let witt interview all potential appointees himself to ensure that he could surround himself with a proper managerial team. witt restructured the organization around such people as elaine mcreynolds, head of the federal insurance administration, who served as the insurance commissioner of tennessee for over seven years, and carrye brown, head of the fire administration, whose resume included working for eighteen years on capitol h i l l as a specialist i n disaster and fire legislation.5 4 1 1 1 by replacing many members of upper management with more experienced candidates, witt was empowered to begin instituting reforms and taking action because he had a team he could trust to get the job done effectively. another of witt's early innovations included asking senior civil servants at fema to rotate jobs, providing fresh perspectives on how all facets of the agency operated. x l v after strengthening the managerial team with highly qualified individuals, witt conducted a thorough review of fema's mission, personnel, and its resources that lasted nearly two years. this included closing several redundant field offices and bolstering programs to prepare individual states for natural disasters. witt also managed to decrease internal regulations by 12 percent i n this time period, and he planned to reduce them by 50 percent by the end of the third year. finally, witt is noted for conducting a thorough inventory of fema—something which had never been done i n the agency's fourteen year history. x v fema's performance had historically been hampered by the fact that it was still preoccupied with preparing for nuclear attacks—part of the legacy of its inception during the cold war. nearly half of its budget and resources were reserved for such an attack, creating a severe handicap i n handling natural disasters.xv1 witt decided to shift many assets, such as mobile communications vehicles that had been held i n reserve i n case of a nuclear war, to the front lines of disaster-stricken areas. x v n this new focus freed up one hundred disaster specialists, previously concerned with a nuclear attack, to deal with the organization's new major focus: natural disasters.5™11 m i t i g a t i o n a n d preparedness u n d e r w i t t prior to joining fema, witt had served as the head of the arkansas office of emergency services—a distinction which made h i m the only director i n fema's history to t h e d i s a s t e r a f t e r t h e d i s a s t e r have had previous disaster management experience.55155 as a result, part of his success i n turning around the agency can be attributed to his thorough understanding of successful emergency management strategies. these strategies, as described by otto lerbinger, follow four main processes: 1. mitigation: attempting to minimize harm to human life and property; 2. preparedness: improving the ability to respond to a crisis event; 3. response: reducing damage through the activities undertaken immediately before, during, and after a crisis event; and 4. recovery: stabilizing the stricken area and helping victims return to normalcy. 5 0 5 while witt was successful i n all four strategies, the majority of his success resulted from efforts i n mitigation and preparedness. these strategies involved anticipating disasters and preparing for the types of relief they would require—actions that would make response efforts exponentially more effective. witt first displayed his sharp foresight i n his response to the 1993 midwestern floods, the first major test he faced as fema director. witt instituted a program to buy out property owners who were subject to chronic flooding and costly federal assistance so as to reduce the damage future floods would inflict. this process would have normally taken the program years to accomplish, according to jerry uhlmann, director of the missouri emergency management agency; however, witt's persistence ensured that when floods hit parts of missouri again i n 1995, thousands of flooded parcels had already been vacated. x x l this is an excellent example of what lerbinger describes as "passive" or nonstructural responses within the mitigation strategy. passive responses are principally regulatory, usually involving zoning regulations to l imit development i n highly vulnerable areas.55x11 response a n d recovery u n d e r w i t t fema's inefficiency prior to witt was largely due to the agency's overly bureaucratic nature. fema workers would routinely suspend vital aid requests for lack of a single signature on a particular f o r m . x x l i l kate hale, director of the dade county emergency services, attributes this passivity to the fact that "a mistake could cost [fema employees] their career." x x l v the fear of losing one's job as a result of a single misstep was a considerable force for witt to tackle. "before witt assumed office, relief efforts were discussed in terms of days and weeks; under his new direction, plans were implemented within hours." this problem had long handicapped fema, and i n 1990 it cost the people of puerto rico severely. as hurricane hugo raced towards puerto rico with 120 mile per hour winds, governor rafael hernandez-colon sent the proper federal aid request forms to fema headquarters i n washington. unfortunately, as franklin writes, "one scrupulous bureaucrat . . . noticed that the governor had failed to check one section of the form. dutifully, the fema worker sent the request back—via the u.s. m a i l . " x x v this caused the forms to reach the island after hugo hit, when the puerto ricans were recovering from the worst hurricane they had experienced i n a century. they did so without federal aid, which did not arrive unti l several days later, after hernandez-colon had resubmitted the request forms with the appropriate check mark. such behavior was found intolerable i n witt's agency. the oklahoma city bombing illustrates how the emphasis shifted from formalities to practical rapid disaster ree l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 sponse. the bomb blasted at 9:02 a m . at 9:30, tom feuerborne, director of oklahoma's civil emergency management department, called fema to request assistance. less than five hours later, fema's advance team arrived, which included damage assessors and members of witt's staff. witt personally arrived on the scene at 8:10 that evening to be briefed on the situation. i n the wee hours of the following morning, fema's search and rescue teams began to pour in , supplementing the efforts of the oklahoma city fire department. of the situation, feuerbone says, "my office is very happy with the quick response of fema." x x v i before witt assumed office, relief efforts were discussed i n terms of days and weeks; under his new direction, plans were implemented within hours. witt had no interest i n bureaucratic hang-ups. instead, he demonstrated a genuine interest i n bringing relief to the afu n d e r w i t t ' s d i r e c t i o n , f e m a p u r c h a s e d p a r c e l s o f f r e q u e n t l y f l o o d e d l a n d i n m i s s o u r i . flicted areas and ensuring that victims received the aid they needed. witt also understood that the previous policy of waiting to mobilize unti l asked for help by the local government was a mistake. as witt himself said, "before, it was wait for a governor to ask for help. you can't do t h a t . . . i understood their problems, i understood what they wanted to d o . " x x v u he continued to stress the importance of pre-disaster planning, saying, "it's very important to understand that we're here to support the state and local governments as a resource . . . [we're] proactive. instead of waiting on the hurricane to come in , we get there, pre-position everybody." x x v i i i thus, before a disaster even reached, witt had sent resources such as food, water, ice, and generators rolling toward the scene. after deploying approximately 1,000 workers to aid victims of hurricane floyd, fema officials faced a new problem, that of "restraining] their workers from going out into the field while the storm was h i t t i n g . " x x i x witt's emphasis on action contributed greatly to his success i n office. the true test of fema's success lay i n the responses of victims of natural disasters. i n 1994, fema issued 5,000 surveys to victims i n order to gauge public perceptions of the agency's performance. they found that over 80 percent of the respondents approved of the way the agency was handling its duties—a percentage that would have been unthinkable i n the days following fema's mishandling of hurricane andrew. x x x while witt acknowledges that his experience as a local official i n a rural county and later as the director of the arkansas office of emergency services provided invaluable training for his position atop fema, x x x i he points out a different reason for his success: " i t is absolutely critical that you . . . redefine [an agency's] role and mission to what you feel is important for that agency to be responsible for ." x x x 1 1 this statement becomes especially provocative in light of the changes that took place during the bush administration. t h e d i s a s t e r a f t e r t h e d i s a s t e r r e s t r u c t u r e i n post-9/11 a m e r i c a james witt turned fema around virtually overnight under his strong leadership and clear objectives, and it appeared as i f his reforms would leave a lasting impression on the agency for years to come. in the year following his departure, however, america was struck with the worst attack on home soil i n its history. after september n , 2001, when terrorists hijacked two domestic jets and flew them into the world trade center, the nation's priorities changed drastically. suddenly, terrorism was the primary threat and natural disasters became secondary. i n 2002, fema was removed from its independent status as an agency and restructured as a branch within the department of homeland security (dhs). president george w. bush envisioned a new fema, which was to become a $6 billion agency within dhs, but with a significantly different primary interest. instead of being the primary responder, supervising and distributing major disaster relief, it was to become primarily a national security grant-giver, trainer, and coordinator for meeting terrorist threats . x x x m many, including new fema director joe m . allbaugh, tried to reassure congress that the homeland security functions would not deter the agency from its traditional role. still, many people were not convinced that the newly reformed agency would still be able to respond to natural disasters i n the same efficient manner that it had v i c t i m s of h u r r i c a n e katrina desperately seek assistance from t h e s e e m i n g l y absent fema. under witt. rep. don young (r-ak), chairman of the house transportation and infrastructure committee, quickly pointed out that, under the bush proposal, i f the new homeland security secretary wanted to shift its main focus to terrorist attacks, he could reduce "other [fema] missions and direct those resources entirely to security."x x x 1 v i n response, select committee chairman richard k. armey (r-tx.) redrafted the bush fema proposal. he proposed moving fema to dhs but preserving its role i n responding to natural disasters. this would have lessened its burden for developing relief responses to terrorist attacks. president bush quickly vetoed armey's proposed measure i n favor of a new fema concerned primarily with terrorist attacks. witt sharply criticized the action, stating that relocating fema would be "a mistake. ' , x x x v he warned that the reorganization of fema had cost the organization many disaster response, recovery and mitigation specialists. he advised putting the preparedness office inside the new department, as armey's bi l l would have done, but leaving fema outside and making i t the coordinator under a federal response plan so that the secretary of homeland security would have jurisdiction over it should there be a terrorist attack.500™1 later that year, witt wrote a memo that was critical of the newly reformed agency. he reprimanded officials for not paying enough attention to how it would respond to a natural disaster because of its increased focus on terrorism. he argued further that the agency had moved away from the civil defense efforts that had increased natural disaster resources i n the 1990s. he expressed his fear that i n the post-9/11 hysteria, emphasis on homeland security was creating a potentially dangerous situation.5™™11 f a i l e d p r e p a r a t i o n u n d e r t h e b u s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n under the new direction of the bush administration, fema became a shell of the organization witt strove to rebuild. president bush did not have the same interest as clinton i n strengthening federal response to natural disasters. furthermore, he did not seem concerned with ape l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 pointing the most qualified candidates to top positions i n the organization. after joe allbaugh stepped down i n march, 2003, bush reverted to overt patronage by appointing his friend, michael brown, as agency undersecretary for fema. before joining fema i n 2001, brown's prior experience consisted of nine years as commissioner of an arabian horse association, making h i m the virtual opposite of witt i n terms of credentials. x x v m this is merely one example of a larger trend including many senior appointees, such as patrick rhode and daniel craig. rhode previously worked for bush's 2000 campaign while craig served as a lobbyist for electric cooperatives. x x 3 a x fema's failure to prepare becomes even more apparent when one considers its inexperienced leadership i n light of its new focus on terrorism. according to dhs inspector general richard skinner, preparing responses to terrorist attacks overshadowed preparations for all other types of disasters.xl over 75 percent of the agency's preparedness grants for 2006 were reserved for state and local responses to terrorism, which a government accountability office report described as "a mismatch to reality" x l [ many leaders of the national emergency management association feared what might result from such negligence. this prompted five of the group's leaders to go to washington to warn homeland security secretary michael chertoff of the impending danger just days before hurricane katrina struck. they argued that the change i n fema's role was weakening their readiness for disasters. as the nation would soon find out, this message was highly prophetic. x l u s t a f f i n g h a n d i c a p s on august 29, 2005, hurricane katrina made landfall along the gulf coast. hours later, and strangely one ful l day after being warned of the massive storm, michael brown sent a memorandum to his boss requesting 1,000 volunteers to support rescuers i n the area. according to brown, the volunteers were to be sent for training within 48 hours. unfortunately, fema neglected to maintain its reserve force, which, i n past emergencies, had been the heart and soul of its relief efforts . x l m this left the agency short"president bush did not have the same interest as clinton in strengthening federal response to natural disasters.77 handed i n its relief efforts for the hurricane. fema is structured to have a full-time workforce of roughly 2,500 employees, so the reservist program is designed to help the agency double or triple i n size overnight when facing a disaster. these reservists perform many of the same tasks as full-time fema employees, such as helping to run disaster response centers, inspecting damage, manning telephone hotlines, assisting victims with claims, and coordinating relief activities with state and local officials x l l v the reserve force had withered i n the years leading up to katrina, with both the number of people on call and average training diminishing. george haddow, fema's deputy chief of staff under clinton, believes that the agency's decision to increasingly use contractors hurt its ability to respond to disaster because the reservist force included some of the agency's most knowledgeable people. "they were an invaluable asset," he stated. "all fema's senior staff put together doesn't have as much experience with disasters as a single one of them." x l v i n fact, a report by the house committee investigating the response to katrina, identified the lack of qualified reserves as one of the biggest problems hampering fema's ability to act. the report explains that fema officials could only meet about half of their designed responsibilities. i n the words of scott wells, the deputy federal coordinating official for the state, "we did not have the people . . . that we needed to do our mission." x l v i the same report also found that fema had deep staffing t h e d i s a s t e r a f t e r t h e d i s a s t e r problems, which had worsened since 2002 when the agency was absorbed into dhs. the agency had lost a substantial number of its top disaster specialists, senior leaders and other experienced hands i n a brain drain, which many experts believed would "negativefly] impact. . . the federal government's ability to manage disasters of all types." x l v n homeland security officials could not preserve their employees through traditional human resources management, the house committee report explains, "and this failure hindered the response to hurricane katr ina . " x l v m the extent of the staffing shortage was so great that when katrina struck, nearly 500 jobs were vacant, and eight of ten regional fema directors were i n acting capacity only. l l x those who did remain were unprepared to respond. by 2004, the report indicates, the readiness of fema's emergency response teams "had plummeted dramatically" due to a decrease i n funding after 2002, which caused them to lose communications equipment as well as team training and exercises. while fema officials warned that the teams were unprepared, the report notes that "no actions were taken to address the problems." 1 wasted f u n d s fema's inefficiency is, perhaps, most clearly revealed by the hundreds of millions of dollars it wasted while responding to hurricane katrina. carelessness i n issuing hurricane assistance exposed the agency to widespread fraud. the u.s. general accounting office (gao), which serves as an independent watchdog, randomly sampled 250 payments made to katrina victims and found that 16 percent had been issued to fraudulent recipients.1 1 i f this is representative of fema's spending overall, then fraudulent relief funds would amount to $1 billion i n misspent money, the gao says.111 i n addition to poor background checks. fema made extravagant expenditures on renovations. for example, the agency spent $7.9 mil l ion to renovate a former army base i n alabama to shelter evacuees, but was only used for ten people each night, at a cost of roughly $419,000 per person. this continued through 2006, as one government report estimates they spent $30 mil l ion i n maintaining trailers for evacuees i n mississippi. 1 1 1 1 the gao further estimated that by not awarding jobs to the contractors with the lowest bids, fema misspent as much as $16 mil l ion. another $15 mil l ion were spent on damage inspections that the agency could not prove had been performed. 1^ senator joseph lieberman (i-ct), chairman of the senate homeland security committee, expressed his dispproval, "the american taxpayer should be outraged . . . that i n a six-month period fema managed to waste approximately half of the $60 mil l ion it spent on trailers i n mississippi alone." l v p o s t k a t r i n a d i s c o u r s e since the "disaster after the disaster, " l v l many people have tried to sort through the wreckage—literally and metaphorically—and figure out who is exactly to blame, and what needs to be done to ensure that such a catastrophic failure never occurs again. many have pointed to michael brown as the root of fema's failures. his obvious inexperience made h i m a poor choice of leader during such a time, and e-mails between his press secretary and relief crews showed a lack of compassion for afflicted residents.1™ the ful l attention of the public eye turned to his performance following president bush's misguided praise, "brownie, you're doin' a heck of a j o b . " l v m although it is important for the president to express confidence i n his appointees, his statement seemed like a bad joke i n light of the poor relief efforts along the gulf coast, particularly i n new orleans. brown eventually had to resign under the intense scrutiny following this comment. recently, though, disaster specialists and top government officials have argued that brown is less to blame than previously thought. videotapes and transcripts of disaster sessions that took place i n the days surrounding katrina show brown and his team sounding the alarm of an impending disaster. bush and homeland security secretary michael chertoff, by contrast, were almost indifferent the day before katrina as officials predicted that the levees around new orleans would fail. the president asked no questions. l l x while the bush administration attacked brown for "sidestepping the chain of command," many of the same e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 disaster experts who had criticized his performance came to his defense. l x general julius becton, former fema director under reagan, said he agreed with brown's claim that he sidestepped chertoff i n order to bypass the "fog of bureaucracy" and speed up the relief effort. in other words brown's belief that his superiors were not acting i n fema's best interest left h i m "duty-bound" to bypass them i n order to f i l l his role of disaster relief. 1 x 1 clinton, by contrast, understood this dynamic and praises his elevation of fema to ful l cabinet status. schneiders argues that the only effective solution would be to remove fema from the dhs and return it to independent, cabinet-level status, where it can once again focus its attention to natural disasters and have direct access to the president. restoring this access, schneiders believes, wi l l allow fema to be there to respond and do its job effectively. l x v i "successful disaster relief begins with sympathy for the victims and dedication to the national response effort." knight ridder interviewed twelve disaster specialists and produced similar findings. eleven of the twelve interviewed believed that bush was at greater fault than brown for the mishandling of the federal relief response i n katrina. l x i ' seven believed brown's depiction of events, while four believed both brown and chertoff were responsible, but that bush was especially to blame for hiring them. more importantly, nearly all specialists interviewed chided the bush administration for demoting fema from an independent agency into a branch of the massive department of homeland security. michael lindell, director of the natural hazard reduction and recovery center at texas a & m university, placed the majority of blame on chertoff because of his dual agenda of dealing with terrorism and fragmenting f e m a . l x m james witt summarized this sentiment well, saying, " i believe brown . . . he tried to warn t h e m . . . and nobody listened. i don't think dhs is ready to be i n that coordinating role . " l x l v such lack of confidence i n the dhs fema has prompted major discourse about the organization's future. greg schneiders, who directed the reorganization project that originally created fema i n 1979, attributes fema's ability to operate effectively to its "independence, stature, and direct access to the president," all of which had been lost under the bush administration. l x v schneiders notes that though the need for reform is virtually uncontested, many doubt that restoring fema's independent status is the appropriate action. james loy, former deputy secretary of the department of homeland security believes that those who advocate restoring fema's independent status are oblivious to the new environment that has developed since 9 / n . l x v u he argues that separating fema from the dhs would l imit the agency's access to many of the relief agencies which were incorporated into the new department i n response to 9/11. the difference, he argues, is that fema should be given independent status within the dhs so that it can have direct lines of communication with the secretary of defense i n times of crisis. the bureaucratic hang-ups must be disposed of and independent status would help the director of fema make quick and effective decisions. a bipartisan senate investigation i n 2006 left senators calling for bush to scrap the organization and begin anew, as katrina exposed flaws i n fema "too substantial to m e n d . " ) x v i u this may be an unrealistic aspiration, however, as it would take far too long to rebuild a new agency with the sole focus of preparing for and responding to natural disasters. there are simpler ways to begin improving fema, such as electing agency directors based on disaster management experience rather than abusing the patronage syst h e d i s a s t e r a f t e r t h e d i s a s t e r tem. the agency cannot move forward without knowledgeable and confident leadership, such as that of james lee witt. he is spoken of as the wonder-child of fema's past, but perhaps he was only able to bring success to the organization because he was the first director i n its history to have disaster management experience. successful disaster relief begins with sympathy for the victims and dedication to the national response effort. while opinions differ i n regards to what needs to be done with fema, its future depends entirely upon the next administration. unless the obama administration exercises genuine concern for staffing it with qualified individuals and making the sweeping reforms needed, the government might be forced to disband the agency. a m i d the debates, there remains one thing that is uncontested: i n the words of harold rogers, chairman of the house appropriations panel for homeland security, "another failure is not an option. " l x i x there is simply too much at stake to be left i n the hands of another incompetent fema. e n d n o t e s i . fema 2008a i i . ibid. i i i . ibid. iv. borenstein and davis v. franklin vi. ibid. vii. ibid. viii. walsh ix. franklin x. ibid. xi. ibid. xii. ibid. xiii. ibid. xiv. walsh xv. franklin xvi. ibid. xvii. walsh xviii. franklin xix. lerbinger xx. ibid. (65) xxi. walsh xxii. lerbinger (65) xxiii. franklin xxiv. ibid. xxv. ibid. xxvi. ibid. xxvii. walsh xxviii. ibid. xxix. borenstein & davis xxx. franklin xxxi. walsh xxxii. franklin xxxiii. pincus xxxiv. ibid. xxxv. ibid. xxxvi. ibid. xxxvii. witte xxxviii. usa today xxxix. ibid, xl. lipowicz xii. usa today xiii. ibid, xliii. witte xliv. ibid. xiv. ibid, xlvi. barr xlvii. ibid, xlviii. ibid, xlix. ibid. 1. ibid. ii. harper iii. ibid, l i i i . hsu liv. ibid. iv. ibid, lvi. walsh lvii. associated press lviii. harper lix. borenstein lx. ibid. lxi. ibid. lxii. ibid. lxiii. ibid. lxiv. ibid. lxv. schneiders lxvi. ibid. lxvii. loy lxviii. reid lxix. ny times r e f e r e n c e s associated press. (2005, october 20). excerpts from fema officials' e-mails. retrieved august 1, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. barr, s. (2006, february 16). staffing shortages loom large in report on woeful response to katrina. the washington post, b2. retrieved august 2, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe, borenstein, s., & davis, m. r. (1999, september 16). now fema is easing, not adding to, disasters. the philadelphia e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 inquirer, a16. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. borenstein, s. (2006, march 3). survey: disaster experts now say brown shouldn't be fall guy; of 12 polled, n said they did not buy the bush administration's line on response to katrina. retrieved august 1, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. federal emergency management agency. (2008a). fema mission. retrieved august 1, 2008, from the federal emergency management agency web site: <http://www.fema.gov/about/index.shtm>. federal emergency management agency. (2008b). fema history. retrieved july 30, 2008, from the federal emergency management agency web site: <http: / / www. fema. gov /about/history. shtm>. franklin, d. (2005, july). the fema phoenix-reform of the federal emergency management agency. the washington monthly. retrieved july 30, 2008 from <http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.franklin.html>. harper, t. (2006, august 26). scale of fema waste'breathtaking'. the toronto star. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexisnexis academic universe. hsu, s. s. (2007, november 16). fema accused of wasting more katrina funding; $30 million misspent last year on trailers in miss., gao says. the washington post. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. lerbinger, o. (1997). the crisis manager: facing risk and responsibility. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates. lipowicz, a. (2006, april 14). skinner: fema lacked common it system during katrina. technews. retrieved august 2, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. loy, j. (2006, july 3). lessons learned; restore fema's independence. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. new york times. (2006, april 5). no hands on deck. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. pincus, w. (2002, july 24). fema's influence may be cut under new department. the washington post, a17. retrieved july 29, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. reid, t. (2006, april 28). scrap fema and begin again, bush is advised. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. schneiders, g. (2006, march 20). katrina disaster shows value of restoring fema's status. pr week (u.s.) 11. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. usa today. (2005, september 8). exposed by katrina, fema's flaws were years in the making. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. walsh, e. (1998, august 19). it took a county judge to bail out fema; james lee witt's arkansas experience reshaped agency and its approach to disaster. the washington post, p. a19. retrieved july 30, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. witte, g. (2005, september 26). fema let reserves wither, hurting response, some say; as it seeks more workers, agency relies on contractors in gulf coast. the washing post, pg. a15. retrieved july 29, 2008 from lexis-nexis academic universe. t h e d i s a s t e r a f t e r t h e d i s a s t e r http://www.fema.gov/about/index.shtm http://www.washing-tonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.franklin.html http://www.washing-tonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.franklin.html "sports give people something to believe in, something to hope for, and something in which they can take pride in their community." r o o t r o o t root for t h e ??? t e a m franchise free agency and the business of the nfl b r y c e d o n o h u e s p o r t s h a v e l o n g b e e n d e e p l y i n t e r t w i n e d w i t h s o c i e t y b u t i n t h e p a s t s i x t y y e a r s t h e y h a v e b e c o m e a m a j o r e c o n o m i c i n d u s t r y . w h i l e p r o f e s s i o n a l s p o r t s f r a n c h i s e s b e n e f i t t h e i r o w n e r s f i n a n c i a l l y , t h e y a r e a l s o c e n t r a l t o t h e c u l t u r e o f t h e c i t y t h e y r e p r e s e n t . t h e d i c h o t o m y b e t w e e n s p o r t s a s a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f s o c i e t y a n d s p o r t s a s a b u s i n e s s h a s b e e n m a d e a p p a r e n t t h r o u g h t h e l e g a l c a s e s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e m o v e s o f f r a n c h i s e s i n t h e n a t i o n a l f o o t b a l l l e a g u e . t h i s p a p e r a n a l y z e s t h e p r e c e d e n t s e t by t h e c a s e s r e g a r d i n g t h e m o v e s o f t h e o a k l a n d r a i d e r s , b a l t i m o r e c o l t s , a n d c l e v e l a n d b r o w n s . in a l l t h r e e , t h e c o u r t s h a v e f a v o r e d t h e s p o r t f r a n c h i s e a s a b u s i n e s s r a t h e r t h a n a s a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f l o c a l c i t i z e n s . t h e s e f r a n c h i s e r e l o c a t i o n s h a v e e s t a b l i s h e d a s y s t e m k n o w n a s " f r a n c h i s e f r e e a g e n c y " i n w h i c h t h e s p o r t f r a n c h i s e is l e g a l l y n o d i f f e r e n t f r o m a n y o t h e r c o r p o r a t i o n . o v e r t h e p a s t t h i r t y y e a r s , c o u r t s h a v e d e t e r m i n e d t h a t o w n e r s h i p o f a t e a m b e l o n g s s o l e l y t o i t s l e g a l o w n e r a n d n o t t o t h e t e a m ' s f a n s o r h o m e c i t y . the analogy between sports and life is often touted in order to express a sense of the importance of sports in the development of a nation's culture. sports have often played a major role in societies because they encapsulate so much of what those societies represent. in sports, there is a competition between the good and the bad. sports give people something to believe in , something to hope for, and something in which they can take pride in their community. sports are integral to the development of children because they intrinsically teach how to work as a team, how to be competitive, how to win with class, and how to lose with grace. "the courts have played a major role in the regulation of franchise moves in sports and in the determination of whether owners' or fans' interests are paramount." in addition to being a catalyst for the development of society, sports have also become a major business in american society. because of the popularity of sports in america, people have found ways to make money through the playing and promotion of professional sports. over the past century, professional sports in america have grown from a small endeavor to a multi-billion dollar international industry. with that growth, it has become increasingly hard to distinguish professional sports franchises from businesses. this is made evident by how the open market so easily influences certain franchises' futures. professional sports franchises, however, are more than simple economic entities because of what they mean to the communities that support them. because of the open market in which they function, though, the opportunity for greater profits, rather than the opportunity for fan support, has become the catalyst for franchises' actions. this trend has resulted in the movement of teams from one city to another in search of more money; it has also resulted in cities paying increasingly larger sums of taxpayer money to keep teams that threaten to move. the courts have played a major role in the regulation of franchise moves in sports and in the determination of whether owners' or fans' interests are paramount. based on the decisions reached in cases over the past thirty years, the courts have determined that ownership of a team belongs solely to its legal owner and not to its fans or the home city. the two most popular sports in america are baseball and football, but the way the courts have treated the two sports is entirely different. the movement of franchises that are a part of major league baseball (mlb) is much rarer and has resulted in less legal action than the movement of franchises that are a part of the national football league (nfl). the reason for this can be traced back to the ruling in federal baseball club of baltimore, inc. v. national baseball clubs. in 1922, the federal baseball club of baltimore brought suit against the national baseball clubs for damages under the anti-trust acts of 1890, claiming that the national baseball clubs were attempting to monopolize the sport and destroy the federal league by "buying up some of the constituent clubs and in one way or another inducing all those clubs except the plaintiff to leave their league."' the court ruled that the national baseball clubs could not be held in violation of the anti-trust law because their business was not a part of interstate commerce. justice holmes wrote in the majority opinion, the business is giving exhibitions of base ball, which are purely state affairs. it is true that in order to attain for these exhibitions the great popularity that they have achieved, competitions must be arranged between clubs from different cities and states. but the fact that in order to give the exhibitions the leagues must induce free persons to cross state lines and must arrange and pay for their doing so is not enough to change the character of the business. according to the distinction insisted upon in hooper v. california, ijj u. s. 648, 6jj, ij sup. ct. 207, jg l. ed. 297, the transport is a mere incident, not the essential thing.11 based on this decision and the fact that attempts at overruling it have failed, major league baseball is the only league allowed to regulate franchise moves without fear of violating the sherman anti-trust act. as a result of this exception granted to mlb, there has been little legal controversy surrounding franchise moves in baseball. the legal history of franchise moves in the national football league, however, has taken a different course. the nfl was never granted the same exemption as mlb, but the implications of this fact were not made clear unti l 1980 when oakland raiders owner a l davis tried to move his team to los angeles. when davis announced the move, the nfl attempted to reject it pursuant to section 4.3 of their bylaws which states in full that, the league shall have exclusive control of the exhibition of football games by member clubs within the home territory of each member. no member club shall have the right to transfer its franchise or playing site to a different city, either within or outside its home territory, without prior approval by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the existing member clubs of the league.111 the two landmark cases that followed the raiders' move to los angeles set the precedent for the phenomenon called "franchise free agency"lv in football. via the court ruling that section 4.3 of the nfl's bylaws is a violation of antitrust law, the courts have created a new system; teams use relocation and the threat of relocation to extract more money and better stadiums from whichever city wil l provide them. this system also has resulted in a system in which the city and fans that these nfl teams represent have almost no say in a team's decision to move. the precedent set in the two raiders cases was upheld when after the baltimore colts' "midnight ride" to indianapolis, the city of baltimore failed to reclaim the franchise through eminent domain. the court ruled that it was the owner's right to relocate his team and that the league had no authority to prevent that move. in this new system of "franchise free agency," the courts have posited the owners and teams as businesses and favored them over the cities and fans as patrons. even in the case of the relocation of the cleveland browns to baltimore, fan outcry did not inhibit the city's "beloved browns'"1 from leaving cleveland. as aforementioned, franchise free agency in the nfl was first established in the outcome of the oakland raiders lawsuit, which declared that section 4.3 of the nfl's bylaws violated the sherman anti-trust act by restricting free trade. oakland raiders owner a l davis entered into talks with oakland officials to discuss the status of his team in that city. davis' lease on the oakland coliseum was set to end in 1978 and he believed that the stadium needed substantial improvements i f his team was to continue playing there. when it became clear to davis that oakland was not going to meet his terms, he entered into talks with the city of los angeles to attempt to obtain terms acceptable for the relocation of the raiders. los angeles had just lost the rams to anaheim and had the 92,000 seats of the los angeles coliseum sitting empty. these negotiations al davis after d iscuss ing possible anti-trust v iolations with a federal grand jury. moved rapidly and on march i , 1980, the two parties signed an agreement outlining the terms of the lease. both sides got what they wanted; davis received a nicer stadium for his raiders to play in and los angeles got an nfl team once more. davis announced his plans to move the raiders to los angeles on march 3,1980. one week subsequent to davis' announcement, the league owners convened a meeting to vote on the move under section 4.3 of the league's bylaws. the league voted unanimously against the move 22-0 and obtained an injunction preventing the move under the terms of the team's contract with the league. shortly after this vote was taken, the los angeles memorial coliseum commission sought an injunction to "enjoin the league from preventing the raiders' move.' n ! this suit became known as raiders i and ultimately determined that preventing the free movement of teams from city to city was a violation of anti-trust law. at the same time, the city of oakland brought an eminent domain action against the team in an attempt to prevent the raiders from moving to los angeles. " this suit became known as raiders ii and ultimately determined that a football team can be qualified as a public benefit which can be seized by eminent domain, but that oakland's exercise of that eminent domain was a violation of the commerce clause. the court's interpretation of the two cases showed that they favored the interests of the nfl franchise as a business over the interests of both the league in which a franchise plays and the city which a franchise represents. when considering whether or not section 4.3 of the nfl's bylaws violated the sherman anti-trust act, the court considered two factors. first, the court considered whether the nfl should be treated as a single entity. justice anderson of the ninth circuit court of appeals summarized the arguments of both sides when he wrote, the nfl contends the league structure is in essence a single entity, akin to a partnership or joint venture, precluding application of sherman act section 1 which prevents only contracts, combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade. the los angeles coliseum and raiders reject this position and assert the league is composed of 28 separate legal entities which act independently?™ local fans embrace one of the ir favorite players. justice anderson cited the district court decision as being correct in determining that the nfl is not a single entity. in the district court hearing the court determined three reasons why the nfl cannot be considered a single entity. the first reason was based on the precedent set when other courts had determined that the league had violated section 1 of the sherman act in other areas of its business. in this case the court ruled that "the nfl is not the 'parent' of any league member, nor do any two clubs have a common owner. the clubs do not share key operational personnel. and the nfl itself has conceded that 'the existence of actual or potential inter-club competition in certain areas is not disputed.'" 1 ' the second reason the court cited was that other similar organizations had been found to have violated section 1 of the sherman anti-trust act. e l e m e n t s f a l l 0 8 the final reason the court presented to show that the nfl is not a single entity was that the individual nfl clubs are "separate business entities whose products have an independent value.'"though the various nfl clubs all share certain common purposes, they do not operate as a single entity. based on these reasons laid out by the district court, justice anderson ruled that the nfl had only a limited identity and this identity did not consist of an incorporation of all of its member franchises. he wrote, the league itself is only in very limited respects an identity separate from the individual teams. it is an unincorporated, not-for-profit, "association." it has a new york office run by the commissioner, pete rozelle, who makes day-today decisions regarding league operations. its primary functions are in the areas of scheduling, resolving disputes among players and franchises, supervising officials, discipline and public relations.*1 in the court's opinion, the nfl is nothing more than a governing body that sets rules and schedules. because of this opinion the court determined that each franchise acts as a separate entity when conducting business. this decision is "the court ultimately concluded that the provision preventing the free movement of franchises was an unreasonable restraint that hindered competition among members of the nfl/' elucidated by the competition amongst teams for players, coaches, fan support, and media coverage. the second question the court asked in its determinations was whether or not section 4.3 is an "unreasonable restraint of trade" under section 1 of the sherman anti-trust act. the court ultimately concluded that the provision preventing the free movement of franchises was an unreasonable restraint that hindered competition among members of the nfl. in determining this, the court considered both the positive and negative effects that section 4.3 had on competition. the section 4.3 rule was established because of a need for stability in the league. in the early days of the nfl, teams struggled to become established in their respective regions. the rule prohibiting unauthorized franchise movement was seen as a method of proffering constancy to the league. by granting franchises exclusive territories, and prohibiting other teams from moving into markets without league approval, nfl owners believed that it would be easier to establish the league as a long-term entity. x" because the nfl has since established itself as the premier football league in the world, section 4.3 evolved to be seen as a harmful restriction of competition. the court held that "direct competition between the rams and raiders would presumably ensue to the benefit of all who consume the nfl product in the los angeles area." x i i i the court was of the opinion that the marketplace should be the determining factor in franchise moves and not the league. its decision in favor of the raiders' move to los angeles thus set the precedent for franchise free agency. since the ruling, the league has been wary of interfering with franchise relocation. the league did, however, create a policy in 1984 regarding franchise moves. the new policy "requires any team proposing a move to submit written notice and a statement of reasons to the league." x l v this provision was put forth as a levy against arbitrary team relocation. it was not intended to block teams from moving; rather, it was aimed to make those teams seriously consider why they were moving. among the requirements in the "statement of reasons" were analyses of the adequacy of the team's present stadium, fan support, public financing, the degree to which owner mismanagement contributed to the need for relocation, the financial status of the team, and the extent to which the team tried to negotiate with and stay in its home city. it was believed that this provision would deter many teams from moving unless there were extreme reasons for them to relocate. after the court ruled that prohibiting the relocation of the raiders franchise to los angeles was a violation of the sherman act, the city of oakland had only one more legal option to try to keep their raiders at home. the city was forced to attempt to acquire the team through eminent domain. although this action was ultimately seen as a violation of the commerce clause, it set an important precedent that other teams would use to attempt to prevent relocation of teams whose owners wanted to move. to win their case, the city would be required to show that the exercise of eminent domain over the raiders franchise would be a valid public use. before the court could determine the issue of public use, however, it first had to deal with the issue of whether or not a city could exercise its power of eminent domain over an intangible object such as an nfl franchise. this concern was handled at the appeals level, as it was a question of law. in his opinion, justice richardson of the supreme court of california ultimately found that an intangible object could be acquired by a city through eminent domain. he wrote that "unless restricted by constitutional or statutory provisions, the right of eminent domain encompasses property of every kind and character, whether real or personal, or tangible or intangible . . . "x n even with this liberal definition of the types of objects that can be claimed through eminent domain, to be able to exercise eminent domain over any object (tangible or intangible), the site of that object must be shown to fall within the legal boundaries of the municipality trying to claim it. richardson was liberal in this distinction as well. even though the raiders had already physically moved to los angeles, richardson wrote, "oakland is the principal place of business of the partnership. it is the designated nfl-authorized site for the team's 'home games.' it is the primary locale of the team's tangible personality."^ 1 richardson believed in a very broad sense of the scope of eminent domain not only in the sense that he included intangible objects, but also in his definition of public use. he defines public use as "(that) which concerns the whole community or promotes the general interest in its relation to any legitimate object of government. '^ 1 1 he continued to say that i f the city can prove the public function of the franchise, then the franchise can legally be acquired through eminent domain. when this decision was released and the case was remanded to the lower court to hear i f the city could prove that the raiders served a public function in oakland, the fans were optimistic about their chances of regaining their team. however, this optimism would soon be extinguished by the ruling of the lower court. the city of oakland was able to demonstrate a valid public use in their case at the district level. x v i i i however, the decision to allow the implementation of eminent domain over the raiders, when reviewed on appeal, was decided to be a violation of the commerce clause because of the unique nature of the nfl as a league. article i , section 8, clause 3 of the us constitution grants congress the power to regulate commerce among the several states. in the final appeal of the raiders case, this clause trumped all other claims made by either side; it did not matter that the city had a valid public use claim or that the city could legally acquire an intangible franchise through eminent domain. in his opinion, justice sabraw ruled that the acquisition of a football team through eminent domain was a violation of the commerce clause. he said that because of the importance of the dependence of every nfl member team on each other, a state's interference in this matter would be detrimental to the entire league. he ruled that the nation-wide structure of the league was what ultimately gave the individual teams such popularity and that a "bar to relocation on the basis of state eminent domain law would adversely affect the league enterprise." x i x justice sabraw basically decided that the "invisible hand" of the market must govern e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 franchise moves in the nfl and that blocking teams with claims of eminent domain was harmful to the franchise as a business entity. he wrote that i f a city was allowed to claim eminent domain over their team, the league's interests would be subordinated to, or at least compromised by, the new owner's allegiance to the local public interest in matters such as lease agreements, ticket prices, concessions, stadium amenities, scheduling conflicts, etc . . . a single precedent of eminent domain acquisition would pervade the entire league, and even the threat of its exercise elsewhere would seriously disrupt the balance of economic bargaining on stadium leases throughout the nation. this decision handed down by the court, in favor of the nfl franchise as business enterprises rather than as agents of the municipalities they represent, set the precedent for the future movement of the colts and the browns. additionally, it created an environment in which teams could use the threat of relocation to attract better monetary and economic incentives from the cities in which they play. the first franchise to take advantage of the system of "franchise free agency" established through the raiders cases was the baltimore colts. in late 1983 and early 1984, colts owner robert irsay entered into extensive negotiations with the mayor of baltimore, william donald schaefer, to discuss the future of his nfl franchise. the two sides discussed the possibility of building a new stadium for the colts to play in and the suggested terms of that lease. after negotiations with baltimore provided unfavorable terms for irsay and his team, he turned to the city of indianapolis. the brand new $80 mill ion hoosier dome and a propitious lease agreement enticed irsay to move his team to indiana. despite the city of baltimore and the state of maryland's best efforts to try to prevent the team's exit, irsay knew that because of the recently administered raiders decision, he would not have to defend his actions. when maryland officials saw that the move was imminent, the state senate passed a bill on march 27,1984 authorizing baltimore to condemn professional sports franchises. after hearing of this bil l the next day, irsay decided to move his franchise to indianapolis. on the night of march 28, 1984, while his agents were still working out the terms of the lease with the hoosier dome officials, irsay had most of the colts' physical possessions loaded into the now infamous "mayflower moving vans" and driven to indianapolis in the midst of a snow storm. x x to fully understand the rationale of this move, it must be placed into context in terms of the decisions reached at the various levels of the raiders cases. irsay's move followed both the decision against the nfl for its violation of antitrust laws and the decision that a city could claim an intangible object such as a sports franchise through eminent domain. however, this move came well before the california courts decided that the capture of a sports franchise through eminent domain was a violation of the commerce clause. this context gives further weight to the claim that the courts favored the business interests of the owners of the franchise over the interests of the fans and cities which those franchises represented. the timing of the move and the urgency with which irsay executed it showed his uncertainty about how the courts would treat a claim of eminent domain for football franchises. r o o t r o o t r o o t f o r t h e ? ? ? t e a m when the colts left, the maryland legislature enacted the bill allowing the city of baltimore to condemn sports franchises, and the city filed a condemnation petition seeking to acquire the colts through eminent domain. ultimately, the courts decided that this condemnation was invalid because the franchise was outside of the city's jurisdiction. in making this determination, the courts further asserted that an nfl franchise is first and foremost, i f not entirely, a business entity. the new cleveland browns' stadium. the major point of contention in this eminent domain suit was the issue of whether the colts franchise fell under the jurisdiction of the city of baltimore at the time the city tried to claim it through eminent domain. to determine this, the court addressed three issues. "first, what is the relevant date to determine the location of the club: the date of filing of the condemnation proceedings or the date when compensation is paid? second, what standard is the appropriate test for determining the situs of an intangible franchise in condemnation proceedings? third, was the franchise in maryland at the time when situs must be determined?"^ 1 to claim eminent domain over the colts, the city had to show that the franchise was under the city's jurisdiction at the time of the claim. the court gave two primary reasons for its determination that the colts as a franchise were not under the jurisdiction of the city of baltimore at the time of the eminent domain claim. the court first addressed the city's claim that the colts had " m i n i m u m contacts" remaining in maryland after march 30,1984. the court rejected this claim on the grounds that it would lead to "untenable precedent." in his opinion, justice walter black said, "sports franchises, which have m i n i m u m contacts with many jurisdictions in this country, could be condemned by any state in which the team plays . . . m i n i m u m contacts standard would permit the condemnation of the colts franchise . . . by florida, since the colts play a football game in miami each year." x x i l this judgment has come to mean that a city cannot claim eminent domain based on the fan support or the franchise's history in that city. the court went on to discuss the precedent set by the raiders case. the two differences from the raiders case were that the nfl had not condemned the colts relocation and that this move and lawsuit took place during the offseason. the court ruled that because there was no further day-to-day business conducted in maryland by the colts after march 30, and because all of the colts' physical property was in indianapolis, the city of baltimore had no situs to claim eminent domain. justice black wrote, the court finds this act of physical relocation, however unpopular in baltimore at the time, to be of great significance to our inquiry here. indeed, if the move to indianapolis had not taken place until after march 30, the location of the team's tangible personal property, although of small value, would have been a potent factor in the city's position of situs of the franchise.™11 by saying this, the court gave more weight to the interpretation of a franchise as an economic entity over the interpretation of a franchise as representative of a city. in its final decision, the court cites the fact that the other teams in the nfl decided not to try to block the move as evidence of a waiver or suspension of article 4.3 of the league's bylaws. the court also reiterates the fact that a e l e m e n t s : \ f a l l 0 8 team's historical ties to a particular city prove nothing as far as that team's current physical location. justice black closed by saying, "the team's principle [sic] place of business and its tangible property were both outside maryland on that date, and it is clear that the owner's intention was to relocate outside of maryland. under any of the workable tests for determining the situs of the franchise, the court concludes that the colts were 'gone' on march 30, this decision, when taken in conjunction with the decision of the california courts in the raiders' case, shows the courts' consistency in treating nfl franchises as businesses. the final franchise move that upholds this consistency is the cleveland browns' move to baltimore in 1996. the citizens of cleveland tried to overwhelm the courts rather, they represent a business whose sole purpose is the same as any other business: money. during the colts' move to indianapolis, nfl commissioner pete rozelle explained the difficult situation that has arisen from this new system, when the raiders sought to desert oakland, the nfl voted against the move, was sued, and subsequently was penalized $49 million for opposing the move . . . moreover, if we had voted to allow the move, the oakland authorities were prepared to sue us. now we are being sued for not preventing the colts from leaving . . . under court anti-trust interpretation, we are literally damned if we do and damned if we don't.*"'1 "with the advent of "franchise free agency/7 teams and owners do not represent cities as they did in the past; rather, they represent a business whose sole purpose is the same as any other business: money." with lawsuits against owner art modell and the browns, but despite nearly 100 suits, the move proceeded without interruption. this outpouring of opposition did nothing to stop art modell from taking his team south to baltimore, but it did set a unique precedent. on february 8,1996 the nfl and cleveland reached an agreement that promised the city "as much as $ 48 mill ion in loans to build a 72,000seat open-air stadium and the promise of another team that gets the browns' name and colors in 1999.w x x v since the 1980 repositioning of the raiders from oakland to los angeles, the courts have been unable and unwilling to interfere with the business of professional sports in america. with the advent of franchise free agency, teams and owners do not represent cities as they did in the past; essentially, the league cannot take any action against a team that wants to move, the cities cannot take any action, the fans cannot take any action and after failing to pass legislation, congress cannot take any action. the result is a seemingly capitalistic nfl where all virtue that has surrounded sports for hundreds of years has been disregarded. in a speech he delivered to the people of indianapolis shortly after moving the colts there, robert irsay verbalized the new mentality of the nfl when he said, "it's not your ball team or our ball team, it's my family's ball team. i paid for it and worked for i t . " x x v r o o t r o o t r o o t f o r t h e ? ? ? t e a m e n d n o t e s i. federal baseball club of baltimore, inc. v. national baseball clubs. 259 u.s. 200, 42 s.ct. 465. (1922) ii. ibid. iii. leone (495) iv. leone v. forbes (4c) vi. los angeles memorial coliseum commission v. national football league, 726 f.2d 1381. at 1385 (1984) vii. ibid. viii. ibid, at 1387 ix. los angeles memorial coliseum commission v. national football league, 519 f. supp .581. at 583 (1981) x. ibid, at 584 xi. l.a. memorial coliseum v nfl, 726 f.2d 1381 at 1389 (1984) xii. ibid, at 1394 xiii. ibid, at 1396 xiv. leone (499) xv. city of oakland v. oakland raiders, 32 cal.3d 60 at p67 (1982) xvi. ibid, at 74 xvii. ibid, at 69 xviii. city of oakland v. superior court of monterey county, 150 cal.app.3d 267 (1983) xix. city of oakland v. oakland raiders. 174 call.app.3d 414 at 420 (1986). xx. mayor and city council of baltimore v. indianapolis colts. 624 f. supp. 278 at 278-281 (1986) xxi. ibid, at 282 xxii. ibid, at 284 xxiii. ibid, at 285 . xxiv. ibid, at 289 xxv. weisman (4c) xxvi. shiparo (f3) xxvii. rosen (d2) references city of oakland v. oakland raiders, 32 cal.3d 60. 1982. city of oakland v. oakland raiders. 174 call.app.3d 414. 1986. city of oakland v. superior court of monterey county, 150 cal.app.3d 267. 1983. federal baseball club of baltimore, inc. v. national baseball clubs. 259 u.s. 200, 42 s.ct. 465. 1922. forbes, gordon. "modell feels the heat from cleveland fans," usa today. 18 january 1996. p.4c leone, katherine. no team, no peace: franchise free agency in the national football league. columbia law review, vol. 97, no.2. march 1997. los angeles memorial coliseum commission v. national football league, 519 f. supp .581. 1981. los angeles memorial coliseum commission v. national football league, 726 f.2d 1381. 1984. mayor and city council of baltimore v. indianapolis colts. 624 f. supp. 278. 1986. rosen, byron. "irsay lectures indianapolis: 'it's my team'." the washington post. 3 apri l 1984. p.d2. shiparo, leonard. "rozelle opposed move, but couldn't stop irsay." the washington post. 8 april 1984. p.f3. weisman, larry. "browns package'precedent-setting'." usa today, 9 february 1996. p.4c e l e m e n t s f a l l 0 http://cal.app.3d http://call.app.3d http://call.app.3d http://cal.app.3d t h e " o k l a h o m a c i t y p l u n d e r " turner's social drama and team relocation m a t t h e w m o r r i s t h i s e s s a y f r a m e s t h e p h e n o m e n o n o f t e a m r e l o c a t i o n as a s o c i a l d r a m a d e f i n e d by a n t h r o p o l o g i s t v i c t o r t u r n e r . t o s u p p o r t t h i s v i e w i ex a m i n e d t h e c o n t r o v e r s y s u r r o u n d i n g t h e s e a t t l e s u p e r s o n i c s ' m o v e t o o k l a h o m a c i t y , w h i c h o c c u r r e d o v e r a t w o y e a r p e r i o d b e g i n n i n g in 2006 a n d e n d i n g in 2008. i p r o v i d e a c o n t e x t f o r t e a m r e l o c a t i o n in t h e f o u r m a j o r p r o f e s s i o n a l s p o r t s l e a g u e s o f t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a n d c a n a d a as w e l l as t h e s p e c i f i c c o n t e x t o f t h e s u p e r s o n i c s c o n t r o v e r s y . i t h e n a n a l y z e t h e s i t u a t i o n as a s o c i a l d r a m a o c c u r r i n g b e t w e e n t w o p a r t i e s ! c i t y o f f i c i a l s a n d t e a m o w n e r s . t h e m e d i a ' s r o l e as an i n t e r m e d i a r y a n d t h e f a n ' s r o l e as an o b s e r v e r a r e a l s o e x p l o r e d . i c o n c l u d e b r i e f l y n o t i n g t h e i m p a c t o f t e a m r e l o c a t i o n o n t h e f a n s . i n t r o d u c t i o n throughout the history of the four major professional sports leagues of the united states and canada, team relocation has been common practice for team owners. of the 122 teams that make up major league baseball (mlb), the national football league (nfl), the national basketball association (nba), and the national hockey league (nhl), 40 have relocated 52 times. traditionally one might attribute this trend to lackluster fan support, but i n modern times the rationale behind team relocation is usually business related. most commonly, team owners (or ownership groups) wi l l claim that the conditions under which they are operating the franchise are less than favorable for turning profits. the team's ownership then makes an appeal to the public arguing that the construction of a new stadium wil l secure the team's place i n the city and result i n "increased tax revenues, job creation and community image-building."" as a consequence, team ownership presents the city with an ultimatum: either dedicate public funds to the construction of a state-of-the-art arena or force the team to move to a location more eager to construct a new stadium. typically, the city initially opposes financing anything as expensive as an arena or stadium and engages the owners i n a debate. the team's ownership—using the threat of relocation as leverage—forces the city into adopting either a complacent attitude or a more combative one. though ini tially resistant, the complacent city eventually gives i n to the ownership's demands, fearing that their city's prestige and economy are at stake. alternatively, the combative city sees public funding for private ventures as "socialism for the rich" 1 1 1 and decides that there are better uses for their tax dollars than a new stadium. the city subsequently permits the team to move elsewhere. the complacent attitude seems a more common result: 89 of the 122 total pro sports teams play i n stadiums built i n 1990 or after, and only 12 of the 89 received their new arenas after relocating. i n this "public argument" between the city and the team, each party views the other's public statements as efforts to empower themselves and strengthen their position. according to bishop, this process "that begins with a team expressing its desire for a new stadium and concludes with the construction of that stadium has all the makings of what anthropologist victor turner calls a 'social drama."' v turner defines social dramas as "an eruption from the level surface of ongoing social life, with its interactions, transactions, reciprocities, its customs making for regular, orderly sequences of behavior." according to bishop, journalists act as intermediaries i n stadium construction social dramas, transmitting and interpreting the messages they receive from the principal parties.' 1 the local media, therefore, provides the rhetorical theater i n which the conflict between the ownership and the city plays out for all to see. bishop only examines the development of stadium construction social dramas i n cities that acquiesce ("complacent" cities). this adoption of the complacent attitude results from a combination of mobilization of fan "energies," support from the local media, and a persuasive economic argument/ 1 1 1 i n bishop's analysis, stadium construction and team appeasement are the two inevitable conclusions of this type of social drama. her analysis, however, overlooks the obvious possibility of team relocation. i contend that—although more rare than the outcome examined by bishop—the factors i n a stadium construction social drama ending i n relocation merit consideration as well. when the city behaves combatively toward a given team's ownership i n a stadium construction drama, the likely outcome is team relocation to a smaller city hungry for professional sports and will ing to allocate the money to meet the ownership's demands. smaller cities are often motivated to acquire a professional team by a hope that through that acquisition their city wil l gain "major league status."1 many think that a city that is worthy of a major league sports franchise is both more desirable for potential residents and more lucrative for potential investors. as a result, smaller cities are will ing to fight bigger, more cosmopolitan cities tooth and nail to attain a team. e l e m e n t s fall 09 with these factors i n mind, i wi l l examine the possibility that bishop neglects i n the context of the seattle supersonics' move to oklahoma city i n the summer of 2008. after outlining the salient events i n the team's relocation, the specific correspondence with turner's elements of social drama wi l l be criticized. finally, a brief look at the history of relocation social dramas wi l l highlight the wider impact of this type of drama on the country's social consciousness. t h e seattle s u p e r s o n i c s m o v e to o k l a h o m a c i t y before i 960 , seattle saw itself as a provincial city largely isolated from the rest of the country.x but the meteoric rise of boeing and the 1962 world's fair —which saw the construction of the space needle and key arena (the future home of the supersonics)—established the city as the f i nancial and industrial capital of the pacific northwest. arriving i n 1967 as an nba expansion team, the supersonics became seattle's first professional sports team. the team was extremely popular among seattleites who interpreted their arrival as a validation that seattle had indeed becme an important city on the national level. x i the sonics made their city even prouder when they defeated the washington bullets i n the 1979 nba finals i n five games, ; ! capturing for seattle its first and only professional sports championship. since the sonics' 1979 championship, seattle has grown economically with the rise of the computer industry and culturally with the artistic triumphs of the city's counter cultural movement, notably with the explosion of grunge i n the early 1990s.x 11 seattle also gained two other professional sports teams: mlb's mariners and the nfl's seahawks, both of which eclipsed the supersonics i n popularity. the supersonics, however, continued to draw crowds, excluding their lame duck years of 2006-08. although key arena had the smallest arena capacity i n the nba (17,098), the team frequently finished near the middle of the pack i n the league attendance, measured as the average attendance per game, per season.xiv key arena was loved by fans despite its small capacity. in 2002, the supersonics ownership led by starbucks tycoon howard schultz began petitioning the city government for a new publicly financed arena. the supersonics were still playing i n key arena, a relic from the 1962 world's fair that had been their home since the team's inception (apart from five years spent playing i n the kingdome). but schultz's pleas fell on deaf ears, for the city was not will ing to finance another stadium project, having just paid a combined $672 mil l ion to finance new stadiums for the mariners and the seahawks.x washington state taxpayers, having paid begrudgingly for the other two stadiums, were reluctant to dedicate any more public money toward stadium construction. 1 frustrated and losing money, schultz and the other 58 owners—including prominent city oligarchs such as richard tait, co-creator of the game "cranium" and pete nordstrom owner of the eponymous department store—decided to sell the supersonics and its women's national basketball association (wnba) sister team, the seattle storm, to the highest bidder. this turned out to be an ownership group from oklahoma, which offered $350 mil l ion for both teams. x v i i the new ownership group—officially known as professional basketball club, llc—was led by oklahoma city businessman clay bennett. bennett was responsible for the nbas foray into oklahoma city during the 2005-06 t h e " o k l a h o m a city p l u n d e r " and 2006-07 seasons when the new orleans hornets were displaced by hurricane katrina and needed a temporary home. the hornets ended up playing their home games during those two seasons i n oklahoma city's ford center. the ford center was an $89 mil l ion publicly funded construction project finished i n 2002, constructed primarily to lure an n h l or nba franchise to the city. x v i l i this goal was accomplished when the new orleans hornets fell into oklahoma city's lap during the 2005-06 season. residents of oklahoma city rallied behind the team despite the awareness that the arrangement was only temporary. the venture, however, convinced bennett that oklahoma's capital was a viable nba market. x i x he was able to convince a group of equally optimistic local investors, and together they swooped up the supersonics when the team was was put up for sale. the seattle media was immediately suspicious of the new ownership's intentions for the team, and, despite reassurances to the contrary, many seattleites began to lament what they viewed as an inevitable relocation.bennett was legally bound to a clause i n the terms of sale that stated that he was required to put i n a one-year "good faith effort" to keep the team i n seattle. i n compliance with the clause, bennett announced i n february 2007 that the team would stay i n return for the publicly funded construction of a $530 mil l ion arena i n the seattle suburb renton, wa. x x i far more ambitious than schultz's $220 mil l ion plan to renovate key arena, nobody outside of renton took it seriously. the seattle media interpreted it as a feeble attempt to comply with the good faith clause.5"" the renton plan was dropped i n april 2007, and the ownership announced i n november that i f seattle remained idle, the team would relocate to oklahoma city as soon as it was legally able to do so. x x n i in august, the controversy reached a new level of public and media acrimony when team minority owner aubrey mcclendon stated i n an interview with the oklahoma journal record, "we didn't buy the team to keep it i n seattle. we hoped to come here." x x i v additionally, a series of e-mails between the owners of the supersonics revealed i n april 2008 indicated that the owners had privately communicated their excitement to one another about moving the team to oklahoma, even while they were publicly stating that they were trying to keep the team i n seattle. in one infamous e-mail, minority owner tom ward stated, "is there any way to move here for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season i n seattle?" to which bennett replied, " i am a man possessed! wil l do everything we can. thanks for hanging i n there with me boys, the game is just getting started." x x v i n response to this e-mail, the previous owner of the supersonics, howard schultz, filed a law suit against professional basketball club, llc claiming they had committed fraud by violating the good faith clause of the sale, rendering the sale vo id . x x v l before this point the media and public had seen the supersonics' relocation as inevitable, but i n the wake of this mounting evidence, public and journalistic support of "saving the sonics" skyrocketed. clay ben n et, head of professional basketball club, llc, speaks ata press conference aboutthe relocation. e l e m e n t s fall 09 "years after his initial observations, turner determined that although the fashion in which the ndembu tribe engaged in social drama was unique to their culture (the 'ritual'), the phenomenon is universal across cultures and subcultures regardless of sophistication.77 the culmination of all these events occurred i n june 2008 as the city of seattle took professional basketball club, llc to court i n order to require the ownership to honor its lease of key arena from the city, forcing the supersonics to stay i n seattle an additional two years. the trial was marked by a large throng of green and gold fans protesting publicly outside the courthouse.^ 1 1 former players xavier mcdaniel and gary payton addressed the crowd, reiterating demands that the supersonics stay i n seattle, at least for the next two years unti l their lease expired. x x v m the trial concluded on july 2 with a settlement between the team ownership and the city, one hour before u.s. district judge marsha pechman was to deliver her summary judgment . x x l x the settlement allowed for the supersonics to move but required that the owners pay off the remainder of their lease wi th the city of seattle i n addition to damages.x x x it was stipulated that i f the city of seattle did not receive a replacement nba team i n five years that professional basketball club, llc owed them $35 mil l ion. additionally, the ownership agreed to allow the city of seattle to hold onto the supersonics name, color, and history, so that they might be used by an nba franchise returning to seattle. subsequently, the now former seattle supersonics began the process of physically moving the team to oklahoma city. v : it was announced a month before the season started i n september that the oklahoma city incarnation of the team would be named the thunder and would bear no resemblance beyond its personnel to the supersonics franchise. t u r n e r ' s s o c i a l d r a m a scottish anthropologist victor turner conceptualized his notions of "ritual" and "social drama" while observing the characteristics of the social structures and lives of the people of the ndembu tribe i n central africa for four years. he was fascinated by the ndembu people's inclination toward social conflict that "manifested itself i n public episodes of tensional irruption which i called 'social dramas."' x x x i i social dramas occurred within the ndembu tribe, as turner explains it, "when the interests and attitudes of groups and individuals stood i n obvious opposition." everyone within ndembu society is forced to take sides during a social drama, sometimes against his own personal wi l l , i n accordance with the society's deeply held sense of morality and loyally. years after his initial observations, turner determined that although the fashion i n which the ndembu tribe engaged i n social drama was unique to their culture (the "ritual"), the phenomenon is universal across cultures and subcultures regardless of sophistication. x x x v turner broke social drama into four main phases: breach, crisis, redressive action, and reintegration (or schism). "breach" i n frederick bailey's words is "a symbolic trigger of confrontation or encounter.' , x x x v 1 the breach fundamentally violates a norm of culture integral to its operation, challenging the status quo. "crisis" occurs i f the societal stress caused by the breach cannot be quelled immediately, and thereby "escalat[ing] the crisis ." x x x v i l during crisis, two main parties become unsure and suspicious of their oppot h e " o k l a h o m a city p l u n d e r " nent. crisis acts as a crossroads i n the social drama, for it coverage of stadium construction controversies," he armarks the point at which society must consider seriously gues that the scenario i n which team owners create a "redressive action" occurs when the society takes action to landscape.x l i v bishop asserts that the unfolding of a stamanage the crisis in the form of "adjustive and redressive dium construction conflict constitutes a complete social mechanisms" employed by "representative members of the drama story arc. x l v disturbed social system.' , x x x v 1 1 1 redressive actions vary from culture to culture and from crisis to crisis, but redresthe stadium construction social drama begins when team sive actions can include personal advice, social mediation, officials state publicly that a new stadium is required (to or formal judiciary intervention. x x x i x executing redressive keep the team i n the city, to appease fans, to spur economic action often escalates the crisis, as when a dispute is moved growth, etc.) and that those opposing construction do not from a local court to a district or federal court. i f redressive value what is best for their city.x i v i this strategy frames the action fails the crisis intensifies, sometimes resulting invipublic debate as occurring between a group ostensibly i n olent outbursts or—on a larger geopolitical scale—war.xl favor of the city's success and those ostensibly opposed to the fourth and final phase of the social drama consists eienjoys economic prosperity, and wants a happier city; ther of reintegration back into society or, alternatively, of group b hates sports, opposes prosperity, and disregards schism from society. when circumstances necessitate the perspective of group a. opponents—often including schism, the society must split along party lines to prevent public officials and prominent citizens—rapidly attempt to further conflict. ! the door is left open for future reconcilcounter the efforts of the team owners, resulting i n a pubiation between the two groups, but typically an invitation lie conflict. crisis manifests i n the rhetorical clash between from one group to rejoin the other can only occur after stadium proponents and opponents taking place i n local some time has past. h the respite of the reintegration or media. proponents emphasize the old trope, that new staschism offers an opportunity to evaluate societal change as diums bring economic opportunity and growth, a result of the social drama. ! did the drama alter existing opponents argue that most economists agree that new stasocial mores, add new ones, or drop old ones? were the diums have a minimal impact on the city economy^v i i and basic structural norms preserved? that the divisive arguments of the owners are designed to tear the city apart for their own gain . x l v i i i ronald bishop's characterization of stadium controversies as social dramas between team owners and cities fits well bishop suggests that journalists are predisposed to sympainto turner's paradigm. i n bishop's article " i f you build it, thize with the argument of the team owners for a new stawe won't leave: turner's social drama i n newspaper dium; i f the team moves, local sports journalists wi l l have the threatening implications of the breach. breach by demanding a new, publicly funded stadium is now so common that it has been integrated into the social "some of professional involve teams leaving sports' most notorious stories behind a city and a legion of that success. more explicitly, group a supports the team, less to report. x l , x team owners and pro-construction advocates, therefore, are likely to receive more media coverage than city officials or protestors. bishop quietly accuses local journalists covering the stadium controversy of complicity with team owners. bishop's view is most likely a product of the "political economy" perspective of public controversy reporting, articulated as follows: public controversy as the manufactured product of profitmotivated institutions of power working together to monopolize the premises of discourse and interpretation that circulates in the media. in this model, the media are nothing more than a means of production that conform to a general type of industrial capitalism. bishop argues that, as a consequence of this bias i n the news media, city officials start to feel pressure i n favor of publicly funding a stadium project. this perception of public opinion initiates redressive action to appease the team (and, therefore, the public) before it decides to abandon the city.1' the final phase of social drama, reintegration, ends with the city submitting to the ownership's wi l l and providing them with the necessary funding. this solution resolves the conflict between the team and the city, restoring social order within the city. the city and the team ownership assess after the fact the changes in their relationship as well as the changes i n their respective relationships with the public. h l bishop agrees with turner that the two parties, having made a deal, now see an alliance where they had once considered one another as opponents.1111 bishop's analysis, however, is blind to the possibility of schism, the more sensational scenario from a team's choice to move i n response to an unsatisfactory redressive action. some of professional sports' most notorious stories involve teams leaving behind a city and a legion of adoring fans. these are stories told with a sense of great loss, such as when walter o'malley moved the dodgers to los angeles i n 1957 and broke brooklyn's heart or when a hoard of mayflower moving trucks carried baltimore's beloved colts to indianapolis i n the middle of a cold night i n 1983 or when despondent fans rioted i n cleveland i n 1995 at the loss of their cherished browns. these tragedies have an important place i n american sports lore, which is why it is surprising that bishop would exclude them from his analysis. considering the profound sense of loss communities feel as a consequence of team relocation and considering that the frequency of team relocation has risen since 1990, this phenomenon's conspicuous absence i n scholarly literature must be addressed. to begin to meet this deficiency, let us return to the seattle supersonics' transformation into the oklahoma city thunder. t h e " o k l a h o m a c i t y p l u n d e r " : t u r n e r ' s s o c i a l d r a m a a n d t e a m r e l o c a t i o n for much of their history, the city of seattle and the supersonics have enjoyed an excellent rapport. many i n town genuinely felt that the supersonics helped put the city on the map, convincing other americans that the pacific northwest was more than just a backwoods of evergreen trees and geoducts. together they endured hard times (a heavy recession and population decrease i n the 1970s) and enjoyed good times (the 1990s' tech/coffee/grunge boom). they were the city's first professional sports franchise. the supersonics won the emerald city its first and only modern championship. it seemed as i f they would be together forever. that strong bond started to weaken when long time owner barry ackerly sold the team to the basketball club of seattle i n 2002. the basketball club of seattle was noteworthy because it was an ownership group that was comprised of 58 different investors, represented by mr. starbucks himself, howard schultz. this unprecedented arrangement proved to be an experiment i n ownership organization. they faced a number of difficulties i n management decisions due to their size and—since some of the team's investors did not even live i n seattle—it proved nearly impossible to get everyone i n the room to vote on critical issues. to facilitate t h e " o k l a h o m a city p l u n d e r " fans protest ata supersonics came shortly before the scheduled move to oklahoma city. this model, schultz, the ownership's public face, and a select group of the most active owners sent a monthly e-newsletter out to the other investors detailing the team's affairs. l i v even early on it appeared that this ownership model would prove too delocalized to be effective. one prominent instance of the ownership's impotence occurred when they tried to obtain $220 mil l ion i n public financing to renovate key arena. these renovations were necessary to make the fan friendly but small arena profitable once again. despite schultz's status as the city's beloved coffee-man, supersonics' ownership failed to convince city officials or tax payers to help finance the renovations. as described previously, the city had recently completed two stadium projects and was unwill ing to invest any more money into such projects. both the city and the public had a difficult time believing that 58 millionaires could not raise $220 mil l ion themselves.1i n addition, the terms of the lease of key arena to the supersonics were very favorable to the city. the lease entitled the city to a generous percentage of the arena's vending and luxury box profits, income which usually goes to team owners.1'1 so the key arena renovation deal failed, kill ing the basketball club of seattle's biggest push to revitalize the franchise. soon afterwards some of the small-stake owners started to complain about their financial losses and their emotional distance from the team, and the ownership structure began to disintegrate.1 v u after reportedly having lost a combined $60 mil l ion after five years, the basketball club of seattle's stakeholders put the team up for sale i n 2 0 0 6 . l v m this sale of the team to the oklahoma city ownership group caused the breach, the first step i n every social drama. the sale of the team to an outside group violated what the fans understood as the norm: what turner calls "a deliberate non-fulfillment of some crucial norm regulating the intercourse of the parties." : < the foreign ownership group's presence i n seattle seemed confrontational, and fans and local media quickly filled i n the blanks as to professional basketball club, llc's intentions. 1' another element of turner's concept of breach is that there is always a partially altruistic motive.1 1 this case is no exception, for bennett and his team of investors saw themselves as bringing a team to the deserving basketball fans of oklahoma city. the crisis—wherein the professional basketball club, llc made ambitious demands of seattle while not so secretly arranging to move the team out of the city—can now be put into ful l context. the oklahoman's demanded of the city twice what the basketball club of seattle was unable to obtain not to renovated beloved key area. paired with owner aubrey mcclendon's revelation/confirmation i n an oklahoma newspaper that bennett never had any intention of keeping the team i n seattle, the city felt cheated. to add insult to injury, it was revealed that two members of basketball club, llc were some of the largest contributors i n the country to a conservative organization that supported campaigns to ban same-sex marriage. the unease this revelation caused i n seattle turned to outrage when it was discovered that the leaking of that information to local media was a calculated move to alienate the sonics' liberal fan base.1 1 this incident catalyzed the legal fight between the parties over the lease terms described above ! x i ! and the grassroots organization save our sonics began arranging protests i n the state capital, olympia, at city hall i n seattle e l e m e n t s fall 09 and wherever the ownership was present. the ownership's deliberate steps to alienate seattle and its fans brought about an effort by the city to make the ownership's transition out of the city as difficult as possible, precluding the possibility of compromise. redressive action began as the loyal fans of the supersonics used whatever available means to save the team. to much fanfare, the city's elite stepped forward to keep the supersonics i n town. former owner howard schultz attempted to sue the oklahoma city ownership group for violating the good faith clause of the sale. microsoft ceo jeffery ballmer and the city of seattle arranged a $300 mil l ion package to renovate the old key arena i n march of 2 0 o 8 . k v bennett and the oklahoma city group glibly dismissed ballmer's offer as a p.r. stunt, stating that nothing beyond their lawsuit with the city could halt their transition. turner notes that the redress wi l l be handled by both the public and its leaders and can take symbolic forms. l x v i here the public's presence, although at times small (they often protested during business hours on workdays), was representative of the people's disgust over what was happening "the ownership's deliberate steps to alienate seattle and its fans brought about an effort by the city to make the ownership's transition out of the city as difficult as possible, precluding the possibility of compromise." to their beloved team. the action taken by jeffrey balmer and howard schultz represented two of seattle's benevolent benefactors heeding the public's call for action. their actions were largely symbolic, but, at a basic level, it's clear that people were encouraged by the actions of the city's most powerful and influential. i : their deeds gave hope to the fans and fueled the effort to save the supersonics unti l the end. the final step i n our team relocation scenario occurs when reintegration becomes impossible, resulting in schism with the community. a settlement that allowed the supersonics to move to oklahoma city was reached on july 2, 2008. this was the end for supersonics' fans. a l l redressive action had failed, and all that there was left to do was evaluate their new situation and mourn. turner sees this assessment of the new state of affairs as essential not only to reintegration, but also to schism.1 x v i i i seattle residents since july 2008 have started to examine what can be done to try to lure another basketball team to the city and have discussed plans to renovate key arena to nba standards. l x i x the portion of ownership's settlement with the city allowing seattle to hold on to the supersonics name, colors, logos, and history has also provided some comfort to hurt fans. the team formerly known as the seattle supersonics was rechristened i n oklahoma city as the thunder, sporting new jerseys with different colors (a curious combination of black, light blue, and orange). this rebranding represented a complete schism from everything that the team once had with seattle, from its history, its past and its fans. the severance of the team from its city cut all of the social, economic, and political ties both parties had once enjoyed, rendering each suddenly foreign to the other. c o n c l u s i o n the economic and emotional trauma to a community i n the aftermath of team relocation is poorly understood. i argued that victor turner's conception of a social drama—in which two large, influential parties duke it out while the t h e " o k l a h o m a city p l u n d e r " public at large is left only to spectate—offers an excellent lens through which to view team relocations. the public represents the second persona, a group formally addressed by the two parties, but with limited influence i n their negotiations and limited impact on the outcome of the social drama. v in this context the public depend on the two parties to recognize and protect their interests. it chooses to see owners as benevolent stewards of those interests rather than as businessmen (how most owners ultimately see themselves), and when these expectations are not met, the public often feels outraged and impotent. history has seen situations i n which, like that i n seattle with the supersonics, owners show no concern for the public and act instead i n their own interests. brooklyn infamously fell victim to team relocation when its beloved dodgers moved to los angeles i n 1957. this move resulted from a stadium construction dispute between team owner walter o'malley and new york city construction coordinator robert moses.1 the drama was repeated i n 1983 as baltimoreans helplessly witnessed a mayflower moving truck abscond i n the night with their beloved colts. s x x" the drama played out once again i n its most intense iteration after the departure of the browns from cleveland, culminating with the riotous dismantling of old municipal stadium by browns fans after the last game of the 1995 nfl season. l x x m fans i n these situations are powerless and often depend heavily upon their unelected representative, the local sports columnist, to articulate their objections i n a way that wil l be heard by the parties involved i n the dispute. unfortunately, it's the fans that are hurt the most when a team relocates. organizations ask them to pass along the stories of franchise legends down to each subsequent generation, f i l l i n the stadiums seats at every home game, and invest i n merchandise like the jerseys made to make them feel close to the team. i n reality, however, fans appear to be painfully distant from organizations interested i n turning profits first and foremost. as long as this is true, turner's social drama i n the form of team relocation wi l l occur again, resulting yet again i n the victimization of the most innocent party, the loyal fans. e n d n o t e s i . tramel 2008 i i . chapin 2008 i i i . pollack 2006 iv. condit 1994 v. bishop 2001 vi . boje 2003 vi i . bishop 2001 v i i i . ibid. ix. chapin 2002 x. andriesen 2008 xi . ibid. x i i . sports reference llc 2008 x i i i . moody 2003 xiv. espn 2003 xv. pollack 2007 xvi. schoenfeld 2008 xvii. theil 2006 xviii . robins 2007 xix. schoenfeld 2008 xx. thiel 2006 xxi. brunner and thomas 2007 xxii. brunner, may 2008 xxii i . associated press 2007 xxiv. johns, greg 2007 xxv. brunner, apr i l 2008 xxvi. allen 2008 xxvii. neel, eric 2008 xxviii. williams, eric 2008 xxix. chan and brunner 2008 xxx. beane 2008 xxxi. associated press 2008 xxxii. turner 1974 xxxiii. ibid. xxxiv. ibid. xxxv. ibid. xxxvi. ibid. xxxvii. ibid. xxxviii. ibid. xxxix. ibid, xl . ibid, x l i . ibid, x l i i . ibid, x l i i i . ibid. xliv. bishop 2001 xlv. ibid, xlvi. ibid. xlvii. chapin 2008 xlvi i i . bishop 2001 xlix. ibid. 1. hanczor 1997 l i . bishop 2001 hi. ibid. elem ents : : fall 09 l i i i . ibid. liv. weinbach 2006 lv. ibid lv i . schoenfeld 2008 lv i i . ibid. lv i i i . bucholtz and woods 2008 lix. turner 1974 lx. theil 2006 lxi . turner 1974 lx i i . mcgann 2007 lx i i i . brunner 2007 lxiv. save our sonics 2008 lxv. the city of seattle 2008 lxvi. turner 1974 lxvii. robinson 2008 lxvii i . turner 1974 lxix. bell 2008 lxx. lynch 2005 lxxi. nasaw 2003 lxxii . the indianapolis star 2008 lxxii i . banks 2005 references allen, percy. 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"ford center / oklahoma city. arenadigest.com: arena visits. 19 oct. 2007. arenadigest.com. 7 dec. 2008. <http://www.arenadigest.com/visits/index.html?article_ id=90>. robinson, brian. "opinion: the battle for seattle's sonics has barely begun, mr. bennett." the seattle times. 21 apr. 2008. <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004356861 _sonicsi8.html>. schoenfeld, bruce. "where the thunder comes dribbling down the plain." the new york times. 26 oct. 2008. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26nbat.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>. sports reference, llc. "1979 nba playoff summary." basketballreference.com. 11 dec. 2008. <http://www.basketballreference.com/playoffs/nba_i979 .html>. tramel, berry. "when sonics move, don't let guilt move, too." the oklahoman. 2 july 2008. newsok. 2 july 2008. the oklahoman. 9 dec. 2008. <http://newsok.com/when-sonicsmove-dont-let-guilt-move-too/article/3264738/?mp=o>. theil, art . "hey howard, we're not morons." seattle postintellegencer. 19 july 2006. <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ thiel/278o66_thiel i9.html>. turner, victor. dramas, fields, and metaphors: symbolic action in human society. ithaca, ny: cornell university press, 1974. 33weinbach, jon. "bad sports." the wall street journal. 5 may 2006: w i . williams, eric. "rally at the courthouse." seattle news-tribune weblog post. post-sonics watch. 16 june 2008. <http://blogs. thenewstribune .com/sonics/2008/06/16/ rally_at_the_courthouse>. e l e m e n t s fall 09 http://proxy.bc.edu/login?url=http://search.eb-scohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&an=9707i54335&site=ehost-live http://proxy.bc.edu/login?url=http://search.eb-scohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&an=9707i54335&site=ehost-live http://proxy.bc.edu/login?url=http://search.eb-scohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&an=9707i54335&site=ehost-live http://www.indystar.com http://www2.indystar.c0m/library/factfiles/sports/football-pro/indpls_colts/history/colts.html http://www2.indystar.c0m/library/factfiles/sports/football-pro/indpls_colts/history/colts.html http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/327379_sonx13.html http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/327379_sonx13.html http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/305265_owners27.html http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/305265_owners27.html http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9eoieodei63ef936ai5756coa9659c8b63 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9eoieodei63ef936ai5756coa9659c8b63 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9eoieodei63ef936ai5756coa9659c8b63 http://espn.com http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/o8o6i8&sportcat=nba http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/o8o6i8&sportcat=nba http://seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/news/detail.asp?id=8243&dept=40 http://www.seattle.gov/news/detail.asp?id=8243&dept=40 http://proxy.bc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&an=23492492&site=ehost-live http://proxy.bc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&an=23492492&site=ehost-live http://proxy.bc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&an=23492492&site=ehost-live http://arenadigest.com http://arenadigest.com http://www.arenadigest.com/visits/index.html?article_id=90 http://www.arenadigest.com/visits/index.html?article_id=90 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004356861_sonicsi8.html http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004356861_sonicsi8.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26nba-t.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26nba-t.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss http://basketballreference.com http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/nba_i979%20.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/nba_i979%20.html http://newsok.com/when-sonics-move-dont-let-guilt-move-too/article/3264738/?mp=o http://newsok.com/when-sonics-move-dont-let-guilt-move-too/article/3264738/?mp=o http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/thiel/278o66_thieli9.html http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/thiel/278o66_thieli9.html http://blogs.thenewstribune%20.com/sonics/2008/06/16/%20rally_at_the_court-house http://blogs.thenewstribune%20.com/sonics/2008/06/16/%20rally_at_the_court-house http://blogs.thenewstribune%20.com/sonics/2008/06/16/%20rally_at_the_court-house .. all must approach mallarme somewhat differently than they would certain other poets. not with the hope of comprehending, processing, and assimilating his poems, hut rather with the hope of sensing the shape of their presence." w h i t e space: reflections on the poetry of stephane mallarme kaeli n g rant h o w c a n o n e a p p r o a c h t h e o e u v r e o f s t e p h a n e m a l l a r m e , t h e f r e n c h s y m b o l i s t p o e t n o t o r i o u s f o r h i s i n d e c i p h e r a b l e w r i t i n g s ? m a l l a r m e w a s i d o l i z e d b y h i s g e n e r a t i o n o f a r t i s t s , t h o u g h e v e n h i s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s o f t e n f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s u n a b l e t o d i s e n t a n g l e h i s i n t r a c t a b l y c o y b u t b r i l l i a n t p o e m s . a s o n e c r i t i c n o t e d , t h e p o e t ' s w o r k s e e m s " s u s p e n d e d i n p e r m a n e n t u n c e r t a i n t y , " a n d t h e s h e e r d e n s i t y o f w o r d p l a y i s e n o u g h t o d i s h e a r t e n a n y r e a d e r . b u t w i t h t h e h e l p o f s e v e r a l m o d e r n c r i t i c s a n d t h e g u i d a n c e o f m a l l a r m e ' s o w n c h a r a c t e r , t h e l u s t f u l f a u n e w h o f i g u r e s i n o n e o f m a l l a r m e ' s m o s t r e c o g n i z a b l e p i e c e s , t h e r e a d e r m a y d i s c o v e r a n a v e n u e i n t o t h e m i n d o f o n e o f t h e m o s t m y s t e r i o u s a n d e x q u i s i t e l y r a d i a n t p o e t s w h o e v e r d a r e d t o c o m m u n i c a t e h i s v i s i o n o f b e a u t y . "no matter how many of his secrets we may uncover, there is always more to learn from mallarme." the poetry of stephane mallarme is renowned for its cognitive brilliance and utter originality, but also notorious for its near total impenetrability. as hans-jost frey notes, perhaps somewhat ironically, "allusions, vagueness, ambiguity, and uncertainty keep mallarme's text suspended in permanent uncertainty." 1 i n the face of this overwhelming enigma, how is it possible to attain an appreciation, much less an understanding, of his poetic genius? should this even be attempted? furthermore, i f mallarme's poetry is so essentially untranslatable, is it merely an exercise in folly for one not fluent i n french to attempt a reading of his poems? al l of these obstacles stand in the reader's way, and they are indeed daunting. without a keen understanding of french, it is impossible to appreciate fully the poet's l inguistic virtuosity; without a genius greater than that of mallarme himself, it is impossible to perceive all of the abstraction, imagination, and cognition present in even a single poem. yet, even faced with such deterrents, the reader must persevere. for the occultedness of his poetry is not simply a dissuasion: it is also an invitation. no matter how many of his secrets we may uncover, there is always more to learn from mallarme. each reader begins surrounded by the same cryptic darkness, and although some may progress more quickly than others, all must approach mallarme somewhat differently than they would certain other poets. not with the hope of comprehending, processing, and assimilating his poems, but rather with the hope of sensing the shape of their presence. even the most limited appreciation, an everso-slight peripheral contact with a poem's moods and thoughts, is an experience of the sublimity of great art. underneath its hermetic abstraction, the poem also expresses the simple joy of creation, the love of wordplay, ideas, and storytelling; and the pleasure taken in beauty. i f the reader too can delight in the poem's fundamental beauty as a work of art, then he or she wi l l have the first and most important tool with which to begin the exploration. t h e story of t h e f a u n e a n excellent place to start is with one of mallarme's most familiar poems (if anything about mallarme can be characterized as familiar). written over the course of ten years, "l'apres-midi d'un faune" became one of the most influential works in the poet's oeuvre. numerous illustrations, a woodcarving, a sculpture, and even a ballet were all inspired by the story of the faune. and of course, debussy's enchanting prelude, which put to music the adventures of mallarme's mythical creature, must not be forgotten. but more important for our purposes than its fame, one can point, i f very covertly, to the presence of what appears to be a recognizable narrative. whether the narrative is indeed what it seems, or whether it evaporates, like the nymphs, when one gets too close, is a peril that the reader wi l l avoid confronting for the moment. and who could expect othere l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 wise, particularly when faced with other works by mallarme in which merely locating a subject seems a futile struggle in itself? however, the reader must be careful not to cling to this guide with the presumption that the faune wi l l lead to any answers, but merely to hope that the figure wi l l act as an aperture through which to glimpse one aspect of the text. frey explains the rationale for the attractiveness of this particular poem as follows: "this is not to say that "l'apresmidi d'un faune" can be reduced to a message, only that the discourse of this poem is more closely tied to an object and can therefore be more easily read for content." 1 1 now, this "reading for content" may be a detour, or worse a hindrance to further reading, i f one expects the content to provide some concrete understanding, or assumes that the narrative of the poem is indeed its primary "content." nevertheless, it allows the reader to feel a certain comfort, which encourages h i m to continue investigating the poem. so then let us turn to the poem itself. to begin: the faune wakes up on a hot afternoon, his mind filled with the thought of rosy nymphs. but he wonders i f the nymphs were real, or merely a dream. he describes his doubt as the branches of a tree, diverging outward into innumerable uncertainties. real trees surround h im, which makes h i m doubt the nymphs' existence. in other words, his memory of the nymphs occurs in a forest setting. 1" he sees that the forest setting does exist, and remains the same, but the nymphs have disappeared; thus he suspects that they were merely a dream against the real backdrop of the forest. he recalls two nymphs, one "more chaste" with "blue eyes...like a weeping spring" another in contrast, "all sighs...like a day-breeze warm upon [his] fleece." but again, the vivid memory is contradicted by his surroundings: there is "no water," no weeping spring, nor is there any real wind. instead, the notes of his music mimic the sound of water, and the breath "exhale[d] from the twin-pipes" mimics the feeling of wind. but this breath is "the visible and serene artificial breath of inspiration." artificiality and its association with art is an extremely important theme to which we wi l l soon return, but for now we listen to the faune as he recounts his encounter with the nymphs. on the banks of a river, he is cutting reeds for his flute, when he notices an "animal whiteness" undulating in the distance. looking more closely, he sees that they are not swans, as he first suspected, but naiades (or water nymphs). frightened by the sound of his flute, the nymphs flee or dive into the water: the faune cannot tell which. it must be noted that these sections, in which the faune relates his memory of the nymphs, are set off in italics to designate their status as a past occurrence, although this distinction does not remain entirely unambiguous. breaking off his story, he reminds us again that his natural surroundings are "inert" and have taken no notice of the nymphs. following this description, the imagery becomes abstracted to such an extent that it becomes difficult to explain in such a way as this summation aims. a rather inadequate paraphrase is that the faune renounces music and attempts to recapture the nymphs through speech; he is "going to talk at length." empty grape skins are then described, and the faune, "puffing into these luminous skins...[gazes] through them t i l l evening." in an attempt to adhere to summary, the simplest interpretation of this passage is as a metaphor for the nymphs, whose presence is like the "bright juice of the grapes," which the faune has "sucked" out. taking these "empty hulls," he wi l l "raise [them] to the summer sky," and with his words, inflate the "luminous skins." despite the absence of the nymphs, he embellishes his memories with language, makes them beautiful, and continues his story. searching for the vanished nymphs, he finds them among the reeds and rushes up to them. they lay "at my feet, entwined," at which point the faune "[seizes] them, not untangling them, and [runs] to this clump...of roses." i n the clearing, he attempts to ravish both nymphs. but to do this, he must separate them, and in doing so precipitates his ruin. "my crime is, gay at vanquishing their traitress/-fears, to have parted the disheveled tangle/of kisses that the gods kept so well mingled." separation leads to a necessity for decision, and the faune cannot decide. while kissing one nymph, he holds the other "with only a finger," in an attempt to have both nymphs separately. but this is an imposw h i t e s p a c e : r e f l e c t i o n s o n t h e p o e t r y o f s t e p h a n e m a l l a r m e sibility; because the faune has separated them but cannot choose one, both escape. the faune is left alone, in a frenzy of rage, and he ventures to "embrace the queen!" of love herself, venus. but even as this thought forms, the faune allows it to fade away. he is "empty of words now and the body numbed." i n the last stanza, the faune lays on the sand and returns to sleep. reflecting on this sequence of events, it becomes clear how fragile the narrative is. nothing is resolved, and there is little that actually "happens." the faune is left without the nymphs and never discerns their reality; he fails even to be changed by the experience. at the end of the poem, he goes back to sleep, just as i f he had never awoken. t h e poetry of u n d e c i d a b i l i t y this sense of utter irresolution is what hans-jost frey terms the "undecidability" of texts i n his enlightening essay on mallarme and "l'apres-midi d'un faune". he speaks first about the referential illusion of language, which, though difficult to explain, seems an essential conceit in an attempt to further comprehend mallarme. according to frey, "the referential illusion is the assumption that whatever is expressed has some extralinguistic correspondence." 1 v that is to say, words alone cannot verify the existence of that to which they refer. the word chair is not itself a chair. discourse about a chair cannot, in and of itself, confirm the existence or any physical attributes of the actual chair. more words cannot confirm that the word chair actually corresponds to a particular chair. certainly, the words can be confirmed by other senses such as sight, smell, or touch, but the words themselves are never more than letters that have become an accepted convention. another, more frightening, example of the activity of the referential illusion is the linguistic possibility for lying; a speaker can fabricate or contradict reality, which exposes the extent to which language need not correspond to reality. the illusion becomes more significant when we move out of the realm of simple objects in physical reality, and towards a discourse of actions and ideas. denial of the referential illusion "[degrades language] to an available means" of communication, treating language as a dead object, which serves merely as an inert tool for any speaker who may choose to wield it . this denial ignores the power of language to be more than simply an instrument of physical reality, and it attempts to separate the expression of the thing which is being expressed from the language that expresses it. i n short, the referential illusion attempts to deny that "expression cannot be separated from its being expressed."v on the other hand, the very terror of the referential illusion is that it may i n fact be possible that language does have extralinguistic correspondence. at times, language can indeed communicate information, refer directly to physical reality, and precipitate change in the physical world. " i t is therefore impossible to come to grips with the referential illusion by asserting a lack of referentiality. the realization that texts are undecidable is the only solution." v i why is the text undecidable? to answer this question, we must return to the fundamental alternatives that compose the referential illusion: either language is a tool of and dependent upon the reality that makes use of it, or language has no correspondence to anything outside itself, and is merely discourse. but the very nature of language is that it is simultaneously both; one cannot choose between the two alternatives, and thus language is undecidable. its extralinguistic referentiality is uncertain. as hans-jost frey demonstrates, literature is the discourse of undecidability. unlike informative communication, which "always attempts to suppress language i n favor of what it can convey," literature "is created when we realize that information is dependent upon language. " v i i the task of literature is to expose the referential illusion, to "question the fact that what is expressed is always taken seriously." v m mallarme's poetry is the poetry of this kind of literature, the poetry of undecidability. as a text that refuses to decide itself, it is a text obsessed with the "simultaneity of meaning. not only do mallarme's poems refuse to decide among alternatives, they frequently refuse even to delineate specific alternae l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 tives. his texts are purposefully vague, and "a list of possibilities would destroy the many possibilities of vagueness.'^ a list would be a sequence of alternatives, and an "essential part of the ambiguous text is lost in the transformation of the simultaneous to the sequential."x 1 a n example of this refusal occurs immediately i n "l'apresmidi d'un faune": "reflechissons... ou si lesfemmes dont tu gloses figurent un souhait de tes sensfabuleux ! "let's think it over... or if those girls you explain be but an itching in your fabulous brain!" x the clause "ou si les femmes..." begins with "ou," which indicates a choice between two alternatives. there is one alternative after the "ou," but before the conjunction where the first alternative should be situated, there is blank space, a white space. white is used unexpectedly in mallarme's poetry; often, it represents an emptiness, an abyss, which is traditionally signified by black. but for a writer, white is perfectly appropriate as the color of uncertainty. referential illusion destroys the certainty of language, which clearly unsettles the poet, and the illusion also suggests a metaphysical uncertainty about the nature of reality and human communication. language nevertheless attempts to overcome this uncertainty and persists in efforts at communication. language, for the poet, is writing: black text on a white page. a white page evokes uncertainty: the impossibility and the failure of communication. edouard manet's famous portrait of mallarme is particularly admirable in associating the color white with mallarme. upon examining the painting, one notices that the page to which mallarme holds his pen remains blank, white and unmarked. furthermore, his eyes do not seem to be looking at the page, nor even both in the same direction. one eye appears directed toward the smoke issuing from the poet's cigar, which is a delightful way of implying that the intangibility of the escaping smoke has as much to do with the peculiar quality of mallarme poetry as does the page upon which he has not yet written. the other eye seems to be looking into the distance, into nothingness, and indeed, the poet is able to see something that we cannot. this white page is not only a symbol of uncertainty, it is also active — it fights against the words written upon it . for even when the poet does manage to take up his pen and write, to speak against the void, the white may encroach upon the poem as it does in the above stanza. the writer is never permitted to forget that his work remains unconfirmed, and that while language cannot merge with extralinguistic reality, it also cannot escape extralinguistic correspondence. this uncertainty of language is embodied in the faune, who cannot choose between art and reality. e m b o d y i n g d o u b t as frey explains, the faune turns the nymphs into language so that they acquire meaning, because for the faune beauty and significance are found in art, and poetry is the art of language. he "does not love them as they are, but as the image he has created." yet this transformation, the acquisition of meaning, is the very cause of his loneliness. "the person for whom the other is what he means, does not relate to the other in his otherness. he transforms the other into a language of his own, with which he then remains alone." x n because he transforms the nymphs into his language, his love ceases to have extralinguistic correspondence regardless of whether the nymphs are real, and his creation of images replaces the actual nymphs. as frey suggests, "the faune is trapped in language, because on the one hand he tries to go beyond language in order to achieve what he does not have in it , and on the other hand he must stay in language i n order not to lose what he cannot find outside i t , " which is significance. language imparts significance, but i n doing so, effaces reality. so what, then, does the faune really want? does he want the real nymphs, who are meaningless without language, or w h i t e s p a c e : r e f l e c t i o n s o n t h e p o e t r y o f s t e p h a n e m a l l a r m e f i g u r e a f u l f i l l m e n t the faune wishes for the physical reality of the nymphs, in which their image wi l l disappear. w i s h the faune wishes for the wish itself, for the perpetuation of desire, because reality does not correspond to the image of what is desired. therefore, fulfillment is a loss. f o r w h a t d o e s t h e f a u n e w i s h ? b l a n k the white space of an unnamed alternative. o u w i s h the image of the nymphs represents a wish for something. 'si lesfemmes dont tu gloses/ figurent un souhait...!" w h a t d o t h ey r e p r e s e n t ? r e p r e s e n t a t i o n the nymphes are representation, referring to something else. w e r e t h e n y m p h s r e a l , o r a d r e a m r e p r e s e n t i n g s o m e t h i n g e l s e ? r e a l i t y the nymphs are real, they exist extralinguistically outside of the faune's image. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 05 does he desire his own image of the nymphs, which precludes their physical presence? the faune's own language enacts the conflict: "ces nymphesje les veux perpetuer. " i would perpetuate these nymphs. " first, perpetuer is the last word of the construction. without it, the sentence would read, "ces nymphes, je les veux," which is an unequivocal desire. but with the late addition of the word, the faune now wishes to perpetuate them, no longer a simple want. what is it that the faune wants to perpetuate? i f the faune wants the nymphs to stay with h im longer, then perpetuate is a strange word to use in association with presence. perhaps what he wants to perpetuate is something else entirely, such as his image of them or his desire for them. second, within the word perpetuer is contained the verb tuer, "to k i l l . " there is a sense in which the perpetuation is a death, which would certainly reinforce the reading that construes art and reality as mutually exclusive. to illustrate the doubt surrounding the faune, frey has constructed the tree of doubt (see attached figure a). the tree illustrates the several levels of doubt regarding the nymphs, of whom not only the existential reality is questioned, but also their significance to the faune. what is it that he truly wants? he himself does not know, and i n fact it seems unlikely that the faune is aware of the depth of the conflict. one of the most fabulous aspects of the character of the faune is that not only does he have doubt, he is doubt. he enacts the very undecidability of the poem. he is wonderful i n his denial of the irreconcilability of reality and art: "he refuses to recognize the disappearance of presence in connection with the turning into language." x m stubbornly, he persists in the attempt to have both art and sensuality. the poem reminds h i m of this conflict, but with tragic hilarity, it undermines h i m through his own speech: when describing the hot afternoon, the "tawny hour" in which "all things burn," he describes the natural scenery as "inerte." frey points out that, "etymologically, inerte means the absence of art, and is here used as a direct negation of art to illustrate the irreconcilability of the faune's art and surrounding nature." x 1 v the inert quality of nature is prefigured when the faune describes how "the illusion escapes from the blue eyes/and cold of the more chaste, like a weeping spring." x v nature is embodied in the coldness of this nymph, who rejects illusion with her tears, analogous to a natural spring, like the stream into which the real nymphs disappear. later, when he has separated the two nymphs and is attempting to ravish the "sister who burned," who represents the allure of art, he also tries to maintain his grip on "the little one" ("the more chaste"), who again represents the tangible world of nature. but because he has separated their necessarily intermingled state, and then tried to possess each one individually, both escape. at a certain moment in the poem, he does appear to succeed in transforming his language into reality. in the italicized stanza that begins, "mon ceil, trouant lesjoncs..." the faune seizes the nymphs and brings them to a clearing. as he is recalling the sight of the nymphs, he forgets that he is recounting the past and begins to relive the memory. although the italics stop twelve lines later, the faune continues to experience the passion aroused by the nymphs: " i adore you, anger of virgins, o fierce delight/of the sacred naked burden that slips to flee/the fiery drinking of my lips, like the crack/of l ightning!" x v l he has succeeded in merging the sensuality of the past with the artistic language of the present, but when the italics begin again, all is lost. the first phrase of the next italicized stanza begins with "mon crime, c'est...", and this first verb is in the present tense, again confusing present with the past. but this confusion must soon end, for the nymphs escape, and the faune is left alone. alone, what is the faune? importantly, he is a creature of legend: half-animal, half-myth, "a mixed being suspended between nonlinguistic nature and human spirituality." x v i i the tremendous power of the figure of the faune as narrator, his own doubt and unawareness, and his very nature suddenly become clear. the faune is like the reader, in the way that he is outside the meaning of the text in the sense w h i t e s p a c e : r e f l e c t i o n s o n t h e p o e t r y o f s t e p h a n e m a l l a r m e of not encompassing it. but he is astonishing in that he is also part of the meaning by acting as an expression of the metaphor of his own doubt, which he does not understand. ironically, the faune embodies the very abstraction which plagues h im, suggesting the inescapability of the linuistic dilemma. how does the faune react to his position, trapped i n language, his desires uncertain and inaccessible? he tells us in the last stanza: "on the thirsty sand, forgetful of/the outrage, i must sleep, and as i love/open my mouth to the powerful star of w i n e ! " x v m the faune sleeps, returning the world of dreams, drinking the wine of illusion and inspiration, but lying atop the earth itself. nothing is resolved, and yet we are left with a sense of unity in the very undecidability and ambiguity of the faune's lack of decision. in a certain sense, the poem ends where it began, and the middle text is simply a digression from the faune's dreaming. d e r r i d a a n d t h e q u e s t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e this irresolution is characteristic of mallarme, frequently to the frustration of one attempting a reading. hans-jost frey has provided a superlative reading, but there are certainly others. one i n particular, the double seance of jacque derrida surpasses any other reading in its sheer evocation of the mallarmean simultaneity of lucid perspicacity and total impenetrability. the double seance is not related to "l'apres-midi d'un faune" in particular, but is rather a reflection upon mallarme (among other topics) through the medium of a particular text. this text addresses some of the same subjects as frey, but its remarkable eloquence and form distinguish it from simple commentary. because of the text's resemblance to mallarme's own work, and because of derrida's own inimitable cognitive gymnastics, it does not support a gloss; the explanation becomes a redaction, and the essentials of the text are lost. nonethe less, the double seance is fascinating enough that even a superficial discussion is worthwhile. derrida considers two primary texts: a dialogue between socrates and protarchus on the subject of the soul, and a text by mallarme entitled "mimique." the first page proposes the question "what is literature?" and although the question is nearly dismissed before it has even been asked, and any subsequent attempt to answer is immediately undermined, it is useful to keep the question i n mind for the present discussion. derrida's central metaphor in the text is the hymen, and his central image is the mime. what is the activity of the mime? simply speaking, he mimics (imitates) reality. but the mime in mallarme's text (for example) the "ever original" pierrot mudererofhis wife, does not enact a reality that has happened, is happening, or that he expects to happen. he is referring to an event that does not and wi l l not exist. however, that is not to say that the mime exists without correspondence to reality. his gestures are consciously imitative, not meant to be actions themselves, but rather to imitate action. he is not the "empty signifier" pointing to reality, nor is he the "full signified" of reality itself. he is between these things, he is entre, in the cave, the antre, i n which the grecian faune pan chose to reside. the mime is situated between the emptiness of pure language and the inertness of simple reality. he represents the entre of mallarme, the entre de mallarme, the entre-deux, between-two. he is the hymen. the activity of the mime is the activity of literature, a point we must dwell on for a moment. like the mime, fiction mimics reality. a narrative tells the story of a reality, but the story of a reality that does not and never wi l l exist; i t gestures toward an empty reality. raskolnikov never murdered the old pawnbroker and he never wi l l , because outside of crime and punishment the character of raskolnikov does not exist. and yet the book does not claim to be reality itself; empty and nonexistent though the reality toward which it gestures may be, literature is never independent of this reality. it still makes this gesture, pointing away from itself toward something of which i t is merely a representation. x 1 x literature points toward reality without ever becoming reality. in this way, like the mime, it "is confined to a perpetual allusion without breaking the mirror." this perpetual e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 allusion is intimately related, i f not precisely analogous, to the metaphor of the hymen. literature, the mime, and mallarme's poetry all enact this hymen. when the hymen is intact, a woman is a virgin, and thus there is desire. when the hymen is broken, there is fulfillment, and desire is eradicated. outside the body, there is no hymen, but inside the body, when penetration has occurred, neither is there a hymen. restraint is the state of desire, penetration is the state of pleasure. in neither event is the hymen active, or "taking place." as derrida puts it so charmingly, "the hymen only takes place when it doesn't take place, when nothing really happens.' , x x that is, the hymen itself acts i n the non-existent space between restraint and penetration, between outside and inside, or as the analogy can be employed, between language and reality. this nonexistent space is actually the union of the two opposites, the two antitheticals of pure art and inert reality. the mime reflects both, but is neither; so too does the "pure medium" of fiction. mallarme's poetry is similar, in that it reflects some non-existent but corresponding reality, which one could term the void, the abyss, or any number of signifiers. immaculate white evinces the flawless clarity of undecidibility that so characterizes the poetry of mallarme. and indeed, there is a masterful beauty in this double reflection, in sitting back and simply watching the mime perform, taking pleasure in his art and in the joy of the creative act of fiction. e n d n o t e s i frey (48) i i frey (31) i i i it should be noted that although the terminology o f memory w i l l be used to describe the faune's encounter w i t h the ny-mphs, this designation is misleading, and used only for the purpose o f consistently distinguishing the fact of his memory from the question of whether the memory is a dream. that is to say, it is not i n doubt that the faune has a memory of (or rather, a feeling about) the nymphs; it is i n doubt whether he is remembering a dream or remembering a real encounter. however, the terminology of memory is i n itself too specific; a word such as vision or image or emotion is more properly vague, because the precise nature of the faune's relationship w i t h the nymphs is itself i n doubt as much as their reality. a designation such as memory removes the doubt that is so central to the poem, but it is accompanied by such past-tense terminology (for example, the faune recalls the nymphs) as aides i n describing the action o f the poem w i t h a certain amount o f necessary clarity. iv frey (8) v frey (7) vi frey (9) v i i frey (13) v i i i frey (13) ix frey (13) x selected poems (47) xi frey (34) x i i frey (37) x i i i frey (38) xiv selected poems (47) xv selected poems (51) xvi frey (46) xvii selected poems (55) xviii v. derrida. xix derrida (213) xx derrida (213) references anderson, jill, ed. 2002. australian divagations. new york: peter lang publishing, inc. cohn, robert greer. 1965. towards the poems of mallarme. berkeley: university of california press. derrida, jacques. 1981. dissemination: le double seance, trans. barbara johnson. chicago : university of chicago press. frey, hans-jost. 1996. studies i n poetic discourse: mallarme. trans. wi l l iam whobrey. stanford, california : stanford university press. houston, john porter and houston, mona tobin, eds. 1980. french symbolist poetry. bloomington, indiana: indiana university press. huysmans, joris-karl. 1998. against nature (a rebours). trans. margaret mauldon. oxford: oxford university press. kearns, james. 1989. symbolist landscapes: the place of painting in the poetry and criticism of mallarme and his circle. london: w.s. maney & sons limited. kugel, james l. 1971. the techniques of strangeness in symbolist poetry. new haven: yale university press. mallarme, stephane. 1988. selected letters of stephane mallarme. trans. rosemary lloyd. chicago: university of chicago press. mallarme, stephane. 1982. selected poetry and prose, ed. mary a n n caws. new york: new directions publishing corporation. w h i t e s p a c e : r e f l e c t i o n s o n t h e p o e t r y o f s t e p h a n e m a l l a r m e mallarme, stephane. 1957. selected poems, trans. c.f. maclntyre. los angeles: university of california press. ovid. 1954. the metamorphoses of ovid, trans. a.e. watts. los angeles: university of california press. peschel, enid rhodes, trans. 1981. four french symbolist poets: baudelaire, rimbaud, verlaine, mallarme. athens, ohio: ohio university press. peyre, d'yves. 1998. mallarme: u n destin d'ecriture. paris: editions gallimard / reunion des musees nationaux. porter, laurence m. 1990. the crisis of french symbolism. ithaca, new york: cornell university press. t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: d a n i e l b a 1 r o s , technology consultant ben b i r n b a u m , executive director of the office of marketing communications e l i z a b e t h b r a n d e s , art director for the office of marketing communications c u t b e r t o garza, provost and dean of faculties d o n a l d h a f n e r , vice provost for undergraduate studies j o y c e mannix , business manager for the college of arts and sciences patrick maney, dean of the college of arts and sciences barbara vi e c h n icki, associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. please consider submitting your own research to the next issue of elements. our next deadline is wednesday, april 8, 2009. cover sign for pojoaque casino © miguel gandert/corbis p e r i o d i c i t y elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 5, issue 1, fall 2009 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 copyright © 2009 by trustees of boston college e l e m e n t s staff e d i t o r i n c h i e f t i m k e l l y m a n a g i n g e d i t o r e r i n e. el c h a n d e p u t y e d i t o r j e n n y b r e s s h u m a n i t i e s s v e t l a n a t u r o v a , senior editor a l e k s a n dra j a c h t o r o w i t z , edit z a c h a r y m a r k a r i a n , editor c h r i s s h e r i d a n , editor b r i a n t r a c z , editor n i c o l e w o n g , editor n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s a n n e k o r n a h r e n s , senior editor a d i t y a a s h o k , editor j o h n m c c a r t h y , editor m a t t m i c l i o z z i , editor j i n h e e p a r k , editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s e s t e b a n u r i b e , senior editor j o y batra, editor a n d r e a b o n v i c i n o , editor s a r a h c o l l i e r , editor k a r e n k o v a k a , editor v i n o d h m e c h e r y , editor p h i l i p m e r c a d a n t e , editor d a n i e l s o l o g u r e n , editor e v a n s p e e c e , editor b r i a n v a r i a n , editor l a y o u t a l y s s a d u q u e t t e , senior editor j a i m e c r o w l e y , editor s a r a h k o , editor f a c u l t y a d v i s o r e l i z a b e t h c h a d w i c k mailto:elements@bc.edu e d i t o r s n o t e when one envisions a casino, one often thinks about the glamour and glitz of the las vegas strip. often not considered are the many tribal casinos across the country located on remote reservations. our cover image was taken i n northern new mexico and shows a sign advertising a pojoaque-run tribal casino. just a few decades ago, the pojoaque found themselves i n fairly dire economic straights. the creation of a casino is credited i n part with an economic revival and has provided funds for a variety of other civic and business enterprises. despite the often remote locations of casinos like the one displayed on the cover, they draw money from many tourists and gamblers, providing an income source to people on otherwise undesirable lands. this situation is not without significant controversy due to the fact that local and state governments have difficulty exercising meaningful regulatory authority. a raw deal: conflicts over tribal sovereignty and casino proliferation offers an in-depth examination of the status and place of tribal gaming i n our federal system. also featured in this issue of elements are women of copley's boston and canned peaches and chicken parts. women of copley's boston takes a close look at the artist john singleton copley's portrayal of women i n his paintings. it exemplifies the strong connection boston college students have to the history of the greater boston community. canned peaches and chicken parts examines the role of food i n delillo's white noise and connects it to a larger theme examining consumerist society. its analysis of american culture i n the postmodern era is both insightful and provocative. a l l three of these pieces well represent the quality and superb nature of the work done by students here at boston college. this is the last production of elements for which i wi l l serve as editorin-chief. each time i sit to write the introductory note, i am struck by how much i feel the articles speak for themselves. they are well worth reading and after each process of selection i am left thoroughly impressed by the scholarly efforts of my peers. these articles are a combination of senior theses, papers written for classes, and summer projects undertaken by undergraduates, and their diversity and depth continually demonstrates the excellence of boston college. i am pleased to have been part of this project during my time here and am incredibly optimistic about the future of the university. sincerely, tim kelly editor-in-chief j u d g i n g h a r s h l y the bush doctrine in practice c h r i s t o p h e r s c u l l i n t h e b u s h d o c t r i n e , f o r m a l l y k n o w n as t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y s t r a t e g y 2002, r e o r i e n t s u n i t e d s t a t e s f o r e i g n a n d d o m e st i c s ec u r ity p o l icy t o r e c o g n i z e t h e i n c r e a s i n g t h r e a t o f t e r r o r i s t i c w a r f a r e . t h e d o c t r i n e man d a t e s t a k i n g a n y a c t i o n d e e m e d n e c e s s a r y f o r a m e r i c a n s e c u r i t y , m a i n t a i n i n g t h e o p t i o n f o r p r e v e n t i v e , u n i l a t e r a l war. t h i s p a p e r w i l l e x p l o r e t h e d o c t r i n e ' s im p a c t o n u . s . f o r e i g n p o l i c y as w e l l as its s h o r t c o m i n g s as a c o m p o n e n t o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l law. it c o n c l u d e s t h a t a s h i f t in f o r e i g n p o l i c y is n e c e s s a r y t o i m p r o v e t h e d o c t r i n e ' s e f f e c t i v e n e s s . in its opening stanzas, the united states national security strategy 2002 (nss) summarizes succinctly the spirit of the bush doctrine: "history wi l l judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act. in the new world we have entered, the only path to peace and security is the path of action."1 indeed, the bush doctrine is essentially a mandate to take any action deemed necessary for american security; it is a reaction to the changing nature of warfare, where attacks are constantly possible and tragically unexpected. the nss explains that while pre-emption is no longer useful, the need for it still exists. though its call for a new security paradigm is timely and, i n fact, overdue, its failure to revolutionize tactics i n response to this paradigm shift has led to the deterioration of the security situation. the doctrine correctly acknowledges that the main threat to u.s. interests is that of non-state or extra-state actors, most notably 'terrorist' organizations. though it is certainly true that terrorism has been an active part of international relations for some time, the disintegration of larger, old-world threats embodied by the cold war—combined with the exponential increase i n available technology—has made terrorism the central concern. the nss document essentially reorients united states foreign and domestic security policy towards this new threat, insisting that the only way to defend against it is to maintain the option for preventive, unilateral war and to concurrently spread democracy. "as its central focus, the bush doctrine codifies and centralizes for the first time one of the realities of international conflict: the option for preventive war." though reorganization was and is indeed necessary, the bush doctrine is largely couched i n old-world military tactics, and thus wi l l require much revision into the future. the doctrine fails to take into account the fundamental motivations, potentially loose organizational structure, and wide geographical spread of terrorism, thereby failing to disrupt the terrorist organization and arguably even helping to recruit more terrorists. as a principle defining a nation's response, the bush doctrine is inconsistent, too shortsighted, and, therefore, broadly ineffective. with these faults in mind, the bush doctrine, though a positive and sound first step toward reformation of global security, would have to undergo major reformation and development before it could provide any lasting security. o r i g i n s a n d o r i e n t a t i o n as its central focus, the bush doctrine codifies and centralizes for the first time one of the realities of international conflict: the option for preventive war. in addition, the doctrine insists on the option of unilateralism and expands upon the united states' commitment to spreading democracy. at first glance, an explicit focus on each of these elements is rather new to united states foreign policy. the united states has traditionally been isolationist unti l this century, when its role i n world affairs was elevated by conflicts i n europe. though the united states had supported spreading democracy, it had traditionally done so as a byproduct of its main goal of stemming the spread of communism; though it took initiative i n such conflicts as the first gulf war, it had not made explicit policy of unilateralism and police action before the bush doctrine. though the centralization of unilateralism and preventive warfare is new, the need for such a move has existed for quite some time as an evolution of the cold war conflict. i n the cold war, u.s. policy identified fair-market capitalism as a force for good i n the world and its converse, autocracy, as a source of evil. this is evident i n ronald reagan's 1982 "evil empire" speech, i n which he addressed the e l e m e n t s fall 09 bush preparing to address the national defense academy about the current policies for the war in iraq. house of commons i n britain. lauding the "consistent restraint and peaceful intentions of the west," president reagan denounced the soviet policy of "denying human freedom and human dignity to its citizens" and assured the house that "the forces of good ultimately rally and tr iumph over evil." 1 1 this mindset is essential to understanding the bush doctrine. as andrew flibbert explains, the main drives behind the u.s. decision to go to war i n iraq (an expression of the bush doctrine) were "a belief i n the necessity and benevolence of american hegemony, a manichaean conception of politics, a conviction that regime type is the principal determinant of foreign policy, and great confidence i n the efficacy of military force." ! each of these motivations is an echo of cold war foreign policy; the world had been divided into competing zones defined primarily by regime type, and military power was the means to end the crisis. in the cold war, the need for democracy sprung from the goal of withering the power of the soviet union and thus protecting american citizens; i n its evolution, terrorism has replaced the soviet union, and terrorism can be fought by reducing the origins of it, which the bush doctrine locates i n autocracy.1v president bush alluded to the connection between the struggles of the cold war and the current struggle against terrorism i n his speech at west point i n 2002, i n which he said, because the war on terror will require resolve and patience, it will also require firm moral purpose. in this way our struggle is similar to the cold war. now, as then, our enemies are totalitarians, holding a creed of power with no place for human dignity. now, as then, they seek to impose a joyless conformity, to control every life and all of life . . . america confronted imperial communism in many different ways—diplomatic, economic, and military. yet moral clarity was essential to our victory in the cold war." clearly, the moral and ethical backings of each policy are intimately connected, as indeed are the elements of the j u d g i n g h a r s h l y doctrines: preventive warfare, unilateralism, and spreading of democracy. though the bush doctrine tenets find their essential origin i n the cold war, they are "revolutionary" i n that they recognize the differences between conflicts. in noting that deterrence is no longer effective, that weapons of mass destruction are no longer a last resort, and that terrorists prize destruction as an end, the bush doctrine attempts an ideological break with the cold war period through centralizing preventive and potentially unilateral war. t h e case for t h e d o c t r i n e this centralization of terrorism leads to a new framework with which to analyze the decision to engage an enemy. the most important aspect of the military goals of the bush doctrine is preventive warfare. preventive warfare is distinct from pre-emptive warfare, yet the bush doctrine eliminates this distinction, insisting that i f terrorism is the biggest security threat, the taboo surrounding preventive warfare must be eliminated. the distinction between the two is rather simple. as lawrence freedman writes, "a pre-emptive war takes place at some point between the moment when an enemy decides to attack—or, more precisely, is perceived to be about to attack—and when the attack is actually launched" while preventive war "can be seen as preemption i n slow motion, more anticipatory or forward thinking, perhaps even looking beyond the target's current intentions to those that might develop along with greatly enhanced capabilities."v1 preemption has usually been sanctioned by the un as an act of self-defense according to article 51.v" a good example of this was the 1967 israeli attack on egypt, where the international community agreed that an egyptian attack had been imminent . v i i i on the other hand, preventive warfare, because of its potential for abuse and lower level of certainty, has traditionally been outlawed. despite this traditional view, one might argue that preventive war has been an increasingly viable option for political leaders of the past half-century and was a common theme running through the evolution of cold war thought. as saki dockrill notes, "the eisenhower administration discussed at some length the possibility of taking preventive action," and "president john f. kennedy pondered ways i n which the united states could take 'some form of action' that might discourage china from pursuing the nuclear path"; indeed, "preemptive and preventative strategies thus have strong historical roots."1 x in this light, one might suggest that preventive war is an extension of the cold war policies as well; still, the change described i n the bush doctrine is to extend and centralize its use. the bush doctrine posits that terrorism needs a home base, and thus connects terrorist activity with "state sponsor^]" of terrorisms it is not only a pending attack and its variable t iming difference, but also the very status of allowing terrorists to form organizations within a country that becomes a basis for attack under the strategy. the doctrine argues that action is necessary under these circumstances. the military provocation that preemption assumes does not exist i n the case of terrorist activity or other related guerilla tactics; yet terrorist attacks are inbust of lenin, the founder of the communist soviet union. evitable—the only difference is the time frame. the doctrine argues that preventive action is the only way to bring a reasonable assurance that american lives wi l l not be subject to constant threat. another important aspect of the bush doctrine is the emphasis on the option for unilateralism, drawn out of the concept of preventive warfare itself. it is rooted i n the sense of moral clarity that forms the backbone of the whole doctrine, believing that the united states is a force for good, and thus may act alone to effect good. the doctrine envisions the probability that the government wi l l have to act alone i f the international community doubts the efficacy or tightness of the action. x ! to become a guiding principle, however, the doctrine does have to set its limits; and although there is no specific l imit to unilateral war posited by the nss 2002, its proponents have begun to outline such limits i n their own writings. most prominent among these authors as pertains to these limits is charles krauthammer, who posits that intervention should be limited by the ability of the united states to act economically and militarily, as well as the direct application of the threat to u.s. security i n the long-term (such as to defeat violent extremism). the other major prong of the doctrine is to promote free market democracy. although not necessarily apparent, this is equally important to the emphasis on unilateralism. the bush doctrine believes the root of terrorism is illiberality: autocratic governments that deprive their citizens of freedom and thus create poverty and discontent. beyond this security goal, as charles r. kesler summarized, the bush doctrine insisted that america has a moral responsibility "as the result of our respect for human rights, to help the iraqis and others realize their democratic entitlement and destiny. " x i v when taken together, these factors add up to a theoretically effective strategic response. i f the united states takes pains to root terrorists out of their state-sponsored homes regardless of a lack of help and creates a situation for more liberty and better living conditions in at-risk societies, it is "the bush doctrine posits that terrorism needs a home base, and thus connects terrorist activity with 'state sponsor[s]' of terrorism." reasonable to assume that the united states wi l l be more secure i n the future. the weapon most readily accessible was, of course, the military, and it is only natural that it became the center of the immediate solution to the problem. w h a t w e n t w r o n g these arguments i n favor of the doctrine are certainly persuasive, yet the bush doctrine has received a tepid response. despite its commitment to the safety of its citizens, the bush doctrine has been roundly criticized both i n the popular mediums and among the political elite. to be sure, it has its defenders, but the recent election of barack obama, campaigning against the policies of the bush doctrine, suggest that the bush doctrine has failed to w i n i n the arena of public support. of course, part of this reception is directly correlated with the events surrounding operation iraqi freedom, which one might argue evolved out of the thinking of the bush doctrine (though technically operation iraqi freedom was an enforcement action of un disarmament mandates). yet there are indeed fundamental problems with the doctrine that form a legitimate basis for criticism, the most oftlevied and prominent of these being the doctrine's relationship—or lack thereof—with international law. broadly speaking, its opponents argue that the bush doctrine is acceptable when applied to one power, but problematic when its tenets are universalized such that all states act the same way. the first problem is the breaking of the weak-but-still-existent taboo on war; i f the united states is free to act as it wi l l around the world, the argument goes, so are any number of other hostile states, and it wi l l be difficult for any international structure to censure a nation for acting with the same impunity as the united states. in tandem with the breaking of the war taboo, preventive war also weakens the concept of state sovereignty, reducing the un's power to assert the rights of states under invasion. the united states specifically posits, opponents point out, that democracy must be spread to promote stability—but this tenet explicitly denies the right of self-determination i n a given state. indeed, i f borders are malleable and nations can be invaded at any country's wil l to change a governmental structure or depose a dictator, the un—dominated by one of the propagators of the weakening of state sovereignty—will have less right to put a stop to the conflict. a l l nations wi l l have incentive to gain an upper hand through preventive action, and no body wi l l exist to oppose such chaos. as ivo daalder of the council of foreign relations writes, preemptive war "wi l l exacerbate the security dilemma among hostile states, by raising the incentive of all states to initiate military action before others do." x v this weakening of international law would, the argument continues, result i n massive rearmament and an increase, naturally, i n the events of war. opponents of the doctrine point to the wars i n iraq and afghanistan as inevitable outcroppings of the "pro-war" leanings of the bush doctrine and see a new military-industrial complex lead by big corporations as the real motivation for these "illegal" (read: without un permission) wars. x v l though these claims rely on individual motivations and therefore are outside the immediate purview of this paper, their effect on public opinion has been substantial, and the bush doctrine may have trouble surviving i n the hostile climate that has formed around it. beyond the complaints of international law, there is also the more realist approach to the doctrine that posits that there are not enough resources i n the world to promote the kind of militarily enforced safety that the doctrine envisions. so while charles krauthammer does lay out a specific vision of where the bush doctrine should intervene, its opponents argue that its limits are subjective and wi l l result i n too much intervention worldwide. though there are many other arguments posed against the bush doctrine, most can be folded into one of the above categories, particularly that related to international law. the bush doctrine, according to its opponents, brushes aside international law to promote its own safety and, i n doing so, has a deleterious effect on worldwide peace. c a n t h e d o c t r i n e be f i x e d ? of course, no matter how much opposition the doctrine has garnered, it has, for the short term, achieved its immediate objective of promoting the safety of the american homeland. though the doctrine forms a solid theoretical framework for response given the resources available to the country and the need for an immediate response, it must be modified to best serve the security of the united states i n the long run. there are specific problems with the doctrine, enumerated below, that, when addressed, might be able to convert the short-term success of the bush doctrine. first, the doctrine must introduce some level of compromise with international law, i f for no other reason than that its political survival depends on a shift in public opinion only possible out of such a change. second, tactical changes are necessary. the doctrine's reliance on the military has proven, i n the words of at least one commentator, to be both "reactive and anachronistic. " x v n by failing to take into account more abstract, intangible societal and human factors and focusing mainly on military strategy, the doctrine has potentially endangered the long-term safety of the united states. for the long term, the implementation of the policy has been inconsistent, shortsighted, and ineffective. broadly speaking, the bush doctrine must first be adapted to include a consideration of international law. of course, i n its fundamental redefinition of pre-emptive war to include preventive war, the bush doctrine's fundamental tenets reject the current paradigm of international law. still, a change is possible i f the united states works to assemble a set of guidelines i n advance of a specific threat that would discourage other nations from opposing conflict for selfish reasons. for example, the united states might propose to the international community a terrorism exemption arising from terrorist attacks on a un or nato member, or rewrite its principles to include a waiting period before preventive action is possible. the first proposal would tip the balance of international law against terrorist states, as the countries of the west would rarely be able to be accused of terrorism, while the second would, though tors, such as regional or democratic stability within the country as well as the country's ability to strike back, wi l l make it impossible to punish a government for actions by terrorists within the state™" these criteria essentially l imit the bush doctrine to only militarily weak states that clearly sponsor terrorism—or, i n other words, afghanistan and potentially a few african nations. pakistan, iran, and north korea (all targets of recent rebuke from the u.s. government) would have to be exempted from the doctrine. in fact, the long-term, fervent dedication of some i n the administration to effect regime change i n i raq x l x is possibly the only reason that iraq was able to surmount this potentially prohibitive test. "the doctrine's reliance on the military has proven, in the words of at least one commentator, to he both 'reactive and anachronistic.'" preventing a tactical disadvantage i n giving the enemy more time, promote a time of reflection before conflict that would pacify to some degree those who oppose the doctrine. there are, of course, plenty of other ways that the doctrine could make more room to accommodate its political and international opponents to some degree. the doctrine does the united states a disservice by weakening international law, compromising the principle of stability that is so central to the doctrine's success. accommodation of this structure can help the doctrine not only i n its image but also i n its actual results. tactically, the bush doctrine as stated does not form a consistent framework for practical decisions. the doctrine requires a l ink between the host state and terrorist attacks to weed out terrorists. as saki ruth dockrill writes, even when such states are identified, it is probable that other facfurthermore, once the decision to take action is made, the bush doctrine faces the problem that it is ironically (given its intention to stem long-term threats) shortsighted, according to many commentators. there is a common supposition that u.s. incursion i n volatile terrorist regions actually increases terrorist recruitment, a conclusion drawn from, among other sources, the classified national intelligence estimate 20o6, x x the u.s. state department assessment of global terror i n 2007, x x t and an international institute for strategic studies report . x w one might respond that such increases lead to terrorism elsewhere than the united states and thus improve u.s. security (and some argue that i f iraq is eliminated from equations, terrorism has actually declined) ; x x i i i consequently, the actions are still effective i n breaking terrorist organization that would otherwise allow them to reach the united states. still, it is easy to conjecture that western presence i n the middle east through the years has been a major catalyst for j u d g i n g h a r s h ly u.s. soldiers being deployed for military combat in afghanistan. terrorism throughout the world. the united states might have learned from its initial funding of insurgent operations i n afghanistan i n the 1980s that incursion i n the region has long-term consequences for terrorist recruitment and planning.™7 even i f terrorists are not increasing i n number today, one suspects that this incursion wi l l cause increases in the future. another manifestation of the doctrine's shortsighted nature is its myopic focus on the middle east, a focus has compromised many other foreign policy goals. relations with russia, north korea, africa, and even other middle eastern states have suffered as a result of the investment of resources and attention i n iraq. the doctrine calls for foreign policy to be oriented toward terrorist states, but it does so at the expense of traditional foreign policy and diplomatic goals. this particular side effect is actually written into the doctrine itself, i n expectation that traditional mi l i tary antipathies were no longer valid. the nss document proclaims that russia and the united states "are no longer strategic adversaries" and welcomes a "stable, peaceful, and prosperous asia-pacific region." x x v since then north korea "has provoked the united states with missile launches and a nuclear test," x x v i and russia has undertaken an "increasingly confrontational foreign policy."30"™ alarmingly, the gap between the united states and iran has widened significantly. x v 111 without concern for how these more traditional threats might develop, there was plenty of room to engage the military i n iraq and afghanistan; yet by engaging the military, the administration no longer held a military trump card on the more traditional foes. even i f it did not increase terrorism or reduce projections of force globally, the invasions themselves have not been effective—at least i n relation to the tasks set before them. the invasion of iraq satisfied only the pre-9/11 goal of removing saddam hussein from power; i n afghanistan, al qaeda has escaped and is continuing its terrorist missions. saki ruth dockrill echoes this point when she explains, since [the invasion of afghanistan], the al qaeda network and its followers have expanded their targets across the globe. . . . so, while it is seen as legitimate, the afghanistan campaign raises the important question as to whether military intervention is an appropriate response to international terrorism.xxix indeed, the military invasion of afghanistan has successfully removed the state sponsor, yet failed to address the underlying existence of the terrorist group and its ability to strike at u.s. interests. militarily, this failure is owing to a significant misunderstanding of the terrorist threat. despite recognition that terrorism was fundamentally different from big-state violence, fundamental tactics were not changed, and each problem was still approached i n terms of military incursion on sovereign land; as lawrence freedman notes, having "taken on board the notion of asymmetric war," it was merely "geared . . . to the dominant scenarios that were guiding all american force planning." x v ; the u.s. missions of the 1990s such as i n bosnia had been able to rely on air power to effect the mission's goals; against a terrorist network, it is very hard to bomb only terrorists hiding i n houses with no strategic infrastructural sites. as freedman writes concerning afghanistan, when the us responded with its standard coercive air campaign, the minimal results it achieved during the first month reinforced the image of a great power disoriented by a tiny power offering few 'strategic' targets worth hitting, hut still able to exploit every stray 'precision' weapon that hit a civilian site to maintain the propaganda offensive.***1 the results to this point have not been encouraging, as al qaeda continues to function, and has orchestrated attacks in "bali (october 2002), spain (march 2004), and london (july 2005)," among other attacks, since the start of the conflict.50™1 clearly, terrorists have been able to become supra-national. the bush doctrine begins with an emphasis on terrorist technology; however, it should also consider the role that technology can play i n allowing terrorists to organize without a state sponsor. indeed, as cronin remarks, "[t]he current wave of international terrorism . . . not only is a reaction to globalization but is facilitated by i t . " x x x l i i as rupert smith discusses i n the utility of force, the changing nature of the threat to states requires a changed response. the bush doctrine simply fails to fundamentally alter tactics i n response to the threat. still, these shortcomings i n both accommodation of international law and tactical innovation can be easily adapted and upgraded for a new generation of technological innovation. i f the doctrine makes an explicit effort to reorient itself toward new cooperation and a new, more sophisticated appraisal of the threats, it can continue to serve as a fundamental security doctrine for the world's largest superpower. c o n c l u s i o n indeed, the bush doctrine still has hope to continue its mission of promoting homeland security. as the cornerstone of a new u.s. focus on the safety of its citizens and the beginnings of a theoretical (if not procedural) shift i n defense policy, the bush doctrine has been an important landmark i n u.s. history. into the future, the policy must be expanded, building on its stoic commitment to homeland security by ceasing to incite terrorism and weaken international law while concurrently reorienting strategy to address the threats of the new age of technology. though it is true that it has been successful in the short term, the doctrine needs to be accompanied by a rethinking of the fundamental way that security problems are approached militarily and i n relation to international law i f it is to continue to function i n the long run. i f such a refocusing were to occur, the doctrine has high hopes of continuing its short-term success into the future. "the only path to peace and security" may be "the path of action," but the doctrine needs to decide what actions constitute that path. e n d n o t e s i . national security strategy (intro.) i i . reagan i i i . flibbert (312) iv. national security strategy (intro.) v. bush vi. freedman (106-7) vii. charter of the united nations viii. heisbourg (78) ix. dockrill (347) x. national security strategy (6) xi. national security strategy (intro.) xii. krauthammer xiii. ibid. xiv. kesler xv. daalder xvi. podhoretz xvii. cronin (30) xviii. dockrill (366) xix. dockrill (357-9), referring to the pressure i n the administrat ion xx. "spy agencies say" xxi. "report: global terrorism up" xxii. "occupation has boosted al-qaida" xxiii. "iraq figures distort terrorism statistics" j u d g i n g h a r s h l y xxiv. "who is osama b in laden?" xxv. national security strategy (26-7) xxvi. " n . korea puts launch i n innocuous terms" xxvii. bremmer xxviii. ghumman xxix. dockrill (362) xxx. freedman 2001 (76) xxxi. freedman 2001 (66) xxxii. ibid. xxxiii. cronin (30) references bremmer, ian. "russia and the u.s. i n a post-aug. 8 world," <http: / / www. realclearpolitics. com/article s/2008/io/russ ia_an d_the_us_in_a_pos taug. html>. bush, george w. 2002. "remarks by the president at 2002 graduation exercise of the united states military academy." institute of communication studies, university of leeds, uk. <http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vpoi.cfm?outfit=pmt&folder=33 9&paper=38o>. charter of the united nations. 26 june 1945. "article 51." nato/otan on-line library, <http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/bt-un5i.htm>. cronin, audrey kurth. 2003. "behind the curve: globalization and international terrorism." international security, 27(3), pp. 30-58. daalder, ivo. "policy implications of the bush doctrine on preemption". cfr.org. <http://www.cfr.org/publication/5251/ policy_implications_of_the_bush_doctrine_on_preemption.ht ml>. dockrill , saki ruth. 2006. "dealing with fear: implementing the bush doctrine of preemptive attack". politics e[ policy, 34 (2), pp. 344-373. flibbert, andrew. 2006. "the road to baghdad: ideas and intellectuals i n explanations of the iraq war." security studies, 15 (2), pp. 310-352. freedman, lawrence. 2001. "the third world war?" survival, 43 (4)' pp61-88. freedman, lawrence. 2003. "prevention, not preemption." the washington quarterly, 26 (2). heisbourg, francois. 2003. "a work i n progress: the bush doctrine and its consequences." the washington quarterly, 26 (2). "iraq figures distort terrorism statistics: study." reuters, 21 may 2008. <http://www.reuters.com/article/topnews/idusn2139 567720080521 ?feedtype=nl&feedname=ustopnewsevening>. kesler, charles r. 2005. "democracy and the bush doctrine." the claremont institute for the study of statesmanship and political philosophy, <http://www.claremont.org/publications/ crb/id.i2i8/article_detail.asp>. krauthammer, charles. 2004. " i n defense of democratic realism." the national interest, fall. national security strategy of the united states. 2002. " n . korea puts launch i n innocuous terms." the washington post, 25 february 2009. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/o2/24/ar2009022400324.html>. "occupation has boosted al-qaida, says thinktank".. the guardian, 26 may 2004. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ 2004/may/2 6 / alqaida.iraq>. podhoretz, norman. "enter the bush doctrine." the wall street journal. sept. 2, 2004. <http://www.opinionjournal. com/ extra/?id=nooo5558>. reagan, ronald. 1982. "speech to the house of commons." fordham university modern history sourcebook. <http://www. fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html>. "report: global terrorism up more than 25 percent." cnn, 30 apr i l 2007. <http://edition.cnn.com/2007/us/04/30/terror. report/index.html>. "spy agencies say iraq war worsens terrorism threat." the new york times, 24 september 2006. "who is osama bin laden?" cbc news online, 19 january 2006. <http://www.cbc.ca/news /background/osama binladen/>. * a l l online articles accessed on 14-15 march, 2009. ghumman, kashif mumtaz. "iran-u.s. relations i n the post9/11 days: problems and prospects." the institute of strategic studies, islamabad, <http://www.issi.org.pk/journal/ 2002_files/no_3/article/8a.htm>. e l e m e n t s fall 09 http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vpoi.cfm?outfit=pmt&folder=339&paper=38o http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vpoi.cfm?outfit=pmt&folder=339&paper=38o http://www.nato.int/docu/ba-sictxt/bt-un5i.htm http://www.nato.int/docu/ba-sictxt/bt-un5i.htm http://cfr.org http://www.cfr.org/publication/5251/policy_implications_of_the_bush_doctrine_on_preemption.html http://www.cfr.org/publication/5251/policy_implications_of_the_bush_doctrine_on_preemption.html http://www.cfr.org/publication/5251/policy_implications_of_the_bush_doctrine_on_preemption.html http://www.reuters.com/article/topnews/idusn2139567720080521%20?feedtype=nl&feedname=ustopnewsevening http://www.reuters.com/article/topnews/idusn2139567720080521%20?feedtype=nl&feedname=ustopnewsevening http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.i2i8/article_detail.asp http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.i2i8/article_detail.asp http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/o2/24/ar2009022400324.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/o2/24/ar2009022400324.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/may/2%206%20/%20alqaida.iraq http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/may/2%206%20/%20alqaida.iraq http://www.opinionjournal.com/%20extra/?id=nooo5558 http://www.opinionjournal.com/%20extra/?id=nooo5558 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html http://edition.cnn.com/2007/us/04/30/terror.report/index.html http://edition.cnn.com/2007/us/04/30/terror.report/index.html http://www.cbc.ca/news%20/background/osamabinladen/ http://www.cbc.ca/news%20/background/osamabinladen/ http://www.issi.org.pk/journal/2002_files/no_3/article/8a.htm http://www.issi.org.pk/journal/2002_files/no_3/article/8a.htm de m a l o r u m n a t u r a i lucretius and the nature of evil n a t h a n i e l c a m p b e l l t h i s paper seeks to explore t h e n a t u r e of evil i n respect to t h e e t h i c s of e p i c u r e a n p h i l o s o p h y p r e s e n t e d i n l u c r e t i u s ' de r e r u m n a t u r a . d r a w i n g o n a t o m i c p h y s i c s a n d its c o m p l e t e c o r p o r e a l p h y s i c a l i t y , e p i c u r e a n p h i l o s o p h y p r o d u c e s a n e t h i c a l system i n w h i c h t h e h i g h e s t g o o d is d e f i n e d i n t e r m s of m a x i m u m pleasure b o t h i n t h e body a n d i n t h e m i n d . e v i l , t h e r e f o r e , m u s t be a n y t h i n g t h a t detracts f r o m t h a t state of p l e a s u r e . it m a y be f u r t h e r c a t e g o r i z e d as e i t h e r n a t u r a l or h u m a n e v i l . h o w e v e r , it is t h e evils i n d u c e d by t h e m i s u n d e r s t o o d n a t u r e of b o t h t h e g o d s a n d d e a t h t h a t are t h e m o s t h a r m f u l to a peaceful state of m i n d . it is l u c r e t i u s ' g o a l to r o o t o u t t h e s e evils a n d , i n d o i n g so, e stab li s h t h e peace of t h e g o d s i n t h e m i n d of t h e h u m a n . "ifpleasure, that lack of pain both physical and mental, defines the nature of good, then what, we might ask, is evil?" i . i n t r o d u c t i o n of the three divisions of hellenistic philosophy-physics, ethics, and logic-the study of ethics deals most closely with the foundations of human nature and asks, among others, the fundamental question: what is the nature of good and evil? lucretius' epicurean philosophy emphasizes the physics, and it is from the basic atomic physics that arise, in large part, the ethics of the system. the complete corporeal physicality of atomic physics, in which even the mind and soul are composed of material atoms, has interesting implications for an epicurean ethics. matter is always in a state of composition and decomposition, such that no compounded substance is eternal, including both the mind (animus) and spirit (anima) of a human. the mortal nature of being precludes any ethical considerations of an afterlife; the ethics, therefore, are concerned only with the good of the present. furthermore, the inherent physical nature of everything, including the mind and spirit, focuses the ethics on actions and reactions to physical stimuli on the body and on the mind. hence, "the highest good i n life is pleasure, defined as freedom from pain in the body (aponia), and freedom from anxiety and disturbance in the mind, a state called ataraxia."1 i f pleasure, that lack of pain both physical and mental, defines the nature of good, then what, we might ask, is evil? this is a question not so easily answered, for nowhere does lucretius embark on a definitive discourse on the nature of evil. rather, we must cull his understanding of its nature from the entirety of the de rerum natura. it is without a doubt that evil exists in the world of lucretius. one important leg of lucretius' proof in book v that the gods did not create the world asserts that the world is too flawed to have been crafted by the hands of perfect deities. his poetic discourse on the deficiencies of the created world culminates in a description of the pitiful lot into which a human child is born, "as is fair for h i m to whom so many evils remain to pass in life" (ut aequumst / cui tantum in vita restet transire malorum).n john godwin has even said that this passage "is a splendid piece of reasoning on the famous 'problem of evil' whereby the world, for all its undoubted beauty, is simply too faulty to be the result of divine intelligence." 1 1 1 yet, though this passage establishes that evil exists, it does not elucidate what evil is; for this, we must look further. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 0 6 it is important, first, to establish a linguistic approach to the treatment of evil by lucretius. it seems clear that the principal word used by lucretius for "evil" is mains, with its adjectival and substantival forms; indeed, it is used almost twice as often as all of its nearest synonyms combined. 1 v yet, lucretius uses the word malus only thirty-one times in the entire poem; for such a common word with such a wide range of uses, this seems surprisingly sparse in a work of more than 7 4 0 0 lines and almost 5 0 , 0 0 0 words. it wi l l soon become clear, however, that although the word is sometimes used with no more than poetic flourish, most often it is carefully chosen in order to craft and strengthen lucretius' ethics on the nature of evil. i n many modern metaphysics, a distinction is made between evils that occur i n nature independent of human influence and evils that occur as a direct result of human influence and action. while lucretius does, at least implicitly, draw this distinction, the difference does not affect the nature of evil per se in his ethics, i.e. a natural evil is in itself just as harmful as a human evil. lucretius does, however, recognize that, while we cannot necessarily exercise control over natural evils, we can always exercise control over human evils because they originate from our own actions. natural evils may at times be avoided by human action, but their causation is quite independent of human action. human evils consitute graver evils in th ethics of epicurean philosophy because human action, especially when armed with the tools of that philosophy, not only can more readily avoid them but can, and is the only agent that does, cause them. furthermore, he understands that some human evils are more difficult, though never impossible, to resist because there are natural tendencies in humans that incline us to commit human evils; we must, therefore, work even harder to overcome them. i i . n a t u r a l evils first, we must understand that there are definite, natural evils for lucretius. bearing in mind that the good is defined in terms of an absence of pain, it follows that natural evils are those things which cause pain, i.e. disease, cold, and hunger: "for the body suffers more i n connection to these deficiencies, and the mind suffers many evils because of their infection" (corpus enim magis his vitiis adfine laborat, / et mala multa animus contage fungitur eius).v in book v i , lucretius wi l l specifically focus on the natural evil of disease, played out most spectacularly i n his description of the plague of athens. his discourse on disease follows earlier sections in which he explains many natural phenomena. beginning at line 639, lucretius explains the nature of volcanoes; at one point i n the passage, he uses the fever of disease as a metaphor for the fire of volcanoes. "disease" (morbus) is both malus and "immeasurable" (immensus), and the earth is so full of it that its "power is able to increase" (vis queat procrescere) . v 1 while the imagery of a fever is certainly not unique to this description of volcanoes, it is interesting that lucretius should use such provocative adjectives. furthermore, he characterizes only the disease as malus and not the volcano; this would suggest that this description of disease is not only a metaphor for volcanoes but also a comment on the nature of disease i n its own right, a topic he wil l take up in full just a few hundred lines later. this characterization of disease as a natural evil becomes even stronger in the last verses of the poem in which lucretius describes the plague of athens. i n the course of only twenty-nine lines (1150-1177/78)/" he uses malus three times to describe the evil symptoms of the plague: the victim's tongue is weakened by evils, anxious anguish and complaints are mixed in with unbearable evils, and there is no rest from the e v i l . v m hence, i t becomes clear that disease, along with other naturally occurring pains, is a natural evil in lucretian ethics. i i i . t h e evils of love now we shall deal with the much more complex realm of human nature and, likewise, human evils. let us first take as an example lucretius' treatment of sexual desire and love i n book iv. after an involved discussion of the nature of dreams, lucretius uses the concept of images affecting the senses to transition to a discussion of the nature of sexde m a l o r i u m n a t u r a : l u c r e t i u s a n d t h e n a t u r e of evil ual arousal and the ejaculation of semen." in frank and even slightly technical terms, he describes how images of an external body, the "messengers of a striking face and of a beautiful color" (nuntia preaclari vultus pulchrique colons)* excite those parts of the body in which the semen atoms naturally congregate, causing them "to pour forth" (profundare).ki when he describes, however, the action of the wi l l (voluntas) "to cast forth" (eicere) the semen, he notes that i t is sent "to where dread desire strains itself" (quo se contendit diva libido) x n and that "the body seeks that [place] i n which the mind is wounded by love" (idque petit corpus, mens unde est saucia amore).xm the problem, according to lucretius, is when the purely natural urge to ejaculate is eclipsed by "the drop of sweet venus" that "has dripped into [our] heartfs]" and has been followed by "frigid care" (veneris dulcedinis in cor / stillavit gutta et successit frigida cura).xn i n successive passages he wi l l describe the various problems caused by the emotional connection of "love": the madness of the lover's absence; the insatiability of pent-up desires; the delusions created by the lovesick to hide reality . x v lucretius several times explicitly names these problems malus.xwl indeed, all of these problems caused by the entanglements of love detract from the ataraxia that is so central to lucretian ethics. our (natural) lustful desires with a prostitute, we do not lose the "enjoyment of venus" (veneris fructum); rather, we receive the pleasure of sexual fulfillment without the "punishment" (poena) of love. these "evils" that are produced by emotional attachment (and, for that matter, detachment) are human evils, for they arise from deliberate human action (voluntas). although the sexual urge to ejaculate is entirely natural, i t is from this sexual urge, when corrupted by "incorrect" notions of its nature, that the human evil arises. hence, we see that natural physical compositions can induce the conditions for, though not perforce necessitate, human evils. i v . h u m a n n a t u r e a n d h u m a n e v i l furthermore, the systematic physical composition of the human creates general characteristics that may be inclined to commit human evils. to understand the nature of human action i n the mind (animus), we must first understand the physical composition of the human soul (anima), a topic with which lucretius deals at length in book i i i . the soul is composed of four types of atoms. first, we have the three "natures" of the soul as observed from the soul as they leave the body of a dying person: wind or breath (aura), "to understand the nature of human action in the mind, we must first understand the physical composition of the human soul.. " how, then, are we to overcome the evils of love? as he tells us, we are "to flee the images" (fugitare...simulacra), "to drive away the fodder of love and turn our minds to something else," (pabula amoris / absterrere...atque alio converter e mentem), and "to cast out, not retain, the collected liquid [of semen] into whatever body" (iacere umorem collectum in corpora quaeque / nec retinere).™1 furthermore, even i f we reject the wounding blows of love straightaway by fulfilling heat or warmth (vapor), and, always commingled with the heat, air (aer)xvm none of these three can cause sensation and therefore thoughts in the mind, so there must be a fourth type of atom, nameless, which is the cause of sensations (sensifeorum motum).xlx from these causation atoms arise sensations that pass first to the heat, then to the wind, next to the air atoms, and finally to atoms of the body in general; x x in this way the soul serves as, in modern parlelem ents s p r i n g 06 ance, the central nervous system. next, we examine the mind (animus) and see within it three natures: heat (color), cold wind (frigida aura), and peaceful air (pacatus aer).xxl these natures are not the same as the atoms which compose the soul; there is, however, a clear connection between them, and it seems that it is the sensation received by each type of atom that gives rise in the mind to the corresponding nature. it is these three natures that, in turn, give rise to human behavioral types. the heat is assumed by the mind "when in anger it becomes hot and a sharper flame shines from the eyes" (in ira / cumfervescit et ex oculis micat acrius ardor).™1 likewise, the cold wind, the "companion of fear" (comitesformidinis), "gives rise to a shivering in the limbs" (ciet horrorem membris)xxm finally, the peaceful air exists "when the heart is peaceful and the face serene" (pectore tranquilo...vultuque sereno).xxw the nature of each human is determined by the corresponding proportions of soul atoms within him: a preponderance of vapor soul atoms wi l l create within h i m a nature more disposed to color and hence to ira, and likewise with wind and air and with fear and tranquility, respectively. as we wi l l see, it is these natural dispositions that give rise to the human evils of inordinate anger or fear. although an education (doctrina) can leave some people polished (politos), there wi l l always remain some vestiges of man's original nature. the key line, however, follows, i n which lucretius deems these dispositions, and the resultant anger, fear, or forbearance, as mala™ explaining that " i t must not be thought possible for these evils to be pulled out, roots and all" (nec radicitus evelli mala posse putandumst). radicitus, the word meaning "root and all," is used only one other time by lucretius, at line 877 of the same book; i n that context, lucretius describes the man who proclaims to believe in the doctrine that the soul dies with the body, though his belief is false and empty, for there is still beneath his breast a prod (subesse...cordi stimilum)xxwn that pushes h i m to fear death: this man does not pull himself out of life root and all (nec radicitus e vita se tollit et eicit). the parallel between the two lines is striking: the first two words are identical; the third word and the third and fourth word very nearly match, both in sense and in spelling with the "e" and "v;" and the scansion, with the exception of the fourth foot, is identical. furthermore, it is unusual for the second foot in both lines to coincide with the word ending. it seems clear that lucretius meant for there to be a substantive connection between the two lines. the underlying connection seems to be the failure of the man on the one hand to root out the evil that is his propensity to deviate to either anger or fear from a calm disposition, and on the other hand to root out his fear of death. x x v 1 1 1 both the disposition to anger and fear, and the fear of death are reactions and emotions that detract from the epicurean ataraxia. hence, we have the central lucretian project: hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necessest non radii solis neque lucida tela diei discutiant, sed naturae species ratioque it is necessary, therefore, that neither the rays of the sun nor the clear darts of day shatter this terror and the shadows of the mind, but that the outward appearance and theory of nature do so.xxlx these lines from book i , repeated to close the introduction of book i i i , clearly state lucretius' primary end in presenting his philosophy: he must dispel the fear and darkness of the mind, which interfere with the ultimate good of pleasure; this can only be accomplished through a thorough grounding in the (atomic) physics of nature. the first of our "failures," a natural disposition to anger or fear, is "rooted out" by an education in epicurean philosophy by which one comes to understand the true, imperturbable nature of the gods and thereafter is able to emulate them. the second "failure," the fear of death, is "rooted out" by the principal program of that education: dispelling the superstitions and misunderstandings of religion that bind man to a terrifying life after death, a life which in reality does not exist, for neither mind nor soul survive the death of the body. de m a l o r i u m n at u r a: l u c r e t i u s a n d t h e n a t u r e of evil v. t h e fear of d e a t h one might argue that a fear of death is, in fact, a natural fear, and that, just as man has the natural inclination to feel anger and fear discussed in book i i i , so man has also a natural inclination to fear death; it could also be argued the religious superstitions "invented" by man are natural responses to the truly frightening prospect of quitting the mortal life on earth. although he never explicitly answers such an objection, it seems clear that lucretius would argue that the fear of death is not natural in the same way as the inclination towards anger or fear. there is a natural composition in the atoms of the mind that produces the inclination towards anger or fear. a fear of death, however, has no basis in the natural composition of the mind because the nature of death is inevitable and final; hence, there is no rationale for fearing death. in accordance with these ethics, therefore, lucretius begins to debunk organized religion, just sixty-six lines into the poem, he begins to praise epicurus, the "greek man" (graius homo), because it was under his feet that religion was trampled. lucretius reviews the story of iphigenia at aulis as an example to demonstrate that "religion produces wicked and unholy deeds" (religio parit scelerosa atque impia facta).xxx lucretius deems the slaughter of the innocent girl i n the name of "religion" a wicked and unholy crime and from this singular incident he derives perhaps the best single encapsulation of "evil" in his ethics: "such great evils religion is able to advise" (tantum religio potest suadere malorum).10011 furthermore, we must understand that the gods have not ordained this unholy religion, for their nature is such that they are, i n fact, wholly removed from the affairs of our world, and therein lies their perfection, for they lead eternal lives absent the evil of pain that is i n our world. they are free from grief and danger, powerful in their own means, and in need of nothing that concerns us; hence, there is nothing that we can do either to gain their favor or to incur their w r a t h . x x x " affected by no worldly weather, they live i n their quiet dwelling-places with their every need supplied by nature, such that there exists nothing that can take away from their "peace of mind" (animi pax).*101111 yet, we falsely attribute to them the same "sharp angers" (iras acerhas) x x 3 u v that so plague our own hearts. hence, we learn in book v what true piety is: not to take part in the petty rituals and superstitions of religion, "but rather to be able to behold all with a peaceful mind" (sed mage pacata posse omnia mente tueri).xxxw this mens pacata is exactly the animi pax of the gods: true piety, true "religion" i f you wi l l , is to emulate the gods in attaining ataraxia. "it is this fear that so thoroughly throws human life into chaos..." finally, in order to take up fully the epicurean ethic, "this fear of acheron [i.e. the underworld] must be driven headlong out the door" (metus illeforaspraeceps acheruntis agendus). 5 0 0 0 / 1 it is this fear that so thoroughly throws human life into chaos, staining everything "with the blackness of death" (mortis nigore), and, more important, leaving behind not a single "pleasure" (voluptatem).xxxml the great evils of this life spring from it, because, driven by the desire both to escape eternal punishment and to gain eternal glory after the death of the body, it drives men to blind ambition. it is this ambition that causes them "to trespass the bounds of justice" (transcendere finis / iuris) and to become "companions of crime and ministers of murder" (socios scelerum atque ministros / nodes); it is these "wounds of life" (vulnera vitae) that are nourished "by the fear of death" (formidine mortis). this leads to civil bloodshed in which men "pile kill ing upon ki l l ing" (caedem caede accumulant), and to the ultimate impious deeds in which men "cruelly rejoice in the sad death of their brother and even fear to eat at the tables of their relatives" (crudeles gaudent in tristi funere fratris / et consanguineum mensas odere timentque).xxxym these are the evils of the world, driven by a blind and e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 0 6 irrational belief in and fear of the life after death. although the terrifying punishments imagined by the roman religion do not exist in a tartarus that itself does not exist, yet they do exist here on earth in our present lives. wretched tantalus is not numbed by the empty fear of the great rock hanging above him; rather, it is we mortals who are oppressed by an empty fear of the gods and of a death that chance has inevitably fashioned for us all. likewise, tityos does not lie stretched out, his bowels eternally devoured by birds, but we each become tityos when, lying i n the folds of love, we are consumed by the winged cupid and the anguish of lovesickness. sisyphus, too, lives here in the present day as he seeks out political power, for he wi l l never be satisfied in his quest and so is doomed ever to push the boulder of political ambition up the slope of empty power. indeed, all of the dreadful punishments that falsely we fear to await us in the afterlife are, in fact, present here in our lives, and even when we do not feel the sting of the scourge or the burn of pitch upon our backs, yet we fear them with a guilty conscience because we do not understand that with death comes the end of these evils, not their increase. x x x i x so it is that lucretius tells us in book 6: quae nisi respuis ex animo longeque remittis dis indigna putare alienaque pads eorum, delibata deum per te tibi numina sancta saepe oberunt... unless you spit these things out of your mind and banish far away thinking things unworthy of the gods and foreign to their peace, the holy power of the gods, lessened by you, will often harm you...xl v i . c o n c l u s i o n hence, we see that natural evils like disease and famine do exist, but the epicurean wi l l understand that these evils, as natural and often inevitable as death, are to be feared no more than the same. there exist also the natural evils of the human propensity to anger and to mistake the natural need to dispel a build-up of lust for a need to establish romantic entanglements. these evils, however, are conquerable and lead only to problems of emotional attachment, detachment, and imbalance, and not to the grand scale of crimes we see committed on account of the fear of death. the worst kind of evil, however, is the human evil of living in the delusions established by religious superstition. man misunderstands the true nature of the gods because this superstition teaches h i m that the gods involve themselves in the sordid affairs of man. man fears death because he fears the punishment that this superstition teaches awaits h i m after death. these superstitions cause man to drive himself into the evil of pain because neither does he understand the true nature of pleasure nor does he understand that his pain is rooted in his very fear of future pain that, in reality, wi l l never come. to overcome evil, therefore, is to overcome these mistaken natural needs, these fears and these superstitions, and to understand and implement these epicurean doctrines. e n d n o t e s i englert (xv) i i v.226-7. i i i godwin (95) iv data f rom johannes paulson's index lucretianus: foedus, -a, -um: used 4 times improhus, -a, -um: used 2 times scelus, -eris: used 5 times turpis, -is, -e: used 8 times viii .733-4. vi vi.663-4. v i i editors transpose line 1178 i n the mss to before line 1175, thus making line 1177 i n the mss line 1178 i n the critical text. v i i i vi.1150: debilitata malis; vi.1158-9: intolerabilibusque malis erat anxius angor / assidue comes et gemitu commixta querela; vi.1177(8): nec requies erat ulla mali ix though lucretius' discussion of sexuality is couched i n terms of the male arousal and ejaculation of semen into the female, he does note i n 11. 1192-1208, that intercourse and sexual pleasure are a shared experience (communus) between man and woman; therefore, his physics and ethics of sexuality, though only stated i n male terms, hold true as well for the female. x iv.1033. xi iv.1035. xi i iv.1045-6. x i i i iv.1048. xiv iv.1059-60. xv iv.1061-2, 68-9; iv.1076-1140; iv.1141-91. xvi iv.1119,1141, 1159. de m a l o r i u m n a t u r a : l u c r e t i u s a n d t h e n a t u r e of evil xvii iv.1063-6. xvii i iii.232-4. xix iii.241-45. xx iii.246-51. xxi iii.288-93. xxii tii.288-9. xxiii iii .290-1. xxiv iii .293. xxv these resultant actions are problematic, of course, only i n excess: "this man runs off more quickly to sharp angers, that one is tested more quickly by a small fear, or that th i rd man receives something more kindly than is r ight" (proclivius hie iras decurrat ad acris, / ille metu citius paulo temptetur, at ille / tertius accipiat quaedam clementius aequo) iii.311-3. xxvi iii.310. xxxvii iii.873-4. xxxviii the fear that results f rom the disposition of the m i n d of the cold wind is a separate concept f r o m the fear of death. the fear of death is a specific, final, and ultimate fear; while the fear caused by the cold w i n d is simply the generic emotion of fear. xxix i . 146-8 xxx i.83; original verb form peperit. xxxi i.101; original verb f o r m potuit. xxxii i.44-49. xxxiii iii.18-24. xxxiv v.1195. xxxv v.1203. xxxvi iii.37. xxxvii iii.38-40. xxxviii 111.5 9-73. xxxix iii.980-1023. x l v i . 68-71 references lucretius. 2003. on the nature of things. trans. walter englert. newburyport, ma: focus publishing. lucretius. 2000. lucretius: selections from de rerum natura. ed. john godwin. london: bristol classical press. paulson, johannes.1926. index lucretianus: editio altera. leipzig: wincornachdruck der spamerschen buchdrukerei. l o n g s h o t : the prospects for a conversion to euro pricing in oil markets mark e. i rvi n e o i l is c u r r e n t l y b o u g h t a n d s o l d in u . s . d o l l a r s o n t h e major o i l m a r k e t s . r e c e n t r h e t o r i c i n d i c a t e s s o m e e x p o r t e r s are c o n s i d e r i n g s u p p o r t i n g a c o n v e r s i o n t o e u r o p r i c i n g o f o i l . y e t , t h e d o l l a r has a firm g r i p . a s w i t c h is u n l i k e l y in t h e s h o r t to m e d i u m t e r m as it w o u l d be e x c e e d i n g l y d i f f i c u l t g i v e n t h e s t r u c t u r e a n d i n e r t i a i n h e r e n t in o i l m a r k e t s a l o n g w i t h t h e e u r o ' s s e c o n d t i e r s t a t u s t o t h e d o l l a r . t h e t u r b u l e n t p o l i t i c s o f m a n y o i l e x p o r t i n g c o u n t r i e s — e s p e c i a l l y i s l a m i c o n e s — c o u l d s p u r a s p i t e f u l m o v e m e n t t o e n d d o l l a r p r i c i n g b u t t h e s i g n i f i c a n t o b s t a c l e s p r o d u c e r s m u s t o v e r c o m e may be t o o g r e a t for n o w . h o w e v e r , b o t h e c o n o m i c a n d n o n e c o n o m i c p o l i t i c a l c o n c e r n s as a s o u r c e o f c h a n g e b e c o m e m o r e p r o b a b l e as t h e t i m e h o r i z o n is ext e n d e d , a l l o w i n g t i m e f o r t h e e u r o t o m a t u r e a n d a c h i e v e a g r e a t e r s t a k e in i n t e r n at i o n a l f i n a n c i a l m a r k e t s . "if the dollar is going to he dethroned... it will be as a result of the burgeoning resentment felts towards the united states across the world." in october 2003, on his visit to moscow, german chancellor gerhard schroeder responded with barely-tempered exuberance to russian president vladimir putin's suggestion of pricing russian oil in euros. back in the euro-zone, italian prime minister silvio berlusconi quickly signaled his enthusiastic approval. 1 although the proposal was nothing more than the latest russian trial balloon, the comments turned a few heads. however, this discussion did not begin with putin's comments. in fact, the now deposed dictator and accused war criminal saddam hussein was a onetime petro-euro poster boy—in 2000, he declared that iraq would only accept payment for oil in euros, jump-starting the most recent buzz. 1 1 additionally, former malaysian prime minister mahathir mohamad has been a frequent advocate of abandoning dollar pricing, 1 1 1 and the organization for petroleum exporting countries (opec) has addressed the issue in formal statements. this issue, still largely under the radar in the united states, raises important questions. wil l the switch actually happen? what would it mean for the united states? the purpose of this paper is to explore this possibility and evaluate the probability and impact of its possible outcomes. although oil exporters are not likely to push for the pricing of oil in euros in the near-term due to significant inertia in financial markets, the possibility becomes more probable as the time horizon is extended and political considerations are factored in. the effects of a switch are difficult to predict, but it would make the u.s. economy more susceptible to exchange rate volatility, hinder u.s. borrowing, and could even provide a shock to the international monetary system strong enough to usher in an era of monetary bipolarity or even euro dominance. o i l m a r k e t s a n d t h e d o l l a r oil exporters are unlikely to mobilize to change the currency denomination of oil to euros in the short-term, because of the structure and inertia inherent in oil markets and the euro's continued second tier status to the dollar. first, oil markets are highly institutionalized. the current oil pricing scheme began in 1987 after the "fixed (or administered) price system collapsed in 1985."1v it is a mindnumbing, highly complex, "market related price formulae system" built around the dollar.v since oil varies widely in quality, markets trade contracts for certain "marker crudes" (brent north sea, west texas intermediate (wti), and dubai), which establish reference prices. v l other grades of oil have prices that are calculated from these markers/ 1 1 the principal markets they are traded on are london's international petroleum exchange (ipe) and the new york mercantile exchange (nymex). v m a currency change would cause major disruption; for instance, the futures trading and hedging that occur based on the dollar would see significant effects. when such a complex market structure develops around a single currency, it is difficult to change it. second, the dollar has several advantages as an incumbent currency in international finance generally, and in oil markets specifically. the dollar is a very well-entrenched incumbent. texas was the original saudi arabia, and the united states has been the dominant global economic power since the second world war. the dollar has a "share of currency markets about four times as great as its share of world output and trade." 1" not only does the united states import the most oil , writes ramzi salman, but "most other oil importers and the opec countries themselves are dollar-related i f not linked. it is by far the main currency of pricing for most of the internationallytraded commodities, goods, and services. the dollar is also the currency of choice of most personal savings and trade in many countries such as russia, fsu, eastern europe and others." x wil l this new phenomenon—the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 emergence of the euro as a challenger currency—make a difference?5" the most recent case of a rising challenger currency was the dollar in ascendancy against the weakening british sterling in the first half of the 20th century. the dollar won. however, that does not tell the whole story. the case demonstrates the advantages of incumbency. "sterling preserved a global role far in excess of the strength of the british economy for half a century. the dollar wi l l probably remain the top currency for the indefinite future," writes fred bernstein of the institute for international t h e euro the lack of understanding regarding oil exporters' role in any possible change in currency denominations has led many to ignore the massive structural hurdles that would have to be overcome i f a switch were to take effect. for instance, opec cannot simply announce that it wil l begin pricing oil in euros (as many reports suggest), because opec does not set oil prices, the markets do. in a speech two years ago in spain javad yarjani, the head of opec's petroleum market analysis department, said that "there is not much [opec] can do unilaterally unti l , and unless, there is a switch of denomination on these markets. " x i v yet, "it would take a coordinated effort of the majority of producers to effect a switch." economics.5" 1 the u.s. economy was much larger than britain's at the time and still climbing. since the eurozone's economy is in no position to surpass the u.s. economy by any comparable margin, the dollar's grip looks even safer. a change in the currency used to price oil would require collective action by the largest producers, since the system in place for pricing oil is an interconnected global market. the oil pricing system is often misunderstood. news reports sometimes confuse or gloss over the distinction between requiring payment in euros and pricing oil in euros. for instance, saddam's iraq did not price oil in euros; it simply accepted payment in that currency for contracts that were priced in dollars. this option is unattractive for most producers because it increases their exposure to "currency risk"—essentially shifting the volatility from the buyer to the producer.5" 1 1 currently, once a contract is negotiated, the producer is guaranteed a payment in dollars at the end of an agreed upon period, commonly thirty days. thus, the buyer carries the currency risk by assuming responsibility for changing currency into dollars to pay the producer at the end of the term. producers do hold the significant "power to make major changes."x v the catch is they cannot act alone. it would take a coordinated effort of the majority of producers to effect a switch. even opec does not have this weight on its own, as it amounts to about one-third of global production. i f one country—even a large one—attempted to establish its own oil market, as russian president vladimir putin has suggested, it would be unsuccessful. the problem is that arbitrage would occur between markets x v 1 the new market would mirror the established dollar denominated markets, but there would be much greater volatility as price shifts would follow changes in the exchange rate. this volatility would largely cancel the principal benefit of pricing in euros: price stability. finally, oil exporters wil l give the euro time to mature before making a decision on whether or not to support euro pricing. addressing the current state of the euro, yarjani says that opec is "assessing how the euro will settle into its life as a new currency." 5 0' 1 1 currently, more than two-thirds of the world's currency reserves are held in dollars, while about 15 percent are held in euros. the euro however has been increasing its share every year at the dollar's expense. l o n g s h o t : t h e p r o s p e c t s o f e u r o p r i c i n g i n o i l m a r k e t s the euro's advantages and disadvantages aside, the currency simply needs more time to develop. as the euro matures as a currency it is impossible to rule anything out. the euro certainly has the potential to rise to a level where it could supplant the dollar as the primary currency in which oil prices are denominated. even fred bergsten, a strong believer in the power of market inertia, believes the euro wi l l approach parity with the dollar someday. they wil l ultimately each "wind up with about 40 percent of world finance."™111 when will it get to that point? two factors that could cause the euro to catch up to the dollar very quickly are a prolonged weakness of the dollar caused by the unsustainability of the united states' borrowing position and political concerns. with a continually weakening dollar, oil exporting countries stand to suffer significant losses as the real value of their oil revenue, which depends on the value of the dollar, continues to decline. the dollar should remain depressed for some time. the factors causing the depreciation remain in place. interest rates remain relatively low and the twin deficits—trade and budget—have increased. the trade deficit in goods and services increased to $617.1 billion in 2004 from $496.5 billion in 2003 and $421.7 billion in 2002. x 1 x the budget deficit in fiscal year 2003 was $377.6 billion, increased to $412.1 billion in fy 2004, and is projected to decrease to $365 billion in fy 2005 in a massive $2,425 trill ion budget. x x the 2005 number is widely expected to be revised upwards before the fy ends in october as additional costs, such as supplemental funding for iraq, are added. already opec is responding. in december 2004 it was reported that opec countries decreased their "deposits denominated in dollars by more than 13 percentage points in the past three years, mainly to the advantage of the euro."™ t h e p o l i t i c s of o i l i f there is a wild card in the economics of the currency denomination of oil, politics is it . it is the only category that, by itself, has the ability to make many of the above arguments irrelevant. i f the dollar is going to be dethroned in oil markets in the foreseeable future, it wi l l be as a result of the burgeoning resentment felt towards the united states across the world. some leaders within the opec cartel are attempting to orchestrate what has been referred to as a "monetary j ihad"™ 1 to unseat the dollar as the king of world oil markets. although it would not seem to make economic sense to do so, the fundamental problem is states do not behave as perfectly rational units. leaders can make decisions that are not only irrational from an economic point of view, but that even oppose their state's collective interests. these leaders often have personal interest in mind . the 1973 oil embargo of the united states and the netherlands is just one example of opec placing politics first. drawing on the scapegoat theory, which proposes that political leaders with domestic problems sometimes choose "to embark on aggressive foreign policies" to divert public attention from their own failings, 5™ 1 1 1 one can imagine situations where leaders would get behind the movement to switch the pricing of oil to euros simply to punish the united states. such a tactic is used as a diversion from a government's domestic problems, capitalizing on the "us versus them" mentality that predominates when an outside party is demonized. pushing a trans-ition to the euro would be a relatively low cost application of this tactic. opec has eleven members with diverse interests. i f leaders in opec countries believe there are compelling political gains to be had by embracing a "monetary jihad" and advocating a switch to pricing oil in euros, they are likely to discount the economic rationale for dollar pricing. additionally, the major oil exporting countries in the middle east are predominantly muslim and characterized by unelected governments. these types of governments—those lacking strong sources of legitimacy—are the most likely to turn to this kind of tactic in the first place and, considering their deep resentment towards the united states already, there is a chance it could work despite the quite significant structural obstacles.^ e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 effects of c h a n g i n g i f the euro does somehow (partially or fully) supplant the dollar as the principal currency oil is priced in , the following could be expected. first, the united states would experience greater price volatility as exchange rates would have to be factored into oil prices. i f oil was priced in euros, the united states would have to first buy euros and then use those to buy oil. thus, an appreciation or depreciation of the dollar would have a direct effect on oil prices—a phenomena the rest of the world has always dealt with, but which would be new to the united states. yet although this arrangement is not the optimal one, there is reason to believe the united states would be able to adapt without serious economic losses. as robert solomon says, exchange rates would affect the price of oil, but it would not be "a major, major problem. ' , x x v second, the u.s. borrowing position could become untenable. the rise of the euro would "reduce the ability of the united states to finance its large external deficits," writes bergsten. 3 0™ 1 the current account deficit would quickly become unsustainable as countries decreased their dollar reserves (and hence, demand for u.s. treasury bills). the severity of the crisis would vary; but at the very least, the united states would have to pursue more restrictive monetary and fiscal policies. third, an unexpected or sudden switch to the euro could act as the "shock large enough to shift [the exchange rate structure] from one equilibrium to another. ' , x x v i i the dollar was thrust past the sterling after its devaluation in 1931, never looking back. 5 0™ 1 1 1 the magnitude of this impact would clearly depend on how established the euro is as an exchange and reserve currency at the time of the switch and whether the switch is partial or absolute. for example, oil could be priced in a basket of currencies, which would affect everyone roughly equally. the impact might not be too severe. i f the change is gradual and expected, then the psychological effects and supposed ensuing massive sell-off of dollars and dollar assets is likely to be minimized. although the possibilities are interesting to examine, in reality we are unlikely to see a situation where the euro supplants the dollar in the near future, rumors aside. it is clear that the euro has the potential to ruffle feathers further down the line, but it is not there yet. since oil markets are sufficiently routinized, supplanting the dollar-centered system with a system centered on the euro is a very difficult and costly proposition. in terms of fundamentals, the euro would have to be substantially more attractive than the dollar for it to replace the dollar on the oil markets. it becomes clear, upon examining the dollar's position, that it is still fairly secure. the continued weakness of the dollar could be a problem down the road, but extrapolating current trends into the distant future is problematic. just five years ago it was the euro that was plunging. for now, it seems the "threat" of the petro-euro is nothing more than hype and idle chatter—a pipedream best left to the imaginations of "old europe" and aspiring "monetary jihadists." e n d n o t e s i panicker (2003) i i interestingly, independent news organizations, internet message boards, and even some foreign newspapers as reputable as the guardian and the h i n d u have printed pieces arguing that saddam's announcement was the real reason for the u.s. invasion of iraq. see chapman (2004) and rajaram (2003) i i i panicker (2003) iv mabro (2000) v mabro (2000) vi horsnell (2000) vi i other grades are assigned prices "using complex formulas derived from marker crudes." see yarjani (2002). v i i i horsnell (2000) ix bergsten (2002), pp. 3-4 x salman (2004) xi bergsten (2002) 2-3 xi i bergsten (1997) xi i i yarjani (2002) xiv yarjani (2002) xv horsnell (2000) xvi mabro (2000) xvii yarjani (2002) xviii bergsten (1997) xix bea (2005) and bea (2004) xx cbo (2005) xxi new york times (2004) xxii bush (2004), pp. 34-5 xxiii levy (1988), p. 666 l o n g s h o t ! t h e p r o s p e c t s o f e u r o p r i c i n g i n o i l m a r k e t s xxiv javad yarjani, the head of opec's research arm, is quoted extensively i n this paper, but his analysis should be qualified by noting that he does not account for the substantial political dimension o f the issue. speaking as the head of opec's petroleum market analysis department, he is approaching the question from a rational economic perspective which may not be wholly consistent with the perspective of opec's more political leaders. the scapegoat theory explains an exception to the assumption of state-level rationality. see yarjani (2002) references bergsten, c. fred. 2002. "the euro versus the dollar: wi l l there be a struggle for dominance?" presented to a roundtable at the annual meeting of the american economic foundation, atlanta, january 4, pp. 3-4. bergsten, c. fred. 1997. "the dollar and the euro." foreign affairs, 76 (4) , july/august. bureau of economic analysis. 2005. "trade gap widens i n 2004." march n . bureau of economic analysis. 2004. "u.s. international trade i n goods and services (seasonally adjusted)." june 14. bush, janet. 2004. "america's foes prepare for a monetary jihad." new statesman, october 4, pp. 34-5. chapman, john. 2004. "the real reasons bush went to war." the guardian, july 28. congressional budget office. 2005. "the budget and economic outlook: fiscal years 2006-2015." january. horsnell, paul. 2000. "oi l pricing systems." oxford energy comment, oxford institute for energy studies, may. levy, jack s. 1988. "domestic politics and war." journal of interdisciplinary history, 28 (4), p. 666. mabro, robert. 2000. "oi l markets and prices." oxford energy comment, oxford institute for energy studies, august. panicker, g. 2003. "wi l l oil trading soon be conducted i n euros?" business times singapore, october 28. portes, richard and helene rey. 1998. "the emergence of the euro as an international currency." nber working paper 6424, february 9. rajaram, n.s. 2003. "the shadow war: euro vs. dollar." the hindu, apri l 22. reuters. 2004. "opec nations seen cutting worldwide deposits i n dollars." new york times, december 6. salman, ramzi. 2004. "the us dollar and oil pricing revisited." middle eastern economic review, 47 (1), january 5. solomon, robert. 1999. "the birth of the euro: how wil l it affect the world economy?" speaking event at the brookings institution, january 7. yarjani, javad. 2002. "the choice of currency for the denomination of the oil bi l l . " speech given in oviedo, spain on apri l 14. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: daniel bairos, technology consultant ben b irnbaum, executive director of the office of marketing communications elizabeth brandes, art director for the office of marketing communications cutberto garza, provost and dean of faculties donald hafner, vice provost for undergraduate studies joyce man n ix, business manager for the college of arts and sciences j o s e p h q u i n n , outgoing dean of the college of arts and sciences barbara vi ech n icki , associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions, or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. cover senagalese boys play football on the streets i n senegal. © nic bothma/epa/corbis p e r i o d i c i t y elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. e l e m e n t s staff e d i t o r i n c h i e f catherine halsey d e p u t y e d i t o r paul wendel m a n a g i n g e d i t o r christopher m. trueax h u m a n i t i e s junsunc kim, senior editor nathaniel campbell, editor emily cersonsky, editor alyssa duquette, editor rebecca kraus, editor n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s katherinewu, senior editor allison lord, editor aiste narkeviciute, editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s tim kelly, senior editor kerry brennan, editor maria masaveu, editor esteban urlbe, editor l a y o u t erin e. eichan, senior editor dam i en croteua-chonka, editor alyssa duquette, editor w e b m a n a g e r katherine wu f a c u l t y a d v i s e r elizabeth chadwick, professor, college of arts and sciences honors program elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 3, issue 2, fall 2007 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 for submission guidelines please refer to http://www.bc.edu/elements/ copyright © 2007 by trustees of boston college mailto:elements@bc.edu http://www.bc.edu/elements/ e d i t o r ' s n o t e it is a paradox universally acknowledged that change is a constant in life. members of the boston college community can certainly attest to this reality, bearing witness to the ever-changing student body composition and the constant fluctuation of schedules, just to skim the surface. however, this unpredictability is by no means limited to our campus. change is indiscriminate; it touches everyone on some level at some point in life. the question is not whether we wi l l experience change, but rather, how we wil l respond to it. we can either cling timidly to the notions of the past or choose to embrace the change, looking forward to possibilities yet to be realized in the future. this edition of elements encourages us to consider the role that the past plays in our understanding of the present. one article in particular reevaluates linguistic philosophy. yet another piece takes an in-depth look at the planning and care that went into creating the boston parks system. language and parks—how often do we take these things for granted? words communicate meaning, yet we speak before thinking. we stroll through the commons and never stop to consider how such a magnificently green haven came to exist amidst the concrete and buildings of the city. however, acknowledging the legacy of those who came before us is worthwhile as it increases our appreciation of our present circumstance. additionally, it calls to mind the consideration of what our legacy wi l l be. our world, as it exists now, wi l l continue to evolve, morphing into yet another reality for those who come after us. globalization has played a major role in shaping our contemporary perspective. seemingly straightforward means of entertainment, like soccer and hip-hop, have assumed entirely new, more complicated significance that cannot be ignored. we, as humans, gifted with genuine consciousness, have a responsibility to learn from the past, to study our present, and to plan for the future. imagine the possibilities. change impacted elements in a very real way recently. with the graduation of the class of 2007, we witnessed the departure of the final founding members of the journal. under their guidance, elements has become what it is today and for that we thank them. it is with appreciation for their efforts and enthusiasm for the future of the journal that we present this, the first fall edition of elements. it boasts a new look and provides yet another opportunity for the members of the undergraduate student body of boston college to share their intellectual findings. sincerely, c a t h e r i n e m. halsey editor-in-chief a s i a n a m e r i c a n s a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h ! cultural barriers to effective treatment heather speller d i s p a r i t i e s in m e n t a l h e a l t h c a r e for r a c i a l m i n o r i t i e s r e m a i n s a s e r i o u s a n d v e r y r e a l p r o b l e m c a l l i n g f o r i m m e d i a t e att e n t i o n . t h e 2 0 0 1 r e p o r t o f t h e s u r g e o n g e n e r a l a f f i r m e d t h a t e t h n i c a n d r a c i a l m i n o r i t i e s h a v e l e s s a c c e s s t o a n d avai labi lity o f m e n t a l h e a l t h s e r v i c e s , a n d are s u b s e q u e n t ly l e s s l i k e ly t o r e c e i v e n e e d e d m e n t a l h e a l t h s e r v i c e s . t h i s p a p e r e x a m i n e s a r a n g e o f i s s u e s r e g a r d i n g a s i a n a m e r i c a n m e n t a l h e a l t h . it p r e s e n t s t h e p r a c t i c a l a n d c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s t h a t m e m b e r s o f t h i s e t h n i c g r o u p c o n f r o n t w h e n s e e k i n g m e n t a l h e a l t h c a r e a n d exp la i n s h o w c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s s o m e t i m e s r e s u l t s in m i s d i a g n o s i s a n d i n e f f e c t i v e t r e a t m e n t . it a l s o e x p l o r e s ways t h a t t h e a m e r i c a n m e n t a l h e a l t h c a r e s y s t e m can i m p r o v e t o a c c o m m o d a t e d i v e r s e e t h n i c g r o u p s . "asian americans frequently experience and express mental illness very differently from westerners, often emphasizing somatic rather than psychological symptoms. these variations can often render accurate assessment and diagnosis more difficult for mental health professionals..." asian americans are the fastest growing minority group in the united states today. according to the 2001 u.s. census, there are over 10.2 mil l ion asian americans in the u.s., making up 3.6 percent of the total population. it is estimated that by 2020 asian americans wi l l number approximately 20 mil l ion, or 6 percent of the population. within the current asian american population 62 percent are foreign born, however american born asian americans are expected to outnumber immigrants by the year 2020. 1 as the most diverse ethnic group in the u.s., the heterogeneity among asian americans is staggering. there are as many as 43 different asian american ethnic groups, each with distinct cultural values, religious traditions, dietary practices, histories, and over 100 languages.11 over the past few decades there have been well-documented mental health disparities among asian americans. members of this ethnic group have been found to experience a number of difficult practical and cultural barriers to effective and culturally appropriate mental health care. asian americans frequently experience and express mental illness very differently from westerners, often emphasizing somatic rather than psychological symptoms. these variations can often render accurate assessment and diagnosis more difficult for mental health professionals who are unfamiliar with asian culture and patterns in asian american mental health. however these difficulties and disparities can be overcome by increasing cultural competency and making ethnic specific services available to asian american communities. a s i a n a m e r i c a n m e n t a l h e a l t h d i s p a r i t i e s the model minority myth has promoted the stereotype that asian americans are successful, hard-working, and intelligent. they are frequently viewed as resilient and healthy, experiencing fewer mental health problems than other groups. it is often assumed that the disproportionately small number of asian americans utilizing mental health services is simply an effect of an overall lower incidence of mental illness. however, low demand for mental health care is not necessarily reflective of low need. 1 1 1 these, and other erroneous conclusions stemming from the model minority myth, are just that: myths. in reality, asian americans do experience mental illness and have an equally high, i f not higher, need for appropriate mental health services as any other racial or ethnic group. asian american adolescent boys are twice as likely to have been physically abused and are three times more likely to report abuse than their white american counterparts.iv asian american women aged 15-24 and 65+ have the highest suicide rates in the u.s. out of all racial and ethnic groups/ asian american college students have been found to report higher levels of depressive symptoms than white studentsvi and kessler and others found that chinese americans have a lifetime prevalence of major depression of as high as 17 percent (1994). immigrants and refugees are considered to be "high-need" populations, as a result of magnified stressors and difficulties frequently experienced in a new and unfamiliar culture. some of the common reported stressors include crime and personal safety, unemployment/financial difficulties, language barriers, physical illness, and lack of a support network of friends and relatives.v 1 1 a consistent pattern of underutilization of mental health services among asian americans has been well documented for several decades.vu1 those who do receive mental health treatment are often greatly delayed in help-seeking, and thus tend to be more severely i l l upon treatment init iation. l x such phenomena likely contribute to the findings that asian americans who do receive inpatient care necessitate more intensive treatment and have comparatively longer lengths of stay." poor outcomes for short-term treatment are also common, with decreased patient satisfaction and frequent premature termination of care.x i in 1998 zhang and others found that asian americans, when compared to white americans, were much less likely to report mental health problems to friends or relatives, psychiatrists or mental health specialists, or to physicians (with relative rates of 12 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent). barriers to s e e k i n g h e l p p r a c t i c a l b a r r i e r s several barriers to mental health treatment for asian americans have been identified, all of which are thought to contribute to these problematic trends of underutilization. limited availability is one of the important issues that must be addressed. in 1998 manderscheid and henderson found there were approximately 70 asian american providers available per 100,000 asian americans in the u.s., with a ratio of over twice that for whites. the availability of bilingual asian american providers is crucial, especially among immigrant populations for whom language presents a huge barrier to care. other practical barriers include high costs of treatment, a problem only magnified by the fact that over 21 percent of asian americans lack health insurance and as many as 14 percent are living below the poverty level." 1 1 many individuals working one or two full-time jobs experience difficulties with scheduling and time constraints, unable to take time off of work. however, one of the greatest barriers is a general lack of mental health awareness, especially regarding what services are available and how to access t h e m . x m c u ltu ral b a r r i e r s perhaps even more significant than the practical barriers are the cultural barriers that frequently deter asian americans from seeking psychological help. however, in order to appreciate and effectively address these cultural barriers, it is first necessary to recognize the vast cultural differences between traditional asian values and those of the dominant american culture. asian values are centered on the concept of interdependence in a collectivistic society. as a result asian cultures emphasize concepts such as emotional self-control, humility, filial piety, family recognition through achievement, and the integration of the mind and body. contrastingly, american society glorifies the individual, encouraging the self-sufficiency and independence. american culture tends to value emotional self-expression, expression of pride, a duty to satisfy personal needs, self-recognition through achievement, and the separation of mind and body. x l v subsequently it should not be surprising that many asian americans have considerable conceptual difficulties regarding the western notions of mental illness and mental health services. individuals who embrace the theory of mind-body holism often experience great difficulty distinguishing between psychological and physical ailments. x v however, in order to successfully navigate the american mental health system, it is imperative to have a clear conceptualization of "mental illness" and how it and its associated symptoms differ from physiological illness. furthermore, asian americans who do have a understanding of the western concept of mental illness often a s i a n a m e r i c a n s a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h : c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s t o e f f e c t i v e t r e a t m e n t view it very negatively, and thus hesitate to utilize mental health services, even i f available. in accordance with the cultural tendency towards emotional self-control, many asian americans view emotional distress as a sign of weakness, resulting from a lack of discipline or will power. a 1976 study of chinese, japanese, and filipino students found that the majority believed good mental health could be achieved by the avoidance of morbid thoughts, and that getting help with this "weakness" reflects poorly on char-acter.xvl then, in 1983, cheung and others confirmed that the causes that one attributes to mental illness greatly influence the sources of psychological help one deems appropriate. one of the greatest cultural barriers to treatment, however, results from the low social acceptability of mental disorders in asian cultures. asian americans frequently view mental illness as highly stigmatizing and thus are less likely to recognize, acknowledge, or seek help for mental health problems.™ 1 it is not uncommon for an individual who is experiencing a decreased level of functioning to express feelings of shame and personal failure. he or she might be apprehensive to seek help outside of the family for fear of disgracing the family name, but also be reluctant to discuss mental health issues with family members, for fear of being burdensome. e x p r e s s i o n of m e n t a l i l l n e s s s o m a t i z a t i o n studies have found that this cultural stigma associated with mental illness is a factor influencing the observed tendency towards somatization among asian americans.™ 1 1 it is possible that members of this ethnic group are consciously or unconsciously denying the experience and expression of emotions and psychological symptoms, instead expressing such symptoms in more individually and culturally acceptable ways. many initial theories attributed somatization tendencies to a general lack of psychological mindedness among asian americans, exacerbated by the lack of descriptive psychological vocabulary in asian languages.*1* however studies have since refuted the idea that asian americans have some sort of inability to experience, access, or process psychological difficulties. in 1982 cheung and lau found that asian american patients are often fully aware of their own emotional problems as well as stressors and chronic difficulties that could be related to both their psychological and somatic symptoms. for example in initial clinical interviews vietnam refugees reported mostly somatic complaints, however, when they were asked specifically, they had no difficulties identifying and reporting their psychological symptoms as well.** it was concluded that asian americans were likely to selectively present their symptoms based on what they believed to be appropriate for a given clinical setting. different styles of symptom expression and a tendency towards somatization can make it much more difficult to recognize and treat mental illness in asian americans using traditional western diagnostic strategies. western mental health systems are grounded in the mind-body dichotomy, a concept that influences nearly every aspect of health care in america, including the expression of distress. it would not be unusual for an individual accustomed to the traditional asian organ-oriented concept of pathology to attribute mental distress to bodily disharmony, thus increasing the likelihood of seeking help from a primary care physician rather than a mental health professional. this makes it even more critical to ensure that all asian americans have access to culturally sensitive healthcare providers, who are aware of such complexities. c u l t u r e b o u n d s y n d r o m e s there are currently many difficulties regarding the crosscultural assessment and diagnosis of mental disorders, as is illustrated by the ongoing debates regarding "culturebound syndromes." a culture-bound syndrome is a recurrent, locality-specific pattern of aberrant behavior and troubling experience that may or may not be linked to a particular diagnostic category.**1 these syndromes are often indigenously considered to be "illnesses" or afflictions, most with local names. diagnostic and treatment difficulties arise when a disorder that is well-established and recognized within one culture remains ambiguous and unclassified in another. "neurasthenia" (a.k.a. shenjing shaijo) is a culture-bound syndrome originating in china that resembles major depressive disorder. however it is often characterized more by salient somatic features and often lacks the depressed mood that is so central to a diagnosis of major depressive disorder,™' as classified by the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, version 4, text revision (dsm-iv-tr). although neurasthenia is classified in the international classification of diseases, version 10, it is not recognized as an official diagnostic category in the dsm-iv-tr. a 1997 study found approximately 7 percent of chinese americans in los angeles to be experiencing symptoms of neurasthenia, less than half of whom were symptomatic of a co-morbid dsm-iii disorder.™ 1 1 findings such as these suggest that culture-bound syndromes are indeed very real phenomena that require further research and clinical attention. c l i n i c a l c h a l l e n g e s & c u l t u r a l c o m p e t e n c y given the tendency for different ethnic groups to express distress in unique and varied ways, we must ensure that the diagnostic tools being used for assessment adequately account for such potential cultural differences. unfortunately, misdiagnosis is much more common in crosscultural situations, and it is unclear whether the current western diagnostic systems and assessment techniques fit with asian american sub-cultures.x x i v assessment tools frequently become even more invalidated when translated into other languages in an attempt to accommodate nonenglish speaking populations.50™ inaccurate mental health evaluation of asian americans can also result from cultural biases among clinicians. mental health professionals who practice rigid adherence to dsm-iv diagnostic criteria may have a narrow way of defining what disorders exist and how they are manifested. it is important to note however, that errors can be a result of overpathologizing or underpathologizing. x x v i overpathologizing can occur when a clinician who is unfamiliar with the cultural nuances of the patient judges normal cultural variations in beliefs or behaviors as indicative of psychopathology. for example, the experience of hallucinations during religious practices is considered normative in certain cultures. however i f the clinician is unaware of these cultural norms, he or she might misdiagnosis the patient with a psychotic disorder. on the other side of the spectrum, the indiscriminate application of cultural explanations to all mental and/or behavioral deviations is termed underpathologizing. this could occur i f an asian american patient's reserved and flat affect is incorrectly attributed to cultural behavior norms instead of to the existence of a depressive disorder. similar problems can arise i f a clinician is influenced by the stereotype of the model minority myth; asian american clients could be seen as experiencing few or no social and psychological problems, especially in terms of their ability for adjustment to the u.s. there are many other challenges and traps that may arise when providing mental health care to asian americans that a culturally sensitive therapist must be sure to avoid. references to other asian american sub-groups could offend a client who does not see h im or herself as connected (or may actually harbor feelings of hostility) to the other ethnic group. 5 0™ 1 1 given the enormous diversity between the many asian american ethnic groups, mental health professionals must be aware of the erroneous conclusions that can be made when asian americans are treated as a single category. rather, it is important to recognize diversity within racial and ethnic groups, in addition to being aware of between group differences. to further complicate these issues there is also a wide range of variation within specific subgroups, due to the varying levels of acculturation among individuals. acculturation is defined as the adoption of the worldviews and living patterns of a new culture; 5 0™ 1 1 1 it is the process of change that occurs when two or more cultures come into contact. studies have found that more highly acculturated asian americans have more positive attitudes toward seeking a s i a n a m e r i c a n s a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h : c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s t o e f f e c t i v e t r e a t m e n t psychological services, and display higher help-seeking behaviors.x x 1 x they also tend to be more tolerant of the stigma associated with psychological help, and are most open to discussing mental health problems with a psychologist.50™ there are large variations in values, attitudes, and methods of expressing mental illness between asian americans of high and low acculturation, and it must be cautioned that generation (i.e. how long one's family has been in the country) is not always a direct or accurate indicator of acculturation. as a crucial component of providing culturally competent and appropriate care, mental health professionals must be aware of the varying acculturation levels among their own patients. e t h n i c s p e c i f i c s e r v i c e s a culturally competent mental health system incorporates skills, attitudes, and policies to ensure that it is effectively addressing the treatment and psychosocial needs of consumers and families with diverse values, beliefs, and sexual orientations, in addition to backgrounds that vary by race, ethnicity, religion, and/or language. one of the most propulsive forces in the struggle for cultural competency is the establishment of ethnic specific services. these services recognize need for more culturally responsive mental health care for ethnic communities, and thus seek to provide bicultural and bilingual personnel, culturally relevant treatment practices, and a culturally familiar and comfortable atmosphere. studies have found that asian americans show increased utilization of mental health services when patient centers are specifically oriented towards asian americans. 5 0 0 0 lin and cheung (1999) observed a decrease in delay between symptom onset and help-seeking, as well as a decrease in premature termination of care when ethnic specific services were available. another benefit of ethnic specific services is that asian americans are more likely to receive culturally appropriate therapeutic techniques, which can have a substantial impact on the treatment outcome and patient satisfaction. for example, one of the most common therapeutic techniques in western medicine is psychotherapy. this "talking therapy" is often a completely foreign idea to asian americans, and is largely at odds with traditional asian beliefs. asian american patients are often uncomfortable with the concept of examining and discussing one's inner thoughts and feelings, especially given the commonly held asian belief that the best way to deal with mental illness is to avoid morbid thoughts and repress emotions. 5 0 0 0 1 the therapeutic technique of cognitive-behavioral therapy has been found much more effective than psychoanalytic techniques among asian americans; they often respond better to a directive, pragmatic, problem-solving approach that offers immediate and tangible help. cultural sensitivity is even important at the pharmacologic level. studies have shown asian americans to be slow metabolizers of cytochrome p-450 enzymes, rendering them much more sensitive to pharmacotherapy. 5 0 0 1 1 1 1 especially for patients who tend to have a smaller body size, it is imperative for clinicians to be aware of these differences and adjust medication doses accordingly. despite the many benefits of ethnic specific services as discussed above, some clinicians have questioned possible drawbacks to the establishment of these services. uba (1982) suggested that such downsides could include an inability to reach asian americans outside of major urban areas, and that focusing on cultural competency within specific mental health centers could potentially l imit the opportunity to provide culturally competent care among a wider range of service providers. there is also a concern that when asian americans become accustomed to using ethnic specific services, they may actually become further discouraged from utilizing other universal services for which cultural specificity is unavailable. it must also be noted that matching asian americans with asian american therapists is not always helpful, especially i f the two are from different ethnic subgroups. 5 0 0^ depending on factors such as acculturation, personal beliefs, and cultural influences, some asian americans actually express a preference for non-asian american providers. in 2002 kim and atkinson found that asian american clients with high adherence to asian cultural values evaluated asian american counselors as more empathetic and credible, e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 05 and clients with low adherence to asian cultural values evaluated european/american counselors as more empathetic. however somewhat unexpectedly, clients overall rated the session with a european/american counselor as more positive and arousing than the session with an asian american counselor. s o u t h c o v e c o m m u n i t y h e a l t h c e n t e r the south cove community health center is an ethnic specific service located in boston that targets the asian americans population in and around chinatown. i had the opportunity to chat with dr. albert yeung, a clinician in the behavioral health department at south cove, to inquire about his views on culturally specific clinics. he is a strong advocate, describing the need to reach out to a population who lack a western conception of mental health, maintain stigmatized attitudes, and thus avoid mental health services. dr. yeung was also quick to refute the aforementioned uncertainties and questioned disadvantages, providing a strong case for ethnic specific services. in areas such as boston's chinatown where much of the population is composed of non-english speaking immigrants and refugees, many of the people feel as i f they cannot and consequently will not seek help, medical or psychological, from the large boston hospitals. they are anxious, have difficulties navigating the massive hospital mazes, cannot adequately explain their symptoms, and often feel uncomfortable and hesitant to disclose their problems, especially i f an interpreter is being used. south cove does not force itself on the residents, but is there as a place where members of the asian community can feel safe and comfortable, and are able to speak with clinicians in their native tongue. additionally, dr. yeung asserted that the use of this culturally specific service does not handicap people, nor does it discourage them from using other non-ethnic specific services in the future. in fact, patients typically "graduate" to mainstream hospitals as their english begins to improve and they become more comfortable with american culture and institutions. dr. yeung also refuted the criticism that centers like south cove l imit the opportunity for other services to increase their cultural competency. i f anything, centers like south cove can be used as a model for other mental health centers, demonstrating effective ethnic specific methods of providing quality care to asian american populations. however, this is an extremely complex issue. in order to provide the much needed culturally sensitive care, clinicians need to both recognize the illness and form a connection with the patient so that the patient feels comfortable receiving treatment. one commonly held belief is that this should be facilitated by being clear and straightforward, carefully explaining to the patient everything that is going on with the diagnosis, treatment, etc. however dr. yeung brought up a difficult ethical issue that must be addressed. it is a frequent practice for doctors in asian countries to withhold certain pieces of information that they believe could have a detrimental effect on the patient. for example, i f a clinician tells an asian american patient outright that he or she is diagnosed with major depressive disorder, dr. yeung estimated that approximately one-half of patients wil l never return for treatment. for such reasons, this practice of selectively withholding information is acceptable and even standard procedure in asian mental health systems. since such a practice is prohibited by western medical regulations, a difficult question of ethics arises: is one obligated to disclose all diagnostic information to a patient, even i f one suspects that it wil l negatively impact the patients mental health (which is likely already somewhat unstable), and potentially prevent h i m or her from continuing treatment? there is a definite need for further research in this area, as many questions remain unclear. what psychiatric and psychological terminology should be used with asian americans, and what diagnostic terms are most stigmatized and wrongly interpreted by the patient? how should mental health professionals help asian americans to better conceptualize mental illness, dispelling negative stereotypes? do the treatment approaches need to be modified from the traditional western framework, and what techniques are the most acceptable and effective with asian a s i a n a m e r i c a n s a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h : c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s t o e f f e c t i v e t r e a t m e n t americans? especially in boston (as most studies in this field are conducted los angeles), there is a lack of research on issues such as retention rates, service outcomes, satisfaction with care, and community attitudes toward mental illness and mental health services. m e n t a l h e a l t h a w a r e n e s s at b o s t o n c o l l e g e many studies have found that knowledge of and attitudes toward mental illness are strong predictors of help-seeking behaviors. x x x v asian american students often are found to have more negative attitudes toward mental illness in addition to decreased rates of mental health service utilization. 5 0 0™ given the high incidence of mental illness in today's society, and the reported hesitancy of students to seek professional psychological h e l p , x x x v n it is crucial to continually monitor public beliefs regarding mental illness i f there are to be gains in prevention, early intervention, self-help techniques, and community support of those with mental illness. to obtain more information about mental health issues on the boston college campus, i interviewed dr. frieda wong, a clinician at bc's university counseling services (ucs). dr. wong, although only able to speak from personal experience, indicated that she had not noticed disproportionate underutilization of ucs among asian americans or other students of color. it was her opinion that barriers to mental health service utilization exist for all students, and did not suspect that such barriers were greatly pronounced for minority students at bc. although no formal research has been conducted on the topic, she suggested that potential similarities in attitudes, knowledge, and help-seeking behaviors between asian american and white american students might be a result of relatively high levels of acculturation among asian american bc students. m e n t a l h e a l t h a t t i t u d e s s u r v e y in an attempt to further investigate this issue, i designed a brief mental health attitudes survey to get a small sample of the knowledge and opinions of mental illness and proclivity toward seeking psychological help among bc students. the sample was composed of nine asian american students and nine white american students, all sophomores and juniors of mixed gender. when presented with a classical depression vignette, both groups of students indicated that it was "somewhat" or "very likely" that the individual was experiencing a mental illness, and all students correctly identified the individual as depressed. it was noted that for many survey items there were few or no observable differences between the two racial groups. however it was found that slightly more asian american students believed there are certain problems which should not be discussed outside of one's immediate family, and that mental illness carries with it a burden of shame. there was a notable difference between the two ethnic groups regarding desired social distance. participants were asked to indicate, using a 5-point scale (o=yes, 4=no), the likelihood that they would engage in specific interactions with the depressed individual designed to measure social distance. as illustrated in figure 1, asian americans scored significantly higher than whites on every item (indicating that they desired greater social distance). in interpreting these results it is important to keep in mind that these questions were referencing an individual with a classical, nonchronic, non-psychotic presentation of depression, who as stated has only been feeling depressed for the past two weeks. specifically of interest was the observation that the majority of asian americans reported they would not be willing to have the individual to marry into the family, while the majority of white americans responded with either "probably yes" or "maybe." additionally, more than half of the white americans would be willing to spend an evening socializing with the individual, and would be willing to make friends with the individual. whereas in sharp contrast, none of the asian americans responded with "yes" to these items, and only a few responded with "probably yes." when asked about university counseling services, it was found that white american students were more familiar with the types of services ucs provides and felt more comfortable with the idea of seeking help at ucs. it was also observed that although one-third of students in both racial groups agreed they would feel uneasy going to a psychiatrist, less than half of white american students and only one asian american student reported feeing comfortable seeking help from ucs. reasons cited for this hesitancy ranged from general feelings of discomfort, fears about confidentiality issues and lack of trust, lack of knowledge, and a desire to deal with personal problems on one's own. the results of this preliminary survey suggested that among bc students, although there are many similarities between asian american and white american students, the two groups differ in a few key areas. the findings of higher levels of desired social distance, greater association of mental illness with shame, and more pronounced hesitancy to utilize ucs all confirm the literature findings of lower help-seeking behaviors and negative and stigmatized attitudes towards mental illness. the results also indicated that there may be a lack of knowledge and negative misconceptions among students regarding ucs, both of which likely contribute to an observed hesitancy to utilize its services. it is important to keep in mind that this study had a very small sample size and these results are only tentative. however this data has provided a good jumping off point for future research in the upcoming year regarding knowledge and opinions of mental health issues among asian and white american bc students. e n d n o t e s i u.s. census bureau (2000) i i report of the surgeon general (2001) i n lin & cheung (1999) iv schoen et al. 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(1995); flaskerud & h u (1994); yeh, takeuchi, & sue (1994) xxxii yeung & kung (2004) xxxiii lin & smith (2000) xxxiv root (1998) xxxv jorm (2000) 77 figure 1-1 asian american white american 4 =: n o 3 = probably n o 2 -maybe 1 = probably yes o yes il i . i . m o v e next d o o r t o s p e n d e v e n i n g s o c i a l i z i n g with make f r i e n d s marry i n t o desired social distance for depression vignette xxxvi narikiyo & kameoka (1992); suan & tyler (1990); sue (1994) xxxvii kessler et al. (1994) r e f e r e n c e s atkinson, d., gim, r. 1989. "asian-american cultural identity and attitudes toward mental health services." journal of counseling psychology, 36: pp. 209-212. centers for disease control and prevention, national center for health statistics. 2001. health, united states. hyattsville, m d : u.s. public health service. cheung, f. & lau, b. 1982. 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"chinese americans' help seeking for emotional distress." social service review, 77: pp. 110-134. leong, f., lau, a. 2001. "barriers to providing effective mental health services to asian americans." mental health services research, 3: pp. 201-214. lin, k. & cheung, f. 1999. "mental health issues for asian americans." psychiatric services, 50: pp. 774-780. lin, k. & smith, m . 2000. "psychopharmacotherapy in the context of culture and ethnicity." in p. ruiz (ed.), ethnicity and psychopharmacology. washington, dc: american psychiatric press: pp. 1-27. liu, w., yu, e., chang, c , fernandez, m . 1990. "the mental health of asian american teenagers: a research challenge." i n stiffman, a. & davis, l. ethnic issues in adolescent mental health: pp. 92-112. lopez, s. 1989. "patient variable biases i n clinical judgment: conceptual overview and methodological considerations." psychological bulletin, 106: pp. 184-203. manderscheid, r. & henderson, m . (eds.). 1998. mental health, united states: 1998. rockveille, m d : center for mental health services. masuda, m. , lin, k., tanzuma, l. 1980. adaptational problems of vietnamese refugees: part i i . life changes and perception of life events. archives of general psychiatry, 37: pp. 447-450. mental health: culture, race, and ethnicity—a supplement to the mental health: a report of the surgeon general. 2001. rockville, md: u.s. dept of health and human services. narikiyo, t. & kameoka, v. 1992. "attributions of mental illness and judgments about help seeking among japaneseamerican and white american students." journal of counseling psychology, 39: pp. 363-369. root, m . 1998. "facilitating psychotherapy with asian american clients." in atkinson, d., morten, g., sue, d. (eds.), counseling american minorities. boston, ma: mcgraw h i l l . schoen, c , et al. 1998. the health of adolescent boys: commonwealth fund survey findings. new york: louis harris and associates, inc. suan, l. & tyler, j. 1990. "mental health values and preference for mental health resources of japanese-american and caucasian-american students." professional psychology: research and practice, 21: pp. 291-296. sue, d. 1994. "asian-american mental health and help-seeking behavior: comment on solberg et al. (1994), tata and leong (1994)' a r , d lin (1994)." journal of counseling psychology, 41: pp. 292-295. sue, d. & sue, s. 1987. counseling in the culturally different. new york: wiley. sue, s. 1976. "conceptions of mental illness among asian and caucasian-american students." psychological reports, 38: pp. 703-708. 79 takeuchi, d., sue, s., & yeh, m . 1995. "return rates and outcomes from ethnicity-specific mental health programs in los angeles." american journal of public health, 85: pp. 638643. uba, l. 1982. "meeting the mental health needs of asian americans: mainstream or segregated services." profession psychology: research practice, 13: pp. 215-221. u.s. census bureau. 2001. the asian and pacific islander population in the united states: march 2000 (update) (ppl-146). retrieved from http://www.census.gov/ population/ www/socdemo/race/api.html. yeh, m. , takeuchi, d., sue, s. 1994. "asian american children treated in mental health system: a comparison of parallel and mainstream outpatient service centers." journal of clinical child psychology, 23: pp. 5-12. yeung, a. & kung, w.2004. "how culture impacts on the treatment of mental illnesses among asian-americans." psychiatric times, pp. 34-36. ying, y & miller, l. 1992. "help-seeking behavior and attitude of chinese americans regarding psychological problems." american journal of community psychology, 20: pp. 549-556. zhang, a., snowden, l., sue, s. 1998. "differences between asian and white americans' help seeking and utilization patterns in the los angeles area." journal of community psychology zheng, y, lin, k., takeuchi, d, et al. 1997. "an epidemiological study of neurasthenia i n chinese-americans i n los angeles." comprehensive psychiatry a s i a n a m e r i c a n s a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h : c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s t o e f f e c t i v e t r e a t m e n t http://www.census.gov/ sierra leone k a i l a h u n ai ds victi m at govern m e nt hospital © oliv ier polet/corbis l o o k i n g aids in the face © gideon mendel /corb is n a n dl temple courtesy o f the private col lec t ionof michel le hubele offering o n the ganges, varanasi , i n d i a © veni / is tockphoto w o m a n sewing at h o m e n e a r a w i n d o w for l i g h t © n o r t h w i n d picture arch ives /a lamy jesus c h o o s i n g the apostles © n o r t h w i n d picture arch ives /a lamy friends © brasrb / is tockphoto m o n i c a lewinsky s u r r o u n d e d by photographers © jeffrey marlcowitz /sygma/corbis side view portrait of alci biades © bet tmann/corb is a r c h b i s h o p oscar arnulfe romero © bet tmann/corb is 5 south african president nelson mendela w i t h a r c h b i s h o p d e s m o n d tutu © w a l t e r d h l a d h l a / a f p / g e t t y images newt g i n g r i c h h o l d i n g "contract w i t h a m e r i c a " © reuters/corbis etching by george cru i ksh an k of scenes from oliver twist by charles dickens as oliver asks for more food in w o r k h o u s e © t i m e life p ic tu re /manse l l /t ime life pictures/getty images music lesson in a southern plantation house 1 700s © n o r t h w i n d picture arch ives / a l a m y flagellation of a female slave by j o h n gabriel stedman © stapleton col lect ion/corbis w o m a n s t a n d i n g outside former slave plantation © karen kasmauski /corbis contrast in the streets of l o n d o n e n g l a n d britain uk © g i a n n i m u r a t o r e / a l a m y make poverty history rally at trafalgar square l o n d o n o n 03 february 2005 © bob johns/expressionpictures.co.uk/alamy http://co.uk/ "from the crude cacophony of inferno to the celestial music of the spheres in paradise, music abounds in the divine comedy." m u s i c as m i r r o r dante's treatment of music in the divine comedy kri s t i n a a s t e a t i m e o f g r e a t m u s i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t , t h e f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y i s t h e p e r f e c t b a c k d r o p f o r t h e a u d i t o r y a l l u s i o n s o f d a n t e a l i g h i e r l ' s divine comedy. t h i s a r t i c l e a r g u e s t h a t d a n t e u t i l i z e s m u s i c a l i m a g e r y a s a n e s s e n t i a l c o m p o n e n t o f h i s a l l e g o r y . i n f l u e n c e d b y b o t h c h r i s t i a n t h i n k e r s a n d p h i l o s o p h e r s , d a n t e l i k e l y v i e w e d s c h o l a s t i c m u s i c a s a n a d j u n c t o f r e l i g i o n . i n t h e divine comedy, t h e r e f o r e , d a n t e p r e s e n t s a u d i t o r y a l l u s i o n s a s a n i n e x t r i c a b l e f a c t o r o f t h e p r o t a g o n i s t ' s e p i c p i l g r i m a g e t h r o u g h h e l l , p u r g a t o r y , a n d h e a v e n . t h r o u g h a p r o g r e s s i o n o f a n t i m u s i c i n i n f e r n o t o h u m a n c o n t e x t i n p u r g a t o r y t o t h e m u s i c o f t h e s p h e r e s i n p a r a d i s e , t h i s e s s a y e x p l o r e s h o w t h e m u s i c a l l a n g u a g e o f d a n t e ' s divine comedy c o n v e y s h u m a n i t y ' s i n n a t e c o n n e c t i o n w i t h g o d . from the crude cacophony of inferno to the celestial music of the spheres in paradise, music abounds in the divine comedy. the text contains one hundred and forty-six references to music: twenty-nine in inferno, fifty-nine in purgatory, and fifty-seven in paradise. rich in hymns and liturgical songs, including "regina coelis", "gloria", "sanctus", "miserere", "agnus dei", "te deum laudamus", and " i n exitu israel", the divine comedy also features instruments of all kinds: drums, horns, trumpets, harps, kitharas, and lutes. there are choirs, polyphonic choruses, and even dances, from the fickleness of dame fortune in inferno to the joyful symmetries of the blessed in paradise. with the lukewarm in inferno, the song of casella in purgatory, and the celestial music of the spheres in paradise. each specific passage, especially seen in context of the comedy's other musical references, illustrates dante's overall thematic thesis of humanity's relationship with god. in inferno, the auditory atmosphere of chaos and suffering expresses estrangement from god. in purgatory, psalms and hymns have an active role in purification, where dante emphasizes the distinction between 'good' music of expiation and 'bad' music of sheer enjoyment." even the celestial music of the spheres encountered in paradise symbolizes perfect union with god. music plays distinct, specific roles in each book and respective realm. undoubtedly, dante alighieri was deliberate in creating such an overwhelming number of musical references. these allusions thematically unite the three books of the comedy, and as the academic robert lansing contends, "the commedia is a phonic structure whose mortar is music." 1 dante's philosophical training and his personal interest in music suggest that he employs the language of music throughout the divine comedy to support his allegory. three key passages of inferno, purgatory, and paradise outline this assertion: dante's auditory experience discussion of dante's work must begin with its biographical and cultural context. for example, it is impossible to read his poetry without understanding his great love for the city of florence and his adoration of beatrice. biographies of dante likewise reveal that he was also an enthusiast of music. in vita di dante, giovanni boccaccio writes: he greatly delighted in playing and singing in his youth, and was a friend to all who at that time excelled in singing and playing, and frequented their company . . . as a youth, e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 0 8 he derived great pleasure from music and songs. he also cherished the friendship and company of all the best singers and musicians of his day. drawn on by this delight, he composed many lyrics, which were then embellished by pleasant and masterful melodies.111 this excerpt illuminates two distinctions in dante's musical experience. michele croese divides his exposure to music into a first stage of experience and a second stage of exploration. the first stage includes the practical musical training dante received due to his high class. for example, dante and his contemporaries who wrote in the dolce stil nuovo, or the "sweet new style" of italian lyric poetry considered music a critical pastime. the second stage regards dante's own philosophy of music. this probably developed during his highly scholastic period prompted by the death of beatrice. during this time, dante encountered philosophical texts that likely pushed his musical knowledge from the practical world to the theoretical realm. among these philosophical texts was aristotle's politics, which states that music has the power to affect the morality of society.in as a humanist and a theologian, dante presumably combined this principle with the thoughts of early christian thinkers such as augustine and cassiodorus. .. music is often the way characters express their union or lament their dissociation from god." these scholars felt that music was an essential component of religion. in psalmum xxxii enarratio, st. augustine writes, "the sound of jubilation signifies unspoken love . . . i f you cannot speak h i m into words, and yet you cannot remain silent, what else is left to you i f not the song of jubilation, the rejoicing of your heart beyond all words, the immense latitude of joy without limits of syllables?"" these combined christian and philosophical influences propelled dante to a scholastic view of music as an adjunct of religion, an art capable of promoting contemplation and inspiration in the faithful. this philosophy seems to be the theoretical backdrop for the auditory allusions of the divine comedy, which presents music as an inextricable component of the protagonist's epic pilgrimage through hell, purgatory, and heaven. dante's primary and practical exposure to the art also likely influenced his writing. the dante encyclopedia states that dante "saw music involved in the human activities of singing, playing, and dancing. he saw music in the macrocosm and the microcosm, hence his musica mundana, musica humana, and musica instrumentalis."" originally penned by boethius in his fundamentals of music, thistripartite division was standard in medieval musical thought. musica mundana refers to the music of the universe; musica humana represents the human soul and body; and, musica instrumentalis classifies sounds of the voice and instruments. dante wrote about these three categories precisely in vita nuova, but explored them thematically in the divine comedy: "the troubadour song in purgatory is the worldly musica instrumentalis, the shades sing hymns to . . . reach musica humana, and the celestial 'armonia' of paradise ascends to musica mundana, the music of the spheres."v" dante the pilgrim realizes that music is often the way characters express their union or lament their dissociation from god. this is another characteristic of the medieval era, when often "the purpose of singing was to offer praise to god in a heartfelt, joyful way." u" in paradise, music is "an outward expression of an inward bliss. the picture of a kind of choric dance often rises before us as we read of the manifestations of joy in the successive spheres."1*1 in an ideal form, music represents positive expressions of god's love. m u s i c a s m i r r o r therefore, the reverse applies for those who are farthest from god—those in inferno. inferno, the physical center of dante's universe but the farthest from its spiritual center, is the realm of disharmony. dante combines the ideas of eternal confinement and lack of harmony with his usual forcefulness: he dubs inferno a cattivo coro, or "petty choir". this cattivo coro is the definition of anti-music: "there sighs and moans and utter wailing swept / resounding through the dark and starless air. i heard them for the first time, and i wept." x screams and sighs resound instead of song, an experience that is more than the pilgrim can bear. he weeps because the hopelessness of this antimusic is beyond his expectations for humanity. "shuddering din of strange and various tongues / sorrowful words and accents pitched with rage / shrill and harsh voices, blows of hands with these." this infernal disharmony is chaotic, abrasive, and devoid of order. a strict student might classify these indications as musica instrumentalis; however, it suits dante's overall theme to suggest instead that this is tumultuous noise devoid of any human qualities. dante the pilgrim even inquires, "my teacher, what are all these cries i hear?... what grief is it that makes them wail so loud?" x" he discovers that these neutrals received what they deserve and what their own disordered love has warranted. their grief is their absence from god's presence. their utter loneliness manifests itself through noise, but this same anti-music compounds their pain. this infernal disharmony continues in the "noise" of the suicides in canto x i i i v i l and the "harsh and clacking rhymes" of canto x x x i i . x i v the lustful cry "as the cranes go singing their lays," and the diviners silently advance "at the pace taken by litanies."x v i virgil even announces lucifer by stating: "vexilla regis prodeunt" or "the standards of the king of hell advance."xv1 1 this is a play on a liturgical hymn: "the parody of a liturgical hymn—more symbolic than ironic—heralds the presence of the prince of darkness." x v i i i by sardonically referencing a hymn, virgil hints at hell's desolate nature by suggesting the distorted humanity and estranged nature of inferno. dante also makes intriguing references to musical instruments throughout inferno. in the medieval era, instruments were often too costly to be commonplace. vernacular aside, the inclusion of instrumental imagery indicates an attempt to reach an audience of the merchant middle class, a group that would have had the ability to purchase instruments. nevertheless, dante still uses this imagery to emphasize his theme of man's relationship with god. his first instrumental reference is a description of master adam of brescia. the poet plays on the duplicitous nature of this counterfeiter and describes master adam in terms of two instruments. his swollen body is a "fat lute , " x l x he says, and, after another sinner strikes h im, his stomach "booms as i f it were a kettledrum. " x x the counterfeiter first appears as what he is not, a superior instrument of perfection. when sounded, however, his body "produces the disharmonious sounds of an inferior instrument, a drum."™ canto xxxi continues this instrument metaphor when barbariccia, a devil torturing the barrators, "made a bugle of his arse." x x" additionally, dante the pilgrim notes nimrod's babbling as the "deep blast of a horn / loud enough to make roaring thunder fa int . " x x i i i these two examples imply, like the parody of the hymn, the distortion of humanity that occurs in the miserable landscape of hell. even the chattering teeth of the traitors in canto xxxii contribute to the wretchedness of dante's auditory inferno. characterized by silence, screams, or disharmonious noises, inferno demonstrates that those disconnected from god have also separated themselves from their ability to utilize music in a positive manner. as dante the pilgrim moves beyond inferno to purgatory, he notices a distinct change in auditory atmosphere: "how different are these holes from those below! / here you go accompanied by song, / down there you pass the jaws with cries of woe . " a 1 v in this passage, dante underscores the contrast between hell and purgatory through musical language. in inferno, the damned utter vivid cries of anguish, including shouts, sighs, wails, and shrieks. this e l e m e n t s f a l l 0 8 t h e l o u d b l a s t o f a h o r n i n c a n t o x x x i o f t h e inferno a d d s t o t h e o v e r a l l d i s h a r m o n y . cacophony remains consistent with dante's unrelenting belief that mortal disconnection from god leads to eternal loneliness and pain. however, the souls in purgatory all know that they wi l l eventually ascend to heaven. while their counterparts are in endless agony, those in purgatory still maintain hope. in purgatory, spirits endure their punishments with prayer and song rather than cries of pain. while inferno featured anti-musical moments that echoed the hopeless nature of damned souls, purgatory reminds the reader that its inhabitants are only there unti l they reach complete purification—they sing a "song" instead of "cries of woe" .™ in purgatory, musica humana serves three functions for repairing a relationship with god: soothing, worshipping, and teaching. al l souls in purgatory are en route to achieving happiness with god after his or her allotted time; therefore, the hopeless nature of inferno disappears. there is still one similarity to inferno, though: the worship hymns , or antiphons, sung as part of the purification process often echo the virtue of the specific sin purged from the souls. the gluttonous sing, "o lord, open thou my lips" in canto li, mirroring similar acts of dante's contrapasso.xxvi additionally, the souls of the violently slain sing the "miserere", and the souls of those purified from the sin of avarice repeat the verse, "my soul cleaveth to the dust" . x x v i i these psalms and hymns help souls to expiate their specific sins. those killed by violence and saved from damnation sing the "miserere", for example, and dante reinforces their humility by having them sing "beati pauperes spiritu," a hymn based on the first beatitude—"blessed are the poor in s p i r i t " . x x v m the envious sing "beati misericordes," or "blessed are the merciful," because while on earth they were far from gracious.x x i the two songs of the siren also demonstrate the educative aspect of music: "the dream of the siren warns against the spiritual dangers of music's misuse, and the singing of lia is a symbol of the power given to music of stirring and spurring men to action."' 0 0 ' it is through casella's song that dante explores the soothing aspects of music. "the purgatory is full of sounding music—musica instrumentalis. yet it is not a place for the pleasures of music ." x x x l evident in dante's own canzone, "amor che nella mente m i ragiona", which the actual casella set to music, this song is not for mere joy, although it may appear as such at first glance. the composer sings it to h i m beautifully as the poet reflects on how music "used to quiet all my desires."x x x 1 1 "if no new law has stripped you of your art / or seized your memory of those songs of love / which used to still the yearnings of my heart,'/ said i, 'oh let it please you now awhile / to soothe my soul, which has, in coming here, / walked with my body many a weary mile."*™11 this passage exemplifies the soothing quality of music. "amor che nella mente m i ragiona', indicates music's power of soothing and diverting the m i n d . " x x x i v what begins as soothing, however, goes too far and becomes discomforting. as the passage continues, this otherworldly music takes hold of both dante the pilgrim and others: "so sweetly did he then begin to sing / i can still hear the sweetness of his sound. / and so my teacher and that throng of souls and i stood listening so contentedly / it seemed our minds were touched by nothing else." x x x v transfixed in aesthetic admiration, the pilgrim and his fellow fans encounter the emotive aspects of music, a concept that romantic madrigals were beginning to introduce i n medieval italy. these madrigals emphasized the expressive nature of music by creating a close connection between lyrics and overall musical effect.x x x v 1 ultimately, cato's harsh reproaches break the spell; "what's this, you sluggish souls! get to the hi l l ! / what l ingering, what carelessness down here! " x x x v i i this rebuke indicates that only a particular kind of musica instrumentalis may enhance our relationship with god. for example, there is no ethical or spiritual content within profane lyrics. rather than inspiring the pilgrim to love god further, the sweet sound of casella's song distracts souls from devotion e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 music becomes exu ltative as dante ascends t h r o u g h paradise. to god. therefore, the only music heard after this incident is such that it "is instrumental to the purgation and perfection of the soul, to the full realization of the highest values of musica humana. thus, prevailing in the purgatory is either the sound of psalms or, still attuned to the stern recitation of psalm tunes, that of other religious texts. " x x 5 a ' i i i although dante makes allusions to the new style of emotive music, in doing so he also indicates its dangers. i f one is to maintain a pure soul in his or her relationship with god, he or she must not allow canzones to sweep them off their feet. only a focus on the pragmatic psalms and hymns that purge the soul of wrongdoing is truly safe. this accounts for the constant singing of hymns such as "salve regina", "te lucis ante", and "te deum". through their soothing, worshipping, and teaching aspects, musica humana, or music of the mind and body, dominates. these three components combine when souls of the wrathful repeat with one accord the "agnus dei", the whole of purgatory sings the "gloria in excelsis" as a purified soul rises to true life, and the mystic group around beatrice sings the "benedictus qui venis". this merger leads the pilgrim to witness musica mundada, which heralds the beginning of dante's heavenly journey through paradise. dante's "trasumanar," his experience in the first canto of paradise of transcendence beyond humanity that "cannot be expressed in words," has as its first connotation the perception of an omnipresent concord.x a s ; 1 the experience moves the pilgrim to be "intent to hear the harmony. " x l this implies the music of the spheres, or notes that compose an intellectual harmony of ultimate beauty. dating from the tradition of ancient greek philosophers, the medieval notion of the music of the spheres emphasizes celestial order. this is music where god tunes the relevant notes and determines their pitch. therefore, its perfection is quite different from the earthly music that the pilgrim previously encountered. as a result, dante the pilgrim speaks in amazement: "the newness of the sound, the swelling gleam / lighted desire i n me to learn their cause— / keener than any appetite i 'd known." x ! i as the pilgrim ascends higher into paradise, something else becomes even more apparent. song in the lower spheres often accompanies symbolic pageantry or elaborates on theological concepts. however, the higher the pilgrim ascends, the tropes shift to simpler, purely exclamatory texts, such as "gloria", "sanctus", and "hosanna". these texts maintain complexity through their polyphonic setting, but have simple words. this is a direct contrast to the monophonic setting of the psalms of purgatory, where there was simple music but many words. this progression indicates dante's deliberate reflection on the musical evolution of his own society from monophony to polyphony. his declaration of gabriel's song to the virgin mary in canto xxii i as a circular melody and his notation of a harmonizing circle of theologians in canto xi i cements dante's nod towards emerging polyphonic tradition. m u s i c a s m i r r o r "this language is logical, for one cannot read dante's divine comedy in a vacuum. his attitudes regarding polyphonic celestial music resonate for a dramatically changing cultural world.77 '"hosanna, holy god of power and might, / illuminating with your clarity / these armies and their joyful flames of light!' / i heard, in rhythm with the harmony / of hosts, the singing of that rad iance . " 'these seemingly simple yet eloquent exclamations of praise and joy facilitate the pilgrim's discovery of the reality that a closer relationship to god sweeps earthly matters away. while theological concepts and pageantry are a part of humanity, these matters are inconsequential in god's presence. he states that heavenly music remains superior—"such songs as puts our poetry to r o u t . " x l n l when he describes gabriel's song to mary, he comments, "the earthly melody of sweetest tone / pulling the human soul with fullest power / would seem the thunder of a flatted cloud / compared against the sounding of that ly re . " x h v therefore, the heavenly music of paradise far surpasses earthly music. those in paradise enjoy the presence of god through song. their music represents the solace that they have achieved; "various voices make the sweeter song: / here in our life the various thrones endow / the wheels of heaven with sweet harmony." v ' however, this superior music may yet be beyond mortal human comprehension. the eagle in jupiter informs dante: "as my song is unfathomable to you / so too to man, the judgments of the king." x i : the mortal pilgrim attempts to describe heavenly music using earthly musical terms. these include musical instruments, polyphonic song, and dances. there is a vibrating cross in canto xiv, a lyre tuned by god in canto xv, and a comparison of the singing of both the eagle and gabriel to a heavenly lyre. dante the pilgrim even claims in canto xxx that his trumpet is too lowly to herald the transcendent beauty of beatrice. this language is logical, for one cannot read dante's divine comedy in a vacuum. his attitudes regarding polyphonic celestial music resonate for a dramatically changing cultural world. nevertheless, his insistence on the purificative psalm texts found in purgatory also reflects several medieval ideas, particularly the evolving musical traditions of his society. even his statements regarding the anti-music of inferno model tropes of his time. while his affinity for music explains the prevalence of his references to it, his philosophical and religious background also certainly account for the way he uses musical language to explain one's relationship with god. from the first mention in inferno of "where the sun is silent" 1 , 1 to the "sweet symphony of paradise," x l v u i it is evident that musical references pervade the text of the divine comedy. representative of an increasingly musical trend within the medieval world, dante uses this terminology to his advantage. dante's auditory experience with the lukewarm of inferno, casella's song in purgatory, and gabriel's song to mary in paradise are each distinct ways in which music conveys the nature of humanity's connection with god. for those who reject h i m and encounter inferno, the antimusic of silence and screams is torturous. al l noises in this realm are abhorrable. for those who are not yet ready to be in his presence, the souls of purgatory, music soothes their minds and teaches them throughout this interim state. dante even designates 'good' music that helps souls atone for their sins and 'bad' music that distracts t h e m . x l i x for e l e m e n t s " f a l l 08 those i n paradise, or true harmony with god, music expresses humanity's ultimate fulfillment. although unintelligible to a mortal ear, it is of the highest quality. while the anti-music of inferno reflects dissociation from god and the purifying music of purgatory echoes progress towards god, the sublime music of paradise indicates unity with god. through this progression from anti-music to human music to celestial music, dante effectively utilizes musical language to represent the various states of humanity's relationship with god. e n d n o t e s i . lansing (252) i i . ibid (632) i i i . musical times publications (446) iv. wright (27) v. pirrotta (257) vi . lansing (251-252) vi i . pirrotta (21) v i i i . wright (21) ix. musical times publications (447) x. inferno (iii.22-24) xi . ibid. (iii.25-27) x i i . ibid. (iii.32, 44) x i i i . ibid. (xiii.15) xiv. ibid. (xxxii. i) xv. ibid. (v.46) xvi. ibid. (xx.8-9) xvii. ibid. (xxxiv.i) xvii i . pirrotta (253) xix. inferno (xxx.49) xx. ibid. (xxx.103) xxi. lansing (632) xxii. inferno (xxi.139) xxii i . ibid. (xxxi.12-13) xxiv. purgatory (xii.112-114) xxv. ibid. (i.38) xxvi. ibid. (xxiii.11) xxvii. ibid. (xix.73) xxviii. ibid. (xi i .no) xxix. ibid. (xii.112) xxx. pirrotta (254) xxxi. ibid. (254) xxxii. purgatory (ii.108) xxxiii. ibid. (ii.109-111) xxxiv. pirrotta (254) xxxv. purgatory (ii.113-117) xxxvi. wright (86) xxxvii. purgatory (ii.120-121) xxxviii. pirrotta (254) xxxix. paradise (i.70) xl. ibid. (i.78) xl i . ibid. (i.82-84) x l i i . ibid. (vii.1-5) x l i i i . ibid. (xi1.7) xliv. ibid. (xxiii.97-100) xlv. ibid. (vi.124-126) xlvi. ibid. (xix.98-99) xlvii . inferno (1.60) xlvi i i . paradise (xxi.59) xlix. purgatory (xxiv.49) references croese, michele. 2001. "la commedia come partitura bachiana: osservazioni sul cielo del sole sul sanctus della messa i n si minore". trans. mario aste. pisa: ets. pg. 40. alighieri , dante. the divine comedy. trans. anthony esolen. new york: modern library, 2004. ferrante, joan. 1993. "poetics of chaos and harmony." the cambridge companion to dante. ed. rachel jacoff. new york: cambridge university press, pp. 153-172. gallagher, joseph. 1999. a modem reader's guide to dante's "the divine comedy". ligouri, mo: ligouri/triumph. lansing, richard ed. 2000. "dante and music." the dante encyclopedia. new york & london: garland publishing, pp. 631-634. musical times publications. jul. 1,1895. "music i n dante's "divine comedy." the musical times singing class circular, vol. 36, no. 629. pp. 446-448. pirrotta, nino. "dante musicus: gothicism, scholasticism, and music." speculum 43 (1968), pp. 245-257. wright, craig and brian simms. 2005. music in western civilization: medieval through the renaissance era. new york: schirmer books. m u s i c a s m i r r o r http://xii.no t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: ben bl rn bau m, executive director of the office of marketing communications eamon n bon n er, senior graphic designer, office of marketing communications elizabeth bran des, art director for the office of marketing communications cutberto garza, academic vice president and dean of faculties donald hafner, chair of the undergraduate fellowships committee joyce mannix, business manager for the college of arts and sciences anna marie murphy, deputy editor of boston college magazine joseph quinn, dean of the college of arts and sciences barbara vi ech n icki, associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions, or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. cover photo of the blue koran, courtesy of the david collection, copenhagen, denmark, accession number 77.2004 elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 2, issue 1, spring 2006 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 for submissions guidlines please refer to http://www.bc.edu/elements/ e l e m e n t s staff e d i t o r i n c h i e f gregory wiles m a n a g i n g editor rebecca kraus h u m a n i t i e s caroline gelmi, senior editor emily cersonsky, editor catherine halsey, editor kaelin grant, editor nathaniel campbell, editor natural sciences bill hillmann, senior editor katherine wu, editor allison lord, editor social sciences kerry brennan, senior editor christopher laws, editor paul wen del, editor marisa cochrane, editor layout dam i en croteau-chon ka, senior editor kathryn brady, editor maria masaveu, editor web manager dam i en croteau-chonka faculty adviser prof. mark o'connor, director, college of arts and sciences honorsprogram copyright © 2006 by trustees of boston college mailto:elements@bc.edu http://www.bc.edu/elements/ e d i t o r ' s n o t e everyone knows the greatest artists of all time. picasso, monet, and rembrandt are among the most oft-cited names on any college campus. yet the vast majority of the boston college student body would have trouble naming just three of the great artists of the last 50 years. perhaps some would name christo, the french artist who most recently placed hundreds of orange curtains in new york city's central park. but many would even question whether or not wrapping the reichstag in cloth constitutes "art." it seems that, at least in the classic academic sense, our modern society's appreciation of art has waned. one of the articles in this second issue of elements examines the work of the great american 2 0 t h century artist rothko, a painter who would be hardpressed to find fame outside of art history circles. of course the definition of art cannot be confined to painting. art encapsulates everything from music and literature to sculpture. art began as man's attempt to recreate nature. and at least unti l the last 150 years, mainstream art was praised for its virtuosity at recreating the human experience. michelangelo's david is the greatest recreation of the human form i n sculpture. but as human thought evolved, the idea of what constituted "reality" changed. perhaps the human mind could create a reality separate from that found in nature, intellectuals theorized. although cervantes in don quixote foresaw this shift in thought centuries earlier, by the mid-ic)th century art became focused upon a new representation of reality. artists such as monet and picasso began to warp what they saw in nature into a very distinct art form. not surprisingly, this period seems to mark the peak of the popular recognition of art. painting, sculpture, and even literature in large part ceased to represent any tangible reality found i n nature. art became obscure. impressionist exhibits continue to be the most popular at art museums. it seems that slight alterations to an observable reality are what draw the most admiration from modern audiences. a l l popular modern media fit this mold. movies allow viewers to get lost i n an imaginary but familiar world. popular music also creates a slight diversion from a perfect natural beat through its use of syncopation. in short, the viewer of art wants to utilize his imagination but only to a certain degree. and so we have seen a division of art into the academic and the popular. art has always been the business of the high-minded wealthy classes; this rule has eroded of late. some even consider pornography a form of artistic expression. several of the articles in this issue of elements examine the artistic elements of everything from the koran to presidential speeches. what we find is that art is ubiquitous: no longer just to be found behind a ticket counter with a $10 museum admission charge. name three of the great artists of the last 50 years: francis ford coppola, meryl streep, and, of course, john lennon. gregory wiles editor-in-chief for a slave living under the system of chattel slavery in the american south during the nineteenth century, avenues of self-expression were extremely limited. one of the few ways slaves could exert control over their own lives was through singing and dancing. these arts gave slaves a chance to relieve stress and establish a culture through the creation of musical instruments, songs, and dances. all of these contained hints at the true nature of slaves’ feelings towards the system that oppressed them, feelings that they had to frequently repress. however, despite slaves’ efforts to make this culture entirely their own, masters tried to find ways to use it to their advantage instead of to the slaves’ benefit. the resulting covert power struggle sometimes ended in favor of the masters, taking the form of regulations on slaves’ dances, requirement of the performance of songs and dances for the masters’ entertainment, and even abuse of slaves by using their own arts. ultimately, however, slaves emerged victorious because of the hidden messages in their songs and dances. though this method of coping could not erase all the masters did, it was at least one glimmer of hope. a vigorous affirmation of life slaves in the face of dehumanization danielle nista nineteenth-century chattel slavery was designed to dehumanize those who were enslaved. masters denied african slaves and their descendants their native languages, religions, and cultures, forcing the english language, christianity, and american culture upon them. the stories of the unthinkable horrors of slavery are kept in the words of runaway slaves who published accounts of their lives in slavery, in interviews with former slaves conducted by the works progress administration (wpa), and between the lines of planters’ personal diaries. also contained within these important primary sources are the stories of slave resistance, albeit more apparent in the slave narratives than in planters’ journals. slaves had very few avenues to assert their autonomy and humanity on plantations, but whenever they found a way to do so, they did. most often, slaves tried to preserve as much of their heritage from african tribes as they could. for example, in south carolina, when many different tribes came together on plantations, they held onto the grammatical structures of several of their tribes, adapted english vocabulary, and created a new language called “gullah.”2 a more widespread example of slaves holding onto african traditions was the appearance of songs and dances in a variety of times and places on plantations. all three primary sources above contain a plethora of instances in which slaves sang, danced, or did both. while it would initially seem that slaves used their dancing and singing to assert their own type of power during celebrations and ceremonies, masters often tried to exploit slaves’ dances and songs, thus asserting even more authority over slaves. despite masters’ efforts, slaves still derived great benefit from singing and dancing, in that it gave them a way to release stress and frustration about being enslaved. there were few avenues for slaves to assert their sense of self and semblance of power on a plantation. one of the most important ones was through music and dance, which gave slaves the opportunity to create their own pieces of culture to replace those that masters had taken away from them. slaves made music in a variety of different ways and created different types of music for different purposes. the interviewees of the wpa narratives give great insights into how creative slaves had to be when it came to making their instruments. for example, to make flutes, “dey’d take a de buffalo horn and scrape it out.”3 in addition to making their own instruments, slaves also had access to fiddles,4 banjoes,5 and in two independent cases a guitar6 and a piano.7 these instruments were important for creating melodies in slave music. however, what made music “strictly southern,”8 as frederick douglass put it, was the existence of drums or a “juba beater.”9 on some plantations, they would “take pieces a sheep’s rib or cow’s jaw or a piece iron, with a old kettle or a hollow gourd and some horsehairs to make de drums.”10 when even these supplies were not available, “everybody sang and one or two would beat on tin pans or beat bones together” in order to make music.11 drums were a distinctly african musical instrument, which separated music slaves made from music their masters probably made and as a result gave slaves a distinct sense of a culture that was their own. the use of drums coupled with a long-standing tradition of african ceremonial dances helped to give rise to the importance of dance in slave culture.12 a variety of instruments and sounds led to the creation of different types of songs. even without instruments, slaves sang in the fields while they worked in order to pass the time and keep pace with each other. several former slaves remembered specific examples of work songs. one of them had the lyrics “i’se wukkin; on de building,’ and hits a sho’ foundation, and when i git done, i’se goin’ home to heb’en.”13 not only did this song serve as one to sing during long days in the fields, but it also crossed over into another genre of slave music – religious worship.14 these songs could generally be sung anywhere, not just at religious services. like the work song mentioned above, the central theme of many of these songs was salvation. wpa interviewee ellen king sang a version of the song “down by the riverside” during her interview, and it appeared as follows: down by the riverside jesus will talk and walk, ain’t going to study the world no more, ain’t going to study the world no more, for down by the river side, jesus will talk and walk.15 the song focuses on following jesus’s teachings and example so that one does not have to continue to live in his earthly kingdom anymore. the lines “ain’t going to study the world no more” indicate that the singer is looking forward to going to heaven and leaving this world behind. similarly, the song “come change my name,” sung by estella jones in her wpa interview, focuses on receiving grace from god. the singer in this song calls upon the “bright angel” and on “sweet jesus” to “come change my name from nature to grace.”16 like the line “ain’t going to study the world no more,” the idea that a person is chang34 elements : : spring 2015 ing from “nature” (or this earth) to “grace” (heaven) invokes the idea of salvation. this focus on the idea of salvation clearly shows how slaves used both religion and their music as ways to cope with and find escape from the harshness of their lives. while religious songs and dance songs were kept relatively separate from one another, as many viewed dancing as sinful,17 there was potential for overlaps in the sound of these songs. in one instance, sarah douglas remarked that she recalled hearing some people singing the song “fly away, fly away,” “an hit sounded jes like a dance chune.”18 the similarity of sound was due to the fact that the instruments used to create the music in the first place, especially the drum, were similar. despite the resemblance in sound, dance songs were extremely different in content than religious songs because they focused more on the realities of slave life rather than the hope of salvation or escape from this world.19 one such song focused on the reality of illness20 in slaves’ lives and had the lyrics “mamma’s got de whoopin’ cough, daddy’s got de measles, dat’s whar de money goes, pop goes de weasel.”21 by directly talking about a problem plaguing their lives, slaves were trying to take ownership of the situation. despite the upbeat and singsong tone that accompanies this song (as seen in the children’s nursery rhyme “pop goes the weasel”),22 these lyrics convey a sort of resignation to the fact that disease is part of life. there is no salvation narrative here in leaving the world behind, but the release valve for the emotions of fear and frustration comes from the fact that the listener is most likely dancing. instead of a spiritual outlet for pain, dancing provides a physical outlet to cope. the use of real life situations is evident in another dance song, which reads: run nigger run, de patterrollers ketch you – run nigger run, fer hits almos’ day, de nigger run, de nigger flew; de nigger los’ his big old shoe.23 this song’s end result is much more positive than the previous one, especially since it involves a slave who has left the plantation without the master’s permission. his fear that the “patterrollers” (paddy rollers, or patrol agents) will find him indicates that he does not have a pass to leave, but did so anyway. it seems that the slave makes it back to his plantation relatively unharmed, except for the fact that he lost one of his shoes, which is a small price to pay for avoiding getting whipped by the patrolmen. while this song does make reference to the restriction of slaves’ freedom of movement, it fights against this limitation since the slave ultimately avoids getting caught. in this case, both the song and the dance are outlets for coping with enslavement. in addition to songs that were imbued with certain messages and goals, some dance songs could also be classified as “unmeaning songs, composed rather for its adaptation to a certain tune or measure than for the purpose of expressing any distinct idea.”24 these songs were purely meant for the purpose of dancing and having fun. there were obviously few opportunities for slaves to try to forget completely about their enslavement and enjoy the company of their family and community, and so “nonsensical” songs that were “full of melody”25 were welcome as another means of dealing with living and working on a plantation. an example of such a song is as follows: ‘ebo dick and jurdan’s jo, them two niggers stole my yo’. chorus. hop jim along, walk jim along, talk jim along,’ &c. ‘old black dan, as black as tar, he dam glad he was not dar. hop jim along,’ &c. [sic]26 the repetition of the two lines in the same rhythm followed by the chorus would have made it easy for the person singing this song to improvise verses as they saw fit, according to perhaps what was happening on the plantation or in reference to stories that slaves told each other.27 in songs like this one, the dancing could continue even after the fiddle player had stopped playing because of the system of “patting.”28 patting is “striking the hands on the knees, then striking the hands together, then striking the right shoulder with one hand, then the left with the other– all the while keeping time with the feet, and singing.”29 the rhythm of these songs had to follow the rhythms of patting, which standardized the music, and thus made it easier to choreograph dances. as with music, slaves came up with and appropriated different types and styles of dancing. there was a lot of overlap between the types of dances whites and blacks did, such as “square dances, […] the virginia reel, and the 35 a vigorous affirmation of life round dances like the schottischa, polka, waltzes, and all them.”30 it is not at all surprising that the dance forms of these two groups came together since each group could observe the habits of the other. theoretically, a slave serving at a white wedding could see the guests doing a particular kind of dance–say, the virginia reel–and then bring it back to his or her own community. from there, dances could evolve and change if slaves forgot the exact choreography of dances or decided to change certain steps to reflect african dances or simply because they wanted to change them. one important piece of the development of slave dances was the avoidance of crossing one’s feet because “dancin’ ain’t sinful iffen de foots ain’t crossed.”31 this characteristic recalls the tension that existed between dance and religion. it was probably an answer to those who considered dancing to be contrary to religion, though it is probable that this change was not enough for those who were predisposed to thinking that dancing was a heathen practice. another important element of slave dancing was the aspect of competition. “cake walkin’”32 was one of the most famous developments of slave dancing. it was generally performed in couples and “de couple dat danced de best got a prize”33 (the story goes that the first ever prize was cake). it would appear that cakewalking was a form of dance unique to southern plantations,34 showing the creativity of slaves to be resourceful in coming up with coping mechanisms for enslavement. the cakewalk was not the only competition during slave dances. another competition involved gathering a few slaves together who “would jump up and see how many time he could kick his feets ‘fore dey hit de groun.”35 this competition seemed less formal than a cakewalk, but it still inspired its competitors to try to outdo one another in dancing ability. in trying to become the superior dancer, competitions such as the one william adams mentioned would have given a slave a personal goal to reach that was not related to the work that he or she did on the plantation. it became something particularly for slaves that no one else could touch. winning a competition surely gave the winner a sense of pride that masters, through the institution of slavery, sought to deny. as important as the creation of these two art forms was, equally as important was when slaves sang and danced, and for what purpose. the variety of times slaves would use music and dance shows just how important these two pieces of culture were to slaves since they seemed to try to work them into their lives whenever they could. marriage ceremonies were an exciting part of slave life, despite the fact that slaves were not legally allowed to be married. in the wpa narratives, anyone who mentioned a wedding was almost sure to mention that there was a “big dance”36 when there was a slave union.37 these happy times were moments when the community could come together to celebrate a bond between two people, and there was no better way to bring people closer together than sharing the art forms that connected the slave community. since religion was one of many coping mechanisms people used to come to terms with human mortality, and since religion was so important to slaves as evidenced by the number of religious songs they sang, it is not at all surprising that music was an integral part of slave funerals across many plantations. on one plantation, slaves would stay with the recently deceased until he or she was buried and “sung and prayed” to keep cats, which were considered bad luck, away from the corpse.38 beyond this mingling of christianity and african traditions, singing was also part of the funeral service itself. some of the songs were meant to invoke the idea of salvation, like many other religious songs. one such song called on angels to “bear me away on your snowy wings, to my immortal home.”39 paul smith remembered “when de preacher had done said a prayer, dey all sung: i’se born to die and lay dis body down,”40 and alice hucheson remembered a song that her community used to sing while burying the deceased. the song called attention to the fact that everyone will eventually die, but instead of trying to predict who will be the next, we should “prepare to meet our god” and ask god to give us grace to “make us fit at las’ to die.”41 the universality of the experience of death is similar to the way other slave corn shucking song (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 36 elements : : spring 2015 songs appealed to universal suffering or daily activities. music was truly meant to connect all parts of the community and foster ties that all too often were rare for slaves, since they could be broken through either death or sale to another master.42 the most universal of all experiences on a southern plantation was the work that slaves were forced to do. as previously discussed, work songs were their own genre of music for slaves, as they were performed without musical accompaniment since the slaves were obviously occupied doing other tasks besides playing instruments. there were several purposes to these songs. one such purpose was to set a pace for their work and pass the time in the fields.43 another was “a means of telling the overseer, in the distance, where they were and what they were about.”44 judging by the volume of the song, the overseer could tell where the workers were in the field without necessarily having to measure their progress.45 finally, work songs could help to motivate slaves to wake up in the morning and go to work. the following song conveys the universality of suffering and probably helped slaves remember that they were not alone: it’s a cool and frosty mornin’ and de niggers goes to work, with hoes upon dey shoulders, without a bit of shirt.46 several devices are used to remind individual slaves that the community understands what they are going through. the use of the plural shows that the listed hardships are problems that everyone has. plus, the song directly states what exactly the hardships are that everyone is going through, namely the cool temperature, the earliness of the day, the hard labor they will have to do, and the lack of adequate clothing for the season. since the singers are not hiding from the problems they face, and are on the contrary drawing attention to them, this song can be interpreted as the slave community critiquing the plantation system. since music and dancing were such key parts of helping slaves cope with their suffering, during their time off, such as after work was over, saturday nights, sundays, and holidays, music and dancing were nearly always present. the times of dances on the weekends varied from plantation to plantation. on some, they would be “after work”47 or “in de evening when de work was done.”48 on others it would be on a sunday and “rarely on saturday.”49 what was a fairly universal experience, however, was the corn shucking festival. traditions varied, but most ex-slaves in the wpa narratives remembered these festivals very fondly. generally, “one negro would sit on the fence and lead the singing, the others shuck on each side,”50 singing songs like “old liza jane” and “susan jane,”51 and this would continue until the entire task was finished.52 sometimes, it would be a competition between two teams to see who could finish first.53 after the corn shucking itself was over, there would be a feast and dancing “until daybreak.”54 even though the slaves were obviously working for the master’s benefit while they were shucking corn, this holiday gave them a chance to come together as a community for a day of work that was slightly less strenuous than normal.55 christmas was another important holiday for slaves. solomon northrup wrote: it was christmas morning – the happiest day in the whole year for the slave. that morning he need not hurry into the field, with his gourd and cotton-bag. happiness sparkled in the eyes and overspread the countenance of all. the time of feasting and dancing had come. the cane and cotton fields were deserted. that day the clean dress was to be donned – the red ribbon displayed; there were to be re-unions, and joy and laughter, and hurrying to and fro. it was to be a day of liberty among the children of slavery. wherefore they were happy, and rejoiced.56 this passage gets at the very essence of the christmas holidays for slaves. unlike the corn shucking festival, in which the festivities were explicitly linked to working for the master, this time was the slaves’ own time. there was always a huge dance following a christmas meal, which “music was truly meant to connect all parts of the community and foster ties that all too often were rare for slaves, since they could be broken through either death or sale to another master.” 37 a vigorous affirmation of life naturally brought together the entire slave community as one.57 these happy times, when slaves seemed temporarily free from the master’s influence and the overseer’s watch, were the ultimate way of relieving tensions from the year and reinforcing community bonds, which is exactly what songs and dances were meant to do. but, this cheerful season did have a darker side to it. slaves unquestionably had the upper hand in the creation of music and dances during festivities. however, masters often tried to take this part of slave culture away from slaves and use it to benefit themselves for either entertainment or for disciplinary purposes.58 during holidays, masters continued to remind slaves that just because they were not working did not mean that they had complete freedom to do as they pleased. often, masters would go see slave dances on christmas “an’ see de one what dances de bes’. marster an mistis laug fit to kil at de capers us cut.”59 this visit from the master and mistress seems like an invasion on the slaves’ privacy and privilege of freedom during the holiday season. the master’s mocking is especially poignant here since dancing was an event that was meant to bring the community together and allow slaves to release some of the tension felt towards masters. laughter from the master probably only added to the resentment. also, the fact that the master was the one judging which dancer was best in competitions took away some of the autonomy these competitions may have brought to slaves when master were not the ones judging. douglass wrote about a theory as to why masters felt it necessary to interfere at holidays as well as what the true purpose of giving slaves time off was. he believed that to enslave men successfully and safely it is necessary to keep their minds occupied with thoughts and aspirations short of the liberty of which they are deprived. a certain degree of attainable good must be kept before them. these holidays served the purpose of keeping the minds of the slaves occupied with prospective pleasure within the limits of slavery.60 therefore, giving slaves time off was not to be regarded as the happy time that northrup made it out to be; instead, it was just an illusion to keep slaves willing to work with the promise of having a holiday again soon. holidays were not truly the slaves’ own time, as this time was a manipulation by the masters. by making appearances at slave dances during the holidays, the masters were on one level trying to assert their dominance over slaves during the holiday itself, and on another level, trying to reign in control of music and dance. this behavior was not exclusive to just holidays. masters and mistresses alike would come to slave quarters any time there was a chance for slaves to have a taste of independence. even though they could “have all de fun [they] wanted on sa’dday nights, [….] sometimes our mistess would come down early to watch us dance.”61 these times were nominally for the slaves, but in practice were not. margaret thornton, who was very young when she was enslaved, did not remember much except for the fact that “dey herded us together an’ make us sing a heap of songs an’ dance, den dey clap dere han’s an’ dey sez dat we is good.”62 the number of times that the master and mistress must have called the slaves together for a performance must have been great for her to recall this information so strongly. the masters were trying to take the art form that the slaves had created for themselves and turn it into entertainment for the masters. this phenomenon was a direct affront to the already limited autonomy of slaves. another way in which masters limited the ability of slaves to use their own culture was that before slaves could organize a dance, they would have to ask their masters for permission first.63 on some plantations, there was a separate “house” that slaves held their dances in,64 but on others, the dances seemed to take place near the slave quarters.65 the inability to come together in their own quarters was particularly dehumanizing because it meant that slaves did not even have control over what activities went on in their homes. slaves dance to the music of banjo (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 38 elements : : spring 2015 in addition to trying to control slaves’ singing and dancing, some masters also chose not to acknowledge that it even happened. landon carter was one such master, as evidenced by two pieces of information. first, there is “no single reference to it in all his diaries,” yet he appeared to have acknowledged of the types of instruments slaves used when making music.66 he wrote about the instruments when he was making fun of king george, and talked about the “quaqua,” “barafoo,” and “banjers.”67 this obscure reference proves that carter knew enough about slave music to write satirically about it. his lack of discussion about the music his own slaves made raises some question as to why he omitted this from his otherwise very detailed diaries. carter most likely did not want to draw attention to this particular aspect of life on his plantation because it would force him to admit “how much [he] shared the domain he chronicled with the bearers of a culture alien to the literary ethos of the diary.”68 in other words, saying that slaves had music and culture meant that carter’s slaves were more civilized and less in need of a benevolent patriarch than he would care to admit. carter thrived on being in control of every single aspect of life on his plantation,69 and so the thought of the existence of something he could not control would have been unbearable to him. instead of wresting control from the slaves like other masters did, carter adopted the attitude of “if i act like it does not exist, then it does not exist.” although frustrating to slaves’ efforts to carve out a piece of culture for themselves, it is not particularly surprising that masters made their slaves sing and dance for the former’s entertainment or ignored them for the sake of pretending to have control. the extreme cruelty of the masters was more apparent when they took the culture that the slaves had worked so hard to create for themselves, turned it on its head, and used it for punishment against slaves. a mild case of this act was reported by bernice bowden, who said that her master “used to come to the quarters and make us chillum sing. he make us sing dixie. sometimes he make us sing half a day. seems like dixie his main song. i tell you i don’t like it now. but have mercy! he make us sing it.”70 the duration that bowden was required to sing for shows that this was beyond just simple entertainment. of course, bowden may have been using hyperbole when she said “half a day,” but her reason to use this technique would have been to emphasize how much she had to do this. since dixie is such a strongly pro-south song, the repetition of it was intended to remind slaves who had the power. a step up in the severity of this style of punishment would be when a master forced a boy who did not want to perform for his master to stand “barefooted on a hot piece of tin.”71 margaret thornton, the interviewee providing this story noted, “believe me he did dance.”72 the penalty for not wanting to dance was extremely severe and was torture for this young boy. though thornton does not tell her former master’s reaction to this punishment, one can imagine that he was amused by it since he got the “dance” he wanted and was reinforcing the view that he was the one in charge of the situation. slaves singing and dancing (or refusing to) independently of the master was the greatest affront to a master’s authority. whether or not this boy wanted to dance was irrelevant to the master; he wanted him to dance, so the boy was going to dance so as to show that the master’s will would not be thwarted in any case. the worst offense of forcing slaves to dance to entertain the master as well as punish the slaves was committed by edwin epps, solomon northrup’s former master. the account that northrup gives in his narrative is absolutely horrifying. some nights, epps would be in a “dancing mood” and would call all of his slaves into a large room. he then would cry out “‘dance you d–d niggers, dance,” [sic] and all would have to dance “no matter how worn out and tired [they] were.”73 if anyone “dared to rest a moment, or even stop to catch his breath,” epps would whip him.74 even when epps had stopped dancing, he still forced the slaves to continue well into the night and early hours of the morning.75 not only was epps whipping his slaves, but he was also depriving them of sleep. they had been awake all day working strenuously, then had to push themselves to continue to dance lest they be whipped by epps, and then were expected to continue to work for the entirety of the next day. obviously there was nothing that the slaves could do to stop epps from behaving in this depraved manner. not even his wife was able to stop his, as northrup sarcastically remarks, “uproarious pranks.”76 the slaves were clearly at the whim of their master. they had lost control over the culture that they sought to create for themselves as an outlet to vent frustration at their situation, but instead wanted to “cast [them]selves upon the earth and weep”77 because this culture had been turned against them. abuse of this sort only augmented the already trialfilled life of a slave. though not as physically horrific as the treatment epps inflicted on his slaves, this next case of whites taking advantage of slave dancing is still extremely cruel. some slave traders realized that when slaves looked happier, 39 a vigorous affirmation of life people were willing to pay higher prices. william wells brown wrote in his narrative that his job was to make slaves look happy by “[setting some] to dancing, some to jumping, some to singing, and some to playing cards [….] to make them appear cheerful and happy.”78 this practice was twisted in more ways than one. brown himself was a slave, and therefore he had to prepare men and women in the same situation as he himself was in for sale, “often […] when their cheeks were wet with tears.”79 furthermore, these slaves on the auction block had to use the parts of their culture that were supposed to give them relief from the horrors of slavery in order to sell themselves into the horrors of slavery. they obviously had no choice in the matter, and as brown noted, were deeply upset by this charade. so they resisted in the only way they could; through song. brown said that he heard the slaves who had been sold into the deep south sing the following: “see these poor souls from africa transported to america; we are stolen, and sold to georgia - will you go along with me? we are stolen, and sold to georgia - come sound the jubilee! see wives and husbands sold apart, their children’s screams will break my heart; - there ‘s a better day a coming - will you go along with me? there ‘s a better day a coming, go sound the jubilee! o, gracious lord! when shall it be, that we poor souls shall all be free? lord, break them slavery powers - will you go along with me? lord, break them slavery powers, go sound the jubilee! dear lord, dear lord, when slavery ‘ll cease, then we poor souls will have our peace; - there ‘s a better day a coming - will you go along with me? there ‘s a better day a coming, go sound the jubilee!” 80 the lyrics of this song do not leave anything to the imagination whatsoever. they are full of the pain of being stripped of humanity and separated from loved ones, as well as full of hope for the day when slavery ends. the slaves owned their situation as best they could in the face of having even their songs and dances taken from them. although masters did try to appropriate slave songs and dances for their own uses, slaves still ended up with the upper hand, especially through their music, as seen in the case of the slaves sold south in brown’s narrative. slaves often found comfort and benefit in their ability to make music. northrup was able to play the violin, and in his narrative, he states that he “scarcely can conceive how [he] could have endured the long years of bondage” without it.81 in addition to giving him emotional comfort, he also reaped material rewards from the various times he was paid to go play at other plantations. even at that, the psychological benefits from being “relieved […] of many days’ labor in the field, […] and […] away from the presence of a hard master”82 cannot possibly be quantified in any way. so despite the fact that northrup’s talents could put him at the mercy of his master when he was in a “dancing mood,” they were also a form of escape integral to northrup’s well being. douglass also figured out a way to derive benefit from his musical abilities. to relieve hunger pains, douglass would often sing. one of his mistresses, upon realizing this, would give him food “when she heard [him] singing under her window.”83 in this way douglass got twice the benefits of singing: he found a way to comfort himself when he was hungry, and he found a way to invoke pity in his mistress so he could get food and dispel the hunger in reality. douglass used the value masters placed on being entertained to his own benefit, thus untwisting the twist masters had placed on slave culture. beyond manipulating the system back in their favor, slaves also sang songs that contained messages that masters either did not see or simply ignored. for example, to call a religious meeting, “when de niggers go round singin’ ‘steal away to jesus,’ dat mean dere gwine be a ‘ligous meetin’ dat night.”84 the reason for this secrecy is because “de masters ‘fore and after freedom didn’t like dem ‘ligious meeintgs.”85 not only did slaves continue to have these meetings despite their masters’ objections, but they planned them right under their noses without the masters even knowing. wilson did not make any reference to the fact that these slaves ever got caught having these meetings, or that masters ever made the connection between the meetings and the song, so it is a reasonable assumption that the slaves had the upper hand here. also, a rather well known use of song to convey a hidden message was slaves’ use of the genre of religious songs to talk about wanting to be free or about going to freedom. douglass mentions in his narrative two songs that were 40 elements : : spring 2015 clearly about going to the north to escape from slavery, but that no one realized this was the meaning behind these songs. these songs contained references to being “bound for the land of canaan” and the command to “run to jesus, shun the danger” for “i don’t expect to stay much longer here.”86 on the surface, these are innocuous songs that show how slaves seem to have embraced christianity and are understandably looking forward to going to heaven. as douglass points out though, this was a veiled message targeted at the masters. hiding their message behind religion allowed slaves to be able to vent their anger at their masters for keeping them enslaved and express their desire to be free without getting into trouble. it also prevented masters from fully appropriating it into entertainment for themselves, for even if the master forced the slave to sing the song, the slave would always know the true meaning of the song, and could derive great satisfaction from the fact that the master did not know the real value of the lyrics. religious songs were not the only songs used to convey sometimes thinly veiled dissatisfaction. one song that slaves sang during the holidays appeared to be giving some sort of thanks for the food that the master gave the slaves. however, as the song goes on, one realizes that the slave is actually pointing out the unfair treatment that they get from their master, and that they really should not be grateful at all.87 the constant repetition of “we [action], dey gib us [lesser good],” shows not only the frequency with which this occurs, but the frustration the slaves have with their situation. the slaves are not happy and grateful to the masters, like the masters believe they are. this song shows a clear failure of the patriarchal system to convince slaves that they are lucky to be in the place that they are in. what it does demonstrate is that slaves used music as an outlet to express their discontent and to recognize the fact that they were important to the functioning of the plantation. another song which shows slaves’ awareness of this fact is a song that is disguised to be about making “hoecake.” the three verses of the song are structured in the same way: the first line describes the fact that someone wants to make a hoecake, the second line describes the hoecake, the third line describes the baker throwing the hoecake on some part of a slave’s body, and the fourth line says what happens after one performs the action of the third line.88 take for example the third verse: de way you bake a hoecake, de old virginny way, wrap it round a nigger’s stomach, and hold it dere all day.”89 obviously, no one is actually baking hoecake on a slave, but the line serves to show that he is an integral part of the process. if you want the hoecake to be made in “de old virginny way,” which implies a tried and true method, one has to follow the instructions in the next two lines, or else it will not come out the right way. this metaphor is meant to show how important slaves and their labor are to plantations: without them, the plantation simply would not function. masters wanted to believe that without their guidance, the plantation would fall apart and slaves would be unable to support themselves,90 but these songs are the slaves’ way of proclaiming the truth: without the slaves, there was no plantation, no wealth, and no south. finally, upon gaining freedom, many slaves throughout the south expressed their joy through the medium they themselves had helped to create: song. it was no longer possible for masters to claim that slaves had been happy under slavery since “dey was rejoicin’ and singin’” and “dey danced and had a big jamboree.”91 one of the songs slaves sang included the repetition of the line “t’ank ye marser jesus, t’ank ye” and “jesus break slav’ry chain, lord” multiple times, while describing the fact that the singer was no longer subject to repression from his master.92 the religious songs that once concealed slaves desires to be free now loudly proclaimed their joy that they were no longer the subjects of slavery. “like revolutionaries who killed a monarch or aristocrat and put his or her head on a pike to parade around the city, these slaves were parading a burning ‘king cotton’ around the master’s former kingdom.” 41 a vigorous affirmation of life some slaves however, were not happy to be free, or at least said in later interviews that they were not so. one man said that “slaves like us, what was owned by quality-folks, was sati’fied an’ didn’ sing none of dem freedom songs,”93 implying that he was sorry to have to be freed from a master whom he considered good. another woman, whose mother had been enslaved, called the book uncle tom’s cabin a lie and said that slaves were sorry to be free.94 the reason for these radically different responses from those of other slaves could be because these people had internalized the racism that they experienced and truly believed their place was as a slave. they had a very romanticized view of the old south, and they were not telling their interviewer the truth, since they thought he or she would not want to hear that they were glad to be free, or that they genuinely did like their master and were not mistreated. this last case is highly improbable, but not necessarily impossible, so it is worth noting. these anomalies aside, slaves were on the whole overjoyed to be free. one very striking image of slaves reacting to freedom comes from the interview with susan bledsoe. she describes that she and other slaves “cut long poles and fastened balls of cotton on the ends and set fire to them. then, we run around with them burning, a-singin’ and adancin.”95 burning cotton was not only literally destroying their master’s property, but it was also symbolic of killing “king cotton.” like revolutionaries who killed a monarch or aristocrat and put his or her head on a pike to parade around the city, these slaves were parading a burning “king cotton” around the master’s former kingdom. the addition of the songs and dances solidify this scene as a firm act of slaves expressing their autonomy and agency through the burning of the cotton as well as through their expression of the culture they created. hence, the struggle between slaves and masters to claim ownership of music and dancing on plantations ends with the slaves asserting their autonomy and sense of community both before and following emancipation. their ability to subvert their masters’ commands and wishes despite the day-to-day hardships they faced while enslaved is impressive and admirable. this is not to say that slaves’ resistance completely negated any abuse their masters doled out to them; that interpretation romanticizes the realities of the antebellum south and ignores the suffering of thousands of human beings. these songs and dances helped to make living in a slave society just a little bit more bearable by drawing together a community of people in a common situation. no amount of music or dance steps could ever change the fact that slaves were held in bondage against their will, could ever bring back a sold family member, or could reverse the mistreatment of a master or overseer. what it could do was give slaves a fleeting moment of sense of self, pride, and identity that was otherwise lacking in their lives. endnotes 1. isaac (216). 2. joyner, chapter 7. 3. wash wilson interview, works progress administration slave narratives at the library of congress, hereafter cited as locwpa. 4. william adams, loc-wpa; betty bromer, loc-wpa; harriett jones, loc-wpa; ellen king, loc-wpa; ida rigley, loc-wpa; leithan sprinks, loc-wpa. 5. alice baugh, loc-wpa; susan bledsoe, loc-wpa; betty bromer, loc-wpa; harriet jones, loc-wpa. 6. harriet jones, loc-wpa. 7. betty bromer, loc-wpa. 8. douglass (181). 9. ibid. 10. wash wilson interview, loc-wpa. 11. james southall, loc-wpa. 12. for more about the blending of african culture with european culture, see joyner. 13. alice hucheson, loc-wpa. 14. for more about slave religion, see faust; greenberg; irons; isaac; joyner; stevenson. 15. ellen king, loc-wpa. 16. estella jones, loc-wpa. 17. see bibb. 18. sarah douglas, loc-wpa. 19. cf. stevenson (168). 20. for more about illness and medicine for slaves, see faust; isaac; rothman. 21. mollie williams, loc-wpa. 22. which, admittedly has much less emotionally heavy lyrics. 23. mollie williams, loc-wpa. 24. northrup (219). 25. northrup (220). 26. ibid. 27. for more about slave stories, see joyner. 28. northrup (219). 29. ibid. 30. tom mills, loc-wpa. 31. wash wilson, loc-wpa. 32. estella jones, loc-wpa. 33. ibid. 34. stearns et al. (11). 35. william adams, loc-wpa. 36. paul smith, loc-wpa. 37. harriet jones, loc-wpa, tom mills, loc-wpa; paul smtih, loc-wpa. 42 elements : : spring 2015 38. paul smith, loc-wpa. 39. alice hucheson, loc-wpa. 40. ibid. 41. alice hucheson, loc-wpa. 42. for more on slave families and connections, see dew; joyner; faust; mclaurin; stevenson. 43. paul smith, loc-wpa. 44. douglass (61). 45. whether or not this practice was applied on most plantations, and whether or not this practice was effective is not for this author to judge, but frederick douglass wrote about it as an application of work songs. i was not there, and he was, so i will take his word for it. 46. harriett jones, loc-wpa. 47, james v. deane, loc-wpa. 48. james southall, loc-wpa. 49. la san mire, loc-wpa. 50. henry walker, loc-wpa. 51. alice hucheson, loc-wpa. 52. rachel adams, loc-wpa. 53. sara colquitt, loc-wpa. 54. rachel adams, loc-wpa, james v. deane, loc-wpa. 55. this is not to say that shucking corn is not difficult, as this author struggles immensely with it. however, there is a difference between planting cotton or tobacco in a hot field while standing all day, and shucking corn while sitting and singing with other members of the community. 56. northrup (282). 57. harriet jones, loc-wpa, ibid 219. 58. for more about how masters tried to control and manipulate their slaves, see drew gilpin faust, james henry hammond and the old south., kenneth s. greenberg, the confessions of nat turner and related documents., rhys isaac, landon carter’s uneasy kingdom, charles f. irons, the origins of proslavery christianity., melton a. mclaurin, celia, a slave., joshua d. rothman, flush times & fever dreams., brenda e. stevenson, life in black and white. 59. james lucas, loc-wpa. 60. douglass (182). 61. sara colquitt, loc-wpa. 62. margaret thornton, loc-wpa. 63. henry walker, loc-wpa. 64. alice hucheson, loc-wpa. 65. james southall, loc-wpa. 66. isaac (214-216). 67. isaac (216). 68. isaac (215). 69. as james lucas said, “marsters wid-out wives was de dabbil,” james lucas, loc-wpa. 70. bernice bowden, loc-wpa. 71. margaret thorton, loc-wpa. 72. ibid. 73. northrup (181). 74. ibid. 75. northrup (181–182). 76. northrup (182). it should also be noted that epps’s wife was also entertained by his forcing the slaves to dance, so it would seem that she was not sincerely trying to make him stop what he was doing. 77. ibid. 78. brown (44) 79. brown (44–45). 80. brown (51). 81. northrup (217). 82. ibid. 83. douglass (84–85). 84. wash wilson, loc-wpa. 85. ibid. 86. douglass (196–197). 87. douglass (182). 88. harriett jones, loc-wpa. 89. ibid. 90. see faust; isaac. 91. william adams, loc-wpa. 92. harriett greaham, loc-wpa. 93. james lucas, loc-wpa. 94. alice baugh, loc-wpa. 95. susan bledsoe, loc-wpa. references bibb, henry. narrative of the life and adventures of henry bibb, an american slave. electronic edition ed. new york: macdonald & lee, printers, 1849. dew, charles b. bond of iron: master and slave at buffalo forge. new york: w.w. norton, 1994. douglass, frederick. life and times of frederick douglass, written by himself. his early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time, including his connection with the anti-slavery movement; his labors in great britain as well as in. electronic edition, new revised edition ed. boston: de wolfe fiske &, 1892. faust, drew gilpin. james henry hammond and the old south a design for mastery. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1985. greenberg, kenneth s. the confessions of nat turner and related documents. boston: bedford books of st. martin’s press, 1996. irons, charles f. the origins of proslavery christianity: white and black evangelicals in colonial and antebellum virginia. chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 2008. 43 a vigorous affirmation of life isaac, rhys. landon carter’s uneasy kingdom: revolution and rebellion on a virginia plantation. oxford: oxford university press, 2004. joyner, charles w. down by the riverside: a south carolina slave community. urbana: university of illinois press, 1984. library of congress. mclaurin, melton a. celia, a slave: a true story. new york: avon books, 1993. northup, solomon. twelve years a slave: narrative of s. northup, a citizen of new york, kidnapped in washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853. [edited by d. wilson.]. edited by david wilson. auburn: derby and miller, 1853. rothman, joshua d. flush times & fever dreams: a story of capitalism and slavery in the age of jackson. athens, georgia: university of georgia press, 2012. stearns, marshall, and jean stearns. jazz dance: the story of american vernacular dance. new york: de capo press, 1968. stevenson, brenda e. life in black and white: family and community in the slave south. new york: oxford university press, 1996. 44 elements : : spring 2015 they were ghosts in history, you're a ghost in your own safe little suburban bedroom with cowboy lampshades." -melvin jules bukiet t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a : the zone of indistinction after mauschwitz r e b e c c a k r a u s g i o r g i o a g a m b e n t a l k s a b o u t t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a m p a s a z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n w h e r e t h e e x c e p t i o n w a s t h e r u l e , t h e i l l i c i t l i c i t , a n d t h e e x t r e m e n o r m a l i z e d . t h i s p a p e r s e e k s t o e x t e n d a g a m b e n ' s t h e o r y t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e t r a u m a o f t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n c a m p . i f t h e r e a l h o r r o r o f t h e c a m p w a s i n d e e d t h i s z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n , t h e n c a n w e u n d e r s t a n d t h e t r a u m a a s t h e c o n t i n u e d e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e t r a c e s o f t h i s z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n ? w h i l e t h e s u r v i v o r s w e r e i n t h e c a m p s , i t w a s a b a r b a r i c w o r l d b u i l t o n n o r m a l i t y ; i n t h e i r l a t e r l i v e s , i t w a s a n o r m a l w o r l d l a c e d w i t h t r a c e s o f b a r b a r i s m . a b r a h a m a n d t o r o k ' s t h e o r y o f t h e p h a n t o m i s a p p l i e d t o d i s c u s s h o w t h i s t r a u m a o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n i s t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e c h i l d r e n o f h o l o c a u s t s u r v i v o r s . f i n a l l y , a r t s p i e g e l m a n ' s maus a n d m e l v i n j u l e s b u k i e t ' s after a r e e x a m i n e d t h r o u g h t h e l e n s o f t h e s e c o m b i n e d t h e o r i e s t o d i s c u s s t h e f o r m o f s e c o n d g e n e r a t i o n h o l o c a u s t l i t e r a t u r e i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a e x p e r i e n c e d b y i t s a u t h o r s . i n t r o d u c t i o n everything they undertake, everything they build has a secret tie to the unnamable experience of their parents. the 'children ofjob' will never detach themselves from the tragedy that gave birth to them.1 -elie wiesel "it was nothing like that." each word punctures the airwaves ofnpr's morning edition," saturated with restrained rage. the topic of discussion is roberto benigni's fi lm, life is beautiful, and melvin jules bukiet, along with art spiegelman-both children of survivors and well-known authors of holocaust literature-are nothing short of appalled by it. bukiet expresses: "there was no fear. there was no terror. there was no despair. the clothes were not dirty, on the simplest and most physical level. there was no pandemonium as they exit the trains." both bukiet and spiegelman make a point of separating their own artistic attempts to represent the holocaust from benigni's. bukiet, author of the comic novel, after, comments: "humor is a priori, no worse or more doomed a mode for portraying the holocaust than saccharine tragedy is a formula for succeeding at portraying it. i would say that humor is maybe riskier and, therefore, can, if it's evil enough a humor, probably convey that truth better.""1 rather, bukiet feels that the humor he uses in after is appropriate to the subject matter. likewise, spiegelman also defends his portrayal of the holocaust in his comic book maus: "i think i took it personally that i 'd heard that benigni was inspired by maus. it seemed that there's a kind of zeitgeist shift, let's say, that life is beautiful is the clearest demonstration of, into using the holocaust with impunity as a metaphor...and i see maus as really something else, as using metaphors really to try to approach the actualities."1v in addition to the general questions raised in this program about holocaust representation, the responses of these two authors evoke questions specific to the second generation: why are these children of survivors so extremely bothered by the portrayal of the holocaust in life is beautiful} what unites their work as being an acceptable form of representation? the same npr program features prof. omer bartov, a historian at brown university v whose specialty is the german army on the eastern front; he provides the other side of the argument: "[benigni] tries to save some flicker of humanity . . . that is obviously so completely lacking in [the holocaust] that i f you look at it directly, you're not only faced with the impossibility of representing it, but also with the impossibility of contemplating life after it. and yet life has continued. you have to somehow come to terms with the fact that there was life in the holocaust and there was hope in i t . " v l this does more than explain the value of benigni's film; it provides a key to understanding why spiegelman and bukiet are so adamantly against it. these children of survivors are first-hand witnesses to the fact that life has continued, but at the same time, intimately familiar with the tension of the necessity and impossibility^' both of representing the holocaust and of contemplating life after it. bartov is right; we do have to "come to terms with the fact that there was life in the holocaust and there was hope in it," but this was a life that was oftentimes indistinguishable from death, it was a hope that was often blurred with despair. the only way to truly come to terms with this is to acknowledge this tension. .. the blurring of the everyday and the barbaric that occurred in the camp, for survivors and their families, did not end with liberation.77 indeed, second generation testimonies are testimonies not to the fact that life did not occur in the camps or that it did not continue after, but that the blurring of the everyday and the barbaric that occurred in the camp, for survivors and their families, did not end with liberation. in this paper i wi l l use nicolas abraham and maria torek's theory about trans-generational trauma and giorgio agamben's analysis of the concentration camp to try to understand the nature of holocaust identity in children of survivors and how this influences what they deem an acceptable representation of the holocaust. abraham and torek present the idea that a person can be haunted by a traumatic event that occurred i n his or her family and explain that this trauma is unconsciously transferred to the child through the gaps in his or her knowledge. this applies particularly well to children of holocaust survivors: despite their disparate upbringings, they all say that they always knew that something was different in their family. i wi l l combine this theory with what agamben deems a "zone of indistinction": a place where the exception is the rule, the licit elicit, and the barbaric normalized. he talks about the concentration camp as a zone of indistinction, and i wil l argue that this is precisely the phantom that haunts the second generation. in order to reduce this phantom, one must exorcize it in words, but due to the sensitivity of the subject and to the fact that it is the secret of another, this must be done in an acceptable form. for children of holocaust survivors, the acceptable terms are those that acknowledge this phantom; these works of literature insist on showing their readers the haunting zone of indistinction, where barbarity invades the everyday. a b r a h a m a n d t o r o k ' s p h a n t o m his testimony was merely secondhand. yet the staggering reality of cattle cars, the gas chambers, and the crematoria did not feel remote to him, either, even though half a century of years and an ocean of water separated him from the actual crime. but crimes don't just end with immediate injuries. the mind, alas, does not allow for that. and this was a special crime.. the dreams of his parents-actually, their nightmares-kept it all alive . . . the holocaust shaped those who were survivors of survivors. inexorably, cruelly, and unfairly so. the choices and compromises made, the relationships cultivated and broken, the psychic demons and grotesque muses that mockingly interfered with everyday life.vm -thane rosenbaum nadine fresco comments that "the artistic works of this [second] generation bear presence of an absence."lx rather, the generation is defined by the things missing, such as, grandparents, knowledge of family history, and sense of safety. this, coupled with the reluctance of many survivors to tell their stories, can create a void in familial identity; indeed, the holocaust takes on a nearly mythical quality, for it is the unspoken presence that underlies every family interaction. in the, shell and the kernel, french psychoanalytic theorists nicolas abraham and maria torek suggest that in some cases people are haunted by a phantom; however, "what haunts are not the dead, but the gaps left within us by the secrets of others. " x a family's silences are transferred to the children. although the psychoanalysts do not mention children of holocaust survivors as examples, this explanation resonates particularly well with their situation. helen epstein, one of the first second-generation authors to write about her experience, describes this phantom as being within an "iron box" which resides inside her: tor years it lay in an iron box, buried so deep inside me that i was never sure just what it was. i knew i carried slippery, combustible things more secret than sex and more dangerous than any shadow or ghost. ghosts had shape and name. what lay inside my iron box had none.xl epstein's description fits perfectly into abraham and torek's model of the phantom as "gaps left within us by the secrets of others." psychologist and second-generation survivor aaron hass notes that "the second generation exhibited a need to identify with their parents' suffering in order to understand more fully and feel closer to them."x 1 1 this tendency is t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a : t h e z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n a f t e r m a u s c h w i t z again abraham and torek's phantom, which is characterized as "a formation in the dynamic unconscious that is found there not because of the subject's own repression but on account of a direct empathy with the unconscious or the rejected psychic matter of a parental object." x i i i yet this phantom is especially problematic because "the gaps and impediment i n our communication with the love object create a two-fold and contrary effect: the prohibition of knowledge coupled with an unconscious investigation."x 1 v a common trend in the second generation is the desire to know more about their parents' past, but a reluctance to ask, to reopen their wounds. one study notes, "subjects indicated that their present motivation to ask their parents questions involved a desire to understand better their own identity through understanding the forces that had affected their parents, and, indirectly, themselves."xv however, "[a]ll subjects expressed some degree of reticence about approaching their parents with questions about the concentration camp experience."™ the children have a need to investigate this haunting phantom, but sense that this secret wi l l only cause their parents more pain, and so they retreat to their imagination i n order to identify with their suffering. yet the "questions designed to satisfy these needs often had to await the mastery of unpleasant feelings associated with their parents' past experience and present behavior."™ 1 moreover, these "unpleasant feelings" could not be expressed to the parents who "had an exaggerated need to perceive their children as happy and problem-free so that they could serve as the requisite compensatory symbol for all that was los t . " x v m therefore, no part of this search for the phantom could be verbalized: it would hurt their parents too much. children of holocaust survivors all say that they always knew, either that their parents were survivors, or at least that there was some sort of secret, something different. this is corroborated by robert m . prince's psychological study of the second generation, as well as hass' similar finding, that despite "the fact that most children of survivors were not well acquainted with their parents' lives during the holocaust, all had a sense of being aware, from a very early age, that they were, indeed, children of survivors"™ beneath this instinct is abraham and torek's observation that the "phantom is a formation of the unconscious that has never become conscious-for good reason. it passes-in a way yet to be determined from the parent's unconscious into the child's." x x epstein reinforces their theory with her experience: "all the children of survivors i spoke with said they had absorbed their parents' attitudes towards germany and the holocaust experience through a kind of wordless osmosis. they had not been explicitly instructed to feel one way or another. rather, they had picked up on cues, attitudes, desires that had never been expressed i n words."™ abraham and torok go on to explain that "the shameful [and painful] and therefore concealed secret always does return to haunt. to exorcise it one must express it in words. but how are we to accomplish this when the phantoms inhabiting our minds do so without our knowledge, embodying the unspeakable secret of..an other?"™ 1 again, they are echoed by epstein: "whatever lived inside me was so potent that words crumbled before they could describe."™ 1 1 the phantom is difficult to describe in words, not only because it is so "potent," but also because it is made up of gaps. as abraham and torok explain, "[reducing the 'phantom' entails reducing the sin attached to someone else's secret and stating it in acceptable terms so as to defy, circumvent, or domesticate the phantom's (and our) resistances, its (and our) refusals, gaining acceptance for a higher degree of ' truth."'™ v epstein expresses this challenge in her own terms of the "iron box": the box became a vault, collecting in darkness, always collecting, pictures, words, my parents' glances, becoming loaded with weight. it sank deeper as i grew older, so packed with undigested things that finally it became impossible to ignore. i knew the iron box would some day have to be dredged up into the light, opened, its contents sorted out, but i had built such fortifications that it had become inaccessible. i needed tricks to get near it, strategies to cut through the belt of numbness that formed each time i made a move towards it.xxv for epstein, the process of expression involves finding others who also have an iron box, a phantom, and through her connection with them, she is able to break through the "fortifications" of silence that she had built around her story. she explains, " i set out to find a group of people who, like me, were possessed by a history they had never l ived. , , x x v 1 though this process differs from person to person, in each case, the phantom must be exorcised in two ways: by filling in the gaps through imagination and expressing the experience of carrying this burden. more importantly, this must be done in some sort of acceptable form: a form that does not claim authenticity for an event that has not been experienced but still bears witness to the lasting effects of the holocaust on its survivors and their families. t h e p h a n t o m a s a z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n "twenty-eight years ago today, the nazis gassed my mother and four sisters," papa said. he set down the coffee cup. i thought how in a movie papa's hands would have trembled, but in real life they were steady.xxvn -barbara finkelstein a child is a hollow vessel with a thundering echo. what is a child to make of tales of hunger, humiliation, and murder? where did the tales stop and reality begin? we no longer knew.xxvm -carl friedman giorgio agamben defines the concentration camp as a "zone of indistinction between outside and inside, exception and rule, licit and illicit, i n which the very concepts of subjective right and juridical protection no longer made any sense."xx1x this zone of indistinction is "precisely the place in which the state of exception coincides perfectly with the rule and the extreme situation becomes the very paradigm of l i f e . " x x x the insight of agamben's point is his location of the unbearable aspect not in the presence of horrific events and lack of normality, but in their indistinction. he gives the example of a soccer match between the s.s. and the special forces (those prisoners assigned to work at the gas chambers) which, in the words of primo levi, appeared "as if, rather than at the gates of hell, the game were taking place on the village green. " x x x 1 agamben explains that this "match might strike someone as a brief pause of humanity in the middle of an infinite horror. i , like the witnesses, instead view this match, this moment of normalcy, as the true horror of the camp."x x x 1 1 the horrific aspect of auschwitz was not so much the fact that it was a site of horror, but rather that the horror was normalized. i want to extend agamben's idea that the normalization of the extreme was the truly horrific aspect of the camp to understand the trauma that is experienced by survivors. cathy caruth raises the question: "is the trauma the encounter with death, or the ongoing experience of having survived r t?"xxxm i would argue that another way to understand the trauma is not as an encounter with death or the ongoing experience of survival, but an encounter with what primo levi describes as a death "one hesitates to c a l l . . . death, " x x x 1 v as well as an ongoing experience of the traces of this zone of indistinction. a person on his or her way to auschwitz rode in a normal train, but it was a train to horror, and most likely, to death. survivors often continue to feel horror and panic on a normal train. in the first case, the barbaric was normal; in the second, the normal carries a trace of the barbaric. caruth locates the trauma in the experience of survival: "what one day returns in the flashback is not the incomprehensibitliy of one's near death, but the very incomprehensibility of one's own survival." x x x v i n the case of holocaust survivors, the flashback is not merely this, but also the incomprehensibility of the zone of indistinction. flashbacks are triggered by everyday things-trains, dogs, food, striped clothing-and it is precisely because the barbaric was normalized in the camp that these traces of the concentration camp still invade everyday life. while the survivors were in the camps, it was a barbaric world that had been normalized; in their later lives, their "normal" world is laced with traces of barbarism. t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a : t h e z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n a f t e r m a u s c h w i t z gate at auschwitz: "work makes you free" i am interested in trying to combine agamben's notion of the zone of indistinction with abraham and torok' theory of the phantom. i f the trauma of the camp is indeed the continued experience of the zone of indistinction, then can we align the phantom with the zone of indistinction? i would argue that the way in which the phantom is transferred, which abraham and torok say is "yet to be determined ' , x x x v l is by witnessing these barbaric traces. even children whose parents never talked about their experiences perceived this phantom i n other ways. their parents screamed from nightmares in the middle of the night, they had strange issues with food. 5 0 0™ 1 1 every normal question that a child might ask his parents could be a landmine: where did you meet? what was your childhood like? not to mention the obviously treacherous ones: what is that number on your arm? where are my grandparents? the specter of the extreme barbarity of the concentration camp makes the children recognize the gaps between what they know and their parents' experiences. in some cases these gaps consist of factual information, but even in cases where parents often told stories of the holocaust, there is always a gap between the recounting and the actual experience. because the children of survivors cannot remember this, they imagine it: they try to fill these gaps with imagination, and it is this phantom which haunts. marianne hirsch coined the term "post-memory," which she defines as "a powerful and very particular form of memory precisely because its connection to its object or source is mediated not through recollection but through an imaginative investment and creation."x x x v u 1 thus, i f the survivors' trauma of the experience of the zone of indistinction triggers memory which can manifest itself as the barbaric mixed in with the normal, the second generation is haunted by this zone of indistinction, but, instead of memory, it triggers postmemory, or imagination. the child tries to fill i n the details with an imagination, which in the case of the holocaust is necessarily barbaric, and this barbaric imagination invades their normality in the same way that flashbacks and other forms of memory do for the survivor. in the camps, the barbaric, deadly showers were presented as normal; hence, many children of survivors, such as art spiegelman in maus, "fantasize zyklon b coming out of our shower instead of water." x x x l x likewise, in the introduction to nothing makes you free: writings by descendents of jewish holocaust survivors,^ bukiet notes, "as they were ghosts in history, you're a ghost in your own safe little suburban bedroom with cowboy lampshades."xl1 once again the use of the word "ghost" calls to mind abraham and torok's conception of the phantom. other little boys do not look at their lampshades and think of human skin. in this bedroom, the barbaric imagination replaces zyklon b as the suffocating agent of any sense of safety. how do the acceptable terms of expression appear in the literature of the second generation? one method is the form that conveys this continued zone of indistinction, what the survivors experience in memory, and their children experience in post-memory, or what i call 'barbaric imagination.' this zone of indistinction, where horror and normality are inextricably bound, is what is missing from life is beautiful, in which humanity exists explicitly and inhumanity is only an allusion. maus a n d after were the novelists and poets and dramatists and cartoonists of the second generation born writers or were we compelled to write by our proximity to extremity? i don't know. i only know that these are the stories i heard at the dinner table. thus, rendering life with people who are capable of saying, "i'd rather be hung tomorrow than shot today. pass the salt," becomes one's most enduring subject.00^ -melvin jules bukiet both maus and after describe moments in the lives of survivors after liberation, in which the zone of indistinction still exists: the normal is infused with the barbaric and everyday lives are invaded by the extremity of the concentration camp. even though they are written in different ways after is a fictional narrative of survivors' lives directly after liberation and maus is a two-volume graphic novel about speigelman's experience recording his father's story of life during the holocaust the issues confronted by children of survivors appear in both of them. both works offer insight into the zone of indistinction that still traumatizes the survivors and haunts the second generation by showing the normal mixed with the barbaric. in the very first scene of maus i : my father bleeds history, young art falls down on his rollerskates and is left behind by his friends. when he cries to his father, vladek, he replies: "friends? your friends? . . . i f you lock them together in a room with no food for a week. . . then you could see what it is, friends!" x l m it is a completely normal situation, a child having a conflict with his friends and getting upset, but the scene is disturbed by the father's recollection of the barbarity of the camps. vladek is still so consumed by the zone of indistinction in which the extreme and the everyday were fused that a normal word like "friend" cannot be separated from the barbarity. in another scene in maus i, vladek rides an exercise bike while he talks about how he gave his first son, richieu, to another family for protection, even though one friend questioned his decision. he does not even stop pedaling as he says: "but his [the friend's] son remained alive; ours did not." x l l v how conflated must the exception and the rule be, that the death of a child is a normal subject? later i n the story, vladek describes the gas chambers, the ovens, and the mass graves. in the most graphic scene in all of maus he describes: "and those what finished [sic] in the gas chambers before they got pushed in these graves, it was the lucky ones. the others had to jump in the graves while they were still alive. prisoners what worked [sic] there poured gasoline over the live ones and the dead ones. and the fat from the burning bodies they scooped and poured again so everyone could burn better."x l v art exclaims, "jesus," and his wife, francoise hangs her head, but vladek calmly continues, "ach! it's 2:30. look how the time is flying. and it's still so much to do today." x l v i as unsettling as the graphic sequence that appears on the page before is, i would argue that what is even more disturbing is the ability of the survivor to tell this story of unimaginable horror and then immediately lapse back into normal life. the phantom is not created from the presence of these awful stories, but from their integration into everyday life. in his newest novel, portrait of the artist as a young %@eck!,xlvu spiegelman shows how these scenes of the concentration camp pervaded normal conversation, even from the time he was very young. he depicts a car ride with his parents on their way back from a party: art's mother: "what a fancy affair! everybody was invited-even janek!" vladek: "yes, but nobody would sit near him." art: "why don't people sit with him?" vladek: "in auschwitz he was a sonderkommando, he threw jews into the ovens." art: "why?" vladek: "if not, the germans throw him in the ovens." t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a : t h e z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n a f t e r m a u s c h w i t z art spiegelman a n d his wife, francoise, outside a bookstore c o n t a i n i n g his book maus art: "so...it wasn't his fault, right?" vladek: "yah, but it's rumors he put to the ovens his wife and his son, so nobody wants to sit." art's mother: "take a nap again, cookie! it's still a long drive, and we're just having grown-up talk."xlvm the presence of this story in the normal conversation is the trauma of survival-the ongoing presence of the traces of the zone of indistinction where horror was normalized. in most families, "grown-up talk," that mysterious, forbidden thing that children hear bits and pieces of, is about sex and scandals; in art's family it involved a man who had been able to throw his own wife and child into an oven. even though this extreme situation no longer literally exists, it still exerts its presence. in another scene, art gives his son, dash, a "family heirloom," a locked box that contains a fire-breathing monster wearing a striped prisoner's hat with hitler's face on its tongue. dash responds, "an air loom?," signifying more than just a child's limited vocabulary: it is the contaminated "air" of the concentration camp that still "looms" over its families years later. art explains, "it's been in the family for years! my dad gave it to me when i was a little boy . . . and now i 'm giving it to you!" when dash opens the box and the monster explodes out of it, art says, "it makes you feel so worthless you don't believe you even have the right to breathe!... and-just think-someday you'll be able to pass it on to your son!" x l l x once this box is opened, this monster can return at any time: there is no "normal" situation that is safe from its invasion. by giving the monster to his own son, art expresses that this zone of indistinction wi l l continue to invade everyday life even in the next generation. this point is also emphasized in maus ii, in which the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 table of contents is subtitled "from mauschwitz to the catskills and beyond." with the nazis depicted as cats and the jews as mice, this clearly implies that, in one way or another, the impact of the nazis did not end with liberation; indeed, it continues into the second generation, growing up far from germany, in the catskills. this mixture of the normal with the barbaric haunts art into his adulthood. in a conversation with francoise, he admits, "when i was a kid i used to think about which of my parents i 'd let the nazis take to the ovens i f i could only save one of them . . . usually i saved my mother. do you think that's normal?"1 it is unclear whether he is asking her i f it is normal for a child to save his mother or for a child to have these fantasies at all, but either way, his question of "normalcy" evidences his skewed sense of normality. this exchange also displays how art's post-memory, or imagination, is triggered by this invasion of the normal by the barbaric. he goes so far as to say, " i know this is insane, but i somehow wish i had been in auschwitz with my parents so i could really know what they lived through!"'1 but he was not there, so instead he has to "fantasize zyklon b coming out of [his] shower instead of water."111 the haunting zone of indistinction leads to barbaric imagination. after contrasts with spiegelman's novel and the entire genre of second-generation holocaust literature because it does not directly involve the children of survivors. however, in light of the issues that these other works present, it is clear that even though the only second generation character in after is a baby born near the end of the novel, the issues of the second-generation resonate throughout the book. the survivor characters are traumatized by the zone of indistinction they experienced in the camps in such a way that the extremity of the camps still invades their lives after liberation. through bukiet's writing, the reader experiences the inseparability of the barbaric and the normal, so that he or she gets a sense of what it is like to be a child of a survivor and live in a world haunted by the zone of indistinction. the vocabulary of after is redefined in order to provide the experience of haunted words and world to the reader. in this barbarized language, certain words become charged: they attain a second meaning that can never again be separated from the normal term. in the "displaced persons" camps after liberation, the character schimmel is sent to be "processed," or have his information recorded by the allied soldiers, but anther, isaac, interprets that it "sounds like being turned into soap." l u i the effect is that any subsequent time that the reader comes across "processed," he or she is reminded of its other meaning. in another instance, one of the characters greets, "good morning! make that twenty. need any feathers? the truck wi l l be leaving for its daily pickup as soon as it gets gassed."llv the narrator feels the need to explicate this verb: "gas was for trucks now." l v for the survivors and their children, words like "processed," "gassed," "soap," and "lampshade" can never again be used without some association to barbaric meaning. the barbaric imagination of the second generation is what allows little melvin jules bukiet to feel as i f he is a "ghost" in his bedroom that has "cowboy lampshades." another way that after creates new connotations from normal vocabulary is through the use of words like "fortunately" and "of course" in sentences that, for the average person, are anything but fortunate or obvious. for example, the narrator explains: for those who had been transferred therefrom extermination camps in poland, the liebknechtwerke was like liberation; they didn't see what there was to complain about. of course death, random and vicious, was a constant companion, but... [t]he gas chamber was used as a punishment rather than the sole purpose of the place.lvi this use of the common phrase subtly demonstrates the zone of indistinction in which the exception was the rule and the extreme had become normal. similarly, when the characters are looking for a place to live after liberation, the narrator comments: "fortunately, there were empty apartments all over europe. more people were killed than apartt r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a ! t h e z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n a f t e r m a u s c h w i t z merits were destroyed." l v n although it is fortunate for the characters that there are empty apartments all around europe, the reason for this is so far from fortunate that it makes the use of the word seem absurd. after also reflects how the holocaust has changed the categorization of time from past, present, and future to before, during, and after. the word "before" is never used-only "before" with a capital "b" to indicate the time prior to the war. at one point the survivors are at a show in which one of the performers says, "perhaps you saw my act before." l v m although she means the generalized "before," to the survivors, the word means only before the concentration camps. later on, one of the characters on stage says, "so what say every twenty years we have a little excitement and then after, we have a lot of fun." the narrator concludes, "they had seen the show before." l l x this conception of time is even more complicated in the second generation: in the introduction to nothing makes you free, bukiet comments: " in a way, life has become even stranger-though infinitely less perilous-for the children than their parents. i f a chasm opened in the lives of the first generation, they could nonetheless sigh on the far side and recall the life before, but for the second generation there is no before. in the beginning was auschwitz. " l x more generally, the haunting zone of indistinction can be even more problematic for the second generation, since they never experienced life without its presence. this sense of the non-existence of before is conveyed in after. "after was the same as during, and before didn't exist, not even in the mind. before was as far gone as baby teeth." l x i even though the narrator is describing a survivor, the quote reveals the pervasiveness of bukiet's secondgeneration experience. additionally, both isaac, the main character of the novel, and the narrator make barbaric jokes and metaphors. for example, in saying that "before was as far gone as baby teeth," baby teeth has double meaning: the normal connotation of the baby teeth that all the adult characters had lost long ago, as well as a grotesque reference to the teeth extracted from the dead in the concentration camps and the fact that no babies survived. like maus, it shows the insertion of the barbaric into the normalcy of everyday lives of the survivors. at another point isaac remarks, " i f we weren't so dirty, we wouldn't have needed showers." l x n this play on words is a joke, but one that bukiet deems "evil" enough: it shocks the reader, but at the same time commands attention. it bears witness to the kind of person who can say these things at the dinner table. c o n c l u s i o n in imagining, a particular tone bleeds through in all but the mildest of second generation writers. though often literarily exuberant and sometimes 'experimental,' they are viciously unredemptive, scoured for weakness as they look atrocity staring in the face with barely contained rage. despite today's insipid fetish for 'healing,' frequently engaged in by the social workers of the second generation, the writers heal nothing and comfort no one with their work. healing is another word for forgetting. healing is what movies like l i f e i s b e a u t i f u l and s c h i n d l e r ' s l i s t seek-the former with gratuitous vulgarity, the latter with insidious skill-as they concoct a spurious ray of light to falsely illumine the night. instead of closure, the writers prefer the open wound. and should that wound threaten to close, they rip out the stitches.xm -melvin jules bukiet one of the most quoted phrases about the holocaust is theador adorno's assertion that "nach auschwitz noch ein gedicht zu schreiben ist barbarisch" (as literally as possible: "after auschwitz, to still write a poem is barbaric"). l x i v michael rothberg points out that this is frequently mistranslated as "no poetry after auschwitz" or "after auschwitz it is no longer possible to write poems." l x v these renderings are especially problematic because they undermine the entire purpose of adorno's point: it is possible to write poetry after auschwitz, just as it was possible for the s.s. to read poetry at night and to work in concentration camps during the day, l x v i and this is what is barbaric. so e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 what is the answer-not to write poetry? adorno himself answers: " in silence we simply use the state of objective truth to rationalize our subjective incapacity, once more degrading truth into a l i e . " l x v u this is echoed in maus when art explains, "samuel beckett once said: 'every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.'. . . on the other hand, he said i t . " k v m 1 i f writing poetry after auschwitz is barbaric, then is the only acceptable form barbaric poetry? this is the answer given by the children of survivors, particularly art spiegelman in his comic book, maus, and melvin jules bukiet in his comic novel, after. both of these use a "comic" and therefore shocking and controversial approach to the holocaust, which, i n their ability to combine the everyday with the extreme, is appropriately barbaric. e n d n o t e s i . foreword to berger, (viii) i i . " survival in nazi germany." morning edition, march 17, 1999. david d'arcy. available at <www.npr.org.> i i i . "survival"; emphasis added iv. "survival" v. at the time of the interview he was at rutgers university. vi . "survival"; emphasis added. v i i . cathy caruth uses the phrase "necessity and impossibility" to describe the problem of bearing witness to trauma in unclaimed experience: trauma, narrative, and history. v i i i . rosenbaum (2) ix. as cited in berger (2) x. abraham and torok (171) xi . epstein (1) xi i . hass (79) x i i i . abraham and torok (181) xiv. abraham and torok (188) xv. prince (45) xvi. prince (46) xvii. hass (79) xvii i . hass (62) xix. hass (70) xx. abraham and torok (173) xxi. epstein (117) xxii. abraham and torok(i88) xxii i . epstein (1). xxiv. abraham and torok (189); emphasis added xxv. epstein (5) xxvi. epstein (5); emphasis added xxvii. finkelstein (134) xxviii. friedman (134) xxix. agamben 1995 (170) xxx. agamben 1999 (49) xxxi. agamben 1999 (25) xxxii. agamben 1999 (26) xxxiii. caruth (7) xxxiv. agamben 1999 (44) xxxv. caruth (64) xxxvi. abraham and torok (173) xxxvii. for an excellent summary of the issues that confront survivors and their children see: generations of the holocaust. xxxviii. hirsch (22) xxxix. speigelman 1991 (16) xl . this is a collection of second-generation literature edited by bukiet; the title is an obvious reference to the gate of auschwitz which read: "work makes you free." xl i . bukiet 2002 (18) x l i i . bukiet 2002 (20) x l i i i . spiegleman 1986 (6) xliv. spiegelman 1986 (81) xlv. spiegelman 1991 (72) xlvi. spiegelman 1991 (73) xlvii . published in the virginia quarterly review. xlvi i i . spiegelman 2006 (34) xlix. spiegelman 2006 (40) 1. spiegelman 1991 (14) l i . spiegelman 1991 (16) hi. speigelman, 1991 (16) l i i i . bukiet 1996 (21) liv. bukiet 1996 (217) lv. bukiet 1996 (217) lv i . bukiet 1996 (98); emphasis added lv i i . bukiet 1996 (93); emphasis added lv i i i . bukiet 1996 (86) lix. bukiet 1996 (93) lx. bukiet 2002 (13) lx i . bukiet 1996 (358) lx i i . bukiet 2002 (163) lx i i i . bukiet 2002 (21-22) lxiv. rothberg (25) lxv.translation by nathaniel campbell lxvi. steiner as quoted in rothberg (31): "we come after. we know now that a man can read goethe or rilke in the evening, that he can play bach and schubert, and go to his day's work at auschwitz in the morning." lxvii . as cited in rothberg (47) lxvi i i . spiegelman 1991 (45) r e f e r e n c e s abraham, nicolas and maria torok. 1994. the shell and the kernel. ed and trans. nicholas t. rand. chicago: university of chicago press. agamben, giorgio. 1995. homo sacer: sovereign power and bare life. trans. daniel heller-roazen. stanford: stanford university press. t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a u m a : t h e z o n e o f i n d i s t i n c t i o n a f t e r m a u s c h w i t z http://www.npr.org. agamben, giorgio. 1999. remnants of auschwitz: the witness and the archive. trans. daniel heller-roazen. new york: zone books. berger alan l. 1997. children of job: american secondgeneration witnesses to the holocaust. albany: state university of new york press. bergmann, martin s. and mil ton e. jucovy, eds. 1982. generations of the holocaust. new york : basic books. bukiet, melvin jules. 1996. after. new york : st. martin's press. bukiet, melvin jules, ed. 2002. nothing makes you free: writings by descendants of jewish holocaust survivors. new york: w.w. norton. caruth, cathy. 1996. unclaimed experience: trauma, narrative, and history. baltimore: johns hopkins university press. epstein, helen. 1979. children of the holocaust. new york: g.p. putnam's sons. finkelstein, barbara. 1987. summer long-a-coming. new york: harpercollins. friedman, carl. 1994. nightfather: a novel. trans. arnold and erica pomerans. new york: persea books, inc. hass, aaron. 1991. in the shadow of the holocaust: the second generation. london: lb. tauris & co ltd. hirsch, marianne. 1997. family frames: photography, narrative, and postmemory. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. prince, robert m . the legacy of the holocaust: pyschohistorical themes in the second generation. ann arbor: u m i research press, 1985. rosenbaum, thane. 1999. second hand smoke: a novel. new york: st. martin's press. rothberg, michael. 2000. traumatic realism: the demands of holocaust representation. minneapolis: university of minnesota press. spiegelman, art . 1986. maus: a survivor's tale: my father bleeds history. new york: pantheon. spiegelman, art . 1991. maus ii: a survivor's tale: and here my troubles began. new york: pantheon. spiegelman, art . 2006. portait of the artist as a young %@ <£*•'• virginia quartly review. 82(4), fall. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g oj s o n g s o f p r a i s e a n d i n v o c a t i o n : the orisha sacred songs of trinidad r i c h a r d p a u l t h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s p r o j e c t is t o s t u d y a n d t r a n s l a t e r e c o r d e d y o r u b a c h a n t s a n d p r a i s e s o n g s o f t r i n i d a d o v e r t h e p a s t 65 y e a r s . b e c a u s e o f t h e h o r r i f i c c o n d i t i o n s o f t h e t r a n s a t la n t i c s l a v e t r a d e , a l m o s t a l l orisha d e v o t e e s h a v e l o s t t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e c h a n t s , a n d c o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e e m p h a s i s is o n t h e r i t u a l s . i s e e k t o d e t e r m i n e t o w h a t d e g r e e t h e c h a n t s s u n g i n t r i n i d a d h a v e r e m a i n e d t h e s a m e o r c h a n g e d a n d t o w h a t d e g r e e t h e y h a v e a l l d e p a r t e d f r o m c o n t i n e n t a l y o r u b a . a c q u i r i n g t h e t r a n s l a t i o n s a l l o w s d e v o t e e s t o a t t a i n a p h i l o s o p h i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e r e l i g i o n , a n d i n d o i n g s o , t h i s s t u d y a i m s a t r e c o n s t r u c t i n g a n d u p l i f t i n g t h e orisha r e l i g i o n o f t r i n i d a d . i received an advanced study grant and traveled to benin west africa in the summer of 2005 to conduct field research into the yoruba origins of the orisha chants of trinidad. i conducted the first segment of my research in ketu, an historic yoruba district located in the eastern part of benin, 86 miles from cotonou and 67 miles from port novo, the two main cities in the benin republic. ketu has a population of approximately 100,000 inhabitants, 77 percent of whom constitute the yoruba people, crowded into two of the six communities, namely ketu (the city) and idigny/idahin (a rural town). it was in idigny that i met with king oba thomas atanda idowu arolagbade i i and interviewed the chief priests and orisha devotees. in trinidad, the orisha movement, better known as the shango religion, which venerates the forces of nature, the orisha, is the cultural l ink between afro-trinidadians and the yoruba peoples of west africa. streams of yoruba culture have flowed from the rivers of africa and into the seas of the americas. in trinidad, the essence of yoruba culture still exists, and yoruba language has survived in song, primarily because of the vitality of the shango religion. this collection of orisha chants translated demonstrates the life experiences of african-trinidadians, from the african continent, to the middle passage, the oppressive slave plantation, and finally the present communities of trinidad. unfortunately, most trinidadians still have a colonized mentality and continue to devalue, ridicule, and demonize the orisha religious movement. their contempt for african-based religions does not diminish the joy and fulfillment orisha devotees gain from their faith. over the course of my research experience i n the benin republic, i was privy to orisha religious celebrations and observed that the orisha sacred songs of trinidadians are reflections of the rhythms and expressions of yoruba culture. the invigorating drums, the heartbeat of the tradition, and their pulsating rhythms have the power to awaken anyone in their vicinity. the beauty of the orisha drums is that they elevate our being to higher states of consciousness where, through joy in trance, we dance the dance of our ancestors. with the exception of some of the sacred songs/chants that i sang, the collection of chants translated in this research included those recorded and sung by ella andall, a prominent trinidadian orisha devotee, i n her most recent cd, shango babawa. the translations are not literal per se, but they do convey the ideological, sociological, and contextual meanings. sung to praise and honor some of the most revered orisha, in the orisha spiritual religious traditions, the oriki praise songs enabled diasporic africans to reaffirm their yoruba identity. their unquestioned trust in their orisha spiritual traditions enabled diasporic africans to remember and mentally transport their orisha to the americas. shango, who is the spirit of lightning and thunder, the orisha of justice of righteousness, the protector of children and the innocent, became the patriarchal head, the bearer and the representation of the orisha spiritual tradition in trinidad. shango, in addition to several orisha, is the cultural remnant that enslaved africans brought to the americas, including the caribbean island of trinidad. orisha devotees remember the horrors of slavery through the chant of ara romi 0, but they regain hope and assurance in songs like babawa ye rona ye rona and shango mu asefun wa. these lamentations of hope not only reveal their dependency on shango, but they also show the power andheightened self-esteem they have gained. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 a r a r o m i o ara romi o my body is in pain ara romi shango shanco my body is in pain ara romi emitibini shanco i do not want my body to pain ara romi shango shango my body is in pain ojo romi e e the rain is falling on me [i am experiencing hard times] ojo romi shango the rain is falling on me [i am experiencing hard times] b a b a y e r o n a y e r o n a babawa ye rona ye rona our father has found a way to be with us shango rona shanco has found a way to be with us babawa ye rona ye rona our father has found a way to be with us shango rona shanco has found a way to be with us s h a n g o m u a s e f u n w a shango mu ase fun wa shanco give us the power orriwo you have the power shango fun wa shanco has given us the power orriwo you have the power mu ase fun wa give us the power orriwo you have the power babawa fun wa our father has given us the power in times of hardships, many questioned their faith and subjected themselves to despair as seen in ka rele. however, some of the devotees' unquestionable trust in their religion corrects those doubts when they reminded others of shango's vitality, as observed in emi ni ape shango i'ojo. k a r e l e ka rele let us go home ka rele o let us go home! ka rele ojo moni owo let us go home, the rain has no regards for anyone ojo baa de let the rain come! onian wa, bi ojo baa de onian wa people come, even if there is rain, people come e m i n i a p e s h a n g o l ' o j o emi ni ape shango l'ojo i say that they [devotees] call shanco during the rain [hard times] shango de omi lala l'ojo shanco has come [even if] there is plenty water [hard times] omi lala l'ojo there is plenty water [hard times] orisha devotees have no qualms about portraying or about celebrating shango's aggressiveness, his omnipotence and his unscathed vengeance as the fierce protector in songs like shango oloro. s h a n g o o l o r o shango oloro shanco is deadly shango olo oloro shanco owns snake venom [shanco is lethal] shango o hail shanco! shango oloro shanco is deadly s o n g s o f p r a i s e a n d i n v o c a t i o n : t h e o r i s h a s a c r e d s o n g s o f t r i n i d a d shango babawa is a typical song of invocation and fere ku few yero and emi i'awa ko pemi la fise emi i'awa are traditional praise songs. s h a n g o b a b a w a shango babawa our father shango shango alado karele shan co, the wearer of powerful amulets, let us go home and pay homage shango babawa olododo our father shango, the most powerful kabiese o! [prostrating gesture/greeting of respect] f e r e k u f e r e y e r o fere ku fero yero you [shango] are worthy to be praised gracefully la finsi babawa our dear father fere ku fere shango shango is worthy to be praised gracefully la finsi babawa our dear father e m i l ' a w a k o p e m i la f i s e e m i l ' a w a emi i'awa ko pemi la fise emi i'awa whenever you [shango] call me, i will come and serve you shango ko pemi la fise shango i will come and serve you emi i'awa ko pemi la fise emi i'awa whenever you [shango] call me, i will come and serve you shango ko pemi la fise shango i will come and serve you most shango ceremonies dismiss shango and bring closure with fete ma lo shango and/or eru dele o. t e t e m a l o s h a n g o tete ma lo shango depart quickly shango tete ma lo depart quickly shango o! tete ma lo hail shango! [now] depart quickly tete ma lo baba depart quickly father tete ma lo depart quickly shango o! tete ma lo hail shango! (now) depart quickly e r u d e l e eru dele o your servant has come to your shrine eru de your devotee has arrived mo juba i pay homage mo lo i leave eru de your devotee has come mo juba i pay homage mo lo o! [and] i leave "emi i'awa ko pemi la fise emi i'awa whenever you [shango] call me, i will come and serve youv "[spates can expect to continue to struggle to resist proliferation within their borders as new tribes, governors, and state politicians try to claim their share of the action." a raw d e a l conflicts over tribal sovereignty and casino proliferation t l m m o o n e y f e d e r a l i s m h a s p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n t h e e x p l o s i o n o f l e g a l i z e d g a m b l i n g i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s i n t h e l a s t t w o d e c a d e s . i n d i a n g a m i n g , i n p a r t i c u l a r , h a s c h a l l e n g e d s t a t e a n d n a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t s t o c o m e t o t e r m s w i t h t h e p l a c e o f a m e r i c a n i n d i a n t r i b e s w i t h i n t h e f e d e r a l i s t s y s t e m a n d o r g a n i z e a m e a n i n g f u l f r a m e w o r k f o r t h e e x p a n s i o n o f g a m i n g o n t r i b a l l a n d s . n o w l a r g e l y c o n t r o l l e d b y a f e d e r a l s t a t u t o r y f r a m e w o r k , i n d i a n g a m i n g h a s l e f t s t a t e s i n a s u b o r d i n a t e p o s i t i o n i n n e g o t i a t i n g t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f m a j o r c a s i n o e n t e r p r i s e s w i t h i n t h e i r o w n b o r d e r s . c o n f u s i o n i n s t a t e s ' r i g h t s d u r i n g n e g o t i a t i o n s h a s f u r t h e r w e a k e n e d t h e i r b a r g a i n i n g p o s i t i o n , l e a d i n g t o e x t e n s i v e t r i b a l c a s i n o d e v e l o p m e n t . t h e c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n s t a t e s a n d t r i b e s a n d s t a t e s a n d c a s i n o c o r p o r a t i o n s h a v e f a c i l i t a t e d c a s i n o p r o l i f e r a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s , a t r e n d t h a t a p p e a r s d e s t i n e d t o c o n t i n u e u n t i l t h e m a r k e t i s f u l l y s a t u r a t e d . less than 30 years ago, a legal slot machine or high stakes poker game could not be found anywhere outside las vegas or atlantic city. that all changed i n 1987 when the supreme court handed down the landmark california v. cabazon band of mission indians case affirming the right of indian tribes to operate casino enterprises on their sovereign land. drawing on historical and judicial traditions of american indian sovereignty, the cabazon court confirmed american indian tribes as important actors i n the federalist structure and placed their sovereignty on equal footing with that of the states. these developments have strongly affected the way i n which states control gambling within their borders. indian gaming is largely controlled by a federal statutory framework, leaving states i n a subordinate position i n negotiating the establishment of major casino enterprises within their own borders. confusion over states' rights during negotiations has further weakened their bargaining position, leading to tribal casino development almost by default. the continued expansion of tribal gaming, especially vegas-sized projects, unleashed strong pressures for other states to get i n on the action by encouraging their own tribal gaming and sanctioning commercial casinos. since the cabazon case and the subsequent federal indian gaming regulatory act (igra), both tribal and commercial gaming have exploded. casinos can now be found i n 35 states, 28 of which have tribal gaming.' the combination of state competition and tribal rights has put a strong wind behind casino gambling expansion, making it one of the fastest growing businesses i n the country.11 this growth, however, has come at the expense of some of the most time-tested elements of federalism—local control, state police powers, and democratic accountability. established as a legitimate (and very profitable) business, the gaming industry has successfully co-opted state governments into a "deal with the devil" to compete with other states and save their bottom lines. t r i b e s as c o n s t i t u t i o n a l e l e m e n t s of f e d e r a l i s m american indian tribes occupy an ambiguous position within the u.s. federal system. most scholars and politicians typically consider localities, states, and the federal government to be the constituent parts of federalism i n the united states, but miss the important position granted american indian tribes by the constitution. by giving the power to make treaties and regulate commerce with tribes to the federal government1 1 1 and divesting states of their leading role i n relation to american indians, the constitutional convention made tribes and states essentially equal sovereign bodies under the national government.^ established at a time when many tribes were still considered foreign nations, the constitution grants them a large measure of sovereignty.v legally, the status of indian tribes has slowly settled on what steven light and kathryn rand call "semi-sovereignty." pointing toward complex sovereignty case law, they conclude that: the contemporary legal doctrine of tribal sovereignty essentially means that the united states recognizes tribes as independent sovereign nations whose location within the boundaries of a state does not subject them to the application of state law. at the same time, as "conquered" or "discovered" nations, tribes retain only the political and legal authority that congress has not expressly abrogated under its asserted plenary power pursuant to the u.s. constitution's "indian commerce clause." the federal legal doctrine of tribal sovereignty effectively means that tribes, in fact, are "semi-sovereign.'^1 t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a c a s i n o o n i n d i a n t e r r i t o r y in c a l i f o r n i a e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 this reading of american indian rights leaves states with almost no control over tribes within their borders. days after it opened, sparking the lawsuit that eventually affirmed the right to indian gaming. citing ronald reagan's 1983 statement calling for increased tribal self-government "states took the passage of this act as an opportunity to air their grievances about the cabazon case and their general lack of authority over pieces of territory within their boundaries." though some judicial and scholarly arguments hold that tribal sovereignty precludes any state interference/" many politicians, especially local and state actors, detest being unable to control their own jurisdictions. according to the harvard project on american indian economic development, "state politicians have tended to act on the belief that they have responsibility for and attendant regulatory jurisdiction over all people and activities that occur within their geographic boundaries." v i i i as long as tribes were politically weak and remote from their primary interests, state politicians allowed the federal government to take the lead on american indian policy. as tribes reorganized and attempted to foster economic activity using bingo parlors and card rooms they set the stage for intergovernmental conflict between their interests and those of the states and the national government. paul pasqueretta identifies this phenomenon, saying, "although state lawmakers and law enforcement officials continually fought to l imi t the development of the indian gambling industry, federal courts consistently ruled i n favor of the tribes." with more fundamental interests now at stake, states were much less will ing to defer to the federal government on indian policy. this conflict finally came to a head i n the california v. cabazon band of mission indians. i n 1980, the cabazon band of mission indians opened a card room and bingo parlor on their reservation 18 miles outside of palm springs. state police raided the operation and self-sufficiency, justice byron white wrote i n the majority opinion that "the federal interests i n indian self-government, including the goal of encouraging tribal self-sufficiency and economic development, are important, and federal agencies, acting under federal laws, have sought to implement them by promoting and overseeing tribal bingo and gambling enterprises."x the decision turned on white's reading of california gaming statutes. white held that " i n light of the fact that california permits a substantial amount of gambling activity, including bingo, and actually promotes gambling through its state lottery, we must conclude that california regulates rather than prohibits gambling i n general and bingo i n particular. " x i though congress had granted states the right to intervene into tribal affairs i n criminal cases, white's distinction between regulation and prohibition (one which steven's dissent rejects) allowed the federal government to pre-empt the state's right to regulate indian gaming by removing it from the sphere of criminal law. the court affirmed tribes' sovereign rights over state regulation while at the same time calling for federal legislative clarification on the issue. i g r a a n d t h e state f i g h t for g a m b l i n g r e g u l a t i o n congress responded to the court's call for federal leadership on indian gaming with the indian gaming regulatory act. states took the passage of this act as an opportunity to air their grievances about the cabazon case and their gena r a w d e a l eral lack of authority over pieces of territory within their boundaries. arizona attorney general robert k. corbin testified before the house committee of interior and internal affairs, arguing for state control, saying: i firmly believe that since most of the people who will be gambling will be state [citizens], non-indians, that there should be state control. if people in my state get rooked off, get loan-sharked and everything else that comes with gambling, i am going to be the one they are going to come to. they're going to say why aren't you protecting me, why aren't you doing something about it?xn tribes were equally vocal i n asserting their right to self-determination. according to jim hena, governor of tesuque pueblo: [though] the pueblo support federal legislation to regulate gaming . . . we do not and will not support any bills which provide for state jurisdiction over gaming on indian land . . . tribal governments are part of the federal system of the united states. as a result, proposals to place indian gaming under state jurisdiction are contrary to the constitution ... and inconsistent with 200 years of federal policy.xm what emerged was a compromise. the 1988 law reaffirmed tribal sovereignty with regard to gaming, but allowed some state agency i n the regulation of particular types of gambling on american indian land. igra divided gaming into three classes: class i—"social games solely for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of indian gaming engaged i n by individuals as a part of, or i n connection with, tribal ceremonies or celebrations," class ii—"the game of chance commonly known as bingo including pull-tabs, lotto, punch boards, tip jars, instant bingo, and other games similar to bingo" as well as any card game allowed i n the state, and class i i i — " a l l forms of gaming that are not class i gaming or class i i gaming" (usually slot machines, blackjack, and baccarat) . x i v like cabazon, the provisions of igra allow tribes to operate gambling up to the point that it is legal for charitable organizations (usually class ii) without any state interference or tax.^ this means that even without an agreement with the hosting state, tribes can usually open at least a bingo parlor or card room. igra compromises with the states, however, by allowing them to negotiate terms and conditions on methods of gaming not legally allowed i n the state. x v l because bingo and cards only allow for small-scale gaming and therefore small-scale profits, tribes wanted the life-blood of any casino: slot machines. x v n since these are illegal for all organizations i n most states, tribes and states were usually forced to negotiate a fee or percentage payment for the right to operate a class i i i casino within the state. as with any good compromise, neither side was entirely satisfied by the new law. as w. dale mason points out, "rather than resolving intergovernmental conflict over gaming the congress had i n some ways opened the door to more conf l ic t . . . the result was a classic intergovernmental confrontation, sovereign against sovereign on an issue of fundamental import: which government, federal, state, or tribal had the greatest authority on deciding what occurs i n its respective borders." x v 1 u tribes resented any state imposition on their sovereignty, while states felt railroaded into hosting gaming they did not approve. with so much at stake, both sides were compelled to negotiate. with each party perceiving the other as violating its sovereignty, these negotiations often faltered. as bays and fouberg point out, "since tribes and states have so little experience working together and negotiating, and since the relationship between tribes and the states is often contentious and concerns vital issues to both parties, the tribes and the states frequently end up i n court or i n long, drawn-out negotiations."™ in many cases, this frustration resulted from difficulties inherent i n the compacting process. l o a d e d d i c e i n t h e c o m p a c t i n g process the requirement that states and tribes meet at the negotiating table was an attempt by the federal government to allow e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 indian gaming expansion without totally excluding the states. provisions within igra, however, seemed to make class i i i compacts a forgone conclusion. according to the national indian gaming association's igra facts: under igra, a state is obligated to negotiate compacts that lay out the conditions, regulations and limitations for class iii gaming operations. if a state refuses to negotiate or to negotiate in good faith, tribes can sue in federal court to force mediation. if a state refuses to implement a mediator's recommendations, the secretary of the interior establishes the procedures for class iii gaming within the state.™ needless to say, states hostile toward gaming violently resisted this provision. eventually, states won a legal victory over this provision i n seminole tribe of florida v. florida where the court held that states could claim sovereign immunity under the n t h amendment to avoid forced mediation.™ a series of court cases further muddled the issue, however. in northern arapaho tribe v. state of wyoming, the court forced wyoming to reach a gaming agreement with the arapaho indians, and, when it refused, imposed a class i i i compact written by the secretary of interior.™1 inconsistent rulings and confusion about so-called "compact forcing" favored tribes. by granting class i i i gaming with no compensation or regulatory authority, federally established compacts like wyoming's were a worst-case scenario for states. in order to protect themselves from the possibility of being shut out entirely from future gaming revenue, states typically approached the negotiating table with settlement as the only possible option. in michigan, the gun lake band of pottawatomi indians used the wyoming case to bring pressure on governor jennifer granholm to come to the negotiating table. in a release following the arapaho decision, the tribe argued that "the decision paves the way for the gun lake tribe to operate a class i i i casino without a compact should the governor fail to sign the tribe's compact" and that the "decision confirms that the state of michigan wi l l lose the ability to obtain any revenues from the gun lake casino unless it enters into a compact."™1 1 though a spokesperson for granholm denied that the situa• tions were as yet analogous (the tribe was still embroiled i n lawsuits over the status of its reservation), she did not deny that the department of interior could force a compact on the states.xx1v after settling outstanding lawsuits over its reservation, the gun lake band and the state of michigan signed a gaming compact. in her letter explaining her decision to state senate majority leader mike bishop, granholm said: once the tribe's land goes into trust, the tribe will almost certainly have the right under federal law to open a commercial gamingfacility—with or without a compact with the state. given these circumstances it is in the best interest of the state to enter into a gaming compact to ensure that the state has both some say in the operation of the facility and an opportunity to share its revenue.™ with all forms of gaming seemingly on the table even i n the face of state opposition, granholm felt compelled to come to an agreement to ensure michigan received some benefits from tribal gaming. c r e e k t o w n c a s i n o is majority o w n e d by t h e s a u l t s t e . marie t r i b e o f c h i p p e w a i n d i a n s . a r a w d e a l confusion i n other elements of igra further hamstrung states i n negotiations. technology increasingly blurred distinctions made by igra's classes of gambling as slot machine companies created video machines that look and feel like slots, but technically are still considered class i i gami n g . x x v l again, this gave leverage to the tribes. should states fail to cooperate i n compacting for class i i i gaming, igra's provisions have allowed them to circumvent many prohibitions on slot machines and threaten to create fullscale, but still technically class i i , casinos.*™1 like compact forcing, class i i casinos threaten to establish full-scale gaming without any payment to states or localities. confusion over what types of gambling are allowed creates serious disincentives for states to obstruct tribes trying to build major casinos within their borders. the consequences of saying "no" may be a casino that looks and feels like a real casino but doesn't pay a dime to its host communi t i es .^" 1 s l o t m a c h i n e s are a c o m m o n s o u r c e o f r e v e n u e for many c a s i n o s . the end result of seminole tribe of florida v. florida demonstrates the danger of class i i casinos. as cited above, seminole upheld florida's sovereign right to resist court-ordered mediation for class i i i gaming, seemingly granting the state veto power over full-scale gaming within its borders. when the state refused to negotiate with the tribe, however, the seminoles responded by opening seven class i i casinos on their reservations. using electronic bingo machines i n lieu of slots, the tribe was able to sustain even large-scale casino enterprises.x x 1 x as of 2005, the seminole tribe operated 7,840 electronic bingo machines i n its various locations. x x x assuming these machines bring i n the national class i i machine average of $156 per day,50™ the seven casinos bring i n a total of $446.4 mil l ion a year i n revenue through electronic class i i gaming. of this flood of gambling money, not one drop goes to the state of florida. left on the outside looking in , florida has begun rapprochement with the seminoles. according to the miami herald, governor charlie crist has called for a class i i i compact to " give the tribe new games [slot machines] at their seven casinos i n exchange for as much as $200 mi l l ion a year i n revenue." x x x n with major gaming already going on without a compact, florida has backed off its refusal to allow slot machines i n order to gain a stake i n the casino revenue. i n c e n t i v e s to p r o l i f e r a t e amidst these serious disincentives for opposing gaming expansion are equally compelling reasons to approve plans. states stand to gain enormous sums of cash from casino projects i n their states. connecticut's two tribal mega-casinos have paid over $4.1 billion to the state over the course of their fifteen years of existence , x x x 1 u amounting to almost 3 percent of the state's annual revenue. x x x l v casino proliferation, once affirmed i n its legitimacy by the cabazon case has sustained itself on its own momentum, building pressure to expand both tribal and commercial gaming. while gaming was confined to las vegas and atlantic city, states resisted the urge to try their luck because of the perceived social costs and stigmas associated with gambling. x x x v after igra, however, gaming rapidly expanded within the borders of many different states. this removed many of the cultural pressures not to gamble and created many of the incentives discussed above. as states became aware of the benefits of casino cash, they often encouraged tribal casinos and moved to license their own private ones. casino expansion is a classic "race to the bottom," with growth driven by taxation envy. each state bordering a casino state watches as its residents cross state lines and hemorrhage precious taxable dollars on the other side of the border. michael nelson uses the spread of casinos from iowa to illinois to demonstrate this fact, saying that "because a state leaks revenue when its citizens cross the border to [gamble in] neighboring states, it has a strong incentive to keep its betters at home. " x x x v l pressed to react by dwindling tax returns, non-casino states responded by establishing gambling of their own. this trend has only accelerated as states struggle to keep abreast of the rising cost of administering a large bureaucracy and satisfying the regulations and mandates coming down from the federal government. in a political climate where tax increases are met with recalls and referenda,x x x v 1 1 "sin taxes" like gambling have become ever more p o p u l a r . x x x v m additionally, casinos have come to be regarded as agents of urban renewal. their ability to provide many jobs while bringing out-of-state customers conforms to the model of urban planning that altshuler and luberoff see i n contemporary state and local capital investment. describing changing trends, they point out that "while cities have always competed to attract investment, they had traditionally directed their services . . . toward local residents and businesses. today by contrast, they are often engaged i n 'the "by affirming tribal rights to operate casinos on sovereign land, the cabazon court hoped to provide for economic self-sufficiency for indian tribes." construction of expensive entertainment amenities, often i n partnership with private investors, designed to appeal primarily to out-of-town visitors." , x x x 1 x casinos have joined convention centers and sports facilities as new fads of urban planning. like the other venues, the hope of these public-private partnerships is to draw i n visitors using entertainment attractions and capitalize on the spin-off effects of tourism. as with other private partners, the gaming industry has pressed the government to relax restrictions on its development. casino expansion follows what altshuler and luberoff call "the most notable recent trend i n american politics"—"the ascendancy of organized business at all levels of american government . . . [and thereby] growing pressure to relax or eliminate many of the barriers to physical development. " x l as a result of the growing cooperation between states and the gaming industry, state laws and constitutions have been changed to provide a more liberal gaming environment. the current gambling debate i n massachusetts provides a good example of these mechanisms at work. facing a ballooning budget and sick of watching his citizens cross state lines into connecticut to gamble, governor deval patrick proposed three commercial casinos and moved to help foster an indian casino within massachusetts. galled by the profits made off bay staters at the two massive tribal casinos i n connecticut,5511 patrick's proposal expressed the hopes of raising revenue, boosting tourism, providing jobs, and revitalizing different regions of the state. in a press release on the proposal, housing and economic development secretary dan o'connell, explained that the proposal would "expand economic development and job creation broadly throughout the commonwealth" and "diversify employment, support tourism and convention industry and continue to position massachusetts as an economic leader. " x l n further analyzing the proposal, fr. richard mcgowan, an economist at boston college, explained the competitive side of the governor's rationale to the boston globe, saying, "for foxwoods and mohegan sun, this wil l hurt them to no end, but i f i am the governor of massachusetts, i don't care. i ' m reclaiming revenue for my a r a w d e a l state, thank you very m u c h . " x l i i i the pressure of out-ofstate competition and in-state needs have combined to make casino gaming an attractive option for massachusetts. c o n s e q u e n c e s for f e d e r a l i s m the rapid changes i n gambling policy throughout the united states have made a serious impact on the federalist s structure of its government. by affirming tribal rights to operate casinos on sovereign land, the cabazon court hoped to provide for economic self-sufficiency for american indian tribes. on one level, the case affirmed the sovereign rights of tribes that date back to the constitution and the marshall court. on another, however, it fostered intergovernmental conflict. unti l the 20th century, statetribal conflict remained i n the background because of the relative weakness of tribes. after cabazon, tribes were affirmed i n their authority to create major gaming developments—a power normally squarely within states' police powers. this created classic intergovernmental conflict: "sovereign against sovereign conflict on an issue of fundamental import. " x l l v igra, the congressional answer to the cabazon case, attempted to balance state concerns with tribal sovereignty. in actuality, it created a system that established a new major industry with almost no state regulatory power. the framework it provided contained a confusing series of mechanisms for establishing gaming that essentially compelled states to accept gambling within their territory as a forgone conclusion. with gaming revenue and regulatory authority on the line, the risk of opposition was too high. these factors, combined with recent trends i n urban renewal and competition between states, created positive incentives to proliferation. with no real ability or incentive to dissent, state governments increasingly focused on tribal and private casinos as panaceas for unemployment, state budget shortfalls, and gaming drains. the lack of a strong negative check for states on the industry allowed gaming to grow far out of proportion with the original aims of igra. as a national indian gaming commission summary put it, "since the enactment of igra i n 1988, indian gaming has grown into a $26 billion business, perhaps far eclipsing any limits which congress may have envisioned [at that t ime] . " x l v this has brought sovereignty conflict between states and tribes to a new level. as the state of the native nations points out, "controversies continue to roil tribe-state relations i n some locales as tribes spar with each other and with states over taxation and revenue sharing, off-reservation gambling, reservations for g a m b l e r s at f o x w o o d s r e s o r t c a s i n o in c o n n e c t i c u t e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 newly recognized tribes, regulation, campaign contributions and other issues." x l v i as tribes continue to see real gains i n political power, it wi l l be interesting to watch to see i f the court intervenes to shore up states' powers over gaming within their boundaries. as the situation stands, the momentum behind gaming makes it seem all but unstoppable. the sheer size and influence of the gaming industry have made rewriting regulations extremely dif f icul t . x l v 1 1 increasingly, it appears that market forces, not governmental ones wi l l finally restrain gaming. with the current incentives for proliferation, political opposition is almost unsustainable. as eadington points out, saturation, not political opposition, wi l l likely be the force that finally retards proliferation: if permitted gambling continues to expand in society, then the role of gaming in tourism will likely decline unless gambling—especially casino-style—becomes part of a wider range of complementary entertainment offerings... usually, casinos become tourism generators primarily because of prohibitions of gambling in places where people live. as those prohibitions disappear, then much of tourism-based gambling will diminish as well.xlym unti l then, states can expect to continue to struggle to resist proliferation within their borders as new tribes, governors, and state politicians try to claim their share of the action. barring a major change i n public feeling over taxes or clear federal leadership on the issue, casino gaming, both tribal and commercial, wi l l continue to expand across the united states. ix. reagan (98-102) x. california v. cabazon band of mission indians, 480 u.s. 202 (1987) xi. ibid. xii. house committee on interior (28) xiii. house committee on interior (373) xiv. indian game regulatory xv. ibid. xvi. ibid. xvii. ranjana (401-412) xviii. w. dale mason (89) xix. tribes and the states (xiv) xx. national indian gaming association xxi. seminole tribe of florida v. florida xxii. northern arapho expands gaming xxiii. the gun lake tribe xxiv. the grand rapids press xxv. granholm xxvi. indian gaming regulatory act xxvii. ibid. xxviii. federal register (60484) xxix. casino city's north american gaming almanac (166) xxx. ibid. (165) xxxi. meister (39) xxxii. "crist set for showdown over gambling deal" xxxiii. state of connecticut division xxxiv. fy 2008-2009 governor's budget xxxv. nelson xxxvi. ibid. (5,8) xxxvii. ibid. (9) xxxviii. douglas (10) xxxix. altshuler and luberoff (18) xl. ibid. (31, 43) xli. new england gaming research project xlii. thee commonwealth of massachusetts xliii. market will support multiple casino (a12) xliv. ibid, (xviii) xlv. federal register (60484) xlvi. the state of the native nations (156) xlvii. indian country today xlviii. eadington (134) e n d n o t e s i . bloom and opton (100) i i . ibid. (100-103) hi. u.s. constitution (article i.section 8 and article i i . section 2) iv. jay (37-38, 39) v. ward (150, 153) vi. rand and light (13) vii. ibid. viii. the state of the native natons (70) refernces alan altshuler and david luberoff, mega-projects: the changing politics of urban public investment (washington d.c.: the brookings institution press, 2003) p. 18. alan meister, "the potential economic impact of proposed changes to class i i gaming regulations," to the national indian gaming commission, (nov 3, 2006) oklahoma indian gaming association, 5 nov. 2007, <http://www.okindiangam ing.org/pdfs/analysis%20group %2oeconomic%2oimpact%2odocument.pdf> p. 39, fn. 136. a r a w d e a l http://www.okindiangamhttp://ing.org/pdfs/analysis%20group california v. cabazon band of mission indians, 480 u.s. 202 (1987) casino city's north american gaming almanac, eds. steve bloom, michael opton, (newton: casino city press, 2005) p. 100. "class i i regulation changes cause conflict," indian country today (june 7, 2005) www.indiancountry.com , 6 nov. 2007 <http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id= i0964ii043>. "crist set for showdown over gambling deal," the miami herald (september 25, 2007), miamiherald.com, 5 nov 2007, <http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/story/249305.ht ml>. douglas m. walker, the economics of casino gambling (new york: springer berlin heidelberg, 2007) p. 10. fy 2008-2009 governor's budget, budget and fiscal management division (august 24, 2007), the state of connecticut, 5 nov 2007 <http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/budget/2008 2009budgetbooks/bigbook/bigbook_parti_frontofbooksche dules.pdf> p. 5. house committee on the interior and insular affairs. indian gaming control act, part i : hearing before the committee on the interior and insular affairs. 1st session (june 25, 1985) serial 99-55 (washington d.c.: government print office, 1985) p ; 28 . "house rejects limits on off-reservation casinos," san diego union-tribune (september 23, 2006) www.signonsandiego.com, 6 nov. 2007 < http://www.signon sandiego.com/uniontrib/20060914 /news_ini4casino.html> "indian gaming regulatory act: definition and classification standards; proposed rules," 72 federal register 205 (october 24, 2007), pp. 60482. indian gaming regulatory act (p.l. 100-497) 25 usc 2703 (1988). jennifer granholm, governor of michigan, to mike bishop, michigan senate majority leader (march 9, 2007) the gun lake band of pottawatomi indians, 5 nov. 2007, <http://www.rnbpi.org/pdf/news/press%20releases/lgov%20sml%203-9.07.pdf> john jay, "federalist #3," in the federalist papers, ed. clinton rossiter (new york: new american library, 1961) p. 37-38, 39. "legal gambling's historic triumph at the polls," gaming law review, vol. 1:1 (november 1997) "market will support multiple casino plan, state officials say," the boston globe (september 18, 2007) a12. michael nelson, "the politics of sovereignty and policy toward gaming," presented at gambling and the american moral landscape, boston college (october 25, 2007) p. 5, 8 national indian gaming association (april 7, 2005) "indian gaming regulatory act history & facts." media release,<http://www.indiangaming.org/info/pr/presskit/stat es.pdf> "new england casino gaming update 2007," new england gaming research project (march 2007) center for policy analysis, university of massachusetts dartmouth, 5 nov. 2007, <http://www.umassd.edu/cfpa/gaming_reports.cfm> rand and light, indian gaming and tribal sovereignty: the casino compromise. ranjana g. madhusudhan, "betting on casino revenues: lessons from state experiences," national tax journal vol. 49:3 (september 1996) pp. 401-12. ronald reagan, (january 1983) "statement on indian policy," weekly compilation of presidential documents, 19 (pp. 98-102). washington, dc: united states government printing office, 1983. seminole tribe of florida v. florida, 517 u.s. 14 (1996) state of connecticut division of special revenue, "statistics for tribal gaming," september 30, 2007, the state of connecticut, 5 nov 2007 <http://www.ct.gov/dosr/lib/dosr/fosltweb.pdf> and <http://www.ct.gov/dosr/lib/dosr/mosltweb.pdf> steven light and kathryn rand, "moral policymaking and indian gaming," presented at gambling and the american moral landscape, boston college (october 25, 2007) p. 13. the casino compromise (lawrence, kansas: university of kansas press, 2005) pp. 28-29. the commonwealth of massachusetts executive department (september 17, 2007) "governor patrick unveils plan for casino gambling in massachusetts." press release, <http: / /www. mass. gov/?pageid=pressreleases&agid=agov3&prmodname=gov3pr essrelease&prfile=0709i7_casino_gaming.xml> the constitution of the united states, article 1, section 8, and article i i , section 2. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 http://www.indiancountry.com http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=i0964ii043 http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=i0964ii043 http://miamiherald.com http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/story/249305.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/story/249305.html http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/budget/20082009budgetbooks/bigbook/bigbook_parti_frontofbookschedules.pdf http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/budget/20082009budgetbooks/bigbook/bigbook_parti_frontofbookschedules.pdf http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/budget/20082009budgetbooks/bigbook/bigbook_parti_frontofbookschedules.pdf http://www.signonsandiego.com http://www.signonhttp://sandiego.com/uniontrib/20060914 http://www.rnbpi.org/pdf/news/press%20releases/l-gov%20sml%203-9.07.pdf http://www.rnbpi.org/pdf/news/press%20releases/l-gov%20sml%203-9.07.pdf http://gov%20sml%203-9.07.pdf%3e http://www.indiangaming.org/info/pr/presskit/stat http://www.umassd.edu/cfpa/gaming_reports.cfm http://www.ct.gov/dosr/lib/dosr/fosltweb.pdf http://www.ct.gov/dosr/lib/dosr/mosltweb.pdf the grand rapids press (sept 24, 2005): a3. infotrac custom newspapers. 5 nov. 2007, <http://fmd.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodid= spn.spo2> the gun lake tribe (september 23, 2005) "no state compact needed for casino." press release, < http://www.mbpi.org/pdf/secretarial%20procedures%20 %20sept.%2023.pdf> the state of the native nations: conditions under us policies of self-determination, the harvard project on american indian economic development (new york: oxford university press, 2008) p. 70. tribes and the states: geographies of intergovernmental interaction, eds. brad a. bays and erin hogan fouberg (oxford: rowman & littlefield, 2002) p. xiv. ward, churchhill. "implications of treaty relationships between the united states and various american indian nations," in native americans and public policy, eds. fremont j. lyden and lymen h. legters, (pittsburgh: university of pittsburgh press, 1992) p. 150, 153 w. dale mason, "tribes and states: a new ear in intergovernmental affairs," in tribes and states: geographies of intergovernmental interaction (lanham: rowman & littlefield, 2002) p. 89. a r a w d e a l http://fmd.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodid=%20spn.spo2 http://www.mbpi.org/pdf/secretarial%20procedures%20http://%20sept.%2023.pdf t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: d a n i e l bairos, technology consultant ben b i r n b a u m , executive director of the office of marketing communications e l i z a b e t h bran des, art director for the office of marketing communications c u t b e r t o garza, provost and dean of faculties d o n a l d h a f n e r , vice provost for undergraduate studies joyce mannix, business manager for the college of arts and sciences patrick maney, dean of the college of arts and sciences barbara vi e c h n icki , associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. cover h i v flowing through the circulatory system © 3d4medical.com/getty images p e r i o d i c i t y elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. e l e m e n t s staff e d i t o r i n c h i e f c a t h e r i n e halsey d e p u t y e d i t o r k a t h e r i n e w u m a n a g i n g e d i t o r t i m kelly h u m a n i t i e s j u n s u n c k i m , senior editor erin e. e i c h a n , editor z a c h a r y m a r k a r i a n , editor mary sasso, editor svetlana t u r o v a , editor n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s k a t h e r i n e w u , senior editor erin c r o d e n , editor a n n e k o r n a h r e n s , editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s p a u l w e n d e l , senior editor joy batra, editor j e n n y bress, editor alyssa d u q u e t t e , editor c a i t l i n a. peterson, editor esteban uribe , editor b r i a n v a r i a n , editor l a y o u t erin e. e i g h a n , senior editor alyssa d u q u e t t e , editor erin g r o d e n , editor w e b m a n a g e r k a t h e r i n e w u elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 4, issue 1, spring 2008 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 for submission guidelines please refer to http://www.bc.edu/elements/ copyright © 2008 by trustees of boston college f a c u l t y a d v i s o r e l i z a b e t h c h a d w i c k mailto:elements@bc.edu http://3d4medical.com/getty http://www.bc.edu/elements/ e d i t o r ' s n o t e the fact that boston college is a jesuit institution comes as no surprise. from the moment students arrive at freshman orientation, the school's motto—"men and women for others"—becomes a well-known catchphrase. the words of st. ignatius flood our campus, making apparent the university's strong jesuit ties. however, words are useless without actions to support them. the values embodied by our university motto come to life in the numerous service opportunities and immersion trips offered, the spiritual groups on campus, and the overall community environment here at boston college. this issue of elements highlights examples of students carrying out the mission to live for others in their intellectual pursuits, their spiritual lives, and their efforts to bring about change. one student explores the role of personal virtue, particularly in the lives of politicians, a topic important to many individuals in light of the upcoming elections. another contributing author offers insight into the growing problem of global poverty. both articles embrace the jesuit call for social awareness, encouraging critical examination of personal character and openness to the world around us. oftentimes, the urge to study the world we live in stems from an inner desire to improve the current situation. by examining our spiritual lives, we can better understand that desire. as one article suggests, learning from religions other than our own can enrich our spiritual lives and bring us closer as a global community, thus allowing us to confront worldwide concerns, such as the treatment and prevention of the hiv/aids epidemic, which is featured in our cover article. ultimately, aiming to live as men and women for others is a noble goal that requires us to know ourselves intimately, to move beyond what is familiar, and to take action. being members of the boston college community affords us both privilege and responsibility. the authors featured i n this issue offer us examples of a variety of ways to fulfill our social obligations and encourage us to find our own path of service to others. sincerely, c a t h e r i n e m. halsey editor-in-chief n a t h a n i e l cam p6ell is a junior in the college of arts and sciences, with a double major in classics and german. he is studying abroad this semester at the catholic university in eichstatt, germany. his academic interests include classical latin and greek literature and mediaeval latin and german literature. in his free time he enjoys listening to baroque music and reading, especially the works of j.k. rowling. he would like to thank dr. meredith monaghan for her help with the philosophy of lucretius. is a junior english and philosophy major in the college of arts and sciences, as well as a resident of oxford, connecticut. she is on the editorial board for stylus, boston college's art and literature magazine, elements, the undergraduate research journal, and epicenters, the in-the-works online professional arts journal, and is also a research assistant in the english department. this issue's "quixote" paper was originally submitted as an assignment for one of the best classes of all, prof. mark o'connor's honors seminar.. t i m h r n d f r s o n is a senior in the college of arts and sciences majoring in history and philosophy with a minor in asian studies. he hopes to attend law school and continue to explore his interest in modern japanese history and language after graduation. he is a member of the order of the cross and crown as well as the boston college marching band. m e r edit h h u d s o n is a senior majoring in political science and sociology with a spanish minor from waco, tx. while at bc, meredith has been active in several social justice programs such as 4boston, the school of the americas watch and a pedro arrupe immersion trip to chiapas, mexico. as aresult of her interst in feminist issues, she is currently serving as a teaching assistant in introduction to feminism. after college she plans to go to estes park, co, to teach outdoor environmental education at the ymca of the rockies, and eventually she plans to attend law school. her interests include traveling, hiking, skiing, going to concerts, rock climbing, back-packing, and working with children. j e o n g h o n a m is is a sophomore majoring in biology and currently is in pre-dental program. jeong ho nam conducted his research in neuroscience lab in suny old westbury after studying under george b. stefano, patrick cadet and kirk mantione for three years. he wants to thank them for giving h i m a great opportunity and thank his parents for support. is a sophomore at boston college. she hails from tampa, flfrom beaches to beantown. emily majors in art history with a middle eastern studies minor. she works as an intern at the mcmullen museum of art and plans to study abroad next year in cairo. • ' ! ly h. roh is a senior studying philosophy and spanish in the pre-medical program. her introductory research thesis about the environmental, social, and cultural factors affecting malaria is an intersection of her academic interests. currently, she hopes to get a degree in public health studying infectious disease epidemiology and then eventually obtain a medical degree. in addition to her appreciation towards the mcnair program and her family, emily would like to thank her mentor mohammed shahabuddin in the biology department at boston college and andrew spielman at the harvard school of public health. is a senior at boston college with an art history major and minors in fine art and hispanic studies. over the past two years she has spent time abroad in rome, madrid, hong kong, taipei and south china. she hopes to pursue a career as a professor, writer and artist in the us and overseas. b r a d y s m i t h is a senior english major from cedar rapids, iowa. he spent the fall of 2 0 0 4 at rhodes university in grahamstown, south africa, and is currently writing an honors thesis on the work of south african playwrights athol fugard, john kani and winston ntshona. t h a n k s the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: p e r i o d i c i t y elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring semesters. ben b i r n b a u m , executive director of the office of marketing communications elizabeth bran des, art director for the office of marketing communications cutberto garza, provost and dean of faculties d o n a l d hafner, chair of the undergraduate fellowships committee joyce m a n n i x , business manager for the college of arts and sciences a n n a marie murphy, deputy editor of boston college magazine joseph q u i n n , dean of the college of arts and sciences barbara vi ech n icki , associate dean for finance and administration we would also like to give special thanks to the dean's office of the college of arts and sciences and the office of marketing communications for providing budgetary support that made this publication possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f you have any questions, or would like to contribute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. cover cinco de mayo celebration by mexican-americans i n port huron, michigan. © dennis macdonald/alamy elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 3, issue 1, spring 20067 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: kirkwood printing, 904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 for submission guidelines please refer to http://www.bc.edu/elements/ copyright © 2007 by trustees of boston college mailto:elements@bc.edu http://www.bc.edu/elements/ e l e m e n t s staff e d i t o r i n c h i ef rebecca kraus m a n a g i n g e d i t o r s catherine halsey paul wendel h u m a n i t i e s emily cersonsky, senior editor rebecca f. buckley, editor erin e. e i c h a n , editor kaelin m. grant, editor junsung k i m , editor rohan m u l g a o n k a r , editor mary sasso, editor kathryn skaggs, editor christopher trueax, editor n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s allison lord, senior editor kathryn m. brady, editor dam i en croteau-chonka, editor ellen k i m , editor aiste narkevici ute, editor katherine w u , editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s kerry b r e n n a n , senior editor mar isa cochrane, editor susie c o n n o l l y, editor morgan j. corcoran, editor j o h n flowers, editor t i m kelly, editor christopher laws, editor maria masaveu, editor s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s n a t h a n i e l campbell, senior editor l a y o u t dam i en croteau-chonka, senior editor susie c o n n o l l y, editor erin e. e i g h a n , editor maria masaveu, editor w e b m a n a g e r dam i en croteau-chonka f a c u l t y a d v i s e r prof. mark o ' c o n n o r , director, college of arts and sciences honors program "this is the chance and the time for a raging war." —tomds o miochdin i r i s h v e r n a c u l a r poetry a n d t h e a m e r i c a n r e v o l u t i o n irish find their voice in tomds o miochdin s a r a g o e k h i s t o r i c a l s t u d i e s o f i r e l a n d d u r i n g t h e l a t e -1 8 t h c e n t u r y ' a c e o f r e v o l u ­ t i o n ' h a v e t r a d i t i o n a l l y f o c u s e d o n p o l i t i c s a n d i d e o l o g y — t h e r e a l m o f s o c i e t y ' s e l i t e — o f t e n i g n o r i n g t h e o p i n i o n s a n d r o l e o f t h e l a r g e l y c a t h o l i c , i r i s h s p e a k i n g p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y . t h i s h a s o c c u r r e d d u e t o b o t h a n i n a b i l i t y t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e r i c h v e r n a c u l a r s o u r c e s , a s w e l l a s t h e l o n g s t a n d i n g v i e w o f r u r a l p e o p l e a s a n u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d m a s s , a v i e w t h a t w e n t l a r g e l y u n c h a l l e n g e d — u n t i l r e c e n t l y . by e x a m i n ­ i n g t h e v e r n a c u l a r p o e t r y o f t o m a s 6 m i o c h a i n , t h i s p a p e r r e c o n s i d e r s t h e r o l e o f t h e n a t i v e i r i s h s p e a k i n g p o p u l a t i o n i n d i s c o u r s e o f t h e a m e r ­ i c a n r e v o l u t i o n a n d , i n t u r n , t h e r e v o l u t i o n ' s i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r i r e l a n d . w h i l e o n l y a s i n g l e e x a m p l e o f p o l i t i c a l v o i c e i n t h e i r i s h v e r n a c u l a r d u r i n g t h i s e r a , t h e w o r k s o f 6 m i o c h a i n o f f e r a w i n d o w i n t o a m u c h m o r e c o m p l e x p r e s e n t a t i o n o f l a t e 1 8 t h c e n t u r y i r e l a n d , d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h a t p e o p l e o u t s i d e t h e e n g l i s h s p e a k i n g e l i t e c o m p r e h e n d e d t h e p o l i t i ­ c a l s i t u a t i o n a n d b r o u g h t t o i t t h e i r o w n e x p e r i e n c e s a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g . in late-i8th century ireland, the population of the country comprised three main groups: anglo-irish elite, protestant dissenter, and catholic. historical discussion of the influence of the american revolution on ireland tends to focus on politics and ideology, but these had only an indirect impact on the catholic majority. vernacular sources are "vernacular sources are frequently ignored due to an inability to understand the language and the longstanding misperception of the rural population as an undifferentiated mass.77 frequently ignored due to an inability to understand the language and the long-standing misperception of the rural population as an undifferentiated mass. this arose because demotic opinion spread in a way unintelligible to those outside the culture: the oral tradition of irish language poetry and song. i n reality, rich literary texts from the period demonstrate a lively interest within the irishspeaking population for matters beyond the mere concern for the past and complaints of the present that many observers and historians have assumed. i n his study of irish public opinion, r.b. mcdowell directly stated that "the great output of gaelic poetry through which they expressed their feelings does not contain any formulated political ideas."1 on the contrary, these texts provide insight into the irish-speaking, catholic public's knowledge of current events and hopes for the future. three works of county clare's tomas o miochain present the poet's opinions and concerns during the era of the american revolution, demonstrating engagement i n contemporary political issues and drawing a hope of deliverance by calling his fellow irishmen to action. unti l very recently historians studying the late 18th century focused on parliamentary politics, the domain of the small anglo-irish percentage of the population, and largely ignored vernacular irish sources. the lack of interest in native literature stems from both an inability to understand the language and a view of the catholic, peasant, and largely irish-speaking section of the population as an inchoate mass unengaged and uninterested in mainstream social issues. perceiving the weakness of this viewpoint, historian gearoid 6 tuathaigh wrote that " i t is difficult to see how a discussion of cultural or 'national' consciousness in ireland in the early modern period can be conducted very sensibly by those who cannot comfortably handle sources."11 indeed, far from living in ignorance, irishspeakers left a rich record of poetry and song, the media of an oral tradition by which their views disseminated. in the early 17th century, seathrun ceitinn (geoffrey keating) justified using poetry extensively as a historical source, saying in his narrative history of ireland, forasfeasa ar eirinn "a basis of knowledge on ireland" written around 1634, "do bhrigh gurab i nduantaibh atd cndimh agus smior an tseanchusa, measaim gurab oircheas dam cinneadh mar ughdardhds air, agtrdchtadh aran seanchus"l,i "the strength that is i n poetry is the bones and marrow of history, and i evaluate it proper to depend on it as an authority, discussing the history".-" this monumental work had a profound impact on the foundation of irish identity and many 18th century poets used it as a resource. 1v while the modern day historian may not depend wholly on the weight of poetry in his or her study, the validity of that voice requires serious attention in a society where the poet functioned as a narrative voice of his or her contemporaries. throughout the 18th century, jacobitism—support for the deposed stuart monarchy—remained a central concern to all sections of the irish population, contributing to the rise and fall of catholic hopes and protestant fears unti l the e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 08 death of charles edward stuart in 1788 and the revolutionary movements of the 1790s. the catholic population may have followed the cause more on principle than conviction. they had a mindset of persecution coming out of the era of the penal laws, which had sought to prevent a rise in the social status of any catholic individual or family, and a stuart restoration offered some hope of alleviation. v the irish diaspora on the european continent also continued to play a central role in politics throughout the 18th century by linking jacobite sympathizers and the deposed stuart rulers. the focus of vernacular literature from this period lay with james i i i and his supporters and prospects during the dynastic wars ravaging europe. only with the help of another sympathetic government, notably france, could the stuarts recapture britain and ireland. the poets ignored the dublin and london parliaments, since these had little immediate effect on the lives of rural irish people. the state had limited policing power,v1 and catholics remained outside the franchise, kept there by the debilitating effect of the penal laws and the insecurity of the ascendancy elite who depended heavily on their connection to the british government for the protection of their position. prince charles edward stuart's cause offered a small hope to irish cathol ics . this new and often apprehensive ruling class of ireland perceived the support of the stuarts and their allies as well as the threat posed by these to the regime put in place by the glorious revolution (or war of the two kings) of 1688. they assumed that any popular rising would be jacobite in nature, supported by a catholic power: v u the french are all apprised that the lower class of the roman catholics in ireland, which out-number the protestants at least three to one, would join and support them with the utmost alacrity and joy, at the same time they must with the greatest reason be convinced, that the most sensible of the titular bishops and priests, as well as the roman catholics of landed interest and in trade, would be most averse to any attempt made by the french to distress this their native country.vm any jacobite rising would need european, most likely french, support. this selection also shows acknowledgement of the split in catholic opinion on lines of wealth and affluence. through institutions such as the catholic committee, those of 'landed interest' and merchants, reassessed their jacobite sympathies and at least paid lipservice to the new establishment in the hopes of future relief. lay people accepted george i i i much more slowly and support for the deposed stuart monarchy sputtered along unti l the death of charles i i i and the consuming revolutionary blaze of the 1790s.1x discussions of the american revolution and its influence on and reception in ireland most commonly focus on comparing the positions of ireland and the american colonies i n the british empire and political issues that joined them, including ones of law and the nature of sovereignty and representation. however, these two situations cannot be considered exact parallels. a primary difference lay in the nature of the leadership of the two societies in the late 18th century. unti l the time of the french and indian war (also known as the seven years' war), the anglo-american elite remained tied to the mother country, dependent on britain for protection against the french and native americans. i r i s h v e r n a c u l a r p o e t r y a n d t h e a m e r i c a n r e v o l u t i o n is o w b s v. y. ireland, p ictured here in th is contemporary map, was subordinate to britain in the 1 8th century. the defeat of these forces at the end of the war removed that threat, and the native americans lost the ability to capitalize on competing english and french interests. freed from this pressure, the colonists had the ability to develop more autonomy and redefine the nature of imperial relations. unlike their counterparts across the atlantic, the ruling class in ireland remained dependent on britain to maintain their tenuous hold on power. this stemmed partly from their sometimes paranoid fear of the catholic masses, by whom they would never be viewed as the 'natural' leaders of the country. 5 0 despite this, when the american revolutionary stirrings began, the patriot political opposition i n the irish parliament often sympathized with the colonists' cause and drew rhetorical influence from it, criticizing british empiricism. a n anonymous writer in the freeman's journal publication baratariana appealed to the parliamentary patriots to stand by their convictions and to the public to support them: "let us cast off the yoke of slavery, and vindicate our freedom and independence. let us no longer be rid, rather than ruled, as we have too long been, by men who have neither heads nor hearts."™ the rhetoric of slavery is one familiar i n the american context, but the irish political claim for rights as a kingdom equal to britain was actually more advanced than contemporary american arguments which sought to merely exclude british government from domestic affairs. the parallel experiences imply a shared intellectual inheritance across the empire and a common feeling of subordination to the parliament in london . x n because of these influences, as hostilities escalated into war in the american colonies, the irish on all levels of society maintained economic and ideological interest i n its events, hoping for a similar change at home. e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 many historians view the linguistic split in ireland as a barrier to the dissemination of news and political ideas, using this to justify theories of disinterest among the irish-speaking population with regard to the events of the late 18th century, from the american revolution to the united irish uprising. this perspective lacks a foundation and demonstrates a failure to utilize vernacular sources. during this era, irish was widely spoken in the western provinces of connaught and munster, but also by about half of the people in ulster and leinster though its use waned there due to more permanent anglicization. x l v studies of censuses conducted in the aftermath of the famine of 1845-9 indicate that approximately 80 percent of children born in connaught and 77 percent of those born i n munster in 1801-11 spoke irish, while in ulster and leinster these figures were 15 and 11 percent respectively.m of world events. these percentages may be underestimates because northern and eastern ireland transitioned to english during this period, and earlier even more of the adult population would have spoken irish. much of society was actually bilingual, and just two decades after the american revolution, hely dutton stated in his "statistical survey of the county of clare" that "there are very few, except in remote situations, that do not at least understand a little english."™ far from existing in a world cut off by the obstacle of language, irish-speaking society existed in congruity with the english-speaking world. even for those neither fluent nor literate in english, a poet and scholar such as tomas 6 miochain, who spoke both languages and held the influential role of local schoolteacher could transmit news to the non-english speakers of the community. as hedge schools flourished across ireland in the 18th through early 19th centuries, irish catholics gained access to the education that enabled comprehension and analysis of contemporary events. local populations recognized the importance of the school teacher in community life, often providing h i m with the means of living in exchange for his teaching. o miochain, described as a "teacher of accompts and mathematics in ennis," x ' n opened his longstanding school there in 1780. he also participated in the vibrant literary scene, and interacted with poets and scholars sean lloyd, sean do hora, and seamus mac consaidin. x v m local news sheets (in english) provided the material for much of his political verse, which then reached the public. many of the poems could also be sung to familiar tunes, such as "nil 'na id, td 'na mhaidin" or "sean o duibhir an ghleanna," adding to their transmissibility. the existence of the news sheets, and their interpretation, translation, and transmission demonstrates that rural ireland was far from isolated or 'hidden' from the world, even in county clare where more than half the population spoke irish. the aspects of 18th-century vernacular poetry most often emphasized and alluded to are its expressions of complaint and backward looks. however, in a world i n which this medium provided news and influential social commentary, perhaps it is unsurprising that the poet spoke to the situation of his audience. 6 miochain placed contemporary events in the wider domestic and international context, often using the condition of ireland and her people as a basis for comparison or interpretation. each of his poems that address the american revolution, "ar dtreigan bhoston d'arm shasana, 1776" "on the army of england's departure from boston, 1776", "ar gheilleadh chornwallis i r i s h v e r n a c u l a r p o e t r y a n d t h e a m e r i c a n r e v o l u t i o n ag yorktown 1781" "on the surrender of cornwallis at yorktown 1781", and "a uaisle inis eilge" "o worthies of ireland", begins with a call to the people to remember their heritage. 6 miochain alludes to the racial origin of the native irish in the 'great race' or milesians, in the opening lines of each poem: agheaga cumainn na ngaelgcumais de shaorcheap mhuireannach mileadh ' x l x o members of the capable society of the gael from the troubled family of mile [the milesians] or "a uaisle inis eilge de chnuascheap na ngael"xx ('0 worthies of ireland of the fruitful stock of the gaels'). such openings function both as a poetic device to draw the attention of the listener or reader—especially important i n the case of orally transmitted poetry—and give the audience a sense of a unified identity by drawing on common heritage. i n his first poem on the american revolution, "ar dtreigan bhoston darm shasana, iyy6" ('on the army of england's departure from boston, 1776'), o miochain asserts that the irish people, though the product of an ancient and great race, are also 'troubled' by the oppression under which they live: td treithlag tuirseach agplele bruscar gan reim faoi urchall ciosa.xxx exhausted and fed up from dealing with trash without freedom, hobbled by the rope of tax. their glorious heritage has been denigrated by colonization and imposition of the penal laws, resulting in a lack of basic liberties and overburdening of taxes. 6 miochain sympathizes with the situation of the subjugated people, expressing understanding rather than using poetic detachment. he shows his sympathy with their hardship by saying, "an daor no an dith libh suim an sceoil"xxu ('slavery and misery is the sum of your story'). they are "luascaithe i mbuaireamh is suaite ag an saol"xxm ('rocked by trouble and shaken by life') and have lost the lands of the ancestors, alluding to the sense of disconnection from the heritage they revered. it is important to note that these complaints all exist within the first four lines of each of these three poems. the historical revisionist view would argue that the rural irish-speakers' perspective went no further, mired in grievance and backwards glances. 6 miochain offers much more. moving beyond complaint, his poetry provides a commentary on the events of the american revolution, demonstrating that international news reached the population of rural ireland and at least the more scholarly members of society could determine its possible implications. under the age-old understanding that 'britain's trouble is ireland's opportunity,' he mentions specific events and people, turning the commanders of the colonial forces into the heroes of vernacular verse: isfonn's is aiteas horn howe is na sasanaigh tabhartha, treascartha choiche, is an crobhaire, washington, cabhartach, calma, igceann is igceannas a riochta.xxw it's a joy and a pleasure for me to see howe of england spent, destroyed forever, and stalwart, washington, supporting, brave, is in command of his realm. this stanza illustrates both of the abovementioned qualities: the poet revels in the hardship of the english, but also gives the anglo-american general washington the attributes of the gael (his heritage notwithstanding). additionally, it contains a careful description of events. the title refers to the british naval fleet leaving boston harbor in march of 1776. when this news reached london, it caused the duke of manchester to comment that: the mode of retreat may, to the general [howe], do infinite honour, but it does dishonour to the british nation. let this transaction be dressed in what garb you please, the fact remains that the army which was sent to reduce the province of massachusetts bay has been driven from the capital, and that the standard of the provisional army now waves in triumph over the walls of boston.*™ 6 miochain continues the stanza: sin amhais ag screadaibh gan chuil, gan charaid, gan truip nd barcaibh ar taoide, faoi shamhain go dearfa buir na breatain' ibponcfaoi thearmainn laoisigh.xxvl the mercenaries screaming without refuge or friend without troops or battleships on the tide, by november certainly the british will be trapped in the custody of louis. the 'mercenaries' mentioned were the germans who fought under general howe. the last line refers to king louis xvi of france. even though france officially abstained from entering the war unti l 1778, they provided material support to the americans from its start, pursuing their own interests against the british. 6 miochain probably wrote this poem shortly after news reached ireland of the evacuation of boston, perhaps in the summer of 1776. he expresses the optimistic hope of france entering the conflict by the fall. his sentiments demonstrate the expectation that relief of the irish situation would result from the french or americans placing stress on the reach of the empire. 5 0™ 1 "ar gheilleadh chornwallis ag yorktown 1781" ('on the surrender of cornwallis at yorktown 1781') places the war in north america in the context of other colonial struggles i n the british empire, including india and the caribbean: tdid thiar dd seideadh ag wayne's ag greene, thoir dd sniomh ag hyder ali... i mbarcaibh ghliadh sa ngrianoiledn sin ciortha cdite eastdt na sacsan.xxvin to the west they're being blown up by wayne and greene, to the east being wrung by hyder ali... in battleships in the sunny isle [tobago] the estate of the saxon is harried and destroyed. "wayne and greene" refer to american generals anthony wayne and nathaniel greene. hyder al i , an indian prince, attacked and defeated the british in september 1780 in part of the second anglo-mysore war (1780-84). this section of the poem, while still reveling in losses of the colonizer, also demonstrates an ability to analyze events i n a broader framework, beyond their implications for domestic issues, though those received the most attention. regarding concerns closer to home, o miochain never mentions the role of the dublin or london parliaments, perhaps indicating the demotic detachment attributable to the restrictions of the franchise and representation. the people would not gain freedom or alleviation of their situation from either body and instead hoped for assistance from abroad, either in the form of a stuart restoration or the weakening of the empire. political concessions by the british to the irish parliament made little difference to those kept under the landlords' yoke, who equated the anglo-irish ascendancy and the english. the irishspeaking population remained outside the 'political nation', but fully aware of it in their understanding of the divisive issues of the day. o miochain called his countrymen to assert their rights and expressed the hope for the betterment of their situation afterwards. the first of these three poems is the least advanced in terms of a call to action, suggesting that britain's defeat would lead to a stuart restoration. "searlas sointeata stiohhart"™* ('clement charles stuart,' charles iii) had long held a more prominent place in popular imagination than his father. he is described as ireland's "ceile dlitheach ceart dileas"xxx ('correct, lawful, loyal partner') and the solution to the country's troubles despite his failure in scotland i n 1745. the poem goes on to describe society after the i r i s h v e r n a c u l a r p o e t r y a n d t h e a m e r i c a n r e v o l u t i o n necessary changes have taken place: beidh reim agfili, is go saol an iolair ceadfeir is uisce ag gaelaibh, is na geaga agfilleadh re heigean duille is na heisc aglingeadh as a uontaibh.xxxl the poets will reign, and till the end of time the gaels will have license of grass and water, and the limbs bending with necessity of a leaf and the fish leaping at their nets. use of the future tense here indicates that these things, including "license of grass and water" (grazing and fishing rights) existed only as aspirations in 6 miochain's world. the grievances over rights of property, waters, and taxation also provided impetus for the american revolution, but whether he intended that connection i n these poems is unclear. neither of the latter two poems contain any jacobite sentiments, and instead focus on the possibility of change from within through action. assuming the role of the bard, 6 miochain calls on irishmen to take up arms against their enemies while they have the opportunity: gach gliaire gaoidhealach briomhar buan is gach saoiglan suairc gan seadgan taisce, faigheadh a chlaiomhgo liofa luath seo an chaoi's an uain chum caortha cogaidh.xxxn every vigorous steadfast gaelic warrior and every strong, merry man without property or wealth, his sword would be sharpened ahead of time: this is the chance and the time for a raging war. 6 miochain saw the british empire weakened, besieged by colonial problems across its breadth and forced to wage war on many fronts, and perceived the potential opportunity for a popular rising against the oppressor in ireland. he addresses his call to the part of the population, 'without property or wealth,' the tenants subjugated to the landlord system. to these 'gaelic warriors' he gives the valued qualities often associated with figures in the poetry of the heroic age, trusting i n their inherited strengths to act to change society. i n "a uaisle inis eilge" 6 miochain again calls out to his countrymen: musclaidh go luth-chlistefeasta chum eacht, is lubaidh go hurlainn bhur lannaibh go mir 1gcoinnegach dream d'jhdg sibhse go'fann lefadagan sealbhgan saoirse.xxxiii rouse yourselves nimbly for killing henceforth, and flex all your blades up to their hafts against every group which kept you enfeebled for long without property or freedom. here, he specifically entreats the people to rise against their oppressors, "every group which kept you enfeebled" referring to the anglo-irish landlords and the english i n general. notably the poems lack any indication that change could be accomplished by means other than violence. perhaps this represented the reality of the catholic position, with the preclusion of political concessions by the absence of a voice in the legislative body. nevertheless, in all three poems, the conclusion drawn by 6 miochain from the events of the time is one of hope for the future, not a "the american revolution planted the seeds of the tree of liberty across the globe, but its impact in ireland spread beyond political ideology." e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 lament for the heroics of the past or the failures of the british in the present. the american revolution planted the seeds of the tree of liberty across the globe, but its impact in ireland spread beyond political ideology. from the poetry of tomas o miochain, it can be ascertained that the colonial war taking place across the atlantic offered marginalized irish catholics an opportunity to think of a future divergent from the british empire and even the stuarts. beyond an expression of grievances, it contains analysis of the significance of international events and their implications for ireland, leaving the audience with a message of optimism and hope for deliverance i f they heed the poet's call and take independent action against their oppressors. while only a single example of political voice in the irish vernacular during this era, o miochain nonetheless provides insights to the views of the majority, ones often suppressed by contemporaries and ignored by historians. taken in the context of studies of the united irishmen i n the 1790s, this poetry demonstrates that though irish-speakers remained outside that movement, language was not a barrier. they actually existed on a parallel with their english-speaking counterparts, comprehending contemporary politics and bringing their own experiences and understandings to the situation as it developed. e n d n o t e s i . r.b. mcdowell, ir ish public opinion 1750-1800. cited in : morley 2005 (xi) i i . 0 ciardha (42) h i . ibid. iv. morley 2006 v. o ciardha (22-8) vi . connolly (198-203) v i i . ibid. (233) v i i i . sir james cadwell. cited: morley 2002 (63) ix. morley 2002 (45-6) x. anderson (xxiii) xi . whelan xi i . cited: york (212-3) x i i i . morley 2002 (95) xiv. liam de paor, "chontae an chlar le l i n n tomais u i mhiochain," i n : 0 muirithe (10-32) xv. garret fitzgerald, "estimates for baronies of m i n i m u m level of irish-speaking among successive decennial cohorts: 1771-1781 to 1861-1871". cited: morley 2006 (175) xvi. dutton xvii. cited: o'rahilly xvii i . ibid. xix. "ar dtreigan bhoston d a r m shasana, 1776," i n : o muirithe (84) xx. "a uaisle inis eilge," in : 0 muirithe (81-2) xxi. "ar dtreigan bhoston d a r m shasana, 1776," in : 0 muirithe (84) xxii. "ar gheilleadh chornwallis ag yorktown 1781," i n : o muirithe (85-6) xxii i . "a uaisle inis eilge," in : 0 muirithe (81-2) xxiv. "ar dtreigan bhoston d a r m shasana, 1776," in : 0 muirithe (84) xxv. cited: 0 muirithe (96) xxvi. "ar dtreigan bhoston d a r m shasana, 1776," in : 0 muirithe (84) xxvii. morley 2002 (185) xxviii. "ar gheilleadh chornwallis ag yorktown 1781," in : 0 muirithe (85-6) xxix. "ar dtreigan bhoston d a r m shasana, 1776," i n : o muirithe (84) xxx. ibid. xxxi. ibid. xxxii. "ar gheilleadh chornwallis ag yorktown 1781," i n : 0 muirithe (85-6) xxxiii. "a uaisle inis eilge," in : 0 muirithe (81-2) * note on translation: a l l translations from the original irish were done by this author wi th assistance from professor joe nugent, except for the full translation of "a uaisle inis eilge," which appears i n vincent morley's book irish opinion and the american revolution. r e f e r e n c e s anderson, fred. 2001. crucible of war: the seven years' war and the fate of empire in british north america, 1754-1766. new york: vintage books. connolly, s.j. 1992. religion, law and power: the making of protestant ireland 1660-1760. oxford: clarendon press. dinan, brian. 1987. clare and its people: a concise history. dublin: mercier press. doyle, david noel. 1981. ireland, irishmen, and revolutionary america, 1760-1820. dublin: mercier press. dutton, hely. statistical survey of the county of clare, 1808. the clare county library: <http: //www.clarelibrary.ie / eolas/coclare/history/dutton_survey/dutton_statistical_survey.htm> (accessed 11/2007). kraus, michael. 1965. "america and the irish revolutionary i r i s h v e r n a c u l a r p o e t r y a n d t h e a m e r i c a n r e v o l u t i o n http://www.clarelibrary.ie movement i n the eighteenth century," richard b. morris, ed. the era of the american revolution. new york: harper & row publishers. morley, vincent. 2002. irish opinion and the american revolution, 1760-1783. uk: cambridge university press. morley, vincent. 2005. washington i gceannas a riochta: cogadh mheiriced i litriocht na gaeilge. baile atha cliath: coisceim. morley, vincent. 2006. "views of the past i n irish vernacular literature." t i m blanning and hagen schulze, eds. unity and diversity in european culture c. 1800. oxford university press. pp.171-98. 6 ciardha, eamonn. 2002. ireland and the jacobite cause, 16851766. dublin: four courts press. o'connell, maurice r. 1976. "the american revolution and ireland." eire-ireland n , pp.3-12. 6 dalaigh, brian, ed. 1998. the strangers gaze: travels in county clare, l^-ig^o. ennis, co. clare: clasp press. 6 muirthe, diarmaid, ed. 1988. tomds 6 miochdin: eiliochl. baile atha cliath: a n clochomar tta. o'rahilly, thomas. notes on the poets of clare. publisheckas a series i n an claidheamh soluis, july 28 sept. 22,1917. the clare county library: <http: //www.clarelibrary.ie / eolas/coclare/literature/clare_poets /clare_poets.htm> (accessed 11/2007). spellissy, sean. 2003. a history of county clare. dublin: gil l & macmillan. whelan, kevin. 1996. the tree of liberty: radicalism, catholicism, and the construction of irish identity 1760-1830. notre dame, in : university of notre dame press i n association wi th field day. york, neil longley. 1998. "the impact of the american revolution on ireland." h.t. dickinson, ed. britain and the american revolution. new york: longman, pp.205-32. http://www.clarelibrary.ie "the 'individually wrapped' square slices of cheese are iconic of a massproduced american consumer good. it is pre-packaged and ready-to-eat and caters specifically to the needs of an individual, as opposed to a group or family, on-the-go." c a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n parts postmodern food in don delillo's white noise n i c o l e w o n g d e s c r i p t i o n s a n d i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h f o o d s e r v e a s s i g n i f i e r s o f c u l t u r a l v a l u e s i n t h e p o s t m o d e r n s o c i e t y o f d o n d e l i l l o ' s n o v e l white noise. a m i d a c o n s t a n t s t r e a m o f n a m e b r a n d a d v e r t i s e m e n t s a n d f l a s h y t e l e v i s i o n c o m m e r c i a l s , c h a r a c t e r s s t r u g g l e t o f i n d s u b s t a n t i v e m e a n i n g i n t h e i r l i v e s . d e l i l l o p r e s e n t s a c o n s u m e r c u l t u r e s w a m p e d i n e x c e s s , b e l o n g i n g s , a n d c o m m o d i t i e s , w h e r e f o o d i t e m s c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e i r b u y e r s a n d e v e n c o m m i d i f y t h e i r o u t l o o k s o n l i f e . f r o m f a m i l y b a r g a i n p a c k s o f p o t a t o c h i p s i n d i c a t i n g s u c c e s s a n d w e l l b e i n g , t o p l a s t i c w r a p p e d s l i c e s o f c h e e s e f a c i l i t a t i n g a n e f f i c i e n t y e t i s o l a t e d l i f e , t h i s e s s a y d i s c u s s e s d e l i l l o ' s d i f f e r e n t u s e s o f f o o d i m a g e r y t h r o u g h o u t t h e n o v e l . d e l i l l o ' s p o r t r a y a l o f a p o s t m o d e r n c o n s u m e r s o c i e t y i s p u t i n t o d i a l o g u e w i t h a c c l a i m e d e x p e r t s a n d c r i t i c s j e a n b a u d r i l l a r d a n d t h o r s t e i n v e b l e n , a s w e l l a s a r t i s t i c w o r k t h a t c o m m e n t s o n t h e r o l e o f ' p o p f o o d s ' i n c o n t e m p o r a r y a m e r i c a n c u l t u r e , i n c l u d i n g w o r k s b y p o p a r t i s t s a n d y w a r h o l a n d r o y l i c h t e n s t e i n a n d p o e t a l l e n g i n s b e r g . in don delillo's white noise, the commodification of daily life and the value placed on brand consumption are exemplified through delillo's usage of food i n the novel. the postmodern world that delillo presents is driven by consumer needs, of which food is essential. as the novel progresses, delillo's characters have intriguing descriptions and interactions with food and garbage, which are markedly different before and after the airborne toxic event—a chemical spill that forces the protagonist, jack gladney, and his family to briefly evacuate their home. this paper wi l l investigate delillo's use of food as a signifier of cultural values and how it changes and differs throughout the novel, especially i n relation to the airborne toxic event. delillo's use of food wi l l be placed within a larger cultural context, comparing it to contemporary works i n art and poetry that address american consumer culture. this discussion wi l l ultimately reveal delillo's broader message that the only dependable way to f ind meaning i n life i n a postmodern life is by instilling value into the seemingly empty images, whether i n advertisements or on food packaging labels, that surround us. critics on the topic of consumerism in white noise often bring up the ground-breaking writings of jean baudrillard and his portrayal of consumer society i n order to demonstrate how delillo fits into the postmodern picture. critic leonard wilcox assesses delillo's works, especially white noise, as "a view of life i n contemporary america that is uncannily similar to that depicted by jean baudrillard." wilcox continues, for white noise especially—because it most specifically explores the realm of information and mediascape— baudrillard's works provide an interesting, valuable, and even crucial perspective . . . in this world common to both baudrillard and delillo, images, signs, and codes engulf objective reality; signs become more real than reality and stand in for the world they erase . . .for both baudrillard and delillo a media-saturated consciousness threatens the concept of meaning itself.1 this issue of the indeterminable "objective reality" amid the "images, signs, and codes" is the crux of understanding delillo's postmodern consumer society. this commodity culture dictates the postmodern reality for the gladney family. jack gladney's "branding" of the hitler studies program, the declared "family nights" of simply watching television together i n the same room, and frequent trips to the grocery store blend what is supposedly real with signifying actions into a portrayal of life that is marketable yet ultimately lacking i n substance. critic elise a. martucci argues that although delillo's world may be similar to how baudrillard describes consumer society, "the novel is more than a simple fictionalization of postmodern theories. by comprising a mixture of the postmodern themes of representation, reflexive language, and subjectivity with the humor and humanity of a slice-of-life novel, white noise effectively brings the reality and dangers of american consumer society into a starker and more powerful light." 1 1 while it is true that delillo's novel is not just a "simple fictionalization" of baudrillard's theories, to perhaps reduce wilcox's argument as such, the "reality and dangers of american consumer society" are only brought into a "more powerful light" after the airborne toxic event. as evidenced by the descriptions of food discussed below, the airborne toxic event marks a change i n the characters' relations with food, implying a change i n their relations with the postmodern world. martucci also argues that "gladney is at times aware and at other times oblivious to the postmodern simulacra and the stimulation of his world." 1 1 1 this distinction is vital since gladney is able to act as both a subject and an analyst of the baudrillardian world i n which he lives. postmodernism—that is, to be self-conscious, self-reflective, intensely theoretical, and re-contextualizing in the way i n which we construct truth and meaning—inclusively applies to the characters i n the novel, the depicted society, and the literary form itself. on the first page of the novel, jack gladney describes the clamor of college students moving i n to their dormitories, and among the list of material possessions ("small refrigerators and table ranges; the cartons of phonograph records e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 and cassettes; the hairdryers and styling irons; the tennis rackets, soccer balls . . . "), names "the junk food still i n shopping bags—onion-and-garlic chips, nacho thins, peanut creme patties, waffelos and kabooms, fruit chews and toffee popcorn; the dum-dum pops, the mystic mints." 1 v a few pages later, a similar run-down of snacks from the gladney kitchen is given: "wilder was still seated on the counter surrounded by open cartons, crumpled tinfoil , shiny bags of potato chips, bowls of pasty substances covered with plastic wrap, flip-top rings and twist ties, individually wrapped slices of orange cheese."v in the two earlier examples, the incessant listing of items and namebrand "waffelos" and "dum-dum pops" are overwhelming i n their sheer quantity and specificity. the thought of consuming "nacho thins" with "peanut creme patties", "pasty substances" and "orange cheese", is sickening and excessive with a disregard for flavor or content of the food item. the fact that it is all "junk food" also alludes to its dietary excess. there is neither steak nor vegetables, but instead all insubstantial 'empty' carbohydrates such as "toffee popcorn" and "potato chips." none of it would constitute a real meal, yet wilder is surrounded by it all, and it is as necessary to college students as hairdryers and tennis rackets. the items are already used ("open cartons", "crumpled tinfoil") and everything else is soon to be consumed by way of the easily accessible "flip-top rings" or "twist ties". consumer culture moves quickly and efficiently, and the food items are both a product of and catalyst for this consumerist lifestyle. the "individually wrapped" square slices of cheese are iconic of a mass-produced american consumer good. it is pre-packaged and ready-to-eat and caters specifically to the needs of an individual on-the-go. efficiency is favored over the actual quality of the cheese— which, with its familiar artifical "orange" color, is an inferior, less expensive standardized good. yet this characteristically orange cheese is still the preferred choice of the gladneys. i n fact, this processed cheese is also called american cheese, implying its pervasiveness i n american consumer culture, and is used i n cheeseburgers and grilled-cheese sandwiches across the nation to this day. the product listings of inventory exist both outside and inside the gladney house, which suggests that this way of buying and eating is indicative of a social norm; it portrays the whole society as bogged down i n excess, belongings, and commodities. the food-buying habits reveal the heavy influence of conspicuous consumption i n a very literal way, that is, through a bodily consumption of food. through food, delillo raises issues of life being insubstantial, fake, and inauthentic. people also seem to construct their realities and characterize themselves through these objects. potato c h i p s , " i n s u b s t a n t i a l " y e t d e s i r e d , c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e c o n s u m e r ' s d i e t . there appears to be little criticism explicidy addressing the usage of food i n white noise. nevertheless, there is a literary forum surrounding the significance of certain 'pop' foods, such as those listed i n the previous passages, i n american contemporary culture. sarah e. newton writes i n her essay "the jell-0 syndrome" that "the study of popular commercial food products can have value . . . i n uncovering the intimate, important, and sometimes symbolic relationships people develop between themselves, their world, and the foods they eat."v l i n her study of jell-o, newton discusses how the jiggly food is regarded and shared by all types of americans. she claims, "jell-0 is early associated i n the american psyche with love, family, and nurturance. but not all cultural connections with jello are so innocent. a number of informants tie jell-0 with sex . . . i f jell-0 is, as it appears to be, a cultural signifier of c a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n p a r t s a n d y w a r h o l , campbell's soup cans (1962) childhood innocence, of nourishment and comfort from the hands of moms and grandmas—of what is traditionally wholesome and pure—then stories of jell-0 adulteration [jell-0 made with vodka, iell-0 wrestling], are packed with meaning." v i l newton's arguments concerning the symbolism of jell-0 i n society reinforces delillo's discussions of food as a cultural signifier. a19 91 exhibition at bard college titled "art what thou eat: images of food i n american art" also explored "the history of food i n american society through its depiction by american artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.'^ 1 1 1 the curators claimed that through a "close examination of art i n a broader cultural context, a wealth of information can be revealed." l x the exhibition juxtaposed classic 19th-century still life paintings of fruit with 20thcentury representations of wonderbread and geneticallyengineered fruit. connections were also drawn between the traditional marketplace and the commercial supermarket and the transformation of sugar from a luxury good into an american staple. the exhibition worked to "explore evolving artistic style and historical change using images of food as a vehicle. " x similarly, by looking at the role of "food as a vehicle" i n white noise, it is possible to further our insight about postmodern reality. i n contrast to the earlier colorful descriptions of namebrand junk food, jack also describes a chance encounter with a colleague who deals with food i n a very different way: we ran into murray jay siskind at the supermarket. his basket held generic food and drink, nonbrand items in plain white packages with simple labeling. there was a white can labeled canned peaches. there was a white package of bacon without a plastic window for viewing a representative slice. ajar of roasted nuts had a white wrapper bearing the words irregular peanuts . . . "this is the new austerity,' he said. 'flavorless packaging. it appeals to me. i feel i'm not only saving money but contributing to some e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 kind of spiritual consensus. it's like world war iii. everything is white. they'll take bright colors away and use them in the war effort. .. i've bought these peanuts before. they're round, cubical, pockmarked, seamed. broken . . . but they taste good. most of all i like the packages themselves. you were right, jack. this is the last avant-garde. bold new forms. the power to shock.xl the "whiteness" and "simplicity" of the packaging shocks regular consumers. siskind's choice of generic food is unusual, even "avant-garde". the bacon without a "representative slice" showing from the outside implies suspicion of the enclosed contents, even though the representative slice is actually the real bacon inside. the packaging is "flavorless" and inferior for its mundane, monochromatic packaging. 'normal' peanuts are supposedly all round and perfectly uniform, whereas the others are relegated to the less popular "irregular" jars. however, without the modern effects of technology and genetic engineering, peanuts are usually organically shaped and irregular, "round, cubical, pockmarked, seamed, broken". i n delillo's world, the natural peanuts are scrutinized and rejected, even though they all "taste good". siskind likens buying the food to a war cause, as i f to buy "white and simple" is to sacrifice something expected and desired, as i f it is a self-inflicted inconvenience. the reference to a third world war also alludes to bare-bones war rations and the would-be assumption of simple packaging, which creates an interesting irony i n recognizing the "bold new forms" of the white wrappers. the goods are simply what they say they are, yet the people of the novel distrust that. the forms are neither "new" nor "bold"; i n fact, the simple labels are the most primitive and straightforward form of advertising possible. the packaging lacks any commercial appeal. siskind's food preferences are character-revealing when he says he is attracted to the "appealing . . . new austerity" of i t all. siskind is an alternative buyer, and therefore an alternative thinker. he is a true postmodernist, by whom "the euphoric forms of electronic data and informational flow are to be enthusiastically embraced. " x n people are uncomfortable with the blunt directness or lack of colorful distraction, as i f they need the advertised packaging to validate what is inside. they need the "images and signs" on the outside to show them how they should feel about the food or what they wi l l get out of it besides nourishment. only siskind, a postmodernist a step ahead of the average consumer, appreciates the nameless brands. it also serves well to look at delillo's usage of food i n the greater cultural context of pop art, which first emerged i n america i n the 1960s. i n his extremely influential book, the consumer society, jean baudrillard discusses pop art: pop lays claim to be the art of the banal. .. but what is the banal but a metaphysical category, a modern version of the category of the sublime? the object is banal only in its use, in the moment of its use ... the object ceases to be banal as soon as it signifies. . . now, we have seen that the 'truth' of the contemporary object is no longer to be used for something, but to signify, no longer to be manipulated as an instrument, but as a sign. and it is the success of pop, at its best, to show it to us as such.xm pop art depicted these "object" signifiers to question how we view consumer goods. among many other famous series, andy warhol painted campbell's soup cans, the subject of which is an everyday food object of mass consumption. repeating the same image side-by-side, each one hanging on the wall as i f shelved i n a grocery store, the work alludes to the uniformity and ubiquity of the campbell's can i n society, and at the same time "implies not energetic competition [from advertisements] but a complacent abundance."x 1 v warhol changed a banal food into the subject of a highly-regarded—and nowadays quite pricey—work of art. and now regarded as pop art, the image of the everyday can of soup (the "object") "ceases to be banal" and comes to signify something deeper about america's obsession with mass consumption and modern abundance of objects and possessions. other pop artists, such as james rosenquist and roy c a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n p a r t s lichtenstein, also portrayed food i n art i n the commercial styles of billboards and comic strips. in lichtenstein's painting bananas e[ grapefruit #1 (1972), he invokes the image of a bowl of fruit, the subject of many a classic still life, with abstract geometric shapes and solid planes of color, a highly-stylized depiction of fruit and a far cry from realistic resemblance. lichtenstein's painting, however, seems to convey a similar message as delillo i n implying a separation between natural organic foods and the artificial, almost too-perfect products of the new postmodern reality. in one of the various scenes i n the grocery store i n white noise, jack describes the fruit aisle, observing that "there were six kinds of apples, there were exotic melons i n several pastels. everything seemed to be i n season, sprayed, burnished, bright ." x v the description alludes to the strange plastic uniformity of the fruit. they are all "sprayed" with misty chemicals and preservatives and radiate eerily. the various types are lined up and ready-to-go, and all are " i n season"—the fruit do not exist according to the rules of nature. even the "exotic melons," which are rare or imported from afar, blend into the others. again, the consumer is geared towards choosing only by the image value of the food, and not anything more substantial, like its taste or firmness. as well as producing a consumer-driven and mass-produced atmosphere, delillo also uses food to signify family well-being and prosperity. on the way back from a supermarket trip, jack reflects: it seemed to me that bahette and i, in the mass and variety of our purchases, in the sheer plentitude those crowded hags suggested, the weight and size and number, the familiar package designs and vivid lettering, the giant sizes, the family bargain packs with day-glo sale stickers, in the sense of replenishment we felt, the sense of well-being, the security and contentment these products brought to some snug home in our souls—it seemed we had achieved a fullness of being that is not known to people who need less, expect less, who plan their lives around lonely walks in the evening.™ as i n the previous citations from white noise, the idea of excess and "plentitude" arises, with the rhythmic repetition of item after item. however, instead of the nauseating description of cheese puffs and chocolate, there is a different tone of plump "contentment" and "replenishment". food represents comfort, success, and well-being. the marketed "family bargain packs" and "giant sizes" make jack and babette feel they have achieved more than others. the "crowded bags" imply a ful l house i n size and number. the family, made up of a couple with kids from different marriages, can feel snug and secure knowing they not only have the means to eat, but that they are better off than the "lonely" who do not have the comforts or company of family, either. jack and babette feel they have more "fullness of being" than those who do not have their purchasing power or the need of buying i n bulk. they have something—food, which represents prosperity and the ability to share it—that is not known to lonely individuals. the food is a physical reassurance and antidote to loneliness. jack and babette's desire not to be lonely seems to come second to satiating their physical hunger. therefore, the food shopping not only nourishes their bodies, but reinforces how they view themselves as a family. these points gel directly with the theories of consumer desires and conspicuous consumption by the famous sociologist and economist thorstein veblen. in his groundbreaking work, the theory of the leisure class, veblen theorizes that: [t]he quasi-peaceable gentleman of leisure, then, not only consumes of the staff of life beyond the minimum required for subsistence and physical efficiency, but... a specialization as regards the quality of the goods consumed ... in the process of gradual amelioration which takes place in the articles of his consumption, the motive principle and the proximate aim of innovation is no doubt the higher efficiency of the improved and more elaborate products for personal comfort and well-being™1 applying this to the previous paragraph, jack gladney, the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 "quasi-peaceable gentleman of leisure" shops for more than his " m i n i m u m required for subsistence", bringing home a "sheer plentitude" of "crowded bags", and relishes i n the foodstuffs. baudrillard also chimes into this discussion, arguing that consumer society is based on the eternal search for happiness, that: the whole of the discourse on needs is based on a naive anthropology: that of the natural propensity to happiness. happiness . . . is the absolute reference of the consumer society: it is the strict equivalent of salvation . . . happiness has to be measurable. it has to be a well-being measurable in terms of objects and signs.xvm said. we heard sirens again, a different set this time, a larger sound . . . 'why do you want dinner so early?' she said . . . 7 missed lunch. *ix in the face of impending danger, jack wants to eat dinner. his need for normalcy and family come through i n a time of emergency. he wants to eat dinner i n an attempt to minimize the problem, to retreat to food as something familiar and stable. jack wants to pretend as i f everything is still fine, because as just discussed, dinner and food signify familial well-being and content. his request to eat dinner also reminds the reader that food is ultimately a grounding necessity for human existence. whether or not the toxic cloud is growing or threatening, the family must still eat to "in the face of impending danger, fack wants to eat dinner.. .in an attempt to minimize the problem, to retreat to food as something familiar and known." to follow this logic, i f buying food leads to comfort, and comfort leads to happiness, then food leads to happiness. happiness, then, can be "measured" through food, so a sheer plentitude of food must signify a plentitude of happiness and well-being. it is possible that delillo had veblen's theories i n mind when he wrote this scene. regardless, the gladneys are able to put aside the natural disaster and their marital problems and construct their reality i n these objects and signs. that is, unti l the occurrence of the airborne toxic event. food also factors into life during the airborne toxic event as a way to normalize the events that occur. when the gladneys first hear about the mysterious toxic cloud, and are discussing it, jack cuts off the dialogue: 'they're keeping it from getting bigger,' i said. 'when do we eat?'...'... if the billowing cloud is blown due south, it will miss us by a comfortable margin.' 'when do we eat?' i live. as leon kass writes i n the hungry soul, "taking food is not a matter of choice. it is a desired necessity, indispensable for all vital activity and sought after by all living animals. food is needed for growth and development, for maintenance and repair, for every motion and activity . . . one is only i f and because one eats."xx with the threat of the toxic cloud, food now not only signifies the commodification and brand-consumption of postmodern culture, but carries a deeper indication about human sustenance and need. i n the beginning of part i i i of the novel, after the airborne toxic event has passed, delillo places the action immediately back i n the supermarket, which gauges how society appears to have changed. jack remarks: wilder sat inside [the shopping cart], on the collapsible shelf trying to grab items whose shape and radiance excited his system of sensory analysis. there were two new developc a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n p a r t s ments in the supermarket, a butcher's corner and a bakery, and the oven aroma of bread and cake combined with the sight of a bloodstained man pounding at strips of living veal was pretty exciting for us all.™ in the first sentence of this passage, the child's actions and sentiments are described i n a mechanical and dehumanized way. his "system of sensory analysis" refers to his instinctual, infantile mind that "grabs items" off the shelf as any curious child does when excited. using the phrase "system of sensory analysis" reduces wilder to some sort of analytical machine or visual processor, which is what delillo is trying to imply about the postmodern nature of humans. the items "radiate", as i f they are chemically enhanced, alive and beckoning, similar to the fruit i n the store that were "sprayed, burnished, bright", yet the shelf itself is "the mixture of the 'aroma of bread' and the 'sight of a bloodstained man' is ... 'pretty exciting'for the family. the 'pounding at strips of living veal' is a violent death image, but the almost casual entertainment it brings the family is a strange and perverse indication of unresolved issues." only temporary and "collapsible", probably to accommodate the "new developments" i n the store. the addition of the butchery and bakery also carries industrial tones of urban expansion and development. the phrase "new developments" could alternatively be interpreted as tumorlike growths, as i f the entities just developed out of the supermarket, which itself is its own living, breathing thing. traditional town trades of the butcher and baker have become commodified and imbibed into the supermarket conglomerate. it is an entire town i n one location, catering to every consumer need at once. the mixture of the "aroma of bread" and the "sight of a bloodstained man" is strangely uncomfortable and unsettling to the reader, yet "pretty exciting" for the family. the "pounding at strips of living veal" is a violent death image, but the almost casual entertainment it brings the family is a strange and perverse indication of unresolved issues. the strangely mechanized description of the child and the "new developments" show progress—or is it really?—towards a more extreme postmodern tendency of the people and their surroundings. this strangely social yet discomforting portrayal of the supermarket i n white noise also brings to mind allen ginsberg's famous poem "a supermarket i n california.' , x x 1 1 both depict a postmodern supermarket of plastic "signs" and "images" ("in my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, i went into the neon fruit supermarket"), and also deal with unexpected enthusiasm and awe for the supermarket's "radiance" ("what peaches and what penumbras!"; "the brilliant stacks of cans"). the supermarket is discussed on a social plane of human interaction ("whole families shopping at night!", "wives i n the avocados, babies i n the tomatoes!"), and is distinctly commercialized, apart from a more traditional reality ("will we stroll dreaming of the lost america of love past blue automobiles i n driveways, home to our silent cottage?"). ginsberg's poem invokes similar feelings as does delillo's description of supermarkets: though they are highly-commercialized, almost fake, they are also somewhat of a haven and source of community, or at least the preserved and refrigerated remnants of it. david b. clarke writes i n his book, the e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 09 consumer society and the postmodern city, "modern social life was born of the city and its reconfiguration of social and physical space. the postmodern city amounts to its posthumous continuation, its fractal form. the postmodern city is 'less an identifiable city than a group of concepts—census tracts, special purpose bond-issue districts, shopping nuclei.'"™ 1 1 one of the concepts that make up the "postmodem city" would definitely be the supermarket, which i n the text has just been "reconfigured". after the airborne toxic event, their city is implicitly different, and food and supermarkets are just some of the "fractal forms" we can observe. now back to their 'normal lives', the gladneys struggle to f ind unity and comfort i n each other. one night they decide to go out for dinner, and so they: all got in the car and went out to the commercial strip in the no man's land beyond the town boundary. the never-ending neon. i [jack gladney]pulled in at a place that specialized in chicken parts and brownies. we decided to eat in the car. the car was sufficient for our needs. we wanted to eat, not look around at other people. we wanted to fill our stomachs and get it over with. we didn't need light and space.*™ the "never-ending neon" again situates the family amid the neon lights from mass-produced, commercialized signs, which jack acknowledges to be "never-ending", even i n "no-man's land". the neon of consumerism is everywhere and unavoidable. next, the fast food specialty of "chicken parts and brownies" is both unappealing i n its reference to the disembodied bird as well as its subsequent mixture with something sweet and chocolate. the referral to "chicken parts" distances the clucking animal from the easily consumable pieces. society has taken another step away from nature to convenience the needs of a consumer. brownies are also individual sweet treats cut from a larger whole sheet, but one only thinks of this when juxtaposed against "chicken parts". in this passage, the gladneys simply desire to " f i l l their stomachs" and be nourished; they are not looking for a social eating experience. they just want to "get it over with" , not even looking for "light or space". the gladneys acknowledge their bodily needs, but the warm familial feelings of well-being and content once felt from shopping, are now lost, or perhaps they realize that they were fake, just images, to begin with. the sentence structure i n this passage addresses directly what they "want" and "need"—the short staccato of the sentences produce a strangely mechanized read. continuing the narration of this episode, jack explains, "we ate fully dressed, i n hats and heavy coats, without speaking, ripping into chicken parts with our hands and teeth . . . i was surprised to find i was enormously hungry." x x v here, the family has become strangely savage, messily "ripping into chicken parts" and not even bothering to take off their outerwear. as jack eats, he realizes that he was unaware of how hungry he really was. prior to eating, he had a basic bodily need that he virtually ignored. but once he starts eating, his animal instinct to satiate his body takes over. something is not right here, whether it is a loss of humanity or an extremist take on postmodernism that causes the family to be out of touch with body experience. this is what the reader must ultimately grapple with. in regards to the choice of the fast food restaurant, john jakle, a university of illinois cultural geographer, reasons that: traditionally, roadside food has been prepared and consumed quickly and at relatively low prices. it has been at' tractive to people on the move in a society highly mobile geographically .... people find in roadside restaurants places of comfort where standardized environments, products, and services provide security as well as nourishment away from home. anxiety from adventuring is contained by the familiar .. . x x v i the roadside restaurant is iconic of consumer society. jakle supposes the customers are road-tripping americans, which makes it seem much stranger and jarring that a gladney family dinner would take place i n the parking lot c a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n p a r t s of a fast food restaurant. like the supermarket, fast food restaurants are places of comfort and security, and a sort of "nourishment away from home". for the gladneys, i n their desire to leave their home and their town i f only for dinner, the fast food restaurant offers an alternative comfort, i n which the "chicken parts" signify consumer society as they once knew it. after facing the "real danger" of the airborne toxic event, they are lost i n a changed landscape of consumerism. a strange transition occurs, i n which food characterizes the individuals themselves rather than their environment. another example of food portrayed after the airborne toxic event is found i n heinrich's friend's eating habits. jack explains: i took heinrich and his snake-handling buddy, orest mercator, out to the commercial strip for dinner. it was four in the afternoon, the time of day when orest's training schedule called for his main meal. at his request we went to vincent's casa mario . . . we ordered pasta and water... j liked to watch orest eat. he inhaled food according to aerodynamic principles. pressure differences, intake velocities. he went at it silently and purposefully, loading up, centering himself, appearing to grow more self-important with each clump of starch that slid over his tongue.™11 again, food is fuel-like for the character, and the mechanistic people act as its receptacle. orest seems to exist only as an extreme model of postmodernity. his ridiculous desire to be i n the guinness book of world records for sitting i n a glass tank filled with snakes dictates his eating schedule at four o'clock and strict diet of pasta and water. jack describes "aerodynamic principles", "pressure differences", and "intake velocities" to characterize orest's eating style with an appropriately 'aerodynamic' writing style. pasta is reduced to "clumps of starch" because that is all they are to orest, simply means of attaining his goal, of potentially fulfilling the "image" he has created for himself. through orest, we see yet another extreme example of a postmodern character. it is also important to briefly examine delillo's use of garbage—or food waste—and its relation to postmodernism. under the 'clean' surface of these citizens lies their waste. as jack searches for babette's dylar pills—a blackmarket experimental drug supposed to cure the fear of death—he targets the kitchen trash compactor as a possible hideout for the pi l l . he describes: t h e c l o s i n g of white noise features a b u s t l i n g supermarket. j took the bag out to the garage and emptied it. the compressed bulk sat there like an ironic modern sculpture, massive, squat, mocking. i jabbed at it... then spread the material over the concrete floor. i picked through it item by item, mass by shapeless mass, wondering why i felt guilty, a violator of privacy .... is garbage so private? does it glow at the core with personal heat, with signs of one's deepest nature, clues to secret yearnings, humiliating flaws? what habits, fetishes, addictions, inclinations? . . . . i found crayon drawings of a figure with full breasts and male genitals i found a banana skin with a tampon inside. was this the dark underside of consumer consciousness? i came across a horrible clotted mass of hair, soap, ear swabs, crushed roaches, flip-flop rings, sterile pads smeared with pus and bacon fat, strands of frayed dental floss, fragments of ballpoint refills, toothpicks still displaying bit of impaled food. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 the mixture of jack's perceptive yet unanswerable questions, which arise from picking apart the trash, are also discarded and left i n the trash. jack sifts through an odd and perverse assortment of trash, including the "shapeless masses" and the "flip-top rings" we saw at the beginning of the novel. the "glow" of food products before associated with the neon fruit and other radiating commercial products, now perhaps glow with something different. the "personal heat" alludes to the fact that all of these objects once belonged to someone, explaining jack's issues with violating privacy. the uncomfortable mix of sex organs and kids' crayons, of fruit and tampons, and "impaled food", is sickening, a view of the "dark underside of consumer consciousness"—the side where the abundance of possessions rot and are quickly forgotten. in an article on waste and residue, wutz states that: cultural theorists and practitioners have paid attention to the status of trash within the changing frameworks of present-day cultures. british 'rubbish' sculptor tony cragg,for one, has observed that, in a climate of global consumerism, visual artists (arguably beginning with duchamp) are finding 'values and meanings for all the population of objects in the world', including coke bottles, wendy's cups, and campbell's cans ... x x i x the issue of finding meaning i n everything, even what has already been discarded, brings us back again to the dependence on "images and signs" to f ind meaning i n life. this quotation is also humorous when applied to delillo's passage because jack compares his compacted square of trash to an "ironic modern sculpture", perhaps like that of michel duchamp or tony cragg. however, the construction of what is i n the trash is delillo's artful construction! from its outermost frame looking into the text, the discarded debris is intentionally placed and described as i f it were an "ironic modern sculpture". the supermarket shelves have been rearranged. it happened one day without warning. there is agitation and panic in the aisles, dismay in the faces of older shoppers. they walk in a fragmented trance, stop and go, clusters of well-dressed figures frozen in the aisles, trying to figure out the pattern, discern the underlying logic, trying to remember where they'd seen the cream of wheat.... the scouring pads are with the hand soap now, the condiments are scattered .... they turn into the wrong aisle, peer along the shelves, sometimes stop abruptly, causing other carts to run into them. only the generic food is where it was, white pack ages plainly labeled.... there is a sense of wandering now, an aimless and haunted mood . . . . the men scan for stamped dates, the women for ingredients. many have trouble making out the words. smeared print, ghost images ... and this is where we wait together, regardless of age, our carts stocked with brightly colored goods. a slowly moving line, satisfying.... everything we need that is not food or love is here in the tabloid racks.™"food carries cultural significance .. .food is used not only to ground characters as humans, but conversely to emulate the metaphoric 'consumption' of food white noise concludes i n a supermarket, describing an ultieverything has been "rearranged", and the consumers do mate scene of confusion and postmodernity i n consumer not know how to act accordingly. they look for familiar culture: brands like "cream of wheat", and attempt to actually read c a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n p a r t s the packaging instead of take them as "visual signifiers". only siskind's "generic food" remains where it was. critic marc schuster interprets the end of the novel as a final comparison to life i n the supermarket to just be a way of "keeping busy" before death "or, to borrow an apt colloquialism, 'check out ' . " x x x i they are not just "keeping busy", but the characters' interactions with food allow them and the reader to gain insight into their emotions and their understanding of the postmodern consumer society i n which they exist. food carries cultural significance, and i n a search for how to find meaning i n the hyper-reality of postmodernity, food is used not only to ground characters as humans, but conversely to emulate the metaphoric "consumption" of food as an acceptance of postmodern ideas and values. as martucci argues, delillo shows us the "reality and dangers of american consumer society" i n the dehumanization of the gladneys after the airborne toxic event. after the event, food no longer holds the same significance, leading to a downfall and dehumanization of the characters. delillo shows us that, although it may be dangerous, the best way to find meaning i n a postmodern society is by depending on the ostensibly empty "images, signs, and codes" of advertisements, television commercials, and food packaging. e n d n o t e s i . wilcox (346-347) i i . martucci (77) i i i . ibid. (92) iv. delillo (3) v. ibid. (7) vi. newton (266) vii. ibid. (257) viii. snyder-grenier (1005) ix. ibid. (1006) x. ibid. xi. delillo (18-19) xii. wilcox (350) xiii. baudrillard (118) xxiv. publicity publication excerpt, the museum of modern art: new york (260) xv. delillo (36) xvi. ibid. (20) xvii. veblen (73-74), also: "the basis on which good repute in any highly organized industrial community ultimately rests is pecuniary strength; and the means of showing pecuniary strength, and so of gaining or retaining a good name, are leisure and a conspicuous consumption of goods" p. 84. xviii. baudrillard (49) xix. delillo (111, 112) xx. kass (19-29) xxi. delillo (159) xxii. ginsberg xxiii. clarke (94-95), within the quote reference is to: pynchon, the crying of lot 49, vintage, london. 1996 xxiv. delillo (220) xxv. ibid. (221) xxvi. jakle ( i n , 114) xxvii. delillo (252-253) xxviii. ibid. (247) xxix. wutz and doctorow (503) xxx. delillo (309-310) xxxi. schuster (9-10), "as the novel draws to a conclusion, the relationship between death and shopping (the two major themes of white noise) comes clearly into focus: shopping is what we do to keep ourselves busy until we die or, to borrow an apt colloquialism, "check out." from this perspective, the novel as a whole amounts to an extended examination of consumer culture's efforts at organizing society in a way that proffers the ritual of shopping as a means of holding death at bay even as we move inexorably toward it." references baudrillard, jean. 1970. the consumer society: myths and structures. london: sage publications. clarke, david b. 2003. the consumer society and the postmodern city. new york: routledge. delillo, don. 1985. white noise. new york: penguin books. ginsberg, allen. 1956. howl and other poems. san francisco: city lights books. jakle, john a. 1995. "roadside restaurants and place-productpackaging" in fast food, stock cars, and rock 'n' roll: place and space in american pop culture. george o. carney, editor. lanham: rowman & littlefield publishers. kass, leon r. 1953. the hungry soul: eating and the perfecting of our nature. new york: the university of chicago press. martucci, elise a. 2007. the environmental unconscious in the fiction of don delillo. new york: routledge. the museum of modern art. revised 2004, originally published 1999. publicity publication excerpt. moma highlights. new york: the museum of modern art. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 newton, sarah e. july-october 1992. "the jell-0 syndrome: investigating popular culture/foodways" in western folklore, vol. 51, no. 3,4. western states folklore society. schuster, marc. 2008. don delillo, jean baudrillard, and the consumer conundrum. new york: cambria press. snyder-grenier, ellen m. december 1991. "review: art what thou eat: images of food in american art." the journal of american history, vol. 78, no. 3. organization of american historians. veblen, thorstein. 1899. the theory of the leisure class. new york: sentry press. wilcox, leonard. autumn 1991. "baudrillard, delillo's white noise, and the end of the heroic narrative." contemporary literature, vol. 32, no. 3. university of wisconsin press. wutz, michael and e.l doctorow. autumn, 2003. "literary narrative and information culture: garbage, waste, and residue in the work of e.l. doctorow." contemporary literature, vol. 44, no. 3. university of wisconsin press c a n n e d p e a c h e s a n d c h i c k e n p a r t s t h e p o r n o g r a p h y wars exploring two distinct feminist identities m e r e d i t h h u d s o n c u r r e n t p o l i t i c a l debates over t h e l e g a l i z a t i o n of gay m a r r i a g e a n d t h e p r o t e c t i o n of a w o m a n ' s r e p r o d u c t i v e r i g h t s rarely q u e s t i o n s t h e c r i t i cal reasons w h y o u r society u p h o l d s b o t h p a t r i a r c h a l a n d h o m o p h o b i c v a l u e s . t h i s a r t i c l e explores o n e s u c h way i n w h i c h a p a t r i a r c h y is sust a i n e d by t h e use of i m a g e s , s p e c i f i c a l l y p o r n o g r a p h i c i m a g e s . t h o u g h m a n y f e m i n i s t s w o u l d w a n t to pursue a b a n o n p o r n o g r a p h y , s u c h a ban w o u l d merely r e i n f o r c e t h e idea t h a t c e r t a i n s e x u a l desires between t w o c o n s e n t i n g a d u l t s are i m m o r a l a n d d e g r a d i n g . c o n d e m n a t i o n of i m a g e s s u c h as t h e s e has p e r p e t u a t e d t h e r i g h t for o u r c u l t u r e to u p h o l d h o m o p h o b i a for m a n y d e c a d e s , t h e r e f o r e , w e , as a s o c i e t y , m u s t be wary of s u c h a p o l i c y . i n t r o d u c t i o n though the tumultuous decade of the 1960s appeared to shake the very foundations of the american nation, many beneficial consequences also arose. various minority groups became mobilized; african-americans fought for their right to vote, women fought for their right to equal opportunity, and gays fought for the right to practice their lifestyle free from the fear of police entrapment. concurrent with the political upheaval of this time, a social revolution was occurring as well. the counter-culture movement was promoting causes such as "free-love," and the invention of the birth control pil l made this possible. the sexual revolution focused on liberating society from inhibitions about sexuality and encouraged sexual exploration. as a result of this cultural phenomenon, pornography became more widespread. for some feminists, this proliferation of sexual imagery was not liberating; rather it problematized the role of women in our society and presented them as objects merely to serve and submit to male sexual pressure. this particular school of feminism saw all sexuality as a form of male violence; every act of sexuality is inherently a situation of domination and control of the female by the male. during the 1970s and early 1980s, radical feminists formed a coalition with conservative christian groups such as the moral majority to ban pornography. these political efforts ultimately failed to make pornography illegal, but the pornography debates reveal significant tension and conflict about the identity of a feminist, as well as the role of women's sexuality. it sparked a conflict among those in the feminist movement, as well as from other sexual minorities. some groups claimed banning pornography not only intrudes upon first amendment rights, but also, by legislating sexuality and morality, risked marginalizing those who did find sexual pleasure and liberation in pornography or other devious sexual acts. f e m i n i s t a r g u m e n t s a g a i n s t p o r n o g r a p h y though feminists against pornography enacted several local-level strategies to regulate pornography, none were as controversial as the dworkin-mackinnon ordinance, since it defined pornography as a direct violation of women's rights." andrea dworkin and catherine mackinnon proposed anti-pornography legislation to the city of minneapolis in 1980 that legally defined pornography as the graphic, sexually explicit subordination of women whether in pictures or in words that also includes one or more of the following: women are presented dehumanized as sexual objects,...or women are presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation; or women who experience pleasure in being raped...or women's body parts are exhibited, such that women are reduced to those parts; or women are presented in scenarios of egradation...shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual}11 the law proposed civil, not criminal, action for those affected by pornography; it provided a legal framework in which those affected by pornography would have the legal right to sue makers, sellers, distributors and exhibitors of pornography. the law also provided for a court injunction to remove pornography from the public realm, so that publishers and booksellers would be under constant scrutiny and surveillance. i v feminists sought to evaluate the detrimental effects of pornography on three levels: e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 0 6 production, the product itself, and the consumers of the product. pornography is a $7 billion a year industry; there are more x-rated bookstores than mcdonalds in the united states.v eighty-four percent of men and 69 percent of women have seen pornography, though few reported, or were will ing to report, that they watched pornography frequently. ninety percent of pornography is directed at heterosexual males; most consumers are white, middle-class males. among the adult population there is no consensus as to the effects of pornography; forty-nine percent believes it is a cause for men to commit rape, 47 percent claim it improves sex within marriage, and 56 percent believe it leads to a break down of morals.v> ten percent of women reported that someone tried to inflict undesired sex acts on them that came directly from pornography, while among married women 24 percent reported such acts. v u given these statistics, even an objective observer would admit that pornography has a notable effect on american culture. the domination of women. pornography is the "material means of sexualizing inequality."v )" the subordination of women occurs i n four parts: hierarchy, objedification, submission, and violence. violence is a particularly problematic aspect of women's marginalization as men perceive that women like violence, they find pleasure i n rape, and love i n battery. images within pornography solidify and reinforce this perception. 1* mackinnon asserts that the "male gaze" has transformed women into merely objects of pleasure and gratification; women are not naturally subordinate individuals but the oppressive institution of patriarchy has transformed women into this positions for mackinnon and dworkin all sexuality is violence, the penis is a tool of invasion and domination. consensual sex between adults can never exist. x l they argue that, despite progress in women's rights, inequalities wi l l exist as long as the sexual subordination of women does. pornography is not the only reason why these inequalities exist, but it is the pornography is a $7 billion a year industry; there are more x-rated bookstores than mcdonalds in the united states." i n order to understand the theoretical arguments articulated by mackinnon and dworkin in both the definition of pornography and the regulations suggested by the minneapolis ordinance, one must understand the framework of feminism to which both women adhered. some authors define mackinnon and dworkin as radical femnists, and others refer to them as cultural feminists. regardless of the terminology, these women and their followers began to make the claim that "the personal is the political;" women's oppression in sex flows into other aspects of her life: health care, reproductive rights, employment opportunities, and politics. sexual subordination is the medium through which women are oppressed. during sex the woman is the passive, weak object whose sole purpose is to pleasure the male in any way he desires. inequality itself becomes sexualized as sexual pleasure is based off of medium that presents women as submissive and "asking for violence." for these reasons, radical feminists thought pornography must be eliminated from society for progressive change to occur. the production of pornography itself is problematic as those involved in the industry have come forth with stories of rape and coercion. women who have starred i n pornographies often report rape and assault by men who presume their sexual availability. linda marchiano, the star of the pornographic f i lm deep throat, was abducted, beaten, and forced to star in the pornography. children are manipulated and black-mailed to star in pornography, many times by their own parents. many pornography actresses are driven into the industry as a way to escape poverty/ 1 1 for these reasons, radical feminists pushed for t h e p o r n o g r a p h y wars: e x p l o r i n g two d i s t i n c t f e m i n i s t i d e n t i t i e s pornography to be viewed not as an obscenity but as a civil rights violation. expression made when one party is forced to speak i n a manner that violates their rights and dignity in not protected under the first amendment/ 1 " the radical feminists argue that even "feminist pornography" that is directed by and marketed towards women is problematic because it merely recycles the detrimental mode of pornographic representation. the specifics of pornography are irrelevant; the representation of women in a sexual manner is in itself violent. x l v r e a c t i o n s a g a i n s t a n t i p o r n o g r a p h y f e m i n i s t s the critics of the anti-pornography feminists believed the ordinances brought forth by mackinnon and dworkin were too widespread. many feminists, specifically the lesbian-feminists and the s/m feminists found their sexual practices under scrutiny and condemnation by the very people that were supposed to be fighting for the rights of women. though many women suffer the bad effects of pornography, there are those women who find pornography pleasurable, educating, and even liberating and were not will ing to curtail their own sexuality for a group of women who did not address their interests in the first place. x v a misconception about those who defended pornography is that they did recognize the exploitation and the abuse that existed within the industry; however, they knew that some people do chose to make pornography. they defended pornography to a degree: as long as the meanings expressed within the images did not directly imply the subordination of or violence towards women, i t should be allowed. many defenders of pornography did see violence as a problem, but believed its causes were mainly structural and social conditions.x v 1 as a result of mccarthystyle attacks anyone even remotely related to the pornography industry was condemned as a sexual pervert. sexual deviants, specifically those in the leather community, felt their livelihood was being threatened, and began to confront the women against pornography (wap) for fear that the feminist movement had morphed into a campaign not for women's rights, but for moral purity. the leather community was particularly vocal i n addressing the images presented i n pornography and the cultural significance attached to those meanings. for them, scenes of sadomasochistic torture were not violence for the sake of violence, but rather signified a source of pleasure and arousal. meanings assigned by the dominant culture to s/m sex were not the same as the meanings those assigned within the community. they felt that dominant culture was not entitled to regulate their sexual passions and desires. x v l i as sex radical pat califia (a leather lesbian who is now a transsexual bisexual male) stated, "the line between word and deed is a thin one. a desire that cannot be named or described is a desire that cannot be valued, acted upon or used as the basis for identity. " x v i i i califia and others thought that the initiatives taken by the anti-pornography feminists sought to regulate acceptable and unacceptable sexual identities, a process that is dehumanizing and leaves individuals feeling isolated. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 lesbians specifically found the radical feminists condemnation of female sexuality to be problematic. for them, the female body is sexual and desirable based on their own terms, not on the terms of men. i f feminists were fighting for the inclusion of women into society as autonomous and free individuals, then women should have the capacity and the right to chose when to consent to sex and went to refrain. stating that no sex, even between adults, can be consensual undermines the capacity of women to make the best decisions for their own lives. for many women, erotic experiences enhance their lives, and by denying the right to view pornography, the anti-pornography feminists were actually prohibiting women from being sexually aggressive, lustful, and nonconventional. this would reinforce the stereotype that women are sexually passive.x i x the critics of mackinnon and dworkin debunked the idea that all sex is male violence by claiming: whether sexual intercourse is a political act of men subjugating women depends upon its interpersonal context which determines, say, a woman's possibilities for initiating, negotiating, and refusing the act, as well as her ability to define the place of vaginal intercourse in the entire sexual and social exchange.xx some critics of the anti-pornography feminists even claim that pornography enables women to experience the same sexual freedom as men, which is necessary before one can hope to have social equality. autonomous individuals must have the right to explore sexual pleasures and to pursue the lifestyle of their own choice. none of the defenders of pornography advocated things such as bestiality, pedophilia, or rape, but did staunchly defend the sexual choices of two consenting adults.™ many critics of mackinnon and dworkin argued from the perspective of the first amendment. legal theorists argued that the scope of the ordinance brought forth by mackinnon and dworkin was much too large; it allows for the potential censorship of novels, art, plays, movies and other cultural media that make any reference to sexuality involving the female body. this scope contradicts the essence of the amendment, which states that the impact of speech cannot be grounds for the government control of speech. enacting such policies encourages a totalitarian control on the population by the government.™ 1 c o n c l u s i o n the debates over pornography exposed serious controversy and conflict within the feminist movement. both sides recognized the negative and exploitative characteristics of pornography, such as reinforcing images of male domination within society. many felt a ban on pornography, however, would do more harm than good for several reasons. by ascribing which types of sexual behaviors are acceptable (and which are not), the government would be unjustly regulating the identity of its population. those who defended pornography criticized the radical feminists for not recognizing the way the female body can be sexual in the terms of other women and not merely as the object of men's pleasure and desire. the attempt to ban all pornography may have resulted in an attempt to establish strict norms about sexuality. for many people, sexuality is an important, personal, and exciting aspect of their lives that they would never want to be regulated by the government. while just what constitutes appropriate sexuality remains a topic of debate, many modern men and women have found ways to form sexual communities in which they can freely explore pleasure and eroticism in any way they please. e n d n o t e s i . mackinnon, 66 i i . dines, 19 i i i . dworkin, 29 iv. duggan, hunter, and vance, 131 v. douglas, 14 vi . goldstone, 10 v i i . mackinnon, 69 v i i i . dworkin, 30 ix. dworkin, 30 x. mackinnon, 67 xi . dworkin, 30 xi i . mackinnon, 62-63 x i i i . carse, 2 xiv. dines, 20 t h e p o r n o g r a p h y w a r s : e x p l o r i n g two d i s t i n c t f e m i n i s t i d e n t i t i e s xv. califia, 174 xvi. seidman, 109 xvii . califia, 12, 13,18 xvii i . califia, 19 xix. seidman, 109-111 xx. seidman, 112 xxi. seidman, 114 xxii . emerson, 81 r e f e r e n c e s califia, pat. public sex: the culture of radical sex. san francisco: cleis press: 2000. carse, alisa l. "pornography: an uncivil liberty?" hypatia 10.1 (1995): p155dines, gail. "the visual landscape and the politics of pornography production." iris 33 (1995): p 16. douglas, carol anne. "pornography: liberation or oppresion?" off our backs 13.5 (1983): p. 14. duggan, lisa, nan hunter, and carole s. vance. "false promises: feminist antipornography legislation in the u.s." women against censorship. ed.varda burstyn. toronto: douglas & mclntyre, 1985. 130-151. dworkin, andrea. "against the male flood: censorship, pornography, and equality." harvard women's law journal 8 (1985). emerson, thomas i . "pornography and the first amendment: a reply to professor mackinnon." yale policy and law review 130 (1984). goldstone, bobbie: "the politics of pornography: the pornography of politics." off our backs 1.14 (1970): p. 10 . mackinnon, catherine a. "francis biddle's sister: pornography, civil rights, and speech." feminism unmodified. cambridge: harvard university press. 1987. seidman, steven. embattled eros: sexual politics and ethics in contemporary america. new york: routledge, 1992. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 0 6 t h a n k s the editors o f elements w o u l d l ike to t h a n k the f o l l o w i n g indiv idua ls for the i r generous support o f and assistance w i t h this issue o f elements: keith ake, assistant director of marketing and design for the office of marketing communications dan i el bai ros, technology consultant ben b i r n b a u m , executive director of the office of marketing communications austin eig h a n , german translator cutberto garza, provost and dean of faculties d o n a l d hafner, vice provost for undergraduate studies joyce m a n n i x , business manager for the college of arts and sciences davi d qu ig ley, interim dean for the college of arts & sciences barbara vi ech n icki , associate dean for finance and administration we w o u l d also l ike to give special thanks to the dean's office o f the college o f ar t s & sciences a n d the office o f m a r k e t i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n s for p r o v i d i n g budgetary support that made this p u b l i c a t i o n possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f y o u have any questions or w o u l d l ike to contr ibute a letter for our next issue, feel free to contact the j o u r n a l at e lements@bc.edu. please consider s u b m i t t i n g your o w n research to the next issue o f elements. o u r next deadline is friday, a p r i l 9, 2010. c o v e r k o n k o r d a t s u n t e r z e i c h n u n g i n r o m © bundesarchiv p e r i o d i c i t y elements is p u b l i s h e d twice an academic year i n the fa l l a n d s p r i n g semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 6, issue i, spring 2010 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: dynagraf advanced printing solutions, 5 dan road, canton, ma 02021 copyright © 2010 by trustees of boston college e l e m e n t s s t a f f e d i t o r i n c h i e f erin e. eig han m a n a g i n g e d i t o r brian varian d e p u t y e d i t o r jaime crowley h u m a n i t i e s brian tracz, senior editor alyssa duquette, editor brendan kelly, editor dan sologuren, editor n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s a n n e kornahrens, senior editor aditya ashok, editor erin groden, editor v i n o d h mechery, editor s o c i a l s c i e n c e s chris sheridan, senior editor teja ganta, editor daniel kenny, editor greg maestri, editor allison therrien, editor andrein a yanes, editor lea yared, editor l a y o u t alyssa duquette, senior editor chris sheridan, editor brian tracz, editor w e b d e s i g n dan sologuren, senior editor v i n o d h mechery, editor f a c u l t y a d v i s o r elizabeth chadwick mailto:elements@bc.edu e d i t o r ' s n o t e "i have no greater grace than this, to hear that my children walk in truth." —john hi. 4 o n m a r c h 21, 1937, these words echoed t h r o u g h o u t nazi germany, f r o m p u l p i t to pew. mit brennender sorge ( " w i t h b u r n i n g concern") , an encyclical f r o m the office o f the h o l y see under pope pius x i , was read a loud i n g e r m a n catholic churches w i t h exhortations to the fa i thfu l to seek out t r u t h , justice, and unfettered fa i th even i n m o m e n t s o f greatest distress. w r i t t e n i n response to new policies res t r ic t ing rel igious f reedom, the encyclical challenged the seeming i n v i n c i b i l i t y o f the nazi regime. w i t h i n hours o f its first reading, the g e r m a n governmen t ordered al l copies o f the encyclical to be ceased and destroyed. compl icat ions o f dual loyalties to one's country and to one's c h u r c h sent t remors t h r o u g h o u t germany. yet the c h u r c h stood strong i n the face o f controversy. mit brennender sorge remains today a symbol o f the h u m a n struggle to confront controversy w i t h resilience. i t opened the gate—a gate forcibly locked by propaganda and ins t i tu t iona l i zed e n m i t y — t o wa lk i n t r u t h . o u r featured article examines the encyclical i n this l i ght , as a d o c u m e n t w h i c h d ip lomat ica l ly yet forcefully challenged any i n s t i t u t i o n b l o c k i n g the path to t r u t h . as y o u n g m e n and w o m e n for others, enter ing i n t o a w o r l d rife w i t h in just ice , falsehood, and ignorance, our call to act " w i t h b u r n i n g concern"—to "walk i n t r u t h " — h a s never sounded w i t h greater desperation. we, too, are called to let t r u t h resound t h r o u g h o u t our w o r l d . as students, we are pr iv i leged to have the f reedom to actively search for t r u t h i n any manner . research is no smal l task, nor a t r i v ia l ass ignment to check o f f a l ist . i t is the student's o p p o r t u n i t y to open his or her o w n smal l gate o f t r u t h . the students featured i n this issue o f elements have unlocked t ruths about a m e r i c a n diplomacy, global health, logic, and moderni ty . " i r a n and the n i x o n d o c t r i n e" suggests, contrary to convent iona l o p i n i o n , that the n i x o n doctr ine was not independent ly drafted, b u t s t e m m e d f r o m nixon's interactions w i t h m u h a m m a d reza pahlavi i n 1967. both "expanding waist l ines" and " h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g chemicals" offer f indings imperat ive to our heal th i n response to china's chang ing attitudes towards c o n s u m p t i o n and our misconcept ions about potential ly h a r m f u l chemicals i n household products a r o u n d the w o r l d . a husser l ian analysis o f gott lob frege's conceptual n o t a t i o n — a logical analysis o f language—reveals a fatal flaw w i t h i n analytic phi losophy, as explicated i n "frege and w i t t g e n s t e i n . " two o f the articles argue the importance o f r e t u r n i n g to ancient t ru ths and ancient t radit ions b o t h aesthetically, as i n " i l l u m i n a t i n g a c u l t u r e , " and philosophical ly , as i n "the t r u t h i n t h i n g s ( a n d love i n the w o r l d ) . " we are p r o u d to celebrate the f i f th anniversary o f elements, boston college's undergraduate research j o u r n a l , w i t h a call to accept the responsibi l i ty o f researchers to seek out t r u t h and justice. i n five years, n i n e issues, and seventy-four articles the undergraduates o f boston college have cont inuous ly shattered the gates o f ignorance and the u n k n o w n . may this j o u r n a l cont inue to encourage the undergraduate c o m m u n i t i e s o f the future to wa lk i n and give voice to the ir o w n discovered t ruths . sincerely, erin e. e i c h a n editor-in-chief m u t u a l i t y a n d pleasure a discussion of the female orgasm in contemporary catholic sexual ethics c e l s o ) a v i e r p e r e z t h e o l o g i c a l r e f l e c t i o n o n c a t h o l i c s e x u a l e t h i c s h a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y p l a c e d m u c h f o c u s o n t h e m a l e e x p e r i e n c e . m a g i s t e r i a l t e a c h i n g h a s o f t e n s u g g e s t e d a l i m i t a t i o n o f l i c i t i n t e r c o u r s e t o p e n i l e v a g i n a l p e n e t r a t i o n t h a t i s o p e n t o p r o c r e a t i o n a n d w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f m a r r i a g e . h o w e v e r , a c o n t e m p o r a r y u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e f e m a l e o r g a s m r a i s e s q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e r o l e o f m u t u a l i t y a n d p l e a s u r e i n s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . a c c o r d i n g t o t h e 1 9 9 0 kinsey institute new report on sex b e t w e e n 50 p e r c e n t a n d 75 p e r c e n t o f w o m e n w h o r e p o r t n o o r g a s m a s a r e s u l t o f p e n i l e p e n e t r a t i o n e x p e r i e n c e n o r m a l o r g a s m s a s a r e s u l t o f o t h e r f o r m s o f s t i m u l a t i o n . i n l i g h t o f t h i s s t a t i s t i c , p e n i l e v a g i n a l i n t e r c o u r s e m a y n o t b e s u f f i c i e n t f o r a g o o d s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p . t h e w r i t i n g s o f c o n t e m p o r a r y m o r a l t h e o l o g i a n s o p e n u p c o n v e r s a t i o n f o r a m o r e e x p l i c i t l y j u s t f r a m e w o r k f o r s e x u a l e t h i c s . i n t r o d u c t i o n traditionally, the male orgasm and ejaculation have been the focus of much of catholic sexual ethics. first i n the judaic, and later in the christian tradition, much time and effort has been devoted to regulating the "improper emission of seed."1 in both theological traditions, sex has often been framed and defined by of the male perspective: beginning with penetration and ending with ejaculation and withdrawal. little attention has been afforded to the female orgasm, as unti l the 20th century little was noted about the female experience. however, a contemporary understanding of the female orgasm raises questions of the roles of pleasure, mutuality, and justice in a heterosexual relationship within the context of a catholic sexual ethic. r e l i g i o u s sexual ethics have f o c u s e d on r e g u l a t i n g t h e " i m p r o p e r e m i s s i o n of s e e d " t h e f e m a l e o r g a s m a thorough discussion of the implications of the female orgasm in contemporary catholic ethics must first begin with a basic physiological understanding of the female anatomy and orgasm. there are three regions in the female genital area that may be aroused to an orgasm. the clitoris, traditionally understood to be the primary area of sexual stimulation during intercourse, is composed of tissue analogous to that of the male penis, and is located above the opening of the urethra. 1 additionally, two areas of sensitive spongy tissue in the perineal area lead to similar arousal. the first, located between the anterior wall of the vagina and the urethra, is commonly known as the "g-spot." the second is found between the posterior wall of the vagina and the rectum. simulation of any of these three structures can lead to a pleasurable sensation and orgasm. l v as mary d. pellauer, points out, interpretive as well asphenomenological problems make the female orgasm elusive and hard to describe. however, certain generalizations can be made. unlike men, women do not generally undergo a refractory period after climaxing and are capable of multiple orgasms. i f they do experience such a period, it is a significantly shorter one. in 1976, sex educator shere hite reported as many as 48 percent of women required more than one orgasm to be sexually satisfied. 1 the william h . masters and virginia e. johnson research team observed as many as 50 orgasms in women directly stimulating their clitoris by means of an electronic vibrator. the existence of two different types of orgasm, clitoral and vaginal, is still debated. it is currently unclear whether these are two different states of arousal controlled by different neural pathways or a subjective experience of two different orgasms. regardless, it is clear that the male and female orgasms, while sharing some commonalities, are two distinct experiences. due to its very nature, two aspects of the female orgasm become particularly challenging to contemporary theologians and ethicists. first, while the male climaxes and ejaculates to release sperm into the vagina which in turn fertilizes the egg, the female orgasm is not a precursor to reproduction. secondly, according to the 1990 kinsey institute new report on sex, 10 percent of women do not experience any form of orgasm, a condition known as anorgasmia. concurrently, between 50 and 75 percent of women who report no orgasm as a result of penile penetration experience normal orgasms as a result of other forms of stimulation. for more than half of women, additional stimulation during intercourse is needed to lead to orgasm. as the catholic tradition has upheld the importance of both the unitive and procreative nature of the sexual act,xl the lack of fertility and need for additional stimulation during female arousal raises the questions of whether or not the female orgasm is hedonistic in nature. additionally, as in most cases, excepting those of genital dysfunctions, human males must orgasm to ejaculate and reproduce. therefore, a contemporary understanding of the female orgasm indicates a clear discrepancy between the experiences of man and woman, which beckons the question of the proper place of pleasure and mutuality in a good catholic sexual ethic. pellauer offers a couple of points of reflection, based on her personal experience, of the female orgasm. as mentioned earlier, pellauer explains there are difficulties in simply "regardless, it is clear that the male and female orgasms, while sharing some commonalities, are two distinct experiences." defining i t . x u the orgasm is something that does not come naturally to women as it does to men; rather the art of the female orgasm is something that must be learned. x m the sheer complexity of the experience, and the tendency to compare it to its male counterpart, leads to confusion among women as to what constitutes an orgasm. however, pellauer indicates, "while orgasm is not a sufficient condition for good sex, it may be among the necessary ones."x l v among the six characteristics that pellauer delineates as an elemental part of her experience, four are especially significant for catholic ethicists: the varieties of sensation, ecstasy, vulnerability, and power. "varieties of sensation" refers to the richness of the experience that pellauer recognizes as more than pleasure alone. she entertains the notion that perhaps there is more to an orgasm than simply a burst of pleasure which leads to a state of self-described "ecstasy." in her words, "standing outside the self is the closest word for this state [...] it is the most definite incarnation i know outside of childbirth, for i n it i am most completely bound to the situation of my body." pellauer describes how the experience is both transcendent and imminent, divine and human. pellauer also explains the vulnerability and power relationships inherent in an orgasm with her husband. i f an orgasm exposes women to such vulnerability, care should be taken that this not be an act of exploitation. however, i f it is indeed such as essential part of the relational and spiritual experience, additional caution should be taken when considering denying women the experience on account of its potential dangers. finally, pellauer engages the framing of the question of the female orgasm. as sexual ethics has historically been a conversation dominated by men, pellauer questions whether, "orgasm is a male-dominated standard for evaluating sex," x v u or whether it is in fact a legitimate understanding of the female experience. her own experience points toward the latter, but nonetheless pellauer opens the question for discussion. lisa sowle cahill, a professor at boston college, corroborates pellauer's claim that sex is both relational and physica l .™ 1 1 sex is a powerful experience which, when used inappropriately, may cause great harm. moreover, cahill's reminder that morality is established to protect the life of the community and improve the community's (and the individual's) relationship to god stresses the importance of justice in the sexual relationship, and the imperative that no one party be taken advantage of. l x x due to importance and difficulty of the task at hand, cahill establishes "four complementary reference points for christian ethics": scripture, tradition, the normative human experience, and the descriptive human experience. given the limits of scripture and of an understanding of tradition as a living part of the catholic community encompassing everything from established dogma to general consensus among the m u t u a l i t y and p l e a s u r e faithful, cahill calls for a critical understanding of personal experience and the "experience of god in community as the beginning point of reconciliation of body and spirit, self and others, and humanity and god." x x l james keenan, si, provides further insight into cahill's suggestion of an "ideal humanity" as a source for christian ethics. keenan writes: rather than first examining actions and asking whether we should perform them or not, virtue ethicists suggest that we ought to set ends for the type of people we believe we should become.xxiii according to this teleological approach, an individual becomes more virtuous as she exercises virtue for she constantly recognizes her limitations and grows in the virtues. virtue becomes both a means and an end. thus, the normative understanding of what woman should be becomes a legitimate source of moral insight. finally, margaret farley, professor at yale divinity school, provides two additional resources with which to construct a christian sexual ethic. although wary of moral relativism, farley introduces cross-cultural studies as a legitimate means of discerning which norms and morals are "essentially human" and which are less important societal constructs. farley also considers the secular disciplines a .. both men and women are equally entitled to orgasm. otherwise, a situation of power disparity that lends itself to abuse and injustice ensues." source for good christian sexual ethics as well. although not all of these sources wi l l be relevant to understanding the role of pleasure and mutuality, "success in judiciously [balancing these sources] is a standard by which we can measure the adequacy of various positions i n the tradition, including our o w n . " ™ 1 1 having discussed the basic physiological understanding of the female orgasm, pellauer's experiential narrative of the phenomena, and cahill's framework for christian ethics, we move on to consider insights provided by contemporary catholic theologians and the suggestions these provide on how to integrate the female orgasm into a good catholic sexual ethic. c o n t e m p o r a r y c a t h o l i c sexual e t h i c s james keenan draws on traditional catholic understanding of virtue to synthesize his own approach to good sexual ethics. in his "virtue ethics," keenan explores contemporary catholic sexual ethics by means of several modifications to the four cardinal virtues as proposed by thomas aquinas: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. due to the limits of justice, the heuristic nature of aquinas' virtues, and the nature of the human as a relational being, keenan instead proposes justice, fidelity, and self-care. x x v i i i al l three virtues are to be tempered by prudence. with the aid of justice, fidelity, and care, mercy allows individuals to understand chaos at a personal, interpersonal, and societal level . 5 ™ although keenan does not specifically address the question of pleasure, he considers "sexual relationships as goods to be pursued but precisely within a virtuous environment."™ according to keenan, justice "is particularly relevant i n promoting more egalitarian understandings i n heterosexual relationships where, as elsewhere, women still do not enjoy the status of equality." d the female orgasm seems to illustrate such a situation. even though pellauer questions the normativity of orgasm i n the sexual act, a sexual ethic which systematically allows the male to climax, while e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 only allowing a female pleasure insofar as it conforms to the male experience and initiative, at the very least requires additional inquiry on grounds of justice as defined by keenan. regardless of the moral value assigned to sexual pleasure, it creates a situation of disparity that must be explored. i f sexual pleasure is construed as a moral aberration, an undue burden is placed on the man during the sexual act; both partners are thus faced with the responsibility of feeling as little pleasure as possible, or at least not engaging in sexual intercourse simply for the pleasure of the act. on the other hand, i f sexual pleasure is considered a moral good, as theologians christine e. gudorf x l i and kevin t. kel ly™ 1 1 1 suggest, there is an additional responsibility for partners to satisfy each other during the sexual act, even by forms of stimulation other than vaginal penetration, which may or may not lead to a procreative end. it seems that for a just and egalitarian sexual relationship to be upheld, both men and women are equally entitled to orgasm. otherwise, a situation of power disparity that lends itself to abuse and injustice ensues. in light of pellauer's experience of the female orgasm, it seems mutual orgasms share many of the same ends as the virtue of fidelity keenan describes. according to keenan, f idelity in a sexual relationship deepens the bond between two people through intimacy. x x x i v sex serves as a means of communication that helps the relationship between partners grow. however, it seems that i f only one person is experiencing ecstasy, both parties are not completely open to one another, and the growth in the relationship is uneven. pellauer describes the experience of increased vulnerability as a result of moments of ecstasy shared with her husband. for pellauer, being excited to the point of orgasm by her significant other led her to loving h im in ways she had not perceived before. the fact that he persisted in arousing her, even though she was not easily stimulated, refusing his own release until she climaxed as well in a mutual experience, touched her as an intimate act of selflessness. she was deeply moved as she did not expect h im to put her own pleasure before his own. pellauer writes, " i experience [orgasm] as grace, an instance of his vulnerabilityto-me reaching out to meet my vulnerability-to-him." 3 0 0" 1 this mutual openness to the other would not be possible without the female orgasm. furthermore, keenan argues that the sexual relationship is a symbol of the love from which life is engendered. x x x v n if, as gudorf and kelly suggest, sexual pleasure is good, and, as pellaeur reports, mutual orgasms lead to intimacy and means of relationships that cannot be expressed otherwise, then depriving a woman of orgasm during the sexual act wi l l infringe on the "place where faithful love and procreativity concretely flourishes." although the female orgasm itself is not procreative, it is life-giving, and strengthens "the bond into which a child is born . ' , x x x l x finally, self-care suggests an additional argument for the necessity of female orgasm. keenan writes: t h e s h a r e d e x p e r i e n c e of ecstasy can promote a posit ive and reciprocal g r o w t h in relati n os hi ps. m u t u a l i t y and p l e a s u r e self-care might also lead us to acknowledge that we have long been inhibited and fearful of intimacy, touch, or sexual expression. prudential self-care informed by mercy leads some people to delay as precipitous sexual intimacy, but for others it gently prods them to seek sexual love that has, for long, been an object of fear and dread.xl consequently, a mature understanding of self-care leads an individual to a responsible moderation of his own needs as a person. guided by a search for virtue, the individual is empowered to make his own decisions and to actively engage himself or herself in a process of self-discovery. as keenan explains, virtue ethics provide a forum in which to discuss normative ideals for the human being seeking a serious commitment to catholicism. 1 virtue ethics present a shift in the focus of the tradition's understanding of sexual ethics from one of means and acts to one of ends and the development of virtue. that is, whereas the tradition has at times held that sexual acts are illicit on account of the sinfulness inherent in the act, keenan emphasizes on the ends of these acts, and makes the means of secondary importance. a discussion of ends serves as a framework to develop conversations on the morality of specific individual means. thus, contemporary experience can be incorporated into the decision-making process. ultimately, the individual woman must prudently balance justice, fidelity, and self-care to make her decision. christine gudorf provides a more explicit description of the need for pleasure in a good sexual ethic. like cahill and farley,'1111 gudorf discards the dualism of the soul/body dichotomy as she understands it as contrary to the incarnation, "the complete unity of human and divine natures in the fully embodied." 11 human beings are not bodies and souls; rather, they are the complex unity of the two. gudorf too engages the catholic tradition, questioning how a tradition so concerned with the embodiment has traditionally disparaged embodied expressions of love. however, ultimately, she appeals predominantly to experience in her understanding of a good sexual ethic. "experience is always open to fallible interpretation, but the the ecstasy of st. teresa by bernini bottom line is that experience is, and always has been, the most reliable source for discerning god's wi l l . " gudorf explains she is "dissatisfied with the disproportionate weight given to the traditional christian religious sources," tradition and scripture. '''•11 consequently, she is more critical of scripture, explaining that internal contradictions in text force men and women to choose between one passage and another. similarly, she rejects tradition's position on sexual ethics. according to her, the tradition's contemporary understanding of sexual ethics is largely based on the erroneous assumption that this tradition is deduced from the communal reflections of the entire catholic community, as opposed to the reflections of a select few e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 catholics. x l l x traditional catholic sexual ethics also focus on specific acts, particularly those that deviate from the norm, rather than provide guidance and reflection on sexual virtue. thus, she echoes keenan's call for a sexual ethic based on the ends not the means. because gudorf seperates herself from the tradition, she can endorse a much more positive appraisal of sexuality, and more specifically, pleasure. yet gudorf does draw on some aspects of the tradition to make her point. because the creation i n genesis is good, and sexuality is part of creation, gudorf understands that sexuality and sexual relationship are a good as well. consequently, they are legitimate ways for human beings to relate to one another, ways that lead to a deepening of relational bonds that cannot be accomplished by other forms of interaction—a conclusion, in fact, very similar to the benefits keenan perceives from fidelity. however, gudorf explains that not only is the sexual relationship good, but sexual pleasure is good as well. • she appeals to natural law to argue that because the clitoris has been placed on the female body serving no other purpose than to pleasure the woman, it must be the divine wi l l that women enjoy sex.h 11 additionally, gudorf supports her claim with scientific studies of the dangerous effects of repression of the body's physical messages, especially in cases of illness. ! i v because (sexual) pleasure feels good and it is itself a good, she establishes it is a premoral good. her argument appears to border on hedonism, but she argues that while hedonism is part of man's nature, a mature christian wil l "discipline [her] pursuit of pleasure, and... induce a maximal number of others with [her] in that pursuit."^1 i n effect she advocates a form of mature hedonism she calls "moral utilitarianism." 1 1 even celibacy, gudorf argues, is a form of giving up a physical pleasure to achieve greater emotional and spiritual pleasures. l v m openness to the female orgasm is instrumental to gudorf's understanding of a good sexual ethic. not only does it help justify the innate goodness of pleasure, but it also functions as "an experience of divine reality."as gudorf reports, an orgasm is for many the closest experience they have to the divine. ! x her experience coincides with pellauer's personal understanding that she is most embodied and incarnate during moments of orgasm. and more than just the isolated incident of pleasure, an orgasm can permeate different aspects of a person's life and can change how he or she relates to the world. moreover, mutuality is an essential part of the sexual act which gudorf compares to the inclusiveness of jesus and the kingdom of heaven.1x1 the lack of mutuality i n sexual pleasure can lead to serious consequences. such is the case when a sexual relationship is only open to the male orgasm at the expense of the female orgasm. i f sexual pleasure is not mutual, the man objectifies the woman, falsifying her true identity. this exclusion is tantamount to excluding her from participation in god's reign. • 111 additionally, men who exclude women from sexual pleasure have a limited experience of sex as their relationship lacks reciprocity and vulnerability, leading the man to become an abuser.1 " finally, the nature of the relationship between the two partners is altered as well. not only is the bond between the two limited to a purely material one, but pleasure becomes dependent on a controlling/controlled dynamic which is harmful for both parties involved. l x v even i f the relationship does not constitute rape, the lack of mutuality equates pleasure with dominance distorting the nature of sexual pleasure. 1™ a just love is the cornerstone for margaret farley's framework for sexual ethics. a love is just, explains farley, when it does not falsify the reality of person loving, the person being loved, or the nature of the relationship. i x a 11 farley's paradigm for just love presents an interesting challenge to lovers, as both individuals and relationships are dynamic i n nature consequently making it difficult to define and maintain the integrity of all three. farley does not intend love to be postponed until individuals have achieved perfect understanding of the self and the other. insteaed she writes: we can love someone beyond what we can know of h im or her. this is true even of our love for god. for the union that is possible i n love can exceed our knowledge of the beloved, although its direction and form remain subject to the knowledge we have. m u t u a l i t y and p l e a s u r e this is the unconditional love all christians are called to: a commitment to loving the other within the concrete reality of the relationship, even when knowledge of this reality is incomplete)™1 in applying her framework of just love to a good sexual ethic, farley devises seven norms, which are not absolute, but rather minimal requirements for a good sexual ethic. farley stresses the importance of understanding that there are degrees in adhering to these norms, that is, a "minimal" and "maximal" justice. i x i x just as the norms have minim u m requirements, lack of prudence may also lead individuals to shy away from engaging in sexual relationships when it may be proper to do so, as described earlier by keenan. several of these seven norms are particularly relevant in understanding the role of the female orgasm. first is mutuality. farley agrees with gudorf in that "interpretations of heterosexual sex are steeped in images of the male as active and the female as passive. " i x x she understands that to undermine this traditional framework, both partners must perceive themselves as both active and receiving during the sexual act, consequently leading to mutual sexual gratification. mutuality leads the relationship to a foundation not only in pleasure, but also in the "mutuality of desire and embodied union." likewise an equality of power also complements and adds to mutuality. as previously noted, the orgasm of the man without openness to the orgasm of the woman leads to a disparity in vulnerability and objectification. l x x 1 1 although farley admits perfect equality may never be possible (hence the need for degrees), a balance in power, vulnerability, and consequently pleasure are requirements for justice in sex. finally, farley introduces the concept of "fruitfulness". as traditionally, "procreative" has been understood to mean open to reproduction, farley proposes that "beyond the kind of fruitfulness that brings forth biological children, there is a kind of fruitfulness that is a measure, perhaps, of all interpersonal l i f e . " l x x m it follows then that a sexual relationship is not only life giving when i t leads to an act of conception, but when the fruits of this relationship "[nourish] other relationships; [provide] goods, services, and beauty for others; [inform] the fruitful work lives of the partners in the relation; [help] to raise other people's children; and on and on . " l x x i v consequently, while the female orgasm may not be a precursor to reproduction, it seems that it is in fact a precursor to fruitfulness. c o n c l u s i o n james keenan, christine gudorf, and margaret farley draw on different sources to construct their respective catholic sexual ethics, but they ultimately allow for very similar conclusions about the importance of mutuality and the openness to the female orgasm in a heterosexual relationship. while gudorf is by far the most explicit in linking pleasure and mutuality, her lack of deference for the tradition raises the question of how "christian" her sexual ethics are. i f her framework for sexual ethics is to be examined in light of cahill's proposal for "complementary reference points", it seems that gudorf's approach is disproportionately experiential. however, keenan's stress on the teleological approach and farley's understanding of just love grant their respective frameworks the flexibility to uphold the tradition while incorporating contemporary experience in the normative understanding of the female orgasm. e n d n o t e s i . farley 1994 (56) i i . tuana (8) i i i . tuana (6) iv. tuana (8) v. pellauer (153) vi . hite (602-603) v i i . masters and johnson v i i i . tuana (20) ix. pellauer (155) x. reinisch and beasley (203) as quoted in pellauer; see above. xi . pope paul v i ( i i xii) x i i . pellauer (150) x i i i . pellauer (151) xiv. pellauer (149) xv. pellauer (156) xvi. pellauer (157) xvii . pellauer (152) xvii i . cahill (21) xix. cahill (24) xx. cahill (22) xxi. cahill (26) e l e m e n t s : : fall 07 xxii . cahill (22) xxii i . keenan (184) xxiv. keenan (186) xxv. farley 2006 (5) xxvi. farley 2006 (188) xxvii. cahill (22) xxviii. keenan (190) xxix. keenan (192) xxx. keenan (196) xxxi. keenan (194) xxxii. gudorf (81) xxxiii. kelly (153) xxxiv. keenan (195) xxxv. pellauer (157) xxxvi. pellauer (157) xxxvii. keenan (195) xxxviii. keenan (195) xxxix. keenan (195) xl . keenan (196) xl i . keenan (197) xl i i . cahill (21) x l i i i . farley 2006 (118) xliv. gudorf (11) xlv. gudorf (11) xlvi. gudorf (12) xlvii . gudorf (6) xlvi i i . gudorf (13); see gal 3:28 and col 3:18; t i m 2:15 and luke 11:27-28. xlix. gudorf (25) 1. gudorf (15) l i . gudorf (23) hi. gudorf (89) l i i i . gudorf (65) liv. gudorf (88) lv. gudorf (90) lv i . gudorf (95) lv i i . gudorf (97) lv i i i . gudorf (99) lix. gudorf (109) lx. gudorf (119) ixi. gudorf (116) lx i i . gudorf (119) lx i i i . gudorf (119) lxiv. gudorf (120) lxv. gudorf (121) llxvi. gudorf (123) lxvii . farley 2006 (202) lxvii i . farley 2006 (203) lxix. farley 2006 (215) lxx. farley 2006 (221) lxxi. farley 2006 (222) lx i i . farley 2006 (223) lx i i i . farley 2006 (227) lxiv. farley 2006 (228) references augustine of hippo, 1982. the literal meaning of genesis, trans. john hammond taylor. new york: newman press. cahill, lisa sowell. 1994. "sexuality and christian ethics: how to proceed," sexuality and the sacred, eds. james b. nelson and sandra p. longfellow. kentucky: westminster john know press. farley, margaret. 2006. just love: a framework for christian sexual ethics. new york: the continuum international publishing group inc. farley, margaret. 1994. "sexual ethics," sexuality and the sacred, eds. james b. nelson and sandra p. longfellow, kentucky: westminster john know press. furlow, bryant f. and randy thornhi l l . 2006. "the orgasm wars (adaptive function of the female orgasm)", 29.n1. (janfeb 1996): 42(5). expanded academic asap. thomson gale, boston college, 13 dec. gudorf, christine e. 1994. body, sex and pleasure. cleveland, ohio: pilgrim press. keenan,. james. 2005. "virtue ethics and sexual ethics," louvain studies. 30(3), pp. 183-203. kelly, kevin t. 1998. new directions in sexual ethics. washington: geoffrey chapman. pellauer, mary d. 1994. "the moral significance o f female orgasm: toward sexual ethics that celebrates women's sexuality," sexuality and the sacred, eds. james b. nelson and sandra p. longfellow. kentucky: westminster john know press. reinisch, june m . and r. beasley. 1990. the kinsey institute new report on sex: what you must know to be sexually literate. new york: st. martin's press, p. 203. salzman, todd a. and michael g. lawler. 2006. "catholic sexual ethics: complementarity and the truly human." theological studies. 67^3) . tuana, nancy. 2006. "coming to understand: orgasm and the epistemology of ignorance (critical essay)," hypatia 19.1 (winter 2004): 194(39), expanded academic asap, thomson gale, boston college, 12 dec. zuk, marlene. 2006. "the case of the female orgasm," perspectives in biology and medicine 49.2 (spring 2006): 294(5). expanded academic asap. thomson gale. boston college. 14 dec. m u t u a l i t y and p l e a s u r e http://29.n1 .. while public awareness of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual civil rights movement is growing, the average person knows very little about the psychological condition of gender identity disorder and the process of sex reassignment." t r a n s a c t i o n fees public insurance, medical necessity, and sex reassignment surgery c a i t l i n p e t e r s o n d u e t o a g e n e r a l l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g r e g a r d i n g t r a n s g e n d e r p e r s o n s , t h i s g r o u p o f i n d i v i d u a l s i s p u t a t p a r t i c u l a r r i s k o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n t h e a r e a o f l a w a n d m e d i c i n e . t h e q u e s t i o n o f p u b l i c i n s u r a n c e c o v e r a g e f o r m e d i c a l t r e a t m e n t o f g e n d e r i d e n t i t y d i s o r d e r is o n e o f t h e m o s t p r e s s i n g i s s u e s i n t h i s f i e l d . t h i s p a p e r w i l l p r o v i d e a n o v e r v i e w o f t r a n s g e n d e r i s m a n d t r e a t m e n t s o f g e n d e r i d e n t i t y d i s o r d e r i n o r d e r t o a s s e s s t h e m e d i c a l n e c e s s i t y o f s e x r e a s s i g n m e n t s u r g e r y a n d o t h e r p r o c e d u r e s p r o v i d e d t o t r a n s g e n d e r p e r s o n s . w h i l e m e d i c a i d g u i d e l i n e s d o a l l o w f o r t h e d e n i a l o f m e d i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y s e r v i c e s , t h e s e d e n i e d s e r v i c e s m u s t f i t c e r t a i n c r i t e r i a . s p e c i f i c c a s e s in w h i c h s t a t e i n s u r a n c e c o v e r a g e w a s p e r m i t t e d o r d e n i e d t o t r a n s g e n d e r m e d i c a i d p a t i e n t s w i l l b e e x a m i n e d i n o r d e r t o a s s e s s t h e o v e r a l l e t h i c a l i t y o f m e d i c a i d p o l i c y t o w a r d s t r a n s g e n d e r p e r s o n s . d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a n d t h e t r a n s g e n d e r c o m m u n i t y transgender persons are part of a fast-emerging but historically understudied group. lack of understanding regarding the transgender community is reflected in local, state, and federal laws, under which transgender persons have limited rights. many anti-discrimination laws that have already been extended to include sexual orientation continue to ignore gender identity and expression.1 similarly, while public awareness of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual civil rights movement is growing, the average person knows very little about the psychological condition of gender identity disorder and the process of sex reassignment. the combination of neglect and ignorance surrounding transgender issues, when viewed from the perspectives of medicine and law, presents the possibility of abuse and discrimination of transgender patients' rights to receive insurance coverage for medical treatment surrounding their condition. the medical procedures involved in changing one's gender, especially sex reassignment surgery, are particularly unfamiliar because the topic is often regarded as taboo. private insurance companies do not provide coverage for such procedures because they consider them to be elective.11 this paper wi l l not address the issue of private insurance companies' policies because these procedures are nearly always categorically excluded in private contracts. 1 1 1 however, examining the funding policies of governmentrun programs such as medicare and medicaid can provide a unique perspective on the ethicality of current regulations regarding insurance coverage. the objective of this study is to shed light on the process of transitioning frequently undergone by transgender persons in order to determine the appropriateness of current state-run insurance policies toward procedures associated with changing one's gender and sexual identity. this paper wi l l first give an overview of the medical aspects of being transgender and the surgical procedures that often accompany gender transitions i n an attempt to assess the medical necessity of sex reassignment surgery (srs) and other medical treatments associated with gender identity disorder. it wi l l subsequently analyze the status of medicaid policy as it pertains to srs and related services as well as the denial of medically necessary services to patients under medicaid. the cases i n which state insurance coverage has been permitted or denied wi l l then be reexamined in light of these findings, and the overall ethicality of these cases and their related policies wi l l be assessed. t h e a m b i g u i t i e s of g e n d e r i d e n t i t y d i s o r d e r ! a n o v e r v i e w fluid and socially-charged terms such as those surrounding sex and gender are particularly difficult to define. some of the confusion surrounding transgender identity and the proper treatment of transgender persons can be attributed to the ambiguity regarding gender identity terminology. this section wi l l attempt to illuminate some of the problems and definitions of sex and gender as they relate to transsexuality. g e n d e r i d e n t i t y d i s o r d e r a n d t r a n s s e x u a l i t y transgender and transsexual are terms used to describe some people with the psychological condition known as gender identity disorder (gid). the psychological diagnosis of gid is often accompanied by physical ramifications, but not all persons with gid feel the need to surgically alter their bodies to physically match the bodies of their target sex.lv as such, this paper wi l l use the term "transgender" as an umbrella term encompassing all those persons who were assigned a gender at birth that differs from their internal gender identity (target gender). the term "transsexual" wi l l only be used i n reference to those persons undergoing srs. the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-iv), generally regarded as the bible of psychological diagnosis, describes individuals with gid as those who have "a strong and persistent identification with the opposite gender. there is a sense of discomfort in their own e l e m e n t s f a l l 08 gender and may feel they were 'born the wrong sex."'v i n addition, gid is a particularly sensitive diagnosis because it is often, though not always, diagnosed in conjunction with depression and suicidal thoughts.v ) the lingering effects of these other afflictions could distort assessments of the efficacy of srs, an issue that needs to be taken into account when the medical necessity of srs is assessed. p r e v a l e n c e o f t r a n s c e n d e r p e r s o n s estimates regarding the prevalence of transgender persons range from i in 11,900 to 1 i n 37,000 for assigned males and 1 i n 30,400 to 1 in 107,000 for assigned females. v i i it must be noted, however, that many self-identified transgender individuals are not professionally diagnosed, do not undergo surgery, or deal with their transgender identity in alternative ways (such as cross-dressing), which makes accurate statistics assessing the pervasiveness of transgender persons difficult to acquired" t r a n s s e x u a l i t y i n t h e c o u r t s the term transsexual, as defined by the dsm-iv diagnosis of gid, can describe individuals at any stage i n the transition process (before, during, or after hormones and surgical procedures). i n spite of this, where the law is concerned the exact operative state of a transgender individual is often a necessary detail. some court cases have allowed the use of the "he" pronoun to describe a pre-operative or mid-operative female-to-male transsexual, or the "she" pronoun for a transitioning male-to-female transsexual.1* when the sex of the individual is an integral part of the issue at hand in the trial, however, courts generally do not recognize the gender transition as having taken place unti l the genitals of the person have been altered, or, i n other words, unti l the individual has undergone srs.x persons who do not desire srs cannot, despite their gender identity and outward gender expression, be considered a member of that gender. massachusetts general law, for example, holds that birth certificates can be amended to reflect new gender identity, but only providing the person has completed sex reassignment surgery.xi even if, in all other respects, the person appears to be the opposite gender, most courts follow "the ... dsm-iv... describes individuals with gid as those who have ... . 'a sense of discomfort in their own gender and may feel they were "born the wrong sex.'"" massachusetts and still regard the individual as officially his or her originally assigned sex unti l srs is complete. x i i this can create problems for individuals who, for instance, wish to claim discrimination based on sex but have not completed male-to-female srs, and thus cannot qualify as female in the courts. this problem creates a legal necessity for srs x m that wi l l be returned to further on in the assessment of medicaid funding for srs. a n o v e r v i e w of srs p r o c e d u r e s the harry benjamin international gender dysphoria association's standards of care for gender identity disorders (hereafter known as standards of care or soc) provides an in-depth outline, for both patients and therapists, of the suggested approach for treating patients with gid. a brief overview of the methods and procedures wi l l be outlined here in order to demonstrate the extensive process involved in undergoing a sex change. by showing the vast array of criteria one must fulfill before obtaining srs, this section wi l l challenge the claim that srs and related medical procedures are often performed whimsically. x l v the process is broken into three distinct phases, although soc acknowledges that fulfillment of all three stages is not appropriate for all patients, and some wi l l be satisfied with completion of one or two phases, rendering complete srs unnecessary.xv t r a n s a c t i o n f e e s t h e f i r s t p h a s e ! p s y c h o t h e r a p y while soc acknowledges that psychotherapy is not necessary in all cases, it is certainly highly recommended for patients who wish to undergo srs in order to provide options and assess eligibility and readiness for the life adjustments involved in sex change. psychotherapy also addresses the effects of gid on the patients' work, education, and family life.3™ there is no required number of sessions of psychotherapy because patients vary greatly in emotional state and psychological history, and soc wishes to avoid patients seeing psychotherapy as simply a hurdle on their way towards their ultimate goal of srs.x v i i a woman in a psychoth eraphy sess ion, often t h e first step toward srs. during psychotherapy the therapist encourages the patient to experiment with brief forays into the world of the opposite sex through cross-dressing as well as basic cosmetic alterations such as the removal of facial hair for men or breast-binding for women." ' 1 1 in order to proceed to the second stage of hormone treatment, a patient must meet several criteria. "without first meeting these recommended eligibility requirements," soc explains, "the patient and the therapist should not request hormones or surgery." x i x these criteria should be indicated in a documentation letter written by the mental health professional. they include evidence that the patient is fully aware and has been counseled on the effects of hormones, and that he or she is over eighteen years of age and has either lived for three months as the opposite gender or has undergone a sufficient amount of psychotherapy (also usually three months). x x in addition, the patient must demonstrate that he or she is ready to continue the process in a responsible manner by showing he or she has made progress overcoming other identified problems such as alcoholism or suicidal tendencies.™ t h e s e c o n d p h a s e : h o r m o n e t r e a t m e n t once the patient's eligibility and readiness is assessed, he or she qualifies for hormone treatment. biological males are treated with estrogen in order to allow breast growth, increase body fat and curviness, decrease body hair, and shrink the testicles. biological females treated with testosterone experience a decrease in breast mass, increased body weight and upper body strength, increase in facial and body hair, and enlarging of the clitoris. x x " in essence, the patient undergoes a "psychologically unbalancing" or "second puberty." x x l" for biological females, a mastectomy can be performed during this stage along with the hormone treatments.™7 it is usually necessary for hormone treatment to continue for two years before its full effects are realized, and patients generally must continue treatment throughout their lives to maintain the desired effects. x x v at least one year of this two-year period is also required for the individual, i f he or she desires, to pass to the subsequent and final stage of gender reassignment. more assessment and psychotherapy is necessary, sultan explains, because the treating physician must be certain that the gender dysphasia is real and that "[t]he disorder is not a symptom of another mental disorder"; that is, that the person genuinely has deep-seated, irreversible issues with his gender and that the feelings of dysphasia are not manifestations of paranoia, schizophrenia, or other afflictions. x x v i e l e m e n t s f a l l 0 8 t h e t h i r d p h a s e ! s e x r e a s s i g n m e n t s u r g e r y requirements for passage into this most drastic phase of sex reassignment are stringent. the soc requires that the patient live as a member of their target gender and undergo hormone therapy for at least twelve continuous months prior to undergoing srs. in addition, he or she must be completely aware of the financial burdens, hospitalizations, and possible risks and side effects associated with srs and must obtain a competent sex reassignment surgeon . -™ 'when all of these requirements are demonstrable, a mental health professional must perform a comprehensive evaluation of h i m or her and then write a letter describing the patient's condition and mental status as ready for surgery. this letter is required before a surgeon can proceed with srs, meaning that srs is not simply an elective procedure.™ 1 1 1 patients also must be completely aware of all the particulars regarding the surgical process itself. in female-to-male patients, srs involves a phalloplasty in which a phallus is created from the patient's forearm tissues x x i x testes are created and attached, and the woman becoming a man generally has a hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy to remove reproductive organs.' v other procedures include a vaginectomy, metoidioplasty (creating a micro penis from the enlarged clitoris by severing connecting tissue 5 0™), scrotoplasty, and urethroplasty in order to create a urethra and scrotum. in male-to-female patients, srs involves an orchiectomy (removal of the testicles), penectomy, vaginoplasty, clitoroplasty, and labiaplasty.v x " in essence, "this surgery involves removal of most of the penis and the entire testes, with the remaining penis turned 'inside-out' and then grafted to the newly constructed vaginal opening. " x x x i u labia and a clitoris are then created with excess tissue. for both transformations, several procedures are often necessary in order to obtain full sexual function and coital ability, and occasionally full function is not achieved. x x x i v after srs, follow-up therapy is often necessary and always one of t h e several surgical procedures srs patients must undergo . recommended to assess possible long-term medical conditions resulting from srs and hormone treatment. x x x v as demonstrated by this section, the claim that srs is performed whimsically and treated as an elective or cosmetic surgery is not supported by evidence, which shows the highly complicated and time-consuming process that transsexual individuals must go through in order to alter their biological sex. the subsequent section wil l present a brief history and outline of the rules of government-funded medical insurance programs, in an attempt to explain why coverage is so frequently, and often categorically, denied to transgender patients. t h e r u l e s o f g o v e r n m e n t f u n d e d h e a l t h c o v e r a g e medicare and medicaid were both part of programs conceived in the 1960s and passed in 1965 as part of the social security act . " x x s ! medicare provides health insurance coverage for retired persons, therefore its role in this paper is minimal. as it is highly unlikely for a person over 65 to begin srs, conflicts with funding and medicare are extremely rare . x x x v i i medicaid, on the other hand, provides coverage for the indigent. before one can adequately address the true issue of funding for srs under public insurance programs, the history and rules regarding the programs themselves must be understood. t r a n s a c t i o n f e e s m e d i c a i d a n d t h e l o o p h o l e o f j o i n t f e d ­ e r a l a n d s t a t e c o n t r o l medicaid, besides having a target user group in a lower age bracket, is a cooperative federal and state program. both the state and the federal government help to fund medicaid. the federal government provides the basic regulations and goals of the program, but leaves it to the states to decide exactly which procedures are covered. x x x v m medicaid was created by title xix of the social security act of 1965.v : v because it allows the states to create their own programs based off of loose federal regulations, any lawsuits brought against the states must be based on these federal regulations.'' the preamble of title xix designates the intended recipients of medicaid to be those who cannot afford "medically necessary" services, the first of a plethora of vague terms used to describe the functions of medicaid, including requirement that standards be "reasonable," "consistent with the objectives" of title xix and the services covered must "reasonably achieve the purpose" of the services/ states must create a program that is in the best interest of medicaid recipients, and one that has a method of reviewing claims to ensure that appropriate claims are funded. one slightly less ambiguous aspect of the statute is the prohibition of discrimination or preclusion of funding based solely on the type of illness/'" overall, however, the statutes surrounding medicaid are sufficiently vague to provide a vast array of interpretations of the requirements and role of the states in determining funding for procedures. i n c r e a s e d r e s t r i c t i o n s o n s e r v i c e s at the advent of private insurance, medicare, and medicaid, insurers relied almost entirely on doctors to determine the necessity of services. eventually, however, private insurers, and in turn medicare and medicaid, realized that they were being charged for procedures that were entirely cosmetic or unnecessary. private insurers inserted phrases restricting procedures to those considered "medically necessary," but when they continued to lose cases well into the 1970s, they began wording their contracts more strictly. medicaid also inserted statutes forbidding "experimental" and "cosmetic" treatment at this t i m e . x l i n hall explains that the "experimental treatment" in health insurance policies today responds to a growing concern "that most current medical procedures were adopted without ever having been tested rigorously and that at least some of the procedures commonly used today have limited or no medical value." x l l v likewise, the "cosmetic" exclusion came about as people began to look to medicine for weight loss and plastic surgery."1'' these are two of three chief explanations, medical necessity being the third, that have been used in courts to explain medicaid's (as well as private insurers') reasons for not funding srs. d e n i a l o f m e d i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y p r o c e ­ d u r e s a n d t h e c o s t f a c t o r it is important to consider one other aspect of title xix before attempting to apply it to srs. as finley points out, congress never defines the term "necessary medical services." x l v i he argues for further investigation into the true meaning of the medicaid statutes and how they are applicable in an ever-changing, ever more expensive medical world. title xix, finley argues, is very interested in cost-control and management of resources, and many of the statutes reference this goal . x l v n unfortunately, state investment in keeping costs down comes directly into conflict with providing all "necessary medical services" as indicated in section 1396. " i f a state is required to fund all medically necessary services", finley writes, "other viable objectives—especially those of cost control and state discretion to meet fiscal concerns—will be undercut. therefore, it is unlikely that congress intended that a requirement be inferred from section 1396, since such a construction would be detrimental to other statutory concerns." x l v i n in other words, finley shows that title xix does not mandate funding of all medically necessary services, but rather it requires that any limitations on medically necessary services be reasonable. ! this means that while medical necessity e l e m e n t s f a l l 0 8 should be the goal of funding, the federal government recognizes that there are other factors in determining the "reasonableness" of claims, such as cost. this l imiting objective is indicated in the evolution of medicaid and the additions congress made to title xix after its inception. it shows that, despite congress' ambitious intentions regarding the program, the last few decades have brought about expensive advancements in the realm of healthcare, and new medicaid restrictions must reflect the changing times. whether or not srs is cons idered a 'necessary medical procedure ' is an o n g o i n g q u e s t i o n . s r s ! d o t h e r e s t r i c t i o n s a p p l y ? while male-to-female transitions are significantly less expensive than female-to-male transitions, (with the former costing between $18,000 and $35,000 and the latter costing over $50,000) the financial burden associated with srs is astronomical regardless of the original biological sex of the individual. it is here, in light of the limits agreed upon in the previous section, that the question of insurance coverage for such procedures wil l be analyzed. while the subject of private insurance coverage for srs and related procedures is outside the scope of this paper, determinations regarding coverage of such treatments are relevant to both public and private insurance policies. this section wil l apply relevant data regarding srs and related procedures to first assess why sex change treatments are neither cosmetic nor experimental, and why they should be considered medically necessary. once the medical necessity of srs is assessed, the appropriateness of their coverage under medicaid policy wil l be determined. d e b u n k i n g " c o s m e t i c " a n d " e x p e r i m e n ­ t a l " c l a i m s characterizing srs and related procedures as either cosmetic or experimental was one of the easiest ways for states to get out of paying for srs. dasti explains, "while states cannot effect bans on necessary treatments on the basis of diagnosis discrimination, any non-necessary procedure can be barred from coverage by states as they choose."1' in other words, by designating a procedure either cosmetic or experimental, they can completely exclude it from their policy without breaking section 1392, which forbids states from discriminating against a particular illness or affliction by categorically denying funding for all treatments associated with that condition. medicaid claims that srs was cosmetic were deflated by g.b. v. lackner, a medicaid lawsuit in california in which the judge concluded: " i t is clearly impossible to conclude that transsexual surgery is cosmetic surgery."1 1 despite the fact that transsexual and transgender surgery results in an altered outward appearance of the individual, it is being used to correct a psychological disorder and should therefore not be considered cosmetic, but a surgery that is correcting an inner default. kirkland writes that physicians in lackner responded to the "cosmetic" argument with the "illness" argument: "unless this person gets sex reassignment surgery such that her genitalia and hormones match her sexual identity, she occupies the legal category of an untreated i l l person who is entitled to medi-cal benefits." 1 the judge in this case also ruled that the surgery was "necessary and reasonable," a fact that is applicable to the subsequent section on medical necessity. the use of the word "experimental" was also common medicaid terminology, and one that seems slightly more valid. in the early 1970s srs was relatively new and thus had high risks associated with i t . l l v as time passed, however, the procedure was improved upon and as early as 1976 judges began to rule that this procedure was not experimental. 1" thirty years have passed since that ruling, and doctors have made even more progress regarding srs. it is absurd, therefore, to continue to characterize such a procedure as experimental especially considering the large number of functioning transsexual persons living in society today. "the extreme social sacrifices and financial burdens that transgender patients undertake further evidences their faith in the fact that they will benefit from them." m e d i c a l n e c e s s i t y o f s e x r e a s s i g n m e n t p r o c e d u r e s after determining the reasons that srs is not to be considered cosmetic or experimental, this paper will now look at its medical necessity. standards of care characterizes both hormone treatments and srs as medically necessary procedures. regarding hormone treatment, soc concludes that: cross-sex hormonal treatments play an important role in the anatomical and psychological gender transition process for properly selected adults with gender identity disorders. hormones are often medically necessary for successful living in the new gender. they improve the quality of life and limit psychiatric co-morbidity, which often accompanies lack of treatment)™ in regards to srs, soc once again comes down strongly in favor of categorizing the procedure as medically necessary. it reads: in persons diagnosed with transsexualism or profound gid, sex reassignment surgery, along with hormone therapy and real-life experience, is a treatment that has proven to be effective. such a therapeutic regimen, when prescribed or recommended by qualified practitioners, is medically indicated and medically necessary. sex reassignment is not "experimental", "investigational", "elective", "cosmetic", or optional in any meaningful sense. it constitutes very effective and appropriate treatment for transsexualism or profound gjd. l v u as was previously mentioned, patients with gid often suffer from other psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. 1 , 1 when the origins of these conditions lay in the patient's incorrect gender identity, they should be assuaged by hormone therapy and srs. such conditions could also conceivably be exacerbated, however, by societal rejection and discrimination against transsexual persons. therefore, assessing the psychological state of post-operative transsexual individuals and using this as a marker to determine the success of the srs could be a faulty assessment method due to the additional societal pressures assumed when one becomes a member of the opposite sex. a different, although similarly flawed, method to determine medical necessity is to assess patient satisfaction with their new physical gender. this should only be asked of patients who followed the standards of care recommended by the harry benjamin international gender dysphoria association, so as to assure that only properly cared for patients are assessed. the extreme social sacrifices and financial burdens that transgender patients undertake further evidences their faith in the fact that they wil l benefit from them. transsexual individuals who undergo surgery are often forced to give up their careers or are ostracized from their families. they also can become unable to bear children, and risk medical problems in the future. it seems such sacrifices would only be made i f he or she were completely convinced of the procedure's effectiveness. a n additional vital point that needs to be taken into consideration pertains not necessarily to the phrase "medical necessity" but certainly to the phrase "necessary medical services" as it is used in section 1392 of the title xix statutes. early on in this investigation, the difficulties transgender individuals experience in the courts were discussed, in particular, the inability for the courts to determine gender/sex identity for mid-operative or pre-operative persons. as dasti points out, there is a need for facilitating transsexual surgical procedures in the legal sense because without it laws that follow in society's strict binary-gendered definitions are difficult to apply and enforce. i , x "one certainly can hope for a future in which a transgender person can identify as neither fully male nor fully female, yet still be welcome as a full participant in society," dasti writes. "unt i l that day, however, the nearly fetishistic focus that the law places on genital structures undergirds a strong argument that access to sex-reassignment surgery is necessary in order to avoid shutting an entire class of citizens outside of the law." l x dasti presents an additional compelling reason for surgical procedures to be regarded as necessary: without it there would be many more genderambiguous persons, which would make the court's job even more difficult. most doctors specializing in treating transgender patients agree that, for some patients with gid, srs presents the only option for alleviating or curing the psychological condition. therefore, this paper wil l proceed from the premise that sex-change operations are medically necessary surgeries. this premise is clearly not a flawless one, and evidence as to the effectiveness of these surgeries is incomplete and certainly warrants further study, but it is generally accepted and has been upheld in several court decisions. 1"' s r s : m e d i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y , b u t f u n d a b l e ? the last question that must be addressed in this section is whether srs falls in the group of medically necessary exceptions—procedures that are deemed vital, but can be refused on the grounds that they are too expensive and would place too great of a burden on the state. despite the fact that srs procedures and associated hormone treatments can be very expensive on an individual scale, there are very few sex reassignment surgeries each year. l x , i the financial burden that such procedures would place on the state is minimal, therefore denial of such services would not fulfill the statute of a "reasonable" restriction to place on medical care. case h i s t o r y a n d t h e c u r r e n t state of coverage in order to continue with the assessment of government funding for treatment procedures, it is helpful to first delineate the options available to government programs regarding the extent of treatment funded by the programs and the levels of funding that are accepted by medicaid in different states. p o s s i b l e d e c r e e s o f f u n d i n g there are several paths that government funding of sex change procedures and treatments could take. they wil l be outlined here in order to provide a basis from which to assess the current state of medicaid coverage. i . fund nothing associated with gender identity disorder; i i . provide compensation for only psychotherapy associated with gid; i i i . compensate psychotherapy and hormone treatment, but not srs or other surgical procedures; iv. compensate for psychotherapy, hormone treatment, and surgical procedures such as mastectomy but not genital surgery; v. compensate for all medical care related to gid, including srs surgeries, but on a case-by-case basis. vi. compensate for all medical care related to gid, including all srs surgeries the first option of providing absolutely no funding is not a realistic public policy, because gid is a diagnosable psychological disorder that is recognized as such by the dsm-iv. funding is certainly provided for psychotherapy associated with other psychological disorders. as todd savage explains in an article on the high costs of gender reassignment, even private insurers typically pick up the cost of psychotherapy.ix 1 1 ] it is at the third option that many private insurers draw the line. "doctors are usually able to get reimbursed for hormone treatments," savage explained, "but only because they are deliberately vague in reporting their purpose." l x i v it can be concluded that doctors, i f they want the insurance company to fund hormone treatment, do not explicitly inform insurers that it is being used as part of treatment for gid. in the world of private insurance, denial of care can also extend to contra-care, or any care that is used in conjunction with srs, such as prostate exams for male-to-female patients or gynecological care for female-to-male. ixv s t a t e c o v e r a g e t r e n d s due to the state control of medicaid, the extent of coverage varies greatly from state to state. there are several states, including california, minnesota, washington, and iowa, that have ruled against categorical denial of all procedures relating to sex change. the court ruled that the denial of medicaid benefits was arbitrary and "inconsistent with the objectives of the federal medicaid statute." this does not mean that these states permit funding as per option six, but that they choose option five and wil l fund some procedures as presented on a case-by-case basis. 1 ' v i in the case of iowa and washington, however, this seems to mean that they wil l fund hormone treatment and smaller surgical procedure such as mastectomies, but not srs itself. in addition, iowa's groundbreaking 1980 ruling in pinneke v. priesser, in which the judge ruled that srs was the only method known that would help the plaintiff's transsexuality, x l v n was essentially overturned by smith v. ramussen in 2002. smith v. ramussen ruled that pinneke v. priesser was superseded by iowa human services department regulations. x l v i i i most other states, including alaska, illinois, and pennsylvania, still have statutes on their medicaid policies that categorically exclude procedures relating to transsexuality. oregon, for example, denied state coverage of sexchange procedures ruling that "there was no good evidence showing that sex-reassignment surgery improves patients' mental and emotional well-being or socioeconomic status or that it reduces the incidence of suicide attempts among transsexuals." i x i x in new york, two cases in the 1970s held that the plaintiffs who desired coverage of srs under medicaid had failed to prove the medical necessity of the treatment, 1 a and now new york continues to proscribe coverage for anything related to gender reassignment, including hormone therapy. l x x i slowly, cases have arisen that challenge the acceptability of categorical denial of procedures relating to gid. in minnesota, doe v. state department of public welfare held that the standards the state was using were so high as to be burdensome for patients, and that the state had to consider funding future applications for transsexual surgery. l x x i i i n massachusetts, which currently bans all srs-related procedures, the state was ordered to pay for breast reconstruction for a trans-woman who had had srs 25 years ago and whose silicone implants were l e a k i n g . w h i l e this does not reverse the ban, it does provide some hope for transgender persons that progress is being made to raise awareness regarding this issue. p r o s c r i p t i o n o f s r s i d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n p u b l i c p o l i c y ? this paper has argued that the process of completing gender transition is very involved and closely regulated by medical professionals. therefore, the decision to undergo srs cannot be considered a whimsical decision made by a disturbed individual and instead must be regarded as a lifechanging choice that is made with the assistance of experts e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 0 8 in order to treat a psychological condition. it cannot be considered cosmetic or experimental, and is medically necessary. categorical denial of funding for treatment of transgender individuals is inappropriate and unethical, because it constitutes discrimination based on a specific type of i l l ness. this is forbidden by the medicaid statutes, as it is prejudiced against a group of people. denial of services because of cost is a specious argument because there is a very low percentage of transgender persons, so no significant monetary loss would occur from allowing coverage for srs. in addition, providing funding for treatment could decrease costs associated with long-term effects of untreated gid, such as depression, anxiety, and dangerous consequences of illegal hormone use. finally, since there is no formula presented by the federal government for making evaluations of claims, they should be made on a case-by-case basis, as finley suggests, taking into account the goals of medicaid, the best interest of the patients, and the fiscal needs of the state. l x x i v the fact that cases are still ruled in favor of state proscriptions is, in most cases, a reflection of misunderstanding and discrimination in our society. when claims made by transgender persons are treated with the same reasonableness that is extended to other claims, a part of this institutionalized prejudice wil l cease to exist. unfortunately, the prejudice extends to the very top; transgender individuals who attempt to take recourse cannot apply to the americans with disabilities act (ada). in 1990, congress specifically excluded transgender persons from protection under the act, putting them in a category of other excluded groups such as pedophiles, voyeurs, and pyromaniacs, l x x v despite the fact that transgender individuals are also said to have a non-criminal psychological condition as defined by dsm-iv. this discrepancy reflects a fear and willful ignorance of transsexuality and transgender issues that is clearly unethical and harmful to the very citizens the government is ostensibly trying to protect. this is particularly detrimental to transgender persons who have private health insurance, because when they are denied by their providers they have few options for recourse i f they cannot claim discrimination based on ada. e p i l o g u e : n e w a m a r e g u l a t i o n s a n d t h e f u t u r e o f i n s u r a n c e f u n d i n g in june 2007, the american medical association voted to amend its nondiscrimination policies to include transgender people. this new policy specifically states the a m a s opposition to "the denial of health insurance on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity." l x v l 1 the influence of the ama's increasingly high-profile stance on gay, lesbian, and transgender issues is causing many healthcare insurers and municipalities across the united states to reexamine their policies to ensure that transgender patients are not denied access to medically necessary services. in 2001, san a woman attending the san francisco city hall vote on whether sex-chance operations s h o u l d be covered by health plans. t r a n s a c t i o n f e e s francisco became the first city to pay for srs for its workers, and berkeley wil l most likely follow soon. l x x v " the ama's amendment of its nondiscrimination policies wi l l perhaps provide an example for private insurance companies and federal and state governments in order that the categorical exclusion of members of society can cease to be a reality. e n d n o t e s i . sultan (2003) i i . savage i i i . "inpatient care exclusions, aetna h m o summary plan description 2007" (2007) iv. the harry benjamin international gender dysphoria association's standards of care for gender identity disorders '(2001) v. diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (2007) vi. sultan (2003) vi i . standards of care (2001) v i i i . sultan (2003) ix. ladrach (1987) x. k v. health division, dept. of human resources (1976) xi. massachusetts general laws (2001) xi i . harris (1997) x i i i . dasti (2002) xiv. innes bowen (2000) xv. standards of care (2001) xvi. soc (2001) xvii. soc (2001) xviii . ibid. xix. soc (2001) xx. soc (2001) xxi. soc (2001) xxii. soc (2001) xxiii . sultan (2003) xxiv. soc (2001) xxv. soc (2001) xxvi. sultan (2003) xxvii. soc (2001) xxviii. soc (2001) xxix. savage xxx. sultan (2003) xxxi. "female to male transsexuals" (2007) xxxii. soc (2001) xxxiii. sultan (2003) xxxiv. soc (2001) xxxv. .soc (2001) xxxvi. "medicare history" (2000) xxxvii. for groups fighting for medicare rights for transsexuals, see www.gendercare.org xxxviii. finley (1978) xxxix. ibid. xl . ibid. x l i . ibid. x l i i . ibid. x l i i i . hall (1992) xliv. hall (1992) xlv. hall (1992) xlvi. finley (1978) xlvii . ibid. xlvi i i . ibid. xlix. ibid. 1. savage l i . dasti (2007) l i i . g. b. v. lackner (1978) l i i i . kirkland (2003) pi7 liv. rush v. parham (1980). srs was invented in 1965. by 1980, the doctor i n the case claims, several thousand patient had undergone the procedure, lv. kv. health division (1976) lvi . soc (2001) lv i i . soc (2001) lv i i i . sultan (2003) lix. dasti (2007) ix. dasti (2007) lxi . doe v. minnesota department of public welfare and hennepin county welfare board (1977) lx i i . finley (1978) ixi i i . savage lxi v. savage lxv. "ama expands non-discrimination policy" (2007) lxvi. sultan (2003) lxvii. pinnekev. preisser (1980) lxvii i . smith v. ramussen (2001) lxix. savage lxx. dasti (2007) lxxi. sultan (2003) lxxii . doe v. state, dept. of public welfare (1977) lxxii i . beger v. acting comm'r, div. of med. assistance (2000); sultan (2003) lxxiv. finley (1978) lxxv. kirkland (2003) lxxvi. "ama expands non-discrimination policy." (2007) lxxvii. "san francisco first city to pay for city workers' sex changes" (2001) references "ama expands non-discrimination policy." 3 july 2007. gaywired.com. 10 nov, 2007, <www.gaybusinessworld.com>. "ama expands non-discrimination policy." gay business world. 3 july 2007. beger v. acting comm'r, div. of med. assistance, 11 mass. l. rptr. no. 31, 745, 747 (mass. super. ct. may 1, 2000); sultan, 1206. e l e m e n t s f a l l 0 8 http://www.gendercare.org http://gaywired.com http://www.gaybusinessworld.com diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition (dsm-iv). as provided by allpsych online, <www.allpsych.com/disorders/sexual/genderidentity.html>. 15 may 2007, accessed 4 december 2007. doe v. minnesota department of public welfare and hennepin county welfare board, 257 n.w.2d 816, 819 (minn.1977) "exclusions and limitations, blue cross blue shield of arizona." <http://www.azblue.com/healthplans/under65/exclusions_limitationsi.asp>. accessed 4 december 2007. "female to male transsexuals," from california's gender health site, updated 15 aug. 2007. <http://www.genderandhealth.ca/ en/modules/sexandsexuality/gss-transgendered-issues-02.jsp>. accessed 5 december 2007. finley, lucinda m . november 1978. "state restrictions on medicaid coverage of medically necessary services." columbia law review, vol. 78, no. 7, pp. 1491-1516. g. b. v. lackner, 145 cal.rptr. 555, 80 cal.app.3d 64 (cal.app. 1 dist., 1978). hall , mark a. and gerald f. anderson. may 1992. "health insurers' assessment of medical necessity." university of pennsylvania law review, vol. 140, no. 5. p1645-1646. harris, in re, 707 a.2d 225 (pa. super., i997)dasti, jerry l. "sex reassignment under medicaid." new york university law review. 24 december 2002. p1773. the harry benjamin international gender dysphoria association's standards of care for gender identity disorders, sixth version, february 2001. p2, 22. innes bowen "are sex change operations justified?" bbc news. 1 august 2000. "inpatient care exclusions, aetna h m o summary plan description 2007," p31. kv. health division, dept. of human resources, 552 p.2d 840, 26 or.app. 311 (or. app., 1976). kirkland, anna. 2003. "victorious transsexuals in the courtroom: a challenge for feminist legal theory." american bar association, piy. ladrach, in re, 513 n.e.2d 828831 (ohio p. ct. 1987). "medicare history" medicare rights center. updated 2 august, 2000. <http://www.medicarerights.org /maincontenthistory.html>. accessed 6 december 2007. pinneke v. preisser, 623 f.2d 546 (c.a.8 (iowa), 1980). "required outline of coverage, blue cross blue shield texas," p7., etc. rush v. parham 625 f.2d 1150 (c.a.5 (ga.), 1980). srs was invented i n 1965. by 1980, the doctor in the case claims, several thousand patient had undergone the procedure. "san francisco first city to pay for city workers' sex changes," the chicago tribune. 01 may. 2001. savage, todd. "costly trans-actionhigh cost of sex-change operations." sultan, bradley. "transsexual prisoners." the new england law review, 20 may 2003, p i 197, 1203. massachusetts general laws, ch. 46, § 13(e) (2001). t r a n s a c t i o n f e e s http://www.allpsych.com/disorders/sexual/genderidentity.html http://www.azblue.com/healthplans/under65/ex-clusions_limitationsi.asp http://www.azblue.com/healthplans/under65/ex-clusions_limitationsi.asp http://www.genderandhealth.ca/en/modules/sexandsexuality/gss-transgendered-issues-02.jsp http://www.genderandhealth.ca/en/modules/sexandsexuality/gss-transgendered-issues-02.jsp http://cal.app.3d http://www.medicarerights.org/maincontenthistory.html http://www.medicarerights.org/maincontenthistory.html d a v i d f. b r a d l e y , j r. is a senior from tewksbury, massachusetts, majoring in h i s to ry . he is the executive editor and layout editor for the observer, a biweekly student newspaper on the boston college campus. he hopes to help create a more rational, liberty-oriented society. m ari sa c o c h r a n e is a senior international studies major in the college of arts and sciences. she wrote this article while studying abroad at the london school of economics and political science. currently, she is working on an honors thesis which evaluates the effectiveness of international election monitoring in several sub-saharan african states. c a i t l i n f i t z g e r a l d is a senior in the college of arts and sciences from natick, massachusetts, majoring in english with a concentration in creative writing. she is a member of the college fellows program, the bc flute choir, and is a dj at wzbc. caitlin spent the spring of 2006 studying abroad i n bath, england. she is currently work ing as a research as-sistant for professor james smith in the english department. caitlin has previously been published in both stylus and naked singularity. her paper was originally written for professor smith's course "contemporary fictions of britain & ireland" in the fall of 2006. she plans to pursue a career in writing or publishing. j ess ica j . f l i n n is a senior i n the college of arts and sciences with a major in history and minors in faith, peace, and justice and philosophy. she is a member of the boston college women's cross country and track teams. her home town is sandown, new hampshire and she hopes to be attending law school next fall with a concentration on health law. m att h ew h a m i l t o n is a sophomore majoring in economics and hispanic studies. hailing from delaware, matthew volunteered and did film work with the hispanic migrant workers of the delmarva peninsula. this past winter break, he joined fellow students on an immersion trip to guatemala and he hopes to continue work ing and studying latin american affairs. matthew remains active in 4boston and ugbc, and he thanks his parents and friends. rebecca k r a u s is a senior from buffalo, new york, majoring in english and minoring in hispanic studies. her paper is a portion of her senior thesis, which uses trans-generational trauma theory to examine literature written by children of holocaust survivors. she would like to thank professors maxim shrayer and frances restuccia for their help with this project. b r a d m a c d o n a l d graduated from boston college in 2006 with a b.s. in biology and a minor in environmental studies. his research with terrapins sparked a personal fascination with animal behavior and its dynamic role in conservation ecology. in the future he hopes to continue investigating this topic in graduate school. he currently plans to join central and south american sea turtle conservation efforts for the 2007 nesting season. is a senior in the college of arts and sciences completing an environmental geosciences major and an african and african diaspora studies minor. he is a native of trinidad, and his childhood exposure to the orisha spiritual tradition has nurtured his love for both the environment and african diasporic traditions. he wi l l attend graduate school to pursue both geology and trans-atlantic new world religions. d i m l t r i p h i l l i p s is a junior in the college of arts and sciences majoring in philosophy and linguistics. interested in all things ancient, the present work was originally developed for a presentation in professor nancy netzer's early medieval art of ireland and britain class. though art and history are the predominant elements in this endeavor, theology, philosophy, and even philology receive their tributes—rightly—at some points in the work. a l e x i s rife is a senior studying biology and philosophy at boston college. she has been interested in marine biology and conservation since a very young age thanks to multiple visits to california—very different from her home in tucson, arizona. she is looking forward to continuing her education in marine biology i n the future, after a few years of travel and work abroad. lau ren s o t t i le is a junior from villanova, pennsylvania, studying history and communications in the college of arts and sciences. she is an editorial board member of the heights, the independent student newspaper of boston college, currently holding the position of general manager. lauren also volunteers with the campus school. she would like to thank professor edward rugemer for his support in her research and writing. b e r n a r d z l p p r i c h is a sophomore economics major with a focus on issues of international political economy. his paper examining issues surrounding sustainable development in costa rica was prepared following a trip to the coun try under the direction of professor peter auger of the biology department and professor charles lord of the law school. in addition to thanking auger and lord for their ongoing mentorship, he also thanks his family for enabling h im to make the trip. graduated from boston college in 2007 with a b.a. i n english and a minor in history. he is a proud native of buffalo, ny. alex wrote this paper for professor christina klein's seminar "studies in american culture: globalization." he is currently a member of teach for america and wil l be teaching 8th grade english and social studies in the south bronx starting fall 2007. kerry brennan originally from st. paul, m n , graduated from the college of arts and sciences honors program i n 2007 with a b.a. in international studies, concentrating in economics, and a minor in hispanic studies. her area of research interest is in international economic development. kerry currently lives in mexico city where she is working on a study of the price elasticity of demand among microfinance clients as a project associate for innovations for poverty action. graduated with a b.a. i n history in may 2007, as a member of boston college's order of the cross and crown, and receiving the brendan connolly and arts council awards. he plans to resume his academic pursuits after further exploration of his show-business career. soren lagaard i soren lagaard is a senior in the college of arts & sciences majoring in history and political science. hailing ' from the state of minnesota, soren found the inspiration for his essay in a class taken on the history of racism last fall. he is currently studying in cairo, where he hopes to continue studying issues of race and identity. many thanks go to his instructor, professor braude, for all his guidance. is a junior from santo domingo, dominican republic majoring in theology and biochemistry. his research interests include sexual ethics, bioethics, and public health and ethics. this past summer he interned with the prevention, care, and impact mitigation team of the joint united nations programme on hiv/aids (unaids) in geneva, switzerland. graduated from boston college in may 2007 with a b.a. in political science and concentrations in international studies and french. she is currently working as a research associate for the global strategies for change project, studying the framing mechanisms of different campaigns for women's economic and political rights. sophie hopes to pursue further degrees i n anthropology. the article, "federal success in nigeria" is an excerpt from her completed undergraduate thesis entitled "federalism and ethnic conflict management strategies: a federal world order." is a member of the arts & sciences class of 2009, double majoring in philosophy and history. he is originally from saigon, vietnam but currently resides in maiden, massachusetts. he was a member of the shaw leadership program and the emerging leadership program during his freshman year. during the school year, he volunteers for the admissions office and works as a student ambassador for the gates millennium scholarship program. huy plans to continue his research into the philosophical implications of artificial intelligence as a mcnair scholar. alex yian n o p o u los a native of new orleans, graduated in may 2007 with a b.a. in philosophy and linguistics. he is currently researching tibetan buddhism on a fulbright grant to nepal, where he plans to complete a master's degree in buddhist philosophy and himalayan languages. "one of the most striking aspects of the old english philosophy surrounding poor relief is how many of its principle tenets were echoed by gingrich and his colleagues during the welfare reform of the iggos." a c o n f l u e n c e of c o n s e r v a t i v e p r i n c i p l e s newt gingrich, the republican party, and 1990s welfare reform s e a n m c m a h o . n w e l f a r e r e f o r m i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s , a l w a y s a c o n t e n t i o u s s u b j e c t , b e c a m e a p r o m i n e n t n a t i o n a l i s s u e i n t h e 1990s , l e a d i n g u p t o t h e 1996 p a s s a g e o f t h e p e r s o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d w o r k o p p o r t u n i t y r e c o n c i l i a t i o n a c t ( p r w o r a ) . t h e r e f o r m w a s p u s h e d t h r o u g h c o n g r e s s b y a r e s u r g e n t r e p u b l i c a n p a r t y l e d b y t h e f i e r y s p e a k e r o f t h e h o u s e , n e w t g i n g r i c h . t o d a y , p r w o r a i s s t i l l h a i l e d b y m a n y c o n s e r v a t i v e s a s a m a j o r s t e p f o r w a r d i n c h a n g i n g t h e w a y s o c i a l w e l f a r e w o r k s i n a m e r i c a . i t i s n o t i m m e d i a t e l y o b v i o u s , h o w e v e r , j u s t h o w c o n s e r v a t i v e r e p u b l i c a n w e l f a r e r e f o r m r e a l l y w a s . i n f a c t , t h e r e f o r m e f f o r t a n d t h e i d e o l o g i e s a n d j u s t i f i c a t i o n s b e h i n d i t h a d t h e i r r o o t s i n t h e e l i z a b e t h a n p o o r l a w o f 1 7 t h c e n t u r y e n g l a n d . t h e c o n c e p t s o f p a t e r n a l i s m a n d s o c i a l d a r w i n i s m t h a t w e r e s o p r e v a l e n t i n t h e o l d e n g l i s h l a w s w e r e m a j o r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f 1990s w e l f a r e r e f o r m i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a s w e l l . few aspects of domestic politics in the united states are as controversial and fundamental as the debate over the welfare system. never was this fact made more clear than during the clinton administration of the 1990s. the collision of president clinton's promise to overhaul the welfare system and the rising conservative views i n the legislature resulted in a congressional debate that was "as charged as any in recent memory."1 republican perspectives on welfare were dominant throughout this crucial period of reform that ultimately led to the passing of the personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act (prwora) in 1996. conservative ideology was best personified by newt gingrich, the speaker of the house during this republicandominated time. it is important to first look at the history of the critical mid-1990s era in order to gain a perspective on who the major players were, what they stood for, and what led up to the climactic passage of the prwora. a further examination of the republican party's principles surrounding welfare reform and how their views influenced the reform is necessary. a n analysis of the elizabethan poor law and the ideas that formed its core wi l l show that these concepts are the basis for many of the republican beliefs that have had significant effect on the n e w t g i n g r i c h h o l d s a c o p y o f t h e r e p u b l i c a n s contract with america welfare system i n modern america. one of the promises on which bill clinton campaigned in 1992 was "to end welfare as we know it ." 1 1 many americans were disillusioned with the existing welfare system. as brendon o'connor explains, this promise by clinton "spoke to that majority of americans wanting to be r id of the old welfare system" which had been popularized by the democrats in the 1960s and 1970s under the great society programs.111 rather than completely oppose the rising wave of conservative thought, "[clinton's] position conceded that conservatives had been correct to criticize the results of the welfare system."1v departing from the traditional stance of his party, clinton sought to reform welfare in major ways that he believed would benefit america as a whole. his willingness to change how welfare worked was a step forward that enabled his allies and opponents to put welfare reform at the top of the political agenda. with all sides determined to impose their ideas on the new american welfare system, the stage was set for a monumental change. however, things took a turn against clinton and the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 democrats when the republicans gained majorities i n the house and senate following the 1994 elections. as o'connor explains, "clinton's liberal legacy on welfare reform was very limited. his ability to pass his own welfare proposal effectively ended with the 1994 republican congressional victory."v newt gingrich, a man who embodied much of republican ideology surrounding welfare reform, was the man who did much to propel the republicans to victory in this election. the contract with america, which o'connor describes as the republican's "1994 election manifesto," was "fiercely anti-liberal and open about its conservative goals."vl as has become the case for many victorious politicians in the u.s., gingrich "claimed the election was a mandate to enact the republican agenda."vii the republicans quickly moved forward to dismantle the welfare system and remake it in their own image. "after 1994, clinton quite simply was no longer leading the welfare debate," o'connor writes, and "from 1995 onward he could only offer occasional criticisms or exercise his veto as gingrich and the gop passed strongly conservative legislation through the house and the senate."v11! with republicans pushing hard, it was only a matter of time before the welfare system as a whole was transformed. finally, " in september of 1996 clinton signed the republican's welfare bill that effectively ended the liberal welfare state. " 1 x the republicans succeeded in getting clinton to sign a bil l that fought through liberal opposition while retaining its conservative grounding and was made into law that "retained its original substance and spirit."" the prwora brought about a sweeping change in how american welfare worked, changing the nature of many federal programs and imposing new rules and restrictions on families receiving support."1 the greatest change to federal programs was the move from the existing system known as aid to families with dependent children (afdc) to a system called temporary aid to needy families (tanf). the crux of this change was the end of welfare as an entitlement under afdc and the introduction of three major policies: work requirements, a time l imit for welfare recipients, and increased control by individual states."11 as a matter of policy, the prwora was designed to "increase the flexibility of the states" and allow individual states to have more control over how they deal with their welfare-receiving constituents."'11 the time limits meant that no family could be on welfare for more than two continuous years at a time and no family could receive benefits from the government for more than an ultimate total of five years. severely curtailing how long families could stay on welfare was a major change, as was the new set of work requirements. in an effort to "end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage," the prwora called for welfare recipients to be forced to work after being on welfare for the allotted t ime. x i v republican ideals are clearly present i n all of these parts of the prwora, and the development and triumph of this way of thinking about welfare is one of the chief legacies of gingrich and his republican colleagues. in the end, clinton's call to "end welfare as we know it" combined with his inability to push his own welfare reform through, allowed for the success of conservative reform movements. as o'connor explains, "the clinton administration failed this challenge on welfare reform and instead it created a political environment that played into the hands of conservative legislators."^ republican ideology was a powerful force behind the welfare reform of the 1990s, and that ideology was embodied i n the person of newt gingrich. described by contemporary newspaper articles as a "firebrand," gingrich gave the republicans their first majority in the house in forty years."vl as a member of the house, gingrich spread his consistently conservative message; with his rise to speaker, the washington post wrote i n 1994, "his party [became] hostage to his vision and his personality." x v u despite a history as a campaigner for minority rights, gingrich was a man whose "support for civil rights was incorporated within a conservative conception of social justice."™ 1 1 i n an outlook that his republican allies would all echo, a c o n f l u e n c e o f c o n s e r v a t i v e p r i n c i p l e s gingrich felt that the existing "liberal welfare state" was harming both poor people and americans as a whole by "increasing poverty and dependency."x1x gingrich's reasoning stated that welfare rewarded the poor for not working, destroying their character and making them dependent on the government; in this way, gingrich saw his calls for a change to welfare as being in the best interests of the poor themselves. as he writes in his book, to renew america, "for every day that we allow the current conditions to continue, we are condemning the poor—and particularly poor children—to being deprived of their basic rights as americans. the welfare state reduces the poor from citizens to clients. , , x x many of gingrich's conservative policies were rooted i n social darwinism, paternalism, and a concept of punitive action, all in the name of ultimately improving the poor segment of american society. many have noted gingrich's policies bear social darwinist undertones,™1 particularly i n the concept of an "undeserving poor," a group gingrich described as "[those] who refuse to work, who refuse to do anything, who refuse to try, somebody who doesn't have a legitimate claim on u s . " ™ 1 this philosophy fits into the republican conception of the goal of welfare. as robin h . rogers-dillon summarizes in the welfare experiments, "[social darwinism] emphasized the 'survival of the fittest' in society, and the inherent unfitness of those at the bottom of i t . " x x i n republicans viewed welfare as a way for society to force certain people to provide for themselves, with the belief that without being induced to work these "undeserving poor" would never motivate themselves to improve their situation. this was one reason behind the work requirements and the time limits of the prwora—the role of welfare was seen by conservatives as making the less worthy members of society work and provide for their own well-being rather than relying on the government to simply give them relief. only by l imit ing the time a family could be on welfare and by requiring work instead of welfare could the poor be stimulated to help themselves. paternalism is implied i n a vast amount of republican thought on welfare reform as well. closely connected to social darwinism, paternalistic thought sees those on welfare as people who need to be helped by the government because they cannot help themselves. this is one reason for work requirements and time limits; another becomes apparent when reading rogers-dillon's explanation of the basis behind paternalistic thought. "paternalists advocate a supervisory approach to poverty," she writes, "requiring that welfare recipients fulfill particular social obligations in return for support.' , x x 1 v this is the brand of thinking that led to the adoption of work requirements in the prwora that were strongly supported by gingrich and his fellow conservatives. the policies which sought to "encourage work' were consistent with republican goals in regards to welfare reform and carried with them a strong sense of paternalistic oversight of those receiving welfare. welfare itself is often seen as paternalistic. in their seminal work, regulating the poor, frances fox piven and richard a. cloward explain this phenomenon: "the occasion of giving vitally needed assistance can easily become the occasion of inculcating the work ethic, for example, and of enforcing work itself, for those who resist risk the withdrawal of that assistance."xxv though writing about the general philosophy of welfare programs, piven and cloward predict the sort of paternalism that is so prevalent i n the debate over how to operate welfare systems. republicans stood for the "strong promotion of the need to reinvigorate the work ethic and to get welfare recipients involved in workfare programs. " x x v 1 another aspect of paternalism was seen i n the way republicans fought the battle to write and pass the prwora. when debating the need for welfare reform, republicans asserted that the main cause of welfare reform was not to reduce dependency, poverty, or a lack of work ethic. these problems were all subservient to the true enemy: illegitimate births.x x v 1 1 the rhetoric regarding illegitimacy is most clear in the book form of the contract with america, which refers to the "out-of-wedlock births that are ripping apart our nation's social fabric," with the implication that republicans wi l l work to save the nation by correcting those who cause this problem.™ 1 1 1 title i of the prwora claims that "the negative consequences of an out-of-wedlock birth on the mother, the child, the family, and society are well documented." 5 0™ the act also details its purpose, which is, among other things, to "prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies" and to "encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families."™ those in favor of the prwora saw it as an opportunity to make the poor of america act in a way beneficial to themselves, their children, and their society. turning illegitimate births into a source of controversy showed how the republicans were willing to take a paternalistic attitude towards the poor as part of their reform agenda.™ 1 finally, paternalistic ways of thinking are quite evident in the way gingrich saw himself and his purpose i n history. like many republicans, gingrich saw his mission as one of saving america from the path it had been following for the past generation. in to renew america, gingrich writes that .. republicans asserted that the main cause of welfare reform was not to reduce dependency, poverty, or a lack of work ethic. these problems were all subservient to the true enemy: illegitimate births." "the central challenge to our generation is to reassert and renew american civilization." 5 0 0 q 1 he goes on to describe the "decay of our civilization," and much of his book deals with how to fix america for the benefit of all its citizens.™ 1 1 1 of course, everyone has a reasonable expectation that politicians should try and combat the problems facing their society, but gingrich took it a step further. the same washington post article that talks about gingrich's control of the republican party in 1994 details "his habit of archiving virtually everything he has written and said;" the article goes on to question whether gingrich "[saw] himself as a potential historical f igure ."™ 1 v gingrich responds to this inquiry by say that he "turned out to be right," suggesting that he did, in fact, see himself as something of a savior of the proper american way of l i f e . ™ v the concept of illegitimate births illuminates another aspect of the prwora and republican thought regarding welfare. focusing on illegitimacy was a major political tactic republicans used to gain support for their welfare bill , but conservative thought carried an air of corrective thinking that went beyond simple paternalism. elizabeth drew writes that "gingrich and his allies were bent on shifting the welfare debate from one concerning work to one concerning illegitimacy, which could be treated punitively."™ v l o'connor notes "their objective was to reignite the stigma of children outside wedlock . . . i n short, the prwora wished to deter potential tanf recipients and make somewhat of an example out of those receiving tanf to deter o thers . "™ v i i i another major result of the pwora is its decision to grant greater power to the states in managing their own welfare systems under tanf guidelines. the republican party often identifies with the cause of states' rights, and this aspect of the prwora shows the practical effects of that stance. but some claim that the further delegation of power to the states has the effect of weakening the voice of citizens who wish to influence welfare policy. in regulating the poor, piven and cloward note that the constitution, which gives varying powers to both federal a c o n f l u e n c e o f c o n s e r v a t i v e p r i n c i p l e s and state governments, manages to "decentralize power structurally."™ 1 5' the net effect of this system, they argue, was that "decentralization meshed with the fragmentation of national authority to make parties ineffective as instruments of popular influence." x l although this constitutional scheme was not specifically meant to deal with welroots of this conservatism. many of the recommendations that arose at this time have their roots i n the elizabethan poor law of 1601 and other elizabethan-era acts that preceded it. the "old poor law," as it is sometimes called, formalized many existing practices into one set of laws for how to deal with the poor. x l m the english system included forms of work re-fare policies, piven ; n s ' oliver twist c a v e a n a c c o u n t o f t l i f e i n t h e e n g l i s h w o r k h o u s e s and cloward mention that "the theorists of the 'democratic class struggle' place great weight on the role of labor or socialist parties in the politics of the welfare state;" this leads to their conclusion that the weakness of american political parties results in a populace that has a hard time organizing and effecting change on the issues of labor and welfare. x l 1 this way of going about welfare stands in direct contrast to the liberal great society system that republicans did away with; piven and cloward write that "the hallmark of the great society programs was the direct relationship between the national government and the ghettoes, a relationship in which both state and local governments were undercut. " x l n it is often noted that conservative views dominated this period of reform, but little has been made of the ideological quirements, punitive action, and local control, as well as a strong sense of paternalism, a concept of the "undeserving poor," and a concern for the effect poor people were having on society—all things that sound very familiar to the ideals of the republican party during the 1990s. perhaps without realizing, conservatives such as gingrich were actually looking back to the 16th and 17th centuries when they were calling for a change in america's welfare system. work requirements and local control of welfare, two of the most important practices put in place by the prwora, have direct ties to the old english system of "poor relief." the english were often in favor of the idea of "setting the able-bodied to work and apprenticing poor children" as paul slack writes in the english poor law, i^i-iy82.xhv money accrued from the "poor rates" charged to the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 wealthy had, among other purposes, that of creating work for the poor. x l v the system of "indoor relief" resulted in "the idle poor [being] taken into the poor-house or workhouse where they would be set to work;" this stands in contrast to the other practice of "outdoor relief," or the provision of money, food, clothing, or other goods to paupers."x ! v i although it was not the main system of poor relief, as noted by mark d. herber in ancestral trails, indoor relief did contribute to the overall system of english welfare. x l v n the idea of setting the poor to work would reach new heights by the 19th century; the poor law amendment act of 1834 completely "replaced outdoor relief for the able-bodied poor by compulsory indoor relief in workhouses." x l v m slack makes the point that ceding control to local governments was a key part of making poor relief effective in england, and bloy explains that 1572 marked the passage of the first act that made poor relief a "local responsibility. " x l l x the contract with america echoes this idea, claiming that "the best welfare solutions come from the states, not washington, d.c."1 the language of the prwora specifically gives "flexibility" to the states in how they maintain their tanf funds and programs; although republicans had other reasons for insisting on this change to american welfare, their recognition of local solutions as being more fit for the citizens of a particular era certainly looked back to the policies of the english.1 1 aside from the practices and recommendations, republican thought shared a lot in common with the dominant welfare philosophies in england. like gingrich, english lawmakers in these times saw poverty as a problem that was affecting not only the poor but english society as a whole.'1 1 one example of this is the negative attitude towards poor people who disrupted society's workings, described by p. j.p. goldberg as a "growing contemporary concern with vagrancy."1111 this mirrors the perception of gingrich and his colleagues that poverty was destroying american culture. paternalism was also evident in english poor law; slack observes that many english felt they had a duty to engage in "social engineering" and to encourage the "moral reform" of the poor. l l v although the passage of poor laws in 1597 and 1601 provided for a governmental framework for poor relief, it was a general english attitude beforehand that "the church was considered to have moral responsibility for the poor." l v the only real change to this philosophy effected by the poor law was its intent that poor relief be "directed to particular rational ends" and that charity go beyond "the traditional obligations of the rich towards the poor." l v i slack summarizes the perspective of many english thinkers in writing, " i f idleness were rooted out, drunkards, bastard-bearers, hedge-breakers, and other rogues would disappear. poverty itself might be conquered along with ungodliness, i f only there were sufficient investment in social engineering. " l v n punitive practices were also more extreme i n early-modern england when compared with those advocated by american conservatives. while republican reformers sought to "deter potential tanf recipients," the english methods for deterring bad behavior under the poor relief system were more brutal. slack's survey of english laws from 1531 to 1610 shows many acts that call for the whipping of vagabonds, the sanction of slavery as a punishment, and the use of "houses of correction. " l v m perhaps most interesting is how later english perspectives on the failing of the poor law coincide with the republican views of america's "liberal welfare state." it has been noted that the prwora focused heavily on the need to change welfare and foster the "promotion of responsible fatherhood and motherhood. " l l x this parallels slack's view of 19th century englishmen such as thomas malthus. according to malthus and the royal commission of 1832, the system of poor relief "encouraged pauperization by subsidizing early marriage, large families and low wages." lx furthermore, herber explains that "many people also believed that the system encouraged people to avoid work," thus leading to the poor law amendment act of 1834.1x1 the elizabethan poor law of 1601 carried with it the ideas of work requirements and local control of "poor relief," as well as attitudes of paternalism and punitive action against the "undeserving poor." one of the most striking aspects of a c o n f l u e n c e o f c o n s e r v a t i v e p r i n c i p l e s the old english philosophy surrounding poor relief is how many of its principle tenets were echoed by gingrich and his colleagues during the welfare reform of the 1990s. under the administration of president clinton, congressional republicans oversaw the passage of the personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996. this act fundamentally altered american welfare, providing for state control, work requirements for welfare recipients, and time limits on welfare. whether the welfare reform spurred by the prwora wil l be ultimately effective remains unclear, and so the study of both this movement and its ideological ancestors wi l l remain an important subject for years to come. e n d n o t e s i . katznelson, et al. (268) i i . clinton, quoted i n katznelson (267) i i i . o'connor (158) iv. o'connor (185) v. ibid. v i . o'connor (209) vi i . katznelson et al. (176) v i i i . o'connor (200) ix. o'connor (206-207) x. o'connor (212) xi . ibid. x i i . "tanf fact sheet." october 2006. <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/tanf_factsheet.html> xi i i . prwora title i , part a, sec. 401(a) xiv. prwora title i , part a, sec. 401(a)(2) xv. o'connor (201) xvi. the new york times, "firebrand who got singed says being speaker suffices," 1/22/96 xvii . the washington post, "gingrich divided gop, conquered the agenda," 12/21/94 xvii i . o'connor (207) xix. o'connor (208) xx. gingrich 1995 (71) xxi. o'connor (207) xxii . gingrich, quoted in o'connor (207) xxii i . rogers-dillon (30) xxiv. rogers-dillon (121) xxv. piven and cloward (22) xxvi. o'connor (217) xxvii. o'connor (213) xxviii. gillespie and schellhas (65) xxix. prwora title i . sec. 101(8) xxx. prwora title i , part a, sec. 401(a) xxxi. o'connor (214) xxxii. gingrich (29) xxxiii. gingrich (31) xxxiv. "gingrich divided gop," 12/21/94 xxxv. gingrich, quoted i n "gingrich divided gop," 12/21/94 xxxvi. drew, quoted in o'connor (213) xxxviii. o'connor (213) xxxix. piven and cloward (436) xl . piven and cloward (438) xl i . piven and cloward (439-440) xl i i . piven and cloward (261) x l i i i . slack (18) xliv. ibid, xlv. slack (27) xlvi. bloy, <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html> xlvi i . herber (288) xlvi i i . ibid. xlix. slack (20) and bloy <http: / /www. victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html> 1. gillespie and schellhas (73) l i . prwora title i , part a, sec. 401(a) l i i . slack (15) l i i i . goldberg (214) liv. slack (15) lv. herber (287) lv i . slack (14, 15) lv i i . slack (24) lv i i i . slack (59-61) lix. prwora title i . sec. 101(3) lx. slack (54) lx i . herber (301) r e f e r e n c e s balz, dan, and serge f. kovaleski. 1994. "gingrich divided gop, conquered the agenda." the washington post, december 21. bloy, marjie. 2002. "the 1601 elizabethan poor law," retrieved from the victorian web [database online]. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html>. clymer, adam. 1996. "firebrand who got singed says being speaker suffices." the new york times, january 22. gillespie, ed, and bob schellhas, eds. 1994. contract with america. new york: random house. gingrich, newt. 1995. to renew america. new york: harpercollins. goldberg, p. j. p. 2004. medieval england: a social history, e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 08 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/tanf_factsheet.html http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html http://victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html http://www.victori-anweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html http://www.victori-anweb.org/history/poorlaw/elizpl.html 1250-1550. london: hodder arnold. herber, mark d. 2000. "parish and town records," i n ancestral trails. baltimore: genealogical publishing co. kasich, rep. john r. 1996. personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996. translated by u.s. congress. washington, d.c. katznelson, ira, mark kesselman, and alan draper. 2006. the politics of power. 5th ed. canada: thomson wadsworth. o'connor, brendon. 2004. a political history of the american welfare system. lanham, m d : rowman & littlefield. office of family assistance. 2006. "tanf fact sheet," in administration for children & families [database online]. <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/tanf_factsheet.html>. piven, frances fox, and richard a. cloward. 1993. regulating the poor. new york: vintage books. rogers-dillon, robin h . 2004. the welfare experiments. stanford, ca: stanford university press. slack, paul. 1990. the english poor law, 1531-1782. edited by l. a. clarkson. houndmills, basingstoke, hampshire: macmillan. a c o n f l u e n c e o f c o n s e r v a t i v e p r i n c i p l e s http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/tanf_factsheet.html "... this intertwines the concepts of forgiveness, truth, and justice. one is not more important than the other; rather the elements are mutually constitutive and reinforcing. they are the means to an end—the path to full and enduring reconciliation." a f a i t h t h a t does justice truth and reconciliation commissions in el salvador and guatemala k a t i e s c h e r m e r h o r n a f t e r t h e f i r s t t r u t h a n d r e c o n c i l i a t i o n c o m m i s s i o n w a s i m p l e m e n t e d i n s o u t h a f r i c a , t h e m o d e l w a s a p p l i e d t o o t h e r w a r t o r n r e g i o n s a n d c o u n t r i e s w o r l d w i d e , i n c l u d i n g m a n y l a t i n a m e r i c a n c o u n t r i e s s u c h a s e l s a l v a d o r a n d g u a t e m a l a . a s a p o l i t i c a l b o d y c e n t e r e d i n a c h r i s t i a n p a r a d i g m , a t r c a i m s t o p r o c u r e p e r s o n a l a n d c o l l e c t i v e h e a l i n g . y e t , a s a r e l a t i v e l y n e w t r e n d i n c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n , i t m e r i t s f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s a n d e v a l u a t i o n . b y i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e t e r m s j u s t i c e , f o r g i v e n e s s , a n d r e c o n c i l i a t i o n i n b o t h t h e r e l i g i o u s a n d p o l i t i c a l c o n t e x t s , t h e s t u d y c a n b e t t e r n a m e t h e g o a l s a n d o u t c o m e s o f p o l i t i c a l h e a l i n g p r o c e s s e s i n t h e l a s t d e c a d e . a d d i t i o n a l l y , i t i s i m p e r a t i v e t o i d e n t i f y t h e s e s t r e n g t h s a n d w e a k n e s s e s o f p a s t d i r e c t i v e s i n o r d e r t o a v o i d f u r t h e r " s p u r i o u s r e c o n c i l i a t i o n . " i f t h e t r u t h a l o n e p r o v e s i n s u f f i c i e n t , t h i s e s s a y a t t e m p t s t o d e t e r m i n e w h a t t h e n i s t h e e f f i c a c y o f f u t u r e c o m m i s s i o n s . a r c h b i s h o p o s c a r a r n u l f e r o m e r o c a l l s h i s c o n g r e g a t i o n t o a c t i o n a civilization of love that did not demand justice of people would not be a true civilization: it would not delineate genuine human relations. it is a caricature of love to try to cover over with alms what is lacking injustice, to patch over with an appearance of benevolence when social justice is missing. true love begins by demanding what is just in the relations of those who love.1 —monsignor oscar romero after the legendary end to south african apartheid and the country's first fully democratic election, president nelson mandela performed one more remarkable act. in 1995, he established the truth and reconciliation commission (trc). a political body based on the decidedly religious concepts of reconciliation and forgiveness, the trc sought to document and investigate human rights abuses and overt acts of violence during apartheid. it granted amnesty to those who contributed their testimonies to the commission and expressed remorse. archbishop desmond tutu led this effort with his faith-based leadership and dedication to christian forgiveness and capacity for conversion. with seventeen commissioners, the trc heard nearly 21,000 statements i n both public and private hearings over three years.11 it was widely praised and lauded by the international community for creating a peaceful transition to justice and forgiveness. the trc established a precedent to attempt political forgiveness and impunity in other conflict riddled countries or regions across the world. during the past 30 years, similar commissions were established i n over 30 countries throughout latin america, africa, asia, and europe. yet, as a relatively new phenomenon and approach to postconflict resolution and national healing, the truth and reconciliation commission merits critique and analysis. does the process of truth telling inherently lead to justice and reconciliation? theologically, forgiveness can be a unilateral action where the victim offers mercy towards the offender. the offender does not necessarily have to repent or accept this motion. reconciliation, on the other hand, restores the relationship through a dynamic exchange of forgiveness and empathy. by actively including both the victims and the perpetrators, it brings back humanity to a state of peace. in his book, the healing of nations, mark amstutz writes: frequently, truth telling is regarded as a means to national reconciliation, peace, and justice. according to this prevalent view, truth can help restore victims and their families and contribute to the reformation of social and political structures, leading ultimately to national peace and justice. building on the biblical admonition that 'knowing the truth sets people free' (john 8:32), many transitional regimes have pursued truth telling in the belief that nations, like individuals can overcome their painful past through discovery and disclosure of truth.111 however, the individual healing process differs from that of the collective—specifically, the nation-state. political justice is often omitted in the increasingly popular implementation of truth commissions; an exposition of the truth alone is not sufficient. after a comparative analysis of el salvador's and guatemala's individual commissions, as e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 well as an understanding of the religious arguments for justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation it seems that justice and forgiveness must complement each other in order to achieve full national healing, reconciliation, and a foundation for the future. el s a l v a d o r the twelve-year civil war i n el salvador ended in january, 1992. as part of the original settlement, the chapultepec peace accords implemented the commission on truth on july 13, 1992. three international experts comprised the commission: former colombian president belisario betancur, former venezuelan foreign minister reinaldo figueredo planchart, and george washington university law professor thomas buergenthal. iv notably, no members of the commission leadership were religious figures or salvadorans. the peace accords gave the commission "the task of investigating serious acts of violence that occurred since 1980 and whose impact on society urgently demands that the pubic know the truth. " v until its conclusion in march, 1993, the commission heard 22,000 cases. in its report, from madness to hope: the 12year war in el salvador, the commission documented a myriad of massacres, extrajudicial executions, tortures, assassinations, disappearances, kidnappings, and killings by the government, the military, and the armed opposition.^1 although there were no public hearings or trials, the commission report cited individual perpetrators. for instance, it implicated arena (alianza republica nacionalista) party leader roberto daubuisson in the 1980 assassination of archbishop oscar romero, in addition to several military leaders involved directly in the massacre at el mozote and the deaths of six jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter. as a result, these individuals were either ostracized in salvadoran civil society, or, i f they remained politically and socially active, they were blanketed with resentment and animosity. the trc report labeled the events as atrocities and recommended penal action, yet it never mandated the ultimate acts of justice and national healing. president alfredo cristiani immediately denounced the findings of the commission report and, four days later, his party passed the general amnesty law for the consolidation of peace. he appealed to the country's need to move forward by requesting that the population "support a general and absolute amnesty [law], in order to turn that painful page of our history and seek a better future for our country."v i i the law granted total amnesty to any individual who participated in political violence, including the most horrific and unjustifiable acts. it also ignored the recommendations of the u.n.-sanctioned commission on truth that suggested legal action be pursued against alleged perpetrators of violence. interestingly, cristiani's policy and related statements supported one interpretation of truth commissions: the forgive-and-forget mentality. he wanted the nation to continue onward without regard to its historic injustices. the amnesty law remains a contentious legislative act i n the healing process of el salvador. a 1993 public opinion poll taken by the university of central america (uca) found that 55.5 percent of salvadorans were opposed to the law. v i l i eventually, an ad hoc commission successfully removed some of the high-ranking criminals from the mi l i tary, police forces, and civil service. human rights organizations protested the law due to its flagrant reversal of international law and precedents. the inter-american court of human rights decided that total impunity was unconstitutional. ucas jesuits and other salvadoran political actors continue to advocate for its removal and for retributive punishment for the crimes against humanity. today, president tony saca and his administration argue that the civil war and its associated violence belong to the past and el salvador has moved on. a professor at the national university, carlos mauricio is a survivor of military torture during the civil war. abducted from campus, he was detained for nine days. during that time, he was blindfolded and tormented i n order to force a false confession of his involvement with the oppositional guerrillas, cuba, and particular leftist leaders. ix after being a f a i t h t h a t d o e s j u s t i c e released, he fled and found refuge in the united states. mauricio was later contacted by bill ford, the brother of ita ford, a religious woman assassinated by el salvador's mi l itary government in december, 1980. bill ford wanted to bring a civil lawsuit against generals carlos eugenio vides casanova and jose guillermo garcia in his sister's honor. like others, the two former generals had immigrated to the united states and were residing in florida. mauricio served as a co-plaintiff in the prosecution, along with plaintiffs romogoza, gonzalez, and montes. the two men were ultimately charged with crimes against humanity in 2002. while the court case and its related advocacy movements have procured justice for a small number of victims and perpetrators, it does not alleviate the residual pain i n el salvador. mauricio believes that penal justice is a crucial step in an individual's healing process and the country's path to genuine democracy and legitimacy. justice has not occurred within the country, and thus the healing process remains incomplete. g u a t e m a l a after 36 years of armed conflict, democratic civilian rule returned to guatemala in 1994. the guatemalan government and the political opposition signed the u.n.-brokered peace accords and agreed to establish the historical clarification commission (ceh). overseen by the u.n. mission for the verification of human rights in guatemala, the commission was enacted in order to "clarify with all objectivity, equity, and impartiality the human rights violations and acts of violence that have caused the guatemalan population to suffer, connected with the armed conflict" and "restore dignity" to the people.* initiated on june 23, 1994, the commission heard 42,275 cases i n private hearings and informal meetings.x l with a much larger staff than the salvadoran commission on truth and a significantly larger budget, the ceh was able to gather a larger array of information, testimonies, and field reports. three commissioners lead the investigation: german international lawyer christian tomuschat, guatemalan expert on indigenous affairs otilia lux de coti, and guatemalan jurist alfredo balsells tojo. their final report, guatemala: memoria del silencio, was presented in 1999 and documented acts of genocide against the mayan population, massacres and arbitrary killings, militarized resettlement, forced displacement, forced recruitment, and sexual slavery. unlike the salvadoran commission on truth, the ceh analyzed the systemic issues that lead to decades of the documented violence. it cited racism against the mayan people, economic exploitation of the poor, and political exclusivity and authoritarianism of the oligarchy. in 1996, the national reconciliation law was passed i n an attempt to move society forward. the stated goal was to integrate former guerrilla and opposition leaders into the developing government and social structure/" even though, like el salvador's amnesty law, it actually provided immunity for all crimes committed by the state, the military, and related parties during the long war. uniquely, the ceh decided to disclose no names or identities i n their report. after the commission on truth i n el salvador accused specific individuals without having the power to enact justice or legislative action, the ceh chose to maintain the anonymity of the indictments. although widely critiqued, this enabled them to concentrate wholly on the disclosure of truth, not the prosecution of offenders or the establishment of restorative justice. nonetheless, individuals such as jose efrain rios montt, guatemalan president during some of the worst atrocities in the early 1980s, still participate in government. he was accused of genocide by external tribunals and countries, including spain, but continues to evade prosecution. similar to el salvador's from madness to hope, the ceh report was received with some disapproval and frustration. according to a new york times article the day after the report was presented, the public was displeased with the final outcome: "as the conclusions were read at a solemn ceremony at the national theatre, rights workers, relatives of victims, and others among the 2,000 people broke into e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 08 '"as the conclusions were read at a solemn ceremony at the national theatre, rights workers, relatives of victims, and others among the 2,000 people broke into standing ovations, sohs, shouts and chants of'justice! justice!'" standing ovations, sobs, shouts and chants of 'justice! justice!"'x111 the victims, their families, and their international supporters were disappointed with the weak outcome of the ceh report. the ceh was not the only attempt to reveal the truth in guatemala. on april 24, 1998, the archdiocese of guatemala published its official report, titled guatemala: nunca mas.'x l v the report criticized the military and its agents and demanded an end to perpetual impunity. it attributed responsibility for massacres, disappearances, and physical and emotional torture to the army. several points were recommended for social reconstruction: reparations, humanitarian aid, the development of an official guatemalan history, government acknowledgement, and investigations into alleged abuses and violence. x v to honor the victims, it adamantly proposed monuments, ceremonies, and legal assistance to the families and victims. remarkably, the report called for the cooperation of guatemalan civil, state, and religious institutions to work with international supporters and human rights organizations to prevent future violence. demilitarization, agrarian reform, and a new judiciary were steps the church foresaw on the path to peace and stability. also controversial within the public and private realm, church members who spoke out in favor of the report were in danger of state reprisal. monsignor juan gerardi spoke at the report's presentation, saying, as a church, we do not doubt that the work we have carried out in these past few years has been part of a story of grace and salvation, a real step toward peace stemming from justice . . . to open ourselves to truth and to face our personal and collective reality are not options that can be accepted or rejected. they are indispensable requirements for all people and societies that seek to humanize themselves and to be free.™ he was assassinated in guatemala city that same day. only recently has the archdiocese called for full disclosure surrounding his murder. x v u four men have been convicted for gerardi's death, but the origin of the plan and its implementation remain unknown. most recently, the international organization human rights watch beckoned the guatemalan government, under current president oscar berger, to create an investigative and judicial commission. thus, a commission of investigation into illegal groups and clandestine security apparatuses was established i n 2004 to prosecute cases in guatemalan courts . x v m designed to be led by a u.n. appointed delegate, the commission has yet to be ratified by the state legislature. justice, in guatemala, has been stalled again amidst red tape and blanket impunity. t h e o l o g y of justice truth commissions have been established politically, yet the concepts of reconciliation and forgiveness are defined i n theological terms. nonetheless, a theological basis for justice exists in the christian tradition. the prophets of the biblical old testament and jesus christ and the apostles i n the new testament call for justice and care for the "least of your brothers."x 1 x i n recent years, a f a i t h t h a t d o e s j u s t i c e pope john paul i i argued for the intrinsic connection between forgiveness and justice: forgiveness, far from excluding the search for truth, demands it. . . there is no contradiction between forgiveness and justice . . .forgiveness does not eliminate nor diminish the demand to repair, which is the work of doing justice.xx theologian stephen pope presents three normative arguments regarding the relationship between forgiveness and justice in both politics and religion: forgiveness renounces justice; justice outweighs forgiveness; justice complements forgiveness.xx1 these arguments provide the founders and commissioners of truth commissions with a distinct choice in framework. however, the incorporation of both forgiveness and justice is the only route to national healing and reconciliation. to "forgive-and forget," or to forgive without enacting justice, strives for a future without attention to its history. principally, it is unethical and irresponsible for the state to forgive the transgressions of individuals on behalf of the victims. this undermines individual sovereignty and the dignity of the victim, leaving them powerless to pursue justice. by forgetting the past in order to maintain the status quo, the country is left with mere nostalgia. one can look into the past without seeing truth and without understanding the treacherous path that led to the current situation. al l offenses and periods of violence are idealized into a struggle for national interests. president cristiani adopted this outlook after the commission on truth in el salvador. his desire for a forward-looking country was supported by leaders of the opposition party, the frente farabundo marti para la liberation nactional (fmln). conveniently, it also shielded both parties from criticism for their actions during the civil war. remembering and talking about the past aggravates old wounds; it is considered dangerous to the stable, idyllic future. when the state absolves the perpetrators for past wrongs and simply "forgives-and-forgets" it erases abuses, violence, and injustices without caring for their potential impact on the future. the second option for governments, truth commissions, and civil society is to espouse the understanding that justice outweighs forgiveness. the argument follows that respect for the victims essentially demands justice. additionally, "impunity for past acts can create a climate that makes future acts of injustice more likely."™ 1 it calls for punitive accountability but does not call for the emotional and spiritual resolution necessary in human healing. theologically, forgiveness requires repentance. as a sign of justice and equitable action, the perpetrator must respond appropriately to the hurt individual when offered forgiveness. the prophets of the old testament demand justice for the exploited and downtrodden, and they also require remorse and atonement from evil-doers. in the gospels and epistles, the authors pronounce a responsibility to repent and then to forgive. paul warned the roman community against moralism and righteousness, writing: therefore, you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. for on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. now we know that god's judgment is in accordance with the truth against those who practice such things. and do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape god's judgment? or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that god's kindness leads you to repentance?™^ the exchange of repentance and forgiveness leads to full and complete reconciliation. justice can only occur in tandem with this process. finally, the third argument affirms that justice must complement forgiveness. with this understanding, known as the classical theory, forgiveness occurs as an "interactive process" between two or more people or groups. x x i v according to amstutz, voluntary and compassionate forgiveness occurs i n response to the offender's repene l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 tance. it is generally comprised of five preconditions—consensus on the truth, repentance, renunciation of vengeance, empathy, and the mitigation of punishment. a thorough and accepted revelation of the truth is the basic objective of truth commissions. guatemala and el salvador both renounced retaliation and cancelled formal punishment. in contrast to the classic theory, however, they did so without the consent of the victims and the remorse of the offenders. moreover, the commissions usually skip the inclusion of repentance and empathy. of these two, empathy may be the most important. empathy makes it possible to view the offenders or the perpetrators of violence as human beings. armed struggles take place between sinners; one party is not better or more righteous than the other. taking away the humanity of the offenders limits the possibility of understanding, reconciliation, and healing. it undermines the potential for a community s o u t h a f r i c a n p r e s i d e n t n e l s o n m a n d e l a r e c e i v e s t h e t r c f i n a l r e p o r t f r o m a r c h b i s h o p d e s m o n d t u t u . where groups and individuals can live in peace, without residual tension and animosity. truth commissions focus on political forgiveness, or the public response to a collective offense. like the aforementioned private forgiveness, i t too is an interactive process. collective forgiveness requires the same five preconditions to be applied wisely by leaders of both parties. while not the primary focus of political forgiveness, justice is necessary. this manifests itself through public acknowledgement, sorrow regarding shared offenses, and criminal prosecution. the difference between amnesty and pardon displays a fundamental shift in the approach.^ amnesty, derived from the latin root amnestia or forgetfulness, allows governments or social bodies to ignore and gloss over previous transgressions. pardon, alternatively, releases the offender from penal action. through this release, the government is forced to publicly admit guilt. a shift i n terminology and intent greatly impacts the trajectory toward reconciliation and collective healing. unquestionably, collective healing wil l take time and patience after extreme sociopolitical turbulence. c o n c l u s i o n remorse and forgiveness were not an official part of the original truth and reconciliation commission model in south africa. it was encouraged by the leadership, specifically that of archbishop tutu, yet it was not a formal tenet of the commission structure or a prerequisite for reconciliation and justice. regardless, tutu said, true reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the pain, the degradation, the truth. it could even sometimes make things worse. it is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end dealing with the real situation helps to bring real healing. spurious reconciliation can only bring spurious healing.*™1 yet a truth and reconciliation commission which exposes the truth but does not include justice yields "spurious reconciliation". this is a dangerous misstep in the healing a f a i t h t h a t d o e s j u s t i c e processes of post-conflict regions because "although partial forgiveness is realized when enemies stop hating each other and victims overcome their inward resentment and anger, the forgiveness process culminates only when victims and offenders are reconciled and when enemies begin to recognize each other's humanity, " x ™ 1 truth and reconciliation commissions took many forms i n central america, but they generally omitted mutual acts of forgiveness or reconciliation. this kind of interaction requires strong moral leadership and courageous advocates. truth-telling may be the first step in the process toward justice and healing, but it cannot be the last. national reconciliation must be accompanied by institutional change. forgetting the past in lieu of moving blindly forward breeds ignorance and fosters repetition. the catholic church in central america, particularly in el salvador and guatemala, can stimulate genuine reconciliation. liberation theologian jon sobrino calls the church to imitate jesus and his utopian vision of reconciliation. he writes, the church does not find it easy to be the historical embodiment of jesus and of his god, or to be an effective, not just routine, dispenser of the ministry of reconciliation. to be these it must do two things. the first is to show a conviction in faith that reconciliation (with its requirements of truth and conversion) is good and possible. the second is to do this with credibility. the latter can be achieved only through major gestures of truth, justice, and forgiveness.xxvili the church must confirm that it is impossible to achieve reconciliation without the essential elements of truth, justice, and forgiveness. a l l other reconciliation is a farce. with inroads to the pueblo and the powerful, the church holds the unique ability to encourage forgiveness and justice, or dynamic reconciliation, on all sides. as violence continues and even worsens, it is imperative for the church to take a stand. today, the same factions exist as before, as do the human rights violations, crime, and political brutality in el salvador and guatemala. i f the truth commissions were unable to procure peace and transitional justice by themselves, it becomes necessary that they obtain the multilateral support of civil and religious institutions in order to inspire a rejuvenated attempt at national healing. priscilla b. haynor, a director at the international center for transitional justice and author of unspeakable truths: facing the challenge of truth commissions, defines these commissions as "official, temporary bodies established to investigate a pattern of violations over a period of time that conclude with a final report and recommendations for reform. " x x 1 x however, this cannot be their definitive meaning. established after a period of atrocities and violence, truth commissions have a responsibility to initiate national healing. fundamentally, this intertwines the concepts of forgiveness, truth, and justice. one is not more important than the other; rather the elements are mutually constitutive and reinforcing. they are the means to an end—the path to full and enduring reconciliation. e n d n o t e s i . romero, oscar. speech given on apri l , 12 1979. i i . haynor (2002) i i i . amstutz (2005) iv. u.n. commission on the truth for el salvador (1993) v. u.n. commission on the truth for el salvador (1993) vi . haynor (2002) v i i . "message delivered to the nation by the president of the republic, alfredo cristiani, march 18, 1993," as quoted i n pope (2003) v i i i . pope (2003) ix. mauricio (2007) x. united nations mission for the verification of human rights in guatemala (1994) xi . haynor (2002) x i i . crandall (2004) x i i i . navarro (1999) xiv. recovery of historical memory project, remhi (1999) xv. remhi (1999) xvi. remhi (1999) xvii . pope (2003) xvii i . human rights watch (2004) xix. matthew 25:31-46 xx. john paul i i , as quoted i n pope (2003) xxi. pope (2003) e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 xxii . pope (2003) xxii i . romans 2:1-4 xxiv. amstutz (2005) xxv. pope (2003) xxvi. tutu (1999) xxvii. amstutz (2005) xxviii. sobrino (2003) xxix. haynor (2002) references "agreement on the establishment of the commission to clarify past human rights violations and acts of violence that have caused the guatemalan population to suffer." united nations mission for the verification of human rights in guatemala. june 1994. retrieved from http://www.usip.org/library. amstutz, mark r., 2005. the healing of nations: the promise and limits of political forgiveness. new york: rowmam & littlefield publishers. commission on the truth for el salvador. 1993. from madness to hope: the 12 year war in el salvador. new york: united nations. crandall, joanna. 2004. "truth commissions i n guatemala and peru: perpetual impunity and transitional justice compared." peace, conflict, and development, (issue 4) apri l . "el salvador: mexico peace agreements—provisions creating the commission on truth." 1991. united nations. apr i l 27, 1991. retrieved from http://www.usip.org/library. "guatemala: establish investigative commission." 2004. human rights watch. washington, dc, (january 2004). retrieved from http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/01/14/guatem6928.htm. hamber, brandon. 2001. "does the truth heal? a psychological perspective on political strategies for dealing wi th the legacy of political violence." burying the past: making peace and doing justice after civil conflict. washington, dc: georgetown university press. haynor, priscilla b. 2002. unspeakable truths: facing the challenge of truth commissions. new york: routledge. inter-american commission on human rights. 1994. "report on the situation of human rights i n el salvador." organization of american states. doc. 28 (11 february 1994). retrieved from http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/elsalvador94eng/toc.htm. mauricio, carlos. 2007. speech at boston college. apri l 19, 2007. navarro, mireya. 1999. "guatemalan army waged'genocide', new report finds." new york times. a i . (february 26, 1999). retrieved from http://www3.undp.org/rc/forums/mgr/sdnpca/msgo2085.htm 1. the niv study bible. 1995. new international version. 10th anniversary edition. grand rapids, m i : zondervan. pope, stephen j. 2003. "the convergence o f forgiveness and justice: lessons from el salvador." theological studies (64). recovery o f historical memory project. 1999. guatemala: never again! human rights office of the archdiocese of guatemala. new york: maryknoll. seijo, lorena. 2007. "plan sofia comes to light." prensa libre. march 18, 2007. retrieved from http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2007/marzo/18/166081.html. sobrino, jon. 2003. "christianity and reconciliation: the way to a utopia." reconciliation in a world of conflicts. susin, luiz carlos and maria pilar aquino, eds. london: scm press. tiernan, kip. 1998. "are we do gooders or good doers?" seeds. tutu, archbishop desmond. 1999. no future without forgiveness. new york: doubleday. united states district court. 2000. "romogoza, gonzalez, mauricio, and montes v. guillermo garcia and vides casanova," southern district of florida case no. 99-8364. february 17, 2000. retrieved from http://www.cja.org/cases/romagoza_docs/romagozacomplai nt .htm. a f a i t h t h a t d o e s j u s t i c e http://www.usip.org/library http://www.usip.org/library http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/01/14/guatem6928.htm http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/elsalvador94eng/toc.htm http://www3.undp.org/rc/forums/mgr/sdnpca/msgo2085.htm http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2007/marzo/18/166081.html http://www.cja.org/cases/romagoza_docs/romagozacomplai "but how many 'times' are there ? ... the most pure musical time, that which is the true nature of musical time, is a live performance... where the inter subjective relationship between musicians] is formed..." : m u s i c a l t i m e an intersuhjective relationship m i c h a e l m i n k o f f t h i s p a p e r i s a p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l e x p l o r a t i o n i n t o t h e t r u e n a t u r e o f m u s i c a l t i m e . d r a w i n g o n t h e t h o u g h t o f h e n r i b e r g s o n , v l a d i m i r j a n k e l e v i t c h , a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y p h i l o s o p h e r s o f m u s i c , i p r o p o s e t h a t t h e n a t u r e o f m u s i c a l t i m e l i e s w i t h i n t h e p e r f o r m e r a n d t h a t i t s e x i s t e n c e i s p a r a l l e l t o t h a t o f t h e o r d i n a r y l i v e d t i m e o f t h e e m p i r i c a l u n i v e r s e . w e e x p e r i e n c e m u s i c a l t i m e a s " m o b i l e " ( b e r g s o n ' s t e r m i n o l o g y ) a n d a s a p h e n o m e n o n o f p a s s i n g . a m u s i c i a n ' s a b i l i t y t o p l a y m u s i c " i n t i m e " i s g o v e r n e d b y w h a t i r e f e r t o a s h i s " i n t e r n a l m u s i c a l b i o l o g i c a l c l o c k . " h o w e v e r , a s m u s i c i s a n a r t f o r m t h a t i s t y p i c a l l y p e r f o r m e d i n a g r o u p , a m u s i c i a n ' s r e l a t i o n s h i p m u s t b e a n i n t e r s u b j e c t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p w h e r e t h e p e r f o r m e r s ' e x p e r i e n c e o f t i m e i s f o r g e d b y a s y n c h r o n i z a t i o n o f t h e i r i n t e r n a l m u s i c a l b i o l o g i c a l c l o c k s . when one thinks of time, many questions come to mind. after careful examination, the seemingly simple question 'does time exist?' is actually difficult to answer. a n aspect of time that can be particularly perplexing is time i n music. a musician would never initially question the existence of musical time—that which grounds a piece of music and helps it to unfold. but where does this time come from, and how can someone learn to "stay i n time" or "keep time"? this paper aims to investigate how time i n music is understood. as that is pieced together, the next step wi l l be determining whether or not this understanding is an accurate representation of the nature of musical time. from this we can move on to determine whether musical time exists at all or i f it is something which merely appears to exist. finally, we wi l l investigate the possibility of multiple musical times. vladimir jankelevitch describes the nature of music i n relation to a "musical universe" i n his book music and the ineffable. i n it he says, "the musical universe does not lie there exposed to the mind or proposed to the mind: m u s i c . . . inhabits our intimate center; we live music, as we 'live' time, as a fertile experience."1 this excerpt suggests we still understand that music, despite its ambiguous nature, flows intertwined with the fabric of our being. we experience the passage of a piece of music just as we experience the passage of time. to begin the investigation of the meaning of musical time, we first look to the thought of henri bergson. i n his book the musical symbol, gordon epperson describes bergson's thought relating to music, beginning with the concept of 'mobility'. bergson described understanding motion as mobility: "a gradual organization of our successive sensations . . . . this is just the idea of motion which we form when we think of it by itself, when, so to speak, from motion we extract mobility." 1 1 'mobility' is the term used by bergson to describe our conscious experience of the passage of time, specifically that of motion i n time. drawing from this description, epperson states that " i n its relation to time, mobility is of central importance to a consideration of music." 1 1 1 the performer as well as the listener experiences the sounds of music as passing. music cannot be described i n a mere instant, as each moment of a particular piece is a relation between the previous and subsequent moments of music. jankelevitch calls attention to this fact when he says, "a chord that is not integrated within the before and after. . . is not endowed with signifying force—this chord . . . is arrested at the stage of nontemporal materiality."^ the abstraction of a particular chord i n a piece of music removes it from mobility. we no longer experience the motion of the music. instead, we hear the sounding of a few notes—major, minor, diminished, or augmented— nothing more. this is not the nature of music but the materials by which a piece of music is crafted. to get to the heart of a poem, one cannot simply look at each word individually. instead, one must look at the whole work (or at least an excerpt). the same is true for a piece of music. musical time is understood to be mobile; it is organized successively by our sensations. each point i n a piece of music is not individually posited as points on a line are. jonathan d. kramer supports this by saying, "the present is not simply a point i n time . . . . we hear notes moving to other notes because the perceptual present stretches out i n both directions forming the instant of now." v instead, a piece is conceived of as successive moments i n time as described by kramer. epperson supports this by describing music i n relation to time as "literally i n and out of time . . . we can conceive it only as moving. we use up physical time even as we imagine the course of a melody. " v 1 it is i n time when it is performed, played on a recording, or even recollected as a memory of a melody, song, or piece. it is out of time when it is awaiting performance on sheet music or when it is on a hard-drive or i n an mp3 player, awaiting the push of a button to release the potential music into actuality. therefore, we have come to realize that music unfolds i n time as successive mobility. now the question arises, "does music exist in time, or does time exist i n music?" v n musical time can either be something that is contained by time itself—as a being coexisting with the other beings i n our world—or something come l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 pletely outside of the normal unfolding of time i n the universe. in this sense, it could be compared to another reality that manifests itself inside and simultaneously alongside our own. kramer suggests that i f we consider this alternate possibility—what i wi l l call the 'autonomy' of musical time—"then we begin to glimpse the power of music to crewhat makes the time of music appear to be within ordinary lived time. the ability of a piece of music to sweep us u p — whether it is i n relation to emotion, spirituality, or t i m e — reveals something of the nature of musical time and of music itself. "when a piece ends, or if we stop focusing on it, we return to our experience of time as we live it normally. it is as if we are transported outside of our normal state of consciousness during a piece and then, upon its ending, are returned to that state of normalcy.77 ate, alter, distort, or even destroy time itself, not simply our experience of i t . " v m as the master of its own destiny, music can suspend time with a fermata, quicken time with an accelerando, or slow down time with a ritardando. kramer's question and subsequent consideration allows us to suggest that these abilities of any piece of music do, i n fact, distort—or even destroy—time. i f musical time is located i n the temporal fabric of our own universal experience of time, it could only appear to alter our temporal experiences. however, i f musical time were i n fact its own separate time, these aspects of its ability to control and to distort time would be something exclusively possible i n music. one may object to the notion that musical time exists outside of time. on the contrary while a piece of music can speed up or slow down an experience of time, time itself still flows smoothly and uninterrupted. furthermore, i look to kramer's notion, "musical time exists i n relationship between listeners and music, just as ordinary time exists i n the relationship between people and all their experiences, including music. thus musical time and ordinary time lead parallel existences."ix this parallel existence is our own existence i n ordinary time, the temporal nature of our being-in-the-world, can appear to be altered by listening to a piece of music. this suggests that we are at least partially affected by the presence of musical time. when a piece ends, or i f we stop focusing on it, we return to our experience of time as we live it normally. it is as i f we are transported outside of our normal state of consciousness during a piece and then, upon its ending, are returned to that state of normalcy. as kramer describes, "we become immersed i n a kind of time different from ordinary lived t ime." x this immersion is what causes us to experience musical time as different from ordinary lived time. i n this regard, musical time is something other than ordinary lived time. at any point i n a day, we can know what time it is. time always appears to us as a flow from the future to the present and into the past, and there is always one universal time by which we measure all things i n our lived world. musical time, however, is something that is not always flowing but instead can be enacted at any time. another objection may arise by pointing out that ordinary time can be enacted i n a m u s i c a l t i m e a m e t r o n o m e k e e p s ' o b j e c t i v e ' m u s i c a l t i m e , g i v i n g p e r f o r m e r s an o u t s i d e r e f e r e n c e w i t h w h i c h t o c o m p a r e t h e i r m u s i c a l b i o l o g i c a l c l o c k s . similar fashion through the use of something like a stopwatch, or, even more simply, by counting. by the act of pushing a button, a new 'time' has begun, and can therefore be started and stopped at any point. however, this objection does not stand firmly against musical time as separate from ordinary lived time. while a stopwatch might measure the time of a certain event, it is still i n relation to a universal time that flows without cessation. three minutes on a stopwatch is still three minutes out of a day that contains 1,440 minutes. there is no universal musical time to which a piece of music contributes. also, a piece of music is not a measurement of time, but instead is an unfolding—it is mobile. these distinctions further separate musical time from ordinary lived time. the only aspect of musical time that is related to ordinary lived time is the duration of a particular piece of music given i n minutes and seconds (constructs of ordinary time). it is i n this sense and this sense alone that musical time participates i n the universality that is ordinary lived time. we must refer again to jankelevitch, "musical reality is always somewhere else . . . evoked by means of evasive expressions with double meanings." x i the evasive expression of particular melodic lines or mysterious harmonies, for example, is what creates the elusive nature of musical time. the 'reality' that jankelevitch refers to is a reality that exists parallel to that of ordinary lived time as described above by kramer. musical time is real, just as lived time is real. nevertheless, it is "somewhere else." we must now make an attempt at discerning where this "somewhere else" could be, or at least try to understand how we have a means to access it. we wi l l examine jazz music, as this genre has particular characteristics that may reveal some truth about the nature of musical time. when beginning a jazz piece, either a conductor or a member of the ensemble wi l l count off the piece. this means that the person wi l l begin by snapping his or her fingers i n time, typically on what would be beats one and three of a measure of music . x u this act of counting-off dictates the tempo of the piece and is generally meant to remain constant throughout the piece. the phrase used above to describe this—snapping i n time—describes an interesting phenomenon. almost without fail, an experienced musician can determine at what tempo he or she would like the piece to be performed/ 1 1 1 the tempo of the snapping comes seemingly from nowhere. musical time simply begins with the snapping of the fingers. from where does a musician get this time? this is the "somewhere else" suggested by jankelevitch. it is another time, separate from the ordinary lived time described above. a solo performance displays a rather different aspect of musical time. tempo is not necessarily maintained throughout the course of a solo performance, and the musician has the freedom to embellish a particular melodic line or insert dramatic pauses or an accelerando or ritardando.xlw here musical time is again generated from inside e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 the performer, but there is no relationship to be made with other musicians. this is further evidence of the nature of musical time as being other than ordinary lived time. the time of a solo piece of music is not necessarily constant or static. instead the performer can take liberties with tempo and as a result, i n the words of kramer, to distort, or even to destroy, musical time itself. kramer has an interesting insight into the ability of a musician to generate time: "musicians seem to have one particularly stable biological clock, which regulates the perception of tempo . . . several pieces have been studied i n which performers repeatedly play the same piece at virtually the same tempo, even after an interval of several years."x v i can personally attest to this fact by citing the miles davis recording of " i f i were a bell . " x v i this song is a c o n d u c t o r c o u n t s o f f t h e t e performed at a w i l l h a v e a s i m i l a r tempo of between 186 and 190 beats per minute. whenever i think of this song, i can simply start singing the melody and snapping my fingers i n time, knowing with confidence that i wi l l be snapping my fingers at about 186 beats per minute due to my musical biological clock. the notion of a biological clock sheds some light on the "somewhere else" i n which musical time might reside. i f musical time lives within the musician, then this suggests that it is a subjective time rather than an objective time. musicians must collaborate when performing a piece of any genre. there must then be an intersubjective relationship between different musicians i n which they agree on a particular tempo at the onset of a piece and then maintain this tempo together, creating a unified sound through the use of different instruments. this relationship is a sign of true musicianship. not all musicians are able to keep steady time. jazz as a genre is especially demanding for members of the rhythm section. x v u i f any of these musicians fail to uphold his or her end of the tacit agreement to stay i n time, the music suffers and "loses time" itself, an interesting phrase used to describe the moment when a piece of music fails to maintain steady musical time. using kramer's terminology, these musicians must then have flawed musical biological clocks. with practice and experience, the flaw can be fixed. however, not every musician is able to reach that level of expertise. this reveals that musical time exists within the performers and that i t requires a collective inter subjectivity to remain i n time. with this realization that musical time is an internal yet intersubjective entity, is there any way that musical time can be objective? with the onset of technology i n music, objective timekeepers have often been implemented. the metronome is a mechanical device that keeps a steady beat at whatever tempo the machine is set. used i n a rehearsal setting, a metronome can, in fact, be a completely objective source of musical time. however, this sort of device is almost exclusively used as a method for practice and would m p o s o t h a t a l l o f t h e p e r f o r m e r s m u s i c a l t i m e therefore not provide an objective time during a performance. it can, i n fact, help condition musicians to understand certain tempos and to internalize them, fine-tuning their musical biological clocks. the growing popularity of the genre known as electronic music can lead to another consideration of objective musical time. kramer comments on this phenomenon: "technology has made duration an absolute i n a far more precise way than harmonic stasis ever could. " x v m electronic music is music generated entirely on a computer. a composer or a musician may enter this type of music into a computer, but it can be tweaked and reworked i n such a way that it wi l l be perfectly i n time and perfectly i n tune. one might question whether or not this type of music holds true to the nature of musical time (not to mention music itself). as this sort of piece is never actually performed, it does not ever require the intersubjectivity of performers. the time is not generated from a musician's biological clock. instead it comes from a machine that is an artificial producer of music. this brings us to our last concern that was raised at the outset of this paper. perhaps, considering the addition of recent technological advances i n musical genres, there is, i n fact, more than one musical time. but how many 'times' are there? to explore this question, we can attempt to sketch a hierarchy of musical times. as we move up the ladder of musical time, we get closer to its true nature. of the recorded musical times, there are two subsets: human recordings and artificial recordings. the lowest musical time, that which is least akin to the true nature of musical time, is that which was described above— electronic music generated by a computer and artificial recordings. slightly higher than this is a human recording done i n a studio or other recording facility, as this type of recording is produced artificially and can be tweaked or adjusted i n a similar fashion, like electronic music. higher still than this is a live recording. the actual performance of the piece remains true to the nature of musical time, but the reproduction and subsequent playing of these performances fall out of the realm of musical time and enter ordinary lived time. it is a mobile, successive time still, but it is now at the liberty of the listener to push the play or pause buttons. the most pure musical time, that which is the true nature of musical time, is a live performance. it is at a live performance where the time is generated by the musicians' musical biological clocks, and it is here where the intersubjective relationship is formed and maintained throughout a piece of music. e l e c t r o n i c m u s i c lacks t h e i n t e r s u b j e c t i v i t y i n h e r e n t in o t h e r f o r m s o f m u s i c . what we have determined is that musical time is a mobile time intuited by our consciousness. it is different from, and therefore outside of, ordinary lived time, and it is its own sort of time. it is generated within a musical performer i n its truest nature, and this generated musical time is maintained by an inter subjective relationship between performers. there are other, less pure forms of musical time, as described i n the hierarchy of musical times. that said, the nature of musical time continues to be elusive and mysterious. jankelevitch speaks eloquently when he says, "alas, music i n itself is an unknowable something, as unable to be grasped as the mystery of artistic creation . . . " x i x while we may be unable to grasp the nature of music itself, we have at least begun to delve into just what the nature of musical time is. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 09 e n d n o t e s i . jankelevitch (95) i i . bergson (111) i i i . epperson (88) iv. jankelevitch (109) v. kramer (370) vi. epperson (305) vii. kramer (5) viii. ibid. (5) ix. ibid. (7) x. ibid. (17) xi. jankelevitch (103) xii. for a piece in four-four time signature: four beats for every measure of music. xiii. number of beats per minute of a piece of music. xiv. see page 3 for a description of these terms. xv. kramer (346) . xvi. davis, miles, " i f i were a bell," jazz showcase, original jazz classics, 1998 xvii. drums, bass, piano, guitar: responsible for maintaining the tempo of a piece of music in jazz, with the bass as primary time keeper. xviii. ibid. (71) xix. jankelevitch (102) references bergson, henri. time and free will: an essay on the immediate date of consciousness, trans, pogson, f. l., eighth edition, redwood press limited, london, 1971. davis, miles. " i f i were a bell," jazz showcase, original jazz classics, 1998. epperson, gorden. the musical symbol: a study of the philosophic theory of music, iowa state university press, ames, ia, 1967. jankelevitch, vladimir, music and the ineffable, trans. abbate, c, princeton university press, princeton, nj, 2003. kramer, jonathan d. the time of music: new meanings new temporalities new listening strategies, schirmer books, new york, ny, 1988. m u s i c a l t i m e list of a r t w o r k images of the blue koran c o u r t e s y o f t h e p r i v a t e s l i d e c o l l e c t i o n o f s h e i l a s. b l a i r a n d j o n a t h a n s. b l o o m , b o s t o n c o l l e g e lyndon johnson's last state of the union address © w a l l a y m c n a m e e / c o r b i s president kennedy at a press conference © b e t t m a n n / c o r b i s national governor's association meeting © r o n s a c h s / c o r b i s simon'stown in south africa © s t u a r t w e s t m o r l a n d / c o r b i s mosquito © jean g r a m i n h o / s x c rainforest mossman george port © a n g u s w u r t h / s x c don quixote de la mancha © a l f o n s o d i a z quit staring. . . © l a y t o n f i n d l a t e r temple of juno at paestum © n a t h a n i e l c a m p b e l l mark rothko's works exhibited at the guggenheim museum in bilbao, northern spain © a l f r e d o a l d a i / e p a / c o r b i s boot © a l i l a t / s x c playboy bunny by andy warhol © a n d y w a r h o l f o u n d a t i o n / c o r b i s a w e a l t h o f e v i d e n c e ! the identity of the man commemorated at sutton hoo d i m i t r i p h i l l i ps t h e h i s t o r y o f e n g l a n d d i d n o t b e g i n w i t h t h e i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n a n d n o t e v e r y t h i n g s u p p o s e d a b o u t t h e a n g l o s a x o n s r e d u c e s t o t h e m y t h o f k i n g a r t h u r a n d t h e r o u n d t a b l e . c o n t r a r y t o c o m m o n l y h e l d b e l i e f s , t h e d a r k a g e s o f t h e n o r t h w e r e f u l l o f s p l e n d o r a n d b r i l l i a n c e ; t h e o n l y t h i n g d a r k a b o u t t h e m i s t h e i r e n s h r o u d e d h i s t o r y , b u t t h a t o n l y m a k e s t h e m a l l t h e m o r e f a s c i n a t i n g . t h e g r e a t b u r i a l m o u n d a t s u t t o n h o o i n e a s t a n g l i a , d i s c o v e r e d j u s t b e f o r e w o r l d w a r i i , s h i n e s a s o n e o f t h e m o s t g r a n d i o s e s e p u l c h e r s i n h i s t o r y , y e t t h e i d e n t i t y o f i t s o c c u p a n t r e m a i n s a m y s t e r y . w a s i t a w e a l t h y m e r c h a n t , a w a r r i o r f r o m o v e r s e a s , o r a g r e a t k i n g ? t h i s p a p e r g a t h e r s , p r e s e n t s , a n d s c r u t i n i z e s t h e e v i d e n c e a n d a r g u m e n t s f r o m a n c i e n t r e c o r d s , o p u l e n t g r a v e g o o d s , a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n a n a t t e m p t t o d e t e r m i n e t h e m o s t l i k e l y c a n d i d a t e f o r t h e i n d i v i d u a l i n t e r r e d i n m o u n d 1 a t s u t t o n h o o . i n t r o d u c t i o n from the very moment of the gravefield's discovery in 1938, sparks of controversy have surrounded the identity of the person commemorated in what was to be named mound 1 of the sutton hoo cemetery, the most lavish and magnificent burial mound yet uncovered in anglo-saxon england. on their visit to the site in 1939, hector chadwick said to charles phillips, "it's the grave of king raedwald you know. i've no doubt of that."1 chadwick may have had no doubt— shortly thereafter he wrote a paper defending his position"—but others after h im have doubted this assertion, and it is still an unresolved question appearing at the head of most considerations of sutton hoo. while some claim the question to be inconsequential,1'1 the reconstruction of history, art, and culture depends on such pivotal questions as much as on anything else. the development of a more precise chronology, an understanding of the culture of kingship and of pagan religious practices, and, of particular significance to the period under scrutiny, an appreciation of the meeting point of paganism and christianity, are all spheres of study that may benefit from a more precise identification of the person honored in the greatest grave at sutton hoo. at the same time, these areas must actually assist i n the very task we undertake, and one must carefully sift through the literary and archeological evidence accumulated since its discovery to see in what ways the evidence complements and augments, supports and is supported by, our understanding of these key areas of investigation. d a t i n g t h e m o u n d ! c h r i s t i a n or pagan? first, we must establish a chronology of the mound, and the most useful find for this task is the horde of 37 coins of merovingian origin and three unstruck blanks, as well as two ingots. that they are all of foreign origin should not be surprising, as there is no evidence of coinage amongst the anglo-saxons from so early a period. l v five of the coins bear the name of a ruler, the latest of whom is the frankish theodebert i i , who died in 612 ad. although most archeologists favor a date in the 620s for the coins, individual study of the gold content of the four latest coins would allow for a latest mint date as early as 615-16.v the far end of the date range is more difficult to determine. some have argued that the burial could not have taken place more than 30 years after the lower l imit , 615 ad, because coins more fresh from the mint would certainly have been utilized. a more complex investigation, however, must take into account the state of christianity in anglosaxon england around the time in question. st. augustine, sent by pope gregory, arrived in england in 597 a d v 1 and was drastically effective in converting, or rather re-converting, its heathens. by 601, after augustine had baptized king ^ethelberht, churches were established in kent, which led to the conversion of saberht of the east saxons in 604. while both of these kingdoms relapsed for a short time into paganism after the deaths of their monarchs, christianity was quickly revived. ^ethelberht also made attempts in east anglia, but the anglian king raedwald is said to have accepted christianity only halfheartedly. it was not unti l his son, sigeberht, came to power as early as 631 ad that east anglia was fully opened to the christian life. northumbria was effectively converted by 630, though it, too, suffered ephemeral relapses into paganism. overall, christianity had a fairly tight hold on most of anglo-saxon england by 635-40 ad. it is unlikely that the newly-christian kings would have received an extravagant funeral containing so many gravegoods and a ship, a horse, or a cart buried in the ground with them. while there are examples of christian kings having lavish funerals, even—or more accurately, especially—in rome, as one moves north, christian burials tend to be plainer, with few, i f any, grave-goods. the discovery of the great christian burial at prittlewell may be a strong argument for extending the prevalence of christian burials sharing in previous pagan traditions further into the 7th century. the goods at prittlewell, however, were of far more simple and even meek design and embellishment, distinguishing that site decisively from sutton hoo. more important, however, is that the advent of christianity e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 brought with it the tradition of burying the faithful dead in consecrated ground in or near a church. mound i , besides being a very rich barrow, was located in the cemetery of sutton hoo, which was most definitely not consecrated ground in the early 6th century. a complication, however, is the inclusion in the burial of artifacts like the anastasius dish and the spoons marked with "paulus" and "saulus" that carried christian overtones. one possible solution is that the pagan king or his family hoped to derive some benefits from them, just as some pagan kings like rsedwald had done when they maintained the altar to christ alongside those of the pagan gods.vh another answer appeals to psychology: even i f the pagans perceived the christian connotations of the artifacts, there is little reason to believe they would have refrained from adding these rich and valuable objects to the burial mound. they probably gave little thought to the actual claims of the christian religion. i f so, they would not have feared, loathed, or even thought twice about the christian symbolism in the objects, but used them solely because of their splendor. just as people today wear halloween costumes of vampires, zeus, or pallas athena because they do not believe them to be real (while even a skeptic today would think twice of dressing up like jesus christ for halloween), in a like manner, those left to arrange the funeral did not believe in christ and would have had no problem dressing up their fallen king with some christian artifacts. a royal b u r i a l ? it must, therefore, be concluded that mound i honored one of the anglo-saxon kings who died between 615 and 640 ad. but why must it be a king? indeed, why even someone mentioned in literary record? the second question, though perhaps valid, leads us to a skepticism that precludes any further investigation. the first is a more valid and relevant question that cannot be ignored. many arguments have been proffered to prove that mound 1 at sutton hoo is a "royal" burial, the most famous being rupert brucemitford's three-volume study of sutton hoo, particularly his 10th chapter. a summary review of the evidence is obligatory, and it may even help develop the case in unexpected ways. for example, while some say that the small number of coins is a hint that this was the burial not of a king but of a merchant or soldier, others note that the 40 coins are just part of the total riches of the grave. the gold and silver content alone, shoenfeld points out, puts sutton hoo at the forefront of late antique and early medieval precious metal hordes in all of europe, including byzantium. v u l the shield has elements, such as gilded fittings, that point toward a ceremonial use. according to literary sources, only noblemen and warriors supported by the king were fortunate enough to have the protection of byrnies (long, sleeveless chain mail tunics) like the one found in the burial chamber. lx legal evidence confirms that gold-hilted swords were considered the property of great lords; men of lesser rank rarely acquired them. x according to the ripuarian laws, a normal helmet was worth six solidi. this particular helmet, however, adorned with crest, nasal, moustache and eyebrow attachments made entirely of gold, was certainly more valuable (see figure a on next page). one may claim that the presence of a mail shirt or a sword is not enough to declare it a king's grave, but the presence of a mail shirt and a gold-hilted sword, as well as a half-dozen other fantastic military supplies should put the matter to rest. a man of lower rank might have been able to acquire a distinguished sword, but that the same man also acquired a shield, byrnie, and helmet, and all the other great artifacts, is, to say the least, difficult to believe. finally, the lack of any signature female grave-goods and the profusion of military implements show it to be a man's burial. objects of foreign origin or influence further upgrade the status of the man buried at sutton hoo. the hanging a w e a l t h o f e v i d e n c e : t h e i d e n t i t y o f t h e m a n c o m m e m o r a t e d a t s u t t o n h o o f i g u r e a e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 bowls with running spirals and peltas, along with zoomorphic terminals, may be found i n both celtic and anglosaxon traditions, but the red enamel and millefiori inlay work, rather than germanic cloisonne, seem to point to irish craftsmanship and indicate heirloom value/ 1 michael ryan has demonstrated a number of other connections that can be drawn between objects found at sutton hoo and irish metalwork. x n the purse l id is embellished with several figural plaques, two of which depict a figure, flanked by two beasts, that associate the purse with la tene and asian traditions, and may in fact be traced all the way back to the master of beasts mot i f born most likely in mesopotamia. the heavy bronze bowl from the coptic region in egypt and the anastasius dish from byzantium are excellent examples of the travel of goods through trade and gift-exchange. furthermore, as edward schoenfield and jana schulman have noted, "in addition to sentimental value, an aesthetically pleasing object has a great deal of 'snob' value."x 1 u possession of extravagant items both foreign and native and valued by others, is an impressive show of wealth and power. furthermore, one cannot but marvel at the amount of skill and labor necessary to construct and transport the 89-foot ship, the largest from that era unearthed in northern europe to date. as gillmor has estimated, "twelve men working together could finish [such] a war ship in three months i f all the building materials had been gathered in advance,"x1v but, of course, they would not have been, and the cutting of trees and digging up of ore would have taken years. indeed, the use of a ship burial of any kind almost certainly indicates a regal burial. the second great east anglian cemetery at snape, just north of sutton hoo and overlooking the aide, also boasts a number of ship burials, the greatest of which begs comparison with sutton hoo: "the snape ship was of clinker build and riveted construction, identical to that used in the sutton hoo mound 1 ship." x v looking further afield to denmark, with its plentiful written records, one finds two distinct levels of burial customs: the upper class and the regal. the former would most likely be a lower lord or noble warrior, whose burial was furnished with aids like a horse, riding equipment, food for the journey to valhalla, and weapons for entertaining battle games in odin's ha l l . x v l these graves never contained helmets or mail shirts. the regal burials, on the other hand, were far more splendid, often containing a number of horses, and possibly even men, who were conceivably the king's entourage, such as cupbearers and marshals. these graves would also contain a ship, along with riches, goods, and unusually fine weapons x v i l finally, we must address the so-called standard and the whetstone. many have attempted to associate this 1.5-meter-long iron stand with the tufa, or standard, that the venerable bede says king edwin of northumbria carried before h im in battle and might have left with rasdwald during his exile, but recent finds make this unlikely. no traces of fabric or textile can be found on the stand, and a critical examination of the design reveals that it does not fit the requisites for attaching a standard. the whetstone, on the other hand, is far more promising, especially after the correction that placed the ring and stag on its extremity, rather than on the long iron stand. the persistent belief first that this object was a scepter was first argued by bruce-mit ford x v m the strongest argument against this is posed by michael wallace-hadrill in connection to the a w e a l t h o f e v i d e n c e : t h e i d e n t i t y o f t h e m a n c o m m e m o r a t e d a t s u t t o n h o o miniature whetstone found in a child's grave at sancton. x l x it is possible, however, that the child was of royal descent, or that the miniature whetstone is equivalent to what we would call a toy gun today. despite this evidence, the whetstone remains just one indication among many that mound i at sutton hoo is a royal burial. even i f one makes an exception for the whetstone, or claims that a commoner could have acquired a sword or byrnie, or that the purse and coins seem to reflect a merchant rather than a king, the burial contains not only a whetstone, nor only an extravagant sword, nor a purse with 40 coins alone, but the amalgamation of these and many other unusual and magnificent objects. in the end, to maintain the position that the burial is that of a very unusual merchant rather than of a unique— though not unusual or unreasonable—king creates more questions than it answers. e a s t a n g l i a o r e a s t s a x o n y ? having thus established mound 1 as a royal burial, it is time to consider the great anglo-saxon kings of the early 6th century. first, we examine the strength and durability of the arguments that place sutton hoo in east saxony as opposed to its commonly agreed location in east anglia. the main argument is that none, or very few, of the grave-goods i n the barrow were specifically east anglian, as they exhibit continental, kentish, or even east saxon styles.xx it must first be noted, however, that the rite of ship burial has been satisfactorily linked with scandinavia, where the east anglian affiliations lie. also, it wi l l be recalled that the accrual of foreign goods, whether from near or far, was considered a pompous display of wealth and power. furthermore, it has been shown that the east anglian styles, particularly the dress styles, were not absolutely distinct from other styles: "indeed, we should presume a greater mixing of people than suggested by bede, and we should not presume that distributions of ethnic groups, as defined by dress styles, coincided with political territories." x x l although some of the ornament on the jewelry, such as the zoomorphic filigree, "knotted snakes," and triangular buckles, have ties with the east saxons and with kent, other ornamental devices, like the "perforated animal body," "compact all-over animal interlace," and "processions of interlocked animals" are found almost exclusively in east angl ia . x x n broadening the search reveals more complex and seemingly contradictory evidence: snape, located just north of sutton hoo, is predominantly anglian i n grave-goods, while the contemporary cemeteries in ipswich, and the boss hall cemetery, south of sutton hoo, are all characteristically anglian.™ 1 1 the styles, designs, and ornament of the grave-goods i n mound 1 of sutton hoo are not definitive in establishing a connection with either the east anglians or the east saxons, so other sources must be consulted. the piece of evidence most often cited in this regard is the passage from bede: "sigebert was succeeded in the kingdom by suidhelm, the son of sexbald, who was baptized by the same cedd, in the province of the east angles, at the king's countryseat, called rendlesham, that is, rendil's mansion; and jethelwald, king of the east angles, brother to anna, king of the same people, was his godfather. " x x w this succession took place around 655 ad, this being a different sigebert than the east anglian sigeberht who ruled c. 631-35. thus, by the mid-7th century, suffolk was most certainly under east anglian dominance, though some contend that the territory might have been under dispute earlier in the century between the east saxons and east anglians. there are a number of problems, however, with this hypothesis. in the first place, sutton hoo was used continuously from the end of the 6th century well into the 8th century. i f the east saxons originally held the gravefield, even up until 620 or 630, and lost it to the east anglians, it is highly implausible that the latter people would continue to use it for their own dynasty. more importantly, the cemetery as a whole does not fit neatly into what is known of the history of the east saxons, but fits remarkably well within the history and culture of the early east anglians. recently, the study of east anglia has increased significantly, not only the study of sutton hoo and snape, but also of the recently excavated boss hall and buttermarket cemeteries, as well as the reevaluation of the hadleigh road cemetery in ipswich. much remains to be published, but preliminary reports point to certain similarities and differences among these cemeteries that may reveal the true nature of sutton hoo. snape and sutton hoo parallel each other in location (overlooking a river estuary), in the use of existing earthworks (the "swamping" of bronze age barrows at snape), in the attempts to place graves along linear banks and ditches, x x v and, of course, in the lavish ship burial. yet in this last similarity a delicate disparity has been noticed. at snape, the majority of burial mounds should properly be called 'average' anglo-saxon graves, x x v l while sutton hoo is predominantly composed of two types of graves. on the one hand, there are the impressive and costly burial sites of the upper class, and on the other the humble, inferior graves of their servants: the class distinctions are clear and possibly even programmed. as martin carver puts it, "this is no 'folk cemetery' which developed extravagant burial styles in its later phases, but a 'separated' cemetery, reserved for the elite, where to gain entry you must either belong to the aristocracy or be co-opted into their ideological drama." x x v u furthermore, snape was used from the end of the 5th century to the end of the 6th century, while sutton hoo began its run around 600 ad, and though it was used well into the 8th century, the period of regal splendor was relatively short, as the coming of christianity brought with it a clear simplification of burial practices. w h i c h k i n g ? the east anglian dynasty was born out of the wuffmgas, named after their father, wuffa, father of tytil and grandfather of rsedwald, who probably died in the third quarter of the 6th century. tytil most likely died just before the turn of the century, for raedwald appears to have commanded the wuffmgas from 600 a d , x x v m becoming a great and powerful king, worthy of mention among the list ofbretwaldas found i n the ecclesiastical history**1* and the anglo saxon chronicles.xxx some claim that this bretwalda title has no basis, and that the chronicler simply copied what was really an invention of bede's—the addition of kings to the list from purely personal, ulterior motives. perhaps the list in the anglo saxon chronicles does depend upon bede, but bede did not use the term bretwalda (meaning "lord of britain"). the chronicler may have thought it appropriate to give some title to the positions implied by bede and thus divined from his imagination the term bretwalda. it is more likely, however, that it was a term already i n use, whether as an official title or as an acclamation called out in the mead-halls at the king's approach. furthermore, no one has discerned any specific bias in bede's list; i f anything, the list admits of authenticity in giving claim to the power and dominion in england of rsedwald "the heretic". ultimately, "this list perhaps flattered the power of some kings and ignored that of others, but for our purposes the important point is the fact of such an ascendancy . . . behind the power of a bretwalda was the memory of the political unity of britain under the romans."xxx1 rsedwald was certainly pagan and probably only accepted christianity initially on ^thelberht's account, quickly reverting after his own ascension as bretwalda.^*11 east anglia was almost certainly pagan from the 5th century, i f not earlier, unti l at least the early 630s when sigeberht came to power. essex was more or less christian in the early 600s after saberht converted in 604 and, aside from a short relapse around 620 propelled by saberht's sons, continued to be christian thereafter. early sutton hoo, as exemplified in mounds 1 and 2, was, as shown above, a great pagan burial ground and, therefore, far more appropriate to the rising east anglian power under the pagan rsedwald than to the christian east saxons led by saberht. for similar reasons, we can rule out sigeberht of east anglia, who, as a devout christian brought up in gaul, actually relinquished the throne in rendlesham around 633 ad to enter a monastery. x x x l i l his contemporary ecgric ought also to be supposed a candidate, i f only we could determine just who he was. bede mentions h im only once, relegating h im to a minor supporting role in the story of his a w e a l t h o f e v i d e n c e ! t h e i d e n t i t y o f t h e m a n c o m m e m o r a t e d a t s u t t o n h o o cousin, the pious sigeberht. x x x l v it is possible that he is the same as the edric of the historia brittonum (philologically comparable to elric as a late form of yethelric), a theory supported by the fact that the list of kings in the historia brittonum appears to have a number of variant spellings that could be the result of philological change, scribal error, or just plain indifference. x x x v i n such a case, ecgric married hereswith and sired king ealdwulf, which would place h im in high enough regard to receive a great kingly burial, but also among pious and devoted christians. such an identification is problematic, however, as ealdwulf appears to have lived possibly as late as 713 a d , x x x v 1 which would make h im an improbably long-lived man, even by contemporary standards! furthermore, we know that anna ruled following the deaths of ecgric and sigeberht c. 635 ad and was certainly a sincere christian; he probably gave both the devout sigeberht and ecgric—whatever his true identity— christian burials. that leaves rsedwald, his son eorpwald, and the latter's murderer, ricberht. eorpwald is an unlikely candidate for mound 1 of sutton hoo: he was a christian, converted just before his death through the influence of edwin of northumbria , x x x v n and reigned but a few short years, being murdered around 627 ad by ricberht, a shadowy figure whom bede clearly disfavored and who may have taken control of east anglia after slaying eorpwald. according to bede: some time after this, it happened that the nation of the mercians, under king penda, made war on the east angles; who, finding themselves inferior in martial affairs to their enemy, entreated sigebert to go with them to battle, to encourage the soldiers...hoping that the soldiers would be less disposed to flee in the presence of him, who had once been a notable and brave commander.xxxvm on the basis of this passage, some have argued that sigeberht may have "taken his throne by force of arms, i f so presumably from the 'pagan called ricberht. " ' x x x 1 x furthermore, i f eorpwald was killed in a pagan reaction "raewald alone remains and indeed all the evidence converges on him." against his recently-adopted christianity, ricberht may have led the revolt, which would be a further reason to assume he took the crown thereafter and a sound reason to argue that ricberht might have received a royal pagan burial from the grateful heathen people of east anglia. this argument, however, breaks down once the pious sigeberht succeeds to the throne: sigeberht would not have given ricberht, the pagan assassin of his half-brother eorpwald, a royal burial. c o n c l u s i o n rsedwald, then, remains, almost by default. the gravegoods of the burial mound indicate a royal burial, and, along with the historical records, the list of possible kings comes from the east anglian dynasty between 615 and 635 ad. eorpwarld was a short-lived, minor king, unlikely to receive a luxurious burial from his assassin and successor, ricberht. neither would have sigeberht and his brother ecgric, who together subdued ricberht, been accorded a royal pagan burial as a consequence of the coming of christianity. rsedwald alone remains and indeed all the evidence converges on him. he was the greatest of the kings of east anglia, the only one worthy of mention among the northumbrians and rents in the list of bretwaldasa he fought and won a great battle against ethelfrid of northumbria and put edwin on the throne x l 1 and held his power for over 20 years. he was the first to be introduced to christianity, most likely in 618 at the court of ^thelberht of kent, from which the spoons marked with "paulus" and "saulus" perhaps came. and who would be left to bury the great king rsedwald around 625 ad? doubtless it would have been his son, eorpwald, and his wife, nameless, whose unyielding adherence to the ancient gods, as presented in the ecclesiastical history, marks her as definitively e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 pagan. x l n she would have made it a point to render raedwald a rich pagan burial, perhaps as a deliberate attack on christianity through a remarkable display of high pagan rites. thus, in the end, hector chadwick's f irm assertion holds true, and in the absence of any new (and what would certainly be revolutionary) evidence, we can only conclude that king raedwald's final resting place on earth was mound i at sutton hoo. e n d n o t e s i . pearson (27) i i . chadwick (76-87) i i i . carver (349) iv. kendall and wells (3) v. pearson (29) vi . bede (i.xxv) v i i . bede (ii.xv) v i i i . kendall and wells (19) ix. kendall and wells (19) x. kendall and wells (19) xi . kendall and wells (33) x i i . ryan (122) x i i i . kendall and wells (24) xiv. kendall and wells (20) xv. filmer-sankey and pestell (194) xvi. kendall and wells (161) xvii . kendall and wells (162) xvii i . bruce-mitford (689) xix. kendall and wells (85) xx. pearson (41) xxi. pearson (39) xxii. pearson (44) xxii i . pearson (37) xxiv. bede (iilxxii) xxv. filmer-sankey & pestell (265) xxvi. filmer-sankey & pestell (265) xxvii. carver (363) xxviii. bruce-mitford (696) xxix. bede (ii.v) xxx. the anglo-saxon chronicles (827) xxxi. mayr-harting (18) xxxii. mayr-harting (65) xxxiii. bede (iii.xviii) xxxiv. bede (111.xviii) xxxv. bruce-mitford (702) xxxvi. bruce-mitford (695) xxxvii. bede (ii.xv) xxxviii. bede (i l l .xvi i i ) xxxix. bruce-mitford (701) xl. bede (ii.v) x l i . bede (ii.xii) x l i i . bede (ii.xv) r e f e r e n c e s bede. 1910. the ecclesiastical history of the english nation. trans. j. stevens. new york: e.p. dutton. bruce-mitford, rupert. 1975-83. the sutton hoo ship burial, 3 vols. london: british museum publications. carver, m.o.h. , ed. 1992. the age of sutton hoo: the seventh century in north-western europe. suffolk: boydell press. chadwick, h . m . 1940. "the sutton hoo ship burial: who was he?" antiquity, 14. filmer-sankey, wil l iam, and t i m pestell. 2001. snape anglosaxon cemetery: excavations and surveys is2^-igg2. ipswich, suffolk: environment and transport, suffolk county council. kendall, calvin, and peter wells, eds. 1992. voyage to the other world: the legacy of sutton hoo. minneapolis: university of minnesota press. mayr-harting, henry. 1991. the coming of christianity to anglosaxon england. university park, pa: pennsylvania state university press. pearson, michael, robert van de noort, and alex woolf. 1993. "three men and a boat: sutton hoo and the east saxon kingdom." anglo-saxon england, 22. ryan, michael. 1991. "links between anglo-saxon and irish early medieval art; some evidence of metalwork." studies in insular art and archeology. oxford, ohio: american early medieval studies and the miami university school of fine arts. the anglo-saxon chronicles. 2000. trans. michael swanton. london: phoenix. yorke, barbara. 1985. "the kingdom of the east saxons." anglosaxon england, 14. yorke, barbara. 1990. kings and kingdoms of early anglo-saxon england. london: seaby. a w e a l t h o f e v i d e n c e : t h e i d e n t i t y o f t h e m a n c o m m e m o r a t e d a t s u t t o n h o o l e s s o n s i n s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t ! monteverde, costa rica b e r n a r d z l p p r i c h i n a u g u s t 2 0 0 6 , 16 b o s t o n c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s s p e n t t h r e e w e e k s t r a v e l i n g t h r o u g h o u t c o s t a r i c a s e e k i n g t o u n d e r s t a n d h o w t h e c o u n t ry h a s d e v e l o p e d e c o n o m i c a l l y w h i l e p r e s e r v i n g i t s r a i n f o r e s t s a n d b i o d i v e r s i t y . m a n y o f t h e a n s w e r s w e r e f o u n d h i g h i n t h e h i l l s o f t h e c o u n t r y ' s c o n t i n e n t a l d i v i d e i n m o n t e v e r d e w h e r e c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d " e c o t o u r i s m " h a v e m a d e p o s s i b l e a n i n n o v a t i v e m o d e l f o r d e v e l o p m e n t : a m o d e l b u i l t u p o n t h e c o m b i n e d e f f o r t s o f p r i v a t e e n t i t i e s , g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s, a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l p a r t n e r s . i t is a m o d e l t h a t is r e f l e c t i v e o f t h e t r e n d s a t p l a y n a t i o n w i d e . t h i s p a p e r e x a m i n e s n o t o n l y c o s t a r i c a ' s c u r r e n t a p p r o a c h t o s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t t h r o u g h t h e l e n s o f m o n t e v e r d e b u t a l s o i t s d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h i n t h e p r e s e n t m o d e l a n d t h e c h a l l e n g e s a h e a d b a s e d o n c o m p e t i n g v i s i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e . h i s t o r i c a l o v e r v i e w by the 1980s, deforestation rates in costa rica were among the highest in the world. after years of clearing away rich rainforest to make room for small-scale agriculture, the trend peaked in 1983—at which point 75 percent of the country's forests had been lost. for much of the early to mid-2 oth century, many costa ricans followed the same strategy as early american pioneers. they cleared unused land for pasture and kept livestock or grew crops on it in order to feed the family and sell the surplus. strong squatters' rights gave farmers much leeway to clear patches of rich forest and to cultivate it for small agriculture. furthermore, rainforest topsoil is generally shallow and infertile, capable of supporting agriculture for only a few years; consequently, as long as this approach to development continued, forest was being cleared faster than it could possibly regenerate, posing serious challenges to the country's biodiversity. though the government recognized the problem a decade before deforestation peaked, efforts aimed at reversing the trend largely fell short. the country thus found itself in a precarious situation. not only was the prevailing philosophy of development-bydeforestation leading the country towards environmental ruin, it was also not working. despite the huge environmental losses, life for the average costa rican family did not improve much. on the other hand, for costa rica today, it is a much different story—one told best by a small town nestled among the cloud forests high in the hills of the country's continental divide: monteverde. the story of monteverde's transformation from out-of-theway farming town to bustling ecotourist hub parallels the similar changes nationwide. the area today draws thousands of visitors each year who come to see the rare cloud forest reserves and their exceptional biodiversity. reflective of the trend nationwide, the development of ecotourism has driven countless costa ricans to give up the fields to drive cabs and to work in hotels, jobs that typically pay better than agricultural work. the once quiet community has become a burgeoning tourist hub, a development that has placed a strain on the area's natural resources, including the very cloud forests that initiated the transformation. underlying this transformation is a fundamentally different philosophy for development built upon the principle of sustainability and the recognition that conservation is a service to society. from this foundation, a new model for economic growth—the "monteverde model"—has emerged, characterized by a unique blend of private entities, international partnerships, and government policies, all working in concert to improve the lives of the country's people and to safeguard its environmental treasures through sustainable growth. though this model has allowed costa rica to become the most prosperous country in central america, serious questions still remain for the country and monteverde ahead. how wil l it continue to develop without undermining the very environmental assets that made it all possible? in other words, how can monteverde continue to develop economically in a sustainable way? a h e a d of t h e c u r v e although the trends at work today throughout costa rica run parallel with those of monteverde, at the point deforestation was at its worst nationwide, monteverde was already ahead of the curve. in 1970, a group of ornithologists arrived in monteverde to study the exotic birds found in the area's cloud forests. after recognizing the area's exceptional biodiversity, the scientists approached the tropical science center (tsc), a costa rican organization, and worked to secure 4,000 hectares of forest, which formed the basis of the original monteverde cloud forest reserve. in the 1980s, this reserve was joined by the bosque eternal de los niiios (ben)—in english, the children's eternal rainforest. established by another group, the monteverde conservation league, the land was purchased with funding from foreign donors, including school children in sweden and the united states. these two reserves were joined by e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 two smaller ones also in the area: the santa elena cloud forest reserve, reportedly established when the government foreclosed on a farmer's land, as well as another small reserve, set aside in the 1950s by a group of quaker settlers. together, these reserves filled the void in conservation left by the government and provided the initial impetus for transforming monteverde into the ecotourist mecca it is today. d e b t f o r n a t u r e when the government found itself with a weak economy and unable to repay debts from earlier national development projects, it capitalized on foreign interest in conservation by renegotiating repayment terms with creditors. under the new agreements, foreign donors would assume part of the costa rican debt in exchange for the government conserving land of comparable value. "debt-fornature" led to the establishment of a national park network, providing the foundation upon which the ecotourist industry emerged. when the economy picked up in the early 1990s—due in part to the success of these agreements—creditors decided that the country could repay its debts the usual way and "debt-for-nature" largely ended. nonetheless, the value of conservation economically and socially had been recognized, an insight that was not forgotten i n the years that followed. t h e m o n t e v e r d e m o d e l t o d a y reflective of the lessons learned from "debt-for-nature," the cornerstone of the government's conservation efforts lies in environmental service payments (esps). based on the philosophy that conservation and sustainable land use is a service to society worthy of compensation, landowners can receive subsidies for protecting tracts of forest, reforesting sensitive areas, and integrating farming with tree preservation, a practice known as agroforestation. to amplify the program's social and biological benefits, more money is channeled to impoverished areas and biologically sensitive areas, often in order to create biological corridors. the program, initiated i n 1996 and coupled with several other government efforts, has been tremendously successful in restoring forest and improving the quality of life. in recent years, five billion coloncs ($100 million) have been directed towards impoverished regions. in 1983, only 26 percent of the rainforest was left intact. in 1996, forest cover had recovered to 40 percent, reaching 45 percent in 2000. with the government taking the lead on conservation and land prices rising exponentially, many of the private entities that formerly led the way towards the new model in costa rica have either cashed in on their success or reinvented themselves to serve new purposes. the tropical science center, which discontinued expansion of the monteverde cloud forest reserve two decades ago, has particularly embraced the commercial potential. visitors now pay over $20 (payable in the local currency and u.s. dollars) for a guided tour of the park. the arrangement works out particularly well for tour guides who receive a significant cut of the fees. this approach is in contrast to that of the monteverde conservation league, which has focused less on promoting ecotourism at the ben and more on simply maintaining its current land holdings. a focus on education for a sustainable future is the underlying mission of another organization at work in the area, the monteverde institute (mvi). unlike the tsc and the league, the m v i was founded in 1986 with the express purl e s s o n s i n s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t : m o n t e v e r d e , c o s t a r i c a pose of bringing foreign students, particularly undergraduates, to the area for study. during the 1980s, while it was still affordable, the m v i engaged in limited conservation activities. recently, however, as a result of the government's conservation efforts, increased land values, and a need to repay debts, the m v i sold its holdings and returned to its original focus on education. on the individual level, several local business owners, recognizing that they owed the success of their businesses to the environment underlying ecotourism, established the fundacion conservacionista costarricense (the costa rican conservation foundation) to conserve more land and to expand reforestation efforts. financed by the individuals' businesses as well as foreign donors, the foundation's most promising project is growing saplings for farmers to use on their fields for reforestation or to create windbreaks. farmers benefit when their cows produce more milk with less exposure to the wind and weather on the monteverde hills, while local bird species have additional tree coverage in which to nest and feed. though it is a small, local project, the government recently issued the foundation an esp grant, recognizing the group's agroforestry and reforestation work and further demonstrating the ways i n which private, government, and international efforts overlap for the model's success. a w o r k i n progress though costa rica is currently the most prosperous country in central america—in large part due to the success of the monteverde model—the present approach to economic development is not without its difficulties. with ecotourism bringing i n over a mill ion additional people to a native population of four mill ion each year, there is a tremendous strain on the country's natural resources— including the very environmental assets that the ecotourists come to see. monteverde is no stranger to this environmental strain; for many years, it lacked a municipal government to address needed infrastructure upgrades and issues of water and waste management. drug usage is also on the rise in costa rica, fueled in part by tourists engaging in illegal activities. years of poor land documentation have also complicated things, particularly for environmental service payments. frequently, more than one individual wi l l request funding for the same plot of land. though the government has worked to avoid paying two people for the same land, resolving these cases drains resources. this problem has also contributed to tensions between organizations working towards similar ends, such as the tropical science center and monteverde conservation league, which recently fought in a bitter legal dispute over the precise location of the boundary of the ben and montverde cloud forest reserve. further, as the prosperous economy now considers agreements such as the central american free trade agreement, free trade may pose challenges for costa rica's many farmers. agriculture is still a dominant economic force i n the country. in 2005, coffee, pineapples and bananas, the country's chief exports, contributed to a $7 bill ion trade surplus. however, with the united states and other countries insisting upon maintaining protectionist agricultural policies, signing the agreement may make it more difficult for costa rican farmers to compete. v a r y i n g v i e w s o n b u s i n e s s a n d t h e f u t u r e the biggest challenge to the present model comes in the form of the tension between two different philosophies on economic growth. a long-term approach seeks to ensure continued advancement, while a short-term approach focuses more on profits today, regardless of future sustainability. victorino molino is a local business leader in monteverde who helped found the fundacion conservacionista costarricense. he also owns the frog pond, a business that not only showcases costa rica's various frogs for tourists but also uses a portion of its profits to support the fundacion. molino often tells visitors, "since we make e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 money off of wildlife, i felt that we should give back to wildlife." in sharp contrast is the short-term approach of monteverde's beche family, which founded and recently expanded the largest hotel-resort in the area, the hotel el establo. though the facility places heavy demands on local resources, the family patriarch states, "my responsibility is to myself and family. i need to live happy." by placing greater emphasis on profits than sustainability, the beches have grown rich in ecotourism. their vision for the future of monteverde is to be in the mold of cancun. while the family patriarch argues that bigger facilities are actually better for the environment because they have to follow stricter environmental regulations, his business model raises valid concerns. i f development is pursued without regard to its ecological or communal impacts, how much can the local environment—that which made the development possible—sustain? yet most of the workers at the hotel el establo are earning more than their farmer parents ever could have imagined. though not in the ecotourism industry, coffee growers in monteverde are also benefiting from turning to more sustainable and equitable business models. cafe monteverde, a growers' co-op, now sells its beans at fair trade prices. this allows them to receive higher, more equitable prices so long as they uphold certain labor standards for their workers. the co-op arrangement itself also benefits growers. by selling beans collectively, growers benefit from lower overhead costs and higher selling prices yielded through collective bargaining. although all of these efforts have made growers' lives better in the present, for them it is ultimately 109 l e s s o n s i n s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t : m o n t e v e r d e , c o s t a r i c a about the future; the co-op invests a share of its profits into the schools attended by the growers' children, hoping that they can realize their own potentials in a prosperous future. in a broader sense, the co-op's efforts offer a possible solution for reconciling the short-term/long-term tension. by maximizing short-term profits without abandoning a longterm commitment to sustainability and development, the greatest benefits can be achieved. such a solution, however, is only possible through a continued commitment to sustainable development as the monteverde model evolves further. c o n c l u s i o n as the world faces challenges such as global climate change and as developing nations strive to raise the quality of life for their peoples, several questions frequently arise: given a country's limited natural resources, how does it ensure that economic advancement can be sustainable by future generations? how does a country improve the lives of its people without harming the environment in which those people live? how does a country develop in a sustainable way? for costa rica, despite the country's present successes, these questions remain as relevant as ever. as seen in monteverde, there is tremendous potential for positive development when international cooperation is brought together with government efforts and private initiatives. however, the bigger key to success is an underlying view that recognizes the economic value of sustainability and conservation for society. in the end, the real lesson to learn from monteverde's story is not only that sustainable development is essential to the long-term well-being of a nation, but also that much progress is possible when various actors in a country are brought together to work towards a common end. as seen in costa rica, it is an effort that makes all the difference. r e f e r e n c e s all facts and figures were collected firsthand during a threeweek course on sustainable development and environmental conservation in costa rica in august 2006. the trip was directed by professors charlie lord and peter auger. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 l i s t o f a r t w o r k a m s o n n t a g , d e m 11.2. b e g i n g d i e k a t h o l i s c h e a k t i o n i m b e r l i n e r s p o r t p a l a s t e i n e p a p s t k r o n u n g s f e i er, m i t d e r g l e i c h z e i t i g e i n e m e h r f u r d i e o f f e n t l i c h k e i t b e s t i m m t e f e i e r z u e h r e n des n e u e n b i s c h o f s v o n b e r l i n d r . b a r e s , v e r b u n d e n w a r © bundesarchiv g e r m a n c a t h o l i c s p l e d g i n g a l l e g i a n c e t o t h e s t a t e © bettmann/corbis h i t l e r y o u t h © hulton archive/getty images freg e a l a p j e l e k © wikimedia l u d w i g j o s e f j o h a n w i t t g e n s t e i n t t x t 1 • a 1 * © h 9 hulton archive w o r d m a d e f l e s h © donald jackson/the st. john's bible/hil l museum & manuscript library/order of st. benedict, collegeville, m n s p i r a l g a l a x y m 1 00 © n a s a / s t s c l t o t h e e n d s o f t h e e a r t h © donald jackson/the st. john's bible /hil l museum & manuscript library/order of st. benedict, collegeville, m n e x c e r p t f r o m " f a r east a n d m i d d l e east t r i ps, 1967" ( c r n ' s h a n d w r i t t e n n o t e s ) courtesy richard nixon presidential library and museum i r a n i a n m o n a r c h m o h a m m e d r e z a s h a h p a h l a v i © apis/sygma/corbis p r e s i d e n t n i x o n s h a k i n g h a n d s w i t h s h a h o f i r a n © wally mcnamee/corbis e x p o s i t i o n o f v a r i o u s w o r k s by r e n e e d e s c a r t e s , p h o t o g r a p h , a r o u 1930 © hulton archive/getty images © time & life pictures/getty images saint thomas aquinas by fra b a r t o l o m d o © arte & imaggini srl/corbis k f c a n d m c d o n a l d ' s i n o l d t o w n a r e a o f s h e n z h e n © l i u liqun i m p l a n t a t i o n des e t a b li ss e m e n t s m c d o n a l d ' s , 2004 © atelier de cartographic de sciences po c o n s o m m a t i o n d e c a l o r i e s , 2002 © atelier de cartographie de sciences po f r i e d r i c h n i e t z s c h e c h i l d r e n q u e u i n g f o r f o o d © hulton-deutsch collection/corbis c h i n a h e a l t h i s s u es o b e s i t y © diego azubel/epa/corbis t r a n s c e n d i n g t r a d i t i o n a l g e n d e r b o u n d a r i e s defining gender roles through public and private spheres j a c q u i e s m y t h c o n t r o v e r s y o v e r g e n d e r r o l e s i s a m a j o r i s s u e i n c o n t e m p o r a r y s o c i e t y . t h e d e b a t e s s u r r o u n d i n g g e n d e r a n d s e x u a l i t y h a v e e x t e n d e d t o a r e n a s f a r b e y o n d t h e h o m e ; p o l i t i c a l p l a t f o r m s a n d r e l i g i o u s v i e w s h a v e i n h e r i t e d t h e t o r c h , c o n t i n u i n g t h e a r g u m e n t i n t o t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y . t h i s e s s a y w i l l s h o w t h a t t h e d i s c o m f o r t a r i s i n g f r o m t h e b l u r r i n g o f t r a d i t i o n a l b o u r g e o i s g e n d e r r o l e s w h i c h a l l o c a t e d p u b l i c l i f e t o m e n a n d p r i v a t e l i f e t o w o m e n i s a t t h e h e a r t o f t h e s e d e b a t e s . b y f o l l o w i n g t h e h i s t o r i c a l p r o g r e s s i o n o f t h e s e a r g u m e n t s a n d t r a c i n g t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f g e n d e r r o l e s b a c k t o t h e i r r o o t s , t h i s e s s a y i n t e n d s t o b e t t e r t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f b o t h t h e o r i g i n s o f t h i s d i s c o m f o r t a n d t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f g e n d e r r o l e s t o d a y . for centuries, the roles of men and women have been changing, but not until recently have women demanded such equal treatment in the form of the right to choose abortion, the right to vote, and the ability to work in the business world. with these demands, women are reaching outside their traditional domains of home and family life, a shift that disrupts traditional patterns of gender distinction in the western world. the correlation between the men's and women's spheres of influence and the spheres of the public and private is strikingly apparent in european history. it is the blurring of these spheres that sparks the controversy evident i n present-day europe. the traditional image of the western european bourgeois male was that of a public figure. in the christian world, the head of each family was the father, who enforced the practice of christianity i n his home and ensured his family's church attendance. the churches themselves were primarily a man's world, with all leadership positions occupied by males. in business, men conducted financial transactions, handled the family's money, and entered into the job market either by opening his own business or by working as a laborer or tradesman. additionally, men in the family were often formally educated, gaining access to resources that women were denied. a woman's sphere, in contrast, was far more limited in the traditional bourgeois society. she was instructed to remain home so she could raise her children and provide their education. her involvement in politics was nearly nonexistent, as she was forced to identify herself with her husband's t h e t y p i c a l f e m a l e s p h e r e political stance. in business, her presence was felt very slightly, i f at all; perhaps she helped her husband by handling the money that circulated around the house for the purchasing of food or furniture. beyond the reach of the home, however, a woman was rarely seen, save i n a marketplace or walking with her children. her education focused around the maintenance of the home, rarely extending beyond her mother's knowledge, who educated her daughter in domestic tasks from a young age. these spheres were well defined: the stereotypically stronger figure handled the potentially harmful outside world, while the milder, gentler figure maintained the home. uneasiness accompanied any attempt to cross these spheres—an uneasiness that sparks discussions about the genders, their roles, and whether to maintain or break these spheres of influence. men and women have been engaged in this discussion for generations. before entering into that discussion once again, however, the assumption that forms the foundation of this argument must be discussed—namely, the establishment of gender-specific spheres of influence as a basis for european society. the gender roles outlined in this paper are not a natural establishment; they were created outside of nature as western society "modernized." in addition, these roles are clearly not inflexible, as demonstrated by the celtic community, which involved both men and women in its religious society, as well as the african tribes today that are matriarchal. thus, these spheres have a deeply rooted history but are not universal because they are taken solely from the views of middle-class society in modern europe. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 however, these views on gender, while more widely disputed, are still evident in our own middle-class culture. this is clear by our continuing debates over the roles of women in the world of business and the home, as well as the role of a homosexual male in a woman's sphere. once one is able to examine these gender roles in their historical context, one is able to trace their development and their impact on the 21st century. jesus a n d g e n d e r roles uncertainty of gender began even with the icon of the christian religion. in response to male dominance in the church, some depictions of christ in art took on a more ambiguous tone. these images of "modern gay christs were serious attempts by homosexual men, and more rarely, women to find a way in to the fortress of christian dogma."1 women and gay men, who were alienated and feminized by many christian ideologues, tried to break into the predominately male-oriented world of christianity. these interpretations, as would be expected, were greeted with indignation and anger from many, i f not most, in the christian community. the adverse reaction to this interpretation was spurred by post-biblical ideals of the position of masculinity in christianity. in addition, as graham robb writes in his chapter entitled "gentle jesus," many "still widely assume... that jesus condemned homosexuality."11 at the same time, however, robb explains several ambiguous passages in the bible that imply a certain homosexuality in christ's relationship with his apostle john.111 the idea of a homosexual jesus evoked more of a negative reaction than did a sexually ambiguous savior, because "a sensual, heterosexual jesus was preferable to any sort of homosexual christ." l v in the case of christ, the fear that "men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another"v overrode any fear that a man may have been depicted as a womanly man, as long as he remained heterosexual. the sexual sphere of a woman being the receiver was usurped and blurred by the homosexual relationship, therefore the possibility of christ's homosexuality was denied vehemently by those who upheld society's traditional gender spheres. instead, jesus was generally depicted as a gentle figure who crossed the boundaries of public and private life but remained heterosexual. jesus g a t h e r s his male c o m p a n i o n s m a l e f r i e n d s h i p s the power of public and private gender spheres can also be seen i n male friendships. the friendships described i n alan bray's the friend, which would, with a modern perspective, appear homosexual, were conducted " in a public sphere,"v1 and are thus made more masculine in the context of the male's sphere of influence. in the case of william neville and john clanvowe, their entombment together was a "hint of the formal and public context for their friendship," of which the monks in the church where they are buried were fully aware.v11 the acceptance of the practice of "sworn brotherhood" was based on the fact that it was a public affair; by asserting a masculine love for another man, one was not necessarily asserting homosexuality i f one did so in a public milieu. t r a n s c e n d i n g t r a d i t i o n a l g e n d e r b o u n d a r i e s political involvement also created a space for sworn brotherhood. bray explains that "friendship was dangerous, and it was so because [of what] friendship signified in a public sphere." v m the words dangerous and public together show a respect toward these relationships, particularly those made to further political alliances. friendships made based on political advantage existed precariously due to the lack of true love seen in relationships like that between william neville and john clanvowe. furthermore, these friendships often led to betrayals of trust and a false sense of camaraderie.154 because of the tight bonds seen i n the sworn brotherhoods between men with real affection and trust, political maneuvers attempted to capture that union and create strong alliances. this shows the general acceptance of the practice in politics, which gave "the appearance of friendship in the public eye that was itself a kind of currency that could be turned to advantage."54 in the 17th century, with the elimination of the public theater in the great houses of gentlemen and the invention of hallways "screening the sharing of beds at night from view,"541 the friendships and bedfellows that had previously been accepted now became private matters. what was considered vital in establishing a loving relationship between male friends, such as serving one another and having intellectual debates while together in bed, now became censured by the same people who would have previously rules o f g e n d e r force s c r u t i n y of m a l e r e l a t i o n s h i p supported sworn brotherhood. the services brothers would willingly have bestowed upon each other were "regarded not as indicative of intimacy but as menial or degrading" because they became associated with a woman's gender role.5411 with the privatization of the home, a woman's sphere began to take shape; the affairs of the household, like cleaning, caretaking, and child-rearing were now under her jurisdiction. this distinction threw sworn brotherhood into a different light because the bedroom became the private realm of a man and his wife and was no longer a place for a man and his male friend. the implications of this arrangement were serious, and accusations of sodomy became a threat for many as the crime of sodomy required the penalty of death.54111 a new ideal of friendship, then, had to be defined distinguishing those gestures two men could perform without any homosexual implications from those they could not. contrary to past relationships, kisses and displays of affection had to be curbed because they now became private. these actions, in conjunction with the development of a private space in the home, defined a place for the wife. sworn brotherhoods came too near this threshold to be acceptable. w o m e n i n p u b l i c l i f e this newfound sphere of the home as a private space is perpetuated in natalie zemon davis' women on the margins. davis finds, in maria sibylla merian and glikl bas judah leib, two women who successfully broke the bourgeois expectations of their sex in the 17th century. the first, maria sibylla, was a natural painter, both in a sense of skill and of subject. in pursuing her artistic schooling, "merian was a pioneer, crossing boundaries of education and gender to acquire learning on insects" while still remaining at home to take care of her daughters.x1v after leaving the labadist colony, which she joined after leaving her husband, merian and daughter dorothea traveled to suriname to study new insects. with only a loan, she did not have the extensive funding a man would have received i n her place.x v maria sibylla became the scientific and e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 08 artistic expert for the insects of suriname, despite not having the male benefits of being a royal botanist or a fellow of the royal society. " x v 1 her habits were "anomalous, traveling without men on strange business," painting insects throughout her journeys.™ 1 the wider community did not censure her choice of occupation, however, as would be expected. "only her status as a woman divorced under unusual circumstances seems to have been hard for her to present to the fallen world, " x v i i i davis writes. in fact, her work was praised and respected in the scientific and artistic community, even by men in the f ield. x l x the divorce of her husband was perhaps made less reprehensible within her community because it was done with religious inspiration and because she took her children with her. her sphere extended from a private home life to an integral role in a religious society, in which women were allowed to participate. from this community, merian entered the public sphere through travel, education, and scientific and artistic publications. davis' title, women on the margins, emphasizes the unusual success merian gained by breaking the traditional gender norms. the second woman mentioned, glikl, is representative of a nearly complete joining of both the public and private sectors of her life. she is also an example of a non-christian woman; she was jewish. in jewish society, women were known for their strength of character and assertiveness in both their private and public lives. while her husband haim was alive, glikl was an active participant i n his business, so much so that when he died, he felt no need to name a successor to his business because, as he said, "my wife knows about everything" related to his t raded davis writes, however, that "among the german jews, it was expected that women would work," x x l so glikl was not alone in her involvement i n the business world. she was unique i n her amount of travel, but for german jews, "traveling around to fairs did not detract from a woman's reputation."™ 1 owing to her extensive travel, glikl was highly educated, unlike many christian european women. there is evidence she knew at least yiddish, hebrew, french, and german, and was aware of political situations throughout europe. x x l u because glikl was so worldly, she was able to gain a reputation as a successful businesswoman. this achievement earned her a great number of suitors, whereas a christian woman in the same situation would most likely have been treated by men with spite and anger. christian women remained mostly within city walls and had limited exposure to business. i f a christian woman had performed the same acts as glikl, she would have been met with displeasure and social discomfort. glikl, on the other hand, was greatly respected and actually desired by jewish men. glikl's role as a mother exemplifies one similarity between christian and jewish expectations for women. she composed stories that were meant to educate her children and future generations. while christian women may have aided in the education of their children, they rarely wrote down their lessons for their progeny; instead, they relied on their children to pass on lessons to future generations. regardless of the method, however, both jewish and christian women were responsible for the education of their children. perhaps as a result of women like glikl, who were successful in taking over their husbands' businesses and integrating into the traditionally male sphere, jewish men were often depicted in a more feminine light within the christian bourgeoisie. daniel boyarin observes i n his unheroic conduct that jewish women "have enjoyed rather astonishing freedom, probably a result of their active role i n business and other public professions. , , x x i v because of their heavy involvement i n the financial world, jewish women were seen as powerful figures in their culture, while men were "retiring to private spaces."xxv the reversal of the typical christian bourgeois gender spheres may have contributed to the marginalization of the jewish community within europe. jewish "male ascetics were feminized through their rejection of the most basic cultural t r a n s c e n d i n g t r a d i t i o n a l g e n d e r b o u n d a r i e s "the reaction of the european bourgeois society to the reversed gender roles within the jewish community led to an overcompensation and the creation of the 'muscle few7—the zionist movement's proof ofjewish masculinity." expressions of male identity"—the public sphere. x x v l within the jewish community, this arrangement was accepted, and, in glild's case, desired. in contrast, "the bourgeois ideology . . . disenfranchised women even more by insisting that their only functions were to be decorative and reproductive, while earlier, more traditional jewish cultures stipulated a wide range of important public, economic activity for women."™ 1 1 z i o n i s m a n d d e f i n i n g t h e j e w i s h m a l e in the case of bertha pappenheim, her public appearances on behalf of women's rights in the jewish circle and beyond greatly threatened the sphere of the bourgeois man. while the wider european community upheld its traditional gender boundaries of women in the home and men in the public sphere, pappenheim's main crusade was to return judaism from its zionist habits to its traditional roots of powerful women and passive men. her acts of hysteria, assumed to be a woman's disease, and her public oration were an example of the jewish woman's power in the public sphere. the transition from a passive male population in judaism to a fervent zionism began as jews started to assimilate with the rest of europe and as it became clear to them that a strong female and a passive male is not the typical practice of gender differentiation in bourgeois europe. "the zionist is gendered male for freud," boyarin writes, showing in freud's analysis of the jewish man the undercurrent of the bourgeois reaction to the ambiguously gendered ma le . x x v m the militant action of judaism's crusade to gain its own nation was precisely what jewish males thought masculinity was. they defined themselves as masculine through the amount of danger and publicity gained by acts of radicalism. zionism, then, became "a masculinizing of the allegedly feminized—queer—jewish male. ' , x x l x the reaction of the european bourgeois society to the reversed gender roles within the jewish community led to an overcompensation and the creation of the "muscle jew"— the zionist movement's proof of jewish masculinity. bertha pappenheim's revolt and vocalizations against the shift in gender roles show the response of a traditional society that is being changed—and perhaps corrupted—by the modern european male ideal. s o d o m y a n d g e n d e r roles male ideals are particularly prominent—and perhaps most sensitive—in regards to sex. as explained earlier, the invention of the private space created the "women's domestic sphere," l imit ing a man's acceptable interactions with other men. the "unacceptable" interactions are further explored in mark jordan's book, the invention of sodomy in christian theology. according to jordan, homoerotic desires become particularly evident in the vehement reactions against same-sex attraction. when peter damian attempts to condemn sodomy in the congregation, "he cannot know who among his official readers wil l be guilty of the very sin he enjoins them to punish. " x x x the overarching fear of sodomy is the confusion of gender in the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 sexual act, because a man is put in the receiving place of the woman. the spilling of a man's semen for something other than procreation is considered the sin, however, not necessarily the attraction or desire for the same sex. x x x l it seems that the inability to procreate in same-sex coupling is graver than the act itself. attraction can lead to the sin of sodomy, exemplified by the story of pelagius, a boy known for his exceptional beauty, who drew the attention of the caliph where the boy was imprisoned. this beauty was at first physical in its manifestations, yet holy, with god's power so ingrained in pelagius that god performed a "miracle of preserving pelagius' physical beauty" even after he was dismembered and burned.x x x 1 1 the feminized depictions of pelagius also encouraged a confusion of gender, sparking the potential for same-sex desire. as with christ's homoerotic imagery, pelagius was increasingly feminized to encourage the sin of the caliph. however, "a mark of the caliph's depravity" was shown in his attraction to pelagius before god's gift of eloquence could be heard x x x , n here, to avoid a complete effeminizing of a christian saint, pelagius' beauty was transformed from god's presence in his body and face to god's blessing of the boy's speech. public speaking was also within the realm of the man's sphere, so pelagius, while cautiously regarded as being an object of male desire, maintained a proper amount of masculinity to warrant his worship as a saint with the gift of speech. this closed off enough of the female sphere to avoid controversial interpretations. f r e u d , e r o t i c d e s i r e , a n d r e l i g i o n in contrast to the effeminizing of both jesus and pelagius, freud's theory of the origin of religion has less to do with the threat of the female gender as it does with the threat within the male's own sphere. freud's invention of the oedipal complex extends to the creation of religion as its primary motivation. "religion would thus be the universal obsessional neurosis of humanity," he writes, "like the obsessional neurosis of children, it arose out of the oedipus complex, out of the relation to the father. " x x x 1 v the father figure is manifested as a supreme being, a guardian in response to "man's helplessness and need for protection. " x x x v the fervent worship of religion, then, according to freud, is an acceptance of this desire for the father, a desire that is against society's attempt to crush man's instinctual wishes—"incest, cannibalism, and lust for killing. " x x x v i despite the establishment of society in order to control these natural urges, religion is in itself a manifestation of the desire for incest. "the strength of the incestuous wishes can still be detected behind [civilizations'] prohibition against them," freud writes, and this is most strikingly found i n religion. x x x v 1 1 it was freud's reaction against this attraction to religion that established the war within the male sphere. in maintaining the masculinity of self, it seems that dedication to religion (using zionism or the predominantly male church as examples) is entirely within the male sphere, i f not integral to it. this dedication, however, is what freud considers an incestuous, homoerotic desire because it is a desire for a man's own father. his denunciation of religion in the future of an illusion is a reaction against homosexual desire, but also against what many would consider an important part of masculinity. h o m o s e x u a l m a r r i a g e a n d g e n d e r roles the internal battle with religion extends to the present-day i n the issue of homosexual marriage. in stephen schloesser's letter to congresswoman marian walsh, he defends homosexual marriage by examining the progression of marriage through its existence. contrary to arguments professing the eternal sanctity of marriage, schloesser explains that there is very little that is eternal about the institution. the transition of marriage from an economic to an emotional union comes when "bourgeois women stayed at home in the 'private sphere' and made it a cozy refuge for their husbands to return t o . " x x x v m with the division of men's and women's spaces came the creation of heterosexuality, and consequently, the invention of homosexuality. the idea of same-sex marriage infringing upon the sanctity of the home deeply concerns many people, just as the accusation of sodomy concerned those who t r a n s c e n d i n g t r a d i t i o n a l g e n d e r b o u n d a r i e s may have participated in sworn brotherhood, and just as effeminacy in the eyes of the bourgeoisie turned jewish males to zionism. the idea of men filling the position that is traditionally female is highly disconcerting, even with today's more liquid associations with sexuality. simultaneously, a woman in the workplace is not unusual until she is the breadwinner for another woman. the double standard of women in the man's sphere versus men in a woman's sphere is confusing, but the adamant fight against the effeminacy of men seems to extend to female couples as well. schloesser argues that in light the changing nature of marriage, homosexual religious union should not be banned because of the claimed sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. the establishment of male and female gender roles creates the apprehension associated with same-sex marriage. c o n c l u s i o n the public and private spheres traditionally assigned to men and women have roots in religious, cultural, and sexual traditions in bourgeois society. this paper has demonstrated instances in which these spheres were challenged, and how society reacted to these challenges. the sexual ambiguity of sworn brothers, st. pelagius, and even jesus christ caused a discomfort within the bourgeoisie. much of this discomfort is still present today. current discussions of homosexual marriage continue to reflect this same uneasiness regarding the confusion of gender roles and spheres of influence, whether public or private. i f women's suffrage, abortion rights, or massachusetts's ruling on same-sex marriages are any indication, however, the rigidity of gender roles is on its way out, and perhaps western society is gaining speed i n the progression toward sexual and gender equality. e n d n o t e s i . robb (236) i i . ibid. i i i . robb (235) iv. robb (246) v. robb (234) vi . bray, (2) v i i . bray (19) v i i i . bray (59) ix. bray (63) x. bray (54) xi . bray (210) xi i . ibid. x i i i . bray (195) xiv. davis (155) xv. davis (169) xvi. davis (179) xvii . davis (168) xvii i . davis (166) xix. davis (182) xx. davis (13) xxi. davis (14) xxii. davis (15) xxii i . davis (27-28) xxiv. boyarin, (330). xxv. boyarin (6) xxvi. ibid. xxvii. boyarin (321) xxviii. boyarin (271) xxix. boyarin (272) xxx. jordan (50) xxxi. jordan (128-129) xxxii. jordan (23) xxxiii. jordan (21) xxxiv. freud (55) xxxv. freud (29) xxxvi. freud (13) xxxvii. ibid. xxxviii. schloesser (5) references boyarin, daniel. 1997. unheroic conduct: the rise of heterosexuality and the invention of the jewish man. berkeley: university of california press. bray, alan. 2003. the friend. chicago: university of chicago press. davis, natalie zemon. 1995. women on the margins: three seventeenth-century lives. cambridge: harvard university press. freud, sigmund. 1964. the future of an illusion. trans. w.d. robson-scott, ed. james strachey. garden city: doubleday. jordan, mark d. 1997. the invention of sodomy in christian theology. chicago: university of chicago press. robb, graham. 2004. strangers: homosexual love in the nineteenth century. 1st ed. new york: w.w. norton. schloesser, stephen. 2004. letter to marian walsh. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 l i s t o f a r t w o r k / p h o t o s rio grande texas boundary between mexico a n d usa © a r c a i d / a l a m y usa i m m i g r a t i o n rally—national mall © cavanaugh/epa/corbis file photograph of bracero workers crossing border from mexico i n t o h i d a l g o in 1956 © leonard nadel /nat ional m u s e u m o f a m e r i c a n his to ry /handout /reu te r s /corb i s m i g r a n t 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pastry. © the br i t i sh library o i l fields in behran © chr i s t i an s imonpie t r i /sygma/corb is cas burn off at field in saudi arabia © george steinmetz/corbis d i a m o n d back terrapin feeding a n d d i a m o n d b a c k terrapin o n brick ramp courtesy o f the private collections o f brad macdona ld and alexis rife, boston college habitat of d i a m o n d b a c k terrapi ns courtesy o f the private collections o f brad macdona ld and alexis rife, boston college s u n l i g h t falling o n vegetation a n d rocks, costa rica courtesy o f the private col lect ion o f bernard z i p p r i c h , boston college water droplet collecting in plant, costa rica courtesy o f the private col lect ion o f bernard z i p p r i c h , boston college ecotourists, costa rica courtesy o f the private collect ion o f bernard z i p p r i c h , boston college i g u a n a , costa rica courtesy o f the private collect ion o f bernard z i p p r i c h , boston college 3-jorisha devotees d a n c i n g courtesy o f the private col lect ion o f richard paul, boston college h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g c h e m i c a l s what they are, what they do, and where to find them a m b e r w i l l i a m s a n d d r . l a u r a h a k e r a r e l y d o w e c o n s i d e r w h a t t h e c h e m i c a l s t h a t g o i n t o o u r c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s , t h a t a r e s p r a y e d o n t o o u r f r u i t s , o r t h a t a r e r e l e a s e d i n t o t h e a i r a c t u a l l y d o . f o r e x a m p l e , w e a s s u m e t h a t t h o s e d i f fi c u l t t o r e a d c h e m i c a l s o n o u r s h a m p o o b o t t l e l a b e l s a r e s a f e . h o w e v e r , f e w o f t h e t h o u s a n d s o f c h e m i c a l s d e v e l o p e d e a c h y e a r a r e t h o r o u g h l y t e s t e d . f o r g o i n g t h e p r e c a u t i o n a r y p r i n c i p l e , w e a r e e x p o s e d t o m a n y c h e m i c a l s t h a t a c t a s e n d o c r i n e d i s r u p t o r s . e n d o c r i n e d i s r u p t i n g c h e m i c a l s ( e d c s ) c a n m i m i c , b l o c k , o r r e r o u t e t h e h o r m o n a l s i g n a l i n g o f o u r b o d i e s . t h i s a r t i c l e a d d r e s s e s w h a t e d c s a r e , h o w t h e y a c t , a n d h o w t h e y c a u s e h a r m f u l e f f e c t s , s u c h a s r e p r o d u c t i v e a b n o r m a l i t i e s , c a n c e r s , a n d b e h a v i o r a l c h a n g e s . f i n a l l y , s t e p s t h a t w e a s c o n s u m e r s c a n t a k e t o a v o i d o r n e g a t e t h o s e e f f e c t s a r e e n u m e r a t e d . i n t r o d u c t i o n i n the twenty-f irst century, the use o f synthetic chemicals is an afterthought. t h o u g h not always desired, they are thoroughly integrated i n t o daily l i fe . embedded i n t o everything we touch , smel l , eat, and breathe, the prevalence o f these chemicals makes i t d i f f icul t to stop, take a step back, and assess the l o n g t e r m effects. the d e m a n d for i m m e d i a t e convenient i m p r o v e m e n t s , the encouragement o f technological advancements i n agr icul ture , manufacture , and medic ine , a n d the di f f iculty o f m o v i n g beyond the cancer p a r a d i g m m e a n that very few o f the thousands o f chemicals developed every year are tested for effects beyond toxicity. therefore, m a n y o f the chemicals that go i n t o our products , l ike water bottles, per fumes, shampoos, a n d plastic toys may act as endocrine d isruptors , w h i c h m i m i c , block, or reroute the h o r m o n a l signals o f our bodies. previous studies i n rodent and f i sh m o d e l organisms and h u m a n cell l ines have s h o w n that chemicals such as b i sphenol a and phthalates, w h i c h act as estrogens and antiandrogens respectively, increase occurrences o f cervical and prostate cancer, advance puberty, f emin ize males, increase reproductive organ m a l f o r m a t i o n s , and affect the integr i ty o f d n a . together these studies provide the basis for a theory that the drastic decline i n h u m a n s p e r m count i n the last fifty years and the increasing n u m b e r o f reproductive organ abnormal i t ies , cancers, and allergies results, i n part , f r o m the use o f these chemicals that affect h o r m o n a l s ignal ing pathways. e n d o c r i n e d i s r u p t o r s ! c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a n d m e c h a n i s m o f a c t i o n endocrine d i s r u p t i n g chemicals (edcs) interfere w i t h norm a l s ignal ing o f the body's intr icate h o r m o n a l networks . h o r m o n e s , b iochemica l messengers c o n t r o l l i n g m u c h o f the body's funct ions , act as the intermediar ies between signals and actions. one part o f the body, such as the p i tu i ta ry g land, sends a message, l ike l u t e i n i z i n g h o r m o n e , to i l l i c i t an act ion i n another part o f the body, l ike s t i m u l a t i n g an ovary to release an egg. examples o f h o r m o n e s range f r o m g r o w t h h o r m o n e s , w h i c h cont ro l development, to thyroxine , w h i c h helps manage m e t a b o l i s m , to i n s u l i n , w h i c h regulates b lood glucose levels, to the sex h o r m o n e s that ru le sexual development and reproduct ion . the body's delicate h o r m o n a l balance necessitates signal consistency. the great complexi ty encompassed i n only the endocrine system is delicate and sensitive i n and o f itself, w i t h o u t external influences such as edcs. the h o r m o n a l pathway is complex at the cellular level. after t rave l ing t h r o u g h the b lood , a h o r m o n e m u s t interact w i t h a target cell . i f the h o r m o n e is a steroid, and therefore fat soluble, i t can cross the cell m e m b r a n e . ins ide , i t b inds w i t h its c o m p l e m e n t receptor, w h i c h t h e n b inds to d n a w i t h i n the nucleus. consequently, target genes are expressed, leading to proteins that accompl ish the act ion specified a n d in i t i a ted by the o r i g i n a l s ignal . examples o f these effects inc lude s t i m u l a t i o n or i n h i b i t i o n o f g r o w t h , i n d u c t i o n or suppression o f cell death, activation or i n h i b i t i o n o f the i m m u n e system, regulat ion o f m e t a b o l i s m , preparat ion for physical activity, preparat ion for puberty, and cont ro l o f the reproductive cycle. endocr ine disruptors m i m i c endogenous h o r m o n e s by b i n d i n g to the n o r m a l receptors and subsequently t r i g g e r i n g an act ion even w h e n the actual h o r m o n e is n o t present. endocr ine disruptors can also b lock essential s ignal ing by i n t e r f e r i n g w i t h the receptor, in termediate molecules , enzymes, or t ransport prote ins . 1 i t is also possible for edcs to alter the act ion altogether by, i n effect, g i v i n g the body "new" or distorted i n s t r u c t i o n s . 1 1 fat-insoluble h o r m o n e s a n d edcs tr igger actions ins ide the cell by b i n d i n g externally to receptors o n the cell m e m brane. t h r o u g h a series o f conformat iona l changes, the receptor init iates signal t ransduct ion , a type o f relay between m u l t i p l e molecules w i t h i n the cell . the s ignal ing molecule thus elicits an act ion that is n o t only ampl i f i ed thousands o f t imes compared to the o r i g i n a l signal, b u t also occurs i n m u c h less t i m e t h a n i t takes for genes to be expressed. e n d o c r i n e d i s r u p t o r s a c t u n d e r t h e r a d a r chemica l test ing methods have t radi t ional ly focused o n ase l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 sessing acute toxicity, reflected by m o r t a l i t y or p o i s o n i n g o f test animals . based o n the a s s u m p t i o n that "the dose makes the po ison , " chemical test ing is s t i l l focused o n toxicity at relatively h i g h concentrations. g r a p h i n g toxicity test results is expected to produce a l inear dose response curve, w i t h h igher response corresponding to increased dosage. chemicals approved for use i n consumer products, o f course, show a negl ig ible toxic effect at h i g h concentrations, leading scientists to presume that these chemicals are not h a r m f u l at any concentrat ion. to the contrary, the newly recognized class o f edcs has p r o f o u n d deleterious effects at doses hundreds , or even thousands, o f t imes lower t h a n supposedly "safe" concentrations d e t e r m i n e d by classic toxicity test ing. as edcs can i n t e r r u p t h o r m o n a l pathways at t i n y doses o f parts per m i l l i o n , or even parts per b i l l i o n , daily exposure to seemingly inconsequent ia l amounts o f edcs can lead to drastic effects. m a n y edcs actually el icit a "u-shaped" dose response curve. i n other words , some edcs at very l o w a n d very h i g h concentrations may n o t show as s trong an effect as exposures to edcs at concentrations somewhere i n the m i d d l e , or conversely, the m i d d l e doses may n o t have as great an effect as l o w and h i g h doses. assessment o f the hazards o f edcs is also compl icated by the fact that the i r effects are n o t as acute as o u t r i g h t p o i s o n i n g a n d are usual ly not observed i m m e d i a t e l y after exposure. 1 " therefore, fetal exposure may n o t result i n any apparent consequences u n t i l later i n adul thood, w i t h onset o f i n f e r t i l i t y problems , cancers, a n d behavioral abnormal i t ies . b i s p h e n o l a bisphenol a (bpa) is an edc that acts as an estrogen m i m i c . i n 2 0 0 4 , the u n i t e d states alone produced about one m i l l i o n tons. as an ingred ient i n polycarbonate plastics, bpa gives the characteristic o f durabi l i ty . t h u s , polycarbonate is used to make baby bottles, water bottles, toys, and medica l devices. bpa can also be f o u n d i n the epoxy resins that coat the inside o f food and beverage cans and i n dental sealants. 1 v i n h u m a n s , bpa has been measured i n a m n i o t i c fluid, materna l and fetal plasma, and placental tissue at b i r t h . v due to the n u m e r o u s ways that bpa infi l trates daily l i fe , there are s ignif icant concerns that exposure to bpa at the levels f o u n d i n adults, and especially i n the developing fetus ( w h i c h has an under-developed abi l i ty to remove bpa), has l o n g t e r m adverse hea l th consequences. these concerns are based o n hundreds o f studies u s i n g a n i m a l m o d e l a n d tissue cu l ture systems that demonstrate effects o f bpa at levels equivalent to , a n d even lower t h a n , the levels detected i n h u m a n b lood a n d u r i n e (table 1). a study u s i n g bpa doses below w h a t the epa's safety guidel ines f o u n d that bpa ( i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h i n s u l i n ) tr iggers the f o r m a t i o n o f fat cells i n mice . after eleven days, w i t h bpa exposure i n only the f irst t w o days, fat content i n the cells increased by 150 percent compared to controls . w h e n the cells were exposed to bpa for 11 f u l l days, there was a 1,300 percent increase i n fat c o n t e n t / 1 s imi lar f indings f r o m other research groups, coupled w i t h measurable levels o f bpa and a host o f other edcs i n h u m a n s , have raised concerns o f a causal l i n k between bodi ly edc levels, also k n o w n as body b u r d e n , a n d the current obesity e p i d e m i c / 1 1 contaminants and viruses can work together. e l e v a t e d l e v e l s o f p s b s a n d e p s t e i n b a r r v i r u s i n c r e a s e t h e r i s k o f n o n h o d g k i n ' s l y m p h o m a by o v e r 2 0 f o l d . v i » h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g c h e m i c a l s t a b l e 1: b p a e x p o s u r e in a n i m a l s t u d i e s daily bpa exposure .(^.^.^ .?p.p.y. w e j h t d a y ) x.7??fa :̂. .t^.^.t^x ?ju.py details reference persistent chances to breast tissue, 0.025 predisposes cells to h o r m o n e s a n d carcinogens fetal exposure, chances noted at 6 m o n t h s of ace m u n o z d e t o r o 2005 0.025 permanent chances to genital tract fetal exposure markey 2005 2 increased aggression at 8 weeks of life fetal exposure, oral route kawai 2003 2.4 decline in testicular testosterone fetal an d n eon atal exposu re, gavag e a r k i n g b e m i 2004 2.5 i m m u n e system impacts oral exposure sawa|2003 10 prostate cells more sensitive to h o r m o n e s a n d cancer fetal exposure, oral route, short duration t i m m s 2005 i n s u l i n resistance develops in 2 days, c h r o n i c hyper! n10 s u l i n e m i a at day 4 su bcutan eous in) ecti o n , s h o rt du rati o n ex pos u r e a l o n s o m a c d a l e n a 2006 20 damage to eggs a n d c h r o m o s o m e s fetal exposure, osmotic pumps h u n t 2003 reversed the n o r m a l sex differences in brain structure 30 a n d behavior o ra l du rl n g c estation a n d lactatio n kubo 2001 30 hyperactivity oral i s h i d o 2004 epa's "safe exposure level," based o n outdated, h i g h dose studies 50 epa rfd (reference dose) a n d a 1000-fold m a r g i n of safety epa 1998 t a b l e 2: e n d o c r i n e d i s r u p t o r s in c o n s u m e r p r o d u c t s t a b l e 3: w e b s i t e s o n a v o i d i n g e d c s endocrine receptor used as f o u n d in acts as l i n k e d to title description website b i s p h e n o l a epoxy resins of hard plastic water estrogen cancer/treatment t h e c a m p a i g n for safe a i m s "to protect t h e h e a l t h of www.safecosmetics.org cans, polycarbonbottles, plastic resistance, f e m i cosmetics consumers a n d workers by requirate plastics, dental toys n i z a t i o n / m a s c u l i n i n g t h e personal care products sealants z a t i o n , d n a industry to phase o u t t h e use of integrity chemicals l i n k e d to cancer, birth defects a n d other serious health concerns, a n d to replace t h e m w i t h safer alternatives." phthalates plasticizer, n a i l p o l i s h , pera n t i a n d r o c e n male g e n i t a l s k i n deep "a safety g u i d e to cosmetics a n d www.cosmeticsdatabase.com fragrances fumes, plastic a b n o r m a l i t i e s , personal care products b r o u g h t shower curtains male infertility to y o u by researchers at t h e e n v i ( l o w sperm c o u n t ) r o n m e n t a l w o r k i n g group." parabens preservative i n cos moisturizers, estrogen breats cancer, rew o m e n ' s health a n d t h e a website t h a t "explains ways t h a t w w w . w o m ensh ealth an d e n metics & p h a r m a s h a m p o o s p r o d u c t i o n a b n o r e n v i r o n m e n t o u r health can be affected by e n v i v i r o n m e n t . o r g ceuticals malities/ infertility r o n m e n t a l c o n t a m i n a n t s a n d offers ideas of h o w t o make changes a r o u n d your h o m e a n d i n your c o m m u n i t y so we can live i n a healthier world." lead p i g m e n t lipstick, dark h a i r n e u r o t o x i n c o g n i t i v e reducgreen g u i d e for everyday provided by n a t i o n a l geographic, w w w . t h e g r e e n g u i d e . c o m / b u dyes t i o n , delayed pul i v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n covering a range y i n g g u i d e berty from carpets to c l e a n i n g products to sunscreen. http://www.safecosmetics.org http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com http://www.wom http://vironment.org http://www.thegreenguide.com/bu i n a related study, scientists f o u n d a corre lat ion between h i g h u r i n a r y bpa concentrations and b o t h cardiovascular disease and diabetes i n h u m a n s . i x i n add i t ion , m i c e exposed to bpa t h r o u g h damaged polycarbonate cages and water bottles (by n o r m a l wear and tear) led to meiot ic aneuploidy, or an incorrect n u m b e r o f chromosomes present i n the cells that develop i n t o eggs. these observations and s imi la r studies indicate that h u m a n exposure to bpa may inc i te n u m e r i c a l c h r o m o s o m a l abnormal i t ies , the leading causes o f miscarriage, congenita l defects, and m e n t a l retard a t i o n ^ bpa exposure has been l i n k e d to cancers, i n c l u d i n g breast and prostate cancer. pregnant rats treated w i t h 25 m c g / k g body we ight per day gave b i r t h to daughters that showed p e r m a n e n t l y altered m a m m a r y glands w i t h cell proli ferat i o n a n d an increase i n susceptibi l i ty to a tested carcinog e n . x l i n effect, cells became sensitized by bpa to respond to a carcinogen even before b i r t h . i n the u n i t e d states, prostate cancer is the second leading cause o f cancer death a m o n g m e n and the leading diagnosed m a l i g n a n c y . x i l prostate cancer depends o n testosterone for g r o w t h , so t reatments focus o n testosterone depr ivat ion either t h r o u g h i n h i b i t i o n o f testosterone synthesis or by blockage o f the testosterone receptor. th i s type o f t reatment is successful for u p to 18 to 30 m o n t h s w h e n recurrent t u m o r s develop i n some p a t i e n t s . x i l i g r o w t h o f recurrent t u m o r s can be s t imulated by a variety o f mechanisms . i n one study, 25 percent o f the recurrent t u m o r s h a d acquired a m u t a t i o n i n the testosterone receptor that changed the shape o f the testosterone-binding site. therefore, a l though the ablat ion therapy h a d removed al l testosterone f r o m the patients ' bodies, the t u m o r s were sensitive to s t i m u l a t i o n by other compounds , i n c l u d i n g estrogen and b p a . x i v essentially, bpa can b i n d to the m u t a t e d receptor and s t imulate cell g r o w t h a n d pro l i fe ra t ion , events n o r m a l l y s t imulated by testosterone, thus advancing the prostate cancer. bpa exposure also interferes w i t h sex specific development o f the body and b r a i n . bpa i n only parts per b i l l i o n has been s h o w n to mascul in ize areas o f the female b r a i n . the development o f the area o f the b r a i n responsible for estrous cyclicity, gonadotrop in release, and the l u t e i n i z i n g horm o n e surge necessary for ovulat ion is di f ferent i n male and female rats. however, i n pregnant rats exposed to bpa, the daughters ' brains began to resemble those o f males, a n d the daughters exhibited mascu l in ized behavior. th i s study shows that bpa can cross the placental barr ier and that the fetus is extremely sensitive to exposure, leading to longerlast ing effects. x v addit ional ly , pregnant rats exposed to bpa h a d daughters w i t h accelerated puberty. i n fact, endocr ine-d is rupt ing chemicals may be one o f the causes o f the global t r e n d o f earlier sexual m a t u r a t i o n i n g i r l s . x v i i n the u n i t e d states, gir ls b e g i n m e n s t r u a t i o n a few m o n t h s earlier t h a n they d i d 4 0 years ago and develop breasts 1-2 years ear l i e r . x v i i puberty at a younger age has been l i n k e d to an increased r i sk for depression, obesity, polycystic ovarian syndrome, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer . x v i l i social prob lems such as an increased r i sk o f sexual v i c t i m i z a t i o n and exper iment a t i o n w i t h sex, alcohol, or drugs may become m o r e l ike ly at an earlier age . x i x earlier puberty may also lead to addiedcs can increase immune responses and allergic reactions.x x s i n c e 1980 a s t h m a d e a t h r a t e s f o r c h i l d r e n y o u n g e r t h a n 19 y e a r s o l d h a v e i n c r e a s e d by a l m o s t s0%.xxi t h e p r e v a l e n c e o f p e a n u t a l l e r c i es d o u b l e d in t h e 5 y e a r s f r o m 1997 t o 2002.**" c h i l d r e n w i t h e l e v a t e d l e v e l s o f c o n t a m i n a n t s a r e 8 x m o r e l i k e l y t o h a v e c h i c k e n p o x a n d 3x m o r e l i k e l y t o h a v e 6 0 r m o r e ear i n f e c t i o n s by t h e a c e o f 3 1 / 2 . x x i i i h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g c h e m i c a l s t i o n a l physical and behavioral problems later i n l i fe due to longer exposure to h o r m o n e s . bpa can interact w i t h b o t h cell m e m b r a n e and i n t e r n a l cellu lar receptors. for example, bpa interacts w i t h cell m e m brane receptors and increases pro lac t in secretion f r o m cells. increased pro lact in can lead to a decrease i n fert i l i ty , cell pro l i fe ra t ion , behavioral effects, and interference w i t h o v u l a t i o n . 5 0 ^ bpa also interacts w i t h b o t h types o f pancreatic cell receptors. i n effect, these cells rapidly release i n s u l i n i n t o the b loodstream to decrease glucose levels. w i t h longer exposures to bpa, the cells secrete too m u c h i n s u l i n , w h i c h eventually leads to i n s u l i n resistance. i n other words , target cells no longer uptake glucose i n response to i n s u l i n because the signal is constant a n d the cell is n o longer sensitive to i t . therefore, exposure to e n v i r o n m e n tal estrogens can enhance the r i sk o f developing type 2 diabetes, hypertens ion, and a b n o r m a l levels o f fats i n the b l o o d . ™ o t h e r e d c s other chemicals act by m i m i c k i n g or b l o c k i n g testosterone. some, l ike v i n c l o z o l i n (a fungic ide) , demascul inize male rats, exempli f ied by a decreased anogenital distance ( a g d ) , reta ined nipples , hypospadias, and absent sex accessory g l a n d s . ™ 1 phthalates are another class o f testosterone-blocking chemicals used as plasticizers i n products such as food containers, toys, medica l e q u i p m e n t , and shower curtains . perfumes, hairspray, cosmetics, and the new car smel l can also conta in phthalates. the t e r m "phthalate syndrome" has been coined to describe genital abnormal i t ies that are a result o f exposure to phthalates, i n c l u d i n g undescended testicles. a h u m a n study conducted by the centers for disease contro l , harvard school o f public hea l th , the dana farber cancer ins t i tu te , and harvard medical school examined the corre lat ion between phthalate levels i n u r i n e samples and various sperm parameters i n 168 m e n . semen samples were analyzed for s p e r m count , sperm m o t i l i t y , and the percentage o f de formed sperm. a total o f hypospadia the frequency rate for hypospadia has more than doubled since 1970. i n 1993, 1 of every 125 boys was affected.**™ sperm count the sperm count for the average male i n 1938 was 113 m i l l i o n / m l . the sperm count for the average male in 1990 was 66 m i l l i o n / m l , a 50% decline in approximately 50 y e a r s . * * ™ " sex ratio there is currently a decrease of 1 male birth in 1000 live births which results i n a loss of approximately 38,000 male babies i n 20 years i n the united states.50"* hypospadia a m a l e b i r t h d e f e c t in w h i c h t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e u r e t h r a , u s u a l l y a t t h e t l p o f t h e p e n i s , is a b n o r m a l l y p l a c e d ( o p e n i n g s o m e w h e r e a l o n g t h e s h a f t ) . anogenital distance t h e d i s t a n c e o f t h e p e r i n e u m ( b e t w e e n t h e a n u s a n d t h e b a s e o f t h e p e n i s f o r a m a l e ) . t h e a g d is t w i c e as l o n g in m a l e s t h a n f e m a l e s , s o t h e m e a s u r e is u s e d in n e o n a t a l h u m a n s t o c o r r e l a t e f e m i n i z a t i o n ( r e p r o d u c t i v e a b n o r m a l i t i e s ) t o c o n t a m i n a n t b l o o d o r u r e a l e v e l s . e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 1 eight di f ferent phthalate metabolites were f o u n d i n the u r i n e samples. m e n w i t h h i g h levels o f the d i b u t y l phthalate metabol i te were m o r e t h a n twice as l ike ly to have l o w sperm m o t i l i t y t h a n m e n w i t h l o w levels o f the metabol i te . h i g h levels o f other phthalates were also l i n k e d w i t h reduced sperm count a n d a h igher percentage o f de formed sperm. t h i s study reveals the connections between phthalate levels i n the a m e r i c a n male p o p u l a t i o n and i m p a i r e d s p e r m qual i ty and q u a n t i t y . 5 0 0 ' similarly, studies have indicated w o r l d w i d e d e c l i n i n g s p e r m counts. a review o f 61 studies pub l i shed i n 1992 discovered that the average male s p e r m count dropped f r o m 113 m i l l i o n / m l i n 1938 to 6 6 m i l l i o n / m l i n 1 9 g o . 5 0 ™ a change th is drastic i n such a short t i m e per iod cannot be solely genetically d e t e r m i n e d , so the answer most l ike ly lies i n e n v i r o n m e n t a l influences. there are n u m e r o u s theories concern ing the s p e r m count decline, one b e i n g the involvem e n t o f edcs, especially since w o m e n o f ch i ldbear ing age are one o f the groups w i t h the highest exposure l e v e l s . ™ 1 exposure to endocr ine disruptors affects w i l d l i f e as w e l l . i n an isolated lake ecosystem, f i sh populat ions exposed to the synthetic estrogen f o u n d i n b i r t h cont ro l p i l l s collapsed due to f e m i n i z a t i o n o f males. arrested testicular development and subsequent reduced fer t i l i za t ion success led to a near ext inct ion o f the fathead m i n n o w i n the lake. therefore, low-level, consistent exposure has the ecological r i sk o f disr u p t i n g the sustainabil i ty o f w i l d p o p u l a t i o n s . x x x [ i i i m p o r t a n c e the scope o f the damage endocr ine d i s r u p t i n g chemicals have caused and the i r potent ia l for damage i n the future necessitates awareness. instead o f accepting the potent ia l danger, or c o n d e m n i n g all chemicals as dangerous i t is i n stead i m p o r t a n t to regulate exposure i n order to reduce the effects. there are over 8 0 , 0 0 0 chemicals registered w i t h the u.s. e n v i r o n m e n t a l protect ion agency, approximately 3 ,000 labeled as h i g h p r o d u c t i o n v o l u m e (accounting for 9 9 percent o f the total v o l u m e ) , w i t h at least one m i l l i o n pounds produced or i m p o r t e d i n the u . s . x x x i v o f these 3 ,000 h i g h p r o d u c t i o n v o l u m e chemicals , 43 percent have n o basic toxicity test ing data available to the pub l i c and only 7 percent have the f u l l basic test ing in format ion . 5 0 0 ™ each chemical has six basic tests specified and w i t h a cost o f $205 ,000 per chemical , i t w o u l d cost the chemica l industry approximately $427 m i l l i o n to complete the basic testi n g o f the h i g h p r o d u c t i o n v o l u m e chemicals. t h o u g h this is a h i g h expense, an a r g u m e n t that the chemical i n d u s t r y pleads frequently, i n reality, i t is only 0.2 percent o f the ann u a l sales o f the top h u n d r e d chemica l i n d u s t r i e s . x x x v i aside f r o m these basic tests, n o chemical has been adequately tested for endocr ine d i s r u p t i o n . a c t i o n w i l l require policy changes to ensure the sustainabil i ty o f l i fe o n earth. most amer icans assume that chemicals used i n products are safe; however, u n l i k e the d r u g industry , the government has to prove that a chemical is h a r m f u l , rather t h a n requiri n g the manufacturers to prove that i t is safe before u s e x x x v n j l v i s protocol , a long w i t h unenforced test ing, lends to an unregulated chemica l i n d u s t r y and the use o f teflon, used as a non-stick coating for cookware, can emit toxic particles. in 2-5 ml n, teflon-coated cookware can reach temperatures at w h i c h the coating breaks a n d emits toxic particles and gases linked to hundreds (maybe thousands) of pet bird deaths and an u n k n o w n number of h u m a n illnesses each year.***"'" h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g c h e m i c a l s inadequately tested chemicals i n consumer products . increased test ing p r i o r to sale w i l l require the development o f an appropriate procedure because current test ing for endocr ine-d i s rupt ing abil it ies is convoluted, t ime-consumi n g , and varies between testers. a c o m m i t m e n t by b o t h the government and the chemical i n d u s t r y to safeguard the hea l th o f h u m a n i t y is absolutely necessary. recently, the lowel l center for sustainable product ion and the toward t o m o r r o w ini t ia t ive released "a c o m m o n agenda for h e a l t h and the e n v i r o n m e n t , " i n w h i c h they "seek to help shift the debate about l i n k s between e n v i r o n m e n t and heal th f r o m a focus o n w h i c h materials and substances cause w h i c h problems , to a discussion about what k i n d o f w o r l d we want to l ive i n a n d h o w we get t h e r e . " 5 0 0 ™ reflecting these ideals is the development o f "green chemistry," w h i c h reduces waste, uses materials f r o m sustainable sources, and tries to design chemicals that are less hazardous ( in the short a n d l o n g t e r m ) to h u m a n heal th . n o w c o m m o n knowledge that bpa is f o u n d i n plastic baby bottles. however, i n the u n i t e d states there is n o nat iona l law regu la t ing bpa i n the bottles that feed the youngest, most susceptible cit izens. instead, e l i m i n a t i o n o f bpa is d e t e r m i n e d o n a state-by-state level. cal i fornia has passed senate b i l l 578, that "requires manufacturers o f h i g h product ion v o l u m e chemicals to provide to the state inform a t i o n re lat ing to whether a chemical causes or has the potent ia l to cause cancer, reproductive h a r m , neurologica l damage, respiratory h a r m , endocr ine d i s r u p t i o n or develo p m e n t a l h a r m . " x l n also , connect icut has banned bpa f r o m in fant f o r m u l a and baby food cans and j a r s . x ' 1 " o n the other h a n d , massachusetts pub l i c hea l th officials have only issued a w a r n i n g to mothers to avoid baby products cont a i n i n g bpa. no official regulat ions have been passed . x l i v startlingly, a recent study p e r f o r m e d by h e a l t h canada repor ted that "bpa-free" baby bottles were i n reality s t i l l l eaching bpa, w h i c h fur ther stresses the need for adequate the fda does not regulate what goes into cosmetics. 61% of 33 brand-name lipsticks tested by the campaign for safe cosmetics contained detectable levels of lead.*' environmental working group measured 16 chemicals from 4 chemical families (phthalates, triclosan, parabens, an d m u s ks) i n th e blood and urine samples of 20 teen g i rls of ag es 1 4 to ~\9.xli fur thermore , development and i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f pol icy and regulat ions to remove demonstrated endocr ine d isruptors is p a r a m o u n t . i n the s u m m e r o f 2 0 0 8 , pub l i c awareness regarding bpa i n nalgene water bottles j u m p e d , a n d subsequently, bpa was removed f r o m these products . however, removal o f endocr ine disruptors i n products is current ly u p to the companies and consumer pressure, rather t h a n any regulatory enforcement. for example, i t is test ing and transparency w i t h i n the chemical i n d u s t r y . x l v o f course, obstacles s t i l l exist due to the n u m b e r o f products to regulate and incomplete ingred ient lists due to "trade secrets." yet, t h r o u g h research, we can become i n f o r m e d a n d consequently, can act. p r o t e c t i n g y o u r s e l f one o f the m o s t t r o u b l i n g aspects o f edcs is the i r ubiqui ty . e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 f r o m h u m a n s to animals , i n the city or the arct ic , they are p r e v a l e n t x l v l equally o m i n o u s , h u m a n s are exposed to a m i x t u r e o f these chemicals constantly, n o t just one at a t i m e or i n a single dose. exposure comes f r o m the air we breathe, the grass we w a l k o n , the foods we eat, and the products we apply to our sk in . studies l o o k i n g at the way some o f these chemicals w o r k together show that they can enhance effects i n a dose-additive or synergistic w a y x l v n , x lv i i i p o r example, 35 percent o f f rog tadpoles exposed to a m i x t u r e o f n i n e pesticides d ied due to a bacterial in fec t ion , compared to 4 percent fatality w h e n exposed to a single pesticide. i n add i t ion , 70 percent o f the mixture-exposed tadpoles that survived developed infect ions, seen i n none o f the controls or tadpoles exposed to one p e s t i c i d e . x l l x also, edcs do n o t share s t ructura l mot i f s , w h i c h makes the i r modes o f act ion unpredictable . since one chemical can act i n n u m e r o u s ways o n m u l t i p l e systems, our future i n re la t ion to these synthetic chemicals is entirely uncerta in . current ly , protect ion f r o m endocrine disruptors means avoid ing the i r sources. for example, plastics w i t h n u m b e r s 3, 6, a n d 7 conta in chemicals that are k n o w n to be edcs. plastic labeled "#7" is f requently polycarbonate plastic, a n d t h r o u g h n o r m a l use, the plastic can suffer wear a n d tear, causing the bpa to leach out i n t o l iqu ids or food. s imply s w i t c h i n g to a non-polycarbonate d r i n k i n g water bott le can rapidly decrease the levels o f bpa i n b l o o d and u r i n e , s h o w n by a study w i t h 77 part ic ipants i n w h i c h u r i n e levels o f bpa increased by 6 9 percent after u s i n g a polycarbonate water bott le compared to one week d r i n k i n g cold beverages f r o m a stainless steel water bott le instead. 1 m i c r o w a v i n g i n plastic is also dangerous as extreme heat causes plastic to lose its integrity , w h i c h results i n chemica l leaching. personal care products are another source o f exposure, and reading labels can a id i n reduc ing r isk. a v o i d i n g phthalates, parabens, and fragrances, a n d u s i n g the sk in deep cosmetics database is the best way to secure products w i t h m i n i m a l or l o w risks. plus, exposures i n a parent's body can show u p i n u n b o r n c h i l d r e n . a d o p t i n g precautionary pr inc ip les w i l l he lp decrease exposure to chemicals that are assumed to be safe, b u t may be labeled otherwise i n 30 years. a n u n k n o w n chemica l o n a label w i t h u n k n o w n effects and l i t t le background i n f o r m a t i o n available should be avoided. i t is n o t i n s u r e d that companies are proper ly testi n g and m o n i t o r i n g the publ ica l ly d i s t r i b u t e d chemicals . dust-free houses are also safer as chemicals can reside i n dust and can be m a i n t a i n e d for a l o n g t i m e , a c c u m u l a t i n g and sensi t iz ing the body. phthalates f o u n d i n dust samples have been l i n k e d to an increased incidence o f allergic react ions i n ch i ldren , l ike asthma a n d eczema. 1 1 protect ion f r o m edcs is cr i t ica l , b u t l i v i n g i n the chemicalladen twenty-f irst century makes completely avoiding edcs imposs ible . therefore, r e m o v i n g endocr ine d isruptors f r o m our products , food, and air depends o n advocati n g for change. endocr ine d isruptors should n o t be i n shampoos, f u r n i t u r e , and f ru i t s . because current test ing methods and safety standards are n o t u p to date and chemical companies lobby government regulatory departments , a consumer response is necessary. fortunately, pub l i c knowledge about endocrine disruptors is increasing. the n a i l po l i sh l i n e o p i advertises b e i n g phthalate-free, the l i n e yes to carrots provides paraben-free toi letr ies , and phthalates were out lawed f r o m chi ldren's plastic toys i n february 2 0 0 9 . 1 1 1 p r o t e c t i n g y o u r f u t u r e as previously m e n t i o n e d , a c h i l d developing i n the w o m b is extremely susceptible to e n v i r o n m e n t a l inf luences. a single fert i l ized cell developing i n t o an o r g a n i s m made u p o f t r i l l i o n s o f cells is a staggering process aided by i m mensely complex s ignal ing. i n the t h i r d week after concept i o n , the fetus is f o r m i n g the or ig ins o f the b r a i n , spinal cord, heart, a n d other organs. cells m u s t c o m m u n i c a t e i n struct ions w i t h one another o n where to go, w h a t to become, w h e n to divide, and w h e n to die. a l l o f th is depends u p o n relayed messages, m a n y o f t h e m chemical . i f endocrine disruptors become another c o m p o n e n t i n a chi ld 's gestation per iod , the consequences can be m o n u m e n t a l . i t is k n o w n that d r i n k i n g alcohol or s m o k i n g w h i l e pregnant h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g c h e m i c a l s poses m a j o r threats to the n o r m a l development (physically, mental ly , and behaviorally) o f a c h i l d , and endocrine disrupters can be just as dangerous. effects can show t h e m selves directly at b i r t h , w i t h genital abnormal i t ies or i m m u n e deficiencies. cognit ive abnormal i t ies or allergies may become apparent later, a n d results may even only show u p i n adul thood, w i t h cancers, obesity, diabetes, a n d i n f e r t i l i t y prob lems . a l a r m i n g l y , the parent a n d developing fetus are n o t solely affected by exposure. endocr ine disruptors also inf luence the fetus' g e r m l i n e cells. g e r m cells eventually develop i n t o the eggs or s p e r m cells o f a c h i l d . therefore, an exposed m o t h e r can inadvertent ly r i sk the n o r m a l developm e n t o f her g randch i ldren as we l l . studies have s h o w n that endocrine disruptors can interfere w i t h genetic i m p r i n t i n g i n rats. i m p r i n t i n g o f d n a is a s t ructura l m o d i f i c a t i o n that can either a l low or i n h i b i t gene expression and can be passed d o w n t h r o u g h the g e r m cells. future generations can s t i l l exhibi t effects due to the exposure o f great-grandparents . 1 1 1 1 these changes i n the structure o f d n a i t se l f can lead to adult-onset disease, such as t u m o r s , k idney dysf u n c t i o n , and other problems l ike i m m u n e abnormal i t ies and premature a g i n g . l l v i n a d d i t i o n to the potent ia l for edcs to cause p e r m a n e n t changes i n the developing fetus and its g e r m l i n e , some edcs are passed directly to the baby as "hand-me-down poisons." m a n y synthetic chemicals are l i p i d soluble a n d can accumulate i n fat indef initely . one such transfer can occur w i t h breast m i l k . endocrine disruptors are stored w i t h i n the fatty tissue o f the breast and t h e n excreted t h r o u g h breastfeeding. bpa has been measured i n the range o f 0.2-5.0 n g / m l o f breast m i l k , w h i c h under l ines that exposure can come f r o m m a n y dif ferent sources. l v w h e t h e r i t is the pregnant mother ' s products , or her ch i l dren's toys, awareness o f these dangerous chemicals and h o w they play an integra l part i n our daily lives is crucial . c o n c l u s i o n research regarding endocr ine d i s r u p t i n g chemicals is n o t just for scientists. i t is n o t knowledge just for doctors, or lawyers, or m o m s , or even only h u m a n s . the changes that we are seeing i n reproductive organs, i n a n i m a l behavior, and i n the rises o f allergies and obesity are systems-level prob lems that need to be addressed i n a t ransdisc ip l inary way. endocr ine d i s r u p t i n g chemicals are n o t the sole cause o f any o f these problems , b u t they undoubted ly contr ibute . i t is i m p o r t a n t to r e m e m b e r that h u m a n s are b o t h b io log i cal and cu l tura l organisms embedded i n social and ecological systems. l v i edcs, w h i c h p u t h u m a n reproductive success at r i sk , affect us b o t h as a biological species a n d the way we w i l l have to respond socially. t h i n k i n g about h u m a n s as agents act ing w i t h i n socio-ecological systems rather t h a n external drivers w i l l lead to m o r e global, longlast ing s o l u t i o n s . l v l 1 th i s crisis begins at a personal , i n t i mate level i n regards to one's o w n body and extends to a global crisis o f the h u m a n race and life o n earth altogether. recognizing the potent ia l for h a r m a n d s u p p o r t i n g research concern ing the l o n g t e r m effects o f endocr ine disruptors w i l l lead to awareness, recogni t ion , and pol i t ica l act i o n i n order to protect ourselves and future generations. e n d n o t e s i . norris (2006) i i . mclachlan (2001) i i i . mclachlan (2001) iv. icis (2008) v. rubin, et al. 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(2007) xxxiv. breast cancer fund xxxv. u.s. environmental protection agency (2007) xxxvi. ibid. xxxvii. breast cancer fund xxxviii. houlihan, et al. (2003) xxxix. toward tomorrow (2009) xl. the campaign for safe cosmetics (2007) xl i . sutton, r. (2008) x l i i . breast cancer fund x l i i i . daley, b. (2009) xliv. ibid. xlv. schmidt, s. (2009) xlvi. colborn, et al. (1997) xlvii . howdeshell, et al. (2007) xlvi i i . hauser, et al. (2005) xlix. hayes, et al. (2006) 1. carwile, et al. (2009) l i . bornehag, et al. (2004) h i . news inferno (2008) l i i i . chang, et al. (2006) liv. anway, et al. (2006) lv. sun, et al. 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preschool children. environmental health perspectives 108,1203-1207. wetherill, y. b., hess-wilson, j. k., comstock, c. e. s., shah, s. a. , buncher, c. r., sallans, l., et al. 2006. bisphenol a facilitates bypass of androgen ablation therapy i n prostate cancer. molecular cancer therapeutics, 5(12), 3181-3190. wozniak, a. l., bulayeva, n. n., & watson, c. s. 2005. xenoestrogens at picomolar to nanomolar concentrations trigger membrane estrogen receptor-alpha-mediated calcium fluxes and prolactin release i n gh3/b6 pituitary tumor cells. environmental health perspectives 113(4), 431-438. h o r m o n e m i m i c k i n g c h e m i c a l s http://www.canada.com/health/free+baby+bottle+contains+tox http://www.ewg.org/ http://www.safecosmetics.org http://towardtomorrow.org/about.php http://www.epa.gov/hpvypubs/general/hazchem.htm st of a r t w o r k s o c c e r w o r l d s o c c e r f e a t u r e m i d d l e a m e r i c a © jeffrey arguedas/epa/corbis s w i t z e r l a n d 4 0 t h m o n t r e u x j a z z f e s t i v a l © oliver maire /epa/corbis fuj i m u s i c o f n i g e r i a © ludoric careme/corbis 2003-2004 f r e n c h s o c c e r l1 c h a m p i o n s h i p : psg v s . l y o n © chris topher paucell ier/photo & co./corbis street l i f e i n a b u j a © george steinmetz/corbis p o r t r a i t o f dr. n n a m dl a z i k i w e © bet tmann/corbis n i g e r i a m a p s courtesy o f the wilberforce conference on niger ian federalism b e g i n n i n g © ilexx/istockphoto p a s s i o n a t e c o u p l e © casarsa/istockphoto 7 i r o m e i t a l y b e r n i n i s s c u l p t u r e o f t h e ecstasy o f st. t e r e s a © a d a m east land/alamy p u n o , peru a l l photos courtesy o f the private col lect ion o f kerry brennan g o o d i d e a ( l i g h t b u l b ) © ktsimage/ istockphoto m a s s i v e p r o d u c t i o n © y-ntousiopoulos/ istockphoto 3d g i r l © d inn / is tockphoto o l m s t e d parks i n b o s t o n a l l photos courtesy o f the private collections o f jarret izzo and rebecca kraus a r i z o n a b r i d g e © halbergman/ istockphoto b e a c h r o c k s © rpsycho/istockphoto • "microcredit provides thousands of people, most often women, with the means to pull themselves out of poverty. it has the power to improve the lives of individuals and empower them to be responsible for their own economic success." t h e r i g h t p a r a d i g m for p u n o a micrqfinance case study k e r r y b r e n n a n a m o n g t h e m a n y p r o g r a m m o d e l s e m p l o y e d t o s p u r e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , m i c r o f i n a n c e h a s r i s e n t o t h e f o r e f r o n t b e c a u s e o f i t s p r o m i s e o f a " w i n w i n " s i t u a t i o n f o r d o n o r s a n d c l i e n t s . m i c r o f i n a n c e i n s t i t u t i o n s p r o v i d e f i n a n c i a l s e r v i c e s s u c h a s s m a l l b u s i n e s s l o a n s t o p o o r b o r r o w e r s w h o w o u l d o t h e r w i s e l a c k c r e d i t a c c e s s . b e c a u s e t h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s b o a s t r e p a y m e n t r a t e s a s g o o d a s o r b e t t e r t h a n t r a d i t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , t h e p r o m i s e o f s u s t a i n a b i l i t y o r e v e n p r o f i t a b i l i t y e x i s t s . a n d y e t , w h i l e t h i s p r o m i s e a t t r a c t s a t t e n t i o n t o m i c r o f i n a n c e i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d t h e i r d e v e l o p m e n t g o a l s , it m a y p l a c e t o o m u c h p r e s s u r e o n s o m e p r o g r a m s . t w o b r o a d p a r a d i g m s a p p l y t o t h e g o a l s o f m i c r o f i n a n c e ! t h e i n s t i t u t i o n i s t a n d t h e w e l f a r i s t . u s i n g t h e e x a m p l e o f a s m a l l m i c r o f i n a n c e p r o g r a m i n p e r u , t h i s p a p e r e x p l o r e s s o m e o f t h e i s s u e s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e u s e o f e a c h p a r a d i g m i n e v a l u a t i n g i n d i v i d u a l m i c r o f i n a n c e p r o g r a m s . muhammad yunus, an economist from bangladesh, bought the 2006 nobel peace prize for 27 dollars. of course, yunus did not buy the nobel prize in a shady deal in sweden. rather, he won it because of his commitment to microcredit, a commitment that started with a loan of just 27 dollars in 1976. the concept of microfmance has been the darling of development programs for several years, but it has gained special exposure recently. before yunus was awarded the nobel prize in 2006, the united nations declared 2005 the year of microcredit. this recent attention is well-founded: microcredit provides thousands of people, most often women, with the means to pull themselves out of poverty. it has the power to improve the lives of individuals and empower them to be responsible for their own economic success. the very virtue of microcredit is its simple concept-providing loans to poor individuals who would otherwise have no chance at obtaining credit to improve their situations. this seeming simplicity unfortunately means that it is all too easy to create well-intentioned microfmance programs that are not self-sustainable or do t h e hills s u r r o u n d i n g puno, peru are h o m e to very poor c o m m u n i t i e s not serve their clients as efficiently as possible. as microfinance becomes more popular, it has garnered attention from mutual funds and formal finance institutions, pushing the need for sustainability. while microfmance appears to provide a "win-win" situation, there is something of a split between those who stress the welfare benefits of microfmance and those who stress institutional sustainability. both goals cannot always be achieved simultaneously. this paper presents as a case study of a small microlending program in the city of puno, peru. the responses garnered from a survey administered to microlending clients shed light on the impact of the program and the amount of work it has left to do. rather than suggesting that either a welfarist or institutionist view is always the correct paradigm, it shows the need for the proper application of both perspectives when evaluating microfmance programs. microfmance has gained much popularity because of its broad appeal as a "win-win" option for the problem of poverty alleviation. "spurred by an accord reached at the microfmance summit i n 1997 to reach 100 mil l ion of the world's poorest households with credit, there is arguably more widespread support for microfmance than any other single tool for fighting world poverty." clients of micron nance institutions (mfis) benefit from access to money for investment or consumption, and, depending on the lending arrangement, eventual sustainability or even profitability for mfis appears within reach. "advocates who lean left highlight the 'bottom-up' aspects, attention to community, focus on women, and, most importantly, the aim to help the underserved." on the other side of the spectrum, "those who lean right highlight the prospect of alleviating poverty while providing incentives to work, the nongovernmental leadership, the use of mechanisms disciplined by market forces, and the general suspicion of ongoing subsidization." 1 1 1 with these myriad possibilities, it is no wonder that microfmance has garnered widespread adulation and mfis have sprung up all over the developed and developing world. providing credit access to poor borrowers epitomizes the charitable ideal of "teaching a man to fish." and, given the significance of gender inequalities worldwide and e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 their detrimental effects on development, the fact that microfinance is more likely to produce a fisherivoman makes it even more attractive. the economic empowerment of women can have important consequences for human development. women are more likely to spend income on food, clothing, and education for their children, a tendency that translates into dynamic and self-reinforcing improvements in the human capital of their community. alleviating poverty is not a new goal; the innovation that draws praise for the most recent incarnations of microfinance programs is less about improving the lives of the poor than it is about creating institutions that wi l l eventually become sustainable engines of poverty alleviation, without further subsidization. this innovation presents a very attractive alternative to what some may see as a constant outflow of poverty aid dollars that produces intangible results. to begin with, it is worth distinguishing between two forms of sustainability. the first hurdle of sustainability is operational sustainability. "this refers to the ability of institutions to generate enough revenue to cover operating costs—but not necessarily the full cost of capital." l v once operational sustainability has been achieved, the next goal becomes financial sustainability, which "is defined by whether or not the institution requires subsidized inputs in order to operate." some people insist that financial sustainability is the only option for mfis, arguing, "only f inancially sound, professional organizations have a chance to compete effectively, access commercial loans, become l i censed to collect deposits, and grow to reach significant scale and impact." ; this "best practices" conception of microlending stands i n contrast to the reality of most programs. "while subsidy rates wi l l surely fall as more programs gain age and scale, even many older, larger programs are far from being able to make ends meet with their own revenues."v!! it appears that the goals of sustainability and eventual profitability are less attainable than was once thought. "what began as a grass-roots 'movement' motivated largely by a development paradigm is evolving into a global industry informed increasingly by a commercial/financial paradigm."™ 1 this can be separated into two broad categories: the institutionist and the welfarist. institutionists place greatest importance on the institutional viability of programs as a means to their continued survival and financial sustainability. welfarists take a different view of the concept of sustainability. in their conception, donors function as social investors who expect a social or intrinsic return on their investment as opposed to a financial one. "microfinance social investors take this notion to the l imit , generally earning zero financial returns and relying totally upon intrinsic returns." while institutionists are likely to emphasize the importance of the commerical/financial paradigm, welfarists would fit better into the social development paradigm. certainly the "win-win" possibilities of microfinance are largely responsible for its current position as the darling of the development world. despite these possibilities, microfinance programs still fall under the umbrella of antipoverty programs, which have never been held to standards of financial sustainability or profit. the dual nature of microfinance means that there is much debate about its position in the world of development and finance. the way it is treated in the literature reflects this as well. one study, pub"spurred by an accord reached at the microfinance summit in lggy ... there is arguably more widespread support for microfinance than any other single tool for fighting world poverty." t h e r i g h t p a r a d i g m for p u n o lished i n 2004, calculated the frequency with which articles about microfinance appear in various journals. the journals containing the most articles were development focused: small enterprise development, the journal of microfinance, world development, the journal of developmental entrepreneurship, and the journal of international development. business and financial publications contain a min imum of articles, perhaps illustrating that "the challenge today is a more systemic one: finding ways to better integrate a full range of microfinance services with mainstream financial systems and markets. " x l recent coverage of microfinance programs has highlighted the social entrepreneurship aspect of microfinance and its newfound buzz factor within the financial community. one 2006 financial times article describes a decision by citibank to invest in microfinance: "ajay banga, who heads citigroup's consumer businesses outside the us, said such initiatives would help make microfinance 'sustainable as a business.' 'hopefully, it wil l inspire similar moves in other countries.'"™ a more recent article spotlights the acumen fund, a non-profit venture mutual fund that "takes a business-like approach to improving the lives of the poor," x m and has received grants from google.org and the rockefeller and cisco foundations. helping the poor has always required funding from donors, and attracting the attention of mutual funds and social investors ought to be seen as a positive development. this paradigm shift, however, has required mfis to reevaluate their mission and the place that sustainability has within it. in evaulating sustainability, there are two main concerns. first, for donors attracted by the possibility of helping to create a self-supporting anti-poverty program, it presents the need for a reevaluation of their donation goals. i f they decide that sustainability and profitability outweigh other social benefits, it is possible they wi l l withdraw funding from non-fmancially sustainable projects. morduch writes, "it is not clear why the starting point for so many is the belief that, as a matter of course, funding wi l l be pulled away from programs, even those able to demonstrate sustained social effectiveness."x1v i f the goal is poverty alleviation, "[the] acumen fund ... 'takes a husiness-like approach to improving the lives of the poor.777 even microfinance programs that do not achieve full sustainability can be beneficial and worth supporting. secondly, the idea of long-running subsidies raises legitimate concerns about the efficiency of microlending programs. subsidized loan programs of the past fell victim to inefficiencies and low levels of repayment. morduch argues, " i f constraints are kept hard and performance criteria are made clear, managers must cope with failures, and efficiency can be maintained, even in nonprofit programs."x v as with other nonprofit organizations, incentives and constraints other than financial profit can be used to maintain efficient operations i n subsidized programs. the means of achieving sustainability are thought to be found in larger scale programs or increased interest rates. while microlending programs boast repayment rates as high as or higher than commercial lending operations, repayment cannot be equated with sustainability. with the small size of most microloans, increasing interest rates appears the most viable option. this choice, however, may prevent poorer borrowers from gaining access to funds. it also runs the risk of introducing a moral hazard into operations, as borrowers seeking funds for riskier (but higher return) investments are the ones more likely to borrow even in the face of high interest rates. even i f these problems can be surmounted, interest rates may face constraints due to the entrance of new lenders into the microfinance market and increasing competition among mfis. this competition can favor subsidized institutions because it allows them to maintain lower interest rates and attract more desirable clients.™ the question of sustainability continues to affect how mfis evaluate day to day decisions http://google.org regarding their business operations. unfortunately, measuring a mfi's financial position is much easier than measuring its social impact. a number of studies have attempted to measure the effect of microloans on the financial and social position of borrowers and the ability of loans to spur job creation and economic growth. measuring the social impact of loans is very difficult for a number of reasons. first, it is difficult to pin down how a study should define "social impact." the myriad benefits that are attributed to successful microlending operations—the empowerment of women and increased household consumption to name a couple—mean that social impact tends to be broadly defined. more than that, it is difficult to distinguish whether impacts are the result of microfinance programs or other changes in the lives of borrowers. one recent development in the testing of microfinance programs relies on randomized field trials that attempt to control specific features of microfinance programs in order to isolate what causes their social and economic impacts. with the development of these research techniques, more reliable data is becoming available. despite the increasing importance of these field experiments, much research gauges social effect based on surveys of microfinance clients . x v u 1 the results of a survey i administered to clients of the small microlending program of the centro de apoyo al desarrollo de la mujer y el nino (ceadmun, center for support of the development of women and children) provide a case study to reveal the institutionist and welfarist tensions that face all microfinance institutions struggling to reach levels of sustainability, be it operational or financial. ceadmun is located in the city of puno, peru, a city in the andean altiplano on the shores of lake titicaca. a popular tourist destination with a population of around 100,000, puno also is home to very poor communities living mostly in the hills surrounding the city. the work of ceadmun combines women's empowerment, education, and capacity-building with a small microfinance program. as the name of the organization promises, their primary goals center upon increasing the economic and social development opportunities of women and children. profitability for their microlending program is seen as a possible future goal but not the main objective. funding for ceadmun's operations comes from donations from a swiss priest living in a nearby city and from partnerships with other non-profit organizations, as well as the initial capital that was put up by the organization's four founding employees. loans are generally made to solidarity groups that arise from neighborhood women's groups, though some loans to individuals are made as well. borrowers use their loan funds to support small businesses that include the sale of handicrafts, knitted goods, clothing (usually used), animals, fish, cosmetic products, and kerosene, and the operation of small stores and restaurants. the geographic distribution of solidarity groups affects the businesses in which they participate, as well as their levels of prosperity. for example, los balseritos, the solidarity group of los uros, sells handicrafts to tourists and fish to punenos and is known for their timeliness in repaying loans. los uros are a chain of man-made floating reed islands where people have been living for centuries. they are the main attraction drawing tourists to puno. this group's position stands in contrast to other groups from the neighborhoods in the muddy hills surrounding the city center, which are not nect h e r i g h t p a r a d i g m for p u n o essarily guaranteed the captive customer audience of tourists visiting the floating islands. clients are also required to make savings deposits that are available for withdrawal twice during the year: once at the beginning of the school year to assist in the purchase of the materials necessary for school attendance and again at christmas time when extra consumption needs are expected. as an intern in the office during the months of january and february of 2006, i wrote and administered a survey to gauge the impact of the microlending program on the clients. the survey consisted of a series of questions regarding the personal, business, and social situation of each borrower. in particular, i was interested in determining the effects that loans had on the financial position of the women, but also the effect they had on their self-esteem. the survey sample included 31 surveys. a l l of the clients surveyed were women with the exception of one man, the husband of a ceadmun borrower. interestingly, the majority of the respondents (27 of 31) had previously borrowed from a microlending institution other than ceadmun. the most common institution named was the popular promujer organization, which has offices in peru, nicaragua, argentina, mexico, and bolivia. from a demographic perspective, it was a varied group. al l those surveyed had at least one child, with an average of almost three children each, and many were living in homes that included members of their extended family. the education levels of those surveyed also varied greatly, ranging from three women who had no formal instruction to seven women with partial or complete university training. the range of education levels was apparent in the administration of the survey. the challenge of collecting reliable data from participants was occasionally hampered by a lack of mathematical experience on the part of the borrower, as in the case of estimating the effects of a loan on her business. additionally, it is important to mention that these surveys asked questions from the perspective of comparing the borrowers' lives with the loan to their lives without the loan. this means that environmental factors over time are not fully accounted for in the survey design. these considerations make the interpretation of the survey results problematic from a statistical point of view, but do not necessarily preclude all of their ability to assist in an understanding of the program's impact on the lives of borrowers. overall, the results of the survey demonstrate that loans from ceadmun were judged by borrowers to exert a positive impact on their lives. loans from ceadmun did not provide start-up capital for any of the women, who all had their businesses previous to their loans. they did, however, allow women to increase the size of their businesses or the consumption of their families. twenty-seven women responded "yes" to the question of whether their business had improved after the loan. the improvement was generally attributed to an ability to buy more merchandise or materials. pressed further for details of the increases, however, clients were often not able to state exactly how much personal b u s i n e s s e n t e r p r i s e s improve t h e i n d e p e n d e n c e of m i c r o f i n a n c e c l i e n t s they had spent per week or month on merchandise prior to receiving the loan. fourteen respondents also indicated that they re-invested their earnings into their business, and nearly all borrowers stated that they would borrow greater amounts and expand their businesses i f they were allowed to. this response with regard to borrowing more funds, however, contradicts the responses to other questions on the survey; it was made by even those women who had previously answered that their businesses had not improved or that they were experiencing a decreased demand for their products. this suggests that either borrowers are too pessimistic in their judgment of their business or that they are too optimistic i n their hopes for new loans. benefits regarding the support of borrowers' children were also widely reported. fourteen respondents explicitly stated children, family, and education in their responses to the question of where they spent their increased earnings. other responses included expenditures on housing, food, and clothing which can all contribute to the ability of a child to succeed in school. two respondents in particular asserted that without their loans, they would not have been able to send their children to school. apart from the material well-being reported by respondents, the series of questions related to the borrowers' self-esteem and general personal satisfaction were enlightening. a l l respondents replied in a positive manner to the question, "how do you feel, as a person, upon carrying out your business?" some individual responses show that the loans are achieving their goal of female empowerment. one 35-year-old woman expressed the independence that results from her loan: " i f i want to, i go out."x i x echoing that freedom of decision making are the responses: "what i want to buy, i can," x x and "now i don't have to depend on anyone."™ another client, trained in economics at the university level, said that her loan makes her feel optimistic and allows her more stability than other jobs. it is clear from these responses that running a business of their own, supported by access to credit, has improved the independence and freedom of opportunity for many clients of ceadmun. as a way to gauge the economic and political awareness of ceadmun's clients, i included the survey question, "how do you see the economic situation of peru?" responses tended towards laments about the lack of jobs and opportunities to earn money. perhaps the most interesting responses to this question touched on the issue of competition. while some literature on microfinance addresses the issue of competition between mfis, the issue of increased competition between borrowers is also an issue. in the case of puno, many women sell handicrafts and sweaters to the many tourists who pass through the city. with loans, they are able to purchase more merchandise to sell, but there has not necessarily been an accompanying increase i n tourists to the city. the street near the port from which tours of the floating islands depart is lined with women selling their colorful wares. the idea of a merchandise shortage would not cross the mind of any observer. it is not surprising, then, that several women mentioned that competition had contributed to a downturn in their business. this problem should correct itself with borrowers borrowing less i f they are unable to sell increased levels of merchandise, but it is worth considering whether the loans themselves are creating problems by introducing too much supply into certain markets. furthermore, the type of business that many ceadmun borrowers have—selling items on the street—is not likely to lead to the capital accumulation that would allow them a real way out of poverty. the organization would do well to consider expanding their business education to encourage more dynamic enterprises. a preliminary consideration of the case of ceadmun i n puno illustrates the tensions between the institutionist and welfarist positions. a n institutionist would likely criticize the small program's prospects for reaching the levels of operational sustainability and financial sustainability that wi l l ensure its survival and continued ability to reach those in need. a welfarist, on the other hand, would emphasize the positive impact that the loans have had on borrowers' lives over the need for financial sustainability. the microfinance t h e r i g h t p a r a d i g m for p u n o literature provides support for both a development and a financial paradigm, but which provides the best fit for this example? in the case of ceadmun, several institutional factors combine with the results of the monitoring survey to support a positive evaluation from a developmental, welfarist evaluation of the program. as a small institution focusing on a holistic approach to the question of economic and social development, ceadmun was never created with the intention of becoming a profitable microlending institution. the resources it has available in terms of technical expertise and loanable funds do not provide a practical environment for the goal of financial sustainability. in a similar vein, the loans that it is able to make are not to borrowers who are likely to achieve the kind of financial gains from their investments that could create profitable future lending possibilities. investors interested in financial gain would take one look at their small office and the businesses the loan program supports and be certain that they were not interested. this, of course, is i f they find themselves in puno at all. yet while ceadmun's loans do not appear to be producing truly great financial gains for either clients or the center, they do demonstrate a self-reported positive impact on borrowers' lives. the impact on women's self concept and independence is particularly promising, as is the increase in household income earmarked for spending on children. i f the microfinance program is seen as a way of stretching charity funds that would otherwise be spent on other development initiatives such as empowerment training or the provision of food and clothing, it can remain an important part of the organization's arsenal of development activities without ever reaching sustainability. when mfis are able to leverage their resources in a way that makes the "win-win" possibility of microfinance a real possibility, they should do just that. but the popularity and success of such programs should not make it the sole paradigm under which microfinance is considered. a "win-win" scenario might be ideal, but even a "win-break even" scenario is a useful tool in the fight against poverty. e n d n o t e s i . mcintosh and wydick (271-298) i i . murdoch 1999 (1570) i i i . murdoch 1999 (1570) iv. murdoch 1999 (1588) v. murdoch 1999 (1588) vi . littlefield and rosenberg v i i . murdoch 2000 v i i i . brau and woller (1-26) ix. brau and woller (1-26) x. brau and woller (1-26) xi . littlefield and rosenberg x i i . wighton x i i i . foster xiv. foster xv. murdoch 2000 xvi. for a more in depth discussion of the issue of competition among mfis, see mcintosh and wydick "competition and microfinance" 2002. xvii . brau and woller provide a comprehensive description of several o f these studies. xvii i . duflo, e.r. glennerster, & m . kremer. 2006. using randomization i n development economics research: a toolkit. handbook of development economics. xix. original spanish response from january 2006 interview: "si yo quiero, salgo." xx. original spanish response from january 2006 interview: "lo que yo quiero comprar, yo puedo." xxi. original spanish response from january 2006 interview: "ya no tengo que depender de nadie." references brau, james c. and gary m . woller. 2004. "microfinance: a comprehensive review of the existing literature." journal of entrepreneurial finance and business ventures. 9(1). foster, lauren. 2007. "one fund stretches charity dollar." financial times, january 26. littlefield, elizabeth and richard rosenberg, 2004. "microfinance and the poor." finance and development, june. mcintosh, craig and bruce wydick. 2005. "competition and microfinance." journal of development economics, 78(2), december. murdoch, jonathan. 1999. "the microfinance promise." journal of economic literature. 37(4), december. murdoch, jonathan. 2000. "the microfinance schism." world development. 28(4). wighton, david. 2006. "companies the americas: citigroup i n microfinance programme." financial times, september 22. e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 "the essential core of the [french national front] is nothing new; rather it is the continuation and actualization of deep-seated and longstanding attitudes and anxieties present in france." a t r a d i t i o n of r a c i s m the french national front s o r e n l a c a a r d t h i s e s s a y c o n s i d e r s t h e h i s t o r i c a l a n d p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t o f f r e n c h f a r r i g h t s e n t i m e n t a n d d i s c o u r s e a s e n c a p s u l a t e d b y t h e n a t i o n a l f r o n t ( f n ) p a r t y t o d a y . f o c u s i n g o n t h r e e k e y a r e a s — a n t i s e m i t i s m a n d i t s p o l i t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s , n a t i o n a l i s m a n d t h e d u e l i n g n o t i o n o f f r e n c h i d e n t i t y , a n d t h e h i s t o r i c a l m y t h s t h a t a u g m e n t a n d l e g i t i m a t e b o t h — i s e e k t o s h o w h o w t h e n a t i o n a l f r o n t h a s s u c c e s s f u l l y p l a y e d u p o n t h e s e t r a d i t i o n a l , o f t e n r a c i s t , t e n d e n c i e s t o a c h i e v e i t s p r e s e n t e l e c t o r a l s u c c e s s . t h e p r o b l e m s a n d i n s e c u r i t i e s m a n i f e s t e d i n f r a n c e t o d a y — g l o b a l i z a t i o n , i m m i g r a t i o n , a n d j o b s e c u r i t y — a r e , t o a d e g r e e , t h e p r o b l e m s o f a h u n d r e d y e a r s a g o . t h e f n a d v o c a t e s a s i m p l e , c o m p e l l i n g , a n d a b o v e a l l , c o n s i s t e n t a n s w e r t o t h e s e c o m p l e x i s s u e s t h a t a p p e a l s t o m a n y c a u g h t i n t h e i d e n t i t y f l u x o f t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y . a s l o n g a s t h e s e p r o b l e m s r e m a i n u n r e s o l v e d , t h e f n w i l l e n j o y s i z e a b l e s u p p o r t . i n t r o d u c t i o n when an assorted band of french right-wing politicos founded the national front party (fn) on october 5,1972, no one could have foreseen the party's stellar rise to become one of the major forces in french politics today indeed, in its 34-year history, the fn has only recently been catapulted onto the french national stage. during the 2002 french presidential election, the fn accumulated nearly 17 percent of the popular vote—beating out the rival socialist party candidate and advancing to a run-off election between the fn leader, jean-marie le pen, and incumbent president jacques chirac.1 additionally, in 2005, the fn was instrumental in mustering french public opinion against the adoption of the european union constitution. i argue that the essential core of the fn is nothing new; rather, it is the continuation and actualization of deepseated and long-standing racial attitudes and anxieties present in france from the 19th century onward. these attitudes are exposed and furthered by the persistent insecurities of our modern era—jobs, globalization, and immigration—and are often coupled with a fundamental view that the past was right and noble, and that this past should become the exemplum for the future. in discussion of the fn and its appeal, this paper wi l l take a thematic approach, analyzing and chronicling historically racial attitudes and identities as encapsulated in the fn party. as we wi l l see, these racial identities are often integral to how many in the fn and the greater french public perceive themselves, their role i n french society, and the idea of being truly "french." a n t i s e m i t i s m of the themes present in the fn, anti-semitism is the oldest, with roots running long and deep. anti-semitism resurfaces in the occasional statement by a party member—often as a holocaust denial—and by similarities of rhetoric and method in other issues such as immigration that include racial dimensions. in order to understand these statements and the integral role anti-semitic sentiment plays in influencing the discourse within the party, we must look to the development of french anti-semitic attitudes dating back to the 19th century. anti-semitism in its modern context often acts as springboard to other forms of racial discrimination currently integrated into the platform of the fn. prior to the denouncement of captain alfred dreyfus as a traitor and german spy in 1894, much of the underlying anti-semitic attitudes present in france were holdovers from the middle ages, a time when many saw jews as scapegoats "responsible for the decadence of french society."11 however, as the industrial revolution took hold during the 19th century, jewish communities in france were transformed from a marginal population to one that participated in the growth of trade and capital, a process termed by some historians as "coming out of the ghetto."111 not all portions of the population were equally successful i n the breakneck economics of the industrial revolution, and popular perception held that the jews had a disproportionate share of economic wealth. as this idea of jewish financial success became more widespread, we see the advent of the myth of the "200 families"—the idea that 200 influential jewish families were acting as powerful oligarchs, pulling all the levers and holding all of the keys to the world economy. lv moreover, as perceptions of increasing jewish wealth became widespread, the stature of traditional cultural institutions, such as the catholic church, decreased. as a result, portions of french society began to fear that jews would begin to dominate france, as evidenced in the french philosopher pierre leroux's 1848 quip that "the true successor of napoleon is the jew."v this fear of the "other" is a precursor to the fn's modern antiimmigration slogan, "immigrants are taking our jobs, our peace, our space, our customs."v1 indeed, this victim mentality comes to full fruition i n the dreyfus affair and the advent of the infamous anti-semitic french journalist edouard drumont. in his 1886 magnum opus les juifs contre la france (the jews against france), drumont echoed and expounded upon many ine l e m e n t s fall 07 dustrial age insecurities by describing the complete "coquest" of the french state and race by the jews: one can recognize all the characteristics of a conquest: an entire population working for another population, which appropriates, through a vast system of financial exploitation, all of the profits of the other. immense jewish fortunes, castles, jewish townhouses, are not the fruit of any actual labor, of any production: they are the booty taken from an enslaved race by a dominant race.vn here we see the jew defined not only in terms of religion and economic wealth but also as a 'race' that is external and dominant over the 'enslaved race' of the french people. moreover, such words as "conquest" and "entire population" reinforce the notion that the group being subjugated is as much a state as it is a people—if not one in the same thing. in short, drumont sets the underlying idea later exemplified in the fn: there is no difference between one's nationality and one's race. the dreyfus affair changed everything. because captain alfred dreyfus was working on behalf of the french state for one of the most important military bodies and was denounced as a spy for archrival germany, anti-semitic discourse became fully political. now the jews were cast not w i l l s h e b e r e s c u e d ? political cartoon on the dreyfus affair and emile zola's open letter accusing the military of anti-semitism just as economic oligarchs but also as foreign outsiders interested in betraying france for the highest bidder. this "political anti-semitism" allowed the far-right establishment to use the jews as "perfect political scapegoats."vu1 the anti-semitic political scapegoating is a recurring theme throughout the early and mid-2oth century. in the 1920s we see the antisemitic charles maurras write an open letter to the jewish politician abraham schrameck in the antisemitic l'action francaise: "for us, you symbolize rather too visibly the foreigner who has seized the government unawares and is making it serve anti-governmental and anti-national ends." lx historian pierre birnbaum notes that the ideas of the farright were first actualized during the german-controlled vichy government i n world war i i x when the law of 2 june 1941 that "aryanized" public office and removed jews entirely from the political sphere appeared. after the war, these anti-semitic attitudes reemerged as veiled attacks upon the government for its support of what pierre poujade called jews' lack of "french guts."x l a number of other movements, such as organisation armee secrete (oas), continued the trend and gave fn leader le pen one of his first forays into politics during the 1960s. indeed, the fn used the same political scapegoating in attacking a t r a d i t i o n of racism the chirac government for its backing and support of immigrants. as it is, many founding, indeed "charter," members of the fn had backgrounds in organizations associated with antisemitism. the anti-defamation league (adl), a group whose mission statement is dedicated to the prevention of "the defamation of the jewish people, " x 1 1 notes in their dossier on le pen that such early figures as francois brigneau and jean castrillo, who rose to be editors of the fn newspaper militant, were previously involved with the vichy government and even the waffen-ss during world war 11.x 111 it is important to note that the fn and their leader le pen often portray themselves and are portrayed as one and the same. le pen is a dominating figure in the party—his face alone appears besides the prominent fn logo on the fn website x i v—and a secret to the party's longevity has been his ability to unite disparate groups under his party's banner with what the historian edward declair calls the "sheer force of his charismatic personality. " x v the adl is certainly not alone in portraying both le pen and his fn party as a cadre of extremist anti-semitic fascists. for instance, an editorial cartoon during the 2002 french presidential runoff campaign between chirac and le pen links le pen with the symbol of the swastika and the recent spate of a synagogue burning in europe, suggesting that a bottle of "le pen," which is "made in france" and branded with the swastika would be a great concoction complementing the anti-semitic flame.' 1 another example, also during the 2002 presidential runoff campaign, surfaced when over 400,000 people protested in paris against the fn and shouted the slogan, "vote for the crook, not the fascist,"xvi i and an op-ed published by the london independent on election day carried the headline, "le pen says he is demonised. but, he isn't demonised anything like enough." x v i i i le pen's anti-semitic reputation is spurred by what declair aptly calls his "rhetorical excesses."xix along with other members of the party's leadership, le pen has quite a history of running his mouth. for instance, in 1988 he made a very offensive pun in which he rhymed the name of michael durafour, a jewish minister in the socialist government, with the word crematorie, which in french means oven or gas chamber.xx following the incident, a prominent national front member close to le pen, francois bachelot, in an interview in the newspaper le monde, claimed the pun was not just le pen's sloppy mouth but a "considerable strategy" that was designed to "give the national right a shot " s o n s and d a u g h t e r s of d e p o r t e d f r e n c h jews" protest against le pen's "gas c h a m b e r " c o m m e n t in the arm."™ bachelot's claim, i f true, might suggest intentional tactics of portraying jews as an external "anti-french" group in order to stir the passions of far right supporters. in a 2001 jerusalem post report, it was argued that jeanmarie le pen has successfully used "holocaust denial to focus media attention on his party and mobilize right-wing voters." x x n i n fact, many media organizations within france and greater europe seem quite happy to publicize his every anti-semitic move. while believing that they are showing h im in a negative light, the publicity may have an unintended effect of raising awareness of le pen and the fn instead. moreover, it allows le pen to portray himself as a "victim" of what he occasionally refers to as the "jewish media," 3 0™ a strategy which seems reminiscent of drumont and the "conquering" jew. indeed, a 2002 letter to the editor i n the spectator, a u. k.-based syndicate noted that "the french electorate do not believe that [le pen] is the ogre he is made out to be by the mass media. ' , x x l v certainly by now the french people are accustomed to the latest fn and le pen holocaust denial. up until the 2007 french presidential election, the stigma against voting for le pen and the fn did not significantly affect their routine share of 10-15 percent of the vote. "an opinion poll.. .found that 33 percent of fn supporters 'disliked'jews— more then double of any other party surveyed.77 so, is the fn anti-semitic? a n opinion poll by the institut de sondages d 'opinion et d 'etudes de marche en france et en europe (csa institute) in 1995 found that 33 percent of fn supporters "disliked" jews—more then double of any other party surveyed.™ given the historical ties to anti-semitic movements, the anti-semitic language used by some in the party elite, and the rhetoric similar to historical antisemitic movements, this comes as no surprise. however seemingly prevalent anti-semitism is in the fn, it is not a classical "institutional" anti-semitism as its far-right ancestors like the action frangaise were, and certainly, the political platform and agenda of the fn are not directed toward jews unlike drumont's efforts. rather, anti-semitism i n the fn is directed exclusively toward the french state and her history; furthermore, it is still partially used as a political scapegoat to explain political failures and to muster votes. moreover, the fn has morphed this old tendency into a vehicle through which they are successfully able to generate controversy, publicity, and attention. n a t i o n a l i s m the french far right has historically found itself in a quandary when it comes to defining the idea of the french nation. the historian pierre birnbaum argued that politically right groups in the 19th century which believed in the "unchallengeable strength of the [french] state found it hard to tolerate the construction of a pluralist political democracy. " x x v 1 presently, a tension exists between electoral participation in a democratic and meritocratic fifth republic and a romantic desire for the strong state that once existed under the ancien regime—the time perceived by the far right as the "golden age" of france.™ 1 1 it comes as no surprise then that the dreyfus affair affirmed and reinforced many perceptions on the far right that the jews were instrumental in betraying france to her greatest enemies. edouard drumont was quick to l ink dreyfus to one of the definitions of a nation: the jews have done what they announced, and we must recognize that they have proceeded to this moral destruction of the french army with unequalled virtuosity.xxvm his sarcastic language of "moral destruction" and "virtuosity" reveal his mockery of emile zola's earlier 1896 letter in which zola says, "let us enrich ourselves with [jewish] virtues, since virtues they have." x x i x although nowhere near as stark, we see this political anti-semitism manifested in the fn today. in 2002, le pen commented that president chirac was "in the pay of jewish organizations,"™ insinuating that both chirac and the french state were being corrupted by an outside force. in many ways, the tension with the far right boils down to different conceptions of citizenship. in the case of the third republic, pierre medes france, a prominent jewish politician in the socialist government of the early 20th century, emphasized, "true democracy is the intimate association, the fusion, of the state and the citizen. " x x x 1 this statement is a fully inclusive definition of citizen and state, and this inclusiveness makes the citizen and the state wholeheartedly the same thing. p.m. france's statement is cona t r a d i t i o n of racism sistent with the general expansion of the french definition of citizenship and the state as the natural extension of all citizens and inevitably puts it on a collision course with the far right. for instance, the staunch catholic writer for revue des deux mondes and academie francaise member ferdinand brunetiere argued in 1899 that race and "frenchness" are a product of "latin" culture: for us the french, is to he and remain latins, latins, in sentiment, latins in morals, latins in taste, latins in spirit, latins in language and latins in thought.xxkn for brunetiere the idea of the "nation" is one rooted in common traditions of the past, and a true french citizen is rooted in a national french "soul" comprised of this unassailable and unchanging "latins" cultural ident i ty . x x x m therefore for brunetiere, one's citizenship, one's "frenchness," is one's race. this idea—and its full implications—manifests itself in the undertones of the fn. during the course of declair's interviews with fn, one conversation is particularly illuminating: one of his colleagues, a founding member of the front, discusses her visit to an immigrant neighborhood in paris: "there wasn't a single white person. there were hundreds of people in the area, and there wasn't one white person." as she realizes the import of her comments, she stops and says, "i'm not talking about the color of one's skin, i'm talking about their nationality, "xxxiv clearly, this "founding member"—caught in the act of her racism—encapsulates the l ink i n fn thinking linking a person's racial identity and their supposed "nationality." these two dissimilar notions of nation and of "being french" lead to very different attitudes in the conceptions of society, culture, and government. most of secular, modern france has no problem with a parliamentary democracy that espouses citizenship for all under law regardless of ethnic origin. drumont, brunetiere, and the fn have core ideological disagreement with this conception of french democracy because it includes people that, i n their view, are incapable of understanding or participating in french culture and history and are therefore ineligible to be french citizens. like drumont's own fears, these apprehensions seem rooted i n insecurities of identity and belonging. another interviewee of declair's hits this cord when he says, "my . . . biggest fear is that we are losing our cultural identity for a sort of cultural melting pot which has no foundation." furthermore, we see this core insecurity translated into common fn slogans, such as "putting our people f i r s t " x x x v l and "we live in france and we have to remain french!" x x x v u the fn, while participating fully in french democracy, has never been able to agree with the definition of citizen espoused and lauded by the modern french state. this often has fn supporters looking back in history for meaning and identity. n o s t a l g i a , m y t h , a n d lies intertwined with a healthy dose of nationalist sentiment, nostalgia for the way the far right perceives things once were has a long tradition in the french right political domain. much of this nostalgic sentiment is tied to longing for the strong state, the ancien regime, and thus almost exclusively looks back to the period before the revolution. this tendency, like political anti-semitism and nationalism, has its roots in the far right reaction to the dreyfus affair. a prime example of such is the previously mentioned figure ferdinand brunetiere, who later framed the struggle of french identity as eternal conflict: "our entire history can be interpreted in terms of the persistence of our effort to maintain, to claim, to defend . . . against the invaders from outside and the enemies from within. " x x x v u 1 it seems that brunetiere was conveying an identity based on separation from external "invaders" and internal "enemies," most likely for h im a group of jews; this identity holds that all of french history has been about "maintaining" and laying "claim" to that separate identity. brunetiere was in effect, claiming that the definition of what a french citizen is has been constant, and that the battle to prevent any entity or group from changing, interrupting, or distorting national front right-wing leader j ean-mari e le pen that historical constant is the battle that defines what matters most—french identity. as for carrying on this nostalgia in the fn, jean-marie le pen provides a great wealth of rhetoric. beyond frequently alluding to joan of arc in his speeches (as the woman who "had the courage to say 'no' to a foreign invader")*™*, we see a poignant illustration of his belief in the unchanging myth of france on his personal website: my mother was a small peasant woman, a true salt of this earth person. she started tending cows at the young age of twelve, just as all my ancestors from the morbihan region of brittany had done since long before the french revolution. x l by pointing to a period "before the french revolution" and the region of brittany, le pen is pointing to a time and place when his ancestors weren't french at all—they were actually bretons. moreover, the bretons didn't even speak french; they spoke their own dialect, which is quite separate from the modern french language. second, the "french revolution" which he is effectively snubbing by alluding to an earlier pastoral time, is the very unifying movement that is responsible for his modern idea of what it is to be "french." in short, he is caught i n a paradox—the very thing that allows h im to be "french" is the thing he desires to marginalize and avoid. like much of the fn, he is projecting an ideal, a solution to his modern day insecurities, into the past and deriving from it a mythical and unchanging identity that, historically true or not, affirms his worldview. this false belief in french identity often leads to a call to change those things in the present that do not correspond to this myth. edouard drumont exemplified this when he said, "never has there been a more serious moment"*1' while attacking what he perceived as decadent jewish elements that were destroying his perception of france. le pen is eerily similar when he says, "the battle of france has already begun. it's a battle of liberation, which must be won so that tomorrow, france can continue to be french."*1" le pen's "battle" is a battle against those same decadent forces he and his party perceive as corrupting france, a france that has lost what it is, requiring "liberation", a return to the old, constant myth of nation—a 'vict im mentally' we've seen earlier with drumont—all so that, akin to brunetiere's thesis, "france can continue to be french." in truth, france has never really been the france that le pen assumes it once was. le pen, like his historical predecessors, looks to project an idealized, mythic past i n reaction to and as a comfort from the acute problems that have invaded and challenged his and the fn's ultimately racist idea of the french nation. t h e f u t u r e of t h e f r e n c h n a t i o n a l f r o n t as argued in this paper, many dimensions central to the human experience—insecurity, economics, immigration, history, identity—are intimately bound up and, in the case of the national front, are inseparable from the racial tendencies the front exhibits. the virulent anti-semitism of the 19th century became the virulent anti-immigration of the fn today, for the jew and the immigrant represent the same threat to front members' perceived identities. antisemitism remains a viable political tool to generate votes and publicity. the idea of the nation, too, never really changed, for the fn it is still inseparable from one's race, and is antithetical to modern conceptions of nation and cita t r a d i t i o n of racism izenship. the ideal of the past forms the core of their identity; they reject, wall-off, and marginalize many other viewpoints and people of the world. the myth of the past becomes the litmus test for what is agreeable in the modern world, and it becomes the standard for how they seek to change it. the fn performed badly in the 2007 french presidential election—amassing only n percent of the vote on the first round. x j m it was certainly a poorer showing than the 2002 election that witnessed the front and le pen make it to the second round of voting. many were surprised by this turn of events, although many reasons were given to explain the results. for one, polls indicated that many who may have in the past voted for le pen chose this time to vote for victorious ump center-right candidate nicolas sarkozy, who had campaigned by employing similar "france for the french" rhetoric as le pen in discussing hot-button issues like immigration and the integration of minorities i n french society. this was so apparent that le pen himself accused sarkozy of "stealing his ideas" and demanded h im to stop. for many, sarkozy was a candidate that spotlighted many fn voters concerns, and did so without the baggage, stigma, andcrassness of le pen. the fn may have suffered an electoral defeat in the latest election, but some of the ideas they advocated as a fringe party have now become a part of mainstream french politics. the following months and years of the sarkozy presidency wi l l show whether his election rhetoric matches his policy and vision of france. e n d n o t e s i . international foundation for election systems, "ifes election guide—election profile for france." <http://www. electionguide. org/results. php?id=425>. (accessed november 29, 2006.) i i . birnbaum (4) i i i . katz, provided by birnbaum (5) iv. arnold (xvi) v. leroux <http://muse. jhu. edu/journals/history_of_political rconomy/vo35/3 l). 4cokman. html> (accessed december 1, 2006). vi . heroles, http://www. worldpress. org/americas/584. cfm#down. (accessed december 9, 2006). v i i . drumont, http://www. cooper, edu/humanities/core/ hss3/e_drumont. h tml . (accessed november 15, 2006). v i i i . ibid (5) ix. published i n laction franeaise, 9 june 1925, provided by birnbaum (236) x. arnold (135) xi . no citation in text. pierre poujade comment provided by birnbaum (129) x i i . anti-defamation league mission statement, http://www. adl. org/annual_report/o5annual%2oreport-web. pdf. (accessed december 2, 2006). x i i i . anti-defamation league, http://www. adl. org/international/lepen-2-history. asp; 2002 addendum, http://www. adl. org/international/le-pen_new. asp. (accessed december 2, 2006). xiv. fn official website: http://www. frontnational. com/, (accessed december 1, 2006). xv. declair (213) xvi. a n online l ink can be found here: http://www. jr. co. i l /humorpic/pcoo62. jpg. (accessed november 22, 2006). xvii . richburg, http://www. washingtonpost. com/ac2/wpdyn/a37423-2002may5?language=printer. (accessed december 3, 2006). xvii i . lichfield, "french election" xix. declair (90) xx. jacobson, "le pen basks in limelight" xxi. biffaud, "national front keeps anti-semitism on the boil" xxii . mckay, "taking on france's 'fascist university'" xxii i . igounet, "the rise of france's far right; holocaust denial is part of a strategy" xxiv. "the meaning of le pen; letters to the editor." xxv. opinion poll, csa institute, 15-24 november 1995. translated i n arnold (266) xxvi. birnbaum (15) xxvii. arnold (43) xxviii. drumont as translated by mitch abidor, marxists, org, "the jews against france," http://www. marxists. org/history/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont. h tm. (accessed december 2, 2006). xxix. zola, (5) xxx. pascal. xxxi. pierre medes france, restaurer l'etat', i n oeuvres completes, vol. 1 (gallimard, paris, 1984), p. 99. translated in birnbaum, (37) xxxii. ferdinand brunetiere from la nation et i'armee' (paris: hetzel, 1899). translated by arnold, 25. xxxiii. arnold (29) xxxvi. declair (132) xxxv. interview conducted by author. translated by declai (133) xxxvi. jean-marie le pen official website: http://english. lepen. info/book/wekome. htm. (accessed november 20, 2006). xxxvii. quetteville, "our town isn't racist" xxxviii. ferdinand brunetiere, la nation et i'armee' (paris: hetzel, 1899.) translated by arnold (27) xxxix. "anti eu constitution sentiment dominates may day i n elem ents : : fall oj http://www.electionguide.%20org/results.%20php?id=425 http://www.electionguide.%20org/results.%20php?id=425 http://muse.%20jhu.%20edu/journals/history_of_politicalrconomy/vo35/3l).%204cokman.%20html http://muse.%20jhu.%20edu/journals/history_of_politicalrconomy/vo35/3l).%204cokman.%20html http://www http://www http://www http://www http://www http://www http://www http://www http://www http://english france," euronews. xl . jean-marie le pen official website, "a personal welcome," http.y/english. le-pen. info/book/welcome, h tm. (accessed november 20, 2006). x l i . edouard drumont as translated by mitch abidor, marxists, org, "the jews against france," http://www. marxists. org/history/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont. h tm. (accessed december 8, 2006). x l i i . jean-marie le pen official website, "the future is now," http://english. le-pen. info/book/futur. h tm. (accessed november 20, 2006). x l i i i . the washington post, "2007 french presidential elections," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/art icle/2007/o4/i3/ar200704i30i40i .html. references "2007 french presidential elections." 2007. the washington post, apr i l 13. agence france presse: english, november 2005 november 2006. anti-defamation league. 1999. "jean-marie le pen: a rightwing extremist and his party." <ht tp: / /www adl. org/international/lepen-2-history. asp; 2002 addendum, http://www. adl. org/international/le-pen_new. asp>. "ami eu constitution sentiment dominates may day i n france." 2005. euronews—english version, may 1. arnold, edward j. 2000. the development of the radical right in france: from boulanger to le pen. new york: st. martin's press. bennhold, katrin. 2006. "new arena for ideas of le pen" international herald tribune, january 13. birnbaum, pierre. 1992. anti-semitism in france: a political history from leon blum to the present. trans. mir iam kochan. cambridge, m . a.: blackwell. coleman, wil l iam. anti-semitism in anti-economics. duke university press. <http://muse. jhu. edu/journals/history_of_ political_economy/vo35/35. 4coleman. html>. declair, edward g. 1999. politics on the fringe: the people, policies, and organization of the french national front. durham: duke university press. drumont, edouard. les juifs contre la france. (the jews against france). translated by mitch abidor for marxists, com and faculty of cooper university. <http://www. marxists. org/history/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont. h tm and http://www. cooper. edu/humanities/core/hss3/e_drumont. html>. "france's far-right leader le pen convicted of inciting racial hatred." 2006. turkish daily news, may 12. "french anti-immigrant leader le pen gets more support: poll." 2006. xinhua general news service (people's republic of china), november 25. "french leader pays german fine for sedition." 2000. bbc monitoring europe: political, apr i l 14. fn official website: <http://www. frontnational. com/>. heroles, federico reyes. 2002. "europe tilts rightward," world press review. 49(7). <http://www. worldpress. org/americas/584. cfm#down>. international foundation for election systems,"ifes election guide election profile for france." <http://www. electionguide. org/results. php?id=425>. independent, the. (london), may 2002 september 2006. le pen, jean-marie. jean-marie le pen official website (in english). <http://english. le-pen. info/>. manchester guardian weekly, september december 1998. mckay, neil. 2001. "taking on france's 'fascist university'," the jerusalem post, august 3. pascal, julia. 2005. "under siege two important works explore a virulent form of anti-semitism," financial times (london), apr i l 9. quetteville, harry de. 2002. "our town isn't racist," the daily telegraph (london), apr i l 23. richburg, keith. 2002. "french extremist loses big," washington post, com, may 6. <http://www. washingtonpost. com/ac2/wp-dyn/a37423-2002may5?language=printer>. "the meaning of le pen; letters to the editor." 2002. the spectator (london), may 4. times, the. (london), december 1989 november 2006. united press international (upi), november 2005. united states department o f state report, "background note: france." <http://www. state, gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3842. htm> (accessed december 1, 2006). zola, emile. 1996. the dreyfus affair: j'accuse' and other writings. trans. eleanor levieux. new haven: yale university press. a t r a d i t i o n of r a c i s m http://http.y/english http://www http://english http://www.washingtonpost.com/wphttp://www%20adl.%20org/interna-tional/lepen-2-history.%20asp;%202002%20addendum,%20http://www.%20adl.org/international/le-pen_new.%20asp http://www%20adl.%20org/interna-tional/lepen-2-history.%20asp;%202002%20addendum,%20http://www.%20adl.org/international/le-pen_new.%20asp http://www%20adl.%20org/interna-tional/lepen-2-history.%20asp;%202002%20addendum,%20http://www.%20adl.org/international/le-pen_new.%20asp http://muse.%20jhu.%20edu/journals/history_of_political_economy/vo35/35.%204coleman.%20html http://muse.%20jhu.%20edu/journals/history_of_political_economy/vo35/35.%204coleman.%20html http://www.%20marxists.%20org/his-tory/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont.%20htm%20and%20http://www.cooper.%20edu/humanities/core/hss3/e_drumont.%20html http://www.%20marxists.%20org/his-tory/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont.%20htm%20and%20http://www.cooper.%20edu/humanities/core/hss3/e_drumont.%20html http://www.%20marxists.%20org/his-tory/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont.%20htm%20and%20http://www.cooper.%20edu/humanities/core/hss3/e_drumont.%20html http://www.%20frontnational.%20com/ http://www.%20worldpress.org/americas/584.%20cfm%23down http://www.%20worldpress.org/americas/584.%20cfm%23down http://www.electionguide.%20org/results.%20php?id=425 http://www.electionguide.%20org/results.%20php?id=425 http://english.%20le-pen.%20info/ http://www.%20washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/a37423-2002may5?language=printer http://www.%20washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/a37423-2002may5?language=printer http://www.%20state,%20gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3842.%20htm husserl 's logical investigations the phenomenological revolution a l e x y l a n n o p o u l o s t h e v i e w t h a t l a n g u a g e i s a v e h i c l e f o r t h e c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f ( i m m a t e r i a l ) " c o n c e p t s , " i n o p p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e ( p h y s i c a l ) " w o r d s " t h a t c a r r y t h e m , i s t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f w e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y o f l a n g u a g e , a n d p e r h a p s t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f w e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y i n g e n e r a l . a s e d m u n d h u s s e r l a n d j a c q u e s d e r r i d a c o n f r o n t t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n i d e a l i t y a n d r e a l i t y i n l a n g u a g e , t h e o l d o r d e r p r o m u l g a t i n g t h i s b i n a r y c o m e s i n t o q u e s t i o n . t h e f o l l o w i n g e s s a y e x p l o r e s t h i s c h a l l e n g e t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l a c c o u n t o f l a n g u a g e a s w e l l a s i t s w i d e r i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r o n t o l o g y a n d s u b j e c t i v i t y . one of the seminal texts of the modern era, and indeed a text that would influence the course of continental philosophy throughout the 20th century, is husserl's logical investigations. conceived in part as a response to what husserl termed "psychologism," the view that the truths of logic are derived from the facts of psychology, the logical investigations1 were a pivotal moment in the history of western philosophy. husserl's stated intention was to provide a stable ground for truth and knowledge, by "delineating" a ...new, purely theoretical science, the all-important foundation for any technology of scientific knowledge, and itself having the character of an a priori, purely demonstrative science.11 this "new science" would be based on the principles of "pure logic," a decision made in reaction to what he saw as the tendencies of philosophy to downplay or deny the possibility of a direct knowledge and to assert that the universal and ideal truths of logic were derived from empirical experience. over the course of the investigations, the theory of knowledge that husserl articulated was, in its own way, radically different from everything that preceded it. his philosophy came to be known as "phenomenology," and it claimed to represent a total shift in how philosophical inquiry could, and should, proceed. the phenomenological revolution was characterized by its proponents as a radical break with the tradition of western metaphysics—a new way of conceiving reality. however, while certain aspects of phenomenology were no doubt radical, the question remains as to what degree husserl's philosophy actually managed to break completely with traditional western philosophy. was the phenomenological revolution in fact a complete revolution independent of classical philosophy's principles, or was it constituted from within western metaphysics? this question provides the starting-point for derrida's critique of husserl, entitled speech and phenomena. in the introduction to speech and phenomena,111 jacques derrida poses the question of how we are "to accept and read" the "portentous distinction" 1 husserl makes between expression and indication. this question is whether or not phenomenological necessity, the rigor and subtlety of husserl's analysis, the exigencies to which it responds and which we must first recognize, nonetheless conceal a metaphysical presupposition ... [and] harbor a dogmatic or speculative commitment which ... would constitute phenomenology from within. phenomenology was conceived by husserl as a theory of science or knowledge in general: a "science of sciences." fundamentally, this was an attempt to ground epistemology in the human consciousness of the present moment. the "transcendental reduction" central to phenomenology is transcendental insofar as it reaches toward the ideal essences of things, hence the motto "return to things in themselves;" however, the locus of this ideality is necessarily the "real" world of appearances. since husserl posited no separate transcendental realm, he was, in this regard at least, not a platonist. and how is the ideal essence of things, the "thing itself," to be comprehended? as robert sokolowski notes, "the transcendental reduction is the turn toward the ego as the agent of truth:" it is the perceiving subject, "intuiting" the world around him, to whom truth is made apparent. true knowledge is the truth of experience as lived by a transcendental ego. moreover, true knowledge is considered absolute and ideal: "since husserl posited no separate transcendental realm, he was, in this regard at least, not a platonist." e l e m e n t s : : f a l l of experiences are real particulars, temporally determinate, which come into being and pass away. truth, however, is 'eternal,' or, better put, it is an idea, and so beyond time.1'1 the investigations were termed "logical," and in many senses their object is, indeed, logic. logic is, for husserl, the ground of true knowledge as the sole guarantor of truth in its ideal form. i f logic is indeed the vehicle of truth, it is nonetheless clear that human language is by no means a simple or pure logical system. it is at this point that the relationship between the ideality of a pure logical grammar and the reality of human language must be examined. simply put, what is the relation of formal logic to practical language? it is in answer to this question that husserl proposes the distinction between expression and indication. a n expression, in husserl's sense, is a linguistic sign which incorporates or is animated by a formal, logical, propositional meaning. a n indication, by contrast, is still a sign, though one deprived of meaning. the difference between the two is thus explicitly one of meaning.vm the meaning of an expression is defined as an ideal logical content; as derrida puts it, the logos is "determined from logic." but it is also something more: the ideal re-presentation of a conscious subject's experience. husserl's position was that any experience of an object of cognition ("noema"), even the experience of its representation in language or memory, i n some way refers to ("intends") that object in and by itself. meaningful communication occurs when a sensible signifier—e.g. a series of sounds—is "animated" by nonsensible conceptual content, always determined on the basis of both a pure logic and an ideal object, in the mind of a conscious subject. what is meaningful about a series of words is not the material words themselves—not the pattern of sound in the case of spoken language nor the pattern of light and dark in the case of written language—but rather the conceptual content they hold. for husserl, the distinction clearly functions at the level of an explicit willed meaning-content. for example, one can approach i ng storm c l o u d s indicate rain hear the utterance, "it wi l l rain"; alternativley, one can see storm-clouds gathering. the knowledge gained in both cases is, in theory, identical. in the former case, however, the words function as an expression. in the latter, the stormclouds function as an indication: they are that which "moves something such as a 'thinking being' to pass by thought from something to something else.": what separates indication from expression is that the "something else," to which an indicative sign refers, is an existent entity and not an ideal meaning. expressions, on the other hand, "refer" exclusively to ideal, conceptual meaning-content. however, concerning the possibility of a radical separation between expression and indication, derrida notes, the difference between indication and expression very quickly appears in the course of the description to be a difh u s s e r l ' s l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ference more functional than substantial. indication and expression are functions or signifying relations, not terms. one and the same phenomenon may be apprehended as an expression or as an indication, a discursive or nondiscursive sign depending on the intentional experience [vecu intentionneljwhich animates it.xl this is clear enough to see in a more salient example. what is the difference between a stone as a trail marker—a classic example of indication—and that same stone as part of a predetermined system of communication, with an explicit s t o n e s a l o n g a path as an example of indication meaning? husserl wi l l say that "signs in the sense of indications do not express anything, unless they happen to fulfill a meaning as well as an indicative function." in other words, even when considering one and the same phenomenon, or one and the same communicative act, its indicative and its expressive functions are supposed to remain absolutely heterogeneous. and yet he wil l , on the other hand, admit that "meaning—in communicative speech—is always interwoven with such an indicative relation."5411 but how can it be that a rigid delineation between two entities exists when they are "always interwoven?" as hume pointed out, what is in theory distinguishable is always in principle separable/111 in fact, this provides the opening for derrida's critique. as he states, we will have to clarify the modalities of this interweaving. but it is already evident that this defacto necessity of entanglement, intimately associating expression and indication, must not, according to husserl, cut off the possibility of a rigorous distinction of essence. this possibility is purely de jure and phenomenological. the whole analysis will thus advance in this separation between de facto and dejure, existence and essence, reality and intentional function.xw by admitting on the one hand an empirically necessary interweaving that on the other hand may ideally be done away with, husserl has already involved his theory of language and thus of knowledge in a rigid separation between fact and idea. he has subordinated the former to the latter; though expression always and everywhere involves indication, there is nonetheless an assumed difference between indication and expression. empirical necessity does not impact ideal truth, the truth of phenomenology. this separation of reality and ideality, matter and form, constitutes phenomenology as well as the entirety of western metaphysics. husserl claims that "no conceivable gradation could mediate between the ideal and the real,"3" and by extension that ideal meaning-content could never, i n any way, have anything to do with the real experienced world. this is precisely the difference between form and matter, essence and existence, substance and accidents which inaugurates western philosophy. in fact, as derrida has pointed out often over the course of his works, signs function at the border between ideality and physicality. any sign, in order to signify, must have some generally recognizable, universal qualities—an idealitythrough-repetition—since a purely particular "event" would be absolutely unintelligible.™ a word can be understood i f and only i f it conforms somehow to predetermined expectations: a phoneme or grapheme is necessarily always to some extent different each time that it is presented in an operation or a perception. but, it can function as a sign, and in general as language, only if a formal identity enables it to be issued again and to be recognized. this identity is necessarily ideal.xvn because the ideal form of a sign is precisely nothing actual or empirical, the very physicality of a signifier, and hence the signifier itself, is necessarily and absolutely different from the ideality it instantiates. the basis of this ideality is the act of repetition, and not the other way around: any preexisting ideality would necessitate the existence of a preempirical, ideal realm, and thereby a lapse into stark platonism. by contrast, phenomenology asserts that the locus of ideality is the phenomenal world, and thus, that the source of ideality is the act of indefinite repetition. we have already seen that derrida viewed the distinction between indication and expression as more "functional than substantial." this was for two reasons: first, any sign may function both indicatively and expressively, and second, any actual expression is indicative, as the primary presentation or intuition of an object of cognition is always denied an interlocutor. a conversation partner wil l never have access to the full, ideal meaning of an expression, because any actual event of expression is always interwoven with indication, which makes the conceptual meaning-content impure. however, where the notion of "expression" could still possibly be relevant is within the consciousness of the subject. expression is supposed to be more "full" than indication because it connects directly with the willed meaning of a conscious subject. this meaning is taken to be that subject's filled intuition. however, this is not necessarily the case. husserl writes that what is 'meant' or intended can either be actually present, through accompanying intuitions, or may at least appear in representations, e.g. in a mental image, and where this happens the relation to an object is realized. alternatively this need not occur; the expression functions significantly...but it lacks any basic intuition that would give its object.™111 fulfillment of intuition is unnecessary for the functioning of expression. as derrida concludes, "the absence of an object is hence not the absence of meaning."*1* from the very beginning, husserl's project was to restore the "dignity" of knowledge, in part by ensuring that the "aim" of scientific inquiry (i.e. certain knowledge of the truth) is arrived at properly: husserl insists, as we have already noted, that "whether a science is truly a science, or a method a method, depends on whether it accords with the aims that it strives for." a language, in this view, is subordinated to the search for truth. the "dignity" of language lies in its ability to express the truth. if "possibility" or "truth" is lacking, an assertion's intention can only be carried out symbolically; it cannot derive any "fullness" from intuition . .. it then lacks, as one says, a "true," a "genuine" meaning.xxl "symbolically" is equivalent to "mediately," and insofar as mediation involves a step away from the "fullness" of true meaning, it accordingly introduces an impurity into the meaning that is communicated. language can be used without the possibility of truth, but this is not how language should be used. instead, language is ideally used to re-present an initial fullness of intuitive content, the "truth," the actual presence of an ideal object to consciousness. if, however, such a pure and full initial presentation is never, in fact, possible, the possibility of such a use of language would be radically altered. regardless, such a state of affairs would in no way affect the ability of language to function. the dignity of language might be i n the search for truth, but the possibility of language necessitates no truth. thus, even if, as derrida notes, "[language] attains its enetelechy when it is true," x l ! it is nonetheless the case that language requires no accompanying present-intuition. the h u s s e r l ' s l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ideality of meaning, which husserl had attempted to determine earlier on the basis of a simple and pure relationship with such a present-intuition, is therefore constituted totally separate from any such intuition. i f an ideal meaning exists, it does so only after language; the possibility of a pure expression is a question, and one raised only after the nonideality of an indicative signification. derrida sees this through to its logical conclusion: "we might be tempted to maintain not only that meaning does not imply the intuition, but that it essentially excludes it."xxm the existence of an ideal meaning makes the notion of any full, present-intuition absolutely impossible. this argument hinges on the distinction between the meaning of an expression and the ostensibly-accompanying—but in fact never-accompanying—intuition of an actual speaker. i f the general structure of signification is constituted by the possibility of absence, as indeed it is constituted by repetition and representation, it would be completely unjustified to determine this absence as exterior, secondary, or derivative to an initial presence or presentation. and far from being exiled as an abnormality or failure, it is this primordial absence or nonpresentation which is the foundation of meaning i n general, as it is the necessary precondition of intelligibility. in examining husserl's concept of the sign, derrida reveals that the "sign" conceived as the mediation between ideality and reality is always already deconstructing. as a result, the opposition between ideality and reality is untenable. this is true of any conceptual operation that would seek to establish the terms of a relation in absolute purity. hence, deconstruction is the construction of a new type of order from the incoherence of the old order. this old order is the structure of extremes; it is the determination of being as absolute presence and non-being as absolute absence. now, negation is often viewed as an independent mode of existence, as though the concept of "not-a" were intelligible without the prior concept of "a." non-existence is all too frequently misunderstood as simply the negative analogue of existence. but "a does not exist," in addition to not being a purely formal claim, is meaningless without the prior existence of a. otherwise, 1) why should as nonexistence be any different from, e.g., b's? 2) how should the nonexistence of a be properly identified in the first place? without a, how could we speak of the nonexistence of a? even within the more formal realm of propositional logic— that is, excluding statements of existence or nonexistence—these results are by no means exclusive to the negative term, not-a. would a proposition that could not be negated make any sense? even a tautology may be negated into a contradiction. i f not-a is unintelligible without a, a is no less unintelligible without not-a. a and not-a, then, are both alike in only being intelligible on the basis of a. a negation may express an assertion of as nonexistence, but this assertion cannot be made without reference to a. as a result there can be no pure negation of a; existence and nonexistence are only ever misunderstood as opposites. husserl's separation of the real from the ideal is no less radical than the distinction between the existent and the nonexistent, or the true and the false. in fact, it is both coterminous and coextensive with these oppositions. husserl ultimately reserved a peculiar, eternal mode of existence for the ideal; in real or empirical terms, 'the ideal' could only be said not to exist. derrida's analysis of husserl is neither definable as commentary nor determinable as interpretation. derrida does not simply explain husserl's philosophy, nor does he simply draw conclusions from it, though both of these are stops along the way. speech and phenomena points out the critical incoherence of the linguistic model, generally assumed in the west, which would hold that language is a kind of vehicle that transmits a conceptual meaning, the signified, in or on or through a material signifier. husserl's account of e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 language, and in particular his strong attachment to ideality, might sound tinny to postmodern ears. but, in fact, his account of language—in which a conceptual meaning-content is transmitted across a physical medium—remains the dominant understanding of language i n the west. in the most general form, this model of language is predicated on the premise that there is a substantial materiality separable from a substantial immateriality, on whose basis truth is defined, and further that a material quantity can "refer" to an immaterial quantity, thus forming a mediation of experience and truth. it may be that husserl expressed these premises i n a more radical form than other thinkers had previously; certainly, i f nothing else, derrida brings to light the absolutely fundamental nature of husserl's initial distinction between ideality and reality. but that husserl expressed the split in radical terms does not in any way imply that other thinkers did not hold or indeed have not held to it. i n fact, it is this precise distinction between the material and the immaterial, hyle and morphe, which inaugurates western metaphysics, and which continues to determine its course. husserl gave this distinction the most definitive formulation of the modern era, but it does not begin with him; and though he radicalized the issue, he was not the last to wittingly or unwittingly commit to its being radicalized. for husserl, this conceptual meaning was necessarily propositional, but that is only because within his philosophy of true ideality, the truth of ideality is restricted to propositional logic, analogous to the formal rules of syntax. derrida's critique is leveled foremost against the view that speech or writing is primarily "representative" of an initial, conceptual meaning-content, whether it is purely propositional or not. derrida ultimately points out the elements of husserl's account of language which work against each other; he demonstrates that husserl's sundering of ideal from real is an operation that is anything but purely descriptive. rather, that which authorizes this philosophy to speak is the case which should render it mute: the case where the real and the ideal are conjoined, the spoken word. the defining characteristic of speech, in phenomenology, is its bridging of the gap between materiality and immateriality. husserl predicated truth on ideality; however, ideality is not mediated through the senses. that is to say, for husserl, the truth had to be absolute, ideal, and formal: thoroughly nonphysical. but there cannot be an apprehension of this truth apart from some sort of sensory activity. husserl's thought was in a trap; there had to be some means by which the truth of ideality could be grasped, else there was no sense positing it in the first place. this mediation is the spoken word. the spoken word is, in phenomenology, the unfolding-intime of eternal, ideal truth. it is the case which perfectly joins or mediates ideal meaning with real expression, eternity with temporality. this is because in spoken speech there is an unbroken link between the ideal meaning of the t h e s p o k e n word mediates between t h e real and t h e ideal w o r l d of p h e n o m e n o l o g y h u s s e r l ' s l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s expression and the real acoustic pattern. the voice is the place where the distinction between the ideal and the real collapses. it is the perfect mediation between the two ends of the opposition. as a result, it is the "sole case to escape the distinction between what is worldly and what is transcendental [i.e. ideal]; by the same token, it makes that distinction possible. " x x 1 v though there is not and cannot be any experiential difference between the voice and the meaning it signifies, such a difference must be maintained by husserl, in order to preserve the initial "essential distinction" between the ideal and the real. because the voice perfectly mediates between the two, it demonstrates that such a mediation—and hence that such a distinction—is in fact possible. a n objective worldly science, in husserl's sense, can teach us nothing at all about the nature of the voice, precisely because this selfnature escapes empirical access, precisely because the voice is inscrutable in its ideal unification of the ideal and the real. "the signifier," derrida writes, "would become perfectly diaphanous due to the absolute proximity to the signified." x x v the reason? there is an unfailing complicity here between idealization and speech ... my words are "alive" because they seem not to leave me: not to fall outside me, outside my breath, at a visible distance; not to cease to belong to me.xxm in contrast with every other action, speaking brings the ideality of meaning and the reality of the world into indistinguishable contact. at the very moment that speech is produced, as it comes into being, its material body—sound—fades away. as a result, "this effacement of the sensible body and its exteriority is for consciousness the very form of the immediate presence of the signified.' , x x v 1 1 speaking in the phenomenological sense is the foundation of and the authorization for the whole chain of sine qua non first principles: self, ideality, presence, and so forth. writing, however, is a fundamentally different case. there is no active consciousness producing the written page as it is read; writing exists (or may exist) in no way dependent upon its author. unlike the voice, which always—at least until the invention of telecommunications—had to be produced in proximity to a recipient, and further could not be reproduced in time, writing bears no even putatively necessary relation between the physical word and the conscious meaning-intent of a subject. the subject who produced a text, the author, the " i , " may be unconscious or dead, and the text is still legible. it exists in the world, despite the fact that there is no "animating" intention. there can consequently be very little sense in positing this animating intention as a necessary requirement for intelligibility. the written word remains perfectly understandable, even without that which husserl saw as absolutely required for intelligibility. husserl followed the traditional western model; he viewed writing as merely a re-presentation of speech, which was itself simply a representation of the original meaning of an expressive act of communication. however, what he neglected to take into account was the radically cast-off nature of the written sign. i f writing is merely a representation of speech, i t nonetheless remains a full (in the sense of complete) use of language. what is the phenomenological dif"unlike the voice ... writing bears no even putatively necessary relation between the physical word and the conscious meaning-intent of a subject." "it is ... hearing-oneself speak which is the pure form of subjectivity: before one's speech ... has gone 'out' into the world, it [remains] within the 'solitary mental sphere' of subjective activity." ference between producing a speech-utterance and producing a written utterance? the actual moment of conscious activity is fundamentally indivisible in both instances; the neurological processes involved may be different, but both make full use of language, both require the structures that define and order language use in general. there was never a speech that was not "writing," i f we understand writing as what derrida ultimately terms protowriting: the process of differentiation within the self that was always the origin of the concept "self." there is no undivided self, and no pure presence which could exist in meaningful or mediable opposition with absence—there is no expression without indication. the motion of this protowriting is evident in the deconstruction of "expression," "present" or "presence, and "self"; the very condition of these concepts' intelligibility is their ultimate incoherence. what allows us to say "present" as opposed to "absent," "self" as opposed to "other," is a never-ending operation of effacing differance, effacing the fact that the condition of self-identity is an irreducible alterity—an alterity which, by extension, can never be pure or primal or absolute. differance "produces sameness as a self-relation within self-difference; it produces sameness as the non-identical."*™ 1 1 t h e preceding examination of the transcendental or phenomenological reduction reveals difference always already at work within the same. this difference, however, does not and cannot exist i n opposition with any notion of sameness; it is a difference within the same, a sameness within difference, that destroys the possibility of any meaningful opposition between sameness and difference, of any absolute self-identity or absolute difference. differance does not exist to be grasped. in critiquing husserl's concept of the sign, then, derrida is in fact showing how husserl's attempts to absolutely separate presence from absence, ideality from reality, and existence from nonexistence are absurd and futile efforts. the very attempt to articulate a notion of pure presence demands reference to a nonpresence or nonplenitude which prima facie constitutes the possibility of any presence at all. nowhere is this more clear than within husserl's philosophy of language, precisely because language is so commonly viewed as the phenomenon which mediates between the world of sense and the world of ideas. but is such a mediation i n fact possible? in general, a mediation is that which forms a connective link between two terms. or a mediation is that connection itself. as far as one may trust etymology as a source of (philosophical) knowledge, mediation is derived from the latin medius, "middle." the medium of a discussion is the material basis of a dialogue through which meanings are transferred. and the very assertion of an act of mediation, of a concept which is able to function as a midway point between the two poles of an opposition, implies that opposition. for husserl, as ultimately for saussure, the sign is the mediation between the sensible and the intelligible; this ineluctably presupposes the existence of such things as intelligibility and sensibility, at least insofar as the two are not one and the same. thus, i f the opposition between expression and indication, the ideal and the real, were tenable in the slightest, a mediation between the two terms would be possible. h u s s e r l ' s l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s however, husserl's account of language, and by extension the entire phenomenological project, requires an absolute inferiority, a pure subjectivity. it is in fact nothing other than hearing-oneself-speak which is the pure form of subjectivity: before one's speech, and hence one's thought, has gone "out" into the world, it is asserted to remain within the "solitary mental sphere" of subjective activity. in husserl's philosophy, as derrida demonstrates, the eventual exit of speech into the world is by no means necessary to its constitution as expression, that is, as representative of an original pure ideality. such a pure subjectivity is only ever and can only ever be a fantasy, in husserl's words, an "ideal l imit, something abstract which can be nothing for itself." x x l x just as "a" is unintelligible without "not-a," the notion of a "self" is not comprehensible without reference to the notion of "other." this mutual dependence of the terms of a conceptual opposition upon each other represents an irreducible alterity within the " i , " or in general within the self-nature of any phenomenon. this alterity is not opposed to anything; it is what derrida terms the primordial bifurcation, the differance which constitutes any notion of "self" or "other" from within. "but this attack stems ultimately not from derrida's pen hut from within the very conditions set forth hy the notions of immateriality and selfnature. 77 what an indication lacks is the immaterial volitional content typically termed "meaning." it is purely a physical phenomenon, with no ideal mental component. hence the substance of derrida's critique may be taken as an attack on the very notion of an immateriality separable from a materiality, or an intelligibility separate from a sensibility. but this attack stems ultimately not from derrida's pen but from within the very conditions set forth by the notions of immateriality and self-nature. and this is by no means to say that derrida is a materialist, or that he is asserting the existence of only the sensible signifier. in speech and phenomena as elsewhere, he admits that language is to some degree an operation of not-strictly-empirical entities. rather, the thrust of the argument exposes the open contradiction at the heart of any philosophical position which separates the ideal from the real—and this would include denying the existence of one or the other. the "law of non-contradiction" would hold that an entity cannot be both material and immaterial; the related "law of the excluded middle" would hold that an entity must be one or the other. but through the critique of husserl's theory of signs, derrida points out that the notions of materiality and immateriality, sensibility and intelligibility, are radically inseparable. in general, "a" is not in principle separate from "not-a." one may assert with the empiricists that the material is primary, or with husserl that truth and meaning are strictly ideal, but in either case there is a total failure of philosophical coherence. reality and ideality, the material and the immaterial, hyle and morphe, self and other, existence and nonexistence—far from being separable quantities, even in theory, these remain inextricably bound to each other. while philosophy had always been determined on the basis of being as presence, the purity of this presence was always an impossible, incoherent idea. concordantly, the refutation performed by derrida is not and could not be done in the name of an absolute absence or nonexistence. within philosophy there is no possible objection concerning this privilege of the present-now; it defines the very element of philosophical thought, it is [phenomenological] evidence itself, conscious thought itself, it governs every possible concept of truth and sense. no sooner do we question this privilege than we begin to get at the core of consciousness itself from a region that lies elsewhere than philosophy, a procedure that would remove every possible security and ground from discourse. in the last analysis, what is at stake is indeed the privilege of the actual present, the now. this conflict, necessarily unlike any other, is between philosophy, which is always a philosophy of presence, and a meditation on nonpresence—which is not perforce its contrary, or necessarily a meditation on a negative absence, or a theory of nonpresence qua unconsciousness.xxxl e n d n o t e s i . husserl 2001 i i . husserl 2001 (14) i i i . derrida iv. derrida (4) v. husserl 1970 (17) vi . moran (58) v i i . ibid. v i i i . cf. logical investigations (183): "every sign is a sign for something, but not every sign has 'meaning,' a 'sense' that the sign 'expresses.'" expressive signs have "sense" or "meaning;" indicative signs do not. fx. husserl (2001) early on speaks of "the concepts or propositions which function as the meanings of our expressions" (65) x. derrida (28) xi . derrida (20) xi i . husserl 2001 (269) x i i i . cf. a treatise of human nature: "whatever is distinct, is distinguishable; and whatever is distinguishable, is separable by the thought or imagination." what would it mean to posit two entities, e.g. expression and indication, which were never in principle separable? what possible sense would there be in claiming that two entities are being considered? i n examining the "interwovenness" of expression and indication, derrida is in fact interrogating the very possibility of the unity of the sign, wi th everything that might entail; "to say that there could be a truth for the sign i n general, does this not suppose that the sign is not the possibility of truth, does not constitute it, but is satisfied to signify it?" derrida (24) xiv. husserl 2001 (20-21) xv. husserl 2001 (50) xvi. cf. "signature, event, context" in limited inc (18-21) xvii . derrida (50) xvii i . husserl 2001 (280) xix. derrida (91-92) xx. husserl 2001 (25) xxi. husserl 2001 (section 11, pp. 285-286) xxii . derrida (98) xxi i i . derrida (92) xxi v. derrida (78) xxv. derrida (80) xxvi. derrida (75-76) xxvii. ibid. xxviii. derrida (82) xxix. moran (63) xxx. cf. speech and phenomena (50): "a signifier (in general) must be formally recognizable i n spite of, and through, the diversity of empirical characteristics which may modify it . it must remain the same, and be able to be repeated as such, despite and across the deformations which the empirical event necessarily makes it undergo. a phoneme or grapheme is necessarily always to some extent different each time that it is presented in an operation or a perception. but, it can function as a sign, and in general as language, only i f a formal identity enables it to be issued again and to be recognized. this identity is necessarily ideal." xxxi. derrida (63) references derrida, jacques. 1973. speech and phenomena. translated by allison, david b. evanston: northwestern university press. husserl, edmund. 1970. the crisis in european sciences and transcendental phenomenology. evanston: northwestern university press. husserl, edmund. 2001. logical investigations, volume i . translated by j.n. findley. new york: routledge. moran, dermot. 2000. introduction to phenomenology. new york: routledge. h u s s e r l ' s l o g i c a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s t h e m o r a l i t y test an ancient perspective on personal virtue and patriotism in public life t i m o t h y m o o n e y t h i s p a p e r f o l l o w s t h e l i f e o f a l c i b i a d e s o f a t h e n s , t h e b r i l l i a n t l y s u c c e s s f u l g e n e r a l i n t h e p e l o p o n n e s i a n w a r , w h o s e d i s s o l u t e p r i v a t e l i f e a n d l a c k o f p a t r i o t i s m m a d e h i m a s i n i s t e r f i g u r e i n a t h e n s . h a v i n g n e i t h e r l i v e d a v i r t u o u s l i f e n o r m a d e i t c l e a r t h a t h e w o u l d s u b o r d i n a t e h i s i n t e r e s t t o t h e c i t y , a l c i b i a d e s f a i l e d t o g a i n t h e t r u s t o f t h e d e m o c r a t i c p o p u l a c e o f a t h e n s . w h e n s u s p i c i o u s c i t i z e n s r e c a l l e d h i m f r o m t h e b a t t l e f i e l d , a l c i b i a d e s t u r n e d t r a i t o r a n d f o u g h t f o r s p a r t a , e f f e c t i v e l y r u i n i n g a t h e n s ' c h a n c e s f o r v i c t o r y . g i v e n t h i s e x a m p l e , t h i s p a p e r a r g u e s t h a t t h e p r i v a t e l i v e s o f p u b l i c f i g u r e s a r e r e l e v a n t t o t h e i r p o s i t i o n s a s l e a d e r s o f t h e s t a t e . t h e a b i l i t y f o r a c o m m u n i t y t o t r u s t a n d r e s p e c t i t s l e a d e r s i s o f p a r a m o u n t i m p o r t a n c e a n d m u s t b e p r o t e c t e d b y t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f v i r t u o u s a n d p a t r i o t i c l e a d e r s t o p u b l i c p o s i t i o n s . in the sordid aftermath of the monica lewinsky scandal, americans engaged in an intense debate over the private lives of their public figures. republicans condemned presidential philandering as unbefitting the integrity of the office while democrats defended the president's right to privacy i n his personal life. i n the wake of the attacks on september n , 2001, scholars increasingly scrutinized the effects of president clinton's infidelity, wondering i f the scandal distracted his attention from more important matters.1 a second political vignette sets charles wilson before the senate as a nominee for secretary of defense. as the leader of general motors, some senators questioned where his loyalties lay, leading to his now infamous response: "what is good for the country is good for general motors i n t h e w a k e o f s c a n d a l , l e w i n s k y a t t e m p t s t o e s c a p e t h e p u b l i c e y e and vice versa"11 (it was the vice versa they were worried about). these stories raise the questions: did president clinton have a responsibility to be virtuous in his private life? should the motives of a well-qualified candidate like charles wilson be an important factor i n appointment to public service? the implications of these questions have been debated for centuries. this essay looks to one of the great historical works of antiquity, thucydides' history of the pdoponnesian war, for guidance. by looking at the impact of the personal conduct and private motivation on the public life of the great athenian general alcibiades, we can come to a fuller understanding of the importance of private virtue and an unmitigated patriotic spirit for public figures. as the man boasting the most remarkable deeds, the most versatile character, and the most compelling relationship to his city, alcibiades and his actions dominate the second half of thucydides' history of the peloponnesian war. irrepressible, he is a figure both of limitless ambition and eminent ability; he has youth, beauty, and eloquence on his side and is not afraid to use them. yet, in the midst of all his gifts and abilities there are ominous rumblings about his character—his dissolute private life, shallow roots, and insatiable desire for greatness—that must give pause. he has all of the eloquence and charisma of his predecessor, pericles, without the restraint that made periclean athens so stable. he has little respect for the laws of the city and feels no desire to submit his personal glory before that of athens. within the athenian democracy, these qualities make h im a sinister figure. through his words and deeds, in addition to the force of his character, alcibiades bodes i l l for athens, bringing to fruition thucydides' initial warning that the great military expedition to sicily "failed not so much through a miscalculation of the power of those against whom it was sent, as through the fault i n the senders in . . . choosing rather to occupy themselves with private squabbles."111 this is not to say that the failure of the sicilian expedition is the fault of alcibiades. he called for the deployment of the vast majority of the athenian military might to the conquest of a foreign territory largely irrelevant to the peloponnesian war, and his final goals stretched throughout most of the known world. plutarch says of him: he possessed the people with great hopes, and he himself entertained yet greater; and the conquest of sicily, which was the utmost bound of their ambition, was but the mere outset of his expectation ... alcibiades dreamed of nothing less than the conquest of carthage and libya, and by the accession of these conceiving himself at once made master of italy and peloponnesus, seemed to look on sicily as nothing more than a magazine for war.w e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 these ambitions, however, are not in and of themselves sinister. according to pericles, they are actually the foundation of athenian greatness—"forcing every sea and land to be the highway of [athens'] daring." v thucydides implies that under the leadership of alcibiades, this bold expedition would have succeeded.vl what is important to notice, however, is how alcibiades fails to gain the trust of the people. even as the head of a project the people "fell in love wi th , " v i i he failed to get the public to fall in love with h im because his character impeded his legitimacy as a public figure. unable to gain the public's trust, his ambition roused suspicion i n the athenian people. alcibiades' ambitious project required his sharp mind and military ability, but his licentious private life prevented their full use. athens recognized his ability but was loath to trust h im due to its disgust with his lifestyle and fear of his personal ambition. the liberality with which alcibiades lived life was famous i n ancient times. plutarch says of him: with all these words and deeds, and with all this sagacity and eloquence, he intermingled exorbitant luxury and wantonness in his eating and drinking and dissolute living. . . the sight of all this made the people of good repute in the city feel disgust and abhorrence, and apprehension also, at his free living and contempt of law, as monstrous in themselves, and indicating designs of usurpation.™1 thucydides sums up alcibiades' private life and its effect on public feeling saying, "his habits gave offense to everyone and caused them to commit affairs to other hands and thus before long ruin the city." l x instead of investing their trust in his leadership, the "people of good repute" whose sensibilities alcibiades so offended allowed his enemies to recall h im from the sicilian expedition, to answer trumped up charges of impiety and thereby deprive their armies of the dynamic leader the expedition so required. alcibiades' private excess unnerved athens, but it was the self-focused nature of his ambition that ultimately led them to reject h im. unlike pericles, who subordinated himself to the laws and the interest of athens, alcibiades holds himself above them. strauss says of pericles in relation to his contemporaries, "his superiority is obvious, unambiguous, not like the ambiguous superiority of themistocles and alcibiades. pericles justly occupies the center of the triptych the out figures of which (themistocles and alcibiades) are superior to h im only by nature but not by law."x indeed, alcibiades has a different vision of greatness than that of pericles. instead of "feeding his eyes upon [the a l c i b i a b e 8 . a p o r t r a i t o f a t h e n i a n g e n e r a l a l c i b i a d e s power of athens] from day to day, t i l l love of her fills your hearts,"x1 as pericles says, alcibiades feasts his eyes on himself. he is only concerned in the glory of the city when it also corresponds to his own glory. in his speech to the athenian assembly he brags of his olympic victories, saying, "this is no useless folly, when a man at his own private cost benefits not himself only but his city: nor is it unfair that he who prides himself on his position should refuse to be upon an equality with the rest." x u this refusal to be on equal terms is a crucial difference between alcibiades and pericles. alcibiades's character would never allow h im to do as pericles had at the beginning of the war where: finding that the invasion was to take place, [he] conceived the idea that archidamus, who happened to be his guestfriend, might possibly pass by his estate without ravaging it. this he might do either from a personal wish to oblige him, or acting under instructions from sparta... fie accordingly took the precaution of announcing to the athenians in the assembly that, although archidamus was his guest-friend, yet this friendship should not extend to the detriment of the state, and that in case the enemy should make his houses and lands an exception to the rest and not pillage them, he at once gave them up as public property, so that they should not bring him into suspicion.*111 here pericles recognized that he must give up his own private property in order to protect himself from possible public backlash. in order to continue to offer his valuable leadership to the city, he has to put its interests before his own. alcibiades refuses to do this. what athens does in recalling h im is not fair, but it is a direct result of his failure to take precautions with his lifestyle so that he won't be taken into suspicion. alcibiades is a poor leader not simply because of his sins of commission, but also for his sins of omission, namely his inability to qualify his personal greatness with any sense of the common good or restraint. strauss says of the situation, "the sicilian expedition surpasses everything undertaken by pericles; whereas pericles stood for love of the beautiful qualified by thrift, the sicilian expedition, being in the style of alcibiades . . . was inspired by love of the beautiful on the level of lavishness."x l v without the thrift in public or private life, alcibiades became a lightning rod for suspicion of the athenians. some might say alcibiades is the archetypal athenian with his incredibly quick mind and limitless ambition. this view, however, fails to take into account the fact that he cares first of all about himself. his megalomania foreshadows a situation where athenians, jealous of his renown, wi l l conspire against h im. having not taken his precautions or made it clear that he wi l l subordinate his interest to the city, he has failed to ensure that he would be in charge of a project so ambitious that it needs a man of exceptional ability at its head. this alone makes the alcibiades a sinister figure for athens. even more ominous, however, is his shallow commitment to athens as a city. when his honor and position are usurped by the intrigues he fails to guard against, he lashes back at his own city. in a fit of vengeful, defeated egoism, he fails to follow the examples of the defeated nicias and demosthenes who lay low in the face of an angry athenian populace and instead betrays his friends and family to their bitter enemy the spartans. his versatility allows h im to access power wherever he goes. this trait, which plutarch describes as "peculiar talent and artifice for gaining men's affections, that he could at once comply with and really embrace and enter into their habits and ways of life and change faster than the chameleon, " x v marks the height of his danger to athens. his exceptional abilities and silver tongue led democratic athens to embark on projects that require his leadership at the same time as his outrageous lifestyle and selfish ambition prevented the citizenry from fully trusting him. when slighted by these citizens, alcibiades, incapable of passively bearing offense,™ actively opposed his city. this demonstrates what strauss characterizes as post-periclean politics: "after "alcibiades is a poor leader not simply because of his sins of commission, but also for his sins of omission ..." pericles there was no longer among the leading men that perfect harmony between private interest and public interest . . . the concern with private honor and private gain prevailed. " x v u alcibiades acts first for private gain and glory, and then is a traitor to his own city to satisfy his jilted private honor. he says that "love of country is what i do not feel when i am wronged, " x v 1 ] 1 fulfilling pericles prophesy that "a man possessing [knowledge of the proper policy and the ability to expound it], but no love for his country, he would be but a cold advocate for her interests; while were his patriotism not proof against bribery, everything would go for a price."x 1 x for alcibiades, this price is his personal greatness. the reaction of the athenians to alcibiades's raucous behavior demonstrates how private life, when lived immoderately, can spill over into public policy. as machiavelli says, a good leader must "guard against. . . being contemptible and hated," for against this leader it "is difficult to conspire, difficult to mount an attack. " x x within a democratic system like athens, this is particularly important because one's mandate comes from the people. if, as plutarch says, alcibiades' behavior inspires contempt in the good citizens of athens, he cannot hope to continue living his debauched lifestyle with no repercussions. as we see, he fails to recognize this and leaves himself open for conspiracy. his lack of patriotism compounds the problem. not only does he destroy the athenian military by failing to win the trust of his constituents, but he actually switches sides and opposes athens i n armed military engagements. for these reasons, the story of alcibiades provides a cautionary tale about the types of men we should look for to be our leaders. the destruction he brings upon himself and the catastrophic losses his project brings to athens underscore the necessity of integrity i n public figures and the danger leaders with ulterior motives pose to their countries. e n d n o t e s i . this contention is implied by the 9/11 report which states: "at the time [when a l qaeda was on the public agenda because of air strikes on terror camps], president clinton was embroiled i n the lewinsky scandal, which continued to consume public attention for the rest of that year. 9/11 report (117) i i . charles wilson. january 15.1953. nominations. confirmation hearing before the senate committee on armed services. quoted in piatt (1989) i i i . thucydides (ii.15.10-11) iv. plutarch (270) v. thucydides (ii.41.4) v i . strauss says of thucydides, "he is quite sure that the success of the sicilian expedition depended decisively on alcibiades's participation i n i t ." strauss (204) v i i . the word here is actually eros or erotic desire. the project became the object of athenian desire; they lusted after it. thucydides, loeb library (226) v i i i . plutarch (269) ix. thucydides (vi.15.4) x. strauss (219) xi . thucydides (ii.43.1) x i i . thucydides (vi.16.3-4) x i i i . thucydides (ii.13.1) xiv. strauss (205) xv. plutarch (275) xvi. a point borne out in the fact that alcibiades opens o f each of his speeches wi th a complaint. xvii . strauss (192) xvii i . thucydides (vi.92.4) xix. thucydides (ii.60.6) xx. machiavelli (65, 72) r e f e r e n c e s machiavelli. 1998. the prince. trans. harvey mansfield. chicago: university of chicago press. national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states. 2004. cj/11 commission report. thomas h . kean (chair). washington, dc: government printing office. piatt, suzy, ed. 1989. "respectfully quoted: a dictionary of quotations from the congressional research service." washington, dc: library of congress. retrieved from www.bartleby.com/73/. plutarch. 1992. lives. trans. john dreyden. ed. arthur hugh clough. new york: the modern library. strauss, leo. 1964. the city and man. chicago: the university o f chicago press. thucydides. 1996. history of the peloponnesian war. trans. richard crawley. ed. robert b. strassler. new york: simon & schuster. thucydides. 1964. history of the peloponnesian war. loeb library. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. t h e m o r a l i t y t e s t http://www.bartleby.com/73/ l i s t of a r t w o r k laeken royal greenhouses winter garden dom e, brussels © chris baker/alamy hotel solvay by victor horta, brussels, 1894. © ange lo h o r n a k / a l a m y . belgium brabant brussels © eye u b i q u i t o u s / a l a m y parish of san jose © corbis de la barca © h u l t o n archive/getty images dress rehearsal of 'don juan, el burlador de sevilla' by tirso de molina © q u i m llenas/cover/getty images ecstasy of saint cecilia by raphael © a l i n a r i archives/corbis romantic young couple in love, 17th century © d u n c a n walker concert for fashionable society during 18th century © bet tmann/corb i s la dolce vita movie poster © s w i m i n k 2, llc/corbis marcello mastroian n i and anita e kb erg in la dolce vita © cinemaphoto/corbis 1957 cannes film festival © mirk ine/sygma/corb i s anita ekberg in la dolce vita © cinemaphoto/corbis cochlear implant to be placed in chilean deaf dumb boy © eliseo fernandez/reuters/corbis doctor testing boy with cochlear implants © george steinmetz/corbis chilean deaf boy reacts to hearing his first sounds after cochlear implant © eliseo fernandez/reuters/corbis celestial phenomena © d u n c a n walker a witches coven © lebrecht mus ic & arts/corbis writer john aubrey © michae l nicholson/corbis erminia finds tancred injured © a l i n a r i / a r t resource, n y portrait of pope innocent x by diego rodrig u ez de si lva y velazquez © a l i n a r i archives/corbis torquato tasso © georgios kollidas. interior view of exhibition hall in the galleria doria pamphili © a l i n a r i archives/corbis . e x p o r t i n g c i t i z e n s , i m p o r t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s the developing world's newest strategy to combat poverty c h r i s t o p h e r m a r o s h e g y i t o d a y , t h r e e p e r c e n t o f t h e w o r l d ' s p o p u l ati o n l i v e s a n d w o r k s o u t s i d e its c o u n t r y o f b i r t h . t h i s r i s e in m i g r a t i o n h a s l e d t o a s u r g e in r e m i t t a n c e s , w h i c h n o w r e p r e s e n t t h e m o s t im p o r t a nt s o u r c e o f i n c o m e f o r m a n y d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s . t h i s p a p e r w i l l f o c u s o n t h e d e b a t e s u r r o u n d i n g t h e i m p a c t o f r e m i t t a n c e s o n p o v e r t y a m o n g b o t h r e c e i v i n g h o u s e h o l d s a n d t h e n o n r e c e i v i n g c o m m u n i t y in t h e c o u n t r y o f o r i g i n , c o n c l u d i n g t h a t r e m i t t a n c e s h a v e a h i g h e r p r o p e n s i t y t o be i n v e s t e d in e d u c a t i o n , h e a l t h , a n d e n t r e p r e n eu r s h i p t h a n n o n r e m itt a n c e b a s e d i n c o m e . its f i n d i n g s h i g h l i g h t t h e p o t e n t i a l o f a s u s t a i n a b l e m e t h o d o f s o u t h t o s o u t h d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t may v e r y w e l l r e d e f i n e h o w p o l i c y m a k e r s a p p r o a c h m i g r a t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . i n t r o d u c t i o n the growing demographic and economic dichotomy between the developed and developing world continues to fuel the rise of international migration into the twenty-first century. today, 3% of the world's population—175 mi l lion—live and work outside their country of birth, a phenomenon highlighted by a movement of workers from less developed countries to more developed countries. this large migratory flow brings with it heavy social, political, and economic baggage, affecting both the new host country and the country of origin. early research on international migration has been dominated by a focus on the negative aspects of international migration, highlighting its drain not only on its new host society, but also on the negative consequence of migrants on the economic development of sending countries. only recently have governments, scholars, and members of the civil society begun to explore the potential benefits of international migration on the development of the countries of origin, long thought to be the biggest losers of the outflow of human capital. one of the biggest reasons for this changing mindset is the rise of international migrant remittances sent back from their host country to family i n their country of origin. as remittances surge and begin to outstrip development aid to the developing world i n terms of income flow, policy makers and scholars have engaged i n a debate about whether remittances can contribute to development i n receiving countries and, i f so, which policies should be enacted to maximize inflows and benefits. this paper wi l l focus on this debate of the impact of remittances on the developing world with a particular investigation on its effect on poverty among both receiving households and the non-receiving community i n general. using numerous studies conducted around the world, this paper wi l l show that remittances do i n fact have the potential to reduce poverty. by increasing household income, remittances have a higher propensity to be invested i n education, health, and entrepreneurship than non-remittance based income. i n t e r n a t i o n a l w o r k e r m i g r a t i o n : scope a n d t r e n d s international migration is not a new phenomenon. the nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed a mass migration of millions of workers to the shores of america and australia. recent decades, however, have seen an unprecedented rise i n migration. the number of international migrants rose from 76 mil l ion i n i 9 6 0 to 80 mil l ion i n 1972 and has since more than doubled to over 175 mil l ion mi grants throughout the world.' this latest wave of migration has been dominated by a trend of migrants moving from less developed countries to industrialized, developed countries i n the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd). while the growth of south to south migration—migration between two developing countries—actually fell over the past decade, migration to industrialized countries has notably been increasing since the 1970s. each decade from 1970 to 2000 witnessed a 2.4%, 2.9%, and 3.1%, growth i n migrants destined for industrial countries, respectively.11 migration i n north africa and the middle east presents a more complicated picture. both regions are characterized as labor sending and receiving countries with massive outflows of migrants from the maghreb to europe and an equally impressive inflow of asian and indian migrants to the gulf states. further complicating the picture is—at least unti l recently—a strong trend towards interregional migration from arab countries to the gulf (a phenomenon which is increasingly being reduced thanks to the influx of asian and indian workers to f i l l labor intensive, low wage jobs). jordan, syria, and especially egypt sent large number of workers to the gulf, which, coupled with asian and indian workers, represented 40% of the gulf's population at its peak i n the 1990s.1'< • in fact, recent statistics have revealed that south to south migration is again on the rise after decades of decline, with the region hosting a growing number of south to south migrants. nearly 2% of north africa and the middle east's population are migrants, particularly from asia, india, and sub-saharan africa, a trend which looks to continue i n the future as migrants from elem ents : : fall 09 s c o p e the sheer size and pace of the growth of remittances place it at the forefront of the migrant led development discussion. i n 1970, when remittances first emerged as a serious topic of debate and statistical record, international migrant remittances totaled only $2 b i l l ion . v n in just a few years time, the later part of the decade saw an average amount of remittances numbering $7.8 bil l ion. ' 1 1 1 remittances doubled i n one year from 1979 to 1980, when they amounted to $18.4 billion. since then, remittance flows have experienced an almost exponential rate of growth. the annual average soared 12 times the amount sent during the mid1970s to $98 billion between 1998 and 2003. by 2003, gross flows of remittances to developing countries equaled $142 billion. even the yearly growth is truly staggering. 2004 witnessed a nearly $20 billion increase i n remittances to $160—a 66% increase i n the gross receipt of mi grant remittances of developing countries between 2001 and 2004. this growth shows no sign of letting up in the future. as statistics continue to pour in , the world bank estimates that i n 2007, migrant remittances may very well have totaled over $300 billion—doubling the amount of income flowing into the world's poorest countries i n a span workers remittances and other foreign exchange flows to developing countries, 1970-2003. • ; c c e x p o r t i n g c i t i z e n s , i m p o r t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s sub-sahara continue to flood the maghreb.1v compared to other regions of the world, however, the middle east and north africa have lower emigration flows. lebanon is the only country i n the region with an emigration rate over 10%, and morocco, long the leader of labor exportation i n the region, sends less than 8% of its labor force abroad.v by contrast, nearly half of latin american and caribbean countries have over 10% of their labor force living abroad.vl r e c e n t r e m i t t a n c e t r e n d s : scope a n d factors as the number of international migrants—particularly to industrialized countries—rises, so too does the amount of income sent back to developing countries i n the form of remittances. scholars and governments, who began to change their policies recently i n order to develop better ties with their migrants and to encourage more remittances, have come to recognize remittances as a substantial and increasingly important source of income for developing countries. of just four years.x the magnitude of this rise is best understood when examined within the context of other macroeconomic indicators available i n developing countries. in north africa and the middle east, worker remittances accounted for anywhere between 2% and 22% of their gross domestic product (gdp). egypt, the largest recipient of remittances i n the region during the 1990s and among the highest net remittance recipients relative to net migration i n the world, received an average of us$3,279 billion accounting for 5.45% of its entire gdp throughout the decade.a morocco, also among the highest net remittance recipients relative to net migration i n the world, experienced a remittance to gdp percentage of 4.24% during the i990s . x i i these gdp statistics reveal the magnitude and, i n effect, the importance of remittances to developing countries. but simply examining the amount of remittances to gdp is not enough. to fully understand the magnitude of remittances to the developing world, one must conduct a cross-analysis of remittance flows with other sources of income for developing countries. characterized by narrow domestic markets and a scarcity of investment and capital, poor countries depend heavily on outside sources of income, including foreign direct investment (fdi), development aid, and running a budget deficit. remittances have been shown to be both more sustainable and stable than more volatile sources of foreign income, including fdi and development aid. x l i l as the figure above reveals, remittances long ago outstripped development aid and non-fdi private capital inflows to become the second largest source of income for developing countries. analyzing the flows of the different incomes, the stability of remittances quickly becomes apparent compared to the volatility of fdi. i n 2004, remittances accounted for more than 5% of developing countries' imports and 8% of domestic investment. x i v f a c t o rs because individuals migrate for different reasons, scholars have yet to reach a consensus regarding the most important factor determining the amount and motive of specific mi grant remittances. three trends are apparent when analyzing the factors behind migrant remittances: altruism (assisting family and friends in need), insurance (providing family back home with a source of income were there to be migrant remittances are sentthrough various money transfer agents. a shock or disaster), and investment (either for family left behind or as a move to accumulate assets for an eventual return of the migrant). studies have shown that remittance factors vary significantly across countries and migrant situations. additionally, migrants utilize a wide variety of tools to facilitate their remittance transfer, including banks, credit unions, financial transfer companies, postage, and hand delivered cash. the factors determining which channel a migrant wi l l use—formal or informal—to transfer his income varies from situation to situation. it has been noted that the main obstacle migrants face when trying to utilize formal channels, and thus more secure and efficient means of transfer, is the sheer absence of banking facilities or similar financial services connecting their host community with their community of origin. x v in many cases, especially in africa, the financial network needed to transfer remittances simply does not exist i n rural communities. e l e m e n t s fall 09 however, the mere existence of these financial networks does not guarantee that a migrant wi l l utilize them. high transfer costs are another main obstacle migrants face i n utilizing formal channels, reducing both the volume and the effect of these potentially massive flows. banks and credit unions usually levy high fees for transferring cash around the world, charging migrants both a fee for the transaction and a commission on the amount of currency converted. ghosh highlights the astronomical cost for these often low skilled and low income earning mi grants: the average cost of sending $200 f rom a sample of 6 countries—france, germany, saudi arabia, south africa, the united kingdom, and the united states—to 14 receiving countries around the world totaled 6% i f sent through transfer companies, 7% i f sent through banks, and 12% i f sent through international money transfer companies such as western union. examining transfer costs to individual countries, especially among the leading remittance recipients, reveals even higher costs. moroccan mi grants, who send back the fourth highest amount of remittances i n the world, face a stiff average transaction cost of i4%. x v i much to the detriment of migrants, these high fees do not actually represent the true cost of transfer borne by financial institutions. rather, these high fees can be blamed on the imperfection of the financial sector, including a lack of competition coupled with a lack of efficiency i n developing countries. as a result, almost a fifth (17%) of international migrants still use informal channels of remittance transfer, including mail and hand delivery.nv" this study by ghosh highlights the untapped potential of policy interventions i n improving financial markets and thus reducing costs i n order to increase the volume of formal remittances. r e m i t t a n c e s a n d poverty given the increase i n remittance flows to developing countries over the past decades, scholars have begun to analyze the effect of remittances on the economic development and growth of receiving countries. a watershed moment i n the debate came i n 2005, when the world bank concluded that remittances do i n fact have a positive effect on the development and welfare of receiving countries, a claim which has since been supported by numerous studies. the debate has revolved around the nature of remittances, which many characterize as a private transfer of income used not for productive investments, but rather for consumption of basic commodities. because of the private nature of remittances and the historical failure of governments to capture the income flows for greater development uses, many scholars have argued that remittances are nothing more than a method to increase household consumption i n receiving countries, and may i n some instances actually harm the receiving country's economy. led by the world bank, a growing number of scholars and studies have emerged to support the positive impact of remittances on development and especially poverty, both from the macroeconomic and microeconomic side. "in communities where a majority of a households' small income goes towards mere survival, remittances allow these families to appropriate greater income towards human capital, which is in itself the most important investment for the future of these communities." e x p o r t i n g c i t i z e n s , i m p o r t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s r e m i t t a n c e s a n d t h e m i c r o e c o n o m y : d i r e c t p o v e r t y r e d u c t i o n the debate of the microeconomic effects of remittances revolves around the perceived household use of this newly found source of income. a review of relevant literature reveals that there is general agreement that most remittances are used for household consumption purposes, rather than what economists would coin productive investment. x v i i i using this as ammunition, some scholars dismiss the development potential of remittances, writing them off as pure consumption-based income. this analysis, however, misses the productive elements of consumption, especially i n such poor countries. i n these communities, consumption of goods such as education and healthcare represent a type of productive consumption investing i n human capital. in fact, numerous studies have shown that "many of the consumption investments financed by remittances make positive contributions toward human development in poor areas," including "spending on nutrition, health, and education."x 1 x i n communities where a majority of a household's small income goes towards mere survival, remittances allow these families to appropriate greater income towards human capital, which is i n itself the most important investment for the future of these communities. john page and sonia plaza put forward one of the most comprehensive studies on remittances and poverty reduction, using a data set that includes statistics on migration, remittances, and poverty for 74 developing countries. the report finds that remittances have a strong impact on reducing poverty i n recipient countries across the world: "a 10% increase i n the share of international migrants i n the population or of remittances received i n gdp reduces the fraction of people living on less than one dollar per day by 1.9% and 1.6% respectively. " x x i n addition to lifting individuals out of poverty, the study found that an increase i n remittance also reduces the depth and severity of poverty. nikola spatafora's 2005 study of 101 developing countries throughout 1970-2003 reached many similar conclusions. measured by use of poverty headcounts and the poverty gap between high and low income individuals, spatafora argues that there is a clear inverse relationship between the level of remittances and poverty—the more the remittances, the lower the level of absolute poverty. there is clear evidence that remittances reduce poverty i n the developing world especially when unofficial remittances are taken into account. a case studies i n some of the poorer remittance recipient countries highlight the impact of remittances i n even the poorest of communities. a study done i n burkina faso—ranked second to last on the un's human development index—reveals that remittances have led to a reduction of poverty by 7% i n rural areas and by 3% i n urban areas.xx i i contrary to one of the greatest criticisms levied against remittances—that they do not flow to the poorest countries and households—this significantly highlights the potential of remittances to reach even the poorest of the poor. this is further supported by a household survey conducted by ratha, which suggests that remittances have significantly reduced the poverty headcount i n several low-income countries "by 11 percentage points i n uganda, 6 percentage points i n bangladesh, and 5 i n ghana. in nepal, remittances may explain a quarter to a half of the 11 percentagepoint reduction i n the poverty headcount rate over the past decade (in the face of a difficult political and economic situation)."™" e d u c a t i o n a n d h e a l t h a main reason for the reduction i n poverty, besides the inherent rise i n income for impoverished households, is the tendency for remittent receiving households to invest i n human capital, especially education and healthcare. in fact, richard adams, jr. reveals, that "households receiving remittances actually spend less at the margin on [basic] consumption—food and consumer goods and durables— than do households receiving no remittances. ' , x x i v specifically, adams finds that a particularly large amount of remittance income is spent on education i n receiving countries, especially on the margin, where "households receiving internal and international remittances spend 45% and elem ents fall 09 58% more, respectively, on education than do households with no remittances. , , x x v remittances reduce poverty in reci pi ent cou ntri es across the world. a number of other studies make the same conclusion about the higher propensity to "consume" education by remittance recipients. a recent study conducted by dean yang, which analyzed the impact of remittances i n the philippines, found that "a rise i n remittances of 10% of ini tial income wi l l increase the fraction of children, aged 17 to 21, attending school, by more than 10 percentage points ." x v 1 the impact of remittances is especially evident i n el salvador, where roughly 15% of all households received remittances i n 1997. surveying a large sample of 14,286 individuals aged 6-24, the study made the fairly representative conclusion that remittance income i n el salvador has a much larger impact on school retention than any other source of income, including official a i d . x x v n providing households with the additional income needed to allow their children to attend school—poor households often rely on child labor for supplementary income or simply cannot afford the costs of education—it was found that " i n urban areas the average level of remittances lowers the hazard that a child wi l l drop out of elementary school by 54%" and that "the average level of remittances i n rural areas lowers the hazard rate that a child wi l l drop out of elementary school by i 4 % . " x x v m healthcare also received considerable attention from remittance recipients and their higher incomes. the mexican migration project, which studies migration flows from the united states and mexico, found that three quarters of migrants i n the united states who remit a portion of their income spent a portion of their funds on healthcare. x x l x this is backed up by research done by frank and hummer i n 2002, whose study argues that children born into remittance receiving families are healthier at birth and exposed to less health risk than non-remittance receiving households. lopez cordova provides some impressive statistics to sustain these claims, concluding that " i f the fraction of remittance-receiving households increased by five percentage points, starting from zero, infant mortality falls by almost 5%, children's school attendance rises by more than 3%, and illiteracy drops by 34%.' > x x x the increased income as a result of remittances not only improves health access, but also health knowledge, an essential tool i n especially poor and rural areas where healthcare may be limited. a study presented by plaza and sonia found that mothers i n migrant households have more health knowledge than their counterparts i n non-migrant households, importantly, they also f ind significantly higher levels of health knowledge among non-migrant households i n high migration communities, supporting the hypothesis that knowledge spillovers exist within these communities/™ i n v e s t m e n t s as the effects of remittances on health and education become established, many skeptics still point out that remittances are rarely, i f ever, used on productive investment such as starting a business, and therefore are out of the policy scope of development goals. early studies did make strong arguments that remittance income was used mainly for consumption. i n his review of international remittance trends, dovelyn rannveig agunias points out that i n latin e x p o r t i n g c i t i z e n s , i m p o r t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s america, more than 80% of remittance receiving households reported using their new income to cover basic necessities. x x i a i there is, however, a growing body of evidence to suggest that productive investments vis-a-vis remittances, especially i n low-income countries, are actually on the rise. adams finds that i n guatemala—a country ranked 118th on the un's human development index—a majority of remittance income was not spent on basic goods. the study found that "at the mean level of expenditures, households without remittances spend 58.9% of their expenditure on consumption goods compared to 55.9% on the part of households receiving international remittances. "»«m adams suggests, along with a growing number of migrant scholars, that households have a higher propensity to invest their remittances than ordinary income because remittances are seen as temporary income. the temporary nature of the income prevents frivolous consumption as "this bottom-up process allows income to flow exactly where it is needed without flowing through the inefficient channels of governments or foreign investors who lack the in-depth knowledge which migrants possess about their own country." households seek to extend the impact of what they see as a short term inflow of cash. a small but growing number of studies have concluded that remittances are increasingly being spent on entrepreneurial investments. for example, it has been found that a fifth of the capital invested by mexico's microenterprises was directly funded by remittances from the united states, a number which "reaches 40% i n states with a high number of immigrants to the united states." ' a similar trend is emerging i n the caribbean, where remittances are having a positive impact on private investment. in a study done across 13 countries i n the region, a 1% increase i n remittances is linked to a 0.6% increase i n private investment . x x x v egypt, characterized by a large population of temporary emigrants who intend to return to their communities, has also witnessed a rise i n investment from remittances, particularly i n housing.n x x v 1 the longer egyptians spend abroad learning skills and the more income they earn, the more likely they are to become entrepreneurs upon r e t u r n . x x x v " as aquanis points out, remittances have been fueling a bourgeoning class of migrant led entrepreneur ship: these recent findings complement earlier studies suggesting that remittances have been critical to the capitalization of migrant-owned businesses. as early as 1990, escobar and martinez suggest that 31% of migrants surveyed in guadalajara used u.s. savings to set up businesses. cornelius's study located in three rural mexican communities suggests an even higher percentage of businesses founded through remittances.*™™ r e m i t t a n c e c r i t i c i s m s despite these encouraging results, a number of reservations remain about the impact of remittances on poverty reduction and development on the whole. i n addition to criticisms that remittances lead to dutch disease and inflation, some scholars worry about the moral hazards to receiving governments as a result of this new windfall ine l e m e n t s fall 09 come.x x s 1 x by exporting their labor and reaping the benefits of their income that is sent back, governments can ignore the root of the economic problem which sent their m i grants off i n the first place. at the macro level, government policy "ignores economic imbalances (e.g. trade deficits) and fails to pursue needed economic reforms as it anticipates getting a big slice of dollar remittances every year from migrant workers." it might even "pursue politically beneficial but economically unwise policies" as long as remittances insulate the economy from the negative impact of these policies."x l given that many of the receiving countries are characterized by either poor, corrupt, or authoritarian governments (or a combination of all three), this is an especially salient observation. despite the probability of this theory, there can be no direct linkage between remittances and moral hazard at the state level, especially links that would override the microeconomic benefits of remittances. and while it is out of the scope of this paper to examine the role of the diaspora on governance and reform, a growing academic consensus on its potential, especially i n the case of india, has recognized its benefit and potential to negate this moral hazard and induce governmental reform. other skeptics point out that remittances actually work to exacerbate inequality i n receiving states. this argument rests on the statistics which reveal that it is not the poorest who migrate. rather, because of the high costs of migration, it is the upper-lower classes and above which mainly benefit from migration and remittances—especially given the direct and private method of income transfer. this theory is highlighted by studies conducted i n both rural egypt and pakistan, where data indicates that remittances have led to a sharp income inequality between migrant and nonmigrant families. i n egypt, households i n the second and third poorest quintile send the least amount of migrants abroad and are severely underrepresented i n remittances. according to adams jr., it is these variations in the number of migrants produced by different income groups—and not differences in either migrant earnings abroad or marginal propensities to remit— that cause international remittances to have a negative effect on rural income distribution.*^ a number of studies and theories have emerged to question adam's criticism. in fact, a study of remittances i n rural mexico has concluded the opposite, suggesting that remittances actually marginally reduce income inequality. ; : rather than exacerbating inequality, a number of other studies conducted i n latin america have concluded that remittances either have a marginal role or a neutral role i n reducing poverty. it has also been found that while inequality may worsen i n the short run, " in the long run the income distribution [of remittances] becomes more equal through the liquidity provided for capital accumulation" and the multiplier effect. x l i v especially apparent i n demand-deficient economies— where incomes are too low to fuel domestic markets—the massive flow of remittances can induce higher incomes for non-migrant families through the consumption and investment multipliers of remittance receivers. robert e.b. lucas notes that "as migrants' families increase their consumption of services or goods produced i n sectors with excess capacity, the additional demand can create jobs for other families who i n turn spend and create further demands. " x l v a n overarching effect on equality has yet to be found, and its effect varies from country to country depending on the nature of a given country's migration. c o n c l u d i n g r e m a r k s as official development aid continues to decline and developing countries continue to grapple with development issues, migrant led development is increasingly being regarded as a potential engine of poverty reduction and economic growth. in fact, with migrant remittances to developing countries estimated to be over $300 billion annually—and billions more that go unaccounted for—remittances have the potential to turn what was once regarded as the developing world's greatest achilles' heel—the loss of e x p o r t i n g c i t i z e n s , i m p o r t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s its skilled human capital—into a potential source of development for these desperate countries. remittances are especially appealing given their source—as remittances outstrip development aid from richer countries, the poor are beginning to support the poor more than the developed world is. this bottom-up process allows income to flow exactly where it is needed without flowing through the inefficient channels of governments or foreign investors who lack the in-depth knowledge which migrants possess about their own country. this self-led development wi l l lead to more sustainable and beneficial long term development. remittances are more than a simple private transfer of income spent on immediate consumption. rather, studies have shown that remittances have a direct impact on reducing poverty by allowing households to invest i n human capital, including education and healthcare. the benefits are also apparent i n the macro-economy, where, despite the ongoing debate, remittances provide capital strapped countries with the ability to finance development projects. the recorded ability of remittances to reduce poverty through development is only the tip of the iceberg, however. through appropriate policy measures of providing a banking infrastructure and incentives to migrant remitters, remittance flows can be expanded and their effect on poverty enhanced. by bringing multilateral financial institutions (mfis) into the fold, remittances would flow to poorer and more rural households, while at the same time providing the capital to lend to and develop the very same economies. mfis, with lower cost, are able to open branches i n areas where traditional banks cannot, extending the reach of remittances outside of urban communities. leveraging remittances for development through financial institutions, especially mfis, would lead to higher income and development for entire receiving communities and states, not just direct remittance recipients. this would, i n turn, lead to less reliance on migration and remittance i n the first place. thus, the goal should not only be to cultivate a greater flow of remittances but, rather, to focus on providing the income and infrastructure for developing countries to reduce their reliance on migration and become self-sufficient and developed. e n d n o t e s i . page (3) i i . ibid. i i i . kapiszewski (3) iv. page (54) v. adams 2006 (3) vi . ibid. v i i . de haas (605) v i i i . ghosh (7) ix. ibid. x. newland xi . hatton (335) xi i . ibid. x i i i . lucas (156) xiv. page (9) xv. page, ghosh xvi. ghosh (10) xvii. aqunias xvii i . eversole xix. eversole (306) xx. page (19) xxi. munzele 2005 xxii. lucas "migration and economic development" (369) xxiii . ratha, leveraging remittances (5) xxiv. adams 2005 xxv. ibid. xxvi. page (20) xxvii. adams 2006.(6) xxviii. ibid. xxix. eversole (306) xxx. page (20) xxxi. ibid. xxxii. aqunias (25) xxxiii. ibid. xxxiv. aqunias (26) xxxv. ibid. xxxvi. ibid. xxxvii. adams 2006 (6) xxxviii. aqunias (25) xxxix. dutch disease occurs when a country experiences a rise i n revenue from natural resources, or i n this case remittances, which raises the exchange rate of that country and subsequently harms the country's export sector. xl. aldaba xl i . aldaba (35) x l i i . lucas 2005 (189) x l i i i . ibid. xliv. lucas (190) xlv. lucas (156) elem ents fall 09 r e f e r e n c e s adams, richard h . , jr. 1991. the effects of international remittances on poverty, inequality,and development in rural egypt. research report no. 86. washington, dc: international food policy research institute. adams, jr., richard h . 2005. "remittances, household expenditure and investment i n guatemala," world bank policy research working paper no. 3532, march 2005. adams, richard h . , jr. 2006. "migration, remittances and development: the critical nexus i n the middle east and north africa." un/pop/egm/2006/01. adelman, irma, and j. edward taylor. 1990. "is structural adjustment wi th a human face possible? the case of mexico." journal of development studies, 26.3, pp. 387-407. aldaba, fernando. 2004. the economics and politics of overseas migration in the philippines. paper presented at the overseas filipinos and the 2004 elections forum, economic resource center for overseas filipinos, <http://www.ercof.org/papers/ migrationaldaba.html>. amuedo-dorantes, catalina and susan pozo. 2004. "workers ; remittances and the real exchange rate: a paradox of gifts," world development 32.8, pp.1407-1417. aqunias, dovelyn. 2006. "remittances and development: trends, impacts, and policy options," migration policy institute. chami, ralph, connel fullenkamp, and samir jahjah. 2005. "are immigrant remittance flows a source of capital for development." imf staff papers, 52.1. de haas, hein and roald plug. 2006. "cherishing the goose wi th the golden eggs: trends i n migrant remittanes from europe to morocco 1970-2004," international migration review, 40.3. durand, jorge, emilio a. parrado, and douglas s. massey. 1996. "migradollars and development: a reconsideration o f the mexican case." international migration review, 30.2, pp. 423-44. eversole, robyn. 2005. "direct to the poor revisited."migration and economy. lillian trager (ed.). rowman altamira. frank, reanne and robert a. hummer. 2002. "the other side of the paradox: the risk of low birth weight among infants of migrant households with in mexico." international migration review, 36.3, pp. 746-765. ghosh, bimal. 2006. migrant's remittances and development: myths, rhetoric, and realities, international organization for migration. geneva: switzerland. hatton, timothy j. and jeffrey williamson. 2005. global migration and the world economy. cambridge, ma: m i t press. kapiszewski, andrzej. 2006. arab versus asian migrant. un/pop/egm/2006/2. lopez cordova, ernesto, 2004. "globalization, migration and development: the role of mexican migrant remittances." lucas, robert. 2005. "international migration regimes and economic development." edward elgar publishing: stocholm. lucas, robert. "migration and economic development i n africa: a review of evidence." journal of african economies, 15, aerc supplement 2. maimbo, samuel munzele. 2005. migrant labor remittances in the south asia region. report no 31577/ finance and private sector development unit . south asia region. the world bank. newland, kathleen. "a new surge of interest i n migration and development," migration policy institute. <http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm?id=58o>. accessed 29 apri l 2008. page, john and sonia plaza. 2005. "migration remittances and development: a review of global evidence." the world bank, 18 august 2005. quartey, peter., and t. blankson. 2004. do migrant remittances minimize the impact of macro-volatility on the poor in ghana? final report submitted to the global development network (gdn). spatafora, nikola. 2005. "two current issues facing developing countries." i n world economic outlook: a survey by the staff of the international monetary fund. yang, dean. 2004. international migration, human capital, and entrepreneurship: evidence from philippine migrants' exchange rate shocks. ford school of public policy working paper series, no. 02-011. university of michigan, a n n arbor. e x p o r t i n g c i t i z e n s , i m p o r t i n g r e m i t t a n c e s http://www.ercof.org/papers/migrationaldaba.html http://www.ercof.org/papers/migrationaldaba.html http://www.migra-tioninformation.org/feature/display.cfm?id=58o http://www.migra-tioninformation.org/feature/display.cfm?id=58o "more united states immigrants claim mexico as their homeland than any other national group... what sets mexico apart as the primary source of immigrants? v a n h i s t o r i c a l ( i n t e r ) d e p e n d e n c y : mexican migration to the united states m a t t h e w h a m i l t o n l o n g s t a n d i n g i n c e n t i v e s f o r m i g r a t i o n h a v e e n c o u r a g e d i n d i v i d u a l s t o t r a v e l f r o m m e x i c o t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s i n s e a r c h o f h i g h e r w a g e s a n d e c o n o m i c s u r v i v a l . t h e s e i n c e n t i v e s e x i s t d e s p i t e t h e s t a t e d g o a l o f v a r i o u s o f f i c i a l s t o c u r b i m m i g r a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s . i n f a c t , t h e m i g r a t i o n o f w o r k e r s i s a k e y f a c e t i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a n d m e x i c o . s e v e r a l p o l i c i e s h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e c o n t i n u e d m i g r a t i o n a n d h a v e f u r t h e r e n t r e n c h e d a g r o w i n g d e p e n d e n c y b e t w e e n t h e t w o n a t i o n s . t h i s p a p e r s e r v e s a s a n i n d e p t h e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e c a u s e s o f t h i s e c o n o m i c d e p e n d e n c y a n d i n v e s t i g a t e s w h a t e f f e c t t h e l a t e s t o f t h e s e p o l i c i e s , t h e n o r t h a m e r i c a n f r e e t r a d e a g r e e m e n t , h a s o n t h e i s s u e . i n t r o d u c t i o n more united states immigrants claim mexico as their homeland than any other national group. as of march 2002, 30 percent of all immigrants residing in the united states and 57 percent of all latin american immigrants, or 9.8 mill ion people, hailed from mexico.' what sets mexico apart as the primary source of immigrants? historical immigration trends, policies, and practices have been conducive to the flow of peoples into the united states since the late 19* century. further, migrant networks supported by both american and mexican policies have perpetuated immigration. over time the flow of peoples also created a dependency within mexico and the united states on migrant wages and labor. in terms of policy, the north american free trade agreement (nafta) further evinces the existing dependent relationship between the two nations. dependency theory locates the relationship between the developed and prosperous core and the underdeveloped and impoverished periphery; it involves the exchange of resources between the two, at times an exchange between a "superordinate" and "subordinate" unit." according to christopher chase-dunn, dependency is born out of three related features and behaviors in the interactions between the periphery and the core, namely, "exploitation, structural distortion, and suppression of autonomous policies."1'1 that is, the core embarks on exploitative measures which include "decapitalization, unequal exchange, and subordination to external controls in a competitive system."1 n furthermore, the core disfigures the economy of the periphery by relegating it to a "specialization in raw material production (low differentiation); outward-oriented infrastructure (low integration); [and] the creation of resource patterns which retard economic development" because of the influence on the periphery of multinational corporations controlled by the core.v finally, the core realizes its dependency by forming "a political situation which retards development by linking elites in the periphery to the interests of the core."v i dependency is a historical process as much as it is an economic reality, and accordingly, the history of mexican politics, economics, and society relating to migration portray mexico as a dependent of the united states. the dependency between the united states and mexico originally took root i n the underdevelopment caused by diseases and spanish colonial structure. colonially-subjugated mexico divided land according to the hacienda system in which a single ruling family profited from the labor of medieros, or sharecroppers, andjornaleros, or day laborers.vh the ruling family typically "consumed the surplus . . . produced by the jornaleros and medieros, rather than investing it in machinery.'^111 the byproduct of the ruling family's absorption of profits was a lack of capital, which in turn encouraged capital-poor ruling families to "superexploit the peons or else try to get more land by means such as encroachment." lx the exploitation at the hands of colonial spain, coupled with malnutrition, slavery, and "repeated epidemics of smallpox, typhoid, measles, and tuberculosis," reduced the population of native indians from between 15 and 20 mill ion to one mill ion by 1620, where it remained until the 2 0 " 1 century.x mexican independence exposed the political unpreparedness of the nation after colonialism. alexander monto writes that members of the politically-inexperienced creole class assumed control of the mexican government from spain, although "seldom did a president serve even a year of his term," as the country was rocked by instability and conflict. at the same time, the united states acquired land close to mexico with the louisiana purchase, made claims on texas, annexed the oregon territory, and attempted to purchase california/ 1 monto continues, "many people in mexico even favored a u.s. takeover of the whole country" because of economic stagnation and political volatility. the treaty of guadalupe hidalgo in 1848, which gave the united states land "from texas and colorado west to california," only served to produce "a persisting legacy of bitterness" over the lost territory/ in the shadow of this bitterness and national underdevelopment rose president benito juarez, whose 1857 reform embarked on a u.s.e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 07 supported reconstruction of the economic and governmental infrastructure. juarez's successor, porfirio diaz, hastened mexican advancement through increasing american economic, social, and political ties within the country, thus heightening mexican dependency. although juarez's programs offered some modernization in mexico, it was not unti l diaz's implementation of the porfiriato that mexico modernized through the provision of "huge foreign concessions for mining, railroad, telephone, and electric development, often favoring u.s. companies."™ 1 during diaz's government, "push" factors in mexico and "pull" factors in the united states worked together to increase mexican migration across the border. diaz's permission for hacienda expansions through the annexation of smaller neighboring communities displaced peasants. during the late 1800s, the american demand for labor in the southwestern portion of the country offered an employment opportunity to many mexicans across the border primarily for "railroads (particularly construction and maintenance), agriculture, and general, unskilled manual labor."x1v the flow of migrants into the southwestern united states was so vital to the american economy that, by the turn of the century, "mexico under porfirio diaz was certainly a u.s. economic satellite. labor export soon became a major element of that economic dependency."xv the mexican revolution and the cristiada, x v l which occurred from 1910-1929, both contributed to increased migration, although there were still fluctuations owing to american foreign policy and the economy, especially during the great depression, which exposed the interrelatedness of mexico and the united states. specifically, monto discerns that the period of the mexican revolution and the ensuing cristiada "with the destruction of haciendas and crops, impressments and looting, and declining agricultural production" made migration desirable to many mexicans. x v u however, movement of people between mexico and the united states was occurring free from any form of governmental regulation until 1917, when the passing of the immigration act in the united states "required that every immigrant who was over 16-years-old be literate in at least one language and pay an $8.00 tax upon entry." x v m with the passage of the immigration act and subsequent acts throughout the 20th century, mexican migration became officially illegal. sanderson writes that the presence of undocumented migration was regulated by border patrols, yet there were also efforts among "employers of mexican migrants . . . to exempt their employees from the new rule." x l x the roots of latter-day labor dependency can be seen in such efforts and in the discontinuation of the immigration act during world war i in order to compensate for the absence of men in the united states. accordingly, sanderson writes that "the border remained essentially unpatrolled and the tradition of migration was already well established."'x during the early 1920s, the american economic recession led to resentment of migrants, which bred violence towards mexican workers and temporarily halted migration. economic prosperity diminished such acts of violence in the later 1920s; migration reestablished itself only to have the great depression render mexican migrants unneeded, again causing migration rates to drop. x x 1 the american great depression, world war i i , and the a n h i s t o r i c a l ( l n t e r ) d e p e n d e n c y i m e x i c a n m i g r a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s post-war era coincided with the establishment of the ejido land tenure system, which created the need for migration remittances. the communal ejido system granted formerly hacienda lands to groups of medieros, or sharecroppers, to work . x x u ejidos "created a demand for capital by giving poor campesinos access to land but not the credit required to engage in production."™ 1 1 monto concurs, specifically with respect to the purchasing of agricultural equipment as "single-share steel plows were often bought with migrant earnings."xx1v massey notes, further, that mexicans hailing from regions with an ejido system, as opposed to those lacking the ejido system were more likely to seek labor in the united states, namely to gain access to credit through remittances. thus, mexico's labor and capital demands sought supply from the resuscitated post-world war i i economy of the united states, which increased migratory flows and the ensuing transfer of capital in the form of remittances. american and mexican governments cooperated in legislating the placement of mexican workers in the american economy by adopting the bracero program in 1942, through which "more than a half-million mexican workers were migrating per year."x x v it was structured so that "each laborer (only males) would work under a specific contract that guaranteed certain rights such as food and housing, medical care, specified pay, and a return home at the end of the [working period]," which was capped at 90 days and restricted primarily to agricultural labor.x x v 1 furthermore, the bracero program required that the mexican government assign laborer quotas to regions throughout the country, the largest of which were assigned "to the west-central states of mexico, where rural economic conditions were among the poorest and from which many of the previous migrants had come." x x v" this bilateral program advanced the "circular and recurrent flow [of laborers] which was mainly constituted by young rural men from western mexico ." x x v m for the mexico ejido system, however, the benefits of the bracero program were approximately $200 mill ion, which was transferred to mexico from migrant labor from just 1942 to i947_ x x 1 x outside the bracero program, however, undocumented migration still occurred to such an extent that, as demetrios papademetriou points out, "the united states deported more than three mill ion mexicans between 1950 and 1955 without seriously impeding the ability of u.s. farmers to employ mexican labor." x x x a dependency can be seen in the presence of legalized and undocumented migration into the united states through the bracero program. nonetheless, the discontinuation of the bracero program in 1966 seemed to hint at a diminished need for mexican labor in the united states. in actuality, it was the result of political pressure in the united states and increased illegal immigration. the laborer cap of the bracero program was insufficient to meet the demand for mexican labor.x x x 1 moreover, monto claims that "some growers were said to prefer illegal migrants (also called "wetbacks") as they would work for lower pay."xxx11 thus, american agricultural advocacy groups supported the discontinuation of the legalized worker program in favor of illegal migrant workers who would hold wages at very low levels. although "the mexican government continued to back the program as an outlet for surplus labor and a source of income," the u.s. yielded to internal pressures from "the press, the unions, and congress" and eliminated the hracero p rogram. x x x m although the flow of migrant laborers continued beyond 1966, this mechanism of mexican-american dependency was rendered illegal. t h e s h i f t f r o m i n t e r d e p e n d e n c y to d e p e n d e n c y the end of the hracero program marked the beginning of the policy of economic liberalization which shifted mexico towards the status of dependency, as it began to enact policies that favored foreign investment over economic sovereignty and development. such programs increased unemployment, as foreign capital tended to push peasantry out of agriculture along with situating people in the raw material production, which chase-dunn refers to as the border's maquiladoras. this economic liberalization widened the gap between the rich and the poor, tying richer elites closer to the interests of the united states than to the interests of peripheral mexico. legislation in the united states, nafta being the most recent and salient example, exacerbated such dependencies by fully opening mexico up to foreign investment, industry, and economic control. overall, nafta removed autonomy from the mexican economy, yet the historical process found its momentum in post-hracero mexico. before continuing to assess the migration of mexican laborers as part of a dependent relationship between the united states and mexico, it is important to enumerate the concept of migration networks, whose role became more prominent following the discontinuation of the hracero program. the world institute for development economics research of the united nations university (unu-wider) sought to define migrant networks as "a set of economic, social, political, and cultural ties or dependencies linking sending and receiving countries. ' , x x x l v broadly speaking, migrant networks are the means through which resources such as information flow. migrant networks influence a potential migrant's "length of stay and capacity to settle and integrate in countries of destination." x x x v they serve as generators of "positive externalities" which include "the transfer of remittances,... business links or ideas, support for local charitable initiatives, or pressure for political and social re form. ' , x x x v l moreover, the theory put forth by unuwider indicates that migrant networks can "generate a self-perpetuating dynamic of continued migration flows, regardless of attempts to l imit quotas." x x x v i l they constitute social capital, making migration more secure in a variety of dimensions. as douglas massey writes, "among people considering a trip to the united states, ties to current or former u.s. migrants represent a valuable social asset since these connections can be used to acquire information and assistance that reduce the cost and risks of entering the united states and raise the odds of getting a good u.s. j o b . " x x x v i i i migration networks facilitate migration through the security they provide, and, as zahniser identifies, they "lower the costs of migrat ion, . . . reduce the risks associated with migration, . . . may provide the migrant with valuable job contacts,... [and] may make life in the united states more appealing to the migrant. " x x x 1 x migrant networks can take the form of a familial tradition, such as housing communities within the u.s. whose residents have the same regional mexican background, one migrant helping another simply because they share a common hometown, or the presence of coyotes whose transportation assistance is contracted by migrants will ing to cross the border. : l observing the rea n h i s t o r i c a l ( i n t e r ) d e p e n d e n c y i m e x i c a n m i g r a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s suits of survey and population data, massey writes that migrations increased "in response to variation in the quantity of social capital at a man's disposal." x l 1 specifically, the likelihood of illegal migration increases i f one's parents have migrated and doubles i f a prospective migrant has two migrant siblings. x , n migration trends are, therefore, selfsustaining, as numerous scholars posit that the social capital created by migrant networks facilitates more migration. papademetriou points out that there was a multiplier effect as some workers left their seasonal labor through the brace.ro program in order to establish permanent employment and residency. looking back, then, the initial movements of people into the united states for economic survival established a myriad of migration networks comprising a self-propelling migration juggernaut. x l m following the discontinuation of the brace.ro program, a forward-thinking mexican government introduced maquiladoras, factories for assembling and processing manufactured goods, in the northern mexico border region. kathryn kopinak writes that the mexican government fully "intended to provide jobs lost through the u.s. cancellation of the bracero program" with the passing of the border industrialization program, "which allowed u.s. components to be assembled in other countries and then re-exported back to the united states without being taxed on re-entry. " x l l v although the immediate goal of the maquiladoras was to off-set the lost labor opportunities offered by the bracero program, the mexican government's long-term goal was "to change the isolated northern border "a sign of the growing dependency, any type of recession in the u.s. would significantly hurt mexico." of mexico into a dynamic growth pole for the whole northern border, and possibly the whole country." x l v a related view is proposed by elizabeth fussell, who writes that during the 1970s and early 1980s, the border economy, the locus of maquiladora industry, was actually "more closely tied with the u.s. economy than with the mexican economy." a sign of the growing dependency, any type of recession i n the u.s. would significantly hurt mexico. x l v i the establishment of maquiladoras was, therefore, in accordance with the government's economic aim to give "priority to the industrial sector at the expense of the peasantry" in order to attract u.s. investment and commercial development in the border region. x l v u the united states considered the maquiladoras to be part of the interdependency agreement since they were "a way of using cheap mexican labor without having to negotiate with u.s. unions" or employ illegal immigrants . x l v m for mexico, the policy goal was that foreign investment through the maquiladora, the "instrument necessary to increase the competitiveness of mexican industry," would globally integrate the mexican economy. x l l x following the 1982 currency crisis, when mexico "was obliged to open its economy and engage in austerity measures," the maquiladoras became more than a unique aspect of the northern border; rather, they became part of mexico's response to "a policy of structural adjustment and changes in production and policy."1 specifically mexico wanted "greater liberalization of the economy, . . . a major change in the functioning of the labor market," and also to enact "a policy of openness to the outside [through] the encouragement of export substitution and the promotion of various forms of international subcontracting."'1 after 1982, the maquiladoras were promoted not only as a means of economic development along the border, but also as agricultural and industrial advancements. rather than meeting the economic needs of the united states and mexico, the maquiladoras increased unemployment in mexico. they "increased the distance between rich and poor, to the point . . . of putting mexico in the runnerhttp://brace.ro http://brace.ro up spot in the hemisphere."1" the strategy of attracting foreign investment and building maquiladoras further "led to a rise in job insecurity, cutbacks in real wages, polarization of industrial employment, [and] more underemployment and informal employment."'1 1 1 u.s. technology in maquiladoras, as well as in other industrializing programs in agriculture and manufacturing, affected migration, such that bustamente writes, "when such foreign technology was utilized in a country like mexico . . . a displacement of labor power was produced that could not be absorbed by other sectors and that ended up emigrating to the united states."llv after the 1982 industrial shift in mexico, the "needs" of mexico and the united states were met by undocumented migrations and remittances. massey draws on his own statistical evidence to show that "an increase in the rate of u.s. employment growth tends to be followed by an increase in the likelihood of illegal migration. " i v he also points out the fallacy in assigning migration to the unemployment and poor wages resulting from industrialization and structural adjustment since "high levels of industrial development and wages" raise the likelihood of illegal migration to the united states.ivi migration to meet the needs in both developing and under-developing parts of the mexican economy began with the ejidos, which, as discussed, "create[d] a need for capital by providing farm families with access to land but not the capital needed to begin or expand agricultural production." i v 1 1 the structure of mexican development strategies and the resulting unemployment gave rise to migration just as colonialism resulted in underdevelopment. the immigration reform and control act (irca) in 1986 continued the existing dependency between mexico and the united states by permanently establishing the residency of over two mill ion mexican nationals. l v i" the u.s.'s immigration control legislation specifically "provided for the legalization of unauthorized immigrants who could show they had been resident in the united states since january 1,1982, or had worked in u.s. agriculture." l l x the i rca also permitted "amnesty recipients to sponsor the undocumented migration of their friends and relatives. " l x however, as chavez and whiteford write, the fault in the i rca in controlling immigration rests in its belief that a unilateral policy can solve a bilateral issue.1x1 the legalization of undocumented migrants only propelled migration forward since, owing to newfound legalization, it created significantly more secure social capital. migration became more viable and attractive in the long-run due to the effects of the legalization by the i rca, and massey determined that the probability of undocumented migration to the united states increased by 55 percent i f a family member was among those legalized by the irca. l x n the benefits provided by remittances are another facet of mexican dependency on the united states. popularly termed "migradollars," remittances are the u.s. wages sent back to mexico from migrant workers which have "become critical resources for the sustenance of homes and families i n rural and urban mexico." i x i" in fact, remittances from migration constitute a "survival strategy" for mexican families facing the "restructuring pressures" brought about by economic policies such as those enacted in 1982 and the industrialization of the maquiladoras ) x k as the opening of the economy made "employment more precarious, with a general reduction i n wages," min imum wages specifically experienced "an uninterrupted tendency to fall steadily" a n h i s t o r i c a l ( i n t e r ) d e p e n d e n c y ! m e x i c a n m i g r a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s .. by 1991, mexicans accounted for 47.7 percent of the 1.13 million detained along the us.-mexico border, a figure which does not even include those who made it across." over t ime. l x v in light of industrialization and this economic stagnation, remittances made migration "a more attractive option than working in new industrial zones or in cities in the mexican countryside." l x v i the statistics regarding migration show that typical remittances were "2.4 times the official min imum wage, which is two-thirds of the average working income i n mexico," meaning that migrants earn "as much money as one-third of the resident population" of mexico. l x v n since such remittances "are largely spent on current consumption," however, the remittances become an indication of dependency. despite this, even illegal migration is an economic form of survival. 1™ 1 1 with migration providing such benefits in the form of migradollars, it is no surprise that by 1991, mexicans accounted for 47.7 percent of the 1.13 mill ion detained along the u.s.-mexico border, a figure which does not even include those who made it across. l x i x the ulterior motive of nafta, in conjunction with the agreement's economic development benefits, was to prevent such migration. such aims led mexico's president salinas to declare, amidst the early 1990s hammering out of nafta, his desire to escape the labor dependency and its associated benefits: "we want to export goods, not people." l x x similarly, president george h.w. bush declared in 1991, "we share the concerns expressed by some in congress and the private sector that a nafta not lead to increased immigration of foreign workers." l x x i although nafta is exclusively a trade agreement, migration was clearly an objective i n its adoption. provisions within nafta express a plan to promote trade and international investment within mexico and among its partners in order to effect sound and vibrant economic development. monto summarized the primary provisions of nafta as removing all or most tariffs, opening government contracts "to firms of free-trade partners," imposing "no new discriminatory measures on investment," and eliminating "mexico's limits on foreign investment." 1™ 1 such a policy promotes economic development through the liberalization and integration of the mexican, american, and now canadian economies, and thus fits within the pattern of development salient in the 1982 restructuring of the economy through promotion of industrialization and the maquiladoras.lxxm overall, this promotion of economic growth and employment wi l l then make each nafta country more competitive. l x x i v the prevailing view prior to and during the initial phases of nafta's inception held that migration would be stifled and rendered less economically viable. contrary to the observations of massey, schott and hufbauer postulated that nafta would best control immigration by allowing "economic prosperity i n mexico to ameliorate the flow of immigrants over the next several decades." lxxv however, joyce vialet averred that nafta might engender an initial increase in migrations in the short run owing to the agreement's "potential for displacing mexican agricultural worke r s . " 1 ™ 1 similarly, hinojosa-ojeda and robinson wrote that "complete liberalization in mexican agriculture wi l l greatly increase the speed of out-migration from rural areas." 1™' 1 1 cognizant of the effects of migrant networks, the long-standing roots of migration and migrant remittances, and the need for capital among mexican people, vialet predicted that "conditions for continued large-scale migration from mexico are already in place." l x x v i i l that is, nafta wil l only serve to continue encouraging the migratory flow of mexicans into the u.s. nafta-era mexico has verified that the agreement not only fails to alleviate, but also heightens economic pressures while further exposing the dependency on the united states. liberalization of the economic system resulted in the purchase of 85 percent of mexican banks by international banks with investors whose principal aim was found to be "in taking deposits and making high-interest-rate consumer loans [rather] than in developing mexico's internal economy." l x x l x moreover, mexico has experienced poor productivity, as christian stracke points out that "productivity has declined . . . whereas productivity in the united states—already a developed nation with presumably fewer opportunities for easy gains i n this area—has risen by a third since 1990." l x x x according to stracke, central to this decline in productivity growth is the fact that "the labor force rose by over 230 percent, [while] gdp rose by just 220 percent," although such statistics do not show the "brain drain" or the loss of educated and skilled laborers; currently, 20 percent of mexican immigration to the u.s. are educated. faux adds that the curtailing of farm subsidies within mexico by $1.5 billion, while at the same time the u.s. increased its agricultural subsidies, has been doubly detrimental. thus, the united states' '"comparative advantage' enabled u.s. agribusiness to blow thousands of mexican farmers out of their own markets. "'x x x 1 as earlier, the locus of industry is in both northern mexico's maquiladoras along the mexico-u.s. border, where the "low-value-added operations that depend on cheap labor" and in other regions in mexico, which are enclaves of industry that polarize the economy and engender a hinterland of few or simply low-value-added jobs . l x x x n migration has continued accordingly in mexico, motivated by such a poor economic outlook that a "half-million mexicans come to the united states every year; roughly 60 percent of them are undocumented. " l x x x 1 1 1 migration is thus integral to mexico's dependency today, as the exportation of labor comprises a cause, an effect, and a central mechanism of that dependency. it is the result of many factors: underdevelopment, capital restrictions in the ejido system, the lure of remittances, poor economic climates, unemployment, the pull of social capital, and the desire to establish a new life in the united states. the historical, political, and economic policies of both mexico and the u.s. have prolonged the dependency on mexican labor through the inertia of migration networks. nafta is no exception: owing to external influences such as agricultural subsidies, high population growth, and poor productivity growth, it might even be considered the most dependencyfostering policy in the history of migrational mexico-u.s. economic policy. e n d n o t e s i . passel i i . chase-dunn (212) i i i . chase-dunn (213) iv. chase-dunn (213) v. chase-dunn (214) vi . chase-dunn (215) v i i . monto (36-38) v i i i . monto (39) ix. monto (39) x. monto (26) xi . monto (27) x i i . monto (27) x i i i . monto (28) xiv. sanderson (292) xv. monto (9) xvi. the cristiada was a rebellion agaist the anti-catholic mexican government. xvii . monto (39) xvii i . sanderson (292) xvix. sanderson (292) xx. sanderson (293) xxi. sanderson (294) xxii . massey et al (954); monto (40) xxii i . massey et al (954) xxiv. monto (48) xxv. papademetriou (44) xxvi. monto (56) xxvii. monto (56) a n h i s t o r i c a l ( i n t e r ) d e p e n d e n c y : m e x i c a n m i g r a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s xxviii. canales xxix. monto (57) xxx. papademetriou (44) xxxi. monto (57) xxxii. monto (57) xxxiii. monto (58) xxxiv. boswell and crisp (16) xxxv. boswell and crisp (16) xxxvi. boswell and crisp (16) xxxvii. boswell and crisp (17) xxxviii. massey et al (951) xxxix. zahniser (10-11) xl . zahniser (3-4) xl i . massey et al (965) x l i i . massey et al (965) x l i i i . papademetriou (45) xliv. kopinak (7-8) xlv. kopinak (8) xlvi. fussell xlvii . bustamente (270) xlvi i i . kopinak (8) xlix. kopinak (16) 1. canales; fussell l i . canales hi. bustamente (8) l i i i i . canales liv. bustamente (271) lv massey et al (962) lvi . massey et al (961) lv i i . massey et al (962) lv i i i . papademetriou (45) lix. papademetriou lx. massey et al (991) lxi . chavez and whiteford (26) lx i i . massey et al (968) lx i i i . conway and cohen lxiv. conway and cohen lxv. canales lxvi. canales lxvii . canales lxvii i . conway and cohen lxix. monto (207) lxx. vialet lxxi. vialet lxxii . monto (208) lxxii i . monto (210-11) lxxiv. vialet lxxv. hufbauer and schott lxxvi. vialet lxxvii. hinojosa-ojeda and robinson lxxviii. vialet lxxix. faux lxxx. stracke lxxxi. faux lxxxii. stracke lxxxiii. faux references boswell, christina and jeff crisp. 2004. "poverty, international migration and asylum." policy paper from the unu-wider conference on poverty, international migration, and asylum. helsinki, finland: u n u world institute for development economics research. bustamente, jorge a. 1983. "mexican migration: the political dynamic of perceptions." u.s.-mexico relations: economic and social aspects. clark w. reynolds and carlos tello (eds.). stanford, california: stanford university press. canales, alejandro i . 2003 "mexican labour migration to the united states i n the age o f globalization." journal of ethnic and migration studies, 29(4), pp. 741-62, july. chase-dunn, christopher. 2000. "the effects of international economic dependence on development and inequality: a cross-national study." from modernization to globalization: perspectives on development and social change. j. timmons roberts and amy hite (eds.). maiden, massachusetts: blackwell publishing, pp. 210-28. chavez, manuel and scott whiteford. 1996. "beyond the market: political and socioeconomic dimensions of nafta for mexico." policy choices: free trade among nations, eds. karen roberts and mark i . wilson. east lansing: michigan state university press. conway, dennis and jeffrey h . cohen. 1998. "consequences of migration and remittances for mexican transnational communities." economic geography, 74(1), pp. 26-45, january. faux, jeff. 2003. "how nafta failed mexico: immigration is not a development policy." the american prospect, 14(7), pp. 3538, july-august. fussell, elizabeth. 2004. "sources of mexico's migration stream: rural, urban, and border migrants to the united states." social forces, 82(3), pp. 937-68, march. hinojosa-ojeda, raul and sherman robinson. 1992. "labor issues in a north american free trade area. nafta: assessing the impact." the brookings institution, pp. 97-98. hufbauer, gary clyde and jeffrey j. schott. 1992. "north american free trade: issues and recommendations." institute for international economics, p. 129. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 kopinak, kathryn. 1996. desert capitalism: maquiladoras innorth america's western industrial corridor. tuscon, arizona: the university of arizona press. massey, douglas s. and kristin e. espinosa. 1997. "what's driving mexico-u.s. migration? a theoretical, empirical, and policy analysis." the american journal of sociology, 102(4), pp939-99. monto, alexander. 1994. the roots of mexican labor migration. westport, connecticut: praeger. papademetriou, demetrios g. 2003. "the shifting expectations of free trade and migration." carnegie endowment for international peace, pp. 39-59, november. passel, jeffrey s. 2004. "mexican immigration to the u.s.: the latest estimates." migration policy institute. 21 apr i l 2006 <http: //www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm? i d= 2o8>. sanderson, warren c. 1983. "the problems of planning for the expected: demographic shocks and policy paralysis." u.s.mexico relations: economic and social aspects. clark w. reynolds and carlos tello (eds.). stanford, california: stanford university press. stracke, christian. 2003. "mexico the sick man of nafta." world policy journal, xx(2). vialet, joyce c. 1993. "the north american free trade agreement and immigration." migration world magazine, 21(23), pp. 23-27, march-june. zahniser, steven s. 1999. transnational business and corporate culture: problems and opportunities series. stuart bruchey (ed.). mexican migration to the united states: the role of migration networks and human capital accumulation. new york: garland publishing. a n h i s t o r i c a l ( i n t e r ) d e p e n d e n c y : m e x i c a n m i g r a t i o n t o t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm "'god is everywhere. god doesn't ask me to come to him because he's everywhere—in my home, in the temple, in the chair at my side. if i touch god, it doesn't change anything between us."' lessons i n d e v o t i o n a convergence of christian and hindu religiosity m i c h e l l e h u b e l e w h i l e s p e n d i n g t i m e i n b a n g a l o r e , v a r a n a s i , a n d a r u n a c h a l a , i n d i a , m i c h e l l e h u b e l e i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f d e v o t i o n i n t h e b h a k t i , k a r m a , a n d j n a n a p a t h s o f h i n d u i s m . i n t e r v i e w i n g m e m e b e r s o f e a c h t r a d i t i o n , s h e w a s a b l e t o l e a r n f i r s t h a n d h o w e a c h g r o u p p e r c e i v e s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e i r a c t s o f d e v o t i o n w i t h i n t h e l a r g e r m a t r i x o f t h e i r r e l i g i o s i t y . f r o m t h e r e , m s . h u b e l e w a s a b l e t o c o m e t o a g r e a t e r a w a r e n e s s o f h o w t h e o u t w a r d e x p r e s s i o n s o f f a i t h i n t h e t r a d i t i o n s r e v e a l e d e a c h p a t h ' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f g o d . t h i s r e s e a r c h u l t i m a t e l y a l l o w e d h e r t o a n a l y z e w h a t i m p o r t a n t l e s s o n s c h r i s t i a n i t y a n d h i n d u i s m c o u l d l e a r n f r o m o n e a n o t h e r w i t h r e g a r d s t o t h e i r u s e o f d e v o t i o n i n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e t h e o l o g i e s . hinduism is a diverse religion. deemed one tradition by the westerners who came to india, it is actually a collection of faiths. the gods worshipped, the method of worshipping, and the places held sacred vary as much as the individuals who claim the identity of hindu. such a range of beliefs may make dialogue between hinduism and other religions seem fairly void of meaning. how can there be something to learn from a religion i f there is not even a defined theology? in the face of such disbelief, though, it is possible to recognize thematic concepts within hinduism that can inform and transform the religions engaged in dialogue. three main paths to salvation exist within hinduism, each leading to the same truth. this truth, brahma, can be understood by two different philosophies. even with this seeming assortment of beliefs, though, the fruits of interreligious dialogue between other religions and hinduism can be extensive. in the instance of christianity, the concepts of devotion found in the margas of bhakti, karma, and jfiana offer the possibility of deepening christian devotion. through study of these three forms of hinduism, a christian can learn new ways to approach christ, the world, and her or his own self. b h a k t i m a r g a bhakti-marga, the path of love of god, is one of "reciprocal movement."1 heinrich von stietencron explains, "the deity reveals itself to the person who praises it. it helps him, shows itself to h im in images, in mental visions, and in all beings. love for god prompts service of god, which should find expression in every thought and deed."11 a devout bhakti-hindu should thus pursue and serve god. the bhagavad-gita encourages this through the discourses of lord krishna to arjuna. by doing everything out of love of god, the believer purifies every action and receives full understanding of god. thus, the believer, regardless of caste, class, or sex, can reach moksha (liberation from reincarnation). bhakti-marga is popular throughout india. with a pantheon of gods that numbers 333 million, the diversity of deities allows believers to adore billions of combinations of gods. each temple wi l l offer something different to the devotee, making bhakti-marga an excessively varied path to the divine. however, regardless of the deities worshipped, the idea of the transcendent within bhakti-marga follows ramanuja's singular description of god (brahma). as hans kiing explains: ramanuja, believes that brahma is "without second" [advairtam, meaning no secondness]; but not that it is without characteristics, attributes, or personality. ramanuja's crucial insight is that brahma is identical with the personal god. . . brahma is none other than the personal god who from eternity releases the world from within himself, upholds it, directs it internally, and takes it back again ... but precisely for this reason, brahma [god] is essentially distinct from matter and the individual soul: brahma and atman, brahma and the world ... must be distinguished.111 e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 such a differentiation between god and man allows for bhakti-marga's specific forms of devotion. puja (ritualistic worship) at the nandi temple in bangalore, india, showcases a common form of devotion. removing one's shoes with respect for the holy site, the worshipper enters a simple, open-air foyer. through the doorway, one can see the large black image of nandi (shiva's bull-formed escort). this idol is adorned with garlands offered it throughout the course of the day, and has been anointed with oil and spices. nandi stares at the individuals with large, painted eyes, the prominence of which allows for darean (the beholding of the divine). this act of seeing the god is perceived as worship in and of itself, and the experience of the god seeing the individual is received as a divine blessing. l v through this, the full participation of devotion can occur. upon entering the sanctum, the scope of the idol becomes apparent. the solid figure stands i n awe-inspiring grandeur at twelve feet tall. its posture is that of the traditional nandi, reclining but for one hoof ready to go to shiva whenever shiva may beckon. the posture of the bull god reminds nandi devotees of shiva, which may bring the worshipper to deeper thoughts of the divine. brahman priests approach the believers, offering a golden tray bearing incense and a l i t oil lamp. worshippers generally offer money, flowers, or food to nandi upon this tray, and i n return anoint their heads and eyes with the heat from the l i t lamp. after making her or his offering, the believer wi l l then proceed to circumambulate the large idol in the auspicious clockwise direction. with these actions, the devotee wi l l remove bad karma (taint) and receive the god's blessing. the devotional act seen at the nandi tempe takes less than three minutes, but it is perceived as a full participation i n the ritual form of bhakti. the temple is located close to residential areas in bangalore, and the act is often repeated daily. many local temples exist throughout india and allow bhakti rituals to be performed throughout the day, every day of the week. it is common for individuals to turn to these temples regularly, and when walking through an indian community, one wi l l frequently encounter individuals with the sandalwood paste marking the forehead above the nose.v this outward symbol of bhakti reveals to an observer that bhakti-marga is quite prolific in india. the act of bhakti performed at a temple is common. but, some hindus explain, the act of going to the temple is not inherently necessary for devotion to take place. manish jai, a devout hindu, says: "god is everywhere. god doesn't ask me to come to h im because he's everywhere—in my home, i n the temple, in the chair at my side. i f i touch god, it doesn't change anything between us."v) that being said, pintu lai, another devout hindu, added, "the ritual is important. the understanding is that god is everywhere, but going to the temple allows for a deeper realization."v ! 1 when asked how one decides which god to adore, the response was that "god is one." rajeev rastogi further explained that "there are many temples for many different gods. each of the gods has a different story. whichever message i accept, i go to that temple." v l n these young men discussed their understanding of bhakti while they stood at the large puja ceremony for the river ganges (an incarnation of shiva). the ceremony, a daily exercise in varanasi, india, is to help bring devotees to god. l x throughout the day, believers approach the waters for a sacred cleansing and blessing. though the action seems purely external, the ritual necessitates an inward meditation and trust. says rajeev rastogi, "before going into the river, you must cleanse your soul and behavior. then, you bless the river by anointing the water and raising your hand to your forehead. once you thank god, you bathe. you don't have to go in completely. a little bit of the water is enough. while you're in the river, you offer its water to the sun and you say the mantras the priests or gurus give you. you do this every day . . . and i f you trust [in the ganges], you wi l l realize."x the significance of such an act is in the inward transformation. behavior, understanding, and thought must be aligned with the act of devotion or else the l e s s o n s i n d e v o t i o n act is rendered useless. thus, i t is an internal act of lifestyle devotion as much as a visible act of worship. the ganges puja when compared to the nandi temple visit reveals the range of rituals within bhakti-marga. generally, though, all rituals retain certain elements. heinrich von stietencron explains that believers approach their god with gifts and expectations: giving and taking become symbolic [in the act of bhakti]. the gifts are usually small, but as far as possible one does not come before god with empty hands. a handful of water is enough, or a leaf. the gift is, after all, only a sign. behind it stands the real offering, a devoted hearts the offering of the devoted heart is reminiscent of lord krishna's statements i n the bhagavad-gita: "by devotion alone / can i , as i really am, / be known and seen / and entered into, arjuna / acting only for me, intent on me, / free from attachment, / hostile to no creature, arjuna, / a man of devotion comes to me." x u the act of devotion, expressed through the offering of a gift, presents a manifestation of the believer's heartfelt focus on the god. and with this attention to the god comes the removal of karma. lord krishna indicates this release from karma when he mentions the idea of "free from attachment.. . a man of devotion comes to me . " x m thus, through bhakti-marga one can reach moksha. significantly, it is through these unattached actions of devotion that ramanuja's understanding of god manifests itself in bhakti believers. hans kiing explains: what interests ramanuja is a knowledge from the heart and an intimate personal relationship with the saving and loving god, who calls the believer to a personal communion with him. here is where good works, ritual, and the lofty ethos demanded by the gita come in, along with contemplation™ although believers do not particularly indicate this statement's truth, they do behave in such a way that verifies this concept: the act of puja is made with gifts that symbolize the devoted heart; the rituals are performed to reveal such a devotional relationship with the god; as rastogi indicated, even before performing the ritual bath i n the ganges (or any act of puja) individuals must approach the action with a cleansed behavior (one that, no doubt, resembles lord krishna's directive of being "hostile to no creature") and mind (one that trusts fully in the power of god to respond). their devotion reveals their relationship to god and their faith in salvation. k a r m a m a r g a in karma-marga, or the way of action, the focus of devotion is slightly different. traditionally fulfilled by strictly following one's dharma (duty) as dictated by caste, karma-marga has instead been translated into a path of social engagement. von stietencron explains: "[the bhagavad-gita] gives [the way of action] a new dimension by adding social responsibilities to ritual as an essential element. fulfill your duty in the world, the gita would say, but don't tie yourself down to the world." x v the passage that von stietencron indicates is i n chapter two of the bhagavadgita: lord krishna exhorts arjuna: "be intent on action, / not on the fruits of action; / avoid attraction to the fruits / and attachment to inaction! / perform actions, f i rm in discipline, / relinquishing attachment. " x v 1 by engaging i n the world without attachment to the world, followers of karmamarga actually remove themselves from the cycle of rebirth by ceasing to acquire karma. salvation is reached through disinterested action in the world. revolutionized by the bhagavad-gita, this marga no longer merely advocates vedic sacrifice but, more importantly also advocates works of social awareness. fireflies ashram, x v n just outside of bangalore, presents an image of karma-marga. working to create an ecological awareness in the community, fireflies holds conferences and seminars for the local hindus. according to director siddhartha, fireflies works to create awareness of e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 humanity's responsibility for the environment by engaging devotional ideas. one such example of this devotional engagement is the ganesha festival fireflies hosted for the local community. knowing the importance of the elephant-headed god to the local people, fireflies offered to orchestrate the festival. while preparing and participating in the traditional weeklong festival, fireflies ran seminars teaching devotees how to translate their devotion to social activism. the leaders of the seminars asked believers to explain the significance of ganesha in the believers' lives. fireflies used those understandings to encourage discussion and holistic vision. the ramifications were as follows: i f ganesha is the wisher of well being, how should believers translate wishing well to other people? i f ganesha is the remover of hardship, what hardships should the community work towards removing? i f ganesha is half nature and half human, how should the community react and behave towards nature? by asking these questions and encouraging dialogue, fireflies was able to help the local community translate its new knowledge into social activism. one result was that the members of the community decided to use unpainted idols in their bathing rituals during the festival. in the past the community would take its heavily painted ganesha to "fireflies worked within society not for its own benefit but for that of the greater good ... [manifesting] the selflessness that the bhagavad-gita encouraged." the local lake to bathe it. while the idol was submerged, some of the paint would come off and contaminate the local waters. fish would die as a result. through the social activism of fireflies, this phenomena was brought to the community's attention and, through a communal choice, the use of painted idols was stoped. by engaging the devotional ideals of the community, fireflies was able to bring about social change in an informed and effective way. the process of informing the community also allowed fireflies to introduce other devotional actions. these teachings started initiatives for water conservation and the replanting of trees. thus, by teaching and being socially engaged, fireflies was able to further eco-devotionalism. understanding the ecological future of the community to be transcendent of the individual, fireflies worked within society not for its own benefit but for that of the greater good. fireflies manifested the selflessness that the bhagavad-gita encouraged. devotion i n such a schema is such that the actor does not give recognition to her or his action. by doing so, she or he follows the injunction of lord krishna when he says, "as the ignorant act with attachment / to actions, arjuna, / so wise men should act with detachment / to preserve the w o r l d . " x v m the goal of such socially aware actions is not for the believer's benefit; it is for the larger society. and when one understands such a notion, she or he is acting in full devotion. lord krishna goes on to explain such a concept by saying, "surrender all actions to me, / and fix your reason on your inner self; / without hope or possessiveness, / your fever subdued, fight the battle!" x l x only when one's actions render her or h im apathetic to her or his own benefit is the personal "possessiveness" extinguished and the devotional understanding of karma-marga brought to the fore. when the "fever" of self involvement is removed, then action is handed over to god and ultimately made possible. von stietencron explains this idea with the statement that in karma-marga "the deity alone is the origin of all activity."x x this devotional understanding of god acting through detached human action is only l e s s o n s i n d e v o t i o n possible with disinterest i n the results of karma-marga. karma-marga requires devotion to the deity and to be only engaged as a devotion for the deity. the understanding of god is more ambiguous within karma-marga. rather than readily aligning itself with ramanuja's view of god (as we have seen bhakti-marga do) or stemming out of shankara's view of god (as we wi l l see jnana-marga does), karma-marga may view god in either light. some socially engaged hindus act out of devotion to a separate, imminently present deity; x x l others act out of an awareness of the true nature of self. x x n while either view of god may easily lend itself to karma-marga, the significance of devotion does not necessarily require a view of god. the goal and act of devotion is in the present engagement in social improvement. each believer may approach his or her work out of a different type of devotion; such diversity does not render the actions void or without devotion. thus, within karma-marga, it is not necessarily significant how the practitioner views god. in fact, the most important approach to god is disinterestedness even i n the fruits of devotion. salvation, as an end in and of itself, should not be considered within karma-marga. oxymoronically, the most devout karma-marga follower does good for the sake of the good. j n a n a m a r g a in jnana-marga, or the path of knowledge, the goal is to learn the nature of atman (the deepest self). through spiritual exercises (generally in the form of meditation), the individual comes to understand the truth of shankara's philosophy of non-dualism. this philosophy, also known as advaita, is the philosophy of the "discovery of the one, of the unity of the human soul (atman) with brahma.' , x x i i i hans kung explains: "a mystic par excellence, shankara interpreted the upanishads, the bhagavad-gita, and the brahma sutras (in other words, the fundamental hindu texts) to contain a 'pure,' consistent, absolute 'doctrine of oneness' (a-dvaitam, meaning non-duality)." x x i v kung explains further that: "each believer may approach his or her work out of a different type of devotion; such diversity does not render the actions void or without devotion." according to shankara, the prerequisite for true knowledge is the distinguishing of two levels of truth. on the level of ordinary empirical truth, there are, of course, many things and many separate selves. but this naive kind ofknowledge is deceptive. on the level of the higher metaphysical truth, all the various selves are one with the absolute self... only the one really exists, the truly real, outside of which there is no true reality, the eternal, infinite brahma, which is at once pure being (sat), cognitive consciousness (at), and overflowing bliss (ananda), but which can be known only through holistic mystical experience. in the mystical experience of unity, our individual self, the atman, is known for what it is: only another aspect of the absolute self, brahma. x x v with this concept of the transcendent, jnana-marga practioners work to experience this oneness. to be successful, they must strip away all understanding of their own persons. it is only at this point that true knowledge is reached. thus, through different forms of meditation (and, we shall see, devotion), the j nana practitioners reach loss of self and moksha. given the diversity of the actions of karma-marga and the assortment of worshipped deities in bhakti-marga, the range of devotional understanding within jnana-marga may seem the most unexpected. however, this path to e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 salvation possesses the highest prestige among hindus.x x v i that said, each group within the tapestry of advaita-hindus maintains its own supremacy in understanding of the one truth. in the ramakrishna tradition, the understanding of the path of knowledge inherently comes with a path of devotion. in an interview with one of ramakrishna's 1600 monks, i learned that ramakrishnas believe in the existence of one truth as it relates to all world religions. followers of ramakrishna believe all people wi l l ultimately be reincarnated until they are given the grace of god to reach this understanding of the truth through the ramakrishna tradition. only then wi l l these believers reach moksha.^ 1 1 devotion in the traditional sense is not enough within ramakrishna's philosophy: one must have a transformation of self. exercises in devotion may give the believer graces to reach a consciousness of the truth enough to manifest this transformation of self; thus, devotional acts still have value within this system. 5™™ 1 ramakrishna and his followers practiced a devotion to the goddess kali, praying to her image and offering puja within her temples. while the concept of monism proclaimed by advaita is actively professed in ramakrishna's tradition, it does seem to be contradicted by this concept of the necessary grace given by god. devotion to god is a tool through which one may recognize atman. yet, this knowledge is a gift from god. it is unclear whether devotion is directed to a transcendent, external god who is able to give, or to the god within (the self following the advaita system) who would seemingly be rendered too near to have the separation of a grace-giver. with such a blurry concept of god, it is apparent that the traditional understanding of devotion is redefined within the advaita system of ramakrishna. reminiscent of the "devotion-as-a-tool" teachings of ramakrishna are the teachings of ramana maharshi. while advocating acts of devotion i n a large group because it creates a "resonance" that helps with the awareness of self, followers of ramana maharshi do warn that one cannot make the act of devotion itself the end. x x l x through practicing devotion, though, believers can become more aware of their own divine centers. ramana maharshi himself possessed an intense devotion to shiva, moving to the caves of arunachala to be near the incarnation of shiva on earth. he explained the significance of such devotion in a way that permitted his advaitic understanding to still be true: "whatever you do, do without egotism, that is without the feeling ' i am doing this.' when a man reaches that state even his own wife wil l appear to h im as the universal mother. true bhakti (devotion) is surrender of the ego to the self." x x x attaching shankara's value of the self to his own understanding the self, ramana maharshi was able to align his form of devotion with a non-dualist devotion. there is no external entity to which one must be devoted. rather, the deeper, divine self is that to which one must surrender the superficial self. ramana maharshi's devotion to shiva would thus merely be an exercise of surrendering the ego. from this surrender, a deeper awareness of the self would emerge. ramana maharshi, thus, retains shankara's views on god while advocating devotion. yet another form of jnana-marga would be the teachings of sri sri ravi shankar. creator of the art of living meditation program, ravi shankar's philosophy follows the schema of pranayama yoga. focusing on the power of the breath as a tool for learning about the self, ravi shankar advocates a devotion of gratefulness. during an interview with one of his followers, this notion of gratefulness as devotion was explained: "there should be a devotion to the self as it is divine (and is within you). it is the height of love to show devotion, and the [manifestation] of devotion is gratefulness and appreciation of beauty: beauty of nature, of other people, and the love everywhere."x x x i ravi shankar himself explained, "devotion is an internal feeling. anything can trigger it. it is the culmination of love. darsan does not help . . . it is too short and we close our eyes when we are before the god." x x x i l while discussing the best form of worship, the art of living advocates that, "the best 'puja,' the best form of worship, is to be happy, to be l e s s o n s i n d e v o t i o n grateful ." x x x m such perpetual happiness transcends the traditional idea of an act of devotion made to god. rather, it turns devotion into an attitude of optimism and gratefulness. each of these jfiana hindu traditions offers a different understanding of the nature of devotion in the pursuit of truth. however, each retains a place for devotion as a tool with which one may come to a deeper understanding of god. while the understanding of god within the path of knowledge may ultimately lead to a non-dualist system (which makes devotion to god seem obsolete), the retention of devotional aspects in each tradition can ultimately bring one's understanding to the divine within each person. as one vedantic follower explained, " i worship humanity because each human is god." x x x l v d e v o t i o n a l c h r i s t i a n i t y i n i n d i a as seen above, hinduism is a universalizing term for a diverse assortment of faiths. when christianity is put in dialogue with hinduism, the multi-faceted nature of hinduism leads to a multi-faceted dialogue. organizations like the national biblical, catechetical, and liturgical centre (nbclc) and the christian-ashram movement in india work towards this inculturated christianity; through engagement with local hindu understandings of devotion, a deeper liturgical, social, and theological understanding can emerge within christianity. bhakti-marga hinduism can be translated liturgically i n the devotion-dialogue between christianity and hinduism. one such instance of already inculturated christian-hindu devotionalism would be the indian rite mass. the roman catholic liturgy is infused with hindu devotional acts, whether it is garlanding the gospel as a hindu would her or his idol, or anointing one's head with the heat from the li t lamp on the offering tray. these small actions that are reminiscent of bhakti puja allow for an inculturated representation of christianity within india. through the engagement of bhakti actions while approaching christian devotion, the offering of a devoted heart (as hindus understand puja) could inform christian approaches to devotion to christ. the bhagavad-gita's lessons on complete devotion to god (in all acts and thoughts) could inform christianity's love of christ and its devotional attitude towards the trinity. it is hoped that the engagement of christian-hindu dialogue with regards to bhakti-marga may ultimately lead to a deeper devotion of christians to god. with regards to karma-marga, the concept of completely selfless action i n utter devotion to god could inform christians' social activism. as von stietencron explains: christians can sympathize [with the difficulty of detaching oneself completely from emotional attachment to the world], because they, too, are called to selflessness and generally fail to keep this straightforward commandment. to be selfless to the degree that no more ties of any sort are created . . . is a radical demand. to be strictly logical, this kind of unselfishness would require giving up the wish for one's own salvation.™™ such radical devotion to social action i n the world is something that christianity has always professed, but has always struggled to exhibit. by engaging karma hinduism, christianity could take lessons from the bhagavad-gita and karma-marga leaders like mahatma gandhi, and ultimately may be able to reach a deeper understanding of the devotional side of social activism. christ's call to serve could be put into dialogue with lord krishna's call to surrender all action to him. thus, by allowing both tradition's understanding of social activism to engage a deeper,more informed call to social action may be discovered. lastly, ifiana-marga's understanding of using devotion as a means to deepen understanding of the imminent nature of god in the world could inform christian understanding of the dignity of human in the image of god. while the translation of one understanding (non-dual) to the other (reverential distance between man and god) does not completely align, lessons i n respect and reverence for the human other e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 may stem from such dialogue. i f christians profess jesus christ's ability to be within the other (an idea manifested within matthew 25:31-46), advaita vedanta can reverse the concept (as in a notion of "christ within"). devotion to god within, as is found in the path of knowledge, brings christians back to the awareness of christ within themselves. by studying and dialoguing with jnana-hindus, christians can come to a deeper understanding of teachings of their participation i n christ's body. but dialogue is a two way street. the goal for those involved i n the engagement between religions must be always to have a sharing of ideas. christianity's devotion to christ can inform hindu ideas of devotion just as christianity's devotion to christ can be informed by hindu ideas of devotions. questions arising from dialogue (such as ambiguities about the nature of god within the different faith-systems) can lead to deeper self-understanding as each religion must articulate its own beliefs. the exchange of ideas, practices, and questions can ultimately lead to a more vibrant and structured theology within each religion engaged in dialogue. as such, the ultimate goal of the interreligious dialogue can be reached. e n d n o t e s i . von stietencron (222) i i . ibid. i i i . kiing (203) iv. eck (3) v. this placement is significant for hindus because it signifies the power of the mind and the source of the soul. by receiving the anointing there, hindus receive a reminder of their relationship wi th god. source: interview with rajeev rastogi vi . jai, manish. v i i . lal,pintu. v i i i . rastogi, rajeev. ix. ibid. x. ibid. x i . von stietencron (251). x i i . the bhagavad-gita (108) l e s s o n s i n d e v o t i o n x i i i . the bhagavad-gita (108) xiv. kiing, "man and salvation in hindu religions" (229) xv. von stietencron, (221) xvi. the bhagavad-gita (38) xvii . a n ashram resembles a monastery and is traditionally built around a guru. in the instance of fireflies ashram, the environment is treated as the guru. xvii i . the bhagavad-gita (46) xix. the bhagavad-gita (47) xx. von stietencron (221) xxi. as evident wi th some individuals working at fireflies ashram. xxii. seen through the life o f gandhi. xxii i . kiing, (201) xxiv. kiing, (201-202) xxv. kiing, (202) xxvi. von stietencron, (220) xxvii. ramakrishna temple xxviii. ibid xxix. ashram of ramana maharshi xxx. osborne (86-87) xxxi. interview at the art of living international headquarters. xxxii. shankar, ravi xxxiii. art o f living online xxxiv. lai pintu. xxv. von stietencron (221) references art of living online. <http://www.artofliving.org/ds_multilingual.asp> 7 july 2007. the bhagavad-gita. 2004. translated by barbara staler miller. new york: bantam classic eck, diana. 1985. darsan: seeing the divine image in india. chambersburg: anima books. jai,manish. 16 june 2007. personal interview. varanasi, india lai, pintu. 16 june 2007. personal interview. varanasi, india. rastogi, rajeev. 16 june 2007. personal interview. varanasi, india. ramakrishna temple. 24 may 2007. personal interview. varanasi, india the art of living international headquarters. 29 may 2007. personal interview. varanasi, india ashram of ramana maharshii. 28 may 2007. personal interview. varanasi, india kiing, hans. 1993. i n christianity and world religions by hans kiing. maryknoll: orbis books. osborne, arthur. 1970. ramana maharshi and the path of selfknowledge. york beach: weiser books, llc. shankar, ravi. 29 may 2007. question and answer. the art of living headquarters. bangalore, india von stietencron, heinrich. 1993. in christianity and world relgions by hans kiing. maryknoll: orbis books e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 http://www.artofliving.org/ds_multilingual.asp .. the system which was supposed to raise up the white mistress and enable her to fulfill her social obligations towards her slaves as a beacon of pious morality was the same system which turned many white slaveholding women into jealous and contemptuous sadists..." race r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e i d e o l o g y of d o m e s t i c i t y a study of the women's antebellum south m e l a n i e f i r t h t h i s p a p e r w i l l e x a m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a t e x i s t e d b e t w e e n w h i t e , s o u t h e r n p l a n t a t i o n m i s t r e s s e s a n d t h e i r f e m a l e s l a v e s . t h e s e i n t e r a c t i o n s w e r e s h a p e d b y t h e s o c i a l m o r e s o f t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y a m e r i c a n s o u t h , i n c l u d i n g t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f t h e " i d e o l o g y o f d o m e s t i c i t y " o n t h e m i s t r e s s e s . e q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n m i s t r e s s e s a n d t h e i r s l a v e s w e r e t h e d a m a g i n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s c a u s e d b y t h e m a s t e r s ' o f t e n f r e q u e n t s e x u a l l i a i s o n s w i t h t h e s l a v e s . u n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h i s c r e a t e d a n i n h e r e n t c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e c a u s e w h i l e t h e m i s t r e s s e s w e r e p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h t h e i d e o l o g y o f d o m e s t i c i t y , t h e y s i m u l t a n e o u s l y f u r t h e r e d i n j u s t i c e t o w a r d s s l a v e s w h e n p r e s e n t e d w i t h t h e i r h u s b a n d ' s s e x u a l e x p l o i t s . c a r e f u l e x a m i n a t i o n o f i n t e r v i e w s f r o m f o r m e r s l a v e s t a k e n d u r i n g t h e f e d e r a l w r i t e r s ' p r o j e c t o f t h e 1 930s s h e d s l i g h t o n t h e s e c o m p l i c a t e d a n d i n t r i c a t e b i r a c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . i n t r o d u c t i o n race relations i n the old south have been studied extensively by historians over the last century. one aspect of the interaction between blacks and whites in the antebellum south that is particularly complex was the relationship between white mistresses and their female slaves. these relations were defined by various aspects of their surroundings, including the social mores which dictated their lives and the white men who had absolute control over both the black and white women. white women and their female slaves lived and worked in close proximity to one another, forming intense personal relationships that set the basis for the quotidian dealings between the two groups of women. additionally, mistresses and their slaves had to interact with each other within the confines of societal expectations placed upon women. southern plantation mistresses were compelled to follow the "ideology of domesticity," a dogma which dictated how affluent white women in the south were to act towards their family members, friends, and most importantly, their slaves. similarly, slave women had certain social standards to which they were required to adhere. since they had few legal rights in southern states, slave women were required to be completely submissive to their masters and mistresses. oftentimes, this unquestionable obedience subjected them to a master's unwanted sexual advances. mistresses were usually aware of the sexual relationships between their husbands and female slaves, but since they, too, were at the mercy of the white master, they often took out their anger, hurt, and aggression on their servants. this occurred despite the fact the slave may have been a vict im of rape. ultimately, the social constraints and requirements placed on both white mistresses and black slave women, along with the deep psychological affects of a master's sexual liaisons with his slaves, were important aspects of slavery which shaped the relationships between mistresses and their female slaves. t h e s o u t h e r n w o m a n ' s i d e o l o g y of d o m e s t i c i t y the ideology of domesticity dictated the social parameters for 19th century american women i n both the north and the south. the similarities between northern and southern women's ideology of domesticity stopped with the integration of the institution of slavery. southern white mistresses, more specifically the elite plantation mistresses, were expected to reflect the gentility of their class and gena w e l l t o d o s o u t h e r n w o m a n a n d h e r h u s b a n d a t h o m e der. never outspoken in terms of political or social matters, like many "brazen" women to the north, the prototypical southern woman was a warm and gentle mother and wife. she was to be obedient to her husband while at the same time exemplifying ideal christian piety. whether her husband was a ruthless politician or a skilled planter, she was to be his moral counterweight and provide h im with an example of perfect moral rectitude. a southern woman was virtuous and chaste. never would a proper southern lady find herself tangled in any kind of sexual scandal; to do so would ruin her marital prospects as well as her family's honor. indeed, the southern lady was a "symbol of gentility and refinement for plantation culture, designed to fill the requisites of chauvinist stereotype by embracing those qualities slave owners wished to promote . . ."x e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 t h e s o u t h e r n w o m a n a n d h e r s l a v e part of the ideology of domesticity that southern women strove to fulfill concerned the southern lady's treatment and interaction with her slaves. as a result, slaveholding women liked to maintain a vision—whether it reflected reality or not—of an organic community on her plantation or farm where she was the head of a biracial family made up of her own children as well as her slaves.11 as part of her role as head of a black and white, slave and free household, she was to impart religious education to her slaves and be the guardian of moral integrity. according to thomas nelson page, the mistress was essentially a connection between god and those around her, as "she was the head and front of the church; and unmitred bishop in partibus, more effectual than the vestry or deacons, more earnest than the rector; she managed her family, regulated her servants, fed the poor, nursed the sick, consoled the bereaved."111 the mistress was also to care for her sick slaves, who were only too happy to receive her charity: who knew of the visits she paid to the cabins of her sick and suffering servants! often, at the dead of night, "slipping down" the last thing... with her own hands administering medicines or food; ever by her cheeriness inspiring new hope, by her strength giving courage, by her presence awaking faith . . . what poor person was there, however inaccessible the cabin, that was sick or destitute and knew not her charity! who that was bereaved that had not her sympathy!1"-' thus, it was the responsibility of the mistress to be the guiding light and protector of not only her white family but her slave family as well. it was essential to the slaveholding ideal of white and black relations that mistresses be seen in this light. this image of the benevolent mother-figure was an integral part of the patriarchal system of southern slavery and was a vital aspect of mistress and slave relations. southern mistresses themselves also left behind accounts of how they viewed their relationships with their slaves, and how the ideology of domesticity—though not referred to in such terms—dictated their interactions with their "black family." these accounts reveal how mistresses and their slaves, and more importantly their female slaves, became closely connected to one another. mary polk branch touched upon this topic when she wrote that "many [slaves] were descendants of those who had served in the same family for generations—for instance, the nurse who nursed my children was the daughter of my nurse, and her grandmother had nursed my mother."v these bonds, which in many cases stretched over generations, were emphasized by the ideology of domesticity because they allowed for the two families, both master and slave, to become closely interconnected. because of their intimate propinquity, mistresses felt even more obliged to uphold their moral requirements under the ideology of domesticity to these slaves who had been a part of their family for so long. in a letter to her children after emancipation, mary norcott bryan described the "tender tie that existed between mistress and servant."v1 bryan clearly elucidated the fact that there indeed was a close connection between the mistress and her slaves, although her opinion was biased as there was nothing "tender" about the institution of slavery. in another letter, she explained that for the mistress, "such a busy life was hers, the care of many slaves, the responsibility of their souls, teaching them truth and honesty, watching over the sick, entertaining strangers."v i l these bonds created by slavery were heightened by the generations of slaves who remained within the same family, which allowed the mistress to become closely involved in her slaves' lives, thereby fulfilling the ideology of domesticity. a large part of a southern woman's social role was to be a beacon of piety, and this was translated to her interactions with her slaves when she involved herself i n their religious education. indeed, the role of the mistress as a religious leader and teacher to her slaves was essential to the ideology of domesticity. one southern man remarked upon the mistress's interaction with her slaves in a letter, stating "it is very common for the young ladies of the household to have classes on sunday of the children as well as grown negroes, to whom they give oral instruction, texts of scripture, r a c e r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e i d e o l o g y o f d o m e s t i c i t y and hymns." v m this was common in many slaveholding families throughout the south. the reverend w. e. northcross, an ex-slave, recalled his religious background in an interview as part of the federal writer's project. according to northcross, who was a slave in alabama before the civil war, "during this time my mistress made all the children, both girls and boys, come to her every sunday and she taught sunday school. the book used was the old fashioned catechism."1x northcross also noted, ...[i]t was against the law for them to learn to read and write, so she taught them the lord's prayer and a few other things in the book. she said that she wanted them to know how to pray, how to tell the truth and not to steal, and always try to do right in the sight of everybody and in sight of god* although northcross was a male slave, it is safe to assume that there were also female slaves involved in these religious and moral lessons. consequently, northcross's mistress was fulfilling her duties under the ideology of domesticity by teaching her slaves christian beliefs and creating an essential aspect of mistress-slave relations in the antebellum south. although slavery was inherently brutal and dehumanizing, there were mistresses who, in their efforts to fulfill the ideology of domesticity, provided their slaves with some comfort within the degrading slave system. during the 1930s, the federal writers project conducted numerous interviews with ex-slaves, providing us with invaluable insights into the everyday life of slaves in the south before the civil war. from these, we discover how mistresses strove to fulfill the ideology of domesticity through interaction with their slaves. alice houston remembered how her mistress and master cared for their slaves, saying that "my white folks, dey tries to teach us to read and spell and write some and after ole marster move into town he lets us go to a real school."x1 i n addition to promoting literacy among their slaves—which most slaveholders and indeed southern laws prohibited—houston's master and mistress were kind to them in other ways as well. houston's interview shows how the ideology of domesticity manifested when her mistress made sure that "we goes to church wid our white folks at dem camp meetin's and oh lawdy! yes, mam, we all sho' did shout. sometimes we jined de church too." x n houston's mistress was dedicated to extending to her slaves the kindness and care that southern society required. another former slave, john f. van hook, reported in his wpa narrative that his master and mistress taught their slaves how to read and write. again, this took place in an era when slave literacy was illegal in many states. van hook noted: "oh! why, my white folks took a great deal of pains teaching their slaves how to read and write. my father could read, but he never learned to write, and it was from our white folks that i learned to read and write. slaves read the bible more than anything else." x m van hook's masters were giving their slaves autonomy while at the same time going beyond a simple display of kindness. it was clear that van hook's master and mistress viewed their roles under the ideology of domesticity as that of the benevolent masters who cared for their slaves so much that they were not worried that the slaves would use their literacy against their masters, but rather towards furthering their religious education. many mistresses also fulfilled the ideology of domesticity when caring for their sick slaves by sending for their own doctor and bringing special supplies to the slave cabins. exslave fannie griffin recalled how her mistress practiced this act of kindness: "our massa and missus was good to us when we was sick; they send for de doctor right off and de doctor do all he could for us, but he ain't had no kind of medicine to give us cepting sperits of turpentine, castor oil, and a little blue mass."x l v although these "remedies" may not have made the slaves any better, they nevertheless indicate the role a mistress played in her slaves' well-being. by sending for a doctor, instead of simply ignoring an i l l slave's complaints, the mistress fulfilled her duties under the ideology of domesticity by caring for her slaves' physie l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 'although slavery was inherently brutal and dehumanizing, there were mistresses who, in their efforts to fulfill the ideology of domesticity, provided their slaves with some comfort..." cal well-being. while slaveholders frequently were concerned about their slaves' health for pecuniary reasons—if a slave was sick, he or she could not work and therefore generated less profit for the master—the ideology of domesticity played a vital role in a slaveholder's involvement in his or her slaves' physical condition. to neglect an i l l slave was to reject the social mores which required the master and mistress to be benevolent parental figures to their slaves. there was a time of year in which southern women especially personified the munificent mistress, a time of year the slaves looked forward to: the christmas season. junius quattlebaum spoke about his experiences with his "good missus," miss martha, during the christmas season. through quattlebaum's interview, we can see that at christmastime, "all the slaves on de plantation had three days give to them, to rest and enjoy themselves."xv although a christmas break was a common practice among slaveholders in the south, one aspect of quattlebaum's experience was not. quattlebaum recalled that during christmas, "missus and de two little misses fixed up a big christmas tree. it was a big holly bush wid red berries all over i t . " x v l quattlebaum also remembered seeing "missus so plain now, on christmas mornin', a flirt in ' 'round de christmas trees, commandin' de little misses to put de names of each slave on a package and hang it on de tree for them." x v n pearl randolph described how gifts handed out to the slave children usually were made up of candies, fruit, nuts, and usually some special article of c lofh ing . x v m thus it is clear that mistresses fulfilled their duties as dictated under the ideology of domesticity through holiday gift-giving. in doing this, they were not only imparting kindness upon their slaves, but also involving them in a christian holiday, thereby taking a role in their slaves' religious life. gifts at christmas were indeed a large and invaluable part of the mistress' role of the pious and benevolent white mother-figure to her slaves. l i f e of t h e f e m a l e slave unlike their mistresses, female slaves had no standing in white society and were forbidden to fulfill the ideology of domesticity as dictated by southern white society. they assumed certain positions which required them to forgo their status as a woman i n the eyes of their white masters and mistresses. they did, however, fulfill the role of the ideal woman within the slave society. female slave jobs in the old south ranged very widely, from field hands to domestic slaves. although white mistresses did come in contact with the female field slaves, the mistress and her female domestic slaves were in a much closer proximity. domestic slaves were seamstresses, cooks, nurses, and personal servants for the mistress or her daughters. usually the slave children who were intended for domestic work became companions of either the master or mistress or assisted the older, more experienced domestic slaves.x1x the quintessential domestic slave—about whom many racial stereotypes have stemmed—was the "mammy", an epithet given to the slave by the whites. she was the image of the ideal domestic slave for the whites. according to thomas nelson page, a white southerner who lived on a plantation during the antebellum period, the mammy worked the closest with the mistress. she was "the zealous, faithful, and efficient assistant of the mistress in all that r a c e r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e i d e o l o g y o f d o m e s t i c i t y pertained to the care and training of the children. " x x page elaborated on his description of the mammy's duties with respect to the white children: . . . [f]rom their infancy she was the careful and faithful nurse, the affection between her and the children she nursed being often more marked than that between her and her own offspring. she may have been harsh to the latter; she was never anything but tender with the others. "xx1 page, like so many other white southerners, clearly glorified the position the mammy held within the plantation's hierarchy. although he neglected the fact that slaves caring for white children had to treat them well lest they be punished, his account of the mammy's duties reveals an essential part of the mistress-slave relationship within the slaveholding household. slave women were certainly an integral part of their plantation, farm, or household, although their experiences as women during the antebellum period were vastly different from those of their white mistresses. adeline johnson told of her tasks as a slave in the wpa slave narratives project, stating that she "never have to do no field work; just stayed 'round de house and wait on de mistress and de chillun."™ 1 this was a common task among slave girls. irene roberston, another former slave, carried out much different tasks as a field slave. living on a large plantation, robertson had been "raised to work" and "cooked and washed and ironed and done field work a l l . " x x i n robertson was an example of a slave woman who did her field work and also had to cook, clean, and do other household chores for her family. she was not only responsible for her master's demands, but also that of her slave family. s e x u a l e x p l o i t a t i o n a n d a b u s e since the ideology of domesticity did not apply to slave women, they were placed at the bottom rung of southern society and were subject to brutal sexual exploitation. especially in the case of master-slave sexual abuse, a male slave was unable to protect his wife, sister, mother, or daughter from the advances of a persistent and morally deficient white master or overseer. as a result, a master's vicious sexual advances upon one of his slaves caused serious tension between the female slave victim and her mistress. ultimately, because masters had the ability to sexually coerce their house or field slaves, many of whom may have even been their daughters, the dynamic of the household situation bred an environment for the slave women that "constituted a dense pattern of day-to-day resistance that could at any moment explode into violence.' , x x 1 v this violence, excluding the inherent violence associated with the rape of the slave woman by her master, usually manifested itself in the relations between the mistress and the slave vict im. the sexual exploitation of slaves was one of the most brutal and inhumane aspects of slavery, one which deeply and irrevocably affected mistress-slave relations within a slaveholding family unit. it is perhaps logical to assume that the role of the mistress as dictated by the ideology of domesticity would have lessened the harsh reality of human bondage. yet, because of the nature of a master's blatant infidelity within his own home, many mistresses, themselves under the complete control of their husbands, were unable to overcome the anger and resentment they felt towards their husbands. out of this situation inevitably grew "hostility, jealousy, and rage" x x v among both the slave women and their mistresses. although slave rape is extremely complex in nature, one crucial facet of the abuse lies in the masters' unfailing persistence. in fact, some masters were so consumed by their desires that they would stop at nothing unti l they had succeeded. one master was so determined to have one of his slaves that when she tried to escape, he set the bloodhounds after her. he then caught her and "knocked a hole in her head and she bled like a hog, and he made her have h i m . " x x v l the slave then told her mistress, who said that she should just submit to his wi l l '"cause he's gonna ki l l you. ' , x x v 1 1 this incident displays both the horrors of the sexual exploitation that was commonplace in the antebellum e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 slavery system and one way white women responded to it. indeed, this practice was even upheld by the law in the south. the alabama state law in the nineteenth century stated that the slave woman must give her master "absolute obedience, and subordination to the lawful authority of the master . . . the law cannot enter into strict scrutiny of the precise force employed [by the master], with the view of ascertaining that the chastisement had or had not been reasonable. " x x v 1 u masters could manipulate this law to interpret "absolute obedience and subordination" to include sexual coercion. the sexual power that masters held over their female slaves had dire repercussions for mistresses and their relations with their female slaves. m i s t r e s s e s ' r e a c t i o n s : i g n o r a n c e o r v i o l e n c e mistresses reacted to their husbands' infidelity in various ways, either by simply ignoring it, considering it a disgraceful but inevitable part of the southern slave society, or by inflicting punishment upon the female slave victim. according to one southern slaveholding woman, mary chestnut, many mistresses ignored the fact that their husbands sexually exploited their female slaves. she claimed this was a common occurrence since like the patriarchs of old our men live all in one house with their wives and their concubines, and the mulattoes one sees in every family exactly resemble the white children—and every lady tells you who is the father of all the mulatto children in everybody's household, but in her own she seems to think they drop from the clouds, or pretends so to think.™* f l a g e l l a t i o n o f a f e m a l e s a m b o e s l a v e to ignore that within their own household there were children who were borne out of their husband's infidelity must have caused deep psychological repression. this discretion was, however, a part of the ideology of domesticity; genteel southern women were expected to keep the knowledge of their husband's unfaithfulness quiet. x x x yet, these mistresses were only human, and many took out their frustrations on the only people over whom they held power: their slaves. james henry hammond, a famous southerner, was involved in a close and extensive sexual relationship with one of his slaves, as well as her daughter. his wife, catherine, became deeply bitter about hammond's infidelity and "attempted to end [the liaison] by demanding the sale or effective banishment of his slave mistresses."™ 1 despite the fact that hammond never did sell the slaves, this instance reveals important aspects of mistress-slave relations in the antebellum south. neither catherine nor the slaves who were the victims of hammond's sexual coercion were able to force the master to take any action, whether it be the cessation of his sexual advances or the sale of the slaves. thus, all women involved were forced to submit to hammond's ultimate demands. yet, instead of empathizing with the plight of the slaves, catherine instead chose the only option that would allow her to maintain the facade of a genteel southern woman, which was to punish the slave women by attempting to have them sold away from the plantation where they had family or close friends. r a c e r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e i d e o l o g y o f d o m e s t i c i t y i n t h e i r o w n w o r d s ! t h e s l a v e s s p e a k o u t many slave women who were victims of their master's sexual exploitation never had the opportunity to share their stories with the world, making it difficult for historians to study thoroughly the psychological ramifications of their masters' sexual advances, as well as how it affected their relationships with their mistresses. the federal writers' project again provides us with some insight into the mistreatment they received from their mistresses. these resources are flawed, however, because many of the slaves the wpa chose to interview concealed their true feelings towards the brutality of slavery because they did not want to become targets of the deepseated racism still prevalent in the south during the 1930s. still, they must not be disregarded, as they give an invaluable insight into the lives of slaves until the civil war. a n interview with hannah plummer revealed a particularly brutal aspect of slave-mistress relations. hannah described how her mother had been subject to her mistress' violence, stating, "missus caroline whupped her most every day, and about anything. mother said she could not please her in anything, no matter what she done or how hard she tried. missus would go up town and come back and whup her." x x x n i n fact, hannah's mother was so badly treated, that on one occasion, miss caroline went up town, an' come back mad. she made mother strip down to her waist, and then took a carriage whup an' beat her until the blood was runnin' down her back. mother said she was afraid she would kill her, so she ran for the woods and hid there, and stayed there for three weeks.xxxm a w o m a n s t a n d s o u t s i d e a p l a n t a t i o n w h e r e h e r g r a n d p a r e n t s w o r k e d a s s l a v e s whether she was so cruel to hannah plummer's mother because of a sexual relationship with her husband is something we cannot glean from the interview itself. there were, however, no other mentions throughout the interview of "missus caroline's" brutality towards other slaves. moreover, most mistresses saw their female slaves as subhuman and did not take into account the psychological damage that may have been caused by rape. x x x l v because of this dehumanization of their slave women, it was much easier for mistresses to let their anger and frustrations out on the vulnerable slaves. the brutal relationships between slave women and their mistresses, the result of sexual exploitation by masters, were not unknown to other slaves on the plantation. austin steward, a slave on captain william helm's virginia plantation, recalled his experience with his mistress's brutality towards her slaves. the institution of slavery, he said, "hardens the heart, benumbs all the fine feelings of humanity, and deteriorates from the character of the slaveholders themselves— man or woman." x x x v i n his commentary, steward touched upon the role that the ideology of domesticity played in mistress-slave relations and how white woman should have exhibited christian benevolence towards their slave women, but oftentimes acted the opposite. because society dictated that the mistress was to be a pillar of virtue and kindness, it would follow that she should have acted so towards her slaves. steward asserted that it was slavery that caused her to be so harsh because "otherwise, how could a gentle, and in other respects, amiable woman, look on such scenes of cruelty, without a shudder of utter abhorrence."xxxv1 instead, these slaveholding women of the old south "can and do use the lash and e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 cowhide themselves, on the backs of their own slaves, and that too of their own sex!"x x x v" slaveholding women, no matter how society may have imposed certain mores upon them, were still capable of certain atrocities because of the horrors of slavery, namely the sexual coercion of their slave women by their own husbands. c o n c l u s i o n within the slaveholding south, white mistresses were expected to impart benevolence and religious direction on their slaves as part of their duties as genteel white women under the ideology of domesticity. yet, these mistresses were not always able to live up to social expectations when they were faced with their husband's sexual exploitation of female slaves. here lay one of the great ironies of the institution of slavery in relation to the ideology of domesticity; the system that was supposed to raise up the white mistress and enable her to fulfill her social obligations towards her slaves as a beacon of pious morality was the same system that turned many white slaveholding women into jealous and contemptuous sadists as they took out their frustrations and impotence i n the face of their husband's sexual l i aisons with their slaves. there were some slaveholding women, however, who did try to live up to the expectations placed on them by the ideology of domesticity. as the wpa slave narratives project shows, many slaves were aware that their mistresses could soften the otherwise harsh realities of the slave system. mistresses were able to both provide some respite for the slaves within the brutality of slavery while at the same time fulfilling their duties under the ideology of domesticity. they accomplished this by teaching their slaves to read and write, caring for them when they were sick, giving out presents during the christmas holiday, and teaching them about christianity. this is not to say, however, that the mistresses who were kind to their slaves because of the ideology of domesticity were innocent bystanders within the slave system. they were often just as guilty as the brutal overseer or master, condoning the repressive and dehumanizing nature of slavery. it was through the ideology of domesticity that the mistress could fulfill her supposed god-given duties to care for the "barbarian" slaves, while simultaneously living up to the societal expectations placed upon them as part of the old southern culture. in doing this, they accepted white supremacy and the dehumanization of their black slaves, acknowledging that due to their supposed superiority, they were required to guide and teach their seemingly dim-witted slaves. mistresses contributed even more to the brutality of slavery when they succumbed to anger and resentment about their husbands' infidelity with their slaves. as the white slaveholding women of the south witnessed the sexual exploitation that occurred in their homes, they often ignored their social and christian duties to be kind and loving towards their slaves. instead, they took their anger out on the women who were merely the victims of their master's lascivious nature. ultimately, whether a white mistress was kind to her slaves or whether she was brutal because of the sexual exploitation that was a large part of slavery in the antebellum south, she was still a guilty party within the brutal slave system that existed in the united states for over 200 years. e n d n o t e s i . clinton (17) i i . fox-genovese (100) h i . page iv. ibid. v. branch v i . bryan v i i . ibid. v i i i . weiner (80) ix. northcross x. ibid. x i . houston x i i . ibid. x i i i . van hook xiv. griffin xv. quattlebaum xvi. ibid. xvii . ibid. xvi i i . randolph xix. stevenson (187) r a c e r e l a t i o n s a n d t h e i d e o l o g y o f d o m e s t i c i t y xx. page xxi. ibid. xxii . johnson xxii i . green xxiv. fox-genovese (315) xxv. weiner (52) xxvi. fox-genovese (325-326) xxvii. ibid. xxviii. ibid. (326) xxix. weiner (97) xxx. fox-genovese (238) xxxi. faust (87) xxxii. plumrner xxxiii. ibid. xxxiv. stevenson (200) xxxv. steward (37) xxxvi. ibid. xxxvii. ibid. (37-38) references branch, mary polk. 1912. memoirs of a southern woman "within the lines," and a genealogical record. chicago: the joseph g. branch publishing co. http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/branch/ill2.html. 10 march 2007. bryan, mary norcott. 1912. a grandmother's recollection of dixie. new bern, nc: owen g. dunn. http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/bryan/menu.html. 10 march 2007. burton, annie l. 1909. memories of childhood's slavery days. boston: ross publishing co. retrieved from http: / / docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/burton/menu.html. burwell, letitia m . 1895. a girl's life in virginia before the war. new york: frederick a. stokes company. http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/burwell/burwell.html. clinton, catherine. 1982. plantation mistress: woman's world in the old south. new york: pantheon books. faust, drew gilpin. 1982. james henry hammond and the old south: a design for mastery. baton rouge: louisiana state university press. fox-genovese, elizabeth. 1988. within the plantation household: black and white women of the old south. chapel h i l l : the university o f north carolina press. green, emily camster. wpa slave narratives project, missouri. volume 10. griffin, fannie. wpa slave narratives project, south carolina narratives. volume 14, number 2. houston, alice. wpa slave narratives project, texas narratives. volume 16, number 2. johnson, adeline. wpa slave narratives project, south carolina. volume 14, number 3. joyner, charles. 1984. down by the riverside: a south carolina slave community. chicago: university of illinois press. kilbride, daniel. 2006. an american aristocracy: southern planters in antebellum philadelphia. columbia: the university of south carolina press. northcross, reverend w.e. wpa slave narratives project, alabama narratives. volume 1. memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome. page, thomas nelson. 1897. social life in old virginia before the war. new york: charles scribner's sons. http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/pagessocial/menu.html. 24 march 2007. plummer, hannah. wpa slave narratives project, north carolina. volume 11, number 2. quattlebaum, junius. wpa slave narratives project, south carolina narratives. volume 14, number 3. randolph, pearl. wpa slave narratives project, florida narratives. volume 3. roberts, giselle. 2003. the confederate belle. columbia: university of missouri press. sidbury, james. 1997. ploughshares into swords: race, rebellion, and identity in gabriel's virginia, 1730-1810. cambridge: cambridge university press. stevenson, brenda e. 1996. life in black and white: family and community in the slave south. new york: oxford university press. steward, austin. 1995. "twenty-two years a slave and forty years a freeman," from maurice duke, don't carry me back! narratives by former virginia slaves. petersburg: the dietz press. van hook, john f. wpa slave narratives project, georgia narratives. volume 4, number 4. weiner, marli f. 1998. mistresses and slaves: plantation women in south carolina, 1830-1880. chicago: university of illinois press. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/branch/ill2.html http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/bryan/menu.html http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/burwell/burwell.html http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/pagessocial/menu.html t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y of a r t i f i c i a l i m a g i n a t i o n a question of genuine consciousness h u y t r i n h i s it p o s s i b l e t o c r e a t e g e n u i n e c o n s c i o u s n e s s , a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e ? t h i s p a p e r w i l l e x a m i n e t h i s q u e s t i o n t h r o u g h t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f i m a g i n a t i o n . i m a g i n a t i o n i s t h e c r e a t i v e f a c u l t y t h a t n o t o n l y s e p a r a t e s m a n f r o m b e a s t b u t a l s o a l l o w s m a n t o r e c o g n i z e h i m s e l f , a n d it h e l p s h i m t o s e e b e y o n d h i s i m m e d i a t e b e i n g . w i t h o u t i m a g i n a t i o n , m a n i s b l i n d t o f u t u r e p o s s i b i l i t y a n d u n a b l e t o c o n c e i v e o f f u t u r e e v e n t s . i m a g i n a t i o n p r o d u c e s m a n ' s m e n t a l c o g n i t i o n t h a t m a k e s h i m a r a t i o n a l a n d c r e a t i v e b e i n g . t h e t w o m o d e r n m e t h o d s o f a . i . p r o g r a m m i n g a r e i n c a p a b l e o f i m b u i n g t h e i r a l g o r i t h m w i t h i m a g i n a t i o n . w i t h o u t i m a g i n a t i o n , a . i . n o t o n l y l a c k s g e n u i n e c r e a t i v i t y , b u t it a l s o r i s k s n e v e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g s e l f a u t o n o m y a n d t h e r e f o r e c o u l d n e v e r b e a f r e e a n d i n d e p e n d e n t e n t i t y . i n t r o d u c t i o n for millennia, the power of creation has been the prerogative of omnipotent divinities. with the advent of computer and artificial intelligence (a.i.), man is slowly replacing the gods as the givers of consciousness and intelligence. before science fiction writers can fantasize about a.i.'s plan for global domination, however, computer scientists must answer one of the most important questions about a . i . : "can a . i . imagine?" and the answer is no. the ability to imagine denotes a consciousness that sees beyond itself and recognizes the infinite possibilities of the world. without this faculty, any self-professed intelligence cannot qualify as a truly independent conscious being. the two current approaches to a . i programming—formalism and bottom-up—are incapable of duplicating the creative or reflective power of imagination. neither is it conceivable that programmers wi l l come up with an algorithm that can represent imagination. the logician kurt godel's incompleteness theorem demonstrates the inherent weakness of computer algorithm and its confining boundary. the algorithm of a . i . creates an objective mental frame that prevents a . i . from being subjective in its judgment or from going beyond its immediate environment. this structural limitation prevents a . i . from being greater than its program, from being self-aware, and from plotting world domination. imagination is a unique creative element of human consciousness that acts both as a mirror for self-reflection and a telescope to see beyond the narrowed vision of the present. it is impossible to mathematically transfer this subjective productive element to an objective structure. t h e role of i m a g i n a t i o n to understand why a . i . cannot imagine, the questions of what imagination does and why a . i . needs imagination i n order to be conscious must be addressed. man's ability to comprehend the sublimity of images, transcending colors and dimensions, depends on imagination. the german philosopher immanuel kant credits imagination for "bringing together the manifold of intuition" of the mind so mere images and thoughts can become a source of cognition. by combining sensual experiences with reason "imagination and creative and emotions to create images and ideas that might not be there empirically, imagination unifies sensation and abstract thoughts together giving the mind a medium to comprehend the physical world. 1 1 these reproductive and productive aspects of imagination have earned it the ire of ancient philosophers like plato and augustine. they attack imagination not only for its mimicking but also for its corruption of the real. plato denounces imagination's irrationality and its users—i.e. artists, poets—as corrupters of reality.111 they are mistaken, however, on the crucial • _ _ „ „ „ _ j „ , „ „ role the irrationality of imagination plays in cognition. imagination "releases thing[s] from their conjaculzy decause tingent status as facts . . and grants them an it is not ideal status as possibili* ties . . . " imagination constvlcted is a productive and ere_ ative faculty because it taczs ana is not constricted by facts and empirical actuality. imagination's irrational nature frees it from rationality's predictability. i f reason was the sole cognitive faculty then reactions to external stimuli would be solely logical and predictable without variations and changes. because of its irrational nature, imagination can see beyond the real and into what is possible or impossible beyond the fact: the "irreality," and the most important of such irrealities is the future—a mental world of tomorrow. imagination channels many different mental faculties— e.g. memory, reason, emotion and impulses—when projecting the images of the possible. and imagination is continuously active in formulating and projecting futuristic reality throughout a person's life. every individual wakes up each morning and prepares for the day's activities in order to satisfy future needs; the individual eats to keep the future self alive, sleeps to keep the person awake the next morning. the past is gone and the present is fleeting, but only through the future, with its "irreality" and infinite possibilities, can humans find the reason for continuous survival— even i f those dreams are hollow and meaningless.1 this reproduction of reality by the imagination can be detected in brain-scans: when the brain imagines, it mimics the actual world i n its imagination. one neurobiologist documents that "mental activity in the absence of non-mental stimuli can result in similar i f not identical neural activity as that generated by the material stimuli." 1 one can see that the human brain not only reproduces the empirical world through imagination, but it also behaves the same way in this imaginative world as it would have in the real one. the futuristic possibilities conjured by imagination are the primary components i n the recognition of the self and its freewill. imagination, by not being a subject to external imagery, can see the essence, the platonic form of the object without being bound to sensorial boundary. imagination can "engage in a free play [or freedom to create] since no definite concept restricts [it] to a particular rule of cognition." 1 1 1 because of this freedom to process, imagination can examine the mental selfhood of a being outside of the being. ! kant explains that the " i " which thinks does not exist under its own prerogative; instead, it is rooted in the synthesis between the infinite possibilities and the actual reality via the productive imagination. ; x the " i " in descartes' famous philosophical maxim, " i think therefore i am," denotes a being that recognizes its mental selfhood. to recognize its mental selfhood, the mind must be able to separate itself from the rest of reality and put itself in a place independent of its body; imagination is this haven that gives the mind the freedom to reflect about itself. it is only through the realization of its mental selfhood that a conscious person recognizes that he has freewill. from the abstraction of its mental selfhood, the " i " uses reason to to be self-aware, a.i. must a c k n o w l e d g e its "i" as an a u t o n o m o u s , f r e e t h i n k i n g b e i n g . identify its complete autonomy within its consciousness. imagination's delphian vision expands the autonomy of the mental self through its formulation of futuristic possibilities. the concept of free wi l l emerges from this mental autonomy, and with imagination, the mind decides which futuristic possibilities it wants to enact. we can conclude that man's mental existence, his " i , " is an existence via imagination and reason—they are like lines joined together to create a complete plane of cognition; without either one to connect to the other, the plane is neither complete nor whole. intelligence experts agree that for an a . i . to be called a conscious being it must be greater than the sum of its parts— streams of meaningless digital characters. to be selfaware, an a . i . must acknowledge its " i " as an autonomous being, free from the orders its creator had placed on it; it must also match the human consciousness at both the sublime and irrational levels. with irrational imagination, a . i . can envision the infinite possibilities that are beyond its experience and program. i f the a . i . is bound by the rationality of its program, then it is trapped in a cage it does not know exists. imagination and mental freedom are inseparable; i f devoid of imagination, then a . i . wi l l be nothing more than a mirror mimicking the world as is and not as the world might be. t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y of a r t i f i c i a l i m a g i n a t i o n l i m i t a t i o n s of f o r m a l i s m there are two schools of artificial intelligence: formalist a.i. and computational intelligence (bottom-up). the former tries to program a mind into the machine and the latter tries to develop a mind through education; the difference between these two approaches is similar to that of empiricists and rationalists. nevertheless, neither school can reproduce the imaginative consciousness due to a shortcoming they both share: their dependency on algori thm. formalism believes mental activity is "the carrying out of some well-defined sequence of operations [algorithms],"x and consciousness is a "passive concomitant of possession of a sufficiently elaborate control system and does not, in itself, actually 'do' anything."x l i n other words, the human mind is a complicated set of mathematical sequences, which can be discovered and duplicated. consciousness is the side effect of the neural network working seamlessly together to form the illusion of "oneness." the formalist's theory of cognition is similar to the platonic form or descartes' innate ideas. by programming complex logical rules and premises, formalist a . i . researchers believe a system of consciousness wi l l emerge from their mathematical algorithm. one of the early researchers of a . i . , the mathematician and logician alan turing, outlines the basic principle of cognition i n his hypothetical turing machine—a machine that runs on an unimaginably large and comprehensive algorithm that takes into account every conceivable potential input and output. the turing machine's only function is analyzing the data from the artif ic ial i n t e l l i g e n c e is ch el im inat ing any e l e m e n t of input and then releasing an output by following the preprogrammed instruction. both the input and the output are codified into numerical forms making it easier to compute; the outputs are then translated from numbers into human language. li most a . i . supporters see the human mind as nature's finest and most complicated turing machine; the mind takes in data through sensations and then reacts according to the circumstances. formalist researchers see chess-playing computers as a prime example of what is possible with the turing machine; their machine can out "think" the best human chess player when programmed with the algorithm of chess. x m despite its promises, formalist a . i . suffers from many debilitating drawbacks. one of the drawbacks of formalist a . i . is its consumption of huge amounts of computer power and the vast amount of computer codes involved, which also increases the chance of mistake and bugs. formalist researchers acknowledge the computer's serial calculation—one calculation at a time—is vastly inferior to the parallel distributed processing (pdp) power of the human brain—multiple calculations performed simultaneously by the same computational unit. nevertheless, formalist researchers are confident that a newer and much faster supercomputer wi l l overcome the speed limitation. formalist researchers' greatest hope is the quantum computer—a super computer that has overcome the limitation of quantum mechanics to compute at an unimaginable speed. quantum computers, researchers believe, can replicate the "oneness" of consciousness that serial computers can never reproduce. the physicist john hopfield ignited al ned to sets of a l g o r i t h m s , g u e s s work or irrationality e l e m e n t s : : f a l l oj a new revolution in computer thinking with his groundbreaking discovery of spinning atoms behaving like neurons when organized into a neural-like network. this discovery promises a new phase in computer's evolution, one that might match the computing power of the brain within a few decades. the only remaining, but nevertheless most daunting, obstacle is the complicated neural networking and algorithm that simulate intelligence. formalist researchers contend that this challenge wi l l be tremendously difficult but not impossible. x l v beside computational speed, the formalist approach faces numerous problems that are not only technologically daunting but are also logically impossible to overcome. first, the algorithm that runs a turing machine is, at its most basic level, a series of material conditional—if-then statements. since a serial computer is coded in algorithms, it cannot have one flawed instruction; addtionally, each axiom is built from the previous one so a mistake would create errors throughout the algorithm. the brain contains many unreliable elements that can break down when stressed; evolution, however, has "[exploited] the fault tolerance and functional persistence that pdp automatically confers ." v > since each neuron performs only a small margin of the overall work and the job it performs can be handled by another neuron, even i f a tenth of all the neurons were to disappear, the overall performance would only suffer marginal degradation. in contrast, "[formalist] machines are limited," the philosopher paul churchland points out, "that is, to computing mathematical functions whose inputs and outputs can be expressed as ratios of whole numbers."xx) this allegory means that the inherently rigid and inflexible structure of algorithm must have all of its mathematical sequences working harmoniously to produce a rational result, represented by whole numbers. i f any input or output contradicts its mathematical sequence or produces an answer that it does not recognize (e.g. an imaginary number that has no real existence), the result wi l l be erroneous. basically, formalist a . i . cannot be irrational by going against its program. as a whole, formalist a . i . is vastly inferior to the human mind in term of flexibility and reliability. the next obstacle formalist researchers must face is the feasibility of the programming process. creating a massive algorithm requires a large number of programmers working collectively for a long period of time and the constant updating of the algorithm to confront new challenges. "the universal turing machine is a mimic" of its programmers; it is neither autonomous nor independent from the programmers' instruction. v 1 1 the formalist a . i . can be sophisticated and complicated, but it can never evolve on its own, supplementing and expanding on its older algorithm to the extent that it can be free from its own algorithmic limitations. in contrast with the formalist machine, human's mental judgment depends upon "complicated interconnected-combination of sense-data, reasoning and guesswork."xvlii this guesswork represents the non-algorithmic imagination that gives humans the freedom to not only do what is right and logically sound but also to be irrational and fatuous. the structure of formalist a . i . is the antithesis of imagination because it leaves no room for selfimprovement or self-discovery. the a . i . simply cannot defy its rule of cognition, exercise free play or guess. ultimately, a . i . is prisoner to its algorithmic cage. the ultimate challenge to a formalist researcher is the problem of algorithm, and it is this limitation that prohibits the creation of genuine a. i . . before examining this dilemma further, an investigation into the second approach to a . i . is necessary. t h e b o t t o m u p a p p r o a c h the second school of a . i . programming, known as computational intelligence (c.i.), or bottom-up, approaches a . i . from an empirical direction. bottom-up researchers abandon the cumbersome and complex algorithm for a naturalistic intelligence. their method resembles locke's view of cognition where the mind is a "tabula rasa," ready to be filled with new experiences and knowledge. unlike their formalist counterparts, bottom-up researchers use robots in their experiments. through trials and errors, these rot h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y of a r t i f i c i a l i m a g i n a t i o n bots learn from their mistakes and build on their progress, slowly edging toward intelligence. a bottom-up robot is not preprogrammed with restricted instructions; rather, it has the freedom to experience the world as it is. the robot is equipped with sensual instruments and a pain-pleasure index to record its experiences in a realistic fashion. although most of the bottom-up robots learn at an incredibly slow speed (partially due to their small sizes and low computational power), they appear to genuinely learn from what they are experiencing. from learning how to hold forks to recognizing human faces, these robots gather, store, and respond to data. researchers hope that with the increase in computer power, they can build a smaller, more efficient robot. 1 unfortunately, despite its promising start, the bottom-up school faces structural limitations of its own and shares the same algorithmic set-back as that of formalist a . i . a bottom-up robot gathers data differently than a formalist a . i . ; however, it only replaces the programmer with natural experiences. the robot still operates under an algorithm—one that expands as it learns—therefore, it has all the shortcomings of an algorithmic machine. the robot's most severe setback is its dependency on empirical stimulus: it only cognizes what it has experienced; everything beyond its memory is incomprehensible. the robot has no abstract concept of the objects it perceives. it breaks down and stores the data it has received without interpreting that data as anything more than data. moreover, as a reactive machine, the robot cannot grasp the temporal dimension. it cannot take a leap of faith and perform an action that it has not experienced before; therefore, it is forever trapped in the present. the phenomenological theory of imagination recognizes this shortcoming of perception without imagination: from perception alone we could never conclude that extension is integral to thinghood as an eidetic necessity. for if we were confined to our immediate perception we could not imagine instances where this might not he so, and thereby (by process of negation) discover it must be so.xx the absence of a priori imagination prevents the robot from ever developing an ego to comprehend the "thinghood" of the objects it has perceived. to remediate this problem, researchers of bottom-up must create artificial imagination. their only alternative is to program an a priori imagination into their robot using a set of algorithm. this is where researchers of bottom-up confront the same impossible challenge as researchers of formalist a . i . ; both schools of artificial intelligence have met an obstacle they cannot bypass: programming a conscious algorithm. both the bottom-up and formalist a . i . researchers' faith in innovations in computational technology is a gamble that wi l l not pay off. technological advancement in hardware does not mean researchers can produce the software to run it. computer hardware might be able to simulate the firing process of neurons and adapt the brain's pdp system, thus improving the structural makeup of the machine, increasing its speed and efficiency, but the computer's basic software remains the same. a serial or a parallel computer wi l l always remain a turing machine that needs a sophisticated algorithm to run it. a.i.'s last hope, the quantum computer, is also an unlikely source of intelligence. despite its unfathomable speed, quantum computers cannot perform "non-algorithmic operation."x x 1 the physicist hopfield was only suggesting that "intelligence might arise from the quantum theory of mindless atom, without any programs whatsoever," hinting at how our own intelligence might have evolved but does not promise that it can duplicate the intelligence through programmatic means. x x u i n the end, a quantum computer is only a very fast turing machine. the final case against a . i . not only destroys the hope of building an autonomous a . i . through algorithm, but i t wi l l also provide evidence supporting the non-algorithmic nature of imagination and human consciousness. godel's proof a g a i n s t a . i . ' s i m a g i n a t i o n the final case against genuine a . i . consciousness comes from the austrian logician kurt godel and his incompleteness theorem, which states that "no finite set of algorithmic w h i l e a.i. can b e c o m e i n c r e a s i n g l y similar to t h e human race, it can not ach i eve tru e humanity procedures can generate all arithmetic truths." in other words, no system of algorithm or mathematical equation can prove itself infallible under its own rule without risking a paradox. because each algorithm needs to have another algorithm to validate itself, no algorithm is ever complete. since formalist a . i . is built from algorithms, it can never prove any propositions or ideas that it invents or discovers on its own using its own algorithm.™ 1 1 this severe limitation means that a . i . wi l l be far short of full consciousness. the human mind, however, faces no such restriction thanks to its imaginative faculty. the infinite possibilities conjured by imagination allow the mind to sidestep any mental restriction placed on it; this means that the mind is capable of answering the questions it raises, e.g. a mathematician can discover an unproved theorem and then prove his own theorem. formalist researchers counter by arguing that the mind runs a very complex algorithm that has both questions and answers within it. ironically, the argument raised by a . i . supporters creates a paradox when examined more closely. i f a . i . researchers claim to have discovered the algorithm to the human mind, they must present a proof that it is indeed the right algorithm. according to godel's indisputable theorem, however, an algorithm cannot examine its own system without fallacy; therefore, the human mind cannot safely examine the algor i thm of human consciousness, and i f researchers cannot validate this algorithm, then they cannot assert that it is the correct algorithm.' ix this paradox dispels both the possibility of ever knowing the algorithm of human consciousness and the possibility of its duplication. the mathematician roger penrose concludes that by convincing "ourselves of the validity of godel's theorem, we not only 'see' it, but, by so doing, we reveal the very non-algorithmic nature of the 'seeing' process itself." 0 • through godel, one can see the mind operates in a non-algorithmic fashion. the mind does not have an algorithm because imagination allows consciousness to "emancipate itself from its immersion in the world of actuality and to return to a realm of pure possibility."-v i a n algorithm can never imagine an improbable idea or understand that reality is an "infinite metamorphosis"; it only sees the world that it was designed to see. c o n c l u s i o n imagination is "a power capable of intending the unreal as i f it were real, the absent as i f it were the present, the possible as i f it were actual. , , x x v 1 1 imagination is a surreal and mystical faculty of our consciousness. descartes once questioned the nature of his reality because he did not trust his imagination; he fears that reality is a fantastic dream created by his imagination. descartes is right i n his fear because there is nothing imagination cannot touch, no t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y of a r t i f i c i a l i m a g i n a t i o n boundary that it cannot cross. with imagination, reality becomes a blur; without imagination, reality has no meaning: it is because of this indefinable faculty that the human mind remains unique. the flaw with a . i . designers is that they "cared relatively little about exactly what processes take place inside us, so long as they implement the right inputoutput function."x x v i 1 1 artificial intelligence is a product of a rational system; therefore, it could never act contrary to its purpose. it cannot be programmed to create the unreal out of the real—doing so would create a counter system to its present system. lacking an independent mental selfhood, a . i . is incapable of distinguishing the right from the wrong system. intangible abstractions like time and "thinghood" require irrationality as well as rationality. unfortunately, these two properties are counterintuitive to the a.i.'s system. a n intelligent machine operates under a mathematical language that cannot comprehend the meaning behind the symbols that represent its being. it is human who assigns the meta-mathematical language to the inherently meaningless binary. x x l x i n the end, it is human consciousness that interprets the essence behind a . i . without our imaginative mind to give it purpose and meaning, a . i . wi l l only exist in a state of reactive behaviors. it is doubtless that one day in the near future, humans wi l l create a life-like artificial intelligence that wi l l mimic our exact behaviors. it wi l l speak with a life-like voice, behave like our dearest of companions, and fight like the most patriotic soldier. it wi l l perform its tasks with a level of efficiency we could never match. we wil l relegate more and more tasks to our a . i . , becoming more dependent on its services than ever before. some wi l l claim that we have become pets to our own creation. despite the important roles a . i . wi l l play in our society, the human mind wil l remain the sole genuine consciousness on this planet. the secret of our consciousness remains locked within the pandora's box of our imagination. it is this imagination that has liberated us from an empirical prison; however, when we look beyond ourselves, we wi l l realize that we are alone i n our freedom. e n d n o t e s i . kearney and rasmussen (12) i i . kearney 1998 (48) i i i . kearney 2001 ( 93) iv. kearney 1998 (19) v. kearney 1998 (23) v i . rose (219) v i i . kearny 2001 (12) v i i i . kearny 2001 (21-22) ix. kearney 2001 (49) x. penrose (17) x i . penrose (405) x i i . penrose (7) x i i i . kaku (74-5) xiv. kaku (83-84) xv. churchland (13) xvi. churchland (243) xvii. penrose (51) xvii i . penrose (99) xix. kaku (87-88) xx. kearney 1998 (25) xxi. penrose (399-402) xxii. kaku (83) xxii i . nagel and newman (111) xxiv. penrose (417) xxv. penrose (418) xxvi. kearney 1998 (22) xxvii. kearney poetic (16) xxviii. churchland (251) xxix. churchland (244) references churchland, paul m . 2000. the engine of reason, the seat of the soul. cambridge: m i t press. kaku, michio. 1997. visions: how science will revolutionize the 21st century. new york: anchor books. kearney, richard. 1998. poetics of imagining. new york: fordham university press. kearney, richard. 2001. the wake of imagination. london and new york: routledge. ed. kearney, richard and david rasmussen. 2001. continental aesthetic: romanticism to postmodernism. maiden: blackwell publisher. penrose, roger. 1989. the emperor's new mind. new york: oxford university press. nagel, ernest and james newman. 2001. godel's proof. ed. douglas hofstadter. new york: new york university press. rose, steven. 2005. the future of the brain: the promise and perils of tomorrow's neuroscience. new york: oxford university press. elem ents f a l l 07 "mit brennender sorge made it indisputably clear the racial ideology expressed by the nazi party was not supported by the catholic church." mit brennender sorge an exegesis on the encyclical to the third reich a l e x a n d r a v a l d e z t h r o u c h o u t t h e 1930s, t h e a s c e n d a n c e o f t h e n a z i r e g i m e n o t o n l y d i m i n i s h e d t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e r o m a n c a t h o l i c c h u r c h i n g e r m a n y , b u t a l s o d i r e c t l y c o u n t e r e d f u n d a m e n t a l c a t h o l c d o c t r i n e s . i n f a c e o f t h e m o u n t i n g a t r o c i t i e s o f t h e g e r m a n g o v e r n m e n t , p o p e p i u s x i , w i t h t h e h e l p o f e u g e n i o p a c e l l i , n u n c i o t o g e r m a n y , a n d g e r m a n b i s h o p m i c h a e l f a u l h a b e r , i n a n u n p r e c e d e n t e d o u t r e a c h t o t h e e n t i r e g e r m a n f a i t h f u l , i s s u e d t h e e n c y c l i c a l mit brennender sorce. a p p e a l i n g p a r t i c u l a r l y t o t h e y o u t h a n d t h e l a i t y , t h e e n c y c l i c a l c h a l l e n g e d g e r m a n s t o u s e c o n s c i e n c e a s a f i n a l r e s o r t i n a s s e s s i n g t h e v a l i d i t y o f a r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n o r p o l i t i c a l m o v e m e n t . i n i t s a d d r e s s t o t h e g e r m a n p e o p l e , mit brennender sorce r e f l e c t e d t h e d e l i c a c y o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e h o l y s e e a n d t h e n a z i r e g i m e b y n o t r e f e r e n c i n g a n y p e r s o n , p a r t y , o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s p e c i f i c a l l y . n e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e p u r p o s e a n d t h e t i m e l i n e s s o f t h e e n c y c l i c a l w a s l o s t o n f e w , p a r t i a l l y d i s p e l l i n g t h e w i d e s p r e a d b e l i e f t h a t t h e c a t h o l i c c h u r c h t u r n e d a b l i n d e y e t o t h e t h i r d r e i c h . i n t r o d u c t i o n passion sunday, 1937: the encyclical to the g e r m a n c h u r c h — m i t brennender sorge ( " w i t h b u r n i n g c o n c e r n " ) — was read at the pulp i t s o f catholics churches t h r o u g h o u t the g e r m a n reich. th i s d o c u m e n t is the sole official public declaration f r o m the head o f rome against the nazi reg ime. i n the years after the war, the response o f the catholic c h u r c h , part icular ly o n the hierarchical level, to the atrocities that took place u n d e r the c o m m a n d o f a d o l f h i t l e r has been considered grossly insuff ic ient . i t is the responsibi l i ty o f an i n s t i t u t i o n such as the r o m a n catholic c h u r c h to take a stand against any miscarriage o f justice. t h u s , to r e m a i n a bystander i n the face o f a leviathan such as the holocaust is beyond inexcusable. w i t h the s i g n i n g o f t h e reichskon kordat, there was the appearance of cooperation between the catholic c h u r c h a n d t h e n a z i regime. a n y j u d g m e n t o f the catholic church's actions is far f r o m be ing settled. mit brennender sorge is at the center o f this heated debate. the most vehem e n t critics emphasize h o w the d o c u m e n t failed to defend the jews i n germany. the anti-semitic views o f the nat ional socialist party were explicit f r o m its incept i o n , and by 1937, the harshly d i sc r iminatory n u r e m b e r g laws had been i n effect for a lmost two years. i n other words , i t was distressingly clear that the r ights o f thousands o f indiv idua ls , part icular ly the jews, were b e i n g disregarded by the g e r m a n government . by r e m a i n i n g m u t e o n the subject, the c h u r c h — w i t h her o w n h a n d i n anti-judaist s e n t i m e n t — c a n be construed even as desirous o f such an atrocity. but for every i n d i v i d u a l that holds the c h u r c h i n c o n t e m p t for her v i r t u a l silence, there is another that cites mit brennender sorge as p r o o f that the c h u r c h , as an i n s t i t u t i o n , defied the nazi reg ime. d e t e r m i n i n g the culpabi l i ty o f the c h u r c h i n these matters does not fall under the scope o f h istor ica l study. t h u s , i t is not m y i n t e n t i o n to either c o n d e m n or exonerate her. rather, this w i l l be an analysis o f the encyc l ica l—in its content and l anguage—attempt ing to determine what the c h u r c h was c o m m u n i c a t i n g to the german-cathol ic popu la t ion . t h e reichskonkordat before b e g i n n i n g a discussion o f the encyclical, i t is i m p o r tant to address another d o c u m e n t that is invaluable w h e n cons ider ing relat ions between the catholic c h u r c h and the t h i r d reich d u r i n g the per iod preceding the outbreak o f w o r l d war i i : the concordat between the h o l y see and the g e r m a n reich. o n july 20 , 1933, less t h a n six m o n t h s after a d o l f h i t l e r was s w o r n i n as chancellor, cardinal secretary o f state eugenio pacelli and vice-chancellor franz v o n papen signed the reichskonkordat, w h i c h was meant to define the state's re lat ionship w i t h the roman catholic c h u r c h . the m a j o r i t y o f the articles out l ine a series o f freedoms that were to be assured to the c h u r c h under the g e r m a n government . the concordat guaranteed the profession and publ ic practice o f the catholic r e l i g i o n (art ic le 1), u n h i n d e r e d c o m m u e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 10 "it is the responsibilty of an institution such as the roman catholic church to take a stand against any miscarriage of justice." n i c a t i o n between the h o l y see a n d g e r m a n catholics (art ic le 4) , the m a i n t a i n e d existence o f theological faculties i n state univers i t ies (art ic le 19), catholic educat i o n i n schools (art ic le 21), the r i g h t o f the bishops to approve all catholic r e l i g i o n teachers (art ic le 22), the retent i o n o f catholic d e n o m i n a t i o n a l schools as w e l l as the establ ishment o f new ones (art ic le 23), and the protect ion o f catholic organizations and societies i n a d d i t i o n to the i n st i tut ions a n d activities thereo f (art ic le 31).1 the g e r m a n government gains l i t t l e f r o m this agreement i n compar i son to the protections p r o m i s e d to the c h u r c h . the m o s t notable article that w o u l d be considered advantageous to the state requi red the catholic bishops to take an oath o f loyalty to the g e r m a n reich (art ic le 16). 1 1 a n o t h e r advantage—and possibly the sought advantage—of the g e r m a n government was that the agreement w i t h the c h u r c h w o u l d discourage the c h u r c h f r o m openly c r i t i c i z i n g the nazi regime, i n order to preserve the protections guaranteed by the concordat. i t is clear f r o m this concordat that the catholic c h u r c h h e l d the protect ion o f herse l f as an i n s t i t u t i o n and the r ights o f its m e m b e r s to practice freely o f the u t m o s t i m p o r tance. unfortunate ly , as t i m e w o u l d te l l , the t h i r d reich was n o t part icular ly d i l i gent i n u p h o l d i n g the agreements made i n the reichskonkordat. the m o s t a l a r m i n g and incessant breaches o f the agreement were encroachments u p o n catholic educat ion a n d y o u t h organizat ions. a policy was established f o r b i d d i n g double-membersh ip i n the h i t l e r youth and other y o u t h organizat ions . 1 1 1 i n 1936, the gesetz tiber die hitler jugend (law o n the h i t l e r youth) was passed. a l t h o u g h i t was not p u t i n t o strict effect u n t i l 1939, i t w o u l d require "the ent ire g e r m a n y o u t h inside o f the reg ion o f the reich" to become m e m b e r s o f the h i t l e r y o u t h . l v the gove r n m e n t sought to secularize schools by decreasing school prayers a n d rel ig ious services, c u r t a i l i n g the n u m b e r o f rel ig ious instructors , and even a t t e m p t i n g to remove crucifixes f r o m classrooms. a campaign to convert confessional schools i n t o i n t e r d e n o m i n a t i o n a l schools caused great a l a r m a m o n g the g e r m a n bishops for these ins t i tu t ions were specifically protected u n d e r the reichskonkordat? t h e near abo l i t ion o f private schools and a b a n o n m e m b e r s o f re l ig ious orders f r o m teaching came as a fur ther b l o w to the catholic educational system. v l o n august 20 , 1935, the bishops o f germany gathered i n fulda to draw u p a m e m o r a n d u m sent directly to a d o l f hi t ler . i n a d d i t i o n to expressing concern over the violat ions o f the concordat, the bishops were distressed over the "neopagan attacks against chr i s t ian i ty and the c h u r c h " a n d "the general secularization o f al l aspects o f publ ic l i f e . " v n they received no response. as a result , i n january o f 1937, the bishops reassembled i n fulda once m o r e to draft another m e m o r a n d u m , b u t expecting the same result as the f irst , they appealed to h igher power. shortly f o l l o w i n g the conference, the three cardinals o f germany, ber t ram, faulhaber, a n d schulte and two bishops, galen and preysing arr ived i n rome at the request o f pope pius x i . here , they appealed for the pope to make a publ ic declarat i o n o n the c o n d i t i o n o f the catholic c h u r c h i n germany. a t the request o f eugenio pacelli, michae l faulhaber prepared the encyclical, w h i c h was t h e n revised by pacelli and the h o l y father h i m s e l f . v l " the encyclical fiercely bemoaned the grievances c o m m i t ted by the t h i r d reich against the concordat and the c h u r c h . however, a l though the violations o f the reichskonkordat were the leading catalyst to the dra f t ing o f the encyclical, the m a i n focus was n o t o n the g e r m a n gove r n m e n t . instead, rome addressed the g e r m a n fa i th fu l . the t h i r d reich's disregard for d ip lomat ic agreement mit brennender sorc e c o m m u n i c a t e d t w o th ings to the g e r m a n c h u r c h . first, the t e m p o r a l power that the c h u r c h and the papacy once exerted h a d become extremely l i m i t e d . second, the protect i o n that the c h u r c h h a d sought to atta in for the fa i th fu l t h r o u g h d ip lomacy was by no means assured. i n l i g h t o f these t w o facts, the c h u r c h realized that appeals to the t h i r d reich were useless. t h u s , they released an encyclical that was ent ire ly unprecedented i n the l o n g his tory o f the c h u r c h i n rome. i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e e n c y c l i c a l mit brennender sorge—translated i n the official engl i sh vers ion as " w i t h deep anxiety"—li tera l ly means, " w i t h b u r n i n g concern." these words evoked a sense o f urgency. the body o f the encyclical was d iv ided i n t o three m a i n sections, exc luding the i n t r o d u c t i o n and the c o n c l u s i o n . 1 x the first section o u t l i n e d a n d reiterated the pr inciples o f the catholic fa i th and cr i t ic ized the nazis use o f language to create a r e l i g i o n out o f the i r fascist ideology. the second section (not discussed i n this work) ident i f i ed the author i ty o f m o r a l i t y and natura l law as superior to t e m p o r a l decrees and i t served as a re in forcement o f the first section by disparaging the fabricated m o r a l standards o f the nazi ideology w h i c h removes god as the b e i n g that shapes m o r a l i t y and natura l law. the final and m o s t u n i q u e section was a direct address to the g e r m a n fa i th fu l i n three sections: one to y o u t h , one to the priests and the ordained, and one to the laity. reiner claube: u n a d u l t e r a t e d f a i t h the first section was compr i sed o f five smaller sections. o n l y the first three w i l l be discussed as the m a j o r points are largely encompassed w i t h i n t h e m . the first four broke d o w n the pure components o f what catholics believe starti n g w i t h god (reiner gottesglaube), t h e n discussing chr is t (reiner christusglaube), t h e n the c h u r c h (reiner kirchenglaube), and finally the headship o f pope (reiner glaube an den primat). the fifth subsection is t i t l e d , keine umdeutung heiliger worie und begriffe, w h i c h cr i t ic ized the adopt ion o f c h r i s t i a n vocabulary i n nazi speech. these f irst sections were addressed to the fa i th fu l and act as a cong e r m a n catholics pledge loyalty to the state d u r i n g mass. scientious r e m i n d e r o f foundat iona l beliefs o f cathol ic i sm. i t was also a po ignant r e p r i m a n d o f the current g e r m a n reich. as a h i g h l y d ip lomat ic document , there was no n a m i n g o f perpetrators n o r is there specific m e n t i o n o f naz i sm; however, the people and the problems b e i n g addressed were clear to all w h o heard i t i n 1937. reiner gottesglaube: u n a d u l t e r a t e d f a i t h i n g o d reiner gottesglaube emphasized that fa i th i n god, according to the catholic creed, is very specific and defined. i t served as a sharp cr i t ique o f the neopaganism a n d p a n t h e i s m perpetuated i n nazi speech and ceremony and asserted that there can be no subs t i tu t ion for the b e i n g called god: our god is the personal god, supernatural, omnipotent, e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 infinitely perfect, one in the trinity of persons, tri-personal in the unity of divine essence, the creator of all existence. lord, king and ultimate consummator of the history of the world, who will not, and cannot, tolerate a rival god by his side.x the nazi ideology made th is r iva l god by d i v i n i z i n g the state a n d the so-called a r y a n race. the nazis created a state i n w h i c h i t was no longer possible to serve god properly s imultaneous ly w i t h the g e r m a n n a t i o n , for "no one can serve t w o masters."" 1 not only d i d the c h u r c h reject the elevation o f race and the state o n the g r o u n d o f idolatry, b u t also the c h u r c h expressed recogn i t ion o f a universal equali ty owed to al l m e n before the eyes o f god: "as god's s u n shines o n every h u m a n face so h i s law knows nei ther privilege n o r exception. " x n i t is also o f note that the re ject ion o f a h igher race (rasse) is m e n t i o n e d three t imes i n th is sect i o n a l o n e . x m the repet i t ion o f th is w o r d and the repeated denial o f its significance before god, t h o u g h not an art iculate defense o f the jews, clearly stated that these racist attitudes were w h o l l y incompat ib le a n d u n s u p p o r t e d by christ ianity . yet, there were a countless n u m b e r o f catholics d u r i n g th is t i m e per iod w h o conflated these ideologies w i t h o u t reservation. reiner christusclaubel u n a d u l t e r a t e d f a i t h i n c h r i s t there are t w o i m p o r t a n t points b r o u g h t f o r t h i n the next section: reiner christusglaube (unadulterated fa i th i n chr is t ) . one o f these points was a defense o f the o l d testament as an essential part o f the chr i s t i an fa i th. "the sacred books o f the o l d testament are exclusively the w o r d o f god, and const i tute a substantial part o f h is revelation. " x l v the recogn i t ion o f this issue was the closest that th is encyclical comes to m e n t i o n i n g the jews. w h i l e i t certainly was not a defense o f judaism n o r a c o n d e m n a t i o n o f the nazi policies against the jews, i t is s ignif icant that i t denied the b lasphemy that chr i s t ian i ty was independent o f judaism, especially i n a society i n w h i c h the denial o f jesus' jewish ancestry was b e i n g professed. x v the next i m p o r t a n t p o i n t was the d e n u n c i a t i o n o f a l f r e d rosenberg's "the m y t h o f the 2 0 t h century," a poisonous c o m p o s i t i o n w h i c h contained seething anti-catholic and anti-semitic ideas. this w o r k was part icular ly dangerous because i t orda ined the a r y a n race as superior, n o t so m u c h o n biological grounds (i.e. d a r w i n i s m ) , b u t rather o n spir i tua l grounds: "the soul signifies race as seen f r o m inside. a n d , vice versa, race is the exterior o f the s o u l . " ™ this declarat ion alone makes the super ior i ty o f a race n o t designed by nature , b u t i n t e r t w i n e d i n t o the very p l a n o f god, the creator. this w o r k o f nazi propaganda never became part o f official naz i teaching as hi t le r ' s mein kampfi b u t because o f its message, namely that i t was n o t jesus chr is t that saved, b u t rather race and b lood , the c h u r c h responded w i t h great ferocity. neither rosenberg n o r his book was explicit ly n a m e d , b u t there was absolutely no mis take that w h e n the encyclical decried the "so-called m y t h o f b lood and race," i t was a direct and u n a m b i g u o u s address to th is p a r a d i g m o f nazi p r o p a g a n d a . x v n reiner kl rch enc laube: u n a d u l t e r a t e d f a i t h i n t h e c h u r c h the church founded by the redeemer is one, the same for all races and all nations. beneath her dome, as beneath the vault of heaven, there is but one country for all nation and tongues; there is room for the development of every quality, advantage, task and vocation which god the creator and 'asking someone to choose between his nationality and his faith was essentially asking him to reject a part of himself" mit brennender sorge savior has allotted to individuals as well as ethnical communities.™111 these l ines f r o m mit hrennender sorge encompass the pure m e a n i n g o f what i t means to be catholic, that is, universal . already w i t h i n the f irst twenty paragraphs o f the encyclical, i t was iterated t i m e and again that b l o o d and race and nat i o n m e a n n o t h i n g before god, and thus i t is fallacious to raise the fo rmer above the latter. i n the same paragraph, the encyclical ident i f ied one m o r e o f the four marks o f the c h u r c h : unity . th i s oneness is such o f an indiv i s ib le nature that those w h o t ry to d i s rupt i t are gu i l ty o f a t t e m p t i n g to d i smant le what god has designed. u n d e r these two p r i n c i p l e marks , the encyclical l aunched i n t o what is possibly its most per t inent message. i t underl ines that there w i l l be n o excuse for those w h o cause d iv i s ion i n the c h u r c h . ever the d ip lomat ica l ly w o r d e d docum e n t , the encyclical does not excuse the c h u r c h f r o m scrut iny and se l f recr iminat ion. th i s is used as a device to stress that such scrut iny m u s t also be appl ied to "other organ iza t ions . " x i x fur thermore , there is an appeal to the conscience, a n d the duty that all m e n have to examine and heed i t , s tat ing, " i t yet remains t rue that at no m o m e n t o f history, n o i n d i v i d u a l , i n no organizat ion can dispense h i m s e l f f r o m the duty o f loyally e x a m i n i n g his conscience, o f mercilessly p u r i f y i n g himsel f , and energetically r e n e w i n g h i m self i n sp i r i t and i n a c t i o n . p e r h a p s such words were n o t s trong e n o u g h to convert those w h o h a d already abandoned the c h u r c h , b u t to those w i t h misg iv ings , these words w o u l d r e m i n d t h e m that there w o u l d be no pardon for ignorance or adher ing to an ideology. the c h u r c h recognized that t a k i n g a stand for one's fa i th can be di f f icul t , even m o r e so w h e n i t p u t a person i n cont e n t i o n w i t h his country. a n d yet, this d i d n o t stop her f r o m asking the very highest price f r o m her members : " o u r wholehearted paternal sympathy goes out to those w h o m u s t pay so dearly for the i r loyalty to chr i s t and the c h u r c h , b u t directly the highest interests are at stake, w i t h the alternative o f sp i r i tua l loss, there is b u t one alternative left, that o f h e r o i s m . " ™ by 1937, i t had already become evident that any defiance to the r e i g n i n g party w o u l d possibly result i n great suffer ing and persecution. a s k i n g someone to choose between his nat ional i ty and his fa i th was essential ly asking h i m to reject a part o f h imsel f . unfortunate ly , such was the c o n u n d r u m w i t h w h i c h m i l l i o n s o f germans struggled p r i o r to and d u r i n g w w i i . a n d i e g l a u b i c e n : t o t h e f a i t h f u l previously, encyclicals were largely reserved for the clergy and the educational elite. t h o u g h the issues discussed may have been o f some concern to the laity, these papal letters were n o t w r i t t e n for the m a j o r i t y o f the popu la t ion . even today, the m a j o r i t y o f the catholic fa i th fu l do not read the papal encyclicals, a l t h o u g h they are easily obtainable. th i s direct address to the fa i th fu l was entirely unprecedented i n 1937. indeed, the c h u r c h had never before faced a crisis such as that o c c u r r i n g i n germany. addi t ional ly , the role o f the r o m a n catholic c h u r c h had changed a great deal i n the past centuries. gone were the days w h e n the pope could exercise great power over w o r l d leaders w i t h the threat o f exc o m m u n i c a t i o n . the h o l y see's voice o n the pol i t ica l f r o n t h a d waned, a n d its demands and request fel l o n deaf, or perhaps s i m p l y indi f ferent , ears. t h u s , he t u r n e d to the body o f chr is t , to the fa i th fu l , w h o were w a i t i n g to hear h i m address the i r crisis. to the y o u t h , pius x i chal lenged t h e m to be u n y i e l d i n g to "a gospel that has n o t been revealed by the father o f heaven. " x x i l h e encouraged t h e m to participate i n the y o u t h organizations created by the state b u t to combat any host i l i ty against the h o l y m o t h e r c h u r c h and christ ianity , foster ing love and loyalty to the i r earthly country so l o n g as i t shall not result i n unfaithfulness to the heavenly h o m e . this section i l lustrates that the c h u r c h h a d a s imi la r awareness as the nat ional socialists: the y o u t h were the future . to the priests, pius x i sent words o f congratulat ions a n d support for the i r faithfulness i n t imes o f t r i a l . h e asked t h e m always to be fa i th fu l to the t r u t h . here , pius x i made the assertion that fai lure to correct error a n d deviat ing f r o m the t r u t h was not only a disloyalty to god " b u t also an offense against the real welfare o f your people and c o u n t r y . " x x m lastly, he expressed his deep grati tude and empathy to those w h o h a d already made great e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 sacrifices and suffered i m p r i s o n m e n t i n j a i l or concentrat i o n camps. i n the f ina l subsection, " to the followers f r o m the laiety," the h o l y father addressed the parents i n particu lar a n d emphasized the importance o f the i r ob l igat ion and r i g h t to educate the i r c h i l d r e n according to the fa i th . a l t h o u g h there were great campaigns against confessional schools a n d rel ig ious educat ion i n i n t e r d e n o m i n a t i o n a l schools, he ordered parents to ensure that the i r chi ldren's chr i s t i an educat ion was n o t ta inted by the ideas o f a false gospel, caut ion ing , "yet do n o t forget th i s : n o n e can free y o u f r o m the responsibi l i ty god has placed o n y o u over your c h i l d r e n . " x x 1 v r e a c t i o n s the g e r m a n government ' s reaction to the encyclical was i m m e d i a t e . dated m a r c h 14,1937, the encyclical was actually set to be read f r o m the p u l p i t a week later o n m a r c h 21st—palm sunday. the actual reading was d iv ided i n t o t w o parts, the first h a l f be ing read i n the m o r n i n g and the last h a l f i n the evening. as soon as seven o'clock the evening o f m a r c h 2 0 t h , the government h a d issued an order for the seizure o f the e n c y c l i c a l . ^ fortunately, the actual reading o f the letter was left u n d i s t u r b e d . theoretically, the pope's abi l i ty to correspond w i t h the m e m b e r s o f the catholic c h u r c h was protected u n d e r a r t i c l e 4 o f the reichskonkordat. i t declared that , " i n s t r u c t i o n s , ordinances, pastoral letters, official diocesan gazettes, a n d other enactments regard ing the sp i r i tua l d i rect ion o f the fa i th fu l issued by the ecclesiastical author i ties w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k o f the i r competence (art . 1, sect. 2) may be pub l i shed w i t h o u t h indrance and b r o u g h t to the notice o f the fa i th fu l i n the f o r m h i ther to u s u a l . " ™ " th i s t e r m "usual f o r m s " x x v 1 1 came to be def ined by the governm e n t as amtsblatter or as a s e r m o n f r o m the p u l p i t . ™ " 1 1 therefore, any extra publ icat ions or flyers were n o t protected u n d e r the concordat and were i m m e d i a t e l y confiscated u p o n d i s t r i b u t i o n . two days after the release o f mit brennender sorge, m i n i s t e r for c h u r c h affairs h a n n s kerr l charged al l the g e r m a n bishops w i t h v io la t ing the i r oaths o f loyalty i n a letter. subsequently, he p r o h i b i t e d the p r i n t i n g , r e p r o d u c t i o n , and fur ther d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the encyclical a n d the two p u b l i s h i n g houses that h a d p r i n t e d the docum e n t were c l o s e d . x x l x i n a letter addressed m a r c h 30, 1937, to secretary o f state eugenio pacelli, cardinal faulhaber describes w h a t he has heard o f the recept ion o f the fa i th fu l to the encyclical: the letter was listened to by the people with tense concentration and visible emotion. in spite of bad weather, the parishioners came to the parish church from the mountains and the remote farms. in some parishes, the pastor read the whole letter on palm sunday morning and even in this case, the faithful stayed in the church—without exception— until the end.™* i t seems that i t was i m p o r t a n t to the fa i th fu l to hear what the i r h o l y father h a d to say about the i r cur rent s i tuat ion . hitler jug end supplanted all catholic y o u t h o r g a n i z a t i o n s by n a z i decree. mit brennender sorge faulhaber indicated that the last section o f the encyclical, w h i c h directly addressed various groups w i t h i n the c h u r c h , made a part icular ly s trong impress ion . t h o u g h the churchgoers were certainly in f luenced by these words , two pastors indicated that i t was necessary to provide future analysis for al l the contents o f the letter to be clear. one priest expressed the dif f icult ies that have arisen because o f the seizure decree w h i c h does not a l low the people to have a n d read the encyclical o n the i r o w n , an issue protested by b o t h cardinal b e r t r a m and n u n c i o orsenigo. i n the wake o f the encyclical's release, the m i n i s t r y for c h u r c h affairs considered t a k i n g act ion that w o u l d have radically changed the re lat ionship between the g e r m a n state and the c h u r c h . kerr l proposed sending a note to the vatican to declare the concordat i n v a l i d — a rather i r o n i c proposal cons ider ing the repeated violations made by the g e r m a n state against the c h u r c h . the c h u r c h w o u l d n o t request such a t e r m i n a t i o n because i t served as d ip lomat ic p r o o f that the nazi government that p r o m i s e d to respect the rel ig ious f reedom o f the r o m a n c h u r c h i n germany. the t h i r d reich, w i t h its c o n t i n u e d violat ions against the agreement, had l i t t l e to lose i n e n d i n g this re lat ionship . ul t imate ly , th is note was never sent and d ip lomat ic interact ions r e m a i n e d . 5 0 ™ t h u s , despite the i n i t i a l waves caused by the release o f the encyclical, the interact ions o f the c h u r c h i n germany w i t h the g e r m a n government were most ly unchanged. the ebb and f low o f antagoni sm o f the nazis against the c h u r c h r e m a i n e d after mit brennender sorge, b u t no attempts at completely d isabl ing the c h u r c h were made. parishes r e m a i n e d open and the sacraments were always a v a i l a b l e . x x x n o n the catholic side, services were w e l l attended, as were p i l g r i m a g e s . 5 0 0 5 1 1 1 m e a n w h i l e , the f ight for the y o u t h raged o n as a steady oneby-one d i sso lut ion o f catholic y o u t h organizations i n dioceses t h r o u g h o u t the country were enacted. by the early m o n t h s o f 1938 the eradication o f al l y o u t h organizations excepting the h i t l e r jugend was i n effect i n paderborn, minis ter , trier, breslau, bavaria, cologne, and aachen. finally, a pol icy was passed i n february 1939 w h i c h declared a reich-wide abo l i t ion o f such organizat ions . x x x 1 v mora l i ty trials w h i c h had been essentially abandoned since the s u m m e r o f 1936 were revisited. these tr ials , w h i c h began i n 1935, were a campaign to prosecute m e m b e r s o f rel igious orders that h a d been accused o f sexual offenses. the trials were used as a part icular ly mal ic ious means o f propaganda, w h i c h is evidenced by the sporadic nature i n w h i c h the trials proceeded. clearly meant to cause great distrust a m o n g the catholic believers i n the clergy, i t is questionable whether the trials had the i r i n t e n d e d effect. the means by w h i c h the police at tempted to prove the cr imes o f the clergy m e m b e r s made i t all the m o r e obvious that m u c h o f the i n f o r m a t i o n was fabricated, w h i c h m o s t often resulted i n generated sympathy for the c h u r c h and those i n d i c t e d . 5 0 0 ^ t h o u g h the persecution o f the c h u r c h d i d rouse u p sympathy a n d support , the c h u r c h was s t i l l suf fer ing o n the i n side. the same year that mit brennender sorge was read wi t nessed approximately 108 ,000 m e m b e r s leave the c h u r c h , over double the n u m b e r that that had w i t h d r a w n the previous year. the year 1938 w o u l d see 88 ,700 m e m b e r s aband o n the c h u r c h . x x x v l there are too m a n y variables a n d a substantial lack o f d o c u m e n t a t i o n to be able to def init ively say whether those w h o left were in f luenced to do so by the papal letter; however, d i s m i s s i n g i t as coincidence w o u l d be "by issuing a papal document, the church brought the situation of the church in germany to the attention of the world." e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 10 unwise . i t is never the i n t e n t i o n o f the h o l y father, i n anyt i m e per iod or s i tuat ion , to alienate any m e m b e r s o f his flock. o n the other h a n d , there are those w h o f i n d t h e m selves no longer i n c o m m u n i o n w i t h the h o l y m o t h e r c h u r c h w h e n such strong decrees, as those made i n mit brennender sorge, are declared. whatever t h i n guise o f cooperat ion that had been constructed by the concordat h a d been t o r n away. the c h u r c h , as an i n s t i t u t i o n , was p u t i n c o n t e n t i o n w i t h the nat ional socialist party, the governm e n t o f the g e r m a n n a t i o n . the catholics w h o defied the state cou ld n o longer be dismissed s i m p l y as radical outl iers. the entire catholic body h a d been charged by the pope to stand t rue to the fa i th , even i n the face o f persecut i o n . i t was clear that the nazi ideology, part icular ly the m y t h o f b l o o d and race—the d e f i n i n g doctr ine o f nat ional soc ia l i sm—could n o t be compat ib le w i t h catholic doct r i n e . i f the encyclical was taken to heart, i t is clear w h y there w o u l d be those w h o w o u l d be compel led to leave the c h u r c h as a result . p u r p o s e a n d l a n g u a g e o f t h e e n c y c l i c a l mit brennender sorge was composed for two ends. first, i t was drafted to express the grievances o f the c h u r c h i n germany w i t h the g e r m a n government ' s violations o f the reichskonkordat, as w e l l as to decry the nat ional socialist ideology that u n d e r m i n e s catholic doctr ine . second, the h o l y father w i s h e d to directly address the c h u r c h i n germany i n order to give t h e m encouragement i n the i r suffer ing a n d to r e m i n d t h e m o f the i r personal responsibi l i ty before the c h u r c h a n d before god. i t was o f the u t m o s t i m portance to c o m m u n i c a t e these messages w i t h o u t p i t t i n g the c h u r c h against the g e r m a n n a t i o n . some o f these delicacies o f language have already been referenced. the ent i re d o c u m e n t was b u i l t o n subtlety, b u t subtlety w i t h o u t the loss o f clarity. the reader w i l l notice that there was n o m e n t i o n o f specific names; hi t le r , rosenberg, even the n a m e o f the party i t se l f were absent f r o m the pages o f the letter. i n d o i n g so, the c h u r c h was m a k i n g universal statements that can be appl ied t h r o u g h o u t al l ages a n d to any "organizat ion" that may violate these universa l pr inc ip les . yet, a l l w h o heard the encyclical k n e w exactly to w h o m and o f what the encyclical spoke. for al l practical purposes, the outcome was the same. but i n n o t n a m i n g indiv idua ls and organizat ions explicitly, the encyclical avoided m a k i n g an o u t r i g h t accusation. the encyclical called the perpetrators "whoever" (wer).xxxyn i t was the l isteners w h o identi fy the " w h o , " and thus make the accusation complete . i n t e rms o f what i t hoped to achieve, cardinal michae l faulhaber, cardinal eugenio pacelli, and pope pius x i d i d n o t expect mit brennender sorge to fix the problems o f the catholic c h u r c h i n germany. indeed, they k n e w that i t w o u l d not . the t h i r d reich's t reatment o f the reichskonkordat and the fulda conferences h a d already proved that those r u n n i n g the g e r m a n government w o u l d pay n o heed grievances o f the h o l y see. the t o i l o f the c h u r c h , however, d i d not fai l ut ter ly to bear f r u i t . t h o u g h the pol i t ica l inf luence o f the r o m a n catholic c h u r c h h a d d i m i n i s h e d , its far-reaching inf luence h a d not . by i s su ing a papal document , the c h u r c h b r o u g h t the s i tuat ion o f the c h u r c h i n germany to the a t tent ion o f the w o r l d . t h o u g h i t certainly d i d not cause an u p r i s i n g against germany, i t cannot be d ip lomat ica l ly favorable for a country 's governm e n t to be cr i t ic ized by the h o l y see. m o r e important ly , pope pius x i was f u l f i l l i n g his al l i m p o r t a n t role as shepherd, w h i c h i n part means car ing for the m o s t vulnerable m e m b e r s o f the flock. t h o u g h he may have r e m a i n e d s i lent o n the specific issue o f ant i -semit i sm, he d i d not leave the r o m a n catholic c h u r c h i n germany to suffer alone and i n silence. the h o l y father we ighed his w o r d carefully. not w a n t i n g to alienate m e m b e r s o f the body o f chris t , he d i d his best to express that sacrifice w o u l d be necessary, b u t avoided i n s i n u a t i n g that i t r equ i red a re ject ion o f one's g e r m a n national ity . h e called for a re ject ion o f u n faithfulness, o f apostasy, o f an "organizat ion . " the call was n o t to open rebe l l ion , b u t rather conscientious object ion. c o n c l u s i o n the pope considered his greatest responsibi l i ty as the head o f the catholic c h u r c h to be the protect ion o f the c h u r c h , to ensure that she can thr ive i n sp i r i t a n d i n t r u t h . mit brenmit brennender sorce nender sorge made i t indisputably clear the racial ideology expressed by the nazi party was n o t supported by the catholic c h u r c h . unfortunate ly , n o fur ther act ion was taken to oppose the anti-jewish measures. th i s is m o s t l ikely because the c h u r c h feared that any drastic act ion w o u l d only serve to c o m p o u n d the problems o f the g e r m a n catholics. i n h i n d s i g h t , this fai lure is regrettable. however, i w o u l d argue that the encyclical mit brennender sorge cannot be i n c l u d e d i n the c r i t i c i s m o f the church 's silence. i t d i d n o t express the church's sympathy for the jews because that was n o t its purpose. based o n its purpose, this encyclical was a s trong and unequivocal docum e n t that was addressed to a n d for the m e m b e r s o f the g e r m a n catholic c h u r c h . its m a i n focus was the people o f germany, n o t the nat ional socialist government . fur thermore , the reactions o f the g e r m a n government , t h o u g h not drastic, clearly c o m m u n i c a t e d that widespread fear o f fur ther persecut ion was not u n f o u n d e d . the r i g h t to practice the catholic fa i th was never fu l ly taken away, b u t the government d i d its u t m o s t to cont inue to alienate the p o p u l a t i o n f r o m the c h u r c h . the c h u r c h was engaged i n a battle for the ears a n d the hearts o f her fa i th fu l , and i t w o u l d be the loss o f souls as w e l l as the loss o f lives that w o u l d preoccupy her t h r o u g h the rest o f the r e i g n o f the nazi r e g i m e — a n d l o n g after the swastika ceased to fly. e n d n o t e s i . "concordat between the holy see and the german reich" i i . "concordat between the holy see and the german reich": "before god and on the holy gospels i swear and promise as becomes a bishop, loyalty to the german reich and to the state o f . . . i swear and promise to honor the legally constituted government and to cause the clergy of my diocese to honor i t . i n the performance of my spiritual office and i n my solicitude for the welfare and the interests of the german reich, i w i l l endeavor to avoid all detrimental acts which might endanger i t . " h i . helmreich (290) iv. "gesetz iiber die hitler jugend.": "die gesamte deutsche jugend innerhalb des reichsgebietes ist i n der hitlerjugend zusammengefalst." v. helmreich (275) vi. helmreich (289) v i i . helmreich (275) v i i i . helmreich (280) ix. the organization and structure of the english version is considerably different from that o f the german. the english version, for example, does not contain section titles, and the paragraphs are divided differently. i have used the official english translation from the vatican website for my citations. however, when i refer to the structure, it w i l l be i n reference to the original german structure. there has been some controversy over the whether or not the current english translation is the most accurate because it was from the latin translation, rather than from the original german. therefore, i have provided citied passages that are significantly different i n the footnotes i n its original german, i n order to highlight aspects o f the german language that do not come through i n the english translation. x. pope pius x i , pacelli, and faulhaber, "mit brennender sorge," para. 9. xi . mt 6:24. xi i . " m i t brennender sorge," para. 10. x i i i . " m i t brennender sorge," para. 8,10,11. xiv. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 15. xv. „die wahrscheinlichkeit, dass christus kein jude war, dass we keinen tropfen echt judischen blutes i n den adern hatte, ist so gros, dass sie einer gewissheit fast gleich kommt." von „grundlagen des 19. jahrhunderts" von h . st. chamberlain i n adam, "jesus der christus und wir deutsche." xvi. rosenberg, der mythus des 20. jahrhunderts, 2 "seele aber bedeutet rasse von innen gesehen. und umgekehrt ist rasse die aukenseite einer seele. " translation by author. xvii. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 17. xviii . " m i t brennender sorge," para. 18. xix. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 19. xx. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 19. xxi. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 21.: "aber—heir ist der punkt erreicht, wo es u m letztes und hochstes, u m rettung oder untergang geht, und wo infolgedessen dem glaubigen der weg heldenmutigen starkmutes der einzige weg des heiles ist." xxii. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 33. xxiii . " m i t brennender sorge," para. 36. xxiv. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 48. xxv. faulhaber (315) xxvi. "konkordat zwischen dem heiligen stuhl und dem deutschen reich." xxvii. "ublichen formen" xxviii. helmreich (280) xxix. helmreich (282-3) xxx. faulhaber (315): "das rundschreiben wurde vom volk m i t gespannter aufmerksamkeit u n d sichtlicher ergriffenheit angehort. trotz schlechten wetters waren die pfarrkinder...von den bergen und entfernten bauernhofen zur pfarrkirche gekommen. i n einigen pfarreien haben die pfarrer das ganze rundschreibens am palmsonntag vormittag verlesen...und auch i n diesem fall. . . sind die glaubigen ohne ausnahme bis zum schluss . . . i n der kirche geblieben." translation by author. xxxi. helmreich (285) xxxii. helmreich (296) e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 xxxiii. helmreich (294) xxxiv. helmreich (290-1) xxxv. helmreich (288) xxxvi. hehl (105) xxxvii. " m i t brennender sorge," para. 10-12. r e f e r e n c e s adam, karl. "jesus der christus und wir deutsche." wissenschaft u n d weisheit 10 (1943). einheitsubersetzung der heiligen schrift. stuttgart: katholische bibelanstalt, 1980. <http: //alt.bibelwerk.de/bibel / ?kbw_10=3035 973i&.> faulhaber, michael. akten kardinal michael von faulhabers 1917-1945. vol. 1935. 2 vols. mainz: matthias griinewald verlag. "gesetz iiber die hitlerjugend," dezember 1, 1936. <http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1936/hj_ges.html.> hehl, ulr ich von. "das kirchenvolk i m dritten reich." i n die katholiken und das dritte reich, edited by klaus gotto and konrad repgen, 93-118. mainz: matthias griinewald verlag, 1990. helmreich, ernst christian. the german churches under hitler: background, struggle, and epilogue. detroit: wayne state university press, 1979. "concordat between the holy see and the german reich," july 20,1933. <http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_ss33co.htm.> pope pius x i , eugenio pacelli, and michael faulhaber. " m i t brennender sorge," march 14,1937. < http: //www. vatican.va/holy_father / pius_xi/encyclicals/docume nts/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_ge.html.> german <http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennendersorge_en.html> english rosenberg, alfred. der mythus des 20. jahrhunderts. munchen: hoheneichen verlag, 1930. <http://www.scribd.com/doc/2628285/der-mythus-des-20jahrhunderts-alfred-rosenberg.> mit brennender sorce http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1936/hj_ges.html. http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_ss33co.htm. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encycli-cals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_i403i937_mit-brennender-sorge_en.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/2628285/der-mythus-des-20-jahrhunderts-alfred-rosenberg. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2628285/der-mythus-des-20-jahrhunderts-alfred-rosenberg. n t i o x i d a n t s a n d g e n e r e g u l a t i o n ! the effects of vitamins c and e on estrogen receptors j e o n g h o n a m research s h o w s t h a t e s t r o g e n b i n d i n g to its receptor plays a role i n breast cancer d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h a t a n t i o x i d a n t s possibly m i t i g a t e t h i s effect. past research e x a m i n e d w h e t h e r v a r i o u s t r e a t m e n t s lead to accelerated cell d i v i s i o n , but c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n a n d c o m p a r i s o n of t h e effects of d i f f e r e n t t r e a t m e n t s o n g e n e level e x p r e s s i o n of t h e receptor was n o t a c c o m p l i s h e d . i n i t i a l l y , t h e effect of a n t i o x i d a n t s o n t h e e s t r o g e n receptor e x p r e s s i o n was i n v e s t i g a t e d , r e v e a l i n g t h e presence of v i t a m i n s c a n d e. s u b s e q u e n t ly, t h e i n d i v i d u a l effects of v i t a m i n s c a n d e o n n i t r i c o x i d e release (a possible cancer r e d u c t i o n a g e n t ) s t i m u l a t e d by e s t r o g e n a c t i n g o n t h e surface e s t r o g e n receptor of breast cancer cells was o b s e r v e d . g e n e r a l ly, v i t a m i n e was m o s t effective for i m p r o v i n g n i t r i c ox ide release. i n t r o d u c t i o n breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide. statistical data have shown that among american women, nearly one out of three cancers diagnosed is a breast cancer and in the year 2001 , approximately 192,200 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed among women in the united states. through many years of breast cancer research, it has been documented that estrogen plays a critical role in the development of breast cancer.1 estrogens are steroid molecules and sex hormones that stimulate the development of female characteristics and sexual reproduction. the most common forms of human estrogens are ly-beta estradiol and estrone that are produced and secreted by the ovaries. two of the female organs that play a central role in sexual reproduction, the breast and the uterus, are the main target organs of the estrogen molecule. cells of the breast and the uterus have estrogen receptors (alpha and beta) that have specific sites to which only estrogen can bind. estrogen molecules are only effective when they bind to the receptors. when estrogen molecules pass through the membrane of the cell and bind to the estrogen receptors, the shape of the receptor changes and estrogen receptor complex attaches to the estrogen response elements (eres) i n dna, causing certain genes to become active. the active genes produce molecules of messenger rna that influence cell activity i n a variety of ways by synthesizing specific proteins. 1 1 this study examines the interaction of estrogen and antioxidants on the expression of estrogen receptor genes. cancer is caused by mutations in growth regulatory genes. mutations may be caused by transcription errors in dna before the process of cell division. 1 1 1 as these cells proliferate, the transcription errors are then carried on to the new generation of cells and may lead to uncontrollable proliferation. besides its role in developing female sexual characteristics, estrogen also impacts on the health of the immune system, and the body's response to the stress and the changing environment.^ one of the main effects of estrogen is inducing stimulation for cell proliferation. v cell proliferation is estrogen's natural role but it increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer or uterine cancer. previous studies have demonstrated the effect of ij-beta estradiol on cell proliferation. i n several studies, rj-beta estradiol enhanced the rate of cell proliferation and also decreased the level of apoptosis of breast cancer cells by inducing the bcl-2, antiapoptosis gene . v 1 estrogen cannot distinguish between mutated cells and healthy cells. proliferation stimulated by estrogen can result in the proliferation of mutant cells, thereby causing cancer.v11 to prevent estrogen from promoting cell proliferation, researchers have been developing anti-estrogen substances such as tamoxifen, and raloxifene that can block the estrogen receptor.™ currently, two types of estrogen receptors (er) have been identified, alpha and beta. they both bind to dna but it has been shown that in mcf-7 adenocarcinoma human breast cancer cells, er alpha is the prevalent form and er beta is hardly detectable. estrogen a^ha-receptor is also mainly involved with the development of a breast cancer.1x most research on breast cancer regarding antioxidants has focused on the effect of melatonin (pineal indoleamine), a type of an antioxidant, on the proliferation of mcf-7 breast cancer cells. various studies have demonstrated that melatonin has an anti-proliferative effect on estrogen responsive mcf-7 breast cancer cells and also that the administration of melatonin reduces the incidence and growth rate of chemically induced mammary tumors. x according to the several studies, not only does melatonin inhibit the mcf-7 cell growth but it also increases cell doubling time and delays the entry of mcf-7 cells into mitosis. x l furthermore, it has been shown that melatonin decreases er bonding activity and er mrna expression/ 1 1 however, when melatonin and estradiol were treated together, the anti-proliferative effect of melatonin was reversed, demonstrating that the effect of melatonin can be counteracted by cell cycle acceleration stimulated by estradiol/ 1 1 1 e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 in addition, the effects of other types of antioxidants such as carotenoids, and retinoic acid on mcf-7 cell growth also have been widely studied. these antioxidants have been shown to have an inhibitory effect on the er positive mcf7 cell growth but not on er negative mda-mb-231 breast cancer cells. x l v on the other hand, it has been reported that vitamin e, selenium, and palm oil tocotrienols have been shown to be effective anti-proliferative agents in both er negative and positive cells breast cancer cells. x v unlike previous studies where researchers observed the effect of antioxidants on the proliferation of the cells, i n the first part of this study, the effect of the antioxidants ascorbic acid (vitam i n c) and alpha tocopheral (vitamin e) on the gene expression of estrogen receptor wi l l be observed. another part of this study is to investigate whether ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol can affect the nitric oxide release from the surface receptor of er positive mcf-7 cells. several studies have found the existence of surface estrogen receptors in human peripheral monocytes and the ganglionic nervous system of mytilus edulis, the common mussel. these investigations also demonstrated that 17beta estradiol stimulates nitric oxide (no) release by binding to the cell surface estrogen receptor.x v 1 nitric oxide is a free radical that scavenges other free radicals and controls the activation state of various tissues such as immune cells, thereby helping to maintain appropriate levels of cellular activity. no has also been shown to play a host defense against tumors, viruses and bacteria. i n addition, it has been shown that free radicals promote cancer by damaging dna. since no release is one of estrogen receptors' critical functions, investigating the effect of antioxidants on no release by surface estrogen receptors on mcf-7 cells is e s " sential. however, it has been found out that while no plays an important role in numerous physiological and pathophysiological conditions, excessive concentrations of no may lead to a tissue damage and organ dysfunction.™ 1 i n the second phase of this experiment, cells are pre-treated with ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol, and then the no release triggered by ij-beta estradiol is measured by using no-specific amperometric probe. m a t e r i a l s a n d m e t h o d s g e n e e x p r e s s i o n cell c u l t u r i n g a flask with mcf-7 cells (american type culture collection, atcc), rpmi1640 10 percent media (gibco, invitrogen, carlsbad, ca) and tripsin (sigma, st louis, mo) were prepared. from the original flask with mcf-7 cells, the media was removed, and then washed with 2 m l of trypsin. three m l of trypsin was added to the flask containing mcf-7 cells, and the flask was tilted back and forth so the trypsin would cover the whole surface with mcf-7 cells. the flask was then sat still for 5 to 15 minutes unti l all the cells detach from the flask surface. when all the cells were detached, 7 m l of media was added to neutralize the tripsin. remaining cells were rinsed with phosphate buffered saline (pbs) by using a pipet. everything i n the flask was transferred to a 15ml tube and then centrifuged for 3 minutes at 1000 rpm. after the tube was centrifuged, the liquid in the tube was decanted. the cell pellet in the tube was then resuspended by adding 1 0 m l of rpmi media. the cell pellet and the media were pipetted up and down unti l cell pellet was completely broken. 1 x 106 cells was added to each well of two six wells plates in 2 m l rpmi media and then incubated in a 37 oc incubator. p r e p a r i n g s o l u t i o n s ascorbic acid (vitamin c) stock solution with i m concentration was prepared by adding o . i8g of ascorbic acid (sigma, st louis, mo) to i m l of pbs (phosphate buffer saline) (gibco, invitrogen, carlsbad, ca), and then 10ii was added to 9 9 0 u i of pbs, to make i o m m solution. alpha tocopherol solution (vitamin e) (sigma, st louis mo) was prepared next. i m stock solution was made by adding o.43g to i m l of ethanol. 50 i i from theim stock solution was added to 9 5 0 i i of ethanol for concentration of 5 o m m . again 1011 of the solution was added to 9 o i i of p b s for concentration of 5 m m . a n t i o x i d a n t s a n d gene r e g u l a t i o n : t h e effects of v i t a m i n s c a n d e o n e s t r o n g e n receptors estrogen solution was also prepared. 10-3 m stock solution was prepared by adding o.oo3g of 17-, estradiol (sigma, st louis mo) to 1 0 m l of ethanol. r o l l of the solution was then added to 9 9 0 i i pbs for concentration of 10-5 m. c e l l t r e a t m e n t two six wells plates were treated in the following order. first two wells were untreated as controls. next two wells were treated with ascorbic acid. 2 0 i i of i o m m ascorbic acid solution was added to these wells for final concentration of 1 0 0 i m for each well. same procedure was repeated for next two wells but 17-beta estradiol solution was added with ascorbic acid. 2 o i l of the 10-5 m 17-beta estradiol solution was added the wells for final concentration of 10-7 m along with 2 0 i i of i o m m ascorbic acid solution. after treating first plate, second plate was treated with combinations with alpha tocopherol solution. first two wells were treated with alpha tocopherol solution. 2 0 i i of 5 m m alpha tocopherol solution was added to the well for a final concentration was 5 0 i m for each well. next two wells were treated with combination of alpha tocopherol and 17-beta estradiol solution. again 2 0 i i of 5 m m alpha tocopherol solution was added to the two wells and then 2 0 i i of the 10-5 m 17-beta estradiol solution was added. for last two wells, ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol solutions were added together. 2 o i l of i o m m ascorbic acid solution was added, and then 2 o i l of 5 m m alpha tocopherol solution was added. these plates were incubated for 24 hours at 39 degrees celcius. r n a i s o l a t i o n u s i n g r n e a s y ( r ) p r o t e c t m i n i k i t ( 2 5 0 ) ( q i a g e n ) after 24 hr. incubation, each type of cells was collected into 15ml falcon tubes using sterile cell scraper. tubes were then centrifuged for five minutes at 300-x g. after centrifuge was done, supernatant from each tube was discarded, and then 6 0 0 ii of buffer rlt was added to each tube to disrupt the cells. when buffer rlt was added to the tube, it was pipetted up and down several times for homogenization. after that, 6 0 0 i i of 70 percent ethanol was added to the homogenized lysate of each tube and mixed well by pipetting. 7 0 0 i i of each sample was added to rneasy m i n i spin column sitting in a 2-ml collection tube (supplied), and centrifuged for 15 seconds at 10 ,000 rpm. volume of the each sample exceeded 7 0 0 i i , so flowthrough of the collection tube was discarded and then rest of the aliquots were added to the same rneasy column and the each column was centrifuged again. after the centrifuge, flow-through was discarded. 7 0 0 i i of buffer rwi was pipetted onto each of rneasy column, and columns were centrifuged for 15 seconds at 10 ,000 for washing. after that flow-through and collection tubes were discarded. rneasy column were transferred into a new 2-ml collection tube (supplied). 5 0 0 i i of buffer rpe were pipetted onto the each column, and the columns were centrifuged for two minutes at maximum speed to dry the rneasy membrane. after the centrifuge was done, rneasy spin column were placed in a new two-ml collection tube, which were not supplied and old collection tube with filtrate was discarded. rneasy spin column with new collection tubes were centrifuged at full speed for 1 minute. after this step was completed, each rneasy column was transferred into a new 1.5-ml collection tube (supplied), and 3 0 i i of rnase-free water was directly added to the each of rneasy column. columns were centrifuged for one minute at io ,ooorpm as for final step in collecting mrna. mrna from each sample was collected into the tube and the columns were discarded. mrna sample tubes were immediately placed on ice. r t ( r e v e r s e t r a n s c r i p t i o n ) optical density was first founded for each sample of mrna, for the calculation for making the concentrations of rna samples to be equal. rna samples were diluted in rnase-free water in a new 2 0 0 i i tubes. these samples were then denatured at 95 degrees celcius for one minute. after the denaturation step, to the each tube, following reagents (all from invitrogen™, carlsbad, ca) were added: 811 of dntp's, 4 i i of 5x 1st strand buffer, 2 i i of 0.1 m dtt, i l l of random primer, i l l rnase inhibitor (sigma, st louis, mo). after reagents were added, i l l of enzyme, e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 0 6 super script™ i i rnase h-reverse transcriptase (invitrogen™, carlsbad, ca) was added to the each sample. samples were ran in thermal cycler (gene amp pcr system 9 7 0 0 , applied biosystem) for 6 0 minutes a t 4 0 ° c , and then 10 minutes at 65°c. after rt was done samples were placed in ice. pcr (polymerase chain reaction) to the 2 0 0 i i tubes prepared for the cdna (rt products), following components (invitrogen™, carlsbad, ca) were added for pcr: 5ii of 10x pcr buffer, 1.5ii of magnesium chloride, 2 i i of dntp's, i l l of estrogen -receptor forward primer, i l l reverse primer, 2 9 i i of rnase free water, i o i l of cdna. in addition, primers specific for the ,-actin gene was also used as an internal control for the pcr reaction. sequence of forward and reverse estrogen alpha primer: forward primer: 5'-atcctgatgattggtctcgtct-3' reverse primer: 5'-ggatatggtccttctcttccaga-3' sequence of forward and reverse estrogen beta primer: forward primer: 5'-gctcatctttgctccagatcttg-3' reverse primer: 5'-caatcacccaaaccaaagcatc-3' the samples were denatured at 95°c for 2 minute in a thermal cycler (gene amp pcr system 9 7 0 0 , applied biosystem), and then added 0.5ii of taq dna polymerase to each tube. the pcr analysis was performed for 35 cycles at 95°c for 30 sec, 55°c for 30 sec, 72°c for 1 min , then as a final primer extension step, 72°c for 10 minutes. the pcr product was analyzed by gel electrophoresis. e l e c t r o p h o r e s i s ig of agarose was added to a flask then 6 0 m l of ix tbe buffer solution were added. the flask was then m i crowaved for about 2 minutes unti l the solution started boil. after the solution cooled down, 5ii of ethidium bromide was added and mixed well. the gel was then cast onto a horizontal gel electrophoresis apparatus. 45i i of each pcr product was mix with 9 i i of dna loading buffer, and 3oi l from the mixture was loaded onto the gel. after electrophoresis, the gel was visualized and analyzed by a gel documentation system (uvp) containing an ultraviolet transilluminator. nitric oxide determination cell c u l t u r i n g same step was performed as for gene expression except that nitric oxide determination was done to the cells in 9 6 wells plates, so 2 0 0 i i from mixture of cells and media were pipetted to the each well. this step was done to 15 wells. cell t r eat m ent first five wells were left as control. to next five wells, 2 i i of ascorbic acid (vitamin c) solution with concentration of i o m m was added for the final concentration of i o o l l for each well. to last five wells, 2 i i of alpha tocopherol (vitamin e) solution with concentration of 5 m m was added to each well for the final concentration of 5 0 i m . pre-treated cells were incubated for 24 hours at 39 degrees celcius. n i t r i c o x i d e d e t e r m i n a t i o n for nitric oxide detection, apollo 4 0 0 0 free radical analyzer manufactured by world precision instrument (sarasota, fl) was used. no release was detected with an no-selective microprobe manufactured also by world precision instruments (sarasota, fl). the redox current was detected by a current-voltage converter circuit and continuously recorded. the dimensions of the probe (30 i m diameter, 0 . 5 m m length) permitted the use of a micromanipulator (zeiss-eppendorff). the sensor was placed approximately 100 i m above the respective tissue surface. calibration of the electrochemical sensor was performed by use of different concentrations ( i o i l , 2 0 i i , 4 0 i i , and 80i i ) of a nitrosothiol donor s-nitroso-n-acetyl-dl-penicillamine (snap). each well was placed under the probe and the graph was observed by the computer interfaced duo18 software (world precision instruments, sarasota, fl). when the graph line stabilized, i o i l of 17-, estradiol solution with concentration of 10-5 m was added to the well to stimulate no release. amount of no release was graphed on the monitor and it was measured. research paper t i t l e figure 1 a figure 1 b gene expression for estrogen alpha receptors i n m c f 7 cells figure i a : the band in the left lane represents the amplified cdna of er-alpha genes in mcf-7 cells that were treated with vj-beta estradiol. the band on the right lane is that of control group of untreated cells. the brightness of the band on the right lane (control group) is slightly brighter than brightness of the band on the left lane (17-beta) estradiol, suggesting that vj-beta, estradiol slightly down-regulated the gene expression. figure ib : expression levels for beta-actin primer remained constant for two samples in figure ia, which verified equivalent sample loading. figure 2a: the band on the left represents the amplified cdna of hr-alpha genes in a group of mcf-7 cells that were treated only with ascorbic acid, and the band on the right lane represents amplified cdna(er-alpha) of the group treated in a combination of vj-beta estradiol and ascorbic acid. the brightness of the band on the right lane (a group treated with the combination) is shown to be brighter than the brightness of the band in the left lane (a group treated with ascorbic acid), which means that more cdna was amplified in the group treated with the combination. also when the two bands in figure 2a are compared to the control band in figure ia, the control group of figure 1 is brighter than the left lane of figure 2 (ascorbic acid) but dimmer than the right lane of figure 2 a (17-beta estradiol and ascorbic acid). this indicates that ascorbic acid alone resulted in a down-regulation (less cdna were amplified) of er-alpha gene expression and the combination of ascorbic acid and iy-beta estradiol resulted in an up-regulation. figure 2b: expression levels for beta-actin primer remained constant for two samples in figure 2a, which verified equivalent sample loading. g e n e e x p r e s s i o n pcr products were analyzed on a two percent agarose gel and a gel documentation system containing a uv transilluminator (uvp) (figure 1-4). brightness of the bands from the results of beta-actin gene expressions (figure ib, 2b, 5b) verified equivalent sample loading. figures ia and 2a below show bands that represent the amplified amount of cdna for er-alpha genes. the brighter the band is, the more amplified cdna is present. since the cdna was generated by a reverse transcription of mrna, the brighter the band, the greater level of the expression of the er-alpha gene that produced the mrna. the right lane i n figure ia shows the bands of amplified cdna of a control group of untreated mcf-7 cells (right lane), and the experimental group treated with ly-beta estradiol (left lane). a slight difference in the brightness of the two bands can be noticed. it appears that the control group band is brighter than the lj-beta estradiol treated group, which means that the eralpha gene had diminished expression i n the group treated with estradiol. in other words rj-bcta estradiol appears to have down-regulated the gene. figure 2a shows the band of the group treated with ascorbic acid (left lane), and the band of the group treated with the combination of ascorbic acid and iy-beta estradiol (right lane). when the left lane in figure 2a (ascorbic acid treatment) is compared to the right lane of figure ia (control), the control again appears brighter, suggesting that ascorbic acid also down-regulates the expression of the er-alpha gene. the right lane (ascorbic acid and iy-beta estradiol treated) is brighter than both the left lane (ascorbic acid treatment) of figure 2a and the right lane (control) of figure ia, suggesting that when ascorbic acid is i n a combination with estrogen, it can upregulate the er-alpha gene. i n the rt-pcr for estrogen-beta receptors, it was difficult to compare the expression levels because the bands (shown i n figures 3, and 4) were so faint. a possible explanation for such a low expression level might be because in mcf-7 cells, the alpha-receptor is the prevalent form and the betareceptor is hardly detectable. x v m it appears that the anti-proliferative effect of ascorbic acid on mcf-7 c e u s reported in the literature x l x is related to the down-regulation of estrogen receptor gene expression in mcf-7 c e u s treated with ascorbic acid. there was also a slight down-regulation in the gene expression level in the group treated with rj-beta estradiol and it seems that this down regulation was caused by a negative feedback due to the addition of iy-beta estradiol. previous work found that when estrogen is added to the melatonin, an antioxidant, the anti-proliferative effect of melatonin was reversed. similarly in this research, it appears that the down-regulating effect on the er alpha-rev i t a m i n e nitric oxide determination average amount of nitric oxide released for the control group was 0.4 nm. two groups treated with vitamin c and e released more no than the control group but overall vitamin e caused more increase in no release than vitamin c a n t i o x i d a n t s a n d gene r e g u l a t i o n : t h e effects of v i t a m i n s c a n d e o n e s t r o n g e n receptors figure 4 figure 5b figure 5b gene expression for estrogen beta receptors i n m c f 7 cells figures 3 and 4: possibly due to the fact that estrogen alpha-receptors are the prevalent form in mcf-7 cells and that beta-receptors are hardly detectable, a minimal amount of cdna for beta receptors were amplified. this caused the brightness of the bands visualized on the gel to be very faint. no conclusions could be drawn. gene expression for estrogen alpha receptors i n m c f 7 cells figure 5a: from left: control group (untreated), alpha tocopheral (vitamin e) treated group, and the group treated in a combination of 17beta estradiol and alpha tocopheral. no significant difference in the brightness of the bands of control group and vitamin e treated group could be found, but when third band (vitamin e and ly-beta estradiol) is compared to other two bands, the third band is less bright. the combination of alpha tocopheral and estrogen appears to have down-regulated er-alpha gene expression level. figure 5b: expression levels for beta-actin primer remained constant for all three samples, which verified equivalent sample loading. figure nitric oxide determination a direct comparison of the contol group and vitamir e group. !_ 7. s 6ceptor gene caused by ascorbic acid was counteracted by the up-regulating addition of vy-beta estradiol. figure 5a, shows by contrast that i n the alpha tocopheral (vitamin e) treatment, alpha tocopheral alone (middle lane) did not cause much change in the gene expression level of estrogen a^fca-receptors when compared to the control group (first lane from left). however, the band from the combination of alpha tocopheral and ly-beta estradiol (third lane from left) is dimmer and therefore the combination of alpha tocopheral and xy-beta estradiol caused downregulation in the gene expression level of er-alpha. it appears that alpha tocopheral and ascorbic acid have opposite effects when combined with the addition of iy-beta estradiol. n i t r i c o x i d e d e t e r m i n a t i o n a total of 15 trials were performed for nitric oxide determination. figure 6 shows the bar graph of the average amounts of no release for three groups of mcf-7 cells with a different treatment for each group. overall, compared to the control group, both vitamin c and e increased the level of nitric oxide release. however, it appears that vitamin e was more effective in boosting no release. figure 7 shows that this is true i n a direct comparison of the control and vitamine e. as mentioned in the introduction, an excessive amount of no may have negative effects, but the amount of no increased by vitamin e was not in a reach to be considered as an excessive level. since no is a scavenger for other free radicals that may promote a cancer, it appears that vitamin e may has positive effects in l imit ing cancer development by increasing no release. f u t h e r research more studies regarding antioxidants and estrogen receptors wi l l have to be done. i n the future, real time pcr may be conducted, which is the type of pcr that gives the exact quantity of amplified cdnas. by getting an exact quantity through conducting real time pcr, it would be possible to get clearer data. more trials can be conducted in addition. also in the future, a variety of other antioxidants other than vitamin c and e wi l l be used for similar types of experiments. c o n c l u s i o n although further studies wi l l have to be done, this study demonstrated the overall effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin c), alpha tocopheral (vitamin e) and their combination with 17beta estradiol on er-alpha gene expression. this study a n t i o x i d a n t s a n d gene r e g u l a t i o n : t h e effects of v i t a m i n s c a n d e o n e s t r o n g e n receptors demonstrated that ascorbic acid might have positive effects in l imiting the spread of breast cancer by decreasing the estrogen receptor level. however, this study also revealed that the combination of estrogen and ascorbic acid could cause up-regulation of er-alpha gene expression, which may be a possible explanation for the phenomena of greater proliferation that occurred i n the previous studies. it can be suspected that the combination of estrogen and ascorbic acid can make cells more vulnerable and may accelerate the mcf-7 c e u growth due to the increased level of estrogen receptors. i n contrast to ascorbic acid (vitamin c), alpha tocopheral (vitamin e) caused a down-regulation of er-alpha gene expression level when the cells were treated in combination with ij-beta estradiol. acting alone, alpha tocopheral showed no effect on regulation of this gene. this study also demonstrated the effect of antioxidants on the release of nitric oxide on the surface estrogen receptor of mcf-7 cells. this study showed that the both antioxidants increased no level but vitamin e was more effective than vitamin c, suggesting that vitamin e may have positive effects in preventing cancer. vitamin c and vitamin e appears to be working by different mechanisms since vitam i n e cause a significant release of no, whereas vitamin c caused a significant decrease of er-alpha gene expression i n the mcf-7 human breast cancer cells. overall, the data from this study wi l l help further understand how antioxidants work in the prevention of cancers and other type of diseases. e n d n o t e s i . refernce 1 i i . refernce 2 i i i . refernce 2 iv. refernce 2 v. refernce 3 v i . refernces 4-8 vi i . refernce 2 v i i i . refernces 9-10 ix. refernces 11-12 x. refernces 8-18 xi . refernces 19-21 x i i . refernce 22 x i i i . refernce 23 xiv. refernces 23-27 xv. refernces 28-31 xvi. refernces 32-33 xvii . refernce 34 xvii i . refernces 11-12 xix. refernce 35 r e f e r e n c e s 1. cheryl cardinez, msph, vilma cokkinides, phd, ted gansler, m d , robert greenlee, phd, m p h , apr i l harris, mary beth h i l l harmon, msph, taylor murray, debbie saslow, phd, k i m andrew sawyer, joann schellenbach, robert smith, phd, susan summers, dawn willis , phd, m p h , harriet zoller: breast cancer facts and figures 2001-2002 american cancer society, atlanta georgia 2. lewis j. kleinsmith ph.d, donna kerrigan m.s., jeanne kelly understanding estrogen receptors, tamoxifen, and raloxifene: science behind news, national cancer institute: http://press2.nci.nih.g0v/sciencebehind/estrogen/estrogenoo.htm 3. peter collins & carolyn webb "estrogen hits the surface" nature medicine volume 5 1999 nature america inc. 4. hafner f, holler e, von angerer e. effect of growth factors on estrogen receptor mediated gene expression. j steroid biochem mol biol. 1996 jul;58(4):385-93. 5. weichselbaum rr, hellman s, piro aj, nove jj, little jb. proliferation kinetics of a human breast cancer line i n vitro following treatment w i t h iybeta-estradiol and i-beta-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine. cancer res. 1978 aug;38(8):2339-42. 6. schor nf, tyurina yy, tyurin va, kagan ve. differential membrane antioxidant effects of immediate and long-term estradiol treatment of mcf-7 breast cancer cells. biochem biophys res commun. 1999 jul 5;26o(2):4io7. tesarik j, garrigosa l, mendoza c. estradiol modulates breast cancer cell apoptosis: a novel nongenomic steroid action relevant e l e m e n t s s p r i n g o 6 http://press2.nci.nih.g0v/sciencebehind/estrogen/estroto carcinogenesis. steroids. 1999 jan-feb;64(i-2):22-7. 8. perillo b, sasso a, abbondanza c, palumbo g. tybeta-estradiol inhibits apoptosis i n mcf-7 cells, inducing bcl-2 expression via two estrogen-responsive elements present i n the coding sequence. mol cell biol. 2000 apr ;2o(8):2890-90i. 9. prichard rs, h i l l a d , dijkstra b, mcdermott ew, o'higgins nj. : the prevention of breast cancer. br j surg. 2003 jul;9o(7)772-83. 10. wakeling ae, newboult e, peters sw: effects of anioestrogens on the proliferation of mcf-7 human breast cancer cells j mol endocrinol. 1989 may;2(3):225-34 11. pace, p., j. taylor, s. suntharalingam, r. c. coombes, and s. a l i . 1997. human estrogen receptor binds i n a manner similar to and dimerises wi th estrogen receptor . j. biol. chem. 272:25832-25838 12. shanmugam, m . , n . l. krett, e. t. maizels, r. e. cutler, jr., c. a. peters, l. m . smith, m . l. o'brien, o. k. park-sarge, s. t. rosen, and m . hunzicker-dunn. 1999. regulation of protein k i nase c delta by estrogen i n the mcf-7 human breast cancer cell line. mol. cell. endocrinol. 148:109-118 13. karasek m , pawlikowski m : antiproliferative effects of melatonin and cgp52608 biol signals recept. 1999 jan-apr;8(i2)75-8 14. cos s, mediavilla m d , fernandez r, gonzalez-lamuno d, sanchez-barcelo ej: does melatonin induce apoptosis i n mcf-7 human breast cancer cells i n vitro? j pineal res. 2002 mar;32(2):90-6. 15. blask de, h i l l sm: effects of melatonin on cancer: studies on mcf-7 human breast cancer cells i n culture. j neural transm suppl. 1986;21:433-49 16. cos s, blask de. melatonin modulates growth factor activity i n mcf-7 human breast cancer cells: j pineal res. 1994 aug;i7(i):25-32 17. cos s, sanchez-barcelo ej: melatonin, experimental basis for a possible application i n breast cancer prevention and treatment. histol histopathol. 2000 apr;i5(2):637"47 18. h i l l sm, spriggs ll, simon ma, muraoka h , blask de. the growth inhibitory action of melatonin on human breast cancer cells is l inked to the estrogen response system. cancer lett. 1992 jul io;6493):249-56. 19. crespo d, fernandez-viadero c, verduga r, ovejero v, cos s: interaction between melatonin and estradiol on morphological and morphometric features of mcf-7 human breast cancer cells. j pineal res. 1994 may;i6(4):2i5-22 20. cos s, sanchez-barcelo ej: melatonin inhibi t ion of mcf-7 human breast-cancer cells growth: influence of cell proliferation rate: cancer lett. 1995 jul i3;93(2):207-i2 21. cos s, recio j, sanchez-barcelo ej: modulation of the length of the cell cycle time of mcf-7 human breast cancer cells by melatonin: life sci. i996;58(9):8n-6 22. tina m . molis, louaine l. spriggs, steven m . h i l l : modulation of estrogen receptor mrna expression by melatonin i n mcf-7 human breast cancer cells. molecular endocrinology 8:1681-1690,1994 23. ng jh, nesaretnam k, reimann k, lai lc. effect of retinoic acid and palm oil carotenoids on oestrone sulphatase and oestradiol-i7beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities i n mcf-7 and mda-mb-231 breast cancer cell lines. int j cancer. 2000 octi ;88(i):i35-8 24. prakash p, russell rm, krinsky n i . i n vitro inhibi t ion of proliferation of estrogen-dependent and estrogen-independent human breast cancer cells treated wi t h carotenoids or retinoids. j nutr. 2001 may;i3i(5):i574-8o. 25. nesaretnam k, jin l i m e, reimann k, lai lc. effect of a carotene concentrate on the growth of human breast cancer cells a n t i o x i d a n t s a n d gene r e g u l a t i o n : t h e effects of v i t a m i n s c a n d e o n e s t r o n g e n receptors and ps2 gene expression. toxicology. 2000 oct 26;i5i(i-3):ii726. 26. li z, wang y, mo b. [the effects of carotenoids on the proliferation of human breast cancer cell and gene expression of bcl-2] zhonghua yu fang yi xue za z h i . 2002 }ul;36(4):254-7. 27. lai lc. role of steroid hormones and growth factors i n breast cancer: clin chem lab med. 2002 oct;40 (io):96c)-74 28. watrach a m , milner ja, watrach ma, poirier ka. inhibit ion of human breast cancer cells by selenium. cancer lett. 1984 nov;25(i):4i-7. 29. guthrie n , gapor a, chambers af, carroll kk. inhibi t ion of proliferation of estrogen receptor-negative mda-mb-435 and positive mcf-7 human breast cancer cells by palm oil tocotrienols and tamoxifen, alone and i n combination. j nutr. 1997 mar;i27(3):544s-548s. 30. malafa mp, neitzel lt. vitamin e succinate promotes breast cancer tumor dormancy. j surg res. 2000 sep;93(i):i63-70. 31. heisler t, towfigh s, simon n, mcfadden dw. peptide yy and vitamin e inhibit hormone-sensitive and -insensitive breast cancer cells. j surg res. 2000 jun i ; 9 i ( i ) : 9 i 4 . 32. stefano gb, cadet p, mantione k, cho jj, jones d, z h u w. estrogen signaling at the cell surface coupled to nitric oxide release i n mytilus edulis nervous system. endocrinology. 2003 apr ;i44(4):i234-40 33. stefano gb, prevot v, beauvillain jc, fimiani c, welters i , cadet p, breton c, pestel j, salzet m , bilfinger tv. estradiol coupling to human monocyte nitric oxide release is dependent on intracellular calcium transients: evidence for an estrogen surface receptor. j i m m u n o l . 1999 oct i;i63(7):3758-6334. lirk p, hoffmann g, rieder j. inducible nitric oxide synthase-time for reappraisal. curr drug targets in f lamm allergy. 2002 mar ; i ( i) :89io8. 35. noto v, taper hs, jiang y h , janssens j, bonte j, de loecker w. effects of sodium ascorbate (vitamin c) and 2-methyl-i,4naphthoquinone (vitamin k3) treatment on human tumor cell growth i n vitro. i . synergism of combined vitamin c and k3 act ion. cancer. 1989 mar i ;63(5):90i-6. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 06 "cookbooks and recipe pamphlets do not simply provide instructions on how to prepare meals. during world war ii, they also provided instructions on how to live healthily and how to he a good citizen." w o r l d w a r i i c o o k b o o k s : rationing, nutrition, patriotism, and the citizen consumer in the united states and great britain j e s s i c a j . f l i n n c o o k b o o k s h a v e b e e n u s e d t o i m p a r t d o m e s t i c a d v i c e a n d n a t i o n a l i s m t o t h e i r r e a d e r s f o r c e n t u r i e s . a m e r i c a n a n d b r i t i s h c o o k b o o k s d u r i n g t h e s e c o n d w o r l d w a r s e r v e d n o t o n l y a s a m e a n s o f d i s t r i b u t i n g r e c i p e s t h a t t o o k i n t o a c c o u n t r a t i o n i n g a n d f o o d s h o r t a g e s , b u t a l s o a s a w a y o f e d u c a t i n g w o m e n a b o u t n u t r i t i o n a n d h e a l t h y d i e t s , a s w e l l a s t o p r o m o t e t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r . d e s p i t e t h e s h o r t a g e s o f f o o d , t h e n u t r i t i o n a n d h e a l t h o f b o t h n a t i o n s i m p r o v e d d u r i n g t h e w a r y e a r s . t h i s a r t i c l e c o m p a r e s t h e u s e o f a n d m o t i v e s b e h i n d r a t i o n r e c i p e s d u r i n g w o r l d w a r i i i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a n d g r e a t b r i t a i n by e x a m i n i n g p r i m a r y s o u r c e s , i n c l u d i n g p a m p h l e t s , c o o k b o o k s , m a g a z i n e a r t i c l e s , a n d a d v e r t i s e m e n t s . o v e r t l y p a t r i o t i c c a r t o o n s , p o e m s , s o n g s , a n d c a t c h y s a y i n g s w e r e a l l u s e d a s m e a n s o f e d u c a t i n g t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r . c o o k b o o k s a n d r a t i o n r e c i p e s p l a y e d a n i n t e g r a l r o l e i n w i n n i n g w o r l d w a r i i o n t h e k i t c h e n f r o n t . i n t r o d u c t i o n during world war i i , cookbooks and recipe pamphlets did not simply provide instructions on how to prepare meals. in both the united states and great britain, they also provided instructions on how to live healthily and how to be a good citizen. in addition to distributing recipes that took into account rationing and food shortages, they also educated women about nutrition and healthy diets and promoted the citizen consumer. lizabeth cohen coined the term "citizen consumer" in her book, a consumer's republic. cohen describes how the united states government "put the market power to work politically" and the ways in which "loyal female citizens were defined in consumerist ways," creating the idea of the citizen consumer.1 the cookbooks also show the cooperation of the government and food companies in creating the citizen consumer. authors had used cookbooks to impart domestic advice and nationalism to their readers long before world war i i . in the 19th century, american domestic advisors used cookbooks to communicate their guidance, because middleclass american women were familiar with cookbooks.'' the first cookbook printed in the united states, amelia simmon's american cookery of iyg6, displayed nationalism through recipes with names such as "indian pudding" and "johnny cake."111 during world war i i , the nationalism displayed in cookbooks went from the names of recipes to construing cookery as vital wartime defense work. sherrie a. inness identified the essential aspects of cookery defense as: "maintaining the health of the family and keeping the family's spirits high with plentiful, well-cooked, and palate-pleasing meals. 1 v g o v e r n m e n t a n d food c o m p a n i e s the extent of the rationing and food shortages in great britain was much more severe than in the united states. great britain felt the effects of the german blockade and of constant air attacks on their food supply. the united states was not only an ocean away from the fighting, but it was a country large enough to be self-sufficient. the difference in rationing in the two countries can be illustrated with the example of milk: in the united states, rationing allowed an adult to have one pint of milk daily compared to the three pints of milk each adult in great britain was allotted weekly.v another striking difference in rations is found with meat; americans were allowed approximately 6 ounces of meat per day (42 ounces a week) compared with the 16 ounces of meat that the english were allotted per week.v l despite these differences, the governments of both nations worked to distribute information about food rationing and recipes to citizens. the british government was much more active than the united states government was in the distribution of food information to the public. looking at the ladies' home journal and good housekeeping reveals that private food companies also sought to educate consumers on war-time rationing. the first federal ration book in the united states was war ration book no. 1, which was distributed in 1942/' ' the rationing began with sugar and went on to include coffee, butter and other fats, canned and frozen goods, and red meat . v m meat rationing went into effect in 1943 with the war ration book two, which contained red ration stamps. the red stamps were required to purchase fresh, frozen, cured, and canned beef, veal, pork and lamb, all variety meats (i.e. liver and heart), ready-to-serve meats like sausage and hot dogs, and canned meat, fish, and poultry. the stamps were also needed for butter, lard, margarine, shortening, salad and cooking oils, and cheese (with the exception of cottage cheese).ix the saying "watch your p's (points) and q's (quantities)" comes from this period in american history.x the point values of different foodstuffs were changed monthly depending on the supplies available for the consumer market and were posted in grocery stores.x1 extra ration points could sometimes be earned by selling fat back to the butcher. x i i a n advertisement for tuna i n the ladies' home journal used the fact that tuna was low i n red points as a selling point. x l " recipe pamphlets gave tips regarding rationing, such as, "spend blue ration points on legumes for protein, to help stretch red ration points." x i v in contrast to the voluntary food restrictions of world war i , the ration-stamp system was established by law. x v e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 rationing in great britain began earlier in the war than rationing in the united states, and persisted longer after the war was over. in 1939, the british government began a system of food rationing which was not completely abandoned until 1 9 5 4 . ™ the rations in great britain varied slightly from month to month, as foods became more or less scarce. according to noelle walsh, one of the compilers of the home front: the best of good housekeeping 1939-1945, the average weekly food supplies i n great britain included 4 ounces of bacon, 3 ounces of cheese, 2 ounces of butter, and 6 ounces of cooking fat and margarine. x v n marguerite patten provides an excellent list of the rations for an adult per week in her introduction to we'll eat again: a collection of recipes from the wartime years.xviii in addition to the weekly rations, there was a monthly points system. "as an example of how these could be spent, the 16 points allowed you to buy one can of fish or meat or 2 pounds of dried fruit or 8 pounds of split peas."xix early in the war, good housekeeping published articles such as "feeding five on /3.10 a week" (april 1940). the five people the article sought to feed were a wife, husband, maid and two children (ages 10 and 12). it laid out menus consisting of a dinner and a supper for each day of the week, practical tips, and a weekly shopping list to accompany the menus. x x the ration recipes of world war i i were primarily distributed through pamphlets, cookbooks, magazine articles, and advertisements. food companies created many pamphlets. for example, the september 1943 issue of ladies' home journal, an american magazine, included numerous advertisements for pamphlets and booklets produced by food companies. swan down cake flour advertised a wartime recipe booklet for 6 cents.™ another advertisement offered "120 wartime meat recipes," using less familiar cuts of meat for 10 cents; an advertisement for knox gelatin offered recipe booklets with "all protein, no points" that were free i f one sent away for them. x x i l a jell-0 advertisement in the same issue promised: "you can still say 'welcome' in wartime." it included four recipes made with jell-o, including a savory jell-0 vegetable salad mold. 5 0 ' 1" timely pamphlets from the federal government on cooking were available free of charge to those who requested them.54*™ the food companies advertised the availability of their pamphlets much more than the government did, and some commercial cookbooks also alerted consumers to the availability of the government pamphlets. the committee on food habits (cfn) distributed its reports on ways to change america's food habits during the war, by mass mailing and conferences held every few months. then, other organizations, such as the war food administration and the office of price administration (opa), passed this information on to the american public. x x v the government agencies often provided food companies with this information, and many of the pamphlets distributed by the food companies also included information from the government. in great britain, the women's magazine good housekeeping played a similar role to the american ladies' home journal. good housekeeping worked closely with the ministry of food (f.m.) throughout the war; in fact, it was partly due to its relationship with the government that the magazine was able to continue publication during the war years, showing readers how to make delicious and nutritious meals with their rations. x x v i due to the rationing of paper i n britain there were not many advertisements in this magazine. of the advertisements that were i n the publication, a large proportion were propaganda and information from the government ministries, in particular the f.m. 5 0 5 ™ a full-page advertisement issued by the f.m. in a 1943 issue of good housekeeping, for example, promoted the use of dried eggs. it also provided an address to which citizens could send a postcard, in order to receive a free dried-egg leaflet containing "many interesting recipes." x x v i n the cooperation between the magazine and the f.m. is also evident i n an article entitled "dried eggs." the article reads like propaganda, promoting dried eggs as one of the best foods that wartime rationing brought to great britain. it offered some practical tips and tested recipes. war-time recipes like these typically emphasized that they had been "tested." the recipes in this particular article included: bacon omelette, egg and potato fritters, w o r l d w a r i i c o o k b o o k s : r a t i o n i n g , p a t r i o t i s m , a n d t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r parsley eggs, potato surprises, and an egg and rice loaf. x x , x ladies' home journal did not feature as much government propaganda as good housekeeping displayed, but it did include advertisements from food companies offering recipes and patriotic messages. a mcdougall's selfraising flour advertisement in the april 1940 issue offered readers a recipe for an egg-less family cake and a coupon for a free wartime cookery book i f readers sent in the coupon in an unsealed envelope. the cookery book contained "much useful advice and a big variety of excellent tested recipes."*** daniel horowitz summed up the relationship between government and food companies when he wrote that "working closely with business, labor, and consumer groups during world war i i , the united states government educated, cajoled, and forced citizens to buy and consume food in ways that minimized the diversion of labor and foodstuffs from the war effort."5 0™ many food companies produced recipe pamphlets and cookbooks, specifically for cooking under wartime rationing. the pamphlets and cookbooks were educational, useful, and patriotic, but they were also promotional. the better meals in less time for less money pamphlet had recipes that used pet milk, and it included an advertisement for the author's radio demonstrations. x x x n similarly, your share advertised for general mills products. a n advertisement for fray bentos and for oxo, in britain, notes with a star that "all supplies of corned beef including fray bentos are now distributed by the f.m." x x x m this advertisement shows that the food company that made fray bentos brand was working with the f.m., and they seemed to be using that as a selling point as well. n u t r i t i o n a n d h e a l t h y d i e t s despite the shortages of food, the nutrition and health of both nations improved during the war years. this is i n large part due to the educational campaigns that both governments waged to increase citizens' knowledge of healthy diets and the importance of vitamins and minerals. they often used cartoons and rhymes in their campaigns to help citizens remember the facts. in 1942, the united states government introduced "uncle sam's food rules," of which there were eight. the office of defense health and welfare services advertised the food groups, telling citizens to "every day, eat this way." food was arranged into the following groups: mi lk and dairy products; bread and cereal; oranges, tomatoes, grapefruits; meat, poultry, or fish; green or yellow vegetables; other vegetables, fruit; eggs; and butter and other spreads.xxx1v in 1943, the food and nutrition board, under the office of defense health and welfare services, replaced uncle sam's rules with the "seven basic food groups." x x x v recipe pamphlets in the united states almost universally included a section on nutrition and meal planning, and it was not uncommon for a diagram of the seven basic food groups to be at the end of a pamphlet. in the victory cook book there are useful facts about food, including the vitam i n content and calories of the different ingredients used in the recommended meals. the women in national service's "ten rules for wartime eating" included keeping a list of the seven basic food groups in the kitchen or in the woman of the house's purse. consumers were to pay attention to these rules when planning and buying . x x x v l the u.s. government and food companies created and/or modified recipes to help ensure that americans received a balanced diet. evaporated milk, cooked soybeans, and soy e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 flour were added to recipes to increase protein and to wean consumers away from rationed meat and fat. peanut butter was used as a substitute for rationed fats (shortening) and also for added flavor and pro te in . x x x v n food companies caught on and began to advertise the nutritional value of their products. a n advertisement for van camp sea food company tuna had this rhyme: pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man, pack me a tuna pie, as fast as you can. roll it and pat it and mark it with a v, to stand for vitamins "a" and "d. "xxxviii surprisingly, considering the emphasis on stretching meat and the strict controls put on its distribution, the nation's consumption of meat actually grew during the war years, especially among the poorest third of the population. 5 0 0 0" betty crocker's your share pamphlet is filled with nutrition-oriented cartoons and rhymes. here is a rhyme that is included in the egg section: wcdupfy e g g s humpty dumpty's always on call bursting with vitamins far as b/l proteins and minerals, too, in his shell what we all need to help keep us well. do you know your egos? federal and state regulations for grading eggs vary. find out your a g o o d e g g for the breakfast tabic . . . is strictly fresh (top grade). for cooking (in meat loaves, custards, etc.) . . . is a smaller egg (lowe for baking (especially cakes) . . . is a large egg (2 oz.) or measure etj full amount. the large eggs recipes <nil for yield the following ; 1 eoa • 'a '"p 2 wfcuw . . '/. cup 3 yolk. . . % grade). treat 'em right a n d they'u do right by you they like the coldest spot in n.lyij^'ralor. i f you're goin|r to separate them, the earlier the better, as toon as they come out of j f ^ , l t f t . , the refrigerator . . . yolk is less likely t break . . . whites beat up higher if at keep ixrr-ovnr log warns in tightly covered jar in ntri^rtator. l'se in making angel foods, white cakes, meringues, white icings, etc. they keep a long time. custard cup covered with oil silk c or waxed paper. use in custards, salad i!iw.ini:s (train pies, etc. (2 yolks for 1 whole egg). use in yeast rolls, cookies, etc. (2 yolks plus 1 tl»p. milk or water for 1 whole egg). to use in salads, sandwich they get tough if you m a k e it too hot for them , simmer, don't bubble" fry gently, don't jrizzle— bake slowly, don't brail—and the doable boiler saves toil and trouble when cooking don't wish the hen would lay something besides eggs h«. is votioty: to cover), krdttcc heat, set in warn soft.cooked . . mare * „ „ . in hnilin,. „ „ (don.'t let ijoll) * h (ook uctil vvllit (about 5 min.). scrambled . . . for each wyr, use lop milk, season with salt am. ; -op beat well. cook in melted fat lioiler or in heavy skillet over low he; ring frequently. shirred . humpty dumpty's always on call bursting with vitamins for us all proteins and minerals, too, in his shell what we all need to keep us well.xl in the vegetable section there is the subtitle: "prevent mass execution of vitamins...and killing of flavor." there are tips about how to prepare vegetables without destroying their vitamin and mineral contents. the illustrations that go along with the tips include a carrot trying to swim away from submarine fire, to stress that vegetables should be cooked in the smallest possible amount of water. x h the food in the war-time section of your share states that at the end of each day every woman should be able to say " i worked for freedom today. i served at least one food from each of the basic seven food groups. i prepared the food i served with care. i wasted no food this day." x l u in december 1943, the united states government announced the national victory garden program to increase the nation's production and consumption of vegetables. by the summer of 1943, victory gardens produced one-third of the nation's vegetables.*'111 general foods corp. promoted vegetables in its bright spots for wartime meals pamphlet, which included recipes for jellied vegetables in sour cream, jellied pea salad, savory vegetable salad mold, and vitamin salad. x l i v even with stricter rationing regulations than the united states, the citizens of great britain experienced improved health during the war. despite the strict regulations, according to marguerite patten, who worked for the ministry of food in great britain during the war, the health of the nation was "surprisingly good," infant mortality decreased, and the average age of death from natural causes inw o r l d w a r i i c o o k b o o k s ! r a t i o n i n g , p a t r i o t i s m , a n d t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r creased.xlv "for many of the poorer sections of the community, rationing introduced more protein and vitamins, while for others it involved a reduction i n the consumption of meat, fats, eggs, and sugar."xiv i according to violet plimmer, author of food values in wartime, the ordinary pre-war diet contained too many unwholesome foods: sugar, white bread, and fats of low vitamin value . x l v n rationing improved the health of the nation, because it provided an opportunity to redistribute vital foodstuffs, like milk, eggs, and orange juice, to the fighting men, mothers, and babies, who needed them most. x l v i i l the f.m. started publishing food facts in 1940, which it had printed in newspapers every week. it also aired a daily five-minute radio program, the "kitchen front," used to educate the public about food rationing and recipes. x l l x approximately 18 mill ion people listened everyday to charles hi l l , "the radio doctor," to receive food advice.1 the food advice division of the f.m. traveled around the country and gave demonstrations to educate people about the importance of keeping their families well fed on the available rations.11 additionally, the f.m. published answers to citizens' questions i n its food facts. one such question concerned healthy skin and the lack of fruit i n the wartime diet. readers were informed that it is the vitamin c in fruit that makes fruit good for one's skin. the ministry included a table showing the quantity of vitamin c contained in vegetables, and stressed that extra vegetables were needed to make up for the missing frui t . l u the ministry stressed the nutritional value of potatoes, oatmeal, and national wheatmeal bread in its campaigns. the national bread and flour, which was made compulsory in the spring of 1942, came just in time to prevent more widespread pellagra, a vitamin deficiency disease, among the people of great britain. the national bread and flour contained niacin, the vitamin that prevents pellagra.1111 one campaign, run by the f.m., compared a potato to a lump of sugar, because they both are turned by the digestive system into glucose "fuel which your body 'burns' to give you energy and warmth." l i v the f.m. distributed massive amounts of recipes that used potatoes as their main ingredient. this was the song of potato pete: potatoes new, potatoes old potato (in a salad) cold potatoes baked or mashed or fried potatoes whole, potato pied enjoy them all, including chips remembering spuds don't come in shipsfv the song emphasized the various ways in which potatoes could be served. in the last line, it also highlighted the fact that potatoes could be grown domestically. this was important because it meant that great britain did not have to rely on ships getting past the blockade of the bris, which hitler had declared i n august of 1940, hitler had declared a blockade on the british isles. l v i the availability of potatoes was a major reason why the government stressed their consumption. the f.m. also used cartoons similar to those in american cookbooks. the three main characters of the f.m. cartoons were lord woolton, potato pete, and dr. carrot. l v n one such cartoon has a potato, a carrot, and a head of cabbage holding rifles and wearing helmets, under the heading "home-guards of health." citizens were told to "enlist these 'home guards' in your diet, and keep them regularly on duty!" underneath the cartoon are tips for including vegetables in a healthy diet . l v i u violet plimmer's food values in wartime, published in 1942, provides a comprehensive look at nutrition. plimmer looked at the lessons of the 1914-18 war, such as poor nutrition leading to diseases like scurvy. she explains that a square meal is comprised of the four food groups: bread, butter, flesh, and salad. l l x plimmer has sections explaining deficiency diseases, vitamins, in which food each vitamin is found, what each type of vitamin does for the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 body, and the four classes of food. the book is very dense, and filled with useful information. victory gardens were also encouraged in england, just as they were i n the united states. in great britain, however, the gardens were often communal, whereas in the united states they were often private. the f.m. also encouraged hedgerow harvests. hedgerow harvests included harvesting blackberries, crab apples, elderberries, sloes, rowanberries (mountain ash), hips and haws, nuts, and mushrooms. l x other f.m. campaigns encouraged the use of dried eggs, dried milk, and fish. plimmer's food values in wartime urged people to grow more vegetables, including potatoes, parsnips, artichokes, swedes, carrots, and beetroots for their relatively high energy value. advertisers used nutrition and guilt to sell their products to consumers. a n advertisement for the sevenseas brand cod liver oil in good housekeeping used this strategy. it advertised its cod liver oil as the "richest and most dependable" natural source of vitamins a and d, and that it made up for the shortage of milk, butter, cheese, eggs, and fats. the title of the advertisement, "a well-fed child can be undernourished," appealed to a mother's sense of responsibility and guilt. i n the scenario, a mother has her sister, mary, watch her daughter for a few weeks. when the mother returns to take her daughter home, the little girl says that mary was a better mother to her child than she had been, because mary gave the young girl cod liver oil. the advertisement ended . .food companies sought to capitalize on the new focus on nutritional value hy using nutrition facts to help market their goods/' with "you dare not gamble with your children's health; so much of their future happiness depends on the nourishment you give them now." it is evident that the importance of nutrition was being stressed to women, and that it was also being used to sell them food products. l x i nutrition became a priority in both nations as a means to keep citizens healthy. governments worked to educate the public on how to eat healthily. the information was of greater importance in great britain, where an unhealthy diet along with the food shortages could have led to disease and even death. advertisements for foodstuffs in both countries showed that food companies sought to capitalize on the new focus on nutritional value by using nutrition facts to help market their goods. p a t r i o t i s m a n d t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r united states government food propaganda was generally more positive and patriotic, emphasizing ways to help the war effort, and less directed to stereotypes of the germans or the japanese than had been the case during the propaganda campaigns of the first world war. l x n the office of price administration had a campaign during world war i i entitled "food fights for freedom." l x m many cookbooks and pamphlets were overtly patriotic. the victory cook book (1942) has a solid blue cover with red writing and a picture of a bald eagle holding arrows and surrounded by stars. l x i v betty crocker's your share wartime pamphlet has red and white stripes on its cover, with the title in white and blue with stars. the cover resembles the american flag and the forward stresses women's role in the war effort. the recipes and tips are in an easy-to-read font and there are many cartoons throughout the pamphlet that remind the reader that cooking is helping the war effort. for example, in the vegetable section entitled "call vegetables into service," there is a picture of vegetables l ining up as though they are reporting for duty in front of a military general. l x v recipes were even given patriotic names, such as "patriotic pinwheel meat roll" and "allw o r l d w a r i i c o o k b o o k s ! r a t i o n i n g , p a t r i o t i s m , a n d t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r american maple-nut angel food cake." l x v i the cover of the health-for victory club meal planning guide has blue and white writing and a picture of an all-american boy (a boy wearing a white button-down shirt, a tie, and a vest) next to an american flag composed of food (the red lines are tomatoes, the white lines are eggs from american poultry farms, the blue is made with concord grapes, and the stars are cookies made from the grains of american fields). the back cover of the pamphlet said to the women of america, "your sacred duty is to keep the production army on the home front as physically fit as the fighters' army on the battle f ront ." l x v n the how to eat well though rationed pamphlet had a white cover with red and blue writing, a side border of red/white/blue stripes. its back cover had a red and blue border with white stars. it is dedicated to "the american homemaker whose time is so generously devoted to the war effort ." l x v u i the bright spots for wartime meals pamphlet contains recipes using jell-0 and jell-o pudding to help make "food fight for freedom. " l x i x a cartoon named "victorianna" is the reader's guide through the pamphlet. victorianna is a plump, fairy god-mother like woman; she wears a dress of red and white stripes, and a dark apron with stars. l x x the pamphlet produced by the national livestock and meat board even gave their pamphlet a title linking meals to the war effort: better meals mean better health for home defense)™ nearly every pamphlet and cookbook offered advice in the foreward or introduction about how women could win the war on the "kitchen front." 1™ 1 the advertisements paid for by food companies were also overtly patriotic. they reinforced the government's advice, and tried to appeal to consumers through their patriotism. a n advertisement seen in america for certo, which is used in jam and jelly making, had an image that showed a women making jelly with the caption underneath -"portrait of a patriot summer i944"-surrounded by stars. l x x i n similarly, oxo, a product marketed in great britain, had advertisements that stressed the importance of saving vegetable water as a way of helping the war effort. in one of their advertisements, a woman holds a pot in her kitchen and a has poster on her kitchen wall that reads "kitchen front order, save your vegetable water." l x x i v saving vegetable water to make soup was recommended by the government, and the advertisers took full advantage of that advice to help market their own products, which could be used with the vegetable water to make soup. a n advertisement for heinz in 1942 noted that there were temporarily diminished supplies of heinz products on the grocer's shelves, "but patriots must know that all the time heinz have been doing a big job of national feeding (supplying the services, the national food reserves, etc.)." l x x v food companies presented themselves to consumers as helping the nation's war effort. heinz was trying to give their brand a good name, and hoping that consumers would then buy more of their product when it became available. in great britain, there were many patriotic cartoons in newspapers and magazines about servicemen risking their lives to guard the food supply. the cartoons made points like "wasting food helps u-boats" and "they don't mind danger, but waste gives them the creeps." l x x v i guilt was also used to make consumers into citizen consumers. one cartoon put out by the f.m. had the caption "we all liked mrs. parker, in the city, unti l we heard she wastes crusts (a pi ty!)" l x x v i 1 women were not the only ones who were targeted by the f.m.'s campaigns; this was the caption of a cartoon aimed at men: plan your points and obey the rules; just as you did with your football pools; you'll find yourself an up and upper; at breakfast, dinner, tea and supper!lxxvm c o n c l u s i o n cookbooks and recipe pamphlets played an integral role in improving national health and creating the citizen consumer during the second world war in both great britain and the united states. throughout the war, the national governments of both the united states and of great britain created organizations dedicated to regulating and distribute l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 ing information about foodstuffs. the advertisers of foodstuffs capitalized on the war, in the marketing of their products by providing consumers with recipes, pamphlets, cooking tips, and information about government regulations. they advertised how their brands were patriotic and promoted the nutritional value of their products. the message of the governments and food companies were not only in the words that were in the cookbooks, pamphlets, advertisements, and articles, but in the cartoons, and the choice of colors used for the fonts. the responsible, "good" consumer, who purchased, prepared, and saved food in accordance with the recommendations of their government created the citizen consumer. e n d n o t e s i . cohen (75) i i . leavitt (4-15) i i i . leavitt (14) iv. inness (96) v. patten (114-137) vi . lovegren (121) vi i . lovegren (114) v i i i . hayes (4.) ix. hayes (101) x. the quote was found i n reference to comparing the points i t takes to feed a family wi th different cuts of meat in : crocker (9) xi . hayes (101) xi i . zanger (397-402) x i i i . ladies' home journal september, 1943 (39-114) xiv. home economics institute (a description of the materials used to make the flag on the front cover is found on the inside cover) xv. zanger (397) xvi. brears (304) xvii . braithwaite (8) xvii i . patten (8) for an approximate list of weekly food allotments in great britain during the war, see also brears (320) xix. patten (8) xx. braithwaite (16-9) xxi. ladies' home journal september 1943 (39-114) xxii . ladies' home journal september 1943 (39-114) xxii i . ladies' home journal september 1943 (39-114) xxiv. taylor (1 of insert) xxv. bentley (25-6) xxvi. braithwaite (8) xxvii. braithwaite (10) xxviii. braithwaite (120) xxix. braithwaite (96-97) xxx. braithwaite (20) xxxi. horowitz (132) xxxii. taylor 1942 xxxiii. braithwaite (52) xxxiv. http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/collections/ wwii-posters/img/wwo87o-27.html (accessed 4/24/06) xxxv. hayes (27) and lovegren (116) xxxvi. hayes (15) xxxvii. hayes (28-30) xxxviiii. ladies' home journal september, 1943 (39-114) ixl . cohen (70) xl . crocker (9) xl i . crocker (16) x l i i . crocker (37) x l i i i i . hayes (53) xliv. general foods corp., bright spots for wartime meals: 66 ration-wise recipes (n.p., 1944) pamphlet box 49, schlesinger library, harvard. xlv. patten (6) xlvi. patten, (6) xlvi i . plimmer (11) xlvi i i . brears (321) i l . patten (7) and brears (306) 1. brears (306) l i . patten (7) l i i . patten (45) l i i i i . plimmer (27) liv. patten (45) lv. patten (41) lv i . http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/masterpiece/cazalets/society.html (accessed 5/08/06) lv i i . patten (6) lv i i i . patten (45) lix. plimmer (11) lx. patten (94) lxi . braithwaite (26) lx i i . zanger (397) lx i i i . cohen (75) lxiv. berolzheimer ed., 1942 lxv. crocker (16) lxvi. lovegren (122,137) lxvii . home economics institute (a description of the materials used to make the flag on the front cover is found on the inside cover.) lxvhi. gibson (3-20) lxix. general foods corp. lxx. general foods corp. lxxi. national live stock and meat board lxxii . bowers (26) lxxii i . lovegren (115) lxxiv. braithwaite (15, 32) lxxv. braithwaite (52) lxxvi. patten (21-22) lxxvii. patten (58) lxxviii . patten (71) w o r l d w a r i i c o o k b o o k s : r a t i o n i n g , p a t r i o t i s m , a n d t h e c i t i z e n c o n s u m e r http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/collections/ http://www.pbs.org/ r e f e r e n c e s bentley, amy. 1998. eating for victory: food rationing and the politics of domesticity. chicago: university of illinois press, pp. 1-179. berolzheimer, ruth ed., 1942. the victory cook book: wartime edition. chicago: consolidated book publishers, a. pamphlet box, schlesinger library, harvard. bowers, douglas e. 2000. "cooking trends echo roles of women," food review, (23), pp. 23-29, january-april. braithwaite, brian and noelle walsh, glyn davies comp. 1989. the home front: the best of good housekeeping 1939-1945. london: vintage/ebury (a division of random house group), pp. 8-180. brears, peter. 1993. a taste of history 10,000 years of food in britain. london: english heritage wi th the british museum press, pp. 306-329. cohen, lizabeth. 2004. a consumers' republic: the politics of mass consumption in postwar america. new york: knopf, pp. 375crocker, betty. 1943. your share: how to prepare appetizing, healthful meals with foods available today. minneapolis: general mills, inc., pp. 1-48. pamphlet box 58, schlesinger library, harvard. general foods corp. 1944. bright spots for wartime meals: 66 ration-wise recipes. pamphlet box 49, schlesinger library, harvard. gibson, josephine. 1943. wartime canning and cooking book: how to eat well though rationed. newark, nj, pp. 3-20. pamphlet box 25, schlesinger library, harvard. , hayes, joanne lamb. 2000. grandma's wartime kitchen: world war ii and the way we cooked. new york: st. martin's press, pp. x-173. home economics institute. 1943. westinghouse electric+ manufacturing co. health-for-victory club meal planning guide, july. a. pamphlet box, schlesinger library, harvard. horowitz, daniel. 2001. "we are what and how we eat," american quarterly, (53), pp. 131-138, march. http: / / www. library, north we stern. edu/go vpub /collections / wwi i posters/img/wwo87o-27.html accessed 4/24/06. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/cazalets/society.html, accessed 5/08/06. inness, sherrie a. 2001. cooking lessons: the politics of gender and food. lanham: rowman and littlefield publishers, inc. , pp. 95-97. ladies' home journal 1943. pp. 39-114, september. leavitt, sarah a. 2002. from catherine beecher to martha stewart: a cultural history of domestic advice. chapel h i l l : university of north carolina press, pp. 4-15. lovegren, sylvia. 2005. fashionable food: seven decades of food fads. chicago: the university of chicago press, pp. v i i i , 114-137. national live stock and meat board. 1942. better meals cooking school: better meals mean better health for home defense chicago: edition 61. pamphlet box 25, schlesinger library, harvard. patten, marguerite. 1991. we'll eat again: a collection of recipes from the wartime years. london, pp.6-71. plimmer, violet g. 1942. food values in wartime. london, 2nd edition, pp. 1-62. taylor, mary l.r. 1943. economy for epicures a practical menu and recipe book. new york: oxford university press. taylor, mary lee. 1942. better meals in less time, for less money; mary lee taylor's recipes for 2 and 4 and 6. st. louis, pamphlet box 52, schlesinger library, harvard. zanger, mark. 2003. the american history cookbook. westport, conn: greenwood press, pp. 397-402. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/cazalets/society.html "aunque dios era superficialtnente la autoridad mas alta, habia otro sistema de creencias, el de la honra, considerado mas sagrado por los ciudadanos de entonces" m e n t i r a y honor los temas del teatro espanol en el siglo de oro vlad g e o r e s c u o while catholic virtues s h o u l d have been t h e h i g h e s t moral authority in a society as fervently r e l i g i o u s as spain during its g o l d e n age, t h e protection of personal h o n or s t e e r e d t h e m o r a l c o d e in practice. examining fou r th eatrical wor ks by prominent a u t h o r s of t h e p e r i o d — i n c l u d i n g pedro calderon de la barca, ana caro, t i r s o de molina, and lope de v e g a — r e v e a l s a double standard implicit in t h e societal attitude toward lies. lying in order to u p h o l d reputation was rewarded, while lying for any other reason, such as personal satisfaction, was often punishable by death. it remains uncertain whether authors of t h e time i n c l u d e d this duality in order to reflect their time or to criticze it, but t h e i n s i g h t they provide is clear: people were more c o n c e r n e d with maintaining a g o o d o p i n i o n in t h e eyes of their peers than in t h e eyes of g o d . t h i s article explores t h e paradoxical manner in w h i c h d i s h o n o r a b l e acts were tolerated in order to maintain h o n o r in t h e g o l d e n a g e . i n t r o d u c c i o n se conoce como el siglo de oro en espana la epoca que abarca desde final del siglo quince hasta mediados del siglo diecisiete y que marca la cumbre de la literatura y el arte en la cultura espanola. dos cosas son ciertas: la primera es que la mentira es muy comun, tanto en nuestros tiempos como a lo largo de la historia. la segunda es que, sea por razones culturales, religiosas, o sociales, esta se ve de manera negativa o vergonzosa. la sociedad del siglo de oro en espana, especialmente aquella pintada por las obras teatrales de la epoca, no es la excepcion a este hecho paradojico. lo que si era muy diferente en aquella sociedad era el significado del verbo " m e n t i r . " sebastian covarrubias horozco en su trabajo tesoro de la lengua castellana o espanola,. (publicado en 1611) presenta una definicion muy interesante del verbo mentir: "no decir la verdad maliciosamente." ' la palabra clave en esta definicion es "maliciosamente", la cual indica que el intento de engafiar, hacer dafio, o causar sufrimiento es necesario para que una falsedad se considere una mentira. las situaciones que involucran la mentira o la falsedad son utilizadas en diferentes circunstancias y grados en cada una de las comedias escritas en este siglo, pero tienen u n hecho en comun: la mentira como proteccion del honor propio es completamente aceptada, raramente castigada, y de vez en cuando hasta premiada. por otro lado, mentir, o crear una situacion falsa al no decir la verdad en su totalidad por cualquier otra razon, frecuentemente resulta en la caida social o fisica del enganador. esto presenta u n punto muy importante para entender la dinamica de los valores en el siglo de oro. aunque dios era superficialmente la autoridad mas alta, habia otro sistema de creencias, el de la honra, considerado mas sagrado por los ciudadanos de entonces. las obras en las cuales este hecho es evidente incluyen el alcalde de zalamea por pedro calderon de la barca, valor, agravio y mujer por ana caro en respuesta a el burlador de sevilla por tirso de molina, y el castigo sin venganza por lope de vega. estas tres obras muestran la sociedad del siglo de oro en su plena paradoja: la disposition a aceptar algo deshonroso, como la mentira, para proteger la honra. es importante contextualizar el significado de la honra eh la epoca del siglo de oro. descrita por gustavo correa, la honra tenia u n elemento vertical y uno horizontal con relation a la sociedad. la honra vertical trataba de la escala v social, de nobles a villanos, la cual era rigida y normalmente decidida por nacimiento. la honra horizontal, la mas importante, consistia simplemente en las relaciones de los ciudadanos entre si, normalmente limitada a u n a sola clase social.2 mantener la honra significaba la proteccion de una gentil opinion publica. aunque el acto de mentir en las obras teatrales del siglo de oro tenia muchas caras, como enganar, disfrazarse o no decir la verdad en su totalidad, hay una constante en el hecho de que los dramaturgos lo usaban para mantener la honra de sus personajes. m e n t i r a y c o n s e q u e n c i a e n el alcalde de zalamea el alcalde de zalamea presenta una yuxtaposicion de las diferentes razones para la mentira, y sus resultados correspondientes. los personajes utilizados para presentar esta idea son d o n alvaro y pedro crespo. don alvaro engana para seguir sus propios intereses mientras que pedro crespo miente para asegurar el respeto de los demas. don alvaro acaba garroteado, una muerte tipica de los villanos, mientras que pedro crespo se convierte en alcalde de zalamea y recibe la aprobacion del rey al final de la obra, "aquesto ya es hecho, / bien dada la muerta esta." 3 la suerte de los dos hombres fue asegurada por sus acciones: las mentiras de d o n alvaro, motivadas por razones egoistas, se castigan como u n pecado, mientras que las de pedro crespo, motivadas por su intento de mantener en ritmo el codigo del honor, se recomperisan como actos nobles. e l primer suceso de esta yuxtaposicion de la mentira en sus dos sentidos aparece muy temprano en la obra. pedro crespo, al recibir las noticias de la llegada de los soldados espanoles en zalamea, pide a su hija isabel y la su prima ines que se escondan en el desvan de s u casa "hoy han de venir a casa / soldados, y es importante, / que no te vean. / asi , hija, / al punto has de retirarle / en esos desvanes, donde / yo vivia." 4 la action se justifica por la mala reputation que tenian los soldados de abusar de las mujeres de los pueblos en los que se alojaban. los antecedentes de esta reputacion se basaban en el maltrato de los soldados hacia los villanos que los alojaban. e l rey felipe ii afrontaba u n gran problema al transportar s u ejercito hasta portugal: la violencia y actitud incivilizada de los soldados. para evitar el descontento villano y el pillaje de las tropas involucradas, en el ano 1580 el rey emite u n edicto ordenando que "ningun soldado ni otra persona de cualquier grado ni condition que sea, ose n i se atreva de e l e m e n t s '. '. f a l l 201 o r una iclesia espanola del siglo de oro. mantener el honor personal en muchos respetos fue mas importante que hacer la obra de dios. 6 m e n t i r a y h o n o r hacer violencia ninguna de mujeres, de cualquier calidad que sea, so pena de la vida." 5 es cierto, por lo tanto, que pedro crespo esta tratando de evitar una situacion en la que se puede poner en peligro su honra, porque tener una hija violada significaba una falta de honra tambien en el padre de la pobre hija. este engafio de pedro crespo esconder a su hija ironicamente, inicia el primer engano de don alvaro, quien quiere ver a la escondida isabel, "solo porque el viejo la ha guardado,/ deseo, vive dios, de entrar me ha dado." 6 para cumplir su deseo, don alvaro emplea la ayuda de rebolledo, haciendolo fingir una huida de su autoridad que lo lleva hasta el desvan donde se quedan las jovenes. e n seguir a rebolledo, don alvaro tiene su oportunidad de ver la famosa belleza de isabel.7 despues de esto, don alvaro continua con sus enganos para poder ver a isabel y tratar de gozarla. primero se esconde durante una serenata fingida para verla otra vez y despues tiene exito en secuestrarla y llevarla a las montanas donde los soldados, incluso el mismo, la violan. " l a atraccion que siente [don alvaro] por isabel comenzo con una simple curiosidad de ver y hablar a la moza escondida. la discretion y belleza de la muchacha despiertan en el una egoista pasion. e l alocado capitan... se entrega a una filosofia deshonrosa que le conduce a la muerte y a la destruction." 8 lo deshonroso de don alvaro, por ser influenciado por su pasion, se castiga con la muerte, mientras que pedro crespo sigue mintiendo por la necesidad de mantener su honra. esto se puede ver mas claramente en las acciones de pedro crespo al tratar de proteger a su hijo, juan. c u ando don lope, el superior de don alvaro, regresa a la casa de pedro crespo para apresar a juan por haber herido a u n capitan del ejercito espanol (don alvaro), pedro le responde que juan ya esta encarcelado y que el-se va a hacer cargo de su castigo, "quiero tambien, sefior, castigar / el desacato que tuvo / de herir a su capitan." 9 es cierto, s in embargo, que pedro crespo no tiene ningun deseo de castigar a su hijo, " y aun a m i padre tambien / con tal rigor le tratara. / (auesto es asegurar / su vida, y han de pensar, / que es la justicia mas rara / del m u n d o ) . " 1 0 solo quiere protegerlo de ser castigado en el ejercito, algo que puede sucesivamente manchar su propia reputation. pedro crespo logra tambien castigar a don alvaro al mandarle al garrote, sabiendo muy bien que castigar a u n capitan no esta bajo la jurisdiction de u n alcalde, una manipulation engafiosa. su justification esta en que solo con la muerte v d i b u j o de p e d r o c a l d e r o n de la barca, a u t o r de el alcalde de zalamea, c. 1660. de don alvaro, d o n crespo puede asegurar su honra. dejar vivir a u n hombre que le ha violado s u hija significaria falta de hombria por parte de pedro crespo. lo interesante en el analisis del personaje de pedro crespo es que el exclama que la honra esta mas alia del mundo terrenal, "pero el honor / es patrimonio del alma, / y el alma solo es de d i o s . " " e n proteger su honra, no obstante, pedro crespo desobedece el mandato cristiano de no mentir. este discurso incluido por calderon de la barca enfatiza la importancia que pedro crespo le da a la honra; la unica manera en que lo puede hacer es en relacionarla con la religion y la ley "suprema" del dios. por sus manipulaciones y enganos, pedro crespo ha tornado una "secular decision to maintain his personal honor." 1 2 sus mentiras eran para enganar, bien sea a don alvaro o a don lope, y esto divide el honor y la religion como sistemas de creencias en la obra. e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 l a t e n s i o n m o r a l e n t r e r e p u t a c i o n y l a v i d a los personajes de don juan y leonor en el burlador de sevilla y valor, agravio y mujer respectivamente, senalan la m i s m a yuxtaposicion de los diferentes motivos por la mentira. don juan es u n burlador, y demuestra falta de respeto hacia muchos de los principios aceptados, como el espacio real, la amistad, la hospitalidad y el casamiento. don juan se burla de las mujeres por su propia satisfaccion, y para tener tanto exito, usa la mentira como su herramienta principal. e l aspecto mas persuasivo de s u palabra es siempre decir lo que las mujeres quieren oir, que para la epoca de entonces era u n a promesa de casamiento. dirigido a tisbea "aunque yo sepa perder / en tu servicio la vida, / la diera por bien perdida, / y te prometo de ser / tu esposo."' 3 sus acciones son claramente maliciosas, no teniendo en cuenta los sentimientos de las mujeres gozadas, "sirviendo, jugando estas, / y si quieres ganar luego, / haz siempre, porque en el juego, / quien mas hace, gana m a s . " 1 4 resulta que despues de burlarse de cuatros mujeres, don juan muere por las mismas burlas, especificamente la burla de ana, hija de don gonzalo. e n el caso especifico de d o n juan, es posible sostener que las burlas de las mujeres con las cuales se pone en contacto son u n a manera de aumentar su estatus social, o s u hombria. la hombria se define como algo "relacionado con el orgullo y la soberbia tradicional del espanol." ' 5 s in embargo, la conquista del sexo femenino era tan solo una parte de la hombria entera; se trataba tambien de "la fuerza moral, del valor y del coraje." ' 6 don juan cumple solo con uno de estos aspectos, y sus exitos sexuales sirven para excluir aun mas a los otros, como la moralidad y la virtud. tal vez las burlas de don juan si el suave burlador don juan seduciendo a una mujer en una pro ducc i6n de el burlador de sevilla. encendian la envidia de los demas, pero su falta de respeto a los otros codigos sociales redujo su hombria al menor nivel de fama. " d o n juan se nos presenta como seductor y valiente, pero de hecho es u n personaje que no duda en practicar la mentira, el engano, el delito, y la traicion como medios para mantener su fama." ' 7 la fama no es lo mismo que la honra, y las mentiras de d o n juan no estaban enfocadas hacia la proteccion de su estatus social; por el contrario, estaban dirigidas a s u satisfaccion personal con el efecto secundario de ponerlo justo en contra de los valores sociales de aquellos tiempos. no es sorpresa, por tanto, que don juan acabe muerto como consecuencia de sus enganos. m e n t i r a c o n t r a m e n t i r a e n v a i o r , agravio y mujer e n valor, agravio y mujer, h respuesta de ana caro a el burlador de sevilla, leonor engana casi tanto como el personaje de don juan, pero con motivos diferentes. s in embargo, la defmicion de covarrubias todavia es valida. leonor miente con malicia, porque tiene el motivo claro de engafiar a don juan y a los otros inocentes involucrados. es decir que no esta diciendo falsedades tan solo por no estar bien informada, tiene una mision ya decidida. leonor esta luchando para proteger s u estatus y honra, que ya han sido afectados por don juan. u s a su disfraz de hombre para enganar, y tambien manipular a estela, juan, ludovico y lisarda con el fin de casarse con juan y evitar la deshonra de ser una mujer usada y rechazada. sin tener la intencion de ser maliciosa como d o n juan, las mentiras y enganos de leonor resultan en el sufrimiento de los demas. por ejemplo, en la tristeza de los hombres m e n t i r a y h o n o r al pensar que han sido rechazados por estela, y en las peleas entre leonardo (leonor) y don juan.' 8 lo unico que distingue, entonces, a don juan de leonor es el hecho de que leonor esta engafiando para defender su honra y por eso sus esfuerzos son recompensados con la mano de don juan y la reconstruction de su reputation. es importante notar que en este caso, caro lleva la idea de aceptar la mentira para reestablecer la honra a u n nivel aun mas profundo. no solo afirma que la honra es mas importante que la moralidad religiosa, sino tambien usa la mentira de leonor en su critica del patriarcado y su apoyo del avance femenino. "leonor's male disguise allows her to redress her honor by making it possible for her to approach don juan as an equal, ironically permitting her to signal the flaw in any understanding of valor and virtue as the patrimony of males . " ' 9 la conclusion es que defectos como la deshonestidad se pueden usar como herramientas no solo para llevar a cabo la seguridad de la honra en el desarrollo de la comedia, sino tambien para engrandecer la honra de una clase social. m e n t i r a y m o t i v a c i o n e n el castigo sin venganza e l ultimo ejemplo de la justification de la mentira en el teatro del siglo de oro se encuentra en la obra de lope de vega, el castigo sin venganza. e l doble sentido del engano se presenta en la combination de los personajes de padre e hijo, e l duque y federico. federico, aunque es reverenciado por el pueblo de ferrara y es amado profundamente por s u padre, comete el gran error de mentir por una razon superficial en donde la protection de su honra no esta involucrada. sus falsedades se tratan de "no solo afirma que la honra es mas importante que la moralidad religiosa, sino tambien usa la mentira de leonor en su critica del patriarcado y su apoyo del avance femenino." v ; su amor hacia la nueva duquesa, su madrastra casandra. su engano mas importante se desarrolla cuando le niega a s u padre la relation que el habia tenido con casandra durante la ausencia del duque. no sabiendo que el duque ya esta bien informado de la situation, federico le da una representation falsa de su contacto con casandra, "a veces me favorece, / y a veces quiere mostrarme / que no es posible ser hijos / los que otras mujeres p a r e n . " 2 0 inmediatamente despues, a solas, el duque maldice a su hijo: "no se como he podido / mirar, conde traidor, tu infame cara." 2 1 por haber mentido a causa de una mujer, y no la honra, federico se condena a si m i s m o a la muerte. por otro lado, el duque ahora tiene que proteger su honra y legitimidad como duque de ferrara, sabiendo que si la gente de ferrara se da cuenta de las relaciones entre federico y casandra pondran en duda su poder como lider. u n duque sin honra es u n duque sin poder, y asi el duque desarrolla su plan para castigar a federico y casandra y asegurar la secrecia de lo que le ha pasado. s u engano final es de grandes proporciones, resultando no solo en enganar a federico para que mate a la duquesa casandra, sino tambien en enganar al marques para que mate a su hijo federico. es cierto que el castigo de federico y casandra esta justificado, pero lo importante es que este engano era necesario para asegurar la honra del duque, o lo que piensan los demas de el. al final, aunque sufre tambien por haber matado a su hijo querido, el duque es el menos castigado, porque el sigue reinando en ferrara y mantiene intacta la opinion de sus subditos. tambien las diferencias claves entre las mentiras de padre e hijo se pueden ver en u n ejemplo aun mas general. s u casamiento con casandra en general es u n gran engano en contra del pueblo, pero es hecho con el fin de mantener su legitimidad y honor como rey. "the duke marries against his own inclinations in order to benefit his subjects and relieve himself of promiscuity." 2 2 por otro lado federico finge querer casarse con aurora para poder seguir su aventura amorosa con casandra, u n engano que no corresponde con el codigo de honor, lo que resultaria en su muerte. "aurora's proposed marriage to federico would solve the problem of his legacy; near the end he himself promotes it, knowing that it would distract attention from his liaison with casandra." 2 3 la contradiction de esta obra es que el duque, supuestamente mejorado por su viaje al centro religioso en roma, todavia se involucra en la mentira s in castigo. tal vez nadie lo pone en palabras mejor que antonio carreno: " l a e l e m e n t s '. '. f a l l 2010 "algunos piensan que llevar a cabo lajusticia, especialmente por un rey, la mano de dios en la tierra, signiflca la adherencia a los valores religiosos." figura central se situa en u n punto en donde converge u n sistema de dualidades y opuestos. dramatiza una serie de actitudes basicas que definen el conflicto de la existencia humana. a s u m e esta atributos simultaneamente contradictories: el inmoral don juan frente al nuevo hombre arrepentido." 2 4 la conexion entre el duque y d o n juan se realiza por el pasado promiscuo del duque antes de llegar a roma, y sirve mejor para establecer la conexion de esta dualidad en la gran cantidad de obras teatrales del siglo. los opuestos son la moralidad dictada por dios y la honra dictada por la sociedad. se podria afirmar entonces que, durante el siglo de oro mantener la buena opinion de los demas era de mayor importancia que mantener la buena opinion de dios. algunos piensan que llevar a cabo la justicia, especialmente por u n rey, la mano de dios en la tierra, significa la adherencia a los valores religiosos. " o n the whole, seventeenth-century thinkers seemed to rely on the idea that god works i n many and in mysterious ways, so the fact that justice is fulfilled is more important than the manner in which it comes to be carried out." 2 5 esto puede justificar la sentencia de muerte manosa que el duque les da a casandra y federico, algo tambien prohibido en la ley de dios (pero por lo menos bien aceptado en aquella epoca). no obstante, la explication es deficiente para tambien justificar la mentira y el engano del duque, que fue usada para mantener su honor frente de los demas y no en asegurar la justicia. al igual que su mandato a matar, la mentira fue practicamente no castigada. c o n c l u s i o n todos los ejemplos anteriormente mencionados pintan una clara imagen de la dinamica de la sociedad del siglo de oro y de la necesidad de hacer todo lo posible, moral o inmoral, para proteger la estima social. la mentira por autosatisfaccion u otras razones superficiales, por otro lado, esta castigada socialmente, y de vez en cuando mortalmente. los personajes que muestran esta ideologia incluyen a don alvaro y pedro crespo, don juan y leonor, y e l duque y federico. lo que no se puede establecer con certeza, es si los autores estan creando estas yuxtaposiciones de inmoralidad y honra para criticar las normas de la sociedad de entonces, o si solo estan tratando de enfatizar supremacia de la honra como ley social y tal vez criticarla a traves de u n ejemplo negativo. sin embargo, estos ejemplos sirven para ofrecer una analisis de las prioridades durante el siglo de oro. e n d n o t e s 1. de covarrubias 800 2. correa 101 3. vega carpio w. 2724-2725 4. vega carpio w. 535-539 5. herrera 78-81 6. vega caripo w. 591-593 7. vega carpio w. 642-686 8. valbuena-briones 41 9. vega carpio w. 2750-2753 10. vega carpio w. 2465-2470 11. vega carpio w. 874-876 12. darst 230 13. molina 1016-1020 14. molina 1448-1451 15. correa 102 16. correa 102 17. lopez-vazquez 88 18. molina 1481-1498 19. rhodes 15 20. vega carpio w. 2602-2605 21. vega carpio w. 2602-2605 22. fox 128 23. fox 128 24. carreno 52 25. heiple 119 r e f e r e n c e s calderon de la barca, pedro. el alcalde de zalamea. ed. angel valbuena-briones. 21st ed. madrid: catedra, 2007. caro, ana. valor, agravio, y mujer. ed. lola luna. editorial castalla, 1993. carreno, antonio. "una poetica para 'el castigo sin venganza'" el castigo sin venganza. 7th ed. madrid: catedra, 2008. 50-78. correa, gustavo. "el doble aspecto de la honra en el teatro del j m e n t i r a y h o n o r siglo xvii. " hispanic review 26. 2 (1958): 99-107 covarrubias, sebastian de. tesoro de la lengua castellana o espanola segun la impresion de 1611. barcelona: s. a. horta, 1943. darst, david h. "the many roles of pedro crespo." 224-32. fox, dian. "the grace of conscience in el castigo sin venganza." studies in honor of bruce w. wardropper. ed. harry sieber dian fox, robert ter horst. newark, de: juan de la cuesta, 1989. 125-34. heiple, daniel l. "the theological context of wife murder in seventeenth-century spain.'" sex and love in golden age spain. ed. alain saint-saens. new orleans: up of the south, 1996. 10521. herrera, antonio de. cinco libros de la historia de portugal, y conquista de las islas de las azores. 1591: 78-81. lopez-vazquez, alfredo rodriguez. "los personajes." el burlador de sevilla. 15th ed. barcelona: grupo anaya, s. a. , 2007. rhodes, elizabeth. "redressing ana caro's 'valor, agravio, y mujer. "' hispanic review 73. 3 (2005): 309-28. molina, tirso de. el burlador de sevilla. ed. alfredo rodrguez lopez-vazquez. 15th ed. barcelona: grupo anaya, s. a. , 2007. valbuena-briones, angel. "el caso de honor y la antinomia armonia-discordia." el alcalde de zalamea. 21st ed. madrid: catedra, 2007. vega carpio, felix lope de. el castigo sin venganza. ed. antonio carreno. 7th ed. madrid: catedra, 2008. .. in the near future microhicides will stop the spread of the hiv virus, while at the same time giving women a chance to protect themselves from unwanted disease and premature death." m i c r o b i c i d e s a new frontier in hiv/'aids prevention d a n i e l k e n n y s e x u a l l y t r a n s m i t t e d d i s e a s e s h a v e l o n g b e e n a t a b o o s u b j e c t a m o n g m a n y c u l t u r e s a n d c r e e d s . a l t h o u g h t h e s t i g m a s u r r o u n d i n g t h e s e u n f o r t u n a t e i l l n e s s e s a r i s e s f r o m t h e i r s e x u a l n a t u r e , s h e e r i g n o r a n c e m u s t b e b l a m e d f o r t h e w a y p e o p l e p e r c e i v e t h e m . t h e i d e a o f a c q u i r i n g t h e h i v v i r u s a n d p o s s i b l y d e v e l o p i n g a i d s h a s s t r u c k f e a r i n t h e l i v e s o f t h e s e x u a l l y a c t i v e , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e i n d i v i d u a l s w h o c a n n o t p r o t e c t t h e m s e l v e s — t h e p o o r , p o w e r l e s s w o m e n o f o u r w o r l d . t h o u g h m a n y s t r u c t u r a l b a r r i e r s a c t t o o p p r e s s t h e s e h u m a n b e i n g s , t h e l a c k o f a v a c c i n e f o r h i v / a i d s p r o v e s t o b e t h e i r g r e a t e s t h a r d s h i p . t h e c u r r e n t d e v e l o p m e n t o f m i c r o b i c i d e s , h o w e v e r , g i v e s t h e m h o p e . u t i l i z i n g t h e l a t e s t r e s e a r c h f r o m e x p e r t s i n t h e a r e a o f h i v / a ! d s , t h i s e s s a y a t t e m p t s t o i n f o r m o u r g r e a t e r c o m m u n i t y o f t h e a b i l i t y o f m i c r o b i c i d e s t o c o m b a t b o t h a p h y s i c a l a n d s o c i a l d i s e a s e t h a t h a s p l a g u e d s o c i e t y f o r t o o l o n g as the 21st century progresses, humanity faces a number of distinct challenges, including the hiv/aids epidemic, which has brought disease, death, and ultimately sorrow to the lives of many around the world. with no cure for the disease at present, there are currently only three options to choose from in order to remain hiv negative: abstinence, faithful monogamy, or use of a condom. these options, however, are not available to millions of women who lack the social and economic power to negotiate when and how sex occurs. research is currently underway to create new forms of female protection from h i v and other sexually transmitted diseases. called microbicides, these drugs come i n the form of gels, foams, and creams that are applied topically to the female vagina before sex. though not yet available or proven completely effective, microbicides promise to stop the spread of the hiv virus in the near future while at the same time giving women a chance to protect themselves from unwanted disease and premature death. currently, there are three classes of microbicides being developed by researchers. referred to in the scientific community as non-specific, moderately specific, and highly hiv-specific, each class of microbicides possesses its own unique purpose.1 non-specific microbicides are active against sexually transmitted pathogens i n order to prevent infections that would make it easier for h i v to enter the bloodstream such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and genital herpes. moderately specific microbicides are protectors against sexually transmitted pathogens, as well as active spermicidal lubricants. finally, hiv-specific microbicides work solely against hiv, targeting cellular receptors and distinct parts of the invading virus. different aspects of each class of microbicide are beneficial for the prevention of hiv/aids. thus, complete "hiv prevention would probably need the use of a combination of several microbicide drugs in one formulation" in order to block h i v infection. 1 1 this would be similar to current haart treatments that utilize cocktails of multiple medications. i f successful, groups of microbicides would repel various strains of h i v from entering the body, just as haart treatments suppress h i v strains to undetectable levels in one's blood. though the function of these medications is the most important, there are other properties of microbicides that must be addressed as development continues. in order to determine which characteristics of microbicides would prove advantageous for users, clinical trials composed of participants from every country, culture, and creed are currently being conducted. for example, a phase i safety trial of the microbicide buffergel was performed using feedback from ninety-eight women from four different countries (malawi, zimbabwe, india, and thailand). this trial allowed respondents to discuss their likes and dislikes about the properties of the medication.1 1 1 these women were quite fond of the substance's ability to be odorless, colorless, and tasteless. its compatibility with their bodies also proved satisfactory. unfortunately, the microbicide's texture brought mixed reviews. some women liked the extra lubrication buffergel provides, while others complained that the increased "wetness" ruined their clothing, made movements feel uncomfortable, and increased tension between themselves and their respective partners.1v the research done at this and similar clinical trials allows for large meetings to discuss recent, important developments in the field. for instance, at the microbicides 2006 conference in south africa researchers and scientists came up with a general idea of what properties the ideal anti-hiv microbicide should possess.v successful attacks against most sexually transmitted infections and h i v strains, maintenance of vaginal cells and natural bodily conditions, bi-directional ability (effective disabling of h i v in both vaginal secretions and semen), compatibility with latex, and stability at various temperatures and acidic levels were deemed the most important conditions to meet. yet, these characteristics may prove difficult to establish due to structural, cultural, and economic factors that influence the women. for some time now, sociologists have seen how gender inequality often dictates whether or not people use condoms in many cultures and countries. though this is present i n e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 w o m e n o f t e n b e c o m e aids v i c t i m s b e c a u s e t h ey can not ask t h el r partners t o use c o n d o m s . the united states and other wealthy nations, the overwhelming majority of examples can be found in developing countries.v1 many women in poorer parts of the globe do not have access to education or ability to leave their home communities. as a result, they have no hope of moving on to brighter intellectual and economic opportunities. these women often become dependent on men for financial support, with little chance of escape; property and inheritance are largely left to male heirs. furthermore, many of these women are taught to respect men and not to question men's desires or actions, especially with regard to fidelity. in india, women are led to believe that i f their husbands fulfill their roles as economic providers and responsible fathers, they should not question their husband's decision not to use a condom. v n those who do question a partner's refusal to wear a condom potentially face severe backlash. these women are often scolded, sent to a relative's house, divorced, or met with violence immediately upon vocalizing their simple requests.v l l i the latter proves the most serious because many men use force to rape women who ask to use condoms. rape may not appear to be as prevalent i n the united states as it is in developing african or asian nations, but sexual coercion of the same or similar form occurs regularly against battered women who fear aggressive and forceful partners. anna forbes, the deputy director of the global campaign for microbicides, points out, "biologically, a woman is at least twice as likely as a man to contract h i v from a single act of unprotected vaginal intercourse" because semen carries more h i v than vaginal secretions.154 exposed wounds open the gates for h i v and other sexually transmitted diseases to enter the body relatively easily. by applying microbicides on a daily basis to her body, a woman wil l have a much greater chance of protecting herself against infection when condom usage is difficult or impossible to negotiate. besides living with promiscuous partners who refuse or are reluctant to use condoms, many of m i c r o b i c i d e s these women cannot afford treatments for sexually transmitted infections. they are left without options because female condoms and other cervical barriers are noticeable to men. and, unfortunately, there is still no vaccine for hiv. microbicides present the only feasible form of prevention that can help these women protect themselves. though microbicides can help greatly, there still needs to be much more work done in the field in order to guarantee that they are fully effective. the initial set of medications produced for general public use wi l l be known as first generation microbicides. according to dr. asheber gaym of addis ababa university, ethiopia, nearly 60 potential microbicides are i n development with six presently in the last phase i i i trials that precede drug licensing. x the first microbicides are expected to be released i n the next five to seven years. they wi l l likely cides in order to help women who are hesitant to use t h e m . x m these women include those who face abusive partners, as well as those whose cultures look at new technology with fear and suspicion. as mentioned above in the review of the buffergel trial, many of these microbicides are noticeable by partners due to their extra lubrication. this is problematic for women who belong to african cultures that practice dry sex.x l v it also may lead to increased violence against women of certain cultures where men equate increased wetness prior to intercourse with promiscuity. x v these women are placed i n a precarious situation. either they admit to using microbicides, a direct attack against a man's refusal to use a condom, or they appear as i f they have been unfaithful to a significant other. circumstances like this lead to the conclusion that more research on the medications must be undertaken along with policies and interventions to promote gender equality. "the first microhicides are expected to he released in the next five to seven years. they will likely reduce the risk of hiv transmission hy 40 to 60 percent." reduce the risk of h i v transmission by 40 to 60 percent/ 1 while these numbers seem quite low when compared with the high enthusiasm of researchers and scientists, they truly wi l l make a dramatic impact on the fight against hiv/aids. in fact, a mathematical model referenced by many i n the field of microbicides predicts that usage of a 60 percent effective microbicide by a small proportion of women (in low-income countries) for half the sexual encounters in which condoms are not used could avert two and a half mil l ion h i v infections over the course of three years. x u however, more must be done to make their usage fully effective. while safety trials are eliminating those drugs that prove hazardous to the bodies of women due to side effects, some researchers have begun to look into molding the attributes of potentially successful microbithere are various ways to make the use of microbicides accepted in places where they initially wi l l not be well-received. in order to combat those male partners that do not want their significant others using microbicides, researchers have several options. first, they can work to reduce the amount of lubrication microbicides like buffergel utilize for adhesiveness. this wi l l allow women to use the medications without fear that their partners wi l l notice. next, the apparatus used to apply many of these microbicides should be replaced by another more sanitary, less noticeable device. many poor women in african nations and in india do not have access to running water and thus risk infection from repeated use of these unclean instruments. 5" 1 in addition, many of these women utilize communal taps and are embarrassed to expose such an ine l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 timate part of their lives to surrounding community members. another option scientists are coming very close to making a reality is a vaginal ring that discharges certain microbicides inside the user for up to a month, enabling women to use it discretely x v l 1 a l l together, these options are only necessary to help women who cannot persuade their partners to be realistic and responsible. many women, including large portions of those in developing nations, do believe that their husbands wi l l be receptive to their pleas. x v i i i desperation caused by a lack of low-cost, safe, and efficient protection has entered their lives. now that such protection is about to arrive, the speed at which research and production occur must increase. at the same time, the world must be prepared for the advent of new medication. in order for microbicides to reach all in need of hiv prevention, more funding must be placed in the a n h i v t e s t e r c o n d u c t s s c r e e hands of researchers and policymakers. presently, 140 mill ion dollars have been put into the field of microbicides. x l x i n order for these medications to be distributed on schedule, twice the current amount is needed. more funds wi l l not only allow for further clinical trials, but also help solve any remaining problems facing researchers. for instance, some of the compounds found in certain trial microbicides are not capable of reaching their site of virus interaction once administered to the vagina. x x this needs to be investigated, as do other concerns, such as the realistic worry that the use of certain microbicides by h i v positive women may lead to drug resistance. furthermore, research must be done in the area of dual-action microbicides, which prevent pregnancy and infection, in order to give women the ability to choose whether or not they want to have children while protecting themselves. none of this can be done until the need for microbicides is made known around the globe. so far, studies and testing have been done only by academics, non-profit organizations, and small biotechnological companies.xxi large pharmaceutical companies need to invest in the development of these drugs in order to speed up research. subjects like gender inequality and vaginal lubrication are real and must no longer be viewed as taboo. government grants and charitable foundations can only do so much. healthcare professionals must continue to discuss the topic of microbicides with colleagues, patients, and the general public. luckily, the future is bright. n i n c s o n s i x b l o o d s a m p l e s despite a lack of adequate funding, progress continues to be made. due to the need for large sample sizes when testing microbicides, clinical trials must cover multiple nations. as a result, social and cultural barriers are constantly being knocked down. national ethics committees, institutional ethics boards, government committees, and community advisory boards have been formed in a number of nations in order to deal with the understanding of foreign languages and practices.xx11 being able to speak and write m i c r o b i c i d e s "increased funding will allow for further research not only on microbicides, hut also on potential vaccines for hiv/aids. all that stands in the way is a struggle that we have fought before and can win again." in native tongue and also understand specific values and belief systems is essential for communication. only then wi l l people administering clinical trials truly receive the queries and suggestions of respondents. for instance, many african women want microbicides to be available to all ages so that young girls wi l l be able to protect themselves from abusive males that are older and stronger than them.™ 1 1 these women also demand that policymakers and providers realize the importance of a sustainable supply of low-cost microbicides prior to creating demand for the medications. more than 90 percent of hiv-infected people in developing countries have little or no access to treatment because of a serious lack of substantial economic income. x x l v the remarks of these individuals are beneficial to the cause since they help embed the needs of those at highest risk of infection in the minds of the men and women behind drug development and distribution. moreover, established communication can help to remind those same respondents of the unfortunate realities surrounding prevention, such as condom substitution. healthcare professionals need to tell women in clinical trials that condoms must continue to be used with microbicides, i f possible, because the drugs are not 100 percent effective. al l together, every factor regarding h i v prevention must be analyzed and discussed with the very people that wi l l soon utilize microbicides. presently, the road to developing and issuing microbicides to the general public is being paved correctly. however, the pace must be quickened in order for these drugs to save the lives of men and women who constantly face the risk of infection. this can only be done through the collection of funds, which in turn requires mass promotion by those involved in the area of hiv/aids studies. while this fact may diminish hope, it is necessary to remind the public that prevention is much cheaper than treatment through the use of antiretroviral drugs. a n open dialogue between healthcare professionals and communities wi l l replace ignorance with trust and reasonable hope. stigma wil l always be present in areas affected by the hiv/aids epidemic, but social networks can and have fought discrimination through the power of understanding. once people become open to new ideas and allow individuals to help them, further strides forward can be taken. increased funding wi l l allow for further research not only on microbicides, but also on potential vaccines for hiv/aids. a l l that stands in the way is a struggle that we have fought before and can win again. e n d n o t e s i . balzarini (2007) i i . balzarini (2007) i i i . bentley (2004) iv. bentley (2004) v. stone (2006) vi . global campaign for microbicides (2007) v i i . severy (2005) v i i i . bentley (2004) ix. forbes (2006) x. gaym (2006) x i . forbes (2006) xi i . balzarini (2007) x i i i . bentley (2004) xiv. severy (2005) xv. orner (2006) xvi. bentley (2004) xvii . balzarini (2007) xvi i i . orner (2006) xix. stone (2006) e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 xx. balzarini (2007) xxi. forbes (2006) xxii. balzarini (2007) xxii i . orner (2006) xxiv. balzarini (2007) references balzarini, jan and lut van damme. 2007. "newer approaches to h i v prevention." the lancet, 369(9563), pp. 787-797, march. bentley, margaret e., andrew m . fullem, elizabeth e. tolley, clifton w. kelly, neelam jogelkar, namtip srirak, liness mwafulirwa, gertrude khumalo-sakutukwa, and david d. celentano. 2004. "acceptability of a microbicide among women and their partners in a 4-country phase 1 trial." american journal of public health, 94(7), pp. 1159-1164, july. forbes, anna. 2006. "microbicides for h i v prevention." beta, 18(4), pp. 37-41, summer. gaym, asheber. 2006. "microbicides emerging essential pillars of comprehensive hiv/aids prevention." ethiopian medical journal, 44(4), pp. 405-415, october. global campaign for microbicides. 2007. "working to accelerate access to new h i v prevention options: apr i l 2007 (update)." retrieved from http://www.global-campaign.org. orner, phyllis, jane harries, diane cooper, jennifer moodley, margaret hoffman, julie becker, elizabeth mcgrory, rasha dabash, and hillary bracken. 2006. "challenges to microbicide introduction i n south africa." social science e[ medicine, 63, pp. 968-978, august. severy, lawrence j., elizabeth tolley, cynthia woodsong, and greg guest. 2005. "a framework for examining the sustained acceptability of microbicides." aids and behavior, 9(1), pp. 21132, march. stone, alan and shibo jiang. 2006. "microbicides stopping h i v at the gate." the lancet, 368(9534), pp. 431-433, januaryfebruary. m i c r o b i c i d e s http://www.global-campaign.org e x p a n d i n g w a i s t l i n e s a "nutrition transition" in china kitsy s m i t h as c h i n a ' s coffers have swelled over t h e past three decades, its c i t i z e n s ' w a i s t l i n e s have also e x p a n d e d . western g o o d s a n d lifestyle h a b i t s are c o n s i s t e n t l y b e i n g i m p o r t e d i n t o t h e a s i a n g i a n t , i n c l u d i n g t h e obesity e p i d e m i c . c h i n e s e c h i l d r e n are particularly susceptible a n d future g e n e r a t i o n s face t r e m e n d o u s h e a l t h risks despite m e d i c a l a d v a n c e s . states a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l b o d i e s s u c h as t h e w o r l d h e a l t h o r g a n i z a t i o n are a l a r m e d at t h e d a m a g e obesity is already p r o d u c i n g . t h e price tag to treat t h e h e a l t h p r o b l e m s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h obesity a n d t h e r e s u l t i n g loss i n e c o n o m i c p r o d u c t i v i t y is s t a g g e r i n g . w h i l e t h i s essay uses c h i n a as a case study to e x a m i n e t h e causes of obesity a n d its c o n s e q u e n c e s , s o c i a l a n d e c o n o m i c h e a l t h , t h e g r i m reality is t h a t t h i s pattern is o c c u r r i n g w o r l d w i d e as c o u n t r i e s develop a n d t h e i r people a d o p t western " n u t r i t i o n a l " n o r m s . china's remarkable economic growth over the past thirty years has been nothing short of a miracle. this advancement, however, comes with a price. increased prosperity has brought a cultural and social desire for modern and western lifestyles, including western eating habits. "nutrition transition," the spread of excessively-caloric meals and declining activity, is now saturating asia. though nowhere near the levels of obesity which the united states currently faces, china is headed in that dire direction unless action is taken by the government, food companies, and individuals. a concerted effort is required to avert the damaging public-health and economic costs of obesity. since children are particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon, an unhealthy and less-productive future generation awaits china. this paper proposes to look specifically at china in relation to the "nutrition transition." although it is a worldwide phenomenon, china has a unique cultural and historic qualities which could facilitate the rise of obesity. these include both the fastest-growing economy and population in the world, a one-child policy, urban explosion, and cultural attitudes toward eating and fat. as china and the developing world in general rise to the economic and social status enjoyed by the west, caution and care must be taken to prevent the negative and harmful consequences which accompany this transition, particularly with regard to eating habits. h e a l t h costs of obesity though relatively new to china, obesity is a familiar phenomenon in the west. according to dr. joseph gigante, a pediatrician and professor at vanderbilt university, "obesity is defined simply as too much body fat." your body is made up of water, fat, protein, carbohydrates and various vitamins and minerals. body fat is measured by body mass index (bmi) to determine obesity. i f you have a bmi of thirty or higher, your extra weight is putting your health in danger. i f you are asian, your health may be at risk with a bmi of 27.5 or higher. the risks of obesity are numerous, and include "high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, "the collision of newly affluent consumers with food companies eager to tap this emerging market has created the optimal conditions for a health crisis." diabetes, heart disease and stroke." aptly described as "'globesity'... the w h o [world health organization] estimates there to be at least three hundred mil l ion obese people worldwide" sixty mil l ion of which are united states ciizens. 1 the costs of obesity to the individual and society are staggering; gigante warns that these include "decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism, and bed days" from work as well as premature death. in fact, individuals who are 4 0 percent heavier than the recommended healthy weight level are "twice as likely to die prematurely as is an average-weight person."" additionally, "medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of total u.s. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion ($92.6 billion adjusted for inflation in 2 0 0 2 ) . " although china currently spends only 5 percent of its gross national product (gnp) on obesity-related costs, "it's only a matter of time before . . . spending catches up to that of the united states, which spends 17-20 percent of its gnp on related costs," warns expert barry popkin. 1 1 1 the money spent on medicine and care for an unhealthy population as well as the social and economic productivity losses caused by obesity could severely damage the awakening giant. rather than face these losses and incur these costs, the chinese government would be better serving its citizens and itself e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 by taking measures now to prevent and solve the causes before dealing with the inevitable consequences of this real crisis. medical costs and productivity loss for the "more than 169 mil l ion overweight adults, and [the] additional 26 mil l ion [who are] obese" wi l l take their toll on this economic powerhouse, i f they have not already.1v r i s i n g i n c o m e levels f u e l u n h e a l t h y e a t i n g h a b i t s obesity is a serious problem which, rather than being addressed and halted, is spreading eastward. it has been observed by the w h o that "as incomes rise and populations become more urban, diets rich in complex carbohydrates give way to more varied diets with a higher proportion of fats, saturated fats and sugars. at the same time, shifts towards less physically demanding work have been observed."v the chinese today enjoy greater economic prosperity and are experiencing urban expansion and growth. the introduction of will ing consumers to dicretionary income and foreign food companies' eagerness to tap the potential of this emerging market has ceated the optimal conditions for a health crisis. since joining the wto organization in 2001 , china has lowered protectionism and opened itself to foreign investors and businesses. the first kentucky fried chicken franchise opened in 1987, and mcdonalds quickly followed, opening its first restaurant in beijing in 1992. the increase and spread of since the 1980s, fast food c o m p a n i vast opportunities of mcdonalds restaurants eastward is a perfect example of the "nutrition transition" phenomenon, and is modeled in figure 1. given that "every month, around a mil l ion or more 'chinese enter the hallowed ranks of the middle class,'" the rapid purchasing power of consumers has set off the "shift from eat-to-live to live-to eat," and testifies to the cultural experience of food as a "mode" and status rather than a survival necessity/1 the prevalence of "a predominantly commercially-driven environment that encourages consumers to eat and eat more, [along with the] vast array of restaurants [which] have opened in cities since the last decade," have resulted in an increase in "the share of household food expenditures spent on food away from home." v n china's "transition from planned economy to market economy has brought about great political and cultural changes, which naturally lead to changes in value system . . . when people begin to interact with each other in the market economy system, value consciousness becomes re-oriented [from ethics and politics] towards material benefits." v 1 1 1 the expansion and importance of the chinese economy today has brought with it challenges and issues for the government and people it assists. the problem remains, however, that the chinese are consuming high fat, low nutrition foods such as meats, oils es have been c a p i t a l i z i n g o n the the chinese market. e x p a n d i n g w a i s t l i n e s figure 1: international expansion of mcdonald's franchise as of 2004. source: atilier de cartocraphie de sciences po, 2007 e x p a n s i o n o f t h e mcdonald's f r a n c h i s e (1999-2004) calculated by nested average; number multiplied by factror below figure 2: global calorie consumption as of 2002. source: atilier de cartocraphie de sciences po, 2007 and sugar in greater quantities, and these daily caloric intake levels, i f unused, store as fat in the body, as noted in figure 2. experts at the 10th international conference on obesity pointed out that "overweight and obese people outnumber the undernourished in the world and childhood obesity is now on such a scale that for the first time in history, the human race is facing the possibility of millions of parents outliving their children." 1 5 4 nutrition transition expert barry popkin points out the bleak fact that " i n a decade, the energy density of food consumed by chinese adults aged twenty to forty-five increased by over 13 percent. " x increased consumption of cheaper and more readily available high fat, high calorie food and ingredients in china (and worldwide) have contributed to this alarmingly rapid rise in obesity. c h a n g e to u r b a n lifestyle e a t i n g urbanization is another factor contributing to this transition, since, "compared to rural dwellers, urban residents continue to consume higher levels of fats and animal foods, along with lower intakes of vegetables. " x 1 principle among the causes of this trend is the fact that the urban environment is one in which "a variety of western style foods are supplied and promoted, and these consumers are both more inclined and better able to purchase these products."x 1 1 delphine zhu, a sciences po student from shanghai, explained the enormous inequality between the city and country in china due to wages and available work. she described the emphasis on family in the country versus the individual in the city (which could promote the desire for status based on where and what is consumed). city populations are rising due to the lifting of restrictions on urban-rural migration, and the "rural labor force [response] to economic incentives by seeking employment i n urban areas." x m these migrants are known as "mingong," which means peasant workers, according to delphine. urban residents are increasingly drawn "to such relative intangible criteria as novelty, brand labels or other emotionally pleasing features of foods (feel goods)."x 1 v delphine zhu noted that there are "more choices and variety, more snacking, and more families going to restaurants" than in the past. eating and socializing go hand in hand, not just in china but worldwide, and "as their rich and varied cuisine reflects, the chinese love to eat . . . china's rise in living standards is apparent at meal times. city residents, to whom even pork was once special, now regularly consume beef, fish, and shrimp." x v popular western foods include "pizza, pasta, burgers and sandwiches," delphine added. the younger generation seems to be buying into western habits more readily than their parents. she pointed out that "older people generally don't like using knives or forks so they find difficult to eat western food. they are loyal to chinese cooking. i think it is mostly younger people and kids who like it. my mother hates cheese and she never understands my way of combining milk and cereals for breakfast!" she also noted that young people eat out more and tend to buy more pre-packaged lunches in their busy days. modern grocery stores and twenty-four hour convenience stores are also appearing in cities, selling pre-packaged foods like those found in the west. china's recent foodsafety scares and the "sars crisis of 2003 proved to be a boon for modern grocery formats, especially hypermarkets and convenience store chains, which have a strong reputation for cleanliness and quality control." x v 1 it is ironic that a health scare such as sars has to some degree helped the image and popularity of "healthy" western-style grocery and convenience stores which sell and promote unhealthy foods. urban sprawl has also cut into farm land to build homes and offices, and this real estate expansion not only in china but worldwide limits the amount of land available for farming and thus increases the price of healthier foods. l ifestyle c h a n g e s a d d to t h e p r o b l e m the rate of obesity has grown the fastest in urban areas, with the childhood obesity rate doubling in the past ten years. x v n this alarming development wil l compound the problem i f left unaddressed, since "tastes and preferences begin to be established in early l i f e . " x v m urban residents tend to adhere to the one-child-per-family policy in china due to the very limited living space available for families in e x p a n d i n g w a i s t l i n e s starving c h i l d r e n of 1950s c h i n a are increasingly rearing obes e chi ld ren a n d g r a n d c h i l d r e n . cities, whereas the i r r u r a l counterparts are less i n c l i n e d to fo l low these mandates given the i r m o r e t rad i t iona l views along w i t h the practical desire for m a n y sons to he lp o n the f a r m . w i t h only one c h i l d per fami ly for m o s t o f the f ami lies i n cities, and, consequently, the " m a n y hopes r i d i n g o n t h e m . . . c h i l d r e n w i t h no sibl ings are usual ly spoiled by d o t i n g parents a n d even by grandparents [and are] dubbed ' l i t t le e m p e r o r s . " ' x i x i t is n o t h a r d to i m a g i n e , therefore, the wi l l ingness o f parents to give c h i l d r e n large amounts o f western foods. advertisers target "kids i n c h i n a [who] n o w have pocket money, a n d they spend a sizable p o r t i o n o f i t o n j u n k food . . . certa in foods, such as new candies or fast food, have cachet . m x x the new and enthusiastic fore ign food companies i n china take great, strategic efforts to w i n over y o u n g consumers and do "whatever they can to encourage even the youngest c h i l d r e n to ask for advertised products i n the hope o f ent i c ing y o u n g people to become l i f e t ime c o n s u m e r s . " ™ w h e n asked whether she observes m o r e obese c h i l d r e n i n shanghai t h a n previously, de lph ine said " n o t really i n m y everyday l i fe , b u t the m e d i a says yes." she added that the prevalence o f v e n d i n g machines has increased " i n b i g cities, yes, i n transports , schools and other publ ic places [but] i hardly used t h e m u n less i was very hungry . " once obesity is acquired i n c h i l d h o o d , i t is very d i f f i cu l t to u n l e a r n a n d u n d o the d a m a g i n g eating and l i v i n g lifestyle. gigante explained that l o o k i n g at the l o n g t e r m consequences, "overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance o f b e c o m i n g overweight or obese adults, w h i c h increases to 8 0 percent i f one or m o r e parent is overweight or obese." address ing these problems early is cr i t ica l to heading o f f the o n c o m i n g hea l th crisis o f china's next generat ion. "the chinese center for disease contro l and prevent ion (cdc) released a guide to healthy eating for chinese ch i l d r e n and the i r parents i n a direct a t tempt to slow r i s i n g c h i l d h o o d obesity l e v e l s . " ™ 1 p o p k i n agrees that "schools may provide an i m p o r t a n t opportunis t i c venue t h r o u g h e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 which preferences for more healthy options can be encouraged. another cultural promotion of obesity is the attitude towards fat in china. the fact that "there is still a widespread belief that excess body fat represents health and prosperity, . . . perhaps a consequence of china's recent history, where famine and chronic malnutrition caused the deaths of mi l lions of people in the 1950s," compounds the likelihood that some individuals wi l l recognize the serious dangers of obesity. x x , v such beliefs may actually increase the number of obesity cases among children and their parents and need to be addressed and dispelled by the government and healthcare professionals through increased education and public awareness of what is happening and, worse, what wi l l eventually happen i f left unaddressed and unresolved. luxury items which decrease activity levels are becoming more common in chinese cities as well. for example, between 1989 and 1997, the number of households who owned cars increased by 14 percent. x x v owning a car increases the likelihood of being obese by " 8 0 percent . . . compared to those [households] who did not own a vehicle." television ownership has also escalated, increasing inactivity during leisure periods x x v i a study of attitudes and values concluded that "the most popular ways of spending leisure time include watching tv, surfing the internet, listening to music and reading [with] no significant differences in preferences due to age, education level, or income." x x v u a l l these new luxuries and attitudes toward leisure time reduce the amount of movement and general activity which burn excessive caloric intake and could prevent weight gain. city planning and layout in china should address the need for recreation areas as well to promote recreation. currently, "the lack of consideration towards constructing environments in inner cities that promote physical activity has meant that it has become increasingly difficult to find safe places in residential areas to exercise or even walk," a deficiency which adds to the decrease in physical activity necessary to maintain appropriate body weight and overall h e a l t h . ^ 1 1 1 this presents another opportunity for the government and private individuals to change the current movement to head off the oncoming trend. although the number of obese people in china do not yet rival that in the united states, the country with the largest population on earth is headed for a major disaster. the group currently leading the obesity trend in china includes the "newly affluent and western-adapters . . . who broke most with the traditional food culture . . . [they are] to a large extent richer, more educated, and urban adults, as well as young adults." indeed, the traditional chinese diet, a primaraly vegetarian diet based on rice and vegetables, with moderate amounts of poultry, pork and seafood, creates a lower bmi over a l l . x x 1 x the only explanation then for this explosion of obesity i n china is the diet shifts from the traditional,healthy habits to the detrimental, western ones. increasing obesity in c h i n a is a grave medical corcern. ^^^^ ft i f e x p a n d i n g w a i s t l i n e s g o v e r n m e n t a c t i o n c o u l d s t o p t h e t r e n d the future for china depends on action and prevention taken today by the government and individuals. the consequences of economic growth and a more open-door policy in this case show there are both positives and negatives to globalization and economic expansion. it is encouraging to note that the chinese government has apparently realized this reality given its recent "rejection [of the] 'go-for-growth' policy and turning to a more balanced and sustainable approach. ' , x x x i n a "people first" policy for a "well-off society" which uses economic growth to improve people's overall quality of life, we may yet see the crisis averted. those who wil l be hit first with its consequences (the rich, young, and urban consumers) may be the pioneers in changing their western diet habits and reaffirming the "chinese cultural value [of] extending and preserving life." chinese culinary tradition reaching back several centuries has always appregigante stressed again the critical roles of governments, international partners, civil society and nongovernmental organizations and the private sector in shaping healthy environments and making healthier diet options affordable and easily accessible. society's most vulnerable, the poor and children, must also be protected given they have limited choices about the food they eat and the environments in which they live. he further emphasized the responsibility of initiatives by the food industry itself to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content of processed foods as well as to increase employment of innovative, healthy, and nutritious choices, and to review current marketing practices could accelerate health gains worldwide. the "nutrition transition" i n china demonstrates the effects of globalization even on basic and culturally-rich traditions like the approach to and appreciation of food. china and other developing countries are beginning to experience the toll of their recently achieved economic and social sta"society's most vulnerable, the poor and children, must also be protected given they have limited choices about the food they eat and the environments in which they live." ciated the rapport between food and health. 5 0™ gigante recommends individuals l imit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats, increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts, l imit the intake of sugars, and increase physical activity to at least thirty minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most days. more activity may be required for weight control. such action by the government and individuals could prevent future cases of obesity in china and reverse others already in existence. nonetheless, other measures can be taken in this concerted effort to halt current and prevent future cases of obesity. tus. the economic boom has not protected them from the obesity trap posed by western-style eating habits and leisure activities. by contrast, the trend has shown that in higher-income households, eggs and meat are purchased more often and given more nutritional importance than grains. x x x " obesity is no longer any single country's problem, but a truly worldwide health crisis. western experiences with obesity should serve as a warning and model of what has proven ineffective in addressing the crisis. the communist state could potentially take action where western, democratic governments have been unwilling or unable to due to intense and effective lobbying by the food industry; a more hands on regulation of unhealthier foods and the simultaneous education about a more nutritional e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 and holistic approach to diet and exercise. banning junk food in schools, requiring clear and open labeling of the nutrition facts on all good products, taxing food products which are known to be unhealthy, promoting physical activity in schools and encouraging doctors to make recommendations during patient visits, and compelling restaurants to post the calories of each meal and highlight low-calorie options are all concrete ways in which this catastrophe can be avoided. while these solutions are universal, china in particular could work to counter the cultural myths surrounding fat, educate the one-child parenting population on obesity's damaging effects and work to reduce the urban-rural inequalities which drive an exodus from the countryside to the cities where obesity is more rampant due to fatty food availability and a more sedentary work and leisure-filled lifestyle. obesity is largely preventable and it costs far less to stay healthy than to regain one's health (or, in china's case, twenty-six mil l ion citizens' health). the social, economic, and human damages due to this global epidemic are truly horrific and far too high. chinese citizens wi l l suffer, but such losses wil l hurt the international community as well given the interdependent world in which we live. taking action now against the causes is far better than dealing with the more difficult consequences down the road. food is a basic need for every individual and thus this crisis is one i n which all people can empathize. it is time for china and the world to seriously address this pressing disaster through several methods—education, awareness, regulations, and increased recreational areas in city-planning. the future of china's public health has a great weight in the global disaster. china is rapidly learning that "westernization" under globalization brings benefits and downsides. as delphine reflected, "on the one hand, in terms of materiel consumption, china is 'westernizing', especially in some big cities like beijing, shanghai, and guangzhou, [where] people are more and more materialist. on the other hand, chinese people exclude a lot western cultures while maintaining a chinese authenticity . . . we are still isolated to certain extent from the world. the 'westernizing' or 'modernizing' is superficial." this selective exclusion, this balance between westernizing and maintaining chinese authenticity, in combination with collaborative, preventative action taken at different levels of society may be china's saving grace. e n d n o t e s i . zhang 2008 i i . "weight loss: health risks associated wi th obesity" i i i . markey 2006 iv. ibid. v. "global strategy on diet, physical activity health" vi . zhang 2008 vi i . ibid. v i i i . lu 2004 ix. "more fat people than starving people i n the world." x. nutrit ion transition presentation xi . popkin 2007 xi i . zhang 2008 x i i i . fleisher 2006 xiv. zhang 2008 xv. insight guide china xvi. "grocery retailing i n china" xvii. markey 2006 xviii . popkin 2007 xix. insight guide china xx. markey 2006 xxi. nestle 2002 xxii . lenton 2008 xxii i . popkin 2007 xxiv. w u 2006 xxv. popkin 2007 xxvi. ibid. xxvii. lu 2004 xxviii. w u 2006 xxix. zhang 2008 xxx. ibid. xxxi. ibid. xxxii. ibid. references marie-francoise durand, benoit mart in, delphine placidi, marie tournquist-chesnier « consommation de calories 2002 » atlas de mondialisation, ie edition. (paris : presses de sciences po, 2007). the discovery channel's insight guide china, ed. scott rutherford. (singapore: apa publications, g m b h & co.: 2001). fleisher, belton m . and dennis tao yang, "problems of china's rural labor markets and rural-urban migration" the chinese economy, 39(3) may-june 2006. e x p a n d i n g w a i s t l i n e s gigante, dr. joseph, ph.d., vanderbilt university children's hospital physician and part-time teacher at vanderbilt university medical school. planetretail ltd. 2006. "grocery retailing i n china." retrieved from <http://www.planetretail.net>. marie-francoise durand, benoit martin, delphine placidi, marie tournquist-chesnier « implementation des etablissements mcdonalds, 2004 ». atlas de mondialisation, ze edition. (paris : presses de sciences po, 2007). lenton, nina. 2008. 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"nutr i t ion transition presentation." university o f north carolina, chapel h i l l , school of public health. retrieved from <http: //www.authorstream.com/presentation/woodwork5 8 814 b arrypopkinnutr ition-transition-departmentnutritionthe-aseducation-ppt-powerpoint/>. webmd. 2009. "weight loss: health risks associated wi th obesity" retrieved from <http://www.webmd.com/cholesterolmanagement/obesity-health-risks>. world health organization 2008. "global strategy on diet, physical activity health" retrived from <http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/ob esity/en>. wu, yangfeng, 2006. "overweight and obesity i n china" bmj. retrieved from <http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7564/362>. zhang, xiaoyong, hans dagevos, yuna he, ivo van der lans, fengying zhai, "consumption and corpulance i n china: a consumer segmentation study based on the food perspective" food policy, 33(1). february 2008. zhu, delphine, sciences-po, paris masters student from shanghai, china e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 http://www.planetretail.net http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-i2/o3/content_72654i5.htm http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-i2/o3/content_72654i5.htm http://news-medical.net http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/09/04/19792.aspx http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/09/04/19792.aspx http://medical.net/news/2006/09/04/19792.aspx%3e. http://www.authorstream.com/presentation/woodworkhttp://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/obesity-health-risks http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/obesity-health-risks http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/obesity/en http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/obesity/en http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7564/362 t h e t r u t h i n t h i n g s ( a n d love i n t h e w o r l d accessing the natural law's metaphysical and theological s h a n e ulbrich t r o u b l e d by t h e fruits of c o n t e m p o r a r y p h i l o s o p h i c a l a n d s p i r i t u a l n i h i l i s m a n d h a v i n g d i s c e r n e d t h e i n a d e q u a c i e s of p o s i t i v i s m , a g r o w i n g n u m b e r of people experience p r o f o u n d d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h m o d e r n i t y a n d are r e n e w i n g t h e search for " t h e t r u t h i n t h i n g s , " as a n s e l m e of c a n t e r b u r y o n c e stated. s o m e seek a corrective e l e m e n t t h r o u g h a t r a d i t i o n a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g of n a t u r a l law, a n d a n u m b e r of c a t h o l i c s c h o l a r s have m a d e it t h e i r task to r e a p p ro p r i at e a n d a r t i c u l a t e t h e n a t u r a l law for t h e m o d e r n a g e , b o t h w i t h v a r i e d success. t h i s article traces s o m e of t h e f o u n d a t i o n a l n o t i o n s t h a t g r o u n d n a t u r a l law t h i n k i n g . it i llustrates h o w t h e n a t u r a l law m i g h t be better recovered a n d c l a r i f i e d i n l i g h t of m o d e r n p h i l o s o p h i c a l a s s u m p t i o n s . f i n a l l y t h e article suggests t h a t t h e n a t u r a l law m u s t be v i e w e d t h r o u g h t h e t h e o l o g i c a l lens of c h r i s t i a n c h a r i t y for its full s u b s t a n c e to be a p p a r e n t . a t w e n t y f i r s t c e n t u r y s e a r c h f o r n a t u r a l l a w i n many ways, the intellectual history of the twentieth century is the history of the dissemination of nineteenth century philosophy, particularly its hermeneutics and language, into popular consciousness. in the twentieth century, various strands of nihilistic philosophy, avantgarde literature, and scientific theory—once the preserve of an intellectual elite—came to influence various social, political, cultural, and religious institutions and were suddenly (and subtly) thrust upon popular sensibility. darwinian and marxist theory, the modern literary turn begun by baudelaire, and nietzsche's challenge to the entire western tradition are some of the intellectual movements which profoundly affected everyday men and women, creating a mixed modern consciousness unlike any other in human history. the dominant values of the century were those of liberal democracy, especially equality, with appeals to human rights as the preeminent moral category. beneath this, though, the century held a strongly positivistic view of law and politics (i.e. the view that the existance and content of the law depend primarily on societal positivism and nihilism. young people in particular tend to seek a movement, a way of thinking, a group, or a person in which they can believe and to which they can commit themselves. some seek a return to traditional wisdom, often connected to religious conversion, in which natural law seems to play an important, i f unclear, role. it has mostly been particular historical events of the past century, rather than abstract philosophical ruminations, that have prompted the new search for the natural law. in the rise of national socialism, the nazis seem to have used pseudo-nietzschean thought as the philosophical rationale behind their project, or at least to have seized upon the weaknesses of the modern soul that nietzsche so well understood. but nietzsche's thought, as well as the problems of modernity that he both saw and created, appears elsewhere—even in boston. allan bloom indicates the ways in which late nineteenth-century german thought and language have quietly infiltrated american sensibilities to the detriment of the liberal arts." parallels may be found in the legal sphere; a well-known opinion of justice anthony kennedy in planned parenthood v. casey (1992) i l "the dominant values of the century were those of liberal democracy, especially equality, with appeals to human rights as the preeminent moral category." conditions). nietzsche shows, moreover, that once modern optimism fades, a deadly nihil ism is revealed as that which dwells deepest in the contemporary psyche. prominent catholic intellectuals like karol wojtyla and joseph ratzinger tend to believe that philosophical developments have real consequences for human communities. in light of the troubling history of the twentieth century, their belief seems compelling. 1 it is this realization that has prompted many people from different walks of life to seek an alternative to modern—and now postmodern— lustrates some of the strange notions at the end of the twentieth century: "at the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." absent the inculcation of nineteenth-century philosophical conclusions, it would be hard to imagine that such a view of liberty could ever be taken seriously. such a philosophical climate does not much countenance appeals to natural law. those interested in the natural law tradition often find themselves teetering on the fringes of e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 what is politically and academically permissible; those who take it seriously in turn find it difficult to be taken seriously themselves. it is then a cause for wonder to see a number of people responding to contemporary crises of international crime, global atrocities, and racism, as well as questions of reproductive rights, marriage, and abortion, from the perspective of the natural law. they seem to believe that the present age, despite its successes, is weak in its inability ever to provide satisfactory solutions, from sound theoretical bases, to these serious problems. a positivistic mind and a nihilistic spirit are not up to the task. some then have turned to the natural law because it provides something that positivism cannot. prosecutors at the nuremburg international war-crimes trials of 1945-1946 found it necessary to appeal to natural law arguments in the absence of any positive law that could account for the crimes of the third reich. jacques maritain, as a member of the commission on human rights that drafted the universal declaration of human rights, considered it a great step forward to enlist the natural law in support of natural rights. dr. martin luther king, jr., frequently appealed phy: what ernest fortin has described as "unconscious but rampant" n ih i l i sm. l v a n examination and re-appropriation of the natural law and its theoretical foundations promises to save contemporary men and women from an otherwise dismal fate. on one level, it guards society from the totalitarian rule of a purely positive human law, wherein might defines what is right and naked power is able to revoke tomorrow the rights it protects today. even more profoundly, the natural law and its foundations could save modern man from the prospect of the "existential" individual standing finally alone, without any truth or good worth living for, overcome by what charles taylor calls the "spectre of meaninglessness."v many catholics in particular have taken up this task of articulating the natural law anew. they have in their philosophical and theological tradition some of the richest resources for undertaking the task. i n such a context, the natural law should be newly appropriated in terms of a comprehensive thomist realism, smartly aware of present and past challenges, and with a sound understanding of its roots in the christian theological tradition. "even more profoundly, the natural law and its foundations could save modern man from the prospect of the 'existential' individual standing finally alone." to the natural law and to its traditional sources as he struggled in the 1950s and 1960s against segregation statutes. he saw that justice would only be guaranteed in civil society i f natural law were to inform and check the positive law. in 1963, from birmingham city jail, he wrote to fellow clergymen, "never forget that everything hitler did in germany was legal." 1 1 1 for many twenty-first century men and women, the natural law offers a corrective not only against positivism, but also against that second prong of nineteenth century philosotowards u n d e r s t a n d i n g n a t u r a l law t h r o u g h is-and-ought it is necessary to articulate, even i n limited scope, some of the foundational underpinnings of the natural law. to accomplish this, it wi l l be helpful to engage some modern philosophers, and to address some of the difficulties—of both tacit sensibility and explicit philosophical understanding—that hinder the modern mind's grasp of the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of the natural law. t h e t r u t h i n t h i n g s ( a n d l o v e i n t h e w o r l d ) one way to enter into such theoretical considerations is through the problem of is-and-ought. in some sense, all problems in natural law thinking of intellect-and-will, and duty-and-right, first require some grasp of the is-ought question. the modern philosophic tradition, beginning with machiavelli, has long rejected the classical conception of is-ought. it has replaced it with a hermeneutic that makes it difficult for the modern mind to sympathize with thomist realism. a brief exposition of some key moments in the history of modern philosophy and modern scientific and political theory may enlighten consideration of this subject. this exploration should make clear what was lost when classical theories were sidestepped. m o d e r n d o c t r i n e s of is-and-ought the issue of is-and-ought provides a powerful lens for viewing the history of western philosophy at its most important moments. the most revolutionary thinkers each propose, more or less explicitly, new definitions of is and ought and a new understanding of their relationship. we begin at the end of classical political philosophy with niccolo machiavelli who, in the midst of the flourishing of renaissance humanism, proposes what seems to be a profoundly anti-humanist doctrine. machiavelli turns the mind to practical considerations in a radically new way. he definitively breaks from the entire tradition before h im, from metaphysics and virtue, when he writes i n the prince: . . .my hope is to write a hook that will he useful. .. and so i thought it sensible to go straight to a discussion of how things are in real life [la veritd effettuale della cosa] and not waste time with a discussion of an imaginary world . . .for the gap between how people actually behave and how they ought to behave is so great that anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up to an ideal will soon discover he has been taught how to destroy himself not how to preserve himself?1 machiavelli here defines what is simply as "how things are rene descartes expounded v o l u m i n o u s l y o n t h e isand-ought d i c h o t o m y . in real life"; human nature is simply "how people actually behave," observed empirically.v 1 1 the old ought is identified with is in an entirely new way: in his political realism, one simply pursues, by whatever calculated, even cruel means possible/ 1 1 1 those goals that "all [men] share" and do not question: "the acquisition of glory and riches." 1" one can see how machiavelli opens the way for what follows, including hobbes' "warre of every man against every man." x it begins with machiavelli's repudiation of the classical moral is—of the platonic forms, the aristotelian virtues, christian beatitude—for the sake of the is-andought of "practical realities" and self-preservation. machiavelli says something with which everyone before h i m agrees—that "we do not live in an ideal world"—but he means to say much more: that effectively there is no ideal world. rene descartes accomplishes a parallel recasting of isought, through science rather than political philosophy. despairing over his own uncertainties after years of serious education, and only further discouraged by the perennial clashes among great philosophers past and present, descartes resorts to a new understanding of is-and-ought, of our capacity for knowledge and the role of nature. descartes would ultimately have students grow into techni e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 cians mastering nature, rather than lovers after wisdom who learn from nature: . . . it is possible to arrive at knowledge that would be very useful. . . in place of that speculative philosophy taught in the schools, it is possible to find a practical philosophy, by means of which [we might be able] to use [the force and actions of nature]for all the purposes for which they are appropriate, and thus render ourselves, as it were, masters and possessors of nature. this is desirable not only for the invention of an infinity of devices that would enable one to enjoy trouble-free the fruits of the earth ... but also principally for the maintenance of health, which unquestionably is the first good and the foundation of all the other goods of this life.xl descartes here dramatically redefines the scope of philosophy. whereas speculative philosophy—and even common sense—might question in what sense health is the "first fri edrich nietzsche urged m a n to embrace his i n n e r " w i l l to power." good," descartes' practical philosophy accepts it as "unquestionably" the first and foundational good, and proposes to redirect the whole potentiality of human reason to purely instrumental work. his discourse on method and its philosophical progeny laid the foundation for a profound technologization of the western mind, which is trained to seek the most effective means to presupposed ends, not unlike the schema of machiavellian realism. what is are the certainties of math and science, subjected to methodical doubt, that can bring man and society to axiomatically assumed "oughts," such as health and mastery over nature. modern philosophy's treatment of is-and-ought moves forward through variations in bacon, hobbes, rousseau, kant (who, uniquely, seeks to preserve something like the old moral law, though on a rationale that has definitively discarded the old metaphysics), darwin, and nietzsche. nietzsche offers a radical reevaluation of all former conceptions of is-and-ought—from the platonic to the darwinian. he does to modern philosophy what machiavelli had done to classical political thought. in light of the "death of god," nietzsche rejects classical idealism, machiavellian realism, and cartesianism, along with the emptiness of technological progress. i n their place, nietzsche proposes that man has another kind of ought to answer to: a responsibility to himself by virtue of his own potential for greatness, seeking security and solace from the traditional moralities. the truly great are called to abandon life-denying religious i l lusions and kantian rationality. instead, man must seek his self-divinization and embrace the greater potentiality within himself, the "wil l to power" which a true view of history reveals as the deep driving force of humanity. instead of a passive conformity to the natura naturata—created nature as the non-existent god has fashioned it or as the everyday world simply operates—to be pursued is the action of natura naturans, a singular "creating nature" that pronounces "so things ought to be" rather than a passive, stupid "so it is."xu for nietzsche, at the center of reality, of what is, are the wi l l and strength of the singular man who becomes a law unto himself, and who creates meaning and his own ought out of chaos. x m t h e t r u t h i n t h i n g s ( a n d l o v e i n t h e w o r l d ) this survey of modern intellectual history begins to suggest how thomistic metaphysics and its natural moral law have been rendered radically foreign and therefore incomprehensible to the modern mind. natural law can only be grasped through an intelligent criticism of these many layers that form the contemporary consciousness. it is a difficult project, to say the least. t h e m e t a p h y s i c s u n d e r l y i n g t h e n a t u r a l law to see the classical theory against which modern thought defines itself, we may begin with josef pieper, a popular catholic philosopher of the twentieth century. he provides some keen insight into the clash of the classical and modern, and also indicates what thomist realism positively consists of. in a lucid exposition of the realist ethics of st. thomas aquinas, he begins by capturing a key metaphysical insight of the scholastics by two brief statements: "omne ens est verum," (all that is real, is true); and "omne ens est bonum," (all that is, is good). x l v with different historical emphases than those of this paper, pieper demonstrates how this key metaphysical principle of "the truth of all things" has been impatiently dismissed in modern philosophy. hobbes characterized the old metaphysical principle as "inane and childish," x v spinoza claimed that truth "could only reside in a statement," since things on their own are "mute," x v ] and kant judged the scholastic doctrine sterile and tautological. x v n in the understanding offered by "omne ens est verum," however, knowledge of being yields moral knowledge; is teaches ought. this view involves a conception of reason different from the one to which the modern mind, as a product of the enlightenment, is accustomed. the modern, technologized mind envisions a sharp division between practical and theoretical reason. it devotes its energy to instrumental rather than contemplative reasoning (a la descartes). theoretical contemplation and reason is tacitly dismissed as idle, uncertain speculation—the preserve of irrelevant hermits—while progress in technology bears real fruit for the world. but thomas' understanding is fundamentally different. his epistemology assumes the underlying unity of practical and theoretical reason; both operate in the same human person. the theoretical reason at bottom involves seeing reality, grasping real things' essences (in some mysterious fashion). having grasped a res in intellection, having come to a theoretical knowledge of it—through experience and the senses as much as any purely cerebral activities—the mind also gains a practical knowledge of what is its nature, and what that nature demands and seeks as an end. what someone or something is indicates how it ought to be approached, treated, and used . x v m thomas fay offers a clear summary of jacques maritain's understanding of this approach by his understanding of the ontological and "gnoseological" aspects of the natural law: . . . man has a being-structure which is the locus of intelligible necessities. . . . he possesses ends which necessarily correspond to his essential constitution and which are common to all men. this means that there is, by virtue of human nature itself, an order or a disposition which human reason can discover and according to which the human will should act if it is to attain the necessary and essential ends of being human.xlx maritain soundly appropriates thomistic realism and natural law, including its integral philosophic foundations, which commentators like ralph mclnerny consider crucial for recovering the natural law in the present age. t h e o l o g i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s : t h e n a t u r a l law a n d c h r i s t i a n love yet even while articulating the natural law's classical philosophical foundations, we may ask whether something theological is also necessary for a coherent account of the natural law. given the natural law's historical development, it may be asked whether the natural law can substantially survive i f abstracted from its original, christian theological setting. several scholars have recently suggested that the structure of the summa theologiae implies the necessity of e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 theology for the natural moral law. aquinas' treatise on law is located in the secunda pars, which is couched by the prima pars (on natural and sacred theology), and the tertia pars (on christ). this structural decision may be more than a coincidence; it may indicate something about a necessary interrelation of the three parts. i n a recent essay, brian j. shanley, o.p., suggests exactly this in terms of human beings as imago dei: fiat—imposes arbitrary laws, an arbitrary ought, upon chaotic creation.™ 1 instead, the classical understanding affirms: omne ens est verum. indeed, it maintains not only that intellect has priority over wi l l , but also that, absent god and his act of creation, the natural law can have no ultimately coherent foundation.™ 1 1 yet, as st. thomas understood, this does not mean that natural law can only be known by the "privileged communication" of revelation. 5 0^ the doctrine of imago dei means that human action . . . can only be understood in the light of the exemplar of the trinity. the secunda pars makes sense only in the light of the prima pars and as pointing to the tertia pars™ to similar effect, glenn w. olsen writes in a recent issue of communio: thomas' account of the relation between natural and divine law . . . reveals its deepest meaning saintthomas aquinas, forem when read against the background of his doctrine . . . that nature, as such, desires a fullness that it can attain only within the context of gracious elevation to the visio beatifica™ claiming the necessity of christian theology as the sure locus of natural law does not necessitate fideistic conclusions, such as the argument that the natural law is something inaccessible to man's reason, dependent completely upon divine revelation. in such a case, there would be nothing natural about the natural law. the involvement of theology in our speculative considerations does not necessarily mean that simply the wi l l of god—by voluntarist, divine natural law thinking, in the way that we understand it from the high middle ages, could not have developed as it had were it not for the setting of christian theology. though intimations are made of it in stoic philosophy, its high development in the christian tradition is unique. ernest fortin explains that the natural law came to fruition out of the need "to complement the moral teaching of the new testament by means of a law that takes into account the realities of the political and social life."50™ as a crude but suggestive simplification, it could be said that this need became more apparent as christians realized in the first centuries that the second coming was not so imminent as was first believed. they would have to sojourn—to live, think, and participate in the world down through the generations—and would have to involve themselves in ordinary work, family, and even government—mundane matters no doubt relativized by the gospel, but nonetheless a necessary part of the earthly life to which god calls his people for his purposes. the new testament itself by no means provides concrete guidance for all worldly concerns, and christians needed some supost scholar of natural law. t h e t r u t h i n t h i n g s ( a n d l o v e i n t h e w o r l d ) "natural law thinking, in the way that we understand it from the high middle ages, could not have developed as it had were it not for the setting of christian theology." plementary wisdom. fr. fortin spells out this problem and illustrates the function that natural law came to serve: the great novelty of the new testament is that, while it begins by abrogating the old law, it does not replace it by a new one but by something that transcends all divine and human law, namely, faith in christ. . . . nowhere does the new testament give us any specific rules to live by or any inkling as to how the general rules that it does give us might apply to society at large. in all interesting cases, one is at a loss to draw any definite conclusions from the universal commandment of love, which lends itself to the most diverse interpretations. . . . [the natural law] injected an element of rationality into the moral ideal of the gospel, enabled people to discover in that ideal a universality that it might otherwise be thought to lack, insured its effectiveness by spelling out some of the modalities of its application to concrete situations, and provided an added safeguard against the misuses to which it easily lends itself. [this] explains why medieval christendom is the only society in which the natural law ever played anything like a determinative role.™1 the natural law thus fills a "gap" in the new testament by complementing it. moving beyond fortin's analysis, i f we consider that the secunda pars is only comprehensible in light of the doctrine of imago dei and the christ to whom it points as fulfillment, we see that the natural law employs human reason and the metaphysics of a classical realism, ultimately to carry out the mandate of christian love on earth. i n this theological view, the natural law is eminently rooted in love and represents an authentic movement of deepening christian love for the world and humanity, rationally rooted in the ontology of "the truth of all things." the use and development of the natural law i n the christian tradition down to the present is i n one way an attempt to spell out rationally the promptings of love—love for the created world in which christians find themselves, a world which in turn finds its end in love itself, in love's natural, human forms as well as its divine fullness. the natural law then appears as an element of love's incarnation in jesus christ and his loving affirmation of creation—of man's own mundane life and mundane loves, which he desires to see flourish as the beauty of created nature grafted onto the gospel's grace. divine love does not obliterate natural, human love—there is no radical opposition between agape and eros, for instance—but rather draws it up into completion. as thomas writes, "gratia perficit naturam secundum modum naturae": "grace perfects nature according to the manner of nature. ' , x x v i l this connection between the natural law and love is precisely what seems, i f quietly, to lay at the center of many contemporary catholic philosophical searches for the natural law. i n this hermeneutic, the natural law is not at heart a matter of casuistic theorizing, of reactionary traditionalism, or even primarily of justice, but of love, and love in two senses. first is the christian, gospel-motivated love for the world which seeks the integral good of man and society; as st. ignatius of antioch wrote, "the glory of god is man fully alive." second, and perhaps more interesting, is love as the end to which the natural law itself, with its primary and sece l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 ondary principles, strives. i n christian natural law, then, even the virtue of justice is incomplete as an end: it must itself serve love. 5 0™ 1 1 1 especially striking in this vein is a passage from heinrich rommen. in the midst of treating contemporary legal issues, he suddenly and surprisingly places love at the center of the classical vision, and in very concrete terms: we do not start with a fictional status naturalis in which man existed as a quasi self-sufficient individual and which he left for utilitarian, even material, reasons or for greater economic security. we see man being begotten of the union of man and woman in the protected and protective enclosure of the family. we see man being begotten of an eminently social act, however much it be surrounded by emotions and the urges of the animal part of man. we see man being born and growing up in the loving circle of the family, the first, foremost and indispensable educative society. we see the family again as the member of many societies. . . . that man is by nature social means also that to man, in his essence, belong certain acts, spontaneously, freely elicited from the innermost center of the person which are social insofar as they find the fulfillment of their intentional essence only by the answer of another person. the act of love in all its forms and "objects"—if such a term is at all permitted— such as friendship, conjugal love, patriotism, comradeship, brotherhood, parental and filial love, and finally divine charity, all involve another person, and are a trustful surrender of ourselves to other persons with a readiness to sacrifice self-interest and material things. we grow, we gain in personal values by love which is value-producing and implies the most tender respect for the other person. love in all its forms is so fundamentally an essential human act, a community-building act, that the man without any love becomes "inhuman." the "ego" then demands the "thou" and becomes conscious of itself in the form of "we." love in all its forms is an unconditionally essential act of man's nature. a world without love is an inhuman world.xxlx the classical natural law, then, is preeminently conscious of man's social nature, at the center of which is love of all kinds: spousal, familial, fraternal, and divine. the facilitation of authentic love, the source and summit of coherent human society, is thus a preeminent concern of the classical natural law. a realist, christian ethics based on the natural law looks to such love, the greatest good of man, and seeks to understand its complex workings, so as to refine and protect it for fellow man and society. c o n c l u s i o n this essay has hopefully illuminated some aspects of the natural law in st. thomas' thought, in his metaphysics, and in its larger theological setting. at times, the contemporary situation seems to present insurmountable obstacles to establishing the legitimacy of natural law thinking, even amongst christians. there is pressing need for serious and resourceful reflection on the foundations of natural law. clarity about metaphysical and theological issues is necessary for recovering a full-bodied understanding of the natural law that wi l l be viable and responsive to the needs of the present day. e n d n o t e s i . weigel (no) i i . bloom (67) i i i . king (294); i n the same letter, dr. king cites aquinas: "an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony w i t h the moral law. to put it i n the terms of st. thomas aquinas: a n unjust law is a human law that is not rooted i n eternal law and natural law." iv. fortin, "natural law and social justice" (1-20) v. taylor (717) vi . machiavelli (48) v i i . machiavelli provides a few cutting examples of "how people actually behave," how the world "really" operates: "all armed prophets are victorious, and disarmed ones are crushed" (20); "men are quicker to forget the death of their father than the loss of their inheritance" (50) v i i i . moral considerations are effectively abolished: "those who use cruelty well may indeed find both god and their subjects are prepared to let bygones be bygones" (30) ix. machiavelli (75) x. hobbes (no) xi . descartes (34-35) x i i . nietzsche, advantage and disadvantage (48-49) x i i i . nietzsche, twilight of the idols (50-51) xiv. pieper, "the truth of a l l things" (13); pieper additionally cites two other equivalent expressions: "ens et verum convertunt h e t r u t h i n t h i n g s ( a n d l o v e i n t h e w o r l d ) tur," and "omnis res est vera et nulla res est falsa" (thomas aquinas, quaestiones disputatae de veritate i , 10) xv. pieper, "the truth of a l l things" (16) xvi. pieper, "the truth of a l l things" (17) xvii. pieper, "the truth of a l l things" (19); kant writes: "... the concepts o f unity, t ruth , and perfection . . . are, i n themselves, empty. . . . i t is the same regarding truth; for t ruth be i n this: that every thing would be what it is—which is tautological as well ." (fn.19) xvii i i . summa theologiae, la q. 79 a. 2; summa contra gentiles, 3, c.25 xix. fay (439-48); see also mclnerny, "natural law and human rights" (1-14) xx. shanley (345-69) xxi. olsen (367) xxii. ibid; ". . . the path to holiness revealed i n scripture is not a positivistic decree only fideists can accept, but has a purchase on the inner rational structure of human nature." xxiii . olsen (366); ". . . the natural law is god's command as found i n nature, though, as thomas is quick to point out, commanding belongs to reason, not to voluntaristically understood w i l l . " xxiv. bourke (92-96) xxv. fortin, "natural law and social justice" (10) xxvi. fortin (5-9) xxvii. summa theologiae, la q. 62 a. 5 xxviii. pieper, "on the limits of justice" (111); "the man who strives for justice ... realizes (thomas says) that fulfi l l ing an obligation and doing what he is really obliged to do are not all that is necessary. something more is required, something over and above, such as liberality, ajfabilitas, kindness, i f man's communal life is to remain human." xxix. rommen (128-140) r e f e r e n c e s anselm of canterbury. de veritate, ix. bloom, allan. 1987. the closing of the american mind. new york: simon and schuster. bourke, vernon j. 1956. "two approaches to natural law." natural law forum. 1, pp. 92-96. descartes, rene. 1998. "discourse on method." discourse on method and meditations on first philosophy. indianapolis: hackett publishing company, pp. 34-35. fay, thomas a. 1991. "maritain on rights and natural law," the thomist, 55, pp. 439-48, july. fortin, ernest l. 1985. "natural law and social justice." the american journal of jurisprudence, 30: pp. 1-20. fortin, ernest l. 1996. human rights, virtue, and the common good: untimely meditations on religion and politics. rowman & littlefield: lanham, pp. 159-164. hobbes, thomas. 1971. "leviathan, chapter x i i i : of the natural condition o f mankind, as concerning their felicity, and misery." the great legal philosophers: selected readings in jurisprudence. philadelphia: university o f pennsylvania press, pp.110. king, martin luther, jr. 1986. "letter from birmingham city jail." a testament of hope: the essential writings and speeches of martin luther king, jr. new york: harper & row, pp. 294. machiavelli, niccolo. 1994. "the prince," selected political writings. indianapolis: hackett publishing company, pp. 48. mclnerny, ralph. 1991. "natural law and human rights." the american journal of jurisprudence, 36, pp. 1-14. mclnerny, ralph. 1980. "the principles of natural law." the american journal of jurisprudence, 25, pp. 1-15. nietzsche, friedrich. 1980. on the advantage and disadvantage of history for life. indianapolis: hackett publishing company, pp. 48-49. nietzsche, friedrich. 1990. "how the 'real world' at last became a myth." twilight of the idols and the anti christ. london: penguin books, pp. 50-51. olsen, glenn w. 2008. "natural law: the first grace." communio, 35(3), pp. 367, fall. pieper, josef. 2003. "on the limits of justice." the four cardinal virtues. notre dame: university o f notre dame press, pp. i n . pieper, josef. 1989. "the truth o f a l l things: a n inquiry into the anthropology o f the high middle ages." living the truth. san francisco: ignatius press, pp. 13. ratzinger, joseph. 2006. without roots: the west, relativism, christianity, islam. new york: basic books. planned parenthood v. casey, 505 u.s. 833 (1992). rommen, heinrich. 1955. "natural law: man and society." fordham law review. 24, pp. 128-140. shanley, brian, o.p. 2008. "aquinas' exemplar ethics." the thomist, 30, pp. 345-69. taylor, charles. 2007. a secular age. cambridge: harvard u press, pp. 717. weigel, george. 2005. the cube and the cathedral: europe, america, and politics without god. new york: basic books. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 t h e act of m a n u m i s s i o n ! correlations between the freeing of slaves and socioeconomic status of philadelphia quakers l a u r e n s o t t i l e t h e p h i l a d e l p h i a s o c i e t y o f f r i e n d s b a t t l e d t o r i d i t s e l f o f t h e i n f e c t i o n o f s l a v e r y f o r n e a r l y a c e n t u r y , f i n a l l y f o r b i d d i n g s l a v e h o l d i n g w i t h t h e m i n u t e s o f 1 776. t h e r o a d t o r e d e m p t i o n w a s n o t e a s y , a s m e e t i n g m e m b e r s f i r s t s t r u g g l e d t o r e a l i z e t h e c o n t r a d i c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e i r l i f e s t y l e s a n d r e l i g i o n , t h e n t o s t a n d u p i n s i n g u l a r i t y t o p r e s e n t t h e i r n e w f o u n d t r u t h , a n d f i n a l l y t o a d d r e s s i t o n a l a r g e s c a l e i n o r d e r t o c o n v i n c e t h e i r b r o t h e r s o f i t s s i n f u l n e s s . t h e s o c i e t y o f f r i e n d s i s o f t e n s e e n a s a g r o u p o f f o r w a r d t h i n k i n g r e f o r m e r s , a n d w h i l e t h e i r a c t i o n s c a m e b e f o r e m a n y o t h e r a b o l i t i o n i s t g r o u p s , t h e i r m a t e r i a l i z i n g c o n s c i o u s n e s s w a s a n y t h i n g b u t u n i f i e d . the quaker embrace of manumission was complex, beginning in 1711 with abolitionist efforts by the philadelphia meeting, a religious organization intertwined with the quaker-dominated pennsylvania government. prohibitions on the further importation of slaves were passed by the pennsylvania general assembly, but disallowed by the privy council, as were similar measures to impose a prohibitory duty of £20 on slave imports. 1 this movement was isolated, and efforts to curb the trade subsided for the time being. in fact, imports of human cargo were expanded to diversify the commerce of the delaware river as well as to provide a vessel for the growing investments of quakers who were finding success in philadelphia's trade and crafts markets. although quakers facilitated these trades, they expressed misgivings about their cargo, which surprisingly "sprang from the uncertainties of quality and sales and the prevalence of stomach disorders among the merchandise, not from moral revulthe earliest men to protest the institution of slavery in philadelphia were ralph sandiford in 1729 and benjamin lay in 1737. these two men set the tone for what would become the standard in presenting the wrongs of slavery. sandiford, in his paper brief examination of the practices of the times, spoke with outraged eloquence, presenting his argument on the wrongs of slavery in purely biblical terms. he paralleled slaveholding to theft in the bible, looking at "the brethren of joseph, that sold h im to the israelites, the seed of the bond-woman, and then again sold h im into egypt, and though they paid for h im by bargain twenty pieces of silver, yet it did not excuse them from theft."111 this view of the purchaser of plundered goods being as guilty as the plunderer is one presented time and time again in the argument for manumission. sandiford set the tone of the argument against slaveholding, while benjamin lay chose the audience. in his paper, all slave-keepers that keep the innocent in bondage, he opened with an address to "my dear beloved friends and elder brethren," aiming his words at this particular demographic.1v efforts by individuals to promote manumission were almost exclusively targeted at leaders in the friends community, who were older, wealthy and landed, creating an influence that swayed only the upper echelons of quaker society. however small a voice these two men had in philadelphia society, there was an appropriate and sizeable reaction among the men at whom their messages were aimed. from 1730 to 1750 the percent of slaveholders within the philadelphia upper class dropped from 60 percent to 50 percent, while the same statistics for the lower classes climbed significantly. while some, including lay and sandiford, would argue that this progress in the upper classes was made through realization that one must free their slaves to free themselves from the manacles of sin, it can be argued that economics and social climate played a much larger role than are given credits the influx of immigrant workers in the 1730s up to the seven years war set the stage for a shift in ownership of slaves from the wealthy to the working. the availability of cheap labor in the form of german immigrants, fleeing religious persecution in the german states, drove down the prices of slaves. these low prices, combined with the exponential growth of urban commerce in the early decades of pennsylvania's colonial life, made slave holding very attractive to workers, craftsmen, and artisans for whose industry one extra body could make a large difference. philadelphia's economy was organized in a way where labor was the most cost-intensive of all overhead. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 according to the books of gregory marlow and james west shipbuilding company, in the early decades of the 1700s, the cost of building one boat included towards supplies and /30 towards workers.v 1 the temptation to hold slaves was powerful to a middle class not tempered against it. records and wills of the time reflect this middle class transition to slaveholding as the upper classes began to abandon the institution. in the two decades prior to the seven year's war, the percentage of craftsmen and middle class members holding slaves jumped from less than 36 percent to over 70 percent/ 1 1 clearly, during this period the economy-driven middle class embraced slaveholding, as intellectual and religious forces began the dissolution of slaveholding among the upper class. in 1758, in the midst of the seven years war, the philadelphia yearly meeting made its first official decision toward prohibiting slavery among its members. the decision took a two-pronged approach: punishing those who purchased and sold slaves by eliminating them from meeting leadership, as well as by forming committees to treat, which would visit the homes of slaveholders to convince them of their wrongs.v 1 1 1 this approach was a compromise, an effort by reformers to move toward ending slavery while slaveholders won time to ponder the institution, yet still reap the benefits of unpaid labor. these two initiatives were aimed at affluent quakers, as lay's and sandiford's writings had been, and continued the trend of influencing the wealthy, as threats of public discussion and reprimand had less of an impact on the middle class. the minutes came at a time of crisis within the economy, as the war with france dried up the supply of men and women who could serve as indentured servants and workers. at the height of the labor shortage, thomas willing, a successful philadelphia merchant and quaker asserted that "all importation of white servants is ruined by enlisting them and we must make more general use of slaves."1x the resulting phenomenon of price increase had a two-fold effect on quaker middle class society. first, the minutes' subsequent banning of trading slaves would have given craftsmen economic incentive to hold on to their investments. scarcity of free labor as well as the future value of their slaves provided sound economic basis for slaveholding. second, the push to import slaves made their possession, accumulated by the middle classes during the pre-war dip in prices, more of a status symbol than ever. as seen in figure a (on next page), which illustrates the populations of slaves and servants in philadelphia, there is an obvious decline in the importation of slaves in the decade ending in 1760. this drop in the urban slave population of 10.6 percent to 8.5 percent would have created a shift i n supply and therefore a downward turn in prices, creating an atmosphere where many middle class individuals took advantage of low prices to make their purchases.x this bargain combined with the push for slaves during the war and the postwar recession made urban middle class slavery the dominant issue as the society of friends attempted to push slavery from its society all together. the committees to treat, formulated in the minutes of 1758, are the most visible and recorded pieces of the process toward manumission. the philadelphia committee, or the committee of five, was led by prominent quaker figures and ministers including daniel stanton, john scarbough, john churchman, john sykes, and most notably john woolman. their influence, combined with the caveats surrounding slaveholding societal leadership, effectively convinced upper class quakers to manumit their slaves.x1 the efforts of the committees to treat were effective because the audience they were targeting was susceptible to their specific message. the quaker aristocracy, the descendants of the first purchasers of penn's land, had nothing to gain from the social clout associated with slaveholding during the colonial period. the close marriage bonds among founding families created a tight circle, which few controlled and fewer could hope for assimilation into. the philadelphians, headed by the lloyd family, later to become the pemberton and lloyd families, held a strong influence that was not l imt h e a c t o f m a n u m i s s i o n ! c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e f r e e i n g o f s l a v e s a n d s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s 285 575 635 slave pop. 880 1209 1131 5808 801 7 10720 % srvts i n phi la. pop. 4,9 7.2 5.9 15.2 15.1 10.6 f i g u r e a srvt: slave ratio 1 to 3 1 to 2 1 to 2 1770 396 1682 15718 2.5 10.7 1 to 4 1775 457 1394 18692 2.4 7.5 1 to 3 s o u r c e : s a l i n g e r , t o serve well and faithfully: labor and indentured servants in p en nsylvan na, 1682-1800. ( c a m b r i d g e u n i v e r s i t y press: n e w y o r k ; 1 9 8 7 ) . t a b l e a 3 , 64 . "as seen in the data above, which illustrates the populations of slaves and servants in philadelphia, there is an obvious decline in the importation of slaves in the decade ending in 1760." e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g c>7 ited to the city's boundaries. ties to the prominent families of newport, new york, and virginia cemented their status as leaders i n their circle, whether or not they owned slaves.xu the quaker leaders, first in wealth and influence, were not only exempt from the social maneuvering that was so important among the middle classes, but also found themselves in the unique situation of being able to set the direction in which societal trends moved. the first three decades of the eighteenth century were marked by a subtle move toward the finery of high society and away from the simplicity of truth. likewise, by 1750 the tides of fashion had turned, as shifts in power and population made leadership "perceive a need to strengthen their solidarity by emphasizing the religious peculiarities which differentiated them from their fellow philadelphians." x n by the same token, the upper class of philadelphia society had motivations to stop the trading of their slaves under the threat that they would lose their positions of leadership within the church. this clause provided a dark reality to the leaders, as they had lost much of their influence i n the decade prior. at the start of the seven year's war, quakers sitting on the general assembly forfeited their seats in favor of their religious pledge to denounce violence, a pledge they could not possibly keep in the face of aggressors approaching both by land, the native americans, and by sea, the french. without a voice in the colonial government, the meeting was the last place where their influence could be felt—and i f the price to keep that influence was their slaves then they were more than willing to end their involvement in the slave trade system. with the majority of factors playing to the advantage of upper class friends—the accepted establishment, social status, and economic security— the main concern of these men, so involved in the leadership of their religion, was their relationship with the lord and the condition of their soul and conscience. realizing this, the committees to treat did their utmost to take advantage of their audience's vulnerability with religious arguments, similar to those of sandiford and lay, recounted in detail in woolman's journals. the men worked to foster a sense of responsibility and example in the leading members of the society. woolman devoted time and energy meticulously transcribing this goal. he wrote of many accounts of meetings with elders, ministers, and friends of influential leaders in his diaries, and consistently cited his discussions in which he spoke "freely and plainly to them concerning their slaves." in one particular meeting with ministers and elders in may of 1758, woolman relates his conversation, noting that he told the men present that "as the first rank in society . . . [they] were under the stronger obligation to look carefully at themselves . . . to be thoroughly divested of all selfish views." he goes on to call on the men present to serve as an example to the lower classes, and to take up their obligation to educate them through example. x l v the language of the committees, as well as that of other articles published for the purpose of conversion, was aimed to pull at the heart strings of the men and women addressed. the prose written and spoken by committees and individuals alike seemed to present the darkest of outcomes in the most eloquent of manners, discussing the damnation of those who did not remove themselves from the trading of slaves. notably, woolman referred to the habits of slaveholders as "likely to prove snares in that theymay more grievously entangle them in the spirit of selfishness and exaltation, which stand in opposition to real peace and happiness; and renders them enemies to the cross of christ. " x v in writings brimming with biblical references, these men hoped to dissolve every possible piece of biblical evidence upon which one would be able to build a case for slavery. woolman drew on proverbs, as well as old testament stories to prove his points. he looked at the story of cain and abel, denouncing the commonly held idea that slaves were the descendants of cain, marked with dark skin for the sin of killing his brother. he defeats that idea by sighting scripture to prove that the flood killed those most offensive in the lord's eyes-including cain's lineage.xv) nathanial appleton, in his considerations on slavery in a letter to a t h e a c t o f m a n u m i s s i o n : c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e f r e e i n g o f s l a v e s a n d s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s friend, pointed to the wrongs of slavery in much the same fashion. appleton called on passages from deuteronomy to explain the sins in that "he that stealeth a man and selleth him, or i f he be found in his hands, he shall surely be put to death." x v i i this imagery, combined with accusations of absent virtues, and the promise of judgment by those slaves wrongfully held expedited the process of manumission among the wealthy. the upper classes were also at an advantage as they were economically able to support their slaves after freedom. the minutes of 1758 dictated that no slave could be bought or sold, so all had to be set free, with their former master held accountable i f they fell into need. x v m while the upper classes were willing to free their slaves for the cause of their image, faith, and salvation, at their moment of conversion their concern was not generally one of freeing of slaves, but of freeing themselves from sin. the upper classes of quaker society were successful in achieving the goals of the minutes of 1758; however, the middling classes of craftsmen and artisans could not claim the same progress. the lack of manumission within the middle class can be credited to the lack of effort of the committees to treat put toward influencing this crosssection of society, as well as a lack of the consequences that mulation of one or two slaves that set an individual apart from their neighbor.x v 1 x the economic disadvantages of the middle classes were also clear, as their income offered less flexibility than did that of the upper class. the requirement of supporting freed slaves and restrictions on the sale of slaves led to prohibitive losses from manumission for most. additionally, for many the holding of one slave was the difference between turning a minimal profit and a substantial one. often trained in a specific trade, a slave was counted on to be an extra, free set of hands and in some cases even work to support a family after the death of his master.xx for these reasons and others, as the upper class shed their slaves in favor of cheap immigrant labor and a clear conscience, craftsmen and artisans took on more than enough slaves to keep the ratios of white to black workers steady, as seen in salinger's data on slave and indentured servant populations. now why did this happen—why were committees so effective among the upper class and not the working? philadelphia middle class quakers were not alone in facing the challenge of balancing morality with affluence. new york and other northern urban centers saw the same inconsistency in slaveholding between classes—both quaker and non-quaker. craftsmen and skilled workers through.. at their moment of conversion [the upper class concern] was not generally one of freeing of slaves, hut freeing themselves from sin." had been found so persuasive by the upper class. unlike the grandees and first purchasers of the quaker aristocracy, the middle classes lived in a situation where social status was anything but cemented in place. for the wealthy, "a staff of black servants clearly denoted the owner's power and wealth," however for the middle class it was the accuout the northeastern colonies preferred slaves to servants for two reasons. first, servants or apprentices would one day become competition within the trade, while slaves would never rise to the position of a peer. second, and also reflecting middle class quaker reluctance toward manumission, was the influence of upper class slaveholding, which molded the middle class to "have seen ownership of slaves as a sign of prestige to which they aspired."™ certainly, individuals of a certain religious persuasion would not be immune to the forces so strongly in play throughout their society. "unlike the wealthy, there was very little soul-searching taking place, as those who still held their slaves were not inclined to suddenly have an awakening of conscience.17 in 1774, as disownment loomed on the horizon for slaveholders, the dominant demographic was much the same as it had been in the 1760s, with working men and women holding the most slaves. in examining the wills of 900 citizens from the tri-colony area (pennsylvania, new jersey and delaware), 131 of which were from philadelphia, it is clear that on the eve of forced manumission society's wealthiest had already freed their slaves, generally for religious and moral reasons. even in this small sample of society, the working class owned overwhelmingly more slaves than the wealthy (see figure b on next page).™ 1 i n examining the wills below, compiled without note of religion, evidence is provided for the argument that middle class quakers not only held the most slaves, but also were entrenched in a social and economic environment where, among their peers, manumission was the exception rather than the rule. in an atmosphere such as this one, where a middle class, regardless of religion, was most involved with slavery, the result was an attitude toward manumission that was nearly the polar opposite of the religious vehemence behind the motivations of the upper class over the past two decades. as committees began to court the remaining individuals owning slaves, interactions became colder than ever as many offenders, seeing the impending loss, would purposefully be out or would simply ask for more time to consider. unlike the wealthy, there was very little soul-searching taking place, as those who still held their slaves were not inclined to suddenly have an awakening of conscience.™ 1 1 the predominant factor in this lack of reflection and embrace of the law was the absence of motivation in the middle classes. the wealthy risked losing their leadership within the meeting i f they continued to buy and sell men and women, therefore slave trading halted among them. this shift presumably sent prices down to levels where the working class could continue and even increase their purchases of slaves. by the end of the 1760s, the middle class made up over one-third of all masters and controlled about 40 percent of the slave population, reflecting their tightening grip on the institution.™ v even in the economic crunch of the post-war years, hired help would have been a viable alternative had it not been for the structure established to regulate manumissions. such factors as the inability to sell the slave made a large loss necessary in order to come clean with the practice. many were unwilling to absorb this loss. the requirement of supporting freed slaves, often economically unrealistic to artisans struggling to make ends meet, only added to the negative light shining on manumission. economic hardship, coupled with the complex social strata of the working class and the reality of competition with non-quaker slaveholders, made for a reality incompatible with the teachings of the committees to treat. with concerns and goals based on immediate needs, middle and working class people were not susceptible to the antislavery religious arguments used so successfully on the wealthy, nor were they as frequently targeted.™ t h e a c t o f m a n u m i s s i o n ! c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e f r e e i n g o f s l a v e s a n d s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s f i g u r e b name profession slave staus wealth, pounds j o h n engle binckes farmer n o n e 10 martha elliot w i d o w 2 children 43 henry ireland innkeeper mulatto boy 84 l u d w i c s t u m p y e o m a n servant boy, 12 years 142 dan i el lon dis saddler 8 years of a servant c i r l ' s tlme 211 dan i el jones baker 3 male slaves 314 george kemble stable keeper m a n , w o m a n , a n d baby 321 israeljenkins cooper 1 m a n 341 t h o m a s gilbert merchant n o n e 361 jacob duffield yeoman 1 mulatto wench 481 charles jolley fam er an d m i ller 125 525 t h o m a s h u m p h r y farmer negro girl 609 will iam heaslton mariner 2 servants time 650 andrew crocket farmer m a n , w o m a n , boy, a n d 2 girls 892 joseph maxfield legal officer 1 w e n c h 895 abraham wentz s m i t h 1 w o m a n 923 joseph frazer baker time of 3 servants 1037 george plim carpenter n o n e 1113 andrew georger farmer n o n e 1116 james taylor mariner 1 m a n , 1 wo m a n , 1 gi rl, an d 1 m u latto 1361 w i l l i a m goetting shopkeeper n o n e 1379 george stump yeoman n o n e 1487 benjamin howell farmer m u latto m a n , n ec ro boy 1532 lyn ford lardn er province offlcer an d lan dholder n o n e 1826 capt. joseph stout capt. royal navy 1 m an cri pple d, 1 boy 2397 elizabeth van de rs pi eg le w i d o w n o n e 2562 j o h n j o h n s o n tallow chan dler 1 m an an d 2 yo u n g girls (9 an d 1 1) 2609 james miller captain n o n e 2761 j o h n isaac klein farmer n o n e 5159 margaret will iams w i d o w n o n e 5308 stephen carmick merchant n o n e 8931 samuel neave merchant none 11415 e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 the final steps towards abolition within the quaker community were not taken until nearly twenty years after the publication of the minutes of 1758. the minutes of 1774 were the first of a two-part ultimatum issued to those who persisted in slave holding. it prescribed that anyone who continued in the slave trade was to be disowned i f they did not provide for the freedom of their purchase. the second portion, published two years later in the minutes of 1776, required that all local meetings were to disown all slaveholders, effectively ending slavery in philadelphia's quaker society and the surrounding meeting area. the mechanisms for enforcement which varied by meeting were slow in taking root, but once the already converted leadership began to pursue the topic after 1776, decisions had to be made. instead, the middle classes approached manumission and the threat of disownment by accepting the certainty of economic and social loss. as the philadelphia meeting took a stricter approach leading up to 1776, the prosecution of slaveholders became the standard, and expulsion became all the more common in an effort to exemplify philadelphia's moral leadership, which had come to be expected in its role as the largest meeting in the area. between the years of 1765 and 1776, when holding slaves would no longer require a trial but outright disownment, 75 percent of cases heard by the monthly meetings on individuals who would not free their newly purchased slaves ended in expulsion from meetings, or from the society itself.x x v 1 when looking at this data, that those middle class members who manumitted their slaves did so under duress is clear. many chose to hold on to their slaves and forego their religion. the continued dominance of slaveholding among their social tier led many to side with the germans and scots-irish of the area in their continued practice of finding compatibility between their religion and chattel slavery. the story of warner mifflin, a quaker who freed his slaves before his death in keeping with the decisions of the meetings, was published in the early 1800s in multiple newspapers i n both the colonies and in britain as an example of the outcome of quaker manumission. mifflin, painted as a warm, caring man, called his 27 slaves into his parlor one by one and addressed them, announcing their freedom. he left each with the quaker directions to "be prudent and industrious: i n every misfortune and distress, thou wil l find a sure friend in thy ancient master, warner miffl in. " x x v i l this account, while an example of the best side of an upstanding individual eager to manumit his slaves, highlights the illusion of a united, decisive front against slavery. in truth, especially in the case of philadelphia, the hub of the society in the new world, the endeavor was anything but unified. the writings and meeting minutes collected from the mid to late 1700s show, through first-hand accounts and hard statistical evidence, that in truth the manumission of slaves was not a unilateral decision by the society of friends, nor was it accepted by all quakers. hoping to free and educate their slaves was more of an exception than a rule. before the threat of disownment, treating had little effect on the middle class because, as david cooper noted in his observations on slaveholding in a mite cast into the treasury, one cannot force someone to obey the laws of god when the laws of men are on their s ide.^ 1 1 once the laws of god and man met in 1774, the society of friends, in philadelphia and elsewhere, was successful in completely flushing slavery from their system nearly a century before the rest of the continent would. it should be remembered that this societal shift did not occur seamlessly, but in a series of calculated compromises which were engineered along class boundaries. in the actual moment of manumission, most of those who did free their slaves were not thinking of the souls of their captives but of their own, and were not motivated by the cause of freedom, but of ridding the society of its worldliness and sin. e n d n o t e s i . bronner (33-67) i i . wax (147-48) i i i . sandiford (5) iv. lay (7) v. "probate records on occupation, wealth, and slaveholding among inventoried decedents i n philadelphia (1682-1780)"; soderlund (64) t h e a c t o f m a n u m i s s i o n : c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e f r e e i n g o f s l a v e s a n d s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s vi . "gregory marlow and james west account book, 1703" published in wigley (21) v i i . "probate records"; soderlund (64) v i i i . soderlund (149-50) ix. thomas wil l ing to coddrington carrington, september 3, 1756, quoted in wax (32) x. salinger (64) xi . woolman xi i . tolles (109-132) x i i i . tolles (123, 233) xiv. woolman (67) xv. woolman (108) xvi. woolman (60) xvii. appleton; cooper xvhi. soderlund (150) xvix. soderlund (64) xx. berlin (45-100); soderlund (62-64); "marlow and west account book" published i n wigley (21) xxi. harris (346) xxii. jones xxii i . soderlund xxiv. berlin, 180 xxv. woolman xxvi. soderlund xxvii. locke (37-38); "the benevolent quaker" xxviii. cooper (17) references appleton, nathaniel. 1767. considerations on slavery in a letter to a friend. boston, massachusetts: edes and gil l . berlin, ira. 1998. many thousands gone: the first two centuries of slavery in north america. cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press. bronner, edwin b. 1982. "village into town, 1701-1746." philadelphia: a 300-year history. russel f. weigley, ed. new york: w. w. norton & company, pp. 33-67. brown, ira v. 1988. "pennsylvania's antislavery pioneers: 16881776." pennsylvania history, 55(2), pp. 9-77. carroll, kenneth l. 1985. "an eighteenth-century episcopalian attack on quaker and methodist manumission of slaves." maryland historical magazine, 80(2), pp. 139-150. claypool, james to edward claypool, 23 september 1682, published in jean r. soderlund et al., eds. 1983. william penn and the founding of pennsylvania, 1680-1684: a documentary history. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press: pennsylvania historical society, pp. 179-181. cooper, david. 1772. a mite cast into the treasury: or, observations on slave-keeping. the new york public library collection of rare books. philadelphia, market street: joseph crukshank. davis, david brion. 1999. the problem of slavery in the age of revolution, ijjo-1832, new ed. new york: oxford university press. davis, david brion. 1966. the problem of slavery in western culture. ithaca: cornell university press. densmore, christopher. 2004. "be ye therefore perfect: ant i slavery and the origins of the yearly meeting of progressive friends in chester county, pennsylvania." quaker history, 93(2), pp. 28-46. drake, thomas e. 1965. quakers and slavery in america. gloucester, massachusetts: peter smith. ebersole, mark c. 2000. "abolition divides the meeting house: quakers and slavery in early lancaster county." journal of lancaster county historical society, 102(1), pp. 2-27. foster, a. kristen. 2004. moral visions and material ambitions: philadelphia struggles to define the republic, 1776-1836. oxford: lexington books, pp. 1-114. hamm, thomas d. 2003. the quakers in america. new york: columbia university press. harris, leslie m . 2004. "slavery, emancipation, and class formation i n colonial and early national new york city," journal of urban history, 30(3), p. 346. "instructions of wil l iam penn to the commissioners for settling the colony, 30 7th mo. 1681," mary maples dunn and richard s. dunn, eds. 1982. the papers of william penn 16801684. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, p. 121. jones, alice hanson. 1977. american colonial wealth, documents and methods, volume 1. new york: arno press. lay, benjamin. 1737. all slave-keepers that keep the innocent in bondage, apostates pretending to lay claim to the pure ef holy christian religion; of what congregation so ever; but especially in their ministers, by whose example the filthy leprosy and apostacy is spread far and near; it is a notorious sin, which many of the true friends of christ, and his pure truth, called quakers, has been for many years, and still are concern'd to write and bear testimony against; as a practice so gross el hurtful to religion, and destructive to government, beyond what words can set forth, or can be declared of by men or angels, and yet lived in by ministers and magistrates in america. the leaders of the people cause them to err. written for a general service, by him that truly and sincerely desires the present and eternal welfare and happiness of all mankind, all the world over, e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 of all colours, and nations, as his own soul. philadelphia: benjamin franklin. lloyd, arnold. 1950. quaker social history: 1669-1738. plymouth, great britain: the bowering press. locke, mary stoughton. 1901. anti-slavery in america i6ig1808. gloucester, massachusetts: peter smith. meranze, michael. 2002. "materializing conscience: embodiment, speech and the experience of sympathetic identification." early american literature, 36(1), pp. 71-88. probate records on occupation, wealth, and slaveholding among inventoried decedents in philadelphia (1682-1780). published i n jean soderlund's quakers and slavery. salinger, sharon v. 1987. to serve well and faithfully: labor and indentured servants in pennsylvania, 1682-1800. cambridge university press: new york. nash, gary b. 1973. "slaves and slave owners in colonial philadelphia" for the william and mary quarterly, 3(30), pp. 227-231. nash, gary b., and jean r. soderlund. 1991. freedom by degrees: emancipation in pennsylvania and its aftermath. new york: oxford university press. sandiford, ralph. 1729. a brief examination of the practice of the times, by the foregoing and the present dispensation: whereby is manifested, how the devil works in the mystery, which none can understand and get the victory over but those that are armed with the light, that discovers the temptation and the author thereof, and gives victory over him and his instruments, who are now gone forth, as in the beginning, from the true friends of jesus, having the form of godliness in words, but in deeds deny the power thereof; from such we are commanded to turn away. philadelphia: benjamin franklin and hugh meredith. soderlund, jean r. 1985. quakers el slavery: a divided spirit. princeton, new jersey: princeton university press. "the benevolent quaker." 1822. the lincoln intelligencer. early american newspapers: series 1.1(28), p. 4, september 5. "the following is the petition from the quakers at their annual meeting, for the abolition of the slave trade." 1798. the gazette of the united states. early american newspapers: series 1 xiv(i853), p. 2, august 20. tolles, dr. fredrick b. 1948. meeting house and counting house: the quaker merchants of colonial philadelphia 1682-1783. new york: norton and company. wax, darold d. 1962. "quaker merchants and the slave trade i n colonial pennsylvania," pennsylvania magazine of history and biography, (86), pp. 147-48. wil l ing, thomas to coddrington carrington, september 3, 1756, quoted in darold d. wax, "the negro slave trade in colonial america." 1962. ph.d. dissertation, university of washington, p. 32. witt, john. 1995. "development of an abolitionist consciousness." germantown crier, (46), pp. 22-39. woolman, john. 1969. the works of john woolman, i n two parts. philadelphia, market street: joseph crukshank, 1775. reprinted miami , florida: mnemosyne publishing co. t h e a c t o f m a n u m i s s i o n : c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e f r e e i n g o f s l a v e s a n d s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affirms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e elements spring 2014 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline is friday, april 25, 2014. all submissions can be sent to elements.submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © claudiad/istockphoto periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 10, issue 1, spring 2013 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by kirkwood printing,904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 copyright © 2013 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief emily simon managing editor brandon bavier deputy editor eric tracz layout editor frank a. direnno humanities grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor marie pellissier, editor lydia orr, editor marissa marandola, editor sciences frank a. direnno, senior editor corleone delaveris, senior editor alexander tingle, editor saljooq m. asif, editor ellen white, editor alex gilligan, editor anna whitham. editor media & advertising grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor web design mike henry, senior editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick it may be argued that fiction exists to make the real world manageable. narratives weave together the messy strings of life by imposing upon its chaos plot arcs, recognizable archetypes, and the promise of a resolution. stories make of history something coherently meaningful and easier to stomach, restoring to it the unities of time, place, and action that life never had in the first place. though it is a comfortable impulse, something is always left out in the process. the tendency to order is also an alluring—and in cases of writing historical narratives, potentially dangerous—tendency to reduce. to make clean cuts and instill unities is tantamount to framing a very small portion of a very large painting: the manageable result remains aesthetically pleasing, but a whole outer world that goes unnoticed. often more important to our construction of history than the truth of “what really happened” is the way that we have framed what has passed. how we make sense out of what terrifies us with its dearth—or more terrifically, its excess—of meaning is the truly revelatory aspect of the human narrative. march 8 of this year will mark the tenth anniversary of hockey player todd bertuzzi’s vicious on-ice assault on rival steve moore. though the contested hit transpired during only seconds of game time, the conversation and interpretation that it generated has occupied athletic discourse for almost a decade. jen dobias’ article sometimes sorry is never enough explores the way in which this brief moment of history became an infamous story, and the media and legal pandemonium that over-determined its significance. she explores the way in which a single moment in time—a loose, dangling thread in life—has been woven and re-woven into our cultural narrative, and has crystallized into a pervasive rhetorical trope. the legacy of the event persists even today, not least of all because the long-awaited trial involving bertuzzi and moore is scheduled to occur on september 8 of this year. this issue of elements explores that tenuous border between fact and fiction, and the dangers incumbent between those who fail to see their intimate inextricability. we may not be able to go so far as to claim, as oscar wilde once did, that “life imitates art,” but it would be foolish—and even treacherous—to ignore the fundamental interdependence between life and its representations to which his famous epigram speaks. marissa marandola’s the odds in its favor explains the runaway success of suzanne collins’ the hunger games trilogy in exactly such terms: young adults devoured the novels because they located within them the travails of their existence within america’s great recession society. our cover article, altruism or imperialism?, challenges the traditional recounting of the five-day war between russia and georgia, revealing its motivations and ramifications to be—as is always the case—more complex and less lucid than the story of history has made it out to be. both breaking the normative and the anthropological machine seek to rewrite social narratives of desire by reconsidering and redefining what society has so long condemned as aberrant. there are the meta-narrative resonances too: in culling, editing, and circulating a research journal, we too are composing the narrative that purports to carve out the gap between fact and fiction, while instead blurring that self-same line. elements is itself a text, in dialogue with all of the written and recorded narratives it analyzes in this issue. we hope that we have given voice to a myriad of historical, literary, and ethical stories in this issue— all of them true, and false, in turn. happy reading! best, emily simon editor-in-chief editor’s note contents sometimes sorry is never enough: the todd bertuzzi incident explored jen dobias applying benoit’s theory of image reconstruction to the 2004 todd bertuzzi incident and the media maelstrom that followed. surmounting the anthropological machine: the persistence of animal drives in j.m. coetzee’s disgrace alexander trimes employing agembenian and freudian theory to analyze the effects of animalistic drives in j.m. coetzee’s novel disgrace. consequences of climate change: rising violence and environmental degradation michael martina correlating environmental degradation with increasing violence and proposing a potential solution.. the odds in its favor: the appeal of the hunger games to post-recession america marissa marandola illuminating the similarities between suzanne collins’ the hunger games series and modern american class economics and how they contributed to the books’ success. 9 25 31 43 breaking the normative: the modern homosexual as nietzsche’s übermensch brandon short examining the aspects of the übermensch gained in rejecting heteronormativity. death: a conversation: the moral and legal complexities of assisted suicide richard balagtas engaging in a critical dialogue about the ethical and legal repurcussions of medically assisted suicide. altruism and imperialism: russia’s invasion of georgia in the five-day war sean keeley contrasting the 1991-2 and 2008 georgian-south ossetian conflicts to elucidate the causal factors and justifications of war. author biographies list of artwork 65 57 51 77 79 march 8 of this year marks the tenth anniversary of todd bertuzzi’s infamous on-ice attack on steve moore. although he apologized sincerely at the time and has made steps to revive his nhl career, bertuzzi is still most known for this violent episode and is cast as a villain for his actions. the purpose of this article is to explore why bertuzzi has never been, and likely will never be, fully forgiven. it begins by using benoit’s theory of image restoration to critique his two most prominent public statements. tyler’s work on the legal implications of apologizing is then used to explain why he has done little to try to clear his name as more ugly details about the case have made headlines. this article goes beyond evaluating the effectiveness of his public statements. it applies birkland’s vision of a focusing event, in conjunction with kruse’s work on the distinctive nature of sports apologies, to explain why he has yet to restore his reputation even though his apologies fit the norms established by benoit and others. in bertuzzi’s case, sorry will never be enough because his attack threatened the nhl and has since crystallized into a particularly salient rhetorical symbol. sometimes, sorry is never enough the todd bertuzzi incident explored jen dobias overview of the bertuzzi incident on march 8, 2004, the colorado avalanche and vancouver canucks met in vancouver for a battle for first place in the northwest division.1 it was a rough game from the start: there were three fights in the first period alone, and the avalanche held a 5-0 lead by the end of the period.2 during the first intermission, “nhl executive vice-president colin campbell and director of officiating andy van hellemond placed a phone call to [the] referees…to discuss the potential for additional fights or other events during the lopsided game.”3 these nhl executives were right to be worried: the violence would escalate to extreme, almost unprecedented, levels after colorado lengthened its lead to 7-2 early in the third period.4 at 8:41 in the third period, vancouver’s todd bertuzzi chased colorado’s steve moore down the ice. when moore, who had been involved in one of the fights in the first period, did not respond, bertuzzi grabbed him by the back of his jersey.5 moore’s back was turned when bertuzzi punched him in the head and drove him to the ice face first.6 on the air, vancouver radio play-by-play man john shorthouse called what bertuzzi did a “‘cheap shot, sucker punch from behind.’”7 as moore lay face down on the ice in a pool of blood, fights broke out among avalanche and canucks players.8 it took 10 minutes for the trainers to get moore onto a stretcher and off the ice, and bertuzzi was thrown out of the game for attempt to injure.9 “the punch was witnessed by more than 18,000 people at the arena and [was] shown repeatedly in tv clips broadcast across north america and europe.”10 bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely that night, and avalanche general manager pierre lacroix said that bertuzzi’s punch was “‘the cheapest shot i’ve ever seen’” on a televised news conference the next day.11 what damaged bertuzzi’s reputation even more was that his attack was seen from the beginning as retaliation for moore’s un-penalized hit on vancouver captain markus naslund earlier in the year. colorado player derek morris told reporters: “‘it was disgusting…i haven’t seen anything like that in my seven years of playing hockey. this was premeditated; this was the worst thing i’ve seen.’”12 espn’s game recap from that night also insinuated a connection by describing the aftermath of moore’s hit on naslund: moore delivered the hit last month that knocked canucks captain markus naslund out for three games with a concussion. canucks tough guy brad may talked about a bounty after that feb. 16 game, but he backed off those comments. the teams played to a 5-5 tie without incident last wednesday.13 may’s direct quote also appeared in some articles: “‘there’s definitely a bounty on his [moore’s] head. clean hit or not, that’s our best player and you respond. it’s going to be fun when we get him.’”14 some articles quoted bertuzzi himself; he said moore was “‘a piece of s—.’”15 and, on march 9, the stakes were raised. the vancouver police announced that they were investigating the incident and that bertuzzi faced an assault charge.16 in fact, “the legal response to this incident was so immediate that police officers began interviewing fans, players, trainers, coaches, and administrative personnel who were in attendance.”17 because of the potential for a long suspension or even jail time, this incident threatened his reputation and playing career, and bertuzzi had to respond. benoit’s theory of image restoration professor william benoit offers a framework that can be used to understand the strategies that people or corporations use to repair their images in the wake of a crisis, such as the bertuzzi incident. he argues that an attack, which holds a person or company responsible for an offensive act, prompts a response. in looking at an attack, “perceptions are more important than reality,” which means that, so long as the relevant audiences believe that the person is responsible and that his or her actions are heinous, a response is necessitated.18 benoit then outlines five categories of image repair strategies: denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness of event, corrective action, and mortification.19 most of benoit’s categories have variants. denial includes simple denial, asserting that one did not perform the act, and shifting the blame, claiming that another party is responsible. evasion of responsibility has four variants: people can say their actions were instigated by another party (provocation), can minimize the problem or damage (minimization), can say that it was an accident or can assert that they had good intentions in performing the action.20 they can also promise to take corrective action, including fixing the current problem and working to prevent future ones. reducing offensiveness of the event has six subsets: bolstering, minimization, differentiation, transcendence, attacking the accuser, and compensating the victim. for the purpose of this article, bolstering, differentiation, transcendence and attacking the accuser must be examined more closely. benoit writes that “a rhetor may use bolster10 elements : : spring 2014 ing to strength the audience’s positive feelings towards the accused offsetting the negative feelings toward the wrongful act.”21 people can also “employ differentiation, in which the act is distinguished from other similar but more offensive actions.”22 transcendence “attempts to place the act in a more favorable context.”23 attacking the accuser involves trying to reduce his or her credibility.24 mortification is benoit’s final strategy and involves confessing and asking for forgiveness.25 when using the mortification strategy, an individual admits to committing the act and expresses remorse. benoit also contends that if people demonstrate “a professed willingness to suffer” the consequences of their actions, audiences may be more likely to view their apology as sincere, and audiences that perceive an apology as sincere are more likely to forgive the transgression.26 benoit admits that “the potential drawback for this strategy is that it might invite lawsuits from victims” but does recommend in an earlier work that “‘those guilty of wrong-doing accept their responsibility immediately and apologize.’”27 after examining the literature on image restoration strategies used specifically by athletes, it becomes clear that mortification is the cornerstone of sports apologies. apologia and sports in her seminal work on apologia in team sports, kruse asserts that sports figures often engage in three particular strategies: they “bolster by aligning themselves with the sports they represent and by asserting their attitudes toward the game are positives,” “are likely to say, ‘i’m sorry,’ and express regret for their conduct,” and “rarely elaborate upon the circumstances in which they were involved.28 she writes that “these apologists verbalize their remorse so frequently that this can be identified as a convention of the discourse” and that their statements tend to be “brief and general.”29 one of kruse’s most important contributions is her idea that, because winning is everything, athletes can redeem themselves through their actions on the playing field. she points out that because “the concept of winning dominates the team sport ethic,” players can restore their reputations by helping their teams win and by displaying the proper loyalty and commitment to winning.30 jerome takes kruse’s work further in her examination of nascar driver tony stewart’s campaign to restore his image after allegedly striking a cameraman in the chest. she contends that if an athlete is talented and has a great amount of potential to win, he will be more readily forgiven. she also takes into consideration the importance of having a good reputation before an incident occurs, as she notes that “stewart had committed similar, highly publicized, wrongdoings in the past that compounded the problem.”31 similarly, brazeal argues that previous controversy surrounding talented wide receiver terrell owens caused him to face an uphill battle when he went to apologize for becoming “belligerent with the coaching staff and publically critical of his quarterback” because of a dispute with the eagles over contract negotiations.32 in their discussion of the image repair strategies used by olympic gold medalist michael phelps to restore his reputation after being photographed smoking a marijuana pipe, walsh & mcallister-spooner show how having a good pre-crisis reputation can help an athlete considerably. all of these writers share the presupposition that apologizing is particularly effective for athletes, especially when they also align themselves with their sports’ values. brazeal effectively summarizes it when he explains:todd bertuzzi, professional canadian hockey player (courtesy of wikimedia) 11 sometimes, sorry is never enough although public figures may be reluctant to admit wrongdoing, it is sometimes essential to a successful apology…for athletes faced with apologizing, it is critical to embrace the values of their sports. cherished by fans, players, and coaches, these bedrock values should be rhetorically re-affirmed, perhaps by expressing appreciation for the honor of being a professional athlete or the privilege of playing for their team.33 given that apologizing is stressed as an effective image restoration strategy for athletes in the literature, it is important to underscore that the consensus is that entertainers (a group which includes athletes), can apologize more easily than other types of public figures such as politicians or corporate leaders. in examining actor hugh grant’s image restoration strategies, benoit concludes that “entertainers are much less likely to have third parties make, or prolong, attacks reported in the media. while it is never easy to admit wrong-doing and apologize, entertainers may find it less difficult than politicians to confess.”34 benoit also contends that, because individual people are less likely to be sued than corporations, it is easier for entertainers to apologize than it is for corporate leaders because the threat of litigation is not as high.35 critique of bertuzzi’s apologies two days after the incident, bertuzzi addressed the media at a press conference; he read a statement and did not take any questions.36 the press conference occurred the night before nhl commissioner gary bettman announced the length of bertuzzi’s suspension.37 when bertuzzi went up to the podium to speak, he did not begin right away because he was crying. first, he addressed moore: “steve, i just want to apologize for what happened out there. i had no intention of hurting you. i feel awful for what transpired.” next, he addressed moore’s family: “i’m sorry that he had to go through this, and i’m sorry about, again, what happened out there.” after he said, “i’m relieved to hear that steve is going to have a full recovery; it means a lot to me to hear that’s going to happen,” he apologized to the canucks organization and his teammates before he stepped back from the podium to be consoled by his wife. he then concluded: “to the fans of hockey and the fans of vancouver, for the kids that watch this game, i’m truly sorry. i don’t play the game that way, and i’m not a meanspirited person, and i’m sorry for what happened.” in total, bertuzzi used the word “sorry” four times and the phrase “i want to apologize” twice.38 bertuzzi spent most of his time apologizing, which kruse contends is typical of athletes. his statement falls into kruse’s framework because it was brief and general. it lasted roughly three minutes and would have been shorter if he had not had to pause to collect himself repeatedly. it did not go into the specifics of the incident. while it is clear that bertuzzi relied primarily on benoit’s mortification strategy, he also engaged in differentiation, bolstering and denial. in saying, “i don’t play the game that way, and i’m not a mean-spirited person,” bertuzzi differentiated himself from the player who attacked moore and implied that his actions were not indicative of who he is as a player and person. when he expressed relief that moore would recover, he engaged in bolstering, by making himself seem like a caring person, as benoit argues hugh grant did when he expressed concern for his girlfriend.39 bertuzzi used benoit’s conception of simple denial when he denied that he had any intention of hurting moore, which was something that he had to address because of the rumblings that he had attacked moore in retaliation for his hit on naslund.40 speaking to his victim directly, bertuzzi denied that his actions had such malicious intent. in many of the articles following this apology, including ones after he was charged with assault, bertuzzi was described as “tearful,” “distraught,” and “remorseful.”41 even reporters, like sports illustrated’s michael farber, who gave withering accounts of his violent actions, used such language. farber called bertuzzi “remorseful” and “lachrymose.” it is clear, then, that bertuzzi’s apology was effective in convincing most people that he was truly sorry, which is something that benoit would consider beneficial in his quest to repair his image. benoit contends that “one must appear sincere” for the mortification strategy to be its most effective.42 yet, some did point out that bertuzzi was a repeat offender.43 in 2001, he was suspended 10 games for leaving the bench to start a fight.44 at the time, it was only the seventeenth suspension of 10 or more games in the history of the nhl.45 later, after he started to put up all-star numbers, bertuzzi claimed to have learned from his mistake.46 however, when he was asked if he regretted what he did, he said that he did not.47 jerome and brazeal demonstrate that having a questionable reputation before a crisis can make it more difficult for athletes to effectively utilize image restoration strategies to clear their names. having a previous history of on-ice violence and trouble with trying to “control his emotions” did not help bertuzzi’s cause.48 12 elements : : spring 2014 bertuzzi’s suspension was announced march 11. he was suspended for the remaining thirteen games of the regular season and also for the playoffs.49 the canucks were fined $250,000, and bertuzzi lost more than $500,000 of his salary.50 to be reinstated, bertuzzi would have to meet with bettman.51 the canucks, who were considered a stanleycup favorite before their star player was suspended, fell in seven games to the calgary flames in the first round of the playoffs.52 in june, four months after the incident, bertuzzi was charged with assault with intent to injure by british columbia’s criminal justice system.53 in late december, a few days before it was announced that bertuzzi would be put on probation after pleading guilty to assault, the international ice hockey federation banned bertuzzi from european play, which meant that he could not play at all during the nhl lockout.54 bertuzzi faced up to eighteen months of prison, and his sentence, which mandated that he do eighty hours of community service and never play against moore, left him without a criminal record.55 during all of this intense, and potentially career-threatening, activity, bertuzzi chose to remain silent. he was silent for nearly a year and a half and spoke only after he was reinstated to the nhl.56 on august 11, 2005, a day after he was reinstated, he posted a thank-you letter on the canucks’ website. he wrote: “i’ve played my best hockey in vancouver…we have had some success but i feel as a team our best is still yet to come. i am excited about this team and look forward to getting back on the ice.”57 kruse would call this thank-you letter standard for an athlete as he aligned himself with his team and expressed excitement for the new season. he appealed to the fans directly, which kruse says that athletes must do “whenever their conduct might have harmful effects upon [their] teams,” and his suspension during the playoffs hurt the canucks.58 bertuzzi finally addressed the media on august 15, 2005 at the orientation camp for the canadian olympic team, one week after he was reinstated by bettman.59 this time, he mainly utilized benoit’s strategies of bolstering, differentiation, attacking the accuser and, most extensively, transcendence. he did not address his plea bargain or the civil lawsuit filed by moore.60 one of his most quoted statements was the following, which was his response to a journalist’s question as to why he deserved to return to the nhl: i’m a firm believer in second chances, and if we’re going to go through life not giving anyone second chances, what kind of life are we going to have? people make mistakes in life. unfortunately i was under the microscope and on tv when my mistake happened and if i’m going to sit here and keep getting ridiculed about it, how are we ever going to give someone a second chance to become better or to change situations? and i hope everyone can do that for me.61 bertuzzi reframed the situation to make it about forgiveness and second chances, rather than the brutal nature of his attack. benoit says that the key characteristic of the transcendence strategy is to pose that there are “more important considerations.”62 bertuzzi posed that the important consideration in his case was that people forgive him and give him another chance, not that his career would continue while moore’s was in jeopardy, not that his punishment may have been overly lax because his suspension occurred during the nhl lockout so he did not miss an actual nhl season. bertuzzi also bolstered when he expressed concern for moore’s recovery, as he did during the initial press conference. this strategy was seen again when he vowed: “‘i’m going to do what i can do to make sure that my career and my life aren’t defined by what hapcanadian hockey player brad may made claims insinuating the placement of a bounty on moore’s head as the inciting incident. (courtesy of wikimedia) 13 sometimes, sorry is never enough pened on march 8th…but rather what i did before, and most importantly what i do after.’”63 before the incident, he was “the game’s most-feared power forward,” a hulking 6-foot-3 winger who scored 46 goals during the 2002/2003 season and played on vancouver’s top line with naslund and brendan morrison.64 jerome argues that if an athlete has potential to win, he will be more readily forgiven. bertuzzi alluded to his considerable talent throughout in order to show that, not only did he want to help his team win, he could do so. bertuzzi engaged in differentiation when he said, “‘if i could [explain it] i wouldn’t be here…trust me, i’ve been off for a long time and had a lot of sleepless nights trying to think of things.’”65 by stressing that he could not explain what happened or why he did what he did, bertuzzi differentiated himself from the player who injured moore. this is in a similar vein as edward kennedy’s utilization of differentiation when he argued that his mind was in an altered state during the chappaquiddick incident.66 when bertuzzi addressed reports that he had never reached out to moore personally to apologize, he used denial and attacked the accuser. he said: “‘i was hoping for the opportunity to confront him and speak to him and his family and it has never come about…you have to respect people’s decisions on things, and some people forgive a lot easier than others and you just got to deal with it and move forward…i’ve made my attempts and am still going to try, but i can’t change someone else’s mindset on me.’”67 since bertuzzi relied primarily on transcendence to position forgiveness and giving people a second chance as the most important consideration, he reduced moore’s credibility by alleging that he was unwilling to allow him to try to apologize personally. he made moore appear rather petty and vindictive. like the initial press conference, this address can be considered effective, especially in his use of benoit’s strategy of his transcendence. this strategy was also used by bettman when he reinstated bertuzzi. in a written statement, he explained: “‘i believe that reinstatement of mr. bertuzzi at this point in time is appropriate and consistent with a ‘fresh start’ for the 2005-06 season.’”68 noted espn writer scott burnside began his article on bertuzzi’s address as such: “if the rehabilitation of todd bertuzzi begins with words, let it not be said that he did not choose his words carefully, powerfully, as he starts down the uncertain road toward redemption.”69 he added that he “thoughtfully answered questions,” “avoided hitting any false notes” and was “genuine.”70 while benoit and other writers who focus on sports apologies would find bertuzzi’s initial apology and this address effective, bertuzzi is still cast as a villain for his actions on march 8, 2004. he never truly got his “‘fresh start,’” to borrow bettman’s words.71 the complication of civil lawsuits from the beginning, it was unclear if moore would ever play hockey again. his injuries included three fractured vertebrae, facial lacerations and a severe concussion that would later cause him to have post-concussion syndrome and amnesia.72 after bertuzzi’s plea bargain, moore and his lawyer, tim danson, told reporters that they would file a civil suit if moore could no longer play hockey.73 moore said then: “‘i still suffer from significant post-concussion symptoms which prevent me from living a fully normal life…i’m just not the same person i was.’”74 in 2006, moore filed a civil lawsuit against bertuzzi. moore’s initial statement of claim was for $38 million, but more recent articles have put the amount of money that he is seeking at closer to $60 million, roughly the amount that bertuzzi has made during his nhl career.75 it is important to note that “due to an exception in the canucks’ insurance policy for criminal acts, bertuzzi is not covered and is personally liable for any damages.”76 after delays, the trial is set to begin this year in the ontario superior court.77 at the same time, bertuzzi was a plaintiff in a different case. in 2008, bertuzzi sued his coach at the time of the incident, marc crawford, arguing that “any damage against bertuzzi should be paid by crawford” since he “encouraged him to go after moore as a result of the hit on naslund.”78 in 2012, bertuzzi dropped this third-party lawsuit against crawford. danson learned of the bertuzzi-crawford settlement “i’m a firm believer in second chances, and if we’re going to go through life not giving anyone second chances, what kind of life are we going to have?” 14 elements : : spring 2014 and won the rights to see the details of the settlement, which also involves the canucks organization.79 these details will not be released to the press until the moore-bertuzzi trial begins. largely as a result of the lawsuits, the bertuzzi incident has remained in the news. as time went on, new reputation-damaging details about the attack and its aftermath surfaced. in 2007, moore revealed that he would never play hockey again and that he suffered from memory loss.80 in 2011, danson told reporters: “‘we have the top neurosurgeons in the world on this case and we have reached the point where we can say steve’s brain injury is permanent.’”81 as a direct result of bertuzzi’s lawsuit against crawford, it became clear that the attack was intentional, possibly even commanded from above.82 in 2013, the toronto star obtained court documents that described moore’s struggles in detail. the documents said that moore “‘does not exhibit the ability to plan, make decisions, set priorities, and to multi-task and is not capable of performing adequately in a wide range of managerial, executive, and professional work.’”83 they concluded: “‘while it is possible that steve moore could obtain employment as a hedge fund marketer, there is a very low probability that he would have been able to keep the job.’”84 the globe and mail reporter bruce dowbiggin argued that the “passing of time works in steve moore’s favour” because, in the years since the incident, there has been extensive research done on the effects of concussions. also, one of the nhl’s star players, sidney crosby, was sidelined with this injury in 2011, leading the league to take concussions more seriously than it had in the past.85 since it is now clear that the incident altered the course of moore’s life, bertuzzi’s reputation has been further sullied because of his violent attack. yet, it is unclear if bertuzzi can apologize again or even attempt to use any image restoration strategy. tyler contends that “it is naïve to believe [mortification] would work equally well in all situations.”86 apologizing can “increase perceived blameworthiness” because “an apology implies guilt.”87 part of the reason why bertuzzi’s first statement was effective was that he apologized in a manner that seemed sincere. however, making “an apology is potentially dangerous” when there is the threat of litigation or, as in bertuzzi’s case, when an individual is already involved in ongoing lawsuits.88 as the lawsuit has played out, reporters have demanded answers and the public wants to hear bertuzzi, who is often cast as a villain, express some kind of remorse.89 tyler argues that such pressures result in “an equivocal or ambiguous apology that leaves the unsatisfied public demanding a more felicitous apology, a demand that frequently results in defensive communication.”90 bertuzzi has opted for silence. “he has said little about the incident since [the initial news conference] for personal and legal reasons.”91 now a detroit red wing, he answers questions about games and about himself as a player, but about little else. even in articles that focus on him reviving his career with the red wings, bertuzzi is quoted only talking about how he has begun to focus on his defensive play, how he likes living in the detroit area and how his goal is to help his team win a stanley cup.92 because he often emphasizes his commitment to his team and to winning, it can be said that he is using the strategies outlined by kruse. also, even though bertuzzi has been held quiet because of the lawsuit, red wings executives and teammates have vouched for him by differentiating him from the player who hurt moore and the person that the media has made him out to be. after detroit signed him to a contract extension in 2011, general manager ken holland said, “‘i think that we all deserve a second chance… he’s been a good citizen.”93 teammate dan cleary called him “‘a big teddy bear’” and “‘certainly not the person he’s been portrayed in the media in years past.’”94 yet, bertuzzi’s reputation has yet to be fully restored; he is still known, first and foremost, as the player who sucker punched moore. this is because the incident, a focusing event, did not only damage his individual reputation, but also threatened the nhl as a whole. birkland’s focusing event theory birkland explains that “a focusing event is an event that is sudden; relatively uncommon; [and] can be reasonably defined as harmful or revealing the possibility of potentially greater future harms.”95 also characteristic of a focusing event is “that it is known to policy makers and the public simultaneously” and “gain[s] attention more suddenly and rapidly than problems such as crime or disease that longer-term analysis of statistical evidence seeks to understand.”96 birkland divides this process into two phases. in the first, “the news media immediately respond to event attributes that are most closely related to the event itself: the level of damage, for example, or the number of people affected.”97 in the second, “the rarity and the scope of the event are key variables, as are the amount of news coverage,” because this phase is a “longer-term reaction,” which could yield legislative change and impact the policy-mak15 sometimes, sorry is never enough ing process.98 to give an example, fishman argues that the 1996 crash of valujet flight 592 is a focusing event: “in the aftermath of the valujet crash, the media caught onto a larger and more compelling storyline: how could a discount airline with the highest profit margins among all the airlines and the highest accident rates be allowed to operate if the public safety was being optimally protected?”99 fishman concludes that this media scrutiny led to policy change and “served to dispel the central myth of aviation that all airlines were equally safe.”100 bertuzzi’s attack can be seen as a focusing event because it was sudden, unexpected, and caused harm in the form of moore’s career-ending injuries. and, as seen in the valujet case, the media quickly latched onto the “more compelling storyline” after the bertuzzi incident.101 instead of focusing on bertuzzi, the media moved to the issue of on-ice violence. the threat to the nhl the day of bertuzzi’s apology, nbc’s countdown with keith olbermann had as its “no. 3 story” of the night the issue of on-ice violence in the nhl and brought in former player henry boucha to share his story.102 olbermann introduced the segment as such: “bad sports: a violent hockey player apologizes, and is suspended.”103 the use of the word “violent” would prove to be telling because the nhl’s extreme level of violence, not so much bertuzzi, became the topic of conversation. olbermann compared the bertuzzi incident to the attack that ended boucha’s career in the 1970s and the blindside hit that ended ace bailey’s career in the 1930s. “as suggest[ed] by your story and that of…ace bailey, the over-the-line violence is at least seven decades old,” he said before he asked boucha, “do you think the nhl has ever done enough to stop true violence, over-the-line stuff, or is there part of the league that hesitates to curb it, because there’s still a mind-set that says violence is part of the appeal of the sport?”104 this was the exact question that many were asking. in general, the american media implied or explicitly stated “that the nhl was blighted by out-of-control violence” more so than the canadian media, but both were rather unforgiving.105 the day after bertuzzi’s suspension was announced, the toronto star’s sports section ran “‘does somebody have to die?’” as its top headline.106 the today show ran a segment on the attack: “it’s impossible to have the second story on ‘the today show’ feature your sport’s darkest hour and not have your character sullied significantly,” famous hockey writer greg wyshynski reflected on the seven-year anniversary of the incident.107 espn columnist jim kelley outlined what he called hockey’s “history of assault that rivals that of a street gang” when bertuzzi was charged.108 after giving seven examples of nhl players charged with assault from four different decades, he wrote: “the league has a track record of violence. it says it can contain the violence, but history shows that it cannot…the never-ending series of ‘incidents’ brings precedent into the picture.”109 focusing events train attention on a problem that may have been previously out of view and reveals “the possibility of potentially greater future harms,” in this case the possibility that a player could easily suffer a career-ending, life-altering injury.110 because he was a star player and because his sucker punch was so blatantly violent and widely televised, the bertuzzi incident made many people ask if the nhl’s culture would allow it to adequately police itself or whether the justice system should become involved to protect players. as kelley showed in his editorial, the nhl has a long history of violence, which league officials appeared to have done little to try to correct at the time of the bertuzzi incident. in an article written two years before bertuzzi’s attack, jones & stewart argue that the nhl, which they call “the only major league in which violence is, if not quite institutionalized…actively encouraged,” would never truly attempt to curb violence because it had no incentive to do so.111 they first describe how “violence is revenue enhancing,” and how players, and not their teams, are the ones normally disciplined and fined.112 thus, “a team has the incentive to promote violence, hires players for that specific purpose, but, if and when the violence occurs, is rarely culpable.”113 fighting, for example, was (and still is) very popular. espn writer jeff merron connected acts like bertuzzi’s to the nhl’s approval of fighting: “there’s no mystery as to why the nhl sanctions fighting. it draws fans…the brawls, and the cheap shots like bertuzzi’s that almost inevitably follow, should be gone.”114 gee & potwarka insinuate a link between other aggressive on-ice behaviors, like slashing and cross-checking, with extreme cases of violence and argue that these behaviors must be better policed even though they have always been considered to be just a part of the game. usa today columnist christine brennan wrote, after describing an espn highlight video of “the nhl’s ‘greatest’ hits,” “there always has been room in the nhl for violence, and there always will be.” farber noted: “after the nhl announced bertuzzi’s suspension…bett16 elements : : spring 2014 man said the assault had nothing to do with hockey. that is true only if the act can be separated from the hockey culture around it, and it can’t. bertuzzi’s act of thuggery is only an extreme extension of the game’s accepted law of expediency: scores are settled with a punch.” the consensus at the time was that the bertuzzi incident arose out of hockey’s violent culture, which could make self regulation difficult. jones & stewart pose that “self-regulation to reduce violence only works if those regulated have an incentive to reduce violence. if they do not—and remember the economic evidence is that violence and revenue are positively related—the private system of justice will not produce results compatible with perception of violence as a societal ‘bad.’”115 they then show that the decisions in the twist case and the mcsorley case allowed “disciplinary power over violence to be placed totally in the hands of the league,” a clear conflict of interest because violence is so engrained in the nhl’s culture and helps to sell tickets.116 yet, in concluding their examination of the twist case and the mcsorley case, jones & stewart argue that getting the courts involved would not cause any real change: “both criminal and civil, as it presently stands in canada and the u.s., is not an effective constraint on hockey violence” because the legal process can take too much time to act as a deterrent.117 the more high-profile bertuzzi case re-opened this discussion when he was charged with assault. kelley put the threat to the nhl best when he explained: “a good attorney, in either a criminal or civil case, would be able to argue that in fact the nhl cannot or does not police itself adequately and in fact condones an environment that leads to action…that’s what makes the bertuzzi case so dangerous to the nhl. the sheet shows that even though the league punishes offenders, the punishments aren’t deterrents.” yet, the court’s punishment of bertuzzi, probation, cannot be considered the greatest of deterrents. gee & potwarka argue that “the act that todd bertuzzi committed was perceived to be extreme and outside the confines of the game…it is likely that players perceived this punishment to be an isolated incident and to be associated with only that ‘extreme’ form of aggression.”118 this means that his punishment is a deterrent for only extreme violence but not for “other aggressive infractions,” like fighting, which can potentially escalate into the more extreme forms of violence if left unchecked.119 thus, jones & stewart may be right that “self-regulation as a constraint on violence has definite appeal” if applied quickly and equitably.120 they argue that a long suspension without pay is more likely to curb violence. for the most part, the nhl was commended for its handling of the incident, which helped to quiet the calls for the court system’s involvement in policing the league. bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely the night of the attack and was later suspended for the end of the regular season and the playoffs, losing a substantial chunk of his salary. famous nhl writer barry melrose wrote, “the league did the right thing in sitting him down until at least the beginning of next season…this sets a precedent by telling players that crossing the line with their on-ice behavior is unacceptable, and it should be a good lesson for everyone.” melrose applauded the nhl for not taking into consideration the fact that, at the time, “bertuzzi [was] one of the 10 best players in the world” and his suspension “basically cost the vancouver canucks a chance at the stanley cup.” league officials proved that they would not play favorites when they suspended an all-star on a team favored to win the stanley cup. they showed that they would penalize teams when they fined the canucks organization. jones & “thus, the bertuzzi incident, as a focusing event, not only trained attention on the issue of on-ice violence in general. it trained attention on a more alarming ‘unspoken’ part of hockey culture, one of violent retribution and bounties potentially directed from above by coaches or team executives.” 17 sometimes, sorry is never enough stewart would argue that the fine levied against the canucks was a step in the right direction because it showed that the league would hold teams accountable as well. however, even though the nhl staved off greater court involvement, it has not recovered from the bertuzzi incident’s tie to there being a “‘bounty on [moore’s] head.’”121 while the criminal case was closed years ago, the civil case is still ongoing. in court documents from this case, moore connected bertuzzi’s attack to the nhl’s culture. he explicitly tied it to “an unspoken hockey ‘code’ of violence instilled from the top.”122 the court filings argued that crawford and then vancouver general manager brian burke ordered the hit as retaliation for moore’s hit on naslund; these documents also contended that this “‘conspiracy of silence’” “‘calls for a closing of the ranks’” “‘to make sure that coaches and general managers cannot be held accountable.’”123 time will tell if these allegations are true, partially true, or false, but they have still clearly damaged the nhl’s reputation. in his comparison of bertuzzi’s attack and the new orleans saints bounty scandal, espn reporter lester munson described the issues that are raised by this type of controversy: “in both cases, a ‘bounty’ meant deliberate attacks on opposing players that were expressly designed to cause injury, and both involve significant issues of player safety and the integrity of competition.” thus, the bertuzzi incident, as a focusing event, not only trained attention on the issue of on-ice violence in general. it trained attention on a more alarming “unspoken” part of hockey culture, one of violent retribution and bounties potentially directed from above by coaches or team executives. kruse writes that “whenever individuals violate the ethical norms that hold simultaneously in both the sport world and the world at large, they will be evaluated negatively by fans and the general public alike.”124 this held true for bertuzzi: he was called violent, undisciplined, and many other things. kruse posits that “these individuals will often attempt to repair their images with apologies directed to the fans,” which bertuzzi did in the initial press conference and in his thank-you letter to the fans after his reinstatement.125 kruse’s conclusion helps to illuminate why bertuzzi has never been fully forgiven even though his statements and thank-you letter fit her framework and benoit’s: “sports personalities must defend their moral worth as sports figures whenever their conduct might have harmful effects upon teams, games, or the world of sport and their actions seem to result from personal characteristics that make them unworthy to represent the fans” in the sport.126 as has been seen, bertuzzi’s actions, which were seen as reprehensible by the general public, had sweeping implications for the nhl. yes, they affected bertuzzi’s career as he was never the same high-scoring player afterwards.127 yes, they affected the canucks as they were fined and bowed out of the playoffs in the first round. but it is clear that, since the incident was a focusing event, it became nearly impossible for bertuzzi to apologize enough. if the threat of the court system becoming involved was bad enough, his actions also led to calls for the reduction of violence and the elimination of fighting, elements of the game that “the core audience seem[ed] to embrace.”128 they helped to drive away casual fans who were disturbed by such blatant violence.129 they caused a shift in the nhl’s culture, a shift that most people would consider good: “you don’t hear talk of bounties all that often. or the joy of violent retribution.”130 when the lockout ended in 2005, the nhl began to emphasize a skilled, less violent game, and marketed high-scoring players like crosby and alexander ovechkin instead of bruising enforcers. “new regulations and stronger enforcement of existing rules led to more flow in games. skill players were impeded less, and previously stifling defensive systems were less effective.”131 finally, because “the incident and its aftermath remain mired in increasingly acrimonious litigation” that is considered newsworthy by reporters, the nhl still faces questions about the incident to this day.132 and the bertuzzi incident has become the symbol for on-ice violence. “the ultimate standard for reckless, intentional violence” near the end of his article on the seven-year anniversary of the attack, wyshynski asked, “now, how many sucker punches have we seen in the nhl described as ‘bertuzzilike’ or ‘bertuzzi-esque’ in their denouncement?” he answered “plenty” and even gave his own example: “matt martin’s wallop on max talbot during that new york islanders/pittsburgh penguins chaos.”133 the penguins-islanders game on february 11, 2011 was mired by out-ofcontrol violence, including blindside hits, goalies fighting and players leaving the bench to defend teammates. during one of the brawls, martin came up behind talbot and punched him in a move that “remind[ed] viewers of todd bertuzzi’s sucker punch on steve moore.”134 on december 21, 2006, the buffalo sabres held a 7-2 lead over the nashville predators, the same lead that the avalanche had on the canucks at the time of bertuzzi’s attack.135 “with 4:39 remaining in the game, nashville centerman scott nichol sent buffalo defenseman jaroslav spacek down to the ice 18 elements : : spring 2014 with a wild sucker-punch from behind…the play had shades of todd bertuzzi’s career-ending attack on steve moore.”136 there have also been “bertuzzi-like” attacks in the american hockey league, the top minor-league affiliate of the nhl. on january 11, 2005, edmonton roadrunners’ rocky “thompson chased down st. john’s’s david ling before delivering a blow to the head of the baby leaf forward during the third period of the leafs’ 3-0 victory.”137 maple leaf head coach doug shedden told reporters, “what rocky did is almost a bertuzzi-like incident, the way he hunted him down and hit him from behind…if you look at the tape it’s almost the same thing.”138 even attacks that happened before march 8, 2004 have been equated with bertuzzi’s. philadelphia inquirer reporter tim panaccio talked to then flyer donald brashear the day after bertuzzi’s apology because “brashear was a victim of bertuzzilike violence when he played in vancouver. in february 2000, former boston bruin marty mcsorley was charged with attacking brashear with his stick.”139 these are just four of many examples of violent on-ice attacks being explicitly compared to bertuzzi’s sucker punch. while birkland contends that focusing events provide a window of opportunity for legislative change, fishman argues that focusing events can often become rhetorical symbols.140 for example, fishman says that the shootings at columbine high school have become shorthand for school violence; it has crystallized into a rhetorical symbol that people use to describe and attempt to understand new events that are similar in nature.141 fishman’s vision of focusing events becoming rhetorical symbols fits what happened in the bertuzzi incident, as has been seen. it is true that “bertuzzi’s attack on moore…is one of a kind. it may be the most vicious attack in the history of team sports.”142 wyshynski is right that “if you compare what todd bertuzzi did to steve moore to any…melee you’re describing, there’s no going back. you’ve elevated it to the ultimate standard for reckless, intentional violence in the rink.” this is exactly why the bertuzzi incident persists as a particularly salient rhetorical symbol; it was so egregiously violent and the clip of him “sucker-punching moore from behind, the most cowardly of deeds, then driving his head into the ice like a pro wrestler” was played on so many different platforms and criticized by so many different people.143 bertuzzi’s attack has become the benchmark by which all new cases of extreme on-ice violence are measured because it is the symbol for on-ice violence and, in many respects, can be considered the nhl’s darkest hour. after the incident, “bertuzzi rapidly went from a pre-lockout all-star to a risky vagabond.”144 although he is a former all-star and did revive his career with the red wings, the defining moment of his career is still his sucker punch of moore. as has been seen, bertuzzi’s apologies fit the frameworks provided by benoit, kruse, and others. yet, they did little to restore his reputation because the incident was a focusing event that called into question the nhl’s culture and its ability to police its players to prevent serious injury. now unable to apologize because of the ongoing civil suit, his name is constantly brought up in association with on-ice violence because the incident becomes a rhetorical symbol for this controversial side of the sport. thus, in bertuzzi’s case, saying that he was sorry was never going to be enough. endnotes 1. cbc sports, 2004b 2. ibid. 3. ibid. 4. ibid. 5. ibid. 6. espn, 2004a 7. frei (270) 8. espn, 2004a 9. cbc sports, 2004b 10. espn, 2004d 11. westhead 12. espn, 2004a 13. ibid. 14. westhead 15. farber 16. westhead 17. gee & potwarka 18. benoit, 1997a (178) 19. benoit, 1997a 20. ibid. 21. benoit, 1997b (254) 22. benoit, 1997a (181) 23. ibid. 24. benoit, 1997a 25. ibid. 26. benoit, 1997b (257) 27. as quoted in tyler (57) 28. kruse (280-281) 29. kruse (281) 30. kruse (278) 31. jerome (125) 32. brazeal (145) 19 sometimes, sorry is never enough 33. brazeal (149) 34. benoit, 1997b (265) 35. benoit, 1997b 36. espn, 2004b 37. ibid. 38. kagemusha168 39. benoit, 1997b 40. benoit, 1997a; espn, 2004a; westhead, 2004 41. espn, 2004b; cbc sports, 2004a; espn, 2004d; nbc sports, 2004 42. benoit, 1997b (264) 43. farber; cbc sports, 2004a 44. farber 45. cbs sports, 2001 46. adelson 47. ibid. 48. ibid. 49. nbc sports, 2004 50. el-bashir 51. ibid. 52. espn, 2004c 53. kelley 54. usa today, 2004a, espn, 2004e 55. espn, 2005a, usa today, 2004a 56. espn, 2005c 57. espn, 2005b 58. kruse (274) 59. espn, 2005c 60. ibid. 61. espn, 2005c; burnside 62. benoit, 1997a (179) 63. burnside 64. roarke; cbc sports, 2004a 65. espn, 2005c 66. ware & linkugel 67. espn, 2005c 68. espn, 2005a 69. burnside 70. ibid. 71. espn, 2005a 72. el-bashir 73. usa today, 2004a, usa today, 2004b 74. usa today, 2004b 75. shoalts, westhead 76. shoalts 77. westhead 78. cbc sports, 2008; shoalts 79. westhead 80. campigotto 81. maki 82. shoalts 83. westhead 84. ibid. 85. dowbiggin 86. tyler (57) 87. ibid. 88. tyler (52) 89. cole 90. tyler (52) 91. klein 92. st. james; klein 93. klein 94. st. james 95. birkland, 1998 (54) 96. ibid. 97. birkland, 1997 (29) 98. birkland, 1997 (29-30) 99. fishman, 1999 (367) 100. fishman, 1999 (369) 101. fishman, 1999 (367) 102. nbc news, 2004 103. ibid. 104. ibid. 105. taipei times 106. nbc sports, 2004 107. wyshynski 108. kelley 109. ibid. 110. birkland, 1998 (54) 111. jones & stewart (173) 112. ibid. 113. ibid. 114. espn page 2 115. jones & stewart (193) 116. jones & stewart (197) 117. jones & stewart (192) 118. gee & potwarka (24) 119. ibid. 120. jones & stewart (192) 121. westhead 122. cribb 123. ibid. 124. kruse (277) 125. ibid. 126. kruse (274) 127. cole 128. farber 129. espn page 2 130. wyshynski 131. anderson 20 elements : : spring 2014 132. munson 133. wyshynski 134. murray 135. szeglowski; cbc sports, 2004b 136. szeglowski 137. zeisberger 138. ibid. 139. panaccio 140. fishman, 2013 141. ibid. 142. munson 143. simmons 144. 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(2005c, august 15). bertuzzi: ‘i wish that day never happened.’ retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/ story?id=2134946 espn page 2. (2004, march 10). writer’s blog: what should hockey do about its violence problem? retrieved from http://sports.espn. go.com/espn/page2/story?page=bloc/040310 farber, m. (2004, march 22). code red. sports illustrated. retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/mag1031452/index.htm fishman, d.a. (1999). valujet flight 592: crisis communication theory blended and extended. communication quarterly, 47(4), 345-375. fishman, d.a. (2013, february 18). focusing event theory. address at boston college, chestnut hill, ma. frei, t. (2010). playing piano in a brothel: a sports journalist’s odyssey. lanham, md: taylor trade publishing. gee, c.j & potwarka, l. (2007). the impact of introducing legal punishment on the frequency of aggressive behaviour in professional ice hockey: using the todd bertuzzi incident as an ecological case study. athletic insight, 9(3), 15-30. jerome, a.m. (2008). toward prescription: testing the rhetoric of atonement’s applicability in the athletic arena. public relations review, 34, 124-134. jones, j.c.h. & stewart, k.g. (2002). hit somebody: hockey violence, economics, the law, and the twist and mcsorley decisions. seton hall journal of sport law, 12, 165-198. kagemusha168. (2009, february 2). todd bertuzzi’s press conference after the moore incident [video file]. retrieved from april 13, 2013 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xihnmi98il0 kelley, j. (2004, june 25). bertuzzi trial may change the game. espn. retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/ story?columnist=kelley_jim&id=1827456 klein, j.z. (2012, march 3). in bertuzzi’s last stop, hopes for a makeover. the new york times. retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/sports/hockey/todd-bertuzzi-hopes-formakeover-with-red-wings-in-careers-final-act.html?_r=1& kruse, n.w. (1981). apologia in team sport. the quarterly journal of speech, 67, 270-283. maki, a. (2011, march 7). seven years later, steve moore still haunted by hit. the globe and mail. retrieved from http://www. theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/seven-years-later-stevemoore-still-haunted-by-hit/article569787/ melrose, b. (2004, march 11). nhl sent the right message. espn. retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/ story?columnist=melrose_barry&id=1756696 munson, l. (2012, march 15). nfl cautionary tale: todd bertuzzi. espn. retrieved from http://m.espn.go.com/general/ story?storyid=7690101&wjb=&pg=1 murray, i. (2011, february 11). penguins islanders brawl bertuzzi-esque? puck watch. retrieved from http://www.puckwatch. com/2011/02/penguins-islanders-brawl-bertuzzi-esque.html nbc news. (2004, march 12). ‘countdown with keith olbermann’ for march 11. retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/ id/4515400/#.uxg8vuqjssp nbc sports. (2004, march 13). bertuzzi suspension fires debate about fighting. retrieved from http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/ id/4483528/ panaccio, t. (2004, march 11). brashear grasps motive behind hit the flyers winger called the attack on steve moore ‘ridiculous,’ but said he understood the intent. the philadelphia inquirer. retrieved from http://articles.philly.com/2004-03-11/ sports/25384554_1_vancouver-authorities-donald-brashear-bertuzzi-incident roarke, s. (2003, april 11). for canucks, the line is fine. nhl.com. 22 elements : : spring 2014 sports/hockey-police-are-investigating-hit-by-bertuzzi-on-avalanche-player.html westhead, r. (2013, january 14). bertuzzi-moore court documents shed light on ex-nhl player’s struggles. toronto star. retrieved march 21, 2013 from http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/01/14/bertuzzimoore_court_documents_shed_light_ on_exnhl_players_struggles.html wyshynski, w. (2011, march 8). seven years later, how bertuzzi’s assault changed hockey’s tone. yahoo sports. retrieved march 21, 2013 from http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/ seven-years-later-how-bertuzzi-s-assault-change?urn=nhl-331447 zeisberger, m. (2005, january 12). coach calls hit ‘bertuzzi-like’: ahl looking at thompson punch on leafs’ ling. slam hockey. retrieved from http://slam.canoe.ca/slam/hockey/ ahl/2005/01/12/pf-895990.html retrieved from http://www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/indepth/bertuzzi/line.html shoalts, d. (2012, january 5). todd bertuzzi drops third-party lawsuit against marc crawford. the globe and mail. retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/todd-bertuzzidrops-third-party-lawsuit-against-marc-crawford/article4085431/ simmons, b. (2004, march 19). we couldn’t help but watch. espn page 2. retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/ page2/story?page=simmons/040319 st. james, h. (2012, february 20). fearsome todd bertuzzi revives career as defence-minded red wing. the toronto star. retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2012/02/20/ fearsome_todd_bertuzzi_revives_career_as_defenceminded_ red_wing.html szeglowski, p. (2006, december 21). dangerous but different: nichol’s attack draws comparisons to bertuzzi incident. let’s go sabres. retrieved from http://letsgosabres.outlastmedia.net/ pressbox/fullstory.php?newsid=10111 taipei times. (2004, december 24). bertuzzi plea-bargains to avoid possible jail sentence. retrieved from http://www.taipeitimes.com/news/sport/archives/2004/12/24/2003216615 tyler, l. (1997). liability means never being able to say you’re sorry. management communication quarterly, 11(1), 51-73. usa today. (2004a, december 21). bertuzzi gets probation for hit on moore. retrieved april from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/ sports/hockey/nhl/canucks/2004-12-21-bertuzzi-plea_x.htm usa today. (2004b, december 23). moore still feeling impact of bertuzzi ambush. retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday. com/sports/hockey/nhl/2004-12-23-moore-bertuzzi_x.htm walsh, j. & mcallister-spooner, s.m. (2011). analysis of the image repair discourse in the michael phelps controversy. public relations review, 37, 157-162. ware, b.l. & linkugel, w.a. (1973). they spoke in defense of themselves: on the generic criticism of apologia. quarterly journal of speech, 59, 273-283. westhead, r. (2004, march 10). hockey; police are investigating hit by bertuzzi on avalanche player. the new york times. retrieved march 21, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/ 23 sometimes, sorry is never enough throughout j.m. coetzee’s novel disgrace, protagonist david lurie encounters failure in his relationships, in his occupation, and in his artistic endeavor to produce a libretto. this article employs both agembenian and psychoanalytic theory to interpret david’s state of disgrace as the result of his inability to repress his animal drives. david’s failure to repress deviates from the paradigm established by what giorio agamben calls “the anthropological machine of the moderns,” and subsequently neglects the popular notion that humanity is predicated upon an absence of animality. as will be discussed, it is through david’s acceptance of his disgrace, that is, his inherent and inextinguishable animality, that he removes himself from anthropological humanity and lives a life representative of agamben’s egalitarian concept of the open. the anthropological machine the persistence of animal drives in j.m. coetzee’s disgrace alexander trimes toward the conclusion of j.m. coetzee’s disgrace, david lurie apologizes for the grief his affair with melanie caused mr. isaacs’ family, attributing the relationship’s failure to his own “lack [of ] the lyrical.”1 in context, david’s failure to supply the “lyrical” refers to his lack of passion during sex as well as his “cold, surly” temperament toward his lovers after the act.2 in the larger scope of the novel, it also alludes to his inability to write the byron libretto. david’s incapacity for both romance and cultural achievement results from his frequent capitulation to animal drives. as sigmund freud asserts in beyond the pleasure principle, human life and development is distinguished from that of animals due to the “untiring urge toward perfection [that] can be easily understood as a consequence of the repression of the drives; it is on this repression that the most valuable achievements of human culture are founded.”3 that david lurie does not adhere to the concept of human repression, but instead acts as a “servant of eros,”4 like an animal obeying its drives, prevents him from “mastering and […] destroying his animality.”5 as a result, david is incapable of defining himself as man over animal in accordance with the anthropological machine of the moderns discussed in giorgio agamben’s the open, and contrarily begins to advocate in favor of animality. it is through his increasing identification with the shelter dogs, and the subsequent disintegration of the barrier between human and animal, that david lurie surmounts the anthropological machine and enters agamben’s open. david initially encounters the anthropological machine at the university committee hearing. though david “plead[s] guilty”6 to melanie’s charges against him, whatever they may be, the committee requires “an admission that [he was] wrong.”7 such a stipulation obliges david to condemn his adherence to eros and therefore his own inherent animality. the committee, a political fixture in the realm of cape technical university, is in this sense congruous to the anthropological machine, which “isolat[es] the nonhuman within the human”8 and demands that humanity assume “total management” of its internal “animality.”9 david’s defiance of the committee’s orders, which simultaneously serves as his refusal to perpetuate the law of the anthropological machine, foreshadows his eventual triumph over the machine and entrance into the open. the concept of the anthropological machine is challenged yet again when david relates the golden retriever anecdote to lucy. after explaining that the dog’s owners beat it “with pavlovian regularity” in an attempt to curtail its “desire,” david concludes that “no animal will accept the justice of being punished for following its instincts.”10 he then posits that an animal “might have preferred being shot” over being castrated, as the latter forces it to live on in denial of “its nature.”11 david employs the anecdote in order to convey to lucy his conviction in “the rights of desire.”12 he contends that the committee’s censuring his own natural “impulse”13 is no more right than the dog’s owners punishing the retriever for its excitement at “the smell of a bitch.”14 he identifies with the dog insofar as they are both penalized for pursuing their drives, and their “rights to desire” are undermined by their respective authorities.15 additionally, in accordance with his supposition, david chooses “being shot”—that is, losing his position at the university and ruining his reputation—instead of being castrated, or renouncing eros.16 david’s identification with the golden retriever opposes the anthropological machine, which declares “man is the being which recognizes himself as such,”17 that man “must recognize himself in nonman in order to be human.”18 although david recognizes a wall mural of italian philosopher georgia agamben, whose theory of the anthropological machine informs a reading of coetzee’s novel disgrace (photo by thierry ehrmann) 26 elements : : spring 2014 himself in the golden retriever, non-man, there is no evidence suggesting he subsequently recognizes himself as human. on the contrary, he defends instinct as well as animality and sympathizes with the dogs who, like he himself, “suffer […] most of all from their own fertility.”19 though the dogs and david are both plagued by “the problem of sex,” it afflicts them in different ways.20 as bev shaw suggests, the dogs “don’t think it’s a bad thing to have lots of offspring” and reproduce continuously, leaving “too many of them” to properly care for.21 like the golden retriever, the wild dogs are simply adhering to their nature, yet without the intervention of owners. david’s treatment of sex as a “problem”22 that must be solved and the comparison of his sexual temperament to that of a snake—“intense,” but never “passionate,” “absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry, even at its hottest”—indicates that he is subject to the same animal nature.23 he does not seek romance, only the fulfillment of his drives. when he fails to repress these drives and has sex with melaine, his student, he fails to manage his animality and neglects the “certain sacrifices” required by “academic life.”24 succumbing to his sexual drives results in david being “asked to resign”25 from the university and thus, as his uninhibited animality becomes publicized, his “disgrace.”26 despite the fact that david’s disgrace and the overproduction that threatens the dogs are very distinct issues, they both originate from the pursuit of sexual impulses, and they both terminate at the animal clinic. the stray dogs are collected at the clinic, “a mob of scrawny mongrels filling two pens to bursting point,” and david is able to find work there “doctoring dogs”27 alongside bev shaw, what he calls “playing right-hand man to a woman who specializes in sterilization and euthanasia.”28 in reality, david’s description of bev is partially inaccurate, as it is actually dr. oosthuizen who neuters the animals. by working alongside bev and euthanizing the dogs “that no one wants,”29 david is providing them with death over castration; he is preserving their nature and abiding by his notion of “the rights of desire.”30 at the clinic, david begins to identify with the animals on a level deeper than their mutual compliance with drives. he comprehends the meaning of lucy’s statement that “the only life there is” is the one “which we share with the animals”31 and eventually transitions into the open, where “animal life and logos […] are separated forever” in order to “liberate their own truer nature.”32 the beginning of david’s transition is perhaps best observed when the narrator acknowledges the recent developments in david’s character: curious that a man as selfish as he should be offering himself to the service of dead dogs. there must be other, more productive ways of giving oneself to the world, or to an idea of the world. one could for instance work longer hours at the clinic. one could try to persuade the children at the dump not to fill their bodies with poisons. even sitting down more purposefully with the byron libretto might, at a pinch, be construed as a service to mankind. but there are other people to do these things—the animal welfare thing, the social rehabilitation thing, even the byron thing. he saves the honor of corpses because there is no one else stupid enough to do it. that is what he is becoming: stupid, daft, wrongheaded.33 the passage occurs immediately after david acknowledges his role as “dog-man.”34 he has made it his primary responsibility to “take care of [the dogs] once they are unable, utterly unable, to take care of themselves”; once they are dead.35 david accepts this duty despite his own belief that preserving dog corpses bound for the incinerator is illogical, “stupid,” as it does not actually benefit anyone.36 david’s awareness of his irrationality is significant because it starkly contrasts his previous position among the university’s “rationalized personnel,” or those members of faculty forced to teach more practical courses after the institution underwent a period of “great rationalization.”37 his shift from rational to irrational resembles that of the “figure” who has departed from logos and entered the open; as “he saves the honor of corpses because there is no one else stupid enough to do it. that is what he is becoming: stupid, daft, wrongheaded.” 27 surmounting the anthropological machine agamben explains, the figure “is no longer human, because it has perfectly forgotten every rational element, every project for mastering its animal life.”38 though david has “perfectly forgotten” neither his rationality nor how to manage his animality, he willingly undermines rational thought and does not concern himself with the repression of his drives.39 by relinquishing these typically human traits, in addition to admitting that writing the libretto, his attempt at the “superhuman” concept of “art,” was never his responsibility, david returns to “animal praxis.”40 although david has begun his return to animal praxis, he has not yet overcome the anthropological machine. he acknowledges that his duty lies with “sav[ing] the honor of corpses” rather than preventing human children from poisoning themselves, but refuses to classify his actions toward animals as loving, only “wrongheaded.”41 david does not fully accept the significance of his involvement with the animals at the clinic and does not cease to distinguish himself from the animals until he apologizes to mr. isaacs. after the apology, david interprets his move back to cape town as a “betrayal” of the dead dogs, which without him “will be tossed into the fire unmarked, unmourned,”42 indicating that he now discerns the meaning of his “daft” dedication to the animals.43 additionally, when ryan, melanie’s boyfriend, tells david to “stay with [his] own kind,” likely referring to people david’s age, david moves back to the country and resumes his work at the clinic more devotedly than ever before.44 though david’s return to the eastern cape is prompted by lucy’s obscure behavior, it is not insignificant that, after this encounter with ryan, he begins to dedicate the majority of his time to the animals. it is because david admits that he “lack[s] the lyrical” that he is able to enter the open after apologizing to mr. isaacs.45 his lack of the lyrical, displayed not only in his affair with melanie, but also in his inability to compose the byron libretto, is a direct result of his failure to repress his animal drives. in accordance with freud’s theory, without repression, david is unable to adopt the “restriction upon sexual life” that would bind him to a single partner, and is also unable to accomplish cultural achievement.46 in this sense, a lack of the lyrical is analogous to a lack of repression of the drives; the lyrical thus represents humanity in terms of the anthropological machine, which dictates that humans must manage their animality in order to declare themselves as human. during the conversation, it is made evident that david is not only aware of his lack of humanity, but also accepts it, as he explains that he has embraced the disgrace it has caused: i am sunk into a state of disgrace from which it will not be easy to lift myself. it is not a punishment i have refused. i do not murmur against it. on the contrary, i am living it out from day to day, trying to accept disgrace as my state of being. is it enough for god, do you think, that i live in disgrace without term?47 though david does not accept that it is just to be punished for pursuing one’s instincts, as conveyed by the golden retriever anecdote, he tries to accept the “punishment” itself; he does not “murmur against it,” but understands that he now “live[s] in disgrace without term.” his willingness to serve his indefinite punishment indicates that he accepts what it is he is being punished for, that is, his lack of anthropological humanity. psychoanalysis avers that accepting one’s lack “is in fact a matter of taking the route toward one’s real desires, and not merely submitting to the other.”49 in david’s particular case, the other can be identified as the university committee, or rather, much more broadly, humanity as defined by the anthropological machine. prior to admitting his own lack of humanity, david aspired to “return triumphant to society as the author of an eccentric little chamber opera”; he planned to satisfy the committee’s demand that he repress his animality, and thus exhume himself from disgrace, through cultural achievement.50 upon accepting his lack and his existence in a state of disgrace, david is able to more fully commit himself to the animals at the clinic, unhindered by humanity’s conjectures of more appropriate, “productive ways of giving oneself to the world.”51 david’s bolstered dedication to the animals can be observed through the ways in which his life on the eastern “david has become a creature, a ‘dog-man:’ he is no longer suspended between ‘man and animal,’ but is simultaneously both man and animal.” 28 elements : : spring 2014 cape differs before and after he accepts his animality. while he lives with lucy when he initially is “expelled”52 from the university, upon his second stay in the country he “hires a room in a house”53 because he can no longer tolerate “the people she lives among.”54 more significantly, he spends less time interacting with humans and more time with the dogs, as “the clinic, more than the boardinghouse, becomes his home.”55 he “feeds the animals” and “occasionally talks”56 to them, even developing “a particular fondness” for one of the dogs.57 david’s concern for the animals after he accepts his lack severely contrasts with his previously negative sentiments toward them, as suggested by his prior opinion of “animal-welfare people,” whose “cheerful and well-intentioned” demeanors made him want to “kick a cat.”58 he was once “repelled” by the odor of “dog mange” and thought little of those who care for animals, but he now commits himself to them almost entirely.59 furthermore, david has altered his attitude toward his and bev’s “sessions of lösung,” or bev’s solution to the problem of sex that plagues the animals.60 though david once interpreted bev as “part of the repressive apparatus”61 that condemned his pursuit of eros, he has since discerned that by working alongside her and euthanizing the animals whose “term has come,” he is in fact liberating them from a world that condemns animality as disgraceful. he has now learned what bev meant when she said that, while putting down the animals, she “mind[s] deeply”63; when david administers the “lethal,” he too must mind deeply and provide the animal with the affection and consideration it deserves.64 he must “concentrate all his attention on the animal they are killing, giving it what he no longer has difficulty in calling by its proper name: love.”65 at the conclusion of coetzee’s disgrace, david’s disgrace no longer represents his lack of the lyrical, his lack of humanity in the terms of the anthropological machine, but has rather become his existence. his immersion in the dog’s “egalitarian”66 order, which elevates neither animality nor humanity, renders his lack negligible and eliminates from his being all predication upon “negativity.”67 though he once lived as neither human nor animal in a society that defines man based upon his ability to fulfill the definition provided by the anthropological machine, the “ironic apparatus that verifies the absence of a nature proper to homo, holding him suspended between a celestial and terrestrial nature,” he has since transcended this rigid existence and has emerged in agamben’s open. david has become a creature, a “dog-man”68: he is no longer suspended between “man and animal,” but is simultaneously both man and animal.69 endnotes 1. j.m. coetzee, disgrace (new york: penguin, 2000), 171. 2. coetzee, 171-2 3. sigmund freud, beyond the pleasure principle, ed. todd dufrense, trans. gregory c. richter (peterborough, ont.: broadview editions, 2011), 80. 4. coetzee, 52. 5. giorgio agamben, the open. trans. kevin attell (stanford: stanford up, 2004), 12. 6. coetzee, 48. 7. ibid.,52. 8. agamben, 37. 9. ibid., 77. 10. coetzee, 90. 11. ibid. 12. ibid., 89. the protagonist of disgrace is unsuccessful in his attempt to write the byronian libretto, a failure he attributes to his “lack of the lyrical.” (photo courtesy of wikimedia) 29 surmounting the anthropological machine 13. ibid., 52. 14. ibid., 90. 15. ibid., 89. 16. ibid., 90. 17. agamben, 26. 18. agamben, 27. 19. coetzee, 142. 20. ibid., 1. 21. ibid., 85. 22. ibid., 1. 23. ibid., 2-3. 24. ibid., 52. 25. ibid., 63. 26. ibid., 85. 27. ibid., 84. 28. ibid., 91. 29. ibid., 85. 30. ibid., 89. 31. ibid., 74. 32. agamben, 90. 33. coetzee, 146. 34. ibid. 35. ibid. 36. ibid. 37. ibid., 3. 38. agamben, 90. 39. ibid. 40. ibid., 6. 41. cotezee, 146. 42. ibid., 178. 43. ibid., 146. 44. ibid., 194. 45. ibid., 171. 46. freud., 90. 47. coetzee, 172. 48. ibid. 49. gohar homayounpour, doing psychoanalysis in tehran (cambridge, ma: mit, 2012) 23. 50. coetzee, 214. 51. ibid., 146. 52. ibid., 90. 53. ibid., 211. 54. ibid., 209. 55. ibid., 211. 56. ibid. 57. ibid., 215. 58. ibid., 73. 59. ibid., 72. 60. ibid., 218. 61. ibid., 91. 62. ibid., 218. 63. ibid., 85. 64. ibid., 83. 65. ibid., 219. 66. ibid., 85. 67. agamben, 87. 68. coetzee, 146. 69. agamben, 29. references agamben, giorgio. the open. trans. kevin attell. stanford: stanford up, 2004. print. coetzee, j. m. disgrace. new york: penguin, 2000. print. freud, sigmund. beyond the pleasure principle. ed. todd dufresne. trans. gregory c. richter. peterborough, ont.: broadview editions, 2011. print. freud, sigmund. civilization and its discontents. ed. james strachey. new york: w.w. norton &, 2010. print. homayounpour, gohar. doing psychoanalysis in tehran. cambridge, ma: mit, 2012. print. 30 elements : : spring 2014 climate change is one of the foremost issues in twenty-first century politics. normally, the effects of climate change tend to be abstract or long term consequences, which do not translate well to the short term priorities of many groups. however, relating climate change to increased scarcity of resources, and thus increased conflict, reveals its clear and present danger is the immediate loss of human life. unfortunately, as industrialized countries continually produce greenhouse emissions, it is very often undeveloped countries that suffer the most because of reduced resource availability and multinational exploitation from lack of regulation. by adopting a public trust doctrine via a u.n. charter, the effects of climate change and the ensuing violence may be curbed. consequences of climate change rising violence and environmental degradation michael martina on april 17, 2007, an unprecedented argument took place at the united nations security council on climate change and security; the majority of the council members agreed that climate change presented a serious threat to international security.1 by 2005, the u.s. department of defense identified environmental instability as a fundamental strategic concern because evidence suggested that environmental stress is an important contributor to contemporary conflicts.2 the many facets of environmental degradation are foreseeably the most prevalent social, political, cultural, and ideological problems facing the twenty-first century. environmental issues are intertwined with countless aspects of global systems, institutions, and processes. i believe that of these relationships, the nexus between environmental degradation and large-scale violence is one of the most important to address. focusing on environmental degradation’s role in global violence, rather than on disclosing the consequences of climate change in relation to areas that are not directly affected by humans, demonstrates the ramifications of climate change to life by presenting them in terms that everyone can relate to: direct loss of human life. climate change and other environmental issues are intrinsically problematic; however, they have and will continue to have one of the largest impacts on human life through their connection to violence and wars. there exists a complex relationship between global violence and environmental degradation. additionally, both u.s. domestic law and international law play into this relationship and the viable paths that law can take in order to deter environmentally-related violence from occurring. not only does that violence cause environmental degradation, but also, perhaps more importantly, that environmental degradation generates violence. there are a vast number of factors and intricate relationships that affect this. however, the message remains: global peace will not occur without environmental sustainability. it is necessary to examine the causes of war from a historical and ideological perspective in order to see how environmental problems can create the necessary situational factors for war to erupt. the roots of all war and violence do not lie in economic issues, however, it is important to focus on the economic causes of war because it is within this cause (as opposed to national desire for power, ethnocentricity, mob patriotism, etc.) that environmental change plays the largest role. although it is nearly impossible to isolate one aspect of conflict from all other political, social, and cultural aspects, this article aims to view the ways in which environmental degradation interacts with these other elements in order to instigate and accelerate violence. furthermore, environmental degradation often acts as a catalyst to pre-existing forms of violence, making them much more brutal and wide-spread. stripped of all modern political and social institutions, an examination of the ik people of uganda reveals that humans are centrally motivated by self-preservation. when economic influences restrict one’s capability to receive essential resources, people are stripped of morality and are especially inclined toward violent behavior. the ik peacefully lived in the karamoja region of northeast uganda for centuries. they practiced rich cultural activities and were completely independent, relying on subsistence farming for nourishment. however, in 1958, the creation of the kidepo valley national park by the colonial british government shattered the societal structure of the ik people. the establishment of these hunting grounds forced the ik to leave their fertile fields and settle in the less arid mountainous region of uganda near the kenyan border. this radical transition caused the ik to suffer from widespread famine. because they could no longer rely on subsistence farming in order to feed themselves, the cultural backbone of ik society was broken, turning the ik community into “a conglomeration of individuals of all ages, each going his own way in search of food and water, like a plague of locusts spread over the land.”3 the ik turned from a peaceful tribe to a people dramatically inclined towards violence. first-hand accounts by colin turnbull reveal the atrocities committed by the starving ik population. he described accounts of parents deliberately allowing their children to die when food sources ran scarce in order to save enough food for their own survival. he offered stories of family members brutally killing each other without remorse in order to salvage small scraps of food. the ik became “the loveless people” whose lives simply do not have room “for such luxuries such as family and sentiment…nor any morality beyond filling one’s own stomach”.4 on the most basic scale, the horrific transformation of ik society demonstrates the role that economic hardship can play in creating violent behavior. when the ik were stripped of their economic system of subsistence farming, they were forced to abandon all love and morality in order to protect themselves from starvation. even though the ik are an extreme example, their examination effectively demonstrates the power that economic hardships have in causing violent behavior on the most basic level. when resources become scarce or unobtainable, violent behavior often follows. the dissection of many theories of the causes of war fur32 elements : : spring 2014 ther discloses the strong connection between economic forces and large-scale violence. both the marxist and leninist theories of imperialism show how capitalist markets can encourage the eruption of war. while the historical context of these arguments must be taken into account, their theories still offer seemingly legitimate causes of war with many historical examples to further justify their claims. both of these theories are based on an underlying form of the “underconsumption theory of the trade cycle” where it was argued that “because there was chronic tendency for the working classes to have too little to spend [in capitalist markets], there developed a struggle for international markets which tended from time to time to culminate in war.”5 this essentially involves a wage paradox in which the workers are paid too little to purchase the goods that they make. lenin furthers this ideology by offering five features of capitalist development that he argues will inevitably lead to “clashes of interest and war.”6 the features include: the concentration of production and capital into monopoly-like industries, the merging of bank capital and industrial capital on the basis of finance capital, the export of capital instead of commodities, the formation of international capitalist monopolies, and the territorial division of the world amongst the greatest capitalist powers.7 as we look at the historical examples where these conditions are met, it is undeniable that investment interest has played a leading role in imperialist expansion and subsequent war. in the second boer war in 1899, “it does not seem possible to deny that it was the investments on the witwatersrand and the pressure form their owners which played the leading role” in fueling the violence.8 one of the central raids in the war, the jameson raid, was planned by rand capitalists aiming to protect their investments over the newly discovered gold on the witwatersrand. additionally, all subsequent negotiations “were concerned with the position and interests of foreign investments and investors.”9 the conflicts and wars in samoa by the germans, in haiti and guatemala by the americans, and in venezuela by the british and germans are all cases in which the leading motivation behind war is the protection or expansion of foreign investments by imperialist powers. in regard to the russo-japanese war of 1904, “the root cause of this conflict was the desire of the russian government to safeguard the interests in certain yalu timber estates of a group of investors in close touch with the russian court.”10 additionally, the opium wars in china demonstrate the vast violent measures that imperialist powers will take to protect their foreign investments. the british used the full force of their navy, then the most powerful navy in the world, in order to ensure that the chinese government did not interrupt the selling of tens of thousands of chests of opium into china, despite the detrimental effects that the drug had on chinese society and productivity.11 throughout history, there are countless examples in which imperialist powers, fueled by capitalism, wage war in order to protect or expand foreign investments. noam chomsky offers a unique perspective on the cause of violence and war in his deeply skeptical criticism of american foreign policy. chomsky attributes much of american militaristic intervention to be centrally motivated by neoconservative economic interests in the name of moral protection and humanitarian efforts. he embodies many anti-american sentiments across the globe by arguing that the true reasoning behind american military intervention is to protect u.s. corporations’ economic interests abroad, even though political leaders claim they are intervening for moral reasons. one example chomsky commonly uses to demonstrate this immoral use of neoconservative morality is the fact that america has a history of overthrowing democracies and instilling oppressive, american-sponsored dictators in their place. the irony of this situation is that the american government commonly uses the manifest destiny ideology of spreading democracy to justify military intervention abroad.12 in 1953, the democratically-elected guatemalan president jacobo arbenz nationalized some uncultivated land of the american firm united fruit. subsequently, a cia-organized coup overthrew arbenz, forcing him into exile and initiating “40 years of military-government death squads, torture, disappearances, mass executions and unimaginable cruelty.”13 “‘violence serves not only as a convenient and economical instrument to transform society, but also as an excellent communicative vehicle with which to make symbolic statements.’” 33 consequences of climate change the u.s. sponsored dictator castillo armas came to power after arbenz, instilling “indisputably one of the most inhumane chapters of the 20th century” all in the name of protecting western democracy from ‘communist imperialism.’14 similar situations in el salvador, cambodia, thailand, the congo, brazil and many other countries show that america’s history of foreign intervention warrants skepticism of the true motives behind political leaders as well as those behind the powerful members of the private sector. thus, chomsky suggests, america is creating so much tension amongst the global poor and the global rich that class warfare may be imminent. as the global rich push the poor closer and closer to the edge, they will begin to fight back before toppling over. chomsky also attributes much of american immoral foreign intervention to the protection of the global elite from the global poor. he argues that, throughout the period of u.s. hegemony, “there has been no hesitation to resort to force if the welfare of u.s. elites is threatened by…‘national regimes that are responsive to the popular demands for improvement in the low living standards of the masses.’”15 american political leaders place so much emphasis on remaining the hegemonic power that they are ready to deploy harsh militaristic punishment to any country that shows resistance to american will. chomsky believes that there is such a drastic inequality of wealth and resource use that the united states must keep the global poor submissive through fear of the formidable u.s. military. although this theory is not the subject of this article, it offers a unique perspective on a mere possibility of class warfare being heightened by environmental degradation. most of the environmental degradation that is occurring today is carried out by powerful, economically-motivated institutions at the cost of the lives and comfort of the global poor. the region of the world that is predicted to suffer the most from global climate change is africa.”16 in addition to being unprepared to adapt to climate change due to its unstable governments, africa is also expected to experience the worst effects of climate change. yoweri museveni, the president of uganda, declared at an african union summit in 2007 that climate change was an “act of aggression” by the developed world against the developing world. that same year the namibian representative to the united nations, kaire mbuende, claimed that “the developed countries’ emissions of greenhouses [is] tantamount to ‘low intensity biological or chemical warfare.’”17 this is eerily ironic in that the average african produces less than a twentieth of the emissions of the average american.18 the ik people are a classic case study of resource scarcity resulting in violence. (photo courtesy of wikimedia) 34 elements : : spring 2014 the same capitalist motivations that encourage imperialistic expansion and globalization are deeply intertwined with the environmental degradation that is sweeping across the world. the short term economic frame of discourse that dominates western market systems goes hand in hand with the short term focus that causes environmental issues and climate change. the same economic incentives that encourage corporations to exploit resources abroad also encourage these same corporations to operate with highly-efficient, low-cost procedures that render great profits. the leaders of these corporations are not sinister antagonists that aim to destroy the ecosystems of the world. rather, the corporations that will not sacrifice environmental harm for profit will be weeded out in the market. sustainable businesses are much less likely to be able to compete with corporations that exploit the earth’s resources because the sustainable businesses will have to pay more in order to carry out their environmentally-responsible tasks. this will drive up the price of the good or service they are operating, thus putting them at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the market. in order to solve climate change and the violence that it causes and catalyzes, peacekeepers cannot overlook the importance of the underlying economic incentives. as the historical aspects of the relationship between environmental change and violence are examined, it is first helpful to observe how war and violence affect the natural environment. in southern sudan, african tribal groups and arab militia forces backed by the sudanese government are engaged in a civil war. the massive civil war between the insurgency and the government has largely destroyed southern sudan. this conflict has undermined hope of economic recovery by destroying infrastructure and agricultural areas. conflict has been shown to deplete human and natural resources, undermine critical communication networks, and weaken government institutions needed for economic development and innovation.19 more interesting, however, is the evidence that environmental degradation causes violence, not the other way around. in some instances, a simple rise in temperature has been correlated with a rise in conflict. the summer of 2012 in chicago, illinois was one of the bloodiest times in chicago’s recent history. many experts and locals have attributed a portion of the increase in killings to the unusually warm summer. when interviewed, residents of chicago’s south side describe the increased homicide rate as a result of growing agitation and an increase in time spent outdoors due to the record-breaking heat. in sub-saharan africa between 1982 and 2001, a study by the proceedings of the national academy of sciences examined databases of temperatures and instances of civil conflict that left at least 1,000 people dead. the study found an interesting correlation between instances of conflict and warmer temperature: conflict was about fifty percent more likely in unusually warm years. the role of environmental degradation in causing conflict is not an entirely new concept. for example, environmentally triggered conflict precipitated widespread warfare in ancient china and was a large factor in determining the collapse of the anasazi and akkadian civilizations.21 although climate change and its effects are usually studied within the post-industrial revolution context, examination of the mid-seventeenth century provides us with historical examples of the ways in which violence and climate change have been intertwined in the past. the middle of the seventeenth century featured abnormal and extreme weather patterns. in west africa, the semi-arid savannah south of the sahara desert experienced a prolonged drought from 1614 until 1619. a five-year drought almost caused the virginia colonies to fail. 1628, the “year without summer,” proved to be the wettest summer in europe in the past 500 years.22 india suffered a perfect drought in 1630 and 1631, which was followed by catastrophic floods in 1632 . the canadian rockies experienced severe and prolonged drought from 1641 until 1653, and virtually no rain fell in the valley of mexico in 1640. on the other side of the pacific, java, from 1643-1671, experienced the longest drought recorded during the past four centuries. drought caused the indonesian rice harvest to fail in 1641 and 1642. the grand canal dried up in 1640 due to lack of rain. in 1641, the nile river fell to the lowest level ever recorded. western europe experienced extremely cold winters and dangerously short summers. in the southern hemisphere, similar catastrophes were widespread. war and violence was widespread across the globe during this same exact time period. more wars took place in that era than in any other era in recorded history before world war ii22: “most of those who survived through the seventeenth-century crisis identified war rather than climate change as the principal cause of their misfortunes.”23 english burial records show that the armies that fought in the english county of berkshire in 1643 killed significantly more people than were killed by the plague epidemic of 1624-25.24 pitirim sorokin, a russian sociologist, created an index of war intensity that rose from 732 in the sixteenth century to 5,193 in the seventeenth century. the rate 35 consequences of climate change of increase was at least twice that of any other time period. additionally, the mid-seventeenth century “witnessed more civil wars than any previous or subsequent period.” people of the seventeenth century “believed that the wars of their day were not only more frequent but also more harmful to both people and property” than usual.25 the scarcity of resources relates the drastic climate change and the eruption of violence across the globe. as climate change produced more severe weather patterns, the natural systems of the biosphere were unable to cope with the changes effectively. up until the mid-seventeenth century, “the mean global temperature [showed] remarkable stability over the last six millennia.”26 however, the shift in global temperatures and the increased occurrence of extreme weather developed so rapidly—in geological terms—that ecosystems were unable to adapt fast enough. the earth’s intertwined ecosystems evolved over centuries to be specially suited to the stable climate and weather patterns of their habitats. thus, changes in precipitation and temperature caused ecosystems to collapse and induced massive agricultural failure. crops failed throughout the world, causing famine and desperation. during this period, the earth provided significantly fewer natural resources than were needed to sustain the human population. in particular, food shortages caused hunger to be the “heart of the crisis” of the seventeenth century.27 as we have seen with the ik, people are driven to extremes, often violent extremes, when they are barely holding on to the brink of survival. from a communal standpoint, war and violence can be seen as a rational strategy. the sentiment that “it was always better to die by the sword than to die of hunger” was felt by starving communities across the world.28 in addition to fueling “more rebellions and revolutions than any comparable period in world history,” the changes in climate and the hunger that followed were linked to the formation of “roving bandits.”29 desperate people would gather into violent throngs and use force to obtain whatever food and natural resources they could find. these infamous bandit groups struck so much fear in the hearts of traveling merchants that qing officials were forced to keep manuals on the locations and positioning of bandit groups in order to warn travelers. these officials noted that “those who did not die of famine will rise to become bandits.”30 from an anthropological perspective, david riches reasons why resource scarcity causes ordinary people to be driven to commit violent crimes against their neighbors. he suggests that “violence serves not only as a convenient and economical instrument to transform society, but also as an excellent communicative vehicle with which to make symbolic statements.”31 similar to many terrorist organizations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, people of the seventeenth century used violence and fear tactics to enact social and political change. hungry rioters kidnapped wealthier members of the community and would subsequently kill or torture them in public in order to incite fear into the other members of the community that had food and resources. furthermore, the increase in revolutions and political upheavals in the seventeenth century seemingly reinforces chomsky’s notion that climate change can cause class tension to grow, thus resulting in increased warfare. the correlation between climate change and its societal implications in the seventeenth, twentieth, and twentyfirst centuries is remarkable. the examination of the crises of the seventeenth century allows us to examine the consequences that climate change can have on human conditions and warns us of what can come if drastic measures are not taken to prevent climate change. even though the climate became drastically colder in the seventeenth century, whereas the climate is becoming warmer in the present, the environmental implications are very similar. because the earth’s ecosystems have evolved to be particularly adapted to their specific habitats and climates, any rapid and persisting change in temperature—whether an increase or decrease—can have dire consequences on the ecosystem’s functionality. despite the differing temperature fluctuations, the climate change of the seventeenth century and that of the present day both result in the vast scarcity of resources. the general path connecting scarcity of resources to violent conflict is as follows: resource scarcity inherently causes competition between various groups and individuals that use these resources. this competition may then grow to a state of conflict as the remaining resources are not able to sustain every group involved. if conflict-resolution institutions fail to resolve the smaller-scale outbreaks of violent competition, then large-scale violence may result. thus, the droughts, famines, and subsequent acts of violence that were seen around the globe in the seventeenth century are mirrored in many third world countries as global warming begins to gain more momentum. when the temperature stayed consistently low in the seventeenth century, extreme weather events were recorded all over the world. the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries have observed similar extreme weather. according to a white paper prepared for the european commis36 elements : : spring 2014 sion, “almost two-thirds of all loss events between 1980 and 2007 were directly attributable to weather and climate events (storms, floods and heat-waves) while a further quarter are attributable to wild fires, cold spells, landslides, and avalanches, which may also be linked to weather and climate.”32 the paper estimated that in 2009 “losses from weather events are growing at an annual 6 per cent, thus doubling every 12 years.”33 as seen in the seventeenth century, the global poor are more likely to live along coastal areas or mountainous regions, both of which are especially susceptible to drastic alterations during climate change. additionally, poorer demographics are generally observed in countries with less stable governments. for the most part, these third world governments are not able to cope as effectively with environmental degradation as the governments of developed countries. in addition, coastal and mountainous regions of the world tend to be “economically less performing,” thus in these areas “the cost to cover adaptation needs will be so huge that they exceed the capacity of public funding” by these weaker governments.34 for example, the 1999 drought in kenya caused damage equivalent to sixteen per cent of the gross domestic product of the entire country. in comparison, hurricane katrina in 2005 caused damage equivalent to one percent of the gross domestic product of the united states.35 because these effects are felt mainly by the poor, the poor look to the wealthier members of society in times of desperation because the rich are more likely to have resource security and have more access to foreign food. thus, tension grows between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ as resources become more and more scarce due to climate change. chomsky’s analysis on the growing class tension in the world could be drastically heightened as the effects of global warming are felt by greater numbers of the global poor. one of the central reasons behind the prediction that climate change and environmental degradation will cause large-scale violence to erupt is the sheer number of people whose lives centrally revolve around land use. about one half of the world’s population relies on direct use of the land for their economic well-being.36 projected climate change, desertification, drought, deforestation, and soil erosion will have major consequences in these areas. in many undeveloped or developing areas of the world, pressures to use renewable resources at an unsustainable rate further deplete existing resources. nearly two billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, and close to seventy-five percent of the world’s most impoverished inhabitants are subsistence farmers that are being forced to reside on smaller and plots of land.37 the expected manifestations of climate change will have a wide range of detrimental consequences for many regions across africa. an assessment by the intergovernmental panel on climate change described how, as climate change continues to gain stride, agricultural production is predicted to fall, especially in semi-arid areas, existing water shortages will be heightened, rates of ecosystem change are predicted to increase, the risks of inundation in low-lying settled areas is supposed to increase, and risks to human health from vector-borne diseases are likely to increase.38 generally speaking, africa is more dependent on climate sensitive sectors of the economy than other regions of the world. by 2050, sub-saharan africa is predicted to have up to ten percent less annual rainfall in its interior, where seventyfive percent of the agriculture is rain-fed.39 because climate change is predicted to increase rainfall variations and cause more violent weather patterns on both ends of the spectrum, existing water-related problems in africa are predicted to become more extreme. reduced overall rainfall on the western part of the continent will exacerbate current water stress. however, the reduced rainfall is predicted to fall more isolatedly and intensely, thus increasing the threat of flooding in these same areas. areas like the nile basin will certainly face challenges due to the fact that their water supplies are particularly sensitive to variations in rainfall.40 many low-lying coastal regions in africa are predicted to succumb to rising water levels, thus displacing regions that currently possess some of the highest population densities in the continent.41 these rising sea levels are predicted to take over low-lying industrial areas in egypt, the gambia, the gulf of guinea and senegal where the costs associated with this displacement is predicted to be equivalent to be between five to ten percent of the gross domestic products of the overall region.42 the resulting forced migration has been shown to cause outbreaks of violence.43 “the united states emitted 5,425 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2012, nearly five times as much as the entire continent of africa.” 37 consequences of climate change even though much of the violence caused by environmental degradation has yet to come, the world has already witnessed its first environmental wars. the roots of the darfur war and genocide lie in the scarcity of resources created by climate change. the darfur conflict “began as an ecological crisis” between the arabs and the native african tribal groups.44 in the darfur region of sudan, climate change has played a large role in instigating and accelerating armed conflict and genocide. since 2005, the janjaweed, an armed militia group of arab soldiers, have been systematically killing african tribal groups of darfur.45 peter takirambudde, the executive director of human rights watch’s africa division, declares that “it’s absurd to distinguish between the sudanese government forces and the militias—they are one.”46 however, when darfur insurgency forces gained momentum in khartoum, the government only heightened its ethnic cleansing and destruction of african tribal groups. this unimaginable persecution has roots in climate change and is accelerated by the continuing effects of climate change on the susceptible semiarid region. in the face of climate change, the most effective way to prevent violence across the globe is through collective security ideologies involving a strong united nations charter. because the problems of climate change are felt all over the world, they will require a world-wide solution, and thus all should contribute. although industrialized countries contribute the most to climate change, it is difficult for domestic policy alone to limit emissions. corporations can circumvent policies by moving to poorer nations in order to exploit resources with less regulation. thus world needs a binding u.n. charter to regulate and enforce climate change policies. furthermore, collective security efforts are needed in order to bring environmental justice to the global poor by connecting them, through international law, to the global rich that are causing the majority of the issues. strong, enforceable international law with a criminal court system should hold perpetrators accountable for exploiting resources. additionally, if violence breaks out, a strong u.n. organization should be able to prevent escalation more effectively by allowing the voices and the context of all parties involved to be heard and understood. the curthe un can hopefully implement effective policy to prevent further enviromental degradation. (photo courtesy of patrick gruban) 38 elements : : spring 2014 rent system is ineffective against battling climate change because the industrialized countries, which have the security council vetoes, are some of the biggest contributors to climate change. the united states emitted 5,425 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2012, nearly five times as much as the entire continent of africa (rogers). furthermore, many of the emissions in third world countries come from industrial processes carried out by american, western, and chinese corporations that have moved abroad in search of cheap labor. although industrialized countries are contributing proportionally more to climate change, they are least aware of it because they do not directly feel such imminent costs. in order to create a global awareness of the implications of climate change on human life, cultural boundaries between the global rich and the global poor must be eliminated. the rich must be connected to the poor in some manner in order to fabricate a human utility incentive for sustainability. collective security strategies can do this by politically uniting the global rich and the global poor. consequently, the u.n. must be restructured, revising the policy of the five permanent security council members. ideally, the u.n. should create a bi-cameral system. one of the organizations would have a system of gdp proportional representation, whereas the other organization would represent each country equally. this would give pre-industrial countries a much-needed voice. in addition, this system would allow international law to grow to reflect the needs of the poorer countries that are suffering the most from climate change. however, all countries must be able to be held accountable under this system in criminal court. under the current hegemonic-dominated u.n. charter, industrialized countries are often not held accountable in criminal court. under a criminal court system, countries would find real incentive to avoid breaking international law because they would face much more dire consequences. developed and developing countries could more effectively collaborate to find an economically feasible route toward sustainability. the most effective outlet to hold the industrial powers accountable for their contributions to climate change, assuming the establishment of strong un charter, is through the international implementation of the public trust doctrine (ptd). the idea of public trust goes back to the ancient roman empire, where emperor justinian declared that the air, the running water, the sea, and the seashore were all to remain common to mankind. this historical depth adds validity to the concept and gives it the necessary global application to be used on a worldwide basis. the core of the public trust doctrine aims at preserving the commons for the use by the public. in the tragedy of the commons, a shared resource is depleted because of individual use. each person, acting under short term self-interest, uses the commons for their benefit, thus externalizing the costs of their usage to the entire public. eventually, the commons, whether it is a park, the ocean, the air, the seashore, or the land beneath the seashore, will be depleted to the point where no one can use it. in the case of environmental law, the public trust doctrine can be used to protect the commons from exploitation. on a global scale, an international organization may stand as the trustee of public trust for the benefit of the global citizen. most cases in environmental law are constructed around the ultimate benefit to humanity. however, the public trust doctrine would greatly expand the range of what is considered to be ultimate human utility. the ptd goes beyond the traditional definition of harm by recognizing the ultimate value that ecological preservation and protection provide to humanity. in addition to its historical legitimacy and acceptance, this quality of the public trust doctrine makes it the perfect tool for helping to solve climate change and reverse environmental degradation. in order to use the ptd effectively on a global scale, all three settings of the doctrine—resource defense, alienation, and diversion—would have to be recognized. resource defense can be used to prevent the derogation of the environment in the first place, alienation can be utilized to protect the selling off of public lands to private institutions, and diversion can be exercised in order to protect public lands from more exploitive public or governmental uses. the public trust doctrine is a promising tool for solving environmental issue and the violence that ensues because most cases of environmental issues involve a use of commons and externalizing the costs of that use to the public. for example, when a large corporation emits an unsustainable amount of greenhouse gases, the atmosphere becomes slightly more toxic and the earth essentially warms up a tiny amount. the company thus exploits the use of the atmosphere at the cost of the global public who suffers from polluted air and a warmer climate. even though the effects of one company’s emissions are miniscule, the total impact of thousands of similar companies is significant and creates great harm for humanity as a whole. however, the ptd is limited in that it only protects what is legally determined to be the commons. therefore, in addition to the sea and the air, it would be necessary for the u.n. to create large-scale preservation areas across the globe that can be protected by international law. 39 consequences of climate change in order for the public trust doctrine to be effective, it must be made clear that all contributors to global warming will be held accountable. hopefully, global solidarity will be fostered in the fight against climate change and will provide the societal, cultural, and political pressures for the creation of such a strong statute. if both developing and developed countries are connected through the bicameral system of the u.n., then the necessity for such a powerful legal stand may arise. thus, the widespread use of the public trust doctrine can be used to stop environmental degradation and bring an end to environmentally-instigated conflict. the twenty-first century will suffer from the immense problem of environmental degradation that ominously looms ahead. because of the scarcity of resources that environmental degradation is creating, the manifestation of violence in environmentally related issues is already apparent. by way of a bicameral united nations force and the implementation of the public trust doctrine on a global scale, the global community may resolve environmental issues and the subsequent conflict that arises through them. endnotes 1. brown, hammill, mcleman 2. krakowka, heimel, galgano 3. derber 4. derber 5. robbins 6. robbins 7. robbins 8. robbins 9. robbins 10. robbins 11. robbins 12. derber-morality wars 56 13. blum 130 14. blum 131 15. chomsky 274 16. brown, hammil, mcleman 17. brown, hammil, mcleman 18. brown, hammil, mcleman 19. brown, hammil, mcleman 20. black 21. krakowa, heimel, galgano 22. parker 1 23. parker 24. parker 25. parker 26. parker 27. parker 55 28. paker 29. parker 30. parker 31. parker 32. parker 33. parker 34. parker 35. parker 36. krakowka, heimel, galgano 37. krakowka, heimel, galgano 38. brown, hammill, mcleman 39. brown, hammill, mcleman 40. brown, hammill, mcleman 41. brown, hammill, mcleman 42. brown, hammill, mcleman 43. reuveny 44. brown, hammill, mcleman 45. brown, hammill, mcleman 46. brown, hammill, mcleman references babwin, don. “chicago’s homicide rates slowing after violent summer spike.” the huffington post. http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2012/10/23/chicagos-homicide-rates-s_n_2007174.html (accessed may 3, 2013). black, richard. “climate ‘is a major cause’ of conflict in africa.” bbc news. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8375949. stm (accessed april 29, 2013). brown, oli, anne hammill, and robert mcleman. “climate change as the ‘new’ security threat: implications for africa.” wiley online library. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ j.1468-2346.2007.00678.x/full (accessed april 20, 2013). chomsky, noam. “human intelligence and the environment.” international socialist review. http://www.isreview.org/issues/76/ feat-chomsky.shtml (accessed april 15, 2013). derber, charles. morality wars. london: paradigm publishers, 2010. johansen, robert. “lessons for collective security.” world policy journal, , 561. parker, geoffrey. global crisis. new york: yale books, 2013. 40 elements : : spring 2014 reuveney, rafael. “climate change-induced migration and violent conflict.” sciencedirect. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ article/pii/s0962629807000601 (accessed may 1, 2013). robbins, lionel. the economic causes of war. new york: howard furtig, 1968. rogers, simon. “world carbon dioxide emissions data by country: china speeds ahead of the rest.” the guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/31/world-carbon-dioxideemissions-country-data-co2 (accessed may 1, 2013). 41 consequences of climate change suzanne collins’ young adult dystopic trilogy, the hunger games, soared to popularity following its september 2008 release. millennials’ response to collins’ grim depiction of the future as a struggle for survival defined by class conflict provides critical insights into this generation’s coming-of-age moment. this article examines the success of the hunger games within its political and economic context in order to understand young americans’ perceptions of their future. the odds in its favor the appeal of the hunger games to post-recession america marissa marandola in the late fall of 2008, the american youth watched as the stock market tumbled, homes foreclosured, and the future they had once envisioned for themselves became ever more elusive. during this time of mounting concern, suzanne collins’ novel the hunger games was released to critical and popular acclaim. why, at a time already saturated by dread, did american young adults turn to a story of poverty, oppression, and brutal violence? the story responded to their apprehensions and reflected the injustices they saw in the america of their present and future. the hunger games’ themes of social and economic inequality, class stratification, and the struggle to overcome oppression resonate with the fears and ambitions of young adults coming of age in an era of high unemployment, great uncertainty, and fierce competition. the popularity of the book is a testament to youth pessimism about the possibility of achieving the american dream. suzanne collins’ the hunger games tells the tale of a dystopian north american nation, panem. the country is composed of an all-powerful, totalitarian capitol surrounded by twelve districts that function as exploited colonies for the capitol. citizens of the districts live in abject poverty and are forced to labor in their district’s designated industry. seventy-five years earlier, the districts rebelled against the capitol, but were soundly defeated. as punishment for their uprising, the capitol instituted the annual hunger games, a sporting event in which each district sends two tributes, a boy and a girl, between the ages of twelve and eighteen to battle to the death in an arena. a lone tribute survives the ordeal and returns home as a victor, with great wealth and commendation. collins’s protagonist, katniss everdeen, lives in the impoverished district twelve and volunteers as a tribute to spare her younger sister from nearly certain death. upon its release in 2008, the hunger games quickly gained popularity among young adult readers. it remained on the new york times bestsellers list for more than two years.1 collins wrote two sequels to the initial novel, catching fire (2009) and mockingjay (2010), both of which built on the success of the hunger games. prior to the hunger games trilogy, the harry potter series was widely regarded as the standard against which success in young adult literature was measured. collins surpassed harry potter author jk rowling to become the author of amazon’s bestselling series in august 2012.2 she was the first young adult genre author, and only the sixth author overall, to be admitted to amazon’s “kindle million club”, indicating the sale of one million kindle books.3 a recent glance at the hunger games’ various facebook pages indicates that, to date, nearly 13 million have “liked” collins’s trilogy. such statistics demonstrate the cultural significance of the hunger games. young adult science fiction novels are a relatively old cultural phenomenon. before world war ii, young adult science fiction was an unknown genre, although early science fiction novels such as george orwell’s 1984 and aldous huxley’s brave new world were already popular.4 writers who had survived the war as children or adolescents rejected the romantic ideas surrounding youth and sought to break with the innocence and sentimentality of early 20-century youth fiction.5 beginning in the postwar era and especially during the 1960s, young adult science fiction emerged with an emphasis on the “violent, inhumane social and political worlds” in which the youth of the day would become adults.6 in keeping with this theme, the hunger games presents a world in which the rich minority imposes poverty on the many and forces them to sacrifice their children to a grotesquely violent reality television program, certainly a criticism of the economic structure and mass media of modern america. young adult dystopian societies typically feature the “absence of hunger, unemployment, and sickness”: the oppressive society imposes intellectual, not physical, mistreatment.7 in this way, the hunger games defies genre expectations. physical and material suffering as well as intellectual repression characterize panem. young adult science fiction is meant to raise concerns about societal flaws and their potential consequences and the “bitter inheritance” of the next generation.8 previous novels in the genre, such as lois lowry’s the giver, were written in times of material prosperity, when questions of sameness and the threat of communism dominated discussions of the future. similarly, the hunger games tackles the problems of its time: war, scarcity and competition for resources, and the growing chasm between the rich and poor. the hunger games is a young adult dystopian fiction suited to its audience. today’s young adults have only vague memories of a pre-9/11 america and have grown up in a nation at war.9 the violence featured in the hunger games is merely a reflection of features on the nightly news programs they have watched since childhood. furthermore, the hunger games was released on september 14, 2008, the day before lehman brothers collapsed, signaling the onset of the great recession. given its release date, it is apparent that suzanne collins did not write the book in response to the global financial panic; however, the coinci44 elements : : spring 2014 dence of its arrival with the beginning of an economic crisis certainly influenced public response. the hunger games is appropriate for an era of “financial upheaval and a bleak job market”.10 unlike its immediate predecessors in young adult fiction, the appeal of the hunger games lies in its darkness and the uncertainty of the protagonists’ success. its tone and “biting irony” suited the needs of a population confronted with the possibility of total economic decline.11 georgetown university’s campus newspaper, the hoya, commented that, where young adults once sought escapism and social activism in their literature, the grim reality of recession had shifted their interest towards the more applicable theme of survival.12 certainly, young adults’ fears of their reduced future prospects influenced the success of the hunger games upon its release. young adults coming of age in the late 2000s and early 2010s face a world in which the american dream known to their parents seems increasingly unattainable. previous generations have acquired a higher standard of living than their parents, characterized by suitable employment after college, home ownership, and some level of financial stability. a 2011 gallup poll shows that 55 percent of young people believe that they are “somewhat” or “very” unlikely to have a better life than their parents; by comparison, only 26 percent of young people expressed similar sentiments in 1999.23 american youth, to a large extent, no longer believe in the certainty of the american dream. the popularity of the hunger games echoes this shift from optimism to pessimism about the future and the reality of the american dream. collins’ opening scene features katniss, a sixteen-year-old from coal mining district twelve, illegally hunting in the woods in order to feed her family. she nears the fence marking the district’s boundary, ostensibly meant to protect the district but actually intended to prevent people like katniss from leaving. katniss comments, “district twelve. where you can starve to death in safety.”14 her sarcastic evaluation of a system apparently meant to help its people speaks to a generation of young adults who see the guarantees given to their parents’ generations falling away as they come of age. katniss’ experience of poverty speaks to “the anxiety caused by the biggest recession in generations” and the apprehension of the american dream failing to come true for the millennial generation, the young adults coming of age in the midst of the great recession.15 katniss was born into a world in which an “all-powerful ruling elite,” the capitol, exploits the weak and forces them into competition. millennials were born into the opulent world of the capitol, a world of “indulgence, superabundance, and optimism,” and then were abruptly thrown into a fiercely competitive world of uncertainty and scarcity, not unlike katniss’s district twelve.17 like katniss, the youth see that they will have to fight for their futures, which contain a real possibility of poverty or, at least, less material success than their parents. the central plot element of the hunger games is the event itself, the days katniss spends in the arena fighting for her life. readers follow as weak tributes perish and strong or clever tributes succeed. katniss eventually is crowned the co-victor of the hunger games because of her physical abilities, her survival skills, and her endurance. in this way, the hunger games is, quite simply, a “brutal, darwinian struggle” which some are better equipped to win.18 one college freshman and avid fan of the hunger games said that she equates this competition in the novel with the ferocity of professional sports or, in a symbolic way, to “the violence of capitalism when the economy isn’t doing well.”19 this is a clear indication that young people are seeing and responding to similarities between the opposition katniss faces in the novel and the societal forces they must confront as they enter adulthood. american youth believe that capitalism, a central precondition for the american dream, is an aggressive system in which they must “roll over [their] rivals or starve.”20 an oft-used slogan of capitol citizens towards district tributes is “may the odds be ever in your favor.”21 clearly, american young adults find that, in the capitalist arena, the odds are not in their favor. the hunger games gives voice to the feelings of stagnancy and frustration experienced by young adults coming of age during the great recession. “where young adults once sought escapism and social activism in their literature, the grim reality of recession had shifted their interst towards the more applicable theme of survival.” 45 the odds in its favor the hunger games continuously reinforces the reader’s initial impression of the wealthy capitol citizens as apathetic towards the districts, self-centered, and content with the status quo. every year, the capitol regards the murder of 23 teenagers in the hunger games as a prime form of entertainment.22 as the occupy wall street movement and similar demonstrations of political discontent have shown, young americans identify the wealthy as a source of inequality and injustice in society. an article from campus blueprint, a student magazine from the university of north carolina at chapel hill, compares the capitol citizens’ exploitation of the districts to young americans’ experience of “abuse at the hands of the ultra-rich.”23 katniss is an underdog competitor in the hunger games: she is a girl from an exceptionally impoverished district who has lived her entire life on the verge of starvation. before leaving district twelve to compete in the games, she herself describes her chances of victory as slim: i can’t win. prim must know that in her heart. the competition will be far beyond my abilities. kids from wealthier districts, where winning is a huge honor, who’ve trained their whole lives for this. boys who are two to three times my size. girls who know twenty different ways to kill you with a knife. oh, there’ll be people like me, too. people to weed out before the real fun begins.24 katniss is an underdog not because of her personal attributes, but because of the advantages other tributes have by virtue of birth and wealth. the extreme nature of katniss’s experience is a “conduit for universal experiences” of coming of age.25 she, like most american youth, is formed by the history not only of her family, but also of her nation and of her circumstances.26 for young americans, this is quite similar to the college admissions process, in which students from wealthy families, who have more opportunities available to them, meet with greater success, as do students with college educated parents.27 the hunger games offers a mechanism through which adolescents can question these standards that are central to the american coming of age experience and wrestle with their struggles connected to economic uncertainty.28 katniss’ underdog status is indicative of the extreme class stratification that characterizes her society. citizens from certain districts favored by the capitol are wealthier and better “educated,” more similar to capitol residents than to katniss and her family. one of the most striking features of panem’s class system is its strict subscription to a class binary: the very rich, composed of government officials and the lucky few born in the capitol and its favored districts, and the abjectly poor, the commonplace laborers in the other districts. when she arrives at the capitol to compete in the hunger games, katniss observes the stark distinctions between life there and in her world of district twelve: what must it be like, i wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? how would i spend the hours i now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? what do they do all day, those people in the capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment?29 the reader must compare katniss’s account of nearly starving to death in district twelve to the gross overabundance of food she encounters in the capitol. the suffering of panem’s poor is caused not by scarcity of resources, but by misdistribution of those resources in the overwhelming favor of the wealthy. while collins does not offer an explicitly political message through her class system, it is evident that there is no middle class in panem. like most young adult dystopias, the society presented in the hunger games provides a life of opulence for the few and “utter misery” for the many.30 modern american concerns about “the erosion of the middle class” from the mid-1980s continuing to the present day could, ultimately, result in as stark a division between rich and poor as seen in panem.31 young people, who are witness to the contrasting images of billionaires such as warren buffet and their unemployed parent, can easily envision modern american society, where the middle class is essential to the economy and to culture, transitioning into a panem-like model, where families are classified as either rich or poor. recent commentary has even gone so far as to compare washington, dc, the hub of economic and intellectual power in the united states that “the odds favor,” to “collins suggests that katniss has become a symbol of hope throughout the districts.” 46 elements : : spring 2014 “an imperial power where courtiers and influence-peddlers abound”: panem.32 the obvious reference to the hunger games indicates this author’s thought pattern: panem is the true descendant of american society as it currently exists, and ambivalence towards the existence of an oppressive class will allow this trend to continue. american young adults see the unfairness of the income bracket the occupy movement deemed ‘the 1 percent’ reflected in its most extreme form in the hunger games. for them, it is not a very difficult jump from owning a disproportionate share of american wealth and limiting social mobility to strictly enforcing an unbreakable class binary. in fact, ‘the 1 percent’ merely represents the first of many stages to eliminate the middle class and thus create the class binary. the university of north carolina at chapel hill’s campus blueprint magazine wryly asks its readers to “imagine a nation where catastrophic wealth imbalance has led to a widening chasm between the rich and the poor, where violent reality-tv programming dazzles and satiates the general population, and where the wealthiest citizens enjoy abundant luxuries while the lowliest struggle to find their next meal.”33 the author is ostensibly describing panem, but clearly means to imply that his readers are already living there and ought to recognize the features he mentions in their own lives. young adult science fiction often uses the death of children to “highlight the negligence and corruption” of institutions.34 collins utilizes the death of 12-year-old rue, a tribute from district eleven, to this effect. during the hunger games, katniss forms an alliance and friendship with little rue, who is brutally speared to death by another teenage tribute. katniss sings rue to sleep and touchingly covers her body with flowers. she then describes the impact of rue’s death: gale’s voice is in my head. his ravings against the capitol no longer pointless, no longer to be ignored. rue’s death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon us. but here, even more strongly than at home, i feel my impotence. there’s no way to take revenge on the capitol. is there?35 for katniss, rue’s death is the clear sign that the system under which she lives is intolerable for its crimes against children. it is the turning point at which katniss decides that she will no longer passively tolerate, at least mentally, the abuses of the capitol. one of the purposes of young adult dystopias is to voice concerns for the future so that young people will turn to “realistic problem solving” on a societal scale.36 the hunger games offers young adults a fictional portrayal of their world in extremes. through the novel, readers can express “their impotence and fear,” but they can also ponder the changes their generation will seek in political and economic institutions.37 at the end of the novel, collins suggests that katniss has become a symbol of hope throughout the districts. in order to save the male tribute from district twelve, she threatens to commit suicide and deprive the capitol of a victor. the capitol’s ruling elite becomes infuriated with the manner in which katniss achieves victory. this act “smacks of rebellion” and places her life in peril, but also serves as an inspiration to the discontented citizens in every district of panem.38 in the next two books of the hunger games trilogy, the districts, led by katniss, successfully rebel against the capitol. she is the catalyst for widespread societal change. young people, who feel powerless against the scope and depth of the great recession, are attracted to the hunger games because katniss impacts her world in a way that the american youth wish they could impact theirs. the hunger games clearly suggests that “young suzzane collins wrote the best-selling hunger games trilogy. (photo courtesy of wikimedia) 47 the odds in its favor people must be integrated into political life” for a society to become just.39 thus, young people choose to read the hunger games because, underneath the brutality, poverty, and blatant oppression, all of which resonate with their coming of age moment, it includes a message of hope. american young adults may be able to emulate katniss and succeed despite the societal factors, such as class stratification, that seem to prevent them from reaching the american dream. suzanne collins’s the hunger games skyrocketed to popularity following its 2008 release because it echoed the sentiments of its youth audience through themes of social and economic inequality, class stratification, and striving to overcome oppression. as youth deal with the phenomenon of coming of age in a time of uncertainty, the hunger games acts as a mechanism through which they can express their fears and hopes for change. american young adults are no longer convinced of the promise of the american dream; they see a world of class division and increasing economic and social hardship and oppression in their futures. the hunger games is a dystopia for this generation, highlighting their concerns about the culture and the institutions they are poised to inherit. endnotes 1. tom henthorne, approaching the hunger games trilogy: a literary and cultural analysis (jefferson, nc: mcfarland, 2012), 144. 2. husna haq, “’hunger games’ passes ‘harry potter’ as bestselling amazon series,” the christian science monitor, august 21, 2012. 3. brian bethune, “dystopia now: a frightening story about kids killing other kids for the amusement of adults has become a blockbuster,” maclean’s, april 9, 2012. 4. henthorne, approaching the hunger games, 23. 5. mary hilton and maria nikolajeva, eds., contemporary adolescent literature and culture: the emergent adult (burlington, vt: ashgate, 2012), 6. 6. kay sambell, “carnivalizing the future: a new approach to theorizing childhood and adulthood in science fiction for young readers,” the lion and the unicorn 28.2 (2004), 247. 7. maria nikolajeva, power, voice, and subjectivity in literature for young readers (new york: routledge 2010), 77. 8. bethune, “dystopia now”. 9. sue corbett, “ya comes of age,” publishers weekly 258.40 (2011), 21. 10. terry goodrich, “the hunger games-a new film about an adolescent fight-to-the death contestreflects society’s anxiety about ‘dog-eat-dog capitalism’, baylor university culture critic says,” baylor university, accessed april 22, 2013. 11. henthorne, approaching the hunger games, 2. 12. henthorne, approaching the hunger games, 144. 13. “americans divided on outlook for next generation,” gallup inc., accessed may 3, 2013, http://www.gallup.com/poll/159737/ americans-divided-outlook-next-generation.aspx. 14. suzanne collins, the hunger games (new york: scholastic 2008), 6. 15. goodrich, “the hunger games”. 16. sambell, “carnivalizing the future”, 248. 17. janice turner, “no wonder the young relish this brutal struggle: the hunger games is a fantasy that reflects the grim reality that many teenagers are afraid of in adult life,” the times, march 31, 2012, 23. 18. turner, “no wonder”, 23. 19. danielle nista, interview with author, may 2, 2013. 20. goodrich, “the hunger games”. 21. collins, the hunger games, 19. 22. henthorne, approaching the hunger games, 119. 23. wilson hood, “occupy panem: class conflict in both the hunger games and the ‘occupy movement,” campus blueprint, jennifer lawrence plays katniss, the main character of the trilogy, in the movie adaptation. (photo courtesy of mingle media tv) 48 elements : : spring 2014 march 24, 2012. 24. collins, the hunger games, 36. 25. laura miller, “fresh hell”, the new yorker, june 14, 2010, 132. 26. manohla dargis and a.o. scott, “a radical female hero from dystopia,” the new york times, april 8, 2012, arts and entertainment 1. 27. eric f. dubow, paul boxer, and l. rowell huesmann, “longterm effects of parents’ education on children’s educational and occupational success”, national institutes of health, accessed may 3, 2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc28 53053/. 28. mike roberts, “acid-washed jeans, a moussed-out mullet, and eternity cologne: the challenges of growing up,” english journal 100.6 (2011), 106-07. 29. collins, the hunger games, 65. 30. nikolajeva, power, voice and subjectivity, 75. 31. henthorne, approaching the hunger games, 117. 32. glenn harlan reynolds, “are we living in the hunger games?,” usa today, november 27, 2012. 33. hood, “occupy panem”. 34. sambell, “carnivalizing the future”, 250. 35. collins, the hunger games, 236. 36. sharon a. stringer, conflict and connection: the psychology of young adult literature (portsmouth, nh: boynton/cook 1997), 49. 37. turner, “no wonder”, 23. 38. collins, the hunger games, 363. 39. carrie hintz, “monica hughes, lois lowry, and young adult dystopias,” the lion and the unicorn 26.2 (2002), 263. references “americans divided on outlook for next generation.” gallup inc. accessed 3 may 2013. http://www.gallup.com/poll/159737/americans-divided-outlook-next-generation.aspx. bethune, brian. “dystopia now: a frightening story about kids killing kids for the amusement of adults has become a blockbuster. maclean’s. 9 april 2012. contemporary adolescent literature and culture: the emergent adult. e. mary hilton and maria nikolajeva. burlington, vt: ashgate, 2012. collins, suzanne. the hunger games. new york: scholastic 2008. corbett, sue. “ya comes of age.” publisher’s weekly 258.40 (2011), 21. dargis, manohla, and a.o scott. “a radical female hero from dystopia.” the new york times. 8 april 2012. dubow, eric f., paul boxer, and l. rowell huesmann. “long-term effects of parents’ education on children’s educational and occupational success.” national insitutes of health. accessed 3 may 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2853053/. goodrich, terry. “the hunger games—a new film about an adolescent fight-to-the-death contest reflects society’s anxiety about ‘dog-eat-dog capitalism,’ baylor university culture critic says.” baylor university. haq, husna. “‘hunger games’ passes ‘harry potter’ as bestselling amazon series.” the christian science monitor. 21 august 2012. henthorne, tom. approaching the hunger games trilogy: a literary and cultural analysis. jefferson, nc: mcfarland, 2012. hintz, carrie. “monica hughes, lois lowry, and young adult dystopias.” the lion and the unicorn. 26.2 (2002). 254-264. hood, wilson. “occupy panem: class conflict in both the hunger games and the ‘occupy movement.’” campus blueprint. 24 march 2012. miller, laura. “fresh hell.” the new yorker. 14 june 1012. nikolajeva, maria. power, voice, and subjectivity in literature for young readers. new york: routledge, 2010. nista, danielle. interview with author. 2 may 2013. reynolds, glenn harlan. “are we living in the hunger games?” usa today. 27 november 2012. roberts, mike. “acid-washed jeans, a moussed-out mullet, and eternity cologne: the challenges of growing up”. english journal 100.6 (2011), 103-107. sambell, kay. “carnivalizing the future: a new approach to theorizing childhood and adulthood in science fiction for young readers.” the lion and the unicorn 28.2 (2004), 247-267. stringer, sharon a. conflict and connection: the psychology of young adult literature. portsmouth, nh: boynton/cook, 1997. turner, janice. “no wonder the young relish this brutal strug49 the odds in its favor gle: the hunger games is a fantasy that reflects the grim reality that many teenagers are afraid of in adult life.” the times. 31 march 2012. 50 elements : : spring 2014 in thus spoke zarathustra, nietzsche introduces the idea of the übermensch: a superhuman god-like creator of values who concerns himself chiefly with “this world,” as opposed to with some afterlife. the socio-political landscape of contemporary heteronormative american society affords a homosexual the opportunity to emerge as an übermensch of sorts. simply in engaging in society openly and honestly in order to express his or her sexuality, he or she must reject the call to sameness and behave independently, authentically, and uniquely. to achieve the end of living a genuine and sincere life, he or she will necessarily adopt a host of qualities with which nietzsche explicitly and implicitly associates the übermensch. breaking the normative the modern homosexual as neitzsche’s übermensch brandon short throughout contemporary western culture, there exists a notable disparity between the sociopolitical sexual experiences of a heterosexual person and those of a homosexual person. until that disparity is—at least in terms of ease, regularity, and acceptance—gone, there remains a unique opportunity for an otherwise run-of-the-mill american to distinctly create himself to be a nietzschean übermensch, at least in the realm of his sexual expression. “it wouldn’t always have been this easy,” nietzsche, nostalgic for life-affirming greco-roman society, might cry today, “to emerge as an übermensch-type figure.” before the advent of christianity and the christianization of the west, and before a society in which “[e]verybody wants the same, everybody is the same: [and] whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse,” homosexuality was accepted and prized in some prominent forms often encountered in that greco-roman society. male athletes at gymnasium and the strongest of warriors on the battlefield were normally involved in homosexual relations (or at least lodged firmly in a culture the same was commonplace). to disappoint one’s lover, who was often one’s mentor and coach, and who was of the same sex, was the ultimate disgrace. “far from finding homosexuality and athleticism mutually exclusive, [the greeks] considered gay sex an excellent training regimen and an inspiration for military valor.”1 in terms of expression of homoeroticism, and as a parallel to the nietzschean critique that christianity and its facets (such as heteronormativity) shifed society’s value from strength to weakness, christianity valorized weakness in expression. if life is to be lived as an art, christian morality concerning sexuality attempts to regulate that art: “religion distorted the human by enshrining a moral code suitable only for slaves.”2 with women, men are to do x, y, and z at a, b, or c time; but never to do p or q. it is not the case that pre-regulation is a state prior to any rules regarding and constricting freedom, but rather that under pre-regulation there existed a different set of rules more conducive to free expression (especially regarding sexuality). social constructs give us a reality to which we can cling; facts—which, per nietzsche, are only social constructs— come about to prevent us from feeling lost. a regulation of sexuality gives society a beacon of stability. since most members of society are heterosexual, normalizing heterosexuality as “permissible” was an all-too “natural” process. the creation of heteronormativity as a “truth” has, historically, served as a stepping stone to the gathering and control of power, insofar as “truth resides in the enhancement of the feeling of power.”3 because of the undeniable existence of homosexual persons, the normalization of and granting-of-power to heterosexuality has resulted in a naturalized condition in which there is less tolerance of conflict with reality; notably when such a conflict with reality means “coming out of the closet.” the homosexual, the matthew shepherd, the cross-dresser, and the slut or asexual, pose potential threats to the constructed reality that austere heterosexuality is reality. although much progress has been made since the days of burning witches with faggots or the assassination of harvey milk, support of the one who embraces the “chaos in oneself,” or those who support such an embrace still face consequences to the tune of boycott in a capitalistic the society.4 for example, in 2012, nabisco, the producer of the famous oreo cookie, released a “gay” cookie—rainbow frosting filling their standard cookie wafers—to celebrate a gay-pride parade; it felt the blowback from one million moms and other “moral watchdog groups,” who were calling for a boycott of the cookie and the company. when nabisco, in its small way, separated from the herd, its separation was not welcomed by all. when one is “thrown into the world” homosexual (to lease heidegger’s terminology), one is born into quite a paradoxical state. one is likely “to become a function of the herd,” that herd of “our european morality.”6 he is more likely to be such because he is kept in check by fear of departing from the accepted morality of the powerful. simultaneously, though, and paradoxically, he is in a position to surpass the commonly established right and wrong. his unique condition of self lets him live artfully; and the art of his life will be extra unique, in accordance with his condi“though man has a tendency, according to niezsche, to torture himself, the übermensch refuses to be self-torturous.” 52 elements : : spring 2014 tion. for him to “live at the right time” or to live at all (according to nietzsche) is for him to shatter norms and rules.7 when a homosexual person comes out of the closet by publicly expressing his human drives and desires, he engages in a conflict with reality. by denying the temptation to follow the herd and not to express his homosexuality, such as by remaining in the closet, resorting to suicide, etc., he is compacting to “sail only into uncharted seas.”8 for nietzsche, there are yea-sayers and nay-sayers, and he who embraces his true nature is shouting a “yea!” since such an embrace laughs in the face of the heteronormative set of societal standards. he is currently winning the “fearful struggle on earth,” which it has been involved in as a part of the timeless struggle between the opposing values of “good” and “bad.”9 the übermensch-esque affirmer of life who “comes out of the closet” rejects what nietzsche models as christianity’s “oneness.” to one-ify all as heterosexual, it can be said, might be an extrapolated “goal” of western christianity’s unification. progress of this unification is impeded by the free expression of the homosexual other. like a nietzschean übermensch, the homosexual stays left out, and remains misunderstood. despite and because of his lonely condition in the fabric of society, he sees the empty abyss of the hollowness and flimsiness of the “value” of heteronormativity, and he does not waver. though man has a tendency, according to nietzsche, to torture himself; the übermensch refuses to be self-torturous. driven and cheered on by his knowledge of the above-mentioned hollowness, he is able to garner real power, by existing as his possibilities. each time he holds his boyfriend’s hand in public, or each time she marches in a gay-pride parade, he or she is moving toward life. he or she recognizes that there is no absolute truth, so homosexuality is not an abomination (“against whom, anyway?” nietzsche would wonder), and that the real truth is his or her interpretation and carrying-out of his or her most intimate human drives. overcoming the fear of ridicule (or death, in some countries) is to accept life. living his potential and expressing his will to power is how he comes closest to real truth. acceptance and expression of self by a homosexual allows that person to become—to use a nietzschean term—a “strange one,” and thus, to become closer to being an übermensch.10 it is not hard to imagine a “closet case’s” life as full of resentment. of course, he who chooses not to express his deepest and most intensely driven desires will find the energy of those desires become pent up. the energy of such desires, not expressed naturally, manifest in the form of resentment, anger, disgust, and jealousy. by nature, the “closet case” has desire to live, and to live truly; but nonexpression of his most human drives stunts his living, and makes futile and unfulfilled his desire to live. such a closet case will always be surmising, and never living. all his actions will be thought, and not actualized. in the case of homosexuality, one can (with a little imagination) figure what form imaginative “thought actions” might take. mere mental representations or non-conventional encounters behind the backs of their wives take the place of more routine methods of sexual expression. for them, the functional, open, and “immoral” practice of homosexuality is, astoundingly, not preferable to self-torture. this poor case misses out on the joy, strength, and terribleness of living dangerously and humanly. the price paid for such repression is freedom, and specifically, the freedom to live immediately. the glory of immediacy is forgone for a safer, planned, and inauthentic existence. german philosopher friedrich neitzsche proposed his theory of the übermensch in his work thus spoke zarathustra. (photo courtesy of wikimedia) 53 breaking the normative when a homosexual finds himself thrown into the world as such, he experiences a crisis: he can either live inauthentically and follow the herd, or he can follow his nature and refuse to upset what is given to him. in choosing the latter, he opts to live sincerely (sine-cira), or without a mask. one can explore and analyze the übermensch-like affirmer of life and his own sexuality, through the lens of the nietszchean prospect of the “eternal recurrence of the same.” when the affirmer embraces his sexuality, he is overcoming a fear and expressing a will to power. once a person appreciates his own sexual reality as it actually, phenomenologically is, he finds an existence which is suitable for eternal recurrence. that is to say, once there is no externally-influenced construction of fantasies of an alternate, non-existent reality, then there is a man who is connected with reality and the way that things are. the openly gay person is willing to change his life for “sacred injustice” he is willing to shift from the inauthentic to the authentic for the sake of the integrity of his life as a work.11 there is some considerable speculation that nietzsche may have been a homosexual. through this lens, although it runs the risk of being historical gossip, it is interesting to consider that his discontent with society and its life-crushing set of standards and roles may have had roots in his own sexuality. taking into consideration a common tendency to relate homosexuality with femininity, joachim koehler comments on nietzsche’s acquisition of effeminacy that those who knew him were “not blind to [his] vanity and the scrupulous care he devoted to his appearance…especially his huge moustache, which protected him from any charge of having feminine characteristics about him” and “[h]e had ‘an attractive deportment,’ with a trace of the feminine about it.”12 at nietzsche’s time, undoubtedly, there were societal pressures of heteronormativity even stronger than those that exist today. koehler notes pressure from by nietzsche’s male contemporaries to marry, along with pressure for him not to “spend [his] time with men.”13 at several points throughout his life, nietzsche was under pressure from such contemporaries to marry—an act which would finally consummate an alignment of nietzsche with the sexual norms of his (and our) era. koehler takes his insinuations so far as to claim that nietzsche had “a double identity.”14 if nietzsche did, in fact, have homosexual urges, it does little but contribute to an explanation for the thoroughness and depth of his arguments against blindly following the herd. nietzsche’s being urged by doctors to “find himself a wife” gave him an all-too-proximate sampling of the calling of his heteronormatively culture to deny life, leave independent artful expression by the wayside, and subscribe to the way of the many. in this century, it is interesting to consider the grim case of tyler clementi, who took his own life after being “outed” by several peers in the fall of 2010. tragically, the heteronormative and homophobic conditions which pervade contemporary american society and allow for the everyday homosexual to become a sort of übermensch, are the very same conditions which cause hundreds of non-heterosexual people to resort to such extreme measures every year. nietzsche might consider these as the only two options actually available, in the long run: “he destroys himself or creates himself for eternal life.”15 the desire to “come out” and express oneself and one’s will to power is a “source of pain because it induces [one] to experience [one’s] actual condition as ‘dissatisfying’ or ‘lacking.’”16 if the conditions for an openly homosexual person are too awful to bear, according to one’s own perceptive reality, then the above-mentioned desire cannot be satisfied. “the pain,” reginster suggests in his analysis of the nietzschean will to power the affirmation of life, “is now caused by the mere occurrence of a desire.”17 in order to make the pain stop and to bring about the elimination of suffering, or psychological tension, caused by the panging dissonance between oneself and one’s condition, clementi (and that tragic number throughout history of those who have done what he did) ended his own life, and therefore ended his suffering. when a homosexual refuses the call to sameness, and instead affirms life and creates his own truth, he emulates a nietzschean übermensch. overcoming fears of being “othered” and acknowledging the vacuity backing western “when the affirmer embraces his sexuality, he is overcoming a fear and expressing a will to power.” 54 elements : : spring 2014 standards of “moral” sexual conduct allow this heroic figure to emerge as the one over the many. tragically, it can also happen that a repression of life, caused by the human need to follow the many, leads to a literal rejection of life: one possible contributing element in the discussion on suicide among glbtq youth. endnotes 1. grossman. 2. rothstein. 3. soloman, 95. 4. ibid., 73. 5. nietzsche, 323. 6. solomon, 68-69. 7. nietzsche, 95. 8. kearney. 9. marino, 140. 10. nietzsche, 330. 11. wake, 215. 12. ibid., 119-120 13. ibid., 99 14. ibid. 15. löwith, 158. 16. reginster, 112. 17. ibid. references aubrey, john. remaines of gentilisme and judaisme. london: w. satchell, peyton, and co., 1881. black, william. folk-medicine; a chapter in the history of culture. new york: b. franklin, 1970. blecourt, willem. “witch doctors, soothsayers and priests. on cunning folk in european historiography and tradition.” social history 19, no. 3 (1994): 285-303. bourne, henry. antiquitates vulgares; or, the antiquities of the common people. newcastle: j. white, 1725. browne, thomas. pseudodoxia epidemica. london: theodore harper, 1646. clark, stuart. “inversion, misrule and the meaning of witchcraft.” past and present 87 (1980): 98-127. davis, natalie. society and culture in early modern france. stanford: stanford university press, 1975. hunter, michael. john aubrey. london: duckworth, 1975. kittredge, george. witchcraft in old and new england. new york: russell & russell, 1958. oxford dictionary of national biography. “reginald scot.” http:// www.oxforddnb.com/ oxford dictionary of national biography. “sir thomas browne.” http://www.oxforddnb.com/ oxford dictionary of national biography. “john aubrey.” http:// www.oxforddnb.com/ scot, reginald. discoverie of witchcraft. london: william brome, 1584. sharpe, james. instruments of darkness: witchcraft in early modern england. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1997. thomas, keith. religion and the decline of magic: studies in popular beliefs in 16th and 17th century england. london: weidenfeld & nicolson, 1971. walsham, alexandra. “recording superstition in early modern europe: the origins of folklore.” past and present supplement 3 (2008): 178-206. witchcraft in early modern europe. ed. jonathan barry, marianne, hester, and gareth roberts. cambridge: cambridge univesity press, 1996. 55 breaking the normative the use of euthanasia and assisted suicide as treatment for those suffering from terminal or chronic neurological diseases continues to be a highly controversial ethical and legal question. illegal in most of the world, euthanasia and assisted suicide continue to be neglected as possible routes to the reduction of an individual’s suffering. as the number of terminal illnesses threatens to rise exponentially in future decades, this article examines “the right to die” as a potentially legitimate medical option. however, if we as a society are to permit the use of assisted suicide, there must be stricter regulations to prevent abuse and malpractice both physically and ethically. death: a conversation the moral and legal complexities of assisted suicide richard balagtas suffering is highly subjective, and, as is often the case, it is an internal and psychological feeling. physically, it is impossible for ethicists or physicians to fully understand a patient’s pain. therefore, individuals with a terminal illness often contemplate the thought of euthanasia and assisted suicide. common reasons for patients to consider euthanasia include pain, anticipated pain, fear of indignity, loss of control, and cognitive impairment; the most reported reason is fear of being a burden.1 “suicide was contemplated by a few, who would have preferred a change in the law to allow them to end their lives with medical help,” allowing for a more dignified death.2 according to the telegraph, one in ten suicides is committed by someone seriously ill, suffering from a terminal or chronic neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis (ms), motor neuron disease, huntington’s disease, or cancer.3 the world health organization states that certain neurological illnesses such as dementia and alzheimer’s disease will double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050.4 given that the number of individuals that will become afflicted with a terminal neurological disease is increasing, the amount of suicide cases will more than likely follow. many of these suicides could be avoided if there were a safer, more regulated process of ending life, such as assisted suicide. there is the possibility that greater care and attention for individuals suffering from such diseases that are contemplating suicide would result in lower suicide rates. however, every patient has the right to refuse medical treatment, resulting in a form of passive euthanasia undertaken by the patient. there may not be a right answer to the question of euthanasia or assisted suicide, however, there are several factors that need to be considered if one is to approach the question ethically. given the understanding that one in ten suicides is committed by individuals with terminal illnesses, could it be morally ethical to euthanize terminal patients with their permission under the argument that it would be a safer, more peaceful way to end their suffering? as a result of the potential in reducing suffering, could euthanasia or assisted suicide evolve into an accepted medical treatment or practice? if this is to occur, we, as a society, are definitively stating that it is acceptable to utilize and prescribe death as a treatment for terminal patients. what is assisted suicide? when discussing euthanasia, there must be a clear disstinction between what is morally and legally acceptable. what is acceptable in terms of the law may not always be morally and ethically acceptable. there are two types of euthanasia: active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. active euthanasia is described as direct action with the intention of killing the patient. passive euthanasia is described as withholding treatment, thereby allowing for the patient to die. this distinction is “endorsed in a statement adopted by the house of delegates of the american medical association.”5 as one can imagine, the passive form of euthanasia can take significantly longer to cause the death of the patient. while active euthanasia is quick and painless, passive euthanasia can take up to a few days or even weeks of continual suffering. the american medical association (ama) states that, “the intention of the palliative treatment is to relieve pain and suffering, but the patient’s death is a possible side effect of the treatment.”6 sharon fraser and james walters claim that it is ethically acceptable for a phybritish author terry pratchett directed the documentary choosing to die, which profiles several cases of assisted suicide (courtesy of wikimedia) 58 elements : : spring 2014 sician to gradually increase the medication for a patient with the understanding that this medication may depress respiration and cause death.7 doctors are generally permitted to administer medication that may potentially cause death as long as they are able to support that the drugs also had the ability to reduce pain. the question that arises is which of these two forms of euthanasia is considered more morally or ethically acceptable? those who oppose euthanasia believe that the act of killing someone is morally worse than letting someone die. this is emphasized by the ama’s support of passive euthanasia. however, is this a valid statement? philosopher james rachels provides two hypothetical scenarios to shed some light on this belief. in the first event, a man plots to end the life of his 6 year old cousin as he stands to gain much from the boy’s death. he drowns the child and collects the insurance money. in the second scenario, a man enters the scene with the same intention of ending the boy’s life for a profitable gain. however, just as he is about to commit his crime, the boy slips and hits his head and begins to drown. the man is delighted and stands nearby waiting in the event that the boy’s head resurfaces.8 if we take the view of the ama, the man who allowed the boy to die has acted within the law. such a statement is controversial. suppose that the man who allowed the child to die pleaded with the court stating, “i didn’t kill him; i merely let him die.” in a society in which letting someone die was in itself less bad than killing, this statement would alleviate some blame. however, such an audacious claim in a court setting today can only been seen as a convoluted perversion of moral reasoning. note that doctors do not face this same situation. james white’s idea that “doctors are concerned only with cases in which the patient’s life is of no further use to him, or in which the patient’s life has become or will soon become a burden,” may seem like a brutal statement, however the point is the same in each case.9 one of the primary concerns cited by terminally ill is that they “…don’t want to get to that point in life where [they] can no longer move or take care of [themselves]. ‘i don’t want to be a burden for my loved ones.’”10 the difference between killing someone and letting someone die does not present a clear moral distinction. for example, if a doctor lets a patient die, he is in the same ethical and moral position as if he had given the patient a lethal injection. euthanasia is often looked at in terms of utilitarianism. peter singer states that, “there are no paternalistic reasons that justify denying voluntary euthanasia.”11 if one believes that a person is a conscious and rational being, then to voluntarily euthanize someone is to be seen as a form of active euthanasia with the consent of the person being killed. for example, in hospitals, people can refuse to receive medical treatment essential to keeping them alive, thereby practicing voluntary euthanasia. while killing a person is immoral, in singer’s case, it would be worse to deny someone the right to end his or her life. singer states that the point of euthanasia is often to end suffering. thus, to prohibit such a right would result in increased unhappiness since the patient would be forced to live with prolonged suffering. it is important to note that even in some regions where euthanasia is legalized, the right is often abused. according to the canadian medical association journal (cmaj), records show that in 2007, in the flanders region of belgium, euthanasia practices were carried out without the explicit consent of the patient in 77.9% of cases.12 euthanasia and assisted suicide predominately involved patients less than 80 years old (79.6%), those with progressive cancers (80.2%), and those who were dying at home (50.3%).13 the most popular reason given by physicians who administered euthanasia procedures without patient consent was that the patient had fallen into comatose (70.1%). in 40.4% of cases, physicians stated that the patient had, “…previously expressed a wish to end life.”14 it is critical to note that this “expression” is not equivalent to an explicit request for euthanasia. in countries where euthanasia is illegal, doctors do not have the ability to directly end a patient’s life even with patient consent. however, in countries such as belgium, some doctors are taking it upon themselves to decide when a terminal patient’s life should end. this is by no means ethical or moral, as it does not respect the dignity of the human person. active euthanasia can be considered murder even with the written request of the terminal patient. for example, a man named sean davison, a forensics professor from the university of the western cape, was forced to make the decision between watching his 84-year-old mother die a slow painful death from progressive cancer or to end her life himself. pat ferguson, sean’s mother, had signed a living will requesting no antibiotics, no resuscitation, and no form of nutrition. by asking to be taken off life support, she was accepting the reality of her unfortunate death. however, due to laws prohibiting euthanasia, she was unable to receive a peaceful, quick death. instead, she had no other alternatives except to endure the suffering until her 59 death: a conversation time came naturally. as described by her son, “…no one could have imagined her skin bruising and sticking to my fingers, the smell of rotting flesh, a tongue that is completely decayed and bed sores that make you wince at their sight.”15 in late 2012, mr. davison was arrested and sentenced to five months house arrest in new zealand for procuring and counseling assisted suicide. when the sentence was handed down, the high court judge stated, “although in my view there was significant premeditation, you acted out of compassion and love and not for any personal gain.”16 from one perspective, mr. davison murdered his mother. from the other, mr. davison ended the suffering that his mother was experiencing, essentially performing euthanasia. from both a legal and moral standpoint, the result is the same: he took the life of another human being. however, there is an important distinction to be made here. he did not take his mother’s life out of spite or greed, but out of love. it was clear by his description that his mother was in a tremendous amount of pain, and very few people would be able to watch complacently as his mother tarves herself to death. in situations like this, one can see the potential of active euthanasia. the current reality of euthanasia and assisted suicide if one cannot alleviate the growing number of terminal patients who wish to end their lives, one can provide the means for a safer, more regulated process of euthanasia. “to live with dignity – to die with dignity,” has been the motto of dignitas since its founding in 1998 in switzerland. the non-profit organization is infamously known for being a “point-of-no-return” travel destination for those wishing to end their lives. dignitas has helped end the lives of over 1,000 people since its founding. admission into the program is tightly regulated. in order to qualify, one must be a member of dignitas, be of sound mind and judgment, and possess the minimum level of mobility required to self-administer the drug. in addition, the patient is required to be examined by a medical physician on two instances to determine if the individual has a “…terminal disease, an incapacitating disability, or unbearable pain.”17 medical records and a written letter of consent stating the explicit desire of the individual for assisted suicide is also necessary. however, due to the debilitating effects of many terminal or chronic illnesses, some people contemplating the idea of assisted suicide may have to end their lives earlier than is really necessary. for example, many individuals who are diagnosed with alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis and choose to end their lives through dignitas’ services do so at an age at which their disease has not progressed far. the illness has not yet destroyed their mental processes, which could possibly degrade to a point in which communication becomes an issue. at this time, they would no longer be considered suitable for assisted suicide with dignitas as they cannot give their explicit consent. “there was the fear that if i didn’t do it now, i might not be able to do it all,” stated a 42 year old who was accepted into the assisted suicide program of dignitas for multiple sclerosis.18 all of these factors are necessary to ensure that individuals are not abusing the potential benefits of assisted suicide. the individual must be healthy enough to make the decision to end his or her life but also deemed ill enough to be considered for assisted suicide in the first place. chemical structure of pentobarbital, the most commonly used lethal substance in assisted suicides. (courtesy of wikimedia) 60 elements : : spring 2014 the act of watching someone willingly end his or her life is without a doubt very difficult. in a bbc documentary titled terry pratchett: choosing to die, terry pratchett, an author struggling with early onset alzheimer’s, tells the story of two individuals who have decided to end their lives through dignitas’ services. one of the most shocking scenes in the film is the death of peter smedley. after wilingly taking the lethal dose of the barbituate nembutal, smedley’s first words are, “can i have chocolate now? oh! what a ghastly taste. i’d like to thank everyone here; you’ve all been first class.”19 the caretakers, and even his own wife, do not seem to be at all disturbed by the sight of smedley’s suicide. dignitas utilizes sodium pentobarbital, a commonly used narcotic, which induces comatose when ingested in concentrated amounts. this causes the patient to fall asleep as they gradually lose respiratory function, causing the heart to lose oxygen, and eventually die. the whole process, from drinking the fatal sedative to death, takes only a few minutes. while disturbing to watch, this method of death is a peaceful alternative for many suffering from terminal illness. if there is a way in which assisted suicide should happen, a peaceful, quick death is considered the best option. in mr. smedley’s final moments, he laid his head down as his wife gently caressed his hands. terry pratchett states, “…i can’t believe the calmness. what’s going on here isn’t exactly medicine,” in reference to a dignitas caretaker asking mr. smedley if he is sure that he wishes to die today. twenty-one percent of people receiving assisted suicide in dignitas do not have terminal or progressive illnesses but “a weariness of life.” in addition, 70% of people who reach out to dignitas requesting assisted suicide do not go through with the procedure: “…sometimes just having the option to die is enough. people don’t go through with it because they know they can.”20 this statistic illustrates that even if people were given the legal right or capacity to euthanize themselves in a safe manner, many would choose against it. allowing people the right to euthanasia or assisted suicide does not necessarily mean that there will be an increase in the amount of people electing for treatment. tighter, more stringent requirements for euthanasia and assisted suicide will be the only way to properly handle this growing trend. the death with dignity act passed by voters of oregon in 1994, which was later reaffirmed in 1997, allows terminally ill oregon residents to obtain and use lethal prescriptions from their physicians for assisted suicide. under this act, ending one’s life in accordance with the law is not considered to be suicide. the act legalizes physician-assisted suicide but explicitly prohibits euthanasia.21 many of the requirements to obtain a prescription are similar to dignitas regulations, but with one crucial difference: the person must be a resident of the state of oregon. similar to dignitas, several physicians must examine the patient to ensure that he or she is of sound mind and is fully aware of the consequences of taking the drug. in addition, the individual must suffer from a terminal illness and have the capacity to self-administer the drug.22 terminal illness is defined by the death with dignity act as: “… an illness that will lead to death in six months.” according to oregon’s public health department, “to comply with the law, physicians must report to the department of human services, all prescriptions for lethal medications.”23 as of 2012, there have been 673 documented cases of people who have died through assisted suicide. however, 1,050 prescriptions were written out, so although 1,050 people received the lethal drug, only 64% of them decided to end their lives. this supports the idea that if one has the ability to take one’s own life in a peaceful, controlled way, many times he or she will not go through with the procedure. regulation: euthanasia and assisted suicide are not treatments the ethics of euthanasia and assisted suicide revolve around the question of whether the means justify the ends. does there exist a true solution to the ethical controversy of euthanasia and assisted suicide that respects and dignifies the person’s life it is ending? if so, does this solution take the institution of euthanasia and prescribe it as an accepted medical treatment? “the ethics behind euthanasia and assisted suicide revolve around the question of whether the means justify the ends.” 61 death: a conversation in order to be a solution, euthanasia and assisted suicide require a clearer, more distinct outline of its boundaries. according to emeritus professor len doyal, one of the uk’s leading medical ethicists, “doctor assisted deaths are taking place on a regular and recurring basis in the uk.”24 if euthanasia and assisted suicide are to co-exist with ethics and morality, they must be properly regulated and understood. doctors will often times withdraw life-sustaining treatments such as feeding tubes from terminal patients with the ultimate goal of alleviating suffering. many medical professionals may not wish to admit the hard truth, but the act of removing life-sustaining treatment from terminally ill patients is morally equivalent to active euthanasia. there must be a clear understanding that if euthanasia and assisted suicide are to be considered permissible in the medical field, they are not to be used as an alternative treatment. countries such as france are making rapidly new developments in the area of assisted suicide. president francois hollande commissioned a report which gives doctors permission to “accelerate death” for the terminally ill. “the right to die should be granted to those who have made an explicit request, or if the patient is unconscious, to those whose family requests a withdrawal of life-support; or to those in a vegetative state,” states medical school professor dr. didier sicard.25 since 2005, doctors in france have the ability to “leave patients to die” when deemed that the patient was gravely and incurably ill. terminally ill patients and their families are criticizing many doctors. they accuse the medical profession of having a “cure at all costs” mentality that does not take into account the “…psychological distress of patients and of their wishes.”26 dr. sicard recommends three acceptable scenarios in which assisted suicide should be allowed: one, an explicit request by the terminal patient, or previous instructions prior to the condition which has left the patient deteriorated and unable to give permission; two, the withdrawal of life supporting machinery by the explicit request of the patient’s family when the patient is unconscious; and three, the withdrawal of medical treatment when it sustains the body in only a vegetative state.27 while painkillers will relieve much of the pain that an individual is experiencing, they are by no means a suitable treatment. painkillers can not cure or treat a patient’s terminal disease, but merely make one comfortable in their final hours. this is the current method utilized by doctors who have the understanding that there is nothing more they can do to cure the patient. the three conditions for approved assisted suicide described by dr. sicard respect the decision of the patient and stress the importance of the explicit permission and consent of the patient requesting to die. in this situation, euthanasia and assisted suicide are not looked at as medical treatments but as peaceful alternatives to unavoidable suffering. for many people, medical justice is understood as the fair and equal treatment of patients. what many do not realize is that the current situation contains elements of injustice. terminally ill patients are sometimes too debilitated to take the steps necessary or to go through the lengthy process to end their suffering should they desire to do so. in france, the medical board has allowed the assisted suicide of terminally ill patients only after the continual persistence of the patient with a request to end their life. however, there exists a fear of allowing euthanasia or assisted suicide to persist, for “…there is the perception that any change in the status quo will inevitably lead to widespread abuse.”28 if one of the principle reasons not to support euthanasia or assisted suicide is the potential abuse of the system, then the only solution is tighter regulation. currently, both dignitas and the public health department of the state of oregon allow for assisted suicide in terminally ill patients. however, both of these organizations require a lengthy screening process that usually takes up to three to four months from moment of contact to assisted suicide. there is not much room for error when it comes to death. in both instances, several physiatrists review the terminal patient to ensure that he or she is of sound mind. furthermore, several psychiatrists review the terminal patient, each requesting the medical history of the patient. only when the terminal patient has passed each round of inspection is he or she given the opportunity to end his or her life through assisted suicide. there is no way to speed up the process once it has begun. in this manner, euthanasia organizations can ensure there is no foul play. unfortunately, this system has failed dignitas in the past. in 2005, the swiss based company went under investigation for helping a woman who was not terminally ill to end her life. according to records, the 69-year-old women approached dignitas with a medical report showing that she had terminal liver cirrhosis. after she passed through the screening process, she was given a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital to induce comatose, and eventually death. “a routine autopsy carried out by german authorities when the body was brought back from switzerland exposed the 62 elements : : spring 2014 report as a fake and added that although the woman had depression, she was physically fit”; this meant that something had gone wrong during dignitas’ screening process. how could they have made such a critical error when dealing with such an ethical issue? furthermore, the primary doctor who had reviewed her files employed by dignitas had also passed away, having committed suicide after he was informed that the german woman he had helped to commit suicide was not terminally ill. further investigation discovered that the woman had persuaded her personal doctor to falsify her medical records under the understanding that she wished to obtain sick leave from work. her doctor reported that he had no idea she would use the false records to persuade a case with dignitas to help her commit suicide. ludwig minelli, the founder of dignitas defended his organization by stating: “the doctor’s report that i was given indicated the woman was suffering the cirrhosis of the liver as well as hepatitis.”29 even if the medical records stated that she was terminally ill, the mandatory inspections by doctors employed by dignitas should have followed up on the report to ensure no foul play. if assisted suicide and euthanasia are to become an integrated part of the future, stricter investigation and regulation of the process must be ensured so that nothing of this magnitude happens on a larger scale. when discussing the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, it is important to discuss its purpose. if the purpose of euthanasia and assisted suicide is death, the dignity of the individual is not taken into account. therefore this approach is immoral and unethical. if the explicit desire and wish to end the suffering of the patient is the purpose, then euthanasia and assisted suicide could be an ethical treatment. a doctor is both a physician and a healer, assigned with curing and treating diseases, but also healing and appealing to the human aspect. as grim as it may be, assisted suicide and euthanasia may provide the solution, provided that the patient has given his or her explicit consent that this is their desire. if the purpose of euthanasia and assisted suicide is to end the suffering of the patients, thus increasing happiness, it is considered more ethical and moral than if the purpose is to view death as a specific treatment. assisted suicide and euthanasia have been at the center of medical ethics for decades. the difficulty of the matter lies in the danger of viewing euthanasia and assisted suicide as potential treatments for terminal disease. if we devolve into a society that willingly kills people who are going to die anyway, we lose much of what makes us human. however, there is much to be gained in working toward a society in which assisted suicide and euthanasia are viable options for terminal patients who wish to end their suffering in a controlled, predictable manner. endnotes 1. terry pratchett: choosing to die, bbc television, directed by charlie russell (2011: keo north). 2. a chappelle, “what people close to death say about euthanasia and assisted suicide: a qualitative study,” the journal of medical ethics 32 (2006): 706. 3. louise bazalgette, william bradley, and jenny ousbey, “hidden data provide new insights into life at the end…”: the truth about suicide (london: demos, 2011). 4. world health organization, alzheimer’s disease international, “neurological disorders: public health challenges,” dementia: a public health priority (united kingdom: who, 2012). 5. james rachels, “active and passive euthanasia,” intervention and reflection: basic issues in medical ethics 5th ed (belmont: wadsworth, 1996), 78. 6. ceja report b – a-91, “decisions near the end of life.” 7. sharon fraser, walter james, “death – whose decision? euthanasian and the terminally ill,” journal of medical ethics (2000): 122. 8. james e. white, “active and passive euthanasia: james rachels,” contemporary moral problem (cengage learning, 2008), 157. 9. ibid. 10. choosing to die 11. white (157) 12. chambaere, “physician-assisted under the euthanasia law in belgium: a population based survey,” canadian medical association, 1. 13. ibid. 14. ibid. 15. thalia holmes, “granting a death wish: south africa’s euthanasia debate,” mail & guardian online, may 17, 2012. 16. ibid. 17. “dignitas: live with dignity – die with dignity,” accessed april 22, 2013. http://www.dignitas.ch/index.php?option=com_content &view=article&id=4&lang=en. 18. choosing to die. 19. choosing to die. 20. choosing to die. 21. oregon department of public health, “death with dignity act annual reports,” january 16, 2012. 22. ibid. 23. ibid. 24. the royal society of medicine, “legalise non-voluntary euthanasia, says professor of medical ethics,” the royal society of medi63 death: a conversation cine (2006). 25. france24. “france opens the door to medically-assisted suicide,” france 24, december 19, 2012. 26. ibid. 27 ibid. 28. fraser 29 michael leidig, “dignitas is investigated for helping health woman to die,” bmj: british medical journal 331.7526 (2005): 1160. references bazalgette, louise, bradley, william, and ousbey, jenny. “hidden data provide new insights…”: the truth about suicide. london: demos, 2011. chambaere, bilsen, cohen, onwuteaka-philipsen, mortier, deliens. “physician-assisted under the euthanasia law in belgium: a population based survey.” canadian medical association journal. 17 may 2010. 20 april 2013. print. chappele a, ziebland s, mcpherson a, et al. “what people close to death say about euthanasia and assisted suicide: a qualitive study.” the journal of medical ethics. no. 32. pg 706-710. 2006. print. dignitas – “live with dignity die with dignity.” 18 april 2013. 22 april 2013. web. france24. “france opens the door to medically-assisted suicide.” france 24. 19 dec. 2012. 25 apr. 2013 <http://www.france24. com/en/20121219-france-medically-assisted-suicide-euthanasiahealthcare-reform-hollande> holmes, thalia. “granting a death wish: south africa’s euthanasia debate.” 28 march 2013. <http://mg.co.za/article/2013-03-2800-granting-a-death-wish> leidig, michael. “dignitas is investigated for helping health woman to die.” bmj: british medical journal. vol 331. no. 7526. pg. 1160. bmj publishing group: 2005. jstor. 23 april, 2013. print. fraser, sharon; walters, james. “death – whose decision? euthanasian and the terminally ill.” journal of medical ethics. california: 2000. print. oregon department of public health. “death with dignity act annual reports.” 16 january 2013. 22 april 2013. <http://public. health.oregon.gov/providerpartnerresources/evaluationresearch/deathwithdignityact/pages/ar-index.aspx> the royal society of medicine. “legalise non-voluntary euthanasia, says professor of medical ethics.” the royal society of medicine report. 2006. 22 april 2012. print. rachels, james. “active and passive euthanasia.” intervention and reflection: basic issues in medical ethics. 5th ed. pp 171-175. belmont; wadsworth 1996. print. terry pratchett: choosing to die. dir. charlie russell. prod. charlie russell. 2011. keo north, 13 june 2011. bbc television. white, james e. “active and passive euthanasia: james rachels.” contemporary moral problems. pp 155-160. cengage learning: 2008. print. world health organization, alzheimer’s disease international. “neurological disorders: public health challenges.” dementia: a public health priority. pp 50-112. 2012. print. 64 elements : : spring 2014 in august 2008, russian tanks and troops rolled into the neighboring state of georgia to fight over the disputed separatist regions of south ossetia and abkhazia. since then, the five-day war has been justified by russia as an act of humanitarian intervention, even as the west has denounced it as a show of aggressive neo-imperialism against a democracy. such simplistic judgments, however, hide the more complex truth that both sides were at fault. enabled by the nationalist sentiments and new political structures of its rose revolution, georga overzealously plunged into battle on the misguided expectation of american assistance, while russia craftily exploited a humanitarian crisis to pursue long-standing policy objectives. a comparison with the 1991-1992 south ossetian war, in which russia did not intervene on a state basis, reveals that the main difference lies not in a policy change but in the two states’ relative power distributions and practical considerations, which made direct russian-georgian war tenable in 2008 but not in 1991. altruism and imperialism russia’s invasion of georgia in the five-day war sean keeley in august 2008, just as leaders of the international community gathered in beijing for the summer olympics, the world’s attention was diverted to a volatile region of the south caucasus. on the morning of august 8, russian troops and tanks rolled into the neighboring state of georgia in response to georgian attacks on the city of tskhinvali, part of the disputed separatist region of south ossetia.1 five days, 850 deaths and 100,000 displaced civilians later, russia emerged the clear military victor, making a peace settlement with georgia, while for the first time declaring the territories of south ossetia and abkhazia independent states.2 russia may have easily won the military victory, but they did not emerge unscathed on the international stage. for many in the west, what came to be known as the five-day war was a troubling indication of russian aggression, imperialism, and even a return to cold war-era power politics.3 senator john mccain spoke for many in denouncing russia for invading “a small, democratic neighbor to gain more control over the world’s oil supply, intimidate other neighbors, and further their ambitions of reassembling the russian empire.”4 the russians, however, put forth a much different story, claiming that they intervened for humanitarian purposes following georgia’s aggressive attacks on tskhinvali and their general oppression of the south ossetian minority.5 in november of 2008, russian foreign minister sergei lavrov argued that the war was fought “to defend the highest civilization values: the right of a human for life and freedom, protection against ethnic discrimination.”6 with such dichotomous views of the war’s origin and purpose, the question remains: why did the 2008 russiangeorgian war happen? since the war, opinions as to its cause have tended to be split along stark lines, with many commentators seeking a “criminal/victim distinction” that would place the blame solely on one side.7 however, such views are short-sighted, informed by bias that overlooks larger historical trends and the uncomfortable truth that both parties were almost equally at fault. looking at the south ossetia war of 1991-1992—a similar conflict between georgia and south ossetia that saw a more moderate russian response—provides a fruitful comparison to explain why russia responded so aggressively in 2008 but was more hands-off in the earlier conflict. the evidence suggests that russia’s invasion in 2008 was not a coldly premeditated attack nor a sincere altruistic effort, but rather a shrewdly opportunistic action that took advantage of a humanitarian crisis to achieve russian policy objectives. under the aggressive leadership of prime minister vladimir putin and president dmitri medvedev and equipped with considerable military power, russia was able to act decisively in a manner that would have been impossible in the chaotic transition period of the early 1990s. however, it was georgia that first initiated the conflict and gave russia an excuse to invade. the new political system ushered in with georgia’s rose revolution of 2003 gave great power to the executive, allowing president mikheil saakashvili to make largely unchecked decisions. he overestimated u.s. assistance and did not foresee the strength of the russian response to his aggressive targeting of south ossetia. russia’s action was not a policy aberration but a fulfillment of their existing objectives, enabled by georgia’s rash attacks and russia’s improved power standing compared to 1991. altruism or imperialism history is full of cases in which a strong, politically potent state invades a much smaller and weaker one. when this happens, the justification for the intrusion can generally be explained by one of two opposing schema: the “interventionist” and the “imperialist” explanation. the connotations to these two words suggest their distinct meanings. “interventionism,” as defined here, entails policies where a third party intercedes in a conflict to bring about an outcome with some purported moral good—whether it is promoting democracy, halting genocide, or ceasing hostilities between warring factions. “imperialism,” on the other hand, carries no such benevolent pretensions. when states act on imperialist motives, they are acting to project their power, and extend their sphere of influence. defined in this way, it is easy to see that imperialist invasion has a long history. thucydides’ “melian dialogue,” appearing in his history of the peloponnesian war, provides the quintessential example of imperialist logic. the dialogue presents an argument between the powerful athenians, who wish to conquer the small island of melos as a pawn in their larger war against sparta, and the peaceful, neutral melians. over the course of the dialogue, the athenians dismiss all of the melians’ morality-based arguments about why they should be spared.8 the athenians instead declare, “the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept,” a famous quote that encapsulates the power-based philosophy underlying imperialism.9 when a large and powerful state invades a lesser one, therefore, the imperialist explanation 66 elements : : spring 2014 says that the larger country is looking after itself, exploiting a weaker neighbor for its own selfish interest—whether that interest lies in tactical strategy, economic wealth, or some other factor. interventionist logic, on the other hand, is a more modern phenomenon, and the assumptions involved are radically different than those behind imperialism. the intervening state is assumed to be essentially altruistic, an actor with a moral stake in the issue who mediated in order to guide a less capable actor to a desired resolution. in today’s world, most intervention comes through the context of international organizations like the un or nato rather than unitary actors; international action in bosnia and somalia provide relevant examples.10 still, when states invade much smaller countries, they usually do so by appealing to some moral good justifying the necessity to intervene, thus employing interventionist logic. perhaps such a strong dichotomy between intervention and imperialism is deceptive, for many wars between strong states and much weaker ones can be explained by a combination of the two factors. in such a case, the powerful state would intervene to create an outcome that at once promoted a desired moral good while remaining strategically useful for the invading country. the united states’ intervention in vietnam serves as an illustrative example: american leaders invaded both to prevent the spread of communism, which they denounced as a moral evil, while also acting to contain the soviet union’s spread of influence across the world.11 indeed, much of the cold war was fought on these twin justifications of ideology and strategic interest, employing both interventionist and imperialist thinking. however, all three of these causal mechanisms approach the question from the perspective of the invading state, without addressing the invaded state’s actions that may have caused such a response. it is quite possible that the decision to invade could come about from tactics of aggression or provocation on the part of the smaller state. even an ostensibly weak, small state is not helpless, and it could conceivably be hostile or violent enough toward the larger state to trigger a response of invasion and war. indeed, the most convincing formulation for why large states invade much smaller ones comes from a combination of these last two mechanisms. in the modern international order, even powerful states would be very reluctant to invade a tiny neighbor on purely imperialist grounds. widespread, shared norms of human rights, along with the constraints of international institutions and the threat of punishment, prevent most developed countries from invading the grounds of pure power-seeking. some other justification must be proffered to make such an invasion palatable to the international community. still, it is unrealistic to expect countries to intervene with purely benevolent, unselfish motivations. no state would logically commit its troops and money to resolving a conflict in which it had no real strategic interest. thus, such invasions are most likely when there exists a strategic interest in the smaller state, and when the volatile dynamics of the small state can justify humanitarian intervention. the powder keg of the south caucasus to understand the causes for the conflicts in south ossetia in 1991 and 2008, one must first briefly explore the historical origins of the region’s tension. south ossetia is a mountainous region located on georgia’s northern border with russia, with a population that is primarily of iranian origin and quite distinct from most native georgians.12 the conflict between the ossetian population and georgia goes back at least as far as 1917, when many ossetians allied with the bolsheviks against georgia in order to reunify with the russian-controlled north ossetia.13 the georgian state, seeking homogeneity, denied south ossetia the right to autonomy and committed bloody acts of ethnic cleansing, killing 5,000 and sending 20,000 ossetian refugees fleeing to russia.14 the soviet union’s takeover of georgia cooled such nationalist movements, but they resurfaced in dramatic fashion as the ussr fell apart in the late 1980s, leading to the two cases under consideration here.15 the 1991-1992 south ossetian war and the 2008 five-day war are good candidates for comparison because of several shared constants as well as a few key divergences. both conflicts arose from long-standing border conflicts and ethno-historic tensions between south ossetia and geor“the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept.” 67 altruism and imperialism gia. both drew in russia in one form or another—as impartial peacekeepers in the first case, and as an invading force in the second. in both cases, georgia was led by a zealously nationalistic president determined to prevent south ossetia from separating—zviad gamsakhurdia in 1991 and mikheil saakashvili in 2008.16 and yet, for all these similarities, the two conflicts arose during two distinct political climates—russia in 2008 was a much different power than the crumbling ussr of the early 1990s, and the same is true for georgia following the rose revolution in 2003. these key differences show why one conflict spurred direct russian-georgian war and the other did not. the 1991-1992 south ossetia war the south ossetian conflict resurfaced in the early 90s as the ussr was crumbling internally and new georgian nationalism was rising. zviad gamsakhurdia, soon to be first president of the new georgia, stoked such sentiments by calling for a “georgia for the georgians,” antagonizing the south ossetian and abkhazian minorities.17 georgian calls for russian and georgian to be the national languages angered south ossetia, and periodic skirmishes began to occur starting in 1989. in september 1990, after south ossetia declared its sovereignty as an independent republic separate from georgia, legal tussles between georgia and south ossetia soon escalated, to the point where georgia abolished the region’s autonomy, while moscow issued decrees trying to countermand these rulings and keep things under control.18 nonetheless, a state of emergency was declared and combat broke out on a large scale between georgian and south ossetian forces.19 gamsakhurdia’s government first tried to take the region’s capital city of tskhinvali in january 1991 with paramilitary forces, then in september with the national guard, and finally launched a devastating attack in june 1992 which destroyed almost 80 percent of the city’s dwellings.20 the sochi agreement, a ceasefire treaty brokered by russia, was subsequently signed on june 24, and provided for peacekeeping forces from russia, georgia, and north ossetia.21 throughout the war, russia kept a close eye on the developments, and some individual russian soldiers and peacekeepers did participate in the conflict on the side of south ossetia.22 still, the russian government never officially committed its troops to the conflict, despite clear strategic interest and humanitarian reasons for doing so. strategically, russia stood to hold on to the territory of south ossetia even as georgia—and so many other soviet states—were slipping away. early in 1991, one south ossetian politician said, “we are the only nation which wants gorbachev to declare emergency rule.”23 indeed, the region was crying out for soviet rule while the rest of the ussr was splitting up. moscow made its support of the south ossetian cause clear enough, issuing a presidential decree from gorbachev that chided georgia’s legal actions as unconstitutional and demanded the immediate removal of armed forces.24 nevertheless, russia’s actions did not seem to measure up to such strong rhetoric. beyond self-interested imperialist motives, russia could also surely conceive of humanitarian justifications for intervention. much of the georgian offensive was based on the principle of ethnic cleansing—gamsakhurdia, after all, was a nationalist who was not above denouncing mixed marriages and claiming that the ossetians had “no right to a state here in georgia…they are a national minority.”25 putin talks to italian prime minister silvio berlusconi. (photo courtesy of www.kremlin.ru) 68 elements : : spring 2014 the actions of his forces bore out that message with startling violence, as the georgians bombed tskhinvali mercilessly, burned entire villages, and ultimately killed about 1,000 people while creating many more refugees.26 the 1991-1992 war, then, would seem to carry both the imperialist and interventionist justifications for going to war: russia had a strategic interest in holding on to power in the region, and they witnessed widespread humanitarian atrocities on the part of georgia. that russia did not commit itself militarily is a sign that such causes are not sufficient to trigger an invasion. one must also consider the existing power dynamics and political structures behind each country’s actions. by examining the situation while considering that factor, it is clear that early 1990s russia could not afford being drawn into a drawn-out military conflict—a fact that georgia counted on. russia in the early 1990s was a shambles, and its military was no less so. in his 1993 article “fallen from grace: the new russian military,” john erickson traces the decline of the russian military into a “hungry, homeless, and orphaned” force whose prestige was tarnished by corruption, but also by a disillusioned press that turned distinctly antimilitary in the days of perestroika.27 this skepticism toward military solutions was certainly on display during the south ossetian conflict. in june 1992, for example, a prominent moscow paper published an opinion piece arguing that despite russia’s obligations to south ossetia, “the decisive use of military force is a last resort, one that is capable only of freezing the conflict, not of resolving it.”28 russia’s run-down military, popular discontentment with the regime and its use of military force, and the general brokenness of the soviet system made a military commitment in georgia untenable. aware of this fact, gamsakhurdia surely acted more aggressively than he otherwise would have, even if not all of the damage can be attributed to him. as vicken cheterian points out, the state of georgia in the early 90s was only just constructing its armed forces, and “the conflicts were led by semi-official armed formations inspired by national ideology and often motivated by criminal interests.”29 sixteen years later, though, georgia’s state structures would be much more solidified and their aggression would receive a very different response from moscow. the five-day war when war broke out in the south caucasus once again in august 2008, the situation in south ossetia was both eerily familiar and scarily unprecedented. the governments of russia and georgia had undergone major transformation since 1991. the russian federation rose from the ashes of the ussr and 2003’s rose revolution, carried out after disputed parliamentary elections, putting president mikheil saakashvili into power in georgia under what was supposedly a more democratic system. meanwhile in south ossetia, minor and sporadic fighting between georgians and ossetians had occurred since the ceasefire, but the peacekeepers put in place by the sochi agreement were still in force.30 still, the renewal of the conflict was not entirely unexpected. during the summer of 2008, both georgian and russian troops engaged in separate military exercises, anticipating possible combat. moreover, the georgians did so with u.s. troops by their side.31 united states secretary of state condoleeza rice had visited georgia in july, expressing american support for georgia’s attempted union with nato while cautioning against the use of force or the provocation of russia.32 nonetheless, on the night of august 7, georgian tanks began bombing the city of tskhinvali in south ossetia, in order to “restore constitutional order” to the region, and russia responded during the early hours of august 8 by invading georgia via the roki tunnel.33 although there have been considerable disputes as to the exact timing of events, an independent, 1,100page report commissioned by the eu found that georgia did trigger the immediate conflict, even if war had been brewing for years.34 many have pointed to russia’s swift and decisive deployment of troops as proof that the invasion was premeditated, and that the russian leadership was trying to spring a trap in order to justify invasion.35 it is more accurate to say that russia was acting on an existing contingency plan in the case violence should erupt in the region. the combat readiness of russian troops on the border is not surpris“that russia did not commit itself militarily is a sign that such causes are not sufficient to trigger an invasion.” 69 altruism and imperialism ing, considering the historic volatility of south ossetia and the escalating tensions in the weeks leading up to the war. critics of russia have tended to harp on anecdotal accounts, such as that published in a russian newspaper on august 15, of russian soldiers claiming that they were deployed on august 7, before the georgian bombing of tskhinvali.36 even if some battalions were deployed early, though, that fact does not discredit the entire russian army, nor does it explain the mechanism by which russia could set a “trap” for georgia. such one-sided finger-pointing tends to ignore the extensive evidence of georgian premeditation. in the weeks leading up to the attack on tskhinvali, the georgian government shut down the main water supplies to the city, shut down news access in south ossetia, and moved into position even while claiming that there were no troop movements.37 such actions do not suggest the behavior of an innocent state stumbling into a trap, but rather the concerted efforts of a state preparing for conflict. in retrospect, georgia’s aggression in south ossetia seems foolish, for the georgian military could not have possibly matched the might of russian forces. however, saakashvili was emboldened by his close relationship with the united states, the much-improved georgian military (since 2005 the army’s ranks had swelled by 46 per cent), and the expectation that he would only be fighting south ossetian militias, not russia.38 although u.s. leaders like condoleeza rice are on record as having warned saakashvili against the use of force, there is evidence to suggest that he was expecting u.s. assistance if fighting broke out. american talk of obligations to defend allies, american support for georgia’s quest to join nato, the joint u.s.georgian military maneuvers that summer, and longstanding friendships between saakashvili and politicians like john mccain all likely contributed to saakashvili’s confidence in the alliance.39 at the same time, russia’s lack of a direct intervention in the 1991-92 conflict surely made the prospect of a russian invasion unlikely. finally, saakashvili’s errors were enabled on the basis of a system he had helped create. when he took power during the rose revolution, saakashvili made some democratic reforms, but he also dramatically increased executive powers in order to successfully fulfill his policies.40 thus, saakashvili’s decisions went largely unchecked, and he was able to put his miscalculated policies into place with hardly any challengers. why did russia respond so strongly, though? a perusal of official accounts reveals an attempt to justify intervention to the international community using a variety of established principles. first russia invoked article 51 of the un charter and argued its right for self-defense, since georgian actions killed a number of russian peacekeepers.41 russia also argued that its response was merely a “reinforced russian peacekeeping contingent,” an extended response to saakashvili’s violation of the 1992 sochi agreement.42 most gravely, putin used the word “genocide” to describe georgia’s attacks on south ossetia, and thus invoked the responsibility to protect doctrine.43 none of these justifications of the russian invasion is entirely convincing. russian civilians died in the 1991 conflict, yet the state did not invade georgia. violent ethnic cleansing occurred then, too, but again, no direct response. nor, for that matter, has russia seemed to express much concern for the discontented minorities within its own borders, whether in chechnya or circassia.44 finally, russia was no supporter of the nato military intervention in kosovo, so it seems disconcerting that they would sudgeorgian prime minister mikheil saakashvili delivers a speech in tibilisi. (courtesy of wikimedia) 70 elements : : spring 2014 denly apply the same responsibility to protect logic to their own conflicts.45 even as such justifications ring hollow as motivational factors, though, russia’s invocation of them does at least suggest that in today’s world, such principled norms are needed to make such invasions theoretically acceptable. in some way, this is a testament to the power of such norms— though it is also disturbing that russia could manipulate them to their own ends. commentators such as charles king have argued that the five day war shows russia distancing itself from western institutions, yet russia’s need to explain its actions in the language of un initiatives and humanitarian principles suggests that such ideas do have sway.46 purely imperialist motives for invasion are simply not acceptable to the international community. ultimately, though, it was imperialist motives that most defined russia’s reaction to georgian aggression. its powerful response was enabled by a stronger, more stable russian military than in 1991 and by russia’s more prominent place in the international order compared to the transitional chaos of the early 90s. such a dramatic invasion was also more vital to russian strategic interest than in 1991 because of subsequent developments, notably georgia’s ambitions to join nato and its burgeoning alliance with the united states, both of which threatened russia’s sphere of influence. russia may not have premeditated the war with georgia, but it was ready to respond to their aggression, and doing so with resolute force solidified their power in the region. conclusion russia’s decision to invade georgia in august 2008 was sufficiently shocking—especially in comparison with russia’s more measured response to the south ossetia war in 1991—to cause a bevy of reactionary responses in the west, with many commentators painting russia as the sole villain and decrying a return to soviet-era aggression. the true factors underlying the five-day war of 2008, however, encompass much greater territory than simplistic russian evildoing. the premeditated aggression of georgia toward south ossetia, catalyzed by u.s. support and demonstrated in president saakashvili’s actions against the south ossetians prior to august 7, cannot be dismissed as a causal factor spurring russia to a violent reaction. and though russia’s motivations for invading were hardly selfless, their actions do not represent a sudden return to soviet antagonism or a new policy deviation. if anything, their actions represent the fulfillment of longexisting objectives to hold on to power in the region—objectives they were unable to follow through on in 1991 due to a crumbling political structure and weak military. the russian-georgian war of 2008 will continue to hold immense meaning for the future of u.s.-russian relations, but its implications extend far beyond the sphere of those two countries. russia’s use of humanitarian justifications for invasion, though arguably representative of the power of those norms, should also raise concerns about other states’ potential for similarly manipulating them. doctrines like the responsibility to protect were conceived in good faith and with the understanding that they would be used for benevolent purposes. however, the 2008 war reveals that they can also be shrewdly manipulated to serve a state’s own strategic goals. the united states and the international community should work to clarify such doctrines’ applicability and minimize the possibility of them being exploited. the renewed mistrust and condemnation of russia on the part of many u.s. politicians following the five-day war raises the unfortunate possibility that u.s.-russian relations will continue to be characterized by hostile cold warstyle rhetoric. instead, the united states should use the lessons of the war to try to understand russia’s objectives rather than denouncing them outright. the united states should also perform some self-examination about its own role in the war. america’s fervent, almost unquestioning support of georgia—a state that is much less democratic than it appears—certainly played a role in encouraging saakashvili’s overconfidence and precipitating georgian aggression in south ossetia. the united states should consider that its policy of supporting fledgling democracies should not blind themselves to the corruptions of those governments, nor their propensity for conflict. “purely imperialist motives for invasion are simply not acceptable to the international community.” 71 altruism and imperialism although the five-day war was settled quickly and forcefully, the questions it raises still linger. one line of inquiry involves russia’s future ambitions in the region. the war demonstrated russia’s forceful commitment to maintaining influence in the south caucasus and fighting the encroachment of nato into its sphere of influence. since 2008, no comparable wars have erupted in the region, but the question remains whether russia would use its military force again to achieve its objectives. another set of questions pertain to relations between america and russia. after the war, many saw a sharp decline in the two countries’ relationship, but the obama administration promised a reset. fruitful research could be dedicated to the subject of whether or not the obama administration has significantly changed american policy toward russia or improved relations. finally, the war broaches the topic of how international doctrines of humanitarian intervention or genocide prevention can be twisted to suit a state’s self-interest. future scholarship could place the five-day war within this conceptual context to explore other cases where such tactics have been used, and offer prescriptions to prevent them. endnotes 1. charles king, “the five-day war: managing moscow after the georgia crisis,” foreign affairs 87:6 (2008): 2. 2. mike bowker, “the war in georgia and the western response,” central asian survey, 30:2 (2011): 207. 3. ibid., 197. 4. daniel treisman, the return: russia’s journey from gorbachev to medvedev (new york: free press, 2011) 154. 5. roy allison, “russia resurgent? moscow’s campaign to ‘coerce georgia to peace,’” international affairs 84:6 (2008): 1151. 6. rick fawn and robert nalbandov, “the difficulties of knowing the start of war in the information age: russia, georgia, and the war over south ossetia, august 2008,” european security, 21:1 (2012): 72. 7. noelle higgins and kieran o’reilly, “the use of force, wars of national liberation and the right to self-determination in the south ossetian conflict,” international criminal law review 9:3 (2009): 583. 8. thucydides, “the melian dialogue,” in international politics: enduring concepts and contemporary issues, ed. robert j. art and robert jervis. (boston: pearson education, 2013), 8-14. 9. ibid., 9. 10. walter clarke and jeffrey herbst, “somalia and the future of humanitarian intervention, foreign affairs 75:2 (1996): 70. 11. john f. kennedy’s inaugural address suggested moral purposes for the war (“to assure the survival and success of liberty,” and to help those “across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery…because it is right.”) yet vietnam was also recognizably a manifestation of the george kennan’s containment policy to stop the ussr’s expansion. “inaugural address of john f. kennedy,” the avalon project, accessed by may 6, 2013, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/ kennedy.asp. 12. higgins and o’reilly, “the use of force,” 568. 13. julian birch, “ossetiya—land of uncertain frontiers and manipulative elites,” central asian survey, 18:4 (1999): 502. 14. ibid. 15. ibid., 503. 16. higgins and o’reilly, “the use of force,” 4-5. 17. ronald d. asmus, a little war that shook the world: georgia, russia, and the future of the west (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2010). 60. 18. birch, “ossetiya,” 503. 19. christopher zurcher, pavel baev, and jan koehler, “civil wars in the caucasus,” in understanding civil war: evidence and analysis, vol. 2—europe, central asia, and other regions, ed. paul collier and nicholas sambanis, (washington, d.c.: world bank publications, 2005.) 268. 2-. ibid. 21. higgins and o’reilly, “the use of force,” 4. 22. king, “the five-day war,” 5. 23. birch, “ossetiya,” 504. 24. mikhail gorbachev, “decree of the president of the union of soviet socialist republics: on certain legislative actions adopted in december 1990 in the georgian ssr,” in countdown to war in georgia: russia’s foreign policy and media coverage of the conflict in south ossetia and abkhazia, ed. ana k. neidermaier. (minneapolis: east view press, 2008), 19-20. 25. birch, “ossetiya,” 503-504. 26. ibid., 504 and “georgia: avoiding war in south ossetia,” (tbisili/brussels: international crisis group, 2004), 4. accessed at http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/ untc/unpan019224.pdf, 4. 27. john erickson, “fallen from grace: the new russian military,” world policy journal, 10:2 (1993), 19-24. 28. mikheil shevelev, “epicenter: war is coming from the south – the fate of peace in southern russia is being decided today in ossetia,” in countdown to war in georgia: russia’s foreign policy and media coverage of the conflict in south ossetia and abkhazia, ed. ana k. neidermaier. (minneapolis: east view press, 2008), 44. 29. vicken cheterian, “the august 2008 war in georgia: from ethnic conflict to border wars,” central asian survey, 28:2 (2009): 157. 30. king, “the five-day war,” 5. 31. ibid., 164. 72 elements : : spring 2014 32. ibid. 33. nicolai n. petro, “the russia-georgia war: causes and consequences,” global dialogue 11 (2009): 1. 34. for a detailed look at the uncertainties of the timing and the dispute over who started the war, see fawn and nalbandov, “the difficulties of knowing the start of war in the information age.” the authors’ summary of the eu report cited above is on page 58. 35. petro summarizes (and then contests) this argument in “the russia-georgia war: causes and consequences,” 3. 36. fawn and nalbandov, “the difficulties of knowing the start of war in the information age,” 70. 37. petro, “the russia-georgia war: causes and consequences,” 5. 38. ibid. 39. bowker, “the war in georgia and the western response,” 204206. 40. ibid., 204. 41. roy allison, “russia resurgent? moscow’s campaign to ‘coerce georgia to peace,’” international affairs 84:6 (2008): 1151. 42. ibid. 43. ibid. 44. king, “the five-day war,” 6. 45. memli krasniqi, “russian opposition should not defer kosovo’s independence,” today’s zaman, last modified april 12, 2007, http://www.todayszaman.com/newsdetail_getnewsbyid. action?load=detay&link=108072. 46. ibid, 11. references ronald d. asmus, a little war that shook the world: georgia, russia, and the future of the west (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2010). countdown to war in georgia: russia’s foreign policy and media coverage of the conflict in south ossetia and abkhazia, ed. ana k. neidermaier. (minneapolis: east view press, 2008) daniel treisman, the return: russia’s journey from gorbachev to medvedev (new york: free press, 2011) international politics: enduring concepts and contemporary issues, ed. robert j. art and robert jervis. (boston: pearson education, 2013) understanding civil war: evidence and analysis, vol. 2—europe, central asia, and other regions, ed. paul collier and nicholas sambanis, (washington, d.c.: world bank publications, 2005.) julian birch, “ossetiya—land of uncertain frontiers and manipulative elites,” central asian survey, 18:4 (1999): 501-534. vicken cheterian, “the august 2008 war in georgia: from ethnic conflict to border wars,” central asian survey, 28:2 (2009): 155170. john erickson, “fallen from grace: the new russian military,” world policy journal, 10:2 (1993), 19-24. rick fawn and robert nalbandov, “the difficulties of knowing the start of war in the information age: russia, georgia, and the war over south ossetia, august 2008,” european security, 21:1 (2012): 57-89. noelle higgins and kieran o’reilly, “the use of force, wars of national liberation and the right to self-determination in the south ossetian conflict,” international criminal law review 9:3 (2009): 567-583. roy allison, “russia resurgent? moscow’s campaign to ‘coerce georgia to peace,’” international affairs 84:6 (2008): 1145-1171. nicolai n. petro, “the russia-georgia war: causes and consequences,” global dialogue 11 (2009): 1-10. charles king, “the five-day war: managing moscow after the georgia crisis,” foreign affairs 87:6 (2008): 2-11. mike bowker, “the war in georgia and the western response,” central asian survey, 30:2 (2011): 197-211. walter clarke and jeffrey herbst, “somalia and the future of humanitarian intervention, foreign affairs 75:2 (1996): 70-85. “georgia: avoiding war in south ossetia,” (tbisili/brussels: international crisis group, 2004), 4. accessed at http://unpan1. un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/untc/unpan019224.pdf, 4. memli krasniqi, “russian opposition should not defer kosovo’s independence,” today’s zaman, last modified april 12, 2007, http://www.todayszaman.com/newsdetail_getnewsbyid. action?load=detay&link=108072. 73 altruism and imperialism richard balagtas is a sophomore in the college of arts and sciences. he is studying philosophy and political science with concentrations in business ethics and international human rights. he is involved in the bystander intervention program at boston college, and he is the director of faculty relations for bcharity: water. in his spare time, richard enjoys playing tennis, and he coaches graduate students and young children at bc’s recreational complex. jen dobias is a member of the honors program in the college of arts and sciences, class of 2014. she is a communications major with minors in film studies and management & leadership. a sports writer with a passion for ice hockey, her paper was inspired by her desire to explore one of the darker moments in the nhl’s history to see how it has continued to affect the game. a new jersey native, she has worked for the courier-post and the wilkes-barre/ scranton penguins and her articles have been featured in usa today’s daily pitch and the college hockey news. she also founded a boston college sports blog and was a member of the screaming eagles marching band sean keeley sean keeley is a junior at boston college, majoring in international studies with a particular interest in russian politics. he is spending the spring 2014 semester in russia, studying at smolny college in st. petersburg. when on campus, sean works at instructional design & eteaching services and writes for the arts section of the heights, for which he served as an editor in 2013. his paper in this issue of elements was written for professor peter krause’s introduction to international studies course in may 2013. marissa marandola is a sophomore in the college of arts and sciences, majoring in political science with minors in american studies and management and leadership. her academic interests include american constitutional law and development, geographic and ideological political polarization, and youth participation in politics. she works as a research assistant to professor david hopkins of the political science department and earned an advanced study grant to explore an establishment clause controversy in her home town of cranston, ri. author biographies michael martina brandon short is a member of the class of 2014 of the college of arts and sciences studying linguistics, philosophy, and economics. he is originally from long island, new york. his academic areas of interest include sociolinguistics, natural law theory, psychoanalysis, and ancient philosophy. post-graduation, he will attend law school and has hopes of working on the prosecutorial side of criminal law. brandon is a member of the glbtq community. alexander trimes is a senior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in english and minoring in philosophy. he spent the fall term of his junior year studying abroad at queen mary, university of london, and hopes to teach english in japan following graduation. his academic interests include literary and cultural theory, as well as postmodern literature. as a long-term goal, alexander plans to further pursue these interests through graduate study. his article was originally written for professor restuccia’s “contemporary novels of the world” seminar. list of artwork todd bertuzzi 2005 © wikimedia commons bradmay © wikimedia commons girogio agamben, wall portrait © thierry ehrmann/ wikimedia commons byron 1824 © thomas phillips/ wikimedia commons ik people 2005 © cevin soling/ wikimedia commons un general assembly hall © patrick gruban/ wikimedia commons suzzane collins 2010 © david shankbone/ wikimedia commons jennifer lawrence at the 83rd academy awards © minglemediatv friedrich nietsche 1874 © mr f. hartmann terry pratchet at worldcon 2005 © wikimedia commons pentobarbital 2d skeleton © wikimedia commons putin talks to italian prime minister © kremlin 11 13 26 29 34 38 47 48 53 58 60 68 saakashvili, italian prime minister © wikimedia commons 70 "la dolce vita aspired with unprecedented ambition to make film a core media of high modern art, and the cultural conditions of its production could not have been more auspicious for such an ambition." f i l m as history fdlini's la dolce vita as a historical artifact z a c h z i m m e r m a n n , c in 1960, italy was a country in rapid cultural t r a n s i t i o n . nowhere was this cultural current, this ebb of conservative italian virtue and flow of flashy italian c o n s u m e r ism, more evident than in italy's a g e o l d seat of power: rome. during this time, famed director f e d e r i c o fellini undertook to enlist t h e elements o f h i g h m o d e r n i s m and auteurism in t h e creation of a work of art that would capture s o m e t h i n g of t h e new culture rising in rome. t h e result was t h e now canonical film la dolce vita. infamous for its sensuality, but e m i n e n t for its masterly artistic story-telling, fifty years have s e e n t h e value of f e l l i n l ' s film for film critics and historians alike increase substantially. here, that value will be assessed by an analysis of t h e film's reception at t h e time of its release, followed by a c l o s e look at t h e film itself. an exploration of how la dolce vita simultaneously captures and criticizes t h e period of its production demonstrates this work o f art's invaluable status as a historical artifact. o i n t r o d u c t i o n as federico fell ini 's in famous f i l m la dolce vita begins, a hel icopter suspends a statue o f chr i s t as i t flies over the city o f rome, the helicopter, a man-made marve l , passes an ancient r o m a n aqueduct as i t nears h is tor ic st. peter's basilica. w i t h this p o w e r f u l v isual , fe l l in i i m m e d i a t e l y alerts the viewer to the d i s t i n c t i o n between the o l d r o m e — the rome o f ancient structures, m o n u m e n t s , a n d churches—and the new, m o d e r n rome. th i s o p e n i n g alerts the audience that the h i m w i l l consider and reflect o n the n e w rome. fe l l in i h i m s e l f acknowledged that , w h i l e i n t e n d i n g to make a very dif ferent type o f film after his previous film, nights of cahiria, he came to "realize that the rome he h a d i n t e n d e d to depict had been replaced by another city, m o r e brash a n d cosmopol i tan . " 1 instead, fe l l in i made the can o n i c a l film, la dolce vita, o f equal value to film critics and histor ians alike. as an e m i n e n t w o r k o f its t i m e , the film a n d its recept ion elucidate the c l imate w h i c h produced i t ; b u t the film also reacts against that c l imate i n ways w h i c h have become histor ical ly fascinating i n the decades since its release. indeed, la dolce vita crystall ized s o m e t h i n g o f italy's u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f salvation i n i 9 6 0 , and remains , therefore, an invaluable artifact. la dolce vita documents the tale o f gossip c o l u m n i s t marcello r u b i n i , and s o m e t h i n g o f that tale s h o u l d be t o l d here p r i o r to a discussion o f the film. h a v i n g left h is dreary, prov inc ia l existence b e h i n d , marcel lo wanders t h r o u g h an u l t r a m o d e r n , ultra-sophisticated, ultra-decadent rome. h e yearns to w r i t e seriously, b u t his inconsequent ia l newspaper pieces b r i n g i n m o r e money, and he is too lazy to struggle against th is c o n d i t i o n . instead marcel lo attaches h i m s e l f to a bored socialite whose search for t h r i l l s b r ings the pair i n t o contact w i t h a n u m b e r o f fantastical characters. the events that fo l low f o r m seven d is t inct episodes o f act ion that are loosely threaded together. t h r o u g h o u t al l h is adventures, marcello's dreams, fantasies, a n d n i g h t mares m i r r o r the h e d o n i s m o f his w a k i n g l i fe . i t is these m o m e n t s o f unrea l i ty that un i fy the seven episodes i n t o a coherent whole , c u l m i n a t i n g w i t h a shrug: w h i l e his l i festyle is shal low a n d u l t i m a t e l y pointless, there is n o t h i n g he can do to change i t , so he m i g h t as w e l l enjoy i t . r e c e p t i o n as a g a u g e of c u l t u r a l c l i m a t e u p o n its domestic release, the film i m m e d i a t e l y caused controversy. a segment o f the i ta l ian p o p u l a t i o n was morally outraged, resu l t ing i n "protests o n the streets as w e l l as i n the papers." 2 conservative o p i n i o n leaders denounced v . the film as l icent ious and m o r a l l y depraved, label ing i t " the w o r k o f a c o m m u n i s t . " 3 soon after the v a t i c a n — w h i c h or ig ina l ly accepted the film—retracted its approval a n d c o n d e m n e d la dolce vita, swift ly b r i n g i n g the clerics w h o h a d i n i t i a l l y approved o f the film i n t o accord w i t h official policy. the press assiduously d o c u m e n t e d these censures, captivat ing pub l i c consciousness and, ironical ly , t u r n i n g "la dolce vita i n t o a social and c u l t u r a l event." 4 partly as a result o f the controversy, the film became an i m m e d i a t e box-office success i n italy and internat iona l ly u p o n its release abroad. 5 ital ians l i n e d u p to see the film u p o n its release. i t was a cu l tura l sensation, u l t i m a t e l y grossing over 2 , 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 l i ra . reflecting o n the decade i n film, the new york times ha i led la dolce vita as "one o f the m o s t wide ly seen a n d acclaimed european movies o f the 1960s." 6 the publ ic 's c lamor to see the film was accompanied by ovations f r o m a m a j o r i t y o f p r o m i n e n t critics i n italy and the rest o f europe. la dolce vita earned the palme d 'or (golden palm) at the i 9 6 0 cannes f i l m festival. the new york times reported that the festival ended " w i t h italy's la dolce vita as the u n a n i m o u s choice for the golden pa lm first pr ize , " its presentat ion be ing so overpower ing that i t h a d "set the tone o f the whole festiva l . " 7 w h e n the film was released i n a m e r i c a the f o l l o w i n g year, the film again received praise f r o m critics w i t h some m i n o r exceptions, a m o n g w h i c h was a notable review i n time magazine: "for al l its vitality, the film is decadent, an artistic f a i lure , " 8 and " "wors t o f a l l , la dolce vita fails to attract the moviegoer as m u c h as i t repulses h i m , fails to insp i re his sympathies as w e l l as his d isgust . " 9 most crit ics , t h o u g h , l ike bosley crowther, a w r i t e r for the new york times, concluded that the film "proved to deserve al l the hurrahs and the impressive honors i t has received." 1 0 i n his review, crowther writes that the film is an "awesome picture , l icent ious i n content b u t m o r a l a n d vastly sophisticated i n its att i tude and what i t says." 1 1 la dolce vita was n o m i n a t e d for four academy awards, i n c l u d i n g best d i r e c t o r — w i n n i n g for best costume design: black-andw h i t e — a n d received a new york f i l m critics circle award for best foreign f i l m . fel l ini 's film was received positively i n a m e r i c a due i n part to the inte l lectual c l imate i n t o w h i c h i t was released. i n the 1950s and 1960s fe l l in i became, as joseph m c b r i d e puts i t , the "director as superstar" 1 2 for academics as w e l l as the p u b l i c . 1 3 fe l l in i achieved such superstardom pr imar i l y because his w o r k as a d i r e c t o r — e p i t o m i z e d i n la dolce e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2 0 1 0 uietato ai minori di t6 ami la dolce vita b r o u g h t t h e a l l u r e o f i t a l i a n c u l t u r e t o c i n e m a s a c r o s s t h e u n i t e d states. vita "dovetailed w i t h three m a j o r movements i n the arts and i n film i n the 1950s and 1960s: h i g h m o d e r n i s m , the art film, a n d a u t e u r i s m . " 1 4 h i g h m o d e r n i s m refers to the a l i g n m e n t o f m o d e r n art w i t h h i g h (versus popular) culture , m a r k i n g a clear d i s t i n c t i o n between innovative, exclusive " h i g h " art and art appearing i n pop cul ture , favori n g the former. a r t film, especially i n a m e r i c a n vernacular, refers to a film that presents i t se l f as a piece o f h i g h art, w i t h such films generally be ing directed by an auteur, or a filmmaker whose films are p r i m a r i l y guided by his o w n creative v i s ion . a l l three o f these movements were interrelated and al l three were f u n d a m e n t a l to fell ini 's internat i o n a l success w i t h la dolce vita. la dolce vita encapsulates the h i g h m o d e r n m o v e m e n t i n film, b e i n g an art film i n every sense o f the w o r d , especially as i t was made u n d e r the d i rec t ion o f the auteur. i n p r o d u c i n g la dolce vita, fe l l in i a t tempted above al l else to craft the film i n t o a piece o f h i g h art. h e drew o n m o d e r n ist l i terature and exper imented w i t h modes o f narrative: the film presents seven loosely connected episodes, resemb l i n g a col lect ion o f short stories that are only m a r g i n a l l y b o u n d . together, this m o d e r n i s t narrative technique, u n convent ional i n film at that t i m e , " c o n f i r m e d fell ini 's repu t a t i o n w i t h i n h i g h m o d e r n i s t circles o f the t i m e " 1 5 and led crit ics to consider the film one o f the greatest art films ever produced. fe l l in i hoped that la dolce vita w o u l d become a c inematic p o e m , and most contemporary critics felt that he had done so. moreover, fell ini 's cont ro l over the direct i o n o f the film was unprecedented and is rare even today. h e crafted each detail o f the film so that i t t r u l y became his piece o f art. f i l m crit ic peter bonadello compared fell ini 's t h e f i l m ' s portrayal o f l o o s e s e x u a l i t y r e s o n a t / i t h a m e r i c a n a u d i e n c e s i n t h e 1960s. construct ion o f his films to " the art produced i n the workshop o f a renaissance painter . . . v i r tua l ly every d e t a i l costumes, m a k e u p , l i g h t i n g , sets—of every film was m i nute ly sketched out by fe l l in i w i t h his famous felt-t ip m a r k e r . " 1 6 la dolce vita aspired w i t h unprecedented a m b i t i o n to make film a core media o f h i g h m o d e r n art, a n d the cu l tura l condit ions o f its p r o d u c t i o n could not have been m o r e auspicious for such an a m b i t i o n . one begins to u n derstand the cr i t ical acc la im. 1 7 the cu l tura l c l imate i n a m e r i c a also c o n t r i b u t e d substant ia l ly to the film's reception by the publ ic , for i t enjoyed considerable box-office receipts o f over $ 19 ,500,000 i n amer ica . th i s success is t i ed to the t i m i n g o f its release, w h i c h coinc ided w i t h a rise i n the a m e r i c a n people's interest i n in te rnat iona l films. as film crit ic frank burke wri tes , there existed "widespread postwar a m e r i c a n movie interests overseas" 1 8 and i ta l ian (and french) c inema experienced considerable success i n a m e r i c a n markets . t h i s popular reception reflected t w o movements i n a m e r i c a n cul ture . first, the recept ion o f la dolce vita—and i ta l ian film i n general—represented a larger cu l tura l fascination w i t h i t aly. d u r i n g the 1950s and 1960s, what a m e r i c a wore , what its citizens drove, a n d h o w they looked, was i n f l u enced considerably by italy's trendsetters, w h i c h i n c l u d e d fashion designers, film directors, and automakers . i f i t came f r o m italy, a n d the designer's n a m e ended i n a vowel, the a m e r i c a n publ ic was b u y i n g i t . even first lady jackie kennedy, an i c o n o f america 's style, was enamored w i t h oleg cassini designs. th i s fascination w i t h i ta l i an cu l ture coincided w i t h a peak i n a m e r i c a n interest i n film. i n this cu l tura l c l imate , i t is n o t s u r p r i s i n g that fe l l in i the i ta l i an director and his mas terwork la dolce vita experienced such popular a n d cr i t ica l success i n amer ica . second, the reception o f the film occurred i n the m i d s t o f an evolving cu l tura l and sexual revo lut ion i n amer ica . not released i n a m e r i c a u n t i l 1961, the reception o f the film was preceded by three s ignif icant events i n a m e r i c a n cult u r a l history: the i s su ing o f the kinsey reports (1948 and 1953), the election o f president john fitzgerald kennedy (january i 9 6 0 ) a n d the development o f the p i l l (may i 9 6 0 ) . the kinsey reports, t w o studies by a l f r e d kinsey explor ing male a n d female sexuality, challenged wide ly h e l d beliefs about h u m a n sexuality, i n c l u d i n g prevalent medica l l i terature that posited that w o m e n were not sexual beings. m o r e t h a n any previous book, kinsey's studies placed sex o n the nat ional stage and i n s p i r e d publ i c dise l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 course o n a m e r i c a n sexuality. these reports h a d b e g u n to t r a n s f o r m american 's perceptions o f sexual behavior, b u t by i 9 6 0 w i t h the election o f the g lamorous and sexy kennedy family, amer icans h a d an entire ly n e w understandi n g o f sex. u n l i k e ever before, amer icans were remarkably open about and interested i n sex. th i s new perspective o n sex affected cr it ics ' percept ion o f the p r o m i s c u i t y i n la dolce vita and drove the pub l i c to the theaters, w a n t i n g to see its cur ios i ty played out o n the b i g screen. a large reason for th is f i lm's popular appeal was its sex appeal. i n t e r n a t i o n a l films h a d m o r e n u d i t y and were generally m o r e r isque t h a n a m e r i c a n films. la dolce vita d i d n o t disappoint . the so-called "orgy scene," the final scene o f the film exc luding the epilogue o n the beach, i n w h i c h marcel lo conducts the revelers, was w h o l l y unprecedented i n f i l m . even the new york times reviewer, w h o lavishly praised the film, noted that the film was " l i c e n t i o u s . " 1 9 roger ebert postulated that the popular reception o f the film was due largely to this e lement o f the film: "we are afraid that , despite the a lmost extreme good taste w i t h w h i c h the mov ie was f i l m e d , we are afraid that m a n y o f the thousands w h o queued u p before the theatre h a d rather elementary m o t i v e s . " 2 0 moreover, the recept ion o f the film also coincided w i t h ser ious economic development i n amer ica . given the corres p o n d i n g social effects o f that development o n 1950s amer ica , the mater ia l ist ic rome that fe l l in i presented i n la dolce vita was not ent ire ly fore ign to a m e r i c a n moviegoers; a m e r i c a n audiences cou ld relate to the film and its social commentary . by 1949 i n amer ica , despite the cont i n u i n g problems o f postwar re-conversion, an economic expansion h a d b e g u n that w o u l d cont inue w i t h only b r i e f i n t e r r u p t i o n s for a lmost twenty years. a m o n g the m o s t s t r i k i n g social developments o f the i m m e d i a t e postwar era was the r a p i d extension o f a middle-class lifestyle a n d outlook to an expanding p o r t i o n o f the p o p u l a t i o n . as histor i a n a l a n br ink ley remarks , "at the center o f middle-class cu l ture i n the 1950s was a g r o w i n g absorpt ion w i t h cons u m e r goods." 2 1 by i 9 6 0 a m e r i c a and italy h a d experienced an economic revo lut ion , and port ions o f b o t h populat ions were concerned about the social effects o f the t r a n s i t i o n . these amer icans viewed fell ini 's social commentary as relevant a n d poignant ; bosley crowther, a w r i t er for the new york times, captured this feel ing i n his review o f the film: " o f al l the inte l l igent filmmakers w h o have been t r y i n g i n recent years to give us a comprehensive p icture o f the frantic c iv i l i zat ion o f the present day, i t looks as i f federico fe l l in i has come closest to d o i n g i t i n his great i ta l ian f i l m , 'la dolce vita.'"22 crowther even suggests that the i l ls that fe l l in i portrays are applicable to "alm o s t any h i g h l y c iv i l ized r e a l m . " crowther 's c o m m e n t s , l ike those f r o m the previously m e n t i o n e d contemporary crit ics , reveal the pol i t i ca l , social, and c u l t u r a l c l imate i n w h i c h the film was produced. la dolce vita as a c u l t u r a l c r i t i q u e the t e l l i n g nature o f la dolce vita's reception suggests its importance to his tory as a cu l tura l artifact, b u t beyond d o c u m e n t i n g the c l imate o f the per iod , the film offers a commentary . a n d i n the years preceding the p r o d u c t i o n o f la dolce vita, italy experienced radical changes. d u r i n g those years, italy entered a n e w phase o f g r o w t h a n d change. as film cr i t ic stephen gundle wr i tes , " n o longer the p r e d o m i n a n t l y agr icu l tura l and only p r i m i t i v e l y indust r i a l country that had emerged f r o m the second w o r l d war, [italy] was rapidly developing i n t o an i n d u s t r i a l society w i t h a prof i le o f its o w n . " 2 3 i n the i m m e d i a t e post-war per iod , italy had experienced a devastating depression, b u t by the end o f the 1950s italy's economic for tune h a d t u r n e d a r o u n d , i n part due to its n e w f o u n d allies a n d newf o u n d resources. i n the 1950s, italy became a m e m b e r o f the n a t o al l iance—benef i t ing i m m e n s e l y f r o m the funds allocated by the marsha l l p l a n — a n d a m e m b e r o f the european economic c o m m u n i t y ( w h i c h later became the european u n i o n ) . a i d e d by these n e w allies and the discovery o f methane , w h i c h re invigorated the i ta l i an steel "the film is undoubtedly a reaction to the turbulence facing an italy in transition, but the film also constitutes a response to calamities facing fellini, in transition himself/' industry , italy experienced an impress ive economic revival and g r o w t h . suddenly, i n the wake o f a serious depression, ital ians experienced unprecedented prosperity. th i s econ o m i c development, later ent i t led the "economic mirac le , " j la dolce vita federico fellini a n d o n e of his m a n y wives, g i l l li etta mas i n a, in "1957. began i n 1957 a n d was i n f u l l s w i n g i n 1959, the year i n w h i c h fe l l in i filmed la dolce vita. the economic mirac le h a d a considerable i m p a c t u p o n the social a n d cu l tura l c l imate i n italy, and the film catches the swift changes o f r a p i d development. i n the m i d s t o f the economic mirac le , italy became the locat ion o f m a n y outsourced a m e r i c a n films. i n the late 1950s, a n u m b e r o f a m e r i c a n studios financed films shot o n locat ion i n italy, p r i m a r i l y rome. amer icans studios d i d so for t w o reasons: i n a d d i t i o n to capita l iz ing o n the a m e r i c a n people's fascin a t i o n w i t h italy, the studios were able to increase the i r prof i t m a r g i n s given the relatively cheap cost o f labor i n rome. a m e r i c a n films such as three coins in the fountain and summertime in venice he lped feed the frenzy for anyt h i n g i ta l i an , were received w e l l by the a m e r i c a n publ ic , a n d l ed to considerable profits for the a m e r i c a n studios. gundle wr i tes , "as rome became the leading european centre for a m e r i c a n locat ion films, so a sizeable mov ie colony sprang u p . " 2 4 i n the 1960s i n italy, " the d i s t i n c t i o n between the [ital ian] nat iona l film i n d u s t r y and h o l l y w o o d film became b l u r r e d . " 2 5 rome became referred to as " h o l l ywood o n the tiber." la dolce vita seizes o n a n u m b e r o f aspects o f this new movie colony. at th is t i m e , a m e r i c a n actresses a n d actors v came to l ive i n rome, n i g h t l y convening together a long the via veneto. these a m e r i c a n celebrities, "unprotected by the studios.. . f o u n d themselves at the mercy o f the opport u n i s t p h o t o g r a p h e r s " 2 6 that suppl ied the tab lo id press. the presence o f these amer icans actors a n d actresses is "clearly evoked i n la dolce vita via sylvia a n d her fiance, robert . " 2 7 likewise, the constant presence o f the tab lo id photographers , specifically paparazzo, i n the film reflects the seeming omnipresence o f the same photographers i n contemporary rome. f r o m the first f u l l scene o f the film, fe l l in i recreates th is atmosphere i n al l its splendor, sensat i o n , a n d d o l d r u m . after the prologue featur ing the he l i copter, the film begins i n a n i g h t c l u b o n the via veneto. th i s scene captures the banal ity o f the celebrity w o r l d as marcel lo haggles the waiter to find out w h a t one o f the celebrit ies had ordered for d inner ; l ikewise, marcello's interact ion w i t h maddalena captures the p a i n f u l b o r e d o m o f the in -crowd. as the film proceeds, this b o r e d o m — a n d absence o f meaning—becomes m o r e explicit a n d the via veneto is never far, nor are the paparazzi that i n h a b i t i t . the economic mirac le led to a n u m b e r o f drastic social changes, n o t al l o f w h i c h were positive. large-scale urbaniza t ion catalyzed a dramat ic p o p u l a t i o n shift f r o m the i m poverished south to the indust r i a l i zed n o r t h . i n increas ing n u m b e r s , peasants "abandoned r u r a l areas to seek a better l i fe i n the c i t i e s " 2 8 and the i r m i g r a t i o n led m a n y ital ians to reassess the i r c u l t u r a l values: "as the m o v e m e n t occurred, the values o f c o n s u m e r i s m came to be wide ly accepted" 2 9 a n d as a result o f " this new social mobi l i ty . . . an a lmost i n stantaneous drop o f interest i n re l ig ious sent iment i n italy [occurred] . " 3 0 these currents are i m m e d i a t e l y visible i n la dolce vita. fe l l in i made these effects visible not on ly to m a r k t h e m , b u t to single t h e m out for considerat ion and c r i t i c i s m . most crit ics agree that the film represents an observation, i f n o t a commentary , u p o n these changes: "there seems l i t t l e doubt that [fel l ini] wanted to say s o m e t h i n g cr i t ica l about the change o f cu l ture that was occurr ing . i f fe l l in i was n o t a mora l i s t t h e n he was at least sat i r ica l . " 3 1 fe l l in i "fellini, thus, haves open the possibility that the audience can succeed where his characters failed." e l e m e n t s f a l l 2 0 1 0 h i m s e l f noted that w i t h his film he "wanted to p u t the therm o m e t e r to a sick w o r l d . " 3 2 i n la dolce vita, fe l l in i presents an image o f th is n e w rome i n w h i c h r e l i g i o n is absent and mater ia l a n d sexual impulses ru le . h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the n e w rome is clear f r o m the prologue o f the film: as the hel icopter carries chr i s t over rome and "the shadow o f chr is t falls over the great city, only a few boys pursue the image, and those w h o bother to glance u p do so i n a cur ious , idle way o n the l i v i n g god w h o is gone n o w — o n l y idols , o f one k i n d or another r e m a i n . " 3 3 t h e m e a n d e r i n g tale o f marcel lo that follows demonstrates that l i fe i n th is new rome consists o f b o r e d o m and false idols . the film, thus , lays bare the emptiness o f the socalled "sweet l i fe . " as i f to c o n f i r m th is , fe l l in i i n c l u d e d a n u m b e r o f actual h is tor ic events, s i tuat ing the surreal story w i t h i n a fami l iar context. for example, the orgy scene a l luded to a " s t r ip perf o r m e d by the t u r k i s h dancer a iche nana at rome's rugant ine n i g h t c l u b i n november 1958." 3 4 the str ip h a d caused a large controversy i n the press and w o u l d be i m mediately recognized by i ta l i an audiences. likewise, the image o f a n i t a ekberg i n the trevi f o u n t a i n w o u l d be fam i l i a r to fell ini 's domestic audience. u p o n ekberg's arr iva l i n rome, she "had i m m e d i a t e l y become a favorite o f the i l lustrated weeklies ,"and her image filled page u p o n page o f the tabloids . 3 5 one o f the most in famous pictures was w h e n "ekberg h a d been photographed i n the trevi f o u n t a i n . " 3 6 like the "orgy scene," and a n u m b e r o f the other scenes, the trevi f o u n t a i n scene w o u l d have been instant ly recognized. the time review even suggested, perhaps w i t h a b i t o f hyperbole, that "every episode i n the film was suggested by a r o m a n scandal o f the last t en years." 3 7 the new york times review echoes the same sent iment : "to m o s t o f us a m e r i c a n moviegoers, the authent ic i ty o f the episodes and, indeed, o f the total d e m o n s t r a t i o n may n o t be as incontestable and r i c h l y appreciated as i t has been to audiences i n italy, where events ident ica l to these have actual ly occurred and what is m o r e i m p o r t a n t , have been elaborately reported i n the press." 3 8 t h o u g h i t may n o t have been as i m m e d i a t e l y evident to a m e r i c a n filmgoers, fe l l in i i n c l u d e d these fami l ia r events to r e m i n d the viewer that the rome i n la dolce vita is n o t u n l i k e the actual rome i n w h i c h the film was produced. the i n c l u s i o n o f these events indicates that the film is undoubted ly a react i o n to the turbulence facing an italy i n t r a n s i t i o n , b u t the film also constitutes a response to calamities facing fellin i , i n t r a n s i t i o n h i m s e l f . 3 9 this autobiographical e lement i n la dolce vita is u n m i s takable . 4 0 as film cr i t ic edward m u r r a y wr i tes , " m a n y i n c i dents f r o m fell ini 's past have been woven i n t o his pict u r e s , " 4 1 and la dolce vita, i n particular, "seems to conta in s ignif icant autobiographical e lements . " 4 2 i n m a n y ways the story o f marcel lo is the story o f fe l l in i h imsel f . marcello holds " the same k i n d o f journa l i s t job that fe l l in i h i m s e l f once h e l d i n rome. " 4 3 like marcel lo , fe l l in i left h is h o m e o n the coast o f italy b e h i n d , m i g r a t i n g to the capital city and t a k i n g a job as a j o u r n a l i s t : 4 4 " d u r i n g his early periods i n the i ta l i an capital, fe l l in i br ief ly reported police news for ii popolo di roma."45 a n d l ike marcel lo he was n o t content w i t h th is vocation; i n interv iews, fe l l in i has "often r e m a r k e d that this was not a happy per iod i n his l i fe disparaging his mindless w o r k and craving a m o r e artist ic m e d i u m . marcello's vocation and his f rus t ra t ion w i t h that vocat ion seem to be an a l lus ion to fell ini 's early years i n rome. i n add i t ion , fel l ini 's father, urbano , f requently traveled to the n o r t h o n business a n d was largely absent f r o m fell ini 's ch i ldhood . i n la dolce vita, marcel lo spends an evening w i t h h is father, a t rave l ing salesman, w i t h w h o m he has a n i t a ekberg's i n f a m o u s b a p t i s m i n t h e trevi f o u n t a i n . la dolce vita never h a d an i n t i m a t e re lat ionship . i t seems di f f icult n o t to conclude that " u r b a n o fe l l in i seems to have been the m o d e l for the father . " 4 6 the l i k e l i h o o d o f autobiographical ref lect ion is s trengthened by the i n n e r t u r m o i l that fe l l in i faced at the t i m e o f p r o d u c t i o n . m i d w a y t h r o u g h product i o n o f the film, fel l ini 's father passed away and fe l l in i experienced a complete m e n t a l breakdown. i n this t i m e o f personal t r a n s i t i o n , cr i t ical ref lect ion o n one's personal h i s tory w o u l d be a natura l response. the presence o f these autobiographical elements indicates that the film n o t only reflects the social t u r m o i l i n italy, b u t also the personal t u r m o i l w i t h i n fe l l in i . marcel lo is no hero. by the e n d o f the film he is corrupt , l i teral ly w a v i n g goodbye to innocence w i t h an air o f complete indifference. h e has been corrupted by the film industry . a n d i f marcello's story is also that o f fe l l in i , t h e n marcello's corrupt i o n int imates fell ini 's o w n c o r r u p t i o n . the story t h e n funct ions as a m e m o i r o f fel l ini 's loss o f innocence i n pursuit o f h is art. t h u s , the film is b o t h an i n d i v i d u a l and an autobiographical story, c o m p o s i n g a c o m m e n t a r y o n i ta l i an society as a whole . f r o m this narrative, fel l ini 's concept o f salvation emerges. u n t i l the final reel o f the film, i t seems fell ini 's concept ion is d i m . both for h i m and for the larger i ta l ian p o p u l a t i o n , l i fe i n this new w o r l d seems empty: the "sweet l i fe" is not sweet at a l l . the o l d w o r l d is gone, and al l that remains are false idols and b o r e d o m . the first episode— por t ray ing the via veneto t h r o u g h marcello's and maddalena's excursions—shows this hangout o f the wealthy a n d bored, d e m o n s t r a t i n g h o w the bored retreat i n t o sensual i ty—a false i d o l — f o r comfort , delaying the i r perpetual dissatisfaction. the second episode employs marcello's encounters w i t h sylvia (anita ekberg) to d o c u m e n t the shallowness o f the "sweet l i fe" i n the v i v i d bacchanalian festival, e n d i n g w i t h the in famous false b a p t i s m i n the trevi f o u n t a i n , represent ing yet another false i d o l for the anti-hero. the t h i r d episode, the m e d i a spectacle o f the "mirac le , " reveals a w o r l d w i t h o u t real r e l i g i o n , where "rel i g i o n has been replaced by publ ic i ty , " r e n d e r i n g the m e d i a i t se l f a false i d o l . 4 7 i n the f o u r t h episode the "natura l , ordered, inte l lectual , t rad i t iona l , artistic, f ami ly group" appears to be the "answer to life's m e a n i n g , " 4 8 b u t subsequent suicide shows that even steiner is n o t free o f the m o d e r n c o n d i t i o n and has become a false i d o l . i n the fifth episode, marcel lo meets w i t h his father only to realize that b o r e d o m is at the center o f b o t h the i r lives and that they can teach each other n o t h i n g ; as the episode concludes, b o t h marcel lo a n d his father " r e t u r n to his o w n place o f v i so lat ion and b o r e d o m , " and to e m p t y ideas o f f ami ly and h o m e . 4 9 the s ixth episode, the castle scene, fur ther demonstrates the death o f the o l d w o r l d and the emptiness o f sensuality. i n the final episode, i n the wake o f steiner's death, marcel lo leads the revelers at the party as "everyt h i n g is a n n u l l e d , " and the party celebrates the vo id , w i t h meaningless (and unexci t ing) sexual encounters ; the revelers do n o t look for an i d o l because they k n o w i t is n o t t h e r e . 5 0 as marcel lo progresses t h r o u g h these episodes, he experiences a progressive sp i r i tua l a n d m o r a l deter iorat ion: " h a v i n g lost contact w i t h the sp i r i tua l and natura l wor lds , h a v i n g at tempted to computer ize a n d rat ional ize al l experience [marcel lo, l ike all] m e n has been left we ighted w i t h b o r e d o m . " 5 1 yet fe l l in i does n o t suggest that salvation is imposs ible . the e n d i n g is t e l l i n g , for i n the epilogue marcello sees paola—the image o f innocence i n the film—but chooses to leave her b e h i n d , w a v i n g his h a n d i n indifference. marcel lo freely chooses to do so. marcel lo , l ike the other characters, is persistently presented w i t h the opport u n i t y to grow, b u t he fails to pursue that oppor tuni ty : "the film is a story o f fai led evo lut ion i n w h i c h characters are unable to g row f r o m physical to imaginat ive l i f e . " 5 2 fe l l in i , thus , leaves open the poss ibi l i ty that the audience can succeed where his characters failed. i n the final shot o f the p icture—paolo star ing at the aud ience—fel l in i challenges the spectator i n t o e x a m i n i n g his or her o w n life and values: "at the e n d i t is n o t only marcel lo left w i t h a choice, w i t h the poss ibi l i ty o f t u r n i n g his l i fe a r o u n d and becomi n g a new, and t ruer m a n ; the viewer is presented w i t h the same o p t i o n . " 5 3 w i t h this gorgeous last image, fe l l in i seems to suggest that t h o u g h salvation i n this new rome is n o t plausible, i t remains possible. fe l l in i , l ike m a n y o f the i ta l i an people, had given u p his be l i e f i n christ ianity . t h o u g h he saw the terr ib le effects o f the nation's and his o w n t r a n s i t i o n , fe l l in i reta ined hope that salvation was possible. like the i ta l i an people, he had given u p fa i th i n christ ianity , b u t he h a d n o t ent ire ly embraced n i h i l i s m . h e had n o t given u p hope. a n d his film is a relic o f that struggle, w h i c h fe l l in i shared w i t h fe l low ital ians and w i t h m a n y across the western w o r l d . w h i l e the i ta l ian people came to lose the i r fa i th i n christ ianity , they searched elsewhere for m e a n i n g . la dolce vita documents that search, s h o w i n g the i ta l i an people's struggle and w o r s h i p o f false idols , such as sex and m a t e r i a l i s m , as replacements for chr i s t ian i ty i n 1960s italy. the film, thus , provides the h i s t o r i a n a g l impse n o t on ly i n t o the pol i t ica l , social, and cu l tura l c l imate , b u t also allows for e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 ins ight i n t o italy's concept ion o f—or rather struggle to contempor ize—salvat ion . the f i l m , therefore, is an invaluable artifact. a n assessm e n t o f the film's recept ion provides the h i s t o r i a n an u n derstanding o f the social, pol i t ica l , cu l tura l , and intellectua l c l imate i n b o t h a m e r i c a and italy i n i 9 6 0 . a n a l y z i n g the film i t se l f allows the h i s t o r i a n to move beyond s imple characterization a n d to apprehend s o m e t h i n g o f the feel and popular consciousness o f the t i m e . hence, the histor i a n can ga in an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the i ta l ian people's search for m e a n i n g and salvation as the i r fa i th i n chr i s t i anity eroded. just so was fell ini 's a m b i t i o n c o n s u m m a t e d : n o t only is la dolce vita a master fu l film, i t is a masterpiece o f art i n the t w e n t i e t h century. e n d n o t e s 1. gundle (133) 2. gundle (136) 3. gundle (136) 4. gundle.(137) 5. another factor contributing to the success of la dolce vita i n italy was the influence of anita ekberg; to italian men, the beauty of a blonde woman is incomparable. 6. "review summary" new york times, http://movies.nytimes. com/movie /27906/ladolce-vita/overview 7. crowther (30) 8. "cinema: the day of the beast," time magazine, apri l 21, i96i,http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ article/0,9171,8953ii,oo.html?artid=8953ii?conttype=article?ch n=us#ixzzowzcrnkid 9. like most of the negative responses, the time review misinterprets the f i lm, failing to see the underlying currents of satire and sharp criticism, (e.g. "good deal of the picture is outand-out sensationalism, smeared on with a heavy hand to attract the insects...the f i l m is vulgar and naive.") 10. crowther (30) 11. ibid. 12. burke (1) 13. in the cultural and theoretical climate of subsequent.decades, which that came to deny the autonomy of the individual (i.e. structuralism) "the concept of the modern artist-as-romantic hero was debunked and fellini became viewed as an egoistic anachronism" (burke 1). though, fellini had been a "a favorite among many academics in the 1960s, he became an outcast among f i l m academics of the 1970s and 1980s" (burke 2). the development of scholarship on fellini is beyond the scope of this essay, but it is important to understand that development occurred further demonstrating that la dolce vita was filmed i n shifting ideological climate. 14. burke (7) 15. burke (98) 16. bondanella (3) 17. the intellectual climate not only influenced the reception of the f i lm, but also the production of the film for, the intellectual climate not only influenced the critics but also fellini himself and the patrons that financed his film. the narrative structure of the film is entirely modernist, evoking "comparisons to t.s. eliot, james joyce and other major modernist writers" (burke 103). fellini had, indeed, read such literature and hoped to mirror it i n film. these modernist sympathies ensured that fellini received the financial backing necessary to create the project. at the time of la dolce vita's production, american investment had become critical to fellini's capability to make movies. and at the time, the cold war was i n ful l swing and americans felt that the spread of liberalism "required not only money but the infusion of american ideology" (burke 9). accordingly, "american ideology enlisted high art and the cult of the artist as symbols of american individualism and freedom of thought" (burke 9). fellini, as an auteur and producer of high art, fit the bil l , receiving significant financial support from american investors. 18. burke (8) 19. crowther (30) 20. ebert (1961) 21. brinkley (887) 22. crowther, "la dolce vita: fellini's urbane film looks askance at life"(ii9) 23. gundle (135) 24. gundle (135) 25. burke (8) 26. gundle (135) 27. gundle (137) 28. gundle (135) 29. ibid. 30. ibid. 31. ibid. 32. costello (35) 33. murray (116) 34. gundle (139) 35. gundle (139) 36. gundle (139) 37. "cinema: the day of the beast," time magazine, april 21, i96i,http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ article/o,9171,895311,oo.html?artid=8953ii?conttype=article?ch n=us#ixzzo wzcrnki d 38. crowther,"la dolce vita: fellini's urbane film looks askance at life." (119) 39. as fellini's style as a director changed with h i m . this film is a transitional piece between neo-realism and the aesthetic of his later work, the style that would later be termed fellini-esque. the film, in many ways, is markedly not a neo-realist film: segments of the movie are filmed i n a studio, the focus of the film is not upon the commonplace but upon the extraordinary and the wealthy, the films experimental narrative structure is a stark contrast f rom the mise-en-scene of neo-realist films. the film, though, retains the goals, i f not the methods of neo-realist cinema. like the neo-realists, fellini intends for his films to bring about the "transformation of consciousness" (murray la dolce vita http://movies.nytimes http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ 4).the neo-realists sought to bring it about by showing the negative consequences of the war. fellini, instead, "sought to offer narrative models of transformation, rooted i n the experience and imaginative growth of individual characters" (murray 4). likewise, i n la dolce vita, fellini does not yet embrace the dream sequences of his later films, not altering music, and simply presenting life as he sees it (although the life i n focus is that of the wealthy not the impoverished). like the neo-realist, he is simply directing the facts even i f his focus is different than that of the neo-realists. 40. whether fellini would agree with this assessment is questionable. concerning the autobiographical element i n his works, fellini himself has been (characteristically) inconsistent i n his remarks on the subject. as murray notes, "on the one hand, he has said: 'an artist can only be understood through his work what i have to say, i say i n my work. my work can't be anything other than a testimony of what i am looking for. it is a mirror my searching.' on the other hand he has also said: ' i cannot remove myself f rom the content of my films. i f i were to make a film about the life of a sole, i t would end up being about me...there is autobiographical vain that is i n all my work'" (murray 4). 41. murray (8) 42. murray (9) 43. costello (36) 44. admittedly, this allusion is not perfect. fellini, unlike marcello, migrated to rome only after l iving i n florence, where he was employed as a cartoonist for a number of years. 45. murray (9) 46. murray (6) 47. costello (51) 48. costello (53) 49. costello (54) 50. costello (69) 51. costello (126) 52. burke (86) 53. costello (131) r e f e r e n c e s bondanella, peter. the films of federico fellini. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2002. brinkley, alan. the unfinished nation: a concise history of the american people. new york: columbia university press, 2000. burke, frank. fellini's films, from postwar to postmodern. new york: twayne publishers, 1996. burke, frank. federico fellini: variety lights to la dolce vita. new york: twayne publishers, 1984. crowther, bosley. "fellini film lives up to foreign hurrahs." the new york times, 20 april 1961: p. 30. crowther, bosley. "la dolce vita: fellini's urbane film looks askance at life." the new york times, 23 april 1961: p. 119. v chandler, charlotte. i , fellini. new york: cooper square press, 2001. "cinema: the day of the beast." time magazine. 21 april 1961. <http: //www.time .com/time/magazine/article/o, 9171,8 9 5 311, o o. html?artld=8 9 5311 ?conttype=article?chn=us#ixzzo wzcrnki d>. costello, donald p. fellini's road. notre dame, i n : university of notre dame press, 1983. ebert, roger. "la dolce vita." the daily i l l in i . 4 october 1961. < h t t p : / / r o g e r e b e r t . s u n t i m e s . c o m / a p p s / p b c s . d l l / article?aid=/i96noo4/reviews/5o8o90oi/io23>. gundle, stephen. the movies as history. gloucestershire: redwood books, 2000. ketcham, charles b. federico fellini: the search for a new mythology^ new york: paulet press, 1976. murray, edward. fellini the artist. new york: frederick ungar publishing co., inc., 1976. "movies abroad: everymantis." time magazine. 5 october 1962. < h t t p : / / w w w . t i m e . c o m / t i m e / m a g a z i n e / a r t i cle/0,9171,829205,oo.html?artid=829205?conttype=article?chn =us>. "movies abroad: the winners at cannes." time magazine. 30 may i 9 6 0 . <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,939686, oo.html?artid=939686?conttype=article?ch n=us#ixzzowzdqie90>. rohdie, sam. fellini lexicon. london: british film institute, 2002. "review summary." the new york times, <http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/27906/la-dolce-vita/overview>. e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2010 http://www.time http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/i96noo4/reviews/5o8o90oi/io23 http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/i96noo4/reviews/5o8o90oi/io23 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/arti-cle/0,9171,829205,oo.html?artid=829205?conttype=article?chn=us http://www.time.com/time/magazine/arti-cle/0,9171,829205,oo.html?artid=829205?conttype=article?chn=us http://www.time.com/time/magazine/arti-cle/0,9171,829205,oo.html?artid=829205?conttype=article?chn=us http://www.time.com/time/magazine/arti-cle/0,9171,939686,%20oo.html?artid=939686?conttype=article?chn=us%23ixzzowzdqie90 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/arti-cle/0,9171,939686,%20oo.html?artid=939686?conttype=article?chn=us%23ixzzowzdqie90 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/arti-cle/0,9171,939686,%20oo.html?artid=939686?conttype=article?chn=us%23ixzzowzdqie90 http://movies.ny-times.com/movie/27906/la-dolce-vita/overview http://movies.ny-times.com/movie/27906/la-dolce-vita/overview http://times.com/movie/27906/la-dolce-vita/overview%3e. "where there is homosexuality, there is often backlash, sickness, chaos, imprisonment.. .yet there is also intimacy, acceptance, health, and an abundance oflove-aspects of homosexual identity that are often denied, or perhaps not yet realized, by irish society." s e x u a l i t y , s i c k n e s s , s i l e n c e : the gay man in contemporary irish narrative c a i t l i n f i t z g e r a l d t h i s p a p e r i n v e s t i g a t e s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f m a l e h o m o s e x u a l i t y i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e s , e x p l o r i n g t h e p r o g r e s s i o n o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y i n i r e l a n d a s i t h a s m o v e d f r o m a s u p p r e s s e d c r i m e t o a c o n f i d e n t l y a s s e r t e d i d e n t i t y . d o e s i n c l u s i o n o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y i n n a r r a t i v e n e e d t o s u b s c r i b e t o e x p l i c i t , " i n y o u r f a c e " f o r e g r o u n d i n g i n o r d e r t o b e i m p o r t a n t t o t h a t n a r r a t i v e ? d o e s a g a y v o i c e i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e h a v e t o b e t h e l o u d e s t i n o r d e r t o s i g n i f y a s s e r t i o n o f t h e h o m o s e x u a l i d e n t i t y ? m u s t g a y a r t i s t s b e a r t h e b u r d e n o f t h e o p p r e s s i v e p a s t i n a d d r e s s i n g h o m o s e x u a l i t y i n t h e i r w o r k , o r i s i t u n f a i r t o p l a c e s u c h c a t e g o r i z a t i o n s a n d r e s t r i c t i o n s o n a r t ? t h e s e q u e s t i o n s a r e a d d r e s s e d t h r o u g h t h e c u l t u r a l a n d h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y i n i r e l a n d , l o o k i n g a t t h r e e d i f f e r e n t c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e s t h a t f e a t u r e h o m o s e x u a l i t y ! c o l m t o i b i n ' s the blackwater lightship, k e i t h r i d g w a y ' s the long falling, a n d n e i l j o r d a n ' s f i l m the crying game. "how do artists depicting homosexuality situate themselves in a nation where, until 1993, gays were considered criminals?" how do artists depicting homosexuality situate themselves in a nation where, until 1993, gays were considered criminals? while this recent shift in the national definition of gay identity in ireland might lead us to expect a dearth of representations of homosexuality i n contemporary irish narrative, a surprising number have been produced in the past 15 years. these narratives stand on shaky ground. on the one hand, they represent an identity historically suppressed and silenced in ireland, and, thus, act as unmistakable assertions of this identity by their very existence. on the other hand, they run the ubiquitous risk of furthering societal stereotypes of male homosexuality, which often reduce gay men to mere instruments of sex acts. contemporary irish narratives that figure homosexuality cannot avoid critical labels such as "gay novel" or "gay f i lm," simply because gay identity is such a controversial battleground in irish culture. but is it reductive to place such categorical titles on these narratives? does society view such representations through too narrow a lens? in addressing these questions, we can look at three irish narratives produced in the 1990s that figure male homosexuality: colm toibin's the blackwater lightship, keith ridgway's the long falling, and neil jordan's f i lm the crying game. by examining these representations of homosexuality, we wi l l be able to assess the ways in which each asserts gay identity while simultaneously subverting the reductive stereotypes commonly imposed on that identity by irish society. in order to fully examine these representations, we must examine the historical and sociopolitical background against which they are set. ireland's decriminalization of homosexuality in 1993 was the result of a widespread gay rights campaign that began i n dublin in the 1970s. starting "from a position of almost total marginalisation and powerlessness,"1 the irish gay rights movement (igrm) benefited from increasingly progressive, reformbased politics in ireland and was able to grow and assert itself as a legitimate civil rights movement. the igrm continually defended gay men being persecuted under anti-gay laws throughout the 1970s, effectively phasing out these laws before their official abolition. 1 1 gay rights organizations like the gay and lesbian equality network (glen) or the dublin lesbian and gay men's collectives focused on the social as well as the legal aspects of attaining equal rights as irish citizens. the former participated in many forms of social protest, organizing defense campaigns against police harassment and hate crimes.1 1 1 glen, a pillar of irish gay rights, pushed for legal inclusion in irish society, issuing reports on civil rights issues for irish communities and publishing books and pamphlets that went so far as to include model bills to be passed by the irish government.^ chris robson summarizes the successful strategy of the igrm: lesbian and gay activists have tended (in crude summary) to veer between two well-known stances: 'please, please, be nice to us', and 'give us our goddamned rights, and give them now'. the first tends to provoke contempt, the second to elicit the perfectly reasonable response, 'what's so bloody special about you?' there is, however, a third approach: 'you will agree that equality before the law is a basic principle. on the particular equality issue in question, your responsibility is to abolish statute x, and to add "sexual orientation" to clause y statute z. please sign here. thank you. 'v e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 robson points to the binary nature of an elided identity fighting to assert itself: members of this marginalized group oscillate between childlike pleas for recognition and boldly militant demands for it. a balance is eventually found in a less extreme, more universalized request that characterizes the gay rights movement in purely human terms. humanizing homosexuals to the rest of society was not an easy task in patriarchal 1980s ireland. as was written in a 1986 publication by the dublin lesbian and gay men's collectives, "the media censors us, the churches condemn us, the law outlaws us, and all decent, right-thinking people know that we are perverts, child-molesters, genetically damaged, hormonally imbalanced and generally disgusting. '^ 1 while this is certainly a depiction of extremist societal opinions of irish gays and lesbians during this time, it is echoed in much of the political language surrounding the gay rights movement. in praising the 1993 decriminalization of homosexuality, senator david norris said, "young people wil l no longer have to grow up in the shadow of the taint of criminality which had blighted the vulnerable youth of so many of our citizens with terror and shame. " v 1 1 both norris and the contributors to out for ourselves cite the gay stereotypes caused by the prevalence of aids within the homosexual community: "the sensationalist coverage of aids is a telling example of the bigoted ignorance we face, best reflected in the common medical perception of our sexuality as an illness in itself." v u l for a cultural identity so laden with the "shame" of such associations to achieve legal equality is remarkable i n and of itself. the fact that so many irish artists were inclined to figure homosexuality in their narratives speaks to an even higher level of acceptance and understanding in irish culture, quite different from the condemnation referenced in 1986. yet, some representations of homosexuality in contemporary irish literature have been dissected and accused of a reductive brand of silence, one that suggests an unwillingness to fully confront this once-marginalized identity. colm toibin occupies this peculiar space in irish culture— a gay author writing about gay characters only years after decriminalization, yet accused by some critics of writing novels that are not "gay enough." his 1999 novel, the blackwater lightship, set i n that pivotal year of 1993, foregrounds the relationship between helen, lily, and dora, women of three generations in a family dealing with the suffering of declan, their gay brother, son, and grandson, respectively, with aids. some critics have found declan's representation troublesome due to its silence, as he is somewhat relegated to the background of the blackwater lightship while toibin focuses on the intricacies of the women's relationships, an authorial choice that eibhear walshe characterizes as reductive of declan: as the central figure, declan is represented in an oddly absent manner within the novel, existing only as a catalyst within these jarring familial relations. as the novel progresses, his subjectivity becomes eroded by this absence, rendering him as simply the body upon which death and disease has announced itself.lx s e x u a l i t y , s i c k n e s s , s i l e n c e : t h e g a y m a n i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e walshe alleges that through an effacement of declan's homoeroticism, the character becomes a mere object, existing only to bring together three previously estranged women rather than to express his gay identity. declan "has no gay subjectivity beyond his bodily frailty, no boyfriend, no lover, no named sexual partners, no erotic past—only a future clearly marked by death."54 jennifer jeffers takes this reading of declan even further, claiming that his sexual silence points to a moral lesson of toibin's: "the blackwater lightship sets up a kind of moral punishment for declan's multiple-partner sex life that is particularly damaging in a time and place in which [aids] is still not fully understood. "x 1 walshe and jeffers read the quietude of declan's homosexuality as a problematic representation of gay identity within a contemporary irish novel, empty of sexuality and full of fatalism. while declan's gay, adult voice is certainly not the loudest i n the blackwater lightship, to characterize h im as just a "body upon which death and disease has announced itself" is to miss a central thrust of the novel that is evident in many of its flashbacks. while declan is indeed a gay man with a sexual identity, he is more importantly a child in desperate need of a mother. declan's voice is figured most prominently i n helen's flashbacks to their childhood time spent in their grandmother's house: declan was afraid. he was afraid of the black clocks which darted awkwardly across the floor, afraid that if you stepped on one of them all the bloody insides would be on your feet. he was afraid of the dark and the cold and of his grandparents' movements upstairs which seemed to echo in the rooms below. and helen knew that there was another fear, which was never mentioned in all that time: the fear that their parents would never come back, that they would both be left here.xn from the outset declan is a frightened figure, crying easily, getting sick easily, needing "someone to watch out for h i m . " x m in place of the failed biological family, the ones who have watched over declan are his gay friends, notably larry and paul, who care for h im throughout his illness. paul remembers declan's visits to h im and his longtime partner: he would come for long weekends and he'd make us hang out in bars and clubs with him, and he'd usually abandon us at a certain time and then come back home in the early hours like a half drowned dog. my best memory of him was in the morning; he would crawl in the bottom of our bed. he was like a small boy, and he'd talk and doze and play with our feet.xw here paul subtly embeds an assertion of declan's recklessly promiscuous past into the "best" memory of h im as a child at the end of his surrogate parents' bed. this memory is a microcosm of declan's characterization throughout the novel; references to his sexuality are indirect and often overshadowed by his infantilization. what are the broader implications of declan's infantilization in the blackwater lightship} while it could initially be seen as an inability to accept a gay character as an adult (the neo-liberal, celtic tiger response to homosexuality), this implication is not commensurable with the author's own homosexuality. it is not just the heterosexual characters in the novel that infantilize declan; he is a child through his own voice. when declan calls out, "mammy, mammy," as his condition worsens, x v it is simply narrated rather than expressed through the viewpoint of another character. terry eagleton argues that the aim of the book is to express that "[rjevealing or not revealing what you are is a way of trying to make contact with a mother, not a condition in itself ."™ indeed, mothers are unconventionally resistant to the homosexuality of their sons in this novel, a distinct contrast from ridgway's the long falling, which adheres to the more conventional structure of overtly masculine, unaccepting fathers disowning their gay sons. during larry's story of bringing home his partner to his family in the blackwater lightship, he says, "it was ok in the end, mainly because of my father, oddly enough," a statement which characterizes his situation as different from the irish norm. x v 1 1 larry's story also posits the unconventional tolerance of the catholic church; a catholic priest performs a marriage rite for the couple. "he changed into his vestments and said mass and gave us communion and then he married us . . . he said: 'welcome to the catholic church'. " x v m the traditional irish instruments of oppression, patriarchy and the catholic church, are surprisingly docile in this representation of homosexuality within irish culture. the social discomfort with homosexuality referenced by gay rights groups is most often expressed by mothers in toibin's novel—for example, when larry relates to dora his story of sleeping with four brothers. after he tells the tale, dora says, "i've heard everything now" in a voice that was "hard and . . . louder than it needed to be." x l x yet, acceptance shines through for many characters by the end of the novel. in a small victory, larry teaches dora how to drive, x x and in a much larger one, lily cradles her son as he cries for her.5 0 0 the fact that toibin includes a variety of gay characters i n the novel with a variety of life stories indicates a more complex representation of gay identity that, while it indirectly references gay sexuality, is not as reductive and objectifying as walshe alleges. at the end of the blackwater lightship, declan is sick but still living, and the focus is on the reconciliation between his mother and sister. i f declan is merely an object upon which death announces itself, why then does the novel not end with his death? a connection that michael cronin points out between the blackwater lightship and keith ridgway's novel the long falling is that both novels contextualize male homosexuality i n the realm of the family trauma.™' indeed, there are even more similarities between the two representations, as cronin points out, largely based on the "metropolitan" nature of adult homosexual characters versus the "rural, traditional" setting of their childhoods x x m in the long falling, grace, mother of the gay main character martin, murders her brutally abusive husband in their rural town and flees to dublin, where martin lives. rural ireland is associated with abuse and oppression in this novel, further elicited by the backgrounded x case. in contrast, the modern, cosmopolitan ireland in which the homosexuals in both books live is one associated with "emotional health, particularly in regard to family relationships."x x 1 v in the blackwater lightship, dora's house in cush is one full of memories of abandonment for helen and declan, while the adult gay men live in urban areas like dublin (declan) or brussels (paul). the modern, urban center is a space in which irish homosexuals create new families composed of those who share their sexual identities and life experiences: declan finds larry and paul, martin finds kindred spirits like sean, philip, and his lover henry. cronin aptly points out that toibin's novel presents an optimistic marriage of these two conflicting worlds while ridgway does not reconcile them. x x v in the blackwater lightship, the modern, metropolitan surrogate family merges with the initially failing traditional family, synthesizing the two seemingly oppositional worlds in a time of extreme need for the person who has inhabited both of them. in contrast, martin cannot forgive his mother for the act she committed back in his hometown, "treating her coldly and finally betraying her." x x v l while toibin's view of a future ireland is one of a synthesized group of supporters of homosexuals outweighing the traditional oppressors, ridgway's is one of "dissatisfaction and alienation"x x v h that does not get resolved within the pages of the long falling. "... while it indirectly references gay sexuality, [toibin's representation of gay identity] is not as reductive and objectifying as walshe alleges." s e x u a l i t y , s i c k n e s s , s i l e n c e : t h e c a y m a n i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e eibhear walshe's critique of the blackwater lightship focuses largely on its lack of homoeroticism and overt sexuality, elements of gay identity that are very present i n the long falling. displaying scenes of personal gratification, anonymous sexual promiscuity, and monogamous physical intimacy ridgway's approach to gay sexuality is far more bold and direct than toibin's. the first instance of sexuality in the novel involves martin masturbating as he thinks of his lover, henry (away on business i n paris): martin, moving his hands, the skin of his arms brushing the skin of his thighs, closing his eyes again .. .just breathing, just skin . . . he held his balance and held it still a little longer, and held it still a moment more, and then felt it failing, stumbling, gone, and him falling, as if through water, as if the very skin of his body was the world entire ... he laughed out loud at coming so quickiy.xxvm employing lyrically urgent prose, ridgway goes beyond the realm of the indirect reference in asserting the sexuality of his homosexual characters. the editors of the irish field day anthology characterize ridgway as an employer of the "in-your-face gay aesthetic," largely due to his willingness to confront the physicality of homosexuality full-on in his wr i t i ng . x x l x the scene from the long falling included in field day is one i n which a slightly intoxicated martin visits a gay sauna in dublin, which he thinks of as "a grey area . . . leave your panic and your guilt and your fear at the door."*™ this sauna is presumably a place in which homosexual men can engage in anonymous sexual acts in a steamy room full of other naked gay men looking to participate as well. cronin characterizes the sauna as representative of "a key freedom from the social, legal, and psychological taboos placed on homosexuality in the twentieth century."xxx1 indeed, the following scene would certainly be absent from a traditional, patriarchal canon of contemporary literature: inside there were grey bodies piled in a corner. .. almost immediately his cock was in somebody's hand . . . the man from the shower came in and stood beside him . . . he put his hand on martin's balls, very gently, and leaned in close as if to kiss him. martin stood, turned, faced the guy, pointed his cock at him, tried to hold his head.xxxn martin's experience in the sauna is blatantly physical, but is also complicated by his love for the absent henry: "[he] saw parts of henry spin around in front of h im like branches broken off i n a s torm."™ 1 1 1 homosexuality in this section of the novel is not the exclusively promiscuous identity that exists in stereotype, nor is it empty of sexuality, be it promiscuous or monogamous, i n the least. in this way, ridgway achieves a simultaneous assertion of gay identity and subversion of the easily stereotyped, hypersexual gay man. in contrast to declan, martin is certainly a much more sexual character but is also a very different kind of child. while declan is a gay character in desperate need of a mother, martin is a gay character who rejects his mother—a sort of non-child. while the novel includes references to martin's childhood through the memories of his mother grace, we see h im largely from age 19 (the age at which he came out to his parents) onward. when grace tells philip about the walks she and martin used to take, he tells her, " i can't imagine martin as a little boy. ' , x x x l v we can understand this as readers who are given much more evidence of martin's adult identity and sexuality than of his childhood or childlike nature. and remarkably, even grace sees philip's point: "grace nodded. she could understand that." x x x v for a mother to empathize with a person who cannot imagine her child as a little boy is telling of the fractured relationship between martin and grace. in his metropolitan, "out" life, martin has become a different person, a person whose true life began the moment he left home after coming out: he walked down to the road, afraid to look back. he decided that he would wait until he reached the gate, and turn then and wave at his mother. but when he got there, he could not make himself stop. he felt that he had e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 already left, that he was already far away. he thought that if he stopped and looked back there would be nothing there.xxxvi once martin vocally asserted his homosexual identity, his childhood and his once-strong connection to his mother were virtually erased, echoing the inability of traditional, intolerant ireland and modern, tolerant ireland to reconcile in this novel. whereas declan did not lose his former identity in asserting his homosexual identity, thus synthesizing the traditional and the modern within himself, martin saw it as one or the other, and ultimately chose the other. what both of these novels undoubtedly accomplish is a humanistic representation of homosexuality in contemporary ireland. while these characters have many differences, they are as complex and as "normal" as heterosexual characters, existing marginally in a society that, for years, has been "conservative, family-centred, monogamous, [and] heterosexual."xxxv11 another contemporary irish narrative that takes this humanistic approach to homosexuality is neil jordan's 1992 film the crying game, famous for its sharp twist on this representation. parts of the fi lm can be viewed as a sort of allegory for homosexuality's journey from a silenced, criminal identity to a boldly asserted one, despite the fact that it was released the year before homosexuality was decriminalized. progressing from a largely political thematic structure to a full-on erotic thriller, the crying game questions the various guises of contemporary irish (and british) society that obfuscate the fundamental humanity of different members of this society, including homosexuals. the central figure of the fi lm, fergus (played by stephen rea), is an ira operative who forms a bond with the prisoner, jody (played by forest whitaker), whom he is instructed to guard and eventually assassinate. as kristin handler notes, the homoeroticism of this bond is first signaled when jody has to urinate and cannot do so without fergus's assistance, as his wrists are bound. fergus hesitates to touch jody's penis, but ultimately does so, after chiding from jody: "it's only a piece of meat! " x * ™ 1 1 after a series of events that lead to jody's death, fergus travels to england, forming a relationship with dil (played by jaye davidson), the woman jody had loved. as they become involved, fergus perpetuates a sort of obsession with jody dreaming about h im playing cricket and sustaining this dreamlike vision of jody during his first orgasm with dil, when she performs oral sex on him. fergus's flirtation with the homoerotic while still remaining outwardly "homosocial" is confronted with "in-your-face" homosexuality at dil's first disrobing: the person he thought was a woman has an unmistakable, blatantly exposed penis. fergus becomes violently i l l at the sight of dil's penis, a reaction that handler characterizes as "gut-level" and "homophobic," and one with which the viewer initially sympathizes.x x x 1 x yet, fergus is able to move beyond that homophobia and still care for dil , albeit non-sexually— while he wi l l not engage in sexual activity with dil, he wi l l still put a hand to her cheek. handler writes of jordan's goal in representing homosexuality i n this revelatory manner: by luring us into desiring what is supposed to seem like a heterosexual love story while never ceasing to signal the fundamentally homoerotic component of fergus's desire for dil, the film forces us, with fergus, to confront the continuity between male bonding ("normal," valorized by patriarchal culture, especially in the military) and male homosexuality (stigmatized, feared, repudiated) x l handler's comments seem to suggest that a relationship characterized as homosexual from the start would not force viewers to question their stereotypes and valorizations of heterosexuality as effectively. the fi lm asks: how much does dil's gender really matter in terms of fergus' caring for him? handler alleges that "[w]hile ultimately, and importantly, fergus does not explicitly experience homosexual desire, the fi lm wants to show that he is a better man for overcoming violent homophobia." x l ] and yet, while fergus' self-sacrifice in order to save dil at the end of the fi lm displays the care he has for him, it also eliminates fergus' need to confront the possibility of a homosexual res e x u a l i t y , s i c k n e s s , s i l e n c e : t h e c a y m a n i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e lationship with dil . as handler points out, "fergus' sacrifice puts h im safely behind bars, beyond the imminent possibility of sexual consummation."^ 1 1 by removing himself from the societal realm in which his relationship with dil would not be tolerated, fergus absolves himself from having to personally deny dil and hurt his feelings. however, this does not imply a mere lack of hesitance on fergus'part; it is not likely that i f dil were in jail with h im, he would wil lingly pursue a sexual relationship. fergus' unwillingness to progress from the suggestively homoerotic (tension-riddled yet nonsexual situations, nonsexual dreams of jody) to the barefaced homosexual (symbolized by dil's penis) echoes, to an extent, the nonsexual nature of declan in the blackwater lightship. while the obvious difference is that fergus is a heterosexual man with homoerotic thoughts and declan is completely homosexual, their narratives exist in a society that would rather disguise homosexuality than deal with it. eibhear walshe writes in an essay about oscar wilde: because the homosexual is assumed to be a transgendered 'pretend' woman ... gay identity is acutely threatening and unsettling within a post-colonial culture like ireland. the emergent post-colonial nation perceives the sexually different as destabilizing and enfeebling, and thus the lesbian and gay sensibility is edited out, silenced.^111 dil exemplifies this in dressing as a woman, a guise that masks his homosexuality as the more socially acceptable female heterosexuality. once that guise is removed as dil disrobes, his true humanity is revealed. the "destabilization" to which walshe refers is further exemplified by the chaos that ensues in the f i lm as a result of the homoerotic bond between fergus and jody. while the other ira operatives continually place a black hood over jody's face as he is tied to the chair, fergus continually unmasks him, exposing his humanity. their "sexually different" kinship prevents the intended torture and assassination of jody; fergus' attempt to ki l l h im in militant ira fashion is "enfeebled" and jody escapes, only to be run over by a tank involved in a siege on the ira base where his captivity took place. fergus' bonds with jody and dil cannot exist in this place—they are too complicated, too threatening, and simply too different to warrant societal and even personal acceptance. the crying game differs from the toibin and ridgway novels in that its context is political, and not familial, trauma. mothers are absent here, and military organizations symbolize the patriarchal society that silences gay identity. both the novels and the fi lm, however, portray homosexuality as an identity fraught with associations and stereotypes that detract from its essence as a human identity, specifically the idea of "sexuality as an illness itself." each narrative depicts this struggle in a different way in the blackwater lightship, declan's humanity is represented by his characterization as a needy child, a universal role with which all readers can presumably identify. and yet his physical deterioration, the presumed result of sexual promiscuity, is described with visceral bluntness throughout the novel: "he asked for the basin under the sink to be put near him, and soon, with each spasm, he vomited and retched into i t . " x l l v in the long falling, martin has left his child identity behind in place of his adult, homosexual one, confidently assured of his sexuality and yet still sensing a certain grotesqueness in it. as he talks to his friend sean about the sauna, martin says, "and the smell and the eyes, everybody rotten in some way, rotting, as i f we're thrown here, dead."x l v we cannot help but think of declan's eroding body and its connection to his sexuality. the most overt connection of sexuality and illness is that, in the crying game, fergus instantly retches at the shocking sight of .. their narratives exist in a society that would rather disguise homosexuality than deal with it." e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 dil's penis. a revulsive tension is connected to sexuality in each of these narratives and is never fully resolved in any of them. while handler describes it as "gut-level," it seems more likely that such a tension is the product of a society that for years has propagated the notion of the "generally disgusting" homosexual. contemporary artists that figure homosexuality into irish narrative bear a manifold burden. firstly, they must assert gay identity strongly enough, for a group so systematically marginalized i n irish culture demands a voice. secondly, they must be sure not to include any societal stereotypes of homosexuals within their representations, for those have been propagated long enough. and while doing both of these things, they must keep a human perspective on the narrative. i f every gay character in a novel were exactly the same, it would be reductive of the identity as a whole. are such burdens fair to contemporary artists, especially artists who are gay themselves? perhaps not from a formalist perspective; art should always be able to stand on its own, outside the confines of cultural and historical context. and yet a gay, irish reader might protest that such requirements are fair. in his introduction to love in a dark time, toibin explains his intentions in writing the book (a collection of essays on gay artists): i am interested in tracing the tension between the fearless imagination and the fearful self. i want to trace, in writing, the connection between the altar boy's half-understood sense of his own sexual difference, which would soon develop into strategies of concealment... i want to imagine now the lone figure ... as he opens a book in solitude and secrecy to find there the story of his life, told to him by e.m. forster or james baldwin or thomas mann or thorn gunn, or by one of the others who have broken the silence that has surrounded our lives for so long.xln artists who choose to represent homosexuality in ireland today, and the rest of the world, cannot avoid the fact that they are breaking the silence to which toibin refers. they cannot escape the fact that they are writing for that lone figure searching for himself within the pages of a novel or the scenes of a film. the narratives we have discussed show that lone figures can be very different characters, and do not gloss over some of the grim realities of the gay man today. where there is homosexuality, there is often backlash, sickness, chaos, imprisonment. to deny this would be to deny reality. yet there is also intimacy, acceptance, health, and an abundance of love—aspects of homosexual identity that are often denied, or perhaps not yet realized, by irish society. in order to depict these aspects, artists do not necessarily have to adhere to the "in-your-face" aesthetic i n terms of sexuality. instead, they must present an "in-your-face" humanity—a purpose that toibin, ridgway and jordan all ultimately achieve. e n d n o t e s i . rose (2) i i . rose (11) i i i . rose (19) iv. robson (51) v. robson (51) vi . out for ourselves (7) vi i . norris (23) v i i i . out for ourselves (9) ix. walshe 2004 (18) x. walshe 2004 (18) xi . jeffers (118) x i i . toibin 1999 (56) x i i i . toibin 1999 (203) xiv. toibin 1999 (174) xv. toibin 1999 (258) xvi. eagleton (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n20/print/eaglo1_.html) xvii . toibin 1999 (170) xvii i . toibin 1999 (172-3) xix. toibin 1999 (147-8) xx. toibin 1999 (247-8) xxi. toibin 1999 (155) xxii . cronin (258) xxii i . cronin (259) xxiv. cronin (260) xxv. cronin (261) xxvi. cronin (260) xxvii. cronin (262) xxviii . ridgway (45-6) xxix. walshe & kilfeather (1040) xxx. ridgway (114) xxxi. cronin (262) xxxii. ridgway (117) s e x u a l i t y , s i c k n e s s , s i l e n c e : t h e c a y m a n i n c o n t e m p o r a r y i r i s h n a r r a t i v e http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n20/print/eaglo1_.html xxxiii. ridgway (117) xxxiv. ridgway (299) xxxv. ridgway (299) xxxvi. ridgway (190) xxxvii. walshe & kilfeather (1039) xxxviii. handler (33) xxxix. handler (34) xl. handler (33) xl i . handler (33) x l i i . handler (34) x l i i i . walshe 1995 (149) xliv. toibin 1999 (253) xlv. ridgway (122) xlvi. toibin 2001 (8) r e f e r e n c e s cronin, michael g. 2004. "he's my country: liberalism, nationalism, and sexuality i n contemporary irish gay fiction." irish american cultural institute. eire-ireland, 39(38:4), pp. 250-267. dublin lesbian and gay men's collectives, ed. 1986. out for ourselves: the lives of irish lesbians el gay men. dublin: women's community press. eagleton, terry. 1999. "mothering." london review of books, 21(20), october, <http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n20/print/eaglo1_.html>. handler, kristin. 1994. "sexing the crying game: difference, identity, ethics." film quarterly, 47(3), pp. 31-42, spring. feffers, jennifer m . 2002. "the blackwater lightship." the irish novel at the end of the twentieth century: gender, bodies, and power. new york: palgrave, pp. 112-19. norris, david. 1995. "criminal law (sexual offences) bill 1993." lesbian and gay visions of ireland eds. ide o'carroll, and eoin collins. new york: cassell, pp. 13-24. ridgway, keith. 1998. the long falling. london: faber and faber. robson, chris. 1995. "anatomy of a campaign." lesbian and gay visions of ireland eds. ide o'carroll, and eoin collins. new york: cassell, pp. 47-59. rose, kieran. 1994. diverse communities: the evolution of lesbian and gay politics in ireland. cork: cork university press. the crying game. 1992. dir. neil jordan. perf. stephen rea, forest whitaker, jaye davidson, and miranda richardson. miramax. toibin, colm. 2001. love in dark time and other explorations of gay lives and literature. new york: scribner. toibin, colm. 1999. the blackwater lightship. new york: scribner. walshe, eibhear. 1995. "oscar's mirror." lesbian and gay visions of ireland eds. ide o'carroll, and eoin collins. new york: cassell, pp. 147-157. walshe, eibhear. 2004. "the vanishing homoerotic: cultural contexts for colm toibin's the blackwater lightship and the master." conference paper. walshe, eibhear and kilfeather, siobhan, eds. 2003. "contesting ireland: the erosion of heterosexual consensus, 1940-2001." the field day anthology of irish writing. (4), pp. 1039-1089. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n20/print/eaglo1_.html this paper is the culmination of a semester’s worth of research and work conducted at the burns library at boston college as part of dr. sylvia sellers-garcia’s “making history public” course in the spring of 2014. this class focused on cartography from the early modern era, and this article focuses on an incredible atlas that was published in 1775 entitled the west india atlas. the atlas, which is a detailed example of colonial-era cartography, was published by an assistant to a mr. thomas jefferys, who was the geographer to king george iii at the time of his death in 1771. this remarkable text features not only accurate maps and representations of the caribbean islands, but also vivid descriptions of the various territories and their histories. both the economic contexts at the time the atlas was published and how jefferys and his assistants chose to represent these contexts within the various maps through symbols and references to navigational resources were examined and analyzed. cartographers in the caribbean economics and mapping in the colonial new world benjamin shapiro introduction as a region of tropical islands and countless waterways, the caribbean represented far more than just a picturesque landscape for exploration to those who lived there during the eighteenth century. from the pirate haven of nassau to the sweltering plantations of barbados, people from across europe and other parts of the world came together in this region for opportunities in the realms of trade and wealth. this vast amount of wealth manifested itself in items and concepts such as precious metals, personal glory, and mass quantities of commodities like sugar and rum, which attracted those from the highest and lowest echelons of society to locations as diverse as their backgrounds. the islands themselves even reflected these differences to an extreme degree; on islands like jamaica and cuba, lush tropical forests dominated the landscape and contrasted sharply with the islands of the sandy and flat bahama archipelago.1,2 exoticism, to most europeans, remained a very broad term at this time, but the consensus on its definition seems to include foreign flora, fauna, climate, societies, and language. with islands occupied by the spanish, french, dutch, and british, the caribbean embodied this exoticism during the colonial times. tropical jungles containing wild species of mammals and birds fascinated many of these europeans, who became evermore curious about the islands. they came to view these exotic islands, and the surrounding regions of mexico and florida, through pieces of artwork and the tales of individuals who lived and traded there. combined with the growing merchant networks of individuals in the region, these methods of portraying exoticism seemed to draw most of the migrants to the region. depending on their background, many of these migrants sought their fortunes in trade, pirating or privateering, or plantation agriculture. this influx of labor and use of merchant networks and agricultural lands for economic gain constituted the most important foundational pieces for the industrial revolution in the early nineteenth century.3 the romanticized nature of the caribbean during this time also provided some measure of inducement for migrants to make the journey across the atlantic, though this effect is difficult to gauge. romanticizing the region impacted various social groups in different ways during the colonial era. tales of the high seas and abundant wealth available for the taking likely inspired the ruffians of society, pirates and privateers, far more than rational and economically sound merchants. collectively, one can refer to the system that characterized the increase in trade and growth on an economic basis as mercantilism, and the method in which this system operated as the triangular trade. as a system of trading networks across the vast atlantic ocean, the triangular trade required extremely precise charts and maps for sailors and merchants who carried and directed shipments of cargo to specific ports. in the mid-eighteenth century, an english cartographer and geographer to the king of england named thomas jefferys began compiling a series of charts and maps that formed the basis of his atlas entitled, the west indian atlas or a general description of the west indies: taken from actual surveys and observations.4 unfortunately, jefferys passed away in 1771 before the completion of his work, which subsequently fell to one of his editors to complete and publish.5 because of his role as the king’s geographer, jefferys, and subsequently the maps he created, carried strong credibility and respect. in this particular atlas of the west indies, jefferys clearly focused on the aspects he deemed necessary for travelers and inhabitants of the region to know. by charting out the vast territories and wide stretches of open waters within a merchant and economic context, jefferys presented the atlas under the heavy influence of the mercantilist attitude prevalent throughout europe, which ultimately resulted in the map’s limited objectivity. the images and drawings associated with the maps, along with the context of mercantilism that existed during this time, indicate that jefferys created the atlas for the specific purpose of providing topographic and economic information “situated thousands of miles away from europe, the caribbean represented an extremely distant and exotic place to many europeans, both figuratively and literally.” 65 cartographers in the caribbean about some of the significant islands to expose the trade potentiality of the caribbean. however, he makes no specific references to mercantilism itself in the atlas, and is therefore not likely to make an argument for or against it. european governments, in contrast, heavily promoted these mercantilist doctrines of encouraging government control over trade for the accumulation of wealth, often depleting the finite amount of available resources on the planet.6 these doctrines also ignored the well-being of the lands where the resources came from, as conveyed by jefferys’s editor: “europe is continually enriched by carrying constantly to america not only all the goods which it produces or manufactures, but likewise those that its ships fetch from asia or africa.”7 from this quote and indicators within the maps, it becomes clear that this ideology heavily influenced the atlas jefferys created, which truly limited the objectivity of the maps. one can infer that europeans viewed, and utilized partially through accurate mapping, the caribbean and its islands as a vital economic hub of trade and resources. mapping and imagery situated thousands of miles away from europe, the caribbean represented an extremely distant and exotic place to many europeans, both figuratively and literally. artists and cartographers like jefferys sought ways to convey the characteristics of this strange region, including the island jungles’ stifling humid climate and their newly discovered creatures. by describing a land full of bountiful resources and wealth prime for the taking, many eighteenth-century literary and cartographic pieces attracted european merchants and lower-class citizens to the islands. in jefferys’s atlas alone, there exist significant depictions of this economic thinking through an ornate drawing on the title page, as well as smaller references within the introductory text. the title page drawing, which depicts a type of island scenery with a european man and several africans on the beach, gives some indication about the kind of presence europeans imposed on the region. in the picture, one of the africans pictured is smoking a pipe of tobacco and is sitting amongst a group of barrels that, by the presence of a bottle on top of one of them, seems to indicate barrels of rum.8 rum, developed from sugar, became a massive export to both mainland north america and europe, while tobacco became a heavily addictive substance in both of these regions as well. the basic formatting system jefferys employs for the atlas bears some resemblance to the practices illustrated in modern cartography; however, he also uses some protoanthropologic analysis throughout the atlas. the map of texas, for example, is meticulously accurate in and of itself, but jefferys also places a description of the local inhabitants by writing the information in a wide arc on the map itself. his emphasis on the exotic nature of the caribbean region and the new world in general, which contrasts heavily with many european ideals and social norms, is evident in his account of some of these natives as “tribes of wandering indians.”9 jefferys also follows a trend of many european cartographers by indicating the impact of christianity on the region through the labeling of towns and villages in mexico. on these labels, the only indicator besides the name is a symbol of a church steeple, which dominated many eighteenth-century cityscapes in europe and in the european colonies of the new world.10 as a series of islands surrounded by water, trade through overseas shipping became critical for the survival of colonial populations in the caribbean. jefferys takes very careful note of this through his maps and points out several locations that might interest ship captains, such as “good anchoring and watering for ships” on a bahamian island as well as the presence of “fresh water” in florida (figure 1).11 trying to facilitate the passage of ships in the region indicated, at the very least, an understanding by jefferys of the vast merchant networks under development in the region. figure 1: a map of the northern coast of cuba, emphasizing the wind currents and regional geography to aid in navigation of merchant fleets.11 66 elements : : fall 2015 on a far narrower scale, jefferys also mentions a very specific trade route: that of the spanish treasure fleet, the flota, on its return journey from the americas to spain. considering that this is an english atlas, it seems rather provocative and suggestive for jefferys to deliver such crucial information regarding another country’s property.12 this inclusion ties in directly with the inherently competitive nature of mercantilism found in jefferys’s atlas. he also takes care to decorate most of the larger maps with other drawings of european vessels on the water, which further emphasizes the naval and commercial lifestyle of the region (figure 2).13 within the mappings of territories outside english control, jefferys includes detailed locations of towns, roads, and physical features of these different regions. most of these details are likely due to the acquisition of charts from spanish ships in the 1760s during the most recent war with spain, which is assumed to be the seven years’ war.14 for example, the mapping of the southern coast of hispaniola is notable for its french labeling, along with the english equivalents in some locations. the markings of the land’s physical features were also useful for sailors in that region (figure 3).15 the anglo-spanish rivalry, as seen in the map of the southern part of cuba, can also be seen through english intrusions and surveying of spanish possessions for their own benefit.16 jefferys, or possibly his editor, did not just limit his illustrations to his maps; he also included in the atlas an elaborate illustration following the introductory descriptions of the different islands and regions. the image is very clearly that of an angel standing, in a classical pose, on the beach of an island, which seems to exist somewhere in the caribbean considering the surrounding flora. the most poignant connections to the ideals of european superiority and exploitation lie within the objects that surround the angel in the picture. signs of civilization, ranging from a telescope to a sheet music book, lie at the angel’s feet amid further clutter, while a european vessel is present in the background. the symbolic nature of all these different images refers to the notion many europeans held of the transfer of culture and civilization from europe to the caribbean islands.17 not all development of the caribbean region stemmed from european intrusions, as many agricultural practices in the region and its immediate surrounding areas originated from native american practices. for example, the physician sir hans sloane provided a depiction of the exotic practice of how natives grew cactus plants in southern mexico for the production of red dye, which they accomplished by taking acid from the body of the beetle that feeds on the cactus.18 geography in a tropical climate like the caribbean, europeans discovered a wide variety of physical features and wildlife foreign to these settlers amongst their small settlements and plantations. ranging from the tropical jungles of cuba to the flat swamplands of south florida, this geography often posed problems for settlement and economic development, but the european settlers on each island utilized these physical features to their advantage. one could usually classify these advantages in terms of natural fortificafigure 3: an illustration found in the opening pages of the atlas that illustrates the exotic characteristics of the caribbean that europeans emphasized. 15 figure 2: a map of central jamaica with very distinctive indications of settlements, plantations, and roads on the island surrounding kingston and the port royal area. 13 67 cartographers in the caribbean tions or suitable climates for agriculture. for example, the “great mountains” of jamaica provided great natural fortifications against intrusion of foreigners or pirates hostile to the british settlers in kingston and port royal.19 jefferys’s atlas depicts these massive mountains through detailed and accurate illustrations of multi-layered mountainous formations (figure 4).20 he also offers a sea-level depiction of the island of barbados by sketching the mountains from the perspective of a sailor approaching the island from the northwest.21 topographical differences between the islands ultimately influenced the respective successes of different colonists within the region. in the bahamian archipelago, for example, the settlers in the early eighteenth century primarily consisted of pirates and privateers who settled the island of providence and established a colony at nassau. because of a lack of drinking water and suitable soil for cultivation, the colony and its descendants generally relied on the spoils of their plunder.22 in contrast, the agricultural islands of the lesser antilles produced huge amounts of crops for export, such as the french-owned island of guadeloupe that annually yielded “46 million weight of sugar.”23 numbers from other sugar-producing islands such as barbados remained similar, trading “above 432,000l. sterling,” to different points throughout the triangular trade regions.24 relative stability in english governance and victories over the french and spanish in several wars during the eighteenth century truly provided the british with a distinct economic advantage over their competition. with an expanded economic base in north america following the seven years’ war and the transfer of experienced seamen to the caribbean following the war of spanish succession, the available markets for goods and the sailors to transport those goods expanded as well. in jefferys’s atlas, the presence and importance of these plantations was significant enough that he felt it necessary to mark their borders within detailed maps of individual islands in the lesser antilles.25 however, the most notable topographical descriptions of the islands actually lie off the coasts of each island through the presence of water depth indicators. these measurements, utilized by european ship captains to ensure goods safely arrived to their destinations, proved critical for the facilitation of trade in the caribbean. jefferys’ maps include not only depth measurements along coastal waters, but also small indicators of rocks and other hazards located in the water.26 these critical measurements and indicators dictate the importance of shipping to europeans in the caribbean, and further emphasize the intent of exploitation of the region’s natural fruitfulness by the europeans. with accurate depth measurements that facilitated this exchange, european merchants eventually helped provide the basis for further economic growth in other colonies and in europe.27 to assist in the establishment of colonies within these islands, european explorers and adventurers took great care to give accurate descriptions of exotic flora and fauna within the region. in the late seventeenth century, sloane journeyed to the caribbean with the recently appointed governor of jamaica, the duke of albemarle.28 his extensive accounts of the flora in jamaica, addressed to queen anne of great britain, constitutes one of “the largest and most considerable” collections of natural descriptions from this period.29 sloane, throughout the book, makes constant references to the potential of different plants and wildlife in providing sustenance for those who arrived. however, there do seem to be some exceptions to the natural fruitfulness of the land, including a type of seaweed that is “saltish to the taste” and “delightful to the irish palats.”30 fauna in the region, relatively untouched by man except for native interaction, also became a very important source of sustenance for european explorers venturing throughout the caribbean islands. sloane mentions bird species figure 4: a map of the western islands in the bahamas, with a special note emphasizing where ships could anchor and take on fresh water.20 68 elements : : fall 2015 such as boobies and noddies that “suffer themselves to be catch’d by the hand,” which further emphasizes the need of europeans to survive on animals rather than agriculture during their long voyages. because the voyages required being at sea for weeks at a time, food for the sailors became an absolute necessity, and fishing was the primary means of providing it. his sketches of the tropical bonito fish and its corresponding description, for example, emphasize their rather large size and “savoury” taste.31 to continue development of shipping lanes and traffic, information such as this for european ship captains became vital. making connections from home to other regions provided the european sailors with some familiarity, such as the acknowledgment of specific types of shellfish being present in both jamaica and scotland.32 this simple mention of a connection between foodstuffs and geography likely gave a reader of this volume residing in great britain a sense of perspective and a guide to where one could seek food. mercantilism and triangular trade the ideologies of mercantilism and exchange manifested themselves through the establishment of the trans-atlantic triangular trade networks between europe, africa, and the colonies of the new world.33 the trade networks connected to the caribbean colonies often relied on individual ship captains operating under very specific directives from their respective merchants, who resided thousands of miles away in europe. one prominent london merchant, william freeman, even gave one of his ship captains a directive to lie to officials who boarded their ships, a common practice among merchants in order to make sure goods reached their destinations.34 merchants formed consistent bonds with ship captains that made regular voyages to the new world territories like jamaica generally out of a need for familiarity and consistency in dealings.35 in terms of mapping, jefferys clearly realizes the vast array of shipping throughout the caribbean during the period of triangular trade, and he decorates many of his maps with illustrations of his ships on the open seas. these ships, pictured in countless different locations, seem to concentrate around regions where shipping is at its highest volume in different channels or straits. throughout the maps, many of these pictured ships follow the directions of the small “darts” which represent the currents on the open seas.36 to ship captains and merchants, these current markings are an invaluable tool for navigation and transporting goods at a more rapid pace than relying on wind alone. jefferys and his editor make other allusions to practices such as the cultivation of sugar throughout the atlas. the map key of st. vincent in the lesser antilles notes that the island possesses twenty-two rivers capable of driving sugar mills, which indicates the importance of sugar cultivation in the region.37 the trials and tribulations of agriculture extended far beyond the english realms however, as the french in la martinique discovered during the eighteenth century. with little progress made in the production of cacao or sugar, the planters on the island started producing coffee beans that became a raging success.38 likewise, in puerto rico, jefferys describes how the island does not produce enough goods beyond the basic needs of its “lazy possessors.”39 this blatant and unwarranted bias against the spanish likely stems from historical conflicts with the spanish, some of which led to jefferys gaining possession of many of the maps in the first place. conclusion accurately describing, much less depicting, a varied landscape such as the caribbean presented an enormously challenging task for the cartographer thomas jefferys during the eighteenth century. his work, along with that of other europeans, utilizes several different methods to accomplish this task, and consequently provides modern day historians with a perspective on the region and mercantilism. through an analysis of imagery within jefferys’ maps and the methods he utilizes to describe geography and his important references to trade and mercantilism, the general european viewpoint on the caribbean seems clear. as a tropical land with a favorable climate for the cultivation of sugar, tobacco, indigo, coffee beans, and cacao, the caribbean region represented an enormous opportunity for exchange during the eighteenth century. this trade, manifested through the practice of triangular trade as well as the economic doctrine of mercantilism, dominated every aspect of caribbean colonial life during this time. however, the most important role the caribbean played during the colonial era truly came after the eighteenth century, when the goods it exported helped provide the capital for industrialists and economies to expand in the industrial revolution. analysis of the economic exchange in the caribbean unfortunately never takes into account the lasting human impact on people such as african slaves or native americans living in the caribbean. for example, on the passage from africa to america, slave mortality rates ranged from 8.2-21 percent.40 these figures, while shocking themselves, do not even account for the countless oth69 cartographers in the caribbean ers who passed away from the malicious treatment received on the plantations in the region. european mortality rates, while evidently lower, also create a deeper understanding of the horrid conditions that many of the colonizers went through during the triangular trade era. the suffering that many people endured in the caribbean during this time are tragedies best classified as silences within these maps. they are also representative of the major disadvantages to the economic development of the region. instead of trying to describe these horrific stories, jefferys creates a series of truly remarkable and incredibly detailed maps that likely facilitated the passage of ships and cargo, and gives a much clearer understanding of life in the caribbean at the time. this understanding really serves a dual purpose, however, as it both feeds into the romanticized european image of the exotic colonial caribbean while telling a mercantilist history of the region. his atlas, although it does not specifically argue for mercantilist ideals, clearly embodies the pri nciples of this colonial economic system and focuses specifically on the aspects of naval commerce. jefferys, and other europeans like him, understood that accurate maps of this region could facilitate the development process and provide merchants with the best possible opportunity for successful exchange of goods in the colonial era. endnotes 1. thomas jefferys, the west indian atlas or a general description of the west indies: taken from actual surveys and observations, (london: robert laurie and james whittle, 1794), 18. 2. ibid., 22. 3. penelope ismay. “financing the industrial revolution.” class lecture, the credit nexus: the secret economy in britain, 1600s-1900s from boston college, chestnut hill, ma, february 24, 2014. 4. jefferys, the west indian atlas, i. 5. “jefferys, thomas (c.1719–1771),” laurence worms in oxford dictionary of national biography, eee ed. h. c. g. matthew and brian harrison (oxford: oup, 2004); online ed., ed. lawrence goldman, january 2008, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/ article/14696 (accessed march 16, 2014). 6. “mercantilism (economics) -britannica online encyclopedia.” http://www.britannica.com/ebchecked/ topic/375578/mercantilism. 7. jefferys, the west indian atlas, 7. 8. ibid. 9. ibid., plate 2. 10. ibid., plate 5. 11. ibid., plate 4. 12. ibid, plate 4. 13. ibid., plate 7. 14. ibid., i. 15. ibid., plate 12. 16. ibid., plate 8. 17. ibid, iv. 18. sir hans sloane, a voyage to the islands madera, barbados, nieves, s. christophers and jamaica, with the natural history ... of the last of those islands; to which is prefix’d an introduction, wherein is an account of the inhabitants, air, waters, diseases, trade, &c. ... illustrated with the figures of the things describ’d, ... by hans sloane, ... in two volumes. ... london: printed by bmfor the author, 1707. 19. christian lilly. description of jamaica [by capt. lilly, the engineer], june 18, 1700. http://gateway.proquest.com/ openurl?url_ver=z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:csp-us:&rft_ dat=xri:csp:rec:v18-e000990. 20. jefferys, the west indian atlas, plate 1. 21. ibid., plate 10. 22. ibid., 23. 23. ibid., 25. 24. ibid., 20. 25. ibid, plate 13. 26. ibid., plate 4. 27. robert brenner, “the social basis of english commercial expansion,” in merchant networks in the early modern world, ed. sanjay subrahmanyam (brookfield, vermont: ashgate publishing company, 1996), 300. 28. “sloane, sir hans, baronet (1660–1753),” arthur macgregor in oxford dictionary of national biography, eee online ed., ed. lawrence goldman, oxford: oup, , http://www.oxforddnb.com/ view/article/25730. 29. sloane. a voyage to the islands volume 1, title page. 30. ibid., 49. 31. ibid., 28. 32. sloane, a voyage to the islands volume 2, 256. 33. brenner, “the social basis”, 300. 34. david hancock, the letters of william freeman, london merchant, 1678-1685 (london record society), (london: london record society, 2002), 31. 35. kenneth morgan, bristol and the atlantic trade in the eighteenth century, (wiltshire, great britain: cambridge university press, 1993), 81. 36. jefferys, the west indian atlas, plate 7. 37. ibid, plate 11. 38. ibid., 25. 39. ibid., 15. 40. herbert s. klein, new approaches to the americas: atlantic slave trade (2nd edition), (cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2010), 141. 70 elements : : fall 2015 references brenner, robert. “the social basis of english commercial expansion.” in merchant networks in the early modern world, edited by sanjay subrahmanyam, 300. brookfield, vt: ashgate publishing company, 1996. hancock, david. the letters of william freeman, london merchant, 1678-1685 (london record society). london: london record society, 2002. ismay, penelope. “financing the industrial revolution.” class lecture, the credit nexus: the secret economy in britain, 1600s-1900s from boston college, chestnut hill, ma, february 24, 2014. jefferys, thomas. the west-india atlas : or, a compendious description of the west-indies : illustrated with forty-one correct charts and maps, taken from actual surveys, together with an historical account of the several countries and islands which compose that part of the world ... london: r. laurie and j. whittle, 1794. klein, herbert s. new approaches to the americas: atlantic slave trade (2nd edition). cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2010. lilly, christian. description of jamaica [by capt. lilly, the engineer], june 18, 1700. http://gateway.proquest.com/ openurl?url_ver=z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:csp-us:&rft_ dat=xri:csp:rec:v18-e000990. macgregor, arthur. “sloane, sir hans, baronet (1660– 1753).” arthur macgregor in oxford dictionary of national biography, online ed., edited by lawrence goldman. oxford: oup. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25730. “mercantilism (economics) -britannica online encyclopedia.” accessed march 16, 2014. http://www.britannica. com/ebchecked/topic/375578/mercantilism. morgan, kenneth. bristol and the atlantic trade in the eighteenth century. wiltshire, great britain: cambridge university press, 1993. sloane. hans. a voyage to the islands madera, barbados, nieves, s. christophers and jamaica, with the natural history ... of the last of those islands; to which is prefix’d an intro duction, wherein is an account of the inhabitants, air, waters, diseases, trade, &c. ... illustrated with the figures of the things describ’d, ... by hans sloane, ... in two volumes. ... london: printed by bmfor the author, 1707. worms, laurence. “jefferys, thomas (c.1719–1771).” laurence worms in oxford dictionary of national biography, edited by h. c. g. matthew and brian harrison. oxford: oup, 2004. online ed., edited by lawrence goldman, january 2008. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14696. 71 cartographers in the caribbean .. all of egypt's foreign policy moves in the igyos can and should be understood as resulting from its economic position." h u n g e r for peace: egypt's economic reasons to seek peace with israel d a v i d f. b r a d l e y , j r. i n 1978 , e g y p t ' s a n w a r a l s a d a t l a u n c h e d a h i s t o r i c p e a c e i n i t i a t i v e w i t h i s r a e l , u l t i m a t e l y c u l m i n a t i n g i n a p e a c e a g r e e m e n t t h a t , n e a r l y 30 y e a r s l a t e r , s t i l l s t a n d s . t h i s p a p e r t r a c e s e g y p t ' s e c o n o m i c s t a t u s u n d e r a n w a r a l s a d a t a n d c o n c l u d e s t h a t s a d a t , r a t h e r t h a n j u s t b e i n g a n i n n a t e l y p e a c e l o v i n g m a n , h a d r e a l e c o n o m i c i n c e n t i v e s i n s e e k i n g p e a c e w i t h i s r a e l , e g y p t d i v e r t e d r e s o u r c e s f r o m i t s i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d i t s p e o p l e i n o r d e r t o p a y f o r a h e a v i l y a r m e d b o r d e r w i t h i s r a e l . h o s t i l i t i e s t o w a r d i s r a e l a l s o c o s t t h e c o u n t r y f o r e i g n d i r e c t i n v e s t m e n t a n d f o r e i g n a i d f r o m t h e w e s t . s a d a t ' s d e s i r e f o r p e a c e w a s l i t e r a l l y h u n g e r b e c a u s e h i s c i t i z e n s w e r e s t a r v i n g . i n t r o d u c t i o n on january 18,1977, the smell of tear gas and gunpowder permeated the cairo air. the people of egypt were rising in protest against anwar al-sadat and his latest policy move reducing the subsidies on basic products such as cigarettes, sugar, flour, rice, oil, beer, and cooking fuel.1 although the policy decision that sparked the so-called "food riots" did not affect many staples, such as bread and tea, and the change in prices was generally small for the poor, teeming masses of cairo, even the resulting small increase had significant repercussions. by the time the military put down the riot on the evening of january 19, security forces had killed 79 and injured 800." it was the largest popular uprising since the nasser revolution of 1952. sadat later reversed the subsidy cuts. the january 1977 riots were an indication of the failure of sadat's economic policies from the previous four years. in that time, sadat attempted to loosen the reins the state held on the economy through a series of policy decisions collectively called infitah, or "opening." by opening the economy, sadat hoped to encourage western businesses to move to egypt and to stimulate the economy. however, liberalization i n the economy was only one of the steps necessary to encourage foreign investment and foreign aid. two other critical steps involved distancing egypt from the soviet union and making a stable peace with israel. to this end, after the riots, sadat began planning for a major, public peace initiative with israel. in november, ten months after the january riots, these plans came to fruition when anwar al-sadat made his famous speech i n front of the israeli knesset. this sequence of events was no coincidence. domestic economic factors played a significant role in sadat's moves for peace, not just in november 1977, but throughout the 1970s. when sadat inherited control of egypt from his predecessor, gamal abdal nasser, in 1970, the economy was in shambles. egyptian pride was at an alarming low, and relations with both superpowers, the soviet union and the united states, were strained. egypt's sense of lost honor and of rocky relations with the two superpowers factored into economic stagnation and even backslide. while the 1973 yom kippur war ended with an eventual military defeat for egypt, it helped restore egyptian pride. such sentiments paved the way for public acceptance of a lasting peace with israel in 1977, which helped reduce the budgetary strain of maintaining a heavily militarized border on sinai. moreover, peace with israel helped build the confidence of private foreign investors. sadat's private negotiations with the americans following the 1973 war and his public distancing from the soviet union helped egypt to gain american financial and mil i tary backing. improved relations with the western powers, particularly the united states, led to an increase in badlyneeded foreign aid. in short, all of egypt's foreign policy moves in the 1970s can and should be understood as resulting from its economic position. e g y p t ' s e c o n o m i c w o e s from nasser's 1952 revolution until the camp david accords, egypt's economy had been disarrayed. infrastructure was poor, and the constant threat of war made it difficult to find funds to improve its condition. crowding in the cities following the exodus from sinai and the closure of the suez canal also resulted from wars and threats of war. author anthony mcdermott blames the political infrastructure created by nasser for the economic decline: " i f one is searching for a crucial reason why since 1952 the economy has not taken off, and why, in spite of all the planning, the gap between targets and fulfillments has been so large, the establishment of this [new] bureaucracy may well provide the answer."111 by way of comparison, 250,000 egyptians were in the civil service when nasser took over in 1952 while over one mill ion were in the civil service by the 1970s.1v the legacy of nasser's policies is significant for understanding the economic development of egypt under sadat. nasser based his new government in 1952 on six "revolutionary principles," which included land reform, greater social justice, and liberal democracy.v nasser decided that the socioeconomic condition of the country e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 needed improvement before he could obtain his primary goal: liberal democracy. nasser encouraged industrialization, adult literacy, and public education, yet the results of nasser's programs left much to be desired. the policy of subsidizing staple goods arose during the reign of nasser. he encouraged industrialization but nationalized private businesses-a certain way to discourage investment in industry. attendance in public secondary and university-level schools skyrocketed, but there were no jobs for the college graduates-except i n the massive government bureaucracy/1 the confiscatory and redistributive tax system, too, did nothing to help encourage foreign funds. egypt's military actions also drained the economy. during the war of 1956, many egyptians living in sinai fled to the cities, causing crowding problems in urban areas such as cairo and alexandria. in 1967, this problem became much more acute. egypt's high birthrate caused a 400 percent population increase from 1897 to 1977 with only a 127 percent rise in cultivated land, which spelled disaster for food supplies and infrastructure/ 1 1 maintaining military forces on the sinai border further drained the national treasury. the military buildup along the sinai border, even after the ceasefire agreements, was significant. in 1976, egypt had a 500,000-man army, all of whom, of course, needed food and payment/'1 1 1 not only was the military on the sinai border, but several thousand soldiers were i n yemen engaged in a civil war there. l x the funding of the army consumed nearly 50 percent of egypt's total budget and caused continual debt problems, leaving little room for other budgetary considerations, such as subsidizing food prices, without going into debt. the indirect costs of military action, including the closure of the suez canal and the loss of money from the oil fields in israeli-occupied sinai, were damaging as well. the western foreign aid the country received in the 1960s dried up because of egypt's close relations to the soviet union. as sadat rose to power i n 1970, egypt's economic outlook was bleak. growing national foreign debt, poor balance of trade, no foreign investment, and huge military expenditures plagued the country. the new leader had to do something to improve the economy so he decided to embark on a program of liberalization, or infitah. this program depended on foreign governmental aid and foreign direct investment money, neither of which egypt received in the early 1970s. despite the establishment of free trade zones in egypt, foreign direct investment (fdi) was rare. l x following the 1973 yom kippur war, this changed— slightly. as mentioned above, the united states government and private american banks promised over $150 million in construction loans directly following the war to build an oil pipeline. more liberalization occurred, as sadat granted foreign and domestic capitalist protections against nationalization of their businesses and reduced the taxes paid on business profits. sadat attempted to form a mixed economy-one with a large public sector (through nationalized businesses and the ever-expanding national governmental bureaucracy) and heavy food subsidies, combined with attempts at private business ownership. however, sadat's efforts were ineffective, as he lacked a thorough understanding of economics. instead, he left many of the economic details to his advisors-most of h u n g e r f o r p e a c e : e g y p t ' s e c o n o m i c r e a s o n s t o s e e k p e a c e w i t h i s r a e l whom were bona-fide marxists.x although sadat talked often—and earnestly—of easing economic restraints and encouraging capitalism through his infitah program, it was not until 1981 that egypt ended the most anti-capitalist laws such as the capping of annual salaries and profits. during the 1970s, central planning, through soviet-style "five-year programs," framed economic development. the trappings of socialism remained, including high, confiscatory taxation, heavy central planning, and relative minim u m wage (a system under which businesses had to pay employees a certain percentage of that business's profits), inhibiting local industrial capitalists . x 1 a perceived absence of peace in the region also accounted for the scarcity of fdi. even after the sinai ceasefire accords and the opening of the suez canal, the threat of war seemed high to many foreign businesses—too high, in fact, to justify investment. according to an editorial in the january 21,1977 edition of the egyptian gazette, egypt's best hope for economic gain was to "opt out of the war with israel altogether."x11 i n early november 1977, shortly before sadat's trip to jerusalem, several major companies, including ford motor company, coca-cola, colgate-palmolive, motorola, and xerox, were willing to open business in egypt, but because of their dealings with israel, the egyptian boycott office opposed their entry. x l i l peace with g a m a l abdel nasser israel would allow these companies to enter egypt. despite sadat's best intentions, infitah failed—as the 1978 food riots seemed evidence of that. the riots resulted from sadat's reduction in the food subsidies, an act fitting with his other attempts at liberalization. it was an attempt to placate the imf, which was demanding that egypt balance its budget as part of its debt relief program. after seeing the uproar created by the subsidy decreases, sadat knew he would not be able to reduce the subsidies and remain in power; thus, he sought another way of decreasing budgetary strains. there was one other path to take to balance the budget, and it required two actions: 1) to increase sources of income, mainly through foreign aid and fdi; and 2) to decrease military spending. both objectives required peace with israel. egypt a n d t h e c o l d war like most states, egypt was greatly influenced by the cold war, as much development and military aid was available from the soviet union and the united states (and their respective allies). in the arab world, the soviet union took the dominant role in providing defense and economic aid; egypt, too, fell under soviet influence during the 1950s and 1960s under the leadership of nasser. when sadat took power after nasser's death in 1970, he began secret talks with the united states to help repair the damage done to american-egyptian relations by the war of 1967. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 in 1955, the united states refused to provide arms to nasser's revolutionary regime in egypt. as a result, nasser turned to the default arms dealer to the arab world, the soviet union . x l v however, financial aid from the soviet union was less forthcoming. the need to fund the national budget, combined with the removal of western aid, led to the nationalization of the suez canal and the subsequent war with israel in 1956. egypt's leadership in the war with israel helped propel the country to the front of the pan-arab movement, making nasser conform to the movement's ideals. one key tenet of pan-arabism was economic selfdependence and the maintenance of a favorable balance of trade. as a result, nasser nationalized a string of privatelyowned foreign and domestic industries in the late 1950s and early 1960s. despite these nationalizations, the united states resumed economic aid to egypt i n the early 1960s. when in 1964 egypt continued to favor the soviet union, as it was the superpower most likely to help foster pan-arabism, the united states withdrew economic aid again from egypt.x v despite nasser's efforts to make egypt self-sufficient, the the soviet union for arms and on the united states and arab countries for economic assistance. following nasser's death in 1970 and an immediate jockeying for power, his eventual successor, sadat, pursued a different course. because the soviet union had unsuccessfully interfered in the egyptian power struggle and attempted to install a leader more sympathetic toward soviet interests, the soviets earned sadat's contempt and distrust.™ 1 1 in june 1970, the united states issued the rogers plan for a peaceful end to the war of attrition against israel. in response to soviet delays i n arms shipments and attempts at interference i n the transfer of power in egypt, sadat signaled to the americans his readiness to work to bring about regional peace. his willingness to work with the americans in 1970 and 1971, in the opinion of historian kirk beattie, betrayed the view held by sadat that the "united states alone held the key to the conflict's resolution because the united states, in his estimation, was the only true superpower."x1x still, i n 1971, sadat signed a soviet-egyptian friendship pact, much to the dismay of the americans. egypt's leadership in the war with israel helped propel the country to the front of the pan-arab movement, making nasser conform to the movement's ideals." consequence of the united states' withdrawal of economic aid was drastic: egypt's gross national product growth fell from 6.4 percent in fiscal year 1963-1964 to 0.3 percent in fiscal year i966i967 . x v l following defeat in the war of 1967, rich oil-producing countries i n the middle east tried to compensate for the economic damage inflicted by the closure of the suez canal and the destruction of egyptian oil refineries. the soviet union replaced the $1-1.5 billion in equipment lost during the war of 1967.^" thus, nasser's foreign policy was marked by a dependency upon most of the discussions with the united states occurred through back channels, including secure telephone lines from sadat's home to washington and messages conveyed during secret meetings with members of the united states interests office in cairo. x x in february 1971, egypt made a significant move towards the united states by complying with the united nations jarring proposal, which was based on united nations resolution 242. egypt complied with the jarring proposal's requests, while israel mainly ignored it. in doing so, sadat hoped to show the united states that h u n g e r f o r p e a c e : e g y p t ' s e c o n o m i c r e a s o n s t o s e e k p e a c e w i t h i s r a e l he was serious about making peace. in april , when sadat made a clear and specific peace settlement proposal that president nixon and the united states state department did not take seriously,x x l he became angry with the americans for not rewarding egypt's willingness to make peace and for not punishing israel's intransigence. henry kissinger told sadat that there would have to be a change in the status quo before any peace would be considered on terms acceptable to sadat.xx11 yet, the expulsion of the soviet military advisors from egypt in july 1972 was apparently not enough of a change to please the americans, as they did not attempt to provide any positive response to the act. hence, sadat began preparations for war. interestingly, the yom kippur war of 1973 helped bring peace, by restoring the pride the egyptians lost i n 1967 and humbling the israelis to the point of being able to consider relinquishing the sinai. equally interesting is the united states response to egypt's aggression-increased foreign investment. in early 1974, the united states offered over $180 mill ion in loans funded by the government and private businesses for the construction of an oil pipeline from the suez canal to the mediterranean sea—a project that, while it never actually came to fruition, would have been of great benefit to the egyptians.™ 1 the united states, to the exclusion of the soviet union, was heavily involved in the ceasefire agreements following the yom kippur war. the signature of the second sinai ceasefire agreement in september 1975 "helped drive a stake in egyptian-soviet relations."x x 1 v six months later, the egyptians broke their friendship treaty with the soviets. in response, the americans increased their aid: us aid was $371.9 mil l ion in 1975 and $986.6 mil l ion in 1976. x x v by may of 1977, following the food riots, arab aid topped $1.5 billion and us aid topped $1.0 bi l l ion. x x y 1 by the summer of that year, egypt was no longer sending cotton to the soviet union, and the united states was supplying egypt with military goods. f f l v i i at this time, the soviet union was also supporting increasingly hostile regimes in neighboring libya, sudan, and chad. sadat blamed soviet-backed libyan communists for instigating the food riots earlier in the year and feared that the soviet union could persuade chad and sudan, both through its own strength and through libya, to cut off the lifeline of egypt—the nile river. x x v l u this potential conflict with libya, sudan, and chad may have contributed to sadat's desire for a quicker peace with israel, so he could move his army from the egyptian-israeli border to the borders with libya and sudan. the soviet-american joint announcement of a new geneva conference surprised sadat. indeed, it could have been seen as an insult after egypt undertook four years of distancing from the soviet union. shortly after the announcement, sadat began sending out feelers to see i f israel's prime minister menachim begin would respond positively to his potential trip to jerusalem, a trip that materialized in november 1977. sadat's speech in front of the israeli knesset started two processes: ostracization from the arab world and negotiations between israel, the united states, and egypt, which culminated in the september 1978 camp david accords. the winding paths of these negotiations have little bearing on egypt's economic reasons for peace with israel, yet it should be noted that there was little open discussion during the camp david negotiations about the economic repercussions to peace, according to memoirs written by president jimmy carter and anwar al-sadat. what is important is that the camp david accords of 1978 marked the culmination of eight years of attempts by sadat for peace, and that the desire for peace stemmed in large part from economic motives. a p p l i c a t i o n s i n t h e o r y i wi l l now use the information discussed above and attempt to apply these facts to several concepts in international theory, such as ripeness in peaceful territorial change and negotiating for side benefits. a condition of ripeness, stemming from a mutually harmful stalemate and a mutual interest in the united states as a common ally, existed in the israeli-egyptian conflict. because this paper has foe l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 cused almost exclusively on the egyptian economy and foreign policy, i wil l only address ripeness i n egypt. egypt negotiated with israel for side benefits mentioned above, such as foreign aid and increased fdi. from 1970 to 1973, the stalemate between egypt and israel was especially damaging to egypt, as the country had to maintain expensive forces on the sinai border and could not cut its ties with the soviets, which cost egypt the united states' favor. a n end to the stalemate may have been in egypt's economic interest, but at the time, the united states would not mediate a deal acceptable to sadat. the 1973 yom kippur war, which dealt a blow to the israeli ego, ended this stalemate. by working closely with the united states to develop the two sinai ceasefire agreements, egypt received more favor (and favors) from the united states. by 1978, the united states, under president jimmy carter, was willing to broker a deal more acceptable to sadat. in addition, both the israelis and egyptians were willing to trade land for peace. this stalemate ended in a peace agreement. the contents of the peace agreement and, from the accounts of sadat and carter in their respective memoirs, the negotiations at camp david focused little on the direct economic effects of peace. there were some side agreements whereby the egyptian air force received american aid and the israelis purchased oil at market value from the sinai oil wells which were turned over to egyptian control. however, the bulk of the negotiations seemed to focus on other issues—the future of the palestinians and israeli settlements in the sinai, for example. x x l x although the camp david accords netted little in terms of formal arrangements with the united states, sadat had every reason to think that the united states would provide some reward for his willingness to sign a united statesmediated peace deal. after signing the united statesanwar al-sadat, j immy carter, a n d m e n a c h e m begin s h a k i n g h a n d s at camp david accord s i g n i n g h u n g e r f o r p e a c e : e g y p t ' s e c o n o m i c r e a s o n s t o s e e k p e a c e w i t h i s r a e l mediated sinai ceasefire agreements, egypt received increased development aid from the united states. by 1977, the united states was providing arms to only three countries i n the middle east: israel, saudi arabia, and egypt. sadat saw the benefits of going along with united states initiatives, and in 1978 decided to launch an initiative of his own that would endear h im even more to the hearts of united states' policymakers with the unspoken hope that it would lead to more american foreign aid. c o n c l u s i o n the economic motivation for camp david was not there. after all, the arabs offered him an option. he knew the arab world would boycott egypt; he didn't have any offer from the u.s. side or others at the time, so it was a genuine effort by him to make peace. -mustafas khalil, prime minister of egypt lgjs-igso.7001 is prime minister mustafas khalil correct? it would be a fool's errand to try to prove i n this paper that a true desire for peace for peace's sake did not motivate sadat, at least in part, to seek peace with israel. the psychological aspects of this peace process are, indeed, an important topic. however, egypt's foreign policy history shows that sadat understood the correlation between peace and western aid, and economic history shows that sadat's policies required western aid and investment in order to succeed. whether or not egypt's economy improved following the camp david accords is irrelevant to this study; sadat's intentions are the focus. because it is human nature to aggrandize one's own benevolence for posterity, sources such as the memoirs of sadat and president carter are not wholly useful, as they, by nature, tend to accentuate the moralistic aspects of their policy decisions. this is why secondary historical sources have primarily been relied upon for this paper. hence, former prime minister khalil's statement should be scrutinized through the lens of history. indeed, the arabs did offer increased aid to egypt in an effort to steer sadat away from the negotiating table. in a november 1978 meeting of the arab league in baghdad, lebanon alone offered sadat $5 billion over ten years i f he would not attend the scheduled camp david summit. sadat's ironic reply was that his nation's future was not for sale. x x x l i n fact, the future of sadat's nation was for sale, but not for a mere $500 mill ion in aid per year. instead, its price was the expectation of increased western aid and fdi. while khalil is correct in saying that there was never an explicit agreement that the united states would increase their aid to egypt following a peace with israel, a look at the his"egypt's peace movements towards israel in the igyos can be cynically but accurately viewed as an extension of sadat's domestic economic policies." tory of egyptian-american relations makes it appear reasonable for sadat to assume that peace with israel would lead to increased american foreign aid. throughout the 1970s, as egypt drew closer to the united states, their aid packages increased. the increase which followed the signing of the two sinai ceasefire agreements was especially dramatic: us aid was $371.9 mil l ion in 1975 and $986.6 mill ion i n 1976, the year after the signature of the second sinai agreement. 5 0™ 1 a similar jump in united states aid took place after the signing of the camp david accords: from $1.0 billion in 1977 to $2.2 billion in i 9 7 9 . x x x m not only did peace with israel promise increases in foreign aid, but it also allowed companies such as coca-cola to enter the country despite their dealings with israel, something that kept them out of egypt before the camp david accords. fdi increased from 10 percent of all egyptian investment in 1977 to 14 percent in 1979. in summation-, egypt's peace movements towards israel in the 1970s can be cynically but accurately viewed as an extension of sadat's domestic economic policies. at the very least, one must incorporate this view into any complete understanding of the 1970s peace between egypt and israel. sadat's infitah program of liberalization of the economy could only succeed i f foreign development aid and fdi levels were high. as egypt moved from the soviet union towards the united states, its foreign aid and foreign investment increased, and sadat exploited this pattern and throughout the 1970s. domestically, cutting subsidies was obviously not an option following the january 1978 riots, yet balancing the budget was a necessity; cutting military spending was a clear way to achieve this goal. sadat's attempts to fix these domestic economic issues resulted in his decision to seek a lasting peace with israel. e n d n o t e s i . friedlander (6) i i . friedlander (208) i i i . mcdermott (122) iv. mcdermott (122) v. beattie (3) vi . beattie (93) v i i . mcdermott (131) v i i i . friedlander (6) ix. friedlander (4) x. beattie (214) ix. friedlander (5) x. beattie (139) xi . beattie (141) xi i . quoted i n beattie ( 220) x i i i . beattie (220) xiv. beattie (5) xv. beattie (5) xvi. beattie (6) xvii. mcdermott (127) xvii i . israeli (32) xix. beattie (50) xx. beattie (55) xxi. beattie (87) xxii. beattie (132) xxii i . beattie (138) xxiv. beattie (179) xxv. beattie (179) xxvi. beattie (216) xxvii. friedlander (67) xxviii. israeli (153) xxix. carter (319-403) xxx. quoted i n beattie (228) xxxi. friedlander (257) xxxii. beattie (179) xxxiii. beattie (231) r e f e r e n c e s beattie, k. j. 2000. egypt during the sadat years. new york: palgrave. carter, j. 1982. keeping faith: memoirs of a president. toronto: batnam books. friedlander, m . 1983. sadat and begin: the domestic politics of peacemaking. boulder, col.: westview press. israeli, r. i . 1981. egypt-aspects of president anwar al-sadat's political thought. jerusalem: the magness press. mcdermott, a. 1988. egypt from nasser to mubarak: a flawed revolution. london: croom h i l l . h u n g e r f o r p e a c e : e g y p t ' s e c o n o m i c r e a s o n s t o s e e k p e a c e w i t h i s r a e l "despite differences in the healthcare systems in the united states and england, there is strong evidence supporting the presence of socioeconomic status disparities with regard to cochlear implantation in both countries." h e a r i n g t h e classes a study of cochlear implantation and socioeconomic status r k a t h e r i n e k o n i a r e s p r o f o u n d h e a r i n g l o s s a f f e c t s t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a n d t h e u n i t e d k i n g d o m , w i t h a h i g h e r i n c i d e n c e a m o n g p e o p l e o f l o w s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s . a c o c h l e a r i m p l a n t i s a s u r g i c a l l y i m p l a n t e d d e v i c e t h a t h a s b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d t o i m p r o v e c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d q u a l i t y o f l i f e a m o n g p r o f o u n d l y h e a r i n g i m p a i r e d i n d i v i d u a l s . t h i s r e v i e w p o s t u l a t e s t h a t t h e r a t e o f c o c h l e a r i m p l a n t a t i o n a m o n g e l i g i b l e c a n d i d a t e s c a n b e u s e d t o a s s e s s q u a l i t y o f h e a l t h c a r e , w i t h a v i e w t o w a r d e x a m i n i n g d i s p a r i t i e s i n h e a l t h c a r e s e r v i c e s b o t h i n a m e r i c a n f r e e m a r k e t s y s t e m a n d i n t h e b r i t i s h n a t i o n a l h e a l t h s e r v i c e . a s y s t e m a t i c l i t e r a t u r e s e a r c h w a s p e r f o r m e d f o r p e r t i n e n t a r t i c l e s i n v e s t i g a t i n g s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s a n d c o c h l e a r i m p l a n t a t i o n . d a t a f r o m t w e n t y t w o s o u r c e s w e r e a n a l y z e d , a n d i t w a s s h o w n t h a t — d e s p i t e d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e h e a l t h c a r e s y s t e m s o f t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s a n d e n g l a n d — s i m i l a r t r e n d s a r e a p p a r e n t i n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s w i t h r e g a r d t o a l o w e r r a t e o f p e d i a t r i c c o c h l e a r i m p l a n t a t i o n s u r g e r y i n c h i l d r e n w i t h p r o f o u n d h e a r i n g l o s s a s f a m i l i a l s o c i o e c o n o m i c s t a t u s d e c r e a s e s . i n t r o d u c t i o n h e a r i n g loss is one o f the m o s t prevalent hea l th condi t ions i n the u n i t e d states a n d england, w i t h moderate to prof o u n d bi lateral hear ing loss diagnosed i n 2-3 infants per 1 ,000 b i r ths i n the u n i t e d states and 1 per 1 ,000 b i r t h s i n england. 1 fifty to n inety percent m o r e c h i l d r e n are diagnosed w i t h hear ing i m p a i r m e n t by 9 years o f age. 2 c h i l d r e n f r o m lower i n c o m e famil ies are twice as l ike ly to be deaf w h e n compared to c h i l d r e n f r o m h igher i n c o m e fami l ies . 3 degrees o f hear ing loss are measured i n decibels, and are def ined as moderately severe (66-74 db) , severe (75-90 db) , or p r o f o u n d (>90 db) , according to the 4-frequency (500, 1000, 2 0 0 0 , a n d 4 0 0 0 h z ) pure-tone average (pta). 4 cochlear i m p l a n t a t i o n (ci) is an o p t i o n for i n d i viduals w i t h severe to p r o f o u n d hear ing loss, w h o receive m i n i m a l benefit f r o m hear ing aids. 5 a c i is an electronic device surgically embedded i n the i n n e r ear, used to s t i m u late the auditory nerve i n response to s o u n d and generate the outcome o f h e a r i n g . 6 u n l i k e hear ing aids, a c i requires surgery and necessitates considerable costs t h r o u g h o u t the patient's l i f e t i m e . 7 pcis differ f r o m the i r adult equivalents because c h i l d r e n depend o n cis to learn spoken language skills and therefore require costly and extensive hab i l i t a t ion . a successful c i m a y lead to i m p r o v e d academic achievement, superior e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i ties, and decreased dependence o n social services as an adul t . 8 low ses, w h i c h is characterized by m i n i m a l educat ion, househo ld i n c o m e , a n d accumulated wea l th , often curtails the abi l i ty o f indiv idua ls to access crucia l healthcare, such as pcis. w i t h i n the d o m a i n o f pcis, there is a g r o w i n g disparity w i t h regard to the rate o f cochlear i m p l a n t a t i o n s a n d pos t implanta t ion speech and language development for c h i l d r e n w i t h hear ing loss. 9 a p e d i a t r i c c o c h l e a r i m p l a n t w i t h a m o d e l o f t h e h u m a n ear. to examine the effects o f ses o n cochlear i m p l a n t a t i o n i n the u n i t e d states a n d england, a l i terature search was perf o r m e d u s i n g three databases—medline, p u b m e d , a n d google scholar. art ic les were restricted to those publ i shed between 1999 and 2 0 0 9 . the f o l l o w i n g keywords were used i n r a n d o m combinat ions and l i n k e d u s i n g the 'and ' o p t i o n i n advanced searches: cochlear i m p l a n t , pediatric, ses, socioeconomic status/disparity, medica id , us, a n d u k . once the results were reviewed and valuable ar t i cles ident i f ied , the i r references were combed for per t inent articles. further cr iter ia i n the selection o f articles i n c l u d e d a pediatric (age less t h a n 18 years) study popula t ion . a d d i t i o n a l ly, articles e x a m i n i n g ses w i t h regard to race/ethnicity a n d gender were excluded. fourteen articles were i d e n t i f ied u s i n g the established cr iter ia a n d an addi t ional e ight sources were used for statistical a n d background i n f o r m a t i o n . results several studies i n the u n i t e d states and the u n i t e d k ingficure v. us i n c o m e c a t e g o r y c o m p a r e d t o ci f a m i l i e s . after s o r k i n et a l . (2008) . income category c i families, n (%) u.s. families i n category, % less t h a n $25,000 19 (12.8) 28.7 $25,001 $50 ,000 35 ( 2 3-6) 29 .4 $50,001 $75,000 35 ( 2 3-6) 19.4 $75,001 $ 100 ,000 21 (14.2) 10.2 $ 100 ,000+ 35 (23-6) 12.3 e l e m e n t s fall 2010 affluence level implanted, n (%) i (least affluent) 130 (14.9) 2 72 (8.4) 3 73 (8-4) 4 73 (8-4) 5 8 9 (10.2) 6 75 (8-6) 7 95 (10.9) 8 92 (10.5) 9 79 (91 ) i o (most affluent) 93 (10.7) figure 2: u k a f f l u e n c e level c o m p a r e d t o i m p l a n t e d f a m i l i e s . after f o r t n u m et a l . ( 2 0 0 2 ) . d o m have compared household i n c o m e w i t h the rate o f pediatric cochlear i m p l a n t a t i o n . 1 0 one study i n the u n i t e d states examined the re lat ionship between household i n come, the n u m b e r (and percentage) o f famil ies w i t h a c h i l d w h o received a c i , and the percentage o f household famil ies i n each i n c o m e category (figure 1). i t was concluded t h r o u g h x2 analysis ( p < o . o o i ) that famil ies o f ch i l d r e n w i t h a c i were m o r e l ike ly to earn over $ 100 ,000 a n d less l ike ly to earn u n d e r $25 ,000 t h a n famil ies nat ionw i d e . 1 1 a study i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m (figure 2) showed that there was a s ignif icant decrease i n the percentage o f c h i l d r e n w h o received a c i as affluence decreased ( p < o . o o i ) . 1 2 data o n cochlear i m p l a n t procedures p e r f o r m e d o n chi l d r e n i n the u n i t e d states i n 1997 was acquired f r o m a nat i o n a l pediatric hospi ta l discharge database, the kids ' i n pat ient database (kid) f r o m the h e a l t h care cost a n d u t i l i z a t i o n project ( h c u p ) , w h i c h is a col lect ion o f private and state resources and is sponsored by the agency for h e a l t h care research a n d qual i ty ( a h r q ) . 1 3 i t was f o u n d that 4 7 % o f patients i n the k i d w h o received a pci l ived i n households f r o m the highest k i d category (>$35,ooo), a n d m o r e t h a n 7 0 % o f patients w i t h a pci came f r o m families w i t h an annua l i n c o m e above the nat iona l average. c i manufacturers ' data o n pci recipients ' household i n c o m e was s imi la r to that o f the k i d . 1 4 a study p e r f o r m e d i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m , a i m e d at determ i n i n g the out-of-pocket costs for famil ies a t tending a c i p r o g r a m at n o t t i n g h a m pediatric cochlear i m p l a n t a t i o n p r o g r a m m e (npcip) , concluded that the m e a n total outof-pocket a n d t i m e costs for a fami ly per year were £ 2 , 4 6 2 . however, these costs varied s ignif icantly depending o n the n u m b e r o f years the pat ient h a d been i n the p r o g r a m , f r o m a m e a n cost o f £ 3 , 0 9 0 d u r i n g the first 2 years to £ 2 , 1 5 9 f ° r those i m p l a n t e d 2-5 years ago, to £ 1 , 8 1 5 f ° r pc is carr ied out over 5 years ago. the change i n average cost per year reflects the need for n u m e r o u s appointments a n d support for famil ies i n the years i m m e d i a t e l y fol lowi n g i m p l a n t a t i o n . 1 5 a study i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m that evaluated parents ' wil l ingness-to-pay (wtp) for a pci concluded that the m e a n monetary value parents are w i l l i n g to pay is £ 1 2 7 per m o n t h for 25 years o f t reatment . i f parents p a i d £ 1 2 7 per m o n t h for 25 years, the w t p for pci per c h i l d w o u l d s u m to £ 3 0 , 3 4 9 . i n 2 0 0 0 / 2 0 0 1 , the annua l n h s costs for pci were £ 9 . 2 3 m i l l i o n for a total o f 1,527 c h i l d r e n (1,290 chi l d r e n w i t h exist ing c i and 237 newly i m p l a n t e d ) . i f the famil ies o f al l 1,527 c i patients were w t p £ 1 2 7 per m o n t h , the total w t p for 2 0 0 0 / 2 0 0 1 w o u l d have only been £ 2 . 3 m i l l i o n , l eading to a £ 6 . 9 3 m i l l i o n deficit i n supply verses d e m a n d . 1 6 p a r e n t a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s the results o f a study i n the u n i t e d states i n w h i c h audiologists were asked to describe specific causes for the poorer outcomes o f pci i n c h i l d r e n w i t h a l o w ses ident i f ied a lack o f parental self-efficacy i n l o w ses famil ies , w h i c h makes i t cha l lenging for parents to advocate for the i r ch i l d r e n i n healthcare settings. low ses parents also have difficulty adher ing to schedules for appointments . i n response to a quest ion c o m p a r i n g i m p l a n t candidacy and adherence, 4 7 % (47 o f 101) o f audiologists said they w o u l d either "never" or "rarely" r e c o m m e n d p e r f o r m i n g a c i o n a c h i l d whose parents showed non-adherence d u r i n g assessment. 1 7 figure 3: p a y m e n t m e t h o d s o f c h i l d r e n o t o l 8 years o f a g e w h o r e c e i v e d a ci i n 1997a f t e r s t e r n et a l . (2oo5) . insurance payment type frequency (%) private, i n c l u d i n g h m o 74-5 medica id 21 self-pay 1 • other 3-5 h e a r i n g t h e c l a s s e s a s e v e n y e a r o l d boy h a v i n g h i s c o c h l e a r i m p l a n t s t u n e d i n a n a n e c h o i c c h a m b e r . one u.s. study p e r f o r m e d an analysis concern ing whether or not a referral for a c i was made. mult ivar iab le logistic regression was u t i l i z e d to observe a re lat ionship between socio-demographics and referrals. o f the 105 patients i n c luded i n the study, 73 ( 6 9 % ) received a referral . c h i l d r e n w h o were referred for a c i were m o r e l ike ly to have marr ied parents ( 9 1 % verses 7 0 % ) . 1 8 p a y m e n t m e t h o d s several studies have explored the re lat ionship between payment methods used to cover the costs o f a c i i n the u n i t e d states and u n i t e d k i n g d o m , a n d r e i m b u r s e m e n t rates for hospitals. figure 3 shows that m o r e t h a n 7 0 % o f the pci recipients used private hea l th insurance i n the u n i t e d states as the i r p r i n c i p a l means o f payment i n 1997, w h i l e 21% used m e d i c a i d . 1 9 i n one study i t was f o u n d that i n at least 18 states medica id r e i m b u r s e m e n t policies d i d n o t cover hospitals ' costs o f b u y i n g c i devices. these 18 states comprise 4 4 % o f medicaid e n r o l l m e n t . i n at least 8 other states, medica id r e i m bursements usual ly compensated hospitals for the cost o f the c i device, b u t these states comprise only 8 % o f medicaid e n r o l l m e n t . the average purchase price for a c i prosthetic system is $19,745 (n=46 hospitals) . a l t h o u g h medicaid policies for r e i m b u r s i n g hospitals for cis vary wide ly f r o m state to state, the m e d i a n r e i m b u r s e m e n t rate for medica id is $13,800 (n=9 hospitals) , w h i l e the m e a n r e i m b u r s e m e n t rate for private insurers is $15,757 (n=27 hospita l s ) . 2 0 v i t has already been established that cis are cost effective, independent o f the patients ' age at the t i m e o f implanta t i o n , b u t a study was p e r f o r m e d i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m to determine the direct cost o f i m p l a n t a t i o n per c h i l d charged to hea l th authorit ies by the n p c i p i n 1997-1998. 2 1 the cost for assessment and i m p l a n t a t i o n was est imated to be £ 2 7 , 5 0 0 ( $ 4 4 , 0 0 0 , a s suming £ 1 = $1.60). rehabi l i tat ion a n d maintenance for the first two years f o l l o w i n g i m p l a n t a t i o n cost , £ 4 , 0 0 0 ($6 ,400) per year. maintenance for the t h i r d year after i m p l a n t a t i o n and each consecutive year was expected to cost £ 2 , 3 0 0 ($3,680) per year. therefore, the total cost i n c u r r e d by the government for the first 4 years i n c l u d i n g the i m p l a n t a t i o n was est imated to be £ 3 7 , 8 0 0 ( $ 6 o , 4 8 o ) . 2 2 d i s c u s s i o n despite differences i n the healthcare systems i n the u n i t ed states a n d the u n i t e d k i n g d o m , there is s t rong evidence s u p p o r t i n g the presence o f ses disparities w i t h regard to cochlear i m p l a n t a t i o n i n b o t h countries . there are s imi la r patterns o f affluence and pci prevalence i n the u n i t e d states, where the m a j o r i t y o f patients have private insurance, and the u n i t e d k i n g d o m , where the n h s pays for the complete medica l cost o f cis. th i s impl i e s that variables besides household i n c o m e a n d educat ion level affect rates o f p c i . 2 3 there are several possible factors l i m i t i n g access to cis, i n c l u d i n g a lack o f knowledge about cis a m o n g famil ies o f hear ing i m p a i r e d c h i l d r e n , n o t havi n g insurance, and financial incentives for providers or ig i n a t i n g i n payment policies for pub l i c and private insurers . 2 4 i t has been extensively d o c u m e n t e d that m o r e c h i l d r e n w i t h pcis are f r o m famil ies w i t h annua l incomes h igher t h a n the nat iona l average. 2 5 one explanation for this is that affluent indiv iduals are m o r e l ike ly to employ healthcare service's i n genera l . 2 6 this may be because famil ies w i t h a h igher ses are m o r e concerned w i t h heal th and are less discouraged by personal expenses, such as t i m e and travel, i n c u r r e d for u t i l i z i n g healthcare facilities. th i s is part icular ly per t inent to pci centers i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m because there are only 16 facilities that provide the procedure , and therefore, famil ies m u s t f requently travel extensive distances, especially d u r i n g the first few years f o l l o w i n g i m p l a n t a t i o n . 2 7 c h i l d r e n o f lower ses famil ies often have parents w i t h l o w levels o f educat ion and subsequent low-paying employm e n t , w h o m u s t w o r k l o n g hours i n order to earn an adee le m e n t s f a l l 2010 quate i n c o m e . long w o r k i n g hours lead to an inf lexible schedule a n d i m p a i r the i r abi l i ty to attend appointments . low ses famil ies have a shortage o f resources such as t i m e a n d t ransportat ion , and are confronted w i t h such challenges as f ami ly size, childcare, and single parenthood , w h i c h only exacerbate the inab i l i t y to attend appointments and thus det r imenta l ly affect the l i k e l i h o o d o f b e i n g considered as a pci candidate . 2 8 financial incentives for audiologists may impede l o w ses patients ' access to pcis because o f l o w r e i m b u r s e m e n t rates for patients u s i n g medica id , as compared to private insurance companies . 2 9 cis do n o t replace alternative expensive medica l t reatments because m o s t c i candidates have hear ing i m p a i r m e n t s that are too severe to be rectified by hear ing aids. rather, savings are encountered outside the healthcare f ie ld i n such areas as educat ion, comm u n i c a t i o n , and employabi l i ty , i n add i t ion to the psychological a n d social aspects o f the chi ld 's we l l -be ing . 3 0 i n england, pci is capacity-constrained, m e a n i n g that on ly a l i m i t e d n u m b e r o f facilities receive f u n d i n g each year; therefore, pci programs are not heavily advertised. instead, referral to the p r o g r a m is requ i red f r o m the pat ient 's doctor. not only are famil ies w i t h a h igher ses m o r e l ike ly to vis i t the doctor, b u t they are consequently m o r e i n f o r m e d about pcis and m o r e articulate i n advocati n g for the i r c h i l d . 3 1 possible steps to alleviate disparities a l t h o u g h rect i fy ing the root cause o f u n e q u a l access to pci services w o u l d require e l i m i n a t i o n o f global poverty, some less ambi t ious objectives may be i m p l e m e n t e d i n order to i m p r o v e access to care for patients i n l o w ses famil ies i n the u n i t e d states and u n i t e d k i n g d o m . one such goal is to a u g m e n t the workforce o f c i providers , especially those t ra ined to w o r k i n underserved and m o r e cul tura l ly diverse c o m m u n i t i e s . th i s w o u l d reduce the t ransportat ion and t i m e costs i n c u r r e d by famil ies w h o have to travel l o n g distances to attend pci appointments , and w o u l d increase the access l o w ses c h i l d r e n have to pcis. addit ional ly , i m p l e m e n t i n g educat ion and counseli n g programs w o u l d i m p r o v e parents ' abi l i ty to advocate for the i r chi ldren's healthcare. 3 2 the u.s. medica id system, w h i c h insures 37.5 m i l l i o n people or 12 .9% o f the popu la t ion , should be restructured to a l low for universa l hospita l r e i m b u r s e m e n t standards i n every state and r e i m b u r s e m e n t policies comparable to a f a t h e r a n d h i s s i x y e a r o l d s o n react t o t h e s o n h e a r i n g h i s f i r s t s o u n d s t h a n k s t o a c i . those o f private insurance companies . 3 3 th i s w o u l d e l i m i nate any propensi ty for physicians a n d audiologists to preferential ly p e r f o r m pcis o n privately i n s u r e d candidates. rather t h a n pay hospitals and doctors o n a proced u r a l basis, payment s h o u l d be d i s t r ibuted based o n the qual i ty o f care. u n d e r such circumstances, a patient's i n surance status w o u l d have n o bear ing o n the i r level o f healthcare. president barack o b a m a is t a k i n g steps to i m p l e m e n t a publ ic heal th insurance o p t i o n for those i n d i viduals w i t h o u t insurance. this w o u l d p u t pressure o n private insurance companies to keep the i r p r e m i u m s d o w n and increase l o w ses patients ' access to healthcare. 3 4 the n h s has taken steps to aid l o w ses famil ies ' access to healthcare t h r o u g h such programs as the healthcare travel costs scheme, w h i c h provides a r e f u n d for travel expenses i n c u r r e d w h i l e t ravel ing to a hospita l or other n h s locat ion for n h s funded t rea tment . 3 5 despite efforts to e l iminate financial inequal i t ies , the ses disparity remains . the establ ishment o f a self-help support group for l o w ses parents w o u l d i m p r o v e self-efficacy and adherence to ) h e a r i n g t h e c l a s s e s scheduled appointments . the ideal p r o g r a m w o u l d provide medica l care for the c h i l d i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h educat i o n a n d support for the parents . 3 6 l i m i t a t i o n s ses is di f f icult to define and is measured by a variety o f di f ferent scales. 3 7 a l t h o u g h studies have been conducted i n the u n i t e d states and the u n i t e d k i n g d o m to explore disparities between ses and the rate o f pcis, di f ferent ses proxies were used i n each country. therefore, trends i n ses disparities can be analyzed i n each i n d i v i d u a l country, b u t i t is n o t current ly possible to quantitat ively compare the extent o f disparity i n the u n i t e d states to that i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m . addit ional ly , the populat ions o f the u n i t e d states and u n i t e d k i n g d o m are n o t u n i f o r m . t h u s , even t h o u g h studies e x a m i n i n g disparities between race/ ethnic i ty a n d gender were n o t i n c l u d e d i n th is l i terature review, part icular ses categories m a y be m o r e represented by certain social groups. also , studies i n the u n i t e d kingd o m d i d n o t always have corresponding data for the u n i t ed k i n g d o m , and vice versa. therefore, some aspects o f ses disparit ies were m o r e t h o r o u g h l y investigated i n one country t h a n the other. f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h after analyzing the current l i terature o n ses disparities and the rate o f pcis, i t is essential to suggest topics for fur ther research. a study should be under taken to compare the ses o f famil ies w i t h c h i l d r e n w i t h a c i u s i n g the same standard o f measurement i n the u n i t e d states and u n i t e d k i n g d o m , such as the jarman score or h o l l i n g s head's four-factor score. future research s h o u l d also explore the wa i t t i m e for pci i n the u n i t e d states and u n i t e d k i n g d o m , a n d investigate whether or n o t there is a relat i o n s h i p between ses a n d wa i t t i m e . th i s w o u l d a l low for a concrete compar i son o f ses disparities i n the t w o countries. addi t ional ly , research s h o u l d explore the speech deve lopment and l o n g t e r m educational outcomes o f ch i l d r e n w h o received a c i at a y o u n g age versus those w h o were older at the t i m e o f i m p l a n t a t i o n . c o n c l u s i o n the free-market healthcare system i n the u n i t e d states differs f r o m the n h s i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m , b u t b o t h systems exhibi t ses disparities w i t h regard to pcis. a l t h o u g h the n h s pays for al l costs o f pcis, these disparities are s t i l l present i n the u n i t e d k i n g d o m . thi s should be taken i n t o account by u.s. legislatures w h e n f o r m u l a t i n g new healthcare plans for the u n i t e d states. i n l i g h t o f the current healthcare re forms u n d e r the obama adminis t rat i o n , w h i c h a i m to provide healthcare for al l amer icans , i t should be noted that a universa l healthcare system does not necessarily e l iminate disparities. i n a d d i t i o n to prov idi n g healthcare payment for al l amer icans , the u.s. governm e n t s h o u l d focus o n educat ing amer icans about the i r healthcare options t h r o u g h nat iona l m e d i a campaigns a n d local workshops specialized for part icular medica l fields, w h i c h w o u l d enable ind iv idua l s to advocate for t h e m selves. further research is needed to m o r e t h o r o u g h l y i n vestigate the issues involved i n healthcare disparit ies, b u t the results o f this l i terature review indicate that ne i ther a free-market nor a universa l healthcare system is the ideal m e t h o d for p r o v i d i n g equal healthcare to al l . a p p e n d i x ses i n d i c e s townsend material deprivation score: the townsend score combines the individual scores of four variables to form an overall score that can then be used to rank particular geographical areas relative to others. the average score is zero, and the higher the score, the more deprived the area. the four variables are: 3 8 1) unemployment percentage of residents actively seeking employment 2) car ownership percentage of households that do not possess a car 3) owner occupation percentage of households that do not own their accommodations 4) overcrowding percentage of households wi th more than one person per room jarman score: the jarman score is used to determine deprivation payments to general practitioners and consists of the following variables:3 9 1) people over the age of 65 who are living alone 2) children under the age of 5 3) single parent households 4) unskilled workers 5) unemployment e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2010 6) overcrowded households 7) address change i n the past year 8) ethnic group hollingshead's four-factor score: the hollingshead score is derived from education and occupation characteristics of each parent. individual education and occupation scores are weighted to obtain a single score for each parent that represents 1 of 5 social strata (1 represents unskilled laborers and 5 represents higher professionals). the scores for each parent are then averaged to determine a single score for the household. the education and occupation scores are calculated as follows: 4 0 1) education score ranges from 1-7, wi th 1 equal to less than 7* grade education and 7 equal to graduate level education 2) occupation score ranges from 1-9, with 1 equal to farm laborers/menial service workers and 9 equal to higher executives, owners of large businesses, and major professionals medicaid: medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for low-income individuals. eligibility is based on a combination of income and population "category." the populations generally eligible are children, parents of dependent children, pregnant women, the disabled, and the elderly. the income levels at which these groups qualify for medicaid differ f rom state to state.41 q u o r u m f l o w c h a r t articles identified as potentially relevant to pediatric cochlear implants, n= 415 articles identified as potentially relevant to pediatric cochlear implants, n= 415 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom, n= 383 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom, n= 383 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom, n= 383 articles identified as relevant to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom and pediatric cochlear implants, n= 32 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom, n= 383 articles identified as relevant to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom and pediatric cochlear implants, n= 32 articles identified as relevant to ses disparities i n the united states or united kingdom and pediatric cochlear implants, n= 32 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to rates of cochlear implantation, n= 10 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to rates of cochlear implantation, n= 10 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to rates of cochlear implantation, n= 10 articles with useful and relevant information, n= 22 articles excluded due to lack of relevance to rates of cochlear implantation, n= 10 articles with useful and relevant information, n= 22 t h e k i d the kid provides data for analysis of national pediatric hospital discharges (for inpatient stays lasting longer than 24 hours) and consists of a random sample of 80% (n=i,905,797) of non-newborn pediatric discharge records from 22 states i n 1997. the variables recorded i n the kid include age, race, procedure codes, diagnostic codes, length of stay, total charges, and insurance coverage. children receiving cochlear implants have one of three primary diagnoses—sensorineural hearing loss, sensorineural loss combined type, or hearing loss—and one of three primary procedure codes—electromagnetic hearing device implant, i m planted cochlear prosthetic device, or implanted mechanical cochlear prosthetic device. once the patients were identified, demographic information including age and median household income i n the geographic region of the patient's home zip code (categorized as: $o-$25,ooo; $25,ooi-$30,ooo; $30,ooi-$35,ooo; and >$35,ooo) was collected. the average household income i n 1997 was $35,145. demographic information concerning ses and household educational level was provided by the advanced bionics and cochlear corporations and was then compared with the kid. o u t o f p o c k e t expenses out-of-pocket costs include transportation, overnight accommodation, child-care, and time costs of the children and parents not being able to work while attending appointments. time costs were calculated as 65% of the parents'/children's weekly wage rate. e n d n o t e s 1. national institute for deafness and communication disorders 2008 2. fortnum et al. (2001) 3. national health interview survey 4. wiley et al. (2009) 5. nhs national institute for health and clinical experience; shiomi et al. (1999) 6. o'neill et al. (2009); sach et al. (2005) 7. national institute for deafness and communication disorders (2008) 8. o'neill et al. (2009) 9. kirkham et al. (2009) 10. sorkin et al. (2008); fortnum et al. (2002) 11. sorkin et al. (2008) 12. fortnum et al. (2002) 13. steiner et al. (2002) 14. stern et al. (2005) 15. sach et al. (2005) 16. sach et al. (2004) 17. kirkham et al. (2009) ) h e a r i n g t h e c l a s s e s 18. wiley et al. (2009) 19. stern et al. (2005) 20. garber et al. (2002) 21. summerfield et al., 2010 22. o'neill et al. (2009) 23. stern et al. (2005) 24. garber et al. (2002) 25. sach et al. (2005) 26. goddard et al. (2001) 27. sach et al. (2004) 28. kirkham et al. (2009) 29. garber et al. (2002) 30. o'neill et al. (2009) 31. sach et al. (2004) 32. kirkham et al. (2009) 33. u.s. department of health and human services 34. the white house 35. nhs 36. kirkham et al. (2009) 37. oakes et al. (2003) 38. nhs public health network 39. ibid. 40. cirino et al. (2002) 41. u.s. department of health and human services r e f e r e n c e s cirino, paul t., christopher e. chin, rose a. sevcik, maryanne wolf, maureen lovett and robin d. morris. "measuring socioeconomic status: reliability and preliminary validity for different approaches." assessment, 9.2 (2002): 145-155. fortnum, heather m . , david h . marshall, and a. quentin summerfield. "epidemiology of the uk population of hearingimpaired children, including characteristics of those with and without cochlear implants audiology, aetiology, comorbidity and affluence." international journal of audiology, 41.3 (2002): 170-179. fortnum, heather m . , a. quentin summerfield, david h . marshall, a.c. davis, and j.m. bamford. "prevalence of permanent childhood hearing impairment i n the united kingdom and implications for universal neonatal hearing screening: questionnaire based ascertainment study." british medical journal, 323.7312 (2001): 536-539. garber, steven, susan ridgely, melissa bradley, and kenley w. chin. "payment under public and private insurance and access to cochlear implants." archives of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery, 128.10 (2002): 1145-1152. goddard, m . and p. smith. "equity of access to health care services: theory and evidence from the uk." social science & medicine, 53.9 (2001): 1149-1162. kirkham, erin, chana sacks, faud baroody, junes siddique, mary ellen nevins, audie woolley, and dana suskind. "health disparities i n pediatric cochlear implantation: a n audiologic perspective." ear and hearing, 30.5 (2009): 515-25. national health interview survey. national center for health statistics, 1994. series 10, no.188, atlanta, ga. national institute for deafness and communication disorders 2008. "statistics about hearing, disorders, ear infections, and deafness." 23 november 2009 <http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/ health/statistics/quick.htm>. nhs. "help with health costs." 28 november 2009 <http:// www.nhs.uk/nhs england/ healthcosts/ pages /travelcosts. aspx>. nhs national institute for health and clinical experience. "hearing impairments cochlear implants." 29 november 2009 <http://www.nice.org.uk/ta166>. nhs public health network. "understanding public health data." 6 december 2009 <http://www.avon.nhs.uk/phnet/ phinfo/ understanding.htm>. o'neill, ciaran, gerard m . o'donoghue, susan m . archbold, and charles normand. "a cost-utility analysis of pediatric cochlear implantation." the laryngoscope, 110.1.(2009): 156160. oakes, j. michael and peter h . rossi. "the measurement of ses i n health research: current practice and steps toward a new approach." social science & medicine, 56.4 (2003): 769-784. sach, t.h. , d.k. whynes, susan m . archbold, and gerard m . o'donoghue. "estimating time and out-of-pocket costs incurred by families attending a pediatric cochlear implant programme." international journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 69.7 (2005): 929-936. sach, t.h. , d.k. whynes, ciaran o'neill, gerard m . o'donoghue, and susan m . archbold. "willingness-to-pay for pediatric cochlear implantation." international journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 68.1 (2004): 91-99. shiomi, yosaku, yasushi naito, iwao honjo, nobuya fujiki, kenichi kaneko, haruo takahashi, masaru yamashita and michio kawano. "cochlear implant i n patients with residual hearing." auris nasus laryns, 26.4 (1999): 369-374. sorkin, donna l. and teresa a. zwolan. "parental perspectives regarding early intervention and its role i n cochlear implantation i n children." otology & neurotology, 29.2 (2008): 137-142. steiner, c , a. elixhauser, and j. schnaier. "the healthcare cost and utilization project: an overview." effective clinical practice, 5.3 (2002): 143—151. stern, ryan e., bevan yueh, charlotte lewis, susan norton, and kathleen c. y. sie. "recent epidemiology of pediatric e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2010 http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick.htm http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/quick.htm http://www.nhs.uk/nhs%20england/%20healthcosts/%20pages%20/travelcosts.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/nhs%20england/%20healthcosts/%20pages%20/travelcosts.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/nhs%20england/%20healthcosts/%20pages%20/travelcosts.aspx http://www.nice.org.uk/ta166 http://www.avon.nhs.uk/phnet/phinfo/%20understanding.htm http://www.avon.nhs.uk/phnet/phinfo/%20understanding.htm cochlear implantation i n the united states: disparity among children of different ethnicity and socioeconomic status." the laryngoscope, 115.i (2005): 125-131. summerfield, a.q., r.e. lovett, h . bellenger, and g. batten. "estimates of the cost-effectiveness of pediatric bilateral cochlear implantation." ear and hearing, 30.5 (2010): 611-624. u.s. department of health and human services. "overview of the uninsured i n the united states: a n analysis of the 2005 current population survey." 28 november 2009 <http://aspe. hhs.gov/health/reports/05 /uninsuredcps/index.htm>. the white house. "health care the president's plan." 6 december 2009 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/healthcare>. wiley, susan and jareen meinzen-derr. "access to cochlear implant candidacy evaluations: who is not making it to the team evaluations?" international journal of audiology, 48.2 (2009): 74-79h e a r i n g t h e c l a s s e s http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/05%20/uninsured-%20cps/index.htm http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/05%20/uninsured-%20cps/index.htm http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health-care http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health-care "... the nixon doctrine more than any other u.s. or iranian policy contributed directly to the rise and fall of shah muhammed reza pahlavi." i r a n a n d t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e american arms and the rise and fall of the shah alex c u i t t a r d t h e 1969 n i x o n d o c t r i n e — w h i c h called for e m p o w e r i n g a m e r i c a n all ies i n order to reduce t h e i r d e p e n d e n c e o n t h e u n i t e d states for s e c u r i t y — h a s l o n g been t i e d to p r e s i d e n t n i x o n ' s a i m of r e d u c i n g t h e a m e r i c a n m i l i t a r y presence i n v i e t n a m . h o w e v e r , notes f r o m n i x o n ' s 1967 m e e t i n g w i t h t h e s h a h of i r a n s u g g e st t h at t h e m o n a r c h h e a v i l y i n f l u e n c e d f o r e i g n policy p u r s u e d by t h e future p r e s i d e n t . t h e d o c t r i n e also a l l o w e d t h e s h a h to f u l f i l l h i s r e g i o n a l p o l i t i c a l a m b i t i o n s by f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e sale of b il l i o n s of dollars w o r t h of t h e m o s t s o p h i s t i c a t e d a m e r i c a n w e a p o n r y to i r a n . h o w e v e r , as o i l prices b e g a n to drop i n t h e late 1970s , t h e s h a h ' s defense s p e n d i n g b e g a n to have a n i n c r e a s i n g l y adverse effect o n t h e i r a n i a n e c o n o m y , u l t i m a t e l y c o n t r i b u t i n g to t h e o v e r t h r o w of t h e pah lav i d y n a s t y . t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e i n 1969, newly elected president richard n i x o n l a id the cornerstone o f his presidency's fore ign policy w h e n he ann o u n c e d an in i t ia t ive w h i c h w o u l d become k n o w n as the n i x o n doctr ine . a i m e d at r educ ing the u n i t e d states' m i l i tary c o m m i t m e n t s i n southeast asia, the doctr ine called o n america 's allies to provide for the i r o w n defense, rather t h a n depending solely o n the u n i t e d states for the i r security. breaking w i t h the past c o n t a i n m e n t strategies that engaged a m e r i c a n forces i n l o n g and costly conflicts i n korea and v i e t n a m , the new doctr ine st ipulated, in cases involving other [non-nuclear] types of aggression we shall furnish military and economic assistance when requested and as appropriate. but we shall look to the nation directly threatened to assume the primary responsibility of providing the manpower for its defense.1 "the u n i t e d states w o u l d become the arsenal rather t h a n the po l i ceman o f the n o n c o m m u n i s t w o r l d , " 1 1 p r o v i d i n g weapons and t r a i n i n g to regional allies to conta in the soviet threat. "eventually, his ambitions became 'considerably more grandiose' as the shah began to see himself as the regional hegemon—'the ruler from whom all had to seek permission and indulgence.'" t h o u g h th is course o f act ion was or ig ina l ly f ramed as a shift i n u.s. pol icy towards southeast asia, the n i x o n doctr ine h a d its real roots i n tehran. there , i n 1967, form e r vice president n i x o n m e t w i t h the shah o f i r a n , w h o argued that i t w o u l d be "better for u.s. to have i r a n able to defend [it]self t h a n have [a security] guarantee and another v i e t n a m . " 1 1 1 th i s counsel f r o m america 's foremost m i d d l e eastern ally predates the doctr ine by over t w o years and u n doubtedly played a cr i t ica l , format ive role i n the developm e n t o f nixon's fore ign policy. i n m a k i n g his suggestion, the shah was n o t mere ly offeri n g advice, b u t was also seeking a m e r i c a n support for his ambi t ions to play a m o r e d o m i n a n t role i n the m i d d l e east, especially i n the persian gulf . such ambi t ions were l o n g i n the m a k i n g and were the product o f the shah's ardent persian n a t i o n a l i s m and distrust o f " the motives o f h is a m e r i c a n a d m i r e r s . " 1 v m u h a m m a d reza pahlavi k n e w he h a d only come to the peacock t h r o n e after his father was deposed by the al l ies i n 1941. h i s restorat ion by the c i a i n 1953 fur ther added to his insecur i ty by d e m o n s t r a t i n g the inf luence that outside powers wie lded over his k i n g d o m . i t was i n this v e i n that the shah's early m i l i t a r y goals started as b e i n g defensive, "seeking to deter a soviet invas ion" so that he may " u l t i m a t e l y become s t rong e n o u g h to w i t h stand any fore ign pressure." v however, as the i r a n i a n economy developed i n the mid1960s , " iran 's g r o w i n g o i l wea l th . . . a l lowed [the shah] to t h i n k about p lay ing a b igger role i n the m i d d l e east." v l eventually, h is ambi t ions became "considerably m o r e grandiose" as the shah began to see h i m s e l f as the reg ional h e g e m o n — " t h e ru ler f r o m w h o m al l h a d to seek p e r m i s s i o n and i n d u l g e n c e . " v n w h e n great b r i t a i n announced that i t w o u l d w i t h d r a w its forces "east o f the suez" by 1971, the shah d i d n o t pass u p the o p p o r t u n i t y to replace b r i t a i n as guard ian o f the gulf . speaking w i t h n i x o n i n 1967, the shah made a t h i n l y vei led compar i son to britain 's i m m i n e n t w i t h d r a w a l and america 's prob lems i n v i e t n a m , t e l l i n g n i x o n that "the b r i t i s h are spread too t h i n to be s trong e n o u g h everye l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 1 . — j 'x &y 70 **. y / j w . <f ^m*^rj?^^ ^-^''"^--/^a"^-^^ _____ •••••• c4***~£z(? l*£~. ^l-n^/ 7 s — n i x o n ' s n o t e s f r o m h i s 1967 m e e t i n g w i t h t h e s h a h o f i r a n i n c l u d i n g an e x p l i c i t r e f e r e n c e t o t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e i n t h e l e f t h a n d m a r g i n . where . " v l 1 1 instead, the shah argued, i r a n cou ld become an "adequate force to deter russia f r o m attack and b l a c k m a i l " and that w i t h increased u.s. support , "by 1970 or 1971, i r a n w i l l be able to help the saudis, i f requested . " l x u.s. ambassador a r m i n meyer hypothesized h o w the shah m i g h t have f ramed his pos i t ion w h e n he spoke w i t h n i x o n : j don't want another vietnam here. in vietnam, the russians get behind one side, you get behind the other. in the end, there is a negotiation—and i lose part of my oil resources . . . . let me do the job myself x america 's fore ign policy s i tuat ion i n 1967 made n i x o n amenable to the shah's proposal . w h e n the b r i t i s h ann o u n c e d the i r i n t e n t i o n to w i t h d r a w forces f r o m the persian gulf , the u.s. m i l i t a r y was bogged d o w n by the confl ict i n v i e t n a m and unable to f i l l the v o i d o f the reg ional protector. the six-day war h a d made the s i tuat ion i n the m i d d l e east even m o r e delicate, p u s h i n g ant i a m e r i c a n a r a b nationalists fur ther i n t o the arms o f the soviet u n i o n . fearing the absence o f the b r i t i s h navy w o u l d al low a nasserite r e v o l u t i o n to sweep i n t o saudi arabia and the l i t t o r a l states, a m e r i c a needed a prowestern guarantor o f regional stability. i n a d d i t i o n to s t r a i n i n g the a m e r i c a n mi l i t a ry ' s abi l i ty to exert force i n the gulf , the v i e t n a m confl ict also made such a deploym e n t a pol i t ica l l iabi l i ty , b o t h w i t h conservatives w h o sought to l i m i t america 's invo lvement overseas and l iberals w h o were opposed to such exertions o f a m e r i c a n force a l together/ 1 e m p o w e r i n g the shah was nixon's only feasible means o f m a i n t a i n i n g stabil ity i n the persian g u l f w i t h o u t s t r a i n i n g the u.s. m i l i t a r y or his o w n pol i t ica l pos i t ion . i n ambassador meyer's es t imat ion , th is calculus led to the doctr ine 's g e r m i n a t i o n w h e n n i x o n vis i ted i r a n i n i 9 6 7 . x h nixon's actions and words f o l l o w i n g his r e t u r n to the u n i t e d states support ambassador meyer's assertion. a t some p o i n t between nixon's discussion w i t h the shah and the u n v e i l i n g o f the doctr ine i n 1968, n i x o n consulted his notes f r o m the m e e t i n g , w r i t i n g a n d u n d e r l i n i n g " r n i r a n a n d t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e d o c t r i n e " i n the m a r g i n to the left o f the shah's request for increased u.s. support for the defense o f i r a n . i n an october 1967 article i n foreign affairs, n i x o n echoed the i r a n i a n monarch ' s earlier statements, a r g u i n g that "other nat ions m u s t recognize that the role o f the u n i t e d states as w o r l d po l i ceman is l ike ly to be l i m i t e d i n the f u t u r e . " instead, nations should be prepared to "conta in the threat by themselves" w i t h assistance f r o m the u n i t e d states." 1 1 1 i n july 1969, w h e n n i x o n announced his new doctr ine i n a televised address, he also made s imi la r c o m m e n t s to the shah, saying, " w h e n y o u are t r y i n g to assist another n a t i o n defending its f reedom, u.s. pol icy should be to help t h e m f ight the war b u t n o t to f ight the war for t h e m . " x l v even h e n r y kissinger's o w n account o f the development o f the doctr ine also places the i m p e t u s o f america ' s massive m i l i t a r y sales to i r a n o n the shah. a c c o r d i n g to kissinger, b o t h the b r i t i s h w i t h d r a w a l and america 's s i tuat ion i n southeast asia forced the shah to realize " that i r a n w o u l d have to rely o n its o w n strength" and that his country needed "to carry its share o f the defense b u r d e n . a c c o r d i n g to kissinger, u.s. pol icy was i n t e n d e d "to help i r a n a r m itself," so that i t cou ld cont inue to contr ibute " i m portant ly to the stabil ity o f the reg ion a n d to in te rnat iona l security. " x v 1 t h e r e g i o n a l i m p a c t o f t h e d o c t r i n e the significance o f the o r i g i n o f the doctr ine is he ightened by the dramatic effect i t h a d o n the m i d d l e east, namely the massive i n f l u x o f u . s. arms and sophisticated m i l i t a r y technology i n t o i r a n . f r o m 1950 to 1970, the total u.s. m i l i t a r y a id to i r a n a m o u n t e d to $1.8 b i l l i o n . x v n "by the t i m e o f the b r i t i s h departure f r o m the persian g u l f i n 1971, i r a n h a d already emerged as a formidable m i l i t a r y power i n the area" and was " m o r e t h a n a m a t c h " for the c o m b i n e d arab forces o f the g u l f . x v i i i i n 1974, the shah's m i l i t a r y purchases swelled to over six b i l l i o n dollars i n a m e r i c a n weapons, c o m p r i s i n g over seventy percent o f the total u.s. arms sales that year x l x "as the shaks military power grew, so too did washington's reliance on iran's ability to act as the region's gendarme." far f r o m invest ing i n land-based weaponry to repel a potent ia l soviet or i r a q i offensive, the b u l k o f these purchases were for air and sea-based systems that were in tended to enhance iran's p o s i t i o n i n the gulf . i n 1973 alone, i r a n purchased over 2 0 0 attack helicopters, 248 f ighters a n d fighter-bombers, 24 surface vessels, 100 c-130 transports , a n d 14 hovercraft. 5™ i n add i t ion to these massive orders, i r a n also began const ruct ing a large harbor-dry dock facili ty at chabahar, outside o f the shal low waters o f the persian g u l f and beyond the possible e n t r a p m e n t o f the arab nav ies . x x i a d d i t i o n a l naval bases were b u i l t at khark a n d kish islands, as w e l l as bandar abbas and bushir. i n 1974, i r a n and the u n i t e d states agreed to focus especially o n the fur ther development o f iran's air force a n d navy by adding 6 spruance-chss destroyers a n d 250 f-17s to iran's m i l i t a r y . ™ 1 th i s focus o n naval and air weapons indicates that the shah used the pretext o f the n i x o n d o c t r i n e — d e t e r r i n g c o m m u n i s t forces f r o m the r e g i o n — t o pursue his o w n goal o f c o n t r o l l i n g the persian gulf . "the dramat ic increase i n iran's m i l i t a r y capabil ity" was " o f great importance i n enabl ing i r a n to exert its increas ing i n fluence as a regional p o w e r . m x x i i i the f irst exercise o f this newly developed capabil ity and the shah's propensi ty to act as a regional power occurred i n november 1971, o n the eve o f the b r i t i s h w i t h d r a w a l , w h e n the i r a n i a n m i l i t a r y seized a b u musa and the tunbs islands. w i t h i n m o n t h s o f occup y i n g the d isputed islands, w h i c h l ie i n close p r o x i m i t y to the strait o f h o r m u z , i r a n h a d already erected g u n emplacements w h i c h i t equipped w i t h sophisticated anti-ship e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 miss i le batteries. rather t h a n u p b r a i d the shah for breachi n g in te rnat iona l law and seizing the islands by force, n i x o n instead acquiesced, descr ibing the shah shortly afterwards as "our best f r i e n d . , , x x 1 v as the shah's m i l i t a r y power grew, so too d i d washington's reliance o n iran's abi l i ty to act as the region's gendarme. w h e n k i n g faisal o f saudi arab ia was assassinated by a m e m b e r o f his coterie i n 1975, the u n i t e d states was deeply concerned that fur ther instab i l i t y i n the k i n g d o m could exacerbate the already serious energy crisis p l a g u i n g the west. fearing a "qaddafi-hke development , " president ford, at the insistence o f kissinger ("whose power arched across the n i x o n and ford administrat ions" 5 0 ™), aff i r m e d the secretary o f state's earlier support i n july 1973 for the shah to conduct "a parat roop operat ion i n saudi arabia i n a c r i s i s . " 5 0 ™ f r o m the t ranscr ipt o f the shah's conversation w i t h ford and kissinger, i t is clear that such an idea d i d n o t or ig inate o n the a m e r i c a n side. ford t o l d the shah that he was fami l iar w i t h the i r a n i a n contingency p l a n n i n g and was i n support o f the measure, whereas the shah "was clearly anxious to discuss operat ional logistics," specifically the i n c l u s i o n o f egypt i n the assault i n order to mi t igate any resistance to a "total ly non-arab" f o r c e . x x v i i r e m e m b e r i n g the shah's earlier w a r n i n g that "colonial cont ro l w i l l n o t be tolerated" i n the persian g u l f , x x v i n n i x o n s h a h m u h a m m e d reza pahlav was eager to avoid the appearance i n the a r a b w o r l d that the u n i t e d states had t u r n e d over cont ro l o f the g u l f to the persian "ajamiin." to achieve th is , the u n i t e d states rel ied o n a " t w i n p i l l a r " strategy that "paired saudi arabia w i t h i r a n " as the two pi l lars o f a m e r i c a n p o l i c y . ^ however, this arrangement was d is ingenuous , as "saudi arabia was nei ther w i l l i n g n o r able to act as a 'p i l la r ' o f the u.s. reg iona l security pol icy i n the sense that i r a n d i d . " x x x saudi arabia never invested the funds that i r a n d i d i n t o its m i l itary, p re fe r r ing instead to focus o n domestic modernizat i o n . 5 0 0 4 1 indeed, kissinger and the shah's cont ingency plans to seize the saudi o i l fields suggests that the amer icans recognized that the saudis were s ignif icantly weaker t h a n the i r i r a n i a n "partners , " as no s imi la r plann i n g was under taken regardi n g i r a n . 5 0 ™ 1 addi t ional ly , saudi arabia was "hardly keen about act ing u n d e r u.s. and i r a n i a n auspices," w h o were perceived as threats to the panarabis t sent iments o f the g u l f a n d the m i d d l e east. lee h a m i l t o n s u m m a r i z e d the u n i t e d states' p o s i t i o n i n 1973: "one o f our p r i m e challenges i n the persian g u l f w i l l be to avoid any conf rontat ion between our t w o close f r i e n d s . ' , x x x i i i despite these s ignif icant differences w i t h his a r a b ne ighbor, the shah was t rans formed i n t o the persian gulf ' s reg ional po l i ceman by the n i x o n doctr ine , a role that earned h i m "considerable praise i n u.s. government c i r c l e s . ' , x x x i v enforc ing iran's p o s i t i o n as a status quo power, the shah i r a n a n d t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e deployed three thousand counterinsurgency troops, backed by artillery and sophisticated air support, to oman between 1972 and 1977 in an attempt to assist the sultanate in crushing the soviet and chinese-backed rebellion in dhofar. i n addition to providing the "untested iranian military [with] valuable field practice," x x x v the campaign also reflected "the shah's concern about the stability of the sultanates i n the gulf reg ion. ' , x x x v i t h e t a i l wags t h e d o g although the shah was a driving force behind the development of the nixon doctrine, in the early years of its implementation iran remained very much a client state that conveniently "fit into" the doctrine.5™™" i n fact, as late as 1967, iran was still the recipient of large amounts of u.s. economic and military aid. according to an april 1967 state department memorandum, most of iran's weapons purchases from the united states were made on credit. (the same report also stated that the "most dynamic relation" between the two countries "continues to be a military o n e " x x x v i i i ) by 1972, however, the tables had effectively turned, and iran assumed a position of dominance i n its relationship with the united states. several incidences best characterize this development and indicate that, in u.s.-iran relations during the mid-1970s, "the tail was i n fact wagging the dog . ' , x x x l x the foremost area in which the shah directly challenged his american benefactors was oil. as one of the the s h a h a n d n i x o n shake h a n d s w i t h kissinger s m i l i n g in approval from b e h i n d . leading price hawks in opec, the shah had long sought to drive up the price of oil by suppressing the cartel's quotas (and subsequently "cheating" by overproducing and selling an increased quantity at artificially increased prices). faced with a more finite supply of oil than most of the other opec members, the shah's long-standing position was to maximize iran's short-term profits in order to finance his lavish defense spending. x l after the west was plunged into the energy crisis following the 1973 arab boycott, such a hawkish position on oil prices was viewed by western governments as inimical to global economic and political stability. though the shah earned a reputation for pragmatism by his wil lingness to provide oil despite the boycott, he was also responsible for "the december 1973 tehran oil agreement that saw oil prices quadruple within twelve months. " x l i when ford publically called for a reduction in prices in september 1974, the shah openly challenged his american patrons, "no one can dictate to us. no one can wave a finger at us, because we wi l l wave a finger back." x l i i the shah's intransigence went further. on may 17, 1975, just one day after meeting with ford in washington and promising further cooperation with the united states on energy, the shah announced to the press, only a few blocks from the white house, that iran would seek another increase in the price of oil as high as thirty-five percent. x l i i i such rhetoric was reminiscent of mossadegh and his bid to achieve oil independence a generation earlier. the major difference bee l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 tween 1953 and 1974, however, was that the shah now commanded the largest and most modern military force i n a region devoid of a sizable u.s. military presence. one intelligence official remarked at the time, "he was our baby, but now he has grown u p . " x l l v as the shah's military and economic clout grew, "he embarked on his political ego trip in the early 1970s." x l v the exchange of draft versions of the joint communique issued by the american and iranian governments during nixon's visit to tehran in may 1972 illustrates the shah's increased desire to assert iran's role in the region, as well as the u.s. government's increased willingness to accede to the shah. the proposed american text of the communique read: the president and his imperial majesty agreed that the security of the persian gulf and the continued availability of its vital natural resources were of the utmost importance to the free world. both were of the view that the countries of the region bore the principal responsibility for providing for their security and defense. his imperial majesty noted iran's determination to bear its share of this responsibility. the president promised the united states would, as in the past, continue to assist iran in strengthening its own security.^ however, the draft approved by the iranian government narrowed the parties responsible for the security of the persian gulf from "the countries of the region" to "the littoral states. " x l v i l the iranian version also removed the reference to the assistance provided by the united states, stating that "goi [government of iran] wants to stress determination to build up defensive capabilities." the goi also found the reference to the continued availability of persian gulf resources to be "troublesome" and removed it from the final draft x l v i i i the most notable power reversal in the u.s.-iran relationship occurred when nixon visited iran on may 30 and 31, 1972. according to gary sick, the two and a half hours nixon, kissinger, and the shah spent i n formal meetings "radically restructured the u.s.-iranian relationship" by "guaranteeing the shah access to some of the most sophisticated non-nuclear technology in the u.s. military arsen a l . " x l i x the weakness of the u.s. position was encapsulated by nixon's near pleading at the end of the meeting, when the president "looked across the table to the shah and said simply, 'protect me.'" 1 this was truly a stunning development. as tyler commented, nixon and kissinger had effectively ceded the security role of a major superpower to a "regional autocrat." 1 1 also, by providing the shah with carte blanche to obtain virtually any u.s. weapons system he desired, the united states further enhanced iran's power in the gulf, thereby weakening its ability to exert influence over the shah. as the shah's military power increased without challenge, so too did his willingness to act on iranian feelings of distrust of the united states and pursue an increasingly nationalistic foreign policy. by 1976, the inspector general of the u.s. foreign service concluded that "the government of iran exerts the determining influence" in its relationship with washington. 1" in sick's estimation, the nixon doctrine placed "u.s. security interests in the persian gulf almost exclusively in the hands of the shah" who held u.s. security policy "hostage to the social and economic experiment that [he] was conducting in iran. whether one liked it or not, iran was the regional tail wagging the superpower dog . " l m t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e a n d t h e r o a d to r e v o l u t i o n ultimately, the shah's addiction to military spending and desire to dominate the gulf were to be central components of his downfall. after nixon and kissinger opened the "candy store" to the shah in 1972, iran became the world's largest importer of arms. l l v as noted above, from 1973 to 1974, iran purchased six billion dollars worth of "the most sophisticated and expensive weapons systems sold by the united states to a foreign country. " l v when the iranian economy was buoyed by the massive increase in oil prices in 1973, the shah actively pursued the strategy of shortterm maximization of oil revenues and encouraged masi r a n a n d t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e "by relaxing his control on iranian society, the shah opened the valve of public expression that he would never again he able to close." sive overspending on the military. however, "by the spring of 1975, iran was spending well in excess of its oil revenues; $30 billion worth of commitments had been made against $21 billion in revenues." l v i when the astronomical oil prices of 1973 triggered a recession in the west in 1974, oil demand and price declined considerably. as iran followed the west into recession, the shah's government was faced with a considerable challenge to its legitimacy. as income disparities increased, the iranian public began to regard their government's defense spending as "unnecessary i f not altogether harmful to the economic prosperity of the country" and chiefly designed to "benefit the us arms industry." 1™ additionally, "iranians believed, rightly or wrongly that the shah's foreign policy [for which they were paying with their oil revenues] did not serve iranian interests; that it only served to perpetuate his own regime and united states influence on i r a n . " l v m such sentiments contributed to the belief that the shah was complicit in u.s. imperialism, which further weakened his legitimacy to rule . l l x the shah's costly military imports leaked billions of dollars out of the iranian economy each year. i f that money had stayed in iran where it would have been subject to a multiplier effect, it would have enabled hundreds of billions of dollars in domestic growth. instead, the shah's weapons purchases left the iranian economy too underdeveloped to cope with an overall macroeconomic crisis which pushed inflation past thirty percent in 1975. by 1976, this astronomical inflation led to food shortages, power blackouts, and a sizable influx of rural iranians flocking to cities in search of work—all of which placed an incredible strain on the iranian people. l x faced with these challenges to his legitimacy and pensively watching the presidential victory of jimmy carter in 1976, the shah decided to ease censorship and reign in his security establishment. by relaxing his control on iranian society, the shah opened the valve of public expression that he would never again be able to close. the unrest that originally manifested as a response to the shah's unpopular foreign policy and economic mismanagement evolved into a revolutionary movement that eventually deposed the pahlavi dynasty. from its beginnings i n tehran in april 1967 to its heyday from 1973 to 1974, the nixon doctrine played a profound role in u.s.-iran relations. i n addition to enhancing the position of iran as the chief client state of the united states in the middle east, the doctrine also became the means through which the shah developed into the dominant power in the region. the shah's military ascendance permitted h i m a level of political and economic clout which he used to enforce his vision of a stable and prosperous iran. unfortunately for the shah, this vision was only tenable in the short-term: his nation's massive military spending led to an economic crisis that brought about revolution and his exile from power. i n this respect, the nixon doctrine more than any other u.s. or iranian policy contributed directly to the rise and fall of shah muhammad reza pahlavi. e n d n o t e s i . acharya (21) i i . rubin (128) i i i . richard nixon's handwritten notes from his meeting w i t h muhammad reza pahlavi (april 21,1967) iv. cooper (575) v. pollack 2004 (104) vi . ibid. v i i . ibid. v i i i . richard nixon's handwritten notes from his meeting wi th muhammad reza pahlavi (april 21,1967) e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 ix. ibid. x. afkhami (303) xi . kissinger (669) x i i . afkhami (303) x i i i . nixon, "asia after viet nam" (114) xiv. nixon, "vietnamization" xv. kissinger (668) xvi. kissinger (669) xvii. rubin (128) xviii . banuazizi (495) xix. ibid. xx. ibid. xxi. rubin (129) xxii. banuazizi (495) xxiii . banuazizi (494) xxiv. cooper (570) xxv. bill (203) xxvi. cooper (576) xxvii. ibid. xxviii. richard nixon's handwritten notes from his meeting wi th muhammad reza pahlavi (april 21,1967) xxix. pollack 2004 (103) xxx. acharya (27) xxxi. acharya (28) xxxii. when the saudis learned of the us-iran contingency planning, they furiously warned that, " i f iran should succeed i n occupying part of the arabian coast, it would find only smoking ruins, and the western oil consumers would face catastrophe." cf. cooper (579) xxxiii. acharya (27) xxxiv. acharya (26) xxxv. acharya (27) xxxvi. banuazizi (494) xxxvii. tyler (218) xxxviii. state department memorandum (1967) xxxix. this phrase was first used to describe us-iran relations under the terms of the nixon doctrine by gary sick i n all fall down. xl. pollack 2008 (18) xl i . cooper (570) x l i i . new york times (september 27,1974) x l i i i . cooper (578) xliv. the washington post (november 1, 1974) xlv. bil l (197) xlvi. haig cable (11) xlvii . haig cable (8) xlvi i i . haig cable (5) xlix. sick (13) 1. this account was provided to gary sick by alexander haig. cf. sick (14) l i . tyler (125) l i i . sick (20) l i i i . sick (21) liv. banuazizi (495) lv. ibid. lvi . cooper (588) lv i i . ansari (247) lv i i i . rubin (160) lix. gasiorowski (209) ix. cooper (589) r e f e r e n c e s acharya, amitav. 1989. u.s. military strategy in the gulf: origins and evolution under the carter and reagan administration. new york: routledge. afkhami, gholam reza. 2009. the life and times of the shah. berkeley: university of california press. ansari, a l i m . 2007. modern iran. new york: pearson longman. banuazizi, a l i . 1976. "iran: the making of a regional power" i n the middle east: oil, conflict el hope edited by a.l. udovitch. lexington: lexington books. bill , james a. 1988. the eagle and the lion: the tragedy of american-iranian relations. new haven: yale university press. cooper, andrew scott. 2008. "showdown at doha: the secret oi l deal that helped sink the shah of iran." the middle east journal, 62, p. 575, autumn. gasiorowski, mark j. 1991. u.s. foreign policy and the shah. ithaca: cornell university press. kissinger, henry. 1982. years of upheaval. boston: little, brown and company. declassified cable from henry kissinger to alexander haig, may 27, 1972. iran visit. box 481. president's trip files. richard nixon presidential library, college park, maryland. "kissinger to press shah on oil costs," the washington post, november 1,1974. nixon, richard m . handwritten notes from meeting wi th muhammad reza pahlavi, apri l 21,1967. far east and middle east trips, 1967. box 10. the wilderness years. richard nixon library and birthplace foundation, yorba linda california. nixon, richard m . 1967. "asia after viet nam." foreign affairs, p. 114, october. nixon, richard m . 1969. "president nixon's speech on vietnamization." retrieved from http://vietnam.vassar.edu/doc14.html. i r a n a n d t h e n i x o n d o c t r i n e http://vietnam.vassar.edu/doc14.html pollack, kenneth. 2008. a path out of the desert. new york: random house. pollack, kenneth. 2004. the persian puzzle. new york: random house. rubin, barry. 1980. paved with good intentions. new york: oxford university press. state department memorandum, "us-iran relations," 1967. far east and middle east trips, 1967. box 10. the wilderness years. richard nixon library and birthplace foundation, yorba linda california. "shah rejects bid by ford for cut i n prices of o i l , " the new york times, september 27, 1974. tyler, patrick. 2009. a world of trouble. new york: farrar straus giroux. asian american discrimination is often associated with the concept of the “asian bubble.” this discrimination is no different in the boston college (bc) community than in much of society at large. a serious consideration of the asian bubble and the impact of this label on the asian community is necessary to obtain a full understanding of this complex issue and facilitate the search for a permanent solution. this research project is based upon a survey of 236 bc students that was conducted to gauge respondent perceptions of the asian community, involvements on campus, and connections with asian american identity. results of the study reveal that students agree about the existence of negative perceptions of the asian community. nevertheless, the study also shows that the asian community is not as exclusive as many perceive it to be, which offers hope for further research and action in the future. divisions dissected a deconstruction of boston college’s “asian bubble” daniel park & yoon-shin (clara) lee introduction this paper studies the complex idea of asian american identity within the context of the boston college (bc) community. through this research, we explore various aspects of identity in relation to the asian american community that exists here at bc. similar to other ahana (african, hispanic, asian, native american) students at bc, asian americans experience prejudices and stereotyping, but asian american discrimination is often observed in association with the concept of the “asian bubble.” it is a phenomenon where asian students on campus unite and form a unique community, a sub-culture that can seem rather exclusive to students on the outside. the asian bubble is a phenomenon that occurs not only at bc, but also at other schools across the nation. moreover, this tendency of forming a sub-culture occurs in other ethnicities on campus from other ahana ethnicities to white students. according to an article written by timothy egan published in the new york times, uc berkeley student jonathan hu described the separation in ethnic groups as a form of “selective self-segregation,” where students of differing ethnicities often do not interact with each other on a regular basis. however, it is interesting that this asian bubble is especially stigmatized in comparison to “bubbles” of other ethnicities, given that it is actually white students that form the least diverse racial group. research conducted by princeton sociologists thomas espenshade and alexandria walton radford shows that white students have the most homogenous friendship groups.1 a recent poll conducted by reuters corroborates that information by concluding that 40% of white americans and 25% of non-whites have friends only of the same race.2 the negative connotations of the asian bubble and the resulting bias against the asian community on campus only heighten the marginalization of asian american students. this, in turn, can have a negative impact on individual self-expression and sense of identity because asian heritage is not perceived as positively as it should be on campus, despite the reality that it constitutes an integral portion of identity for asian americans. significance and purpose at bc, a very distinct culture exists, one that students often refer to as the “bc experience.” it sets very distinctive expectations of what a bc student should and should not do. within this larger experience, however, there are also many other sub-cultures that impact individual growth over the course of four years. these sub-cultures are often determined by demographics, such as racial or gender similarities, or extracurricular activities. within the asian community, a large portion of the population is a part of an intercultural organization, whether as a registered member or simply by association. although past research, performed by asian caucus directors of policy and political initiatives grace son and benjamin miyamoto,3 has shown that asian american students also participate in other activities and clubs across campus, there is an assumption that they are most, if not solely, involved in these intercultural organizations. this only exacerbates the belief in the community’s exclusivity. these negative perceptions not only change the way that students interact with each other, but also influence students’ self-perceptions. on a greater scale, there are also many social norms and stereotypes that revolve around certain racial minorities. these beliefs become dangerous as they are often overgeneralized to the larger population. even in the university setting, it is noticeable that certain stereotypes are imposed on certain groups. having these as major identifiers can lead to misrepresentation and marginalization, affecting not only the greater community, but also the individual. many famous psychologists, such as eric erikson, mark college as a crucial time for identity development. popular beliefs can strongly influence the way students perceive the world around them and their overall satisfaction at the school. in the wake of recent events at the university of misouri, yale, ithaca, and many more universities across the united “similar to other ahana students at bc, asian americans experience prejudices and stereotyping, but asian american discrimination is often observed in association with the concept of the ‘asian bubble.’” 62 elements : : spring 2016 states, many ahana students have called for policy reform at bc, but before that is done, it is important to understand how institutionalized racism can affect the individual and the larger community, in this case, the asian american community. this study undertakes a deeper look at more individual and personal differences that may exist within the community. by assessing inter/intra group differences, a better understanding of this particular group, as a whole, can be ascertained. overall, the research should be able to provide important insights and identify issues specifically pertinent for the asian american community, such as formation of identity within the context of a predominantly white institution (pwi). literature review a review of the existing literature has revealed several interesting insights into asian american identity and community. the insights and relevant information can be grouped into several categories: the role of ethnic organizations, the significance and the effects of diversity, and the effect of predispositions on asian american students. in general, first year ahana students at pwis have been shown to experience a significantly weaker sense of belonging than first year white students.4 students who come from cultures incongruent with the existing culture at a pwi often detach themselves from their culture of origin and adopt the values, norms, and assumptions of the existing dominant culture in order to find success.5 this is especially significant for asian american and black students, as they report the most negative assessments of the environment at pwis, according to data from the national survey of student engagement.6 research shows that such a result is likely due to some of the stereotypes surrounding both ethnic groups, with asian american students experiencing pressures that they are academically superior and black students experiencing the assumption that they are academically inferior.7 ethnic organizations have been shown to aid in the transition to college, providing ahana students with an essential component of cultural validation and familiarity, while also serving as a means to advocacy and cultural expression.8 the ethnic organizations on campus can also help such students break down the overwhelming unfamiliarity of the university into smaller sub-cultures, making the transition to a pwi much easier.9 this compartmentalization of the university is especially significant for students who have “[traversed] a long cultural distance” to come to the university, because integration into a sub-culture on campus has been shown to increase the probability of a student’s successful immersion in and adjustment to college.10 finally, research conducted on black students by harper and quaye also shows that participation in these ethnic organizations improves cross-cultural communication skills, advocacy for marginalized populations, expression of identity, and the pursuit of social justice.11 while this information refers specifically to black students, it maintains relevance for asian americans because research has indicated that ahana students do often share common struggles.12 literature on the importance of diversity sheds light on the struggle faced by asian americans at pwis. the marginalization of ahana students at pwis is well documented and discussed, with success at college being strongly linked to the sense of belonging a student feels on campus.13 white students have consistently reported more faculty and resource availability, alongside the highest overall satisfaction with the campus racial climate.14 moreover, out of 574 first and third year students surveyed at a large mid-atlantic university, white students reported only limited discrimination, together with an apparent ignorance of the prejudice faced by other minority groups.15 diversity on campus is a crucial part of ensuring all parties are equally included, and perhaps more importantly, fostering positive race relations. many students, especially at schools such as bc, come from racially homogenous “students who come from cultures incongruent with the existing culture at a pwi often detach themselves from their culture of origin and adopt the values, norms, and assumptions of the existing dominant culture in order to find success.” 63 divisions dissected backgrounds that do not adequately prepare them to deal with the diversity they have never previously experienced.16 thus, fostering positive race relations is often difficult for many students to do because of their predispositions that steer them towards certain behaviors and paths in college, an element that will be discussed further in the following paragraph.17 moreover, alongside individual commitment to diversity, research has shown strong benefits associated with an institutional commitment to diversity.18 an institutional commitment to diversity will significantly improve race relations on campus and overcoming barriers, but it must be done in the right way. research shows that institutional commitment must manifest itself through provision of educational information on interracial friendships and through support of diverse student interaction.19 the diversity on campus needs to operate through the development of interracial friendship in a close, interpersonal environment in order to explicitly support marginalized students.20 predispositions are attitudes and mindsets ingrained within individuals that influence them in certain directions. in the case of asian american identity, predispositions affect the individual actions of groups of students, which in turn can affect the overall culture of an institution.21 the culture of an institution may then impact the identity of asian american students, who arrive with certain predispositions. literature indicates the importance of accentuation theory, which theorizes that students’ predispositions entering college are reinforced as students select certain activities and peer groups.22 thus, those who have experience with diversity and recognize its importance will likely accentuate that value by selecting “courses, peers, and activities that will strengthen their initial inclinations.”23 this theory is especially important to consider at a pwi such as bc that has many students, faculties, and administrative staffs from homogenous backgrounds.24 these predispositions also impact the racial tension on campus through a fear-induced anxiety of interacting with diverse groups which prevents students from interacting confidently and meaningfully.25 a reduction of said anxiety is therefore integral to increasing inter-ethnic interaction, and by consequence all essential feelings of belonging students feel at school. the literature offers interesting implications for the asian american community in relation to the larger population, whether in private institutions or more casual settings. these implications establish an interesting frame of reference with which to study the bc community. through the study of asian american identity and community within the context of a specific institution, this study seeks to integrate academic credibility into future conversations about the asian community, the various perceptions and connotations of the term asian bubble, and the idea of asian american identity within the context of bc. these findings and information will initiate the change in perceptions of the asian american community at bc, open up opportunities for further research, advocacy, and even inspiration for asian american communities outside of the context of bc. methods for our research, a survey was distributed to and completed by 236 bc students, both those on campus and those abroad during the fall 2015 semester, almost all of whom identified as asian or asian american, or had one parent of asian descent. of the participant pool, 36% identified as chinese, 32% as korean, 5% as taiwanese, 5% as indian/ south asian, 4% as filipino, and 9% were of mixed ethnic descent. 56.9% were from the morrisey school of arts and sciences, 24.6% from the carroll school of management, 10.6% from the connell school of nursing, and the remaining 7.7% studied in the lynch school of education. aside from basic demographic questions such as race and graduation year, the survey contained a diverse array of questions to help us collect as much data as possible, including multiple choice, free response, and likert scale. the questions were intended to gather information on three topics: 1) perception of the asian community; 2) inasian college students relaxing on campus (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 64 elements : : spring 2016 volvement on campus; 3) perception of “asian” identity. also, several non-asian students filled out the survey. their responses were noted, as they could provide useful opinions; however, they were not included in the overall analysis of the survey. the survey was split into two portions: identity and community. the identity section mainly consisted of involvement in high school and college activities for freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, respectively. they were also asked questions on how strongly they identified with their ethnicity, using a likert scale. the question, “if you were on the phone with someone you never met, how would you describe yourself in one sentence?” has answers coded into 8 different categories: physical, personality traits, characteristic values, activities, interests, labels/roles, cultural/ethnic, and miscellaneous. the last of the 8 was coded as a 0. the second part consisted of varying questions and statements about beliefs regarding the asian bubble and perceptions of the community, which were also all measured by a likert scale. a question on the perception of the asian american community was also asked. the survey questioned respondents: “in your own words, how do you define the asian bubble?” if a response had a negative perception, it was coded as -1, if neutral or mixed, it was coded as 0, if it had a positive perception, it was coded as 1. moreover, depending on whether the participants indicated whether they were freshmen or not, a separate freshman survey, slightly different from the sophomore-senior survey, was provided. freshmen may have a different perspective on the campus community, and their experiences or lack thereof can prevent them from providing reliable answers to some of the questions tailored for the upperclassmen, such as: “how has the asian community impacted your personal development?” therefore, they were asked questions about their past involvement in high school, and questions about their perception of the existing asian community at bc. questions about identity and beliefs about the asian bubble remained the same. like the previous survey, this survey mainly utilized a likert scale for a majority of its questions, such as “do you believe that the asian bubble will impact your experience at bc over the course of your four years?” depending on the question, strength of agreement or negative/positive attitude was measured. the survey was distributed to the bc community utilizing several mediums. under the campus club asian caucus, the asian caucus facebook page, e-mail list, and events could be used to continually advertise the survey and the associated raffle prizes to a wider audience. moreover, the thea bowman ahana intercultural center (baic) staff assisted with the distribution of the survey. the baic staff has access to an e-mail group that includes all the asian students on campus, and the email that baic staff members sent to the group on our behalf directly resulted in many more responses. the last form of advertisement, but by no means the least, was simple word of mouth. the survey was released to the public in late september, and upon closing of the survey on november 15, a comprehensive analysis of the data received was conducted. results in the survey, a section of the questions, for both freshmen and upperclassmen, was measured by a likert scale. depending on the question, the scale measured the degree of agreement or the degree of a positive/negative attitude, shown in figure 1 and 2. freshmen were asked different questions in a similar manner as explained above. the freshman mode ranged between 3 and 4. with a standard deviation of 1.339, the question regarding involvement in the asian community in high school had the highest standard deviation. there was also a negative correlation of -0.127 between the belief in the existence of the asian bubble and integration into the asian community during an aerial view of boston college (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 65 divisions dissected high school. the correlation between the expected impact of the asian bubble on one’s experience and expectations of the asian community had a correlation of 0.247. for sophomores and seniors, the statement, “most of my friends here at bc are of same or similar ethnic descent as me,” had the largest, standard deviation of 1.355, whereas the question of “overall, how has the asian community personally impacted you?” had the lowest standard deviation of 0.824. this question also had the lowest range of 3, as no one answered 1 for this particular question. the statement, “there seems to be a negative perception of the asian community amongst the non-asian students at bc,” had a median of 4, while other statements and questions all had a median of 3. correlation between the impact of the asian community on their “bc experience,” and the definition of the asian bubble was 0.236. when the statistic of the definition of the asian bubble is replaced with that of the perception of the asian bubble, the correlation rises to .438. the correlation between how much an individual identified with the asian community at bc and their perception of the asian bubble was 0.426. figure 1 sophomores to seniors were asked to rate their level of agreement on varying statements about their community. a higher number indicated how much one agreed and personally identified with a certain belief or stereotype about the asian community. the last question focused on understanding the influence the community has had on their personal development thus far. due to the differences in questions, the scale was chosen based on what was trying to be measured. figure 2 distribution of answers for freshmen (top) and sophomores and seniors (bottom). all of the questions were measured based on what was considered the most appropriate measure/scale. for the freshmen, the question “what are your expectations of the boston college community?” was measured on a likert scale of ‘very exclusive’ to ‘very inclusive.’ 66 elements : : spring 2016 between identity and how strongly one identified with his or her asian heritage, the correlations were -0.106 and 0.100, for freshmen and sophomores, juniors, and seniors, respectively. it was also shown that freshmen had a greater tendency to give a negative definition for the asian bubble, at a mean of -0.244, compared to their sophomore, junior, and senior counterparts, at -0.188. discussion based on the results, three important findings about the intersection of identity and community were identified. first of all, our research showed that the asian american community is not as exclusive as the perception of the asian bubble would suggest. freshmen entering bc showed much variation in past involvement in the asian community, and sophomores, juniors, and seniors indicated that many have friends of different ethnic descent, with the largest variation. for involvement, freshmen were shown to be more involved in service, athletics, and academics during high school. as for sophomores, juniors and seniors, the top three involvements were cultural, service, and academics, which were all close in number. unlike what was predicted, identity and ethnic heritage were shown to have a very low correlation. individuals were more likely to identify themselves with personal traits than anything else, regardless of their graduation year. it disproves the idea that asian americans exclusively involve themselves with those who are ethnically similar to them. out-group differences and visible characteristics are therefore more likely to be emphasized and shared. although individually, participants were more likely to use personal characteristics, their general view of the asian bubble was still negative. one statistic that was particularly interesting was how many students agreed that there was a negative perception of the asian community at bc. it had the highest mean of 3.48 and mode of 4, in comparison to other statements and questions. within the group, beliefs and characteristics are more determined by expectations of the greater community rather than individual contributions. expectations, even in larger society, play a huge role in determining the ways that individuals think, both about the community and about themselves. this may also contribute to the exclusivity that is perceived. these negative perceptions may discourage individuals from interacting with those outside of their community. curiously, there was not a strong correlation between several categories hypothesized to show a strong significance. for example, the correlation between an individual’s perception of the asian bubble and how much an individual identifies with the asian community was 0.426, which was lower than expected going into the initial analysis of the dataset. this surprisingly weak relationship also continues into the analysis of correlation between other factors such as the impact of the asian community on one’s “bc experience” and one’s definition of the asian bubble. initially, it was expected that if one believed the asian community impacted their “bc experience” in a positive manner, they would also have a more positive definition of the asian bubble. however, that correlation only came out to be 0.236. a possible cause for this is that there are students who filled out the survey and indicated a positive perception of the asian bubble, are not actively involved in the community, thus lowering the correlations. if true, then it could show that the negative perceptions of the asian community are not as pronounced as many within the community believe. lastly, an interesting difference between the freshman perception and the upperclassman perception of the asian community was noticed. when analyzing the results of the question “in your own words, how do you define the asian bubble?” it was notable that the freshmen had a more negative perception than the upperclassmen. using the perception code of negative: -1, neutral: 0, and positive: 1, freshmen had an average perception of -0.244, while the upperclassmen had an average of -0.188. this may be due to one of two reasons: 1) groupthink affects upperclassmen who are a part of the asian community to respond asian students in class (source: publicdomainpictures) 67 divisions dissected positively, or 2) directly experiencing the asian community contradicts the negative perceptions surrounding the community, leading upperclassmen to have more positive perceptions. these results can all be linked to the concept of asian american identity. the asian community as a whole is an agglomeration of unique individuals that are all seeking to find a sense of identity and belonging on campus. in coming to bc, asian americans will likely feel naturally marginalized, given the lack of diversity present in many areas of the school. moreover, the presence of a tightly knit asian community offers a familiarity that is key for a student’s sense of belonging and ultimate sense of identity as individuals. thus, despite most of the information and findings relating to the asian community as a whole, it is still pertinent for our main concern of the asian american student on an individual level. the hope is to foster a community of people who support the growth and development of each individual while also igniting the flame for asian american advocacy. in attempting to study the community through an objective lens, we desire to integrate academic credibility into conversations about the asian community, the various perceptions and connotations of the asian bubble, and the idea of asian american identity within the context of bc. limitations there were many limitations in both data collection and data analysis. as the survey was conducted on campus with a limited amount of time, our sample was a self-selected, convenience sample. although around 25% of the asian population at bc participated in the study, that quarter may have been representative of only a few specific characteristics of the larger population, therefore cannot be generalized to all asian bc students. with the collection method that was used, the survey was more likely to reach a certain group of individuals within the greater population. students more involved in the thea bowman ahana intercultural center, more likely to check email, or those who are members of asian intercultural clubs had a higher probability of being exposed to the survey at one point during the two months time span. as with most surveys, there are also threats of self-report and response bias. it is difficult to truly surmise whether the responses received were honest or whether individuals interpreted our questions in different manners. due to individual differences, answers to certain questions may have been different, leading to a different analysis of our data. although a disclaimer to the survey was included, in electronic form, people may have been more hesitant about being completely candid with their responses. also, being an asian american study, it may have changed answers or elicited varying responses to certain questions. individuals may have been more inclined to use personal characteristics or other descriptors, rather than ethnic or racial ones in their answers, knowing that all participants were of the same race. for the freshmen data that was collected, there was also an issue of time. based on the time at which freshmen completed the survey, answers may have differed. if filled out closer to the end of the two months, freshmen may have been exposed to the asian community quite a bit by that time, thus altering their perceptions about the community. providing this survey to incoming freshmen at orientation or when they were accepted to bc would have been a more ideal situation to rid any confounding variables. lastly, with the topic chosen and the consequent research done, it is difficult to make concrete conclusions about this topic. more research would need to be done on each specific subtopic in order to get a clearer understanding of the actual results. this survey would need to be repeated longitudinally to see the actual long-term effects of the asian community on an individual. future research it is important for this study to be continued in the future in order to assess the true long-term impact of one’s perception of the community on one’s identity. “the hope is to foster a community of people who support the growth and development of each individual, while also igniting the flame for asian american advocacy.” 68 elements : : spring 2016 longitudinally, this study would be more valuable in understanding how perceptions and behaviors develop over time. however, within this study, there are many other ideas that can be more deeply analyzed. being an explorative study, there are also many subtopics that may have not been looked at in detail. the interactions within the community and whether or not they are reflective of what was found within this research could be further explored. also, conducting the research on other schools’ campuses can potentially shed light on how these subcultures may differ at universities. in the future, it is also important to consider both outgroup and in-group differences in the research, both of which play key roles in how certain beliefs are developed concerning our own community. this does not only ring true for societal ideas and norms, but also for subtle beliefs amidst the community. by looking at ways in which others perceive other communities, it is also possible to look at how the asian community is perceived. especially in a time and age that is changing so rapidly, it is crucial to evaluate how in-group differences are changing. studying how certain beliefs may affect actual behavior may provide insightful conclusions as well. perceptions of others can also largely impact one’s beliefs. understanding how fellow members view not only the community but also those on the outside can provide a new perspective on existing ideas. although the topics studied mostly pertain to asian american students, it would also be helpful to assess students of other races. conducting studies on the sense of identity for other ahana ethnicities would be especially useful. not only can such research provide useful insight for students of other races, but it may also identify where common struggles exist for all ahana students, thus providing a stronger foundation for social unity and advocacy efforts on campus. furthermore, it would help recognize and differentiate various ethnicities and the issues they are facing. this will prevent the oversimplification of all ahana issues as one single question. endnotes 1. park, “the asian college bubble,” 2015. 2. dunsmuir, “many americans have no friends of another race,” 2013. 3. son and miyamoto, “ppi asian caucus student involvement survey,” 2015. 4. alvarez et al., “examining sense of belonging among firstyear undergraduates from different racial/ethnic groups,” 2007; bowman et al., “extending notions of campus climate and diversity to students’ transition to college,” 2008; museus, “the role of ethnic student organizations in fostering african american and asian american students’ cultural adjustment and membership at predominantly white institutions,” 2008. 5. museus, “the role of ethnic student organizations,” 2008. 6. ibid. 7. ibid.; ancis, sedlacek, and mohr, “student perceptions of campus cultural climate by race,” 2000. 8. museus, “the role of ethnic student organizations,” 2008. 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. harper and quaye, “student organizations as venues for black identity expression and development among african american male student leaders,” 2007. 12. museus, “the role of ethnic student organizations,” 2008; alvarez et al., “examining sense of belonging,” 2007. 13. alvarez et al., “examining sense of belonging,” 2007. 14. ancis, sedlacek, and mohr, “student perceptions of campus cultural climate by race,” 2000. 15. ibid. 16. bowman et al., “extending notions of campus climate and diversity to students’ transition to college,” 2008. 17. ibid.; saenz, ngai, and hurtado, “factors influencing positive interactions across race for african american, asian american, latino, and white college students,” 2006. 18. antonio, “diversity and the influence of friendship groups in college,” 2001; alvarez et al., “examining sense of belonging,” 2007; saenz, ngai, and hurtado, “factors influencing positive interactions across race,” 2006. 19. antonio, “diversity and the influence of friendship groups in college,” 2001. 20. ibid. 21. bowman et al., “extending notions of campus climate and diversity to students’ transition to college,” 2008. 22. ibid. 23. ibid. 24. ibid. 25. ibid. 69 divisions dissected references alvarez, patty, dawn r. johnson, karen kurotsuchi inkelas, matthew soldner, jeannie brown leonard, heather t. rowan-kenyon, and susan d. longerbeam. “examining sense of belonging among first-year undergraduates from different racial/ethnic groups.” journal of college student development 48, no. 5 (september 27, 2007): 525– 42. doi: 10.1353/csd.2007.0054. ancis, julie r., william e. sedlacek, and jonathan j. mohr. “student perceptions of campus cultural climate by race.” journal of counseling & development 78, no. 2 (april 1, 2000): 180–85. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000. tb02576.x. antonio, anthony lising. “diversity and the influence of friendship groups in college.” the review of higher education 25, no. 1 (september 1, 2001): 63–89. doi: 10.1353/rhe.2001.0013. bowman, nicholas a., sylvia hurtado, angela m. locks, and leticia oseguera. “extending notions of campus climate and diversity to students’ transition to college.” the review of higher education 31, no. 3 (march 10, 2008): 257–85. dunsmuir, lindsay. “many americans have no friends of another race: poll.” reuters, august 8, 2013. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-poll-raceidusbre97704320130808. harper, shaun, and stephen quaye. “student organizations as venues for black identity expression and development among african american male student leaders.” journal of student college development 48, no. 2 (march 2007). http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1170&context=gse_pubs. museus, samuel d. “the role of ethnic student organizations in fostering african american and asian american students’ cultural adjustment and membership at predominantly white institutions.” journal of college student development 49, no. 6 (2008): 568–86. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0039. park, julie j. “the asian college bubble: self-segregation or something more?” the huffington post. accessed december 5, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/juliej-park/self-segregation_b_3785384.html. saenz, victor b., hoi ning ngai, and sylvia hurtado. “factors influencing positive interactions across race for african american, asian american, latino, and white college students.” research in higher education 48, no. 1 (may 23, 2006): 1–38. doi: 10.1007/s11162-006-9026-3. son, and miyamoto. “ppi asian caucus student involvement survey.” asian caucus, 2015.70 elements : : spring 2016 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-poll-race-idusbre97704320130808 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-poll-race-idusbre97704320130808 http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1170&context=gse_pubs http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1170&context=gse_pubs http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-j-park/self-segregation_b_3785384.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-j-park/self-segregation_b_3785384.html "horta successfully combines novelty with tried-and-tested methods to realize a work potent with fresh beauty and infused with reason and harmony." victor horta's vision art nouveau, fusion of function and form kate swofford c working at t h e turn of t h e century, t h e belgian victor horta was o n e of art n o u veau's premiere architects and d e s i g n e r s . t h e goals of his work are realized most s u c c e s s f u l l y in t h e t o w n h o u s e s he created. practicality and t h e aesthetics blend seamlessly t o g e t h e r , resulting in b u i l d i n g s simultaneously revolutionary in their innovation and classical in their emphasis on harmony and order. as characteristic o f art nouveau, t h e first s e l f c o n s c i o u s l y modern style of architecture, horta stressed organic forms in design as well as structure. he counterbalanced t h e inherently static and rigid nature of t h e edifice with natural, curving shapes to render t h e h o m e more appealing to its residents. furthermore, horta and his clients saw their association with art nouveau as a reflection of their ultra-liberal, progressive political views. in many ways, victor horta's work represents t h e pinnacle of art nouveau, not simply in its rejection o f architectural c o n v e n t i o n s and its emphasis on integration, but also in its respect for t h e merit of classical works. this c o n c u r r e n c e is at t h e heart of victor horta's s u c c e s s . towards the end o f the n i n e t e e n t h century, the architecture o f v ic tor h o r t a revo lut ion ized the established styles o f b e l g i u m , spreading the style o f art nouveau t h r o u g h o u t the whole o f europe. h i s p u l s i n g , organic designs heavily contrasted w i t h the r i g i d i t y o f the other b u i l d i n g s , yet, because he was such a s k i l l f u l architect a n d craftsman, horta's b u i l d i n g s were sound, logical , a n d supremely funct iona l . perhaps the finest examples o f this sought-after c o m b i n a t i o n are his brussels townhouses . horta 's t r i u m p h o f fus ing architectural s tructure w i t h the superficial style o f art nouveau extends to the i n d i v i d u a l psychological r e a l m , i n w h i c h the client's part icular personal needs comb ine seamlessly w i t h an innovat ive and u n i q u e aesthetic e lement. as a style, art nouveau or ig inated i n paris t h r o u g h craft w o r k . i t was n o t wide-spread or popular b u t s i m p l y an ant ic ipat ion o f the cont inenta l craze that was soon to follow. i t was n o t u n t i l h o r t a that w h o l l y art nouveau architecture was constructed. the d o m i n a n t architectural style o f the t i m e i n b e l g i u m was eclecticism. di f f i cu l t to define by an inveterate distinctiveness, eclecticism's u n i f y i n g feature was that i t c o m b i n e d characteristics f r o m other styles (i.e., classical, baroque, gothic) to realize an architectural p o t p o u r r i conta ined i n one b u i l d i n g . f u r t h e r m o r e , n e w materials and techniques dissolved the separation between i n t e r i o r and exterior, a n d thus the coherence o f the classical style. a r t nouveau can be considered a react ion to eclecticism, w h i c h is often referred to as a "degradation o f styles." 1 a r t nouveau offered a comprehensive style, n e w a n d different, w i t h o u t fash ioning the miscel lany for w h i c h eclecticism was cr i t ic ized. however, i t is d i f f icul t to imagine art nouveau's popular i ty w i t h o u t the forerunner o f eclecticism, since this style generated an atmosphere o f creativity a n d inventiveness i n w h i c h art nouveau could thr ive . because art nouveau is one o f the styles m o s t closely associated w i t h the idea o f a "gesamtkunstwerk" (a total w o r k o f art) , i t was expected that the artist seize considerable cont ro l over the art piece. even the funct iona l elements o f a w o r k should be aesthetically pleasing and decorated. th i s decadence prov ided s ignif icant artistic license, w h i l e new materials a l lowed for m o r e creative contro l . h o r t a was o f the m i n d that art s h o u l d permeate al l aspects o f l i fe , and the style he f o u n d i n art nouveau meshed beaut i f u l l y w i t h th is att i tude. however, critics h e l d that art n o u veau confused practical value and aesthetic value, thus corr u p t i n g b o t h . one can discern the inf luence o f i m m a n u e l kant's concept o f "free beauty" i n the nature o f art nouveau: the poetic, religious, didactic, or patriotic ideas that are connected with the representation of human figures diverted the attention of the observer from what was truly artistic: the appearance of shapes and colors on a plane or three-dimensional space.2 a r t nouveau extended th is superficial a n d aesthetic beaut y — a r t for art's sake. the style is m a r k e d for its organic i n s p i r a t i o n , curv i l inear fo rms , a n d re ject ion o f r ig id i ty , part ial ly facil itated by the new i r o n techniques at the t i m e , especially that w h i c h allows for easy amalgamat ion w i t h glass. th i s m e t h o d is evident i n the royal greenhouses of laeken i n brussels (1875) that a lphonse balat b u i l t w i t h h o r t a as his understudy. 3 i n this w o r k , one can detect the inf luence o n horta 's later works i n its r h y t h m and harmony. balat was the royal architect to k i n g leopold i i o f b e l g i u m , g a i n i n g valuable i n s i g h t i n t o the practices o f a h i g h l y ski l led draf tsman. f r o m balat, h o r t a learned h o w to m e s h materials effectively, b e c o m i n g an exceptionally adroit engineer. h e possessed the necessary c o m b i n a t i o n o f sk i l l and i n n o v a t i o n to spearhead an architectural movem e n t . b o r n to elderly parents i n 1861, horta 's heritage seems to have in f luenced his artistic greatness, for he " c o m b i n e d the f lemish i m a g i n a t i o n i n his mother ' s t r a d i t i o n w i t h the lat in h a r m o n y o f his father's spanish roots . " 4 h e l ived i n paris, b u t resided for m o s t o f his l i fe i n brussels. h e always c la imed his m o s t p o w e r f u l inf luence was s i m p l y w a l k i n g a r o u n d the streets o f paris a n d soaking u p the arbalat's m i x i n g o f materials, s u c h as i r o n a n d class, w o u l d later i n f l u e n c e horta's style. e l e m e n t s f a l l 2 0 1 0 chitectural diversity. th i s emphasis o n personal experience as opposed to established methods is part ia l ly responsible for the organic a n d o r i g i n a l nature o f horta 's style. public commiss ions l ike m u s e u m s a n d department stores were close to horta 's heart, as they b r o u g h t beauty to the masses. the best example o f this is the maison du peuple, a b u i l d i n g for meet ings and offices o f the socialist party i t was i m p o r t a n t to h o r t a for his b u i l d i n g s to have a cont i n u o u s flow o f space w i n d i n g t h r o u g h a discreet b u t exposed f ramework , w h i c h was nevertheless decorated. t h e f u n c t i o n o f a piece d i d not impede o n its beauty, and vice versa. a sense o f u n i f i c a t i o n w i t h i n a structure was i m perative for h o r t a , for a house was supposed to facilitate l i v i n g ; i t c o u l d n o t be a c lunky and awkward arrangement o f separate spaces. "horta was renowned for his ability to solve any architectural quandary, whether it pertained to the melding of materials, measurement, or weight ratio." a n d the general labor force. however, horta 's funct iona l achievements c o m b i n e d w i t h his u n i q u e decorative elem e n t are m o s t evident i n the residences he designed, part icular ly his townhouses . unfortunate ly , what rises fast is soon to fal l , and w h e n art nouveau fel l out o f favor after the t u r n o f the century, m a n y o f horta 's b u i l d i n g s i n brussels were t o r n d o w n . t h e destruct ion o f horta 's works is a loss n o t only to european cul ture , b u t especially to the w o r l d o f s t ructura l design. h o r t a was r e n o w n e d for his abi l i ty to solve any architectural quandary, whether i t perta ined to the m e l d i n g o f materials , measurement , or w e i g h t rat io . resourceful and ski l led, h o r t a used these abil it ies to accompl ish beauti fully designed features d o u b l i n g as funct iona l pieces. h e typically used any c o m b i n a t i o n o f i r o n , stone, and w o o d , b u t the fus ion o f i r o n a n d glass is part icular ly prevalent i n his works , as the availabil ity o f l i g h t is requisite i n horta 's b u i l d i n g s . archi tect , i n t e r i o r designer, furniture-designer—these are only a few o f the titles w h i c h h o r t a cou ld c la im. i n his b u i l d i n g s , especially his townhouses , everything—doorknobs , air vents, ra i l ings , stained glass, and cupboards— was designed by h o r t a h imsel f . th i s fol lows the art n o u veau n o t i o n o f the "gesamtkunstwerk" i n w h i c h everything has artistic value. t a k i n g o n a project for h o r t a entai led an enormous t i m e c o m m i t m e n t , so some o f horta 's cl ients, l ike the solvay family, became frustrated w i t h the lengthy b u i l d i n g process a n d threatened to drop the c o m m i s s i o n . overcome by the i n g e n u i t y o f horta 's designs and his reasonable and level-headed nature , they were convinced to y ie ld . 5 i n s p i r e d by vary ing sources a n d styles, horta 's designs do not translate to be imi ta t i ve l ike eclecticism, b u t rather a delicate b l e n d o f the established and the avant-garde. one can detect horta 's classical t r a i n i n g at the academy as w e l l as his study u n d e r balat. i t shines t h r o u g h i n his stanch respect for balance, symmetry , a n d harmony , and i t is m a r k e d by his rat ional ly shaped superstructures. i n addit i o n , the gothic style h a d an indubi tab le inf luence o n horta's w o r k . h e was i n s p i r e d by the exhi larat ing feel ing o f u p w a r d p u l l characteristic o f gothic structures a n d the style's d y n a m i s m . the m o s t obvious a n d u n i q u e characteristic o f horta 's w o r k is the prevalence o f organic shapes— curvi l inear and s inusoidal . the m o s t notable o f al l o f horta 's (and the art nouveau movement ' s ) organic shapes is the "coup de fouet," lash o f the w h i p . i t begins i n a parabolic spiral , a n d before the loop is completed, the l i n e curves i n before sharply flicking out . th i s i m p o r t a n t m o t i f " symbol ized an aspirat ion, the object o f w h i c h was unclear a n d the intens i ty incons is tent—a fluctuating aspirat ion c o n t a i n i n g a t o u c h o f weariness and perplexity . " 6 regardless o f the i m p l i c a t i o n s , the w h i p l a s h serves to create a sense o f m o v e m e n t and vivacity i n horta 's works . the i n t r ins ic stiffness o f meta l is softened i n t o a de l ight fu l ly complex curv i l inear f o r m . th i s d y n a m i s m allows the w o r k to appear alive. however, h o r t a never incorporated a direct or explicit i m i t a t i o n o f flora b u t was rather i n s p i r e d by natura l forms . th i s subtle d i s t i n c t i o n lends his works the i r u l t r a m o d e r n feel relative to the i r t i m e . h e was not por t ray ing nature b u t featur ing its beaut i fu l tendencies i n an edifice that connotes r i g i d i t y a n d inf lexibi l i ty . w h i l e horta 's works boast exquisite artistry, they were n o t devoid o f deeper psychological and even pol i t ica l purposes. h o r t a kept these issues i n m i n d w h e n he designed his townhouses , even t h o u g h the not ions o f "art for art's sake" v i c t o r h o r t a ' s v i s i o n and kant's concept ion o f "free beauty" were p r o m i n e n t at the t i m e . schemes, shapes, and colors have the abi l i ty to m i r r o r or evoke certain behavior. t h u s , the psychology o f the c l ient was affected by horta 's architecture and design. keenly aware o f this facet o f art, h o r t a took great care and pr ide i n des igning his houses to i n t i m a t e l y f i t the lifestyles and requests o f h is commiss ioners : the desire to carry out [the client's] wishes is one of the keys to the understanding of [horta's] works. he was not so much guided by the wish to express himself for he finds such an affirmation of the "ego" detestable, but rather it is the case that he is fully aware of the genius and originality of everything he creates. without any doubt one reason for showing such a lack of eagerness to reveal his projects to the press is partly the respect he showed for his clients and their privacy and partly the effort he made to preserve the exclusive character of the creation that he had offered them.7 such p r o f o u n d respect for his clients and his o w n w o r k part ly explains w h y h o r t a was such a sensation d u r i n g his t i m e . a c c o r d i n g to h o r t a , a house " shou ld n o t on ly reflect the l i fe o f its owner, b u t also be its p o r t r a i t . " 8 a l t h o u g h he sought to meet every feasible desire o f the cl ient, he m a i n ta ined clarity i n his works , as i n the classical t r a d i t i o n . h e focused o n a few clear ideas and d i d not make arbitrary s t ructura l insert ions; al l h is designs exude rat ional i ty and purpose. th i s rationale extends to mus ic . horta 's forms have a repet i t ion and h a r m o n y that r e m i n d one o f mus ic , i n that he derives s imi la r shapes f r o m a c o m m o n struct u r e . 9 as noted, h o r t a successfully combines novelty w i t h tried-and-tested methods to realize a w o r k potent w i t h fresh beauty and infused w i t h reason a n d harmony . this rationality, w h i c h was v iewed as synonymous w i t h m o d e r n i s m , appealed to the bourgeois w o r l d o f brussels—the class w h i c h could afford horta 's houses and took interest i n t h e m . one can note h o w carefully h o r t a catered to his clientele. f u r t h e r m o r e , the years leading u p to the t w e n t i eth century were the he ight o f social ism i n b e l g i u m , w h i c h ushered i n a t i m e o f n e w pol i t ica l t h o u g h t about equality. a n enl ightened bourgeois class sought out a new artistic style to reflect the i r progressive pol i t ica l views and to separate themselves f r o m the conservative elite. as is the goal o f the cl ient , w h e n a pedestrian walks d o w n a belgian street and notices one o f horta 's p r o f o u n d l y dif ferent art nouveau houses, he presumes the owner to be a forwardt h i n k i n g l ibera l . above al l his other works , horta 's townhouses m o s t effectively convey the superlative fus ion o f f o r m a n d f u n c t i o n . v h e successfully combines the necessary structure o f the b u i l d i n g w i t h characteristic art nouveau style to efficiently u n i t e the physical r e a l m o f the house. the exterior o f the b u i l d i n g is an effective metaphor for the physical e lement o f the w o r k . h o r t a also successfully fuses the deemed f u n c t i o n o f a design w i t h an aesthetic e l e m e n t — w h a t is actually pleasing to the eye and m i n d — t o make the psychological aspect o f the house h a r m o n i o u s . f u r t h e r m o r e , h o r t a n o t only unites the physical and m e n t a l spheres o f the townhouse b u t also creates a master fu l c o n t i n u i t y between these t w o components so they fit together br i l l i ant ly; the house as whole is integrated i n appearance a n d f u n c t i o n . horta 's first townhouse c o m m i s s i o n was the autrique house i n 1893. a f r i e n d o f horta 's , a u t r i q u e was a freem a s o n and, l ike m a n y o f horta 's cl ients, a forward-thinker . h o r t a took o n the project w i t h zeal and even lowered his fees so that w h i t e stone c o u l d be used o n the facade—a feature w h i c h autr ique ' s budget cou ld n o t i n i t i a l l y cover. funds were too l o w to provide for l u x u r y and extravagance, so h o r t a had to manage the project accordingly. h o r t a exh i b i t e d an ambi t ious and positive att i tude, since "whatever the scope o f the b u i l d i n g , an artistic effort br ings out resu l t s . " 1 0 a u t r i q u e mere ly needed a l ivable basement, a convenient sta irwel l and hallway, a n d an attached d i n i n g a n d l i v i n g r o o m . consequently, the layout o f the house is "he successfully combines the necessary structure of the building with characteristic art nouveau style to efficiently unite the physical realm of the house." quite smal l and s imple , yet i t revolves a r o u n d a r o o m y hal l way g iv ing the modest d imens ions o f the house an integrated spaciousness. the neo-gothic inf luence is evident i n the facade o f the autrique house. a l t h o u g h perhaps b u l g i n g a l i t t le m o r e e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2010 t h a n a t rad i t iona l arch, the entrance arch i n re l i e f o f the house was indisputab ly in f luenced by the gothic era. the arch is stouter t h a n the archetype gothic arch, b u t i t is adjusted to be m o r e subtle a n d to equip the house w i t h a he ightened sense o f w i d t h , an e lement w h i c h i t is lacking . i n add i t ion , the depressed arches over the second-floor w i n d o w s contr ibute to the gothic feel o f the facade, as w e l l as the two pilasters o n the r o o f w h i c h resemble medieval towers. naturally, h o r t a puts his o w n s p i n o n these elements by adding the organic art nouveau t o u c h o n the p i lasters, w h i c h correspond to the decorative c o m p o n e n t between the w i n d o w s o n the t h i r d floor. h o r t a directly tackles head-on the c o m m o n architectural p r o b l e m w i t h townhouses overhang. w i t h such a ta l l and n a r r o w b u i l d i n g , the spectator feels the house is hangi n g over h i m w h e n he looks u p at i t , an i n t i m i d a t i n g sense that is undesirable i n a h o m e . horta 's answer is a c o n t i n u ously recessed facade: the stone starts thickest o n the bott o m row, t h e n recesses first at the entrance arch, recesses a second t i m e at the arches o f the second floor w i n d o w s , and a t h i r d t i m e i n t o the veranda o n the t h i r d floor. as a result , the spectator senses that the house grows wider as i t ascends. i n this piece we see horta 's favorite combinat ions o f materials: w o o d , stone, and i r o n . each one serves its purpose to accommodate the d imens ions o f the facade, and cons t ruct ion o f the house: the role of stone is to mediate between the supporting surface and the placement of vertical elements, as in the relief carving under the iron pilasters of the loggia, the weight of which it appears to carry to the wall. the iron is used for high, thin supports, as in the small columns in the mullion windows." h o r t a ut i l izes materials so that they c o m p l e m e n t each other, and he ighten the appearance o f the edifice by correct ing the visual flaws o f its d imens ions . h e discards several t rad i t iona l rules o f architecture and, to a reasonable degree, lets his creativity be the d r i v i n g force. despite horta 's personal artistic flair, the house suits autr ique ' s needs, character, and budget we l l . th i s is horta 's u l t i m a t e goal. completed i n 1893, w h e n horta 's talent was i n f u l l b l o o m , the tassel house was horta 's second townhouse c o m m i s s ion, and arguably his m o s t famous w o r k . tassel h i m s e l f was a professor o f descriptive geometry at brussels u n i v i c o t r h o r t a ' s hotel solvay, c o n s t r u c t e d i n brussels i n 1894. t h e o r n a t e b a l c o n i e s are i n d i c a t i v e o f t h e art n o u v e a u style. versity. h e needed ample enter ta in ing space as he was a bachelor w i t h m a n y fr iends a n d t h r e w frequent parties. as a professor, his study was m e a n t to be the m a i n r o o m o f the b u i l d i n g , and his passion for photography requi red a d a r k r o o m i n his basement. j v i c t o r h o r t a ' s v i s i o n despite the restrictiveness o f its ta l l and n a r r o w d i m e n sions, the townhouse is visually g r i p p i n g compared to its neighbors . th i s can be part ial ly a t t r ibuted to the extraordinar i ly s t rong h o r i z o n t a l a n d vertical e lements. a l t e r n a t i n g the color o f stones i n the facade is a u n i f y i n g h o r i z o n t a l e lement, b u t this also serves to emphasize the curve o f the facade itself. the massive r o u n d e d feature o f the house, f r o m the curved consoles o n either side o f the entrance to the i r o n and stone engaged c o l u m n s extending to the roof, is the central and m o s t p r o m i n e n t feature o f the piece. th i s design serves to u n i f y the piece vertically, flood the house w i t h l i g h t , a n d set i t apart artistically f r o m other architecture. as i n the autrique house, h o r t a constructs a cont inuous and w i n d i n g flow o f space t h r o u g h o u t the house w i t h a layout e m p h a s i z i n g the integrated, whole . th i s feature lends the i n t e r i o r o f the residence its dynamic and energetic quality. for a popular bachelor, th is spaciousness was desirable. w i t h o u t an oppressive lateral staircase, the rooms are granted m o r e l i g h t a n d h o r t a is free to adapt ce i l ing levels to correspond to the purpose o f the r o o m . 1 2 a l t h o u g h created i n a p r o f o u n d l y n e w and excit ing style, h o r t a d i d n o t forsake his classical t r a i n i n g . h e takes recognizable, accepted forms l ike the console, cornice, and l i n t e l and modif ies t h e m to his i d e a l . 1 3 the consoles flanki n g the f ront door exhibi t art nouveau energy and horta 's organic i n s p i r a t i o n . the classical cornice protrudes f r o m the b u i l d i n g m o r e t h a n is typical . the l i n t e l is n o t a large, r i g i d block, b u t rather sharply curves out to meet the roundness o f the facade above. once again, this is evidence that h o r t a s imultaneous ly represents upheaval and order. the c o l u m n i n the f ront h a l l s u p p o r t i n g the second story is especially representative o f horta 's b l e n d i n g o f the funct i o n a l a n d the aesthetic. i t is a necessary e lement to suppor t the b u i l d i n g , b u t i t is a piece o f art i n itself. the capiglass dome over the house victor horta built for h at 25 rue americaine, brussels, "li e l e m e n t s '. : f a l l 2010 ta l is a cong lomerat ion o f t w i s t i n g , c u r v i n g brackets reaching out to gracefully support the arch o f the staircase by tangents. one l i n e juts o u t m o r e t h a n the other to suppor t the b u i l d i n g at a crucia l po int . yet th is necessary a n d funct iona l design is disguised by the pure aesthetic o f the capital. the visual const i tuent enhances the funct iona l component . horta 's decorat ion is not supplementary to structure; i t is u n i m p o s i n g , however t rans f ix ing i t may be. a l l aspects o f the tassel house are so beaut i ful ly a n d careful ly c o m p o u n d e d that the house seems to possess l i fe : the display of skillfully sculptured and carefully bonded stones with intermittent iron elements, riveted girders, the metallic profiles of the first floor are interlinked so successfully that the differentiation of material, form or color can no longer be felt, in fact they seem to merge into tectonic values where they, as functions of support and separation, are closely interdependent as in a complex organic system.1* t h e concept o f horta 's townhouses b e i n g so intr icate and connected that they are l i k e n e d to organisms r u n s a long the same l ines as the concept o f the "gesamtkunstwerk . " everything i n the house is created t h r o u g h the filter o f art. after finishing the tassel house, horta 's fame was sealed. h e became the highest pa id architect i n brussels at the t i m e , so his clientele dr i f ted towards the wealthier famil ies i n the c i t y . 1 5 t h e solvay fami ly sought out h o r t a to renovate the i r spacious townhouse . a r m a n d solvay and his wi fe , h a v i n g i n h e r i t e d the solvay i n d u s t r i a l chemist ry business and m u c h wea l th , h a d ample funds to grant horta a lmost complete artistic f reedom. the solvay fami ly was k n o w n to be l ibera l and to consort w i t h the leaders o f the socialist m o v e m e n t i n b e l g i u m . a r m a n d ' s uncle , ernest, was the entrepreneur that l aunched the fami ly business. h i s company i m p l e m e n t e d labor re forms l ike heal th a n d accident insurance, an e ight-hour w o r k day, a n d pa id leave over forty years before i t was enacted by law i n belg i u m . 1 4 the newly renovated house was designed to reflect the l ibera l pedigree o f the owners and the i r progressive pol i t ica l leanings, mani fest i n horta 's avant-garde style. the solvays needed a h o m e to accommodate a family, equipped w i t h a private office and enter ta inment amenit ies . as noted, h o r t a h e l d c o n t i n u i t y i n h i g h regard and w e n t to great lengths i n the solvay house to achieve this quality. the b o t t o m r o w o f stone o n the facade is specially adapted to gently curve i n t o the sidewalk. f u r t h e r m o r e , the facade is made o f the same stone as the custom-made sidewalk, so i t "seems l ike a carpet u n f o l d e d before the entrance . " 1 6 seeming to grow out o f the g r o u n d , this feature is n o t on ly i n v i t i n g , as is desired o f a fami ly h o m e , b u t also allows the b u i l d i n g to deviate f r o m the inherent ly static nature o f b u i l d i n g s i n general. addi t ional ly , the cornice is non-t rad i t iona l , gently c u r v i n g out to echo the base o f the b u i l d i n g . as i n the gothic t r a d i t i o n , stone n o t only serves a v i ta l s t ructura l purpose, b u t is also used as a decorative mater i al. h o r t a ut i l izes the m o t i f o f a crossbow curve, b o t h i n verted and p r o t r u d i n g . this produces a r h y t h m i n the facade, l ike the ebb and flow o f the ocean. the four consoles u n d e r the or ie l (bay) w i n d o w s l ikewise demonstrate th i s concept. these consoles and the i r o n brackets u n d e r the i r o n pi l lars " indicate the pressure created by the mass they carry, w i t h o u t break ing the dynamic qual i ty o f the mater i als used . " 1 7 these organic schemes l e n d energy and movem e n t to the stone house. the u p w a r d p u l l o f the facade and the s trong vertical ity o f the i r o n pi l lars over the w i n dows exhibi t gothic i n s p i r a t i o n as we l l . i n add i t ion , the i r o n c o l u m n s a l low for m u c h w i n d o w space and support i m p o r t a n t bear ing points , a l l o w i n g l i g h t to i l l u m i n a t e the inter ior . spaces flooded w i t h l i g h t natura l ly appear m o r e open a n d roomy; this is very desirable w h e n l i v i n g i n an u r b a n residence. horta 's i n g e n u i t y a n d resourcefulness were also developed by the const ruct ion o f this house. a d h e r i n g to the idea o f the "gesamtkunstwerk , " h o r t a designs c o l u m n a r radiators a n d hot-air vents b u i l t i n t o benches, d i sgu i s ing necessary ut i l i t ies o f the house w i t h i n beaut i fu l designs. the solvay house differs greatly f r o m the tassel house, and m a n y other o f horta 's townhouses , i n that i t includes a grand double staircase. however ideal for a f ami ly a n d typical o f people w i t h the means o f the solvays, the imposi n g staircase restricts the flow o f the house a n d b inds i t to a strict symmetry. th i s house does n o t flow l ike the tassel house, even t h o u g h h o r t a i n c l u d e d a shaft o f l i g h t i n the m i d d l e o f the b u i l d i n g to compensate for the m o r e r i g i d layout. the residents o f the tassel house and the solvay house are quite different: a wel l l iked bachelor and a wealthy family, respectively. as is h is t r a d i t i o n , h o r t a creates the residence to m i r r o r the people w h o live i n i t . because o f the central roles o f curvature and nature , two elements historical ly associated w i t h w o m e n , art nouveau as a style is considered to be f e m i n i n e . this is n o t to say that w i t h i n art nouveau there cannot be male i n t i m a t i o n s . approach) v i c t o r h o r t a ' s v i s i o n i n g the houses f r o m this perspective, i t is possible to discern a s trong male aspect f r o m the tassel house and femin i n i t y f r o m the solvay house. horta 's re lat ionship w i t h the solvay fami ly was strengthened by the pleasant and inte l l igent wi fe o f a r m a n d solvay; she unders tood m o r e t h a n her h u s b a n d the importance o f architecture i n m o d e r n i s m . 1 8 this female inf luence, c o m p o u n d e d w i t h the fami ly aspect generally associated w i t h w o m e n , can aco f separate spaces, "a d i s t r i b u t i o n o f space whereby rooms o f dif ferent shapes a n d sizes, o n dif ferent levels, f low i n t o one another and f o r m the elements o f a single organic c o n c e p t i o n . " 1 9 the analogy o f horta 's construct ions as complex organisms is revived. to fur ther facilitate the c o n t i n u i t y o f the inter ior , he designed a system o f s l id ing doors to enlarge the reception rooms . "as is his tradition, horta creates the residence to mirror the people who live in it." count for h o r t a des ign ing the facade o f the house w i t h subtle f e m i n i n e curves and two p r o m i n e n t protrus ions f l a n k i n g the centerpiece o f the w o r k — a n arrest ing depress ion. these features connote the female body. the tassel house o n the other h a n d , b e i n g o w n e d by a bachelor, needed to convey power and vigor. the central and m o s t eyecatching feature o f this house is clearly the curved p r o t u berance spanning t w o stories. th i s characteristic corresponds to male s y m b o l i s m . once again, the a t t r ibut i o n o f gender i n these houses correlates to the personalities o f the people w h o live there. h o r t a is subtly t a i l o r i n g his designs to the cl ients. i n 1898, h o r t a began w o r k o n his o w n house w i t h an attached studio. th i s is o f part icular interest w h e n s tudy ing h o r t a because one can discern his o w n tendencies a n d character f r o m the residence; he fo l lowed his o w n be l i e f that a house s h o u l d describe its owner. m u s h r o o m l i k e arches and stylized butter f ly ra i l ings adorn the exterior o f horta 's house, perhaps horta 's clearest i m i t a t i o n o f w i l d l i fe , i n d i c a t i n g h o w central the role o f nature is to his works . f u r t h e r m o r e , the i r o n w o r k o n the facade is especially delicate, c o n f i r m i n g horta 's master craftsmanship. the i r o n c o l u m n s o n the veranda are m e t by slender and gracefully t w i s t i n g i r o n brackets f r o m the ce i l ing exuding genuine verve. as beaut i fu l as the exterior o f horta 's house is, the ins ide is t r u l y breath-taking. as w i t h the autrique house and the tassel house, the h o r t a house cannot boast large d i m e n sions. however, u p o n enter ing the house, one is overcome by undeniable roominess . as for his cl ients, h o r t a m a n i p u l a t e d the elements o f his o w n house to play u p spaciousness. for example, the levels that extend o f f the centra l staircase vary. accordingly , the house evokes a feel ing o f gradual in tegra t ion rather t h a n a chopped-up assembly h o r t a continues what he h a d started at the solvay house i n respect to the heat ing a n d cool ing o f the house. h e des igned a complex system o f air vents and benches serving as radiators. the m o s t famous o f al l these contrapt ions i n the h o r t a house is the g i lded c o l u m n that is a radiator and a support for the stairwel l above. sensibly, i t is placed amidst marb le , w h i c h generally allows areas to get fair ly cold. beauty and f u n c t i o n i n t e r m i n g l e again i n the ribs o f marb le c o l u m n s that are used for support and as r o o m d i viders. i n order to make the second floor l a n d i n g appear wider, h o r t a adjusts the stairs so that they get narrower as they ascend. i n the sta irwel l between the second and t h i r d floor landings , h o r t a bui lds a stained-glass skyl ight to flood the ha l l w i t h l i g h t , so the constr icted area is a l lowed a sense o f spaciousness. as noted , this is a technique h o r t a has used repeatedly, b u t he adds a n e w twis t i n his o w n house: a curvy m i r r o r is b u i l t i n t o the w a l l perpendicular to the skyl ight , so as to reflect the i n c o m i n g l i g h t , thus increas ing the sense o f spaciousness even m o r e . the entire house is decorated to beautify, to increase the funct iona l i ty o f certain features, a n d to unify. the areas that h o r t a details m o s t met icu lous ly are those situated at the intersections o f rooms . rebel l ing against t r a d i t i o n , h o r t a does n o t create elaborate centerpieces o f the r o o m , b u t rather diverts a t tent ion to doorways, stairwells, colu m n s u n i f y i n g elements. this m e t h o d avoids r e n d e r i n g the house a mere c o m b i n a t i o n o f d is t inct ly dif ferent spaces. a n o t h e r u n i f y i n g e lement is the use o f color. h o r t a ut i l izes a w a r m color scheme—red ochre, b u r n t orange, pale y e l l o w — t o combat the cold, harsh, n o r t h e r n l i g h t o f brussels. f u r t h e r m o r e , walls o f a l ighter color accentuate spaciousness, w h i l e darker colors detract f r o m i t . f r o m studying horta 's house, one can detect that he designed i t e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 as an escape from the urban life of brussels, through its suggestions of nature, the manipulation of space and light to battle the small dimensions of the house, and the inviting, soothing colors incorporated to comfort. horta's architectural peers sought the same success that made horta the most expensive architect i n brussels. horta owed his success to many factors: his innovativeness, skill, diligence, his bourgeoisie clientele, and the fact that the era was ripe for a new architectural style to become popular. horta's imitators did not possess the mix of creativity and logic, traditional and modern, that he did. i n their attempts to outshine horta's innovativeness and bring it to a new level, their creations became garish and gaudy. t h e classical elements of horta's works were lost upon them, and thus, the rhythm and harmony that gave his designs such beautiful aesthetics were gone as well. horta's subtle and delicate organic shapes gave way to the jarring, arbitrary designs of his successors. t h e rapid decline of art nouveau was not entirely due to the greed and over-ambition of new architects. art nouveau was the first purposefully modern style, and the fashion-conscious nature of the style, ironically, facilitated its own demise. as architects after horta frantically tried to outdo their contemporaries with increasingly unorthodox designs, art nouveau began to be seen as tacky. t h e style, as well as horta's imitators, soon faded. despite the fleeting nature of art nouveau and horta's popularity, modern architecture is characterized by this initiative of forming an intimate relationship between form and structure. i n a time of mass production, political upheaval, and lack of a definitive architectural style, horta offered a style that was fresh, complete, beautiful, and very personal. the entablature: lintel the key horizontal feature above a. door designed for support 14. loze (28) 15. borsi (61) 16. borsi (64) . 17. ibid. 18. loze (64) 19. vinson (71) r e f e r e n c e s borsi, franco and paolo portoghesi. victor horta. new york: rizzoli, 1991. loze, pierre. belgian art nouveau: from victor horta to antoine pompe. ghent: eiffel, 1991. moravanszky, akos. competing visions: aesthetic invention and social imagination in central european architecture. cambridge: mit, 1998. vinson, robert-jean. "the house that horta built." realites, 1973. 71. e n d n o t e s 1. loze (11) 2. moravanszky (106) 3. loze (13) 4. borsi (9) 5. loze (64) 6. borsi (11) 7. loze (64-65) 8. borsi (12) 9. borsi (11) 10. borsi (53) 11. borsi (54) 12. loze (77) 13. console a supportive bracket: cornice the top component of v i c t o r h o r t a ' s v i s i o n mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affirms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e elements fall 2014 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. all submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover skulls in paris catacombs © istock.com/wadehampton periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 10, issue 2, fall 2014 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by kirkwood printing,904 main street, wilmington, ma 01887 copyright © 2014 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief brandon bavier managing editor marissa marandola deputy editor ellen white layout editor frank a. direnno humanities grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor lydia orr, editor sciences corleone delaveris, senior editor saljooq m. asif, editor alex gilligan, editor anna whitham. editor media & advertising grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick dear readers, as i reflected on the articles in this issue of elements, the sentiment of memento mori, an ever-present aspect of the western cultural tradition, came to mind. memento mori, the classic demand on man to recognize the ephemerality of his life and to act accordingly, shapes how human society in every era approaches the quest to live well despite the consuming knowledge of impending death. through their research, our fall 2014 authors grapple with the questions posed by memento mori, how to live and how to die, in light of the answers offered by various historical epochs. our cover article, margaret scollan’s nicosian diet and daily life, examines the skeletal evidence left behind by one society in death to determine how its members lived. her finds and conclusion suggest that memento mori, the principle that guides life towards death, can become memento vivere by using the remnants of death to recall life. paleopathologist as medieval practitioner by frank direnno offers a similar response to memento mori through its study of bones to uncover the intricacies of medieval life in the english village of norwich. knowing that he must eventually join the bones scollan and direnno explore, man must consciously choose a way of living that best utilizes his limited time on earth. in response to the problematic introduced by science, this issue of elements presents a number of perspectives on how social and political contexts influence man’s understanding of the good life. samantha pinsak depicts the conflict between social expectations and individual inclinations in her piece, masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy. in addition to the cultural factors pinsak identifies, crisis, too, impacts man’s decision of how to live in profound ways. nick centrella’s from doctor shepard to father coughlin explains how, in the face of the great depression and the two world wars, many americans came to see fascism as the most assured path to the good life. their memento vivere reflected an understanding of memento mori which suddenly seemed much more imminent. the degree of linkage between man’s awareness of death and the ways in which he chooses to live fluctuates along with the social and historical context in which he operates. having considered these scientific and historical examinations of how to live and how to die, i began to question how we, in our 21st century moment, regard life, death, and the relationship between the two. tate krasner approaches this problem from a political angle in a just measure, which explores the legality and morality of targeted drone killings. how do we weight the value of one human life in comparison to the prevention of many potential deaths? this, perhaps, is one of the most visible manifestations of the modern formulation of memento mori and memento vivere, realities that we probe couched in new, technical terminology. we hope that, as you peruse the contents of elements and trace the evolution of memento mori from the time of the nicosians to the present, you will pause to consider how you understand memento vivere and what constitutes the good life in our own social and historical moment. happy reading! best, marissa marandola managing editor editor’s note contents nicosian diet and daily life: reconstruction of the diets of a late medieval cypriot population margaret scollan reconstructing the diets of the late medieval cypriot population using carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis. masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy: reproductive and performative manliness samantha pinsak investigating the societal expectations of masculinity in fifteenth and sixteenth century italy. a just measure: on the legality, morality, and effectiveness of targeted killing tate krasner weighing the legality and morality of targeted killing in modern warfare. satisfaction through disembodiment: the spectacle and imprisonment of hunger missa sangimino examining the implications of voluntary hunger and its effects on both the famished and their spectators. 9 27 41 49 grand strategy in russian geopolitics: natural oil and resource nationalism stacia vladimirova evaluating the role of resource nationalism in a multipolar world. 55 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner: a case for the community of the visibly ill in medieval norwich frank a. direnno digging into the practices of medieval english hospitals and the culture of leprosy within them. the great yarn ball: dante’s poetics and ovid’s pyramus and thisbe paul boboc understanding the pagan and christian roots that influenced dante’s poetry. from doctor shepard to father coughlin: an exploration of fascism in 1930s america nick centrella exploring the various fascist organizations present in early to mid twentieth century america. author biographies list of artwork 85 78 64 93 95 stable isotope analysis was used to determine the diets of twenty-six individuals exhumed from a thirteenth-century cistercian convent’s cemetery in nicosia, cyprus. stable isotope analysis is a technique that measures the chemical signatures of carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios in bone. these ratios are passed on to bone from the food that humans consume and thus can indicate an individual’s diet. with an understanding of the history of nicosia and the common medieval diet in the eastern mediterranean, it was asked if the nicosian population was eating a diet similar to those of other medieval eastern mediterraneans and if nuns and lay persons could be differentiated based on diet. by comparing the data to that of other sites, it was found that the population was eating a diet similar to that of other contemporary eastern mediterraneans. furthermore, based on their diet, it was hypothesized that the two outliers were nuns while the others were lay persons. the outliers’ diet, consisting of significantly more marine resources, agreed with historical sources indicating that monastics could afford and eat more fish. nicosian diet and daily life reconstruction of the diets of a late medieval cypriot population using carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis margaret scollan introduction & historical background throughout the centuries, cyprus and its capital, nicosia, have been passed among various ruling groups and societies, creating an archaeological record which has layers of different historical deposits. for example, cyprus was a part of the byzantine empire for eight hundred years. however, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, it was conquered by richard the lionheart, then passed on to the knights templar, and finally sold to the dispossessed king of jerusalem, a french noble named guy de lusignan. this was at the time of the fourth crusade and much of the eastern mediterranean was falling under western european control. for the next three hundred years, cyprus was governed by the frenchand latin-speaking lusignans, who were commonly called “franks” by the eastern mediterraneans. these franks were catholics, and although they permitted the eastern orthodox church to remain on the island, restrictions that they imposed allowed the western catholic church to acquire both power and property. a major example of this was when the lusignans expanded the walls of nicosia: the new space was used for the construction of a series of new monasteries and convents, living under western monastic rules.1 one monastic group, the cistercian order, took particular advantage of the rise to power of frankish families in the eastern mediterranean. having taken an active part in the fourth crusade, the cistercians were interested in expanding their order to this new area and encouraging the adoption of catholicism by local eastern orthodox peoples.2 accordingly, the cistercians began to establish monasteries and convents throughout the eastern mediterranean world, in places such as greece, constantinople, crete, and cyprus. cistercian monasteries became markers of western european authority and played an important role in the colonization of byzantine lands.3 one such convent, the cistercian convent of st. theodore, was built in 1244 in the new space created by the expansion of the nicosian walls. according to kaila, the abbey was not an average latin nunnery; it was founded by the widow of the regent of the kingdom of cyprus, and over the centuries its abbesses came from the leading noble families in the city. furthermore, the abbey was one of the richest nunneries on cyprus, as demonstrated by its church tax records.4 the foundation of the monastery and the remnants of its cemetery lay hidden for centuries until recently, when the construction of the new supreme court building revealed the archaeological site underneath. although the monastery was poorly preserved and the construction project had caused further damage, archaeologists were able to identify the site as the cistercian convent through their interpretation of an inscribed tombstone discovered there.5 the tombstone was carved with a female figure whose name was labeled underneath; she was a well-known abbess of the convent, who was mentioned in a text dated to 1328. thirty-five burials were excavated at the site, but poor preservation meant that it was not possible to determine the sex of the skeletons. it was not assumed that all the remains were those of nuns because according to lead archaeologist, eftychia zachariou, it was customary for both family members and convent staff to be buried alongside the members of the convent.6 due to these burial practices, it had not been possible for osteologists to identify the remains of st. theodore’s nuns among the individuals, nor could any conclusions be drawn about the health or diet of the cistercian cypriot nuns. comparisons cannot be drawn between this convent and other better-documented communities from this period, nor can daily life be understood for the cistercian sisters at this convent. however, skeletal analysis can still provide valuable information about this sample population, especially concerning the diet of the city’s inhabitants during this period. stable isotope analysis, discussed at length later, is a scientific method used to determine the diets of individuals. it cyprus location (map courtesy of un ocha) 10 elements : : fall 2014 is particularly useful for differentiating between diets high in marine and terrestrial protein, which can potentially answer questions about agriculture, fishing, trade, and religious fasting practices. the eastern mediterranean diet primary sources, such as historical and social commentaries, travelers’ tales, regulations for the taxation and sale of foods, records of supplies, and dietary regimes of monasteries, have provided a great deal of information on the identity and symbolism of foods in the eastern mediterranean during the medieval era.7,8 from these sources, it is known that the foundation of the medieval mediterranean diet was the “mediterranean trinity” of grain, olive oil, and wine. however, this basic diet was supplemented with other foodstuffs, including meat, fish, dairy products, legumes, and millet. the diversity of diets was determined by socio-economic factors. for example, high-status individuals consumed more meat than those of lower social status, sailors and travelers ate foods capable of staying fresh for longer periods of time, and religious persons followed a diet restricted by fasting practices. the primary grains in the eastern mediterranean diet were wheat and barley, with wheat prized by the upper classes. according to garvie-lok, whose daily caloric information is referenced throughout this section, bread made up 20-50% of a medieval mediterranean’s daily caloric intake, with that percentage possibly being greater for monks and nuns, who were forbidden to eat animal proteins during fasts.9 millet, a c4 grain, was also eaten, although it is unclear if this was a common grain for lower status people or if it was only used as fodder and a famine food.10 olive oil and wine, the other two components of the mediterranean “trinity,” were also dietary essentials. it was extremely rare for olive oil to be eliminated in religious fasts, which signifies its importance to the diet. it made up 10% of daily total calories and about 60-70% of daily fat intake (the main source of fat in a primarily carbohydrate-based diet).11 furthermore, dembinska’s analysis of diet in byzantine monasteries indicates that monks and nuns were consuming approximately 580-870 milliliters of wine per day, or 11-14% of their daily calories.12 the lay population was probably drinking an even greater amount of wine. there is much debate about the importance of animal products in this diet. pig, sheep, and goat were the livestock of choice. fowl, such as chickens, were also popular options for meat-eaters. references in historical documents to rulers and nobles eating meat reveals a world in which significant amounts of meat were only consumed by elites. this is supported by medieval documents listing the prices of meat, which demonstrate how expensive it was.13 therefore it is reasonable to assume that the members of the upper classes consumed a significantly greater amount of meat than others. dairy and egg consumption, however, was a more widespread practice, as they were a cheaper source of animal protein. goat and sheep cheese, milk, and yoghurt would have been the most popular dairy items, along with eggs. for example, cheese and eggs made up approximately 6% of the total daily calories and 13% of the protein of monks and nuns.14 a major research question is the role that marine resources played in all of this. the mediterranean sea is poor in fish,15 but around the year 1000ce, europe witnessed a dramatic expansion in the fishing industry, due in part to new shipping technologies and the need to exploit new food sources for a rapidly-growing european population.16 the expansion in fishing began in northern europe, and written records indicate that atlantic marine food supply was reaching italy by the shipload in the late 14th century; it is reasonable to assume that it may have been reaching other parts of the mediterranean as well.17 thus, evidence indicates that the years between 1000ce and 1300ce were a time of transition where greater amounts of marine food began to be included in the diet.18 but by whom? first and foremost, as fish became more popular, the group that would have initially been able to afford it was the upper class. before adequate preservation techniques were discovered, fresh, local fish had prices comparable to top-quality meats.19,20 fish was at least as important as meat in the byzantine diet, and meat and fresh fish would have been the main food expenditures for aristocratic households during this period.21 in this way, one of the reasons for the rise in the demand of fish was the prestige derived from eating a costly food. however, as preservation and shipping practices improved, lower-quality salted and dried fish would have been available to lower classes due to their inexpensive prices. although dried fish was one of the cheapest food items on dembinska’s list,22 researchers believe that poorer folk may have been content with small portions of a variety of fish, and eaten fish as often as they ate comparable meats.23 powell argues that fish and marine foods could have played a role in a mixed subsistence strategy: being 11 nicosian diet and daily life not necessarily a staple food, but still a significant source of calories when it was available.24 finally, around the year 1000ce, there was a revival of christian fasting practices, which encouraged the replacement of animal protein with marine protein. the western church calendar dictated fasting for nearly half of the days of the year, including fridays, saturdays, sometimes wednesdays, advent, and lent.25 fish consumption was usually allowed on these fasting days, and even on the strictest fasting days, shellfish was permitted.26 however, it cannot be assumed that all people observed these fasts or replaced meat with fish. it is possible that while meat from animals was avoided during fasts, poorer folk would replace this with dairy products as opposed to fish.27 thus, although fish was becoming more available during this time period, it is unclear how important a role it played in the eastern mediterranean diet. monastic diets medieval monastic diets differed from those of the lay population and differed between eastern and western christian monasteries. byzantine typika, or books instructing monastic life, generally proscribed two daily meals.28 each meal consisted of a serving of bread, considered the most important staple to a monastic’s diet. during non-fast days, such as the majority of the period between easter and all saints day, meals consisted of bread, watered wine, legumes, and soups containing legumes and green vegetables. fish, shellfish, eggs, and cheese were sometimes included,29 although some primary sources from specific monasteries indicate that shellfish and/or fresh or salted fish was on the menu daily.30 lastly, meat was prohibited the majority of the time.31 to summarize, the diet of monks and nuns was mostly a vegan diet, with a large majority of protein coming from fish or the occasional dairy product. exceptions to this diet were made when members of a wealthy family died, and donors would offer money to monasteries in return for prayers to be said for the deceased. this money was used for the purchase of special fare, with one text stating that this would have consisted of “fish in liberal quantities.”32 this suggests that the wealthier the monastery, the more likely it was to have greater quantities of fish on the table. furthermore, some monks and nuns claimed the right to a more luxurious diet due to pride in ancestry, advanced education, or a significant contribution of money or property to the monastery.33 even in the monastic world, social stratification existed and was particularly prevalent in urban settings.34 in other words, wealthier monks and nuns were eating better, regardless of the idea that there should be “equality amongst tables.”35 finally, it is important to note the specific regulations of the cistercian diet. when the order was founded in the twelfth century, stringent dietary rules existed. meat was completely forbidden to all except the weak and infirm, and spices and luxury dishes were also discouraged.36 however, the diet varied and was affected by regional conditions, as well as economic and social developments. by the later middle ages, the cistercian order had evolved and expectations had changed. monks and nuns became less tolerant of the traditional monastic diet and as the order spread, outsiders may have been unwilling to embrace the frugality of a cistercian lifestyle. the diet became richer and more diverse, and monks and nuns indulged in more luxurious fare.37 purpose the information garnered from the historical background of nicosia and the description of a typical eastern mediterranean diet allows for research questions to be developed for the sample population. religious practices encouraged the consumption of fish on fasting days. historical evidence claims that the convent of st. theodore was the richest nunnery in cyprus, thus its occupants would have been able to afford the purchase of large amounts of fish. since the sex, age, and vocations of the sample population are unknown, diet analysis may provide clues as to which individuals were members of the convent, assuming the local population was not eating as much fish as the nuns. furthermore, whether or not it is possible to differentiate the population, comparison of the stable isotope data from this site with that of other medieval eastern mediterranean sites can indicate if this group was eating a diet similar to that of their eastern mediterranean neighbors, or if they were consuming more marine resources due to their island geography. “around the year 1000ce, there was a revival of christian fasting practices.” 12 elements : : fall 2014 stable isotope analysis elements are pure chemical substances that are composed of three different sub-particles: electrons, protons, and neutrons. the number of protons in an element defines it, yet the number of neutrons only contributes to the element’s weight and can differ between atoms of the same element. isotopes are the forms of the same element containing different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. they thus have different atomic masses (weights). for example, most carbon atoms have six protons and six neutrons, but a minority of carbon atoms can have seven or even eight neutrons. an increase in neutrons increases the weight of the atom. an element’s atomic mass (and thus its isotopic identification) is indicated by a superscript number to the left of the element, e.g. 13c, which contains six protons and seven neutrons. extra neutrons in the nucleus of an atom can affect the element’s reactivity. some isotopes, such as 14c, are radioactive while others are stable. 13c and 15n are stable isotopes, meaning they do not decay over time. some foods are more enriched with these isotopes than others, meaning that certain types of food have distinctive isotopic signatures. for example, marine protein sources are more enriched with 13c than terrestrial protein sources. these isotopic ratios are passed on to human bone and tissues when humans consume foods. since stable isotopes are effectively immutable, an ancient bone will maintain the isotopic signature that it had at the time of the individual’s death. often biological material can change dramatically after the death of an organism or use of an object, but in this case the samples remain the same for extremely long periods of time. as specific foods have a unique isotopic ratio and these ratios do not change over time, an analysis of these ratios is a valuable tool for understanding past diets. this analysis of stable isotope ratios demonstrates the “you are what you eat” principle, or that human bone isotopic signatures resemble the isotopic signatures from the broken-down food used to build them.38 in the past, archaeologists would determine diet through a variety of different qualitative means. for example, animal and plant remains at a site could be used to hypothesize the types of foods consumed by the individuals buried at the site. also, objects such as fishing hooks, pots, and other tools could suggest the different hunting and agricultural practices of the population.39 furthermore, as mentioned previously, historians determine diet from primary source records. although these records are ideal for understanding available foods and their symbolism, the records usually do not calibrate the importance of each food to an individual’s diet. stable isotope analysis, on the other hand, is a direct and semi-quantitative means of determining diet. since individuals can be examined, it allows for differences in diet to be established between different ages, genders, and even social groups.i,40 for example, some religious communities have strict dietary laws which would be reflected by their dietary isotopic composition.41 stable isotope analysis could also indicate which foods were popular in different regions. however, the differences in stable isotope ratios can be subtle, and thus stronger dietary inferences can be made when stable isotope data is combined with the indirect data of animal remains, plant remains, and ceramics excavated at the site. this technique is important to historical discovery because understanding food production and consumption can help to determine major economic trends and social relations between groups at points in history where written evidence is unavailable or scarce. measuring c, n stable isotope abundance stable isotope abundances are determined by measuring the ratio of heavier to lighter isotopes (e.g. 13c/12c) in comparison to that of a recognized standard, notated by a lowercase delta (b) in front of the ratio value (e.g. b13c). the numeric value of the ratio is written with a “per mil” notation (‰) because it is measured in parts-per-thousand. to illustrate this, if b13c increased from -18‰ to -17‰, this would indicate that there was one additional 13c isotope per 1000 carbon atoms. according to mckinney et al.,42 the formula for stable isotope abundances is b = [(rsample/rstandard)-1] x 1000 ‰ (where r is the ratio of the isotopes) both stable isotopes have internationally recognized standards to which all values are referenced. the standard for carbon is pdb,43 which contains more 13c than most dietary resources and human tissues.44 thus, b13c values for paleodiet stable isotope analysis are usually negative numbers. the standard reference material for nitrogen is atmospheric n2, 45 which contains less 15n than most dietary resources and tissues. this results in b15n values that are generally positive. 13 nicosian diet and daily life c, n in collagen & interpreting results collagen is a protein that makes up 20% of human bone and, when well-preserved, is highly resistant to post-mortem changes of its stable isotope ratios.46 these characteristics make it a desirable starting material for isotopic analysis. the ratio of c to n in collagen ranges from 2.9 3.6.47 the c/n ratio is determined by the substance measured and is used for quality control of the sample. if a value falls out of this range, it indicates that that collagen sample has been contaminated or compromised in some way that makes it unsuitable for analysis. the b13c and b15n values of collagen vary from those of the dietary values. collagen b13c is often 5% less negative than dietary b13c, and collagen b15n is 3-5% greater than the dietary value.48 nitrogen ratios only reflect dietary protein, while carbon ratios may reflect the dietary contribution of other foods when diets are low in protein.49 however, carbohydrates and lipids may be severely underrepresented in diets where animal protein is sufficient for collagen synthesis.50 this is because the majority of collagen amino acids cannot be synthesized from other sources.51 thus, fruits, vegetables, fats, oils, and alcohol may not be easily detected using stable isotope analysis.52 furthermore, nitrogen analysis cannot differentiate between particular sources of protein, such as meat or dairy.53 the technique is best used to distinguish between foods from the land and those from the sea. since cyprus is an island, and its residents have access to both terrestrial and marine foods, it makes sense to use the technique for this purpose. however, analysis is again complicated by considering how much marine dietary protein an individual must consume before it is evident in his or her collagen. hedges hypothesized than an individual must consume at least 20% of marine food sources in their diet before stable isotope analysis can confidently predict that they consumed any marine foods.54 also, carbohydrates and lipids can contribute carbon to collagen when a diet is relatively low in protein sources, and this carbon is generally depleted in 13c.55 thus, results from individuals consuming an eastern mediterranean diet may be skewed in the negative b13c direction, undermining the fact that some marine protein may have been consumed. common b13c and b15n values in various food types are well known,56 and the b13c and b15n values for common byzantine dietary items have also been studied.57 experimental materials and methods samples of bone from twenty-seven individuals were taken from the cemetery of the st. theodore cistercian convent. according to the on-site archaeologist, age and sex of the samples were impossible to assess due to the poor preservation of the skeletal material. twenty-four of the samples were long bone fragments, and two were phalanges (table 1). one sample, t10, was a singular mandibular molar that was not analyzed due to its extreme wear and the different protocol required of assessing tooth collagen. most of the bones were not well preserved; they had a chalky, dry texture and crumbled easily under pressure. poor preservation was due to the dry, warm environment of nicosia. samples were prepared to an approximate size of 0.3-0.4 g. small cutters were used to size down the long bone fragments, while a rotary dental saw was used on the phalanges. the samples were cleaned by abrading dirt and other substances with a dental drill. the samples were placed in 0.5 m hydrochloric acid at approximately 4oc and covered with aluminum foil. they were checked daily until the bone was demineralized to an extent that it obtained a rubbery, flexible texture. at this point, the samples were removed from acid and rinsed with de-ionized water. some samples had to be centrifuged in order to separate the acid from extremely small pieces of demineralized bone. the samples were then sealed into tubes with de-ionized water and 2-3 drops of 0.5 m hydrochloric acid. these samples were heated at 730c for 48 hours in a heater block. this process allows for the collagen fibers to dissolve into the solution, and only detritus remains in a non-soluble state. the samples were removed from the heater block and filtered with an 8 μm ezee® filter. some samples required a removal of residue that formed in the tube after filtering, which was done with a pipette. finally, the samples were freeze-dried for 48 hours to produce the resulting collagen. approximately 0.9-1.1 mg samples of collagen were first measured into tin caps, which were then combusted for the conversion of samples into carbon dioxide (co2) and nitrogen gases (n2). co2 and n2 were analyzed by mass spectrometry in order to obtain atomic c:n ratios and c and n concentrations in the collagen. four standards with known compositions and c:n ratios were measured along with the samples. the data was transformed via a twopoint calibration, which corrects for the measurement error of the mass-spectrometer. the techniques of this data 14 elements : : fall 2014 transformation are described by meier-augenstein.58 it compares the known value of the standards with the standard measured in the particular run. analytical error (±1 m), determined by repeat analysis of internal standards, was ±0.1 ‰ for b13c and ±0.2‰ for b15n. results as mentioned in the previous section, the c/n ratio of collagen has numeric values ranging between 2.9-3.6.59,60 values outside of this range indicate samples unsuitable for further study and analysis. each sample was run in the mass spectrometer twice, and the two runs were labeled rdg385 and rdg386re. samples that had c/n ratios in the normal range are indicated in table 2, along with the average values of b13c, b15n, %c, %n, and c/n calculated from the two runs. sample t9-mes was not run in the mass spectrometer twice due to the small amount of collagen available. samples that did not have suitable c/n ratios are indicated in table 3. these samples were not considered for further population analysis. of the 26 original samples, only about half, 14, had usable collagen for data analysis (sk1, t1, t3a, t3b, t4a, t4, t8, t9, t12a, t12b, t13, t16a, t16b, t17i). there is an almost direct correlation between unusable data and the original integrity of the sample. table 4 shows the original weights and characteristics of the collagen used in the experiment, with highlighted data correlating to the usable samples indicated in table 2. all of the usable samples except for t16a had derived collagen weights of at least 10 mg, suggesting that yield over 10 mg was an indicator of quality control.ii although t16a had a weight of 4.3 mg, the sample’s collagen had the desired characteristics of being “fluffy” and “cottony.” all of the unusable samples had derived collagen weights of 6.0 mg or less, and all but two were gritty powder (characteristics indicative of poorly preserved collagen). lastly, the unusable samples had 2.01% or less of carbon and 0.3% or less of nitrogen, as compared to the usable samples, which had at least 13.5% carbon and 4.6% nitrogen. figures 3, 4, and 5 chart in two different ways the b13c and b15n data values of each individual from table 1. figure 3 is a biplot of b13c and b15n values of the samples. it indicates that t16a and t16b may be outliers from the mean data values, as they have notably greater b13c values of -16.4‰ and -16.1‰ (compared with the rest of the b13c values that are scattered around -19.0‰). figure 4, a boxplot of the b13c data, confirms that t16a and t16b b13c values are statistically significant outliers. the median of these values was -19.0‰, and the middle 50% of the values ranged from -19.1‰ to -18.8‰. the b15n values range from 7.6‰ to 11.7‰. outliers in terms of b13c, t16a and t16b lie close to the median of the b15n values, which was 9.8‰. figure 5 shows that there are no statistically significant outliers in this group and the middle 50% range from 7.9‰ to 11.0‰. discussion table 5 indicates the likely b13c and b15n values for dietary items known to be included in the byzantine diet, as derived from the isotopic analysis of relevant flora and fauna. it is important to note these values because c3 plants and animals feeding on them will have slightly more positive b13c values in warmer countries.62 figure 6 compares the b13c and b15n values for the fauna derived from the work of bourbou, et al. with the cypriot samples.63 understanding the isotopic ratio values of byzantine flora and fauna and the results of other isotopic studies of medieval eastern mediterranean sites is critical in interpreting our results. the median value of -19.0‰ for b13c can be compared to similar b13c values found elsewhere in the mediterranean. 64,65,66 in her doctoral thesis, garvie-lok explored six different medieval greek sites,67 determining the stable isotope ratios of samples from each site. in her work, most of the b13c values were clustered around -19.0‰ as well. she interpreted this data as suggesting a diet consisting of c3 plants and terrestrial animal proteins such as meat or, more likely, dairy products and eggs. furthermore, salamon, et al.68 studied medieval roman individuals dating from the fifteenth century whose b13c values also clustered around -19.0‰. this result was interpreted as indicating a diet supplemented by marine resources due to the rise of the fish trade during the turn of the millennia, but predominated by c3 grains and terrestrial proteins. finally, bourbou, et al.,69 studied five different byzantine sites, with mean b13c values ranging from -19.2‰ to -18.5‰. in this case, it was interpreted that most dietary protein came from domesticated fauna, with very little coming from staple grains or marine resources. the two b13c outliers not only seem to be outliers in this study, but uncommon in comparison to other eastern mediterranean stable isotope studies as well. in garvielok’s study,70 two island populations had evidence of eating slightly greater amounts of marine resources than in15 nicosian diet and daily life land sites, but the outliers in this study have b13c values even more positive than those individuals. it appears that these individuals were eating a diet composed of significantly more marine resources, possibly double the amount, than the other individuals in this study. the range of b15n values in this study is similar to that of other mediterranean diets.71,72 generally, terrestrial-only diets have b15n values ranging from 2‰-12‰, while diets with a majority of marine resources range from values of 6‰-18‰.73 however, since b15n values only represent protein, ranges could be skewed for individuals eating a mostly c3 diet, which could have been the case here. the b15n values of the two outliers fall around the median of b15n values for this study, 9‰. although it is suggested that elevated b15n values in the eastern mediterranean are more likely due to dairy consumption rather than marine consumption,74 the b15n values of the outliers suggest consumption of larger types of archaeological fish.75 this is because the b13c values of the outliers significantly suggest marine protein consumption. conclusions the purpose of this study was to determine if the diet of this nicosian population was similar to those of other eastern mediterranean populations, or if the nicosians were eating larger amounts of marine resources since they had access to the sea. furthermore, the study attempted to identify individuals in the sample population as either lay persons or nuns based on diet analysis. even though the cypriots were island-dwellers, it does not appear that they were eating a significantly larger amount of fish than contemporaries from other eastern mediterranean sites.76,77,78 a possible explanation is that the mediterranean is a sea poor in fish. because of this, top and mid-quality fish had prices similar to that of expensive terrestrial meats, making their availability limited to the general population. also, dairy products as opposed to fish were often used by poorer folk to substitute for meat during fast days. however, it is clear that both the cypriots and other populations were eating some fish. besides local catch, some of this fish could have been imported via the growing atlantic fish trade. according to dembinska,79 dried and preserved fish was relatively inexpensive, and thus could have supplemented the vegan diet of the population. for those who could afford it, fish would have been eaten on fasting days. it is possible that the two outliers were members of the convent and the others were lay persons. as kaila stated,80 lay persons were buried in the cemetery along with the nuns, and thus this difference in diet may in fact differentiate the two groups. monks and nuns had diets relatively high in marine resources, as explained in the section “monastic diet.” as stated previously, most fish were expensive, and this expensive food was consumed in greater quantities by monasteries supported by rich donors or inhabited by monks and nuns from wealthy families. the convent of st. theodore was supported by wealthy frankish benefactors and housed some noble-born ladies,81 thus there is evidence that its inhabitants could afford the expense of eating fish often. furthermore, according to a study by brown of the cistercians in the east,82 there is evidence that western “mother” houses would send emissaries to the eastern “daughter” convents to be sure that the nuns were observing the appropriate spiritual and dietary practices. for example, in 1227 there was a minor emissary from the west sent to visit the cistercian nunneries in the latin empire and greece in order to “instruct them, to institute chaplains in their houses, etc.”83 this example suggests that other emissaries would have been sent as well, and these emissaries would have encouraged the sisters, among other things, to partake in the appropriate christian fasting practices. however, other hypotheses could explain the two outliers. perhaps they are younger than the rest of the population. over time, marine resources became more available as trade networks increased with the atlantic,84 meaning that if the samples dated from a later period, they may have had more access to fish at their local markets. alternatively, the two could have been migrants from an area where fish consumption was popular. future projects could attempt to date the samples via radiocarbon dating techniques and/or analyze their strontium and oxygen isotopes in order to determine place of origin.iv through stable isotope analysis, a picture begins to emerge of life in the medieval nicosia. locals would have been sitting down to a table filled with bread, olive oil, and wine. sometimes, they might include some fish or dairy products during a fast day or special occasion. the wealthier lay population may have found more meat on the table or greater quantities of fresh fish. the cypriot monks and nuns would have been sitting down to a table a bit richer in marine resources than others, in order to observe a strict schedule of christian fasts. the stable isotopic data of the 16 elements : : fall 2014 twenty-six nicosian samples, in conjunction with similar studies of other eastern mediterranean populations, highlights and portrays the food culture of prominent individuals in the eastern mediterranean during the late medieval period. notes i. age-at-death is determined via teeth development, bone fusions, and other morphologies. sex is primarily determined by pelvic bone shape, but can also be determined by an examination of crania. for more on age and sex determination and general skeletal health, see mays, 2010, buikstra & ubelaker, 1994, eds. katzenberg & saunder, 2008. social group status is primarily determined by burial type and grave goods. general health at death can also indicate status (someone with skeletal indicators of malnutrition may be on the lower end of the social class spectrum). trauma may also indicate profession or social level (a knight or soldier could have trauma identifying them as such). for more on grave goods and burials, see fleming, 2011. ii. high yield is observed in the literature as an indicator of quality control. see ambrose, 1991 and van klinken, 1999 iii. a boxplot is a diagram that displays a distribution of data, highlighting where the majority of the values lie and those that lie outside of the norm, or “outliers.” the bottom of the box represents the first quartile (q1), the top side is the third quartile (q3), and the line in the box represents the median (q2). quartiles are the three points that divide the data set into four equal groups. the lines protruding from the box extend to the minimum and maximum values if they are within 1.5 times the interquartile range. any dots outside of the box represent outlying data. (easton & mccoll, 1997) iv. strontium and oxygen isotopes can be analyzed in order to determine the place of origin of a sample. bedrock and local water sources affect the isotopic signatures of these two elements, resulting in differing signatures depending on the region a person grew up. these signatures are often analyzed from tooth samples, since teeth are formed by the early teenage years and thus are indicative of childhood diet. if signatures indicate a geographic location differing from the burial site, this suggests migration of the individual. for more on isotopes to determine place of origin, see bethard, 2013, müldner et al., 2010, montgomery et al., 2003, and mays, 2010. endnotes 1. kalia, 2007. 2. brown, 2014. 3. burton and kerr, 2011. 4. kalia, 2007 5. ibid. 6. ibid. 7. bourbou, et al., 2011. 8. bourbou and richards, 2007. 9. garvie-lok, 2001. 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. dembinska, 1985. 13. ibid. 14. garvie-lok, 2001. 15. braudel, 1972. 16. barret and richards, 2004. 17. salamon, et al., 2008. 18. bourbou et al., 2011. 19. dembinska, 1985. 20. glick et al., 2005. 21. bourbou and richards, 2007. 22. dembinska, 1985. 23. glick et al., 2005. 24. powell, 1996. 25. müldner and richards, 2004. 26. bourbou et al., 2004. 27. reitsema and vercellotti, 2012. 28. gregorika and sheridan, 2013. 29. talbot, 2007. 30. dembinska, 1985. 31. talbot, 2007. 32. ibid. 33. ibid. 34. gregorika and sheridan, 2013. 35. talkbot, 2007. 36. burton and kerr, 2011. 37. ibid. 38. müldner, 2009. 39. ambrose, 1993. 40. müldner, 2009. 41. ibid. 42. mckinney, et al., 1950. 43. craig, 1957. 44. ambrose, 1993. 45. mariotti, 1983. 46. ambrose, 1993. 47. deniro, 1985. 48. mays, 1998. 49. ibid. 50. ambrose, 1993. 51. craig, et al., 2013. 52. müldner, 2009. 53. ibid. 54. hedges, 2004. 55. craig, et al., 2013. 56. mays, 1998. 57. bourbou, 2011. 58. meier-augenstein, 2010. 59. van klinken, 1999. 60. deniro, 1985. 61. bourbou, et al., 2011. 62. van klinken, et al., 2000. 63. bourbou, et al., 2011. 64. garvie-lok, 2001. 65. salamon, et al., 2008. 17 nicosian diet and daily life 66. bourbou, et al., 2011. 67. garvie-lok, 2001. 68. salamon, et al., 2008. 69. bourbou, et al., 2011. 70. garvie-lok, 2001. 71. prowse, 2004. 72. bourbou, et al., 2011. 73. ibid. 74. ibid. 75. ibid. 76. garvie-lok, 2001. 77. salamon, et al., 2008. 78. bourbou, et al., 2011. 79. dembinska, 1985. 70. kalia, 2007. 81. ibid. 82. brown, 2014. 83. ibid. 84. barrett and richards, 2004. references ambrose sh. 1990. preparation and characterization of bone and tooth collagen for isotopic analysis. j archaeol sci 17:431–451. ambrose sh. 1991. effects of diet, climate and physiology on nitrogen isotope abundances in terrestrial foodwebs. j archaeol sci 18:293-317. ambrose sh. 1993. isotopic analysis of paleodiets: methodological and interpretive considerations. in sandford, mk, editor. investigations of ancient human tissue: chemical analyses in anthropology. gordon and breach science publishers: amsterdam. p 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britain after rome. penguin global: new york. fuller bt, fuller, jl., sage ne, harris da, o’connell tc, hedges rem. 2004. nitrogen balance and d15n: why you’re not what you eat during pregnancy. rapid communications in mass spectrometry 18:2889–96. garvie-lok sj. 2001. loaves and fishes: a stable isotope reconstruction of diet in medieval greece. unpublished phd dissertation, university of calgary, calgary. glick tf, livesey sj, wallis f. 2005. medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia. routledge: new york. gregoricka la, sheridan sg. 2013. ascetic or affluent? byzantine diet at the monastic community of st. stephen’s, jerusalem from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. journal of anthropological archaeology 32:63-73. hedges rem. 2002. bone diagenesis: an overview of processes. archaeometry 44:319-328. hedges rem. 2004. ‘isotopes and red herrings:’ comments on milner et al. and liden et al. antiquity 78:34-37. hedges rem, clement jg, thomas dl, o’connell tc. 2007. collagen turnover in the adult femoral midshaft: modeled from anthropogenic radiocarbon tracer measurements. american journal of phys anthro 133:808– 816. jay m, fuller bt, richards mp, knüsel cj, king ss. 2008. iron age breastfeeding practices in britain: isotopic evidence from wetwang slack, east yorkshire. american journal of physical anthropology 136: 327–37. karr lp, outram ak. 2012. tracking changes in bone fracture morphology over time environment, taphonomy, and the archaeological record. j archaeol sci 39:555-559. karr lp, outram ak. 2012. bone degradation and environment: understanding, assessing and conducting archaeological experiments using modern animal bones. international journal of osteology 10:1002/0a.2275. kaila ez. 2007. the cistercian convent of st. theodore in nicosia: rescue excavation in the supreme court area. cyprus today 1:1-27. katzenberg ma, saunders sr, eds. 2008. biological anthropology of the human skeleton. wiley: hoboken. klepinger ll. 1984. nutritional assessment from bone. annual review of anthropology 13:75-96. longin r. 1971. new method of collagen extraction for radiocarbon dating. nature 230:241–242. mays sa. 1997. carbon stable isotope ratios in mediaeval and later human skeletons from northern england. j archaeol sci 24:561-567. mays sa. 2010. the archaeology of human bones. routledge: london. mariotti a. 1983. atmospheric nitrogen is a reliable standard for natural 15n abundance measurements. nature 303:685-687. mckinney ar, mccrea jm, epstein s, allen ha, urey hc. 1950. improvements in mass spectrometry for the measurement of small differences in isotope abundance ratios. revue of scientific instruments 21:724-730. meier-augenstein w. stable isotope forensics: an introduction to the forensic application of stable isotope analysis. wiley-blackwell: chippenham. montgomery j et al. 2003. sr isotope evidence for population movement within the hebridean norse community of nw scotland. journal of the geological society, london 160:649-653. 19 nicosian diet and daily life müldner g, richards mp. 2005. fast or feast: reconstructing diet in later medieval england by stable isotope analysis. j archaeol sci 32:39–48. müldner g. 2009. investigating medieval diet and society by stable isotope analysis of human bone. in gilchrist r, reynolds a, eds. reflections: 50 years of medieval archaeology, 1957-2007. maney publishing: leeds. p 327346. müldner g, montgomery j, cook c. 2010. isotope analysis of bone collagen and tooth enamel. in: lowe c, ed. ‘clothing for the soul divine:’ burials at the tomb of st. ninian: excavations at whithorn priory 1957-67. archaeology report: edinburgh. p 63-80. müldner g. 2013. stable isotopes and diet: their contribution to romano-british research. antiquity 87:137-149. polet c, katzenberg ma. 2003. reconstruction of the diet in a mediaeval monastic community from the coast of belgium. j archaeol sci 30:525-533. powell j. 1996. fishing in the prehistoric aegean. paul astroms forlag: jonsered. prowse t, schwarcz hp, saunders s, macchiarelli r, bondioli l. 2004. isotopic paleodiet studies of skeletons from the imperial roman-age cemetery of isola sacra, rome italy. j archaeol sci 31:259–272. reitsema lj, vercellotti g. 2012. stable isotope evidence for sexand status-based variations in diet and life history at medieval trino vercellese, italy. am j phys anthropol 148:539-600. richards mp, hedges rem. 1999a. how chemical analysis of human bones can tell us the diets of people who lived in the past. in: tzedakis y, martlew h, eds. flavours of their times: food and drink in minoan and mycenaean times. athens: kapon publishers. richards mp, mays sa, fuller bt. 2002. stable carbon and nitrogen isotope vales of bone and teeth reflect weaning age at the medieval wharram percy site, yorkshire, uk. american journal of phys anthro 119:205210. salamon m, coppa a, mccormick m, rubini m, vargiu r, tuross n. 2008. the consilience of historical and isotopic approaches in reconstructing medieval mediterranean diet. j archaeol sci 35:1667–1672. schoeninger mj, deniro mj. 1984. nitrogen and carbon isotope composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals. geochim cosmochim acta 48:625–629. schoeninger mj, moore k. 1992. bone stable isotope studies in archaeology. journal of world prehistory 6:247296. schoeninger mj, moore k, murry ml, kingston jd. 1989. detection of bone preservation in archaeological and fossil samples. applied geochemistry 4:281-292. schoeninger mj, deniro mj, tauber h. 1983. stable nitrogen ratios of bone collagen reflect marine and terrestrial components of prehistoric human diet. science 220:1381-1383. stanislawski d. 1973. dark age contributions to the mediterranean way of life. annals of the association of american geographers 63:397-410. talbot a-m. 2007. mealtime in monasteries: the culture of the byzantine refectory. in: brubaker l, linardou k, eds. eat, drink and be merry (luke 12:19). food and wine in byzantium. aldershot: ashgate. p 109–125. tuross n, fogel ml, hare pe. 1988. variability in the preservation of the isotopic composition of collagen from fossil bone. geochimica et cosmochimica acta 52:929-935. van klinken gj. 1999. bone collagen quality indicators for palaeodietary and radiocarbon measurements. j archaeol sci 26:687-695. van klinken gj, richards mp, hedges rem. an overview of causes for stable isotopic variation in past european human populations: environmental, ecophysiological and cultural effects. in ambrose s, katzenberg ma, eds. biogeochemical approaches to paleodietary analysis. kluwer acedemic/plenum publishers: new york. p 39-64. waelkens, et al. 2004. fish remains from archaeological sites as indicators of former trade connections in the eastern mediterranean. paleorient 30:101-147. 20 elements : : fall 2014 table 1: sample name, type of bone, age, sex, and comments name (1) element (1) comments (1) name (2) element (2) comments (2) sk1-mes fragmented long bone t7s2-mes fragmented long bone t1-mes fragmented long bone possibly humerus t8-mes fragmented long bone & fragmented ribs long bone chalky t2a-mes fragmented long bone & 1 mandibular molar chalky t9-mes fragmented long bone & metatarsal t2-mes fragmented long bone chalky t10-mes 1 mandibular molar worn down to dentine and pulp t3a-mes fragmented fibula t11a-mes fragmented long bone chalky t3b-mes fragmented long bone t11b-mes unidentifiable fragments chalky & small t4a-mes fragmented maxilla & 1 mandibular molar t12a-mes fragmented ribs t4-mes fragmented long bone & parietal fragments t12b-mes metatarsal & foot phalanges t5a-mes parietal fragments t13-mes metatarsal & foot phalanges t5b-mes fragmented long bone t15-mes fragmented long bone t6a-mes fragmented long bone & 1 mandibular molar t16a-mes fragmented long bone, 1 mandibular molar & 1 molar crown long bone chalky t6b-mes fragmented long bone & 2 molars (only crowns) t16b-mes fragmented long bone chalky t6c-mes fragmented long bone chalky t17i-mes fragmented long bone, 1 mandibular molar & 1 maxillary molar t7s1-mes fragmented long bone & 1 molar crown white em, hannus la. 1983. chemical weathering of bone in archaeological soils. american antiquity 48:316322. 21 nicosian diet and daily life table 2: stable isotope data of samples with valid c/n ratios name d13c** d15n** %c %n c/n run d13c** d15n** %c %n c/n sk1-mes -17.6 19.3 20.02 6.95 3.36 rdg386re sk1-mes -18.0 11.1 18.4 6.5 3.3 rdg385 -18.8 11.7 12.7 4.4 3.4 t1-mes -19.6 11.0 25.24 8.57 3.44 rdg386re t1-mes -19.1 10.1 24.9 8.7 3.3 rdg385 -19.4 10.5 25.1 8.6 3.4 t3a-mes -19.0 8.0 31.25 11.36 3.21 rdg386re t3a-mes -18.9 8.1 34.0 12.1 3.3 rdg385 -19.0 7.8 43.7 15.6 3.3 t3b-mes -19.1 7.7 42.60 15.38 3.23 rdg386re t3b-mes -19.0 7.5 43.8 15.9 3.2 rdg385 -19.0 7.6 43.2 15.7 3.2 t4-mes -19.1 7.6 42.27 15.19 3.25 rdg386re t4-mes -19.0 7.9 45.2 16.0 3.3 rdg385 -18.8 10.0 30.7 11.1 3.3 t4a-mes -18.8 9.8 29.68 10.84 3.19 rdg386re t4a-mes -18.7 10.2 31.6 11.3 3.3 rdg385 -19.4 10.5 25.1 8.6 3.4 t8-mes -18.9 12.2 11.82 4.19 3.29 rdg386re t8-mes -18.8 11.1 13.5 4.6 3.4 rdg385 -19.0 8.0 32.6 11.7 3.2 t9-mes -18.9 11.0 35.20 12.46 3.30 rdg386re -18.9 11.0 35.2 12.5 3.3 t12a-mes -18.8 9.4 35.69 12.81 3.25 rdg386re t12a-mes -18.9 9.1 37.6 13.6 3.2 rdg385 -18.9 9.3 36.6 13.2 3.2 t12b-mes -19.1 11.1 42.62 15.52 3.20 rdg386re t12b-mes -19.1 11.1 44.4 16.3 3.2 rdg385 -19.1 11.1 43.5 15.9 3.2 t13-mes -19.1 11.7 42.51 15.32 3.24 rdg386re t13-mes -19.1 11.3 43.1 15.8 3.2 rdg385 -19.1 11.5 42.8 15.5 3.2 t16a-mes -16.4 9.7 35.10 12.44 3.29 rdg386re t16a-mes -16.4 9.4 35.1 12.4 3.3 rdg385 -16.4 9.6 35.1 12.4 3.3 t16b-mes -16.1 9.6 43.37 15.92 3.18 rdg386re t16b-mes -16.1 9.4 44.9 16.4 3.2 rdg385 -16.1 9.5 44.2 16.2 3.2 t17i-mes -18.7 10.8 37.63 13.80 3.18 rdg386re t17i-mes -18.7 11.1 41.0 14.9 3.2 rdg385 -19.0 7.6 43.2 15.7 3.2 22 elements : : fall 2014 table 3: stable isotope data of samples with invalid c/n ratios. samples not analyzed further name d13c** d15n** %c %n c/n run t15-mes -23.7 34.5 2.01 0.15 15.27 rdg386re t15-mes -24.2 8.7 1.9 0.3 6.6 rdg385 t6c-mes -24.0 -33.8 1.02 -5.64 -0.21 rdg386re t6c-mes -24.6 11.2 1.2 0.2 7.3 rdg385 t6b-mes -26.2 -20.1 0.72 -6.88 -0.12 rdg386re t6b-mes -24.4 12.8 0.7 0.1 6.1 rdg385 t11b-mes -23.2 -233.8 1.13 -1.00 -1.31 rdg386re t11b-mes -23.3 15.9 1.5 0.2 8.9 rdg385 t7s2-mes -24.4 -25.5 0.75 -2.80 -0.31 rdg386re t7s2-mes -23.4 20.7 0.8 0.1 9.6 rdg385 t11a-mes -25.1 -24.8 0.89 -3.83 -0.27 rdg386re t11a-mes -27.7 28.6 1.3 0.1 18.9 rdg385 t2-mes -23.3 -25.3 0.86 -4.65 -0.22 rdg386re t2-mes -26.2 -1061.5 1.6 -0.1 -12.8 rdg385 t2a-mes -24.2 -158.0 1.17 -0.98 -1.38 rdg386re t2a-mes -24.6 125.8 1.3 0.0 53.6 rdg385 t5a-mes -23.4 -42.7 1.18 -4.53 -0.30 rdg386re t5a-mes -24.0 -337.1 1.4 -0.6 -2.7 rdg385 t5b-mes -25.1 -12.9 1.06 -13.99 -0.09 rdg386re t5b-mes -25.4 47.8 1.2 0.1 23.2 rdg385 t7s1-mes -24.7 -13.9 0.69 -16.28 -0.05 rdg386re t7s1-mes -23.5 57.3 0.9 0.0 20.8 rdg385 t6a-mes -21.6 45.2 1.7 0.1 17.1 rdg385 23 nicosian diet and daily life table 4: weights and description of bone/collagen samples name bone/mg “collagen”/mg collagen description sk1mes 298 11.7 gritty t1-mes 414 13.2 gritty t2a-mes 300 2.6 gritty t2-mes 326 3.6 powdery t3a-mes 376 31.6 powdery t3b-mes 381 36.9 good cottony t4a-mes 157 14.8 good cottony t4-mes 374 27.2 good cottony t5a-mes 304 3.8 powdery t5b-mes 343 4.0 powdery t6a-mes 278 2.0 gritty brown powder t6b-mes 370 3.9 white powder t6c-mes 338 4.9 powdery t7s1-mes 341 2.8 good cottony t7s2-mes 391 6.0 white powder t8-mes 373 9.5 white powder t9-mes 364 18.1 good cottony t11a-mes 389 4.5 white powder t11b-mes 285 2.8 brownish gritty powder t12a-mes 388 20.7 good cottony t12b-mes 241 33.6 good cottony t13-mes 229 21.6 good cottony t15-mes 329 3.8 good cottony t16a-mes 341 4.3 good cottony t16b-mes 377 51.2 good cottony t17i-mes 318 36.6 good cottony table 5: likely b13c and b15n values for dietary items known to be included in the byzantine diet (bourbou et al., 2011) dietary item likely b13c value likely b15n values c3 plants -33‰ to -22‰ range c4 plants -20‰ to -9‰ range olive oil -30‰ to -27‰ range sheep and goat -21.5‰ to -19.6‰ 4.0‰ to 6.1‰ pig -20.3‰ to -19.6‰ 3.6‰ to 6.1‰ cow -21.4‰ to -20.2‰ 3.5‰ to 6.0‰ small, low-trophic level fishes (sardine, anchovy) -17.0‰ 5.2‰ to 7.7‰ large species of fish -12.1‰ to -17.9‰ 8.1‰ to 17.9‰ 24 elements : : fall 2014 25 nicosian diet and daily life 26 elements : : fall 2014 during the renaissance in italy, just as there were specific proprieties and demeanors which women were expected to uphold, there were social characters and reputations which men were pressured to cultivate. sodomy was persecuted less because it was viewed as a sin and more because it placed a man in a “woman’s position”; similarly, cross-dressing in women’s clothes was looked down upon. men were expected to produce and care for a lineage, and, as such, virility was highly prized while sterility was equated with disgrace. alternatively, masculinity could be proved through martial prowess and acts of violence or sexual conquest. masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy reproductive and performative manliness samantha pinsak introduction just as once a woman’s reputation for purity has been sullied it can never be restored, so once the reputation of a gentleman-atarms has been stained through cowardice or some other reproachful behavior, even if only once, it always remains defiled in the eyes of the world and covered with ignominy.1 throughout the renaissance, various writings by men and women commended and expected female chastity as the cornerstone of feminine reputation. while engaging in the querelle de femmes, women advocated for the equality of the sexes on various levels, but would usually concede that chastity was “the supreme virtue in women.”2 this sexual classification, further exemplified by women’s social positions being defined by their relationship to men (daughter, wife, widow, spinster), makes one wonder about the “dominant” gender and if a male’s masculinity was defined on the sexual scale like femininity was. to try and understand the determinant of manliness, this article looks at a broader scale by collecting a general consensus of how a man should act, and so will look at treatises and conduct books that circulated throughout europe during the renaissance in which male authors described how to be a “proper” man in different social positions. many of these, however, did not focus on the sexual morality and restraint of men as they often did with women. the absence of sexual limitations was complimented by the numerous historical examples of men’s dalliances. the popular occurrence of sodomy in the italian region, in cities like florence and venice, actually prompted commentary on male sexuality. nevertheless, men in these cases were not criticized for sexual promiscuity. the church denounced them for performing an act that was “contrary to nature” and for impeding procreative sex. they were chastised by secular authorities and through public opinion because some of the men involved were understood to have degraded themselves to the feminine, “passive” position. the sexes of the partners, in this case both male, and the sexuality of the act itself was never the focus of the criticism.3 instead, the fact that a male had voluntarily demoted himself to a subordinate role, like that of a woman, was strictly opposed on all levels. savonarola asked florentine men, clergy included, to leave “that unspeakable vice.”4 secular authorities, like the council of ten in venice, introduced legislation for “the sin of sodomy,” and citizens like marin sanuto, a possible sodomite himself, recorded the occurrences of calls to end such actions.5 this disapproval led to the establishment of special offices to police sodomy, and those who participated were publicly condemned. this article will address why the communities of venice and florence in particular felt such policing was necessary and further discuss how this activity related to the notions of masculinity. after looking at the general view of manliness in renaissance europe and the traditional idea of fatherhood masculinity, this article will argue that the prevalence of sodomy in italy, despite the threat to the communities’ foundations of marriage and family life, represented a type of “performative” masculinity that could preserve a sodomite’s manliness. this type of active masculinity was represented in men’s focus on martial success, carnal conquest, and blatant violence. men seem to have tried to establish their masculinity by marrying and having children or by asserting their dominance in more aggressive and active displays, but both forms were recognized by society and the men involved. portrait of girolamo savonarola by fra bartolomeo (image courtesy of wikimedia commons) 28 elements : : fall 2014 additionally, this focus on fatherhood and the displays of sexual conquest ironically bound men to the same sexual definition they were forcing upon women. dependent on their status as child-producers or promiscuous and suave seducers, men were not chained to the ideal of chastity, but their sexual license was in no way free: their masculinity was bound to it. masculinity in renaissance europe the renaissance was filled with literature on how to conduct oneself in a variety of contexts. this article will focus on treatises, conduct books, and sermons, written by men and usually directed toward men. these have been examined for what they say about masculinity and what makes a male “manly”. additionally, these texts reveal if any attention was paid to male sexuality and the expectations for men as opposed to women. unfortunately, these writings are not always explicit in their standards, so inferences have been made based on their silences and contradictions. considerable information can be derived from prescriptions for what men should not do, what is improper for women, what is understood to be clearly not feminine, and actions that are not not manly. many of these sources catered to the elite, with the exception of the sermons, but they can still be used as representations of masculine figures that were put forward as models for all men. the analysis of these primary sources will be quite broad at first, but they will be returned to with greater focus later in this work. renaissance men were very preoccupied with distancing themselves from the feminine in any way possible, and they often defined masculinity through this negation. in 1443, a venetian law was passed that forbade men from wearing clothing of the opposite sex, echoing a similar law against all forms of cross-dressing enacted in florence in 1325.6 this aversion to gender confusion was further exacerbated in the manly guidelines of the era. giovanni della casa made it very clear in galateo that “a man must not apparel him selfe like a woman,” claiming that such a man is worse than a prostitute.7 the statures of men and women are compared in the book of the courtier, and baldesar castiglione asserted that while women “have a certain soft and delicate tenderness,” men should contrarily “display a certain robust and sturdy manliness.”8 besides their engrossment with not resembling women physically, men were also concerned about possessing typically “feminine” traits. in the civil conversation, stefano guazzo stated that women are mistrusted because of their “fragilitie and weaknesse of the flesh,” substantiating the common belief that women were licentious and overly sexual.9 interestingly, men were supposed to avoid being like licentious women, yet were often unpunished for their own numerous sexual transgressions. men were also convinced that women were focused on frivolous and material things. girolamo savonarola condemned women in his sermons for their “pomp” and “superfluities and vanities,” warning them that if they did not live in simplicity, the plague would descend on them.10 niccolò machiavelli strongly voiced his opinion of all things feminine when discussing fortune: “because fortune is a woman and if she is to be submissive it is necessary to beat and coerce her.”11 he summarizes men’s aversion to womanly actions and behaviors, encouraging males to beat any of their feminine desires into submission in order to be true men. another point of focus was on matters deemed appropriate only for men, pronouncing the manliness of such actions by excluding in them all things feminine. leon battista alberti, who focused mainly on the florentine family, believed that a man “should do all that is proper to a man” while avoiding womanly activities, inherently contributing to the separation of distinct gender roles.12 of course, one of the important tasks of a man that alberti and other authors recognized was to be an authoritative figure to both women and other lower status men. accordingly, a proper christian prince should be “like a father to the state,” guiding his subjects and protecting them from harm.13 a father or husband should know “how matters goe in his house” so that he can “correct some faultes” of his wife’s governance.14 preachers, as men, also recognized this paternal authority and told women to go to their husbands for spiritual counsel, claiming it would be “pleasing to god.”15 “the fact that a male had voluntarily demoted himself to a subordinate role, like that of a woman, was strictly opposed on all levels.” 29 masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy men retained this position of command by possessing and exercising their superior, manly characteristics. castiglione proffered the general outline of a respectable gentleman who “should be fierce, rough and always to the fore, in the presence of the enemy; but anywhere else he should be kind, modest, reticent and anxious above all to avoid ostentation.”16 this description implies that men were expected to be competent warriors, with more traditional “male” characteristics like strength, weaponry, and athletics, but also moral and intelligent. a man of the time was required to possess “wisdom, magnanimity, restraint and integrity,”17 “libertye and boldnesse,”18 “limbs full of strength,”19, and be a christian, among many other traits. these expectations combined were obviously unattainable, and evidence suggests that many men did not follow these instructions perfectly. underlying these lofty, all-encompassing notions of masculinity were specific practices or tangible assets that determined masculinity. one of the most important requisites in a patriarchal society was a man’s ability to father and propagate his family name. fatherhood masculinity valeria finucci argues convincingly that instead of only trying to act and look like a true man, masculinity was also realized in a male’s ability to “confirm his manhood through offspring.”20 through the institution of legitimate marriage, a male was able to demonstrate his virility morally in a way that allowed him to increase his honor and name. due to the importance of fatherhood, family and the marriage state arose as societal “norms.” these norms were upheld and maintained with support from the church. bernardino da siena and giovanni dominici both considered the patriarchal family the foundation of christian society, and dominici specifically recognized procreation as a way to preserve the family name and “fame.”21 additionally, the emphasis on fatherhood maintained a male’s superior position in society by dictating status and women’s domestic roles. marriage defined the life of a woman, giving her purpose only in her ability to continue a man’s patrimony.22 a man was also defined by marriage since “the benefits he gained from patrician status depended on his paternal legacy.”23 interestingly, this presented a venue where men were limited by their superior position. if a man could not take on the role of father as the head of household, he could not reach the pinnacle of manliness and his social standing could be in jeopardy. in their efforts to subvert women’s roles in the domestic realm, men trapped themselves in the same type of yoke. this interaction of private, married life and its dependence on the public ideal established the precedence of marriage and family as a standard, while everything else was understood to be deviant or immoral. this paternal ideal was supported in some of the primary sources that have already been reviewed. guazzo stated that when a man chooses a wife, she should be young, and “he ought to marry while he himselfe is young…. for both being young, they are likelier to have children.”24 he founded the whole process of choosing a life companion on the necessity for children, and many of the other authors did as well. erasmus, similarly, in his short mention of marriage, lists clearly the ability to “bear him children worthy of both parents and of their country” as a requisite for the prince’s future wife.25 even women understood the relationship between fatherhood and a man’s masculinity. when questioned for an annulment trial on the grounds of impotency, a testimony was given in which the neighbor of the married couple did not know if the husband was “a man or not with regard to impregnation.”26 fatherhood and manhood were commonly equated, and marriage was the realm where they coincided. alberti was forthright in his opinion of the purpose of the marriage state: “in this way it seems clear to me that nature and human reason taught mankind the necessity of having a spouse, both to increase and continue generations and to nourish and preserve those already born.”27 this fundamental purpose of marriage made women only vessels for the gestation of offspring, putting a man in the position of power to choose the specific mother of his children. however, even though this upper hand reasserted male authority in the private and public spheres, it defined men in the same way that they were defining women. while women were constantly evaluated based on their abstinence or loyalty to their spouse, men were judged by the size of their family and children they could produce. instead of a lack of sexuality, their worth was established by their reproductive potency. these men abided by the principle of marriage as a business contract instead of a matter of the heart, and parameters for choosing spouses were quite specific within the agreement. the civil conversation states that when choosing a wife, “fonde fancye” should not be the guide, and one should avoid being carried away by “riches, or bewty,” for those do not necessarily contribute to a woman’s purpose as wife and mother.28 physical appearance was taken into account, not for beauty, but for reproductive potential. to have an “ill favoured” or sickly wife would be unwise because she would be less “likely to bring forth perfect and goodlye children” who could continue the family pres30 elements : : fall 2014 tige.29 alberti further encouraged this business arrangement when he dictated that men should act as “do wise heads of families before they acquire some property—they like to look it over several times before they actually sign a contract.”30 this strict deliberation over which wife to choose created a marriage market where women became commodities instead of brides in love. men wanted to be certain that they chose the best means to propagate their name and patrimony through legitimate children. many of these authors recognized the importance of lineage for one’s social influence, implicitly indicating that in order to be respectable in society, a man must have a family. even the ruthless machiavelli recognized the power of a royal lineage, and told the new ruler, “the family of the old prince must be destroyed,” in order for him to retain his position.31 even if a past prince was dead, his children, as embodiments of his name and legacy, still had the capability of assuming his title, and for this they must be eliminated. there are also less extreme cases of the recognition of familial importance in a gentleman’s life. when describing the perfect courtier in the book of the courtier, castiglione proposes that he must be of “noble birth and good family,” reducing the risk of him dishonoring his family’s name.32 this supposition reinforced the influence that lineage had on a man’s social standing and subsequent masculinity. in his guide on gentlemanly behavior, della casa mentioned that talk of one’s family is “foolishe prittle prattle,” suggesting that a prerequisite to being a gentleman is having a family to not mention.33 marriage was the institution where fatherhood was legitimately recognized, and this increased the significance of finding a proper wife who could provide men with the best possibility of continuing their patrimony. fatherhood was also influential in a type of reverse manner, where a male’s status in society was influenced by his own upbringing and his own propagation. with this elevated standard for man as father, what happened to the men that did not reproduce either by choice or circumstance? any hint of the inability to father was commonly seen as a violation of a man’s honor. castrated men were thought of as “diminished males” because their lack of testes did not render them virile in the “true” sense.34 in her book marriage wars in late renaissance venice, joanne ferraro presents several cases in which impotency was used as a means to attempt to annul a marriage. sexual impotence prevented consummation, making a marriage invalid, and this forced men to attempt to prove their virility in front of a church court.35 anything that might threaten a male’s ability to reproduce had to be staunchly defended, otherwise he would be considered less of a man. on the other hand, clerics, as well as some scholars and other sorts of everyday men, remained lifelong bachelors, but still managed to ascertain some sort of artificial masculinity and authority. in venice, like much of italy, patricians had to resort to restricted marriages so as not to disperse the collective patrimony among too many siblings causing many males to go unmarried.36 however, historian sandra cavallo challenged “the assumption that those who did not marry and generate were perceived and perceived themselves as unmanly, deficient and inadequate.”37 she looked at barber surgeons in early modern italy, and deduced that “if male status is defined by the ability to rule the household,” artisans made their shop, or, in the case of the surgeon, the hospital, comparable to the domestic household.38 in this way, masculinity was validated in the professional responsibilities of their chosen vocation. these responsibilities could be expanded to include their “instrumental inscription into a familial marital strategy,” i.e. not marrying to allow another sibling to do so, and mentoring nieces and nephews. this allowed bachelors to share in the “patrician masculine identity” of their fathers and brothers.39 these practices gave merit to their bachelor status, allowing them to play authoritative male domestic roles to a degree—or at the very least demonstrate their focus on the welfare of the whole family. in order to fulfill their religious calling, clerics were “expected to give up many of the standard expressions of masculinity,” primarily marriage and sex but also other external signs of masculinity like honor, violence, and military “anything that might threaten a male’s ability to reproduce had to be staunchly defended, otherwise he would be considered less of a man.” 31 masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy might.40 commonly the clergy was viewed as the “third gender,” not fully male but not female either, but there were ways in which they discovered their own form of masculinity that mimicked fatherhood.41 ministers and priests took on paternal roles when religiously guiding their congregation; they propagated spirituality and gave birth to christians instead of biological children (if they stayed true to their vows of celibacy). in his 1419 sermon, “do penance,” girolamo savonarola adopted the position of both mother and father: “i have poured out for you as a good father does for his beloved children… florence, am i also not to you like a mother to her little child?”42 along the same lines, historian tom webster claims that ministers were both feminine and masculine through their relationship with the church; they fathered followers with “the immortal seed of the word” and acted as a mother to “nourish” them with it as well.43 religious men took their ambiguous version of gender and reworked it into their relationship with their congregations in order to maintain their ability to “reproduce.” sodomy in italy while the notion of male sexuality was rarely addressed directly, unless in reference to patrimony and fatherhood, the frequent occurrence of sodomy in italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries actually prompted legislation and persecution. before entering this discussion, one must define “sodomy” in the way renaissance italians did. while sex between males was the most common form of sodomy, especially that which was persecuted, the terms “sodomy” and “sodomite” were not exclusive to male-male intimacy. under the broader category of sex crimes that could be tried, sodomy represented many acts including intercourse of same sex individuals, bestiality, masturbation, and non-procreative sexual relations between married couples.44 for the sake of simplicity and focus, this article will use the terms “sodomy” and “sodomite” to refer only to sexual relations between males. furthermore, the participants were defined in regard to their role in the act, at least in legal terminology. in florentine laws of 1408 and 1409, as well as 1415, the terms “active” and “passive” partners were coined, yet the words rarely appeared in sources of the vernacular.45 as one might assume, the “active” participant in these circumstances was the penetrative partner, while the “passive” role was in the receiving position. in the regions of focus, venice and florence, sodomy was thoroughly investigated and brought to court, but both communities emphasized different controversial aspects of the couples. in florence, the active role conformed to the traditional behaviors that were thought to be “virile,” so having relations with a boy did not challenge a mature man’s status as a “masculine male.” on the other hand, the passive role was deemed feminine, and was only temporarily tolerated for adolescent males because they had not reached full manhood. typically, sodomitical relationships assumed a hierarchical structure now termed “pedastry.” in this system, there was a great age gap between the two males: generally a man over the age of eighteen would adopt the active role in a relationship with a passive teenage adolescent.46 there were rarely any role reversals because the “virile identity of all local men” was threatened by mature passivity. this concept resulted in pervasive expressions of disgust for the subordinated male. both partners were typically distinguished in gender-laden terms, but the passive partner was commonly called a variety of derogatory feminine expressions—bardassa (a boy who offers himself up for sex), puttane (female prostitute), cagna (bitch), or simply just “pretty girls” because he was adopting the lowly status of a woman. on the other hand, the active male still maintained his power and dominance sexually in such a hierarchical society.47 the passive partner was so harshly criticized because he willingly surrendered his masculinity, unlike the active partner, choosing to leave the realm of the superior sex for the inferior one. before the statute of 1415 that limited severe punishments for sodomites in florence, both partners were harshly dealt with unless the passive partner was a minor, in which case the court usually determined his punishment based on each case.48 in venice, however, even though the active partner was not adopting the “abnormal” role, he was seen to be more blameworthy and was punished much more severely. ruggiero argues that there are two reasons for this principle. the first has to do with age: the passive male was the younger partner, usually under the legal age, and could not be prosecuted for his crimes. the second reason puts most of the blame on the active participant. he was the initiator of the “misdeed” and actually performed it, while the passive partner only submitted to the act. this distinction of “sodomy was used as a scapegoat for external threats and disasters...” 32 elements : : fall 2014 roles became commonplace starting in the mid-1440s, and the discrepancy between the two was clear in regards to punishment. the active partner was usually executed while the passive partner was given a much lighter punishment of detention or exile, or possibly a corporal penalty.49 the distaste for this illicit act drew great attention from secular authorities and resulted in many legal ramifications. as seen in sumptuary laws, italian governments were concerned with the moral behavior of their citizens, prohibiting anything “that might lead to, or encourage, immoral activities.”50 this anxiety was extended to sexual relations between citizens. in venice, the council of ten had established itself as an important council of the state, and beginning in 1406, became involved in sodomy trials. eventually, the ten replaced the signori di notte as the main body responsible for dealing with the crime.51 additionally, the ten established a specific committee, the collegio dei sodomiti, to investigate offenders and even established a special police force to patrol the city.52 similarly, florence created an “innovative judiciary magistracy solely to pursue and prosecute sodomy” called the office of the night in 1432.53 when offenses like adultery and rape and institutions of monopolized prostitution were moderately tolerated, why was sodomy so vehemently attacked?54 there are few concrete answers to this question, but several conjectures have been proposed. sodomy was used as a scapegoat for external threats and disasters in both cities. beginning in the 1340s, venice was hit by the plague in almost every generation, resulting in cycles of demographic collapse. in the same way, florence suffered from the plague and recurrent epidemics from 1300-1427.55 additionally, the threat of the ever-approaching turks kept venice constantly on the defensive.56 the importance of military excellence put pressure on the city’s aggregate warrior masculinity. in the same way, florence was engaged in multiple wars in both the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries against the papacy, milan, and naples.57 these armed outcomes projected images of “venice” or “florence” on the international community, hopefully as forces to be reckoned with to keep the warfare at bay. as well as these images conceived through battles and wars, the communities had, presumably unintentionally, adopted certain identifiers in the outside world. venice was known in particular as a place of widespread sexual looseness, and “venetian” was another term for “lesbian” until the twentieth century.58 florence suffered from similar international embarrassment, where the term florenzer has meant “sodomite” even in contemporary times.59 these trials and hardships were frequently addressed in sermons, particularly in florence, by preachers who denounced the sins of the cities, and specifically the offensive act of sodomy. michael rocke cites pope gregory xi censuring the florentines and their sin that was “so abominable” he would not even speak of it.60 in a 1494 sermon, girolamo savonarola called on the signori to “pass laws against the accursed vice of sodomy” and told the citizens to remove themselves from any act, place, or object that could tempt them into the illicit deed.61 in another sermon, the previously mentioned “do penance,” he tells florentines that their sinful behavior caused the previous and impending tribulations (plagues and wars), which god sends “to cleanse his church of its many evils.”62 on a more domestic scale, bernardino da siena criticized sodomites for breaking the marriage bed and being an impediment to procreation: “when young men are seized by this pestilential ruin, they are hardly ever cured, and scarcely or belatedly, if at all, do they allow themselves to be united in matrimony… they do not procreate children.”63 this statement draws attention to another anxiety that sodomy caused. as discussed before, men and their masculinity were centrally focused on fatherhood, and this type of patrimony and legacy was legitimized within a marriage. these “unnatural” acts were not always despised because they ruined public morality, but because they undermined the foundational institutions of marriage and family.64 this threat to the community’s organization can be further demonstrated by comparing the type of punishments administered for different deviant sexual acts. although the council of ten in venice and the office of the night in florence punished each sodomite partner, differently, sodomites were punished much more harshly than other types of sexual criminals. in venice, where women’s adultery was seen as a crime “against the state” and injurious to god, punishments were not as severe as rhetoric implied.65 a woman’s usual punishment for adultery was jail time and the loss of her dowry, while a male was almost always punished less.66 in comparison, the sentence for sodomy was much more extreme. the penalty for the active partner in venice was death, which gradually transitioned from being burned alive to decapitation to corpse burning.67 in florence, punishments like castration and death by burning existed, but penalties changed to fines or public humiliation in order to “enforce the law with greater care and diligence.”68 sodomites were punished severely to encourage the public not to partake in the illicit act, and these punishments show the higher tensions felt by italian authorities for this crime. 33 masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy despite this governmental aversion to sodomitical acts and the consequent desire to prosecute and stop them, public opinion was much more lenient. although citizens probably agreed with their secular and religious authorities on the wrongfulness of sodomy, there is evidence that many accepted and even facilitated the crime. rocke analyzed the frequency of the locations of the offense in florence, and found that men “often used the house of another person” for their sexual activity.69 besides companions who presented them with sexual opportunities, taverns and other public locations became known as places “where males could indulge in sodomy with no questions asked,” and without rebuke from the owner or occupants.70 in addition to this allowance, several prominent italians publicly kept male lovers and maintained their esteem in society. michelangelo buonarroti, the celebrated artist, fell into a sort of neo-platonic love with tommaso de’ cavalieri in 1532, and sent him many sketches and poems highlighting his passion.71 many of his sonnets described the “chaste desire / that burns my heart inside” for cavalieri, his “sweet and longed-for lord.”72 this longing was not concealed, yet michelangelo was still commissioned for large, public works, showing that his patrons’—including the pope for the sistine chapel—concern was overshadowed by their value of his art. michelangelo’s public approval, despite his pronounced love for men, rested in the mastery of his talent, revealing that there were other models in which men, declared sodomites included, could prove and demonstrate their masculinity apart from fatherhood. performative masculinity did men in sodomitical relationships manage in any sense to maintain their masculinity? as mentioned above, the “passive” actor in the activity was viewed as the feminine and womanly partner. this role was commonly filled by an adolescent male who was not expected to be manly yet. on the other hand, the “active” partner “conformed to the dominant, virile image” expected of masculine males.73 this idea that being the penetrative and aggressive participant maintained the masculine ideal coincides well with the interpretive framework suggested by literary critic jennifer panek. she asserts that there was a shift from “reproductive” masculinity to “performative” manhood that departed from the “traditional association with bloodlines and breeding.”74 this departure deemphasized the importance of the potent father and instead highlighted the idea of the aggressive, penetrative male dominating all that he encountered. todd reeser believes that a common theme in renaissance masculinity has been the man’s ability to “dominate the self and thus justify his domination of others.”75 a common and quite popular image that demonstrates this concept is the renaissance portrayal of hercules. this figure, burdened with “masculine ideals beyond attainment,” is actually quite appropriate because he was often displayed with “homoerotic appeal.”76 the most popular representation of hercules’s manliness was of his conflict with the giant antaeus, where he enacts masculine and sexual domination.77 in the engagement, hercules has his arms around antaeus, lifting him from the ground in a display—a pose that art historian patricia simons interprets as hercules representing the “active” partner while the “implicitly penetrated” antaeus is the passive one.78 in this dispute, hercules conquers his opponent, restraining his own lust, while suggesting some sort of socially appropriate homoerotic desire.79 hercules represented the ambivalence society felt towards masculinity within sodomy. these performative acts could be also authoritative, sexual, or even violent in nature. alberti advocated for a ruling cosimo de’ medici in armor by agnolo bronzino (image courtesy of wikimedia commons) 34 elements : : fall 2014 husband who “should guard the woman, the house, and his family and country,” adding protective and defensive responsibilities, and thus dominance over his respective enemies, to his already commanding domestic position.80 machiavelli similarly stressed aggressive behavior in acquiring and maintaining territory through performances of “grandeur, courage, sobriety, [and] strength.”81 through these actions he could make himself “the master of the country.”82 this desire to assert authority over others was quite common for men. as savonarola described, males in italy “would like to be the leader who governs and rules over others…not be commanded.”83 men used their authority and power as a way to solidify their masculinity and validate their perceived superiority over others. this manliness was also demonstrated through military prowess, which often went hand-in-hand with acquiring control and power over others. for a woman to “carry a sword” was deemed improper, but it was almost a necessity that a virile male do so.84 true men “waged wars and won glorious victories,” demonstrating their impressive capabilities that proved their masculinity.85 successful military operations and dominance over others were types of substitutes for the sometimes inaccessible masculinity of fatherhood. machiavelli’s opinion of women (that they need to be subdued) created another performative outlet for men. since men felt they were “lorde” over women in a general sense, such ideas of dominance were also found in sex.86 sexual conquest of women became a type of scale that men used to measure their manliness: “the more sex men could demonstrate they performed, the better, and performance took precedence over morality in all of these cases.”87 during this type of fornication, the focus was not on producing a biological heir, but on a man exercising his ability to use his physical manhood. guido ruggiero contends that men’s unpunished sexual license prompted a culture of “the mistress, the prostitute, [and] the libertine.”88 this idea validates panek’s view of the shift from “the testicles to the penis”, in which men based their masculine identity less on their ability to reproduce but in their “personal achievement” (or sexual achievement in this case).89 this masculine presentation also emerged in more violent forms, which will be analyzed in the next section. violence and aggression many contemporary historians recognize the correlation between masculinity and violence. sandra cavallo argues that there were many ways outside of marriage for men to prove their masculinity: “they demonstrated their physical strength and virility through violent actions, such as fights between rival groupings, and through drinking contests and exhibitions of sexual bravado.”90 to prove one’s manhood, a male asserted power over others and maintained his honor through military prowess, sexual conquests and blatant violence. defending the region was particularly important in italy during the renaissance, and preachers like giovanni dominici called for florentines to “fight for your fatherland” and “bring honor for your patria” through military victories. images of heroic warriors, like hercules (as mentioned previously) embodied “masculine action” that men should imitate.91 this importance of military identity is highlighted in the self-presentation of cosimo de medici. cosimo at the age of seventeen, as a “last resort,” became the duke of florence after duke alessandro de’ medici, a fifth-generation descednent, was assassinated in 1537. in order to legitimize his new position, he had himself displayed in portraits in armor, and these “idealized images of himself…obscured the precarious nature of the transition.” there were many identities he wanted to portray with these images, but a striking interpretation of one picture compares cosimo to mars, the god of war: “cosimo is the victorious general returning from montemurlo…cosimo is mars himself, about to celebrate his military victory with a sexual conquest.”94 in this portrait, the duke’s body, decorated with striking armor to imply his recent military conquest, is partly rotated to the left, but his “eyes face obliquely in the opposite direction and do not engage the viewer.” this sideways glance is enough to suggest the notion of future sexual conquest awaiting him in the near distance. this godly description validates cosimo’s masculinity with his past military victory and his future sexual one, reassuring his almost divine status and right to authority. this self-fashioning seemed to work well since he went on to become the grand duke of tuscany, outmaneuvering other great powers of the time.95 jonathan davies has described further examples of violence, particularly in italian universities during the renaissance. he argues that university brutality was always commonplace and took the form of individual and group “insults, assaults, and murders” and even riots.96 davies argues that the idea is “unsurprising” that elite students would resort to violence because “the upper class was to an extent a military class and its amusements consisted in fencing, jousts, and tournaments,” and therefore they were conditioned to be violent.97 additionally, because honor was so important in the social realm, any insult to it 35 masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy was automatically retaliated.98 this type of focus on manly honor is highlighted in benvenuto cellini’s autobiography vita. cellini was a goldsmith and artist in the sixteenth century, who worked for prominent officials including several popes, francis i of france, and even cosimo de’ medici.99 he was arrested for sodomy in 1557, and wrote his autobiography as a defense of his character while under house arrest.100 his autobiography traces his life story, highlighting his artistic accomplishments and recounting tales of his violent squabbles. margaret gallucci posits, “standards of manliness and honor required cellini to depict himself as violent and to recount acts of assault and murder.”101 he constantly defended his identity in the text, attacking those who damaged his honor or challenged his masculinity.102 he illustrated himself as an accomplished soldier and swordsman on and off the battlefield. in a characteristic display of his temper, cellini sought revenge for his brother’s death by attacking the man who killed him. he described the scene in graphic detail: “the poniard entered this points so deep into the bone, that, though i used all my strength to pull it out, i was not able.”103 violent outbursts were commonplace for him, and he described them in a boastful manner, taking pride in his evident masculinity. he further validated his manliness through sexual conquests: “since i’m a man, i used her for my sexual pleasure.”104 under the “code of masculinity,” seducing or even raping a girl could only enhance a man’s reputation. cellini seemed to be quite fond of “fresh maid[s],” and even described one night in which he “stole away the little serving-girl” and enjoyed a “very pleasant night.”106 he approached these occurrences casually, proceeding afterwards in his usual manner, careless of spoiling her virtue and without pursuing any relationship. many men shared the same outlook on sexual conquest and general self-fashioning as cellini did. the idea that the frequency of copulation adds to masculinity has been addressed, but now attention will be drawn to the violence of sexual acts and the abuse of women in general. to begin with, sexual violence happened in and out of the licit marriage bed. “homosexual rape was very similar to heterosexual rape” because in both cases there was an active and aggressive partner dominating a passive victim.107 rocke attributes the greater strength of the older, active partner with the prevalence of intimidation, “threats, or outright violence” to further prove manhood in the context of sodomy.108 similarly, heterosexual rape was commonplace, yet it was rarely recognized or prosecuted in the court system. “great violence” was commonly employed to consummate marriages, but the hostility did not stop there.109 ruggiero suggests that society may have seen rape as another element of “exploitative sexuality” that was so frequent that it was no longer troubling. to add to this detachment, courts described rape distantly and briefly, making minimal penalties easier to impose by not focusing on the graphic details of the crime.110 some authorities were much more interested in non-sexual domestic abuse. many women attempted to annul their marriages on the principle of violence and neglect. joanne ferraro presents many examples of husbands who “had gagged and beat,” starved, and threatened to kill their wives.111 in these cases the church courts were very concerned with the marriage state, and asserted, by granting annulments, that the husband’s masculine responsibility centered on the welfare of his family, and thus his fatherhood “outmanned” his other masculine performances. however, as shown by the previous examples, this was not always the popular belief. conclusion in renaissance europe, several types of guidelines existed that described and directed the proper behavior of men. through these, one can derive what sorts of attributes and actions were considered masculine from directly described or implied characteristics. in some ways, masculinity seems to have been defined by a male’s sexuality, but not exactly in the same way as a female’s. instead, the focus for men was on their ability to produce children to continue the family name. from this need came the importance of marriage and family life, the means for which this propagation could occur. in italy, the prevalence of sodomy shook the masculine foundations of society. when men either chose to adopt the feminine, passive role in the interaction, or submit other men to it, they flagrantly ignored the “proper” masculine behavior, and accordingly they were put under heavy scrutiny and regulations in an attempt to return things to the status quo. the florentine and venetian communities did not want to lose control and dominance over their societal structure by allowing sodomites to undermine what they perceived as the funda“because honor was so important in the social realm, any insult to it was automatically retaliated.”36 elements : : fall 2014 mental institutions of marriage and family. the pervasiveness of sodomy threatened the idea of fatherhood masculinity, but also conformed to a more “performative” model of masculinity demonstrated through military prowess, sexual conquest, and violence. in this way, the active partner in the relationship could still maintain his masculinity by conforming to normal gender roles and the “performative” category of sexual conquest. however, this model of sexual mastery brought men’s definition of masculinity closer to women’s definition of femininity. while women were expected to remain chaste and abstinent, men were required to father children or be physical with many women to prove their virility. despite the dissociation men tried to put between themselves and women, they were similarly limited by their own sexual expectations. fatherhood masculinity was in some ways overshadowed by the aggressive performance masculinity, where men strictly defied the “proper” behavior detailed by the conduct books and treatises, but still considered themselves manly. the gap between the advice given in the conduct books and sermons and the realities of male life is very interesting. further research would have to be done to understand the difference between the ideal man and the facts of renaissance society, and how the men of the time reconciled the two. there is also another argument contrary to the evidence collected in this study that raises several questions. valeria finucci addresses the apparently common belief that “excessive sexual expenditure was linked to emasculation,” and jennifer panek’s article, “‘this base stallion trade’: he-whores and male sexuality on the early modern stage,” is entirely devoted to justifying a way in which male prostitutes could escape this feminization.112 while this argument does align with the idea of unbridled female licentiousness, it directly contradicts the proof regarding the importance of child production and the role of sexual conquest in asserting masculinity. however, it does also conform with the less common precedence of moderate masculinity put forth by todd w. reeser in his book moderating masculinity in early modern culture. additional examination and evaluation would have to be undertaken to reconcile these two arguments. despite these avenues of supplementary research, one can acknowledge that men during the renaissance were very concerned with maintaining a certain identity that validated their masculinity and superior position in society, and this ardent desire ironically resulted in the definition of their own sexual limitations. endnotes 1. baldesar castiglione, the book of the courtier, trans. george bull (london: penguin books, 1967), 57. 2. christine de pizan, the book of the city of ladies, trans. earl jeffrey richards, rev. ed. (new york: persea books, 1998), 155. 3. michael rocke, forbidden friendships (oxford: oxford university press, 1996), 3, 13. 4. konrad eisenbichler, trans., girolamo savonarola: a guide to righteous living and other works. (toronto: crrs publications, 2003), 95. 5. guido ruggiero, the boundaries of eros: sex crime and sexuality in renaissance venice (oxford: oxford university press, 1985), 111, 113. 6. catherine kovesi killerby, sumptuary law in italy 1200-1500 (oxford: clarendon press, 2002), 64. 7. giovanni della casa, galateo: of manners & behaviors, ed. lewis einstein (boston: the merrymount press, 1914), 104. 8. castiglione, the book of the courtier, 211. 9. stefano guazzo, the civile conversation, trans. george pettie, vol, 2 (london: edinburgh university press, 1925), 23. 10. anne borelli and maria pastore passaro, ed. and trans., selected writings of girolamo savonarola. (new haven: yale university press, 2006), 147. 11. niccolò machiavelli, the prince, trans. george bull (london: penguin books, 199), 81. 12. renee neu watkins, trans., the family in renaissance florence. (columbia; unc press, 1969), 208. 13. desiderius erasmus, the education of a christian prince, trans. lisa jardine (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1997), 17. 14. della casa, galateo, 42. 15. eisenbichler, girolamo savonarola, 59. 16. castiglione, the book of the courtier, 58-59. 17. erasmus, christian prince, 16. 18. della casa, galateo, 80. 19. watkins, the family in renaissance florence, 115. 20. valeria finucci, the manly masquerade: masculinity, paternity, and castration in the italian renaissance (durham: duke university press, 2003), 106-107. 21. nirit ben-aryeh debby, renaissance florence in the rhetoric of two popular preachers (turnhout: berpols, 2001), 128, 133-134. 22. ruggiero, the boundaries of eros, 12. 23. stanley chojnacki, women and men in renaissance venice: twelve essays on patrician society (baltimore: the johns hopkins university press, 2000), 169. 24. della casa, galateo, 21. 25. erasmus, christian prince, 96. 26. joanne m. ferraro, marriage wars in late renaissance venice (oxford: oxford university press, 2001), 89. 27. watkins, the family in renaissance florence, 111. 28. guazzo, civil conversation, 7. 29. guazzo, the civil conversation, 8. 30. watkins, the family in renaissance florence, 115. 31. machiavelli, the prince, 9. 32. castiglione, the book of the courtier, 54. 37 masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy 74. jennifer panek, “’this base stallion trade’: he-whores and male sexuality on the early modern stage,” english literary renaissance 40 (2010): 385. 75. todd w. reeser, moderating masculinity in early modern culture (chapel hill, unc press, 2006), 136. 76. patricia simons, “hercules in italian renaissance art: masculine labour and homoerotic libido,” art history 31 (2008): 632. 77. simons, “hercules”, 638. 78. simons, “hercules”, 645. 79. simons, “hercules”, 649. 80. watkins, the family in renaissance florence, 208. 81. machiavelli, the prince, 59. 82. machiavelli, the prince, 11. 83. borelli and passaro, girolamo savonarola, 152. 84. watkins, the family in renaissance florence, 226. 85. castiglione, the book of the courtier, 219. 86. guazzo, the civil conversation, 26. 87. ferraro, marriage wars, 103. 88. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 10. 89. panek, “’this base stallion trade,’” 385. 90. cavallo, “bachelorhood and masculinity,” 386. 91. nirit ben-aryeh debby, “political views in the preaching of giovanni dominici in renaissance florence,” renaissance quarterly 55 (2002): 25. 92. simons, “hercules,” 634. 93. carolyn springer, armour and masculinity in the italian renaissance (toronto: university of toronto press, 2010), 132-133. 94. springer, armour and masculinity, 140. 95. springer, armour and masculinity, 138. 96. jonathan davies, “violence and italian universities during the renaissance,” renaissance studies 27 (2013), 505-506. 97. davies, “violence and italian universities”, 511. 98. davies, “violence and italian universities”, 506. 99. charles hope, ed., introduction to the autobiography of benvenuto cellini (oxford: phaidon press, 1983), 7-13. 100. margaret a. galluci, benvenuto cellini: sexuality, masculinity, and artistic identity in renaissance italy (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003), 23-24. 101. galluci, benvenuto cellini, 110. 102. galluci, benvenuto cellini, 114. 103. hope, benvenuto cellini, 60. 104. galluci, benvenuto cellini, 112. 105. galluci, benvenuto cellini, 134. 106. hope, benvenuto cellini, 34. 107. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 125. 108. rocke, forbidden friendships, 162. 109. ferraro, marriage wars, 57. 110. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 90. 111. ferraro, marriage wars, 120, 124. 112. finucci, manly masquerade, 168. 33. della casa, galateo, 39. 34. valeria finucci, manly masquerade, 239. 35. ferraro, marriage wars, 70. 36. chojnacki, women and men, 250. 37. sandra cavallo, “bachelorhood and masculinity in renaissance and early modern italy,” european history quarterly 38 (2008): 376-377. 38. cavallo, “bachelorhood and masculinity,” 386. 39. chojnacki, women and men, 256. 40. frank klaassen, “learning and masculinity in manuscripts of ritual magic of the later middle ages and renaissance,” sixteenth century journal 38 (2007): 57. 41. elizabeth schirmer, “’trewe men’: pastoral masculinity in lollard polemic,” in tom betteridge, ed., sodomy in early modern europe (manchester: manchester university press, 2002), 118. 42. sermon quoted in eisenbichler, girolamo savonarola, 92. 43. tom webster, “’kiss me with the kisses of his mouth’: gender inversion and canticles in godly spirituality,” in tom betteridge, ed., sodomy in early modern europe (manchester: manchester university press, 2002), 150. 44. rocke, forbidden friendships, 11. 45. rocke, forbidden friendships, 89-90. 46. rocke, forbidden friendships, 12-13. 47. rocke, forbidden friendships, 106-107. 48. rocke, forbidden friendships, 21-22, 32. 49. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 121. 50. killerby, sumptuary law, 62. 51. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 126-127. 52. n.s. davidson, “sodomy in early modern venice,” in tom betteridge, ed., sodomy in early modern europe (manchester: manchester university press, 2002), 68. 53. rocke, forbidden friendships, 4. 54. miles alexander frederick pattenden, “moral legislation and the rise of the medici state” (ma thesis, university of toronto, 2005), 20. 55. nirit, two popular preachers, 132. 56. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 6. 57. niri, two popular preachers, 57-59. 58. davidson, “sodomy in venice,” 65. 59. rocke, forbidden friendships, 3. 60. rocke, forbidden friendships. 61. borelli and passaro, girolamo savonarola, 157-158. 62. eisenbichler, girolamo savonarola, 88. 63. quoted in rocke, forbidden friendships, 41. 64. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 9. 65. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 47, 49. 66. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 55. 67. ruggiero, boundaries of eros, 119. 68. rocke, forbidden friendships, 7, 32. 69. rocke, forbidden friendships, 156-157. 70. rocke, forbidden friendships, 160. 71. james m. saslow, trans., introduction to the poetry of michelangelo. (new haven: yale university press, 1991), 16. 72. saslow, michelangelo, 150,181. 73. rocke, forbidden friendships, 106. 38 elements : : fall 2014 references castiglione, baldesar. the book of the courtier. translated by george bull. london: penguin books, 1967. della casa, giovanni. galateo: of manners & behaviours. edited by lewis einstein. boston: the merrymount press, 1914. eisenbichler, konrad, trans. girolamo savonarola: a guide to righteous living and other works. toronto: crrs publications, 2003. erasmus, desiderius. the education of a christian prince. translated by lisa jardine. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1997. guazzo, stefano. the civile conversation. translated by george pettie and barth. young. volume two. london: edinburgh university press, 1925. hope, charles, ed. the autobiography of benvenuto cellini. oxford: phaidon press, 1983. machiavelli, niccolò. the prince. translated by george bull. london: penguin books, 1999. pizan, christine de. the book of the city of ladies. translated by earl jeffrey richards. revised edition. new york: persea books, 1998. watkins, renée neu, trans. the family in renaissance florence. columbia: university of south carolina press, 1969. chojnacki, stanley. women and men in renaissance venice: twelve essays on patrician society. baltimore: the johns hopkins university press, 2000. cavallo, sandra. “bachelorhood and masculinity in renaissance and early modern italy.” european history quarterly 38 (2008): 375-397. davidson, n.s. “sodomy in early modern venice.” in sodomy in early modern europe, edited by tom betteridge. manchester: manchester university press, 2002. davies, jonathan. “violence and italian universities during the renaissance.” renaissance studies 27 (2013): 504-516. debby, nirit ben-aryeh. “political views in the preaching of giovanni dominici in renaissance florence, 1400-1406.” renaissance quarterly 55 (2002): 19-48. debby, nirit ben-aryeh . renaissance florence in the rhetoric of two popular preachers: giovanni dominici (1356-1419) and bernardino da siena (1380-1444). turnhout: brepols, 2001. ferraro, joanne m. marriage wars in late renaissance venice. oxford: oxford university press, 2001. finucci, valeria. the manly masquerade: masculinity, paternity, and castration in the italian renaissance. durham: duke university press, 2003. gallucci, margaret a. benvenuto cellini: sexuality, masculinity, and artistic identity in renaissance italy. new york: plagrave macmillan, 2003. klaassen, frank. “learning and masculinity in manuscripts of ritual magic of the later middle ages and renaissance.” sixteenth century journal 38 (2007): 49-76. lambertini, roberto. “mirrors for princes.” in encyclopedia of medieval philosophy, edited by henrik lagerlund. netherlands: springer, 2011. panek, jennifer. “’this base stallion trade’: he-whores and male sexuality on the early modern stage.” english literary renaissance 40 (2010): 357-392. pattenden, miles alexander frederick. “moral legislation and the rise of the medici state.” ma thesis, university of toronto, 2005. reeser, todd w. moderating masculinity in early modern culture. chapel hill: unc press, 2006. rocke, michael. forbidden friendships: homosexuality and male culture in renaissance florence. oxford: oxford university press, 1996. ruggiero, guido. the boundaries of eros: sex crime and sexuality in renaissance venice. oxford: oxford university press, 1985. saslow, james m., trans., the poetry of michelangelo. new haven: yale university press, 1991. schirmer, e. “‘trewe men’: pastoral masculinity in lollard polemic.” in masculinities and femininities in the middle ages and renaissance, edited by frederick kiefer. turnhout: brepols pub. 2010. 39 masculinity and sexuality in renaissance italy simons, patricia. “hercules in italian renaissance art: masculine labor and homoerotic libido.” art history 31 (2008): 632-664. springer, carolyn. armour and masculinity in the italian renaissance. toronto: university of toronto press, 2010. webster, tom. “‘kiss me with the kisses of his mouth’: gender inversion and canticles in godly spirituality.” in sodomy in early modern europe, edited by tom betteridge. manchester: manchester university press, 2002. 40 elements : : fall 2014 contemporary terror threats have brought about a fundamental shift in modern warfare. the practices of today, both tacit and official, serve as precedent for future global policy. following the hostilities of the second intifada, a contentious debate has emerged over the controversial policy of targeted killing. this article discusses how sovereign nations approach contemporary threats and how they justify such methods by discussing the legality of targeted killing based on the concept of combatant status, followed by an examination of the practice’s morality and effectiveness. a just measure on the legality, morality, and effectiveness of targeted killing tate krasner introduction the outbreak of the second intifada in september of 2000 brought about a controversial shift of israeli strategy in response to unconventional methods employed by palestinian terrorists. at the height of the conflict, university of haifa professor daniel statman stated: the threat of terror has found the west widely unprepared to deal with it. the standard means of waging war are irrelevant to contending with this threat…hence, to effectively stop terror, a different model must be sought, not the model of conventional war with its machines and tools, nor that of the police and court activities conducted against ordinary criminals.1 the model developed by israel was the contentious policy of targeted killing. since the eruption of hostilities, israeli academics, officials, and policymakers have engaged in extensive debate over the legality, morality, and effectiveness of the practice. while clear answers have yet to emerge, the importance of such dialogue cannot be overstated. the sophistication and ubiquity of modern terror organizations have changed the way sovereign nations wage war. as this paradigm shifts, it is vital to scrutinize new security tactics to ensure that they not only achieve their objectives, but also do so in a manner that is in agreement with existing legal and moral standards. the practices of today, both tacit and official, serve as precedent for future policy. by examining the israeli debate around targeted killing, this article seeks to illuminate how sovereign nations approach these contemporary threats and justify such methods. close examination of this debate ultimately finds targeted killing to be a legal, moral, and effective policy. defining targeted killing scholars have argued extensively over what specifically constitutes targeted killing. thus, before providing a definition, it is perhaps prudent to present what scholars have agreed does not constitute targeted killing. in this area, there is far more consensus. to begin, targeted killing is not assassination: “an assassination is an act of killing a prominent person selectively, intentionally, and for political (including religious) purposes.”2 while targeted killing and assassination may share certain characteristics, they differ in two fundamental ways. first, the term assassination has an intrinsic negative moral connotation as “murder by treacherous means,” and “second, assassination usually refers to the killing of senior political officials.”3 what, then, is targeted killing? for some, such as professor of international relations steven r. david, targeted killing is simply “the intentional slaying of a specific individual or group of individuals undertaken with explicit governmental approval.”4 yet, targeted killing includes two key distinctions that separate it from david’s generalized definition. first, the target must present a clear, serious, and pressing threat to the safety and security of the public. the directness of this threat can vary. in the case of israel during the second intifada, targets presenting a direct threat included not only immediate threats, such as a suicide bomber or gunman, but also accomplices, such as a bomb-maker or driver. second, “there also must be no reasonable alternative to the targeted killing.”5 capturing, arresting, or incapacitating a terrorist is almost always preferable from a legal, moral, and strategic standpoint. these methods align with democratic, civil, and international law and can also provide invaluable intelligence. however, such methods come at a cost, not only to police and military forces, but to civilians as well. gary d. solis of the georgetown university law center provides a comprehensive and effective definition of targeted killing, one which will serve as the primary definition throughout this paper: the intentional killing of a specific civilian who cannot reasonably be apprehended, and who is taking a direct part in hostilities, the targeting done at the direction and authorization of the state in the context of an international or non-international armed conflict.6 israeli defense force soldier carrying equipment during the second intifada (courtesy of the israel defense force) 42 elements : : fall 2014 on the legality of targeted killing while current international law does not directly address the subject of targeted killing, it appears that the practice is legally justified under the principle of self-defense. it is the foremost duty of the state to protect its citizens, and international law allows sovereign nations the right to defend themselves. historically, nations have had to defend themselves from other sovereign nations, and accordingly, international law and law of armed conflict primarily address interstate hostilities. yet, the number, frequency, and intensity of interstate wars have declined.7 instead, conflicts have increasingly tended to be intrastate civil wars, and the emergence of non-state actors, such as terrorists, poses new threats to sovereign nations. the question now is whether traditional legal principles of self-defense apply to nontraditional conflicts. philosopher asa kasher and former israeli defense force (idf) military intelligence directorate amos yadlin argue that sovereign nations still have the right—and duty—to defend themselves from terrorists: we take the defense of citizens from terror to be not only a prime duty of a democratic state but also, under present circumstances, as the prime duty, since the danger posed by terror is a relatively new one, at least in some major respects, and is of a special nature.8 in the conflict between israel and palestine, this defense of citizens manifested itself in the policy of targeted killing, a tactic which falls under the category of what law professor amos guiora has termed “active self-defense.”9 the main advantage of active self-defense is that it stops terrorist attacks before they occur, saving the lives of countless civilians and military personnel. active self-defense is preventative and proactive, differing from the reactive nature of traditional ideas of self-defense. that being said, scholars like guiora argue that active self-defense is justified under the same laws of traditional self-defense: targeted killing as a counter-terrorism measure can be justified by the principles upon which international law regarding selfdefense is based—military necessity, proportionality, collateral damage and the exhaustion of reasonable alternatives.10 if executed properly, targeted killing fulfills these principles. yet, active self-defense can conflict with the concept of “innocent before proven guilty.” even if corroborated evidence points to the guilt of a suspected terrorist, proactive killing denies the opportunity for a fair trial. ethicist michael l. gross of the university of haifa addresses this problem, stating that targeted killing can be viewed either through a paradigm of law enforcement or a paradigm of war. the law enforcement paradigm views the terrorist as a criminal and “demands that states treat terrorists just as they would any heinous criminal, whether an ordinary lawbreaker or war criminal.”11 under this paradigm, the terrorist would deserve a fair trial and would have to be found guilty of a crime before any punishment—let alone execution—would be administered. the war paradigm, however, views the terrorist as an enemy combatant, meaning that such rules do not apply.12 these two paradigms are fundamentally incompatible. through which paradigm, then, should a sovereign state view terrorists? the answer to this question lies within the behavior of the terrorists themselves. in essence, terrorists act as combatants. however, terrorists do not share the characteristics of traditional combatants. they do not wear uniforms, they do not serve in the militaries of sovereign states, and they do not abide by international war law. these characteristics have historically been used to ascertain legitimate military targets. yet, the lack of these characteristics should not provide a terrorist immunity for his actions. thus, as gross writes, combatant status can be determined through other means, such as intelligence: naming combatants is considerably more difficult than recognizing them by uniform and so demands careful intelligence to allow an adversary to assemble a list of individuals affiliated with their enemy’s armed forces. armed with this list and a reasonable method of ascertaining a person’s identity, it is then possible to establish combatant status. at that point, a named, un-uniformed combatant is as vulnerable as one in uniform; both may suffer harm as adversaries defend themselves.13 “the target must present a clear, serious, and pressing threat to the safety and security of the public.” 43 a just measure by being viewed as combatants through the war paradigm, terrorists lose the legal privileges provided by the paradigm of law enforcement. in conclusion, while terrorists may appear to be civilian criminals, they are in fact military combatants and should be treated as such. identifying whether a terrorist is a criminal or a combatant is significant because it determines the legality of targeted killing. if the terrorist is considered a criminal, then the killing of that terrorist is an extra-judicial killing, which is an illegal act. however, if the terrorist is considered a combatant, then the targeted killing is considered a legal act of self-defense, as long as “it can meet the demands of necessity, utility, and proportionality.”14 on the morality of targeted killing when addressing the morality of targeted killing, terrorists are also considered combatants. as stated earlier, terrorists differ in several ways from traditional combatants. this is true legally, and it is also true morally. often traditional combatants are conscripts and draftees, and those who are not often fight for causes they believe to be just or morally right. in contrast, the many of terrorists willingly join organizations and causes that the rest of the world deems unjust. michael l. gross speculates: perhaps it is more reasonable to think that some combatants are unjust, and that those espousing an unjust cause and/or fighting by unjust means merits a response more severe than do those combatants who are just. rather than ignore the moral responsibility of terrorists and their supporters, their moral non-innocence justifies stronger and harsher measures than one would normally inflict on an adversary. perhaps targeted killings are an appropriate response to terrorism precisely because terrorists deserve to suffer harm in a way that just combatants do not.15 while ideas of justice and morality can be subjective, gross’ point is no less valid; if traditional combatants who unwillingly participate in combat are considered legitimate combatants despite their relative moral innocence, then certainly a terrorist who willingly chooses to cause harm and suffering should be considered a legitimate target as well. furthermore, in conventional wars, combatants are often killed solely due to their affiliations or uniforms rather than their actions or the threat they pose. “with targeted killing,” daniel statman states, “human beings are killed not simply because they are ‘the enemy,’ but because they bear special responsibility or play a special role in the enemy’s aggression.”16 consider two scenarios: in the first scenario, a warplane from country a drops a bomb on a military base belonging to country b, killing hundreds of soldiers; in the second scenario, a sniper from country c eliminates a single terrorist who has been proven, through corroborated intelligence, to be involved in a plot to destroy a supermarket. if all lives are considered equal, then the second scenario, an example of targeted killing, is preferable, not only because it reduces the total number of lives lost, but also because it limits punishment to the sole person responsible for possible harm. statman concludes: hence, targeted killing is the preferable method not only because, on a utilitarian calculation, it saves lives—a very weighty moral consideration—but also because it is more commensurate with a fundamental condition of justified self-defense, namely, that those killed are responsible for the threat posed.17 ideally, not a single person would perish from war. however, targeted killing perhaps represents a positive moral progression on the spectrum of warfare, as it challenges the indiscriminate mass killing that has been a key feature in warfare for thousands of years. instead, it advances just war theory because of its emphasis on responsibility. “if the terrorist is considered a criminal, then the killing of that terrorist is an extra-judicial killing, which is an illegal act. however, if the terrorist is considered a combatant, then the targeted killing is considered a legal act of self-defense.” 44 elements : : fall 2014 if terrorists are considered combatants, then the same moral rules that apply to traditional warfare must also apply to the war on terror as well. under such rules, targeted killing simply represents another method of eliminating a legitimate enemy combatant who poses a legitimate threat. thus, statman contends, as long as one accepts the moral legitimacy associated with conventional war, one must accept the legitimacy of targeted killing. and, as a result: if one rejects this legitimacy, one must object to all killing in war, targeted and non-targeted alike, and thus not support the view, which is criticized here, that targeted killings are particularly disturbing from a moral point of view.18 it follows, then, that one who criticizes targeted killing on a moral ground must be a pacifist, opposing targeted killing due to its association with violence in general, not in comparison to conventional warfare.19 lastly, it is important to note that many “moral” critics of targeted killing actually criticize poor execution of the policy. for example, if faulty intelligence leads to the death of an innocent person in a mission to kill a terrorist, the fault lies in the intelligence, not the policy itself. such mistakes far too often have tragic consequences, yet it is unfair— and incorrect—to morally evaluate targeted killing based on factors that have no actual correlation to the policy. instead, as stated above, targeted killing derives its legitimacy from existing moral standards. on the effectiveness of targeted killing the first two sections of this article have examined the legality and morality of targeted killing. yet, these factors are ultimately irrelevant if targeted killing is ineffective in achieving its objectives. therefore, the last section of this article will address the effectiveness of targeted killing. to determine the efficacy of targeted killing, it is necessary to first identify the objectives of the policy. amos guiora states that the “primary objective” of targeted killing “is the prevention of a terrorist act intended to kill innocent civilians.”20 this view is shared by the majority of academics and policymakers in israel and around the world. therefore, two questions must be answered. first, does targeted killing prevent acts of terrorism? and second, does targeted killing protect the lives of innocent civilians? comprehensive studies have yet to be published that address either question. however, scholars have begun to observe patterns that provide some direction. it can be difficult to evaluate whether an act of targeted killing prevents an act of terrorism. in some cases, it is relatively simple. for instance, if an agent from country a eliminates a suicide bomber entering a crowded train station, it is obvious that the agent prevented an act of terrorism. however, if an agent from country b eliminates a bomb-maker in a terrorist organization, it is still fairly clear that an act of terrorism has been prevented, but it is less evident than in the first scenario. it becomes more difficult to gauge the effectiveness of targeted killing as the targets become further removed from the actual act of terror. eventually, killing a certain member of a terrorist organization—perhaps an informant or a driver—ceases to be effective. yet, scholars such as steven david argue that, regardless of whether or not the target is directly engaged in the act of terror, targeted killing is effective: in sum, the policy of targeted killing has prevented…attacks against israel, weakened the effectiveness of terrorist organizations, kept potential bomb makers on the run, [and] deterred terrorist operations…it has not prevented all acts of terrorism, nor can it. but as part of a larger array of policies, including blockades, checkpoints, and incursions, it is seen to be a successful response to an intolerable threat.21 targeted killing is successful in damaging the terrorist infrastructure, both directly and indirectly. directly, targeted killing eliminates key members who provide valuable services to the organization. indirectly, targeted killing leads to “a sowing of distrust and confusion amongst terrorist organizations regarding the identity of informants without whom the policy could not be implemented.”22 thus, targeted killing appears to be an effective policy. mourning the loss of a victim of terror (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 45 a just measure however, many scholars and policymakers have suggested that targeted killing actually leads to more acts of terrorism. in september of 2002, during the second intifada, steven david wrote: targeted killings have provoked murderous retaliations, eliminated individuals who might have become pragmatic negotiators for peace, diverted the resources of intelligence agencies from existential threats, “burned” informers, generated international condemnation, recruited new volunteers for terrorist acts, enhanced the standing of organizations whose leaders have been marked for death, and promoted the unity of groups confronting israel.23 david’s commentary presents multiple legitimate and rational concerns. yet, consider two alternative scenarios in response to a potential act of terror. in the first scenario, no action is taken, and the act of terror is allowed to occur. in the second scenario, conventional military action is taken, thus preventing the attack. the first scenario will lead to the death of innocent civilians, while the second scenario presents the exact same challenges of revenge and retaliation. targeted killing is obviously preferable to the first scenario because it saves the lives of innocent civilians, but it is also preferable to the second scenario because it limits the collateral damage often associated with conventional warfare. therefore, realistically, the effectiveness of targeted killing must be evaluated not only by itself, but also alongside its alternatives. in this sense, david ultimately takes the lesser of evils approach: targeted killing is an unsavory practice for an unsavory time. it can never take the place of a political settlement, which is the only solution to the terror that confronts israel. until such a settlement is achieved, however, targeted killing stands out as a measured response to a horrific threat. it is distinctly attractive because it focuses on the actual perpetrators of terror, while largely sparing the innocent. for a dangerous region in an imperfect world, the policy of targeted killing must remain a necessary evil.24 however, other scholars have argued the efficacy of targeted killing by instead focusing on its long-term effectiveness. while there is a consensus that a focused, aggressive campaign against terrorism has the potential to generate dangerous amounts of revenge and backlash, these scholars contend that such a campaign will undoubtedly destabilize—and eventually destroy—the infrastructure of terrorist organizations over time. daniel statman states that, “in the long run, there is good reason to believe that such killings will weaken the terror organizations, generate demoralization among their members, [and] force them to restrict their movements.”25 this “life on the run” is strenuous and unsustainable, and it clearly puts terrorist organizations in a disadvantageous position. therefore, in terms of weakening the current terrorist infrastructure and inhibiting its expansion, targeted killing is an effective policy in the long run. the primary objective of targeted killing is not the elimination of terror, and it would be both unfair and unrealistic to deem it so. rather, the objective of targeted killing is to prevent pressing and immediate terror threats that put the lives of innocent civilians at risk. the state owes its citizens a pursuit of both eliminating certain terror dangers and eliminating terror in general, but there is no reason to assume that success in pursuing the short-range problem determines in either way the extent to which we are brought closer to success in pursuing the long-range problem as well.26 targeted killing represents a solution for the problem of “eliminating certain terror dangers,” and in this regard, it is an effective strategy. conclusion the threat of terrorists and other non-state actors has put modern sovereign nations in a precarious situation. nations must now defend their citizens from combatants “as long as it is executed with responsibility and accountability, the policy of targeted killing provides sovereign nations a legal, moral, and effective method for countering...terrorism.”46 elements : : fall 2014 who do not adhere to convention. for this reason, it has never been more important that these nations respond to these threats in a conscientious manner, for their current responses will ultimately generate precedents that both state and non-state actors will follow. irresponsibly responding to such threats has the potential to provide terrorist organizations justification for future atrocities. therefore, if targeted killing is to be adopted as a legitimate strategy for eliminating terrorist threats that is effective in both the short-term and the long-term, there must be no doubt that the policy falls under existing legal and moral standards. targeted killing derives its legal legitimacy from two factors. the first factor is the target’s status as an enemy combatant, which is established though careful and corroborated intelligence. this status consequentially leads to the second factor, which is the state’s right, under international law, to self-defense. when these two factors are considered, targeted killing is simply another strategy sovereign states employ in response to potential threats. targeted killing derives its moral legitimacy from existing moral rules of war. if terrorists and other non-state actors are considered enemy combats, then it logically follows that traditional rules of war should be applied to the practice of targeted killing. in this sense, targeted killing is no more repulsive or disconcerting than conventional warfare. furthermore, because targeted killing limits punishment to those responsible for harm and reduces civilian casualties, it actually represents an advancement of morality from conventional war. ultimately, targeted killing will not end terrorism. that is a far more complex challenge that depends on the cooperation, creativity, and activism of leaders and citizens across the world. however, as long as it is executed with responsibility and accountability, the policy of targeted killing provides sovereign nations a legal, moral, and effective method for countering the immediate and pressing threat of terrorism. endnotes 1. statman 2004 (1) 2. kasher and yadlin (44) 3. david 2002 (2) 4. ibid. 5. guiora (322) 6. solis (3) 7. goldstein 2011 8. kasher and yadlin (45) 9. guiora (324) 10. guiora (334) 11. gross (324) 12. gross (325) 13. gross (330) 14. gross (332) 15. gross (330-331) 16. statman 2004 (13) 17. statman 2004 (9) 18. statman 2004 (1) 19. statman 2004 (2) 20. guiora (329) 21. david 2002 (8) 22. guiora (334) 23. david 2002 (12) 24. david 2002 (22) 25. statman 2004 (14) 26. kasher and yadlin (55-56) references byman, daniel. 2013. “why drones work: the case for washington’s weapon of choice.” foreign affairs. 92.4. cronin, audrey kurth. 2013. “why drones fail: when tactics drive strategy.” foreign affairs. 92.4. david, steven r. 2002. “fatal choices: israel’s policy of targeted killing.” begin-sadat center for strategic studies, bar-ilan university, mideast security and policy studies. no. 51. david, steven r. 2003. “israel’s policy of targeted killing.” ethics and international affairs. vol. 17. no. 1. goldstein, joshua s. 2011. winning the war on war. new york: the penguin group. gross, michael l. 2006. “assassination and targeted killing: law enforcement, execution, or self-defence?” journal of applied philosophy. vol. 23. no. 3. guiora, amos. 2004. “targeted killing as active self-defense.” case western reserve journal of international law. vol. 36.319. kasher, asa, and amos yadlin. 2005. “assassination and preventative killing.” sais review. vol. 25. no. 1. 47 a just measure luft, gal. 2005. “the logic of israel’s targeted killing.” middle east quarterly. mazzetti, mark. 2013. the way of the knife: the cia, a secret army, and a war at the ends of the earth. 1st ed. new york: the penguin press. solis, gary d. 2007. “targeted killing and the law of armed conflict.” naval war college review. vol. 60. no. 2. sperotto, federico. 2008. “targeted killings in response to security threats: warfare and humanitarian issues.” global jurist. vol. 8. no. 3. statman, daniel. 2004. “targeted killing.” theoretical inquiries in law. vol. 5. no. 1. statman, daniel. 2003. “the morality of assassination: a response to gross.” political studies. vol. 551. no. 775-779. 48 elements : : fall 2014 the following article analyzes and contrasts the event of self-starvation in franz kafka’s short story a hunger artist with colum mccann’s novella hunger strike. the reworking of this trope charges readers to consider both the narrative and historical functions of fasting and its utility as a spectacle. by comparing the role of hunger in the utopian genre (as in a hunger artist) to that of historical fiction (such as hunger strike), this article identifies the relevance of context to narrative iterations of hunger. by foregrounding the divergent settings of both texts, the two tales navigate the distinction between interiority and exteriority and use space to recall the place of hunger in the readers’ cultural consciousness. satisfaction through disembodiment the spectacle and imprisonment of hunger missa sangimino while hunger and hunger strikes have long been a part of irish historical memory, no full-length novel, to date, brings the experience to the literary community. colum mccann, however, explores the development and social impact of the 1981 hunger strikes on northern irish adolescents in his recent novella hunger strike. a number of parallels can be drawn between the hunger strikers of mccann’s novella and the titular hunger artist in franz kafka’s short story a hunger artist, which tells the story of a man who abstains from all food and lives within a cage. a hunger artist tracks the discourse of starvation as a type of performance and uses hunger to mystify perceptions of interior and exterior, existent and abstract, and somatic and natural. by tracing various literary displays of hunger, as they are contained within the imprisoned bodies of those fasting, readers gain a sense of the multi-faceted and diverse nature of hunger’s historical use. through a complex network of references and connections, the novellas a hunger artist and hunger strike examine hunger as a contained spectacle, and call readers to a temporal and historical consideration of narrative starvation. this article navigates the two texts, tracing the experience of hunger and the impact of its supervision. through an examination of the perception of hunger against its physical practice, the article attempts to tease out the many complex relationships that form between those fasting and those observing. by comparing the implications of hunger in a utopian narrative (like that of a hunger artist) to a historically familiar experience of hunger (accessible in hunger strike), the article examines the role of contextualization in hunger’s utility. finally, by identifying the difference in narrative settings in the two texts, this article initiates a discussion about interiority and exteriority as a means of inviting readers to engage with the collective memory of hunger and its sociohistorical functions. readers note in both a hunger artist and hunger strike that the utility of hunger relies on its potential to be observed and recognized; hunger is useful only as it is witnessed. in the case of a hunger artist, the artist himself identifies his viewers as “his reason for living.”1 the existence and status of the hunger artist are constantly in tune with his own fasting and, more tangibly, the viewers who pass by and express their interest in his unique performance. the artist is the feature of an act and joins a circus to be put on display; he fasts for the viewing pleasure and marvel of his spectators, while the bars of a cage separate him from his viewers. however, despite this disconnected interaction with the world outside his cage, kafka’s hunger artist “withdraws into himself” and obsesses over the righteousness and loneliness of his art.2 it is as if by preventing any physical material from entering his body, he also abstains from internalizing the outside world. indeed, the artist expresses in his last moments of life, “i always wanted you to admire my fasting” and admits that the “watchers” for which he lives often “depress him.”3 as follows, kafka presents a hunger artist who feels no human connection to his spectators, despite his constant relativity to their recognition of him. the hunger artist is both the artist and the art itself, and the exteriorization of his fasting withdraws his humanity from both viewers and readers. thus, kafka entreats readers to examine on which side of the cage their own role is meant to fall.franz kafka , author of a hunger artist (photo by sigismund jacobi) 50 elements : : fall 2014 kafka writes, “no one was in a position to spend all his days and nights keeping a constant watch over the hunger artist…only the hunger artist himself could know, and thus he was the only spectator who could be completely satisfied with his fasting.”4 readers gain a sense not only for the display that the hunger artist fruitlessly intends spectators to recognize, but also understand that the hunger artist sees himself as fulfilling a second dual role, as both spectacle and, now, as spectator. ellman deciphers this, stating, “if the presence of spectators defines the fast into an art, their absence reduces it to a pathology.”5 ultimately, the spectacle does not even satisfy the hunger artist himself, and kafka exposes the buried link between psyche and hunger, expressing, “perhaps it was dissatisfaction with himself that made him so emaciated. for he alone knew, as no other initiate did, how easy fasting was…inwardly this dissatisfaction was always gnawing on him and never, after no period of fasting—this had to be said on his behalf—had he left the cage of his own free will.”6 in this moment, readers gain insight into the hunger artist’s dynamic internal and external self. fasting is valuable to an artist only when difficult, the hunger artist needs his cage, and his satisfaction is linked both to the shape of his body and his estrangement from the outside world. finally, kafka reveals that the hunger artist sees fasting as expandable, perfectible, and, like any other art, glorifiable. when the circus director removes the artist from his cage, kafka writes, “he could have endured it longer, infinitely longer; why stop precisely now, when he was in his best form for fasting, or rather, before he had even reached his best form?...he felt there were no limits to his ability to fast.”7 here, the hunger artist roughly equates fasting to exercise; the more one practices, the stronger one becomes. the peculiar comparison necessitates an examination of corporal change. as the hunger artist’s body visibly shrinks in the eyes of his viewers, his glory grows, and the hollowing out of his physical form is the only means by which he feels any satisfaction. thus, kafka paints the hunger artist as a spectacle that derives power and fulfillment—ironically the sustenance that food would provide—as the artist becomes more and more entangled in a fight against the entrance of food into his cage and body. the artist gains his only power through spectators’ conscious consideration of his fasting as a challenge and way of strength. consequently, the text offers an abstract perspective for readers, calling them to challenge the significance of occupying conscious, rather than physical, space. in contrast, the spectacle of hunger in hunger strike is more convoluted and historically complex. while the hunger strikes of northern ireland certainly served political purposes through their sensational international media attention, mccann narratively displaces the experience of hunger in the novella, and inverts kafka’s spectacle by providing a removed observation of hunger. readers obtain the most specific view of the hunger spectacle as the fourteen-year-old protagonist, kevin, imagines his uncle’s experience of starvation and presents it in charts and graphs.8 kevin’s pain of adolescence and dislocation reflect the hunger of his uncle, an ira hunger striker in northern ireland. kevin frequently attempts to empathize with the pain of his uncle and other prisoners, often appearing to absorb their symptoms, as mccann writes, “when he looked at his empty plate, he imagined it full and then he threw his prison blanket across it and groaned and tried to stop the hunger pains and all the quiet necessary shiverings.”9 because radio, news, and telecommunication mediate the spectacle of the hunger strike, kevin and his fellow northern irishmen and women can serve only as removed spectators. the knowledge of the uncle’s nationalist fasting ignites an interest and violence in kevin that mccann explores. the novella only indirectly represents the uncle; he exists only in the media and imagination of a nephew whom he has never met. despite his centrality in the novella, the uncle is literarily disembodied. this disembodiment underlines and complicates the historical narrative that readers know to be occurring, and a coextensive and inverse discourse forms in the story. as the uncle becomes more real in kevin’s charting and imagination, he wanes in physical mass and life in his prison cell, becoming more discorporate in the story’s reality. thus, the disembodiment of the hunger strikers in hunger strike becomes quite a spectacle. the less space the hunger strikers physically occupy in prison, the more space they occupy within kevin’s mind and the collective consciousness of northern ireland. ellman writes, “digestion is a kind of fleshly poetry…food is the symbol of the passage, the totem of sociality, the epitome of all creative and destructive labor.”10 in this statement, ellman highlights the beginning “the hunger artist sees fasting as exoandable, perfectible, and, like any other art, glorifiable.” 51 satisfaction through disembodiment of a phenomenon that mccann outlines in hunger strike. just as digestion transubstantiates the body and signals a forward passage, self-digestion awakens cultural memory, and a death through starvation ushers the body into history. the use of hunger strikers’ bodies as a final, foodless meal represents a passage out of life and into the collective consciousness of irish political imagination. russell explicates this simultaneous “creation and de-creation of self,” explaining, “we are fascinated by hunger because after 50 or 90 or 382 days, hunger ends in a body forced to cannibalize itself.”11 in this way, readers contemplate the fascination with hunger and spectacle of the hunger strike, as northern irish populations, such as kevin and his mother, once internalized it. to further expand upon this web of connections and relationships, it is important to examine the role of imprisonment in both texts. both mccann and kafka employ prisons in their portrayals of hunger, and thus demand a double scrutiny of internal and external. in a hunger artist, readers consider the interaction between the artist’s cage and his desire to be recognized as a spectacle. despite the artist’s imprisonment and starvation, readers are struck by the deliberateness of the entire process. the artist is self-imprisoned, and his starvation is a voluntary refusal of food. as the dialectic of enlightenment describes, “the history of civilization is the history of the introversion of the sacrifice.”12 in analysis, kafka’s hunger artist exemplifies such introversion. as the hunger artist continues in the solitude of his self-imprisonment and reaps the most available satisfaction from his art, the sacrifice of his fasting becomes completely internal. despite his constant yearning for spectators, no one witnesses the fast that ultimately kills him, as kafka writes, “one day a supervisor noticed the cage and asked the servants why this perfectly serviceable cage had been left standing there…no one knew, until, with the help of the board with the number on it, someone remembered the hunger artist.”13 kafka leaves readers to determine whether this unnoticed death proves the hunger artist’s complete internalization of sacrifice, or whether the hunger artist has become so completely invested in his own spectacle, that the disappearance of his spectators is the disappearance of his very self.14 furthermore, an observation of narrative time lends itself to a more intricate reading of the hunger artist’s caged spectacle over the course of the novella. while spectators marvel at the hunger artist’s act, the cage serves as a barrier, separating the artist’s sacrifice from the public and ensuring his place as a unique and challenging demonstration. in these moments, the cage protects the hunger artist’s glory, keeping food out and his glory within, thereby operating as an abstract display case. forgotten and unsupervised, however, the cage simply holds the hunger artist in place. his immobility allows viewers to pass him by and, as the glory of perception disappears, so does the seeming power of the hunger artist. kafka describes, “it was impossible to fight against such incomprehension, against a world of such incomprehension.”15 the multifunctionality of the cage as a protective barrier, display case, and grave demonstrates the potential of hunger to shift in relation to its perception as a spectacle. to call time into particular question, kafka establishes neither character names nor a setting. the utopian discourse of hunger appears to be all at once broadly applicable and meaningless. this timeless and multi-faceted ambiguity, in literary juxtaposition, highlights the sociohistorical importance of hunger in irish history and the impact of the hunger strikes in mccann’s politicized narrative. in order to understand mccann’s incorporation of hunger, it is important to contemplate the depth of hunger’s role in irish historical memory. the object of hunger is temporally manipulable in the mind of irish history, functioning constantly as a source of power, and inhabiting different figures to serve social and political purposes. russell comments, “for the irish, hunger was readily seen as power: magical, moral, and legal.”16 indeed, irish history is wrought with voluntary and involuntary hungers that serve as catalysts for change. the resurrection of the ancient civil code senchus mor during the 1981 irish hunger strikes reveals an ever-attentive consciousness to irish hunger history, as it states, “he who does not give a pledge to fasting is an evader of all; he who disregards all things shall not be paid by god or man.”17 similarly, poet edmund spenser chronicles the history of irish hunger power in prose, “till ireland be famished it cannot be subdued.”18 thus, the restoration of power through hunger is well detailed and familiarized in irish historical culture and literature. mccann deals extensively with such issues in hunger strike. in the case of the irish hunger strikes, the spectacle of hunger psychically frees strikers from the physical cages in which they feel unfairly imprisoned. ellman comments, “in the irish hunger strike of 1981, it was not by starving but by making a spectacle of their starvation that the prisoners brought shame on their oppressors.”19 historically, northern ireland understands starvation protest as a form of strength, honor, and sacrifice, and self-starvation marks 52 elements : : fall 2014 defiance against the coerced dependence of imprisonment. because prisons provide food to inmates, prisoners of war must rely on their enemies for sustenance. during hunger strikes, the bodies of inmates refuse to become reliant upon the cages that enforce the injustice against them. in these circumstances, strikers accept incarcerated starvation as a means to escape direct enemy control. the irish hunger strikes simultaneously free the strikers from reliance on their british captors, and invade prisons with an evocation of the irish political history of hunger. thus, within the confines of their physical cells, hunger strikers free their cause from the restraints of time and place, as they voluntarily enter the ranks of irish hunger, awaken irish history, and become part of collective memory in death. famous ira hunger striker bobby sands writes from his cell, “i believe and stand by the god-given right of the irish nation to sovereign independence…that is why i am incarcerated, naked, and tortured.”20 once more, readers examine the countercurrent of physical and metaphysical development; the death of the prisoners unites irish politics cross-temporally. the disappearance of bodily weight, and eventually, entire bodies, runs opposite to the evolution of glory in political history. nonetheless, irish history reveals an awareness of the hunger paradox in the unofficial slogan for sands’ campaign, “his life is in your hands,” which allocates power to the prison itself.21 this slogan, together with kevin’s constant frustration with his uncle’s imprisonment, recognizes hunger’s paradoxical form as both freedom and limitation. ellman expounds on this in her book, stating, “if eating, therefore, is imprisonment, self-starvation seems to represent the extirpation of the other from the self. yet starving also keeps the other in and fortifies the stronghold of the ego, lest the ghosts within the self should break out of their tomb.”22 in hunger strike, kevin plays with food, shaping it, and creating it into pieces of a chessboard. in this way, kevin becomes the owner and master of food, and offers an alternative to the strike’s attempt to dispossess it. while forming chess pieces out of bread—even sharing them with his mother and offering to teach his uncle how to do the same in prison—the boy ponders the hunger strike.23 kevin animates his food, mccann describes, as “he lifted the bread in the air and the middle section fell out and it struck him that the bread had lost its heart.”24 later in the scene, the boy discovers his ability to manipulate food, a skill which history dictates is innately part of irish survival. a discourse ensues with the same piece of bread: he mashed the bread with the tip of the blade and then saw what it could be. his father, a carpenter, had once told him a man could make anything of anything if he wanted to. the boy began to mold the bread quickly. he moved it around the plate with the knife and it soaked up more sauce, took on a definite form. he thought of his uncle in prison: a single cell, the darkness outside, the sound of boots along a metal catwalk, the carving of days into a wall. he dropped the knife and began molding with his fingers.25 mccann describes the “molding” and manipulation of relationships between food and people as a part of irish history, streaming from the boy’s father into his own life and the considerations of his uncle. after establishing the relationship between kevin, his uncle, and food, mccann augments the connection as he writes kevin’s logbook. it is worth noting that, as a cure from self-starvation (anorexia nervosa) sources suggest that patients keep a record. as crisp advises in the wish to change, “we have suggested that you [keep a logbook] regularly, because our experience is that people’s views, feelings, and preoccupations change not only with time, but also with changes in weight. you will thus be able to look back over the time and see how things have changed and have remained constant.”26 as kevin keeps an imagined logbook for his uncle’s weight decrease, he provides a schematic against which readers can examine kevin’s own coming of age. kevin transforms as his uncle looses weight, and he joins in the imagined experience of pain and death as he himself grows into an adult. readers again notice the bizarre parallel of growth and decomposition, and thus the novella provokes a reflection on the means by which this relationship evolves, in a varying context of food manipulation.27 although the ultimate purpose of literary hunger cannot be summarized monolithically, it is certain that the significance of hunger as a multifaceted and highly complex expression develops within the narratives of kafka’s a hunger artist and mccann’s hunger strike. rather than demarcating a narrow definition for hunger, the literature traces the paradoxical, ironic, and discursive nature of hunger in spectacle form, and allows readers to explore its utopian role as well as its historical exploitation. by following the complexities of hunger as a contained spectacle, readers engage with a variety of conscious and unconscious imaginations, and may begin to examine the many temporal and collective implications of the use of hunger in literature and reality. 53 satisfaction through disembodiment endnotes 1. kafka 33-52, 45 2. kafka 34 3. kafka 35 4. kafka 35 5. ellman 67 6. kafka 37 7. kafka 38-9 8. mccann 76, 76, 79, 91, 95-6, 100, 117, 120, 125, 140 9. mccann 76 10. ellman 112 11. russell 11 12. adorno and horkheimer 55 13. kafka 49 14. the experience is highly reminiscent of kafka’s own desire for solitude in expression: “that is why one can never be alone enough when one writes, why there can never be enough silence around one when one writes, why even night is not night enough” (kafka 155). indeed, the reliant solitude of the hunger artist seems to reflect kafka’s own familiarity with solitary communication. ellman expresses this concept, explaining, “the moral seems to be that it is not by food that we survive but by the gaze of others; and it is impossible to live by hunger unless we can be seen or represented doing so” ellman 17. 15. kafka 42 16. russell 219 17. senchus mor 113-119, 119 18. spenser 244 19. ellman 17 20. sands 219 21. flynn 210 22. ellman 95 23. mccann 65 24. mccann 51 25. mccann 53-54 26. crisp et al., 51 27. this analysis asserts the potential to explore this concept of “coming of age” in relation to hunger in further research. references adorno, theodor, and max horkeimer. 1994. dialectic of enlightenment. tran. j. cumming. new york: seabury press. crisp, a. h. et al. 1996. anorexia nervosa and the wish to change. 1st edition ed. hove, east sussex: psychology press. ellman, maud. 1993. the hunger artists: starving, writing, and imprisonment. cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press. flynn, barry. 2011. pawns in the game: irish hunger strikes 1912-1981. cork, ireland: barry flynn. kafka, franz. 1996. “a hunger artist.” a hunger artist. tran. kevin blahut. 2011th ed. prague: twisted spoon press. kafka, franz. 1974. letters to felice. trans. james stern and elizabeth duckworth. ed. jurgen born. london: martin secker and warburg. kelly, shirley. 2000. “the moral complexity of life in the north.” books ireland 232: 165-167. mccann, colum. 2000. “hunger strike.” everything in this country must. picador: colum mccann. mcdonald, ronan. 2005. “strategies of silence: colonial strains in short stories of the troubles.” the yearbook of english studies 35. irish writing since 1950: 249-63. morrison, danny, ed. 2006. hunger strike: reflections on the 1981 hunger strike. kerry, ireland: mount eagle publications. o’donnell, peadar. 1932. the gates flew open. the mercier press 1965 ed. netherlands: jonathan cape ltd. russell, sharman apt. 2005. hunger: an unnatural history. new york, n.y.: basic books. sands, bobby. 1983. one day in my life. dublin: mercier press. senchus mor. vol. 1. dublin: alexander thom; london: longman, green, longman, roberts, and green 1865. 113119. spenser, edmund. 1949. “a brief note of ireland” the prose works: the works of edmund spenser. vol. 9. variorum ed. baltimore: johns hopkins university press. 244. 54 elements : : fall 2014 russia’s foreign policy is heavily influenced by its access to natural gas. russia provides access to natural gas for many smaller nations which surround it, making those countries rely on russia economically and politically. putin’s government utilizes this dependence on russian natural gas to combat the spread of western culture and influence and promote their own, a strategy known as ‘resource nationalism.’ while this makes europe dependent on russia for natural gas, that dependence is not absolute or necessarily permanent, even in the foreseeable future. grand strategy in russian geopolitics natural oil and resource nationalism stacia vladimirova theoretical framework this article seeks to clarify the role of natural gas in russia’s grand strategy by evaluating different perspectives on the relationship between russia and europe in the context of natural gas, in addition to the relationship between russia and transit states, particularly ukraine. a thorough background understanding of russian political ideology was necessary for a critical analysis of natural gas markets in the context of national strategy, which was narrowed into an evaluation of the nature and consequences of interdependent relationships between russia and energy consumers. primary documents on russian policy and transcripts from russian officials, academic papers on russian-eu relations and the cisi project, and the ideological framework for russian policy and resource nationalism provided the necessary theoretical and factual resources to evaluate the significance of natural gas as an instrument in russia’s foreign policy.1 there is a consensus in academic literature, supported by historical evidence and russia’s official position, that natural resources are a national asset and russia is willing to utilize natural resources as strategic instruments of political purpose. this article analyzes the significance of interdependent relationships between russia, europe, and the cis on the value of natural gas as an instrument of russia’s grand strategy and political ideology. gas cutoffs and the subsequent economic and political consequences in ukraine and belarus suggest that under putin’s leadership, natural gas sustains the economic stability necessary for russia to develop effective foreign policy. natural gas has evolved into a tool of economic acquisition with the long-term goal of energy security through which russia seeks a position of global power, a distinction from the traditional perspective that presents natural gas as a weapon of political coercion, which seeks to intervene in domestic politics of other countries, independent of commercial considerations. to use energy so politically is a detriment to russia’s reputation and long-term interests of demand security. however, to protect long-term interests, russia is willing to use the gas weapon against transit countries with whom the interdependent relationship of consumer and supplier is more asymmetrical. russia is willing to secure long-term economic growth at the expense of short-term losses, and utilizes natural gas as an instrument to realize commercial interests and protect future as a stable supplier before increases in lng import capacity and renewable energy sources reduce the value of natural gas as leverage.2 grand strategy russia’s grand strategy is to develop a multipolar world order where russia has leverage to resist economic and political domination by western countries, particularly the us and europe.3 russia’s plan to reclaim a position as a world superpower, capable of protecting national interests and extending influence beyond her borders, demands territorial and economic security.4 russia perceives the presence of western powers in regions near its borders as both a territorial threat and an ideological challenge to russia’s role as regional leader, which russia justifies through its shared history with the fsu5 and common economic and security interests with the cis.6 subsequently, russia interprets western values, and thus institutions of western powers such as nato, as a threat to the kremlin’s ability to act without interference from other countries. therefore, the kremlin has made resistance to western ideology and insistence on russia’s right to maintain a dominant position in the “near abroad” a strategic priority of its foreign policy.7 natural gas plays a pivotal role in shaping russia’s relationships with the countries of the near abroad, both in the supplier/consumer relationship and in russia’s reliance on these countries as transit states to the major natural gas importers in western europe. literature emphasizes the danger of european dependence on russian gas, as russia could disrupt gas supplies to consumers for political reasons. dependence on russian gas is perceived as a threat to national security particularly to small ece8 and cis states that rely on russia for virtually all of their gas imports but make up a minor portion of russia’s export market, therefore giving them relatively little leverage compared to large consumers like germany.9 these countries make up the transit corridor through which the majority of gas imported to western europe must travel, leaving western europe vulnerable to cutoffs during disputes between russia and the transit states.ii literature emphasizing russia’s ability to employ natural gas as a tool of political or economic coercion neglects arguments recognizing russia’s incentives to protect energy demand security, which is contingent on a reputation as a reliable supplier. literature focusing on the cost of unreliable energy supplies on consumer’s neglects the consequences of unreliable demand on russia and ultimately understates the significance of russian-european interdependence. the european gas market holds a unique role in russia’s current economic and political model.10 moscow enforces a 56 elements : : fall 2014 dual-pricing system in which the high price of gas exports to europe generates revenue to finance heavily subsidized domestic gas prices and lighter subsidies in the cis.11 the low cost of natural gas reduces the operating costs for other industries in russia, thereby encouraging productivity and economic growth, and the commercially attractive deals for the cis is economic incentive to maintain relationship with russia and not pivot toward west.iii the dualpricing system reflects the integration of foreign and domestic policy—economic power and domestic stability engender a strong international status, which legitimizes the centralized power of the current political regime and creates the necessary leverage to protect the sources of economic power from abroad.12 the importance of european revenue and subsidized prices for russia’s strategic interests indicates russia has a greater degree of dependence on european consumers than the traditional perspective of russian-european interdependence suggests, implying a reduced threat of the natural gas weapon. the role and value of the gas weapon russia has successfully used attractive commercial deals in the natural gas market to develop a strong economic and political presence in countries of the fsu, indicating that russia is willing to capitalize on the lack of unified energy policy in europe through resource nationalism. russia employs economic incentives for long-term strategic gains in western europe and transit countries of ece, particularly as leverage in negotiations with ukraine. when ukraine resisted russia’s attempts to regain control of the sevastopol fleet in 1993, yeltsin blended threats of disrupting ukraine’s gas supply with economic incentives, forgiving most of ukraine’s gas debts in exchange for the opportunity to purchase most of the sevastopol fleet in 1994.13 despite historical resolution by ukraine to secure territorial integrity against russian military forces, ukraine exchanged territorial security for a 10-year deferment on various gas debts and an estimated 30% discount of ukraine’s gas debts in may 2007, when it successfully signed a deal giving russia an initial 20 year lease to the base in sevastopol.14 ukraine gave russia the opportunity to increase permanently stationed armed forces in her territory in exchange for cheap natural gas, a case where russia successfully employed economic incentives at a shortterm cost but a long-term strategic profit. under putin, gazprom continues to effectively use price level and debt-forgiveness for asset acquisition as leverage to gain control over transit and domestic distribution infrastructure, especially in countries such as moldova, belarus and ukraine where it has greater leverage. in january of 2006 gazprom cut-off gas to moldova after the country refused to accept a 100% increase in gas prices. to attain a more a moderate price increase and raise revenue to cover the increased costs of gas, moldova sold gazprom majority shares of the national gas company, moldovagaz. gazprom gained control over domestic distribution but narrowing the gap between prices paid by european consumers and the cis has led to conflict with former soviet countries, which feel entitled to their formerly subsidized natural gas prices.16 in january 2007, russia demanded belarus pay $200 per 1,000 cubic meters, a fourfold increase over the less than $50 per 1000 cubic meters belarus paid in 2006. russia threatened a gas cutoff before reaching a compromise of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, conditional on gazprom’s acquisition of a 50% stake in belarus’s gas export pipeline, beltragaz, for $2.5 billion.17 this gave russia control over the belarus portion of the yamal-europe pipeline network, which delivers about 10% of russian gas exports to european consumers. although higher prices leverage asset acquisition, control over transit and distribution infrastructure is not sufficient guarantee of russia’s ability to ensure delivery to western europe, as the 2010 conflict between gazprom and belarus indicated that russia’s interests are significantly dependent on transit states.iv as with belarus, russia’s relationship with ukraine reflects that russia’s use of prices as to produce opportunity for debt-forgiveness to acquire significant pipeline control reflects the resource nationalism underlying russia’s current political and economic model. in april 2014, russia revoked the natural gas price discount gazprom had agreed upon in december 2013, which charged ukraine approximately 70%, the average eu price.19 the discount was given on schedule of repayments to clear ukraine’s accumulated debt from the last year as well as pay in full for current supplies. ukraine’s failure to clear debts for supplied gas exceeding $2.2 billion led gazprom to abol“literature emphasizes the danger of european dependence on russian gas.” 57 grand strategy in russian geopolitics ish the zero customs duty on gas exports and discontinue the gas price discount, which drove prices as high as 485 usd per 1000 cubic meters in april, from the discounted price of 268.5 usd. gazprom and the kremlin wanted to send a message that failure to pay for supplied gas and honor agreements would have consequences, although gazprom chairman alexey miller then proposed supplying ukraine with at 2-3 usd billion in sovereign loans to assist ukraine in paying off gazprom debts.22 this suggests that shared commercial interests may encourage diplomatic resolutions and political cooperation. russia’s actions reflect commercial opportunism that capitalizes on political instability in transit countries to increase market power. the “gas wars” with ukraine and price increases in the cis are interpreted as economic coercion meant to discourage increasing links with nato and pro-western attitudes in russia’s sphere of influence. russia used price increases to exacerbate political instability in 2005 to undermine ukraine’s “orange revolution,” setting off the 2006 gas crisis when ukraine refused to pay the european price for gas.23 rather than compromising on moderated increases, gazprom in tandem with the kremlin reduced the amount of natural gas passing through ukrainian pipelines by the estimated amount that ukraine consumes and in response, ukraine avoided an immediate shortage by siphoning off gas going to european consumers, which russia perceived as theft from europe consumers and in response, cut all gas flow to ukraine.24 the temporary gas reductions while gas was redirected to western europe stunted economic productivity in both europe and the ukraine. the subsequent compromise included a complicated agreement that an intermediary company, rusukrenergo, would blend gas it purchased from gazprom at 230 usd per thousand cubic meters, blend it with cheaper gas from turkmenistan, and sell it at a price of 95 usd per thousand cubic meters.25 the dispute and economic slowdown slowed the momentum of the “orange revolution” and contributed to a shift in the percent of ukrainians who indicated that good relations with russia should be a priority of ukrainian foreign policy, from 28% in september of 2003 to 51% in december 2008.26 this immediate political victory did not contribute to long-term diplomatic gains, as the international community sharply criticized russia for what it perceived to be politically punitive action against ukraine. russia’s long-term priority of increasing energy demand security was compromised as russia’s reliability as a supplier was questioned, despite the commercial justifications for russia’s actions.27 the international backlash moved russia to undertake serious attempts to increase reliability as supplier and reduce dependence on consumers as a shield. threats to russia’s reputation as a reliable supplier as a consequence of pricing disputes with ukraine and the cis threatens gazprom’s expansionist ambitions and is an obstacle for economic development, which has driven russia to diversify transit routes to western europe. transit-induced interruptions were a driving force behind the construction of blue stream pipeline to turkey and the yamaleurope pipeline through belarus to poland.28 russia has diversified trade routes by bypassing ukraine with the south stream pipeline and the nord stream, which has no transit countries between russia and germany, reducing transmission costs and eliminating political risks.v,29 in 2013, 86.1 bcm, or about 52% of russian gas sold to europe and turkey went through ukraine, a reduction from 95% in 2008.30 this reflects russia’s strategy of diversifying transit routes, reflecting russia’s desire to protect its long-term contracts with europe. experiences with ukraine and belarus have increased incentive for russia to prevent political disputes from interfering with commercial transactions and contributed to russia’s attempts to make a single transit space between the european and asian markets by purchase controlling stakes in naftgas, despite strongly resistance from ukraine. russia defends its policy of methodically gaining control over energy infrastructure as a desire to avoid additional energy disruptions or disputes. to reduce political uncertainty in security of demand and security of supply, russia seeks to increase market share in both downstream and upstream gas infrastructure and shield its commercial and national interests.32 gazprom is using revenue to increase assets in downstream assets in europe rather than developing new gas supplies or refurbishing pipelines, which potentially increases dependence gazprom ‘s logo (image courtesey of gazprom) 58 elements : : fall 2014 on cheap gas from central asia, especially turkmenistan. it is immediately more commercially effective to spend money on distribution networks than develop new sources of supply that that require extensive development or refurbish aging infrastructure, however it draws into question russia’s ability to develop energy supplies at the pace matching consumption growth.33 if russia alienates europe through unreliable supply and the threat of acquiring market power, europe may develop new suppliers and undermine russia’s ability to generate revenue necessary for future investment and resource development. its strategy of maximizing distribution assets threatens to undermine its ability to make investments necessary to sustain development of supplies and infrastructure required by contracts. thus, the energy reserves make it an energy giant, but the risks associated with political manipulation and the short-term asset acquisition aimed at reducing dependence on transit states risks the long-term commercial model and is therefore a detriment to long-term political ambitions. economic realities reveal that security of demand is requires funds develop new sources of energy, another element increasing significance of russia’s reliance on european revenue. the interdependent relationship paradigm overstates europe’s dependence on russian imports by neglecting the ability to diversify through increased lng capacity, middle eastern suppliers, and increasing renewable energy sources. in 2013, gazprom increased its market share to 30% of europe-turkey gas consumption, a 16% increase from 2012, from 138.8 bcm to 162.7 bcm. in 2013, europe used less than 30% of it’s lng35 capacity and was the lowest level of lng imports since 2004, importing only 46.5 bcm, which is almost half of the high of lng imports, 88 bcm, in 2011.36 the reduction in lng imports and increase in russian gas consumption can be attributed to reduced gazprom prices that were about 20-30 percent lower than the average lng import price. therefore, the argument that europe is entirely dependent on russia for natural gas ignores the potential for utilizing other sources, such as algeria, norway, and qatar, which were 14%, 35%, and 10% of european gas imports in 2012.37 russia has given europe an economic incentive to sustain the supplier-consumer relationship. any manipulation of gas prices in an attempt to leverage european countries into particular policy action could result in russia losing that portion of the market. consequently, russia uses energy as a way to increase interdependence between suppliers and consumers, and present itself as a legitimate economic partner aspiring to global credibility. ideological framework of gas markets russia’s reliance on european revenue is mitigated by ideological resistance to western values, as russia has already shown that it seeks to develop a multipolar world and therefore stands to benefit from economic and political ties with countries that also define themselves outside of western ideology. russia’s future as a great power depends on its ability to establish economic interdependence in the cis and its ability to realize a credible political ideology alternative to western ideology, based on a unique cultural identity and values in the “near abroad.”38 although the literature is divided on the prospect of china becoming a significant competitor for european gas considering technical challenges in infrastructure development, spanjer argues that russia faces significant incentives to increase its asian consumer base, as china is geopolitically located to benefit from development of both western and eastern gas fields of russia and diversification of consumer base that would both increase energy demand security even as european demand may fluctuate, as well as increase russia’s leverage over other consuming countries.39 long-term contracts in the region, such as agreements with turkmenistan, uzbekistan, and kazakhstan that give russia significant control over the export of their products through russian pipelines, represent a successful organization of producers that dominate the export of cis natural gas and reflects the role of energy security in realizing geopolitical interests in cis. russia’s relationship with cis countries is one that seeks to maximize the power of natural gas in realizing an ideological empire founded on resource nationalism. therefore, there is a distinct difference in the use of gas in russia’s relationships with energy consumers. with cis and smaller ece transit countries, both russia negotiates from a position of economic and political leverage. the lack of unified european approach is what generates uncertainty and lack of confidence in russia, because russia has traditionally capitalized on individual nations’ desire to secure “... shared commercial interests may encourage diplomatic resolutions and political cooperation.” 59 grand strategy in russian geopolitics the greatest immediate national benefit at the expense of european unity, while putin and gazprom are willing to trade inefficiency in the marketplace for effectiveness in achieving geopolitical and commercial aims. russia’s grand strategy and historical tradition of natural resources as an asset that for the service of the public good is what defines the energy policy based on suboptimal control of the state market.40 russia’s use of natural gas as a tool of foreign policy is a distinctly russian method of realizing a distinctly russian project. it is a russian method because it is rooted in the experiences of the economic and political realities after the dissolution of the soviet union, and it is a russian project because it undertakes a vision of a political economy based on unique russian values and culture.41 the majority of russians want a political system that reflects the unique experiences, history, and identity of the russian people. formally embracing a unique identity is a geopolitical strategy that gives russia legitimacy in its long-term strategy of developing a sphere of influence that will be the foundation of its global identity. the shared history with the cis region justifies its attempt to realize a credible political ideology based on unique cultural values and economic interdependence shaped by the natural gas market. russia perceives western skepticism regarding russia’s claim to a privileged interest in the cis region as an attempt to undermine the development of a multipolar world order. condemnation of russia’s accumulation of upstream and downstream natural gas infrastructure and the close ties between gazprom and the kremlin is interpreted by russia as the west forcing western neoliberal values on russia. neoliberal values of western ideology demand russia maximize the efficiency of its gas market, however russia relies on its natural resources as a strategic asset. rather than utilize the resources to maximum efficiency, it seeks to maximize effectiveness in long-term political and economic strategy. russia perceives the demands for changed political economy as an ideological affront of neoliberal values, and feels forced to rely on geopolitical assets to assert its status as an independent sovereign power with unique political and economic ideology.45 the importance of the interdependency paradigm european reactions to the gas struggle between russia and ukraine neglect the interdependence between russia and europe acknowledged in the eu-russia energy dialogue. this leads europe and western powers to overstate the risk of relying of russian natural gas.46 the new paradigm of increased interdependence suggests that russia’s focus on making cis markets more profitable is a reflection of a maturing economy, as gazprom and the kremlin appear to find reliable commercial rewards more lucrative than volatile political alliances with the cis founded on subsidized gas prices. the difference in natural gas interdependence dictates how russia conducts foreign policy with other countries. with large western european consumers that contend for global power and present ideological opposition, russia works to protect it’s reliability as supplier to protect long-term commercial interests. in less economically powerful countries, cis russia capitalizes on periods of political instability to increase control over natural gas infrastructure and more strongly integrate their economic and political interests. ultimately, russia’s accumulation of assets strategic to its goal of securing a lucrative role in the energy market of the future causes skepticism regarding russia’s reliability as an energy supplier, which is exacerbated by russia’s resistance to western ideology. vladimir putin (photo courtesy of norgler via wikimedia commons) 60 elements : : fall 2014 recent development the first portion of this paper was written in the spring of 2014, before the annexation of crimea and the escalation of the ukrainian conflict. as of this writing, the united states, gradually followed by other countries, has levied economic sanctions against russia in condemnation of its actions in the region. the language published by the state department argues that russia “purported annexation of crimea and its use of force in ukraine, continues to undermine democratic processes and institutions in ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of its assets, and thereby constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the united states.”47 the significance of the language, such as the claim that the “misappropriation” of ukrainian constitutes a threat to the united states deserves its own exploration. the immediate consequence is that the us has sought to limit the ability of russia to pursue expansionist foreign policy through economic sanctions. in response to these economic sanctions, russia has levied its own sanctions against europe, banning food imports from across europe. russia is the largest consumer for most european commodities, particularly food exports. as of august 7th, russia had banned all meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetable imports from the us, norway, the eu, canada, and australia.47 the us has led the charge on economic sanctions, while the european union was initially reluctant to take a firm stance on the situation in ukraine, and now remains divided in terms of the proper response. the varying degrees of dependence on russian natural gas among european countries as consumers, transit states and trading partners, undermines the eus attempt at a common energy security policy. countries backing the south stream pipeline project – austria, bulgaria, italy, and hungary – are among those opposing harsher sanctions against russia. austria, a hub for a third of all russian gas exports to western europe, are in the position to articulate the potential downside of increasing economic sanctions against russia and continued agitation in ukraine.48 the united states has less to lose than countries like bulgaria, which is dependent on gazprom for virtually all 3 bcm of annual gas consumption, although it also will suffer if the eus economy succumbs to higher inflation or suffers significant losses as a result of a russian import ban. whether or not an energy security policy can be articulated independently of the evolving situation in ukraine remains to be seen, particularly as the economic impact would be disparately felt among the various actors. without delving into the specific issues enveloping ukraine and the interests of the factions active in the country, the escalating contention between russia, the us and the eu suggests this is a critical point in determining global power structure for the near future. russia’s tension with the west has heightened the significance of its pivot to asia, as well as reminding its european consumers of their vulnerability. the $400 billion gas deal signed between beijing and moscow in july 2014 extends over 30 years and represents russia’s turn. the deal that has been preceded by years of negotiations, suggests that russia is seriously willing to embrace a political partnership with asia that can offset us hegemony, even if it means conceding leverage over china.49 the argument that russia would embrace significantly lower prices than originally seeking to speed up the deal is offset by the parity between prices paid by germany and china. china and germany will be gazprom’s two largest customers, respectively. sources claim the base price for china national petroleum is about $360 per 1,000 cubic meters, compared to the average of $366 paid by germany last year.50 the timing of the deal, in the middle of the escalating ukraine crisis, is a confirmation that russia sees long-term value in russia’s geopolitical interests in an immediate symbolic and material consolidation of the russian-chinese alliance. whether this alliance will give russia the energy demand security it needs, the economic expansion it wants, or grants it leverage over the west as it continues pursuing its national interests, remains to be seen. the united states’ reaction to the turmoil in ukraine extends past ideological differences and reveals us resistance to the extension of russian interest in central and eastern europe with a hardline stance against any expansion of russia’s power. russia’s soft support of the separatists in response to the sanctions suggests that it will not play second party to the terms of any future agreement. the eu remains vulnerable, as each country faces significant ongoing economic challenges, particularly when it comes to the new economic sanctions that could set back economic growth. the crisis shows the difficulty individual sovereign nations have in coming together for one unified policy when each has different interests at stake. the clash of ideologies and economic interests among allies and conflicting parties complicates the resolution of the ukraine’s current turmoil, as both russia and the us draw a hard line at the interference of the other in the region. while both the domestic and foreign governments strug61 grand strategy in russian geopolitics gle to reconcile their ideology with the current reality, consumers in countries saddled with embargoes and heightening violence will continue to suffer. as it stands, while governments stall reconciliation, the people of ukraine lose the most, suggesting ideology as a foreign policy is far better suited in theory than in practice. notes i. this paper will hold that gazprom, monopoly holder of natural gas in russia, generally acts as extension of the russian government and serves national economic and political interests. ii. countries such as lithuania and estonia rely on russia for almost 100% of their energy supply, while making up about 1% of russia’s export market. see ghaleb, 16. iii. russia’s dual gas pricing system has lead to concerns regarding fair competition, if energy prices are almost five times higher for european industries than in russia, but the arguments for and against unified pricing are beyond the scope or purpose of this paper. iv. belarus claimed gazprom was $260 million short on transit fee payments imposed in response to the petroleum export duties simultaneously impose during 2006 gas price increase crisis, while gazprom claimed that belarus was behind on gas payments and reduced volume of gas flow supplied by 60%. in response, belarus threatened to redirect gas meant for western europe to compensate for its own losses. belarus and gazprom both paid their outstanding payments in full before the payment dispute disrupted energy supplies to europe. see goldman. v. gazprom projects that the direct connection between russian gas reserves and the european gas transmission system will make it possible for nord stream to supply about 25% of the nearly 200 billion cubic meters increase in european demand for imports. endnotes 1. commonwealth of independent states 2. spanjer, 2889-2898,1-17. 13 3. chambers, 112-25 4. putin 5. former soviet union 6. secrieru, 291. 7. putin. 8. abbreviation for central and eastern europe 9. ghaleb, 15. 10. spanjer, 3. 11. spanjer,4. 12. chambers,125. 13. ghaleb, 86. 14. ibid. 15. crane, 34. 16. goldman,145. 17. goldman,151. 18. chambers, 303. 19. bochkarev. 20. gazprom. 21. bochkarev. 22. gazprom. 23. crane, 33. 24. ibid. 25. saivetz. 26. ghaleb, 80. 27. valentina. 449-69.. 28. saivetz. 29. gazprom. 30. bochkarev. 31. baev, 298. 32. evert faber van der meulen, 836. 33. meulen, 848. 34. bochkarev. 35. liquefied natural gas 36. ibid. 37. ratner, 6. 38. chambers, 306. 39. spanjer, 14. 40. putin. 41. danchenko, 2. 42. chambers, 122. 43. secrieru, 294. 44. spanjer, 13. 45. van der meulen, 850. 46. spanjer, 12. 47. http://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/ukrainerussia/ 48. http://www.euractiv.com/sections/agriculture-food/russiassanctions-threaten-both-eu-farmers-and-policymakers-307827 49. http://www.ogfj.com/articles/2014/08/russia-uses-southstream-gas-pipeline-to-widen-eu-division.html 50. piet 51. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-02/gazprom-gasprice-in-china-deal-said-to-be-near-germany-s-level.html references baev, pavel k. “from west to south to north: russia engages and challenges its neighbours.” jstor. canadian international council, spring 2008. bochkarev, danila. “why the ukraine crisis is a political earthquake and not an energy quake.” eastwest institute. eastwest institute, 24. apr. 2014. 62 elements : : fall 2014 chambers, luke. “authoritarianism and foreign policy: the twin pillars of resurgent russia.” caucasian review of international affairs 4.2. (2010): 112-25. danchenko, igor, and clifford gaddy. “the mystery of vladimir putin’s dissertation.” brookings institution, foreign policy program panel. 30. mar. 2006. feklyunina, valentina. “russia’s international images and its energy policy. an unreliable supplier?” europe-asia studies 64.3, ‘russia and the world’ (2012): 449-69. jstor. gazprom. “decision taken to discontinue gas price discount for ukraine starting from april.” decision taken to discontinue gas price discount for ukraine starting from april. gazprom., 4. mar. 2014. ghaleb, alexander. natural gas as an instrument of russian state power. carlisle, pa: strategic studies institute, u.s. army war college, 2011. goldman, marshall i. petrostate: putin, power, and the new russia. oxford: oxford up, 2008. piet, remi. “russia-china energy deal: geopolitical tectonic shift.” aljazeera, 17 june 2014. putin, vladimir. “meeting with russian ambassadors and permanent representatives in international organisations.” president of russia. kremlin, 9. july 2012. ratner, michael, paul belkin, jim nichol, and steven woehrel. europe’s energy security: options and challenges to natural gas supply diversification. rep. n.p.: congressional research service, 2013. secrieru, stanislav. russias foreign policy under putin: “cis project” renewed. rep. no. 10. n.p.: unisci discussion papers, 2006. spanjer, a.r. (2007), “russian gas price reform and the eu-russia gas relationship: incentives, consequences and european security of supply,” energy policy, 35(5). 63 grand strategy in russian geopolitics although leprosy is not as prevalent today as it was in the middle ages, leprosy has affected many people and served as a source of fear throughout history. today, it is easy to diagnose thanks to advances in modern medicine. no longer do practitioners have to diagnose an individual from physical appearance alone. however, this was not the case for the medieval practitioner, and a diagnostic approach based on physical abnormalities presents a wide margin for error. today, paleopathologists are using skeletal remains to determine both the prevalence of leprosy throughout history and the treatment of those diagnosed with leprosy. one of the main challenges for researchers is very similar to that of the medieval practitioners: how to determine if someone had leprosy from their physical body, in this case the skeleton. by combining standards from a variety of research groups, the presence of leprosy in a medieval cemetery at norwich is discussed, and the case is argued that the cemetery was not just for those diagnosed with leprosy, but for those individuals living with a variety of physical deformities. paleopathologist as medieval practitioner a case for a community of the visibly ill in medieval norwich frank a. direnno when discussion arises around the prevalence of disease in the middle ages, the first infection to come to mind is often the plague. however, what deserves equal discussion, and may have been most on the minds of those who lived during the middle ages, sparking the construction of over 300 hospitals devoted to its care, is leprosy. known today as hansen’s disease, after the discovery of its bacterial strain mycobacterium leprae by gerhard a. hansen, leprosy has been a public health issue since antiquity. for as long as the disease has been active, there has been discussion and debate over how to treat those affected by the condition and protect the healthy. although the number of people affected by leprosy and at risk for contracting the disease today is less than during the middle ages, the last leprosarium in the united states was closed only 15 years ago. even a little over a century ago, western physicians looked to medieval policies as they shaped their own policy for controlling the disease’s spread.1 in doing so, they perpetuated the understanding that the standard approach was strict segregation of the leprous, outside of the city and away from the healthy. while there have been over 300 leprosy hospitals identified across england, few have been excavated, and even fewer affiliated cemeteries have been found. recently, skeletal evidence has emerged as a prime resource in the study of medieval medicine. excavations in denmark,2 scotland,3 italy,4 and sweden,5 among others, have helped contribute to the understanding of the spread of the disease across europe.6 extensive excavations have been undertaken at sites across england, and leprosy has been found in cemeteries known to be associated with leprosaria, as well as in unaffiliated parishes and community cemeteries. two sites of interest are those at the saxo-norman castle mall site in norwich and the hospital of st. mary magdalen in winchester. each site has evidence of multiple cemeteries that appear to be related chronologically, and yet are separate from each other. although both sets of burials at the sites of norwich and winchester indicate a separation in death of the sick from the “healthy,” they each tell a different story of the separation of these individuals during life. a study of the parallels between medieval diagnosis and the modern analysis of skeletal material suggestive of leprosy provides a necessary context supporting the distinctions between these cemeteries. through a comparative study of location, paleodemography, and skeletal pathology between the various cemeteries at norwich and winchester, the two burials at norwich, although connected in terms of chronology and geography, represent a distinct separation during life dependent upon physical appearance, and not specifically a diagnosis of leprosy. finally, a brief exploration will be undertaken of further methods for examining these types of sites in the future. only recently have historians begun to re-interpret the life of the medieval leper. even in 1984, b.s. turner proposed that: “the outward decay of the leper was a sign of inner profanity. the leper constituted both a moral and physical threat to the community and had to be separated from the population by dramatic rituals and other legal means.”7 these arguments for the treatment of lepers in medieval society were often supported by citing the ‘leper mass’ and forced removal by the royal writ de leproso amovendo. however, as carol rawcliffe explains, the instances of forced exclusion were the exception, and not the rule.8 while it is without a doubt that hospitals were established specifically to address the spread of leprosy, the idea that they were quasi-prisons is likely untrue. instead, as rawcliffe describes, “the larger earlier houses in particular followed a monastic model, which required voluntary profession, sometimes after a probationary period, on the part of lay brothers and sisters.”9 although these houses were traditionally located outside of the city, they were often placed very close to the gates of entrance into the city. this location was an ideal place for those living at the hospital to solicit alms and receive support from travelers to the city. the connection of these houses to monasteries or places of worship was also intentional, and not a declaration of immorality. in fact, rawcliffe argues that the belief that leprosy was a ‘divine calling’ was the impetus behind the explosive construction of leprosy hospitals across medieval england.10 others have argued that housing in separate religious institutions was a way to ease the sense of isolation of those “rejected by the world but chosen by god.”11 yet questions remain: how were individuals identified as leprous, and were these diagnoses accurate? leprosy is a contagious disease, spread by actions like sneezing, spitting, or coughing. however, what makes it different from other infectious diseases is its variability. some infected individuals will never experience the effects of the disease, and in others, it may take years for symptoms to appear. there are also varying degrees of infection, often dependent upon the strength of the infected individual’s immune system. the early stages of the disease are often accompanied by numbness, weakening of the muscles, and superficial skin lesions. it may then take one of two forms, tuberculoid or lepromatous. the tuberculoid 65 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner strain is less visible in the infected individual than the lepromatous strain, which is characterized by the physical deformation traditionally associated with the medieval leper.12 these deformations can have a variety of effects on the skeleton, which may take years to develop and are considered the most severe cases of leprosy. it is thus reasonable to assume that many more individuals were likely affected with leprosy than showed serious symptoms, both during life and in their skeletal remains. the medieval treatment of leprosy was varied, and there were likely cases of leprous individuals who avoided detection and also cases of individuals who “could have made themselves look leprous to gain charity.”13 cases of leprosy seemed to have increased dramatically following the eleventh century, or more specifically, following the norman conquest, in which norman, breton, and french soldiers invaded and occupied england, led by william the conqueror. this is reflected in the large increase in construction of leprosy hospitals in the twelfth century, corresponding to the increase in population density of england following the conquest, specifically in the south and east.14 the development of a set of criteria for diagnosing those with leprosy was a serious concern, especially as a result of the social stigma likely experienced by those who were diagnosed with the disease. with such concern surrounding the diagnosis of leprosy, the standards and actions taken to diagnose individuals were equally complex. obvious differences between medieval and modern medicine aside, “in a world before the laboratory, diagnosis was a slow, deliberative process.”15 additionally, evidence suggests that a particular group with specialized training did not dominate this process. it is likely that when leprosy began to emerge as a larger social issue, clergy and religious individuals played a prominent role in diagnosis. this is supported by the association of most early leprosaria with religious institutions. as the disease became more common and information became more easily accessible, diagnosis was not limited to religious or medical specialists. rawcliffe argues that, “an assessment might in all probability be made by friends, family or neighbors, who would, just like the physician, view the progress of the disease over time.”16 the fact that leprosy is a disease that often takes years to develop supports the idea that it would take time for a certain diagnosis to be made. plus, as described earlier, and as will be discussed in greater detail later, there was a chance that individuals more resistant to the disease only displayed concealable symptoms. as charlotte roberts writes, “people could have evaded detection knowing that their lives would be over once they entered a leprosy hospital, or they could have made themselves look leprous to gain charity.”17 this last statement appears infrequently in the literature and is perhaps less likely, especially given the connotations associated with the leprous. however, the clear connection of the disease with charity makes it plausible that certain individuals would have been treated better as lepers than whatever their current situation may have been. while leprosy may have been physically evident in a variety of ways, the one most often cited as a ‘definite’ case of leprosy was the deformation of the face. skin lesions and superficial changes in appearance are the most often associated with those of leprosy in art, but these were secondary symptoms for the medieval practitioner. facial deformation was the cornerstone of a confident diagnosis (known as facies leprosa) for whoever was responsible for diagnosing an individual as suffering from leprosy. as multiple medieval cases describe, the effect of leprosy on the face was hard to argue against and difficult to hide. carol rawcliffe lists a number of these cases from a variety of medieval sources across england. for example, “the discolored and distorted face of a once handsome young norman attracted far greater attention than his macerated hands and limbs. gerald the knight fled into exile because of his humiliating facial symptoms, while the horrific aspect of an anonymous welsh leper seemed to reflect the spiritual corruption within.”18 these examples emphasize the importance of facial symptoms over those of the extremities or other less visible parts of the body. this may help to explain the high percentage of facies leprosa in cemeteries associated with leprosaria. multiple cases of medieval medical authorities struggling to diagnose leprosy without facial symptoms are also revealing of the importance of these specific symptoms. luke demaitre writes of how the early fourteenth century “as multiple medieval cases describe, the effect of leprosy on the face was hard to argue against and difficult to hide.” 66 elements : : fall 2014 doctor bernard de gordon was confused by a case in which a long-term patient showed bodily signs of leprosy, and yet the face remained unaffected for over twenty years. in his guide to diagnosing leprosy, gordon explains, “…but these signys sufficeth to me and prinspaly signes that beth in the fface….”19 as artistic depictions of lepers confirm, facial appearance was a sure sign of the affliction from which the individual suffered. the 1425 image of a leper woman with a bell, from the exeter pontifical shows the stereotypical facial lesions and deformed limbs.20 from this evidence, those that showed signs of facies leprosa and other visible leprous symptoms were more likely to be targeted and encouraged to separate from the community. since facies leprosa is understood to be indicative of an advanced case of leprosy, it is likely to have affected the bone tissue during the individual’s life. it has thus been a key piece of evidence in the paleopathological attempt to determine if an individual suffered from leprosy during life. the discovery of facial bones affected by leprosy in high concentrations at cemeteries associated with medieval leprosaria confirms the use of facial deformation as a key symptom in diagnosing leprosy during the middle ages. this facial bone deformation is just one piece of evidence in a set of criteria used to determine whether an individual suffered from leprosy during life. the most often-cited work in the paleopathology of leprosy was that done by v. møller-christensen.21 møller-christensen, and subsequent authors including keith manchester, johannes andersen, and donald ortner, point to four specific locations where leprosy manifests itself in the skeleton: skull, hands, lower leg (distal fibula and tibia), and feet.22 there are then subsets of characteristics for each location, a variety of combinations of these characteristics, and some characteristics are given more weight than others. adding to the diagnostic difficulty is the availability and condition of the skeletal material. often times, some bones are absent or are in conditions not conducive to identifying pathologies. as was clear during life, emphasis is placed upon skeletal lesions of the skull, specifically the rhino-maxillary region. thus, it may be appropriate to say that the diagnosis paleopathologists make today (excepting dna and chemical analysis) are no more accurate than the diagnosis made by medieval clergy or physicians centuries ago. if facial deformation served as a significant symptom of leprosy in life, it is likely that such visible deformation likely affected the bone. evidence for facies leprosa is often cited using a “triad of osseous lesions” determined by møller-christensen in the early 1960s.23 over time, specific evidence has been changed and added, resulting in the following criteria used most often: destructive remodeling of the piriform aperture (anterior nasal opening); destruction of the nasal spine; abnormal porosity of the nasal floor, alveolar process, and hard palate; and destructive remodeling of the anterior alveolar process. as has been mentioned, while these rhino-maxillary changes may present the best evidence for leprosy, they are not ‘pathognomonic’ for leprosy.24 these rhino-maxillary changes may occur in other diseases including tuberculosis, treponematosis, and leishmaniasis, and trauma may also result in similar changes to the bone structure. cook studied precolumbian skeletons from the new world for signs of rhino-maxillary changes.25 since “virtually everyone contributing to paleopathology today regards leprosy as absent from the precolumbian new world,” the presence of these deformations in these populations must be explained by other infections, as cook goes on to explain. the hand and foot lesions indicative of leprosy are also absent from these cranium of a supposed leper; arrow highlights facial deformation (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 67 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner cases, making it inaccurate to declare an individual leprous based on facial skeletal evidence alone. thus, the best case is made when these facial changes are present with other characteristics. the second part of the body in which specific bone change is suggestive of leprosy is the hand. the bone changes in the hands are in response to neuromuscular degeneration, which causes severe flexion and contraction of the fingers during life. this response, known as ‘claw hand,’ results in bone remodeling best described as: “a grooved lesion with hypertrophic cortical reaction of the volar surface of the distal end of the proximal phalanges of the hand.”26 these abnormalities, often simply referred to as ‘volar grooves,’ are not as common as those found in the foot, yet, in combination with other bone abnormalities, have been demonstrated to be suggestive of leprosy. the third aspect of the skeleton for which bone changes are suggestive of leprosy is the lower limb, specifically the distal tibia and fibula. it is important to note that these abnormalities are not a result of the m. leprae bacteria, but a neuromuscular response to a secondary infection. since leprosy results in various skin lesions and sores, broken and untreated skin on and around the feet is more likely to become infected with other bacteria. these pathogens elicit an immune response that would be impaired due to the already-present m. leprae bacteria, resulting in a reactive periostitis, or inflammation of the connective tissue surrounding the bone. the resulting periosteal reaction evident on the bone depends upon the site of the infection. thus, periostitis present along the mid-shaft or more proximal part of the lower leg bones may have been caused indirectly by something other than leprosy.27 examples of secondary infections that may be associated with leprosy include septic arthritis and chronic ulcer. septic arthritis would manifest itself as severe joint destruction and fusion in the ankles. chronic ulcer is also likely linked with leprosy due to its association with neurological degeneration and weakened vascular function.28 if the periosteal lesions that result are composed of woven bone or appear very porous, the infection was likely active at the time of death, and thus possibly indicating the cause of death. this is explained by the fact that leprosy is not a disease that kills; instead, it weakens the immune system and causes death from a secondary infection. the final aspect of the skeleton observed in the study of leprous bone changes is the foot. these abnormalities are linked to neurovascular disorders connected to leprosy and typically take one of two forms: destructive remodeling of the metatarsals and phalanges, or degeneration of the arches of the foot and reactive remodeling of the tarsal bones.29 the remodeling of the metatarsals and phalanges can be described as blade-like or concentric, most prominent in the distal ends and diaphyses. the degeneration of the arches of the foot often manifests itself as abnormal bars of bone on the superior surface of the navicular bone. during life, these manifestations may have resulted in a crippled appearance and difficulty walking—two symptoms shared by those suffering from leprosy—but also may be present in individuals suffering from other diseases or disorders. this resulting ambiguity may have led early hospitals to take in all of the individuals suffering from such visible deformities during their life and buried in their cemeteries, as demonstrated by the skeletal evidence at norwich. as has already been mentioned, it is possible that certain individuals attempted to conceal their potentially leprous conditions during the middle ages. an individual suffering from facies leprosa would have found it difficult to hide his or her condition in public. the burial evidence supports this inference; skeletons found in cemeteries associated with leprosy hospitals most often show signs of rhino“just as medieval clergy and physicians attempted to diagnose leprosy using a variety of signs and symptoms, so too have paleopathologists used a combination of these pieces of skeletal evidence to determine whether the individual suffered from leprosy during life.” 68 elements : : fall 2014 maxillary abnormalities. for example, a study of the sct. jørgensgård cemetery, known to be associated with a leprosarium in odense (medieval denmark), produced the following results: “the (semi)visible facial symptom of the nasal spine occurs around four times as frequently in the odense sample as in the tirup sample, whereas the also (semi)visible symptom of the fifth metatarsal is only twice as frequent in odense.”30 the tirup sample mentioned was from a rural parish cemetery (not affiliated with a leprosarium), also from medieval denmark. this case shows how individuals with facies leprosa were more likely to be found in leprosaria in life and in their cemeteries in death. individuals suffering from abnormalities in the distal limbs were potentially better able to conceal their leprous symptoms, avoiding detection. for this reason, certain researchers include the caveat that skeletons displaying evidence for leprosy solely in the hands, distal limbs, or feet are not categorized as leprous in their analysis. this ability to conceal symptoms, or at the very least avoid detection, may help to explain the presence of individuals with signs of leprosy in community or parish cemeteries. while there are few examples of just distal limbs showing signs of leprosy in cemeteries, this may be explained by the fact that most researchers would not associate sole evidence from these aspects of the skeleton as suggestive of leprosy.31 just as medieval clergy and physicians attempted to diagnose leprosy using a variety of signs and symptoms, so too have paleopathologists used a combination of these pieces of skeletal evidence to determine whether the individual suffered from leprosy during life. for example, roberts chose to look at a set of six criteria which included: facies leprosa only, facies leprosa and feet, facies leprosa and hands, facies leprosa and distal limbs and feet, distal limbs and feet, hand and distal limbs and feet.32 in the analysis of the samples from medieval denmark, boldsen looked at the prevalence of seven different lesions: edge of the nose, spina nasalis anterior, alveolar process, palate, subperiosteal exosteosis on fibula, porous hyperosteosis on fibula, and fifth metatarsals.33 this variability makes it difficult for direct comparisons, but by looking at regions of the skeleton, a more reliable picture appears, just as it likely was for medieval practitioners to look at the whole body and study people over time. in norwich, the criteria used for diagnosing was much more variable, and this may have been due to the unexpected nature of the findings. the skeletal evidence suggestive of leprosy was found in the cemetery of timberhill in norwich, in the castle mall site, dating to around the eleventh century. the domesday book of 1086 records a population in norwich ranging from 1,320 to 1,518, indimedieval leprosarium, painting by vinzenz von beauvais (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 69 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner cating an actual figure anywhere from five to ten thousand, making it the fourth largest town in england.34 the domesday book also records a total of around 50 churches and chapels in the town, suggesting a dense settlement population.35 immediately following the norman conquest, a castle was constructed in norwich around 10671075, leading to the establishment of a cathedral precinct around 1094. this construction dramatically increased the status of the town, perhaps marking the town as an attractive place for travelers or immigrants. of particular interest for this report is the chronology and location of the two cemeteries likely associated with this period of norwich’s history, the cemetery at farmer’s avenue and the cemetery at timberhill, or what was known at that time as the church of st. john at the castle gate. thus, the discussion of the chronology regarding norwich’s history has intriguing implications concerning the affiliations and purposes of these two cemeteries. that being said, the dating of the periods of use of each cemetery has proven controversial. archaeological excavations and radiocarbon dating of the skeletal material at the cemetery at farmer’s avenue have determined that the cemetery was in use from as early as the ninth century through the eleventh century. the cemetery at timberhill has sparked more debate, specifically relating to the results from the radiocarbon dating tests. archaeological evidence and radiocarbon dating suggest different years during which the cemetery was in use, particularly surrounding the question of whether the burial was preor post-norman conquest.36 each date has different implications, each of which is discussed in detail in bayliss, et al.37 however, regardless of the exact dates of use, it appears as though both cemeteries were in use at similar periods of time, overlapping each other for at least a few decades. both cemeteries were in use prior to the construction of the outer city walls in the late thirteenth century, meaning they were likely associated with the town pre-conquest or a few decades post-conquest, as is supported by the evidence. this also dates both cemeteries as in use prior to the construction of the first leprosy hospital, st. mary magdalen, associated with the city of norwich. the hospital of st. mary magdalen was founded in the early twelfth century by bishop herbert de losinga on the outskirts of the town in an area known as sprowston.38 this location parallels that of other leprosaria founded in medieval england, such as the hospital of st. mary magdalen in winchester, also located on the outskirts of the town, 1.6 km east of the main city,39 and the hospitals of st. james and st. mary magdalene in chichester, located about a kilometer outside of the main town.40 further proof that the cemetery at timberhill in norwich was not associated with this first leprosarium is the directive from rome that each hospital must possess its own cemetery, where the sick can be buried separately from the healthy population.41 there was a cemetery excavated at the hospital of st. mary magdalen where skeletal evidence of leprosy was in fact discovered.42 this evidence points to an earlier, perhaps undocumented community or institution for the sick, directly outside the castle gates. in the site’s excavation reports, the archaeologists make a brief mention of this: “it is possible that the timberhill cemetery indicates the burial ground of a leper ‘community’, perhaps even a village. popular social attitudes may have required the segregated burial of lepers even before this became a requirement of the church.”43 however, the key part of this statement, ‘leper community’ is questionable, particularly as a result of the various other pathologies present in the population (table 1). moreover, st. mary magdalen was not the only leprosarium established in norwich: there were at least five others. at least five other leprosaria were established, one at each of the gates leading into the city of norwich, along the north, west, and south sides of the city. it is believed that these five leprosaria were founded following the edict of the third lateran council of 1179, which ordered the confinement of lepers.44 the location outside of the city gates again parallels that of other medieval leprosaria. similarly, according to the excavation maps, the cemetery at timberhill appears to be placed near the defensive wall and entrance gate of the norwich castle. this follows the pattern of segregation based on health status continued throughout the middle ages. the number of leprosaria (five) constructed also appears abnormal at first, but there were in fact ten such institutions in london, and york had five as well.45 however, based on the map of the known leprosy hospitals across england, norwich contains the greatest concentration in a single city in eastern england. this may be an indication of the history of institutions in norwich devoted to the care of the sick even before it was dictated by the church. from the historical evidence and the basic fact that the cemetery contained skeletons suggestive of leprosy, it appears that the cemetery at timberhill may have been associated with a segregated population of individuals suffering from leprosy and other visible illnesses. however, the key to this argument lies in the skeletal evidence. if the cemetery at timberhill served as a burial site for those in70 elements : : fall 2014 terred at a hospital or living in a special community of segregated individuals, there must be an unassociated, community cemetery nearby for the ‘healthy.’ the cemetery that fits this description is the cemetery at farmer’s avenue. the cemetery at farmer’s avenue was in use from the ninth century through the eleventh century (~150 years), but it is unknown whether the cemetery was affiliated with a specific church or institution.46 the population demographics of the interred individuals mirror that of most early medieval cemeteries, albeit the percentage of juveniles (30.9%) is slightly higher than average, and the ratio of females to males (~2 to 1) is also higher than average.47 this is likely attributable to the limited area of the cemetery available for excavation. most important to note is the absence of leprosy according to the excavation reports. there also appear to be very few signs of what would have been visible deformities or illnesses, apart from those often associated with old age, such as osteoporosis or osteoarthritis: “in general terms, however, there is very little evidence for chronic or debilitating illness in this group, other than those related to the aging process.”48 this is in stark contrast to the cemetery at timberhill. the cemetery at timberhill, as already has been mentioned, is most notable for the presence of skeletal evidence suggestive of leprosy. the population demographics are difficult to interpret as a result of the large amount of disarticulated remains present at the burial site. for example, if the disarticulated remains are included, the percentage of juveniles increases from 19.0% to 30.2%.49 without the disarticulated remains included, this percentage is abnormal. in addition to leprosy, it is also worth noting the presence of other potentially visible deformities in the skeletal evidence. there are signs of rickets, spondylolysis, spina bifida, pectus excavatum (‘funnel chest’), various cranial anomalies, perthes disease, metatarsus adductovarus, and disuse atrophy suggesting paralysis (table 1). if these 29 individuals are added to the total number of suspected lepers (35), the percentage of those affected by deformities and illnesses increases to ~36%. moreover, this is likely a conservative estimate, as many potential cases have not been included due to the uncertain nature of their potential for visible manifestation during life. there was also a great deal of trauma-related skeletal evidence, which has not been included in this percentage unless evidence is clear that the trauma was not healed at the time of death. if this cemetery was indeed associated with a hospital or community for the sick, there may have been a number of individuals that were being treated or cared for as victims of accidents or other trauma-inducing incidents. of course, it may also be the likely case that many other individuals present in this cemetery population had illnesses for which no skeletal lesion occurs. similarly to the cemetery at farmer’s avenue, there is evidence of ‘family burials,’ in which skeletal evidence suggests a relatedness between individuals, although this is difficult to interpret due to the large amount of disarticulated remains.50 the evidence of leprosy, coupled with the evidence of other conditions that were likely visible during life, support the argument that the individuals buried in the cemetery at timberhill were grouped together during life in an institution or community for the sick. the presence of a select few healthy individuals in the cemetery, and the evidence for relatedness, may also be explained by the familial segregation of those individuals with leprosy or other diseases. as discussed earlier, the skeletal evidence for leprosy varied between individuals. different labels were used by the researchers: definite, probable, and possible, as well as ‘yes?’ or ‘yes’. in each case of the cemetery at timberhill, a variety of skeletal elements were used in the final determination, through a combination of signs (i.e., rhino-maxillary and hands). the excavation report shows the detailed “the evidence of leprosy, coupled with the evidence of other conditions that were likely visible during life, support the argument that the individuals buried in the cemetery at timberhill were grouped together during life in an institution or community for the sick.” 71 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner pathologies present in each skeleton suggestive of leprosy. the chart lists 35 skeletons, each showing skeletal evidence for leprosy in one of the categories described earlier (skull, hands, distal limbs, feet). however, only 19 are labeled with at least a ‘yes?’ designation, giving a prevalence of 13.3% if these were the sole lepers in this cemetery. as the researchers note, “however, it seems likely that many were not recognizable due to poor preservation.”51 if a diagnosis of leprosy is made by the presence of only one piece of evidence, then the prevalence increases to 19.4% (35 individuals) of the 180 assessable skeletons, “but even this figure is probably too low.”52 of the skeletons with observable skulls, 100% (21 of 21) show rhino-maxillary signs of leprosy, and 19 of those 21 are labeled at least ‘yes?’ lepers by the researchers. just as was believed to be the case in the diagnosis attempts during the middle ages, individuals suffering from facies leprosa were more likely to be identified as leprous from the skeletal evidence. the cemetery at farmer’s avenue had no individuals labeled as leprous; however, of interesting note is the presence of a few individuals with evidence of periostitis in the distal limbs.53 as was discussed earlier, this piece of skeletal evidence is not enough to confidently declare an individual as to have suffered from leprosy, yet its mere presence suggests that if the individual did in fact suffer from leprosy, there is a chance that that individual was able to conceal his or her condition during his or her life and avoid detection long enough to be buried in the cemetery with other ‘healthy’ individuals. when compared with each other, there are stark differences between the cemeteries. first, the mean age at death of each site is different: “unlike farmer’s avenue, more than half the children buried in the area of the st. john’s (timberhill) churchyard died after the age of 6 years.”54 since leprosy takes time to develop, and is difficult to observe, an institution devoted to the care of the sick would likely have fewer young children than a traditional parish cemetery. second, the prevalence of skeletal evidence suggestive of visible deformities in the cemetery at timberhill, and its near absence in the cemetery at farmer’s avenue, suggests a difference in the life of those buried at each cemetery. finally, the mere presence of leprosy in the cemetery at timberhill and its absence in the cemetery at farmer’s avenue suggests a distinct difference. a second, comparative cemetery for the study of medieval leprosy is the cemetery at the hospital of st. mary magdalen in winchester. the history of this particular hospital and cemetery is better understood than that of the cemetery at timberhill, but it has only been recently excavated. the first documented use of the hospital itself was in the mid-twelfth century. however, the recent archaeological evidence suggests it was originally founded in the late eleventh century.55 there were three cemeteries at the site, denoted in the literature as the chapel, the north cemetery, and the south cemetery. while it is difficult to compare the three cemeteries to each other as a result of the different time periods in which they were used, they still provide an accurate picture of cemeteries geographically close to a leprosy hospital. the north cemetery matches the time period of the cemeteries at norwich, while the chapel cemetery and south cemetery appear to have been in use later than the north cemetery, perhaps from the fourteenth century onwards. similar to the norwich cemeteries, the northern cemetery was likely decommissioned around the mid-late twelfth century. there were a total of 11 skeletons studied from the chapel, 5 from the south cemetery, and 38 from the north cemetery.56 just as there was a clear separation in the two cemeteries at norwich, so too is there a distinction between the cemeteries at winchester. although they did not overlap in terms of periods of use, the cemeteries at winchester provide an insight into the separation of leprous individuals. eleven individuals were excavated from the chapel cemetery, with 63% falling into the age category of old middle or mature adult, and only one younger child. for the north and south cemeteries, the researchers describe the age distribution as such: “the age distribution of the burials from the external cemeteries is unusually biased towards younger individuals, but there is an absence of the very young.”57 in terms of paleopathological analysis, the diagnostic criteria used to determine the presence of leprosy is very similar to that used by the researchers at norwich, focusing on the rhino-maxillary region, hands, distal limbs, and feet. of the individuals in the chapel, only one individual had evidence of leprosy. however, this particular individual only showed evidence in the foot bones and distal lower limbs. either there is an alternate explanation for this pathology, or it is another case of an individual who was able to conceal his infection. if the individual was a ‘lay patron’ as suggested by the researchers, this lack of evidence may reflect an early stage of the infection. in the north and south cemeteries, 84% showed signs indicative of leprosy. approximately 77% of the observable individuals diagnosed with leprosy in the north and south cemeteries showed skeletal evidence of leprosy in the rhino-maxillary region. dna tests were run on nine individuals that showed signs of leprosy, and two 72 elements : : fall 2014 (100%) found in the timberhill cemetery. once again, these values show the dependence of both medieval diagnosis and paleopathological analysis upon facies leprosa as positive identifiers for leprosy. in turn, this shows that individuals with visible deformities, especially in the cemetery at timberhill, were likely segregated into special institutions or communities, whether that was a leprosarium or simply a community for the sick. it is also interesting to note the chronological parallels between these two burial sites, the north cemetery at winchester and the cemetery at timberhill. both sites present radiocarbon dating evidence identifying them as being used directly around the time of the norman conquest. this placement in time opens up a series of questions regarding the influence of the norman conquest of england on the institution of leprosaria and hospitals. other future questions still to be answered, both for the cemeteries discussed here and other cemeteries associated with hospitals, are those relating to the origin of the buried individuals. the general perception is that most leprosaria housed local individuals, as carol rawcliffe describes: “… the creation of well over two hundred english leprosaria, usually situated at the gates of towns and cities, for the reception of local people.”65 however, she goes on to write that, “many lepers led a peripatetic existence, migrating from one town to another in search of alms. they encountered a very mixed reception, which varied from place to place over time.”66 if this were indeed the case, there are chances of discovering non-locals buried in cemeteries affiliated with leprosy hospitals. the best method to study this theory would be through strontium isotope analysis. as numerous studies have shown, strontium isotope samples taken from tooth enamel and bone can be compared with local strontium isotope values to determine whether an individual grew up in the local geographic area.67 this isotope study is also useful within populations, as the observance of outliers indicates the presence of individuals from other geographic areas. the implications of such a study at the norwich cemeteries may help to shed light on the use of the cemetery as an institution for the sick and disabled. was it an institution that accepted individuals from all over england, or was it mainly for locals? if the cemetery were used during the period of the norman conquest, would there be evidence of significant outliers? while strontium isotopes have not specifically been studied at the norwich cemeteries, three skeletons have been studied from the winchester control individuals with no evidence of leprosy, all from the north and south cemeteries. all nine individuals were positive for m. leprae, while the two controls were negative, as was expected.58 from this evidence in particular, the high percentage of leprous individuals, the cemeteries were indeed associated with the leprosy hospital of st. mary magdalen. although the percentage of those affected by leprosy is much different between winchester and norwich, evidence from the winchester excavations parallels that of the norwich excavations. the first parallel appears in the demography of each site, particularly the age distribution of the north cemetery at winchester and the cemetery at timberhill. just as the north cemetery contains very few individuals who were ‘very young’ at the time of death, most of the individuals in the cemetery at timberhill died after the age of six. the lack of very young individuals in the winchester cemeteries reflects its affiliation with the leprosy hospital; it is also difficult to find skeletal evidence of leprosy in very young individuals.58 this lends support to the argument that the lack of very young children in the timberhill cemetery is a reflection of its affiliation with a hospital. second, as in the chapel, the cemetery at farmer’s avenue appears to be a burial for the healthy. just as the chapel at winchester had an individual with distal limb periostitis suggestive of leprosy, the cemetery at farmer’s avenue contained a number of individuals with distal limb periostitis. the skeletal evidence for leprosy is also similar in the north cemetery and the cemetery at timberhill, albeit differing total percentages. these differing percentages tell a different story in each cemetery. the high percentage of likely cases of leprosy in the north cemetery is similar to that of other cemeteries known to be affiliated with leprosy hospitals (e.g., andersen, 1969 with ~77%; wells, 1967 with ~60%).60,61 albeit lower than these values, the cemetery at timberhill still has a higher percentage of leprous individuals than other cemeteries unaffiliated with leprosy hospitals (e.g., kjellström, 2012 with ~3%;62 see roberts, 2002 for other examples).63 it is most similar to that of the excavated cemeteries at chichester (~19.5%), known to be affiliated with an almshouse, which housed more than just those suffering from leprosy.64 from these comparable cases, it is likely that the cemetery at timberhill was associated with some kind of institution or community devoted to the care of the sick and disabled. second, the high percentage of evidence from the rhino-maxillary region in the winchester cemeteries (~77%) mirrors the high percentage 73 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner cemetery. in each individual, enamel from an intact molar was analyzed. each of the three individuals fell within the expected range of having spent their adolescent years in winchester. however, this only looks at a very small percentage of the cemetery population, and may not reflect the make-up of the remaining individuals. for example, there was a single individual buried with a scallop shell, which is the traditional symbol for a pilgrim who has journeyed to the shrine of santiago de compostela, spain.68 however, burial evidence alone is not enough to make the assumption that he was an immigrant. understanding the origin of the individuals buried in these cemeteries will help in interpreting the purpose of these institutions. if the cemetery at norwich was indeed associated with a community for the sick and disabled, was it a place of refuge for people around the region, or just the local town? while there are still these questions and others that remain unanswered, the presented evidence supports the affiliation of the cemetery at timberhill with an institution or community for the sick, but not specifically the leprous. while the percentage of individuals with skeletal evidence for leprosy in the cemetery at timberhill is lower than that at the cemetery of the hospital of st. mary magdalen, winchester, this can be explained by the fact that the winchester cemetery was associated with a known leprosy hospital. the cemetery at timberhill sees an increase, nearly double, when individuals with potentially visible illnesses during life are included. this estimate is itself conservative, and there are likely many more individuals who suffered from similar diseases; even leprosy was likely more prevalent in this community given the small percentage of people that actually show skeletal signs of leprosy. the controversial chronological period of use for the cemetery at timberhill also has serious ramifications in terms of the history of disease and care in the area and the affect of the norman conquest on these practices. future study into the origins of these people may help to answer some of these lingering questions and provide more evidence in support of affiliation of this cemetery with a hospital or community for the sick. if these individuals had visible illnesses, the uncertainty in diagnosis during the middle ages may have led to their segregation, whether forced or voluntary. these potential mistakes provide a cautionary tale for today’s paleopathologists, that the skeletal manifestations of a particular disease may take many forms, or none at all, and it is just as important to keep in mind the potential alternative diagnoses a particular piece of evidence may support. endnotes 1. ashmead 2. boldsen 3. lunt 4. belcastro 5. kjellström 6. schuenemann et al., 2013 7. turner 8. rawcliffe 2006 (20-23) 9. rawcliffe 2007 (235) 10. rawcliffe 2001 11. rawcliffe 2007 (238) 12. brody (21-32) 13. roberts 14. ibid. 15. rawcliffe 2006 (168) 16. rawcliffe 2006 (167-168) 17. roberts 18. rawcliffe 2006 (175-176) 19. demaitre (124-125) 20. english school, c. 1400 21. møller-christensen 22. ortner 23. cook 24. ortner 25. cook 26. andersen 1987 27. andersen et al., 1994 28 ortner 29. andersen & manchester 1998 30. boldsen 31. roberts 32. ibid. 33. boldsen 34. popescu (284) 35. popescu (49) 36. bayliss et al., 2004 37. ibid. 38. rawcliffe 1995 (41) 39. roffey & tucker 40. magilton et al., 2008 41. rawcliffe 1995 (46) 42. gilchrist 43. popescu (270) 44. rawcliffe 1995 (47) 45. rawcliffe 1995 (48) 46. popescu (101) 47. anderson (213) 48. anderson (214) 49. anderson (216) 50. anderson (219) 51. anderson (230) 52. ibid. 53. anderson (214) 54. anderson (216) 74 elements : : fall 2014 55. roffey & tucker 56. ibid. 57. ibid. 58. roffey et al., 2013 59. lewis 60. andersen 1969 61. wells 62. kjellström 63. roberts 64. magilton et al., 2008 65. rawcliffe 2007 66. ibid. 67. bentley 68. roffey & tucker references andersen, jg (1969) studies in the mediaeval diagnosis of leprosy in denmark; an osteoarchaeological, historical, and clinical study, ph.d. dissertation, costers bogtrykkeri. andersen, jg (1987) grooving of the proximal phalanx in leprosy: a paleopathological and radiological study. journal of archaeological science 14:77-82. andersen, jg & manchester, k (1988) dorsal tarsal exostoses in leprosy: a palaeopathological and radiological study. journal of archaeological science 15(1):51-56. andersen, jg, manchester, k, and roberts, c (1994) septic bone changes in leprosy: a clinical, radiological and palaeopathological review. international journal of osteoarchaeology 4(1):21-30. anderson, sue. (2009) “4.v human bone.” in norwich castle : excavations and historical survey, 1987-98. elizabeth shepherd popescu, ed. pp. 192-236. norwich; norfolk: nau archaeology ; historic environment, norfolk museums and archaeology service. ashmead, as. (1896) leprosy overcome by isolation in the middle ages. janus 1:558. bayliss, a, popescu, es, beavan-athfield, n, ramsey, cb, cook, gt, and locker, a (2004) the potential significance of dietary offsets for the interpretation of radiocarbon dates: an archaeologically significant example from medieval norwich. journal of archaeological science 31(5):563575. belcastro, mg, mariotti, v, facchini, f, and dutour, o (2005) leprosy in a skeleton from the 7th century necropolis of vicenne-campochiaro (molise, italy). international journal of osteoarchaeology 15(6):431-448. bentley, ra (2006) strontium isotopes from the earth to the archaeological skeleton: a review. journal of archaeological method and theory 13(3):135-187. boldsen, jl (2001) an epidemiological approach to the paleopathological diagnosis of leprosy. american journal physical anthropology 115:380-387. brody, sn (1974) the disease of the soul; leprosy in medieval literature. ithaca, n.y.: cornell university press. cook, dc (2002) rhinomaxillary syndrome in the absence of leprosy: an exercise in differential diagnosis. in the past and present of leprosy : archaeological, historical, palaeopathological and clinical approaches. c.a. roberts, m. e. lewis and k. manchester, eds. pp. 81-88 oxford: archaeopress. demaitre, le (1980) doctor bernard de gordon, professor and practitioner. toronto: pontifical institute of mediaeval studies. english school (15th century). c. 1400 lansdowne 451 fol. 127 “a leper with a bell,” from a pontifical. gilchrist, r (1992) christian bodies and souls : the archaeology of life and death in later medieval hospitals. pp. 8082. kjellström, a (2012) possible cases of leprosy and tuberculosis in medieval sigtuna, sweden. international journal of osteoarchaeology 22(3): 261-283. lewis, me (2002) infant and childhood leprosy: clinical and palaeopathological implications. in the past and present of leprosy: archaeological, historical, palaeopathological and clinical approaches. c. a. roberts, m. e. lewis and k. manchester, eds. pp. 163-169. oxford: archaeopress. lunt, da. (2013) the first evidence for leprosy in early mediaeval scotland: two individuals from cemeteries in st. andrews, fife, scotland, with evidence for normal burial treatment. international journal of osteoarchaeology 23(3): 310-318. 75 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner magilton, jr, lee, f, and boylston, a (2008) “lepers outside the gate”: excavations at the cemetery of the hospital of st. james and st. mary magdalene, chichester, 1986-87 and 1993. york england: council for british archaeology. møller-christensen, v (1961) bone changes in leprosy. copenhagen: munksgaard. ortner, d (2008) skeletal manifestations of leprosy. in “lepers outside the gate” : excavations at the cemetery of the hospital of st. james and st. mary magdalene, chichester, 1986-87 and 1993. j. r. magilton, frances lee and anthea boylston, eds. pp. 198-207. york england: council for british archaeology. rawcliffe, c (2001) learning to love the leper: aspects of institutional charity in anglo-norman england. anglo norman studies, xxiii. pp. 233-252. rawcliffe, c (1995) the hospitals of medieval norwich. norwich: centre of east anglian studies, university of east anglia. rawcliffe, c (2007) isolating the medieval leper: ideas and misconceptions about segregation in the middle ages. in freedom of movement in the middle ages. harlaxton medieval studies 15:229-248. rawcliffe, c (2006) leprosy in medieval england. woodbridge, uk; rochester, ny: boydell press. roberts, ca (2002) the antiquity of leprosy in britain: the skeletal evidence. in the past and present of leprosy: archaeological, historical, palaeopathological and clinical approaches. c. a. roberts, m. e. lewis and k. manchester, eds. pp. 213-222. oxford: archaeopress. roffey, s & tucker, k (2012) a contextual study of the medieval hospital and cemetery of st. mary magdalen, winchester, england. international journal of paleopathology 2(4): 170-180. schuenemann, vj, singh, p, mendum, ta, krause-kyora, b, jäger, g, bos, ki, herbig, a, economou, c, benjak, a, busso, p, nebel, a, boldsen, jl, kjellström, a, wu, h, stewart, gr, taylor, gm, bauer, p, lee, oyc, wu, hht, minnikin, de, besra, gs, tucker, k, roffey, s, sow, so, cole, st, nieselt, k, and krause, j (2013) genome-wide comparison of medieval and modern mycobacterium leprae. science 341(6142): 179-183. popescu, es (2009) norwich castle: excavations and historical survey, 1987-1998. dereham; norwich: historic environment, norfolk museums and archaeology service; in conjunction with nau archaeology. taylor, gm, tucker, k, butler, r, pike, awg, lewis, j, roffey, s, marter, p, lee, oyc, wu, hht, minnikin, de, besra, gs, singh, p, cole, st, and stewart, gr (2013) detection and strain typing of ancient mycobacterium leprae from a medieval leprosy hospital. plosone 8(4):e62406. turner, bs (1984) the body and society: explorations in social theory. oxford, [oxfordshire]; new york, ny, usa: b. blackwell. wells, c (1967) a leper cemetery at south acre, norfolk. medieval archaeology xi:242-248. 76 elements : : fall 2014 s k e l e t o n number pathology 10229 spina bifida 10492 spina bifida 13072 spina bifida 11405 pectus excavatum (‘funnel chest’) 11488 congenital absence of basi-occipital bone (causing abnormal head posture) 13040 kyphosis 10069 kyphosis 10031 scoliosis 10264 scoliosis 11034 scoliosis n/a scheurmann’s disease n/a scheurmann’s disease n/a scheurmann’s disease n/a scheurmann’s disease n/a scheurmann’s disease n/a scheurmann’s disease 13073 rickets 11250 rickets 10224 perthes disease 13266 myositis ossificans 10836 myositis ossificans 11502 ankylosis of wrist 13212 metatarsus adductovarus 13105 abnormal bending/rotation of leg bones 11055 abnormal bending/rotation of leg bones 13044 abnormal bending/rotation of leg bones 11476 disuse atrophy (suggestive of paralysis/ smallpox/rickets) 10723 scalp infection 11471 ischial bursitis (possibly a result of a traumic event) table 1: skeletal evidence indicating potentially visible deformities/handicaps/illnesses in the cemetery at timberhill, except for leprosy 77 paleopathologist as medieval practitioner dante’s poetry draws heavily from both christian theology and pagan mythology, specifically greek and roman. among the stories which dante reinterprets is the tale of the unfortunate lovers pyramus and thisbe, originally characters in ovid’s metamorphoses. while ovid writes of the human concerns of pyramus and thisbe, dante is concerned with their connection to the divine. dante also connects symbols in the pyramus and thisbe story, such as that of the lion, to christian and old testament mythology, thereby effectively and poetically synthesizing the two traditions into a single, multifaceted one. the great yarn ball dante’s poetics and ovid’s pyramus and thisbe paul boboc dante tends to resist, even oppose, reduction to a single poetic interpretation. in spite of his poem’s richness of content, an extensive poetics may be deduced. with particular regard to the various retellings, reversions, and inversions of the mythological pyramus and thisbe episode throughout the comedy, and the aid of some of the perceptive commentators on ovid’s myth, dante’s poetic philosophy sought to make poetically immanent the promise of christian redemption. in order to do so, he combined the promise of christian eternity with pagan poetic myth. no understanding of dante’s poetics can afford to ignore the comedy’s various ovidian echoes. the key to dante’s poetics lies in ovid’s poignant episode, synecdoche for the grander tragic patterns of classical myth, which he reverses in the general scheme of the comedy. dante’s inversion of the myth, implies that sacred theology and human poetry, rather than being at odds, may be used intertextually toward the end of spiritual regeneration. dante’s inversion of the myth works on three levels, representing (1) dante the ascending pilgrim’s union with beatrice (contra the mutual deaths of the lovers); (2) the union of the divine with the profane as immanent in the loftiest stages of sacred experience (a point that the lion in the first canto of the inferno makes explicit); and (3) the union of appropriated, and appropriately re-interpreted, classical poetry and christian theology toward the highest spiritual ends. this article concentrates on the third representation, citing mandelbaum’s translation. it might be proper to attend to the particulars of the pyramus and thisbe myth before an analysis of its appropriation by dante. the story is recounted in book 4 of ovid’s metamorphoses, a staple latin text of the european middle ages and renaissance. in the oft-quoted story, pyramus and thisbe are babylonian lovers whose parents forbid them from seeing each other. however, they realize that there’s a chink in a wall, and communicate through it. they decide to meet clandestinely in the woods, under a mulberry tree by ninus’ tomb. thisbe arrives first and is frightened by a lion; she runs away and leaves her veil, which the lion tears. pyramus arrives and sees the veil; assuming that a wild animal has killed her, he stabs himself. when she returns and sees his dead body, she likewise kills herself. on a literal plane, the myth explains the ruddy complexion of mulberries; allegorically it furnished ample grounds for re-interpretation and appropriation by european authors, most famously shakespeare and dante, both of whom transform its tragic content into platforms for highly original and wildly contrasting narrative settings. in dante, the first significant allusion to the myth is in purgatorio iii, lines 94-99:1 without your asking, i shall tell you plainly that you are looking at a human body; that’s why the sunlight on the ground is broken don’t be astonished; rest assured that he would not attempt to cross this wall without a force that heaven sent him as support.2 virgil responds to the excommunicated shadows’ inquiry into dante’s physicality, of which the pilgrim himself is unaware. according to virgil, dante cannot and will not cross the wall of broken sunlight “without / a force that heaven sent him as support,” recalling the wall that separates pyramus and thisbe in babylon. the fundamental difference between the ovidian wall and purgatorio iii’s dantean wall rests in the former’s profanation by the lovers, whose heedless amour turns them against their parents’ injunction; the latter cannot be crossed except through the help of divine favor. dante’s wall functions polysemously: as a physical actuality and an allegory of poetic creation. between the lower echelons of dante’s triparportrait of dante alighieri by sandro botticelli (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 79 the great yarn ball tite hierarchy and the higher there lie several divisions, which the eerie wall of this canto symbolizes, and dante only goes on, as pilgrim and as poet, because he has the support of the divinity. in the pyramus and thisbe narrative, the sacrifice enacted by the lovers amounts to a kind of primeval pagan ritual-sacrifice; the comedy itself may be appropriately understood as a monument or laudatory sacrifice to the divine. several other parallels draw the stories together. durling and martinez note that the spirits pull back in hesitation, just as thisbe draws back upon seeing pyramus’ dying body.3 dante casts himself as an ultimately successful pyramus, inverting the death-narrative of the original story: in dante’s account, it is the pilgrim who ascends higher, and the spirits, stuck in purgatory, have the clement promise of reconciliation with god, unlike the vainly suicidal thisbe. the inversion of ovid’s story thus propels dante’s inverted poetics of atonement, transforming the unredeemed tragedy of the pre-christian mythos into a poetry of promised redemption. the pyramus and thisbe story, though significant in relation to paradiso, is most explicitly tied to purgatorio, where many who loved “not wisely but too well” end up. durling’s observation that “the simile of purg 27.37-42 makes at last explicit the relation of ovid’s story to the fundamental system of imagery governing the purgatorio”4 bears weight; dante directly compares himself to pyramus: when he saw me still halting, obstinate, he said, somewhat perplexed: “now see, son: this wall stands between you and your beatrice.” as, at the name of thisbe, pyramus, about to die, opened his eyes, and saw her (when then the mulberry became bloodred), so, when my stubbornness had softened, i, hearing the name that’s always flowering within my mind, turned to my knowing guide. unlike pyramus, who rashly kills himself for earthly love, dante turns to his “knowing guide.” in these lines, the fundamental difference between ovid’s myth and dante’s poem, between classical poetry and the dantean poetic paradigm, is foregrounded: the former stops at human eros, while the latter has the stamp of divine protection. like the mulberry, perpetually budding in springtime, dante claims that beatrice’s name is “always flowering within my mind.” in dante, the connection remains virginal and sacred, at its most human barely transgressing the bounds of modesty. in ovid, the spilled blood originmyth of the mulberry’s redness connotes the spilled blood of broken virginity. dante transmutes, and ultimately rewrites, ovid’s paganism into a poetics of christian transcendence. in his notes on the inferno, boccaccio, one of dante’s earliest and most celebrated commentators and a fellow-poet, “…recognizes exclusively the modality of poetic allegory, for poetry at large holds within its compass all theology, philosophy, and myths… the distinction between history and fiction fades… most importantly, the term genealogy implies that the text purports to be a meta-discourse or posthumous commentary on myth.”5 boccaccio understood the comedy in such terms, as did dante himself. richly suggestive, the medieval tradition of ovidius moralizatus, wherein the works of ovid were read as the effusions of a moralist-seer, influenced dante’s interpretation of the pyramus and thisbe narrative, as well as the architecture of his outlook on poetry.6 dante’s poem picks up the moralizatus tradition; after all, his poem’s tripartite division creates a poetry of moral hierarchies. however, he places himself within the classical tradition by inverting the pyramus and thisbe story. as durling notes, “the entire comedy thus involves a metaphorical reversal of the tale of pyramus and thisbe… it moves from confrontation with a lion and other beasts in the dark wood to the safety of home…”7 this observation suggests more than the reversal of the pyramus and thisbe story; it hints at the reversal of the tragic poetics that distinguish greco-roman literature from dante’s own poetic ethos. “the fundamental difference between ovid’s myth and dante’s poem...is foregrounded: the former stops at human eros, while the latter has the stamp of divine protection.” 80 elements : : fall 2014 the initial episode of the three beasts, constituting verses 43 to 47 in the first canto of the inferno, merits inclusion here; it provides the incipit to the myth’s inversion: …hope was hardly able to prevent the fear i felt when i beheld a lion. his head held high and ravenous with hungereven the air around him seemed to shudderthis lion seemed to make his way against me. the origin of the lion metaphor, though related to the pyramus and thisbe story, also has thematic ties to jeremiah: “wherefore a lion out of the wood hath slain them, a wolf in the evening hath spoiled them, a leopard watcheth for their cities: every one that shall go out thence shall be taken, because their transgressions are multiplied, their rebellions strengthened.”8 in both the pyramus and thisbe narrative and the old testament passage, the lion is given remarkable agency and eventual victory over the people with which it comes into contact, though in the former it does not actually enact the massacre, instead staging it by planting fear in the lovers. symbolic of pride, the lion in the inferno does not deter dante; it is the wolf that makes him give up in despair, before virgil reaches out to him: “the very sight of her so weighted me / with fearfulness that i abandoned hope / of ever climbing up that mountain slope.”9 the wolf is a symbol of avarice, but its mythological significance allows for a less christian interpretation: she recalls the suckling of remus and romulus by a she-wolf, and thus harbors symbolic gravity as evoker of roman culture, including roman literary culture and myth. dante’s inversion of old testament prophecy and of lion-story, and his fear and hesitation before the she-wolf, connect his metaphorical journey with both, but it also connects the old testament with latin history, since in both the old testament account and in the roman pyramus and thisbe narrative, the lion triumphs over the human. the comedy, in which the lion is defeated, inverts both, and dante triumphs over wolf and lion alike: it is the post-scholastic counterpoint to the desultory existential crises with which pre-christian individuals, lacking the proper spiritual instruments, could not contend. the reversal of the pyramus and thisbe story builds to a crescendo through the comedy, culminating in the latter stages of the paradiso. durling makes the intriguing point that the wall that separates pyramus and thisbe becomes the wall of fire in purgatorio 27, and that starting in purgatorio 4:17, the chinks in the rocks, through which the travellers mount, bear a kind of symbolic resemblance to the chink through which pyramus and thisbe communicate. furthermore, he asserts that beatrice’s veil in purgatorio 30:31 and 31:145 is the “ultimate version of thisbe’s veil.”10 the referential parallels, rather than being a tribute to the ovidian story, sustain an implicit diatribe against the earthly eroticism and unredeemed suicides of the babylonian lovers. thisbe’s veil manufactures pyramus’ suicide, and the chink in the wall allows for the lover’s unholy, and eventually doomed, rendezvous; chink, wall, and veil in the ovidian mythos prognosticate death in the forest, and the lovers’ spilled blood carries no spiritually resurrective potential. indeed, in the pyramus and thisbe story, the veil fools pyramus into thinking that thisbe had died, and distinguishes itself as an artifact of illusion rather than an emblem of sacred chastity. in dante, thisbe’s deceptive veil and the redness of erotic desire transform into symbols of christ-like sanctity and the purging, baptismal fire of christ’s spilled blood: “a woman showed herself to me; above / a white veil, she was crowned with olive boughs; / her cape was green; her dress beneath, flame-red.”11 the final mystical vision likewise contrasts with the ovidian myth, and with all classical poetry, because it allows dante a vision of the divine that pre-christian antiquity could not have fathomed. the ultimately rent veil symbolizes the final unity of poetry and god, of desire and divine will, and transcends “in both the pyramus and thisbe narrative and the old testament passage, the lion is given remarkable agency and eventual victory over the people with which it comes into contact...” 81 the great yarn ball erotic desire as such, which pyramus and thisbe do not. dante writes of divine love: “nel suo profondo vidi che s’interna, / legato con amore in un volume, / ciò che per l’universo si squaderna”; “in its profundity i saw-ingathered / and bound by love into one single volume/ what, in the universe, seems separate, scattered….”12 the chief distinguishing characteristic between ancient poetry and the universe-as-poem (and the comedy itself, of course), lies in the former’s erotic as opposed to divine immanence, secular and pagan art’s fundamentally tragic scope, which dante strives to amend. hawkins, in dante’s testaments, offers an enriching interpretation of dante’s christological re-appropriation of classical tradition. dante’s distancing himself from ovid, with a particularly evocative statement on his relationship to ovid: “nonetheless, taken strictly on its own terms, their legacy for the christian poet is a dead letter, cut off from the radiance and joy that constitute dante’s divine vision,”13 hawkins claims, and goes on to quote line 99 of inferno’s canto 25, which references ovid: “io non lo ‘nvidio.” a pun turns the statement into a polysemous signifier: io non lo ‘nvidio reads as “io non ovidio” also: i am not ovid. and since dante is not ovid (but superior, as he must have considered), the comedy is not the story of pyramus and thisbe; the comedy is not a document of classical tragedy’s doomed eros, but of saving grace. in fact, ovid in the comedy occupies an inferior position to the ovid of the convivio and earlier dantean poetry, and is relegated or downgraded to a second-rate position: what [dante] largely found in [the metamorphoses] was not some quasi-biblical writer almost as authoritative as virgil, but a curator of the fallen world in all its hideous permutations: a pagan master who would provide not a meditation on the cosmic power of divine providence but a sustained nightmare of rage, rape and human loss.14 hawkins likewise notes that the last mention of ovid, in canto 25 of the inferno, occurs in the midst of lines that offer an ovidian display of poetical-rhetorical appropriation, a spectacle of “mutare e transmutare.”15 this is dante’s private confession of his poetic technique: the mutation and transmutation of classicism and mythological rhetoric. the superbly ironic fact that this confession and veiled criticism of ovid occurs in the circle of thieves and on the brink of the false counselors, as hawkins notes, poignantly illustrates dante’s hesitation to borrow directly from ovid, and makes ovid out to be a cautionary signal, like ovid’s own phaeton and icarus, unsuccessful proto-types of the dante-as-pilgrim motif.16 a further separation may be adduced: that of dante the pilgrim in the comedy’s narrative and of ovid as man, who, like dante, was banished from his patria, though more severely than the florentine. ovid as exile perhaps reminded dante of himself, prompting dante to transcend his exile in his greatest literary achievement by achieving mystic union with the object of his purged love. the comedy as a whole contrapuntally opposes ovid’s work: where the comedy promises salvation and attains the beatific moment, ovid’s unruly, mellifluously licentious poetry exiles him to dacian tomis. as the discerning reader will have noticed, in general, whenever he implicitly evokes the pyramus and thisbe story, dante colors his verses with the presence of solar or pyrrhic illumination, metaphor for sacred radiance and enlightenment, and purgatoio 4:14 makes mention of the sun “having climbed fifty degrees,” a datum that dante, separated from virgil by a “gap,” does not notice. the broken sunlight in 3:96 accords the same thematic parallel. the sunlessness establishes a correspondence between the story and dante’s interpretation of ovidian myth. though he admired ovid (with some caveats, as hawkins notes), he admired biblical truth more, and inevitably placed it on the highest level. dante’s poetics can be understood best in light of his interpretation of biblical literature in relation to classical pagan poetry: “what is involved [in the comedy] is how dante brings secular history and salvation history into focus, and more particularly, the process of transposition of the methods of patristic hermeneutics from the bible into secular literature.”17 dante’s treatment of virgil’s texts, for example, offers insight into his methods of poetic appropriation: “the common practice of moralizing pagan texts is dramatized by dante in the canto of statius, where statius is shown subverting the literal statement of the virgilian text in favor of a spiritual sense that accords with his own inner world.”18 this attitude was extended to ovid, who, because he lived before the coming of christ, could have functioned on only two of the four levels of poetry (literal and allegorical, sans the anagogical and moral dimensions). the appropriation of the pyramus and thisbe narrative and its “mutare e transmutare” into a poetics of christian theological polysemy, inexorably means that certain things have to be kept out: “accordingly, the examples evoked especially from ovid are generally ones from which dante dissociated himself in the end. they are exempla warning against the temptation to venture beyond the parameters sanctioned for human endeav82 elements : : fall 2014 or.”19 unlike ovid, dante “sets himself as the instrument and vehicle—rather than the rival and challenger—of the divine” and his prayer to apollo to be turned into a worthy vessel20 parallels paul, the vas electionis of acts i.15, more than ovid’s overreaching characters.21 dante’s hesitation to follow ovid’s example, his apparent aversion to the ovidian mythos, ethos, and even, in some respects, pagan pathos, accords with his treatment of other classical poetic beacons like virgil and statius, both of whom he respected but self-acknowlegedly eclipsed. his poetics may also be understood in relation to the orpheus myth, most famously celebrated by ovid himself. as leah schwabel notes: dante only explicitly names orpheus once in his divine comedy, upon seeing him within the limbo for intellectuals. yet the function of the orpheus figure in the divine comedy, similar to his function in literature, is that of chimera. the shade of orpheus residing in dante’s limbo serves only as the mold for the multiple imprints the figure leaves throughout the text.22 she likewise notes that orpheus had three (somewhat schizophrenic) identities. he was orpheus the lover, orpheus the musician, and orpheus the dispeller of mysteries.23 franke makes a similar point: “orpheus’ descent was taken over by church fathers… and projected onto an infinite abyss of divine transcendence… the christian moral sense of orpheus’ loss of eurydice is that we must overcome attachments to worldly loves on pain of death.”24 as the pyramus story stands in the background of the comedy as a cautionary tale, the orpheus story takes on equally poignant attributes, dante himself being a kind of orpheus on a mission to unite with his perished beloved. unlike pyramus and orpheus, dante the pilgrim succeeds in his endeavor toward divine union; unlike the former, he finally transcends the poignant ephemerality of erotic desire, and unlike the latter, he makes it through the other worlds by virtue of god’s grace. in shakespeare: invention of the human, bloom claims that shakespeare invented the formula that sexual desire faced with the shadow of mortality becomes eroticism. dante, already aware of the formula, oversteps both in his final vision of beatrice and, ultimately, of divine love. his unflattering exchanges with the pyramus myth, and, to a lesser extent, orpheus’ tragic story, endorse such a reading of the comedy. to conclude, dante sets himself as a worthy rival to ovid, and his poetics display considerable aversion to, and rivalry with, the poetic mythos, ethos, and even pathos of ovidian and classical poetic tradition. dante’s poetics, ultimately, can be understood best in light of his puzzlingly ambidextrous relationship with ovid, whose myth of pyramus and thisbe he adopts and inverts within the context of his christian epic. dante does not merely appropriate and re-write ovid; he explicitly compares himself to pyramus and engages in critical dialogue with the great autore, and his discourse with him translates into a broader dialogue with all of classical tradition, which he finally transcends. dante’s poetry overshadows mortality, and the divine love it speaks of redeems and exalts. these are mighty achievements that the pyramus and thisbe story, for all its poignancy and potential for re-interpretation, cannot boast. endnotes 1. durling & martinez, 620 2. dante, purgatorio iii, 94-99 3. durling & martinez, 620 4. ibid. 5. whitman 335 6. freccero 306 7. durling & martinez, 620 8. jeremiah 5:6 9. dante, inferno, 52-54 10. durling & martinez, 620 11. dante, purgatorio 27, 31-33 12. dante, paradiso 33, 85-87 13. hawkins, 146 14. hawkins, 148 15. dante, inferno, 25, 43 16. hawkins, 149 17. lansing, 16 18. ibid. 19. franke, 9 20. franke 14 21. ibid. 22. schwabel, 1 23. schwabel, 2 24. schwabel, 92 references alighieri, dante, robert m. durling, ronald l. martinez, and robert turner. the divine comedy of dante alighieri. new york: oxford up, 2004. alighieri, dante, allen mandelbaum, and peter armour. the divine comedy. new york: knopf, 1995. 83 the great yarn ball hawkins, peter s. dante’s testaments: essays in scriptural imagination. stanford, ca: stanford up, 1999. lansing, richard h. dante: the critical complex. new york: routledge, 2003. franke, william. dante and the sense of transgression: ‘the trespass of the sign’. london: bloomsbury academic, 2013. freccero, john. dante: the poetic of conversion. president and fellows of harvard college: boston, 1986. schwabel, leah. dante’s metam-orpheus: the unspoken presence of orpheus in the divine. mcgill, 07 june 2005. comedy. hirundo: the mcgill journal of classical studies, volume iv: 62-72 (c) 2005-2006. whitman, jon. interpretation and allegory: antiquity to the modern period. leiden: brill, 2000. 84 elements : : fall 2014 while most consider fascism a phenomenon unique to twentieth-century europe, there were a number of fascist organizations present in america during the same time fascism across the atlantic was on the rise. the black legion was a secret organization with an agenda of fascist revolution which performed acts of extreme violence. in contrast, the silver legion was a public political platform with a fascist economic plan that was prone to acts of discrimination and violence. the most successful and prominent fascist organization in america, however, was the christian front, a strong, anti-semitic political organization which incited riots and began to plan acts of terrorism. from doctor shepard to father coughlin an exploration of fascism in 1930s america nick centrella to a modern american, fascism is an ideology associated with the rise of adolf hitler and the destruction of world war ii. it has been reduced to a mere slogan, a by-word for oppressive tendencies in any organization. although history seems reluctant to admit it, fascism as a political movement was not confined to one side of the atlantic. in the period between 1930 and the entrance of america into the second world war in 1941, fascism as a political trend stretched across the entirety of the united states. among a murky subculture of various radical fascist extremist paramilitary organizations, three stand out for their cohesion, large membership, and proclivity for violence: the black legion in the midwest, the silver legion on the pacific coast, and the christian front on the east coast. each group differed in organizational methodology, but shared the same goal: the overthrow of the government of the united states and its replacement with a fascist state. the black legion had its origins in the 1920’s ku klux klan, where its name was initially the klan guard. the grand cyclops of the bellaire klan, dr. william jacob shepard, founded the guard between 1924 and 1925 in the small industrial town of bellaire, ohio. he originally planned to switch the standard white klan robes with black ones, replete with red trimming and a white skull and crossbones.1 after a brief power struggle during the 1925 klan convention in ohio, the bellaire klavern’s charter was revoked for a violation of klan discipline. undeterred, shepard continued his klan activities with his new blackrobed guards, who came to be known variously as the black night riders, the blacks, and, ultimately, the black legion. with shepard as head, the black legion was similar to the klan in that it retained notions of southern chivalry as its main focus, preferring backwoods vigilantism and initially refraining from any sort of fascist political agenda. at this time, the legion was known mainly for floggings, tar and featherings, and ominous threats that often forced the accused to flee town for their own safety.2 shepard had replaced the standard klan initiation with his own secret ceremony that he claimed to be modeled on the “black oath of quantrill,” named for the band of confederate bushwhackers that famously massacred union sympathizers in lawrence, kansas during the civil war. the initiation was usually done in the late hours of the night, preferably midnight, in a secluded rural location. the initiates were asked to confirm that they were native born, white, protestant, american citizens. they were bound to oppose catholics, african-americans, and immigrants, and were made to pledge that they would arm themselves as soon as possible. after a brief speech by a current member, the recruits knelt. guns were then pressed to their backs, and they were forced to repeat the black oath as dictated by a current member of the legion.3 by april of 1929, the legion had begun their vigilante activities in earnest. they whipped a man in the backwoods of ohio, threatened another man and two young girls with lynching, tarred another woman, and kidnapped a black man, who they put on a train against his will and sent south.4 these activities continued for some time under shepard. in 1931, a man from lima named virgil effinger took effective control of the legion with the intent to turn this klan offshoot into an effective revolutionary protofascist organization.5 effinger reorganized the legion on the model of the united states army. he created regiments based on four battalions, each of which was composed of four companies, each company having ninetynine men. therefore, each regiment contained roughly sixteen hundred soldiers. furthermore, effinger instituted a rank system to bring order to his new army. the bottom level was known as the foot legion, whose members could be promoted to night riders, then black knights, then armed guards. at the top was the bullet club.6 his second-in-command was isaac “peg-leg” white. white was a former policeman active in the legion who lost his leg in an auto accident. because he received a pension from the city of detroit, he was able to focus most of his time and energy on organizing for effinger’s new revolutionary group. in 1933, he is suspected to have murdered (or aided the murder) of two communist organizers.7 with those murders, revolutionary legion violence was beginning. that same year, the legion initiated the bombings of radical and communist bookstores and recreational centers, committed arson against at least one pro-catholic theatre, and was directly responsible for the murder of labor organizer george marchuk. members planned assassinations of the boss of highland park, the councilman in highland park, and the mayor of ecorse, michigan; all were catholics.8 political revolutionary violence had become the norm, and the legion became less of a vigilante group and more of a dedicated nativist fascistic political party. effinger began planning the seizure of washington d.c. by 1935.9 brigadier general lupp investigated the possibility of attacking enemies by means of typhoid. in an eerie parallel to the nascent holocaust in germany, effinger planned to place time bombs filled with mustard gas in every american synagogue during yom kippur. the ex86 elements : : fall 2014 pected death toll was one million.10 soon, the legion’s militant anti-catholicism became a detriment to the organization. members planned to plant a bomb near the shrine of father charles coughlin, a well-known fascist supporter and potential ally.11 such sentiment did not shield even the most loyal of legionnaires, as shown by the story of roy pitcock. he was hanged by the legion for refusing to leave his catholic wife.12 legionnaire dayton dean tried and failed to kill catholic mayor william w. voisine of ecorse in 1935. instead, he shot a black campaign worker named edward armour. dean then lured another black worker to a cottage in pinckney, michigan. legion members shot him and dumped his body in a swamp.13 on may 12, 1936 a catholic named charles poole was kidnapped, driven out to a field near dearborn, and shot five times. the poole murder became the legion’s undoing. soon the local police had followed the trail of bodies to dayton dean, who in turn revealed the activities of the legion in public. the secret organization, suddenly thrust into the spotlight, collapsed almost overnight.14 while not overtly fascist in the economic sense, the black legion shared characteristics of contemporary european revolutionary movements. in particular, effinger’s pledge to take washington d.c. echoed mussolini’s march on rome. their violent methods were used by similar groups abroad. however, they lacked several essential characteristics that tend to exclude them from groupings with exclusively fascist organizations. in particular, their intense secrecy immediately ensured that they would never be able to carry out the mass rallies made popular by adolf hitler, or even father coughlin’s christian front. as previously stated, they also lacked an explicit economic agenda, in sharp contrast to the corporatism favored by the silver shirts and the populism espoused by the coughlinites. while not explicitly fascist in some senses, the black legion can nevertheless be considered one of the preeminent groups that must be examined in any investigation into american fascism. while the black legion epitomized revolutionary terroristic violence, the silver legion fulfilled the need for fascist grandeur. by no means secret, the legion’s founder william dudley pelley was named to who’s who in america in every edition from 1926 to 1942.15 the silver shirts, as they were commonly known, can trace their origins back to pelley’s manifesto no more hunger, written in 1933. modeled on mein kampf, pelley called for the creation of a christian commonwealth that would be based on a fascist brand of corporatism. the new state, in pelley’s mind, should also incorporate anti-semitism and white supremacy.16 to achieve this, the silver legion of america (commonly called the silver shirts) was formed on january 31, 1933.17 pelley named himself national commander and centered his headquarters in oklahoma city. unlike the black legion’s ominous robes, pelley created a uniform like those worn by fascist supporters in europe. the silver shirts dressed in a tie, dark blue corduroy pants, and a silver shirt with a scarlet l on the shoulder.18 according to pelley, the symbol stood for love, loyalty, and liberty.19 membership was restricted to white christian males who were over eighteen and native born or naturalized citizens. the majority were protestants.20 pelley’s new legion was strongest in the pacific northwest, where 1,600 were spread out over twenty-three towns in washington state.21 just as effinger had his white, pelley’s chief lieutenant was a man named roy zachary. zachary was to the silver shirts what white was for the black legion; he provided pelley with a trustworthy and energetic organizer in the midwest. he also provided what little active militancy the silver shirts had to offer. zachary suffered a concussion during a brawl with protestors at a silver shirt rally in chicago and was arrested several times for inciting to riot.22 what the silver shirts lost in direct action they more than made up for in grandiose planning. like the reputed occult characteristics of hitler’s nazism, pelley combined his open fascism with an esotericism that attracted recruits. he announced that hitler’s appointment as chancellor in germany coincided with a prophecy pelley had heard in 1929. pelley reportedly based such a prophecy off of measurements of the great pyramid in egypt.23 later conspiracies had a blatant flair for the anti-semitic. silver shirts reported dutifully that henry morgenthau, then secretary of treasury under president franklin d. roosevelt and of jewish origin, purchased quarters from a mint in russia for only five cents, creating a twenty-cent profit for himself on each quarter put into american circulation. similarly, they regarded president roosevelt himself as a hidden jew whose original name was rosenfelt.24 pelley’s economic plan was similarly impractical. his ideal christian commonwealth would include an “american corporation.” this corporation would force americans to live on one fourth of america’s potential production, creating supposed massive surpluses. therefore, each citizen would get $1,000 beyond what they themselves earned that year. those too old to work would receive their average earnings as they were in 1928.25 87 from doctor shepard to father coughlin overtly fascist towards the end of the 1930’s, and after 1938 his anti-semitic rhetoric became more pronounced.30 he vehemently opposed the league of nations, capitalism, foreign intervention, communism, the roosevelt administration, and jews.31 his own economic program was similar to corporatism, and he argued for sixteen principles of social justice. these included, but were not limited to, a just living wage, public ownership of public necessities, the nationalization of the federal reserve system, a graduated tax system, and government control of property deemed a necessity for the welfare of the general public. while coughlin and the national union for social justice provided the political cover for the organization, the christian front was known to initiate violent revolutionary activity. initially, conflict was confined mostly to new york city. mobs of coughlin supporters, often with little organization or leadership, participated in various brawls and muggings, mostly directed towards those they perceived as jews. in one incident, a man named lawrence maynard was beaten for selling anti-coughlin propaganda. the perpetrator, john dugan, was charged with assault, brought to a wanted poster for william pelley (photo courtesy of us government via wikipedia) it was ultimately pelley’s political platform and campaign of militancy that caused his personal downfall and the dissolution of his private army. he enlisted lieutenants that included a man named virgil hayes, who later testified against him before the special house congressional subcommittee on un-american activities. hayes asserted that he taught legionnaires street fighting techniques and trained them in the use of small arms. he also claimed that he had been offered money for various munitions: $10 for each rifle, twenty dollars for each case of ammunition, $50 for each machine gun. two corporals at the north island naval base in san diego reportedly sold the silver shirts shotguns, rifles, and pistols.26 appearances before a separate committee revealed pelley’s contacts with the german government. apparently, a colonel edwin emerson had offered pelley a reward of ten dollars for each german he recruited for the legion. they set a target of 15,000 german members. pelley claimed that he refused the offer.27 nevertheless, he was charged with sedition in 1942, tried, convicted, and sentenced to fifteen years in the terre haute federal penitentiary. soon after the conviction, the silver legion ceased to exist. pelley’s silver shirts represent a political evolution from the black legion. the group was well organized, armed, and politically active. most importantly, they can be characterized as explicitly fascist based on their corporate economic platform and public displays of organization. pelley was also a charismatic leader in the vein of mussolini and hitler, whereas effinger was less prone to showmanship and more concerned with violence. the combination of the silver legion’s flair for the political and the black legion’s penchant for revolutionary violence manifested itself in the christian front, founded by father charles coughlin. where the black legion lacked a specific political platform and the silver shirts did not carry out any specific violent attacks, the christian front encompassed all the aspects of a typical fascist movement. no discussion on the christian front can take place without mentioning father charles coughlin. beginning in 1931, coughlin regularly used radio to lambast his political opponents.28 his addresses were first directed at opponents of the new deal and he was seen as a strong ally of president roosevelt. in 1934 he publicly broke with the roosevelt administration and started his own party.29 the national union for social justice, as it came to be known, reached its peak membership at 4 million, most of whom were catholics on the east coast. coughlin himself was 88 elements : : fall 2014 trial, and subsequently given a suspended sentence and released.32 other incidents saw various anti-coughlin rallies degenerate into riots. at one point, an elderly female picketer randomly attacked a man and a woman for appearing to be jews.33 though these acts were violent, they did not constitute the sort of political terrorism one often finds in a fascist group. the closest the christian front ever came to a legitimate terrorist attack was uncovered in january of 1940. the brooklyn christian front sports club (bcfsc) was a christian front affiliated action committee centered in the heart of new york city. various accounts place either william bishop or john cassidy as its leader. bishop was well known in fascist circles and at one point was marked for assassination by the order of 76.34 an fbi informant within the bcfsc detailed the club’s activities over the period of a year in 1939. bishop is known to have planned the bombing of a daily worker office and also attempted to burn down the communist party headquarters in new york city.35 it is known that the club participated in firearms training on october 21, 1939. they were self-armed, and various members boasted of arms theft, mostly from government sources.36 it is known that bishop himself personally came into the possession of two browning machine guns stolen from a boston armory.37 at one point, the informant was introduced to two men identified as members of the irish republican army, ostensibly present to buy and sell weapons.38 the group planned to bomb several public centers in the new york area, and purchased the materials necessary to do so. an fbi raid on january 13, 1940 eventually interrupted their activities. upon inspection of their headquarters, the fbi found the following: fifteen partially completed bombs, eighteen cans of trench mortar explosive powder, ten 30.06 caliber rifles of various manufacture, two .45 caliber springfield rifles, four .22 caliber rifles, one .32 caliber savage automatic machine gun, one twenty gauge shotgun, seven hundred and fifty rounds of machine gun ammunition, three thousand five hundred rounds of 30.06 caliber ammunition, dynamite fuses, flares, chemicals, and at least one sword.39 additionally, seventeen members were arrested.40 after a highly publicized trial, three were freed due to lack of evidence, nine were acquitted, and five were granted mistrials. no one was ever convicted as a result of the raid. by all accounts, the christian front was sufficiently prepared for a devastating terrorist attack. the arms seized in the 1940 raid were easily enough to cause considerable damage to both public property and government employees. there is little doubt that, while the press derided them as fanatics, the brooklyn christian front sports club was capable of a spectacular terroristic attack that was only averted due to the timely fbi raid. it was, in a sense, the most complete fascist organization america has ever seen. the front had a strong political arm in the national union for social justice, a charismatic hitler-esque leader in father coughlin, and a well armed and dedicated direct action group prepared to engage in political violence. although not unique in neither their ideology nor their methods, the front appears to be the only group that was capable of garnering mass political support while still maintaining a penchant for violence. it epitomizes what american fascism could have been, and asserts once and for all that fascism as a movement does have a place in the annals of american history, whether history would like to include it or not. endnotes 1. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism: the black legion as an american hyrbrid,” comparative studies in society and history, 25, no. 3 (1983), 493. 2. amann “vigilante fascism...”, 494 3. amann “vigilante fascism...”, 496 4. amann “vigilante fascism...”, 500 5. peter h. amann, “a ‘dog in the nighttime’ problem: american fascism in the 1930’s,” the history teacher, 19, no.4 (1986): 556 6. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 504. 7. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 506 8. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 511 9. peter h. amann, “a ‘dog in the nighttime’…”, 566. 10. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 512. 11. peter h. amann, “a ‘dog in the nighttime’…”, 567. 12. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 518. 13. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 520 14. peter h. amann, “vigilante fascism…”, 521 15. suzanne g. ledeboer, “the man who would be hitler: william dudley pelley and the silver legion,” california history, 65, no. 2 (1986), 127. 16. eckard v. toy, jr., “silver shirts in the northwest: politics, prophecies, and personalities in the 1930’s,” the pacific northwest quarterly, 80, no.4 (1989): 141. 17. suzanne g. ledeboer, “the man who would be hitler…”: 129. 18. ledeboer, 130. 19. arnold sevareid, “silvershirts meet secretly here but come out openly in pacific coast drive,” the minneapolis journal, september 12 1936. 20. eckard v. toy, jr., “silver shirts in the northwest…”, 141 21. toy, jr., 142 22. toy, jr., 143 23. toy, jr., 140 89 from doctor shepard to father coughlin 24. arnold sevareid, “silvershirts say quarters are bought by morgenthau in russia at 5 cents each,” the minneapolis journal, september 15, 1936. 25. arnold sevareid, “silvershirts here elevate maurice rose to status of international banker” the minneapolis journal, september 14, 1936. 26. ledeboer, 132 27. ledeboer, 135. 28. charles j. tull, father coughlin & the new deal, (syracuse: syracuse university press, 1965), 1. 29. tull, 59 30. philip jenkins, “”it can’t happen here”: fascism and rightwing extremism in pennsylvania, 1933-1942,” pennsylvania history, 62, no. 1 (1995): 43 31. james p. shenton, “fascism and father coughlin,” the wisconsin magazine of history, 44, no.1 (1960): 9 32. james wechsler, “the coughlin terror.” the nation, july 22, 1939: 93 33. wechsler, 95 34. fbi case # 65 hq 4279, christian front, file in possession of the author. 35. ibid 36. ibid 37. ibid 38. ibid 39. ibid 40. francis macdonnell, insidious foes, (new york: oxford university press, 1995), 37. 41. charles j. tull, father coughlin & the new deal: 223. references amann, peter h. “a ‘dog in the nighttime’ problem: american fascism in the 1930s.” the history teacher. 19. no. 4 (1986): 559-584. amann, peter h. “vigilante fascism: the black legion as an american hybrid.” comparative studies in society and history. 25. no. 3 (1983): 490-524. fbi case # 65 hq 4279, christian front, file in possession of the author. jenkins, philip. “”it can’t happen here”: fascism and right-wing extremism in pennsylvania, 1933-1942.” pennsylvania history. 62. no. 1 (1995): 31-54. ledeboer, suzanne g. “the man who would be hitler: william dudley pelley and the silver legion.” california history. 65. no. 2 (1986): 126-136. macdonnell, francis. insidious foes. new york: oxford university press, 1995. sevareid, arnold. “silvershirts here elevate maurice rose to status of international banker.” the minneapolis journal, september 14, 1936. sevareid, arnold. “silvershirts say quarters are bought by morgenthau in russia at 5 cents each.” the minneapolis journal, september 15, 1936. shenton, james p. “fascism and father coughlin.” the wisconsin magazine of history. 44. no. 1 (1960): 6-11. toy, jr., eckard v. “silver shirts in the northwest: politics, prophecies, and personalities in the 1930s.” the pacific northwest quarterly. 80. no. 4 (1989): 139-146. tull, charles j. father coughlin and the new deal. syracuse: syracuse university press, 1965. wechsler, james. “the coughlin terror.” the nation, july 22, 1939, 92-97. 90 elements : : fall 2014 paul boboc nick centrella frank a. direnno is a senior biology major and history minor in the college of arts & sciences. he is interested in using scientific techniques to answer historical questions, focusing his research interests in the fields of bioarchaeology and paleopathology. he is currently using isotope analysis to study the geographic origins of historic italian populations for his senior honors thesis. outside of class, he has taught health education classes through peer health exchange and plays alto saxophone for the boston college pep band. tate krasner is a junior in the college of arts & sciences from charlotte, nc, majoring in international studies and minoring in chinese and russian. his primary interests include conflict resolution, global security, peacekeeping, and ethics. he has served as a research assistant for professor kenneth himes, focusing on the ethics of targeted killing and drone warfare, and he has completed independent research on chinese unmanned aerial vehicles and asiapacific security at the s. rajaratnam school of international studies in singapore. additionally, krasner serves as deputy editor-in-chief for al-noor and as a clough junior fellow. author biographies samantha pinsak is a junior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in history and economics. her paper was written for professor ross’s “women of the renaissance” (h300) course. aside from writing long papers, she enjoys singing in bc’s liturgy arts group, tutoring through the neighborhood center, and is excited to start her new role as a health coach through the office of health promotion! she recently participated in a maya archaeological dig in northern belize, and plans on working for a non-governmental organization in switzerland for the spring of 2015. missa sangimino is an english major in the class of 2015. after studying abroad at kings college london and interning with the fulbright commission, sangimino completed an independent research project with professor greene on financial regulation, analyzing the history and impact of the volcker rule during the spring of 2014. sangimino is currently undertaking an honors thesis, analyzing female representation in mafia narratives, and will be continuing as a teaching assistant in the business law department of the carroll school of management. she is also a member of the bc cycling team, the arrupe nicaragua program, the english association, and peer health exchange. margaret scollan was a member of the class of 2014, and graduated cum laude with a bachelors of science in biology and a minor in history. she is interested in archaeological science, an interdisciplinary field tying together biology, chemistry, archaeology, and history. she is pursuing her masters of science in archaeological science at durham university, united kingdom (‘15). maggie is an alumna of the boston college presidential scholars program, a member of alpha sigma nu, and was selected as a 2014 fulbright finalist. “nicosian diets and daily life” is an abridged version of her honors senior thesis. stacia vladimirova is a junior in the college of arts & sciences majoring in political science with a double minor in economics and sociology. she is a member of the boston college chapter of the golden key international honour society and political science honors program. her primary interests include russian and u.s. foreign policy, as well as energy and environmental policy. her interest in the process and consequences of globalization was developed while studying abroad in russia during a gap year, and is a driving force in her academic and personal interests. list of artwork cyprus © un ocha portrait of girolamo savonarola © wikimedia commons cosimo de medici © wikimedia commons israeli soldier © israel defense force mourning © wikimedia commons franz kafka © sigismund jacobi gazprom logo © gazprom vladimir putin © norgler/wikimedia commons cranium © wikimedia commons medieval leprosarium © wikimedia commons dante alighieri © wikimedia commons william pelley wanted poster © us government/wikipedia 10 28 34 42 45 50 58 60 67 69 79 88 in 2014, a merger proposal was submitted to the u.s. department of justice by comcast corporation and time warner cable. the proposed merger has incited popular opposition due to concerns that it would lead to the applicants’ monopolistic control over the internet distribution market. consequently, appeals have been made in favor of enforcement of antitrust laws in this case. while it may be symptomatic of a need for the laws to change, there is currently no legal foundation for the opposition, and it would be fully legal for the department of justice to support the merger. in any case, either verdict will lead to a profound legal precedent. positive law vs. good intentions the legality of the comcast-time warner cable merger harrison tune introduction in february of 2014, comcast corporation publicly announced its intention to acquire time warner cable, inc.. as per antitrust statutes, this proposed transaction is currently under review by the u.s. department of justice, which is responsible for the regulation of mergers that substantially limit competition in a given market.1 the department of justice considers two primary aspects concerning horizontal mergers — the lessening of competition and the over-consolidation of market share that confers a monopoly.2 in the case of the merger submitted by the applicants (comcast corporation and time warner cable, inc.), the department of justice considers the change in competition caused when two companies in the same market merge and the increased market share they will control as both a multichannel video programming distributor (mvpd) and an internet service provider (isp). these concerns are mostly addressed in comcast’s merger proposal fact sheet that contains several claims that this paper will analyze.3 notably, there has been a substantial public outcry against the proposed merger of the applicants. opponents of the merger claim that the applicants are attempting to consolidate an isp market share well beyond reason, potentially conferring monopolistic powers. moreover, they believe that the current anti-competitive and anti-consumer tactics of both companies obligate the department of justice to deny this merger in order to prevent any further marginalization of consumer interests. history of horizontal merger regulation 1890-2009 the history of positive antitrust law in the united states began with the sherman antitrust act of 1890.4 considered to be the founding document of antitrust statutes in the u.s., the act regulates the sort of anti-competitive business tactics that engendered the gilded age.5 the clayton antitrust act and federal trade commission act of 1914 followed the sherman antitrust act, addressing and amending gaps in antitrust statutes—such as price fixing—as well as formally establishing a body to preside over alleged anti-competitive behavior of corporations.6,7 the department of justice and the federal trade commission issued the first horizontal merger guidelines in 1992 according to sections of the three aforementioned acts. these guidelines were revised in 1997 to “reflect the ongoing accumulation of experience at the agencies.”8 2010-present the new horizontal merger guidelines, issued august 19, 2010 by the department of justice and the federal trade commission, constitute the current guidelines for horizontal mergers. these guidelines are based upon the statutes in section 7 of the clayton antitrust act, sections 1 and 2 of the sherman antitrust act, and section 5 of the federal trade commission act.9 most pertinent is section 7 of the clayton antitrust act, “[prohibiting] mergers if in any line of commerce or in any activity affecting commerce in any section of the country, the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly.”10 for the purpose of this article, the guidelines namely state what market share concentration and market definition are, address how they relate to the prevention of anti-competitive horizontal john sherman was the principal author of the 1890 sherman antitrust act. (courtesy of the library of congress) 68 elements : : spring 2015 mergers, and establish standards for the extent to which a merger may legally reduce competition. analysis in the case of a merger review, the department of justice must decide whether or not the merger is pursuant to its horizontal merger guidelines. that fact depends on whether the lessening of competition or conference of a monopoly is a reasonable outcome of the proposed merger.11,12 the applicants would argue the following in support of the merger: • as the applicants do not compete in any markets directly, their merger does not represent a direct reduction of actualized competition in any way.13 • after the divestiture of the applicants proposed in the merger fact sheet, the merger will result in a net 8 million mvpd (multichannel video programming distributor) subscriber gain. this divestiture sufficiently addresses the increased market share, as they remain below the 30 percent threshold instituted by the mvpd market definition.14,15 • any complaint as to the anti-consumer nature of the applicants’ service is unfounded, as the applicants compete in a market where other options are available to consumers; in such a market, the interests of the applicants, should they wish to remain competitive, must be aligned with pro-consumer policies.16 • the exclusive access that the applicants maintain with certain parts of the isp and mvpd markets are a result of the applicants’ maintenance of a natural monopoly that is not per se illegal because no entity can provide the same service with better efficiency in the same circumstances. the market can be best served by only the applicants in some cases.17 the applicants respond to concerns regarding over-consolidation of market share and problems they believe are readily pertinent in the merger review process. they point to divestment statistics that keep their market share below the department of justice’s indicated threshold for the mvpd market and maintain that the proposed merger puts the applicants in a better position to provide improved service to its customers in establishing economies of scale, as isp and mvpd markets can vastly increase operating efficiencies given a higher subscriber base.18 opponents of the merger would focus their arguments on the following: • after the proposed merger, the applicants will control “approximately… 35.5% of the fixed isp market.” this data also accounts for digital subscriber line (dsl) providers on the market, a service that is significantly slower to the point where it should be considered an entirely different product from cable and fiber offerings.19 although the isp market is not explicitly defined per the department of justice’s own classifications and there is therefore no fixed amount of market share under which the applicants must remain, the department of justice has a duty to reject the merger on this ground alone: 35.5% of a market (without account for deflation) has the potential to give the applicants monopolistic power over the isp market. the opponents would therefore argue that the applicants have an obligation to divest in order to quell monopolistic concerns.20 • while the poor service which engenders the applicants’ conduct in mvpd and isp markets is not per se illegal, the exclusive nature with which they possess both cable and internet resources as a “natural monopoly” (that is, a market which functions most efficiently with one provider) creates a dangerous precedent because control over internet service providing is not actually a natural monopoly. therefore, the applicants’ control of the market, considering products and service that are not exceptional in nature and their use of tactics that amount to an attempt to competitively exclude, constitute an illegal monopoly.21 the opponents’ arguments focus on the applicants’ control of the isp market, calling the department of justice to investigate what constitutes unfair market share in the isp market. the opponents believe such an investigation would conclude that the applicants control too large a share of the market. the isp distribution statistics from 2013, which are deflated as a result of the inclusion of mobile and dsl providers, reveal that the applicants controlled a total of 33.7% of the diluted market. although this statistic may be clouded by the inclusion of information not pertinent to the actualized market, the opponents of the merger claim that its diluted numbers alone and growth over the past year are sufficient reason to worry.22,23 they also point to the fact that the applicants failed to discuss their isp market share in their merger fact sheet despite the reality that, should the merger be approved, the applicants would become the single largest isp in the united states. 69 positive law vs. good intentions the key issue that arises in the analysis of the merger is the extent to which the department of justice is allowed to protect consumer interests. the opponents focus on the potential for those interests to be harmed by further consolidation of a market that they already identify as anticonsumer; however, the applicants claim that they are acting in good faith and are not violating the standards set forth by the current horizontal merger guidelines, and, as the department of justice has not brought suit against the applicants for violation of consumer interests in any way, it is assumed that it does not believe that this market is anti-consumer. while the department of justice seeks to protect consumer interest, the concentration of market share in the idp market that is yet to be defined is hard to address until a proper investigation is held. before that definition is reached, the department of justice has no obligation to block the merger on grounds of consolidation so long as they are not grossly negligent.24 the opponents of the merger would refute the claim that the market should first be defined before attempting regulation by analogizing the case to united states v. microsoft corp., in which the d.c. circuit court ruled against microsoft’s assertion that the industry required “direct proof of market power.”25 the opponents would argue that, similarly, the department of justice doesn’t need direct proof of market power; precedent dictates that they can rely on “circumstantial evidence” alone.26 the applicants’ defense of this claim would focus on the wording of the case ruling, specifically in the circuit court’s reference to the software market in question, as “uniquely dynamic.”27 the applicants would emphasize that the isp market is a service market and is neither particularly unique nor dynamic. furthermore, while the concerns of exclusionary behavior on the part of the applicants to protect a hegemony over the isp market should, in the opinion of the merger’s opponents, force the hand of the department of justice in taking an active role to address the purportedly anti-competitive tactics, that obligation does not extend into the process of a merger review when it falls outside of its jurisdiction. essentially, the problems that the opponents point out all fall outside of the realm of regulation imposable by the department of justice. while they correctly identify that, at some ends, the isp market lacks competition because of a concentration of resources on the part of the applicants, that fact alone is insufficient reason for blocking the merger. the applicants claim that this concentration is the result of significant capital expenditure as well as of the nature of the isp market functioning most efficiently when served by one provider in certain cases, but the opponents point out that the applicants have lobbied to prevent local municipal broadband and fiber networks as the reason for this continued exclusive access in certain markets rather than an existing infrastructure or ideal efficiency.28 according to the opponents, the applicants’ efforts in denying local isp initiatives constitute competitive exclusion. the actual issue, however, isn’t so black and white.29 while local initiatives can serve to increase access and quality of service for individuals as well as stimulate competition, there are several reasons, by which the applicants swear in their defense of lobbying initiatives working to legislate against local broadband and fiber networks, why these efforts should not be considered natural competition that is being excluded.30 local municipal networks use taxpayer money and, while they have been successful (even highly successful in some cases, regarding isp service decades beyond the fcc’s proposed standard), they have the realized potential to fail and absorb taxpayer money unnecessarily.31 even in a best-case scenario, successful local broadband initiatives had the tendency to reduce overall competition, since the service for the local initiative far exceeded that of competitors. this shows that, in certain situations, one provider alone can offer the best service.32 in addition to potential concerns for failure, there is the argument against government involvement in private af“opponents of the merger claim that the applicants are attempting to consolidate an isp market share well beyond reason, potentially conferring monopolistic powers.” 70 elements : : spring 2015 fairs. indeed, although the internet is viewed by many as a public utility that should not be controlled with such ease by private interests, internet access is not classified as such. as a result, its access is not free from private interests, in part because it was those private interests that made widespread access to the internet possible in the first place. while president barack obama has urged the federal communications commission to reclassify broadband service as a “public utility,” no decision has been made. as one telecommunication group has claimed, that “reclassification… will guarantee harm to consumers.” another has claimed much the opposite, that the impact of such a move is unclear.33 despite the consumer interest that the department of justice must support, opponents of the merger suggest that the department of justice should over-regulate in the case of this merger to protect consumers from companies like the applicants, whose consolidation of resources in order to produce an economy of scale has made access widespread in the first place.34 moreover, the opponents urge the department of justice to address claims that are outside of its jurisdiction. however, the department of justice cannot reclassify broadband service nor regulate municipal broadband, as those duties fall on the federal communications commission and congress, respectively. even if it did fall under their jurisdiction, over-regulation of a private sector of business can preemptively have disastrous effects on a market, even if well-intentioned.35 personal statement and conclusion opponents of the merger point out flaws in a market that has been long overdue proper market identification by the department of justice in order to clarify the extent at which market share consolidation becomes dangerous. however, they offer little in terms of actionable regulation. the proposal of the applicants, notwithstanding a sudden market classification indicating a threshold below 35.5% share count, is within the legal parameters set forth by the horizontal merger guidelines. all claims of the opponents are unanimously issues yet to be addressed by their respective bodies and remain irrelevant to this merger. businesses must have clearly defined rules within which they can operate in order to function efficiently, and jeopardizing that relationship for no clear benefit is shortsighted at best. furthermore, while complete abstinence from public initiatives for broadband may not be the ideal solution for a growing populace where broadband access is becoming ever more important, this merger is not the means by which that solution should be predicated. instead, the department of justice and the federal communications commission should undergo an investigation as to how viable these local initiatives and, pending the result of that investigation, should determine the accuracy of claims of the applicants’ exclusionary business tactics in seeking to support legislation against those initiatives.36 it is also worth noting that extensive and reactionary government involvement in areas such as isp markets should be advised against because of the dangerous precedent and incentives that could be established as a result. as it stands, the applicants are within their rights to merge. policymakers, including administrative and executive agencies, must be careful in considering business incentives in major decisions of policy. in the same way that it is important for corporations not to possess a monopoly over the internet, it is essential that the government does not intervene in a major, potentially financially crippling way that interferes with private interests without mandates to change. comcast and time warner cable logos (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 71 positive law vs. good intentions however, it is important to note that while the applicants are within their rights to merge, this right is extended by the current state of broadband service, a state that necessarily needs to be investigated by the proper agencies, if not reclassified and adjusted. just because no government mandate for change has occurred doesn’t mean it shouldn’t; the department of justice and the federal trade commission have themselves admitted that current regulation is the result of an “ongoing accumulation of experience,” correctly asserting that regulation is both an iterative process and a reflection of what was thought to be correct at its time of issuing rather than concrete fact.37 while the applicants fall within their legal rights to merge, the opponents correctly point out that the u.s. isp market has been falling behind other countries, perhaps as a result of exclusivity that has not been infringed upon by the government and corporate scale used to exploit rather than compete.38 indeed, despite having the second highest number of internet users as of february 2014 (a total of 194.7 million users), the united states doesn’t even make the top ten list in terms of average internet speed.39,40 the federal communications commission continues to define an initiative in its “[goal] for a high performance america” as “4 mbps downstream and 1 mbps upstream,” allowing u.s. isp providers to advertise speeds on the absolute lowest quality of service from previous years as proper broadband.41,42 upon analysis, it becomes clearer and clearer that the weakly worded guideline presented by the federal communications commission does not hold the isp market to proper standards in the coming years, and instead allows it to stagnate. especially if mergers like the one proposed by the applicants are approved, providing those corporations with the advantage of economies of scale and network effects as a result, companies like those of the applicants are indeed poised to provide immense “pro-consumer” benefits as touted in their fact sheet.43 however, companies like the applicants have failed to produce the results that they claim make the proposed merger necessary. they attempt to squeeze out every dollar and maintain the status quo within the market instead of actively competing to provide better service. action must be taken on the part of the department of justice and the federal communications commission in the form of stricter broadband guidelines to ensure that agreements, such as the one proposed by the applicants, promote both business interests and innovative interests in the future, rather than ones that may aim only to retain an illegitimate hegemony over a market. a bigger comcast isn’t a bad thing per se; it just happens to be in the current state of broadband. endnotes 1. u.s. department of justice and the federal trade commission. 2. ibid. 3. comcast and time warner cable (13). 4. peritz. 5. ibid. 6. ibid. 7. due to time constraints and lack of immediate pertinence, this article will not address the robinson-patman act of 1936 or the celler-kefauver act of 1950. 8. u.s. department of justice and the federal trade commission. 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. it is worth noting that the united states legal system uses a four-part test to determine the legality when a monopoly is concerned, but this article will not address that process due to time constraints and the lack of established net of the applicants as controlling a monopoly in any market. 13. comcast and time warner cable (13). 14. ibid. 15. u.s. department of justice and the federal trade commission. 16. comcast and time warner cable (13). 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. zachem. 20. ibid. 21. blum-smith, et al. 22. statista, “u.s. internet service provider market share q4 2013.” 23. zachem. 24. twomey and jennings. 25. weinstein (273). 26. ibid. 27. ibid. 28. blum-smith, et al. 29. engebreston. 30. blum-smith, et al. 31. engebreston. 32. ibid. 33. wyatt. 34. weinstein (273). 35. while network effects in market economies may be important to the analysis of the benefits of the proposed merger, due to time constraints, this article does not address those aspects of the merger. 36. although worth noting, due to time constraints this article does not address the issue of a business’ use of lobbying a form of free speech. 37. u.s. department of justice and the federal trade commission. 38. blum-smith, et al. 72 elements : : spring 2015 39. statista, “number of intenet users in selected countries.” 40. statista, “countries with the highest average internet connection speed as of 2nd quarter 2014 (in mbps).” 41. federal communications commission. 42. it is necessary to note that in the internet service market, different upload and download speeds have no inherent difference in cost and any difference is simply a directly imposed throttling: i.e. where four megabytes per second download speeds can be found, there is no technical limitation on providing the exact same speed for uploads. 43. comcast and time warner cable (13). references blum-smith, laura et al. “joint petition to deny of future of music coalition and writers guild of america west, inc.” 25 aug 2014. “comcast and time warner cable transaction fact sheet.” transaction-fact-sheet 2-13-14*n.d.): n. pag. 13 feb. 14. “countries with the highest average internet connection speed as of 2nd quarter 2014 (in mbps).” statista. n.p., 2nd quarter 2014. engebreston, joan. “municipal broadband opposition laws: pros and cons – and legality.”telecompetitor. pivot media, 5 sept. 2014. “horizontal merger guidelines (08/19/2010).” horizontal merger guidelines. u.s. department of justice and the federal trade commission, 19 aug. 2010. in the matter of applications of comcast corp. and time warner cable inc. for consent to transfer control of licenses and authorizations, mb docket no.14-57, letter regarding post-divestiture data from kathyrn a. zachem, senior vice president, regulatory and state legislative affairs, comcast corporation et al. to marlene h. dortch, secretary, fcc, june 27, 2014, p.5. (“zachem broadband divestiture letter, june 27, 2014) “national broadband plan.” home. federal communications commission, 17 mar. 2014. “number of internet users in selected countries.” statista. n.p., february 2014. peritz, rudolph j. r. competition policy in america, 18881992: history, rhetoric, law. new york: oxford up, 1996. print. samuel noah weinstein, united states v. microsoft corp, 17 berkeley tech 273 (2002). twomey, david p., and marianne jennings. “administrative agencies.” business law: principles for today’s commercial environment. mason, oh: thomson/south-western west, 2004. n. pag. “u.s. internet service provider (isp) market share q4 2013 | statistic.” statista. n.p., 2013. wyatt, edward. “obama asks f.c.c. to adopt tough net neutrality rules.” the new york times. the new york times, 10 nov. 2014. 73 positive law vs. good intentions o v e r c o m i n g i g n o r a n c e the case for a moral imperative to combat global poverty p a u l w e n d e l t h e r e s p o n s e o f a f f l u e n t i n d i v i d u a l s a n d c o u n t r i e s t o t h e e x t r e m e s o f g l o b a l p o v e r t y i n t o d a y ' s w o r l d i s i n d i r e n e e d o f r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n . w h i l e p o l i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h e r s s u c h a s j o h n r a w l s a n d t h o m a s n a g e l a r g u e t h a t o b l i g a t i o n s o f j u s t i c e s h o u l d n o t e x t e n d b e y o n d n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s , o t h e r s s u c h a s t h o m a s p o g g e a n d p e t e r s i n g e r e m p h a s i z e t h a t i n c r e a s e d g l o b a l i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e h a s m a d e n a t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s i r r e l e v a n t f o r m a t t e r s o f m o r a l i t y a n d j u s t i c e . i n s t e a d , a f f l u e n t i n d i v i d u a l s m u s t u n d e r t a k e a n e w m o r a l m i n d s e t w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e i s s u e o f g l o b a l p o v e r t y , a n d a n e w m o d e r a t e , m o r a l c o s m o p o l i t a n t h e o r y f o r j u s t i c e s h o u l d b e e s t a b l i s h e d i n o r d e r t o c h a n g e t h e s t a t e o f p o v e r t y i n o u r w o r l d r a d i c a l l y . i n t r o d u c t i o n the way in which the governments and citizens of affluent countries respond to world poverty is cause for serious concern. extreme poverty causes 18 mill ion deaths each year. one would think that this would elicit a moral outcry and tangible response from those i n the world capable of taking action, but unfortunately, this is not the case. in an increasingly globalized and interdependent world, affluent people can no longer justify their ignorance or lack of involvement in the fight to eradicate poverty. in order to address the extreme inequality present i n the world today, affluent individuals must radically change their approach to moral issues. the goal of this paper is to examine the unjustified ways i n which affluent individuals and their nations attempt to sidestep their moral obligation to combat extreme poverty, and to recommend a new moral outlook and international theory of justice which could change the way affluent individuals and countries react to the present state of the world. the paper begins by addressing the excuses and assumptions that affluent citizens make to justify their failure to contribute to the alleviation of world poverty. section two then presents the theories of two prominent political philosophers, john rawls and thomas nagel, who argue that obligations of justice should not extend beyond national boundaries. in response to such theories, section three presents the work of philosophers such as thomas pogge and peter singer who strongly disagree with this nationalistic approach and argue that increased global interdependence has made national boundaries irrelevant for matters of morality and justice. section four discusses pogge's argument that affluent individuals need to change their moral mindset to see that combating world poverty is a moral imperative, not a mere preference. finally, section five proposes a moderate, moral cosmopolitan theory for international justice that can change the way the world addresses inequality and global poverty, a theory which, i f adopted, would radically change the world in which we live. a s s u m p t i o n s a n d excuses of a f f l u e n t c i t i z e n s instead of undertaking relatively simple actions to alleviate world poverty, citizens of affluent countries make excuses for their failure to act and try to distance themselves from the reality of the situation. they claim it is too costly of an undertaking even for affluent countries and that it would disadvantage the country to contribute to the cause of alleviating extreme poverty. even worse is the apparent willful ignorance individuals assume in order to alleviate their moral obligation to help. in his book world poverty and human rights, thomas pogge spends a significant amount of time investigating this moral failure on behalf of affluent nations and the way in which it affects—or fails to affect— world poverty. writing i n 2002, pogge addresses the current crisis of global poverty and the way in which individuals in affluent nations deal with what he sees as the radical need for action. answering the question of why prosperous western countries that emphasize moral values allow such poverty, he states, "extensive, severe poverty can continue, because we do not find its eradication morally compelling." 1 unti l affluent countries relate themselves to situations of dire poverty, they can go on pretending they have minimal moral obligation or ability to affect the situation. pogge analyzes the arguments given by wealthy individuals to justify their lack of involvement. one argument is that the challenge of alleviating world poverty is such a huge undertaking that it would be an unbearable cost even for rich countries. this argument holds little water. as pogge points out, it would take a shift of only 1.2 percent of the aggregate annual gross national incomes of the high-income economies, or 300 billion dollars annually, toward poverty eradication to bridge the gap between the poorest individuals and the $2 ppp (purchasing power parity) a day poverty line. 1 1 philosopher peter singer similarly argues that " i f i t is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do i t ." 1 1 1 almost anyone would agree that a contribution of 1.2 percent would not be sacrificing anything comparable to e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 alleviating world poverty. a second argument advanced by affluent countries is that history has shown that poverty cannot be eradicated by giving money to developmental aid. while it is true that sometimes anti-poverty campaigns and official development programs are unsuccessful, there are organizations that have learned from past mistakes and have taken great strides in implementing effective programs. organizations such as oxfam international and experienced non-governmental organizations (ngos) are good alternatives to affluent states' official aid. in his book one world, singer reiterates this sentiment and adds that the administrative efficiency of international aid is improving. the number of people one billion dollars could sufficiently lift out of poverty more than doubled between 1990 and 1998.1 v the argument that international aid does little to affect poverty is refuted by the effective work done by such organizations. the greatest moral failure on the part of wealthy individuals, however, is the lack of knowledge about—and even possible willful ignorance of—the true extent of world poverty and the steps needed to alleviate it. pogge describes it best when he writes, "the common point is thoughtlessness.'^ most individuals in affluent societies assume that world poverty is diminishing due to the great strides taken with treaties, declarations, and the establishment of institutions such as the world bank and the united nations over the past 50 years. the harsh reality is that world poverty has not declined since 1987.™ part of the ignorance may be blamed on western media. the media gives plenty of coverage to human-made horrors, but it rarely reports on the millions of ordinary deaths that occur every year due to malnutrition and starvation^" at the same time, however, individuals themselves need to make an effort to pay more attention. in 1995, the washington post conducted a survey which asked americans their opinions about the amount of money the united states spent on foreign aid. a strong majority thought that the us was spending too much, but when asked how much of the federal budget was devoted to foreign aid, the median estimate was 20 percent, and most individuals said that a median "right amount" should be 10 percent.™ 1 in reality, the us was giving 0.10 percent of the gross national product, one seventh of the target percentage proposed by the united nations. ignorance of the extreme realities of world poverty also contributes to the lack of involvement by affluent individuals. when a child across the world—as opposed to the child next door—is dying from starvation, it is easier to turn a blind eye to the reality and ignore the moral concern necessary. unfortunately, this ignorance may not be accidental. pogge argues that moral norms place the burden to protect the weak on the affluent, and—consciously or unconsciously—the strong try to avoid this burden by arranging their world to avoid the necessity to comply, "our world is arranged to keep us far away from massive and severe poverty and surrounds us with affluent, civilized people for whom the poor abroad are a remote good cause alongside the spotted owl ." l x unless individuals in affluent nations expose themselves to the poverty occurring in the world, they wi l l continue to lack the feeling of moral obligation necessary for action. o v e r c o m i n g i g n o r a n c e rawls a n d n a g e l the theories of some philosophers lend support to affluent individuals who do not promote or contribute to the alleviation of international poverty. two such philosophers are john rawls and thomas nagel. rawls admits that his theory of justice as it applies to a society cannot be translated to the international level. his theory is based on starting behind the "veil of ignorance" and ignoring things which are arbitrary from a moral perspective/ this theory, however, applies to well-ordered, ideal societies in which just institutions have already been established. after applying this theory to domestic justice, the original position can be used again at a higher level, but "the parties are representatives of peoples whose basic institutions satisfy the principles of justice selected on the first level."50 a n ideal just world for rawls would be made up of domestically just states interacting with one another. in a non-ideal world, rawls argues that wealthier societies are obligated to help poorer, less technologically advanced societies create just institutions. developmental assistance should be offered so that "eventually each society now burdened by unfavorable conditions is to be raised to, or assisted towards, conditions that make a well-ordered society of peoples." peoples and institutions, not individuals, are rawls' moral units. as nagel notes, rawls believes that societies have a "moral nature" which demands equal respect as long as basic conditions of decency are met, but his equal treatment does not apply to individuals on the international level. x u individuals in a society are only responsible for justice within their political society and nothing more. nagel accepts rawls' argument, and furthers the claim to national sovereignty as the bounds of obligations of justice. he claims that affluent nations are justified in their adoption of the "political conception", in which political relation within a sovereign state determines the validity for justice. nagel, referencing hobbes' theory, agrees that "actual justice cannot be achieved except within a sovereign state . . . [it] requires government as an enabling condition. " x i i i only i n sovereign states can a fair institution for enforcing just laws exist, which permits justice to be pursued. in nagel's view, creating institutions of this sort on the international level is not feasible. while he admits that ngos somewhat play a role in addressing international human rights, no international institution wi l l ever meet the level of statehood, and thus justice cannot be pursued on an international level.x ! v furthermore, he argues that any institution which intends to enact justice on an international level would demand too much authority. prosperous nations most likely would never agree to an institution that calls for global socioeconomic justice. according to nagel, as it is, sovereign states are only responsible for their own justice. nagel's view of "political conception" develops i n greater detail this relationship between sovereign states and justice. the political conception holds that sovereign states place individuals in a unique political relationship, which they share only with one another and in which justice occurs; "justice is something we owe through our shared institutions only to those with whom we stand in a strong political relation." x v socioeconomic justice, in particular, applies only to members of the same political association. responsibility to alleviate poverty i n other countries would therefore lie outside the responsibilities of individuals as they are only responsible for those members within their own sovereign state. nagel believes that "[this] political conception is accepted by most people in the privileged nations of the world, so that, true or false, it wi l l have a signif"the reasonable ease with which aid can be given internationally on behalf of affluent individuals makes contributing ... an act of moral duty.77 e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 icant role in determining what happens."xv1 global governance would place more obligations and responsibilities on prosperous nations. nagel argues that not only governments, but citizens of such nations, desire to avoid such obligations. the theories of nagel and rawls therefore support citizens of affluent nations who wish to justify their lack of involvement in international moral issues such as alleviating poverty. t h e effects of g l o b a l i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e while rawls and nagel make compelling arguments with their respective philosophies, they are ultimately incomplete and inapplicable in today's global society. the effects of rapid globalization over the past 50 years have changed the nature of how philosophers and individuals must look at the question of justice, particularly in the international realm. increased interdependence between nations has pushed the moral boundary of obligation into a sphere of justice extending beyond country lines. as pogge writes, "because all human beings are now participants in a single, global institutional order . . . all unfulfilled human rights have come to be, at least potentially, everyone's responsibili ty." 5 ^ 1 this argument is adamantly supported by singer and beitz. singer does not see distance as a moral justification for failing to aid others, particularly when there are agencies which can translate assistance to the global level .™" he also confronts affluent citizens on their hypocrisy in claiming that all humans are equal and have certain rights, yet who continue to give money to their domestic poor who have their basic needs fulfilled and are only poor compared to a high standard of living. singer uses an analogy of a small child drowning in a pond and a person choosing not to wade into the pond to save the child because he does not want to get his shoes and pants wet to criticize affluent nations for failing to give more internationally to alleviate global poverty: if we do this when people are in danger of dying of starvation and when there are agencies that can, with reasonable efficiency, turn our modest donations of money into lifesavingfood and basic medicines, how can we consider ourselves any better than the person who sees the child fall in the pond and walks on?xix the reasonable ease with which aid can be given internationally on behalf of affluent individuals makes contributing—in singer's view—not just an act of charity, but an act of moral duty. singer also makes a very compelling argument as to why using national boundaries as the limits of justice is morally unjust. i f justice applies only to individuals we are associated with through national institutions, as nagel argues, then the question of international refugees presents a moral dilemma. i f we deny entrance to our country to poor refugees who want to become a part of—and contribute to—our national institutions and associations, and therefore be a part of the association through which they receive justice, it would be unfair to discriminate against them because they are not part of a community to which we denied them admission. x x this mindset is characterized as "exclusionary patriotism" by charles jones. such a philosophy "seems to commit one to [the] belief that gaining membership in a country would somehow have the effect of turning one into a subject of ethical concern."™ when members of wealthy countries deny assistance to poor refugees—individuals who would not be allowed to be a part of their associative institutions—they are really claiming that there is little ethical value to their plight. the lives of these individuals unworthy of ethical reflection are inherently tied to affluent countries due to the increase in economic interdependence on the international level. beitz believes that economic interdependence places worse-off countries in involuntary relationships with more affluent countries.™ 1 beitz argues that this association undermines the argument that nagel and rawls make about sovereign nations being the only institution where justice o v e r c o m i n g i g n o r a n c e resides. for this reason, beitz reinterprets rawls' theory of justice on an international level, arguing that interdependence has created a global scheme of social cooperation, in which national boundaries no longer hold moral significance. "since boundaries are not coextensive with the scope of social cooperation, they do not mark the limits of social obligations . . . the veil of ignorance must extend to all matters of national citizenship, and the principles chosen wi l l therefore apply globally"™' 1 in an interdependent world, nationality has become arbitrary from a moral perspective, and it therefore must be ignored in rawls' original position. rawls and nagel also argue that it is not the responsibility of individuals to be concerned about moral issues, and the only way to address justice is through institutions. indeed, citizens of affluent nations often invoke this assumption to argue that assistance is pointless because the fault lies not with their own institutions, but with the bad governments and corruption i n poorer countries. rawls argues that the focus in international justice, therefore, should be attempting to assist these governments in becoming stable institutions within their own nations. this concentration on local domestic issues, pogge suggests, is what makes it "convenient of us citizens of wealthy countries . . . to ignore such interdependencies."™ v and while affluent citizens point the finger of blame at corrupt governments and urge assistance for internal institutional reform in such nations, world poverty and malnutrition continues to afflict millions. "we should not, then, think of our individual donations and of possible institutionalized poverty eradication initiatives . . . as helping the poor, but as protecting them from the effects of global rules whose injustice benefits us and is our responsibility. " x x v non-domestic institutions have a great effect on human lives, particularly in poorer and weaker countries. global rules of governance, trade, and diplomacy, in which wealthy nations "enjoy a crushing advantage in bargaining power and expertise," play a major role i n maintaining the persistence of global poverty.™ 1 as pogge rightly suggests, "the affluent in the developed countries may be practicing a morally untenable nationalism by coercively upholding a badly slanted global order in which the human rights of millions of foreigners are unfulfilled."™ 1 1 a n e w m o r a l m i n d s e t so what are citizens of affluent countries supposed to do? a change in how moral situations are approached should be the first step. pogge discusses the nature of positive and negative duties that are part of the normal moral thinking of individuals. in doing so, he rightfully attempts to show that while a positive moral duty of helping out the poor is a decent act, there is a much stronger negative duty not to bring undue harm unto others—which is what our current global economic system does. such a proposal rightfully puts individuals in affluent societies under an unavoidable moral demand to work toward alleviating world poverty. pogge's theory begins by laying out his interpretation of ordinary moral thinking. moral thinking involves a hierarchy of moral reasons, which can be broken down into 2 parts: (1) negative duties not to wrong (unduly harm) others; and (2) a spectrum of positive duties—with the highest priority being a positive duty to protect one's next of k in from wrongdoing, followed by protecting one's compatriots, and ending with protecting unrelated foreigners.™ 7 1 1 1 according to pogge, the strength of the moral reason not to unduly harm others—a negative duty—does not differentiate i f the victim is a compatriot or a foreigner. so, while it may be more morally important to assist our compatriots when one is called to act on a positive duty, undue harm against individuals shows no regard for proximity or relation.™ 5 ' proving there is a positive moral duty for individuals of affluent nations to work towards alleviating world poverty does not pose much of a challenge for pogge. most affluent peoples would agree that extreme poverty, by nature, is a moral injustice, and that, being much better off than poorer individuals, we could somewhat alleviate their suffering and protect them from this injustice without becoming badly off ourselves.x x x singer has similarly made the argue l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 merit that morally we ought to prevent something bad from happening i f it is in our power, and we do not sacrifice anything of comparable moral importance.™ 1 pogge argues, however, that this positive moral duty is a weak claim on individuals and wi l l not necessarily translate to international aid. first, many do not feel compelled to promote worthy causes, and therefore wi l l not do so. secondly, since aid to foreigners and strangers falls at the bottom of the positive duty spectrum, many individuals wi l l promote local interests or causes of their choice such as churches or cancer research.™ 1 1 when extreme international injustice is seen only in terms of a positive duty—as pogge believes many people see i t—i t is placed at the bottom of their list, and less extreme wrongs in their community or country take preference .™ 1 1 1 i f only a positive duty is placed on affluent individuals, the chance of aid going to world poverty is not very high. p e o p l e g a t h e r e d a t a n a n t i p o v e r t y r a l l y i n l o n d o n pogge therefore sets out to qualify assistance toward alleviating global poverty as a negative moral duty, which requires action on behalf of citizens of affluent nations. as previously stated, many individuals see world poverty as a positive duty that—although wrong—does not take overall precedence, since they themselves are not doing undue harm in the situation. x x x l v i n a world comprised of self-sufficient, sovereign nations—such as rawls' ideal world— there would be no problem with this moral justification. in reality, however, increased interdependence has created a world i n which the institutions of affluent nations do affect global poverty. unfortunately, "citizens and governments of the affluent countries—whether intentionally or not— are imposing a global institutional order that foreseeably and avoidably reproduces severe and widespread poverty." x x x v so, while the existence of global inequality may not be enough to constitute a negative duty on affluent individuals, the existence of shared institutions that contribute to global poverty and create an extremely unbalanced global order makes assistance a moral obligation. although individuals may not be able to avoid living under such institutions, they are able to counteract the consequences of these institutions by working toward institutional reform to protect peoples living in extreme poverty. they can do this by contributing to organizations such as oxfam and other ngos. x x x v l citizens of affluent nations need to change their moral mindset to no longer see global poverty as a positive moral duty that they should work to eradicate, but in terms of a negative moral duty that must be addressed immediately. a m o d e r a t e m o r a l c o s m o p o l i t a n i s m in order to change the way moral issues are addressed throughout the world, affluent countries must adopt a new theory for international justice. a strong case can be made for a cosmopolitan conception of justice, a theory supported by numerous philosophers. according to pogge, all cosmopolitan theories share three elements: individualism (units of concern are individual human beings), universality (unit of concern attaches to every individual equally), and generality (individuals are ultimate units of concern for everyone). x x x v n under this general umbrella of cosmopolitanism exist unique variants, one of which is defined as moral cosmopolitanism, or cosmopolitanism of justice. pogge's moral cosmopolitanism holds that all persons "are required to respect one another's status as ultimate units of moral concern—a requirement that imposes limits on our conduct and, in particular, on our efforts to construct institutional schemes." x x x v l i l similarly, samuel scheffler proposes cosmopolitanism of justice in which "the idea of o v e r c o m i n g i g n o r a n c e world citizenship means that the norms of justice must ultimately be seen as governing the relations of all human beings to each other, and not merely as applying within individual societies or bounded groups of other kinds."x x x 1 x i n short, cosmopolitanism in terms of justice calls for equal moral weight for all individuals, irrespective of nationality or political association. a n extreme view of this cosmopolitanism would deny the existence of partiality for compatriots or special relationships of any kind when making moral decisions. both scheffler and pogge reject this extreme version. scheffler, instead, calls for a more moderate cosmopolitanism. this moderate view admits that there is a fundamental distinction between global justice and social justice, "even at the level of basic principle, and it accepts that the members of an individual society owe each other some things, as a matter of justice, that they do not owe to non-members."x l according to scheffler, special relationships inherently create unequal treatment, and it would be unnatural to view these special relationships only for their instrumental— and not personal—value.xl i the ultimate goal of his moderate cosmopolitanism approach to justice is to "devise human institutions, practices, and ways of life that take seriously the equal worth of persons without undermining people's capacity to sustain their special loyalties and attachments."5'111 a natural follow-up question to scheffler's approach is whether there is justification for his proposed partiality. numerous philosophers support the notion that although a cosmopolitan view of justice is ideal, exceptions for partiality i n domestic and special relationships are natural and allowed. singer argues that we ought to prevent wrongs from happening without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, but also acknowledges that "few human beings can live happy and fulfilled lives without being attached to particular other human beings." x l i i l he admits that even from an impartial standpoint, these special relationships should not be taken away. although a strong opponent of rawls and nagel's insistence on national boundaries of justice, beitz also concedes that "the influence of international principles should be constrained, i n cases of conflict, by one's responsibilities to one's own compatriots.""1^ these philosophers, along with scheffler, agree that a cosmopolitan system of international justice, in which individuals have the human rights of everyone in mind while still holding some partiality for special relationships, can be morally justified. the key is to create a balance that fulfills both the moral obligation for international justice and the partiality required in special relationships. pogge's goal with his moral cosmopolitanism is to find a moderate view i n which the demands on affluent individuals are not too costly. to find this moderate view, he first differentiates between an "interactional" conception of justice and an "institutional" conception of justice. the interactional conception places direct responsibility for human rights on individuals, while the institutional conception places responsibility on institutional schemes, and indirectly on the individuals who help to maintain such institutions.^' while mutually complementary, pogge argues that promoting an institutional conception of moral cosmopolitanism wil l provide a more effective and overarching morality. in the interactional conception, individuals are only responsible for their own actions. if, however, the institutional conception were implemented, a sort of system of checks and balances would exist in which fellow individuals encourage morality under a shared institutional responsibility. the benefit of this intermediate institutional concept, in pogge's view, is that: it goes beyond simple libertarianism, according to which we may ignore harms that we do not directly bring about, without falling into a utilitarianism of rights, which commands us to take full account of all relevant harms whatsoever, regardless of our causal relation to them.xlm such an approach allows affluent individuals to be a part of an institution that promotes morality, but spreads the associated burden of moral responsibility amongst all individuals in an institution. affluent individuals can live in a socie l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 ety where international justice is upheld without incurring great personal cost. v i i . c o n c l u s i o n global poverty and inequality have reached such an extreme in today's world that affluent individuals can no longer justify their ignorance and failure to act. while rawls and nagel present strong arguments for national boundaries of justice, their theories can no longer hold water i n an increasingly interdependent world. a new moral mindset and a new cosmopolitan theory for international justice must quickly be adopted i f the world hopes to overcome the destitution that global poverty has created. in the present system, things look bleak for individuals of underdeveloped countries, but there is hope. affluent citizens have not only the ability but the moral obligation to contribute towards the eradication of global poverty, and i f they fulfill this moral duty, a seemingly impossible task could be achieved. e n d n o t e s i . pogge (3) i i . pogge (7) i i i . singer 1972 (231) iv. singer 2002 (190) v. pogge (145) vi . pogge (99) vi i . pogge (98) v i i i . singer 2002 (183) ix. pogge (26) x. rawls 1999 (11) xi . rawls 1993 (36-68) x i i . nagel (134) x i i i . nagel (114) xiv. nagel (132) xv. nagel (121) xvi. nagel (126) xvii . pogge (171) xvii i . singer 1972 (232) xix. singer 2002 (157) xx. singer 2002 (170) xxi. jones (128) xxii. beitz 1975 (374) xxii i . beitz 1979 (151) xxiv. pogge (49) xxv. pogge (23) xxvi. pogge (20) xxvii. pogge (129) xxviii. pogge (132) xxix. pogge (132) xxx. pogge (197) xxxi. singer 1972 (231) xxxii. pogge (198) xxxiii. pogge (133) xxxiv. pogge (133) xxxv. pogge (201) xxxvi. pogge (136) xxxvii. pogge (169) xxxviii. pogge (169) xxxix. scheffier (114) xl . scheffier (116) x l i . scheffier (121) x l i i . scheffier (129) x l i i i . singer 2002 (162) xliv. beitz (208) xlv. pogge (170) xlvi. pogge (171) references beitz, charles r. 1975. 'justice and international relations', philosophy and public affairs, vol. 4, no. 4. pp. 360-389. beitz, charles r. 1979. political theory and international relations, princeton: princeton university press. jones, charles. 1990. 'patriotism, morality, and global justice', i n nomos xli: global justice, i n i . shapiro and l. brilmayer (eds.), new york: new york university press, pp. 125-170. nagel, thomas. 2005. 'the problem of global justice', philosophy and public affairs, vol. 33:2 pp. 113-147. pogge, thomas. 2002. world povety and human rights, cambridge: polity press. rawls, john. 1993. 'the law of peoples', critical inquiry, vol. 20, no. 1. pp. 36-68. rawls, john. 1999. a theory of justice, cambridge: the belknap press of harvard university press. scheffier, samuel. 2001. 'conceptions of cosmopolitanism' i n boundaries and allegiances. problems of justice and responsibility in liberal thought. oxford: oxford university press, chapter 7 pp. 111-130. singer, peter. 1972. 'famine, affluence, and morality', philosophy and public affairs, vol. 1, no. 3. pp. 229-243. singer, peter. 2002. one world: the ethics of globalization. new haven: yale university press. o v e r c o m i n g i g n o r a n c e p e r i l o u s p e t r o d o l l a r s : the effects of oil wealth on democratization m a r i s a c o c h r a n e t h i s p a p e r e x a m i n e s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n o i l w e a l t h a n d d e m o c r a t i c r e f o r m . t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p is e s p e c i a l l y p r o b l e m a t i c f o r s t a t e s t h a t w e r e l e s s d e v e l o p e d p r i o r t o t h e d i s c o v e r y o f o i l . t h e l a r g e o i l r e v e n u e s o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n r e n t i e r s t a t e s , c o u p l e d w i t h l i m i t e d m e c h a n i s m s f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n a l a c c o u n t a b i l i t y a n d p o l i t i c a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n , e n s u r e a d i f f i c u l t r o a d a h e a d f o r d e m o c r a t i c r e f o r m s i n s u c h c o u n t r i e s . a s l o n g a s g l o b a l d e p e n d e n c e o n o i l p e r s i s t s , t h e i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c s o f o i l r i c h s t a t e s w i l l r e m a i n e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t . h e n c e , i t is n e c e s s a r y t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e w a y s i n w h i c h o i l i m p e d e s d e m o c r a c y i n o r d e r t o l o o k f o r v i a b l e s o l u t i o n s . development theory, such as that put forth by s.m. lipset, suggests that increased wealth in a state often aids in the process of democratization. this suggestion, however, is questionable in the case of oil-producing states. despite the fact that these states have benefited immensely from global markets dependent on their "black gold," a telling number of oil-rich states are not democratic.1 when it comes to the promotion of democracy, one cannot help but ask whether oil wealth is a blessing or a curse. does wealth generated in less-developed countries allow for greater redistribution and thus enable democracy, as development theories might suggest? or, does tremendous oil wealth hobble democracy as it funds authoritarian regimes and undermines political participation? a n analysis of crossnational data taken over an extended period of time upholds the theory that oil impedes democracy." in this essay i seek to defend the oil-impedes-democracy claim and explicate the channels through which the impediment occurs. i wi l l only be looking at states that were poor preceding the discovery of oil, as the relation to oil differs in countries that were wealthy and diverse prior to oil discovery. three main explanations have emerged in the oilimpedes-democracy discourse. i wi l l first look at the nature of the oil-rich rentier state and its various effects on the promotion of democratic principles. next, i wi l l consider the use of repression, made possible by vast oil wealth, as a tool for preventing political change and democratization. i wi l l then address the argument that oil wealth weakens social mobilization and processes of modernization, which are important factors in democratization. there are, of course, challenges to these explanations. several theorists have proposed ways in which the difficulties generated by oil wealth may be overcome by oil-rich countries, and thus spur progress towards democracy. oil-rich states of the middle east and northern africa that derive most of their revenue from foreign-paid oil rent are essentially rentier states.111 the rentier state is distinguished by several characteristics. a rentier state, first, receives payment of rents from foreign actors; these revenues accrue directly to the state rather than to private individuals or corporations.1v additionally, "only a few are engaged in the generation of this rent (wealth), the majority being only involved in the distribution or utilization of i t . " v the nature of the rentier state has great implications for democratization. a vast accumulation of oil wealth relieves the state from having to tax citizens, making distribution rather than extraction its primary function.v 1 this "taxation effect," according to michael ross, undermines pressures for democracy because "the public in turn wi l l be less likely to demand accountability from—and representation in—-their government."v 11 with citizens unable to demand representation, there exists a detrimental gap between the extent of state power and the weak or nonexistent mechanisms for accountability to the public. as the gap between state and society grows, the absence of a mechanism for accountability can lead to unrestricted abuse of state power, widespread corruption, and patronage politics. in rentier states, oil revenues can be used to fund assistance programs in order to temper social unrest and pressures for democratization.v 1 1 ! programs in saudi arabia and libya financed by oil revenues are prime examples of this "spending effect."1* spending can be employed not just to quiet dissent but also to establish a clientele class. those seeking a share of oil rents must "form tight links with politicians and bureaucrats in order to offer favors for benefits received."x the promise of petrodollars gives rise to state-dependent groups with a keen interest in keeping the regime in power while encouraging widespread corruption. any desire for democratic reforms "must be made in opposition to powerful countervailing social classes and groups that have become accustomed to the advantages of a petroleum-led development model. " x 1 the use of patronage to quell dissent or foster allegiance by allocating income to specific societal sectors is a major obstacle for democratization in oil-rich rentier states. "the promise of petrodollars gives rise to state-dependent groups with a keen interest in keeping the regime in power, while encouraging widespread corruption." not only does the rentier state establish dependent social groups, but it also undermines the formation of independent groups who may pressure for change. according to ross, "when oil revenues provide a government with enough money, the government wi l l use its largesse to prevent the formation of social groups that are independent from the state and hence they may be inclined to demand political rights." x n the absence of independent social groups is particularly harmful for democratization, as the existence of civil society is arguably a precondition for democracy. as other scholars argue, the "group formation" effect in rentier states impedes the formation of civic institutions that can serve as channels between the individual and the state; with these channels absent, successful democratic governance is unlikely/ 1 1 1 academic studies of countries such as algeria, iran, and iraq support this theory. x i v the nature and implications of the rentier state are not the only arguments made in the oil-impedes-democracy discourse. the tendency for repression i n oil-rich states is also worth noting. the enormous revenues generated by oil wealth have been linked to repressive authoritarian states in many places around the world. "resource wealth," according to ross, "may allow their governments to spend more on internal security and so block the population's democratic aspirations."x v i n some cases this is done i n the interest of perpetuating authoritarian rule in the face of popular pressure. by accumulating greater military might, the state gains a greater ability to suppress dissent. much of the revenues generated by oil have funded weapons purchases, as in the case of iran and iraq during the 1970s and 1980s.xvi it was oil wealth that made saddam hussein "a greater power in his region than he would have been otherwise by allowing h im to buy more weapons and build a larger army than he could have produced on his own . " x v n additionally, oil revenues can be used to build large intelligence-gathering apparatuses, as seen in the case of saudi arabia, which can serve to coerce and constrain freedoms of expression, organization, and mob i l i z a t i on x v m many states with significant oil resources have been plagued by ethnic or regional conflict. these states may use oil wealth to repress such movements under strong authoritarian rule. chances for democracy are stifled under a repressive authoritarian regime as "these disputes may lead to larger military forces and less democracy in resource-rich, ethnically fractured states."x1x angola, nigeria, and the democratic republic of congo are examples of the repression effect.xx the military might purchased with oil wealth hobbles democratization by giving the state a means to silence calls for political reform and participation. the final argument for the oil-impedes-democratization position stems from modernization theory. this theory "holds that democracy is caused by a collection of social and cultural changes—including occupational specialization, urbanization, and higher levels of education—that are in turn caused by economic development. " x x 1 as oil can imp e r ! l o u s p e t r o d o l l a r s ! t h e e f f e c t s o f o i l w e a l t h o n d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n pede economic development, prospects for democratization suffer. one of the ways in which oil inhibits economic development is known as the dutch disease. as was the case in the netherlands, a reliance on oil resources "actually inhibits the development of agriculture or industry by encouraging overvalued exchange rates, which, in turn, promote a reliance on imports, services, and speculative activity rather than long term investment."™ 1 while the oilrich rentier state may grow extremely wealthy, it does so without investment in and modernization of its domestic economy. in fact, the generation of oil rents has "almost nothing to do with the productive processes of the domestic economy. " x x m additionally, oil production is capital intensive and not labor intensive. this hinders the creation of an internal labor market. the lack of a strong and diversified domestic and labor market inhibits industrialization, specialization, and urbanization—all important factors i n modernization. furthermore, the need for highly technical skill sets can lead to the use of foreign labor. since foreign laborers are not citizens, they are not likely to have a vested interest in the country or a desire to pressure the regime for democratic reform. as eric davis notes, " in saudi arabia and the arab gulf states, the expatriate labor force . . . often outnumbers the indigenous population." x x l v foreign labor may have an interest i n maintaining the existing political and economic system so as to remain employed. additionally, because these better-paid oil workers are not employed i n large numbers, a labor aristocracy arises, once again at the expense of democracy.x x v oil-led economic development may also inhibit processes of social mobilization as "the failure of the population to move into industrial and service sector jobs renders them less likely to push for democracy. " x x v l the absence of large numbers in the tertiary sector results in a less autonomous workforce, "[un]accustomed to thinking for themselves on the job and having specialized skills that enhance their bargaining power against elites." x x v u without an autonomous workforce, the public is ill-equipped to organize and communicate calls for reform. oil wealth also tends "to impede the development of institutions and values critical to open, marketbased economies and political freedom: civil liberties, the rule of law, protection of property rights, and political participation. " x x v j 1 1 without these institutions and values, prospects for social mobilization suffer. weakened social mobilization, coupled with inadequate development and modernization, decreases the likelihood of democratization. though a general consensus exists about the negative correlation between democracy and oil, it need not mean that oil-rich states are doomed to remain undemocratic. several scholars argue that with the proper approach, the curse of oil wealth can be overcome. indeed, they cite several reform-oriented oil-rich states as examples. gwenn okruhlik argues that oil, rather than stifling calls for reform, can actually produce opposition movements. she suggests, "wealth generated through oil receipts is a catalyst for opposition to the state, rather than a tool to placate dissent." x x , x essentially, she argues that states engender their own opposition by prompting resentment over unequal distribution and providing dissenters with resources necessary for mobilization. x x x she cites the november 1990 business petition and women's protest in saudi arabia as examples of civil pressures for reform.*™ additionally, reforms in several other arab gulf monarchies support the claim that oil-rich states are not necessarily free from popular pressure for reform. " in view of the grave economic difficulties and social tensions," anushirivan ehteshami argues, the gulf monarchies "have had little choice but to consider the introduction of e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 economic and political reforms." x x x u indeed, states such as kuwait, qatar, oman, and bahrain have taken important steps towards liberal reforms, such as expanding elected assemblies, allowing for political debate, and even widening political rights of women.™ 1 1 1 in bahrain, the establishment of a consultative council, the national charter, and a constitutional monarchy during the mid-1990s shows that oil wealth need not inhibit democratic reform in oil-rich states. x x x i v while these countries are still a long way from meeting internationally recognized criteria of good governance, important steps have been made towards the likelihood of democratization. alternatives for managing oil wealth have also been proposed as a way to overcome the predictions of the oilimpedes-democracy discourse. one alternative proposed by birdsall et al. is the creation of "special oil funds which constitutional or other restrictions on the use of revenues—[which have] been used in kuwait and norway for several decades, and in colombia and venezuela since the 1990s. , , x x x v the national oil funds, though often difficult to implement, aim to insulate oil wealth from corruption and to ensure governments focus spending on socially beneficial projects. another alternative for managing oil wealth is by distributing it directly to the people rather than funnel ing it into the state treasury. this would minimize the opportunity for corruption and patronage politics, while substantially increasing income per capita in underdeveloped countries.x x x v 1 a distribution-based policy could aid in economic diversification and investment i n infrastructure, while promoting the development of domestic markets and local pol i t ics . x x x v n though this policy might be more difficult to implement, encouraging greater scrutiny of spending projects would prove beneficial for democratization. a third alternative for managing oil wealth calls for international supervision of implementation, ideally under the direction of the un. while this would require a temporary forfeiture of some sovereignty, international pressure could ensure greater demands for accountability and transparency. this option is particularly pertinent for iraq, given its current situation. supervision by an international body "may be the only practical way to develop democratic institutions free of the corrupting influence of oil and to ensure the long-term economic and political empowerment of ordinary i raq i s . " x x x v m though alternatives have surfaced, the oil-impedes-democracy debate is far from resolved. the effects of successful implementation of these ameliorative policies still remain to be seen and democracy in many oil-rich states is a long way off. "despite the fact that these states have benefited immensely from global markets dependent on their "black gold," a telling number of oil-rich states are not democratic." despite the fact that there has been some visible progress in several states in the oil-rich middle east, widespread prodemocratic change is far from the norm. oil wealth is still an impediment for democracy in much of the world. the enormous oil revenues of authoritarian rentier states coupled with limited mechanisms for distributional accountability and political participation ensure a difficult road ahead for democratization. as long as global dependence on oil persists, the politics of these regions remain important. hence, it is necessary to understand the ways i n which oil impedes democracy in order to look for viable solutions. authoritarianism in oil-rich states is not inevitable. i f democracy is to flourish in such regions, however, states must learn to cope with the complex challenges of this natural resource. p e r i l o u s p e t r o d o l l a r s : t h e e f f e c t s o f o i l w e a l t h o n d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n e n d n o t e s i . birdsall and subramanian (77-89) i i . see results of michael l. ross' regression analysis in , ross (325-61) i i i . okruhlik (295) iv. ross (329) v. beblawi and luciani (51) vi . okruhlik (296) v i i . ross (332) v i i i . maugeri (165-174) ix. ross (333) x. karl (57) xi . karl (54) xi i . ross (334) x i i i . ross (334) xiv. ross (334) xv. ross (335) xvi. tetreault (268) xvii. tetreault (269) xvii i . okruhlik (301) xix. ross (336) xx. ross (336) xxi. ross (336) xxii. karl (53) xxii i . karl (48) xxiv. davis (18) xxv. karl (52-53) xxvi. ross (357) xxvii. ross (336) xxviii. birdsall (77) xxix. okruhlik (297) xxx. okruhlik (297) xxxi. okruhlik (302) xxxii. ehteshami (54) xxxiii. ehteshami (62-67) xxxiv. ehteshami (65-66) xxxv. birdsall and subramanian (80-89) xxxvi. birdsall and subramanian (80-89) xxxvii. birdsall and subramanian (80-89) xxxviii. birdsall and subramanian (88-89) r e f e r e n c e s beblawi, hazem, and giacomo luciani. 1987. the rentier state. london: croom helm. birdsall, nancy and arvind subramanian. 2004. "saving iraq from its oi l ." foreign affairs, 83(4): pp. 77-89, july/august. davis, eric. 1991. "theorizing statecraft and social change in arab oil-producing countries." in davis and gavrielides (eds.), statecraft in the middle east: oil, historical memory and popular culture. miami: florida international university press: pp. 1-35. ehteshami, anushirivan. 2003. "reform from above: the politics of participation in the oil monarchies." international affairs 79(1): pp. 53-75, january. karl, terry lynn. 1997. the paradox of plenty: oil booms and petro-states. berkeley: university o f california press. maugeri, leonardo. 2003. "not in oil's name." foreign affairs 82:4: pp. 165, july-august. okruhlik, gwenn. 1999. "rentier wealth, unruly law, and the rise of opposition: the political economy of oil states." comparative politics 31(3): pp. 295-315, apri l . ross, michael l. 2001. "does oil hinder democracy?" world politics 53(3): 325-61, apri l . tetreault, mary ann. 2004. "the political economy of middle eastern oil ." in deborah j. gerner and jillian schwedler (eds.) understanding the contemporary middle east. london: lynne rienner publishers: pp. 249-272. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 elements fall 2011 volume 7 : : issue 2 thank you we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. we would also like to thank the frank lloyd wright foundation for their kind permission to print frank lloyd wright’s work in this issue. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline is friday, november 4, 2011. all submissions can be sent to elements.submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover frontal temporal dementia. © zephyr / photo researchers, inc. periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college volume 7, issue 2, fall 2011 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103 chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by the sheridan press, 450 fame avenue, hanover, pa 17331 copyright © 2011 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief r. brian tracz managing editor nick cochran-caggiano deputy editor ali mcdonald humanities john kinzer, senior editor eric tracz, senior editor sam baron, editor sarah collier, editor mike henry, editor brendan kelly, editor ali mcdonald, editor dan sologuren, editor alison wawrzynek, editor sciences adi ashok, senior editor chris sheridan, senior editor s. evan cooper, editor kevin finnegan, editor chris gagne, editor teja ganta, editor christina han, editor alexander tingle, editor zach zimmermann, editor web design dan sologuren, senior editor sam baron, editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick the photo on the cover of this issue shows one of the clearest physiological effects detectable in frontal lobe dementia: a whole area of the diseased brain displays decreased activity, indicated in this picture by a lack of color in the part of the brain directly behind the forehead. though frontal lobe dementia is relatively rare, other dementing disorders such as alzheimer’s disease are extremely prevalent, levying a burden of $70 billion in u.s. health costs annually. despite the clear physiological symptoms and the obvious economic burdens associated with dementias, the ethical picture of this type of disorder is far less clear. as andrew orr argues in “the ‘now patient’ and the ‘then self,’” the conflict between the present and past wishes of a patient, taken in combination with the professional advice of a doctor and the personal wishes of family members, requires a carefully though-out ethical framework. as with orr’s article, the other articles in this issue share this spirit of broadening the scope of whatever they investigate. whether by situating a single piece of art in a larger historical context or by sketching a philosophical way of understanding nature, the authors in this issue contribute work that broadens the horizon of work in their field. indeed, i take this keen awareness of perspective—this knowledge of one’s place in a more general conversation—to be one of the hallmarks of scholarship at boston college. undergraduate scholarship at boston college is expanding, and so is elements. as elements expands, i hope that it mirrors boston college’s ethos in research, public service, and personal development. to that end, this latest issue of elements introduces a new segment labeled “perspectives.” after years of only soliciting submissions for peer review and selection for publication, we have decided to add this mini-review section to complement the research articles. these small, invited reviews of literature provide background information and context for the research presented in elements. these reviews will hopefully allow our readers to get the most out of every article we publish. as an added benefit, seventeen authors are featured in this issue, twice as many as elements usually publishes. ultimately, the “perspectives” section provides an outlet for authors to mend cracks in the continuity of scholarship. to borrow from karen kovaka’s “transcendental geology,” it will help elements to reflect students making the jump from the visible to the invisible—the transition from a single discipline to the awareness of both the worldly situation of their endeavors and the western cultural tradition that we all share. i am confident that the interdisciplinary research explored in this issue is not embodied by perpetually opposed concepts but by a certain “chiasm”—a blending that builds bridges both within the academy and beyond the academy. thank you for taking part in our project. sincerely, r. brian tracz editor-in-chief editor’s note contents the “now patient” and the “then self”: conflicting views in the ethics of dementia care andrew orr investigating the ethical dilemmas surrounding the consideration of dementia patients’ wishes, including weighing the desires of the “then” patient against the current happiness of the “now” self. coping in jordan: the plight of iraqi-female-headed households sophia moradian interviewing displaced iraqi women to understand the economic coping mechanisms of female-headed-households in jordan. the mystery of mithras: analyzing religious practices in duraeuropos jenna howarth unearthing the unique cult of mithras to understand the relationships between religions in the ancient city of dura-europos. culture in conflict: remembering the vietnam war through cinema rosa maribel colorado reflecting upon the connection between historical film and collective memory to explore the evolution of postwar culture and “the american hero.” the virgin of jeanne d’evreux: an affectionate mother in an unaffectionate era brian d. varian gilding the virgin of jeanne d’evreux, revealing its origins while uncovering its position as a reflection of transformative style and enduring iconography. a viable option: organ procurement in the face of a national shortage zachary t. martin examining the significance of altering policy to allow for the procurement of organs from non-heart-beating cadavers. frank lloyd wright: the power of illumination in architecture tiphaine leverrier illuminating the interplay of shadows and light in frank lloyd wright’s architectural designs. author biographies list of artwork 13 25 35 43 73 61 53 92 94 transcendental geology: towards a phenomenology of nature and history karen kovaka reframing the philosophy of nature by providing a phenomenologically nuanced account of work by merleauponty, dilthey, and husserl. 81 perspectives a new, miniature review segment of the journal in which undergraduate experts from a variety of fields provide an academic context for the articles featured in this issue of elements. 6 comforting to those who came to st. denis for worship. it brought into religious iconography, a human element not previously seen in medieval times.6 while the world outside the church walls was ever changing, for those living in fourteenth century france, (nearly all of whom were practicing christians) the tender image of the virgin mary would have served as a reminder of the consistency of their faith. 1. anne curry, “france and the hundred years war, 1337 – 1453,” in france in the later middle ages, ed. david potter (oxford: oxford up, 2002), 91. 2. fred s. kleiner, gardner’s art through the ages: the western perspective, 13th ed., vol. 1 (boston: wadsworth, 2010), 359. 3. james snyder, medieval art (new york: harry abrams, inc., 1989), 401. 4. curry, “france and the hundred years war,” 93; kleiner, gardner’s art through the ages, 362. 5. gombrich, 207 6. emile male, religious art in france: the late middle ages (princeton: princeton up, 1987), 137. mithraism by corey yarochowicz as the name might imply, the mystery cults of the ancient world were secretive religious fraternities that offered triumph over death by way of their esoteric dogmata. despite the fact that scholars understandably lack primary sources to study the mysteries acutely, they are of great importance and intrigue to classicists because they are crucial for establishing an accurate historical reconstruction of religious developments in antiquity. the cult of mithras is particularly intriguing for scholars. though no literary sources from the cult survive save for a few wall graffiti, the cult was a forerunner in rome’s increasingly popular religious cults, with practitioners worshipping alongside more long-lived religious traditions of christianity and judaism. in spite of the lack of mithraic literature, a number of mithrea—houses of worship for the adherents of mithraism, the mithraic equivalents of churches or synagogues—survive. excavations on the known mithrea suggest that the cult worshipped a central deity, mithras, his relationship with the sol invictus, and his ceremonious slaughter of a bull (the so-called “tauroctony”). reliefs of mithras near sprouting plants suggest the adherents connected him with harvest and life. though the central narratives of the mithraic cult remain mysterious and out of context, the archaeological record has provided important information about the cult, including the extent of its popularity with the roman military, the cult’s use of eastern motifs, and the general popularity of the cult in the empire. in the 1920’s, the excavation of a roman mithraeum in dura europos, a garrison city located in modern day syria alongside the roman empire’s eastern frontier, allowed scholars to drastically expand the archaeological record. attacked by sasanian invaders in the middle of the third century ce, the inhabitants of dura europos tamped all of the buildings, most of them serving a religious function, along the city’s western wall in a failed fortification effort. this effectively sealed the city’s mithraeum, christian baptistery, and synagogue, among numerous other buildings significant to pagan worship, and permitted an unbelievably well preserved archaeological record for the city. the mithraeum alone finds a well-preserved floor plan, paintings, bas-reliefs, and numerous graffiti that substantially increased scholarly understanding of mithraism. dura is unique in that the study of the city’s remains not only strengthens scholars’ understanding of christianity, judaism, mithraism, and pagan worship in third century rome, but also allows an in-depth study into the relationship between these religions; most of dura’s religious buildings existed side by side on the same street, suggesting a fairly tolerant religious outlook in a time when the literary record counts polemics and schism as the only form of inter-religious dialogue. the study of dura europos, and religious worship therein, permits a rare and exciting springboard for scholarly discussion on mithraism; its record entertains questions about the nature and ethnographic make up of the cult’s membership, its practices, and its imagery in a way no other mithraeum can. the war of a generation by benjamin mayer the vietnam war seared the american consciousness with scenes of brutal violence, social turmoil, and tragedy. be it footage of children suffering from napalm burns, of anti-war demonstrations, or of over 50,000 coffins returning home, the nightly news made the reality of the war inescapable. in light of this, it is no great surprise that the primary medium for exploring this devastating conflict has not been literature, but film. over the past three decades, american filmmakers have used their own images to grapple with the implications of the war. “culture in conflict” explores the way that the images of vietnam have evolved, highlighting essential themes among movies in this historical genre. i will briefly compliment this analysis by discussing another film in the vietnam war genre, the deer hunter, directed by michael cimino. the deer hunter, starring robert di nero, myrell streep, john cazale and christopher walken, explores the issue of vietnam veterans with a striking measure of clarity. the film, which premiered in 1978, achieves this clarity by showing a traumatic transformation in its characters that occurs because of their experience in the war. beginning in a small steel town in indiana, cimino attempts to portray archetypal immigrant working class characters. michael, played by di nero, and his friends, including nick played by walken and stanley played by cazale, work at the steel mill and are eager to go through the traditional rites of passage, including marriage and military service. the second act of the film cuts straight to brutal battle scenes in vietnam and eventually a north-vietnamese prison camp, where the characters are forced to play russian roulette for the entertainment of a group of sadistic guards. the last act of the film is dedicated to showing the drastic change in di nero’s, walken’s, and cazale’s characters. at the end of the film, nick and stanley are broken men. nick becomes a drug addict in saigon and pays for his habit by participating in russian roulette in a gambling den. stanley is confined to bed because of his wounds and attempts to isolate himself from his friends and family. michael tries, but fails, to help his friends, ultimately remaining a mere shell of his former self. going green: sources in architecture by natalie thomas with increasing awareness of “going green” campaigns and alternative energy sources, the word “organic” has become synonymous with popular culture. in a sense, words like “sustainable” and “organic” derive their power and influence from the human desire to return to nature. though these words have infiltrated headlines predominantly in the last decade, concerns of how we as a society relate to our environment are not unique to our generation. frank lloyd wright discusses architecture as a reflection of societal concerns and values when he states, “all fine architectural values are human values, else not valuable.”1 living and working throughout the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, wright asserts that our work, dwelling, and leisure spaces should mirror our values as a noble society. he was heavily influenced by the writings of henry david thoreau and ralph waldo emerson, and believed that the best society is one that respects its roots in nature and works with its forces in a symbiotic relationship; thus, his architecture was termed “organic.”2 his design for fallingwater, a home for the kaufmann family in mill run pennsylvania, presents a marriage of nature’s elements to architectural forms as he incorporates the rocks of the hill into the hearth of the home. the hearth is commonly symbolic as the heart of the home therefore, it may be that wrights emphasis on nature in this particular place is a reflection of the family as the natural nucleus of society.3 wright’s architectural school of thought became known as the prairie school movement in which architects strove to incorporate the most basic elements of nature including water, light, and heat as sources for a “new indigenous american architecture.”2 today architects continue to work towards organically derived forms and functions. renzo piano, a contemporary italian architect, is known for his innovative designs in which form follows function. his living roof of the california academy of sciences is covered completely with vegetation not only mirroring the building’s purpose as a science center but also serving the environment by regulating temperature, reducing storm water runoff, and creating a natural habitat that filters pollutants and carbon dioxide.4 piano’s architecture presents a contemporary vision of wright’s prairie school. his architecture is not just a reflection of society’s current concerns, but also has undertones that render interest in the environment and how we relate to the living world. wright pioneered this type of architecture, and so his legacy is an indirect influence on our modern fixation to “go green”; thus, today’s concerns are merely an evolution of thought tracing back to almost a century. 1. wright, frank lloyd. the living city. new york: horizon, 1958. p. 102. print. 2. “wrights life and work.” frank lloyd wright foundation. web. 23 aug. 2011. <http://www.franklloydwright.org/fllwf_web_091104/wrights_life_and_work. html>. 3. “explore: architectural tour.” fallingwater | home. western pennsylvania conservancy. web. 23 aug. 2011. <http://www.fallingwater.org>. 4. pesavento, fulvia, and lia piano. “renzo piano building workshop: california academy of sciences.” renzo piano building workshop official site. spill.net. web. 23 aug. 2011. <http://www.rpbw.com/>. the madonna and the hundred years’ war by theresa cunningham the endless battles of the hundred years war plagued fourteenth century france, bringing with it intermittent violence which punctuated daily life for over a century. actually, a series of several wars, the conflict known as the hundred years war was not the first dispute between france and england. the two nations had engaged in sporadic power struggles since the norman invasion.1 yet, as war raged on, culture flourished and gothic art and architecture became prevalent throughout western europe, though most notably in france. throughout the decades of political turmoil and uncertainty, art focused that which remained constant, the church. religious imagery dominated the subject matter of gothic art; in lofty cathedrals housing pious individuals at prayer, illuminated manuscripts relaying moralizing messages, devotional objects aiding in prayerful contemplation and reliquaries containing the venerable remains of saints. of religious images, the virgin and child was one of the most widespread. the social changes of this transitional era, including the rising prominence of artistic guilds, provided wealthy parisians with the opportunity to commission luxury goods for religious worship.2 in 1339, at the onset of the hundred years war, a silver-gilt sculpture was completed for jeanne d’evreux, the wife of the then deceased french king charles iv. 3 the statue speaks to the unrest in which it was created. although commissioned by a noble patron, the statue was donated to the church of st. denis, to be viewed by the public as a devotional aid. the chaos of the hundred years war did not go unnoticed by any member of french society, yet the statute known as the virgin of jeanne d’evreux exudes a calm and tenderness to combat the instability of the political landscape.4 the virgin of jean d’evreux is merely one example, albeit a highly regarded one, of the humanity that entered the art of the period, especially depictions of the virgin and child. late gothic art lacked the rigidity of its earlier medieval counterparts.5 the tender embrace between mother and child seen in the virgin of jeanne d’evreux, and other works like it, was no doubt perspectives 6 7 2. nicholas seeley, “why millions in us aid may help few iraqi refugees in the end,” the christian science monitor (3 january 2011). 3. john leland, “iraq’s ills lead former exiles to flee again,” the new york times (27 november 2010): 1. 4. clive crook, “fixing america’s immigration mess,” the financial times (16 may 2011): 9. 5. tyler cowen, “how immigrants create more jobs,” the new york times (31 october 2010): 6. approaches to bioethics by michèle kelley over the course of less than a century bioethics has quickly progressed and diversified into an academic disciple addressing a broad range of issues including end-of-life care, reproductive technologies, genetic enhancement, neuroethics, global health, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology—just to name a few. the realities and perspectives that a bioethicist must analyze and weigh against one another in evaluating any one of these issues are often paradoxical at best. furthermore, the moral theories applied to resolve the issues are numerous, which can make finding an objectively “right” answer seem ineffable. one who favors a utilitarian approach will often prefer a completely different resolution to the issue than one who favors a deontological approach, and she in turn will differ from one who favors the use of natural law or situational ethics.1 a very useful moral resource that arose in the late 1970’s is the georgetown mantra of bioethics. applicable within many applied moral theories, the principles of this “mantra” include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. the practice of bioethics is by no means reduced to these four principles, but they tend to be applied on a consistent basis in cases of medical ethics and are often good starting points for ethical evaluation. the principle of autonomy calls for the respect of an individual’s right to determine what sort of medical care he or she receives. this principle is probably the most important to wrestle with in respect to dementia ethics. the principles of beneficence, acting to promote the wellbeing of the other, and non-maleficence, to do no harm, are typically the responsibility of the healthcare providers. when physicians make a difficult decision that goes against what the patient may want, it is called paternalism. the bioethicist, richard mccormick, s.j., observes that medical ethics in the united states is in a state of an “absolutization of autonomy,” where the rightness or wrongness of a choice is left only in the individual’s hands and which results in an impoverishment of morality.2 the task of a bioethicist is to assess the facts pertaining to medical cases of a similar ethical issue and to often determine which principle should prevail in determining the course of care. in the issue of dementia ethics, the conflict between respecting the patient’s autonomy and exercising paternalism for the best interest of the patient is difficult to mediate. this is why communication and obtaining patient consent is so important in the physician-patient relationship. the principle of justice extends beyond the application of the previous three principles because justice concerns itself with the fair distribution of health care to all people. the structure of medicine has progressively evolved into a business model, and bioethics has found itself responding to the call for a return to the care, compassion, and personalization of the patients who enter the hospital seeking the best medical treatment possible. i say “possible” not in the sense of what medical technology is capable of, but in the sense of what our society and its individuals can afford in medical expenses. the question of justice and equitable distribution of medical treatment is certainly important to consider given the problem of organ donation today. the shortage of available organs for transplantation brings on the search to find new ways of harvesting organs, and carefully ethical reflection needs to be taken to assure that organ procurement is performed in a just way without violating the rights or the dignity of human beings. the two issues of dementia ethics and organ donation continue to incite intense debate in the bioethics community. the multitude of case studies illuminate the extremely challenging ethical decisions being made everyday, for example, to a patient with increasing stages of alzheimer’s and is forgetting to eat, or a patient at the bottom of a long recipient’s list who is about to die unless she receives a liver transplant. the role of bioethics is to bring an awareness of these very real and human struggles, to hopefully offer some guidance for healthcare providers, the patients and their families and to perhaps even negotiate the murky waters of establishing health care policies that offer universal guidelines for the majority of ethical cases which arise. 1. sally satel, “the limits of bioethics,” 2010, the hoover institution, stanford university, 4 sept 2011, <http://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/5354>. 2. richard a. mccormick, s.j., “bioethics: a moral vaccum?”, america, 180.15 (1999): 9. the phenomenological method by chris sheridan phenomenology is an exciting philosophical discipline that aims to characterize the essential structures of subjective experience. the domain of phenomenology—which is by no means exclusive of other disciplines —begins with conscious, lived-through experience (static phenomenology) and branches out to include those structures that underwrite our conscious experiences (genetic phenomenology). it is the particular stance and method prescribed by phenomenology that sets the discipline apart. the roots of phenomenology run deep in the philosophical tradition, but the gathering of these roots into a coherent discipline is generally attributed to the german philosopher edmund husserl (1859-1938). before describing the phenomenological method as developed by husserl, it is important to stress the goal of a phenomenological investigation. just as the geometer would aim to describe the essential features of a triangle, the phenomenologist aims to describe the essential features of a type of conscious experience (e.g., perception).1 descriptions of individual instances of the triangle might be interesting to the geometer, but the although cimino has been widely criticized for historical errors in the film, such as present in the russian roulette scenes and in his caricature of north-vietnamese brutality, his film holds a valuable place in the history of vietnam war film because its primary focus is not the larger implications of the war, but rather the effects that it had on american soldiers. it was one of the first major hollywood films to show the difficulty veterans incurred upon returning home. cimino explores in depth the alienation, depression, and addiction experienced by many veterans. given that just a few years before the film premiered it was not uncommon to have soldiers returning from vietnam spit on by anti-war demonstrators, this was a significant statement. it was an attempt to force the american people to reconsider the way that they had treated their veterans. vietnam was a watershed event in american history. militarily it humbled america’s pride as a superpower. culturally it forced americans to question their self-perceived moral exceptionalism. socially it caused a generation of americans to doubt the judgment of their government. through a study of the films about the vietnam war, one can begin to understand how these different factors impact the american mind. migration: a political and economic reality by samuel hocking the plight of international migrants and refugees is a well documented phenomenon. in addition to struggling with the hardship of the initial dislocation, refugees confront the difficulty of finding a place to relocate and must ensure they will be able to subsist upon arriving. perilous endeavors, border crossings are often fraught with encounters with militias and corrupt officials demanding outrageous bribes to guarantee safe passage. when victims of conflict flee their home country in search of greater safety and stability, they commonly encounter hostility from the native population. they are often barred access to the formal economy, leaving them to piece together a sparse life for their families. along with the normal raft of concerns that accompany a large influx of cross-border refugees, the specter of terrorism also haunts displaced peoples in the politically troubled middle east. given the porous borders of most nations in the region and the international nature of radical groups like al qaeda and hezbollah, regimes pay careful attention to flows of goods and people. yet as economies have decayed and governments doubled down in the face of the arab spring, people have fled in large numbers from countries like syria, yemen, and libya. still, this recent surge in the volume of political refugees pales in comparison with the number of displaced persons harbored in the kingdom of jordan. with historic and ethnic ties to the people of palestine, jordan houses almost two million palestinian refugees, nearly a third of the country’s total population. a political broker between the united states and neighbors countries, jordan’s king abdullah is a moderate pragmatist who values his country’s strategic position. as a consequence of its deep economic ties to the united states, jordanian policy towards displaced persons tends to be more forgiving than that of most developing nations. jordan provides refugees with free access to healthcare and education, supported generously by western aid budgets. questions of displacement and flight therefore require understanding of another set of economic considerations. as noted in this paper, in addition to aid, funds received from family and friends in foreign nations comprises a vital source of income for iraqi fhhs. altogether, remittances to developing countries totaled $325 in 2010.1 given the scale of these transfers, their importance to recipients can hardly be understated. while concerns have arisen that the “brain drain” effect (the exodus of capable people from developing nations) is serious enough to outweigh the positive aspects of remittances, in the unique case of refugees (who flee violence and ultimately aim to return home), both aid and remittances contribute materially to their welfare. this paper adds valuable anecdotal evidence to help advance the understanding of conditions endured by refugees, especially those in femaleheaded households. although it’s critical to continue to monitor the evolving means by which refugees cope economically, the paper makes clear that most of these measures are only temporary fixes. despite its efficacy, aid remains a crude instrument in international policy; efforts to support iraqi refugees in jordan have been befuddled by false estimates about their numbers and diversion of funds for projects which benefit few iraqis.2 more durable solutions must revolve around either a permanent repatriation plan (designed to return the refugees to their country of origin) or a path to legal residency. the first of these solutions heavily depends on the state of iraq. so far, despite policies designed to encourage return, many iraqis prefer to live in exile. at present, only about 100,000 of the millions of externally displaced iraqis have returned home.3 among the returnees, many cite insufficient aid and lingering violence as reasons for dissatisfaction, leading some to again exit the country. the only other viable option for refugees represents a policy taboo few leaders have dared to broach. from the gulf states to north america, immigrants remain a scapegoat for economic problems, despite contrary evidence upholding their importance to the economy.4,5 given the level of education and skills possessed by many iraqi refugees, countries like jordan could benefit by incorporating them into their economy; coupled with their high productivity, their tax receipts and demand for jordanian goods would constitute a major boon. migration is a difficult issue. it imposes hard choices not only on host countries, but also on the millions of people uprooted from their homes and communities. despite their limitations, international aid agencies and local ngos supply invaluable relief and are a necessary crutch for families in transition. however, as the case of iraqis in jordan proves, aid is no substitute for resettlement at home or abroad—the focus must then shift towards how to accomplish that monumentally difficult task. 1. dilip ratha, sanket mohapatra, and ani silwal, “migration and remittances factbook 2011”, the world bank (2011): vii, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/intlac/resources/factbook2011-ebook.pdf. 8 9 product of his work is a derivative set of articulated features that both specify and transcend any particular instance of a triangle. the geometer’s ultimate currency is that of axioms, their possible interactions, and their logical consequences. likewise, the end product of a phenomenological investigation of perception is not a set of detailed descriptions of instances of perception, but a thematization apprehending the essential features of perception within a logically coherent framework. traditionally, two types of reduction are commonly used to arrive at such a framework: the phenomenological reduction (sometimes called the epoché) and the eidetic reduction. the phenomenological reduction is a term for a change in attitude toward the world that puts the activities of consciousness into high relief.2, 3 in our normal commerce with the world, we pay no attention to the act of perception that constitutes a water-filled object on a table as a glass. we see instead a world affording particular actions and meanings that we are free to indulge or deny. we simply take a sip of water, reflecting only on our thirst. this natural attitude—that is, attention to the natural motivations and assumptions driving our experiential economy— must be suspended so that the activities which set the glass before us might come to light. the phenomenological reduction “slackens the intentional threads which attach us to the world and brings them to our notice.”4 once we have adopted an attitude that exposes conscious activity, then the work of identifying the indispensible features of a given conscious phenomenon can begin. this eidetic reduction of a phenomenon proceeds by means of eidetic variation, a method for critically examining descriptions of subjective experience in order to home in on its essential aspects.5 sticking with the example of perception, a phenomenologist first describes his own perceptual experiences as accurately as possible, taking careful account of the general similarities and differences between instances of perception. that glass on the table, for example, affords a visual experience and a tactile experience, both stretching out toward the same object, but contacting different dimensions of sensation. when i see a book instead of a glass on the table, my visual and tactile experiences apprehend a different object, but contact the book in the same way as they contacted the glass, respectively. from a critical mass of these descriptions, the phenomenologist abstracts those features that seem to be present in all instances of the phenomenon. with this thematized structure in hand, a series of thought experiments is conducted, varying, adding, or subtracting discrete elements of the structure and checking the accuracy of result against the original descriptions. elements whose alteration or removal disrupts the descriptive accuracy of the thematized structure are identified as essential to the phenomenon. i cannot remove objects from perceptual experience: i cannot, strictly speaking, see or touch a glass if there is no glass before me. but i do not need to perceive color to perceive the glass. a subject’s dependence on its body—as husserl and the french phenomenologist maurice merleau-ponty (1908-1961) point out—or a sense of the object’s persistence in space and time might also be examples of essential structural elements of perceptual experience. a phenomenologist passes from static to genetic phenomenology when he begins asking questions like: what conditions must an object meet in order to be perceived as a glass by a subject? or what must a subject have experienced in order to perceive an object as a glass? husserl and his most notable student, martin heidegger (1889-1976), disagreed vehemently over how to make progress on these genetic questions. the two diverged over the question of being. husserl insisted that—like the natural sciences take for granted the material reality of their subject matter —so too must phenomenology take for granted the reality of conscious phenomena, generally excluding their ontological status from consideration (at least by means of the phenomenological method).6 heidegger, on the other hand, defended the question of being as the central question of phenomenology, asserting that the conditions which underwrite the regularities of experience are not only structural conditions, but also existential conditions for subjects and objects in the world.7 what is now called continental philosophy flourished in the space opened up by these two towering figures of 20th century philosophy. the generation of french philosophers including raymond aron (1905-1983), jean-paul sartre (1905-1980), and merleauponty was heavily influenced husserl and heidegger’s philosophy. “transcendental geology” addresses the concepts of nature and history from a phenomenological perspective, and situates itself firmly in the late merleau-ponty‘s genetic investigations. the concern for issues treated by neo-kantian philosophers like wilhelm dilthey demonstrates the continuity of phenomenology with previous lines of philosophical inquiry. “transcendental geology” illustrates the evolution of phenomenological thinking from an intuition in dilthey, through a methodological development in husserl, and into a tradition invoked and cashed out by merleau-ponty. that tradition still exercises considerable influence in contemporary philosophy. today, cutting edge investigations into subjectivity, embodiment, and intentionality are engaging intra-disciplinary dialogue with philosophers in the analytic tradition, as well as interdisciplinary dialogue with those areas of the natural sciences and medicine concerned with consciousness. in place of vague talk of “what-it-is-like” or outright dismissals of subjective experience, phenomenology provides general and logically coherent descriptions that both contextualize subjective uniqueness and bridge the gap between those unique subjectivities and explanations in biological terms. 1. husserl often used the comparison with geometry to bring out the character of phenomenology. toward the end of his life, he explored the significance of the foundations of geometry in the essay “die frage nach dem ursprung der geometrie als intentional-historisches problem.” 2. cf. husserliana xiii, §18-30. 3. cf. zahavi, dan. husserl’s phenomenology. stanford university press: stanford, 2003. pp. 43-78. 4. merleau-ponty, maurice. phenomenology of perception. trans. kegan paul. routledge: new york, 2002. pp xv. 5. cf. sokolowski, robert. introduction to phenomenology. cambridge university press: new york, 2000. pp. 177-184. 6. cf. husserl, edmund. psychological and transcendental phenomenology and the confrontation with heidegger (1927-1931). trans. t. sheehan and r. palmer. kluwer: dordrecht, 1997. pp. 485-500. 7. cf. heidegger, martin. being and time. trans. j. macquarrie and e. robinson. harper & row: new york, 1927. pp. 21-63 recording the vietnam war by hilary chassé from all quiet on the western front in 1930 to the hurt locker in 2009, the combat film genre has captured the attention of both audiences and critics alike. themes explored in these films include combat, survivor and escape stories, tales of gallant sacrifice and struggle, studies of the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and profound explorations of the moral issues.1 combat films can generally be classified into subgenres based upon the war they are depicting, from world war i to vietnam to the modern wars in the middle east. in addition to being artistic expressions, war films have a greater responsibility than other genres in that they can shape social perceptions about warfare, both positively and negatively. during world war ii, the office of war information mobilized the hollywood studio system to create films to keep up morale at home and motivate draftees. the films that hollywood produced at this time, including sands of iwo jima and bataam, softened the realities of war by emphasizing tales of heroism and valor.2 once this censorship was lifted at the ends of the war, directors were able to discuss the moral clarity of hollywood’s world war ii victory parade, and to delve into topics of race, foreign policy, and society’s involvement in the war effort. with this new freedom of expression, the films began to exhibit a greater sense of disillusionment. before too long, the generation that had been raised on the image of the glorious soldier in world war ii films was shipped to vietnam, and, with them, this enlisted generation brought a glamorized hollywood image to the battlefield that did not really apply. when they returned home, hollywood was given the challenge of creating an entirely new message for the war films it produced while remaining true to the conventions of the genre. “culture in conflict” focuses on the three eras of vietnam war films: those made during the war, those made in the decade following the war, and those made in the early 90s, once the war has become part of american history. the examples selected run the gamut from comedies (mash) to surrealist thrillers (apocalypse now) and show the process of societal healing, memory building, and historical record keeping that film can achieve. the article shows how the films made about the vietnam war mark a turning point in the combat film genre, the moment where the lines between moral and immoral, victory and surrender, hero and villain begin to blur. in the 2000s, as the nation grapples with two major overseas wars and other military entanglements all over the world, hollywood has had plenty of fodder for the combat film genre. the films made in the past decades have built upon the revolutionary conventions created by the auteurs of the vietnam war era cinema; indeed, recent films such as jarhead and the hurt locker would not have been made without this influence. 1. “the war film.” turner classic movies online. accessed sept. 10, 2011. 2. “the combat film,” american cinema. pbs: 1995. 11 alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition that typically affects the elderly and gradually consumes a patient, destroying the connection between body and mind in the process. due to the aging of the baby-boom generation, alzheimer’s disease is expected to substantially increase in prevalence in the coming years. despite this epidemiological probability, public policy regarding treatment of patients with the illness remains piecemeal. controversy policy stems from the fact that, in many cases, a severely demented patient’s wishes for treatment differ from the wishes he or she expressed in the earlier stages of disease. when considering whose perspective—that of the competent, “then” version of the patient or that of the demented “now” version of the patient—should take precedence, the guiding principle should be respect for overall dignity. from this perspective, honoring the autonomy of the “then” self is the most viable option and should serve as the basis for future policy decisions regarding the treatment of alzheimer’s disease. the “now patient” and the “then self” conflicting views in the ethics of dementia care andrew orr“until the advent of drugs that slow, stop, or reverse the syndrome that gradually steals its victims’ most intimate thoughts and threatens the cores of their identities, society’s interests are best served by a policy that protects these vulnerable individuals.” introduction memory, the valuable information that connects past and present, and higher-level cognition, the uniquely human ability to integrate this information and position oneself in the world, have generally been considered fundamental elements of the human condition. dementia, an all-encompassing term referring to a broad spectrum of debilitating neurodegenerative illnesses, strikes these two pillars of humanity. it thus poses troubling ethical dilemmas with profound social, medical, and legal consequences. at least seventy-five different diseases can present as dementia.1 it is a disorder affecting 6-8% of individuals over sixtyfive2 and is characterized by marked cognitive decline and multiple impairments of “distinct elements of intellectual processing.”3,4 while conditions such as multiple sclerosis, pick’s disease, or stroke may precipitate dementia, alzheimer’s disease, which comprises more than half of all cases, is the most common cause.5 this article will focus primarily on alzheimer’s-induced dementia. discovered in the early twentieth century, alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60-80% of dementias in the elderly. according to various studies, it affects 20-40% of people over the age of eighty-five.6 although this condition contains a signature pathology of neuritic plaques7 in combination with neurofibrillary tangles,8 the underlying cause of these abnormalities remains unknown. the development of such trademark brain lesions makes diagnosis seem straightforward, yet the lack of sufficient brain scanning technology makes diagnosis rather difficult in the early stages of the disease.9 on average, alzheimer’s disease patients live eight to ten years after being diagnosed, which places a significant strain on caregivers and exerts pressure on this country’s long-term care system.10 mark rothstein estimates the annual cost of caring for a patient with “moderate alzheimer’s disease” to be $30,096 while the annual national cost of the disease amounts to roughly $50 billion.11 data from 2008 show, that at that time, alzheimer’s disease affected approximately 5.2 million people. with the rapidly increasing elderly population in the united states, the number of persons affected by alzheimer’s disease is projected to reach 13.2 million by mid-century.12 there exists a pressing need for a public policy regarding alzheimer’s disease to contain healthcare costs and to help protect some of society’s most vulnerable persons. this article will address the myriad issues surrounding dementia, particularly the distinct notions of personhood raised by the syndrome as well as the resulting perspective on the viability of advance directives for making treatment decisions. it will contest aspects of certain arguments that favor the privileging of the patient in late stage dementia over the same patient in an earlier stage and will offer policy suggestions for the future designed to create a more effective treatment plan for patients with dementia. theories of personhood in dementia significance and implications the reasoning behind many decisions regarding demented individuals often has as its foundation one of two theories of personhood presented by the progression of dementia: the theory of the “now” self or the theory of the “then” self.13 stephen post articulates the difference in his article “alzheimer disease and the ‘then’ self,” writing, current gerontological literature makes use of a distinction between the ‘then’ self that existed prior to severe alzheimer disease and the ‘now’ self that lives almost entirely in the present with little, if any, memory of its past.14 although a middle ground does exist between these two dichotomous views, because the loss of decisional capacity is gradual, one’s basic understanding of the issue informs one’s opinion of advance directives and of consent to research participation for dementia patients. much of the debate regarding treatment decisions for persons with dementia can be summarized by a central question: at what point, if ever, does the “now” self take precedence over the “then” self? “with the rapidly increasing elderly population in the united states, the number of persons affected by alzheimer’s disease is projected to reach 13.2 million by mid-century.” privileging the “now” self rebecca dresser presents an argument for valuing the “now” self in dementia by emphasizing the need to treat and act in the best interest of the patient in the nursing home, even if he or she has become senile, as opposed to the former person that he or she once was.15 dresser also notes that autonomy, despite its major role, is not the solitary factor in treatment choices and should perhaps be trumped by beneficence when it is lost.16 additionally, dresser argues, that at the root of precedent autonomy, the policy favored by many of those who favor the “then” self, there is an uninformed, assumed choice that necessarily invalidates the position.17 her reasoning suggests that patients in the early stages of dementia cannot provide informed consent through advance directives because they have not yet experienced the unique situation for which they are providing instructions. conversely, by the time the patients acquire the necessary experience to execute an informed treatment decision, they are no longer competent to give consent. dresser approaches this catch-22 by fully endorsing the “now’ self and proposing a policy of ignoring advance directives that refuse treatment in order to continue the life of the severely demented patient. she states: many mildly or moderately demented patients do appear to obtain significant benefits from continued life. although these benefits may seem small to us, we must evaluate them from the patients’ perspectives. . . . given their limits, then, patients who can relate to the people and objects surrounding them typically have lives that for them are significantly better than no life at all.18 dresser rejects the notion that demented patients are merely fossilized versions of their former selves and counters that an external, compared to an introspective, view of personhood is more suitable under these circumstances. in doing so, however, she disregards the earlier wishes of the patient on the basis of her presumed knowledge of the value of life for someone with dementia. her relational perspective on the significance of life for a dementia patient also leads to an acceptance of extramarital intimate relationships between dementia patients in nursing homes. this controversial situation frequently arises when one nursing home resident with dementia, due to a distorted reality, mistakes another resident for a spouse or, due to alzheimer’s disease, experiences less inhibition and expresses aggressive sexual desires. perhaps the most well known incidence of cohabitation between dementia patients occurred when former justice sandra day o’connor permitted her husband, who was in the late stages of alzheimer’s disease, to have a romance with another woman in the nursing home.19 o’connor, in accord with dresser’s argument, privileged current happiness through a relationship over the objections that her husband would likely have had were he competent. another implication of this view of personhood can be seen in the employment of a best interest methodology instead of substituted judgment in court-ordered treatment decisions.20 indeed, this objective approach was utilized in the cases of barber v. superior court and in re conroy.21 in barber, clarence herbert enters a vegetative state following cardio-respiratory arrest after a successful surgery, and his family successfully petitions the physicians to remove the feeding tubes.22 the court in barber did not find the physicians guilty of murder and, of the current approach to life-saving treatment, argued, “a more rational approach alzheimer’s disease leads to the precipitate loss of memory, hindering the victim’s daily routines. 14 15 elements : : fall 2011 the “now patient” and the “then self” involves the determination of whether the proposed treatment is proportionate or disproportionate in terms of the benefits to be gained versus the burdens caused.”23 instead of necessarily determining what the patient would have wanted, the court suggests that a logical balancing of current benefits and burdens will yield the optimal treatment decision. in conroy, the nephew of claire conroy, an incompetent, demented patient, also seeks permission to remove a naso-gastric feeding tube from his aunt.24 the new jersey court in this case explicitly proposed both a limited objective test and a pure objective test, under which treatment can be ceased provided that the “net burdens of the patient’s life with treatment . . . clearly and markedly outweigh the benefits that the patient derives from life.”25 while the objective test does appear to favor the “now” self, a basic problem with this method is the fact that a subjective judgment is still being made regarding the value that the patient derives from life. surely no person can be as qualified to deliver that judgment as the patient herself, whose opinion would be considered more extensively in a substituted judgment analysis. the matter, then, returns to whether it is more appropriate to base the value in question on the objective benefit to the incompetent patient or on the expressed desires of the patient while competent? at this point the argument for the “then” self enters the picture. preserving the integrity of the “then” self proponents of the “then” self favor a treatment plan in which caregivers honor the wishes of the competent patient while simultaneously fulfilling the reasonable needs of the “now” self. post epitomizes this position when he argues “care and beneficence can be amply expressed in a manner consistent with integrity through emotional, environmental, and relational support rather than by efforts to extend life.”26 post also supports ronald dworkin’s argument for precedent autonomy, or respecting the wishes of the former self even when the individual is no longer competent, and contends, “the intact self with a diagnosis of alzheimer disease should be permitted to exert control over the future through the implementation of precedent autonomy.”27 several factors serve as the basis for this decision, including the dual desires on behalf of the person with dementia not to be subjected to unwanted medical technologies and not to exhaust the financial resources of his or her family.28 further, even dresser acknowledges that, as nancy rhoden argued, mere consciousness, like biological life, is not a morally significant end in itself. instead, it is a necessary condition for achieving the ends that are of moral value to us—thought, emotion, pleasure, and relationships with the world.29 this argument implies that severely demented patients lacking relational abilities need not be kept alive “for their own good” if it is against the wishes of their former, competent selves. one potential danger of such an argument lies in applying this “empty shell”30 principle to all people whose ability to connect the past and the present through memory suffers from moderate impairments. this self-fulfilling “empty shell” myth is propagated by the tenets of the western cultural tradition, and, specifically, by john locke, who argued that self-reflection is requisite for being considered human.31 however, complications arise with this formulation; for example, we consider infants to be persons although they have even less mental faculties than do elderly dementia patients.32 seemingly, being human involves on its deepest level some element, free from the constraints of time, akin to a soul that prevents infants and dementia patients from being empty shells even in the absence of cognition. as such, respect for the “now” self is preserved in the theory of the “then” self, as post demonstrates with the case of mrs. a, an incompetent dementia patient who, as a competent person, expressed a wish not to have any sur“seemingly, being human involves on its deepest level some element, free from the constraints of time, akin to a soul that prevents infants and dementia patients from being empty shells even in the absence of cognition.” gery in the later stages of her disease.33 unfortunately, she develops a painful tumor, and, despite her previous wish, post recommends surgery to reduce the size of the tumor.34 with his consent, post is respecting the need for comforting the “now” self and suggesting a policy in which pain treatment is primary and life prolongation is merely a secondary effect. in this way, demented persons are not viewed as empty shells, memory is not overvalued, and the feelings and needs of dementia patients are noted and responded to using compassionate standards of care.35 with respect to former justice o’connor’s ethical dilemma, post presents the opposite side of the argument through the case of mrs. s.36 mrs. s. is a dementia patient who brings daily gifts to another resident, mr. r, whom she mistakenly believes is her deceased spouse. one day, mr. r puts forth to the nursing staff the idea of cohabitation with mrs. s for a night. however, mrs. s’s daughter objects to what she deems a violation of the integrity of her mother’s “then” self.37 here, post, quoting erik erikson, writes, “elderly people desire above all to integrate the final phase of their lives with their deepest values and meanings.”38 although refusing to enter mrs. s’s reality completely and thus denying her a certain degree of happiness is objectionable from dresser’s standpoint, another example can provide further insight into the situation. consider the case of a jehovah’s witness in the late stages of alzheimer’s disease. this patient’s consistently expressed religious values while competent will assure that he or she is not subjected to blood transfusions even when in a state of advanced dementia.39 similarly, the values of mrs. s should not be violated simply because she is incompetent. discovering and integrating the “then” self into the “now” self appears to be the ideal treatment goal whenever possible. advance directives mental health advance directives whether one privileges the “then” self or the “now” self will typically have bearing on one’s interpretation of the validity of advance directives for dementia patients. one specific type of advance directive for those with mental illness is known as a mental health advance directive (mhad), though its efficiency for patients with dementia is a disputed. an mhad allows drafters to express a statement of core values and explicitly provides the opportunity to consent to or refuse three treatment types: electroconvulsive therapy (ect), psychotropic medication, and admission to mental health facility for up to three days.40 the implementation of mhads for patients with dementia was prompted by cases such as guardianship of roe, which involved the utilization of substituted judgment to force antipsychotic treatment on incapacitated patients.41 additionally, the case of lucille austwick, a demented patient who refused ect, medication, nutrition, and hydration, but whose daughter nevertheless was forced to obtain court approval to have her mother’s wishes honored, triggered a reactionary movement in illinois to enact mhads.42 the argument for mhads generally consists of an appreciation of the medical benefits that the directives offer as well as a positive evaluation of their utility as a planning instrument. concerning the medical benefits, mhads provide the opportunity for patients to avoid the serious side effects of potentially hazardous therapies such as ect, which include fractures, additional memory loss, confusion, delirium, and even death, and psychotropic drugs, which have been known to cause dyskinesia, dry mouth, dizziness, and depression, among other symptoms.43 in addition to these physical benefits, the option to consent to placement in a mental health facility often spares a patient’s family or caregivers significant guilt in the event that the patient becomes violent and must be temporarily placed in such a facility regardless of opinions stated earlier. admittedly, though, this benefit of mental health advance directives more frequently applies to bipolar and schizophrenic patients who undergo cycles of competency and incompetency and for whom the directives were originally designed.44 nevertheless, mental health conditions such as delusion, depression, and hallucination often accompany alzheimer’s disease and justify the use of mhads in these instances.45 furthermore, the highly predictable nature of the progression of alzheimer’s disease, according to lisa brodoff, “give[s] individuals a real opportunity to anticipate and plan.”46 indeed, additional benefits of mhads arise mainly from the process of future planning initiated by the directives. the resulting discussion often explicitly informs family members and caretakers of the patient’s core values, cultural care preferences, and financial plans, as well as illuminates the patient’s opinions on less obvious issues such as medicaid divorce (legally divorcing one’s spouse to obtain greater medicaid benefits), entering future intimate relationships while demented, and consent for research.47 if nothing else, mhads provide the opportunity to educate one’s surrogate about one’s interests in the event that the directive is not respected. 16 17 elements : : fall 2011 the “now patient” and the “then self” those who oppose mhads take issue with the very possibility that the directive may not be honored. specifically, the lack of a uniform competency standard plagues these directives, which may be appropriately revoked if a patient is deemed competent but can only be invoked if a patient is incompetent.48 few patients fall clearly into one category or the other, while most display varying degrees of cognitive impairment. another argument against mhads is that, although alzheimer’s disease may last eight to ten years, most directives expire after only three years.49 currently, a man or woman in an early stage of alzheimer’s disease may order an mhad only to have it expire in three years’ time when they are no longer competent to sign a new one. additionally, the presence of both a “ulysses clause,” stating that the patient’s order should still be invoked even when the patient is incompetent, and a provision for a surrogate decision-maker within the mhad can be inherently confusing for caregivers and thus problematic for the incompetent patient.50 yet another risk with mhads, notes brodoff, is that patients may request “bad” or “totally unrealistic”treatment options that violate a physician’s professional judgment.51 in these situations, statutes that “allow physicians to override treatment requests they deem inappropriate”52 cause elizabeth ann rosenfield, in her article “mental health advance directives: a false sense of autonomy for the nation’s aging population,” to argue that mhads, in select ways, actually protect health care providers more than patients.53 the directives grant physicians immunity regardless of whether they carry out the order or withdraw from treatment citing that it violates their professional judgment.54 further, managed care organizations may provide financial incentives for physicians to order preventive tests and screenings, but not refer the patient to a specialist or necessarily follow the mhad.55 this conflict of interest is the first of several that work to diminish the power of these directives. ignoring mhads is also permissible when a contradictory court order is issued, an emergency situation arises, or the state’s parens patriae power indicates that the state has significant interest in preserving mainstream values by preventing the patient from refusing “life-prolonging” medical treatment.56 rosenfield worries that the qualifications for an “emergency situation” can easily be manipulated for broad application and that the state’s paternalism is dangerous to the individual.57 a final barrier to the implementation of mhads is that, due to either lack of knowledge or initiative, “most people with mental illness do not actually execute this planning document.”58 before widespread use of mhads will be achieved, significant efforts to educate the target population and fortify protection of the “then” self by attaching more gravity to the directives must be undertaken. end-of-life directives while mhads specify treatment preferences during a patient’s intermediate years with dementia, living wills and durable powers of attorney aim to direct end-of-life care for patients. brodoff writes, a living will is a written document wherein a person states his or her preferences for treatment, or more likely the refusal of treatment in the event that he or she is in a permanent unconscious condition or terminally ill where death is reasonably imminent.59 richard beresford describes the durable power of attorney as an advance directive that “appoints an agent to act on behalf of the drafter in the event he or she becomes incompetent.”60 arguments for advance directives are loosely based on a presumed fourteenth amendment right to privacy as well as first amendment rights to express religion through treatment choices and, arguably, the freedom of thought to decide treatment options.61 legal development in the area of advance directives burgeoned after the cruzan case, yet only 29% of people have living wills.62 the appropriateness of end-of-life advance directives for dementia patients has been a subject of much debate in recent literature because these individuals maintain consciousness into the latest stages of disease and their treatment wishes frequently change as the disease takes firmer hold. privileging the “now” self precludes the use of this type of advance directive for persons with dementia on the grounds that the reality of the decisionally-incapacitated patient supersedes the wishes of the earlier, competent patient. other arguments against advance directives, however, are based primarily on a lack of portability. currently, the health care system lacks “one central registry for these instruments, and this leads to problems in locating and enforcing the patient’s wishes.”63 difficulty transferring directives from one health care provider to the next or locating advance directives in emergency situations may cause a patient’s wishes to be inadvertently disregarded. a study by thomas finucane et al. provides evidence that supports the use of advance directives for persons with dementia.64 the study measured decisional capacity and the burden of discussing end-of-life treatment options for seven patients with alzheimer’s disease. the level of dementia for each patient was determined using the minimental state examination (mmse), in which scores lower than twenty-four are associated with dementia and worse scores indicate greater degrees of impairment.65 the research subjects had a mean mmse score of seventeen, indicating overall mild to moderate dementia throughout the group, yet the study showed that three of the seven subjects acknowledged memory problems and expected their condition to worsen, which suggests that early-stage alzheimer’s disease patients are capable of awareness of their condition.66 the study also found that these three patients, on a meaningful and consistent basis, were likely to respond that they would refuse life-sustaining therapy if they were to become severely impaired.67 significantly, the study found “no measurable adverse effects” on the subjects’ psyche or health from discussing future treatment options.68 the results of this study indicate that advance directives for patients with alzheimer’s disease do not impact patients negatively and can be competently drafted by certain patients in early stages of the disease. respecting the “then” self through advance directives does not seem an unreasonable burden for caregivers of dementia patients. for this reason, the individual with early dementia should possess the same rights as the mentally healthy individual to refuse feeding tubes, ventilators, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. the policy regarding feeding tubes, in particular, has generated controversy because some advocates of the “now” self argue that the withdrawal of artificial nutrition betrays the demented patient’s fundamental interest in continued life. while percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (peg) tubes were once commonplace in treatment of late stage dementia patients who have lost the ability to swallow food, new evidence suggests that the tubes may not be medically indicated. dr. muriel gillick, in a study published by the new england journal of medicine, suggests rethinking the consensus on feeding tubes for these patients: “because of problems with diarrhea, clogging of the tubes, and the tendency of patients with dementia to pull out the tubes, nutritional status often does not improve with the use of feeding tubes.”69 additionally, gillick points out that the “continued risk of aspiration appears to result from reflux of gastric contents and the aspiration of saliva”70 rather than the act of eating that feeding tubes are designed to replace. finally, end-stage cancer patients who have described their experience after the removal of gastrostomy tubes “do not experience more than transient hunger, and any thirst can be assuaged by ice chips and mouth swabs.”71 these findings strengthen the argument for the right of a demented person’s “then” self to refuse a feeding tube, suggesting that peg tubes, along with other medical treatments with dubious efficacies, should not necessarily be mandatory for advanced dementia patients unless explicitly requested. if refusal of nutrition and hydration is acceptable, though, how far do the rights of dementia patients with advance directives extend? euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide at present, a critical debate in the netherlands centered on this very question raises the notion of the viability of advanced directives for euthanasia of dementia patients. cees hertogh distinguishes between negative advance directives, which refuse certain medical treatments, and positive advance directives, which request specific treatments, the most common of which being euthanasia, for patients in the netherlands.72 although advance directives for euthanasia (aeds) are legal in the netherlands, the physician can never be obliged to follow them.73 these rules of due care include physician satisfaction that the patient’s request was “voluntary and well considered,” physician satisfaction that the patient has experienced “unbearable” and “hopeless” suffering, patient education about “the situation and its prospects,” patient and physician satisfaction that there is “no reasonable alternative solution,” examination by at least one other independent physician that verifies the above standards, and professional execution of the life termination process.74 despite their legality, these directives have generally been avoided for a number of reasons, primary among them the question of which criteria must be met before a request for euthanasia can be fulfilled. the inability to recognize a spouse as a criterion for euthanasia is not necessarily an effective measure because the patient’s ability may vary day by day, or perhaps the demented individual always perceives the spouse on a level that is not apparent to outside observers unaffected by dementia. hertogh also argues against using cognitive tests as criteria because “tests results often overstate the deficits when compared to actual functioning of the individual.”75 additionally, the task of providing euthanasia for a demented patient who is currently assenting to treatment can be a difficult one.76 hertogh brings the argument to its end by positing, with a touch of hyperbole, that if the “now” self is, in fact, different from the “then” self, then an aed “would in effect be a contract for murder.”77 the complex dilemmas behind the issuance of aeds for dementia patients seem to render the policy im18 19 elements : : fall 2011 the “now patient” and the “then self” practical in the netherlands, the united states, and anywhere else. a second issue in the netherlands with policy implications for the united states revolves around the acceptability of physician-assisted suicide (pas) in patients with early stage alzheimer’s disease. the dutch refer to the ravages of dementia as “entluistering,” or effacement, and the dutch government permits its citizens to seek physicianassisted suicide as a means to avoid this slow, debilitating process.78 five cases of pas in the netherlands have been documented as of 2005, and in 1990, janet adkins made headlines in the united states when she enlisted the help of dr. kevorkian and became the first dementia patient in the united states to participate in physician-assisted suicide.79,80 post relates the suicide drive in early stage dementia patients to a legitimate fear that the wishes of the “then” self will not be honored: “assisted suicide becomes a very attractive alternative for many of us if our ‘then’ selves are not to be allowed to control the destiny of our ‘now’ selves.”81 weak sanctions on doctors and hospitals for failing to comply with living wills do not help to solve this problem.82 post advocates an increase in palliative care and tightening of regulations regarding advance directives to deter patients from both pas and pleas for mercy killing.83 post also presents as an argument against these controversial topics his “incompatibility hypothesis,” which suggests that if pas and euthanasia are allowed, there will be diminished continuing social commitment to institutions that enhance quality of life for those who grow old.84 another element to this debate is the fact that physician-assisted suicide has historically been applied only in cases in which illness is terminal, meaning the patient has less than six months to live, and alzheimer’s disease leaves an indeterminate amount of time between diagnosis and death.85 a related, albeit weaker, argument holds that in the years of life forfeited by the patient who opts for physician-assisted suicide, a treatment or even a cure for alzheimer’s disease may become available.86 the strongest argument against pas may be that of the slippery slope policy scenario. already in the netherlands, one case of physician-assisted suicide for dementia patients has garnered massive criticism because the patient involved never officially received a diagnosis of alzheimer’s disease before engaging in pas. critics believe that his symptoms were more characteristic of a condition known as primary progressive aphasia.87 this type of negligence leads down a hazardous road of potential misdiagnoses and unnecessary deaths due to the difficulty of diagnosing alzheimer’s disease in an early stage. more troubling, still, is the idea that if pas is made legal, the slippery slope may lead to a world of “obligatory altruistic suicide,” in which demented individuals who elect not to engage in pas are viewed as wasters of valuable societal resources.88 therefore, the authority of the “then” self, while it should be restricted from ordering euthanasia and pas, must otherwise be held paramount in an effort to prevent pas and mercy killing. public policy bruce jennings suggests three policy models to shape the future of dementia care: the public health model, the guardianship model, and trusteeship model.89 a concern for public safety in terms of protecting third parties from behaviors of dementia patients who are deleterious to society characterizes the public health model. one flaw in this model, however, is that dementia patients injure a relatively low number of people annually.90 additionally, concern for the public welfare might provoke legislation requiring physicians to release their dementia patients’ confidential health information to state agencies such as state departments for motor vehicles to alert the state as to the conditions of these individuals.91 a law such as this one may deter individuals who suspect dementia from seeking physician guidance out of fear of a loss of driving privileges. finally, action taken by the state will be “costly, blunt, and impractical” and, as such, unlikely to be effective.92 “therefore, the authority of the ‘then’ self, while it should be restricted from ordering euthanasia and pas, must otherwise be held paramount in an effort to prevent pas and mercy killing.” protection of the demented individual from harm defines the guardianship model. while guardianship is more pragmatic than state intervention because it involves the use of specific caregivers, this model is by no means perfect.93 decision-making capacity from the perspective of guardianship is viewed as all-or-nothing by the caregiver instead of as the continuum that it actually is.94 the inherent paternalism of guardianship also plays a major role in limiting patient autonomy, and this use of excessive caution can limit rather than foster the ward’s growth.95 jennings calls the third and perhaps most appropriate model trusteeship and suggests that the its primary goal is “sustaining agency and capacity” of the demented individual.96 under this model, caregivers view dementia as a state of transitions rather than decline, and therapy routines display creativity and respect for the dementia patient as a human being.97 minor illnesses and conditions are immediately treated to prevent accompanying further mental deterioration.98 the best treatment options involve increasing activity, minimizing psychotropic drug use, and educating the care staff.99 caregivers emphasize the patient’s remaining abilities and build upon them as encouragement while simultaneously finding acceptable substitutes for activities that can no longer be performed.100 in this manner, the fundamental values of the “then” self are honored and maintained deep into disease progression. conclusion since cases of dementia are expected to more than triple in the coming years, public policy governing the vast realm of dementia ethics will become an important factor in the future of the united states healthcare system. until the advent of drugs that slow, stop, or reverse the syndrome that gradually steals its victims’ most intimate thoughts and threatens the cores of their identities, society’s interests are best served by a policy that protects these vulnerable individuals. the best method of protection society can offer results from respecting the precedent autonomy of the “then” self. although arguments for the “now” self uphold the essential dignity of mankind, their roots in beneficence for an imagined best interest of the severely demented individual are overly paternalistic and can drive persons diagnosed with early alzheimer’s disease to seek physicianassisted suicide or euthanasia, which ironically diminish the very values of life the theory of the “now” self seeks to promote. mhads can be made more effective tools for dementia patients through modifications that enact stiffer requirements for their invalidation and extend their expiration terms. the construction of special long-term care facilities that operate under the trusteeship model and honor advance directives can also provide the necessary space and peace of mind for persons diagnosed with dementia in the future. genetic testing, liability of dementia patients, and other future controversial topics should also be approached from the same perspective of respect for autonomy and integrating the patient’s “then” self into the “now” self. endnotes 1. rabins 2001 (452) 2. rabins 1998 (25) 3. rabins 2001 (452) 4. ibid. 5. mitchell 2010 (8) 6. brodoff 2010 (240) 7. rabins 2001 (453) 8. ibid. 9. ibid. 10. rothstein 2001 (717) 11. rothstein 2001 (711) 12. ibid. 13. post 1995 (307) 14. ibid. 15. post 1995 (313) 16. ibid. 17. binstock et al. 1992 (74) 18. binstock et al. 1992 (77) 19. zernike 2007 (1) 20. rosenfield 2001 (56) 21. binstock 1992 (75) 22. barber v. superior court, 147 cal. app. 3d 1006 (1983) 23. ibid. 24. in re conroy, 98 n.j. 321 app. 2d 1209 (1985) 25. ibid. 26. post 1995 (311) 27. post 1995 (308) 28. ibid. 29. binstock 1992 (77) 30. mitchell 2010 (21) 31. mitchell 2010 (21-2) 32. mitchell 2010 (33) 33. post 1995 (317) 34. ibid. 35. ibid. 36. post 1995 (309) 37. ibid. 38. ibid. 39. ibid. 40. rosenfield 2001 (63) 41. rosenfield 2001 (57) 42. rosenfield 2001 (54) 20 21 elements : : fall 2011 the “now patient” and the “then self” 43. rosenfield 2001 (59) 44. brodoff 2010 (244) 45. ibid. 46. ibid. 47. brodoff 2010 (260-287) 48. rosenfield 2001 (65) 49. rosenfield 2001 (74) 50. rosenfield 2001 (60) 51. brodoff 2010 (295) 52. brodoff 2010 (251) 53. rosenfield 2001 (72-3) 54. ibid. 55. ibid. 56. ibid. 57. ibid. 58. brodoff 2010 (251) 59. brodoff 2010 (252) 60. beresford 61. rosenfield 2001 (58) 62. brodoff 2010 (252) 63. rosenfield 2001 (69) 64. finucane 1993 (51) 65. finucane 1993 (52) 66. ibid. 67. ibid. 68. ibid. 69. gillick 2000 (206-7) 70. gillick 2000 (207) 71. ibid. 72. hertogh 2007 (50) 73. ibid. 74. hertogh 2007 (49) 75. hertogh 2007 (51) 76. hertogh 2007 (50) 77. hertogh 2007 (52) 78. post 1993 (65) 79. hertogh 2007 (51-2) 80. post 1995 (311) 81. ibid. 82. post 1993 (65) 83. post 1993 (66) 84. post 1993 (67) 85. mitchell 2010 (2) 86. mitchell 2010 (49) 87. hertogh 2007 (51-2) 88. post 1995 (1) 89. jennings 2010 (403) 90. ibid. 91. ibid. 92. ibid. 93. jennings 2010 (406) 94. ibid. 95. ibid. 96. jennings 2010 (408) 97. ibid. 98. jennings 2010 (462-3) 99. ibid. 100. jennings 2010 (408) references barber v. superior court. 147 cal. app. 3d 1006 (1983). beresford, h. richard. “ethical issues in dementia.” http:// www.aan.com/globals/axon/assets/6113.pdf binstock, robert h. et al., eds. dementia and aging: ethics, values, and policy choices. baltimore: the johns hopkins university press, 1992. brodoff, lisa. “planning for alzheimer’s disease with mental health advance directives.” elder l.j. 17, (2010): 240-299. dresser, rebecca. “dementia research: ethics and policy for the twenty-first century.” ga. l. rev. 661, no. 35 (2001): 661-690. finucane, thomas e., et al. “establishing advance medical directives with demented patients: a pilot study.” the journal of clinical ethics 1, no. 4 (1993): 51-54. gillick, muriel r. “rethinking the role of tube feeding in patients with advanced dementia.” n. engl. j. med. 342, (2000): 206-210. hertogh, cees et al. “would we rather lose our life than lose our self? lessons from the dutch debate on euthanasia for patients with dementia.” the american journal of bioethics 4, no. 7 (2007): 48-56. high, dallas m. “advancing research with alzheimer disease subjects: investigators’ perceptions and ethical issues.” alzheimer dis. assoc. disord. 3, no. 7 (1993): 165-177. in re conroy. 98 n.j. 321, a. 2d 1209 (1985). jennings, bruce. “rethinking dementia care in ethics and the law.” quinn. prob. law jour. 398, no. 23 (2010): 398-410. katz, gregory and schweitzer, stuart o. “implications of genetic testing for health policy.” yale j. health pol’y l. & ethics 90, no. 10 (2010): 92-133. marmor, theodore r. and oberlander, jonathan. “the health bill explained at last.” the new york review of books, 19 aug. 2010. marson, daniel c. et al. “assessing the competency of patients with alzheimer’s disease under different legal standards.” arch neurol 52, (1995): 949-954. marson, daniel c. et al. “neuropsychologic predictors of competency in alzheimer’s disease using a rational reasons legal standard.” arch neurol 52, (1995): 955-958. mitchell, john b. “physician-assisted suicide and dementia: the impossibility of a workable regulatory regime.” oregon law review 88, (2010): 1-62. post, stephen g. “alzheimer disease and physician-assisted suicide.” alzheimer dis. assoc. disord. 7, no. 2 (1993): 65-67. post, stephen g. “alzheimer disease and the ‘then’ self.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 4, no. 5 (1995): 307-321. post, stephen g. the moral challenge of alzheimer disease. baltimore: the johns hopkins university press, 1995. rabins, peter v. “dementia and alzheimer’s disease: an overview.” ga. l. rev. 451, no. 35 (2001): 451-464. rabins, peter v. “issues raised by research using persons suffering from dementia who have impaired decisional capacity.” j. health care l. & pol’y 22, 1 (1998): 22-35. richards, edward p. “public policy implications of liability regimes for injuries caused by persons with alzheimer’s disease.” ga. l. rev. 621, no. 53 (2001): 621-660. roberts, j. scott et al. “genetic risk assessment for adult children of people with alzheimer’s disease: the risk evaluation and education for alzheimer’s disease (reveal) study.” journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology 18, no. 4 (2005): 250-255. rosenfield, elizabeth ann. “mental health advance directives: a false sense of autonomy for the nation’s aging population.” elder l.j. 53, no. 9 (2001): 54-81. rothstein, mark a. “predictive genetic testing for alzheimer’s disease in long-term care insurance.” ga. l. rev. 707, no. 35 (2001): 707-733. zernike, kate. “love in the time of dementia.” the new york times, 18 nov. 2007. zick, cathleen d et al. “genetic testing for alzheimer’s disease and its impact on insurance purchasing behavior.” health affairs 24, no. 2 (2005): 483490. 22 23 elements : : fall 2011 the “now patient” and the “then self” as a host country for displaced iraqis since the 1991 gulf war, jordan has received waves of forced-migrants for the past twenty years, with the greatest influx of displaced iraqis arriving after the 2003 iraq war. iraqi-female-headed households are among the poorest within the iraqi population of jordan and are categorized as vulnerable peoples by the international organization of migration and united nations high commissioner for refugees. this study considers the informal ways in which iraqi female household heads are coping economically within jordan. the study supports the observation that remittances, travel stipends, and volunteer positions are the main ways in which female household heads in jordan generate informal income. this article strongly recommends continued international support, channeled through funding for unhcr and non-governmental organizations in jordan that support self-reliance strategies among iraqi women. coping in jordan the plight of iraqi-female-headed households sophia moradian “this dependence on foreign aid, for both the jordanian government and for the iraqi population in jordan, is not a longterm solution for assisting displaced iraqis in jordan. . . . encouraging methods of economic self-reliance will be crucial in the near future and over the long-term.” introduction as a woman i have no country. as a woman my country is the whole world. virginia woolf while the situation of displaced iraqis in jordan is extremely challenging, jordan itself has occupied an interesting role as a host country for refugees since the creation of the state of israel in 1948. notably, jordan is not a signatory of the 1951 geneva convention on refugees, lacking laws for refugees or those seeking asylum in jordan.2 the hashemite kingdom of jordan has a unique role in the region, having the highest ratio of refugees to population: one quarter of all jordanian residents are considered refugees.3 as expressed by hanin odeh, “jordan has adopted ‘semi protectionist’ policies toward iraqi forced migrants, i.e. letting them in, but depriving them of livelihood means to become settled.”4 a certain paradox exists in jordan. while it is considered one of the most politically stable and safest countries in the middle east, it is one of the most resource-poor countries in the region and in the world. within the context of war and political unrest in iraq, both men and women have suffered in unique ways. the focus of this study, however, is on iraqi women in jordan. therefore, the study presents the situation and history of iraq through the experiences of iraqi women. over the past three decades of conflict, women have endured losing husbands, sons, brothers, and other male family members. these losses, coupled with increasing denial of equal rights by iraq’s previous socialist regime, have made them especially vulnerable as displaced persons, both inside and outside iraq. both iraqi women in iraq and those who have fled to jordan face social barriers to working in the informal economy. a female-headed-household (fhh) denotes a household in which a woman is directly responsible for providing financially for her family. iraqi fhhs in iraq and jordan are stigmatized for living alone (without a male figure present). women have played an important role in shaping the politics and direction of their country in the past, and iraqi women, both internally displaced persons and those living abroad, must assume this role again in rebuilding their country. according to recent statistics released in july 2010 by unhcr, there are currently 30,700 iraqis residing in jordan.5 iraqis in jordan are not considered refugees, but rather temporary “guests.”6 most significantly, iraqis are not legally allowed to work in jordan, depriving them of a source of income and livelihood. aside from individuals who have the financial means to keep 50,000 jordanian dinar (jd) in the bank, the overwhelming majority of iraqis living in jordan are not legally allowed to work. it is widely known, however, that iraqis engage in informal work in jordan to provide an income for their families. while traditionally, in iraqi families, the household head is male, it is estimated that among the 30,700 active iraqis registered with unhcr in jordan today, 20% of iraqi households are female headed.7 these fhhs typically comprise the poorest sector of the population.8 married women have very little knowledge about or are not involved in managing the finances of their household. it therefore becomes very difficult for iraqi women who must assume the traditional role of father, providing a source of income for the family, and the traditional role of mother as caretaker of the house at the same time. many iraqi women in jordan have not previously taken on the role of household head before immigrating to jordan. this situation often results in the exploitation of both men and women by their employers.9 as they are not officially employed, theycannot seek justice for this exploitation in the jordanian legal system. this study highlights the mechanisms by which iraqi fhhs are coping economically in jordan in order to provide recommendations on how to better serve the most vulnerable group of displaced persons in jordan. acronyms and abbreviations cbo community-based organization fhh female-headed household idp internally displaced person iom international organization for migration ird international relief and development jd jordanian dinar mena middle east and north africa nfi non-food item ngo non-governmental organization un united nations unhcr the united nations high commissioner for refugees unocha united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs wfwp women’s federation for world peace wrc women’s refugee commission as a result of the oil boom in the 1970s, iraq’s growing economy demanded a larger labor force, and instead of importing foreign labor, iraq encouraged the participation of women in the work force as a policy to spur the economic development of the country. despite saddam hussein’s oppressive regime, following his rise to power in 1979, urban women experienced more social freedom and educational opportunities. women were “perceived to play a crucial role in the development and modernization of the country.”10 nadje al ali, professor of gender studies at the school of oriental and african studies in london, asserts, “iraqi women became among the most educated and professional in the whole region.”11 however, when political and economic conditions changed during the iran-iraq war and after the 1991 gulf war, the state changed its rhetoric regarding women and their role in society. after the 1991 gulf war, in the era of the sanctions of the 1990s, economic conditions declined and the iraqi regime urged women to return to their homes to care for their families in order to allow men to be the breadwinners of the family.12 with iraqi fhhs being socially discouraged from working in the formal economy in iraq and theirinability to work legally in jordan, iraqi fhhs today are faced with the difficult situation of providing financial support for their families, both in iraq and in jordan. methodology seven informal interviews were conducted with iraqi women who are household heads in jordan, as well as seven formal interviews with representatives from local ngos, such as case workers and program managers. this primary research was supplemented by texts which provided background information on the history of iraqi women, both in iraq and as refugees, as well as from reports on iraqi refugees in jordan. iraqi fhhs were chosen based on their previous or current affiliation with women’s federation for world peace. contacts at local community-based organizaions (cbos) were established in part by affiliations with the humanitarian organization care, a program already based in jordan. furthermore, only women who are heads of their households in jordan iraqi immigrants in jordan 26 27 elements : : fall 2011 coping in jordan were interviewed for this study, including women who were divorced, widowed, or who had husbands living abroad. iraqi women interviewed had varying family sizes, various education levels, and varying amounts of time spent in jordan.13 women were between the ages of 20 and 60, and thus had varying experiences growing up in iraq.14 all interviews with iraqi fhhs were conducted with two male wfwp volunteers present, who acted as translators. there was a base set of ten questions asked to all participants. while the iraqi women interviewed reside in and around amman, the program coordinators reside in both irbid and zarqa, cities in jordan which also contain large concentrations of iraqi refugees. therefore, while the researcher did not have direct contact with iraqi fhhs in cities outside of amman, data was collected from secondary sources regarding iraqi women in irbid and zarqa. informal interviews with iraqi women participants were conducted in the form of discussions and, while a core set of questions was asked to each participant, the order in which the questions were asked varied, as did the depth to which each question was answered. these discussions lasted no more than half an hour. before their interviews, all participants were given a summary of the research study and were informed of their rights as participants of this study, as well as their right not to participate. some non-iraqi interviewees granted permission to use their name in the study. thus, some interviewee’s names are preserved. translators acted as witnesses for those who gave verbal consent. findings in total, fourteen individuals were interviewed, seven were iraqi female household heads, and the remaining seven were individuals who have had experience working with iraqis in jordan, and often times in the greater mena region. all iraqi female household heads interviewed had arrived in jordan after 2006, aside from one family that had arrived in 2000. informal interviews were held with iraqi women within amman. specifically, in the areas of hashmi al shemali, wast al balad, and sweileh. noniraqis, namely case workers and program coordinators at local ngos, were interviewed in amman, zarqa, and irbid and were asked a series of questions relating to their experience working with iraqis and how they perceive iraqi female household heads. data was compiled from iraqis and case workers at local ngos to develop a general representation of how iraqi fhhs are coping economically in jordan. all iraqis interviewed were receiving aid from unhcr; thus, for the purposes of this study, unhcr cash assistance has been excluded from the ways in which iraqi women are actively generating income. recipients of unhcr monthly cash assistance receive debit cards, to which their monthly stipend is deposited.15 this amount varies depending on the number of individuals in the family. a single man or woman receives 75 jd per month, two individuals receive 110 jd per month, a family of three receives 195 jd per month, while a family of four receives 210 jd per month.16 iraqi female household heads reported that this stipend is usually enough for rent, utilities, and some food. however, it is not enough for other living expenses such as phones, clothes, health care, and education costs. local organizations such as khawla bint al azwar and care provide non-cash assistance, such as clothes, food, and home goods to families who demonstrate need. provision of non-cash assistance effectively decreases a family’s expenditures. care international provides one-time emergency cash assistance to new arrivals who demonstrated need, in the range of 200-300 jd. aside from these sources of cash and non-cash assistance, it was concluded that there are five main ways in which iraqi fhh are coping in jordan: remittances, volunteer positions, travel stipends, self-employment, and informal work. remittances all iraqi fhhs interviewed had extended family in iraq, the united states, and in one case, in sweden. four out of “these positions, then, do not provide long-term solutions for generating an adequate source of income; rather, they are a way for volunteers to generate a small amount of supplemental income for a limited amount of time.” seven interviewees stated they were receiving funds from mothers, sisters, or sons in the united states and in iraq. three out of these four families had two or more children attending school, and they reported that most of the funds received by family abroad were allocated towards the children’s education.17 for all but one of the households receiving transfers from abroad, their living situations seemed fairly stable, and their lives generally more comfortable, than that of other female household heads interviewed. therefore, it became clear that remittances are seen as a supplement to unhcr cash assistance received each month. results from interviews did not indicate a clear consensus on the exact amounts of remittances received, making it difficult to generate conclusive findings. interviews and observations suggested that while remittances were not as common as other economic coping mechanisms, they comprised a significant source of income for those families that received them. volunteer positions through local ngos although iraqis in jordan are not allowed to work in the formal economy, many ngos have begun to allocate funding for volunteers. these assistants, usually women, take on these positions for two to three months and are provided a monthly stipend, for transportation and their time, between 100-200 jd. representatives interviewed from a cbo in zarqa, jordan, explained that some women take two of these positions at once, and thus generate twice the amount for their work.18 in these positions, women work as translators, program coordinators, and often help facilitate programs within the local iraqi community as well as the local community. some of these organizations have volunteers work with local ngos as teachers and help with correspondence between the ngos and partnering cbos. however, because of decreased funding for unhcr and for local ngos, the number of volunteers hired may lower as a result of restrictions in the annual budget.19 also, because these ngos seek to provide this opportunity to many different individuals, volunteers are usually not hired for more than two or three months. these positions, then, do not provide long-term solutions for generating an adequate source of income; rather, they are a way for volunteers to generate a small amount of supplemental income for a limited amount of time. it must be noted that for fhhs who have children, taking on these volunteer positions, which often involve working in an office or traveling within or outside amman, is extremely difficult, as children at home must also be cared for. from iraqi female household heads interviewed, the only woman who had taken on a volunteer position at a local ngo was living by herself. program assistants of local cbos mentioned similar insights into the two-fold benefits of these positions. first, volunteers have the opportunity to leave their homes and socialize with other women and members of the community.20 second, generating a source of income, though a modest amount, gives beneficiaries a sense of self-importance and allows them to be productive members of the local community. four of the seven women interviewed held at least a bachelor’s degree. iraqi women who take on these positions are, more often than not, overqualified for the work they are performing, as many were former professors, accountants, or worked in administrative positions.21 by taking on these positions, women can attain a sense of normalcy by feeling productive in society. these volunteer positions benefit both the iraqi woman volunteer and the local iraqi community: they allow iraqi volunteers to directly work with fellow iraqis in the local community, while receiving a small stipend for their time. travel stipends vocational training and skills courses for women have become increasingly prevalent among ngos and cbos as ways to provide useful programs to iraqi women in jordan. all but two iraqi female household heads interviewed reported having attended such training courses, as well as psychosocial counseling sessions. these services are provided at no cost to participants, and iraqi fhhs interviewed reported receiving travel stipends of 2-3 jd each. while these courses provide valuable services and skills to the attendees, there is speculation as to whether individuals participate to benefit from the services provided from the course itself, or to simply profit from the travel stipend, making it difficult to ascertain their true motives. a women for water program (wfwp) representative stated that unhcr and some cbos almost consider these travel stipends as an indirect form of distributing cash assistance to iraqis.22 a program coordinator in irbid explained that for recent social activity sponsored by her organization, participants received a travel stipend of 3 jd; however, a bus was also hired to pick up and drop off participants in their neighborhoods. thus, the whole amount provided as a “travel stipend” became simply a stipend for attending the activity.23 in other situations, women share taxis or use public transportation in order to save on travel costs. therefore, travel stipends, whether enabling iraqi fhhs to attend potentially beneficial courses, or allowing these 28 29 elements : : fall 2011 coping in jordan women to profit from the amount remaining from the actual travel cost, are seen as an extra form of income. self-employment small businesses, solely headed by women entrepreneurs, were also reported in preliminary research to be sources of income for iraqi fhhs. because these businesses are home based, household heads can simultaneously run this business while taking care of dependents and daily household work. usually, female heads of household attend vocational training courses, which provide basic skills training classes or business entrepreneurship training. upon completion of such skills training courses, women receive a package that helps them to begin their own business ventures. some non-iraqis interviewed also cited microcredit programs as being ways in which iraqi fhhs generate income. unhcr, through unicef in jordan, has sought to expand opportunities for iraqi women and women in local communities by instituting microfinance programs.24 cbos in jordan such as wfwp and khawla bint al azwar, east amman charitable association, and al amal have implemented similar microfinance programs. a wfwp representative explained that while the theory of microfinance for fhhs is an excellent one, microfinance and small business entrepreneurship, among iraqi women, have not been successful.25 irikora described her experience with iraqi fhhs and small business entrepreneurship: “iraqi women don’t have a stable mind here, as they see their situation as temporary. their mind is not in jordan.”26 irikiora’s insight that many women do not see jordan as their home, but rather as a point of transit to a third country, was also observed by the researcher in her fieldwork. all but one iraqi fwmae head of household interviewed intended to immigrate to the united states in the future. despite studies that suggest small businesses can be a sustainable source of income, no iraqi female household head interviewed in this study had her own business or was currently attending training courses for a business entrepreneurship. while enthusiastic about the potential of these programs for improving the fhhs’ livelihoods, a program coordinator from a cbo in irbid emphasized that when these businesses are profitable, the income generated is not enough, on its own, to sustain a fhh, especially a household with children. nevertheless, like remittances and travel stipends, profits from small businesses are seen as a supplement to monthly cash assistance from unhcr. representatives from khawla bint al azwar, an organization funding a variety of different training courses for both iraqi women and for women from the local community in zarqa, explained the difficulties with funding business entrepreneurship courses and the base costs for the businesses. reception to business entrepreneurship courses among iraqi participants was highly positive, but they only had funding for beginning level courses. they have not received sponsorship or funding to expand these courses, and more significantly do not have the funds to provide start-up costs for their micro-businesses. taking out loans in jordan requires collateral and a co-signer who, by law, must be jordanian. iraqis, especially fhhs, often lack both of these requirements.27 they are seen as having an unstable financial status in jordan, as they may travel out of the country without having repaid their debt. because they are not represented in the jordanian legal system they are not seen as reliable debtors.28 therefore, in the cases where iraqi female heads of household are interested in starting their own businesses, a lack of funding is often an impediment to achieving this source of semi-self reliance. informal work because the large majority of iraqis do not have work permits in jordan, they are not able to work in the formal sector and be legally employed in jordan. thus, along with having a self-owned small business, some iraqi fhhs are forced to work illegally in jordan. there was an overall “on average, a social worker at an ngo in amman reported that if paid for her work, an iraqi woman receives between one half and three quarters of what another woman, working legally in jordan, would make in her place.” consensus, though, that women feel safer participating in informal work than men do.29 iraqi men typically experience more trouble with the police, as jordanian police are hesitant to harass women.30 also, especially for household work, it is easier for a woman to enter another family’s home. working as household cleaners or as seamstresses is the most common type of informal work reported by case-workers and cbo representatives. there are two main problems arising from iraqi fhhs engaging in the informal economy: they are paid less than their jordanian counterparts or are not paid at all. on average, a social worker at an ngo in amman reported that if paid for her work, an iraqi woman receives between one half and three quarters of what another woman, working legally in jordan, would make in her place.31 this work is illegal under jordanian law and women cannot seek legal action for these instances of exploitation because they are irregular migrants working illegally.32 for iraqi fhhs who are faced with no other options to generate income for themselves and their families, they resort to more desperate means of survival. these may include selling gold from their former marriages for cash, working as street vendors, or sending their children to work.33 while the researcher did not encounter any female heads of household who reported engaging in these activities, case-workers did.34 conclusion in light of current difficult situations for iraqi fhhs in jordan, economic security is of the utmost importance. while iraqi women in jordan use a variety of means by which to ensure financial security for day-to-day necessities, vulnerable iraqis, namely fhhs, in jordan have a high dependence on unhcr cash assistance as well as on foreign aid. foreign aid is allocated to local ngos and cbos who, in turn, facilitate programs for iraqi and noniraqi beneficiaries in the community. iraqi female heads of household benefit from the skills acquired through these programs and from the extra cash generated by saving their travel stipends. these courses are seen as an opportunity to socialize with other iraqis and bridge gaps between the iraqi community and the local community. iraqi immigrants receiving healthcare in jordan 30 31 elements : : fall 2011 coping in jordan effectively, many iraqi fhhs’ livelihoods in jordan are highly dependent on foreign aid, both in the form of funding for volunteer positions and for travel, though unhcr funding has begun to decline since 2009.35 furthermore, the jordanian government estimated in 2008 that iraqi guests in jordan had cost the country 1.6 billion jd from 2005-2008; however, the jordanian government has never publicized the raw data from this estimate.36 while the jordanian government has allowed iraqis access to public schools and healthcare, there is speculation that jordan has “benefitted greatly” from the inflow of foreign aid, aimed at assisting those directly affected by the current conflict in iraq.37 this dependence on foreign aid, for both the jordanian government and for the iraqi population in jordan, is not a long-term solution for assisting displaced iraqis in jordan. especially for vulnerable groups within jordan’s iraqi population, such as fhhs, encouraging methods of economic self-reliance will be crucial in the near future and over the long-term. international aid, through cash and material assistance, allows families to meet basic needs. this aid, however, is not everlasting, and funding for unhcr and ngos has begun to decline over the past few years. many organizations request additional funding in the form of aid or cash assistance, though these allocations are not a permanent solution for improving the lives of iraqis in jordan. more funding should be allocated towards guided assistance in order to better encourage their self-reliance.38 this, in itself, presents a challenge, as iraqis cannot work legally in jordan. previous studies on the situation of iraqis in jordan have concluded that the most sustainable way to improve the livelihoods of displaced iraqis in jordan is for the government to grant them work permits. however, the chance of the jordanian government allowing iraqis to work in jordan is quite slim. thus, future research on mechanisms of international funding to support economic sustainability is strongly encouraged. such programs, channeled through ngo programs on the ground, will bring forth new ways by which to encourage financial self-reliance for iraqis remaining in jordan, thereby reducing poverty among iraqi refugees residing in jordan. these mechanisms could serve as a model for displaced iraqis in surrounding mena countries, and, more generally, for other displaced peoples living in a foreign country. future studies regarding the possibility and efficacy of establishing a permanent community fund for iraqis in jordan is highly encouraged. this fund could potentially increase the livelihood of iraqis in jordan. because the majority of iraqis in jordan will not be resettled to a third country or return to iraq in the near future, there will be a remaining core group of iraqis in jordan.39 self-reliance strategies, which decrease reliance on international support for those iraqis remaining in jordan, deserve attention in future research projects.40 while this study has focused specifically on fhhs as a vulnerable group within the iraqi community in jordan, new literature suggests that men displaced by conflict—particularly those who are not in school or are not working—are also considered vulnerable.41 with a loss of employment, males’ sense of masculinity is diminished, often affecting familial relations in a negative way. for example, an iom report found that domestic violence has increased among iraqis in jordan due to the frustration of men who are not able to financially provide for their families.42 future studies regarding how iraqi men are coping in jordan, both economically and socially, could demonstrate effective means for ngos to involve males, especially teenagers, in programs and psychosocial counseling. equal inclusion and representation of men and women is, and will be, necessary for establishing an iraqi society that can succeed in attaining peace and economic security. endnotes 1. 1 jd ≈ 1.40 usd 2. guglielmo 2008 (46) 3. odeh 2007 (6) 4. odeh 2007 (29) 5. unhcr, unhcr july 2010, press release (amman: unhcr, 2010). 6. odeh 2007 (32) 7. ibid. 8. guglielmo 2008 (12) 9. odeh 2007 10. al ali 2007b (127) “iraqi women don’t have a stable mind here, as they see their situation as temporary. their mind is not in jordan.” 11. al ali 2007b (138) 12. al ali 2007b (186) 13. mean number of individuals in fhhs interviewed was 2.3. 14. all iraqi women interviewed were from baghdad. 15. debit cards are distributed to iraqi families, rather than them being required to collect actual cash assistance from unhcr jordan each month. 16. women’s refugee commission 2009 (3) 17. rheema, interview by s. moradian, 14 nov. 2010 18. aya and zeinab, interview by s. moradian 23 nov. 2010 19. hiba, interview by s. moradian, 25 nov. 2010 20. ibid. 21. ibid. 22. irikora, interview by s. moradian, 9 nov. 2010 23. hiba, interview by s. moradian, 25 nov. 2010 24. irikora, interview by s. moradian, 9 nov. 2010 25. ibid. 26. ibid. 27. aya and zeinab, interview by s. moradian 23 nov. 2010 28. ibid. 29. hiba, interview by s. moradian, 25 nov. 2010 30. nadia, interview by s. moradian, 10 nov. 2010 31. leila, interview by s. moradian, 25 nov. 2010 32. while jordanian law allows both legal and illegal workers to seek legal recourse for exploitation in the workplace, iraqi women feel that their working illegally prevents them from taking legal recourse when exploited for their working in the informal sector. 33. irikora, interview by s. moradian, 9 nov. 2010 34. irikora, interview by s. moradian, 9 nov. 2010 35. khuzaie 2010 36. nicholas seeley, “the iraq effect,” jo magazine, april 21, 2008. 37. ibid. 38. leila, interview by s. moradian, 25 nov. 2010 39. unhcr, unhcr july 2010. 40. odeh 2007 (17) 41. al ali and pratt 2009 (267) 42. guglielmo 2008 (76) references al ali, n. iraqi women: untold stories from 1948 to the present. new york: zed books, inc., 2007. al ali, n. and pratt, n. women and war in the middle east. new york: zed books, inc., 2009. guglielmo, s., bartoloni, e., and nuri, r. assessment on psychosocial needs of iraqis displaced, in jordan and lebanon. amman: international organization for migration, 2008. khuzaie, w. unhcr news story: unhcr sees deepening needs among iraqi refugees even as world interest wanes. unhcr, 2010. odeh, h. political responses to mass refugee influx: the case of iraqi refugees in jordan. london: london school of economics press, 2007. seeley, n. “the iraq effect.” jo magazine, 21 april 2010. unhcr. unhcr july 2010. amman: unhcr, 2010. women’s refugee commission. living in limbo: iraqi young women and men in jordan. amman: women’s refugee commission, 2009. 32 33 elements : : fall 2011 coping in jordan the middle eastern city of dura-europos, which was featured in an exhibit in boston college’s mcmullen museum, provides historians with an extraordinary amount of information regarding religious diversity in the ancient world. this article focuses specifically on the religious cult of mithras that was founded upon the worship of the ancient gods mithras and sol, and the sacrificial tauroctony. relying on the evidence provided by archaeology, artwork, and the cult’s site of worship, the mithraeum, this article identifies the singularity of mithraic practices in their historical context while also exploring the relationship that the cult of mithras had with more commonly known religions such as christianity and judaism. the mystery of mithras analyzing religious practices in dura-europos jenna howarth“the strong presence of art and archaeology, despite a lack of textual evidence, shows how the distinct cult of mithras acted not only as a supplementary religion for roman troops, but also as a cornerstone of religious tolerance in this ancient city.” “the cult of mithras” display in the mcmullen museum’s dura europos: crossroads of antiquity provides insight into one of the most mysterious religions practiced at duraeuropos before its fall to the sasanians in 256 ce.1 religious relationships at dura-europos were exceptional in that christians, jews, pagans, and other cult members were atypically tolerant of and associated with each other. for example, the roman soliders who were some of the original members of the cult of mithras were also involved with the renovations and expansion of both the christian building and the synagogue. this demonstrates that while the religions were exceptionally different in tradition, they managed to establish tolerance and even influence each other’s practices. 2 due to its uniqueness, the cult of mithras is a religious sect that deserves its own analysis. the lack of mithraic texts necessitates conclusions about the group based on the art and archaeology unearthed at dura-europos. by starting with an examination of mithraic history and religious artworks while cross-referencing the bible and the aeneid, scholars can discover what made the cult of mithras so unique and capable of gaining a following in an already religiously cultivated city. tracing the foundation of the cult of mithras in the civilization of dura-europos is essential to the discussion of its historical and religious significance and its fundamental deviation from the more popular religions of the city. the mithraeum, the building of worship for the cult of mithras, was built along the northern wall of dura-europos in approximately 168 or 169 ce. palmyrene archers serving in the roman army were the first to institute mithraic practices into durene society, emphasizing the malleability of the religious culture of dura-europos. the cult of mithras actually gained footing during the reign of the third cultural group of the romans rather than that of the seleucids or parthians.3 perhaps the cult of mithras was a newer, more attractive practice, but even more probable is that dura-europos was simply becoming an increasingly impressionable city that was open to various languages, cultures, and religions. gail r. hoffman remarks: some scholars have assumed that one reason for the great variety of cults found at dura-europos is the variety of peoples from different cities and regions who came to dura-europos. it stone tablet depicting mithras certainly seems that the cult of mithras came with the roman military, and the christian and jewish communities are also first visible during the roman phase though they may have been present in the city earlier.4 because it was a military garrison and a strong trading and political center, dura-europos was greatly exposed to countless cultural groups. by the time the sasanians defeated the city in 256/257 ce, macedonian, seleucid, parthian, roman, sasanian, greek, latin, and persian influences had all been present at some point during the life of dura-europos.5 with this diversity, it is no surprise that the cult of mithras would have been able to take root in such a diverse community. it is important to note that even though palmyrene soldiers were responsible for the foundation of the cult of mithras in dura-europos, it was not necessarily their only religion. the feriale duranum, a religious calendar dating around 223 ce, was used by roman soldiers in dura-europos and reconstructs their entire religious year. no gods from either dura-europos or palmyra are mentioned in the calendar, and only the roman gods actually worshipped in the city of rome hold any stature; that calendar, in fact—which includes notes of army festivals, public festivals of the roman gods, and imperial women—was made up of mostly the same observances of the city of rome itself. soldiers all over the roman empire used nearly identical copies of the calendar. in addition to participating in this official roman religion and worshipping roman gods, however, palmyrene soldiers also worshipped other popular gods that were never adopted by rome.6 while they could not practice judaism or christianity, as those would prohibit sacrifice to the official roman gods of the state, they could indeed join various religious cults, such as that of mithras.7 the bible orders christians to “fear god and glorify him, because the time has come for him to sit in judgment; worship the maker of heaven and earth and sea and the springs of water.” christians believe that a follower may worship only one god, who rules over all areas of the universe. because the religion does not allow for its members to worship any other than god himself, roman troops could not become christians and follow the official roman religion simultaneously.8 however, a religious cult such as mithras allowed for the men to continue with traditional pagan practices while also earning membership into a new religious sect. as palmyrene archers brought the cult of mithras into the city, soldiers were the primary members at the beginning of the third century ce, as well as those in the merchant class. only men were allowed to join the cult, which seems strikingly different from religions such as judaism and christianity which welcomed, and in fact promoted, the conversion of both genders.9 however, one must not forget that the two were also almost exclusively male oriented in that only men maintain the positions of prophets, disciples, or apostles in the bible. according to lucinda dirven, the cult of mithras became “a brotherhood of men who mainly shared the same profession.” while it is unclear where these men, and particularly palmyrene archers, originally became exposed to the cult, there are suggestions that it was possibly adopted in dacia or moesia.10 while the historical context and religious participants are clearly important elements of any religion or cult. the actual beliefs and customs of the cult of mithras should receive significant attention in this discussion. this mysterious religion was thought to include seven levels of initiation, ritual banquets, and a promise of salvation after death to all members.11 cultists worshipped the god mithras, originally an iranian god who, according to legend, was born from a rock in a moment outside time and killed a cosmic, primeval bull, which he then dragged into a cave. mithras and the sun god sol then proceeded to feast on the bull, after which mithras consecrated sol and bestowed on him his nimbus.12 the account of these events “the mithraeum at duraeuropos is among the best preserved of the cult. its architecture, decoration, and graffiti not only help to describe the cult in dura but also to portray the cult during the first half of the third century throughout syria.” 36 37 elements : : fall 2011 the mystery of mithras was taken from various pieces of art in the mithraeum, which will be examined later on in the discussion. such discoveries could be made from only art and archaeology because there were no documented texts such as the aeneid or the bible which scholars could use as religious evidence. little was recorded about the cult’s beliefs and practices precisely because of its nature; as a secret cult the members would not have written much down, but instead would have expressed their religion through reliefs and other artwork in the mithraeum. the graffiti on the walls of the mithraeum at dura-europos lists the names of the initiates with their mithraic grade, while paintings and sculptures hint at various aspects of their religious practices.13 subsequently, the cult of mithras shows the importance of artwork and archaeology to understanding the religions of dura-europos and all ancient cities. the mithraeum itself, as the site for worshipping mithras, becomes an existential piece of evidence in unearthing the mithraic practice. it was built into a renovated house in 168 ce by the palmyrene archers who founded the cult in dura. it was enlarged in 209-211 ce by the roman commander antonius valentius and was renovated again from 240 ce into the late mithraeum. it was subsequently discovered by excavators nearly two thousand years later. while most mithraea are underground in order to symbolize the importance of caves to mithras, the temple at duraeuropos was completely above ground, perhaps influenced by the christian buildings or the jewish synagogue.14 the mithraeum was a rectangular building with only benches and an altar table for furniture; there were not seating accommodations like those typically found in modern day synagogues or churches.15 this arrangement invoked a one-on-one relationship with the god during times of worship. the mithraeum at dura-europos is among the best preserved of the cult. its architecture, decoration, and graffiti not only help to describe the cult in dura but also to portray the cult during the first half of the third century throughout syria. all of the subjects in most mithraea are similar to each other, yet the style and composition of the scenes often vary.16 in the mithraeum in dura-europos, two reliefs hung under an arch show scenes of the tauroctony which are then flanked on both sides by mithraic hunting scenes.17 the two mithraic reliefs are almost identical in the positioning of both mithras and the bull. both show mithras holding back the bull’s head and thrusting a dagger into his neck. the top relief, which was placed by the palmyrene commander zenobius, included the dedicant, or donor, along with other figures thought to be members of the cult association. their presence is significant in that they are not family members, which was typical of the roman cult in which familial ties were unimportant, and thus creates a blunt contrast with judaism and christianity, in which family was of the utmost importance: “honour your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land that yahweh your god is giving you.”18,19 the cult of mithras offers no such declaration of paternal or familial prominence, and instead focuses on the relationship between mithras and the sun god sol. in a painting found in the mithraeum at dura-europos, which was originally placed to the left of the cult niche during the building’s second phase, sol and mithras are shown feasting on the sacrificial bull.20 unlike in roman or greek tradition, the god mithras himself seemed to be doing both the sacrificing and feasting. this presents a problem in that it completely opposes traditional beliefs regarding sacrifice. when hercules came to the aid of the arcadians to kill the bestial half-man cacus, “he choked him till his eyes burst out, his gullet whitened and dried up with loss of blood.” he left the violence at that.21 he never ate the animal as a sacrificial feast and instead, “since then / this feast (by the arcadians) is held, and younger men are glad / to keep the memory of the day.”22 it seems that though the cult of mithras may have been traditional in holding ritual banquets for new initiates, as animal remains and purchase receipts testfy. in any event, he ideology behind such feasts remains very unique.23 despite its distinctiveness, the cult of mithras does maintain a subtle relationship with other religions such as christianity. the pagan celsus criticized that “superstitions like mithraism and christianity are led by wicked men who convince simple people to believe in their false “it seems that though the cult of mithras may have been traditional in holding ritual banquets . . . the ideology behind such feasts remains very unique.” teachings without explanation.”24 the grouping of mithraism and christianity seems faulty because the two are wholly independent and individual religions. unlike the cult of mithras, both judaism and christianity claim a basis on the textual evidence of the hebrew bible. furthermore, mithraic practices also involve worshipping a god entirely different than yahweh. critics, such as justin martyr, nevertheless held fast to their apologetic works by claiming that “the ‘wicked devils’ who adhere to the cult of mithras have imitated the actions commanded by jesus of his followers.” martyr saw similarities between mithraism and christianity, as the cult followers ate and drank with prearranged prayers during their ritual feast, but took bread and water rather than wine.25 the act of feasting, however, was not unique to christianity, and it was often pagan practice to eat a sacrificial feast while praying to the gods. such oppositions and critiques of mithraism can actually work to demonstrate how well the different religious groups coalesced in dura-europos. although historical and religious texts demonstrate rivalry and intolerance of different religions, the archaeological evidence for mithraism, christianity, judaism, and paganism show adherence to other belief systems and a willingness to share common elements in their ritual space. the commonalties of the mithraeum, synagogue, and christian building in design and decoration are especially unique and create a “durene” style of art and architecture.26 the typical rivalry and distrust usually seen among religions of the third century ce dissolved in dura-europos, and the discovery of the atypical mithraic cult speaks to this point. the strong presence of art and archaeology, despite a lack of textual evidence, shows how the distinct cult of mithras acted not only as a supplementary religion for roman troops, but also as a cornerstone of religious tolerance in this ancient city. an archaeological reconstruction of the synagogue of dura-europos in an israeli museum 38 39 elements : : fall 2011 the mystery of mithras endnotes 1. “dura europos” 2011: “military presence” exhibit description 2. ibid. 3. “dura europos” 2011: “the cult of mithras” exhibit description 4. hoffman 2011 (54) 5. deleeuw 2011 (189) 6. dirven 2011 (211) 7. deleeuw 2011 (193) 8. revelation 14:7 9. “dura europos” 2011: “the cult of mithras” exhibit description 10. dirven 2011 (211) 11. “dura europos” 2011: “the cult of mithras” exhibit description 12. deleeuw 2011 (193) 13. “dura europos” 2011: “the cult of mithras” exhibit description 14. “dura europos” 2011: “the cult of mithras” exhibit description 15. deleeuw 2011 (192) 16. deleeuw 2011 (193) 17. “dura europos” 2011 18. dirven 2011 (212) 19. exodus: 20:12. 20. “dura europos” 2011: “mithras and sol” exhibit description 21. virgil trans. fitzgerald 1990 (viii: 345-346) 22. virgil trans. fitzgerald 1990 (viii: 354-356) 23. “dura europos” 2011: “mithras and sol” exhibit description 24. deleeuw 2011 (191) 25. ibid. 26. deleeuw 2011 (195) references deleeuw, patricia. “a peaceful pluralism: the durene mithraeum, synagogue, and christian building,” (2011): 189. in brody, lisa r. and hoffman, gail l., eds. dura europos: crossroads of antiquity. chestnut hill: mcmullen museum of art. published in conjunction with the exhibition “dura europos: crossroads of antiquity” shown at the mcmullen museum of art. “dura europos.” the mcmullen museum of art. devlin hall 108, 140 commonwealth avenue chestnut hill, ma 02467. dirven, lucinda. “strangers and sojourners: the religious behavior of palmyrenes and other foreigners in dura-europos,” (2011): 211. in brody, lisa r. and hoffman, gail l., eds. dura europos: crossroads of antiquity. chestnut hill: mcmullen museum of art. published in conjunction with the exhibition “dura europos: crossroads of antiquity” shown at the mcmullen museum of art. hoffman, gail r. “theory and methodology: study of identities using archaeological evidence from dura-europos,” (2011): 54. in brody, lisa r. and hoffman, gail l., eds. dura europos: crossroads of antiquity. chestnut hill: mcmullen museum of art. published in conjunction with the exhibition “dura europos: crossroads of antiquity” shown at the mcmullen museum of art. virgil. the aeneid. trans. robert fitzgerald. new york: vintage classics, 1990. 40 41 elements : : fall 2011 the mystery of mithras since the 1960s, the depiction of the vietnam war in film has captivated and polarized audiences while complicating the icon of the “american war hero.” historical films and collective memory serve parallel functions in their endeavors to recreate the past as a collection of images, however mediated. indeed, films have the capacity to shape history as it is actually remembered by present-day audiences, thus blurring the division between ‘objective’ history and ‘subjective’ memory. this article examines how, over a period of decades, films depicting some aspect of the vietnam war have changed and, concomitantly, how this change relates to recollection of the actual events of the vietnam war. culture in conflict remembering the vietnam war through cinema rosa maribel colorado “beyond the purpose of entertainment, historical films serve as portals to the past, and the power of film then becomes the ability to transport the viewer to that past.” introduction with each new film adaptation incorporating historical accounts of the vietnam war, america as the victor is an image that begins to fade. the depicted role of american involvement in the war becomes more ambiguous with each passing decade. perhaps stemming from the turbulent social climate of the 1960s, films aimed to depict the vietnam war narrative demonstrate conflict within themselves to reconcile the outcome of such a traumatic event in american history. unlike the previous world wars, the nature of the vietnam war made the distinction between “good” and “bad” an impossible moral dilemma, exasperated by american youths rebelling against the “establishment” and publically displaying antiwar sentiment. there has been a recent desire to recapture this time of revolution as one of revitalization as well as fear, anger, and resentment. such are the conflicting sentiments depicted in numerous vietnam centered films that were produced during, soon after, and long after the end of the war. throughout the past half century, film has become an ideal and powerful vehicle for reflecting the personal sentiments of this image-laden war. rich warland expressed this transparent, personal nature of vietnam in his journal entry, “the other living-room war: prime time combat series: 1962-1975,” by describing the proximity between the americans at home and images of those abroad in battle. yet, to consider the genre of these films and to examine elements such as the musical score of the film demonstrates the ability of vietnam war themed films to reflect the dissonance of the current society. temporality proves to be a marker of change for the following vietnam war related films: mash (1970), apocalypse now (1979), platoon (1986), casualties of war (1989), and forrest gump (1994). each film ultimately reflects different stages of contemplation and understanding of the vietnam war. while only a few, these selected films attempt to demonstrate the general transformation of the “american hero” image from an indisputable figure of power to a war-torn soldier traumatized by battle, and finally to a reconciled character with an altogether novel identity. this final place of reconciliation, as portrayed by the main characters of these films, serves to mirror american society’s self-awareness and recovery from the vietnam war. conflict in the social climate while war films had previously created an image of the brave american as a hero of revolution fighting against a clear-cut enemy to ensure domestic independence and justice, vietnam-era movies would emphasize the image of americans resisting domestic order rather than resisting the foreign enemy. self-awareness of one’s place in society seemed to be the pursuit of many in 1960s american culture, and many americans slowly toyed with the realization that the government was a potential instigator of violence as opposed to a protector against violence. during this time of great uncertainty, the “enemy” became unclear —is the enemy the uncivilized foreigner in a distant land or is the enemy the countrymen of your home-land? not surprisingly, in many of the vietnam war themed films, the “villain” becomes increasingly difficult to appropriate. which group terrorized and which group suffered the terrorizing becomes a difficult question to discern. just like the general public, these historical films struggle with the participation of america in the war. we continue to engage with the past as historical films continue to be funded, produced, and distributed. inherent in the vietnam war themed movie persists a reflection of contemporary society’s intense curiosity to hunt in earnest for the unsolved mysteries of vietnam. marita sturken, author of tangled memories: the vietnam war, the aids epidemic, and the politics of remembering, addresses the urge to relive the past when she writes, “those who were too young to experience the vietnam war or the antiwar movement are fascinated by this particular time.”1 this need for our current culture to look back into the past is prominently exemplified in the increased production of vietnam war themed films. sturken reflects this fact when she notes, “the media have become nostalgic for their own moment of purposefulness in covering and exposing “inherent in the vietnam war themed movie persists a reflection of contemporary society’s intense curiosity to hunt in earnest for the unsolved mysteries of vietnam.” the ‘real’ stories of the war, which the military and political establishment attempted to hide.”2 sturken is quick to point out that this search through the past rings true for our collective society as a whole, rather than for any specific group or individual. in concurrence with the theme of public memory and history, the prevalence of these historical films is the result of a collective yearning for the past. film as a vehicle for memory serving beyond the purpose of entertainment, historical films serve as portals to the past, and the power of film then becomes the ability to transport the viewer to that past. yet the camera does not necessarily reveal history in terms of a universally accepted “history.” in other words, films with historical premises present images of a mediated history to an effect similar to conjuring images in memory. luckily for a contemporary society intent on exposing the past, the prominence of history-based films has made this a unique reality. in the case of vietnam war themed movies, film as a collection of images becomes the perfect vehicle to deliver the mystery of the past to this starved and desirous modern audience. for marita sturken, the actual process of filming becomes intrinsically linked with the process of remembering the past. in sturken’s view, the power of the camera showcases the process of filming as the attempt to recapture what once existed in reality: camera images, whether photographs, films, or television footage, whether documentary, docudrama, or fiction, are central to the interpretation of the past. . . . just as memory is often thought as an image, it is also produced by and through images.3 sturken expresses how images are not just physical, but metaphysical as well. for sturken, the metaphorical images reflect a form of art that materializes the process of remembering the past in the mind of the viewer. thus, film as the art of image capturing and simultaneous memory construction creates an appropriate platform for history-based films. these films utilize history and remain in the present, while at once reliving the past. while film becomes a mechanism for bringing the past to the present, the presentation of these historical films becomes part of the way the public remembers the past. to depict history in film becomes a simultaneous way of looking at the past, interpreting its meaning, and subsequently re-fashioning its presentation to shape the contemporary public’s memory of the past. sturken notes this anabolic and catabolic interaction between a film, history, and memory when she explains, “the relationship of the camera image to memory and history is one of contradiction. on one hand, photographed, filmed, and videotaped images can embody and create memories; on the other hand, they have the capacity, through the power of their presence, to obliterate them.”4 film has the power to deliver history from the past, but it also has the influence to change history as depicted on the screen. to film history is thus to change or mediate history in the public’s eye. the interplay of reconstructing the past and making a film is significant when remembering history becomes an issue of remembering it accurately. william guynn, author of writing history in film, warns the reader of overly mediating history and of the consequence of influencing the public’s memory of the past when he discusses the concept of “collective memory”: the desire of collective memory to preserve the past in the present leads to distortions and ‘misrepresentations’ because memory is steeped in emotion and is often guided by the self-interest of the group. a society’s look back toward the past is infused with nostalgia for the absolute harmony of social relations and the idealized model of social organization and behavior it locates there. the affective and ideological dimensions of social memory are clearly incompatible with the professional historian’s ideal of objectivity that can come only from rigorous application of historical critique.5 guynn argues that history and film are at odds because of the difference in the objectivity of history and the subjectivity of film. this difference is the basis for mediated historical films, which then influences the version of history that viewers receive. does this film version coincide with the public’s already perceived notions of the past? is the film viewing process an affirmation or a contradiction to the public memory of past? film has the capacity to sway how the past will be remembered by the public and in the public eye. guynn affirms this influential power of film: historians acknowledge that filmic representation has such power that it overwhelms other forms of recollection by imposing indelible images of the past on the public imagination. they are at a loss in their efforts to combat and correct what they consider erroneous but compelling representations. historical ‘fictions,’ they argue, tend to replace the real documents of events in the public imagination.6 44 45 elements : : fall 2011 culture in conflict guynn goes so far as to state that historical films, as mediated forms of the past, serve as substitutes for historical documents. while the objectivity of history may come into question, guynn points out an interesting phenomenon. despite inaccuracies, the public would rather remember or end up remembering the mediated version of the past through film. the discrepancy between what actually happened, and what people think or want to think happened becomes particularly significant when examining vietnam war themed films, especially since the historical context of these films are the crux of the plot. the vietnam war as history in film vietnam war themed films play a significant role in shaping public memory as they have come to reorient the “cultural memory” of america. sturken describes this particular memory when she states, “cultural memory is a field of cultural negotiation through which different stories vie for a place in history.”7 this definition resonates with the definition of “collective memory” or even “public memory,” but “cultural memory” implies another dimension directly interacting with how a culture perceives itself and how that image may or may not endure. this deliberation over memory within a culture correlates with the struggle that historical films encounter in their attempt to accurately convey the past. ultimately, multiple narratives about history exist, and which ones remain in the legacy of a culture is unpredictable. yet, especially among the film examples given in this article, sturken highlights the basic binary that many historical films of the vietnam war seem to encompass: as narrative films depicting a highly charged event in us history, vietnam war docudramas often have two conflicting intentions—to represent the war realistically and to examine its larger meanings through metaphoric interpretation.8 for americans and american culture, the vietnam war depicted in films represents both of these “conflicting intentions.” interestingly, the augmentation of this conflict can be witnessed over several decades, suggesting a link between the levels of conflict in the film and the real conflict present among americans’ reactions to the vietnam war. vietnam war films can be categorized based on the level of conflict expressed in the films’ narratives. indeed, sturken refers to david james’s breakdown of the development of the vietnam war film from the 1960s to the 1990s when she writes: david james has divided the mainstream films made about the vietnam war into four groups: films that were made during the war and up until the late 1970s, of which were very few [. . .]; films made in the late 1970s . . . which could be called the first wave of vietnam films; films made in the early 1980s (the era of revisionist history launched by reagan administration) that depict mias as icons of the veteran’s victimization and feature vengeful veterans refighting the war [. . .]; and the fourth phase, films made in the late 1980s and 1990s and concerned primarily with questions of realism.9 the trend among vietnam war films has been observed and recorded on account of the true uniqueness of this event in american history and the mark it has left on american culture. sturken finds significance in elaborating on the fourth phase of the evolution of vietnam films by stating, “this final group of films represents the work of several vietnam veterans and major directors; it has often been characterized as representing america’s finally coming to terms with the war.”10 in theory, the trajectory of these films over several decades should culminate in a final resolution of conflicting sentiments evident in these vietnam war films. in order to accurately trace the evolution of the vietnam war film throughout recent history, an analysis of the evolution of the genre vietnam war films inhabit is essential. this analysis involves uncovering the fading figure of the american victor that at one point in american film history prevailed above all other archetypes. genre the poignant figure of the american hero in war films is at once questioned with the sudden and evolving conflict within vietnam war film narratives in the context of the “combat film” genre. the transformation of the combat “vietnam war themed films play a significant role in shaping public memory as they have come to reorient the ‘cultural memory’ of america.” film is most jarring when contrasting the machinations of the genre and the most recent renderings of the vietnam war films. robert eberwein’s compilation contains an essay by dana polan entitled, “auteurism and war-teurism: terrence malick’s war movie,” in which polan analyzes the evolution of this “combat film” genre. initially, the combat film was as direct as the black and white film it was printed on: “we might grasp the evolution of the combat film as the history of a genre in which experiments in form and in content are both at work, pushing individual works to say new things about the experience of war and to find new forms in which to say those things. traditionally, the combat film was a highly codified genre with a set structure and set meaning.”11 polan then delves into the content of the early combat films produced during world war ii: for the wartime world war ii combat film, meaning was natural. there was mission, both the literal mission faced by the soldiers and the national mission of the war effort, and its purpose was evident, inevitable. hence, the importance of conversion, for in its suggestion that one doesn’t learn new things, that commitment isn’t imposed on the subject from without but wells up from within, the narrative of conversion makes growth into commitment natural, logical, ordinary.12 the world war ii film narrative is straightforward and reflective of the epoch from which it was produced. polan explains that during world war ii, americans needed a strong support system and sense of purpose: here is a genre where ease of style, naturalness of narrativity, matches an ease of worldview, a naturalness of mission and meaning—a genre whose philosophy is pre-given (pre-given to the filmic form, to the characters in the narrative, and to the target audience).13 it is no wonder that the combat films of the 1940s and 1950s thrived from the patriotism and steadfast belief in american exceptionalism. in any case, the heroes and villains of these films were obvious in that they mirrored real life for americans. fighting two wars with distinct markers to their communist, fascist, and nazi adversaries allowed americans to distance themselves even further away from their foe. not surprisingly, the “target audience” for these combat films was set as indicative of the international and political climate. creating films for the world war ii crowd was simple when the enemy and the cause were unanimously understood and agreed upon by public consensus. fast forward to the era of the vietnam war, as this image of a united america and the lauded american hero coming home from war are no longer universal emblems of national pride. in fact, the meaning of an enemy, and especially a cause, become unclear. dana polan supports this notion of a confused and divided national reaction to vietnam as opposed to a unanimous and positive reaction to world war ii when she says, “but in the recent combat film, unity—unity of form and content, of mission and meaning, of character and moral purpose—frequently comes undone.”14 as vietnam themed films began to reflect upon the uneasy social climate of america, they mirrored the confusion and conflict of retaining the american hero icon in combat films. interestingly, as the decades pass, and more time allows for more reconciliation with the conflict that erupted during the socio-politically charged atmosphere of the 1960s, the vietnam war film transforms once again. in the most recent film adaptations, the manifestations of the genre in these later historical moments adhere to initial meanings of the genre (the mission as process of self-education and accomplishment) while suggesting that the original organic unity of the genre is no longer easily or readily to be had.15 thus, the struggle to maintain the codes of the combat film genre proved difficult as sentiments about the vietnam war attempted to reconcile themselves in the public memory of americans. unable to reach a resolution, the genre is now forever changed in that the conflicting images of the american hero remain, as do the sentiments that polarize a nation. the 1970s: mash (1970) and apocalypse now (1979) focusing on the following vietnam war related films, robert altman’s mash (1970) and francis ford coppola’s apocalypse now (1979) present two distinct historical mediations of the vietnam war. the two films greatly contrast as one embodies a satiric and comical tone, while the other exemplifies a highly stylized and serious approach to the vietnam war. in robert altman’s mash (1970), the actual war depicted is the korean war, yet the subtext refers to the absurdity of america’s participation in the vietnam war.16 in contrast to mash is francis ford coppola’s apocalypse now (1979), which delivers an intimate and haunting portrayal of the negative outcomes of the viet46 47 elements : : fall 2011 culture in conflict nam war. yet, both films manage to capture the chaotic social and political environment of america during the era of the vietnam war. as suggested by robert eberwein in the “introduction” of his compilation of essays, the war film, “historical films become a way to comment on the present.”17 both mash and apocalypse now, while technically inaccurate in the factual depiction of the war, aim to present the turbulent climate surrounding the war at home and abroad.18 while not necessarily classified as a combat film, mash (1970) depicts a parody of a combat film and ultimately serves as an antiwar metaphor. yet, altman’s film does not outwardly convey this antiwar sentiment, but utilizes the double meaning behind its amusing imitation of army life during the korean war. the stories of four army surgeons during their time in korea quickly dissipates as the viewer becomes consumed with the humor and wit that altman executes to ultimately comment on the current military situation abroad. one way in particular the film demonstrates the feeling of loss of control is through the musical soundtrack. usually in contradiction with the seriousness of the actual scene, the background music of choice is many times cheerful and upbeat, almost carefree. again, such a dissonance could be reflective of the tension between supporters and protestors of the vietnam war. yet, the overall tone of the film is rather light in comparison with the loaded topic of war, or antiwar. in direct opposition to altman’s comedic and light-hearted portrayal of the vietnam war, coppola’s apocalypse now (1979) emphasizes the negative energy surrounding all sentiments about the war. the film submerges the viewer, just like the main character in the story, into the tangled jungles of vietnam. we learn that marlon brando’s character has gone awol, and the suggested reason for his insanity is the duration of time spent in the jungle. karen rasmussen and sharon a university student struggling with police at chicago anti-vietnam war protest downey stress the importance of creating mystery in apocalypse now through scenery and creative technique: “in other words, by layering one quality onto another and fading from image to image coppola creates a war of madness with neither rules nor purpose”19 immediately, vietnam becomes a dangerous and transformative place in which one’s mind becomes a target as well as one’s body. interestingly, the film portrays the vietnam war with utmost seriousness, but at the same time purposefully displays inaccuracies about the war. sturken elaborates on the goal of the vietnam war film during this decade and states by stating, “the films of the late 1970s subordinated codes of realism in order to depict the war metaphorically and find its larger meaning.”20 thus, the focus on scenery, lighting, and character development reflects this desire to create a metaphorical film rather than a non-fictionalized narrative. yet, because of the anarchic manner of each of these vietnam war films, their rebellious nature to defy genre and form is indicative of the sentiment placed into the production of the film. in other words, “without a coherent ideology to shore it up, the war film becomes directly incoherent.”21 these two films are mirrors of this “incoherence” because of the conflicting images of the american soldier in the vietnam war. this realization pushes the evolution of the combat film into unclear terrain. in other words, americans are no longer considered victors of war, but rather are considered as reflections of both the wins and losses of battle. without a clear vision for the american soldier at war, the film’s approach to the war, and the public’s memory of the war evoke this incomprehensible sentiment on the screen. the 1980s: platoon (1986) and casualties of war (1989) from confusion to extreme opposition, the vietnam war films of the 1980s chose a more realistic and gruesome approach to depicting the war. in fact, the films produced during this phase of the vietnam war healing process included darker themes related to violence and trauma. sturken suggests that this shift in sentiment when portraying the war on film may have been related to the establishment of the vietnam war memorial: the most recent vietnam films were in many ways a reaction against the inaccuracy of the earlier films. produced after the construction of the vietnam veterans memorial, the most recent vietnam films constitute part of the rewriting of the war’s narrative generated by the memorial and the accompanying process of healing and memory. these films are also more selfconscious about their role as historical works.22 in being more “self-conscious” about the historical depiction of the war, the more contemporary vietnam films incorporated raw and devious acts such as gruesome violence, sex, and drug binging into their narratives. bruce a. williams’ article, “from romance to collateral damage: media treatment of civilians in wartime and what it means for how america wages war,” confirms this new, rawer approach to depicting the vietnam war on film when he states, “these films, for the first time, portrayed rape, prostitution, the killing of civilians, and other atrocities being committed by american soldiers.”23 critical analysis of the actual experience of the american soldier during his or her time in vietnam during the war becomes a common occurrence. reasoning behind the shift in tone might help illustrate the importance of accuracy in these films, no matter how uncomfortable the subject matter. jarring subject matter may appear as nothing more than “shock value” story buffers but in the vietnam war film, these moments in the film’s narrative are indicative of a society’s desire to accept and welcome historical accuracy. for example, both platoon (1986) and casualties of war (1989) allude to rape, specifically the rape of a civilian female by american soldiers. the need of the filmmakers to “jarring subject matter may appear as nothing more than ‘shock value’ story buffers, but in the vietnam war film, these moments in the film’s narrative are indicative of a society’s desire to accept and welcome historical accuracy.” 48 49 elements : : fall 2011 culture in conflict depict such a disturbing and visually assaulting act of violence such as the rape of a young woman resonates with the notion of “senseless violence” that became a common sentiment among protestors of the war. in an attempt to explain the rationale behind this type of violence in films, polan writes: a space of floating, of meaningless violence that can come from anywhere, but also of the effect of just waiting, of living with nonaction. one might want to imagine that this is the experience of war, but it is also an experience of cinema, a comment on modern cinema’s narration, its rediscovery of what gilles deleuze famously termed the ‘time-image,’ a confirmation of modern cinema’s ambitious and auspicious inability to find a clear way to recount war today.24 although controversial and uncomfortable for viewers to accept, violence against young women did happen during the war, and to exclude this social dimension would only mediate the past in film once again. in the same manner that the soldiers in the film do not know how to comprehend the atrocities that surround their every sense, the same confusion and frustration is reflected in the film’s plotline. the struggle to even include sexual violence alone demonstrates america’s own apprehension to their presence in vietnam. once again, the hero of the film ought to be the american soldier, but to praise a soldier who commits such unspeakable acts of violence against innocent women as a “hero” becomes problematic. in light of these more gruesome vietnam themed movies, the glorified figure of the “war hero” becomes more complicated and multi-dimensional then once assumed. it is safe to say that the vietnam war film has reached a level of accuracy, but at great cost to the iconic image of the american soldier as a hero and figure of respect. the 1990s: forrest gump (1994) after two decades of grappling with the dissonance clearly depicted in the previous films, the 1990s brought to the public a possible resolution with america’s role in the vietnam war, beginning with robert zemeckis’ forrest gump (1994). while only a small segment of the film, this chapter depicts the famous friendship between the protagonist and benjamin buford “bubba” blue that blossoms during their time as soldiers in the vietnam war. brotherhood is a common theme and can usually be detected in combat films no matter which war is depicted on screen; yet, the bond these two “brothers” share becomes significant when set in the jungles of vietnam. two naive vietnam soldiers may be perceived as insulting to the intelligence of the war’s actual soldiers, but their simplistic point of view enhances the purity of their love for one another and heightens the trauma surrounding them on the battlefield. as stark contrasts to any of the previously mentioned adaptations of the vietnam war or transformations of the american hero at war, these two characters can represent the public’s understanding of the war. as outsiders looking in on a foreign world, the americans at home attempted to understand their purpose and cause of fighting in this prolonged war. just like forrest, the public’s perceived notion of america’s role in the vietnam war was never officially stated, as they instead preferred a passive approach to understanding their place in the war. yet, the reason this film suggests a kind of reconciliation with the ambiguity that befell the vietnam war is due to the honorable character of forrest gump, who transcends every marginality to embody every american. forrest survives the war and furthermore leaves vietnam with little to no remorse about serving his country. as a reciprocal for american sentiment toward the vietnam war, his apathetic feelings toward the war match the dissipated level of conflict that sedates our current american culture. while we do not forget the war, americans today do not feel the need to remember the war either. conclusion no one has seemingly felt the need to portray the vietnam war in a film recently. the contemporary public seems to have reached a more comfortable place, or at least a better understanding of its role in the war. not only have we rewritten the idea of the “american hero,” but we have also finally acknowledged the darker side of the vietnam war. with 1980s film depictions of the vietnam war, such as platoon (1986) and casualties of war (1989), directors took a critical stance against america’s role in the east, conveying a grittier tone than the previous light heartedness of mash (1970) or the sullenness of apocalypse now (1979). yet during the evolution of the vietnam war film, the memory of the war becomes rewritten again and again with each new film. sturken addresses this repetitious endeavor of americans to relive the vietnam war: indeed, memory often takes the form not of recollection but of cultural reenactment that serves important needs for catharsis and healing. in the films about the vietnam war, in the actions of vietnam veterans at the memorial . . . reenactment is crucial in providing a means to confront loss and transform it into healing. it is precisely the instability of memory that allows for renewal and redemption without letting the tension of the past in the present fade away.25 reliving a culturally significant event in american history through “reenactment” can alleviate any negative sentiment that is associated with the memory of that event in the past. visiting the past becomes even more efficient when utilizing the medium of film to deliver the images of american history. yet, the healing process continues despite a recent decrease in production of vietnam war related films. perhaps the current social climate does not need these films as it once did during the era of the vietnam war. indeed, as reflective as memories are of history, so too is the movie screen of culture and of that culture’s history. endnotes 1. sturken 1997 (76) 2. ibid. 3. sturken 1997 (11) 4. sturken 1997 (20) 5. guynn 2006 (173) 6. guynn 2006 (165) 7. sturken 1997 (1) 8. sturken 1997 (88) 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. polan 2005 (54) 12. polan 2005 (55) 13. ibid. 14. ibid. 15. polan 2005 (56) 16. sturken 1997 (279) 17. eberwein 2005 (12) 18. sturken 1997 (88) 19. rasmussen 2010 (185) 20. sturken 1997 (88) 21. eberwein 2005 (56) 22. sturken 1997 (89) 23. williams 2009 (234) 24. polan 2005 (61) 25. sturken 1997 (17) references apocalypse now. dir. francis ford coppola. perf. marlon brando, robert duvall, martin sheen, laurence fishbourne, dennis hopper, harrison ford, frederic forrest, sam bottoms, albert hall. paramount pictures, 1979. dvd. casualties of war. dir. brian de palma. perf. michael j. fox, sean penn, don harvey, john c. reilly, john leguizamo, ving rhames. columbia pictures, 1989. dvd. eberwein, robert. the war film. chapel hill: rutgers university press, 2005. forrest gump. dir. robert zemeckis. perf. tom hanks, robin wright, gary sinise, mykelti williamson, sally field. paramount pictures, 1994. dvd. guynn, william. writing history in film. new york: routledge taylor & francis group, 2006. mash. dir. robert altman. perf. donald sutherland, elliot gould, tom skerritt, sally kellerman, robert duvall, renee auberjonois, michael murphy. twentieth century fox, 1970. dvd. platoon. dir. oliver stone. perf. charlie sheen, tom berenger, willem dafoe. metro goldwyn meyer orion pictures, 1986. dvd. polan, dana. “auteurism and war-teurism: terrence malick’s war movie,” in the war film. robert eberwein, ed. chapel hill: rutgers university press, 2005. rasmussen, karen and sharon d. downey. “dialectical disorientation in vietnam war films: subversion of the mythology of war,” in quarterly journal of speech 77, (1991): 176-195. sturken, marita. tangled memories: the vietnam war, the aids epidemic, and the politics of remembering. new york: university of california press, 1997. williams, bruce a. “from romance to collateral damage: media treatment of civilians in wartime and what it means for how america wages war,” in the communication review 12, (2009): 227-238. worland, rick. “the other living-room war: prime time combat series: 1962-1975,” in journal of film and video 50, no. 3 (1998): 3-23. 50 51 elements : : fall 2011 culture in conflict named after the third and final wife of king charles iv of france, the virgin of jeanne d’evreux is an ornate, silver-gilt statue of familiar iconography—the virgin and child. this exquisite reliquary statue, coming out of the late gothic period, embodies the devotional fervor of the medieval world, the precarious position of france during the fourteenth century, and the very vision of its patron, jeanne d’evreux. crafted amidst a crisis of succession in the french monarchy, the virgin of jeanne d’evreux hints at a kingdom in transition, while, at the same time, evidencing a pivotal transition in artistic style. indeed, behind the familiar iconography of the virgin and child lies a fascinating bit of history, of which this reliquary statue itself may serve as a relic. the virgin of jeanne d’evreux an affectionate mother in an unaffectionate era brian d. varian “indeed, the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was commissioned and crafted during an exceptionally transitional period in french history; to a certain extent, the statue stylistically exemplifies this transition from the treasured prosperity of the thirteenth century to the impending controversy of the fourteenth century.” in 1339, english forces under the leadership of king edward iii were arriving on the continent of europe and were laying brutal siege to the flemish city of cambrai.1 meanwhile, less than one hundred miles to the south, a parisian silversmith was completing an elaborately adorned reliquary statue of the virgin and child, a statue known in modern times as the virgin of jeanne d’evreux. indeed, the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was commissioned and crafted during an exceptionally transitional period in french history; to a certain extent, the statue stylistically exemplifies this transition from the treasured prosperity of the thirteenth century to the impending controversy of the fourteenth century. in addition to the style and its bearing upon the iconography, there are other aspects of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux worth discussing, including the patronage of the statue and its functionality as a reliquary. thus, this paper begins by examining the patronage of the statue, particularly amid the turmoil surrounding the onset of the hundred years war. next, the essay discusses the style, iconography, and medium of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux, with regard to both the statue itself, as well as the statue within the context of the late gothic period. finally, the essay concludes by analyzing the function of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux as a reliquary, one which remarkably contains the relics of perhaps the most venerated saint in all of christendom, mary. the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was named after the french queen who so generously financed the reliquary statue.2 jeanne d’evreux was the third wife of king charles iv of france (1322-1328), the last reigning monarch of the direct capetian line.3 while history regards the brief reign of charles iv as insignificant, the death of charles iv was of the utmost significance, commencing a quite unprecedented struggle over the succession of the french throne. charles iv, the third son of king philip iv (12681314), inherited the throne upon the deaths of his two older brothers, louis x (1314-1316) and philip v (1316-1322), each of whom died without a male heir.4 unfortunately, such was also the fate of charles iv. the first wife of charles iv, blanche of burgundy, gave birth to a son and a daughter who both died as infants.5 the second wife, mary of luxembourg, gave birth to a son and a daughter, with only the daughter surviving into adulthood.6 the third and final wife, jeanne d’evreux gave birth to three daughters.7 thus, the direct capetian line came to a tragic end with the death of charles iv in 1328. the virgin of jeanne d’evreux nevertheless, there were male descendents of philip iv in 1328. king charles of navarre and king edward iii of england were the sons of jeanne (sister-in-law of jeanne d’evreux) and isabella, respectively, and thus the grandsons of philip iv, for philip iv had several daughters, including jeanne and isabella.8 it seemed almost natural for a grandson of philip iv to succeed charles iv. however, it was a longstanding tradition within the french monarchy that a woman could neither assume the throne nor transmit the throne.9 therefore, the throne passed to the cousin of charles iv, philip of valois, known as philip vi.10 the ascendance of philip vi to the kingship of france was arguably the start of the hundred years war. even after the coronation of philip vi, edward iii of england still harbored ambitions for the french throne, much more so than charles of navarre.11 it is important to note that the english already maintained a strong presence on the european continent. the vast duchy of guyenne in the southwestern part of france had been under english control for a long time.12 nevertheless, the territorial control that england exerted over guyenne paled in comparison to the economic control that england exerted over flanders. in the early fourteenth century, flanders was an exceptionally wealthy country, largely because of the textile industry.13 however, the textile industry was almost entirely dependent upon wool imported from england.14 hence, the economy of flanders was controlled by the english. and though flanders was distinct from the kingdom of france, there were significant feudal ties between both states; french nobility were often simultaneously flemish nobility.15 certainly, economic and political influences were pulling flanders in opposite directions. with the controversy over the succession of the french throne so recent, edward iii decided to exploit the tenuous kingship of philip vi and invade flanders in 1337.16 but even before the forces of edward iii were able to arrive on the european continent and begin attacking flemish cities, philip vi was already laying siege to english fortresses in guyenne.17 the conflict escalated rapidly. unbeknownst at the time, the hundred years war was already underway. it was during this period of monarchical uncertainty and intensifying warfare that the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was produced. in all likelihood, jeanne d’evreux commissioned the statue in 1324, prior to the death of charles iv and prior to the onset of the hundred years war.18 the statue was not completed until 1339, according to a dated inscription on the base.19 throughout the thirteenth century, guilds emerged as the predominant means of organization for the various industries that existed within the medieval world.20 in france, the guilds were differentiated based upon the material that was used, rather than the object that was produced.21 for example, rosary-makers who used bone belonged to a separate guild from rosary-makers who used amber.22 a statue such as the virgin of jeanne d’evreux, composed of multiple materials, was almost certainly the cumulative product of many different craftsmen belonging to several different guilds. therefore, the statue quite possibly represents more than fifteen years worth of craftsmanship, given that different craftsmen could be working on its various components simultaneously. while the primary craftsman of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux is unknown, it is likely that this craftsman worked near the grand pont in paris. in many instances, guilds gravitated toward geographic districts or quarters.23 money changers and those who worked with precious metals were normally located on the grand pont.24 with such an abundance of silver, the statue was probably crafted, at least partially, in this location. once the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was finally completed, its namesake donated the statue to the royal abbey of saint-denis, in the hope of attaining spiritual merit.25 jeanne d’evreux never intended the statue for private devotion, but for public. as a public devotional image, the iconography of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux is quite accessible—the virgin and child. the virgin and child comprise the main portion of “but more than anything else, the lack of a garment on the upper portion of christ’s body exemplifies this tender relationship between the virgin and the child, a natural connection between a mother and her son.” 54 55 elements : : fall 2011 the virgin of jeanne d’evreux the statue, which is silver-gilt.26 the virgin holds christ in her left hand and the fleur-de-lis, a traditional symbol of the french monarchy, in her right hand. functionally, the fleur-de-lis serves as a reliquary. the base of the statue is a combination of silver and enamel.27 surrounding the base, there are fourteen enamel panels elaborately depicting scenes from the life of christ, including the nativity, the annunciation to the shepherds, the adoration of the magi, the flight into egypt, the presentation in the temple, the massacre of the innocents, the descent from the cross, and the resurrection.28 and appropriate for a statue of the virgin and child, the annunciation and the visitation are also depicted in the enamel panels.29 additionally, the base contains twenty-two, miniature relief statues which separate the enamel panels. altogether, the entire statue is supported by four lions, one at each corner of the base. the style of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux brilliantly enriches the rather conventional iconography of the statue. the virgin stands with a certain sway in her body, a distinguishing characteristic of late gothic sculpture. by the conclusion of the thirteenth century, the austere, enthroned virgin was replaced by the more affectionate, standing virgin.30 and by 1324, the affectionate virgin was widespread throughout french sculpture, both stone and metal. the beginnings of this trend are visible as early as the middle thirteenth century with the fluid and graceful movements of the virgin at reims.31 the trend continued and culminated in the early fourteenth century with statues such as the virgin of paris, which was originally created for the cathedral of notre dame in approximately 1320.32 the virgin of jeanne d’evreux and the virgin of paris are strikingly similar. in addition to being crafted within the same decade, both statues exhibit a swaying virgin, as well as christ reaching his right hand toward his tender mother.33 nonetheless, the virgin of jeanne d’evreux exhibits further stylistic developments that even the virgin of paris does not. the virgin of jeanne d’evreux no longer wears a crown like the virgin of paris did.34 christ now reaches for the face of the virgin, rather than simply her garment.35 all these elements reinforce the movement toward a more affectionate, humanlike rendering of the virgin and child. but more than anything else, the lack of a garment on the upper portion of christ’s body exemplifies this tender relationship between the virgin and the child, a natural connection between a mother and her son. the progression throughout the centuries is telling: in the twelfth century, christ wore a long tunic; in the thirteenth century, christ wore the robe of an infant; in the fourteenth century, christ was only covered by the fold in the garment of his mother.36 in the virgin of jeanne d’evreux, the upper portion of christ’s body is nude, allowing for a much more natural representation of christ. arguably, this sort of representation foreshadows the gradual conclusion of the gothic period and the beginning of the renaissance. while the late gothic style clearly influenced the virgin of jeanne d’evreux, the unique circumstances surrounding this particular statue likely influenced it as well. still, any influences of this latter type are mostly speculative. even so, they are worth mentioning. when the statue was commissioned in 1324, jeanne d’evreux was a rather young woman, soon to give birth to three daughters in the years 1326, 1327, and 1328. it is possible that the statue embodies the affectionate, maternal instincts that jeanne d’evreux was about to experience. perhaps the anticipation of these maternal instincts influenced the commission. and though the tender and natural relationship present in the virgin of jeanne d’evreux can easily be attributed to trends in the late gothic style, the fact that the virgin of jeanne d’evreux departed so significantly from the virgin of paris, created just four years earlier, gives credence to the theory that there was another, more specific influence involved. that influence was probably jeanne d’evreux. it may also be significant that the virgin holds a large fleur-de-lis in her right arm. as previously mentioned, the fleur-de-lis was a traditional symbol of the french monarchy. as each son of philip iv died without a male heir, the dilemma “during a time of monarchical uncertainty, and uncertainty more generally, the fleur-delis likely served as a hopeful sign of unending prosperity—a hope that all but disappeared in the following century.” over the succession of the french throne intensified. under these increasingly desperate circumstances, the fleurde-lis especially symbolized the continuation of the french monarchy. and though the virgin of jeanne d’evreux is assuredly not the first instance of the fleur-de-lis appearing in religious artwork, it is definitely a noteworthy instance. during a time of monarchical uncertainty, and uncertainty more generally, the fleur-de-lis likely served as a hopeful sign of unending prosperity—a hope that all but disappeared in the following century. in addition to the symbolism associated with the fluer-de-lis, the fleur-de-lis serves a definite purpose in the virgin of jeanne d’evreux. the fleur-de-lis is a reliquary, the virgin of jeanne d’evreux a reliquary statue.37 the fleur-de-lis purportedly contains hairs from the head of the virgin mary.38 during the medieval period, the relics of saints and the virgin mary were venerated because it was believed that god was most accessible through these mortal remains.39 in some sense, the veneration of relics brought stability to a very tumultuous period characterized by war, disease, and famine. surely, it was comforting to know that god maintained a physical presence in the world, particularly in the form of relics. peasants and royalty alike attributed prosperity and even miracles to the veneration of relics. king charles iv of france was no exception, amassing a tremendous collection of relics; the collection of charles iv was almost certainly the source of the hairs contained in the virgin of jeanne d’evreux.40 in the middle ages, french monarchs housed the most sacred relics in the royal abbey of saint-denis, where the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was on display for public veneration.41 the virgin of jeanne d’evreux represents a particular type of reliquary statue that developed primarily during the late middle ages, the ostensorium.42 in an ostensorium, the relic is visible through a glass or crystal window. before the fourth lateran council in 1215, relics were normally encapsulated by the reliquary and thus hidden from sight.43 after the council, there was an emphasis in the church upon seeing the relic, which prompted the widespread growth of the ostensorium.44 the virgin of jeanne d’evreux is an exquisite and innovative example of an ostensorium, with the relics of the virgin mary visible inside the fleur-de-lis. also prevalent during the late middle ages was a heightened devotion to the virgin mary and an increased veneration of her relics.45 just as the fourth lateran council emphasized seeing the relic, the council also emphasized seeing christ. the virgin mary was obviously considered the saint most capable of revealing christ.46 hence, devotion to the virgin mary grew immeasurably. the virgin of jeanne d’evreux is a resplendent reliquary statue of the virgin and child, epitomizing the style of the late gothic period, but created during a period of crisis in the french monarchy. it contains extremely precious materials—silver and enamel—crafted by individuals skilled in the work of those particular materials. such a beautiful statue as the virgin of jeanne d’evreux was considered an appropriate reliquary for the relics of the virgin mary, the most venerated saint in all of christendom. nevertheless, the virgin is not depicted as a tridetail from the base of the virgin of jeanne d’evreux 56 57 elements : : fall 2011 the virgin of jeanne d’evreux umphal queen, but as a tender and affectionate mother embracing her child, christ. endnotes 1. macdonald 1915 (229) 2. duby 1966 (21) 3. volkmann 2002 (62) 4. ibid. 5. ibid. 6. ibid. 7. ibid. 8. duby 1966 (275) 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. macdonald 1915 (220) 12. ibid. 13. ibid. 14. ibid. 15. ibid. 16. ibid. 17. ibid. 18. “vierge a l’enfant” 2008 19. duby 1966 (21) 20. evans 1957 (48) 21. ibid. 22. ibid. 23. ibid. 24. ibid. 25. duby 1966 (21) 26. ibid. 27. ibid. 28. “vierge a l’enfant” 2008 29. ibid. 30. male 1987 (137) 31. snyder 1989 (443) 32. ibid. 33. ibid. 34. ibid. 35. ibid. 36. male 1987 (137) 37. kleiner 2006 (385) 38. ibid. 39. van os 2001 (20) 40. ibid. 41. ibid. 42. ibid. 43. ibid. 44. ibid. 45. ibid. 46. ibid. references duby, georges. foundations of a new humanism: 1280-1440. trans. peter price. cleveland: world, 1966. france in the middle ages: 987-1460. trans. juliet vale. oxford: blackwell, 1991. evans, joan. life in medieval france. rev. ed. new york: phaidon, 1957. kleiner, fred s. and mamiya, christin j. eds. gardner’s art through the ages. 12th ed., vol. 1. belmont: thomson, 2006. macdonald, j. r. moreton. a history of france. vol. 1. london: methuen, 1915. male, emile. religious art in france: the late middle ages. princeton: princeton university press, 1987. snyder, james. medieval art: painting, sculpture, architecture. englewood cliffs: prentice-hall, 1989. van os, henk. the way to heaven: relic veneration in the middle ages. amsterdam: n.p., 2001. “vierge a l’enfant.” louvre. 12 april 2008 <http://cartelen.louvre. fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idnotice=7332>. volkmann, jean-charles. the family trees of the kings of france. trans. angela moyon. english ed. paris: gisserot, 2002. 58 59 elements : : fall 2011 the virgin of jeanne d’evreux currently, the needs of the organ donation community are not being met. the sole use of brain-dead donors is limiting the amount of possible viable organs that could be donated each year. for this reason, a handful of hospitals have implemented protocols to introduce non-heart beating cadaver donors into the pool, and many more are investigating this as an option. nhbcds are individuals who have experienced the cessation of cardio-respiratory function but are not brain-dead and so could be resuscitated if life support were removed—in this way they do not yet fulfill either of the two criteria for death. it would not be until the surrogate consents to donation that life support would be removed and irreversible death could be declared two to five minutes after cessation of heart function. the ama’s council on ethical and judicial affairs estimates that the inclusion of this group could expand the donor pool by 20-25%. nhbcds has been criticized for testing the boundaries of irreversible death, and this article addresses such concerns in order to show that the protocol is both ethical and increasingly necessary. a viable option organ procurement in the face of a national shortage zachary t. martin“transplant statistics indicate a growing disparity between supply and demand in the transplant community. during this national shortage, any ethically indicated source of organs should be considered a viable source of organs.” introduction to the issue the number of organs needed each year greatly exceeds the number available for transplant. over 110,000 americans were waiting for organs as of january 1, 2011, yet the 28,664 organ transplants that occurred in 2010, came from just 14,506 donors.1 some of this disparity stems from the strict eligibility criteria set forth by the organ procurement and transplantation network (optn). the protocol establishes criteria for age, living donors, as well as medical criteria regarding, for instance, hypertension, intracerebral hemorrhage, and impaired renal function.2,3 despite programs such as the expanded criteria donors (ecds) which loosen optn criteria, the few additional organs supplied are of no benefit to the young and otherwise healthy transplant patients.3 many hospitals, medical personnel, and transplant centers recognize the need for an increased supply of organs to address this demand. an increase in the donor pool could be achieved by opening up an entirely new category of donors: non-heart beating cadaver donors (nhbcds).4 in order to dispel misperception, it is important to distinguish between heart beating and non-heart beating cadavers. a heart beating cadaver is currently the most common type of organ donor: a brain-dead individual existing with the aid of life-support. a non-heart beating cadaver is an individual who has experienced the cessation of cardiorespiratory function but is not brain-dead and so could be resuscitated if life support were removed.5 the ama’s council on ethical and judicial affairs (ceja) estimates that full utilization of nhbcds may increase the organ pool significantly by 20-25%, and evidence from the university of pittsburgh medical center suggests that these organs function close to or as well as those from heart beating cadaver donors.6,7 however, nhbcd protocol tests the boundaries of death, or, more specifically, irreversible death. for this reason, many biomedical ethicists and hospital administrators may be wary of policy changes with regards to donation in what is an otherwise uncontroversial branch of medical practice. this article will provide a brief history of organ procurement in america, explaining the evolving need to explore other avenues of organ donation. in addition, it will outline, define, and provide current protocol for the most important method of donations from nhbcds: controlled donation after cardiac death (dcd). afterwards, it will discuss the specific ethical issues of dcd in nhbcds. finally, it will offer suggestions for future public policy supporting the use of nhbcds and provide a conclusion of the topic. relevant definitions brain death: (as provided by ceja) “brain death occurs when a person is declared dead according to neurological criteria (i.e., the irreversible cessation of the functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem). though the person has died, cardiopulmonary function may be maintained through artificial means.”8 cardiac death: (as provided by ceja) “cardiac death occurs when a person is declared dead according to cardiopulmonary criteria (i.e., the irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions).”9 dead donor rule: an unwritten standard used to guide organ procurement in the united states. the rule states, first, that patients must not be killed by organ retrieval, which includes killing patients in order to retrieve their organs. and second, that organs must not be taken from patients until they die, with exceptions made for living donors and partial transplants between relatives as a reasonable exception.10 historical background the first cadaveric organ donation was performed by dr. joseph murray in 1962, just eight years after he performed the first live donation between identical twins.11 this first nhbcd set a precedent for the newfound transplant community as it operated under the traditional and only definition for death: the cessation of heart and lung function. the success rate of transplantation, however, was very low. since organs were only taken from those whose hearts had stopped beating, all procured organs were of poor quality due to warm ischemic time—the time during which the organs themselves begin to die due to the lack of oxygenated blood.12,13 as a result, transplantation teams needed a way to retrieve oxygenated organs from dead donors either more quickly or efficiently than they had previously accomplished. the mid-to-late 1960s brought about the definition of “breath death” and the push for it to be a criterion to define death. doctors quickly developed the ability to sustain heart and lung function of neurologically devastated patients through mechanical ventilation despite ongoing cell death in the brain tissue.14 at this time transplant teams realized the amazing implications for organ donation that neurologically devastated patients presented. if surgeons could procure organs from heart-beating cadavers, warm ischemic damage would be essentially eliminated, vastly increasing the quality and viability of organs available to the transplant community and increasing the recovery and survival rates of transplant patients. however, medical personnel feared criminal and civil implications of homicide absent a legal redefinition of death.15 much to the relief of the transplant community, the ad hoc committee of the harvard medical school proposed that irreversible coma be a new criterion for the determination of death in a 1968 jama article: our primary purpose is to define irreversible coma as a new criterion for death. there are two reasons why there is need for a definition: (1) improvements in resuscitative and supportive measures have led to increased efforts to save those who are desperately injured. sometimes these efforts have only partial success so that the result is an individual whose heart continues to beat but whose brain is irreversibly damaged. the burden is great on patients who suffer permanent loss of intellect, on their families, on the hospitals, and on those in need of hospital beds already occupied by these comatose patients. (2) obsolete criteria for the definition of death can lead to controversy in obtaining organs for transplantation.16 the mission of the committee was clear: to decrease the strain on the family of a neurologically devastated patient by withdrawing the necessity of continual life support as well as to enable an entirely new category of organ donor with which the success of the transplant community would no doubt improve.17 after the committee’s publication, states began to adopt the new criterion for death. despite the adoption of the new definition by 24 states, other states failed to enact the new brain death legislation. in order to precipitate a unanimous adoption, congress assembled an interdisciplinary body under the sponsorship of the president’s commission for the study of ethical problems in medicine and biomedical and behavioral research. this body, after exploring the issue, ultimately recommended the adoption of the uniform determination of death act (udda) in 1981.18 the act states that: an individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. a determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.19 the commission’s recommendation was met with widespread approval, and its implications were monumental. after almost every state adopted the udda, or some form of it, the cries for more suitable organs were answered. as dr. maxine m. harrington, professor of law at texas wesleyan university school of law, explains, “legal recognition of breath death led to the almost universal abandonment of organ procurement from persons suffering a traditional death following cardiac arrest.”20 after 1981, the vast majority transplants involved obtaining viable organs from brain-dead, heart beating cadavers. this massively increased the quality of available organs by diminishing the harmful effects of warm ischemic damage. in order to articulate their wishes regarding organ donation, patients need to complete a large amount of paperwork. 62 63 elements : : fall 2011 a viable option with time, the medical community saw the improvement of organ preservation with immunosuppressant drugs, like cyclosporine, as well as improved cooling techniques. however, even though the number of viable organs per year grew, so, too, did the number of those in need of them. as the survival rate and quality of life of post-transplant patients increased, doctors began to prescribe transplantation to those with organ failure regularly. simply put, the supply could no longer meet the demand. in 1997 there were 9,539 donors for 55,501 patients needing transplants. by 2006 these numbers increased (disproportionately) to 14,756 donors for 98,263 patients needing transplants. the problem since has not gotten any better, as the discouraging figure noted in the introduction indicates.21 despite efforts to use older donors and those with underlying diseases, as in the expanded criteria donors (ecds) program, the medical community began to turn its attention back toward medicine’s original source of organs: non-heart beating cadavers. since this reexamination did not occur until the late twentieth century, the medical community was confident in its ability to surmount the former problems associated with warm ischemic damage in order to preserve viable organs.22 from this refocused attention, a method for nhbcd donation was fashioned—controlled donation after cardiac death (dcd). it is here, in the history of organ donation, that the medical community finds itself struggling ethically today. controlled donation after cardiac death in dcd practice, a patient or his/her surrogate consents to organ donation while he/she is sustained on life-support. this allows ample time to assemble a transplant team and identify an acceptable donee. the patient is brought down to the operating room (or) before being disconnected from life support. depending on the institution/policy, surgeons will wait until cardiac death is declared (anywhere from two to five minutes after the cessation of cardiorespiratory function23) and then quickly remove the organs from the donor’s body in order to avoid warm ischemia. as mentioned above, prior to 1968, dcd was the standard protocol for organ donation, but cooling and preservation techniques were significantly less advanced than they currently are. in 1997 the department of health and human services (dhhs) submitted a request to the institute of medicine (iom) calling for them to examine the practice of dcd. after subsequent iom reports, in 2000 it issued a report of dcd recommendations and concerns, including lack of protocol, physician resistance, organ quality, determination of death, and financial resources, among others.24 this, however, revived the plausibility of dcd, should an institution react to the iom’s report. one establishment that implemented a working, lasting, and necessarily controversial protocol was the university of pittsburgh medical center in may of 1992 with what would be known as “the pittsburgh protocol.”25 the pittsburgh protocol the university of pittsburgh medical center (upmc) carefully constructed an extensive protocol under which it believes “it is medically appropriate to consider organ procurement from nonheartbeating donors.”26 the principles of the protocol are as follows. first, decisions regarding treatment and management of the patient shall be conducted separately from any dialogue about organ donation. this topic should only be breached after the patient/surrogate requests removal of life support unless the patient/ “if surgeons could procure organs from heart-beating cadavers, warm ischemic damage would be essentially eliminated, vastly increasing the quality and viability of organs available to the transplant community and increasing the recovery and survival rates of transplant patients.” surrogate addresses the matter unprompted. second, care of the patient should remain the attending physician’s ultimate end. in other words, life support should only be removed in order to provide the patient with palliative care, not to secure the institution’s interest in organs. third, only those for whom it is certain that cardiac death will occur within a few hours of the cessation of life support will be considered as candidates for organ donation. fourth, medication may only be used to alleviate pain and guarantee patient comfort, not to hasten death. similarly, any intervention meant to curtail the life of the patient is proscribed. finally, should a health care professional find this method of organ procurement against his/her personal, ethical, or religious beliefs, he/she is by no means required to participate.27 the published procedure of the pittsburgh protocol is more extensive than the listed principles. however, the most important articles are as follows. first, all processes associated with organ retrieval may only commence if the patient/surrogate agrees to donor status. if a patient is not competent and no surrogate is present, by no means may he/she be considered for organ donation. second, an intensive care unit (icu) physician and icu nurse must oversee the withdrawal of life support in the or, preferably without the or staff present to avoid any conflict of interest. additionally, those icu staff present in the or must have nothing to do with either the procurement of organs or the treatment of those patients receiving said organs. third, the or staff must have no hand in the weaning of the patient from the ventilator, and may only conduct surgical preparations for the sake of timeliness after the patient becomes unconscious. fourth, organs can, by no means, be procured prior to the icu physician’s declaration of death. finally, the icu physician may only declare cardiac death, with use of an electrocardiagram (ekg) lead placement, no earlier than two minutes after ventricular fibrillation, electrical asystole, or electromechanical dissociation.28 at this point the or staff may step in and procure the donor’s organs, which must avoid enough ischemic damage in order to be donated, but never at the cost of the patient’s palliative care while dying. dcd and nhbcd ethical considerations the pittsburgh protocol is essentially the poster child of dcd protocols. much has been written and many have questioned the protocol at upmc. here the article will address ethical concerns specific to dcd as well as general concerns with nhbcds as a whole. declaration and definition of death the determination of when a patient is ‘dead’ is perhaps the most controversial aspect of dcd protocol. the dead donor rule prevents the cause of death in patients to be organ removal. however it does not provide the specific criteria necessary to declare someone dead.29 under the udda, circulatory and respiratory functions must have ceased irreversibly in order for death to be declared. seemingly, this causes a problem with dcd protocol. for instance, it is entirely possible to resuscitate someone who has undergone only two minutes of cardiac arrest, as is the case in the pittsburgh protocol. in order to declare a medically irreversible death, doctors would have to wait long enough after cardiac death to declare brain-death as well, at which point warm ischemic damage would render the donor’s organs unusable. so if one cannot determine the appropriate time of a patient’s death or argue that it is irreversible, how can dcd be a good source of viable organs? there are two solutions to this problem, and they deal with similar issues. patients in dcd programs have agreed to dnr orders as part of the dcd process. it would make no sense to withdraw a patient from life support and then resuscitate simply because the hospital has the required technology to do so. the decision to withdraw life support is itself a dnr. consider a patient without donor status after withdrawal of life support. should the patient have died in the icu, no doctor would hesitate to declare death, despite the reversibility of the condition, after two minutes.30 it is the mere fact that the medical community has something to gain from a dcd patient’s death that causes some to question the legitimacy of death after two minutes of cardiac arrest in an or. the ceja agrees that “the patient’s request to be freed from life support and permitted to die indicates that resuscitation would be contrary to the patient’s expressed wishes. the council shares the view that the patient’s loss of cardiopulmonary function may legitimately be viewed as irreversible because resuscitation is ethically precluded.”31 similarly, it has been deemed unnecessary to nitpick about the period of time between cessation of heart and lung function and declaration of death, so long as it is beyond two minutes. irreversible brain damage will not occur until 10-15 minutes after cessation of cardiac function.32 when dealing with the viability of organs, every additional minute spent has a substantial effect. one will find in dcd protocols and written guidelines across the country 64 65 elements : : fall 2011 a viable option that the period of time between cardiac arrest and ‘death’ ranges normally from two to five minutes, any time beyond which would seriously compromise the viability of organs. however, the less time surgeons wait to procure a donor’s organs, the more scrutiny they undergo. in response, the american college of critical care medicine and the society of critical care medicine declared that a period of two minutes and a period of five minutes are physiologically and ethically identical.33 furthermore, they deemed any period of time between two and five minutes to be acceptable for the declaration of death and the commencement of organ procurement. this is because no adult has ever auto-resuscitated (lazarus syndrome) after a period of two minutes.34 despite criticism, it has been well established, and many accept, that the condition of patients agreeing to dcd, and more importantly the withdrawal of life support, is irreversible. waiting longer than that two to five minute window would be disrespectful to the wishes of the donor, the program, and toward the potential donees. death on operating table one may assume that any patient would prefer to die in an aesthetically pleasing environment surrounded by family; however, this is not always the case. the concern here is for those few who will remain conscious in the or upon the removal of life support. this assumption, however, disregards the personal preferences of each patient. for instance, many patients may find that being surrounded by family while dying makes them uncomfortable—that they would rather have their family’s last memory be one of life and not death. additionally, being surrounded by highly trained professionals in an or with specific technology for treating discomfort may alleviate the fear of dying for some.35 john a. robertson argues in his review of the policy issues in the pittsburgh protocol, “it is not clear at all that these concerns differ materially in substance from concerns that already attend retrieving organs from heart-beating donors.”36 he explains that dcd patients and brain-dead donors will both ‘die’ in ors, absent of family, surrounded by medical staff and hightech equipment. perhaps the consideration of dying on an operating table really is not an ethical consideration at all, but rather a decision with regard to personal or surrogate preference. recall too that, in order to participate in a dcd program, doctors are required to disclose all details of the procedure to the patient/surrogate upon agreement to follow through. this includes the manner and location of dying.37 and as per pittsburgh protocol policy and iom recommendations, should a patient decide against donation at any point, even after consenting, he/she may withdraw without fear of prejudice or resistance.38 digital representation of the circulatory system surrogate consent one might argue that surrogate consent is a critical concern regarding the withdrawal of life support in favor of organ donation. the topic of organ donation may color a surrogate’s decisions about the withdrawal of life support. for this reason, some might argue that the decision to donate organs should come, early on, from the patient and the patient alone. however, the power of surrogates has already been established in the american medical community and without surrogates the wishes of many incompetent patients would go unconsidered. in fact, the harm involved in removing surrogate power with regards to organ donation may be greater than sustaining the role of a surrogate. although the power of the surrogate may unfortunately cause physicians to stay important conversations until after a patient is incompetent (due to the discomfort of discussing dnr orders or organ donation with the patient), this problem is not unique to the withdrawal of life support and organ donation.39 the removal of specific powers of the surrogate is a slippery slope that could result in disregard for the wishes of many incompetents. conflicts of interest healthcare motives there are two significant conflicts of interest that healthcare providers may face when dealing with a potential dcd patient. the first is an institution or organ bank’s motives in desiring to expand the donor pool by implementing nhbcd protocol with specific emphasis on the public’s perception of such motives. second is the attending icu physician’s conflict between ‘doing no harm’ and promoting the viability of potential organs once dcd status has been established. a series of different public policy changes have been suggested over the last few decades in an attempt to shrink the number disparity between available organs and patients needing a transplant. among them have been presumed consent, living donors, and procurement from condemned prisoners, animals, and anencephalic infants. those promoting these sorts of changes would support the use of nhbcds in favor of shrinking the gap, since a lot of these suggestions carry more controversy than nhbcds do. those opposed, however, may see the push for and use of nhbcd protocol differently. first, a greater availability of organs is necessary in order for the field of transplantation to grow. the promising growth of this branch of medicine will cease without additional organs.40 while the protestor might find this outcome acceptable, a large extent of industry and job creation will be negatively impacted, which is a precursor to the most complicated of all motivating factors in medicine— money. up to this point, little has been said in this article regarding money because it seems improper to utilize financial arguments in an article of purely ethical consideration. however, the protestor will not ignore the fact that the transplant industry is a burgeoning money-maker with widespread interest. for instance, of the average $259,000 it takes to transplant a kidney: $17,200 is spent on immunosuppressant drugs, $67,500 on procurement of the organ, and $92,700 and $17,500 on hospital admission and physician fees respectively.41 clearly immunosuppressant drug manufacturers and hospital administrators have a lot to gain from the enlargement of the donor pool. new immunosuppressant drugs are constantly being manufactured in order to promote the success of transplantation post-operatively. similarly, hospitals with transplant units have a lot of publicity to gain as well as money to earn should they be able to have their beds filled continuously.42 this thought, however, is representative of a view contrary to that of this article and its author. to deny the installment of nhbcd protocol due to the distrust of motives is itself morally depraved. arthur l. caplan in his article in the kennedy institute of ethics journal states: it seems impolite, if not downright paranoid, to wonder about the motives of those who argue for a shift in professional prac“perhaps the consideration of dying on an operating table really is not an ethical consideration at all, but rather a decision with regard to personal or surrogate preference.” 66 67 elements : : fall 2011 a viable option tice or public policy in the procurement of organs when lives are being lost every day for want of organs.43 since it would be difficult to prove ill intent, it seems necessary to provide institutions, transplant centers, and hospital administrators with the benefit of the doubt. care of the dying the second conflict of interest addresses the medical team’s split interest between the care of the donor and the viability of his/her organs. this conflict may adversely affect the life and/or care of the dcd patient. when there is reason to think that donation is a possibility, doctors and surgeons may find it harder to manage a patient as someone in the end stages of life and instead treat him/her as a potential donor capable of saving lives. for example, an icu physician dealing with a patient who has already agreed to dcd status may provide the patient with heparin to prevent clots or vasodilators to promote organ viability contrary to the medically indicated care of the patient who deserves, first and foremost, palliative care.44 even excluding complete malpractice, negligence, and corruption, these are very real concerns, each of which depends solely upon the resolve of the surgeon, physician, nurse, or technician attending a potential nhbcd patient. additionally, the suggestion or even mention of organ donation may color a patient/surrogate’s views one way or the other, and would be considered unethical, despite the potential to obtain otherwise unobtainable organs. there is, however, hope for this dilemma as well. each protocol comes with a system of principles and procedures. this article has already outlined the procedures of the pittsburgh protocol extensively. it is evident that the upmc has sought to eliminate this specific conflict of interest. first, and perhaps most importantly, physicians in charge of potential nhbcd candidates must never have anything to do with either the transplant team or the patients receiving transplants. additionally, in the icu all palliative care decisions can be easily met with a series of check and balances, in which a panel of physicians outside the institution reviews decisions for care in end-stage nhbcds. as in the pittsburgh protocol, a “review process assumes a secondary role, meant to police the effectiveness of the requirements for separation of the medical personnel’s duties.”45 should there be an ethical breech in any decision (like the administering of heparin or vasodilators, unless medically indicated) then a board of ethics may handle the potential intervention and termination of nhbcd status on behalf of the patient.46 moreover, one will most likely never see the case where a physician is able to end life support by his own decision to protect the viability of a patient’s organs. the decision to remove life support and the subsequent proceedings lie with the patient/ surrogate. in fact, as mentioned previously, the doctor may only offer organ donation as an option once the decision to remove life support has been made.47-49 institutions are constantly implementing safeguards against conflicts of interest since no protocol is standardized. this major consideration, coupled with the public’s general respect and trust in the american medical community, should alleviate these concerns and promote implementation of nhbcd protocol. recommendations for public policy there are two major concerns regarding the best way to move forward. first, it must be understood that the topic of death and dying is an extremely sensitive one in the public arena. the ceja notes, “policy changes that, however unfairly, encourage public perception of organ procurement as ghoulish or disrespectful of decedents or their families should be avoided.”50 it is often not enough for administrators and public officials to attempt to explain their motives and reasoning behind decisions. the ‘redefinition’ of death and procurement of organs from the dead will likely be perceived as corrupt and immoral if such decisions are made behind closed doors. second, and similarly, the success of the transplant community relies entirely on civic participation.51 should rapidly changing public policy without public input chase off potential donors, the civically uninvolved implementation of nhbcd protocol may serve to decrease the donor pool. considering the continuation and enforcement of the guidelines of the optn and iom, recommendations of the ceja, and methodic policies such as the pittsburgh protocol, this paper offers two additional recommendations for changes to public policy: “to deny the installment of nhbcd protocol due to the distrust of motives is itself morally depraved.” first, there should be open discussion and debate of policy and protocol in a public arena. the subject of death and dying is not one specific to the medical profession. in fact, the medical profession is one dedicated to life and living. death is an extremely personal topic, dealt with primarily among family and close friends. if policy change is forced abruptly upon the shoulders of the public, many will feel as if their loved ones or they themselves are subject to exploitation, abuse, or premature death inside hospital walls.52 medical professionals should not feel entitled to make decisions regarding nhbcds without accepting public input. the public discussion of nhbcd protocol will allow for such input, awareness, and approval. additionally, community members will give preceding consideration to the thought of organ donation prior to trips to the er or icu. the complete transparency of nhbcd protocol “will assure the public that organ donation is an altruistic act and that its practice is highly regulated and scrutinized.”53 familiarizing the community with standard nhbcd protocol may also serve to make the subject less taboo both in the home and at the bedside.54 second, the successful implementation of nhbcd protocol around the country may rely on the slow implementation of policy. a ‘policy creep’ has been widely recommended and would allow the community to get used to the idea of donation after cardiac death.55,56 although difficult, starting with stricter criteria for nhbcds in order to prove to the community that nhbcds are a significant source of organs would allow for protocol to strip certain restricting criteria over time. to what extent and how slowly this policy creep should take place depends entirely on the receptivity of the community. a community fully in favor of nhbcd protocol should see it implemented in full, while resistant communities should be introduced to the idea, slowly, one policy change at a time. the details of such a creep would, most certainly, be left to the institution attempting to implement nhbcd protocol in order to avoid the misapplication of some irrelevant standard guidelines. conclusion transplant statistics indicate a growing disparity between supply and demand in the transplant community. during this national shortage, any ethically indicated source of organs should be considered a viable source of organs. without unnecessary nitpicking, it is entirely possible to arrive at nhbcd protocol that the majority will accept. while it would be great to maximize the number of procured organs, it is not the goal of nhbcd activists to pervert the practice of donation. the debate over nhbcd protocol is stuck solely on ethical grounds. hospitals have the technology, protocol, money, ability, and demand to expand the donor pool. it is, however, no surprise that medical policy breakthroughs such as these are met with great opposition. in the absence of an overwhelming argument regarding the acceptability of death and its declaration, the wonderful promise of future nhbcd protocol lies in the slow implementation around the country of protocols such as the pittsburgh protocol. the continuation of this trend is certainly encouraged. endnotes 1. www.unos.org 2. caplan 1993 (251) 3. light 2008 (735) 4. caplan 1993 (252) 5. harrington 2009 (344) 6. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 7. arnold 1993a (104) 8. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 9. ibid. 10. arnold 1993b (264) 11. devita 1993 (116) 12. harrington 2009 (340) 13. ceja report 4 1994 (i-94) 14. harrington 2009 (340) 15. ibid. 16. ad hoc committee 1968 (337) 17. harrington 2009 (341) 18. ibid. 19. harrington 2009 (342) from unif. determination of death act section 1, 12a u.l.a. 781 (2008) 20. ibid. 21. harrington 2009 (343-344) 22. ibid. 23. harrington 2009 (346) 24. fiddler 2008 (123) 25. “university of pittsburgh medical center policy and procedure manual” 1993 (a-1) 26. ibid. 27. “university of pittsburgh medical center policy and procedure manual” 1993 (a-1-a-2) 28. “university of pittsburgh medical center policy and procedure manual” 1993 (a-2-a-6) 29. fiddler 2008 (123) 30. ibid. 31. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 32. fiddler 2008 (123) 68 69 elements : : fall 2011 a viable option 33. ibid. 34. ibid. 35. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 36. robertson 1993 (244) 37. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 38. “university of pittsburgh medical center policy and procedure manual” 1993 (l.1: a-4) 39. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 40. caplan 1993 (255) 41. www.transplantliving.org 2011 42. ibid. 43. caplan 1993 (254) 44. fiddler 1993 (123) 45. shaw 1993 (185) 46. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 47. caplan 1993 (256) 48. harrington 2009 (365) 49. fiddler 1993 (123) 50. ceja report 4 1994 i-94. 51. harrington 2009 (379) 52. robertson 1993 (246) 53. fiddler 1993 (123) 54. caplan 1993 (260) 55. arnold 1993b (272) 56. caplan 1993 (260) references “ad hoc committee of the harvard medical school to examine the definition of brain death. a definition of irreversible coma.” journal of the american medical association vol. 205 (1968): 337340. arnold, robert m. and stuart j. youngner. “back to the future: obtaining organs from non-heart-beating cadavers.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 103-111. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>. arnold, robert m. and stuart j. youngner. “the dead donor rule: should we stretch it, bend it, or abandon it?.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 263-278. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>. caplan, arthur l. “the telltale heart: public policy and the utilization of non-heart-beating donors.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 251-262. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>. devita, michael a. and james v. snyder. “development of the university of pittsburgh medical center policy for the care of terminally ill patients who may become organ donors after death following the removal of life support.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 131-143. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>. devita, michael a. and james v. snyder and ake grenvik. “history of organ donation by patients with cardiac death.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 113-129. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>. ethical issues in the procurement of organs following cardiac death: the pittsburgh protocol. ceja in ama. (1994): report 4, i-94. ethical issues in the procurement of organs following cardiac death: in situ preservation of cadaveric organs. ceja in ama. (1994): report 3, i-94. fiddler, suzanne a. “implementing donation after cardiac death protocols.” journal of health & life sciences law 2, no. 1 (2008): 123 “financing a transplant.” transplant living. accessed 15 august 2011. <http://www.transplantliving.org/beforethetransplant/finance/costs.aspx> harrington, maxine m. “the thing flat line: redefining who is legally dead in organ donation after cardiac death.” denver university law review vol. 86 (2009): 335-380. light, jimmy a. “organ donation and death from unexpected circulatory arrest: engaging the recommendations of the institute of medicine: the washington, d.c. experience with uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death: promises and pitfalls.” journal of law, medicine & ethics vol. 36 (2008): 735-739. organ procurement following cardiac death, amendment. ceja in ama. (2005): report 10, a-05. robertson, john a. “policy issues in a non-heart-beating donor protocol.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 241-250. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu. edu/>. shaw, byers w., jr. “conflict of interest in the procurement of organs from cadavers following withdrawal of life support.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): 179-187. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu.edu/>. “university of pittsburgh medical center policy and procedure manual.” kennedy institute of ethics journal 3.2 (1993): a-1-a-15. project muse. accessed 17 november 2010 <http://muse.jhu. edu/>. “united network for organ sharing.” accessed 31 march 2011 <http://www.unos.org> 70 71 elements : : fall 2011 a viable option the significance of light transcends cultural and geographical barriers, connoting spirituality, knowledge, and goodness in a variety of contexts throughout the ages. architects have long used light to highlight spaces and structural features of buildings and landscapes. the cultural, intellectual, and industrial developments of the 19th century gave birth to a new theory of light in architecture, realizing previously unthinkable manipulations of natural and artificial light. renowned architect frank lloyd wright’s mastery of illuminating techniques is manifest in his most famous designs, and his innovation contributed greatly to the emphasis on natural light so apparent in contemporary home architecture. frank lloyd wright the power of illumination in architecture tiphaine leverrier “wright’s general concern for the proper use of light stemmed from a desire to give people a sense of freedom and openness while creating a closed, functional shelter for them.” it is no wonder that light, one of the main supports of life itself, has inspired the imaginations of countless artists, architects, and audiences for generations. as a result, light is charged with much allegorical and spiritual meaning. abbot suger, an innovator in the gothic movement in france, used light as a metaphor for god’s majesty, transcending matter and flesh and raising believers’ spirits. in 1134, he had the portal of saint denis church engraved with, “our darkened spirit arises to truth by the means of material things, and, seeing the light, comes back from the original fall.” here, light and architecture create a space of sublimation and dematerialization.1 since suger’s time, light has lost none of its potency in the creation of spaces, although the specific connotations of divinity have faded somewhat. light is now seen as less of a bridge to the heavens and more as a mediator between a building’s artificial exterior and its natural exterior. frank lloyd wright conceptualized this view as “organic architecture.” nature and building, he thought, exist in a symbiotic relationship, with man’s work echoing and complementing landscapes. wright’s upbringing in the nineteenth century was characterized by industrialization. in the recent past, glass had been expensive and technically difficult to produce. because of its physical characteristics, it was also complicated to use as a structural element of buildings, or in large panels. beginning in the 1840s, however, a series of innovations gradually made its use easier, cheaper and increasingly interesting. the development of electricity in the 1880s toughed of a revolution in interior lighting, enabling novel manipulations of space and shadow. in addition to these technical innovations, artistic movements had a significant role in rethinking light. the impressionist movement, which first began in the 1860s in france, was officially introduced in the united states in an 1886 art exhibition. impressionism attempts to capture the world as does the human eye in a glance. as all impressions are characterized to some degree by the play of light and shadow, so too was the movement intimately linked to the perceptions of light. more specifically, the architectural concern for materialization and dematerialization of buildings along with light comes from impressionism. along with impressionism, the arts and crafts movement of the 1890s saw the revival of glass works as an artform, especially the works of louis comfort tiffany and his contemporary john la farge. wright, who began his career during this period, was certainly influenced by these evolving art movements, which ultimately led him to contemplate light and glass. it is also helpful to consider that since wright grew up in a rather conservative and pious family, light as a spiritual metaphor for god must have been emphasized. as a young man, the architect lived in wisconsin, in the presence of natural and open spaces. thinking back to the days of his youth, wright wrote of sunlight slanting through the trees and falling on leaf-covered ground. from dancing illumination on the ground, he drew his feelings for the play of sun splashes on the floor of a building.2 wright worked with louis sullivan, who was heavily influenced by ruskin, richardson, and the chicago school. although the degree to which chicago school architects directly influenced wright’s work is debatable, wright is known to have worked within the prairie school, which originates from the chicago school. wright was also quite well read and became acquainted with the thoughts of emerson and thoreau. emerson saw man as the product of nature and nature as truth and purity. for him, man was suited to intuit the principles of nature and live in harmony with it. thoreau pleaded for a “return to nature” and symbiosis with it. he was fascinated with lakes and ponds, which he thought to be the earth’s eye on the sky, “for it reflected the landscape with a luxuriance that shimmered with every breath of wind or change in light.”3 wright, who was following their vision of nature, transposed into architecture their theories: a house should fit in the landscape and be open on nature since man and his production “wright grew up in a rather conservative and pious family, light as a spiritual metaphor for god must have been emphasized. as a youth, the architect lived in wisconsin, in the presence of natural and open space.” should follow nature’s principle. in the pursuit of this, glass could work as an analogue and interlocutor to water in nature. with this background in mind, it is easier for us to consider the presence of light in wright’s houses. to wright, architecture was not a spiritualization of matter as sullivan understood it, but rather a materialization of spirit. “the open landscape was nature’s eloquent way of making freedom visible; to wright, buildings too should speak of freedom . . .”4 a dwelling should be open on naturtte, full of light and receptive to nature’s and time’s changes. it should be “a broad shelter in the open”, as he said, an invitation to freedom. 5 he conceived of his buildings with great consideration for the primary forces of nature, and for the basic requirements of life: light, air, shelter.6 he thought rays of sun stood for joy, flaunting the confines of indoor life, and that an awareness of the sky ought to be as much as part of daily indoor life as an awareness of the earth.7 light, to him, was a cosmic force and a messenger of natural order, existing un-violated in cities and thus maintaing man’s access to nature even in the heart of civilization.8 wright regarded glass as the materialization of light, the weightless medium of sight. out of all the materials he used, glass was his favorite because it allowed for the establishment of a new relationship between man and nature: in the openings of my houses, glass as a place comparable to precious stones among all the other materials. . . . this supermaterial that is glass is, in the way we currently use it, is pure frank lloyd wright at work in his office 74 75 elements : : fall 2011 frank lloyd wright wonder. air in airs, to keep air in or keep it out. itself light in light, glass diffuses light, reflects or diffracts it.9 glass is the architect’s dream because it is such malleable building material. it could be a plane through which one could see with perfect clarity, a “lens by which the landscape could be structured with a grace sufficient to make pictural art redundant.”10 it could be as refractive as ice, reflective as water, or “composed of colored panes of pares as iridescent as a butterfly’s wings”, “translucent, transparent, opalescent or opaque; polished, frosted or rusticated.”11 form and function combine beautifully in glass panels in a house, for example, marking the boundary between private and public without excluding one from the other. in stark contrast to architects such as ludwig mies von der rohe, wright did not want the window frame to disappear. windows were to remain a protective screen: a kind of frontier, giving the dweller a feel of intimacy and privacy while also lending a taste of freedom and possibility to witness changes in time and nature. glass stands out among materials, according to wright, because: by means of glass something of the freedom of our arboreal ancestors living in the trees becomes a precedent for freedom in the 20th century life. it is by way of glass that the sunlit space as a reality becomes the most useful servant of a higher order of the human spirit . . . free living in air and sunlight.12 wright’s general concern for the proper use of light stemmed from a desire to give people a sense of freedom and openness while creating a closed, functional shelter for them. houeses were to contained the interplay of shadow and light to give the sense of a soothing shelter. he wanted to have dim intimate spaces interspersed with areas flooded with light. he also desired his houses to have light coming from above, just as the sun would light a landscape, and he started experimenting with the use of rifts and patterned glass ceilings as soon as 1893.13 another major desire, was that the openings would not look like holes in a wall, but rather would form an open, integrated and flowing space. “shadow itself is of the light,” accroding to wright. he was just as obsessed with shadow as light, as one always accompanied the other.14 following the japanese tradition of half-light, wright was interested in indirect lighting and smooth contrasts. a dwelling is meant to be a refuge, a retreat; this is one of the reasons the prairie houses have overhanging roofs that cast shadow inside. shadows are not just aesthetic, for they guarantee privacy and discretion as well as the creation of a quiet and comfortable entrance in a dimly lit space. wright firmly believed that the purpose of the building and its natural environment should determine its shape: architecture which is really architecture proceeds from the ground and somehow the terrain; the native industrial conditions, the nature of materials and the purpose of the building must inevitably determine the form and character of any good building.15 the weather conditions would have an effect on the shape of the house and thus the choices of lighting, and the natural lighting was to be either echoed or tempered to supplement artificial sources. in the case of the prairie houses, for instance, alternate extremes of heat and cold, sun and storm, have to be considered. the frost goes four feet into the ground in winter; the sun beats fiercely on the roof with almost tropical heat in the summer: an umbrageous architecture is almost a necessity, both to shade the building from the sun and protect the walls from freezing and thawing moisture.16 the overhanging eaves were meant to exclude the sun from the upper rooms and provide a refreshing shade dur“wright was well aware of the effects that each of his arrangements would create with light; with this knowledge, he manipulated the way light itself would interact with the observer.” ing hot summer days, while keeping rain and snow away from the walls in winter times. wright mastered the use of natural light. he adapted his architecture to the function of his building, but all of his designs place a premium on light. the classic way to begin a building’s relation to light is to orient the building to the south and slightly to the east so that it gets the best light of the day. wright used this design every time it was possible. the openings are thus concentrated on this facade to let light in. for his openings in dwellings, wright liked to use high casement windows and french doors. to maximize their effect, and to give vigor to the outdoors and overcome the continuing and enclosing walls, he grouped them as series, which he considered genius. indeed, the house walls turned into large light screens would disintegrate in light but still fulfill their protective function.17 moreover, this serial use solved the problem of isolated doors and windows that clearly marked separation of the house from the street and the environment. it is particularly true of wingspread’s fifteen-foot high living room windows that completely overshadow the smaller entryway.18 these rows of windows also often allegorically referred to weed or flower fields, as they were also ornamented with abstracted organic patterns. as wright worked with open planes and refused to use walls to create indoors spaces, he employed light to articulate and determine the use of the space. in fallingwater, for instance, narrow rifts from floor to ceiling articulate the walls of servant wings and guest quarters.19 wright also pierced the roofs with the interior of the robie house 76 77 elements : : fall 2011 frank lloyd wright rifts to recreate skylighting that would nicely cast flakes of light and contrast the floors from above, suggesting a leafy cover softly pierced by sunlight.20 conversely, he would use rows of clerestories to give energy, rhythm, and strength to a room, as he did in wingspread, for the “wigwam” (the living room). in some buildings dedicated to work or social function, such as the larkin building or unity church, he would utilize skylight as the primary source of light. in the larkin building, a glass roof over the atrium lets light in for all the stories. in unity church, series’ of square windows on the top of the four sides let a dim light enter, while the auditorium is given “the aerial aura of a cloudless day” thanks to the rifted roof. in his later johnson wax administration building, there are absolutely no windows; all the light comes from the glass roof and the horizontal band of glass tube that replace the traditional cornice. wright often used glass to efface the shadowy, enclosed feel of corners. by joining two panels of glass at corners, wright created new and pleasant effects. one of wright’s clients recalled that such glass corners gave the impression that the roof was floating above walls.21 it also gave a new sense of volume and freedom. in the johnson wax building, the walls and roof are in continuity, the contrast between the plaster and the glass filled cornice first, and the cornice and roof secondly, give an aerial feel to the building. in the houses he designed, wright used glass towers and light wells to create volumes, emphasize specific spaces, and create contrasts. this is the case in fallingwater, where the horizontals are shadowy elements like terraces and extended parapets while verticals are concerned with light with the three-stories tower of glass and the light screens of the kitchen and west bedrooms. in wingspread, the “crow nest,” entirely in glass, lets some light in near the massive chimney, creating an interesting contrast, while the guggenheim museum, entirely lit by its roof, could embody the idea of light itself. wright loved to put light and openings in unexpected places to create novel atmospheres. wright was well aware of the effects that each of his arrangements would create with light. with this knowledge, he manipulated the way light itself would interact with the observer. his stained glass windows patterns would echo the rugs’ design, their shadow superposing the rugs patterns at some hours of the day, as in the robie house. to create intimate atmospheres while letting light in, he brought the ceilings down to a “human size” and reinforced the feel of their lowness with paint and thin wood breading. as he explained ceilings could be brought down over onto the walls by the way of the horizontal broad bands of plaster on the walls themselves above the windows and colored same as the room ceilings. this would bring ceiling-surface and color down to the very window top.22 he used colors knowing fully well how they would interact with light and how they could either close a space or diffuse light indirectly. this is why he mainly utilized silvery grey and beige to catch light, as well as oranges, terracotta and oak tones to create warmth.23 he had the overhanging eaves and sometimes the cantilevers’ bottoms painted in clear colors, so that they would protect the bedrooms from the sun but gently diffuse some light in.24 wright also used electricity and fire lighting. fire was important to him because it was earthly, complementary to the “heavenly” sunlight. it also referred to the passage of the seasons, as fire is linked to winter, while bright sunlight is associated with summer. the intimacy of a fire’s warm, dim light is reinforced by the heat it gives off. the fireplace is a common metaphor for family, indoor life and house tasks. for wright, fire was the soul of the house itself, “the spirit within.”25 chimneys were at the heart dwellings wright built, the focal point of the household, both the center of gravity and the gathering place for the family. as for electricity, wright was ahead of his contemporaries. he loved to test new technologies and adapt their use. he hid the cables and, obsessed with light coming from above, used lantern-shapes and warm lighting in the places he could not or did not want to skylight. his lighting itself constituted real artworks and while also functioning as little suns, casting a warm toned light from above. he often built lightng into the house, and made wide use of resistance devices that could dim the light from his fixtures. the sensibility for the use of light which wright showed early in his career remained central to his progression. indeed, his concern for light was bound always to his concern for the management of spaces, volumes, ornamentation, and even furniture. wright’s exceptional feel for the dynamics of light and the technical expression of his intuitions leave an illuminating legacy for architects, but most of all for we who live in the insight of his designs today. endnotes 1. gerard (14) 2. hoffman 1986 (55) 3. hoffman 1986 (29) 4. hoffman 1995 (10) 5. frank lloyd wright, quoted in hoffman 1995 (94) 6. hoffman 1995 (18) 7. hoffman 1986 (50) 8. lipman (194) 9. frank lloyd wright, quoted in staib (26) 10. frank lloyd wright, quoted in hoffman 1986 (29) 11. hoffman in frank lloyd wright architecture and nature p29 12. frank lloyd wright, quoted in hoffman 1995 (97) 13. in the anteroom of his chicago office. 14. mccarter, “the integrated ideal,” in mccarter (2005) 284 15. frank lloyd wright, quoted in spencer 1979 16. hoffman 1995 (12) 17. hoffman 1995 (18) 18. hertzberg 2004 (26) 19. hoffman 1995 (87) 20. hoffman 1995 (33) 21. hoffman 1995 (39) 22. frank lloyd wright, quoted in hoffman 1995 (33) 23. lind 1994 (several iterations) 24. banham 1969 25. wright was very interested in native american culture, animist philosophy and views on nature. references banham reyner. the architecture of the well tempered environment. chicago: university of chicago press, 1969. bolon, carol; nelson, robert; seidel, linda, eds. the nature of frank lloyd wright. chicago: university of chicago press, 1988. brooks, allen. “frank lloyd wright and the destruction of the box,” in journal of the society of architectural historians 38, no. 1 (1979): 7-14. brooks, allen, ed. prairie school architecture : studies from “the western architect.” buffalo: university of toronto press, 1975. clausen, meredith. “frank lloyd wright: vertical space and the chicago school’s quest for light,” in journal of the society of architectural historians 44, no. 1 (1985): 66-74. de long, david, ed. designs for an american landscape 1922-1932. new-york: harry n. abrams, inc., 1996. de long, david, ed. frank lloyd wright and the living city. milan: skira editore s.p.a., 1998. hertzberg, mark. wright in racine. san francisco: pomegranate press, 2004. hoffman, donald. frank lloyd wright architecture and nature. new-york: dover pblications, 1986. hoffman, donald. understanding frank lloyd wright’s architecture. new-york: dover, 1995. kaufman, jr.., edgar. “frank lloyd wright: plasticity, continuity, and ornament,” in journal of the society of architectural historians 37, no. 1 (1978): 34-39. kruty, paul. “wright, spencer, and the casement window,” in winterthur portfolio 30, no. 2 (1995): 103-127. levine, neil. the architecture of frank lloyd wright. princeton: princeton university press, 1996. lind, carla. frank lloyd wright’s prairie houses. san francisco: archetype press and pomegranate press, 1994. lind, carla. frank lloyd wright’s first houses. san francisco: archetype press and pomegranate press, 1996. lipman, jonathan. “consecrated space” and mccarter, robert. “the integrated ideal,” in on and by frank lloyd wright: a primer on architectural principles. robert mccarter, ed. new york : princeton architectural press, 2005. spencer, brian, ed. the prairie school tradition/ the prairie archives of the milwaukee art center. new york: whitney library of design, 1979. staib, gerard. “des origines au mouvement classique,” in construire en verre, col. lausanne: lausannes presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes, 2001. 78 79 elements : : fall 2011 frank lloyd wright in his lecture course on nature, the french phenomenologist maurice merleau-ponty makes the intriguing claim that an ontology of nature is the preferred path toward ontology in general. this article explores why he makes this claim and asks what philosophical significance this approach to ontology might have. making use of merleau-ponty’s notions of chiasm and flesh as the fundamental ontological truths, the author argues that nature and history are related to one another according to the logic of the chiasm and that thinking about them in terms of this relationship opens up avenues for addressing long-standing problems in both philosophy of nature and philosophy of history. specifically, this article explores merleau-ponty’s response to the problem of a scientific-historical methodology distinct from the methodology of the natural sciences. his response, in its reliance on the logic of chiasm, moves the problem beyond the state it reached in the work of wilhem dilthey and edmund husserl. transcendental geology towards a phenomenology of nature and history karen kovaka “the chiasm, the interweaving of nature and history into the fabric of our experience, is fundamental, and thinking of them in a way that is faithful to experience requires thinking through both of them together.” nature as a leaf or layer of total being—the ontology of nature as the way toward ontology—the way that we prefer because the evolution of the concept of nature is a more convincing propadeutic, [since it] more clearly shows the necessity of the ontological mutation. we will show how the concept of nature is always the expression of an ontology—and its privileged expression.1 maurice merleau-ponty why is the ontology of nature the way toward ontology in general? and why, in turn, is a history of the ‘evolution’ of nature as a philosophical concept the way toward the ontology of nature? this article seeks to understand the significance of historical-philosophical reflection on nature by way of maurice merleau-ponty’s ontology of the visible and the invisible. the answer to this question lies in two ideas. first, if we assume the validity of merleau-ponty’s ontology as presented in the visible and the invisible, we find that a relation of chiasm exists between nature and history. second, if we think of nature and history in terms of this relation, we obtain a fruitful approach to apprehending the meaning of both. the question that focuses merleau-ponty’s later philosophical work is that of chiasm as the fundamental ontological insight. we understand chiasm as ‘the self-mediating reconversion of transcendence and immanence.’2 following the lead of other philosophers, most notabl edmund husserl and martin heidegger, merleau-ponty critiques western philosophy’s tendency to define reality in terms of opposing conceptual pairs. rather than accepting that conceptual pairs such as transcendence/immanence or material/spiritual accurately describe reality, merleau-ponty argues that in the absence of certain assumptions, the clear lines that demarcate these conceptual pairs do not hold. more basic than these concepts is the relation of continual reversibility that exists between them. habits of thought formed over time lead us to believe that it is easy to categorize aspects of reality as belonging to one side or another of a conceptual system. either something is visible or it is not. either something is reflective or unreflective. however, a sustained investigation reveals a phenomenon analogous to the twilight period that comes between clear hours of light and darkness. when one tries to point out precisely where something ceases to be visible and becomes invisible or where transcendence ends and immanence begins or what constitutes the difference between a being that reflects and a being that does not, once-clear concepts bleed into each other. the secret of being does not ultimately rest in the things which enter into this relation; in fact, making being a static property of things leads to incoherence. one of the great lessons that phenomenology has drawn from the history of philosophy is that the assumption of the primacy of things is flawed precisely because it is impossible to pin down what things are while simultaneously assuming that being is concentrated within things. instead, being rests in the movement of the chiasm. being is more productively associated with the dynamic relationships between a given subject and its possible objects. examing this back-andforth reveals a stuff that is neither material nor spiritual, what merleau-ponty calls ‘flesh.’ maurice merleau-ponty [f]lesh is an ultimate notion . . . a relation of the visible with itself that traverses me and constitutes me as a seer, this circle which i do not form, which forms me, this coiling over of the visible upon the visible.3 rather than have us think of reality as ultimately material or ultimately spiritual or as some dualistic mixture of the two, merleau-ponty dismisses the tradition dialectic of the basic substance. flesh is a meaning relation, but not an intellectual one. it is not matter, but neither is it thought, because it is a relation that involves tangibility and visibility. although discovering flesh involves working back from traditional concepts of matter and spirit, flesh is not constituted by these two things. merleau-ponty asserts that flesh is an always-already present relation, out of which traditional concepts emerge as dynamic poles. as an ultimate notion, the structure of flesh is also the structure underlying and manifested in the world and ourselves. what we perceive as objects are intelligible as such only by means of their engagement in this relationship of the flesh. “what exists are not present ‘things’ or forces but systems of differential relationships in an ongoing process of integration, disintegration and reformulation.”4 given flesh, given this relational system, how is ‘the concept of nature’ related to ontology, and why might it be the ‘privileged expression’? why do we treat nature, and thus ontology, historically, through studying the evolution of the concept? these are the questions which can be answered by asserting the existence of a chiasm between nature and history. we must begin by seeing what merleauponty means by nature. one of the implications of the idea of flesh is that meaning in not existentially dependent on setience; rather, it can exist beneath thought. there is unreflective meaning that lies within the sensible, constituting the sensible. this unreflective meaning is the starting point for understanding nature. “nature is what has a meaning without this meaning being posited by thought.”5 it is also what underlies all of our experiences—perception, reflection, and so on. expanding on husserl’s remark in foundational investigations of the phenomenological origin of the spatiality of nature, merleau-ponty distinguishes “the earth” as a horizon within which we are given everything else. it is the “soil of our experience,” as husserl puts it, “not an object among other objects but the living stock from which the objects are engendered.”6 as an overarching concept or horizon of experience, nature is “a carrier of all the possible,” a configuration that is the originary source of any sentient reflection concerning it.7 the sensibility of nature must then exceed attempts to reflect upon it because it is both the point from which reflection begins and toward which reflection is oriented. this aspect of nature captures the trait of simultaneous transcendence and immanence which husserl, and later merleau-ponty, understood as an essential characteristic of all perception. sentient reflection on nature is “ontologically continuous” with nature, springing from the “soil,” the “earth,” and the “unreflective – in a word, nature – remains for the personal self a prehistory, an irrecuperable past.”8 reflection takes up nature and in doing so deals with something ontologically related to itself. but the reverse of this familiarity, this immanence, is the inexhaustible transcendence of nature. reflection cannot capture every possible relation with nature in its gaze, and it is this experiential fact that preserves reflection from being identical to nature in its totality. reflection emerges from the unreflective when a subject, an instance of sentient meaning, doubles back on itself to explore its history. this phenomenon introduces a paradox. we seem to experience nature directly and unreflectively all the time as we perform habitual tasks in our daily lives. but if the unreflective expresses itself only through reflection, then this mediation is a condition for understanding nature and direct access is impossible. as soon as nature is thematized, as soon as it stands out from the background of the world one lives through, then reflection comes into play. what are we doing in the majority of our relations with nature? at any given moment, the meaningful sensibility “as an overarching concept or horizon of experience, nature is ‘a carrier of all the possible,’ a configuration that is the originary source of any sentient reflection concerning it.” 82 83 elements : : fall 2011 transcendental geology of nature is flowing into the meaningful sentient of human life which is its expression. the doubling back of reflection, the effort to join itself to its originary source, must always be incomplete. reflection cannot seamlessly rejoin the unreflective that is its beginning. although a seamless rejoining is impossible, there is reversibility between reflection and the unreflective. not only does nature flow into human reflection, but reflection enters into nature. the act of reflecting seeks a passage from sentient, articulate meaning back to sensible, livedthrough meaning: “we are looking for the primordial, non-lexical meaning always intended by people who speak of nature.”9 reflection, in trying to ‘return’ in this way, discloses a crucial moment in which lies the being of both reflection and nature. it moves through and in time, in order to circle back to nature, finding that: this self-rending movement of expression is not a potentiality of the human subject so much as an event of nature itself, of its own duplicity, which entails that our “alienation” from nature, if this word has any sense, can only be a moment of nature’s own self-unfolding expression through us.10 this temporal expression of nature is historical. reflection inescapably passes into history, concerns itself with history, and maintains its connection with unreflective. human thought and activity in history, even as it moves forward and differentiates itself from nature, also seeks to re-enter that from which it came, to understand the secret of its originary meaning. the motivation for history begins in nature, in prehistory, and the continued movement of history receives its force from the effort to fold the sentient back over to meet and apprehend the sensible. one could understand natural scientific thought and technological advancement, for example, as thoroughly historical and reflective events which find their meaning and movement in their desire to plumb the depths of the unreflective that is their soil. therefore, what happens between nature and history, the movement from one to the other which is constitutive and expressive of both—this movement is precisely that of crossing, of chiasm. when nature passes into reflection, it passes into history; when reflection enters into nature, so too does history enter into nature. this relation of reversibility, of chiasm, obtains between nature and history because of the dynamic of reflection. now we must cash out this dynamism in order to reframe some traditional philosophical problems. as a beginning, i will trace a question which was important in neo-kantian german thought, next examined in husserl, and finally taken up by merleau-ponty in the working notes of the visible and the invisible. the problem is this: can the conclusions of historical study be endowed with scientific validity if they do not obtain by a methodology parallel to the natural sciences? the neo-kantian wilhelm dilthey saw history (and the human sciences in general) as directed toward capturing important moments in the flow of the ‘nexus of life’ [lebenszusammenhang], by which he meant the web-like continuity between nature and psychic life. due to the fleeting nature of experience, the human sciences are tasked with working to relate human life back to this nexus, “back to a creative, evaluative, and active source, something that expresses and objectifies itself.”11 their goal is to come to an understanding of the invisible contours of life from within. dilthey wants the human sciences to be scientific, but recognizes that because their orientation is different from that of the natural sciences, so then must their method differ. rather than beginning from a hypothetical basis as do the natural sciences, the human sciences as dilthey understands them must begin and remain rooted in lived experience [erlebnis]. their efforts to study the nexus of life will not be successful if they postulate for theoretical purposes a discontinuity between the psychical and the physical. this is because there is no experiential basis for seeing such discontinuity in the nexus of life. a study that begins from this abstraction already distances itself from the nexus of life and will not be able to get at the real object of its inwilhelm dilthey quiry. this condition introduces a tension which dilthey does not resolve. how can the human sciences be appropriately general with respect to histroy when carried out by historical persons who begin from their own lived experiences which are determined by their own particular historical horizons? dilthey’s own philosophical and historical assertions are merely expressions of life which have their place amongst the interconnected systems that form the socio-historical nexus, but which do not constitute an archimedean point from which to make universal statements about the essence of the human sciences. husserl, in reading dilthey, paid close attention to this problem and attempted to move beyond it in formulating his own philosophy of history in the crisis and in his essay “the origin of geometry.” in these works, the solution to the dilemma of the scientificity of the human sciences, especially history, is that reflection upon these sciences discloses an a priori structure always already operating in our experience of and reflection on history. “the historical horizon . . . has its essential structure that can be revealed through methodological inquiry.”12 what this structure consists of is bound up in husserl’s metaphor of sedimentation, a metaphor that merleau-ponty continues to make use of in the visible and the invisible. he tells us that “history is from the start nothing other than the vital movement of the coexistence and the interweavings of original formations and sedimentations of meaning.”13 the metaphor of sedimentation combines the geological image of an exposed cut of bedrock with the structure of a deductive discipline like geometry in which each new discovery builds upon previous ones. husserl asks us to imagine horizontal layers of sedimentary deposits (works of philosophers, cultural artifacts, etc.) which have hardened into rock, so to speak, or which have become the ground, or bedrock, upon which our present cultural world rests. in addition to these horizontal layers, we must imagine vertical chains or nets of meaning, such as those logical links which unify the axioms and theories of euclid’s elements. husserl would have us understand the structure of history as consisting of horizontal layers shot through by vertical chains of reflection which link the meanings in each of the sedimented layers. the purpose of historicalphilosophical reflection would be to reactivate chains of meaning which would otherwise be forgotten over time. this idea is fascinating, but “the origin of geometry” leaves the structure of history undefined and unexplored. in the end, husserl’s contention that reflection upon history can uncover the a priori structure of history is still susceptible to a critique. the trouble is not that there is no a priori structure to discover: husserl has given us an account of structure that moves us beyond the formulation of the issue in dilthey. that said, it is still difficult to see how reflection is equipped to discover this structure. the essence of reflection is mediation. how then can reflection penetrate back through sedimented layers of meaning to disclose the structure of history? reflection must add more and more layers to history in its attempts to double back and access the structure of what lies beneath it. in other words, the tension that emerges here is the same tension that characterizes the chiasm between reflection and the unreflective. merleau-ponty has this difficulty in mind in his discussion of history and philosophy in the working notes of the visible and the invisible. his idea for moving forward relies on the chiasm between nature and history. he formulates the problem by talking about the history of philosophy and asking if it is necessary to distinguish between the views that past philosophers took of their own problems and the ways in which we understand their problems in retrospect. can there be continuity in philosophy if we understand the questions of past philosophers differently from how they understood them? his answer is: “not if the philosophies in their integrality are a question, the interrogative thought which makes them speak is not overcome by what comes later.”14 we can trace the structural development of something like philosophy through time if there is a questioning movement through philosophy at all times which allows thinking at a later time to be faithful to the projects and problems of previous times. there is but one solution: show that there is transcendence, to be sure, between the philosophies, not reduction to one unique “reflection must add more and more layers to history in its attempts to double back and access the structure of what lies beneath it.” 84 85 elements : : fall 2011 transcendental geology plane, but that, in this plane, staggered out in depth, they nevertheless refer to one another, it is nevertheless a question of the same being—show between the philosophies a perceptual relation or relation of transcendence. hence, a vertical history, which has its rights along the “objective” history of philosophy.15 this idea of the continuity of questioning through time is similar in structure to the passing of the sensible meaning into sentient meaning – the logic of chiasm permeates them both. nature has doubled over itself to produce history, and the process of history is a continuation of this doubling over in order to move forward. i said before that the movement from nature to history is reversible, that the march of history finds its motivation in its desire to re-enter the mute sensible which generated it. so, adherence to the logic of the chiasm requires not only a continuity of questioning through time, but that this continuity also be a folding back over which seeks to complete the circle of its reflection. in this dynamic the act discovers the impossibility of its completion that is very condition for its being. this is, in fact, the next step merleau-ponty takes in his notes. he works to show that a structural philosophy of history such as he is outlining must circle back to nature, and that the crossing of history and nature is what resolves the problems that both dilthey and husserl deal with in their works. near the very end of the notes for the visible and the invisible he talks about a philosophical account of history as a philosophy of structure, one which may be better understood in terms of geography than in terms of history: whereas geography—or rather: the earth as ur-arche brings to light the carnal urhistorie (husserl—umsurtz). in fact it is a question of grasping the nexus—neither “historical” nor “geographic” of history and transcendental geology, this very time that is space, this very space that is time, which i will have rediscovered by my analysis of the visible and the flesh, the simultaneous urstiftung of time and space which makes there be a historical landscape and a quasi-geographical inscription of history. fundamental problem: the sedimentation and the reactivation.16 here merleau-ponty references husserl’s concepts of sedimentation and reactivation which are so important to “the origin of geometry.” how this sedimentation and reactivation occurs and how understanding is possible (epistemology), must be grappled with within the context of an ontology which apprehends being in terms of crossing, or movement between. when the being of time and space, or history and the natural world, is found in the moment of their crossing, then there can be a structural philosophy that begins to make out the landscape it is traversing, all the while recognizing the truth of incomplete reversibility as a condition for any reflection. the way to come to this point is, as merleau-ponty points out in his lecture course on nature, to begin with the ontology of nature. the chiasm between the reflective and the unreflective points the way to the fundamental notion of reversibility and shows that history, too, is incorporated into this pattern by being that which nature touches and that into which nature flows. the chiasm, the interweaving of nature and history into the fabric of our experience, is fundamental, and thinking of them in a way that is faithful to expereince requires thinking through both of them together. endnotes 1. merleau-ponty 2003 (204) 2. merleau-ponty 1968 (vi 90) 3. merleau-ponty 1968 (iv 140) 4. toadvine (33) 5. merleau-ponty 2003 (6) 6. merleau-ponty 2003 (77) 7. ibid. 8. toadvine 2009 (132) 9. merleau-ponty 2003 (3) 10. toadvine 2009 (132-3) 11. dilthey 2002 (109) 12. husserl 1970 (369) 13. husserl 1970 (371) 14. merleau-ponty 1968 (199) 15. merleau-ponty 1968 (vi 185-6) 16. merleau-ponty 1968 (vi 258) references dilthey, wilhelm. the formation of the historical world. in wilhelm dilthey: selected works. vol. 3. ed. rudolf a. makkreel and john scanlon. princton: princeton university press, 2002. husserl, edmund. the crisis of european sciences and transcendental phenomenology. trans. david carr. evanston: northwestern universtiy press, 1970. merleau-ponty, maurice. the visible and the invisible. trans. claude leffort. evanston: northwestern university press, 1968. merleau-ponty, maurice. nature: course notes from the college de france. trans. robert vallier. evanston: northwestern university press, 2003. toadvine, ted. merleau-ponty’s philosophy of nature. evanston: northwestern university press, 2009. 86 87 elements : : fall 2011 transcendental geology rosa maribel colorado is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2011. as an undergraduate at boston college, she coupled an english major with an american studies minor. yet, weaving film studies into as many classes as possible was a favorite endeavor for her. her research published here was a final paper for the american studies senior seminar led by professor charles morris. in addition to professor morris, she would also like to acknowledge professor richard blake from the film studies department for cultivating her interest in film and film history. she plans to attend columbia university in the fall of 2011, pursuing a master’s degree in allied healthcare. jenna howarth is a member of the college of arts & sciences class of 2014, majoring in english and minoring in economics. she was an intern at the edward w. brooke courthouse this past summer and plans to attend law school after she graduates from boston college. jenna, a member of the college of arts and sciences honors program, would like to thank professor timothy duket and the students of his 2010-2011 western cultural tradition classes for their extensive assistance with her research and analysis of the dura-europos exhibit at the mcmullen museum. karen kovaka is a philosophy and environmental geoscience major in the class of 2012. while at boston college, she has been a part of the presidential scholars program and the college of arts and sciences honors program. she also ran the boston marathon as a campus school volunteer, helped launch the bc rhetorical society, and taught public speaking and urban agriculture courses to middle school students through citizen schools. she has interned for the international water management institute in bangalore, india and worked as a wilderness education instructor for la vida center for outdoor education and leadership. currently, karen is working on a senior thesis on nature as a philosophical concept and applying to phd programs in continental philosophy. tiphaine leverrier studied at boston college as an exchange student from institut d’études politiques in paris (“sciences po”). tiphaine came to boston college to fulfill her school’s study abroad requirement. while at boston college, she especially took interest in theology and art courses. she wrote her featured article for a class about frank lloyd wright, taught by the wonderful prof. jeffery howe. tiphaine just finished her bachelor in political sciences and is continuing her studies at sciences po’s law school. she is considering a return to the united states to work or specialize in human rights law. zachary t. martin is a recent college of arts and sciences graduate from the class of 2011. during his time at boston college he studied both physics and math and was involved in groups such as 4boston and relay for life. his article was written for a college of arts and sciences honors program seminar, “law, medicine, and public policy,” which he took in the fall of his senior year under father john paris. zach was raised in northern new jersey, where his parents remain, and enjoys spending his time at lake george in upstate new york. he is happy to be moving to boston indefinitely in the fall. sophia moradian is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2012 from oakland, california, majoring in international studies and and minoring in islamic civilizations & societies. she spent last summer and fall in amman, jordan, where she conducted research with iraqi women and worked as an esl instructor at community development centers. sophia plans to work internationally in the field of economic development and human rights. andrew orr is a former chemistry major in the boston college class of 2011 and is now continuing his education at robert wood johnson medical school in his home state of new jersey. his feature paper was written for the “law, medicine, and public policy” seminar and was prompted by a search for how to best maintain the dignity of those who struggle with alzheimer’s disease. author biographies brian varian is a former editor-in-chief of elements who graduated summa cum laude in the class of 2011 from the carroll school of management with a double major in finance and history. he authored this paper while taking professor pamela berger’s eye-opening course, “great art capitols of western europe.” originally from mahopac, new york, brian hopes to return to “the land of the bean and the cod” temporarily before pursuing a phd in u.s. economic history, with the goal of one day teaching at boston college. list of artwork without memory © syldavia / istockphoto iraqi immigrants leave jordan © marco di lauro / getty. iraqi victims of violence receive emergency care outside of iraq © spencer platt / getty mithras tauroctony © scala / art resource, ny interior of the synagogue of dura europos, 3rd ce. replica. © erich lessing / art resource, ny cop struggles with protester at 1968 democratic national © apa / getty. madonna and child of jeanne d’evreux © réunion des musées nationaux / art resource, ny christ’s descent into limbo © réunion des musées nationaux/ art resource, ny organ donor © drbueller / istockphoto. human heart © ingrampublishing / istockphoto. frank lloyd wright in studio at taliesin, 1956 © the frank lloyd wright foundation / artists rights society, ny wright, frank lloyd (1867-1959) ©the frank lloyd wright foundation / artists rights society, ny maurice merleau-ponty © http://www.philosophical-investigations.org/users/periggouanvic/merleau-ponty_and_the_post-modern_ non-self / acquired under creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license. wilhelm dilthey © atelier dührkopp berlin, around 1910 15 27 31 36 39 48 54 57 63 66 75 77 84 86 dear readers, we live in a world of constant change, where an unyielding flow of innovation forces existing systems to adapt, often in the face of significant resistance. how do we measure the impact of new developments in technology, business, politics, and scholarly methodology? is the process of transforming from old to new unequivocally good? throughout history, these questions have arisen whenever a period of rapid shifts approaches. however, they take on greater importance in our 21st century context, characterized by changes in all arenas at unprecedented speed. simultaneous revolutions in multiple facets of human life challenge our understanding of what it means to live in relation to one another. this issue of elements explores the implications of disruptive innovation in a variety of contexts, in an attempt to reconcile the vestiges of the past with the realities of the present. we seek to present the process of 21st century evolution as it unfolds in diverse arenas. “uber takes the passing lane,” our cover article, provides an in-depth analysis of a disruptive innovation that increasingly permeates daily life for urban residents. author allison schneider examines the ripple effect of uber’s arrival in the taxi-livery market and its potential consequences at the macro and micro levels, from shifts in regulatory structures to new frameworks for employee-employer relations. doyle calhoun invites linguistic scholars to consider renewed theoretical frameworks through his efforts to decode “a grammar of punctuation in poetry.” allyson tank draws us to “a biological arms race” in the sciences that could shed new light on our understanding of lentiviral resistance. in contrast to these examples of transformations occurring in our cultural moment, alec walker offers a historical perspective on the social forces that provide an impetus for new ideas in “dissent in the wirtschaftswunder,” an exploration of the 1968 german student movements. together, this set of articles reminds us that change is a constant in human life, a force that touches us in uncountable ways. even as disruptive innovation transforms some fields beyond recognition, lingering remnants of obsolete structures inhibit essential changes in others. catherine larrabee describes how such “inherited injustice” allows the vertical transmission of hiv/aids to endure in india. in “latino masculinity,” maria vazquez brings larrabee’s concern for social stigmas stateside as she attempts to dissect the influence of cultural stereotypes on college completion rates among first-generation latinos. featured author olivia mccaffrey goes beyond the symptoms of stagnation to root causes in her analysis of voters who are “neither red nor blue,” the massachusetts voters for whom the big tent, two-party system no longer suffices as an expression of political ideology. through their examination of social systems struggling to adapt to 21st century circumstances, these three pieces highlight the risks inherent to resisting change. this issue of elements marks the integration of disruptive innovations in our own publication process. we are now operating under a creative commons license, meaning that articles published in elements are non-exclusive and may be shared and cited, with attribution, by readers worldwide. through a partnership with boston college university libraries, elements debuted a live, open access e-scholarship website this semester, which houses an archive of all past issues of the journal and will serve as a hub for our future publications. in combination with our indexing with the library of congress as a print and digital journal, these advances represent a new phase in elements’ maturation as a publication. as we close our first decade, we continue the traditions of academic excellence, intellectual diversity, and integrity initiated by our founding members and look ahead to the digital future of scholarship at the university. i invite you to explore our print edition, a legacy to which we remain devoted, and then to browse our digital book, an innovation we welcome. happy reading! best, marissa marandola editor in chief editor’s note contents uber takes the passing lane: disruptive competition and taxi-livery service regulations allison schneider reflecting on how municipal regulatory structures thwart disruptive competition in the ride-sharing market. 11 24 31 42 49 a grammar of punctuation in poetry: modern computational linguistic perspectives doyle calhoun decoding the language of punctuation and its relevance to literary studies and textual criticism. latino masculinity: underlying factors in college persistence levels maria vazquez dissecting the intersection between latino culture and college completion rates among first-generation males. dissent in the wirtschaftswunder: historical memory and the german student movement alec walker examining the 1968 youth backlash against west germany’s ambiguous relationship with its fascist heritage. a biological “arms race”: apobec3f diversity and its influence on lentiviral resistance allyson tank investigating the genetic diversity of old world primates and its implications for selective pressures on host proteins. in 1954, japan was barely recovering from a devastating defeat in world war ii and a humiliating seven-year american occupation when the united states dropped two atomic bombs over hiroshima and nagasaki. plunged into the atomic age, japan produced a film, gojira (godzilla), that reflected the psychological trauma of a people trying to salvage their cities, their culture, and their lives. in the film, the monster is the physical embodiment of the destructive forces of nuclear power. its poignancy is derived from its historical allusions to real events, including the lucky dragon 5 incident in which a japanese tuna trawler was covered in radioactive ash from the detonation of an underwater american atom bomb. moreover, the film captures the conflict between censorship of athe exposition of truth, focusing on the burden of scientific responsibility. finally, the film concludes by underscoring the ultimate victimization of humanity under the tyranny of massive destruction and warns against the perils of nuclear proliferation. titan of terror a personification of the destroyer of worlds alessandra luedeking the attack on the united states at pearl harbor by the japanese imperial navy “provoked a rage bordering on the genocidal among americans.” it prompted “exterminatio nist rhetoric” that reflected deep-seated anti-oriental sentiment, including admiral william halsey’s motivational slogan, “kill japs, kill japs, kill more japs” and the popular wartime phrase, “the only good jap is a dead jap.”1 the japanese were pejoratively referred to as “japs” and “nips” in the media and official government memoranda.2 these racial epithets were also frequently heard in wartime songs such as “we’re gonna have to slap the dirty little jap” and “good-bye mama, i’m off to yokohama.”3 anti-japanese sentiment was further characterized by its “nonhuman or subhuman representation”.4 the japanese were perceived as animals, reptiles, and insects, which translated to their dehumanization and humiliating treatment in american internment camps during the second world war. specifically, the japanese were associated with “simian imagery,” or the monkey and ape.5 the reduction to “stupid, bestial, even pestilential subhuman caricatures on the enemy” made it easier to tolerate the prospect of mass killing other human beings.6 indeed, in his private diary, president harry truman, in reference to the planned use of atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki commented: even if the japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop this terrible bomb on the old capital or the new” [in reference to kyoto and tokyo]…i know that japan is a terribly cruel and uncivilized nation in warfare…because they are beasts…7 the superiority complex espoused by the united states extended to its occupation of japan from 1945-1952. the stated purpose was to democratize the country and to establish peace within the nation. general macarthur, supreme commander of the allied forces, claimed, “we could not simply encourage the growth of democracy. we had to make sure that it grew.” following the detonation of the atomic bombs, japanese resistance remained “muted”.8 the united states enacted a stringent censorship policy that banned all newspapers, magazines, and other print media from publishing anything that “might invite mistrust or resentment” of the occupation forces due to fear of the publication of such material would “tarnish the reputation of the united states both in japan and in other nations.”9 the censorship extended to school textbooks, which omitted any mention of atomic bombings or scientific research on the bombing casualties. as a result, the japanese were denied the ability to reflect on the meaning of nuclear weapons and their impact on the nation. that is, until gojira appeared. the film, directed by ishira honda, provided the psychological outlet to externalize the fears of nuclear annihilation and the attempts of a people to rebuild their cities, their culture, and their lives, threatened by radioactive fallout. the monster is the physical embodiment of the destructive forces of nuclear power. the texture of godzilla’s skin is made to simulate radiation scarring, his roar to resemble air-raid sirens, and his footsteps to reverberate like exploding bombs.10 the film’s poignancy derives from its historical allusions to the tragedies wrought by the atom bombs. the most significant of these include the lucky dragon 5 incident, hypostatizing the pervasive tension between censorship and truth, the burden of scientific responsibility, and the film’s humanitarian ending. japanese movie poster for godzilla, 1954 (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 84 elements : : spring 2016 the lucky dragon 5 incident refers to a japanese tuna trawler, daigo fukuryū maru (lucky dragon 5) which, in mid-march 1954, found itself covered in radioactive fallout from the thermonuclear tests the united states was conducting on bikini atoll. the hydrogen bombs far exceeded their predicted effectiveness, causing the damage from the nuclear fallout to extend far past the designated danger zones. a member of the boat’s crew remembered, “the sky in the west suddenly lit up and the sea became brighter than day.”11 the 23 crewmembers were all hospitalized for more than a year, while the lucky dragon’s radio operator died seven months later. gojira’s opening scene depicts the very incident just described. a fishing boat is peaceably floating on the ocean when a sudden burst of light, accompanied by a thunderous explosion, blinds the fishermen on board. the film emphasizes the radio operator, who is seen frantically transmitting the distress signal, and whose death keenly mirrors the reality that had befallen daigo fukuryū maru months earlier. furthermore, the blinding light illuminates a white, round raft revealing a “no. 5” painted upon it in black letters, blatantly establishing the historical connection. the significance of this allusion is primarily political. japan inculpates the united states for the devastation and destruction of its cities through fire and radiation. the burden of responsibility falls on the americans. in fact, dr. yamane attributes godzilla’s menacing presence to the “recent experimental nuclear detonations…that may have removed it from its surroundings.”12 the insinuations against the united states are momentous for their audacity, given the times. the tension between compliance with secrecy and the exposition of truth is realized in the parliamentary committee to which dr. yamane addresses the dangers of godzilla. half of the committee asserts that “professor yamane’s report is of such extreme importance it must not be made public” to which three vociferous women dissent by exclaiming, “what are you saying? because it is so important, it should be made public!”13 these opposite viewpoints were emblematic of japan’s competing cultures following the occupation. half of the japanese population was disillusioned by japan’s militarism and embraced the cause of peace. they sought to cultivate peaceful diplomatic relations with the united states and further democratize values within the country. the other half resented american encroachment and was staunchly against us nuclear experimentation. in the film, the newspapers on the following morning divulge the panic-inducing information on godzilla: truth had prevailed. in this scene, a new meta-dimension is spawned, wherein the film proffers a criticism against censorship policies instated by the united states. the film errs on the side of truth, allowing japan to unite in opposition against the nuclear threat embodied in godzilla, and consequently, american nuclear proliferation. the scenes that portray these critical points of discussion also ground the film in realism, depicting the events as though they were occurring in real “the japanese were percieved as animals, reptiles and insects which translated to their dehumanization and humiliating treatment in american internment camps during the second world war.” aerial view of the bombing of nagasaki (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 85 “titan of terror” time. this characteristic differentiates the film from fantasy and places it within the science fiction genre. the moral quandary of the film is embodied in the scientist, serizawa, and the scientific responsibility with which he is charged. serizawa recognizes the dangerous, dual nature of his “oxygen destroyer” in harnessing its power for the benefit of mankind, and his profound fear that, in other hands, it could instead be used as a weapon, perhaps more grievous than the atom bomb itself.14 serizawa’s concerns stem deeper, as he is concerned that not only will his work be put to destructive and violent purposes, but also that he will be the primary instigator of its realization— that he will be responsible for allowing his discovery to be used against humanity. serizawa argues, “even if i burn my notes, the secret will still be in my head. until i die, how can i be sure i won’t be forced by someone to make the device again?”15 again, the film accesses the meta-dimension when ogata and serizawa engage in a physical struggle, representing the two poles of the debate. serizawa knocks ogata down and injures him; the violence he has inflicted causes the scientist to stop in his tracks. the realization prompts serizawa to burn his notes, and undertake the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the oxygen destroyer would only ever be used once. this moral predicament parallels similar concerns among the physicists working on the atomic bomb in the united states. robert oppenheimer, the leading physicist in charge of the manhattan project (the organization which manufactured the first atom bomb), knowing the full capacity of the bomb’s destructive powers, advised against using it on japanese civilians. instead, he counseled releasing it on benign territory so that “the first atomic bombings would be an act of rhetoric, aimed less at the enemy’s cities than at his mind.”16 upon watching a test bomb explode, oppenheimer was reminded of a passage from hebrew scripture: “i am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”17 gojira recoils from the bomb’s magnitude of power. this is made poignantly clear in the film’s ending. gojira’s humanitarian ideology is encapsulated in the victimization of godzilla and serizawa in the closing scene of the film. throughout the entire movie, godzilla’s catastrophic potency has underscored the cataclysmic effect of the atomic bomb on japan. yet, the ending scene introduces a paradigm shift in which compassion reaches out to embrace even the destructive power at the center of its story—godzilla. underwater, the audience glimpses the beast in a peaceful state, so that they are reminded of the external stimulus, namely, nuclear force, which has violently wrenched godzilla from his natural habitat. as humanity responds by unleashing a force greater even than godzilla himself, the film’s underlying narrative reveals godzilla’s victimization. yet, humanity is not victorious, for both man and monster perish as victims of massive devastation. while the film’s conclusion is the culmination of the atomic tragedy that ravaged japan during world war ii, the entire film maintains a gravitas and sincerity in its effort to convey this historical misfortune. godzilla’s destructive acts are never gratuitous; the audience is never invited to admire and derive enjoyment from godzilla’s “‘if we keep on conducting nuclear tests, it’s possible that another godzilla might appear somewhere in the world, again.’” crew member of daigo fukuryu maru receiving treatment (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 86 elements : : spring 2016 tremendous feats of destructive might. this again distinguishes the film as a science fiction portrayal of an emotional reality. the film’s historical inspiration retains a cogent presence, which eludes the fantasy film genre. indeed, the film’s parting words allude to the real fears of a nuclearized world, which dr. yamane articulates by stating, “i can’t believe that godzilla was the only surviving member of its species. but if we keep on conducting nuclear tests, it’s possible that another godzilla might appear somewhere in the world, again.”18 gojira is a japanese science fiction film incorporating a monster as symbolic of the destructive and terrifying effects of atomic warfare. japanese-american relations had been strained prior to world war ii, underscored by deepseated racism that endowed the united states with a superiority complex. the occupation that ensued established a rigid censorship policy that curtailed freedom of speech and expression. as a result, japan was denied the ability to grieve and reflect over its ravaged nation. gojira was finally produced two years after the occupation had ended, resulting in japan’s first emotional response to the events of the war. representative of this, the film presents various historical allusions, including the lucky dragon 5 incident, the debate between censorship and truth, and the moral tension ensuing from the bomb’s unprecedented power. gojira employs the science fiction genre to present a historical reality with a humanitarian emphasis that was once believed to be the stuff of fantasy. the film serves as a warning to the world about the perils of nuclear warfare and the fate that might arise if more “godzillas” are awakened. endnotes 1. john dower, war without mercy: race and power in the pacific war (new york: pantheon, 1986), 36-37, 79. 2. dower, war without mercy, 78. 3. dower, war without mercy, 81. 4. dower, war without mercy, 81. 5. dower, war without mercy, 87. 6. dower, war without mercy, 89. 7. harry truman, hiroshima. 8. lawrence wittner, one world or none: a history of the world nuclear disarmament movement trough 1953 (stanford, ca: stanford up, 1993), 39. 9. wittner, one world or none, 46. 10. wittner, one world or none, 46. 11. peter brothers, japan’s nuclear nightmare: how the bomb became a beast called ‘godzilla’ (jstor), 37. 12. derek duke and fred dungan, chasing loose nukes (riverside, ca: dungan, 2007), 9. 13. gojira (toho company, 1954). 14. gojira (toho company, 1954). 15. gojira (toho company, 1954). 16. gojira (toho company, 1954). 17. spencer weart, the rise of nuclear fear (cambridge, ma: harvard up, 2012), 51. 18. weart, rise of nuclear fear, 53. 19. gojira (toho company), 1954 reference brothers, peter h. “japan’s nuclear nightmare: how the bomb became a beast called ‘godzilla’” cinéaste 36.3 (2011): 36-40. jstor. web. 29 mar. 2015 dower, john w. war without mercy: race and power in the pacific war. new york: pantheon, 1986. print. duke, derek, and fred dungan. chasing loose nukes. riverside, ca: dungan, 2007. print. gojira. dir. ishira honda. perf. akira takarada, momoko kochi, akihiko hirata, and takashi shimura. toho company, 1954. dvd. truman, harry. “hiroshima.” hiroshima: the harry truman diary and papers. doug. long, n.d. web. 27 mar. 2015. <http://www.doug-long.com/hst.htm>. weart, spencer r. the rise of nuclear fear. cambridge, ma: harvard up, 2012. print. wittner, lawrence s. one world or none: a history of the world nuclear disarmament movement through 1953. stanford, ca: stanford up, 1993. print. 87 “titan of terror” neonicotinoids, such as thiamethoxam (tmx) and its metabolite clothianidin (clo), are widely used insecticides commonly coated on planting seeds. due to their contamination of waterways, their accumulation in aquatic organisms is often lethal and possibly contributes to the decline of honey bees. in order to understand the distribution of tmx and clo in an agricultural-urban-mixed impacted stream, their levels in sediments from seven locations along stroubles creek, blacksburg were investigated. the sediment samples were extracted using liquid/solid extraction, cleaned up using psa, and analyzed on a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (uplc/ms/ms). the following study suggests the ability of insecticide to travel through the soil to the creek, shows lower levels of clo than tmx, and reveals the necessity of further research in regards to clo concentration. overall, this study re-affirms that tmx can travel into an adjacent aquatic system, which honey bees use for their water foraging needs. the dirt and the bees the epidemiology of neonicotinoids katelyn johnson introduction given the widespread use of insecticides, their correlation with honey bee decline warrants further investigation. neonicotinoids are highly soluble insecticides applied to soil and seeds to target anthropods on crops. first marketed in 1998, tmx, a second generation neonicotinoid, is an ingredient in the pesticides platinum, actara, centric, cruiser, flagship, and helix produced by syngenta.1 clo, a metabolite of tmx, is also used as an insecticide. though neonicotinoids are mainly used for agricultural purposes, other uses include structural pest control, landscaping, and pet treatment for fleas and ticks.2 they are widely used to to the point where all corn seeds and a third of soybean seeds in the u.s. are treated with neonicotinoids.3 notwithstanding its extensive usage, several concerns about neonicotinoids’ environmental impacts have arisen. most notably, these pesticides are thought to be a cause in the sharp decline of honey bees in recent years. due to its use on crops, the european food safety authority determined that the risk of clo dust drift from drilling sugar beet seeds was enough to indicate a low acute risk for honey bees. furthermore, the application rate of clo on sugar beets was determined to be significantly less than the rate of use on maize and other crops.4 although there is no direct evidence that neonicotinoids in surface water are harmful to honey bees, concentrations of 0.14 to 18 ppb are sublethal to non-target aquatic anthropods and have been found in 80% of surface waters across nine countries.5 to understand the occurrence of neonicotinoids in wetlands adjacent to fields harvesting various types of crops, a study in the prairie region of canada analyzed both water samples and sediment samples for neonicotinoids. the water samples, which were central in the wetlands and distant from vegetation and surrounding plants, indicated that neonicotinoids were present in 62% of wetlands’ water after seeding occurred in the fields. where detected, there was 2.3 ng/l to 121 ng/l of tmx and 0.8 ng/l to 142 ng/l of clo. simultaneously, only 6% of the wetlands had sediment that contained neonicotinoids, with 20 µg/kg tmx and 2.8 µg/kg clo to 4.4 µg/kg clo where detected.6 the frequency of neonicotinoids in water is higher than that in sediment; thus, it is assumed that they are more likely to be in a body of water than in the sediment at the bottom. despite this, the concentration of the compounds is significantly higher in sediment than the concentrations in the water samples, suggesting that neonicotinoids accumulate more readily in sediment than they do in water. both the solubility of neonicotinoids in water and the high fluidity of water itself cause neonicotinoids to move more throughout the liquid. the neonicotinoids adsorb the sediment at the bottom of surface streams, the extent of which varies based on the composition of that particular sediment. through adsorption, the insecticides have a greater ability to accumulate in the sediment at those places which warrant it. due to the high usage of these pesticides, the length of time they survive in the soil before degradation is important in understanding the possibility of accumulation in both soil and water sources. in a lab setting of normal field conditions, the half-life of tmx in lab soil is 34-75 days. however, half-life could triple with unfavorable conditions, such as dry soil with less microbial activity.7 tmx tends to adsorb more into the soil with time,causing it to bind and become immobile1. tmx has shown to degrade in water with a half-life of 24-44 days in anaerobic conditions and 8-16 days in aerobic conditions,8 while clo has shown a degradation of 148 to 1155 days in soil and 27 days in anaerobic aquatic conditions.9 although tmx is shown to become less mobile in soil with time, some of the compound is still able to move away from the intended area and into surrounding water sources before the applied tmx becomes completely adsorbed. this is possible because tmx has a high water solubility of 4.1 g/l, making it highly mobile in water.10 according to a study in ontario, the main reasons for this transfer are carry over soil residues from previous applications, spilled seed, planted seed, and contamination of excess planter dust on the soil surface.10 puddles of standing water were analyzed within and outside maize fields during the planting season. the concentration of neonicotinoid residue was found to be consistent outside of the fields, yet within the fields, the concentration increased during the first five weeks after planting and after a rain event.10 another study on potato fields showed how accumulation of leachate occurs due to irrigation of water runoff from the fields and “most notably, these pesticides are thought to be a cause of the sharp decline of honey bees in recent years.” 40 elements : : spring 2016 rainfall. the killing of vines during potato production causes more leachate to mobilize in the soil.11 collectively, substantial evidence suggests that neonicotinoids are capable of eliciting unforeseen consequences in their transport and accumulation. a study in the midwestern us found tmx in 47% of 79 stream flow water samples collected at nine sites, and clo was found in 75% of the samples.8 the tmx and clo concentration ranged from 5.6 ng/l to 185 ng/l and 6.3 ng/l to 257 ng/l, respectively. since tmx degrades rapidly under aerobic, aquatic conditions, it not considered a high threat to non-target species, such as vertebrates. however, tmx has shown to metabolize readily to clo on leaves and insect larvae. it was even shown after a soil drench in tmx that the concentration of clo on the leaves was twice that of the tmx.12 clo has been shown to be more antagonistic to non-target species than tmx and its degradation is not as rapid. thus, it is imperative that tmx/clo transport efficiency is characterized for a better understanding of their potentially deleterious effects. the occurrence of tmx and clo residues was investigated across seven locations of stroubles creek in blacksburg, va. as suggested through previous studies of the solubility and mobilization of these compounds, there is the possibility that they are detectable in the sediment of stroubles creek at locations where it receives runoff and leachate from an adjacent cornfield. in addition, the aerobic transformation rates of tmx and clo in both sediment and soil were investigated. materials and research methods sediment collection sediment submersed in the creek was collected from seven locations along stroubles creek (fig. 1). the sediment was then separated from water in a centrifuge in vials containing 40 ml of sediment each, at the following parameters: temperature 8°c, 4000 rpm, and 10 minutes. the water was taken out of the vials and the sediment was then freeze dried overnight. the freeze dried sediment was combined with all the sediment from its corresponding location, which was about 100 g total sediment. two grams of sediment sieved through a 2 mm sieve were used for each sample during the extraction, cleanup, and analysis process. rocks and other debris were removed in order to detect a more accurate representation of the concentration of neonicotinoids in the sediment. neonicotinoids thiamethoxam (tmx), purchased through sigma aldrich and manufactured by flukar, has a purity of 99.6%. a white powder with a molecular mass of 291.71 g/mol, tmx in acetonitrile stock solution of 11.52 mg/ml was prepared for use. clothianidin (clo), purchased through sigma aldrich and manufactured by chem service, has a purity of 99.5%. a white powder with a molecular mass of 249.68 g/mol, and a clo stock solution of 10.49 mg/ml were prepared. stock solutions were prepared by adding 5.76 g tmx or 5.25 g clo to 500ml of acetonitrile. then it was serially diluted 10x to prepare usable concentrations of the compounds, the lowest concentrations of tmx and clo prepared were 1.152 ppb and 1.049 ppb, respectively. both the tmx and clo stock solutions were used to prepare standards for use on the lc-ms/ms. sediment incubation study moist sediment that had been submersed in the creek was collected from l0 of stroubles creek (figure 1), separated from its water content, and then frozen for future use for the sediment incubation study to investigate tmx and clo transformation . figure 1. sample location map address of vt. ag. exp. station: 3192-3262 prices fork rd, blacksburg, va 24060 1) vt. ag. exp. station (orange arrow) 2) duck pond in (dpi, purple pinpoint) 3) duck pond out (dpo, yellow pinpoint) 4) plantation road (pr, teal pinpoint) 5) bridge 1 (b1, blue pinpoint) 6) location 0 (l0, pink arrow) 7) bridge 2 (b2, green pinpoint) 8) bridge 3 (b3, red pinpoint) 41 the dirt and the bees using nine wide mouth mason jars with 1 inch deep of sediment each, three treatments were set up in triplicate to determine the degradation of tmx and clo in sediment in natural conditions. the three sediment treatments consisted of blank sediment, a concentration of 57.6 ng tmx per gram of sediment and water, and a concentration of 52.5 ng clo per gram of sediment and water. the jars were kept at 23°c and covered tightly with lids to keep conditions consistent. tmx or clothianidin was added to the sediments, then stirred to thoroughly incorporate the compound in each jar. the sediment was covered in 2 inches of water from the same location where the sediment was collected. sampling occurred on days 0, 3, and 10. a micro spoon was used to collect about 12 g of soaked sediment from each jar. the samples from each jar went into a test tube to be freeze-dried overnight and 1 g each was to be extracted for the target analytes at a later date. soil incubation study the soil used for the degradation study was obtained from the virginia agricultural experiment station (figure 1). no pesticides were used on this soil before, making this soil free of neonicotinoid concentrations. the soil was air dried, sieved through a 2 mm sieve, and then ground for the incubation study for tmx transformation. a water holding capacity test was performed on the soil in order to determine the soil moisture content at its 70% water holding capacity, the water content that would be kept constant throughout the study. to determine the soil water holding capacity, in duplicate , 100 g of air-dried soil was put into a disposable cup with 12 small holes at the bottom. enough water was then added to fully submerge the soil, and was allowed to drain out for 2 days in order to reach 100% water holding capacity. based on weight differences of the cup, it was possible to calculate the amount of water needed to keep the jars at 70% water holding capacity. across six wide mouth mason jars with 100 g soil each, two treatments were set up in triplicate to determine the degradation of tmx in soil at field conditions. the two soil treatments consisted of blank soil and tmx concentration of 2.3 μg per gram air dried soil. the soils were spiked with tmx at the target levels, and then stirred thoroughly to incorporate the tmx with the rest of the soil in each jar. the appropriate amount of deionized water was added to each jar in order to reach a water content at its 70% water holding capacity. this water content was maintained during the entire incubation time by periodically weighing each jar and adding water accordingly. the jars were kept at 23°c and covered with parafilm to keep aerobic conditions.13 sampling occurred on days 0, 3, 7, and 28. a micro spoon was used to collect about 1 g of moist soil from 3 different places in each jar and composited. the composite samples from each jar went into a test tube to be freeze-dried overnight and 1 g each was to be extracted for the target analytes at a later date. tmx and clo extraction, cleanup, and analysis for sediment and soil samples freeze-dried and sieved sediment/soil were measured out using an analytical balance to 2 g (for sediment detection) or 1g (for incubation studies) and put into 35 ml roundbottom vials. a vial containing no sediment/soil was also put through the clean-up procedure for comparison. samples containing a specific amount of added tmx or clo were spiked at this time (usually 100 μl of 100 ppb compound). ten milliliters of acetonitrile was added to each of the vials, which were covered with foil and lids. the samples were vortexed for 10 seconds each on 6.5 speed. to each vial, 2 g mgso4 (anhydrous) and 0.5 g nacl per gram of sediment/soil were added. the samples were vortex mixed for 2 minutes on 6-7 speed then centrifuged in swinging-bucket adapters at these parameters (used for the entire duration of the extraction): 3500 rpm, 23°c, 6/ max accel/decel, and 10 minutes. the supernatant from these vials was transferred to another set of 35 ml roundbottom vials containing 0.5 g mgso4 (anhydrous) and 0.1 psa sorbent per gram of sediment/soil that had been in the other sample vial. five milliliters of acetonitrile was added to the sediment/soil vials, which were then vortexed for 1.5 minutes on 7-8 speed and centrifuged. the supernatant from these vials was transferred to the supernatant vials. these vials were then vortexed for 2 minutes on 6 speed and centrifuged. ten milliliters of the supernatant was transferred using a 10 ml pipet to 25 ml test tubes to be dried down in the rapidvap at these general parameters: round 1) 60 minutes, 130 mbar, 60% spin, 35°c; round 2) 20 minutes, 140 mbar, 60% spin, 40°c. the dried down samples were then redissolved in 1 ml of 9:1 h2o/meoh with 5 mm nh4ac. each final extract was diluted appropriately to fit the upper and lower standard range. then, using a 1 ml syringe, the samples were fil42 elements : : spring 2016 figure 2. chromatogram of tmx standard (0.58 ppb) showing peak retention time and ratio of quantifier and qualifier daughter ions tered through a 0.2 μm ptfe filter into a 2 ml hplc vial for the uplc/ms/ms analysis. the agilent 6490 triple quad lc/ms with the zorbax extend c-18 analytical guard column 4.6x12.5mm, 5 micron was used to conduct all relevant experiments. the temperature of the column was maintained at 40°c. the mobile phase used was (a) 5mm nh4ac in water and (b) 5mm nh4ac in methanol. the following gradient of mobile phase was used: increase 10% to 95% (b) from 0 to 5 mins., held at 95% (b) for 2 mins., and then decrease to 10% (b) for 1 min. the flow rate used was 0.5 ml/min, with post time of 3 mins., and injection volume of 5.00 µl. results and discussion calibration of uplc/ms/ms for tmx and clo detection all samples were analyzed on a triple quadruple ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (uplc/ms/ms). as shown in figures 2 and 3, the retention times of tmx and clo in samples were 3.15 min. and 3.65 min., respectively, and the ratios between the quantifier and qualifier daughter ions of tmx and clo in samples were around 40 and 100, respectively. levels of tmx and clo in the sediment from stroubles creek the highest mean concentration of tmx was 0.788 ppb (figure 4), found in the sediment samples collected from stroubles creek at the second bridge (designated as b2). sediment samples from all other locations along stroubles creek had concentrations that were at most 0.16 ppb (figure 4). the concentrations in those sediment samples were either lower or very close to the detection limit of 0.1 ppb. the sediment samples had concentrations of clo that were all below the detection limit of 0.1 ppb. the concentration of tmx in stroubles creek was found to be the highest at b2, the location directly below the cornfield (figure 1), leading to the conclusion that tmx may mobilize readily from the soil in the cornfield to the sediment in the creek. additionally, the presence of the cornfield itself influences the accumulation of tmx found in stroubles creek at that location. clo is present in various locations along stroubles creek, though it is unclear what specific events along the stream would cause an accumulation of the compound. the concentrations of clo in stroubles creek do not correlate to any particular contaminator in the way that tmx concentrations reflect the location of the cornfield. tmx and clo transformation rate in sediment the half-life of tmx in sediment in this study was 8 days and the half-life of clo in the sediment used in this study was 9 days. over the course of 10 days, no concentrations of clo were detected in the samples where tmx was transforming. it is important to note that the clo concentration for day 3 was found to be higher than the concentration of day 0. this may be due to uneven distribution of the compound in the jars, either just within the sediment or between the water and sediment portions. the aforefigure 3. chromatogram of clo standard (0.53 ppb) showing peak retention time and ratio of quantifier and qualifier daughter ions 43 the dirt and the bees mentioned error can also account for one jar’s sediment sample’s immense increase in concentration from 0.3 ppb to 26.7 ppb from day 0 to 3. tmx transformation rate in soil the tmx concentration in this study decreased by 25% over the first 7 days (fig. 6). for the next 3 weeks, the concentration of tmx in the soil was relatively stable. day 28, the concentration of clo contained in the soil was also analyzed. of the 25% of transformed tmx, only 0.8% of that concentration transformed into clo (not shown). tmx’s ability to stabilize at about 75% of its original concentration for 30 days shows the ability for the compound to accumulate in soils surrounding a field where tmx is used. conclusions the highest concentration of tmx was found in the sampling location adjacent to the cornfield, with at least five times the concentration of tmx compared to sediment concentration to other locations. based on this data, it can be stated that tmx has the ability to mobilize from the cornfield to the creek. since the concentration of tmx was below the detection limit at the next downstream location, it is assumed that tmx does not mobilize much through the creek itself. the transformation rates of tmx in sediment from stroubles creek were comparable to those found in previous aerobic water studies,14 while the transformation rate of clo, which has limited literature, was similar to that of tmx. the transformation rate of tmx in soil was also comparable to that of previous studies,15 as the half-life of tmx in soil was at least double that of tmx in sediment. the lack of high concentration of clo found on day 28 soil samples was unexpected and this possibly contradicts a previous study, which had stated clo as a main transformation product of tmx.16 the analysis for clo in the soil transformation study was not performed on previous study days for comparison. therefore, the low concentration could be due to other reasons such as clo degradation. the analysis of clo concentrations in comparison to decreasing tmx concentrations is a possible topic for further study. overall, the stability of tmx in soil suggests the ease with which the compound can accumulate to levels that would be dangerous to honey bees and other anthropods. acknowledgements i acknowledge the support of the national science foundation through nsf/reu site grant eec-1359051. any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the national science foundation. i thank dr. kang xia and hanh le for their continuous help and support throughout my research. figure 4. tmx concentration (ppb) at designated locations. the locations shown here correlate with the locations on the sample map (figure 1). sediment at locations dpi and b3 were below detection limit, while locations dpo, pr, b1, and l0 were between 0.1 ppb and 0.16 ppb. sediment at b2, adjacent to the cornfield, was 0.788 ppb. “tmx’s ability to stabilize at about 75% of its original concentration for 30 days shows the ability for the compound to accumulate in soils surrounding a field where tmx is used.”44 elements : : spring 2016 endnotes 1. syngenta, “thiamethoxam”, 2005. 2. murray, “neonicotinoid pesticides: not just a bee problem”, 2015. 3. samson-robert, et al., “neonicotinoid-contaminated puddles of water”, 2014. 4. european food safety authority, “conclusion on the risk of assessment for bees”, 2013. 5. sanchez-bayo, “the trouble with neonicotinoids”, 2014. 6. main et al., “widespread use and frequent detection”, 2014. 7. maienfisch et al., “chemistry and biology of thiamethoxam”, 2001. 8. hladik et al., “widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides”, 2014. 9. epa, “clothianidin”, 2003. 10. schaafsma et al., “neonicotinoid insecticide residues”, 2015. 11. huseth & groves, “environmental fate of soil applied”, 2014. 12. nauen et al., “thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid precursor”, 2003. 13. kwon et al., “transformation of triclosan and triclocarbon”, 2014. 14. hladik et al., “widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides”, 2014. 15. maienfisch et al., “chemistry and biology of thiamethoxam”, 2001. 16. nauen et al., “thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid precursor”, 2003. figures 5a and 5b. graph showing the transformation rate of tmx (top) and clo (bottom) in sediment collected from stroubles creek. the half-life of tmx in this sediment was found to be about 8 days. the half-life of clo in this sediment was found to be about 9 days. figure 6. graph showing the transformation of tmx in soil collected from the vt ag. exp. station. the concentration of tmx in the soil decreased 25% over the first 7 days of incubation. 45 the dirt and the bees references epa. clothianidin. (2003). european food safety authority. “conclusion on the risk assessment for bees for the active substance clothianidin.” efsa journal, no. 11(1) (2013): 3066. hladik, m. l., kolpin, d. w., and kuivila, k. m. “widespread occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams in a high corn and soybean producing region, usa.” environmental pollution, no. 193 (2014): 189-196, doi: 10.1016/j. envpol.2014.06.033. huseth, a. s. and groves, r. l. “environmental fate of soil applied neonicotinoid insecticides in an irrigated potato agroecosystem.” plos one, no. 9(5) e97081 (2014), doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097081. kwon, j.-w., armbrust, k. l., and xia, k. “transformation of triclosan and triclocarban in soils and biosolids-applied soils.” journal of environmental quality, no. 39(4) (2014): 1139-1144, doi: 10.2134/jeq2009.0055. maienfisch, p., angst, m., brandl, f., fischer, w., hofer, d., kayser, h., . . . widmer, h. “chemistry and biology of thiamethoxam: a second generation neonicotinoid.” pest management science, no. 57(10) (2001): 906-913. doi: 10.1002/ps.365. main, a. r., headley, j. v., peru, k. m., michel, n. l., cessna, a. j., and morrissey, c. a. “widespread use and frequent detection of neonicotinoid insecticides in wetlands of canada’s prairie pothole region.” plos one, no. 9(3) e92821 (2014), doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092821. murray, j. “neonicotinoid pesticides: not just a bee problem.” (c. o. s. barbara, trans.): city of santa barbara, creeks division (2015). nauen, r., ebbinghaus-kintscher, u., salgado, v. l., and kaussmann, m. “thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid precursor converted to clothianidin in insects and plants.” pesticide biochemistry and physiology, no. 76(2) (2003): 5569. doi:10.1016/s0048-3575(03)00065-8. samson-robert, o., labrie, g., chagnon, m., and fournier, v. “neonicotinoid-contaminated puddles of water represent a risk of intoxication for honey bees.” plos one, no. 9(12) e108443 (2014), doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0108443. sánchez-bayo, f. “the trouble with neonicotinoids.” science,no. 346(6211) (2014):806-807. doi: 10.1126/science.1259159. schaafsma, a., limay-rios, v., baute, t., smith, j., and xue, y. “neonicotinoid insecticide residues in surface water and soil associated with commercial maize (corn) fields in southwestern ontario.” plos one, no. 10(2), e0118139. 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(2005) retrieved from: http:// www.syngentacropprotection.com/env_stewardship/futuretopics/thiomethoxamenvirofacts_7-19-05.pdf. 46 elements : : spring 2016 "do all mammals exhibit heterogeneity in their mutation rates? do all yeasts exhibit uniformity?" v a r y i n g patterns of m u t a t i o n measuring the universality of regional mutation rates a l e a h f o x m u t a t i o n s a r e t h e u l t i m a t e s o u r c e o f g e n e t i c v a r i a t i o n i n d n a . t h e p a t t e r n s o f m u t a t i o n , h o w e v e r , c a n v a r y b o t h w i t h i n a n d a c r o s s g e n o m e s . i t h a s p r e v i o u s l y b e e n s h o w n t h a t s e v e r a l m a m m a l s h a v e h e t e r o g e n e o u s m u t a t i o n r a t e s , w h i l e f o u r y e a s t s h a v e b e e n o b s e r v e d t o h a v e u n i f o r m r a t e s . t h e g e n e r a l i t y o f t h e s e o b s e r v a t i o n s h a s n o t b e e n k n o w n . h e r e w e e x a m i n e s i l e n t s i t e s u b s t i t u t i o n s i n c o d i n g r e g i o n s o f 20 m a m m a l s , 27 y e a s t , a n d 4 i n s e c t s , t o d e t e r m i n e w h i c h g e n o m e s d e m o n s t r a t e t h i s m o s a i c r a t e d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d w h i c h a r e u n i f o r m . o u r f i n d i n g s s h o w t h a t m u t a t i o n a l h e t e r o g e n e i t y o c c u r s i n a l l b r a n c h e s o f t h e m a m m a l i a n p h y l o g e n y , a s w e l l a s i n f l i e s a n d m o s q u i t o e s . a l l y e a s t s h a v e a u n i f o r m r a t e a c r o s s t h e i r g e n o m e s w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h r e e candida s p e c i e s ! c . albicans, c. d u b l i n i e n sis, a n d c . tropicalis. w e h y p o t h e s i z e t h a t t h i s i s d u e t o t h e l a c k o f s e x u a l r e c o m b i n a t i o n i n t h e s e s p e c i e s , l e a d i n g t o t h e r e g i o n a l a c c u m u l a t i o n o f m u t a t i o n s . b a c k g r o u n d popular understanding of gene mutations often focuses on those that have obvious effects, such as insects that develop resistance to pesticides. however, the majority of mutations have neither a positive nor a negative impact because they do not affect functional regulatory elements, which generally make up a small percentage of the genome. these mutations are known as "neutral mutations." the presence and rate at which these mutations occur can be used to illuminate evolutionary relationships between different species, as well as to distinguish areas of functional regulatory elements from non-functional dna, a process called "phylogenetic footprinting." though neutral mutation rates were once considered to be uniform, it has been discovered that they can vary dramatically, not only from one species to the next but also within a single genome.1 within-genome heterogeneity has been demonstrated in several investigations of mammalian species.u"vn i n these species, the rate of neutral mutations is different in different regions of the genome, such as that of chromosome i compared to that of chromosome 4. in contrast, uniform mutation rates have been observed only in the phylogeny of the sensu stricto yeasts s. cerevisiae, s. paradoxus, s. bayanus, and s. mikatae.vm i n these species, neutral mutations occur at the same rate in the entire genome. the reason for this differing mutational behavior is not known, and little is known about regional biases in other species. a better characterization of regional biases would improve fundamental understanding of dna mutation. it would also aid i n the calibration of phylogenetic footprinting methods, which are used to detect sequences under purifying selection. for example, uncertainties in regional mutation biases have hindered estimates of the amount of functional human dna. i x most previous studies of mutation rate variation have focused on mammals, including human, chimp, mouse, rat, dog, and cow. such studies have identified regional effects by studying the correlation of independent neutral measures, such as single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) density, insertion-deletion (indel) density, substitution rate in ancestral repeats, or substitution rates in silent sites.x regional effects have also been characterized via the length scales at which nearby neutral sequences are correlated, as well as via the strength of correlations within single genes.x1 proposed causes of mutation rate variation have included regional variations in base composition, recombination, gene density, or pattern of gene expression/1 1 unfortunately, the causes of variation in these other features are not clearly understood either. regional effects must be different in yeast since yeast chromosomes are typically only one-hundredth as long as human chromosomes. the length scales of these various types of mammalian regional variation are often as large as a yeast chromosome. a n important step toward understanding the causes of mutational heterogeneity is to measure which species have heterogeneous mutation rates and which species have homogeneous mutation rates. in this work, we analyze regional mutational biases in 20 mammalian, 27 yeast, and 4 insect genomes, determining which clades (taxonomic groups) have uniform and which have heterogeneous mutation rates. we answer the questions: do all mammals exhibit heterogeneity in their mutation rates? do all yeasts exhibit uniformity? studying these phylogenies together provides a valuable contrast. results there are many sequences in the genome that can be used to determine the neutral mutation rate, such as pseudogenes, ancestral repeats, intergenic regions and synonymous sites. in this work, we focus on synonymous sites, and in particular, four-fold degenerate sites, from coding regions in 51 species. these sites can be altered without affecting the encoded amino acid sequence. while recent studies indicate that some synonymous sites are under selection, the majority are still likely to be neutral. x i l i to isolate lineage-specific effects, species were analyzed in pairs with species close to them in the phylogenetic tree. yeast species pairs were determined from the tree of 42 fungal species of fitzpatrick et a l . x i v for the mammals, species pairs were chosen based on recent encode (the e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 encyclopedia of dna elements project) and wholegenome-based phytogenies x v x v 1 raw substitution rates were calculated for each orthologous gene pair (pairs of similar genes in different species) by counting the fraction of observed substitutions at four-fold sites and then normalizing to z-score values (see methods). x v n this z-score normalization corrects for the stochastic finite-size effects that result from genes having different numbers of fourfold sites. y e a s t the distribution of normalized substitution rates provides a test of whether substitution rates are uniform throughout a genome. our yeast phylogeny is comprised of 27 species, and we have calculated substitution rates between 26 species pairs, based on choosing those which are closely related in the phylogeny. in genomes with uniform rates, such as s. cerevisiae, the distribution of z-scores is very close to a normal distribution with a standard deviation of one . x v m however, in heterogeneous genomes such as mouse and human, the width of the z-score distribution is considerably larger, due to the tendency of sites in the same gene to be subject to similar mutational pressures (figure ia). we find that the distributions of normalized rates for 22 of the 27 yeast species (23 species pairs) fit the normal distribution with unit standard deviation (average s = 1.32, range = [1.02 1.40]). this indicates that there are generally not regions of high or low neutral mutation rates within these genomes (figure ib). as in the sensu stricto yeasts, these 22 yeast species tend to have a slight excess of genes with low silent substitution rates. this can be explained by codon usage selection. the tail at negative z-scores is mainly comprised of ribosomal and carbohydrate catabolism genes that are under selection for codon usage bias. x l x of the 432 genes with z-scores < -2 in the s. cerevisiae s. bayanus comparison, 201 (46.5%) have a ribosomal or metabolism go annotation. similarly, in the distinct lineage d. hansenii c. guilliermondii, 138 of 253 genes (54.5%) with z-score < -2 map to r i bosomal or metabolism go categories. one caveat is that this z-score approach is less applicable for comparisons of species with saturated divergence. of the full set of 26 species pairs, we observe 8 with less than 90% of the divergence that would be expected at saturation, given the base this is the distribution of normalized 4-fold substitution rates for mammals and yeasts. the normal gaussian distribution (smooth cray line) is what would be expected if all 4-fold sites in each cene have an equal and independent probability of being substituted. top: all mammalian distributions have a bias toward high and low substitution rates, consistent with regional mutation biases in mammalian genomes. middle: most yeast distributions fit more closely to the gaussian, except for a tail of genes with low substitution rates stemming for codon usage selection. bottom: this i s the distribution of c. albicans, c. dubliensis, c. tropicalis, n. crassa, a n d c. clobosum. these species have a wider distribution similar to the mammalian distribution. m e a s u r i n g t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f r e g i o n a l m u t a t i o n r a t e s t a b l e 1 : p e a r s o n c o r r e l a t i o n f o r t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n r a t e o f n e i g h b o r i n g g e n e s a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f p e a r s o n s p e c i e s 1 s p e c i e s 2 d i v e r g e n c e o r t h o l o g s c o r r e l a t i o n p v a l s_cerevisiae s_paradoxus 0 . 2 5 9 2 4 4 3 4 0 . 0 2 3 4 0 . 1 1 8 8 the data collected was from s_cerevisiae s_bayan yus 0 . 4 7 0 9 3781 0 .0305 0 . 0 6 0 6 2 6 species pairs a m o n g 2 7 s_castellii s_m 1 katae 0 . 6 5 8 5 3 2 4 7 0 . 0 0 2 9 0 . 8 6 4 9 yeasts, average divergence k_lactis c_glabrata 0 . 6 5 4 5 4 0 7 7 -0 .0135 0 . 3 8 8 7 is the fraction of all d_han s en 1t c_lusitaniae 0 . 6 9 2 6 3 4 2 5 0 .041 7 0 . 0 1 4 4 al igned 4-fold sites w h i c h d_hansenii c_guilliermondii 0 . 6 8 4 2 3 5 3 8 0 .0221 0 . 1 8 8 3 differ between the two d_han s e n 11 l_elongisporus 0 . 6 6 2 8 3 3 4 5 0 .0083 0 . 6 2 7 5 species. pearson d_hansenii c_parapsilosis 0 .6561 3 3 2 4 0 . 0 2 5 7 0 . 1 3 7 8 correlations forthe nord_han s en 11 c_tropicalis 0 . 6 1 0 4 3 3 5 8 0 .0073 0 .6685 malized substitution rates e_gossypii s_pombe 0 . 7 6 1 6 1 5 3 6 0 . 0 8 3 7 0 . 0 0 1 0 of neighboring genes are e_cossypii y_lipolytica 0 . 7 1 1 4 2 4 4 1 0 . 0 2 9 7 0 . 1 4 1 4 shown in column 5. the y_lipolytica m_grisea 0 .6751 2 4 6 4 0 . 0 4 1 0 0 . 0 4 1 8 only species with pearson y_lipolytica a_n1du lans 0 . 7 0 7 2 2 5 1 5 0 . 0 1 6 2 0 . 4 1 5 6 correlation with y_lipolytica c_immitis 0 . 7 1 0 9 2 5 8 4 0 .0021 0 . 9 1 1 7 significance < 0 .001 are y_lipolytica s_pombe 0 .7271 1 2 7 0 0 . 0 4 0 4 0 .1495 those among c. 0 .6551 1461 0 . 0 5 4 9 0 . 0 3 5 8 dubliniensis, c. albican, and s_pombe sjaponicus 0 .6551 1461 0 . 0 5 4 9 0 . 0 3 5 8 dubliniensis, c. albican, and sjaponicus 0 .2893 3 7 9 6 0 . 2 1 7 6 6.3 e -42 c. tropicalis. c_dubliniensis c_albicans 0 .2893 3 7 9 6 0 . 2 1 7 6 6.3 e -42 c. tropicalis. c_dubliniensis c_tropicalis 0 .5522 3 5 1 4 0 . 1 0 2 9 9.8 e 1 0 c_tropicalis c_parapsilosis 0 . 6 0 5 9 3 3 9 0 0 . 0 4 2 6 0 . 0 1 3 0 ctropicalis l_elongisporus 0 . 6 2 5 7 3 4 4 2 0 . 0 2 2 7 0 . 1 8 1 8 n_crassa c_globosum 0 . 5 8 4 2 2 3 6 9 -0 .0085 0 . 6 7 5 7 u_reesii c_immitis 0 .5293 9 1 7 0 . 0 5 1 3 0 .1201 a_n1du lans a_terreus 0 . 6 3 6 4 1121 0 . 0 3 7 0 0 . 2 1 4 7 h_capsu latum c_immitis 0 . 6 8 3 9 8 4 7 0 . 0 3 5 6 0 . 2 9 9 9 h_capsu latum u_reesii 0 . 6 6 5 5 393 0 . 0 0 3 4 0 . 9 4 5 9 l_elongisporus c_parapsilosis 0 .6363 3 1 5 2 0 .0265 0 . 1 3 6 6 t a b l e 2: m a m m a l i a n p a i r w i s e c o m p a r i s o n s p a i r a v e r a g e n u m b e r p e a r s o n n u m b e r s p e c i e s 1 s p e c i e s 2 d i v e r g e n c e o r t h o l o g s c o r r e l a t i o n p v a l 1 h u m a n mouse 0 . 3 3 1 7 1 7 1 1 2 0 . 2 3 0 6 2.0e -205 mammalian pairwise compar2 h u m a n dog 0 .2451 1 6 5 3 2 0 . 3 0 1 7 9.8e -247 isons. 4-fold site 3 h u m a n cat 0 . 2 4 1 7 7 5 2 9 0 .3263 2 . 5 e 1 8 6 divergence between the two 4 h u m a n cow 0 .5761 6 9 7 2 0 . 0 5 4 0 6 . 2 e 0 6 species is shown in column 5 dog cat 0 .1831 12931 0 . 2 4 3 8 1 . 9 e 1 7 4 3. pearson correlations for 6 cat mouse 0 .3581 6 7 2 6 0 . 2 2 9 2 6 . 0 e 8 1 the normalized 0 . 1 5 8 6 substitution rates of neigh7 rat mouse 0 . 1 5 8 6 2 0 0 5 4 0 . 1 5 7 6 i . o e 1 1 1 boring genes are shown in 8 mouse rabbit 0 . 3 6 0 6 1 2 4 4 2 0 .1851 2 . 2 e 9 6 column 5. every mammalian 0 .1851 2 . 2 e 9 6 column 5. every mammalian 9 euro. hedgehog tenrec 0 . 3 6 7 9 2 3 6 0 0 . 1 9 6 8 4 . 6 e 2 2 comparison shows a signifi1 0 euro. hedgehog tree shrew 0 . 3 3 2 2 1 6 5 0 0 . 3 1 3 2 6 . 7 e 3 9 cant correlation between 1 1 bushbaby opossum 0 . 4 5 9 9 1 2 9 2 2 0 . 2 0 9 7 2 . 0 e 1 2 8 rates of neighboring genes 1 2 cow dog 0 . 2 5 3 2 16941 0 . 2 6 0 6 4.4e -261 (column 6). 1 3 cow cat 0 . 2 5 3 0 13355 0 . 2 6 2 6 1 .5e -209 1 4 dog mouse 0 . 3 5 5 0 1 6 5 2 2 0 . 2 1 5 2 2 . 4 e 1 7 2 1 5 cow mouse 0 . 3 6 4 6 1 7 3 4 0 0 . 2 1 5 2 6 . 5 e 1 8 1 1 6 h u m a n macaque 0 .0673 1 6 0 0 0 0 . 2 7 5 4 2 . 0 e 2 7 6 1 7 bat rat 0 . 3 6 2 7 5 9 3 8 0 . 1 9 9 5 2 . 2 e 5 4 1 8 macaque c h i m p 0 . 0 7 1 0 1 7 6 2 1 0 . 2 2 3 1 1.1 e 1 9 7 1 9 armadillo elephant 0 . 2 5 2 7 2 0 4 5 0 . 1 9 4 8 5 . 9 e 1 9 2 0 mouse squirrel 0 . 3 3 0 4 1 2 7 9 4 0 . 1 7 8 9 1 .4e-92 21 tenrec elephant 0 .2741 2 2 4 4 0 . 1 6 6 7 1 . 8 e 1 5 22 c o m m o n shrew tree shrew 0 . 3 4 4 2 2 1 2 4 0 .2503 i .oe-31 23 doc bat 0 . 2 4 5 9 1 3 6 6 9 0 . 3 5 2 7 < e 2 7 6 24 cow bat 0 . 2 5 7 9 1 4 1 7 4 0 . 3 3 9 8 < e 2 7 6 25 opossum platypus 0 . 4 9 9 2 9 7 8 6 0 .2701 3 . 3 e 1 6 3 f i g u r e 2: a u t o c o r r e l a t i o n o f n o r m a l i z e d s u b s t i t u t i o n r a t e s f o r p a i r w i s e a n a l y s e s f i g u r e 3: c a i v s . n o r m a l i z e d s u b s t i t u t i o n r a t e s f o r sensu stricto y e a s t s a n d n. crassa albicans a n d c. dubliensis 5 0 0 0 0 1 e + 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 e + 0 5 d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n g e n e s ( b p ) rates are not correlated along the genomes in figure 2a. analagous graphs were produced for all yeast species pairs, each indicating no autocorrelation along the genome, except for the c. dubli ensis/c. albicans a n d c. tropicalis/c. dubliensis comparisons. those pairs show that rates of neighboring genes are correlated up to 50 kb apart. f i g u r e 4: a u t o c o r r e l a t i o n o f n o r m a l i z e d s u b s t i t u t i o n r a t e s a t 4 f o l d d e g e n e r a t e s i t e s cai vs. z-score for n. crassa c o w a n d d o g a u t o c o r r e l a t i o n h u m a n a n d m a c a q u e a u t o c o r r e l a t i o n 1.2 5e+06 i e + 0 7 1.5e+07 0 5e+06 1e+07 d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n g e n e s ( b p ) autocorrelation for normalized substitution rates at 4-fold degenerate sites between cow and doc (left) and human and macaque (right). both graphs show correlation of rates for genes within wmb of each other. z-score these are graphs of cai vs. normalized substitution rates for sensu s t r i c t o y e a s t s (s. cerevisiae, s. bayanus, s. mikatae, s. paradoxus) (bottom) and n. crassa (top). in each graph, there is a large cluster of genes with lower cai values and substitution rates distributed around zero. each graph also contains a second group of genes with higher cai values and lower substitution rates, and such genes are l i k e l y to b e under codon usage selection. the sensu stricto y e a s t s have 727 genes that have cai values greater than 0.40 while n. crassa has 949 with cai values greater than 0.70, suggesting that more genes a r e under codon usage selection in n. crassa. the n. crassa codon usage table was used to calculate cai values in the top graph and the s. cerevisiae codon usage table was used to compute the cai values in the bottom graph. cai vs. z-score for sensu stricto yeast z-score f i g u r e 5: c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e w i d t h s o f t h e r a t e d i s t r i b u t i o n s m a m m a l s u n i f o r m n o n u n i f o r m y e a s t y e a s t the blue line at s = 1 shows the expected standard deviation for a normal distribution. the mammals have an average standard deviation of 2.056, indicating their bias toward both high and low rates. there are three yeast pairwise comparisons (c. dubliniensis/c. albicans, c. tropicalis/c. dubli n i e n sis, and n. crassa/c globosum) which have unusually wide rate distributions (see figure lc). for these comparisons, the average s is 1.825. the remaining 22 yeasts have a noticeably lower value of s (average s=7.32, rance = [1.021.40], consistent with their having m compositions of these species (see methods). the inference that there is no neutral mutational variation within these 22 yeast genomes is further supported by a neighboring gene analysis. for each pair of species, the pearson correlation was calculated for the rates of substitution of neighboring genes (see methods). these results are shown in table 1, with the 22 homogeneous genomes shown in black. there was no significant correlation for any of the species pairs made up of two members from these 22 genomes. the same results were obtained irrespective of which species in the pair was used to specify gene locations. more generally, an autocorrelation function <r x ^r(o)> was computed, where r(o) is the normalized substitution rate of a gene and r 1 ^ is the normalized substitution rate of a gene that is x base pairs downstream of the first gene.x x the rates are normalized around r = 0 so we would expect < r ( o ) r l 6 > ~ o i f there are no regional rate biases (see methods). the autocorrelation reveals no significant correlation between neighboring genes at any finite separation (figure 2a). this shows that these yeast species do not demonstrate the heterogeneous mutation rates that have been observed in mammals. species pairs from two subclades [(c. albicans, c. dubliniensis, c. tropicalis) and (n. crassa, c. globosum)] were found to have distributions that did not fit the normal curve. these species have substitution rate distributions biased toward high and low rates (2.07 < s < 2.20) (figure ic). this phenomenon mirrors that which has been observed for human-mouse substitution rates (see also figure i a ) . x x l for the three candida species, the autocorrelation analysis shows that substitution rates are significantly correlated for genes within 50,000 base pairs of each other (figure 2b). this result implies that regional biases extend over scales encompassing over 20 genes, since in c. albicans the spacing between genes is 2300 b p . ™ 1 the neighboring gene pearson correlations were also significant (c. dubliniensis/c. albicans pearson correlation = 0.218, p = 6.4 x io"4 2 ; c. tropicalis/c. dubliniensis pearson correlation = 0.103, p = 9-8 x 10-10). snps within the c. albicans genome have been shown to be unevenly distributed along contigs, x x m in agreement with regional mutational biases. these regional effects are not due to a cpg dinucleotide effect. when we excluded cpg sites from the analysis, neighboring genes were still observed to have correlated substitution rates (pearson-correlation = 0.1096, p < 10"^). these candida species translate cug as serine instead of the usual leucine, and it might be hypothesized that this is relevant to the rate inferences.xx1v however, ignoring these codons does not significantly diminish the correlation (c. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 08 dubliniensis/c. albicans pearson correlation = 0.208, p = 10" *7). like the candida species, the species n. crassa and c. globosum have a rate distribution that is wider than the normal gaussian. however, there is no significant rate correlation (pearson correlation = -0.0085, p = 0-6757) between neighboring genes, and the autocorrelation plot appears nearly identical to those of the yeast with uniform rates. these seemingly contradictory results suggest that the wide distribution of rates (s = 2.07) is due to pressures on individual genes, rather than regional effects. we hypothesized that the large s without apparent regional correlation could be related to increased selection on the silent sites of n. crassa and c. globosum genes. such selection could cause some genes to have more extreme conservation, broadening the rate distribution. to test this, we considered the codon usage bias in these species, which is the best understood type of silent site selection in yeasts. our results indicate that codon usage selection is a stronger effect in n. crassa and c. globosum genomes than in sensu stricto yeasts. cai values were calculated for each of n. crassa and s. cerevisiae based on their respective codon biases (figure 3). n. crassa genes generally have higher cai values (median 0.63) than s. cerevisiae genes (median 0.14). in each of the genomes, there is one main cluster of genes having z-scores distributed around zero and low cai values. then there is another group having negative z-scores and high cai, and this group is presumably under codon usage selection. n. crassa appears to have more genes i n the group under codon usage selection (949 genes above cai = 0.7) than s. cerevisiae (121 genes above cai = 0.4). this suggests that codon usage selection affects more genes in n. crassa/ c. globosum, and could be responsible for the large s in these genomes. m a m m a l s al l 20 mammalian species appear to have heterogeneous mutation patterns, as evidenced by their wide rate distributions (1.80 < s < 2.23) (figures ia and 5). the pearson correlations (table 2) and autocorrelations of nearby genes (figure 4) for each pair-wise mammalian comparison are all significant. for example, in the cow/human comparison, the autocorrelation graph suggests mutational blocks along each chromosome as large as 10mb, similar to the length scale that has previously been observed in mouse and human. the regional variations are also apparent from correlation analysis of ancestral repeats, another largely neutral scattered throughout the genome. x x v we analyzed the 18-way vertebrate multi-species alignments from ucsc to obtain table 3: c o r r e l a t i o n o f s u b s t i t u t i o n a l r a t e s in n e i g h b o r i n g a n c i e n t r e p e a t s n u m b e r p e a r s o n s p e c i e s 1 s p e c i e s 2 o f r e p e a t s c o r r e l a t i o n p v a l 5 0 8 1 4 2 6 0 . 3 2 1 9 2 < e 2 7 6 1 3 7 8 6 9 9 0 . 1 8 8 2 9 < e 2 7 6 elephant 2 4 8 5 7 7 0 . 1 2 1 5 8 < e 2 7 6 2 3 1 2 8 3 0 . 1 2 9 2 < e 2 7 6 m e a s u r i n g t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f r e g i o n a l m u t a t i o n r a t e s in all four mammalian pairs considered (human-macaque), (doc-cow), (elephant-tenrec), and (rat-mouse), the correlations were e x t r e m e l y significant (<1(t^^). this supports the widespread heterogeneity of mutation rates in mammalian genomes. 48 a stringent set of ancestral repeats aligned orthologously across the species pairs (human, macaque), (mouse, rat), (elephant, tenrec), and (dog, cow). we observed that an ancestral repeat's substitution rate is significantly correlated with that of the neighboring ancestral repeat along the genome, for each of the species pairs (table 3). in each case the significance of the correlation was at the l imi t of computational precision (p < 10 • 2 76). the wide distribution of ancestral repeat normalized rates mimics those in figures ia and ic, with standard deviations ranging from 1.41 (elephant-tenrec) to 1.96 (human-macaque). 1n s e c t s the yeast species we have studied are at phylogenetic distances that are generally larger than those for the mammalian species. in principle, it is more difficult to measure regional variations when inferring rates from more distantly related species. this is because as species approach saturated divergence, all mutation rate inferences become increasingly uncertain. therefore one might be concerned that the greater divergence among the yeast species obscures regional effects. this hypothesis can be tested by using insect genomes, several of which are at phylogenetic divergences as large as that of the yeasts. in particular, d. melanogaster and d. pseudoobscura are at a separation generally larger than that of the mammalian species (four-fold divergence = 0.514) and comparable to that of most of the yeast pairs, as are the two mosquitoes a. aegypti and a. gambiae (4-fold divergence = 0.632). in contrast to the yeasts, flies and mosquitoes both show clear evidence of regional effects. d. melanogaster and d. pseudoobscura have neighboring genes with significant rate correlations at distances up to ~imb apart (pearson correlation = 0.1642, p = 9.06-59) and a wide rate distribution (s = 2.152). this effect is also observed in a. aegypti and a. gambiae (pearson correlation = 0.2099, p = 2.16-89). the width of the distribution of normalized rates is s = 1.804. each of these insect lineages demonstrate correlations which are more statistically significant than the most significant yeast comparison, c. albicans and c. dubliniensis, despite the fact that the two candida species have a lower divergence (0.289) than the insects. therefore, we can conclude that the predominant lack of correlations for the yeasts is not an artifact of their larger phylogenetic separations. c o n c l u s i o n s a n d d i s c u s s i o n based on our examination of 20 mammalian species, we conclude that all mammals have regional biases of neutral mutation rates. while the factors controlling these regional biases are still not well understood (e.g. base composition, local recombination rate, pattern of gene expression, gene density and dna repair domain) , x x v 1 our findings indicate that any valid explanations must occur throughout the mammalian phylogeny. in contrast, we find that almost all yeasts have a uniform neutral mutation rate. this conclusion is supported by a recent report that s. cerevisiae polymorphism rates are not correlated along the genome. x x v n the monophyletic group of the three candida species (c. albicans, c. dubliniensis, and c. tropicalis) is an exception to the other yeasts. both the distribution of rates and gene-togene correlations indicate that these species have heterogeneous mutation rates, a trait which had not previously been observed outside the mammals. previous studies of snp data also indicate hotspots of polymorphism, supporting the concept of regional biases. x x v m what characteristic sets these three yeasts apart from the others? one intriguing trait is meiosis. unlike other yeasts, sexual reproduction appears to be rare in c. albicans, c. dubliniensis, and c. tropicalis. sexual reproduction in c. albicans and c. dubliniensis was recentiy discovered under specialized laboratory conditions; however, no evidence for meiosis has been found. x x l x the sexual cycle of c. tropicalis has not been extensively explored, but meiosis has not been observed for it either. on the other hand, comparative genomic studies of the uniformly mutating c. glabrata support a complete sexual cycle, x x x and so-called "defects" in e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 the mating type locus of c. parapsiolosis suggest that it is unlikely to have mating similar to c. albicans and c. dubliniens is . 5 ™ thus, the candida species without evidence for meiosis are the ones with heterogeneous neutral mutation rates. how could a lack of meiosis influence regional mutation rates? one possible explanation is that the lack of meiosis prevents recombination between homologous chromosomes. i f recombination were to cause random fluctuations in chromosome length, this could have the effect of smoothing out regional mutational biases. a comparison of n. crassa and c. globosum also fails to give a normal distribution of substitution rate z-scores, but this is due to stronger codon usage selection, rather than regional mutation effects. this stronger codon usage selection is more apparent in the context of a mutational defense mechanism that n. crassa employs against selfish dna. the mechanism, known as repeat-induced point mutation (rip), protects against selfish dna by inducing g:c to a:t mutations during sexual reproduction and by methylating cytosine residues in duplicated sequences/™ 1 this process affects all duplicated regions except for ribosomal rna genes, even though these occur i n large copy numb e r . ™ 1 this observation is consistent with ribosomal genes being under strong codon usage selection and hence being more conserved at synonymous sites. rip drives other duplicated genes in n. crassa to unusually high substitution rates, which would explain the genes with high scores i n the rate distribution. the wide substitution rate distribution is likely due to rip in just n. crassa, as the phenomenon has not been observed in c. globosum. m e t h o d s o r t h o l o c g e n e r a t i o n for the yeast analysis, fasta files of coding regions and an ortholog tree listing predicted gene relationships between all 32 yeast species were obtained as described in tsong et a l . x x x l v mammalian and mosquito genes were obtained using the ensembl biomart (release 45) database. fly cds and peptide files were downloaded from flybase (version fb2oo6_oi). for the fly species, the amino acid sequences were run through blast and tagged as true orthologs i f they were each other's mutual best hit when applying blastall with a worst-case e-value cutoff of 10" 1 0 . c a l c u l a t i o n o f s u b s t i t u t i o n r a t e s our substitution rate calculations parallel those in previous w o r k s . x x x v x x x v l nucleotide sequences of orthologous coding regions were translated into amino acid residues, aligned using clustalw, and then back-translated to determine the aligned dna sequence. the four-fold synonymous sites—the third base i n a codon for which the amino acid is determined by the first two positions—were analyzed. i f a sequence contained fewer than 20 four-fold sites before occurrence of a stop codon, the entire sequence was discarded. to ensure equivalent sequence context, only four-fold sites for which both the preceding and succeeding base matched for the two species were considered. the raw neutral substitution rate was calculated based on the fraction of observed differences at silent sites within a gene. individual gene rates were then normalized i n order to correct for the finite-size of each gene (table 1 & 2), and this new rate was defined to be r=(p-<p>)/s(n), where p is the observed four-fold substitution rate for the gene i n question and <p> is the average substitution rate for all ortholog pairs for the two species in question. s(n) was defined to be the expected standard deviation for a gene with n independent four-fold sites, i.e. s(n) = (<p>(i<p>) /n) 1 / 2 . the distribution of the normalized substitution rates would be expected to follow a normal gaussian (f(x) = e x " x / 2 / v(2tt)) i f each four-fold site was mutating at the same rate and independently of each other. c o r r e l a t i o n c a l c u l a t i o n s we tested whether or not neighboring genes had similar substitution rates by calculating a pearson correlation between the rate of gene r(o) and the rate of gene r 1 ® which is located x base pairs downstream. gene pairs in orthologous blocks up to the 35th gene downstream from the starting gene were considered. blocks were determined by m e a s u r i n g t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f r e g i o n a l m u t a t i o n r a t e s genes located on the same chromosome (scaffolds were used when chromosomal data was not available). correlations were measured twice, in each case using location data from one of the species, except in cases where location data was available in only one species. for yeast, the data for each pairwise calculation was binned into 50 uniformly spaced groups covering x = {o, 300000} and averaged over each bin to determine the autocorrelation function <r(o)r x ^>. error bars were assigned based on the standard deviation of the values in each bin. for the larger genomes of mammals and insects, data was binned into 200 groups where x ranged from o to 15mb. c a i codonw (peden 1999) was downloaded and used to calculate the cai values for the yeast species. the input file for each species was a cds fasta file of all genes (predicted and known) and the background cai was set to saccharomyces cerevisiae for all sensu stricto. the emboss package was also downloaded locally. this includes codon usage tables for a number of species including n. crassa.xxxvn this table was used to calculate the cai for the genes in n. crassa. e n d n o t e s i . baer 2007 i i . chuang 2004 i i i . lercher 2001 vi . liu 2006 v. malcom 2003 vi . matassi 1999 v i i . wolfe 1989 v i i i . chin 2005 ix. pheasant 2007 x. hardison 2003 xi . chuang 2004 xi i . baer 2007 xi i i . chamary 2006 xiv. fitzpatrick 2006 xv. murphy 2007 xvi. nikolaev 2007 xvii . chuang 2004 xvii i . chin 2005 xix. ibid. xx. ibid. xxi. chuang 2004 xxii. m i 2007 xxii i . lott 2005 xxiv. yokogawa 1992 xxv. lunter 2006 xxvi. baer 2007 xxvh. ruderfe 2006 xxviii. jones 2004 xxix. pujol 2004 xxx. wong 2003 xxxi. logue 2005 xxxii. selke 1990 xxxiii. vyas 2005 xxxiv. tsong 2006 xxxv. chuang 2004 xxxvi. chin 2005 xxxvii. ikemura 1985 references baer, c. f., miyamoto, m . m . & denver, d. r. mutation rate variation i n multicellular eukaryotes: causes and consequences. nat rev genet 8, 619-31 (2007). chamary, j. v., parmley, j. l. & hurst, l. d. hearing silence: non-neutral evolution at synonymous sites i n mammals. nat rev genet 7, 98-108 (2006). chin, c. s., chuang, j. h . & li, h . genome-wide regulatory complexity i n yeast promoters: separation of functionally conserved and neutral sequence. genome res 15, 205-13 (2005). chuang, j. h . & li, h . functional bias and spatial organization of genes i n mutational hot and cold regions i n the human genome. plos biol 2, e29 (2004). fitzpatrick, d., logue, m . , stajich, j. & butler, g. a fungal phylogeny based on 42 complete genomes derived from supertree and combined gene analysis. bmc evolutionary biology 6, 99 (2006). hardison, r. c. et al. covariation in frequencies of substitution, deletion, transposition, and recombination during eutherian evolution. genome res 13, 13-26 (2003). ikemura, t. codon usage and trna content in unicellular and multicellular organisms. mol biol evol 2,13-34 (1985). jones, t. et al. the diploid genome sequence of candida albicans. proceedings of the national academy of sciences 101, 7329-7334 (2004). lercher, m . j., williams, e. j. & hurst, l. d. local similarity in evolutionary rates extends over whole chromosomes in humanrodent and mouse-rat comparisons: implications for e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 08 understanding the mechanistic basis of the male mutation bias. mol biol evol 18, 2032-9 (2001). liu, g. e., matukumalli , l. k., sonstegard, t. s., shade, l. l. & van tassell, c. p. genomic divergences among cattle, dog and human estimated from large-scale alignments of genomic sequences. bmc genomics 7,140 (2006). logue, m . e., wong, s., wolfe, k. h . & butler, g. a genome sequence survey shows that the pathogenic yeast candida parapsilosis has a defective mtlai allele at its mating type locus. eukaryot cell 4, 1009-17 (2005). lott, t. j., fundyga, r. e., kuykendall, r. j. & arnold, j. the human commensal yeast, candida albicans, has an ancient origin. fungal genet biol 42, 444-51 (2005). lunter, g., ponting, c. p. & hein, j. genome-wide identification of human functional dna using a neutral indel model. plos comput biol 2, e5 (2006). malcom, c. m . , wyckoff, g. j. & lahn, b. t. genie mutation rates i n mammals: local similarity, chromosomal heterogeneity, and x-versus-autosome disparity. mol biol evol 20, 1633-41 (2003) . matassi, g., sharp, p. m . & gautier, c. chromosomal location effects on gene sequence evolution in mammals. curr biol 9, 786-91 (1999). mit, b. i . o. h . a. (2007). murphy, w. j., pringle, t. h . , crider, t. a., springer, m . s. & miller, w using genomic data to unravel the root of the placental mammal phylogeny. genome res 17, 413-21 (2007). nikolaev, s. et al. early history of mammals is elucidated with the encode multiple species sequencing data. plos genet 3, e2 (2007). pheasant, m . & mattick, j. s. raising the estimate of functional human sequences. genome res. 17,1245-1253 (2007). pujol, c. et al. the closely related species candida albicans and candida dubliniensis can mate. eukaryot cell 3, 1015-27 (2004) . ruderfer, d. m . , pratt, s. c , seidel, h . s. & kruglyak, l. population genomic analysis of outcrossing and recombination i n yeast. nat genet 38, 1077-81 (2006). selker, e. u . premeiotic instability of repeated sequences in neurospora crassa. a n n u rev genet 24, 579-613 (1990). tsong, a. e., tuch, b. b., li, h . & johnson, a. d. evolution of alternative transcriptional circuits wi th identical logic. nature 443, 415 (2006). vyas, m . & kasbekar, d. p. collateral damage: spread of repeatinduced point mutation from a duplicated dna sequence into an adjoining single-copy gene i n neurospora crassa. j biosci 30, 15-20 (2005). wolfe, k. h . , sharp, p. m . & li, w. h . mutation rates differ among regions of the mammalian genome. nature 337, 283-5 (1989). wong, s., fares, m . a., zimmerman, w., butler, g. & wolfe, k .h . evidence from comparative genomics for a complete sexual cycle in the 'asexual' pathogenic yeast candida glabrata. genome biol 4, rio (2003). yokogawa, t. et al. serine trna complementary to the nonuniversal serine codon cug i n candida cylindracea: evolutionary implications. proc natl acad sci u s a 89, 7408-11 (1992). m e a s u r i n g t h e u n i v e r s a l i t y o f r e g i o n a l m u t a t i o n r a t e s elements spring 2012 volume 8 : : issue 1 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline is wednesday, april 4, 2012. all submissions can be sent to elements.submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover namibia kalahari desert quiver tree © barry lewis/in pictures/corbis periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 8, issue 1, spring 2012 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by the sheridan press, 450 fame avenue, hanover, pa 17331 copyright © 2012 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief r. brian tracz managing editor nick cochran-caggiano deputy editor ali mcdonald humanities john kinzer, senior editor eric tracz, senior editor sarah collier, editor ali mcdonald, editor patty owens, editor marie pellissier, editor emily simon, editor alison wawrzynek, editor ellen white, editor grace west, editor sciences adi ashok, senior editor chris sheridan, senior editor brandon bavier, editor s. evan cooper, editor corleone delaveris, editor frank a. direnno, editor christina han, editor joo young shin, editor alexander tingle, editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick what work ought a government do? much chatter in the public sphere portrays the u.s. government as a prodigal son to its father—the constitution—and as the leader of a declining democracy. many pundits tell a story of a revised american history about the ‘christian origin’ of the united states, while others pointlessly insist on a government that is ‘smaller’ or ‘larger’ than it presently is. but, as bill clinton wisely remarks, what the united states needs now is a government that works. in this moment of dysfunction, the citizens of the united states are well poised to learn from other liberal democracies around the world. in the present issue, two interesting and dissimilar situations—that of conflict in northern ireland and of democracy in namibia—have a lot to offer as instruction. northern ireland is torn between two different histories and identities. unionists claim a strong cultural and political tie to the united kingdom, while nationalists want northern ireland unified with the rest of the ireland. though violence has since abated in the region, the governance of northern ireland remains no less challenging. on the other hand, namibia has only recently, in 1990, gained independence from south africa. in its new era, namibia has shaped into a democracy that maintains a separation of powers into executive, judicial, and legislative branches, much like the united states. unlike the united states, however, namibia has a single prominent political party that has led it through a steady span of growth, an interesting contrast to the two-party system in the united states and, perhaps, a downright puzzlement to those americans seeking a third strong political power for the upcoming election year. the image on this cover of elements shows the quiver tree aloe dichotoma in namibia’s quiver tree forest, the world’s only spontaneously grown quiver forest, just south of the small town keetmanshoop. especially abundant in namibia, this ‘tree’ (actually an aloe shrub) can grow to thirty feet even in arid conditions. the quiver tree forest serves as a kind reminder of every government’s responsibility to the land that it rules. aloe dichotoma itself is a threatened species, listed as “vulnerable” by the international union for conservation of nature, a result of human intrusion that affects inhabitants of the forest, great and small alike. of the small ones, lichens—fungi that are symbiotic with photosynthetic partners—are dynamic indicators of the overall health of tropical environments, writes jacob cravens in his article “lichen community diversity.” such broader-based diagnostic approach could bolster the understanding we have of our environment and the role we play in maintaining it. i am delighted to present this issue of elements, my final issue as editor-inchief. in the past four years, the staff of elements has developed the journal into a more mature publication. with the publication this year of the style & publication manual for elements, one of many advances, i am confident that the journal is poised to continue as one of boston college’s foremost forums for the exchange of insight. sincerely, r. brian tracz editor-in-chief editor’s note contents rethinking democracy: an unexpected model for a successful africa christopher evren exploring the future of african democracy by uncovering the untouted success of representative government in namibia. lichen community diversity: a bioindicator of air pollution in the tropics jacob cravens probing the detrimental effects of air pollution on tropical lichen diversity. communities in conflict: the politics of urban housing in northern ireland, 1967-1975 christopher fitzpatrick revealing the systematic segregation of north irish unionists and nationalists that fostered protestant social superiority. the easter rising: a study of legitimacy and enduring legacy jordan dorney critiquing the effectiveness of the easter rising in provoking advancement for irish politics and society. racial tension in othello: intimations of literary and societal prejudice neil patch investigating the function of race in othello and late renaissance venice, downplaying its oft-cited role in this classic shakespearean drama. knight of faith: between saying and doing sam kent articulating a linguistic division between ethical and super-ethical actions in a close reading of søren kierkegaard’s fear and trembling. the emergence of fatherhood: the reversal of parental roles for a new age trish clasen elucidating the expanded demestic role of fathers and the resulting critiques of the “fatherhood” concept by the public. author biographies list of artwork 9 15 23 37 69 63 53 92 94 defusing congressional gridlock: reaganomics v. the 97th congress alexander hoffarth appraising the reagan legislative style that capitalizes on the implicit powers of the presidency to execute the reagan agenda. 47 venice and the mind: a psychoanalytic essay on thomas mann’s death in venice alexandra francois analyzing the many minds at work in the classic novella by thomas mann. 81 perspectives6 namibia rising by adi ashok sub-saharan africa has had a particularly tumultuous political history involving colonialism, genocides, and coups. comprised largely of developing nations with rich cultural histories and a variety of natural resources, it has been influenced by significant foreign investment by counties such as china, the united states of america, and russia. as a result, the political development of countries in the region provides interesting case studies for international affairs. some countries, such as sudan, have had a very tumultuous development marred by intense internecine conflicts. others such as zimbabwe have struggled more with interference from other nations. namibia is a particularly interesting case study because of its uniquely representative government. in 1920 after world war i, the league of nations made it a mandated country to south africa, which in theory was supposed to supervise its healthy political and economic development.1 however, south africa imposed its legal codes on namibia and, following 1948, subjected it to apartheid policies. even after the south west africa people’s organization (swapo) was recognized as the representative party of the people in 1973 by the united nations, south africa continued to impose politically oppressive policies that largely stagnated that namibian economy. after an intense, violent struggle for independence, which was intimately linked with south africa’s anti-apartheid movement, namibia gained independence from south africa in 1990.2 since then, despite having a relatively small population, namibia has experienced economic growth, albeit with a high unemployment rate. nonetheless, it continues to suffer from major infrastructure issues that exacerbate the aids epidemic. approximately 13.1% of individuals between the ages of 15 and 49 are hiv positive.3 despite conforming to a number of public health and economic models, however, its political development does not easily dovetail with the ideology that indicates that political consolidation is required in order for a country to have a representative political system. the unique development of namibia’s political system is therefore worth analysis because it demonstrates that a representative political infrastructure does not necessarily have to conform to the framework of western, consolidated democracies. 1. “history of namibia—namibia under south african government.” namibia under south african government. web. 07 jan. 2012. <http://www.namib.info/namibia/uk/history/namibia_under_south_africa/index.php>. 2. “history of namibia—the independence.” the independence. web. 07 jan. 2012. <http://www.namib.info/namibia/uk/history/independence/index.php>. 3. “sub-saharan africa hiv/aids statistics.” avert: international hiv/aids charity. web. 4 jan. 2012. <http://www.avert.org/africa-hiv-aids-statistics.htm>. death in venice: many minds by juliette san fillipo gustav von aschenbach, the protagonist of thomas mann’s novella death in venice, is likened to a “closed, tight fist” when a colleague attempts to describe how he has always lived. this “shrewd observer” of aschenbach contrasts this gesture with “his open hand [dangling] at ease from the armrest of [a] chair.”1 the narrator of mann’s novella agrees that aschenbach has never lived like this—loose and at ease. as alexandra francois claims in her article “the duality of venice & the human mind: an exploration of thomas mann’s death in venice through the lens of psychoanalytic criticism,” his clenched personality is evidence of a resolutely disciplined demeanor, as well as his inherent apollonian traits of form, order and reason.2 yet the comparison of the “closed fist” to aschenbach also elucidates that the protagonist is hiding something in death in venice; his closed fist is not only an attempt towards the apollonian ideal, but also a cache for his dionysian urges, pressed into his palm and repressed from society. aschenbach is overly concerned with aesthetics, or more specifically his reputation and exterior image, so he stashes away his darker, chaotic, sensual side into his hidden mind—and to his observers, the locus beneath the fist. this seemingly simple gesture, mentioned in the very beginning of mann’s novella, produces a profound metaphor in which the most important theme of his work—duality—is at work in the most imminent and minute language. francois’ article, “venice and the mind: a psychoanalytic essay on thomas mann’s death in venice,” takes this prominent theme and specifically applies it to the psychoanalysis of both the protagonist of the novella and the novella’s author himself, while citing pivotal figures in the field such as sigmund freud and friedrich nietzsche who influenced mann. despite the specialized focus of the article, francois’ piece reminds readers of the inevitable duality of interpretation that lies in all works of literature, and thus its transience between not only the real world and the fictional, but also among the disciplines of the humanities. thomas mann’s death in venice, as well as all works of literature, can always be examined in multiple ways. francois notes that mann writes, “is form not two-faced?”3 is death in venice therefore a story about aschenbach or mann himself? is he the manifestation of the mythical apollo, or dionysus? is death in venice a story about the death of aschenbach, or a story about the paradoxical city of venice? the novella may be interpreted from many angles, but francois chooses to place mann’s arguably autobiographical work into the context of historical psychoanalysis and the evolution of its criticism. francois’s approach is to first introduce readers into the origins of psychoanalytic criticism, which invariably link with the ideas of sigmund freud, the father of modern psychology. the author is apt to point out that early on freud gravitated towards the works of writers and poets, and helping him spawn the psychoanalytic approach, because he understood that literature could represent a manifestation of an artist’s psyche. this is important to note, as the consideration and criticism of literature in general center on the interpretation of a work’s symbols and reoccurring themes, in which authors would have “coded their true ideas and thoughts.” this approach to literature thus allows the reader to move literary interpretation beyond the discussion of the characters and onto the author as well. in other words, if literary conventions are not merely artistic, but the coded ideas and thoughts of the author, then novels and novellas may then be considered autobiographical in a sense. francois’ article gives an entirely new perspective with which the reader can consider the psychology of death in venice: the interpretation of the text takes on considerable complexity when the psyche of not only aschenbach but also the psyche of mann is analyzed. francois does so in her article by applying the psychology and philosophy of mann’s contemporaries to the dualistic themes present in death in venice. the author draws from friedrich nietzsche’s theory of man’s internal opposing forces of apollo and dionysus from greek mythology, as well as sigmund freud’s theories of internal repression and outward consciousness. conflicting elements are intrinsic to the city of venice itself, as it is made of both land and water, of both form and formlessness. venice thus becomes the perfect setting to highlight the dual nature of the protagonist: he conforms to the german ideal of academia and finds fame as an eloquent, educational writer, yet remains a tainted being in his proclivity for pedophilia and his inability to be truthful in both his art and his life. outwardly, he is apollonian, but towards the end of the novella his dionysian impulses pierce through his conscious; aschenbach’s repressed thoughts and inclinations ultimately become agents of his disintegration, once he has given himself away from rigidity and reason. in the end of the story, aschenbach decides not to leave venice, and spends his final moments in a reverie where tadzio, the young boy of his passionate obsession, beckons him into the ocean. in this final moment, francois’ psychoanalytic exploration is duly exemplified; the story meaningfully concludes with not only aschenbach’s succumbing to the dionysian water but also his transition into a dream-like state of consciousness, where the licentiousness of his inner thoughts become his reality. without psychoanalysis, this ending scene lacks the complexity it so deserves and that francois so delivers. the author’s ability to trace elements of both nietzsche’s philosophy and freud’s psychology throughout events in the plot and in character development pens death in venice as not only a novella but also a study in psychology. the dichotomies present in mann’s text now escape the mere labels of literary themes or motifs, and rather prove to be inextricable from the important human theories of freud and nietzsche. in this way, francois’ article takes our understanding of literature moves it across a greater breadth of the humanities, incorporating historical psychology as well as philosophy into the arsenal of close textual and contextual analysis. 1. thomas mann. death in venice. ed. stanley applebaum. new york: dover, 1995. 2. mann (5) 3. mann (32) teleology by r. brian tracz the word teleology comes from the greek word telos, which means “end.” astrophysicists use telescopes, biologists have surely heard of telomeres, and many a quarterback has telegraphed a pass (teleis also related to telo-).1 since the eighteenth century, teleology has become a technical philosophical term relating to the study of ends, goals, and purposes in nature. in the ancient world, however, it had an everyday, non-technical usage that extended into philosophical discourse. in his phaedo and republic, plato famously argues that separable “forms” (which translates the greek word eidos, simply meaning “look”) are bound together by their telos, their end.2 for instance, “good” is an indivisible and perfect form which is only thinkable if we understand it as a “goal” that a variety of actions, persons, and societies have. aristotle continued the platonic tradition, arguing for four different causes (or “sources”), one of which was telos—the famous final cause.3 without such a telos, aristotle argues, the very regularity of scientific knowing—knowledge in the highest sense—is not possible, for one would not understand for what benefit a given process, like the growth of teeth, occurred in nature. of course, the existence of telos is regularly denied today and often considered intrinsically non-scientific and supernatural. for example, some evolutionary theorists, like richard dawkins, interpret the work of charles darwin as discrediting the use of teleological explanation in biology. as it is often argued, most of the physical sciences are content perspectives 6 7 with efficient causes, the kind of ‘billiard-ball’ causality to which we are accustomed in scientific explanation, which in turn explains away any appeal to telos. though there has been a great resurgence in the use of teleological explanation within recent philosophy of biology and philosophy of mind,4 the term is still met with a degree of suspicion. in eighteenth and nineteenth century germany, there was a resurgence of teleology thinking that began with immanuel kant’s critique of judgment and was continued through georg wilhelm friedrich hegel in phenomenology of spirit. in his phenomenology, hegel associates sittlichkeit, an ethical and customary order, with a type of telos, but this time the “end” involved is a kind of societal progression of creativity. society, in a way, participates in an essentially human “spirit,” the members of society are able to see this socially-constituted spirit as an ethical reflection of themselves. it is this web of societal mores that is “suspended” in søren kierkegaard’s “teleological suspension of the ethical,” a philosophical move not unlike martin luther’s relegation of tradition in deference to personal devotion to a higher telos, a higher end.5 i would suggest that the outcome of kierkegaard’s theological move amounts not to a minimization of the ethical sphere but to an inflation of it to include our non-cognitive stances toward the world, in addition to a personal, though universal, religious sense.6 1. douglas harper, “tele-,” online etymology dictionary, 2012, http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tele-&allowed_in_frame=0. 2. see republic, chapters vi and vii, and phaedo, 98-9. 3. see physics ii 3 and metaphysics v 2. for a helpful overview, see also andrea falcon, “aristotle on causality,” in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, ed. edward n. zalta, 2011st ed., 2011, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2011/entries/ aristotle-causality/. 4. e.g. evan thompson, mind in life: biology, phenomenology, and the sciences of mind (cambridge: harvard university press, 2007); ernst mayr, what makes biology unique?: considerations on the autonomy of a scientific discipline (new york: cambridge university press, 2004). 5. william mcdonald, “søren kierkegaard,” in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, ed. edward n. zalta, 2009th ed., 2009, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/ sum2009/entries/kierkegaard/. 6. for a contrary view, see avi sagi, “the suspension of the ethical and the religious meaning of ethics in kierkegaard’s thought,” international journal for philosophy of religion 32, no. 2 (october 1, 1992): 83-103. 8 the southwest african people’s organisation (swapo) has held power in namibia since the end of south african rule in 1990. during its years in power, it has not followed the ideal path towards a traditional democracy. despite this, popular representation in government is a real and powerful force that challenges accepted understandings of democratic governance. this article critically examines the recent development of democracy in namibia, highlighting comparisons of the namibian system with western consolidated democracies. rethinking democracy an unexpected model for a successful africa christopher evren theless, both parties preferred negotiation to conflict. as joshua forrest said, they engaged in “an impressive example of successful bargaining by opposing elites in a transitional democratic context.”2 yet between 1990 and 2004, the overall nature of nujoma’s rule led to a description of namibian statehood as, “patriarchal nationalism, where the people are presided over by the typical male head of state . . . constructed on a needs-driven democracy.”3 this patriarchal bend can be observed most notably in nujoma’s successful push to rewrite the constitution in 1999, allowing him to run for a third term. such policy unavoidably calls to mind the pattern of personal rule that has developed and persists throughout much of africa. other trends suggest namibia approached a model of politics akin to those states so-called “personal rulers.” data from 2000 suggesting that “alliance to the ruling party and the president translates into allegiance with institutions . . . [suggesting that] perception of whether or not institutions are performing well is influenced significantly by partisanship.”4 the coincidence of this and swapo’s history of majority support from the ovambo people (50% of namibia’s population)5 seems to comprise circumstances that would be conducive to an understanding of namibian politics as more typically neo-patrimonial, with democracy neither fully functional, nor shaping the structure of the state. as hans erik staby noted in 2007, corruption between 1990 and 2006 was prevalent, mostly due to widespread apathy . . . and the indifference with which such acts are regarded that continues to undermine the trustworthiness of government and generates serious doubts about the moral standards of the nation.6 in the face of these developments during swapo’s rule, there arose no realistic political alternative. as was noted in 1996, the opposition faces numerous obstacles that include, “inadequate human and financial capacity, and the failure to provide a real alternative.”7 in short, political parties, the bastion of any growing democracy, “fail[ed] to represent a viable alternative to the ruling party.”8 civil society also failed to provide a medium for the communication of popular goals and aspirations, often limited by a distinct lack of local funding. this financial reliance on external and international bodies meant namibian civil society organizations had to construct policy on non-national interests.9 in addition, a 2000 survey ranked namibia last among six african countries in terms of awareness of democracy. a summary of the report concluded with reference to namibia and nigeria, ‘the consolidation of democracy is a distant prospect in both these countries.10 these flaws suggest namibia was drifting towards a dysfunctional democracy plagued with neo-patrimonial corruption, and perhaps even a single-dominant party state in which swapo and its leaders would enhance their power. however, at the time of nujoma’s presidency, there were indicators that namibia was indeed on a path to its own unique form of legitimate representative government. foremost amongst these were the popularly supported, and constitutionally mandated, freedoms of political organization and press. while no opposition movement was able to seize the namibian populace, this was not due to repression by swapo. in the early years, they were weakened because, virtually all of which were constituted along tribal or ethnic lines. they could not stand the test of republican politics, and by virtue of their close client status with apartheid politics, were swept away.11 “traditional authorities in namibia, unlike in many other african countries, have, since independence, faced a steady decline in importance, power, and popular legitimacy.” the year 1989 marked the end of south african apartheid rule in namibia. the un supervised the transition to a representative democracy that saw revolutionary leader sam nujoma of the southwest african people’s organization of namibia (swapo) come to power as the first president of the new republic. this marked the first time namibia was popularly governed. subsequent developments have made namibia an interesting case study in the nature of african governance, challenging the assertion that consolidated democracy is the only true form of representative government and make. swapo, the dominant liberation movement, has remained in power since independence. it contains the majority of all legislatures and the two presidents that have governed namibia. in addition, no strong opposition movement has yet been able to establish itself in the public. these two phenomena immediately preclude namibia from being a consolidated democracy. this article will contend that the government nonetheless has become increasingly representative and has a demonstrated record of success in meeting the political and social needs of its people, while at the same time, strengthening the power of the state and reducing patrimonial and other corruptions that often plague african countries in search of development. upon assuming the presidency, choosing to avoid radical changes to the economic or social order of the namibian populace, sam nujoma abandoned swapo’s socialist ideology in favor of a pragmatic capitalist approach. in the very first election, there was a heartening precedent for the future of democracy. swapo, with 57% of the votes, had failed to get the two-thirds majority, while the democratic turnhale alliance (dta) only garnered 28% of the vote, which was insufficient to form a strong opposition.1 noneparliament building in the namibian capital windhoek 10 11 elements : : spring 2012 rethinking democracy mutenya. nujoma did everything in his power to assist his preferred candidate pohomba, dismissing hamutenya from his post of foreign minister and claiming he had sought to incite division within party ranks in the omaheke region.19 despite this, hamutenya garnered significant support within swapo, garnering in successive rounds 166 and 167 votes to phomoba’s 213 and 341.20 the internal challenge of pohomba by hamutenya and other swapo figures is a demonstration that representation of multiple interests is indeed strong within swapo, suggesting, in light of the role of the regional councils, that this single party has found a way to incorporate the responsibilities that traditionally are met by a multi-party democracy. in addition, namibia’s electoral practices are an example of liberty in a manner unlike many other african nations. since 2004, all of its monitored elections have proven to be free and fair by both international groups and the election commission of namibia, although some smaller opposition groups nonetheless have challenged these assertions through constitutional judicial means.21 in a single party state such as namibia, one would expect to see corruption facilitated by the concentration of power, and indeed this was previosuly the case. since pohomba’s election, however, this problem has been tackled quite successfully. after making a personal pledge against all forms of corruption and establishing an anti-corruption commission whose members and authority are drawn solely from the department of justice, corruption of many kinds has fallen dramatically. according to transparency international’s corruption perception index, only botswana has a higher regional ranking. additionally, a total of 19% of companies report non-specific official bribes, much lower than the 36% regional average.22 at the same time, development in terms of gdp has progressed steadily, and namibia ranks higher than all regional nations except botswana in terms of the human development index.23 the economic success has not been radical, as demonstrated by the country’s high gini coefficient and its limitations in industry due to small population size and market domination by the much larger south african economy24. nonetheless, it helps explain some of the popular satisfaction with swapo rule. a good but not outstanding example of development, namibia is more importantly a strong example—especially for those governed by former liberation movements—of how representation and legitimacy can be achieved in african nations by a government that closely resemble single-dominant party states. the country is also interesting for the paradox it presents: successful representational government within a state that does not conform to conventional concepts of democracy. it is a truism that to achieve democracy certain institutional foundations, like freedom of the press and elected legislative bodies, must be established. what is remarkable is that this same process can be undertaken outside of traditional centers of influence like political parties and the central government. while it would be rash to assert without considerably more analysis that the development of representative government in namibia could serve as a template for other developing african states, one could do worse than make it a point of departure for future discussions of the development of democracy in the region. endnotes 1. melber (15) 2. forrest (43) 3. melber (117) 4. keulder (259) 5. malan (10) 6. hopwood 7. namibia institute for democracy (87) 8. ibid. 9. keulder (243) 10. melber (21) 11. namibia institute for democracy (11) 12. namibia institute for democracy (18) 13. namibia institute for democracy (3) 14. namibia institute for democracy (18) 15. forrest (135) 16. namibia institute for democracy (39) 17. fox 18. forrest (305) 19. may 27, “tension grips swapo 20. may 31, “phomoba the winner” 21. december 17, “parties file election case,” subsequently, in the instances it did not let opposition grow and develop entirely on its own, “swapo . . . coopted a good number of its personalities into senior government position.”12 the political scene was characterized as, “a culture of tolerance and healthy, constructive debate taking root.”13 similar positive construction is also observed in the steps taken to reinforce the primacy of elected governance on non-national levels. traditional authorities in namibia, unlike in many other african countries, have, since independence, faced a steady decline in importance, power, and popular legitimacy. two early namibian policies lay the groundwork for this development: the traditional authorities act and the creation of regional councils. together, these established a viable alternative for regional and local governments. the regional councils have been among the most reliable indicators of political trends in namibia. dr. joseph diescho, political analyst for the namibia institute for democracy, commented that “regional elections are important mainly as a start toward true participatory democracy.” he also noted, however, that “the rules of the game are still unclear.”14 in the early 1990’s, it appeared that the councils would be subject to the central government, specifically to the ministry of regional government and housing, and were to be used as a tool for swapo to combat traditional authority.15 this was important in light of the traditional authorities act, which, “casts these [traditional] institutions into a subordinate relationship to elected bodies and confines their functions and powers to that of the supervision, administration, and observance of customary law by the members of the traditional community, the promotion, protection, and preservation of culture, tradition, and traditional values of that community.”16 however, over time, these councils would evolve into an important building block for the future development of democratic participation. joshua forrest, borrowing from political theorist johnathan fox’s observations on latin america, agrees that in the namibian case, “the degree of democratization of local government affects the prospects of national democratic governance.”17 after establishing their own bank accounts, free from government control, and increasing ties to local leaders and citizens at a grassroots levels, these councils came to be trusted by the local populace, unlike other institutional equivalents in kenya, niger, and botswana.18 because of this, the regional governors are able introduce local and regional concerns into national legislation in a representative fashion, regardless of identified party membership (24 of 26 are swapo members). electoral politics, similar to regional and legislative patterns, demonstrate positive developments in a free and fair system. after his third term, while sam nujoma considered another rewrite of the constitution to allow him to run again, there was little or no impetus for this in his party, and so power would transition to a new leader. hifikepunye pohamba had been groomed by nujoma as a future successor, and in the machinations of a liberation political party, one would expect the leader’s selected successor to rise to popular success. swapo, however, proved to be most unlike other african parties in the run up to the 2004 election. rather than following a politically simpler path, it held internal elections to select its presidential candidate in which pohomba was challenged by hidipo hahifikepunye pohamba, president of namibia 12 13 elements : : spring 2012 rethinking democracy 22. enterprise surveys, namibia, world bank group 23. human development index, united nations development programme (undp) 24. “independent evaluation of the undp country programme document (2006-2010)” references december 17, “parties file election case,” the namibian, windhoek, 2004 enterprise surveys, namibia, the world bank group forrest, joshua bernard, namibia’s post-apartheid regional institutions: the founding year, university of rochester press, 1998 fox, johnathan, “latin america’s emerging local politics,” in journal of democracy, 5(2), 1994 hopwood, graham, tackling corruption: opinions on the way forward in namibia, namibia institute for democracy, windhoek, 2007 human development index, united nations development programme (undp) keulder, christiaan ed., state, society, and democracy: a reader in namibian politics, gamsburg macmillan publishers, windhoek, 2000 malan, johan,  die völker namibias (the peoples of namibia), windhoek, klaus hess, 1998 melber, henning, ed., re-examining liberation in namibia: political culture since independence, noridska afrikainstitutet, stockholm, 2003 namibia institute for democracy, building democracy: perceptions and performance of government and opposition in namibia, namibia institute for democracy, windhoek, 1996 may 27, “tension grips swapo,” the namibian, windhoek, 2004 may 31, “pohomba the winner,” the namibian, windhoek, 2004 “independent evaluation of the undp country programme document (2006-2010),” undp; namibia office, windhoek, 2009 14 elements : : spring 2012 lichens are used as bioindicators to monitor levels of air pollution in the temperate zone and may be useful in the tropics as well. this study investigated the possibility of using lichens as bioindicators for air pollution in the tropics. air pollution affects productivity, communities of organisms, and important biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. transects were performed to identify lichen community diversity at different sites exposed to low and high levels of pollution from local traffic in the monteverde area of costa rica. lichen communities at low pollution sites still had higher diversity than those in areas of high pollution due to greater species evenness at low pollution sites. these results suggest an effective method to assess air pollution in the tropics by monitoring lichen diversity. lichen community diversity a bioindicator of air pollution in the tropics jacob cravens this study will use lichens as a bioindicator of air pollution at estimated sites of high and low pollution from traffic in the monteverde area. species richness, abundance, and diversity will be examined at each site, as well as analysis of the presence and abundance of specific species. it is hypothesized that there will be a difference in species richness, abundance, and diversity between sites and that specific species of lichens can be used as bioindicators. depending on the results, lichens can be discredited as a bioindicator in the tropics or suggested for use in future studies assessing air pollution. methods study sites this study compared four sites, two high pollution sites and two low pollution sites (fig. 1). the first high pollution site was the finca san francisco in los llanos at 1250 meters above sea level (masl) (se). dust from the road was present throughout the forest as well as large amounts of dead wood. the second high pollution site was in a forest by a paved road near the town of cerro plano (cp) at 1380 masl. a stream was very close to this site. the first low pollution site was in the protected area valle escondido (ve) in cerro plano at 1350 masl. the second low pollution site was in the bajo del tigre (bt) sector of the bosque eterno de los niños 1380 masl. all four sites were characterized as secondary forest and premontane moist forest. traffic counts the numbers of cars using the roads near each site were counted. each counting session lasted an hour, and three counts were done for each site. counts were performed in the morning, the middle of the day, and in the afternoon. transects all transects were done at least 70 m from the forest edge. then, for a 150 m stretch of trail, transects of 10 m on both sides of the trail were done every 5 m for a total of 31 transects per site (fig. 2). different lichen species and their abundances present from 2m above the ground down were noted. pictures were taken and sent in for identification by a lichen expert. canopy cover canopy cover was estimated at each site using a densiometer. readings were taken every 5 m for the 150 m section of the trail used for transects. figure 3. the mean number of cars per hour at each site. the error bars represent one standard deviation above and below the mean. there were three car counts for each site. introduction air pollution currently degrades many of the world’s ecosystems. chemical compounds that enter the air generated from transportation, industry, and other anthropogenic sources can affect forest productivity, community dynamics, and biogeochemistry within a terrestrial ecosystem.1,2 biomass, a measure of forest productivity, is decreased when tree physiology, and growth, is negatively impacted by toxic chemicals in the air.3 community dynamics are altered when these chemicals affect the fitness of certain species by reducing their ability to acquire resources. in a grassland study, sulphur dioxide reduced a clover’s ability to obtain nutrients, water, and radiant resources, while other more resistant grassland plant species increased in abundance.4 in biogeochemical cycles, air pollution causes acidification of soil that results in nutrient leaching in terrestrial ecosystems.5 many terrestrial ecosystems are affected by point source pollution. areas of high pollution, traffic, and factories negatively impact the biological diversity of the local area by lowering species richness, abundance, and evenness. for example, due to sulphur dioxide pollution near an iron sintering plant in ontario, canada, the surrounding area had low plant species richness, abundance, and evenness with only 0-1 species compared to 20-40 species in similar undisturbed areas.6 air pollution can negatively affect many organisms. particularly, some of the more sensitive are used as bioindicators for air pollution. pine needles can accumulate contaminants from the air, so scientists can harvest pine needles and analyze them for contaminants to monitor air quality.7 trifolium repens undergoes dna damage when exposed to air pollution, so samples of trifolium repens can be examined for dna damage to indicate air pollution as well.8 lichens have also been used as bioindicators for air pollution throughout much of the world.9 an important characteristic of lichen is that it absorbs all of its nutrients from the air, which makes it sensitive to air pollution.10 changes in terms of lichen communities have been shown to correlate with changes in atmospheric pollution.11 many of the studies using lichen as bioindicators have been done in north america and europe. in the tropics, however, there has been little research done on lichen species and communities, so the effectiveness of using lichen as a bioindicator in the tropics still remains an important question to be answered.12 figure 1. map of the four study sites used for sampling. se=santa elena; cp=cerro plano; ve= valle escondido; bt=bajo del tigre. high pollution sites (se, cp) are circled, and low pollution (ve, bt) sites are boxed. figure 2. illustration of transects performed at each site. transects were done 10m on each side of the trail every 5m for 150m for a total of 31 transects. 16 17 elements : : spring 2012 lichen community diversity the cp site had the most traffic (mean= 79 cars/hr), followed by the se site (mean=68 cars/hr). both the ve and bt sites had equal numbers of cars (mean=1 car/hr). post hoc analyses showed significant differences between the high and low traffic sites (tukey-kramer, p<0.05) canopy cover there was no significant difference between canopy cover between sites (one way anova, f3, 11=0.8, p=0.52) with all sites having a mean of approximately 98% canopy coverage. lichen diversity bt (n=921) had the greatest abundance of lichen followed by cp (n=649), ve (n=580), and se (n=491;table 1). cryptothecia sp. 1 and cryptothecia sp. 2 were the dominant lichen species at all sites. the buellia sp., family thelotremataceae, and leptogium sp. were only present in high abundances at low pollution sites (table 1). se had the highest number of observed species (s=13) followed by bt (s=12), ve (s=12), and cp (s=11; fig. 5a). se also had the highest estimated number of species (ace, s=18.54) followed by ve (ace, s=16.09), bt (ace, s=12.52), and cp (ace, s=11.4; fig. 5b). bt and ve were the sites with the highest similarity between species (0.917) while se and cp were the sites with the lowest similarity (0.667)(table 2). there were no significant differences in diversity between bt and ve, and se and cp sites. there were, however, significant differences between high pollution sites and low pollution sites. bt had significantly higher diversity than cp (shannon-weiner index; for bt: h’=1.88; for cp: h’= 1.37; t=10.21; p<0.001) and se (shannon-weiner index; for bt: h’=1.88; for se: h’=1.27; t=10.57; p<0.001). ve had significantly higher diversity than cp (shannonweiner index; for ve: h’=1.84; for cp: h’=1.37; t=8.38; p<0.001) and se (shannon-weiner index; for ve: h’=1.84; for se: h’=1.27; t=9.05; p<0.001). while se may have had the greatest estimated number of species, the low pollution sites had a greater degree of evenness of species in their communities making them more diverse (fig. 6). discussion air pollution seemed to affect lichen diversity more than any other variable, and other studies have found similar results.16 there was significantly lower diversity of lichen in high pollution sites compared to low pollution sites. the buellia sp., family thelotremataceae, and leptogium sp. figure 4. (a) the mao tau species accumulation curves for each site showing expected species richness versus sampling effort (species observed per sampling effort, as measured by number of transects). (b) the abundance based coverage estimator (ace) estimates species richness for each site versus sampling effort (species observed per sampling effort, as measured by number of transects). statistics species accumulation curves were calculated for each site. mao-tau sample based rarefaction curves and abundance based coverage estimates (ace) were used, both using estimates software.13,14,15 the sorenson classic index was used to calculate species similarity between sites. a oneway anova test was used to compare traffic and canopy coverage between sites. the shannon-weiner index was used to calculate diversity at each site and a t-test was used to compare diversity between each pair of sites. results traffic there was a significant difference in traffic between sites (one way anova, f=28.5, df=3, p<0.001). the road near table 1. number of observed species of lichen at specific sites. species sites bajo del tigre valle escondido cerro plano santa elena family thelotremataceae 106 18 24 1 cryptothecia (sp. 1) 219 82 233 147 cryptothecia (sp. 2) 309 221 295 268 cryptothecia rubrocinta 23 11 5 0 leptogium sp. 58 107 32 18 heterodermia sp. 36 57 21 11 graphis sp. 16 11 5 3 buellia sp. 59 35 0 8 coccocarpia sp. 6 9 3 3 morpho a 82 27 24 26 morpho b 6 1 0 1 morpho c 0 0 0 1 morpho d 0 0 0 3 morpho e 0 0 2 0 morpo f 0 0 1 0 morpho g 1 0 0 0 morpho h 0 0 0 1 morpho i 0 1 0 0 total abundance 921 580 649 491 table 2. species similarity between sites using sorenson classic index sites bajo del tigre valle escondido cerro plano santa elena valle escondido 0.917 cerro plano 0.783 0.783 santa elena 0.800 0.800 0.667 18 19 elements : : spring 2012 lichen community diversity ity due to its proximity to a stream. humidity has been shown to increase lichen abundance.19 also, the majority of lichen seen in cp belonged to the few pollution tolerant species (cryptothecia sp.1, cryptothecia sp.2) making overall lichen diversity low. the low species similarity between high pollution sites might be due to the variables of dust and deadwood at santa elena and the increased humidity from the stream at cp. these factors may have created different communities of lichen at the sites. future research could look at the mechanisms of how certain tropical species of lichen are negatively affected by air pollution. this study suggests that buellia sp., family thelotremataceae, and leptogium sp. would be useful bioindicators since they were only present in high abundances at the low pollution sites. certain buellia species decrease in abundance with exposure to sulfur dioxide, one of the chemicals in vehicle emissions.20 other studies have found the family thelotremataceae to be useful as a bioindicator for any disturbed habitat, with its strong preference for primary to old growth secondary forest.21 many leptogium species have been found to be absent or in very low abundances in urban areas and present in high abundances in undisturbed forests.22 other future studies could investigate how some lichen species, cryptothecia sp.1 and cryptothecia sp. 2, are resistant to pollution. since tropical forests have high amounts of local topographical complexity, the fact that air pollution seems to affect lichen diversity more than any other factor may make it widely applicable as a bioindicator for air pollution throughout the tropics. with more forests being degraded by air pollution across the tropics, monitoring techniques that can be used in many locations and different environments are necessary. acknowledgements the author is deeply indebted to anjali kumar for all her advice and help throughout this entire study, and without whom this study would not have been possible. many thanks are also due to josé carlos calderón ulloa and gisella fernández estrada for their assistance in securing sites and equipment. the author is especially grateful to daniela lizano who helped with the identification of lichen species. thanks also go out to the la finca de san francisco de asis, valle escondido, and bajo del tigre for providing sites for this study. endnotes 1. crutzen 2. taylor 3. abrahams 4. taylor 5. johnson et al. 6. gordon et al. 7. romanic et al. 8. piraino et al. 9. conti 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. plata et al. 13. colwell et al. 14. chao et al. 15. colwell 16. giordani 17. moning et al. 18. sipman 19. frahm 20. gilbert 21. plata 22. joyan et al. references abrams, m. d. 2011. editorial: adaptations of forest ecosystems to air pollution and climate change. tree physiology. 31: 258-261 chao, a., and s.m. lee. 1992. estimating the number of classes via sample coverage. j. am. stat. assoc. 87: 210–217. were only present in high abundances at low pollution sites while cryptothecia sp.1 and cryptothecia sp. 2 were the dominant lichen species at all sites and were especially abundant at the high pollution sites. although it has been shown that air pollution negatively affects lichen diversity, some of the results suggest otherwise. the se high pollution site had the highest species richness out of all sites. the cp high pollution site had a greater abundance of lichens than the ve low pollution site. although the low pollution sites had high species similarity, the high pollution sites had fewer species in common than a comparison of low pollution and high pollution sites. these differences may be due to variability between sites. the se site may have had the highest number of species due to conditions that favor a greater number of species in less abundance. dead wood can increase lichen diversity and the dead wood present in the se site may have increased the number of species, but the air pollution could have prevented all but the few tolerant species (cryptothecia sp.1, cryptothecia sp.2) from increasing in abundance.17 cryptothecia species have been observed in areas of much higher pollution than used by this study, including the urban area of singapore.18 the high pollution cp site may have had a higher total abundance of lichens than the low pollution ve site due to the cp site having greater humidfigure 6. the relative abundance of species of lichen present at each site. 20 21 elements : : spring 2012 lichen community diversity conti, m. e. 2001. biological monitoring: lichens as bioindicators of air pollution assessment—a review. environmental pollution. 114: 471-492. colwell, r. k. 2005. estimates: statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. version 7.5. user’s guide and application published at: http://purl.oclc.org/estimates colwell, r. k., c. x. mao, and j. chang. 2004. interpolating, extrapolating, and comparing incidence-based species accumulation curves. ecology. 85: 2717-2727 crutzen, p.j. and m.o. andrea. 1990. biomass burning in the tropics: impact on atmsopheric chemistry and biogeochemical cycles. science. 250: 1669-1678 dyer, l.a. and d.k. letourneau.2007. determinants of lichen diversity in a rain forest understory. biotropica 39: 525-529 frahm, j.p. 2008. influence of regional humidity on the determination of air quality by lichens according to vdi guideline 3957 (13). gefahrstoffe reinhaltung der luft. 68: 251-256 gilbert, o. l. 1970. further studies of the effect of sulphur dioxide on lichens and bryophytes. new phytologist. 69: 605 627 giordani, p. 2006. is the diversity of epiphytic lichens a reliable indicator of air pollution? a case study from italy. environmental pollution. 146: 317-323 gordon, a.g., and e. gorham. 1963. ecological aspects of air pollution from an iron-sintering plant at wawa, ontario. canadian journal of botany. 41: 1063-1078 gordon, c. a. 1995. the use of a common epiphytic lichen as a bioindicator of atmospheric inputs to two venezuelan cloud forests. journal of tropical ecology. 11: 1-26. johnson, d. w., and d. e. todd. 1989. nutrient cycling in the forests of walker branch watershed: roles of uptake and leaching in soil change. journal of environmental quality. 19: 97-104 jovan, s. and b. mccune. 2005. air-quality bioindication in the greater central valley of californina with epiphytic macrolichen communities. ecological applications. 15: 1712-1726 kuki, k. n., m. a. olivia, e. g. pereira, a. c. costa, and j. cambraia. 2008. effects of simulated deposition of acid mist and iron ore particulate matter on photosynthesis and the generation of oxidative stress in schinus terebinthifolius radii and sophora tomentosa l. science of the total environment. 403: 207-214 larsen, r.s., j. b. bell, p.w. james, p.j. chimonides, f. j. rumsey, a. temper, and o. w. purvis. 2007. lichen and bryophyte distribution on oak in london in relation to air pollution and bark acidity. environmental pollution 146: 332-340 moning, c., s. werth, f. dziock, c. bässler, j. bradtka, t. hothorn, and j. müller. 2009. lichen diversity in temperate montane forests is influenced by forest structure more than climate. forest ecology and management. 258: 745-751 paoletti, e., m. schaub, r. matyssek, g. wieser, a. augustaitis, a. m. bastrup-birk, a. bytnerowicz, m. s. günthardt-goerg, g. müller-starck, and y. serengil . 2010. advances of air pollution science: from forest decline to multiple stress effects on forest ecosystem services. enviromental pollution. 158: 1986-1989 piraino, f., r. aina, l. palin, n. prato, s. sgorbati, a. santagostino, and s. citterio. 2006. air quality biomonitoring: assessment of air pollution genotoxicity in the province of novara (north italy) by using trifolium repens l. and molecular markers. sci total environ. 372: 350-359 plata, e. r. 2008. when family matters: an analysis of thelotremataceae ( lichenized ascomycota: ostropales) as bioindicators of ecological continuity in tropical rainforests. biodiversity and conservation. 17: 1319-1351 romanic, s.h. and b. krauthacker. 2007. are pine needles bioindicators of air pollution? comparison of organochlorine compound levels in pine needles and ambient air. arh hig rada toksikol. 58: 195-199 sipman, h. j. m. 2009. tropical urban lichens: observations from singapore. blumea. 54: 297-299 taylor, g.e., d. w. johnson, and c. p. anderson. 1994. air pollution and forest ecosystems: a regional to global perspective. ecological applications. 4: 662-689 22 elements : : spring 2012 at the height of the troubles, the ethnopolitical struggles in northern ireland, there was a variety of sociopolitical problems. at the forefront was a dire housing crisis. the politics of housing, particularly in ulster’s urban centers, played a major role in perpetuating discriminatory policy against the nationalist community. this fact has been significantly downplayed in much of the scholarly work on the topic. analyzing documents and journalism from the unionist and nationalist perspectives, as well as a critical consideration of later scholarship on the troubles, this article concludes that widespread discrimination did take place. while government attempts to remedy the situation made limited progress, the root causes of social injustice remained largely unresolved. communities in conflict the politics of urban housing in northern ireland, 1967-1975 christopher fitzpatrick 24 25 elements : : spring 2012 communities in conflict sociopolitical background in 1967, housing policy was administered by a network of largely autonomous local councils, which generally provided “very little slum clearance and redevelopment activity.”5 the only province-wide housing agency was the northern ireland housing trust (niht), which focused more on the “social role of housing” rather than “the provision of buildings and the technical aspects of housing.”6 the political authority of decentralized housing councils further diminished the role and efficacy of the niht. these councils—despite the existence of presumably fair systems of housing allotment—were able to shape urban communities to promote their own goals, often with discriminatory effect. many catholics in northern ireland were housed in ghettos, like the bogside in derry and the falls road neighborhood in belfast. the creation of segregated living quarters in the cities perpetuated inequality on a larger scale, particularly through voting manipulation and employment bias. for example, birrell and murie argue that while there may not have been a formalized and systematic policy of discrimination, “there are sufficient examples of building decisions being based on electoral calculation and of individuals receiving preferential treatment because of their politico-religious affiliations for the discriminatory element in policy to be undeniable.”7 in short, this refers to the unionist policy of gerrymandering—shaping electoral districts in a manner that allowed them to maintain control of government. in derry for example, in a particular neighborhood in which forty percent of residents were catholics, only twenty percent of new houses were allocated to catholics, suggesting efforts to limit nationalist electoral power.8 in november of 1968, mp edmund warnock admitted publicly that he had worked with other unionist politicians to fix voting districts in derry in favor or the protestant community, effectively proving the existence of urban gerrymandering.9 similar electoral boundary creation and religious segregation existed in belfast as well, enabling protestants to control elections and discourage civic participation among individuals in the catholic community. furthermore, the existence of catholic and protestant neighborhoods led to discriminatory employment practices. potential employers could in many cases recognize whether an applicant adhered to the catholic faith merely by his street address, creating great potential for prejudicial hiring practices. a 1969 survey published in the northern ireland community relations commission journal found that in long tower, a catholic neighborhood in derry, nearly forty percent of the inhabitants were unemployed.10 in the protestant fountain district, that figure dropped to a below five percent.11 belfast also played host to unemployment injustices. o’hearn notes that in the two major factories located in catholic neighborhoods of the city, “catholics numbered only a handful in the workforces,” with the remainder of the jobs reserved for the protestant majority.12 overall, these statistics suggest that while protestants could easily find work in catholic neighborhoods, the reverse did not hold true. this fact does not necessarily confirm a formally institutionalized discriminatory policy on the part of the ulster government, but it illustrates that discrimination took place to a large extent and that the politics of housing played a critical role in perpetuating social inequality. despite this evidence, not all scholars agree that sociopolitical discrimination took place in ulster’s cities beyond isolated cases. for example, hewitt claims that statistics supporting evidence of gerrymandering are skewed by “an ignorance of fertility differences between catholics and protestants.”13 he argues that former statistical analysis of catholic political representation relied on a measurement of total population rather than voting-age population, making catholics falsely seem underrepresented. if true, this reasoning would greatly undermine nationalist claims of unfair treatment; however, in hewitt’s data, an interesting pattern emerges upon consideration of only the voting-age population. over one-fourth of the districts he considered had unionist controlled councils but a catholic majority of the adult population.†14 by comparison, the reverse—a primarily catholic council governing a district in which protestants were the majority of the voting-age population— existed in only one-twelfth of the districts.15 this statistical analysis, while not disproving hewitt’s assertion that nationalist claims about gerrymandering were exaggerated, illustrates that such practices took place more often than he would suggest. in fairness to hewitt’s reasoning, other introduction since the time of english plantation, there existed a great divide between the catholic and protestant populations of northern ireland. due to a “siege mentality” felt among the protestant community, oppression of the catholic minority became a key facet of the region’s sociopolitical order. in the post-war years of the 20th century, this inequality still pervaded northern ireland’s society. in a 1967 letter to the editor of the irish times, charles clarke, a member of an oxford university debating society and resident of ulster, remarked that “the catholic of northern ireland . . . is not free to enter into the life of the community.”1 noting the lack of political opportunity for catholics, he further stated, “in parliament, catholics are found on one side of the house only, they have never been in the cabinet nor have they held the impartial office of the speaker.”2 discrimination found its way into all facets of life in ulster—employment, education, and, perhaps most importantly, housing. in the late 1960s, northern ireland faced a housing crisis, particularly in its urban centers. in derry, for example, an annual report of the executive sanitary officer in 1968 noted drastically overcrowded housing conditions, with over 1,000 dwellings in the city occupied by multiple families.3 similarly, a 1974 report published by the housing executive, an organization that would play a critical role in reforming housing policy in ulster, found that 20 percent of homes in northern ireland were “legally unfit for human habitation” and that 33 percent were “in need of significant repair.”4 anti-catholic discrimination placed the burden of these housing problems disproportionately on the nationalist community, though unionists were not entirely immune from its effects. this paper will present evidence that from 1967 to 1975, a critical time in the period of violence known as the troubles, there were significant levels of housing discrimination against catholics, with government reforms achieving only limited success in solving relevant community problems. protest sign in a loyalist neighborhood 26 27 elements : : spring 2012 communities in conflict the housing executive before the worst violence of the troubles took place, there were some minor steps taken to bring about change in housing policy. unfortunately, they proved to be generally insignificant. one such small change took place in 1968 when, for the first time in its twenty-three year history, the northern ireland housing trust featured a catholic member.19 in november of the same year, the derry housing committee stated that “no account shall be taken of a housing applicant’s religious or political beliefs,”20 a politically significant remark that ultimately failed to bring about housing equality in the city but did set a positive tone for future progress. another comparable policy was created in june of 1969 with the establishment of a new points system for housing allocation, designed to ensure fairness.21 a nationalist leader in derry, eddie mcaleer, remarked, “it looks good in theory. i trust it works in practice.”22 under control of the local councils, however, this policy too failed to produce any significant results. with urban violence becoming increasingly pronounced, the need for significant political change became apparent to government leaders in both stormont and westminster. in 1969, a government body led by lord cameron, d.s.c. published the cameron report, which had been commissioned to “report upon the course of events leading to, and the immediate causes and nature of the violence and civil disturbance in northern ireland on and since 5th october 1968.”23 in the report’s summary of conclusions, the commission presented a list of seven general causes of the recent violence, several of which pertained to housing policy. the first general reason noted the perception of deliberate unfairness in housing politics: remains of an armagh police station after an ira bombing attack scholars claim that lower standards of education or lack of civic engagement among catholics invalidates statistics that reflect gerrymandering and employment discrimination,16 but these factors could very well be an effect of the problem rather than its cause. if fair housing policy had been in practice, individuals in the nationalist community might have been able to receive a better education, become more competitive in the labor market, and pursue more opportunities to take part in the political life of the community. the “powder keg” of housing inequality another negative result of the unionist policy of segregation was that social separation helped fuel the violence that gripped northern ireland in the late 1960s and early 1970s. as calame and charlesworth argue in “divided cities,” social separation universally leads to negative effects: urban partitions . . . dominate local concerns and siphon precious energies away from social development concerns. . . . public debate is often restricted to optimal modes of damage control, so that a gradual accommodation of abnormal and gratuitous forms of communal violence takes place within the popular imagination.17 following this logic, the unionist policy of segregation intended to maintain order and political control ironically contributed to the chaos of the troubles. segregating the catholic community into gerrymandered neighborhoods, the protestant power structure had created a “powder keg”, waiting for a spark to set off the explosion—and explode it did. communities living in the catholic ghettos in derry and belfast, exasperated with what they perceived as grossly unfair conditions, rose up in violence. perhaps the most significant episode of this conflict began in derry on august 12, 1969, in response to a particularly incendiary annual parade by the unionist “apprentice boys”. the battle of the bogside, as it would come to be known, pitted police —including the hated “b specials”—against mobs of angry nationalists. violence escalated and spread to other cities, including belfast, where it reached such an extent that armed british soldiers were mobilized to secure the city.18 despite this military presence (or perhaps partially due to it), the violence would continue for decades. not all members of the nationalist community responded to injustices with violence. grass-roots political organizations like the northern ireland civil rights association (nicra), the derry housing action committee (dhac), the social democratic and labour party (sdlp), and people’s democracy (pd) utilized peaceful methods of protest against unfairness in many areas of civil rights, housing being one of their major areas of concern. their activism would often incite violence from the unionist community, but these organizations kept their methods strictly political—with rallies, marches, and rent strikes.† leaders of these organizations played crucial roles in the catholic civil rights movement and promoted the cause of housing reform. in fact, john hume and bernadette devlin, founding members of the dhac and pd respectively, even won seats in parliament; however, without cooperation from government, their grass-roots politics had little chance of success in the face of a staunchly defensive unionist community. “segregating the catholic community into gerrymandered neighborhoods, the protestant power structure had created a ‘powder keg’, waiting for a spark to set off the explosion—and explode it did.” 28 29 elements : : spring 2012 communities in conflict erate manipulation of local government electoral boundaries . . . in some unionist controlled authorities.”25 not surprisingly, the cameron report placed some blame for the violence on the nationalist community that participated in the riots, but its recognition of flawed unionist housing policy would encourage desperately needed reform. in 1971, stormont enacted the housing executive act, establishing the northern ireland housing executive (nihe). this organization was tasked with several important functions, including the regular examination of housing conditions and requirements, the establishment of housing information and housing advisory services, the closure or demolition of unfit houses, the improvement and conversion of unfit houses, and the encouragement of the provision of new houses by other public or private bodies.26 the nihe took on central authority over housing from the northern ireland housing trust, local councils, and other public organizations, streamlining what had previously been a rather disjointed and discriminatory network.27 in light of the politically motivated violence taking place, the greatest challenge facing the nihe was to create an impartial allocation process. it achieved this by creating the housing selection scheme, a new points-based system in which “those in greatest need of a home are always first to receive one.”28 unionist politicians disliked the centralized nature of this new housing authority and its revised points system. many of these individuals, like alderman tommy seymour, tried to convince the government to put allocation powers back in the hands of local authorities.29 in a speech before the minister for housing in belfast, he cited “the experience of district councils” as a reason to revert to locally-controlled allocation; however, the nationalist community feared that this return to old practices would lead to a renewal of housing discrimination.30 it would seem that, even in the years immediately following its establishment, the housing executive achieved some level of success in allocating more houses to catholics. in fact, one unionist politician went so far as to claim that its new policies were biased in favor of the nationalist community.31 despite this apparent progress, the housing problem remained far from resolved due to some key flaws in the nihe. the greatest failure of the organization lay in its refusal to directly address the sectarian tensions behind the housing issue. in fact, paris argues that the organization’s policy “was characterised by a public avoidance and denial” of segregation’s relevance to housing policy.32 the nihe tended to entirely disregard mention of sectarian neighborhoods in its publications. for example, as the chartered institute of housing notes, “the annual strategic policy, district housing plans, and programmes such as the belfast renewal strategy rarely mentioned the way in which territory impacts on housing need and supply.”33 this political strategy, likely devised in order to avoid creating further sectarian issues, actually facilitated the opposite effect. neighborhoods remained segregated, permanent walls were erected, and scarce progress took place in cross-community development; thus, while limited progress had been made, the root of the problem remained. in its decision to ignore the problem of sectarianism, the nihe missed an important opportunity to strike at the root of the problems in ulster’s cities. direct rule on january 30, 1972, an event took place that would alter the course of northern ireland’s history. in what would become known as bloody sunday, british army soldiers in the bogside opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing 14 and wounding several others.34 john hume stated, “the british army opened fire indiscriminately on the civilian population attending a peaceful protest meeting . . . their action was nothing short of cold-blooded mass murder.”35 “bloody sunday played a key role in convincing prime minister heath that the westminster government should control security operations in northern ireland.” [there is] a rising sense of continuing injustice and grievance among large sections of the catholic population . . . in respect of (i) inadequacy of housing provision by certain local authorities (ii) unfair methods of allocation of houses built and let by such authorities . . . (iii) misuse in certain cases of discretionary powers of allocation of houses in order to perpetuate unionist control of local authority.24 the third stated reason for violence also directly relates to housing policy, noting a “well-documented fact” of “delibloyalist house mural in belfast 30 31 elements : : spring 2012 communities in conflict appendices local council roman catholics as % of adult population % of non-unionist councillors character of council newry 81.1 66.6 nationalist keady 79.5 100.0 nationalist strabane 76.3 75.0 nationalist newry no. 2 r.d. 70.1 72.4 nationalist warrenpoint 68.9 75.0 nationalist downpatrick 68.8 91.7 nationalist londonderry/derry 61.9 40.0 unionist kilkeel r.d. 58.1 75.0 nationalist omagh 57.2 42.9 unionist omagh r.d. 57.0 42.9 unionist lisnaskea r.d. 56.8 38.2 unionist ballycastle 56.5 83.3 nationalist newry no. 1 r.d. 56.4 58.8 nationalist armagh 52.9 40.0 unionist cookstown r.d. 52.6 36.8 unionist magherafelt r.d. 51.2 28.6 unionist irvinestown r.d. 49.7 36.4 unionist limavady r.d. 49.6 56.5 nationalist dungannon r.d. 49.5 31.6 unionist enniskillen 48.9 33.3 unionist clogher r.d. 48.2 26.3 unionist dungannon 47.5 33.3 unionist ballycastle r.d. 47.3 52.9 nationalist downpatrick r.d. 46.2 20.8 unionist appendix 1. 1967. adapted from hewitt, “catholic grievances, catholic nationalism and violence in northern ireland during the civil rights period: a reconsideration,” 366. table 1. fulvio grimaldi, an italian journalist who witnessed the event, offered similar sentiments, remarking, “i have travelled many countries, i have seen many civil wars and revolutions and wars, i have never seen such a cold-blooded murder, organised, disciplined murder, planned murder.”36 bloody sunday played a key role in convincing prime minister heath that the westminster government should control security operations in northern ireland. after several days of negotiation with faulkner’s government at stormont, the british government took this sentiment further by suspending the ulster parliament and assuming “full and direct responsibility” for the region.37 westminster’s control of northern ireland brought about many changes in the region’s politics. similar to the policies of the nihe, direct rule involved drastic centralization of government, in which “virtually all of the major local services were delivered . . . by central government departments or statutory authorities.”38 this policy further cemented the new housing regime, preventing unionists from regaining local control over housing allocation. unionist gerrymandering abilities were significantly diminished as well under direct rule, because town and county planning now fell under the department of the environment for northern ireland.39 to the consternation of ulster unionists, westminster’s direct authority over ulster ensured a decrease in discriminatory housing policy from government. it did not fully resolve the problem though, leaving segregated neighborhoods still largely intact and doing little to facilitate community development between the nationalist and unionist factions. conclusion while reforms under the nihe and the centralized westminster government contributed to decreasing cases of state discrimination in housing, they did little to address the root cause of social friction. in fact, in some ways this friction may have grown more pronounced. by the close of 1975, reductions in local government control and the prorogation of stormont had left the unionist community with a diminished sense of sociopolitical control over ulster, further inflaming their “siege mentality.” meanwhile, even as the nihe embarked on a building program to create 6,000 new homes, no efforts were made to desegregate communities.40 this left the catholic and protestant communities as divided as ever, and led to more sectarian violence. while government housing policy had become more equitable, the reforms failed to resolve the political divisions that gripped the war-torn streets of northern ireland’s cities. to this day, the violence continues. bombings and shootings, while not as common or widespread as in the worst days of the troubles, still exact a sad toll on society in northern ireland. with the economic crisis reaching unprecedented heights in europe, many fear that worsening conditions for the poor will lead to more frustration and more acts of sectarianism. the future remains uncertain; however, it is clear that unless the people of ulster can find a way to bridge the gap between the two sides of their divided province, there can be no hope for a lasting peace. 32 33 elements : : spring 2012 communities in conflict endnotes 1. charles clarke, “a catholic atmosphere,” the irish times, september 9, 1967, 4. proquest newspapers. 2. ibid. 3. bob purdie, politics in the streets (belfast: the blackstaff press, 1990), 175-176. 4. chris paris, edit., housing in northern ireland and comparisons with the republic of ireland (huddersfield: chartered institute of housing, 2001), 39. 5. ibid, 13-14. 6. ibid. 7. derek birrell and alan murie, policy and government in northern ireland: lessons of devolution (dublin: gill and macmillan, 1980), 214-215. 8. eileen o’brien, “the ghettos hidden behind derry’s walls,” the irish times, october 14, 1968. proquest newspapers. 9. simon prince, northern ireland’s ’68: civil rights, global revolt and the origins of the troubles (dublin: irish academic press, 2007), 127. 10. “1969 survey found 39.7% out of work in derry catholic area,” the irish times, december 8, 1972, 10. proquest newspapers. 11. ibid. 12. denis o’hearn, “catholic grievances, catholic nationalism: a comment,” the british journal of sociology 34 (1983): 444, accessed april 15, 2011, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/590257>. 13. christopher hewitt, “catholic grievances, catholic nationalism and violence in northern ireland during the civil rights period: a reconsideration,” the british journal of sociology 32 (1981): 365, accessed april 15, 2011, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/589283>. refer to appendix 1. 14. hewitt, “catholic grievances, catholic nationalism and violence in northern ireland during the civil rights period: a reconsideration,” 366. 15. ibid. 16. prince, northern ireland’s ’68: civil rights, global revolt and the origins of the troubles, 81. 17. jon calame and esther charlesworth, divided cities: belfast, beirut, jerusalem, mostar, and nicosia (philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2009), 162. 18. “troops move into belfast,” the belfast telegraph august 15, 1969. microfiche. refer to appendix 2. 19. “catholic joins housing trust,” the belfast telegraph january 1, 1968. microfiche. 20. “derry housing committee using points system” the irish times, november 15, 1968. proquest newspapers. 21. “guideline for housing allocation in north” the irish times, june 14, 1969, 13. proquest newspapers. 22. ibid. 23. cameron commission, disturbances in northern ireland: report of the commission appointed by the governor of northern ireland, by hon. lord cameron, d.s.c., sir john biggart, c.b.e., and james joseph campbell, esq., m.a. (belfast: her majesty’s stationery office, 1969), warrant of appointment. <http://cain.ulst. ac.uk/hmso/cameron.htm> (april 15, 2011). 24. cameron commission, disturbances in northern ireland: report of the commission appointed by the governor of northern ireland, summary of conclusions on causes of disorders. 25. ibid. 26. housing executive act 1971 (nir) c 5 <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ hmso/hea1971.htm> (april 15, 2011). 27. paris, housing in northern ireland – and comparisons with the republic of ireland, 15. 28. northern ireland housing executive, brick by brick…a short history of the northern ireland housing executive, (belfast: northern ireland housing executive, 1991), 34. 29. john deering, “differences over how best to tackle n.i. housing problem,” the irish times, december 18, 1974, 9. proquest newspapers. 30. ibid. 31. “unionist says housing policy is biased,” the irish times, march 12, 1975. proquest newspapers. 32. paris, housing in northern ireland – and comparisons with the republic of ireland, 84. 33. ibid. 34. “’bloody sunday’, derry 30 january 1972 – names of the dead and injured,” cain web service, last modified march 14, 2011, <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/deadinj.htm>. 35. “cardinal asks heath to hold public inquiry” the irish times, january 31, 1972, 8. proquest newspapers. 36. northern ireland civil rights association. massacre at derry (belfast: northern ireland civil rights association, 1972), 8. john j. burns library, boston college. 37. “abstract of important events – prorogation of stormont, 28 march 1972,” cain web service, last modified march 14, 2011, <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/abstract/72storm.htm>. 38. paris, housing in northern ireland – and comparisons with the republic of ireland, 5. appendix 2. figures. figure 1. posters like this from people’s democracy stressed non-violent means of protest. source: people’s democracy, poster, linen hall library, belfast. figure 2. not all organizations stressed peace so fundamentally. this 1970 poster from the official sinn fein depicts uk troops as murderers. source: official sinn fein, 1970, poster, linen hall library, belfast. figure 3. when considering the troubles, it is tempting to generalize the entire urban population as violent. this anonymous personal advertisement taken out in the belfast telegraph suggests otherwise, imploring individuals from both the catholic and protestant communities to avoid violence. source: belfast telegraph, january 3, 1969. microfiche. 34 35 elements : : spring 2012 communities in conflict o’hearn, denis. “catholic grievances, catholic nationalism: a comment,” the british journal of sociology 34 (1983): 438-445. accessed april 15, 2011, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/590257>. paris, chris. edit., housing in northern ireland – and comparisons with the republic of ireland huddersfield: chartered institute of housing, 2001. prince, simon. northern ireland’s ’68: civil rights, global revolt and the origins of the troubles dublin: irish academic press, 2007. purdie, bob. politics in the streets belfast: the blackstaff press, 1990. “troops move into belfast,” the belfast telegraph august 15, 1969. microfiche. “unionist says housing policy is biased,” the irish times, march 12, 1975. proquest newspapers. wichert, sabine. northern ireland since 1945. new york: addison wesley longman, 1999. “1969 survey found 39.7% out of work in derry catholic area,” the irish times, december 8, 1972. proquest newspapers. 39. ibid. 40. northern ireland housing executive, brick by brick…a short history of the northern ireland housing executive, 41. references “abstract of important events – prorogation of stormont, 28 march 1972,” cain web service, last modified march 14, 2011, <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/abstract/72storm.htm>. birrell, derek and alan murie. policy and government in northern ireland: lessons of devolution (dublin: gill and macmillan, 1980). “’bloody sunday’, derry 30 january 1972 – names of the dead and injured,” cain web service, last modified march 14, 2011, <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/deadinj.htm>. calame, jon and esther charlesworth. divided cities: belfast, beirut, jerusalem, mostar, and nicosia philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 2009. cameron commission, disturbances in northern ireland: report of the commission appointed by the governor of northern ireland, by hon. lord cameron, d.s.c., sir john biggart, c.b.e., and james joseph campbell, esq., m.a. (belfast: her majesty’s stationery office, 1969), warrant of appointment. <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ hmso/cameron.htm> (april 15, 2011). “cardinal asks heath to hold public inquiry” the irish times, january 31, 1972. proquest newspapers. “catholic joins housing trust,” the belfast telegraph january 1, 1968. microfiche. christopher hewitt, “catholic grievances, catholic nationalism and violence in northern ireland during the civil rights period: a reconsideration,” the british journal of sociology 32 (1981): 362380. accessed april 15, 2011, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/589283>. clarke, charles. “a catholic atmosphere,” the irish times, september 9, 1967. proquest newspapers. compton, p.a. “religious affiliation and demographic variability in northern ireland.” transactions of the institute of british geographers 1 (1976): 433-452. accessed april 15, 2011, <http://www.jstor. org/stable/621902>. craig, anthony. crisis of confidence. dublin: irish academic press, 2010. deering, john. “differences over how best to tackle n.i. housing problem,” the irish times, december 18, 1974. proquest newspapers. “derry housing committee using points system” the irish times, november 15, 1968. proquest newspapers. “guideline for housing allocation in north” the irish times, june 14, 1969, 13. proquest newspapers. housing executive act 1971 (nir) c 5 <http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ hmso/hea1971.htm> (april 15, 2011). mckeown, michael. “the housing executive: the first five years.” fortnight 158 (1977): 4-5. accessed april 15, 2011, <http:// www.jstor.org/stable/25546466>. murie, alan. “planning in northern ireland: a survey.” the town planning review 44 (1973): 337-358. accessed april 15, 2011, <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40102947>. murphy, yvonne et al., edit. troubled images: postesr and images from the northern ireland conflict from the linen hall library, belfast. belfast: linen hall library, 2001. northern ireland civil rights association. massacre at derry belfast: northern ireland civil rights association, 1972. john j. burns library, boston college. northern ireland housing executive, brick by brick…a short history of the northern ireland housing executive, belfast: northern ireland housing executive, 1991. o’brien, eileen. “the ghettos hidden behind derry’s walls,” the irish times, october 14, 1968. proquest newspapers. the easter rising of 1916 has had a long and varied legacy, shaping events and attitudes from the irish war of independence to the current political situation in northern ireland. to understand the rising on its own terms, this article will examine the political writings of one of its most prominent participants, padraig pearse. to understand the immediate and short-term impact on political discourse, the article will look to the speeches of eamon de valera, an influential politician in the first half of the twentieth century. finally, tracing commemoration and commentary from the fiftieth to the one-hundredth anniversary, this article will address how the violence of the rising is to be viewed from the troubles to the peace process and beyond. the easter rising a study of legitimacy and enduring legacy jordan dorney “a cautious approach and a better understanding of the narrative of the easter rising, and of similarly consequential events in recent irish history, may help to calm those stillliving, furious factions.” even as early as 1917, when a young éamon de valera, the future giant of twentieth-century irish politics, stood for election in east clare, the importance of the easter rising as the seminal expression of irish republicanism—and thus a touchstone of political activity—had been established.1 with the advent of partition in the anglo-irish treaty, the first accusations of the “betrayal of 1916” were leveled. in the first fifty years of the republic, especially during the prominence of de valera, this theme—of appropriating or misappropriating the mantle of the rising—was a recurrent one in political discourse. as the people of the republic of ireland and those in the north approach 2016, the rising has once more become controversial and relevant. the memory of easter 1916, tainted by the violence of the troubles and ira bombing campaigns, has undergone some rehabilitation among the irish public. this has garnered much criticism, as a perceived return to the triumphalist attitude. a discussion of the rising seems to be ultimately concerned with the use of force as a means to secure political ends. in choosing whether to commemorate pearse, connolly, clarke and the rest of the participants, we must determine whether we can tolerate the consequences. in order to examine this issue, i will look at the political writings of padraig pearse to establish some of the original meaning of the rising, as its participants understood it. then, i will trace the development of the rising’s legacy through speeches given by de valera, covering events from his 1917 election in east clare to his easter 1966 address to the nation. finally, i will look at 1916’s place in peace process-era and contemporary discourse. through such primary sources, as well as by providing sufficient historical background, i intend to determine the extensive political legacy of the easter rising of 1916. the issues facing padraig pearse and the nationalist community in the years leading up to 1916 centered on the proposal of home rule—a system that would set up a semi-sovereign parliament in dublin—and the outbreak of world war i. according to pearse’s writings and speeches, world war i was the coming triumph of the brave, of the oppressed over the tyrannical and, strangely, of the germans over the british empire. furthermore, pearse claimed: “it is the things that make war necessary that are evil.”2 for the irish, this evil was britain, “‘the never-failing source of all our political evils,’” as pearse quoted wolfe tone, hero of the rebellion of 1798.3 resistance and revolt were to remove that evil. pearse reached a rather ominous crescendo in his speech, “peace and the gael,” and his words would only become more tragic in light of the troubles: “many people in ireland dread war because they do not know it. ireland has not known the exhilaration of war for over a hundred years. . . . when war comes to ireland, she must welcome it as she would welcome the angel of god. and she will.”4 he combined here a number of his constant themes: nationalism, religiosity, and war. in truth, these three seemed to be one in pearse’s mind. as he argued in “the coming revolution,” nationalism would come “by whatever means,” redeemed by the messianic sacrifice of those brave enough to take up the cause.5 from this rhetoric, we can draw pearse’s broader views on irish nationalism and judge his and his fellow rebel’s actions. whether we classify pearse as a poet, and thus grant him the license given to poets, or as a warrior, and thus view him in the light—or indeed the darkness—of world war i, affects our interpretation. in some ways, pearse’s speeches were conventional in their calling up the dead generations of irish rebels. as in the futurist poets of that era however, we recognize in pearse the hopeful exuberance that fed nationalistic feelings and beat the drum of war, typified in marinetti’s poetry of “courage, audacity and revolt.”6 there is, on the one hand, the beauty and vigor of boccioni’s city rises, with its wild colors, its throwing off of what bears down on the human spirit and its ascen“the memory of easter 1916, tainted by the violence of the troubles and ira bombing campaigns, has undergone some rehabilitation among the irish public.” dance of a new age. and yet, the horror on the human faces of the troubles, both in the early and latter parts of the twentieth century, recall that same painting, with its open-mouthed men, borne down upon by a great red warhorse.7 as the home rule crisis worsened and the enemies of home rule entered into h. h. asquith’s coalition government, the nationalist community became increasingly belligerent. pearse’s poetics took on a more corporeal form. the irish volunteers, who had been drilling and parading since 1914, came to be linked with the more radical irish republican brotherhood (irb), which, under the leadership of pearse, began pushing for outright republicanism rather than home rule. the military council of the irb then allied itself with james connolly, an avowed socialist who believed in the possibility of a military victory over the british. a tension then existed within the nationalist community between the redmondite parliamentarians, who had tried to operate through political maneuvering, and those republicans feeling an “insurgent mood.”8 nevertheless, on easter monday, the leaders of the rising pronounced a new irish republic, and for six days, the republican army fought off police and military forces from their seized posts in the general post office and other strategic buildings in dublin. the rebels would succumb to british artillery and would be tried in military courts. this judicial action turned out to be a grave mistake, as the subsequent execution of the rebels turned public opinion, which had been firmly set against the men, who were perceived as traitors in a time of war. the new nationalist party sinn féin, taken over by the post-rising volunteers, then secured a number of victories in the by-elections of 1917 and in 1919, on the basis of this newfound popularity. arthur griffith’s non-violent political party was now “radicalized, popularized and bound . . . with military separatism.”9 the anglo-irish war followed, in which the newly formed ira carried out attacks on british military and police targets, eventually forcing negotiations with lloydgeorge that resulted in the anglo-irish treaty.10 as jackson puts it, “it was a legion of the excluded who went to war against the british crown and against the irish parliamentary tradition on easter monday, 1916. . . . it seems clear that the conspirators . . . were more anxious that a rising should take place than that it should be successful.”11 connolly’s seriousminded optimism about the rising seems to have been overwhelmed by pearsean poetics, the idea of revolt rushing ahead of its fulfillment. in the 1917 by-election in east clare, éamon de valera, just released from prison, pushed for adherence to the ideals of the rising. his aims, he claimed, were those of pearse and the rest: a free, irish-speaking ireland, sovereign over all thirty-two counties. it is interesting that de valera made the irish language a central aspect of living up to the ideals of 1916, for pearse had remarked, “we did not turn our backs on all these desirable things [(i.e., the rewards from the “devil” for all “the great and the little who serve him well”)] for the sake of is and tá.”12 though pearse himself was among the cultural nationalists, there was at least some ambiguity in this respect. but if de valera showed himself to be concerned with irishness, it was based not merely on culture, but on politics and political authority. giving a speech to a cheering crowd, de valera recounted something that had happatrick pearse (1879-1916) irish teacher who was one of the leaders of of the easter rising in 1916. 38 39 elements : : spring 2012 the easter rising pened during his time in prison following the rising. an official had called him a murderer and a criminal, to which de valera asked by what law. hearing it was the english law, de valera said “that he refused to recognize that law, because that law had no legal or moral force in ireland.”13 by 1919, de valera made the claim that the only lawful authority in ireland was the duly elected government of the republic. the legitimacy of this government rested on the elections of 1919, but it is unclear how proper authority could have transferred to the dáil. de valera admitted that the authority of the dáil was only de facto and noted the need to secure “our own de jure government.”14 when the 1925 agreement between the free state, northern ireland, and british governments brought about partition, de valera vehemently opposed such negotiations, lamenting that against partition “we should have held out to the death.”15 on easter 1933, by which point he was the president of the executive council and had begun the process of amending the constitution, undermining the treaty, de valera promoted the message of social reform on the part of the rebels. speaking at the graves of the executed leaders of the rising, he praised their heroism but did not dwell for long on the imagery of violence and bloodshed that marked pearse’s writings.16 gradually, de valera moderated his position, distancing himself from the violence, if not the actual message, of the rebels. speaking at fianna fáil’s 1937 ardfheis, or party conference, he argued that, on the basis of the new constitution, the next goal was indeed to get the whole thirty-two counties of ireland within the bounds of that constitution. force, however, was not to be one of the methods used and would “defeat itself.” responding to strong criticism from kathleen clarke, widow of thomas clarke, who had been executed for his involvement in the rising, de valera argued that there had been no “slipping back.”17 as before the rising, the central complaint leveled by some republicans and nationalists was that with compromise. pearse himself had warned, mockingly, “we have learned the great art of parleying with our enemy and achieving nationhood by negotiation.”18 de valera remained firm, however, in asserting that violence was not to be used, criticizing in 1939 those who called for “manly” action—simply to declare a republic and use force to bring it about.19 speaking on the issue of partition again a decade later, after resuming the office of taoiseach, de valera was more clear on his reasons for avoiding force. while the “nation’s aim and right,” that is, to end partition, was “only a just one,” force would have been unsuccessful. de valera did not address the question of force’s rightness or wrongness as a political tool as such.20 in july of 1958, de valera would offer an ambiguous message: “if force were to be used, it would have to be used with the authority of this house. i do not think it would be the right method in any case.”21 it is unclear whether the only standard was, again, utility. he took no issue, however, in blaming sinn féin for its methods. he claimed— though it might be disputed—that people who advocated or used force to end partition “[could] find no basis for eamon de valera (1882-1975) irish political leader their present action in the years from 1919 to 1921, nor [could] they find it in the civil war.”22 de valera did look back, in 1957, at his 1917 speech in clare: “i said what i wanted the people of clare to do—and what the people of clare, thank god, did—was to prove, post factum, that the people who went out in 1916 did represent the will of the people.”23 de valera apparently accepted this post factum approval for the rising but would not extend the same logic to the ira campaigns, noting their ineffectualness. this, of course, is deeply troubling, but perhaps we ought not to expect perfect philosophical coherence in a politician over the course of such a long period, especially over one in which the circumstances had changed so radically. nevertheless, as the years passed and culminated in the fiftieth anniversary, de valera significantly moderated his views on the rising. writing the foreword to the irish volunteers, 1913-1915, which analyzed the foundation of the volunteers and paid tribute its leaders, de valera wrote, “the manifesto [of the volunteers] made it clear that defensive and protective, not aggressive, action was intended, but if force could be used to prevent home rule, then a greater force could be used to secure it.”24 here de valera seems to reinterpret the volunteers and the subsequent rising, as though they only meant to bring about home rule, though, indeed, de valera’s great complaint against the treaty had been its failure to ensure a true irish republic. 1966 was celebrated as “an occasion of national pride and of reflection on the extent to which the ideals of easter week had been realized or remained unrealized as inspiration to continuing effort.”25 piaras mac éinrí recounted, “my proudest moment [as a boy of 12] in 1966, the 50th anniversary of the easter rising against british rule, was to read out, in irish, the proclamation of the republic.” what mac éinrí called “the central myth of nationhood” was firmly in place.26 the connection between this celebration and the emergence of violence in the north during the following years is, according to jackson, “complicated but real” though, “it would be quite wrong . . . to argue for any straightforward connection.”27 the anniversary did, of course, “give rise to numerous impressive parades and related events, underlin[ing] the widespread popular reverence for the militant creators of the irish revolution”— even in the north in the aftermath of the failed border campaign of 1962.28 this did not translate into support for the ira, as brendan hughes, a member of the ira, related. on the one hand, hughes believed the group at the time was “an organic part of the community, even if not all would approve or adopt their methods,” yet the political and geographical isolation of the ira in the north was worsened by “the northern catholic population’s lack of enthusiasm for the ira’s methods and war aims.”29 looking back at 1966, the wednesday report, on raidió teilifís éireann (rte), conducted a survey in march 1991 that indicated young people, though they “knew little and cared little about 1916,” nevertheless recalled “the ‘triumphalism’ of the 1966 anniversary and its serious contribution to violence in the north.” the social injustices that existed during that period in the north—the political gerrymandering, the high unemployment, the discrimination in jobs and housing—seem to have been forgotten, as was the unpopularity at that time of the ira, which to much of the seemingly abandoned catholic community meant only “i ran away.”30 as violence had begun in the north in the days of the home rule crisis, pearse remarked that he was “glad . . . that the north has ‘begun,’ . . . glad that the orangemen have armed, for it is a goodly thing to see arms in irish hands.”31 it is clear that few who endured the violence of the troubles adopted so cheery an outlook. those who advocate for non-violence in all respects can disavow the easter rebels in light of the license taken by the provisional irish republican army (pira). pearse undoubtedly presented violence as a viable and, indeed, necessary political tool. it was a short logical leap for the pira to extend the battlefield—never especially well-defined—to include civilian targets, and pearse himself had a certain disregard for the consequences of his actions: “we may make mistakes in the beginning and shoot the wrong people; but bloodshed is a cleansing and a sanctifying thing, and the nation which regards it as the final horror has lost its manhood.”32 in this view, the pira—and gerry adams’ sinn féin— was not so out of bounds when it claimed to be the heir to easter week. to some, it might have been inevitable that pearse’s admitted unconcern for reckless violence should lead to outright terrorism. in a certain way too pearse pre40 41 elements : : spring 2012 the easter rising figured the ira and sinn féin strategy of the “ballot box and armalite” when he spoke of the great republican heroes wolfe tone and robert emmet as having to carry out the “silent unattractive work, the routine of correspondence and committees and organizing” even as they prepared for war.33 this connection is decidedly less sinister than the first, and perhaps pearse might even be redeemed in part by it. even his most rapturous, most violent poetics contained the seeds of quiet politics. although many irish people seemed to connect the troubles in the north with the legacy of the easter rising, such a direct correlation remained unclear in the 1980s and 1990s. hachey relates this difficulty that existed in crossborder understanding: “as people in the irish republic discussed northern ireland during the 1980s in their homes or pubs, some often expressed sympathy for the ira as the heirs of easter week and the anglo-irish war. other than spontaneous reactions to outrages like bloody sunday, however, irish opinion remained generally calm and often ambiguous on the subject of events in northern ireland.”34 as the troubles dragged on into the 1990s, mainstream (i.e., non-ira) celebration of the rising faced a precipitous decline, and many people—facing a kind of “psychological embarrassment” about the rising35—expressed their concerns. in 1991, a reporter questioned taoiseach charles haughey why he might hold any ceremony commemorating the rising, suggesting “ira terrorists might derive comfort and succor from the festivities.”36 conor cruise o’brien was a prominent critic. in his book state of ireland, published in 1973, o’brien had already expressed his concern that “the virus of violence in northern ireland might destroy liberal democracy in the republic.”37 in an article in the irish independent in 1991, he directly addressed the question of whether the 1916 rising was a mistake. the rising, “with no democratic mandate and no mass support at the time, set a precedent that legitimized future armed conspiracies.” it was precisely on this basis that the pira started “another armed rebellion, to complete the unfinished business of 1916.” their work was “sanctified by the fifty years of a cult of 1916, first in the free state . . . [then] in de valera’s ireland.” o’brien expressed, quite absolutely: “if you are pro-1916 and anitprovo, [the lack of a mandate in either case] leave[s] you without a leg to stand on.” legitimacy for illegal actions, he argued, could not be had because of a historical event, and irish governments derived their legitimacy from the irish electorate alone. o’brien claimed to demolish four possible responses to the rising. the idea of a “retroactive mandate” was patently illogical. comparisons to other revolutions failed to hold up to scrutiny because of the lack of popular support for revolution prior to 1916. attempts to celebrate the “spiritual aspects” of the rebels but not the violence failed because those aspects were only expressed militarily. finally, the argument that the ira would hijack the rising if it were not officially celebrated did not hold. the ira, o’brien argued, already had pearse’s license to kill. however, in his third and fourth arguments, o’brien overlooked the fact that the power of the state and of the public to control the narrative of 1916 could be used to diminish the ira’s own narrative of violence. what o’brien made clear however was that he welcomed the decline of the cult of 1916, praising the people, both in the north and south, for “sens[ing] the mortal dangers that we now know to be inherent in the glorification of a patriotic violence applied by a small minority.”38 though o’brien correctly identified a decline in the cult of 1916, a weakened legacy was not a dead one, and the controversy that attended earlier anniversaries would continue into the twenty-first century. writing in 2006, bernadette mcaliskey, the civil rights activist, took issue with the celebration of the ninetieth anniversary of the rising, because of its contradictions. while distancing itself from ira violence, the irish government was at the same time conducting troop parades to mark the anniversary of the rising. mcaliskey asked derisively whether the republic would invite the (then prospective) first minister of northern ireland to the proceedings, allowing ian paisley—one of the most vocal of unionist leaders and frequent provocateur—to take part in what was, according to the irish government, merely a celebration of irish independence. she succeeded in pointing out some of the ridiculousness of celebrating men like pearse and connolly while denuding them of their real political message.39 criticizing bertie ahern, roy garland made a similar point about the danger of forgetting the “fascist elements within early republicanism.”40 (as shown above, however, though there was a segment of the nationalist community with fascist leanings, this existed in tension with the socialists and catholic nationalists.) though ahern declared “the spirit of 1916 [to be] our state’s inheritance,” the political posturing involved was also evident: fine gael and labor, as well as sinn féin, were put aside in favor of fianna fáil’s “particular claim.”41 also on the ninetieth anniversary of the rising, there was some resurgence of a more celebratory attitude, with one columnist grouping the easter rebels with the hunger strikers and remarking how both represented “the best of ireland . . . a valiant spirit that has endured much suffering over the years.”42 however, the moderate nationalist sdlp has been especially critical of efforts by gerry adams and sinn féin to tie unification efforts to the one-hundredth anniversary, in 2016, with one leader, margaret ritchie, calling those efforts “as laughable as [they are] dishonest” and sinn féin’s outreach work with unionists “at best patronizing and at worst deeply prejudiced.”43 adams, for his part, has since taken to denying having ever had a goal of unification by the centenary. other writers have looked ahead to 2016. gerard o’neill, who offered an updated “proclamation” as vehicle for policy advice and an expression of “irish exceptionalism,” seems to have fallen into the trap of having too rosy a view of the rising, the troubles, and the future. he remarked on the relative peacefulness of the century—“despite the conflict in northern ireland” and, indeed, despite the emergency, as world war ii was called in neutral ireland.44 he praised pearse’s nationalism, despite the latter’s strong rhetoric on war and violence. the problem in the north is, and has been, one not of too much nationalism, but not enough of it.45 this seems to imply that a nationalist outlook is straightforwardly the proper one, to the exclusion of unionism. the difficulty, one hundred years on, of avoiding the idealization of the rising, is apparent. as the centennial of the rising approaches, the proper way to look at 1916 becomes—or remains—an important issue. however, it seems difficult for one with a nationalist or republican viewpoint to reject the rising, given its importance in affecting the 1919 elections, though one might bring up the strangeness of this “retroactive mandate.” the probability of a wholly constitutional route to irish nationhood is unclear. yet one might still affirm the heroism of the rising, placing connolly and pearse with tone and emmet, while scorning the wanton violence of the troubles. the sectarianism of the troubles, though exacerbated in the home rule crisis, does not define the rising. pearse tied catholicism with nationalism to a certain extent, but his religiosity was less confessional than it was cultural. he invoked the example of the united irishmen and wolfe tone: “think of how [tone] put virility into the catholic movement, how this heretic toiled to make free men of catholic helots, how, as he worked among them, he grew to know and to love the real, historic irish people” knowing “that protestant and dissenter must be brought into amity with catholic . . . [uniting] to achieve freedom for all.”46 given that the republic did not achieve that amity among its citizens, it is necessary to examine the extent to which the competing narratives of freedom and violence contributed to the formation of the state. de valera only rejected the violence that pearse upheld because he did not believe it would accomplish the republic’s desired ends, i.e., the establishment of a thirty-two county republic. his approach was very different in this respect from that of the northern ireland civil rights association (nicra) and others who promoted non-violence, though such arguments would eventually be used to convince paramilitary groups to give up their campaigns. de valera did witness the early bombing campaigns of the ira, but he did not have to live through the troubles, when the pira became more indiscriminate in their targets. perhaps he would “as the troubles dragged on into the 1990s, mainstream (i.e., non-ira) celebration of the rising faced a precipitous decline.” 42 43 elements : : spring 2012 the easter rising have condemned the provisionals even more vehemently than he did the earlier incarnation of the ira, though his emphasis on the utility of violence rather than its rightness or justice adds a complication. by focusing our attention on the violence of the rising, however, perhaps we miss the point, as de valera tried to point out later in his political career, as compromise took the place of sanguinity. in 1966, de valera remarked, “we cannot adequately honor the men of 1916 if we do not work and strive to bring about the ireland of their desire . . . [:] a nation of brothers—each working in industrial harmony, not for himself only, but for the good of all.”47 the extent to which de valera’s ireland did in fact achieve this republic, is a great problem of the second half of the twentieth-century, and a question for another study. it does seem, however, that de valera thought that the social and economic message of the rebels must be united to their idea of nationhood and independence from britain. facing the specter of 2016, the unionist approach to the rising has, understandably, been a wary one. nelson mccausland, a dup culture minister, warned that any veneration of the event might lead a new generation of young men down the “nihilistic path of violence” of radical republicanism. further complicating the anniversary is the fact that 2016 will also be the anniversary of the battle of the somme. “those irishmen who fought in france must not be forgotten,” mccausland said.48 in celebrating the hundredth anniversary of that easter week in 1916, people must do so without falling for the view that the rising was wholly “heroic and bloodless, noble and dignified.”49 on the other hand, one might follow the example offered by conor cruise o’brien, who quoted edmund burke: “true statesmen . . . ought not to call from the dead all the discussions and litigations which formerly influenced the furious factions which had torn their country to pieces.”50 but in a community like northern ireland where historical events like the seventeenth-century battle of the boyne and siege of derry are celebrated by some as if they happened only recently, burke’s (and o’brien’s) advice may be rather optimistic. perhaps these discussions and litigations do not belong wholly to the past and as such cannot simply be buried. instead, a cautious approach and a better understanding of the narrative of the easter rising, and of similarly consequential events in recent irish history, may help to calm those still-living, furious factions. endnotes 1. de valera (1-2, 6) 2. pearse(216-217) 3. pearse (78-79) 4. pearse (215) 5. pearse(91-93) 6. marinetti (43) 7. boccioni (159-160) 9. jackson (245) 10. hachey (128-140) 11. jackson (201-202) 12. pearse (92) 13. de valera (1-2, 6) 14. de valera (18, 20) 15. de valera (123) 16. de valera(237) 17. de valera (330) 18. pearse (66) 19. de valera (374) 20. de valera (541) 21. de valera (586) 22. de valera (581) 23. de valera (585) 24. de valera (589) 25. de valera (605) 26. british council ireland (33) 27. jackson (323-324) 28. jackson (366-367) 29. moloney (37, 42) 30. kiberd (2-3) 31. pearse (98-99) 32. ibid. 33. pearse (83) 34. hachey (220) 35. graff-mcrae (209) 36. kiberd (1) 37. hachey (220) 38. o’brien 39. british council ireland (127-128) 40. garland 41. graff-mcrae (65) 42. donovan 43. “ritchie sets sights on united ireland within her lifetime” 44. o’neill (106-107) 45. o’neill (105) 46. pearse (59) 47. de valera (606) 48. “mccausland issues easter rising centenary warning,” 49. mckay 50. graff-mcrae (25) references bew, paul. 1998. ideology and the irish question: ulster unionism and irish nationalism 1912-1916. oxford: clarendon press. british council ireland. 2005. britain & ireland: lives entwined. britain and ireland. dublin: british council ireland. british council ireland. 2006. britain & ireland: lives entwined ii, essays on contemporary british-irish relations, with views from the usa. britain and ireland. dublin: british council ireland. de valera, éamon. 1980. speeches and statements by éamon de valera, 1917-73 ed. maurice moynihan. dublin: gill and macmillan. donovan, paul. 2006. “the values of the rising need to be renewed”. irish post, april 24, 2006. http://www.nuzhound.com/ articles/arts2006/apr22_rising_hunger_strikes__pdonovan__ irish_post.php garland, roy. 2006. “mrs mcaleese is playing with fire”. irish news, january 31, 2006. http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/ irish_news/arts2006/jan30_mcaleese_playing_with_fire__ rgarland.php graff-mcrae, rebecca. 2010. remembering and forgetting 1916: commemoration and conflict in post-peace process ireland. dublin: irish academic press. hachey, thomas e., and lawrence j. mccaffrey. 2010. the irish experience since 1800: a concise history. 3rd ed. m.e. sharpe. hughes, robert. 2009. the shock of the new: the hundred-year history of modern art—its rise, its dazzling achievement, its fall. rev ed. new york: alfred a. knopf. jackson, alvin. 1999. ireland, 1798-1998: politics and war (a history of the modern british isles). wiley-blackwell. kiberd, declan. “the elephant of revolutionary forgetfulness.” eds. ní dhonnchadha, máirín and theo dorgan. revising the rising. 1991. derry: field day. “mccausland issues easter rising centenary warning.” belfast telegraph, may 21, 2010. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ news/politics/mccausland-issues-easter-rising-centenary-warning-14813912.html mckay, susan. 2005. “it seems civil wars are only ever over on paper.” irish news, october 25, 2005. http://www.nuzhound.com/ articles/irish_news/arts2005/oct25_civil_wars_only_ever_over_ on_paper__smckay.php moloney, ed. 2011. voices from the grave: two men’s war in ireland. eds. thomas e. hachey and robert o’neill. faber & faber. o’brien, conor cruise. “the easter rising: a cult now clearly on the decline”. 1991. irish independent, march 29, 1991, 37. o’neill, gerard. 2010. 2016: a new proclamation for a new generation. cork: mercier press. pearse, padraig h. 1952. political writings and speeches. dublin: talbot press. “ritchie sets sights on united ireland within her lifetime.” belfast telegraph, november 11, 2009. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co. uk/news/politics/ritchie-sets-sights-on-united-ireland-within-herlifetime-14558029.html 44 45 elements : : spring 2012 the easter rising this article analyzes president ronald reagan’s strategies to pass his economic recovery program through the democratic majority in the house of representatives in 1981. this article determines that a combination of strategies—including reagan’s ability to control the legislative agenda, the use of the bully pulpit complemented by direct lobbying of members of congress, and the manipulation of the congressional budget process—led to remarkable success, as the budget and tax plan both passed through congress by august 1981. this article concludes with an analysis of the legacy of reagan’s success on legislative-executive relations, arguing that reagan’s use of the congressional budget process to enact significant policy changes has not been replicated successfully and has actually led to increased gridlock in congress. defusing congressional gridlock reaganomics v. the 97th congress alexander hoffarth “because of the possibility for significant policy changes through the manipulation of the budget, the use of this strategy has led to intensely polarized budget showdowns and increased partisanship in american politics.” in his 1981 inaugural address, president ronald reagan outlined his plan to restore the economy by reducing government spending and taxes, which required a substantial decrease in the role of the federal government in the domestic sphere.1 this economic recovery program, reagan stated, would be the nation’s first priority in the effort “to reawaken [the] industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten [the nation’s] punitive tax burden.”2 by the middle of august 1981, reagan’s budget, which cut $130 million from the federal budget, and tax cuts (25 percent over three years) emerged virtually intact after a series of close votes.3 this paper will argue that the president’s ability to control the legislative agenda and his strategy of ‘going public,’ combined with an intensive behind-the-scenes lobbying effort, help to explain his success in passing the plan through the democratic majority in the house of representatives in 1981. the paper subsequently discusses the reagan administration’s manipulation of the congressional budget process to pass the omnibus reconciliation act of 1981, showing that significant policy changes can be achieved using the congressional budget process. the paper concludes with an analysis of the harmful effect of reagan’s methods on executive-legislative relations. reagan never replicated the legislative success of 1981, and this greater partisan discord later overshadowed the bush and clinton administrations. to some extent, reagan’s success in passing his “reaganomics” plan can be attributed to his ability to control the legislative agenda by limiting it to a few essential initiatives. “unlike carter’s ‘laundry list’ of national agenda priorities four years earlier,” writes the university of vermont political scientist john burke, “the need for a more focused and limited agenda—largely directed at enacting the president-elect’s economic program—was emphasized.”4 by concentrating on a handful of legislative initiatives, reagan showed the need to set priorities. his tax and budget cuts were the only items of business in 1981, which “focused congressional attention to an extent not known since lyndon johnson’s drive for the great society in 1965.”5 in order to emphasize these initiatives as national priorities, both reagan’s inaugural address and his february address to a joint session of congress focused on the economic plan. in his inaugural address, reagan outlined the administration’s objective of a “healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provid[ed] opportunities for all americans” and expressed his intention to diminish the size and influence of the federal establishment.6 the february 18, 1981 address on the ‘program for economic recovery’ focused on the specific goals of the economic plan. in the opening quarter of the address, reagan argued that the program was aimed at “reducing the growth in government spending and taxing, reforming and eliminating regulations which are unnecessary and unproductive or counterproductive, and encouraging a consistent monetary policy aimed at maintaining the value of the currency.”7 reagan then advocated for two central tenets of his economic program—the budget and tax relief proposal— that would become the focal points of the national agenda for the next six months. reagan asked congress to join him in supporting the administration’s budget that reduced federal spending by $41.4 billion in the 1982 fiscal year. in addition, he called for a 10% across the board cut every year for three years.8 reagan’s use of the bully pulpit served to focus congressional attention on only those initiatives deemed ‘national priorities.’ congress responded by expediting the process of considering both aspects of president reagan’s economic recovery program. the gramm-latta substitute budget bill, which “differed from reagan’s proposed budget in only minor ways,” passed in the house of representatives in may 1981 by a vote of 253-176, with 63 democrat defectors and all 190 republicans voting in approval.9 the house then approved gramm-latta ii amendments en bloc in june 1981 by a 217-211 vote (with 29 democrats voting in favor), and the entire reconciliation measure as amended, 232-193.10 congress passed the economic recovery tax act of 1981 in august with a 323-107 vote in the house (including support by 48 democrats), which featured a 23% cumulative reduction in personal tax rates over three years and a decrease in the top marginal tax rate from 70% to 50%. the legislation was the largest tax cut in united states history.11 it appears, therefore, that the reagan administration’s “reagan’s use of the bully pulpit served to focus congressional attention on only those initiatives deemed ‘national priorities.’” ability to control the congressional agenda by limiting it to focus at the outset on a few essentials (the budget plan and tax cuts) aided in the successful passage of both initiatives by mid-august. however, some evidence exists to suggest that reagan’s success in 1981 could not solely be the result of his ability to limit the legislative agenda. for example, in his analysis of the key congressional votes in 1981, professor richard s. conley argued that reagan won four congressional votes regarding his economic program that he “should have lost.”12 consequently, one must search for other reasons to account for reagan’s legislative achievements. both contemporary commentators and later researchers have partly attributed this success to the president’s decisions to ‘go public.’13 reagan made four major addresses regarding his budget and tax cut proposal during june, july, and august 1981.14 reagan’s july 27 address to the nation illustrates the success of this strategy. in the address, described as the “single most effective televised speech in history,” president reagan lobbied for his tax bill and asked the american people to contact their representatives.15 the result was a significant grassroots response, with 33,000 calls to the congressional switchboard the following day, equivalent to double the normal load.16 some observers have argued that this address and subsequent grassroots response pressured many moderate democrats to vote for the package.17 this particular example was reflective of a more general trend of grassroots mobilization regarding reagan’s economic program in the year 1981. according to one historian, mail from the constituents of most members of congress in 1981 ran in favor of reagan by a ratio of “almost thirty to one.”18 in his memoir, former-speaker of the house tip o’neill wrote that he received “more letters [during 1981] than [he] had seen in [his] entire career.” in fact, during one week, o’neill received “something like fifty thousand letters a day,” including many from his own constituents in a “fairly liberal district.”19 the reagan administration also found that it was able to gain some votes by having common donors put pressure on their representatives without mentioning the white house.20 by making these agenda priorities known to the american public and urging the nation to pressure congress, reagan “created momentum for his agenda and left house democrats in disarray.”21 while reagan’s use of the bully pulpit was a significant element of his presidency, he also succeeded because of a “comprehensive legislative strategy carefully mapped out and executed by the white house.”22 president reagan’s director of the office of management and budget (omb), david stockman, recalled that the president worked hard lobbying conservative democrats through a combination of phone calls, invitations to the white house, and private meetings.23 in another anecdote, president reagan invited 14 democratic members of the house to lunch at camp david three days before the tax vote; all but three of the democrats invited later voted with the president.24 the archival data also supports this anecdotal evidence. for example, 71 house democrats were targeted for presidential contacts regarding the economic recovery tax act of 1981; of these members, 67% voted with the president on july 29. that group “had an average of six contacts with the president, and reagan telephoned three-fourths of them at least once.”25 besides his extensive lobbying effort, president reagan showed a willingness to use concessions to achieve support. for example, reagan exchanged sugar ronald reagan, 40th president of the united states 48 49 elements : : spring 2012 defusing congressional gridlock price supports for budget cuts in june and peanut price supports for tax cuts in july. in addition, one member of the house of representatives decided to vote in favor of reagan’s tax cuts proposal in july in exchange for a promise by the white house not to close a military base in his district, as well as a $37 million grant to clean up the accident at the three mile island nuclear power plant. members of natural gas states traded their votes for a promise to veto a windfall profits tax on gas companies.26 the combination of reagan’s ‘going public’ strategy to develop grassroots mobilization and an extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying effort allowed the president “to foster and maintain extraordinary unity among republican representatives” and pressured conservative democrats to support the economic plan, resulting in such remarkable success.27 complementing reagan’s direct lobbying effort was the administration’s use of the budget as a tool to achieve policy objectives. in the view of the late washington state university political scientist lance leloup, the 1981 reconciliation measure represented “a significant change in the budget process from previous years.”28 in the resulting omnibus reconciliation act of 1981, congress passed major reductions in both domestic discretionary items and mandatory entitlements, such as welfare and food stamps.29 stockman, rather than relying on the congressional committee system to make the cuts deemed desirable by the administration, created this budget sponsored by phil gramm (d-tx) and del latta (r-oh). many scholars argue that the key to this process was that the budget cuts came to a vote as one reconciliation bill rather than as separate votes on each social, health, and education program cut.30 the process undermined the ability of democratic leaders in the house of representatives to veto specific items, such as a reduction in social security that, tip o’neill wrote, “would never pass on its own.”31 in this particular instance, one finds an extreme case of the weakening of committees and the committee system due to the reconciliation process, as “committees [were] simply ignored even on the specifics.” according to leloup, the reconciliation process affected both the appropriations committees, “whose function was completely taken over,” and the authorizing committees, “who saw legislation rewritten by one sweeping vote on the house floor.”32 stockman acknowledged the irony of the administration’s use of a legislative process designed to strengthen congress’ power regarding the budget. “enacting the reagan administration’s economic program meant rubber stamp approval, nothing less. the world’s so-called greatest deliberative body would have to be reduced to the status of the ministerial arm of the white house.”33 in fact, tip o’neill’s response to the gramm-latta i vote in june raised the same issue of the impact of the reagan administration’s manipulation of the congressional budget process: i have never seen anything like this in my life, to be perfectly truthful. what is the authority for this? does this mean that any time the president of the united states is interested in a piece of legislation, he merely sends it over? you do not have any regard for the process, for open hearings, for discussions as to whom it affects, or what it does to the economy. do we have the right to legislate?34 although one could raise the constitutional issue of whether the executive branch overstepped its constitutional powers, the matter is irrelevant from a political standpoint, as president reagan would have achieved victory in terms of policy if the democratic alternatives to reagan’s budget and tax cuts—“slight alterations but basically endorsed the president’s program”—had passed.35 therefore, instead of scrapping the legislative budget process, reagan convinced a majority of lawmakers to make it work for him by accepting the administration’s budget as their own.36 most importantly, reagan’s proposals allowed a majority in congress to show that significant policy changes could be achieved using the budget process.37 university of virginia political scientist eric patashnik speculates that it was quite unlikely that such steep cuts in domestic discretionary programs could have been passed under the decentralized budget process that existed before the budget act of 1974.38 therefore, the reconciliation bill was the first instance in budgeting in which congress was able to overcome its fragmentation in dealing with economic affairs. “the reconciliation bill was the first instance in budgeting in which congress was able to overcome its fragmentation in dealing with economic affairs.” congress allowed itself to act on the budget as a whole, in line with the intention of the budget act of 1974.39 at the time he signed into law both the omnibus reconciliation act of 1981 as well as the economic recovery tax act of 1981, reagan’s approval was at 60%, with 53% approval of his handling of the economy. in addition, 87% of the american public knew about reagan’s tax cut program, with 59% approval.40 yet the most important consequence of this strategy was that it only yielded temporary results, as subsequent attempts to replicate it have led to gridlock. as a result, reagan’s experience illustrates, in the words of university of florida political scientist richard conley, “the limits of sustained legislative success and the challenges of marshaling cross-party support in a radically changed context of divided government, despite fully steady levels of presidential job approval and exceptional electoral popularity.”41 house democrats emerged from reagan’s early tax and budget-cutting victories with a series of organizational reforms aimed at undercutting the president’s influence over floor outcomes. in addition, the house majority became more internally cohesive and ideologically unified with the replacement of older, southern democrats, creating a “more solidly liberal democratic base.”42 the development of “better-organized, more constituency-centered, and policy-focused” congressional majorities helps to explain the decline in reagan’s legislative success during the remainder of his presidency. while the reagan administration’s decision to combine all spending cuts into an omnibus bill has inspired the use of the congressional budget process as a political tool to achieve significant policy changes, these subsequent efforts have failed. for example, in 1994, the republicans won a majority in both chambers for the first time in more than a quarter century.43 the republican house majority budget reform strategy in 1995 hinged on “exploiting the reconciliation process, which limited the participation of the democratic minority.”44 in late 1995, both the house and senate approved a republican deficit-reduction package featuring “deep cuts in medicare, medicaid, and education programs.”45 however, president clinton vetoed the measure in early 1996 and budget negotiations between the two parties collapsed, ultimately leading to a government shutdown.46 the republican budget intended to replicate reagan’s manipulation of the budget process, but the greater partisan discord that arose from reagan’s success in 1981 impeded the gop’s ability to accomplish such dramatic policy achievements. consequently, while the reagan strategy worked in 1981 to pass the budget and tax plan, it is difficult to believe that the strategy is one that can be replicated to achieve as substantial policy changes. because of the possibility for significant policy changes through the manipulation of the budget, the use of this strategy has led to intensely polarized budget showdowns and increased partisanship in american politics. endnotes 1. brauer (221) 2. ronald reagan, “first inaugural address,” 3. conley (214) 4. burke (6-7) 5. light (237) 6. reagan, “first inaugural address,” 7. reagan “address before a joint session of the congress on the program for economic recovery,” 8. ibid 9. brandt (41) 10. ibid (48) 11. collins (71) 12. conley, “president reagan, white house lobbying, and key votes: a reassessment,” (135) 13. weatherford (2) 14. light (238) 15. brandt (54) 16. ibid. 17. conley “comparing the legislative presidencies of eisenhower and reagan,” 214. 18. brandt (9) 19. o’neill (345) 20. collier (809) 21. conley “president reagan, white house lobbying, and key votes: a reassessment,” (136) 22. collier (805) 23. brandt (134) 24. weatherford (8) 25. ibid. 26. light (239) 27. halpert (721) 28. leloup (330) 29. zelizer (678) 30. maslin-wicks (118) 31. o’neill (345) 32. leloup (330) 33. zelizer, 678. 34. light (239) 35. leloup (336) 36. zelizer (678) 37. leloup (336) 50 51 elements : : spring 2012 defusing congressional gridlock 38. zelizer (678) 39. leloup (330) 40. brandt (58) 41. conley “comparing the legislative presidencies of eisenhower and reagan,” (222) 42. ibid (215) 43. zelizer (678) 44. ibid 45. ibid 46. ibid references brandt, karl gerard. ronald reagan and the house democrats: gridlock, partisanship, and the fiscal crisis. columbia: university of missouri, 2009. brauer, carl m. presidential transitions: eisenhower through reagan. new york: oxford, 1986. burke, john p. “a tale of two transitions: 1980 and 1988.” congress and the presidency 28.1 (2001): pp. 1-18. print. collier, ken. “behind the bully pulpit: the reagan administration and congress.” presidential studies quarterly 26.3 (1996): pp. 805-815. print. collins, robert m. transforming america: politics and culture in the reagan years. new york: columbia, 2007. conley, richard s. “comparing the legislative presidencies of eisenhower and reagan: the lessons of political time and congressional eras.” reassessing the reagan presidency. ed. richard s. conley. lanham: university press of america, 2003. conley, richard s. “president reagan, white house lobbying, and key votes: a reassessment.” white house studies 3.2 (2003): pp. 133-155. print. halpert, leon. “presidential leadership of congress: evaluating ronald reagan’s success in the house of representatives.” presidential studies quarterly 21.4 (1991): pp. 717-735. print. leloup, lance t. “after the blitz: reagan and the u.s. congressional budget process.” legislative studies quarterly 7.3 (1982): pp.321-339. print. light, paul c. the president’s agenda: domestic policy choice from kennedy to clinton. baltimore: johns hopkins, 1999. maslin-wicks, kimberly. “two types of presidential influence in congress.” presidential studies quarterly 28.1 (1998): pp. 108-126. print. o’neill, tip. man of the house: the life and political memoirs of speaker tip o’neill. new york: random house, 1987. reagan, ronald. “address before a joint session of the congress on the program for economic recovery.” capitol building. washington, d.c. 18 feb. 1981. reagan, ronald. “first inaugural address.” 1981 presidential inaugural. capitol building. washington, d.c. 20 jan. 1981 weatherford, m. stephen and lorraine m. mcdonnell. “ronald reagan as legislative advocate: passing the reagan revolution’s budgets in 1981 and 1982.” congress and the presidency 32.1 (2005): pp. 1-30. print. zelizer, julian e. the american congress: the building of democracy. new york: houghton mifflin, 2004. 52 elements : : spring 2012 william shakespeare’s othello has grown to be an increasingly popular play over the past century, in part because it prominently features a strong minority character in the lead role. critics have written much over the past century about the specifics of what shakespeare intended othello’s ethnic background to be, but this area of inquiry does little to better understand othello or his tragic situation. this is because iago is the character who pushes othello’s skin color as an issue, doing so as part of a revenge-driven plot to bring othello down from power. additionally, some contemporary critical perspectives on othello have emphasized the seemingly latent problem of negative race relations in the play between othello and the rest of his venice. however, such claims unfairly project modern cultural attitudes about race onto a setting that they do not reflect. instead of focusing on the details of othello’s ethnicity, students and scholars of the play alike should recognize that othello represents the collective minority “other” and its struggle to dissolve the barrier of difference between itself and the myth of homogenized european society. racial tension in othello intimations of literary and societal prejudice neil patch does one think about race or racism in elizabethan contexts? martin orkin provides a constructive perspective on this preliminary obstacle by invoking the term color prejudice.1 while a critical approach may tread cautiously regarding the use of these terms, the problem becomes one of linguistic preference for “as early as the sixteenth century, active exploitation/persecution on the basis of color, was . . . underway.”2 similarly, emily bartels describes how racism is a twentieth century construction, but racist ideology was already taking hold in pre-imperialist england.3 as “the moor of venice,” othello seemingly takes on the identity of being the sole minority figure in the city, or at least the symbol of racial difference. however, this element of the play becomes problematic when critics use terms such as racist and racism as generalized labels for the play’s dynamics and characters. janet adelman contends that “the play locates othello in a deeply racist society,” that “racist ideology is everywhere visible in venice,” and that brabantio harbors a latent racism toward his son-in-law.4 racial tension is clearly the fuel that drives iago’s war machine, but he is the one who unleashes it upon venice. at worst, iago stirs up a long settled conflict, and at best, this conflict never existed. edward berry similarly views the “overt and vicious racism” of iago and roderigo as the background for othello’s introduction to the audience.5 it is certainly true that shakespeare crafts the play so that the entire first scene is without even one mention of othello’s proper name, all while the audience finds itself subjected to iago’s wild accusations. however, what adelman and berry view as racism may ultimately be deconstructed into misplaced frustration. accusations of widespread racism in othello essentially devolve into anachronisms. phillip butcher notes that for clearly-defined racism to exist in elizabethan england, there must have been a concrete distinction between the poles of othello’s racial background, but this is not necessarily the case: shakespeare’s designation of his character as a moor provides no simple solution to the problem, for it appears that neither he nor other elizabethans made careful distinctions between moors and negroes.6 this point delegitimizes butcher’s own assertion that othello is “undeniably black,” and that of ghazoul, who states that because othello is named the “moor,” he is “therefore an arab.”7 as an undefined symbol of the collective other, schwartz’ argument that othello represents an everyman in the universality of his emotions must be tempered: othello is the everyman of minorities.8 the audience can at least surmise that othello was born in africa given the geographic information contained within iago’s comparison of him to a “barbary horse” and other clues.9 the various references made about the blackness of othello’s skin culminate in his own recognition of this upon telling iago that his reputation matches his own visual darkness: “my name, that was as fresh/ as dian’s visage, is now begrim’d and black/ as mine own face.”10 this self-awareness marks a definitive moment in othello’s internalization of the prejudices iago uses to tear him down: his skin will always display difference in european society, and all it takes is one jealous person to turn that into a weapon. “this self-awareness marks a definitive moment in othello’s internalization of the prejudices iago uses to tear him down: his skin will always display difference in european society, and all it takes is one jealous person to turn that into a weapon.” perhaps the biggest critical topic related to othello is what is now considered to be the race issue—that is, what exactly did shakespeare mean by naming othello the moor of venice? over the past few centuries, scholars have been obsessed with attempting to concretely determine whether othello is a moor or a black african. from samuel taylor coleridge to contemporary essays such as ferial ghazoul’s “the arabization of othello,” othello has since become so heavily laden with racial meaning that this feature of the play has threatened to overtake its more subtle elements. even within popular culture over the past fifty years, the question of othello’s race has been found to be the defining feature. this is illustrated in laurence olivier’s controversial portrayal of othello on film in 1965.like many of the debates within the shakespearean canon, speculation and inference have largely ruled the matter of othello’s race. but does it matter whether othello is a moor or black african? if so, what does a factual understanding of othello’s race contribute to the play? the central question concerning othello thus shifts from othello’s race to shakespeare’s intent: why did shakespeare construct the play in this way? exploring the effects and implications of this critical feature of othello becomes far more productive than chasing after clues about othello’s ethnic background. iago invents and imposes the issue of othello’s skin color and its associated prejudices upon both the play’s characters and the audience. just as othello’s peers fall into iago’s trap by adopting his slander, so do those who take up the issue outside of the text. thus, shakespeare dares the audience to take up with, be it consciously or unconsciously, iago’s fabricated view of othello, designed to bring othello down from his position of power. neither iago, nor the other characters, should be labeled as racist, as there is no conclusive evidence that othello’s race, whatever it may be, caused any problems in the past. this is not to say that the issue of othello’s race and the tension it creates is a misreading, but rather that venice is seemingly beyond this tension at the start of the play. the ambiguity and mystery surrounding othello’s racial classification is thus intentional. an attempt to pinpoint othello’s ethnic background is a false lead woven into the narrative by shakespeare, and as such, othello’s race is of no true importance. what othello does represent is the position of the minority. as a paradoxical figure of acceptance and difference, othello’s presence challenges his fellow venetians and onlookers to take on iago’s rhetoric. ultimately, shakespeare dares othello’s audience to ascribe credibility to iago’s slander where there is none, and to see racism as the factual substructure of venice where there is only artificial racial tension. discussing race in pre-racial contexts to state that the definition of othello’s race is insignificant is not to imply that othello is devoid of a discussion about race. perhaps the first issue encountered in exploring this element of othello is almost too easily overlooked: how william shakespeare 54 55 elements : : spring 2012 racial tension in othello about how to visually depict othello. paul kaplan traces the arc of early artistic representations of othello up until the start of the nineteenth century, and notices that “in every case othello is unequivocally represented as a black african,” but that, over time, “there is also a pronounced movement toward an orientalized character.”13 this shift between the poles of othello’s racial identity is external, and the entire perception of othello being shakespeare’s play about “race” finds its origin in the racial tension iago invents in the first scene. the opening scence: inventing racial tension much has been made of iago’s famous last lines, a defiant response to othello’s demand to explain why he effectively destroyed othello’s life with his lies: “demand me nothing. what you know, you know. / from this time forth i will never speak a word.”14 while iago is one of those most psychologically complex antagonists in the history of british theatre, one need not look any further than othello’s opening scene to learn the astonishingly basic reason for iago’s machinations: jealousy. it is easy for the audience to draw this conclusion because only those in the seats of the production or reading the play know of the thoughts that iago divulges to his lackey roderigo. simply put, iago is angry that othello gave a promotion to someone else. iago’s plot is only hidden from those he deceives in the play, and yet historically the audience associates with othello’s frustrated lack of understanding regarding iago’s motive. shakespeare provides an explicit answer to othello’s question at the start of the play, and contrary to more common analysis, iago’s course of action is not dictated by race in any way. a close reading of othello’s opening scene reveals that iago uses logic as far as it will take him, and only turns to baseless and wild racial stereotypes upon realizing he cannot change othello’s mind; the cause for failure lies within iago, not othello. desperate to make othello feel his pain, iago uses the one characteristic that marks a difference between othello and the other venetians: his skin color. for iago, othello’s race is the only tool he can use to exact revenge upon his commander, but it is a tool he invents in the first scene of act i. the play begins in the middle of a conversation between iago and roderigo as iago explains how othello has offended him by choosing to promote cassio. iago feels wronged, perhaps even rightly so, that othello ignored all of his positive qualities, and offers the audience three key points expressing why he should have been chosen. iago’s first claim is that othello did not pay attention to those in positions of power who could have vouched for his attributes: three great ones of the city, in personal suit to make me his lieutenant, off-capped to him; and, by the faith of man, i know my price; i am worth no worse a place.15 iago claims that othello ignored these references because his mind is “horribly stuffed with epithets of war,” effectively implying that his promotion is of greater importance than the security of venice.16 iago’s second complaint is that cassio is an inexperienced theoretician, who “never set a squadron in the field” and his value is “mere prattle without practice.”17 iago builds himself up to be a man of action who has soldiered from rhodes to cyprus and “on other grounds christian and heathen.”18 the final argument iago outlines to roderigo is one of longevity: “preferment goes by letter and affection, / and not by old gradation, where each second / stood heir to th’ first.”19 iago believes that he deserved the promotion if only because he has served longer than cassio. admittedly, iago appears to have every reason to be upset with othello: he possesses more references, hands-on experience, and a longer career. iago also defines cassio as a florentine, further distancing cassio from venice and establishing him as perhaps the first other in the play. the next interaction serves as the turning point for iago regarding his relationship with othello. the previous list of reasonable grievances is meant to invoke some level of sympathy for the wronged soldier. iago simultaneously reveals that at his core he does not harbor racist sentiments toward othello and finds justification to launch his slanthe claim that venice was subject to an intrinsic and defined structure of racism further loses credibility when the reader considers that the action of othello does not take place in elizabethan london. it is no coincidence that shakespeare chooses venice as the location for othello and the merchant of venice, his two most famous plays featuring minorities. venice’s geographic location as a middle ground between western europe, the arab world, and the continent of africa already contextualizes the city as one far more versed in cultural contact, if not a basic acceptance of ethnic diversity, than shakespeare’s london. this quality of venice’s location is further amplified considering its historical importance and power for its seaport and trade. venice’s real-world reaction to othello strengthens this concept even more. as early as the mid-eighteenth century, the general attitude of venice was that a “venetian audience was well prepared for a character such as othello,” and the “concept of a noble black character like othello was not foreign to venetian culture.”11 it appears rash to immediately ascribe rampant racism to a city whose own identity was defined by the necessity of cultural contact. however, the shade of darkness venetians see is insignificant and ultimately impossible to determine, for “[i]t is apparent that othello’s african birth does not establish his race or color.”12 where some critics have attempted to draw a line between the moorish and african qualities of othello, it is much more likely that shakespeare left the line intentionally blurred so that othello can evade the racial stereotypes others project onto him. the question of determining othello’s race is a masterful example of misdirection by shakespeare as he dares the audience to fill in the solution to this unresolved issue. this becomes even more problematic when directors must make a decision othello courting his wife desdemona in the presence of her father brabantio 56 57 elements : : spring 2012 racial tension in othello and so the audience falls into the very same trap iago sets for brabantio. iago deliberately imposes racial tension on the universal over-protective nature of fathers in order to make brabantio explode with rage. furthermore, iago’s baiting of brabantio does not only contain insults toward othello, but also implicit insults directed toward desdemona and brabantio himself. which father would react rationally to hearing of their virginal daughter’s alleged sexual promiscuity while being told that it is his fault for not being vigilant enough? rather than alluding to concerns of othello’s race, brabantio reveals that he had feared desdemona would defy him and elope, saying, “this accident is not unlike my dream.”29 even upon confronting othello two scenes later, brabantio’s emphasis is still on the notion that his daughter has been stolen from him, as he addresses othello saying, “o thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter?”30 brabantio’s newfound hatred for othello emerges out of his apparent inability to protect desdemona’s “youth and maidenhood,” perhaps the greatest responsibility a father feels for his daughter.31 later, brabantio even warns othello of desdemona’s inability to submit to masculine control, saying, “look to her, moor, if thou hast eyes to see; / she has deceiv’d her father, and may thee.”32 iago gives brabantio the ammunition to turn the pain of seemingly failing as a father into a conflict with the ability to threaten othello’s standing in venice. thus, the opening scene determines the course of the play and othello’s fate as brabantio falls into iago’s trap and becomes fooled into making iago’s words a reality. iago’s trap of projection from a modern psychological perspective, shakespeare primes his audience to automatically think of othello’s race before actually knowing the details of his character, and this mirrors what iago does with his misleading of brabantio. iago’s devolution into irrational hatred in the first scene brings his credibility as a reliable figure into question, if not completely destroying it. given shakespeare’s talent and vision, the effects of such a complex double movement are surely intentional. by the end of othello’s first scene, the audience cannot help but view everything that follows in light of othello’s race. the genius of this construction is that the reception and interpretation of othello since its creation becomes entirely dependent upon the climate of a society’s own racial tensions. every performance and reading of othello serves to reflect the audience’s own ideological presuppositions back onto themselves. joyce green macdonald succinctly expresses this in her commentary on nineteenth century stage portrayals of othello when she writes that the ability for actors to switch between othello and iago demonstrates “the status of blackness as an imaginative product of white cultures, both theatrical and racial.”33 just as iago projects his own feelings of failure onto othello in the form of derogatory racial stereotypes, the audience projects their own assumptions onto the play as a whole. there is perhaps no better element of the play that reflects this function than the scene of desdemona’s murder. as the imperial reach of europe, and especially england, grew in the century following othello’s creation, so did fascination with othello’s killing of his wife. by the turn of the eighteenth century, artistic accompaniments with editions of othello increasingly focused on depicting the murder.34 over the next hundred years, this image of a black man violently strangling a white woman became dominant: [t]he repeated selection of the murder scene at the end of the play reveals a taste for the melodramatic, and implies a reading “othello displays the unnatural birth of racial tension to an elizabethan world that was slowly solidifying its own artificial construction of difference.” derous attacks. this dual motion comes with iago’s indirect question to roderigo of whether he owes othello any further allegiance: “now, sir, be judge yourself, / whether i in any just term am affined / to love the moor.”20 if iago truly believed in a natural superiority over othello due to his ethnic background, he would not even consider the question of whether or not he should still “love” othello. in fact, this sentiment shows that iago has shared some level of friendship with othello leading up until this point. this display is far from berry’s accusation of “iago’s blatant racism,” since a eurocentric racist would find it impossible to respect a man from africa, let alone hint at personal affection for him.21 at this point in the opening scene, iago feels betrayed, desperate, and furious; a calculating man such as iago surely views his misfortune as an incorrectly computed equation. having received the expected negative answer from his mirror roderigo, iago gains all the justification he needs to begin his siege of illusion: “i follow him to serve my turn upon him.”22 roderigo utters the first racial epithet with the famous description of othello as the “thick-lips,” and this slur seems to inspire iago to use the same language on brabantio because iago immediately outlines his plan after roderigo finishes speaking.23 roderigo’s insult to othello comes after a passionate monologue by iago describing how he will falsely serve othello. shakespeare constructs roderigo as iago’s yes-man, and so iago’s anger is roderigo’s anger; roderigo is a mirror for iago’s emotions. roderigo’s insult is a form of childish name-calling, but iago recognizes that roderigo has either intentionally or subconsciously unearthed the power of the visual difference between othello and other venetians. given othello’s good standing and respect among his peers at the outset of the play, it seems as if any potential problems related to his ethnicity have been settled in the past. shakespeare makes it clear throughout the play that iago’s most masterful gift is that of language, and iago is well aware of the power words can have—especially when used to create and perpetuate divisiveness. combined with the trust every character has in “honest iago,” there is no reason for anyone, especially othello, to doubt his words. this is most explicit, given iago’s command to “poison” brabantio’s “delight.”24 iago seeks to change brabantio’s joy via his accusations, and yet iago himself seems unsure if this will succeed as he references how he and roderigo will “throw such chances of vexation on’t as it may lose some color”25. if an atmosphere of racism truly pervades venice as adelman claims, iago would not speak of his plan’s success in terms of “chances” and the possibility that it “may” anger brabantio. what follows are a few of the strongest pieces of evidence critics like adelman and berry use to construct iago, roderigo, and brabantio as racists. these include iago’s claims of othello being “an old black ram” and a “barbary horse,” invoking the apparently bestial element of othello’s otherness.26 berry notes that brabantio’s resulting “rage at othello expresses the same racism iago and roderigo had incited on the streets of venice,” but brabantio does not internalize these insults immediately. brabantio’s response to iago’s claim that desdemona and “the moor are making the beast with two backs” is one of powerful condemnation: “thou art a villain.”27 there is no doubt that at this point brabantio understands who iago speaks of; his previous barbs have been wrapped in the linguistic cloak of opaqueness long enough to set up the bestial connotation with othello. even upon learning that it is indeed “the moor” that is supposedly with desdemona, brabantio needs more convincing before taking this as fact. instead of directing brabantio’s sense of being threatened at othello as part of some long-hidden racism, as berry does, bartels’ provides a view that does not immediately assume othello’s race is the provocation: while we cannot know what that threat is, whether it involves othello’s race, desdemona’s sexuality, or something else entirely, brabantio positions himself as one whose authority and ‘guardage’ have been violated.28 furthermore, the audience later learns that brabantio had previously welcomed othello into his home, well aware of his connection to desdemona, a point to which even adelman and berry admit. perhaps the simplest reason for why brabantio becomes so infuriated is that he has lost control of his daughter. to assume the issue of othello’s race is at the heart of brabantio’s concern is to follow iago’s lead, 58 59 elements : : spring 2012 racial tension in othello one particularly subtle moment that reveals iago’s insults as his own frustrated projection comes when lodovico cites the strength of othello’s reputation upon witnessing him striking desdemona: “my lord, this would not be believed in venice, / though i should swear i saw’t.”45 venice is thus characterized as perhaps the only place in the world that would not believe that othello has the ability to hit his wife even with the testimony of a venetian nobleman. additionally, this implies that othello’s reputation is even greater than that of lodovico. once othello leaves venice, he becomes subject to the greater awareness of the terms of iago’s racial stereotyping. lodovico’s lines almost read as recognition from shakespeare himself that while othello’s fellow venetians would fail to believe such an act against his character occurred, the audience in london will readily believe it. conclusion in othello, shakespeare creates a venice that exists outside of europe’s burgeoning solidification of racial stereotypes. the association between othello’s race and his character is one raised solely by iago, and he does so out of his own irrational thirst for revenge. while iago invents the racial tension in othello, it is clear that othello serves as a symbol for how any minority cannot escape the threat of negative difference due to physical appearance. given that othello’s difference of ethnicity is the only element of his person that separates him from the rest of venice, it is the only thread iago can grab onto in his plot to unravel venice’s most admired man. shakespeare challenges his audience to read into the difference of physical appearance by fashioning a noble, heroic, and loving male figure and giving him a darker skin tone than those in the theatre and on stage. the definition of othello’s race does not matter to anyone in the play until iago makes it an issue. thus, the characters who turn on othello are far from racist or displaying racism; iago’s slurs are external and projected. in fact, this makes their derogatory utterances even more deplorable than if they were a product of widespread racial prejudice, for at least in such a situation one could indeed blame societal environment. the stereotypes become internalized upon assuming the existence of a cause-effect relationship between othello’s actions and the fact that iago poisons othello with his own irrationality. othello displays the unnatural birth of racial tension to an elizabethan world that was slowly solidifying its own artificial construction of difference. what does matter is the disturbing readiness of iago, and the collective western mind, to so easily rely upon sight rather than belief. endnotes 1. orkin (168) 2. ibid. 3. bartels (434) 4. adelman (125-126) 5. berry (319) 6. butcher (243) 7. ghazoul (1) 8. schwartz (299) 9. shakespeare (1.1.89, 111) 10. shakespeare (3.3.384-385) 11. kaplan (179) 12. butcher (245) 13. kaplan (185) 14. shakespeare (5.2.299-300) 15. shakespeare (1.1.8-10) 16. shakespeare, (1.1.12) 17. shakespeare (1.1.19, 23) 18. shakespeare (1.1.26-27) 19. shakespeare (1.1.33-35) 20. shakespeare (1.1.35-37) 21. berry (323) 22. shakespeare (1.1.39) 23. shakespeare (1.1.63) 24. shakespeare (1.1.65) 25. shakespeare (1.1.69-70) 26. shakespeare (1.1.89, 111) 27. shakespeare (1.1.113-114) 28. bartels (450) 29. shakespeare (1.1.139) 30. shakespeare (1.3.61-62) 31. shakespeare (1.1.169) of the tragedy in which othello’s violence assumes the most important position.35 this snapshot still possesses immense power today as it is still used for the cover of the most current edition of othello in the signet classics series, a text intended for and used by countless students as an introduction to the play.36 michael neill highlights this trend in both artistic representation and performance, arguing that the bedroom scene has been used to “confirm the deep fears of racial/ sexual otherness on which the play trades.”37 however, his interpretation of henry jackson’s 1610 response to a performance of othello reveals the phenomenon of injecting race into the play where there is no evidence of it being an issue. neill states that jackson’s apparent silence regarding the murder scene’s “racial otherness” must mean that “there was for him no real way of voicing” the concerns of racial tension.38 instead of accepting the lack of racial commentary as a sign that jackson had nothing to say on the matter, neill insists that this silence is “in some deep sense unutterable.”39 neill attempts to connect jackson’s inclusion of commentary on the murder scene to this supposedly unspeakable element of the play, and yet neill overlooks that this scene is perhaps othello’s most tragic moment: a noble, virtuous man murders his loving wife out of crushing paranoia. referring back to bartels’ characterization of elizabethan attitudes toward race, they simply were not solidified during othello’s original run. neill effectively falls into the same trap that ensnares brabantio as they both use othello’s skin to assume some level of causality; in neill’s case, the absence of racial tension somehow proves its existence. shakespeare provides evidence throughout othello that othello’s race is a nonissue for venetian society. the biggest leap for the audience to make in regards to understanding othello is in believing that a venice without racial prejudice exists in the play. the clearest starting point is how othello’s character has become synonymous with the virtue of nobility. adelman notices how othello is described in terms of being more complete and unified than iago, whose fragmentation defines him throughout the entirety of the play. such examples include othello being a “full soldier” who possesses “solid virtue” and a “perfect soul.”40 adelman compares iago’s creation of the monster othello becomes to childbirth, for the “blackness iago would attribute to othello [is] something already inside iago himself.”41 another key element is othello’s relationship with desdemona. desdemona’s proclamation that she “saw othello’s visage in his mind” may refer to an awareness of the role his ethnicity plays in their relationship, but could have a far more simple intention.42 desdemona clearly knows that othello is of a different ethnic background, but her expression may also be interpreted as one of a deeper understanding and love for othello. if desdemona sees othello’s true self, or “visage,” in his mind, the most basic meaning is that she loves him for his inner self. this is no different than the modern trope that “beauty is only skin deep” or one should not “judge a book by its cover”; true love will always be based upon a connection between souls, not externalities. the duke’s reaction to brabantio’s claims against othello is another scene that has suffered racial projection. while venice’s need for othello to defend against the turks may relegate othello to a tool, brabantio hardly portrays his concerns of othello stealing desdemona as rational. brabantio readily admits to everyone in attendance that his emotions are out of control, saying “my particular grief / is of so floodgate and o’erbearing nature / that it engluts and swallows other sorrows.”43 the duke judiciously allows othello to respond to brabantio’s wild accusations as he explains his relationship with desdemona, leaving the duke to admit that othello’s tale would win his daughter as well.44 such a sentiment has nothing to do with the “exotic” quality of othello’s life story. instead, it serves to further praise othello for being the figure of nobility he is in venice. despite his hardships, he is a model of virtue. the duke’s admission of this simultaneously legitimizes othello and discredits brabantio, and thus the matter is essentially settled given the far more real threat of venice’s safety. unfortunately, this does not stop iago’s plan as he continues to burrow into othello’s mind. 60 61 elements : : spring 2012 racial tension in othello 32. shakespeare (1.3.292-293) 33. macdonald (232) 34. kaplan (181) 35. kaplan (185) 36. shakespeare 37. neill (390) 38. neill (394) 39. neill (394) 40. shakespeare (2.1.36, 4.1.66, 1.2.31) 41. adelman (130) 42. shakespeare (1.3.252) 43. shakespeare (1.3.56-57) 44. shakespeare (1.3.170) 45. shakespeare (4.1.242-243) references adelman, janet. “iago’s alter ego: race as projection in othello.”  shakespeare quarterly  48.2 (1997): 125-44.  jstor. web. 25 apr. 2011. bartels, emily c. “making more of the moor: aaron, othello, and renaissance refashionings of race.”  shakespeare quarterly  41.4 (1990): 433-54. jstor. web. 25 apr. 2011. berry, edward. “othello’s alienation.”  studies in english literature 30.2 (1990): 31533. jstor. web. 25 apr. 2011. butcher, phillip. “othello’s racial identity.” shakespeare quarterly 3.3 (1952): 243-47. jstor. web. 20 apr. 2011. ghazoul, ferial j. “the arabization of othello.” comparative literature 50.1 (1998): 1-31. jstor. web. 20 apr. 2011. kaplan, paul h.d. “the earliest images of othello.” shakespeare quarterly 39.2 (1988): 171-86. jstor. web. 25 apr. 2011. neill, michael. “unproper beds: race, adultery, and the hideous in othello.” shakespeare quarterly 40.4 (1989): 383-412. jstor. web. 15 jan. 2011. mcdonald, joyce green. “acting black: “othello,” “othello” burlesques, and the performances of blackness.” theatre journal 46.2 (1994): 231-49. jstor. web. 21 apr. 2011. orkin, martin. “othello and the “plain face” of racism.” shakespeare quarterly 38.2 (1987): 166-88. print. shakespeare, william. the tragedy of othello: the moor of venice. ed. alvin b. kernan. new york: signet classic, 1998. print. schwartz, elias. “stylistic “impurity” and the meaning of othello.” studies in english literature 10.2 (1970): 297-313. jstor. web. 20 apr. 2011. 62 elements : : spring 2012 why is a man acting on faith of god unable to relate himself to his community? this issue is rooted in the intriguing yet problematic system of existential christian thought developed by the 19th century danish philosopher søren kierkegaard. kierkegaard, writing under the veil of several pseudonyms, ultimately suggests that language itself is incapable of communicating the message of the absolute; consequently, the so-called “knight of faith,” or true believer, can only communicate through silence. while his solution in silence is appropriate, kierkegaard fails to realize that the structural dichotomy between his ethical and religious dialectic, highlighted in the necessity of the teleological suspension of the ethical, creates the linguistic dilemma that isolates the knight of faith. this is to say, kierkegaard’s dialectics, not language itself, can explain the knight of faith’s linguistic barrier. this article explores the potential means of communication available to the knight of faith and explains why the kierkegaardian dialectic obstructs each means, developing silence, or “indirect communication,” as the only means of expressing the absurd subjective truth of the absolute. knight of faith between saying and doing sam kent must distinguish himself from the sinner, but here he experiences a communication barrier. the ethical is the disclosed.3 as such, it demands all particulars to mediate with the universal by giving expression to their interiority. such expression demands a means of communication that is comprehensible to the ethical— that is, language. however, faith, a secondary interiority, is unable to utilize the ethico-linguistic construct. this, ipso facto, would appear to preclude any justification of the knight of faith’s transgression against the universal. the knight of faith’s inability to use the ethical language stems from its structure, particularly the structure of argument. according to logic, a reductio ad absurdum invalidates a claim. this occurs with the claim of faith: “the single individual as the particular is higher than the universal.”4 universality denotes ubiquity: the claim that there exists a particular beyond the universal seems to violate the principle of non-contradiction when put into language. the statement of faith constitutes an absurd claim that violates logic, and therefore must be disregarded in the context of an argument. yet faith is this absurdity and thus “the single individual is quite unable to make himself intelligible to anyone.”5 faith’s subjectivity is irreducible to adequate expression. accordingly, any individual who “seeks to prove god’s existence by means of logical syllogisms is denounced by kierkegaard as being ipso facto a heathen.”6 furthermore, the ethico-linguistic construct contains a temporal aspect that is unable to account for the atemporal essence of the divine; as kierkegaard’s pseudonym johannes de silentio relates, “for in the world of time god and i have no language in common.”7 kierkegaard himself declared, “philosophy cannot and should not give us an account of faith.”8 consequently, faith, this absurd paradox, cannot be articulated within the logical language of ethical philosophy. the next potential approach to communication is the use of a non-ethical language. to communicate, it is a sine qua non that a language is comprehensible to both parties. yet, the ethical dialectic is inexorably tied to its own logical constructs, inevitably ruling out this possibility for those unable to engage in philosophical ethics. moreover, extra-argumentative conviction—the emotive acts of artists, for example—are unlikely to sway those who hold up the logical dialectic as the form of philosophy. as johannes de silentio states, “though [the knight of faith] himself understood all the tongues of the world, though the loved ones understood them too—he still could not talk—he speaks a divine tongue.”9 this divine tongue is unintelligible to the uninitiated (including ethical philosophers) in the same way that the ethical logic is unintelligible to the uninitiated. as a result, the knight of faith cannot use a non-ethical language to communicate a convincing argument to the ethical community. there remains the prospect of transforming the ethical language to incorporate the capability to properly express the movement of faith. this would require conducting the movement of faith through the ethico-linguistic construct. doing so, rather than merely utilizing language as a means of explanation ex post facto, would enable the reformation and contextualization of the language. for example, ethico-linguistic logic equating absurd with invalid could be inverted through the knight of faith’s use of the absurd. an isomorphic dialectic transformation would occur as mutual usage of a common language would both introduce a proper religious lexicon to the ethico-linguistic construct —thereby recognizing the religious in the universal—and “kierkegaard himself declared, ‘philosophy cannot and should not give us an account of faith.’ consequently, faith, this absurd paradox, cannot be articulated within the logical language of ethical philosophy.” kierkegaard distinguishes between the knight of faith— the “true believer” who can act upon the absurd—and the ethical man who acts according to rational and intelligible morality, expressed as laws and mores with an eye to the common good. the knight of faith’s movement of faith is misinterpreted by the ethical man as a sinner’s expression of particularity. therefore it becomes necessary for the knight of faith to distinguish his transgression against the universal. but in the expression he experiences a dilemma: his apparent inability to communicate in ethical terms. this essay examines both the failure of language as a medium of communication between the religious and the ethical, and the knight of faith’s solution in silence. three potential approaches to communication will be explored: (1) using ethical language, (2) using non-ethical language, and (3) transforming the ethical language. after these three are found to be insufficient, silence will be examined as the sole means of communication available to the knight of faith in the dialectic. the movement of faith can only communicate through silence, and then only to a limited audience of ethical individuals who are prepared to undergo the “leap” to the religious dialectic. ultimately, the dichotomy between styles, not an intrinsic limitation in language, will be faulted for the communication barrier experienced by the knight of faith. let us define our terms. the ethical is rational, intelligible, universal morality, encapsulated in laws and mores that are identified by a community as the highest good. transgressing these explicit laws and mores is considered a sin, and in all likelihood will also be deemed irrational, unintelligible, and particular by the ethical community. through an “absolute relation with the absolute”—that is, god—the knight of faith establishes himself as a particular above the universal.1 he becomes an individual justified by a personal relationship to a universal source, not by conforming to a universal sets of laws. in doing so, he “transcends and dialectically recapitulates” the aesthetic and ethical stage of moral progression in a way that “retrieves the character of subjective immediacy and inwardness” of the aesthetic without its “irresponsible quality.”2 let us dwell a moment on this description. the aesthetic phase—in which an individual morally responds to his personal feeling without universal consideration—results in a narrow, particular morality justifiable from one outwardly inaccessible perspective. the movement of the knight of faith echoes this aesthetic turn toward an individual passion. the difference is that in the case of faith, the individual’s passion is focused on the universal in the form of god, not the ever-shifting palate of human appetites. in this way, the knight of faith gains access to the universal for direction and recourse to the same for justification, relying upon god in the same way that the ethical man relies on ethical laws and mores. inevitably, his higher expression of particularity will be misinterpreted as sin —an expression of an aesthetic urge transgressing a universally applicable ethical standard. the knight of faith søren kierkegaard 64 65 elements : : spring 2012 knight of faith meaning it happens to convey depends upon perceiving it as such.”20 accordingly, language constitutes a very dynamic and non-restrictive medium of communication. rather, it is the dichotomy between the ethical and the religious that is responsible for the communication barrier. each dialectic acts to resist the other. the ethical construct demands rational proof of the inherently absurd movement of faith. as kierkegaard notes in on becoming a christian, “to prove is to demonstrate something to be the rational actuality it is. can one demonstrate that to be a rational actuality which is at odds with reason? of course not, unless one would contradict oneself.”21 likewise, the religious dialectic frustrates any attempt to conceptualize or formulate it in the terms of an argument, as “faith is possible for thought only through a particular movement of negation in which the possibility of thinking faith requires the negation of thought itself.”22 furthermore, the ethical and the religious community derive their perspective from two distinct, non-relatable realms of experience. as anticlimacus (a pseudonym) notes, “the relation between the natural man and the christian . . . is like the relation between a child and an adult: what makes the child shudder and shrink, the adult regards as nothing.”23 there is a fundamental barrier to communication beyond language due to the dichotomy between the ethical objectivity and the religious subjectivity. the ethical dialectic is necessarily objective due to its claims to universality. for the religious, as kierkegaard notes in his concluding unscientific postscripts, “god is a subject, and therefore exists only for subjectivity in inwardness.”24 god can be conceptualized as an absolute particularity that infinitely abrogates the ethical universality. in doing so, god violates the essence of the ethical dialectic. it therefore becomes incumbent on the ethical community to reject such claims to a higher absolute particularity. as such, the knight of faith’s inability to communicate does not constitute a linguistic deficiency, but rather an essential incompatibility of the dialectics. this explains the necessity of “suspending” of the ethical and “leaping” to the religious, instead of a gradual transition between the two. the inevitable failure of this gradualist approach becomes apparent in kierkegaard’s narration of the ethical man who wants faith. the man requires the assurance of objective demonstration and thus utilizes the scientific process of approximation: [faith becomes] the almost probable, the very probable, the extremely and exceedingly probable: that he can almost know, or as good as know, to a greater degree and exceedingly almost know—but believe it, that is impossible, for the absurd is precisely the object of faith, and only that can be believed.25 any attempt to objectify faith will result in dogmatism, which is antithetical to kierkegaard’s existential faith. in short, the subjectivity of faith violates the principle of ethiimage of the sacrifice of isaac by abraham structure the movement of faith in a form that is more compatible with the ethical dialectic. this would facilitate a transvaluation of the movement of faith. yet, such a dialectic convergence between subjective interiority and objective universality conducted through the bridge of language is ultimately impossible due to the teleological suspension of the ethical—the obligatory transcendence of the ethical due to a higher telos.10 when no higher telos exists, the knight of faith adheres to the ethical. while acting in accordance with the ethical, language is a sufficient means of communication and thus the knight of faith’s linguistic dilemma is irrelevant. however, when a higher telos does exist, the ethical is suspended and with it, the ethical language is forfeit. any subjective interior experience negates the structural rationalization impulses of the ethical through the teleological suspension. this explains why faith “cannot be fit to conceptual form” or “be put into form at all.”11 the process can be reduced to a telosdependent question of either/or: either the knight of faith is adhering to the ethical, making the knight of faith’s linguistic dilemma irrelevant; or, he is suspending the ethical, isolating the movement of faith from the ethico-linguistic construct. to recapitulate, utilizing the ethico-linguistic construct, utilizing a non-ethical linguistic construct, and transforming the ethico-linguistic construct have all been found to be ineffective means for the knight of faith to communicate to the ethical community. the use of silence must now be examined. ludwig wittgenstein concludes in his seminal tractatus logico-philosophicus, “what we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.”12 while disputing whether it is the ethical or the religious that belongs in the domain of silence, wittgenstein and kierkegaard fundamentally agree that silence is the appropriate expression of those experiences which lie beyond the propositional, sensibly meaningful limits of language. at first, this may appear to be a perplexing claim due to the conventional denotation of silence as “the fact of abstaining or forbearing from speech or utterance.”13 however, the kierkegaardian usage of “silence” signifies, as mark taylor claims, an “indirect communication.”14 while the knight of faith can speak, he cannot articulate his message. after the stammering articulations and botched argument of the eager believer, the choice to be silent is a pious acknowledgement of his own limits. in this silence “he doesn’t say anything, and that is his way of saying what he has to say.”15 take the case of abraham. in response to isaac’s question, abraham says, “my son, god will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”16 this is abraham’s expression of his absurd compulsion of his faith. yet, this is utterly unintelligible to ethical philosophy (as chris hitchens was always quick to note), which cannot comprehend the infinite double movement of faith in which this claim is made—it is as if he “speaks a foreign tongue.”17 from the ethical perspective, “if [the movement of faith] is to be perceived at all, it can appear only in the dislocation effected within the ethical.”18 nevertheless, there does exist a select audience within the ethical community who are preparing to undergo the “leap” to the final dialectic stage. it is this group that can receive the knight of faith’s claims and comprehend the unarticulated meaning. silence, kierkegaard argues, can go beyond the ethical language to convey the movement of faith to a select audience. kierkegaard, however, is mistaken for faulting the intrinsic deficiencies of language for the knight of faith’s inability to justify himself to the ethical community.19 humankind is “given language only as it occurs, and whatever “wittgenstein and kierkegaard fundamentally agree that silence is the appropriate expression of those experiences which lie beyond the propositional, sensibly meaningful limits of language.” 66 67 elements : : spring 2012 knight of faith cal universality; therefore, the ethical community cannot comprehend the knight of faith’s message in principle. the complexities of the knight of faith’s extremely limited ability to communicate with the ethical community has been examined, revealing that the knight of faith could not use the ethical language, a non-ethical language, or a transformed ethical language. silence was found to be the knight of faith’s only adequate and appropriate means of communication with the ethical, and then only with a select few: those prepared to undergo the “leap” to the religious dialectic. ultimately, the dichotomy between the dialectics runs deeper than an intrinsic limitation in language and is the root of the communication barrier experienced by the knight of faith. there remains the possibility of using non-linguistic communication—albeit forms like the arts, which appeal to aesthetic sensibilities and not logical sensibilities—as a means of conveying the movement of faith. but we can conclude that according to kierkegaard, no argument can be as dynamic the leap of faith. endnotes 1. kierkegaard 1985 (85) 2. kearney 1988 (202) 3. kierkegaard 1985 (109) 4. kierkegaard 1985 (84) 5. kierkegaard 1985 (99) 6. kearney 1988 (202) 7. kierkegaard 1985 (35) 8. kierkegaard 1985 (63) 9. kierkegaard 1985 (138) 10. kierkegaard 1985 (96) 11. hale 2002 (147) 12. wittgenstein 1922 13. “silence, n.” oed online.. 14. zijlstra 2006 (96) 15. kierkegaard 1985 (142) 16. ibid. 17. kierkegaard 1985 (143) 18. hale 2002 (167) 19. note that wittgenstein’s earlier philosophy can be faulted for his emphasis on the intrinsic limit to language. 20. hale 2002 (2) 21. kierkegaard 2005 (28) 22. hale 2002 (146) 23. kierkegaard 1980 (8) 24. kierkegaard 2005 (18) 25. kierkegaard 2005 (24) references hale, geoffrey. kierkegaard and the ends of language. (minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 2002). kearney, richard. the wake of imagination: toward a postmodern culture. (london: routledge, 1988). kierkegaard, søren. “concluding unscientific postscript.” in existentialism, edited by robert c. solomon (oxford: oxford university press, 2005). kierkegaard, søren. “on becoming a christian.” in existentialism, edited by robert c. solomon (oxford: oxford university press, 2005). kierkegaard, søren. fear and trembling. trans. alastair hannay. (london: penguin books, 1985). kierkegaard, søren. the sickness unto death: a christian psychological exposition for upbuilding and awakening. trans. howard and edna hong. (princeton: princeton university press, 1980.) “silence, n.”. oed online. march 2011. oxford university press. http://www.oed.com/view/entry/179646?rskey=7cgbvo&result =1&isadvanced=false (accessed may 06, 2011). wittgenstein, ludwig. tractatus logico-philosophicus, (1922), <http://filepedia.org/files/ludwig%20wittgenstein%20-%20 tractatus%20logico-philosophicus.pdf>. zijlstra, onno. language, image and silence: kierkegaard and wittgenstein on ethics and aesthetics. (berlin: peter lang, 2006). 68 elements : : spring 2012 women have tossed their aprons, grabbed their briefcases, and headed off into the labor force. men have started in the opposite direction, ditching their briefcases in order to spend some quality time raising their children. with the alteration of the definition of women’s roles in the family comes the inevitable redefining of those of men. fathers have transformed from the detached breadwinners portrayed in classic american sitcoms like leave it to beaver into hands-on dads. this article explores these changes, while paying specific attention to the roles of feminism and the media in the development of this new trend. the emergence of fatherhood the reversal of parental roles for a new age trish clasen and mothers as “nurturers” emerged from the effects of industrialization.7 as men sought employment in industrial factories, they left behind their farms, small businesses, and child-rearing responsibilities. mothers, as a result, assumed the primary parental role, while “the predominant construction of fatherhood in the twentieth century had at its core fathers’ instrumental or breadwinning role in the family.”8 here is where the gender-socialized parenting roles strengthened. men were constantly counting figures and earning paychecks, while women were glued to the kitchen, never ceasing to serve their husbands and children. these traditional roles defined the ideal family, as presented through the leave it to beaver era sitcoms. society’s model of the conventional american family definitively divided the parental roles via gender. furthermore, it allowed for little flexibility in male and female roles. because men were deemed the “breadwinners,” there was little room left for fathers to become involved with their children’s lives. after all, they needed to spend their time and energy focusing on climbing the career ladder and providing steady paychecks. to sufficiently fulfill this duty, fathers had to stay away from the nurturing end of the spectrum. men were often absent from the home for the majority of the week, missing out on their children’s lives. thompson and walker argue, “fathers, in the traditional image, are breadwinners who are neither competent nor desirous of nurturing children on a day-to-day basis.”9 these traditionalist views peg men as absent, uninvolved, and career-focused. for these “breadwinning” fathers, work and family are two entirely separate spheres; work schedules and career commitments are rarely affected by the father’s child-rearing responsibilities.10 children’s activities, achievements, and emotional needs tended to be left for the mother to deal with, as traditional fathers spent the majority of their time in the office. however, traditional fathers were not entirely nonexistent throughout their offspring’s childhoods. weekends and holidays for fathers meant quality time spent with children. though, the conventional manner in which this time was passed definitely does not resemble the way mothers shared moments with their children. thompson and walker’s research on parental roles leads them towards “terming fathers ‘playmates’ and mothers ‘caregivers and comfort givers.’11 playtime is pivotal for traditional father involvement. imagery of father-son fishing trips, father-daughter dances, and games of catch between a father and his son work to illustrate the notion that fathers only interact with their children through fun activities. the entertainment aspect of a father’s relationship with his children works on a superficial level; a traditional father is only involved with his children via transactions—minimal time spent, and maximal funds exchanged. definitions such as these result from the traditional viewpoint that men focus their time and energy in the workforce, while mothers focus their efforts towards providing a nurturing and caring environment for her children. with an increase in paternal responsibility has come an increase in the acceptability of showing fatherly affection. “welcome to the world of modern fatherhood, formerly known as motherhood.”1 mothers of the twenty-first century have found new support in parenting from their husbands, an illustration of the transformation in the traditional family. “the line between fathering and mothering is beginning to blur.”2 the new trends in fatherhood appear to have trailed behind the shift in the definition of motherhood. a surge in the gender rights movement resulted in the transformation of the paternal role; no longer the patriarchal ruler of the home, fathers are starting to reevaluate the traditional fathering roles they once possessed. this trend is a direct response to the feminist movement. yet this new movement to redefine the role of the father faces just as much backlash as its feminist predecessor continues. an array of exterior factors, primarily the media and feminist movements, serve to manipulate and reshape the roles of fathers in our modern day society—for better and worse. media portrayals represent negative feelings towards the new trend in fatherhood, through their satirical messages and the absence of helpful advice for fathers. feminism and the media are serving as dialectic tensions, in regards to the defining of masculinity and the role of fathers in today’s society. this paper aims to explore the feminist movement’s relationship with the new trends in fatherhood, and the media backlash ridiculing them both. traditional fatherhood ward cleaver. bill cosby. howard cunningham. mike brady. these sitcom fathers captivated american audiences, as families gathered around the television on saturday nights. they greeted their wives before sitting down to a family dinner; they left them each morning with a peck on the cheek and a newspaper in hand. if “television content is illustrative of some of the many concerns, traditions, values, and norms of the day in which it was conceived and produced,” then these sitcom fathers epitomize the definition of fatherhood for the 1950s-1960s.3 the characterization of these fathers as patriarchs resembles the societal expectations of the traditional roles a father is supposed to fulfill. traditionally, the phrases “father” and “breadwinner” were synonymous with one another. fatherhood, in the traditional sense of the word, was conceptualized as the provider of means, the “breadwinner,” throughout various studies.4 according to jessie bernard (1981), “the more traditional model is the good-provider model, in which men demonstrate their commitment to the family by being responsible workers and bringing home an acceptable high income”.5 scholars and the media continuously emphasized the father’s breadwinning role, emphasizing his familial responsibilities to earn enough money to put food on the table night after night. industrialization and notions of normal masculinity can be held responsible for the development of the traditional father role with which we are so familiar today. according to gentry, hegemonic masculinity narrows [mens’] options, forces them into confined roles, dampens their emotions . . . precludes intimacy with children, and dooms them to living in fear of not living up to the masculine ideal.6 society’s constricting definition of masculinity parallels its narrowed conceptualizations of male parent roles. in a historical context, the distinction of fathers as “breadwinners” “industrialization and notions of normal masculinity can be held responsible for the development of the traditional father role with which we are so familiar today.” 70 71 elements : : spring 2012 the emergence of fatherhood temporaries emerged the conceptualization of fatherhood into three major components—“the extent of the father’s accessibility to his children, the extent of the father’s actual interaction with his children, and the degree of responsibility that the father assumes for his children.”24 almost twenty years later, wall et al. extended the definition of fatherhood by creating sub-categories for fathers, distinguished by behaviors and methods of parenting. seeking understanding of fatherhood in the greater context, the researchers examined the practices of fathers (from diaper changing to recital attendance), the types of father-child bonds (emotionally open or uses a mediator to communicate), and a man’s viewpoint towards fatherhood (whether he sees himself as a good or bad father).25 carlson extensively researched the influence of structure and parental involvement on the behaviors of children. his study was the first “to directly measure variation in fathers’ as well as mothers’ parenting across family structures,” yet was not published until 2006.26 a majority of the accessible sources have made clear that researchers disproportionately examine the roles of mothers, leaving evaluations of the paternal role neglected.27 with the rise in academic interest concerning fatherhood and non-traditionalist patterns, it is clear that there is a movement to counter the dominance of motherly studies and prevalence in the lives of children. exploring the diversity of fatherhood styles, wall makes note as to which fathers take on paternal, relational (partner-oriented), and breadwinning roles. the complexity and depth of the way our society constructs fatherhood has caught the attention of academic scholars. as these researchers understand the effects and outcomes of these fatherhood trends, they examine the societal movements and backlash that sparked and burden this paternal movement. feminism and its popularity with the first seneca falls convention in 1848, an organized movement dedicated to eliminating the genderbased inequalities afflicting women emerged. deemed “feminism,” this movement originally focused on woman’s suffrage, but has now shifted its efforts towards establishing equal settings for women in the realms of careers and academia. feminism is centered around two pivotal themes: first, “feminism values women as important and worthwhile human beings; second, feminism recognizes the need for social change if women are to lead secure and satisfying lives.”28 the feminist movement pushes for the shifting of traditional values towards more modern, egalitarian principles. this insistence on change does not only apply to women, but also extends to men. with the increased popularity of the feminist movement arrived a dramatic increase in the number of women seeking employment. ambition to climb the career ladder does not seem to have been extinguished by child rearing, especially as female presence in the labor force has increased. according to the u.s. department of labor’s bureau of labor statistics, the rate of women balancing both a career and children under the age of 18 increased from 47% to 73% between march 1975 and march 2000.29 “since 1970, the gap between the labor force participation rates of married men and women has narrowed.”30 these statistics point out that the movement of mothers entering the labor force is undeniable. for this reason, it is necessary to understand both the positive and negative consequences of this trend. “nothing has changed family life more in the twentieth century than the dramatic increase in mothers’ labor force participation.”31 the female’s increased role in the workplace, has resulted in a diminished presence of women in the home. no matter how they try, it is impossible for women to attain the highest career success while managing their familial duties. here is where men have stepped in. with the alteration of the definition of females’ roles in the home comes the inevitable redefining of roles of males. “the family structure in which the male is the sole breadwinner continues to erode as women become increasingly present and powerful in the workforce.”32 mothers add work responsibilities into their daily routines already full of multi-tasking, while some fathers are taking on fewer workplace responsibilities. “fathers are changing more diapers, cooking more meals, and reprioritizing the means of work, increasingly adding more family responsibilities to their daily activities.”33 as women’s time is devoted more new trends in fatherhood today’s fathers demonstrate an increased “paternal involvement, responsibility, and care.”12 there has been a shift from the traditional role as breadwinners towards more hands-on roles and involvement in the family.13 fathers are contributing more in regard to familial responsibilities today than in the past. according to the time-diary based research of yeung et al. (2001), “about three quarters of the children received personal care from their fathers, two thirds were involved in play or companionship activities, one third spent time in achievement-related activities, and about one fifth spent time with fathers in household or social activities on weekdays.”14 as it emphasizes the increased presence of fathers in their children’s lives, this study drastically differs from the perceptions of fatherhood in the 1950s. the father-child interactions explored by yeung et al. demonstrate a shift in fathering methods as fathers spend time providing personal care, homework help, and household conversations for their children, rather than allocating any time spent with children specifically as play time. fathers are expanding beyond their hands-off roles as the breadwinner; they are starting to take on some of the nurturing responsibilities usually designated to mothers.15 “the ‘new fathers’ of today are ideally more nurturing, develop closer emotional relationships with their children, and share the joys and work of caregiving with mothers.”16 the superficiality of a father-child relationship diminishes as the emotional connection between the child and his or her father increases. an illustration of an increasing paternal presence can be found in the increased number of fathers present at the birth of their children. previously, fathers were left to sit in the waiting room while their wives experienced one of life’s greatest joys, the birth of a child. keeping their wives company during lamaze classes and accompanying them on shopping errands for baby cribs, men now want to become more involved in their children’s lives, starting before they are even born. trends now show that more and more men are becoming involved in the birthing process.17 men’s involvement in the childbirth process extends beyond being physically present during labor. many fathers are not returning to work immediately after the birth of their children.18 as explained by balter, “presence at the birth is a precursor and indicator of an increasing father involvement with children, reversing a trend that began with the advent of the industrial revolution.”19 a father’s initial involvement in his child’s life will inevitably follow throughout the next eighteen years or longer. an emotional connection is established in the labor room, one that was quite impossible for a father to attain while he sat at a distance in the waiting room. “the traditional provider role of fathers has been challenged in recent years by a model that emphasizes direct involvement of fathers in family work.”20 these “modern” fathers no longer separate family and work identities, but rather recognize the constant competition between the two responsibilities. “competition between the role of worker and father may become more salient.”21 as [men] looked for commitments beyond the workplace and became involved with women who desired and expected help in child rearing, involved fathers found unexpected pleasure in parenting.22 as fathers redefine their roles and begin to form more permanent, meaningful relationships with their children, a new contemporary form of fatherhood replaces the traditional one. review of the existing research several researchers, albeit few in comparison to the amount of motherhood scholars, have focused their attention on conceptualizing paternal involvement. “fathers have been ‘discovered’ by both development researchers and the mass media.”23 one of these researchers, michael e. lamb, arrived on the forefront of the father-focused, scholarly movement. his academic profile illustrates his array of knowledge in psychology, parent-child relationships, and non-parental childcare, among other family communication phenomena. through lamb and his con72 73 elements : : spring 2012 the emergence of fatherhood makes more economic sense for the husband to quit working than for the wife to do so.”38 adjustments are made based on what makes most financial sense, rather than on the ideologies possessed by both members of the childrearing couple. economics, in conjunction with the feminist ideals of the era, cause the increased commonality of dual-earner and dual-career couples. resultant relational equality the values of the feminist movement extend beyond the labor force; women seek equality in non-career oriented aspects of their lives, as well. women emphasize a need for equality as they begin redefining the key characteristics of their marital partnerships. egalitarianism is increasingly promoted; its commonality represents the altering definitions and acceptance of gender-equality. studying a large sample of couples provides insight todifferences in human relationships. just as there are fiery, passionate couples, and subdued, comfortable couples, there are couples whose members engage in traditional, rigid roles and couples who break from conventional norms. this has lead to researchers’ development of subcategories within the framework of defining intimate relationships. as wall et al. use a previously conducted portuguese qualitative study to define and classify these sub-categories, they create the sub-divisions based off of roles, perceptions of gender, and responsibilities.39 the characteristics of these couple styles extend beyond their simple definitions. “companionship families” place an emphasis on cohesion, togetherness, and collaboration, and less on autonomy. “principles of individual fulfillment and gender equality are subordinate to the well-being of the family.”40 the dual-earner husband and wife collaborate to share household responsibilities, rather than divide them equally. gender definitions are buried in the background, as the main focus remains on the children, and on doing what is best for them. “bastion families” establish strong boundaries, separating the family unit from the community. family relationships function as the main point of identity, but traditional views of gender roles tend to accompany this system. women are seen as the managers, although the roles are no longer traditional and rigid. an emphasis is placed on the goals of the family, leading fathers to take a more hands-on approach, as they come to the understanding that material and emotional contributions from both parents are needed for their children to thrive. “parallel families” demonstrate much more rigid roles with its male breadwinners and emphasis on “gender-differentiated autonomy.”41 patriarchy reigns, and fathers are frequently absent on a day-to-day basis. “equal associative families” possess more gender equity, as both members invest a greater amount in their own careers, and divide all household tasks fairly. “time-condensed fatherhood” and “stay-at-home fatherhood” span the more extremes of the spectrum. the amount of investment in a career links directly with the amount of involvement in housework and parenting tasks; the gender taking on the career-focused role leaves the opposite partner with the household and childcare responsibilities. wall et al.’s subdivision of fatherhood roles provides a good introduction of the varying roles taken by men and allows for each man to hone his own ideal version of parenting. the new trend of fatherhood correlates with the increase in “companionship families,” “equal associative families,” and “stay-at-home fatherhood.” as ideologies and gender perceptions shift, these subcategories alter in regards to their popularity and proportions. with the promoted awareness of gender equality, families fostering an egalitarian environment are on the rise, as altered roles replace traditional ones and fairness is emphasized. couples who best exhibit relational equality tend to be the happiest. saginak et al. conducted an extensive literature review of the variables contributing to marital satisfaction, and they discovered that the manner in which the housework is divided among heterosexual couples plays a key role. the manners in which the household duties are divided tend to be based on what each member of the relationship deems and values as “gender appropriate.”42 as viewpoints on gender shift, a transition into a less genderstigmatized division of chores emerges. relational equality extends beyond the allocation of menial chores and tasks as partners divvy up their parenting responsibilities as well. co-parenting replaces a system of towards career and less towards child-rearing and household chores, men are starting to take on some of the familial responsibilities, once solely designated for women. factors accelerating the shifting of female roles: the economy lost my job, came home mad got a hug and kiss and that’s too bad she said i can go to work until you find another job. lonestar; “mr. mom”34 external factors, irrelevant to the ideologies of the feminist movement, served to accelerate the process through which women entered the workforce, and men spent increased time at home. the external factor having the greatest influence on delegating breadwinning tasks is the economy. paternal involvement “appears to be sensitive to macro and microeconomic circumstances.”35 economics definitely come into play; the occupations, financial security, and salaries of all the members of the family play a great role in the distribution of familial responsibilities. with the current economic recession, there are financial situations in which women are earning more than their husbands, or in which women are the sole wage earners of the household. if a family were to continue to organize itself through traditional roles during these difficult economic situations, the family would find themselves in dire poverty.36 for this reason, the current economic situation continues to influence new trends in parental roles. men who earn less than their wives, and men whose work schedules differ from that of their partner are more likely to care for the children.37 “as lucrative workplace opportunities for women increase, there are more cases where families decide that it the simultaneous decline of the economy and the increased numbers of women in corporate america, the traditional role of mother and child has changed. 74 75 elements : : spring 2012 the emergence of fatherhood tional roles designated by society does minimal harm in comparison with the manner in which the media snubs these involved fathers—stripping them of any acknowledgement and assistance. parenting magazines are almost exclusively aimed towards helping mothers. time inc.’s parenting has received a plethora of awards and recognitions. recently being the only parent-geared magazine to place in the top ten of advertising age’s “magazine a-list,” parenting continues to gather readers and interest marketers.49 the title implies that the magazine’s readership consists of all individuals who are currently raising children. yet, a glance at the magazine’s webpage suggests otherwise. out of all the subdivisions organizing the abundance of information available to expectant and current parents—fertility, pregnancy, baby, toddler, child, mom, recipes, activities, gear, community—none cater to male parents. a study into the allocation of male and female roles in a series of advertisements yields similar results. recognizing the advertising agency’s ability to reaffirm the traditional status quo, researchers conducted a content analysis of three categories of commercials to see the differing representations of males in the media. according to gentry et al., “of the 1392 commercials observed during sports coverage, only two showed a man in an indoor-domestic role.”50 advertisements portraying male domesticity were rare, if not invisible. commercials aiming to persuade men to buy products did not represent a male-nurturing character to any extent whatsoever.51 rather, commercials containing two male stereotypes—“the stereotypical macho man and the horse’s ass” dominated, only serving to reaffirm the traditional stereotypes of fathers and men.52 overall, the commercial industry is failing “to provide any encouragement for men to perform traditionally atypical roles associated with alternative definitions of masculinity.”53 the absence of fathers in advertisements extends to the commercials geared towards the youth demographic. none of the 225 commercials observed represented the father in a nurturing role.54 a non-recognition of fathers dominated. the absence of materials and representations of these new fathers provides an obstacle for the fluidity of the new trends. gentry et al. found that “the non-traditional male role was unseen by men, rendering it less permeable to change.”55 as they promote negative stereotypes and self-doubt, unflattering media portrayals and the lack of available resources for fathers dramatically hinder the ability for these fathers to adjust to new styles of parenting. the backlash extends beyond the media. various men, especially stay-at-home fathers, complain about feeling unwelcomed on the playground, as they describe being “ostracized by mothers.”56 an article in the washington post quotes a stay-at-home father named peters: “i feel like discriminated against a lot when we go to swim class or the gym . . . they’re in a clique, and i’m like an outsider.”57 in the study conducted by coltrane, a story was told about susan and gary, a couple who chose for gary to stay home rather than send their children to daycare. unfortunately, the couple spoke of neighborhood judgments against this decision: “gary was seen as less of a man because he cut back on his time at work and susan’s maternal instinct was called into question because she left the kids with gary rather than ‘allowing’ him to go to work.”58 these sentiments strengthen the media’s unfavorable judgments. scenarios such as these illustrate the continuing hardships faced by family types breaking free from the traditional norms, with both children-rearing fathers and career-focused mothers. primary maternal parenting.43 overall, society has come to the realization that children need two parental forces in their daily lives. researcher ehrensaft defined the new concept of shared parenting as she interviewed forty shared-parenting couples and questioned—“were both father and mother primary parents—a couple “mothering together” rather than one parent and one helper?”44 her studies illustrated that co-parenting has not yet achieved the desired 50-50 split in household and parenting responsibilities. despite these patterns that highlight the absence of equal sharing of parental tasks and responsibilities, fathers do express the desire to become more involved with the raising of their children. stay-at-home dads directly resulting from the higher frequency of working mothers is the emergence of a new brand of fathers. increased dependence on child-care facilities and extended familial support result from the mothers’ seeking employment outside of the home. grandmothers, day-care workers, and au pairs started taking on the roles traditionally assigned to mothers. as a response to the bad reputations of certain day care centers and to discomfort with having other adults play such a prevalent role in their young children’s lives, parents have reevaluated their parenting roles, resulting in some men volunteering to stay home with the children.45 other men find themselves staying at home, cooking, cleaning, and nurturing as the result of the economic recession. whatever the reasons, “an increasing number of men are opting to stay at home to raise their children as more women head to the work force.”46 stay-at-home dads epitomize the new trend in fatherhood. their decision to take on a traditionally maternal role demonstrates the new lengths men are taking to become closer to their children. these men embrace the roles that are typically assigned to women. picking up the children from school, helping them with their homework, serving dinner, packing lunches—stay-at-home fathers cover it all, while their wives take on the role of the breadwinner. stayat-home dads are increasingly prevalent, but the media has addressed this new phenomenon with patronizing humor and satire. backlash from the media following on the heels of the blog/web forum movement, troy lanier, clay nichols and brad powell combined their fatherhood experiences to found the company dadlabs. with a mission to assist “the busy father by providing him with accessible and digestible information and parenting ideas,” the media-based company organizes an updated blog, forum, book, dvd, and video database to cater to modern dads, the fathers who are actualizing the present “fundamental shift in the role of men in parenting.”47 its motto, “taking back paternity,” seems appropriate while taking a look at the mother-devoted media bombarding parents. media portrayals appear to counter the new trends in fatherhood. there is an increased fascination among the media with this new brand of fathers. this has lead to a plethora of satirical jabs and sarcastic articles written on the subject. in an array of television sitcoms, the modern, caring father has served as the butt of many scripted jokes. late night talk show hosts have mocked these new trends during their opening monologues. most of the media’s portrayal of these men are somewhat negative. the backlash corresponds with the negative viewpoints expressed by traditionalists with respect to the transformation of familial values and roles. an example of the satire mocking the new trends of fatherhood comes in the form of a media clip played during an episode of the colbert report. this humorous clip encapsulates the modern trends in fatherhood through its representation of stay-at-home fathers. categorized as a “problem without a solution,” stay-at-home dads, men who have “surrendered their manhood,” are studied biasedly. “despite the terrifying diagnosis, sahds refuse to accept the fact they are behaving like women.”48 jabs at the feminization of males, the abnormalities of career-successful women, and the effect of primary-caregiving fathers on crying children are all utilized as rhetorical tools to evoke humor. although the ideas of a satire are supposed to seem ridiculous and the words are to be taken lightly, satire does not necessarily provide the most positive depictions of modern fathers. poking fun at the men who stray from the tradi“as they promote negative stereotypes and selfdoubt, unflattering media portrayals, and the lack of availability of resources for fathers dramatically hinder the ability for these fathers to adjust to new styles of parenting.” 76 77 elements : : spring 2012 the emergence of fatherhood cabrera, n. j., tamis-lemonda, c.s., bradley, r. h., hofferth, s., & lamb, m. e. (2000). fatherhood in the twenty-first century. child development, 71 (1), 127-136. carlson, m.j. (2006). family structure, father involvement, and adolescent behavioral outcomes. journal of marriage and family, 68 (1), 137-154. colbert, s. (producer). (2007, february 28). problems without solutions: stay at home dads [television broadcast]. new york, ny: comedy central. coltrane, s. (1996). family man: fatherhood, housework, and gender equity. new york: oxford university press. crawford, m. & unger, r. (2004). chapter ten: mothering. in rutter, s. (eds.), women and gender (317-358). boston: mcgraw hill. dad labs. (2011, april 20). about us [web log comment]. retrieved from http://www.dadlabs.com/about-dadlabs.html. (n.d.). dobrow, l. (2010, october 4). parenting is no. 6. on ad age’s magazine a-list: magazine grows its family of products, finding one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to child publications. advertising age. retrieved from http://adage.com/article/special-report-magazine-alist-2010/parenting-6-ad-age-s-magazine-a-list/146236/ gentry, j. & harrison, r. (2010). is advertising a barrier to male movement toward gender change? sage, 10 (1), 74-96. gerson, k. (1993). chapter eight: dilemmas of involved fatherhood. no man’s land: men’s changing commitments to family and work (324-337). new york: basic books harbin, r., mcdonald, r., & pfrimmer, d. (2004). mr. mom [recorded by lonestar]. on let’s be us again. nashville, tn: bna records. kaufman, g. & uhlenberg, p. (2000). the influence of parenthood on the work effort of married men and women. social forces, 78 (3), 931-949. lamanna, m. a., & riedmann, a. (1994). marriages and families: making choices and facing change (pp. 373-380). belmont, ca: wadsworth. nakamura, d. (1999, march 16). dads who rock the cradle. the washington post. retrieved from http://www.fww.org/ famnews/0316c.htm radin, norma. (1994). primary-caregiving fathers in intact families. in gottfried, a. e. & gottfried, a. w. (eds.), redefining families: implications for children’s development (pp. 11-38). new york: plenum press. saginak, k.a. & saginak, m.a. (2005). balancing work and family: equity, gender, and marital satisfaction. the family journal, 13 (2), 162-166. scharrer, e. (2001). from wise to foolish: the portrayal of the sitcom father, 1950s-1990s. journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 45, (1), 23-40. skenazy, l. (2007). dads are the new moms, so it’s time to start selling them stuff. advertising age, 78 (33), 1-2. u.s. department of labor, bureau of labor statistics. (2009). labor force participation rates among mothers, 1975-2008. retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2010/ted_20100507.htm wall, g. & arnold, s. (2007). how involved is involved fathering? an exploration of the contemporary culture of fatherhood. gender & society, 21, 508-527 wall, k., aboim, s. & marinho, s. (2007). fatherhood, family, and work in men’s lives: negotiating new and old masculinities. articuler vie familiale et vie professionnelle, 38 (2), 10522. wilkie, j. r. (1993). changes in u.s. men’s attitudes toward the family provider role, 1972-1989. gender and society, 7, (2), 261279. conclusion: the future for this trend as with most cultural movements, backlash against the new trends in fatherhood is inevitable. resistance to the feminist era best illustrates this inevitability. dominant males belittled the academic and persuasive articles presented to illustrate gender-equality and the subsequent need for societal, educational reform. “classic” american television series, such as leave it to beaver, haunted the women who juggled a career and a family. romanticized, idealistic versions of families with stay-at-home mothers have hindered the efforts made by women to climb the career ladders of the corporate world. however, the feminist movement continues to persevere to this day. the exorbitant amount of academic and journalistic articles available on the gender-equality movement elucidates this. just as women struggled to reevaluate and redefine their familial roles without losing their steadfast determination, men should continue to question the construct of the stereotypical, traditional father, and should proceed in embracing the new, more involved trends in fatherhood. endnotes 1. skenanzy (1) 2. coltrane (5) 3. scharrer (35) 4. crawford et al.; gentry et al.; kaufman et al.; saginak; wilkie 5. cited in kaufman et al. (933) 6. gentry et al. (75) 7. cabrera et al. 8. cabrera et al. (127) 9. cited in lamanna and riedmann (375) 10. kaufman et al.. 11. cited in lamanna and riedmann (378) 12. cabrera et al. (128) 13. cabrera et al.; kaufman 14. yeung et al. (142) 15. kaufman 16. wall (509) 17. gentry et al. 18. kaufman 19. balter (226) 20. kaufman 21. kaufman (944) 22. gerson (324) 23. radin (11) 24. cited in radin (12) 25. wall et al. 26. carlson (150) 27. radin; wall 28. crawford (8) 29. united states department of labor, bureau of labor statistics 30. wilkie 31. cabrera et al. (127) 32. scharrer (23) 33. saginak (162) 34. harbin et al. 35. cabrera et al. (128) 36. crawford et al. 37. cabrera et al. 38. nakamura (z07) 39. wall et al. 40. wall et al. (109) 41. wall et al. (115) 42. saginak (163) 43. cabrera et al. 44. cited in lamanna and riedmann (376) 45. coltrane 46. nakamura (z07) 47. dadlabs 48. ibid. 49. dobrow 50. gentry et al. (85) 51. gentry et al. 52. gentry et al. (88) 53. gentry et al. (88) 54. gentry et al. 55. gentry et al. (90) 56. coltrane; nakamura (z08) 57. nakamura (z08) 58. coltrane (10) references balter, l. (2000). parenthood in america: an encyclopedia, volume 1. santa barbara, california: abc-clio, inc. 78 79 elements : : spring 2012 the emergence of fatherhood yeung, w. j., sandberg, j. f., davis-kean, p., & hofferth, s. l. (2001). children’s time with fathers in intact families. journal of marriage and family, 63 (1), 136-154. 80 elements : : spring 2012 there are seemingly infinite possible interpretations of thomas mann’s classic novella death in venice. this article explores how the lens of psychoanalytic literary theory offers a compelling elucidation of his metaphorical approach to the city of venice and the human mind. sigmund freud and friedrich nietzsche both made major contributions to the application of psychology in the development and study of literature, which in turn influenced mann’s literary plot. an intricate exploration of mann’s authorial intentions for the creation of his psychologically damaged protagonist allows for internal and external revelations that speak to the authenticity of human nature. through the analysis of the internal degradation of mann’s protagonist, one can begin to understand the parallels between the dualities of both the human psyche and the city of venice itself. venice and the mind a psychoanalytic essay on thomas mann’s death in venice alexandra francois oped by psychological theorists such as alfred adler and carl jung.2 furthermore, notable authors james joyce, marcel proust, and henry james wrote freudian criticism or novels that incorporated freudian terminology or theory into their plots. freud believed that the writers’ desire to compose works in terms of their models or language was because of the strong link between the nature of the art of writing and the act of psychoanalysis, for both involve a thorough expression and utilization of human language.3 in their book theory of literature, rene wellek and austin warren incorporate psychological criticism into one of their techniques of the study of literature. according to wellek and austin, analyzing literary works through a psychological perspective aims at one of many purposes. wellek and austin describe these goals as: “. . . to provide a psychological study of an individual writer; explore the nature of the creative process; generalize about the ‘types and laws present within works of literature;’ or theorize about the psychological effects of literature upon its readers.”4 prior to 1950, theorists applying the psychoanalytic approach to literature tended to focus more on the author of the work than the work’s protagonist. as nietzsche professed in the will to power, “it does not seem possible to be an artist and not to be sick,” many psychological theorists deemed the works of writers to be a manifestation of their repressed desires.5 since authors and poets did not want to disclose these unacceptable, perverse thoughts within the constraints of society, they instead disguised their covert thoughts and wishes in the plot, characters, or symbolic elements of their literary work.6 although attempts were meticulously made to psychologically analyze the writers’ protagonist, critics soon returned to the writer himself/ herself because their characters were thought to be merely projections of the author or poet’s psyche. therefore, the key to the interpretation of a complex literary work was found through the psychoanalytic lens of approaching the novel, novella, or poem. in his 1970 a psychoanalytic study of the double in literature, robert rogers discusses the presence of the double, or other, hidden within every individual’s psyche, in which each person possesses an external demeanor that is socially acceptable, while also harboring an innate internal component that thrives on the individual’s clandestine thoughts and desires. rogers claims that “. . . writers reveal instinctual or repressed selves in their books, often without realizing they have done so.”7 according to many psychoanalytic critics of literature, literary works depict the same elements as a past fantasy or dream of the author’s. because freud focuses on the importance of dreams in his 1900 publication of the interpretation of dreams, critics have utilized freudian terminology in describing a dream-like piece of literature and its relationship to the psyche of its creator.8 the author’s purpose is to satisfy an unconscious desire that is continuously present within her repressed thoughts, and in order to uncover these thoughts, psychoanalytic critics utilize the same methods in the study of literature that freud used in the study of his patients’ dreams.9 freud applied two particular processes within his work of dream analysis, in order to discover his patients’ hidden desires and thoughts. the explicit content of a dream is designated the “manifest content,” and the implicit, concealed content is termed the “rogers discusses the double, or other, hidden within every individual’s psyche, in which each person possesses an external demeanor that is socially acceptable, while also harboring an innate internal component that thrives on the individual’s clandestine thoughts and desires.” in books we never find anything but ourselves. strangely enough, that always gives us great pleasure, and we say the author is a genius. thomas mann published in 1912, thomas mann’s novella death in venice has catalyzed significant discussion within the literary world regarding the diverse interpretations that can be drawn from mann’s work. a primary understanding of death in venice involves wan analysis of the work through the lens of psychoanalytic criticism. however, a thorough understanding of psychoanalytic criticism itself is essential before elucidating mann’s literary themes in terms of human psychology. many psychoanalytic theorists have contributed to the utilization of psychology within notable literary texts while concurrently uncovering novel insights into that particular work. friedrich nietzsche and sigmund freud were two prominent theorists who possessed a considerable amount of influence over mann and his writing of death in venice. while nietzsche’s distinction between apollo and dionysus in his the birth of tragedy shaped mann’s plot, freud’s theories of repression, the division of the human psyche, and the struggle between the conscious and unconscious also influenced mann’s writing. ultimately, analyzing thomas mann’s death in venice through the lens of psychoanalytic criticism allows for a deeper exploration of mann’s protagonist, and mann as an author. this both external and internal literary exploration of the psyches of mann’s protagonist and mann himself, respectively, allows for the recognition of the ominous force behind the psychological disintegration of mann’s protagonist, gustav von aschenbach. this further illustrates a visceral explication of mann’s intentions behind the writing of a work that authentically mirrors the landscape of the city of venice itself. an introduction to literary psychoanalytic criticism the presence of psychoanalytic criticism within the literary world has offered new approaches and methods for interpreting classic poetry, novellas, and novels. sigmund freud is considered by most academics and theorists to be the founder of psychoanalytic criticism of literature. ross c. murfin writes in his essay “psychoanalytic criticism and death in venice”: “if, by understanding human psychology according to freud, we can appreciate literature on a new level, then we should acquaint ourselves with his insights.”1 freud was initially drawn to the works of writers and novelists, in which he believed that they coded their true ideas and thoughts in symbols—symbols whose meanings could only be revealed through a thorough interpretation of their works. between 1909 and 1949, the psychoanalytic approach to literature soon disseminated across the field of psychological theorists and literary critics, as well as that of authors and poets. while most tended to adhere to freud’s model of psychoanalytic criticism, many were also attracted to the alternative models develthomas mann, author of death in venice 82 83 elements : : spring 2012 venice and the mind aschenbach conforms to the order dictated by his art form; yet, in this strict sense of apollonian form, mann’s protagonist fails to adhere to his artistic responsibilities—a failure which marks the dionysian presence hidden within aschenbach. like his notable societal status, aschenbach’s writing appears intelligent and perceptive, but when one looks beneath the surface of his words, one discovers: elegant self-control concealing from the world’s eyes until the very last moment a state of inner disintegration and biological decay; sallow ugliness, sensuously marred and worsted, which nevertheless is able to fan its smouldering concupiscence to a pure flame . . . gracious poise and composure in the empty austere service of form . . . the heroism of weakness.13 just as aschenbach fails to divulge the truth within the pages of his writing, he also continuously fails to uphold the responsibilities of an accountable artist. thomas mann utilizes his protagonist to share with his readers the unfortunate reality that a portion of german writers corrupt society because of their inability to share the truth in their literary works. since aschenbach’s work is used to educate the german youth, falsities and deceit would infiltrate that generation’s minds within an environment ostensibly educating and enlightening. interestingly, the distinction between apollonian and dionysian characteristics correlates with the landscape of venice itself. on the exterior, venice is considered a beautiful and exquisite gift to the eye. yet, on the interior, venice houses a sense of deceit and corruption tracing back to its historical origin. venice maintains its status of grandeur for the sole reason that beauty is always on the surface of the artistic ideal. mann describes the paradoxical concept of beauty in the third chapter of death in venice. venice’s surface beauty is depicted as “. . . that most astonishing of all landing places, that dazzling composition of fantastic architecture . . . that only as he [aschenbach] was now doing, only by ship, over the high sea, should one come to this most extraordinary of cities.”14 in contrast, mann connects venice’s interior as inversely grotesque to the image of the infamous gondolas that blemish the water of the grand canal: “. . . and so characteristically black, the way no other thing is black except a coffin—a vehicle evoking lawless adventures in the plashing stillness of night, and still more strongly evoking death itself, the bier, the dark obsequies, the last silent journey!”15 in his work “the grand canal,” henry james describes venice as “the most beautiful of tombs”—an expression which exemplifies the irony of venice’s beauty.16 this irony lies in the reality that venice’s beauty is sometimes found in death, nothingness, and non-existence. nietzsche describes this manner of irony in a conversation between king midas and silenus, a friend of dionysus. when king midas asks silenus to name man’s greatest good, silenus refuses to answer, because he believes that humankind’s greatest good is not knowing the correct response to that inquiry. unwillingly, silenus responds: “what would be best for you [mankind] is quite beyond your reach: not to have been born, not to be, to be nothing. but the second best is to die soon.”17 because aschenbach conforms to his strained existence, he is overcome by his dionysian impulses and meets his demise. however, nietzsche is advising that an early death is deemed best for humankind only when man has located a proper balance between his apollonian and dionysian impulses. yet, if one force continues to dominate over the other, that individual’s existence shall be deemed unworthy. consequently, this essential balance requires the presence of both apollonian and dionysian forces within one’s character. each force needs its opposite in order to maintain its existence, in which apollo and dionysus share an interdependent relationship. their contrast allows for a symbiotic relationship that can only be disrupted when one force possesses unequal weight over the other. nietzsche writes: “and lo and behold! apollo found it impossible to live without dionysos. the elements of titanism and barbarism turned out to be quite as fundamental as the apollonian element.”18 furthermore, the distinguishing boundary between apollo and dionysus is merely a thin line—a reality illustrated by aschenbach’s quick transition from his apollonian dominating exterior to his dionysian dominating interior. this duality is also evident in the city of venice, in which the land and water also represent apollo and dionysus, respectively. the land symbolizes form and order, whereas the water symbolizes formlessness and “latent content.” therefore, freud strove to analyze the manifest content of a patient’s dream in order to expose the unconscious, repressed urges of her psyche. one of freud’s processes, condensation, involves an abundance of ideas and thoughts that are truncated into one mere expression of the dream. displacement, freud’s second process, involves a repressed desire or thought that becomes displaced onto another image or idea. as the thought becomes more and more displaced, the psychoanalyst must attempt to locate the original source of the displacement in the patient’s dream.10 friedrich nietzsche’s influence on thomas mann once one thoroughly understands the presence of psychoanalytic criticism in the realm of literature, one can incorporate the theories of friedrich nietzsche in order to develop a psychological interpretation of mann’s complex work. at the beginning of his novella, mann’s protagonist, gustav von aschenbach, is a renowned german writer who thrives on his regimen of hard work and perfection. on the surface, aschenbach appears gifted, talented, and disciplined; however, underneath this, aschenbach possesses a deceptive demeanor that is disguised by his superficial, artistic eloquence. mann’s protagonist exemplifies nietzsche’s philosophy of the relationship between apollo and the dionysus as discussed in the birth of tragedy, which consequently illustrates nietzsche’s strong influence on mann in the writing of his novella. rodney symington, in citing a book on nietzsche written by walter kaufmann, offers one interpretation of death in venice regarding nietzsche’s influence on mann: [mann’s novella] . . . relates aschenbach’s tragedy to the clash of the twin poles of apollo and dionysus. representing form, order, clarity, and reason . . . apollo, symbolizes in myth all that aschenbach’s life and works represent, whereas dionysus, the mythical symbol of disorder, chaos, sex, and unreason . . . summarizes the unsatisfied and suppressed inclinations of aschenbach’s darker side.11 mann first depicts aschenbach as an artist driven by the desire for fame and recognition, while continuously exuding a tense and fraught demeanor that never strays from the expectations and demands of his society. aschenbach is regarded as an educator of the german youth for the sole reason that his writing complies with the conduct deemed acceptable by the german government. a companion of his describes aschenbach’s demeanor and overall character as a “closed fist”—an observation which correlates with the apollonian traits of form, order, and reason.12 furthermore, aschenbach never seems to stray towards a manner that is compatible with the idea of an open fist, which characterizes formlessness, disorder, and irrationality. instead, aschenbach is concerned with aesthetics in the sense that he only focuses on his exterior. upholding an honorable status in german society is aschenbach’s most prominent priority, as his reputation directly relates to his superficial exterior. friedrich nietzsche 84 85 elements : : spring 2012 venice and the mind nian drives and impulsive, dionysian desires. in order to adequately understand freud’s theory, one must first understand the distinction between the conscious and unconscious as made by freud. freud characterizes an individual’s mental thoughts according to the rate at which a thought arrives into her awareness. the thoughts which continuously exist in one’s awareness are considered to exist in her conscious, and the thoughts which can be transferred into one’s awareness only with great struggle are considered to exist in her unconscious. freud was primarily concerned with the human unconscious, for this area of the mind is directly connected to repression and possesses the power to indirectly influence human behavior.21 renowned freudian scholar peter gay explains the relationship between the human unconscious and repression: “everything that is repressed must remain unconscious; but let us state at the very outset that the repressed does not cover everything that is unconscious. the unconscious has the wider compass: the repressed is a part of the unconscious.”22 therefore, every repressed thought forever remains in the unconscious unless that particular thought is manifested in a form besides human awareness, such as a dream, daydream, or fantasy. mann’s protagonist possesses many repressed thoughts in his unconscious, and those thoughts are eventually revealed before and during his time in venice. prior to aschenbach’s trip, this revelation exists in the covert form of his writing, but while in venice, this revelation manifests itself in the form of his obsession with tadzio and aschenbach’s infamous inability to convey the truth. gay utilizes an instructive metaphor to describe the link between freud’s ideologies as follows: “this unconscious [consisting of repressed materials] . . . resembles a maximum security prison holding antisocial inmates languishing for years or recently arrived . . . barely kept under control and forever attempting to escape.”23 he continues to explain how the escape of those inmates creates danger to themselves as well as others. aschenbach’s characteristics clearly correlate with freud’s theory of repression. prior to his trip to venice, aschenbach maintains a demeanor and reputation that coincides with german societal standards. additionally, like his literary work, aschenbach lives according to structure, discipline, and form. any dionysian desire that emerges within aschenbach is quickly suppressed into his unconscious in order to uphold his external appearance of perfection. as mentioned previously, aschenbach’s character is compared to that of a closed, clenched-up fist—an adequate metaphor to illustrate his strictly contained unconscious.24 aschenbach’s repression is the catalyst for his mental exhaustion and failing health. symington notes, “but the physical symptoms are merely the outward reflection of an inner weakness, the bodily fatigue the harbinger of spiritual collapse.”25 furthermore, when aschenbach arrives in venice and begins to allow the release of his dionysian desires and unconscious impulses, he catalyzes his personal self-destruction. while nietzsche discussed the forces of apollo and dionysus, freud explored a similar philosophy involving the duality of the human mind. freud utilized nietzsche’s idea of dionysian desire and apollonian rationale but characterized these forces as the id and ego, respectively. irwin sarason and barbara sarason explain freud’s distinction between the id and ego as follows: “whereas the id is con“the reader must understand the protagonist’s internal drives and motivations, as well as her external appearance and demeanor in order to reach a conclusion about the distinction between interiority and exteriority, authenticity and superficiality.” chaotic disorder. immediately prior to aschenbach’s death, as he sits in contemplation on the lido, tadzio beckons him towards the water—a motion that mann includes in order to denote the victory of dionysus. implicitly referring to this duality between apollo and dionysus, mann writes: “and is form not two-faced? is it not at one and the same time moral and immoral—moral as the product and expression of discipline, but immoral and even antimoral inasmuch as it houses within itself an innate moral indifference, and indeed essentially strives for nothing less than to bend morality under its proud and absolute scepter?”19 aschenbach manifests his dark, impulsive, and unreasonable side as he continues to watch tadzio, makes himself over into the stranger by whom he is first repulsed at the beginning of the novella, and then fails to warn tadzio and his family about the cholera outbreak. since he has been preventing any inkling of his dionysian side from being exposed to society, aschenbach’s repressed desires and thoughts saturate his unconscious and eventually begin to leak into his conscious, where they are exposed to the public. ultimately, aschenbach represses his innate, dionysian impulses in order to allow the flourishing of his apollonian exterior. yet, dionysus reigns victorious, while simultaneously bringing about the demise of apollo and aschenbach himself. aschenbach has always possessed an internal dionysian darkness, and his desire to travel to venice of all places emerges as a consequence of his repressed dionysian impulses—a repression created by the imbalance of his apollonian and dionysian forces. the fall of apollo and subsequent rise of dionysus within aschenbach’s character can also be described in freudian terminology, a clear indicator that freud served as a significant influence on mann’s writing of death in venice. sigmund freud’s influence on thomas mann nietzsche’s philosophy of both the distinction and similarity between apollonian and dionysian forces is directly related to sigmund freud’s theory of repression. freud exerted a substantial influence over mann, despite the fact that mann did not make a proclamation regarding incorporation of freudian ideology into his novella until fourteen years after its original publication. rodney symington argues “perceptive writers have always had the capacity to fathom the human soul: psychology has always played a major role in literature.”20 therefore, even if mann wasn’t directly influenced by freud, he may have foreseen the ideas soon to be published by freud in his own writing. regardless, when death in venice is analyzed through the lens of psychoanalytic criticism, the psychological theories of freud are essential for acquiring an insightful, complex interpretation of the text. freud’s theory of repression is intricately intertwined with the plot of death in venice, while simultaneously corresponding with nietzsche’s philosophy of rational, apollosigmund freud, the father of psychoanalytic criticism of literature 86 87 elements : : spring 2012 venice and the mind about the cholera outbreak. therefore, aschenbach possesses an imbalance between his apollonian and dionysian forces, allowing the victory of dionysus, suppressing the presence of apollo, and essentially assisting in his own disintegration. freud also contributed to mann’s writing of death in venice, in mann’s use of freud’s theory of repression and psychological terminology within his novella. while the human id is housed in the unconscious, these animalistic and impulsive forces are repressed in order to prevent their emergence into the conscious. like nietzsche’s battle between apollonian and dionysian forces, freud’s battle between the id and ego is also illustrated in death in venice. although aschenbach conforms to his ego for the greater portion of his life, he continues to harbor darker thoughts and desires that he constantly represses into his unconscious. these dark desires are evident deep beneath the surface of his writing, but to society’s perception, aschenbach conforms to the ideals of perfection and discipline. mann’s decision to revolve the plot of his novella around the city of venice is directly connected to the influence of nietzsche and freud on death in venice. while venice is known for its external beauty and allure, venice also harbors an internal layer of deception and greed. beauty in itself is deceptive and superficial, and while the beauty of venice manifests itself in the originality of its landscape, it also houses a sense of decay, corruption, and, in death in venice, cholera. ultimately, mann questions the duty of the artist with respect to truth and candor. furthermore, he challenges whether artists are honorable individuals who create works of beauty in order to exceed the pragmatism of everyday life, or if they are merely fraudulent individuals simply reveling in their selfish concupiscence. endnotes 1. murfin (111) 2. murfin (113) 3. murfin (114) 4. cited in murfin (114) 5. cited in symington (127) 6. murfin (114) 7. cited in murfin (115) 8. murfin 115 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. symington (127-8) 12. mann (29) 13. mann (31) 14. mann (38) 15. mann (39) 16. mann (71) 17. nietzsche (553) 18. nietzsche (556) 19. mann (32-33) 20. cited in symington (130) 21. sarason and sarason (49) 22. freud (573) 23. cited in symington (131) 24. symington (132) 25. ibid. 26. sarason and sarason (50) 27. mann (80) 28. mann (31) references freud, sigmund. the freud reader. ed. peter gay. new york and london: norton, 1989. james, henry. “the grand canal.” traveling in italy with henry james. ed. fred kaplan. new york: william morrow & company, 1994. 70-89. mann, thomas. death in venice. ed. naomi ritter. boston: bedford/st. martins, 1998. murfin, ross c. “psychoanalytic criticism and death in venice.” death in venice. ed. naomi ritter. boston: bedford/st. martins, 1998. 110-121. cerned simply with maximizing pleasure, the ego’s efforts are directed toward maximizing pleasure within the constraints of reality.”26 therefore, the id exists as the impulsive and animalistic drive of an individual, while the ego exists as the realistic and perceptual drive of an individual. additionally, freud considered the superego to be the mediator between the id and ego, as this force strives to attain perfection and balance between the id and ego, while also adhering to societal expectations. the id is also described as the human pleasure-principle, and because of this, most desires driven by the id are harbored in the unconscious. since attaining pleasure in a particular situation is not always deemed acceptable by society, those id drives are repressed into the human unconscious. when incorporating freudian ideology into death in venice, aschenbach exemplifies situations in which he is acting in harmony with either his id or his ego. one form in which aschenbach’s repressed thoughts and desires are revealed is in a dream that he experiences after he decides not to inform tadzio and his family about the cholera outbreak. mann describes aschenbach’s dream as follows: that night he had a terrible dream, if dream is the right word for a bodily and mental experience which did indeed overtake him during deepest sleep, in complete independence of his will and with complete sensuous vividness, but with no perception of himself as present and moving about in any space external to the events themselves; rather, the scene of the events was his own soul, and they irrupted into it from outside, violently defeating his resistance—a profound, intellectual resistance—as they passed through him, and leaving his whole being, the culture of a lifetime, devastated and destroyed.27 aschenbach’s dream appropriately demonstrates the consequences of his built-up and compressed repression. since he continuously fails to convey the truth in his writing in order to prevent his repressed thoughts from being made available to the german public, his inability to ever communicate the truth becomes a recurring flaw in is character. after he is deceptively omissive about the infectious disease threatening venice, aschenbach is punished for allowing his id to reach his conscious. instead of learning how to retain his id-driven impulses in his unconscious, aschenbach allows the forces of his id to overcome the preservation of his ego and taint his overall character. while mann’s death in venice has aroused a great number of complex interpretations in the literary realm, understanding the novella through the lens of psychoanalytic criticism offers the reader an insightful and intuitive rendering of an artist’s battle between dionysus and apollo, as well as his id and ego. in order to conduct a thorough psychoanalytic study of mann’s text, one must understand the goals of applying psychoanalytic criticism to a classic piece of literature. although freud contributed greatly to psychoanalytic criticism, other psychological theorists, and authors themselves, are integral to the development of the link between literature and psychology. this link involves a meticulous exploration of the protagonist’s psyche to arrive at a literary interpretation that is deeper than the surface impact of the author’s words. the reader must understand the protagonist’s internal drives and motivations, as well as her external appearance and demeanor— similarly to the understanding that one must possess of the city of venice—in order to reach a conclusion about the distinction between interiority and exteriority, authenticity and superficiality. nietzsche and freud both possessed a significant amount of influence over mann in his writing of death in venice. nietzsche’s philosophy of the contrast and similarity between apollonian and dionysian forces is incorporated into mann’s plot, while also explaining the importance of maintaining harmony between the two forces. if balance is not reached, dionysian drives will triumph over apollonian dispositions, inevitably leading to the demise of the individual’s psyche. aschenbach clearly adheres to his apollonian disposition for the majority of his lifetime, despite the threat of his dionysian impulses to emerge into his conscious. in fact, a semblance of his dionysian desires does emerge into his conscious in the shape of his writing, in which the “empty austere service of form” masks the deception aschenbach houses in his literary work.28 when aschenbach travels to venice, his dionysian desires completely emerge into his conscious as he develops his obsession with tadzio and then fails to warn him 88 89 elements : : spring 2012 venice and the mind nietzsche, friedrich. the birth of tragedy from the spirit of music, cited from selections reprinted in the modern tradition: backgrounds of modern literature, eds. richard ellmann and charles feidelson. new york: oxford university press, 1965. 548-556. sarason, irwin g. and sarason, barbara r. “the psychodynamic perspective.” abnormal psychology: the problem of maladaptive behavior. new jersey: prentice-hall, 1984. 48-54. symington, rodney. “the eruption of the other: psychoanalytic approaches to death in venice.” ed. naomi ritter. boston: bedford/st. martins, 1998. 127-139. 90 elements : : spring 2012 91 venice and the mind trish clasen is a junior in the college of arts & sciences, with a double major in english and communications. her article is inspired by her interest in feminist issues, an interest that developed through conversations with friends and classmates. she is studying abroad this spring semester at john cabot university in rome, italy, where she hopes to travel, eat, and continue writing. jacob cravens is a senior in the college of art & sciences, majoring in biology with a minor in environmental studies. he has enjoyed working through biology classes, both molecular and ecological, and conducting research while at bc. the research for this article was completed on a semester abroad in costa rica. after graduation, he will be teaching high school biology in urban chicago for a few years before hopefully going on to graduate or medical school and doing research around the world. he would like to thank professors and mentors professor rosenberg, professor wolff, professor hitchcock, and professor moseman for making all of his research endeavors possible. jordan dorney is a junior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in political science and minoring in irish studies. his interests include american culture and politics, irish history and politics, and political philosophy. as a way to further his research, he is currently studying irish gaelic and ancient greek, looking to writing a thesis either on platonic political philosophy or irish cultural nationalism. he serves as a research assistant to professor martha bayles and is a member of stylus, the literary magazine of boston college. christopher evren is a senior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in political science, and has also spent a year at the school of oriental and african studies (soas) in london. his primary academic concentrations are african and middle eastern politics and development. other areas of interest are international energy politics, as well as arabic and french language and literature. christopher fitzpatrick is a junior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in international studies and political science. his interest in irish politics stems from both his course of study and his work experience, which includes a summer internship with the irish department of justice in dublin. chris is the vice president of the bc model united nations and the coordinator of the junior fellows program of the clough center for the study of constitutional democracy. chris hopes to pursue a career in diplomacy or national security. alexandra francois is a senior in the college of arts & sciences, majoring in english. she is a member of the boston college chapter of the golden key international honour society, and she spent june of 2011 in venice, italy in conjunction with bc’s summer study abroad program. her paper was written for professor kevin newmark’s course “the imaginary city: why writers love venice,” the class focused on classic literature written by authors such as henry james, marcel proust, thomas mann, and joseph brodsky. alexandra was born and raised in minocqua, wisconsin, and she will be attending law school in the fall, where she will specialize in either criminal or health care law. alexander hoffarth is a junior in the college of arts & sciences from rochester, new york, majoring in political science. he is a member of alpha sigma nu and is a recipient of an advanced study grant to research political leadership and the reagan presidency at the university of virginia’s miller center of public affairs. alexander also serves as a tour guide and panelist for the boston college student admission program and as a facilitator for the emerging leader program. sam kent is a junior in the college of arts & sciences majoring in philosophy and political science. his concentration in early existential philosophy, especially kierkegaardian and nietzschean thought, was the inspiration for his article published in elements. within political science, he is concentrating in middle east studies and has published work on social movements. currently, he is working on a thesis on modern iranian social movements. sam is a member of the alpha sigma nu society and the political science department honors program as well as the boston college parkour club. a dedicated ceramicist, he is also versed in latin dance including salsa, the cha-cha, and samba. sam has recently returned from a semester abroad in chile. author biographies neil patch is a senior in the college of ars & sciences, majoring in english and philosophy. a member of the college of arts & sciences honors program, he is currently completing a thesis on franz kafka’s approach to faith. in addition to being a writing tutor, he has also worked as a music director at wzbc and continues to be an on-air dj. he intends to enter graduate school this fall and specialize in modernist literature. list of artwork parliament building © brytta/istockphoto hifikepunye pohamba © andia / alamy protest sign in the loyalist neighborhood © bobbie hanvey photographic archives, john j. burns library, boston college remains of an armagh police station after an ira bombing attack © bobbie hanvey photographic archives, john j. burns library, boston college loyalist house mural in belfast © bobbie hanvey photographic archives, john j. burns library, boston college people’s democracy © people’s democracy, poster, linen hall library, belfast. official sinn fein poster, 1970 © official sinn fein, 1970, poster, linen hall library, belfast. anti-violence poster, belfast telegraph © belfast telegraph, january 3, 1969. microfiche. patrick pearse (1879-1916) © pictorial press ltd / alamy eamon de valera (1882-1975) irish political leader © pictorial press ltd / alamy ronald reagan as 40th president of the united states in 1981 © pictorial press ltd / alamy william shakespeare © constance mcguire / istockphoto william shakespeare: othello relating his adventures, (illustration) © darren hendley / istockphoto kierkegaard, soren © interfoto / alamy the sacrifice of isaac by abraham, c.1700, italian, from bolzano © gianni dagli orti / the art archive at art resource, ny new daddy with baby © jani bryson/istockphoto businesswoman working from home holding her baby son © dean mitchell/istockphoto thomas mann (1875-1955) german writer, ca. 1900. © adoc-photos / art resource, ny friedrich nietzsche (1844-1900), german philosopher, 1887. © bpk, berlin / art resource, ny sigmund freud (1856-1939) © adoc-photos / art resource, ny 10 12 24 27 28 32 32 32 39 40 49 54 56 64 67 71 74 82 84 86 "burney indicts cecilia's vague quest to be mistress of her own time as naive and impossible just as she does with the belief that music provides women with a reprieve from patriarchal politics." t h e power of h e r voice music and patriarchal politics in frances burney's cecilia r m e g a n g r a n d m o n t s a i n t c e c i l i a i s , t o t h e c a t h o l i c c h u r c h , t h e p a t r o n s a i n t o f m u s i c . b u t t o f e m i n i s t m u s i c o l o g i s t s s u s a n c o o k a n d j u d y t s o u , s h e i s i n s t e a d t h e " p a t r o n i z e d " s a i n t o f m u s i c , a s y m b o l o f t h e l i m i t e d r o l e t o w h i c h w o m e n h a v e b e e n t r a d i t i o n a l l y c o n f i n e d i n w e s t e r n m u s i c . i n h e r n o v e l cecilia, h o w e v e r , f r a n c e s b u r n e y w o r k s t o r e c l a i m t h e f i g u r e o f t h e f e m a l e m u s i c i a n f r o m t h e p e ri p h e r y o f a r t i s t i c r e l e v a n c e . b u r n e y ' s m u s i c l o v i n g p r o t a g o n i s t c e c i l i a s e r v e s a s a v e h i c l e t o e x p l o r e a n u m b e r o f e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y c o n c e r n s , m o s t n o t a b l y e m e r g i n g c l a s s c o n f l i c t s a n d t h e t e n s i o n b e t w e e n a w o m a n ' s p e r s o n a l i n v e s t m e n t i n a r t a n d t h e m a l e , p u b l i c w o r l d t h a t d e v a l u e s t h a t a r t . b u r n e y s i t u a t e s h e r h e r o i n e p a r a d o x i c a l l y b o t h i n s i d e a n d a p a r t f r o m p a t r i a r c h a l s o c i e t y ; i t i s c e c i l i a ' s m u s i c t h a t a l l o w s h e r t o s t a n d o n t h e b r i n k , b u r n e y c e r t a i n l y a c k n o w l e d g e s t h e w a y s i n w h i c h m u s i c f u n c t i o n s a s a t o o l o f p a t r i a r c h y , r e n d e r i n g w o m e n s u b m i s s i v e . h o w e v e r , i n r e v i s i o n i n g s a i n t c e c i l i a a s s i m p l y c e c i l i a s h e a l s o q u i e t l y s u g g e s t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f c h a n g e , a s u g g e s t i o n t h a t h o l d s w e i g h t f o r f e m a l e a r t i s t s t o d a y . frances burney's second novel cecilia features a m u s i c a l hero ine , one whose n a m e i m m e d i a t e l y conjures images o f (and is arguably derived f r o m ) the early chr i s t i an m a r t y r cecilia, pa t ron saint o f mus ic . h o w saint cecilia came to be k n o w n as the p a t r o n saint o f m u s i c is somewhat baff l i n g , as she herse l f was no m u s i c i a n . h e r father wanted her to m a r r y a y o u n g m a n n a m e d valerian, a n d arranged for an organ to be played at the i r w e d d i n g . cecilia, however, chose n o t to m a r r y valerian. instead she "sang i n her heart to god alone" as she was p u t to death. 1 i n the eighteenth and n ineteenth centuries, y o u n g w o m e n s tudying m u s i c were often ins t ructed to look to saint cecilia for i n spirat ion. h e r portra i t , depic t ing her eyes upraised to heaven w h i l e she played a v i o l i n or an organ, h u n g over m a n y ladies' p ianofortes . 2 femin i s t musicologists susan cook a n d judy tsou argue that cecilia's p o s i t i o n as the p a t r o n saint o f m u s i c renders her a "stereotypical and patr iarchal" symbol . 3 they refer to her, rather, as the "patronized saint o f mus ic , l i m i t e d , by her sex, to a passive role o f idealized, even s w o o n i n g [or dened w i t h al l o f the t rad i t iona l associations o f the saint for w h o m she is n a m e d , such as modesty, chastity, piety, a n d a wi l l ingness to m a r t y r herself. yet burney has n o t s i m p l y t ransplanted the p a t r o n saint o f m u s i c i n t o her novel . cecilia beverley is an eighteenth-century w o m a n w i t h eighteenth-century concerns, some o f w h i c h are n o t ent ire ly cont inuous w i t h the legacy o f saint cecilia. for example, w h i l e b o t h stories are concerned w i t h correct female behavior, cecilia hinges s ignif icantly o n class conflict, a d i m e n s i o n that is ent ire ly absent f r o m the story o f saint cecilia's l i fe . burney uses the idea o f "cecil ia ," angel o f mus ic , as a vehicle to explore contemporary ideas about w o m e n i n mus ic ; by t i t l i n g i t cecilia, burney signals th is as one o f her novel's m a j o r concerns. th i s is n o t the usual reading o f the novel—julia epstein r i g h t f u l l y reads cecilia as an explorat ion o f class tensions and the social breakd o w n that occurs as a result o f those tensions. but exami n i n g cecilia t h r o u g h a mus ica l lens allows us to observe dif ferent tensions that animate the novel . i t n o t on ly i l l u minates those same class conflicts observed by epstein b u t also reveals a cr i t ica l tens ion between women ' s personal , "for both the burney family and the fictional cecilia beverley, music functions simultaneously as a tool of the dominant patriarchal society and a means to break with that society." dying] muse or per former [emphasis added] . " 4 i n al l l i k e l i h o o d cecilia never h a d any f o r m a l m u s i c a l t r a i n i n g ; she was n a m e d a saint by the patr iarchal i n s t i t u t i o n o f the c h u r c h , a n d the m a n y portrai ts o f her have all been imagi n e d and pa inted by male artists. i n her p ioneer ing w o r k , music e[ women: the story of women in their relation to music, sophie d r i n k e r notes that saint cecilia is a "representative o f the pattern w i t h i n w h i c h w o m e n as music ians have been conf ined" since the t i m e o f her canonizat ion i n the sixteenth century. 5 w i t h i n cecilia's perplex ing and mis lead ing mus ica l s y m b o l i s m , the whole h is tory o f female par t i c ipat ion i n m u s i c i n the m o d e r n western w o r l d , and h o w that par t i c ipat ion has been directly def ined by the i r sex, emerges. i n creat ing her hero ine , cecilia beverley, frances burney self-consciously enters i n t o th is dialogue about w o m e n and mus ic . as a m u s i c lover, cecilia is a character burprivate inves tment i n the arts a n d the pub l i c expectations i m p o s e d o n w o m e n by m e n t h r o u g h those same arts. . the daughter o f a p r o m i n e n t a n d arguably the first m u s i cologist, a n d a creative w o m a n herself, burney was strongly invested i n the arts a n d women ' s par t i c ipat ion i n t h e m . i n her essay o n the burney family, kate c h i s o l m remarks that increased m i d d l e class trade wea l th f r o m the 1760s o n w a r d resulted i n increased par t ic ipat ion i n leisure activit ies l ike m u s i c . 6 indeed, frances' father, charles burney, wrote i n the present state of music in france and italy, the w o r k that l aunched his career i n 1771, that "there was hardly a private fami ly . . . w i t h o u t its flute, its fiddle, its harps ichord , or gu i tar . " 7 b o r n undeniab ly to the m i d d l e class, dr. burney was nevertheless d e t e r m i n e d to achieve u p w a r d social m o b i l i t y for h i m s e l f and his family. h e became a private harps ichord t u t o r for c h i l d r e n o f the local gentry. h i s sk i l l at teaching a n d i n n o v a t i o n at his craft, exempl i f i ed by devis ing a n e w and u n i q u e m e t h o d o f str ike l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 i n g the harps ichord keys, rendered h i m enormous ly successful w i t h i n a short per iod o f t i m e . kate c h i s o l m observes that i t was indeed his " m u s i c a l ab i l i ty " that "gave h i m the o p p o r t u n i t y to better h imsel f , b e c o m i n g as socially m o b i l e as i f he h a d been b o r n r i c h and w e l l connected . " 8 particularly after the success o f his w o r k , the present state of musici burney was able to associate w i t h an exceptional variety o f people, some o f w h o m were the m o s t wel l k n o w n european music ians o f h is day; frances later became fr iends w i t h famous i ta l ian castrato pacchierotti , w h o is gleefully a l luded to i n cecilia. sunday afternoons were a treat for any l o n d o n music-lover lucky e n o u g h to be i n v i t e d to one o f dr. burney's i n f o r m a l concerts, w h i c h often starred the latest "operatic sensations" f r o m the cont i n e n t , as w e l l as burney's o w n musica l ly gifted daughters, susan and h e t t y . 9 a l l th is should have been imposs ib le for a m a n w h o was the son o f a s t rugg l ing port ra i t painter a n d danc ing master. w h i l e n o t musica l ly i n c l i n e d — s h e once wrote o f the "theory o f mus ic " that she h a d "no expectation o f go ing so deep i n the science mysel f "—frances burney certainly h a d a deep appreciat ion for mus ic ; she wrote frequently o f her father's "mus ica l meet ings" i n her journals , and once declared s i m p l y that " i a m m o s t greedily h u n g r y for a l i t t l e m u s i c . " 1 0 she also recognized what social and economic possibil it ies i t had opened to her family, revealed by cecilia's in te r rogat ion o f the re lat ionship between class a n d mus ic . for b o t h the burney f ami ly and the fictional cecilia beverley, m u s i c funct ions s imultaneous ly as a too l o f the d o m i nant patr iarchal society and a means to break w i t h that society. m e m b e r s o f the eighteenth-century engl ish gentry educated the i r daughters i n m u s i c to make t h e m better "products " o n the marr iage market . charles burney was able to use the condit ions o f that m a r k e t to change the situa t ion o f his o w n daughters. ironical ly , he d i d not remove t h e m f r o m the patr iarchal economy, b u t rather chose to pos i t ion t h e m m o r e advantageously. regardless, his m u s i c made possible a social m o b i l i t y and flexibility largely u n heard of . 1 1 cecilia's love o f m u s i c situates her i n a s i m i lar ly paradoxical manner . o n the one h a n d , her natura l b u t u n t u t o r e d love o f m u s i c signals her appropriate part i c ipa t ion i n patr iarchal society. as an audience m e m b e r and as a per former , she m a i n t a i n s a doci l i ty o f body consistent w i t h the expectations o f her society. yet the genuineness o f her appreciat ion separates her f r o m the other w o m e n o f the novel , l ike m r s . h a r r e l or miss larrolles, t h e p o w e r o f h e r v o i c e w h o enjoy m u s i c n o t i n i t se l f b u t mere ly as just i f icat ion to be i n publ ic . th i s doubleness o f the use o f m u s i c i n burney's o w n l i fe , b o t h freeing her f r o m and l o c k i n g her i n t o a r i g i d class system, directly resembles the double representat ion o f m u s i c i n her novel . i n divided fictions, kr i shna straub l ikewise traces these cross-purposes i n burney's fiction to "cur ious ly" v iew w o m e n as " b o t h ' i n ' a n d 'out ' o f what they d o . " 1 2 i n order to explain th is ambivalence, straub draws o n the w o r k o f s t ructura l anthropology and m i c h e l foucault; she considers the di f f iculty o f female ident i ty i n l i g h t o f the fact that "the h u m a n m i n d and body are shaped by w h a t they d o . " 1 3 i n the e ighteenth century, m i d d l e and upper class single w o m e n d i d n o t have a concrete way to divide women ' s ocecstasy of saint cecilia by raphael. cupations i n t o either " w o r k " or "play." the lack o f acceptable female occupations, as w e l l as the a m b i g u i t y about h o w to categorize the few occupations that were acceptable, contr ibuted , straub argues, to "a general a n d pervasive tendency to devalue the ways i n w h i c h w o m e n spend the i r t i m e . " 1 4 young w o m e n received intense m i x e d messages f r o m patr iarchal society, w h i c h t o l d t h e m that w h i l e single, they m u s t innocent ly and product ively fill the i r le i sure hours , yet d i d n o t value the w o r k o f women ' s hands beyond that . that is, women ' s needlework or music-maki n g or p a i n t i n g were n o t aesthetically valuable b u t only w o r t h w h i l e i n that these pursui ts kept w o m e n out o f t r o u ble u n t i l they were m a r r i e d . straub compares this att i tude t o w a r d that o f a parent a m u s i n g the i r c h i l d w i t h f inger p a i n t i n g o n a ra iny day. 1 5 w o m e n l ike frances burney were encouraged to participate i n activities such as p lay ing the pianoforte , yet they were s imultaneous ly u r g e d n o t to take the i r art or themselves too seriously, m a k i n g "ego-investment . . . fool i sh or perverse ." 1 6 burney attempts to situate her hero ine b o t h ins ide and apart f r o m patr iarchal society, a n d m u s i c serves as the means to b o t h . burney views m u s i c as transcendent a n d transformative to a certain extent. as a purely aesthetic experience, i t l i fts one out o f one's circumstances. i n cecilia, as i n evelina, the hero ine at the opera is described as "enraptured" and " i n t e n t , " " w i t h an avidity o f a t tent ion alm o s t p a i n f u l f r o m its o w n eagerness." 1 7 a l t h o u g h cecilia, l ike burney herself, has " l i t t l e s k i l l , " she has what burney deems a preferable, "natura l love o f the a r t . " 1 8 the sheer a m o u n t o f page space devoted to cecilia's en joyment o f her f irst opera rehearsal does absolutely n o t h i n g to forw a r d the p lot o f the novel ; i n i t , we discover burney's personal c o m m i t m e n t to the art. she describes at l e n g t h "the pleasure she received f r o m the m u s i c , " and pacchierotti 's m o v i n g per formance i n particular, his voice "always either sweet or i m p a s s i o n e d . " 1 9 i n descr ibing cecilia's enjoym e n t o f the opera, burney qui te obviously channels her o w n , especially g iven her i n c l u s i o n o f personal f r i e n d pacchierot t i . like her contemporar ies , burney subscribes to the idea that what w o m e n do reflects s o m e t h i n g about the i r m i n d . however, u n l i k e her contemporar ies , w h o often t r i e d to devalue women ' s mus ic , burney indicates to her readers that women ' s m u s i c is w o r t h the investment . th i s message resonated deeply w i t h burney's readers: w h i l e o n a visit to the h o m e o f a f ami ly f r i end , "burney was amused to find a copy o f cecilia i n w h i c h ' the chapter, a n opera v rehearsal, was so w e l l read, the leaves always flew apart to display i t . ' " 2 0 h e r readers appreciated her m i n u t e l y detai led descr ipt ion o f pacchierotti 's per formance and ret u r n e d to i t over a n d over again. perhaps part o f music ' s appeal as a female occupat ion was located i n its abi l i ty to be the vehicle for rebe l l ion or l ibera t ion f r o m larger patr i archal structures w i t h o u t actually l o o k i n g l ike i t . d u r i n g the f o l l o w i n g opera performance, for instance, m r . monckt o n observes that cecilia's "whole m i n d h a d been i n t e n t u p o n the per formance, " w h i l e at the rehearsal, "her m i n d " was scarcely "at l iberty to attend to any emot ions b u t its "women like frances burney were encouraged to participate in activities such as playing the pianoforte, yet they were simultaneously urged not to take their art or themselves too seriously." o w n . " 2 1 i n the rest o f the novel , cecilia is always accountable to someone else (the harre ls , the delviles) and is often out o f contro l , whereas the opera provides cecilia w i t h an e n v i r o n m e n t for m e n t a l self-sufficiency, i n w h i c h she is sovereign over her o w n thoughts and feelings and accountable to no one b u t herself. to forget that m u s i c also funct ions as a too l o f the discip l inary apparatus w o u l d be fool ish, or i n the w o r l d o f cecilia, even dangerous. burney repeatedly shows the reader that the publ ic spaces o f the novel i n w h i c h m u s i c is perf o r m e d — t h e opera, vauxhal l , etc.—are c o m p r o m i s e d spaces, and as m u c h as cecilia m i g h t l o n g to lose herse l f to mus ic , i n reality they can provide no entirely safe or perm a n e n t refuge. the p r o b l e m i n h e r e n t to p e r f o r m i n g m u sic i n publ ic is that the pub l i c was a t h o r o u g h l y male-dominated sphere. therefore, as an activity either done by w o m e n (such as a soprano at the opera), or for w o m e n (as m e m b e r s o f an audience), the performance always occurred only w i t h male p e r m i s s i o n and supervis ion. at e l e m e n t s : : fall2010 least i n publ ic , there was n o such t h i n g as a total ly f e m i n i n e mus ica l per formance since i t was, inevitably, a performance u n d e r the male gaze. 2 2 for instance, i n one o f the most dangerous incidents i n the novel , cecilia attends "a new serious opera" w i t h the h a r r e l s . 2 3 sir robert floyer, w h o persists i n his p u r s u i t o f cecilia despite her discouragement, takes advantage o f her i m m o b i l i t y , " saunter ing d o w n fop's alley, [he] stationed h i m s e l f by her side . . . t u r n e d his eyes f r o m the stage to her face, as better w o r t h his notice, a n d equally dest ined for his a m u s e m e n t . " 2 4 fop's alley was the aisle a long w h i c h gent lemen could w a l k attracting romantic attention was one of the many uses of female music. d u r i n g an opera i n order to survey the ladies. ladies, however, were supposed to "s it decorously and n o t to patro l the house . " 2 5 the opera house is actually designed so that gent l emen can physically enact the patr iarchal economy w i t h every step they take a long "fop's alley." male subjugat i o n o f w o m e n is so i n s t i t u t i o n a l that i t l i tera l ly i n f o r m s even the architecture o f the eighteenth-century w o r l d . sir robert's " saunter ing d o w n fop's alley" i l l u m i n a t e s the deep roots o f patr iarchy even i n a supposedly female site l ike the opera house . i t is possible to see the opera house as n o t designed for mus ica l per formance, b u t rather for female per formance. cecilia, i n her a t tempt to enjoy the opera, is effectively paralyzed by and objectif ied u n d e r sir robert's gaze. h e r personhood is m e t o n y m i c a l l y replaced by "her face"; she is reduced to her body, w h i c h becomes a k i n d o f per formance that i n floyer's view, the v iew o f the male patr iarch, is as "destined for his a m u s e m e n t " as the opera. i n th is way, the opera house is a space i n w h i c h w o m e n are expected to p e r f o r m for the patr iarchal economy whether they are o n stage or not . w o m e n , part icular ly the i r bodies, are t rans formed i n t o a spectacle. a l t h o u g h cecilia w o u l d l ike to enjoy the mus ic , she is unexpectedly t h r u s t i n t o the role o f per former herself, and is therefore i m p e d e d i n what she hoped w o u l d be a strictly private, aesthetic experience. i n discipline and punish, m i c h e l foucault considers the discip l ine o f tor ture and concludes that " the fact that the gu i l ty . . . shou ld m o a n a n d cry out u n d e r the blows is n o t a shameful side-effect, i t is the very ceremonia l o f justice bei n g expressed i n all its f o r c e . " 2 6 cecilia's t reatment at the hands o f sir robert floyer can be seen as a k i n d o f to r ture , i n that her d i scomfort u n d e r his gaze is n o t mere ly a "sideeffect" o f some larger project; h is goal is i n fact to make her feel objectif ied, as he admits n u m e r o u s t imes t h r o u g h out the novel (we w i l l later see gi lbert and gubar make a s imi la r p o i n t about female il lness as i t applies to sense and sensibility). h i s offensive gaze, as w e l l as his " saunter ing" d o w n the alley, is an enactment o f his power as a m a n i n a male , pub l i c space, and i t occurs at cecilia's expense. 2 7 cecilia's n i g h t at the opera teaches her that she was m i s t a k e n to believe that m u s i c provides her any measure o f cover f r o m the male gaze, so l o n g as that m u s i c is p e r f o r m e d i n the pub l i c sphere. the entire spectacle o f opera is cynically cast n o t as a transformative , u n i q u e l y female experience, b u t rather, i n the words o f foucault, as "a pol i t ica l r i t u a l , " a ceremony "by w h i c h power is mani fested, " i n this case directly o n the mus ica l , female body . 2 8 cecilia's n i g h t at the opera gets worse. as she leaves her seat, m r . belf ield offers her his a r m , w h i c h she accepts, just before sir robert floyer does the same. i n her d isdain for sir robert, she accepts m r . belfield, w h i c h s l ightly i n f u riates sir robert. h e insul ts belfield by d e m a n d i n g o f ceci l ia , " w i l l y o u suffer such an i m p e r t i n e n t fe l low as that , miss beverley, to have the h o n o u r o f t a k i n g your hand?" ) t h e p o w e r o f h e r v o i c e a n d t h e n nearly begins a due l i n the opera house , u n t i l y o u n g delvile in te r fe res . 2 9 cecilia is very a larmed for b o t h men's safety, i n part icular because she has an " i m m e d i a t e consciousness that she was herse l f the real cause o f the q u a r r e l . " 3 0 foucault argues that spectacle is an "exercise o f te r ror " over its v i c t i m s , and indeed cecilia's n i g h t at the opera begins w i t h d i scomfort w h i l e b e i n g looked at by floyer a n d concludes w i t h terror as the two men's disagreement escalates. 3 1 the due l takes place later i n the novel and belf ield is a lmost m o r t a l l y w o u n d e d . a l t h o u g h i t is eventually revealed that the due l occurs for other reasons t h a n over cecilia, her " incaut ious e m o t i o n " i n fearing for b o t h men's lives "had given rise to suspicions o f her h a r b o u r i n g a part ia l i ty for a m a n w h o m every day she m o r e heart i ly d i s l iked , " and for a t i m e r u i n s her chances w i t h y o u n g delvi le, w h o t h i n k s that she is engaged to one o f t h e m . 3 2 u l t i m a t e l y what the a lmost-duel at the opera house reveals to the reader is cecilia's vu lnerabi l i ty even i n a t rad i t iona l ly f e m i n i n e space. w h i l e cecilia may believe that she goes to the opera mere ly for the i n n o c e n t en joyment o f mus ic , burney cynically casts that be l i e f as an i l l u s i o n ; male cont ro l is p e r m i t t e d a n d even encouraged at the opera, and art therefore fails to protect w o m e n . cecilia's hope o f hear ing the per formance w h i l e r e m a i n i n g detached f r o m the m e n that s u r r o u n d her t u r n s out to be naive and dangerous to her future chances o f happiness. sites o f mus ica l praxis are only secondarily i n t e n d e d to provide aesthetic en joyment . t h e i r p r i m a r y purpose, acc o r d i n g to burney, is to reify patr iarchal pol i t ica l values, i n c l u d i n g b o t h gender a n d class hierarchies. i n p u t t i n g w o m e n o n display b o t h o n a n d offstage, the opera house funct ions as a locus for the enactment and display o f patr i archal values. to burney, the opera house is also c o m p r o m i s e d i n other less dangerous b u t equally f rus t ra t ing ways. for instance, a lmost n o one i n the novel , except cecilia herself, takes m u s i c seriously. m r s . harrel 's "love o f the opera" is i n stead "merely a love o f company, fashion, and shew." simamongst the eighteenth-century aristocracy, the female role in musical performance was more ceremonial a n d social t h a n artistic. e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 i larly, miss larolles' only concern at the opera is to find a seat "at the outside" o f her box " o n purpose to speak to a person or t w o . " 3 3 nei ther o f t h e m attends the opera for the m u s i c a l per formance b u t rather to see and be seen. w h i l e at the opera itself, cecilia is vexed that the harrels arrive so late that they miss a lmost the ent ire first act, and the rest o f the act is r u i n e d by a group o f y o u n g ladies, "whose t i t t e r i n g and loquacity a l lowed no one i n the i r v i c in i ty to hear," w h i l e they themselves " l i s tened to n o t a note"; th is seems to have been a pet peeve o f burney's , as she repl i cates th is scene at a private concert later i n the novel w i t h a dif ferent g roup o f y o u n g w o m e n and m o r e " u n m e a n i n g conversat ion . " 3 4 the second act is n o better, as she is t h e n seated near a g roup o f y o u n g m e n a n d "no sooner was the second act begun, t h a n the i r a t tent ion ended ! " 3 5 finally, the ennuye, m r . meadows, expresses his o p i n i o n o f the opera to cecilia after its conclus ion, perversely protest ing that i n spite o f his attendance, " i hate a solo. . . . i hardly ever a t tempt to l i s ten to a song. . . . one is sick to death o f m u s i c . " 3 6 w i t h these repeated aggrieved reflections, burney again reveals her personal inves tment i n the art; as the daughter o f the famous dr. burney and f r i e n d to m a n y professional mus ic ians , she p la in ly resents what is called "fashionable i n a t t e n t i o n " to m u s i c . 3 7 austen w i l l later depict the same general insens ib i l i ty o f the tone to the arts, m o s t notably i n sense and sensibility. t h r o u g h the subversive voice o f lady h o n o r i a , burney is able to fur ther explore some o f the m o r e extreme op in ions o f m u s i c as a d isc ip l inary tool . as epstein notes i n the iron pen, lady honor ia ' s c o m m e n t s are d isrupt ive b u t " k n o w i n g , calculated, a n d i n s i g h t f u l . " 3 8 burney describes her as the average wel l -bred lady; she had received "a fashionable educat ion. . . she sung a l i t t l e , played a l i t t l e . " 3 9 she is remarkable n o t for the breadth o f her accomplishc h a r m e d by lady h o n o r i a , and a l though careful not to give her too m u c h narrative power, burney does grant her the novel's last w o r d . she brazenly states her o p i n i o n o f gender relations to senior m r . delvi le, asserting, "not a creature thinks of our principles, till they find them out by our conduct: and nobody can possibly do that till we are married, for they give us no power beforehand. the men know nothing of us in the world while we are single, but how we can . . . play a lesson upon the harpsichord. "4° one wonders if , after the heavy, me lodramat ic romance between cecilia and delvi le, burney felt the need to in ject her novel w i t h what m i g h t be a m o r e honest and realistic look at relations between m e n a n d w o m e n . epstein agrees, r e m a r k i n g that lady honoria ' s "sharp w i t refreshingly challenges the staid codes o f social behavior i n the nove l . " 4 1 she reveals, i n one swift c o m m e n t , the cu l ture o f accompl ishments as a mere patr iarchal device to keep w o m e n superficial , the f u l f i l l m e n t o f h a n n a h more's fear o f w o m a n as "o rnament . " she also echoes mary w o l l stonecraft's d isdain for the so-called system o f female educat ion, as she sarcastically adds, " o n o , sir, i w o u l d n o t have her study at al l ; it 's m i g h t y w e l l for c h i l d r e n , b u t really after sixteen . . . one has quite e n o u g h fatigue i n dressi n g . . . w i t h o u t all that t o r m e n t o f first and second posit i o n , and e u p o n the first l ine , and f u p o n the first space!" 4 2 finally, lady h o n o r i a exposes class tensions between the aristocracy & gentry and the increasingly wealthy m i d d l e classes as she asks m r . delvi le, "dear sir, w h a t should we al l do w i t h b i r t h i f i t was not for wealth? i t w o u l d ne i ther take us to ranelagh nor the o p e r a . " 4 3 the snobbish i n breeding advocated by delvile senior is n o t financially u n sustainable; a fashionable lifestyle, and the mus ica l dissipations i t demands , comes at a cost that on ly some can pay. "cecilia uses music-making to try to escape the disciplinary apparatus, specifically its strict control of her time/' ments , w h i c h are perfectly ordinary, b u t rather for the clari ty and accuracy w i t h w h i c h she observes her o w n society. she is perhaps the forerunner to lizzy bennet, the sardonic sociologist, or mary crawford, the b r i l l i a n t b u t dangerous challenger o f social n o r m s . i t is d i f f icul t n o t to be mus ic , or at least certain k inds o f m u s i c , is a d ivers ion only available to the wealthy. julia epstein, i n the iron pen, also notes burney's inc l inat i o n to render publ ic places o f pleasure as "discursive sites t h e p o w e r o f h e r v o i c e for the m a p p i n g o f social c lassi f icat ions." 4 4 burney o f course h a d personal reasons to insert herse l f i n t o th is discussion about m u s i c a n d class; her family 's financial and social successes were due to her father's ind i rec t forwardi n g o f the patr iarchal economy by teaching w o m e n mus ic . t h u s the opera house , for example, is n o t mere ly a gendered space b u t a classed one as we l l . epstein darkly interprets the novel p r i m a r i l y as "a perpetual game o f gender and class warfare," a n d terry castle calls i t the " i n s t i t u t i o n a l izat ion o f . . . sexual theater . " 4 5 a l t h o u g h b o t h scholars p r i m a r i l y examine the ways i n w h i c h th is class warfare occurs d u r i n g the masquerade, the i r analysis can easily be extended to c o m p r e h e n d the other pub l i c spaces o f the novel where m u s i c is per formed, such as balls, the opera, and vauxhal l . class warfare is perfectly a n d l i teral ly apparent i n the near due l between belf ield and floyers at the opera house; floyers considers belf ield as an i m p e r t i n e n t upstart i n c l a i m i n g cecilia's h a n d , w h i l e he is t i t l e d and therefore m o r e w o r t h y o f i t . i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h th is r i g i d u p h o l d i n g o f class, mus ic permi t s a k i n d o f permiss ib le crossing o f class boundaries , w h i c h , i n be ing permiss ib le , ma inta ins those boundaries . i n her madness at the e n d o f the novel , cecilia, " t h o u g h natural ly and c o m m o n l y o f a s i lent a n d quiet disposi t ion. . . was n o w n o t a m o m e n t s t i l l . " 4 6 t h o u g h n o t exactly m a k i n g mus ic , cecilia-them a d w o m a n ' s tongue is freed i n her i l lness i n a way that cecilia-the-heiress was never al lowed. however, the reader knows that cecilia is i n fact an heiress, and indeed, her recovery is m a r k e d by her again b e c o m i n g "quiet and composed... contentedly s i l e n t . " 4 7 h e r b r i e f in ter lude o f madness reinforces for the reader, as i t does for m r . delvi le senior, that cecilia really does n o t be long i n the three blue balls, she belongs i n delvi le castle. h e r restorat ion to silence demonstrates her ambivalent ly characterized restor a t i o n to her r i g h t f u l class and social sphere. yet at the same t i m e , cecilia's love o f m u s i c also marks her as an appropriate partner for the w e l l b o r n delvi le. h e admits that before he m e t her, he h a d already heard o f her "accompl i shments , " a t e r m by w h i c h m u s i c a l talent was a lmost certainly i m p l i e d . m r s . delvi le, also, remarks a n u m b e r o f t imes that cecilia's "v i r tue , beauty, educat ion, for tune a n d fami ly were al l unexcept ionable . " 4 8 "educat i o n , " l ike "accompl i shments , " w o u l d have comprehended a wide range o f subjects, m u s i c a m o n g t h e m . h e r m u s i cality n o t only makes her desirable as a w o m a n i t gives her "beauty" b u t i t also, as an i n d i c a t i o n o f her " for tune and family , " makes her desirable as a financial partner. young delvile is convinced that her "accompl ishments , v j o i n e d to the splendour o f her fo r tune" cannot fai l to convince his parents o f her suitabi l i ty as his w i f e . 4 9 a l t h o u g h cecilia is not t h r i l l e d to participate i n patr iarchal society and sometimes seeks refuge i n mus ic , those a r o u n d her insist o n reading her m u s i c m a k i n g as a symbol o f a w o m an invested i n the d o m i n a n t ideology. cecilia uses m u s i c m a k i n g to t ry to escape the disc ip l inary apparatus, specifically its strict cont ro l o f her t i m e . rather t h a n spending every day and every n i g h t i n diss ipat ion w i t h the harre ls , cecilia eventually desires to become "mistress o f her o w n t i m e . " 5 0 ironical ly , o f course, her "favour i te studies" are also those that patr iarchy w o u l d choose for her, m u s i c and reading, as w e l l as w a l k i n g and fancy w o r k . 5 1 i t is d i f f icul t to k n o w i f th is is the choice o f a t r u l y l iberated m i n d , one that can choose its o w n occupations w i t h o u t reference to the w i d e r w o r l d , or i f cecilia is mere ly b e c o m i n g her o w n patr iarchal task-master. kr i s t ina straub w o u l d l ike ly argue the latter, as cecilia also uses these occupations to "keep e m o t i o n a l chaos at bay," a tens ion later explored i n austen's sense and sensibility.52 i n order to distract herse l f f r o m her affection for y o u n g delvi le, cecilia throws herse l f i n t o these rat ional employments . for instance, she asks m r . m o n c k t o n to order her "a piano forte o f m e r l i n ' s . " 5 3 but the r o m a n t i c p lot w i l l n o t leave her alone w i t h her mus ic . moreover, straub argues that " the very employments designed to give cecilia cont r o l often betray her i n t o helplessness." for example, lady h o n o r i a remarks o n cecilia's poor needlework w h e n aski n g her for her feelings o n d e l v i l e . 5 4 cecilia's already questionable p l a n for " independence" f r o m patr iarchal d isc ipl ine is an ut ter fai lure. neither m u sic n o r any other e m p l o y m e n t can keep her separated f r o m delvi le, and cecilia does n o t find satisfaction i n purs u i n g t h e m independent ly anyway because the sol itude is o v e r w h e l m i n g l y lonely. a l t h o u g h earlier at the opera cecil ia was thwar ted i n t r y i n g to enact private e n j o y m e n t o f m u s i c i n a pub l i c space, she n o w finds that privacy unsatisfying. burney here demonstrates her native conservat i s m . she certainly has reservations about the patr iarchal economy, as expressed by cecilia's uneasiness u n d e r sir robert floyer's gaze at the opera. nonetheless, her heroine m u s t and does participate i n that economy i n her marr iage to y o u n g delvile. burney indicts cecilia's vague quest to be mistress o f her o w n t i m e as naive and imposs ib le , just as she does w i t h the be l ie f that m u s i c provides w o m e n w i t h a reprieve f r o m patr iarchal pol i t ics . those pol it ics have even invaded the supposedly "safe" domestic , female e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 sphere, leaving cecilia no refuge except that o f delvile's arms. a t the very least, a l t h o u g h cecilia ends the novel subject to the voice o f patr iarchy made manifest b o t h i n her husband a n d her father-in-law, readers can rejoice that u n l i k e saint cecilia, her mus ica l talent is g iven to her n o t by m a n b u t by a fe l low w o m a n , her creator, frances burney. i n w r i t i n g a mus ica l hero ine , burney begins the process o f rec l a i m i n g cecilia and other female music ians f r o m a history w r i t t e n by m e n . i n divided fictions, straub convinc ing ly proposes that burney seeks "conventional , n o t revis ionary" solutions to the p r o b l e m o f female selfident i f i ca t ion u n d e r patr iarchy. 5 5 indeed, i t w o u l d do violence to the novel n o t to acknowledge the darkness o f its v i s ion . cecilia certainly presents a w o r l d o f relentless, i n vasive patriarchy. burney begins her novel by seeming to u p h o l d the b inary between publ ic (male) and private (female) . yet by novel's e n d i t is clear that burney deconstructs that b inary to suggest that i n a w o r l d o f patr iarchal power, no space is exempt f r o m that power. t h u s the opera house as w e l l as the m u s i c par lor become sites for the e x h i b i t i o n o f d isc ip l inary pol i t ics . even w h i l e m a k i n g m u sic alone i n her h o m e , cecilia is s t i l l t rapped by patriarchy, her range o f m o t i o n and activities s t i l l restricted to those encouraged by the d o m i n a n t ideology. s imply i n the act o f creating a female character w h o has a dynamic and engagi n g re lat ionship w i t h m u s i c , however, burney was revisionary. th i s is not saint cecilia as presented to the w o r l d by a male priest or artist; i t is cecilia, recreated by a sister music-lover. e n d n o t e s 1. drinker (264) 2. drinker (263) 3. cook and tsou (1) 4. ibid. 5. drinker (264) 6. chisolm (10) 7. burney 1988 (6) 8. chisolm (10) 9. ibid. 10. d'arblay (338, 436) ' 11. frances i n particular achieved such mobility, thanks to her father's fame, as well as her own literary reputation, that i n 1786 she was offered and accepted a position at court with queen charlotte. chisholm (20) 12. straub (89) 13. straub (78). 14. straub (79) 15. straub (88) 16. straub (89) 17. burney 1988 (65, 136) 18. burney 1988 (64) 19. burney 1988 (65) 20. burney 1988 (962) 21. burney 1988 (136, 65) 22. for more on the male gaze and women as "to-be-looked-atness," see laura mulvey's essay "visual pleasure and narrative cinema." 23. burney 1988 (59) 24. burney 1988 (135) 25. burney 1988 (972) 26. foucault (34) 27. in burney's previous novel evelina, the heroine, at her first ball, similarly remarks disgustedly that "the gentlemen, as they passed and repassed, looked as i f they thought we were quite at their disposal." burney 1997 (74) 28. foucault (47) 29. burney 1988 (137) 30. burney 1988 (138) 31. foucault (49) 32. burney 1988 (162) 33. burney 1988 (131, 286) 34. burney 1988 (134, 323) 35. burney 1988 (135) 36. burney 1988 (266-267) 37. burney 1988 (979); the theme is developed first i n evelina, i n which the heroine writes of her first opera visit, " i could have thought i was i n paradise, but for the continual talking of the company around me." burney 1988 (84) 38. epstein (167) 39. burney 1988 (464) 40. burney 1988 (934) 41. epstein (167) 42. lady honoria is referring to notes on the musical staff. burney (935) 43. burney 1988 (936-937) 44. epstein (161) 45. epstein (167); castle, cited i n epstein (162) 46. burney 1988 (901) 47. burney 1988 (920) 48. burney 1988 (512) 49. burney 1988 (564) 50. burney 1988 (55) 51. ibid. 52. straub (132) 53. burney 1988 (460) 54. straub (134) 55. straub (107) r e f e r e n c e s burney, charles. the present state of music in france and italy: or, the journal of a tour through those countries, undertaken to collect materials for a general history of music. by charles burney, ) t h e p o w e r o f h e r v o i c e mus. d. london, 1771. eighteenth century collections online. http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.do?&contentset=ecc oarticles&type=multipage&tabid=tooi&prodid=ecco&docid =cwi05523390&source=gale&usergroupname=mlin_m_bostco u&version=i.o&doclevel=fascimile. burney, frances. cecilia, or memoirs of an heiress. new york: oxford up, 1988. —. evelina. ed. krishna straub. boston: bedford, 1997. chisholm, kate. "the burney family." ed. peter sabor. the cambridge companion to frances. burney. cambridge [etc.]: cambridge up, 2007. 7-22. cook, susan c , and judy s. tsou, eds. "bright cecilia" introduction. cecilia reclaimed: feminist perspectives on gender and music. urbana: university of illinois, 1994. 1-14. d'arblay, frances burney. "diary of frances burney d'arblay, may, 1780." diary and letters of madame d'arblay, vol. 1: 17781780. ed. charlotte frances barrett. london, england: h . colburn, 1842. 436. —. "diary of frances burney d'arblay, january, 1773." the early diary of frances burney, 1768-1778. with a selection from her correspondence and from the journals of her sisters, susan and charlotte burney, vol. 1. ed. ellis, annie raine. london, england: g. bell & son, 1889.338. drinker, sophie. music &l women: the story of women in their relation to music. new york: the feminist press, 1995. epstein, julia. the iron pen: frances burney and the politics of women's writing. madison, wis.: university of wisconsin, 1989. foucault, michel. discipline e[ punish: the birth of the prison. trans. alan sheridan. new york: vintage, 1995. mulvey, laura. "visual pleasure and narrative cinema." feminisms: an anthology of literary theory and criticism. ed. robyn r. warhol and herndl diane price. 2 n d ed. new brunswick, nj: rutgers up, 1997 438-48: straub, krishna. divided fictions: fanny burney and feminine strategy. lexington,ky.: university of kentucky, 1987. http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.do?&contentset=ecc evan goldstein graduated from boston college cum laude with a b.a. in theology and a minor in philosophy. this fall, he begins an m.a. in theology and ethics at union theological seminary, and hopes to pursue doctoral studies in the future. his research interests include questions of identity, such as race, gender, and sexuality, in theology, political theology, and re-evaluating jewish and christian traditions in light of developments in critical philosophical theories. author biographies catherine larrabee is a senior in the morrissey college of arts & sciences. she is majoring in theology and minoring in medical humanities. on campus, she is involved with the gabelli presidential scholars program, the women’s center, and the arrupe international immersion program. she has spent her summers working at haley house, studying spanish in costa rica, and interning at commonweal magazine. she is interested in social justice issues such as religion, gender, migration, and poverty, and hopes to continue studying these subjects in the future. doyle calhoun is a senior majoring in linguistics and french in the morrissey college of arts and sciences honors program. he has also studied at boston university’s editorial institute. his interests involve the history of linguistics, french missionary linguistics, and literary linguistics. investigation into the ways linguistic approaches to text can inform text-critical, interpretive, and editorial decisions continues to be a focus in his work. doyle works as a undergraduate research fellow for dr. margaret thomas. for his senior thesis research project, he will focus on a set of french missionary grammars from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. olivia mccaffrey is a junior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences majoring in international studies and minoring in french. she received an advanced study grant to examine the prevalence of independent voters in massachusetts, which is the topic of her article in this issue. she has completed an internship at the massachusetts state house and worked in the library of congress. olivia spent the summer of 2015 studying modernism in paris. she plays for the boston college symphony orchestra and has worked with high school students as a presenter for international outreach and a teacher for the bc splash program. allison schneider is a senior in the morrissey college of arts & sciences majoring in economics. she plans to continue in the carroll school of management after receiving her undergraduate studies to earn an m.b.a. with a concentration in finance. outside of her coursework in economics, allison has concentrated her efforts in the area of social justice and has been active in bc’s service learning pulse program. she also serves as the treasurer for the boston college chapter of omicron delta epsilon, a national economics honor society. maria vazquez was born in miami, fl and moved to quincy, ma when she was ten years old. maria, a first-generation college student, attends the university of california at santa barbara pursuing a doctorate in counseling psychology. her interests include identity development, the role of psychosocial stressors on mental health, and programs for low-income communities of color. at bc, she worked with the mcnair and community research programs, and completed research with professors in the lynch school of education. she was also an era peer advisor and facilitator and the president of the cuban-american student association. allyson tank grew up in long valley, nj. she studied biology at boston college, and was part of the morrissey college of arts and sciences honors program as well as the biology department honors program. through these programs, she had the opportunity to complete a senior thesis on her research project in dr. welkin johnson’s laboratory. outside of her research, she also enjoyed volunteering at brigham and women’s hospital and mt. alvernia elementary school. after graduation, she will be working for a year as a patient care coordinator at a local dermatology practice and beginning her applications for medical school. benjamin shapiro is a member of the carroll school of management class of 2016, double majoring in marketing and history. born in jamestown, new york, but raised in indian harbour beach, florida, benjamin became an avid student of american colonial and mercantile history after numerous childhood visits to the former spanish settlement of st. augustine, florida, and the former whaling town of nantucket, massachusetts. in the near future, benjamin hopes to finish his education at boston college and then work in the creative realm of the marketing and advertising field as a creative producer or ad copywriter, and eventually return to school to obtain his m.b.a. alec walker is a senior from new london, new hampshire. he studies history with a minor in german. he is particularly interested in german intellectual history as it relates to the conception and critique of human rights. after graduating in the spring of 2016, alec hopes to take a year or two away from school in order to study and teach abroad. after this time off, he aspires to enter a ph.d. program in history. the field of linguistics focuses on the spoken incarnation of language and considers written phenomena as an imperfect approximation of the former. the author argues that present understanding of punctuation as a subsystem of human language is inadequate, and that even when studies examine punctuation from a linguistic standpoint, they emphasize modern written language and american english in particular. it is, however, quite possible to describe the behavior of punctuations with the same methodology that was until recently reserved for spoken language. just as language develops over time and changes from place to place, so too does punctuation. this paper argues for the compatibility between recent developments in computational linguistics’ approaches to punctuation and textual criticism that attends to punctuation in poetry. a full understanding of its conventions is critical for a proper interpretation of meaning. furthermore, the author shows that the relevance of these studies to literary analysis remains unexplored. nevertheless, with the developing techniques made possible through computational linguistics, the potential for in-depth study is expanding. a grammar of punctuation in poetry modern computational linguistic perspectives doyle calhoun while the punctuation of a poem may not always figure into its critical analysis, literary critics and textual scholars seem to agree that punctuation constitutes at least one of the non-verbal tools of poetic expression available to the poet. as such, it is one of the features to which the critic could attend. it would be unusual, for instance, for an analysis of e. e. cumming’s poem “l(a” to fail to mention the twisting parentheses, or for a critical edition of dickinson’s verse to not make some ruling on typesetting the length of her dashes. the extent to which scholars perceive punctuation as relevant to their text-interpretive or text-critical endeavor varies. nonetheless, punctuation has its discernible place in literary studies: john lennard gives a book-long treatment to the use of parentheses in english verse (1991); christopher ricks attributes an almost metaphysical aspect to punctuation in the force of poetry— it is “at once a uniting and a separating” (1984); robert l. kellogg and oliver l. steele dedicate an entire article to alternative punctuations of the last two lines of the faerie queene (1963). punctuation has not benefitted from the same sustained attention in linguistics. only in the past thirty years has punctuation become an object of empirical linguistic study, apart from prescriptive accounts of its usage. this is probably because formal linguistics, unlike literary studies, tends to view written language as a byproduct of spoken language or its imperfect image, a stance that reduces punctuation to a deficient and inadequate mode of representing or registering prosodic features of speech stream, like intonation. or, perhaps, the reluctance of modern generative linguistics to see punctuation as a worthwhile focus for linguistic inquiry stems from the reality that it is an extra-verbal phenomenon. punctuation is not a necessary (or very common) feature of human language: not all speech communities have written language, and not all written languages have punctuation. typological studies on punctuation systems vary in different linguistic subfields: psycholinguistic work on how punctuation is realized in the lexicon; large-scale empirical investigation into punctuation at various synchronic stages of a single language; context-specific analyses of punctuation (particularities of its use in literary or legal language, as an example). all these areas remain under-examined. recent efforts in computational linguistics, however, make use of computerized corpora to bring attention to the fact that punctuation is a coherent, rule-governed linguistic subsystem in its own right. b. say and v. akman survey extant research on punctuation marks from the point of view of natural language processing (nlp), and propose an information-based framework for describing and understanding punctuation (1997). according to their model, punctuation can be seen as contributing to the information conveyed by a sentence or intrasentential clauses.1 taking information to mean propositional content which constitutes a contribution of knowledge to [sic] reader’s knowledge store, they demonstrate how to use discourse representation theory (drt) and segmented discourse representation theory (sdrt) to deal with punctuated written texts.2 drt and sdrt use representational boxes with a set of referents (entities in the discourse) and conditions (properties that relate the referents), which are built incrementally over the course of the discourse and which can be resolved into a construction algorithm. the major contribution of this highly technical work is to demonstrate that punctuation can be described systematically, and as they suggest, (eventually) accounted for in a unified theory that computational linguists can apply to both analyzing and generating written language. the points raised by say and akman and their exercise of formalizing punctuation in terms of drt and sdrt are relevant to literary studies and textual criticism. the absence of any unified linguistic theory of punctuation and the dearth of research programs aimed at formulating one disadvantage the linguist and literary scholar alike. the result of this gap in language science and literary studies is that the modern understanding of punctuation as a feature of human language is unclear, its use at any given synchronic stage in any given language even less clear, and its marked use in literary contexts totally unexplored. to complicate the matter, studying punctuation, especially punctuation in poetry, gives rise to a problem of definition: namely, what counts as punctuation? in his brown corpus study, meyer distinguishes between structural punctuation symbols (those that act on units not larger than the orthographic sentence and not smaller than the word, i.e. not hyphens or apostrophes) and other punctuation (textgraphical features like paragraph breaks, font changes, lists) (1986). the distinction is a useful one in linguistics, but obfuscates features of punctuation that might be relevant to literary criticism or poetics: one can imagine a poem in which intra-morphemic punctuation or suprasegmentals, such as diacritics, function in a non-trivial way. in addition, a purely formal description of punctuation elides certain features of punctuation that are particular to 25 a grammar of punctuation in poetry literature, and poetry in particular. such particularities of literary punctuation include its: rhetorical force, aesthetic or visual dimension, meta-physical qualities, allusive potential, and effect on meter. the ability of a hyphen to suggest a unique kind of bond that, in ricks’ terms, holds apart at the same time it holds together, is a dimension that is relevant and meaningful to the literary critic but one which the computational linguistic is likely uninterested in capturing. all this is not to diminish the potential of computational work on punctuation to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of punctuation in literary studies. rather, it is to point out that for such research to be truly useful to the literary critic, it must be specific enough to accurately describe punctuation as a subsystem of human language and general enough to handle additional factors based on stylistic register or context. the work of nunberg (1990) gets closest to that balance, at least according to say and akman (1997).. as they point out, nunberg’s (1990) treatise retains its influential status as the first comprehensive attempt to approach punctuation from within the generative, or chomskian, paradigm: to decipher it in terms of a text-grammar and to conceive of it as a generative system describable by rule-governed operations. working within this framework, nunberg builds a collection of rules he uses to explain the distribution of text-categories — the inter-punctuational units (text-adjuncts, text-clauses, text-phrases) dealt with by the lexical grammar.3 an example of such a rule treats the interaction of two english punctuation marks: “the point absorption rule dictates that a period will absorb a comma when they are immediately adjacent.”4 nunberg’s account of punctuation recognizes that punctuation marks are not distributed randomly or arbitrarily, but like natural language reflect a series of hierarchically ordered abstract rules. what say and akman find lacking in nunberg (1990)— and what they identify as a desideratum in the field of computational linguistics— is a formal theoretical apparatus that can characterize punctuation not just in terms of its relationship to syntax, but also account for its semantic and discourse-related effects.5 work in algebraic linguistics underscores the importance of attending to these effects. at least in terms of logical value, punctuation is as much an observable feature for the critic to attend to in a poet’s work as it is in his or her own writing on a poet’s work. in his article “punctuation and human freedom”, linguist geoffrey k. pullum provides the following example of how a simple transposition of punctuation marks alters the truth-conditions of a statement: (i) shakespeare’s king richard iii contains the line “now is the winter of our discontent.” (ii) shakespeare’s king richard iii contains the line “now is the winter of our discontent”.6 the claim in (i), he argues, is false. for shakespeare’s play does not contain the line “now is the winter of our discontent.” rather, it contains the line “now is the winter of our discontent”, which is actually the first of two lines that form the sentence: “now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of york.” in the playtext, as pullum points out, “now is the winter of our discontent” is not even a syntactic constituent; although, in (i), the convention of placing terminal punctuation before quotes makes it look as if it were. pullum’s point here seems a slight one—or, perhaps, an overly-fastidious one—but it is important to realize that he is not leveling a prescriptive stylistic complaint; he is pointing out the linguistic reality that punctuation marks interact with, and have the ability to alter, the truth-conditions of a claim. the question is one of logical truth, not of style. an alternative approach to nunberg’s generative-style grammar of punctuation might be a purely distributional one. in his corpus studies, karlsson (1994) demonstrates the possibility of describing punctuation in terms of statis“recent efforts in computational linguistics, however, make use of computerized corpora to bring attention to the fact that punctuation is a coherent, rule-governed linguistic subsystem in its own right.” 26 elements : : fall 2015 tical frequency, rather than binary tag-features like [±stoppedness], which nunberg (1990) makes use of. as karlsson’s findings suggest, it is possible to characterize punctuation marks based on their immediate context. for instance, he reports: “a punctuation mark to the left of a finite verb dramatically decreases the probability that the preceding word is a grammatical subject (of all the finite verbs preceded by a punctuation mark, less than 5% had the preceding word as subject).”7 karlsson’s work is conducted within and for the milieu of computational linguistics; his concerns are necessarily different from those of the literary critic. but might literary researchers employ a similar distributional approach to more accurately determine statistical patterns of punctuation use? the presence of digitized corpora makes such a task possible and, most importantly, allows researchers to carry out their analyses without reference or subservience to other linguistic features. with the recent understanding of punctuation as a rule-governed system in its own right, rather than as an artifact treated indirectly or filtered through other levels of linguistic inquiry like syntax, comes the ability to claim punctuation as a singular object of study in research. this might, but need not, extend beyond the workings of the suite of punctuation marks. also of particular interest is the potential for linguistic research on punctuation to provide insight into cruxes of textual scholarship based on historiographical concerns. inadequate understanding of punctuation at a particular synchronic stage of the language (herein, english) is not a new problem in literary analysis. but the reality remains that most modern readers— and, to a lesser extent (one hopes), textual scholars— are limited by their own linguistics in that they inevitably read in reference to modern punctuation. kellogg and steele (1963) raise this crucial historiographical point when they caution against analyses built on hasty— or, as they write, “sanguine”— generalizations like ‘punctuation marks syntax’ or ‘punctuation marks intonation’: the critic cannot afford to work on the assumption that spenser’s syntax can be explained by analogy with similar but not identical structures in present-day english. two considerations must temper our hasty analysis of elizabethan poetry: first, we do not understand elizabethan syntax thoroughly; and, second, we do not know what intonation was used to signal syntactical relationships.8 one might add to their point a further concession: even if we do achieve an accurate reconstruction of elizabethan syntax and phonemics, we cannot assume the poet operated within those conventions or norms. moreover, kellogg and steele’s stance presupposes that punctuation in a poem is limited to demarcating syntactic constituents and transcribing the prosodic features of inner speech. a critic cannot afford to work on that assumption either. a more accurate approach would examine punctuation, syntax, and phonemics independently and not as mixedlevels— but, rather, as phenomena that are interrelated but not dependent on or subservient to one another. it would be informed by a reconstruction of elizabethan syntax and phonemics as well as a reconstruction of a grammar of elizabethan punctuation. what might such an approach look like? placing a consideration of elizabethan syntax and phonemics aside, a series of corpus-based studies on punctuation conducted in the following contexts would yield multiple and increasingly marked perspectives on punctuation as it functioned in the target time-period: elizabethan texts (including newspapers, legal documents, and other non-literary publications); contemporary elizabethan poetry; as well as a more concentrated analysis of punctuation in the poet’s own writings (which would consider works in prose and works in poetry separately). computational linguistic techniques allow such corpus searches to be exacting. in the style of karlsson (1994), it is possible to determine the statistical frequency of, say, an ellipses separating a verb and its subject, or the probability that the word preceding an em dash is in the nominal case when the word that follows is a finite verb. admittedly, exhaustive corpora for this type of research will not be availthe formulation of a linguistic rule in standard notation (font licenced through adobe indesign) 27 a grammar of punctuation in poetry able in all cases. already, though, digitized corpora for various genres of literary texts or author-specific databases exist. if and when corpora become available, though, applying computational linguistic techniques of the kind detailed by say and akman (1967) seems like a useful but unexplored resource for literary studies. accommodating a linguistic theory of punctuation—formal, as in nunberg’s case, or distributional, as in karlsson’s— to literary analysis might provide the literary critic with surer footing while navigating historically remote punctuation systems. a body of research that examines punctuation in this manner offers to the critic and textual scholar a hereto-unavailable interpretive tool. it would allow for cross-comparison between the poet’s deployment of punctuation and statistical patterns or norms of punctuation in use in the particular socio-cultural milieu in which he or she was writing. in this way, the critic or scholar could more easily, and more systematically, decenter a reading of a text from his or her own linguistics of punctuation. historiographer of the language sciences konrad koerner (1997) points to the value of a similar process of re-orientation or recalibration when approaching non-contemporary (linguistic) texts: “[m]odern scholars have been mislead in their assessment… probably because they could not or did not divest themselves of their own twentieth-century structuralist background.”9 a similar concern holds true for an analysis of punctuation in poetry. a critically responsible treatment of a poem’s punctuation recognizes that reading only with reference to contemporary punctuation results in a limited interpretive stance, and also constitutes a critical move based on presupposition. the critic might work around this logical fallacy by drawing on the technical apparatus of computational linguistics to equip himor herself with descriptions of: contemporary punctuation, punctuation in the target time-period, and punctuation within the body of work being examined. only by refracting a historically displaced reading of the poem through these multiple lenses can we hope to achieve a more historiographically sound and interpretively accurate assessment of the working of the poem’s punctuation. this paper does not propose a unified theory of punctuation, or even attempt to define in detail how such a theory might be applied to literary criticism or textual scholarship; the current lack of research makes this unlikely. rather, it aims to draw attention to the general paucity of research directed at constructing an empirical theory of punctuation for use in both linguistics and literary studies. and, furthermore, to suggest the utility of such a theory and its compatibility between recent efforts in computational linguistics and the recognition in literary studies, especially among scholars of poetry, that punctuation warrants attention as a non-verbal resource of creative expression. present understanding of punctuation as a subsystem of human language is inadequate. even when studies do examine punctuation from a linguistic standpoint, they privilege modern written language and american english in particular. moreover, the application of these studies beyond their use in natural language processing systems and punctuation pedagogy is unexplored, their relevance to literary analysis undocumented. what wants in literary studies is a body of research that approaches punctuation linguistically— making use of corpus and computational methods of analysis— in order to attend more accurately to the particularities of its workings in poetry. 28 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. akman, current approaches to punctuation, 464. 2. ibid. 3. akman, current approaches to punctuation, 460. 4. ibid. 5. akman, current approaches to punctuation, 467. 6 pullum, natural language and linguistic theory, 421-422. 7 akman , current approaches to punctuation, 461. 8 kellogg, on the punctuation of two lines, 174. 9 koerner, einar haugen, 228. references akman, v., and b. say. “current approaches to punctuation in computational linguistics.” computers and the humanities, no. 6 (1996): 457-69. kellogg, robert l., and oliver l. steele. “on the punctuation of two lines in the faerie queene.” pmla, no. 78 (1963): 147-148. doi: 10.2307/461235. koerner, e. f. k. “einar haugen as a historian of linguistics.” american journal of germanic linguistics and literatures, no. 9 (1997): 221-38. lennard, john. but i digress: the exploitation of parentheses in english printed verse. oxford: oxford up, 1991. pullum, geoffrey. “topic... comment: punctuation and human freedom.” natural language & linguistic theory, no. 4 (1984): 419–25. ricks, christopher. the force of poetry. new york: clarendon, 1984. 29 a grammar of punctuation in poetry mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affi rms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e elements fall 2012 volume 8 : : issue 2 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline is tuesday, november, 20, 2012. all submissions can be sent to elements.submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © steele hill/nasa/science photo library periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 8, issue 2, fall 2012 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by the sheridan press, 450 fame avenue, hanover, pa 17331 copyright © 2012 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief nick cochran-caggiano managing editor emily simon deputy editor ali mcdonald layout editor brandon bavier humanities grace west, senior editor eric tracz, senior editor ali mcdonald, editor patty owens, editor marie pellissier, editor sciences brandon bavier, senior editor corleone delaveris, senior editor frank a. direnno, editor alexander tingle, editor saljooq m. asif, editor ellen white, editor web design mike henry, senior editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick this issue is a wonderful combination of subjects. looking at the three cover articles one can see the diversity of subject matter that has come to be the standard for elements. the cover image is an artistic rendering of the earth’s magnetic field as a protective force. the cover story, quake by nicholas martis, uses personally gathered data to investigate the possibility of using magnetism to predict the location and magnitude of earthquakes. each year we hear of earthquakes that lead to the destruction of much property and the loss of many lives. the indonesia tsunami of 2004 comes to mind as a time when better prediction capabilities could have saved countless lives. an earthquake of lesser destruction, but more recent press, is the l’aquila earthquake. the lawsuit that followed led 7 men to be imprisoned for the results of an earthquake. these men tried to predict an earthquake after the city of l’aquila experienced tremors. better techniques of earthquake prediction not only have spared these men their freedom, but also could potentially have saved some or all of the 300 lives that were lost in this disaster. lines in the sand by corey streitweiser, our second cover article, explores the schools of plato and, the lesser known, isocrates to look at the formation of the philosophical identity of the ancient greeks. the ancient greeks are the scholarly foundation of much of theology (thomism) and philosophy. the importance of research on lesser known figures cannot be overstated for its capacity to further enrich our understanding of philosophy and corey’s work epitomizes that fact. the third cover article is a celebration of sorts. in this, the 150th anniversary of boston college, it is only fitting that we have a article exploring a portion of our university’s faith tradition. jesuits and sorcery is an article that explores the work of the society of jesus in new france. this article calls on a primary source: the diary of fr. paul paul le jeune the superior of the jesuits in quebec, to describe the actions of the order. this article calls attention to less known aspects of the society of jesus and hopefully will foment some discussion about the role of the order in the past and today. this is a unique time for elements, it is the first time that a junior has become editor-in-chief, and it is a trend that will be continued at least once more with the welcoming of our new managing editor emily simon, a sophomore. elements celebrates perhaps its youngest ever staff right now, and together the desire is to use that energy and youth to work toward the goal of further disseminating the wonderful undergraduate research that occurs on our campus. it is with my utmost pleasure that i present to you this the second issue of volume 8 of elements. sincerely, nicholas c. cochran-caggiano editor-in-chief editor’s note contents quake: the correlation between earth’s magnetic field disturbances and earthquake activies nicholas martis seeking a pattern in fluctuations of the earth’s electromagnetic field to predict oncoming earthquakes. dreaming reality: exploring the connection between episodic memory and the realistic dream anna-karina trilleras investigating studies in rapid and non-rapid eye movement sleep to examine the connection between dream and memory. avoiding the pottery barn rule: understanding the united states and nato’s engagement in the libyan revolution narintohn luangrath analyzing neoliberal institutionalism and constructivism to explain the obama administation’s motivation for intervening in libya. lines in the sand: plato and isocrates’ dueling schools of philisophical thought corey streitwieser comparing the rivaling rhetorical approaches of plato and isocrates and their impact on the developing definiton of philosophy. 12 22 30 38 perspectives7 diagnosing personality: analyzing aggression and developmental pathways in disruptive behavior disorders scott geron examining the pathways between aggresive and disruptive personality disorders, particularly in youth and adolescence. rickert’s hiatus irrationalis: an epistemological approach to empirical reality sam kent exploring epistemological solutions to the riddle of the inherent irrationality of reality. jesuits and sorcery: the social evolution of the society of jesus in new france anthony uliano chronicling a native population’s resistance to religious conversion by the society of jesus. author biographies list of artwork 82 75 65 93 95 the dalmation hypothesis: assessing the relativity of emotional responses to art paul boboc delving into the depths of the human consciousness to determine why individuals vary in their responses to art. 56 piezochromism and earthquakes by corleone delaveris certain crystalline solids change behavior and or composition under the stress of increased pressure. one such characteristic is piezochromism: the tendency for a material to change color under pressure. the piezoelectric effect then is the tendency for a material, such as quartz, to generate an electromagnetic field when under stress. the piezoelectric effect has been extrapolated to suggest a method of predicting earthquakes, as researched in martis’ article. the pressure and tension in the earth before the release of an earthquake, as well as the pressure from the compressive seismic pwaves released during the earthquake, would induce stress on any piezoelectric material, resultantly producing a magnetic field. if such an electromagnetic field fluctuation could be detected, it would provide an unprecedented method for predicting earthquakes. forewarning of an earthquake would provide extremely valuable time to evacuate and shut down crucial mechanical systems to avoid both human loss and industrial disaster. such a system would have the possibility of being employed in high-risk zones across the world to warn against earthquakes, such as the great 1906 san francisco earthquake, which resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and set fire to san francisco, or the more recent 2011 fukushima earthquake and resultant meltdown of the fukushima daiichi nuclear reactor. the ability to predict such devastating earthquakes could avoid immense loss and destruction in both highly developed, such as japan and california, and impoverished nations, such as haiti, which recently experienced a disastrous earthquake in 2010. therefore, the development and employment of such a system, as researched by martis, would be an invaluable asset if developed. 1. “piezochromism.” <http://students.chem.tue.nl/ifp07/texts/ piezochromism.htm>. 2. piezoelectric effect.” <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/ solids/piezo.html>. 3. “earthquake glossary: p wave.” <http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/ glossary/?term=p%20wave>. 4. “the great 1906 san francisco earthquake.” <http://earthquake.usgs. gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php>. the power of dream by kimberly ayala there have been several hypotheses made about the roots of dreaming throughout history. freud believed that they were manifestations of our inner frustrations, stemming from what he called the id.1 others believe it has more to do with random neuronal firing that takes place while asleep. further explanations exist, but, regardless of which hypothesis is correct, one thing remains true: the process of dreaming must have had some sort of adaptive effect somewhere along in our biological history. this benefit is most likely that dreaming is involved in the formation of memory and solidifies the neuronal connections, which leads to learning as well. one other explanation is that dreaming prepares us for potential threatening situations we might encounter. the dreaming process uses a lot of the same brain structures as are used during such situations.2 these include the parts of the limbic system, which include the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus. for these reasons and reasons like them, studying and learning more about the dreaming process and what causes it is an advantageous endeavor. 1. http://www.dreammoods.com/dreaminformation/dreamtheory/freud. htm 2. gazzaniga, michael s. psychological science ise 4e. [s.l.]: ww norton &, 2012. print. the concept of responsibility by michael kennedy the concept of responsibility raises two major questions. first, for what is one responsible? second, to whom is one responsible? no matter the case, as responsibility is laid upon someone or something, it, as an ethical imperative, prescribes and validates a specific set of behaviors. the responsibility of the state in its international relations would then imply a proper set of behaviors. however, it is not always clear what the state is responsible for or to whom the state is responsible. the dominant perspectives used to analyze state relations explain state behavior in various ways, leading to different conclusions for responsibility. perspectives 8 for example, realism concentrates on survival, hierarchy, and balances of power. the state would be obligated to maximize its power and to preserve itself, while it would be responsible to itself and its citizens. liberalism, meanwhile, focuses on the role of international institutions and economic interdependence. therefore a state would be responsible for its participation in the international economic and governing system. accordingly, a state would be responsible to an international organization or, and to the world economy. alternatively, constructivism attends to the creation and international distribution of norms and values, and for acting in accordance with these standards. and the state would be responsible either to these values or to the transnational communities that create them. however, these analytical perspectives do not supply a complete understanding of responsibility. the perspectives are primarily meant to explain state behavior; not to prescribe it. that is, when looking back and examining state behavior it is much more obvious why a state acted or failed to act. we can ascribe and infer responsibilities based on our explanations. however, in the present, responsibility becomes much more difficult to ascribe: what is a state’s responsibility when there are no obvious implications for the balance of power? when the international system turns a blind eye? or how does a state choose between two equally valid sets of values provided by different transnational communities? even in cases where the different analytical perspectives bear out answers, it is not always clear which perspectives offer the most complete concepts of responsibility. for example, who is more responsible to the united nations, the united states or tuvalu? the united states is less dependent on the united nations, but as a member of the security council, it is also an important leader. or consider the nuclear arms buildup of the cold war. were the united states or united soviet socialist republic ever responsible for the potential side effects of their conflict on the rest of the international system? should the united states and the united soviet socialist republic have had a responsibility to the world that superseded their own survival? therefore, when we consider the responsibility of the state in its international relations, we should draw upon the different analytical traditions to inform our beliefs. however, we must also be aware that the traditions offer a limited prescription for behavior and do not necessarily elucidate the progressive obligations of the state in international relations. rhetoric and practicality in platonic philosophy by lucia kim although many today consider socrates the paragon of philosophy, he was not without his critics. aristophanes, in his famous comedy, the clouds, ridicules socrates for engaging in pointless philosophical endeavors. socrates was also accused of being a sophist, using rhetoric to deceive the youth and make weaker arguments appear stronger. against this criticism, the ancient philosophers such as socrates sought to distance themselves from the pretentious sophists who made long, complicated arguments to entice the masses. socrates, in the account given to us by plato, is presented as a staunch opponent of the sophists, as seen in platonic dialogues such as protagoras and gorgias. nonetheless, socrates did not condemn rhetoric as a whole. socrates saw rhetoric as a means to an end, and stressed the importance of distinguishing between rhetoric used for good and rhetoric for the sake of selfish aims. the sophists, on the other hand, were more concerned in winning arguments rather than seeking the truth. in phaedrus, socrates discusses the art of “true rhetoric,” claiming that “it’s not speaking or writing well that’s shameful; what’s really shameful is to engage in either of them shamefully or badly.”1 socrates then argues that understanding of the good is necessary and fundamental for good rhetoric. this leads us back to what is eternal and unchanging – the forms. in pursuit of the immaterial forms, plato suggests a method of abstract, logical thinking. while this theoretical approach may sound impractical to some – the pursuit of truth and meaning does not affect the skill of a rhetorician or politician – plato’s discourse provides a valuable sense of direction. only when the ultimate end is made clear is it possible for the art of speechmaking to serve its purpose. the search for truth and meaning is crucial in ordering one’s soul; and while plato admits his ideal city of the republic is imaginary, there is still hope that it might be possible to pursue the forms and live a fulfilling, philosophical life. plato’s philosophy is practical in that it provides an end, the search for meaning and how to live a good life. 1. phaedrus, 258d4-5 9 the importance of art by saljooq asif in contemporary society, art is often ridiculed and laughed at as nonsense. the pomposity of art critics is constantly derided and mocked, and art itself has consequently lost its respect and value. it cannot be denied, however, that some people recognize art as one of the most complex and sophisticated areas of creativity. of course, one also has to wonder at least once in one’s life about the nature of emotional response to art, and that is exactly what paul boboc’s article discusses and analyzes. could the perception of art be governed by neurobiology, dictated by the mechanical workings of science? or could admiration of art instead be influenced by personality, which is in turn shaped by upbringing, experiences, and culture? there are several dissenting opinions and no widely accepted theory. be it based on science or one’s individuality, art remains powerful. a work of art can evoke emotions worldwide and may have many different interpretations and understandings. although boboc’s paper focuses specifically on illustrated art, one cannot help but wonder about these conjectures and their implications on other forms of art, such as music, literature, and film. every day we are exposed to art, and every day we experience certain emotions. yet we still do not know exactly why we perceive art the way we do. this insightful article not only questions and analyzes contrasting theories, but helps elucidate a deceptively complex matter. problems with diagnosis by ali mcdonald adolescence can be an overwhelming and confusing time for both youth and their parents. the average teenager is confronted with new hormones, strange emotions, and difficult relationships. however, these challenges are exacerbated for the 7 to 12 million american adolescents suffering from mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders. these children, due to a combination of factors including brain chemistry, genetics, and environmental stress or stimuli, may exhibit physical or verbal aggression, destructive action, or habitual lying, which affect their personal and communal relationships. while therapy and medication can help manage these disorders, it can be difficult for psychiatrists to accurately diagnose children; many of these symptoms correspond with normal teenage behavior. because the dsm-iv was originally written to diagnose adults, many adult behavior norms are applied to children. furthermore, the symptoms of most behavior disorders are more abstract; unlike other medical disciplines like oncology, which can use objective tests to confirm a doctor’s initial diagnosis, psychology and psychiatry are often based on subjective opinion. this means, for example, that while one psychiatrist may take over-aggression and diagnose it as a conduct disorder, another may determine that the child has adhd. psychology and psychiatry are constantly evolving disciplines, and new advancements in the fields will hopefully be able to more accurately diagnose and treat adolescents with mental disorders. 1. http://www.aacap.org/ 2. ibid 3. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/201105/six-problemswih-psychiatric-diagnosis-children looking at rickert by ben martin sam kent’s article clearly and succinctly summarizes a number of elements central to the thought of neo-kantian philosopher heinrich rickert. while sam ends with the claim that rickert’s work deserves more attention in the academic realm, he does not specify why. it seems he does not, in part, because this would require further space and some speculation beyond the scope of his article. rickert begins with “the experienced reality of everyday life.”1 this grounds his work; no matter how abstract or foreign his reflections may appear, they relate to universally accessible human experience. furthermore, it is within this context that he approaches the problem of conceptualization. because he begins with the one, unified realm of everyday life, he cannot assume any architectonic, metaphysical distinctions which will structure his inquiry. instead, faced with a single, continuous field of experience, rickert must turn to the side of the subject for guidance, and in this way he arrives at his concept of methodology, a powerful and important concept in light of the epistemic problem at hand. kent presents methodology above in terms of a task: “to make an explicit formal criterion necessary for meaningful conceptual abstractions.” next, the article examines two methodologies alternative to rickert’s, which, though refuted, may influence our thinking even today. through his criticisms of platonic realism and epistemic realism, kent isolates the crux of the issue: one seeks neither knowledge of universals at the expense of knowing one’s particular, daily lives, nor knowledge of particulars, merely in their meaningless complexity. in other words, no person lives according to universal laws unrelated to the concrete context in which he or she does in fact live, and no person lives in relation to the full complexity of empirical reality without the guidance of a more discriminating sort of conceptualization. in response to this, rickert still identifies two corresponding methods which guide our thinking—generalization in the natural sciences and individualization in the humanities—but each only provides half of the picture 10 of reality. perhaps of even greater importance, he identifies the key concept in the latter method as value. thus, the humanities study, and people often concern themselves with, those particularities endowed with value. finally, while rickert ultimately does not succeed in constructing an ontological-independent epistemology nor a satisfying philosophical demarcation of the sciences, his work does provide a wealth of phenomenological insights. these include his description of reality as continuous and as infinitely extensively and intensively complex, his identification of two sorts of scientific method operative in thought, and the place of value in human interaction with the world. moreover, by beginning from everyday experience and by attending closely to methodology, rickert both contributes to the intellectual environment from which the phenomenological tradition will develop and offers contemporary scholarship a still valuable body of work on the very same epistemic questions which concern scholars today. 1. zijderveld, anton c. rickert’s relevance: the ontological native and epistomological functions of value. leider; boston: brill, 2006. history of the jesuits by alex gilligan the sixteenth century was an era of tremendous change. still relatively fresh from the dark ages, europe had set its eyes on the rest of the world, sending its folk west to the expansive unknown of the new world and east where the empires of the orient flourished in their own very different wealth. european settlers saw opportunity in these lands so new to them: they found places to carve out new dominions, as in the americas, and places to settle trade routes to gain access to highly valued goods, as in asia. in the middle of the sixteenth century, a traveler from spain by the name of ignatius founded a new religious order of catholicism, known as the jesuits. while most catholic orders of many centuries past were monastic and sedentary, content with turning inward to prayer and seclusion, the jesuits sought a different path. as they saw europe spread outwards to the rest of the world, the jesuits became pilgrims. they even developed new prayers quick enough to be said while traveling. as their countrymen journeyed to asia and america, they too went forth. their mission was to spread catholicism to the far reaches of the earth. these jesuit missionaries, arriving small in number in the newly discovered civilizations, were often welcomed with open arms, and would live among those they sought to convert. they would set up schools, such as that created by francis xavier in goa, india. as a result there are a plethora of jesuit run schools worldwide. in addition, some jesuit missionaries earned positions of great respect among the people to whom they preached: the jesuit matteo ricci became a trusted advisor in the court of the chinese emperor, and was the first european allowed in what is called the forbidden city. from these positions of respect, the missionaries were then able to effectively begin their spread of catholicism. it was in this world and with this mission that the jesuits spread to new france and sought to convert the native americans there to christianity. they became as renowned as the shamans who spoke for the native religion and in many cases even sought to usurp them. 11 it has been shown that some crystalline solids generate electromagnetic (em) signals when under stress. this phenomenon is known as the piezoelectric effect. these em signals can travel through the ground and affect the magnitude of the earth’s magnetic field. theoretically, the em signals generated by minerals in locations where earthquakes will soon occur should provide a method for predicting earthquakes. a correlation between magnetic perturbation and earthquakes was sought by using magnetometers to detect disturbances in the earth’s magnetic field prior to earthquakes. analysis of four years of magnetometer data has not yet yielded any conclusive results. at this stage, the magnitudes of magnetic perturbations cannot be used to predict the magnitude of an earthquake if one does occur. however, there remains much to be investigated in this area of research, especially in terms of filtering magnetometer data. quake the correlation between earth’s magnetic field disturbances and earthquake activities nicholas martis the direct piezoelectric effect describes the reaction that occurs when a mechanical stress is induced on a solid material, often a crystal. in crystalline structures, the atoms are arranged in a very specific configuration, meaning that any charged particles within the structure will generate a predictable electric field.1 the deformation of the solid caused by an applied force generates an electric potential difference across it by changing the strength and/or direction of the electric dipoles within the bulk. when significant stresses are applied to these solids, the change in electric conditions can be readily measured. earthquakes are preceded by the gradual accumulation of large shearing forces which place a significant stress on the crust in the area of the impending quake. when the stress reaches a critical point, the crust sharply returns to a stable condition in much the same way that a stretched rubber band will snap back to its original shape. this deformation, or stretching, of the earth’s crust creates a condition in which certain minerals are expected to demonstrate the piezoelectric effect. furthermore, an earthquake is transmitted by a pressure wave, in which the mechanical stress propagates radially through the crust from the epicenter, the point of origin of the quake. these waves have the potential to create a time-varying electric field through the piezoelectric effect.2 a change in the strength or direction of an electric field creates a magnetic field by the relation famously shown by james clerk maxwell. the earth’s magnetic field has a known strength of about 4x104 nanotesla (nt) (though it varies with latitude) and behaves in a fairly predictable way. the field strength gently increases throughout the day and returns to a lower strength as night approaches, usually not changing by more than a few dozen nt at latitudes away from the poles. external disturbances, such as geomagnetic storms that occur when strong solar wind strikes the atmosphere, can produce similar perturbations, resulting in spikes in the magnetic field strength. an instrument called a magnetometer can detect these variations. magnetometer stations have been set up around the globe in order to monitor the behavior of the earth’s magnetic field at different latitudes and longitudes. the stress buildup in the earth’s crust and the resulting pressure wave, which transmits an earthquake, can place enough stress on crystalline minerals to produce changing electric fields that in turn create a disturbance in the earth’s magnetic field.3 in addition, other electric earthquake precursors have been shown to occur in nonpiezoelectric rocks.4 particularly, a phenomenon called the motion of charged edge dislocations occurs whenever a crack opens in brittle rock and propagates to the surface of the earth. this effect has been shown to generate a pressurestimulated current that increases linearly with stress rate when the material is elastically deformed. the same process of fracturing occurs on a much larger scale near the end phase of the buildup of an earthquake. the cracking creates tremendous electric currents in the ground, which travel to the surface and into the air. the earthquake-generated electric field can alter the magnetic field surrounding the earthquake zone, and these electromagnetic effects can easily be detected by a magnetometer on the surface of the earth. the practice of using various electromagnetic detectors, including ground-based magnetometers, to analyze earthquakes has been ongoing for some time. for example: researchers in taiwan monitored 144 earthquakes between 1997 and 1999, and they found that for those registering 6.0 and higher [on the richter magnitude scale] the electron content of the ionosphere changed significantly one to six days before the earthquakes.5 they claimed that such ionospheric disturbances happen when crystalline rocks are deformed by the slow grinding of the earth that occurs just before an earthquake occurs. however, a clear method of generation of these signals has yet to be established. if the results are indeed to be correlated with earthquakes, then research must be carried out to try to discover the specific relationship. analysis of the earth’s magnetic field during the time preceding an earthquake may therefore uncover a method of prediction. so far, seismologists have been unable to predict earthquakes with a satisfactory level of precision. predictions are usually unable to be any more specific than a 13 quake range of several decades, meaning that few measures can be taken for human safety.6 a more precise method of prediction could allow for a great reduction in damage caused by earthquakes since areas at risk could be evacuated or prepared. moreover, the characteristics of the magnetic disturbances may provide additional insight into the severity of the earthquake. more significant deformation of the earth’s crust should theoretically lead to larger magnetic field perturbations. additionally, the strength of a magnetic signal may relate to its distance from an earthquake epicenter. these two measurements may therefore lead to a method of predicting not only earthquake occurrence, but intensity as well. any correlation between the onset time of a magnetic disturbance relative to an earthquake will also be investigated. method earthquakes which occured in the years 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011 were investigated. for each year, a list of earthquakes with magnitudes greater than a certain level on the richter scale (either six and a half or seven depending on the year) was obtained from the seismiquery database. about fifteen earthquakes for each year met this criterion. the time, epicenter location, and magnitude of each earthquake were recorded. information regarding the earth’s magnetic field was obtained from magnetometer stations belonging to the intermagnet network of observatories. the strength of magnetic field perturbations was obtained from magnetometer stations closest to the epicenters of the above earthquakes. data from about ten magnetometer stations with distances to epicenters ranging from zero to about eight thousand kilometers were used for each earthquake. magnetometer readings of perturbations occurring up to five days prior to the seismic event, as well as those that occurred simultaneously, were investigated. any drastic changes in the earth’s magnetic field, of delta h (from trough to crust of the magnetic field deflection) greater than about 10nt, were considered for this study. any perturbations of greater than 50nt were determined to have arisen from unrelated sources, such as geomagnetic storms or man-made interference. the location of the magnetometer station, the size of the magnetic field perturbation, and the time of the disturbance were identified and archived for further analysis. plots displaying these data, in reference to the data related to the information regarding the earthquakes, were created separately for each year in order to search for any correlation. results figure 1 top panel shows the contour map of the earth’s magnetic field perturbation (delta-h) as a function of the distance and earthquake magnitude for the year 2006. as can be seen in the figure, there is no clear correlation between any of the three measured values. the bottom panel shows the contour maps of the relative time before the earthquake as a function of distance from the epicenter and the earthquake magnitude in richter scale. again, there is no clear correlation present. figure 2 shows data in the same configuration as in figure 1, but for the year 2007. neither plot displays any clear correlation between earthquake activity and perturbations in the earth’s magnetic field. the same plots for 2010 appear in figure 3. as before, no clear correlation between any of the four measured values can be determined. the pair of plots appearing in figure 4 displays data from 2011. there does not appear to be any obvious correlation between the measured magnetic field perturbations and earthquake activity. the plots do however present a few details worthy of note. relatively few signals were detected, primarily when earthquake magnitude is greater than 7, more than three days before earthquakes in all of the four years observed. additionally, few perturbations were detected in the times immediately preceding the earthquakes. it has also been postulated by researchers such as johnston (2007) that magnetic perturbations should occur concurrently with earthquakes. readings from stations within a 1000km radius of any earthquake were specifically examined to investigate this prediction. figure 5 shows a contour map of data in the same format as figure 1 above. earthquakes do appear to often be accompanied by sharp 14 elements : : fall 2012 drops in the strength of the earth’s magnetic field near the epicenter, and, unlike many of the other perturbations recorded, the magnetic field did not quickly return to previous levels. however, this was not observed as a consistent occurrence, and again, there appears to be no regular correlation between magnetic field conditions and earthquakes. analysis linear relationships between distance and magnetic perturbation magnitude, between earthquake magnitude and magnetic disturbance magnitudes, and between earthquake magnitude and the time of magnetic perturbations were expected. there appears to be no correlation between any of the four variables. large magnetic perturbations occur both near and far from epicenters as well as mere hours to days before the earthquakes. in addition, earthquakes with higher magnitudes do not seem to be associated with larger magnetic perturbations, and any observed perturbations do not orient themselves in time in any discernable pattern. the lack of correlation may suggest that the magnetic field perturbations occurring before, during, and after the earthquake may not in fact be correlated with the earthquakes at all. one possible cause for the failure to identify a trend in magnetic perturbation magnitudes may lie in the fact that the earth’s magnetic field strength varies strongly with latitude. subsequently, perturbations with large magnitudes were fairly common at stations near the earth’s magnetic poles and at the geomagnetic equator regions, but less common near the mid-latitude region. stations over a wide range of latitudes were used to gather data that was correlated with each earthquake. perhaps the percent change in magnetic field strength should be compared to earthquake data. additionally, since the universal time of the magnetic perturbations was recorded rather than the local time, no distinction was made as to whether the disturbance occurred during the day or night, which may have significant differences in the magnitude of delta h. the increased magnetic field activity during daylight hours may have affected data by making the magnitude of delta h appear larger than it actually was. furthermore, no distinctions were made regarding the locations of the earthquakes. it is possible that quakes occurring along different faults may emanate different types or magnitudes of signals depending on the composition of the crust in the region or the characteristics of the fault. also, it is acknowledged that numerous other sources can contribute to disturbances in the earth’s magnetic field. magnetic storms as well as man-made electronics near the magnetometer sensor can cause perceptible changes that may have been falsely correlated with earthquakes. additional investigations that rigorously filter out this background noise may be useful. the absence of any observable relationships in these data should not, however, be taken to discredit the method, as it is only a preliminary study. the modes of generation of many of these signals have been verified experimentally on smaller scales. application to tectonic scale may involve yet undiscovered readjustments. moreover, the potential applications of a prediction technology for public safety cannot be ignored and should provide the impetus to further research. acknowledgements: the results presented in this article rely on data collected at magnetic observatories. i thank the national institutes that support them and intermagnet for promoting high standards of magnetic observatory practice (www.intermagnet.org). information regarding seismic events was obtained from the iris database (http://www.iris.edu/seismiquery/sqevents.htm). research was conducted at and funded by the institute for scientific research of boston college. 15 quake appendix figure 1: the contour maps display data from 2006. top panel shows distance from the epicenter as a function of delta h and earthquake magnitude. bottom panel shows distance as a function of the time before an earthquake of a magnetic perturbation and earthquake magnitude. 16 elements : : fall 2012 figure 2: the contour maps display data from 2007. top panel shows distance from the epicenter as a function of delta h and earthquake magnitude. bottom panel shows distance as a function of the time before an earthquake of a magnetic perturbation and earthquake magnitude. 17 quake figure 3: the contour maps display data from 2010. top panel shows distance from the epicenter as a function of delta h and earthquake magnitude. bottom panel shows distance as a function of the time before an earthquake of a magnetic perturbation and earthquake magnitude. 18 elements : : fall 2012 figure 4: the contour maps display data from 2011. top panel shows distance from the epicenter as a function of delta h and earthquake magnitude. bottom panel shows distance as a function of the time before an earthquake of a magnetic perturbation and earthquake magnitude. 19 quake figure 5: the contour maps display data from 2007. only stations within 1000km and magnetic perturbations that occurred simultaneously with earthquakes are considered. top panel shows distance from the epicenter as a function of delta h and earthquake magnitude. bottom panel shows distance as a function of the time before an earthquake of a magnetic perturbation and earthquake magnitude 20 elements : : fall 2012 endnotes 1. birkholz 1995 2. sasaoka et al, 1998 3. ogawa and utada, 2000 4. vallianatos et al, 2004 5. bleir and freund, 2005 6. bleir and freund, 2005 references birkholz, m. (1995). “crystal-field induced dipoles in heteropolar crystals – ii. physical significance”. z. phys. b. vol. 96 (3), pp. 333–340. bleier, t. and f. freund. (2005), earthquake [earthquake warning systems], ieee journals & magazines, vol. 42(12), pp. 22 – 27. johnston m.j.s. (1997). review of electrical and magnetic fields accompanying seismic and volcanic activity. surv. geophys., 18, pp. 441–475. ogawa, t. and h. utada (2000). coseismic piezoelectric effects due to a dislocation; 1, an analytic far and early-time field solution in a homogeneous whole space. physics of the earth and planetary interiors, vol. 121(3-4), pp. 273-288. sasaoka h., c. yamanaka, and m. ikeya (1998). measurements of electric potential variation by piezoelectricity in granite. geophys. res. lett., vol. 25 (12), pp. 2225–2228. sorokin v.m., yu.ya. ruzhin, a. k. yaschenko, and m. hayakawa (2011). generation of vhf radio emissions by electric discharges in the lower atmosphere over a seismic region, journal of atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics, vol. 73 (5–6), pp. 664-670. vallianatos f., d. triantis, a. tzanis, c. anastasiadis, and i. stavrakas (2004). electric earthquake precursors; from laboratory results to field observations (in seismo electromagnetics and related phenomena). physics and chemistry of the earth, vol. 29(4-9), pp. 339-351. 21 quake in modern-day psychology there appears a rising trend of studies devoted to researching not only the purpose, but also the neurological benefits and consequences of dreaming. in a growing departure from freud’s psychoanalytic theory, psychologists have begun to understand dreaming as a biological process—one with noticeably measured benefits and consequences. this article examines the recent but astounding connection between dreaming and memory processing. research involving rem and non-rem sleep data, the dream-lag effect theory, and the continuity hypothesis, aims to connect why we dream and what we dream to our waking emotions and memories and to explore the neurological and psychological association between the two processes. dreaming reality exploring the connection between episodic memory and the realistic dream anna-karina trilleras why do we dream what we dream? there is an emerging theory among today’s leading psychologists that what people dream is directly related to their memories. the association between dream content and memory processing is an in-depth and complicated study. does daily memory truly affect unconscious mental state and sleep at night? if indeed memory does affect dreams, which portions and aspects of memory shape dreams; which elements of memory factor into the creation, mood, and appearance of dreams; how often do they appear, and how significant are they? the experimentation of dream-lag effects, continuity hypotheses of dreaming, and emotional linkages within the study of dream and memory all question the psychological relationship, and propose both sides of the argument. research on the topic gives both support and opposition to the conjecture that dream content and memory processing are related, as well as the extent to which they are related. a solid, infallible answer may never exist, but probing the study may help to find exactly what correlations between memory and sleep are virtually undeniable. essentially, when studying the relationship between rapid eye movement (rem) and non-rapid eye movement (nrem) produced dreams and memory consolidation, researchers are able to identify which elements from either episodic or semantic memory appear in either dreams of rem sleep or dreams of nrem sleep, and to what discernable extent. breakthroughs and studies have led to a possibility of discovering how closely related and critical our memory ultimately is in relation to our dreams. evidence from new studies is currently showing that rem sleep and nrem sleep are involved with memory processing.1 rem sleep is characterized by low-amplitude, fast electroencephalographic (eeg) oscillations, rapid eye movements, and decreased muscle tone.2 during rem sleep, the activity of the brain’s neurons is similar to that seen during waking hours. the second major type of sleep, nrem sleep, is characterized by different stages, the deepest of which is slow wave sleep (sws). during sws, the phase of sleep from which it is hardest to wake up, largeamplitude and low-frequency eeg oscillations occur.3 nrem sleep primarily dominates the first half of sleep, whereas rem sleep dominates the second half. when delving into the topic of dreaming, a crucial difference has been discovered between rem and nrem sleep.4 dreaming is prevalent in the rem sleep state, and the most vividly recalled dreams come from this period of the night when there are no dominating brain waves.5 since the brain is referred to as an “off-line computer” during rem sleep, and it is disconnected from outside sensory input, there are certain coded templates from the rem state searching out meaningful information from memory in order to connect and create a perception of reality.6 rem state is ultimately the reality generator, making the reality of dreams from this state feel profoundly rich. this does not mean that the dreams mimic real life. instead they feel just as real as events occurring in waking life. dreams from rem are often described as “so real and meaningful,” making them more memorable in recall.7 hence, past research has consistently focused on rem sleep in study“during rem state dreams, humans are able to ignore certain limitations that they face in everyday life, thus allowing them to dream of flying, walking on water, interacting with someone they’ve never encountered before, or create entirely new environments and landscapes.” 23 dreaming reality ing dreams, practically neglecting the fact that dreaming also occurs in the nrem sleep state. in a review, psychologist t.a. nielson examined 29 rem dream and 33 nrem dream recall studies, and recorded that there was an average 81.8% dream recall rate for rem sleep and an average approximate 50% dream recall rate for nrem sleep. the unexpected 50% recall rate for nrem dreaming suggests that some nrem dreams are similar in either semantic or emotional content, or at least possess an equally memorable element to that of rem dreams.8 the data proposes that dreaming, which was only associated with rem sleep and easily recollected rem sleep state dreams, may span across all states of sleep such as nrem. this supports the idea that stream of consciousness, dreaming, and cognitive brain activity never cease throughout the night, and rem including nrem sleep states are both acceptable states to study for diverse and specific dream content.9 within each of these sleep states, memory content significantly factors into the role of dreaming. with respect to episodic memory, rem sleep and nrem sleep are unique from each other.10 episodic memory, memory of past events that integrates material concerning the time, place, and context of said events, is usually differentiated from semantic memory, which is more worldly, factual knowledge. there has been endless research to determine which memory appears in or dominates each sleep state. overwhelming research data points to the rareness of episodic memory in the rem state.11 the majority of studies find that during rem sleep, episodic memory may on occasion appear, but as disconnected fragments, unable to be connected back to waking events.12 david foulkes, a major researcher in the field of sleep and memory, concluded that during this rem sleep state, it is unlikely for episodic memory to appear due to the increased eeg oscillations taking place.13 as a result of the brain’s surging electrical, neuronal, and chemical activity, it is very difficult to retrieve episodic memory during this rem stage. as foulkes explains, most rem stage dreams defy the rules of reality, with reality being the ultimate basis of episodic memory.14 during rem state dreams, humans are able to ignore certain limitations that they face in everyday life, thus allowing them to dream of flying, walking on water, i n t e r a c t i n g with someone they’ve never encountered before, or creating entirely new environments and landscapes. 15 foulkes’ theory led to the f o u l k e s d r e a m l i k e fantasy scale, in which dreams are rated on a scale of 0-8, ranging from no dream or an unrecalled dream to a visually bizarre and very realistic dream. after rating a dream from rem sleep, researchers were able to see that the more bizarre and seemingly unreal the dream was, the less episodic memory would even factor or appear in the dream. semantic memory, however, could be greatly associated within the rem sleep state dream, and possibly even traced back to conscious knowledge.16 an eeg (electroencephalogram) of a sleeping person 24 elements : : fall 2012 accordingly, episodic memory is known to appear in nrem dreams by an overwhelming margin. in a recent study, psychologists from both boston university and harvard university were able to propose an argument in which episodic memory is most prevalent in nrem sleep, and consequently nonexistent in rem sleep. the study involved one 19-year old female subject keeping a daily diary, a sleep diary, and recordings of her dreams for two months.17 not only did the experiment aim to determine which dreams of rem or nrem sleep contained which elements of memory, but also how often they appeared, to what extent, and how long the memory traces were.18 the subject recorded the events of her day in a diary, writing of certain events, people, and places she encountered, and also recorded her mood, or level of happiness, for the preceding day. her sleep diary was filled out immediately before going to bed and immediately after she woke up in the morning. her entries before bed included any medications, alcohol, caffeine, or drugs consumed, and how her mood, was for that day.19 in the morning, she recorded what time she went to bed, how long it took her to fall asleep, how many times she awoke during the night, and if she remembered any dreams. the most vital portions of this study were during the nights when the female subject preset four alarm clocks, waking her up four different times during every other night to record dreams she had at those certain times, and when the study was completed, comparing her dreams to memories from the diaries. the experiment revealed not only something called “the dream-lag effect,” which is the time interval between witnessing the waking day’s events, objects, people, or emotions and then witnessing the same ones during a dream state, but also that elements of her memory were in fact present throughout her dreams.20 in this study, elements of memory, specifically characters, settings, themes, and actions, appeared in the individual’s dreams roughly 1.62.5 days after they were noted in her diary.21 emotions appeared with the shortest lag, appearing in her dreams in 1.5 days. objects and events from her memories had the greatest lag, appearing as much as 3.5 days later. these results support the argument that dream elements do reflect memory, but occur in a patterned way that is both time and stage dependent. in respect to memory processing, 67% of dreams occurring in both early nrem-rich and late remrich sleep contained the same matching memory elements.22 thus, related dream elements may not only reflect memory from recent days, but may also reflect certain, specific stages of memory processing. particular dream elements, especially color, have also triggered many theories regarding how large a role memory plays in our dreams.23 more than just color itself, the absence of color within dreams, or dreaming in black and white, has led researchers to study whether faulty memory of the day accounts for lack of color in dream.24 following the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, which states that dreams reflect waking life, one such study color trained subjects throughout the day.25 the researchers showed the subjects 26 cards of certain pictures, containing both colored objects and black and white objects. the subjects were required to study the unique colors of the objects, as well as the lack of colors. subjects were also required to study the colors of a unique circus picture from a children’s storybook.26 after being asked questions about the colors, the subjects proceeded through the day as usual, went to sleep, woke up, and then recorded the objects and colors (if any) that appeared in their dreams. the idea suggests that throughout the course of the day, the subjects of the study were exposed to extremely vivid and unique colors, as well as objects in black and white, and that those aspects had become part of their episodic, visual memory.27 the study sometimes dream journals are used to help study otherwise ephemeral dreams. 25 dreaming reality showed, however, that faulty memory processes might play a role in why some people dream in black and white. those who experienced trouble visually recalling the colors from the day also experienced trouble in dream recall frequency, thus causing them to state that perhaps their dreams were in black and white.28 subsequently, those who were highly trained in recalling the colors from the day, and were able to recall their dreams, indicated a high percentage of “colored dreams.”29 although the study did show that those with better-trained color memory recalled more colorful dreams, the study failed to support the entire hypothesis, as the exact colors from the day and waking events did not appear specifically in the dream. however, the study suggests that people who have a faulty memory from waking life, and do not remember details such as colors from certain waking events, will not remember as many incorporated colors that appear in their dreams. this idea proposes that humans do not actually dream in black and white, but rather have poor memory of the colors within their dreams; thus interpreting lack of color, or rather lack of attention to color, as “black and white dreaming.” in relation, mood congruency may also explain how memory affects our dreams. researchers have studied how daytime mood, or feelings, may influence our dreams. this suggestion mirrors the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, stating that moods during waking events may carry over into the night.30 studies aim to investigate how negative waking events, such as those that cause stress or increase anxiety, affect or cause similarly negative dreams, or what are commonly referred to as nightmares.31 if negative episodic memories were able to consistently affect our dreams, it would appear that stressful days or events most often lead to similarly stressful dreams.32 on the contrary, one study found that even participants who recalled more negative items in a memory task did not recall negative dreams any more than recalling positive dreams. because they were manipulated into creating a negative mood, it was assumed that they would carry this mood over into the night or nights following, and be able to recall the “congruent negative mood.” however this was not the case.33 hence, it could be argued that mood congruency in given memory tasks and in daily episodic memory may not affect the nighttime mood or dream for any given person. countless research, pertaining to the complex association between dream content and memory processing, aims to uncover just how much memory factors into the development of dreams. dream content, it seems, does reflect memory. whether it is semantic memory in rem sleep, or in-depth episodic memory in nrem sleep, memory traces are evident within the findings of researchers and psychologists.34 the occurrence of dream-lag effects, the continuity hypothesis of dreaming, and mood congruency effects all provide evidence that memory appears in our dreams. mood can affect dreaming, but it is not biased towards negative or positive emotions, and it may not occur frequently.35 the more established memory is throughout the day, the more likely it is to appear within our dreams, though it does not shape the entirety of our dreams. even though the “day residue effect” does exist, meaning that elements from memory of the day may appear within the same night, researchers find that the dream-lag effect is “this idea proposes that humans do not actually dream in black and white, but rather have poor memory of the colors within their dreams; thus interpreting lack of color, or rather lack of attention to color, as ‘black and white dreaming.’” 26 elements : : fall 2012 much more prominent. only certain elements from our memory experience this type of dream-lag effect and are processed much later.36 many have formulated an idea that there may be a dream-lag effect due to the emotional and personal aspect of certain elements from the day.37 a 2007 study concluded that this effect involves a latent, emotional facet that these dream and memory elements contain. it may be that these elements reflect the mind’s practice of emotional processing. the dream-lag may reflect how the mind works through interpersonal difficulties, reflects emotional or relationship resolution, and reformulates certain elements of memory into either new negative or positive memories. thus, because of this extra emotional processing, these elements appear much later than elements experiencing the day residue effect.38 expressive aspects of episodic memory that matched within dreams such as characters, emotions, settings, themes, and actions all had a shorter dream-lag effect than elements such as objects and events.39 perhaps the consolidation of certain aspects of memory reveal not only why we dream what we dream, but also how we feel, and how our dreams are ways of emotional self-understanding.40 the research into elements, color, mood congruency, lag effects, and continuity within dreaming may all trace back to our everyday memory. because memory shapes the way we live our lives, our personalities, decisions, moods, and emotions in our conscious waking state, it may even transcend further into our unconscious state, playing the greatest role in our dream sleep states: revealing why we dream what we dream. endnotes 1. smith 2. payne 3. ibid. 4. smith 5. stickgold 6. griffin 7. ibid. 8. nielsen 2000 9. payne 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. ibid. 13. foulkes 14. ibid. 15. firth 16. ibid 17. kookoolis 18. ibid. 19. ibid. 20. nielsen 1989 21. kookoolis 22. ibid. 23. schredl 2008 24. ibid. 25. schredl 2009 26. schredl 2008 27. ibid. 28. ibid. 29. ibid. 30. schredl 2009 31. firth 32. ibid. 33. schredl 2009 34. smith 35. schredl 2009 36. kookoolis 37. o’connor 38. ibid. 39. kookoolis 40. payne references blagrove, m., et al., 2010. a replication of the 5-7 day dream-lag effect with comparison of dreams to future events as control for baseline matching. conscious cognition. 20(2): 384-391 firth, h. 1974. sleeping pills and dream content. brit. j. psychiat. 124: 547-553 foulkes, w.d. 1962. dream reports from different stages of sleep. j. abnormal social psychol. 65: 14-25 27 dreaming reality griffin, j. 2007. why do we dream? the expectation fulfillment theory of dreaming: the rem state. in why we dream. <http:// www.why-we-dream.com/remstate.htm> (15 november 2010) kookoolis, a., pace-schott, e. f., and mcnamara, p. 2010. dream content and memory processing: dream lag effects within a single night and across several nights: a pilot study. dreaming. 20(3): 211-217 nielsen, t.a. 2000. a review of mentation in rem and nrem sleep: “covert” rem sleep as a possible reconciliation of two opposing models. behav. brain sci. 23: 851-866, 904-1121 nielsen, t. a. and powell, r. a. 1989. the “dream-lag” effect: a 6-day temporal delay in dream content incorporation. psychiatric journal of the university of ottawa. 14: 561–565 payne, j.d. and nadel, l. 2004. sleep, dreams and memory consolidation: the role of the stress hormone cortisol. learning and memory. 11: 671–678 o’connor, a. 2010. dream lag: scientists seeing predictable patterns. the winston-salem journal. <http://www2.journalnow. com/lifestyles/2010/nov/06/dream-lag-scientists-seeing-predictable-patterns-ar-514716/> (november 15, 2010) schredl, m. 2008. do we think dreams are in black and white due to memory problems? dreaming. 18(3): 175-180 schredl, m., hebel, m. e., klütsch, r.c., and liehe, l.j. 2009. the role of mood congruency memory effects in dream recall: a pilot study. dreaming. 19(2): 113-118 smith, c. 1995. sleep states and memory processes. behavioral brain research. 69: 137–145 stickgold, r., hobson, j.a., fosse, r., and fosse, m. 2001. sleep, learning, and dreams: off-line memory reprocessing. science. 294(5544): 1052-1057 28 elements : : fall 2012 29 dreaming reality this article attempts to explain american involvement in the 2011 multilateral intervention in libya. because north africa is a lesser policy priority for the united states than the middle east, it could be argued that the united states was not poised to gain materially from involvement in libya. thus, the article turns to two analytical perspectives in international politics, neoliberal institutionalism and constructivism, in order to explain american support for the french and british-led effort. the structure of the north atlantic treaty organization allowed for the emergence, evolution, and advancement of social norms among member states. insights on organization structures and alliances offered by neoliberal institutionalism are complemented by the social norms crafted and changed through these institutions. the “responsibility to protect” doctrine supported in 2006 by the united nations security council further illustrates the mutually reinforcing relationship between neoliberal institutionalism and constructivism. human rights norms were manifested into readily discernible action: military intervention in libya. avoiding the pottery barn rule understanding the united states and nato’s engagement in the libyan revolution narintohn luangrath during his 2008 presidential campaign, barack obama argued that the united states needed to stop proselytizing democracy and pursuing military action in the middle east under the guise of humanitarian assistance.1 recent military ventures—from kosovo in 1998 to iraq in 2003— have stretched american resources and distracted from true policy priorities.2 thus, obama’s slow response to france and britain’s calls for assistance after the outbreak of the arab spring in late 2010 tested the strength of the transatlantic alliance, and the historic political, economic, and cultural ties between the united states and europe. the level of america’s eventual participation in the intervention led pundits to oxymoronically characterize obama’s foreign policy doctrine as “leading from behind.”3 in order to explain obama’s decision to join the military intervention in libya, this article will look at two analytical perspectives in international relations: liberalism and constructivism. neoliberal institutionalism in particular will be focused on in this article, as america’s north atlantic treaty organization (nato) commitments were manifested in operation unified protector, which enforced the united nations security council resolutions 1970 and 1973 through a no-fly zone and arms embargo during the intervention in libya. 4 ultimately, the constructivist model supplements neoliberal institutionalism, particularly with respect to cultural norms emerging from alliances. unlike realism, liberalism argues that the state is just one of many actors. although liberalism still subscribes to the anarchic description of the world envisioned by realists, liberals stress the possibility for cooperation by emphasizing absolute over relative gains. while realism emphasizes the enduring conflictive tendency of states, liberalism focuses on how these tendencies can be mitigated. international institutions, domestic political groups, states and individuals all influence the international system. liberals also denounce defensive realism’s balance-of-power theory, which argues that the world is more secure when states attempt to balance against one powerful, hegemony-seeking state.5 however, there are several strands of liberal thought. michael doyle concludes that liberal states are inherently more peaceful and that the spread of democracy and western liberal values decreases the chance of war.6, 7 in furthering conflict prevention, richard rosecrance argues that trade fosters interdependence, trust, and mutual collaboration.8 andrew moravcsik emphasizes the influence of domestic societal actors in affecting state policy, contrary to realism’s view of states as unitary actors.9 however, neoliberal institutionalism, as described by robert keohane, helps to explain american engagement in libya. keohane states that international institutions (e.g. nato, international monetary fund) help maintain cooperation between states. these institutions encourage the fostering of common interests among states while providing a framework for negotiations.10 maintaining institutions entails costs, but these costs are generally lower than those involved in creating new ones.11 keohane emphasizes the incentives for states to cooperate through institutions; they allow countries to return to a reliable negotiating table, as compliance with institutional expectations leads to collective gains by all parties involved.12 “on a practical level, acting through nato also allowed the united states to avoid what colin powell termed the ‘pottery barn rule’ of foreign policy (‘you break it, you own it’), referring to america’s heavy military and moral obligations after the 2003 invasion of iraq.” 31 avoiding the pottery barn rule u.s. foreign policy expert justin vaïsse hailed the european-led effort in libya as a “template for future operations” for the transatlantic alliance.13 state interests, according to neoliberal institutionalism, do not rest solely upon material gains. since north africa is less of a policy priority for the united states when compared to the middle east, it could be argued that the united states was not poised to gain materially from involvement in libya. however, neoliberal institutionalism would have predicted u.s. involvement in libya, as nato commitments assured mutual assistance between the united states and its european powers. north africa is europe’s backyard, and promoting prosperity and security in the region has been a part of european foreign policy priority for decades, particularly in response to increased illegal immigration and terrorism.14 reciprocity fosters the idea that if the united states ever needed help in the future, it could rely on its partners. on a practical level, acting through nato also allowed the united states to avoid what colin powell termed the “pottery barn rule” of foreign policy (“you break it, you own it”), referring to america’s heavy military and moral obligations after the 2003 invasion of iraq.15 thus, institutions like nato allow for greater shared responsibility when responding to crises. however, neoliberal institutionalism fails to predict some aspects of u.s. involvement in libya. in his 2009 cairo speech, obama’s decreased use of pro-democracy rhetoric reflected the sentiment that such rhetoric was tainted by former president george w. bush’s so-called freedom agenda in the middle east. however, some suspected that the west saw the outbreak of protests in north africa as a potential democratic opening for countries like tunisia, egypt, and libya, all of which had been governed by despots for decades. for example, western governments’ concerns over the muslim brotherhood’s influence in egyptian elections prompted suspicion: was the multilateral intervention in libya ultimately aimed towards the emergence of a democratic government friendly to the west? if that is the case, perhaps republican liberalism, which argues that liberal democracies are more peaceful than undemocratic states, would be a superior explanation. more significantly, neoliberal institutionalism also fails to explain why some nato countries did not send military support during the intervention. france and britain lacked adequate resources to successfully complete the intervention by themselves. former defense secretary robert gates believed libya affirmed europe’s inability to fight on its own. he noted that the “the mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly armed regime in a sparsely populated country—yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions.”16 other u.s. officials pointed to a “free rider problem.”17 french president nicolas sarkozy’s and british prime minister david cameron’s frustration with initial american passivity further undermines the argument that institutions increase cooperation between states. realists would argue that nato’s divided stance on libya shows colin powell, the 65th united states secretary of state, served under president george w. bush from 2001-2005. 32 elements : : fall 2012 that the efficacy of international institutions depends on the backing of great powers like the united states. clearly, liberalism has several shortcomings in explaining u.s. involvement in libya. constructivism provides a more comprehensive explanation by taking into account the process of norm creation, which makes up for some of neoliberal institutionalism’s explanatory gaps. constructivism emphasizes the role of domestic structures in diffusing international norms.18 norm diffusion is highly dependent on cultural match; a country is more likely to adopt international norms or practices if they coincide with their own domestic norms and practices. identity is also inherently relational, since states act toward each other on the basis of what each country means to them, and not necessarily for material reasons. moreover, states can shift their behavior to match international norms.19 unlike realists’ belief that anarchy necessarily leads to inter-state conflict, constructivists argue that anarchy is “what states make of it”; decisions are not always made on the basis of cost-benefit calculations but rather by a logic of appropriateness.20 state preferences and identities are highly malleable products of specific historical processes.21 peter katzenstein argues that states should be viewed as social actors, not unitary ones, and that their interactions do not simply emerge out of a pre-set structure.22 however, constructivism is often criticized because, unlike realism and liberalism, it lacks policy prescriptions. it also works best when explaining events in hindsight rather than predicting their occurrences. perhaps this is because constructivism emphasizes less readily discernible and quantifiably measureable concepts like norm and identity construction. for exa protest in libya during the arab spring of 2010 33 avoiding the pottery barn rule ample, jutta weldes stresses the importance of language in such constructions, stating that national interest functions as a rhetorical device through which the legitimacy of and political support for state action is generated.23 the process of norm construction with respect to humanitarian intervention best explains america’s cooperation with france and britain. the united states and europe enhanced the legitimacy of the libya mission by “operating under the nato flag.”24 martha finnemore critiques realism and liberalism’s lack of explanation for intervention in countries where states have little to no strategic interest, notably pointing to the 1989 u.s. intervention in somalia.25 humanitarian intervention may have largely benefited european christians in the nineteenth century, but today expands its focus to include all human beings into the normative discourse on human rights.26 the dynamism of human rights norms construction and evolving justifications for humanitarian intervention would have predicted american involvement in libya. lessons were learned from former president bill clinton’s passive stance early on during the bosnian conflict and the 1994 rwandan genocide.27 after being passive during the suppression of iran’s green revolution, obama eventually “felt the need to do something” regarding libya.28 constructivism assumes that leaders reflect on historical precedents and learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. this combination of reflection and acceptance of evolving humanitarian norms led the united states to support the french and british-led coalition. in calling libyan protestors “cockroaches” and “rats” that did not deserve to live, muammar qaddafi’s rhetoric also signaled intent to harm his own people. his language was reminiscent of the “hate media” broadcasts of radio mille collines, which spurred on the perpetrators of the rwandan genocide.29 changing norms also applies to military methods. nato’s bombing campaign during the kosovo war had some success. it also shaped future military action and undoubtedly influenced the preference towards air strikes during the libya intervention. air strikes are politically popular since they avoid costly land invasions and offer a psychological assurance that only the bad guys are hit. whether the latter is accurate or not is debatable.30 over time however, the socially constructed idea of a less costly method of fighting emerged as a new option in warfare. even so, constructivism in the context described fails to explain why the united states took so long to support the coalition, despite ideological commonalities and mutual commitments of support between the allies. when he eventually decided to get involved, obama’s “desire to hand off the mission to europeans as quickly as possible” was evident.31 the state of the u.s. economy and military burdens in the middle east weighed heavily on obama’s mind. realists would possibly view obama’s reluctance as reflective of a cost-benefit calculation of intervention. despite any cultural affinities, ideological harmonies, and promises of mutual support with europeans, obama’s initial hesitance and later unenthusiastic support was reflective of a state methodically weighing the material advanbarack obama, the 44th president of the u.s. 34 elements : : fall 2012 tages of intervening in a region that, unlike the middle east, was uncritical to its interests.32 the realist explanation is refuted by virtue of the fact that the united states supported the intervention anyway. although eager to distance itself from wars in muslim-majority countries, the united states still provided valuable intelligence, logistical support, and air-to-air refueling.33 constructivism also accounts for factors like “shaming” and pressure placed on member states to conform to certain norms or expectations. these activities were evident through sarkozy’s early pleas for u.s. military cooperation and later, his criticism of america’s reluctance.34 constructivism alone is insufficient as an explanation of american involvement in libya. constructivist explanations concerning the development of norms can be supplemented by aspects of neoliberal institutionalism. international institutions help maintain mutual support and cooperation between states. finnemore makes clear that multilateral humanitarian intervention is not always more successful when done multilaterally. however, she does argue that institutions like the united nations help construct and shape a normative discourse on human rights while conferring authorization to states’ actions.35 in recent years, the legitimacy of humanitarian interventions has been judged by their level of multilateral support, a normative construction made possible by (and largely emerging from) the interaction of states in international institutions. unlike america’s invasion of iraq, approval for airstrikes on libya went through the un and was ultimately employed through a multilateral effort, increasing the legitimacy of the intervention. constructivist explanations help close the explanatory gap that finnemore exposes in her concern over the efficacy of multilateral over unilateral interventions. cultural and ideological affinities between the united states and other nato countries, especially among the traditional great powers of the transatlantic alliance, allowed for neoliberal institutions to emerge in the first place. these cultural ties, further evolved overtime, were structurally supported by the institutions, and were eventually manifested through multilateral action to achieve a common foreign policy objective and/or advance a common normative view. in this case, these aims were manifested in u.s.-european military action in libya. celeste wallander discusses how nato’s structure not only systematizes its members’ military actions, but also shapes their political behavior. she writes, “nato rules and practices [are] leverage for shaping the aspirant members’ political systems, and membership would ensure that their defense policies and military capabilities would not be instruments for threatening one another.”36 thus, the creation of nato decreased transaction costs between members and provided the organizational structure needed to carry out the libyan intervention. nato’s structure also allowed for the emergence, shaping, evolution, and advancement of social norms among member states. namely, constructed doctrines like the “responsibility to protect” affirmed in 2006 by the un security council serve as further evidence of the mutually reinforcing relationship between neoliberal institutionalism and constructivism.37 wallander continues: many of nato’s distinctive features had nothing to do with coping with the soviet threat at all and were a result of nato’s more subtle purpose of preventing a cycle of mistrust, competition, and instability in security relations among its members. nato therefore developed specific assets for coping with risks among its members—primarily but not exclusively with germany in mind. these features include mechanisms for political-military integration, multi-nationality of alliance structures, supranational defense policy, and the principles and procedures of civilian democratic control of defense affairs.38 the emphasis on structure per neoliberal institutionalism and on norm development per constructivism is evident with nato action in libya. as a member state, the united states was shaped by socially and historically constructed norms on humanitarian intervention. the structure of the international organization, however, allowed for these theory-based norms to be manifested into readily discernible action: military intervention in the name of human rights. although constructivism serves as a more comprehensive explanation of american involvement in libya, relying on one analytical perspective can be problematic. insights on 35 avoiding the pottery barn rule organization structures and alliances offered by neoliberal institutionalism are complemented by the social norms crafted and changed through these institutions. both perspectives are mutually reliant to make up for each other’s explanatory shortcomings. the political structure for consultation and decision-making developed during the cold war proved to be a reliable asset for future transatlantic military cooperation in libya.39 notes 1 lizza (3) 2 ibid. 3 krauthammer (1) 4 united nations security council, “resolution 1973 (2011)” 5 walt (4) 6 all references are scholars of international relations unless otherwise noted. 7 doyle (213) 8 rosecrance (30) 9 moravcsik (240) 10 keohane (86) 11 wallander (706) 12 keohane (85) 13 vaïsse (1) 14 santini (1) 15 haddick (1) 16 valasek (1) 17 ibid. 18 checkel (85) 19 hurd (6) 20 hurd (5) 21 walt (4) 22 katzenstein (17) 23 weldes (8) 24 o’donnell and vaïsse (1) 25 o’donnell and vaïsse (154) 26 finnemore (184) 27 o’hanlon (2) 28 ibid. 29 the economist (1) 30 barkawi (2) 31 o’hanlon (1) 32 ibid. 33 pawlak (3) 34 pawlak (4) 35 finnemore (184) 36 wallander (720-21) 37 barkawi (1) 38 wallander (716) 39 wallander (724) references barkawi, tarak. “intervention without responsibility”, al-jazeera (november 23, 2011). checkel, jeffrey. “norms, institutions and national identity in contemporary europe”. international studies quarterly (march 1999). doyle, michael. “kant, liberal legacies and foreign affairs”, philosophy and public affairs (1983). finnemore, martha. the culture of national security: norms and identity in international politics: “constructing norms of humanitarian intervention”. columbia university press: new york (1996). haddick, robert. “this week at war: does the pottery barn rule still apply?”, foreign policy (march 12, 2010). hurd, ian. the oxford handbook of international relations: “constructivism”. oxford university press: new york (2008). katzenstein, peter. the culture of national security: norms and identity in international politics: “introduction: alternative perspectives on national security”. columbia university press: new york (1996). keohane, robert o. “international institutions: can interdependence work?”, foreign policy (1998). krauthammer, charles. “the obama doctrine: leading from behind”, the washington post (april 28, 2011). 36 elements : : fall 2012 lizza, ryan. “the consequentialist: how the arab spring remade obama’s foreign policy”, the new yorker (may 2, 2011). moravcsik, andrew. the oxford handbook of international relations: “the new liberalism” oxford university press: new york (2008). o’donnell, claire m. and vaïsse, justin. “is libya nato’s final blow?”, the brookings institution (april 10, 2012). o’hanlon, michael. “winning ugly in libya”, foreign affairs (march 30, 2011). pawlak, justyna. “analysis: libya shows cracks in western military cooperation”, reuters (august 26, 2011). “responsibility to protect: the lessons of libya”, the economist (may 19, 2011). rosecrance, richard. the rise of the trading state: commerce and conquest in the modern world: “the military-political world, the trading world”. new york: basic books, inc., publishers (1986). santini, ruth. “the transatlantic relationship after the arab uprisings: stronger in north africa, shakier in the middle east?” the brookings institution (june 6, 2011). united nations security council. “resolution 1973 (2011)”. valasek, thomas. “what libya says about the future of the transatlantic alliance”. center for european reform (2011). vaïsse, justin. “libya, a model of fighting together that worked”, the brookings institution (september 7, 2011). wallander, celeste a. “institutional assets and adaptability: nato after the cold war”, international organization (2000). walt, stephen m. “international relations: one world, many theories”, foreign policy (1998). weldes, julia. european journal of international relations: “constructing national interests” (1996). 37 avoiding the pottery barn rule prevailing scholarly opinion has shown that in the early fifth and late fourth centuries bce, the ancient greeks, capitalizing on both increasing literacy rates and the supplanting of poetry with prose as the medium of intellectual exchange, began to define their disciplines with greater detail. this article concentrates on identity formation among athenian philosophers in the early fourth century, philosophers who were trying to standardize their definitions of philosophy in a time when many writers employed the term to describe a number of mutually exclusive intellectual pursuits. plato, in his gorgias, makes a concerted effort to upend the prevailing rhetorical philosophy characteristic of his greatest competitor, isocrates, and to legitimize his own view of philosophy, which was undergirded by mathematical study. lines in the sand plato and isocrates’ dueling schools of philosophical thought corey streitwieser introduction “in plato’s dialogues, we find what appears to be the first serious attempt at a philosophy of mathematics.”1 so wrote sir thomas heath in a lauded tome on greek mathematical history. it is tantalizing to imagine how a greek intellectual of the fourth century bce would have defined either “philosophy” or “mathematics.” two men, plato and his less remembered, though equally prominent, counterpart isocrates opened schools which purported to teach philosophy, schools that held mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed conceptions of what philosophy entailed. the tension between the two schools prompted a discursive battle in their leaders’ writings, the aim of which was on the one hand to define the parameters of one thinker’s philosophical vision, and on the other, to delegitimize that of a foe. we set our stage in 390 bce. isocrates has just published his tract against the sophists, wherein he both sets forth the aims and goals of rhetorical training (isocrates considered rhetoric and philosophy to be the same thing),2 and distances his project from that of the sophists, a group of men who deceived the masses by means of rhetoric (13.1-8). this article argues that plato’s gorgias, likely published around the same time, aimed to cast mathematics—and emphatically not rhetoric—as the requisite study for philosophy, while also linking isocrates back to a sophistic antecedent, gorgias, in order to delegitimize isocratic philosophy by reaffirming its association with sophistry.3 an increase in writing in the fifth century brought the greeks a new medium: prose,4 in which they could begin to express their thoughts without the limitations of poetry,5 the currency of greek intellectual expression for the whole of its previous literary history.6 a rise in greek literacy rates further made prose a useful tool for reaching the larger greek intelligentsia.7 writing for an audience brought writers new questions, and the early fourth century saw a wave of emerging writers among the hippocratic physicians,8 historians,9 philosophers,10 mathematicians,11 and rhetoricians.12 thinkers’ willingness to engage each other created highly fraught, carefully wrought strands of thought (notionally, “schools”) within each respective discipline, and these schools competed with each other to standardize their personal conception of a discipline in place of an enemy’s. the two thinkers hashed out what philosophy meant to them in their writings—isocrates upholding the importance of rhetoric, plato of mathematics. one might think of both systems as competing brands, and both were looking to monopolize the market. the battle to do so left isocrates and plato locked head to head in a hypertextual battle in which the two could draw damaging caricatures of each other while also propagating the superiority of their brand of philosophy. isocrates’ school cultivated rhetoricians capable of governing athens well, while plato’s dialogues became an invective against political rhetoric, and conferred the title of “philosopher” upon mathematicians. that two men living in the same city at the same time could produce entirely antipodal conceptions of philosophy reveals both that philosophy still lacked a concrete definition in fourth century plato (left) in “school of athens” 39 lines in the sand athens, and that intellectuals like plato and isocrates began to narrowly define philosophy through their writings, sparking a competition between the two schools over who had the legitimate right to standardize his conception over against his foe’s. raymond wilder, writing on the anthropology of mathematics, observes that “mathematics has not grown in a vacuum. its roots are imbedded in the needs of the culture that fostered it . . . to ignore this is to [only] partially understand how mathematics has evolved.”13 accordingly, i will first map plato’s development of greek geometry onto recent scholarship on the emergence of disciplines, in order to show that mathematics was not only swept up by the late fifth century bce social current known to scholars as the disciplining phenomenon, but was also inextricably bound to the development of philosophy. then i will turn to the gorgias and see how in plato’s early writing career, the philosopher was beginning to define his project by welding philosophy to mathematics, with the result that both fields were construed with a character unanticipated before plato. few scholars have considered how plato’s understanding of philosophy was inextricable from his thoughts on mathematics. the questions i am interested in pursuing, then, are a) how the disciplinization of philosophy, in plato’s case, bore the immediate consequence of disciplinizing mathematics in the author’s own image, and b) how effectively plato wrought carefully orchestrated literary works whose end was to demonstrate the superiority of plato’s mathematical philosophy with respect to the philosophy-rhetoric binary of isocrates’s school. focusing on key sections of the gorgias, i plan to demonstrate that plato’s markedly advanced views on geometry and philosophy were used to delegitimize isocrates, both persuading readers of his philosophical supremacy and isocrates’ foolishness. scholars have shown that plato, in his gorgias, launched an attack on isocrates, whose rhetorically-laced curriculum challenged plato’s understanding of philosophy,14 both by inventing the word rhetoric (rhetorikē) and labeling the latter’s school as its prime example.15 the dialogue bears several salient features which makes it ideal for our study: firstly, it was written as a reaction to isocrates’ tract against the sophists, essentially a “college brochure” in which the latter lays out his pedagogical conception of philosophy and distances himself from sophistry (plato playfully bastardizes a key quote of the tract in the gorgias).16 secondly, the dialogue displays the general shape of plato’s thoughts on rhetoric. finally, at key moments in the dialogue, plato invitingly references mathematics, and contrasts it to rhetoric. the gorgias thus marks a crossroads of philosophy, rhetoric, and mathematics —ill-defined though they were at the outset of isocrates’ and plato’s careers— and in it, we find plato drawing the boundaries of each of the three disciplines. the disciplinization of greek schools of thought is marked by the need to find acceptance from others; legitimacy comes from one’s ability both to find adherents, and in turn, to impress the reading public. just as isocrates, in against the sophists, attempts to attract students of rhetoric to his school, so plato seeks to attract mathematicians. if plato is not an active mathematician to whom we can attribute any concrete findings or proofs, neither is he a distant observer of it.17 from the scant sources available to us on plato’s life, we find that mathematicians comprised, if not dominated, the circle of philosophers and friends with whom he associated.18 the gorgias, written before the opening of the academy—a school whose morning roll call included the names of some of greece’s most eminent fourth century mathematicians—was one early attempt in which plato calls out to young greek mathematicians and urges them to join his school. rabinowitz notes in his landmark article on the critical importance of the author’s intended audience: but even if an author makes a serious attempt to write for the “real people out there,” the gap between the actual and the authorial audience will always exist. and since all artistic choices, and hence all effects, are calculated in terms of the hypothetical knowledge and beliefs of the authorial audience, this gap must be bridged by readers who wish to appreciate the book. the greater the distance—geographical, cultural, chronological—be40 elements : : fall 2012 tween the author and his readers, the more of a challenge this is likely to provide.19 central to our investigation is that we never allow plato’s audience to slip our minds: young athenian intellectuals whom plato wants to attract to his brand of philosophizing (and emphatically not someone else’s!). the gorgias is thus on one level aimed at de-authorizing isocrates’ hybrid of rhetorical-philosophy, and puts in its place plato’s mathematics-philosophy cocktail. variations on a theme: the meanings of philosophy across fourth century greece, philosophers began to define their philosophical projects in literary publications like isocrates’ against the sophists or the gorgias well enough to form distinct schools of thought. the word “philosophy” predated any standardized definition, and isocrates’ school, which by our standards was a school of rhetoric, bore the name philosophy. take as a point of reference that the differences between plato and isocrates are unlike differences between the empiricists and the rationalists of modern philosophy in that the locus which encompassed the ancient greeks’ understanding of what constituted philosophy was much wider and less definitely drawn. where descartes and locke held different views on the basis of knowledge, isocrates, plato, and the other philosophers of the fourth century disagreed on the entire focus of philosophy, with each thinker calling philosophy that which seemed to amount to “loving wisdom,” the etymological meaning of the greek philosophia. in 390 bce, scholars observe an only half-completed turn of the philosophical kaleidoscope, an era in which philosophy bears much in common with the earlier pre-socratic tradition, and whose shapes and colors are still too blurry to be explained under the sharper, crisper distinctions extant in later philosophy. as marina mccoy notes in a recent book, “the meaning of the term ‘philosopher’ and ‘sophist’ are disputed at the time plato is writing; for plato, the claim that socrates is a philosopher rather than a sophist is normative rather than merely a descriptive claim.”20 indeed, socrates, plato’s philosopher par excellence, is described as a sophist in a work by the orator aeschines (timarch 173). that later tradition ossified plato’s robust formulation of what was a sophist as paragon, to the complete exclusion of other competing understandings of the word—some of which applied the term to plato—obscures the fact that, although plato, isocrates, and many of their ilk tried, no one had the authority to use the term so normatively. what is clear is that, in a time when the word philosophy produced fuzzy pictures in the minds of athenians, our intellectuals wrought in the image of their own beliefs unequivocal definitions for the word, and claimed to teach it in their schools. scholars must take care in considering fourth century philosophy. as bloch observes in what is history?, “if the sciences were obliged to find a new meaning each time they made an advance, what a multitude of christenings!”21 our understanding of the word “philosophy,” and inevitably of “mathematics,” is informed by a rich, twenty-five hundred year tradition. the requirements which today lead to the conferment of the doctorate in philosophy bears little resemblance to the antique practice which furnished its name. this is a moment in history when philosophy still lacks a standardized definition, but rather, has a multitude of meanings specific to the schools which claimed to teach it. our task is to carefully scrape away the past two and a half millennia and to recreate, to the best of our abilities, the atmosphere of fourth century philosophy. if we were to go to the gates of the academy or isocrates’ school, who would be there? what would philosophizing look like? what would these students be doing?22 these are the questions that drive this inquiry, and in order to answer them, scholars must allow images of cloistered monks, descartes, and locke to dissolve, and to bind our understanding of philosophy by a locus of toga-wearing, sharp-andsassy athenian intellectuals. the players are two major athenian thinkers, isocrates and plato. as we have seen, both thinkers laid the claim to teach philosophy, yet both held mutually exclusive understandings of the word. for isocrates, an esteemed orator, whose school was opened in 390 bce, the study of philosophy sought to cre41 lines in the sand ate statesmen who could govern athens well.23 in his antidosis, isocrates recalls how he paid his dues as an athenian philosopher, appropriately advising the athenians when their democracy was overtaken (15.58), navigating the complex relationships between the greek city-states during the second athenian confederacy (15.66), and creating competent statesmen for the city through his philosophical school (15.158). the political craft was the central concern of his philosophy, and he abhorred the impractical arts which distracted the politicians (15.184, 266-7; 13.7; 12.2630).24 indeed, mccoy emphasizes the practical dimensions of isocrates’ thought: isocrates is not only a leading competitor of plato’s in offering a distinct kind of moral education. he is also a competitor for the very title of philosopher and repeatedly makes normative claims about the nature of philosophy, which he associates with his own rhetorical practice.25 by contrast, plato maintains that the goal of philosophy is the pursuit of abstract truths out of a love for truth itself, and plato’s image of philosophy is far less pragmatic than his competitor’s. plato’s attraction to the highly logical and abstract undergirds his belief that the study of theoretical geometry is integral to apprehending truth, “and he argues that the more a method of investigation depends on mathematics, the closer it comes to the truth.”26 in book vi of the republic, when plato describes the chain of ascent from falsehood to truth (the allegory of the divided line), mathematical knowledge (dianoia) is the prerequisite knowledge for knowledge of the true forms (noēsis) (509d-531e).27 a book later, when socrates determines how best to educate the citizens of the kallipolis, he recommends an intensive program of the geometric arts, opining that mathematics alone can make men love the truth (521c-531c).28 both the schools of plato and isocrates opposed an amorphous group of men known as the sophists, men who deployed trenchant oratorical abilities to persuade the masses, although both schools held different conceptions of who was a sophist. indeed, labeling a competitor a sophist was a chief means of upending opposing conception of “philosophy.”29 both writers view gorgias as the fountainhead of sophistry, both condemn him to varying degrees in their works, and both distance their philosophical projects from the sophist.30 despite their differences, it is important to emphasize a definitive similarity between isocrates and plato: both had grown up during a time of great turmoil in athens, and both were intent on creating ethical government leaders who could stabilize the city. isocratic philosophy was fundamentally a by-product of the athenian society that made the man. athens was a direct democracy in which the citizens (property-owning males) made decisions by popular vote; at the omphalos of athenian government was the assembly. all citizens were entitled to attend and participate in the assembly, whose agendas were set by the comparably less open council of 500.31 yunis notes: this collective political activity, undertaken on [this scale], represents a huge investment of time and energy by individual citizens, but it was essentially anonymous and undirected. the athenian democracy could not and did not function, let alone prosper, without effective leadership.32 the most eminent leaders of the assembly were not elected officials, but rather, men who could speak impressively enough to influence and persuade the men around them. given that speakers who gave unethical advice —most notably alcibiades—resulted in the loss of the peloponnesian war and two temporary overthrows of the athenian democracy, philosophers sought both to determine the best form of government and to prevent unethical people from destroying it. isocrates’ aim was to create men who would make a functional democracy; his school set out to produce ethical speakers. plato, by contrast, went further—he advocated for a monarchic government in which power was centralized in a single or, depending on which dialogue you are reading, small group of guardians. these guardians learned the requisite ethics by studying geometry. mathematics was therefore brought to the center stage of the disciplining phenomena —as the rising contender for rhetoric as the requisite study for political leaders—and 42 elements : : fall 2012 accordingly was defined with a level of clarity unanticipated in greece prior to plato’s lifetime.33 where isocrates molded a philosophical outlook to the contours of the athenian democracy,34 plato envisioned a new approach to philosophy, removed from the alleged ills of rhetoric and democracy, emphasizing an admittedly monarchial government, the guardians of which were educated extensively not in rhetoric, but rather, in mathematics (rep. vii 521c-531c).35 the two thinkers partake in a deep dialogue about the political applications of philosophy and the need to fix the city’s governance. the easiest way for plato to delegitimize the isocratic model of philosophy, which plato saw as dangerous and counterintuitive to effective governance, was therefore to pull it out of the ground by its root: to illustrate the problems with rhetoric and its aversion to plato’s self-acclaimed superior philosophy. but how does a philosopher persuade a reader that his wisdom is better than a competing philosopher’s? timmerman and shiappa have addressed the means by which a writer legitimizes his own conception of his discipline by analyzing the author’s “terms of arts,” or the consciouslychosen words an author uses to describe his craft, stating, “although the same phenomenon is being denoted, there is no question that using one name rather than another can evoke quite different attitudes and responses.”36 in an earlier, landmark article, schiappa argued that, in his gorgias, plato created the word rhetoric (rhētorikē) and imbued it with a negative connotation, observing that, “if plato could identify the product of isocrates—training [in rhetoric] as something unnecessary or undesirable, so much the better for the reputation of his school.”37 if plato and isocrates both laid claim to the word philosophy, plato’s tactic for monopolizing the word was to create a new word for isocratic philosophy, to connect it with isocratic education, and to make isocratic philosophy seem like a bad thing so that plato’s looked better by contrast. 38 i contend that plato not only uses the gorgias to demarcate a rhetorical craft distinct from philosophy, but also uses the dialogue to reflect a definition of philosophy which was inextricable from geometry. that we observe isocrates deploying the same approach to de-authorizing platonic philosophy makes the likelihood of this interpretation only stronger. alexander nehamas notes: isocrates puts into a single category both ‘those who are skilled in contentious arguments and teachers of geometry, astronomy, and other scientific subjects…he urges his listeners to an overwhelmingly practical direction, and considers the mathematical…training advocated by plato a hindrance.39 plato, isocrates charges, is a descendant of the eristics, a school of sophistry whose penchant for argumentation and refutation could have easily been confused with socratic elenchus in the fourth century. isocrates’ love of the practical holds no respect for plato’s theoretical mathematics, and he is sure to mention their inutility to the greek intelligentsia reading his works, contemplating study at his school (15.266-7). as every mud-slinger wants to avoid being doused with mud, so both plato and isocrates are at pains to avert the accusation of sophistry. sophistry is a particularly damaging word in the sense that it delegitimizes the fountainhead of a particular school, and puts at risk his ability to promote his own conception of philosophy. there is no shortage of instances where our authors refute the slightest inkling that they are in any way sophistic. analyzing such moments can be edifying, in so far as rebuffing a label like sophistry implicitly points the reader to a more nuanced understanding of what plato and isocrates thought was important when defending their philosophies. most illuminating is the passage on misology (the hatred of logic) in the phaedo (89d-91c), where plato demarcates forwardly the relationship between sophistry and philosophy. the difference between the two, simply enough, is that the former lacks craft (aneu technēs), where the latter does not. nahamas asserts that: arguing with craft (technē) … lends to the discovery of true and secure argument and the realization that the world is ultimately stable because it depends on and 43 lines in the sand manifests the forms —the real, unchanging nature of things. once again, dialectic and the theory of the forms is connected to one another.40 the obvious question remains: upon what craft is philosophy hinged? plato’s word choices in the gorgias are instructive. gorgias’ craft is defined, nearly ninety times, as rhetoric (rhētorikē).41 plato was a prolific user and inventor of the –ikē root, an affix which allows the author to make abstract nouns to describe the “art of” something (e.g. rhētor means “orator” in greek, rhētorikē means “the art of the orator”).42 since the -ikē root describes the “art of” something, it is particularly useful to survey plato’s use of the word in order to gauge what he considered to be the underpinnings of philosophy. if we trust schiappa when he argues that plato set out to create a vocabulary that could distinguish isocratean philosophy from his own, we reasonably might wonder whether there is a parallel word in the gorgias, another –ikos word, which could furnish for us the philosopher’s technē, as plato sees it.43 such a word, “things geometrical” or “talented in geometry” (geōmetrikos), appears at both 450d and 508a in the gorgias. the first shows that geometry is a legitimate craft where rhetoric is not. the other appears at precisely the moment when socrates begins his defense of the philosophical life, which implicitly requires him to define for his counterparts what he believes philosophy to be (rsp 458a, 511a,). plato thus interwove the study of geometry with the practice of philosophizing. but geometry, like philosophy, lacked a concrete meaning at the onset of the fourth century. consider how plato took the word geometry (geōmetria), which like philosophy was indefinetely defined before plato’s writing career. geometry as a platonic term of art plutarch, a first century a.d. philosopher and historian, tells a story in which an oracle has come in to delos enjoining its inhabitants to build a cube-shaped temple double in volume to the one already existing. flummoxed, the islanders ask plato what the oracle means. he responds that due to their intemperance, the gods have urged the islanders towards the moralizing study of mathematics. plato tells some of his students at the academy to solve the problem—known to the ancients as the doubling of the area of a cube.44 wanting to meet the needs of the islanders quickly, the students solve it using strings (the way mathematicians, so far as we can tell, solved problems prior to the fourth century).45 reducing geometry to mechanical devices, plato charges, “[destroys utterly and corrupts] the good of geometry, geometry again falling back to sense perception.”46 plato’s students had gotten correct answers for the problem, but they did not practice geometry the way he saw fit: free of strings and wholly dependent on logic. isocrates, 436 to 338 bc. ancient greek rhetorician, one of the ten attic orators. from crabb’s historical dictionary published 1825. 44 elements : : fall 2012 how faithfully plutarch narrated this episode, we will never know. but plutarch does point out no less than four salient features of plato’s mathematics: plato’s geometry 1) was done without the material tools common to the field, 2) was oriented towards logical reasoning, 3) reflected an aversion to physicality characteristic of his written philosophy, and 4) resisted other, albeit more traditional, approaches to doing mathematics. plato upholds that the logical, mental dimension of geometry supersedes the deployment of physical tools to solve problems. plato, who undergirds his definition of philosophy with the study of mathematics, mutually reinforces philosophy and geometry by inextricably binding them in a single definition. by the accident of transmission, it is easy to believe that plato represents accurately the climate of fourth century mathematics.47 without proper reflection, one might accept plato as a barometer of what the term geometry meant to any greek, considering that a fifth of the uses of the greek word for geometry in the greek corpus come from plato and his commentators.48 but in fact, plato’s definition of geometry serves his own specific philosophical ends and does not reflect a universally accepted definition of the term. searching through the thesaurus linguae graecae, a database of the entire greek corpus, it is possible to trace the history of word geometry (geōmetria) and its uses, both prior to and during plato’s lifetime. early history of greek mathematical history depends on the fragmented testimonia which survive from our early greek authors. historians accept that they are in effect arguing interpretations of early greek thought from silence—as many works have been lost. as a result, scholars must proceed with caution and resist the temptation to extrapolate from the evidence that stands. although no cogent narrative reveals concretely to us what greeks made of mathematics prior to plato, there are certain patterns which emerge. two of the most salient include the ideas that geometry is practical and that it is something which sophists study.49 herodotus, an ancient historian, reflects the opinion that geometry is fundamentally pragmatic, and locates the origin of geometry in egyptian land-mensuration techniques (ii.109), reflecting the etymological meaning of geometry: “measures of the earth.” further, we hear of the accomplishments of some geometers, including sophistic figures like antiphon and hippias. references to antiphon the sophist’s proof that one can square the area of a circle by exhausting its segments (arist.ph.185a14) are recorded, but are treated with disdain by aristotle, the post-platonic writer recording it, because antiphon relied on the material tools which plato abhorred.50 plato’s own characterization of the sophist hippias (one of the few attestations of this thinker) emphasizes his attachment to geometric tools (prt. 318e). that the study of geometry seems more associable in the fifth century with sophists like antiphon and hippias than with philosophy is echoed by aristophanes, who never shied away from making the greek intellectuals the butt of his jokes. the famed comedian offers perhaps the richest depiction of geometers before plato. in the birds, aristophanes writes of a bumbling geometer, meton, who carries (and drops, to comedic effect) his myriad measuring instruments, and his foolishness is instructive. recent scholars have argued that the scene with meton comports with “herodotus, an ancient historian, reflects the opinion that geometry is fundamentally pragmatic, and locates the origin of geometry in egyptian landmensuration techniques (ii.109), reflecting the etymological meaning of geometry: ‘measures of the earth.’” 45 lines in the sand aristophanes’ larger satire of the greek intellegentsia.51 accordingly, as much as aristophanes’ critique of socratic philosophy in the clouds became a prevailing opinion of philosophy, which plato would need to challenge to retain legitimacy (ap. 18c-d), so much he would have to overturn the ridiculous view of geometers presented by aristophanes. aristophanes treats the pursuit of geometry similarly to that of philosophy: a comic endeavor which in form resembles the scientific discoveries that, in the fifth century, were subject to skepticism. plato removed from geometry the physical devices which were the butt of aristophanes’ humor, and he elevated the study to near supernatural status. plato’s mathematics, as expressed in his dialogue, is neither sophistic nor practical.52 plato, throughout his corpus, advocates for a new approach to mathematics, one whose divine ends and immaterial approach was unanticipated in greek culture prior to the philosopher’s lifetime. plato used his dialogues to promote and develop new shape for greek geometry, and his frequent deployment of words like geometry (geōmetrikos) and number (arithmos)53 in his writings reflect the fact that “[describing new ideas with concrete nouns] creates the impression that the ‘thing’ has been ‘out there’ all along, waiting to be discovered and described.”54 it is a tactic which implicitly authorizes the author to put forth a non-standard definition of something and make it seem authorized. before plato’s lifetime, geometry was a loosely defined endeavor which was, on the one hand, topical enough to be the subject of plays and deserving of intellectual’s time, but the exact practice, its methodologies and theoretical underpinnings were largely negotiable on the other. after plato, geometry was a fullfledged discipline, with clearly defined parameters, and a modus operandi which emphasized geometry’s transcendent, logical power in place of the deployment of material devices. the word geometry is used less than forty times over the two hundred year stretch before the beginning of plato’s writing career.55 by contrast, plato uses the geometrroot more than fifty-six times in his own corpus, not even taking into account the words he invented to describe geometry. he the first author to use the word for “things geometrical” (geōmetrikos), and as timmerman and schiappa note, creating a new word through the addition of the -ikos affix suggests directly that an author is developing a disciplining vocabulary.56 much ink has been spilled on the fact that plato deployed the –ikos root in the gorgias to create a word for the oratorical art, rhētorikē. but what of his creation of the word geōmetrikos in the very same dialogue? as much as plato wanted to create a vocabulary for the un-philosophical aims of his rhetorical foes in 390, so much he was out to elevate the geometer as the model to which philosophers should aspire. plato’s discussion of mathematics is bent on creating a distinct identity for geometry. plato polices the boundaries of “acceptable and unacceptable” mathematics when he writes of mathematical paideia for the youths in the laws. plato asserts that greek children should learn as much geometry as their egyptian counterparts by playing mathematical games that confuse the study with play. the next step, plato would have it, is to clear away the certain type of ignorance, by means of study in weights and measures, implicit in all men who touch lines (lg.819a-e). re-emphasizing the importance of mathematical education, plato molds the word geometry to fit his own particular beliefs: it is free of physicality, completely logical, and —like philosophy—ought to be practiced willingly. in this sense, theoretical geometry mirrors the pursuit of philosophy in that both aim at truth: geometry, the truth of proportions, and philosophy the more arcane truths of metaphysics. geometry becomes a metaphor by which the unenlightened philosopher can come to understand philosophy, whose aims are too esoteric to be understood by the nonphilosopher. in his presentation of the sophist gorgias, plato uses his rigidly defined geometry to contrast the objectives of his philosophy from gorgias’, who preceded plato by nearly a century, and from isocrates’, with whom plato’s academy actively competed in the fourth century. by labeling the two latter thinkers as math-less sophists, plato elevates his own project and legitimizes his own definition of philosophy while simultaneously upending that of his foes. 46 elements : : fall 2012 critiquing isocrates through gorgias no doubt plato works tirelessly both to brand his philosophy and to create a distinct identity for the mathematics which would serve as its requisite study. but that’s only half the battle. plato’s philosophy was markedly less pragmatic than isocrates’, which was fitted to the democracy it served. in 390 bce, at the onset of his career, plato needed not only to lay down the law on what mathematics meant to him and its role in philosophical inquiry, but he also needed to tear down the prevailing rhetorical underpinnings which dominated philosophy in his day.57 early in the dialogue, socrates bids gorgias to reveal what he believes his craft, rhetoric, entails. when gorgias’ orotund answers fail to propitiate socrates, the philosopher claims that one must consider a few legitimate crafts, namely geometry and astronomy, two focal points of platonic education for statesmen (grg 451b-c). indeed both fields require speeches; one must be persuaded that one and one equals two. but unlike rhetoric, which is also rooted in guesswork, these activities utilize knowledge (gnosis). as we will see, socrates’ charge that rhetoric is such guesswork is an intentionally bastardized definition, which plato culled and reworded from isocrates’ against the sophists. the passage, relatively short, reveals the partisan tensions simmering beneath the word philosophia in fourth century greece, with the prevailing, rhetorical conception of isocrates on the one hand, the new mathematical approach of plato on the other. plato’s critique of geometry-less education in the gorgias is meant to critique isocrates’ program of education, whose panoply of subjects did not include mathematics.58 nails says that “the gorgias made the perfect college brochure, contrasting socratic oral methods with three successively less reputable characters.”59 critiquing isocrates implicitly links isocrates to a sophistic antecedent, sophistry being what the latter attempted to distance himself from in works like against the sophists. in the gorgias, plato essentially re-emphasizes the very sophistic underpinnings which isocrates fought against.60 at the opening of his school in 390 bce, isocrates published his tract against the sophists, likely serving as his own brochure for isocratean education, whose intent, among many, was of distancing isocrates from the sophists whom he eschewed throughout his literary career. that plato can characterize isocrates’ antecedent as sophistic would have been vexingly counterproductive to isocrates’ intentions. indeed plato, in the gorgias, mocks how isocrates defined the aims of his school in against the sophists. isocrates writes “[the philosophical arts] require much care, and are the task of manly and idea-filled minds” (17).61 plato directly satirizes this claim in the gorgias when socrates tells callicles and gorgias how he conceives of rhetoric (bear in mind that plato created the word “rhetoric” (rhētorikē) in this dialogue to describe the oratorical technē and contrast it to philosophy).62 socrates claims, “it seems to me, gorgias, to be a non-technical pursuit, but rather, one of the manly and guess-prone mind.”63 here, socrates puns on isocrates’ use of the word doxsastikēs, which means “idea-filled” or “creative,” reviving the word’s more obsolete meaning, “conjectural.” the pastiche takes advantage of this ambiguity, and uses the less certain stochastikēs, which simply means “guesswork.” plato emphasizes that gorgias’ beliefs, and isocrates’ by association, are undergirded by faith in the argument from probability,64 and casts these markedly sophistic underpinnings on isocrates’ own school. by contrast, plato emphasizes that his own philosophy is founded upon the assuredness of geometry, which, as he will later confirm in the republic, teaches men to appreciate the stability of truth (vii 525b). isocrates is an illegitimate philosopher by the association with the sophistic gorgias that socrates seems to draw effortlessly. the gorgias is full of such episodes in which socrates emphasizes how geometric education supersedes mere rhetorical training, the latter being the specialty of isocrates’ school. plato is at pains to clearly distinguish the geometer’s dialectical methods from the rhetorician’s, and early in the dialogue, socrates engages the prolix and parried responses of gorgias and polus, enjoining them to deploy the pithy and logical exposition of the geometers (465b). the latter labels his opponents uneducated by pointing out their lack of focus in speech, and more importantly, elevates geometric language as the substratum upon which true philosophers enact dialectic.65 47 lines in the sand one recalls that both isocrates’ and plato’s schools set out to create statesmen.66 that callicles, the obstreperous politician with whom socrates battles for nearly half the dialogue, resembles gorgias conveys the sophists’ ability to spread their corruptive doctrine to posterity. convincing a reader that isocrates’ school is sophistic and produces such men is a form of platonic propaganda which allows plato to delegitimize the alleged aims of isocrates’ project by association. suggesting that orators can only create statesmen like the opprobrious callicles delegitimizes isocratic values and leaves room for plato to define his own school. plato characterizes callicles as a student of gorgias with respect to his language, his beliefs, and his mathematical ignorance. no doubt the rococo speech of callicles resembles gorgias’ prose: both are littered with balanced clauses, poetic language littered throughout with polyptoton, a literary device in which words of the same semantic root are repeated in quick succession.67 consider the following passage from gorgias’s encomium of helen: φέρε δὴ πρὸς ἂλλον ἀπ› ἄλλου μεταστῶ λόγον. αἱ γὰρ ἒνθεοι διὰ λόγων ἐπῳδαὶ ἐπαγαγοὶ ἡδονῆς, ἀπαγωγοὶ λύπης γίγονται· συγγιγομένη γὰρ τῇ δόξῃ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ δύναμις τῆς ἐπῳδῆς ἔθελξε καὶ ἔπεισε καὶ μετέστησεν ἀυτὴν γοητέιᾳ. so let me move from one speech to another. divinely inspired incantations are bringers of pleasure and reducers of sorrow. for coupled with the belief of the mind, the power of the chant bewitched, persuaded, and moved by its enchantment (10). notice how this excerpt from callicles’ speech in plato’s gorgias mirrors the historical gorgias’ prose: πρὸς αὑτοὺς οὖν καὶ τὸ αὑτοῖς συμφέρον τούς τε νόμους τίθενται καὶ τοὺς ἐπαίνους ἐπαινοῦσιν καὶ τοὺς ψόγους ψέγουσιν: ἐκφοβοῦντες τοὺς ἐρρωμενεστέρους τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ δυνατοὺς ὄντας πλέον ἔχειν, ἵνα μὴ αὐτῶν πλέον ἔχωσιν, λέγουσιν ὡς αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἄδικον τὸ πλεονεκτεῖν, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ ἀδικεῖν, τὸ πλέον τῶν ἄλλων ζητεῖν ἔχειν: they lay down laws for themselves with respect to their own advantage, praising and censuring. they frighten the mightier and those able to have more so that they will no longer have more than they, claiming that overreaching is shameful and unjust, and that seeking to have more than others is unjust (483c). through callicles’ language, plato is able to link callicles to gorgias, effectively allowing the reader to read callicles as both a politician and a product of gorgias’ rhetorical school. moreover, both gorgias and callicles espouse a general mistrust of the philosopher. in the encomium of helen, gorgias charges that the philosophers manipulate reason (logos), persuasively contorting the soul and rendering the credibility of opinions null (12-13). callicles follows suit, claiming that socrates’ pursuit of philosophy has left his soul bent out of shape like an ignorant school-boy’s; worse still, callicles claims that socrates contributes nothing to the public good, instead delegitimizing any argument he comes upon (485e-486a). such assertions, which run steadily through socrates and callicles’ parley, betray the latter’s gorgianic underpinnings. as much as we read the gorgias as a critique of the man himself, so much we must interpret the gorgias as a critique of sophistic education, which as we will see, plato is keen to associate with isocrates. socrates does not answer callicles’ reproach of the philosophical life until the end of the dialogue, when callicles’ perfunctory responses to socrates’ questions bid the latter to abandon the discourse (506b).68 socrates does not censure the sophists with whom callicles allegedly accords, but rather, inveighs against callicles’ education in general, and his neglect of geometry in particular (508a): the wise men, callicles, tell us that upon heaven and earth both the gods and men are bound by communion, friendship, propriety, temperance and justice… you seem, to me, to not have paid attention to these things, in all of your wisdom,…that geometric equality both among gods and among men is most powerful. 48 elements : : fall 2012 you believe that men ought to train in greediness, because you neglect geometry.69 geometry binds equally the gods and men and is a link through which men might make contact with the divine, while honoring geometric equality cannot be removed from submitting to the good, which makes men good rulers (r. 525d-e). geometry is the metaphor which symbolizes man’s ability to apprehend truth. implicit in plato’s choice dismissal of callicles’ education over against the particulars of the latter’s argument is the notion that geometrically-undergirded education would not create a corrupt politician like callicles, whereas geometry-less paideia does and did. one also notes plato’s choice use of the expression “geometric equality.”70 if this expression sounds esoteric, it is supposed to. dodds defines this term as the equality of ratios found in what is still called a geometric progression…in the fourth century, [the mathematical contrast between geometrical and arithmetic progressions] was given a political application, and “geometric equality” was said to represent the true principle of distributive justice.71 if geometry is the metaphor upon which the arcane practices of true philosophy are made knowable, then callicles does not grasp it. plato tells his readers, which in the fourth century included potential students for his academy, that a lack of geometric training produces men who cannot understand the most essential knowledge of statesmanship: justice. further, the geometry-less do not even recognize its name: geometric equality. the effect is likewise replicated in another of plato’s dialogues, the meno, whose titlular character is also a student of gorgias (men. 70c). the dialogue questions the nature of virtue and puffs up geometric education while simultaneously pointing out meno’s own faults. when meno cannot produce a sufficient answer to socrates’ questions about whether virtue can be taught, meno retorts with a paradox: it is impossible for men to inquire what he knows, and equally so for things he does not (80d). socrates is not impressed, and answers in a tale (mythos), in which all knowledge is maintained through memory, which itself is eternally written upon the soul. to prove this beyond a doubt, socrates’ calls over one of meno’s slaves, and after drawing some lines in the sand, the slave is able to double the area of the square with no prior geometric training (84a-e). if we trust meno when he says that gorgias made all the men in thessaly hunger for wisdom (70b-c), socrates was intent on revealing meno’s starvation. when meno abandons his gorgianic education, instead begging socrates to demonstrate himself how he would approach their questions about virtue, socrates locates meno’s problem in his lack of self-awareness. unlike his opponent, socrates claims that he understands the nature of hypothesis, intimately bound to the geometric dialectic socrates prefers, and points out meno’s own lack of geometrical training: “plato tells his readers, which in the fourth century included potential students for his academy, that a lack of geometric training produces men who cannot understand the most essential knowledge of statesmanship: justice.” 49 lines in the sand but meno, you do not even try to control yourself…unless you could loosen up a bit and permit the question at hand to be engaged through hypothesis…i mean by this how geometers solve questions posed to them (86d-e).72 the fact that the very virtues gorgias is claimed to uphold in the beginning of the meno —letting others question him and always furnishing a suitable answer (70c)—are repeatedly indicated to be gorgias’ weak points by socrates’ caviling, betrays gorgias’ ignorance.73 that gorgias’ students are time and again reproached for their lack of geometric education leaves one wondering the value of an education that does not teach geometry, one which could not match socrates’ geometry-laden wit, which furnishes for him the sophist-crushing, logical capacity of hypothesis. the effect is damning, but what does gorgias, who is long dead by the time plato publishes his dialogues, have to lose from plato’s criticism? it is isocrates, teaching rhetoric on the other side of athens in 390 bce, who loses the important things by being associated with math-less gorgias: legitimacy, money, and the power to standardize his own definition of philosophy over plato’s pro-geometric conception. characters like gorgias and meno show what philosophy looks like when it is not undergirded by the geometer’s methods, and serve both to discursively define everything plato is not and to delegitimize everything that isocrates held himself up to be. later in his career, isocrates would feel the burn of plato and his academy more vocally. in his oration to philip, he makes a passing reference to a group of eristics (likely aristotle and others among plato’s progeny, not to be confused with the earlier, pugnacious group of philosophers to whom both plato and isocrates refer in their career) who have slandered his name. answering their calumny, he remarks that geometry, astronomy, and the eristic dialogues which the youths have taken up, despite their inutility, keep the young from crime and dangerous hobbies (24-7). likewise, in his apologetic antidosis, isocrates echoes these thoughts on the pursuit of mathematics and its place in rearing philosophers (266-7): i do not find it fit to call “philosophy” this [geometrical study] which is no help in the present and does not help one to speak or fare well…i would then advise the youths to pass some time on these studies, but not however to waste away like skeletons on them.74 plato’s reproach of non-geometrical education certainly did not go under isocrates’ radar, and his later works met plato’s censure with isocrates’ own rebuke of pro-geometric education. conclusion the emergence of a written culture in the late fifth century allowed intellectuals to define their projects, and to delegitimize those of their enemies, by publishing literature. we observe the greek intelligentsia creating a new vocabulary with words like rhetoric, (rhetorikē) and geometrical craft (geōmetrikos) to describe their nascent disciplines, which still lacked concrete parameters in the fourth century. the central thesis of this article is that plato, as an actor in the disciplining phenomenon, dovetails two terms of art, philosophy and geometry, to both define his own project and to de-authorize his leading competitor, isocrates, whose geometry-less conception of philosophy was antithetical to plato’s and a reflection of the social norms of a rhetorically-heavy democracy against which plato fought. by linking isocrates to a sophistic antecedent like gorgias, plato both inveighs against competing modes of education and marks isocrates’ school the creator of fools, plato’s the creator of philosophers. notes 1 heath 1931: 172. 2 timmerman 1998: 146. 3 kahn 1996: 35-60. 4 kahn 2003: 143. 5 yunis 2003: 2. kahn 2003: 141. 50 elements : : fall 2012 6 havelock 1982: 201-2. see yunis 2003: 7-9 for a review of havelock’s instrumental role in twentieth century scholarship, and his shortcomings. 7 yunis 2003: 6 8 dean-jones 2003: 97-120. 9 yunis 2003: 196-203. 10 kahn 2010: 139-61. 11 lloyd 2003:130-1. 12 timmerman & schiappa: 2010: 17-66. 13 wilder 1981: 161. 14too 2008: 15. “isocrates’ mode of self-fashioning is eccentric… isocrates’ marked resistance to contemporary rhetoric and its culture is what paradoxically fashions him as a master of rhetorical discourse in the fourth century.” 15 too 2008: 15. “isocrates’ mode of self-fashioning is eccentric…isocrates’ marked resistance to contemporary rhetoric and its culture is what paradoxically fashions him as a master of rhetorical discourse in the fourth century.” 16 schofield 2002: 48-50. 17 heath 1931: 171. 18 fowler 1988: 107. 19 rabinowitz 1977:127. 20 mccoy 2010: 3. 21 bloch 1992: 17-8. 22 lloyd 2003: 122. 23 nails 2003: 178-80. 24 too 2008: 54: “what isocrates means by ‘philosophy’ is skill at using language, i.e. rhetorical ability, such that an individual can function for the good of his society; nowhere does he use the word ‘rhetoric.’ isocrotean philosophy does not involve a pursuit of abstract and precise knowledge which hinders one’s capacity to serve his state. see plato, phaedrus 27810b-1 or socrates’ ironic quip that there is by nature ‘some philosophy’ in isocrates’ mind.” 25 mccoy 2010: 8-9. 26 nehamas 1990:4. 27 there is no singular scholarly consensus on how to interpret the divided line allegory. i follow moors 1984: 148, who writes, “it is highly problematic, given the manner of its portrayal, that the line is intended to produce any single sub-section which is to be regarded as self-sufficient. each of the four sub sections identified bears fundamental connections with others, resulting in a whole image which must be approached with a view to a statement on knowledge.” the connection, i assume, is one of graduating levels of increasingly truer expressions of truth. 28 fowler 1987: 107. 29 plato likens isocrates to a sophist, as we will see, in the euthydemus (304c-307c) and phaedrus (279a-e). isocrates references plato’s followers, whom he labels as eristics (a sophistic group, which is the subject of the euthydemus) in his oration to philip (24-7). see also nehamas 1990:15, who argues that in isocrates’ helen (1), we find an irrefutable jab at plato. 30 nails 2002: 156-8. 31 yunis 1996: 1-7. 32 yunis 1996: 9. 33 one must restrain from speculating, but one notes that mathematicians deployed by monarchs to create geometry textbooks, whose use would ostensibly be to educate the 51 lines in the sand monarch, recurs numerously in greek mathematical historiography. see fowler 1988: 200-312. 34 kahn 2003: 139 35 fowler 1998: 107 summarizes platonic education for the guardians: “the curriculum is proposed as part of the education of the future guardians of the state; it will occupy men from age twenty (537b-c) to thirty (537d). it will be preceded by earlier training in childhood, imparted through play (536d-e)…only those who show promise will go on to study mathematics. at age thirty, after a second selection, the students will pass on to training in dialectic.” 36 timmerman & schiappa 2010: 5. 37 schiappa 1990: 465. 38 timmerman 1998: 146 notes that, although isocrates’ school taught rhetoric, isocrates nonetheless considered it a school of philosophy. 39 nehamas 1990: 4. 40 nehamas 1990: 12. 41 schiappa 1990: 464. 42 schiappa 1990: 464. 43 schiappa 1990: 457-70. 44 heath 1981: 244-255. 45 heath 1981: 77. 46 we hear of the delos oracle in plutarch’s de e apud delphos (8.2, 718e-f). plato’s censure of his students is told in another work, quaestiones convivales (8.2.1). i have collated these two sources to give a singular account of the delian affair. the greek for plato’s quote is: “ἀπόλλυσθαι γὰρ οὕτω καὶ διαφθείρεσθαι τὸ γεωμετρίας ἀγαθὸν αὖθις ἐπὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ παλινδρομούσης.” all translations of the greek in this paper are my own. 47 rihil 2002: 1-20 . 48 netz 2002: 209. 49 lloyd 2003: 130 sheds light on the nature of our sources. “while written texts are attested from anaxmander onward, it is well-known that when they were consulted, they were more often read out and discussed than studied privately and in silence.” our corpus is markedly incomplete, but i posit that plato still marks a distinct moment where mathematics entered into written discourse, and following trends in the studies of disciplining (havelock 1983), this allows for a sort of literate revolution in the field. judging by xenophon (mem.4.2.8), much of this literature was technical in nature; a far cry from the logical expositions we find in plato. 50 heath 1986:271-3. 51 amati 2010 contends “meton’s scene is significant not only to the plot of the birds but to aristophanes pervasive satire of intellectuals.” (214). 52 it is outside the scope of this article to consider euclid. but lloyd 2003: 134 is enlightening. “the treatises in the euclidean corpus, not least the elements itself, represent one extreme end of the spectrum from the point of view of impersonality. euclid himself does not just not obtrude: he is invisible, and his life and character are unknown quantities. nothing, we must say, could be further from rhetoric and rhetorical self-advertisement than mathematics.” euclid consciously links his findings to the academics, i.e. the attribution of the definition of commensurability to eudoxus (v.v.) further studies may detect a conscious attempt on euclid’s part to carry on what he perceives to be the academic tradition. this is certainly the opinion of proclus (cmtry. euc. 68-70). 53 there is no concrete way to define the word “arithmos” in plato. it is a main ingredient in a complicated and nuanced body of research which charts the development of number theory in plato; see fowler 1988: 16 for a quick treatment. i will add that greek culture saw numbers differently from modern readers. fowler 1988: 14 argues, 52 elements : : fall 2012 “greek mathematics makes free use of the cardinal numbers; but rather than our thinking of the sequence 1,2,3…, qua cardinals, a much more faithful sense of the greek arithmoi is given by the sequence: duet, trio, quartet, quintet.” 54 weaver 1985: 125. 55 two things must be taken into account here. some of these forty uses are testimonia from plato’s own corpus, which i have not deducted from this number. i have dismissed testimonia like fragment 11 of thales, in which the use of “geometry” refers to eudemus’ history, (“thales is said in euthydemus’ history of geometry…”) written well after plato died. 56 see timmerman & schiappa 2010: 10-15. 57 too 2008: 99 “callicles objection to philosophy at gorgias 484c8 ff. (with note in dodds (1959), 272-3) suggests that isocrates’ understanding of ‘philosophy’ may be a more mainstream one than plato’s. the verb φιλοσοφέω is first employed by herodotus to describe solon’s geographical investigations (1.30.2).” 58 johnson 1959: 26 notes that “[isocrates’] curriculum was certainly ill-defined, with broad limits. but one thing is clear: he taught not mathematics.” 59 nails, debra 1995: 214. 60 yunis 1996: 117-71. 61 ταῦτα δὲ πολλῆς ἐπιμελείας δεῖσθαι καὶ ψυχῆς ἀνδρικῆς καὶ δοξαστικῆς ἔργον εἶναι, 62 timmerman & schiapa: 2010: 10. 63 οκεῖ τοίνυν μοι, ὦ γοργία, εἶναί τι ἐπιτήδευμα τεχνικὸν μὲν οὔ, ψυχῆς δὲ στοχαστικῆς καὶ ἀνδρείας. 64 gagarin 2007: 27-36 . 65 timmerman & schiappa 2010. 66 haskins 2004:130. 67 demos 1994: 90. 68 cf. 458d when callicles says “i am unsure that i was ever so delighted as now; for my part, let us continue the discussion, even if it takes the whole day.” 69 σὺ δέ μοι δοκεῖς οὐ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν τούτοις, καὶ ταῦτα σοφὸς ὤν, ἀλλὰ λέληθέν σε ὅτι ἡ ἰσότης ἡ γεωμετρικὴ καὶ ἐν θεοῖς καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώποις μέγα δύναται, σὺ δὲ πλεονεξίαν οἴει δεῖν ἀσκεῖν: γεωμετρίας γὰρ ἀμελεῖς.. 70 the mathematical analogy, and plato’s belief that it was in fact pythagorean in origin, is worked out by aristotle in the nichomachean ethics (1131b12) and the politics (1301b29). cf. republic 558c, where democracy is described as an anarchic olio “assigning equality likewise to equal and unlike” (ἰσότητά τινα ὁμοίως ἴσοις τε καὶ ἀνίσοις διανέμουσα). 71 dodds 1959: 339. 72 ἐπειδὴ δὲ σὺ σαυτοῦ μὲν οὐδ᾽ ἐπιχειρεῖς ἄρχειν . . . εἰ μή τι οὖν ἀλλὰ σμικρόν γέ μοι τῆς ἀρχῆς χάλασον, καὶ συγχώρησον ἐξ ὑποθέσεως αὐτὸ σκοπεῖσθαι, εἴτε διδακτόν ἐστιν εἴτε ὁπωσοῦν. λέγω δὲ τὸ ἐξ ὑποθέσεως ὧδε, ὥσπερ οἱ γεωμέτραι πολλάκις σκοποῦνται. 73 ἅτε καὶ αὐτὸς παρέχων αὑτὸν ἐρωτᾶν τῶν ἑλλήνων τῷ βουλομένῳ ὅτι ἄν τις βούληται, καὶ οὐδενὶ ὅτῳ οὐκ ἀποκρινόμενος. 74 φιλοσοφίαν μὲν οὖν οὐκ οἶμαι δεῖν προσαγορεύειν τὴν μηδὲν ἐν τῷ παρόντι μήτε πρὸς τὸ λέγειν μήτε πρὸς τὸ πράττειν ὠφελοῦσαν, διατρῖψαι μὲν οὖν περὶ τὰς παιδείας ταύτας χρόνον τινὰ συμβουλεύσαιμ᾽ ἂν τοῖς νεωτέροις, μὴ μέντοι περιιδεῖν τὴν αὑτῶν κατασκελετευθεῖσαν ἐπὶ τούτοις. references amati, matthew. 2010. meton’s star-city: geometry and utopia in aristophanes› birds. the classical journal , vol. 105. 213-27. bloch, marc. 1992. what is history?, trans. peter burke. oxford: manchester press. cole, thomas. 1991.the origins of rhetoric in ancient greece. balitmore: johns hopkins university press. 53 lines in the sand dean-jones, leslie. 2003. literacy and the charlatan in ancient greek medicine. ed. yunis, harvey. cambridge: cambridge university press. 97-121. demos, marion. 1994. callicles’ quotation of pindar in the gorgias. harvard studies in classical philology, vol. 96. 85-107. dodds, e.r. 1959. gorgias, a rev. text with introduction and commenary. oxford: claredon press. gagarin, michael. 2007. “background and origins: oratory and rhetoric before the sophists,” in a companion to greek rhetoric, ed. ian worthingon: 27-36. malden, ma: blackwell. haskins, thomas. 2004. logos and power in isocrates and aristotle. berkely, ca: university of california press. havelock, eric. 1982. preface to plato. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. heath, sir thomas. 1981. history of greek mathematics: volume i. new york: dover publications. jaeger, werner. 1943. paidea: the ideals of greek culture. 2d ed. 3 vols. trans. gilbert highet. new york: oxford university press. johnson, r. 1959. “isocrates’ method of teaching.” in the american journal of philology, volume 80, no. 1. 25-36. kahn, charles h. 1996. plato and the socratic dialogue. cambridge: cambridge universitypress. moors, kent. 1984. equality and cognition in plato›s divided line quaderni urbinati di cultura classica , new series, vol. 16. 147-57. mccoy, marina. 2008. plato on the rhetoric of philosophers and sophists. cambridge: cambridge university press. nails, debra. 1995. agora, academy and the conduct of philosophy. dordrecht: kluwer academic publishers. nails, debra. 2002. the people of plato. indianapolis: hackett publishing company. nehamas, alexander. 1990.eristic, antilogic, sophistic, dialectic: plato’s demarcation of philosophy from sophistry. history of philosophy quarterly. vol. 7.ed. 1.3-16. netz, r. “greek mathematicians: a group picture.” 2002. science and mathematics in ancient greek culture, ed. tuplin, c.j. and rihll, t.e. oxford: oxford university press. 196-216. olson, david r. 1994. the world on paper: the conceptual and cognitive implications of writing and reading. great britain:1994. papillon, terry l. 1996. isocrates on gorgias and helen: the unity of the helen. the classical journal, volume 91. no.4, 377-91. rihll, t.e. 2002. “introduction: greek science in context. science and greek culture. ed. tuplin, c.j. and rihll, t.e. oxford: oxford university press. 1-21 schiappa, edward. 1990. did plato coin the word rhetorikē? the american journal of philology. vol. 111, ed. 4. 457-470. schiappa, edward. 1999. the beginnings of rhetorical theory in ancient greece. new haven: yale university press. schofield, malcolm. 2008. “plato in his place and time” in the oxford handbook on plato, ed. fine, gail. oxford: oxford university press. timmerman, david m. and schiappa, edward. 2010. classical greek rhetorical theory and the disciplining of discourse. cambridge: cambridge university press. timmerman, david. 1998. «isocrates› competing conceptualization of philosophy,” in philosophy and rhetoric 31: 145-59. too, yun lee. 2008. a commentary on isocrates’antidosis. oxford: oxford university press. tuplin, c.j. and rihll, t.e. 2002. science and mathematics in ancient greek culture. oxford: oxford university press. wasserstein, a. 1959. some early greek attempts to sqaure the circle. phronesis , vol. 4. 92-100. 54 elements : : fall 2012 weaver, richard [1953] 1985. the ethics of rhetoric. davis, ca: hermagoras press. yunis, harvey. 1996. taming democracy. ithaca, ny: cornell university press. yunis, harvey. 2003. writing for reading: thucyideds, plato, and the emergence of the critical reader. written texts and the rise of written culture in ancient greece, ed. yunis, harvey. cambridge: cambridge university press. 189-212. 55 lines in the sand through recourse to empirical analyses, numerous researchers have come to a varied set of conclusions regarding the nature of human emotional response to art. j. prinz argues that emotion and appreciation co-occur, and that the root of such appreciation and emotion is ultimately neurobiological.1 prof. ramachandran and his colleague, v.s. herstein, offer an evolutionary theory of artistic appreciation, while p.j. silvia’s evidence is behavioral, proposing that response to art is individual and idiosyncratic to every observer.2, 3 dutch professor hagtvedt and his colleagues produce evidence that the manner in which subjects respond to artistic stimuli is dependent on their prior value systems and individual environments.4 emotional response to art as a generality is rooted in evolutionary neurobiological processes. nevertheless, though the neurobiological nature of such appreciation and response is universal, the ultimate decider of how and why a person is likely to respond to a particular artwork in a particular way stems ultimately from personal experience. the dalmation hypothesis assessing the relativity of emotional response to art paul boboc the nature of the aesthetic experience of art has undergone much study and has been documented and researched by various experimental psychologists, all of whom have attempted to prove particular hypotheses regarding the open-ended nature of such experience. the predominant problem in any such study—the question of why we respond emotionally to art in particular ways—is not distinctly or even predominantly a biological one, since it may be understood through the looking-glass of philosophy and philosophical psychology just as readily as it may be approached biologically or empirically. a question inevitably crops up: why is it that when subject a (an imaginary instance) is shown michelangelo’s painting of adam’s creation, he is perceived to emote intensely—his pupils change dimensions, his concentration augments considerably (as is observed by imaging of his cerebral processes), he feels a certain impulse and emotive strain tugging at his inwards, while subject b, shown the same picture, likewise emotes, though in no sense with the same intensity as subject a—subject b’s experience neither fully coincides with nor reiterates subject a’s apprehension of the stimulus. the explanation ultimately rests in the variety of human experience: whereas on a fundamental level both subjects are human and therefore likely to experience the same essential emotions— dictated by their common biological evolution and human identity—the experience of feeling particular emotions will diverge based on their situation and what that situation has taught them in regard to art and creation. researchers like jesse prinz make the claim that the appreciation of a work of art consists of an emotional response, and that this emotional response is grounded in michelangelo’s “the creation of adam,” found in the sistine chapel 57 the dalmatian hypothesis the neurobiology of the brain, prinz’s claim that there is a neurobiological basis for the aesthetic response to art is spun from empirical studies which he has examined thoroughly, as well as from philosophical inferences which he has found to correlate distinctly with the experimental findings he puts forth.5 his former understanding of artistic appreciation—appreciation as understood through the lens of philosophical speculation—posits two distinct stages in the aesthetic response process: initial response and assessment, both of which he then examines in conjunction with neuroimages, which concur with the former inductions. prinz’s studies are derived from prior analyses by intellectuals who took part in research to discover correlations between cerebral activity and the apprehension and viewing of art. research is cited that has shown a relation between motor activity in the brain and the contemplation of artistic works—efficacious evidence that the viewing of art is an emotional process. emotion in general, whether negative or positive, tied to external stimuli or to internal ramifications, gives rise to cerebral motor activity and therefore to physical movement as well.6 other researchers have taken a similar route. vilayanur ramachandran displays rationales which posit that particular neural circuits of our brains have evolved, which allow us to perceive and enjoy art in an emotional manner, and that the neural processes which arise from the circuitry involved are the ultimate source of our emotional response to art.7 in essence, artistic appreciation is reducible to evolutionary factors, and that artistic stimuli may excite particular areas in the brain with a potency equal or superior to natural stimuli. the process of emotional response to art is a laborious and extended one, beginning with looking at a picture, which arouses early visual areas of the brain. the process continues to the input received by the eyes being sent to the inferotemporal cortex, which detects discernible objects. upon recognition of the object and the emotional significance thereof, the amygdala relays the message to the autonomous nervous system, and this leads ultimately to a motor response in the subject: essentially a more complex vision of the same basic mechanism outlined by prinz, which claims that art produces aroused motor efficiency in those who view it.8 ramachandran makes little distinction between the observation of an event of real life and the perception of an artwork: the same basic mechanisms are involved in each, and are dictated by laws of evolutionary biology, which he focuses on profoundly. ramachandran probes deeper than prinz in the evolutionary respect. according to him, the brain has evolved to contain a limited number of attentional resources, and the various representations which it perceives vie for neural space. this hearkens back to the theory of gombrich that we fill in incomplete series; ramachandran agrees that, since the brain can only take in so many stimuli at a time, it must coordinate its powers to make sense of the objects it perceives. therefore, he claims, when the brain tries to comprehend a work of art or a symbolic phenomenon, it looks for clues to object-like signals in the work which excite the limbic system and attract cerebral attention to that particular area.9 it is the capacity to draw generalizations from particulars in art, and to see similarities in different aspects of a work of art in what he terms “successive distinct episodes,” that leads the limbic system to activate, ensuring that the process of trying to comprehend a work of art is rewarding.10 the example he provides is that of the dalmatian dog hypothesis: several splotches on a canvas which faintly resemble a dog, if taken one by one, are per“one is likely to respond emotionally to a work of art in a manner determined principally by adaptive evolutionary traits that have evolved in humanity over innumerable millennia.” 58 elements : : fall 2012 ceived merely as independent splotches, and the disorganized and incoherent nature of such a comprehension would be unlikely to arouse either intrinsic pleasure or intellectual satisfaction. the combination of such pleasure and satisfaction, claims ramachandran, would result in a powerful aesthetic and emotional response. but upon visceral involvement, as the brain tries to make sense of the splotches in relation to what it knows and does not know, it eventually dawns on the viewer that the splotches represent a dalmatian; upon realizing that the picture in question is a dalmatian, the viewer feels inherently happy for having solved a pressing dilemma, and the activation of his or her limbic system ensures that the subject feels a positive emotional response.11 the reason for this ultimately lies in evolutionary psychology, according to ramachandran. it results from the fact that grouping things into collectives and discerning general ideas from particular representations is an inherently valuable trait in the fight for survival, and this trait has carried into the realm of artistic interpretation as well; the same concept holds for the appreciation of art as for that of real life.12 therefore, when we look at a painting of a terrifying tiger, our brains perceive it as a tiger within an instant, and ramachandran would argue that emotional response to such a painting would be one of fear. likewise, an abstract or surreal painting of a tiger, which would not depict a tiger per se but rather something faintly resembling a tiger, would be perceived by the brain as something embodying the nature of tigerness, and the emotional response to such a painting would likewise be one of moderate fear. such a fear would hardly be marked enough to manifest itself somatically, but would exist nonetheless, given the brain’s propensity to categorize and attribute general features to particular entities. therefore, says ramachandran, one is likely to respond emotionally to a work of art in a manner determined principally by adaptive evolutionary traits that have evolved in humanity over innumerable millennia. yet the neurobiological evolutionary thesis fails to explain the broad nature of human response to art entirely, leaving little room for the self-evident idiosyncrasies of individual artistic perception. the empirical studies already outlined define the emotional nature of artistic perception as wholly, or very nearly wholly, impersonal: the general phenomenon of artistic stimuli arousing cerebral functions which in turn produce a response to the stimuli, as determined by evolution. such an understanding of emotional response to art hardly accounts for the enormous differences with which people interpret artistic productions, and only explains little in the way of such broad variations. by turning to relativism, one gains a better understanding and appreciation of the issue than by sticking to the evolutionary model. subjectivism and relativism in the emotional and aesthetic appreciation of art have been shown to be immensely important role-players in the nature of people’s emotional responses to art. people who are generally unemotional or less given to shows of strong emotion have been measured to be less likely to appreciate a painting aesthetically than individuals who are more emotionally inclined, proving a drastic variation in aesthetic preferences even within close groups.13 such variations have been shown to exist on a grander level within differing cultural settings; while easterners prefer scenes that encompass more things, westerners are more intent on depicting individual settings and focal individuals. likewise, africans tend to appreciate art which principal quality is that of brightness, an attribute which many african artists and laymen find highly appealing.14 according to prinz, aesthetic appraisal, though in itself relative, consists of a generalized initial response stage and of an assessment stage. the former is largely due to cultural beliefs (the mona lisa was viewed by the renaissance critic vasari as a beautiful woman, while the romantics mystified her into a mystical exemplar of feminine mystery); the latter is considered in light of personal aesthetic values, prompting us to ask such questions as: “is the work original?”15 hagtvedt also claims that this is the principal question we ask ourselves (usually on a subconscious level) when viewing a work of art, along with: “is it created with technical skill?”16 in essence, it may be argued that we admire the mona lisa not merely because it’s a fine painting, but predominantly because da vinci painted it. if we were to find out that the painting was really painted by ver59 the dalmatian hypothesis rocchio, the mona lisa would wane its prestige and our admiration wanes proportionally. prinz’s model essentially posits a form of aesthetic appraisal in which positive emotional response constitutes appreciation. he goes on to consider three intriguing possibilities for what precisely that positive emotional response might inherently be. his first proposes that it is a biologically basic emotion dedicated to aesthetic evaluation.17 this is by and large the road that ramachandran would take in tackling the issue, but such an explanation fails to persuade prinz, who claims that there is an inherent difference between the purely aesthetically pleasing and the purely attractive. the two often do not correlate in art; much of picasso and dubbefet holds little value in the way of attractiveness, but as aesthetic manufactures they are unquestionably of a superior character. that we have evolved traits to enjoy the purely aesthetic—traits that allow us to enjoy art for art’s sake—is likewise improbable, since art is very recent and fails to contribute to the propagation of the species.18 his other theory is that a work of art arouses many various emotions in the beholder, a notion discarded because it fails to account for the fact that certain artworks are naturally preferable to us than others; some sort of emotional uniformity must exist.19 ultimately, the attribute that most associates art to aesthetic response, according to prinz, is wonder, which he classifies as a largely spontaneous manifestation (when it takes hold of individuals), a sociocultural construct that has evolved out of biological rudimentaries over time. for example, i am likely the mona lisa by da vinci and madonna with child by verocchio 60 elements : : fall 2012 to be spontaneously overwhelmed by wonderment and positive affirmation when perusing an intricate caravaggio, but a zulu might think such a painting blasphemous or inexcusably strange. prinz provides no empirical evidence for the claim that wonder is of prime importance in aesthetic appreciation, arriving to the conclusion through a series of affirmations and negations of various other positions he puts forth, the principal ones having been summed up in brief.20 evidence supporting prinz’s quasi-anthropological theory has been provided by paul silvia, who, though employing slightly different terminology, arrives at similar conclusions, namely that emotional response to art is dependent on the degree of interest exhibited by the viewer, and that this interest is tied to the degree of appraisal that a given work of art is likely to elicit from a viewer (he does not go so far as to use wonder as the basis of his position, but it may be argued that wonder is merely interest augmented beyond a certain threshold, and so the same thing in essence).21 silvia claims that novices are far less likely to look at highly abstract or complex pieces of artwork for extended periods of time. this is because their threshold of appreciation differs from the experts’. from the evidence presented, it becomes apparent that experts were able to understand artwork better than novices. this evidence is founded on a series of tests in which subjects of varying propensities in artistic interpretation were shown simple and complex works and asked to appraise them based on the emotions the pieces elicited from them. the highly trained among the subjects were those likelier to say that they enjoyed and admired both the simpler and the more complex paintings, while the lesser-educated admired the simpler paintings less and the complex paintings substantially less than the trained individuals.22 other research shows that individuals are able to enjoy works of art to a greater extent if they know the titles of pieces than if they are left in the dark concerning the titles; from the composite summations of these findings, it stands to reason that the degree to which one understands a work of art is directly correlated to the degree that one enjoys the art. the empirical data offers irrefutable proof that this is the case, though the given facts make one emerge with the position that it is a mixture of the rational element, which is conscious, and the irrational element of wonder, both of which are sociocultural constructs to a marked extent. this position is firmly supported by professor henrik hagtvedt and several other researchers, who agree that one’s emotional response to a piece of art and the appraisal elicited from art is to some degree dependent upon one’s critical capacity. according to hagtvedt, pleasurable emotions that the object arouses influence the opinion on the aesthetics, and this ultimately leads to one’s considering an artwork as either thought provoking and interesting or unoriginal and tedious.23 appraisal theory as espoused by silvia in his work is supported by the research of professor pieter desmet and his colleagues, who are involved in marketing strategies and specialize in emotional design. according to the literature, appraisal theory posits that the arousal of a particular appraisal (an appraisal being an evaluation of a given situation) elicits certain emotions commonly identified as being related to the appraisal in question.24 situations appraised as consistent and pleasurable are classified as good, while those that are appraised as incoherent or chaotic are classified as negative; to a large extent, therefore, the emotional response to a piece of art is by and large dependent on the particular appraisal patterns of each individual, taking one back to the relativistic claims of prinz: what the african tribesman appraises as beautiful and meaningful is ultimately different than what the european or the japanese regards as lovely.25 therefore, when particular motives are taken into account, any objective effort “the collective response to art can be surprisingly similar and mechanical, the result of an instinctive excitement derived from seeing the color red.” 61 the dalmatian hypothesis to systematize or universalize the general abstract appraisal patterns fails.26 it has likewise been suggested by denise sumpf that artworks are projection fields for emotion, and that emotions are elicited by works of art relative to the personal biographies of people.27 a study has demonstrated that biography mediates one’s aptitude to attach or distance oneself from a work of art: a subject in a particular study which aimed to discover what causes people to be drawn to art was strongly attached to the artist andrej von jawlenevsky merely because she grew up in the same town. perhaps one of the most exhaustive empirical studies to date was done as an analysis in the nature of the individual of artistic preferences. edward vessel and nava rubin conducted an experiment in which they showed 96 abstract images in six sets of 16 each, using various software techniques, which were shown to test subjects on computer displays.28 the observers all had good vision and were of approximately 26 years of age at the mean. the test subjects, 35 in all, were shown two sets of images—one of the two sets were abstract images, while the other was composed of real-world images of familiar everyday objects. when the block of sixteen abstract images flashed on the screen, they were made to choose whether they liked the preceding image less or more by clicking on a left arrow key and a right arrow key, respectively. the process was repeated six times until 96 abstract images were flashed on the screen, and the process was repeated with realworld images as well. the result was interesting: the realworld images generally attracted more agreement among the test subjects in terms of aesthetic preference, while there was more randomness and individualism in taste when it came to abstract images. the explanation of the experimenters was that humans are more likely to make semantic connections between objects which they comprehend from real-world experience: this holds equally true for art, where flowers will be seen as beautiful generally. but with abstract imagery, where meaning is not so easily discernible, appreciation is more haphazard and random. this experiment, while not definitive, demonstrates that artistic appreciation and response is in large part environmentally pre-conditioned, resulting from the meanings we are likely to perceive in art and its real-world reflection. yet things are not quite so simple. alan manning and nicole amare have performed a similar experiment to the one conducted by vessel and rubin. they set out to analyze the manner in which humans are variously impacted by different colors in works of art.29 several subjects were involved in this experiment (the precise number is not mentioned in the study). the experimenters chose figures that sampled a range of form possibilities while sampling the color-range as well (variety vs. contrast vs. pattern and red-range vs. green-range vs. blue-range color, respectively). their aim was to see if similar colors and forms evoked similar emotions; they showed their test subjects several different abstract pictures and gave them a word bank of 12 words, out of which they were instructed to pick out the three words that best correlated to the pictures they were shown. among these words were agitated, stimulated, attracted, and diverted. to a large extent, the researchers found that people tend to agree among each other as to what particular images signify: for the image that was principally red, most said agitated-stimulated-diverted or a combination thereof, while none said rested or focused. this study showed that, although it is true that the appreciation of a work of art is largely based on the semantics of individual meaning, our collective response to art can be surprisingly similar and mechanical, the result of an instinctive excitement derived from seeing the color red, or a calming effect from seeing the color blue. this is logical: most things that are red or reddish in the world—blood, fire, lava—are dangerous to us or signs of possible danger, so we have grown to instinctively be excited by everything red. yet if this applies to art also, the incapacity we have to judge a predominantly red painting or computer image as peaceful or calming would take away from the individual free will we have in judging art. which raises the question: how individual is the perception of art? what, ultimately, is the nature of emotional response to art? why do we respond to art emotionally in the first place, given that art is merely illusion and has no survival properties of intrinsic worth whatsoever? from a perusal of literature on the subject, i conclude that there is no uni62 elements : : fall 2012 versal way of answering the question. that we respond emotionally and behaviorally to art is beyond a doubt; empirical studies—both from brain scans and questionnaire examinations—yield evidence that humans are deeply and profoundly influenced by art, which, as revealed by studies and re-enforced by common sense, affects the brain and consciousness in a potent way. yet such explanations fail in lieu of the myriad ways in which people interpret art, and the evolutionary thesis is shaky at best, seeing as art is a relatively modern invention and holds no self-evident survival merit. i conclude, ultimately, that the emotional process elicited by works of art is a relative one, which varies from person to person to such a remarkably broad extent; and that, being relative, it is dependent on various experiential traits which themselves are largely shaped by cultural and personal factors. this theory is supported by some researchers, but by no means by all. several, like ramachandran, would take an all-out evolutionary approach, saying that there is fundamentally no freedom in the choice of how we are likely to respond to a given work of art. it boils down to the neurobiological explanation being able to elucidate emotional responses to art—courtesy of fmri scans and other articles which have shed light on the cerebral processes which make artistic appreciation and emotional receptivity to art possible—while cultural and sociological factors also determine how we respond to art. evolutionary factors drive us in a certain direction, making us more likely to appreciate blue or light images than hellish red ones. i would, in any case, argue for the primacy of the latter; in the process of determining whether i like caravaggio or hakusai, i find myself influenced more by my personal history and the cultural conditions that formed my views than on intrinsically evolutionary or biological mechanisms. but in the end it appears that neither position is wholly correct, and the best response may lie somewhere in the mean. endnotes 1 prinz, 2007 2 ramachandran & herstein, 1999 3 silvia, 2005 4 hagtvedt et. al, 2008 5 prinz 6 prinz 7 ramachandran & herstein 8 ramachandran & herstein 9 ramachandran & herstein 10 ramachandran & herstein 11 ramachandran & herstein 12 ramachandran & herstein 13 prinz 14 prinz 15 prinz 16 hagtvedt 17 prinz 18 prinz 19 prinz 20 prinz 21 silvia 22 silvia 23 hagtvedt 24 desmet 25 desmet 26 desmet 27 sumpf 28 vessel and rubin 29 manning and amare references desmet, p. m. a., & hekkert, p. (2007). framework of product experience. international journal of design, 1(1), 57-66. hagtvdt, henrik et al. the perception and evaluation of visual art. empirical studies of the arts vol. 26(2) 197-218, 2008. prinz, j. emotion and aesthetic value. retrieved from www.unc. edu/~prinz/emotionandaestheticvalueprinz.pdf ramachandran, v.s. herstein, w. the science of art: a neurological theory of aesthetic experience. journal of consciousness studies, 6, no. 6-7, 1999, pp. 15–51 silvia, p. j. (2005). emotional responses to art: from collation and arousal to cognition and emotion. review of general psychology, 9, 342-357. doi: 10.1037/1089 2680.9.4.342 e. a. vessel, and n. rubin. beauty and the beholder: highly individual taste for abstract, but not realworld images j vis 2010 10: 18-18 63 the dalmatian hypothesis manning, a. and amare, n.; “emotion-spectrum response to form and color: implications for usability,” professional communication conference, 2009. ipcc 2009. ieee international , vol., no., pp.1-9, 19-22 july 2009 doi: 10.1109/ipcc.2009.5208700 64 elements : : fall 2012 oppositional defiant disorder (odd), conduct disorder (cd), and anti-social personality disorder (apd) are externalizing pathologies that appear from childhood to late adolescence with disturbing consequences for both the patient and those in their surrounding environment. this literature review is an analysis of the hierarchical progression of these externalizing pathologies, including a range of details on each disorder’s symptoms, a comparison between these symptoms, and an exploration of the criteria required for diagnosis. in addition, the presence of pathological aggression is analyzed in odd, cd, and adp, as are the developmental pathways and associations between the three pathologies. the article also presents the current controversies surrounding the role of aggression in the aforementioned behavior disorders —a developing subject that has been recently explored and continues to be studied in contemporary psychological research. diagnosing personality analyzing aggression and developmental pathways in disruptive behavior disorders scott geron oppositional defiant disorder (odd), conduct disorder (cd), and anti-social personality disorder (apd) are externalizing pathologies that manifest especially between childhood and late adolescence with alarming consequences for both the affected and those in their surrounding environment. the following article is a review of the hierarchical progression of these externalizing pathologies, including a full range of details on each of the three disorders’ symptoms, the required criteria for diagnosis, and a comparison of symptoms between disorders. as an additional dimension of analysis, the specific role of pathological aggression will be explored as it is expressed in increasing severity from odd to cd to apd. the nature of developmental pathways and the theorized associations from odd to cd to apd merit careful examination and discussion. both the roles of pathological aggression and of developmental pathways (tracing the mental disorder progression from odd to cd to apd) are areas of emerging research in the field of psychology. symptomatologies according to the american psychiatric association’s diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-iv), characteristics of odd follow a persistent pattern of “negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures.”1 specific symptoms include losing one’s temper, especially while arguing with adults. the individual affected may also deliberately annoy other people. this type of child or adolescent can be particularly difficult to parent, due to their blatant refusal to cooperate and obey their parents’ parameters. other symptoms include blaming others for their own mistakes, and belligerent behavior. besides being touchy and easily annoyed, these individuals may also display anger, resentment, spitefulness, and vindictiveness. according to psychologists’ analysis of the dsm-iv field trials, “‘spiteful and vindictive’ and ‘angry and resentful’ criteria [are] the two most consistent predictive symptoms of odd…[and can] be viewed as defining the core features of the disorder.”2 further, to reach a diagnosis for odd, a diagnosis for other disorders (such as an adjustment disorder with a disturbance in behavior) must be absent. to diagnose odd, four behaviors out of those described must be observable for a period of at least six months, and must include symptoms “beyond that which [are] developmentally appropriate.”3 the requirement that odd symptoms be deemed developmentally inappropriate is a key point which deserves particular emphasis. at times, many children and adolescents are prone to argue and defy rules set by authorities. patterns of opposition may be central to the normal cognitive and psychosocial developmental stages during adolescence. according to psychologist peter blos, disengangement from internalized objects (parental authority figures) is related to oppositional tendencies through the process of individuating as an adolescent: ‘the physical separateness from the parent or the polarization with the past… often represent the only means by which the adolescent can maintain his psychological integrity during some critical stages of the individuation process,’4 wherein ‘such epiphenomena…always stand in opposition to the established order’.5 the important distinction between opposition in a regular child and adolescent opposition is that the diagnosis for odd can only be met if the defiance is extreme and occurs without deviance for at least six months. cd is a diagnosis that many psychologists associate with an escalation of odd. theorized developmental pathways attempt to describe the development from odd to cd as a natural progression of the underlying mental disorder (odd) to a more serious stage (cd). the main characteristics of cd feature a series of persistent behaviors “in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated.”6 the impact on families, communities, and peers is generally more serious and wide-reaching compared to the symptoms observed in odd, which are generally limited to the interactions between the mentally disordered individual and authority figures. 66 elements : : fall 2012 symptoms of cd include descriptors of aggression towards people and animals. 7 an individual with cd may terrorize those in his environment. the affected individual may feel it is acceptable to engage in physical fights. someone with cd may even steal from his or her victim, or force them into sexual activity. compared to simply being argumentative (a symptom of odd), these violent and confrontational displays of conduct-disordered aggression are more serious. cruelty extends beyond the human realm, as those with cd may harm animals without remorse. an individual with cd may also partake in destruction of property. with humans, animals, and property as potential targets for destruction, cd symptoms are clearly more generalized and far-reaching in scope than the symptoms of odd. cd symptoms can be either overt (as discussed above) or covert. covert symptoms include “concealed behaviors such as lying, stealing, and drug abuse.”8 gender differences may be important in determining whether overt or covert aggressive symptamotology is displayed for conduct disorders. due to gender socialization, girls are relationally more socially aggressive, whereas boys are more physically aggressive. some psychologists claim that cd-affected girls experience a period of greater irritability before displaying aggression than boys, as “an accumulation of inhibited angry cognitions and emotions fuels a reservoir of angry emotions” before the behavior is externalized.9 this phase of irritability is supported by a national representative sample of girls studied: “the majority of recurrently angry girls (88.8%) had gone through an earlier phase of highly irritable behavior.”10 therefore, though boys may act more quickly on their aggression, girls are both more covert and experience greater periods of irritability before performing aggressive acts. when considering gender differences, cd is more commonly associated with boys than with girls. according to one study, “boys have consistently been reported to be at greater risk of cd.”11 statistics quantify the nature of the gender differences: “in a large, community-based sample, the rate of cd in girls was below 1% in childhood and ranged from 1.4–3.3% … whereas for boys the rate ranged … 3.2–5.4%.”12 confirming this statistical trend, another study conducted through the institute of psychiatry at king’s college in london finds “a sex ratio of only 1.5:1 for adolescence-onset delinquency” between males and females.13 therefore, while rates are similar across genders, males do comprise a slightly higher percentage of those affected with cd. in order to satisfy a diagnosis of cd, according to the dms-iv, only three of the above symptoms and behaviors need to be observed over time in the individual. given the aforementioned symptoms, it is easy to understand how sufferers may experience “negative life events” such as “removal from the home, being held back in school, being disliked by peers [as] consequences of disruptive behavior.”14 in a typical school setting, for example, an individual with cd may be the school bully who threatens and intimidates classmates through physical confrontation. apd has more serious symptoms than both odd and cd. the dsm-iv notes the distinction in severity by the way the three behavior disorders are classified. odd and cd are axis i disorders in the dmv-iv, meaning they are clinical in nature, whereas adp is axis ii.15 the axis classifications in the dsm-iv shows that adp affects a person’s personality in more serious, pervasive, and fundamental ways. the specific symptoms for apd are outlined in the dsmiv, and include a routine and repetitive pattern of “disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age fifteen years.”16 a disregard for others can manifest itself as a failure to follow social norms and lawful behavior, leading to repeated acts that are “grounds for arrest.”17 it can be pleasurable for those with apd to be deceitful towards others. impulsivity, recklessness, irresponsibility, and a general disregard for safety are important diagnostic cues for apd. especially destructive symptoms include aggresion combined with a lack of remorse. without guilt or a conscious sense of wrongdoing, aggressive actions can be performed with a sense of inner ease. ted bundy, the american serial killer who was sentenced to the death penalty for methodically killing over 30 people, is an example of a person with apd. in an interview, bundy references his lack of guilt as an advantage in exe67 diagnosing personality cuting his murders, stating, “guilt doesn’t solve anything, really…i am in the enviable position of not having to deal with guilt.”17 statements such as this exemplify the lack of remorse that is common to sufferers of apd. according to the dsm-iv, apd is found in 3% of males and 1% of females, with eighteen years of age being the minimum permitted age to diagnose apd.18 it is rare that adolescents would be diagnosed under age twenty-one for a personality disorder. usually, it is held that there is risk in assigning a personality disorder to a person below the age of twenty-one, “given the malleability of personality during development and the heterogeneity of antisocial youth.”19 however, the model of progression from odd/ cd to apd allows for a preliminary diagnosis to be made even at age eighteen. this is due to the predictive behaviors of these illnesses. for instance, it can be seen that a criterion for apd diagnosis necessitates “evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age fifteen years.”20 the discussion of apd symptomology would not be complete without addressing criticism of the dsm-iv’s criteria for the disorder. the symptoms described for adp in the dsm-iv “focus on antisocial behaviors rather than personality traits central to traditional conceptions of psychopathy and to international criteria.”21 therefore, while the dsm-iv emphasizes behavioral traits, the inclusion of more personal character traits could more accurately represent how apd sufferers feel. for instance, an underemphasized character trait in the dsm-iv diagnosis criteria for apd is callousness and a lack of empathy. while symptoms outlining “recklessness” and “disregard for safety” may suggest these character traits, they are not entirely as explicit.22 the inclusion of these character traits may enhance the criteria’s representative accuracy in the dsmiv’s evaluation of adp. role of aggression increasingly severe symptoms of pathological aggression have so far been described, from odd to cd to adp. a series of neurological research studies suggest a reason for this phenomenon. biological factors specific to conduct-disordered youths may affect the expression of aggression in odd, cd, and adp symptomatologies. as seen in studies of animal behavior, altering chemistries of specific regions of the brain can have direct consequences on how aggression is enhanced.23 research of animal models show that altering sensory cues can lower or raise aggression behavior. for example, “in the rat, removal of the olfactory bulbs can induce predatory aggression.”24 changes in sensory modalities and alterations in brain functioning can be biological triggers for aggression. this finding applies to individuals with disruptive behavior disorders, as the altered modalities in the brain may, in fact, be strong contributors to the expression of pathological aggression. specific findings regarding the relationship between brain chemistry and aggression levels were uncovered in an expansive study involving passive avoidance tasks. passive avoidance tasks are those in which participants learn to respond to stimuli that reward. conversely, participants in these tasks learn to refrain from stimuli that punish. in the process of conducting the passive avoidance tasks with conduct-disordered youths (and control groups), the participants had brain activity measured across regions such as “[the] amygdala, caudate, insula, and a network of regions implicated in attention processes, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex.”25 through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fmri), it was found that in each of these regions “youths with a behavior disorder…showed significantly less activation than the comparison subjects.”26 disrupted functioning of these specific brain regions has far-reaching implications in terms of aggression. it is believed that the amygdala is central to the creation of “stimulus-reinforcement associations,” which inform a 68 elements : : fall 2012 “guilt doesn’t solve anything, really…i am in the enviable position of not having to deal with guilt.” person which stimuli are preferable or not preferable.27 as individuals with conduct disorders demonstrate “a deficient capability to learn to avoid the stimuli that predict punishment,”28 this finding suggests that there is a “functional neural basis for why such youths are more likely to repeat disadvantageous decisions.”29 without being able to perceive punishment, conduct-disordered youth have difficulty understanding the consequences of aggressive impulses. with deficient decision-making neural processes, the sufferer will therefore engage in aggression more readily and freely. other studies also demonstrate how neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and neuroendocrinology can affect aggressive factors by enhancing aggression in disruptive behavior disorders. fundamental psychological studies have shown that chemical predispositions for aggression are “high testosterone, high mao-a, and low serotonin.”30 mao-a is a biological predisposition for aggression that deserves emphasis. mao-a (monoamine oxidase a), known as the warrior gene, is an enzyme found in humans that is created by the mao-a gene. dysfunctional mao-a in mice has been positively correlated with socially disruptive behavior such as increased isolation and increased aggression.31 in humans, recent studies have found statistically significant trends of people with low mao-a activity being a “significant risk factor” for aggressive and antisocial behavior, especially for those individuals with low mao-a who were abused in their childhood.32 further, studies involving animals suggest, “multiple neurotransmitter systems are involved in the modulation of aggressive behavior…[including] serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, acetylocholine.”33 specifically, 5hiaa (5-hydroxy indoleacetic acid, a cerebrospinal fluid measuring central serotonin) has been found through studies to be important to the expression of aggressive behavior in conduct-disordered adolescents, where the “measure of metabolite 5hiaa…was [at] a lower level in aggressive [conduct-disordered juveniles], particularly impulsively aggressive…conduct-disordered juveniles.”34 the findings of such biological studies state that the altered brain chemistry dampens the person’s ability to perceive negative consequences. simultaneously, the person experiences reduced control over aggressive tendencies. the combination of “deficits in self-control, lack of reflection and/or insensitivity to consequences can lead to unproved and disproportionate acts of physical aggression.”35 while biological factors enable aggression, the specific types of aggression actually enacted by odd, cd, and apd suffers are classified in a unique category of pathology. the specific types of aggression seen in children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders (odd, cd, apd) are “pathological forms of aggression.”36 pathological aggression is maladaptive “in that it is triggered by minimal or non-apparent stimulation, utilizes an inappropriate excess of force, and is expressed at inappropriate targets.”37 forms of pathological aggression “exceed the species-normative patterns [of aggression], often leading to intense harm and injury.”38 pathological aggression encompasses both overt and covert behavior. symptoms of conduct disorders can be cited as pathologically aggressive; animal cruelty is clearly aggression placed on inappropriate targets, while the reckless harm of others is a pathological excess of force. because sufferers of apd do not have an accurate understanding of the relationships between self and others, there is a greater chance for aggression to be directed at inappropriate and undeserving targets. 69 diagnosing personality “other studies also demonstrate how neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and neuroendocrinology can affect aggressive factors by enhancing aggression in disruptive behavior disorders.” for further insight onto the role of aggression in conduct disorders, one may consider conduct-disordered youths involved in cases of parental battering in which a child physically attacks a parent. parental battering refers to “physically abused parents,” who are regularly threatened, degraded, insulted, and physically attacked “by their children.”39 while this behavior is not common—and mainly based on case reports by psychologists—it represents a form of pathological aggression perpetrated by youth with conduct disorders and/or antisocial personality disorder.40 one psychologist comments that, “youths are reported to push their parents’ bodies around like inanimate objects.”41 another describes a patient with a gambling compulsion who, while demanding large sums of money, “threatened and beat his father and mother almost daily … [and] during the beating, the son sometimes fell asleep, woke up, and continued the beating.”42 for this to occur, the parent(s) must be helpless to prevent the attacks. out of the reported cases of parental battering, a high percentage of aggressors were conduct-disordered adolescents: parental battering is often associated with the adolescent’s habituated pattern of violence…[on] a continued, progressive course…[a] high percentage of patients have displayed antisocial personality patterns.43 to further define the phenomenon, it must be noted that the violence against parents is different from “occasional aggressive outbursts against the parents commonly seen as an expression of the transient adolescent turmoil and separation conflict.”44 instead, the parent (usually the mother) becomes “a permanent victim of habitual violence by a child.”45 factors such as “educational deficiencies in parents…lack of identifiable rules, lack of value orientations…lack of a positive father figure…physical weakness” in the parentchild interaction may be important for allowing conductdisordered youths to engage in parental battering.46 having clear household rules, a father figure, and physically strong parents are important for providing order, security, and safety at home; these factors have the power to stop or correct disorderly behavior. the absence of these factors of security allows a conduct-disordered youth to more freely express uncontrolled aggression. biologically, the weakness of the parent may even “escalate the perpetrator’s savagery”; when predatory animals hunt prey, aggression rapidly escalates as the predator senses its prey’s weakness and mounting “terror.”47 the expressions of aggression exhibited by conduct-disordered youths can manifest in many different forms and across many different dimensions. the full scope of the pathological aggression of which these youths are capable is truly expansive. surveying the destructive behaviors found in cases of parental battering, one can easily identify the basic elements of pathological aggression: there is an excess of force (insults and physical attack) against inappropriate targets (caregivers). further, the nature of the violence suggests there is no clear stimulus that rationally explains the aggressive actions, as “aggressive acts are ill defined and are experienced as involuntary abreactions of inner tensions.”48 one can understand the role of callous and remorseless antisocial youth in this phenomenon who engage in this aggression. in fact, conduct-disordered youth in these cases are often motivated by “feeling [an] inside emptiness and boredom,” which, in itself, “can trigger a new aggressive impulse.”49 as illustrated through the phenomenon of parental battering, sufferers of odd, cd, and apd are capable of exerting pathological aggression in a multitude of ways. pathological aggression can even take the extreme form of serial killings, as observed in the example of ted bundy. the common elements across all forms of pathological aggression—violence against inappropriate targets, in excessive force, and triggered by non-apparent stimulation—shed insight into the minds of odd, cd, and apd sufferers. thus, the role of pathological aggression is central to understanding the nature of these destructive externalizing behaviors. developmental pathways 70 elements : : fall 2012 due in part to the symptomatic similarities of odd, cd, and apd, it has been argued that there are strong links— progressive developmental pathways—between these disorders. even the dsm–iv organizes disruptive behavior disorders “as if they reflect age-dependent expressions of the same underlying disorder.”50 the progressive developmental pathways are the subject of current scientific research and study. pathways are often referred to as the average time periods occurring between two behavior problems.51 more specifically, a developmental pathway is defined as “the orderly behavioral development between more than two problem behaviors.”52 the pathways from odd to cd to apd are classified into three groups with three to four stages each. these pathways structure symptoms from “innocuous to very serious,” as dictated by an escalation model.53 an escalation model attempts to describe the intensifying stages involved in the transformation from odd to cd to apd. one of the three possible developmental pathways, according to this escalation model, is called the authority conflict pathway.54 the first symptom in this pathway is stubbornness toward authorities, beginning before age twelve. as time progresses, the second stage in this pathway is referred to as the defiance/disobedience stage, which is marked by more intense reactions against authority figures such as ignoring all set rules and boundaries without fear of consequence. ultimately, an individual following this pathway may reach the “authority avoidance” phase. this phase represents the sufferer’s most extreme behaviors against authority figures. common phenomena include “truancy, running away from home, and staying out late at night.”55 the second pathway described is the covert pathway, which begins at age fifteen. the first stage along the covert pathway is characterized by “minor covert acts (shoplifting and frequent lying).” over time, an individual may advance to the second stage of this pathway: the “property damage” stage, which is hallmarked by vandalism and sometimes arson. the third stage an individual reaches through this pathway is referred to as “moderate delinquency.” at this level, a person feels comfortable committing fraud without remorse or guilt. the covert pathway includes a fourth stage, “serious delinquency,” which encompasses behaviors of the most serious types of covert aggression (such as auto theft and burglary). the third pathway is the overt pathway. it is characterized by physically aggressive behaviors, beginning with “minor aggression,” and escalating to more dramatic behaviors with each stage. the second stage includes “physical fighting.” violence in the third stage is severe, encompassing “rape, attack, [and] strong arm.”56, 57 by understanding the pathways described, the relationship between odd and cd can be better understood. research shows that “comorbidity between cd and odd in childhood is undoubtedly strong. in clinical samples, rates of odd in cases of cd have been reported to be as high as 96%.”58 however, these clinical samples are certainly higher than other samples, as “in general population samples…60% of cd cases typically meet full criteria for odd.”59 in a larger study, participants would be more diverse. the difference between the clinical study and the general population study emphasizes an important question that is currently the subject of study: what is the chance that a person with odd will then develop cd and/ or apd? the difference in comorbidity rates found between studies (as seen in the difference between the clinical and general studies referenced) suggests that pathways 71 diagnosing personality “research shows that ‘comorbidity between cd and odd in childhood is undoubtedly strong. in clinical samples, rates of odd in cases of cd have been reported to be as high as 96%.’” are not entirely “deterministic (i.e., stipulate that a given individual will become violent later in life).”60 in other words, not all odd patients will develop cd or apd later in life. according to several clinical and general population samples, “age trends…suggest that rates of cd diagnoses are low in childhood but rise steeply from late childhood/the early teens, whereas rates of odd are relatively stable from early childhood to adolescence.”61 the distinct temporal difference between odd and cd seems to support the idea that developmental pathways follow an “orderly behavioral development,” linking cd development to prior odd diagnosis.62 the similarity of the symptoms and behaviors in the two disorders are often referenced as an explanation for the progression from odd to cd. at this point, onset of cd is often predicted: “higher odd symptoms predict an increase in cd symptoms in the following year.”63 however, it must be emphasized that despite strong associations of those with cd tracing their pathology originally from odd, the majority of the odd population will not progress to cd or apd. in fact, recent evidence suggests that a link between odd and cd may be less pronounced than once believed, and “quite limited…offer[ing] only mixed support for a developmental relationship.”64 within the past few decades, a series of studies have been designed to “identify characteristics of children with odd who do and do not go on to develop cd.”65 while the dsm-iv suggests that “when cd is present, odd may be presumed to be present (apa, 1994)…studies based on community samples report higher proportions of youth with cd who do not have a history of odd.”66 therefore, this research suggests that “a developmental sequence from odd to cd is pertinent only for a portion of cases of cd.”67 these findings doubt the presence of the developmental pathways from odd to cd. therefore, further research must, be conducted to assess the nature of the links between odd to cd. regarding the cd to apd pathways, symptoms of cd have been strongly and directly tied to the development of apd. the pathways from cd to apd are more widely accepted, researched, and verified in the scientific community than the pathways from odd to cd. according to an extensive number of studies conducted on samples of children and adolescents, “predictive studies have tended to support the … developmental sequence: cd is a strong predictor of apd.”68 one factor that is important to consider is the age of onset. according to a large clinical study, involving “6,674 observations collected between age 9–16…[and] collected at ages 19 and twenty-one years,”70 youth with cd “had significantly higher levels of apd symptoms than youth with no history of cd/odd.”71 therefore, the model of progression is reliable and predictive for developments of cd to apd. in conclusion, this research has sought to define the symtomologies of odd, cd, and apd. while each disorder is characterized by socially undesirable behavior (such as pathological aggression), the severity and scope of symptoms increases dramatically from odd to cd to apd. while a sufferer of odd may be resistant and stubborn toward authority figures, a sufferer of cd may feel comfortable defrauding people, destroying property, and harming animals. a sufferer of apd may feel no remorse or guilt engaging in physical confrontation (including pushing, strong arming, and rape) to satisfy aggressive impulses. the nature and type of aggression involved with these three disorders—pathological aggression—provides a greater understanding of the symptoms. the biological basis for this aggression involves altered brain chemistry (such as a reduced ability to process punishment), and this factor enables a cd sufferer to act on aggressive impulses without remorse. at the same time, a combination of environmental factors (such as the lack of a father figure and household rules) may also contribute to a conduct-disordered youth’s expression of anger and destructive impulsivity. as observed in the situation of parental battering, the absence of the societal forces of security, constraint, and order (e.g., lack of rules) may encourage the conductdisordered youth to more freely express their destructive impulses without the fear of restraint or being stopped. finally, the developmental pathways between odd, cd, and apd provide insight on the nature of hierarchical progression across the pathologies. while the link from odd to cd has been both supported and doubted by different researchers in the psychological field (necessitating more 72 elements : : fall 2012 research to be conducted on the topic), the progression from severe cd to apd has been increasingly accepted as a fundamentally linked phenomenon. endnotes 1. o’laughlin (248) 2. ibid. 3. blos (6) 4. blos (7) 5. rowe (726) 6. dsm-iv 7. schwartzberg (135) 8. loeber, rolf, and jeffrey d. burke (40) 9. loeber (40) 10. rowe (726-727) 11. keenan (689) 12. moffitt (355) 13. loeber (41) 14. dsm-iv 15 ibid. 16. michaud & aynesworth(281) 17. dsm-iv 18. mcmahon, kotler, and witkiewitz (753-754) 19. dsm-iv 20. hare (391) 21. dsm-iv 22. schwartzberg (113) 23. ibid. 24. finger (153-158) 25. ibid. 26. finger (153-156) 27. ibid. 28. finger (152-153) 29. nell (215) 30. vishnivetskaya (1-6) 31. frazzetto (1), ferrari (267) 32. schwartzberg (114) 33. schwartzberg (115), ferrari (265) 34. lemmens (39) 35. ferrari (259) 36. schwartzberg (134) 37. ferrari (260) 38. charles (343) 39. charles (343-355) 40. winnicott 41. schwartzberg (127) 42. schwartzberg (107) 43. schwartzberg (127) 44. schwartzberg (124) 45. schwartzberg (125) 46. nell (220) 47. schwartzberg (130) 48. ibid. 49. rowe (726-7) 50. loeber (37) 51. loeber (34) 52. ibid. 53. loeber (38) 54. loeber (34) 55. ibid. 56. loeber (41) 57. rowe (726-7) 58. ibid. 59. 34 loeber. 60. rowe (727-7) 61. 34 loeber. 62. 36 loeber. 63. 726 rowe. 64. rowe. (272-9 65. ibid. 66. loeber (37) 67. loeber (39) 68. rowe (729) references blos, peter. “the second individuation process of adolescence.” the psychoanalytic study of the child, vol. xxii, ny: int’l universities press. charles, a.v. “physically abused parents.” journal of family violence (1986) 1:343-55. dsm-iv. online excerpts at <http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm. html> accessed 10 april 2011. ferrari, pier francesco, paola palanza, stefano parmigiani, rosa m.m. de almeida, and kalus a. miczek. “serotonin and aggressive behavior in rodents and nonhuman primates: predispositions and plasticity.” european journal of pharmacology. vol. 526, issues 1-3, pages 259-273. finger, elizabeth c., et al. “disrupted reinforcement signaling in the orbitofrontal cortex and caudate in youths with conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder and a high level of psychopathic traits.” american journal of psychiatry 168.2 (2011): 152+. academic onefile. web. 12 apr. 2011. pages 153-158. frazzetto g, di lorenzo g, carola v, et al. (2007). baune, bernhard. ed. “early trauma and increased risk for physical aggression during adulthood: the moderating role of maoa genotype”. plos one 2 (5): e486. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000486. pmc 1872046. pmid 17534436. 73 diagnosing personality hare, robert d. “psychopathy and the dsm-iv criteria for antisocial personality.” journal of abnormal psychology (1991) by the american psychological association august 1991 vol. 100, no. 3, 391-398. keenan, kate, et al. “age of onset, symptom threshold, and expansion of the nosology of conduct disorder for girls.” journal of abnormal psychology 119.4 (2010): 689+. academic onefile. web. 12 apr. 2011. lemmens, jeroen s., jochen peter, and patti m. valkenburg. “the effects of pathological gaming on aggressive behavior.” journal of youth and adolescence. 40.1 (jan. 2011) pages 38-40. loeber, rolf, and jeffrey d. burke. “developmental pathways in juvenile externalizing and internalizing problems.” journal of research on adolescence 21 (2011): 34+. academic onefile. web. 12 apr. 2011. mcmahon, robert j., julie s. kotler, and katie witkiewitz. “predictive validity of callous-unemotional traits measured in early adolescence with respect to multiple antisocial outcomes.” journal of abnormal psychology 119.4 (2010): 752+. academic onefile. web. 12 apr. 2011. michaud, stephen and hugh aynesworth. ted bundy: conversations with a killer. new york: signet. isbn 978-0-451-16355-4. transcripts of the authors’ death row interviews with bundy. october 1989. moffitt, terrie e. and avshalom caspi. “childhood predictors differentiate life-course persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways among males and females.” development and psychopathology, 2001, vol. 13 , 355-375. nell, victor. “cruelty’s rewards: the gratification of perpetrators and spectators.” behavioral and brain sciences, vol. 29, issue 3. june 2006. 211-224. o’laughlin, elizabeth m., jessica l. hackenberg, and maria m. riccardi. “clinical usefulness of the oppositional defiant disorder rating scale (oddrs).” journal of emotional and behavioral disorders 18.4 (2010): 247-255. academic onefile. web. 12 apr. 2011. rowe, richard, et al. “developmental pathways in oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.” journal of abnormal psychology 119.4 (2010): 726+. academic onefile. web. 12 apr. 2011. schwartzberg, allan z. the adolescent in turmoil. west port, ct: praeger publishers, 1998. vishnivetskaya gb, skrinskaya ja, seif i, popova nk (2007). “effect of mao a deficiency on different kinds of aggression and social investigation in mice”. aggress behav 33 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1002/ab.20161. pmid 17441000. winnicott, d. w. “transitional objects and transitional phenomena.” through peadiatrics to psycho-analysis. london: tavistock, 1958. 74 elements : : fall 2012 how does one make sense of the hiatus irrationalis, the gap between nature’s inherent irrationality and rational human concept-formation? this article examines epistemological solutions that attempt to resolve this logical riddle. the failures of platonic conceptual realism and the epistemological realism of the empirical psychologists are analyzed before the work of neo-kantian philosopher heinrich rickert is approached. rickert’s thesis that empirical reality is a heterogeneous continuum and his resulting epistemology of the natural and historical sciences are evaluated to show both the extent and the limit of his work. rickert’s hiatus irrationalis an epistemological approach to empirical reality sam kent heinrich rickert, a prominent neo-kantian thinker, wrote fiercely against the popular rise of german positivism. his significant contributions to this discussion have been largely overlooked in contemporary circles. indeed, only two of his books have been translated into english, and a mere handful of secondary sources exist on the subject, yet rickert’s philosophic discourse remains utterly relevant to this day. his work eventually led him to the elusive puzzle of empirical reality: most concisely, how does one scientifically approach the inherent irrationality, or the hiatus irrationalis, of reality? this article will examine formal solutions to this logical riddle. to preface the discussion, rickert’s conception of empirical reality and the necessity of methodology will be considered. then the formal failures of platonic conceptual realism and the epistemological realism of the empirical psychologists will be analyzed before examining the methodologies of the natural science and historical science as argued by rickert. it should be noted that this article is not interested in rickert’s ontological development of nature and culture, but rather the epistemological implications of his works. undeniably, this is a difficult distinction to make since his work emphasizes both formal and material principles of classification. yet, by limiting the field of examination, an in-depth comparative review of methodologies becomes possible. rickert’s central thesis is that empirical reality is a heterogeneous continuum.1 reality here is conceived as a phenomenological entity that is “first and foremost the experienced reality of everyday life.”2 this is to say that there is an intuitive apprehension of the perceived, which is reality. there are three critical aspects that must be understood to appreciate rickert’s definition: reality’s heterogeneity, continuity, and irrationality. reality is composed of a spatiotemporal uniqueness that is non-repeatable, creating a qualitative individuality that is encompassed in the theorem of the heterogeneity of everything real. this individuality is not restricted by any temporal or spatial limits; it is endless, unendlich, and without limits, unübersehbar.3 this extensive complexity complicates cognition, as foundational limits are lacking. additionally, reality is defined by an intensive complexity of its immeasurable manifold; that is, there exists a qualitative infinity that lacks a criterion to determine the most fundamental element.4 as rickert relates, “even the ‘smallest’ part contains more than any mortal man has the power to describe.”5 this presents another cognitive difficulty, as human faculty proves insufficient to comprehend the complexities of any examined unit. furthermore, there is a second characteristic to consider: empirical reality is a “continuum of gradual transitions.”6 this stands in tension with its heterogeneous characteristic, as qualitative individuality seemingly excludes a universal continuity. the continuity is an acknowledgement that reality is a flux, that “nature makes no leaps.”7 this is encompassed in rickert’s theorem of the continuity of everything real. finally, reality is irrational. this is a function of the intuitive unity of the heterogeneous continuum—the combination of reality’s first two characteristics. its “continuous differentiation” is implicitly understood as being “irreducible to concepts,” since the heterogeneous individuality and the general continuity appear to mutually refute each other.8 as such, a hiatus irrationalis arises between concept and reality. this cognitive dissonance between concept and reality requires methodology to be approached. rickert believes that the riddle of reality can only be analyzed epistemologically or formally, not ontologically or substantively. an ontological approach where “there is nothing that could be exempted as a matter of principle from an investigation” permits only one valid empirical heinrich rickert, a prominent neo-kantian 76 elements : : fall 2012 science, “since there is only one empirical reality.”9 this fails to account for the unified dual characteristics of reality—heterogeneity and continuity—which refute conceptualization. without conceptualization, there is no orientation of the self in the complexity of reality.10 it should be noted that according to rickert’s lexicon, methodology should not be understood in its contemporary sense, as an ensemble of research techniques, but rather as a theory of the concepts essential to the constitution of these sciences.11 the task of methodology is to make an explicit formal criterion necessary for meaningful conceptual abstractions. the formal construct allows for a “principle of selection” to distill the essential from the unessential, which cannot be otherwise intuitively grasped, in order to provide a priori judgments about delimiting subject-matter.12 doing so produces a coherent unity that facilitates agent orientation in the otherwise irrational reality. platonic conceptual realism is the first methodological attempt to resolve the riddle of reality. this approach incorrectly assumes concepts or ideas as exclusively essential, necessarily negating the other aspect of the hiatus irrationalis—reality—as unessential. in a rejection of the phenomenological world of senses, particularities, which would be associated with the heterogeneity of reality for rickert, are seen as mere “representations or copies of the generic, archetypal ideas.”13 this effectively provides an objective foundation for natural sciences in a transcendent universal realm.14 yet, there are three logical problems. first, in avoiding the hiatus irrationalis by neglecting reality, conceptual realism loses relevance to empirical experience. second, by reorienting epistemology towards conceptual realism, another formal problem arises in that the transcendental and its relation to the copy or the particular cannot be directly established.15 third, assuming conceptual realism as a premise leads to an antinomy: cognition as a particular is a passive copy; yet, it is a sine qua non that cognition is an active agent that “reconstructs the data of immediate experience by means of concepts” since “this is the only activity directly accessible to us that could possibly bring into being the desiderated copy of transcendental reality.”16 these considerations indicate that conceptual realism is not a viable epistemological foundation for a scientific approach to empirical reality. the epistemological realism of the empirical psychologists assumes a monistic methodology that ultimately proves unfit to process the heterogeneous continuum. at its foundation is the copy of reality thesis, which assumes the entirety of the empirical reality as essential and attempts to duplicate it. while conceptual realism rejects reality in favor of concept, epistemological realism forces concepts to replicate reality. this appears to effectively dissolve the tension of the hiatus irrationalis as well as to accept both reality’s heterogeneity and continuity. yet, it is the “wrong idea that the task of knowledge is to provide a complete reproduction of empirical reality.”17 there are two reasons why epistemology should not be founded on the copy of reality thesis. first, assuming all of reality as essential proves methodologically unachievable. abbildlogik, or the logic of reproduction, proves ungrounded because “our mind is far too limited to encompass, store up and grasp the intensive and extensive complexity of the heterogeneous continuum in its totality.”18 indeed, reality’s inexhaustibility vis-à-vis the human finite faculty causes the very need for mental orientation that is provided through the sciences. second, its concept-formation logic of duplication leads to a reductio ad absurdum. as rickert notes, “a mirror would ‘cognize’ best, and a model colored with perfect fidelity would come closest to the ‘truth,’ at least with regard to the visible aspect of things.” according to this line of thought, a conceptual duplication is worthless for two reasons: (a) a conceptual copy of reality is redundant as the original is phenomenologically available; and (b) the intrinsic irrationality is reproduced when empirical reality is duplicated, thus requiring an77 rickert’s hiatus irrationalis “without conceptualization, there is no orientation of the self in the complexity of reality.” other methodology to comprehend the reproduced copy. as a result, “where epistemology is dominated by the copy theory of knowledge or the ideal of pure description, the only consequence must be absolute skepticism,” as cognition is left disoriented.20 in short, this epistemological foundation fails to properly interpret empirical reality. it appears that formal considerations dismiss the utility of epistemological realism. rickert saw great epistemological potential in the question of reality. intriguingly, he assumed the hiatus irrationalis as a premise rather than an obstacle, as was normally the case. following in the tradition of windelband’s nomothetic-idiographic categorization, rickert proposed his own formal division according to the logic of generalization and individualization.21 this allowed for the two characteristics of empirical reality—heterogeneity and continuity—to be dealt with separately, thus avoiding the hiatus irrationalis without having to resolve it.22 irrationality and infinite complexity only become rationally accessible after empirical reality has been conceptually distorted.23 the distortion, as specified by rickert, requires transforming “the heterogeneous continuum in everything real into a homogeneous continuum or into a heterogeneous discretum.”24 the methods of natural science examine the homogeneous continuum, while those of the historical sciences are concerned with the heterogeneous discretum. while they are in praxis related in an intermediate field, these two compatible methodologies are still formally independent. it was immanuel kant who first proposed the stipulated field of the natural sciences according to his formal criterion: reality “as far as it is determined according to universal laws.”25 doing so provided an objective epistemology to ground the natural sciences that avoided the formal contradictions of epistemological realism. however, it also required limiting the field of study from examining the entirety of empirical reality to its general continuity. rickert applied this logic of generalizing in order to formally structure his methodology of the natural sciences, which is reflected in its organization, concept-formation, criteria of validity, and principle of selection. the methodology of the natural sciences organizes its subject-matter according to general classes, or genera, which subsume particular physical or psychic phenomena, or specimens, according to “unconditionally general propositions,” or laws.26 these conceptual laws are governed by the logic of generalizing, which holds what is generally representative as true. to reiterate, law’s validity corresponds to the degree of spatiotemporal generalization.27 this is “not because they reproduce reality as it actually exists but because they represent what holds validly for reality.”28 the formal structure is realized in concept-forming practices in the natural sciences. comparative and isolative abstractions examine a plurality or singularity of cases, respectively, in order to make general statements about members of the relevant class. these statements hold equally valid to all in the class, whether the specific cases are observed or not.29 in doing so, it sacrifices the direct intuitive immediacy of the perceptual concreteness of reality (die anschaulichkeit der wirklichkeit).30 that necessarily distorts reality by transforming the heterogeneity of reality into an artificial homogeneity in order to properly immanuel kant, one of the great thinkers in world history 78 elements : : fall 2012 interpret the continuity of reality. this is done according to the a priori selection principle of generalizing laws that determine essentiality for the natural sciences. in short, the essence of the natural sciences is the general; all particularity is disregarded. while effectively neglecting the extensive and intensive infinity of the manifold, the “individuality of the concrete” is lost and all spatiotemporal uniqueness is eliminated.32 here, the methodological limits of the natural sciences become apparent. as rickert argues, [the formal] limits of natural scientific concept formation, and which the natural sciences can never surmount, is nothing but unique empirical realty itself…in its concrete actuality and individuality.33 indeed, by disregarding the empirical perception, individual description is eliminated. still, the mathematical foundation of the natural sciences does make a claim of particularity with its quantitative individuality. however, this individuality proves to be a mere ideal extension that fails to reproduce the quantitative richness of empirical reality.34 this raises concerns about the representational validity of general constructs if quantitative individuality fails to appropriately represent the particularity of reality. the problem can be identified in the founding logic: it is formally argued that validity has an inverse relationship with proximity to reality. this construct falls apart at the extreme. according to this logic, the purely abstract universal quantitative realm holds absolutely valid despite having no reference to the real. here, the logic falls apart in a manner similar to conceptual realism. thus, the formal structure fails to limit the division between concept and reality, effectively exacerbating the hiatus irrationalis. despite this logical weakness, the methodology of the natural science still proves to be an effective tool for representing and interpreting the continuity of reality. the historical sciences provide the second methodology that completes rickert’s epistemological approach to the hiatus irrationalis. revealingly, rickert dedicated a disproportionate amount of time to discussing the methodology of the historical science. he viewed it as the innovation in his philosophic discourse. distinct from the natural sciences, the historical sciences methodology transforms the heterogeneous continuum into a determinable realm of discrete objects according to the formal logic of what anton zijderveld calls “radical individualization.”35 this distortion of empirical reality provides a criterion of what is scientifically interesting by assuming the “spatiotemporally unique and non-repeatable qualities that differentiate [an object] from every other real entity” as essential. yet, as rickert clarifies, these sciences “must abandon the domain of sense perception” similar to the natural sciences. however, he continues, they “still remain dependent on the unique and individual process of the event itself.”36 this has the advantage of addressing the infinite complexity of reality at the expense of the continuity of reality.37 a logical concern arises at this point: what provides the a priori principle of selection that determines essentiality in this methodology? historical concepts are abstracted from the content of knowledge as essential. yet, the historical sciences do not “reproduce the concrete perceptual quality of reality,” but require a positive selection judgment about essentiality according to relevance to values.38 this complicates the formal structure of historical concept-formation. essentiality becomes dependent on the historic ordering principle of values derived from rickert’s ontology of culture. here we encounter our limit: rickert’s material categorization is beyond the scope of this article. it is sufficient to state that objective cultural valuations account for the historical sciences’ principle of selection. the apparent weakness of creating an ontological-dependent epistemology raises other formal concerns of this methodology. rickert himself realizes several potential logical weaknesses in his arguments. first, the necessary “reduction of perceptual reality” in historical concept formation appears to violate qualitative individuality.39 if this is the case, the historical sciences provide a mere descriptive analysis. rickert responds to this charge by insisting, “the immediacy of reality is necessarily destroyed, but the consideration does not alter the legitimacy of this point of departure for a logical investigation.”40 unfortunately, this yields to another problem that rickert also noted: the conceptual individual79 rickert’s hiatus irrationalis ity seems as unreal as the scientific generality.41 indeed, concepts and the language cannot grasp the discrete since they aim at the common or general. thus, instead of relying on empirical intuition, imagination must intuitively recreate the particularity.42 this appears to be a weak foundation on which to ground an epistemology. while avoiding a commentary on his ontological thesis on culture, it is sufficient to say that there is a logical concern about making formal methodology dependent on the subject matter being examined. rickert claims that the copy of reality thesis fails by making methodology a function of material differences yet falls into the same trap. by making the formal structure of the historical sciences a function of value judgments determined by the objects being studied, rather than determining which objects to study, epistemology becomes irrelevant. in conclusion, epistemological approaches to empirical reality have been reviewed. first, rickert’s riddle of reality was explained by examining the hiatus irrationalis of the heterogeneous continuum. next, the necessity of a methodology was discussed. finally, these formal approaches were analyzed. by negating all particularity, platonic conceptual realism was found to be irrelevant, formally constraining due to the indeterminable transcendental, and simply fallacious in its antinomy vis-à-vis cognition. epistemological realism similarly failed to provide an objective epistemological ground for scientific endeavor, as its methodology proved unachievable and logically contradictory. rickert’s two methodological approaches fared better. the natural sciences, organized according to the logic of generalizing, provided a robust framework for the sciences that is formally limited by its quantitative foundation. on the other hand, the historical sciences, governed by the formal principle of individualizing, appeared to provide an effective foundation for the sciences. still, both were found wanting in the end. rickert’s discussion about the hiatus irrationalis of empirical reality continues to have profound epistemological implications for the sciences today. as the modern sciences continue to encounter new and unforeseen obstacles in its pursuit to understand nature and culture, rickert’s work seems to deserve a second chance. endnotes 1. rickert, heinrich, science and history: a critique of positivist epistemology, (princeton: van nostrand, 1962), 34. 2. zijderveld, anton, rickert’s relevance: the ontological nature and epistemological function of values. l(boston: brill, 2006), 229. 3. oakes, guy, weber and rickert: concept formation in the cultural sciences, (cambridge: mit press, 1988), 52. 4. oakes, guy, weber and rickert: concept formation in the cultural sciences, (cambridge: mit press, 1988), 54. 5. rickert, science and history, 32. 6. rickert, science and history., 33. 7. ibid. 8. rickert, science and history, 34; koslowski, peter, methodology of the social sciences, ethics, and economics in the newer historical schools: from max weber and rickert to sombart and rothacker, (new york: spinger, 1997), 67. 9. rickert, science and history, 13. 10. see rickert, science and history, 42 for more about the orienting role of methodology 11. koslowski, methodology of the social sciences, 61. 12. rickert, science and history, 37. 13. rickert science and history, 31. 14. rickert, heinrich, the limits of concept formation in natural science: a logical introduction to the historical sciences, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1986), 44. 15. rickert, science and history, 31 16. ibid. 17. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 42. 18. zijderveld, rickert’s relevance, 237. 19. rickert, science and history, 31-32. 20. rickert, science and history, 34. 21. zijderveld,, rickert’s relevance, 246. 22. rickert, science and history, 44. 23. note that “concepts are forms which mold the matter of reality, putting it into a rational order which is not representation or reproduction of this overwhelmingly complex and always changing realty but, on the contrary, a conscious distortion of it.” zijderveld, rickert’s relevance, 229-230. 24. rickert, science and history, 34. 25. rickert, science and history, 5. 26. rickert, science and history, 40, 43; for more about the the nomological regularity of the concept of a scientific law see oakes, weber and rickert, 62. 27. as rickert clarifies, “the validity of concepts in natural sciences depends on the extent to which they abstract from reality.” rickert, science and history, 72. 28. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 44. 29. see rickert, science and history, 43. 30. oakes, weber and rickert, 68; rickert, science and history, 41. 31. see oakes, weber and rickert, 64. 32. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 45; rickert, science and history, 41. 33. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 80 elements : : fall 2012 40. 34. rickert, science and history, 35. 35. zijderveld,, rickert’s relevance, 256; rickert, science and history, 34. 36. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 52-53. 37. oakes, weber and rickert , 65; ; rickert, science and history, 35; rickert warns that “such an analysis can never comprehend the complete intensive manifold of its perceptual material.” rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 50-52. 38. koslowski, methodology of the social sciences, 67. 39. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 79. 40. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natural science, 53. 41. rickert, the limits of concept formation in natral science, 52. 42. rickert, science and history, 73. references koslowski, peter. methodology of the social sciences, ethics, and economics in the newer historical school: from max weber and rickert to sombart and rothacker. berlin; new york: springer, 1997. oakes, guy. weber and rickert: concept formation in the cultural sciences. cambridge, mass.: mit press, 1988. rickert, heinrich. the limits of concept formation in natural science: a logical introduction to the historical sciences. grenzen der naturwissenschaftlichen begriffsbildung. english. cambridge cambridgeshire; new york: cambridge university press, 1986. rickert, heinrich. science and history; a critique of positivist epistemology. kulturwissenschaft und naturwissenschaft. english. princeton, n.j.: van nostrand, 1962. zijderveld, anton c. rickert’s relevance: the ontological nature and epistemological functions of values. leiden; boston: brill, 2006. 81 rickert’s hiatus irrationalis in the early seventeenth century, the jesuits infiltrated native american society, in what is now the northeastern united states and present day canada, and took hold of the social position formerly occupied by the shamans, or sorcerers. in doing so, the society of jesus took an important step in converting the indigenous peoples of new france to catholicism. this article analyzes the practices used by the shamans and jesuits in defending their respective religions, as well as the tactics employed by the jesuits to achieve the aforementioned coup, and the native peoples’ response. utilizing jesuit paul le jeune’s account of his own interactions with native populations, this article delves into the question of how the jesuits converted the native americans of new france to catholicism, and explores their need to establish superiority in a political and religious setting. jesuits and sorcery the social evolution of the society of jesus in new france anthony uliano in the seventeenth century, the jesuits, a religious order founded in 1534 by ignatius of loyola, ventured to new france to convert the indigenous population to catholicism. in the process of doing so, however, the jesuits had to overcome a major obstacle: the native religion. the embodiment of this religion, the shamans, or native sorcerers, posed a major threat to the jesuits’ attempts at conversion. the priest-like shamans were involved in every facet of native life, conducting healing, religious, and spiritual rituals. additionally, the shamans also treated illnesses, predicted and allegedly controlled the weather, and were capable of causing or curing diseases. this article will discuss how the jesuits infiltrated native society and took hold of the social position formerly occupied by the shamans and indicate why this was such an important step in converting the indigenous peoples of new france to catholicism. this article analyzes the practices and tactics of the shamans and the jesuits in defending each one’s respective religion. the article also analyze some of the tactics employed by the jesuits to achieve the “coup,” with a focus on the jesuit paul le jeune, their effectiveness, the responses of the shamans and natives, how the natives responded, how the jesuits viewed the shamans, and how the shamans viewed the jesuits. the sources also show specific instances of rivalry between jesuits and shamans, again with an emphasis on le jeune, who will serve as the case study.1 these specific examples elucidate how the jesuits viewed the shamans and vice versa by offering some of the native voices in the account. these instances demonstrate the methods used by the jesuits to combat specific techniques employed by the shamans to hinder the jesuits. le jeune was the superior of the jesuits in quebec from 1632-1639. he garnered great respect from his fellow jesuits throughout his lifetime because of this esteemed position, among other qualities.2 le jeune is a valuable example because of the length of time he spent with the natives, specifically the montagnais, and the concerted efforts he made to understand their culture and religion in an attempt to convert them. le jeune reveals many of the inner workings of the montagnais and illustrates how their way of life compared to le jeune’s and the jesuits. the religion of the natives had great influence on the way they conducted their daily lives. supplanting an entire way of life of a population is not an easy task. the shamans especially benefited from this way of life due to their status in society as priests with personal powers. thus, the shamans became the targets of the jesuits. the jesuits took a three-pronged offensive to uprooting the shamans.3 the first attack was the undermining of the whole fabric of native belief that supported the shamans’ influence. the jesuits then challenged the shamans’ authority by attacking or disproving many of their practices. finally, they sought to persuade the entire community that the jesuits’ own religion was more efficacious than the shamans’ “jugglery,” and that they could replace them with little effort.4 in the fall of 1633, paul le jeune was wintering with a group of montagnais and their chief mestigoit. the party included a shaman and the shaman’s brother. in his account of this winter, le jeune gives an example of a jesuit attack on shamanistic practices. le jeune’s aim in accompaul le jeune the superior of the jesuits in quebec from 1632-1639 83 jesuits and sorcery panying the hunting party was to improve his knowledge of the natives’ customs while simultaneously encouraging them to abandon their superstitions and to embrace christianity.5 in one tale, the tribe’s shaman performed a ritual that involved the spirits of light or air, which allegedly granted the juggler the ability to see the future. le jeune wrote, “certain jugglers, who know better than the others how to impose upon and amuse these people” were the ones who performed these rituals among the montagnais.6 this writing serves as evidence that le jeune disapproved of the ritual and the jugglers performing it. the claim that jugglers perform this ritual to “amuse” others reflects le jeune’s feelings about the ritual. le jeune goes on to give his observation of the ritual: he shook the tent at first without violence; then becoming animated little by little, he commenced to whistle, in a hollow tone, and as if it came from afar…disguising his voice so that it seemed to me i heard those puppets which showmen exhibit in france.7 again, le jeune condemns the sorcerer’s practices by comparing the sounds to “puppets” in france. le jeune implies that the ritual is a hoax when he uses the term “animated” to describe the sorcerer’s voice. he also claims that the sorcerer disguised his voice, implying that the sorcerer was inside the tent making noises, and rejecting the possibility that spirits are inside the tent with him. le jeune continues to describe the event in detail: at first, as i have said, he shook this edifice gently; but, as he continued to become more animated, he fell into so violent an ecstasy, that i thought he would break everything to pieces, shaking his house with so much force and violence, that i was astonished at a man having so much strength; for, after he had once begun to shake it, he did not stop until the consultation was over, which lasted about three hours.8 le jeune’s vocabulary and tone indicates a negative opinion of the ritual, while the term “animated” reflects the idea that the shaman is acting in this ritual. also, le jeune calls the natives who believe that there are actually spirits in the tent “barbarians” as opposed to “savages.”9 although these terms have similar connotations, nowhere else in this passage does le jeune address the natives as barbarians. in describing his reaction to the entire event, le jeune reveals many of his views of the natives and sorcerer. le jeune describes his reaction to the event: sometimes i begged them to have pity on this poor juggler, who was killing himself in this tent; at other times i told them they should cry louder, for the genii had gone to sleep.10 le jeune is filled with a mix of emotions here. he feels pity for the juggler, but at other times feels superior to him. in either case, he is implying that the ritual is false and that he is better than the shaman. this is supported by le jeune’s writings when he claims “i could have said as much myself, for one needed not to be a prophet or a sorcerer to guess that, inasmuch as the poor creature was already struck with death.”11 this is in response to the genii’s alleged consultation with the shaman in regards to the status of the shaman’s wife’s health. this passage depicts le jeune clearly undermining the rituals of the native shamans. an example of this undermining by le jeune comes when he calls “these genii” the “juggler who counterfeited them.”12 this unraveling of the fabric of native belief is the first of axtell’s aforementioned three-pronged attack by the jesuits on the shamans. le jeune continues to contest the sorcerer who performed the ritual and resolves to find out more about the genii. after the ritual, le jeune explains that the sorcerer knew that le jeune was trying to expose him and that he “disapproved of his nonsense” and thus, “did not wish to explain anything to me, so that i was compelled to make use of my wits.” le jeune writes that he allowed a few weeks to pass; then, springing this subject upon him, i spoke as if i admired his doctrine, saying to him that it was wrong to refuse me, since to all the 84 elements : : fall 2012 questions which he asked me in regard to our belief, i answered him frankly and without showing any reluctance. the sorcerer, in light of this, reveals to le jeune the “fable” of the genii.13 le jeune’s tactics for trying to supplant the shaman, as well as the shaman’s view of le jeune, are evident in this interaction. when le jeune becomes aware that the shaman knows he is trying to disprove his ritual, he proceeds to underhandedly flatter the shaman so as to bring his guard down before asking him about the ritual again. this deceit is illustrated in le jeune’s writings after he allows a few weeks to pass before speaking to the sorcerer “as if i admired his doctrine.”14 le jeune attempts to flatter the sorcerer here by pretending to respect the sorcerer’s ritual, justifying the sorcerer’s divulgence of his ritual by telling him that it was the right thing to do (to reciprocate knowledge).15 these tactics helped le jeune gain knowledge of the beliefs of the natives, which ultimately helped to prove said beliefs as mere superstitions. greer appears to have been right when he claimed that le jeune impressed the montagnais with his odd beliefs.16 for example, le jeune confronted the “manitou” or the devil, an action considered outlandish by the native people. le jeune recounts: during the night, a woman who had gone out, returned, terribly frightened, crying out that she had heard the manitou, or devil. at once all the camp was in a state of alarm, and every one, filled with fear, maintained a profound silence.17 le jeune then writes that he began to laugh, and rising to my feet, went out of the cabin; and to reassure them i called, in their language, the manitou, crying in a loud voice that i was not afraid, and that he would not dare come where i was. then, having made a few turns in our island, i reentered, and said to them, “do not fear, the devil will not harm you as long as i am with you, for he fears those who believe in god; if you will believe in god, the devil will flee from you.”18 this was due to the fact that le jeune confronted the manitou, which the natives feared, and came out unscathed. he impressed the natives with his audacity and bravery in the face of what the natives perceived as imminent danger. in standing up to the manitou, le jeune garnered the natives’ respect and took one step closer to conversion of the natives. when le jeune’s host returns, he tells le jeune that he “learned the story” and asks, “if he really had no fear of the manitou.” he then thanks le jeune for “giving courage to his people.”19 the fact that his host learned the story implies that the natives were talking about le jeune’s courageous actions. by impressing the natives with his beliefs, le jeune gained recognition throughout the tribe, and according to james axtell, this was important for the jesuits usurping the shamans. axtell says that novelty was a powerful tool in “cutting the links of habit that bound the indian people to their ungodly past” in that it “drew a crowd and got the priests a hearing for their strange ideas.”20 this was half the battle for the conversion of the natives and the supplanting of the shamans in that it led to the next step, which according to axtell was the “self-righteous audacity” of the jesuits. this audacity, “helped the natives to question the legitimacy of their current views and possibly accept the new religion provided by the jesuits.”21 another example of the jesuits’ audacity is found in the jesuit relations when le jeune recounts a 1637 dispute between the sorcerer pigarouich and himself in new france. in this account, makeabichtichiou, the leader of the tribe, 85 jesuits and sorcery “by impressing the natives with his beliefs, le jeune gained recognition throughout the tribe.” claims that he will adopt the customs and beliefs of the jesuits, so pigarouich finds it appropriate to confront le jeune. le jeune writes that the sorcerer was “jealous, as the other so-called captain was” and threatened by le jeune because le jeune had established himself in the tribe as an important figure.22 both le jeune and pigarouich began vying for the trust and approval of the tribe leader, makeabichtichiou. although the leader at this time in native society was usually not an absolute authority, he was almost always listened to and revered by the people. according to axtell, le jeune baited the shaman by ridiculing his practices and accusing him of arguing in “horseand-mule” fashion.23 le jeune recounts the sorcerer’s response to his words in front of the tribe. in le jeune’s account, pigarouich states: there are five things that i will not give up —the love for women, the belief in our dreams, the eat-all feasts, the desire to kill the hiroquois [sic], the belief in sorcerers, and making feasts.24 the montagnais believed in feasts, dreams, warfare, and polygamy while, in accordance with catholicism, the jesuits believe in peace, abstinence, and monogamy. this is important because the jesuits’ goal of conversion relied firmly upon the natives’ acceptance of their doctrines, which, if the natives were to accept, would result in the rejection of the sorcerers’ beliefs. when they realized that they might lose their high status in society, the sorcerers decided to fight back in an attempt to hold the indigenous population’s support. le jeune then confronted the sorcerer and tries to show him the error of his ways. le jeune saaid “you will see every day that they cannot cure any sickness with their drums and other nonsense, if you have any sense you will give up all that.”25 le jeune called the practices of the shaman nonsense and refuted their abilities to heal. in retaliation, pigarouich bet le jeune that his tent would shake violently through his ability to conjure the demons, which produce light.26 le jeune willingly accepted the wager and recounted that at the time when the bet is to take place, the sorcerer had gone to hunt rabbits: his people said among themselves that he was afraid, that he had no courage; some of them were astonished, and wondered at our belief; others said the french were greater sorcerers than they were.27 when pigarouich fled the wager, the seed was planted in the minds of the natives that perhaps their religion was flawed and they should convert. le jeune’s tone may be construed as one of arrogance, given the situation and his willingness to claim that some of the natives now believed that the french were greater sorcerers than they were. in analyzing le jeune’s tone, one must question the validity of this account. did le jeune exaggerate or even fabricate this story in order to cast himself in a better light? this is a question which must be considered given the likelihood that le jeune knew his accounts would be published or even circulated to a large audience of people. he wanted the jesuits’ missions in new france to seem successful, and desired to be worthy of consideration, as there may have been some beneficiaries who would pull funds from the jesuit missions traveling to the new world if the attempt to convert the natives was failing. one of the jesuit’s greatest weapons in combating the shamans was their knowledge of technology. axtell states that perhaps the most persuasive [tactic] was their demonstration of technological skills, which included not only knowledge of contemporary western science and geography, but an impressive range of spiritual techniques for manipulating nature.28 this tactic was in fact extremely persuasive and effective in convincing the natives that the jesuits were more powerful than the shamans because the jesuits were well educated and thus knew many scientific truths that the shamans did not. an example of this is le jeune’s impressing of the natives with the use of magnetism. axstates that the jesuits’ technological expertise confirmed their reputation as men possessed of extraordinary men to be 86 elements : : fall 2012 revered and feared at the same time, as the shamans once were.29 the jesuits made continual use of their extensive knowledge of technology in attempting to disprove and discredit the shamans. axtell continues to reiterate the fact that the jesuits “sought to confirm their reputation as powerful medicine men at every opportunity” and that “the simplest french artifacts made disproportionately large impressions on native audiences.”30 le jeune manipulated his knowledge of science and technology to his benefit in the jesuit relations immediately after pigarouich returned to the village after hunting rabbits. le jeune recounts that: i took a sheet of article, and made them hold it by the four corners; then, having placed upon it some needles, i slowly passed my hand over it, holding between my fingers a little lodestone. the needles, attracted by this stone, went and came, advanced and retreated, according to the movement of my hand. they were astonished at seeing these needles run and turn about, without any one touching them. seeing their amazement, i told the sorcerer that he should do the same; he answered by staring at me, without saying a word. i explained to them that this was a natural phenomenon, that i did not avail myself of the devil, in order to do it, and that it was a wicked thing to use his help; that in france they put sorcerers and magicians to death, when they could be discovered; that the evil spirit never did any one any good; that in the beginning he tried to cover up his malice, but in the end he deceived those who had recourse to him.31 le jeune’s account indicates that the natives were astonished at his manipulation of the needles. this astonishment was due mainly to the ignorance of the natives, but le jeune used their ignorance to his advantage. this interaction put le jeune firmly ahead of pigarouich in the race to acquire elevated status in native society and to occupy the position formerly held by pigarouich. the manner in which le jeune gained said elevated position should be evaluated. it seems that le jeune and the jesuits held out from telling the truth to the natives for the sake of the greater good. axtell accordingly says, “in the opinion of the missionaries, all these things served to gain the natives’ affection,”32 which according to le jeune, served to “render them more docile when we introduce the mysteries of our faith; for the belief they have in our intelligence and capacity causes them to accept without reply what we say to them.”33 the jesuits further used technology to their advantage by establishing “superior intelligence” over the natives. by establishing this superiority, the jesuits hoped the natives would simply adhere to their views based on the fact that the jesuits were smarter than the savages. it is important to question why le jeune would advocate pulling the wool over the natives’ eyes rather than enlightening them in all facets of catholic life—including and especially technology. also, we must question whether the natives really felt affection towards the jesuits and their superior technologies or whether they merely feared or coveted them. if the latter was the case, then many natives, upon learning the secrets of the technology, would undoubtedly have questioned the jesuits’ integrity and the basis of their beliefs. however, the superior and unfamiliar technologies the jesuits owned reinforced the native view that the jesuits could do as much harm as good. this is similar to how the shamans were viewed at the time. thus, the jesuits cleverly employed this tactic and it had a profound impact on their position in relation to their shaman counterparts. 87 jesuits and sorcery “the needles, attracted by this stone, went and came, advanced and retreated, according to the movement of my hand. they were astonished at seeing these needles run and turn about, without any one touching them.” with the shamans unable to explain or produce the technology that the jesuits could, the latter established superiority over the former in the eyes of the indigenous population. according to axtell, “one of the jesuits’ greatest allies in the effort to establish superiority over the shamans were the lethal diseases they inadvertently brought over from europe.”34 in 1637, le jeune recounted to his superior how the sorcerer tonneraouanont “did not succeed in his cures anymore than in his prophecies” and how “therefore, he lost a great deal of his credit, and his whole practice was reduced to a single cabin, in which he himself was sick.”35 the loss of the sorcerer’s credit was based on the jesuit’s ability to triumph over the diseases that were evident in this time. when the sorcerer himself became sick, the other natives inferred that the jesuits were more powerful than he. this is merely one example of how the shamans were helpless in the face of the diseases brought over by the jesuits. it was in this helplessness that the jesuits once again established superiority over the jugglers. axtell notes that “the shamans’ traditional songs, dances, incantations, and gyrations were totally impotent” and “not only could the native physicians not cure their tribesmen, but they often fell victim to the new diseases themselves.”36 the incapacitation and ineffectiveness of the shamans in curing and fighting the ailments brought by the french were a major loss in the battle for superiority amongst the natives. the jesuits, with their immunities, proceeded to nurse and comfort the ailing natives, which also worked in their favor. whenever they could heal someone or alleviate suffering, they would attribute it to god’s grace as opposed to their medicinal knowledge. saint jean de brebeuf speaking to the leaders of a tribe in new france 88 elements : : fall 2012 the jesuit jacques bigot recounts how during the abnaquis mission in 1683, the natives were sick because, “i told them that god, like a good father was chastising them with that disease in order to have them atone for their sins.”37 essentially, bigot tried to convince the sick natives that their ailments were being caused by their sins. their conversion and acceptance of catholicism would help them to get better. this manipulation of current events aided the jesuits in their struggle to supplant the shamans in that the natives, looking at their ailing brethren (including the shamans), justifiably started to believe that accepting catholicism would heal them. since the jesuits were mostly healthy, it made sense for the natives to believe that they, too, would be granted health in exchange for the acceptance of catholicism. with the shamans ailing just as badly as the other natives, the jesuits took a seemingly dominant position in native society that formerly belonged to the sorcerers. the shamans, however, did not concede defeat easily. their last push consisted of blaming the jesuits for the diseases that blighted the villages. in jerome lallemant’s relation while at the mission of tadoussac in 1647, there was a magician who attempted to push away the jesuits by saying that the cause of the sickness was the jesuits. the magician reasons: we are all becoming sick, since we have given up our former customs. the prayers that we offer serve only to make us die; the more we believe, the more we fail in hunting, and the more we are attacked by famine. give up those rosaries and the other marks of a christian which these black robes have given you; cast everything into the fire, if you would escape death.38 in the same relation on the same mission, another sorcerer claims that he consulted the manitou: the manitou declared that the faith and prayer brought death to most of those who embraced it; that the fathers who preached to the savages were deceived, and that one must not be astonished if they deceived those who listened to them...that it was not the god of the believers who governed the earth, especially their countries,— that it was he who ruled the savages; and that they would die much oftener than usual, because they had left him.39 although the jesuits unknowingly brought disease to native society, they made profound efforts to heal the sick. the shamans were correct when they said that the black robes brought the disease. this was not caused by baptism, however, and surely not by the native’s infidelity towards the manitou, or demon. rather, these last two instances appear to be desperate attempts by some of the sorcerers to retain power and create scapegoats of the jesuits. the shamans attributed the disease-ridden population to the departure from the customs which brought the shamans previous power and wealth. clearly, this was a desperate attempt by the shamans, who had endured the battle against the jesuits for almost twenty years, to regain their power and followers. the jesuits and shamans were political rivals during this time period. the subversion of the established native american way of life was needed in order for the jesuits to convert the indigenous persons to catholicism. naturally, the sorcerers who were already in power sought to retain the status quo of native society. the jesuits launched an offensive against the shamans that ranged from initial infiltration and subtle undermining to outright and audacious challenges of native practices. the jesuits used their superior education and knowledge of the world along with the occasional manipulation of certain truths in order to disprove the sorcerer’s beliefs. without the sustained attack on the shamans, the jesuits would have struggled even more to convert the natives. the shamans represented everything that needed to be overcome in order for the tribes to become catholic. the shamans operated in nearly every facet of native life and dictated many of the standard norms. rather than eradicate the position of the shamans, however, the jesuits sought to supplant them and retain a similar position in society. this is due to the fact that the position in the social hierarchy of native life dictated the beliefs of the natives. if the jesuits were able to occupy these positions, then they could in turn dictate the standards of the native americans and would be able to con89 jesuits and sorcery vert more natives than they would have been able to otherwise. footnotes 1. thwaites (6:163) 2. english 3. greer (21) 4. axtell (93) 5. greer (21) 6. thwaites (6:163) 7. thwaites (6:165) 8. thwaites (6:167) 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. thwaites (6:171) 13. ibid. 14. ibid. 15. thwaites (6:173) 16. greer (21) 17. thwaites (7:87) 18. thwaites (7:88) 19. ibid. 20. axtell (94) 21. ibid. 22. thwaites (11:251) 23. axtell (98) 24. thwaites (11:251) 25. thwaites (11:253) 26. thwaites (11:255) 27. thwaites (11:257) 28. axtell (100) 29. ibid. 30. axtell (101) 31. thwaites (11:262) 32. ibid. 33. thwaites (8:113) 34. axtell (96) 35. thwaites (13:213-215) 36. axtell (97) 37. thwaites (63:89) 38. thwaites (31:245) 39. thwaites (31:243) references: axtell, james the invasion within (new york: oxford university press, 1985), 93 english, john ed. dictionary of canadian biography online. (toronto: university of toronto). http://www.biographi. ca/009004119.01e.php?&id_nbr=421&interval=20&&phpsess id=cjr26fs3fs2j0at76eur3vkod7. (apr. 11, 2011) greer, allan the jesuit relations: natives and missionaries in seventeenth-century north america (boston: bedford/st. martin’s, 2000), 21 thwaites, reuben gold, ed. the jesuit relations and allied documents: travels and explorations of the jesuit missionaries in new france, c. 1610-1791 (cleveland: burrows bros., 1896–1901) 6:163 90 elements : : fall 2012 paul boboc is in his second year at boston college; he is a prospective english major, with a minor in international studies. his article was inspired by his dual love of psychology and art. he plans on pursuing a career as a journalist or as a professor. he hopes, in his spare, to write books and screenplays, a result of his love for books and film. scott geron is a junior in the carroll school of management concentrating in accounting, information systems, and entrepreneurship. he currently serves as cfo of ugbc and has designed innovative plans to improve the financial health of student organizations. he has an interest in analytical writing and has also published several pieces in bc’s pre-law journals and newsletters. he is an active host and interviewer for boston college’s television studio, a competitor on the mock trial team, and a drummer in a rock band with several classmates. sam kent is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2013 at boston college and is double majoring in political science and philosophy. as part of the political science honors program, he focuses on social movements and security studies. he also concentrates in early existential philosophy, especially kierkegaardian and nietzschean thought. sam is a member of the alpha sigma nu society and is a dean’s scholar. he was a research assistant for the center for complex operations, a department of defense independent think tank. he studied at the universidad alberto hurtado in chile and has been involved with the emerging leaders program and the hult global case challenge. anna-karina trilleras is a junior at boston college, majoring in psychology and minoring in film studies. raised in easton, massachusetts, she aims to invest much of her college career to studying in the field of psychology, in hopes of understanding the human psyche. an aspiring writer, she plans to write a novel using her knowledge of social and abnormal psychology in order to create relatable, three-dimensional characters that genuinely depict what it means to be an emotional human being. her greatest happiness, however, is when she knows she is making her parents proud. author biographies the author declined to provide a photo. nicholas martis is a member of the class of 2014 and pursuing a double major in physics and philosophy. in addition to being the secretary of the society of physics students, nicholas has also worked at the boston college institute for scientific research since the spring semester of his freshman year. the research in his piece was done under dr. endawoke yizengaw, a senior research physicist at the institute. corey streitwieser is a senior in the college of arts & sciences studying the classics. his senior thesis examines identity formation among early athenian philosophers. the author would like to thank professors eschleman, harris-mccoy, joyner, the mcnair program, his fellow students, and gaelle gourges for all of their support. his article is dedicated to his uncle, david hawes, a fine example of a good man who lived well. narintohn luangrath is a member of the college of arts & sciences class of 2014 and an international studies major with a concentration in political science. narintohn’s research interests surround immigration and immigrant integration policy. most recently, she worked with the irish human rights commission (ihrc) in dublin providing research and policy analysis on human rights issues. narintohn currently works as an undergraduate research fellow for assistant professor jennifer erickson and previously worked as a urf for professor peter skerry. narintohn is the director of bctalks: an undergraduate lecture series, an event modeled after tedtalks and featuring select undergraduate speakers. anthony uliano is a member of the 2013 sesquicentennial class of boston college. he is from long island, new york, and is an economics and history double major and a club soccer player at boston college. list of artwork eeg of dreaming person © southern illinois university/science photo library writing © petro feketa/ istockphoto colin powell © charles haynes/ wikimedia commons you killed my brother libya protest © joel carilley/ istockphoto official photographic portrait of barack obama © pete souza/ wikimedia commons crooped of “the school of athens” ©web gallery of art/ wikimedia commons isocrates, 436 to 338 bc ©ken welsh/*/design pics/ corbis michelangelo’s “the creation of adam” © 1a2b3cy/ wikimedia commons mona lisa © leonardo da vinci/ wikimedia commons madona with child © verocchio/ wikimedia commons italiano: heinrich rickert (1863-1936) © sconosciuto/ wikimedia commons portrait of immanuel kant © steven wynn/istockphoto paul le jeune © livernois artiste/ wikimedia commons 24 25 32 33 34 39 44 57 60 60 76 78 83 illustration of saint jean de brebeuf speaking to indian council © bettmann/corbis 88 is a senior in the college of arts & sciences from st. cloud, minnesota majoring in english with a minor in linguistics. as a graduate of st. john's prep in collegeville, minnesota, this project was literally close to home for her. she would like to thank professor alan richardson for his guidance in cognitive literary theory, without whom she could not have discovered this point of convergence in her studies. this article is dedicated to her late grandmother, mary ann eighan, for her endless love, kindness, and support. p.!, f x c. u ; t " a r • is a member of the class of 2011 in the college of arts & sciences at boston college. he is a double major in political science (honors) and islamic civilizations and societies. he speaks arabic and persian and conducted research for this article at the richard nixon presidential library near his home in southern california. ch ristoph er sh eri dan is pursuing a degree in biochemistry and philosophy in the college of arts & sciences. originally from baltimore, maryland, chris is currently researching the scientific and philosophical implications of biological theories of consciousness and is a founding member of lecture threads, a project to integrate knowledge across disciplines through the use of novel media technology. chris would like to thank professor richard cobb-stevens for his advice in writing this article and wishes h i m happiness in retirement. kitsy s m i t h hails from atlanta, georgia and is a senior in the college of arts & sciences. double-majoring in international studies and french, kitsy wrote this article for her governing globalization course while studying abroad at sciences po in paris. she is currently writing her thesis on international education exchange. kitsy also sings with the university chorale and works as a research assistant at the boisi center for religion and american public life. is a junior in the college of arts & sciences majoring in philosophy and theology. his research interests include the thought of augustine and thomas aquinas and the history of vatican i i . he enjoys playing mr. mom for his roommates and scavenging weekly circulars for coupons. he hopes to pursue graduate studies in theology and someday to teach at a university. alexan dra valdez a native of topeka, kansas, is currently in the throes of her senior year at boston college, planning to graduate with a b.a. in history and concentrations in philosophy and german studies. this work was her final project for a course taken at the catholic university i n eichstaett, germany entitled "the catholic church and national socialism: 1933-1939." she is exploring the experiences of catholic youth under nazism in her senior scholars project. after graduation, she hopes to return to germany to conduct research at the university of heidelberg before returning to the states to earn a doctorate in history. amber w i l l i a m s is a senior and a double major in biology and english. she wrote "hormone-mimicking chemicals: what they are, what they do, and where to find them" with dr. laura hake of the biology department for the ethics and sustainability conference held by the jesuit institute here at boston college. she is also a second year introductory biology teaching assistant and is working as a scholar of the college in dr. hake's lab investigating how heavy metal cadmium may act as an endocrine disruptor in shrimp. m e l a n i e f i r t h is a senior in the college of arts & sciences. a native of malvern, pennsylvania, melanie has spent her time at bc as a history major, concentrating i n eighteenth and nineteenth century american history. in the past year, however, she has decided to explore the arts and natural sciences as well. after graduation, melanie plans to attend a post-baccalaureate pre-med program in order to prepare for medical school. she would like to thank the professor under whom she worked for this project, lynn lyerly, for all her guidance. a l e a h fox is a senior from groton, connecticut, majoring in biology with a minor in computer science. she has been working i n dr. jeffy chuang's computational biology laboratory for three years and was awarded the undergraduate diversity scholarship by the society of molecular biology and evolution, which enabled her to attend a conference and present her research during the summer of 2007. aleah plans to continue her education in the field of computational biology and bioinformatics by attending a phd graduate program in the fall of 2008. m i c h e l l e h u b e l e is a senior at boston college. apart from her major i n theology, she has spent time studying globalization and writing. she hopes to pursue a career in the print-media industry that allows her to integrate her three areas of interest. d a n i el k e n n y is a sophomore from whitestone, new york majoring in sociology. kenny found the inspiration for his essay in a class titled "sociology of hiv/aids" in the spring of 2007. he hopes to pursue further degrees i n sociology, while remaining heavily involved in community service. he thanks his instructor, professor aimee van wagenen, for providing an engaging and important course. s e a n m c m a h o n is a junior from weston, massachusetts majoring i n political science. his interests revolve around political philosophy and american politics, and his paper comes from a class he took as a sophomore with professor candace hetzner. sean's thanks go out to professor hetzner, and all his professors, both in and out of political science, for their continuing instruction and support. t i m m o o n ey hails from grand rapids, michigan. a junior in the college of arts & sciences with aspirations in public policy, t im is majoring in political science. he currently works as a research assistant for professor david deese, studying energy and security in the middle east, and also worked with professor kay schlozman last year on her project for political equality. tim spent last summer on an advanced study grant, researching "casino proliferation in the great lakes region," a project on which he plans to base his senior thesis. he is also in his second year on the heights editorial board where he serves as opinions editor. k a t i e s c h e r m e r h o r n is a senior in the college of arts & sciences with a major in political science and a minor in international studies. she is greatly interested in the connections between public policy, faith traditions, and culture. born and raised in dallas, texas, she is currently pursuing post-graduate opportunities in human rights, advocacy, and further education. she gives many thanks to the family, friends, professors and mentors who have helped her throughout the years and have always supported her passions. j a c q u i e s m y t h is a student in the arts & sciences class of 2009, as well as a member of the honors program, studying history and economics. her academic interests include classical history and issues of gender and sexuality, and she is also tragically excited for econometrics. in the future, lacquie strives to become a museum curator, but immediately after graduation she hopes to travel the world. hailing from portland, oregon, she writes for boston college's yearbook, sub turri, and sings with the university chorale. pau l w e n del is a senior in the college of arts & sciences, hailing from thousand oaks, california, and majoring in theology and international studies with a concentration in political science. this past summer he interned at the carr center for human rights policy at the john f. kennedy school of government i n cambridge, massachusetts. his involvement with the pedro arrupe international immersion program at boston college inspired h im to pursue his topic and further explore the issue of global poverty. list of artwork taxis in new york © wikimedia commons 12 14 17 33 35 43 45 73 75 76 2015 portland uber protest © wikimedia commons uber ridesharing insurance coverage © uber blog affirmative action march © wikimedia commons college quad © wikimedia commons 1968 hamburg lehrling demonstration © wikimedia commons german youth protesting © wikimedia commons kendrick lamar at way out west in august 2013 © wikimedia commons kendrick lamar at große freiheit 36, hamburg © wikimedia commons graffiti of jesus © wikimedia commons 27 formulation of linguistic rule (font) © adobe indesign cs5 t h a n k s the editors o f elements w o u l d l ike to t h a n k the f o l l o w i n g indiv idua ls for the i r generous support o f and assistance w i t h th is issue: susan d u n n , administrative assistant, center for centers donald hafn er, vice provost for undergraduate studies mary krei n del, account executive, dynagraf cecilia mcclay, associate buyer, procurement services we w o u l d also l ike to t h a n k boston college for the financial support that makes this issue possible. q u e s t i o n s & c o n t r i b u t i o n s i f y o u have any questions or w o u l d l ike to contr ibute an article for the next issue, y o u may contact the j o u r n a l at e lements@bc.edu. the next deadline for submiss ion is friday, november 5, 2010. c o v e r stairwell o f the musee h o r t a i n brussels © lonely planet/super stock p e r i o d i c i t y elements is pub l i shed semiannual ly d u r i n g the fall and s p r i ng semesters. the information provided by contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials herein represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103 chestnut hill, ma 02467 printing: dynagraf inc., 5 dan road, canton, ma 02021 copyright © 2010 by the trustees of boston college e l e m e n t s staff editor-in-chief b r i a n v a r i a n managing editor r. b r i a n t r a c z deputy editor j a i m e c r o w l e y humanities a l i m c d o n a l d , senior editor e r i n e. e i c h a n , senior editrix emerita b r e n d a n kelly, editor v i n o d h m e c h e r y , editor d a n s o l o c u r e n , editor natural sciences a n n e k o r n a h r e n s , senior editor a d i t y a a s h o k , editor social sciences c h r i s s h e r i d a n , senior editor s a r a h c o l l i e r , editor teja g a n t a , editor a n d r e i n a y a n e s , editor • z a c h z i m m e r m a n n , editor layout j a i m e c r o w l e y , senior editor c h r i s s h e r i d a n , editor r. b r i a n t r a c z , layout designer web design d a n s o l o c u r e n , senior editor v i n o d h m e c h e r y , editor faculty advisor e l i z a b e t h c h a d w i c k f s c www. f sc. org cer t no. swcoc0 0 1 7 9 5 © 1996 forest stewardship council mailto:elements@bc.edu http://www.fsc.org editor's note i n "vic tor horta 's v i s i o n : a r t nouveau and the fus ion o f f u n c t i o n and f o r m , " catherine swofford describes the pol i t i ca l i m p o r t o f victor horta 's architecture, w r i t i n g : an enlightened bourgeois class sought out a new artistic style to reflect their progressive political views and to separate themselves from the conservative elite. as is the goal of the client, when a pedestrian walks down a belgian street and notices one of horta's profoundly different art nouveau houses, he presumes the owner to be . . .forward-thinking. just as an elaborate art nouveau townhouse signaled a f o r w a r d t h i n k i n g occupant, so does an academic research j o u r n a l m a r k , quite palpably, a f o r w a r d t h i n k i n g university. indeed, th is t e n t h issue o f elements cont inues to signal the academic vibrancy o f boston col lege—premised u p o n inte l lectual cur ios i ty a n d mani fest t h r o u g h o u t these pages. victor h o r t a pa id met icu lous a t tent ion to every single detai l o f his t o w n houses, straight d o w n to the "door-knobs, air vents, ra i l ings , stained glass and cupboards." for hor ta , even the smallest features cont r ibute d to the overall appearance o f the residence, r e n d e r i n g its architecture master fu l and its s y m b o l i s m complete. i n e m u l a t i n g h o r t a , the staff o f elements has i m p l e m e n t e d several stylistic changes i n th is issue. t h o u g h smal l , these changes represent o n g o i n g attempts to showcase better the academic research o f boston college students. a n o t h e r h i g h l i g h t o f the fall 2010 issue is the first ever foreign-language article to appear i n elements. " m e n t h a y honor : los temas del teatro espanol en el siglo de o r o , " w r i t t e n by v lad georgescu, reflects not only the w i d e n i n g scope o f research b e i n g done at boston college, b u t also an alternative approach to expressing this research. w i t h seven t r u l y o r i g i n a l articles, i a m conf ident that this issue o f elements indicates w e l l a " f o r w a r d t h i n k i n g " university. i t is m y hope that y o u w i l l peruse i t i n that same spir i t ! sincerely, brian varian editor-in-chief a nation-state’s political structure determines the levels of trust and security individuals have in the economic system as a whole. hotbeds of commercial activities and convince many people to migrate to urban areas in search of obtaining a slice of that economic growth. how these individuals conduct business transactions reflect their levels of trust and security in a nation-state’s political system. through analyzing formal and informal commercial transactions at the point of payment, this paper will explore how small merchants and consumers replace gaps in formal regulations and distrust in governance with their own systems of trust and security. research in buenos aires, hanoi, and cape town shows how unique features of each nation-state’s political economy significantly impact commercial behavior at the point of payment, but raise concerns about unequal wealth distribution in cities integrated within the global market economy. the point of payment a comparison of commercial behaviors across regions kyle baranko introduction small-scale economic behavior in buenos aires, hanoi, and cape town is a byproduct of economic, political, and cultural variables at both the micro and macro level. this paper analyzes how non-quantifiable aspects of individual decision-making affect commercial transactions at the point of payment. unquantifiable notions of security and trust have a critical impact on how people exchange goods and therefore a significant impact on the political economy of a nation-state as a whole. in essence, macro-level political and economic features of state governance control notions of trust and security among consumers, which in turn determine circumstances at a point of payment. where the government is either unwilling or unable to instill safety and confidence in micro-level commercial activity, individuals and communities create alternate payment systems to compensate. the mechanism of this relationship between macro and micro variables operates differently in each city studied. decades of political upheaval and a financial crisis in argentina are directly related to the fragmented payment system within buenos aires. economic instability has made it difficult for individuals to build networks of trust and develop security in the argentine peso, which has resulted in inconvenient payment methods and a widespread distrust of government. a painful national history plagued by recurrent war and resource shortage has allowed the communist party of vietnam to build legitimacy and tremendous faith in its ability to provide security and trust in the economy. however, the government’s centralization of power has rendered it unable or unwilling to release most microeconomic activity from a confined payment system of straight cash, as a high percentage of commercial transactions remain informal and unregulated. south africa’s young, dysfunctional democracy has largely avoided economic instability but has been unable to provide essential services needed for stability on the microeconomic level; cape town’s inability to distribute security forces evenly across the population has had a disproportionate impact on poor, informal business as police protect capital rather than people. research question and methodology the purpose of this project is to analyze the similarities and differences of small-scale commercial transactions within and between each city. all research gathered centers on one central question: how do the relationships between micro-level variables at the point of payment and the nation-state’s macro-level political economy manipulate notions of trust and security among individuals? to gather data in each city, i had in-depth conversations with locals, conducted field observations at various types of storefronts, and interviewed small business owners and managers. the relationship between merchant and customer, specifically analyzed regarding security and trust, will be used as the two central themes in which to measure macro and micro-level variables. macro-level variables include historical legacies, political system, and degree of market intervention. micro-level variables include technology, information access, currency, brand, regulations, and degree of formality. evidence and analysis small-scale commercial activity in buenos aires is intricately linked to individual attitudes towards the government’s management of the economy. these attitudes are the product of a recent traumatic history plagued by political and financial instability; as a result, markets in argentina show a high distrust in the national currency, the peso, as well as animosity towards foreign multinational corporations. much of the negative popular sentiment stems from the financial crisis in 2001 and its aftermath. corrupt political leadership and failed neoliberal policies were the primary culprits of the economic disaster, which vaporized personal savings and destroyed the peso’s value while mass protests propelled the populist néstor kircha quiet street in the shopping district of hanoi (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 20 elements : : spring 2017 ner into power. because the blame fell on free markets, deregulated capital flows, and aggressive foreign multinationals, popular sentiment developed a strong distaste in the tightly integrated international political economy. however, the most recent national elections signaled a change in power as the conservative, market-oriented mauricio macri assumed the presidency. despite its tumultuous colonial history, vietnam has seen extraordinary economic success and political stability since the doi moi reforms in 1989; individuals have responded with trust in the state-capitalist economy and security in the legitimacy of the communist party. because there is no change of power in government, commercial activity enjoys the absence of whimsical economic policy and the benefit of constant pro-growth regulations. vietnam has been steadily advancing free market policies and tighter integration with the global economy from the top down. since its movement towards democracy, south africa has experienced a tumultuous political atmosphere but maintained a relatively stable macroeconomic system; negative sentiment regarding trust and security among citizens largely hinges on government legitimacy and policy implementation, not direct economic policy. governance failures in cape town do not stem from a lack of ambition – south africa has a very progressive constitution – but rather the feasibility of providing services to a population that suffers from blatant wealth disparity and spatial segregation. as a result, commercial activity differs drastically in former townships compared to the central business district. in buenos aires, the majority of small business transactions observed used cash payments in argentine pesos rather than digital payments or plastic debit and credit cards. however, the percentage of digital and card payments was even lower just two years ago; since taking office, the macri administration has sought to restore confidence in digital credit and debit systems by encouraging small-businesses to accept mastercard, visa, and other western financial services linked to the global economic system.1 this trend is clearly apparent in palermo, an area of the city with many small businesses and bustling with tourists. storefronts in this neighborhood were extremely aggressive in marketing the types of payments accepted at their location, placing signs in windows denoting their willingness and ability to conduct transactions with particular financial services brands, cards, and even high-tech options like apple pay. these signs always specified whether stores accept debit or credit cards, or both; although the government has pushed for a more formalized economic system, many argentines still lack access to credit and banking services. in hanoi’s sparkling commercial development, royal city, a point of payment systems are also formal and highly integrated with the international economy. retail outlets in the mall are predominantly western brands and foreigners own most of the residential complexes. however, local consumers rarely visit the vast commercial complexes to shop; instead they use the space during the summer to enjoy the air conditioning and admire products without making purchases.2 the majority of microeconomic activity in hanoi does not take place in great, formal commercial centers like royal city but rather in informal shops and markets. commercial transactions in the central business district of cape town are highly formalized. most small businesses are integrated with western financial services companies and accept almost all types of credit and debit cards. many accept zapper, a mobile payment app that uses a qr code scanning mechanism to instantly charge a credit or debit card digitally. double swiping and card fraud are the primary security concerns for small businesses in the area, but zapper is already siphoning 5-10% of total payments in some bars and stores.3 the minor security problems reflect trust in government’s management of the city’s economy and a healthy business environment. the macri administration has taken initiatives to build safety and transparency through improved, high-tech regulations. every formal storefront in palermo, where the majority of research was gathered, had a “data fiscal” sign “the majority of microeconomic activity in hanoi does not take place in great, formal commercial centers like royal city, but rather in informal shops and markets.” 21 the point of payment hanging in the entrance window. this sign consisted of the title of the enterprise and a large qr code intended for potential customers to scan with their smartphone to get instant official data on the establishment’s finances. the information is supposedly for the public as a whole, but it remains to be seen whether these new regulations are intended to increase consumer confidence or attract foreign direct investment—or both. regardless of intention, the data fiscal initiative reflects the macri administration’s determination to formalize small businesses, at least in the cosmopolitan palermo neighborhood. to maintain control of the population, the vietnamese political structure remains top-down in nature and is either unable or unwilling to formalize commerce at the microlevel. this has led to juxtaposition; a high percentage of the microeconomic activity in hanoi is informal and unregulated because the state’s centralized political structure is incapable of providing regular commercial services, and as a result, a high percentage of business activity evades state control. overall, hanoi residents do not trust banks and credit cards because they do not understand how financial services operate. they elect to use cash because it is consistent and perceived as more secure.4 the communist party has kept the circle of trust between the consumer, the merchant, and the government, represented as the paper currency: vietnamese dong. rather than large, corporate, chain-run firms, many residents of hanoi purchase most of their goods from small, family-owned businesses. as a result, personal relationships between customer and merchant are often used instead of digital financial services. at one family-owned bar, workers had established an informal system of credit with regular customers whereby payments were made casually or on friendly informal credit systems. many establishments throughout hanoi operated in a similar manner, lacking formal structure and standard payment methods but compensating through personal relationships between those involved. even when commercial transactions between merchant and customer were anonymous, the exchange still lacked direct oversight from the government or the inclusion of a third party in the circle of trust. one manager interviewed did not see the need to accept cards because the business she operated was so small. she had no formal relationship with the government and paid rent to a larger corporation that handled taxes and other legal matters.5 this is a theme common throughout vietnam’s political economy; interaction between enterprise and government is carried out at a high level as the communist party cedes direct control on the micro-level, keeping most small business informal. lack of security services is the defining concern among merchants and consumers conducting commercial transactions in the former south african townships. in these poor, racially divided areas, microeconomic activity takes three dominant forms: locally owned “spaza” stores, highly mobile street traders, and formal chain stores. one corner of washington street in langa township acts as a dueling center of economic activity as formal and informal businesses compete for consumers.6 the corporate general store accepts card payments and employs four private security guards to protect the entrance. to compensate for the lack of labor, the locally owned spaza store creates a fortress by putting up large metal barriers and accepting cash payments exclusively through a small window. the mobile street trader relies on the community for security, as products are open and especially vulnerable. to compete with the corporate giant’s vast financial resources, the spaza store and street trader use personal relationships and social capital to attract consumers and create informal security networks, a phenomenon common throughout other townships, like khayelitsha.7 these small, locally owned enterprises provide discounts and informal credit for their regular customers, which form a high percentage of their total business; in return, these consumers remain loyal and provide protection.8 street traders exclusively rely on social capital for security and typically only sell products to customers with whom they have personal relation“the information is supposedly for the public as a whole, but it remains to be seen whether these new regulations are intended to increase consumer confidence or attract foreign direct investment—or both.”22 elements : : spring 2017 calle florida, a busy street located in the buenos aires city center (courtesy of wikimedia commons) ships. as a whole, merchants in townships and other neglected areas of cape town compensate for the lack of formal financial services and public security by using personal relationships and informal networks of trust. regardless of the physical form of payments, buenos aires is unique in the three cities studied because of consumers’ affinity for u.s. dollars. because of recurrent inflation and deep-seated distrust in the government’s ability to back the peso, all expensive commercial transactions, such as houses and cars, are paid for in u.s. dollars.9 this feature of argentine microeconomic activity displays a high level of distrust and insecurity in the national government’s ability to ensure transparency and long-term stability on a macroeconomic-level. the point of payment circumstances in the taxi industry, specifically uber, vary greatly between the three cities and exemplify how macro-level political economy determines features of micro-level commercial activity. in argentina, a history of strong labor unions and learned cultural aversion to western multinationals has protected the domestic taxicab industry and kept uber from spreading to buenos aires. uber is allowed to operate in vietnam but still faces cultural hurdles; most residents of hanoi prefer cash-only motorbike and taxi services, as they have familiarity with this type of exchange and hesitate to extend trust to financial services or a western company with algorithmicallyset rates.10 in contrast, uber is popular in cape town primarily because it extends trust to a third and fourth party. when ride payments remain between an individual consumer and driver, both have the opportunity to exploit the other. integrating uber and a credit or debit card company increases transparency and legitimizes the terms of exchange so that a potential contract violation between consumer and driver is less likely. some drivers insist on having both uber and a financial services company involved in the transaction, as many refuse to pick up riders in townships when the payment feature is set as “cash” for fear of exploitation.11 in this case, the government is incapable of providing security in the exchange, so the private sector fills the gap by extending the circle of trust. these varied reactions and attitudes towards uber reflect thematic sentiments of trust and security in each city and how it is distributed. residents of buenos aires, hanoi, and cape town engaged in informal commercial transactions have done so out of necessity, not by choice; their plight to make ends meet through personal relationships and informal networks is not a sign of empowerment but rather marginalization by globalization’s potent market and political forces. although admirable, informal entrepreneurship at a point of payment is a symptom of economic exclusion and wealth inequality, not a tool to lift people out of poverty. neoliberal economist hernando de soto argues that informal economies are “an epic struggle waged by informals . . . a long march toward private property, subjugating the state and formal society as they go.”12 roy is correct in dismissing this flawed argument as the “aestheticization of poverty.” de soto’s defining case to just formalize informal property and businesses fails to account for the macrolevel structural challenges marginalized small-business owners and consumers face. because spaza stores in south african townships and street traders in hanoi rely on face-to-face relationships with customers for security and payment systems, it is physically impossible to utilize economies of scale to expand their operation. in the case of langa township, the spaza stores and street traders are mired in a perpetual state of disadvantage because they have to expend limited social capital for safety while corporate competitors have the financial resources to pay for private security, a service that should be provided by the government. in cape town, the public resources needed to create trust and security – unquantifiable but prime ingredients for economic growth – are not distributed evenly across the population but instead coalesce around formal commercial centers and concentrated wealth. this phenomenon is also evident in hanoi as the communist party actively promotes formal development in royal city; in this case, the government’s resistance to bottom-up civil society at the local level leaves most microeconomic activity informal. 23 the point of payment globalization exacerbates the disequilibrium in how formality, and the public resources that accompany it, is distributed. as sassen explains, the profitable fruits of globalization come from “the new growth sectors – specialized services and finance” which “sets in motion a whole series of new dynamics of inequality.”13 political leaders of these three countries envision grand global cities integrated with the international economy; however, the idealized areas in line with this vision such as palermo, royal city, and the cbd exclude the majority of the city’s population, which is more active in the informal economy. until governments eliminate structural systems of oppression, these informal economies will continue to act as a sign of marginalization at the hands of economic inequality and market forces. conclusion this research paper has explored how characteristics of a state’s political economy impact commercial activity at the individual, micro level. in all three cities, there is a stark contrast between trust and security at the formal and informal level. the formal payment systems are regulated and encouraged by the government whereas informal economies are created in the absence of official authority. formal exchange is bolstered by government policy and the liquid capital of the globalized market; informal transactions suffer from the lack of consistent services and accessibility, although individuals have responded by establishing networks of trust and security built on personal relationships. nevertheless, this disparity poses serious questions about the sustainability of top-down, globalized economic growth in cities. through unequal distribution of unquantifiable, behavioral precursors to economic growth like trust and security, governments perpetuate wealth inequality by restricting access to the benefits of formal systems of exchange. endnotes 1. mirta rosovksy (host mother, argentina ministry of culture employee) in discussion with the author, september 2016. 2. son kieu thanh (host brother) in discussion with the author, october 2016. 3. anonymous (restaurant manager) in interview with the author, november 2016. 4. anonymous (translator/neighborhood day guide) in discussion with the author, october 2016. 5. anonymous (manager at hanoi medical university) in interview with the author, october 2016. 6. the block mentioned has a striking contrast between informal and formal commerce and was teeming with residents during this time, as many people were shopping on their way home from work. some people were friendly and willing to talk but many were distrustful and surprised to see a white person in the area. 7. anonymous (tour guide/khayelitsha community leader) in interview with the author, november 2016. 8. anonymous (spaza store owner) in discussion with the author, november 2016. 9. mirta rosovksy in discussion with the author, september 2016. 10. son kieu thanh in discussion with the author, october 2016. 11. anonymous (uber drivers) in discussion with the author, november 2016. 12. ananya roy and nezar alsayyad, “transnational trespassings: the geopolitics of urban informality,” in urban informality: transnational perspectives from the middle east, latin america, and south asia (lanham, md: lexington books, 2004), 204. 13. saskia sassen, “whose city is it? globalization and the formation of new claims,” in cities and citizenship, ed. james holston (durham and london: duke university press, 1999), 181. 24 elements : : spring 2017 references discussion with spaza store owner, november 2016. discussion with translator/neighborhood day guide, october 2016. discussion with uber drivers, november 2016. interview with manager at hanoi medical university, october 2016. interview with restaurant manager, november 2016. interview with tour guide/khayelitsha community leader, november 2016. rosovksy, mirta. (argentina ministry of culture employee/host mother) in discussion with the author, september 2016. roy, ananya, and nezar alsayyad. “transnational trespassings: the geopolitics of urban informality.” in urban informality: transnational perspectives from the middle east, latin america, and south asia, 289-317. lanham, md: lexington books, 2004. sassen, saskia. “whose city is it? globalization and the formation of new claims.” in cities and citizenship, edited by james holston, 177-94. durham and london: duke university press, 1999. son kieu thanh. (host brother) in discussion with the author, october 2016. 25 the point of payment in the birth of tragedy, friedrich nietzsche uses classical greek tragedies to break down the human experience into two dichotomic cultures: the apollinian and the dionysian. the apollinian culture represents humanity’s tendency toward order, pattern, and rationalism, while the dionysian culture represents humanity’s simultaneous urge toward chaos and emotional intuition. whereas classical greece allowed for both to coexist and augment one another through greek tragedies, western thinking and culture allows for no such fruition; instead, western society heavily emphasizes the apollinian over the necessity or acknowledgement of the dionysian. in the death of ivan illyich, leo tolstoy takes this cultural practice a step further, giving readers a glimpse into a society that denies the dionysian entirely. through the demoralizing decline and eventual death of ivan illyich, tolstoy suggests that rejecting the dionysian not only obstructs society’s true understanding of human nature, but makes it wholly unprepared to handle humanity’s most essential truth: its mortality. myth or truth the apollonian and dionysian in the death of ivan ilyich madeline leddy in the birth of tragedy, author friedrich nietzsche analyzes the beginnings of greek tragedy in order to reflect on the nature of human society, particularly that of western thinking. he claims that greek tragedies—and classical greece in general—accomplished what contemporary society has yet to achieve, which is the synthesis of apollonian and dionysian culture. whereas both classical and western thinking exalt humanity’s need and desire for order and rationalism (i.e., apollonian culture), only classical thinking respects the necessary chaos and emotional instinct (i.e., dionysian culture) that must also be acknowledged to form a complete picture of the human experience. in his novella the death of ivan ilyich, leo tolstoy exemplifies the consequences of glorifying the apollonian at the expense of the dionysian by portraying the slow and demoralizing death of his titular character ivan ilyich. the apollonian culture of the story is so incognizant of dionysian culture that it continuously disguises, and even rejects, the existence of human suffering and death. as a result, both ivan and the people around him are unprepared, and largely unable, to face the harsh reality of mortality, adding much misery and fear to the end of ivan’s life. to begin, let me first set the stage by putting nietzsche’s terms in their historical and cultural context. nietzsche grounds the apollonian/dionysian dichotomy in the “excess of life” of grecian culture from which the two symbolic godheads sprung. as opposed to the “moral elevation” of christianity or other theologies, olympians provided “nothing but the accents of an exuberant, triumphant life in which all things, whether good or evil, are deified.”1 all characteristics of human life, all human impulses, were lauded and idolized in classical greek society, regardless of any moral judgment or reading of their worth. the deities were as complex, hypocritical, and prone to vice as any human being, leading nietzsche to conclude, “thus do the gods justify the life of man: they themselves live it.”2 with the gods of the day themselves representatives of humanity’s extremes, ordered apollo and chaotic dionysus were able to live as fundamental opposites without being in direct conflict. they could exist if not in harmony, then at least with mutual respect, allowing reason and instinct, order and disorder to hold the same amount of cultural weight. as a result, greek society, and particularly greek art, was able to foster an atmosphere in which both forces could exist as complements of each other, without the diminishment or invalidation of either. amidst this inclusive cultural climate, nietzsche gave name to the two different, dichotomic subcultures at work. to understand the nature of the dionysian culture, it is perhaps best to look at the ritualistic ecstatic dances and music that played during festivals in honor of dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. as greeks danced to the primal and rhythmic music of the festivals, losing themselves in the celebration, “all of nature’s excess in pleasure, grief, and knowledge became audible, even in piercing shrieks.”3 nietzsche claims that through such festivals, the greeks were able to acknowledge the integral and inescapable part chaos plays within human life. rather than shy away from “the terror and horror of existence,” the greeks willingly entered into a primal unity with it, where the most basic truths and instincts of nature and humanity were revealed. nietzsche also concedes, however, that solely existing in such a “substratum of suffering and knowledge” ignores humanity’s additional impulses toward beauty and reason and would inevitably lead to death and pessimism.4 just as dionysus’ deification encouraged the emotional instinct and disorder of human life, apollo’s prominence gave rise and validation to rationalism, beauty, and aesthetic order. nietzsche writes, “out of the original titanic divine order of terror, the olympian divine order of joy evolved through the apollonian impulse toward beauty, just as roses burst from thorny bushes.”5 the greeks understood that it is in the face of pain and suffering that humanity’s need for art and meaning becomes that much more intense, and that much more valued. apollonian culture—including its apollo (top) and dionysus (bottom) (courtesy of flickr). 50 elements : : fall 2016 emphasis on self-knowledge, proportion, moderation, and beauty— is essential to balancing out the extremes of the dionysian culture; it is the thing that makes life worth living, the “rapturous vision, the pleasurable illusion” humanity requires for “its continuous redemption.”6 therefore, it is through the combination of the apollonian artistic reason and the dionysian impulse that the greeks were able to produce the highest and truest of art forms: the greek tragedy. as nietzsche writes, “the dionysian and the apollonian, in new births ever following and mutually augmenting one another, controlled the hellenic genius.”7 yet, this synthesis did not last. the “mutual augmentation” of the apollonian and the dionysian became more and more elusive in greek tragedies, as each culture began to seek dominance over the other. even life itself became the battleground on which the two halves of the dichotomy struggled, and continue to struggle, for total control. nietzsche reflects, “and so, wherever the dionysian prevailed, the apollonian was checked and destroyed. but…it is equally certain that, wherever the first dionysian onslaught was successfully withstood, the authority and majesty of the delphic god exhibited itself as more rigid and menacing than ever.”8 it is exactly the latter of these realities that tolstoy problematizes in his novella the death of ivan ilyich, showcasing the need for both to exist in tandem. through ivan’s life, the reader is able to discern the apollonian societal values he embodies. ivan has one goal: to live life “just as life ought to go— easily, pleasantly, decently.”9 within his personal life, ivan seeks order, respectability, and polite pleasantness, as society expects of him. he enjoys marriage insofar as he enjoys the idea of marriage, while, at the same time, he appreciates the social status that accompanies it, thus “appealing to his superiors and their sense of propriety.”10 yet, quickly he learns that marriage does not always fit that mold, as it does not “always mean enjoyment and decency, but…often disrupted them, and it was therefore necessary to guard against such disruptions.”11 with the use of the delicate and polite word “disruption,” and the evasive structure of the sentence, ivan textually avoids naming or defining the problems in his marriage that stem from the dionysian, therefore symbolizing society’s denial of its existence. instead of recognizing and working through the chaos of marriage—intense emotions, erotic love, and even degrees of suffering— ivan chooses to ignore them. they simply do not fit properly into society’s apollonian conception of the union. just as the apollonian dominates the dionysian in his relationships and family life, so too does it control ivan’s approach toward his work. though ivan works within the court system as a judge, he cares very little about justice, compassion, or truth. he enjoys his job because he enjoys the “knowledge of the power he wielded, the possibility of ruining anyone he fancied ruining,” afforded to him by a society that does not care about, nor is able to empathize with the suffering and chaos ivan is employed to judge. 12 in fact, whenever faced with a potential breach of that strict order between the apollonian and the dionysian, “he felt strong enough…to reinstate the distinction between the official and the human by discarding the latter.”13 though ivan has the ability to connect with people on a more basic, empathetic level, he chooses to deny that dionysian impulse; instead, he defines himself as the “official,” the embodiment of an ordered, rational apollonian culture. ivan is the “virtuoso performer,” always calculating and rationalizing, and as such he does not leave any room in his approach toward life to understand the irrationalism of his eventual suffering and death.14 ivan is not alone in his inability to face mortality, however. ivan’s friends and family also lack the capability to view ivan’s misery outside of a self-centered, apollonian lens. throughout the latter half of the story, others around ivan characterize his death and suffering as a “poison” and “oppression” affecting their lives; mortality is something entirely “indecent” and “unpleasant” that is somehow in his control, and, as his wife believes, “his fault.”15 ivan realizes, “no one had any pity for him because no one had the slightest desire to understand his situation.”16 because they have so relentlessly denied the dionysian, they can only interpret his suffering and death as a break from the “even life itself became the battleground on which the two halves of the dichotomy struggled, and continue to struggle, for total control. “ 51 myth or truth apollonian norm, rather than as a very natural and integral part of human life. furthermore, instead of using ivan’s experience to contemplate their own mortality, they “otherize” his pain and suffering, depicting their unwillingness to understand the dionysian impulse behind it, while perpetuating their continued inability to ever truly understand or empathize with it. as a result, ivan’s friends and family are only able to handle his impending death by rejecting its existence and significance entirely. to the very end of ivan’s life, they lie about the fundamental, human truth behind ivan’s suffering and death, “reducing the solemn act of his death to the same level as their social calls, their draperies, the sturgeon for dinner.”17 the apollonian culture is so ingrained into ivan and the society around him that it is only in the last few moments of his life that he is able to face the dionysian roots of humanity—suffering and death—and move past his crippling fear of death. after weeks of denial, ivan begins to understand the emptiness of the apollonian-centered life without the dionysian to balance it out. he realizes, “this vindication of his lifestyle was holding him down, preventing him from moving on, and causing him the greatest suffering.”18 without the awareness of his inherent mortality, ivan is unable to comprehend or move past the shock and supposed meaninglessness of his suffering. thus, it is only when he faces his death, when he directly acknowledges his fear and then recognizes its uselessness, that he experiences his first moment of true joy; ivan is finally able to exclaim “oh bliss!”—just as the greeks screamed in ecstasy in a similar recognition of the primal unity during dionysian festivals.19 yet, tolstoy makes certain that he does not give us, the readers, any easy answers; we do not know, nor does tolstoy give any guesses to the reason behind the “bliss,” or the origin of the “light” ivan sees in his final seconds for that matter.20 instead, tolstoy abruptly forces us to enter into our own conceptions and imaginations of death and a potential afterlife to complete the picture, to round out ivan’s final experience. he compels us to ask ourselves if we have effectively reflected on our mortality, our dionysian roots, enough to truly grasp the end of the book. as nietzsche explains, it is only in the moment when we reconcile with the apollonian and the dionysian that we are truly able to learn any truth about humanity. endnotes 1. friedrich nietzsche, the birth of tragedy, trans. walter kauffman (new york: vintage press, 1967), 41. 2. ibid., 43. 3. ibid., 46. 4. nietzsche, the birth of tragedy, 45. 5. ibid., 43. 6. ibid., 45. 7. ibid., 47. 8. nietzsche, the birth of tragedy, 47. 9. leo tolstoy, the death of ivan ilyich, trans. ronald wilks et al., (london: penguin books, 2008), 179. 10. ibid., 170. 11. ibid.,. 171. 12. tolstoy, death of ivan ilyich.,173. 13. ibid., 179. 14. ibid. 15. tolstoy, death of ivan ilyich, 187, 188, 196. 16. ibid., 199. 17. ibid. 18. ibid., 216. 19. tolstoy, death of ivan ilyich, 217. 20. ibid. references nietzsche, friederich. the birth of tragedy. translated by walter kauffman. new york: vintage press, 1967. tolstoy, leo. the death of ivan ilyich. translated by ronald wilks, anthony briggs, and david mcduff. london: penguin books, 2008. 52 elements : : fall 2016 "as soccer and hip-hop arc romanticized, they become a means hy which the disenfranchised can rise against oppressive power structures and find lasting success, a trope that is reinforced hy the traditional 'ragsto-riches' stories that they spawn." m i d f i e l d e r s , m c s , a n d m e d i a s c a p e s soccer and hip-hop's global hope for the third world a l e x b r a d y a s t h e w o r l d b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y i n t e r c o n n e c t e d d u e t o t h e c u l t u r a l a n d e c o n o m i c t r e n d s t h a t w e h a v e c o l l e c t i v e l y l a b e l e d " g l o b a l i z a t i o n , " v a r i o u s l o c a l i z e d c o m m u n i t i e s a n d t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e c u l t u r a l p h e n o m e n a h a v e c o l l i d e d w i t h u n p r e c e d e n t e d v i g o r . t h i s p a p e r e x p l o r e s t w o s u c h p h e n o m e n a t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t i e s o f s o c c e r a n d o f h i p h o p — a n d d o c u m e n t s t h e r o l e t h a t t h e s e f o r m s p l a y i n t h e g l o b a l i z e d w o r l d , b o t h i n t h e i r m a r k e t i n g a n d t h r o u g h t h e v a r i o u s w a y s i n w h i c h d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s h a v e i n t e r p r e t e d t h e m . i f t h e y a r e t o b e u n d e r s t o o d a s a m e a n s b y w h i c h t h e t h i r d w o r l d c a n t r a n s c e n d l o n g s t a n d i n g s o c i a l b o u n d a r i e s , c a n w e t r u l y s a y t h a t g l o b a l i z e d m e d i a i s a c c u r a t e l y r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e s e i d e a l s ? d r a w i n g e x t e n s i v e l y o n a w i d e v a r i e t y o f s c h o l a r s h i p c o n c e r n i n g b o t h o f t h e s e c u l t u r a l f o r m s , t h i s e s s a y a t t e m p t s t o c o n s i d e r t h i s q u e s t i o n . consider the following scene: edward anyamkyegh, an imposing nigerian native, walks the crumbling concrete streets of post-communist lviv, ukraine, with franklin foer, a brazilian-american journalist. after lunch at the neighborhood mcdonald's, they retire to anyamkyegh's apartment; he boasts " i have satellite and cable," and switches on the television, the centerpiece of his otherwise drab apartment. american rap videos, often with cyrillic subtitles, blare from the television, in front of which he, his wife, and two-year-old daughter fall asleep every night. what is a nigerian doing in this former soviet backwater of western ukraine? and what is the significance of his prized television? clearly the age of globalization has eroded the cultural boundaries of our recent past, and in the lives of people like edward anyamkyegh, star forward of karpaty lviv, a popular ukrainian soccer club, the influence of formerly localized phenomena is explicitly evident. soccer and hip-hop are both cultural forms that have proliferated in this new era; their mutual popularity speaks to the universal appeal of their romanticized image, namely that of marginalized peoples transcending social barriers through music and sport. are these phenomena really working towards these ends, or have commodification and resurrected tribalisms perverted their purpose? the answer is maddeningly complex and demonstrates the drastically varied effects of globalization, both in american and "international" societies, and in the respective "first" and "third" worlds of each. as soccer and hip-hop are romanticized, they become a means by which the disenfranchised can rise against oppressive power structures and find lasting success, a trope that is reinforced by the traditional "rags-to-riches" stories that they spawn. in hip-hop, this notion is unavoidable to the point that it has become cliche—every rapper has his respective story to tell about how he "came up" amidst the suffocating environs of his background, which is almost exclusively depicted as the poverty-stricken, black and latino populated, "ghettos" of america's inner cities.1 although soccer's manifestation of this concept is less overt, it exists t h e romanticization o f s o c c e r p r o d u c e s dreams of " r a c s t o r i c h e s " s t o r i e s on both an individual and national level. shoeless children in the slums of rio de janeiro kick a dusty ball around with hopes of becoming the next pele or ronaldinho, and tiny nations like togo shed their collective inferiority complex as their native sons compete in the international spotlight of the world cup. this is the established, idealized image of soccer and hip-hop, a globalized version of the "american dream," and is thereby the standard by which self-proclaimed purists within these communities measure the "authenticity" of participators. although both of these phenomena reflect the aspirations of a neglected third world, their histories are very different, and the enduring effects of this variance are still visible in their current forms. the primary difference is one of origin. hip-hop is a home-grown, american cultural form that was created by the marginalized people it assumedly represents, utilizing and expanding upon forms of expression associated with their enslaved ancestors; soccer, conversely, was the game of the imperialist english, and after being adopted and indigenized by colonized peoples, it became a means of subversion and a source of pride. beating the colonizers at their own game was a profoundly symbolic achievement. in their book fifa and the contest for world football: who rules the people's game?, john sugden and alan tomlinson attest to the significance of soccer in africa as a result of this history. noting that nelson mandela, upon his release from prison in 1990, addressed e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 supporters at soccer city, a huge new stadium, they propose: it was not simply the case that this was the biggest venue available in the vicinity. football was and continues to be the black people's game, not just in south africa, but throughout the continent. during times when significant gatherings of non-whites were either banned or heavily policed, south africa's football grounds were one of the few places where [blacks] could come together to celebrate common causes. . .while the context may have been radically different in earlier periods. . football had played its part in the struggle against various forms of colonial oppression.11 given this trend, the authors explain north america's rather tepid adoption of soccer in the same terms, attributing it to an initial "ambivalence towards embracing the cultural products of the former colonial master, " i " interestingly, hip-hop as an inherently american art-form has been received with little of such ambivalence abroad, rapper c e e l o from c n a r l s barkley even though many consider the united states to be the cultural imperialists of the modern day—conquering not with muskets and cannons but with fast-food franchises and action films. this welcoming reception has much to do with the perception of hip-hop as the voice of the third world within the u.s., a notion that has inspired people in the furthest corners of the globe to employ this form as a means of addressing their own localized injustices in the same manner as the reigning superpower's most neglected citizens do. a movement that began in an extremely localized setting—the street corners in the south bronx i n the late 1970s—is now "a vehicle for global youth affiliations and a tool for reworking local identity all over the world." l v as globalization enabled the unrestrained flow of these cultural forms across borders, however, it also opened the door to the large multinational corporations of global capitalism, which saw the potential financial windfall that these beloved forces could reap when packaged as products. the commodification of hip-hop and soccer is not a secret, and both communities have come to terms with the necessity of a commercialized aspect. rapper cee-lo recognizes this inevitable reality in his song " i a m selling soul," which concedes: everything must go—for a small price you could have the heart of me there is no part of me that can't be calculated into a commodity.... so don't get mad—everybody's doin' it you know you wouldn't mind a commercial with your own tennis shoe in it whether you're sellin' a dream, sellin' a scheme, orplayin' a role like it or not we're selling soul. . . v this admission, though tinged with an air of lament, recognizes the compromise of a globalized cultural phenomenon: i f it is to be received on a wide scale, it must be assessed and marketed accordingly. although hip-hop (both its artists and their corporate sponsors) continually celem i d f i e l d e r s , mcs , and m e d i a s c a p e s brates its international appeal, there does not seem to be a distinct effort by american record labels to deliberately "sell" certain artists or songs to different international audiences. instead, they focus upon what wi l l be marketable in the u.s. and let the streams of global capitalism and cultural imperialism work for them, carrying their selections abroad.v l this is benjamin barber's "mcworld" in action, a place where corporations' customers "are not citizens of a particular nation or members of a parochial clan: they belong to the universal tribe of consumers defined by needs and wants that are ubiquitous...a consumer is a consumer is a consumer. " v 1 1 when edward anyamkyegh watches american rap videos on his satellite television, he is consuming them as cultural product in^the same way he consumes his lunch at mcdonald's. he is filling a need—not to mention flaunting a westernized status symbol—and the powerful corporations of the first world are more than happy to supply him. the marketing of international soccer, largely achieved through the event agency marketing (team) consulting group, was directed in a similar "hands-off" fashion: team recognized the enormity of the potential audience for events such as the champions league cup—european soccer's equivalent of the superbowl—and merely needed to streamline the broadcast to achieve maximum viewership. i f this widespread interest was properly harnessed, the advertisers would approach them on their o w n . v m sure enough, they did—in droves. the infiltration of major sponsors—most notably coca-cola—into fifa before the globalized age (1974) actually worked i n the favor of marginalized soccer communities in africa and asia. "developmental initiatives [that] would not have been possible without fifa's coca-cola monies" funded various competitions that would put players from these places "in good stead on the larger world stages of the world cup and olympic games."1x corporate reinvention in the age of globalization, however, is a double-edged sword. some of the same local interests that were furthered as a result of fifa's initial commodifications in decades past are today supposedly being stifled by similar reforms. in franklin foer's how soccer explains the world: an unlikely theory of globalization, the author details the way in which "modernizing" renovations made to the storied english club chelsea "came at a cost. the new clientele eroded the old, boisterous working class audience." he summarizes one fan's lament as such: "multinational capitalism strips local institutions of their localness; it homogenizes, destroys traditions, and deprives indigenous proletariats and peasants of the things they love most."x foer's sympathy is limited, however. he notes that since the changes, attending a match has become an infinitely safer and more pleasant experience and suggests: to be sorrowful about this old culture [characterized by rampant hooliganism] requires grossly sentimentalizing the traditions and atmosphere that have passed. indeed, this is an important characteristic of the globalization debate: the tendency toward glorifying all things indigenous, even when they deserve to be left in the past.xl in this way, soccer's commodification is a largely passive force, but when intrusive, tends to act i n the mutual interests of the owners and fans. .. multinational capitalism strips local institutions of their localness; it homogenizes, destroys traditions, and deprives indigenous proletariats and peasants of the things they love most." e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 "...it is through [hip-hop and soccer's] respective 'strips of reality that these global forces can be adopted, to varying degrees, by the localities of foreign' places." soccer and hip-hop were not created with the intent of financial gain and their dedicated fan bases understand and respect them as such. modern-day capitalists who seek economic gain through the marketing of these forces are, therefore, careful not to alter this formula significantly; they merely wish to expose it in a favorable manner to a wil ling consumer base. this strategy is visible in both team 's focus upon appropriating the largest possible broadcast audience for important games and u.s. record companies' tendency simply to transmit popular american hip-hop to the rest of the world. in the marketing of both soccer and hip-hop, it seems that corporate sponsors have identified the distinct universal appeal that they so emphatically elicit and, subsequently, have not substantially manipulated this formula. i f these are the established practices of commodification, and the final product still retains some of the authenticity of the "true form" of these forces, why is it such a hotly debated issue? what harm does it pose? the answer is more complex than the mere compromise of artistic or athletic integrity that many derisively term "selling out." in allowing these phenomena to effectively "sell themselves," corporations do not actively corrupt their ideals, but by pursuing a strategy based on extensive (and consciously selective) media exposure, they neglect responsibility for the potentially damaging and divisive effects of the images they disseminate. this is the real threat that global capitalism poses to the idealized forms of soccer and hip-hop: misinterpretation. a fundamental way to understand the commodification of these forms and its ramifications is to frame the exchange of various cultural ideals and images in terms of arjun appadurai's idea of "mediascapes." this concept is a valuable model through which the adoption and consumption of soccer and hip-hop into global communities can be understood. in his essay "modernity at large: cultural dimensions of globalization," appadurai presents the idea of "a transnational construction of imaginary landscapes"™ as a way to understand the way in which modern social realities occur in the globalized era. "mediascapes" are described as follows: mediascapes, whether produced by private or state interests, tend to he image-centered, narrative-based accounts of strips of reality, and what they offer to those who experience and transform them is a series of elements (such as characters, plots, and textual forms) out of which scripts can be formed of imagined lives, their own as well as those of others living in other places.xin the airwaves of popular media—radio, television, and more recently the internet—are constantly abuzz in today's world and have ushered in a digital age that thomas freidman terms "the democratization of technology." this phenomenon is defined by freidman as the way in which "the potential for wealth creation becomes geographically dispersed, giving all kinds of previously disconnected people the chance to access and apply knowledge." x i v hip-hop and soccer as cultural products are fundamentally dependent upon the ceaseless communication of mediascapes to be viable, and it is through their respective "strips of reality" that these global forces can be adopted, to varying degrees, by the localities of "foreign" places. the case of negu gorriak, a musical group of basque nationalists who have modeled themselves on politically m i d f i e l d e r s , mcs , and m e d i a s c a p e s charged hip-hop icons like public enemy, is a prime example of the way in which an explicitly african american artform has become a relevant means of addressing similar issues of marginalization and injustice i n very different cultures. jacqueline urla describes the band's discovery of this music and the inherent value they collectively saw in it, asserting that, " in militant rap and its denouncement of north american race relations, these young basque radicals found a new and potent language of protest."xv negu gorriak's insistence on using only the basque language in its music is a means of reclaiming their heritage and voice, an effort that they identified with certain black nationalist efforts i n the united states. in tribute to this perceived mutual struggle of cultural reclamation, they modify james brown's famous chorus in their anthem "esan ozeki," declaring (in their traditional tongue), "say it loud: i 'm basque and i 'm proud!" although members of negu gorriak address their experience by mirroring it with african american history, they have conspicuously retained their basque identity. urla points out that they "are not pretending they are black. nor are they saying, our struggles are identical." rather, their local subversion is achieved through a "shared identity of passions" with american hip-hop, crafting a "strategic deployment of signifiers that affords youth a window into their own situation and what it shares with that of racialized minorities."x v 1 the songs and videos of the "militant" two h i p h o p insp ired h o p e f u l s in t h e ac ej un le c n igeria e m b o d y t h e music 's universality strain of political hip-hop that blossomed in the late 1980s and early 1990s were transmitted to the founders of negu gorriak as a distinct cultural image, and in applying it to their own causes in their own language (while simultaneously acknowledging its specific origins), they can be said to have indigenized hip-hop wholly as a relevant part of their culture—or as it may be, counter-culture. negu gorriak's adoption of hip-hop culture to their own localized issues is a testament to the ability of mediascapes to display cultural forms authentically to the point that these forms can be absorbed in their "true form" and amended accordingly. in this way, hip-hop as a globalized proponent of third world defiance is alive and well; when it is understood in its proper context, it can be used effectively as a vocalizing social tool. hip-hop's universality, however, has notable limits. the images proliferated by the ever-increasing traffic of global mediascapes is subjective at best—susceptible to the misinterpretations inherent in cultural divides. in her essay "fetishized blackness: hip hop and racial desire i n contemporary japan," nina cornyetz explores the way in which commodified mediascapes have been received in a nation notorious for its tendency to adopt western, and especially american, fads voraciously. some japanese youths' response to the idealized hip-hop image stands in stark contrast to that of groups like negu gorriak. instead of indigenization based on the recognition of a shared identity, these youths affilie l e m e n t s f a l l 07 ate themselves with the hip-hop images presented to them by rendering them as "an african american symbolic presence symbolized by fetishizing black skin and hairstyles."xv11 practices such as the darkening of the face with make-up, using particular slang, and mimicking hiphop clothing fashion are all means by which this subset of the japanese hip-hop community identifies its affiliation with this art-form, and in doing so, displays a fundamental ignorance of its true tenets. cornyetz stresses that the comparisons to the infamous "blackface" tradition in the history of american entertainment are unfounded; she claims that these youth "seek to mask the japanese self with a realistic black visage,"™ 1 1 rather than caricaturize or parody african americans. although they intend to display an admiration and affinity for hip-hop culture by these practices, their fascination seems to stem from prevailing and ultimately damaging stereotypes, namely the conception that "hip hop style is directly identified with phallic empowerment for both men and women, a consequence of japanese racial attitudes toward american blacks."x1x it is not surprising that hip-hop has not been indigenized in japan, a society well-known for its extremely homogenous and relatively wealthy population. this is a place in which the conditions that foster "authentic" hip-hop—namely, social injustice perpetuated by racial and class disparity—simply do not exist to a significant extent. the japanese do not see themselves in the images that the corporate-driven mediascapes deliver to them, and hence consume this product as utterly foreign. although their disturbing, "fetishized" notions of blackness and the sexual stereotypes affixed to this idea are not intentionally malicious, they do, i n effect, work against the social equalities advocated by "true" hip-hop by reinforcing potentially damaging stereotypes.xx although the japanese failure to indigenize hip-hop culture certainly has much to do with their demographics and the racial taboos so intertwined with their traditional culture, the deliberate "exoticizing" of commodified american exports like hip-hop imposed by corporate marketing schemes must also be accounted for as a partial factor. hiphop originated under conditions and among people from which a vast majority of its audience are utterly alienated, and marketing has capitalized upon this lack of familiarity as a sales tactic—"selling" various artists via an emphasis of their differences, both racial and cultural. ultimately, it has proven successful. the "exotic" appeal of rappers—imposing physical presences, colorful and sometimes indecipherable vernacular, and flamboyant fashion sense—is especially pronounced outside of the u.s., where this image can ultimately result in the sort of culturally-confused ignorance seen among some japanese hip-hop communities (and in some of the hateful reactions this same music and style have provoked in white america). this same marketing tactic is visible in the mediascapes that bring international soccer to an american audience, and that audience's failure to indigenize this sport is just as evident as the failure to synthesize an authentic strain of japanese hip-hop. unversed in the various traditions within the sport, and lacking a significant national history of it (sugden and tomlinson's idea of the cultural rejection of the colonizer's sport applies here), many americans can find the chaotic world of soccer to be an utterly bizarre spectacle: wacky celebrations, raucous singing i n the stands, the general grandiose pageantry of the game and its fans, and the fervent hooliganism that this zeal sometimes prompts. this inherent "foreignness" causes those americans who are willing to consume soccer at all to do so on a superficial level, "like a fine slab of imported goat cheese;"™ that is, appreciated in an exoticized sense, but as an entirely foreign phenomenon that is kept at a comfortable distance. the final chapter of foer's book, entitled "how soccer explains the american culture wars," portrays participation and support of the sport as another issue through which "the split between 'red and blue america'"™ 1 is maintained. he elaborates upon this idea in the scope of the broader world of soccer in its romanticized form— sugden and tomlinson's conception of "the people's game"—identifying: m i d f i e l d e r s , mcs, and m e d i a s c a p e s . . .a more fundamental difference between american youth soccer and the game as practiced in the rest of the world. in every other part of the world, soccer's sociology varies little: it is the province of the working class...the united states...inverts the class structure of the game. here aside from latino immigrants, the professional classes follow the game most avidly and the working class couldn't give a toss about it. " x x i i i americans are not merely divided along the cultural lines between supporters and non-supporters; there is also a very vocal faction of non-supporters that, as foer documents, "actively disdains the game, even campaigns against it ." this virulent strain of anti-soccer sentiment is seen in figures such as former conservative congressman jack kemp—a former star buffalo bills quarterback— and his public denouncements, such as the 1986 request to the house of representatives that "a distinction should be made that football is democratic, capitalism, whereas soccer is a european socialist [sport] . , , x x i v such extreme contempt for the supposed "intrusion" of a foreign cultural form can be read as a verification of a prevailing sense of exception and cultural anxiety in american society; as the administrators of cultural imperialism, we lack the ability to indigenize externally-imposed cultural forms truly. in the globalized dichotomy evident between the u.s. and the rest of the world's respective capacities and willingness to adopt and indigenize cultural forms native to other places, a partial affirmation of barber's concept of cultural imperialism can be seen through the "mcworld" phenomenon. many parts of the world are indeed becoming standardized and americanized by the powerful winds of global capitalism, but the mediascapes that market their commodified images are not necessarily working exclusively against local interests. as examples of successfully indigenized hip-hop groups such as that of negu gorriak show, american cultural exports can, in fact, work in favor of the localized cultures and interests that freidman collectively terms the "olive tree." the assumed direction in which cultural imperialism flows—from the u.s. to the rest of the world—is also challenged by these forces. although this unilateral american exportation does seem to be the case with hip-hop—mitchell concedes that its "flow...continues to proceed hegemonically, from the usa to the rest of the world, with little or no flow in the opposite direction' , x x v—the american adoption of soccer (by a certain class) as a foreign product demonstrates that corporate-driven cultural imperialism, though certainly more inclined toward americanization, does indeed work both ways. the same mediascapes that disseminate the romanticized images of soccer and hip-hop sometimes display a much darker side of these cultural forms, namely perversions of their respective ideals by the reemergence of traditional hatred and tribalisms played out through these phenomena. american mainstream hip-hop is certainly no stranger to violence, as sometimes its depiction of the depraved life of the marginalized is understood as an advocation and celebration of such a violent lifestyle. the responsibility of the rapper for a certain extent of this tribalistic bloodshed is undeniable, but it also speaks to the often tragic consequences of misinterpretation. tupac shakur, himself a victim of the violence he so often depicted, explains his lyrics' actual intent as follows in an interview featured in the documentary tupac: resurrection, anti -riot p o l i c e line t h e f ield at a c h a m p i o n s h i p football match in france e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 it's like you've got the vietnam war, right? and just because the reporters show us pictures at home of the vietnam war, that's what made the vietnam war end when it did, or the shit probably would have lasted longer ... .but because we saw the horror, that's what made us stop the vietnam war. i thought, "that's what i'll do as an artist, as a rapper. i'm gonna show the graphic details of what i see and my community, and hopefully they'll stop it—quit. misunderstanding of hip-hop's true objective continues, however, and is not confined to american borders. even negu gorriak, despite their evident zeal for their cause, are unabashed separatists who share an ideology and sympathize with militant basque terrorist groups such as eta, who until a supposed "ceasefire" enacted this year, routinely carried out assassinations and car bombings. in this way, the usually metaphorical militancy of hip-hop's imagery can be brought to fruition in a literal sense, and this art-form can serve not only to organize defiance but to resurrect tribalisms. one does not have to dig very deep to witness the same resurrection of tribalisms in international soccer; the lunacy and hateful implications of hooliganism are all too familiar to both u.s. and foreign audiences. anti-semitism, racism, and any and all subsets of ethnic and religious tensions are continually visible in the actions of hooligans, considered by some to be the sport's biggest fans and advocators. perhaps the most memorable and chilling story of tribalisms absorbed by soccer rivalries is that of red star belgrade, whose fan clubs were organized under zeljko raznatovic—known widely as arkan—into the serbian paramilitary forces that slaughtered thousands of croats and bosnians in a genocidal attempt at "ethnic cleansing" throughout the 1990s. many times, tribalized hatreds are the means by which such intense rivalries and their constituent fan bases are maintained, as can be seen in the case of the storied rangers/celtics rivalry i n scotland, where, foer explains, "the clubs stoke ethnic hatred [between protestant rangers fans and catholic celtics fans], or make only periodic attempts to discourage it, because they know ethnic hatred makes good business sense.' , x x v l the "hands-off" corporate approach, therefore, is not always taken in recognition of the inherent appeal of these cultural forms, but also as a way of ensuring continued tension— and thereby sales. in the same way that soccer and hip-hop can reflect the beauty of the world's underclass struggle for social equality, they can also be a window to the more damaging and tragic elements of these communities. in the new tribalisms that these forces have resurrected we see an inevitable consequence of their mass proliferation and another means by which the "authentic" achievement of their social aims can be suppressed. how exactly are we to understand these cultural forms? what is the reality that exists between the extremities by which soccer and hip-hop can be construed simultaneously as a means for the third world to transcend social barriers and a modern-day forum through which ancient hatreds are perpetuated? ultimately, the answer seems to involve the various manifestations of the "first" and "third" worlds that have surfaced. in the age of globalization, forces like soccer and hip-hop have enabled people to mobilize between social classes, but the same mediascapes that have made this proliferation possible have padded the pockets of the first world's global capitalists, ensuring that the power structures defied through these forms remain firmly in place. this is the compromise and paradox of contemporary globalization. the interests of localized places and marginalized peoples can be furthered by the accessibility of cultural forms and ideas that may benefit them, but the providers of this accessibility are working toward contrary ends; consequently, these movements are inherently crippled by the financial potential of their own disseminations. the "olive tree" of the third world has found a way to survive amongst cultural imperialism and american exceptionalism, but unless its mediascapes are appropriated by the people they represent, the romanticized dream of soccer and hip-hop wi l l remain exactly that: a dream. m i d f i e l d e r s , mcs, and m e d i a s c a p e s e n d n o t e s i . this established cliche is being increasingly challenged i n contemporary hip-hop, as groups such as nappy roots, cee-lo, and cunninlynguists, and many others—all of whom are from southern rural backgrounds—continually remind listeners that such blight is not relegated to urban centers. i i . sugden and tomlinson (127) i i i . sugden and tomlinson (n) iv. mitchell (2) v. green vi . this is not to say that they do not consider what w i l l be popular in certain places and modify their releases there accordingly; this practice is very common. rather, there is a primary concern for what american audiences want to hear and a prevailing assumption that it wi l l thereby have global appeal (which is more often than not the case). v i i . barber (23) v i i i . sugden and tomlinson (76) ix. sugden and tomlinson (88) x. foer (96) xi . foer (98) x i i . appadurai (31) x i i i . appadurai (35) xiv. freidman (51) xv. urla (175) xvi. urla (181) xvii . cornyetz (113) xvii i . cornyetz (114) xix. cornyetz (115) xx. it is important to note that the following depiction of japanese interpretations of hip-hop is not representative of all japanese youth—merely a significant portion. i n ian condry's essay "a history of japanese hip-hop: street dance, club scene, pop market," he acknowledges that the commercialized, party-centered "j-rap" that cornyetz studies is a dominant force, but he also credits more indigenized subsets of this movement, who condemn the way in which many youths "forsook the oppositional stance at the root of hip-hop culture in favor of a superficial pop song wi th a distinctive rap style" (233). despite the existent of such sentiments, however, japanese hip-hop can certainly not be considered to be indigenized; the mere existence of the practices described above demonstrate that hip-hop is still largely consumed as a foreign product, wi th some notable exceptions. xxi. foer (246) xxii. foer (240) xxii i . foer (238-239) xxiv. foer (241) xxv. this idea is particularly visible in urla's description of negu gorriak's disenchantment wi th their former idols public enemy upon attending a concert in bilbao in which they proclaimed "hello spain!" and failed to address the struggle of basque nationalism. this dismay was heightened wi th the group's comments that they would have rather played at the u.s. army base in madrid i n front of what they would perceive as a less "white" audience. urla notes the remaining cultural disparities that are illustrated by this incident, arguing that "for public enemy, race solidarity proved to be the stronger of the bonds. for negu gorriak, i t was hard to understand or sympathize wi th the race and class politics that drive many african americans into the enlisted ranks of the army" (188). despite a shared affinity for social protest through their musical genre, i t can be seen that these groups were still largely divided by their respective cultural scopes, xxvi. foer (39) references appadurai, arjun. 1996. disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy. minneapolis: university of minnesota press. barber, benjamin j. 1995. jihad vs. mcworld: terrorism's challenge to democracy. new york: ballantine books. condry, ian. 2001. a history of japanese hip hop: street dance, club scene, pop market. i n global noise: rap and hip hop outside the usa (see below). cornyetz, nina. 1994. "fetishized blackness: hip hop and racial desire in contemporary japan." social text 41:113-139. foer, franklin. 2004. how soccer explains the world: an unlikely theory of globalization. new york: harpercollins publishers inc. friedman, thomas. 2000. the lexus and the olive tree. new york: anchor books. green, cee-lo. 2004. " i a m selling soul" on cee-lo green is the soul machine. cd: laface records. mitchell, tony. 2001. global noise: rap and hip hop outside the usa. middletown, connecticut: wesleyan university press. sugden, john and alan tomlinson. 1998. fifa and the contest for world football: who rules the people's game? cambridge, uk: polity press. tupac: resurrection. 2004. dvd. directed by lauren lazin. paramount studios. urla, jacqueline. 2001. "we are a l l malcolm x!" negu gorriak, hip-hop, and the basque political imaginary. i n global noise: rap and hip hop outside the usa (see above). e l e m e n t s fall 07 "the analytic breakdown of language, which was first rigorously performed hy frege, is the unique and essential philosophical move of the analytic tradition." frege a n d w i t t g e n s t e i n the limits of the analytic style c h r i s t o p h e r s h e r i d a n t h e a n a l y t i c t r a d i t i o n i n p h i l o s o p h y s t e m s f r o m t h e w o r k o f g e r m a n m a t h e m a t i c i a n a n d l o g i c i a n g o t t l o b f r e g e . b e r t r a n d r u s s e l l b r o u g h t f r e g e ' s p r o g r a m t o r e n d e r l a n g u a g e p a r t i c u l a r l y s c i e n t i f i c l a n g u a g e i n f o r m a l l o g i c a l t e r m s t o t h e f o r e f r o n t o f p h i l o s o p h y i n t h e e a r l y t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . t h e q u e s t t o c l a r i f y l a n g u a g e a n d p a r s e o u t g e n u i n e p h i l o s o p h i c a l p r o b l e m s r e m a i n s a c o r n e r s t o n e o f a n a l y t i c p h i l o s o p h y , b u t i n v e s t i g a t i v e p r o g r a m s i n v o l v i n g t h e b r o a d a p p l i c a t i o n o f f o r m a l s y m b o l i c l o g i c t o l a n g u a g e h a v e l a r g e l y b e e n a b a n d o n e d d u e t o t h e i n f l u e n c e o f l u d w i g w i t t g e n s t e i n ' s l a t e r w o r k . t h i s a r t i c l e i d e n t i f i e s t h e k e y p h i l o s o p h i c a l m o v e s t h a t m u s t b e p e r f o r m e d s u c c e s s f u l l y i n o r d e r f o r f r e g e ' s " c o n c e p t u a l n o t a t i o n " a n d o t h e r s i m i l a r s y s t e m s t o a d e q u a t e l y c a p t u r e s y n t a x a n d s e m a n t i c s . t h e s e m o v e s u l t i m a t e l y f a i l a s a r e s u l t o f t h e n a t u r e o f l i n g u i s t i c m e a n i n g . t h e s h i f t a w a y f r o m f o r m a l l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s o f l a n g u a g e a n d t h e e m e r g e n c e o f t h e c u r r e n t a n a l y t i c s t y l e b e c o m e s c l e a r e r w h e n t h i s f a i l u r e i s e x a m i n e d c r i t i c a l l y . i gottlob frege (1848-1925) a i m e d to formal ize the language o f science such that the n o t a t i o n by w h i c h science expressed i t se l f corresponded to the r igorous objectivity o f the scientific worldview. o u t o f mathematics—speci f ical ly the concepts o f f u n c t i o n and equality—frege derived a logical system i n w h i c h ord inary language is represented by " t r u t h funct ions , " and m e a n i n g is represented by equality. this novel representat ion o f language as a f o r m a l syntactical system purpor t s to account for semantics as we l l . frege's f o r m a l , objective systematization o f language marks the b e g i n n i n g o f the analytic t r a d i t i o n . the "conceptual n o t a t i o n " 1 is made possible by two paral lel deconstructions o f ord inary language: (1) the r e d u c t i o n o f ord inary g r a m m a t i c a l s t ruc ture—that is, the sentence— i n t o subject and predicate, and (2) the b r e a k d o w n o f ord i nary semantics i n t o sense (sinn), reference (bedeutung), and idea. subsequently, frege correlated mathemat ica l funct iona l i ty w i t h l ingu i s t i c predicat ion and mathemat ica l equality w i t h l ingu i s t i c " t r u t h va lue"—"the c ircumstance that i t [the sentence] is t rue or false." 1 1 the phi losophica l path by w h i c h frege arrives at his " f o r m a l language" 1 " consists generally i n these two steps. i w i l l refer to the reduct ion o f ord inary syntax to predicat ion p e r f o r m e d i n paral lel w i t h the pars ing o f ord inary semantics as the analytic breakdown. i w i l l refer to the corre lat ion o f l ingu i s t i c c o m p o n e n t to logico-mathematica l symbols as the formal correlation. the analytic style—as i t was or ig i nal ly conceived—fundamental ly consisted o f these t w o phi losophica l moves. briefly, the f o r m a l corre lat ion consists i n ascr ibing f o r m a l n o t a t i o n and syntax (a f o r m a l system) to an i n f o r m a l syst e m . this usual ly involves the m a t h e m a t i z a t i o n o f n o n mathemat ica l content , b u t the f o r m a l system appl ied need n o t be str ict ly mathemat ica l . frege's "conceptual n o t a t i o n " is an example o f a f o r m a l system that is n o t str ict ly mathemat ica l , t h o u g h i t conserves the p r i o r i t y o f logical relations between symbols . l v "the analytic breakdown ultimately fails to achieve a total reformulation.... language ultimately resists complete formalization." as p o i n t e d out by e d m u n d husser l (1859-1938) i n the crisis of european science, the phi losophica l move that i have called the f o r m a l corre lat ion has been a n d continues to be cr i t ical to the success o f the scientific worldview. galileo, descartes, n e w t o n , and others have used the form a l corre lat ion to describe shapes and physical bodies mathematical ly . leibniz even proposed the idea o f a u n i versal nota t ion , capable o f accommodat ing everything w i t h i n one f o r m a l system. v therefore, the f o r m a l correlat i o n p e r f o r m e d by frege—although an interest ing interpretat ion—does n o t const i tute a new k i n d o f phi losophica l move. i quite admire the i n g e n u i t y o f frege's appl icat ion o f the f o r m a l corre lat ion, b u t i w i l l n o t fur ther discuss his "conceptual n o t a t i o n " and the corre lat ion o f a r g u m e n t and f u n c t i o n w i t h subject and predicate, re su l t ing i n the " t r u t h f u n c t i o n " f o r m u l a t i o n o f language. the analytic breakdown o f language, w h i c h was first r igorously p e r f o r m e d by frege, is the u n i q u e and essential ph i lo sophical move o f the analytic t r a d i t i o n . th i s move a ims to t r a n s f o r m language—already a complex syntactical and sem a n t i c s y s t e m — i n such a way as to a l low the appl icat ion o f the f o r m a l corre lat ion. a p p l y i n g husserl 's m e t h o d o f r e m e m b e r i n g forgotten phi losophica l steps, i w i l l trace the moves that frege made i n p e r f o r m i n g his analytic breakdown. th i s husser l i an analysis reveals that the analytic b reakdown u l t i m a t e l y fails to achieve a total r e f o r m u l a t i o n — t h a t language f u n d a m e n e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 tally resists complete f o r m a l i z a t i o n . ^ the specific nature o f this fai lure l i m i t s the analytic t r a d i t i o n such that , at most , i t prescribes a phi losophica l style, w h i c h , l ike socratic discourse, is a useful too l , b u t far f r o m a strict phi losophica l m e t h o d . i n short , the general u t i l i t y o f the analytic breakd o w n for addressing phi losophica l problems is severely constrained by its fai lure to clarify language to the p o i n t where i t is suff iciently objective to be formal ized . i i language as we k n o w i t has b o t h syntax and semantics. specifically, the words and phrases we use have b o t h g rammat ica l m e a n i n g according to the i r f u n c t i o n i n correctly f o r m e d sentences (syntax) and i n t r i n s i c m e a n i n g (semantics). the r e d u c t i o n o f g r a m m a r to subject ion and predicat i o n concerns the syntax o f language, w h i l e the pars ing i n t o sense (sinn), reference (bedeutung), and m o r e broadly idea concerns semantics. consider a s imple sentence: "the boy is g e r m a n . " th i s is a g rammat ica l engl i sh sentence, for the article ("the") , the n o u n ("boy"), the adjective ("german") , and the verb ("is") p e r f o r m funct ions w i t h i n the i r linguistic jurisdiction as art i cles, nouns , adjectives, and verbs. f r o m the g rammat ica l f u n c t i o n o f each w o r d i n the sentence—the syntax—i can te l l that the verb involved is be ing , the boy is the subject since he "does the be ing , " so to speak, and g e r m a n is the subjective c o m p l e m e n t — t h a t w h i c h the boy is. i n a d d i t i o n to b e i n g grammat ica l , the sentence makes sense because i t is reasonable to say, "the boy is g e r m a n . " w h y is this the case? the short answer is that the sentence has proper ly coordinated semantic content. we k n o w what a boy is, h a v i n g seen t h e m r u n n i n g a r o u n d our neighborhoods (some o f us once were boys ourselves!). i n the same way, we k n o w what i t means to be o f g e r m a n o r i g i n , a n d we k n o w what the act or state o f " b e i n g " is. consequently, we k n o w that a boy is subject to any n u m b e r o f states, that the g e r m a n nat ional i ty is one such state, and that " to be" is the cottlob frece proposed a symbolic language for expressing formal logic, s h o w n i n th e m i ddle colu m n. basic concept frege's notation modern notations judging h -a, ik a p(a) = 1 p(a) = i negation — i a a ; -a conditional (implication) 1 a ' b b-+a b = a universal quantification — & — * 0 0 vy: «(y) existential quantification — r ~ \ i ' — ^ * (u) 3y: <&(y) content identity (equal sign) a = b a = b f r e c e a n d w i t t g e n s t e i n proper verb for expressing a state or characteristic. therefore the sentence is reasonable. we can see f r o m this s imple example that a l t h o u g h syntax and semantics are related, they are two dif ferent aspects o f language. th i s d i s t i n c t i o n necessitates at least t w o ph i lo sophical moves—one addressing syntax a n d another addressing s e m a n t i c s — i n order to prepare ord inary language for f o r m a l i z a t i o n . frege recognized n o t on ly the necessity o f this "preformal izat ion , " b u t specifically that this step m u s t result i n b o t h a r igorous s i m p l i f i c a t i o n i n g r a m m a t i cal syntax and an e l i m i n a t i o n o f i n t u i t i o n f r o m semantics " to keep the cha in o f reasoning free o f gaps . " v n o n l y such a step w o u l d enable the ass imi lat ion o f ord inary language i n t o conceptual nota t ion . t h u s frege conceived the analytic b r e a k d o w n as a syntactical reduction accompanied by a semantic deconstruction. i l l i n order to b r i n g l ingu i s t i c syntax d o w n to size, frege reduces the complex g rammat ica l syntax o f language to predicat ion. m o r e specifically, he makes the case that al l concrete statements can be re formula ted i n t o a subject-predicate structure, w h e r e i n the predicate art iculates a " j u d g m e n t " about the subject mediated by the verb "to b e . " v m th i s j u d g m e n t can either be t rue or false dep e n d i n g o n the subject, and th is j u d g m e n t becomes the p r i m a r y i n f o r m a t i o n c o m m u n i c a t e d by the syntactical structure . t h e impor tance o f the verb—part icu lar ly w i t h regard to tense, b u t also w i t h regard to voice and n u m b e r — i s downplayed dramatically. given the large n u m b e r o f verbs i n any language, this r e d u c t i o n is s t u n n i n g . a g a i n , an example can clarify this cr i t ica l shift toward predication syntax. i t is n o t so di f f icul t to see h o w "the boy is g e r m a n , " fits i n t o predicat ion syntax. the boy comprises the subject, a n d the predicate contains a j u d g m e n t about german-ness related to the boy mediated by a f o r m o f " to be." but h o w can a grammat ica l ly syntactical sentence c o n t a i n i n g a transit ive verb be accommodated by predicat ion syntax? consider the sentence, "the boy throws the ba l l . " i n order to express "the boy throws the ba l l , " i n predicat ion syntax, the sentence m u s t be re formula ted to , "the boy is t h r o w i n g the ba l l . " the act ion o f the transit ive verb "to t h r o w " is converted i n t o a j u d g m e n t about the boy mediated by " is . " i n an i m p o r t a n t sense, act ion is converted i n t o a state or characteristic, a n d the subject is converted f r o m an agent perf o r m i n g an act ion i n t o an object u n d e r g o i n g j u d g m e n t . the sentence above is, o f course, a s imple example d e m o n strat ing the pr inc ip le o f convert ing g r a m m a t i c a l syntax i n t o predicat ion syntax, b u t frege dedicates a large p o r t i o n o f the chapter ent i t l ed "sense a n d m e a n i n g " to ar t icu la t ing the m e t h o d by w h i c h even complex sentences—sentences i n w h i c h whole phrases contr ibute to i n g r a m m a t i c a l syntax—may also be converted i n t o predicat ion syntax. frege proposed that the m e t h o d sketched above can restate a signi f icant p o r t i o n , i f n o t al l , g rammat ica l ly syntactical statements i n predicat ion syntax. the result is that even the m o s t complex sentences can be expressed as a subject and a j u d g m e n t about that subject, achieving the requisite s i m pl i f i cat ion o f g rammat ica l syntax. i v w h i l e the syntactical r e d u c t i o n o f frege's analytic breakd o w n is essential, the semantic deconstruct ion is at once m o r e di f f icul t and m o r e controversial . as we w i l l see, the success—or fai lure as i a r g u e — o f the analytic b r e a k d o w n depends o n the success or fai lure o f the semantic decons t ruct ion . but let us f irst trace the deconstruct ion before analyzing i t . as stated above, frege's semantic deconstruct ion involves pars ing the semantic content o f l ingu i s t i c u n i t s or " s igns " l x —usua l l y words , b u t sometimes "several words or other signs " x — i n t o two d is t inct aspects o f m e a n i n g : sense (sinn) and reference (bedeutung). h e later dist inguishes between sense a n d idea, b u t the cr i t ica l importance o f this d i s t i n c t i o n cannot be clarif ied u n t i l the o r i g i n a l d i s t i n c t i o n is traced. therefore to unders tand frege's phi losophica l move, we m u s t f irst examine sense and reference. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 the sense o f a s ign is the part o f its m e a n i n g " w h e r e i n the m o d e o f presentat ion is conta ined. " 5 " t h i s concept is d i f f i cult to define precisely, and frege h i m s e l f can only i l lustrate i t by examples, most p r o m i n e n t l y that concern ing the names " m o r n i n g star" and "evening star" for the planet v e n u s . x " the sense o f " m o r n i n g star"—a heavenly body appearing as a star i n the early m o r n i n g — i s qui te di f ferent f r o m that o f "evening star"—a heavenly body appearing as a star i n the evening. i n a s imi la r way, the p r o n o u n s " i " and " m e " are b o t h names for myself, b u t the i r sense is dist inct : " i " acts as a subject i n a sentence whereas " m e " acts as an object. therefore the sense o f " m o r n i n g star" differs f r o m that o f "evening star" as a result o f the adjectival modif icat i o n o f the m o d e o f presentation; the sense o f " i " differs f r o m that o f " m e " as a result o f the funct iona l m o d i f i c a t i o n (change i n g rammat ica l f u n c t i o n i n the sentence) o f the m o d e o f presentat ion. even t h o u g h i n b o t h cases the signs represent dif ferent names for the same t h i n g , b o t h the two signs for venus and the two signs for the first-person s ingular differ i n m e a n i n g by d i f fe r ing i n sense. i m p l i c i t i n our discussion o f sense is the second aspect o f m e a n i n g : reference. reference is the property o f signs as designators o f objects—that is, "any des ignat ion . . . has as enced object is relatively def ined, i t serves perfectly we l l . v t h u s the m e a n i n g o f a s ign is d iv ided i n t o sense and reference. "the regular connect ion between a s ign, its sense, and what i t means is o f such a k i n d that to the s ign there corresponds a definite sense and to that i n t u r n a defi n i t e t h i n g m e a n t , " x l v says frege. certainly b o t h are req u i r e d to obta in "comprehensive knowledge o f the t h i n g meant , " x v b u t these two aspects o f m e a n i n g differ i n some i m p o r t a n t ways. for frege, the cr i t ica l difference between sense and reference is this : sense is subject to change based o n the part icular s ign and its use i n context, whereas reference is u n c h a n g i n g w i t h i n the set o f signs re ferr ing to a given object. put another way, a s ign w i t h a part icular sense has only one reference, b u t a reference can have m a n y signs, each w i t h a dif ferent sense. i can p o i n t to or at least state the specific reference o f any s ign independent o f the context i n w h i c h that s ign appears, and that reference never changes. w h e t h e r i use " m o r n i n g star" or "evening star," i f you ask m e what i m e a n , presumably i can say, "venus!" or at least p o i n t i t out i n the sky. i f the object is the same for two signs, t h e n the signs share m e a n i n g w i t h respect to reference, b u t this shar ing does not affect the sin"sense is subject to change based on the particular sign and its use in context, whereas reference is unchanging within [its] set of signs...." its m e a n i n g a definite object (this w o r d taken i n the widest r a n g e ) . " x 1 h the signs " m o r n i n g star" and "evening star" may differ i n the i r sense, b u t because b o t h refer to venus, the signs are the same i n the i r reference. concordantly, because b o t h " i " and " m e " refer to the first-person singular, the two signs are the same i n their reference. notably, the object o f reference may be either a physical object (venus) or a concept (first-person s ingular) . so l o n g as the refergular i ty o f the object referenced. there are not two planets called venus because i t has two signs that reference i t . i n contrast, the m e a n i n g o f a s ign w i t h regard to sense necessarily changes depending u p o n the "mode o f presentat i o n [i.e. the context]" o f the s ign. "evening" is di f ferent f r o m " m o r n i n g " by d e f i n i t i o n ; thus , the two signs refer to dif ferent t imes o f day. th i s modal dependence o f sense ref r e c e a n d w i t t g e n s t e i n quires some interpreta t ion i n order to apprehend. i n m a n y cases, th is i n t e r p r e t a t i o n — l i k e k n o w i n g the difference between " m o r n i n g " and "evening"—is relatively easy for a person "suff ic iently fami l iar w i t h the language." x v 1 this modal knowledge r e q u i r e m e n t for apprehending sense provides a p o i n t o f entry for i n t u i t i o n and, therefore, for errors i n d e t e r m i n i n g the precise m e a n i n g o f a s ign. i n other words , sense becomes dependent, however slightly, o n the indiv idual ' s capacity to interpret the language be ing used. i w i l l not apprehend the sense o f " m o r n i n g star" and "evening star" i f i do not k n o w the def in i t ions (again, i n the dict ionary sense) o f " m o r n i n g " and "evening." a n y penet r a t i o n o f the subject's inherent l ingu i s t i c capacity i n t o the analytic b reakdown cannot be tolerated, for this subjectivity inso lubly resists the f o r m a l corre lat ion. v i frege k n e w that i f the sense o f a s ign cou ld be even partial ly observer dependent, he w o u l d not be able to apply the f o r m a l corre lat ion, and his conceptual nota t ion w o u l d be underm i n e d . therefore, i n an at tempt to preserve sense as a general, objective concept, he in t roduced a d i s t i n c t i o n between the moda l ly dependent aspect o f m e a n i n g (sense), w h i c h remains objective t h r o u g h its g r o u n d i n g i n the contextual use o f the s ign, and the observer dependent aspect o f meani n g (idea), " an i n t e r n a l image, ar i s ing f r o m m e m o r i e s o f sense [sensory] impress ions . . . b o t h i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l . . . [and] i m b u e d w i t h feel ing. " x v n i n order for his conceptual n o t a t i o n to be applicable to any statements at all i n ord inary language, frege m u s t assert that idea is n o t a universal ly s ignif icant aspect o f a sign's m e a n i n g . the decisive move o f the semantic deconstruct i o n is the insistence u p o n idea as a t h i r d and categorically d i s t inct aspect o f m e a n i n g and its subsequent subordinat i o n to sense and reference i n certain cases . x v m frege's sem a n t i c deconstruct ion o u t r i g h t rejects the n o t i o n that the subject's (i.e. language user's) i n h e r e n t l ingu i s t i c sensibility is, i n al l instances o f language, inextricably l i n k e d to subject's l ingu i s t i c capacity. h e rejects that idea always plays a role i n the use and unders tand ing o f language. frege asserts that idea plays a t r i v ia l role i n all b u t h i g h l y metaphor ica l forms o f language, l ike poet ry . x l x for h i m , the p r i m a r y difference between "the boy is g e r m a n " and "let us go t h e n , you and i , / w h e n the evening is spread out against the sky/ like a pat ient etherised u p o n a t a b l e " x x is that the semantic content o f the first sentence is accounted for by sense and reference, whereas that o f the second requires idea i n a d d i t i o n to sense and reference to be understood properly. the conceptual n o t a t i o n cannot be used for language i n w h i c h idea plays a s ignif icant role alongside sense and reference i n the d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f m e a n i n g precisely because a h i g h degree o f observer dependent ass ignment o f m e a n i n g precludes the objectivity necessary for semantic content to be formal ized . i n order for the semantic decons t r u c t i o n — a n d consequently the analytic b r e a k d o w n — t o be even part ial ly successful, frege must relegate observer dependent m e a n i n g only to certain forms o f language. were he to a f f i r m idea as equally d e t e r m i n a n t compared w i t h sense and reference, or to integrate idea i n t o sense, the analytic breakdown would fail to render any form of ordinary language amenable to the formal correlation. the semantic content o f all language w o u l d conta in a fundamenta l ly subjective aspect that cou ld not be e l iminated . t h u s , he insists that there are "three levels o f difference . . . at most the ideas, or the sense b u t not the m e a n i n g [reference], or, finally, the m e a n i n g [reference] as w e l l " (sm i 6 i ) . x x l sense and reference, as frege conceives t h e m , are def inite aspects o f a sign's semantic content. th i s def init ive , objective nature allows t h e m to be rendered i n conceptual nota t ion by apply ing the f o r m a l corre lat ion. h e admits that where observer dependent idea is s igni f i cant i n the d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f semantic content, the f o r m a l corre lat ion cannot be applied. h e contends, however, that i n a s ignif icant p o r t i o n o f l ingu i s t i c f o r m u l a t i o n s , idea has a t r i v ia l effect o n the semantic content o f signs. i n this way, frege i m p l e m e n t e d the first analytic breakdown o f language and la id the foundat ion for the analytic t r a d i t i o n . e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 v i i the propositional analysis o f language enabled by frege's analytic b reakdown is i n m a n y ways carr ied to its logical conc lus ion i n l u d w i g wittgenstein 's (1889-1951) f irst semi n a l w o r k , the tractatus logico-philosophicus (1921). wit tgens te in fu l ly expounds the assertion that there is a d i s t i n c t i o n between certain issues that phi losophy can address and others that i t cannot. the l i n e is d r a w n between what is art iculate—suff ic ient ly objective to be formal ized a n d analyzed—and what is inar t i cu la te—too observer dependent to y ie ld to the analytic breakdown. we have just seen the o r i g i n o f this d i s t i n c t i o n i n the frege's semantic deconstruct ion. after p u b l i s h i n g the tractatus wi t tgens te in re t i red f r o m philosophy, bel iev ing that he h a d clearly def ined this l i n e between w h a t k inds o f concepts and issues were "fair game" and w h i c h could n o t be addressed. wit tgens te in t h e n served as a schoolmaster i n austr ia , where he rem a i n e d u n t i l 1929, w h e n he r e t u r n e d to cambridge w i t h a r e i m a g i n e d perspective o n the phi losophica l p o s i t i o n that he had been i n s t r u m e n t a l i n sol idi fy ing. the p o w e r f u l critic isms he leveled against his analytic contemporar ies—part icular ly against what i have called the semantic decons t ruct ion—are p u t fo rward as collected m u s i n g s i n philosophical investigations (1953). the a r g u m e n t w i t h w h i c h w i t t g e n s t e i n challenges the possibi l i ty o f the semantic d e c o n s t r u c t i o n — c o m m o n l y referred to as the " f ami ly "wittgenstein fully expounds the assertion that there is a distinction between certain issues that philosophy can address and others that it cannot." resemblances" a r g u m e n t — i s suff iciently c o m p e l l i n g to call i n t o quest ion the analytic breakdown, the o r i g i n a l phi losophica l move o f the analytic t r a d i t i o n . i t is notable that wittgenstein 's m u s i n g s o n this p o i n t i n philosophical investigations appear as an i n f o r m a l series o f t h o u g h t experiments and observations, and n o t a f o r m a l arg u m e n t . as a result o f th is presentat ion, phi losophers often get i n t o t rouble w h e n a t t e m p t i n g to interpret wittgenstein 's w o r k , especially the concept o f m e a n i n g as " f ami ly resemblance." as i see i t , the " f ami ly resemb l a n c e s " ™ 1 a r g u m e n t is fair ly evident, so i a i m only to art iculate and n o t to interpret . i t is necessary, however, to do some " s t r i n g i n g together" i n order to clarify the nature o f wittgenstein 's c r i t i c i s m o f frege's semantic deconstruct i o n . i n l i g h t o f the body o f l i terature o n the topic , i t is i m portant to make clear to the reader m y i n t e n d e d use o f wittgenstein 's idea. v i i i i stated i n section v i that the cr i t ical step i n frege's semantic deconst ruct ion—the step that allows the complete exec u t i o n o f the analytic breakdown—is the separation o f observer dependent m e a n i n g (idea) f r o m b o t h sense a n d reference. the success o f this separation is p a r a m o u n t . i t h i n k that i have sufficiently explained w h y th is is the case and w h y frege is so concerned w i t h the sequestering o f idea to forms o f language w h i c h he does n o t a i m to formal ize. i t is precisely th is s i tuat ion that wittgenste in 's " f a m i l y resemblances" a r g u m e n t questions. the essence o f wittgenstein 's c r i t i c i s m is th is : instead o f " p r o d u c i n g s o m e t h i n g c o m m o n to a l l that we call language, i a m saying that these p h e n o m e n a have n o one t h i n g i n c o m m o n w h i c h makes us use the same w o r d for a l l — b u t they are related to one another i n m a n y di f ferent ways . . . and i t is because o f this re lat ionship that we call t h e m all ' l a n g u a g e . ' " ™ 1 1 h e makes three assertions here: (1) the reference, n o t the sense, is the p o i n t o f entry for subjectivity, (2) as a result , a g iven w o r d — o r s ign according to frege's t e rmino logy—has n o concrete c o m m o n referf r e c e a n d w i t t g e n s t e i n ence, and (3) relatedness based o n use (sense), not commonality, is the f u n d a m e n t a l feature o f language. these three ambi t ious claims are best unders tood sequentially, so f irst c l a i m first. frege certainly unders tood the p r o b l e m o f the observer dependent aspect o f m e a n i n g , b u t he located subjectivity's p o i n t o f entry i n the sense meani n g o f a w o r d — w h a t w i t t g e n s t e i n calls use. wi t tgens te in t h i n k s that this p o i n t o f entry is incorrect because—in considerat ion o f h o w language is actually exercised—the same w o r d appears i n the same way i n the same sentence, regardless o f the user. w h e n i say, "the boy is g e r m a n , " and w h e n y o u say, "the boy is g e r m a n , " we are b o t h u s i n g the words " the , " "boy," " is , " and " g e r m a n " i n the same way. proper use—being a f u n c t i o n o f b o t h g rammat ica l syntax a n d proper u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the w o r d s — c a n n o t be dependent o n the language user, or there w o u l d be no standard g r a m m a r and we could use words however we pleased. this is n o t the case: " g e r m a n is the boy," is u n i n te l l ig ible because the speaker o f th is sentence has used the words improper ly . therefore, i n order for any l ingu i s t i c express ion to be inte l l ig ib le to its speakers, n o t only m u s t there be proper uses and i m p r o p e r uses o f words , b u t the words c o m p o s i n g the expression m u s t c o n f o r m to standards o f proper use. i n other words , sense cannot be personal, or no one w o u l d be able to c o m m u n i c a t e . i f even some words h a d a subjective sense, th is w o u l d constitute a private language. wi t tgens te in extensively considers the possibi l i ty o f a private language a n d comes to the conclus ion that i t is imposs ib le by v i r tue o f its impract ica l ity. i w i l l n o t elaborate m u c h fur ther o n this po int , b u t i t h i n k the pr inc ip le is demonstrated by a s imple example. consider the g ibber ish a y o u n g c h i l d w i l l concoct to communica te w i t h i m a g i n a r y fr iends. the c h i l d understands this pseudo-language perfectly w e l l (and, presumably, so do his i m a g i n a r y fr iends!) , b u t i f he were to say, "gaggle benner g ibblemony, " instead of, " i l ike water," i w i l l not have the foggiest idea what he means because i do n o t have access to the sense i n w h i c h those words are used. w h a t is i m p o r t a n t , again, is that each w o r d m u s t be used proper ly according to its standard uses (sense) i n a language i n order for a va l id sentence to be f o r m e d . let us r e t u r n to the example "the boy is g e r m a n . " each o f these words has sense i n that they are al l used properly, res u l t i n g i n an inte l l ig ib le engl i sh sentence. but what is m e a n t by the w o r d "german"? m o r e specifically, what is referenced by the w o r d " g e r m a n " and what actually happens w h e n i conjure that reference? earlier, "germanness" sufficed as the reference, b u t "german-ness" is quite nebulous . does i t m e a n " o f g e r m a n descent"? or " f r o m the country germany"? the same a m b i g u i t y exists w i t h "boy." a p h o t o g r a p h of l u d w i g w i t t g e n s t e i n , perhaps the most i n f l u e n t i a l philosopher of t h e twentieth century. e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 10 does i t m e a n "a smal l male , " "a y o u n g male , " or "an i m m a ture male"? there does n o t appear to be any " b o u n d a r y " 5 0 ^ des ignat ing w h a t is referenced by " g e r m a n " or "boy": " the extension o f the concept is not closed by a f r o n t i e r . " ^ reference, therefore, is not really concrete at al l . w h a t is m o r e , n o t only is m e a n i n g w i t h regard to reference n o t concrete, i t cannot be concrete and specific. here w i t t g e n s t e i n uses a h e l p f u l example. i f i a m s h o w n a series o f pictures o f leaves a n d t o l d , "these are leaves," i w i l l obta in a usable definition o f "leaf" such that i a m competent to identi fy another, di f ferent leaf as " l e a f . " x x v l h o w do i do this? one m i g h t say that i t is because i have an idea o f what "leaf" is, or m o r e clearly, a "schema" o f "what is c o m m o n to al l shapes o f l e a f . " x x v n i n order for th is to be the case, th is schema o f "leaf" m u s t appear i n m y m i n d " n o t as the shape o f a part icular l ea f . " 5 0 ™ 1 1 1 i f the "leaf" schema were specifically representative o f a part icular leaf, i f i saw any other leaf i w o u l d n o t be able to identi fy i t as "leaf." th i s is n o t the case because i certainly can identi fy leaves o f m a n y shapes and colors as "leaves," and any language user can do th is as we l l . fur thermore , w h a t is t rue o f "leaf" is t rue o f "boy" a n d " g e r m a n , " and i see no reason w h y i t cou ld not be t rue o f any word ' s usable d e f i n i t i o n . a n d i t m u s t be so, for reference m u s t be suff iciently non-specific to accommodate al l instances o f a word 's use—even previously u n k n o w n use. but i f b e h i n d each w o r d lies an u n b o u n d e d m e n t a l schema o f what that w o r d means that is necessary for proper use o f the w o r d , t h e n reference is inherent ly observer dependent. this is because " i f someone were to draw a sharp boundary i cou ld n o t acknowledge i t as the one that i too always wanted to draw, or h a d d r a w n i n m y m i n d . ' , x x l x this "unbounded-ness" may seem odd, b u t consider the way we actually use language. we do n o t have a w o r d for every specific leaf i n the w o r l d , as w o u l d be the case i n a language w i t h concrete reference. even efforts to make reference concrete only go so far. a l t h o u g h "we can draw a b o u n d a r y — f o r a special p u r p o s e , , , x x x n a r r o w i n g "boy" to " j im s m i t h " only narrows boy so far because there is m o r e t h a n one boy n a m e d j im s m i t h (i k n o w at least t w o personally). therefore, a certain subjectivity is i n h e r e n t to reference and cannot be e l i m i n a t e d w i t h o u t deny ing c r i t i cal features o f the way i n w h i c h we actually use language. i x accept ing the subjectivity o f reference " w i t h b l u r r e d edges," x x x 1 w i t t g e n s t e i n h i m s e l f asks the key quest ion: "is i t only other people w h o m we cannot te l l exact ly? ' , x x x 1 1 put another way, " i f the concept . . . is u n c i r c u m s c r i b e d l ike that , y o u don ' t really k n o w what y o u m e a n . " ' 0 0 0 1 1 th i s is apparently false, for i certainly k n o w what i m e a n w h e n i say, "the boy is g e r m a n " even i f i cannot specify the exact reference o f each w o r d . were i t n o t the case that i h a d worki n g def in i t ions o f these words , i w o u l d n o t be able to use t h e m correctly. i t is clear that i k n o w what i m e a n because correct use impl i e s a correct usable d e f i n i t i o n . the first quest ion is m o r e interes t ing and m o r e di f f icul t . h o w do other people k n o w what i m e a n w h e n i proper ly use words i f that proper use is based o n a usable d e f i n i t i o n o f the w o r d derived f r o m a " b l u r r e d edge" reference. wit tgens te in employs the concept o f "game" to explain th is p h e n o m e n o n i n terms o f " f ami ly r e s e m b l a n c e " 5 0 ™ ^ between each person's usable def in i t ions o f a w o r d . chess is di f ferent f r o m tennis , a n d yet they are b o t h " g a m e s . " x x x v they are b o t h games n o t because there is " s o m e t h i n g comm o n to all, b u t [because] s imi lar i t ies , re lat ionships , and a whole series o f t h e m at that " l i n k chess a n d t e n n i s . x x x v i i n passing between games, " m a n y c o m m o n features drop out , and others appear," b u t w h a t remains are "correspondences w i t h the f irst g r o u p . " x x x v n such is the case w i t h a w o r d . w h e n passing between i n d i vidual 's usable def in i t ions o f a w o r d , there is no one t h i n g i n c o m m o n , b u t m a n y correspondences. w h e r e m y usable d e f i n i t i o n o f " g e r m a n " m i g h t inc lude m y f r i e n d matth i s (who is german) , the spoken language ("scheissekopf" c o u l d be m y favorite w o r d i n any language), faust a n d f r e g e a n d w i t t g e n s t e i n "the strength and incredible utility of language lies .. .in the very capacity of a word to accommodate richness in meaning." goethe, nietzsche, ber l in , etc. whereas m y f r i e n d m a t t h i s ' usable d e f i n i t i o n m i g h t inc lude dif ferent people, sounds, l i terature , phi losophers , places, etc. w h i c h are nonetheless o f the categories people, sounds, etc. by these correspondences " g e r m a n " is c o m m u n i c a b l e i n any proper use between mat th i s a n d i , even t h o u g h we do n o t have a comm o n usable d e f i n i t i o n o f " g e r m a n . " t h u s the proper concept ion o f language is not a set o f def ined proposi t ions as frege asserts (at least i n certain areas), b u t rather "a complicated n e t w o r k o f s imi lar i t ies over lapping and crissc ross ing . " 5 ™™ 1 1 1 the s t rength and incredible u t i l i t y o f language lies not i n universality, b u t " i n the over lapping o f m a n y f i b r e s " — i n the very capacity o f a w o r d to accommodate richness i n m e a n i n g . x x x i x x wittgenstein 's c r i t i c i s m o f frege's concept ion o f reference as specific and concrete—"an area" w i t h clear b o u n d ar ies x l —is quite power fu l . i t reveals that the semantic dec o n s t r u c t i o n — t h e cr i t ical step i n the analytic b reakdown o f language i n t o propos i t ions—is executed by means o f a false premise . i n d o i n g so, w i t t g e n s t e i n calls i n t o quest ion any t rans format ion , analysis, and conclus ion about language and about phi losophica l issues p e r f o r m e d o n the shoulders o f the analytic breakdown. as a result , this approach to analytic phi losophy cannot serve as the basis for a system able to address a wide range o f press ing phi losophical issues; i t makes assertions about l ingu i s t i c f o r m and m e a n i n g that are demonstrably false. i w o u l d l ike to say i n conclus ion that i do n o t w i s h to belittle the as tounding inte l lectual effort displayed by gott lob frege i n the f o r m u l a t i o n o f his conceptual n o t a t i o n . nor a m i asserting that his w o r k is useless because o f the u l t i mate fai lure o f the semantic deconstruct ion. the analytic style i n its cur rent c o n c e p t i o n — e m p h a s i z i n g the use o f r i g orously clear language a n d f o r m a l logic i n a r g u m e n t — h a s proven invaluable i n considerations o f language, aesthetics, science, a n d even phi losophy itself. i n a d d i t i o n to his cont r ibut ions to philosophy, i t should n o t go u n n o t i c e d that m o d e r n c o m p u t a t i o n has its roots i n frege's w o r k . i n fact, frege h i m s e l f i n t e n d e d his n o t a t i o n to be a phi losophica l tool . h e says as m u c h : " m y 'conceptual notat ion ' , fur ther d e v e l o p e d . . . can become a useful too l for p h i l o s o p h e r s . " x l 1 i believe the lesson o f the fai lure o f the analytic b reakdown is th is : the task o f phi losophy is to articulate, clarify, and exa m i n e those p h e n o m e n a that are the case. the task is not , as frege puts i t , " to break the power o f the w o r d over the h u m a n m i n d . . . f reeing t h o u g h t f r o m that w h i c h only the nature o f the l ingu i s t i c means o f expression attaches to i t . " x l i l i t is n o t generally the case that we experience t h o u g h t detached f r o m language, a l though this is certainly t rue for some forms o f t h o u g h t — l i k e prayer. to assume otherwise cannot lead to c lar i f icat ion o f phi losophica l issues, for one is p e r f o r m i n g operations o n art i f ic ial constructs that do n o t exist i n "the l i fe w o r l d , " x l m as husser l w o u l d say. w h e n these constructs become complex and compel l ing—as a f o r m a l n o t a t i o n encompass ing language certainly i s — i t requires the clear t h i n k i n g o f a l u d w i g wit tgens te in to b r i n g us back to the w o r l d i n w h i c h we live. e n d n o t e s i . frege 2000 (104) i i . frege 2003 (163) i i i . frege 2000 (104) iv. frege 2000 (111) v. frege 2000 (105) vi . husserl (57-59) vi i . frege 2000 (104) e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 v i i i . frege 2000 (111) wittengenstein, ludwig. philosophical investigations. trans. g. ix. frege 2003 (158) e. m . anscombe. 3rd ed. blackwell publishing, new york: 2001. x. ibid. xi . ibid. x i i . ibid. x i i i . ibid. xiv. frege 2003 (159) xv. frege 2003 (158) xvi. ibid. xvii. frege 2003 (160) xvii i . frege 2003 (161) xix. frege 2000 (104-105) xx. eliot (w 1-3) xxi. frege 2003 (161) xxii. wittengenstein (67) xxii i . wittengenstein (65) xxiv. wittengenstein (69) xxv. wittengenstein (68) xxvi. wittengenstein (73) xxvii. ibid. xxviii. ibid. xxix. wittengenstein (76) xxx. wittengenstein (69) xxxi. wittengenstein (71) xxxii. wittengenstein (69) xxxiii. wittengenstein (70) xxxiv. wittengenstein (67) xxxv. wittengenstein (66) xxxvi. ibid. xxxvii. ibid. xxxviii. ibid. xxxix. wittengenstein (67) xl. wittengenstein (71) xl i . frege 2000 (106) x l i i . ibid. x l i i i . husserl (48-53) r e f e r e n c e s eliot, t. s. "the love song of j. alfred prufrock" i n the complete poems and plays: igog-1950. harcourt brace & co., new york: 1980. frege, gottlob. "the conceptual notation." i n the conceptual notation and related articles, trans. terrellward bynum. 3rd ed. oxford university press, new york: 2000. frege, gottlob. "on sense and reference." i n the frege reader, trans. michael beaney, 151-171. blackwell publishing ltd., new york: 2003. husserl, edmond. the crisis of european sciences and transcendental phenomenology. trans. david carr. northwestern university press, evanston, i i : 1970. f r e g e a n d w i t t g e n s t e i n indian migration to the u.s. dates back to the the 1800s, but recent legislation has resulted in a large flow of highly skilled indian workers to the united states. while this influx has boosted the u.s. economy and has contributed to the creation of more jobs, india has not experienced the same degree of beneficial effects. those who emigrate typically continue to exchange valuable information— in the form of investments and remittances— back with india to increase productivity and stimulate the economy. however, this has not proven to counteract the great economic loss due to the outflow of their most educated and skilled laborers. this paper explores the ways in which indian immigration to the u.s. has contributed to an academic phenomenon known as “brain drain”, and the adverse as well as positive effects that this flow of human capital has had on both the u.s. and indian economies. further, we examine how president trump’s administration will likely handle the h-1b visa program. brain circulation a case study of high-skilled migration from india samina gan, jordan mindlin, patrick sheerin, breck wills “labor is prior to and independent of capital. capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.” —abraham lincoln, state of the union address, 1861 introduction this statement by abraham lincoln in 1861 demonstrates the continuing importance of labor as a factor input in the economy. in terms of immigration, indian migrant workers are important because capital is a result of labor, which stimulates the united states economy. while indian migration to the united states dates back to the 1800s, recent legislation has changed the qualifications of the people migrating. as a result of the immigration and nationality act of 1965 and of the immigration act of 1990, the majority of indians migrating to the u.s. are now highly skilled. these high-skilled immigrants make up a key component of the technology boom in the united states, with a high concentration of immigrants living in entrepreneurial hot spots such as silicon valley and denver.1 furthermore, india has become the third largest source country of emigrants to the united states, only surpassed by mexico and china. the resulting influx of high skilled and high performing labor has boosted the u.s. economy and led to the creation of more jobs, yet has also had detrimental effects on the u.s. and indian economices alike. this paper explores the ways this immigration has contributed to the academic phenomena called the “brain drain.” we conclude that the u.s. h-1b program has had ambiguous impacts for the source country of india yet positive effects for the united states as the destination country. further, we examine how president trump’s administration will likely handle the h-1b visa program, whether it be outright abolishment or revision. motivation the india-to-u.s. migration flow is especially unique because of the occurrence of highly skilled workers leaving the third-world country to pursue better opportunities in the u.s., a phenomenon otherwise known as “brain drain.” the h-1b visas have allowed for increasingly more highly skilled foreign workers to migrate and work in the united states, most of whom are from india. while the economic effects for the u.s. are beneficial, india seems to experience the opposite. on one hand, india is losing its most educated and skilled laborers, but on the other hand, those who emigrate typically continue to exchange investments and remittances back to india, thereby furthering the flow of productivity and stimulating the economy. yet, the benefit of these exchanges has not proven to counteract the great economic loss due to this outflow. it is hard to neglect the ways in which this migration flow positively impacts the u.s. — however, there are policymakers that believe h-1b visas should be cut to promote the hiring of native unemployed laborers in the u.s. rather than bring in more foreign workers. with the results of the 2016 election, we believe it is topical to analyze the future of the india-to-u.s. migration flow in the upcoming years, and how this flow will be affected by president trump’s administration. history of indian-u.s. migration flows indians began migrating to the u.s. as early as 1820.2 during the nineteenth century, most of these immigrants were “unskilled and uneducated” farmers attracted to california agriculture. this migration flow came to a standstill due to the immigration acts of 1917 and 1924 that were fueled by security concerns during world war i. this legislation banned all immigration from asia except for japanese and filipino migrants.3 as a result, in 1960, indian immigrants made up only 0.5 percent of the foreign-born population of the united states.4 the india to u.s. migration flow started up again when the 1965 immigration and nationality act was instituted. while this figure 1: indian immigrant population in the united states, 1980-2013 (courtesy of migration policy institute) 32 elements : : spring 2017 abolished the quota system, there remained caps on source countries and the total annual immigration flow remained.5 u.s. citizen or permanent resident relatives, refugees, or those with skills deemed useful for the country were preferred.6 the wave of immigrants that followed were “young, educated urban dwellers, with strong english language skills,” constrasting sharply with the initial immigrant population from india.7 the immigration act of 1990 further increased the cap on permanent work-based or h-1b visas, attracting even more high-skilled immigrants. this 1990 act is likely why as of 2010, 37.6 percent of indian american adults had resided in the united states for ten years or less.8 the indian immigrant population grew significantly in the 1990s and by 2010 became the third largest immigrant population in the u.s, lagging only behind mexican and chinese immigrant populations.9 figure 1 depicts the tenfold increase of the indian immigrant population in the united states, from 206,000 in 1980 to 2.04 million in 2013.10 this is a trend for india as a whole, since as of 2015, india has the highest number of international immigrants in the world, with the united nation’s estimate that over 16 million indians were living abroad.11 about the migrants as stated before, these immigrants are highly educated and highly skilled workers. this is due to several factors. indian immigrants are more likely to be proficient in english than the overall foreign-born population, which means that they can engage in high-skilled labor jobs with relative ease. recent numbers show that only 26 percent of indian immigrants have limited english proficiency versus the overall average of 50 percent of all immigrants. in addition, 10 percent of indian immigrants spoke only english at home, showing high levels of english proficiency that could compete even with native english.12 further, indian immigrants are much more educated compared to foreignand native-born populations. for example, 28 percent of all immigrants and 30 percent of u.s. born adults over 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher. meanwhile, 76 percent of indian immigrants ages 25 and older have achieved this level of education.13 this number has grown since 2010, as shown in figure 2. also, among these college educated immigrants, more than half have either a graduate or professional degree.14 a likely factor for many highly skilled indians immigrating to the u.s. is the aforementioned h-1b visa. this visa program allows highly skilled foreign workers in “designated specialty occupations” to come and work in the u.s.15 today indian migrants are the number one recipients of temporary high skilled h-1b visas. in 2014, they accounted for 70 percent of the approved h-1b petitions.16 the migration policy institute has found that indian immigrants participate in the labor force at a higher rate than overall foreignand native-born populations.17 figure 3 illustrates that indian immigrants are more than twice as likely to be employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations; these immigrants on figure 2: immigrant population with a college education (courtesy of pew research center) figure 3: employed workers in the civilian labor force (ages 16 and older) by occupation and origin, 2013 (courtesy of migration policy institute) 33 brain circulation average are paid higher than those in other service industries, sales, natural resources, and production.18 more specifically, in 2013, 18 percent work in science and engineering fields, versus the 5 percent of the u.s. population and 14 percent of overall u.s. asian population.19 thus, the median annual household income for indian americans, in 2010, was $88,000, while for all u.s. households it was $49,800.20 the enactment of the h-1b visa led to an influx in high-skilled inidian workers in the u.s. that earned high wages and helped advance their respective fields, such as science and engineering. in the long term, the economic value of temporary highskilled indian migrants is estimated to exceed $45 billion, which is larger than india’s value to us cross-border imports of goods or services. 21 introduction to brain drain due to the major economic impacts “brain drain” and “brain circulation” have had on india and the u.s., we decided to evaluate the beneficial and adverse of impacts these phenomena have had on the countries between 1990 and 2010. the term “brain drain” was first coined in by the british royal society in the 1950s and 1960s to describe the phenomenon of highly skilled science workers leaving the uk to pursue opportunities in the united states.22 in contemporary times, the term has been transformed to mean the flight of human capital from less developed to more developed countries. this flight exacerbated global income inequality, presenting an additional challenge to developing countries. according to a 1985 textbook in economic development: “the people who migrate legally from poorer to richer lands are the very ones that third world countries can least afford to lose, the highly educated and skilled.”23 one example of the stark trajectory of this human capital flight is the career paths of students who go to the indian institute of technology. with an acceptance rate of just over two percent, this pretigous university sends over two-thirds of its graduates abroad each year, with a majority of those graduates leaving for the u.s.24 there is undoubtedly a flight of human capital happening throughout the world, especially in india. according to world bank data, between 1990 and 2010, high-skilled migration from non-oecd countries rose 185 percent from 6.2 million to 17.6 million.25 indian emigrants are the largest population of these high-skilled workers. between 1990 and 2000, the uk was the largest origin country for skilled laborers, but in 2010, india surpassed the uk with a stock-count of over 2.1 million high-skilled emigrants to the oecd, increasing its emigrant count by 370 percent since 1990.26 it is important to note here that, because of india’s population size, at 4.3 percent, this is still a relatively low percentage of the total indian population, ranking relatively low on the list of countries losing high-skilled workers. indian-americans make up the third-largest immigrant population in the united states, with over 2.8 million residing in the u.s.27 based on their median household income level, as well as their compositional education level (over 70 percent hold tertiary degrees), it is evident that there is a large number of high-skilled indian immigrants to the united states.28 impact on the united states the united states has benefitted from this human capital flight. annalee saxenian of uc berkeley performed an indepth analysis on “brain drain” and “brain circulation” in 2005 for indian and chinese communities in silicon valley specifically. she notes that by 2000, over half of silicon valley’s scientists and engineers were foreign born, one quarter of those being indian and chinese.29 in 2008, wadhwa at upenn conducted research on 2,054 engineering and technology startups, companies founded between 1995-2005 with over $1 million in revenues. wadha found that over 25.3 percent of the key founders were immigrants, and 26 percent of those immigrants were indian. in silicon valley, the number of immigrant-founded startups was at 52.4 percent.30 figure 4 shows the percent of immigrant founded startups by industry. furthermore, the majority of $1 billion technology companies are founded by immigrants, with india responsible figure 4: percentage of immigrant-founded companies by industry31 (courtesy of issues in science and technology) 34 elements : : spring 2017 “[t]he majority of $1 billion technology companies are founded by immigrants, with india responsible for 14 of the 44 companies.” for 14 of the 44 companies.32 these companies founded by indian migrants not only propel the us technology industry forward with new ideas but also create jobs. this pool of immigrant-founded companies was responsible for generating an estimated $52 billion in 2005 sales and creating just under 450,000 jobs as of 2005.33 in addition, indian migrants run many of the massive corporations at the heart of the united states. the chief executive of pepsico, indira nooya, is a female indian immigrant. pepsico is a part of the growing proportion of us companies that are being created or lead by immigrants. sundar pichai, the ceo of google, turned chrome into the world’s most popular web browser and ran the android division in just 11 years.34 microsoft, adobe systems, and citigroup are just a few more examples of prominent indian immigrants holding leadership roles in big corporations in the united states. among these companies, indian migrants are responsible for new technology innovations in data management, performance management, power generation, internet-based grocery delivery, cloud-based platforms, targeted advertisements, network security, and much more.35 beyond startups, indian immigrants contribute intellectual property. in 1998, indian immigrants filed 9.5% of the total u.s. patent applications. this number grew to 13.6% by 2006.. 36 figure 5 shows the total number of patents filed by immigrants between 1998-2006.37 further, indian immigrants provide the cultural and linguistic links to vital asian markets. there is measurable economic evidence to back this up. for example, in california, for every 1 percent increase in first-generation immigrants in a state, there is a 0.5 percent increase in exports, and holding everything else equal, california exports 4 times more to the asia pacific than any other country.38 this means that “brain drain” from india has clearly proved to be a boon to the united states, providing new jobs, innovation, and startups that create new technology, as well as provide links that facilitate increased international trade. the effects that this flight of skilled-human capital has on india, on the other hand, has been subject to countervailing forces. impact on india as for india, there are counteracting impacts from this human capital flight. the growth of trade, investments, and shared ideas from indian immigrants in the u.s., remittances, as well as potential high human capital emigrants that return all serve to benefit india.39 yet, the flight of some of the country’s most high-skilled workers can make the country less appealing for direct foreign investment thus hindering the growth and development of “high technology clusters” and institutions, especially universities.40 further, those still residing in india will feel the negative effect of higher taxes and lower spending on them. this fiscal burden is harmful on a macroeconomic level because of a lost addition to india’s potential gdp from innovation and hard work at home,41 as well as a documented loss in tax revenue for the government at .5 percent of gdp.42 figure 5: foreign-national contribution to the u.s. global patent applications (courtesy of issues in science and technology) 35 brain circulation a study on the fiscal impact of high-skilled emigration from india to the u.s. by desai et al. visualizes the impact on the indians that did not leave, referred to “those left behind” (tlbs). figure 6 demonstrates that when the number of skilled workers decreases from s0 to s1 due to emigration, and national income is lowered because of the net fiscal loss (shaded green) and lost basic surplus (shaded grey). the total loss depends on the current tax rate, t, the skilled wage, w, the benefit level, b, and the number of emigrants, e.43 although this simple model cannot explain the entire impact that emigration has on india, it is clear that based on this model and the assumptions of desai, there is a loss to the national income when high-skilled immigrants leave the country. this loss could be compensated with investments or remittances from the emigrating stock, which is not accounted for in the above model. yet, due to the modest foreign direct investment from non-resident indians (nris), investment has resulted in little to no fiscal gain for india.44 on the other hand nri remittances have a powerful impact on stimulating consumption, thus leading to a positive fiscal impact on the indian government through indirect tax receipts. there was an estimated indirect tax yield due to remittances reaching 0.07 percent of gross national income in 200545 that can offset the net fiscal loss seen in figure 7, but not by much. so although there is room for some counteracting factors, there is an overall initial loss felt by india due to the emigration of high skilled workers to the united states.46 possibly, the only way to reconcile this in their economy is if these indian immigrants were to return. borjas found in a 1996 empirical study that return migration is positively related to the income per capita in their home country and negatively related to the distance from the u.s. since we see a flight of human capital in the first place, high skilled migrants most likely have higher returns in the u.s. further, india and u.s. are not geographically close to one another, so borjas’ study may hold that there is a reluctance on the part of indian immigrants to return home. although there has been very little effort on the part of the u.s. or india to track returnees, there is evidence that indians may not in fact return back home. 47 “[t]he flight of some of the country’s highest skilled workers can make the country less appealing for direct foreign investment, thus hindering the growth and development of ‘high technology clusters’...” figure 6: the fiscal impact of emigration on “tlbs” (courtesy of desai et al) figure 7: percentage of friends or colleagues have returned to their country of birth to work or start a company (courtesy of borjas et al) 36 elements : : spring 2017 brain circulation it is important to highlight that “brain drain” may be a bit of a misnomer for this migration flow. in academia, a new term, known as “brain circulation” has been coined. this term is used to describe “training and career paths in which students or workers go abroad to specialize and then return to their country of origin, drawing on the experience they have amassed to secure more advantageous employment conditions.”48 in this scenario, india is not being “drained” of its highly-skilled workers, rather, its workers are acquiring human capital abroad. talented workers will go abroad and bring back new skills, networks, knowledge, and contacts which creates industries and businesses where otherwise there might have been none. studies have shown that immigrants who leave their source country continue to exchange valuable information to their countries back home, some of whom even end up returning home after a number of years. annalee saxenian of uc berkeley conducted a survey of chineseand indian-born immigrants in silicon valley in 2002. she found that over 96 percent of the indians she polled knew of friends or colleagues who had returned to their country of birth to work or start a company (see).49 she also found that over 70 percent of individuals exchanged information with friends, classmates, or business associates in their country of birth regarding jobs or business opportunities in the u.s., jobs or business opportunities in their home country, and technology.50 there is also evidence that those who work abroad have better success in india. a 2008 survey by commander et. al. found that 30-40 percent of higher-level employees in india’s software industry have relevant work experience in a developed country.51 furthermore, the “loss” of these high skilled workers and their potential impact on the indian economy may be overstated. these individuals can add more economic value in a place like the u.s. with well developed infrastructure and laws that encourage innovation. later on, indian immigrants can use their social networks across borders created in the u.s. in order to “circumvent the barriers arising from imperfect domestic institutions in developing countries.”52 this reveals the important fact that even when indian immigrants do not return to their home country, they become important intermediaries, facilitating scientific and technical cooperation between india and the u.s. one such example of this phenomenon is in the software industry. there are social connections between indian ceos and professionals in silicon valley and the low-cost software expertise in india.53 despite the positive evidence of brain circulation and the increased globalization of the economy, a 2001 east west center working paper by annalee saxian has found that indian emigrants are often reluctant to return home permanently, and that india is lacking the “critical mass” of returnees that would help improve indian technological infrastructure to match international standards. 54 policy with the results of the 2016 presidential election, u.s. policy regarding immigration for high-skilled laborers and h-1b visas is expected to shift significantly. president trump spoke about the h-1b program several times during his campaign with somewhat conflicting statements.it is therefore unclear how he will reform the current h-1b program and high-skilled immigrants to the u.s. in the future. president obama implemented a program that will expand the h-1b outsourcing program, which was to go into effect just a few days before trump is inaugurated.55 trump having promised to end the h-1b visas as a cheap labor program during his campaign will likely attempt to abolish or at least revise it. during president obama’s two terms, his administration expanded the h-1b program considerably. silicon valley, in particular, has lobbied to increase the number of h-1b visas they are allowed to us apply for to bring high-skilled workers in from other countries, as well as to sponsor the spouses of these workers to work in the u.s.56 while obama’s policies were quite friendly to the h-1b program, president trump’s agenda will be less so, since a central point of his campaign was to put american workers first. proponents of the h-1b argue that the program is used to recruit and hire the best and brightest from around the world, fill gaps in the u.s. workforce, and retain talented foreign students who received education in the united states. h-1b data and the sce case do not explicitly prove these arguments to be valid, however, projected data shows that raising the cap of h-1b visas issued to 195,000 would increase revenues by a total of nearly $69 billion over eight years.57 opponents of the h-1b visas argue that these migrants are taking the jobs of native, unemployed laborers. however, empirical data shows a demand for more skilled workers in the labor market, specifically in the computer and mathematical fields. without enough skilled workers 37 brain circulation at home, many american companies must either expand outside the u.s. or not expand at all. an immigration policy focused on increasing economic growth should seek ways to admit more immigrants with the advanced education levels desired by domestic employers. this influx of highly skilled and educated workers has proven to increase u.s. jobs while stimulating the economy and adding astronomical value to the companies to which they are employed. in the early days of trump’s presidency, he will have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages that the h-1b poses to the united states. trump has previously spoken out several times regarding h-1bs, but he has given somewhat contradictory statements regarding on what he plans to do to the program. trump’s initial view on foreign high-skilled employment early in his campaign was that they are holding down american salaries and hurting employment rates. trump proposed bringing the h-1b program to an end, citing that it took away many coveted it jobs from american workers. trump called for these companies to search for american workers to fill their positions before looking overseas. on october 28, 2015, trump was asked about these h-1b visas during the republican debate. his answer was essentially that if these visas are needed in order to fill positions at these companies, and if the immigration is done legally, that he sees no problem with them.58 in a march 2016 debate, trump further expressed general support for h-1b visas, explaining that america needs highly-skilled immigrants, and that too many foreign-born people are attending our best colleges and then bringing their talent back to their home country. in regard to this, trump said, “we absolutely have to keep the brain power in this country,” which implies he is in favor of these visas and perhaps even increasing the number of them.59 however, almost directly after this debate, trump released a statement essentially denouncing the h-1b program, which likely means that he either misunderstood the question that was asked, or that he was attempting to express conflicting views. trump’s statement was that he is not in favor the h-1b program because it is not high-skilled immigration, but temporary foreign workers imported in order to substitute for american workers who must be paid more. trump said that he would forever abolish the h-1b program as a cheap labor program, and institute a requirement to hire american workers first over visa and immigration programs. however, this is somewhat confusing, considering that many workers who are given opportunity by the h-1b visa are high-skilled workers – 55% of h-1b recipients have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and their median salary in 2014 was $75,000.60 overall, trump has shown that his views on the h-1b program have changed over time and have somewhat contradicted each other at certain points. companies around the united states, particularly in silicon valley, are wary of what the trump presidency will mean for the future of their employment of foreign-born workers. while it is somewhat challenging to speculate what will happen, it is likely that president trump will not be as friendly to the h-1b visa program as president obama was, which could cause difficulty for silicon valley companies as well as those which rely on foreign-born workers. trump’s plan for h-1b visas, if he follows through with some of what he has said regarding the program, will likely negatively affect the india to u.s. migration flow, as high-skilled indians tend to benefit the most from this program. “overall, trump has shown that his views on the h-1b program have changed over time and have somewhat contradicted each other at certain points.” figure 8: percentage of times information is exchanged with friends, classmates, or business associates in your country of birth (courtesy of public policy institute of california) 38 elements : : spring 2017 endnotes 1. vivek wadhwa, annalee saxenian, ben a. rissing, and g. gereffi, “skilled immigration and economic growth,” applied research in economic development 5, no. 1 (2008): 6-14, https:// ssrn.com/abstract=1141190 2. jie zong and jeanne batalova, “indian immigrants in the united states,” migration information source, last modified may 6, 2015, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/indianimmigrants-united-states 3. “the immigration act of 1924 (the johnson-reed act),” office of the historian, accessed march 26, 2017, https://history.state. gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act 4. zong and batalova, “indian immigrants.” 5. “u.s. immigration since 1965,” history, accessed march 26, 2017, http://www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965 6. ibid. 7. zong and batalova, “indian immigrants.” 8. drew desilver, “5 facts about indian americans,” pew research center, last modified september 30, 2014, http://www. pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/30/5-facts-about-indianamericans/ 9. “chapter 5: u.s. foreign-born population trends,” pew research trends, last modified september 28, 2015, http:// www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/28/chapter-5-u-s-foreign-bornpopulation-trends/ 10. ibid. 11. “population facts,” united nations department of economic and social affairs, last modified december 2015, http:// www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/ publications/populationfacts/docs/migrationpopfacts20154.pdf 12. zong and batalova, “indian immigrants.” 13. ibid. 14. ibid. 15. desilver, “facts about indian americans.” 16. zong and batalova, “indian immigrants.” 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/30/5-factsabout-indian-americans/ http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/ indian-immigrants-united-states 20. ibid. 21. jacob funk kirkegaard, “the economic scope and future of us-india labor migration issues,” peterson institute for international economics, (2015), https://piie.com/sites/default/ files/publications/wp/wp15-1.pdf 22. mario cervantes and dominique guellec, “the brain drain: old myths, new realities,” observer, no. 230, (2002), http:// oecdobserver.org/news/archivestory.php/aid/673/the_brain_ drain:_old_myths,_new_realities.html 23. todaro, michael (1985): economic development in the developing world. 24. rebecca leung, “imported from india,” cbs, last modified june 19, 2003, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/imported-fromindia/ 25. sari pekkala kerr, william kerr, çalar özden and christopher parsons, “ global talent flows,” the national bureau of economic research, last modified october 2016, http://papers.nber.org/ tmp/10704-w22715.pdf 26. ibid. 27. http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/ productview.xhtml?pid=dec_10_dp_dpdp1&prodtype=table 28. desilver, “facts about indian americans.” 29. http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~anno/papers/scid-2005. pdf, pg 34. 30. wadhwa, vivek and saxenian, annalee and rissing, ben a. and gereffi, g., skilled immigration and economic growth (2008). available at ssrn: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1141190https:// ssrn.com/abstract=1141190 31. wadhwa, vivek. “a reverse brain drain” (2009). available at ssrn: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_ id=1358382 32. brueck, hilary. “immigrants are driving billion dollar startups, a study finds” (2016). http://new.fortune. com/2016/03/18/billion-dollar-startup-founders-immigrantsstudy-nfap/http://new.fortune.com/2016/03/18/billion-dollarstartup-founders-immigrants-study-nfap/ 33. “skilled, educated immigrants contribute significantly to u.s. economy” (2007). https://today.duke.edu/2007/01/ engineerstudy.html 34. http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/17/investing/india-ceosgoogle-pichai/ 35. .anderson, stuart. “immigrants and billion dollar startups”. national foundation for american policy (2016). http://nfap.com/ wp-content/uploads/2016/03/immigrants-and-billion-dollarstartups.nfap-policy-brief.march-2016.pdf 36. wadhwa, vivek. intellectual property, the immigration backlog, and a reverse brain-drain: america’s new immigrant entrepreneurs, part iii. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers. cfm?abstract_id=1008366. 37. wadhwa, vivek. a reverse brain drain. https://papers.ssrn. com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1358382. 38. saxenian, annalee (2002): how high skilled immigrants make everyone better off. http://www.luys.am/attachments/articles/ brain-circulation_brookings-review_2002_en.pdf 39. desai, m., d. kapur, j. mchale and k. rogers (2009): the fiscal impact of high-skilled emigration: flows of indians to the u.s., journal of development economics, 88, 33.. 40. ibid. 41. https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/sites/casi.sas.upenn.edu/files/ bio/uploads/fiscal%20impact.pdf 42. desai, m., d. kapur, j. mchale and k. rogers (2009): the fiscal impact of high-skilled emigration: flows of indians to the u.s., journal of development economics, 88,: 32-44. 43. ibid. 37. 44. desai, m., d. kapur, j. mchale and k. rogers (2009): the fiscal impact of high-skilled emigration: flows of indians to the u.s., journal of development economics, 88, pg 43. 45. ibid. 43. 46. borjas, george, bratsberg, bernt, 1996. who leaves? the outmigration of the foreign-born. the review of economics and statistics 78 (1), 165–176 39 brain circulation 47. saxenian, annalee (2001): transnational communities and the evolution of global production networks. east meets west center. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/101155/2001_12_transnational_ communities.pdf. 48. italian leaders abroad community (2012): brain drain, brain exchange, and brain circulation. http://www.lse.ac.uk/ businessandconsultancy/lseenterprise/pdf/brain-drain(english).pdf 49. saxenian, annalee (2002): local and global networks of immigrant professionals in silicon valley. public policy institute of california. 50. ibid. 51. commander, s., r. chanda, m. kangasmieni and a. l. winters (2008): the consequences of globalisation: india’s software industry and cross-border labour mobility, world economy, 31, 2: 187-211. 52. nanda, ramana, and tarun khanna. “diasporas and domestic entrepreneurs: evidence from the indian software industry.” journal of economics & management strategy 19, no. 4 (winter 2010): 991–1012. 53. saxenian, annalee (2002): how high skilled immigrants make everyone better off. http://www.luys.am/attachments/articles/ brain-circulation_brookings-review_2002_en.pdf 54. saxenian, annalee (2001): transnational communities and the evolution of global production networks. east meets west center. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/101155/2001_12_ transnational_communities.pdf. 55. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/28/ obama-expands-h1b-program/ 56. http://ijr.com/2015/02/258354-obama-administration-givesimmigrants-new-name/ 57. adi2010.pbworks.com/f/h-1b+cap+aff+-+frappier+russell. docx 58. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/ wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-flip-flops-then-flips-and-flopsmore-on-h-1b-visas/?utm_term=.6627ccd6f860 59. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/ wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-flip-flops-then-flips-and-flopsmore-on-h-1b-visas/?utm_term=.6627ccd6f860 60. ibid. references anderson, stuart. “immigrants and billion dollar startups.” national foundation for american policy policy brief, march, 2016 borjas, george, bratsberg, bernt. “who leaves? the outmigration of the foreign-born.” the review of economics and statistics 78(1) (1996): 165–176 brueck, hilary. “immigrants are driving billion-dollar startups, study finds.” fortune, march 18, 2016 cervantes, mario, and guellac, dominique. “the brain drain: old myths, new realities” observer (230): january 2002 commander, s., r. chanda, m. kangasmieni and a. l. winters. “the consequences of globalisation: india’s software industry.” journal of economics and management strategy 19, no. 4 (2002): 187-211 desai, m., kapur d., mchale, j, and rodgers k. “the fiscal impact of high-skilled emigration: flows of indians to the u.s.” journal of development economics 88(1) 2009: 3244 desilver, drew. “5 facts about indian americans.” pew research center, september 30, 2014. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/30/5-facts-about-indianamericans/ duke today staff. “skilled, educated immigrants contribute significantly to u.s. economy.” duke today, january 3, 2007 history.com. “u.s. immigration since 1965.” 2010. http:// www.history.com/topics/us-immigration-since-1965 immigration policy institute. “indian immigrants in the united states.” may 16, 2015 http://www.migrationpolicy. org/article/indian-immigrants-united-states kerr, sari pekkala, et al. 2016. “global talent flows.” working paper no. 22715, the national bureau of economic research: october 2016 kirkegaard, jacob funk. “the economic scope and future of us-india labor migration issues.” working paper series, peterson institute for institute economics (15-1): 2015 lee, michelle ye hee. “donald trump flip-flops, then flips and flops more on h1-b visas.” washington post march 21, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ fact-checker/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-flip-flopsthenf l ips -andf lops -more-on-h-1b -v isas/?utm_ term=.869ffdfa8737 leung, rebecca. “imported from india.” cbs news. june 19, 2003. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/imported-fromindia/ 40 elements : : spring 2017 milio, simona et al. “brain drain, brain exchange and brain circulation. the case of italy viewed from a global perspective.” national interest. march 2012 http://www. lse.ac.uk/businessandconsultancy/lseenterprise/pdf/ brain-drain-(english).pdf munro, neil. “obama challenges donald trump by expanding h-1b outsourcing program” breitbart, november 28, 2016. http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/28/obama-expands-h1b-program/ nanda, ramana, and tarun khanna. “diasporas and domestic entrepreneurs: evidence from the indian software industry.” journal of economics & management strategy 19, no. 4 (winter 2010): 991–1012. office of the historian, us department of state. “the immigration act of 1924.” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act pew research center. “u.s. foreign-born population trends.” september 28, 2015. http://www.pewhispanic. org/2015/09/28/chapter-5-u-s-foreign-born-populationtrends/ saxeniam, annalee. “brain circulation: how high skill immigration makes everyone better off.” the brookings review 20(1), (2002): 28-31 saxeniam, annalee. “from brain drain to brain circulation: transnational communities and regional upgrading in india and china”. studies in comparative international development 40(2) (2005): 35-61 saxenian, annalee. “local and global networks of immigrant professionals in silicon valley.” public policy institute of california. (2002) saxenian, annalee. “transnational communities and the evolution of global production networks: the cases of taiwan, china, and india.” economics study area working papers 37 (2001) shah singh, harmeet. “india-born ceos are taking the u.s. by storm.” cnn, august 17, 2015 taft, victoria. “obama administration declares ‘immigrants’ and ‘aliens’ will now be called something else entirely.” independent journal review. 2015 http://ijr. com/2015/02/258354-obama-administration-gives-immigrants-new-name/ todaro, michael. economic development in the developing world. london: longman, 1989 united nations. “trends in international migration.” population facts (4): 2015 united states census bureau. “profile of general population and housing characteristics: 2010.” http://factfinder. census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview. xhtml?pid=dec_10_dp_dpdp1&prodtype=table wadhwa, vivek and saxeniam, annalee and rissing, ben a. and gereffi, g. “skilled immigration and economic growth.” applied research in economic development 5, no. 1 (2008): 6-14 wadhwa, vivek, et al. “intellectual property, the immigration backlog, and a reverse brain-drain: america’s new immigrant entrepreneurs, part iii.” august 22, 2007 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers2.cfm?abstract_ id=1008366 wadhwa, vivek. “a reverse brain drain.” issues in science and technology 25(3) (2009): 45-52 41 brain circulation arthur diep-nguyen is a sophomore at boston college from san marino, california. while originally a biology major, arthur discovered a passion for mathematics during the fall semester of his freshman year, when his calculus ii professor igor minevich introduced him to various proofs, puzzles, and other topics in math. this initial experience spurred arthur to expand his academic horizons. since then, arthur has worked on math research with classmates and continues to pursue his interests in both science and math. currently a biochemistry and mathematics double major, arthur is also a trombonist in the university wind ensemble and in the bop! jazz ensemble. author biographies jennifer heine is currently a senior in the morrissey arts and sciences honors program at boston college with a double major in english and hispanic studies and a minor in creative writing. a dean’s list student and a member of the order of the cross and crown honor society, she plans to pursue graduate studies in comparative literature. jennifer has been a member of the dickens fellowship since 2010, and her most recent research involves comparing the work of dickens work to that of cervantes and other picaresque writers. a fluent spanish speaker, she studied at the universidad complutense in madrid. in addition to her academic studies, she enjoys writing creatively, both editing and contributing to the stylus. juliana butron before coming to boston college, juliana studied visual arts at fiorello laguardia, a public arts school, in new york city. growing up in a diverse brooklyn neighborhood exposed her to different points of view. this environment taught her that there are many sides to every story. as a result, she has developed a fondness for exploring timely issues in unique ways. this semester, she is excited to continue her role as a co-facilitator for the thea bowman ahana and intercultural center’s dialogues on race. after graduation, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree in american government. katelyn johnson is currently a senior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences, majoring in biochemistry and minoring in history. during the summer of 2015, she took part in the interdisciplinary water sciences and engineering nsf reu program at virginia polytechnic institute and state university. working with dr. kang xia and ph.d. student hanh le, she completed research in a surface stream concerning neonicotinoid transport and transformation. currently, her research comprises of deicer contaminant transport in the charles river watershed under the advisement of dr. rudolph hon and dr. james besancon. after graduation, katelyn plans on pursuing a master’s degree in civil engineering, with a focus on water resources. when she is not conducting research, you can find her playing her baritone in the boston college marching band, singing in the university chorale, advising venture scouts, and leading students as the co-president of bc’s student organization stitch. yoon-shin (clara) lee is a junior studying applied psychology and human development and sociology in the lynch school of education. she is originally from san jose, california, but graduated high school in south korea. she is currently in the lynch honors programs and sociology departmental honors. on campus, she is involved in ugbc, the student admissions program, and various intercultural organizations. in her spare time, clara also works in the memory, metacognition, and learning lab as a research fellow and volunteers at boston children’s hospital. after graduation, she hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a career in social justice and/or education. alessandra luedeking is a junior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences double majoring in english and international studies with a concentration in ethics and international social justice. after completing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to volunteer with the jesuit volunteer corps in a two-year international program aimed at addressing social injustice and pursuing sustainable development in impoverished nations. she would like to teach english as a second language abroad, and then return to america to earn a master’s degree and work for the united nations. she is a member of the christian a cappella group, against the current, and the deputy editor for elements. christopher kabacinski is a senior majoring in english and minoring in medical humanities in the morrissey college of arts and sciences. his research interests include twentieth and twenty-first century literature and art, narrative medicine, representations of illness, disability, grief, and trauma, and literary and cultural theory. chris was a founder and editor-in-chief of the medical humanities journal of boston college. he has also worked as an intern with health story collaborative and the medical humanities, health, and culture minor at boston college. rebecca moretti is a junior in the political science honors program at boston college. she was born in los angeles, but lived in rome until the age of eight, before moving back to the united states, where she attended harvard-westlake school. she is interested in international security and diplomacy, and is fluent in five languages. at boston college, rebecca is a john marshall fellow and a staff writer for the heights. rebecca is passionate about writing and film and has published several plays that have been performed around the country. she is currently studying abroad at the university college london in the department of political science. daniel park is a senior in the morrisey college of arts and sciences majoring in international studies. he was born in los angeles, lived in israel, but now lives in boston. after graduation, dan is planning to attend graduate school to study international development to become a developmental consultant, while also working in corporate finance for a healthcare company during graduate school. in his free time, dan enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing and watching sports, and making dumb jokes he thinks are funny. katherine quigley is a senior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences. she is majoring in history and minoring in german and women’s and gender studies. last summer, she was awarded a fellowship at historic deerfield to study new england history, material culture, and museum studies. she is currently working on a scholar of the college thesis about crime and gender in the late eighteenth century. after graduation, she plans to attend graduate school in order to work as a curator in a history museum. natalie panariello is a senior at boston college, majoring in biology with a minor in medical humanities, health, and culture. to complement her academic interests in health policy and practice, natalie has served as an editor for the medical humanities journal of boston college and interns at the health innovation center ariadne labs. upon graduating from bc. natalie hopes to pursue a j.d./m.p.h., which will prepare her for developing, advocating for, and implementing healthcare policy later in life. her article “on the wrong side of the tracks?” was written for the course hiv/aids and ethics with fr. james keenan, sj. list of artwork clean hypodermic needles © by the u.s. food and drug administration (improperly discarded ‘sharps’ can be dangerous) [public do10 12 16 21 22 31 32 35 50 51 the oldest wooden jail © swampyank at english wikipedia [gfdl (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or cc bysa 3.0 (http:// market-frankford line © by dasprevailz (own work) [public domain], via wikimedia commons the tyburn gallows © wikimedia commons 18th century trial © wikimedia commons redwood tree © by user:jyekrang (own work) [cc by-sa 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/3.0)], via wikimeglobal action day in copenhagen © by america.gov.malte at da.wikipedia [cc by-sa 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], from german politician denying climate change © by gerhard mester (solarenergie-förderverein deutschland e.v.) [cc by-sa 4.0 (http://creativecommons. tiresias striking a snake © by krauss, johann ulrich, 1645-1719 (yale beinecke rare book and manuscript library [1]) [public domain], tiresias appearing to ulysses © henry fuseli [public domain or public domain], via wikimedia commons 19 man on trial © wikimedia commons creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via wikimedia commons dia commons wikimedia commons org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via wikimedia commons via wikimedia commons main], via wikimedia commons 54 52 oedipus at colonus © jean-antoine-théodore giroust [public domain], via wikimedia commons an assistance dog © by smerikal (https://www.flickr.com/photos/smerikal/5555789969/) [cc by-sa 2.0 (http://creativecomcreativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via wikimedia commons dia commons wikimedia commons org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via wikimedia commons via wikimedia commons asian college students © by fernando de sousa (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fernando/345125130/) [cc by-sa 2.0 (http://creativean aerial view of boston college © by no machine-readable author provided. yelm assumed (based on copyright claims). [gfdl (http://www. gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), cc-by-sa-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or cc by-sa 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via wikimedia commons asian college students in class ©publicdomainpictures carl schurz and uncle sam © thomas nast [public domain], via wikimedia commons cartoon of nationalist © rollin kirby [public domain], via wikimedia commons 1860s london © wikimedia commons anthony trollope © wikimedia commons manuscript of phineas finn © flickr commons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via wikimedia commons mons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via wikimedia commons 64 65 67 72 73 76 78 79 list of artwork movie poster ©by toho company ltd. (toho kabushiki-kaisha), © 1956 [public domain], via wikimedia commons 84 85 86 treatment of crew member ©wikimedia commons atomic bomb © by charles levy from one of the b-29 superfortresses used in the attack. [public domain], via wikimedia commons this essay presents a philosophical and psychoanalytical interpretation of the work of the viennese secession artist, gustav klimt. the manner of depiction in klimt’s paintings underwent a radical shift around the turn of the twentieth century, and the author attempts to unveil the internal and external motivations that may have prompted and contributed to this transformation. drawing from friedrich nietzsche’s the birth of tragedy as well as sigmund freud’s the interpretation of dreams, the article links klimt’s early work with what may be referred to as the apollonian or consciousness, and his later work with the dionysian or the subconscious. it is then argued that the beethoven frieze of 1902 could be understood as a “self-portrait” of the artist and used to examine the shift in stylistic representation in klimt’s oeuvre. dreams and sexuality a psychoanalytical reading of klimt’s beethoven frieze benjamin flythe proud athena, armed and ready for battle with her aegis and spear, cuts a striking image for the poster announcing the inaugural exhibition of the vienna secession. as the goddess of wisdom, the polis, and the arts, she is a decidedly appropriate figurehead for an upstart group of diverse artists who succeeded in fighting back against the established institution of vienna, a political coup if there ever was one. coupled with the motif of theseus’ slaying of the minotaur in order to end the slaughter of athenian children, this reading could not be more appropriate. the man responsible for both the poster design and for leading the revolutionary charge was gustav klimt, a man who in his youth worked within the system he would eventually help to dismantle. we know little about klimt’s personal life, and what we do know comes to us via the secondhand accounts of those that he worked and interacted with. we must then ask why klimt underwent such a radical shift in style between his youth and maturity, and what were the factors, both internal and external, that may have prompted such a shift? perhaps an appropriate place to begin with is the goddess athena and her own evolution through klimt’s art. klimt was obviously fascinated with her, having painted her on at least three occasions: as a decoration in the spandrels of the kunsthistorisches museum stairwell (1890–91), the poster previously mentioned (1897) and finally in a painting dedicated solely to the goddess, klimt’s pallas athena (1898). in the first piece, which was part of a series of spandrels that klimt designed and executed for the viennese art history museum, athena is classically beautiful, naturalistically rendered as a stoic figure gazing coolly out from her lofty perch. she holds a winged nike figure, symbolic of victory, perhaps referring to the triumphs of classical greek art and architecture of which athena is the patroness. but she is, for lack of a better term, boring — she is only a symbol, a reflection of herself, hardly even a shadow of the complex virgin-warrior-goddess of antiquity. even the athena in the poster for the first secession exhibition is, despite the battle-ready nature of her appearance, somewhat restrained. but perhaps this is simply a result of the flattening of her form to its constituent lines which, as carl schorske explains, is “klimt’s new-found way of stating an abstraction. she sponsors a dramatic idea. since it is not yet realized, it is treated as disembodied, allegorical, on the stage.”1 we will explore this new means of representation at length later, and for the moment it will suffice to say that this is one of the first iterations of a theme in klimt’s work that will help us navigate the undeniable rift between his earlier and later works. pallas athena (below), standing in stark contrast to both of these previous versions, takes their best characteristics and bridges the gap between them: she is softly modeled but still retains some of the poster’s two-dimensionality (“a concept, not a concrete realization”2); the light in her eyes speaks to an internal fire that more accurately represents the truth of the goddess; and perhaps most importantly, the nike she once supported has been replaced with a fully developed nuda veritas (as in klimt’s earlier illustration of the same figure for the secessionist publication, ver sacrum). this tiny figure does not hold up a laurel wreath as her predecessor may have, but rather a mirror into which modern man may gaze introspectively. this pair of figures who turned their classical associations on their head and who established new associations are significant in that they fully embody the zeitgeist of the secession: “der zeit ihre kunst. der kunst ihre freiheit [to the age, its art. to art, its freedom].” in the evolution of athena from the cold, aloof icon to the impassioned, warrior goddess, we may begin to see a microcosm of klimt’s personal evolution. athena served not only as the avatar for the secessionists and their mission, but also in the same role for klimt. friedrich nietzsche, in his work the birth of tragedy, establishes a dichotomy which seems particularly appropriate in the present discussion: that which exists between the apollonian and the dionysiac. apollo, the god of the pallas athena, 1898 by gustav klimt (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 28 elements : : fall 2016 plastic arts, of order, and of the illusionism inherent in much of western art, is diametrically opposed to the other god of art, dionysus, whose unbounded and primal music speaks to chaos and a state most likened to human intoxication. klimt’s early work, such as the kunsthistorisches athena and other decorative works for the ringstrasse developments, was historicizing in appearance, suitable for the viennese society that commissioned it. after all, this was the same government that erected, in the program of the ringstrasse itself, a veritable monument to disparate historical periods, the design of each building hand-selected to best express the function of the institutions housed within. the extent to which vienna attempted to maintain the illusion of historicism and rationality in design can be seen as apollonian. klimt, working in tandem with them, would have had the same associations. however, as we know, this would change radically at the end of the nineteenth century. klimt would begin to break down those very illusions that sustained the viennese conception of reality and allow the sentiment of the dionysiac—not necessarily through its associations to music, but rather the suggestion of something intensely personal and subjective—to seep into and diffuse throughout the work of the modern period. there are hints of this trend before 1900: in particular, his music panel in 1898 that decorated the music salon of nikolaus dumba. the abstract, geometric patterning of the background acts as a physical representation of the wholly intangible art of music, wild and untamable, but there is perhaps no better example in his early work than the controversy that surrounded the production of his three university panels, paintings that were to illustrate the disciplines of philosophy, medicine, and jurisprudence. it is at this point that klimt seems to undergo, as schorske remarks, something of a “crisis of the liberal ego”3 that also functions as the effective rift between not only his early and later work, but also between his periods of apollonian and dionysiac work. looking first to the philosophy panel (right), this crisis becomes painfully obvious. far from the “victory of light over darkness” originally desired by the faculty of the university of vienna, klimt’s interpretation casts humanity into an uncertain void through which forms drift aimlessly, hopelessly, and all individual agency is superseded by the pull of an invisible, irresistible force: certainly not the rational, ordered universe that philosophy promises. reflecting more closely the sentiments felt during the finde-siècle period, as opposed to classical philosophical thinking, gottfried fliedl suggests that the “social impotence of the liberal middle classes was seen as embedded in a relentlessly regular cycle of nature in which the individual was relieved of the necessity to act, while at the same time becoming an observer of himself and the mysterious happenings of the world.”4 moreover, as it pertains to the question at hand, klimt manages to effect the dissolution of certain characteristics that one might define as apollonian, notably the illusion of reality that art, at least up to this point, had desperately tried to maintain. but as nietzsche explains, the “apollonian consciousness was but a thin veil hiding from him the whole dionysiac realm.”5 once klimt began to tear the fabric of that veil, it was only a matter of time before the entire edifice could be taken down. if philosophy was the beginning, it was with the third panel—which depicts the discipline of jurispruphilosophy (destroyed), 1900, oil on canvas by klimt (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 29 dreams and sexuality dence—that we may observe most clearly the descent into the freeing madness that is the dionysiac form. the final panel itself was born out of a whirlwind of intensely negative emotion; klimt, after having presented both philosophy and the second panel, medicine, to the faculty of the university, was met with open hostility from as high up as the austrian parliament. a copy of ver sacrum in which a preliminary sketch of medicine had been published was confiscated, and klimt was left reeling. the preliminary sketch of jurisprudence is markedly different from that which was eventually delivered; the composition (noticeably the only of the three that would have taken into consideration the paintings’ eventual home as ceiling decoration, the subject having been depicted di sotto in sù—as if seen from a lower vantage point) describes an airy, bright world in which the sole figure of justice wields a sword with which she fulfills her role as arbiter of right and wrong. but through the anger and hurt brought about by the debacle surrounding the other panels, jurisprudence underwent a transformation. the airy heaven of the first version is gone and in its place is a claustrophobic hellscape in which the university’s ideas of “truth and justice” have been redefined as “crime and punishment.” jurisprudence represents a marked shift in klimt’s manner of depiction, as the figures of truth, justice, and law, far removed from the main action of the foreground, are all cloaked in some of the first instances of the flattened, geometric patterns that would come to dominate and define the artist’s mature style. aside from this, the work is also worth noting as it coincides with an increased tendency towards a more personally relevant, psycho-sexual content. schorske has proposed, rather convincingly, an argument for associating the nude, male figure of the final university panel with klimt himself, acting as something of an apologetic self-portrait, a cri de coeur. sigmund freud would likely have read phallic symbols into the octopuslike creature consuming the male figure, its tentacles standing in for the male genitals. the actual subject’s genitals are obscured by his arrangement, turned away from the viewer. but, presumably, he has been castrated. that the subject’s metaphorical castration was enacted by the female furies is perhaps indicative of the role that female sexuality and its negative reception by the conservative viennese population played in klimt’s internal crises. according to schorske, “the iconography suggests that klimt, under the lash of criticism, even while he fought back, partially internalized as personal guilt the rejection of his artistic mission to act as liberator of the instinctual life from the culture of law. his very defiance was tinctured by the spirit of impotence.”6 his transgressions were, at base, against his artistic and cultural “forefathers,” and by that token, suggestive of an oedipal rebellion—the punishment of which is, according to freudian psychoanalysis, castration. surely schorske’s suggestion is grounded in some factual evidence. the combination of the figures’ blatant sexuality, the aesthetic presentation and stylization of form, and the psychoanalytical subtext of the era which absolutely colored the art produced therein all contributed to what might be considered a ‘questionable’ work. but could this serve as a complete explanation for the intensely negative reaction? returning to nietzsche and the tension between the apollonian and dionysiac, we may begin to approach a more comprehensive answer, one that accepts all of these disparate causes and holistically binds them. the greeks, whose culture gave birth to the myths of both apollo and dionysus, “were keenly aware of the terrors and horrors of existence; in order to be able to live at all they had to place before them the shining fantasy of the olympians.”7 in much the same way, it may be suggested that the austrian habsburg empire, in order to hold together its disparate cultures and people, had no choice but to cling desperately to the order that reason and science promised. therefore, klimt’s university panels, which effectively dismissed this view as trivial and outdated, were violently rejected. in positioning the nietzschean and schopenhauerian pessimistic worldviews as the new norm, klimt was attacking not only the aesthetic and moral sensibilities of austria, but also their entire conception of reality. preparatory study for jurisprudence, 1897-98 (left) and jurisprudence (destroyed), 1903-07 (right), by klimt (courtesy of flickr and wikimedia commons) 30 elements : : fall 2016 “klimt would begin to break down those very illusions that sustained the viennese conception of reality and allow the sentiment of the dionysiac...to seep into and diffuse throughout the work of the modern period.” if klimt’s work leading up to the university panels was merely a first foray into the dark and primal pleasure of the dionysiac, what then might serve as the fullest expression of the concept? to answer that, it is necessary to look to the vienna secession and what has become easily their most widely-regarded and well known exhibition: the fourteenth, which celebrated the art of music through the titanic figure of beethoven. the german artist max klinger had very recently completed a monumental, polychrome sculpture of the composer and, “intent on being the first venue for the statue’s display, the secession approached klinger and proposed to venerate his masterpiece with a new, avant-garde style of exhibition…”8 their proposal made use of the unique opportunity afforded them by the secession building; called “tempelkunst,” they offered to feature klinger’s beethoven in a space specially constructed so as to highlight the piece, paying homage both to the artist and klinger himself—all the while highlighting, of course, the art of the secessionists.9 it is my suggestion that klimt’s contribution to the fourteenth exhibition, the infamous beethoven frieze more so than nearly any of klimt’s prior or later works, is one that provides an absolutely critical key to understanding the psycho-sexual crisis that contributed to the artist’s radical shift in style. occupying the upper half of three walls in the the leftmost hall of the secession building, the beethoven frieze was an impressive sight to behold. the entire work was conceived of as a visual interpretation of beethoven’s ninth symphony which, in turn, references schiller’s “ode to joy,” particularly its chorus: “seid umschlungen millionen!/ diesen kuß der ganzen welt!/ brüder—überm sternenzelt/muß ein lieber vater wohnen [be embrac’d, ye millions yonder!/ take this kiss throughout the world!/ brothers—o’er the stars unfurl’d/ must reside a loving father.]”10 ernst stöhr, a painter and lesser-known secession artist, evidently helped klimt devise the program of the beethoven frieze—and he almost certainly wrote the foreword to the exhibition’s program.11 having little to do with beethoven himself “as an historic figure or spiritual leader,”12 stöhr’s description of the beethoven frieze’s content from the exhibition program presents a fin-de-siècle interpretation of the composition of the ninth symphony and reads as follows: the three painted walls constitute a coherent sequence. first long wall across from the entrance: the longing for happiness. the sufferings of weak humanity: their pleas to the powerful knight in armor as external, to pity and ambition as internal, driving forces which move him to take up the struggle for happiness. narrow wall: the hostile powers. the giant typhon, against whom even the gods fought in vain; his daughters, the three gorgons. disease, insanity and death. debauchery and unchastity, intemperance [alternately “lewdness, lust and excess”]. gnawing worry. the longings and desires of humankind fly away over these. second long wall: the longing for happiness finds appeasement in poetry. the arts lead across into the ideal kingdom where alone we can find pure joy, pure happiness, pure love. choir of angels in paradise. “freude, schöner götterfunke [sic]. diesen kuss der ganzen welt!”13 based solely on the textual description, we are presented with a narrative that outlines a journey of salvation, external (i.e. for an “other”) but also intensely personal and internal. the hostile powers described are, aside from typhon, all internal plagues to both the physical and psychological states of mankind. visually, the content of the frieze echoes this second, internal, interpretation favoring a psychoanalytical reading of the piece; after all, when confronted with the nightmarish hellscape of the middle panel “inhabited by bestial monsters and deranged, erotic women,”14 one cannot help but think of freud and his interpretation of dreams, originally published just two years earlier in 1900. compared to jurisprudence, which as schorske reminds us, “was klimt’s boldest expression of narcissistic rage,” the beethoven frieze was its opposite in nearly every way: “a manifestation of narcissistic regression and utopian bliss. fight here, found its analogue in flight. where politics had brought defeat and suffering, art provided escape and comfort. in style as in idea, the beethoven frieze marked a turning point in klimt’s art.”15 31 dreams and sexuality as discussed in the context of his university panels, much of the negative criticism klimt received was directly linked to the content of his paintings, or in other words, to the blatant sexuality expressed by his female figures. sexuality, particularly the new sexuality of the modern woman, is key to understanding the frieze. representations of women in turn-of-the-century art across many cultures were often notably problematic and splintered in regards to the emotional valence of the artists’ treatment of subject. fliedl relates that, during the turn of the century, “there were four linguistic conventions” to express the various aspects of “female identity, which [had become] split up and disintegrated… weib (a term of contempt), dame (‘lady’), hure (‘whore’), and mutter (‘mother’), words which reflected the social roles of women as well as the wishful thinking and anxieties of men.”16 nearly all of these are present in klimt’s frieze. between the images of chastity and virtue in the side panels and the ominous threat of the hostile powers in the central panel, the frieze gives voice to a crisis of the artist’s ego; it can be very easily argued that klimt almost surely experienced a similar, internal division. the full weight of klimt’s psychological presence can be most tangibly felt in his female subjects. he is, according to marian bisanz-prakkan, “always latently present as observer or director; he is the invisible, stable male antithesis to the volatile female psychological state.”17 as his models appear almost always in varying stages of “reverie or erotic ecstasy,”18 we must necessarily assume that these states of sexual intensity were of particular import to klimt in painting the beethoven frieze and perhaps reveal something of the internal turmoil that marked the man. for example, the placement of the three figures of lewdness, lust and excess centrally on the wall that would have been initially viewed by anyone entering the hall speaks to their corresponding centrality in any reading of the frieze. these women feature as the powers against which the knight, perhaps an avatar for klimt himself, must struggle for the hope of eventual salvation. but this struggle is not physical; it is the moral struggle of the liberal male ego, confronted with the “ugly, repulsive and aggressive”19 sexuality of the female. this may be linked to a very real fear of syphilis (important as it is a sexually transmitted infection, and thus inextricably connected with women) and of which it is said that klimt was “morbidly afraid.”20 but as so much of the interpretation of the frieze lies in the realm of the psychological, and because “each variant of this aggressive side of female nature is derived from anxiety fantasies,”21 it seems more appropriate to link the fear to their threat against the construct of ‘maleness’ itself. in our discussion of freud’s psychoanalysis, we have almost lost sight of nietzsche’s philosophy. nietzsche actually references schiller’s and beethoven’s “ode to joy” by name in direct allusion to the realm of the dionysiac: if one were to convert beethoven’s “paean [ode] to joy” into a painting, and refuse to curb the imagination when that multitude prostrates itself reverently in the dust, one might form some apprehension of dionysiac ritual. now the slave emerges as a freeman; all the rigid, hostile walls which either necessity or despotism has erected between men are shattered. now that the gospel of universal harmony is sounded, each individual becomes not only reconciled to his fellow but actually at one with him… 22 here, finally, we come to the truth that has up until now only been hesitantly felt in our observation of klimt’s beethoven frieze; regardless of its subjectivity—in fact, perhaps even as a result of it—the particular visual content of the frieze and its origins in the music of beethoven, a veritable hero of art to klimt’s contemporaries, come together to express an otherwise inexplicable condition of humanity. that condition, which i believe that nietzsche would corroborate, given the research that has been produced in the subject since his death, is the human subconscious, a realm every bit as awesome and terrifying as the philosopher’s dionysiac, perhaps even a substitute definition for the same concept. later in 1902, the secession held their eighteenth exhibition, a klimt retrospective. the last panel of the beethoven frieze—the so-called kuß der ganzen welt, the “kiss for the beethoven frieze (“the hostile powers”), 1902 by klimt (courtesy of flickr) 32 elements : : fall 2016 whole world”—was displayed under the title, “mein reich ist nicht von dieser erde.” though initially a reference to john 18:36, “jesus answered, my kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that i should not be delivered to the jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence,” it is altogether more likely that klimt appropriated this title from the writings of richard wagner. wagner had, in an essay from 1870, used a variation of the quote to comment on beethoven’s music, which he saw as emerging from the chaos of modern civilization: “both proclaim to us: ‘our kingdom is not of this world’. that is to say: we come from within, you from without; we derive from being, you from the appearance of things.”23 this sentiment defines, perhaps more clearly than anything else, precisely the same principles submitted by nietzsche in the dichotomous relationship between the apollonian (i.e. fin-de-siècle austria:ordered, concerned solely with the illusion of things) and the dionysiac (i.e. the secession: burgeoning modernism, the chaotic underpinnings of existence). through wagner’s comment, we can trace a clear path of thought from beethoven all the way to klimt, one that more satisfactorily explains the content of the frieze. perhaps the beethoven frieze was not, as in klinger’s sculpture, a monument to beethoven himself. perhaps it was instead a monument to philosophy, to giving oneself over to those forces—most perfectly conveyed through the art of dionysus’ music—that have the potential to bind disparate peoples together in a time of uncertainty, when humanity needed to navigate the collective existential crisis posed by the modern world. endnotes 1. carl e. schorske, fin-de-siècle vienna: politics and culture (new york: vintage books, 1981) 215. 2. ibid., 217. 3. ibid., 226. 4. gottfried fliedl, gustav klimt: the world in female form (cologne: taschen, 1997) 78. 5. friedrich nietzsche, the birth of tragedy and the genealogy of morals, (new york: doubleday, 1956) 28. 6. schorske, fin-de-siècle vienna, 252. 7. nietzsche, the birth of tragedy, 29 – 30. 8. anna harwell celenza, “music and the vienna secession: 1897 – 1902,” in music in art, vol. 29, no. 1/2, music in art: iconography as a source for music history volume 1 (spring— fall 2004), 207 – 208. 9. ibid., 208. 10. friedrich schiller, “an die freude/ode to joy,” trans. by william f. wertz, http://www.schillerinstitute.org/transl/ schiller_poem/ode_to_joy.pdf 11. celenza, “music and the vienna secession: 1897 – 1902,” 208. 12. ibid., 209. 13. ibid., 209. 14. ibid., 209. 15. schorske, fin-de-siècle vienna, 254. 16. fliedl, gustav klimt: the world in female form, 108. 17. marian bisanz-prakkan, “on the drawings of gustav klimt,” in gustav klimt: in search of the “total artwork,” ed. jane kallir, co-edited by alfred weidinger (munich: prestel, 2009), 48. 18. ibid., 48. 19. fliedl, gustav klimt: the world in female form, 106. 20. jean-paul bouillon, klimt: beethoven: the frieze for the ninth symphony (geneva: editions d’art albert skira s.a., 1987), 73. 21. fliedl, gustav klimt: the world in female form, 106 – 107. 22. nietzsche, the birth of tragedy, 23. 23. richard wagner, “richard wagner’s beethoven (german text and english translation),” in richard wagner’s beethoven (1870): a new translation (suffolk: boydell & brewer, 2014), 179. beethoven frieze (“the kiss for the whole world”), 1902 by klimt (courtesy of flickr) 33 dreams and sexuality references adams, laurie schneider. art and psychoanalysis. boulder: westview press, 1994. doi: 10.1093/ obo/9780199920105-0030. bisanz-prakken, marian. “on the drawings of gustav klimt.” in gustav klimt: in search of the “total artwork,” edited by jane kallir, co-edited by alfred weidinger, 43 – 49. munich: prestel, 2009. doi: 10.1163/2214596690000493. bouillon, jean-paul. klimt: beethoven: the frieze for the ninth symphony. geneva: editions d’art albert skira s.a., 1987. celenza, anna harwell. “music and the vienna secession: 1897 – 1902.” music in art, vol. 29, no. 1/2, music in art: iconography as a source for music history volume 1 (spring—fall 2004): pp. 203 – 212. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/41818762. doi: 10.1525/jams.2009.62.3.647 fliedl, gottfried. gustav klimt: the world in female form. cologne: taschen, 1997. kallir, jane. “in search of the ‘total artwork’: klimt, the secession and the wiener werkstätte.” in gustav klimt: in search of the “total artwork,” edited by jane kallir, co-edited by alfred weidinger, 21 –29. munich: prestel, 2009. karnes, kevin c. “wagner, klimt, and the metaphysics of creativity in fin-de-siècle vienna.” journal of the american musicological society, vol. 62, no. 3 (fall 2009): pp. 647– 6 9 7. h t t p : / / w w w. j s t o r . o r g / s t a b l e / 1 0 . 1 5 2 5 / jams.2009.62.3.647. doi: 10.1525/jams.2009.62.3.647. nietzsche, friedrich. the birth of tragedy and the genealogy of morals. new york: doubleday, 1956. pollock, griselda (editor). psychoanalysis and the image: transdisciplinary perspectives. oxford: blackwell publishing ltd., 2006. schorske, carl e. fin-de-siècle vienna: politics and culture. new york: vintage books, 1981. terada, rei. “strange intelligibility: clarity and vivacity in dream language.” in the dreams of interpretation, edited by catherine liu, john mowitt, thomas pepper, and jakki spicer. minneapolis: university of minnesota press, 2007. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctttt3ph.21. varnedoe, kirk. vienna 1900: art, architecture & design. new york: the museum of modern art, 1986. wagner, richard. “richard wagner’s beethoven (german text and english translation).” in richard wagner’s beethoven (1870): a new translation. suffolk: boydell & brewer, 2014: 29 – 199. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/10.7722/j.ctt6wp854.7. walker, john a. “dream-work and art-work.” leonardo, vol. 16, no. 2 (spring, 1983): pp. 109–114. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1574795. doi: 10.2307/1574795. 34 elements : : fall 2016 n a i v e j u v e n i l e d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n s ! kin recognition in controlled encounter experiments b r a d m a c d o n a l d &. a l e x i s r i f e n o r t h e r n d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n (malaclemys terrapin) t u r t l e h a t c h l i n g s r a i s e d a s p a r t o f a l a b o r a t o r y h e a d s t a r t i n g p r o g r a m a r e t h e f o c u s o f k i n r e c o g n i t i o n s t u d i e s t a k i n g p l a c e a t b o s t o n c o l l e g e . e x p e r i m e n t s e x a m i n e d b a s k i n g b e h a v i o r s i n 13 t r i a l s o f f a m i l i a r k i n a n d 11 t r i a l s o f u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n . f a m i l i a r k i n a v e r a g e d m o r e a g g r e s s i v e e n g a g e m e n t s per t r i a l (2 .44 v s . 0 . 3 6 ) , , m o r e d i s p l a c e m e n t s per t r i a l (13 .36 v s . 3 . 91 ) , a n d m o r e i n s t a n c e s o f c l i m b i n g o n o n e a n o t h e r (13 .36 v s . 2 . 3 6 ) . f a m i l i a r k i n b a s k e d i n c o n g r e g a t i o n s m o r e f r e q u e n t l y p e r t r i a l t h a n u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n . t h e s e d a t a s u g g e s t t h a t d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n s t r e a t e a c h o t h e r d i f f e r e n t l y b a s e d o n e i t h e r k i n s h i p o r f a m i l i a r i t y o r b o t h . f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h w i l l be c o n d u c t e d o n f a m i l i a r a n d u n f a m i l i a r k i n a n d n o n k i n g r o u p i n g s t o h e l p e l u c i d a t e t h e e x i s t i n g d a t a by d e t e r m i n i n g w h i c h v a r i a b l e h a s g r e a t e r c o n s e q u e n c e a n d i f h a m i l t o n ' s k i n s e l e c t i o n t h e o r y c a n be a p p l i e d t o t e r r a p i n j u v e n i l e s o c i a l b e h a v i o r . i n t r o d u c t i o n diamondback terrapins (malaclemys terrapin) are a brackish species of water turtle, living i n salt marshes, whose range includes most of the eastern seaboard of the united states, extending from florida to cape cod, massachusetts. terrapins are ectotherms (i.e. cold-blooded) and thus must regulate their body temperature through their behaviors; one way of doing so is through basking. basking sites, therefore, are a high value resource for terrapins and areas where terrapins may interact and potentially be i n conflict. the boston college diamondback terrapin headstarting project recovers nests that are highly vulnerable and unlikely to hatch from sandy neck barrier beach in barnstable, massachusetts on cape cod. selected nests are incubated, the eggs hatched, and the hatchlings reared in a laboratory setting for a ten-month period. terrapin hatchlings are then released into the saltmarsh in late spring of the following year. studies conducted during headstarting periods aim to understand aspects of terrapin natural history that are important to increasing their survival rate. the first year of a terrapin's life is a critical period of physical, neurological, and social development. as such, raising diamondback terrapins in a laboratory setting for the first ten months of their lives may impact their ability to cope with challenges in their natural environment once they have been released, including interactions with wild conspecifics (members of the same species). common observations have previously noted the social nature of diamondback terrapins, suggesting the possibility that they form social groups and the potential that they distinguish siblings from non-siblings. consequently, it is essential to ensure that headstarted diamondback terrapins are raised in conditions that provide appropriate opportunities for both physical and social development. social behaviors in terrapins may have crucial implications for their ability to interact, join social groups, and ultimately reproduce when released into their natural habitat. basking sites, as limited resources in the wild, are common locations for conspecific interactions and aggregations in various turtle species and may prove integral to understanding the formation and characteristics of social groups. exchanges between individuals occur regularly on basking sites. aggressive engagements have been documented in pennsylvanian wood turtles1 in the form of nudging, ramming, and biting. basking western pond turtles were documented biting and ramming one another as a method of displacement from basking sites.11 lizards have also been described as capable of exhibiting numerous social behaviors, both hostile and nonviolent. crowded basking sites resulted in increased social behavior, increased aggression, and a switch to hierarchical behavior.111 these documented behaviors serve as templates to inform our own observations on diamondback terrapin social behaviors. kin recognition, one of many methods by which complex animals may form social groups, is the ability of an organism to distinguish between individuals of the same species based upon the degree of relatedness, and often involves preferential behaviors such as resource allocation. hamilton's k in selection theory suggests that i n k in groups, larger individuals wi l l share a limited resource (in this case the basking site) with smaller individuals i f they are related. this results i n a lower variance i n mean size and functions to preserve the genes of a family group. in contrast, non-kin groups, according to the theory, have a higher variance in size since larger individuals are less wil ling to share resources, and thus, act to preserve their individual genes.1v though undocumented in diamondback terrapins, k in recognition has been established in related species such as the common toad,v wood frog tadpoles,v1 red-legged frogs, v u the common l i za rd , v m and australian lizards.1x 2005-2006 m e t h o d s h u s b a n dry diamondback terrapin eggs from nests designated to be headstarted were deposited under one to two inches of sand in small, individual cups labelled with each terrapin's nest information. these cups were placed in an incubator kept e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 at 80 degrees f on a 12-hour light/dark cycle. upon hatching, the eggs were removed from the incubator and placed i n a headstarting tank, divided into seven partitions. false bottoms were used in headstarting tanks to keep water levels relatively low, a safety measure as the hatchlings developed their swimming abilities. in december of 2005, terrapin maturation allowed for terrapins to be divided into standard tank arrangements, in which partitions housed and separated four terrapins. terrapins were divided into groups of either four siblings or four non-siblings. ideally, one would have equal groups of familiar k in (kin living together since birth) and familiar non-kin (non-kin living together since birth). such distribution would also allow for the testing of unfamiliar k in groups and unfamiliar non-kin groups. however, due to the allotted number of headstarted terrapins, the 20052006 study only tested groups of familiar k in and unfamiliar non-kin. terrapins were all fed the same diet of nutrient pellets for 45 minutes daily and were always fed before the start of an experimental trial. their identical diets and consistent dietary schedules may be used to eliminate dietary variables as a basis for k in recognition or any other behavioral patterns observed in diamondback terrapins. experi m e n t a l t r i a l s a n experimental tank featured a single brick ramp leading to a single brick basking site, located on the far side of the tank, opposite the filter. a heat lamp was placed directly above the basking site, making it the most intensely lit and heated area in the tank. the basking site's small size and focused lighting were set up i n a manner that would prove conducive to studying behavior surrounding a limited basking site. this could stimulate competition and subsequent aggression, characteristics that have been shown to vary among kin and non-kin in species exhibiting kin recognition. terrapins within either kin or non-kin groups were placed in the tank and videotaped for ninety minutes. the first thirty minutes served as an acclimation period, while the last sixty minutes represented the "testing time." during testing, human presence was kept to a min imum in order to prevent terrapin reactions or altered behaviors which may result from human observers. trials were scored for four behaviors (aggression, climbing, displacement, and basking congregations) and additional qualitative observations were noted. this study sought to describe and measure the behavior of collective groups, not individual animals; hence, individual identity during experimental trials was not tracked, aside from the confirmation that the proper individuals of a group were being tested. a l l scored behaviors took place on the basking site. biting was viewed purely as an aggressive behavior and was n a i v e j u v e n i l e d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n s ! k i n r e c o g n i t i o n i n c o n t r o l l e d e n c o u n t e r e x p e r i m e n t s scored as such. climbing on the backs of other turtles was viewed primarily as a mark of accepted, tolerated physical contact, and therefore indicative of a level of social comfort in the animals. displacement was measured as a marker of basking site activity; it can take the form of aggression when a turtle is displaced due to biting, ramming, or otherwise influenced to leave the basking site by another turtle's visual contact or body posture. however, displacement can also be a result of a crowded basking site where turtles are forced off due to a lack of space, or due to falling off the back of another turtle while climbing on top of it. thus, displacement cannot be viewed as a direct measure of aggression, but rather as a reasonable measure for the level of interactions taking place on the basking site. basking congregations constituted the number of instances, in a given trial, in which there were one, two, three, or four terrapins on the basking site simultaneously. several additional behaviors were noted: lunging, chasing, and posturing. the final data analysis was based upon 13 trials of familiar kin and 11 trials of unfamiliar non-kin. for the behaviors of biting, displacement, and climbing, t-tests were run on each individual behavior to compare the differences between familiar k in and unfamiliar non-kin samples. behaviors were analyzed seperately because they were not mutually exclusive. for example, the scenario of one terrapin biting another may additionally induce a displacement of the attacked turtle. using a t-test avoided the possibility of counting a behavior multiple times due to such behavioral causality. significance was established at p < 0.05. basking congregations were analyzed using a one-way anova to measure for differences between kin and nonkin. again, significance was established at p < 0.05. 2005-2006 r e s u l t s raw data for all analyzed kin and non-kin behavior may be seen in table 1, table 2, table 3, and table 4. familiar k in groups averaged 2.44 instances of biting per trial, significantly more than unfamiliar non-kin groups, which averaged 0.36 bites per trial (p = 0.04). there were 13.36 displacements per trial in familiar kin and 3.91 in unfamiliar non-kin; this difference was significant with p = 0.0009. instances of climbing were also significantly different between the groups, with 13.36 per trial in familiar kin and 2.36 in unfamiliar non-kin, p = 0.005. this data can also be found in table 5 and chart 1. the results of running a one-way anova for basking congregations in familiar k in and unfamiliar non-kin can be found in table 6 and in a condensed version in table 7, also accompanied by chart 2. instances of a lone turtle occupying the basking site occured an average of 10.46 times per trial in familiar kin, versus 11.73 times per trial in unfamiliar non-kin. this difference was not significant (p = 0.684). congregations of two turtles occurred an average of 20.62 times per trial in familiar kin, significantly more than the average of 7.82 occurrences in unfamiliar non-kin, p = 0.007. there were significantly more congregations of three turtles in familiar kin, 15.23 per trial, than in unfamiliar non-kin, 2.09 per trial (p = 0.003). finally, familiar kin basked in congregations of four 4.31 times per trial, while unfamiliar non-kin averaged 0.18 times per trial, a significant difference (p = 0.015). 2005-2006 d i s c u s s i o n familiar k in basked significantly more than unfamiliar non-kin at all congregation levels, except when there was a lone turtle on the basking site and subsequently no significant difference. this study did not examine unfamiliar k in and familiar non-kin groups, thus responsibility for this discrepancy cannot be reduced to familiarity or kinship alone. accounting for these two additional groups in a future study would allow one to determine the variable responsible for increased basking. the basking data found in this study indicates variability in the way terrapins from different groups behave towards each other. this is possibly indicative of a certain level of social comfort between the two types of groups. terrapins may bask in increased levels with familiar kin because there may be an established social hierarchy, or familiarity/kinship may afford individuals of social groups a certain level of security in basking in e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 t a b l e 1: b i t i n g , d i s p l a c e m e n t , a n d c l i m b i n g t a b l e 2: b i t i n g , d i s p l a c e m e n t , a n d c l i m b i n g results f r o m f a m i l i a r k i n t r i a l s results f r o m u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n t r i a l s date croup bit ing displacement cli mbi nc date croup bit ing displacement c l i m b i n g 1/19/06 16 3 7 12 1/30/06 1 0 5 2 1/22/06 16 4 8 11 1/31/06 2 0 6 9 1/24/06 16 5 11 16 2/2/06 1 i 9 4 1/26/06 16 6 16 13 3/1/06 6 i 7 6 2/1/06 16 4 21 21 3/23/06 7 i 4 1 2/7/06 2/14/06 16 3 2 3 6 53 3 51 3/24/06 8 0 0 0 2/15/06 4 0 16 19 3/28/06 9 1 2 1 2/24/06 3 7 14 12 4/3/06 10 0 9 2 3/20/06 3 2 6 0 4/4/06 11 0 0 0 3/21/06 4 1 13 12 4/6/06 12 0 1 1 3/29/06 4 0 2 4 4/11/06 13 0 0 0 3/31/06 3 0 0 0 t a b l e 3: b a s k i n g c o n g r e g a t i o n results t a b l e 4: b a s k i n g c o n g r e g a t i o n results f r o m f a m i l i a r k i n t r i a l s f r o m u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n t r i a l s number of instances of number of instances of date group turtle congregations date group turtle congregations o n e t w o t h r e e f o u r o n e t w o t h r e e f o u r t u r t l e t u r t l e s t u r t l e s t u r t l e s t u r t l e t u r t l e s t u r t l e s t u r t l e s 1/19/06 16 4 19 16 4 1/30/06 16 4 19 16 4 1/22/06 16 21 33 15 1 1/31/06 16 21 33 15 1 1/24/06 1/26/06 16 16 15 10 24 28 19 25 5 5 2/2/06 16 15 24 19 5 2/1/06 16 22 44 29 6 4/3/06 16 10 28 25 5 2/7/06 16 13 13 3 0 4/4/06 16 22 44 29 6 3/29/06 4 5 8 2 0 4/6/06 16 13 13 3 0 3/31/06 3 0 0 0 0 4/11/06 4 5 8 2 0 2/14/06 2/15/06 3 4 10 4 35 12 45 15 19 6 3/24/06 3 0 0 0 0 3/20/06 3 13 12 1 0 3/28/06 3 10 35 45 19 2/24/06 3 6 15 13 7 3/1/06 4 4 12 15 6 3/21/06 4 13 25 15 3 3/23/06 3 13 12 1 0 n a i v e j u v e n i l e d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n s ! k i n r e c o g n i t i o n i n c o n t r o l l e d e n c o u n t e r e x p e r i m e n t s t a b l e 5: t t e s t s f o r b i t i n g , d i s p l a c e m e n t , a n d c l i m b i n g behavior familiar kin u n fam i liar n o n k i n p valu e (sic < .05) b i t i n g 2.44 0.36 0.04 d i s p l a c e m e n t 13.36 3.91 0.0009 c l i m b i n g 13.36 2.36 0.005 t a b l e 6: o n e w a y a n o v a f o r b a s k i n g c o n g r e g a t i o n s sum of df mean f signif icance squares square one b e t w e e n g r o u p s 9.546 1 9.546 0.171 0.684 w i t h i n g r o u p s 1,231.413 22 55.973 t o t a l 1,240.958 23 two b e t w e e n g r o u p s 975.757 1 975.787 8.950 0.007 w i t h i n g r o u p s 2,398.713 22 109.032 t o t a l 3,374.500 23 three b e t w e e n g r o u p s 1,028.742 1 1,028.742 11.099 0.003 w i t h i n c r o u p s 2,039.217 22 92.692 t o t a l 3,067.958 23 four b e t w e e n g r o u p s 101.428 1 101.428 6.964 0.015 w i t h i n g r o u p s 320.406 22 14.564 t o t a l 421.833 23 t a b l e 7: c o n d e n s e d b a s k i n g c o n g r e g a t i o n r e s u l t s congregations o n e t u r t l e t w o t u r t l e s t h r e e t u r t l e s f o u r t u r t l e s familiar kin 10.46 20.62 15.23 4.31 u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n 11.73 7.82 2.09 0.18 p value (sig < .05) 0.684 0.007 0.003 0.015 e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 07 figure f a m i l i a r k i n u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n -g 6 basking behavior in familiar vs . unfamiliar non-kin b i t i n g (p = 0.04) displacement (p = 0.0009) c l i m b i n g (p = 0.005) congregations with other terrapins. a reduced risk of aggression may exist i f an individual is known to be a nonthreat by members of the same social group. familiar k in behaved more aggressively towards one another than unfamiliar non-kin, as can be seen by the significantly different levels of biting between the two groups. aggression may occur as a function of increased basking, as seen in lizards. x that is, biting may be a normal component of basking congregations; since familiar kin basked i n greater congregations, this behavior would predict greater amounts of biting. a n additional consideration may be that familiar k in are more aggressive because they have a better understanding of what retaliation may ensue from the other turtle. aggression may be a tool by which members of a social group can be reprimanded to their place within the social hierarchy, or dislodged momentarily so as to allow a higher ranking individual to occupy a preferable basking location. this was seen several times i n the course of this study: a terrapin was ousted by an approaching group member and forced to bask in a new location, often one that was partially submerged, and thus, less preferable. terrapins may not be as will ing to risk biting other unfamiliar non-siblings i f they are not able to anticipate what reaction wi l l follow, i.e., whether a bitten terrapin wi l l respond with extensive violence. this scenario creates a heightened risk, and thus it may be advantageous to avoid direct aggression altogether. alternative methods of aggression should be considered in future studies. the increased levels of displacement seen in familiar k in may also be a consequence of increased basking, or are otherwise indicative of increased interaction between turtles on the basking site. displacement resulted from various behaviors: biting, posturing, climbing, and crowding. it wi l l be imperative to categorize how many of each type of displacement occurs in future studies to determine the role of each displacement behavior. there are also other important considerations for future protocols. terrapins designated for familiar non-kin groups need to be placed in those groups immediately upon birth. it is unknown whether there exists a critical period in terrapins, during which lasting bonds might be formed i f k in recognition does occur. therefore, familiarity is ambiguous unless one eliminates the variability that would result from the possibility of a critical period early in life. n a i v e j u v e n i l e d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n s : k i n r e c o g n i t i o n i n c o n t r o l l e d e n c o u n t e r e x p e r i m e n t s further investigation also needs to be made into how terrapin basking behaviors change over the course of the headstarting period. a steady testing of several groups during headstarting wi l l ensure that any potential changes over the course of development may be attributed to actual developmental changes and not simply to a characteristic of the specific groups. understanding how, why, and across what time period terrapins form social groups would be an asset to the diamondback terrapin headstarting program. this program seeks to speed the terrapins' physical maturation without compromising their mental development. it is, therefore, especially important that they be able to develop any potential social tools critical to their ability to form and/or enter social groups in the wild, and eventually reproduce. this study suggests that diamondback terrapins behave differently towards one another based either on familiarity or kinship, with a higher tendency to bask, bite, climb, and otherwise actively interact with one another on a limited basking site. such differential activity is not meant to suggest that terrapins should only be raised with and exposed to familiar kin. isolating terrapins from non-kin could prove damaging in their ability to cope with unfamiliars and non-kin in the wild. the potential for kin recognition and the formation of social groups are sophisticated and complicated biological constructs. future research should be given the opportunity to strengthen our understanding of these concepts and their role in diamondback terrapins before any changes are made to headstarting protocols. f u r t h e r study 2006-2007 research wi l l be continued in 2006 and 2007 to expand upon the 2005-2006 study. hatchlings from four nests wil l be divided into groups of k in and non-kin in order to run trials on both familiar and unfamiliar kin and non-kin. behaviors wi l l be scored employing the same methodology as described above. collected information may provide explanatory support for the observed differences above. furthermore, the results of this study may provide a greater understanding of how wild terrapins form social groups and share resources—key factors in their survival and recovery. e n d n o t e s i . kaufman (1992) i i . bury & wolfheim (1973) i i i . brattstrom (1974) iv. hamil ton (1964) v. saidapur & girish (2000) vi . waldman (1984) f a m i l i a r k i n u n f a m i l i a r n o n k i n one (p = 0.68 two (p = 0.007) three four (p = 0.003) (p = 0.015) basking congregations in familiar kin vs . unfamiliar non-kin e l e m e n t s s p r i n g o 7 vi i . blaustein, et al. (1993) v i i i . lena & fraipoint (1998) ix. bull, et al. (2001) x. brattstrom (1974) r e f e r e n c e s blaustein, andrew r.; yoshikawa, tomoko; asoh, kazue; walls, susan c. 1993. "ontogenic shifts in tadpole k in recognition: loss of signal and pereception." animal behaviour, 46(3), pp. 525-538, september. brattstrom, bayard h . 1974. "the evolution of reptilian social behavior." american zoologist, 14(1), pp. 35-49, march. bull, michael c ; griffin, clare l.; bonnett, matthew; gardner, michael g.; cooper, stephen j. 2001. "discrimination between related and unrelated individuals i n the australian lizard egernia striolata." behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 50(2), pp. 173-179, july. bury, r. bruce; wolfheim, jaclyn h . 1973. "aggression i n freeliving pond turtles (clemmys marmorata)" bioscience 23(11), pp. 659-662, november. hamilton, wil l iam d. 1964. "the genetical theory of social behavior i and i i . " journal of theoretical biology, 7, pp. 1-52, july. kaufman, john h . 1992. "the social behavior of wood turtles, clemmys insculpta, i n central pennsylvania." herpetological monographs, 6, pp. 1-25, march. lena, jean p.; fraipont, michelle. 1998. "kin recognition i n the common lizard." behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 42(5), pp. 341-347, may. saidapur, srinivas k.; girish, s. 2000. "the ontogeny of k in recognition in tadpoles of the toad bufo melanostictus." journal of bioscience, 25, pp. 267-273, september. waldman, bruce. 1984. "kin recognition and sibling association among wood frog (rana sylvatica) tadpoles." behavioral ecology and sociobiology, 14, pp. 71-180, june. n a i v e j u v e n i l e d i a m o n d b a c k t e r r a p i n s : k i n r e c o g n i t i o n i n c o n t r o l l e d e n c o u n t e r e x p e r i m e n t s in this paper, we discuss strings of 3’s and 7’s, hereby dubbed “dreibens.” as a first step towards determining whether the set of prime dreibens is infinite, we examine the properties of dreibens when divided by 7. by determining the divisibility of a dreiben by 7, we can rule out some composite dreibens in the search for prime dreibens. we are concerned with the number of dreibens of length n that leave a remainder i when divided by 7. by using number theory, linear algebra, and abstract algebra, we arrive at a formula that tells us how many dreibens of length n are divisible by 7. we also find a way to determine the number of dreibens of length n that leave a remainder i when divided by 7. further investigation from a combinatorial perspective provides additional insight into the properties of dreibens when divided by 7. overall, this paper helps characterize dreibens, opens up more paths of inquiry into the nature of dreibens, and rules out some composite dreibens from a prime dreiben search. dreibens modulo 7 a new formula for primality testing arthur diep-nguyen introduction to dreibens and the search for infinitely many prime dreibens the existence of infinitely many prime numbers is an elementary fact of number theory. however, mathematicians continue to ponder over whether there are infinitely many primes of a certain kind. for instance, it is not yet known whether or not the set of mersenne primes is finite or infinite. evidently, questions about primes remain at the forefront of number theory. our current research focuses on a type of number that we dubbed dreibens. dreibens are merely strings of 3s and 7s (e.g. 333, 777, 3377373737, etc.), yet these simple strings provide a foundation for a multitude of questions. our ultimate goal is to prove whether or not infinitely many prime dreibens exist. while that question is beyond the scope of this paper, this paper con tributes to that goal by ruling out some composite dreibens. in fact, this paper concerns itself with dreibens divisible by 7; by understanding dreibens modulo 7, we can rule out some dreibens that are certainly not prime. this paper uses a variety of approaches to learn about dreibens modulo 7, including techniques from number theory, abstract algebra, linear algebra, and combinatorics. with time, we hope dreibens to one day become a very well characterized type of number. learning about dreibens modulo 7 by exploring ai 7(n) we would best approach dreibens by attempting to nd the number of dreibens divisible by some number. for this paper, we interest ourselves in the number of dreibens divisible by 7. let us define ai j(n) as the number 1 of dreibens of length n that leave a remainder i when divided by j. in this paper, we will concern ourselves with ai 7(n). how do we find ai 7(n + 1)? we can find formulas for ai 7(n + 1) by considering the first n digits of a dreiben of length n + 1, then seeing what the last digit must be such that the dreiben leaves a remainder i when divided by 7. let us consider a dreiben dn+1 of length n + 1, which could leave a remainder of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 when divided by 7. the rst n digits of dn+1 form another dreiben dn that could leave a remainder of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 when divided by 7. hence, we have seven cases, each with seven sub-cases, which we must consider. we will write the rst three cases below. 90 elements : : spring 2016 notice that in case 1, dn+1 covers all possible dreibens of length n + 1 divisible by 7. likewise, case 2 covers all possible dreibens of length n + 1 that are 1 (mod 7), case 3 covers all possible dreibens of length n + 1 that are 2 (mod 7), and so forth. similarly, each subcase (a) covers all possible dreibens of length n divisible by 7, each subcase (b) covers all possible dreibens of length n that are 1 (mod 7), and so forth. hence, each case represents ai 7(n + 1) for some i and each sub-case represents ai 7(n) for some i. from these cases, we get the following formulas for ai 7(n + 1) in terms of ai 7(n): we can rewrite this linear system in terms of matrices. let the aforementioned linear system is the same as by induction, we find that this linear system allows us to quickly find the number of dreibens of length n that leave a remainder i when divided by 7. we need only calculate the following: let us investigate an to see if we nd anything interesting. evidently: let so a = b + c. "we can find formulas for ai 7(n + 1) by considering the first n digits of a dreiben of length n + 1, then seeing what the last digit must be such that the dreiben leaves a remainder i when divided by 7." 91 dreibens modulo 7 if we look at the powers of b and c, we find that notice how for i = 0 (mod 6), both bi and ci are equal to the identity matrix i7. both the powers of b and c are cyclic groups of order 6. before examining an, let us define the following: these formulas will be useful for condensing our notation. now we can finally begin examining an: now we have the problem with the above equation is that we still have the powers of b in terms of n. however, we can easily solve this problem because the powers of b form a cyclic group. since this cyclic group has order 6, we must consider six cases. 92 elements : : spring 2016 evidently, no matter what n is, the first row of the matrix an is always recall that if we want to find a0 7(n + 1), i.e. the first entry of →vn+1, we need only consider the first row of an: now we have a formula with which to find the number of dreibens of length n that are divisible by 7: what if we want to find any ai 7(n), i = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6? we know that these ai 7(n) are entries of →vn. recall that to solve for →vn+1, we must first understand an. recall that as it turns out, a is a diagonalizable matrix, so an is also diagonalizable: interestingly, some entries of d are 6th roots of unity. if we let be the jth ith-root of unity, then 93 dreibens modulo 7 recall that the nth roots of unity form a cyclic group of order n, as in table 1 below: based on the properties of the 6th roots of unity, we find that now that we understand dn, we are much closer to characterizing an. all we need to do is to calculate pdnp-1 for each case of dn. below, we will calculate the first case, i.e. where n ≡ 0 (mod 6). if n ≡ 0 (mod 6), where n ≡ 0 (mod 6), the entries of an are all either 1/7(2n – 1) or 1/7(2n + 6). hence, an can be much more easily calculated; instead of performing lengthy matrix power operations, one can merely find 1/7(2n 1) and 1/7(2n + 6) to determine an. since →vn = an-1→v1, one can now easily determine any ai 7(n) where n ≡ 0 (mod 6). in other words, one can easily determine the number of dreibens of length n ≡ 0 (mod 6) that leave remainder i when divided by 7. by extension, one can determine the number of dreibens of length n ≡ 0 (mod 6) divisible by 7; all of these dreibens are necessarily composite, so they can be ruled out during our search for infinitely many prime dreibens. we can perform similar calculations for an where n ≡ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (mod 6), thereby allowing us to quickly find an for any n. hence, we can easily determine an for any n, allowing us to rule out many composite dreibens. combinatorial approach to dreibens modulo 7 let us take a combinatorial approach to ai 7(n). for now, let us restrict ourselves to a0 7(n); in other words, we are looking for when a dreiben of length n is divisible by 7. these dreibens are obviously composite, so learning to identify them will help rule out composite dreibens in a prime dreiben search. 94 elements : : spring 2016 here, we will use the divisibility rule for 7 to aid us. recall the divisibility rule for 7: notice that the powers of 10 (mod 7) forms a cyclic group of order 6. let us use the above divisibility rule to determine, as an example, 9487310294 (mod 7): dreibens consist of only 7’s and 3’s; hence, the divisibility of a dreiben by 7 depends on both the number and placement of 3’s amongst its digits. (neither the number nor placement of 7’s in a dreiben affect its divisibility by 7, as we can tell from the divisibility rule for 7.) let dn j(i) be the number of dreibens of length n with i number of j’s in it, e.g. dn 3(2) is the number of dreibens of length n where 3 occupies exactly 2 digits of each dreiben. since the divisibility of a dreiben by 7 depends on the number and placement of 3’s amongst that dreiben’s digits, we would stand to gain from investigating dn 3(i). as you may have realized already, evidently, by examining dn 3(i), we can approach the problem of determining the number of dreibens of length n divisible by 7. our approach will involve investigating dn 3(i) with varying i to see if we can make any generalizations about dn 3(i). first, let us examine dn 3(0). there is only one way to put exactly zero 3’s in a dreiben; every digit of that dreiben must be 7. obviously, if a number’s digits are all 7’s, then the number is divisible by 7. since all of the digits of a dreiben with zero 3’s is 7, and since there is only one way to make a dreiben of length n with zero 3’s, we can easily see that dn 3(0) = 1. next, we can examine dn 3(1) = 0. there are no dreibens with only one 3, since 3 times any digit place 10x is never divisible by 7, so dn 3(1) = 0. so far, we have covered two very simple instances of dn 3(i). when i = 0, there is only a single way to make a dreiben divisible by 7. when i = 1, it is impossible to make a dreiben divisible by 7. however, as i increases, the problem of describing dn 3(i) becomes much more complicated. the next question in our investigation of dn 3(i) involves i = 2. in other words, how many ways are there to put exactly two 3’s in a dreiben of length n? putting exactly two 3’s in a dreiben of length n means we must choose two digit places 10x and 10y where x ≠ y and 0 ≤ x, y ≤ n 1. putting our two 3’s in these two digit places, we find that the dreiben is congruent to 3(10x + 10y) (mod 7). clearly, the dreiben is divisible by 7 if and only if 10x + 10y is divisible by 7, so we need only consider 10x + 10y (mod 7). what are the possible ways to make 10x + 10y ≡ 0 (mod 7)? the powers of 10 modulo 7 form a cyclic group of order 6; without loss of generality, the possible solutions are (a) 10x ≡ 1 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 6 (mod 7) (b) 10x ≡ 2 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 5 (mod 7) (c) 10x ≡ 3 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 4 (mod 7) another way to write the possible solutions is (a) x ≡ 0 (mod 6), y ≡ 3 (mod 6) (b) x ≡ 2 (mod 6), y ≡ 5 (mod 6) (c) x ≡ 1 (mod 6), y ≡ 4 (mod 6) for each solution, we choose one digit place each from two sets of digit places. here, we introduce some notation that will make the later calculations more concise: • α is the set of digit places 10x ≡ 1 (mod 7), i.e. x ≡ 0 (mod 6). • β is the set of digit places 10x ≡ 2 (mod 7), i.e. x ≡ 2 (mod 6). • γ is the set of digit places 10x ≡ 3 (mod 7), i.e. x ≡ 1 (mod 6). • δ is the set of digit places 10x ≡ 4 (mod 7), i.e. x ≡ 4 (mod 6). • ε is the set of digit places 10x ≡ 5 (mod 7), i.e. x ≡ 5 (mod 6). • ζ is the set of digit places 10x ≡ 6 (mod 7), i.e. x ≡ 3 (mod 6). 95 dreibens modulo 7 as an example, one possible way to put two 3’s into a dreiben is to choose one digit place from α and another digit place from ζ. the number of possible combinations of choosing two digit places, one from α and one from ζ, is (|α| 1 )(|ζ| 1 ) = |α|·|ζ|. applying this to the other sets of digit places, we find that as you may have noticed, the cardinality of the six sets above depends on n (mod 6). this can be seen in table 2 below: hence, • if n ≡ 0 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 1 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 2 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 3 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 4 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 5 (mod 6), then evidently, dn 3(2) = [ n2/12 ]. let us prove this. proof. if n ≡ 0 (mod 6), i.e. n = 6m where m is an integer, then if n ≡ 1 (mod 6), i.e. n = 6m + 1 where m is an integer, then if n ≡ 2 (mod 6), i.e. n = 6m + 2 where m is an integer, then if n ≡ 3 (mod 6), i.e. n = 6m + 3 where m is an integer, then 96 elements : : spring 2016 if n ≡ 4 (mod 6), i.e. n = 6m + 4 where m is an integer, then if n ≡ 5 (mod 6), i.e. n = 6m + 5 where m is an integer, then therefore, in general, dn 3(2) = [ n2/12 ]. how many ways are there to put exactly three 3’s in a dreiben of length n, i.e. what is dn 3(3)? we must choose three digit places 10x, 10y, and 10z where x ≠ y ≠ z and 0 ≤ x, y, z ≤ n 1. now the question is, what are the possible ways to make 10x + 10y + 10z ≡ 0 (mod 7)? in fact, there are eight cases: without loss of generality, the possible solutions are (a) 10x ≡ 1 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 1 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 5 (mod 7) (b) 10x ≡ 1 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 2 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 4 (mod 7) (c) 10x ≡ 1 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 3 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 3 (mod 7) (d) 10x ≡ 2 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 2 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 3 (mod 7) (e) 10x ≡ 2 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 6 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 6 (mod 7) (f) 10x ≡ 3 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 5 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 5 (mod 7) (g) 10x ≡ 4 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 4 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 6 (mod 7) (h) 10x ≡ 4 (mod 7), 10y ≡ 5 (mod 7), 10z ≡ 5 (mod 7) these cases can be split into two categories. cases (b) and (f) entail choosing one digit place from each of three sets, whereas the remaining cases entail choosing two digit places from one set and one digit place from another. to describe these two categories, let us examine cases (b) and (c). in case (b), we are choosing one digit place each from the sets α, β, and ζ. hence, the number of possible combinations of three digit places chosen thusly is (|α| 1 )(|β| 1 )(|ζ| 1 ) = |α|·|β|·|ζ|. in case (c), we are choosing one digit place from α and two digit places from γ. hence, the number of possible combinations of three digit places chosen thusly is (|α| 1 )(|γ| 2 ) = |α|·(|γ|)(|γ|-1)/2. describing the other cases similarly, we find that as before, since the cardinalities of the sets α through ζ are dependent on n (mod 6), we would be best served writing out each of the six possible cases to see if we notice a pattern: • if n ≡ 0 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 1 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 2 (mod 6), then 97 dreibens modulo 7 • if n ≡ 3 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 4 (mod 6), then • if n ≡ 5 (mod 6), then table 3 summarizes what we have learned so far about dn 3(2) and dn 3(3): given that dn 3(2) = , it seems reasonable to suspect that dn 3(3) = . let us see if examining some values of dn 3(3) and will enlighten us. as evident from table 4 above, dn 3(3) ≠ , but they seem very similar. determining the relationship between dn 3(3) and may be a topic for future research, but is beyond the scope of this paper. finding dn 3(i) for greater values of i becomes increasingly difficult, perhaps even impractical. it is beyond the scope of this paper, but should a general form for dn 3(i) be found, one could, from a combinatorial perspective, corroborate the results of the second section, allowing one to find a different form for the explicit equation of ai 7(n). in other words, one would have yet another method to determine the number of dreibens of length n divisible by 7. 98 elements : : spring 2016 conclusion while we are still far from determining whether the set of prime dreibens is finite or infinite, our exploration of dreibens modulo 7 has cast much light on the problem. now, we have several methods to determine how many dreibens of length n are divisible by 7, therefore allowing these dreibens to be ruled out during our search for prime dreibens. we have also opened up several opportunities for inquiry. for instance, explicit matrices for an where n ≡ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (mod 6) must still be determined. the relationship between dn 3(3) and remains a promising mystery, and we have yet to find a generalized formula for dn 3(i). although dreibens remain a mysterious type of number, current research in dreibens show promise in both uncovering new mathematical problems and achieving our ultimate goal of finding infinitely many prime dreibens, if they exist. 99 dreibens modulo 7 carly barnhardt will graduate from morrissey college of arts and sciences in 2017 with a degree in english, a minor in american studies with concentration in journalism, and a minor in french. she is currently writing a senior honors thesis on the poetry and memoirs of beat-era poet diane di prima. she has a special interest in feminist theory, american literature, and creative nonfiction, and hopes to pursue these academic interests at the graduate level. when she is not reading or writing, you can find her in the kitchen, not following a recipe, or in the stylus office. author biographies sabrina black is a sophomore majoring in german studies and minoring in english. she is from milwaukee, wisconsin. on campus, she is a member of several musical ensembles, a teaching assistant in the german department, and an international assistant. within the field of german studies, her primary area of interest is twentieth-century literature. having completed an internship at universität kassel the summer of 2016 sabrina intends to return to germany to study abroad during her junior year. she is likely to pursue graduate studies in the future. she would like to thank professor daniel bowles for his guidance on this project. kyle baranko is a junior majoring in international studies with a concentration in political economy. he is originally from salt lake city, utah, and enjoys hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities in his free time. the research for this paper came from his semester abroad with the international honors program, which focused on social science in three cities: buenos aires, hanoi, and cape town. kyle hopes to go on to graduate school or a career in political economy once he graduates. haley cormier is a senior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences pursuing bachelor’s degrees in both history and psychology. she is drawn to topics and events that exhibit an intersection between the two disciplines—which, combined with an interest in feminism, led to her research on the 1968 miss america pageant protests. currently living in northern connecticut with her parents, brother, and sister, haley hopes to travel and work abroad after graduation before returning to boston to attend law school. monica coscia was born and raised in an italian family in montville, new jersey. she is a third-year senior at boston college studying political science and history in the morrissey college of arts and sciences honors program. coscia is currently a teaching assistant for the business law department, a senator in ugbc, a lead attorney in mock trial, an editor for the pre-law review, and a co-president of dance group “on tap.” her academic interests include supreme court jurisprudence, american politics and foreign policy, constitutional history, freudian philosophy, and russian literature. she plans to start law school in the fall of 2017 in preparation for a career in civil litigation. elizabeth d’altrui is a sophomore in the carroll school of management honors program at boston college. she is currently concentrating in accounting and economics. she is also taking classes in the lynch school of education to obtain a minor in inclusive education. after graduation, she plans to become cpa certified and work at one of the big four accounting firms. at boston college, elizabeth is involved in 4boston, women in business, and relay for life. she also works as a lifeguard at the plex. her interests include running, traveling, visiting new restaurants, and spending time with friends. emma howe is a junior studying international studies and economics in the morrissey college of arts and sciences. she plans on attending graduate school after she graduates from boston college in order to further her knowledge about environmental policy and the situation in the middle east. after that, she hopes to obtain a job working for an environmental consulting group with an overarching goal of accelerating and promoting the global environmental economic agenda. samina gan is a senior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences with a double major in international studies and economics. her interests include international economic development and studying the impacts of globalization. she will be working in financial consulting next year in new york city. jordan mindlin is a senior currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a minor in studio art. she spent the fall of junior year studying at universidad de complutense in madrid, taking her classes in spanish. her academic interests stretch from global conflicts and refugees to finance and management to photography and digital design. on campus, she has worked as an editor on the heights, a marketing assistant in the music department, treasurer of the fashion club, and an appalachia volunteer. professionally, she has worked as an analyst at merrill lynch, and following graduation, will pursue a strategic advisory position as an associate at medialink. zackary park is from raleigh, north carolina, and is currently studying biochemistry in the honors program of the morrissey college of arts and sciences. from a young age, he has always been interested in science, and had a desire to understand how and why things worked. after graduation this year, he will be taking a gap year to research other topics of interest. he will be applying to medical school in the following year in hopes of achieving his dream of becoming a doctor. his other interests include weightlifting, traveling, and eating the best food in the world. caitlin sullivan is a current junior majoring in economics with a spanish minor. she is spending this spring semester abroad in madrid, spain and will spend the summer as an intern for synchrony financial. in addition to economics and spanish, caitlin has a strong interest in finance and plans to pursue it after graduating from boston college. caitlin selected this topic of research for an economic policy class “microeconomic public policy issues” after seeing a presentation in 2015 by the gabelli presidential scholars on the issue of mass incarceration. patrick sheerin is an economics and political science double major in the morrissey college of arts and sciences, patrick is a four-year member of the men’s varsity swimming and diving team. aside from his academic and athletic schedule, patrick has also been an upperclassmen leader for both the freshman and sophomore leadership program(s) for student-athletes, and is a member of the bellarmine law society. patrick has also been published in the boston college pre-law review. breck wills is a senior at boston college where she studies economics, computer science, and studio art. upon graduation she will begin her job as a business systems analyst, while also pursuing a master’s degree in applied economics. breck’s main areas of interest within economics include economic development and economics of the public sector. list of artwork portrait of the writer fyodor dostoyevsky in 1872 © vasily perov [public domain], via wikimedia commons 1 12 14 20 23 28 32 33 33 34 place of the imperial council, russia. © [public domain], via wikimedia commons the brothers karamazov book cover ©lungstruck, fyodor dostoyevsky the brothers karamazov, https://flic.kr/p/cpmqdy, via flickr calle florida ©http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianhaugen/ [cc by 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via wikimedia commons photo of peggy lee © [public domain], via wikimedia commons indian immigrants in the united states © jie zong and jeanne batalova, via migration information source, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/ indian-immigrants-united-states (accessed april 2, 2017). immigrant population with a college education © drew desilver, via pew research center, last modified september 30, 2014, http://www.pewresearch.org/ fact-tank/2014/09/30/5-facts-about-indian-americans (accessed april 2, 2017). employed workers in the civilian labor force © jie zong and jeanne batalova, via migration information source, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/ percentage of immigrant-founded companies by industry © wadhwa, vivek, via issues in science and technology, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_ id=1358382 (accessed april 2, 2017). 15 a quiet street in the shopping district of hanoi © calflier001 (ha noi vietnam feb 2012) [cc by-sa 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via wikimedia commons indian-immigrants-united-states (accessed april 2, 2017). foreign-national contribution to the u.s. global patent applications ©wadhwa, vivek, via issues in science and technology, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_ id=1358382 (accessed april 2, 2017). 35 cover imperial diadem of joséphine de beauharnaiss © unknown [cc by 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via wikimedia commons 36 36 the fiscal impact of emigration on “tlbs” ©desai et al., via journal of development economics. percentage of friends or colleagues have returned to their country ©borjas et al., via the review of economics and statistics. indian-immigrants-united-states (accessed april 2, 2017). percentage of times information ©saxenian, annalee, via public policy institute of california. atlantic city at night © ron miguel [cc by 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via wikimedia commons activist robin morgan being arrested © rmbmphotos (sent to me personally) [cc by-sa 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via wikimedia commons the former ritz carlton hotel in atlantic city © paul lowry [cc by 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via wikimedia commons per capita consumption of bottled water in the united states © international bottled water association. https://www.statista.com/statistics/183377/per-capita-consumptionof-bottled-water-in-the-us-since-1999/ (accessed april 2, 2017). 38 44 46 49 54 55 56 washinton university in st louis bottled beverage purchases ©vasquez et al, via washington university in st. louis, office of sustainability, 2015. https://gallery.mailchimp. com/7066ff9764a241168352699e8/files/160118_bottle_brief_final.pdf. 57 united states beverage consumption breakdown in 2016 © international bottled water association. https://www.statista.com/statistics/387199/us-consumption-shareof-beverages-by-segment/ (accessed april 2, 2017). bottled water consumption worldwide from 2007 to 2017 ©nestlé. https://www.statista.com/statistics/387255/global-bottled-water-consumption/ (accessed april 2, 2017). bottled water sales in the united states in 2015 ©beverage world. https://www.statista.com/statistics/552963/bottled-water-sales-in-the-us-by-segment/ (accessed april 2, 2017). cost-benefit analysis © curtis-murphy et al., via the evans school review, https://depts.washington.edu/esreview/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2014/07/2014-ban-the-bottle.pdf. 57 54 9 an artistic representation of the arabic word for she “hiya” ©mahmoud tamman, via behance, https://www.behance.net/mt90.96 university of vermont per capita shipments of bottled beverages ©berman et al., via american journal of public health, http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/ ajph.2015.302593. list of artwork 58 58 60 82 82 83 84 86 92 94 pigouvian tax model ©“pigouvian tax.” via policonomics, http://www.policonomics.com/pigouvian-tax/. percentage of various beverages shipped to 8 campus locations ©berman et al., via american journal of public health, http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/ ajph.2015.302593. number of people serving life sentences, 1984-2012 ©nellis, a , via the sentencing project. median annual earnings for those incarcerated vs not incarcerated. ©diane whitmore schazenbach et al., via the hamilton project. total per offense cost for different crimes in 2008 dollars. ©mccollister, et al., via drug alcohol depend. 66 christa wolf ©spreetom (own work) [gfdl (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or cc-by-sa-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via wikimedia commons us and state federal prison population, 1925-2014 ©criminal justice facts, via the sentencing project, http://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/ growth of prisoners in southern states by age ©american civil liberties union, “at america’s expense: the mass incarceration of the elderly,” https://www. aclu.org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_1.pdf. a protester waving the tunisian flag ©gwenael piaser, “protest tunisia” via flickr a woman attending a protest ©gwenael piaser, “protest egypt” via flickr 'although hundreds of years of illuminated bible history precede this new installment, the st. john's bible offers a novel blend of two distinct cultural and historical eras: the medieval and the postmodern." l l u m i n a t i n g a c u l t u r e , a h i s t o r y , a t r a d i t i o n conceptual blending in the st. john's bible e r i n e. e i g h a n i n 1998, s t . j o h n ' s a b b e y i n c o l l e g e v i l l e , m i n n e s o t a c o m m i s s i o n e d d o n a l d j a c k s o n t o p r o d u c e o n e o f t h e f i r s t h a n d w r i t t e n , h a n d-1 l l u m i n a t e d b i b l e s s i n c e t h e i n v e n t i o n o f t h e p r i n t i n g p r e s s i n t h e f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y . t h e o n g o i n g p r o j e c t b r i d g e s d i s p a r a t e t r a d i t i o n s i n a u n i q u e b l e n d o f t h e m e d i e v a l a n d p o s t m o d e r n e r a s . t h i s a r t i c l e a d o p t s c o g n i t i v e l i t e r a r y t h e o r y t o e x a m i n e t h e s t . j o h n ' s b i b l e , s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e f r o n t i s p i e c e t o t h e g o s p e l o f j o h n , a n d t h e t e x t 1 m a g e i n t e r a c t i o n c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n a s p r o d u c t s o f c o n c e p t u a l b l e n d i n g . a c o g n i t i v e h i s t o r i c a l a p p r o a c h t o t h e s t . j o h n ' s b i b l e r e v e a l s t h e c o m p l i c a t e d r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e m o d e r n d a y a u d i e n c e t o t h e i l l u m i n a t e d t e x t . t e n s i o n s a r e i n e v i t a b l e w i t h i n a n y c o g n i t i v e b l e n d ; t h e s a m e a p p l i e s t o t h e r e a d e r v i e w e r ' s e x p e r i e n c e o f t e x t 1 m a g e i n t e g r a t i o n h e r e . t h e k e y t o c o g n i t i v e b l e n d i n g i s t h e e m e r g e n t e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e t a r g e t e l e m e n t . i n t h i s c a s e , t h e p o s t m o d e r n b i b l e a s t a r g e t b l e n d s w i t h i t s m e d i e v a l p r e d e c e s s o r s t o p r o d u c e t h e s t . j o h n ' s b i b l e — a n i n t e r s u b j e c t i v e , m u l t i m o d a l , c r o s s g e n e r a t i o n a l a r t i f a c t o f a c o g n i t i v e b l e n d . i n t r o d u c t i o n cognit ive l i terary theory is a new interd isc ip l inary approach to l i terature , b r i d g i n g gaps between " l inguis t ics , computer science, psychology, neuroscience, phi losophy o f m i n d , a n d anthropology" w h i c h appears to be " g a i n i n g the force o f an imperat ive" i n academic circles. 1 science and art collaborate as equals, d r a w i n g o n so-called "left b r a i n " and " r i g h t b r a i n " processes to formulate a m o r e complete l i terary analysis. current ly i n academia, l i terary theories w o r k actively to d i s t i n g u i s h themselves by of fer ing d is t inct "def in i t ive readings" o f a text. m a n y readings can and do emerge f r o m a g iven text. each school o f l i terary analysis— i n a d d i t i o n to of fer ing a dist inct ive reading—often s imultaneously works to de leg i t imize other readings i n order to gain authority. cognit ive l i terary theory dist inguishes i t se l f n o t only by of fer ing a new reading, b u t by present ing a way to synthesize the seemingly ant i thet ical readings offered by marxist , f emin i s t , pragmatist , new crit ical , post-structuralist, deconstruct ionist , and psychoanalytical l i terary theories. by g r o u n d i n g i t se l f i n cognit ive science and neuroanatomy, this n e w theory provides a f r a m e w o r k capable o f i n c o r p o r a t i n g a l l forms o f l i terary c r i t i c i s m . by analysis w i t h i n this f r a m e w o r k i t is possible to synthesize the m o s t salient and wel l -grounded cr i t ic i sms o f exist ing theories w i t h respect to a g iven text. precisely because o f th is capacity to u n i t e disparate c r i t i c isms, the appl icat ion o f cognit ive l i terary theory to re l i gious texts is b o t h attractive and controversial . not least a m o n g these controversies is the apparent confl ict between the scientific roots o f th is m o d e o f analysis a n d the sp i r i tua l nature o f re l ig ious texts. the realms o f r e l i g i o n and theology—once of f l imits to scientific invest igat ion—are ferti le g r o u n d for cognit ive scientific inqui ry . for cognitive l iterary theory one o f the m o s t ferti le patches is the bible, w h i c h for hundreds o f years has been subject to o n g o i n g debate regarding the establ ishment o f a def init ive reading o f the text. th i s b ib l ica l context has proved a grand stage for the cr i t ical discourse between c o m p e t i n g l i terary theories taki n g place i n engl i sh departments across the country. therefore, i n addressing the bible, cognit ive l i terary theory undertakes n o t only to show that cognit ive science can effectively c o m m e n t o n rel igious matters , b u t also to show that l i terary theory can provide a synthetic consensus o n perhaps the m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l text i n p r i n t today. w h i l e cognitive theory can approach the bible i n various ways, o f part icular interest is the col laborat ion between theologians and artists to produce i l l u m i n a t e d manuscr ipts o f holy texts. the i l l u m i n a t e d bibles o f the medieval per iod are perhaps the best -known examples o f these cross-modal texts, w h e r e i n the reader m u s t integrate two m e d i u m s — text and i m a g e — i n order to arrive at the richness o f unders tanding in tended by the authors. d i s t ingu i shed i l l u m i nated bibl ical texts inc lude the book o f kells (ca. 9 t h century) , the lindisfarne gospels (ca. 8 t h century) , the winchester bible (ca. 12th century) , and the bibles f r o m tours (ca. 9 t h century) . i n the last f ifteen years, artists and theologians at st. john's univers i ty i n collegeville, minnesota have w o r k e d to create an i l l u m i n a t e d bible for the twenty-f irst century. the st. john's bible is one o f the only m o d e r n i l l u m i n a t e d bibles since the i n v e n t i o n o f the p r i n t i n g press, and the first i n five h u n d r e d years to have been c o m m i s s i o n e d by a benedict ine monastery, est imated to becompleted i n 2010. a l t h o u g h hundreds o f years o f i l l u m i n a t e d bible h is tory precede this new ins ta l lment , the st. john's bible offers a novel b l e n d o f two dis t inct cu l tura l and his tor ica l eras: the medieval and the p o s t m o d e r n . i n terms o f cognit ive theory, this cu l tura l b l e n d suggests m a r k turner and gilles fauconnier's theory o f conceptual b l e n d i n g . 1 1 this theory provides s ingular i n s i g h t i n t o the cultures at play i n the st. john's bible and sheds new l i g h t o n the re lat ionship between text and image i n i l l u m i n a t e d manuscr ipts . to proceed, i w i l l out l ine the conceptual metaphor theory and other cognitive and visual-reading theories germane to this project. i w i l l br ief ly investigate cu l tura l h i s tory surr o u n d i n g the p o s t m o d e r n concept ion o f the i l l u m i n a t e d bible. subsequently, i w i l l examine i n detail the re lat ionship between text a n d image i n the st. john's bible w i t h ree l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 10 gard to cognitive l i terary theory. i w i l l analyze the st. john's bible as a u n i q u e product o f disparate cultures, t imes , and places, focusing o n its t reatment o f the gospel o f john. i w i l l conclude by deta i l ing b o t h the positive and negative effects o f a cross-modal presentat ion o f a text w h i c h are controversial a m o n g current l i terary theories. t h o u g h this text is s t i l l an incomplete sentence i n the his tory books o f i l l u m i n a t e d manuscr ipts , i w i l l demonstrate that the st. john's bible has the potent ia l to persist as a u n i q u e c u l t u r a l and cognitive artifact for m a n y generations. c o g n i t i v e a n d v i s u a l t h e o r i e s e x p a n d e d two m a i n s t r e a m cognitive l i terary theories contr ibute to the discussion o f the cognitive impl i ca t ions a n d histor ica l i m p a c t o f the st. john's bible. the first is the conceptual b l e n d i n g theory developed by turner and fauconnier, later developed by turner i n t o the b l e n d i n g theory o f metaphor and parable . 1 1 1 th i s theory can be appl ied to the st. john's bible b o t h i n e x a m i n i n g the text's in teract ion w i t h cu l tura l and his tor ica l trends and i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g the text-image juxtapos i t ion. fur thermore , i t may add cognitive support to the properties o f iconography and schematizat ion o f i l l u m i n a t e d medieval manuscr ipts . mary c. olson's analysis o f iconography and schematizat ion w i l l be discussed later . l v the second i m p o r t a n t theory is jack w i l l i a m s o n ' s gradat ions o f the g r i d theory o f v isual syntax a n d textual architecture . w h i l e previous cognitive theorists have focused o n textual in terpreta t ion , wi l l i amson ' s theory grounds m y analysis i n a visual reading o f the st. john's bible. i t offers ins ight i n t o the const ruct ion o f i l l u m i n a t e d manuscr ipts f r o m four h is tor ica l periods o f western a r t , v i n c l u d i n g those in f luenced by the pos t -modern p e r i o d o f the st. john's bible. conceptual b lending—also k n o w n as "conceptual integrat i o n " v l — i s a cognitive process creat ing a product ive relat i o n s h i p between an otherwise unassociated source a n d target i n order to better unders tand the target. w h e n an ele m e n t o f the target conceptual f ramework , or d o m a i n , is "the realms of religion and theology—once off-limits to scientific investigation—are fertile ground for cognitive scientific inquiry." cognized i n terms o f the source d o m a i n , and the cognit ive b l e n d enriches the target. m a r k turner and gilles fauconnier assume a m o d u l a r neura l architecture: different types o f i n f o r m a t i o n are handled i n d is t inct "cognitive spaces" v u and integrated by i n t e r v e n i n g processes/ 1 1 1 simple conceptual b l e n d i n g requires four cognit ive spaces: one input space for the target d o m a i n (a); one space for the source domain (a'); a generic space ident i f y ing and containi n g c o m m o n elements; and a blended space for the synthetic u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the target . l x three basic processes operate w i t h i n a n d between these four neura l spaces: composit i o n , c o m p l e t i o n , and elaboration. first, composition b r ings the target and source domains together. t h e n , completion identif ies the paral lel elements by m a p p i n g the target dom a i n onto the source d o m a i n . lastly, the target's qualit ies are elaborated based o n the completed domain map. metaphor is a s imple example o f conceptual b l e n d i n g . x consider the example: "this surgeon is a butcher."* 1 a l l the qualit ies o f a butcher occupy i n p u t space a ; al l qualit ies o f a surgeon occupy i n p u t space a ' . s imultaneous considerat i o n o f these two spaces constitutes compos i t ion . c o m p l e t i o n proceeds by m a p p i n g the two i n p u t spaces onto each other as fol lows: initially, the metaphor may seem to [be] explainable in terms of direct projection from the source domain of butchery to the target domain of surgery, guided by a series of fixed counterpart mappings: "butcher" onto "surgeon"; "animal" (cow) maps onto "human being"; "commodity" onto "pai l l u m i n a t i n c a c u l t u r e , a h i s t o r y , a t r a d i t i o n tient"; "cleaver" onto "scalpel"; and so forth.*11 grady, coulson, and oakley note that th is may seem l ike the ent i re content o f the metaphor, b u t the cognit ive b lendi n g is n o t yet complete. a surgeon is surely incompetent i f he is b e i n g compared to a butcher, b u t there is no source " incompetency" i n h e r e n t i n "butcher-ness" that cou ld be projected onto the target surgeon. h o w d i d i t get there? th i s p h e n o m e n o n is crucia l to elaboration. product ive— or " e m e r g e n t " 5 " 1 1 — c o n t e n t is revealed by the juxtapos i t ion o f elements i n the generic space. i n this example, productive content emerges f r o m incompat ib le means-end relat ionships between the butcher and the surgeon. i n i n p u t space a , the butcher 's goal is to k i l l the a n i m a l and carve its flesh f r o m its bones; i n i n p u t space a , the surgeon's goal is to heal the patient. w h e n the source's means-end relat ionship is m a p p e d onto the target's means-end re lat ionship , the r e s u l t i n g product is an incompetent surgeon. t h u s , the characteristic feature o f conceptual b l e n d i n g theory is this product ive content w h i c h emerges f r o m the compar i son between target and source. as m e n t i o n e d above, jack w i l l i a m s o n ' s g r i d theory offers a part icular ly effective way to analyze the visual architecture o f i l l u m i n a t e d manuscr ipts . the g r i d — c o m p r i s e d o f the interact ions between points and axial l ines w i t h i n an image—is present i n western art f r o m the late-medieval per iod t h r o u g h the p o s t m o d e r n p e r i o d . x l v w i l l i a m s o n pro"the st. john's bible is one of the only illuminated bibles produced since johannes gutenburg developed the printing press in 1440." vides four gradations o f possible s t ructura l typology observed i n that art: the p o i n t g r i d , the f ie ld g r i d , the l i n e g r i d , and the fracture o f the g r i d , corre lat ing to the late medieval , renaissance, m o d e r n , and p o s t m o d e r n periods respectively. the first three variations o f the g r i d theory are appl icable to the present analysis only by the i r progress ion i n t o the fracture o f the g r i d . the p o i n t g r i d o f the late medieval per iod emphasizes i n tersections between h o r i z o n t a l a n d vertical axes, often coinc i d i n g w i t h intersections o f heavenly and earthly r e a l m s . x v the f ie ld g r i d o f renaissance art features converging perspective, p r i v i l e g i n g experience reality over perceived d i v i n i ty a n d sh i f t ing " f r o m appearance to structure , f r o m spi r i tua l i ty to r a t i o n a l i t y . " x v l the m o d e r n era's l ine g r i d features geometric elements: over lapping bars that do n o t intersect leveled o n planes extending inf ini te ly . the abstract h o m o geneity o f the l i n e g r i d denies even experienced reality pr ivilege i n art. t h u s each progressive shift i n the g r i d is paired w i t h a desire to l iberate visual space. fo l lowing the same trajectory, the post -modern fracture o f the g r i d — m u c h l ike its analogues i n academia and cult u r e — s o u g h t to l iberate visual space f r o m al l established conventions, i n c l u d i n g the g r i d itself. mary c. olson explains, the post modern attitude explodes or violates the grid to reveal the chaos at the atomic level behind the superficially predictable and "defiles the typographic message".... the explosion of the grid reveals a loss of belief in the ability to control, and signals a shift in interest from the creator to the domain of the receiver.™11 the essence o f the p o s t m o d e r n g r i d w i l l be especially relevant cons ider ing the attitudes o f the st. john's bible's predecessors. successive r e s t r u c t u r i n g o f the visual g r i d converted f o r m e r l y passive viewers i n t o active part ic ipants i n images, e m p h a s i z i n g the interact ion between the i n d i v i d ual's in terpre ta t ion a n d standard interpretat ions . the previous three g r i d theories and the i r corresponding h is tor ica l e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 periods accorded the artist considerable contro l over the viewer's in terpreta t ion . th i s was part icular ly t rue o f the late medieval i l l u m i n a t i o n s that took advantage o f standard iconography a n d schematizat ion. as o l s o n notes, however, " [postmodern] readings o f graphic space are not concerned w i t h contro l , b u t w i t h i n d i v i d u a l in terpreta t ion . " x v i i i by juxtapos ing text and image w i t h i n th is fractured g r i d space, the p o s t m o d e r n art c o m m u n i t y began present ing language as art. belgrad explains that the goal o f the postm o d e r n artistic c o m m u n i t y was " to create a ' language' o f p a i n t i n g [that paralleled] the poetic project to restore 'spat ia l i ty ' to w r i t i n g . " x i x some artists i n paral lel w i t h l i terary theorists were in f luenced by deconst ruct ion ism. the ambiguous references and arbitrary regulat ions i n h e r e n t i n language were cr i t ic ized a n d satir ized endlessly i n the postm o d e r n l i terary c o m m u n i t y . by extension, p o s t m o d e r n artists deconstructed typographic conventions: f rac tur ing the g r i d progressively translated to f rac tur ing the text. projects l ike cranbrook design: the new discourse destabil i zed visual processes associated w i t h reading by t u r n i n g l ingu i s t i c graphemes (e.g. standard letters, n u m b e r s , ideographs) i n t o visually ambiguous elements c o m p o s i n g a larger image. art i s t s m i x e d fonts, created uneven basel ines , m e r g e d text i n t o images, d iv ided the text against i t se l f—anyth ing that w o u l d "call i n t o quest ion t rad i t iona l values o f consistency and order. " x x a c c o r d i n g to olson , " i n terms o f typography, the const ruct ion o f the graphic space [o f the fractured gr id] subverts its o w n readability, violates its o w n boundaries a n d generally attacks the whole concept o f transparency [of l ingu i s t i c g r a p h e m e s ] . " ™ fractur ing the textual g r i d gave rise to a cu l ture o f spontaneity; art organically grew out o f the subjective self, e l i m i n a t i n g m a n y o f the strictures o f convent ion. a c c o r d i n g to danie l belgrad—a histor ica l a n d cu l tura l theorist w h o i n vestigates the cu l ture o f spontane i ty—"[sub jec t iv i ty suggests that there is no u l t i m a t e t r u t h to be arr ived a t — o n l y d i f f e r ing perspectives that can perhaps be synthesized. th i s is h o w a dialogue is s t r u c t u r e d . , , x x i i h e argues that the p o s t m o d e r n culture—essential ly equivalent to his "cul ture o f spontane i ty "—bui lds c o m m u n i t y n o t o n the basis o f objective standards, b u t o n variable, inter subjective re lat ionships between indiv idua l s . th i s process proceeds by creati n g a dialogue between c o m p e t i n g i n d i v i d u a l interpretat ions . a c c o r d i n g to w i l l i a m s o n ' s g r i d theory, this p o s t m o d e r n inter subjectivity should be mani fest i n the v i sual grids o f p o s t m o d e r n works . st. john's bible offers a s t u n n i n g example o f the intersubjective visual g r i d at w o r k . c o g n i t i v e h i s t o r i c a l a p p r o a c h t o t h e i l l u m i n a t e d b i b l e t h o u g h a detailed h is tory o f i l l u m i n a t e d bibles is n o t necessary, the l o n g lacuna (fifteenth century u n t i l the present day) i n the p r o d u c t i o n o f i l l u m i n a t e d bibles is noteworthy. the st. john's bible is one o f the only i l l u m i n a t e d bibles produced since johannes gutenberg developed the p r i n t i n g press i n 1440; evidently, the i n v e n t i o n o f the p r i n t i n g press catalyzed a re ject ion o f m a n u s c r i p t cu l ture and an espousal o f p r i n t cu l ture . m a n u s c r i p t cul ture was based o n a c o m m u n i t y o f scribes govern ing the l i terary c o m m u n i t y t h r o u g h the i r product i o n o f texts. th i s m o r e personal t ransmiss ion o f texts mani fest ly in f luenced the presentat ion and subsequent cognitive processing o f manuscr ipts . the rise o f p r i n t culture a n d the u n i f o r m , mechanica l t ransmiss ion o f texts rem o v e d that h u m a n inf luence , part icular ly o n l ingu i s t i c graphemes. p r i n t cu l ture subsequently developed a cognitive bl indness to the graphic nature o f the graphemes compos ing p r i n t e d words . this is w h a t m a r y o l s o n calls the "transparency" o f t e x t — w h e n text is no longer image b u t w o r d . the m a n u s c r i p t cu l ture was m o r e acutely aware o f the aesthetic o f p r i n t e d words . olson suggests that the m a n u script cu l ture was "less concerned t h a n ours is w i t h the transparency o f w r i t i n g . . . . but m a n y early m a n u scripts . . . employ these devices [large in i t ia l s , rubr ics , glosses, or i l lustrat ions] w h i c h d i s rupt transparency particu lar ly at points o f d i v i s i o n . " ™ " curiously , m o s t o f the medieval audience o f i l l u m i n a t e d bibles was i l l i terate , a n d i l l u m i n a t i n g a c u l t u r e , a h i s t o r y , a t r a d i t i o n for th is m a j o r i t y the graphic nature o f w r i t i n g and the i l l u m i n a t i o n s were the only p o i n t o f entry i n t o the content. t h u s , the aesthetic o f l ingu i s t i c graphemes was crucial i n medieval i l l u m i n a t e d bibles. a m i d s t a remarkable variety, r igorous o r n a m e n t a t i o n stands out as a c o m m o n element o f al l medieval i l l u m i nated bibles. o l s o n wri tes , "the style reflects a love o f patt e r n and surface texture. a c c o r d i n g to w i l s o n , ' i t also reveals that horror vacui w h i c h is so obvious an e lement o f the germanic art o f the post-roman per iod . no space can be left u n o r n a m e n t e d . " , x x l v w i t h i n that o r n a m e n t a t i o n , a conscious use o f standard iconography a n d schematizat ion is evident. w h i l e iconography and schematizat ion are relatively consistent i n medieval i l l u m i n a t e d bibles, the st. john's bible diverges s ignif icantly f r o m these standards. i n order to unders tand th is divergence, i t is necessary to examine brief ly the standard medieval iconography and schemat iza t ion . iconography a n d schematizat ion greatly aided i n the visual t ransmiss ion o f doctr ine f r o m artist to viewer. t h o u g h s imilar , iconography and schematizat ion differ i n the i r cult u r a l d o m a i n . schematizat ion creates classes o f people, objects, a n d so f o r t h according to c u r r e n t c u l t u r a l biases i n representation. for example, i l l u m i n a t i o n s o f groups o f people e l iminate idiosyncrasies i n favor o f visually establ i s h i n g a collective ident i ty by the r e p r o d u c t i o n o f some prototypical e lement o f that g roup . a group o f angels m i g h t all f ly w i t h wings splayed, knees bent , square shoulders, and l i g h t f l o w i n g locks, b u t w i l l n o t be ind iv idua l l y identi f iable unless demanded by the narrative. st. michae l the archange l , for instance, m i g h t be out f i t ted w i t h a f l ami n g sword. th i s is where iconography fits i n , d i s t ingu i shi n g i m p o r t a n t figures f r o m schema by i n c l u d i n g easily identi f iable visual elements. olson suggests that iconograp h y "looks at ways a type is consistent across the spec t rum o f t imes and cultures; for example, st. peter is always depicted w i t h keys, a k i n g w i t h a c r o w n . " x x v h o w do these two techniques o f representat ion affect the in terpre ta t ion o f these i l l u m i n a t e d bibles? i n a m a n u s c r i p t cu l ture , scribes painstakingly copied texts stroke by stroke. o n a practical level, standard iconography and schematizat ion offered scribes a guide for accurate t rans lat ion o f the content. standard iconography and schematizat ion also standardized t ransmiss ion o f doctr ine to the audience. john w i l l i a m s wri tes , " i n a h i s tory in fatuated w i t h the archetype, the artist tends to r e m a i n a passive agent o f descent and is se ldom granted the role o f creative respondent to expectations that go beyond mere replicat i o n . " ^ 1 the astute viewer is also relegated to a passive role: "the role o f the viewer is to situate heror h i m s e l f w i t h i n an established, cu l tura l ly const i tuted edifice o f m e a n i n g and be ing where schematic codif icat ion encourages social adhesion a m o n g its m e m b e r s . " ^ 1 1 both the medieval artist and the medieval viewer were subject to standard visual representations and interpretat ions . a n d t h e w o r d b e c a m e f l e s h : t h e s t . j o h n ' s b i b l e p o s t m o d e r n i s m dramatical ly influences the art o f the st. john's bible. the cu l ture o f spontaneity, discussed earlier, drives the aesthetic. i l l u m i n a t i o n s , l ike the one f o u n d i n " m a t t h e w 24: the last judgment" br ist le w i t h d y n a m i c energy. the frontispiece for the gospel o f john, i l l u m i n a t i n g john 1:1-14 (" . . . and the w o r d become flesh and l ived a m o n g us . . . " ) , is characterized by layered geometric patt e r n i n g , sporadic patches o f color, i n f i n i t e extension o f space, images crossing borders, text m e r g i n g w i t h image, and l ingu is t i c graphemes los ing transparency. these characteristics are h i g h l y indicat ive o f the p o s t m o d e r n g r i d fracture . these p o s t m o d e r n i l l u m i n a t i o n s exert a clear inf luence o n the viewer's c o g n i t i o n o f the b ib l ica l content . psycholinguist ic models o f m i n d — l i k e the connect ionist m o d e l or the cohort m o d e l — c a n help clarify th is inf luence . priming—a cognitive process i n w h i c h a p r i m i n g s t i m u l u s is used to prepare and direct the subject's response to a target s t i m u l u s x x v m the st. john's bible i l l u m i n a t i o n s were developed such that the relevant text w o u l d p r i m e the e l e m e n t s : : s p r i n g 10 t h e f r o n t i s p i e c e t o t h e g o s p e l o f j o h n i n t h e st. j o h n 's bl b l e . elements of he st. j o h n s bible i l l u m i n a t i o n s h a d m o d hubble space telescope. i.otmd with r w cimw 3 1 ti'cv utters jtiacix 4 ruynt of the brother* chimin* here b f u a m m h i n ^ e v i l a k i u t -day inspirations, i n c l u d i n g images from the viewer for the image, i n v o l v i n g the viewer by catalyzing viewer-specific representational expectations a n d viewerspecific f u l f i l l m e n t and f rus t ra t ion o f those expectations. t h o u g h creators o f the st. john's bible do n o t call th is " p r i m i n g , " the i r practice o f lectio divina, developing i n t o visio divina, relies o n the same pr inc ip les . i t is c o m m o n practice for benedict ine m o n k s to take part i n lectio divina, a m e d i t a t i o n o n devotional and b ib l ica l texts i n w h i c h a smal l p o r t i o n is reiterated a n d contemplated for a l o n g per iod . c o m m i s s i o n e d by the benedictine order, the st. john's bible was constructed a i m i n g to facilitate lectio divina. the c o m m i t t e e o n i l l u m i n a t i o n and text ( c i t ) — the group o f b ib l ica l scholars f r o m the st. john's c o m m u n i t y charged w i t h m a t c h i n g text to i l l u m i n a t i o n s — c o m m i s s i o n e d i l l u m i n a t i o n s based o n notes taken after extensive practice o f lectio divina. ar t i s t i c director d o n a l d jackson t h e n created o r i g i n a l drawings i n c o r p o r a t i n g n o t only the meditat ive notes, b u t h is o w n aesthetic as w e l l . the st. john's bible i l l u m i n a t i o n s were created by a process a i m i n g to engender variety o f in terpre ta t ion a n d a concurrent sense o f viewer creativity absent f r o m medieval i l l u m i nat ions. th i s n e w process o f i l l u m i n a t i o n const ruct ion based i n lectio divina was n a m e d visio divina. the benedict ine act o f visio divina separates the st. john's bible f r o m its medieval catholic t r a d i t i o n , c o m p l i c a t i n g the cognitive b l e n d o f the st. john's bible (as target) and its medieval counterparts (as source). whereas the medieval artist and the viewer were subjected to a collective m a c h i n e o f re l ig ious dogma, the m o d e r n artist a n d viewer had cont r o l over the in terpre ta t ion o f ancient b ib l ica l texts. the d i vergent m o t i v a t i o n s — t h e source's m o t i v a t i o n as ideological i m p o s i t i o n , the target's m o t i v a t i o n as theological m e d i t a t i o n — p r o d u c t i v e l y b l e n d to create a p o s t m o d e r n aesthetic for an ancient subject. w h e r e iconography a n d schematizat ion were used previously to standardize in terpre ta t ion w i t h i n the rel ig ious c o m m u n i t y , the st. john's bible employs a taxonomic syst e m to inv i te subjectivity where i t was discouraged. for example , i n the frontispiece o f the gospel o f john, jesus cannot be ident i f ied except by abstract inference. a m o r p h o u s masses o f gold are etched i n t o a general body-l ike f o r m attached to a haloed head bear ing a featureless face. moreover, th is featureless golden jesus appears variously i n the gospels and acts (e.g. m a t t h e w 16 or m a r k 9) . john's gospel certainly prefigures a representation o f jesus p r i o r to object or d i m e n s i o n a l space , x x l x b u t medieval iconograp h y — i n d e e d , medieval a r t — c o u l d n o t have accommodated such a p icture . postmodernism's fractured g r i d , e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 however, can capture concepts at " the border o f a myster i ous, often n o n m a t e r i a l d i m e n s i o n " x x x w i t h relative ease. w h i l e some standard iconography is preserved (e.g. cross w i t h i n a halo or gold as d iv in i ty) i t is clear that the st. john's bible has created a new, p o s t m o d e r n iconography based o n abstract, subjectively malleable visual elements. th i s jesus o f abstract features a n d colors constitutes a novel visual ident i ty for " . . . the l ight o f all people. the l i g h t shines i n the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome i t . " 5 0 ™ schematizat ion receives a s imi la r p o s t m o d e r n update. divis ions o f the p o i n t g r i d separated d iv ine space f r o m earthly space i n medieval schematizat ion. for the medieval m i n d space generally i n the upper p o r t i o n o f an image was reserved for the sky, clouds, stars, a n d other heavenly bodies; earthly space, l ikewise, was depicted i n the lower port i o n . the twenty-f irst century m i n d , however, has a radically di f ferent concept ion o f the extent and contents o f that upper space. the p o s t m o d e r n schematizat ion i n the st. john's bible greatly deemphasizes the earthly r e a l m n o t on ly to accommodate current cu l tura l attitudes about expansive u p w a r d realms, b u t to call a t tent ion to t h e m a n d make t h e m the focus o f c o n t e m p l a t i o n . a representative example w o u l d be the i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f images f r o m the h u b b l e space telescope i n t o i l l u m i n a t i o n s depic t ing the d iv ine r e a l m . ™ 5 " 1 1 v o l u m e six o f the saint john's bible (the gospels and acts) po ignant ly concludes p a i r i n g the i l l u m i n a t i o n o n the preceding p a g e x x x l v w i t h the exhortat ion to be witnesses to chr is t " to the ends o f the e a r t h . " 5 0 0 ^ once again, the fractured g r i d allows the schema i t se l f to i n f l u ence the viewer i n innovative ways. t h u s far i n m y discussion o f the st. john's bible, i have only spoken to the i l l u m i n a t i o n s conta ined there in . n o w i w i l l address the i r in teract ion w i t h the text, for as olson writes , "language is n o t just read, decoded, b u t also seen, the body is involved i n an interactive process w i t h the environm e n t . " 5 0 0 ™ just as w i t h its medieval predecessors, the text o f the saint john's bible is h a n d w r i t t e n x x x v n and can be v iewed as stra ightforward l ingu i s t i c graphemes, as capt i o n , and as an image u n t o itself. given m y focus o n the reader as viewer, text as image is m o s t i n t r i g u i n g and is complexly enr iched by its cohesive re lat ionship w i t h the i l l u m i n a t i o n s . the frontispiece for john's gospel, an i l l u m i n a t i o n o f " the w o r d became f lesh," incorporates colossians i : i 5 2 0 . x x x v m just as w i t h iconography and schematizat ion, the i l l u m i n a tors defy standard typography and exhaustively subvert the text's transparency. for example, according to m a r y olson's research, leading (space between the l ines o f type) increases readership by 12 percent . 5 0 ™ 5 ' the hand (calligrapher 's j a rgon for " font" ) i n the i l l u m i n a t i o n , however, encroaches u p o n lead space w i t h graceful descenders (the part o f a letter w h i c h hangs below the baseline) disorienti n g a reader accustomed to conventions o f the p r i n t cul ture . moreover, the text merges w i t h the image o f chr is t , drawi n g the reader i n t o th is n e w typographic image space. interestingly, after al l this transgressing o f conventions, the experience o f a contemporary viewer before this i l l u m i n a t i o n approaches that o f the average medieval viewer before text he cou ld n o t discern except by its graphic quality. the text i n this image appears i n gold w i t h a black underscript a n d accordingly has a dua l nature . the golden words echo the color o f chr is t , b u t echo also christ ' s departure f r o m iconographic standards i n the i r departure f r o m analogous standards. the viewer blends f o r m (image) and sign i f i ca t ion (word) together: i n a real sense the " w o r d is made f lesh," extending f r o m and fa l l ing i n t o the christ . i n contrast, the black underscr ipt does n o t confine i t se l f to its go ld counterpart , extending, c u r l i n g , and fa l l ing o f f to h i n t at christ ' s facial features. just as the p o s t m o d e r n chr is t i c o n demands that the viewer supply christ 's features, the black script visually outl ines the process d i rec t ing viewers to the task at h a n d . i n th is way, the viewer is p r i m e d for contemp l a t i o n n o t on ly by p o s t m o d e r n iconography and schematizat ion, b u t also by the script itself. e f f e c t s o f t e x t i m a g e i n t e g r a t i o n w h i l e in tegra t ing images i n t o b ib l ica l text can i l l u m i n a t e d i f f i cu l t scr ipture, i t can create tensions. w h e n i l l u m i i l l u m i n a t i n g a c u l t u r e , a h i s t o r y , a t r a d i t i o n nated bibles gained currency i n the f i f th century, m a n y contemporary scholars cr i t ic ized the ostentatious presentat ion o f self-effacing teachings: saint jerome . . . whose translation of the biblical books was to become more or less the standard one for the latin church, felt it necessary to condemn what he considered extravagant attention to the decoration of scripture: "parchments are dyed purple, gold is melted into lettering, manuscripts are decked with jewels, while christ lies at the door naked and dying. "xl despite protests l ike st. jerome's, i l l u m i n a t e d bibles cont i n u e d to be popular u n t i l the i n v e n t i o n o f the p r i n t i n g press. th i s "efficient re ject ion" was succeeded by a fierce ideological campaign against i l l u m i n a t e d bibles i n the sixteenth century, w h e n luther and other protestant r e f o r m ers echoed the sent iments o f saint jerome. they stressed the dangers o f a t tachment to devotional aides l ike icons, i l l u m i n a t e d bibles, stained-glass w i n d o w s , and so f o r t h , w h i c h cou ld easily s l ip i n t o idolatry i f these images were m i s t a k e n for the i r subjects. as an example: the loss of confidence in the transubstantiation of the host as evidence of the incarnation [the word made flesh]. analogous and equally serious is the loss of confidence in the visual image, especially in the icons... both feeling the suspicion that sense knowledge can no longer provide satisfaction a t h e or ig ins o f the protestant att i tude t o w a r d i l l u m i n a t e d bibles are s ignif icant because our nation's re l ig ious foundations are protestant , x l i l evidenced often e n o u g h today: "protestant ism helped define the n a t i o n , operat ing as simul taneous ly the happy enabler a n d the u n h a p p y conscience o f the a m e r i c a n repub l i c—a single source for b o t h nat iona l comfor t and nat iona l u n e a s e . " x l m protestants gave a m e r i c a f reedom o f re l ig ion ; some current c o m m u n i c a t ions theorists suggest that rel igious inf luence plays a s trong role i n media censorship even today. o l s o n claims that the his tory o f iconoclastic controversy a n d "even the desire to establish boundaries between w o r d and image categories suggest a deep-seated fear o f images. th i s fear . . . results f r o m the be l ie f that images can become what they r e p r e s e n t . " x l i v the st. john's bible, therefore, cannot be isolated f r o m the broad cu l tura l context i n w h i c h i t appears. the st. john's bible can be contextual ized o n three separate levels: the macro-histor ical , the micro-his tor ica l , and the cu l tura l . o n the macro-histor ical level, the saint john's bible rises out o f the centuries o f catholic h is tory and the t r a d i t i o n o f medieval i l l u m i n a t e d manuscr ipts . micro-historically, i t was conceived i n a n a t i o n founded o n protestant idea l s . x l v finally, the p o s t m o d e r n , media-soaked cu l ture o f our w o r l d has created a u n i q u e l y visuo-centric m o d e r n audience. as brother d i e t r i c h reinhart, osb—pres ident o f st. john's univers i ty—recent ly said: "if it was an anachronism, i wasn't interested," he [brother dietrich] said. he wasn't going to live in the past. . . . "it wouldn't work if it was cliched or if it was some project out there in cuckoo land. no. it had to be great art. it had to be about the real world today. it had to resonate with catholic tradition but not in a dogmatic way. it had to connect to the curriculum. '^v1 the st. john's bible f r o m its incept ion has a i m e d to b l e n d these disparate sub-cultures: "great art , " the "real w o r l d today," and "catholic t r a d i t i o n . " the tensions o f any cross-modal presentat ion present themselves i n th is ambi t ious b l e n d i n g exercise. some w i l l cr it ic ize ostentatious visual displays b o t h as distractions f r o m text and as an i m p e d i m e n t to proper in terpreta t ion . inevitably some w i l l reject certain i l l u m i n a t i o n s because the text p r i m e s t h e m for di f ferent images that cannot be reconciled. tradit ionalists f r o m an artistic perspective may reject the s tart l ing p o s t m o d e r n aesthetic o f the saint john's bible, pre fer r ing bibles that m a i n t a i n some sense o f "histor ical d e c o r u m " — t h a t is, adherence to conventions. a project in tegra t ing aural and visual sensory experiences, constantly asks "whether we learn dif ferent th ings by heare l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 "... this new synthesis preserves the ... christian message, while generating an iconography, schematization, and typography consistent with a postmodern aesthetic." i n g a story t h a n by seeing a n d by t o u c h i n g . w h a t k i n d o f l e a r n i n g is sures t ? " x l v i l t h e conceptual b l e n d i n g i n the st. john's bible tolerates and even encourages m o m e n t s i n w h i c h the target and the source conf l ict w i t h or relate ambiguous ly to one another. no doubt the medieval and the p o s t m o d e r n periods are typically n o t paired. i n other words , "composition a n d completion [the f irst two steps i n conceptual b l e n d i n g theory] often draw together conceptual structures previously kept apart. " x l v m turner cont inues , "as a consequence, the b l e n d can reveal latent contradict ions and coherences between previously separated elements. i t can show us problems and lacunae i n what we had previously taken for granted." general acceptance o f the st. john's bible and its u n i q u e cognit ive b l e n d hangs o n the f o l l o w i n g questions: w i l l emergent contradict ions o v e r w h e l m emergent ins ights for the audience at large? i f the answer is yes, t h e n this a m b i t ious project w i l l fai l ; i f the answer is no , the st. john's bible w i l l ga in currency and could inspire new interest i n this ancient b ib l ica l mode . st i l l , the u n i q u e histor ica l and cu l tura l dialogue occur r ing i n the text and i l l u m i n a t i o n s o f the st. john's bible yields a n e w synthesis regardless o f its success or fai lure. as brother d i e t r i c h says: but the thing is, we're guys. we're living a middle-class lifestyle. we're part of a mainline tradition. so we don'tlike to wear our faith on our sleeves. we need props. we need vestments and an altar to say sacred words. . . . we need roles to allow people to open up and ask advice. but when you look at the discussions which take place around the st. john's bible, people allow themselves to say they were moved. people who aren't ordained find themselves talking about christ. very practical, down-to-earth people ask 'what about religious art?'. . . the saint john's bible is a celebration of the non-linear.^ the explicit and i m m i n e n t presence o f p o s t m o d e r n intersubjectivity i n the st. john's bible encourages personal i n terpretat ion o f texts i n innovat ive and cul tura l ly conscious ways. 1 supported by the textual analysis above, th is n e w synthesis preserves the m e d i u m and the chr i s t i an message, w h i l e generat ing an iconography, schematizat ion, and typography consistent w i t h a p o s t m o d e r n aesthetic. the resultant intersubject iv i ty is i n m a n y ways i r o n i c f r o m a catholic perspective, for i t encourages the protestant concept o f personal revelation a n d i n d i v i d u a l in te rpre ta t ion o f scr ipture. th i s was a project that began w i t h the determinacy to b u i l d a br idge u n i t i n g t w o divergent t i m e periods, two divergent cultures , two divergent t rad i t ions . w h a t rem a i n s , never present before i n either o f the two o r i g i n a l elements o f the b lend , is a synthesis o f i n t e r c u l t u r a l and i n terrel ig ious dialogue. i t was a t rue project o f m a t e r i a l i z i n g the cognitive b l e n d . e n d n o t e s i . crane (123) i i . turner 1998 h i . turner 1996 iv. olson 2003 v. williamson 1989 vi . turner 1998 v i i . these cognitive spaces need not correspond to specific neuroanatomical spaces. v i i i . for more information on the modularity o f the m i n d , see ellen spolsky's gaps in nature: literary interpretation and the modular mind. albany: state university of new york press (1993), p. 19-41, i n which she writes a thorough analysis. ix. grady 1999 x. turner 1996 (57-84) i l l u m i n a t i n g a c u l t u r e , a h i s t o r y , a t r a d i t i o n xi. grady (2) xi i . grady (3) x i i i . grady (4) xiv. williamson (171) xv. olson (25) xvi. ibid. xvii. ibid. xviii . grady (25-26) xix. belgrad (81) xx. olson (26) xxi. ibid. xxii. belgrad (111) xxiii . olson (31) xxiv. olson (40). cites wilson, david. anglo-saxon art. woodstock, ny: overlook (1984). xxv. olson (xxi) xxvi. williams (5) xxvii. olson (46) xxviii. reeves 1998 xxix. john 1:10: "al l things came into being through h i m , and without h i m not one thing came into being," and, "he was i n the world, and the world came into being through h i m . . . " xxx. williamson (182) xxxi. john 1: 4-5 xxxii. sink (90) xxxiii. also interesting i n this particular modernization is the presentation o f science as part of religion, a concept the catholic church has only recently accepted, though wi th eagerness. xxxiv. hubblesite: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/galaxy/spiral/ pr i994002c/ . xxxv. acts 28 xxxvi. olson (7) xxxvii. mass copies are bound books o f digital photographs of the original manuscript. xxxviii. "he is the image of the invisible god, the firstborn of all creation; for i n h i m all things i n heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through h i m and for h i m . he himself is before all things and i n h i m all things hold together. he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place i n everything. for i n h i m all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell, and through h i m god was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or i n heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." xxxix. olson (24) xl. williams (2) xl i . spolsky (16) x l i i . bottum xl i i i . ibid. xliv. olson (18) xlv. growing up i n central minnesota, the influence o f protestant ideals on catholicism is striking to me, especially i n our stark, unadorned modern churches. xlvi. calderhead (27) xlvii. spolsky (29) xlvi i i . turner (84) xlix. calderhead (27) 1. ironically, this might make the essence of the text more protestant than catholic. r e f e r e n c e s belgrad, daniel. the culture of spontaneity: improvisation and the arts in postwar america. chicago: the university of chicago press (1998). bottum, joseph. "the death of protestant america: a political theory of protestant mainline." first things: the journal of religion, culture, and public life (august/september 2008). http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6254. crane, mary thomas and alan richardson. "literary studies and cognitive science: toward a new interdisciplinarity." mosaic 32.2 (june 1999). grady, joseph e., todd oakley, and seana coulson. "blending and metaphor." metaphor in cognitive linguistics. eds. g. steen and r. gibbs. philadelphia: john benjamins (1999). http: / / cogweb.ucla.edu / cog s ci/ grady_9 9 .html . olson, mary c. fair and varied forms: visual textuality in medieval illuminated manuscripts. ed. francis g. gentry. studies in medieval history and culture, a routledge series. new york: routledge (2003). reeves, lauretta et. al. "words and meaning: from primitives to complex organization." psycholinguistics. eds. jean berko gleason and nan bernstein ratner. fort worth: harcourt brace college publishers (1998). 157-226. turner, mark. the literary mind. new york: oxford university press (1996). turner, mark and gilles fauconnier. "conceptual integration networks." cognitive science 22.2 (1998): 133-187. williams, john. "introduction." imaging the early medieval bible. ed. john williams. university park, pa: the pennsylvania state university press (1999). williamson, jack. "the grid: history, use and meanings." design discourse: history, theory, criticism. ed. victor margolin. chicago: university of chicago press (1989). 171-181. e l e m e n t s s p r i n g 10 http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/galaxy/spiral/ http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6254 http://cogweb.ucla.edu over the past decade, programs that prevent the vertical transmission of hiv from parents to their children have become widely accessible in india. despite this ostensible success, most indian women and their unborn babies do not utilize these programs, and therefore remain vulnerable to vertical transmission. this article explores this troubling phenomenon by highlighting the particular effect of hiv/ aids-related stigma on women who live in highly patriarchal societies. in these contexts, the effects of stigma become tangible rather than simply emotional. when stigma exists alongside gender inequality, these forces collude and become a structural barrier that keeps women from safely obtaining the treatment to prevent vertical transmission. this problem is double-pronged as negative attitudes from health care staff create prejudice and prompt patients to keep their health status a secret out of fear of judgement. attending to issues of stigma and gender injustice is a necessary step in the mission of holistically addressing the crisis of hiv/aids in india as well as the global community. inherited injustice stigma and gender discrimination as barriers to aids prevention in india catherine larrabee introduction every year, 49,000 women living with hiv in india become pregnant and give birth.1 these women are at a high risk of transmitting hiv to their babies while pregnant, during delivery, or through breastfeeding. their difficulties are compounded by the intense social stigmatization that they experience throughout their pregnancies, especially if they openly seek treatment in hopes of preventing transmission to their children. given how little agency women possess in the context of a patriarchal society, addressing the issues surrounding hiv-positive pregnancies is an urgent ethical and public health concern. the situation of a pregnant woman who is hiv-positive presents a unique opportunity in which a potential transmission can be immediately foreseen and prevented. despite this occasion, unaids maintains “there are currently few interventions being implemented to help women to remain hiv-free during pregnancy, breastfeeding and beyond. more effort is needed to address this gap.”2 as a result, hiv is still the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age.3 vertical transmission, the transmission of hiv from mother to child, is the largest source of hiv in children.4 socioeconomic disadvantages can further increase transmission risks, as “women in the poorest quintile are two to three times less likely than those in the richest households to have access to or to use these vital interventions.”5 as the gap report suggests, the quantitative lack of prevention of parent to child transmission (pptct) programs is one factor that limits access to care. however, the solution transcends simply creating more services. powerful cultural factors often preclude women from utilizing the programs that already are in place, and india is a society in which these cultural barriers are in full force. the case above is the introduction to a thorough study of the experience of hiv-positive women and their interaction with and attitudes toward pptct programs in the south indian state of tamil nadu. this case begins to illuminate the underlying cultural issues that prevent women from accessing pptct services. these social factors are symptomatic of an underlying problem that keeps women from utilizing pptct programs and predisposes them to hiv in the first place: the marginalization of women in patriarchal cultures. pptct programs and their limits in response to the problem of parent to child transmission, the most common solution has been the implementation of pptct programs. though these programs have proven to reduce transmission rates when utilized, societal stigma often limits their efficacy. around the world, wherever pptct programs exist and are utilized, they have been instrumental in reducing the rate of hiv transmission from mother to child (vertical transmission). in fact, effective pptct interventions reduce the risk of vertical transmission from 33% to 3%.6 these programs have had a positive global effect. according to the unaids gap report, “the rate of mother-tochild transmission [has fallen]—16% of children born to women living with hiv became infected compared to 25.8% in 2009.”7 consistent with this global trend, the pptct program implemented by the government of india has met many of its goals.8 by 2008, “4.61 million pregnant women were counseled and tested for hiv during their prenatal care in government maternity hospitals; 21,483 pregnant women were found to be hiv-positive; and 10,494 mother-baby pairs were given a single dose of nevirapine.”9 however, these promising figures hide the difficulties inherent in baiga woman and child in india (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 92 elements : : fall 2015 ensuring access to pptct programs. as cecilia van hollen notes, “while the government of india has made progress increasing the availability of prevention of mother-tochild transmission of hiv services, only about one quarter of pregnant women received an hiv test in 2010, and about one-in-five that were found positive for hiv received interventions to prevent vertical transmission of hiv”.10 despite the successes of pptct, the majority of hiv-positive pregnant women in india remain vulnerable to vertical transmission. in her case study, van hollen indicates that this gap could be caused by underlying cultural factors that stigmatize women with hiv/aids and therefore deter pregnant women from seeking treatment. when women publicly disclose their hiv status by participating in pptct, they face discrimination throughout their pregnancy and birth by the community, family members, and healthcare workers. this experience of stigmatization can be extremely isolating, and detracts from what little agency these women had to begin with. for this reason, pregnant women in india who fear discrimination might be less likely to seek out pptct programs and undergo hiv testing, therefore risking their own health, the health of their unborn child, and the health of the community. in light of these high stakes, it is necessary to examine the societal factors that facilitate such a decision. firstly, participation in pptct programs implies a risk of revealing one’s hiv-positive status to the community, and therefore a resulting risk of societal stigmatization and isolation. in many communities, those with hiv are labeled as “harijan or dalit (“untouchable” in the context of the historical indian caste system).”11 in the words of a nineteenyear-old indian mother, “i do not think it is advisable for the people infected with hiv/aids to tell others about their [hiv] status because if they do so they will be treated as untouchables. they will not be allowed to mingle with other people . . . they will not be allowed to speak to others. the food they prepare will not be touched by anybody; nor will they [community] give them food. they will not be allowed to touch others, sit with others, etc.”12 this mother’s advice stems from a concern for social flourishment and material wellbeing. a mother considering how she and her future child will fit into and thrive within the community will likely be deterred by the emotional and material detriment that could ensue if her hiv status becomes public. therefore, fears of community stigmatization become a legitimate factor that hinders women from pursuing the pptct services they need. pptct participation can also risk disclosure of women’s hiv status to her relatives, from whom hiv-positive women often experience blame and rejection. due to the intensely patriarchal kinship models common in india, females are already alienated within the context of the family. van hollen notes that an unintended effect of india’s pptct programs leads women to be diagnosed as hivpositive before their husbands, which “can have negative repercussions on the status of women within the extended patrilocal, patrilineal family structure, because women are accused of being promiscuous and are blamed for bringing hiv/aids into the family, thereby exacerbating preexisting gender inequalities.”13 as a result, the husband’s family may throw the wife out of the house and refuse to care for either her or her children.14 for an hiv-positive woman responsible for hiv-positive children in the context of a highly patriarchal society, this could be a death sentence. the potential consequences of a mother’s relatives discovering her hiv status are often enough to deter her from risking participation in a pptct program, even in light of the potential long-term benefits it could bring. lastly, women fear discrimination and maltreatment from healthcare workers when they opt for obstetric care through a pptct program as openly hiv-positive. medical employees that perform pptct services are often influenced by the same cultural stigmas about hiv that inform indian society as a whole. these prejudices are manifested in the report that “hiv-positive mothers had experienced refusal for treatment, abusive behavior, moral judgment and lack confidentiality by health staff.”15 one woman reports, “during the delivery, there were two nurses and they did not even touch me during delivery even “despite the successes of pptct, the majority of hivpositive pregnant women in india remain vulnerable to vertical transmission.” 93 inherited injustice when i was suffering from pain . . . even when i was bleeding they did not come to my help. they scolded my grandmother to wipe the blood, and they even did not touch my child.”16 in addition to being emotionally traumatizing and physically painful, this lack of intervention drastically increases the likelihood of poor quality of obstetric care and complications during childbirth. additionally, discrimination by health workers increases the chances of vertical hiv transmission, the very event pptct care is supposed to prevent. if this is the quality of care women risk when opting into pptct programs, it should come as no surprise when they decide to avoid the effects of discrimination and avoid hiv-specific services. these potentially deadly consequences associated with disclosing one’s hiv status deter pregnant women from seeking the resources they need to prevent vertical transmission. these examples indicate that the significance of stigma transcends the emotional realm. rather, the effects of societal stigma have concrete effects upon women known to be hiv-positive: they are rejected by their communities, cast out from their families, and discriminated against by health workers. these consequences disproportionally affect females in patriarchal communities, where women are already disenfranchised. in the words of an hiv-positive mother in tamil nadu, “society is more unkind to hiv-positive women.”17 understandably, women fear hiv-related stigma and try to avoid the risk pptcts pose to the confidentiality of their hiv status. given the patriarchal society in which women are already relegated to the margins, women rationally choose to avoid jeopardizing what little agency they have to begin with. however, public health consequences of this phenomenon are too dire to ignore. therefore, the barriers women face in accessing pptct programs must be examined and addressed at the cultural level. structural barriers to pptct access the barriers women face in accessing pptct programs illuminate the underlying cultural dynamics that prevent them from experiencing safe pregnancies, delivering healthy babies, and ultimately thriving as individuals. the realities of female life in india persist, regardless of what services are currently available to pregnant women. therefore, in order to truly prevent the transmission of hiv from mother to child, we must recognize the manifestations of structural violence in india that devalue and diminish the female experience. in order to effectively decrease the vertical transmission of hiv, we must first reconsider what factors put women at risk for contracting the virus in the first place. though married women are not typically considered a high-risk group by those working to combat aids in india, “a substantial proportion of new hiv infections are occurring among stable heterosexual couples.”18 this observation should serve as a red flag. it indicates that risk is correlated with a standard, “stable” element of the female experience in india, rather than deviation from social norms. furthermore, a study of pregnant women in western india suggests the following: “[a woman’s] hiv risk perception seems more influenced by her socio-demographic status and her couple relationship than by her level of hiv-related knowledge… the significant factors identified in this study point out to the fact that risk perception and hence risk reduction among pregnant women, and probably overall women within stable heterosexual couples, must go far beyond imparting knowledge about hiv and must address the more deep-rooted issues such as partner communication, domestic violence, alcoholism, and lack of education among women.”19 therefore, the factors that predispose women to hiv vulnerability are the same ones that decrease their quality of life, social status, and perceived value in society. unsurprisingly, these are also the effects of second-class citizena woman welcoming a female patient at a health clinic in india. smaller illustrations demonstrate the ways in which aids can be transmitted. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 94 elements : : fall 2015 ship in a patriarchal society. therefore, working towards the general empowerment of women within indian communities will simultaneously work to prevent the spread of hiv/aids. progress in women’s empowerment will increase female agency in all areas of life, including the ability to pursue pptct services without fear of stigma and its effects. as demonstrated above, a substantial barrier to women’s pptct access is their fear of the devastating consequences that follow from beings labeled as hiv-positive. the devastation of these consequences is not inherent, but results from the relative lack of agency females in indian society have to cope with them. as gillian paterson reminds us, “it is the way we relate to each other that creates the conditions for transmission. we are actively welcoming aids when a person’s identity is defined in terms of how successful an adjunct she or he is to wishes of family and culture.”20 in light of this wisdom, it becomes clear that in order to decrease hiv transmission rates and increase access to pptct programs, we must adjust our definition of female identity and work to empower women in all aspects of life. moving forward: catholic duties the obstacles faced by pregnant women with hiv in india reveal the extent to which women struggle with discrimination, marginalization, and a lack of agency in their everyday lives. unfortunately, the availability of pptct programs cannot serve as a comprehensive solution for the issue at its root, no matter how effective they may be. as long as gender inequality exists, women will be systemically vulnerable insofar as acquiring hiv and transmitting the virus to their children. to ameliorate the issue in the long term, it is necessary to diminish the stigmatization of hiv and to promote gender justice. stigma and the status quo are powerful forces, but we are called as a global church to overcome them in hopes of bringing about justice. the first step is radical inclusion. gillian paterson reminds us that “the focus on stigma calls us to take a new look at the theological meaning of community … an hiv-friendly church is not just one where people with hiv are welcome: it is one where those who are most vulnerable to transmission (often rejected by ‘the world’) are also welcome.”21 christopher vogt notes how the gospels’ “insistence that there be no limit upon who is to be considered a “neighbor” and [jesus’s] example of repeatedly attempting to build bridges between marginalized persons and the rest of the community”22 challenge the church to stand up to stigma and social injustice. jesus healed the leper not for the sake of public health, but to relocate him from social isolation back into the community. we must accept the challenge of the gospel by working to eliminate oppressive and isolating conditions on earth, including hiv/aids. we must also accept the challenge by making an option for those who are most condemned by society, including pregnant, hiv-positive women in india. as the hands and feet of god on earth, we must take seriously the dignity of each human person by actively and radically relocating all isolated individuals into our communities. the more we accomplish this task, the closer the world will come to eliminating the risk of hiv/aids for all its people. 95 inherited injustice endnotes 1. rahangdale, lisa, et al. “stigma as experienced by women accessing prevention of parent-to-child transmission of hiv services in karnataka, india.” aids care 22.7 (2010): 836-42. 2. joint united nations programme on hiv/aids (unaids), the gap report, (2014), 234. 3. ibid., 232. 4. joshi, urvish, et al. “studying pptct services, interventions, coverage and utilization in india.” journal of global infectious diseases 3.4 (2011): 371-7. 5. gap report, 235. 6. joshi, 371. 7. gap report, 233. 8. the success of india’s pptct program is detailed on van hollen 53 (see note 9). 9. van hollen cecilia. birth in the age of aids women, reproduction and hiv/aids in india. palo alto: stanford up, 2013, 54. 10. madhivanan, purnima, et al. “hiv testing among pregnant women living with hiv in india: are private healthcare providers routinely violating women’s human rights?” bmc international health and human rights 14 (2014): 7. 11. rahangdale, 839. 12. ibid. 13. van hollen, 11. 14. rahangdale, 839. 15. subramaniyan, 2203. 16. rahangdale, 839. 17. van hollen, 104. 18. darak, shrinivas, et al. “hiv risk perception among pregnant women in western india: need for reducing vulnerabilities rather than improving knowledge!” aids care 26.6 (2014): 709. 19. darak, 712. 20. paterson, gillian, escaping the gender trap: unraveling the patriarchy in a time of aids, 106. 21. paterson, gillian, stigma in the context of development: a christian response to the hiv pandemic, progressio, (2009), 11. 22. vogt, christopher, recognizing the addict as neighbour: christian hospitality and the establishment of safe injection facilities in canada, theoforum 35 (2004), 322-23. references darak, shrinivas, et al. “hiv risk perception among pregnant women in western india: need for reducing vulnerabilities rather than improving knowledge!” aids care 26, no. 6 (2014): 709-15. joint united nations programme on hiv/aids (unaids), the gap report. 2014. joshi, urvish, et al. “studying pptct services, interventions, coverage and utilization in india.” journal of global infectious diseases 3, no. 4 (2011): 371-77. madhivanan, purnima, et al. “hiv testing among pregnant women living with hiv in india: are private healthcare providers routinely violating women’s human rights?” bmc international health and human rights 14 (2014): 7. paterson, gillian. “escaping the gender trap: unraveling the patriarchy in a time of aids.” concilium, 3 (2007). paterson, gillian. “stigma in the context of development: a christian response to the hiv pandemic.” progressio (2009). rahangdale, lisa, et al. “stigma as experienced by women accessing prevention of parent-to-child transmission of hiv services in karnataka, india.” aids care 22, no. 7 (2010): 836-42. doi: 10.1080/09540120903499212. subramaniyan, anbarasi, et al. “experiences of hiv positive mothers from rural south india during intra-natal period.” journal of clinical and diagnostic research: jcdr 7, no. 10 (2013): 2203. doi: 10.7860/jcdr/2013/5782.3471. van hollen, cecilia. birth in the age of aids women, reproduction and hiv/aids in india. palo alto: stanford university press, 2013. vogt, christopher. “recognizing the addict as neighbour: christian hospitality and the establishment of safe injection facilities in canada.” theoforum 35 (2004): 317-342. 96 elements : : fall 2015 this paper deals with the west german student movement, which, like most student movements, was active in the 1960s and focused primarily on social issues. it attempts to interpret the critiques levied by the movement in relation to those events and thoughts which preceded it. the author argues that there was a distinct rhetorical and philosophical connection between the 68er-bewegung and the critical theory of the frankfurt school. this connection shaped the methods and goals of the student movement, which sought to integrate a process of coming to terms with the realities of germany’s fascist, anti-democratic past into the german mindset following the rich period of remarkable postwar economic development. these methods and influences, which are called “critical historical memory,” are then argued to have been deployed so as to bring to light the continued presence of fascistic tendencies in contemporary german politics, with the hope of coming to terms with the recent past. dissent in the wirtschaftswunder historical memory and the german student movement alec walker the writings, speeches, and pamphlets of the german student movement display a contemporarily unique approach to historical memory. the period following world war ii called for a historical reckoning of recent events in germany. due to conditions on the ground, however, such immediacy was either made impossible by turmoil or forced and subsequently repressed by denazification. given its ostensibly democratic structure and ideals, western germany seemed positioned for a reckoning of memory and conscience with the dawn of a new sovereignty in the mid1950s. as konrad adenauer and his administration regained the reigns of governance, though, the extent to which a recovery of conscious, critical historical memory occurred is unclear. while west german economic standards rose rapidly to levels similar to their western allies, it is not evident that there was any discourse aimed at coming to terms with the fascist, antidemocratic tendencies that had until recently carried so much political and cultural clout. indeed, in the nexus that became known as the german student movement, or the 68er-bewegung, the criticism that the recovery to date had been merely material and disturbingly ahistorical is brought to light. in this sense, the german student movement can be interpreted as movement of critical historical memory. an outline of this concern is found in a speech titled “the students and the revolution,” delivered by rudi dutschke, a figurehead of the movement. dutschke stated that, “in the fifties the left in west germany believed that capitalism no longer contained any contradictions.”1 the old guard, dutschke claimed, had acquiesced too readily to an easy definition of progress, a superficial economic solution that attempted to pave over the problematic parts of recent history. to understand both dutschke’s speech and the movement it epitomized, one must observe the insistence on historical memory that spurred the movement’s inception, how this concern impacted the movement’s means of demonstration, and to what degree it was successful in its complicated conclusion. the fact that critique of recent history occurred in german universities is, in one sense, historically expected. in western germany, between 1960 and 1966, there was a precipitous rise in the student population from 195,000 to 281,000, resulting in overcrowded facilities and reduced contact with faculty.2 while this would be cause for alarm in any political climate, it resulted in particularly shocking outcomes in western germany due to a number of factors external to the university. the student body felt stifled and politically impotent. as willibald karl notes in the journal of contemporary history, the student unions of various german universities “proved [themselves] incapable of meeting the needs of the students or of getting their demands accepted.”3 as a result, the students sought political means of recourse — specifically in the socially liberal, and classically socialist, sozialdemokratische partei deutschlands (spd.) however, the spd, in its 1959 party convention, had abandoned its classical marxist views in favor of a capitalistic, social market economy platform, beginning a process of what michael schmidtke of the university of bielefeld termed “de-ideologization.”4 those ideals, historically crucial to liberal student politics, were being actively abandoned. it was these first sparks of agitation that originally ignited the german student movement, represented by the sozialistischer deutscher studentenbund (sds) and a number of other attendant extra-parliamentary agencies. unlike many protest movements of the past, the body of the sds was not foreign to the rulers they criticized. as a result, “the dominant parent culture…sensed that this protest movement [was] emerging from its own center — the middle class.”5 they emerged as an educated and engaged contingent, which felt society was partaking in mass historical repression. the students’ initial discontent, contained and pressurized in the universities, was fanned further by the winds of the 1960s. by 1966, the new spd had formed a grand coalition government with the more conservative christlich demokratische union deutschlands (cdu), making it “nearly impossible to articulate opposition views outside of the two dominant political parties.”6 the new coalition enacted policies 1968 hamburg lehrling demonstration (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 43 dissent in the wirtschaftswunder showing no regard for recent history, proposed by leaders implicated in the recent atrocities of national socialism. kurt georg kiesinger was accepted as chancellor, despite his involvement in the third reich, and franz joseph strauß was appointed finance minister, despite his numerous attempts to limit the free voice of the german press.7 the appointment of these men, readily indictable of antidemocratic activity, appeared as a flagrant dismissal of history in the eyes of the students, and the policies they sought to pass appeared reminiscent of times both recent and repressive. with precisely these concerns in mind, the students criticized the proposed emergency laws of the grand coalition, which would endow the government with overarching power in times of vaguely defined “crisis,” due to their similarity to the weimar laws of the 1930s.8 politics at large seemed at best conservative, at worst regressively forgetful. as belinda davis of rutgers university notes, a variety of obstacles caused the students to create their own sphere of thought. this independent space allowed “alternative modes of living…offering protection from repression,” a place where they could critically address the present and, ultimately, the past.9 here, then, is the scent of the real issue, by which the student movements can be understood as engaging in a discourse not only on the present, but also on the not-distant past — a generation’s reaction to the reviving of a smell repressed, and their insistence that it not be perfumed. their critique, and the sphere they created to propagate it, began to expand intellectually beyond the present situation in the universities to the images and memories of fascism lingering in society at large, which, in sabine von dirke’s words, “overshadowed the democratic-humanitarian rhetoric of mainstream west germany with which the youth had grown up.”10 in this sense, the students’ insistence on recalling the “functions of fascism” in the 1920s and 1930s can be understood. dutschke’s indictment that “after the second world war a new form of fascism” arose can also be interpreted through this perspective.11 fearing a revival of authoritarian principals, the students, barred from parliament and the orthodox university, founded a critical perspective backed by their own interpretation of recent history. the core methodological backings of the movement were, in their very nature, a recollection of recent intellectual history. much of the movement’s method was based upon the revival of the frankfurt school, that famous house of critical theory, which had been “partially lost due to nazism and partially repressed.”12 theodor adorno, a member of the frankfurt school contemporary to the student movement, surmised the student’s opposition to authoritarianism when he wrote of “the bestial fury of the brownshirts” against those critical of them as the “incursion of the wild horde into the preserve of the mind.”13 the reader does not miss the historicity of the phrase, in its explicitly critical memory of national socialism. but adorno went further, diagnosing modernity, explicating a mood, and endowing the students with a guiding method, when he stated that the critic would “have willingly excelled the less clever tyrants who were to succeed him”, arguing that the once usurped critic now reigns rather than thinks; it was the students’ contention and expansion that this is a particularly apt analysis in the realm of politics.14 the goal, then, was to actively keep the past of fascism in mind as a means of critiquing the present. the movement’s very method was a historical revival, opposed both to fascism and forgetting. the students’ main mode was memory. theirs was the realization that the modern germany hegemony, to quote schmidtke, “paralleled the traumatic weimar experience,” and thus threatened to bring about equally traumatic consequences.15 tracing the premise that the students borrowed their memory and their historical method from the frankfurt school, the manner in which they advanced adorno’s realization that “once culture itself has been debased to ‘cultural goods’…it has already defamed its raison d’être” must be observed.16 rather than theorizing about cultural debasement, the students attempted to actively engage the forces responsible for its defamation. herbert marcuse, in writing on the student movements, noted that the first movement of the students was one of negation, a refusal “to participate, to play along, [out of ] disgust with the lifestyle of the ‘affluent society.’”17 this negation then desired motion, incapable of being contained within the university. in 1966, following a series of sit-ins at the free university of berlin, the students passed a resolution in which “the appointment of these men, readily indictable of antidemocratic activity, appeared as a flagrant dismissal of history in the eyes of the students.” 44 elements : : fall 2015 they stated that their movement was “about viewing freedom in the university as a problem that points beyond the realm of the university itself.”18 this required a move into society at large, propagated by subversive political action, inspired by the frankfurt school, and based on the belief that such actions “could result in ‘moments of self-consciousness’ for the protester” which would then spread across culture.19 convinced that the situation in the university was, as rudi dutschke phrased it, “closely interlocked with the entire structure of society and government in a late-capitalist society,” the students sought to engage with power structures which ensured the status quo by denying the continued presence of fascistic tendencies — those hidden tendencies which sought to reify and sterilize culture and history.20 these protestors, with their critical methodology in hand, “developed a strategy which aimed to create situations where power structures would be unveiled, and where participants would define themselves independently from authority.”21 this critical revelation of power is seen in the protests against the shah’s visit to germany in june of 1967. as a student-produced pamphlet described, the protestors were objecting to a leader who had “been shown to have tortured and murdered hundreds of politicians, journalists, students, and workers” — a despot who embodied every authoritarian tendencies.22 however, despite various accounts of police brutality and the murder of student activist benno ohnesorg, the protestors remained peaceful, establishing themselves as the antithetical, historically aware opposition. they used this antithesis, the stark contrast of violence and peace, to generate rhetorical power. the only crime that the students were guilty of, as their pamphlet said, was “speaking out for freedom, democracy, and social justice.”23 the students were unquestionably successful in bringing power structures to light — forcing both contemporary german society and twenty-first entury historians to reckon with the fact that the spd, in the words of davis, “oversaw the suppression of nonviolent oppositional…expression arguably more repressively than had [the cdu].”24 the question arose as to whether the spd was not more “right,” even more authoritarian, than it had originally appeared. more generally, the potential for formerly politically progressive parties to be ideologically debased as the result of political success was poignantly brought to light. the movement’s antiauthoritarianism, its main mode of leaving the strictures of the university, was also historical in nature, calling into question not only their current leaders, but also the regimes of adenauer and the third reich and what they saw as their repressive tendencies — seeking to engage more with the public and bring it to awareness.25 rather than a movement of divisive violence, rudi dutschke, the sds, and the students in general sought a universal “coalition of workers and students in the organizational form of [revolutionary] councils.”26 despite the violence generated by the authoritarian camp, the students strove to remain peaceful. in an interview with der spiegel regarding his critique of the springer press, dutschke explicitly stated, “violence, murder, and killing…would be wrong and virtually counterrevolutionary” — in this sense, they would also be ahistorical, reminiscent of the fascism the students sought to critique.27 the object was to move into society at large, to expand their view’s power while establishing a broader base of support. through this broad union, the movement would establish “scholarship that bases its analysis on present-day conflict situations throughout the world.”28 it is now possible, with dutschke’s idea of a self-aware, active scholarship, to see the manner in which a generational movement -critically aware, highly educated, antagonistically seeking unity -presented a unique means of coming to terms with germany’s unique past. it is in this sense that dutschke’s “students and the revolution,” dealt with earlier, can be understood. dutschke argued that “german fascism has lost its definite historical form” — in other words, though the iconic party of fascism was recently dethroned, elements of its ideology persisted, colonizing various elements of political, social, and intellectual life.29 the students’ goal was to bring this to the attention of the world at large. all the movement’s actions should be seen in precisely this light, as a vigorous viewing and criticism of all forms of fascism, both historical and present. emerging from this movement was a new, antagonistic history, one that opposes the idea that “history is a result of the german youth expressing their dissatisfaction (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 45 dissent in the wirtschaftswunder personalities of world history,” the notion that “bourgeoisie thinking can only understand the conflict in society…as a result of outstanding individuals.”30 in dutschke’s argument, the students and their work produce a method “that emancipates and that does not need leaders as chief ideologist,” constituted by a mass of individuals characterized by “the fact that they take part in a steady critical dialogue,” aware that “any personal powers they have can be removed at any time.”31 this call to work was a call to responsibility, to awareness, and to resolution. aware of history and the dangers of authority, the movement finally returned, though altered, to one of its foundational thinkers, adorno, in his invective that criticism must “become aware of its own questionable position.”32 to end on such a laudatory note, though, would be to miss the critical point. the turbulence that followed the end of the movement questioned the very basis on which it seemed founded. following an attempt on dutschke’s life, a wave of violent protests, breaking from the previously peaceful tones of the movement, arose — culminating on easter sunday, when a massive brawl broke out between students and police. as schmidtke notes, these riots “marked a turning point for the student movement in germany” — the observable fracture that portended a shattering.33 in the following months, the movement continued to split, and by the sds conference of 1968, the various conflicting ideals of the movement “became obvious… paralyz[ing] further activities.”34 in the instant of its final iteration, as “the focus shifted away from...individual subjectivity to that of social class,” the movement lost the collectively individualistic force, the constant critique with history in mind, which inspired it in the first place.35 without the strong, individual voice of dutschke, the movement lost much of its collective will. in a philosophical sense, this acts to bring to light the rather odd aporia of a movement seeming to seek collective consciousness predicated upon individual acts of critique. pragmatically, the movement failed to achieve of any of its aims in full: the emergency laws ultimately passed, the universities saw no sweeping reform, and there was no grand calling to consciousness. horst krüger, a critic of the students, may have been right in stating that the students “spoke a language whose rigid, formulaic shorthand” forms a “new esoteric party lingo” the students began to appear as yet another political body.36 yet more problematic, the once peaceful protest moved to one of active, militaristic violence. the red army faction, a splinter group formerly affiliated with the sds, viewed violence “as a simultaneous act of emancipation and defense” that would “force the state to reveal openly its fascism,” and terrorized germany in the 1970s. this was clearly hypocritical in view of the movement’s original, peaceful, antifascist intent, yet it is also a violently clever reappropriation, revealing the frightening mutability of the student’s rhetoric.37 that a movement aiming to function outside of governmental strictures ultimately adopted the language of a political party, and that a peaceful antifascist movement resolved in violence’s authority obviously questions its historical awareness. perhaps, though, rather than making present analysis impossible, this reality can be used to better circumscribe a historically significant moment. while the movement, like so many others, petered out, it was for a time aware, as analysis has shown. as von dirke notes, “the frankfurt auschwitz trial in 1965 … introduced the majority of the german youth for the first time to the horrors of the holocaust and heightened their sensibility for the question of historical failure and guilt.”38 with a new generation came a hope for new thought and fresh eyes. adorno, though not a member of the student’s generation, stated that “to write poetry after auschwitz is barbaric.”39 it is precisely this realization, of the utter barbarism and deep-seated unacknowledged hypocrisy that lay at the heart of contemporary germany, which the students at their highest moment achieved. for this reason, the refusal of german society to allow the students, in their call to consciousness, to develop into a call to dogmatism and violence, perhaps showed the first signs of coming to terms with those atrocities which had just so recently, and so querulously, ended. “the goal, then, was to actively keep the past of fascism in mind as a means of critiquing the present.” 46 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. rudi dutschke, “the students and the revolution (7 march 1968)” in the global revolution of 1968 ed. jeremi suri trans. patricia howard (new york: norton, 2007) 122. 2. michael a. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock? student radicalism and 1968 in germany,” south central review 16/17 (december 1, 1999) 78. 3. willibald karl, “students and the youth movement in germany: attempt at a structural comparison,” journal of contemporary history 5, no. 1 (january 1, 1970): 114. 4. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 78. 5. sabine von dirke, “all power to the imagination!” : the west german counterculture from the student movement to the greens (lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1997), 31. 6. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 80. 7. schmidtke, 78—79. 8. schmidtke., 79. 9. belinda davis, “what’s left? popular political participation in postwar europe,” the american historical review 113, no. 2 (april 1, 2008): 370. 10. von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 31. 11. dutschke, “the students and the revolution (7 march 1968)” 121. 12. von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 32. 13. theodor adorno, “cultural criticism and society” in prisms ed. theodor adorno trans. samuel and shiery webber (cambridge: the mit press, 1981) 22. 14. ibid. 15. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 81. 16. adorno, “cultural criticism and society,” 22. 17. marcuse, herbert, “herbert marcuse denounces the vietnam war (may 22, 1966)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/sub_ document.cfm?document_id=890 18. bergmann, uwe, “the “sit-in” as a means for reforming the university (june 22, 1966)” trans. allison brown german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/ sub_document.cfm?document_id=891 19. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 83. 20. dutschke, rudi, “the students and the revolution,” 115. 21. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 83. 22. social democratic student association “social democratic student association flyer on the death of benno ohnesorg (june 3, 1967)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/docpage. cfm?docpage_id=1620 23. ibid. 24. davis, “what’s left?”. 117. 25. sabine von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 33. 26. ibid. 27. dutschke, rudi, “rudi dutschke demands the expropriation of the springer press empire (july 10, 1967)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=893 28. ibid. 29. dutschke, rudi, “the students and the revolution,” 118. 30. ibid., 128 31. ibid., 129. 32. adorno, thodor, “cultural criticism and society,” 28. 33. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 87. 34. webler, “the sixties and the seventies,” 157. 35. von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 33. 36. horst krüger, “liberal musings on the character of the generational revolt (october 18, 1968)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_id=126 37. karrin hanshew, “daring more democracy? internal security and the social democratic fight against west german terrorism,” central european history 43, no. 1 (march 1, 2010): 117. 38. sabine von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 138. 39. adorno, theodor, “cultural criticism and society,” 34. references adorno, theodor, “cultural criticism and society” in prisms edited by theodor adorno, translated by samuel and shiery webber (cambridge: the mit press, 1981): 1734. bergmann, uwe, “the “sit-in” as a means for reforming the university (june 22, 1966)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/sub_document. cfm?document_id=891 davis, belinda. “what’s left? popular political participation in postwar europe.” the american historical review 113, no. 2 (april 1, 2008): 363-90. dutschke, rudi, “rudi dutschke demands the expropriation of the springer press empire (july 10, 1967)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/ sub_document.cfm?document_id=893 dutschke, rudi, “the students and the revolution (7 march 1968)” in the global revolution of 1968 edited by jeremi suri translated by patricia howard (new york: norton, 2007): 118-131. hanshew, karrin. “daring more democracy? internal security and the social democratic fight against west german terrorism.” central european history 43, no. 1 (march 1, 2010): 117-47. 47 dissent in the wirtschaftswunder karl, willibald. “students and the youth movement in germany: attempt at a structural comparison.” journal of contemporary history 5, no. 1 (january 1, 1970): 113-27. krüger, horst, “liberal musings on the character of the generational revolt (october 18, 1968)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/docpage. cfm?docpage_id=126 marcuse, herbert, “herbert marcuse denounces the vietnam war (may 22, 1966)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_ id=890 sabine von dirke. “all power to the imagination!” : the west german counterculture from the student movement to the greens. lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1997. schmidtke, michael a. “cultural revolution or cultural shock? student radicalism and 1968 in germany.” south central review 16/17 (december 1, 1999): 77-89. socialist democratic student association, “socialist democratic student association flyer on the death of benno ohnesorg (june 3, 1967)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014,http://ghdi.ghidc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_ id=1620 webler, wolff-dietrich. “the sixties and the seventies: aspects of student activism in west germany.” higher education 9, no. 2 (march 1, 1980): 155-68. 48 elements : : fall 2015 the german catholic theologian johann baptist metz makes a convincing case that in the face of the catastrophes of the 20th century, christian theology can no longer isolate itself from its role as a perpetrator of injustice. to that end, he seeks to challenge abstract answers to theological questions with a renewed sensitivity to past transgressions. for metz, christian faith cannot simply be a matter of assent to theoretical propositions, but rather a practical engagement with “dangerous memories” of systematic injustice. in this paper, the author takes up metz’s conceptual framework for political theology and uses it to examine kendrick lamar’s “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” as a theological, and specifically soteriological, performance. by re-telling in his own voice the stories of friends who have died, kendrick both documents the struggle they lived and reveals his own vulnerability to the same conditions (of sin). but in addressing this vulnerability, he transcends it, protecting himself from sin precisely by telling the story. the paper closes with some reflections on how kendrick’s track might gesture towards a mode of doing theology that subverts the abstract tendencies of the hegemonic western tradition. performing redemption metzian theology in the art of kendrick lamar evan goldstein towards the end of his life, the philosopher walter benjamin wrote that, “the true picture of the past flits by…[and] can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the moment when it can be recognized and is never seen again.”1 according to this view, philosophical inquiry cannot presuppose the accessibility of a universal history as such, but rather must seek absolute truth in and through the concrete “temporality” of every historical moment.2 through this thesis, benjamin did not intend to merely criticize modernity’s prevailing bourgeois history (qua history of progress), but also to articulate the task of the philosopher as “to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up in a moment of danger,” and to establish these memories as the inaugural site of a constructive, critical response. the german catholic theologian johann baptist metz appropriates benjamin’s thesis in his call for a christian theology grounded in “dangerous memories” of suffering.3 reacting against a corrupted theological discourse that he terms “bourgeois religion,”4 metz articulates the need for a “practical, fundamental theology of the subject” that does not flee from history but rather attempts to talk about god in view of history’s victims.5 at the center of this attempt is the theodicy problem, or “the question of how one is to talk about god in the face of the abysmal histories of suffering in the world.”6 metz criticizes mainstream theology for prioritizing soteriology over theodicy, producing a “soteriologically-overdetermined” discourse which he suggests functions as an “exoneration mechanism” alleviating the bourgeois subject’s responsibility for suffering in history.7 against abstract theologies of justification, metz maintains that a “purely argumentative soteriology” (one that does not account for histories of suffering) reenacts the bourgeois banishment of religion to the private (and thus, non-political) sphere, thereby uncritically affirming the prevailing socio-political order. instead, following benjamin, metz re-articulates faith as a “praxis in history and society” that struggles to speak about god from the underside of modernity.8 in this paper, i read kendrick lamar’s “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” as a performance of dangerous memory.9 specifically, i read this song as a soteriological performance, one in which the artist struggles for redemption from what he explicitly frames as a condition of sin. the sin lamar confronts is not the abstract, ontological sin of the dominant christian tradition of theological anthropology, but rather a social condition of “dying of thirst,” described in the second half of the two-part track. lamar’s performance of dangerous memory operates on two levels: on the one hand, lamar’s stories of friends who have passed function as representations of the lived experience he characterizes elsewhere as “[growing] up ‘round some people livin’ they life in bottles.”10 in other words, the stories are descriptions of the sinful reality lamar inhabits. at the same time, lamar speaks from within that reality, and therefore presents himself as vulnerable to its destructive tendencies as well. as such, the song (including his embodiment of others’ stories) itself functions soteriologically.11 lamar does not simply represent his struggle against sin, but indeed performs that struggle in and through his music. thus, “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” is a musical performance of metz’s soteriology, which is neither “purely argumentative” nor content to stop at rationally-deduced propositions, but rather represents the drama of salvation (and, truthfully, of theology itself). lamar’s soteriology is unstable, resisting the pervasive influence of sin at the very moment that he performs his vulnerability to sin’s destruction and his ultimate inability to overcome sin on his own.12 he expresses, we might say, a dialectic of resistance and vulnerability, which is the situation of a “good kid” in a “m.a.a.d city.”13 as such, the theological resonances of his work are not important simply for understanding his musical project, but also make a contribution to theology itself. following metz, theological truth cannot be deduced from within the walls of the academy, but must ground itself in the dangerous memories that convey the ambiguity of speech about god. as such, my aim is to read lamar in a way that problematizes abstract conceptions of salvation and reveals the danger of speaking about god. lamar performing at way out west in august 2013 (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 73 performing redemption “promise that you will sing about me”: representation at the boundaries of life and death “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” is the penultimate track on kendrick lamar’s debut major-label album, good kid, m.a.a.d city (2012). like every song on the album, it is a memoiristic portrayal of lamar’s life in compton. in many ways, good kid, m.a.a.d city is less a sequence of divergent tracks than it is a continuous, unified narrative of suffering, struggling, swaggering, sex, and much more. one hesitates to name a primary theme, for fear of obscuring other indispensable elements of the work; however, to the extent that we can venture to do so, we might draw on james h. cone’s characterization of the spirituals and the blues: “black music…is not an artistic creation for its own sake; rather, it tells us about the feeling and thinking of an african people, and the kinds of mental adjustments they had to make in order to survive in an alien land.”14 the particular focus of this study, “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst,” unfolds in two parts of about six minutes each. the first part opens with its hook: “when the lights shut off, and it’s my turn to settle down/my main concern: promise that you will sing about me.” already, the metzian resonances of this track come through, as the voice (perhaps lamar’s but it is left somewhat unclear) implores someone (perhaps lamar, perhaps the listener; again, it is not specified; as we shall see, the identity of both the voice and the addressee shift throughout the track in significant ways) to retell their story after they are gone. even this opening line, simple as it is, conveys something important about the speaker: namely, that they feel compelled to consider how others will memorialize them. important for a comparison with twentieth century philosophy and theology, the fact of death’s possibility (and even imminence) does not itself appear to be troubling; rather, what concerns this speaker is whether and how they will be remembered. thus, it is already apparent that what we are hearing disrupts an abstract, existential mode of being in the world, in which the fear of death is the primary crisis of human existence.15 the following two verses present two stories of lamar’s friends who have passed, suggesting an answer to the question of who it is that urges lamar to sing about them. both stories, however, are recounted in lamar’s voice, presenting an interesting interplay between remembranceing (eingedenken) and remembrance-er (i.e., the one who is remembering) that shall be explored in more depth below.16 the theme suggested in the hook-of death’s imminent possibility, or, possible imminence-pervades the first verse. beginning, “i woke up this morning and figured i’d call you/in case i’m not here tomorrow,” the verse’s “protagonist” is a gang member whose slain brother (identified in the previous track as dave) was close with lamar.17 indeed, we learn that lamar held dave as he died.18 the verse centers around the inability of dave’s brother to extricate himself from the gang life, which is presented as an irrevocable, almost intrinsic quality of his personhood. he draws upon the language of biology and disease, declaring his situation as the “prognosis of a problem child,” juxtaposed against lamar’s musical “recovery.”19 thus, he has called lamar to “borrow a peace of mind”; in other words, a brief (and temporary) respite from the ineradicable “piru shit [that’s] been in me forever.”20 he is displays a certain ambivalence about this condition. on the one hand, he acknowledges that he is “behind on what’s really important,” but he also describes his violent reaction to his brother’s murder in blood-chillingly mundane terms: “as blood spilled on your hands/my plan’s rather vindictive/…a demon glued to my back, whispering ‘get ‘em’/i got em/and i ain’t give a fuck.” this verse’s seemingly contradictory dynamic exemplifies what i consider to be the central problematic of the song: being stuck in a seemingly irrevocable situation of violence, wherein resistance seems completely hopeless and passive acceptance inevitably results in death. there is a sense of proximity to death, evidenced by the verse’s opening, as well as it’s ending, in which dave’s brother tells lamar, “if i die before your album drop, i hope-“ before he is abruptly cut off by gun shots, and we are left to wonder for what he dared hope.21 his call to lamar functions both to express that hope before the former’s “lamar does not simply represent his struggle against sin, but indeed performs that struggle in and through his music.” 74 elements : : fall 2015 impending death (to which he was especially vulnerable because of the conditions of his life), and to ensure an afterlife for his hope beyond bodily death. the desire to have one’s story retold does not, in this instance, stem from vanity, but rather from the (perhaps unspoken) conviction that to be forgotten would be to reinforce the system responsible for one’s death. if, as max horkheimer and theodor adorno suggest, “the capacity to be represented is the measure of power,” then to insist upon posthumous representation is to hope that one might matter in death, even when one’s life is systematically neglected and discarded.22 this is the representation of the underside of metz’s eingedenken, not the academic specialist seeking critical distance from bourgeois thoughtforms, but the precarious subject himself anxious about the prospect of being posthumously disregarded.23 the second verse expresses similar themes-being stuck in cycles of destruction (and self-destruction) with death as a constant possibility-but in a somewhat modulated form. here the “speaker” is the sister of keisha, a slain teenaged prostitute whose story lamar previously recounted (from a third person perspective) on the track, “keisha’s song (her pain).”24 in contrast to the cordial tone of the previous verse, keisha’s sister criticizes lamar for “judging her [sister’s] past” by “put[ting] her on blast” in “keisha’s song.”25 immediately, though, the verse comes back to her present (“her past…well, it’s completely my future”), as a prostitute for her sister’s pimp. juxtaposed with the first verse, her narration represents the second of two (gendered) roles available to compton’s children in situations of economic exigency: men can become gang members, and women can become prostitutes.26 the latter shares the former’s proximity to death; even as keisha’s sister proclaims that, “i’ll probably live longer than you, and never fade away,” she knows that her survival is at stake and in jeopardy (“i’m on the grind for this cake/i’ma get it or die trying”). like dave’s brother, keisha’s sister characterizes her situation in biological terms, as a “family gene,” thus underscoring its insurmountability. keisha’s sister does not just criticize lamar for using keisha’s story, but also calls into question the possibility articulated in the previous verse that lamar’s music might be a source of “recovery.”27 indeed, her criticism of lamar’s previous attempt at representing black female experience articulates at the same time the possibility that the present representation will fail. this brings us to the second, and perhaps more important, layer of these opening verses: lamar is not simply telling the story of others’ but is, in fact, telling us his own story through that very representation. thus, we cannot simply read this as a portrayal of gendered navigation of the ghetto, but must also ask where lamar is situating himself in this narrative matrix, as well as what the track does for him; in other words, if the actual narrators of the two verses (whose words, it must be noted, we do not actually hear in an unmediated form) speak in order to both represent and resist their circumstances, what is being performed by lamar’s representation of those representations?28 to this point, we have seen that the opening two verses of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” represent life on the boundaries of life, wherein death is constantly, to borrow a phrase from tupac shakur, just “around the corner.”29 the narrators narrate with the intent of reclaiming their humanity from death-dealing systems that have forced its negation, even as they acknowledge the ultimate impossibility of transforming their situation. it might, therefore, be unclear what the theological dimension of this track is. kendrick lamar at große freiheit 36, hamburg (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 75 performing redemption as i have suggested, though, the primary locus of our analysis is not simply what is represented in those verses, but what is represented in lamar’s performance, which is explicitly framed not just in terms of death and life, but also of sin and redemption. lamar’s performance navigates the ghetto in search of redemption, which comes partially in and through his musical resistance to pervasive social sin, but ultimately only through a messianic intervention that re-inaugurates, and thereby redeems, time itself. “i’m dying of thirst”: kendrick lamar’s soteriological imagination though this section of the paper deals primarily with the “dying of thirst” section of the track, we must begin our considerations with lamar’s verse in the “sing about me” section. as i have already suggested, lamar’s verse here marks the transition from the retelling of others’ stories to a response to his deceased friends, as well as telling his own story. indeed, lamar situates himself within the social world of those whom we must sing about to keep alive, indicating the way in which the previous verses were also, in a meaningful way, “lamar’s verses,” though this is the first one that directly expresses his perspective. as with the previous two verses, lamar is “infatuated with death” and aware of its proximity. lamar himself confirmed in an interview with rapgenius that “that whole verse is about grasping the idea of death, for a kid [in compton].” in the early part of the verse, he sounds a prayerful wish that “if i’m doomed/may the wound help my mother be blessed for many moons.” this also captures an essential dialectic of the verse, and the song as a whole: rap music functions both as “the wound,” since his lyrics “make sure that my lifeline/reeking the scent of a reaper, ensuring my allegiance/with the otherside may come soon,” and as a saving grace. lamar suggests that the fate of his previous two interlocutors is “exactly what’d happen if i ain’t continue rapping.” indeed, these stories form the basis of his music (“by any means, wasn’t tryna offend or come between/her personal life, i was like, it need to be told”), and compel him to “count lives all on these songs” even as that very act draws danger to him. lamar’s self-implication in the cycle of destruction that killed his friends alters the meaning of the hook. no longer is the voice we hear simply the words that prompt lamar to make the track; we now hear lamar addressing himself to his listeners, bringing us under the obligation of telling his story, precisely as he has done for others, in the (not inconceivable) event of his death. the conclusion of the verse sounds a poignantly simple challenge: “am i worth it?/did i put enough work in?” unlike the previous two verses, the nearness of death is conceived in soteriological terms. lamar hopes to “hear a cry out from heaven so loud it can water down a demon/ with the holy ghost ‘till it drown in the blood of jesus.” it becomes clear, throughout this verse and into the “dying of thirst” section, that lamar does not simply figure his situation in terms of suffering and pleasure (as one might wrongly surmise from tracks like “swimming pools (drank)” and “m.a.a.d. city”), but precisely as sin and repentance, a reading that becomes more apparent with maya angelou’s intervention at the end of the song (“see, you young men are dying of thirst. do you know what that means? that means you need water, holy water. you need to be baptized with the spirit of the lord”). following a brief dramatic interlude (the significance of which we shall examine later), the track transitions into graffiti of jesus at corso di porta ticinese (milan) (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 76 elements : : fall 2015 “dying of thirst.” the tempo speeds up as the “dying of thirst” beat rises underneath the frustrated final words of the interlude: “fuck, i’m tired of this shit! i’m tired of fuckin’ runnin’, i’m tired of this shit!”30 lamar takes up this refrain (“tired of runnin’”), interspersing each repetition with an esophageal “uh,” as if to indicate a breathlessness induced by the accelerando. lamar rehashes familiar scenes: casualties of gang violence,31 unfulfilled hopes,32 and his own sense of being trapped in sinful structures.33 here the operation of his music as resistance to sin is made explicit, as he “hope(s) we can tower/over the city with vanity with the music louder,” using success as an artist to drown out the sounds of gang violence. more specifically, he promises to “show you how to/dye your thirst,” suggesting that the expressions of “a black flower” (and here he evokes tupac’s “the rose that grew from concrete”) cannot eliminate sin, but can mitigate its influence. this is a crucially important bar, insofar as it captures the central thrust of lamar’s soteriological argument: lamar’s music performatively constitutes itself as a necessary but not sufficient soteriological mechanism. this is to say, lamar’s struggle for salvation from conditions of social sin takes place in and through his performance, rendering the performance soteriologically obligatory, but that salvation is not complete. thus, though the second half of “dying of thirst” becomes increasingly, and more traditionally, soteriological, it would be wrong to read lamar as advocating a simple “conversion.”34 though his final exhortation (citing his mother) is to “hop in that water, and pray that it works,” lamar is not advocating an abstract “acceptance” of god’s grace as an entirely soteriologically efficacious act. without attempting to situate lamar’s logic of salvation within the protestant-catholic divide, one might read lamar as saying that we cannot do nothing in our salvation. for lamar, salvation is a struggle, a drama, a project, something that must be continually enacted. importantly, lamar’s soteriology questions its own efficacy, containing within itself a reflexive awareness of the possibility of its own failure. because the struggle for salvation is tied to certain social conditions, it is not a purely individual project, but one that we as listeners are exhorted to become partners in. indeed, perhaps one of the effects of lamar’s track is to enter into a relationship with those distant from himself, giving soteriology a translational character that implicates us all in each others’ salvation. we are called to discern our complicity in the perpetuation of sinful structures and reminded that our salvation is conditioned by the eradication of all sin. lamar’s track is a call, which demands a response from those with ears to hear. lamar performs metz’s critique of soteriology in another crucial respect: he ties redemption from sin with the anticipation of a future messianic intervention. as previously noted, the two sections of the track are divided by a skit that dramatizes the reaction of dave’s brother to dave’s death. following lamar’s “dying of thirst” verses, we return to that scene, but this time we hear a new voice: maya angelou, who recognizes that the boys are “dying of thirst” through their sin, and leads them through a version of the sinner’s prayer, pronouncing this action as “the start of a new life: your real life.” of course, we know, or can at least suspect, that this did not actually happen, as we have already seen how dave’s brother reacts.29 thus, angelou’s intervention should be understood as lamar’s imaginative dramatization of salvation itself, one that projects hope for a messianic future through the conjuring of a redeemed past. by dramatizing a past in which the arrival of death was not inevitable (for dave’s brother, and, by extension, for lamar himself), lamar expresses hope in a future in which redemption is possible. in other words, lamar imagines a salvific life where “death doesn’t reside” not as eternal life, but as “real life.”35 though he is not sure the water will work, he yearns for the intervention of someone who might give him a new life, a real life.36 further, despite the usage of a fairly standard evangelical prayer, i would suggest that to see lamar as advocating a purely interiorized “acceptance” of jesus christ’s salvific status is a misreading. to the contrary, we must understand this skit in the context of what lamar has already shown us regard“by dramatizing a past in which the arrival of death was not inevitable (for dave’s brother, and, by extension, for lamar himself), lamar expresses hope in a future in which redemption is possible.” 77 performing redemption ing the soteriological status of his music. angelou’s intervention represents a messianic vision of a life beyond the constraints of death’s nearness. salvation, then, is not “heaven” or “sinlessness,” but rather life itself. only with the coming of the messiah will life not be tainted by the proximity of death, as it is elsewhere in the track. the hope in a messianic intervention does not negate the imperative of political and aesthetic struggle against sin (which is what the rest of the track does), but merely emphasizes that ultimate soteriological efficacy lays beyond the boundaries of struggle alone. thus, lamar’s track functions as a “witness for the future” of redemption, without legitimizing the present on the basis of the future’s possibility.37 we have seen the contribution that theological analysis can make to an appreciation of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst”; what can theological discourse learn from lamar’s track? on one level, the contribution is obvious: lamar’s performance is an enactment of metz’s criticism, a demonstration of what a soteriology looks like when it refuses to be, because it cannot be, “purely argumentative.” another way of putting this (one that resonates with metz’s own language and the language of the frankfurt school) is that lamar’s track is an example of a non-mythological soteriology. but on a deeper level, i want to suggest that lamar’s track functions as a critique of the theological enterprise itself. once we acknowledge that lamar is doing theology, we have already destabilized the hegemonic claim of the academy to be a privileged domain of theology as such. indeed, to even portray theology as something that must be done (understanding this verb in its most active sense) requires that we consider the possibility of theology beyond the academy. in so doing, we must distance ourselves from the label “theologian,” at least to the extent that we acknowledge that a “theologian” might not simply be one who studies, teaches, and writes theology in an academic context. i see this self-critical distancing as a positive move, insofar as it urges us to continually discern whether we are truly doing theology, in conversation with the painful losses, unfulfilled hopes, and subversive beauty of the world we cohabit,38 or whether we are simply going through the motions, however artfully, in a space that is ultimately not innocent.39 reading lamar’s performative soteriology next to metz’s interruptive theodicy suggests that questioning the possibility of theology is an essential precondition of theology itself. theology cannot simply seek to include the excluded (though it should certainly do this), but must also de-center hegemonic notions of what it is to do theology, essentially undermining its own validity. discourses of “inclusion,” while not altogether unhelpful, risk maintaining the centrality of theology, hegemonically understood, and merely establishing terms of entry for marginal voices.40 the reading of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” that i have proposed here challenges us to go beyond inclusion to re-conceptualizing theology itself, a move that i suggest is prefigured in metz (though he remains rather vague about what such a theology beyond theology might look like, and continues to do theology in a basically conventional way). lamar presents an alternative foundation upon which to build the theological guild: rather than seeking to produce praiseworthy essays and books, or to bring people to conversion, the task of the theologian is to sing a song of hope in a world of sin, to attempt to demonstrate how to “dye your thirst” without resorting to naïve platitudes. such a task is, as metz suggests, basically apologetic, a defense of (christian) hope that does not prescind from the darkness of history but rather struggles against it.41 the theologian poses “disturbing questions”as a practical strategy for survival, carrying on the cause of the forgotten past while anticipating the real life of the salvific future.42 78 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. benjamin, theses on the concept of history, 253-264. 2. buck-morss, the dialectics of seeing: walter benjamin and the arcades project,19-20. 3. metz, faith in history and society, 109ff, 200ff. 4. metz, the emergent church: the future of christianity in a post-bourgeois world 1-16. 5. metz, faith in history and society, 46-47, 60-70, 183-237. 6. metz, a passion for god: the mystical-political dimension of christianity, 56ff. 7. metz, memoria passionis: eine provozierendes gedachtnis in pluralistischer gesellschaft, 57. 8. metz, faith in history and society, 73. 9. from the 2012 album, good kid, m.a.a.d. city. though the title is somewhat lengthy, i will continue to cite it in full due to the structure of the track, which consists of two distinct sections that could function as songs in their own right. the first repeats the refrain “promise that you will sing about me,” while the second is organized around the repetition of “dying of thirst.” thus, to avoid the perception that i am referring to only the first half of the track, i will refer to it by its full title. see the full lyrics (with crowd-sourced annotations) here: http://genius.com/ kendrick-lamar-sing-about-me-im-dying-of-thirst-lyrics. 10. lamar, “swimming pools (drank)-extended version,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city (2012). 11. see also his “poetic justice” on the same album: “i could never right my wrongs unless i write it down, for real.” 12. cf. walter benjamin’s “theses,” in which “the messiah comes not only as the redeemer, he comes as the subduer of the antichrist,” (p. 255). i read kendrick’s resistance to history’s un-redeemed status alongside the salvific intervention of maya angelou at the song’s ending in a similar manner: the salvation kendrick envisions is not merely a positive state of redemption, but an overcoming of social sin. 13. this framing is supported by the meanings of the acronym “m.a.a.d,” which signifies both “my angry adolescence divided” and “my angels on angel dust.” both meanings (as well as the word as it is vocalized: “mad city”) represent the dialectic i describe here, of a subject who seeks to resist destructive social influences while simultaneously participating in them. 14. cone, the spirituals and the blues: an interpretation, 98 (emphasis original). to be sure, this description cannot be uncritically appropriated in this case. for instance, kendrick does not necessarily understand his project as navigating “an alien land” (compton is his home), and one can debate what the label “an african people” might mean in terms of kendrick’s musical project. still, kendrick’s album is, broadly speaking, an expression of the thinking and feeling of the good kid navigating a mad city. moreover, though kendrick seems to display a deeply-engrained need to be in the studio, creating, he has repeatedly emphasized that he intends his music to have a broader impact. it is thus not “an artistic creation for its own sake,” but rather a project that grapples with, and seeks to resist, concrete conditions of suffering. 15. j. matthew ashley describes how metz’s theology seeks to move beyond an abstract problematic of finite/infinite: “just as the seinsfrage for heidegger and rahner irritates us, keeps us from closing ourselves off in some finite realm of beings in our attempts to understand what it means to be human, so in metz’s thought does the theodicy question irritate us. it keeps us from falling into the various exculpation strategies which entrap us in the dialectic of enlightenment, opening up instead the possibility of a different existentiell stance toward our involvement in the world and history,” (p. 160). see also metz in “communicating a dangerous memory”: “the basic theological question…is not ‘who saves me?’ but rather, ‘who saves you?’…the question, ‘what dare i hope?’ is transformed for me into the question, ‘what dare i hope for you, and, in the end, also for me?’” (p. 40). this is not precisely what is expressed here, in the opening moments of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst,” but it does shed light on metz’s re-orientation of theological reflection towards the voices of those who suffer. moreover, the perspective heard in kendrick’s track, which is alien to the more theoretical fundamental anthropologies of thinkers like rahner and heidegger, validates metz’s claim that sensitivity to dangerous memory presents an interruptive challenge to “mainstream” theology, a challenge that cannot go unanswered. 16. eingedenken is a german neologism coined by metz most nearly meaning “remembrance-ing” in the liturgical sense of “do this in memory of me.” see metz, see a passion for god, p. 181, n. 10; and ashley, p. 161-162. 17. see “swimming pools (drank).” 18. “you ran outside when you heard my brother cry for help/ held him like a newborn baby, and made him feel/like everything was alright.” 19. “in actuality, it’s a trip how we trip off of colors/i wonder if i’ll ever discover/a passion like you and recover.” 20. “piru” refers to a street in compton that is associated with the bloods. dave’s brother is underscoring his quasi-intrinsic inability to resist the gang life. it is crucially important to that his somewhat biological language not be equated to racist stereotypes of black criminality that often cite gang activity as “evidence.” the fact that he is unable to extricate himself from cycles of gang violence should not imply a negative moral judgment against him. indeed, that kendrick embodies the narration of a gang member (who, in this very verse, admits to killing a rival gang member) and, later, a prostitute, demonstrates that his intent is not to moralize, but rather to humanize. 21. cf. j. kameron carter’s discussion of abjection as “a figure neither of life nor death but of living death” in “the politics of the atonement,” the immanent frame, july 18th, 2011, http:// blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2011/07/18/the-politics-of-the-atonement/. see also his (theological) genealogy of racialized “death-bound subjects” in race: a theological account (oxford university press: oxford, uk, 2008), p. 79-121, especially 118-121. 22. max horkheimer and theodor adorno, dialectic of enlightenment: philosophical fragments trans. edmund jephcott (stanford university press: stanford, ca, 2002), p. 27. tupac shakur, whose music serves as a major influence on kendrick, 79 performing redemption articulates the (un)representation of black people (specifically men) as a socio-political problem. see, for instance, “my block” (“only time they notice a n****a is when he’s clutchin on a four-five”), “me against the world” (“what’s the use/unless we shootin/no one notices the youth”), and “thugz mansion” (“no one knows my struggle/they only see the trouble”). tupac also expresses the emotional dimension of society’s disregard for black men in an early poem: “[the world] is painful and sad and sometimes i cry/and no one cares about why.” see “sometimes i cry” in the rose that grew from concrete (pocket books: new york, ny, 1999), p. 7. though kendrick’s album (and especially this track) tends to stay in the register of narration rather than manifesto, the socio-political dimensions that tupac articulates are undoubtedly present. 23. i borrow the concept of “precarity” from judith butler, who takes it to mean the basic state of physical vulnerability that is the precondition of embodied, socio-political existence. butler suggests that the unequal social distribution of precarity (i.e., certain people and groups of people are systematically more susceptible to physical violence and death than others) inscribes a “hierarchy of grief,” in which the nation-state reproduces itself via public adjudication of whose life is grievable, and, thus, which people are people. see butler, precarious life: the powers of mourning and violence (verso: new york, ny, 2006), p. 19-49. 24. see kendrick’s debut studio album, section.80 (2011). 25. it’s unclear if keisha’s sister objects to a particular element of the song (one could imagine her taking issue with the ending, in which kendrick plays the song for his little sister as a cautionary tale) or the fact that kendrick made the song at all. nonetheless, her objection to being represented stands in stark contrast to the previous verse, as well as the song’s hook. 26. indeed, keisha’s sister (or, perhaps here the voice of kendrick) frames her prostitution as “a family gene that shows women how to be woman.” prostitution, for her, functions pedagogically, to inscribe and reinforce particular gendered performances. 27. “you lying to these motherfuckers, talking ‘bout you can help them with my story/you can help me if you sell this pussy for me, n***a.” 28. another question that must be asked is what is left out of kendrick’s representations. it would be a mistake to entirely identify kendrick’s re-narration of their narrations with the narrations (and, even more so, experiences) themselves, and thus it is important to discern what is excluded. a full exploration of this dimension of representation, however, is beyond the scope of this essay. for our purposes, it is sufficient to note that kendrick represents these narrations in order to express something about himself, and to do something; it is that “something” which constitutes the primary focus of this essay. 29. see tupac, “death around the corner,” me against the world (1995). 30. as we shall see, these are the words of dave’s brother (the slain gang member voiced by kendrick in the track’s first verse). we finally hear, in his own words, the anger he over the murder of his brother that he communicated to kendrick, anger that, as we already know, leads him to kill in revenge, and ultimately leads to his death. 31. “daughter is dead, mother is mournin’ her.” 32. “dreams of balling, like spalding/but only shotty bounce.” 33. “it’s hard to channel your energy when you know you’re crooked/banana split, split his banana pudding/i’m like tre, that’s cuba gooding/i know i’m good at dying of thirst/dying of thirst/dying of thirst.” 34. the final two verses of “dying of thirst” (according to the numbering on rapgenius) declare that “hell is hot, fire is proven/to burn for eternity.” interestingly, kendrick returns to the use of biological language, terming his sinfulness “hereditary, all my cousins/dying of thirst, dying of thirst, dying of thirst.” in the final verse, kendrick’s rapping is actually interrupted by a plea for redemption (“lord, forgive me for all my sins for i do not know…”), and the track’s final lyrics are kendrick’s recollection: “back once my momma say/’see a pastor, give me a promise/what if today was the rapture and you completely tarnished/the truth will set you free, so to me be completely honest/you dying of thirst, you dying of thirst/so hop in that water, and pray that it works.’” 35. see nas’s remix of tupac’s “thugz mansion,” god’s son (2002). 36. cf. the track “real” on good kid, m.a.a.d. city (2012). 37. pierre bouretz, witnesses for the future: philosophy and messianism, 6-11, 200ff. the phrase “witnesses for the future” is found in a 1927 letter from walter benjamin to gershom scholem, in which history is described “as a trial in which man as an advocate for mute nature makes a complaint against the nonappearance of the promised messiah. the court, however, decides to hear witnesses for the future.” the artist, then, produces a vision of the future as a witness for messianic hope, even when the rest of society has left the courtroom entirely. 38. i evoke “cohabitation” rather than “inhabitation” in keeping butler’s understanding of our political existence as constituted by the condition of sharing the world with others with whom we did not choose to cohabit. see butler’s parting ways: jewishness and the critique of zionism (columbia university press: new york, ny, 2012), p. 23-24, 43-44, 125-131, 151-180. 39. rieger, god and the excluded: visions and blind spots in contemporary theology,1-16. 40.rieger, god and the excluded: visions and blind spots in contemporary theology,113-123. 41. see the introduction to faith in history and society. i put christian in parenthesis because i do not believe that this reading of kendrick’s soteriological vision need be relegated to a particular religious tradition, though obviously it may not apply equally well for all traditions. 42. metz, a passion for god, p. 66. 43. 80 elements : : fall 2015 references ashley, j. matthew. interruptions: mysticism, politics, and theology in the work of johann baptist metz. notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1998. benjamin, walter. “theses on the concept of history.” in illuminations: essays and reflections, edited by hannah arendt. new york: schocken books, 1965. bouretz, pierre. witnesses for the future: philosophy and messianism. translated by michael b. smith. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2010. buck-morss, sorsan. the dialectics of seeing: walter benjamin and the arcades project. cambridge: mit press, 1991. butler, judith. precarious life: the powers of mourning and violence. new york: verso, 2006. butler, judith. parting ways: jewishness and the critique of zionism. new york: columbia university press, 2012. carter, j. kameron. race: a theological account. oxford: oxford university press, 2008. doi: 10.1093/acprof:o so/9780195152791.001.0001 carter, j. kameron. “the politics of the atonement.” the immanent frame. july 18, 2011. http://blogs.ssrc.org/ tif/2011/07/18/the-politics-of-the-atonement/. cone, james h. the spirituals and the blues: an interpretation. maryknoll: orbis books, 1972. horkheimer, max, and theodor adorno. dialectic of enlightenment: philosophical fragments. translated by edmund jephcott. stanford: stanford university press, 2002. lamar, kendrick. keisha’s song (her pain). section.80, 2011. lamar, kendrick. “poetic justice,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. lamar, kendrick. “real,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. lamar, kendrick. “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. lamar, kendrick. “swimming pools (drank)-extended version,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. metz, johann baptist. a passion for god: the mystical-political dimension of christianity. translated by j. matthew ashley . mahwah: paulist press, 1998. metz, johann baptist. “communicating a dangerous memory.” in communicating a dangerous memory: new soundings in political theology, edited by fred lawrence. atlanta: scholars press, 1988. metz, johann baptist. faith in history and society. translated by david smith. new york: seabury press, 1980. metz, johann baptist. memoria passionis: eine provozierendes gedachtnis in pluralistischer gesellschaft. freiburg im breisgau: herder, 2006. metz, johann baptist. the emergent church: the future of christianity in a post-bourgeois world. translated by peter mann. new york: crossroad, 1981. nas, “thugz mansion (n.y.),” god’s son, 2002. rieger, joerg. god and the excluded: visions and blind spots in contemporary theology. minneapolis: fortress press, 2001. shakur, tupac. “death around the corner,” me against the world, 1995. shakur, tupac. “me against the world,” me against the world, 1995. shakur, tupac. “my block,” better dayz, 2002. shakur, tupac. the rose that grew from concrete. new york: pocket books, 1999. shakur, tupac. “thugz mansion,” better dayz, 2002. 81 performing redemption since the late 1980s, needle exchange programs (neps) have been great resources for intravenous drug users (idus), as they provide both clean needles with which idus can inject as well as basic health services, including hiv testing and counseling. however, for reasons such as inconvenience and fear of criminalization, many idus opt instead to purchase their needles from illicit street sellers who acquire needles in bulk from neps. this essay considers the ethical permissibility of the sellers’ actions, focusing specifically on the case of a man from philadelphia who uses the money he obtains from needle resale to feed his addiction. it is ultimately argued that the man’s actions are, in fact, ethical, as his resale of needles positively contributes to the common good by reducing the spread of disease. illicit needle sellers such as the one described in this essay should be embraced by the public health community since, with proper training, they can help to facilitate health promoting education for their peers. on the wrong side of the tracks? ethical considerations of the needle black market natalie panariello every friday afternoon, men and women of all ages gather in the hallways of prevention point philadelphia to exchange their used needles for new ones. for each dirty needle a user brings, they receive one clean needle in return. while many participants come to prevention point with just a few needles to exchange, others come with hundreds. many resell the needles they receive from prevention point on the street of philadelphia. one prevention point client, who will be referred to in this essay as michael, resells the clean needles only a half-mile from the site of the needle exchange program. he has chosen this territory because it is a block away from where users buy and shoot drugs and so the clientele are desperate. the needles sell for a dollar per piece, and with enough needles sold, michael can afford to buy himself a bag of dope. while the resale of needles is illegal in pennsylvania, philadelphia law enforcement is tolerant toward black market sellers like michael. in this country alone, approximately 800,000 individuals aged 13 or older inject drugs each year.2 these intravenous drug users (idus) are at high risk of hiv infection, as injection is a major route of transmission of the disease. in fact, about 7% of the estimated 47,352 diagnoses of hiv in 2013 were attributed to intravenous drug use, with an additional 3% attributed to a combination of male-to-male sexual contact and idu.3 in philadelphia, the rates of infection via injection are similar to those of the nation, with 7.7% of aids cases and 4.4% of hiv cases diagnosed in 2013 resulting from infected needle sharing.4 as an urban city, philadelphia has approximately 26,400 idus in its population of 1.5 million.5 a large percentage of idus throughout the united states obtain at least some of their needles from illicit salespeople on the street.6 for example, in baltimore, maryland, which is just two hours away from philadelphia by car, 85% of idus obtain a number of their needles from street sellers despite the existence of well-established needle exchange programs.7 these idus purchase needles from illicit sellers due to the convenience of the exchange as well as their fear of criminalization and stigmatization. although concerns about the sterility of these needles sold on the street do exist, studies have shown that these needles are generally safe. in some cities, there even exists self-policing where sellers hold each other accountable for distributing clean needles. in washington d.c., for instance, the resale of used needles is disparaged by most sellers, and those who do sell used needles face backlash from their peers.8 therefore, the disease risk associated with street purchases is relatively low. prevention point philadelphia (ppp), the needle exchange program from which michael obtains his needles, has been in operation since 1991 and is recognized by the city of philadelphia as a major reason for the decline of hiv/ aids diagnoses among idus. since 2004, the idu population of philadelphia experienced a decrease in infection rates of more than two-thirds, the greatest drop among all high-risk groups (i.e., idus, men who have sex with men, and high-risk heterosexuals).9 ppp attributes this drop not only to the clean needles they provide at the exchange, but also to the health care, safe needle education, hiv testing, case management, and referrals to drug treatment they offer.10 however, the organization recognizes that its reach is limited, as some users are unwilling to visit the exchange due to the stigma associated with injection drug use, while others simply find it inconvenient. these individuals constitute michael’s market. in the united states and elsewhere, intravenous drug use is oftentimes considered a marker of dissolute character. intravenous drug users are considered to be social deviants, and, as a result, are subjected to discrimination and exclusion. the united nations notes, “a system appears to have been created in which those who fall into the web of addiction find themselves excluded and marginalized from the social mainstream [and] tainted with a moral stigma.”11 intravenous drug users must navigate this environment of marginalization and stigmatization, and they clean hypodermic needles and supplies for injection (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 10 elements : : spring 2016 most commonly do so by skirting to the edges and remaining unseen. they may avoid the shame of stigma through hiding, but this retreat inhibits idus from receiving the help that they need. as a woman interviewed on the streets of philadelphia admits, “i haven’t talked to [my family] since i’ve been down here for a month and a half now. i just…i’m too embarrassed, i guess, to call. that’s all i want to do, though, is call them ‘cause i know they’d be there for me in a heartbeat, but i’m just too…too ashamed.”12 the criminalization of illicit drugs also contributes to idus’ desire to remain out of sight. in fact, the joint united nations program on hiv/aids (unaids) considers criminalization to be the number one reason why idus are being left behind, as fear of arrest deters idus from accessing hiv and other drug-related services.13 however, considering michael’s story, it seems as though the situation in philadelphia is uniquely different. the practice of needle resale remains largely unpunished in the city, allowing michael and others to sell needles with little fear of repercussion. indeed, philadelphia has what the media has referred to as a “cop-free heroin zone,”14 where hundreds of addicts congregate to publicly buy and do drugs. in these areas, and specifically on philadelphia’s kensington avenue, it is not uncommon to openly sell needles and prescription pills to hustle enough money for a bag of heroin.15 while the philadelphia police department claims that this cop-free zone does not exist, michael and his fellow idus who spend their days and nights hustling and injecting on the street prove otherwise.16 unlike the sale of drugs themselves, it seems that the sale of needles contributes positively to the common good, which is defined as “the sum total of the conditions of social living whereby persons are able to reach their perfection.”17 on kensington avenue and the nearby “tracks,”18 a stretch of wooded railway commonly inhabited by idus, used and possibly infected needles can be found by the hundreds on the ground. a desperate addict looking for a fix could very easily use one of these needles to inject; alternatively, he could share a needle with a fellow addict who might very well be hiv positive. in anthropologist philippe bourgois’s book righteous dopefiend, a man named frank tells of his experience with needle sharing: “we always try not to share needles but we still do it. hey, if you’re sick you’re not gonna worry about it. when you gotta fix, you gotta fix.”19 what michael is doing, then, is providing needles exactly where they need to be at exactly the right time—to those addicts on the streets when they need a fix, right before they go to inject. he also removes hundreds of used needles from the streets by collecting them for trade at the exchange, thus contributing further to the common good by fostering a clean environment. in fact, michael’s actions have even received praise from public health officials in the city of philadelphia; they note that “philadelphia’s strong network of people spreading needles from the exchange plays a big role [in the drop of new diagnoses of hiv].”20 thus, city officials in philadelphia have shifted their focus from policing the exchange of needles to keeping people healthy.21 the city of san francisco, meanwhile, attempted the opposite approach, but it proved to have detrimental effects on the city’s idu population. in 1997, san francisco mayor willie brown instituted a zero-tolerance drug policy under which anyone carrying more than two needles could be charged with “possession of controlled paraphernalia with intent to sell,”22 a felony charge. as a result, the homeless idu population stopped carrying multiple needles at a time, thus reducing their stash and fostering the sharing and reusing of needles.23 in addition, they stopped their frequent visits to their local needle exchange program, which was their source of not only clean needles but also basic health services.24 mayor brown’s actions proved to be a public health catastrophe, encouraging high-risk behaviors and discouraging treatment. the unjust criminal system proved detrimental to the population of homeless idus in the city. indeed, his criminalization of needle possession serves as an example of structural violence. it seems, then, that philadelphia should be commended for essentially decriminalizing illicit needle resale and possession. in fact, michael’s sale of needles on kensington avenue does not seem fundamentally different from the legal sale of needles at pharmacies throughout the city. in 2009, the pennsylvania board of pharmacy adopted an amendment allowing needles and syringes to be sold at pharmacies throughout the state without a prescription.25 the justification for this amendment was harm reduction and the promotion of public health. this same rationale could be used to defend michael’s actions. although michael’s motives are selfish, he nonetheless “fills an important risk reduction niche” in philadelphia by meeting the demand for clean needles in a way that prevention point and local pharmacies cannot.26 although he ultimately contributes to the common good, there are a number of ethical questions that one might 11 on the wrong side of the tracks? grapple with when considering the morality of michael’s actions. examples of possible concerns (c) and corresponding responses (r) are outlined in the following list: c. michael is selling what he got for free, which is ethically questionable. r. in fact, many needle exchange advocates are offended by the resale of free needles.27 however, michael is providing a service to his clients by collecting and exchanging the needles, and, like in any service economy, he should be paid for his work. c. michael’s resale of needles is simply wrong because it is illegal. r. as was discussed above, michael’s actions do contribute positively to the common good. alternatively, he could be stealing or working as a john to support his habit, both of which would be harmful to society. his “opportunistic entrepreneurship,”28 though illegal, provides clean needles to people who would otherwise inject with a used needle. c. michael could be an unreliable seller who is selling used needles. r. while it is true that michael could sell used needles as if they were new, he lacks a reason to do so. since prevention point philadelphia will provide michael with as many clean needles as he can trade for, he does not lack supply. c. in typical needle exchange programs, one used needle gets you one clean needle. in michael’s case, one dollar gets you one needle. maybe people wouldn’t otherwise have the needle. r. if an idu were to purchase a needle from a pharmacy, it would also entail an exchange of money. if that idu could not purchase a needle from a pharmacy (or from michael), he would likely inject with a used needle obtained from a fellow idu or discarded on the street. as paul yabor, a prevention point educator and ex-drug addict, notes, “the cold, hard reality is that someone with a habit, or under the influence of [drugs] is going to go to extreme measures to inject.”29 c. michael’s selling of needles is enabling his own addiction. r. any source of income michael might have would enable his addiction. his selling of needles is not unique in that way. above all, in evaluating the morality of michael’s actions, it is necessary to acknowledge that he is exercising the virtue of self-care. theologian roger burggraeve explores a growth ethic in which one must strive for a particular goal, or “ethical optimum,” while at least employing the necessary measures, or “ethical minimums,” to ensure his or her safety.30 thus, each clean needle that michael provides must be seen as an “ethical minimum” that upholds the dignity of the needle’s recipient and prevents the spread of hiv.31 the clean needle allows addicts to remain free of disease as they work toward the “ethical optimum” of ridding themselves of their addiction.32 according to bourgois, many of philadelphia’s addicts will eventually recover, and clean needles protect their health until they do.33 thus, in the long run, michael’s needles contribute positively to the flourishing of others. when the addict is finally able to live a life without drugs, he is also able to live a life without the burden of hiv. it is problematic, however, that michael does not provide the health services that the idu would receive had he vismarket-frankford line, kensington avenue, philadelphia pa (courtesy of wikimedia commons) “in alignment with the principle of subsidiarity...public health initiatives could be designed to train illicit needle sellers to provide their clients with health promoting education.” 12 elements : : spring 2016 ited the needle exchange program himself.34 ideally, each exchange is an opportunity for intervention and the initiation of rehabilitation and recovery processes. michael does not offer such services to his clients, and, thus, they are less likely to get treatment for their addiction or even discover their hiv status. this lost opportunity should be seized. in alignment with the principle of subsidiarity, which states that matters should be handled at the most immediate level, public health initiatives could be designed to train illicit needle sellers to provide their clients with health promoting education. since michael holds an important role in his community and is in such frequent communication with drug users, he has a great opportunity to spread information and be heard. despite being recognized as a highly effective harm reduction strategy, needle distribution is a widely disputed topic. the needle black market, then, takes the dispute one step further, as it allows intravenous drug users to profit from the addictions of their peers. nonetheless, illicit street sellers contribute greatly to their communities by removing used and possibly infected needles from their environment and providing idus with clean needles with which they can safely inject. since 2004, idus in the city of philadelphia have seen an incredible drop in rates of hiv/ aids infection, and this is undoubtedly due, at least in part, to michael and his fellow street sellers. social and logistical barriers, such as the fear of facing stigma and accommodating hours and location of operation, limit needle exchange programs’ and pharmacies’ ability to provide idus with the materials they need. street sellers, however, are conveniently located where users are injecting at the very moment they wish to inject. by providing idus with clean needles, street sellers protect the addicts’ health by ensuring that they do not inject with an infected needle, thus contributing to the common good. illicit street sellers should be embraced in cities across the united states as individuals who can deliver not only needles, but also important messages regarding harm reduction and even treatment information. making the best use of these resources is a logical step forward in the effort to improve public health. endnotes 1. jacobs, “needle exchange program”, 2015. 2. lansky et al., “estimating the number of persons who inject drugs”, 2014. 3. centers for disease control and prevention, “hiv and injection drug use in the united states”, 2015. 4. lim et al., “drug use in philadelphia”, pennsylvania: 2013, 2014. 5. philadelphia department of public health, “aids activities coordinating office surveillance report 2014”, 2015. 6. stopka et al., “public health interventionists”, 2003. 7. ibid. 8. pierce, “gen-x junkie”, 1999. 9. prevention point philadelphia, “myths and facts”. 10. ibid. 11. united nations office on drugs and crime, “2008 world drug report”, 2008. 12. deeney, “philly’s cop-free heroin zone”, 2011. 13. unaids, “the gap report 2014: people who inject drugs”, 2014. 14. deeney, “philly’s cop-free heroin zone”, 2011. 15. ibid. 16. ibid. 17. doyle roche, “children and the common good”, 2008. 18. deeney, “philly’s cop-free heroin zone”, 2011. 19. bourgois & schonberg, “righteous dopefiend”, 2009. 20. jacobs, “needle exchange program”, 2015. 21. ibid. 22. bourgois & schonberg, “righteous dopefiend”, 2009. 23. ibid. 24. ibid. 25. the pennsylvania bulletin, “sales of hypodermic needles and syringes”, 2009. 26. stopka et al., “public health interventionists”, 2003. 27. bourgois & schonberg, “righteous dopefiend”, 2009. 28. ibid. 29. jacobs, “needle exchange program” 2015. 30. cimperman, when god’s people have hiv/aids, 2005. 31. ibid. 32. ibid. 33. jacobs, “needle exchange program”, 2015. 34. prevention point philadelphia, “myths and facts”. 13 on the wrong side of the tracks? references bourgois, philippe, and jeffrey schonberg. righteous dopefiend. berkley: university of california press, 2009. cimperman, maria. when god’s people have hiv/aids. maryknoll, ny: orbis books, 2005. commonwealth of pennsylvania. “rules and regulations: sales of hypodermic needles and syringes.” the pennsylvania bulletin, september 12, 2009. http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol39/39-37/1681.html. deeney, jeff. “philly’s cop-free heroin zone.” the daily beast, last modified august 13, 2011. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/13/philadelphia-s-kensington-avenue-heroin-prostitution-and-no-police.html. “hiv and injection drug use in the united states.” centers for disease control and prevention, october 27, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/idu.html. jacobs, emma. “needle exchange program creates black market in clean syringes.” npr, january 3, 2015. http:// www.npr.org/2015/01/03/374560431/needle-exchangeprogram-creates-black-market-in-clean-syringes. lansky, amy, teresa finlayson, christopher johnson, deborah holtzman, cyprian wejnert, andrew mitsch, deborah gust, robert chen, yuko mizuno, and nicole crepaz. “estimating the number of persons who inject drugs in the united states by meta-analysis to calculate national rates of hiv and hepatitis c virus infections.” plos one 9, no. 5 (2014). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0097596. lim, suet, roland lamb, and marvin levine. “drug use in philadelphia, pennsylvania: june 2013.” national institute on drug abuse, november 4, 2013. http://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/organization/workgroups-interestgroups-consortia/community-epidemiology-work-groupcewg/philadelphia-pennsylvania. philadelphia department of public health. “aids activities coordinating office surveillance report 2014.”city of philadelphia (2015): 11. http://www.phila.gov/health/ pdfs/2014%20surveillance%20report%20final.pdf. pierce, todd. “gen-x junkie: ethnographic research with young white heroin users in washington, dc.” substance use & misuse 34, no 14 (1999): 2107. prevention point philadelphia. “myths and facts.” accessed november 18, 2015, http://ppponline.org/mythsand-facts. roche, mary doyle. “children and the common good.” in calling for justice throughout the world, edited by mary jo iozzio. new york: continuum international publishing group, 2008. stopka, thomas j., merrill singer, claudia santelices, and julie eiserman. “public heath interventionists, penny capitalists, or sources of risk?: assessing street syringe sellers in hartford, connecticut.” substance use & misuse 38, no. 9 (2003): 1346. united nations aids. “the gap report 2014: people who inject drugs.” july 2014. http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/05_peoplewhoinjectdrugs.pdf. united nations office on drugs and crime. “2008 world drug report.” june 2008. https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/wdr_2008/wdr_2008_eng_web.pdf. 14 elements : : spring 2016 in both christianity and islam, mary represents perhaps the highest societal ideal of what a woman can strive to be. this paper compares the construction of that standard in these two religious traditions and its implications for women. additionally, mary is compared to other important religious figures, such as the prophet muhammad and fátima. given how much attention mary’s body receives in christianity and islam, a crucial part of the discussion focuses on bodies, sexuality, and purity as a physical as well as spiritual concept. three conclusions can be drawn from this investigation: firstly, the standard presented by the virgin mary is gendered in the way that it is applied predominantly to women. secondly, it is inherently unattainable. finally, under such a standard, women are set up to fail at performing and achieving this ideal in their respective faiths. the appropriation of mary’s life and legacy is discussed as a patriarchal fixture which serves to explain one cause of both past and current gender inequality. our lady of impossibility gendered standards in islam and christianity lindsey chou mary as an individual, idea, and influence is neither solely feminine nor solely christian. amy remesnyder describes her as “mother, virgin, bride, apocalyptic messenger, inimitable paragon, model of femininity, punisher of sin, fountain of consolation, queen of heaven, and more…[a] shape-shifter who turns such diverse and even divergent faces toward her devotees.”1 she is not just a woman, but a mystical figure across religious traditions; nor is she simply a role model for people of faith, but an unattainable yet mandated standard. the significance of her role is highlighted in christian as well as islamic traditions. this article will discuss the status of mary and other models of faith as unattainable, gendered standards and examine its implications within both christianity and islam. first, it is important to outline the respective christian and islamic accounts of mary. the two depictions are in fact quite similar. in both traditions, mary is a young, pious virgin who conceives and gives birth to jesus. the differences are in the contexts and details of this narrative: in the christian tradition, mary’s story begins with her own immaculate conception and continues to the annunciation of her role as the mother of god by the angel gabriel. she gives birth to jesus, the messiah and emmanuel, with the support of her husband, joseph. she is finally assumed into heaven upon her death.2 in islamic tradition, on the other hand, mary is safe from sin due to a prayer of her mother’s and lives a relatively isolated life of devotion to god. joseph is her “zealous partner in prayer” rather than her husband.3 the angel gabriel informs her that she will conceive and give birth to a son who is a prophet. mary then gives birth alone and is supported by a voice which could be god’s, and her son isa fulfills his role as prophet. islamic tradition also maintains that mary is in heaven.4 maura hearden presents a side by side analysis of these two accounts and argues that they each encourage different elements of the practice of faith. to hearden, the christian account of mary emphasizes trinitarianism and community in the form of the church.5 in contrast, the islamic account highlights “god’s sovereign power and... one’s individual responsibility to submit” as well as having an “emphasis on individual activity” in general.6 despite these differences, mary is regarded as a standard of faith in both traditions. in a 1989 article that has been referenced in several other sources, smith and haddad identify mary as a major female figure in the quran.7 they describe how she was placed on the same level as khadijah, fátima, and asiya, the three muslim women to receive the highest level of honor.8 placing mary on the same level as them endorses her as a muslim ideal, even though she has traditionally been known as a christian one. arguably, islamic tradition considers her so special that she receives something of a “free pass” to exceptional status and regard, a privilege not conferred on the other women mentioned above. smith and haddad confirm this by pointing out that in certain interpretations, mary and another woman are held above even the other two of the four.9 the two key elements of mary in both traditions are her purity and obedience. hearden outlines that in islam: the proper response to one’s lord and master is complete, unquestioning submission to god’s divine will. this is the primary focus of mary’s story -total submission to god’s power... the qu’ranic mary is expected to believe and submit [at the annunciation] without any explanation except that it is her master’s will...in the qur’an, god does not ask for mary’s assent but assumes it, because she is bound to give it.10 hearden distinguishes between the obedience of mary in islamic and christian traditions, clarifying that mary is portrayed as willfully choosing obedience in christian texts.11 still, mary’s obedience is a cornerstone of how her role is understood in both traditions, and is therefore crucial to the value placed on her. in terms of purity, which will be returned to later in this analysis, hearden states simply that “mary’s virginity of body, heart, and mind is a prerequisite for the birth of the christ.”12the visit of the angel gabriel to the virgin mary (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 10 elements : : fall 2016 an interesting dimension to consider is the links made between fátima and mary. muhammad’s daughter, fátima is considered to be mary’s islamic counterpart by a number of sources, and their shared status approaches conflation into one superwoman. as smith and haddad put it, “in some cases mary and fátima seem almost to be abstracted into one person.”13, 14 thurlkill explains of fátima: [s]he never menstruates, and she bears her sons without blood loss or other contamination. instead of exemplifying corporal integrity, fátima’s status as virgin connotes paradisiacal perfection free from impurities. she is, by her essence, sacred.15 the melding of this standard set by fátima with that of mary blurs the boundaries between christian and islamic expectations for women. mary and fátima together serve as a quantitatively and ideologically massive standard which, by nature, crosses religious lines. this effect may be considered particularly strong for muslim women — the similarities between two of the most revered women in islamic tradition naturally result in mutual reinforcement of the standards set by each one. this and other forms of attention given to mary establish her as a figure to be admired in islam, but the religious endorsement of her person solidifies her standing as a model of how one should perform faith. in “mary of the koran,” geoges refers to texts describing mary as “chosen” by allah and says that as she was “[c]hosen and predisposed by god...mary had to shine together with [christ] as a prodigious sign [ayat] for all creation, and as a resplendent model [mathal] for all believers.”16 smith and haddad also make a point of mentioning that mary is exceptional in receiving by-name recognition in the quran, a point corroborated by geoges.17 according to geoges, “[i]t seems as though, in mary’s presence, all other women were something amorphous, evanescent, inconsistent; as though mohammad wanted deliberately to cast on them all a shadow, and then place in the limelight the only woman truly worthy of this name — mary.”18 this further establishes mary as the embodiment of a specifically religious standard in islam, as she is in christianity. despite the fact that nearly all of this discussion operates on the basis of mary’s status as a woman and in comparison to other women, it is necessary to determine the extent to which the standard she sets is gendered. in a 2013 article, axel takacs, a catholic man, sets forth the extended argument that mary and muhammad are simply analogs of each other. while not the aim of takacs’s writing, his argument effectively erases any role or impact of gender on the significance of these figures in christianity and islam. however, i would argue that the religious standards set by both individuals are highly gendered, and this feature is of great importance to understanding how they affect believers and the practice of faith. takacs connects muhammad and mary on the basis that both serve as the “word-bearers” for their faiths and peoples.19 he refers to a scholar named schimmel who asserts that their capacities for that act of bearing were made possible by their purity -mary in her virginity and muhammad in his illiteracy.20 this equation of virginity to illiteracy is repeatedly made and inherently problematic in its denial of the gendered elements of the situation: in each word-bearer, the receiving of the word of god was an act of pure and sublime grace of god; muhammad and mary played no part in meriting such a mission. for muhammad, his intellectual activity was not involved in reciting the qur’an, while, for mary, her sexual activity was not involved in the bearing of jesus.21 the fact of the matter is that virginity cannot be considered the equivalent of illiteracy. takacs’ comparison of mary and muhammad under this supposition is invalid. at the most basic level, virginity is a morally charged concept while illiteracy is not. in particular, takacs’ statement that mary and muhammad “played no part in meriting such a mission” is negated by the gendered differences between the two individuals. according to takacs, illiteracy, as a state unrelated to morality, can be treated as the passive absence of a quality which takacs posits it as being. however, mary’s virginity is not passive, but rather, as hearden indicates, exactly that which “merits” her role as jesus’ “mary is lauded as being at her best, and modeling the best of what it is to be a woman, in being devoid of agency and sexual functioning.” 11 our lady of impossibility mother.22 takacs’ implication here is that sexual activity or literacy would somehow have ‘earned’ the roles of wordbearer for mary and muhammad. while this could be true of muhammad becoming literate, mary would not have earned anything but societal disapproval if she had become sexually active. the converses of each state also reveals deep differences between the two: a woman who is not a virgin is likely to be socially stigmatized and punished, whereas a man who is literate is likely to be among the most highly rewarded members of society. muhammad’s illiteracy was likely nothing more than circumstance and an unfortunate lack of education. while unfair, he was not morally or societally mandated to remain illiterate in the same way that women, of mary’s time and beyond, have been compelled to remain virgins before marriage. furthermore, mary was likely illiterate herself, while this symbol of “purity” which made muhammad a “wordbearer” was insufficient in her situation. this dichotomy reveals the emphasis on purity which demonstrates the truly gendered nature of mary as a religious standard. mary, as well as fátima and other women, has been reduced solely to her purity. thurlkill describes mary and fátima both as “vessels” and “undefiled containers.”23 within this paradigm, the significance of mary and women like her is emptied of all but their womanhood. this holds true no matter how one considers purity, as there is a consensus in the literature that both christian and islamic texts are referring to mary’s physical and spiritual purity.24 smith and haddad reference a scholar named al-alusi who held that “god gave mary the privilege of being pure from all uncleanness in the literal and figurative senses, both of the heart and of the body.”25 furthermore, menstruation was understood to be decidedly impure “defiling and in itself destructive of a state of purity.”26 the intimate tying of a woman’s purity to the absence of sexual activity or menstruation affirms that the only relevant part of a woman is her womanhood itself. in this, the standard set by mary is undeniably applied more to women than to men. this standard is, by definition, gendered and impossible to attain. though takacs argues that it is possible for all people to “imitate mary’s virginity...by emptying themselves of their pretensions of pride and self-delusions,” most women will inevitably menstruate.27 even if the physical purity were irrelevant, the spiritual purity takacs and others speak of still amounts to a complete emptying. mary is lauded as being at her best, and modeling the best of what it is to be a woman, in being devoid of agency and sexual functioning. a lack of inner substance is ultimately the characteristic to which islamic and christian traditions attribute mary’s great worth. additionally, the physical purity of mary can never be anything but relevant -it is treated as necessary proof of any other sort of purity she may possess, and her story would not exist in the same way were she not considered physically pure. the gendered nature of mary’s example of purity is further supported by comparison to muhammad. takacs describes muhammad’s person as “son, orphan, merchant, arbiter, warrior, husband, father, and statesperson, and so he was able to incorporate “other-worldly” and spiritual attitudes into “this-worldly” actions...muhammad himself is seen as purifying the sexual act.”28 this is important in several ways. as a man, muhammad’s actions have the power to set new standards about external actions, extrapolating value from recognition of muhammad’s intrinsic goodness. this is the exact opposite of mary, whose worth and goodness are dictated by the same external factors over which muhammad has power. while muhammad’s actions can define sex as pure, mary has no choice but to be defined as pure by sex. this is evidence of a power structure in which men have power over social values, which in turn exert power over women. for all the respect she receives, mary’s status is at the mercy of societal values. the unattainability of mary in combination with the gendered and mandated nature of the religious standards built up around her is ultimately harmful to women. in her review of works on mary, remesnyder concisely states that muhammad preaching to his followers (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 12 elements : : fall 2016 “no woman could ever achieve mary and fátima’s transcendence of the pollution inherent to the female body.”29 smith and haddad concur, highlighting the impossibility of being like mary or fátima, and that menstruation results in women being “define[d]...out of the possibility of leadership in a house of worship.”30 smith and haddad elaborate on what this unattainability results in: women can...be admonished through reference to mary’s virtue in two limited but very significant ways. while ultimately not as pure as she was, they are expected to aspire to this ideal to the extent to which they reserve themselves for their husbands and come to them untouched and undefiled. and as mary was the embodiment of perfect obedience, muslim women are enjoined to be obedient not only directly to god, but indirectly through the obedience that they show to the men to whom they are unquestionably responsible.31 mary’s significance as a woman is framed entirely within a patriarchal view that rejects the truth of cisgender femaleness. she is full of contradictions: the ultimate virgin and the ultimate mother; menstrual evidence of reproductive ability, yet having the ability to bear a child practically on command. as stated by the authors cited previously, and as common sense would indicate, no woman in real life can fulfill all of these. thus, it is highly unlikely that the popular and religious understandings of mary today could accurately represent her as an individual. the standards set by retellings of who she was are significantly lacking in recognition of who she was apart from the obedient virgin. this not only denies the realities of modern women’s experiences, but also subverts the life and actions of an iconic woman into the same sort of patriarchal standard under which she would have been confined. it means, above all, that female believers aspiring to be good women of faith will inevitably fail. the inclusion of purity in this standard is demeaning to all women as it is to mary, who is considered important to a large extent for nothing more than the state of her body. the conclusion which follows from this is that a woman is, for the most part, just a body. if the models of ideal faith are gendered, and those specifically gendered models are unattainable, then men and women have very different levels of access to successful and socially approved performances of faith. the impossibility of such standards means that female believers across multiple faiths would always fall short of religious ideals. this perpetual failure results directly from the gendering of religious standards, and women experience it in ways that male believers do not. the standards of religious behavior for women set by mary’s example are patriarchal at their roots. given the acceptance of menstruation as “defiling,” the conflation of mary’s virginity with her worth, and the reduction of her identity and value to being the obedient owner of a uterus, it becomes clear that the ways in which we affirm mary matters are framed within the rules of what matters most for men. it cannot be ignored that this sets women up to fail — at faith, at goodness, and at ever gaining equality within a still-patriarchal world. endnotes 1. remesnyder, a. “meeting the challenges of mary.” journal of women’s history 25 (2013): 195-206. doi: 10.1353/jowh.2013.0001, 195. 2. hearden, m. “ambassador for the word: mary as a bridge for dialogue between catholicism and islam.” journal of ecumenical studies 41.1 (2004): 18-38. print.,. 21-25. 3. ibid., 22. 4. ibid., 21-25. 5. ibid., 26, 28. 6. ibid.,. 26. 7. smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 16187. print.,. 162. 8. ibid., 179. 9. ibid., 179. 10. hearden, m. “ambassador for the word: mary as a bridge for dialogue between catholicism and islam.” journal of ecumenical studies 41.1 (2004): 18-38. print., 34. 11. ibid., 35-36. 12. ibid., 36. 13. thurlkill, m. chosen among women: mary and fatima in medieval christianity and shi’ite islam. notre dame, in: university of notre dame, 2007. print. (p. 60-61);smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 161-87. print.,. 179181. 14. smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 16187. print., p. 179. 15. thurlkill, m. chosen among women: mary and fatima in medieval christianity and shi’ite islam. notre dame, in: university of notre dame, 2007. print., 60. 16. geoges, n. mary of the koran: a meeting point between christianity and islam. tran. l. fares. ed. l. fares. new york, ny.: philosophical library, inc., 1984. print., 125,127: ibid., 120. 17. smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 16187. print., p. 162; geoges, n. mary of the koran: a meeting point between christianity and islam. tran. l. fares. ed. l. fares. new york, ny.: philosophical library, inc., 1984. print., 115-118. 18. geoges, n. mary of the koran: a meeting point between christianity and islam. tran. l. fares. ed. l. fares. new york, 13 our lady of impossibility ny.: philosophical library, inc., 1984. print. 116. 19. takacs, a. “mary and muhammad: bearers of the word--their roles in divine revelation.” journal of ecumenical studies 48.2 (2013): 220-43. print., 225. 20. ibid., 228,229. 21. ibid.,. 228-229. 22. hearden, m. “ambassador for the word: mary as a bridge for dialogue between catholicism and islam.” journal of ecumenical studies 41.1 (2004): 18-38. print., 36. 23. thurlkill, m. chosen among women: mary and fatima in medieval christianity and shi’ite islam. notre dame, in: university of notre dame, 2007. print.,. 51, 64. 24. smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 16187. print., 173. 25. ibid., 174. 26. ibid., 172-173. 27. takacs, a. “mary and muhammad: bearers of the word--their roles in divine revelation.” journal of ecumenical studies 48.2 (2013): 220-43. print, 229. 28. ibid.,. 224. 29. remesnyder, a. “meeting the challenges of mary.” journal of women’s history 25 (2013): 195-206. print. doi: 10.1353/ jowh.2013.0001, 200. 30. smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 16187. print.,. 187. 31. ibid. references geoges, n. mary of the koran: a meeting point between christianity and islam. tran. l. fares. ed. l. fares. new york, ny.: philosophical library, inc., 1984. print. hearden, m. “ambassador for the word: mary as a bridge for dialogue between catholicism and islam.” journal of ecumenical studies 41.1 (2004): 18-38. print. remesnyder, a. “meeting the challenges of mary.” journal of women’s history 25 (2013): 195-206. print. doi: 10.1353/ jowh.2013.0001 smith, j., and y. haddad. “the virgin mary in islamic tradition and commentary.” the muslim world 79 (1989): 161-87. print. takacs, a. “mary and muhammad: bearers of the word-their roles in divine revelation.” journal of ecumenical studies 48.2 (2013): 220-43. print. thurlkill, m. chosen among women: mary and fatima in medieval christianity and shi’ite islam. notre dame, in: university of notre dame, 2007. print. 14 elements : : fall 2016 the new nfl extra point rule first implemented in the 2015 season requires a kicker to attempt his extra point with the ball snapped from the 15-yard line. this attempt stretches an extra point to the equivalent of a 32-yard field goal attempt, 13 yards longer than under the previous rule. though a 32-yard attempt is still a chip shot to any professional kicker, many nfl analysts were surprised to see the number of extra points that were missed. should this really have been a surprise, though? beginning with a replication of a study by clark et. al, this study aims to explore the world of nfl kicking from a statistical perspective, applying econometric and machine learning models to display a deeper perspective on what exactly makes some field goal attempts more difficult than others. ultimately, the goal is to go beyond the previous research on this topic, providing an improved predictive model of field goal success and a better metric for evaluating placekicker ability. extra point under review machine learning and the nfl field goal james ledoux data selection the data used in this experiment comes from armchair analysis, covering every field goal attempted from the 2000 through 2013 seasons, roughly 14,000 attempts in total. it contains the binary outcomes of field goal attempts, atmospheric conditions at kickoff time (temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed), and various situational variables, such as kick distance, time left in the game, the game’s score, and whether the kicker was iced. while there is no way to predict probability with perfect precision, the size of this data set allows certain models to form predictions that are reasonably close to the true value on this 0-to-1 scale of make or miss. here is an overview of the most significant information in the data set: distance: distance is the most important variable in this data set. the distances in the data range from 18 to 76 yards, with the inner quartile range being from 25 to 45 yards, and the median distance being 37 yards. the distribution of distances in the data set is more or less uniform from 20 to 50 yards, but sparse beyond 55. stadium factors: the data also includes the stadium in which the kick took place, whether it took place on turf or natural grass, and whether this happened at a home or an away game. most of these situational factors proved insignificant, and specific stadiums were not included in the final models. there was, however, significant proof to support the much-discussed “mile-high effect,” under which kickers experience significantly increased range capabilities while playing in the high altitude of the denver broncos’ mile high stadium. climate factors: among the climate factors measured were temperature, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation. the distributions of these factors are presented below: given these distributions, i carried out similar feature engineering to that done in the clark paper, creating a binary “cold” dummy variable for temperatures under 50°f, a “windy” variable for wind speeds greater than 10 mph, and a “humid” one for humidities greater than 60%. the cold and windy dummy variables are useful because both wind speeds and temperatures vary throughout games, while the measurements in this data set are only those recorded figure 3. humidity distributions in the data figure 1. temperature distributions in the data figure 2. wind distributions in the data 56 elements : : fall 2016 at kickoff time. converting these measurements to categorical variables limits the number of cases that are misclassified due to this limitation in the data set. it should be noted that i do, however, use continuous temperature as a variable in certain later models, with temperatures typically being stable within a reasonable range to make the continuous variable useful despite its time-of-measurement flaw. humidity was not significant in any of the models, and was dropped. also noteworthy is that the data set contained a variety of classifications for weather conditions such as “rain”, “snow”, “light rain”, “stormy”, “foggy”, “clear”, and so on. to reduce the ambiguity, i lumped all rain and snow-containing conditions into a single dummy variable called “precipitation.” of this, the set has 847 instances with precipitation, and 13,144 without. there were many other variables to test in the data set, but these proved to be the most important to the end-models. the individual effects of each of these variables on the final predictive models can be seen in the appendix, exhibit b. binomial logistic regression models the first model i tested was a logistic regression model, replicating that used by clark et al., and experimenting with some slight adjustments. logistic regression is a non-linear translation of the standard mlr function, measuring probability between the only two possible field goal outcomes of a make and a miss (1 and 0). this probability is calculated by the function displayed at the bottom of this page. the clark paper removes all regressors not statistically significant at the 5% level (p value < .05). this leads it to only include distance and a series of environmental factors, omitting all situational ones such as point spread, the kicker being iced, the home field, and etc. i tested three models, the first being a perfect replication of the clark model, the second including the icing of the kicker, and the third including statistically significant home-field advantages. model 1: clark replication my first task was to replicate the clark study with more recent data. clark’s model uses data from 2000-2011, so i replicated this with the 2012 and 2013 seasons included to see if there were any significant changes. the coefficients were all close to those from the original study, and each of the variables either became more significant or remained the same. the outputs are shown in table 1 and can be compared to the originals in exhibit c. model 2: icing the kicker after replicating the study, i included the variable of icing the kicker. this is a binary variable equal to one when the opposing team had called a timeout just before the field goal was attempted in a potentially game winning or tying situation, and equal to zero in all other cases. this was excluded in the clark model because it did not meet the significance level of 5%. although this is still the case in my model, i argue that a 9.1% significance level is sufficient table 1. clark replication regression outputs 57 extra point under review for a binary variable such as this one, given the importance of icing kickers to the outcomes of games. this model is discussed in greater detail below. model 3: home field advantages for model 3, i regressed all of the previously mentioned variables as well as the individual stadium dummies on field goal outcomes in order to see which home fields were the most significant. i then iteratively removed the least significant stadiums until i arrived at a list that met the 10% significance level, relaxing my significance levels slightly in order to get a better view of home field advantages in the data set. the stadiums that were significant at the 10% level and their coefficients are: adelphia coliseum (-.3567), giants stadium (-0.5444), network associates coliseum (-0.6063), paul brown stadium (-0.2335), ralph wilson stadium (-0.3736), texas stadium (-0.3096), and veterans stadium (-0.1536). the reason most stadiums were insignificant appears to be the high correlation between many stadiums and their associated weather conditions. lambeau field, soldier field, and gillette stadium, for example, were all storied stadiums with reportedly difficult crowds to play against. these stadiums also, however, have high levels of precipitation and historically cold temperatures. this problem with collinearity led me to discard this model altogether, with the intuition that each stadium dummy is going to be highly correlated with its home-city’s climate conditions and the type of surface of its playing field. of the three logistic regression models tested, i found the second model, with icing the kicker included, to be the most useful. though it does not quite meet the same standard of significance as the clark model, the importance of icing the kicker and the explanatory power it offers in game-winning and tying scenarios–one of the most enticing times to use such a model–makes this a worthwhile sacrifice. additionally, one sub-10% significance level is certainly not problematic in a model such as this one, where everything else meets a high standard of proof. with this established as my model of choice, the regression output is as follows: when tested against data it had not seen before, here is the layout of the model’s predictions measured against their distances: figure 4 shows that the presence of the various environmental factors and the icing of the kicker creates a considerable spread in field goal difficulties, even within the same distance-levels. a 50-yard field goal, for example, can “field goal kicking, however, being the isolated component of play that it is, has the potential to be one of the first great leaps in the quantification of the ways that coaches, scouts and fans view the game.” table 2. model 2 regression output 58 elements : : fall 2016 have anywhere between a 41 and 72 percent probability of success given this wide array of non-distance factors. considering field goal difficulty when rating kicker ability the most common metric used to evaluate kicker performance is “make percentage.” while this is an acceptable surface-level measurement, it makes the false assumption that all kicks are created equal, which is simply not the case. based on team strategy and quality, some kickers may attempt a greater portion of their field goals from longer distances than others. also, due to climate factors, a kicker in new england will typically have a more difficult job than one in oakland, all other variables held equal. because of factors such as these, make percentage is a lacking metric; a statistic taking field goal difficulty into account would tell a deeper story. such a metric can be formed using the logistic regression model created above. to do this, one simply takes the difference between each field goal’s outcome (0 for miss, 1 for make) and its predicted probability of success, as determined by the model, and multiplies this by 3, the number of points that the field goal is worth if successful. this creates a “points added” metric, showing the number of points that the kicker has generated for his team above the expected value, or, in other words, the value that the kicker has created above that which would be generated by a perfectly average replacement. this standardized-points measure punishes kickers greater amounts for missing “easy” field goals than it does difficult ones, overcoming the shortcomings of using the make percentage statistic alone. points added = (field goal success – probability of success) x 3. this metric, measuring field goal outcomes against their difficulty level, will provide an unbiased assessment of a kicker’s skill. who are the best kickers of the modern era? using this statistic, one can determine not only who have been the best kickers of the modern era, but also the most underrated, taking the difference between kickers’ rankings according to the points-added statistic and those determined by make percent. sebastian janikowski and stephen gostkowski are two of the great stories of this metric. gostkowski is widely touted as the best kicker in the game today. much of his praise is well earned: he is consistently among the most accurate kickers in the nfl as measured by field goal percent (in the two most recent seasons not in this data set, he scored on 94.6 and 91.7% of his attempts). however, gostkowski also plays for the high-powered new england offense, and part of his high make percentage appears to result from him being set up for large amounts of easier field goals. because of this, while he is ranked 8th in field goal percentage, he is only 23rd in points-added, making him overrated by 15 positions on the list. granted, given his successful 2014 and 2015 seasons, it is likely that these ranks have improved since 2013. figure 4: logistic regression model predictions (probability that a field goal is successful). for a larger view, see exhibit d table 3: best kickers by points added, fg%, and degree underrated 59 extra point under review janikowski, on the other hand, plays for the woeful oakland raiders, who have struggled offensively throughout the past several seasons and relied greatly on janikowski’s powerful leg during the period tested. as a result, he was set up with a disproportionately high amount of long field goal attempts, and his 80% field goal accuracy from 20002013 (ranked 44th) does not tell the full story of his impact. due to his ability to convert from 50+ yards, his pointsadded score is quite high at .09/attempt, making him underrated by 30 positions on the list. who had the best seasons? finally, one can also use this statistic to measure which kickers have had the greatest impacts on individual seasons. taking the sum of a kicker’s points added by year gives his total points added for each season, showing exactly how valuable a kicker was to his team each year. here are the greatest single-season performances according to this measurement: all of the above kickers were crucial to their teams’ offenses these seasons. as you can see, one reason many people appear on this list is high kick quantity, which is to be expected – kickers who are relied upon more heavily have increased chances of accumulating points-added for their teams. this makes it all the more impressive that sebastian janikowski’s 2009 season makes number two on this list with only 29 attempts. although the raiders were a losing team this season, they would have been far worse off had it not been for janikowski bailing out their poor offense from beyond the 50 yard line multiple times over, netting an additional 19 points that the raiders would not have secured with a replacement kicker. table 6: which kickers have the greatest impacts on individidual seasons table 4: who is most overrated? (ranked higher by fg% than by points added) table 5. who is the most underrated? (ranked higher by points added than by fg%) 60 elements : : fall 2016 neural networks neural networks were the next type of model tested. this class of model loosely imitates the structure of neurons in the brain, beginning with one node per variable in the outer layer, a number of “hidden” nodes in the inner layers, and then an end node for the model’s output. the model uses logistic activation functions to determine which nodes in the network will activate, and assigns weights between nodes that determine its output. the network uses a backpropogation algorithm to determine the optimal weights between its nodes, which allows it to improve the accuracy of its outputs. these models have gained a great deal of support in machine learning for their ability to gain deep insights on the patterns within data. although i tested deeper networks, this simple 7 x 3 x 1 network proved most effective: while this was by far the most time consuming model to train and implement, it also yielded the best results of any individual model tested. this model’s success was likely due to its allowance for flexible interactions between features. whereas a linear model such as a logistic or linear figure 5: random forest feature importances figure 6: 7 x 3 x 1 neural network architecture improving predictions with machine learning finally, while there is a great deal to be learned from the logistic regression model and the measurements that follow from its predictions, i could not resist the temptation of taking this a step further to see what additional insight machine learning models could provide in this situation. using the same data, i tested random forest, neural network, multiple linear regression, and hybrid models to see how they fared against the logistic regression benchmark. random forests a “random forest” is an ensemble-learning algorithm that uses a resampling method called “bagging” to take a single data set and break it into several overlapping sets. with one data set now broken into many, the algorithm can train an entire “forest” of decision trees rather than just one, and uses the output of each tree as a “vote” toward what the forest’s output should be. by taking the average of the many “decision trees” outputs, the random forest model achieves a lower model variance than an individual decision tree while maintaining a similar level of bias, meaning that it is both more stable and equally accurate. in this case, however, the random forest underperformed the other models tested, and did not prove useful for prediction improvement. this may be due to a combination of unreliable measurements in the explanatory variables and the fact that the majority of explanatory variables were categorical rather than continuous, restricting the decision breaks available to the forest. additional methods that could be tested for improving this model are breaking continuous variables into buckets rather than binary variables, and further tuning the parameters for tree depth and number of observations required per leaf node. 61 extra point under review regression applies a single function to transform input features into outputs, the neural network has intermediary hidden layers that allow features to interact before being transformed into an output. the result is a model that learns its own features, as opposed to other models which are constrained to the features that a user feeds them. the slow learning of this model, however, poses a significant problem for testing and improvement, making parameter-tuning and model evaluation methods such as cross validation time consuming in the absence of improved computing resources. multiple linear regression finally, i tested a multiple linear regression model. because of the logistic nature of the relationship between distance and field goal difficulty (the difference between the difficulty of a 55and 65-yard field goal difficulty is much larger than that between a 25 and 35-yard attempt), simply throwing all the above variables into a standard mlr model will not fit the data well. adding the log of the distance into a model with all of the previously used variables, however, yielded quality results, with an mse measurement beating that of the random forest model and the original clark logistic model. this mlr model allows for the nondistance variables to be linear intercept variables, and also makes for the highest ease of interpretation of all the models used, using the standard mlr model at the bottom of the page. table 7 shows the regression output. different models, different predictions it should not come as a surprise that different models yield slightly different predictions. the regression outputs and error measurements mentioned up until this point in the paper, however, do not display model patterns well. because distance is such a strong predictive factor in this particular set of models, simply showing probabilities graphed against distance seems to do the trick for illustrating probability patterns. the final models are displayed in figures 7, 8, 9, and 10. and the winner is... while logistic regression is the standard for probabilistic measurements such as this, it was not the most precise of those tested. the best performing model in this situation is actually one that has not been mentioned yet. while the neural network performed best among all the models altable 7: mlr model output figure 7 (top): random forest figure 8 (bottom): neural network 62 elements : : fall 2016 figure 9: multiple linear regression figure 10: logistic regression ready discussed, the best performer was one that combined the results of this and the second logistic regression model, taking the average of the predictions of the two. table 8 shows how all the models compared in terms of mses (mean squared errors). mse is an error measurement taking the average squared distance between the predicted values (from the model) and their true values (1 if made, 0 if missed) across all predictions made. the smaller the mse score, the more accurate the model. the error measurements in this case offer little descriptive significance as there is no true method for evaluating the accuracy of an observation’s probability estimate. the scores serve merely to rank the models against one another. table 8: mse of differnt models while the neural network, mlr model, and logistic regression model with icing included were able to beat the logistic regression benchmark set by clark, the best model of all was that which combined the predictions of the top two performers. why does this matter? i present two scenarios to illustrate how the analysis presented may be relevant to decision-making in nfl games. the first took place on january 19, 2002, when the new england patriots were playing the oakland raiders in the afc divisional playoff game. the patriots were down 13-10 when adam vinatieri lined up for a 45-yard attempt with time running low. in 19-degree weather and heavy snow, vinatieri’s kick went through the uprights with only 27 seconds left, and the patriots went on to win the game in overtime on another vinatieri field goal. this snowy field goal has gone down in nfl history as one of the greatest clutch kicks of all time. it also happens to be an excellent example of one of the worst possible conditions to kick a field goal in, showing the need for models such as those discussed in this paper. the probabilities of vinatieri’s kick going in had the game been in oakland vs. in new england are illustrated in figure 11. had the game taken place in oakland with its temperate climate, vinatieri’s 45-yard attempt would have had a very reasonable 71% likelihood of succeeding. in the new england blizzard, however, it had much riskier odds, at 54%. though the kick was ultimately good, this model goes to show just how high the stakes were that sunday afternoon, and the amount of pressure that vinatieri, the coaching 63 extra point under review staff, and the new england fan base must have felt as they waited for the result. the second situation is one that has not happened yet, but one that every nfl coach should be concerned about: a kicker’s missed extra point costing his team the game. moving the extra point back 13 yards may still seem like an easy conversion, being a 32-yard attempt, but as these models show, there is a noticeable decline in the probability of success in going from a 19 to a 32-yard kick. the result of this decreased likelihood was seen across the league this season, with extra point conversion percentages decreasing from 99.6 to roughly 95 percent with the implementation of the new rule. while nobody has lost a game due to this rule change just yet, this new area of risk is a perfect example of the importance of understanding field goal likelihoods for making effective coaching decisions. this increased risk will make two-point conversion attempts increasingly appropriate in the nfl. as is seen in these two scenarios, understanding field goal conversion likelihoods is crucial to a coach’s decision-making process. understanding not only that distance, climate factors, and situational pressure have tangible impacts on field goal success likelihoods, but also to what extent they do, could make all the difference in weighing the risk and potential reward of a crucial coaching decision. figure 11: impact of weather conditions on the snow bowl game. to conclude, this study has two main findings: first, that field goals follow predictable patterns, allowing their probabilities of success to be modeled to a useful degree. this can and should be taken into consideration by coaching staffs during their evaluations of game time decisions. second, that good kickers really do matter. finding a great one like rob bironas or sebastian janikowski can make all the difference in a 16-game season where playoff outcomes are not determined until the very last week, or in a playoff game where a single point-added above average replacement is all that stands between being a runner-up and a super bowl champion. while baseball has been thoroughly transformed by sabermetrics and the moneyball revolution, football still has a way to go in its acceptance of statistics as the governing dynamics of certain aspects of play, given its smaller sample sizes because of its 16-game seasons. field goal kicking, however, being the isolated component of play that it is, has the potential to be one of the first great leaps in the quantification of the ways that coaches, scouts and fans view the game. through the acceptance of methods and models such as those discussed in this paper, nfl organizations can make great strides in improving their abilities to make data-informed decisions and maximize the potential values of their rosters. game at oak game at ne64 elements : : fall 2016 exhibit a: league-wide fg% by distance, 2000-2013 exhibit b1: effects of parameter changes — wind speed effect exhibit b2: effects of parameter changes — turf effect exhibit b3: effects of parameter changes — precipitation effect appendix turf not turf not windy windy no precipitation precipitation 65 extra point under review exhibit b4: effects of parameter changes — icing the kicker exhibit b5: effects of parameter changes — milehigh effect exhibit b6: effects of parameter changes — cold weather effect exhibit c: original study coefficients. iced not iced cold not cold played elsewhere game played in denver 66 elements : : fall 2016 exhibit d: probability predictions from logistic model 2 endnotes 1. torin, johnson, and stimpson, “going for three: predicting the likelihood of field goal success with logistic regression.” 2. affordable nfl data plans, armchair analysis. 3. brian, “altitude and field goals.” 4. torin, johnson, and stimpson, “going for three: predicting the likelihood of field goal success with logistic regression.” nfl.com.,”stephen gostkowski.” 5. matt, “a step by step backpropagation example,” march 17, 2015. references clark, torin, aaron johnson, and alexander stimpson. “going for three: predicting the likelihood of field goal success with logistic regression.” mit sloan sports analytics conference (2013). accessed january 11, 2016. affordable nfl data plans. accessed 11 january 2016. armchair analysis. burke, brian. “altitude and field goals.” advanced football analytics. accessed january 11, 2016. “stephen gostkowski.” nfl.com. accessed january 11, 2016. mazur, matt. “a step by step backpropagation example.” march 17, 2015. accessed january 11, 2016. 67 extra point under review policy and intelligence are intimately intertwined. policymakers need intelligence to make decisions, while the intelligence community derives significance from its ability to provide policy makers with reliable information. in this symbiotic relationship, it is healthy for intelligence consumers to at times check and direct the work of intelligence producers. however, if undertaken maliciously, this checking mechanism manifests as top-down politicization. here, leaders use intelligence post facto to legitimize their policies instead of using it to guide them, reversing the rational decision-making process. certain factors may compel leaders to manipulate intelligence to reflect their policy preferences. this essay demonstrates how three distinct processes of top-down politicization can arise from ambiguous evidence, the psychology of intelligence consumers, and the nature of the leaders’ political positions and responsibilities. it then proceeds to argue that political leaders’ psychology is the most potent source of top-down politicization. the psychological puzzle contributing factors to the top-down rebecca moretti politicization of intelligence ambiguous evidence and indirect manipulation of intelligence ambiguous evidence can subtly shape and manipulate intelligence. policymakers can exert this form of top-down politicization either consciously or unconsciously. for example, when ambiguous evidence is a factor, intelligence consumers may pose repeated questions to producers or request more specific information. if the policymaker truly does not understand the intelligence or wants the analyst to produce more relevant information, this process remains relatively benign. however, policymakers will often use this tactic as a subtle form of pressure, designed to direct analysts—who sometimes comply out of self-interest or resignation—to produce policy-friendly intelligence. policymakers often prefer a snappy and decisive analysis over a careful and complex one, since they are under time constraints that incline them to act quickly and confidently, while analysts are more concerned with depth and accuracy.1 uncertainties and ambiguities—characteristics inherent to intelligence—are discomforting to policymakers, who try to refine intelligence to make it support their policies or otherwise exploit ambiguity by manipulating intelligence to their liking.2 when intelligence is vague, choices regarding critical decisions are likely to be political. the tendency of intelligence officers to qualify their intelligence and render it more ambiguous leads policymakers to reward and encourage those who produce more concise—and often more hasty—intelligence products.3 “analysts who simplify and advocate get more attention from time-pressed policymakers than analysts who complicate or equivocate,” writes richard betts.4 policymakers may ignore ambiguous evidence or force analysts to continually re-evaluate and re-focus their analyses. when intelligence is too ambiguous, policymakers may also try to bypass analysts by examining the raw data themselves, which invariably leads to an imposition of their own biases. ambiguous evidence makes it hard to create the consensus of support policymakers need to justify their decisions, and increases the likelihood that leaders will prod the intelligence community to produce more decisive analyses. mark lowenthal explains, “the policy maker wants to be able to show that a policy or decision is correct or well handled and wants intelligence that is supportive or that does not call into question the policy or decision.”5 thus, ambiguous evidence is at times shunned by policymakers, who will search for a more suitable analysis or indirectly manipulate intelligence to their benefit. leaders’ psychology and selective processing of intelligence from leaders’ psychology can emerge the process of “cherry-picking” congenial intelligence, ignoring and disregarding information that refutes certain policies. due to cognitive biases, policymakers are likely to focus on information that supports their opinions while ignoring opposing information, discouraging analysts from revealing contradictory evidence.6 according to richard betts, “what [political zealots] seek from intelligence is ammunition, not truth.”7 leaders are accustomed to risk, and experience has taught them to be confident in their judgments, which is why it is psychologically feasible for them to ignore contrary evidence and seek ammunition to confirm their biases. “the psychology of decision-making also explains why leaders ignore intelligence,” writes joshua rovner. “individuals’ expectations have a powerful effect on their ability to accurately perceive information,” writes rovner.8 for this reason, policymakers have a hard time absorbing data that is inconsistent with their preconceptions. rather than seeking out intelligence to shape policy, they seek intelligence to support their preformed political and ideological notions.9 because bottom-up politicization exists simultaneous to “cherry-picking,” policymakers inherently fear subversion by intelligence producers and focus on analyses that fall in line with their own policies. not only do they disregard unpleasant information, but they may also scorn the analyst or organization that provided it.10 furthermore, this selectivity of information can advertenta political cartoon from harper’s weekly depicting an exchange between carl schurz and uncle sam (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 72 elements : : spring 2016 ly or inadvertently apply pressure on analysts, who may tailor their reports to the policymakers’ preference. there are heady psychological costs to be incurred with the realization that a chosen and long-propounded policy is failing and must be reversed; therefore, policymakers “cherrypick” not only to publicly support their policies, but also to privately soothe their psychological qualms about their own decisions. in dealing with the war in iraq, former president george w. bush “was aware that a degree of selfmanipulation if not self-deception was involved.”11 bush focused on intelligence that supported his policy in iraq because he knew that if his resolve weakened, his whole team’s confidence in its abilities would weaken as well. the psychological pain of confronting failure is intense in any situation, but is especially magnified on the global stage in the policymakers’ world. policies are difficult to reverse once they have gained momentum, so even if related information surfaces against the policy it will likely be ignored.12 additionally, once people have invested a lot of time and effort into something, the psychological costs of starting from scratch are too painful to bear. as a result, officials will ignore unwelcome news and fixate on information that is supportive of their endeavors. leaders’ political position and direct manipulation of intelligence sometimes even direct manipulation of intelligence may arise from officials’ political positions and policy concerns. direct manipulation is risky since it is the most blatant kind of politicization and is therefore used in only dire situations when a leader’s political position or an important policy is at stake. although examples of this arm-twisting are rare, it appears to be an effective solution when a leader’s reputation is in danger.13 “politicization is more likely when policymakers have committed themselves to highly controversial issues,” writes rovner. “public commitments make policymakers vulnerable to political costs if their plans appear misguided or doomed to fail, giving them strong incentives to pressure intelligence to deliver supporting estimates.”14 direct politicization occurs when policymakers pressure intelligence agencies to deliver products that support their policies and, more subtly, appoint analysts who are likely to produce the preferred outcome, resulting in manipulation by appointment. direct manipulation can emerge out of leaders’ genuine belief that their policy is the best long-term solution for their constituents, regardless of contrary intelligence. furthermore, since reneging a political position or admitting failure can have severe political consequences, leaders are likely to do everything in their power to defend their actions. they know that criticism of their policies will be very costly, so they try to create an image of consensus and legitimacy by pressuring intelligence—which tends to be seen as politically unbiased— to support their decisions.15 “to change their basic objectives will be to incur very high costs, including, in some cases, losing their offices if not their lives,” writes robert jervis.16 policymakers seek reelection, career advancement, and other benefits from the policies they pursue, giving them a strong personal incentive to gain approval for their initiatives.17 since the stakes are high in such cases, leaders in these situations are more likely to employ direct manipulation. if desperate, policy“the psychological pain of confronting failure is intense in any situation, but is especially magnified on the global stage in the policymakers’ world.” a political cartoon from the world depicting nationalist symbols of great britain upset over american neutrality during early world war i (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 73 the psychological puzzle makers may even resort to the willful distortion of analysis. usually this occurs when policymakers genuinely believe their policy will eventually be beneficial, and are willing to manipulate the truth to get it to succeed. leaders’ psychology as the most potent source of politicization at first glance, leaders’ political position appears to be the most potent source of politicization. however, although this is a powerful source, it is neither the most prevalent nor the most corrupting. while the nature of leaders’ political positions and responsibilities is subject to change, their cognitive behaviors remain the same, which is why leaders’ psychology is actually the most potent and widespread source of politicization. if officials were unfettered by their psychological influences, they would realize that it is more rational and beneficial to adapt policy to intelligence whenever possible. in practice, by accepting important evidence—even if it contradicts policy—leaders could ameliorate their political positions and better fulfill their responsibilities to the public in the long run. although they may suffer short-term consequences for modifying their policies, leaders could validate these shifts with relevant intelligence. in reality, however, the leader will often choose to continue the policy even when it is unpopular. this phenomenon can only be explained by the policy maker’s psychology, since rational consideration would favor more flexible decision-making. as betts says, the main challenge to high-level operators is “recognizing when a proper understanding of reality confirms the feasibility of their aims, or compels them to change course.”19 what compels leaders to politicize intelligence is not their current political positions, but rather the psychological tendencies that prevent them from constructively accepting opposition. leaders’ psychology and their political position are intrinsically tied. the leaders’ psychological attachment to predispositions and first-choice policies is what prevents them from looking at their policies and responsibilities objectively. even if leaders receive intelligence that their policy is failing, they will fixate on supporting evidence and continue their policy out of a psychological aversion to backing out of large commitments. for this reason, it is difficult for leaders to see when their policies are inadequate and to use intelligence in an unbiased way that could help improve policy. what allows policymakers to exploit ambiguous intelligence is not primarily the intelligence itself, regardless of its ambiguity, but rather the psychological predilections that prevent them from accurately appraising the information. endnotes 1. betts, enemies of intelligence, 2007, 71. 2. lowenthal, intelligence, from secrets to policy, 2000, 266. 3. rovner, fixing the facts, 2011, 23. 4. betts, enemies of intelligence, 2007, 77. 5. lowenthal, intelligence, from secrets to policy, 2000, 270. 6. betts, enemies of intelligence, 2007, 93. 7. betts, enemies of intelligence, 2007, 96. 8. rovner, fixing the facts, 2011, 36. 9. rovner, fixing the facts, 2011, 29. 10. jervis, “why intelligence and policymakers clash,” 2010, 185-204. 11. jervis, “why intelligence and policymakers clash,” 2010, 187. 12. jervis, “why intelligence and policymakers clash,” 2010, 188. 13. rovner, fixing the facts, 2011, 31. 14. rovner, fixing the facts, 2011, 36 15. rovner, fixing the facts, 2011, 45. 16. jervis, “why intelligence and policymakers clash,” 2010, 192. 17. lowenthal, intelligence, from secrets to policy, 200, 189. 18. jervis, “why intelligence and policymakers clash,” 2010, 192. references betts, richard. enemies of intelligence: knowledge and power in american national security. new york: columbia university press, 2007. jervis, robert. “why intelligence and policymakers clash.” political science quarterly, 185-204, 2010.   lowenthal, mark. intelligence: from secrets to policy. washington, dc: cq press, 2000. rovner, joshua. fixing the facts: national security and the politics of intelligence. ithaca n.y.: cornell university press, 2011. 74 elements : : spring 2016 in a time when candidates feel pressure to tout their independent attitude and bipartisan spirit in order to win elections, the growing presence of the independent political mindset among voters cannot be ignored. massachusetts is a perfect microcosm through which to explore the influence of independent voters. the perception of massachusetts as a predominantly blue state in which democratic candidates dominate is misleading. while this is true of the legislature, the electorate of the bay state is over one-half independent, giving massachusetts the largest proportion of independent voters in the united states. this piece explores how a predominantly independent constituency elects a predominantly single-party legislature. using registration and election data as well as first-hand accounts from massachusetts legislators, this article seeks to uncover how the independent voter fits into america’s dominant two-party system. in this process, it confronts questions on the merit of the two-party system as well as the identity of the american voter. neither red nor blue the influence of independent voters in massachusetts olivia mccaffrey independent voters are relevant in today’s political world. they are constantly being analyzed in polls, sought after in political campaigns, and heavily scrutinized by the twoparty system. figure 1 shows just a few of the many recent articles and studies written about independent voters and their influence on politics.1,2,3 their growing popularity raises two important questions: are the numbers of independent voters increasing, and if so, what is their influence on the commonwealth? massachusetts is the frontrunner for independent voters in america, with over 53% of its registered voters being independent.4 figure 2 shows how massachusetts leads the top five states in which independents exceed party membership. according to the most recent gallup poll, 42% of americans nationwide identify themselves as independent voters, the highest proportion in history. the rate hovered between 20% and 32% in the years since 1988, and has started increasing steadily following 2004.5 what constitutes an independent voter, according to the state of massachusetts? the encyclopedia of third parties in america defines independent voters as “[t]hose who have registered to vote, but are not affiliated with a political party.”6 for example, independent voters in massachusetts are those who have registered to vote in the state, and have access to the benefits of being a registered voter; however, they have elected to remain free of a party designation. what are the objectives of independent voters? as unenrollment is not an organized party, there is no singular answer to this question. the massachusetts coalition of independent voters believes in “making the political process more open and fair, and less partisan.”7 independentvoting.org, along the same strand of ideology, states that independent voters seek to “diminish the regressive influence of parties and partisanship by opening up the democratic process,” “support new models of nonpartisan governance,” and “strive for the broadest terms of ‘bottom-up’ participation”8 when a person registers to vote in massachusetts, he or she has six party identifaction options. there are the two main parties, democrat and republican, as well as massachusetts’ two major third parties, the green rainbow party and united independent party. if these do not suit the voter, he or she can elect to be unenrolled (independent) or choose from massachusetts’ 26 third parties, listed in table 1. massachusetts has open primaries, so independents can vote in primaries and pull whichever of the two main party figure 2: states where independents exceed party membership4 figure 1: recent headlines about independent voters in massachusetts. 83 neither red nor blue ballots they want. voters enrolled in any of the alternate political designations, however, cannot vote in primaries. primaries in massachusetts are restricted to registered democrat, republican, and unenrolled voters. democrats and republicans must pull their respective party’s ballot, but independents can pull either. in bold are the most popular parties by enrollment. the green rainbow party, for example, is one of the more common third parties. it has over 6,500 registrants in massachusetts, or about 0.1% of the commonwealth’s registered voters. the pizza party, though it sounds fictitious, garnered enough signatures to be recognized as a legal third party in the state of massachusetts, but only has one member. the prevalence of independent voters in massachusetts the percentage of independent voters in massachusetts has increased during every presidential administration since that of dwight d. eisenhower in 1953-1961. the only exception is ronald reagan’s presidency, which saw a 0.056% decrease in independent registration, though the general number of total registered voters decreased during this time.10 figure 3 shows registered voter enrollment in massachusetts from 1948-2012.11 unenrolled voters have always been larger in number than republicans since 1948, and they surpassed even democratic enrollment in 1990. 50 years ago, unenrollment was 35.72% in massachusetts, and it has since increased steadily to over 53% today.12 independent voter registration has shown a strongly consistent linear increase over the past ten years. as figure 4 shows, unenrollment has increased every single year of this past decade, from 48.80% in 2004 to 53.27% today. this 4.47% increase is a significant political trend. today, massachusetts boasts over 2.2 million independent voters, an increase of almost 300,000 in the past decade alone.13 this is akin to half the population of boston becoming independent. both in massachusetts and the united states as a whole, the shift has come at more of a cost to republicans. massachusetts democrats lost about 3% of their supporters, while republicans lost almost 15%.14 how democratic or republican is my town? massachusetts may seem like a one-dimensional state in the realm of party affiliation, but the individual affiliation of each municipality tells a different story. of the 351 towns in massachusetts, 186 lean democrat, and 165 lean republican.15 massachusetts is not strictly a “blue” state. it is worth noting, however, that the range of democrat-leaning figure 3: massachusetts registered voter enrollment, 1948-2012 figure 4: independent voter registration as a percentage of total enrollment, 2004-2014 table 1: alternate legal political designations in massachusetts 9 84 elements : : fall 2015 and republican-leaning towns is skewed. massachusetts’s uniquely democratic identity is maintained by the large gap between the most heavily leaning democrat and republican towns. in the most democratic town, provincetown, democratic candidates receive 73% more votes on average, whereas republican candidates in the most republican town, lynnfield, receive only 28% more of the vote on average. it is significant to note that these statistics come from election returns, not registration data. even though certain towns consistently vote for republican candidates, there are no municipalities in massachusetts with a majority of republican voters.16 municipalities with the most evenly balanced votes (less than 0.15% gap between votes for the democratic candidate and republican candidate) are: ayer, shrewsbury, groton, and southampton.17 it is also interesting to note the regional trends of party support. the greater boston area, as well as western massachusetts, is largely democratic, surrounded by large areas of republican support in central and southeastern massachusetts. when it comes to electing the massachusetts legislature, the political identity of the commonwealth remains stubbornly one-sided. the current composition of massachusetts legislators elected to the united states congress is 100% democrat us senators ed markey and elizabeth warren are both democrats, as is each representative from massachusetts’ nine congressional districts. massachusetts’ state-level government has slightly more republican representation: the senate is 85% democrat (34 democrats to 6 republicans), and the house of representatives is 78.5% democrat (125 democrats to 35 republicans).18 the massachusetts legislature has a history of democratic predominance. the 85% democrat’s presence in the senate is a decrease from previous years, when democrats traditionally held an even larger portion of the senate. massachusetts republicans, on the other hand, have not won a seat in the us house since 1994. there are currently no independent legislators representing massachusetts in the state-level house and senate or in the us congress.19 reasons for being independent a 2007 study examined the ideologies of independent voters and characterized them into five categories. their titles and respective distributions are shown in table 2. disguised partisans are voters whose ideologies align with a single party, but elect to remain free of a partisan designation. along with disengaged independents, who characterize themselves as more apathetic voters, disguised partisans account for 48% of independent voters. dislocated independents, who make up 16% of the independent population, are those whose ideologies straddle the twoparty divide. the remaining 36% of independent voters are comprised of the disillusioned, or “angry” voters, and the deliberators—voters who like to begin from square one when determining for whom to cast their vote.20 independent voters have the lowest rate of election participation. they continually underperform registered democrats and republicans at the voting booth by 20%.21 this supports the categorization of a large portion of independent voters as disillusioned or disengaged. such voters have little incentive to make their voice heard at the figure 5: the most democratic towns, by election results, in massachusetts are provincetown, cambridge, and amherst. the most republican are lynnfield, boxford, and hanover. table 2: ideologies of independent voters20 85 neither red nor blue ballot box. independents in the 2014 massachusetts general election and noteworthy independent campaigns in the most recent general election in massachusetts, there were five candidates in the race for governor. nowgovernor charlie baker, a republican, and martha coakley, a democrat, led the race. they were joined by three independent candidates, evan falchuk, scott lively, and jeff mccormick, who together garnered over 100,000 votes, or almost 5% of total votes cast.22 figure 6 shows all independent and third party candidates who ran in the 2014 massachusetts general election.23 it may be easy to think of an independent candidacy as a rare occurrence, but the vast number of such political hopefuls in 2014 proves otherwise. the names in bold are those candidates who garnered more than 20% of the vote in their race. suzanne t. seguin, whose name is italicized, won her race for register of probate of hampden county as an independent. analyzing these candidates and their corresponding offices shows evidence that independent and third party bids for political office are more successful on two spectrums. one is in less politicized positions, like the executive councilor and register of probate. these are positions that function within the political sphere, but do not include overt party alliances or voting that could prove ideologically divisive. second, independents have a greater opportunity to flourish by running for smaller, more local titles. because of the smaller constituency, independents, who often have limited funds and rely instead on personal connections and name recognition, can more easily appeal directly and personally to their constituents about why they should be elected. as stated in the goals set out by independentvoting.org, the concept of “bottom-up” politics is instrumental to independent voters and candidates.24 major-party candidates enjoy more support from the party structure and can therefore launch more traditional, successful campaigns across a larger cross-section of massachusetts. however, there have been several successful independent candidates in higher offices throughout the history of the commonwealth. in 1972, john joseph moakley, for whom the district courthouse is named, won his seat in congress representing the 9th congressional district, and later declared himself a democrat. in 1988 david hudson won a seat in the us house representing the 5th congressional district. in the massachusetts state house, figure 6: independent and third party candidates in the 2014 election 86 elements : : fall 2015 “independent candidates face many barriers to election, one being the lack of party support and financing during campaigns, and another being the disadvantageous redistricting that puts one party clearly in the majority.” there have been 22 independents who won election to the house of representatives, many of whom declared party affiliation soon after. in the 2012 race for representative for the 24th middlesex district, independent candidate james gammill received more of the popular vote than the republican challenger. lastly, in the 2010 race for the massachusetts house, all candidates for the 8th bristol district were independent.25 one of the most notable nation-wide independent campaigns was led by ross perot in the 1992 presidential election. perot waged an aggressive campaign and won 18.91% of the general election votes.26 some political analysts herald perot’s run as proof that independents are viable candidates who can successfully challenge the two-party system and appeal to a significant amount of voters. others say that perot’s success is not a success for the independent name. perot, a successful businessman from texas, contributed 90% of his own campaign funds.27 he did not need the financial support of a major party because he could supply it on his own. to these people, perot was more of the same—a wealthy politician whose success stemmed not from the quality of his ideals, but from his ability to buy publicity. legislative outlook when asked about how they approach and engage their independent constituents, massachusetts legislators share varied responses.28 one republican representative espouses benevolent indifference toward independent voters in his district. this legislator believes that independent voters are not significant to him specifically, because his duty as a public servant is to represent all of his constituents. he acknowledges that a vast majority of his district is independent, and he feels that they vote “person, not party” and that they value bipartisanship. the same representative also believes that independent candidates will not find success in the massachusetts state house. he notes that both independent candidates who have won in the recent past, representatives paul mcmurtry and tom sannicandro, declared party affiliation (democrat) soon after coming to office. many legislators shared in this profound doubt that the rise in independent voters would allow independent politicians to become more successful in the future. independent candidates face many barriers to election, one being the lack of party support and financing during campaigns, and another being the disadvantageous redistricting that puts one party clearly in the majority. partisan candidates have access to a large and well-funded support base; they can more easily fund publicity and get-out-the-vote media, as well as count on the support of their party’s leadership. legislators noted that independent candidates do best in local elections where they can more easily rely on grassroots campaign tactics and face-to-face publicity. one representative conjectures that a possible solution to the barriers faced by independent candidates is an election reform law providing independent candidates with proper funding. other legislators acknowledge that they believe the presence of independent officials in the legislature would be beneficial to the policy process, but again cite redistricting and financial deficits as obstacles. one democratic senator is adamant that voters do not have time to invest their support in non-party candidates, and one democratic congressman notes the rise of “hyperpartisanship.” interestingly, both of these legislators say they take moderate policy stances and do not always vote with their party leadership. furthermore, it can be difficult for politicians to target independent voters because there is not a single set of issues with which all independent voters identify. the congressman notes that the house ethics committee prohibits members of congress from reaching out to voters based on party identity. in the aggregate, all legislators who were interviewed 87 neither red nor blue expressed the sentiment that independent politicians would not become more successful in the future because they face too many barriers, namely lack of financing, partisan control of redistricting, and their status as newcomers. these often prove to be insurmountable during campaigns. conclusion it is clear that the prevalence of independent voters is growing. massachusetts is at the national forefront of independent voter enrollment, and its independent voters have been increasing steadily over the past 50 years. there are many reasons for registering unenrolled, and there continue to be diverse regions of party affiliation throughout the commonwealth. though legislators remain skeptical about the viability of independent politicians winning office, there have been several independent victors throughout massachusetts history, and there was a strong showing of independent candidates in the 2014 massachusetts general election. an increasingly independent electorate, however, is not a harbinger of an increasingly independent legislature, and massachusetts remains a rigidly “blue” state. the overwhelmingly democratic composition of the massachusetts legislature at the state and national level cannot be ignored. it is also important to reiterate that the influx of independent voters is coming primarily from those who would have otherwise registered republican. the success of independent candidates remains dim and ambiguous at best. whereas independence provides ideological freedom for voters, it imposes restrictions on legislators. it is less consequential to remain free of party affiliation as a voter than as a legislator, where the latter can impede a politician’s ability to promote policy, engage in negotiation, and garner electoral support. reasons for being an independent voter vary, and the nature of unenrollment is not conducive to producing a united coalition of independent voters that can rally behind a political campaign. it is undeniable that the composition of the massachusetts electorate is shifting, and independents contribute to a significant part of this trend. it remains to be seen how this affects the commonwealth as a whole. optimistically, this shift proves the resiliency of the american political system. though many voters are disillusioned or feel unrepresented by the party system, the increase in independent voters shows that citizens take seriously their civic duty. instead of not registering to vote, independent voters channel their ideologies into participation that transcends partisan affiliation. 88 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. associated press, “percentage of independent voters climbs in mass,” boston globe, february 27, 2012. 2. frank phillips, “for independents, a tough road to november.” boston globe, september 25, 2014. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/25/for-independents-tough-road-november/mvv7loszvyre4obpyqpxzn/story.html>. 3. david scharfenberg, “charlie baker pushes for independent votes,” boston globe, november 3, 2014. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/03/charlie-baker-searching-for-independent-votes-final-day-campaigning-for-republican-candidate/ vlvdgzccawrhq8janun4fp/story.html#>. 4. alex gauthier, “independents exceed party registration in key states,” ivnus, independent voter network unfiltered news by independent authors, 2013. http://ivn.us/2013/06/18/independents-exceed-party-registration-in-5-states/. 5. jeffrey m. jones, “record-high 42% of americans identify as independents,” the gallup poll, 2014. <http://www.gallup.com/ poll/166763/record-high-americans-identify-independents. aspx.>. 6. james ciment, ed. immanuel ness, the encyclopedia of third parties in america, armonk, new york, sharpe reference, 2000, (319). 7. massachusetts coalition of independent voters, “who are we?,” macoiv, accessed june 29, 2014. <http://www.macoiv. org/>. 8. independent voting coalition, “what is cuip & independentvoting.org and what is its mission?” independentvoting.org, 2010, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.independentvoting. org/about>. 9. “massachusetts directory of political parties and designations,” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.sec.state. ma.us/ele/elepar/paridx.htm>. 10. “massachusetts registered voter enrollment: 1948-2012,” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ ele/eleenr/enridx.htm>. 11. ibid. 12. ibid. 13. alex gauthier, “independents exceed party registration in key states,” ivnus, independent voter network unfiltered news by independent authors, 2013. 14. “massachusetts registered voter enrollment: 1948-2012,” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, accessed june 25, 2014. 15. brent benson, “how democratic or republican is my town?” mass. numbers (blog), november 15, 2012. <http://massnumbers. blogspot.com/2012/11/how-democratic-or-republic-is-my-town. html>. 16. kimball w. brace, the election data book: a statistical portrait of voting in america, 1992. lanham, md, bernan, 1993. (450) 17. brent benson, “how democratic or republican is my town?” mass. numbers (blog), november 15, 2012. <http://massnumbers. blogspot.com/2012/11/how-democratic-or-republic-is-my-town. html>. 18. “massachusetts,” govtrack/civic impulse, accessed june 25, 2014. <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ma>. 19. kimball w. brace, the election data book: a statistical portrait of voting in america, 1992. lanham, md, bernan, 1993. (450). 20. donald p. haider-markel and michael a. card, political encyclopedia of u.s. states and regions, washington, d.c. cq, 2009. 21. james ciment, ed. immanuel ness, the encyclopedia of third parties in america, armonk, new york, sharpe reference, 2000, (319). 22. commonwealth of massachusetts, secretary of the commonwealthelections division, “return of votes for massachusetts state election,” william f. galvin. william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, november 4, 2014. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/rov14.pdf>. 23. ibid. 24. independent voting coalition, “what is cuip & independentvoting.org and what is its mission?” independentvoting.org, 2010, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.independentvoting. org/about>. 25. commonwealth of massachusetts, secretary of the commonwealthelections division, “return of votes for massachusetts state election,” william f. galvin. william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, november 4, 2014. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/rov14.pdf>. 26. “1992 presidential general election results,” us election atlas, 1992. <http://uselectionatlas.org/results/national. php?year=1992>. 27. “perot says he’s close to decision,” los angeles daily news, april 17, 1992. <https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817& dat=19920416&id=ntqdaaaaibaj&sjid=kkueaaaaibaj&pg =5906,5196626&hl=en>. 28. personal interviews in discussion with author, june-july 2014. 89 neither red nor blue references associated press, “percentage of independent voters climbs in mass,” boston globe, february 27, 2012. http:// www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/02/27/percentage_of_independent_voters_ climbs_in_mass/. benson, brent. 2012. “how democratic or republican is my town?” mass. numbers (blog). november 15, 2012. accessed june 29, 2014. http://massnumbers.blogspot. com/2012/11/how-democratic-or-republic-is-my-town. html. brace, kimball w. the election data book: a statistical portrait of voting in america, 1992. lanham, md: bernan, 1993. ciment, james. the encyclopedia of third parties in america. edited by immanuel ness. armonk, ny: sharpe reference, 2000. commonwealth of massachusetts, secretary of the commonwealthelections division. “return of votes for massachusetts state election.” william f. galvin. william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, november 4, 2014. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/rov14.pdf. gauthier, alex. “independents exceed party registration in key states.” ivnus. independent voter network unfiltered news by independent authors last modified 2013. accessed june 29, 2014. http://ivn.us/2013/06/18/independents-exceed-party-registration-in-5-states/. haider-markel, donald p., and michael a. card. political encyclopedia of u.s. states and regions. washington, d.c.: cq, 2009. independent voting coalition. “what is cuip & independentvoting.org and what is its mission?” independentvoting.org. last modified 2010. accessed june 25, 2014. http://www.independentvoting.org/about. jones, jeffrey m. “record-high 42% of americans identify as independents.” the gallup poll. last modified 2014. accessed january 8, 2014. http://www.gallup.com/ poll/166763/record-high-americans-identify-independents.aspx. “massachusetts.” govtrack/civic impulse. accessed june 25, 2014 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ ma. massachusetts coalition of independent voters. “who are we?,” macoiv. accessed june 29, 2014. http://www.macoiv.org/. “massachusetts directory of political parties and designations.” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts. accessed june 25, 2014 <http:// www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepar/paridx.htm>. “massachusetts registered voter enrollment: 1948-2012.” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts. accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.sec. state.ma.us/ele/eleenr/enridx.htm>. “perot says he’s close to decision.” los angeles daily news, april 17, 1992. https://news.google.com/newspaper s?nid=1817&dat=19920416&id=ntqdaaaaibaj&sjid=k kueaaaaibaj&pg=5906,5196626&hl=en. personal interviews in discussion with author, june-july 2014. phillips, frank. “for independents, a tough road to november.” the boston globe, september 25, 2014. http:// www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/25/for-independents-tough-road-november/mvv7loszvyre4obpyqpxzn/story.html. scharfenberg, david. “charlie baker pushes for independent votes.” the boston globe. november 3, 2014. http:// www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/03/charlie-bakersearching-for-independent-votes-final-day-campaigningfor-republican-candidate/vlvdgzccawrhq8janun4fp/ story.html#. “1992 presidential general election results.” us election atlas. last modified 1992. accessed april 27, 2015 http:// uselectionatlas.org/results/national.php?year=1992. 90 elements : : fall 2015 is a m e m b e r o f the carro l l school o f management class o f 2010, w h o concentrated i n a c c o u n t i n g w i t h a m i n o r i n hispanic studies. b o r n i n constanta, romania , he considers m i l f o r d , connect icut his second h o m e . a n enthusiast o f spanish a n d lat in a m e r i c a n cu l ture , v l a d cannot wa i t to see m o r e o f w h a t is out there. v l a d w o u l d l ike to t h a n k professor elizabeth rhodes for all her help and encouragement. is a m e m b e r o f the college o f arts & sciences class o f 2010 a n d p h i beta kappa, m a j o r i n g i n h i s t o r y and a m e m b e r o f the h o n o r s program. h e w o u l d l ike to t h a n k v i r g i n i a re inburg for her t remendous help a n d guidance i n the w r i t i n g o f th is paper. h i s l i fe after bc is, as yet, undec ided b u t his interests inc lude t w e n t i e t h cent u r y philosophy, p o s t m o d e r n i s m , m y s t i c i s m , n o n c o m m e r c i a l m u s i c ( w z b c ) , and m e d i t a t i o n . is a m e m b e r o f the college o f ar t s & sciences class o f 2010 a n d a native o f buzzards bay, massachusetts. h e r essay, "the power o f h e r voice," is excerpted f r o m her senior engl i sh honors thesis. after graduat ion, she is excited to cont inue explor ing her passions for l i terature , mus ic , pol i t ics , and women ' s issues. megan w o u l d l ike to t h a n k professors beth kowaleski-wallace a n d paul lewis for the i r c o n t i n u e d encouragement and guidance. is a m e m b e r o f the college o f arts & sciences class o f 2011, m a j o r i n g i n biology and p l a n n i n g to attend medica l school. kather ine completed an i n t e r n s h i p i n the otolaryngology a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n enhancement departm e n t at chi ldren 's hosp i ta l i n boston d u r i n g the s u m m e r o f 2 0 0 9 , w h i c h clarif ied the part icular specialty she aspires to pursue. th i s w o r k was her f ina l project for a course taken at king 's college l o n d o n ent i t led "practice o f medic ine , " and the subject was i n s p i r e d by her experience at chi ldren 's hospi ta l . after graduat ion , katherine plans to participate i n c l in ica l research i n th is field o f med ic ine for a year before b e g i n n i n g medica l school. is a m e m b e r o f the college o f ar t s and sciences class o f 2010, w h o m a j o r e d i n polit ical science and a r t h i s t o r y a n d a m i n o r i n g i n g e r m a n . she is current ly w o r k i n g for paul, weiss, r i f k i n d , w h a r t o n & garr i son llp i n new york city as a paralegal. d u r i n g her last three years at boston college, her f ami ly resided i n vienna , austr ia , a city r e n o w n e d for the prevalence o f art nouveau i n m u c h o f its architecture. she was i n s p i r e d by this pervasiveness to w r i t e this piece o n one o f the style's t rue pioneers, v ic tor h o r t a , for jefferey howe's a r t nouveau and s y m b o l i s m course. k a t h e r i n e w i l l i a m s o n is a m e m b e r o f the college o f arts and sciences class o f 2010, m a g n a c u m laude, w h o m a j o r e d i n a r t history. she wrote th is paper u n d e r the d i rec t ion o f professors nancy netzer and stephanie leone for the i r class, "the a r t m u s e u m : history, phi losophy a n d practice." current ly , kather ine is a t tending s i m m o n s ' graduate school o f l ibrary a n d i n f o r m a t i o n science, p u r s u i n g coursework i n archival a n d preservation studies. is a m e m b e r o f the college o f arts and sciences class o f 2012 f r o m g r a n d rapids, m i c h i g a n , m a j o r i n g i n h i s tory. h i s research interests inc lude the post-war h is tory o f the medi terranean (especially italy) , o f sub-saharan afr ica (especially south afr ica) , and o f the u n i t e d states. h i s m o s t recent research endeavors have focused u p o n explor ing that h is tory t h r o u g h a study o f nont rad i t iona l artifacts. as our nation and society attempt to introduce the notion of post-raciality in the twenty-first century, it becomes clear that this idealistic view of race relations in the united states can only be seen as valid when whiteness is considered to be “normal” or “neutral.” this prioritization of whiteness can be easily identified throughout popular culture, especially with the tendency of mainstream film and television to whitewash casts. however, one of the most prominent shows of the current age, orange is the new black (oitnb), has a cast that challenges the blindly accepted hegemonic standards by bringing marginalized communities to the center of attention. while it shatters many preconceived stereotypes dealing with race, class, and gender through its diverse array of characters, the show’s handling of its asian characters seems only to perpetuate racist tropes. this essay examines why we have developed a blindspot for asians when dealing with race and race relations by using oitnb as a quintessential microcosm of society at large. the blindspot asian misrepresentation in orange is the new black clare kim since the show’s release in 2013, orange is the new black (oitnb) has become one of the most popular television series of the twenty-first century. receiving countless awards and nominations, as well as being netflix’s most watched series, the show plays a major role in shaping the ideologies perpetuated by mainstream media today. it is unprecedented and downright groundbreaking for such a popular series to be comprised of an all female cast that also shows rich intersectional diversity in terms of race and sexuality. by featuring a cast that challenges the normal hegemonic idea of whiteness and heterosexuality, oitnb deconstructs dominant ideologies regarding race and sexuality that have become normalized by society and internalized by individuals. although the show initially begins by following the narrative of a white upper-class protagonist, piper chapman, she soon disappears into the peripherals of the plotline as the rest of the racially diverse cast develops into interesting and multidimensional characters, rather than the familiar position of token minorities. with an extremely diverse cast the show plays an influential role in bringing the marginalized groups of society into the spotlight, and then deconstructing the oppressive stereotypes that society has normalized. oitnb, however, is problematic in the way that it reinforces racist ideologies through its poor representations of asian americans. upon piper’s arrival at litchfield, a minimum-security women’s prison, the viewers have no choice but to identify with her because she is the only person to which we have been exposed to. since all of the inmates are introduced to us through piper’s perspective, we perceive them as she would—with the racial sightlines of a privileged and wealthy white woman. according to guterl in seeing race in modern america, racial sightlines are “a persistent and prescribed reading of an image sustained by the history of racism and race relations.”1 although the other inmates seem to reinforce these racial sightlines, the viewers’ initial perceptions are challenged and deconstructed as the show progresses, and the characters are further developed into complex, multidimensional individuals. a quintessential example of the show’s shattering of preconceived notions of race and racial stereotypes is seen through black cindy, played by actress adrienne moore. even her nickname, “black cindy,” marks her as an other. another inmate named cindy was already at the prison, so “black cindy” received her nickname—but why wasn’t the other cindy labeled “white cindy” instead? as for her personality, black cindy is portrayed as a caricature-like embodiment of many of the stereotypes that society holds about black women. she is originally portrayed as a stereotypical black ghetto girl through her very loud personality, tough exterior, and seemingly lower class and uneducated background. even when we learn about her background story as a young struggling mother, it does not do much to challenge her role as an embodiment of dangerous black stereotypes. it is not until season three when black cindy begins her conversion to judaism and undergoes a religious enlightenment that breaks her out of the conventional role that has bound her for the preceding seasons. although her original incentive to convert was simply to be able to get the more appetizing kosher meals from the cafeteria, she undergoes an authentic religious enlightenment somewhere in the process. this unexpected turn of event allows us to empathize with cindy and finally look past her character as simply a caricature. for the first time, the tough girl façade that cindy has been upholding by masking her emotions with witty humor is dismantled as she gives an emotionally raw and tearful speech in the season three finale. in that episode, “trust no bitch,” she explains how judaism helped her find a purpose in life, which dramatically transforms cindy from a stereotype into a complex human being. in addition to phenomenally deconstructing popular stereotypes regarding african americans, oitnb does the same for the latina population. by featuring eight different leading latina roles, the series depicts a refreshingly complex spectrum of latina women. it is rare and unparalleled for a popular television show to feature more than one latina that is not a stereotypical trope of the commonly held view of latina women as hypersexual and provocathe orange is the new black logo (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 78 elements : : fall 2016 tive. many shows such as modern family feature one latina woman that directly plays into the hypersexual stereotype, reinforcing “the presumed ethnological texture of the single body with the supposed character of an entire race.”2 although almost every popular television series or movie features a cast made mostly of multidimensional white characters and their complex relationships with each other, this is seldom done with minority groups, especially latinas. this lack of representation in mainstream media may explain why racial stereotypes follow “a story of persistence and consistency, of less change over time than we might expect or hope for.”3 however, by having multiple developed latina characters, with their own complex backstory and personal narrative, oitnb does not allow the burden of representation to fall on a single woman. for example, one of the latina inmates, flaca, perfectly addresses the importance of latina diversity while flipping through an underwear catalog. when another inmate comments on how none of the models seem to be latina, flaca responds, “if you’re talking about latinas, there’s like twenty different countries that all look different. see this blond chick? she could be latina. we just don’t know.”4 this line shatters the misconceptions of latina women as one monolithic ideal, as well as showing off the agency and intelligence that flaca, as a latina character, asserts in this situation. although the show is inclusive and conscientious of highlighting many marginalized groups, including african americans, latinas, lesbians, and trans people, it fails to do so in its poor representation of its two asian characters, chang and soso. because soso does not join the show until season 2, chang was the only asian character for the entirety of the first season. this lack of asian representation is not an isolated problem that applies just to oitnb, but it is something that pervades the media. a study done at the university of southern california examined the top 100 grossing movies of 2013 and found that only 4.4% of speaking characters were asian.5 this underrepresentation is extremely detrimental because when individuals of a marginalized group do not see themselves represented in the media, it reinforces the notion that they do not matter. for example, a study published by communication research examined the effects that underrepresentation has on children and found that “television exposure predicted a decrease in self-esteem for white and black girls and black boys, and an increase in self-esteem among white boys.”6 in the rare occasions when asians are actually represented, they are often given tokenized and stereotypical roles. chang, the single token asian character for the first season of the show, reinforces the notion of asians as perpetual foreigners. she hardly speaks and when she does, it is in a very thick accent. chang is inarguably the show’s most underdeveloped character—we know nothing about her until halfway through season three in an episode titled “ching chong chang.” even the title of the episode is grossly racist, drawing upon a commonly used pejorative to mock the chinese language, culture, and the people themselves. when i first saw the title, i gave it the benefit of the doubt in the hopes that the episode would reference it and challenge the racist ideologies that underlie it. unfortunately, it seems to be just another joke made at the expense of asians, which is seen frequently throughout the show. asians are often at the recieving of racist jokes, both in television and real life. although society as a whole is gradually becoming more conscientious and aware of modern day racism, it seems that it has developed a blind spot towards asians. perhaps the myth of the model minority has instilled the ideology that asians are highly successful and their degree of socioeconomic achievements somehow negates any other forms of oppression. this suggests the notion that asians are not a marginalized group in many aspects, so racism towards asians is neither offensive nor problematic. this is perpetuated in oitnb in many ways, but the most striking and blatant occurrence was in an episode from season three. in the electric shop, piper asks luschek, the electrical manager, if he ever worries about leaving the computers with the inmates, to which he responds, “maybe if any of you were technically savvy. or asian. but, uh, we screen for that.”7 nicky, one of the other inmates, then turns to piper and pulls her eyes back to make them squinty. this scene served no “although society as a whole is gradually becoming more conscientious and aware of modern day racism, it seems that it has developed a blind spot towards asians.” 79 the blindspot meaningful purpose to the plot, and was arguably added simply to insult and stereotype asians. even worse, neither chang nor soso were present in the scene to respond or defend themselves, thus denying them a voice in this reinforcement of racial prejudice.8 in some aspects, soso’s character initially seems to challenge the racism towards asians that had been embodied and perpetuated through chang throughout the first season, in that she is more multidimensional and complex than chang’s wallflower role. her ethnic ambiguity, being scottish and japanese, combined with her progressive views, educated background, and very outspoken personality allow her to embody a matrix of complexities rather than remaining as a stagnant background role. however, she is quickly marginalized upon arriving at litchfield. this process of othering begins in soso’s very first scene when she introduces herself to the other inmates. as soon as soso says her name, one of the inmates, lorna, instinctually laughs and says “no, no, no, i said what’s your name?”9 this short and seemingly insignificant exchange lasts for about ten seconds, but is an extremely harmful microaggression that implies that names that are non european or anglican are improper and up for ridicule. another similar instance occurs later on in the same episode when piper tells soso that she cannot say her “name with a straight face.”10 the subtlety of this bigoted and racist behavior goes easily unnoticed, normalizing and reinforcing the racist hegemonic ideas. oitnb harmfully reinforces stereotypes about asians is through the sexual dimensions of both chang and soso’s characters. according to a research study done at the university of michigan, “the asian or asian american male is perhaps best known for his absence in the colonizer’s sexual hierarchy” which “strikes a sharp contrast to the colonizer’s perception of the asian female as an embodiment of excessive sexuality.”11 chang’s physicality is particularly masculine, emphasized by her short spiky hair and lack of makeup. this masculine gendering and her asian background intersect as she is depicted as asexual, playing off of the commonly held view of asian men as desexualized. chang also seems to evoke the stereotype of “the asian male as sexually impotent voyeur or pervert” as she takes the role of the scorekeeper for two inmates’—big boo and nicky—competition in sexual pursuits.12 because she seems to lack any of her own sexual agency, she does not participate in the game, but clearly derives some sort of pleasure in overseeing it. in stark juxtaposition, soso’s character embodies the other end of the spectrum of representations of asian sexuality as big boo and nicky quickly fetish her and compete to see who can have sex with her first in their “bang-off.” big boo objectifies soso as she labels her as “the hot one of the asian persuasion,” reinforcing the often fetishized portrayals of asian women in the media.13 this hyper-sexualized depiction of asian women upholds the phenomenon of what is often referred to as “yellow fever”, which is largely problematic in that “it doesn’t see [asian] women as fully-formed individuals, but as the living embodiment of offensive stereotypes.”14 big boo becomes very predatory in her pursuit of soso, who is clearly exhibits her discomfort when around big boo. in this way, oitnb fails to challenge the recurring trend in television and film of either desexualizing or fetishizing asians. oitnb’s very poor representation of asians on-screen translates into the promotional marketing of the show as well. not a single promotional photo of the very diverse cast includes either chang or soso. it would be understandable if they were left out of the group photo for season 1 as chang is far from being a developed character and soso was not even at litchfield yet, but neither of the subsequent seasons’ promotional photos include them. in one of the chapters of seeing race in modern america titled “platoon harmonics,” guterl analyzes the importance and functionalities of the multi-racial nature of the mixed platoon. a group’s racial diversity is emphasized as the individuals are “arranged in complementary racial sequence” where “every racial part has a purpose.”15 the image of the platoon has become so familiar and expected that it is “possible to see any unmixed pairings as backward and even racist.”16 if the whole purpose of a platoon is to highlight racial inclusivity and diversity, then it is oddly contradictory and racist for oitnb to exclude both of its asian cast members. when analyzed from a contemporary racial context, orange is the new black acts as a microcosm for society at large. recent events, such as the immeasurable accounts of police brutality rooted in the racial profiling of african americans as dangerous criminals, have helped start a much needed conversation about race, as well as create a more knowledgeable and racially conscientious society. activist movements such as black lives matter have especially helped bring issues like deeply rooted institutional and systemic racism to the forefront of society, while progressively paving a path towards eradicating racism by fostering a culture of knowledge. however, society seems to 80 elements : : fall 2016 have developed a blind spot for asians and asian americans, as seen in oitnb. amazingly enough, the show both underrepresents and misrepresents the asian characters, embodying two very different but equally insidious stereotypes. this ignorance is reflected in the media as well. in rolling stone’s list, “25 best tv shows of 2015,” the writer mixes up the two asian characters, accidentally referring to soso as chang. a prominent blog, angry asian man, highlights how absurd it is that someone actually confused lori tan chinn, a chinese american actress in her sixties, and kimoko glenn, a multiracial japanese american in her twenties by writing, “i guess people can handle one asian on a tv show…but if you put two, there will be confusion.”17 although oitnb phenomenally shatters many antiquated stereotypes about race, gender, and sexuality, it regresses when dealing with asians and asian americans. endnotes 1. guterll, seeing race in modern america, 5. 2. guterll, seeing race in modern america, 36. 3. guterll, seeing race in modern america, 3. 4. orange is the new black, “ching chong chang,” 2015. 5. smith, choueiti, and pieper, “race/ethnicity in 600 popular films: examining on screen portrayals and behind the camera diversity,” 2015, 5. 6. lee, “study examines television, diversity, and self-esteem,” 2015. 7. orange is the new black, “empathy is a boner killer,” 2015. 8. builder, “how ‘orange is the new black’ fails its asian characters,” 2015. 9. orange is the new black, “hugs can be deceiving,” 2014. 10. ibid. 11. kee, “(re)sexualizing the desexualized asian male in the works of ken chu and michael joo,” 2015. 12. ibid. 13. orange is the new black, “a whole other hole,” 2014. 14. matthews, “here’s what ‘yellow fever’ really means,” 2014. 15. guterll, seeing race in modern america, 106-7. 16. guterll, seeing race in modern america, 123. 17. yu, “all (two) asians look alike on ‘orange is the new black’?” 2015. references ”a whole other hole.” orange is the new black. netflix. television. 6 jun. 2014. builder, maxine. “how ‘orange is the new black’ fails its asian characters.” hyphen magazine. n.p., 30 june 2015. web. 11 dec. 2015. “empathy is a boner killer.” orange is the new black. netflix. television. 11 jun. 2015. guterl, matthew pratt. seeing race in modern america. chapel hill: u of north carolina, n.d. “hugs can be deceiving.” orange is the new black. netflix. television. 6 jun. 2014. kee, joan. “(re)sexualizing the desexualized asian male in the works of ken chu and michael joo.” jouvert: (re) sexualizing the desexualized asian male. jouvert, 1998. web. 11 dec. 2015. lee, marissa. “study examines television, diversity, and self-esteem.” race bending. n.p., 6 june 2012. web. 11 dec. 2015. matthews, cate. “here’s what ‘yellow fever’ really means.” the huffington post. the huffington post, 29 july 2014. web. 11 dec. 2015. smith, stacy l., dr., marc choueiti, and katherine pieper, dr. “race/ethnicity in 600 popular films: examining on screen portrayals and behind the camera diversity.” media, diversity, & social change initiative (2013): 1-13. web. 11 dec. 2015. yu, phil. “all (two) asians look alike on ‘orange is the new black’?” angry asian man. n.p.,2 dec. 2015. web. 11 dec. 2015. 81 the blindspot a phage display library was previously constructed from an siv-infected rhesus macaque. several single chain fv (scfv) were selected using phage display technology. sequences corresponding to su24, su343 and ll25x were optimized for expression in a mammalian system and commercially synthesized. in this study, we aimed to characterize the specificity of su24, su343, and ll25x. the codon-optimized version of the scfv ll25x gene sequence was cloned into a mammalian expression vector (pcep4). ll25x dna was amplified by pcr, and the pcr product and mammalian expression vector were both digested with kpni/sapi restriction enzymes. the fragments were ligated using t4dna ligase. e. coli cells were transformed with the ligation reaction. single colonies were selected on lb agar plates containing the selective antibiotic (ampicillin). positive colonies were identified with kpni and sapi. sanger sequencing confirmed cloning results and dna sequence accuracy. following transfection of mammalian cells (293t), ll25x-fc cells, and purifying our protein, the binding of ll25x-fc to the siv gp140 envelope protein was confirmed. the road to a cure characterization of a new hiv antibody zackary park, seung yub han, alexandrea ramnarine, james kleinschmidt, kimberlyn austin, brendan hustead, matthew slein, catherine phalen, ariana gonzalez introduction since the discovery of hiv-aids in 1984, an effective vaccine has remained an elusive goal, despite the conjugation of numerous efforts. progress made in the rv144 thai vaccine trial has hinted that hiv envelope glycoprotein variable loop v1-v2 has a role in the prevention of infection.1 the isolation of anti-siv monoclonal antibodies (mab) will allow a pre-clinical evaluation of such antibodies in the siv-rhesus macaque model of hiv/aids pathogenesis and vaccine. a phage display library was previously constructed from a siv-infected rhesus macaque, and several single chain variable fragments (scfv) such as su24, su343, and ll25x were selected using phage display technology.2 sequences corresponding to su24, su343, and ll25x were optimized for expression in a mammalian system and commercially synthesized (idt dna). su24 and su343 had previously been cloned in a mammalian expression vector. in this study, we aimed to characterize the specificity of su24, su343, and ll25x. materials and methods pcr( polymerase chain reaction) amplification the codon-optimized version of the ll25x gene was to be amplified by pcr. a pcr mixture was prepared in a pcr tube. the pcr mixture consisted of 1 µl of template dna (100 ng 1 µg), 2 µl of forward primer (fp), 2 µl of reverse primer (rp), and 45 µl of platinum pcr supermix high fidelity from thermo fisher scientific. the forward primer was ll25-co-f (ggccggtaccggcgcgccaccatgg) and included the restriction site for kpni. the reverse primer was ll25-co-r (attgtactgctcttcccgtggcttggttttcgc) and included the restriction site for sapi. the pcr tube was closed tightly, mixed via vortex, and spun down using a small bench-top rotor. the pcr tube was placed in a thermocycler for 25 cycles. the initial denaturation step was performed at 94°c for 5 minutes and was followed by 25 cycles of denaturation (94°c for 30 seconds), annealing (50°c for 30 seconds), and extension (68°c for 1 minute). a final extension step was performed at 62°c for 10 minutes. dna gel electrophoresis of the pcr products was performed on 1% agarose gel. the dna vector was observed around 1092 bp under a uv transilluminator and was extracted using a gel extraction kit (qiagen). extraction of pcr products the pcr products were extracted from the 1% agarose gel following the qiaquick gel extraction kit by qiagen. instead of the recommended 50 µl of buffer eb, 30 µl of double distilled water was added to the qiaquick membrane column to elute dna and centrifuged immediately. loading dye was not added to purified dna. double digestion of pcr products with kpni and sapi after gel extraction, the dna vector from pcr was double digested with kpni and sapi. the double digest reaction mixture consisted of 30 µl of the dna vector, 4 µl of cutsmart buffer from new england biolabs, 1 µl of kpni, 1 µl of sapi, and 4 µl of double distilled water for a total concentration of 40 µl. dna gel electrophoresis of the double digested ll25x pcr product was performed on 1% agarose gel for 1 hour. extraction of pcr fragment double digested with kpni and sapi the dna of the insert vector resulting from the pcr fragment double digested with kpni and sapi was extracted from the 1% agarose gel using the qiaquick gel extraction kit protocol by qiagen. instead of the recommended 50 µl of buffer eb, 30 µl of double distilled water was added to the qiaquick membrane column to elute dna and centrifuged immediately. loading dye was not added to purified dna. double digestion of mammalian expression vector pcep4 with kpni and sapi three samples were prepared for the double digest with kpni and sapi was performed on the mammalian expression vector pcep4. one sample was the reaction mix for the double digest consisted of 1 µl of cloning vector pcep4, 2 µl of cutsmart buffer from new england biolabs, 1 µl of kpni, 1 µl of sapi, and 15 µl of double distilled water. the other two samples served as controls. control 1, the reaction mix for the single digest using kpni, consisted of 1 µl of cloning vector pcep4, 2 µl of cutsmart buffer from new england biolabs, 1 µl of kpni, 0 µl of sapi, and 16 µl of double distilled water. control 2, the reaction mix for the single digest using sapi, consisted of 1 µl of cloning vector pcep4, 2 µl of cutsmart buffer from new england biolabs, 0 µl of kpni, 1 µl of 72 elements : : spring 2017 sapi, and 16 µl of double distilled water. dna gel electrophoresis was performed on the sample reaction mix and the reaction mixes of the two controls on 1% agarose gel for 1 hour. extraction of mammalian expression vector pcep4 double digested with kpni and sapi the dna backbone vector of mammalian expression vector pcep4 double digested with kpni and sapi was extracted from the 1% agarose gel using the qiaquick gel extraction kit protocol by qiagen. instead of the recommended 50 µl of buffer eb, 30 µl of double distilled water was added to the qiaquick membrane column to elute dna and centrifuged immediately. loading dye was not added to purified dna. ligation of ll25x into backbone vector pcep4 dna gel electrophoresis of 2 µl of the double digested backbone vector pcep4 and 2 µl of the double digested ll25x pcr product was performed on 1% agarose gel for 1 hour. based on the band intensities on the gel, the volumes for the backbone and insert vectors could be estimated to achieve a backbone-to-insert ratio of 1:2 or greater. two tubes were prepared. one tube was for ligation, and the other tube served as a control. the reaction mixture for ligation of the double digested ll25x pcr product into backbone vector pcep4 consisted of 2 µl of the backbone vector (kpni/sapi-digested pcep4), 4 µl of the insert vector (kpni/sapi-digested ll25x), 2 µl of t3 dna ligation buffer (10x), 1 µl of t4 dna ligase, and 11 µl of sterile water. the reaction mixture for the control consisted of 2 µl of the backbone vector (kpni/sapidigested pcep4), 0 µl of the insert vector (kpni/sapidigested ll25x), 2 µl of t3 dna ligation buffer (10x), 1 µl of t4 dna ligase, and 15 µl of sterile water. the ligation reaction products were incubated overnight at room temperature. transformation of ligation reaction products into e. coli top10f frozen electrocompetent e. coli top10f’ was removed from a -80°c freezer and thawed on ice for 10 minutes. the e. coli was aliquoted to obtain 50 µl in a tube, and 7 µl of ligation reaction was added to it. the tip of the pipette was swirled in the tube to mix the solution, and the tube was incubated on ice for 30 minutes. the transformation tubes were heat shocked at 42°c for 1 minute and put on ice for 2 minutes. the heat shock allowed the bacterial membranes to be permeable enough for vector pcep4 containing the ll25x dna to enter the cells. afterwards, 1 ml of lb media without antibiotics was added to the tube and cultured at 37°c for 45 minutes in a shaking incubator at 250 rpm. the tube was centrifuged at 9,000 rpm for 1 minute, and all but 100 µl of the supernatant was pipetted out. the remaining 100 µl of supernatant was mixed with the bacterial pellet using a pipette tip. all of the bacterial mix was plated onto an lb agar plate containing ampicillin. a background control of cloning vector pcep4-fc-ha, digested and ligated without the ll25x insert vector, was also plated on the selective media. colony screening of positive clones on selective media growth of the bacterial cells transformed with the pcep4/ ll25x ligation product was observed on the lb agar plate containing ampicillin. two colonies were picked up from the lb agar plate containing ampicillin and were inoculated with 3 ml of lb media containing 50 µg/ml of ampicillin in a 15 ml culture tube. the tube was cultured overnight at 37°c in a shaking incubator at 250 rpm. the day after, 2 ml of bacteria was aliquoted into a 2 ml eppendorf tube and centrifuged at 13,000 rpm at room temperature to pellet down the bacteria. the supernatant was discarded, and the pellet was obtained. extracting the pcep4/ll25x dna from the e. coli cells via miniprep the qiaprep spin miniprep kit protocol by qiagen was followed to isolate the pcep4/ll25x dna from the e. coli cells. the recommended step involving washing the qiaprep spin column with 0.5 ml of buffer pb was omitted because enda+ strains or other bacterial strains with high nuclease activity or carbohydrate content were not used. none of the optional steps were taken, such as adding lyseblue reagent to buffer p1. the dna concentration, determined by using nanodrop, was 120.2 ng/µl. determination of a positive clone by restriction analysis one reaction mix contained the dna template, and one control tube contained the cloning vector pcep4. the reaction tube consisted of 3 µl of mini-prep dna, 2 µl of cutsmart buffer from new england biolabs, 1 µl of kpnihf/sapi, 1 µl of kpni-hf/bamhi-hf, and 13 µl of sterile water. the control tube consisted of 3 µl of cloning vector pcep4, 2 µl of cutsmart buffer from new england biolabs, 1 µl of kpni-hf/sapi, 1 µl of kpni-hf/bamhi-hf, and 13 µl of sterile water. both tubes had a total volume of 73 the road to a cure 20 µl. the tubes were incubated at 37°c for 1 hour, and the products of the double digest were analyzed on a 1% agarose gel. preparation of samples for dna sequencing after dna mini-prep, samples were prepared for dna sequencing. recommendations for dna sequencing from eton bioscience were followed. for successful dna sequencing, the reaction mix consisted of 8 µl of the ll25x pcr product, 8 µl of plasmid that was less than 6 kb and had a concentration of 50-150 ng/µl (obtained by dna mini-prep and determined by nanodrop), and 5 µl of primer that had a concentration of 5 µm. the reaction mix was sent to eton bioscience for dna sequencing. sequence analysis of ll25x once the dna sequence results were received from eton bioscience, the software geneious was used to analyze the sequence of ll25x. bacteria culture in aqueous lb media with ampicillin, followed by dna maxi-prep a selected positive clone was cultured for 8 hours in a culture tube containing 3 ml of lb/ampicillin media. from the tube, 100 µl of the culture was transferred to a flask with 500 ml of lb/ampicillin and cultured overnight. the culture was transferred into centrifugation tubes the next day. the centrifuge was set at 7,000 rpm for 15 minutes to pellet the cells. the supernatant was discarded, and the pellet was obtained. the purelink hipure plasmid dna purification kit maxiprep procedure by invitrogen was followed to extract dna from the pellet. the supernatant was removed, and the pellet was air-dried for 10 minutes and resuspended in 100 µl of double distilled water, rather than the recommended 500 µl of te buffer (te). initiation to tissue culture human embryonic kidney 293 cells (hek293) of the 293t cell line were used. for storage, cells were transferred into a new t75 flask containing 500 ml of medium consisting of 440 ml of rpmi + 50 ml of 10% fbs, 5 ml of supplemental glutamine 200 mm l-glu, and 5 ml of 1x penicillin and 1x streptomycin. transfection of 239t cells the pcep4/ll25x dna that was isolated via maxi-prep was used to transfect 293t cells by following the lipofectamine 2000 dna transfection reagent protocol. one day before transfection, the 293t cells were trypsinized and resuspended into a 10 ml/t75 flask. using a haemocytometer, the cell number was determined, and trypan blue was added to determine cell viability. the cells were seeded at 6×10^6 cells/t75 flask. on the day of transfection, the culture media (dmem consisting of 10% fbs, 1x pbs (phosphate buffer saline)/ strep, 1x glutamine) replaced the old media 1 hour before transfection. the transfection mixture was prepared using 500 µl of serum-free media (sfm ie. opti-mem) + 10 µg of maxi-prep dna, 500 µl of sfm + 10 µl of lipofectamine 2000 reagent, and dna mix, which was incubated before at room temperature for 20 minutes. the transfection mixture was added to the cell culture and incubated overnight at 37°c, 5% co2, and 70% humidity. cleavage of sivmac239gp140 into monomeric surface subunit sivmac239gp120 and ectodomain sivmac239gp41 occurred once the proteins were expressed in the 293t cells. one day after transfection, the culture media was replaced with 10 ml of sfm=dmem (1x pen/strep, 1x glutamine, and without fbs). five days after transfection, the culture supernatant was transferred into 15 ml conical tubes. the tubes were centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for 10 min to pellet the debris in the tube. the supernatant was transferred to new 15 ml conical tubes. protein purification the purification on protein a-agarose protocol by roche was followed to purify the protein. the resulting eluate, “the isolation of anti-siv monoclonal antibodies (mab) will allow a pre-clinical evaluation of such antibodies in the siv-rhesus macaque model of hiv/aids...” 74 elements : : spring 2017 containing the protein, was mixed by vortex and transferred into a dialysis cassette (10,000 molecular weight cut-off mwco). dialysis was performed overnight in 1xpbs at 4°c and was slowly stirred. the next day, a centrifugal filter unit (amicon ultracel 10,000 muco) was used to concentrate the protein eluate until the remaining buffer was around 100-200 µl. the unit was centrifuged at 3,000 rpm for 30 minutes. protein/antibody characterization by elisa (enzymelinked immuno-sorbant assay) antigens (sivmac239gp140, sivmac239gp120, and control bsa) were prepared at 1 ng/µl with 1xpbs. a plate was divided so that 100 µl of each diluted antigen was added to each corresponding well. the coated elisa plate was incubated for 1 hour at 37°c. after incubation, the plate was washed once with 1xpbs containing 0.5% tween20. the tray was blocked by adding 500 µl of 5% skim milk in 1xpbs. the tray was sealed and incubated for 1 hour at 37°c. a 1000x serial dilution of the primary antibody/protein was prepared, beginning with 10 µg/µl. the dilutions were 10 µg/µl, 1 µg/µl, and 0.1 µg/µl. the dilutions were prepared using 1xpbs/fbs 2%, and 50 µl of the antibody/ protein dilution was added to each well. for each antigen, one of each dilution was added. therefore, each antigen would have three different dilutions. the tray was incubated for 1 hour at 37°c . the plate was washed 10 times with 1xpbs containing 0.5% tween20 and flipped over on a paper towel to dry for 1 minute. after drying the tray, 50 µl of secondary antibodies, hrp-conjugate anti-human igg antibodies (1000x dilution in 5% skim milk), were added to all of the wells. the tray was sealed and incubated for 1 hour at 37°c. the plate was washed 5 times with 1xpbs containing 0.5% tween20 and flipped over to dry on a paper towel for 1 minute, and 100 µl of tmb solution was added. the plate was incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature. once blue color was observed, the reaction was stopped with 100 µl of tmb stop solution. the absorbances of the wells were read on wallac (victor plate reader) at 450 nm. protein charcterization by coomassie blue staining a 12% agarose gel was prepared. samples to be loaded into the wells consisted of 5 µg of each envelope protein (gp120 and gp140) and 1xpbs was added to each sample until a total volume of 10 µl was achieved. to the 10 µl of each sample, 10 µl of 2x sample loading buffer was added for a total volume of 20 µl. the samples were boiled at 100°c for 5 minutes, spun down, and loaded onto the gel. lane 1 contained the ladder, lane 2 contained the env glycoprotein, gp120, and lane 3 contained the env glycoprotein, gp140. after the gel was run, the gel was stained with coomassie blue, and the protein bands were observed. protein/antibody characterization by western blotting a 12% agarose gel was prepared. samples to be loaded into the wells consisted of 5 µg of each protein/antibody (su24, su343, and ll25x) and 1xpbs was added to each sample until a total volume of 10 µl was achieved. to the 10 µl of each sample, 10 µl of 2x sample loading buffer was added for a total volume of 20 µl. the samples were boiled at 100°c for 5 minutes, spun down, and loaded onto the gel. lane 1 contained the ladder, lane 2 contained su24-fc, lane 3 contained su343-fc, and lane 4 contained ll25xfc. after the gel was run, the proteins in the gel were transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane. the membrane was blocked by using 5% skim milk to prevent nonspecific binding and was treated with the primary antibody, antiigg-hrp. the membrane was left for 1 hour in 5% skim milk that was prepared with 1xpbs. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. this membrane, blotting gel 1, consisted of su24, su343, and ll25x and used anti-human igg-hrp as the primary antibody. three 12% agarose gels were prepared. samples to be loaded into the wells consisted of 5 µg of each protein/ antibody (sivmac239gp120 and sivmac239gp140) and 10 µl of 2x sample loading buffer, and 1xpbs was added to each sample until a total volume of 10 µl was achieved. the samples were boiled at 100°c for 5 minutes, spun down, and loaded onto the gel. lane 1 contained the ladder, lane 2 contained the env glycoprotein, gp120, and lane 3 contained the env glycoprotein, gp140. after the gel was run, the proteins in the gel were transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane. for the first gel, blotting gel 2, the membrane was blocked by using 5% skim milk to prevent nonspecific binding and was treated with the primary antibody, su24. the membrane was left for 1 hour in 5% skim milk that was prepared with 1xpbs. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. anti-human igg-hrp was added as the secondary antibody. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. the chemiluminescence reagent was added to the gel. the gel was observed under uv light, and pictures were taken 75 the road to a cure using the chemiluminescence dock. the first gel contained sivmac239gp120 and sivmac239gp140, used su24 as the primary antibody, and used anti-human igghrp as the secondary antibody. for the second gel, blotting gel 2, the membrane was blocked by using 5% skim milk to prevent nonspecific binding and was treated with the primary antibody, su343. the membrane was left for 1 hour in 5% skim milk that was prepared with 1xpbs. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. anti-human igg-hrp was added as the secondary antibody. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. the chemiluminescence reagent was added to the gel. the gel was observed under uv light, and pictures were taken using the chemiluminescence dock. the second gel contained sivmac239gp120 and sivmac239gp140, used su343 as the primary antibody, and used anti-human igg-hrp as the secondary antibody. for the third gel, blotting gel 2, the membrane was blocked by using 5% skim milk to prevent nonspecific binding and was treated with the primary antibody, ll25x. the membrane was left for 1 hour in 5% skim milk that was prepared with 1xpbs. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. anti-human igg-hrp was added as the secondary antibody. the gel was washed 3 times with 1xpbs for 10 minutes each. the chemiluminescence reagent was added to the gel. the gel was observed under uv light, and pictures were taken using the chemiluminescence dock. the third gel contained sivmac239gp120 and sivmac239gp140, used ll25x as the primary antibody, and used anti-human igg-hrp as the secondary antibody. results after pcr, the bright band was observed, as shown in figure 1a. the location of the band is approximately at 1092 bp, which is the size of the ll25x fragment. this indicates that the ll25x fragment was successfully amplified. the pcr products, corresponding to a codon-optimized version of ll25x plus the hinge region (h) of a human igg1, were extracted from the gel. the amplified ll25x fragments were double digested with kpni and sapi, and the double digest products were run on 1% agarose gel. the resulting insert vector, an scfv, was extracted from the gel. the mammalian expression vector pcep4 was also double digested with kpni and sapi, and the double digest products were run on 1% agarose gel. the resulting backbone vector was extracted from the gel. using complementary “sticky ends,” which resulted from the double digest, the insert vector, ll25x, was effectively ligated into the backbone vector, pcep4. top10f’ e. coli were transformed with the ligation product; the 1092 bp fragment was cloned in fusion with the fc region (ch2 + ch3) of human igg1 in the mammalian expression vector pcep4. these cells, containing the ligation product, were grown on lb agar plates containing ampicillin, as shown in figure 2b. a negative background control with e. coli 76 elements : : spring 2017 containing mammalian expression vector pcep4-fc-ha, digested and ligated without the ll25x insert vector, was also grown on lb agar plates containing ampicillin, as shown in figure 2a. theoretically, there should not be any growth on the negative control. the vector, digested and ligated without ll25x, would not be able to provide antibiotic resistance because the replication machinery of the bacteria would be affected, preventing the replication of the plasmid. since the plasmid is not replicated, the ampicillin resistance gene cannot be expressed. however, the growth of a few colonies is clearly visible. this incidence may be due to some of the pcep4 not being completely digested, resulting in a functional ampicillin resistance gene. there is an abundance of colonies on the plate with the bacteria that contain the ligation product. the ligation of ll25x to the backbone vector pcep4 allows the cell to replicate, resulting in the expression of the ampicillin resistance gene. the greater amount of colonies present on the plate with the bacteria containing the ligation product compared to the plate with the bacteria containing pcep4, digested and ligated without ll25x, suggests a successful ligation reaction. a colony, corresponding to the bacteria transformed with the pcep4/ll25x ligation product, was selected, and the pcep4/ll25x dna from the colony was extracted via dna mini-prep. the pcep4/ll25x dna and the pcep4-fc-ha dna, used as a control, were double digested with kpni-hf/ sapi and kpni/bamhi-hf. the products of the double digests were run on 1% agarose gel. the pcep4/ll25x dna double digested with kpni-hf and sapi produced a band at approximately 1092 bp, and the pcep4-fc-ha dna double digested with kpni-hf and sapi also produced a band at approximately 1092 bp. the double digested dna fragments were similar in size; therefore, it could not be verified that the ligation product contained the ll25x dna based on this result alone. when double digested with kpni and bamhi-hf, pcep4/ll25x dna and pcep4-fc-ha dna resulted in bands with different sizes. this is due to the bamhi restriction site residing in different locations between the two vectors. the pcep4/ll25x contains a bamhi restriction site that appears before sapi, and the pcep4-fc-ha dna contains a bamhi restriction site that appears after sapi; therefore, the double digested pcep4/ll25x dna will result in a smaller fragment than the fragment produced by the double digested pcep4-fcha dna. this result verified that the ligation product contained the ll25x dna. after identifying three positive ll25x clones via double digestion, the clones were sent to eton bioscience for sanger sequencing. once the dna sequence results were received, the software geneious was used to analyze the sequence of ll25x. the sequence analysis confirmed that the correct ll25x sequence had been cloned into the mammalian expression vector pcep4. the sequences of all three ll25x clones were aligned identically to the original codon-optimized version of the ll25x sequence, as shown in figure 3. a positive ll25x clone was also selected to be cultured in a tube containing 3 ml of lb/ampicillin media, and the resulting pcpe4/ll25x dna from the bacteria was extracted via dna maxi-prep. the extracted pcep4/ll25x dna was used to transfect 293t cells. cleavage of sivmac239gp140 into monomeric surface subunit sivmac239gp120 and ectodomain sivmac239gp41 occurred once the proteins were expressed in the 293t cells. five days after the transfection, the culture supernatant was centrifuged to remove the cell debris, and the supernatant was transferred to new tubes. the proteins in the supernatant 77 the road to a cure were isolated via protein a-agarose beads and dialysis, and elisa was performed, as shown in figure 4. the binding specificity of antibodies, su24, su343, and ll25x, against antigens, sivmac239gp140, sivmac239gp120, and bsa (bovine serum albumin – used as a control), was analyzed. su24, su343, and ll25x were used as primary antibodies, and anti-human igg-hrp was used as a secondary antibody. tmb solution was used for detection, and the plate was read at 450 nm. su24, su343, and ll25x did not bind to bsa, which was expected. su24 and su343 bound to the envelope proteins gp140 and gp120; however, ll25x bound to gp140 but not gp120. elisa determines the binding specificities of antibodies to antigens; however, elisa does not reveal the specific location on the antigen to which the antibody binds. further tests were required to determine the location of where the binding of ll25x occurred on gp140. coomassie blue staining was performed to determine the presence and quantity of proteins since the dyes bind directly to the proteins, as shown in figure 5b. the coomassie gel displayed equal loading amounts of both gp140 and gp120. western blotting was performed to determine the locations on antigens where the binding of antibodies occurred, such as the location where the binding of ll25x occurred on gp140. figure 5a displays the immunoblotting of su24, su343, and ll25x with anti-igg-hrp. the gel confirmed successful purification of antibodies since antiigg-hrp was able to bind to all 3 antibodies. figure 5b displays the binding specificity of su24, su343, and ll25x, which were used as primary antibodies, and anti-human igg-hrp was used as a secondary antibody. the results of the western blots supports the data received from elisa. su24 and su343 were revealed to be gp120specific, and thus, bound to both gp120 and gp140, as illustrated by the dark bands. ll25x was revealed to be gp41-specific, and thus, bound to both gp41 and gp140, as illustrated by the dark bands. a band is present at the gp140 location because not all of the gp140 was cleaved. ll25x binds to ectodomain gp41 that that remained a part of env glycoprotein gp140. the lack of a band at the gp120 location indicates that ll25x did not bind to the monomeric surface subunit gp120 of the env glycoprotein gp140. the band at the gp41 location indicates that ll25x binds to the ectodomain gp41 of env glycoprotein gp140. conclusion the ll25x dna fragment was successfully cloned into the mammalian expression vector pcep4 by digesting the ll25x pcr products and the cloning vector pcep4 with kpni and sapi, ligating the resulting ll25x insert vector and the resulting pcep4 backbone vector, and transforming e. coli top10f’ cells with the ligated product. the ll25x scfv fragment that was inserted and fused to the fc region (ch2 + ch3) of human igg1 in the mammalian expression vector pcep4 was confirmed and verified by dna sequence analysis. elisa determined that the protein, ll25x-fc, binds to env glycoprotein sivmac239gp140 and not monomeric surface subunit sivmac239gp120. monoclonal sivmac239 antibodies su24 and su343 were also revealed to bind to monomeric surface subunit sivmac239gp120 and env glycoprotein sivmac“elisa determined that the protein, ll25x-fc, binds to env glycoprotein sivmac239gp140 and not monomeric surface subunit sivmac239gp120.” 78 elements : : spring 2017 239gp140. western blotting determined that monoclonal sivmac239 antibodies su24 and su343 bind specifically to monomeric surface subunit sivmac239gp120 of env glycoprotein sivmac239gp140. western blotting also revealed that monoclonal sivmac239 antibody ll25x binds specifically to ectodomain sivmac239gp41 of env glycoprotein sivmac239gp140. future work should be directed at testing the ability of su24, su343, and ll25x to neutralize diverse siv strains, such as the sensitive strain sivmac316 and the resistant strain sivmac239. acknowledgments ismael fofana, anindita sinha, zachary strongin endnotes 1. yates, nicole l. et al. “vaccine-induced env v1–v2 igg3 correlates with lower hiv-1 infection risk and declines soon after vaccination.” science translational medicine 6.228 (2014): 228ra39. pmc. 2. ita, sergio et al. “analysis of sivmac-specific antibodies selected via phage display” aids research and human retroviruses (2017). references yates, nicole l. et al. “vaccine-induced env v1–v2 igg3 correlates with lower hiv-1 infection risk and declines soon after vaccination.” science translational medicine 6.228 (2014): 228ra39. pmc. web. 6 may 2016. ita, sergio et al. “analysis of sivmac-specific antibodies selected via phage display” aids research and human retroviruses (2017). accepted. 79 the road to a cure with the rise of religious fundamentalist movements and the endurance of restrictive marriage laws, it appears that previously accepted western theories such as secularization and feminism have begun to lose their general applicability and validity in the modern world. in order to adequately address this issue, it is crucial to examine the context in which these western theories were initially developed, taking into account the developmental and consequential failures of the “secularization thesis,” as well as the construction of western feminism and its limitations in the muslim world. by contextualizing the birth of these two concepts, addressing their limitations, re-contextualizing them within the muslim world, and offering diverse academic perspectives on the issues, this paper seeks to better ascertain the nuanced religious, cultural, and identity-related elements that underlie the unsuccessful incorporation of these western concepts into the muslim world. confronting cultural imperialism limitations of secularization and western feminism emma howe in the muslim world introduction one of the most puzzling issues facing society today is the claim that certain “progressive” western paradigms, i.e. secularization and feminism, have lost their validity due to failures to take root in the muslim world. in order to properly address this issue, it is crucial to examine the context in which these western theories were initially developed, taking into account the development and consequential failures of the “secularization thesis” and the limitations of the second wave feminist movement in the muslim world. the western narrative of islam is largely shaped by western media, which tends to portray the religion as unfairly biased in terms of gender issues and its implicit assumptions of the inferiority of women. yet, when taking into account the views of many prominent muslim intellectuals, especially those who highlight the importance of the large gap between what islam stands for and what the social reality is in the arab world, particularly in terms of secularism and the status of women, the alleged incompatibility of islam with these western constructs becomes unclear. the belief that secularization is simply the natural and inevitable result of modernization—i.e. that the entire world will be rid of religion as it progresses—seems to be increasingly unlikely in the modern world. in fact, according to professor peter berger of boston university, the process of secularization, which mainly concerns a decline of the social significance of religion is now proving to be false.1 in recent years, this “secularization thesis” has failed to reflect society, especially when considering the increasingly salient role that islam has played in the arab world. the main issue here is that since a major component of islam deals with how society should be managed and regulated via sharia law, secularization comes not just as relinquishing legal social control, but also implies renouncing a substantial part of islamic doctrine, one that teaches that all aspects of human private and social life equally represent god’s will. this is what makes secularization so complex and limiting in the arab world, as it entails the restructuring of the entire islamic identity and culture. secularization renounces the holistic character of islamic teaching, and thereby derails a great number of social norms and regulations declared to be god’s law. in fact, some muslim scholars even suggest that when islam becomes entangled with western theories such as secularization, the arab world succumbs to gharbzadegi (or “weststruckness”). the famous iranian writer and scholar jalal al-e ahmad argues that if the arab world were to “continue to behave as westerners superficially” then it would be seen as “the donkey who posed as a lion and ended up being eaten by one,” revealing the perceived dangers of surrendering to the western standard that would surely incite social alienation and eventual self-destruction.2 since secularization in the arab world entails the reimagining of islam and its transformation “to a shell of its religious philosophy,” it seems very unlikely that the secularization thesis will hold and continue to be viewed in high regard in the future.3 similarly, western intellectual feminists have often found serious issues with islam due to its discrimination of gender and its implicit assumptions of the inferiority of women. often failing to acknowledge the gap between western and muslim social realities for women, these elites often see feminism in a reductionist manner.4 because feminism in the middle east is not an idea that arose indigenously, but rather one that came to the arab world externally, many muslim women have come to see the movement as a new sort of colonialism that overgeneralizes women’s rights. thus, in order to fully grasp what feminism means in the arab world, one must first understand the limitations of western feminism, following the transplantation of the concept into a “middle eastern, predominantly islamic environment, and its different interpretations in the locally different cultures of the middle east.”5 though many western feminists argue that islam is simply incompatible with feminism, others believe that western feminist movements have laid the framework for a protester waving the tusinian flag during the arab spring protests (courtesy of flickr) 92 elements : : spring 2017 the development of a new sort of feminism, one that takes into account issues surrounding islam and sharia law. when viewing western feminism in this context, it seems that two crucial factors are at play: first, the arab world seems to have increasingly complex cultural traditions regarding women, and second, the society’s attitudes and relationship toward the origin of feminism are problematic as the concept comes from the western world. lelia ahmed, an egyptian american writer on islam and islamic feminism, states in her book women and gender in islam: historical roots of a modern debate that “since the late nineteenth century, when feminist ideas first began to gain currency in the middle east, a middle eastern society’s formal stand on the position of women has often been perhaps the most sensitive index of the society’s attitude to the west—its openness to, or its rejection of western civilization.”6 since both secularization and western feminism have had similar impacts on the arab world, it is useful to examine the initial development of each concept and the reasons prohibiting their successful indoctrination into the arab world. by first contextualizing the indigenous birth of these two concepts, addressing their limitations, re-contextualizing them within the arab world, and offering divergent academic perspectives on the issues, this paper seeks to better identify the nuanced religious, cultural, and identity elements that underlie the unsuccessful incorporation of these western concepts into the arab world. rethinking the secularization thesis failures and limitations of the secularization thesis in the arab world throughout the nineteenth century, many believed the world to be progressing in a linear manner that would ultimately lead to a complete separation of religion from the public sphere. as this discourse spread throughout the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, its developers, i.e. the vanguard social thinkers of the time such as auguste comte, herbert spencer, karl marx, and sigmund freud, argued “that religion would gradually fade in importance and cease to be significant with the advent of industrial society.”7 this secularization thesis was not a new concept, however, as leading intellectual figures had been postulating that religious practices were simply products of the past that would soon be surpassed in the modern era ever since the age of enlightenment. as pointed out by scholar john l. esposito, modernization and development theory had postulated for decades that “the development of modern states and societies required westernization and secularization” and that religion would thereby become restricted to private life.8 stemming from what appeared to be clear evidence of secularization in western europe after the second world war, “the death of religion was the conventional wisdom in the social sciences during most of the twentieth century.”9 american sociologist c. wright mills, a staunch proponent of the thesis, argued that the secularization was unequivocally sweeping across the globe in the twentieth century, loosening the dominance of the sacred and that “in due course, the sacred [would] disappear altogether except, possibly, in the private realm.”10 yet despite the rapid dechristianization of europe in the late twentieth century, the fervor for secularization did not spread to other areas of the world. in fact, much of the world, the middle east in particular, was starting to see a great resurgence of religion instead. this increasing religiosity became even more pronounced after the iranian revolution of 1979, which brought with it the rise of “islamic fundamentalism” and various other forms of religious nationalism, serving to further entangle islam within the public sphere. islam complicates the secularization thesis because the quran is seen as the source of ultimate legislature and serves to link religion and the public sphere. this can be seen, for example, in saudi arabia’s very strict public connection between islam, politics, economics, and other areas of society. even greater evidence stems from the fact that the nation is called the “holy house of muslims” as it contains the two holiest mosques in the islamic world: masjid al-haram in mecca, destination of the annual hajj pilgrimage, and medina’s masjid an-nabawi, burial site of the prophet muhammad. thus, saudi arabia is also the perfect example of the failures of secularization to take root in the muslim world. in saudi arabia, sharia law is a source of the state’s rule and legislature, as it places islamic rules at the forefront of public life and society, which goes directly against the supposition that modernization necessitates the complete separation of religion from the public sphere. on the other end of the spectrum, turkey, one of the only nations in the muslim world to have successfully “secularized,” is now seeing numerous attempts to reject secularism in favor of islam. modern turkish politics reveals the 93 confronting cultural imperialism struggle between religion and secularism, as islamic parties have tried to fight for a return to religious law by reinstating islam in the state’s secular constitution in recent years. secularism in turkey has been widely contested by various muslim intellectuals, especially regarding its origins, as it came about as a sort of radical fundamental secularization over all aspects of life without taking into consideration the demands of a large number of turkish people who refused to live without islamic rules. for nations like turkey, “secularism is not simply the separation of religion and politics but, as past and current history demonstrates, an anti-religious and anticlerical belief.”11 these two examples highlight the failures and limitations of the secularization thesis in the muslim world, illustrating the complex relationship between secularism and islam in countries like saudi arabia and turkey. while the former takes hardline stances against secularization, the latter, which initially embraced secularization in its efforts to modernize, is now experiencing great backlash from the islamic religious groups and political parties. this increase in religious fundamentalism has now opened the doors for challenging other arab secular regimes, including egypt, algeria, syria, iraq, and sudan, perhaps signifying the need for a new teleological paradigm.12 re-contextualizing secularization in the arab world in contrast to the nineteenth century, when many believed secularization to be inevitable and inextricably linked with modernization, today’s world is now seeing the increasing incidence of religious fundamentalism in the world, especially in the middle east, as evidence for the unraveling of this thesis. while the conventional wisdom of the nineteenth and early twentieth century was that religion would become a solely private affair, the ideology has been widely contested in much of the arab world today. thus, it seems the resurgence of islam in muslim politics and society has triggered, what john l. esposito has called, a “retreat from the secular path.”13 for over three decades, the muslim world has seen the rise of islam in public life in newly created islamic states and republics, as well as from mainstream political and social movements and in major jihadist movements. the global political resurgence of religion has challenged, and perhaps even discredited, the theory of secularization. the debunking of secular paradigms has been particularly salient in the islamic world with the occurrences such as the iranian revolution, the emergence of new islamic republics in iran, afghanistan and sudan, and the use of islam by muslim governments and opposition movements.14 though some muslim critics speak of the collapse or bankruptcy of secularism and the need to replace it with religiously based states, others seek to modify secularism by placing it in a more religious, pluralistic framework. proponents of secularization have often viewed it as the only means to promote tolerance, pluralism and fairness in a society by ensuring that the government is not dominated by any one religious ideology. as talal asad warns, however, secularism does not necessarily guarantee peace and tolerance, despite its roots in the liberal enlightenment movement. asad warns that “a secular state does not guarantee toleration,” but rather “puts into play different structures of ambition and fear” where the law never seeks to eliminate violence since its object is always to regulate violence.15 this negative view of secularism has led many muslims, and islamists in particular, to cast out secularism as stemming from a completely foreign, inaccessible idealolgy imposed on the arab world by colonial powers. putting religious fundamentalism in stark contrast to secularism, islamists have constructed an ideal model reflecting religious principles guiding the ummah (community) in all areas of life, aspiring to renege on traditional islamic society and values. in response to these issues, the renowned judge and arab historian tariq al-bishri presents several reasons why all muslims should reject the idea that modernization and secularization are inextricably linked. citing muhammad ali’s “so-called” secular regime in egypt, bishri argues that ali’s regime was not purely secular, but rather it took aspects of military science and technology from europe to a woman attending a protest(courtesy of flickr) 94 elements : : spring 2017 “thus, until the day comes when a genuine state based off islamic consultation (shura) principles is established, the next best option is to implement secular democratic regimes, as such regimes abide by the rules of reason.” aid an essentially islamic political entity. he believes that the non-sectarian islamic movement started in response to the “geographically-based secular nationalist movement,” which allowed it to grow until there was a clear split between “an inherited and revitalized islam and a newlyarrived secularism.”16 this initial split, according to albishri, has amounted to a fully entrenched “war of ideas” between the two sides to this day. though many see little hope for the secularization of the arab world, others still believe the concept of secularism itself can be re-contextualized and reinterpreted within the modern arab world. in fact, several prominent islamic intellectuals and activists such as abdullahi ahmed anna‘im and rachid al-ghannouchi have dedicated their lives to demonstrating the complex relationship between the theory and the political and historical aspects of the islamic tradition within modern states. ghannouchi, in particular, emphasizes that a major issue underlying the secularization of the muslim world is that fundamentalism and secularism are almost always pitted against each other. ghannouchi argues that authoritarian secular governments take the worst of secularist doctrine and use it as a weapon against islamists by equating islam with extremism and secularism with democracy. paradoxically, this often results in the secular regimes themselves serving as impediments “to the preservation and development of civil society.”17 ghannouchi contrasts an ideal, islamic civil society with that of “pseudo-secular” and “pseudo-modern” regimes, linking secularism with liberalism and highlighting the factors of western secularism that serve to undermine society, “i.e. violence, crime, isolation and lack of trust and cooperation between neighbors.”18 thus, ghannouchi claims that the process of secularization is inextricably linked with liberalism, which he sees as an outlet for selfishness, greed, and individualism to grow from its distinctly western roots.19 by separating the doctrine of secularism from the western roots of secularization, ghannouchi rejects the common assumption that religion leads to violence and extremism in favor of a tolerant, pluralistic islamic world where religion is closely linked to both the public and private sphere. though it seems that a state based on religious principles as well as pluralistic tendencies is perhaps the best adaptation of secularism in the middle east, ghannouchi and many other prominent muslim intellectuals recognize that this ideal regime will be very difficult if not impossible to achieve under current circumstances. thus, until the day comes when a genuine state based off islamic consultation (shura) principles is established, the next best option is to implement secular democratic regimes, as such regimes abide by the rule of reason and are less harmful than despotic systems of government.20 an intellectual conversation: berger vs berger up until the 1980s and early 1990s, many social scientists believed that the modern world was becoming increasingly less religious. renowned theologian peter berger was particularly influential in the development of this “secularization thesis,” which is quite astonishing as he is now one of the most adamant challengers of the paradigm. in 1974, berger began to refute some of his previous suppositions about secularization, arguing it was a mistake to assume that modernization necessitates a global decline in religiosity.21 in the late 1960s, berger had made two very important contributions to the secularization thesis: first, he argued for the “increased rationalization of the world,” and second, he promoted the impact of the pluralization of life worlds22 on the “plausibility of religious belief systems.”23 berger’s 1963 essay on the israelite prophets was especially crucial in sowing the seeds of rationalist monotheism in the old testament, building upon the framework that max weber and robert merton had laid out for secularization by supposing that judaism, christianity and protestantism had inadvertently “nurtured the seeds of their own decline.”24 he also asserted that there was no way for the world to modernize while maintaining a religious attitude 95 confronting cultural imperialism in the public sphere due to the conflicting nature of pluralism and the natural progression of tolerance. berger is also quick to address the political and social consequences of cultural diversity. he claims that if the modernizing state must encompass diversity, it logically follows that it must become increasingly accepting towards religious diversity in the private sphere in order to avoid high levels of social conflict. this relegating of religion to the private sphere, berger asserts, is the only way for a society to properly incorporate and accept many competing religions without biasedly imposing one on its people. years later, however, berger repudiated his earlier claims of the linear progressivity of secularization, arguing instead that “the world today, with some exceptions … is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more so than ever.”25 berger thinks that due to the failure of intellectual elites to recognize the limitations of their theory in areas of the world other than europe, the “whole body of literature by historians and social scientists loosely labeled ‘secularization theory’ is essentially mistaken.” with the rise of religious fundamentalism in the world and public sphere, berger believes there must be some factors preventing the success of the secularization thesis in the muslim world. berger also reflects on his contributions to the development of the secularization thesis, claiming that secularization is inherently flawed because of its predominately western origins and is “essentially a globalization of the enlightened intelligentsia of europe.” this is problematic because the intelligentsia consists mostly of a non-representative minority of elite thinkers who at the time were ignorant of the mass support for religion in the arab world. berger claims that it was their failure to take into account the distinct cultural and religious differences of islam that ultimately led to the demise of the secularization thesis. berger goes on to describe how his only visit to iran occurred in 1976, two years prior to the iranian revolution, and though all of the intellectuals he met were opposed to the shah and expected a revolution, none of them thought this revolution would actually succeed. about the same time, his wife, who was lecturing in turkey and on her way through istanbul, noticed green flags flying from houses and storefronts.26 she asked her host, an enlightened university professor, whether these flags signified a resurgence of islam. he replied, “not at all, they are just put up by migrants from the provinces, ignorant people, who will never have much of an influence.”27 thus, the dismissive reaction of intellectual elites to religious fundamentalist movements allowed for the creation of an intense division between the westernized, secularized elite and the more obdurately religious general public. berger ultimately concludes that though fundamentalism is destructive for democracy, it is crucial to recognize that there exist both religious and secular fundamentalists in the world. both are unwilling to question their assumptions and tend to be militant, aggressive, and contemptuous of anyone whose thought differs from theirs. berger points out that “there are fundamentalists of one stripe who think that religious tyranny is around the corner if a christmas tree is erected on public property,” while there are fundamentalists of the other stripe who believe that the nation is about to sink into moral anarchy if the ten commandments are removed from a courtroom.28 thus, berger believes that the secularization thesis has seen its last days and that the root of its failure stems from the negligence of intellectual elites to recognize increasing notions of religiosity in areas of the world such as the middle east. perhaps it is now more accurate to say that the western world is the exception to a new type of theological thesis, rather than to say that the muslim world is the exception to the secularization thesis. rethinking western feminism limitations of western feminism in the arab world second-wave western feminism began in the 1960s and was characterized by the formation of active networks of women’s groups in the united states and parts of europe. its inception is often dated from the publication of betty friedan’s the feminine mystique in 1963, in which friedan calls for a feminist revolution that “had to be fought an artistic representation of the arabic word for she “hiya”(courtesy of behance) 96 elements : : spring 2017 because women quite simply were stopped at a state of evolution far short of their human capacity.” while there was a diversity of perspectives within second-wave feminism, including liberal, radical, and socialist/marxist approaches, much of this work was predicated on the concept of “universal womanhood.”29 unfortunately, this meant that no attention was paid to racial or cultural distinctions/variations, allowing euro-american feminists to wrongly assume that their voice represented the experiences of all women.30 nevertheless, african american feminists as well as third world feminists are now challenging western notions of feminism, arguing they cannot adequately address marginalized groups of women. they claim that western feminism only represents the realities of a particular group of women, namely, first world, white, middle-class women. in fact, muslim feminists such as sa’diyya shaikh point to major shortcomings of the western feminist discourse, arguing that because general feminist thought ignores issues related to cultural and social differences, it cannot be used to empower muslim women. thus, she and many other muslim intellectuals believe it is now their duty to “reflect the conceptual difficulties and ideological biases experienced by many groups of muslims with regard to certain developments in western feminism.”31 shaikh defines feminism as including a critical awareness of the structural marginalization of women in society and the engagement in activities directed at transforming gender power relations in order to strive for a society that “facilitates human wholeness for all based on principles of gender justice, human equality, and freedom from structures of oppression.”32 however, the key distinction between the current and past definition of feminism is the inherent ideological differences between western feminism and islam, which are embedded in a history of larger civilizational harangues between the islamic world and the west.33 gender discourse in contemporary islam is haunted by a deep history of conflict between early european colonial encounters in different parts of the muslim world. as a result of the processes of imperialism and globalization, neo-colonial power structures exist throughout the economic and social spheres of the muslim world. from the perspective of many muslims, euroamerican cultural hegemony remains largely coupled with a prejudice propagated against muslims. this problem is accentuated by the western stereotyping of islam as a “violent, medieval, and, especially, misogynist religion,” as reflected in the enduring legacies of colonial scholarship on islam.34 the homogenization of women within dominant western feminist paradigms, in particular, has led to limitations on the ideology’s applicability, serving to further marginalize women that live in societies with certain cultural traditions and values. the western feminist approach does not examine the particular material conditions and ideological frameworks that engender disenfranchisement for a specific group of women. instead, many western feminist intellectuals cite very basic examples of disempowerment in order to prove the general thesis that women as a group are “powerless.” for example, as omid safi writes in progressive muslims, “western feminist discourses that represent the hijab as simply symbolic of muslim women’s subjugation often muddy both the particularity of such a phenomenon as well as the multiple levels of meanings that it may have for different muslim women.”35 these different interpretations have led to a very complex relationship between “western feminism” and the muslim world to coalesce, one that is further complicated by the imposition of western feminist ideals and ideology on muslim societies. though many western scholars argue that recent trends in the middle east are serving to undermine previous accomplishment of the feminist movement, this assertion woefully ignores the underlying cultural, social, and political factors at play in the arab world. for example, women in the middle east are actually increasing their political activism by embracing what many in the western world assume to be oppressive practices, instead using these traditions as tools to effectively work within the social, cultural and political system in place in the middle east. “[t]he key distinction between the current and past definition of feminism is the inherent ideological differences between western feminism and islam...” 97 confronting cultural imperialism re-contextualizing feminism in the arab world in response to the failures of western feminism and current social pressures stemming from the rise of islamist ideology, many modern muslim feminists are now seeking to adopt a new strand of feminist thought. many have sought to find aspects of gender equality within the quran, working within the confines of the islamic ideology in order to reclaim their islamic rights. this type of behavior has opened the door for a new wave of feminism in the muslim world. “islamic feminism” stems from the belief that the feminist commitment is integral to islam and responsive to the core call to justice in the quran. however, there still exists a clear schism between the true egalitarian ideals of islam and the problematic reality that many muslim women experience injustice in the name of religion.36 though past feminist movements laid down crucial groundwork for the development of islamic feminism in the middle east, these movements were also inherently flawed as they often ignored the cultural, social, and economic needs facing the most impoverished, religious women in the middle east. even more concerning is the fact that the modern world seems to be engaged in a period of religious revivalism, which clearly points to the failure of western women’s movement to address these crucial cultural differences and traditions. the western stereotypes surrounding the dangers of islamic fundamentalism rarely encompass the nuances of how the movement has affected national and local politics and women’s rights issues in the muslim world. for example, women’s demands for greater political voice in any islamic-based state may have seemed absurd half a century ago, yet great progress is being made in many of these places today. in fact, there are now twice as many women in school in iran than there were under the previous “secular” regime.37 clearly, the place of women is not set within islamic societies, but rather amenable to each society’s perceived needs and historical contexts and backgrounds. thus, many modern muslim feminists have rejected traditional colonial feminist representations of muslim women as the “victimized” and voiceless “other,” in support of the re-defining of feminist discourse, providing a more heterogeneous representation of cultural and identity-related factors. islamic feminism not only addresses contextual issues, but it also takes into account the multiple identities of women. by definition, the ideology makes the salient the question of religious identity in the experience of muslim women, allowing for the “collusion of feminist discourse with muslim women’s articulation of their engagement with gender issues.”38 this re-contextualizing of feminism in the arab world allows for the crucial development of a meaningful dialogue between groups of muslim women and women from other religio-cultural backgrounds. an intellectual conversation: mohanty vs wadud in staunch opposition to western notions of feminism, author and scholar chandra mohanty stresses the importance of recognizing the political significance that the term “colonization” has come to characterize everything from the most evident economic and political hierarchies to the production of a particular cultural discourse about what is called the “third world.” in particular, mohanty argues that the way in which the second wave feminist movement has defined feminism has had a lasting impact on the way muslim women describe their own experiences and struggles. mohanty sees immense fault in the fact that privilege and ethnocentric universality are fundamentally part of feminist theory, as this has led for women in the third world to see themselves as living in the context of a world system dominated by the west.39 mohanty argues that, because western feminism entails cross-culturally monolithic notions of patriarchy, this only leads to the construction of a similarly reductive and homogeneous type of “third world difference.” she believes the term perfectly captures the essence of the oppression of most (if not all) women living in the third world, stemming from vastly different patriarchal and gender-related traditions and values. western feminists are quick to “appropriate and “colonize” the fundamental complexities and conflicts which characterize the lives of women of different classes, religions, cultures, races, and castes in these countries” within the context of this “third world difference.”40 mohanty claims that this very process of western homogenization and systematization, which has allowed for the oppression of women in the third world, must now be re-interpreted within a third world context. one such significant effect of the dominant “representations” of western feminism is its likeness to imperialism in its view of particular third world women. the “average third world woman” leads a predominantly restricted life based on her feminine gender and also her being “third world,” something that mohanty feels represents ignorance, poverty, lack of education, tradition-bound, and vic98 elements : : spring 2017 timized. she suggests that modern representations depict women with the freedom to make their own decisions, which stems from implicit self-depiction of western women as being educated, modern beings with the freedom to make their own decisions. the distinction between the western representation of women in the third world and the western feminist self-representation is the fact that “the privileging of a particular group as the norm or referent has allowed western feminists to cast third world women in terms of ourselves undressed.” mohanty claims that this problematic premise must be fully overcome if there is to be any success for the islamic feminist movement moving forward.41 in contrast to mohanty, muslim scholar and professor amina wadud is not so quick to reject western feminism, seeing the ideology as an important catalyst for the larger feminist movement in the muslim world.42 wadud has made it her mission to argue against the influence of patriarchy on their interpretation of the quran and the practices of muslims, as she believes this has constricted the true realization of the quranic message of equality and justice. one of her key arguments is that the patriarchy is a form of shirk or making partners to god, and because one fundamentally contradicts the quranic vision of equal and reciprocal relationships when one places men above women, this violates the prerequisite that god is supreme. she remarks that though she used to think that “islam” and “muslim” were one and the same, she now recognizes that there a number of situations that may arise where one may be forced to choose between the two. since writing the book qu’ran and women: rereading the sacred text from a woman’s perspective, wadud has consistently found others calling her “western” and a “feminist.” but rather than see this as a negative label, wadud optimistically interprets the name-calling, taking “western” to mean that she “can only be who [she] [is]: a daughter of the west, born and raised american of african descent.43 yet, she feels the true intent of the label is to be meant in a reductionist manner that is anti-islamic, which she finds to be rather offensive. similarly, she interprets the term “feminist” to mean that all women are human beings, yet again asserts that others simply use the term in a derogatory fashion without reference to the true definition of feminism. wadud is appalled that even though she never refers to herself by this title, this does not prevent others from calling her “out of her name,” as if she does not even count as a human being.44 yet, with great humility, wadud remarks that in the battle for gender parity where the trenches are deep and the fighting unfair, she has come to the conclusion that she must keep leading the fight for feminism in the muslim world. she feels that one of the most special merits of islam is din, or way of life, is that the “establishing and reestablishing orthodoxy sets an agenda for islamic praxis,” and that one cannot stand on the sidelines in the face of injustice and still be recognized as fully muslim.45 though she does not necessarily agree with the term “western feminist,” she still dedicates her book to all women: young and old, wise and simple, rich and poor, who are [her] sisters in islam.” though wadud made the decision in her early twenties to become muslim and did not personally witness islam as oppressive to women, she still devotes her entire scholarly life to rereading the quran to find islamic equality for women. both mohanty and wadud agree that western feminism is flawed in its ability to properly address cultural and islamic issues in the muslim world, but both women share very different interpretations and perspectives for why they feel this way. while mohanty staunchly opposes western feminism as another form of oppressive colonialism, wadud more of less accepts the label in the sense that she is in the most basic sense a “western feminist” due to her background and activist work, both of which have fueled her passion to keep finding new ways to place issues of equality and feminism within the context of the quran. conclusion: a new way moving forward since both secularization and western feminism have had similar impacts on the muslim world, it is useful to examine the initial development of each concept and the reasons prohibiting their successful indoctrination into the muslim world. in recent years, with increasing occurrence of religious extremism as well as enduring practices such as veiling and arranged marriages, it seems these western teleological theories long believed to promote stability and tolerance are now losing their general applicability and validity. paradoxically, it seems that secularization and western feminism have often served to undermine these values through the marginalization of religion as well as women in the third world. one of the key issues with secularization in the middle east is that secularism, a political doctrine that grew out of christian europe, is often seen as being indissolubly linked with a history of foreign colonial invasion and oc99 confronting cultural imperialism cupation. for many muslims, the efforts of colonial regimes to impose secular political doctrines from above were only the beginning of a supposition that secularization was inextricably linked with modernization. as abdelwahab elmessiri writes, “secularism is a world-outlook that is embedded in the simplest and most innocuous cultural commodities, and that forms the unconscious basis and implicit frame of reference for our conduct in public and in private.” elmessiri believes that the secular state as it stands in the arab world is not only aimed at dominating public life, but has also problematically made it its goal to exploit private life.46 thus, it seems increasingly likely that a more tolerant society requires a more pluralistic view of religion for society, a paradigm that may be able to better incorporate issues related to islam and sharia law as the supreme governing legislature in the muslim world. in a similar vein, many of the traditional feminist movements in the middle east came out of secular movements based on western models and espoused western ideologies. yet, this type of movement was often in direct contention with the powerful religious elite, as it often ignored basic religious doctrine and challenged the patriarchal structure of islam itself. thus, many of the religious elite saw this rebellion by women as a symptom of a bigger disease, western imperialism, or “weststruckness,” a problem that had to be refuted at all costs. as this tension threatened the power relationship between the political elite and the religious elite, many muslim feminists felt that the only way they could move their feminist agenda forward was through the creation of a new thread of feminist dialogue, one that was able to operate within the bounds of islam. again, this is primarily a reason why western feminism has failed in the muslim world. it fails to take into account the context and culture of the muslim world. thus, it seems that the best way for muslim women to move forward is to realize that they no longer have to abandon their socio-cultural identities to have a voice, but can instead refuse to operate within the bounds of western feminism by placing their feminist movement within the context of islam.47 thus, if both concepts were to be reinterpreted with regards to the cultural, religious, and identity-related boundaries within the muslim world, this would allow for the creation of a new muslim identity—particularly the renegotiating of gender and religious identity. furthermore, it is important to note that identity negotiation is, to a large extent, dependent on future circumstances and the nature of the muslim world. though the modern western world believes islam to be prohibiting the development of tolerance, secularism, democracy, and women’s rights, we may very well see a change in the dominant paradigms of secularization and feminism if these ideologies can be reinterpreted in a more pluralistic and inclusive manner. 100 elements : : spring 2017 endnotes 1. peter l. berger et al., peter berger and the study of religion (london: routledge, 2001), 87-88. 2. jalal al-e ahmad, “the outline of a disease [weststruckness],” in lloyd ridgeon, religion and politics in modern iran (london: i. b. tauris, 2005), 163-174. 3. ibid., 173. 4. for the purposes of this paper, the term elites refers to a select and small group of citizens and/or organizations that controls a large amount of power. most of these selected groups are constantly searching differentiation as well as separation from the rest of society. 5. leila ahmed, women and gender in islam: historical roots of a modern debate (new haven: yale university press, 1992). 6. ibid. 7. norris pippa and ronald inglehart, sacred and secular: religion and politics worldwide (cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2004). 8. john l. esposito, “islam and secularism in the twenty-first century” (new york: nyu press, 2000), 1. 9. pippa and inglehart, sacred and secular, 2. 10. c. wright mills, the sociological imagination (oxford: oxford university press, 2000), 32-33. 11. nazik saba yared, “secularism and the arab world: 1850:1939” choice reviews online, 2003. 12. binbing wu, “secularism and secularization in the arab world” journal of middle eastern and islamic studies (in asia), (2007): 63. 13. john l. esposito, “rethinking islam and secularism (arda guiding paper series” (state college, pa: the association of religion data archives at the pennsylvania state university), 3, accessed december 4, 2016. 14. ibid. 15. talal asad, formations of the secular: christianity, islam, modernity (stanford: stanford university press, 2003), 6-7. 16. esposito, “rethinking islam and secularism” 5-6. 17. rachid al-ghannouchi, “secularism in the arab maghreb” (new york: new york university press, 2000), 97-124. 18. esposito, “rethinking islam and secularism” 9. 19. ibid., 6 20. al-ghannouchi, “secularism in the arab maghreb” 97-124. 21. peter l. berger, linda woodhead, paul heelas, and david martin, peter berger and the study of religion, (london: routledge, 2001), 87-88. 22. life worlds can be defined as the world as immediately or directly experienced in the subjectivity of everyday life, as sharply distinguished from the objective “worlds” of the sciences, which employ the methods of the mathematical sciences of nature; although these sciences originate in the life-world, they are not those of everyday life. the editors of encyclopedia britannica. “life-world.” encyclopedia britannica, july 20, 1998. accessed january 19, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/life-world. 23. ibid., 88. 24. ibid. 25. ibid., 87 26. the green flags are associated with islam as it is said in the quran (surah 18:31) that “those who inhabit paradise will wear fine silk garments of green.” this particular verse has thus been interpreted over the centuries and the color green has now been associated with islam for a very long time. “islamic symbols.” islamic symbols. n.p., n.d. web. 05 dec. 2016. 27. peter l. berger, “secularization falsified,” first things (2008), accessed december 5, 2016. 28. ibid. 29. here, universal womanhood refers to the values and rights that the predominantly white, educated, middle-class women of the second wave feminist movement believed to be undeniable. sa’diyya shaikh , transforming feminisms: islam, women, and gender justice. pg 153. (2003). 30. sa’diyya shaikh, “transforming feminisms: islam, women, and gender justice” in progressive muslims: on justice, gender and pluralism (oxford: oneworld publications, 2003), 153 31. ibid., 152 32. ibid., 147 33. ibid., 148 34. ibid. 35. ibid., 152 36. ibid., 155 37. chandra talpade mohanty, feminism without borders: decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity (durham: duke up, 2003) 38. ibid., 158-159 39. ibid. 40. ibid. 41. mohanty, feminism without borders 42. born into a methodist african-american family, wadud became a muslim at the age of twenty, and moved on to become a professor of religion and philosophy at the virginia commonwealth university and was also one of the founders of the group sisters in islam”amina wadud.” islam & feminism. n.p., n.d. web. 04 dec. 2016. 43. amina wadud, qur’an and woman: rereading the sacred text from a woman’s perspective (new york: oxford up, 1999). 44. ibid., xviii, xix 45. ibid. 46. abdelwahab elmessiri, “secularism, immanence, and destruction” (new york: new york university press, 2000), 52-81. 47. safi omid, progressive muslims: on justice, gender, and pluralism (oxford: oneworld, 2003), 2-3. pluralism (oxford: 101 confronting cultural imperialism references abu-lughod, lila (ed.). remaking women: feminism and modernity in the middle east. princeton: princeton university press, 1998. ahmed, leila. women and gender in islam: historical roots of a modern debate. new haven: yale university press, 1992. al-e ahmad, jalal. “the outline of a disease [weststruckness]” in religion and politics in modern iran, 163-174. london: i.b. tauris, 2005. “amina wadud.” islam & feminism. accessed december 04, 2016. http://www.islamandfeminism.org/aminawadud.html. karam, azza. women, islam and the state. new york: st martins press, 1998. berger, peter l., linda woodhead, paul heelas, and david martin. peter berger and the study of religion. london: routledge, 2001. berger, peter l. “secularization falsified.” first things (2008). accessed december 5, 2016. esposito, john l. “rethinking islam and secularism (arda guiding paper series).” state college, pa: the association of religion data archives at the pennsylvania state university. accessed december 4, 2016. http://www. thearda.com/rrh/papers/guidingpapers.asp. fernea, elizabeth. in search of islamic feminism: one woman’s global journey. new york: doubleday, 1996. heesterman, aart r.g. “where neoclassical economics fails the environment.” in the elgar companion to feminist economics. edited by janice peterson and margaret lewis. accessed december 3, 2016. mir-hosseini, ziba. “stretching the limit: a feminist reading of the shari’a in post khomeini iran,” in feminism and islam: legal and literary perspectives, ed. mai yamani. new york: new york up, 1996. mohanty, chandra talpade. feminism without borders: decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. durham: duke up, 2003. shaikh, sa’diyya. “transforming feminisms: islam, women and gender justice.” in progressive muslims: on justice, gender and pluralism, ed. by o. safi. oxford: oneworld publications, 2003. yared, nazik saba. “secularism and the arab world: 18501939.” choice reviews online, 2003. wadud, amina. quran and woman: rereading the sacred text from a woman’s perspective. new york: oxford up, 1999. wu, bingbing. “secularism and secularization in the arab world.” journal of middle eastern and islamic studies (in asia) vol. 1, no. 1. 2007. 102 elements : : spring 2017 this article aims to explore visual artist laura swanson’s “anti-self-portrait” as a response to traditional readings of the disabled body in visual arts. she resists the visual rhetorics that founding disability studies scholar rosemarie garlandthomson identifies in her essay the politics of staring: visual rhetorics of disability in popular photography. swanson’s “anti-self-portrait” titled peggy lee realizes garland-thomson’s call for an integration of feminist critical theory and disability studies. the work intentionally engages the conventional reading of disability, which narrowly defines as an exotic state of difference. though deceptively straightforward, peggy lee exploits space and position to reverse the traditional power dynamic which privileges the viewer’s gaze over the depicted subject. by obscuring her face behind an ostensible symbol of societal beauty standards, swanson reclaims the social ritual of staring at disability. averting the gaze an anti-self-portrait of the disabled female body carly barnhardt minnesota-born artist laura swanson is one of seven adopted children in her family, and one of three with a physical disability. she credits her artistic exploration of identity to her mother, who “wanted [her] to experience a full life without inhibition”.1 in her collection of photographs titled anti-self-portraits, swanson explores her identity as a woman with a physical disability. her artist statement reads: her work centers around a critical exploration of the behavior of looking at difference: how physical difference is visually depicted and objectified in culture, the consequent behaviors that cause discrimination in everyday life, and the psychological effects of being socially marginalized.2 influenced by images in popular culture, from the “visual tactics used by the advertising and retail industries” to the films of director wes anderson, to tv sitcoms like friends, swanson’s work can also be read more generally as a response to the visual rhetoric of popular photography that disability studies scholar rosemarie garland-thomson defines in her essay the politics of staring: visual rhetorics of disability in popular photography. in her response to these visual rhetorics in her “anti-self-portrait” called “peggy lee”, swanson resists a traditional reading of a disabled body and reclaims her identity through selfrepresentation. a self-representation (or self-portrait) of the disabled, female body provides a visual response to rosemarie garland-thomson’s call for the integration of feminist critical theory and disability studies. she writes, “disability—like gender—is a concept that pervades all aspects of culture: its structuring institutions, historical communities, and the shared human experience of embodiment.”3 further, garland-thomson’s work on “the politics of staring” takes into account the feminist principle of the “gaze” in relation to images of people with disabilities, thereby introducing a shared language between feminist discourses and disability studies. swanson’s revision to the genre of the “self-portrait” calls for the consideration of the female body, pushing back against the form of a traditional portrait—a posed, formal drawing or painting that shows only the face or the head and shoulders of a person. the title of swanson’s selfportrait, “peggy lee”, references the name of the singer on the album that covers the subject’s face. drawing on the archive of popular images, swanson adopts the doe-eyed, flaxen-haired singer’s face and name as a critique of beauty standards. garland-thompson writes, “the twin ideologies of normalcy and beauty posit female and disabled bodies, particularly, as not only spectacles to be looked at, but as pliable bodies to be shaped infinitely so as to conform to a set of standards called normal and beautiful.”4 swanson’s image of herself is split: she adopts society’s beauty standards in her face, but her body contrasts the “mask” she holds, as she is unable to change her body to fulfill the standards of beauty and normalcy. there is an ironic frankness in the self-presentation. swanson teases the audience with what they want to see: a conventionally beautiful woman. in doing so she draws attention to her own inability to reflect these standards due to the circumstances of her human embodiment. the frankness of self-presentation asserts the artist’s power to command how she is perceived, and is negotiated through the gazes working in the photograph. visually, the frank and sometimes eye-level gazes of artists on album covers surround the subject, but the subject withholds her own gaze by hiding her face with the album cover. staring, then, becomes the subject of this photograph. the fragmentation of an otherwise essential process in photography disrupts the power relations that normally dictate the subject-viewer relationship. garland-thomson writes in her aforementioned essay, staring thus creates disability as a state of absolute difference rather than simply one more variation in human form. at the photo of peggy lee from ad on may 5, 1945 from billboard magazine (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 28 elements : : spring 2017 same time, staring constitutes disability identity by manifesting the power relations between the subject positions of disabled and able-bodied.5 in swanson’s anti-self-portrait, power relations between the subject and the viewer are inverted; the subject wields the power to be seen or not to be seen. she wears a mask, hidden from the viewer, but the mask gives the illusion that she returns the gaze, even as she rejects it. swanson is dressed in casual, loose-fitting clothes, which resists the sexualization of the female body and the fetishization of the disabled body at once. swanson’s red shirt stands out against the otherwise neutral and cluttered background, but it neither draws attention to the shape of her body, nor hides it among the background. by positioning peggy lee’s face over her own, the artist asserts control over the terms of the stare and in defining her own identity. the image— one that pairs the ideal standard of beauty with the physically disabled body—asserts human variation over “absolute difference,” as the lines between subject and viewer and subject and subject are blurred. whereas the categories of visual rhetoric that garlandthomson defines in popular photography draw attention to disability as a state of difference, swanson’s anti selfportrait falls into none of those categories. it therefore does not perpetuate a representation of “the wondrous, the sentimental, the exotic and the realistic.”6 the domestic setting belies the careful construction of the image. geometry plays an important role, as the rectangles in the image help to guide the viewer’s eye. swanson’s body can be read as a rectangle that fills in the gap between the two rectangular speakers. in this way, the image addresses garlandthomson’s formulation of the “wondrous” in which “disability operates visually by juxtaposing the singular (therefore strange) mark of impairment in a surrounding context of the expected (therefore familiar).”7 swanson’s body, however, is positioned so that it blends rather seamlessly into the background, not drawing attention to her body, but not hiding it either. coupled with the verbal play of the title, “anti-self-portrait,” swanson, herself (and her body), nearly disappears from the image. the image is also static, barring the “supercrip” character in the “wondrous” image. that is, swanson is doing nothing out of the ordinary; in fact, she is doing nothing at all.8 because the image indicates no movement or action, swanson draws attention to the fact that it was posed. barring the possibility of the “wondrous,” the closest mode “peggy lee” comes to is the realistic, as it is placed in a mundane, domestic setting. the trick of the eye of the peggy lee record, however, lends itself to the surreal, which is characterized by the whimsical and irrational juxtaposition of images, unbridled by traditional societal constraints.9 the visual manipulation of the body to blend in with everyday objects is reminiscent of the work of surrealist photographers, such as man ray.10 by adopting this new category of image to represent her body and her identity, swanson challenges expectations of self-representation, adding another possibility for reading the collection title, “anti-self-portraits.” swanson resists traditional images of disability, and in doing so, avoids the role of “spectacle” in her own image and reverses the power relations of staring in photography, reclaiming what garland-thomson calls “the social ritual of staring at disability.”11 she asserts her own identity as the artist in refusing to conform to the visual rhetorics that would define her identity as a woman with a disability. in producing these images, swanson also adds to the archive of images of people with disabilities, allowing for new categories of images to add to a fuller understanding of individual experience. in this way, swanson’s photography collection can be read as a form of activism, as it promotes different ways of viewing the disabled body. the collection, then, fulfills all of the domains of feminist disability theory that rosemarie garland-thomson defines: representation, body, identity and activism. “swanson resists traditional images of disability, and in doing so, avoids the role of ‘spectacle’ in her own image...” 29 averting the gaze endnotes 1. “ca+t interview with laura swanson,” last modified march 14, 2014, http://centerforartandthought.org/cat-interviews-lauraswanson. 2. “laura swanson,” http://www.centerforartandthought.org/ work/contributor/laura-swanson. 3. garland-thomson, “integrating disability, transforming feminist theory,” nwsa journal (2002): 4 4. garland-thomson, “integrating disability,” 11 5. garland-thomson, “the politics of staring: visual rhetorics of disability in popular photography,” disability studies: enabling the humanities (2002): 56. 6. garland-thomson, “politics of staring,” 58. 7. garland-thomson, “politics of staring,” 59-60. 8. garland-thomson, “politics of staring,” 60. 9. voorhies, “surrealism,” last modified october 2004, http:// www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm. 10. see the images the coat-stand (1920)—which bears thematic resemblance to swanson’s coat (2005)—and ingre’s violin (1924) 11. garland-thomson. “politics of staring,” 57. references center for art + thought. “ca+t interview with laura swanson.” last modified october 14, 2014. http://centerforartandthought.org/cat-interviews-laura-swanson. garland-thomson. “integrating disability, transforming feminist theory,” center for art + thought (2002): 1-30. “the politics of staring: visual rhetorics of disability in popular photography,” disability studies: enabling the humanities (2002): 56-75. center for art + thought. “laura swanson.” http://www. centerforartandthought.org/work/contributor/lauraswanson swanson, laura. “peggy lee”. 2008. new york, ny. voorhies, james. “surrealism.” in heilbrunn timeline of art history. new york: the metropolitan museum of art, 2000-. last modified october 2004. 30 elements : : spring 2017 "whoever gifted this painting to donna olimpia must have known her intimately to present her with a work so resonant with her personal aesthetic and ambition/' guercino's erminia a gifted painting's story of italian power culture katherine williamson o amidst t h e decadence of baroque rome, presenting romanitas ( l.e. "rom an-n ess") was essential to b e c o m i n g part of t h e city's g o v e r n i n g elite. establishing art c o l l e c t i o n s and picture g a l l e r i e s was a means for ambitious families to display their s o c i o e c o n o m i c status, sophistication, and worthiness to assume a role among t h e foremost roman families. like many roman nobles i n th e s e v e n t e e n t h century, t h e pamphilj family amassed a c o l l e c t i o n , some of w h i c h survives in t h e galleria dor ia-pam phi lj in rome. a l t h o u g h t h e pamphiljs used t h e accumulation o f art to drive their familial ambition, this family and their relation to t h e pontificate were unusual due to t h e status of donna olimpia maidalchini pamphilj, sister-in-law o f pope i n n o c e n t x. t h e self-appointed matriarch f a s h i o n e d h e r s e l f into a woman of i n f l u e n c e , and was c o n s i d e r e d by s o m e to be t h e real power b e h i n d t h e pamphilj papacy. t h e study of g u e r c i no's ermina finds the wounded tancred, a painting from t h e pamphilj c o l l e c t i o n with ties to donna olimpia, s h e d s light upon t h e complexity of her powerful role in rome and elucidates t h e role of art in t h e baroque period. o i n t r o d u c t i o n guercino's p a i n t i n g erminia finds the wounded tancred is nearly six feet w i d e by five feet h i g h and current ly hangs i n the dor ia pamphi l j gallery's galleria a l d o b r a n d i n i . but th is was n o t its o r i g i n a l h o m e ; i f the o r i g i n a l owner were s t i l l alive, there is l i t t l e doubt she w o u l d be vexed by its current locat ion. a c c o r d i n g to m e m b e r s o f the doria-pamp h i l j family, the w o r k was presented as a gift to d o n n a o l i m p i a m a i d a l c h i n i p a m p h i l j , the wi fe o f p a m p h i l i o p a m p h i l j , sister-in-law o f giovanni-battista p a m p h i l j , and a person o f s tanding i n the pontif icate o f pope innocent x . t h o u g h the p a i n t i n g first appears i n the pamphi l j records i n the 1657 inventory o f the v i l la at san m a r t i n o al c i m i n o . t h e r e is n o conclusive evidence regarding the circumstances s u r r o u n d i n g this generous gi f t . 1 a c i r c u m stantial f r a m e w o r k may be pieced together to i l l u m i n a t e the possible ident i ty o f the benefactor and the occasion o f his grat itude. due to the seventeenth-century's part icular gift cu l ture , the p r o m i n e n c e o f the artist and his patrons, and the pa int ing ' s subject matter , i t is probable that erminia finds the wounded tancred was presented to d o n n a o l i m p i a as a gift by one o f rome's c u l t u r a l l u m i n a r i e s . the practice o f gift g i v i n g has always played an integra l role i n western cu l ture . since ant iqu i ty i t has been a comm o n c u s t o m to present precious i tems to figures o f authori ty , whether k ings or gods, i n order to gain approval or appease the i r sense o f just ice . 2 i t was n o t u n t i l the m i d d l e ages, however, that a gift economy developed, thus stand a r d i z i n g the practice o f bar ter ing goods for favors. 3 u n l ike a payment , the gift acquired an altruist ic pretense that bestowed benevolence o n the giver and magnif icence u p o n the receiver, thus c o m m e n d i n g b o t h parties involved i n the exchange. 4 the practice o f purposefu l g i f t -g iv ing c o n t i n u e d to be a m a j o r part o f european cul ture , and i n the seventeenth-century—due to the part icular c l imate o f conspicuous c o n s u m p t i o n — g i f t g i v i n g became an obligatory f o r m o f r i t u a l exchange. 5 as the practice evolved, there was s ignif icantly less emphasis o n m a i n t a i n i n g an appearance o f a l t r u i s m because cor rupt dealings were c o m m o n practice, a machiavel l ian necessity for an i n d i v i d u a l to obt a i n a favorable outcome f r o m a f igure o f author i ty . 6 d o n n a o l i m p i a ! a w o m a n of i n f l u e n c e " t h o u g h d o n n a o l i m p i a m a i d a l c h i n i was n o t i n a pos i t ion o f f o r m a l authority , she (like her brotherinlaw giovanni battista) was perceived as a c o n d u i t to cur ia l , cardinal , a n d eventually, papal power. she exploited her u n i q u e pos i t ion v as g iovanni battista's p r i m a r y consort i n order to ga in power and prestige i n the papal city. d o n n a o l i m p i a was a p r o m i n e n t figure i n seventeenth-century rome, causing great scandal and i n t r i g u e t h r o u g h o u t the d u r a t i o n o f her tenure i n the city. h a i l i n g f r o m viterbo, she came to rome as a y o u n g w i d o w a n d proceeded to m a r r y i n t o one o f the city's oldest famil ies i n 1612, b r i n g i n g much-needed l i q u i d assets to the u n i o n . 7 i n exchange, "the y o u n g w o m a n gained a stage that was m o r e suited to her w o r l d l y a c u m e n t h a n her unsophist icated h o m e t o w n . " 8 h e r previous marriage left her w i t h a sizable dowry that she used strategically to p r o m o t e herself, and the pamphi l j family, a n d to fur ther the ecclesiastical career o f her brotherinlaw (later pope innocent x ) . 9 accord ing to contemporary sources, d o n n a o l i m p i a financially supported the future pope duri n g his t i m e as papal n u n c i o , a n d i t is r u m o r e d that she used her monetary inf luence to secure h i m this p o s i t i o n . 1 0 after the death o f her husband , pamphi l io , i n 1639, g iovanni battista "placed d o n n a o l i m p i a i n charge o f the pamphi l j pa t r imony , g r a n t i n g her an official role i n overseeing the fami ly . " 1 1 th i s part icular role gave her the opp o r t u n i t y b o t h to m a i n t a i n and to contro l the family 's finances and publ i c image. by delegating th is responsibi l i ty to her, g iovanni battista pub l i c ly acknowledged his t rus t i n her intel l igence a n d j u d g m e n t and assured her p r o m i n e n t p o s i t i o n i n his l i fe and w i t h i n the pamphi l j family. u p o n giovanni 's election to the papacy i n 1644, o l i m p i a received an endless stream o f courtiers seeking her goodw i l l ; nobi l i ty , fore ign ambassadors, a n d min i s te r s o f the palace called o n her to gain her ear and favor. 1 2 there is n o — n o r can there be any—expl ic i t direct evidence conc e r n i n g the extent to w h i c h d o n n a o l i m p i a in f luenced the decisions o f pope i n n o c e n t x , b u t she d i d occupy an enorm o u s l y power fu l p o s i t i o n at the papal court , g r a n t i n g offices and benefices to those w h o best cur r i ed her favor. 1 3 , 1 4 a c c o r d i n g to a w r i t t e n account by the venet ian ambassador: donna olimpia . . . the only object of political favors, who holds the sum of authority, is a woman of genius and virile spirit and makes one know woman only as prideful and avaricious, whence it is necessary for the pretenders at court to give her incessant homage and favors.1^ h e r p r o m i n e n c e i n innocent ' s pontif icate made her the de facto cardinal nephew, a pos i t ion scandalous for a w o m a n to h o l d , for i t was reserved for a t rus ted male relative and entai led overseeing m a n y o f the m o s t v i ta l elements o f papal a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . generally, d o n n a ol impia ' s presence e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2 0 1 0 9 erminia finds the wounded tancred by g i o v a n n i f r a n c e s c o g u e r c i n o . ta in ly w o u l d have been after spending just a few m o m e n t s i n the noble chambers and her audience r o o m . t h o u g h the re lat ionship between d o n n a o l i m p i a a n d pope innocent x was scandalous, i t was n o t w i t h o u t precedence. a n n a colonna barber in i played a d ip lomat ic role d u r i n g her brotherinlaw's—that is, pope u r b a n v i i i ' s — r e i g n as pope; d o n n a o l i m p i a greatly a d m i r e d a n n a barb e r i n i , and looked to her as a personal role m o d e l . 2 0 d o n na o l i m p i a m a i d a l c h i n i , however, d i d n o t serve i n a d ip lomat ic pos i t ion , rather t a k i n g a place as innocent x's p r i m a r y consort, p u s h i n g gender roles to the l i m i t i n a t r a d i t i o n b o u n d government and city. t h o u g h she faced j was resented i n a papal government that was "by def init i o n restr icted to celibate male ecclesiastics." 1 6 h e r i n f l u ent ia l p o s i t i o n i n the papal court is re inforced i n the renovated palazzo pamphi l j o n the piazza navona, w h i c h was constructed u n d e r her d i rec t ion between 1644 and 1650. 1 7 the n e w palace "prov ided her w i t h a suitable sett ing for her central role i n the pamphi l j pontif icate and aggrandized her presence to v i s i tors . " 1 8 she exalted herse l f u s i n g pa inted imagery i n the chambers o f the p iano nobi le , w h i c h references her b o t h indirect ly and directly. these allus ions to her underscore her p r e e m i n e n t p o s i t i o n i n the palace.' 9 i f callers were not previously aware o f d o n n a ol impia ' s stature before they entered the palace, they cerc u e r c i n o ' s erminia serious c r i t i c i s m for her close re lat ionship w i t h giovanni battista, she acted i n the age-old t r a d i t i o n o f the i n f l u e n t i a l w o m e n b e h i n d the m a n . i f fore ign ambassadors and local n o b i l i t y often courted royal wives i n order to ga in favor w i t h , or receive benefits f r o m , other rulers , w h y not the pope h i m s e l f . 2 1 gifts were a p r i m a r y avenue to curry the favor o f these w o m e n . d o n n a o l i m p i a was an exceptionally p r o m i n e n t w o m e n , so i t is reasonable to presume that guercino's p a i n t i n g entered the col lect ion as a gift to the pamphi l j m a t r i a r c h . g u e r c i n o : a m a s t e r h i g h l y p r i z e d guercino's erminia finds the wounded tancred w o u l d have made an appropriate gift for the pamphi l j m a t r i a r c h . due to the p r o m i n e n c e o f the artist , the pedigree o f h is patrons, and the subject matter o f the p a i n t i n g , the p ic ture w o u l d have appealed to d o n n a o l i m p i a . guercino's w o r k was h i g h l y coveted i n early seventeenth-century italy. b o r n i n cento, a smal l village between bologna a n d ferrara, i n p o r t r a i t o f p o p e i n n o c e n t x, d e p i c t i n g t h e b r o t h e r i n l a w o f d o n n a o l i m p i a . "donna olimpia may have identified with the story of erminia, since both the poem and the painting advocate female empowerment according to her beliefs and tastes/' 1591, the artist showed remarkable talent at a y o u n g age and apprenticed b o t h w i t h benedetto gennar i sr. i n cento a n d w i t h the perspective painter paolo zagnone i n bologna before the age o f t w e n t y t w o . 2 2 after leaving zagnone, guerc ino earned h i g h praise f r o m his fe l low a r t i s t s — i n c l u d i n g the famed carracci b r o t h e r s — a n d attracted wealthy and i n f l u e n t i a l patrons that i n c l u d e d b o t h papal famil ies a n d local n o b i l i t y . 2 3 by 1617 he h a d already w o r k e d o n o i l pa int ings for cardinal alessandro ludovis i (later pope gregory xv) a n d for cos imo i i de m e d i c i , g r a n d d u k e o f tuscany. 2 4 moreover, between 1619 a n d 1620 he produced five pa int ings for jacopo serra, cardinal legate o f ferrara. guerc ino was k n i g h t e d "as he was i n m a n t u a i n 1620 for the works he h a d pa inted for ferdinando gonzaga, d u k e o f m a n t u a . " 2 5 by the age o f twenty-eight , guercin o h a d established a reputa t ion that extended beyond the local r eg ion and was k n o w n to the m o s t p o w e r f u l a n d wealthy famil ies i n italy. after the election o f ludovis i to the papacy i n 1621, guerc ino was called to rome to pa int the benedict ion loggia o f saint peter's . 2 6 t h o u g h th is part icular project never came to f r u i t i o n , the artist gained i n t e r n a t i o n a l fame as w e l l as m a n y high-prof i le patrons associated w i t h the papacy, i n c l u d i n g the borghese and the barber in i f ami l i e s . 2 7 between 1621 and 1623, guerc ino became fur ther entrenched w i t h rome's c u l t u r a l elite, p a i n t i n g decorative cycles i n the casino ludovis i , palazzo lancelott i , and the palazzo pat r i z i . 2 8 h e was even c o m m i s s i o n e d by cardinal scipione borghese to decorate the ce i l ing o f the c h u r c h o f san cr i sogno . 2 9 but guercino's t i m e i n rome was b r i e f and, after the death o f pope gregory x v i n 1623, the artist left the papal city. 3° e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2010 guercino's popular i ty became so great and his pa int ings so coveted that w h e n he r e t u r n e d to his native cento, h is w o r k was solicited n o t only by h i s previous r o m a n patrons , b u t also by nobles across the globe. 3 1 for example, the k ings o f b o t h england and b o t h france sought, unsuccessfully, to purchase his pa int ings and to acquire his services as a court painter. given his n e w f o u n d prestige and high-regard for his w o r k , the presence o f one o f guercino's pa int ings i n the pamphi l j art col lect ion w o u l d have been an accompl i shment for the family, w h i c h u n t i l g iovanni battista gained his cardinal hat i n 1626 h a d n o t yet fu l ly secured its place a m o n g the foremost r o m a n fami l i e s . 3 2 d o n n a ol impia ' s a m b i t i o n for the pamphi l j f ami ly and for g iovanni battista i m p e l l e d her to make tangible , visible connections to these papal famil ies . establ ishing an art col lect ion that w o u l d measure u p m i g h t have been an effective means o f accompl i sh ing this goal. th i s postulate is strengthened by the fact that d o n n a o l i m p i a h a d w o r k e d to establish the pamphi j f ami ly as a collector o f p r o m i n e n t art. pr ior to her marr iage i n t o the f ami ly i n 1612, the fami ly h a d n o t collected art at a l l . 3 3 as such, i t is reasonable to presume that she took part icular care i n selecting w h i c h pa int ings the f ami ly acquired a n d presented to the publ ic , for these works w o u l d have c o m m u n i c a t e d ostensibly the family 's social r a n k and sol idi f ied the i r c laims to r o m a n her i tage. 3 4 t h e g i f t ! c o n t e n t a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n guerc ino pa inted erminia finds the wounded tancred between 1618 and 1619, p r i o r to the artist 's r o m a n so journ , and exemplifies his younger, m o r e dramatic style. the m o saicist marcel lo provenzali or ig ina l ly c o m m i s s i o n e d the w o r k , a n d i t was given subsequently to stefano pignate l l i . 3 5 the p a i n t i n g depicts arguably the m o s t dramat ic scene i n torquato tasso's epic p o e m jerusalem delivered. erminia finds the wounded tancred is rooted i n canto x i x , where e r m i n i a a m a i d e n w h o falls i n love w i t h a hero i n the first crusade n a m e d tancred and betrays her people to help h i m encounters her w o u n d e d beloved. t h r o u g h o u t the p o e m e r m i n i a has sacrificed her safety i n an effort to pursue and a id tancred, even t h o u g h her love has gone u n r e q u i t e d . th i s p a i n t i n g depicts the episode after the noble vafr ine, another w a r r i o r i n the crusade, has entreated erminia ' s assistance to heal tancred, and she is overcome by passion and sorrow at the s ight o f her i n j u r e d love: the misadventurous girl had stopped to peer at the fierce soldier, a little ways apart, when the sound of his sad voice came to her ear: it was arrow through her loving heart. the name of tancred was enough for her; madly or drunkenly she came, she caught sight of the handsome face, its color gone. she didn't dismount, she leapt from the horse—and upon his body let pour forth a ceaseless flow of tears, and words she uttered mixed with sighs: "into what misery fortune leads me now! how sad and bitter a spectacle meets my eyes! so much time, so much pain i took to find you, tancred—i see you, but you can't recognize me—i am here, and you cannot see, i find you, and i lose you eternally?6 guerc ino captures the o v e r w h e l m i n g sense o f shock a n d h o r r o r described by tasso, e m p l o y i n g a dark palette a n d theatr ical gestures to express the drama o f the scene. th i s t o r q u a t o t a s s o p e n n e d jerusalem delivered, o n w h i c h g u e r c i n o ' s erminia is b a s e d . g u e r c i n o ' s erminia is a h i g h l y u n u s u a l depict ion o f the poetic scene, for n o t only is the viewer t h r u s t i n t o the m i d d l e o f the act ion, b u t also argantes—the source o f tancred's near-fatal wour ids — i s absent. compared to pa int ings o f th is very scene by guercino's near-contemporaries, such as the french academic painter nicolas poussin, guercino's w o r k is far m o r e theatrical , ant ic ipat ing the style o f m a n y mid-seventeenth-century i ta l i an artists a n d also recal l ing great masterpieces o f artists such as caravaggio. guercino's style s ignif icantly changed w h e n he r e t u r n e d to cento i n 1623. h i s art gradually m o v e d away f r o m the dramatic gestures and chiaroscuro o f the baroque, b e c o m i n g m o r e classical as his career progressed. as part o f the pamphi l j art collect ion, the early erminia finds the wounded tancred w o u l d have visual ly signaled that the pamphi l j h a d acq u i r e d guercino's w o r k before he ret u r n e d to cento, thus suggesting that they were i n league w i t h famil ies such as the borghese and barber in i , w h o were the p r i m a r y patrons o f guercino's b r i e f s t int i n rome. consequently, this picture w o u l d have acted as a s ignif ier o f the pamphi l j ' s noble status i n the papal city's social hierarchy. th i s p a i n t i n g w o u l d have made a perfectly f i t t i n g gift for d o n n a o l i m p i a m a i d a l c h i n i , since b o t h the pa int ing ' s subject matter a n d provenance accord w i t h her f a m i l i a l ambi t ions . i t w o u l d have h e l d enormous appeal for the pamphi l j m a t r i a r c h i n part icular because she was attracted to portrayals o f s t rong w o m e n . i n the renovated pamphi l j palace, she had her audience rooms decorated w i t h frescoes o f the o l d testament heroines judith, esther, a n d abiga i l . the visual spectacle i n her camera grande is arguably the m o s t c o m p e l l i n g , for the "display o f female leadership was especially germane i n th is r o o m where [she] exera w i n g o f t h e t h e d o r i a p a m p h part o f d o n n a o l i m p i a ' s c o l l e c t i cised her author i ty by receiving visitors and m e t i n g out favors to the fo r tunate . " 3 7 extending i n t o her o w n quarters, th is imagery served to a u g m e n t her persona i n the p o n t i f i cate o f innocent x and to p r o m o t e visual ly her m a x i m that the power o f w o m e n should n o t be underes t imated . 3 8 d o n na o l i m p i a may have ident i f ied w i t h the story o f e r m i n i a , since b o t h the p o e m and p a i n t i n g advocate female empowe r m e n t according to her beliefs and taste. tasso and guerc ino are noted for depic t ing m o n u m e n t a l w o m e n i n the i r respective m e d i u m s . 3 9 tasso's epic p o e m is often cited for its p r o m i n e n t and positive portrayal o f w o m e n ; his female characters, i n c l u d i n g e r m i n i a , play an integra l role i n the story, shaping the arch o f the p o e m outside o f the purgatory o f side plots where poets typical ly relegated female characters. i n his p a i n t i n g , guerc ino taps i n t o tasso's sp i r i ted portrayal o f w o m en, present ing erm i n i a as a m o n u m e n t a l figure. she is physically very large, n i g h statuesque, a n d b o t h the theatr ical l i g h t i n g a n d p o s i t i o n i n g o f the other figures draws the viewer's gaze directly to her. the w o u n d e d tancred a lmost disappears f r o m sight, eclipsed by erminia ' s flowing drapery and dramat ic gesture. whoever gifted this p a i n t i n g to d o n n a o l i m p i a m u s t have k n o w her i n t i m a t e l y to present her w i t h a w o r k so resonant w i t h her personal aesthetic and a m b i t i o n . t h e g i v e r ! all signs p o i n t to p i g n a t e l l i t h o u g h the ident i ty o f the pa int ing ' s benefactor is officially u n k n o w n since there are n o w r i t t e n documents to p i n d o w n its t r a i l f r o m guercino's h a n d to d o n n a o l i m i p i a ' s , i t is probable that stefano pignatelli 's was his benefactor ilj gallery, w h i c h t o d a y h o u s e s o n . e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 given his acquaintance w i t h the pamphi l j f ami ly and f r i endsh ip w i t h d o n n a o l i m p i a . pignatel l i was connected to the p a i n t i n g i n quest ion i n t w o s ignif icant ways: n o t only was he the last k n o w n owner o f the p a i n t i n g before i t entered the pamphi l j col lect ion, b u t he also was involved i n the architectural plans o f the casa pamphi l j i n 1615. pignate l l i was a s ignif icant player i n rome's cu l tura l m i l i e u ; a m e m b e r o f the " in te l l ec tua l l y -minded" accademia degl i u m o r i s t i , he pat ronized wr i ters , collected pa int ings a n d scientific i n s t r u m e n t s , a n d had a part icular penchant for a rch i tec ture . 4 0 h e was a close f r i e n d and t rusted advisor o f cardinal scipione borghese and was made cardinal h i m self i n 1621. 4 1 the pamphi l j f ami ly had close ties to the borghese family, a n d the pamphi l j s may have made pignatell i 's acquaintance t h r o u g h this c o n n e c t i o n . 4 2 nevertheless, i n 1615 g iovanni battista p a m p h i l j — w h o at th is t i m e was serving i n the curia as auditor o f the t r i b u n a l o f the rota—and his brother, pamphi l io , were i n the process o f renovat ing the i r homestead. 4 3 a l t h o u g h the i r unc le gir o l a m o had served as a cardinal i n the pontif icate o f c lement v i i i , he had neglected to re furb i sh the i r h o m e i n keepi n g w i t h his status as a pr ince o f r o m e . 4 4 after girolamo's death, the pamphi l j brothers took i t u p o n themselves to refashion i t i n l ine w i t h the i r f a m i l i a l a m b i t i o n s . 4 5 i n 1615, three years after d o n n a o l i m p i a h a d m a r r i e d i n t o the pamphi l j family, pignatel l i created a floor p l a n for the casa p a m p h i l j . d o n n a ol impia ' s interest i n the last ing architecture probably drew her to play a p r o m i n e n t role i n the physical re fashioning o f the pamphi l j res idence. 4 6 pignate l l i may have taken a l i k i n g to d o n n a o l i m p i a because she was wide ly k n o w n for her intel l igence and preference for the company o f m e n , or he may have seen parallels between erminia ' s sp i r i t and that o f d o n n a ol impia ' s . even so, t h o u g h m a n y probable causes exist and t h o u g h the c i rcumstant ia l evidence is c o m p e l l i n g , the motives and, indeed, whether pignatel l i actually presented the pamphi l j m a t r i a r c h w i t h guercino's erminia finds the wounded tancred w i l l never be k n o w n w i t h certainty so l o n g as the absence o f w r i t t e n evidence persists. t h e g i f t i n p e r s p e c t i v e guercino's p a i n t i n g is valued because the h a n d o f a h i g h l y sought-after artist created i t . the subject matter i t s e l f w o u l d not have made th is p a i n t i n g u n i q u e or part icular ly s ignif icant i n seventeenth-century rome. i n fact, the p o e m was so u b i q u i t o u s that i t may have been considered a standard subject a m o n g collectors. tasso's epic p o e m was or iginal ly pub l i shed i n 1581 and enjoyed enormous popular i ty t h r o u g h o u t the i ta l i an peninsula i n b o t h the sixteenth and seventeenth-centuries. scholars have suggested that the reading o f a n d fami l i a r i ty w i t h jerusalem delivered i n the seventeenth-century "presumably involved l i t t l e m o r e t h a n the reading o f robinson crusoe i n the t w e n t i e t h . " 4 7 there are several peculiarit ies , however, that m a k e the p a i n t i n g u n i q u e to the pamphi l j family. i n 1657 the p ic ture was housed i n d o n n a ol impia ' s private residence at san m a r t i n o al c i m i n o , near her h o m e t o w n o f v i terbo . she purchased th is property short ly after g iovanni battista ascended to the papacy—at w h i c h t i m e he raised the fief to a pr incipal i ty , m a k i n g d o n n a o l i m p i a the principessa d i san m a r t i n o . 4 8 the fact that she kept guercino's p a i n t i n g i n this part icular residence suggests that the w o r k ass u m e d a special m e a n i n g for her. after d o n n a ol impia ' s death the fami ly kept the p a i n t i n g , t h o u g h the m a j o r i t y o f the art col lect ion was later deaccess i o n e d . 4 9 t h o u g h the work ' s endurance i n the col lect ion may be a t t r ibuted to the p r o m i n e n c e o f the artist and his r o m a n patrons, the subject i t se l f may have played an i m portant role. accord ing to the pamphi l j family 's 1666 i n ventory, the i r p a i n t i n g col lect ion contained three addi t ional works related to jerusalem delivered, a l l o f w h i c h n a m e e r m i n i a as the p r i m a r y figure.50 g iovanni francesco romanel l i ' s erminia con il vecchio pastore, for example, was acquired i n 1648. 5 1 the n u m b e r o f ' e r m i n i a ' pa int ings i n the 1666 pamhi l j col lect ion suggests that the f ami ly had a part icular aff inity for the love-struck hero ine , and t h o u g h pictures depic t ing e r m i n i a f r o m various episodes o f jerusalem delivered were c o m m o n i n seventeenth-century rome, m o s t famil ies had at m o s t one or two examples, n o t four . 5 2 a l t h o u g h i t cannot be def init ively established that the pamphi l j ' s e r m i n i a col lect ion is directly connected to d o n n a o l i m p i a m a i d a l c h i n i , the c i rcumstant ia l evidence, namely the liveliness o f the fictional and his tor ica l w o m e n , suggests a h i g h l y plausible correspondence. i f th is shared ident i ty d i d i n fact exist, i t w o u l d infer that d o n n a o l i m p i a l i teral ly embedded herse l f i n the family 's pat r imony , further ar t icu la t ing her power for posterity. guercino's erminia finds the wounded tancred r emains one o f the m o s t s ignif icant pictures i n the m o d e r n doriapamphi l j art col lect ion. i t is a d m i r e d because o f its subject and the genius o f guercino's artistry. the p a i n t i n g n o t only speaks to the artist's talents, b u t also reveals somet h i n g o f the i n n e r w o r k i n g s o f the pamphi l j f ami ly i n the seventeenth century and its g rand m a t r i a r c h , d o n n a o l i m pia m a i d a l c h i n i . t h o u g h the picture's precise pedigree cannot be def init ively de te rmined , the p r o m i n e n c e o f the artist and his patrons, as w e l l as the pa int ing ' s part icular ; j g u e r c i n o ' s erminia iconography, serve to fur ther substantiate the pr imacy o f d o n n a ol impia ' s role i n rome and her c o n t i n u i n g presence w i t h i n the pamphi l j art col lect ion. the pamphi l j matriarch's re lat ionship to erminia finds the wounded tancred suggests that the p ic ture s t i l l has m u c h to offer art h i s tor i ans o n b o t h a b iographica l and iconographical level. definitive answers regarding this connect ion m a y only be unear thed by uncover ing a n d analyzing stefano pignatelli 's w i l l , or by discovering previously u n k n o w n correspondence between d o n n a o l i m p i a and pignatel l i . these documents , i f they indeed exist, w o u l d surely shed l i g h t o n the re lat ionship between these two indiv idua ls and the i r shared interest i n guercino's p a i n t i n g . for now, al l that may be concluded is that the pamphi l j ' s be l i e f that erminia finds the wounded tancred entered the i r family 's col lect ion as a gift to d o n n a o l i m p i a is qui te c o m p e l l i n g , and may w e l l be the t r u t h . e n d n o t e s 1. "erminia finds the wounded tancredi." doriapamphilj.it. galleria doria pamphilj. 2. mauss (i) 3. goldthwaite (152) 4. bischoff (19) 5. ibid. 6. bischoff (20*21) 7. leone (95) 8. ibid. 9. ibid. 10. ibid. 11. leone (107) 12. leone (155-56) 13. currently, scholars are not aware of any written documents that detail what specific power the pamphilj matriarch wielded i n the papal court, cf. leone. 14. leone (145) 15. ibid. 16. leone (145) 17. leone (213) 18. leone (156) 19. ibid. 20. leone (157) 21. bischoff (21) 22. mahon (118), prasad (12) 23. prasad (22) 24. de grazia (44) 25. ibid. 26. mahon (47) 27. ebert-schifferer (99) 28. de grazia (47) 29. ibid. 30. ibid. 31. notably, the cardinals who most often requested paintings v from h i m i n cento were the "creatures" of pope urban v i i i (a member of the barberini family). 32. levillain (801) 33. stephanie leone. "collecting i n renaissance florence: the medici". boston college, chestnut h i l l , ma. 28 sep 2009. 34. in order to ascend rome's social ladder, one had to evidence one's roman ancestry; generally, this could be accomplished through the acquisition of property and material wealth, cf. leone, "collecting i n renaissance florence: the medici". 28 sep 2009. 35. "erminia finds the wounded tancredi." doriapamphilj.it. galleria doria pamphilj. 36.. tasso (104-105) 37. leone (217) 38. ibid. 39. waterhouse (20-21) 40. ehrlich (32), leone (88) 41. ehrlich (32) 42. leone (88) 43. levillain (801) 44. leone (88) 45. ibid. 46. stephanie leone, "pamphilj patronage and art collecting, part i . " boston college, chestnut h i l l , ma. 14 sep. 2009. 47. ebert-schifferer (106) 48. donna olimpia purchased was purchased the property i n 1645. cf. 101. ibid. 49. stephanie leone, "pamphilj patronage and art collecting, part i . " boston college, chestnut h i l l , ma. 14 sep. 2009. 50. the other paintings are: pietro da cortona's erminia che giunge dalpastore and romanelli's erminia che si presenta al pastore. capitelli (75) 51. the assertions made here are based on research using the getty institute's provenance index database to explore the inventories of other major seventeenth-century roman art collections. r e f e r e n c e s bischoff, cordula. "presents for princesses: gender i n royal receiving and giving." studies i n the decorative arts. fall/ winter 2007-2008: 19-45. burke, jill and michael bury. art and identity in early modern rome. burlington, vt : ashgate, 2008. capitelli, giovanna. i capolavori della collezione doria pamphilj da tiziano a velasquez. milan: skira, 1996. de grazia, diane. "guercino as decorator." guercino: master painter of the baroque. washington, d.c.: national gallery of art, 1992. 41-73. ebert-schifferer, sybille. '"ma c'hanno da fare i precetti deli'oratore con quelli della pittura?' reflections on guercino's narrative structure." guercino: master painter of the baroque. washington, d.c.: national gallery of art, 1992. 75-110. e l e m e n t s : : fall2010 http://doriapamphilj.it http://doriapamphilj.it ehrlich, tracy l. landscape and identity in early modern rome: villa culture at frascati in the borghese era. cambridge, england: cambridge university press, 2002. "erminia finds the wounded tancredi." galleria doria pamphilj. 27 oct 2009. doriapamphilj.it. goldthwaite, richard a. wealth and the demand for art in italy, 1300-1600. baltimore: johns hopkins university.press, 1993. gough, melinda j. "tasso's enchantress, tasso's captive woman." renaissance quarterly 54.2 (2001): 523-52. guide to the doria pamphilj gallery. rome: art i doria pamphilj, 1997. print. lee, rensselear w. poetry into painting: tasso and art. middlebury college. middlebury, vermont: middlebury college, 1970. 15 fan 1970. john hamilton fulton memorial lectureship i n the liberal arts. leone, stephanie. the palazzo pamphilj in piazza navona : constructing identity in early modern rome. london: harvey miller pub., 2008. —. "collecting i n renaissance florence: the medici." boston college, chestnut h i l l , ma. 28 sep 2009. —. "pamphilj patronage and art collecting, part i . " boston college, chestnut h i l l , ma. 14 sep 2009. . levillain, philippe. ed. " innocent x." the papacy: gaius-proxies. vol 2. new york: routledge, 2002. 801-803. mahon, denis. guercino: master painter of the baroque. washington, d.c.: national gallery of art, 1992. mauss, marcel. the gift: the form and'reason for exchange in archaic societies. 2nded. london: routledge, 1990. prasad, shilpa. guercino: stylistic evolution in focus. san diego, c.a.: timken museum of art, 2006. safarik, eduard a. galleria doria pamphilj masterpieces: paintings. florence, italy: scala, 1993. stone, david. guercino: catalogo completo dei dipinti. florence, italy: cantini, 1991. tasso, torquato. jerusalem delivered. trans. anthony m . esolen. baltimore, m,d.: the johns hopkins university press, 2000. print. waterhouse, ellis. "tasso and the visual arts." italian studies 3-4.8 (1947): 147-62. g u e r c i n o ' s erminia http://doriapamphilj.it violet caswell violet is a senior at boston college majoring in history and minoring in theology and international studies. she is interested in religious history, faith elements in conflict, and public history. currently, she is working on a scholar of the college thesis about dighton rock, a forgotten piece of her hometown’s history. after graduation, she hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a career in archival studies. she would like to thank the wonderful dr. virginia reinburg for encouraging her to publish in elements. author biographies lindsey chou lindsey is a member of the boston college class of 2017. she is a lifelong resident of massachusetts, where she lives with her parents and brother. she is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in applied psychology & human development, with minors in english and women’s and gender studies. having attended a catholic high school, followed by a catholic university, the intersections of religion and feminism are of significant academic and personal interest to her, as depicted in her essay in this journal. max blaisdell max graduated in the spring of 2016 and is now working in san francisco as a paralegal for leiff cabraser heimann & bernstein. he graduated cum laude with a major in international studies and minors in math and political science. max worked as an undergraduate research assistant at the boisi center for religion and american public life while at boston college. his interests include comparative democratic transitions, the political philosophy of liberalism, and issues with integration in europe. max plans to continue his studies in graduate school and go on to pursue a career in academia. benjamin flythe benjamin is a fine art photographer and freelance graphic designer living and working in boston, ma. having graduated from boston college in 2016 with a degree in art history, ben’s fields of study include fin-de-siècle europe—particularly symbolism and art nouveau—as well as pop art and the dutch baroque. his personal art draws heavily from the theatricality of this last artistic era and his portraits have been compared to those of rembrandt, especially with respect to the quality of his light and the emotion present in his sitters. while ben hopes to be able to exhibit work both in boston and elsewhere, he continues to develop his passion for art as an intern at the abigail ogilvy gallery in boston’s sowa district. clare kim clare is a junior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences majoring in communication and minoring in american studies, with a concentration on race and ethnicity. she discovered her passion for social justice, especially with issues regarding race, after taking the introductory course to american studies with professor lori harrison-kahan. since then, clare has joined the council for faces, an organization that seeks to educate the bc community on issues of race through dialogue. on campus, she is the publicity director of wzbc, boston college’s student-run radio station, and works at media technology services in the photography and graphics departments. aside from academics, clare enjoys art and hopes to pursue a career in the creative field. soyeon kim soyeon graduated from the morrissey college of arts and sciences in 2016 with a bachelor of arts in communication and a minor in african and african diaspora studies. after witnessing a case of police brutality and volunteering with underprivileged communities, she concentrated her studies on issues of social justice, especially those related to racism. soyeon’s research has been focused on the rhetoric of race in law and media studies, and she was a co-facilitator for dialogues on race at boston college. this fall, she will be serving as an urban education fellow at great oaks charter school in newark, nj for a year before pursuing a graduate degree in social work. natasza gawlick natasza graduated from boston college in may 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in english and psychology. in her time at boston college, natasza served as president of the english association for two years, played in numerous chamber music ensembles, was accepted into the creative writing concentration, and worked as an intern for teen ink magazine. for her senior project, while under the mentorship of professor susan roberts, she wrote a creative thesis and a collection of fictional short stories. natasza was awarded the cardinal cushing award for best fiction printed in a boston college publication. she hopes to attend graduate school for english literature and creative writing in the fall of 2017. madeline leddy madeline is a junior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences majoring in english with a minor in international studies. her academic interests include gothic literature, twentieth-century literature, and war and conflict in the twentieth-century. on campus, she has worked as an undergraduate research fellow in the irish studies department, as well as a moderator for boston college’s lean in chapter and is a member of the university chorale of boston college. she is a native of cleveland, ohio and is very pleased with the results of the 2016 nba finals; however, she is spending her junior year abroad in the uk studying english and history at mansfield college, oxford university. sarah sullivan sarah is a junior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences double majoring in history and psychology. she hopes to utilize and combine her knowledge in both areas for a potential career in the field of law. she is spending her fall semester abroad at the university of melbourne in australia. in her spare time, sarah enjoys writing for the rock at boston college, visiting art museums, and petting dogs. james ledoux james is a senior majoring in economics with a minor in computer science in the morrissey college of arts and sciences. his academic interests include statistical modeling, machine learning, and distributed computing. his background in research includes an undergraduate research fellowship in the department of economics at boston college and a series of independent projects, such as that displayed in this article. professionally, he has spent time in technology and finance, serving as a data analyst at unum insurance as well as a support specialist at google. he will continue his research during the 2016-17 academic year by writing a senior economics thesis under the guidance of professor chris maxwell. thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the morrissey college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. all submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © dark sevier / flickr periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. electronic journal elements is also published as an open access electronic journal. it is available at http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/elements. issn 2380-6087 the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 12, issue 2, fall 2016 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by flagship press,150 flagship drive, north andover, ma 01845 copyright © 2016 by the trustees of boston college this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. elements staff editor-in-chief betty (yunqing) wang managing editor annie kim deputy editor alessandra luedeking treasurer asher (seungwan) kang layout xizi (kelsey) zhang, senior editor elise hon, assistant editor sewon (jason) oh, editor humanities jacob ciafone, senior editor isabella dow, senior editor laura casado, editor emily tang, editor social sciences sydney apple, senior editor michelle kang, senior editor benjamin ferri, editor asad pasha, editor natural sciences david fu, senior editor jessica bolduc, editor junghwan kim, editor media & publicity anne donnelly, senior editor madeline george, assistant editor web editor minki hong, senior editor office manager billy hubschman faculty advisors jason cavallari elizabeth chadwick https://www.flickr.com/photos/sevier/4352548442/in/album-72157623298590017/ mailto:wangnk@bc.edu dear readers, as elements continues to grow as a research journal in both print and digital forms, we hope it creates a platform for undergraduate students to showcase not only the content and outcomes of their studies, but also the various methods and formats in which research may be conducted and communicated. the articles selected to be in the fall 2016 issue of elements raise an array of important yet complex questions and approach them from interesting and original perspectives. we have included three articles that highlight issues concerning race and racism in america, each with a unique focal point. the cover article, “alternative truths: the construction of narratives in the rodney king trial,” centers on how the defense’s presentation and contextualization of the video of the beating led the jury to a different interpretation of seemingly selfexplanatory evidence. author soyeon kim offers a detailed analysis of the images, metaphors, and rhetoric that the defense employed to construct a narrative of black criminality and police heroism that resonated with the jurors. sarah sullivan’s article, “extralegal violence: the ku klux klan in the reconstruction era,” seeks to uncover the motivations and ideologies behind racial terror in a period that historians have often overlooked. finally, to direct our attention back to the present day, clare kim critiques the one-dimensional portrayal of asian characters on television in “the blindspot: asian misrepresentation in orange is the new black.” juxtaposing two similar yet different objects of research can help illuminate the characteristics of both. in “our lady of impossibility: gendered standards in islam and christianity,” lindsey chou compares mary’s role in the two religious traditions and examines how this unattainable ideal impacts women of faith in society. in the meantime, max blaisdell’s article, “tunisian exceptionalism or constitutional timing,” identifies key elements of a successful democratic transition by contrasting the processes and actions undertaken after the arab spring in tunisia, where the attempt was effective, with those in egypt, where it has failed. oftentimes, ideas and techniques from another field or discipline can provide valuable insights on the focus of one’s study. in the current issue, madeline leddy’s “myth or truth: the apollonian and dionysian in the death of ivan ilyich” and benjamin flythe’s “dreams and sexuality: a psychoanalytical reading of klimt’s beethoven frieze” both use the apollonian-dionysian dichotomy in nietzsche’s the birth of tragedy to interpret the work of another artist or author. in “extra point under review: machine learning and the nfl field goal,” james ledoux investigates the factors behind field goal success and kicker ability through the application of statistical models. furthermore, this issue includes two articles in which the effective use of storytelling and anecdotes makes the arguments more compelling and memorable. in “meeting henry hills: printer to the king’s most excellent majesty,” violet caswell unveils the history and culture behind the burns library’s copy of the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus through the story of its printer. last but not least, follow natasza gawlick into the emerging field of music therapy in “thank you for the music,” as she examines case studies of children with autism that have benefited from musical activities. “the unexamined life is not worth living.” elements seeks to encourage readers to engage in active reflection, investigation, and discussion on campus and beyond. whether you have the opportunity to read all of the articles or only a few, we hope they can kindle your curiosity in the complex problems and enduring questions of our age, and demonstrate some techniques that may help you comprehend and dissect them. happy reading! best, betty (yunqing) wang editor in chief editor’s note t h e place a n d t h e m a k e r frederick law olmsted and his boston parks jarret izzo t h e c o n c e p t i o n of t h e g i l d e d age urban park s o u g h t to recla im s a n i t a r y , r e c r e a t i o n a l , scenic , a n d reformist ideals perceived to have g o n e astray u n d e r i n t e n s e i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n a n d e x p a n s i o n . i n b o s t o n , each factor t o o k o n characterist ics particular to new e n g l a n d . frederick law o l m s t e d ' s b o s t o n system was a c o m p o s i t e of h i s previous work i n o t h e r c it ies . these parks m a n i f e s t e d t h e u n i f i c a t i o n of d e s i g n principles t h a t addressed t h e purpose a n d f u n c t i o n of parks, as well as e x e m p l i f i e d h i s n a t u r a l i s t i c style, both fully f o r m e d by t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t of h i s b o s t o n work. t h e c o n f l u e n c e of t h e city's g i l d e d age p o l i t i c a l arena, t h e m a n ' s v i s i o n , a n d t h e g e o g r a p h y of b o s t o n a l l o w e d for t h e m a n i p u l a t i o n of p a s t u r e l a n d i n t o t h e most elegant a n d complete m a n i f e s t a t i o n of h i s d e s i g n p h i l o s o p h y . i n t r o d u c t i o n consult the genius of the place in all; that tells the waters or to rise, or fall; or helps th' ambitious hill the heav'ns to scale, or scoops in circling theatres the vale; calls in the country, catches opening glades, joins willing woods, and varies shades from shades, now breaks, or now directs, th' intending lines; paints as you plant, and, as you work, designs.1 —alexander pope in 1886, the american landscape architect frederick law olmsted delivered a paper to the boston parks department regarding a significant expansion of the city's park system, much of which he designed in the previous decade. he suggested the purchase and development of 500 acres of farmland in west roxbury into an expansive park, connecting to other projects on the city's western border. the commissioners and city government initially balked at the cost of such an undertaking, yet the deftness of olmsted's design reflected a mature style seen i n his other boston spaces—a combination of the pragmatic and the visionary. "it is most desirable," he presented, "to make use of any local circumstance of the slightest dignity of character to supply a centre of interest for such grounds. such a circumstance may be found, for instance, in a natural feature, as a notable rock, or in a historical feature . . . or simply i n a point of vantage for a view, as a prospect down the harbor."11 olmsted was well established as america's preeminent landscape architect at the time of his arrival in boston a decade earlier. even so, his work in boston solidified his reputation. the "emerald necklace" of parks he would come to design for the metropolis was a system that masterfully united aspects of his work seen in previous urban projects, and yet it was entirely unique to the geographic and social concerns of gilded age bostonians. when ground broke at the back bay fens in 1879, it was the first new greenspace construction seen in the city of boston i n two decades. the capital of massachusetts was late in coming to the planning and construction of parks compared to other american cities that, rapidly expanding in response to industrial growth and population shifts, commenced park development closer to the civil war. the city lacked the luxury of open farmland that into which most american cities expanded. instead, the shawmut peninsula on which boston developed was effectively an island for the first half of the 19th century. the city connected south and west to roxbury, dorchester, and brookline via boston neck, a narrow peninsula upon which present-day washington street ran as a causeway. landfill projects before the 1850s were limited to the core of the city; the filling of the mi l l pond and construction of the bulfmch triangle (near the present-day north station), as well as expansion to the east along the docks of the great cove. the completion of neither of these projects allowed for significant expansion of open space; land was quickly purchased by speculators and developed for commercial purposes. what limited greenspace boston contained through the civil war differed significantly i n form and function from what was to take shape in the city's parks movement of the 1870s and beyond. the boston common, an urban feature open from the beginning of boston's settlement by puritan colonists, was primarily pastureland for residents' livestock and served as the site for large public events, including mi l itary drills and capital punishment. small-scale landfill, presaging the major back bay project, expanded into the west cove, the present site of the boston public garden. the formal design imposed on the public garden along with its small size contrasted the space with concurrent trends of urban park design nationally. the completion of the back bay fil l was the catalyst that coincided with the emerging political and social commitment to build a park system in accordance with national state of the art. the land expansion boston desperately needed came i n the filling of the back bay of the charles river. planning began as early as 1814 but the shallow tidal flats began receiving f i l l i n 1857. while laborers emptied train cars of needham gravel and soil, olmsted commenced landscape architecture work i n new york city, winning the design competition for the new central park with architect and partner calvert vaux in 1854. great success followed their acclaimed project in manhattan and, following the civil war, the olmsted & vaux firm developed park space in brooklyn, buffalo, chicago, and other, primarily northern, cities. though the partnership dissolved amicably in 1872, olmsted continued plans for university campuses, small squares, and pubic grounds while maintaining the post of superintendent of central park and taking numerous european tours to observe the state of park and urban design, particularly i n england and paris. his firm's move to brookline i n 1878, and the subsequent concentration on the boston work saw the beginning of his career's mature period. reclaimed swamp a river c o n n e c t e d pa leaving his managerial post at central park in 1878, olmsted moved his household and firm to brookline, ma, just west of the boston city line. the move converged with an escalation of the metropolis' political and social demand for large-scale park development. olmsted's availability to his new community created the opportunity for a mature artist to design parks at a mature site. the back bay fill, a public works project on par with the big dig of the 1990s, was complete just west of massachusetts avenue and the city was ripe for further development. a bostonian wrote to olmsted during these early planning stages of the boston park system: "boston is a crooked and confused territory; i f we ever get it straightened out, it must be in the next or succeeding generations; i f we are to have parks, now is the time to secure the lands for the purpose." ; bostonians, late to the table in terms of postbellum urban design, had been hampered by lack of space and political conservatism. with the completion of the back bay fill, the maturation of boston's socio-political vision, as well as the presence of architect-in-residence, frederick law olmsted allowed boston to possess the most functionally useful and yet subtly designed park system in the united states. it was also the masterstroke of frederick law olmsted's work—the unique places made within the emerald necklace communicated a singular investment and consideration on the part of a fully developed artist. olmsted awakened the spirit of places in boston previously disregarded, such as franklin park, or outright shunned as at the back bay fens. through his guidance, the city of boston constructed a park system that captured not only the spirit of the contemporary city, but also the one that was to come through the next century. long t h e muddy rks to t h e s o u t h in 19th century boston, space was at a premium. olmsted's park system at once fundamentally shifted the city's future growth toward a spacious, suburban archetype while tangibly manifesting the social mores of gilded age boston. in addition, the spaces created in the special moment where boston and olmsted intersect as design and designer demand study of the heritage of each individually. the social and political currents underlying boston's motivation for a park system were representative of attitudes felt in cities nationally. this era's conception of the urban park sought to reclaim sanitary, recreational, scenic, and reformist ideals perceived to have gone astray under intense industrialization and urban expansion. in boston, each of these motivations took on characteristics particular to new england. frederick law olmsted's boston system was a composite of his previous work in other cities. these parks manifested the unificat h e p l a c e and t h e maker tion of design principles that addressed the purpose and function of parks, as well as exemplified his naturalistic style, both fully formed by the commencement of his boston work. o l m s t e d ! h i s i n f l u e n c e s a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of h i s style frederick law olmsted is largely credited with raising the job of landscape architect to an individual profession. he once wrote to a friend, " i f a fairy had shaped [my career], it could not have fitted me better."v perhaps it appealed and unified his eclectic interests, as he was to come to park design following many fits and starts in separate careers. he was, in turn, a seaman in youth, a farmer, and a travel writer through the american south. his initial travel writing took a distinct color in response to a tour of england with his brother john and boyhood friend charles loring brace in 1850. it was here that he gazed with farmer's eyes upon the english countryside, and yet, as biographer roper comments, "he was more than a farmer, however; he was an ambitious young man consciously working to overcome the handicap of haphazard education . . . he observed, therefore, with the eye not only of a farmer but of a student of society, alert, intelligent, critical, and enthusiastic. his first enthusiasm, spontaneous and lasting, was for the enchanting english countryside."" but the countryside was not the only english landscape to affect olmsted; the decade-old birkenhead park in liverpool awakened the possibility of bringing the country to the city, even to the laboring classes. the impetus and design of the park contrasted with any seen in american cities, and it became a model from which olmsted took design cues. p a r t i c u l a r i t i e s of o l m s t e d ' s park d e s i g n ; e n g l i s h a n d f r e n c h i n f l u e n c e s the park designs and urban design philosophy of olmsted were not without precedent. his numerous work-vacations to europe and the british isles influenced his style throughout his career and are particularly visible in his cohesive "necklace" system of boston. the american drew distinct franklin park ut il izes naturalist a e s t h e t i c s for a f u n c t i o n a l d e s i g n yet complementary design aspects from british and french parks and urban design. the influence of liverpool's birkenhead, the first of seemingly natural picturesque parks, is witnessed in olmsted's "country park" model. undulant greenspace and lush ramble paths provided recreational and healthful opportunities for city residents. activities were divided between passive absorption of the space's positive energy, as simple repose in open space was deemed healthful, and unstructured active pursuits, such as horseback riding and field games. this artificial naturalism, unseen in parks heretofore manicured precisely with flowerbeds and statues, profoundly influenced olmsted's later work i n his three major "country parks": manhattan's central park, brooklyn's prospect park, and franklin park in boston. distinguishing olmsted's park design is primarily an adherence to a comprehensive site plan and a unified vision of park space. this differed from previous ad hoc delineations of open space, as well as the mid-century eclecticism of american architecture and design. writing about central park, and yet making a statement that foreshadowed his career's design philosophy, olmsted declared, "the park throughout is a single work of art, and as such [is] subject of the primary law of every work of art, namely, that it shall be framed upon a single, noble motive, to which the design of all its parts, in some more or less subtle way, shall be confluent and helpful."" his art, crafted in stone and fecund earth, would immerse the visitor in total space. the placement and balance of landscape aesthetics along with formal structures were conceived in the context of a unified park. the french influence upon olmsted's design vision was present, though its manifestation in his parks was not as clear. according to frances kowsky of the state university of new york at buffalo, both olmsted and vaux toured paris during its second empire reconstruction under baron georges-eugene haussmann, and it was both the physical design of the boulevard and the city-wide comprehensive plan that influenced future park design. while still based in new york, he and vaux began to develop elements crucial to the later "emerald necklaces," metropolitan park systems connected by landscaped boulevards. he first conceived of these boulevards, which he termed "parkways," in relation to brooklyn's prospect park likely in late 1867. 11 the first public presentation of the idea came in the "report of the landscape architects and superintendents" to the park's board of commissioners the following january. with a functional purpose of connecting prospect park to surrounding open space, the parkways conceptually served to link distinct park sites, where a visitor might ride from fort hamilton on new york harbor to prospect park, and then north across the east river to central park without a break of greenspace.vm the plan was, however, improbably broad for the era; brooklyn and new york were individual, competitive cities and no bridge would be built across the east river until roebling's suspension opened to traffic in 1883. when functions were separated by way of landscape design, olmsted recalled in boston the comprehensive park system. galen cranz, professor of architecture at the university of california, berkeley, observes the appeal of country aesthetic to a city dweller: "the country has always stood for simplicity, health, peace and quiet, and the stability of personal, family, and community relations . . . olmsted sought to give his parks a feeling of the country, whether they consciously realized it or not. the location of the boston's back bay fens, the entryway to the city's emerald necklace, is particularly challenging in this regard. olmsted believed in the pertinence of open space to urban character, just as much as in buildings themselves. he wrote, "the park should, as far as possible, complement the town. openness is the one thing you cannot get in buildings. picturesqueness you can get. let your buildings be as picturesque as your artists can make them. this is the beauty of a town. consequently the beauty of the park should be the other [openness or hollowness]."x olmsted's artful and united vision soon expanded to include the interplay of multiple parks with the metropolitan area. years later, olmsted recounted to the boston society of architects the conversation that first verbalized his plans of a city-wide park system. discussing with a city engineer the drainage improvement of the muddy river to the fens, olmsted expressed that a southern ingress and its continuity of the park extended the idea: "then the roads leading up that valley to jamaica pond would be the beginning of a park-way leading from the back bay to the arboretum and west roxbury park."xl his organizational sensibilities were finely tuned from his experiences with his previous projects, notably central park, a hotbed of political intrigue and patronage.x11 commissioned to continue boston's emerald necklace with the centerpiece west roxbury park, olmsted requested supervision over all subordinate advisors to solidify his vision and insulate the design team from political influence. a gardener, for example, would be hired based on competence measured by olmsted rather than as a favor from a city councilman. it was not only in his pragmatic approach to construction and project management that olmsted's professional maturity manifested itself. referring to olmsted's 1877 work in montreal, rybczynski comments, "the artlessness that he had been perfecting since mount royal here came to the fore." x m unlike his early work in new york, his boston work lacked victorian ostentation. jamaica pond, already existing before olmsted's project, received no embellishment on the order of central park's bethesda terrace. the main lodge of franklin park, though a large structure, faced away from the meadow and used a rolling, brown roof that blended with the shaded fell. not only do these design characteristics owe to the boston park commission's frugality, but they also illustrate olmsted's deftness in exploring his spatial vision. t h e i d e o l o g y of t h e b o s t o n parks m o v e m e n t the upper class brahmins of boston, quick to extol the strengths and advantages of their city over those elsewhere in the nation, were not initially warm to the idea of largescale public parks on the order of central park or birkenhead. in response to new york's park project, the boston city council requested a report from a specially appointed commission to investigate its feasibility in their city. though such construction may be beneficial to the city, physical space was severely limited: "the area of our city is too small to allow the laying out of large tracts of land for public parks, and it behooves us to improve the small portions that are left to us for such purposes."mv i n turn, the city reconsidered what space was available at the boston common and the public garden. the population of boston concentrated on the head of shawmut peninsula became increasingly industrial through the 19th century and the common's initial purpose as pastureland fell away as cattle were replaced by couples and families on promenade. the public garden, situated on newly filled land across charles street, lay stagnant t i l l the 1859 park commission adopted a design plan and appropriated funding. the adopted plan, as prominent urban parks scholar cynthia zaitzevsky notes, "displays a certain horror vacui; it is so overloaded with 'features' that there is minimal space for trees, shrubs, and grass."xv the garden's chief engineer lessened its extreme formalism, but the contrast between this public space and that of olmsted is palpable and historically significant. intact until the resuscitation of the parks movement i n the 1870s, this small space was the social agora of the athens of america. two significant events in boston stimulated the parks movement, both occurring i n 1870. first, most of the filling of the back bay was completed. new edifices were constructed on commonwealth avenue and other east-west streets to exeter street, as the new land offered space to expand. william newman and wilfred holton, historians of the back bay landfill, enumerate several reasons prompting the fill. first, the rapid growth of the shipping and textile industry pushed the resources of shawmut peninsula to the limits. second, the population growth, particularly spurred by irish immigration, "transformfed] boston from a densely settled city into an overcrowded city." this overcrowding created severe sanitary concerns. sewers from the western end of the peninsula and boston neck emptied into the dammed back bay, which oftentimes was "seen bubbling, like a cauldron, with the noxious gases that are exploding from the corrupting mass below." x v m cholera and malaria were believed to travel through polluted, miasmatic air, which the fill of the back bay was to eliminate. the completion of the back bay fill i n 1870 coincided with a significant cultural event—olmstead delivered a major lecture at boston's lowell institute on february 25th of that year. the lecture, entitled "public parks and the enlargement of towns," addressed the concerns of a brahmin audience, particularly leaving a physical legacy in a city in which their social and political control grew tenuous as the immigrant population increased. olmsted advocated park construction that would anticipate the future of a city, rather than its current need. "we have reason to believe, then," he argued, "that towns which of late have been increasing rapidly on account of their commercial advantages, are likely to be still more attractive to population i n the future." minutes later he directed his thesis locally: "it is practically certain that the boston of to-day is the mere nucleus of the boston that is to be." the lecture audience was large and enthusiastic, and a bostonian desire to build for their city's future underlaid the social undercurrents supporting park construction through this period. the concept of the expanding the city and the park as a solution came in response to several urban ills, widely perceived in american cities at the time, and strongly felt in boston by the government and influential upper classes. building was popular on the new landfill, and land speculation was heavy. sanitation remained an issue; in discussion with a city engineer on the back bay fens, olmsted supported quick action on park planning as delay halted development westward, largely out of health concerns. politicians would wrangle over construction budgets and, "meantime and before many years the muddy river valley wi l l be very dirty, unhealthy, squalid. no one wi l l want to live in the neighborhood of it. property wi l l have very little value and there wil l grow up near the best residence district of the city an unhealthy and pestilential neighborhood." the need to provide recreational and scenic benefits to olmsted's "country parks" provided a pastoral reprieve from the urban landscape bostonians also bolstered arguments for a regional park system. finally, an element of social reform tinted this period's park push—a well-designed park may improve the mental and emotional health of a city and a democracy in addition to the physical well being of its citizens. as described, the pollution of the back bay before its fi l l caused great consternation amid the boston medical community. following its completion, great mudflats remained to the west of exeter street where the drainage of the muddy river and stony brook were hindered. it was here in the back bay that frederick law olmsted commenced his boston work, for common belief held that parks were beneficial to a city's sanitation. yet parks in general were believed to purify air—in olmsted's address to the lowell institute, he remarked, "air is disinfected by sunlight and foliage. foliage also acts mechanically to purify the air by screening it." dubious as this science is, the rhetoric was strong and was a significant motivator behind boston's park construction. the park was often described as "lungs for the city. " x x 11 the medical community in boston testified to the city council on behalf of park construction, and the american medical association's committee on public hygiene added, "the necessity for public squares, tastefully ornamented and planted with trees, cannot be too strongly urged upon the public attention, as one of the most powerful correctives to the vitiated air with in the reach of the inhabitants of a populous place."xxi 11 miasmatic air from the built environment would pass through parks, be cleansed, and benefit citizens nearby or within the space. yet for the common city resident, not salubriousness but rather spatial liberation fueled park support. the dense city disallowed sweeping recreational activity or even sedate outings. through the 1830s and 40s, urbanites used what space was available. rural cemeteries constructed outside city limits, famously mount auburn in cambridge, became popular public spaces for repose or, scandalously, promenading and recreation. the very reason for relocating cemeteries, as cadavers were supposed to bear disease, was t h e p l a c e and t h e maker subverted i n popular use. the replacement of cemeteries by park space for recreation was, therefore, promoted in conjunction with health concerns. alexander jackson downing, friend of olmsted and an early proponent of central park, recognized the spaces' appeal: " in the absence of great public parks . . . our rural cemeteries are doing a great deal to enlarge and educate the popular taste in rural embellishment." active sports were shunned in favor of receptive recreation, restful picnicking and walking tours. only through the 1890s, when the boston system was more or less complete, did park users adapt parkland for athletic use, particularly in light of the exploding popularity of tennis and bicycling. x x v l because receptive recreation was the expected activity of park visitors, the scenic aspects of parkland were an important l ink between an individual's mental state and the surrounding environment. city politicians and planners, olmsted among them, believed in the restorative effects of natural landscapes on a visitor. quoting oxford lecturer john ruskin, olmsted extolled, "you wi l l never love art t i l l you love what she mirrors better."v 11 this was particularly true in boston, where transcendentalist philosophy informed brahmin political and social attitudes. the restorative qualities of nature are exemplified in a statement of henry david thoreau: "would it to be a luxury to stand up to one's chin in some retired swamp for a whole summer's day . . . ? hope and the future for me are not i n lawns and cultivated fields, not in towns and cities, but i n the impervious and quaking swamps." x x v n i ralph waldo emerson wrote similar exhortations encouraging country life, but probably favored a union of the town and country: " i wish to have rural strength and religion for my children," he wrote in the journal, "and i wish city facility and po l i sh . "™ as discussed above, olmsted's parks were distinct spaces from the surrounding city—rus in urbe, rather than merely green decoration. urban wage-laborers did not have the opportunity to travel and enjoy nature; therefore, a constructed, naturalistic landscape was brought to them. in addition, a park system like olmsted's in boston expanded access to the parks. even though franklin park was far to a man living along washington street i n the south end, he may have walked along the riverway and arborway south to enter the park at jamaica plain. this distinct scenery, the country in the city, could be used for an individual's mental well-being. yet some support for park construction was not limited to the individual but to the betterment of society at large. this possibility formed the basis for reformist conceptions of park benefits. in a progressive sense, the park was considered a place of democratic engagement. a.j. downing remarked that social barriers should dissolve in open green space: "we owe it to ourselves and our republican professions to set about establishing a larger and more fraternal spirit in our social l i f e . " x x x they allowed for the "intercourse of all classes" in downing's words, and were to stephen duncan walker "a commonwealth, a kind of democracy, where the poor, the rich, the mechanic, the merchant and the man of letters, mingle on a footing of perfect equality." x x ! meanwhile, on the individual level, as alluded to in the previous paragraph, a park may influence behavior. natural morality was believed the highest morality and the restorative and socially beneficial qualities of the outdoors pacified of urban angst. even i f landscapes were not explicitly pedagogical—and olmsted's certainly were not, lacking in all but the sparsest statuary and memorials—they could subtly serve to reform a population. family "parks, and olmsted's designs in particular, [... construct] 'natural spaces'with intentions of pacifying residents' urban angst." e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 outings in these naturalist places of repose were encouraged. parks, and olmsted's designs in particular, are i n some ways devices to influence human behavior, making monumental the status quo, constructing "natural spaces" with intentions of pacifying residents' urban angst. though ideological reasons for park construction theoretically applied to all city residents, and though olmsted's comprehensive system was better than many others at "democratizing" green space, the politics involved i n the approval process were extremely parochial. interestingly, stephen hardy notes that this potential hindrance actually encouraged the far-flung geography of olmsted's vision. every neighborhood councilman desired an emerald, and negative votes on park appropriations come from wards the most distant from the proposed park at i s sue .™ 1 1 localized support was so strong that the system eventually strung east from franklin park along a widened columbia road through south boston to castle island. o l m s t e d ' s h a n d i n b o s t o n the city of boston and its landscape architect frederick law olmsted conjoined on a municipal park system at a period crucial for both parties. historian stephen hardy states boston's perspective best: "boston needed parks to preserve her environment, her health, and her morality. but she also needed parks to prove her legitimacy as a first-class american c i t y . " x x x m olmsted agreed in 1886 when he wrote, "boston is moving in a more simply evolutional and democratic way. . . any sterling addition to it is worth more to the reputation and commercial 'good-will' of the city than an addition of the same cost to its shops, banks, hotels, street railroads, or newspapers." the meaning of the boston system to its architect was significant as well. olmsted took up residence in brookline, just a mile west of his riverway and leverett park. it was the project most extensive in scale of his mature period following his departure from new york, and he wrote to his firm: "nothing else compares in importance to us with the boston work . . . i would have you decline any business that would stand in the way of doing the best for boston all the time."1™ this commitment on the part the designer only reinforces the special nature of his boston spaces. the first of olmsted's projects in boston illustrates the creativity and mature vision with which he solved boston's topographical issues. when constructed in the 1880s, the fens were the new western edge of the boston. olmsted designed the narrow park to border a meandering brackish stream, the muddy river, from its origins further south to the charles, draining the back bay's landfill in the process. kathy poole draws attention to olmsted's maintenance of "the full aesthetic, the complete sensibility of the former fens landscape—its expansiveness, the waving of the marsh grasses, the blustery winds, the tidal flux. his landscape embraced citizens' memories as well as the site's ecological memory." old photographs reveal dirt roads bordering the park and sparse construction. rybczynski recalls that "olmsted recommended that richardson design the two main bridges. thus was a work of engineering transformed. it was not intended to be a work of art . . . it was to appear as undisturbed nature within the c i ty . " x x x v u these improvements, with a particular eye to the former appearance of the space, contrast with the conventional solution to the problem. the city engineers consulting with olmsted proposed concrete conduits, both expensive and insensitive to the neighborhood aesthetics. 5 0 0™1 1 1 twenty years back in central park, he allowed for a reservoir thoroughly industrial i n appearance, and attempted to incorporate it into the park setting only through heavy planting. experience had taught h im advanced solutions that benefited the overall outcome of a project. geoffrey blodgett, political and social historian of massachusetts, recognizes the spatial advantages of olmsted's work: "the loosely strong, cumulative quality of olmsted's boston park system, following topography and residential growth from city to suburb, offered a much less constricted setting for his designs than central park." x x x l xolmsted's greenspace surrounding jamaica pond or the majority of franklin park contrasted sharply in its aesthetic interaction with the community. lawrence kennedy, commenting upon 1820s activity on boston common describes it as, "a popular spot where pushcart and food vendors hawked their wares."-j it and the public garden were, according to david schuyler, "essentially urban spaces—less escapes from the relentless cityscape than extensions of i t . " x l 1 the emerald necklace is not much an addition to the boston cityscape, but rather a separate entity superimposed upon the land. cynthia zaitzevsky contemplates olmsted's legacy: "his ideal of comprehensive, regional planning of open space has become an established precept of professional landscape architects and city planners, and his fervent belief i n the value of natural scenery near densely settled urban centers is increasingly appreciated in today's climate of environmental awareness."x h l in a city plagued through the 19th century by spatial limitation, olmsted served to preserve green space that would, a century later, maintain a distinct spirit. a m e d i t a t i o n u p o n space upon entering a building, visitors may or may not realize the architect's plans for eliciting a behavioral response from them. the response can be thoroughly emotional for the visitor depending on the scale and floor plan. it is the same in planned outdoor space. few gazed out from schoolmaster hi l l in franklin park and did not feel utterly overwhelmed with the view; the absence of any urbanization, the rolling meadow ending i n a dense forest beyond. even in parks there is an engineered traffic flow; tourists and visitors would move from the country park's meadow east to the playstead, and then promenade down the wide greeting, a formal element of franklin park serving as the transition between the park's nature and the urbanity of blue hi l l avenue a quarter mile away. in buildings, particularly monumental ones like cathedrals and civic institutions, a visitor may acknowledge a certain loss of control. a building draws one in and influences not only emotions but also activities, simply because of its design. perhaps out in the open one is less aware of a space's influence. one is outside—free wi l l should dominate as an individual determines his or her succeeding actions and motivations. but an outdoor space—a neighborhood, a park, a city square—may dictate behavior of the population experiencing it better than an individual building. many wi l l pass through a space on the way to another destination rather than around it. a building in this case would be an impediment and the individual moves around it, reacting to it only externally, i f it calls forth emotion at all. a second characteristic of outdoor space is that a certain portion of the population wi l l use it as a destination in itself, particularly i f design evokes a pleasurable emotional response. like a building, a visitor may be unable to enunciate why a park's winding trail is particularly pleasing, or how a street corner's brick paving and wrought iron newspaper stand communicates culture. yet they return to these areas for repose and commerce alike, perhaps passing through in the morning on the way to work and returning to sit for tea and people-watching. t h e b o a t h o u s e at jamaica pond illustrates modif icat ion from passive to active use of park features frederick law olmsted had an eye for detecting a spirit unseen in the original topography. like the ashen fields of the central park site covered with shanty towns, the mudflats of the remainder of the back bay were an unlikely site for any greenery, much less recreation. though olmsted insisted upon its function as a sanitary improvement, its use as a ferny place of tranquility apart from the back bay has e l e m e n t s f a l l 07 been constant from its completion in the early 1880s. similarly, franklin park was an undistinguished site in west roxbury, a mere hi l l and pasture. but the view from the hi l l was modified to form a broad vista, and the wilderness in the north allowed the visitor to ramble through a new england forest, two short miles from the most cosmopolitan of american cities. e n d n o t e s i . pope, epistle iv to richard boyle, earl of burlington, the poems of alexander pope (lines 57-64) i i . olmsted, "notes on the plan of franklin park and related matters," 1886 (470) i i i . haughton to olmsted (883) iv. olmsted, in kelly (75) v. roper (68) vi . olmsted & vaux as quoted i n kelly (9) vi i . the nature of olmsted's parkways should here be distinguished from that of boulevards constructed concurrently in paris. baron eugene haussmann, who controlled the reconfiguration of paris under napoleon i i i , engaged a plan of construction of large boulevards through the medieval city for purposes military and, nominally, sanitary. while haussmann's work is imperial i n scale and attitude, the impetus and manifestation of olmsted's american parkways is markedly residential and recreational. the influence olmsted cited multiple times i n his report to the prospect park commissioners was berlin's unter den linden and thiergarten, while parisian boulevards are mentioned only for their function as military thoroughfares. v i i i . olmsted, report of the landscape architects and superintendents to the board of commissioners of prospect park. 1 january 1868. (137) ix. cranz (45) x. olmsted, public parks (49-50) as quoted i n creese (195) xi . olmsted, "paper on the problem and its solution read before the boston society of architects," apr i l 2, 1886, quoted i n rybczynski (343-44) x i i . shortly following his dismissal from the central park superintendence olmsted published a pamphlet titled "spoils o f the park" which criticized the organizational structure and the management under the tammany hall political machine. x i i i . rybczynski (361) xiv. city of boston, report on the committee on the improvement of the public garden, october 31,1859. quoted in zaitzevsky (34) xv. zaitzevsky (34) xvi. this period's incarnation of the public garden and the commonwealth avenue mall are significant examples of french rationalist influence. though both spaces were later appropriated by olmsted into the citywide necklace, commonwealth avenue is more like a parisian boulevard than any of olmsted's boston parkways. the city prescribed uniform cornice heights, setbacks, and building materials, much the same as haussmann did. xvii . newman (45) xvii i . boston city doc, no 14. 1850. quoted in newman (41) xix. olmsted, "public parks and the enlargement of towns," february 25,1870 (176 & 181, respectively) xx. olmsted, "paper on the problem and its solution read before the boston society of architects," apri l 2,1886, quoted i n rybczynski (343) xxi. olmsted, "public parks and the enlargement of towns," february 25, 1870 (182) xxii . a common phrase at the time and presently to describe the effect of parks on a city's atmosphere. olmsted used it himself in "notes on the plan of franklin park." xxii i . schuyler (61) xxiv. particularly informative is schuyler's chapter, "didactic landscapes: rural cemetaries" (37-56) xxv. a.j. downing as quoted i n schuyler (55) xxvi. hardy (80-81) xxvii. olmsted, "notes on the plan of franklin park and related matters" 1886 525) xxviii. thoreau, excursions, as quoted in creese (177) xxix. emerson as quoted i n schuyler (32) xxx. a.j. downing as quoted i n schuyler (65) xxxi. downing and walker as quoted i n schuyler (65) xxxii. hardy (77) xxxiii. hardy (71) xxxiv. olmsted, "notes on the plan of franklin park and related matters" 1886 (525) xxxv. olmsted to f i rm partners, 1893 as quoted i n zaitzevsky (vii) xxxvi. poole (http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/backbay/ fenssite/html / docs/marginal.html) xxxvii. rybczynski (343) xxxviii. olmsted, "paper on the {back bay} problem and its solution read before the boston society of architects," apri l 2, 1886 (450) xxxix. blodgett (885) xl . kennedy (34) xl i . schuyler (67) x l i i . zaitzevsky (4) references beveridge, charles e., david larkin, and paul rocheleau. 1995. frederick law olmsted: designing the american landscape. new york: rizzoli. blodgett, geoffrey. 1976. "frederick law olmsted: landscape architecture as conservative reform." journal of american history. 62(4): pp. 869-89. boston. public works dept, and john t galvin. 1989. boston's t h e p l a c e and t h e maker http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/backbay/ streets: squares, places, avenues, courts, and other public locations: showing the numbers and divisions of those extending through more than one ward, precinct or district together with the location of squares named in honor of veterans, fire stations, police facilities, public educational facilities, public libraries, parks, and playgrounds. boston: the dept. carol r. goldberg seminar, et al. 1987. the greening of boston: an action agenda: a report from the boston foundation, carol r. goldberg seminar. boston: the foundation. cranz, galen. 1982. the politics of park design: a history of urban parks in america. cambridge, mass.: m i t press. creese, walter l. 1985. the crowning of the american landscape: eight great spaces and their buildings. princeton, n.j.: princeton university press. de botton, alain. 2006. the architecture of happiness. new york, ny: pantheon books. domosh, mona. 1996. invented cities: the creation of landscape in nineteenth-century new york e[ boston. new haven: yale university press. haglund, karl. 2003. inventing the charles river. cambridge, mass.: m i t press. hardy, stephen. 1980. "'parks for the people': reforming the boston park system, 1870-1915." journal of sport history. 7(3), pp. 5-24. hardy, stephen. 1982. how boston played: sport, recreation, and community, i86yigij. boston: northeastern university press. kay, jane holtz. 1999. lost boston. expanded and updated. boston: houghton-mifflin. kelly, bruce, et al. 1981. art of the olmsted landscape new york: new york city landmarks preservation commission: arts publisher. kennedy, lawrence w. 1992. planning the city upon a hill: boston since 1630 amherst: university of massachusetts press. lee, rebecca a., et al. 2005. development permitting in boston: mastering the conflicts and challenges of the development process. boston, mass.: massachusetts continuing legal education. newman, wil l iam a., and wilfred e. holton. 2006. boston's back bay: the story of america's greatest nineteenth-century landfill project boston; hanover: northeastern university press; university press of new england. newton, norman t. 1971. design on the land; the development of landscape architecture. cambridge, mass.: belknap press o f harvard university press. norberg-schulz, christian. 1980. genius loci: towards a phenomenology of architecture. new york: rizzoli. olmsted, frederick law, charles e. beveridge, and carolyn f. hoffman. 1997. writings on public parks, parkways, and park systems. vol. 1. baltimore: johns hopkins university press. pettena, gianni, gabinetto disegni e stampe degli uffizi , and wil l iam alex. 1996. olmsted: l'origine del parco urbano e del parco naturale contemporaneo. firenze: centro di . poole, kathy. 2002. "evolutionary infrastructure." university of virginia 10/20/2006. <http://www3.iath. virginia.edu/backbay / fenssite/html / header/home.html>. pope, alexander. 1951. the poems of alexander pope. ed. w.f. bateson. london: meuthen. roper, laura wood. 1973. flo: a biography of frederick law olmsted. baltimore: johns hopkins university press. rybczynski, witold. 1999. a clearing in the distance: frederick law olmsted and america in the nineteenth century new york: scribner. scheper, george l. 1989. "the reformist vision o f frederick law olmsted and the poetics o f park design." the new england quarterly. 62(3), pp. 369-402. schuyler, david. 1986. the new urban landscape: the redefinition of city form in nineteenth-century america baltimore: johns hopkins university press. seasholes, nancy s. 2003. gaining ground; a history of landmaking in boston. cambridge, mass.: m i t press. turner, amy, et al. 1999. mapping boston cambridge, mass.: m i t press. vonhoffman, alexander. 1988. ' "of greater lasting consequence': frederick law olmsted and the fate of franklin park, boston." journal of the society of architectural historians 47(4). pp339-5°whitehil l , walter muir. 1968. boston; a topographical history 2d, enl ed. cambridge, mass.: belknap press o f harvard university press. zaitzevsky, cynthia. 1982. frederick law olmsted and the boston park system cambridge, mass.: harvard university press. zaitzevsky, cynthia. 1973. "the olmsted firm and the structures of the boston park system." journal ojthe society of architectural historians. 32(2), pp. 17-75. e l e m e n t s f a l l o7 http://www3.iath http://virginia.edu music therapy, developed over the years by numerous musicians and educators, such as carl orff, jacques-dalcroze, and kodaly, have proven to stimulate social interaction, improve selective attention and aid in numerous other developmental milestones. these findings are not only important for parents and school curricula, but also have profound meaning for children with autism. numerous studies, including work done by koelsch, as well as winsler, ducenne, and koury, found that children who participated in a music and movement program developed greater self-regulation skills, such as private speech, showed greater improvement in coordination, and fostered positive social interaction between researcher and subject. autistic children who were exposed to music therapy held eye contact longer, engaged in dialogue, and reduced negative behaviors such as head-banging, avoidance, or selfstimulatory behaviors. diverse methods of music therapy, including playing instruments, listening to sounds, and other musical activities, could greatly improve the social, emotional, and educational development of autistic children. thank you for the music musical activities as therapy for autistic children natasza gawlick music is an extraordinary medium because of its rare capacity to affect both young and old, to connect people from different cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds, and even to shape behavior. the music therapy movement began in 1892 with emile jaques-dalcroze, a professor who created the practice of eurhythmics–a combination of improvised and structured movement in response to music. soon after, composer carl orff applied jacquesdalcroze’s principles to his own method; children learned musical concepts such as rhythm, melody, harmony and texture through the use of basic instruments such as drums, triangles, and voice. these exercises not only helped children in their musical context, but also taught them how to regulate their behavior and emotions in other settings, such as at school or in public spaces. numerous other musical approaches developed in following years, including the kodaly concept, the bonny method of guided imagery and music, and more recently, the nordoff-robbins technique. studies over the years, including work done by winsler & ducenne and lobo & winsler, have proven that music fosters social interaction, phonological processing, memory, selective attention, and many other developmental milestones in children.1 this knowledge influences the way education systems are—or should be—structured, how parents raise children, and how interventions are used in clinical practice. music therapy, particularly involving both improvisation and structured activities, is especially important and beneficial for children with autism. listening to music, playing an instrument, and other musical activities help autistic children develop emotion recognition, experiences with others, and motor coordination.2 this paper will address common music therapy techniques, their effects on a control population (children who develop normally and are not diagnosed with any disorder), and conclude with the positive impact music therapy can have on autistic children’s social behavior and development. effects of music therapy on controls (children with no diagnosed disorder) music is an indispensable mode for promoting better language, motor, and spatial development in children. most music therapies use a combination of songs appropriate for a given age group (“row your boat” for children) as well as advanced, classical music (dvorak’s “slavonic dances” or beethoven’s “piano sonatas” for more mature ages). coordinating movement to musical pieces and sounds produces better motor performance and precision; movements such as running, jumping, and walking can all be expressed through music. children learn to listen to the tempo, dynamics, and pitch, then adjust their movements accordingly. unlike spoken or demonstrated directions to jump, run, or move a certain way, music forces the child to listen, differentiate between sounds, and change their movements according to what they hear. for example, children tiptoe or move slowly when they hear a soft, slow passage; they run, skip, or twirl when they hear a fast, loud sequence. in this way, children become aware of their own body within space and in relation to the peers around them; they adapt to others’ movements and learn to inhibit their own actions (e.g. knowing when to wait their turn to sing/play an instrument, or dance with/mimic others). by listening, children become attuned to emotional colors expressed through the music and can then use the sound to identify their own affective state. koelsch found that music activates key regions in the amygdala, like the nucleus accumbens and hippocampus.3 as the brain’s center for emotion regulation, the amygdala is a powerful component for reward, motivation, and learning. koelsch’s findings prove that music is not only a highly rewarding stimulus, but that the brain can detect changes in the music’s tone color (sad vs. happy). if music stimulates shared experiences, promotes emotional identification, and improves motor coordination, then it can immensely benefit children with autism. in a study done by winsler, ducenne, and koury, children who participated in a music and movement program based children gathering for a music lesson (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 98 elements : : fall 2016 on orff’s method (called kindermusik), which included “percussion movements (clapping, tapping floor with foot), readiness and reaction movements, and improvisation and creative movement,” showed greater improvement in balance and coordination than the control group.4 furthermore, children who participated in kindermusik developed greater self-regulation skills, such as private speech, where children give themselves verbal directions in order to complete a task. for example, when trying to figure out a game or puzzle, the children in the study often muttered to themselves to remember details or unscramble clues.5 another component of the study included leaving the subject in the room with a goody bag in the corner (behind the child) for several minutes, and telling the child to wait quietly for the researchers’ return without looking in the bag. children who participated in kindermusik hummed or sang songs and only peeked at the bag from a distance. those who had no music training often called out to the researcher several times and even approached the bag several times. this shows a marked difference in inhibitory control and executive function between children who participate in music activities and those who do not. this study among hundreds of others demonstrates the positive and valuable effects of music on children’s cognition and behavior. effects of music therapy on children with autism as previously mentioned, music therapy can have profound effects on building interpersonal relationships and increasing emotional expression, particularly in autistic children. children with autism often display unusual behaviors, such as performing repetitive movements (e.g. hand flapping, rocking back and forth), self-injurious actions, and/or extreme tantrums if a set routine is interrupted or changed. they often do not make contact or engage socially with peers and adults (even family members), and have minimal or delayed development of speech. these developmental delays not only affect intellectual functioning, but also make it difficult to form meaningful social relationships. through music therapy, autistic children can learn to connect emotionally with others and replace self-injurious or stimulatory behaviors with songs or rhythms. the infant-caregiver attachment is a critical step in early development; the mother and child interact in numerous different ways, with the child learning to reciprocate and understand emotions as well as initiate communication. music therapy strives to mimic this back-and-forth exchange to teach autistic children how to effectively communicate in social settings. in kim, wigram, and gold’s study, the researchers studied ten autistic male childrenand an equal number of control participants to evaluate their emotional engagement after therapy with toys or music.6 each child participated in both types of therapy, but were randomly assigned to have toy therapy first and music therapy second, or vice versa. sessions of music/toy therapy were divided into two 15-minute periods of free play (directed by the child) and activities directed by the therapist. the therapist would introduce new games or turn-taking activities by modeling the desired behavior (e.g. saying “sarah’s turn” and playing on a keyboard). the researchers evaluated five target behaviors: joy, emotional synchronicity, initiation of engagement, compliant response, and no response.7 kim, wingram, and gold found that the frequency of joy events steadily increased over the course of 12 sessions in music therapy conditions, whereas joy events remained stable at zero in toy play sessions.8 similarly, children initiated engagement with the therapist more in music therapy than in toy therapy. emotional synchronicity was measured by observing moments when “the child smiles and laughs, and the therapist simultaneously shows congruent behavior.”9 these synchronized moments occurred more often in the undirected music condition, when children could guide play. thus, music proves to be a powerful medium to share experiences and affective states. since autistic children often do not respond with warmth and intimacy to their parents, music serves as a perfect mode to connect with their parents,understand emotions, and become familiar with patterns of social engagement. “[m]usic fosters social interaction, phonological processing, memory, selective attention, and many other developmental milestones in children.” 99 thank you for the music in a case study done by elizabeth ron fang, the researcher worked closely with an autistic child, mike, to assess his functioning and monitor improvement. mike’s life revolved around music; he played piano in the school orchestra, completed theory assignments on the computer, took piano lessons, and played several other instruments. the researcher stated: “mike is very responsive and attentive during musical engagement in comparison to his normal responses at lunch or non-music classes.”10 although mike was usually reserved and unemotional, he became more social and motivated when music was involved. the researcher observed mike playing video games that used instruments (guitar, keyboard, etc) with friends. despite the subject’s predominantly nonverbal communication, he made eye contact more frequently and smiled at their collective success in the game.11 because of music, mike could connect with peers and share experiences with them. ron fang also conducted a case study on ryan, a six year old boy with autism. the subject’s parents reported that ryan had difficulty recognizing and understanding facial expressions. to help with this challenge, ryan’s parents used a combination of words and songs to help him understand directions, as well as their emotions. the parents noted that, “not only did music help others understand him, music also provided a way for him to understand the speech of others. music helped ryan grasp the meaning of words.”12 though no direct clinical intervention was used in either of these case studies, ron fang’s observations proved how beneficial and even crucial music can be in helping autistic children understand others’ emotions and regulate their own. music therapy not only facilitates emotional awareness and communication in autistic children, but it can also directly promote positive social behaviors such as eye contact and taking turns in an activity. finnigan studied frequency and duration of positive social response behaviors (eye contact for at least 3 seconds, imitation of researcher’s behavior, and turn-taking) versus avoidant behaviors (gaze aversion, pushing toys or adults away, or getting up and leaving) in anna, a four year old autistic female.13 the therapist and anna met twelve times, alternating between music and non-music sessions. during music sessions, the therapist engaged anna with three toys, accompanied by singing simple melodies, playing guitar, or showing her games, such as taking turns playing a drum. for example, the researcher would say “emily’s turn”, play, and then hand the mallets to anna to see if she would engage in the social activity.14 the non-music condition used three similar toys and two-person activities as well, with the exception of musical factors. during baseline testing, where anna and the researcher played freely and in non-music conditions, eye contact did not occur. in 5 of 6 music sessions, however, one to three instances of eye contact were observed. eye contact increased when music was used, but returned to baseline zero eye contact during non-music sessions. the researchers also found that “imitation increased steadily from 36.7% to 100% and remained stable at 100% for the final four [music] sessions,” which indicates that music conditions were successful in increasing imitative behaviors.15 lastly, though the non-music condition helped anna with turn-taking behaviors, her positive turn-taking interactions increased from 37% (no music) to 100% when music was introduced. “anna displayed a higher frequency of all three social responsive behaviors (e.g. eye contact, imitation, and turn-taking) during the music condition comchildren learning how to play the guitar (courtesy of wikimedia commons) “ron fang’s observations proved how beneficial and even crucial music can be in helping autistic children understand others’ emotions...” 100 elements : : fall 2016 pared to the non-music condition.”16 this shows that music is an effective, positive intervention for children with autism; it can teach them not only to regulate and recognize emotions, but also to improve positive social behaviors and interactions while minimizing avoidant ones. though each of these studies have shown the benefits of music therapy interventions with autistic children, each of the studies also concede that the results were only temporary and depended on continual music engagement to maintain the child’s development. the therapist or caretaker must always remember to tailor music therapy methods to the child’s personal needs; each individual responds better to certain activities than others, and has different abilities and attention span. nevertheless, music has proven to be an effective way of teaching and connecting with children with disablilities. as shown in the above-mentioned research and case studies, improvisation combined with structured musical activities work best in fostering appropriate social and emotional growth in autistic children. endnotes 1. winsler, adam, lesley ducenne, and amanda koury. “singing one’s way to self-regulation: the role of early music and movement curricula and private speech.” early education & development 22, no. 2 (march 25, 2011): 274–304. doi:10.1080/10409280903585739. 2. brown, judy, claudine sherrill, and barbara gench. “effects of an integrated physical education/music program in changing early childhood perceptual-motor performance.” perceptual and motor skills. 53, no. 1 (august 1, 1981): 151–54. doi:10.2466/ pms.1981.53.1.151 3. kenney, 1997 4. koelsch, stefan. “brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.” nature reviews. neuroscience. 15, no. 3 (february 21, 2014): 170–80. doi:10.1038/nrn3666 5. winsler, adam, lesley ducenne, and amanda koury. “singing one’s way to self-regulation: the role of early music and movement curricula and private speech.” early education & development 22, no. 2 (march 25, 2011): 274–304. doi:10.1080/10409280903585739. 6. winsler, adam, lesley ducenne, and amanda koury. “singing one’s way to self-regulation: the role of early music and movement curricula and private speech.” early education & development 22, no. 2 (march 25, 2011): 274–304. doi:10.1080/10409280903585739. 7. kim, jinah, tony wigram, and christian gold. “emotional, motivational and interpersonal responsiveness of children with autism in improvisational music therapy.” autism: the international journal of research and practice. 13, no. 4 (june 19, 2009): 389–409. doi:10.1177/1362361309105660 8. fang, elizabeth ron. “music in the lives of two children with autism: a case study.” sjsu scholar works 1, no. 1 (december 2009): 95 9. fang, elizabeth ron. “music in the lives of two children with autism: a case study.” sjsu scholar works 1, no. 1 (december 2009): 1–229. 10. fang, elizabeth ron. “music in the lives of two children with autism: a case study.” sjsu scholar works 1, no. 1 (december 2009): 132. 11. finnigan, e., & starr, e. (2010). “increasing social responsiveness in a child with autism: a comparison of music and non-music interventions.” autism, 14(4), 321-348. doi:10.1177/1362361309357747 12. finnigan, e., & starr, e. (2010). “increasing social responsiveness in a child with autism: a comparison of music and non-music interventions.” autism, 14(4), 321-348. doi:10.1177/1362361309357747 references brown, j., sherrill, c., & gench, b. “effects of an integrated physical education/music program in changing early childhoodperceptual-motor performance.” perceptual and motor skills, 53(1), (2010): 151-154. doi:10.2466/ pms.1981.53.1.151 finnigan, e., & starr, e. “increasing social responsiveness in a child with autism: a comparison of music and nonmusic interventions.” autism, 14(4), (2010): 321-348. doi:10.1177/1362361309357747 kim, j., wigram, t., & gold, c. “emotional, motivational and interpersonal responsiveness of children with autism in improvisational music therapy.” autism, 13(4), (2011), 389-409. doi:10.1177/1362361309105660 koelsch, s. “brain correlates of music-evoked emotions.” nature reviews neuroscience, 15(3), (2014): 170-180. doi:10.1038/nrn3666 reschke-hernandez, a. e. “history of music therapy treatment interventions for children with autism.” journal of music therapy, 48(2), 169-207. (2011): doi:10.1093/ jmt/48.2.169 ron fang, e. “music in the lives of two children with autism: a case study.” sjsu scholar works, (2010): 1-229. retrieved april 3, 2016. 101 thank you for the music winsler, a., ducenne, l., & koury, a. “singing one’s way to self-regulation: the role of early music and movement curricula and private speech.” early education & development, 22(2), (2011): 274-304. doi:10.1080/10409280903585739 zachopoulou, e., tsapakidou, a., & derri, v. “the effects of a developmentally appropriate music and movement program on motor performance.” early childhood research quarterly, 19(4), (2014): 631-642. doi:10.1016/j. ecresq.2004.10.005 102 elements : : fall 2016 in the late eighteenth century, the proper expression of masculinity was essential for citizenship and acceptance into the patriarchal community. rapists were considered to be prime examples of unmanly deviants expressing their sexuality outside of culturally acceptable norms. despite this, rapes often went unpunished or ignored, as respectable and oftentimes wealthy men serving as judges and in juries strove to protect their access to women. the few men they chose to prosecute and execute for rape were overwhelmingly marginalized people who refused to conform to acceptable standards of male behavior. through criminal narratives, accused rapists—often with the input of a minister —explained their crimes in the context of their past actions and circumstances, and warned others to conform to acceptable standards. the use of criminal narratives to emphasize the gender and socially deviant behaviors of convicted rapists popularized the belief that it was primarily unmanly outsiders, rather than respectable patriarchs, who committed such crimes. convict the deviant masculinity and rape in early america katherine quigley in the highly patriarchal context of colonial massachusetts, the expression of a proper form of masculinity was crucial to one’s position in the male community. rape is a particularly important example of the ways in which masculinity and power interacted, as it expressed gender and sexual deviance, but at the same time, remained unpunished by judges and juries. an overwhelming majority of late eighteenth century men agreed that convicted rapists were not properly masculine, and less respectable men who rejected gender norms earlier in their lives were more believable rapists. earlier expressions of deviant masculinity influenced the court’s decision to convict accused rapists, as it made them less sympathetic to the (presumably respectable) men on juries who decided their fate. average men saw sexual deviants as more likely to commit rape because they did not belong to the male community that strived to protect one another and the social system from which they all benefitted. unmanly and sexually deviant rapists, both due to their committing rape and their past actions, were social outsiders who clearly did not accept community standards of behavior and thus threatened the patriarchy. criminal narratives or autobiographies of convicted rapists are crucial in highlighting the connections between deviant masculinity, rape, and social order. these criminals detailed their life stories and connected their past transgressions of masculine norms to their rape and imminent executions. a publisher or minister often provided moral commentary or otherwise edited the narratives to emphasize the dangers of sin or socially unacceptable behavior.1 they warned other young men to live proper manly lives within the bounds of societal norms in order to avoid becoming rapists themselves. most historians have argued that marginal men were more likely to be prosecuted for rape for a number of reasons, including their inability to reformulate coerced sex as consensual and the fact that it was less believable that women would consent to sex with undesirable men. in this paper, i will synthesize this approach with scholarship about masculinity in order to demonstrate that gender performance and sexual behavior were just as central to the construction of certain men as rapists, as was socio-economic status or race. historians also largely agree that elite men insisted on retaining privileged access to women, and therefore attempted to restrict lower status men from accessing these women. this resulted in an extremely low rate of executions for rape overall, but ensured that the overwhelming majority of the men convicted of rape were lower class or marginal in some way.2 while this is certainly true, there are few scholarly works that analyze the impact of criminal narratives on the achievement of this goal. elite men’s continued focus on certain types of rape cases improved their own access to women. popularizing the stereotype of the poor, nonwhite, sexually deviant rapist masked their own participation in sexual violence and emphasized women’s need for patriarchal protection. in order to understand criminal masculinity, one must first understand more prevalent and accepted forms of eighteenth-century masculinity. the most respected position to which a man in colonial america could aspire to was that of a patriarch. this sort of man was independent; no one could control him, and he was able to exert control over others, particularly women.3 patriarchs had the authority to use force and intimidation to compel their dependents to obey, but they also had to provide them with protection and support.4 in order to achieve this balance and effectively exert control over others, an ideal patriarch had to be in complete control of both his body and his mind.5 a man could only become a patriarch or a head of household through financial self-sufficiency. in the eighteenth century, this meant that he had to own his home and land.6 at this time, the masculine man became increasingly involved in the activities surrounding his home. while women were responsible for household labor, men controlled important domestic decision-making.7 not all men could attain this patriarchal manliness, whether by virtue of their personal failings, their socioeconomic status, or their race. however, they could still reach a level of respectability through obedience to manly patriarchs. the oldest wooden jail in america, barnstable, massachusetts (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 16 elements : : spring 2016 low-status men could demonstrate their limited manliness by conforming to the “natural” social order and obeying their fathers, masters, or employers.8 this idea, while not overwhelmingly popular during the revolution, gained increasing support during the constitutional period, as federalists promoted the idea that all citizens, while independent, still needed to be under the control of more competent and educated men who had the ability to govern effectively.9 while many men accepted or at least lived in accordance with this model, some slaves believed that the best way to reclaim their masculinity was through rebellion or by assaulting their masters as doing so demonstrated their own manly independence and power.10 one can see examples of idealized independent masculinity, as well as hierarchical obedience, in criminal narratives, through the rapists’ actions as well as in the life paths they rejected. the narratives of these convicted rapists existed in a context in which very few women reported rapes, and of these reported cases, very few resulted in convictions.11 rape was connected to lesser sexual sins and thus very difficult to differentiate from ordinary illicit sex.12 eighteenth-century men and women expected that men would use violence and force in sex regardless of a woman’s consent.13 masculine sexuality was dominating and aggressive (although ideally, men would practice restraint), while feminine sexuality was submissive and dedicated to the man’s pleasure.14 the belief that a woman, if she were respectable, would feign resistance even in a consensual sexual encounter made it even more difficult for women to prove the occurrence of a rape.15 eighteenth-century jurists believed that women could and would easily lie about rape. consequently, women needed to satisfy a number of criteria in order to be understood as legitimate victims, as did their rapists to appear as believable aggressors.16 often, claims of rape did not lead to convictions and executions. the men who published criminal confessions were exceptional cases that did not fit the norm in new england at this time. generally, men were unwilling to execute other men for sexual crimes, even in situations of clearly nonconsensual intercourse.17 women rarely reported rapes because rape victims did not often receive justice in the courtroom and they faced severe consequences if their communities did not believe their accounts.18 because of cultural assumptions about force in consensual sexual relationships, accused rapists often defended themselves by asserting that the sex was consensual, that the female accuser did not physically struggle, and that their accuser was of poor moral character (and was thus more likely to consent to sex).19 while there were obstacles to prosecution, courts did accord respect to the testimony of certain victims, particularly if they were white and strangers to the rapist.20 courts would most likely believe a woman if she accused someone with whom they thought she would never consent to sexual relations.21 rapists who fit this description of the sexually undesirable deviant were among the exceptions who wrote criminal narratives. cultural representations of rape portrayed outsiders, including men of color, men of lower social status, foreigners, and non-protestants, as more plausible rapists. such portrayals impacted the types of men initially brought to trial as well as their conviction rates.22 because these men did not submit to the control of a normatively masculine patriarch, rapes committed by them not only threatened the safety of women, but also challenged the dominance of the patriarchy itself.23 the greatest concern in the prosecution of rape cases was not the disruption that rape caused in the lives of women, but rather, as thomas foster has argued, its impact on patriarchal authority and orderly social relations. the rapist’s primary crime was going against male hierarchical structures and social order, not harming the victim.24 it is for this reason that rapes committed through patriarchal power (the rapes of slaves and children, for example) often did not go to trial.25 through the confessions of convicted rapists,one can see how the rapist connected himself to larger concepts of masculinity and society. although one cannot take the confessions of convicted rapists at face value, statements such as these can provide valuable insight into both how these men viewed them“through the confessions of convicted rapists, one can see how the rapist connected himself to larger concepts of masculinity and society.” 17 convict the deviant selves and, perhaps more importantly, what they believed their community members wanted to hear. these confession narratives often followed a similar format wherein the accused connects the crime for which he was executed to socially unacceptable behaviors. after his conviction, he repents, asks god for forgiveness, and calls on others to refrain from immoral activities in order to save themselves from the same fate. the formulaic nature of these narratives make it difficult to ascertain the sincerity of these men’s regret about their actions, but a close examination and comparison of these documents reveals differences in style and content that gives some insight into how these convicted rapists understood their crime. one must be wary not only of the influence of others on these narratives but also of the rapist’s own motives for publishing their life story. in many cases, ministers wrote these confession stories with the convict’s input, and as a result, the final product often reflected the ministers’ interests in promoting order and religion.26 because the narratives are supposedly first person accounts from the rapists themselves, one cannot expect them to be objective accounts of facts, but rather reflections of the authors’ perceptions of the world.27 these criminal narratives originated in new england in the late seventeenth century, but they began to focus more on sexual crimes toward the end of the eighteenth century.28 while earlier narratives paid more attention to criminal submission and did not go into much detail about the criminal’s life, these later narratives placed more importance on childhood development and, to some extent, celebrated the criminal’s defiance of authority.29 this was also a time of increased popularity of criminal confession narratives. in contrast to the late eighteenth century, whenthey were published in conjunction with execution sermons, publishers began to sell them independently as broadsides and chapter books.30 criminals described their lives and characters in an attempt to explain why they committed their horrific crimes.31 these autobiographies functioned as both warnings and “sensational human interest stories.”32 even the earliest criminal confessions strove to satisfy a “hunger for sensationalism and story” through the use of taboo subject matter and vivid imagery.33 these narratives allowed criminals to brag about their sexual exploits and their adventurous lives.34 despite this literary function, the ministers and publishers who guided their production also desired to impart moral lessons to their readers. this is especially true of the confessions made by black criminals, who often ended their narratives by warning other black people to remain obedient slaves, while the confessions of white criminals served as warnings to the entire community.35 black criminals’ examples also promoted an association between blackness and criminality. this association would ideally deter white criminality, as the ministers assumed that white people would recoil from behavior associated with black people.36 in the following pages, i will examine the confession narratives of three different men who committed their crimes and were executed in massachusetts between 1768 and 1779. they came from different backgrounds and lived very different lives, but all of them possessed deviant masculinities that contributed to their convictions and executions for rape. these men, as outsiders, did not have the social power to use sexual force and violence against women without consequences.37 while these cases were exceptions, as very few rapists were successfully prosecuted, they are valuable sources that recount the taboos and behavior that constructed certain men as believable rapists at a time when very few men were seen as such. each of these cases represents a different type of man who was convicted of rape and also a different sort of deviant “while these cases were exceptions, as very few rapists were successfully prosecuted, they are valuable sources that recount the taboos and behavior that constructed certain men as believable rapists at a time when very few men were seen as such.” 18 elements : : spring 2016 masculinity that corresponded to his outsider status. the first case, that of arthur, represents one of the most typical cases of convicted rape: the rape of a white woman by a black slave. this account portrays him as a rebellious slave, unmanly by virtue of being black and dangerous because he rejected the constraints of white society. robert young’s case is also fairly typical because he was a british soldier, which designated him, in american eyes, as more likely to be a rapist and sexual degenerate.38 brian sheehen does not fit so easily into the era’s stereotypes of sexual predators. while he was disreputable and sexually deviant, he could appear superficially to be an ordinary white man. his case is relevant not because he is representative of an obvious subset of men who were more believable rapists, but because in his narrative he or a ghostwriter made a point to emphasize his unmanliness, sexual deviancy, and outsider status—characteristics that eighteenth-century americans did not consider essential to his identity. the cases of these three different cases of rapists show the importance of constructing rapists as outsiders. arthur was a twenty-one-year-old runaway slave who was executed in 1768 for the rape of a white widow, deborah metcalfe. although black-on-white rape did not auto matically warrant the death penalty in the colonial period as it did after the civil war, the majority of the men executed for rape between 1700 and 1820 were black.39 black rapists like arthur were simultaneously rebellious slaves and examples of “human depravity,” and thus threatened white masculinity itself.40 the rape of a white woman by a black man indicated a sense of manly independence that was highly threatening to white men living in a race-based hierarchy.41 when reviewing arthur’s narrative, one must understand his actions within the context of the slave system that arthur actively rebelled against. his community saw blackon-white rape as a form of resistance to slavery; arthur’s story served as a confirmation of this assumption. his rape of a white woman was only the last of his rebellious actions in a lifetime of resistance to his masters’ control.42 parts of his story even seem to glorify his past misdeeds and sexual promiscuity, although the narrative (either through arthur’s change of heart or a minister’s intervention) ultimately rejects this rebellion in favor of orderly white control.43 he subverted his masters’ authority by stealing from them, running away, and otherwise living his life contrary to white christian social norms. while he claimed that he was well treated by one of his masters, he continued to drink, have illicit sexual relations, and steal, thus contributing to the stereotype of the degenerate black man. at this time, new englanders believed that by committing a small sin, a person became more willing and likely to commit a more serious transgression, particularly with regard to sexual sins like fornication and rape.44 his race added another dimension to his crimes, as it was worse for a black man to disobey his christian master whose efforts to christianize and control his slaves would deliver them from hell.45 arthur recounted his sexual past as an explanation for his rape of metcalfe. like his contemporaries, he “regarded rape and attempted rape as the end point on a continuum of sexual offenses.”46 he had sex with women of different races, including white and native american women, and portrayed himself as a man unable to control his lust, which fits into the narrative of the sexually aggressive black man common in new england at the time.47 his native american sexual partner, “who like the rest of her sex was of a very fruitful invention,” encouraged him to run away, and it was only because this woman was unavailable that arthur decided to rape deborah metcalfe. other accounts of rape in colonial new england also portrayed non-white women as accomplices to the rape of white women, and native americans in particular as leading white and nonwhite men away from god.48 this part of arthur’s narrative portrayed rape as a crime of sexual desire, which fit into the common eighteenth century understanding of the crime.49 an early depiction of a man on trial in the late 18th century (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 19 convict the deviant at the end of his confession, arthur warned “those of my own colour, as they regard their own souls, to avoid desertion from their masters, drunkenness and lewdness.”50 this admonition connects directly to the very beginning of his life story, where he recalled his very first crime that led him down a path of sexual misconduct and crime: running away from his master. he instructed other black people to obey their masters and accept white authority in order to live a long moral life. black people should not desire freedom and instead be content with their lives of obedience to white masters; arthur’s story was an example of the consequences of desiring liberty.51 he associated rape with a broader rejection of white authority, although his account of the actual act of rape did not examine the racial dynamic of a black-on-white rape, as would have been the case in the nineteenth century.52 in his warning, arthur connected his fate to racial power dynamics, as he blamed his own rebellion for his execution. in this narrative, the rape was only one of a long list of crimes that he committed against white people and white authority.53 while it is impossible to know if arthur truly accepted white domination and repented for his crimes against white people and the white-dominated social order, it is quite possible that the ministers who helped him write this confession encouraged him to frame his crime in this way to discourage other black men from subverting white men’s authority. arthur thanked reverend mccarty for his “unwearied pains… to awaken me to a proper sense of my miserable and wretched condition,” and it is likely that this minister coached his testimony.54 it is difficult to believe that a man who spent his whole life avoiding slavery and disobeying his masters would alter his views so dramatically, even when confronted with death. another preacher, aaron hutchinson, also used arthur’s story to warn others, particularly black people, against following arthur’s rebellious example.55 reverend mccar ty’s own sermon following arthur’s execution was highly sympathetic to arthur and preached pity and forgiveness.56 he emphasized a lack of control over one’s fate and god’s forgiveness. neither preacher reveled in the execution of a black man for the rape of a white woman, and even the victim herself did not want arthur to be hanged.57 these ministers portrayed arthur’s execution as an essential both punishment and a warning to other black people to stay in their place. while an individual black man’s execution for rape was regrettable, it was necessary to maintain a social order that had a considerable stake in white supremacy.58 another man with a far different, yet nevertheless marginal, position in colonial massachusetts’s social hierarchy was robert young, an irish-catholic deserter of the british army who was executed in 1779 for the rape of a child. like arthur, robert young saw this rape as the result of a life of sexual immorality and sin, a view that ministers of this time professed.59 from his youth, young claimed, he “was much inclined to the company of women.”60 he repeatedly mentioned his seduction and ruination of numerous women throughout his life and made it clear that he would go to extreme measures to satisfy his lust, something that placed him outside of the community of respectable men.61 he saw his crime in a broader context of sexual deviancy and a lack of regard for women. every place he went, young “studied to deceive the fair sex, and betrayed a young woman in each of them,” an indication of his talent for seduction.62 although at the end of the narrative, he predictably repented and asked other young men to avoid alcohol and lewd women, throughout his story, he bragged about his sexual conquests and did not show any remorse for his negative impact on many women.63 regardless of his previous sexual exploits, young’s history as a british soldier immediately associated him with sexual immorality and corruption.64 he joined the army because of his excessive sexuality. when he still lived in ireland, young’s employer threatened to tell his parents about his immoral activity. young refused to give up alcohol and illicit sex and devote himself to business, choosing instead to enlist. he even cited the moment he joined a british regiment as the time when he “gave myself up to all manner of debauchery.”65 americans saw british soldiers as rapists and, like black men, they were overrepresented in print accounts of rape.66 the rape of innocent american “in his warning, arthur connected his fate to racial power dynamics, as he blamed his own rebellion for his execution.” 20 elements : : spring 2016 women and girls by the lecherous agents of a corrupt political system was a powerful tool that americans used to justify their disregard for british authority.67 while this may not have been the prime motivation for young’s conviction and execution, this unforgiving image of british soldiers nevertheless impacted how members of the jury and public thought of robert young. according to literary scholar keith lawrence, young’s sexual behavior reflected his lack of regard for “communalism.” not only was he an outsider in new england, but his actions also showed his contemporaries that he was also a moral outsider, as he did not care what impact his actions had on the community.68 this disregard was particularly important at a time when community regulation of individuals, particularly with regard to sex, was a crucial foundation of societal order. in the previous century, the supervision and control of young people likely made rape less common, and although societal control was weaker in the eighteenth century, town leaders were unfriendly towards outsiders who took advantage of their daughters and sisters.69 while other men had communities and families that protected them from prosecution for rape, young had no one to defend him.70 his marginal status prohibited him from manufacturing consent in his sexual exploits.71 rapes committed by lower status outsiders and transients whom patriarchs could not effectively monitor “signaled the disruptive effects of geographic mobility” on social order.72 a lack of familial and social connections put young outside of the community of respectable men and, although he was still a man, young’s identity as a poor, sexually deviant, transient army deserter served as a threat to patriarchy.73 like young, the majority of the men convicted for rape were “outsiders or marginal men” who threatened to bring disorder to established patriarchs.74 ultimately, robert young portrayed himself as a man unrepentant and unconcerned with the women he harmed. he even blamed his early associations with lewd women for his drinking problems; while he was originally “an absolute hater of all sorts of strong liquor,” once he began to associate with “lewd women,” he “learned to drink to excess.”75 he paid noticeably little attention to the rape that would lead to his death. instead, young focused more on his young victim’s older sister, who was also his fiancée, a woman he “loved without deceit.” he claimed that he wanted to stay faithful to his fiancée, anne green, but he was incapable of restraining his sexual desires. he did not reflect on jane green, his eleven-year-old victim, but instead apologized to anne. he did not see his victim or the women who he seduced as people whose feelings and pain were important, but rather as vehicles for his sexual desire. nor did he truly have any regard for anne green, as evidenced by his rape of her sister.76 although his marginality in colonial new england was partially attributable to his poverty and hidden status as an army deserter, young’s confession mainly focused on how his sexual behavior differentiated him from the rest of society. while one can understand this focus as bragging over past sexual conquests, it shows the connection between unrestrained sexual urges and rape both in young’s eyes and in the eyes of readers. this narrative, along with others like it, simultaneously drew from and reinforced this cultural assumption. it emphasized the nature of rape as a crime committed by unmanly social undesirables unable to control their lust, rather than by the powerful men who were able to use their positions in society to redefine their own coercive sexual actions as consensual.77 robert young’s case is particularly interesting because in addition to his short autobiography, he also wrote a poem recounting his life and crime. this poem contains many of the same themes that he wrote about in his confession. he placed responsibility for his fate on his earlier life of sin, his lack of regard for religion and his inability to control his lust. throughout the poem, he warned other men to avoid a sinful life.78 while in his confession a reader may even see the appeal of living as young did, this poem was illustration of the tyburn gallows (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 21 convict the deviant more religious in nature and emphasized satan’s destructive role in his life, as it was “the grand deceiver” who “led [young] to commit a horrid crime.”79 young approached his life differently in this poem, to make himself appear more pitiable. he was a young man “in blooming life” who was forced to “write these lines in a gloomy cell” and come to terms with his impending death.80 it is primarily a warning to other men not to follow in his path, as it could only lead to unhappiness, as well as a plea for pity and sympathy. while this poem makes it appear as though robert young saw his execution as inevitable, it also shows that he still wanted others not to think the worst of him and perhaps even come to his aid and petition for a commutation of his sentence.81 the 1772 case of brian sheehen is another example of a marginal and unmanly man’s conviction for rape. like young, sheehen was immediately an outsider in new england society upon his arrival, as he was raised catholic in ireland. when he came to massachusetts for work, he hated attending church with his employer’s family, and he performed his religious duties “with careless and reluctance, as being in a different way from what he had been used to,” which sheehen identified an example of his immorally.82 because eighteenth century new englanders considered devotion to christianity a bulwark against sexual violence, sheehen’s refusal to worship properly could have explained his crime to others.83 his lack of piety (specifically worship in one of the “right” churches) immediately made him less sympathetic in the eyes of his protestant neighbors.84 additionally, his reluctance to attend church with his employer’s family marked him as a disobedient servant and, thus, “a rebel against law and proper social ordering.”85 his sexual behavior, although not so brazen as that of robert young, marked sheehen as a failed patriarch who differed from respectable men. although he was married and had a child, he chose a sexually immoral wife whom he later learned was also married to another man.86 in the eighteenth century, a husband was usually at fault for his wife’s infidelity because it showed his failure as both a patriarch (who was supposed to be able to control his dependents) as well as a sexual partner (because he was unable to completely sexually satisfy his wife).87 unable to properly control his wife, sheehen left her and his child after nearly killing his wife’s second husband. sheehen may have intended for this story to gain him sympathy as a man wronged by a sexually deviant woman.88 however, his account of his wife’s sexual behavior likely harmed his reputation and set him apart from more reputable men who successfully governed their families. in addition to his religion and disreputable family life, sheehen admitted that he was infamous for his “wicked profligate” character.89 while a bad character could mean any number of things, as he did not define his specific actions in great detail, the inclusion of these elements in sheehen’s narrative shows that bad character and disreputability were just as important for the men who were charged with rape as they were for the women who filed charges.90 in contrast, brian sheehen’s victim was a reputable married mother who suffered physical injuries and cried out for help. for members of this community, this assault was a clear case of a disreputable, irreligious outsider’s rape of a reputable woman. the narrative is different from many others, as it focuses a considerable amount of attention on the victim and the actual act of rape, as sheehen recounted the events of the night in detail.91 the attorney general proclaimed that he had never seen a clearer case of rape than this one. not only was the woman respectable and the physical act fulfilled all of the necessary legal requirements to be considered a rape, but sheehen had an admittedly bad reputation and he was an outsider in the community. brian sheehen was the perfect example of degenerate manhood: he was an irish catholic, he had an example of an 18th century trial, similar to the one the defendants in this study faced (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 22 elements : : spring 2016 previously been in jail, and he had no family ties or dependents.92 while arthur and robert young were threats because they operated outside of and in opposition to patriarchy, brian sheehen tried to achieve respectable masculinity but was ultimately a failure of a man. this case reveals the importance of a man’s failure to fulfill masculine ideals to the public’s image of him as a criminal. in the time between his conviction and when this narrative was published, sheehen claimed to renounce his catholicism and show an interest in proper protestant religion, but it is unlikely that his conversion was authentic given the religious function of these confessions. the man, likely a minister, who helped brian sheehen put together this autobiography, would clearly have used this occasion to bring as many sinners as possible to christ.93 there was no better example than a sinning catholic to show that anyone could find the true religion. despite their differences, all of these confessions follow a similar format and contain many of the same forms of gendered behavior. each of these narratives conform to societal assumptions about rape. the convicted rapists all represent a rejection of or a failure to attain a prescribed masculine identity. from the first lines of their narratives, it is clear that they are disreputable men. arthur was a slave, the lowest position in colonial new england’s social hierarchy, and sheehen and young were irish catholics, religious deviants and ethnic outsiders. throughout their lives, these men exhibited unchristian behavior through fornication, indulgence in alcohol, theft and deception. their inability to control themselves and their willingness to go to extremes to satisfy their desire showed their lack of masculinity.94 while these narratives primarily placed the blame for their fates on the criminals themselves, they also employed female temptresses who hastened their path to sinfulness. arthur ran away with the aid of his native american mistress, women taught robert young to enjoy alcohol, and the infidelity of brian sheehen’s wife humiliated him and ruined his efforts to be a proper patriarch. all of these components of the narratives signal that these men were marginal and outside of the bounds of acceptable male behavior.95 these autobiographies also contain examples of proper patriarchal and masculine behavior to contrast with the condemned rapists. all of these men scorned society through their rejection of the kind and forgiving patriarchs who gave them many opportunities to live respectable lives. even after he ran away for a year, arthur’s master “received [him] kindly;” brian sheehen’s employer tried to save his soul and bring him to christ despite his lack of interest; and robert young reacted to his early employer’s and parents’ concern over his illicit sexuality by enlisting in the british army and leaving ireland.96 at the ends of their lives, upon reflection of their misdeeds (or at the behest of the others who contributed to the writing of these narratives and wanted to put forth a message promoting community order and stability), these men accepted ministerial authority through repentance. although their disobedience and lack of respect for patriarchs had only brought them pain and hardship in this world, their eventual acceptance of patriarchal authority by apologizing and thanking ministers for reforming them, presumably would help them find peace in the next life. the average eighteenth century man could likely identify with these criminals and the patriarchs they rejected. because these narratives functioned both as moral warnings and sensational adventure stories, men could simultaneously identify with the criminals, feel superior to them and use their story as a cautionary tale.97 these criminals exhibited what thomas foster called a “masculine counter-norm” of individuality that readers might have considered legitimate.98 although they were unable to restrain “while a modern reader may associate sexual aggression with rape, to law-abiding men as well as these criminals, this powerful sexuality was the most socially acceptable part of these narratives.” 23 convict the deviant themselves, as good and masculine men would, their aggressive sexuality was typical and virile.99 while a modern reader may associate sexual aggression with rape, to lawabiding-men as well as these criminals, this powerful sexuality was the most socially acceptable part of these narratives.100 they all clearly showed an intense desire to have a woman, both as a sexual partner and as a dependent they could control. although they showed no indication of wanting to protect and provide for a woman, they did accept certain aspects of their expected role as patriarchs. arthur sexually mastered his “squaw,” robert young planned to marry anne green, and brian sheehen was already married and had a son. just as respectable men would, these rapists used women’s bodies to assert their masculine identities. but in this case, because they did not have women readily available to them to satisfy their lust, they instead resorted to rape.101 for the readers of these confession narratives, these qualities indicated that these rapists were masculine, at least to an extent, and they could thus identify with these “anti-heroes.”102 at the same time, however, a critical component of all of these narratives was the rapists’ lack of other markers of masculinity, a factor that considerably impacted the outcomes of their lives. it made them more believable rapists, precluding any sort of community defense, and increasing the feasability of a rape accusation. for example, while they may have exhibited a desire to control women and families, none of these men cared for dependents. arthur had many sexual partners but, because he was a slave, could never have a socially acceptable family or dependents. robert young showed some interest becoming a husband and father with community roots, but he sabotaged his own efforts at achieving an appropriate masculine identity by raping his fiancée’s sister. brian sheehen came closest to approaching respectable masculinity, as he was married and had children, but his wife’s infidelity brought his manhood into question.103 because a man’s respectability as a citizen was tied to his marital status and possession of dependents, the lack of a traditional family life among these men at the time of their trials made them particularly suspicious.104 their sexual behavior was, in the eyes of other eighteenth century men, linked to this lack of family life because they did not have the “selfmastery” necessary to head and maintain an orderly household. and because they were not properly married, their masculine sexual energy could only be directed towards immoral purposes.105 their bachelor status, even before they were accused of rape or any of the details of their sex lives became public knowledge, made them suspected sexual deviants. these men could not be proper husbands because of their lack of self-control and because they were not husbands, they had no proper outlet for their sexual desires.106 these rape narratives indicate that accused rapists knew that their lifestyles did not meet the standards of respectable male behavior. even accounting for the influence of ministers, these rapists’ lives contradicted social norms in almost every way. they were not acceptable husbands and fathers, they were not independent householders, and they did not exercise restraint in their sexual lives.107 their lack of masculinity precluded these men from full acceptance into the male community and made them outsiders in an extremely community-oriented society. because male sexuality was naturally aggressive, men either needed to be able to control themselves or be under the protection and control of a man who could. convicted rapists both proved themselves incapable of self-mastery and were, at the time they committed their rapes, independent and uncontrolled. this understanding of rape made arthur, robert young and brian sheehen appear more likely to be rapists, and certainly contributed to their deaths. by telling their stories (or having their stories told) in these criminal autobiographies, these rapists contributed to the conception of a rapist as a deviant outsider. because these narratives reached such a large audience, they were extremely effective in reinforcing popular understandings of rape and solidified the association between certain unmanly men and rape. this made it even more difficult for people to accept patriarchs and elite men as rapists, as the sexual deviance and outsider status associated with rapists were not consistent with the image of a respectably masculine patriarch. by blaming rape on unmanly, low-status men, elites could continue to coerce women into sex without understanding these sexual encounters as rape. it was not until second wave feminism that women began to question this assumption and demand a change in how society views sexual assault. even today, it is difficult for people to conceptualize of ordinary men as rapists. many still assume that outsiders, modern versions of arthur, young and sheehen, are responsible for the majority of rapes when, in reality, women are most vulnerable to attacks by acquaintances, friends, family, and romantic partners.108 criminal narratives played an important role in reinforcing the construction of rapists as false men, and thus allowed real rapists, both past and present, to escape suspicion. 24 elements : : spring 2016 endnotes 1. williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels.” 1983, 8, 10. 2. hambleton, “‘playing the rogue:’ rape and issues of consent in seventeenth century massachusetts.” 2001, 37. 3. ditz, “the new men’s history and the peculiar absence of gendered power: some remedies from early american gender history,” 2004, 11-12. 4. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 134; foster, sex and the eighteenth–century man, 2006, 23. 5. kerber, et al. “beyond roles,” 1989, 573. 6. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 187-188; lindman, “to ravish and carnally know.” 2000, 395. 7. leverington, “domesticating the hero.” 2007, 162. 8. slotkin, “narratives of crime,” 1973, 7. 9. osborne, “constituting american masculinity,” 2008, 113. 10. rindfleisch, “what it means to be a man,” 2012, 861. 11. block, “how should we look at rape in early america,” 2006, 604. 12. hambleton, “playing the rogue.” 2001, 42. 13. hambleton, “playing the rogue.” 2001, 29. 14. foster, sex and the eighteenth–century man, 2007, 68; hambleton, “playing the rogue.” 2001, 29; block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 29. 15. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 21. 16. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 161. 17. hambleton, “playing the rogue.” 2001, 28; goodheart, “rape, race and capital punishment in connecticut to 1830.” 2012, 63. 18. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2001, 134; snyder, “sexual consent and sexual coercion in seventeenthcentury virginia in sex without consent: rape and sexual coercion in america,” 2001, 46. 19. hambleton, “playing the rogue.” 2001, 27. 20. goodheart, “rape, race and capital punishment in connecticut to 1830.” 2012, 62, 77; cohen, “social injustice, sexual violence, spiritual transcendence: constructions of interracial rape in early american crime literature, 1767-1817,” 1999, 18. 21. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 52. 22. goodheart, “rape, race and capital punishment in connecticut to 1830.” 2013, 77; foster, “sex and the eighteenth century man,” 2012, 57; block, “how should we look at rape in early america?” 2006, 609. 23. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, 59. 24. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007 54-56. 25. block, “how should we look at rape in early america?” 2006, 610. 26. williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels,” 1983, 10. 27. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 157. 28. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 42; slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england,” 1973, 18. 29. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 157; williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels,” 1983, 6. 30. williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels,” 1983, 8. 31. williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels,” 1983, 11. 32. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 1973, 156. 33. williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels,” 1983, 7. 34. cohen, “social injustice, sexual violence, spiritual transcendence,” 1999, 504. 35. slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england,” 1973, 11; williams, “rogues, rascals and scoundrels,” 1983, 7. 36. slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england,” 1973, 25. 37. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 74. 38. foster, sex and the eighteenth–century man, 2007, 18. 39. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 163. 40. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 127; foster, sex and the eighteenth–century man, 2007, 131. 41. foster, sex and the eighteenth–century man, 2007, 139. 42. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 149. 43. goodheart and hinks, “‘see the jails open and the thieves arise’: joseph mountain’s revolutionary atlantic and consolidating early national connecticut,” 2013, 498. 44. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 32; arthur, “the life, and dying speech of arthur, a negro man; who was executed at worcester, october 20th 1768. for a rape committed on the body of one deborah metcalfe,” america’s historical imprints. 45. slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england,” 1973, 9. 46. hambleton, “playing the rogue,” 2001, 42. 47. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 167. 48. slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england,” 1973, 18; 22. 49. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 17; arthur, “the life, and dying speech of arthur, a negro man.” 50. arthur, “the life, and dying speech of arthur, a negro man.” 51. slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england.” 1973, 11. 52. block, “rape and sexual power in early america.” 2006, 149. 53. arthur, “the life, and dying speech of arthur, a negro man.” 54. arthur, “the life, and dying speech of arthur, a negro man.” 55. aaron hutchinson, “iniquity purged by mercy and truth. a sermon preached at grafton, october 23d, 1768. being the sabbath after the execution of arthur, a negro man, at worcester, aged about 21. for a rape,” america’s historical imprints. 56. thaddeus mccarty, “the power and grace of christ display’d to a dying malefactor. a sermon preached at worcester october the twentieth, 1768. being the day of the execution of arthur, a negro of a [sic] about 21 years old, for a rape,” america’s historical imprints. 57. cohen, “social injustice, sexual violence, spiritual transcendence.” 1999, 494. 58. arthur, “the life, and dying speech of arthur, a negro man.” 59. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 17. 25 convict the deviant 60. young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young”, america’s historical imprints. 61. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 1999, 91. 62. young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young.” 63. young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young.” 64. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 1999, 18. 65. young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young.” 66. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 1999, 63. 67. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 212. 68. lawrence, “zuriel waterman and the “robert young broadsides: intertextual male democracy in new england, 1780,” 1997, 136. 69. hambleton, “playing the rogue,” 2001, 41; foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, 58. 70. lawrence, “zuriel waterman and the robert young broadsides,” 1997, 139. 71. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 57. 72. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, 59. 73. lawrence, “‘zuriel waterman and the robert young broadsides,” 1997, 154; young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young”; foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, 59. 74. goodheart, “rape, race and capital punishment in connecticut to 1830,” 2012, 77; foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, xi. 75. young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young.” 76. young, “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young.” 77. block, rape and sexual power in early america, 2006, 54. 78. robert young, “the dying criminal: a poem”, america’s historical imprints. 79. young, “the dying criminal: a poem.” 80. young, “the dying criminal: a poem.” 81. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 253. 82. brian sheehen, salem, january 16, 1772. “an account of the life of bryan sheehen, this day executed in salem, for committing a rape on the body of abial hollowell, wife of benjamin hollowell, of marblehead ... accordingly the following particulars have been collected, chiefly from his own mouth,” america’s historical imprints. 83. cohen, “social injustice, sexual violence, spiritual transcendence,” 1999, 483. 84. sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen.” 85. slotkin, “narratives of negro crime in new england, 16751800,” 1973, 8. 86. sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen.” 87. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, 24-25. 88. hambleton, “playing the rogue,” 2001, 58; sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen.” 89. sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen.” 90. sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen.” 91. sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen.” 92. sheehen, “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen,”;rindfleisch, “what it means to be a man,” 2012, 856. 93. brown and brown, the hanging of ephraim wheeler, 2005, 243. 94. foster, sex and the eighteenth century man, 2007, 31. 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1984): 63–82. lindman, janet moore. “acting the manly christian: white evangelical masculinity in revolutionary virginia.” the william and mary quarterly 57, no. 2 (april 1, 2000): 393–416. mccarty, thaddeus. “the power and grace of christ display’d to a dying malefactor. a sermon preached at worcester october the twentieth, 1768. being the day of the execution of arthur, a negro of a [sic] about 21 years old, for a rape.” printed and sold by kneeland and adams, next to the treasurer’s office, in milk-street, 1768. osborne, jeff. “constituting american masculinity.” american studies 49, no. 3/4 (october 1, 2008): 111–32. rindfleisch, bryan c. “‘what it means to be a man’: contested masculinity in the early republic and 27 convict the deviant antebellum america”.” history compass 10, no. 11 (november 1, 2012): 852–65. doi:10.1111/hic3.12005. sheehen, bryan. “salem, january 16, 1772. an account of the life of bryan sheehen, this day executed in salem, for committing a rape on the body of abial hollowell, wife of benjamin hollowell, of marblehead ... accordingly the following particulars have been collected, chiefly from his own mouth.” daniel and robert fowle, january 16, 1772. america’s historical imprints. http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.bc.edu/ iw-search/we/evans/?p_product=eaix&p_theme=eai&p_ nbid=b60c57cumtqymzcwmtczms44mdazotq 6mtoxmjoxmzyumty3ljmumzy&p_action=doc&p_ queryname=2&p_docref=v2:0f2b1fcb879b099b@ eaix-0f2f827682e4dc28@12559-@1. slotkin, richard. “narratives of negro crime in new england, 1675-1800.” american quarterly 25, no. 1 (march 1, 1973): 3–31. snyder, terri l. “sexual consent and sexual coersion in seventeenthcentury virginia.” in sex without consent: rape and sexual coercion in america, edited by merril smith. new york: new york university press, 2001. u.s. center for disease control, national center for injury prevention and control. national intimate partner and sexual violence survey. by m.c. black, et al. atlanta, georgia: the national center for injury prevention and control, 2010. williams, daniel e. “rogues, rascals and scoundrels: the underworld literature of early america.” american studies 24, no. 2 (summer 1983): 5–19. young, robert. “the dying criminal: a poem,” november 11, 1779. america’s historical imprints. http:// infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.bc.edu/iw-search/we/ evans/?p_product=eaix&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=b60c 57cumtqymzcwmtczms44mdazotq6mtoxmjoxm zyumty3ljmumzy&p_action=doc&p_docnum=9&p_ queryname=2&p_docref=v2:0f2b1fcb879b099b@ eaix-0f2f822c63c9f8d8@43738-@1. young, robert. “the last words, and dying speech, of robert young,” november 11, 1779. america’s historical imprints. http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.bc.edu/iw-search/ we/evans/?p_product=eaix&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=b6 0c57cumtqymzcwmtczms44mdazotq6mtoxmjox mzyumty3ljmumzy&p_action=doc&p_docnum=11&p_ queryname=2&p_docref=v2:0f2b1fcb879b099b@ eaix-0f3014298b47aa30@16688-@1. 28 elements : : spring 2016 it is rare that municipalities have the opportunity to remake a significant portion of key infrastructure, and to do so without significant cost burden on the citizens. the advent of uber and similar entities that have moved the ride-sharing concept into the 21st century provide that unique chance in the public transportation arena. however, cities such as los angeles, new york, and chicago are responding to uber as a threat to established taxi-livery services and their accompanying regulatory structures rather than an opportunity for modernization. in order to capitalize on this transformative moment, cities and governments must rethink and address decadesold rules, regulations, and entrenched interests. the benefits to and acceptance by the public that surround the ride-sharing movement are unprecedented. whether today’s politicians and regulators have the courage and foresight to embrace this fundamental change will determine the long-term success and the meaningful evolution of our national transportation network. uber takes the passing lane disruptive competition and taxi-livery service regulations allison schneider technology has transformed much of our ingrained way of life. we no longer watch television at designated times or on predetermined days. we are no longer attached to a wall when making a phone call, and we no longer depend upon paper maps to guide us to our destinations. similarly, the taxicab industry, an urban institution that dates back at least one hundred years, is being disrupted by the combination of smartphones, robust wireless connections, and ever-growing social networks.1 the requirement to “hail a cab” or make a pre-determined appointment with a black car service has begun to diminish thanks to a new competitor that leverages the latest technology in order to bypass and streamline those requirements. the most successful player in this compensatory ridesharing space is known as uber.2 founded just five years ago, uber now operates in more than forty countries and two hundred cities around the globe.3 uber has rethought the entire transportation process, from initiating and completing a transaction, to the ride itself, to even the customer’s experience of the drivers and the cars they use. acceptance has been extraordinarily successful, and as a result, has caught the attention not only of entrenched competitors, but also of those charged with regulating an industry that has changed only incrementally over the last several decades.4 any industry so deeply established in urban life, when challenged, raises significant questions regarding the way forward. traditional transportation providers largely operate on the basis of a regulated oligopoly through the issuance of medallions, or franchised licenses, and are subject to a complex set of regulations. those investments are upfront and based upon the value of limited competition.5 however, they now face largely unregulated competitors who have limited oversight, minimal investment, and no requirement to pay upfront or as a percentage of their revenues for the right to operate. regulators are now charged with oversight of minimum standards of operation, safety, vehicle selection, insurance requirements, and ensuring service areas that meet community requirements. because uber operates in a regulatory grey area, however, local officials have found that their powers of oversight are somewhat limited and have not kept pace with this dramatic change in service delivery.6 therefore, they must determine the correct path toward the exercise of their office with respect to a business that does not fit into the existing regime of rules and regulations. as small and even large businesses, taxi and livery providers must discern whether the model is still viable and determine the long-term impact on the valuation of investments.7 from the standpoint of a municipality, the issue becomes a deeper financial question as well. because the livery industry operates in the public right of way, the money derived from a right to operate is a meaningful source of municipal revenue. since competition diminishes the value of these licenses, the municipality has a vested interest in protecting the status quo.8 the political implications have become somewhat clouded as it is citizens who have taken uber from start-up to its current success. the balance between preserving the institution and giving the constituents what they want is tenuous at best. overview this research paper explores a relatively new and disruptive social and economic force in major metropolitan areas. ridesharing services such as uber not only present a new competitive force in the marketplace, but also challenge the fundamental underpinnings of a long established regulatory framework. as a technological phenomenon, uber goes further, changing the way its customers use and pay for transport services. by putting dispatch services directly in the hands of the consumer and breaking down barriers to entry, uber has truly exploited the “social network” in a unique way.9 in order to understand and fully explore the integration of the opposing forces, this paper will look at the impact of this new transportation concept from the standpoint of each of the key players. in order to set a historical background, i will first explain uber’s structure and why it be-taxis in new york (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 12 elements : : fall 2015 lieves it can operate outside of the regulatory environment. additionally, i will analyze the legacy taxi and livery business, reviewing its economic, operating, and regulatory underpinnings to determine its strengths and weaknesses. i will further explore the motivating factors in the response to the new competition in an otherwise exclusive franchise environment. as the research has revealed, a large portion of what motivates the taxi and livery business is a strict and complex regulatory structure. one might say that this business is truly an extension of the municipal transportation system that it serves. as a result, it is crucial to understand this framework and its political motivations both from a public policy and economic point of view. the municipal response has varied from passive to legislative to legal, each seeking to deal with the opposing forces while appeasing a growing number of ridesharing customers whose patronage is growing rapidly. for example, while uber is a private company with limited public information, app research firm 7park estimates that uber’s transaction growth is up over 400% with sales growth over 250% during 2014, through november 15.10 it is this popularity among consumers that has made this issue so dynamic. although there is always someone “looking to develop a better mousetrap,” the uber service has turned a decades-old business on its ear. and while it is important to understand what fuels this acceptance, it is also crucial to account for the ancillary benefits of this new urban transportation system. after exploring this, i will then lay out the case for uber’s ridesharing business concept, not only in terms of the economics, but also of the coincident benefits that impact users, providers, and communities in ways not originally contemplated. finally, i will draw conclusions based on research and historical precedents as they relate to current activity. one must draw these determinations, however, with the understanding that this experiment in alternative transportation is still somewhat in its infancy. the competitive responses are still muted, the regulatory framework is in a state of flux, and perhaps most importantly, the customers and drivers who use and deliver the service are still “inventing” its full application. my conclusions will focus on the reality that competition in the taxi business has become a permanent part of the urban transportation network. they will center on providing incentives to traditional providers so that they are encouraged to upgrade and modernize their operations and technology. in addition, i will recommend minimum operating standards for all providers so that all participants act in the best interest of the customer and for the betterment of the network. finally, i will explore and ultimately reject any notion of directly compensating legacy license holders in order to protect their initial investments. instead, i will conclude that traditional providers have a first mover advantage, an operating history, and the unique public center access to compete effectively, and as such, their ultimate success should be tied to that end. what is uber? uber, along with its smaller competitors, lyft and sidecar, is a ridesharing service that uses smartphone applications to connect riders and drivers. this system eliminates the concept of calling a dispatcher or hailing a taxi on the street. no cash is exchanged with the driver; rather, a credit or debit card stored in the application pays uber, which then transfers the funds to the driver. the transaction on both sides is swift and elegant. both the passenger and driver know the economics before the ride begins as it is calculated based on time, distance (provided by gps), and demand (a so-called dynamic pricing model).11 potential riders can use their application to track the location of the driver, as well as his/her timing and approach to the pickup location. similarly, the driver can easily locate the passenger in order to determine the most efficient approach. in complex urban environments with many one-way streets and minimal stopping and standing zones, this can be an invaluable tool. once the ride begins, each driver uses a standard smartphone (provided by uber) to determine the most efficient route, taking into account traffic, construction, special events, and other “although there is always someone ‘looking to develop a better mousetrap,’ the uber service has turned a decadesold business on its ear.” 13 uber takes the passing lane known obstacles along the route. as there is no tipping involved, passenger and driver can make a quick and convenient exit. each of these features stands in stark contrast to the traditional taxi service, which requires a transaction of cash or credit in the vehicle, calculated at the completion of a ride. the driver, without an objective measure of efficiency, determines the length and route of the ride. further, there is no convenient way to track a taxi (even if it is obtained through dispatch) or for the driver to determine the passenger’s exact location. uber’s service also includes a self-monitoring feature not found in the traditional taxi: a driver and passenger review program. after each ride, the passenger is prompted and encouraged to rate their experience. each phase, from pick-up to drop-off and from vehicle to driver, is rated for quality and efficiency. at the same time, drivers have an opportunity to report passengers who are problematic or present challenges to the system. this provides instant feedback that allows uber to leverage its network and deal with consistently subpar service, as well as maintain an ongoing relationship with a customer base that is spread among diverse geographies, communities, and cultures. as a relative newcomer to the marketplace, uber has sought to establish credibility for safety and reliability, especially given the unique personal relationship each transaction provides. most recently, uber has sought to solidify its background check standards for drivers, an area of concern for municipalities and passengers alike. to that end, uber hired the consulting firm giuliani partners (led by the former mayor of new york, rudolf giuliani) to review the processes and procedures as well as the minimum standards. giuliani’s report draws some early conclusions: “uber is on track to complete more than 2 million background checks in 2014 … uber is setting the safety standard in the ride-sourcing industry.” giuliani further notes, “the normal background check by many taxi services in major cities is a 3-5 year background check compared to uber’s 7 year check … multi-dimensionally [is] more thorough … blazing new ground in a quickly evolving industry.”12 when it comes to stepping into a vehicle, insurance is always top of mind. uber provides insurance coverage for trips in the amount of $1,000,000, which is triggered for driver, vehicle, and occupants from the moment a driver accepts a trip.13 this coverage is consistent across each city that is serviced by uber and is nearly double that for taxicab accidents in most major cities. the methodology for such coverage is displayed in the chart below, which shows the insurance coverage for uberx cars.15 why is uber different from taxis? at first glance, ridesharing may look like a taxi service: it uses a handheld ‘smart’ device to summon a ride to a specified location, for a fee. however, there are subtle differences that have a meaningful impact. primarily, uber drivers are not employees of uber; they are each independent contractors who use privately-owned vehicles to offer rides (“rideshares”) for a fee. in fact, such forms of legal and well-practiced ridesharing have been around and practiced through all manner of personal transportation: offering an acquaintance a ride for some remuneration, for instance reimbursement for gas and tolls, or putting in an expense report for the business use of a car. in fact, all uber has done is create an efficient way to organize and brand these activities. from a regulatory perspective, uber is not a car and driver, but a network that connects a willing rider to a willing driver for a pre-arranged fee. while this may appear to be a distinction without a difference, most governing municipalities have not only recognized that current law is not of force, but have also begun the process of modernizing regulations to encompass ridesharing activities. for example, in 2013, california redefined these services into a category called “transportation network services” with the intent to regulate.16 other states and municipalities such as chicago, uberx ridesharing insurance coverage (source: uber blog) 14 elements : : fall 2015 new york, and los angeles, which are addressed in this paper, have both recognized their need for expanded regulation and tried to accomplish this through the courts, legislation, statute, and administrative actions. while there is disagreement on how to deal with ridesharing services among the various agencies of the government, there seems to be a somewhat universal acceptance that such services are not directly or adequately covered by existing law. impact on the taxi-livery businesses the modern taxicab business was established during the early twentieth century and has proliferated along with the expansion of infrastructure, the explosive growth of the gasoline-powered vehicle, and continued population growth in and around america’s urban areas. generally authorized to serve a municipality by license, taxis are subject to regulated rates, service areas, fares, quality, and insurance. in return, these cars-for-hire expect to be subject to limited competition in their service areas.17 the economics of this business were originally simple. in most large cities, the required capital an investor needed included an upfront payment for a medallion, franchise, or license, and an investment in a vehicle that met predetermined criteria.18 ongoing operating costs included the cost of the driver, maintenance, tolls, insurance, and fuel. the efficiency of the driver, the demand from the local economy, and the nature of the service area set the revenue stream to determine profitability.19 because of the limited number of entrants, the business became not only profitable, but quite predictable. as a result, the medallion or license values consistently grew over time. medallions were consolidated into large corporate holdings within a single market, with values for single medallions in new york city surpassing the $1 million mark in 2011.20 as uber entered the ridesharing business with superior technology and no cost of entry, the taxi and livery businesses fell under fire for poor service quality, inadequate service areas,21 and rate schedules that limited the ability of riders to predict fares.22 uber’s sophisticated ridesharing, however, sits in a grey area largely outside of historical regulation. the impact of competition on the regulated taxicab business has been swift and meaningful. a recent auction of medallions in chicago drew no buyers.23 new york, a city that has rarely seen a decline in medallion value, saw the first decline in fifteen years, the last being a slight decline after 9/11.24 this, along with the growing operational issues of having a new competitor in the market, has left traditional taxi and livery companies on their heels. the value of the new york city taxi medallion has increased in the pre-competitive period and declined slightly in the more recent competitive environment.25 the lines have been clearly drawn for the competitors as well as regulators and policy-makers. lawsuits against cities have been filed as taxi medallion owners sought for protection for the exclusive territory that they are contracted for.26 uber claims there are no regulations to cover what they do, as this kind of operation was never conceived. adding to the complexity, technology, social networks, and the flexibility of the new business model allows the business to morph and change based on the needs and desires of users, who in great numbers have been the beneficiaries of increased access and utility of the service. regulators: bridging the past and the future regulation and oversight have historically been evolutionary processes, particularly in the area of municipal transportation. the slow and methodical development of the means of municipal transport save politicians the luxury of time to determine and refine policy as circumstances changed. for example, in 1907, when taxi medallions were first issued in the u.s., there were fewer than 150,000 cars nationwide.27 while that number has grown to over 254 million in the current decade, the pace of vehicle growth was moderate, at around five percent, since the 1960s.28 as a result, there was plenty of time to develop an incre“from a regulatory perspective, uber is not a car and driver, but a network that connects a willing rider to a willing driver for a pre-arranged fee.” 15 uber takes the passing lane mental approach to the use of public infrastructure. similar incrementalism can be seen with respect to the rollout of air, rail, and livery services. in new york city, there are 13,327 medallions currently in service, actually fewer than the 13,500 that existed in 1937.29 government agencies are, by definition, deliberative institutions designed to be methodical. regulations regarding livery services have not changed much in years except after exhaustive studies in areas related to safety, pollution, and consumer protection. uber’s entrance into the taxi and livery service marketplace has challenged the status quo on every level in a small amount of time. municipalities faced with this disruption of the status quo have sought to gain leverage over uber’s activities in order to assert control and maintain regulatory authority and relevance. at the same time, they have incentive to protect their financial and contractual benefits with their current “lessees”: the medallion holders. cities are now faced with a set of regulations that do not fit this new form of ridesharing, and as a result are trying to fashion existing rules into an area they were not designed to cover, all during a time when technology in general is morphing daily. for example, the city of los angeles, among other large california cities, sent cease and desist orders to uber through their department of transportation. citing a lack of authority to operate, it ordered uber to stop picking up “passengers for hire.” the order was made on the basis of public safety, perhaps the only omnibus regulation that could be stretched to accommodate their goal, threatening drivers with arrest and auto confiscation.30 the cities, however, did not seem to understand that there was a new entrant in the discussion--the constituent. regulation or not, consumers have adopted the rideshare service with great gusto. the los angeles times, in a timely and pointed editorial just days after l.a.’s assertion noted out the lack of municipal authority, wrote: “the problem is…[the city] does not have the authority to do so… the companies offer ride for hire services that the state public utilities commission oversees… the main danger the companies pose at this point is to the cabbie’s hold on what used to be a captive market”.31 despite the threats, the ridesharing companies still operate in the city of los angeles and throughout the rest of california. in chicago, the city’s mayor, rahm emanuel, took a much more direct approach, introducing a law that sought to redefine rideshare companies and protect the entrenched taxi and livery business. a seven-point plan was offered, which included preventing these companies from owning or financing vehicles, eliminating uberx cars, prohibiting advertisements on the vehicles, prohibiting airport drop offs, and a series of mandatory reporting requirements.32 the ordinance, clearly aimed at gutting the core of the ridesharing service, drew the ire of populist organizations. jacob huebert, senior attorney for the liberty justice center, laid out a view directed toward the citizenry: “citizens should be disturbed by a city government that is more concerned about pleasing a politically connected special-interest group than in letting consumers choose the services they like best. and they should be more disturbed that government officials are more interested in continuing cronyism for as long as possible than in letting chicago thrive in the twenty-first century.”33 in august, the city of chicago rejected the mayor’s plan and instead passed an ordinance with a much more relaxed and workable set of requirements, based largely on feedback from constituents. in new york city, meanwhile regulators took a different tack. with no desire to change or amend regulations to accommodate the ridesharing service, the attorney general of the state of new york brought a lawsuit seeking to re-characterize ridesharing, pushing to fit it back into twentieth century standards: “as it has done in every other city in which it operates, defendant has simply waltzed into new york and set up shop while defying every law passed whose very purpose is to protect the people of the state of new york. defendant runs what is at the core a for-hire livery or taxi service. defendant portrays itself as a twenty-first century technology business. in reality, it uses a smartphone app to run a twentieth century business…”34 whether through regulatory edict, the passage of legislation, or the courts, municipalities are struggling to transition to a service that cannot be put comfortably into an existing regime. benefits of the uber model uber’s opportunity to rethink the urban ride-for-hire concept arose out of its recognition that the nearly century-old taxi business had, for the most part, become stagnant. the number of taxi medallions or licenses had barely changed since the early 1900s, yet the population in major cities like new york had nearly tripled.35 uber’s management saw what they perceived as a hole in demand, service offerings, and a faulty municipal framework that allowed for a new, largely unregulated service. perhaps most important was uber’s ability to marry this concept of alternative transportation with an immediately addressable network of mobile smartphone users who could act as their own 16 elements : : fall 2015 dispatchers, effectively calling on available drivers for rides. wireless services, gps, and sophisticated applications not only surpassed the current system, but also drove overhead dollars out of the model.36 of course, no service can be characterized as successful or disruptive unless it provides demonstrable benefits in the marketplace. uber services are aimed squarely at providing an enhanced experience, but the benefits generally fall into three general categories: (1) the direct customer usage; (2) the enhancement to the public transportation system; and (3) those who provide the service as drivers. in general, uber and other ridesharing users have shown approval of the service. the ceo of uber, travis kalanick, recently described his company growth: “the company is growing at an alarming rate, quadrupling its sales every year on the back of hundreds of thousands of drivers and millions of riders”.37 since its founding in 2009, uber has expanded into forty-five countries and more than 200 cities. however, while these numbers are impressive, they do not fully explain the factors that drive the popularity of uber’s concept.38 a study by the university of california berkeley, based upon surveys done with ridesharing customers, sheds light on the motivating factors of using uber.39 the top five factors all focus on the simplification of the transportation process. from the payment and the speed to the initiation of the transaction, participants were more impressed with ridesharing companies than with other forms of transportation. it is no wonder, then, that the existing oligopoly providers are concerned enough to take the actions discussed in this paper. it is interesting to note that, beyond the convenience of use and the immediate need of getting from place to place, users are also developing appreciation based on lifestyle issues. more than twenty percent of respondents noted that this was a convenient alternative to driving under the influence--a meaningful percentage, possibly based upon the technological ease of use and availability of the uber service as compared to taxis. this social benefit portends additional attributes that appear to be bolstering adoption.40 this, along with other social motivations such as not needing a parking space, are signs that uber customers see lifestyle benefits beyond simply having an alternative to taxi or livery services, which is a powerful driving force in uber’s penetration of the marketplace. uber, and ridesharing in general, appears to have a positive impact on the general infrastructure of transportation as well. if the purpose of the transit network is to provide safe, reliable, and on-time transit to its users, uber seems to be pulling its weight, if not setting a new standard: “uc berkeley researchers found that in the evening rush, 92 percent of rideshare cars arrived in under 10 minutes, while only 16 percent of taxis did so. and while 37 percent of taxis took longer than 20 minutes, only one percent of rideshares took that long.”41 another social benefit of uber is the ability for urban and suburban residents to reduce or even eliminate their reliance on personally owned vehicles. a survey commissioned by the city of san francisco revealed that there is a shortage of taxi services, which affects the overall use of the public transportation system. since taxis function in large part as the initial or final leg of access to the mass transit system, the lack of availability drives consumers toward private ownership of vehicles: “28% percent would take public transit more often if taxis were more reliable … 11% would consider giving up one or more of their cars.”42 because uber provides greater availability of transportation, the number of cars on the road decreases, and the realization of such a goal becomes more apparent. “over the next few years, if uber and other such services do reduce the need for private vehicle ownership, they could help lower the cost of living in urban areas, reduce the environmental toll exacted by privately owned automobiles … in a january 2015 protest, portland taxi drivers demanded that city leaders make ridesharing companies play by the same rules as cabs and town cars. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 17 uber takes the passing lane and reallocate space now being wasted on parking lots to more valuable uses, like housing.”43 another benefit of uber’s ascension is that of increased employment. uber’s model is based upon drivers who are not uber employees, but rather, a new breed of small business owners.44 as opposed to the upfront fees required for taxi ownership such as medallions or other licensing fees, there are few barriers to entry. access to a clean car and a somewhat flexible schedule is all that is needed. uber provides the technology and hardware to connect a driver to the network, helps to initiate and complete the transaction, and handles the bookkeeping. according to its website, uber creates 20,000 jobs per month.45 those jobs come with meaningful compensation for drivers in major urban areas. “uberx driver partners are small business entrepreneurs demonstrating across the country that being a driver is sustainable and profitable. for example, the median income on uberx is more than $90,000/year/driver in new york and more than $74,000/year/driver in san francisco.”46 while these large cities are areas where uber has operated for some time, results portray the ease of entry and high demand for those who choose local transportation as a profession, a job, or a part-time enhancement to their income. public policy suggestions while it is still too early in the evolution of ridesharing to determine the long-term financial impact on the legacy taxi industry, it is clear that the effect of uber, as a new competitor in the market, will be financially material and create significant change. from a regulatory standpoint, municipalities should seek to ensure that this essential portion of the urban transportation system continues to operate efficiently, protect the consumer from potential harm, and ease ridesharing’s inevitable transition from a regulated oligopoly to full-fledged competition. this transition has already benefited the consumer and municipal systems by providing more choice, more predictable pricing, and additional technological leverage in order to provide better and timelier information to the user. specifically, the municipalities should seek to level the operational playing field through the adoption of minimum standards. these could include vehicle standards, driver qualifications, insurance requirements, and service standards to ensure consistency in operating the performance necessary to stabilize and ultimately enhance the transportation network. while such standards and regulations should be codified, it is interesting to note that, as documented in this research, uber currently meets or exceeds many of the standards that exist for the taxi industry. regulators should not, however, adopt the current framework, which protects the status quo of the taxi business and whose methods of operation, pricing systems, equipment, and customer service are quickly becoming obsolete. while entrenched medallion, license, and franchise holders have lobbied vigorously to protect their legacy advantages, it does not appear that they have put that same level of vigor toward a competitive response. perhaps this is where municipalities can incentivize change. regulators have the opportunity to go a step further and induce traditional taxi improvements. providing relief from license or franchise fees to operators who upgrade their fleet or technology would balance operational enhancements with the current financial framework. at the same time, cities should adopt a more flexible pricing structure that can be implemented as certain levels of competitive market penetration are met. allowing licensed taxis to simplify rates can provide both a competitive tool and an incentive to match market demand with economic return. while it is tempting to try to recover the original cost of entry through the medallion process, there is little precedent for such relief. history shows no such reimbursement to the horse-drawn carriages of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, when the original medallions and franchises were issued to motor vehicles, nor any governmental assistance to regulated telephone companies when its monopoly was dismantled by competition from unregulated wireless carriers such as sprint and mci.47 similarly, cable television companies that operate pursuant to municipal franchise now compete with unregulated cell phone and satellite signal providers. in each case, the companies, originally provided with a monopoly advantage in the early stage of development, were forced to reinvent themselves or face extinction. while meaningful competition has arrived and does not appear to be going away, taxi companies have advantages that are directly related to their implied role as a transportation provider of “last resort”: a long operational history, brand recognition, and a loyal customer base that has come to rely on the ability to “hail and go.” in addition, they understand how to acquire, own, and operate large vehicle fleets, and have preferred logistical positions at public transportation centers such as airports, train station, and city centers. it is in the interest of the taxi indus18 elements : : fall 2015 try to leverage these advantages as they recognize the inevitability of a fully competitive environment. conclusion uber’s success and its concept of ridesharing have been driven in large part by technology and more so by the power and reach of the social network, and its implications are nothing short of dramatic. within five years of operation and with fewer than three hundred employees, uber has managed to disrupt the taxi and livery business, a business that has otherwise operated without competition for more than one hundred years.48 along the way, a loyal following of customers have re-imagined how personal transportation in urban areas may be effectively used. from an alternative to privately-owned vehicles to a “safe-ride” substitute for driving under the influence, customers are molding the product. as a result, the benefits of uber have become personal to its following, something the entrenched taxi monopoly could never claim. just as interesting as the loyalty of uber’s customers is the opposition to its mere presence on the urban stage. the reaction of the taxi and livery business has been to “circle the wagons.” rather than take this disruption as a wake-up call and use their incumbency to their advantage, they have chosen to fight for the status quo, staging protests rather than restaging their operating and consumer service strategy. one such high-profile reaction came in los angeles, when two hundred taxis circled city hall and honked their horns--surely a less than high-tech response with little follow-up support.49 in fact, there is likely little chance of going back to the taxi and livery model of limited competition. with such clear and compelling benefits, acceptance by the consumer is without question; the real issues left to be ironed out are clearly in the hands of regulators. courts will have their say, but that will only serve to guide the political edge of public policy. public officials will have the opportunity to shape the future of urban transportation, perhaps for decades to come, but the looming question is whether, and how, they will rise to the challenge. with cities resorting to cease and desist letters, restraining orders, and hurried ordinances, thoughtful regulation and reaction have been pushed to the side. rick wartzman of the drucker institute capsulized the challenge, stating, “as peter drucker would have seen it,50 both taxi operators and their local government overseers are focused on the wrong thing; trying to sweep uber into yesterday’s reality, rather than moving the entire system toward tomorrow’s”.51 it is those overseers who will eventually lay out the parameters of uber’s success or failure. regulations are the instruments of practice for those charged with the public trust, and they must be handled with care. as drucker himself wrote, “regulations, no matter how badly needed at any one time, and how beneficial at any one time, always become obsolete eventually”.52 the taxi and livery system will continue to fight, perhaps with good intention, and perhaps out of self-preservation. however, without redirecting some of their energy and resources to improved quality, technology, and customer service, they are in danger of going the way of the payphone: eventually becoming extinct despite their preferred position on our city streets. city and state officials have the opportunity to stay relevant on this issue, but only after objective recognition of the economic, technological, and municipal advantages of this new augmentation to the public transportation system, while working in the best interest of their constituents. the question that remains is whether those regulators will be looking forward or through the rear-view mirror. endnotes 1. downs, lessons from uber, 2014. 2. ridesharing is a ride matching system that formally or informally links riders to drivers traveling between the same places at the same times. so-called “dynamic” or “real-time” ridesharing is a form of ridesharing that is used for single, oneway trips rather than for trips made on a regular basis at the same time (levofsky and greenburg 3). 3. seward 2014:3 uber was founded in 2009 by travis kalanick, the then and current ceo, along with garrett camp. both men had financial and technological success selling prior businesses to established internet companies. the original idea for uber stemmed from trying to solve what kalanick described as a “horrific taxi problem in san francisco” (kalanick 2014). the name uber appears to have come from an american interpretation of the german “über”. in america, the word uber has become a relatively common, if slangy synonym for “super” or “topmost”; it reflects what uber ceo travis kalanick has called in interviews the company’s “disruptive ambitions” (peterson 2014). 4. an ‘uber’ problem for cities, 2012. 5. badger, taxi medallions, 2014. 6. mann, cities move to rein in smartphone taxi services, 2012 7. generally, the difference between a taxi service and livery service is two-fold. first is the way they are dispatched. one can “hail” a cab on the streets. for example, in new york city, only yellow medallion cabs can legally pickup street hails. livery, or black car, services generally only respond to radio calls. the other difference relates to pricing. taxi cabs have a metered pricing 19 uber takes the passing lane system based upon time and distance while livery cars operate on a zone pricing system, which is fixed fees based upon location or distance (dawid 2011). 8. badger, taxi medallions, 2014. 9. uber is not alone in as a force of change in highly regulated environments. another example with similar impact is airbnb, which is challenging the hotel business by allowing users to share their homes or otherwise rent them to prospective “tenants”. using a similar matching application, airbnb brings interested parties together outside of the conventional regulatory framework that controls the traditional hotel business. rebranding and refreshing an outdated means of access, while at the same time allowing providers and consumers to define their niche in the marketplace has created what is referred to as the “platform culture” (sundararajan 2014). the social network platform allows an organized interaction between market participants where market content is created and distributed through local channels rather than a central dominant provider. uber, airbnb, and other such application platforms provide an elegant way to interact, while the forces of market demand are shaking the foundations of legacy providers. 10. lunden, uber ride high, 2014. 11. dynamic pricing refers to the setting of prices for a good or service based upon demand at a particular moment and the availability of supply; the added complexity in uber’s case is that pricing becomes a moving target, changing almost in real time depending upon what is happening in the market at a particular moment (morphy 2014). according to uber, with dynamic pricing (referred to as “surge pricing”), rates increase to get more cars on the road during the busiest times. when enough cars are on the road to meet the demand, prices go down (“what is surge pricing” 2014). 12. giuliani, uber setting the standard, 2014. 13. nairi, insurance for uberx, 2014. 14. generally, states require taxi companies to carry between $250,000 and $500,000 of liability insurance, and there is no uniform requirement to carry uninsured motorist coverage (denmon 2014). 15. uberx is the brand name that uber uses for its lower cost option, with fares targeted at 20% below that of a taxi. uberx drivers have mid-range or hybrid vehicles with seating for up to four passengers. this is distinguished from uber black car service, which provides luxury level cars and suvs. while uberx cars are driven by licensed drivers, uber black cars are driven by licensed limousine drivers (fiorillo 2014). 16. geron, california becomes first state to regulate, 2013. 17. federal trade commission, bureau of economics, an economic analysis of taxicab regulation, 1984:64 18. approximately 60% of the top-ten u.s. cities by population operate on a franchise or medallion basis while the other 40% operate on a license platform. while both formats have strict regulatory requirements, they differ in that medallion and franchise holders pay substantially higher upfront payments, while licenses pay a higher percentage of revenue to the municipality on an ongoing basis. an expanded review of large, but not top ten, cities reveals that older and more densely populated urban environments, such as boston, detroit and newark, tend to operate on a medallion or franchise basis, while newer, more expansive cities with several urban centers tend to license taxi businesses. see the chart below for the specific methods for taxi regulation in the top ten u.s. cities. top-ten u.s. cities by population (and their methods for taxi regulation): new york city (medallion) los angeles (franchise) chicago (medallion) houston (license/permit) philadelphia (medallion) phoenix (license/permit) san diego (franchise) dallas (franchise) san jose (license/permit) san antonio (license/permit) source: us census and individual municipalities’ transportation regulations 19. federal trade commission, bureau of economics, an economic analysis of taxicab regulation 1984:80-2. 20. coscarelli, taxi medallions hit 1 million mark, 2011. 21. many urban taxi companies are reluctant to carry passengers beyond their local service area. to do so would limit the number of trips that could be made on a particular shift. the further a taxi travels from its core service area, the less likely a return fare will be available, creating an uncompensated or “dead” run. while regulations discourage this behavior, it has been difficult to enforce (mcardale 2012). 22. badger, taxi medallions, 2014 taxicab fares, while highly regulated, can be confusing and difficult to predict. in the metered environment, fares are based on both mileage as well as time. both are variable and dependent on traffic and detours, as well as the route taken by the driver (mathis 2008). in addition, the rate of fares can be highly complex. in new york city, the fare starts based on $0.50 per 1/5 of a mile, depending on the rate of speed. there are also surcharges depending on time of day. as a result, the regulated fare cannot be easily predicted or calculated (“rate of fare” 2014). this is in contrast to the uber practice, which predicts the full fare to the customer before the trip is initiated. 23. ibid. 24. “the average price fell by $5 in june [2014]—a slight decline for medallions, which trade for a bit more than $1 million apiece, but still an unheard-of occurrence in recent years … bloomberg keeps quarterly data on new york medallion pricing going back 10 years, and the last time prices fell for a full year was from 2000 to 2001 … there are similar signs of strain on medallion values in chicago and san francisco” (brustein 2014). 25. brustein, uber’s fare war, 2014. 26. tuttle, rideshare battle shifts to l.a., 2013. 27. facts and figures of the automobile, 2013 28. us department of transportation, section b, national transportation statistics, 2011. 29. horowitz and cumming, taken for a ride, 2012; schaller and gilbert, villain or bogeyman?, 1996. 20 elements : : fall 2015 30. tuttle, rideshare battle shifts to l.a., 2013. 31. the times editorial board, l.a. times, uber, sidecar and lyft, 2013. 32. huebert, chicago’s uber ordinance, 2014. 33. ibid. 34. state of new york v. lyft, inc., 2014. 35. census scope, population growth, 2014. 36. elliott, taxi or tech company?, 2014. 37. segall, our growth is unprecedented, 2014. 38. (seward 2014:3) 39. rayle et al., comparing taxi and ridesourcing in san francisco, 2014. 40. ibid. 41. ferenstein, 2 new studies show how uber makes cities more productive, 2014. 42. hara and canapary, best practices studies of taxi regulation, 2013. 43. manjoo, less reason to own a car, 2014. 44. craig, an uber impact, 2014. 45. ibid. 46. ibid. 47. both mci communications and sprint corp. started as telecommunications bypass companies. building or acquiring private networks, each offered businesses and then consumers lower cost access to the long distance communications network. they relied on loopholes in a complex and archaic set of regulations (not unlike uber) that were, at the time 70 years old. using a simple and direct rate structure and the perception of higher quality service, each made inroads with respect to market share. ultimately, mci brought a lawsuit against the bell system of telecommunications companies that led to their ultimate breakup (cantelon 1993). 48. lagorio-chafkin, resistance is futile, 2013 49. srikrishnan, l.a. taxi drivers refuse to protest uber, 2014 50. according to the drucker institute website, “peter f. drucker was a writer, professor, management consultant and self described ‘social ecologist’ … hailed by businessweek as ‘the man who invented management,’ drucker directly influenced a huge number of leaders from a wide range of organizations across all sectors of society.” 51. wartzman, the uber challenge, 2013. 52. ibid. references badger, emily. “taxi medallions have been the best investment in america for years. now uber may be changing that.” washington post. n.p., 20 june 2014. web. 5 oct. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/20/taxi-medallions-havebeen-the-best-investment-in-america-for-years-now-ubermay-be-changing-that/>. brustein, joshua. “uber’s fare war on new york taxis puts million-dollar medallions at risk.” bloomberg businessweek. bloomberg l.p., 7 july 2014. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http:// www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/ubers-farewar-on-new-york-taxis-puts-million-dollar-medallions-atrisk>. cantelon, philip l. the history of mci: the early years 1968-1988. new york: heritage, 1993. print. coscarelli, joe. “taxi medallions hit $1 million mark.” new york magazine. new york media, 20 oct. 2011. web. 5 oct. 2014. <http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2011/10/ taxi_medallions_hit_1_million.html>. craig. “an uber impact: 20,000 jobs created on the uber platform every month.” uber. n.p., 27 may 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://blog.uber.com/uberimpact>. dawid, irvin. “distinguishing taxis from livery cars.” planetizen. n.p., 29 jan. 2011. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http:// www.planetizen.com/node/47809>. denmon, christian, esq. “ride sharing vs. traditional taxis: how do injury insurance claims compare?” huffington post business. thehuffingtonpost.com, 7 may 2014. web. 28 nov. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiandenmon/ride-sharing-vs-tradition_b_5273964.html>. downes, larry. “lessons from uber: why innovation and regulation don’t mix.” forbes. n.p., 6 feb. 2013. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ larrydownes/2013/02/06/lessons-from-uber-whyinnovation-and-regulation-dont-mix/>. elliott, josh. “uber ride share: taxi or tech company?” business news network. n.p., 8 oct. 2014. web. 13 oct. 2014. <http://www.bnn.ca/news/2014/10/8/uber-rideshare-taxi-or-tech-company.aspx>. 21 uber takes the passing lane “facts and figures of the automobile industry.” rails and trails. n.p., feb. 2013. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www. railsandtrails.com/autofacts/>. federal trade commission. bureau of economics. an economic analysis of taxicab regulation. by mark w. frankena and paul a. pautler. n.p.: n.p., 1984. print. http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ reports/economic-analysis-taxicab-regulation/233832.pdf ferenstein, gregory. “two new studies show why uber makes cities more productive and less congested.” venture beat. n.p., 3 sept. 2014. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/03/two-new-studiesshow-why-uber-makes-cities-more-productive-and-lesscongested/>. fiorillo, victor. “uber launches uberx in philadelphia, but ppa says ‘not so fast.’” philadelphia magazine. metro corp, 25 oct. 2014. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www. phillymag.com/news/2014/10/25/uber-launches-uberxphiladelphia/>. geron, tomio. “california becomes first state to regulate ridesharing services lyft, sidecar, uberx.” forbes. n.p., 19 sept. 2013. web. 15 nov. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/ sites/tomiogeron/2013/09/19/california-becomes-firststate-to-regulate-ridesharing-services-lyft-sidecar-uberx/>. giuliani, rudolph. “uber setting the standard for safety in ridesharing.” uber. n.p., 29 oct. 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http://blog.uber.com/giuliani>. hara, dan, and jon canapary. best practices studies of taxi regulation: managing taxi supply. n.p.: n.p., 2013. sfmta. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://archives.sfmta.com/ cms/cmta/documents/4-16-13board.medallions.13.pdf>. horwitz, jeff, and chris cumming. “taken for a ride.” slate. n.p., 6 june 2012. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http:// www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/06/ taxi_medallions_how_new_york_s_terrible_taxi_system_ makes_fares_higher_and_drivers_poorer_.html>. huebert, jacob. “the 7 worst things in chicago’s uber ordinance.” illinois policy. n.p., 10 feb. 2014. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http://www.illinoispolicy.org/the-7-worst-thingsin-chicagos-proposed-uber-ordinance/>. kalanick, travis. “uber’s founding.” uber. n.p., 22 dec. 2010. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http://blog.uber. com/2010/12/22/ubers-founding/>. lagorio-chafkin, christine. “resistance is futile.” inc. magazine july-aug. 2013: n. pag. inc. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http://www.inc.com/magazine/201307/christinelagorio/uber-the-car-service-explosive-growth.html>. levofsky, amber, and allen greenburg. “organized dynamic ride sharing: the potential environmental benefits and the opportunity for advancing the concept.” transportation research board annual meeting. washington, dc. 7 jan. 2001. print. lunden, ingrid. “uber rides high, dominates transport app revenues and downloads up to november.” tech crunch. n.p., 24 nov. 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http:// techcrunch.com/2014/11/24/uber-is-riding-highdominating-transport-app-revenues-and-downloads-up-tonovember/>. manjoo, farhad. “with uber, less reason to own a car.” the new york times. n.p., 11 june 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/technology/ personaltech/with-ubers-cars-maybe-we-dont-need-ourown.html>. mann, ted. “cities move to rein in smartphone taxi services.” the wall street journal. n.p., 15 nov. 2012. web. 2 oct. 2014. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/sb100 01424127887324595904578121440962068074?mod=w sj_tech_lefttopnews&mg=reno64-wsj>. mathis, sommer. “some d.c taxi rides just as confusing with meters.” dcist. n.p., 1 july 2008. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://dcist.com/2008/07/some_taxicab_rides_just_as_ confusin.php>. mcardale, megan. “why you can’t get a taxi, and how an upstart company may change that.” the atlantic. n.p., 2 apr. 2012. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2012/05/why-you-cant-get-ataxi/308942/>. morphy, erika. “dynamic pricing in a post-uber world.” forbes. n.p., 31 aug. 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http:// www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/08/31/ dynamic-pricing-in-a-post-uber-world/>. 22 elements : : fall 2015 nairi. “insurance for uberx with ridesharing.” uber. n.p., 10 feb. 2014. web. 17 nov. 2014. <http://blog.uber.com/ ridesharinginsurance>. peterson, britt. “the long strange journey of ‘über’.” the boston globe. n.p., 27 july 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/07/26/thelong-strange-journey-uber/6dfrmi3xckjdxutljsdkto/ story.html>. “population growth.” census scope. n.p., n.d. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www.censusscope.org/us/chart_popl. html>. “rate of fare.” nyc taxi & limousine commission. city of new york, 2014. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www.nyc.gov/ html/tlc/html/passenger/taxicab_rate.shtml>. rayle, lisa, et al. app-based, on-demand ride services: comparing taxi and ridesourcing trips and user characteristics in san francisco. university of california transportation center. n.p., aug. 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/uctcfr-2014-08.pdf>. schaller, bruce, and gorman gilbert. “villain or bogeyman? new york’s taxi medallion system.” schaller consult. eno transportation foundation, 1996. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www.schallerconsult.com/taxi/taxi2. htm>. segall, laurie. “uber ceo: ‘our growth is unprecedented.’” cnn money. cnn, 12 june 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/12/ technology/innovation/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick/>. srikrishnan, maya. “l.a. taxi drivers to protest uber, other ride-share apps at city hall.” los angeles times. n.p., 10 june 2014. web. 13 oct. 2014. <http://www. latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-la-taxi-drivers-protestride-sharing-apps-uber-20140610-story.html>. state of new york v. lyft, inc. supreme court of the state of new york. attorney general eric t. schneiderman. n.p., 25 july 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www.ag.ny.gov/ pdfs/doc_2014.pdf>. sundararajan, arun. “what airbnb gets about culture that uber doesn’t.” harvard business review. harvard business school, 27 nov. 2014. web. 28 nov. 2014. <https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-airbnb-gets-about-culturethat-uber-doesnt>. “taxi drivers disgruntled by uber ride-share.” general one. n.p., 9 sept. 2014. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http://uwire. com/?s=uwire+text&x=26&y=14&=go>. tuttle, brad. “rideshare battle shifts to l.a.: city tells uber, lyft, sidecar to stop picking up riders.” time. n.p., 27 june 2013. web. 5 oct. 2014. <http://business.time. com/2013/06/27/rideshare-battle-shifts-to-l-a-city-tellsuber-lyft-sidecar-to-stop-picking-up-riders/>. “an ‘uber’ problem for cities: balancing innovation with regulation.” knowledge@wharton. university of pennsylvania, 20 nov. 2012. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http:// knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/an-uber-problemfor-cities-balancing-innovation-with-regulation/>. “uber, sidecar and lyft: don’t call them cabs.” los angeles times. n.p., 26 june 2013. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/26/opinion/la-edtaxi-uber-lyft-sidecar-crackdown-20130626>. us department of transportation. bureau of transportation statistics. national transportation statistics. n.p.: n.p., 2011. research and innovative technology administration. web. 12 oct. 2014. <https://www.rita.dot. gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_ transportation_statistics/2011/pdf/entire.pdf>. wartzman, rick. “the uber challenge.” drucker institute. n.p., 3 july 2013. web. 13 oct. 2014. <http://www. druckerinstitute.com/2013/07/the-uber-challenge/>. “what is surge pricing and how does it work?” uber. n.p., n.d. web. 24 nov. 2014. <https://support.uber.com/ hc/en-us/articles/201836656-what-is-surge-pricing-andhow-does-it-work->. 23 uber takes the passing lane despite growing numbers, latinos lag behind whites in higher education. this gap is especially salient for latino men, who earned only 37.6 percent of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees awarded to latino students in 2010. the following study uses interviews with thirteen ethnically diverse, first-generation, self-identified latino men currently enrolled in four-year universities in the greater boston area to explore the influences latino men identify as impacting their college success and persistence rates. grounded theory analysis of the interview data reveals the correlations between previous academic experiences and family influence on participants’ ability to graduate. the paramount role of participants’ cultural constructions of masculinity and their effect on help-seeking behaviors was a surprising and unique finding. masculinity and help-seeking behaviors were, therefore, found to play a key role in college achievement and persistence for the men in this study. this article also discusses implications for mental health practitioners, educational advocacy groups, and universities. latino masculinity underlying factors in college persistence levels maria vasquez introduction latinos are growing in number and influence in the united states. by 2050, hispanics/latinos will comprise 29% of the population.1 despite growing numbers, latinos lag behind whites in higher education, with only 13.5% of associate’s degrees and 8.8% of bachelor’s degrees being awarded to students identifying as latino or hispanic in 2010.2 moreover, only 37.6% of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees were awarded to students who identified as male and latino.3 the discrepancy between latino female and male college enrollment and graduation rates is linked to sociocultural factors, such as gender roles, socioeconomic status, criminalization of the latino male, and neighborhood and environmental contexts. this paper investigates the academic, social, and psychological factors that influence latino males’ decisions about postsecondary education and the implications of these decisions. literature review despite the recent increase in research about ethnicity and higher education, there remains a large gap in the literature on latino men in college. ojeda, navarro, and morales4 documented the link between family, identity, and college persistence intentions for mexican-american men, concluding that, given the family’s centrality to gender identity, high parental involvement positively impacted college persistence intentions. the strong relationship between latino male identity and the concept of family has been established not only for mexican-americans, but also for latinos of all ethnic backgrounds.5 specifically, the importance of “familismo,” which “encompasses the loyalty, commitment, and dedication to “la familia” is repeatedly identified in the literature as a significant influence on latino consciousness.6 latino males are expected to support their family financially and emotionally—a reality that undeniably affects their educational, professional, and personal development.7 the concept of family can be a double-edged sword, providing extensive support and positive involvement for latino male college students, but also demanding a level of commitment that often interferes with college persistence.8 the complex topic of latino male college persistence involves the interrelation of a variety of systems and factors. the literature identifies four prevalent themes that have large influences on latino males’ college access and completion: (a) level of awareness of educational obstacles on the part of communities and administrators; (b) the importance of the concept of family; (c) the impact of male peers and mentors; and (d) the absence of outreach programs specifically designed for this population.9 clark et al.’s study on educator perspectives on latino male educational pursuits reveals “the strong influence of the latino patriarchal and cultural norms imposes unique demands and expectations on latino men.”10 family pressure to fulfill the male role, paired with institutional and financial barriers to latino male college access and retention create an environment unsupportive of latino males’ educational pursuits. researchers also found that peer and mentor relationships can enhance success and persistence of latino men in high school and college. understanding the unique cultural experience of latino males is a key component of latino success in higher education. contextual variables contribute to the lack of latino male access to higher education. administrators and students identified failing high schools (lacking in materials, committed teachers, mentors, helpful counselors) and home environments with little to no knowledge of the college admission and application process (financial planning and aid for college, university culture, etc.), as serious impediments to getting into and persisting through college.11 both the challenging nature of the college application process and the lack of awareness of opportunities available hinder latino males’ college attendance and completion. negotiating the financial stresses of college, acquiring financial aid, and paying for school without familial help work to create an “uphill battle”.12 “despite growing numbers, latinos lag behind in higher education, with only 13.5% of associate’s degrees and 8.8% of bachelor’s degrees being awarded to students identifying as latino or hispanic in 2010.” 32 elements : : fall 2015 numerous psychological factors strongly impact mexicanamerican students’ decisions to pursue and obtain a college degree.13 precollege racial micro-aggressions and family pride are significant factors in mexican-americans’ intentions and abilities to complete college. cerezo et al. documented that teachers, administrators, and peers discouraged college aspirations, claiming that college would be “too difficult,” that latino male students would not be “capable,” or suggesting that they join the military, attend a trade school, or even “engage in criminal activity”.14 although the literature identifies issues that latino students face in accessing college, it is primarily focused on mexican-american college students. while mexicanamericans are the largest of the latino populations in the united states,15 it is essential to gather information from a diverse and nationally representative sample to make generalizations concerning latinos as a whole. secondly, student voices are lacking in the literature. scholars, administrators, and psychologists discuss latino males’ college persistence, but there are very few studies in which latinos themselves speak on the issue. the role of methodology is crucial here. few studies are qualitative and provide space for students to voice their experiences in all their nuanced complexity.16 the present study explores a more diverse group of male latino college students’ constructions of the factors that influence their ability to complete a college degree. it seeks to provide an opportunity for latino males to talk about their access to college, their challenges once there, and their understandings of how their identity and cultural background influence whether or not they graduate. methodology the purpose of this study is to understand how latino men define the obstacles and challenges they have encountered or are currently experiencing in their attempt to complete a college degree through the lens of a sociocultural framework. in other words, what factors do latino college males describe as impacting their educational options, decisions, and experiences? thirteen self-identified latino men between the ages of 18 and 23, currently enrolled in four-year universities in the greater boston area, were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview. participants attended predominantly white, private, four-year institutions. using a snowball sampling method, 2-3 original participants reached out to other latino men who were interested in participating in the study. this sampling method allowed a transfer of trust between participants and researcher, an essential component to the ability to gather valid and reliable data.17 participants were screened for ethnic background to ensure diversity in the final sample, which consisted of mostly american-born latinos with ethnic ties to mexico, el salvador, colombia, puerto rico, cuba, the dominican republic, and guatemala. one participant was born in puerto rico but immigrated to the united states at the age of ten, while another self-identified as a second-generation chicano. participants attended high schools in california, florida, texas, massachusetts, connecticut, and new york. all identified as low to low-middle income. given the study’s inductive nature, interviews were conducted in a flexible format, relying on prepared questions as guiding points. if the participant felt strongly about a topic, focused on certain themes, or even raised a new perspective, the interview would be directed towards that particular topic. thus, data elaborate on and deviate from the literature to keep the process open to fresh perspectives and understandings.18 the focus of this study was how the individual men understood and constructed the obstacles and challenges to completing a college degree, and an open-ended interview ensured that participants had the space and opportunity to explore and share experiences freely. interviews ranged in length from twenty to ninety minutes and were recorded and transcribed with signed consent from participants. coding was informed by themes found in the literature,19 and revealed themes that students march in washington for the cause of affirmative action in american higher education. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 33 latino masculinity matched those found in the literature review as well as other themes not discussed at all in the literature. the names of participants in this study are pseudonyms. results findings addressed academic preparedness, family dynamics, and gender roles. there was also an emphasis on gendered understandings of help-seeking behaviors that were specifically relevant to college navigation, success, and well-being. in this research, “help-seeking” includes academic assistance (tutoring, professors office hours, etc.), career and fiscal advising (additional funding needs, etc.), and psychological assistance (stress management, emotional support, etc.), in both formal (professional) and informal (peer and family network) settings. refer to table 1 for a guide to theme incidence by interview. previous academic experiences participants identified high school environments and interactions as strong influences on perceptions of college access, academic preparedness once in college, and awareness of resources and services supporting college transition. the academic rigors of college contributed to participants’ beliefs about self-efficacy, as participants explicitly feared they would not be able to overcome poor preparation, thus creating a sense of inadequacy and failure. limited prior exposure to academic supports exacerbated feelings of inefficacy and hopelessness, and participants highlighted the importance of resource awareness and willingness to access resources as essential to academic progress and success. family influence family factors contributed to participants’ conceptions of education, success, and well-being. enrolling in college was not a personal choice for personal success, but a choice to provide a better future for the participant, parents, and future family. the role of the family was paradoxical — family encouragement and support were important to participants’ intentions and decisions to attend and persist through college, but family expectations and retable 1. theme incidence per interview 34 elements : : fall 2015 sponsibilities negatively influenced graduation rates. participants talked about financial stresses and the expectation of taking care of the family as potential barriers to college persistence. masculinity gender played a significant role in how latino males situated their education in relation to identity, family, and their future. participants perceived education as necessary for the financial independence and security needed to support a family. while some participants wanted future partners to be financially independent, most identified the male as the primary provider. self-sufficiency and success in the primary provider role were essential to how these men made decisions about their education. masculinity also played a major role in how participants sought help during college. participants’ constructions of masculinity blended traditional latino constructions of gender with mainstream american notions. this “americanized machismo” acknowledges self-sufficiency and independence, and when integrated with a multicultural construction of gender, strongly influences how these men viewed formal and informal help-seeking. gender policing in the latino community also discouraged help-seeking considerations and behaviors. discussion the role of the family and the importance of access to resources in high school and college for first-generation college students were significant points for many participants. the lack of secondary school resources rendered not only the college application process, but also the transition to college life, difficult. andres, a sophomore, illustrates this point: i didn’t know that you could get free tutoring…i didn’t know that there were people on campus that you could go to and talk to and try to appeal a financial aid decision. none of that stuff was available to me in high school, so the possibility that they would be available in college…didn’t even cross my mind. andres’ experience showcases how a prior lack of access to resources and assistance continues to affect individuals even as they enter more encouraging environments. family support and expectations for higher education permeated the discussion on what influenced participants’ goals of going to college. participants emphasized the need “to achieve what my parents were never given the opportunity to achieve. i was born here [in the united states] so…there was no reason for me not to go to college—if i wanted to succeed.” attending college and receiving a diploma could realize the value of parents’ hard work. families demanded that sons avail themselves of american privileges. this theme pervaded all interviews. one participant talked about his family’s immigration to the united states in this context, explaining how his parents struggled with the most difficult jobs, and that “going to college meant showing them that all they had sacrificed was not done in vain. my job was to get to college and i did.” obtaining a college degree seemed to be individually and family-motivated; participants identified the benefits of a college education as the main incentives behind enrolling in, and graduating from, college. the intersection of gender and culture was the most critical theme. participants deconstructed their journeys to college and during college within the context of their identity as latino men, noting how gender and culture shaped their conceptions of education, success, and ability. gender construction, defined by one participant as an “all-consuming way of thinking that tells you how you have to live as a man,” shaped participants personal and professional aspirations. attending college was not only something that participants felt they owed their parents, but also something that ensured financial success for themselves as male role models. once at college, latino males often struggle to access resources and support. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 35 latino masculinity “this ‘americanized machismo’ acknowledges selfsufficiency and independence, and when integrated with a multicultural construction of gender, strongly influences how these men viewed formal and informal help-seeking.” definitions of success included the ability to “support my family, have a house, and take care of my wife and kids… my parents always told me that i needed to be able to take care of my family—i need to be the provider and college will help me to do that.” the concept of family itself, for many of the participants, corroborated the literature on the concept of familismo. interviewees perceived an expectation of responsibility, not only to future families, but also to parents and siblings, which extended particularly to female family members. as david, a senior, shared, “if something were to happen to my father, or any of my brothers, i would have to take care of my mother and sisters—it’s just what i would have to do—it’s what would be expected of me and what i would expect, too.” this selfimposed obligation to support family members, and to support women specifically, reinforces “latino male as provider” as an integral component to latino male identity. this concept is also closely linked to being “the man of the house.” most participants identified a direct expectation from family members, both male and female, to fulfill this role by virtue of being a male in the home. “when my dad died…my mom told me that i was the man of the house now…i had to be strong and take care of the family,” shared gustavo whose father died when he was nine years old. “those words stayed with me—i still feel like i am the man the house, like i have a family to take care of, like… this [college] isn’t just about me, you know?” the interplay of gender-based family expectations and success yielded very specific reasons why latino men were in college. going to college, therefore, meant guaranteeing their ability to assume the role of provider and support current and future families. such interplay created a paradoxical effect: a motivator to college success in the face of positive family involvement and support, became a stressor in the face of family hardship and adversity. participants’ constructions of masculinity were at the crux of the conversation on college achievement and persistence. participants branded the ideal latino man as possessing qualities that coincide with traditional masculine norms, such as independence, virility, emotional control, industriousness, aggression, and dominance.20 yet, participants identified latino masculine norms to be “exaggerated” and “much more intense.” as benny noted, “latinos have very clear separations between men and women. it’s very traditional in a sense and not open for negotiation.” gender roles in the latino community are closely tied to cultural identity and social practice where, “being a man is not thrust upon me, it’s shown to me. i know i will make them proud if i [imitate].” women also sustain and adhere to these conceptions of latino masculinity. leal, a junior, explained that his mother instructed him how to be a man:“be strong…stand up and dominate—to not let anyone disrespect or put me down. my father wasn’t around and so she said i had to be strong for her and the family.” his aunts and sisters agreed: “men can’t cry, they have to provide, they have to be tough.” cousins and sisters considered a man who was not in control unattractive because he “wasn’t acting like a man should…it’s a cultural thing.” gender roles are so entrenched in the latino community that women uphold and co-construct them in spite of growing support for gender equality and a movement away from the traditional, and often destructive, understandings of gender in the latino community (as cited by other participants). a few participants shared how some people are challenging gender norms in the latino community, but these individuals seem to be the exceptions. messages and lessons about gender during upbringing affected the development of participants’ individual and relational identities. identities as individuals were closely linked to communal identities as latino men, with integrated personal identifiers and tastes:“i like cars, and there are a lot of guys in my family that also like cars. we bond over that, you know. i like cars because they’re dirty and 36 elements : : fall 2015 hands on and fast and kind of dangerous—all of us [latinos] just like that [stuff ].” gender and gender identity inform decisions and impact the choices and experiences of latino males in the college environment. all but one participant identified help-seeking in relation to masculinity as a major determinant of success in both the academic and socio-emotional domains of college. asking for help was an essential but difficult behavior. what it meant to be a latino man clashed with the willingness to engage in help-seeking. “a man has it all together, doesn’t need to ask anyone for help—they’re independent and strong and have it all under control,” shared cesar, a sophomore, “you go for help and…i know it sounds stupid, but, it’s almost like you are no longer a man.” academic help-seeking was defined as going to professors’ office hours, building mentoring relationships with campus leaders and administrators, and accessing resources like tutoring and academic advising. seeking academic help resulted in psychological and social difficulties. cesar explains that the most profound obstacle to help-seeking is his reluctance to admit that he is having a hard time: “if i admitted that i needed help [then that] meant that i didn’t have everything under control—that i needed somebody else to help me out, to do what i couldn’t”. taught to be independent, cesar viewed asking for help as losing self-sufficiency. “i definitely didn’t want my friends to see me struggling—they looked like they had it all together and i pretended to, too.” help-seeking as dependency was common among most participants and clashed directly with internalized constructions of masculinity—signaling not only a lack of independence but also a suggestion of failure. gender policing, a social phenomenon that imposes normative gender expressions on individuals who are perceived to be non-conforming to the expectations of their perceived sex,21 was especially notable among latino men. hyper-policing of gender systematically prevailed in the latino community. as one participant shared, “you start acting a little funny, like too sensitive or like you care too much about a girl or a test or something, your [latino] friends will check you…they’ll let you know you’re not being a man and they won’t let you live that…down.” another participant agreed: “my latino friends are so much more obsessed with acting manly and being stereotypically male than any of my other non-latino friends.” this hyper-policing also affects socio-emotional, helpseeking behaviors. “you can’t be weak—you don’t cry, you don’t let people get you vulnerable…you act strong and you keep your cool. the only time you let emotions get in the way is when someone disrespects you or your loved ones.” the expectation of emotional stoicism is critical to latino men’s psychological well-being; needs are shrouded to present the façade of incontestable “maleness.” participants talked about facing stress, anxiety, emotional, and interpersonal problems during college but not feeling comfortable disclosing such experiences to anyone because of the dissonance between emotional expression and male identity. such issues were handled privately and independently: when i feel stressed out, or something is going on with my family or a girl, i just go and hang out by myself. i deal with it myself. i don’t need anyone to listen to me—i don’t like talking about my feelings. i just feel uncomfortable doing it… i don’t know how to go to people and talk to them about my private life—i can’t even describe how i feel sometimes to myself, how am i supposed to go and do that with someone who will probably just judge me for it? fear of judgment and gender-policing prevented many participants from self-disclosing and encouraged them to distinguish between support networks in their lives. several men discussed talking to certain friend groups about specific problems depending on whether or not those friends ascribed to prevailing latino understandings of masculinity. peter, a freshman, shared, “i go to my white guy friends about an issue with a girl or about feeling stressed out. they are so much more open to that kind of stuff. when i go to my latino friends, they just make a “‘my latino friends are so much more obsessed with acting manly and being stereotypically male than any of my other non-latino friends.’” 37 latino masculinity joke out of everything.” corroborating peter’s sentiment, joseph shared, “my latino friends just make jokes…they tell me to man up and that everything will work out fine— but sometimes you just need someone to say they understand how you feel and that it’s okay.” dealing with emotional or psychological needs through humor was also prevalent. the fact that latino men felt more comfortable talking about emotional topics with non-latino friends amplifies the validity of exploring latino males’ concepts of masculinity and gender-policing and their effect on college persistence. participants identified emotional and relational difficulties as having a negative impact on academic involvement and achievement. not talking about stress and feelings led to distress and inadequacy: i was too easily overwhelmed, i felt so much pressure; school just started to become harder and harder for me. believing that he had to do everything himself, one participant remarked that, “any challenge that comes your way becomes ten times bigger, ten times harder to overcome, ten times more likely to break you down.” latino males identify help-seeking as especially pertinent to college persistence, and this shows that helpseeking is relevant not only academically, but also socioemotionally. help-seeking seems to be a critical variable in the context of latino men’s low rates of college persistence. limitations of the present study there are several limitations of this study. first of all, the small sample size prevents generalizability of findings, and the snowball sampling method, albeit necessary in transferring trust, can result in a sample that is homogenous in terms of experiences, values, and beliefs. a study that uses a random probability sampling method would limit such a risk. another limitation is the unique educational make-up of the sample. given that all participants derived from predominantly white, private universities, findings cannot be linked closely to the experiences of students at public or more ethnically diverse university settings. the general environment of the university and the presence of greater academic and social supports for latino men may have influenced the shared experiences of the current study’s participants. strengths of the present study the paucity of literature that includes ethnically diverse latino male voices on the topic of college persistence was a significant motivator for this study, and thus contributes to the literature by including an ethnically diverse sample in an in-depth, qualitative exploration. participants shared experiences, perspectives, and understandings in a way that validated their contributions. this study also reflects the present demographics of a significant portion of america’s latino population. participants’ ethnic ties reflect the majority ethnic composition of the latino population in the united states, and their identification as first-generation also reflects the immigrant make-up of latinos between the ages of 18 and 25.22 conclusion constructions of masculinity appear to be the most salient influence on latino male enrollment and persistence intentions in college. despite the importance of resources and support services in high school and universities, participants described their struggles in college as primarily influenced by their understandings of identity and masculinity in a cultural context. participants’ positionality as first-generation latino-americans enabled a gender identity constructed as a hybrid of both american and latino cultural influences in an “americanized machismo” paradigm. the inflation of gender roles in the latino community creates an environment of hyper-gender policing that restricts many latino men in college from engaging in behaviors that would threaten their masculinity, even when such behaviors might ensure academic or personal success. masculinity as a performance, relevant and established in the literature,23 seems to be more significant for latino males. furthermore, the interplay of gendered identity constructions and help-seeking behaviors was a significant finding. participants explicitly related internalized understandings of masculinity to their inability to engage in help-seeking behaviors, yielding a dynamic with very noticeable academic, financial, and psychological ramifications. obstacles pertaining to academic and financial help-seeking, attending professors’ office hours, making use of on-campus tutoring resources, seeking financial aid advocates, etc., have to be overcome for latino males to logistically make it “through” college. the socio-emotional, psychological piece of help-seeking was particularly critical. cultural conceptions of what it means to be a man were closely linked to psychological and emotional well-being, undoubtedly important factors in college persistence and success. participants’ unwilling38 elements : : fall 2015 ness to seek help in all domains for fear of losing their masculine appearance, in addition to their refusal to obtain emotional support from friends, significantly undermined their academic performance and psychological well-being. participants explicitly linked their emotional and psychological health to feelings of self-efficacy and motivation for college completion. this reveals the expected finding that masculinity plays an important role in mental health, which is essential to college persistence. implications and recommendations for future research the current study provides evidence for the complexity of factors that influence latino men’s college persistence levels. improving high schools and universities to better address latino men’s unique academic and social needs is crucial to ensuring higher college graduation rates. validating and understanding the significant role of the family in the lives of latino men and its influence on their academic and professional decisions must be a tenet of any intervention or outreach program that aims to work with this population. additionally, understanding the role that masculinity plays in latino male identity development and definitions of appropriate and inappropriate help-seeking behaviors is vital for educators and psychologists, if they seek to improve up the low rates of latino male degree attainment. finally, future research should further explore the intricate relationship between masculinity, help-seeking, and psychological distress. participants noted psychological well-being as critical to college success and persistence, and yet, they are unwilling to seek support. exploring the causes of such contradictory behavior may uncover ways to develop a more productive synergy between gender identity, help-seeking behaviors, and academic, social, and emotional well-being among latino men in college. 39 latino masculinity endnotes 1. passel & cohn, 2008. 2. u.s. department of education, 2012. 3. ibid. 4. ojeda, navarro, and morales, 2010. 5. arciniega, anderson, tovar-blank, & tracey, 2008; castillo, cano, chen, blucker, & olds, 2008; french & chavez, 2010; ovink, 2013. 6. ojeda et al., 2010, 223. 7. french & chavez, 2010. 8. ojeda et al., 2010. 9. clark, ponjuan, ossock, wilson, and flores, 2013; cerezo & chang, 2013; ingram & gonzalez-matthews, 2013; nuñez, sparks, and hernandez, 2011; ojeda, castillo, rosales meza, and piña-watson, 2013. 10. clark et al., 458. 11. cerezo et al., 2012; cerezo & chang, 2013. 12. cerezo et al., 2012, 359. 13. ibid. 14. cerezo et al., 2012, 357-358. 15. pew research center, 2010. 16. neuman, 2006. 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. ibid. 20. mahalik, locke, ludlow, diemer, gottfried, scott & freitas, 2003. 21. helgeson, 2011. 22. krogstad & lopez, 2014. 23. kimmel, 1994. references arciniega, g. miguel, thomas c. anderson, zoila g. tovar-blank, terence j. g. tracey, and mallinckrodt, brent. “toward a fuller conception of machismo: development of a traditional machismo and caballerismo scale.” journal of counseling psychology 55, no. 1 (2008): 19-33. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.55.1.19. castillo, linda g., collie w. conoley, catherine choi-pearson, debra j. archuleta, marion j. phoummarath, and alisa van landingham. “university enrollment as a mediator of latino ethnic identity and persistence attitudes.” journal of counseling psychology 53, no. 2 (2006): 267-271. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.2.67. castillo, linda g., miguel a. cano, sylvia w. chen, ryan t. blucker, tori s. olds, and vandenbos, gary. “family conflict and intragroup marginalization as predictors of acculturative stress in latino college students.” international journal of stress management 15, no. 1 (2008): 43-52. doi: 10.1037/1072-5245.15.1.43. cerezo, alison, james lyda, matthew beristianos, alma enriquez, michael connor, and levant, ronald f. “latino men in college: giving voice to their struggles and triumphs.” psychology of men & masculinity 14, no. 4 (2013): 352-62. doi: 10.1037/a0029646. cerezo, alison, and chang, tai. “latina/o achievement at predominantly white universities: the importance of culture and ethnic community.” journal of hispanic higher education 12, no. 1 (2013): 72-85. doi: 10.1177/1538192712465626. clark, mary ann, luis ponjuan, jason orrock, timothy wilson, and griselda flores. “support and barriers for latino male students’ educational pursuits: perceptions of counselors and administrators.” journal of counseling & development 91, no. 4 (2013): 458-66. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00118.x. french, sabine elizabeth, and chavez, noe r. “the relationship of ethnicity-related stressors and latino ethnic identity to well-being.” hispanic journal of behavioral sciences 32, no. 3 (2010): 410-28. doi: 10.1177/0739986310374716. gallagher, charles a. “white like me? methods, meaning, 40 elements : : fall 2015 and manipulations in the field of white studies.” in racing research, researching race: methodological dilemmas in critical race studies, edited by france winddance twine, and jonathan w. warren, 67-92. new york: new york university press, 2000. helgeson, vicki s. the psychology of gender. 4th ed. upper saddle river, nj: pearson education inc., 2011. ingram, ted n., and melissa gonzalez-matthews. “moving towards engagement: promoting persistence among latino male undergraduates at an urban community college.” community college journal of research and practice 37, no. 8 (2013): 636-48. doi: 10.1080/10668921003723185. kimmel, michael s. “masculinity as homophobia: fear, shame, and silence in the construction of gender identity.” in research on men and masculinities series: theorizing masculinities, edited by harry brod and michael kaufman, 119-142. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications, 1994. lee, john michael, and tafaya ransom. the college board advocacy and policy center. “the educational experience of men of color: a review of research, pathways, and progress.” the college board, 2011. liu, michelle camacho. national conference of state legislatures. “investing in higher education for latinos: trends in latino college access and success.” national conference of state legislatures, 2011. mahalik, james r., benjamin d. locke, larry h. ludlow, matthew a. diemer, ryan p. j. scott, michael gottfried, gary freitas, and lisak, david. “development of the conformity to masculine norms inventory.” psychology of men & masculinity 4, no. 1 (2003): 3-25. doi: 10.1037/15249220.4.1.3. mcintyre, alice. “constructing meaning about violence, school, and community: participatory action research with urban youth.” the urban review 32, no. 2 (2000): 123-54. doi: 10.1023/a:1005181731698. nunez, anne-marie, sparks, p. johnelle, and hernandez, eliza a. “latino access to community colleges and hispanic-serving institutions: a national study.” journal of hispanic higher education 10, no. 1 (2011): 18-40. doi: 10.1177/1538192710391801. ojeda, lizette, rachel l. navarro, alejandro morales, and levant, ronald f. “the role of la familia on mexican american men’s college persistence intentions.” psychology of men & masculinity 12, no. 3 (2011): 216-29. doi: 10.1037/a0020091. ojeda, lizette, castillo, linda g., rosales meza, rocío, and piña-watson, brandy. “mexican americans in higher education: cultural adaptation and marginalization as predictors of college persistence intentions and life satisfaction.” journal of hispanic higher education 13, no. 1 (2014): 3-14. doi: 10.1177/1538192713498899. ovink, sarah m. ““they always call me an investment”.” gender & society 28, no. 2, 265-88. doi: 10.1177/0891243213508308. passel, jeffrey s., and d’vera cohn. “u.s. population projections: 2005-2050.” pew research center social and demographic trends. pew research center, 2008. krogstad, j. m., and m.h., lopez. “hispanic nativity shift: u.s. births drive population growth as immigration stalls.” pew research center’s hispanic trends project. pew research center, 2014. saenz, victor b., and ponjuan, luis. “the vanishing latino male in higher education.” journal of hispanic higher education 8, no. 1 (2009): 54-89. doi: 10.1177/1538192708326995. sanchez, gabriel r. “latino group consciousness and perceptions of commonality with african americans *.” social science quarterly 89, no. 2 (2008): 428-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00540.x. united states census bureau. “income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the united states.” u.s. census bureau, 2010. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/ briefs/c2010br-04.pdf united states department of education: national center for education statistics. “the condition of education 2012 (2012-045).” u.s. department of education, 2012. http:// nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=72 41 latino masculinity the trope of blindness has persisted since antiquity in figures like oedipus, tiresias, and the hypothetical blind man. futhermore, colloquial uses of blindness shore up problematic and reductive narratives and expectations about blind individuals. representing the disabled man thus poses a distinct challenge as it works against hegemonic notions of masculinity and ability. disability—as it is reductively associated with dependency, infirmity, and weakness—contradicts the strength, autonomy, and bodily integrity of stereotypical masculinity. through close readings of the poetry and memoir of stephen kuusisto, a partially blind american poet, the author identifies the double gesture of defamiliarization and refamiliarization in kuusisto’s representations of blindness and masculinity. kuusisto carves out a space for the blind man in everyday life by deploying, reworking, and rejecting the problematic constructions of blindness and masculinity. “who would hire a blind poet?” blindness in the eyes of stephen kuusisto christopher kabacinski “at times the blind see light, and that moment is the sistine ceiling …” —stephen kuusisto, “only bread, only light” disability theorist tom shakespeare observes that the disabled man “is largely absent as the subject of research.”1 shakespeare is careful to cite the social model of disability to convey precisely where disability inheres: not in the body itself, but in the culture in which the body is located. what this allows then is an alliance with other critical discourses, such as the similar goals and methods of feminism and disability rights. if interrogating how the body is represented is crucial to critical feminist theory, the two discourses converge precisely at the body. what most concerns shakespeare is the absence of narratives concerning men with disabilities and the ways in which differences in disability—between men and women, most specifically— are elided. in ableist and patriarchal cultures, disability and masculinity are opposites; if stereotypical disability suggests infirmity or weakness, stereotypical masculinity connotes “strength, potency, and physical activity.”2 disabled masculinity, as a seemingly contradictory and incoherent subject position, resists expected or stereotypical narration and representation precisely because it unsettles the body and the language in which it is figured. the blind man, however, has been a cultural mainstay for millennia, from the dramas and mythologies of ancient greece to the films and novels of the contemporary united states. what is most troubling is that the blind man is still largely “in oedipus’ shadow.”3 representations of blindness, reiterated over time, all carry the traces of the infamous blind figures of antiquity: oedipus and tiresias.4,5 this inability to break with the past has constrained, to an extent, the contemporary blind man. for sigmund freud, the tragedy of oedipus has “left ineradicable traces in the history of humanity” precisely because he exemplifies the universality of his desires, crimes, and guilt of oedipus.6 blindness is the punishment oedipus inflicts upon himself for his wretched deeds, charging blindness with enormous moral significance. although the connection between blindness and sin may predate the legend, the representation of oedipus renders “the sin distressingly and memorably specific.”7 this single blind figure’s tendency to haunt the blind, man and woman alike, is evidence of the persistence and prominence of greek drama. where in ancient greece, performance and recitation of oedipus converged “religion, morals, society, and art” in the narrative of oedipus, its retelling and appropriation throughout history has fixed oedipus as a prominent cultural figure of blindness.8 the other “renowned story about blindness” arises from greek tragedy, too, in the figure of tiresias.9 the body of tiresias is transgressive: he has been both man and woman. what further mars his body is the blindness with which hera punishes him. here oedipus and tiresias align in the association of blindness and punishment. what elides this physical blindness, however, is his mystical foresight. zeus bestows upon tiresias the “power of prophecy,” and any perceived lack is diminished by “the magic of his gift”.10 if one regards tiresias in the shadow of oedipus, what is most remarkable is the “ecstasy, grace, astonishment, instinct, hallucination, the soul” with which blindness is identified.11 moreover, throughout the history of philosophy, another visually impaired figure emerges: “the hypothetical blind man.”12 although philosophers ventriloquize their “hypothetical blind men,” narrating their non-visual worlds and the wisdom to which they have access, the philosophers often deploy them only to emphasize “the importance of sight and to elicit a frisson of awe and pity.”13 the hypothetical blind man’s own body is deployed against itself; his body is always subordinated to the abled man. two opposed connotations of blindness emerge then from history: blindness as punishment and blindness as blessing. oedipus and tiresias are perhaps the first—and thus the most recognizable—characters with blindness in the western tradition. what the recurring deployment of vitiresias, a greek mythological prophet, is turned into a woman after striking snakes. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 50 elements : : spring 2016 sual impairment in various discourses—literary, cultural, social—facilitates is the making of blindness into metaphor, allegory, or narrative device. in fact, the literary and cultural narratives in which blind characters figure prominently often depend on visual impairment as “narrative prosthesis.”14 disability becomes narrative prosthesis precisely when it is figured as “a destabilizing sign of cultural prescriptions about the body and a deterministic vehicle for the characterization for characters constructed as disabled.”15 characters marked as “disabled” become the very impetus for the narratives themselves; in this way, the disabled bodies of oedipus and tiresias become “key components of the plot” of their myths as they are positioned in contrast to the nondisabled characters.16 both oedipus and tiresias “[oscillate] between micro and macro levels of metaphorical meaning supplied by disability;” their bodies are simultaneously private and public, fraught with personal and sociocultural significance.17 what is so problematic about these narratives is the use of blindness chiefly as a plot device, rather than an instance of bodily difference or individual, lived experience. strangely, it is this movement between registers of meaning that restricts the blind man in literature and culture. his visual impairment is repeatedly deployed time and again for social and moral purposes; his blindness is allegorized as either punishment or blessing. the blind man’s body both spoken for and written for is constrained within “a limited array of symbolic meanings.”18 although blindness mars the man as deviant, narrative prosthesis renders his body docile through its compliance to and reiteration of stereotypes of disability. representing blindness recalls the characters of the blind men of the western cultural tradition and the contradictory and reductive characterizations and connotations of blindness throughout history. the blind man’s story is perceived as always already written or vocalized; on his body the cultural narrative of blindness is always already inscribed.19 to move from the shadows of oedipus, tiresias, and the hypothetical blind men, the blind man must represent himself. in order for bodily impairment to be recognized not as deviance, but as difference, it is crucial for self-representation to address the “everyday phenomenon” of lived disability.20 writing with blindness and about blindness, while both employing and transgressing conventions of disability, will propose “blindness as something besides the absence of sight.”21 self-representation of disability is both a response to and a reaction against “the traditional misrepresentation of disability in western culture.”22 disability—in this case, blindness—typically irrupts into the narrative as a mark of otherness, of deviance. to alleviate “disability life-writing is able to re-create language precisely because its subject ... uses ordinary language to challenge conventions, stereotypes, and misrepresentations of disability.” tiresias appearing to the hero ulysses (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 51 “who would hire a blind poet?” the anxiety of otherness and deviance, both the narrative and the reader prompt the blind man to explain away his blindness. these narratives anticipate the blind man’s “[conformity] to, and thus [confirmation of ], a cultural script” of blindness.23 this implicit subordination of the disabled body to the abled body is precisely what disability life-writing contests. language is precisely what enables the progressive and positive possibilities of disability life-writing. this claim, in part, is predicated upon the iterability of signs posited by jacques derrida: each sign, he asserts, is repeatable, “communicable, transmittable, decipherable.”24 insofar as each sign is invested with meaning by its writer, its speaker, the sign carries with it “a force that breaks with its context.”25 each sign is not restricted to a single, conventional meaning; there is, instead, a limitless possibility for meaning in each sign. in disability life-writing, then, that progress is only possible through the transgression of expected meaning. the disabled body is able to sign against the ableist culture and the hegemony of the abled; in this way, the body’s transgressive potential can be realized. disability life-writing is able to re-create language precisely because its subject—the disabled body and its experience— uses ordinary language to challenge conventions, stereotypes, and misrepresentations of disability. in disability culture, poetry holds the greatest potential for realizing the “infinite possibilities embedded within ordinary language.”26 while “ordinary language” follows a certain grammar and utilizes expected denotations and connotations, poetic language departs from these conventions. poets break open syntax and grammar to generate new meanings; the movement of poetry follows an associative rather than a grammatical logic. “ordinary language” makes meaning in time, in the sequential order of the words, whereas poetry relies on spatial, associative links between the words and images of the poem. in a sense, poetry “breaks the inertia of language-habits.”27 when the subject of poetry is disability, the content of the poem breaks convention as much as the form itself. the poetics of disability, it seems, would emphasize the transgressive and generative possibilities of language and the body. while ableist societies typically isolate people with disabilities through cultural practices, traditions, and institutions, the reclamation of “ordinary language” by disability culture poetry relocates people with disabilities “in the normal … in the everyday.”28 thus, what is crucial to the poetry of disability culture is this re-presentation and representation of the disabled subject, such as the aforementioned blind man, who has inhabited literary and cultural narratives now for millennia. to bring himself into the light from the shadow of oedipus, he must represent himself. in an ableist society, the disabled male is an entirely incoherent subject position. hegemonic standards of masculinity—among them, “initiative, competitiveness, self-control, assertiveness, and independence”—invalidate disabled masculinity, relegating the disabled male to a powerless position.29 for the patriarchal and ableist traditions and institutions to strip power from the body and the voice of the disabled male, his body’s signs of deviancy must be erased. what always remains, however, are the marks of difference and impairment in which the power of the disabled subject position resides. the disabled body never ceases to sign against the ableist culture that subdues it. in this sense, the poetry of the blind man has the potential to reshape reductive and widespread standards of masculinity and to create space for the disabled male in the live world. for stephen kuusisto, a partially blind poet himself, to write is to eclipse a tradition of shadows. kuusisto was born in march 1955 with “retinopathy of prematurity,” and has been considered “legally blind” since childhood.30 moving from the myth-worlds of oedipus and tiresias, from the powerless place of the disabled man, kuusisto positions himself “in the normal … in the everyday.”31 understanding disability as a “generative experience” in the production of poetry recognizes language’s enormous power to “[rewrite] conventional standards of poetic beauty, form, and value.”32 antigone leading her blind father oedipus (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 52 elements : : spring 2016 crucial to understanding disability as an aesthetic or literary practice is acknowledging its political potential. if aesthetics is concerned with “[tracking] the sensations that some bodies feel in the presence of other bodies,” the aesthetics of disability culture poetry can, in fact, produce change in the corporeal world.33 kuusisto’s memoir and poetry collections figure blindness as an everyday experience, rather than an extraordinary, mythical experience. here, kuusisto begins to move himself from the shadow of oedipus. to produce its aesthetic effects, poetry dislocates language from its expected meaning. disability culture poetry, however, is charged with the additional task of dissolving the entrenched cultural representations of disability that limit and reduce the true representation of disability. to create his world with words, kuusisto must first depart from a culture and a language that disavow blindness. kuusisto accomplishes this in the first line of his memoir, planet of the blind: “blindness is often perceived by the sighted as an either/or condition: one sees or one does not.”34 what follows his explanation of his vision as “[staring] at the world through smeared and broken windowpanes,” is a mythic description of his impaired eyesight.35 in the colors and shapes of his visual field, he sees “sails of tristan’s ship,” “the great dead greek’s in homer’s descriptions of the underworld.”36 although this description positions him squarely in the mythic world of oedipus and tiresias, his introduction does not suggest the opposite connotations of these blind greek men. he is neither sinner nor seer; rather, he seems entirely ordinary. although the mythic past, populated with the traditional and hypothetical blind men, colors his vision, it does not dominate it. in fact, kuusisto’s vision seems to meld the legendary with the ordinary: for example, who he perceives as one of “the great dead greek … crossing charon’s river” is only “a middle-aged man in a london fog raincoat.”37 this oscillation between the mythic or traditional past and the everyday present is emblematic of kuusisto’s memoir and corpus of poetry. in fact, the first group of poems, “blind days in early youth,” in his collection only bread, only light is reminiscent of the first page of his memoir. this first group, which speaks to his early fascination with vision and blindness, is divided into three separate poems: “no name for it,” “terra incognita,” and “awake all night.”38 where in planet of the blind, kuusisto conjures up the myths of ancient greece, in the first collection of only bread, only light, he invokes the scandinavian culture in which he was raised. although kuusisto was born in exeter, new hampshire, his family moved to finland for his father’s job.39 in his earliest memories looms the imposing figure of “a severe old woman who speaks to [his] father in finland’s brand of swedish.”40 she reappears in the first poem of the subsection, “no name for it,” as “the swedish matron” who chides the speaker, the young kuusisto.41 the poem’s title immediately calls attention to language’s limitations: there is “no name” for an unidentified “it.” in a childlike manner, the young kuusisto rattles off a few words— “something swedish:” “rus-blind,” “blinda-fläcken,” “blind-pipa,” “barna-blind.”42 although he demonstrates a certain level of mastery of language by translating each of these idioms, there is something tentative and uncomfortable in his tone. the way in which these phrases are made by affixing “blind” unsettles kuusisto precisely because the idioms have negative connotations—“blind drunk” and “nonentity,” for instance.43 what most troubles kuusisto, however, is the “piety and reproof” of the swedish matron’s words: “en blind höna hittar också ett korn.”44 the translation of this line— “the fool’s arrow sometimes hits the mark”—arrives only after a line break.45 the translation for the other idioms immediately follows the swedish phrase, but the translation of the matron’s derisive remark occurs in an entirely different couplet. this break conveys the dissonance of the speaker, trying to make sense of his own blindness and these blind-idioms. her words reverberate in his mind, but her other call—“barna-blind; ‘blind child’” —“[echoes] on the stairs.”46 while the translations are univocal and direct at the beginning of “no name for it,” the translations are opened to different interpretations. in fact, kuusisto reiterates “barna-blind” only to alter his original translation as “blind from birth.”47 at the poem’s conclusion, kuusisto retranslates the swedish matron’s words: “en blind höna hittar… / the blind “for stephen kuusisto, a partially blind poet himself, to write is to eclipse a tradition of shadows.” 53 “who would hire a blind poet?” child’s arrow…”48 finally he takes control—albeit tentatively—of language; “blind” comes to signify not “fool,” but only “blind” itself. although this translation seems tautological, it gives kuusisto incredible power to rend blindness from its idiomatic usages. he makes sense of blindness by experience, rather than the idioms inscribed in language that is not even his own. if “the fool’s arrow sometimes hits the mark,” here “the blind child’s arrow” has hit the mark, however tentatively or elliptically. the poem becomes an “exploration of the possibilities of language” insofar as the young kuusisto eschews the conventions of language, of meaning; idioms are evidence of the “inertia of language-habits” which poetry must overcome.49 poetry is precisely the force that sets language into motion again, that moves the blind-man from the shadow of oedipus, this blind-child from the shadow of idioms. furthermore, “no name for it” departs from poetry’s traditional reliance on the visual to accomplish its aesthetic effects. instead, the poem employs auditory language more often—and, arguably, more forcefully—than does visual imagery. in fact, the visual is often overwhelmed by the auditory effects of language. it is not the image of the swedish matron “[pointing] with a cane,” for instance, that controls the poem; in fact, kuusisto describes her appearance only vaguely.50 rather, her voice is what kuusisto remembers most clearly; he recalls with acuity her “tone mixed with piety and reproof.”51 as her voice “echoed on the stairs” all those years ago, so now does it reverberate in the swedish idioms throughout “no name for it.”52 this reliance on the auditory, however, must not be construed as a domination of the auditory over the other senses. his poetry does not merely reverse the pervasive “belief that human experience, both physical and mental, is essentially visual.”53 as michael l. melancon notes in his critical study of only bread, only light, kuusisto’s poetry often investigates “how sight, hearing, and touch can serve to facilitate expression and communication by both receiving information and transmitting information.”54 in this way, kuusisto does not exchange visual primacy for auditory or tactile primacy. what emerges in his poetry is a synergy of the senses in which perception and experience is not restricted to a single sense, a single meaning. if the first poem in “blind days in early youth” seems to suggest auditory primacy, the two poems collected with “no name for it” deny this interpretation in favor of this syncing of the senses. in fact, the auditory is what is absent from “terra incognita.” the poem is remarkably visual and tactile: kuusisto “[makes his way] among patches of dew – / those constellations on the darkened grass.”55 walking on the dampened yard, he fathoms the dewdrops into constellations; here the “darkened grass” is illuminated by the stellar qualities of dew.56 just as the cosmic and the terrestrial are united here, so too are the visual and the tactile. the perceived movement of kuusisto across the grass and the vision of the dewdrops are inseparable. the play of light and dark emerges again in the final stanza: “i pictured a shirt – / how i’d pull it over my head / and vanish in the sudden light.”57 the stanza is initially coherent, describing the tactility of putting on a shirt; the body moves in a familiar, expected manner. what is so peculiar, however, is the way in which he imagines “[vanishing] in sudden light.”58 if light connotes knowledge or presence, disappearing “in sudden light” seems utterly incoherent.59 the final stanza describes a liminal moment, between the shirt being both on and off kuusisto’s body. light and sight alone cannot confirm his body’s corporeality; rather it is the position and motion of his body that remain as he “[pulls the shirt] over [his] head.”60 vision and tactility are represented here in tandem, as the body cannot separate the two senses. the synergy of the visual, the tactile, and the auditory emerges in the third poem of the first collection, “awake all night.” in the first three couplets, kuusisto establishes the presence of all three senses: “the cabinet radio glowed / with its lighted dial / as i pressed my face to the glass.”61 enamored by the light and the sound the radio produces, he draws it near, touching his face to the cabinet. describa seeing-eye dog (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 54 elements : : spring 2016 ing his own glasses as “kaleidoscopes of light,” he identifies his vision as both beautiful and impaired.62 this impairment, however, does not deny the possibility of enjoying “the brilliant city of tubes / just visible through a crevice.”63 what he does, instead, is “lean close” to the radio cabinet; the intimacy of the young kuusisto and the radio illustrates the inseparability of the senses. while blindness stereotypically connotes the impossibility of visual pleasure, “awake all night” establishes vision as a component of pleasure and everyday experience for the blind speaker. in fact, the visual, the tactile, and the auditory all comprise pleasure and the everyday for kuusisto, but the three senses are at once present and absent. although he confesses that “[he] never heard the music” those nights, there in the radio is the promise, the remembrance of sound.64 moreover, “[his] spectacles, thick as dishes,” attempt to correct his partial blindness only to refract the light.65 the failure of his eyeglasses prompts him to “lean close,” but he can only “[press his] face to the glass.”66 what kuusisto suggests in “awake all night” is the limitations of single-sense perception; his experience is not a matter of compensating for the senses. rather, the poem makes evident the coordination of the senses. pressed to the glass of the glowing radio cabinet, kuusisto “looks down out of habit / at the vivid world.”67 living in the world, perceiving the world is a matter of the whole body, not a single sense. the synergy of vision, hearing, and touch anchors the body in the world, and it is this anchorage that allows kuusisto to establish his everyday and to re-create in his poetry. kuusisto’s poetry amounts to an attack on what david bolt terms “the metanarrative of blindness,” which is “the story in relation to which those … who have visual impairments often find [themselves] defined.”68 crucial to understanding this narrative is acknowledging that it is inflected by “ocularcentrism,” which “denotes a perspective—and by extension, a subject position—that is dominated by vision.”69 this perspective is problematic precisely because it employs reductive, stereotypical representations of blindness to comprehend and convey the experience of blindness. what is more troubling is the exclusion of people with visual impairments from the weaving of this story; here the voice of the visually impaired is absent. in this way, the metanarrative misrepresents blind experience precisely by reproducing tropes of the hypothetical blind men and the blind beggars by conjuring up the figures of oedipus and tiresias.70 the traditions and narratives inscribed in an ableist and certainly, an ocularcentric culture perpetuate “ocularnormativism,” which establishes vision as “the supreme means of perception.”71 although ocularcentrism textures the metanarrative of blindness with diverse and disdainful representations of visual impairment, i am concerned primarily with the thread of blindness and psychoanalysis. freud revives oedipus for his own thesis of man’s natural ambivalence between love and aggression in totem and taboo, but blindness and the eyes also figure prominently, in his studies on the significance of dreams.72 in fact, freud’s the interpretation of dreams demonstrates the intense “interest in eye symbolism of psychoanalysis.”73 recurring in psychoanalytic works are the associations of “testicular, ocular, and penile images,” which establishes a link between masculinity, sexuality, and vision.74 bolt describes this fixation as “opthalmocentric,” which privileges “the instrument of vision, as in notions of eyes.”75 opthalmocentrism is predicated upon ocularcentrism, linking inextricably vision and the eyes, and thus the association phallic imagery and eyesight implicitly genders the ability to gaze as masculine. building on the “implicit blindness-castration synonymy” of psychoanalytic theory, rosemarie garland-thomson asserts “the social role of men is to be starers.”76,77 this proposition reflects “the gendered asymmetries of the patriarchy,” which position males and females at opposite sides of the seer-seen dyad.78 although the gendered implications of the vision only arise in “lived gendered relations,” there is no doubt that “looking masculinizes… and being looked at feminizes.”79 this is precisely the precondition for the construction of the “male gaze,” which, with a mere glance, subordinates the object of the stare.80 in this way, the eyes are constructed as a synecdoche for the male body; thus the blind man, unable to exercise the male gaze, is emasculated. this interrogation of ocularcentrism and opthalmocentrism again conveys the primacy assigned to vision, but what is at stake in the “blindness-castration synonymy” is sexuality itself.81 if the male gaze—and, by association, male sexuality—is predicated upon dominance, power, and inequality, the blind male gaze disassembles the hegemonic expectations and diffuses power.82 visual impairment may render the blind man incapable of executing “normative masculine performances,” but this does not necessarily emasculate him.83 disabled men do not dis55 “who would hire a blind poet?” avow masculinity and sexuality altogether; instead, the lived experience of disability and masculinity requires the blind man to renegotiate sexuality and gender. this revision of expected gender performances can, in turn, level the inequality of the masculine-feminine binary undergirding both patriarchal and ableist traditions. stephen kuusisto’s account of his first sexual experience in his memoir, planet of the blind, instantiates this negotiation of disability and masculinity. although he had been “raised to know [he] was blind but taught to disavow it,” kuusisto stops masking his visual impairment in college.84 his professors accommodate his limitations, and one “benevolent shakespeare professor” even finds someone to read to him.85 gradually “his habitual shyness around women” diminishes as kuusisto connects with his peers.86 this newfound confidence undergirds kuusisto’s relationship with bettina, an “altogether irreverent young woman, … an irish country girl with long, thrilling, unkempt hair”87 if hegemonic masculinity asserts the male’s prerogative and female’s submission, bettina’s initiation of kuusisto’s first sexual encounter reverses that binary. with “a potent kiss” she pulls kuusisto to the floor and guides him.88 in this moment, bettina’s agency astounds kuusisto— “[he] can’t believe how quickly she does it.”89 in fact, bettina initiates and controls the encounter, “pulling down [his] pants,” “loosening [her] own buttons.”90 although her initiative may be perceived as a moment of feminine domination, the tenderness of the moment suggests something entirely different. if vision and sexuality are conflated in ocularcentric conceptions of masculinity, this scene separates them. it is not simply visual pleasure that kuusisto achieves, but a wholly corporeal, holistic pleasure. kuusisto figures this experience as entirely natural, beautiful: “a birch tree at midsummer, the sunlight seeming to be above and inside her.”91 although the visual certainly constitutes part of pleasure for both kuusisto and bettina, it is the heightened tactility of the experience for kuusisto that anchors this first sexual encounter. to resist locating pleasure solely in either sex, the scene alternates between descriptions of his body and her body. what’s more, while their two bodies are entangled, kuusisto is “looped in the loops of her hair.”92 their bodies remain separate although intertwined, and the ambiguity of who touches who dismantles any domination or control implicit in the sexual encounter. this claim is informed, in part, by merleauponty’s assertion of “crisscrossing … of the touching and the tangible” during a sexual encounter.93 this is perhaps a reduction of merleau-ponty’s argument, but there seems to be something in his conception of the tactility that mitigates the perceived hostility, dominance of the touch.94 kuusisto’s lived experience demonstrates the insufficiency of ideals of embodied masculinity. where patriarchal and ableist norms, echoing the metanarrative of blindness, locate masculinity largely in the visual, kuusisto’s disabled masculinity posits a corporeality, a masculinity of the body whole, of all the senses. if traditional masculinity is predicated on “initiative, competitiveness, self-control, assertiveness, and independence,” disabled masculinity renegotiates these standards in accordance with the lived experience of bodily impairment.95 furthermore, disabled masculinity denaturalizes the “naturalized relation between masculinity and power.”96 in her critical study of alternative masculinities, “female masculinity,” judith halberstam carves out a space for disabled masculinity in the repertoire of male subject-positions. her critique of action films centers on the use of prosthetic extensions of the body “to extend masculinity.”97 prosthetics—gadgets, guns, automobiles, for example—implicitly “undermine the [idealized] heterosexuality” of the male star of the action film, effectively creating a gap between the hegemonic ideals of standards of masculinity and its embodiment in the world.98 these prostheses, too, seem to subvert the idealized independence of hegemonic masculinity. prostheses are essential to kuusisto’s day-to-day lived experience, and his reserve of prostheses comprises more than merely eyeglasses. corky, kuusisto’s guide dog, functions like a prosthetic, as she increases his mobility and capabilities in everyday life. however, corky complicates is the traditional notion of prosthetic masculinity. the heroic male, star of the action flick, can function without his gadgets and weapons; the prostheses only supplement the hero’s masculinity.99 kuusisto’s guide-dog, corky, is essential to his everyday life; here, man quite literally depends on man’s best friend. in fact, corky becomes integral to kuusisto’s lived experience as a disabled man. whereas the gadgets of the action flick star seem unnatural and re“it is not simply visual pleasure that kuusisto achieves, but a wholly corporeal, holistic pleasure.” 56 elements : : spring 2016 sist incorporation into the body, corky and kuusisto “move as one, [although they] are more than that.”100 nowhere is this dependency, this between kuusisto and his guide-dog more evident than in “guiding eyes,” a poem written for corky in only bread, only light. his admiration is apparent from the stanza: it’s been five years since i was paired with this dog who, in fact, is more than a dog – she watches for me.101 what follows is a description of “[their] twin minds [going] walking” in new york city.102 kuusisto and corky navigate the city’s well-travelled paths and its landmarks in an unexpected and mythical manner. the tension between their separate bodies and their singular functioning prompts kuusisto to call him and his guide-dog “a kind of centaur – / or maybe two owls / riding the shoulders of minerva.”103 the mythic association here depicts the pair not as impaired or lacking, but rather as legendary, as wise. when he “[supposes] they’re scarcely whole,” he seems to recognize the myth of wholeness inscribed in the body.104 this realization is hardly dismal, and kuusisto’s subtle joy is palpable when he observes: the centaur gathers what passes from our flesh into the heart of animal faith.105 kuusisto’s impairment here does not signify a lack, but rather signifies a recognition of bodily difference. kuusisto and corky come to signify wholeness of their separate, distinct bodies, and the unity of guide-dog and the guided. if the everyday is about routine, about establishing a home in one’s own space, corky is integral to kuusisto’s everyday precisely because “she leads [him] home.”106 in a way, “guiding eyes” returns us to the mythical world, inhabited not only by the centaurs invoked by kuusisto, but also by the oldest blind men of the western cultural tradition. kuusisto’s poetry and memoir oscillate between the mythical and the everyday. if ableist and patriarchal cultures operate by othering the disabled male, this alienation immediately locates him outside the norm, outside conventional, everyday experience. what is so remarkable about kuusisto’s quotidian representations of blindness is its ability to establish an “everyday life, [that is] the quintessential quality of taken-forgrantedness.”107 writing the everyday—that which goes without notice—is essential precisely because it relocates him, a disabled male, in the everyday consciousness: he is not an oedipus, a tiresias, or a hypothetical blind man.108 the disabled man, then, becomes present, familiar. he identifies himself as blind only to jettison the metanarrative of blindness, and only then is he to able to familiarize, for the abled reader, his everyday life. this is precisely what disability life-writing aims to do: to familiarize and legitimize the everyday experience of disability by shedding the mask of the metanarrative. in this way, everyday disability resembles, represents, and coincides with everyday life. as kuusisto “[walks] / both bodily and ghostly,” he and corky retread the paths of new york city to establish their own everyday existences; they move with, not against, the city.109 what kuusisto’s life-writing amounts to is re-presentation of everyday life as a disabled man. embodied, lived life depends on more than the visual for kuusisto—and arguably for all humans. what kuusisto rejects by familiarizing and legitimatizing the experience of blindness are the hegemonic standards of ableist masculinity. in this way, the oscillation between the mythic, the everyday, and the synergy of the senses in kuusisto’s poetry and prose represents “disability and masculinity as lyric processes” that actively resist the “controlling narratives” of patriarchal and ableist culture.110 representing disability and masculinity introduces an “unanticipated similarity between all things,” thus establishing the everyday life and the embodied experience as “a holistic texture” of identities and sensory experience.111 only now does kuusisto move out of the shadows of oedipus and illuminate his own everyday life as a blind male. 57 “who would hire a blind poet?” endnotes 1. shakespeare, “the sexual politics of disabled masculinity,” 1999, 53. 2. shakespeare, “the sexual politics of disabled masculinity,” 1999, 54. 3. kleege, sight unseen, 1999, 63. 4. kleege, sight unseen, 1999, 66-69. 5. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 187. 6. freud, totem and taboo, 1989, 192. 7. kleege, sight unseen, 1999, 69. 8. kleege, sight unseen, 1999, 194. 9. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 187. 10. ibid. 11. ibid. 12. kleege, “blindness and visual culture: an eyewitness account,” 2013, 447. 13. kleege, “blindness and visual culture: an eyewitness account,” 2013, 448. 14. mitchell and snyder, “narrative prosthesis,” 2013, 222. 15. mitchell and snyder, “narrative prosthesis”, 2013, 224. 16. mitchell and snyder, “narrative prosthesis,” 2013, 232. 17. ibid. 18. mitchell and snyder, “narrative prosthesis,” 2013, 234. 19. couser, “disability, life narrative, and representation,” 2013, 458. 20. couser, “disability, life narrative, and representation,” 2013, 457. 21. kleege, “blindness and visual culture: an eyewitness account,” 2013, 453. 22. couser, “disability, life narrative, and representation,” 2013, 457. 23. couser, “disability, life narrative, and representation,” 2013, 458. 24. derrida, “signature event context,”1988, 8. 25. derrida, “signature event context,” 1988 9. 26. bayliss, “against interpretosis: deleuze, disability, and difference,” 2009, 289. 27. ibid. 28. bayliss, “against interpretosis: deleuze, disability, and difference,” 2009 292. 29. shuttleworth, “disabled masculinity: expanding the masculine repertoire,” 2004, 166. 30. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 6. 31. bayliss, “against interpretosis: deleuze, disability, and difference,” 2009, 292. 32. mintz, “lyric bodies: poets on disability and masculinity,” 2012, 248. 33. siebers, disability aesthetics, 2010, 1. 34. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 5. 35. ibid. 36. ibid. 37. ibid. 38. kuusisto, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 5-7. 39. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 5-7. 40. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 10. 41. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 7. 42. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 1-3, 9. 43. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 2-3. 44. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 4, 10. 45. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 5. 46. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 9, 11. 47. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 12. 48. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 12-13. 49. bayliss, “against interpretosis: deleuze, disability, and difference,” 2009, 292. 50. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 8. 51. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 10. 52. kuusito,only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 11. 53. kleege, sight unseen, 1999, 30. 54. melancon, “a river that no one can see,” 2009, 184. 55. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 4. 56. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 4. 57. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 11-13. 58. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 13. 59. ibid. 60. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 12. 61. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 1-3. 62. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 5. 63. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 8-9. 64. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 10. 65. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 4. 66. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 3, 6. 67. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 13-4. 68. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 10. 69. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 17. 70. bolt,the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 10-11. 71. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 14. 72. freud, totem and taboo, 1989, 192-4. 73. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 54. 74. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 56. 75. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014, 53. 76. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness, 2014 56. 77. garland-thomson, staring: how we look, 2009, 146. 78. garland-thomson, staring: how we look, 2009, 41. 79. ibid. 80. ibid. 81. bolt, the metanarrative of blindness: a re-reading of twentieth-century anglophone writing, 57. 82. shuttleworth, “disabled masculinity: expanding the masculine repertoire,” 166-170. 83. shuttleworth, “disabled masculinity: expanding the masculine repertoire,” 167. 84. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 7. 85. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 69. 86. ibid. 87. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 70. 88. ibid. 89. ibid. 90. ibid. 91. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 71. 92. ibid. 58 elements : : spring 2016 93. merleau-ponty, “the intertwining—the chiasm.” 1968, 133. 94. merleau-ponty, “the intertwining—the chiasm,” 1968, 133-4. 95. shuttleworth, “disabled masculinity: expanding the masculine repertoire,” 2004, 166. 96. halberstam, “an introduction to female masculinity.” 1998, 2. 97. halberstam, “an introduction to female masculinity,” 1998, 4. 98. ibid. 99. halberstam, “an introduction to female masculinity,” 1998, 1-5. 100. kuusisto, planet of the blind, 1998, 100. 101. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 1-4. 102. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 5. 103. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 8-10. 104. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems,2000, 19. 105. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 43-6. 106. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 48. 107. felski, “introduction: everyday life,” 2002, 607. 108. felski, “introduction: everyday life,” 2002, 607-612 109. kuusito, only bread, only light: poems, 2000, 27-28. 110. mintz, “lyric bodies: poets on disability and masculinity,” 2012, 249. 111. mintz, “lyric bodies: poets on disability and masculinity,” 2012, 253. references bayliss, phil. “against interpretosis: deleuze, disability, and difference.” journal of literary and cultural studies 3.3 (2009): 281-294. project muse. web. doi: 10.1353/ jlc.0.0023. bolt, david. the metanarrative of blindness: a re-reading of twentieth-century anglophone writing. ann arbor: the university of michigan press, 2014. web. couser, g. thomas. “disability, life narrative, and representation.” the disability studies reader. ed. lennard j. davis. new york: routledge, 2013. 456-459. web. derrida, jacques. “signature event context.” limited inc. trans. samuel weber and jeffrey mehlman. evanston, il: northwestern university press, 1988. 1-22. print. felski, rita. “introduction: everyday life.” new literary history. 33.4 (2002): 607-622. jstor. web. freud, sigmund. totem and taboo. trans. james strachey. new york: w.w. norton, 1989. print. garland-thomson, rosemarie. staring: how we look. oxford: oxford university press, 2009. print. halberstam, judith. “an introduction to female masculinity.” female masculinity. durham, nc: duke university press, 1998. web. doi: 10.1215/9780822378112-001 kleege, georgina. sight unseen. new haven: yale university press, 1999. kleege, georgina. “blindness and visual culture: an eyewitness account.” the disability studies reader. ed. lennard j. davis. new york: routledge, 2013. 448-455. web. doi: 10.1177/1470412905054672 kuusisto, stephen. “blind days in early youth.” only bread, only light: poems. port townsend, wa: copper canyon press, 2000. 5-7. print. kuusisto, stephen. “guiding eyes.” only bread, only light: poems. port townsend, wa: copper canyon press, 2000. 20-21. print. 59 “who would hire a blind poet?” kuusisto, stephen. planet of the blind. new york: dial, 1998. print. melancon, michael l. ““a river that no one can see”: body, text, and environment in the poetry of stephen kuusisto.”  journal of literary & cultural disability studies 1.2 (2009): 183-194. project muse. web. doi: 10.1353/ jlc.0.0019 merleau-ponty, maurice. “the intertwining—the chiasm.” the visible and the invisible. trans. alphonso lingis. evanston: northwestern university press, 1968. 130-155. print. mintz, susannah b. “lyric bodies: poets on disability and masculinity.” pmla. 127.2 (2012): 248-263. web. doi: 10.1632/pmla.2012.127.2.248 mitchell, david and snyder, sharon. “narrative prosthesis.” the disability studies reader. ed. lennard j. davis. new york: routledge, 2013. 222-235. web. doi: 10.1215/00029831-2006-018 shakespeare, tom. “the sexual politics of disabled masculinity.” sexuality and disability. 17.1 (1999): 53-64. web. doi: 10.1023/a:1021403829826 shuttleworth, russell p. “disabled masculinity: expanding the masculine repertoire.” gendering disability. new brunswick, new jersey: rurgers university press, 2004. siebers, tobin. disability aesthetics. ann arbor: the university of michigan press, 2010. print. 60 elements : : spring 2016 this essay explores anthony trollope’s decision to identify phineas finn, of his various “palliser novels,” as irish. many victorian readers questioned phineas’s ethnicity and lack of stereotypically irish characteristics, and trollope himself renounced this decision in his autobiography. the character’s irishness, however, seems to be more than a gimmick to differentiate the novel from similar tales of aspiring members of parliament; in phineas finn, the author uses ethnicity to invert the national marriage trope. trollope employs gendered ethnic stereotypes, casting his title character as feminine in his romantic entanglements and even his political behavior, while the english ladies he meets are described as masculine. but the character of phineas emerges as more complicated than a feminine or emasculated one; in his tenuous loyalty to his docile irish sweetheart, phineas becomes a conventional male lead. his irishness, then, lends a duality to his character that encompasses more than merely two national identities; it embodies two entirely different kinds of men: one masculine and the other feminine, one a philanderer and the other loyal, one english and the other irish. two separate persons ethnicity and identity in trollope’s phineas finn jennifer heine phineas finn is widely regarded as one of anthony trollope’s most popular works. published serially in st paul’s magazine between 1867 and 1868, the novel satirizes the british parliamentary system through the adventures of its title character, an irish pícaro, who experiences a number of ups and downs over the course of a tumultuous political career. while the novel, unlike several of trollope’s others, takes place in england, it is frequently remembered as one of his irish novels, given the ethnicity of the protagonist. however, the nature of that ethnicity, particularly what trollope intended to accomplish by writing his hero as irish, remains controversial; while some regard phineas’s irishness as inherent to his character and to the plot of the novel, others consider it secondary, even accidental. in order to analyze the significance of phineas finn’s ethnicity, one must consider what aspects of irish culture the character embodies, as well as what he might symbolize in the context of trollope’s work. according to trollope’s autobiography, phineas finn ought not to have been written this way at all. as he explains: it was certainly a blunder to take him from ireland – into which i was led by the circumstance that i created the scheme of the book during a visit to ireland. there was nothing to be gained by the peculiarity, and there was an added difficulty in obtaining sympathy and affection for a politician belonging to a nationality whose politics are not respected in england. but in spite of this, phineas succeeded.1 whether trollope intended to suggest that the entire novel ought to have been set in ireland, or that his aspiring member of parliament ought to have been english, remains unclear. it is also possible that he mentions this opinion to spark interest in an earlier novel towards the end of his career. this acknowledgement has led phineas’s nation of origin to be hotly contested among readers and critics. for some, trollope’s comment has enabled them to largely ignore phineas’s irish identity and instead focus on other aspects of his character. according to patrick lonergan’s “the representation of phineas finn: anthony trollope’s palliser series and victorian ireland,” “phineas’s nationality has been ignored because of trollope’s statement that he believed it was a ‘blunder’ to make his hero an irishman… it is disappointing that phineas’s nationality has been ignored or dismissed by literary critics.”2 jane elizabeth dougherty contrasts this in “an angel in the house: the act of union and anthony trollope’s irish hero,” claiming that the opposite effect can be discerned: because trollope himself called attention to the “blunder”… many of these critics have examined the importance of phineas’s ethnicity to the story… clearly, critics have not yet reached a consensus on the tricky subject of the ethnicity of phineas finn, and its effects on the characterizations, composition, trajectory, and reception of trollope’s… novel.3 one can conclude, though, that phineas’s irish heritage was originally intended to improve upon the novel’s hero. according to trollope’s an autobiography, in writing phineas finn… i was conscious that i could not make a tale pleasing chiefly, or perhaps in any part, by politics. if i write politics for my own sake, i must put in love and intrigue, social incidents, with perhaps a dash of sport, for the benefit of me readers. in this way i think i make my political hero interesting.4 that is to say, the author felt that he could not write a wholly political novel for fear of alienating his readers, who chiefly sought amusement from his works. rather, the phineas finn that emerged is more of a satire of political novels than a standard political novel. writing the title character as an irishman helps to set it apart from similar tales of ambitious men with parliamentary aspirations. a sketch of london as the city would appear in phineas finn in the 1860s (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 76 elements : : spring 2016 the problem with phineas’s irishness, to many readers, is that it does not seem particularly irish. unlike many other stereotypical irish characters of the time, “he is neither lazy, nor improvident, nor dishonest, nor a drunkard, nor anything more than a nominal roman catholic, nor, in particular, violent. he doesn’t even have a brogue”.5 thus, it would be possible for english readers to consider him irish in name only, without any of the difficulties that typically accompany an irish character. critics, however, have called attention to the character’s resemblance to a number of historical irish politicians of the time. as lonergan argues, phineas closely resembles at least six real irish politicians, and is comparable to numerous others. this proves one thing conclusively: phineas is similar to a large number of irish people who actually existed during trollope’s time. it is therefore obviously incorrect to describe him as insufficiently “hibernian.”6 in his “‘two nations on one soil’: land, fenians, and politics in fiction,” james murphy adds, “several individuals have been proffered as candidates for the real-life phineas. the most likely seems to be sir john pope hennessy (1834–1891), a catholic who sat as a conservative member of parliament.”7 regardless of who served as the model for trollope’s character, one must conclude that, given critical speculation of phineas’s similarity to various historical irishmen, his portrayal is somewhat realistic. one could conclude that readers and critics who call phineas insufficiently irish have failed to distinguish between the stereotype of an irish character and the reality of one. dougherty expresses this conflict well when she explains: there is little about phineas that is obviously irish, and yet it does favor him, at least in phineas finn. phineas is a successful and sympathetic character… phineas’s irishness is and is not evident in the text, it is both crucial and incidental to phineas’s characterization; the narrative trajectory of the phineas novels is at once enabled and disabled by the ethnicity of their eponymous hero.8 because phineas represents a unique irishman, one who supports the union between ireland and great britain and feels welcome in english society, he can be read, not as a representative of his culture, but rather as an individualistic, particular representation of an irish person. in fact, the liberal party seems to seek exactly that individuality in their recruitment of phineas finn: then ‘the party,’ – by which barrington erle probably meant the great man in whose service he himself had become a politician, – required that the candidate should be a safe man, one who would support ‘the party,’ – not a cankerous, red-hot, semifenian, running about to meetings at the rotunda, and suchlike, with views of his own about tenant-right and the irish church. ‘but i have views of my own,’ said phineas, blushing again. ‘of course you have, my dear boy,’ said barrington, clapping him on the back. ‘i shouldn’t come to you unless you had views. but your views and ours are the same, and you’re just the lad for galway.9 though barrington’s requirements come across as incredibly specific, they reflect a particular kind of representation of irishness by trollope: one that acknowledges a diversity of irish individuals. though the stereotypical irishman is described here in a potentially offensive manner, both barrington and the author recognize that not all irish people can be categorized that way. rather, the irish populace may have “views of [their] own,” whether in support of or against the act of union. murphy expresses a similar sentiment: though [phineas is] an irish catholic he is not a formal nationalist per se and is a participant in the internal machinations of the british political party system. this reflects the politics of the 1850s and 1860s before the rise of the new irish parliamentary party in the 1870s.10 given the political upheaval of the era, following the act of union, which bound ireland to the united kingdom after a spate of rebellious activities in the late eighteenth “...he can be read, not as a representative of his culture, but rather as an individualistic, particular representation of an irish person.” 77 two separate persons century, the character’s loyalty is particularly notable. an outsider himself, phineas nonetheless expresses great respect for his new position and in particular for the government he serves: “phineas had many serious, almost solemn thoughts on his journey towards london… he was minded to be very earnest. he would go to his work honestly and conscientiously, determined to do his duty as best he might.”11 like the author, then, the protagonist partakes in no rebellious actions throughout phineas finn, and even supports british rule, unlike many of his historical counterparts. according to dougherty, “the text takes pains to absolve phineas of any fenian tendencies, and unlike the fenians, phineas has no interest in dismantling the union; instead he hopes to make the union work for him, as it did for his creator trollope.”12 this individualism helped the text “succeed,” as trollope noted in his aforementioned autobiography, despite his heritage.13 alternately, many critics have come to interpret phineas as a symbolic character, one who represents a version of the national marriage trope in the context of the act of union. the act of union legally assimilated ireland into the united kingdom. from the moment it was proposed – as a means of subduing ireland, which had in 1798 exploded into violent rebellion – it was seen in the popular imagination as a marriage between great britain and ireland, with britain as the groom and ireland as the bride.14 this trope, commonly known as the national marriage, had already been well-established by the time trollope adopted it. according to “love’s labour’s lost: romantic allegory in trollope’s “castle richmond” by bridget matthews-kane, the popularity of other allegorical romances such as lady morgan’s the wild irish girl (1806), charles maturin’s the milesian chief (1812), and the banim brother’s the boyne water (1826) does make it likely that trollope read them and was familiar with the conventions of the form.”15 in most of these novels, a female personification of ireland and a male personification of great britain are cast in a romance that leads ultimately to a happy marriage: one that is meant to represent the union of the two nations. most of the novel seems to make reference to that pattern, even as it perverts it. as matthews-kane continues, one of the three main hallmarks of the national tale is a relationship between a british traveler and a celtic guide that leads to a marriage symbolically uniting the two cultures. trollope, who was well read in irish literature, modifies this common plot device to make his own argument about the political situation in ireland.16 here, it is not the traveller who represents great britain, but the native london ladies, including lady laura standish, violet effingham, and madame max goesler, while ireland, usually personified by a woman, is instead represented by phineas himself. this gender reversal leads to some fascinating characterizations in phineas finn, including the duality of its protagonist. despite phineas’s seemingly don juan-esque tendencies, juggling the affections of four different women over the course of the story, he nevertheless seems emasculated by his national characterization. far from a playboy, murphy argues that trollope presents phineas as particularly feminine, in the way that will ladislaw of middlemarch is feminized through his relationships with women: “ironically, though, this results in the feminization of his own position… phineas… is in some ways reduced to being a passive object of women’s admiration.”17 this emasculation is underlined by phineas’s being the a photograph of the author, anthony trollope, in the 1870s (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 78 elements : : spring 2016 recipient of two different marriage proposals; he is thereby cast as the female role in his relationships with women. trollope’s descriptions of these characters further supports this unusual gendering. when lady laura standish is introduced, for instance, the narrator utilized vocabulary conventionally used to describe men: lady laura was six feet high… her figure was straggling, and… her hands and feet were quite large… there was something of nobility in her gait, and she seemed thus to be taller… her hair was in truth red, – a deep thorough redness. her brother’s hair was the same; and so had been that of her father, before it had become sandy with age. her sister’s had been of a soft auburn hue, and hers had been said to be the prettiest head of hair in europe at the time of her marriage… her face was very fair, though it lacked that softness which we all love in women.18 beyond the use of traditionally masculine terms, trollope explicitly compares lady laura standish to men, rather than to women. thus, one can conclude that lady laura is meant to be read as a personification of great britain, in the same way that the wild irish girl is intended to represent ireland. similarly, phineas’s eventual wife, mary flood jones, comes across as excessively feminine. she remains docile and does not question phineas throughout the novel, though he strongly considers breaking off their engagement and residing in london. according to the text, mary is “one of those girls, so common in ireland, whom men, with tastes, that way given, feel inclined to take up and devour on spur the moment; and when she liked her lion, she had a look about her which seemed to ask to be devoured.”19 thus, not only is mary depicted as a stereotypically feminine character, but the narrator suggests that her character is a common one in ireland, even that the stereotypical irish girl is as lamb-like as mary. it follows, then, that phineas finn is feminized by his association with his home country. if the author wrote him as the representative irish character and the women he meets as representative english characters, then phineas necessarily plays the more feminine role. indeed, many of the stereotypically irish traits he displays, such as passion and emotionality, are also conventionally feminine, while lady laura’s interest in politics can be read as more masculine. nonetheless, phineas clearly identifies as a man and in various scenes he demonstrates a conventional kind of masculinity, as when he duels chiltern for the opportunity to court violet effingham or when he rescues robert kennedy from thieves. as a result, his characterization becomes more complicated than mere emasculation: phineas’s irishness lends a duality to his person. patrick fessenbecker explores this concept at length in his essay “anthony trollope on akrasia, self-deception, and ethical confusion,” which argues that several of trollope’s characters have undergone this experience of developing a double self. in the case of phineas finn, fessenbecker contends, this duality can account for the protagonist’s seemingly illogical movement between women. he writes, anthony trollope tended to reuse a particular version of the marriage plot… a version of the romantic triangle in which protagonists, usually male, commit to marrying one character but then find themselves drawn to a second… this… leads to a recurring consideration of a particular issue in philosophical psychology: moral philosophers have long been interested in situations where moral agents know what they ought to do, but do not do it.20 a scene from the original manuscript of phineas finn (source: flickr) 79 two separate persons throughout the novel, phineas cannot seem to choose between the variety of women who have demonstrated their affection for him, despite such obstacles as lady laura’s marriage and phineas’s promise to return to mary. his response, then, is to mentally split himself into more than one entity. just as phineas can be read as both masculine and feminine, he can also be read as faithful to two different sets of women, living in two different places. trollope’s novel supports this reading in several places, as when phineas muses: he felt that he had two identities, – that he was, as it were, two separate persons, – and that he could, without any real faithlessness, be very much in love with violet effingham in his position of man of fashion and member of parliament in england, and also warmly attached to dear little mary flood jones as an irishman of killaloe. he was aware, however, that there was a prejudice against such fullness of heart, and, therefore, resolved sternly that it was his duty to be constant to miss effingham.21 this sense of dual identity, then, permits him to carry on dalliances with multiple women. not only do ireland and great britain represent different genders, but also different kinds of relationships available to phineas. one must note that his love for two different women does not just mean that phineas finn is attracted to both violet and mary. instead, he exhibits two entirely distinct, fully realized personas, one irish and one english, that lead two very different lives and are attracted to very different women. fessenbecker attributes the development of this double self to phineas’s sexual drive, declaring that “the primary cause of phineas’s self-deception is his desire: he convinces himself of the possibility of a dual life because this allows him to achieve the multiple sexual relationships for which he yearns.”22 however, one can also explain his behavior in terms of akrasia, meaning that he is able to distinguish between right and wrong but cannot act on it. trollope’s speaker shifts the blame away from his protagonist and onto fate or circumstance when he comments that “phineas was a traitor, of course, but he was almost forced to be a traitor, by the simple fact that lady laura standish was in london, and mary flood jones in killaloe.”23 his irishness, then, is interpreted as a weakness here, that draws him back to mary when he yearns for a union with lady laura or violet. simply by travelling to london, he has put himself in moral danger, as he cannot control his romantic or sexual urges. while fessenbecker and others insist that phineas is not an inherently bad person, but rather one affected by his surroundings – “he is not consciously duplicitous; the text makes it clear he does not intend to hurt mary. but he does in fact behave badly toward her, and does so by convincing himself it is possible for part of him to act without all of him acting” –phineas’s behavior suggests otherwise.24 that he thinks of mary with great frequency over the course of the text demonstrates that he does remember her, and does acknowledge his feelings for and promises to her. yet, he cannot bring himself to abandon his english admirers, and indeed seems devastated when they do not want to marry him. for instance, although he fears “despair and utter banishment” upon lady laura’s rejection,25 he nevertheless assures mary of his loyalty just pages later with, “if you knew, mary, how often i think about you.”26 in short, phineas finn seems too complicated a character to be defined by ethnic background alone. however, this controversial background does help describe his duality of character: both masculine and feminine, both philanderer and loyal long-distance lover, both english and irish. that trollope would continue to develop the character in a sequel speaks to the fascination inherent in phineas, and suggests that, despite the author’s later claims to the contrary, his irishness plays a vital and intriguing part in how he is characterized. as merely an english member of parliament, this protagonist would become much easier to interpret, and therefore significantly less interesting to read. thus, far from a stereotype or a rash authorial decision, phineas’s ethnicity seems a calculated decision to better comment on duality of character, the difficulty of making moral decisions, and the relative femininity and masculinity of characters and traits. “not only do ireland and great britain represent different genders, but also different kinds of relationships available to phineas.” 80 elements : : spring 2016 endnotes 1. trollope, autobiography of anthony trollope, 1922, 274-275. 2. lonergan, “the representation of phineas finn,” 2004, 147148. 3. dougherty, “an angel in the house,” 2004, 133. 4. trollope, autobiography of anthony trollope, 1922, 274. 5. dougherty, “an angel in the house,” 2004, 140. 6. lonergan, “the representation of phineas finn,” 2004, 149. 7. murphy, “two nations on one soil,” 2011, 140. 8. dougherty, “an angel in the house,” 2004, 133. 9. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 6. 10. murphy, “two nations on one soil,” 2011, 140. 11. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 23. 12. dougherty, “an angel in the house,” 2004, 139. 13. trollope, autobiography of anthony trollope, 1922, 274-275. 14. dougherty, “an angel in the house,” 2004, 134. 15. matthews-kane, “love’s labour lost,” 2004, 130. 16. matthews-kane, “love’s labour lost,” 2004, 117-118. 17. murphy, “two nations on one soil,” 2011, 141. 18. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 32. 19. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 19. 20. fessenbecker, “anthony trollope on akrasia, self-deception and ethical confusion,” 2014. 21. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 330. 22. fessenbecker, “anthony trollope on akrasia, self-deception and ethical confusion,” 2014. 23. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 145. 24. fessenbecker, “anthony trollope on akrasia, self-deception and ethical confusion,” 2014. 25. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 140. 26. trollope, phineas finn, 1973, 145. references dougherty, jane elizabeth. “an angel in the house: the act of union and anthony trollope’s irish hero.” victorian literature and culture  32, no.1 (march 2004): 133145. jstor. accessed october 5, 2015. web. doi: 10.1017. s1060150304000403 fessenbecker, patrick. “anthony trollope on akrasia, selfdeception, and ethical confusion.” victorian studies 56, no.4 (july 2014): 649-674. accessed october 13, 2015. web. doi: 10.2979/victorianstudies.56.4.649 lonergan, patrick. “the representation of phineas finn: anthony trollope’s palliser series and victorian ireland.” victorian literature and culture 32.1 (1999): 147-58. cambridge journals. 10.1017/s1060150304000415 matthews-kane, bridget. “love’s labour’s lost: romantic allegory in trollope’s “castle richmond”” victorian literature and culture 32.1 (2004): 117-31. jstor. boston college canvas. 10.1017/s1060150304000397 mccaw, neil. “some mid-victorian irishness(es): trollope, thackeray, eliot.” ed. neil mccaw.ashgate, 2003. 129-157. proquest. murphy, james h. “’two nations on one soil’: land, fenians, and politics in fiction.” irish novelists and the victorian age. n.p.: n.p., 2011. 119-47. boston college canvas. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199596997.003.0006 trollope, anthony. autobiography of anthony trollope. new york: dodd, mead, 1905. google books. trollope, anthony. phineas finn. illus. t. l. b. huskinson. london: oxford up, 1973. 81 two separate persons reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to mitigate the consequences of climate change. in spite of this knowledge, curing the world’s addiction to fossil fuels has proven to be a herculean task. international agreements are limited in scope, and national governments have failed to enact laws that would sufficiently reduce domestic emissions. in addition, most individuals are hesitant to make the necessary sacrifices that would reduce personal emissions. while political, economic, and technological factors are the most apparent barriers to reform, climate change can also be understood as a moral failure. from a psychological standpoint, morality is an emotional belief that stems from interpersonal relationships. the unprecedented scope of climate change has exposed the limits of the relational understanding of morality. we have been unable to frame our relationship with the biosphere in a manner that elicits a strong enough moral response to lead to decisive action. this paper does not attempt to offer a solution, but hopes instead to reveal the moral implications of climate inaction. a climate of inaction limitations of a relational understanding of morality juliana butron in december 2015, the united nations climate change conference was hosted in paris. delegates from 195 countries reached an agreement that would commit most of the world’s nations to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. regarding the deal, president barack obama said, “we’ve shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge.” the participation of nearly 200 countries in the paris agreement shows that the global community certainly has the “will” to combat climate change, but whether it has the “ability” to do so remains to be seen. even though the paris agreement is a step in the right direction, climate scientists acknowledge that it will not limit global greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently to be able to prevent the most disastrous consequences of climate change. however, even this admittedly limited agreement can be considered a diplomatic miracle, since similar talks in copenhagen in 2009 ended in failure.1 the rise of the environmental movement has motivated individuals and policy actors, both national and international, to seek solutions to environmental problems. the modern environmental movement came about in the 1960’s. consequently, today’s adults are more likely to be aware of the environmental impact of their choices than their parents or grandparents. in the 1970s, the united states congress responded to these growing concerns by chartering a sprawling regulatory apparatus: the environmental protection agency, or epa. in the 1980s, the united nations responded to the issue of ozone depletion by chartering the montreal protocol. the countries of the united nations, plus vatican city, have all ratified the treaty, which entails limiting the production and emission chemicals that are harmful to the ozone layer.2 while the montreal protocol shows global environmental cooperation is certainly possible, crafting an effective response to climate change has been extremely difficult. when placed in the context of the catastrophic effects of climate change, even the much-lauded paris agreement proves inexcusably inadequate. international and domestic efforts to reduce carbon emissions lack impact. this governmental failure should come as no surprise. government actors are hardly keen on spending their political capital on policy that would demand immediate costs and delayed benefits. that being said, the blame does not fall on politicians alone. individuals have failed to make the necessary sacrifices that would reduce personal emissions. it is no secret that human behaviors have caused irreparable damage to the biosphere, yet persistent inaction betrays an atmosphere of feigned ignorance. on the surface, the response—or lack thereof—to climate change reflects either an inherent deficiency in the moral sense, or some widespread moral decline. morality plays a major role in the way we understand climate change, but environmental apathy is not borne from immorality. in order to properly understand the issue, it is essential to unwrap the role of the moral sense in the decision-making process. in doing so, it becomes evident that it is not a lack of morality that has caused our failure to implement comprehensive global climate change reform. rather, humanity’s inability to reconcile its relational sense of morality with the unprecedented scale of climate change bears the blame. the philosophical and theological notion of morality is couched in an abstract notion of divine perfection. consequently, immorality can be understood as deviation from divine perfection. in contrast, anthropologist alan fiske explores morality by studying relationships. fiske found that moral beliefs across cultures could be categorized into four relational models.3 the relational models classify the myriad of social interactions that elicit moral sentiment, and they unpack the evolutionary basis of moral norms. the first model, communal sharing, reflects the open exchange of resources within a group. the second model, authority-ranking, encourages morality through linear hierarchies.4 the third model, equality-matching, views morality in reciprocal terms, and the final model, market-pricing, defines morality through legal systems and economic valuation.5 while the global climate crisis has been thoroughly investigated through scientific and economic framework, this paper will attempt to unwrap the issue using fiske’s relational models. this paper’s understanding of fiske’s work is based on cognitive scientist steven pinker’s understanding of the relational models as described in his book the better angels of our nature. the models explain certain behaviors which influence decision making, while also revealing certain biases which hinder “[i]t is humanity’s inability to reconcile its relational sense of morality with the unprecedented scale of climate change.” 30 elements : : spring 2016 man hugging redwood tree in national park (courtesy of wikimedia commons) the decision-making process. by exploring these associated behaviors and biases, it becomes apparent that morality has the potential to both encourage and encumber effective action in the global climate crisis. to begin with, communal sharing encourages the free sharing of resources within a given group. the group is seen as eternal; thus, no record is kept of how resources are exchanged, nor are resources given with the expectation of anything in return. the group is seen as pure, and anything that threatens the group is perceived as contaminating its sanctity. in certain communities, this sense of morality is rationalized through creation myths that sanctify land, kin relationships, and spiritual beliefs.6 relationships based on communal sharing tend to prompt feelings of comfort, unity, and love. arguments in favor of conservation find their moral bedrock in the communal understanding of morality. in the united states, the act of congress that created the first federally managed public park provides no justifications for the land’s conservation. instead, it reads that land, which would eventually become yellowstone national park, must be “dedicated and set apart” for exclusively “the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”7 the national parks system is based on the idea that certain untouched terrains are part of the nation’s patrimony. the right of the american people to enjoy these spaces exceeds any profits from the terrain’s hypothetical use and development. their existence is not contingent upon any extraneous factors because they are understood as common heirlooms. as symbols of a shared national heritage, they are imbued with emotion. the idea of stuffing the grand canyon with nuclear waste, hacking california’s redwoods for timber, or covering yosemite valley in cul-de-sacs feels repulsively immoral. irresponsible waste management, logging, and urban development ceaselessly besmirch pristine wilderness the world over. thus, it would be inherently immoral to threaten their purity according to the communal sharing model. altruism may have evolved as a result of shared interests. humans were more likely to survive in groups; therefore it is in an individual’s best interest to support the individual members of said group. when feelings of sympathy, empathy, and guilt are especially strong, individuals are motivated to alleviate this suffering. doctrines of human rights stem from the theoretical expansion of a “circle of empathy” to the entire global community. the communal sharing model can be applied to climate change if we view it through the lens of human rights. each member of our global community, present and future, is entitled to a certain environmental standard of living. as global citizens we have the ability to empathize with our fellow humans by virtue of our shared humanity. the problem with altruism lies in its limited scope. our circles of empathy are strongest within prescribed circles of familiarity.8 herein lies the dark side of communal sharing. the same feelings and behaviors that strengthen community bonds also serve to minimize the needs of individuals outside of the community. patriotism is the result of geopolitical “the crucial caveat of communal sharing is that resources can only be freely shared when the community does not feel threatened.” 31 a climate of inaction knowledge filtered through feelings of national unity. however, while it encourages a communal sense of responsibility for the entire nation, patriotism could easily devolve into xenophobic jingoism. if we understand the nation as a communal group, anyone outside of the prescribed community is labeled an outsider. the crucial caveat of communal sharing is that resources can only be freely shared when the community does not feel threatened. when resources are abundant, the network can share resources without fear and even expand its circle of care to include outsiders. when resources are threatened, the needs of the community are paramount to the needs of outsiders, which may also explain why norms tend to be more rigid in times of crisis and relaxed in times of stability. if resources are especially scarce, former insiders might find themselves on the margins, or worse, excluded altogether. before the advent of agriculture, cycles of abundance and scarcity were nearly impossible to predict. communities with the ability to exclude ensured their members’ survival, thus passing this trait on to subsequent generations. in the past, exclusion ensured a community’s survival. today, elements of kin protection create biases that limit cooperation. if resources are understood as scarce, one group’s survival is contingent upon the failure of another. the “mythical fixed-pie” is the result of this understanding of scarcity. if two groups understand that resources are limited, they each view their situation as a zero-sum game. any benefit for the other group is perceived as an inherent loss— hence the “fixed pie” metaphor. this negates the existence of mutually beneficial tradeoffs.9 the “fixed-pie” fallacy is especially cumbersome in environmental conflict resolution, because every hypothetical solution involves some sort of a mutually beneficial tradeoff. international climate change negotiations are a minefield of mythical fixed-pies. no nation would eagerly decrease its standard of living in order to increase the standard of another. this understanding fails to grasp the global scope of the issue. our community-based thinking limits our ability to grasp the full implications of the universal problem. the potential harm of continued inaction is far worse than any sacrifice. it is beyond any scientific doubt that greenhouse gas emissions cause global warming, yet neither international institutions nor national governing bodies have created policy that sufficiently cuts emissions. any responses, on an individual level, have been far too limited to constitute a trend towards reduction. there are many reasons for an individual or governing body to oppose emission reduction, but the communal sharing model of morality helps explain why those who theoretically support emissions reductions are hesitant when it comes to action. the issue with climate change is that the scale is so large that it is easy to view those who will suffer as “other.” for the vast majority of the world’s emitters, the impact of climate change is either geographically or temporally distant. it is difficult for people to sacrifice the immediate needs of the group for the needs of outsiders because those needs are perceived as less important that the needs of the immediate community. empathy, sympathy, guilt, and trust are the emotional pillars of communal sharing relationships. the communal sharing model helps explain the moral dimensions of the emotions associated with intimacy; therefore, this model’s scope is largely limited to individuals and their immediate communities. the communal sharing understanding of morality is often the first to emerge in a given society. once a community exceeds the boundaries governable by communal sharing, the authority-ranking model of morality emerges to govern our relationships with individuals outside of our circle of empathy. the second of fiske’s models, authority-ranking, is less intimate in its scope. relationships based on authority-ranking understand morality as respect for a linear hierarchy. it is considered immoral to violate authority paradigms, whether they are based on age, gender, physical appearance, wealth or any other signifier of importance.10 the moral weight of hierarchy might stem from a primordial need for protection. group dynamics played a fundamental role in human evolution. as previously mentioned, the survival of the individual is contingent upon the survival of the group. global action day in copenhagen (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 32 elements : : spring 2016 it may have been in an individual’s best interest to respect a hierarchy of physical dominance to ensure the group’s survival, and as such the survival of the individual. an unwise challenge to the hierarchy could mean expulsion. authority-ranking became especially important, as societies grew to a scale no longer governable by communal sharing. monarchies, theocracies, and dictatorships maintained political control through a hierarchical understanding of morality— it is immoral for an individual to question one’s superiors. though the importance of authority-ranking has waned, these relationships emerge in the feeling of respect. an individual may know that theft is wrong, but when the victim is elderly, the crime feels especially heinous. we are taught to respect the elderly, and any violation of that respect feels inherently immoral. aspects of climate change inaction find their roots in similar behavioral fossils. while corporate and political interests are massive hurdles, respect for the authority of these forces is not the cause of inaction. the scale and scope of the climate crisis is such that it requires political action. it is impossible for individuals, families, and communities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions without the government playing a role. individuals will only use public transportation if there is a practical and efficient option in their area, and even then, it is still the government’s responsibility to regulate the fleet’s emissions. it would be naive to think that businesses small and large would risk their economic viability to reduce their emissions unprompted. the government has an essential role to play; yet, for the most part, it has been absent. some politicians and government officials explicitly deny the overwhelming evidence linking it to man-made greenhouse gas emissions. others believe the science, but continue to give other issues precedence. according to philosopher hans jonas, the government cannot meet the needs of this “new imperative” because the scope of politics is limited to the present.11 in contrast, the scientific community understands the urgency of this issue and vehemently encourages reform, but finds itself powerless without the support of the government. understanding and discovery are the primary objectives of scientific research; it is not the place of scientists to make their findings palatable to the general public. scientific findings must be mediated through social disciplines in order to fully understand their implications for society at large. scientific concepts are difficult for the general public to understand, meaning that it is also difficult to glean emotion from data sets.12 the issue is a lack of authority, and a failure on the part of interested parties—namely, scientists—to fill the gap. this authority vacuum may be the result of a vestigial sense of respect for political authority. politicians have the power to act; therefore, it is their responsibility to do so. because politicians are the authority regarding law and social cohesion, they yield greater social authority; consequently, their apparent inaction on climate change reverberates across society. the third of fiske’s models, equality-matching, is based primarily on the rationalization of feelings associated with fairness. equality-matching relationships express morality through reciprocity. it may have evolved as a form of strengthening group commitment through reciprocity. the code of hamurabi—one of the earliest documented codes of law—was based entirely on a reciprocal understanding of moral behavior. in our own interpersonal relationships, equality-matching is often expressed through language of fairness: the fairest way to decide between two individuals is to flip a coin, or allow everyone to take turn, but it is unfair, and thus immoral, to allow all but one person to take a turn. equality-matching also establishes the core of various religious moral dogmas in the form of “the golden rule”; one should treat others as one would like to be treated.13 while communal sharing helps explain empathy within prescribed groups, equality-matching helps explain why people feel empathy or sympathy towards others outside of their immediate communities. questions of resource management and environmental justice are primarily framed through the reciprocal understanding of morality. it is perceived as unfair for the cost of a product to exclude its environmental impact. equalitymatching in environmentalism is especially apparent in the realm of sustainability. it is unfair, thus immoral, to sacrifice the environmental stability of the future for the comfort of the present. conservatives, while not necessarily against sustainability, tend to oppose regulation. political psychologists propose that conservatives might register environmental degradation as inherently unfair to future generations, but place equal importance upon moral beliefs such as sanctity and respect for authority.14 conservatives might perceive regulation as a threat to the freedoms espoused by traditional liberalism, the purity of which is more important than protecting the environment from harm. increased regulation might also prevent the nation from achieving its full economic potential, which would reduce the nation’s wealth, and potentially threaten american exceptionalism. in an op-ed in the new york times, professor robb willer proposes that conservatives could be persuaded to prioritize environmental issues if the issues were framed in terms of communal sharing or au33 a climate of inaction thority-ranking.15 while this rhetorical reframing could potentially add legions of environmentalists, as previously shown, communal sharing and authority-ranking are also rife with biases that limit reform. equality-matching demonstrates the manner in which suspicions of unfair behavior may hinder cooperation between potential allies. a study of fairness in capuchin monkeys reveals the extent to which perceptions of unfairness could sabotage negotiations. in the experiment, two groups of monkeys were given tokens to purchase food. some monkeys would insert a token and receive sweet and delicious grapes, while others would receive presumably less desirable cucumbers. once the ‘cucumber’ group became aware that they were getting a worse deal than the ‘grape’ group, the monkeys refused to cash their tokens and flung them at the researchers out of spite.16 the rational choice would have been to begrudgingly enjoy the cucumbers, because being fed beats hunger. instead, the monkeys chose to go hungry, rather than acquiesce to this unfair deal. sometimes it feels better to suffer than to endure the indignity of injustice. the capuchin experiment serves as a microcosm for some of the conflicts that plague earth systems governance. global cooperation is a herculean task because nations are paralyzed by the fear of agreeing to an unfair deal. any sort of climate change reform involves sacrifice, but no one nation wants to feel that it is sacrificing more than another. like the capuchins, a state would rather sabotage negotiations by refusing to cooperate than agree to an unfair deal. the baggage of colonialism reflects the difficulty of earth systems governance. the former imperial nations have greatly benefited from the development spurred by environmentally inefficient industrialization. if emission regulations were applied uniformly, the former colonial nations would bear an unjust burden. regulations would mean that the less “developed” nations of “the global south” would have to sacrifice their own development to cover the environmental costs of the “global north’s” rapacious development. any sort of deal would need to take this climate of economic inequality into consideration.17 earth systems governance cannot be perceived as a new form of imperialism. the challenge lies in crafting regulations that suit each nation’s particular need and stage of economic development. even so, this would not solve the problem for fairness because the appropriation of resources is rife with distributional conflicts. no one wants to receive the short end of the stick in an unfair deal. the final model of morality responds to these discrepancies in valuation. fiske’s fourth model of morality, marketpricing, is contingent upon civil society. this model depends on applied knowledge of literacy and numeracy.18 market-pricing involves the uniform application of values. this is most apparent in the development of systems of currency. both a ten-dollar bill and hundred-dollar bill cost the same amount of money to produce, but the hundreddollar is imbued with greater value by the us treasury. it would be immoral, and extremely confusing, for someone to adjust the value of a certain bill based on circumstances. cognitive scientist steven pinker believes that marketpricing is tied to german sociologist max weber’s rationallegal mode of social legitimation, which describes a system of norms based on reason and implemented by laws. like fiske’s market-pricing, weber’s rational-legal mode places value upon social interactions. both market-pricing and rational-legal refer to the same type of morality, because they both use reason to designate value. these models are especially pertinent in the rule of law. communal sharing relationships are not concerned with law, because resources are freely shared without the expectation of anything in return. law dictated by authority-ranking would designate an illegal act as one that subverts the hierarchy. codes of law based on equality-matching would define justice as “an eye for an eye.” rational-legal systems place values upon certain behaviors, and execute justice accordingly. punishment based on equality-matching would parallel the crime, while punishment based on market-pricing is based on the legal system’s valuation of the crime. the basis for the market-pricing understanding of morality manifests itself in the rational organization of civil society; market-pricing is morality couched in reason. laws and obligations characterize the market-pricing model. such values are socially constructed; they must be learned and taught. market-pricing provides the basis for any rational organization, corporation, or system of law. population “global cooperation is a herculean task because nations are paralyzed by the fear of agreeing to an unfair deal.” 34 elements : : spring 2016 control would also fall into this category, because it involves the valuation of individual lives in relation to the earth’s ability to sustain those lives. furthermore, the mere concept of earth systems governance is contingent upon this understanding or morality. rational proposals for emission regulation, whether cap-and-trade, taxation, carbon offset or pricing reform, involve some sort of valuation—or revaluation—of carbon emissions. the philosophical underpinnings of earth systems governance are based on utilitarian morality. utilitarian morality falls under the framework of market-pricing because the value of morality is determined by the ability to do the greatest good for the greatest number.19 successful earth systems governance is measured through this utilitarian metric. the problem becomes defining “the good” and determining the particular definition of “the most good.” the participation of 195 countries in the paris agreement reflects the consensus that reducing greenhouse gas emissions would do the most good for the most people—present and future. it is no longer a question of whether governments, institutions, and individuals should respond to the global climate crisis, but a question of how these players will respond. the definition of a “good” response would require rational analysis, but even the most diligent of analysts are not immune to bias. the trolley dilemma shows how certain evolutionary predispositions impact the application of utilitarian morality.20 a runaway trolley, full of passengers, can only be stopped by pulling a lever. this lever would activate another trolley on a perpendicular track, halting the first trolley. a single passenger sits in the second trolley. by pulling the lever, the passenger in the second would die upon impact; consequently, the group of passengers on the first trolley would survive. most people involved in the scenario would survive, ensuring the greatest good for the greatest number. when faced with this dilemma, most people would choose to pull the lever—making the rational choice. in the second part of the dilemma, there is no longer a lever or a second trolley. instead, there is an especially large person standing next to the track. pushing this person into the tracks would stop the packed runaway trolley-making it the rational choice. yet most participants faced with second scenario would be unable to make this choice. cognitively, participants knew that the best outcome would stem from pushing the large person in front of the trolley, but they could not bring themselves to hypothetically kill an innocent person. the thought of hypothetically pushing someone in front of a trolley is felt with far greater emotional immediacy than merely pulling a lever.21 pulling the lever feels like the more rational choice, but pushing someone into a trolley’s path feels like an immoral choice. the trolley dilemma shows that while the theoretical idea of utilitarian morality is based on reason, the particulars of implementation are complicated by unavoidable emotion. the same applies to rational solutions for the global climate crisis. rational solutions work well in the abstract, but the implementation of rational solutions requires individual choices. the trolley dilemma shows that individuals are more likely to understand morality in terms of their personal choices, as opposed to the net outcomes of those choices. while conventional wisdom argues that emotional decision-making is inherently irrational, rational choices are inextricably linked to emotion.22 probabilistic considerations are filtered through the mind, which charges raw external information with emotional meaning. processes that appear rational and calculated are actually based upon unsettlingly unquantifiable factors. marketpriced systems of valuation only “make sense” because our emotions define them as such. perhaps market-pricing is not necessarily more rational, but merely rationalized in a more sophisticated way. fiske’s frameworks constitute environmentalism’s moral bedrock, but they do so without the emotional immediacy of interpersonal relationships. communal sharing explains our love of natural spaces, but it is hard to imagine anyone dying for a national park. authority-ranking might german comic depicting a politician denying cliamte cahnge, saying, “climate change? it doesn’t exist” (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 35 a climate of inaction spur some to take responsibility for the environment, but preexisting hierarchies dissuade many more from taking action. equality-matching explains doctrines of environmental justice, but individuals are unlikely to be motivated unless they are personally victimized by said injustice. doctrines of environmental regulation are contingent upon market-pricing, but they fail to address the emotional complexities that define rational choices. the relational models evolved over time to allow for the creation of moral relationships outside of an individual’s immediate circle; yet, the trolley dilemma shows that the emotionally immediate trumps the abstract. decisions are contingent upon emotion, and that which is immediately present dictates an individual’s emotional purview. the failure to limit climate change elucidates the limitations of a relational understanding of morality. while its impact will be felt across the political, economic, and social landscapes, climate change is also a moral issue. fiske’s models shows that morality is determined through emotions elicited by interpersonal relationships, and the intensity of our moral feelings are determined by the immediacy of the relationship. climate change is an issue that violates a relational understanding of morality. our limited moral scope has not caught up to the reach of our actions.23 in the past, judgment was a matter of immediate causality. it is difficult to judge the behaviors associated with climate change as immoral because the impact of our actions are not felt with the same emotional immediacy as the relationships outlined in fiske’s models. the issue is that these models depict moral norms; environmentally detrimental behaviors do not necessarily violate moral norms. there is no perception of immorality. the solution to climate inaction rests in overcoming the relational understanding of morality that characterizes human relationships. relational morality no longer applies to the new anthropocentric paradigm. without a broader understanding of morality on the part of the individual, attempts at reform at the institutional level are doomed to fail. rethinking morality is a herculean task, but not entirely unprecedented. every successive relational model arose as a matter of need. communal sharing is a product of humanity’s inherent sociability, while subsequent models are the product of its adaptability. authority-ranking and equality-matching emerged in response to the growing needs of developing societies. in europe, market-pricing began its current dominance during the age of reason. when societies enter periods of relative stability and survival is all but assured, definitions of “the good life” become more complicated. human definitions of morality, or valuation of one relational model over the other, are constantly in flux. morality can be adapted and adopted to ones given circumstance, and thankfully, humans can be quite adaptable. endnotes 1. davenport, “nations approve landmark climate accord in paris,” december 12, 2015. 2. “the montreal protocol on the substances that deplete the ozone layer,” 2015. 3. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 2011, 625. 4. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 627. 5. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 628. 6. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 627. 7. “an act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the yellowstone river as a public park (currently: yellow stone national park),” 17 § 32, 1872. 8. pinker,the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 581. 9. bazerman and hoffman, sources of environmentally destructive behavior: individual, organizational, and institutional perspectives, 1999, 49. 10. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 627. 11. jonas, “technology and responsibility: reflections on the new tasks of ethic,” 1973, 51. 12. biermann, “johannesburg plus 20: from intergovernmental environmental policy to earth system governance,” 2002, 73. 13. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 635. 14. willer, “is the environment a moral cause?” february 28, 2015. 15. willer, “is the environment a moral cause?” february 28, 2015. 16. mercer, “emotional beliefs,” 2010, 11. 17. biermann, “johannesburg plus 20: from intergovernmental environmental policy to earth system governance,” 2002. 18. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 628. 19. pinker, the better angels of our nature why violence has declined, 637. 20. thomson, “killing, letting die, and the trolley problem,” 1976. 21. thomson, “killing, letting die, and the trolley problem,” 1976, 208. 22. mercer, “emotional beliefs,” 2010, 2. 23. jonas, “technology and responsibility: reflections on the new tasks of ethic,” 1973, 49. 36 elements : : spring 2016 references “an act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the head-waters of the yellowstone river as a public park (currently: yellow stone national park).”, 17 § 32 (1872). bazerman, max h., and andrew j. hoffman. sources of environmentally destructive behavior: individual, organizational, and institutional perspectives. boston: division of research, harvard business school, 1999. biermann, frank. 2002. “johannesburg plus 20: from intergovernmental environmental policy to earth system governance”. politics and the life sciences 21 (2). association for politics and the life sciences: 72–78. http://www.jstor. org/stable/4236677. davenport, coral. “nations approve landmark climate accord in paris.” the new york times. december 12, 2015. accessed january 21, 2016. http://www.nytimes. com/2015/12/13/world/europe/climate-change-accordparis.html. gladwell, malcolm. the tipping point: how little things can make a big difference. boston: little, brown, 2000. ipcc, 2014: climate change 2014: synthesis report. contribution of working groups i, ii and iii to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change [core writing team, r.k. pachauri and l.a. meyer (eds.)]. ipcc, geneva, switzerland, 151 pp. jacquet, jennifer. is shame necessary?: new uses for an old tool. jonas, hans. 1973. “technology and responsibility: reflections on the new tasks of ethic”. social research 40 (1). the new school: 31–54. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/40970125. mcdermott, rose. political psychology in international relations. ann arbor: university of michigan press, 2004. mercer, jonathan. “emotional beliefs.” international organization int org 64, no. 01 (2010): 1. “the montreal protocol on the substances that deplete the ozone layer.” ozone.unep.org. 2015. accessed january 21, 2016. http://ozone.unep.org/en/treaties-and-decisions/ montreal-protocol-substances-deplete-ozone-layer. pinker, steven. the better angels of our nature why violence has declined. new york: penguin books usa, 2012. pinker, steven. “the moral instinct.” the new york times. 2008. accessed january 09, 2015. http://www.nytimes. com/2008/01/13/magazine/13psychology-t.html. socolow, robert h., and mary r. english. “living ethically in a greenhouse.” the ethics of global climate change: 170-91. thomson, judith jarvis. “killing, letting die, and the trolley problem.” monist 59, no. 2 (1976): 204-17. willer, robb. “is the environment a moral cause?” the new york times. february 28, 2015. accessed march 01, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/opinion/ sunday/is-the-environment-a-moral-cause.html. pinker, steven. the better angels of our nature why violence has declined. new york: penguin books, 2011. pinker, steven. “the moral instinct.” the new york times, 2008. accessed january 09, 2015. http://www.nytimes. com/2008/01/13/magazine/13psychology-t.html. socolow, robert h., and mary r. english. “living ethically in a greenhouse.” the ethics of global climate change: 170-91. thomson, judith jarvis. “killing, letting die, and the trolley problem.” monist 59(2) (1976): 204-17. willer, robb. “is the environment a moral cause?” the new york times, february 28, 2015. accessed march 01, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/opinion/sunday/is-the-environment-a-moral-cause.html. 37 a climate of inaction on september 7, 1968, the miss america pageant took place in atlantic city, new jersey, where it faced two distinct co-occurring protests. one was a second-wave feminist demonstration that criticized the pageant for its sexism and promotion of oppressive beauty standards. the other was miss black america, an all-black rival pageant whose organizers condemned the inherent racism of the miss america institution and pushed the larger pageant to integrate. although the miss america pageant was their common target, the two protests—women’s liberationist and black nationalist—occurred separately and had different goals. under these circumstances, newspaper coverage presented the women participating in the protest as antagonistic to each other’s causes. in light of further research, however, this perception proves false. considering information omitted from coverage of the protests and armed with an understanding of the era’s journalistic conventions, it appears the female protestors in both demonstrations indeed supported each other’s goals, which in turn suggests that radical feminism and black nationalism of the late 1960s were mutually supportive movements. a pageant politicized the rise of intersectional activism in 1968 haley cormier “women’s liberation.” “the women’s movement.” “second-wave,” “radical” feminism. by any of these names, it was clear that a particular something came into being—or, more accurately, announced its being to the nation—on the boardwalk of atlantic city, new jersey on september 7, 1968. this date marked the annual occurrence of the nationally-televised miss america pageant, which took place, in accordance with tradition, at atlantic city’s convention hall. little else, however, was traditional about the pageant’s circumstances that year: directly outside the venue, approximately one hundred women’s liberationists staged a groundbreaking, provocative protest of the miss america pageant, primarily condemning its sexist objectification of women and its perpetuation of anti-feminist ideals. the daylong demonstration was the foundational act of the women’s liberation movement, and the protestors involved were among the first to politicize and publicly challenge the beloved miss america institution. the very concept of the protest was particularly audacious considering how benign the pageant seemed to most americans—it was, after all, the only program that richard nixon allowed his daughters to stay up late to watch. because the american public generally saw the pageant as harmless allamerican entertainment, the protestors’ intense criticism presented a rather shocking departure from the norm. it was this shock factor—combined with the purposely theatrical nature of the protest—that attracted the attention of the mass media, whose print coverage launched the women’s liberation movement into the public consciousness and affirmed its place amongst the various other movements of the late 1960s. members of the new york radical women (nyrw), a second-wave feminist group established in 1967, arranged the seminal women’s liberation protest. one of the key organizers was robin morgan, a cofounder of the nyrw and author of the informational pamphlet “no more miss america!” the brazenly-worded pamphlet contained an outline of the protestors’ objections to the miss america pageant, as well as an invitation for women “of every political persuasion” to join in a variety of “boardwalktheater” activities in protest of the oppressive and unrepresentative image of miss america, the nation’s supposed “ideal.” morgan, who helped to distribute copies of the pamphlet to spectators on the boardwalk on the day of the event, presented the specific grievances of the women’s liberationists in the form of a ten-point list. targets for protest included: “the degrading mindlessboob-girlie symbol” (the evaluation of contestants based on their physical characteristics, which ultimately reduced women to farm animals), “the unbeatable madonnawhore combination” (the paradoxical necessity for women to be both sexy and innocent in order to win social approval), and “the irrelevant crown of the throne of mediocrity” (that only “unoffensive, bland ... [and] apolitical” contestants could win the contest because they behaved how society believed women were “supposed to”). the protestors—who would only speak to female reporters—also wielded signs reading “miss america is a big falsie” and “up against the wall, miss america,” crowned a live sheep winner of the pageant and paraded it around the boardwalk, and chained themselves to a miss america dummy to portray what morgan called women’s enslavement to “ludicrous ‘beauty’ standards.” although all of these activities were intentionally dramatic, the event that by far generated the most publicity was the assembly of a “freedom trash can” into which bras, girdles, lipstick, false eyelashes, high-heeled shoes, copies of playboy and other symbols of oppressive beauty standards were thrown. the protestors intended to draw a comparison to the burning of draft cards by setting the items on fire—just as draft cards represented a restriction of freedom, the various items in the freedom trash can represented a restrictive standard of femininity. local ordinances ultimately prevented this symbolic burning, but the media, having caught wind of the rumors, leapt at the opportunity for a scandalous story. most reports on the protest thus falsely claimed that “several of the women publicly burned their brassieres,” thereby creating the atlantic city at night (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 44 elements : : spring 2017 enduring stereotype of radical feminists as “misled” and unreasonably bitter bra-burners. the final event of the day occurred inside convention hall during the outgoing miss america’s nationally-televised farewell speech, when several protestors began shouting as they unrolled a large banner reading “women’s liberation.” although police quickly arrested two of the women and forcibly removed the rest, the day’s final act of protest helped to facilitate the overnight transformation of the fledgling radical feminist movement from essentially unknown to widely recognized. as evidenced by its exclusion from most 1960s historical literature i have come across and the limited amount of scholarship i was able to find on the subject, few people today are aware that merely a few blocks from the women’s liberation demonstration, a second protest of the miss america pageant occurred on the evening of september 7, 1968. this protest was the miss black america pageant, an all-black answer to the blatantly racist miss america pageant, which had yet to produce a black finalist since its founding in 1921 (and had even introduced an official rule in the 1930s stating that “contestants must be of good health and of the white race.”) due to the rapid organization of miss black america, the architects of the protest recruited only a dozen participants to compete in the talent, swimsuit, and evening-gown events held at the ritz carlton hotel. the number of contestants was in any case secondary to the pageant’s goals, which were to force the miss america pageant to integrate (ironically through separatist tactics) and praise black beauty and culture in their own right, instead of insisting upon their equality with anglo-centric ideals. to emphasize this second point, the organizers of the event selected contestants with various skin tones and hair textures in order to demonstrate the diverse beauty of black american women. nineteen-year-old philadelphian saundra williams, who, according to the new york times coverage, “[wore] her hair natural” and performed an african dance for the talent section of the competition, was crowned the contest’s winner. like the women’s liberationists further down the boardwalk, the organizers of miss black america understood that press coverage would transmit their message to a wider audience, and thus had intentionally concocted a “newsworthy” event. the intriguing combination of pageant and protest proved more than enough to attract the media, and in consequence what americans read in the morning paper was almost unbelievable: the seemingly invulnerable, nationallycherished miss america pageant had been challenged by not one, but two distinct protests. before moving on, it is important to determine the greater social and political movements behind these concurrent 1968 demonstrations. while women’s liberation was clearly the larger movement behind the radical feminist protest, less clarity surrounded the coordination of miss black america. according to press coverage from 1968, as well as several contemporary sources drawing from that coverage, the national association for the advancement of colored people (naacp) was responsible for the organization of the protest. such reports suggested to readers that miss black america belonged under the umbrella of the civil rights movement. on the contrary, recent scholarship by historian and feminist scholar georgia paige welch has demonstrated that this was not the case. welch consulted naacp records in the library of congress, and discovered correspondence between local naacp members and the executive director of the naacp regarding the miss america pageant. the records revealed that top naacp officials considered the pageant to be a trivial and local issue, and therefore did not help to organize or even sanction the miss black america protest. it was instead devised by phillip savage and j. morris anderson, who were affiliated with the naacp but based in philadelphia, a hotbed of black nationalism as opposed to liberal activism. welch determined that it was not the famous civil rights group but the radically-inclined independent activists who were the driving force behind “[t]he movement behind miss black america was black nationalism, which was more radical in nature than the civil rights movement and often utilized separatist strategies.” 45 a pageant politicized miss black america. furthermore, the participants in the rival pageant were exclusively black and competed in a pointedly separate contest in opposition to the miss america pageant. in combination with welch’s research, these organizational details indicate that the movement behind miss black america was black nationalism, which was more radical in nature than the civil rights movement and often utilized separatist strategies. the women’s liberation protest and miss black america thus individually garnered attention for their critiques of the official miss america pageant, but did the women involved in these contemporaneous protests (and, by extension, other followers of their respective movements) support each other’s goals? or does the very fact that the two 1968 demonstrations, despite their simultaneous occurrence, shared location, and common target, occurred separately with no shared participants indicate a lack of mutual support, as was typical amongst so many of the decade’s factionalized, polarized, and fragmented social movements? although most print coverage from the time of the protests seems to suggest blatant antagonism between the two groups of participants, it becomes clear upon closer analysis that omission and journalistic framing conventions are responsible for this erroneous conclusion. considering these factors, the women’s liberation and miss black america protests—along with their respective parent movements, women’s liberation and black nationalism—emerge as far more intersectional than press coverage indicated in 1968. when reading various newspapers’ coverage of the miss black america and women’s liberation protests, it immediately seems evident that each group of participants was unsympathetic or, at best, ambivalent toward the other’s cause. for example, new york times reporter judy klemesrud wrote that miss black america winner saundra williams “looked bored” when questioned about the women’s liberation protestors, and included a dismissive quote: “they’re expressing freedom, i guess. to each his own.” charlotte curtis, also from the new york times, quoted women’s liberation organizer robin morgan as denouncing “all beauty contests” including the black nationalist demonstration while hastily countering any racist overtones: “we deplore miss black america as much as miss white america but we understand the black issue involved.” curtis also noted that “at least of the few [women’s liberationist] pickets were negroes” who were “aware of the miss black america contest, but . . . were not sure what they ought to do about it.” she went on to quote “negro bronx housewife” bonnie allen, who came across as confused and conflicted, “i’m for beauty contests. but then again maybe i’m against them. i think black people have a right to protest.” the women quoted in these articles appear to have either disassociated themselves from, failed to comprehend, or directly condemned whichever protest they were not involved with, which seems to confirm a lack of support between participants in the two demonstrations—and, by extension, between the women’s liberation and black nationalist movements. print media framing, however, can account for what initially appears to be conspicuous evidence against mutual support, as well as for other features that appear in the coverage of these two protests that seem to render their intersectionality impossible. as welch has cautioned, “we must take the quotes from morgan, williams, and allen—as compelling as they are—not as selfevident utterances that reveal the meaning of the protests and their relationship to each other, but as props” used to support late-1960s journalistic conventions. perhaps the most standard of these reporting practices was to seek out and focus on conflict, which journalists easily achieved by framing two events in oppositional or antagonistic terms. the majority of articles covering the miss black america and the women’s liberation protests adhered to this strategy in various ways. one was the manipulation of layout, which allowed for certain events to be distinguished as separate or conflicting even before readers consumed the content of the articles. the new york times, for example, ran a separate piece on each protest and a third on the miss america pageant itself; as a result, activist robin morgan being arrested at one of her protests (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 46 elements : : spring 2017 each group of protestors was forced to comment on the other (and on the official pageant) from physically separate stories dedicated to distinct reasons for protest. life magazine took a similar approach by including a separate photograph and caption for each of the three events, thereby reporting the proceedings of september 7, 1968 through what welch has called “the paradigm of a three-way competition.” coverage in the washington post followed suit, printed beneath a photograph of saundra williams was an article on miss black america, which appeared directly alongside a story on the official miss america pageant and a portrait of judith anne ford, the blonde and smiling winner. a considerably shorter third article on the women’s liberation protest occupied the space beneath these two pieces, thereby creating a triangulation of three seemingly-independent events. as evidenced by these examples, various publications used layout to frame the miss black america and women’s liberation protests as ideologically unrelated and thus oppositional by summarizing them in separate articles that in some cases physically opposed each other on the page. another late-1960s journalistic convention was the framing of race in opposition to sex. according to bonnie j. dow, professor of communication studies at vanderbilt, the press used “claims of racism”, which were well-established by the end of the decade due to years of activism, to “discredit claims of sexism,” which represented a newlypoliticized (and thus narrowly recognized) set of complaints. in short, radical feminists “were fighting for precisely the kind of recognition of their grievances that civil rights [and black nationalist] activists had already achieved.” both print media outlets and society at large thus failed to “[understand the] interrelationships” between race and sex, viewing them instead as separate issues of unequal gravity. art buchwald expressed this attitude in his column of the washington post, declaring that “[i]f the women in atlantic city wanted to picket the miss america beauty pageant because it is lily-white, that is one thing . . . [b]ut when they start asking young american women to burn their brassieres ... dissent in this country has gone too far.” although his column was satirical, buchwald ridiculed the belief that race was a more important issue than sex, thereby demonstrating the prevalence of that very conviction in american society. therefore, because the miss black america and women’s liberation protests focused primarily on issues of race and sex respectively, the press—drawing from both popular opinion and standard journalistic practices—framed them as incompatible at best and contradictory at worst. the oppositional framing and distinct treatment of race and sex additionally contributed to print media’s “whitewashing” of the women’s liberation protest—as well as the overall movement—despite the participation of black female protestors. because issues of race and sex could not coherently intersect according to journalistic convention, reporters covering the two protests attempted to maintain a racial divide between the women’s liberationists and miss black america participants. to do so, they characterized the radical feminist protestors as all-white and unconcerned with racial issues, and any black women who joined them as misguided pseudo-feminists. in other words, journalists emphasized a link between whiteness and feminism by undermining both the anti-racism of white feminists and the feminism of black feminists. one publication whose coverage of the protests exhibited such race-sex framing was the new york times. in her article on the miss black america pageant, klemesrud described the women’s liberation protestors using the racial modifier “mostly white.” in her report for the same publication, curtis separated race and sex by questioning allen, a black participant in the women’s liberation demonstration, only on issues of race. additionally, curtis wrote that besides their feminist objections to the miss america pageant, the women’s liberationists “denounced the beauty contest’s ‘racism.’” by pointedly enclosing the word “racism” in quotation marks, curtis undermined the feminist demonstrators’ earnest anti-racist position, and thus further polarized the issues of race and sex. furthermore, by focusing primarily on morgan as a leader of the women’s liberation demonstration and quoting her the most extensively, curtis assigned a white woman’s face and voice to the fledgling radical feminist movement. other publications did the same. louise cook of the boston globe described and quoted only morgan when providing details about the imminent feminist protest in an article published the day before the demonstration, and pauline tai of the wall street journal explicitly called morgan the “organizer of the protest.” print media outlets therefore utilized various race-sex framing strategies when covering the protests to perpetuate the view that feminism was synonymous with (and therefore only relevant to) white women—and consequently, as dow puts it, “almost entirely insensitive to racial issues.” by differentiating and separating issues of race and sex despite their frequent intersectionality, the press misleadingly implied that the women’s liberation and miss black america protestors did not support each other’s goals. 47 a pageant politicized the necessity to present conflict whether between the two protests or between issues of race and sex meant that journalists overlooked the intersectional politics existing between the miss black america and women’s liberation protests. instead, journalists presented an inaccurate and grossly oversimplified picture of mutual antagonism. consequently, the quotes from allen, williams, and morgan that seem to support this view cannot be accepted at face value. they must instead be evaluated against the backdrop of oppositional framing, a convention of late-1960s journalism that rendered the support for both anti-racist and feminist causes incomprehensible and divided the two issues along racial lines. framing in these aforementioned forms can thus account for the portrayal of allen as politically confused, as well as williams’s apparent ambivalence toward the women’s liberation demonstrators, and morgan’s seeming disregard for racial causes. moreover, additional research reveals that none of the media-constructed characterizations of these three women were accurate. allen’s role in the women’s liberation protest involved chaining herself to a miss america puppet, thereby representing her own double “enslavement” to sexually and racially imposed beauty standards. her politics were not confused, but instead were interconnected. williams certainly did not support the anti-feminist beauty ideals that miss america perpetuated, and stood against them in a way that was specifically relevant to her race. finally, morgan, who was both a leading radical feminist and a veteran of civil rights activism, specifically included “racism with roses” (the fact that no black contestant had ever won the miss america crown, nor a woman of puerto-rican, hawaiian, alaskan, or mexican-american descent) amongst her ten criticisms of the pageant. while all three of these women supported both anti-racist and feminist causes, journalists rendered their politics contradictory by adhering to the era’s standard reporting practices. print media framing thus worked to perpetuate a false account of the women’s liberation and miss black america protests (along with their respective movements, women’s liberation and black nationalism) as mutually exclusive—or even, as welch has argued, “inimical to each other’s aims.” framing was not, however, solely responsible for the apparent discord between the two protests of the miss america pageant and their corresponding parent movements. another equally important factor was omission. when covering the events of september 7, 1968, journalists from various publications selectively excluded certain information that would otherwise have disturbed their presentation of the two demonstrations as unrelated and oppositional. for example, journalists failed to recognize morgan’s history in civil rights activism despite selecting her as the face of the women’s liberation protest and instead included other biographical details, such as her irrelevant stint as a child actor and her interest in poetry. similarly, stories on the miss black america protest naturally included a discussion of williams’s racial advocacy, but did not mention that she also rejected the miss america pageant’s sexist values. the calculated erasure of florynce kennedy, however, was by far the most glaring of these omissions. florynce “flo” kennedy was a poster child for intersectional politics. she was a black radical activist committed to fighting race, sex, and class oppression. she participated in a range of movements including civil rights, consumer rights, black nationalism, and second-wave feminism during the 1960s. she was also a foundational member of the october 17th movement (later called “the feminists”), which broke off from the liberal feminist national organization for women (now) in 1968 to become one of the first radical feminist groups. kennedy believed that oppression in its various forms could best be attacked through coordinated activism, and often worked to build connections among different movements. she was a catalyst for intersectionality who brazenly invited white women’s liberationists to black power meetings, challenged now to adopt black nationalist views, and encouraged black radicals to embrace feminism. thanks to kennedy and her inclusive brand of activism, black power and black feminism had an early influence on the women’s liberation movement, and a generation of young activists involved in various other movements were exposed to feminist ideology. “the necessity to present conflict ... meant that journalists overlooked the intersectional politics existing between the miss black america and women’s liberation protests.” 48 elements : : spring 2017 kennedy was not only a feminist and racial activist but also a prolific lawyer, famous for representing black power leaders assata shakur and h. rap brown as well as the radical feminist valerie solanas, who attempted to assassinate pop artist andy warhol in 1968. notably, kennedy’s defense involved depicting solanas as a radical feminist who had armed herself against the injustices of sexism. in addition to her provocative activism and legal prowess, kennedy was known for hosting television and radio shows and writing newspaper columns—in short, as her biographer sherie m. randolph has claimed, “kennedy was the most well-known black feminist in the country” during the late 1960s. as dow has pointed out, kennedy’s heavy presence in politics and in the media should have made her “as recognizable [to journalists] as morgan was.” indeed, the new york times had reported on kennedy and her provocative protest strategies no less than three times in the few months before the 1968 miss america pageant demonstrations occurred. furthermore, kennedy was one of the primary organizers of the women’s liberation protest. she brainstormed protest tactics, contributed to drafts of morgan’s “no more miss america!” pamphlet, provided legal advice, and helped coordinate the busing of participants to atlantic city. her absence from all newspaper coverage of the protests is therefore shocking. despite kennedy’s social prominence and her critical role in organizing the women’s liberation demonstration, the closest that any publication came to mentioning her was a wall street journal article in which morgan explained that “lots of women lawyers” would be present at the feminist protest. as dow has explained, a basic element of journalistic protocol is to “seek out the most recognizable figures present to give focus to a story.” the press certainly recognized kennedy and was familiar with her newsworthy actions—why, then, was she erased? the only logical explanation is that her intersectional brand of politics conflicted with the era’s standard journalistic practices of framing racism against sexism and black activism against feminism. kennedy was an outspoken black feminist whose role in the women’s liberation protest was too important to be adequately downplayed as allen’s had been, and therefore news workers could not report on her involvement without allowing issues of race and sex to intersect. kennedy was also inarguably dedicated to both black nationalism and women’s liberation, and as a black woman she embodied the intersection between the two movements. journalists therefore could not have included her in their coverage of the miss black america and women’s liberation protests without acknowledging that the two demonstrations—and the ideologies behind them—were not antagonistic. kennedy was, in short, a problematic case: framing strategies were not enough to rationalize her interrelated politics, and so the press’s solution was to omit her crucial role altogether. as demonstrated, omission and various forms of framing permeated print media coverage of the miss black america and women’s liberation protests of september 7, 1968. these two factors combined to construct an erroneous account of mutual opposition between the two demonstrations and their respective parent movements, black nationalism and women’s liberation. importantly, and unfortunately, this misleading version of events may seem accurate to readers who have no knowledge of late-1960s journalistic conventions; without such information, the reports on these two influential protests cannot be truly understood. for instance, uninformed readers might easily assume based on press coverage that in 1968, race and sex were separate issues, radical feminism was solely relevant to white women while black women were only concerned with racial causes, and that black nationalism and women’s liberation (represented by the miss black america and women’s liberation protests) were mutually exclusive, competing movements. although these false conclusions inaccurately represent the relationship between women’s liberation and black nationalism in 1968, some of them have nonetheless persisted in modern historical scholarship. as randolph has noted, “most contemporary observers and scholars see the former ritz carlton in atlantic city, nj (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 49 a pageant politicized [black nationalism and radical feminism] as inherently oppositional movements;” additionally, most “scholarship ignores or undervalues the connections between black [nationalism] and feminist struggles.” likewise, historian wini breines has criticized “the accepted historical narrative of youthful second wave feminism” as a movement in which “black women were not welcome or were repelled by white women’s racism.” furthermore, kennedy’s omission from print coverage on the two protests has been reproduced in modern scholarship. as randolph has pointed out, kennedy’s “activism is marginalized or completely erased from most histories of ‘second-wave’ feminism,” which is just one example of the overall “exclusion of key black feminist organizers from most feminist scholarship on the movement.” the fact that historical scholarship has been influenced by misrepresentative print media accounts of the 1968 women’s liberation and miss black america protests— accounts that arose, as i have demonstrated, through omission and framing—underscores the importance of considering journalistic conventions when analyzing press coverage as a primary source. to put it simply, what was reported cannot be isolated from how it was reported, and certain journalistic practices may be specific to certain eras. taking this into account alongside other aforementioned details that suggest mutual support, a very different picture of the women’s liberation and miss black america protests emerges. according to my research, the participants in each protest were largely supportive of each other’s goals. by extension, the women’s liberation and black nationalism movements were not mutually antagonistic but mutually supportive, and their paths, as well as the politics of their respective followers, often intersected in the late 1960s. endnotes 1. “alice echols, “nothing distant about it: women’s liberation and sixties radicalism,” in the sixties: from memory to history, ed. david farber (chapel hill and london: the university of north carolina press, 1994), 149. 2. georgia page welch, “‘up against the wall miss america:’ women’s liberation and miss black america in atlantic city, 1968.” feminist formations 27, no. 2 (2015): 78. 3. echols, “nothing distant about it,” 149. 4. bonnie j. dow, watching women’s liberation, 1970: feminism’s pivotal year on the network news (urbana, chicago, and springfield: university of illinois press, 2014), 29. 5. ibid., 1. 6. robin morgan, “no more miss america!”, in “takin’ it to the streets”: a sixties reader, ed. alexander bloom and wini breines (new york: oxford universty press, 2011), 409-411. 7. ibid. 8. dow, watching women’s liberation, 1. 9. morgan, “no more miss america!”, 409-411. 10. ibid. 11. echols, “nothing distant about it,” 149. 12. ibid. 13. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 79. 14. morgan, “no more miss america!”, 410. 15. ibid., 409. 16. echols, “nothing distant about it,” 150. 17. ibid. 18. art buchwald, “uptight dissenters go too far in burning their brassieres,” the washington post, sep. 12, 1968. 19. welch, “’up against the wall,’” 79. 20. “women’s liberation group protests beauty pageant,” the washington post, sep. 9, 1968. 21. “timeline: miss america,” pbs, 2002, http://www.pbs.org/ wgbh/amex/missamerica/timeline/index.html. 22. judy klemesrud, “there’s now miss black america,” the new york times, sep. 9, 1968. 23. united press international, “negro girls vie for own beauty title,” the washington post, sep. 7, 1968. 24. klemesrud, “there’s now miss black america.” 25. “black beauty to be picked,” chicago daily defender, sep. 3, 1968. 26. dow, watching women’s liberation, 25. 27. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 75. 28. klemesrud, “there’s now miss black america.” 29. charlotte curtis, “miss america pageant picketed,”the new york times, sep. 8, 1968. 30. ibid. 31. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 88. 32. dow, watching women’s liberation, 36. 33. “the winner, a rival in black, and some ribroast ribbing,” life magazine, september 1968. 34. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 89. 35. dow, watching women’s liberation, 41. 36. ibid., 39. 37. buchwald, “uptight dissenters.” 38. dow, watching women’s liberation, 43. 39. klemesrud, “there’s now miss black america.” 40. curtis, “miss america pageant picketed.” 41. louise cook, “is ‘miss america’—phony?”, boston globe, sep. 6, 1968. 42. pauline tai, “miss america pageant chosen as the latest target of protestors: ‘women’s liberation groups’ set rally at ‘coronation’ tomorrow in new jersey,” wall street journal, sep. 6, 1968. 43. dow, watching women’s liberation, 39. 44. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 91. 45. morgan, “no more miss america!”, 410. 46. “the winner, a rival in black.” 47. curtis, “miss america pageant picketed”; cook, “is ‘miss america’—phony?”; tai, “miss america pageant chosen,” wall 50 elements : : spring 2017 street journal. 48. klemesrud, “there’s now miss black america.” 49. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 82. 50. ibid. 51. tai, “miss america pageant chosen.” 52. sherie m. randolph, “‘women’s liberation or… black liberation, you’re fighting the same enemies’: florynce kennedy, black power, and feminism,” in want to start a revolution?: radical women in the black freedom struggle, ed. dayo f. gore et al. (new york and london: new york university press, 2009), 240. 53. ibid., 223. 54. tai, “miss america pageant chosen.” 55. welch, “‘up against the wall,’” 90. 56. ibid., 81. 57. tai, “miss america pageant chosen.” 58. dow, watching women’s liberation, 35. 59. randolph, “women’s liberation,” 225-226. 60. winifred breines, the trouble between us: an uneasy history of white and black women in the feminist movement (new york: oxford university press, 2006), 8. 61. randolph, “women’s liberation,” 223. references “black beauty to be picked.” chicago daily defender, sep. 3, 1968. breines, winifred. the trouble between us: an uneasy history of white and black women in the feminist movement. new york: oxford university press, 2006. buchwald, art. “uptight dissenters go too far in burning their brassieres.” the washington post, sep. 12, 1968. cook, louise. “is ‘miss america’—phony?” boston globe, sep. 6, 1968. curtis, charlotte. “miss america pageant is picketed by 100 women.” the new york times, sep. 8, 1968. dow, bonnie j. watching women’s liberation, 1970: feminism’s pivotal year on the network news. urbana, chicago, and springfield: university of illinois press, 2014. echols, alice. “nothing distant about it: women’s liberation and sixties radicalism.” in the sixties: from memory to history, edited by david farber, 149-168. chapel hill and london: the university of north carolina press, 1994. klemesrud, judy. “there’s now miss black america.” the new york times, sep. 9, 1968. morgan, robin. “no more miss america!” in “takin’ it to the streets”: a sixties reader, edited by alexander bloom and wini breines, 409-411. new york: oxford university press, 2011. randolph, sherie m. “‘women’s liberation or . . . black liberation, you’re fighting the same enemies’: florynce kennedy, black power, and feminism.” in want to start a revolution?: radical women in the black freedom struggle, edited by dayo f. gore, jeanne theoharis, and komozi woodard, 223-247. new york and london: new york university press, 2009. tai, pauline. “miss america pageant chosen as the latest target of protestors: ‘women’s liberation groups’ set rally at ‘coronation’ tomorrow in new jersey.” wall street journal, sep. 6, 1968. “the winner, a rival in black, and some ribroast ribbing.” life magazine, september 1968. pbs. “timeline: miss america.” 2002. http://www.pbs. org/wgbh/amex/missamerica/timeline/index.html. united press international. “negro girls vie for own beauty title.” the washington post, sep. 7, 1968. welch, georgia page. “‘up against the wall miss america:’ women’s liberation and miss black america in atlantic city, 1968.” feminist formations 27, no. 2 (2015): 70-97. “women’s liberation group protests beauty pageant.” the washington post, sep. 9, 1968. 51 a pageant politicized what does it mean to study a book? in the early modern period, printed books catalyzed the dissemination of information, ideas, and culture. this ink-strewn realm provided a space for the dissatisfied to make their voices heard and for rulers to quell the rumblings of rebellion. a book not only contains words, but also carries with it the stories of a host of individuals, including patrons, printers, and apprentices. librarians, archivists, and conservators work painstakingly with early and rare books to preserve these invaluable stories. this article begins with an examination of the 1686 copy of the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus, housed in the john j. burns library at boston college. through this book, the author brings us into the world of henry hills, the wily craftsman who remained official printer to the crown throughout the extraordinarily different reigns of charles ii, oliver cromwell, james ii, and queen anne. meeting henry hills printer to the king’s most excellent majesty violet caswell the 1686 copy of the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus housed in the john j. burns library at boston college seems, at first glance, unremarkable. as an english translation “by a person of quality” of dominique bouhours’ 1679 vie de saint ignace, fondateur de la compagnie de jésus, the book appears to be an ordinary seventeenth century work with few noteworthy features or anomalies worth studying. only the publisher’s imprint, which reads, “printed by henry hills, printer to the king’s most excellent majesty, for his houshold and chappel,” hints at the book’s larger historical significance.1 far from being an ordinary book, this copy of the life of st. ignatius is an enduring testament to the ways in which james ii, england’s last catholic monarch, attempted to use the printed word to bolster his legitimacy in the volatile years between the restoration and the glorious revolution. it also invites an examination of the life of henry hills, his official printer, whose opportunism and business acumen earned him a degree of notoriety experienced by few contemporary members of the book trade. the king’s printer was a significant player within the crowded and competitive printing industry in seventeenth century london. during their reigns, english monarchs customarily appointed multiple printers to work concurrently in the royal printing house. these master printers shared the position as equals, and each could refer to himself as the “king’s printer,” on all works produced.2 in the 1680s, henry hills, whose publisher’s imprint appeared on the title page of the life of st. ignatius, worked out of a printing house located “on the ditch-side in black-fryers,” with his partner thomas newcomb.3 these men were not the holders of an honorific title but were rather active employees of the king, enjoying exclusive rights to printing royal statutes, proclamations, and injunctions.4 both charles ii and james ii kept their printers busy, commissioning works with such titles as a proclamation for the apprehending of robbers or highway-men, and for a reward to the apprehenders and a proclamation, whereas upon information we have received against charles earl of macclesfeild, we have thought fit to direct our warrant for apprehending the said earl for high treason.5 the sheer volume of letters, parliamentary proceedings, speech transcripts, and other kinds of governmental documents that they required would have kept any printing house in business.6 outside the walls of the royal printing house, the king’s printers found themselves embedded within a large and diverse community of book tradesmen. in the 1680s, london was home to an estimated 55 printers whose shops tended to cluster together on certain streets and neighborhoods. the printing industry thrived in the central london neighborhood surrounding the king’s printing house in black-fryers, located a few blocks north of the river thames and northwest of the tower of london.7 although the king’s printing house dominated the industry as one of four printing houses that produced forty-four percent of all of the city’s printed material, its printers were by no means the only ones profiting from royal patronage. indeed, king’s printers constantly interacted with other book printers, binders, and sellers and often collaborated with their fellow tradesmen.8 henry hills, for instance, sometimes printed books for private booksellers and occasionally even entered into partnerships with them.9 moreover, upon completing a text block, he likely followed the conventional practice of “sharing operations” by sending pages to a separate bindery for completion.10 of course, in addition to being a collaborator, hills was a competitor, albeit one whose unique position all but ensured the survival of his business. the king’s printing house had, and still has, the sole authorization to print the king james bible and the book of common prayer, which have historically been two of england’s best-selling books. hills’ position as the official the 1686 copy of the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus (taken by the author) 70 elements : : fall 2016 printer to the king therefore entitled him to the printing industry’s most lucrative royal patents. the patent to the king james bible, or the authorized version of the bible, was the most sought-after in the industry. printers that were able to produce this 774,746-word book in various sizes without a single error would certainly attain industryleading reputations. the rights to the book of common prayer containing the authorized form of the church of england’s liturgy were also coveted, since the book was frequently used in public and private worship. the profits secured from the production of these two expensive, highdemand texts were among the most significant and reliable in the printing industry.11 the bible patent was, for henry hills, the raison d’être. he understood that the king’s printer was in a unique position to make the most money in the book trade, even if the reigning monarch was not a protestant. during his tenure as official printer to king charles ii, an anglican who converted to catholicism on his deathbed, hills printed several bibles for the church of england. surprisingly, he continued to print these bible editions, which do not contain the deutero-canonical books of sirach, tobit, wisdom, judith, maccabees, and baruch, throughout the reign of the catholic monarch james ii.12 the types of books that james ii commissioned during his reign are evidence of his struggle to balance his position as the traditional head of the church of england with his own catholic faith. even as the monarch continued to allow his official printer to print anglican bibles and books of common prayer, he began to patronize distinctly catholic books such as the life of st. ignatius. james ii used the printed word as a medium to demonstrate to his subjects that his faith was in continuity with his predecessor’s religious beliefs. in 1687, hills printed “by his majesties command” copies of two papers written by the late king charles ii, a book which claimed to contain evidence that charles ii was secretly a catholic long before his death in 1685. in an unusual attempt to influence public opinion, james ii presented two diary-like essays filled with catholic devotion, as he wrote, “this is a true copy of a paper i found in the late king my brother’s strong box, written in his own hand.”13 hills faithfully published this book, despite its questionable veracity, along with the medley of other catholic and protestant books that the king commissioned. ever the opportunist, he recognized that “printing to both sides” increased his pool of potential buyers and, consequently, his profits. that henry hills managed to get appointed king’s printer in the first place was a testament to his business expertise and his ability to conform his own religious and political beliefs to those endorsed by the monarch. like james ii, hills was a professed catholic in the year 1686, when he printed the life of st. ignatius. in addition to lives of the saints, he printed liturgical books, including prayer books and breviaries.14 during the late seventeenth century, when theological debates on controversial religious doctrines were waged in the realm of the printed word, henry hills’ name appeared time and again on the title pages of passionate defenses of catholic dogma.15 yet it is unlikely that hills’ desire to print these books originated from a sense of personal devotion. he had, after all, only converted to catholicism in january of 1686 in order to be appointed to the office of king’s printer.16 no one who knew henry hills in his early life could have predicted that the young printer would one day produce a work like the life of st. ignatius. hills, who was “known for his republican sentiment” during the 1650s, was a friend of the famous leveller leader john lilburne.17 not only was lilburne against any kind of monarchy, but he was also a staunch opponent of monopolies. in 1645, he spoke out against the issuing of an exclusive bible patent—a practice hills would engage with later—calling the practice “soulstarving” and “murdering.”18 he would have been disgusted by hills’ appointment to the office of king’s printer, which promoted elitism and strangled free enterprise. still, liliburne knew that hills was ambitious, and had watched his friend place profits above principles “the types of books that james ii commissioned during his reign are evidence of his struggle to balance his position as the traditional head of the church of england with his own catholic faith.” 71 meeting henry hills between 1653 and 1654, when, in partnership with william dugard, he served as official printer to oliver cromwell, lord protector of the commonwealth of england.19 in the early 1650s, hills initiated a business practice he would continue throughout his life. first, he would identify a prestigious patron: a prominent person or group with power and influence. then, he would adapt his religious and political principles to those of his target patron. one can trace the origins of this pattern to 1651, when the anabaptist congregation of england appointed hills as its official printer, but only after hills claimed to find the faith in the wake of an adultery scandal.20 shortly after this, hills left his position with the anabaptists in order to be appointed official printer to a puritan, oliver cromwell. he printed the same kinds of materials for the lord protector that he would later print for the restored monarchy:, including volumes such as a collection of all the proclamations, declarations, articles, and ordinances, passed by his highness the lord protector.21 after the restoration, hills scrambled to switch religious faiths yet again in order to obtain the position of official printer to the anglican charles ii. in doing so, he also noted his necessary previous expertise in bible printing, having successfully printed an edition of the king james bible with john field in 1656 when there was no monarch to issue a bible patent.22 finally, in 1686, he converted to catholicism in order to be appointed official printer to james ii, swallowing his hatred for “papists” in order to retain his prestigious position.23 the 1686 life of st. ignatius, then, is as much a symbol of hills’ opportunism as it is of the monarch’s religious faith. hills faced a great deal of derision for building his success upon his cunning practices in 1736, gentleman’s magazine published a satirical epigram recalling hills’ opportunistic “conversion” to catholicism during the reign of james ii. according to the story, in order to demonstrate the sincerity of his contrition, hills declared he would do penance by walking five miles with peas in his shoes. yet, the account mocks, the printer boiled the peas first to soften them: “the sly sinner / resolved to stand upon his dinner; / so boil’d his penitential pease to give both feet and conscience ease.”24 this story, almost certainly apocryphal, was published 23 years after hills’ death. it speaks to his legacy, and to the fact that londoners remembered him as an unscrupulous businessman who would have done or said anything to make money. it is also evidence of the printer’s notoriety, since the epigram identified him only as “hills,” assuming the reader’s knowledge of hills’ reputation. whether or not hills’ conversion was sincere, he paid dearly for it when william and mary landed in england and overthrew james ii. hills fled the country after an anticatholic mob attacked his printing house in black friars in december of 1688.25 his subsequent fate is difficult to trace due to conflicting accounts. according to a twentieth century dictionary of printers, “hills fled for his life to st. omer, where he died shortly afterwards, his will being proved on january 21st, 1689.”26 a victorian-era dictionary, though, places him in london two decades later, claiming that “henry hills and thomas newcomb were for a short time (from january 10, 1709) printers to queen anne.”27 newspaper accounts seem to support the latter version of events. one 1713 advertisement announced the imminent publication of a treaty that was “printed by john baskett, printer to the queen’s most excellent majesty, and by the assigns of thomas newcomb and henry hills, deceased.”28 newspaper articles still referred to books “newly printed” by hills even as late as 1710.29 additionally, advertisements detailing the sale of hills’ estate indicate that he returned home to black friars before his death.30 if this evidence is accurate, the printer from black friars managed to retain his position as king’s printer through the reigns of three english monarchs. it cannot truthfully be said that hills’ exceptional skills as a printer merited his lengthy tenure as king’s printer, and possibly queen’s printer. hills’ critics not only attacked his moral character, but also questioned his professional “the book is an enduring testament to the ways in which he managed to ‘reinvent himself’ with each wave of political and religious change and to conform his own views to those endorsed by the nation’s ruler.”72 elements : : fall 2016 work. c.h. timperley’s dictionary of printers described hills as “a great retailer of cheap printed sermons and poems, which he pirated, and printed upon bad paper.”31 examinations of some of hills’ surviving printed books support this description. the life of st. ignatius, for instance, is not particularly lavish. its font, while perfectly legible, is of a standard roman type. its text is not enlivened by colored ink or supplemented by engraved or woodcut images, as is befitting such a prominent book. vegetal drop caps at the beginning of each chapter serve as its only ornamentation.32 even the books that hills clearly printed for james ii’s personal use, such as the john j. burns library’s copy of short prayers for the use of all good catholics in the hearing of the holy mass, are not especially impressive. this book copy, which has the monarch’s seal in the center of its ornately gilded cover, contains several careless mistakes. on some pages, the text is crooked; on others, the catchwords at the foot of the page have been cut off.33 one would expect finer work in a book intended for a monarch, printed by the holder of london’s most prestigious printing office. the john j. burns library’s 1686 copy of the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus derives its importance not from its content or format but from its historical context. only when the book is considered for its significance as a catholic book printed by the king’s printer in a traditionally protestant country does it seem worth examining. henry hills, “printer to the king’s most excellent majesty,” lived through some of england’s most turbulent decades. the book is an enduring testament to the ways in which he managed to “reinvent himself” with each wave of political and religious change and to conform his own views to those endorsed by the nation’s ruler. was he an anabaptist or a leveller? a revolutionary or a loyalist? a catholic or a protestant? perhaps the only thing that we can know for certain is that hills was a businessman who was willing to abandon his own convictions and endure the scorn of society in order to secure the most lucrative printing positions. endnotes 1. dominique bouhours, the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus. (london: henry hills, 1686). 2. hills worked at various times with thomas newcomb, john field, john bill, and christopher barker; see for example, anno regni caroli ii regis angliae, scotiae, franciae, & hiberniae, tricesimo at the parliament begun at westminster the eighth of may, anno dom. 1661, in the thirteenth year of the reign of our sovereign lord charles, by the grace of god, of england, scotland, france, and ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. : and by several prorogations and adjournments there continued to the 15th day of july in the 30th year of his majesties reign, on which day the following acts passed the royal assent., (london: john bill, christopher barker, thomas newcomb, and henry hills, 1678). 3. for a description of the printing house’s location, see the office of the b.v. mary in english : to which is added the vespers, or even-song, in latin and english, as it is sung in the catholic church upon all sundays and principal holy-days throughout the whole year : with the compline, rosary, hymn and prayers that are sung at the benediction of the b. sacrament : the prayers for the king, queen, etc. : the ordinary of the holy mass; the sequence, dies irae, dies illa, that is sung at solemn mass for the dead, all in latin and english : together with several other devout prayers in english. (london: henry hills, 1687). a1. hereafter “office of the b.v. mary.”; for information on hills’ partnership with newcomb and others, see p. m. handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c. (cambridge, harvard university press, 1960). 87-89. 4. handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c. 73-74. 5. charles ii, by the king. a proclamation for the apprehending of robbers or highway-men, and for a reward to the apprehenders (london: john bill, christopher barker, thomas newcomb, and henry hills, printers to the kings most excellent majesty, 1677); james ii, a proclamation, whereas upon information we have received against charles earl of macclesfeild, we have thought fit to direct our warrant for apprehending the said earl for high treason james r., (london: henry hills and thomas newcomb, 1685). 6. see, for example, anno regni caroli ii regis angliae, scotiae, franciae, & hiberniae, tricesimo at the parliament begun at westminster the eighth of may, anno dom. 1661, in the thirteenth year of the reign of our sovereign lord charles, by the grace of god, of england, scotland, france, and ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. : and by several prorogations and adjournments there continued to the 15th day of july in the 30th year of his majesties reign, on which day the following acts passed the royal assent; james ii, his majesties most gracious speech to both houses of parliament, on friday the 22th of may, 1685. published by his majesties command. (london: henry hills and thomas newcomb, 1685). 7. map 2.3 in james raven, bookscape : geographies of printing and publishing in london before 1800, (london: the british library, 2014). 8. james raven, the business of books (new haven: yale university press, 2007). 14-17; 47. 9. in 1686, the year that he printed the life of st. ignatius, all of his books were “to be sold next door to his house in blackfryers, by richard cheefe.” for another example of hills “sharing operations” see lewis sabran, an answer to dr. sherlock’s preservative against popery. shewing, that protestancy cannot be defended, nor catholic faith opposed, but by principles which make 73 meeting henry hills void all reform, faith, fathers, councils, scripture, moral honesty. (london: henry hills, 1688), “to be sold at lime-street chappel door.” 10. for a description of the “division of labor” in the book trade see raven, the business of books. 351-372. 11. gary kelly editor, joad raymond editor, and christine bold, the oxford history of popular print culture (oxford ; new york: oxford university press, 2011). 499; handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c.73-74. 12. an example of a bible printed during the reign of charles ii is the holy bible containing the old and new testaments. newly translated out of the original tongues: and with the former translations diligently compared and revised. (london: j. bill, t. newcomb and henry hills, 1682); an example of a king james bible printed during james ii’s reign is the holy bible containing the old testament and the new / newly translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by his majesties special command ; appointed to be read in churches., (london: charles bill, henry hills, and thomas newcomb, 1687); for information about the religious beliefs of charles ii and james ii, see steve pincus, 1688: the first modern revolution (yale university press, 2011). 91-117. 13. charles ii, copies of two papers written by the late king charles ii : together with a copy of a paper written by the late duchess of york : published by his majesties command. (london: printed by henry hills, 1686). a1, 2. 14. larry kreitzer, “the prodigal printer henry hills the baptist publisher of the king james bible” (campbellsville: campbellsville university, 2011). 15. a dialogue between a new catholic convert and a protestant shewing the doctrin of transubstantiation to be as réasonable to be believ’d as the great mystery of the trinity by all good catholicks., (london: henry hills, 1686); john gother, an answer to a discourse against transubstantiation, (london: henry hills, 1687). 16. kreitzer, “the prodigal printer henry hills the baptist publisher of the king james bible.” 17. leona rostenberg, literary, political, scientific, religious & legal publishing. printing & bookselling in england, 1551-1700: twelve studies., vol. 1, burt franklin bibliography and reference series, no. 56 (new york, b. franklin, 1965). 148; handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c. 87. 18. handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c. 73-74. 19. rostenberg, literary, political, scientific, religious & legal publishing. printing & bookselling in england, 1551-1700: twelve studies. 148. 20. “henry hills, official printer,” the baptist quarterly 6, no. 5 (january 1932): 215–17; for hills’ own account of the scandal, see henry hills, the life of h.h. with the relation at large of what passed betwixt him and the taylors wife in black-friars, according to the original : likewise particular remarks of his behaviour ever since, which proves (tho times change) him to be the same h.h. still., (london: henry hills, 1688); for an example of a book printed for the anabaptist congregation, see an outragious out-cry for tithes, and a deep charge of stealing, cheating, robbing, &c. for not paying of them (contained in nine reasons, sent some few daies since in print to divers) answered., (london: henry hills, 1652). 21. oliver cromwell, a collection of all the proclamations, declarations, articles, and ordinances, passed by his highness the lord protector and his council and by their special command published, begining decemb. 16, 1653, and ending septem. 2, 1654 (london: henry hills,1653). 22. handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c; the holy bible containing the old and new testaments. newly translated out of the original tongues & wth the former translations diligently compared and revised., (london: john field and one of his highness’ printers, 1656). 23. handover, printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c. 95. 24. charles henry timperley, a dictionary of printers and printing: with the progress of literature, ancient and modern; bibliographical illustrations, etc. etc (h. johnson, 1839). 25. henry r. plomer, “hills (henry), sen., printer in london, 1641-89.,” a dictionary of the printers and booksellers who were at work in england, scotland, and ireland from 1668 to 1725 (oxford: oxford university press, 1922). 26. ibid. 27. timperley, a dictionary of printers and printing: with the progress of literature, ancient and modern; bibliographical illustrations, etc. etc 28. london gazette, may 2, 1713, iss. 5117, sec. classified ads. 29. there is a mention of hills as an active printer in roger, “further remarks on dr. sacheverell’s rebellious mobs, and ther other practices of his party. henry against sacheverell; or his speech against his sermons,” the observator, march 29, 1710, vol. 9, iss. 21. 2. 30. “at the dwelling house of mr. henry hills,” evening post, may 29, 1712, iss. 438, sec. classified ads. 31. charles henry timperley, a dictionary of printers and printing: with the progress of literature, ancient and modern; bibliographical illustrations, etc. etc (london: h. johnson, 1839). 32. bouhours, the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus. 33. short prayers for the use of all good catholics, in the hearing of the holy mass. (london: henry hills, 1688). 74 elements : : fall 2016 references a dialogue between a new catholic convert and a protestant shewing the doctrin of transubstantiation to be as réasonable to be believ’d as the great mystery of the trinity by all good catholicks. early english books online. london: printed by henry hills, 1686. “advertisements.” london gazette, may 2, 1713, issue 5117, sec. classified ads. an outragious out--cry for tithes, and a deep charge of stealing, cheating, robbing, &c. for not paying of them (contained in nine reasons, sent some few daies since in print to divers) answered. london: henry hills, 1652. “at the dwelling house of mr. henry hills.” evening post. may 29, 1712, vol. 438 sec. classified ads. bouhours, dominique. the life of st. ignatius, founder of the society of jesus. london: henry hills, 1686. the office of the b.v. mary in english : to which is added the vespers, or even-song, in latin and english, as it is sung in the catholic church upon all sundays and principal holydays throughout the whole year : with the compline, rosary, hymn and prayers that are sung at the benediction of the b. sacrament : the prayers for the king, queen, etc. : the ordinary of the holy mass; the sequence, dies irae, dies illa, that is sung at solemn mass for the dead, all in latin and english : together with several other devout prayers in english. london: henry hills, 1687. charles ii, king of england. by the king. a proclamation for the apprehending of robbers or highway-men, and for a reward to the apprehenders. early english books online. london: john bill, christopher barker, thomas newcomb, and henry hills, 1677. charles ii, king of england. copies of two papers written by the late king charles ii : together with a copy of a paper written by the late duchess of york : published by his majesties command. london: henry hills, 1686. cromwell, oliver. a collection of all the proclamations, declarations, articles, and ordinances, passed by his highness the lord protector and his council and by their special command published, begining decemb. 16, 1653, and ending septem. 2, 1654. early english books, 1641-1700. london: henry hills, 1653. gother, john. an answer to a discourse against transubstantiation. early english books, 1641-1700. london: henry hills, 1687. handover, p. m. printing in london: from 1476 to modern times; competitive practice and technical invention in the trade of book and bible printing, periodical production, jobbing &c. cambridge, harvard university press, 1960. “henry hills, official printer.” the baptist quarterly 6, no. 5 (january 1932): 215–17. hills, henry the life of h.h. with the relation at large of what passed betwixt him and the taylors wife in black-friars, according to the original : likewise particular remarks of his behaviour ever since, which proves (tho times change) him to be the same h.h. still. early english books, 16411700. london: henry hills, 1688. the holy bible containing the old and new testaments. newly translated out of the original tongues: and with the former translations diligently compared and revised. early english books, 1641-1700. london: j. bill, t. newcomb and henry hills, 1682. the holy bible containing the old and new testaments. newly translated out of the original tongues & wth the former translations diligently compared and revised. early english books, 1641-1700. london : john field one of his highnes printers, 1656. the holy bible containing the old testament and the new, newly translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by his majesties special command; appointed to be read in churches. early english books, 1641-1700. london: charles bill, henry hills, and thomas newcomb, 1687 james ii, king of england. a proclamation, whereas upon information we have received against charles earl of macclesfeild, we have thought fit to direct our warrant for apprehending the said earl for high treason james r. early english books, 1641-1700. london: henry hills and thomas newcomb, 1685. 75 meeting henry hills kelly, gary editor, joad raymond editor, and christine bold. the oxford history of popular print culture. new york: oxford university press, 2011. kreitzer, larry. “the prodigal printer henry hills: baptist publisher of the king james bible.” campbellsville university, september 22, 2011. http://www.campbellsville.edu/ the-prodigal-printer-henry-hills-the-baptist-publisher-ofthe-king-james-bible. morrill, john. “what was the english revolution?” history today, march 3, 1984. http://www.historytoday.com/johnmorrill/what-was-english-revolution. anno regni caroli ii regis angliae, scotiae, franciae, & hiberniae, tricesimo at the parliament begun at westminster the eighth of may, anno dom. 1661, in the thirteenth year of the reign of our sovereign lord charles, by the grace of god, of england, scotland, france, and ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. : and by several prorogations and adjournments there continued to the 15th day of july in the 30th year of his majesties reign, on which day the following acts passed the royal assent. early english books, 1641-1700. london: john bill, christopher barker, thomas newcomb, and henry hills, 1678. pincus, steve. 1688: the first modern revolution. new haven: yale university press, 2011. plomer, henry r. “hills (henry), sen., printer in london, 1641-89.” a dictionary of the printers and booksellers who were at work in england, scotland, and ireland from 1668 to 1725. oxford: oxford university press, 1922. raven, james. bookscape: geographies of printing and publishing in london before 1800. london: the british library, 2014. raven, james. “map 2.3, location of london printers,” in bookscape: geographies of printing and publishing in london before 1800. london: the british library, 2014. raven, james. the business of books. new haven: yale university press, 2007 http://www.jstor.org.proxy.bc.edu/ stable/j.ctt5vkvcp.9. roger. “further remarks on dr. sacheverell’s rebellious mobs, and ther other practices of his party. henry against sacheverell; or his speech against his sermons.” the observator. march 29, 1710, volume ix, issue 21. rostenberg, leona. literary, political, scientific, religious & legal publishing. printing & bookselling in england, 15511700: twelve studies. vol. 1. burt franklin bibliography and reference series, no. 56. new york: b. franklin, 1965. sabran, lewis. an answer to dr. sherlock’s preservative against popery. london: henry hills, 1688. timperley, charles henry. a dictionary of printers and printing: with the progress of literature, ancient and modern; bibliographical illustrations, etc. etc. london: h. johnson, 1839. warner, john. a defence of the doctrin, and holy rites of the roman catholic church, from the calumnies, and cavils of dr. burnet’s mystery of iniquity unveiled. : wherein is shewed the conformity of the present catholic church with that of the purest times; pagan idolatry truly stated; the imputation of it clearly confuted; and reasons are given why catholics avoid the reformation. with a postscript to dr. cudworth. london: henry hills, , 1688. 76 elements : : fall 2016 "by 1725 the elite had reached a point where [magical practices] are entirely useless. magic practitioners have by this point almost entirely lost their cultural meaning." c u n n i n g folklore the meaning of "superstition" in early modern europe alexander c i l m a n o simultaneous with t h e european witch craze, early modern scholars began to collect t h e s u p e r s t i t i o u s practices of t h e lower classes into writing. it was a task of c o m p i l i n g charms, spells, and rituals of a people t h o u g h t to be vanishing and a lifestyle no longer d e e m e d current. scholars today e r r o n e o u s l y label t h e s e lower classes " c u n n i n g folk." t h e s e practitioners of magic were n ot co n fl n e d to a particular g r o u p but rather represented t h e lower class worldview in g e n e r a l . what is most u s e f u l about t h e s e f o l k l o r e texts, however, is their revelations about early modern intellectual culture. t h e s e texts are a particular g e n r e of literature, a d d r e s s i n g t h e cultural context in w h i c h they were written in order to elucidate what c o n t e m p o raries believed about magic practitioners and what t h e s e beliefs indicate about t h e i r intellectual worldview. what becomes clear is that t h e cultural meanings and funct i o n s o f magic practitioners in t h e s e texts are inextricably t i e d to c h a n g i n g disc o u r s e s c o n c e r n i n g r e l i g i o n , medicine, and antiquarian ism. superstition in early modern europe was t h u s used as a foil for " r i g h t t h i n k i n g " and casts light on t h e c o n c e r n s and prejudices of t h e educated class. " c u n n i n g fo lk" is a t e r m used by scholars to describe a g roup o f indiv idua ls w h o practiced various forms o f "good" magic i n early m o d e r n england. this g roup is often addressed per ipheral ly i n witchcraft studies b u t unfortunately there are few scholarly studies that focus o n t h e m specifically. ke i th thomas , i n his t o m e religion and the decline of magic, has a considerable section o n "popular magic" and c u n n i n g fo lk b u t his study stops short o f a careful analysis, focusing only o n descriptions o f the i r perceived practices. 1 i n 1994, w i l l e m de blecourt readdressed the issue and opened u p a new discussion concern ing c u n n i n g folk. h e c o m m e n t s o n the l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h o m a s ' book a n d suggests various new areas to research, such as gender a n d class differences i n c u n n i n g folk. yet even blecourt 's overall c l a i m is insuf f ic ient , f a i l ing to address the u n d e r l y i n g issue i n decline of magic, w h i c h focuses only o n the actual practices o f c u n n i n g fo lk and never o n the larger, overall c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g o f c u n n i n g folk. moreover, thomas 's project is predicated o n the a s sumpt ion that the category o f c u n n i n g fo lk is one u t i l i z e d by early m o d e r n cul ture . reading his text, one w o u l d assume that c u n n i n g fo lk were a d ist inguishable class o f people—a hasty conc lus ion . consequently, e luc idat ing the c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g o f c u n n i n g fo lk is severely l i m i t e d by t h o m a s ' classifications a n d superficial focus. beyond the questions blecourt raises i n his article, i t may be asked i f c u n n i n g fo lk were an accepted category o f persons or a recognized profession i n early m o d e r n europe. surprisingly, none o f the m a j o r pub l i shed texts thomas uses i n his study use the t e r m " c u n n i n g f o l k . " 2 the practices he attributes to c u n n i n g fo lk are not practiced by one definable g roup b u t are indicat ive o f c o m m o n practices o f a large m a j o r i t y o f the lower social classes. the early m o d e r n texts he cites make no clear d i s t i n c t i o n between an isolated group resembl ing c u n n i n g fo lk a n d the rest o f the publ ic , n o r is there one between c u n n i n g fo lk and w i t c h es.3 f u r t h e r m o r e , the sources thomas uses are f r o m the elite perspective and therefore are suspect i n establ ishing fair data o n " c u n n i n g f o l k . " 4 undeniably , the authors do c o n f i r m the fact that various people d i d engage i n practices that thomas attr ibutes to c u n n i n g folk , b u t they are n o t conf ined to one specific g roup . a careful reading o f the texts shows that the authors v iewed such pract it ioners as o u t m o d e d at best a n d profane and blasphemous at worst . beyond ident i f y ing " c u n n i n g fo lk lore" as a m i s l e a d i n g leabel , i t is i m p o r t a n t to consider the c u l t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t i n w h i c h the authors were w r i t i n g to unders tand the meani n g o f the texts a n d the m e a n i n g o f the people they describe. therefore, u s i n g the t e r m " c u n n i n g fo lk" i n this v paper is problemat ic since the t e r m is imprecise f r o m a scholarly p o i n t o f v iew and indeed absent i n al l these texts. instead, th is analysis w i l l use the t e r m "magic pract it ioners" to describe the group o f people w h o engaged i n the superst it ious practices m e n t i o n e d i n the texts or were perceived as superst it ious by the wr i ters . th i s t e r m is meant to be as general as possible, w i t h o u t a specific d e f i n i t i o n or fixed m e a n i n g . the group i t se l f w i l l stay fairly u n i f o r m , "what becomes clear is that the cultural meanings and functions of magic practitioners in these texts, which become synonymous with the lower classes, are inextricably tied to changing discourses concerning religion, medicine, and antiquarianism." b e i n g always the lower class and superst it ious i n the eyes o f the compi lers . the use o f the t e r m w i l l n o t carry the negative connotat ion i t does i n some o f the texts, b u t w i l l only be descriptive. w h a t w i l l change significantly, t h o u g h , is h o w the authors v iew the group and what cu l tura l meani n g they ascribe to t h e m . therefore, magic pract i t ioners w i l l also inc lude these complex c u l t u r a l meanings as w e l l as the actual g roup o f persons. to fur ther clarify, this analysis w i l l use the t e r m " c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g " to suggest th is broad and diffuse concept that b o t h touches u p o n the g roup o f magic pract it ioners and m o r e directly reveals s o m e t h i n g about the wr i ters themselves via t h e i r att i tude t o w a r d magic pract i t ioners . i n other words , w h a t th is analysis calls the chang ing cu l tura l meanings o f magic practit ioners t h r o u g h o u t h is tory signifies shifts i n the concerns o f the inte l lectual cu l ture o f early m o d e r n europe. th i s e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 paper, therefore, studies the wr i ters and the i r cu l ture m o r e so t h a n i t does the magic pract i t ioners and the i r cu l ture , t h o u g h the t w o are indeed i n t e r t w i n e d . the a i m o f this essay is to analyze these texts as a part icular genre o f l i terature , addressing the c u l t u r a l context i n w h i c h they were w r i t t e n , to elucidate what contemporaries may have actually believed about magic pract i t ioners a n d what th is says about the i r inte l lectual worldview. w h a t becomes clear is that the c u l t u r a l meanings and funct ions o f magic pract i t ioners i n these texts, w h i c h become synonym o u s w i t h the lower classes, are inextr icably t ied to changi n g discourses concern ing r e l i g i o n , medic ine , and antiq u a r i a n i s m . the m e a n i n g o f this group is n o t static. between the sixteenth a n d e ighteenth centuries, w h e n these texts were w r i t t e n , the inte l lectual cu l ture changed significantly, focused o n n e w ideas, and therefore c o n t i n u ously changed the cu l tura l m e a n i n g o f magic pract it ioners as we l l . the texts that thomas a n d other twent ieth-century scholars u t i l i z e for the i r research o n c u n n i n g fo lk is a l i terary genre that developed s imultaneous ly w i t h the european w i t c h craze. th i s genre cou ld be described as early folklore, books that compi le the superst it ious practices o f the c o m m o n classes. alexandra w a l s h a m describes i n her essay o n the or ig ins o f fo lklore that the educated classes i n early m o d e r n b r i t a i n became completely obsessed w i t h record ing superst i t ion and behavior o f the c o m m o n classes. i t was a task o f c o m p i l i n g charms, spells, and various practices o f a class o f people they t h o u g h t were v a n i s h i n g and a lifestyle no longer deemed " m o d e r n . " 5 th i s burgeoni n g scholarly t r a d i t i o n includes several texts that describe these superst it ious activities. these texts are especially i n terest ing since authors self-consciously distanced t h e m selves f r o m the people about w h o m they were w r i t i n g . even the m o s t distanced texts, however, make a clear p o i n t about the attitudes o f the i r intel lectual cu l ture . as walsha m notes, the subtext of much of this literature is undeniably self-congratulation. by recording the 'puerile superstitions' of former generations that are fast disappearing in the face of the spread of 'correct information,' its authors throw into sharp relief the 'rational' ethos of their own superior and 'enlightened' era.6 p r o t e s t a n t w r i t e r s o f t e n e q u a t e d t h e c a t h o l i c r e l i a n c e u p o n s i g n s a n d c h a r m s w i t h c e r t a i n s u p e r s t i t i o u s practices o f t h e t i m e . therefore, by e luc idat ing the sometimes subtler subtext o f the works , as didactic i n a cu l tura l , medica l , or re l ig ious way, a clear i n d i c a t i o n o f the concerns o f inte l lectual culture may be b r o u g h t i n t o l i g h t . the earliest a i m o f folklore texts came out o f a fierce ant i catholic theological discourse created by zealous protestants. as a result o f the protestant reformat ion, these early authors f ronted an attack against what they v iewed as the idolatrous and profane "popery." m a n y o f the texts are d i rectly a i m e d at conf lat ing superst it ious practices w i t h cat h o l i c i s m . yet only the earliest o f these texts are strictly polemic ; the later ones become m o r e ant iquar ian after the reformat ion. the authors w r i t i n g near the t i m e o f the refo r m a t i o n are m o r e at tuned to theological concerns t h a n those w r i t i n g t w o h u n d r e d years later. th i s t r e n d does n o t fo l low a straight l i n e , t h o u g h . the last text i n fact reincorporates theology i n t o fo lklore , yet i n a completely new context. reginald scot's text is the clearest example o f this purpose. j c u n n i n g f o l k l o r e alongs ide this theological concern, these authors also had a h is tor ica l , or w h a t w a l t h a m calls "nostalgic" and "ant i quar ian" purpose . 7 indeed, the way o f l i fe they describe, a w o r l d f u l l o f magic pract it ioners and superst i t ion , was qu ick ly disappearing. s imply by record ing these practices, a certa in degree o f respect for the mater ia l is present. one text i n particular, by john aubrey, embodies this antiquarian concern. as suggested, the later texts are m o s t ant i quar ian . even so, all the texts have th is aspect o f the folklore genre present to some degree. by analyzing the development a n d changes w i t h i n these dual discourses t h r o u g h t i m e , a m o r e complete h is tor ica l p icture o f magic pract i t ioners comes i n t o view. reginald scot's famous discoverie of witchcraft (1584) is the m o s t polar ized example o f the zealous anti-catholic concern i n folklore . or ig ina l l y a "surveyor o f f lood defenses" i n kent, scot wrote discoverie to respond to a n d refute the demonomanie by jean b o d i n (1580). u n l i k e b o d i n , scot was skeptical toward witchcraft . h e contended that n o w i t c h h a d ever l ived i n engl a n d and that al l prosecuted for i t were innocent . h e writes i n the first book o f discoverie: and hicause it may appeare unto the world what trecherous and faithlesse dealing, what extreame and intolerable tyranny, what grosse and fond absurdities, what unnatural and uncivil discourtesie, what cankerd and spitefull malice, what outragious and barbarous cruelty, what lewd and false packing, what cunning and crafty intercepting, what bald and pievish interpretations, what abominable and devilish inventions; and what flat and plaine knavery is practised against these old women; i will set down the whole order of the inquisition, to the everlasting, inexcusable, and apparent shame of all witch-mongers? therefore, scot's project is emphatical ly cr i t ica l and d i a w o o d c a r v i n g o f s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y w i t c h e s p r a c t i c i n g m a g i c . dactic. h i s book is a r e p u d i a t i o n o f c o m m o n beliefs he saw as destructive to society. 9 scot's a i m is certainly positive, yet b e h i n d th is h u m a n i t a r i a n project lurks the savage ant i cathol ic i sm that r a n r a m p a n t a r o u n d the t i m e o f scot's l i f e . 1 0 h e saw superst it ious practices, w h i c h he attributes largely to outdated catholic belief, as the direct cause o f the w r o n g f u l persecut ion o f witches. i n book x i i o f the discoverie, scot asserts that poets are not altogether so impudent as papists herein, neither seeme they so ignorant, prophane, or impious. and therefore i will shew you how lowd also they lie, and what they on the other side ascribe to their charmes and conjurations; and togither will set downe with them all maner of witches charmes, as convenientlie as i male.11 the next chapter is a l i s t o f "popish periapts, amulets a n d charmes" read d u r i n g mass or used as aids "against theeves." 1 2 th i s re l ig iously t h e m e d l ist exactly resembles other lists that record "charmes" o f supposed " w i t c h es" and other pract it ioners o f "magic . " t h u s , w i t h o u t attacki n g "popery" directly, scot conflates cathol ic i sm w i t h al l other pagan forms o f superst i t ion s i m p l y w i t h his choice o f organ i z a t i o n and layout. o n top o f subtly leading the reader to th is conclus ion, scot also states his contentions d i rectly. at the e n d o f the sect i o n , scot provides his "confut a t i o n o f the force a n d vertue falselie ascribed to charmes a n d amulets . " h e writes : m y meaning is not, that these words, in the bare letter, can doo anie thing towards your ease or comfort in this behalfe; or that it were wholesome i wish you to weare the whole bible, which must needs be more effectual' than anie one parcell thereof.li scot makes two i m p o r t a n t points here. first, he asserts e l e m e n t s : : f a l l 2010 that n o spoken or w r i t t e n words can ever w o r k magic . charms are useless and only lead to the accusation o f witches. second, scot's m a j o r c o m p l a i n t about a t t r i b u t i n g power to these superst it ious practices is that they remove god f r o m his place o f omnipotence , " for god is our onl ie defender a n d deliverer." ' 4 later he also declares: it is the lord only that worketh great wonders, and bringeth mightie things to passe. it is also written that gods word, and not the words of conjurors, or the charmes of witches, healeth all things, maketh tempests, and stilleth them.15 i n the next chapter th is assertion is directed back to cat h o l i c i s m . h e contends that catholics, especially clergym e n , remove god f r o m his place o f power, as do witches. h e writes : i see no difference betweene these [other conjurors] and popish conjurations; for they agree in order, words, and matter, differing in no circumstance, but that the papists doo it without shame openlie, the other doo it in hugger mugger secretlie.16 indeed, priests are even worse t h a n witches , for they practice these superst it ions i n the n a m e o f the lord . these anti-catholic sent iments are repeated t h r o u g h o u t the discoverie. but, scot does n o t operate ent ire ly o n the po lemic side o f the folklore spectrum. h i s discoverie of witchcraft is one o f the f irst texts i n the genre o f fo lk lore and sets a precedent i n f o r m a n d content for later, m o r e ant iquar ian works . for "being a staunch skeptic of magic, the main cultural meaning of magic practitioners, for his elite class at least, is as a rhetorical tool for their reforming critiques and anti-catholic propaganda." example, several chapters o f scot's book s i m p l y quote or describe various superst it ious practices or spells a n d only at the e n d o f each section does he inc lude his "confutat ions . " later authors m i r r o r the f o r m o f scot's section record ing charms used by priests, w h i l e focus ing less o n rel i g i o n and m o r e o n fo lk practices. a n d w h i l e scot is n o t ambivalent about the value o f these practices, the m o r e ant iquar ian texts u t i l i z e scot's f o r m a t nonetheless. finally, what does scot reveal about c u n n i n g folk, i f anything? as is the general t r e n d , scot does n o t use the t e r m " c u n n i n g fo lk , " n o r does he d i s t i n g u i s h between dif ferent k inds o f pract it ioners o f magic . yet, magic pract i t ioners do serve an i m p o r t a n t purpose for scot. for h i m , u n l i k e thomas , magic pract i t ioners h a d an i m p o r t a n t rhetor ica l m e a n i n g that negated rather t h a n u t i l i z e d or a f f i rmed the i r practices. h i s concern is related to discourse and ideology rather t h a n practice. thomas contended that the i r cu l tura l m e a n i n g lay on ly i n the i r role as conjurors or charmers , b u t th is very role is useless, destructive, and s inf u l for scot. be ing a s taunch skeptic o f magic , the m a i n cu l tura l m e a n i n g o f magic pract i t ioners , for his elite class at least, is as a rhetor ica l too l for the i r r e f o r m i n g crit iques a n d anti-catholic propaganda. the group's c u l t u r a l meani n g was t h e n , t h r o u g h scot, t i ed to a theological att i tude and re l ig io-pol i t ica l concern. after scot, magic pract i t ioner bears a negative association o f " w r o n g r e l i g i o n . " t h r o u g h t i m e , layered onto th is re l ig ious discourse that f irst shaped the m e a n i n g o f magic pract it ioners i n w r i t t e n history, a medicointel lectual discourse developed that added yet another m e a n i n g to the group and reveals a shift i n inte l lectual cul ture . sir thomas browne, b o r n twentyone years after scot pub l i shed his w o r k , was a w e l l k n o w n phys ic ian a n d author. h e f irst became k n o w n w i t h a book ent i t led religio medici, w h i c h recounts "browne's re lat ionships to his god and fe l low creatures." 1 7 h i s m o s t famous book, pseudodoxia epidemica, or, enquiries into very many received tenents and commonly presumed truths, f irst publ i shed i n 1646, cont inues reginald scot's project o f comp i l i n g and chal lenging various superst it ious practices o f the c o m m o n f o l k . 1 8 yet browne wrote i n a very dif ferent c u l t u r a l e n v i r o n m e n t t h a n scot. the pseudodoxia represents a m a j o r shift i n the genre o f early fo lklore . browne, l ike scot, was n o t a self-proclaimed fo lk lor is t , b u t the style a n d f o r m o f his w o r k again bear resemblance to the f o r m later perfected by john aubrey and h e n r y bourne . yet browne does n o t present an entire ly clean break w i t h scot. a l t h o u g h , as w a l s h a m notes, the concept o f "superc u n n i n g f o l k l o r e s t i t i o n " becomes m o r e neut ra l and less polemica l i n the psuedodoxia, protestant re l ig ious concerns are s t i l l the basis a n d o r g a n i z i n g p r i n c i p l e o f browne's w o r k . furtherm o r e , browne, l ike scot, appeals to elite readers. h e writes i n his prefatory "to the reader" section: nor have wee addressed our penne or stile unto the people, (whome bookes doe not redresse, and are this way incapable of reduction) but unto the knowing and leading part of learning.19 the pseudodoxia can be seen as a text for other physicians to avoid " c o m m o n errors" that may be useless at best or h a r m f u l at worst . h i s t o r i a n natalie davis wrote an article discussing the genre o f browne's text that conf i rms the derisive nature o f the pseudodoxia. she notes that these m e d ical "collectors o f vulgar errors were cr i t ica l o f the people to beg in w i t h " and in tended to change the i r pract ices . 2 0 because browne a ims to address m o r e t h a n just theological a n d anti-catholic concerns, he is i n the m i d d l e o f the t w o extremes o f fo lk lore discussed by walsham. first i t is i m p o r t a n t to situate browne's w o r k w i t h i n its theological context. because browne is s t i l l w i t h i n the discourse o f reformat ion, browne locates the real source o f " c o m m o n errors" and "supers t i t ion" i n theology. i n the first book o f the pseudodoxia, browne analyzes the causes o f these errors, f r o m "the c o m m o n i n f i r m i t y o f h u m a n e nat u r e , " to , m o r e important ly , "satan." 2 1 browne contends: but beside the infirmities of humane nature, the seed of error within ourselves, and the severall wayes of delusion from each other, there is an invisible agent, and secret promoter without us, whose activity is undiscerned, and playes in the darke upon us, and that is the first contriver of error, and professed opposer of truth, the divell.22 browne also points to the fal l o f a d a m and eve as the root o f our "errors . " 2 3 a l t h o u g h the m a j o r i t y o f the text is most ly medica l and scientific i n its a i m , j o h n a u b r e y o b s e r v e d a n d c o m p i l e d r e c o r d s o n m a g i c p r a c t i t i o n e r s . browne uses theology to substantiate his purpose and c la ims, thereby i n t r o d u c i n g a m o r a l aspect to his medica l discourse. for browne, de lus ion is not just harmless or useless; i t is also s in fu l . u s i n g s imi la r language to demonological descriptions o f witches, browne contends that by pract ic ing these superst it ions one dislocates god f r o m his r i g h t f u l place i n the hierarchy o f the rel ig ious universe. browne proc la ims that these "errors" are . . . a sinne or folly not only derogatory unto god, but men, overthrowing their reason as well as his divinitie. in briefe a reciprocation, or rather an inversion of the creation, making god one way, as he made us another; that is after our image, as he made us after his owne.24 f o l l o w i n g scot, he also h i n t s at an anti-catholic sent iment , attacking what he sees as the i r practice o f w r o n g l y creat ing a god i n the image o f imper fect h u m a n s rather t h a n the " r i g h t " idea o f h u m a n s i n the image o f god. here browne connects superstit ious medica l practices w i t h s in , thus m o r a l i z i n g medic ine . later he elaborates th is anti-catholic sent iment a n d conflates i t directly w i t h pagan re l i g ion . h e writes : thus the priests of elder time, have put upon them many incredible conceits, not onely deluding their apprehensions, with ariolation, south-saying, and such oblique idolatries, but winning their credulities unto the literall and downe-right adorement of cats, lizards, and beetles; and thus also in some christian churches, wherein is presumed an irreproveable truth, if all be true that is suspected, or halfe what is related, there have not wanted, many strange deceptions, and some thereof are still confessed by the name of pious frauds.2^ browne's i n t r o d u c t i o n o f the concept o f invers ion was an i m p o r t a n t e laborat ion o n scot. h i s t o r i a n stuart clark argues that the invers ion o f societal n o r m s att r i b u t e d to witches i n demonology texts m i r r o r the c o m m o n social practice o f playful invers ion d u r i n g festival t imes . h e notes, "but even i f they shared no specific type o f invers ion , b o t h festive behavior and learned demonology were e l e m e n t s : : fall2010 dependent o n invers ion i t se l f as a f o r m a l p r i n c i p a l . " 2 6 browne's idea o f invers ion adds to scot's u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f magic pract it ioners as a challenge to " r i g h t " r e l i g ion ; browne instead claims that they " inver t " r i g h t re l i g ion . clark r i g h t l y emphasizes the rhetor ica l power and u b i q u i ty o f this concept i n early m o d e r n cu l ture , thus the new phras ing is a v i ta l add i t ion . a l t h o u g h he cont inues some o f scot's themes, browne also sets the stage for aubrey a n d bourne by sh i f t ing the focus o f h is text away f r o m theology a n d emphatical ly tow a r d scholarly matters , i n his case medic ine . beyond the theological i n t r o d u c t i o n , r e l i g i o n becomes a per iphera l concern. for m o s t o f the lengthy w o r k browne scrutinizes various c o m m o n h e l d beliefs about " m i n e r a l l and vegetable bodies," " a n i m a l s , " " m a n , " "geography," and finally "holy scr ipture." the structure is consistent t h r o u g h o u t : browne describes a " c o m m o n error" a n d t h e n amends or replaces any m i s i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h his o w n data. for i n stance, he wri tes : the last consideration, concerneth magicall relations, in which account we comprehend effects derived and fathered upon hidden qualities, specif cal forms, antipathies and sympathies, whereof from received grounds of art, no reasons are derived.2-7 i t bears repeating that this text is n o t i n t e n d e d for the comm o n people w h o perpetuate these "errors ," b u t instead is m e a n t to be a guide for other physicians and scientists to w h i l e i n this case "vulgar" s i m p l y means " o f the c o m m o n people," there is nonetheless a condescension i n m a n y o f his entries. i t b o t h widens the gap between the elite and c o m m o n class a n d also adds another c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g to magic pract i t ioners . a g a i n b e i n g used as a rhetor ica l i n vers ion o f the " r i g h t " pos i t ion , "magic pract i t ioners" n o w operate as examples o f false and useless, i f n o t h a r m f u l , medic ine . magic pract i t ioners , or al l "vulgar" people to be m o r e precise, n o w represent the outdated past, an i r rat iona l "adherence u n t o a n t i q u i t y . " 2 9 a n d w h i l e browne never took i t u p o n h i m s e l f to b r i n g all people out o f th is shadow o f ant iquity , he nevertheless believed his ideas w o u l d help society i n general i n eradicating the i r h a r m f u l "errors." u n l i k e later authors , whose u l te r io r motives are m o r e h i d den, browne m e a n t to be didactic and dismissive o f past practices. t h u s we find "magic pract i t ioners" n o w t i ed to a discourse concern ing " r i g h t " a n d " w r o n g " medica l practices. «where before they represented an invers ion o f " r i g h t " r e l i g i o n , they are n o w an invers ion o f " r i g h t " health. i t is w o r t h recal l ing again walsham's n o t i o n that these authors i n general juxtapose the i r m o d e r n , rat ional elite ideas w i t h the o u t m o d e d and "superst i t ious" past. after browne, john aubrey moves folklore i n a new direct i o n , less didactic and m o r e focused o n the task o f recordi n g these practices for the sake o f col lect ion a n d n o t necessarily o f re futat ion. john aubrey, author o f remaines of gentilisme and judaisme ( 1689), presents a n e w att i tude t o w a r d superst i t ion. h e , out o f the four authors , is the m o s t neut ra l toward the "thus we find 'magic practitioners' now tied to a discourse concerning 'right' and 'wrong' medical practices. wherebefore they represented an inversion of 'right' religion, they are now an inversion of 'right' health." treat the m i s i n f o r m e d c o m m o n folk. i t vaguely resembles a textbook. yet, browne is not neutra l or ambivalent i n his o p i n i o n o f these practices. h e later says about "magica l l re lat ions" that "these conceits are o f that monst ros i ty that they refute themselves i n the i r rec i tements" w i t h "credulous and vulgar auditors readily beleeving i t , a n d m o r e j u dicious and dist inct ive heads, n o t altogether re ject ing i t . " 2 8 practices o f the c o m m o n folk. remaines also is u n i q u e i n this body o f texts i n that i t appears ent ire ly unorgan ized and u n d i s c r i m i n a t i n g . michae l h u n t e r , one o f aubrey's biographers , discusses aubrey's u n i q u e approach to ant i quar ian studies. q u o t i n g aubrey, h u n t e r notes he " j u s t i fied his w o r k by ' the novelty o f i t , ' as w e l l as ' the fa i thful ness o f the delivery,' w h i c h 'may make some amends for c u n n i n g f o l k l o r e the un-correctness o f the st i le . ' " 3 0 part o f the reason for the "un-correctness o f the stile" is that the w o r k was a r o u g h draft o f an in tended larger w o r k o n folklore that was never finished.31 yet, as h u n t e r shows, m a n y o f aubrey's works used a s imi la r format , so we can assume i t was close to its i n t e n d e d final f o r m . i n general, a n d especially i n remaines, aubrey compiles only the practices and rites themselves a n d o m i t s personal cr i t iques or " r i g h t " i n f o r m a t i o n . because the w o r k was n o t yet ready for p u b l i c a t i o n and was on ly d i s t r ibuted to a few o f his colleagues, his op in ions are indeed scarcer t h a n i n other works . aubrey appreciated the "novelty" o f al l practices w i t h o u t pr ior i ty . w i t h i n only a few l ines he marks practices concern ing the " w h i p p i n g o f v i l la ins , " "girdles , " "witchcra f t , " and "times p r o h i b i t i n g marr iage" w i t h n o categorical d i s t i n c t i o n whatsoever. 3 2 h e also discusses "herbs as charms i n duels " alongside "masses for the dead" a n d "ale . " 3 3 the very structure a n d order o f remaines reveals aubrey's pure ly ant iquar ian concern. h u n t e r ventures to c l a i m that aubrey may have even been developing "an objective science o f ant iquit ies dist i n c t f r o m t rad i t iona l h i s tory . " 3 4 i t seems f r o m the style o f remaines that aubrey extracted h i m s e l f successfully f r o m the b i t ter theological debates o f his predecessors. aubrey gave magic pract it ioners value outside the i r rhetor ical oppos i t ion to " r i g h t " protestanti s m , and therefore they take o n a new, m o r e neutra l cult u r a l m e a n i n g . they s t i l l represent an ant iquated past dist i n c t f r o m the present t i m e , b u t there is n o h i n t o f super ior i ty i n aubrey's tone or i n the content o f h is w o r k . h i s hands-off approach reflects a respect for these cust o m s . h u n t e r writes that his "achievement as an ant iquary was his imaginat ive approach to f ragmentary relics that w o u l d otherwise seem o f l i t t l e va lue." 3 5 w r i t i n g after the reformat ion and n o t be ing a physic ian, b u t rather a biographer and antiquary, aubrey is the best example o f a t rue fo lk lor is t . aubrey reveals his o p i n i o n that there is i n h e r e n t value i n record ing practices o f ant iqu i ty even w i t h an " u n crit ical att i tude towards his tor ica l sources." 3 6 the i r existence alone was e n o u g h for aubrey. r e m e m b e r i n g the quote h u n t e r prov ided, the neutra l i ty o f the w o r k is an expression o f aubrey's att i tude t o w a r d the past i n general. h e once said, " i was i n c l i n ' d by m y genius, f r o m m y ch i ldh o o d to the love o f ant iquit ies . . . and m y fate dropt m e i n a countrey most suitable for such enqui r ie s . " 3 7 k n o w i n g m o r e about aubrey, perhaps i t w o u l d be m o r e accurate to say that the remaines was not unorganized , b u t rather organized i n aubrey's u n i q u e ant iquar ian style, pay ing m o r e heed to s i m p l y record ing folklore t h a n " e x a m i n i n g these ideas skeptical ly." 3 8 the fact that i t was a r o u g h draft chalv lenges this conclus ion, b u t the evidence o f aubrey 's personal op in ions and the style o f the rest o f his works makes i t m o r e t h a n speculation. since th is text is n o t po lemic against witches l ike scot or condescending toward supers t i t ion l ike browne, aubrey gives another m e a n i n g to our magic pract it ioners via scholarship a n d folklore and thus indicates another shift i n early m o d e r n inte l lectual culture . h e emphasizes i n remaines that these people have i n t r i n s i c value as our c u l t u r a l ancestors. t h e i r practices are i m p o r t a n t for the fact alone that they represent our past, one that aubrey t h o u g h t deserved record ing a n d reverence. t w e n t i e t h century scholars can especially appreciate aubrey's a d d i t i o n to the chang ing m e a n i n g o f magic pract i t ioners because i t begins the discussion that w i l l later be addressed by the t e r m c u n n i n g folk . aubrey makes th is g roup o f people histor ical ly i m p o r t a n t . t h u s o n top o f a theological and medica l m e a n i n g , aubrey gives t h e m an academic a n d cu l tura l m e a n i n g . but, there is a gap o f t i m e before th is w o r k enters m o r e generally i n t o academic circles. the remaines was read, discussed, a n d quoted by a u brey's contemporar ies , b u t i t was only pub l i shed i n f u l l i n 1881 by the b r i t i s h folklore society. before this happened, one m o r e i m p o r t a n t text changed the c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g o f magic pract i t ioners once again. h e n r y bourne , w h o wrote the popular w o r k antiquitates vulgares, or, the antiquities of the common people (1725), redefines b o t h the study o f fo lklore a n d introduces a m a j o r change i n the c u l t u r a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f magic . a n ant i quar ian l ike aubrey, the f o r m a t and purpose o f the text is s imi la r to remaines. yet, as he sets f o r t h i n the preface, bourne also i n t e n d e d the text to be didactic, s imi la r to browne's pseudodoxia. moreover, bourne , l ike his early predecessors, raises rel ig ious a n d theological issues. therefore, bourne's text is a synthesis o f al l the works that came before h i m . h e addresses al l o f the i r concerns, yet tries to f rame t h e m m o r e generally. the f u l l t i t le o f the text touches o n his cu l tura l purpose: antiquitates vulgares, giving the account of several of their opinions and ceremonies with proper reflections upon each of them; shewing which may be retain'd, and which ought to be laid aside}9 h e elaborates o n what he views as his role i n w r i t i n g th is text i n the preface: i would not be thought a reviver of old rites and ceremonies to the burdening of the people, nor an abolisher of ine l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 nocent customs, which are their pleasures and recreations: i aim at nothing, hut a regulation of those which are in being amongst them, which they themselves are far from thinking burdensome, and abolishing such only as are sinful and wicked.40 h e blames pagans and m o n k s , one group , for the h a r m f u l superst it ions. h e procla ims: as to the opinions [the common people] hold, they are almost all superstitious, being generally either the produce of heathenism; or the inventions of indolent monks, who having nothing else to do, were the forgers of many filly and wicked opinions, to the world in awe and ignorance.41 t h u s , i n a way, he takes u p scot's project again. but i t is i m p o r t a n t to note that bourne does not believe superstit i o n to be inherent ly negative; certain practices are destructive a n d others may be " re ta in 'd . " th i s balance reveals bourne's ant iquar ian side. yet, the m a j o r reason w h y bourne condemns certain practices is essentially theological . f o l l o w i n g the idea developed by browne, bourne contends that superst i t ion is an invers ion o f r i g h t r e l i g i o n and a displacement o f god f r o m "'superstition' has taken on a different meaning, one less related to magic than to antiquated practices in general." his proper place. for example, bourne shows that interp r e t i n g omens is a practice i n h e r i t e d f r o m bib l ica l t imes , w h e n god d i d miracles , b u t n o w are just the w o r k o f the devi l . h e writes : in these early ages of the world, god permitted such things upon extraordinary occasions, to be asked by his own people. but they were only peculiar to those times. we have no warrant for doing the like...the observation of omens, such as the falling of salt, a hare crossing the way, of the dead-watch, of crickers, etc, are sinful and diabolical: they are the inventions of the devil, to draw men from a due trust in god, and make them his own vassals.42 i t is clear f r o m this that any practice that u n d e r m i n e s fa i th i n god's power is cu l tura l ly inexcusable for bourne a n d therefore s in fu l . i t appears certain superst it ions are nearly synonymous w i t h devi l w o r s h i p . similarly, "exorcising h a u n t e d houses" is n o t just a "vulgar practice" b u t one o f " i g n o r a n t priests, as to make t h e m be esteemed m e n o f greatest faith a n d l e a r n i n g . " 4 3 h e contends that the whole " c h u r c h o f rome are perswaded o f the t r u t h o f i t , to a fault [ s i c ] . " 4 4 c o n t i n u i n g his t irade against the catholic c h u r c h , he also c la ims that "consecrating wax candles" is "mani fes t blasphemy and ido la t ry . " 4 5 i n m a n y ways, therefore, antiquitates fits i n w e l l w i t h the m y r i a d o f anti-cathol ic texts. also , we see f r o m this that , i n a way, the m e a n i n g o f magic pract i t ioner as anti-catholic rhetor ic persists w e l l i n t o the e ighteenth century. aubrey's distance f r o m this debate was certainly n o t fo l lowed by bourne . bourne is less an "ant iquar ian" t h a n he may have w a n t e d to be. a l t h o u g h bourne's text, republ i shed w i t h john brand's 1777 expansion o f the project, is s t i l l a classic o f fo lk lore , i t is clear that aubrey, m o r e t h a n bourne , was the real pioneer i n the field. despite f o l l o w i n g the arc o f his predecessors i n m a n y ways, bourne actually ends, rather t h a n cont inues , the discussion o f magic pract i t ioners . t h e earlier texts recorded practices that involved charms and spells, the field that magic pract i t ioners w o u l d be involved i n . bourne , o n the other h a n d , only approves o f such th ings as " f o l l o w i n g the corps to the grave," p u t t i n g "garlands i n c o u n t r y churches," and " r i s i n g early o n easter-day." 4 6 o n l y t h i n g s completely devoid o f any possibly occult , magical , or catholic connotat ions are p e r m i t t e d . "magic" practices are never admissible i n bourne's o p i n i o n . i t appears that by 1725 the elite h a d reached a p o i n t where any such activities are en-' t i re ly useless. magic pract it ioners have by this p o i n t alm o s t ent ire ly lost the i r c u l t u r a l m e a n i n g . inte l lectual culture h a d abandoned superst i t ion as a viable topic . i n fact, even the examples given o f " s i n f u l a n d diabol ical" magic practices represent a smal l percentage o f bourne's tota l w o r k . the vast m a j o r i t y o f practices he records, good a n d bad, are o f a l l the c o m m o n people a n d do n o t concern magic whatsoever. we m i g h t conclude that by the eighteenth century the practice o f magic had been attacked e n o u g h by past demonologists that bourne felt the case closed. or, i t is possible for bourne , that " supers t i t ion" has taken o n a dif ferent m e a n i n g , one less related to magic t h a n to ant iquated practices i n general. superst i t ion before , ) c u n n i n g f o l k l o r e was nearly synonymous w i t h magic , b u t by the e ighteenth century, bourne contends that the c o m m o n practices o f the "vulgar" p o p u l a t i o n are m o r e outdated t h a n occult. th i s practical purpose is the n e w m e a n i n g o f superst i t ion. i n general, bourne addresses the u t i l i t a r i a n use o f superst it ious practices m o r e t h a n the i r m o r a l m e a n i n g . i n th is l i g h t , a l t h o u g h bourne takes u p scot's discussion, he addresses theology f r o m a radically di f ferent perspective and w i t h i n a n e w cu l tura l and rel ig ious discourse. before the e ighteenth century, r e l i g i o n was inextr icably t ied to culture , whereas i n bourne's t i m e the t w o could be separated e n o u g h to have u n i q u e concerns. h i s text introduces some o f these secular, cu l tura l concerns. o f course, his text shows that bourne is n o t a secular w r i t e r whatsoever, b u t he reveals the t r a n s i t i o n to a society where r e l i g i o n is b u t an aspect o f cul ture . a l o n g w i t h this shift, i t seems, the inte l lectual and re l ig ious concern w i t h magic h a d fal len away by the t i m e bourne wrote antiquitates. by l o o k i n g at this total arc o f the his tor ica l m e a n i n g o f magic pract it ioners i n these texts, i t is clear that the l i m i t ed d e f i n i t i o n that scholars such as thomas and blecourt assign to c u n n i n g fo lk is insuf f ic ient i n accurately describi n g the m e a n i n g o f magic and superst i t ion i n early m o d e r n europe. to focus solely a n d superficially o n these early texts' descriptions o f magic pract it ioners as a class o f i n d i viduals is firstly to misconstrue the his tor ica l w o r l d v i e w o f early m o d e r n europeans by i m p o s i n g contemporary div i sions between superst i t ion and reason u p o n t h e m . secondly, and m o r e important ly , i t misses a v i ta l m e a n i n g o f these texts as ind i rec t barometers o f the concerns a n d presupposit ions o f the educated classes o f w h i c h these wr i ters are a part . i n other words , the wr i ters say m u c h m o r e about themselves t h a n they do about the pract it ioners o f magic . th i s att i tude t o w a r d the sources is i n the end m o r e concrete a n d useful as h is tor ica l data t h a n u s i n g t h e m as sources for s tudy ing the lower class magic pract it ioners themselves. studying t h e m directly a n d w i t h the same veracity is a,far m o r e di f f icult task for histor ians . t h u s , viewi n g these sources i n such a way aff irms the t e r m " c u n n i n g fo lk" i n scholarship as problemat ic and instead opens u p a new, m o r e nuanced discussion o n superst i t ion and magic i n early m o d e r n england. e n d n o t e s 1. this terminology is found i n thomas 1971. 2. thomas 1971 3. ibid. " 4. ibid. v 5. walsham (178) 6. walsham (180) 7. walsham (187) 8. reginald scot (10) 9. oxford dictionary, "reginald scot." 10. walsham (186) ' 11. scot (1.3-1) 12. scot (133) 13. scot (162) 14. ibid. 15. scot (252) 16. ibid. 17. oxford dictionary, "sir thomas browne." 18. ibid. 19. browne (2) 20. davis (258) 21. davis (5) 22. davis (58) 23. davis (6) 24. davis (16) 25. davis (19) 26. clark (102) 27. browne (111) 28. browne (112) 29. browne (ix) 30. hunter (160) 31. aubrey (iii) 32. aubrey (58-61) 33. aubrey (77-78) 34. hunter (181) 35. hunter (179) 36. hunter (186) 37. oxford dictionary, "john aubrey." 38. hunter (183) 39. bourne (title page) 40. bourne (x) 41. bourne (xi) 42. bourne (75) 43. bourne (90) 44. ibid. 45. bourne (173) 46. bourne (17, 25, 188) r e f e r e n c e s aubrey, john. remaines of gentilisme and judaisme. london: w. satchell, peyton, and co., 1881. black, will iam. folk-medicine; a chapter in the history of culture. new york: b. franklin, 1970.blecourt, willem. "witch doctors, soothsayers and priests, on cunning folk i n european historiography and tradition." social history 19, no. 3 (1994): 285-303. bourne, henry. antiquitates vulgares; or, the antiquities of the e l e m e n t s f a l l 2010 common people. newcastle: j. white, 1725. browne, thomas. pseudodoxia epidemica. london: theodore harper, 1646. clark, stuart. "inversion, misrule and the meaning of witchcraft." past and present 87 (1980): 98-127. davis, natalie. society and culture in early modern france. stanford: stanford university press, 1975. hunter, michael. john aubrey. london: duckworth, 1975. kittredge, george. witchcraft in old and new england. new york: russell & russell, 1958. oxford dictionary of national biography. "reginald scot." <http:// www.oxforddnb.com/>. — . "sir thomas browne." <http://www.oxforddnb.com/>. -. "john aubrey." <http://www.oxforddnb.com/>. scot, reginald. discoverie of witchcraft. london: will iam brome, 1584sharpe, james. instruments of darkness: witchcraft in early modern england. philadelphia: university of pennsylvania press, 1997. thomas, keith. religion and the decline of magic: studies in popular beliefs in 16th and 17* century england. london: weidenfeld & nicolson, 1971. walsham, alexandra. "recording superstition i n early modern europe: the origins of folklore." past and present supplement 3 (2008): 178-206. witchcraft in early modem europe. ed. jonathan barry, marianne,. hester, and gareth roberts. cambridge: cambridge univesity press, 1996. c u n n i n g f o l k l o r e http://www.oxforddnb.com/ http://www.oxforddnb.com/ http://www.oxforddnb.com/ http://www.oxforddnb.com/ the arab spring protests were greeted with euphoria, but the resulting instability, sectarianism, and extreme violence in several middle eastern states have led some to believe that the toppled dictators may have been the lesser of two evils. while tunisia’s successful democratic transition looks like an anomaly in its current regional environment, egypt also achieved a significant historic milestone when it elected president morsi in free elections. however, his short tenure and egypt’s broader failure to democratize prompts questions as to how democratic transitions can succeed after dictatorships. by comparing the tunisian and egyptian democratic transition processes, the article seeks to elucidate the causes of the difference in outcomes of the protests in these two states. new political actors and certain ancien régime institutions played critical roles in ousting the dictators, but what proved crucial to the success of the transition was whether democratic elections took place before or after new constitutions were adopted. this is because constitutional timing determined whether the country’s political design would be dictated by dialogue and deliberation or run ad-hoc by the political actor with the greatest popularity. tunisian exceptionalism or max blaisdell a comparison of democratic transitions in the middle east constitutional timing introduction if there is any incontrovertible theory in political science, it is that democracies do not go to war with one another. this democratic peace theory, whose origins lie in philosopher immanuel kant’s theory of perpetual peace, argues that shared liberal values amongst democracies and the constraints put on leadership by democratic institutions greatly reduces the likelihood of inter-democracy violent conflict.1 this theory was the linchpin underlying the clinton administration’s policy of democratic enlargement.2 democracy promotion has not fallen out of favor with more recent administrations: president bush’s administration argued that building a democratic iraq was a valuable goal after evidence came out that saddam hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction and president obama emphasized democracy and human rights as part of his foreign policy goals in his 2009 cairo speech.3 despite these rhetorical pledges, the united states’ alliances with authoritarian regimes in the middle east, whether based on oil or security concerns, undermined the realization of democracy in the region. when the arab spring swept across the middle east, from north africa to the persian gulf, it seemed possible that democracy would autonomously emerge from the ashes of the long-standing authoritarian regimes. recent examination of the causes of the arab spring underscores how decades of repression and corruption sowed the seeds for popular unrest in the middle east.4 the protesters clamoring for regime change also augured new thinking about arab political culture, which for so long had been defined by obedience to the whims of strongmen. the uprisings also illuminated the contradictions between the united states’ priorities of democracy and stability in the region, pitting peaceful protesters against the police forces and militaries to whom the united states had given billions of dollars over the past several decades. looking at the aftermath of the arab spring, with egypt once again under repressive rule, and chaos and violence still raging in syria, yemen, and libya, the democratic success in tunisia seems to be an anomaly rather than a precedent for future democratic transitions in the middle east. the wide variation in outcomes of the protest movements of the arab spring is a quandary for political scientists, but this does not imply a lack of explanatory mechanisms. the failure of the syrian revolt to topple longtime dictator bashar al-assad is in part attributable to the sectarian fault lines that exist in the country, causing ethnic groups who did not necessarily approve of assad’s brutal actions to support his regime out of fear of the alternatives. similarly, in libya, the importance of clan and patronage ties under muammar gaddafi’s regime created the conditions for a fractured state in which no single group holds a strong enough claim for legitimacy or the monopoly of force necessary to induce stability. unlike these failed revolutionary movements, the egyptian and tunisian protest movements were successful in toppling their dictators. subsequently, both held generally free and fair elections for the first time in their respective histories. despite achieving this democratic milestone, egyptians soon returned to the streets to protest their democratically elected president, which ultimately resulted in a popularly inspired coup by the egyptian military on july 3, 2013. tunisia, on the other hand, has witnessed a peaceful transfer of power through democratic elections, and a vibrant party system that incorporates the far-left and far-right. what explains the divergence in outcomes between democratic transitions? what insights can be drawn and applied to future democratic transitions from the comparison of these two cases? answers to these questions are of vital concern to policymakers who put credence in democracy promotion as a component of foreign policy. in the sections to follow, i first give a definition of democracy in order to clearly identify criteria and practices favorable to a democratic transition. secondly, i examine existing theories of democratic transition, ranging from modernization to institutional theory. thirdly, i compare the democratic transitions of tunisia and egypt in light of these existing the egyptian revolution in tahrir square (courtesy of flickr) 16 elements : : fall 2016 theories, and develop my own explanatory model for the divergence in outcomes in tunisia and egypt’s democratic transitions. i argue that a further nuancing of the politicoinstitutional approach which incorporates an analysis of time frame and chronological ordering of democratic transition processes is the best model for understanding the tunisian and egyptian outcome disparity. this model allows me to draw conclusions from this particular comparison to add insight and subtlety to the field of democratic transitions in the hope that policymakers and academics alike can learn how to better respond to future comparable situations in the middle east. theoretical approaches to democratic transitions juan j. linz and alfred stepan’s book problems of democratic transition and consolidation provides a comprehensive definition of democratic transitions — “a democratic transition is complete when sufficient agreement has been reached about political procedures to produce an elected government, when a government comes to power that is the direct result of a free and popular vote.”5 any paper that considers the workings of democracy should abide by a concrete definition, as this will determine what constitutes a threat or aid to democracy. this paper will follow jurgen habermas’ formulation of deliberative democracy, the basis of which lies in “citizens’ free and equal deliberations on the laws that should govern their life together in the polity.”6 this conception presents a synthesis between constitutionalism and democracy; it guards against the excesses of a majoritarian democracy, while also defending the principle that sovereignty resides in the public will. the importance of this theoretical understanding of democracy is that it includes all members within the polity in the process of deliberation, thus building consensus as to the rules of the political game. deliberative democracy also protects against the tyranny of the majority because of its vigorous attachment to constitutionalism, human rights, and judicial independence. this paper will examine and evaluate five theories of democratic transition, namely modernization theory, secularization theory, the elite and labor models, and the politico-institutionalist approach. it will begin with the modernization and secularization theories because they are the oldest and most prominent in the field. it will then proceed to examine the elite model, which was developed more recently in light of the portuguese and spanish transitions in the 1970s, as well as the labor model, which was developed in light of the second wave of african transitions in the 1990s. finally, it will turn to the politicoinstitutionalist approach that provides the analytic framework with which this paper establishes its own theory of democratic transition. modernization theory, one of the most prominent theories of comparative politics, contends that economic development underpins democracy, by precipitating democratic transitions and solidifying the institutions of existing democracies. in his original formulation, seymour m. lipset argues that industrialization, urbanization, wealth, and education are the markers of economic development, which statistically correlates with democracy.7 this theory has not fallen out of favor amongst academics: adam przeworski also argues that as countries economically develop, their social structures become increasingly complex—the bourgeois class emerges, workers organize, and civil society grows—thus making it impossible for a dictator to remain effectively in command.8 this theory has faced criticism in recent years because of the persistence of economically developed authoritarian regimes like those in the gulf states, which have extremely high indices of income per capita and yet remain under the thumb of dictatorship.9 however, the existence and persistence of developed dictatorships such as the gulf states can be explained by their extreme economic reliance on valuable resources—in this case oil and natural gas—that allow them to co-opt opposition forces, buy off the public writ large, and employ expensive secret police forces.10 additionally, authoritarian regimes receiving large sums of for“the throngs of protesters clamoring for regime change also augured new thinking about arab political culture, which for so long had been defined by obedience to the whims of strongmen.” 17 tunisian exceptionalism or constitutional timing eign aid can use these transfer payments in a manner identical to resource-rich autocracies. these exceptions illustrate that the initial assumption that economic development and democracy are connected may be sound, but requires additional nuance to explore and specify the crux of the connection. other scholars, such as ilter turan, see secularization as a prerequisite for democracy. secularization theory argues that members of a polity are unlikely to compromise over matters of faith, and thus it is necessary to see the political sphere as autonomous from the realm of religion in order to have a functional democracy.11 the iranian revolution and the takeover of the transition process by the radical ayatollah khomeini, exemplifies the concerns that fuel the argument that secularism is an absolute necessity for democracy and that islamists are not democrats, but hijackers of would-be democratic transitions. nevertheless, the theological underpinnings of the ayatollah’s rule are peculiar to shia islam and its hierarchical system, so it is unclear whether sunni islamists could garner the popular legitimacy to create a theocratic state in the same vein as iran, although saudi arabia might beg to differ. furthermore, viewing secularism as a unitary concept is problematic in light of the variety of existing interpretations, as illustrated by the differences between the u.s. and french conceptualizations of secularism.12 mark lilla persuasively argues in the stillborn god that secularism is a political theology in its own right that only emerged after several centuries of debate amongst thinkers of the christian philosophical tradition, and therefore each religious tradition must establish its own interpretation that is compatible with its theological underpinnings.13 in guillermo o’donnell and philippe c. schmitter’s seminal work, transitions from authoritarian rule: tentative conclusions about uncertain democracies, initial elite compacts are regarded as central to democratic transitions.14 while important scholarship has emphasized the role of elites, ruth collier and james mahoney contend that labor movements were critical to the success of democratic transitions in latin america and southern europe in the 1970s and 80s.15 other scholars support this view with evidence from the “african wave” of democratization that points to the number of legally recognized labor unions as the single most important factor in explaining the variation in successful protest movements.16 however, two countries with the largest numbers of legally recognized unions in the middle east, morocco and algeria, have witnessed relatively fruitless and isolated protests in recent times.17 while all of the theories above are logically plausible and supported by empirical evidence in certain cases, the politico-institutional approach is a uniquely comprehensive tool for analyzing democratic transitions. this approach emphasizes the distinctive institutional heritage of a country and the complex interactions that take place between structures and political actors.18 this mode of analysis is well-suited for unpacking the dynamics of democratic transitions, as it highlights how the institutions that outlive a particular dictatorship shape political actions, and how competing actors attempt to redesign the political rules in their favor. however, drawing on the habermasian conception, democracy does not survive in an environment in which competing actors or vestigial institutions in a country attempt to alter the rules of the political game on the fly. instead it is dialogue and consensus building amongst competing actors that determines whether or not they find an agreeable set of political rules and institutional designs. enacting a constitution before major elections take place is therefore crucial to the success of a democratic transition, as it sets down a legally legitimate set of rules and procedures agreed upon by the political actors in the country to govern elections and institutional structures. it is my particular contention that vestigial authoritarian institutions are a threat to democratic transitions if they are not sufficiently delegitimized by revolutionary actors, and that labor unions can function as the broad consensus builders necessary for reaching a constitutional agreement if they remain non-ideological. a comparison of the post-revolutionary tunisian and egyptian transitions this paper will examine and compare the recent democratic transitions in tunisia and egypt to evaluate the politico-institutionalist approach and other competing models of democratic transition noted above. tunisia’s democratic transition can be characterized as successful because the ennahda, the islamist party of tunisia, and the secularist forces were able to agree upon the set of political procedures to regulate an elected government in the form of a constitution. they then conducted a free and fair election in which beji caid essebsi won and his opponent conceded defeat, rather than challenging the results or resorting to violence.19 this series of developments satisfies the criteria of the definition of a successful democratic transition previously given. on the other hand, egypt’s freely and 18 elements : : fall 2016 a protest in tunisia (courtesy of flickr) fairly elected president mohamed morsi was deposed by a coup d’état on july 3, 2013 and a military regime was installed in his place, thus bringing an abrupt end to the democratic phase of the egyptian transition.20 it remains an open question, however, as to whether the egyptian military will return to the barracks and cede control of the government to civilian control, or if it will further consolidate its hold on the country in the long term. before proceeding with my analysis of the transitions using the politico-institutional approach, it is important to control for other potential explanatory factors, such as the neighborhood effect from the democratic domino theory, differences in levels of ethnic heterogeneity, or modernization theory’s emphasis on macroeconomics.21 both of the countries are situated geographically in north africa, and before the uprisings there was no proximate democracy to either. this negates the potential explanation that the neighborhood effect had any role in tunisia’s democratic success or egypt’s failure. tunisia and egypt also have mostly homogeneous arab sunni populations, and their demographic similarity eliminates the alternative explanation that sectarian differences doomed the egyptian case. according to the united nations’ human development index, although neither country ranks particularly high— with tunisia sitting in 90th place and egypt in 110th— both still have medium to high human development statistics.22 additionally, both egypt and tunisia maintained five to seven percent annual growth rates.23 this evidence then rules out the importance of macroeconomic factors in explaining the variation in outcomes, and also underscores the need for greater nuance in modernization theory as an explanation for democratization. the politico-institutional approach is thus appropriate for analyzing the democratic transitions of tunisia and egypt because the secondary factors discussed above are removed from the foreground, while institutional struggles and structural transformations are placed under the spotlight. authoritarian regime cross analysis the politico-institutional approach posits that the institutions that are left over from the authoritarian regime will structure the transition period. it is therefore important to examine the institutions that outlasted mubarak and ben ali. neither ruler relied solely on brute force to create a durable authoritarian state. in fact, they used the promise of democracy or the façade of democratic institutions to conceal their authoritarianism. in egypt, hosni mubarak allowed the semblance of participatory politics to shield his regime from external criticism to co-opt members of the opposition, and to facilitate intramural competition amongst regime elites.24 however, the 2010 parliamentary elections in egypt exposed the farcical democratic institutions when mubarak’s national democratic party won 99% of the seats in a clearly rigged vote.25 the rassemblement constitutionnel democratique (rcd) performed a similar function for ben ali. the tunisian national assembly was filled with rcd members, with a small number of seats shared among the opposition parties as a nominal nod at multiparty politics.26 in both countries, the dictators used the semblance of democracy to help legitimize their rule. the use of specious democratic institutions, such as rigged elections and parliaments, meant that the arab spring protesters’ goal was not simply to overthrow a particular leader, but to completely reconstruct their political systems. the police forces of egypt and tunisia were the main tools of repression employed by mubarak and ben ali. ben ali was himself a former military police officer, who purposely kept his security forces powerful since he distrusted the military.27 in egypt, the police force was used not only to curb dissent, but also as “the chief administrative arm of the state, aggregating the functions of several agencies.”28 thus, in the wake of the protests, the police forces of egypt and tunisia became discredited institutions, as their elevated position had been based purely on loyalty to the now toppled dictator. so why is this important to the transition? perhaps justifying the regimes’ mistrust of the military, during the protests, the egyptian and tunisian militaries refused to fire on protesters, defying orders from their respective dictators and thus sealing the fates of ben ali and mubarak. this decision lent the militaries in both coun19 tunisian exceptionalism or constitutional timing a child holding a sign that says, “free tunisia” (courtesy of flickr) tries the protesters’ goodwill and a potential role in the transition process. however, the considerable difference in the capacities of the tunisian and the egyptian militaries must be noted. under ben ali in tunisia, the military was professionalized, but also underfunded and underequipped.29 on the other hand, the military’s share of the egyptian economy was massive under mubarak, with estimates ranging anywhere from 5 to 40 % of the economy. this large range in estimates is due to the fact that it is illegal in egypt to report on military holdings, and an accurate figure is thus impossible to calculate.30 the egyptian military, under the aegis of the supreme council of the armed forces, sought to secure its extraordinary political and economic privileges after mubarak’s fall, which is in line with the politico-institutional theory that incumbent institutions will try to retain arbitrary discretion over rule changes in the transition period.31 the military was wary of gamal mubarak’s neo-liberal policies and concerned about him potentially succeeding his father.32 this supports shadi hamid’s contention that “egypt’s revolution, rather than representing a sharp break from the past, may be better understood as a popularly inspired military coup,” in that the military acted soon after mubarak’s fall to ensure the continuity of their own institutional privileges.33 it is easy to conclude that the egyptian military’s extensive power doomed the country’s prospects for democracy, while the tunisian military’s impotence meant it played little to no role in the transition’s outcome. this conclusion, however, lacks a causal link between powerful militaries and the failure to democratize. looking at the turkish case, it is clear that a powerful military can in fact encourage efforts to democratize. in the absence of such causal logic it is better to view the egyptian military’s role as structuring the process by which the transition unfolded, but by no means predetermining its outcome. analyzing important political actors in the transitions islamists scored electoral victories in tunisia and egypt in the uprisings’ aftermath that put them in prominent positions to determine the futures of their countries. there are several reasons behind the islamists’ electoral successes. first, because the ben ali and mubarak regimes had historically persecuted islamist groups as either religious radicals or terrorists, the credentials as staunch opponents of the ancient regime were unquestionable.34 second, because they are not solely political groups but also religious ones, the authoritarian states could never fully root out these islamist organizations lest they destroy their own islamic credentials, thus giving islamist opposition a developmental advantage in comparison to secular opposition groups.35 third, the institutional resources and social networks of islamist organizations allowed them to, “channel popular discontent in politically effective ways,” which aided their turnout at the ballot box.36 while secularization theory contends that the involvement of islamists in a democratic transition jeopardizes its success because islamists do not accept the strict autonomy of the political sphere from the religious one, the ennahda party of tunisia demonstrated a remarkable commitment to the democratic transition in its handling of several major crises during the transition period.37 the tunisian case demonstrates that islamists are not inherently undemocratic, and that the failed transition to democracy in the egyptian case was not predetermined by the victory of an islamist to the egyptian presidency. a comparison of the role of labor unions in the egyptian and tunisian cases highlights qualifications to michael bratton and nicholas van de walle’s theory of democratization based on labor pluralism, instead suggesting that the goals of unions are relevant in shaping the political battles amongst revolutionary forces. contrary to the supposition of bratton and van de walle’s theory that democratization is based on the pluralism of recognized trade unions, the tunisian uprising prevailed with critical support from the single legally recognized labor organization in tunisia, the union générale tunusienne du travail (ugtt), and the egyptian uprising succeeded in toppling mubarak without significant involvement from the egyptian trade union federation (etuf). the ugtt was critical to the success 20 elements : : fall 2016 of the protest movement in two ways. first, ugtt members framed boazizi’s self-immolation “not as a suicide resulting from the socioeconomic misfortune of an individual, but rather as a political assassination.”38 second, their leadership was critical in expanding the protests geographically, such that the police forces were too overextended to contain or quell the protests. in egypt, factory strikes contributed in undermining mubarak’s regime by causing a decline in the economy, but they occurred without orders from the etuf leadership and reflected economic demands rather than political ones.39 the important contribution of the ugtt to the success of the tunisian uprising made it a significant force in shaping the country’s political future and its demands for “political reforms…to deepen democracy” shaped the parameters in which the secularists and islamists debated the future design of the tunisia.40 the lack of formal involvement by the etuf meant that labor did not frame a set of political goals for other revolutionary actors and instead left the door open to the popular islamists to decide how the country would transition from military rule. constitutional process and majoritarian democracy democratic transitions require tremendous feats of political maneuvering and compromise. indeed, “a country in tunisia’s or egypt’s circumstances must steer between the scylla of outsized influence by erstwhile autocratic incumbents and the charybdis of unconstrained new actors who seek to lock in newfound power.”41 however, the lack of a constitution before elections take place means that a stable consensus on the rules of the political game is not yet existent, and thus the legitimacy of the democratic project, and the checks necessary to preventing the personal consolidation of power by the next president are not yet in place, jeopardizing the country’s democratic transition. egypt’s transitionary process exemplifies the pitfalls described here. the lack of a constitution polarized the disparate forces of the revolutionary movement at the major juncture of the democratic transition, the elections. in the initial aftermath of mubarak’s fall from power, the military suspended the 1971 constitution, leaving the door open for an entirely new political structure.42 the military, however, moved quickly to preserve the economic and political privileges it had enjoyed under mubarak by appointing a special committee to propose amendments to the 1971 constitution, and lay out the path to transition away from complete military oversight. this committee was composed of three islamists, none of whom represented secularist ideas.43 the committee first called for parliamentary elections that would select the 100-person constituent assembly followed by a presidential election. because the elected president was charged with overseeing the adoption of a new constitution, he hypothetically held the power to jettison the transition process or significantly undermine its democratic procedures.44 these proposals were subject to approval by popular referendum scheduled for march 19, 2011. at this critical juncture, the combined opposition of the secularists and the islamists could have severely undermined the legitimacy of this committee and the referendum. the military could not have sustained its pledge to represent the interests of the people and act as the guardian of the revolution had it blatantly ignored outcry from both sides of the revolutionary spectrum. additionally, a crackdown against further peaceful protests representing a united revolutionary front could have sullied the reputation of the military and “increas[ed] the internal solidarity of the resistance campaign, [and] creat[ed] dissent and conflicts among the [military]’s supporters.”45 instead the muslim brotherhood, the salafists, and other islamists threw their considerable financial and organizational weight behind the constitutional amendments and the restoration of much of the 1971 constitution until the constituent assembly was formed. this decision reflected purely partisan interests and not a deliberative attitude towards democracy.46 it also polarized the political spectrum, angering the liberals because two of their top presidential candidates were barred under the new selection criteria, and broke the nascent ties between the islamists and the liberals that had developed in the revolution.47 from this moment on, the liberals and the islamists found them“enacting a constitution before major elections take place is therefore crucial to the success of a democratic transition, as it sets down a legally legitimate set of rules and procedures agreed upon by the political actors in the country to govern elections and institutional structures.” 21 tunisian exceptionalism or constitutional timing selves in a bitter political conflict over the spoils of the revolution, a conflict further enflamed by morsi’s heavyhanded tactics upon assuming the presidency and which ended only with his ouster.48 this conflict was predetermined by the failure of the revolutionary movement to establish a consensus for a new constitutional system before the election of a president. utilizing the existing constitutional framework left authoritarian levels of power in the hands of the executive and in such a setting, it is unimaginable how a constitution based on consultation and dialogue could have been written, given extreme imbalance in power between the islamists and the liberals. the egyptian case demonstrates that handing the keys of an authoritarian state to another man by an election does not necessarily yield democracy. rather, it is absolutely indispensable that power-sharing structures be established before elections can ever take place. by contrast, the constitutional process allows revolutionary actors of different strands to build trust and make concessions through dialogue and time, despite ideological disagreements over the structure of the future state and political crises. similar to the military in the egyptian case, the vestiges of ben ali’s regime attempted to commandeer the revolution and reassert their privileges.49 unlike the egyptian case, however, the secularists and islamists remained united, participating jointly in demonstrations at the casbah plaza to demand the ouster of interim prime minister mohamed ghannouchi, who not to be confused with the ennahda’s rachid ghannouchi, was a holdover from ben ali’s ruling party, the constitutional democratic rally (rcd).50 this demonstration ensured the “dissolution of the rcd…[the] legalization of ennahda, and that elections for the constituent assembly would be held.”51 the casbah protests illustrate how the tunisian revolutionaries’ were able to achieve concrete political objectives by remaining united against the vestigial regime forces attempting to break them up.52 soon thereafter, the islamist ennahda party won the country’s first free and fair election, sparking concerns that it would seek the spoils of political power just as the muslim brotherhood did in egypt. instead of confirming those fears, the ennahda established a governing coalition in the constituent assembly and divided up leadership roles with the heads of the cpr and the ettakatol, a power-sharing arrangement that was dubbed the troika.53 despite the continued potential for political opportunism by the ennahda, the party approached politics in a consultative manner, not letting divisive issues jeopardize the continuation of the talks. in an act of magnanimity, the ennahda made a decisive concession to the secularists with its announcement in march 2012 that the party would not insist on making sharia a or the source of legislation.54 shortly after the counterrevolution in egypt, though, leftist tunisian mp mohamed brahmi was assassinated, which sparked a week-long protest that called for the end of the coalition government. parallel to egypt’s transition, politically charged violence threatened the entire democratic enterprise, but thanks to dialogue between the leaders of the opposition and the ennahda, a compromise solution was reached and the constituent assembly was able to resume and then complete its work.55 the tunisian constitution contains numerous contradictions that will be open to interpretation and contestation in the years to come.56 however, it is also a reflection of the emerging consensus between ennahda and the secularists and the product of major concessions made by the ennahda on the protection women’s rights and the freedom of speech and religion.57 by rejecting continuity with the authoritarian regime’s institutions in favor of redesigning government, tunisia’s revolutionary forces averted the polarizing effects of presidential elections and created a constitutional structure viewed as legitimate by both sides of the political spectrum. the legitimacy of this structure was tested by the 2014 presidential elections, in which the ennahda party candidate moncef marzouki portrayed opponent essebsi’s potential presidency as a reversal of the “jasmine revolution.”58 however, after the election results confirmed essebsi’s victory, marzouki quickly conceded defeat, thus signaling that the ennahda was accepting a transfer of power to the hands of the nidaa tounes and would not seek power outside of democratic means.59 conclusion democratic transitions occur in the aftermath of revolutions when the major political actors view democracy as the best form of governance for realizing their political objectives, but this is not enough to sustain democracy. habermas’s conception of democracy refines the understanding of what sustains and jeopardizes democracy, an important clarification when the very definition of democracy is a point of contention amongst competing political actors. while the military ended egypt’s democratic experiment and the ugtt framed the objective of tunisia’s revolution as democratic, the interests of these institutions did not predetermine the outcomes of the transitionary period. instead, the chronology in which presidential elections and the adoption of a constitution occurred contributed greatly to 22 elements : : fall 2016 the degree of polarization in the populace. this in turn affected whether political actors were willing to turn to extant institutions to facilitate a regime change away from the democratically elected administration. egypt’s failed transition to democracy illustrates how the presidential elections without constitutional reforms first taking place polarized the electorate and drove many egyptians, who had previously called for a removal of the military from a supervisory role, to cultivate its support in toppling the newly elected president. on the other hand, tunisian political actors made important concessions and overcame political crises during the transition period to develop a consensus and hold presidential elections because the constitutional process was deliberative and inclusive. this paper indicates that the trust and deliberation necessary to build a functioning democracy cannot be constructed in a polarized environment, nor can it function when the rules of the political game are being decided solely by the will of the majority party. additionally, the enormous sums of military aid that the united states gives to arab dictatorships increase the political interests of the military, which then limit and threaten the autonomy of democratically elected civilians. if the united states is truly interested in spreading democracy to the middle east, then it cannot continue buttressing the militaries of authoritarian regimes and preventing islamists from taking power via elections. the tunisian case suggests that rapprochement between secularist and islamists is a possible and vital foundation for a future democracy. the united states should therefore not be overly wary of islamist movements as prohibitive to democracy in the middle east and be willing to provide sufficient economic aid to those countries transitioning to democracy. this is critical because many transitioning democracies struggle to provide their constituencies with real material gains in their first few years, which could in turn lead to counterrevolutionary movements that abruptly end the nascent democratic experiment underway. further research should investigate whether tunisia’s neighbor algeria is well suited to transition to democracy. their geographical proximity, shared ethnicity and language, and similar colonial history augurs that developments in one country will influence the other. for example, the brutal algerian civil war of the 1990s legitimated ben ali’s repression of the islamists in tunisia, and this historical linkage suggests that future parallel democratic developments are possible. another important topic for investigation is whether the instability that occurred in libya and syria after popular protests deterred potential protest movements in other middle eastern countries from challenging their regimes. this could offer an additional explanation for the lack of widespread protest movements in morocco and algeria. endnotes 1. john m. owen, “how liberalism produces democratic peace,” international security 19, no. 2 (1994): 87–125. 2. thomas carothers, “democracy promotion under clinton,” the washington quarterly 18, no. 4 (december 1, 1995): 13. 3. f. gregory gause iii, the international relations of the persian gulf, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2009), 240; barack obama, “remarks by the president at cairo university, 6-04-09,” whitehouse.gov. 4. f. gregory gause iii, “why middle east studies missed the arab spring,” foreign affairs, 83, 87. 5. juan j. linz and alfred stepan, problems of democratic transition and consolidation: southern europe, south america, and post-communist europe, (jhu press, 1996), 3. 6. lasse thomassen, deconstructing habermas, (routledge studies in social and political thought ; 51, new york: routledge, 2008), 44. 7. lipset acknowledges that there are exceptions to the rule, but still sees this as the prevailing pattern. seymour m. lipset, “some social requisites of democracy: economic development and political legitimacy,” the american political science review 53, no. 1 (1959): 80. 8. adam przeworski, democracy and development: political institutions and well-being in the world, 1950-1990, vol. 3. (cambridge university press, 2000). 9. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gdp.pcap.cd. 10. larry diamond, “why are there no arab democracies?” journal of democracy 21, no. 1 (2010): 93–112. 11. ilter turan, “the evolution of political culture in turkey,” in modern turkey: continuity and change, edited by ahmet evin, 84–112, (schriften des deutschen orient-instituts. vs verlag für sozialwissenschaften, 1984). 12. abdolkarim soroush, reason, freedom, and democracy in islam: essential writings of abdolkarim soroush, translated by mahmoud sadri and ahmad sadrim, (new york, n.y.: oxford university press, 2002). 13. mark lilla, the stillborn god: religion, politics, and the modern west, (new york, n.y.: vintage, 2008). 14. guillermo o’donnell and philippe c. schmitter, transitions from authoritarian rule: tentative conclusions about uncertain democracies, (johns hopkins university press, 1986). 15. ruth berins collier and james mahoney, “adding collective actors to collective outcomes: labor and recent democratization in south america and southern europe,” comparative politics 29, no. 3 (1997): 285–303. 16. michael bratton and nicholas van de walle, democratic experiments in africa: regime transitions in comparative perspective, (cambridge university press, 1997). 23 tunisian exceptionalism or constitutional timing 17. vickie langohr, “labor movements and organizations,” from marc lynch ed.,the arab uprisings explained: new contentious politics in the middle east, (columbia university press, 2014), 187-188. 18. sven steinmo, and kathleen thelen, structuring politics: historical institutionalism in comparative analysis, (cambridge university press, 1992), 7. 19. patrick markey and tarek amara, “veteran essebsi wins tunisia’s first free presidential vote,” reuters, december 22, 2014. 20. david d. kirkpatrick, “army ousts egypt’s president; morsi is taken into military custody,” the new york times, july 3, 2013. 21. peter t. leeson and andrea m. dean, “the democratic domino theory: an empirical investigation,” american journal of political science 53, no. 3 (july 1, 2009): 533–51. 22. http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-indexhdi-table. 23. shadi hamid, “ the prize,” from kenneth m. pollack ed., the arab awakening: america and the transformation of the middle east, (brookings institution press, 2011), 103. 24. mona el-ghobashy, “the praxis of the egyptian revolution,” from david mcmurray and amanda ufheil-somers, eds. the arab revolts: dispatches on militant democracy in the middle east, (indiana university press, 2013), 60. 25. hamid, 103. 26. christopher anderson, “authoritarianism and civil society in tunisia,” from david mcmurray and amanda ufheil-somers, eds. the arab revolts: dispatches on militant democracy in the middle east. (indiana university press, 2013), 33. 27. milan w. svolik, the politics of authoritarian rule, cambridge studies in comparative politics, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2012), 200. 28. ghobashy, 62. 29. robert springborg, “arab militaries,” from lynch marc lynch ed., the arab uprisings explained: new contentious politics in the middle east, (columbia university press, 2014), 146. 30. shana marshall and joshua stacher, “egypt’s generals and transnational capital,” from david mcmurray and amanda ufheil-somers, eds. the arab revolts: dispatches on militant democracy in the middle east. (indiana university press, 2013), 107. 31. bratton and van de walle, 42. 32. marshall and stacher, 107 33. hamid, 104. 34. quinn mecham, “islamist movements,” from marc lynch ed. the arab uprisings explained: new contentious politics in the middle east, (columbia university press, 2014), 203 35. ibid, 202. 36. ibid, 205. 37. michele penner angrist, “understanding the success of mass civic protest in tunisia,” the middle east journal 67, no. 4 (2013): 563. 38. ibid, 560. 39. langhor, 183. 40. “bayan al hay’a al idariya al wataniya lil-ittihad al aam al tunisi lil-shogl” (statement of the national administrative body of the ugtt), january 4, 2011, from langhor,182. 41. michael albertus and victor menaldo, “aftermath of revolution,” the new york times, february 14, 2013. 42. ibrahim awad, “breaking out of authoritarianism: 18 months of political transition in egypt,” constellations 20, no. 2 (june 1, 2013), 282. 43. ibid, 283. 44. ibid. 45. erica chenoweth and maria j. stephan, why civil resistance works: the strategic logic of nonviolent conflict, (columbia university press, 2011), 11. 46. hamid, 105. 47. awad, 283; ibid. 48. nathan j. brown, “egypt’s failed transition,” journal of democracy 24, no. 4 (2013): 50. 49. angrist, 562. 50. steve coll, “the casbah coalition,” the new yorker, april 4, 2011. 51. angrist, 562. 52. ibid. 53. international crisis group, “the tunisian exception: success and limits of consensus,” june 5, 2014. 54. angrist, 562. 55. ibid, 563. 56. sarah mersch, “tunisia’s compromise constitution,” carnegie endowment for international peace, january 21, 2014. 57. ibid. 58. markey and amara. 59. ibid. references albertus, michael, and victor menaldo. “aftermath of revolution.” the new york times, february 14, 2013. http:// www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/opinion/global/aftermathof-revolution.html. alexander, christopher. “back from the democratic brink: authoritarianism and civil society in tunisia.” middle east report, no. 205 (1997): 34. angrist, michele penner. “understanding the success of mass civic protest in tunisia.” the middle east journal 67, no. 4 (2013): 547–64. awad, ibrahim. “breaking out of authoritarianism: 18 months of political transition in egypt.” constellations 20, no. 2 (june 1, 2013): 275–92. doi: 10.1111/cons.12034 blight, garry, sheila pulham, and paul torpey. “arab spring: an interactive timeline of middle east protests.” 24 elements : : fall 2016 the guardian, march 22, 2011. http://www.theguardian. com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protestinteractive-timeline. bratton, michael, and nicholas van de walle. democratic experiments in africa: regime transitions in comparative perspective. cambridge university press, 1997. brown, nathan j. “egypt’s failed transition.” journal of democracy 24, no. 4 (2013): 45–58. carothers, thomas. critical mission: essays on democracy promotion. carnegie endowment for international peace, 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wpk4p. “democracy promotion under clinton.” the washington quarterly 18, no. 4 (december 1, 1995): 13–25. chenoweth, erica, and maria j. stephan. why civil resistance works: the strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. columbia university press, 2011. collier, ruth berins, and james mahoney. “adding collective actors to collective outcomes: labor and recent democratization in south america and southern europe.” comparative politics 29, no. 3 (1997): 285–303. doi: 0.2307/422122 coll, steve. “the casbah coalition.” the new yorker, april 4 , 2 0 1 1 . h t t p : / / w w w. n e w y o r k e r . c o m / m a g a zine/2011/04/04/the-casbah-coalition. diamond, larry. “why are there no arab democracies?” journal of democracy 21, no. 1 (2010): 93–112. doi: 10.1353/ jod.0.0150 gause iii, f. gregory. “why middle east studies missed the arab spring.” foreign affairs. accessed december 10, 2015. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-africa/2011-07-01/why-middle-east-studies-missed-arabspring. gellner, ernest. conditions of liberty: civil society and its rivals. allen lane/penguin press, 1994. habermas, jürgen. the inclusion of the other : studies in political theory. studies in contemporary german social thought. cambridge, mass: mit press, 1998. kirkpatrick, david d. “army ousts egypt’s president; morsi is taken into military custody.” the new york times, july 3, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/world/ middleeast/egypt.html. lilla, mark. the stillborn god: religion, politics, and the modern west. reprint edition. new york, n.y.: vintage, 2008. linz, juan j., and alfred stepan. problems of democratic transition and consolidation: southern europe, south america, and post-communist europe. jhu press, 1996. lipset, seymour martin. “some social requisites of democracy: economic development and political legitimacy.” the american political science review 53, no. 1 (1959): 69–105. doi: 10.2307/1951731 lynch, marc, ed. the arab uprisings explained: new contentious politics in the middle east. columbia university press, 2014. doi: 10.1017/s0020743815001737 markey, patrick, and tarek amara. “veteran essebsi wins tunisia’s first free presidential vote.” reuters, december 22, 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tunisia-election-iduskbn0jz04f20141222. mcmurray, david, and amanda ufheil-somers, eds. the arab revolts: dispatches on militant democracy in the middle east. indiana university press, 2013. http://www.jstor. org.proxy.bc.edu/stable/j.ctt16gh793. mersch, sarah. “tunisia’s compromise constitution.” carnegie endowment for international peace. accessed december 10, 2015. http://carnegieendowment.org/ sada/?fa=54260. obama, barack. “remarks by the president at cairo university, 6-04-09.” whitehouse.gov. accessed december 10, 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-cairo-university-6-04-09. o’donnell, guillermo, and philippe c. schmitter. transitions from authoritarian rule: tentative conclusions about uncertain democracies. johns hopkins university press, 1986. 25 tunisian exceptionalism or constitutional timing owen, john m. “how liberalism produces democratic peace.” international security 19, no. 2 (1994): 87–125. doi:10.2307/2539197. pollack, kenneth m. the arab awakening: america and the transformation of the middle east. brookings institution press, 2011. przeworski, adam. democracy and development: political institutions and well-being in the world, 1950-1990. vol. 3. cambridge university press, 2000. soroush, abdolkarim. reason, freedom, and democracy in islam: essential writings of abdolkarim soroush. translated by mahmoud sadri and ahmad sadri. new york, n.y.: oxford university press, 2002. steinmo, sven, and kathleen thelen. structuring politics: historical institutionalism in comparative analysis. cambridge university press, 1992. svolik, milan w. the politics of authoritarian rule. cambridge studies in comparative politics. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2012. taylor, william c. military responses to the arab uprisings and the future of civil-military relations in the middle east: analysis from egypt, tunisia, libya, and syria. palgrave macmillan, 2014. tehran, abdolkarim soroush director of the research institute for human sciences in. reason, freedom, and democracy in islam : essential writings of abdolkarim soroush: essential writings of abdolkarim soroush. oxford university press, usa, 2000. thomassen, lasse. deconstructing habermas. routledge studies in social and political thought; 51. new york: routledge, 2008. turan, ilter. “the evolution of political culture in turkey.” in modern turkey: continuity and change, edited by ahmet evin, 84–112. schriften des deutschen orient-instituts. vs verlag für sozialwissenschaften, 1984. 26 elements : : fall 2016 prison sentences have long been a source of contention amongst policymakers and the general public. this paper examines the multifold issues of elderly incarceration on a fiscal, political, and social level. the author conducts a comprehensive costbenefit analysis, taking into consideration arguments both for and against elderly incarceration. given the disproportionately high economic and opportunity costs of elderly incarceration as opposed to general incarceration, the author argues that policy revisions should ensue to allow for early release programs as well as more transparent parole practices. elderly incarceration is a derivative of the problem of mass incarceration. although the topic has gotten more attention in recent years, the gravity of the problem is often overlooked or unbeknownst to the general public. no country for old men an economic analysis of incarcerating the elderly caitlin sullivan background the united states is widely recognized as “the land of the free, home of the brave,” but are we really the land that we say we are? what many may not recognize is that the us incarcerates a greater percentage of our population than any other nation in the world — with just 5% of the global population, we incarcerate one quarter of the total global prison population,1 and our booming prison populations are not dwindling any time soon. in fact, overall incarceration rates have increased fivefold between 1975 and 2005.2 figure 1 demonstrates the drastic increase in prison populations on a federal level. the us is struggling to deal with this rapidly growing prison population, and incarceration is comsuming a growing percentage of both federal and state budgets. collectively, the national government spends roughly $77 billion each year to run our penal system, while state spending on corrections has grown 674% over the last 25 years.3 the issue of mass incarceration has called into question some of our current incarceration policies, specifically, the controversial issue of whether it is sensible to keep elderly populations that pose little threat to society behind bars. the question of incarcerating the elderly tests has become a contentious issue, testing the boundary between cost effectiveness and legal stringency in our justice system. as the general inmate population continues to skyrocket, the growth rate in the number of inmates that can be categorized as elderly has increased at a disproportionately rapid rate. figure 2 below4 demonstrates the growth rate in the number of prisoners aged 50 and older, in comparison with to a general prison population growth rate of roughly 40% in the us (and an average of 34% in the southern states). the rising population of incarcerated people age 50 and older has resulted in a noticeable presence, comprising over 17% of the total prison population.5 it is also important to note that this growth rate does not lessen when tighter parameters are imposed; according to a study done by harrison & beck, the inmate population over the age of 55 nearly doubled in size between 1995 and 2003.6 the economic burden of caring for this evergrowing elderly inmate population has sparked petitions for changes in public policy, namely, the implementation of early release programs. in examining the economic and social implications of such a public policy adjustment, it is important to examine all the conceivable effects and externalities, including the monetary costs of incarcerating the elderly, the likelihood of recidivism or repeated crime, the moral implications of early release versus sustained imprisonment, and the tangible and intangible costs of crime to society. there are a variety of reasons for the booming elderly prison populations that the united states faces. the “tough on crime” mentality coupled with the “war on drugs” policies of the 1980s and 1990s resulted in stricter incarceration policies, such as the “three strikes you’re out” rule, sentencing many to a life behind bars. these reforms were largely successful, and crime plunged as more criminals were removed from society. according to wsj author jason riley, the 1990s saw declines of between 23% and 44% for homicide, rape, robbery-aggravated assault, burglary, auto theft, and larceny. however, as figure 1: us and state federal prison population, 1925-2014 (courtesy of bureau of justice statistic) figure 2: growth of prisoners in southern states by age (1997-2006). top: percent increase for prisoners age 50 & older; bottom: percent increase for all prisoners (courtesy of the us department of justice) 82 elements : : spring 2017 criminals were swept off the street, it was penal systems of the united states that absorbed the blow.7 additionally, the creation of mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines resulted in thousands of prolonged and uncompromising sentences. these umbrella sentences were primarily implemented for drug offenses, although congress has enacted them for a variety of other reasons such as economic and arms-related offenses. mandatory minimum sentences have undermined the ability of judges to fit the punishment to the circumstances of the crime and the offender, resulting in overcrowding and longer sentences. specifically, the number of prisoners serving life sentences has steadily increased over the last few decades, as shown figure 3. just as the first wave of baby boomers born in 1946 (now approaching 70 years of age) once crowded public institutions such as school systems, they continue to present fiscal and overcrowding problems for prisons. according to the american civil liberties union, the tally of prisoners age 55 or older throughout the country has reached approximately 125,000. this number has grown precipitously, as there were fewer than 8,900 prisoners age 55 and older in 1981. by 2030, estimates predict this elderly prison population to increase to over 400,000, a 4,400% increase over a mere 50 year timespan.8 in this paper, i will outline the high economic and opportunity costs of incarceration for the elderly as well as the roots of these high costs. i will then outline the low risks of recidivism for elderly ex-convict populations and compare this to the perceived societal costs of crime, taking into account a variety of tangible and intangible factors. next, i will consider some of the ethical arguments, incorporating an analysis of some of the current parole practices. lastly, i will conclude with an examination into some of the recent policy revisions in light of the discussed issues, and culminate my research with personal insight into potentially beneficial revisionary practices. high costs of incarceration while incarceration is expensive in itself, incarceration of the elderly is disproportionately so. the cost of incarcerating someone aged 50 or older is two to five times the cost of incarcerating someone 49 and younger.9 a study from the national institute of corrections estimated that the united states spends a minimum of $16 billion annually on incarcerating the upwards of 250,000 inmates age 50 and older.10 this lofty price tag exceeds the majority of other federal expenditures by category, including that of the federal department of education.11 according to a report by the american civil liberties union (ii), it costs an average of $34,135 annually to house the average prisoner, compared to an average of $68,270 to house a prisoner age 50 or older. one of the main reasons for such a difference in cost is the prevalence of medical ailments amongst the elderly population, which is only exacerbated by the often stressful and unpleasant prison environment. such high levels of stress can lead to a variety of negative physiological reactions, including nervousness, anxiety and hypertension.12 according to one study, in 1997, age ws directly related to the percentage of all state prisoners who reported any type of medical condition. whereas only 24% of prisoners age 24 and younger reported a medical ailment, that number rose to 48% in prisoners age 45 and older.13 the lack of personnel with extensive medical knowledge staffed in these prisons often exacerbates these ailments which could otherwise have been easily treated with specialized care. although incarceration facilities could hire personnel trained in geriatric care, it is unlikely that they would be able to do so without simultaneously having to increase wages. because disease and illness (alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart conditions, etc.) runs rampant in elderly communities, many prisons have no choice but to send these elderly inmates to receive off-site treatment on account of the lack of adequate care at the prisons, adding an array of expenses including transportation, specialized treatment, and staff supervision costs. figure 3: number of people serving life sentences, 1984-2012. (courtesy of the sentencing project) 83 no country for old men perhaps one of the largest costs incurred by prison facilities in caring for these ill inmates is the rapidly increasing price of drugs and medication. in their wsj article, loftus and fields outline the pressing issue of the hyper-expensive hepatitis c medications. according to their survey of the department of corrections in 50 states, only 34 states had data a total of over 100,000 inmates with the condition. treating hepatitis c costs thousands of dollars per patient, and with such a large prison population with this ailment, costs for prisons run very high. as a result, most prisons have implemented a rationing system, in which only the sickest populations receive the treatment. according to the same survey from the department of corrections, only 3.4% of inmates received treatment with a new, more than 90% effective drug for hepatitis c. the treatment can range from $54,000-$94,000 per person for the typical 12 week course of treatment. . consequently, the cost for treating even the most ill prisoners is incredibly high; if only 10% of the 100,000 inmates with the condition received treatment, it would still cost prisons, at minimum, $540,000,000.14 despite the arguments that early release of these elderly inmates would slash the costs incurred by our nation’s penal systems, many argue that implementing such early release programs would merely deduct from one expense and add to another. that is, many propose that such elderly populations who have ostensibly been out of the workforce for quite some time will have little savings or income to rely on, and consequently will turn to federal aid programs such as medicaid and subsidized housing. however, a report from the aclu estimates from a statistical analysis of current data that each elderly prisoner released will save states more than $66,000 per year, including in their analysis healthcare, parole, and other public benefits.15 part of their reasoning is based upon the statistic that anywhere from 63% to 88% of elderly released prisoners live with a family member or friend, thereby reducing their need for government assistance and lessening the economic burden on the government.16 it is likely, however, that those inmates who do not have family or friends to rely on will turn to the government for aid. opportunity cost of incarceration opportunity cost is a key principle of economics, and it would be remiss not to incorporate this perhaps nonobvious consideration into the analysis. when civilians are incarcerated for years and decades at a time, they are withdrawn from society; any skills, talents, and working productivity that they could have contributed to the workforce, had they not been incarcerated, are void. consequently, there is an inherent opportunity cost when potential labor force contributors are removed from society and locked behind bars. however, the opportunity costs of incarceration are not only relevant to society, but also pertinent to the individual incarcerated person as well. for incarcerated individuals, the years spent behind bars represent thousands of dollars not only in lost earnings, but also lost future earning potential. by age 45, individuals who have not been incarcerated are expected to make $41,000 more on an annual basis than individuals who have been incarcerated at some point in their lives. the discrepancy in earnings only widens as individuals age, as demonstrated in the figure 4. the loss in earnings as a result of being incarcerated can be attributed to a variety of factors. according to the bureau of labor statistics, those who have never been incarcerated obtain on average 2.3 more years of education than those who have. additionally, the opportunity cost of missed work experience as well as the gravity of a criminal history severely impacts the ability of ex-convicts to obtain a job. according to a recent study amongst black job candidates, only 5% of applicants with a criminal record were called back for an interview, as opposed to 14% with no criminal record. amongst white candidates, 17% of applicants with a criminal record were called back, whereas 34% with no criminal record were called back, also highlighting the inequitable impact that race has on employment.17 figure 4: median annual earnings for those incarcerated vs those not incarcerated (courtesy of the hamilton project) 84 elements : : spring 2017 “by age 45, individuals who have not been incarcerated are expected to make $41,000 more on an annual basis than individuals who have been incarcerated at some point in their lives.” risk of recidivism and overall societal costs and effects perhaps one of the principal sources of contention amongst the public is the fear that these aging inmates will commit crimes upon release. however, statistical analysis illustrates the drastic drop-off in crime rates as former offenders age. in his study, samuel roberts says that only 6.4% of inmates released at age 50 or over returned to prison with new convictions – this number drops even lower to 4% for those released at age 65 or older.18 additionally, many of these recidivisms stem from marginal missteps, such as missing meetings with a parole officer, as parole officers have discretion over the punishment received and may choose to turn the case over to a judge for review. this number is exceedingly low compared to a recidivism rate of 40-60% amongst the general prison population.19 furthermore, the elderly pose little risk for disruptive behavior amongst inmate populations. the following table demonstrates the significantly lower instances of disruptive behavior among elderly inmates as opposed to various other categories of inmates.20 although this elderly population has the lowest likelihood of exhibiting destructive behavior (to themselves or to others), this group is at a high risk for victimization within prison systems, second only to inmates with mental illnesses. despite this empirical evidence, many deem the costs of crime too great to risk repeat offenses, thus deeming it more beneficial to fund the government’s incarceration efforts through their taxpayer dollars. the over 23 million criminal offenses that were committed in 2007 in the us resulted in nearly $15 billion in tangible economic losses to the victims, plus an additional $179 billion in government expenditures for corrections, police protection, and judicial and legal activities, funded by taxpayer dollars.21 indeed, there are many direct and indirect costs associated with crime. direct costs include victim costs, opportunity costs of lost earning potential and overall contribution to the economy, and criminal justice system costs, which have been previously outlined. there are also indirect costs, or intangible costs. such intangible costs accounted for in the data below include indirect losses suffered by the victims, such as pain and suffering, psychological distress, as well as decreased quality of life. although tangible costs (i.e. direct economic expenses incurred by victims) may be more straightforward to calculate, mccollister (et al.) describes a methodology he uses to calculate the intangible, or indirect, costs of crimes, known as the compensation method. this method uses jury award data from personal injury trials to measure the corresponding dollar value of pain, suffering, and psychological distress that may be incurred by the victim of a criminal offense. essentially, the intangible costs are calculated by subtracting the victim’s direct economic loss (medical expenses, lost earnings, etc.) from the jury’s total award. multivariate regression models are then used to predict the proportion of these costs that can be attributed to pain and suffering in a jury award. figure 5 depicts the exorbitantly high costs of various offenses, taking into consideration both tangible and intangible costs to victims many critics of early release policies argue that prison can reduce the cost of crime to society in more ways than just keeping criminals off the streets. leading criminologists argue that prison, a severe repercussion for committing crimes, creates a general deterrence that keeps some people from committing crimes that otherwise might have. criminologists also refer to a concept known as specific deterrence, in which the experience of prison makes previous offenders want to avoid recidivism at all costs, and thus refrain from engaging in crimes. the high societal costs associated with crimes as well as strong moral objections to releasing criminals early on account of sympathy, fiscal constraints, or overcrowding has sparked controversy and social unrest in many communities. various states (including michigan, colorado, illinois, and california) have attempted to 85 no country for old men reduce their prison populations through enacting early release programs, and have been welcomed by a wave of resistance. many of these programs have been met with backlash, forcing some states to reduce or even suspend their programs. for example, in california, a non-profit group entitled “crime victims united of california” (often referred to as cvuc) went so far so as to sue the state on account of their early release law (senate bill x3 18), which they claim violates california’s victim’s bill of rights act. specifically, the advocate group contends that sbx3 18 undermines their right “to prevent the early release of felons,” which appears in the california constitution, and violates the clause that prohibits the legislature from releasing prisoners early on account of overcrowding and fiscal problems – which are ostensibly the impetuses behind the early release program. despite this opposition, changes in policy have occurred on a national level. for example, president obama released hundreds of inmates and pressed for less austere sentencing guidelines. as of october 2016, obama had individually commuted the sentences of nearly 800 federal inmates, which is more than the previous 11 presidents combined.22 obama expressed his negative view on the issue of mass incarceration, stating in a 2015 address, “our nation is being robbed of men and women who could be workers and taxpayers, could be more actively involved in their children’s lives, could be role models, could be community leaders.” additionally, in april 2014, the united states sentencing commission voted unanimously to reduce the penalties for many nonviolent drug crimes, also adding that these guidelines could be applied retroactively to many inmates serving long drug sentences. these new guidelines allow prisoners to ask federal judges to reassess their sentences. an analysis of their behavior in prison as well as their likelihood to act out violently if released are all factors that are assessed before any inmate is deemed eligible for early release. according to the united states sentencing commission, this amendment will reduce penalties by an average of 11 months for 70% of drug trafficking offenders. additionally, over 40,000 incarcerated offenders could be eligible to retroactively reduce their sentences by an average of 25 months.23 furthermore, action has been taken on a federal level against mandatory minimum sentences. the justice department has ordered prosecutors to refrain from charging low-level, nonviolent drug offenders without connection to gangs or drug organizations with offenses carrying severe mandatory minimum sentences.24 such policy revisions have been implemented with the hope of curtailing the pervasiveness of chronic incarceration as well as decreasing the number of elderly that are incarcerated. ethical considerations these policy revisions have been sparked for more than just fiscal reasons, however. many claim that while it makes little sense economically to keep elderly populations in prison, it is also unethical to keep them behind bars for a crime that they committed decades ago. the executive director of the correctional association of new york comments on this very notion, saying, “the continued imprisonment of a group of people who have significantly aged out of crime, who pose little public safety risk and could in fact contribute to our communities, expresses clearly the revenge principle. it tells us that for some people especially people of color growth and change do not entitle you to a second chance.” some criticize our nation’s federal prison system as a punishment paradigm of sorts, which “criminalizes social vulnerability such as poverty and mental illness, and tells people that despite your best efforts at making amends, you are no better than your very worst moment.”25 additionally, the fact that many inmates are denied parole with no explanation adds to the moral culpability of this figure 5: total (tangible plus intangible) per offense cost for different crimes in 2008 dollars. (courtesy of mccollister et al.) 86 elements : : spring 2017 “even inmates with exemplary behavior in prison who wait years for the opportunity to be granted parole can be denied—and with no transparency into the board’s decision making, they are never given a reason.” seemingly retributive system. currently, more than 10% of inmates are serving a life sentence, and thus have little to no hope of ever reintegrating into the outside world.26 however, it is not just inmates serving life sentences who are being denied parole. even inmates with exemplary behavior in prison who wait years for the opportunity to be granted parole can be denied — and with no transparency into the board’s decision making, they are never given a reason. according to a recent report, the average daily cost of a former prisoner on parole is only about $7.50, yet thousands of inmates are being turned away from early release despite faultless behavior in prison.27 according to the correctional association of new york, only 20% of people who appear before the parole board for a general assessment of eligibility for parole are released from prison, despite having served the minimum sentence for their respective crimes. in new york alone, over 10,000 inmates are denied parole each year.28 current policy revisions & conclusion despite the policy changes that have begun to unfold in various parts of the country, the united states as a nation is far from reaching a solution to the problem of elderly incarceration. for example, the attorneys general’s “smart on crime” initiative, which strives to release eligible inmates early, has largely proved too restrictive to affect any type of noteworthy change in early release policy. the department imposed strict eligibility requirements (which included that inmates be age 65 or older), leading to only a handful of inmates being granted early release. even with the advent of some of these early release programs, there are thousands of elderly inmates with no hopes of seeing freedom in the limited time on earth that they have left. although the risk of repeated crime and recidivism plummets as individuals age, the relative cost of incarcerating them skyrockets, as age-related expenses accrue. consequently, a simple cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that as inmates age, incarceration becomes more and more costly and less and less beneficial. looking beyond the emotional aspects of the issue, the empirical evidence shows that by releasing some of these elderly inmates who pose little threat to society, both state and federal government could save billions on their prison expenditures. rather than funneling money into a system that favors retribution over restoration, the united states has the power to redirect taxpayer dollars into efforts that are capable of affecting positive change in our society – rather than ‘teaching a lesson’ to an inmate who committed a petty crime fifty years ago and was caught in the tough on crime environment of the ‘80s. it is almost guaranteed that policymakers will face criticism whether or not they choose to implement early release programs. crime is undoubtedly a sensitive topic amongst the general public, and society is risk averse. however, when continued imprisonment means billions of taxpayer dollars directed towards elderly inmates with a low likelihood of repeat crime, more harm than good is created. although incarceration facilities should not release inmates solely based on their age, policymakers can create successful early release programs centered on an analysis of the individual offender to create a more equitable and economically efficient world. 87 no country for old men endnotes 1. william center for justice at columbia university, aging in prison: reducing elder incarceration and promoting public safety, ed. samuel k. roberts, november 2015, http://centerforjustice. columbia.edu/files/2015/10/aginginprison_final_web.pdf, x. 2. robynn kuhlmann and rick ruddell, “elderly jail inmates: problems, prevalance, and public health,” californian journal of health promotion 3 (2005): 49-60. 3. american civil liberties union, at america’s expense: the mass incarceration of the elderly. june 2012, https://www.aclu. org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_1.pdf, ii. 4. ibid., 6. 5. center for justice, aging in prison, viii. 6. kuhlmann and ruddell, “elderly jail inmates,” 49-60. 7. jason l. riley, “the high cost of letting criminals go,” the wall street journal, july 21, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/thehigh-cost-of-letting-criminals-go-1437523819. 8. aclu, i. 9. center for justice, aging in prison, ix. 10. aclu, 28. 11. center for justice, aging in prison, xv 12. kuhlmann and ruddell, “elderly jail inmates,” 52. 13. aclu, 28. 14. gary fields and peter loftus, “high cost of new hepatitis c drugs strains prison budgets, locks many out of cure,” the wall street journal, september 13, 2016, https://www.wsj. com/articles/high-cost-of-new-hepatitis-c-drugs-strains-prisonbudgets-locks-many-out-of-cure-1473701644. 15. aclu, ii. 16. ibid., vii 17. diane whitmore schazenbach et al., “twelve facts about incarceration and prisoner reentry,” the hamilton project, october 2016, 11-12. 18. center for justice, aging in prison, ix. 19. ibid., 8. 20. kuhlmann and ruddell, “elderly jail inmates,” 56. 21. kathryn e. mccollister, michael t. french, and hai fang, “the cost of crime to society: new crime-specific estimates for policy and program evaluation,” drug and alcohol dependence 108 (2010): 98-109, doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.12.002. 22. sari horwitz, “president obama just commuted sentences of more than 100 people. here are their names,” the washington post, october 6, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ post-nation/wp/2016/10/06/president-obama-just-commutedthe-sentences-of-more-than-100-people-here-are-theirnames/?utm_term=.caa14928101a. 23. “materials on 2014 drug guidelines amendment,” united states sentencing commission, 2014, http://www.ussc.gov/ policymaking/amendments/materials-2014-drug-guidelinesamendment. 24. sari horwitz, “justice department set to free 6,000 prisoners, largest one-time release,” the washington post, october 6, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ national-security/justice-department-about-to-free-6000prisoners-largest-one-time-release/2015/10/06/961f4c9a-6ba211e5-aa5b-f78a98956699_story.html. 25. center for justice, aging in prison, xx. 26. ibid., 16. 27. aclu, 31. 28. scott paltrowitz, “parole review process has serious shortcomings,” correctional association of new york, december 6, 2013, http://www.correctionalassociation.org/news/parolereview-process-has-serious-shortcomings.88 elements : : spring 2017 references abrams, david s., “the imprisoner’s dilemma: a costbenefit approach to incarceration.” faculty scholarship (2013): 553. http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_ scholarship/553 american civil liberties union. at america’s expense: the mass incarceration of the elderly. june 2012. https://www. aclu.org/files/assets/elderlyprisonreport_20120613_1.pdf. fields, gary, and peter loftus. “high cost of new hepatitis c drugs strains prison budgets, locks many out of cure.” the wall street journal, september 12, 2016. https://www.wsj.com/articles/high-cost-of-newhepatitis-c-drugs-strains-prison-budgets-locks-many-outof-cure-1473701644. horwitz, sari. “justice department set to free 6,000 prisoners, largest one-time release.” the washington post, october 6, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ national-security/justice-department-about-to-free-6000prisoners-largest-one-time-release/2015/10/06/961f4c9a6ba2-11e5-aa5b-f78a98956699_story.html horwitz, sari. “president obama just commuted sentences of more than 100 people. here are their names.” the washington post, october 6, 2016. https://www. washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/06/ president-obama-just-commuted-the-sentences-of-morethan-100-people-here-are-their-names/?utm_term=. caa14928101a kuhlmann, robynn and rick ruddell. “elderly jail inmates: problems, prevalence, and public health.” californian journal of health promotion 3 (2005): 49-60. http://cjhp.fullerton.edu/volume3_2005/issue2/49-60kuhlmann.pdf center for justice at columbia university. aging in prison: reducing elder incarceration and promoting public safety. edited by samuel k. roberts. november 2015. http://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/files/2015/10/ aginginprison_final_web.pdf. the law offices of kerry l. armstrong. “backlash against releasing prisoners early.” http://kerryarmstronglaw. lawoffice.com/articles/backlash-against-releasingprisoners-early.shtml mccollister, kathryn e., french, michael t., and hai fang. “the cost of crime to society: new crime-specific estimates for policy and program evaluation.” drug and alcohol dependence 108 (2010): 98-109. doi: 10.1016/j. drugalcdep.2009.12.002. office of the inspector general, u.s. department of justice. “the impact of an aging inmate population on the federal bureau of prisons.” february 2016. https:// oig.justice.gov/reports/2015/e1505.pdf paltrowitz, scott. “parole review process has serious shortcomings.” correctional association of new york, december 6, 2013. http://www.correctionalassociation. o r g / n e w s / p a r o l e r e v i e w p r o c e s s h a s s e r i o u s shortcomings riley, jason l. “the high cost of letting criminals go.” the wall street journal, july 21, 2015. http://www.wsj.com/ articles/the-high-cost-of-letting-criminals-go-1437523819 schazenbach, diane whitmore, ryan nunn, lauren bauer, audrey breitwieser, megan mumford, and greg nantz. “twelve facts about incarceration and prisoner reentry.” the hamilton project. october 2016. schmidt, michael. “u.s. to release 6,000 inmates from prisons.” the new york times, october 6, 2015. http:// www.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/us/us-to-release-6000inmates-under-new-sentencing-guidelines.html?_r=0 semuels, alana. “lowering the cost of crime and punishment: an economist’s vision.” the atlantic, december 10, 2014. http://www.theatlantic.com/ business/archive/2014/12/lowering-the-cost-of-crimeand-punishment-an-economists-perspective/383583/ united states sentencing commission. “materials on 2014 drug guidelines amendment.” 2014. http://www. ussc.gov/policymaking/amendments/materials-2014drug-guidelines-amendment 89 no country for old men this paper explores the exploitation of narrative, character, and ideology to reconstitute the video evidence in the trial of rodney king, in which four lapd officers were indicted for violently beating the defendant. throughout the trial, the prosecution chose to let the video evidence of the beating speak for itself to allow the jury to judge the police officers as liars rather than combat the narrative of the defense. conversely, the defense reconstructed and reconstituted the form and content of the video, illustrating an ‘alternative truth’ through the use of metaphors, rhetorically identifiable characters, and professional discourse. in the end, the narrative of the defense—which depended on the stereotypical depictions of the dangerous, animalistic black man (rodney king) and the righteous heroes (the white policemen)—resonated with the racist ideology of the simi valley jurors, and, more broadly, with white america. alternative truths the construction of narratives in the rodney king trial soyeon kim overview of trial around 12:45 a.m. on march 3, 1991, rodney king, a 25-year-old motorist, was severely beaten by three officers of the los angeles police department (lapd). a sergeant and 17 other officers looked on as king suffered his beating. the california highway patrol (chp) and the lapd had been in a high-speed car chase for approximately 15 minutes as they tried to stop king, who had run several stop signs. once he stopped, king was “kicked at least seven times, shot four times with an electric taser gun of 50,000 volts, and struck 56 times with nightsticks.”1 king was black. according to the original report, he suffered “several facial cuts due to contact with asphalt. of a minor nature. a split upper-lip.”2 after he was thrown onto the ambulance and sent to the hospital, he would realize he also suffered nine skull fractures, a broken leg, injuries to both knees, a shattered eye socket and cheekbone, a partially paralyzed face, kidney damage, and permanent brain damage. he was never charged for running the stop signs. unbeknownst to the officers, local resident and amateur cameraman george holliday videotaped the entire incident once king had halted, including the 81-second beating. failing to get the lapd to accept the tape, holliday sold it to a local tv station for $500.3 the video then aired repeatedly on local and national television to the shock of the american people, and was painted as a prime example of police brutality in america.4 a year later, a criminal trial was held, in which the policemen were charged with filing a false report, assault with a deadly weapon, excessive use of force as a police officer, and acting as an accessory after the fact.. the defendants were sergeant stacey c. koon and officers laurence powell, theodore briseno, and timothy wind.5 the jury for the trial, on the other hand, consisted of ten white jurors, one asian juror, and one hispanic juror. rodney king was unable to testify for the prosecution due to problems with short-term memory, in addition to fear and confusion since the beating. despite the video evidence, three of the defendants were acquitted of all charges, while the jury was deadlocked on whether officer powell used excessive force. these verdicts were received with outrage by the people of los angeles and the rest of the nation, and have been universally attributed to triggering the los angeles riots of 1992. the six-day period of rioting saw 53 people dead, 2,300 injured, and over a billion dollars in damages to the city of los angeles.6 in response to the riots, king famously appeared on television to plead, “can we all get along?” the riots finally stopped when the military intervened. while the initial beating of king reaffirmed the racial tensions between white policemen and black civilians, the los angeles riots showed the deep-seated racial issues across multiple races in los angeles, including hispanics and asians. with the rise of smartphones and video cameras, similar cases of police brutality—eric garner and walter scott, for example—have recently been filmed and circulated through social and national media. yet, the video of king’s beating in 1992 was the first time that the problem of police brutality appeared on the national radar, though many black people contend that this problem of police brutality existed long before 1992 and that the rodney king case was only the first time it was caught on tape.7 thus, the local and national outrage at the verdict was unsurprising: the video “clearly” showed that the beating was a case of police brutality, that excessive force was used against rodney king, and that king consequently suffered a multitude of injuries—and yet, all four policemen in the rodney king case were not convicted. how could this be? this paper seeks to explore the exploitation of narrative, character, and ideology to reconstitute the video evidence in the first criminal trial involving rodney king. throughout the trial, the prosecution relied on the video evidence of the beating to speak for itself. in this way, the prosecution’s strategy rendered the jurors passive fact-finders in order to expose the police officers as liars rather than construct its own narrative to combat the narrative of the defense. conversely, the defense reconstructed and reconstiscreenshot of the video taping rodney king’s beating (courtesy of flickr) 84 elements : : fall 2016 tuted the form and content of the video through metaphors, rhetorically identifiable characters, and change in discourse to illustrate an ‘alternative truth’ by which the video could be interpreted; according to the defense, the police officers heroically followed a detailed procedure to contain an aggressive and threatening criminal. as a result, the narrative of the defense, which depended on the stereotypical depictions of the dangerous, animalistic black man in rodney king and the righteous heroes in the white policemen, resonated with the racist ideology of the simi valley jurors, and more generally, with white america. theoretical framework a rhetorical approach will be taken in analyzing the closing arguments of the assault trial of rodney king. according to foss, the main questions that students and critics have about rhetoric can be divided into three main categories.8 one is the relationship between the rhetoric and its context. this relationship can refer to the reconstruction of the context for the rhetorical artifact, such as the impact of the setting, audience, or occasion in which the rhetorical artifact occurred. the second question is how the message of the rhetorical artifact constructs a particular reality for the audience. narrative criticism and metaphorical criticism are two methods that can be used to answer this question. the third question is how the artifact is an expression of the narrator’s interpretation of the world, which suggests the narrator’s motives for the rhetoric. foss emphasizes that although these three key categories highlight different aspects of the rhetorical process, none of these categories act independently.9 both the context of the rhetorical artifact and the way its message generates a particular worldview inherently reflect the rhetorical culture of the artifact, as archetypal images, metaphors, characters are socially constructed.10 alper defined the narrative process as constructing and telling stories to create a rhetorically imagined world that gives the story its point.11 one of the obvious reasons narrative is important is that it is a basic tool of humans to assign meaning to an observation or experience. it is how people make sense of the world, as they reconcile the expected with the unexpected, with respect to what they believe is the proper course of life. alper also discussed the importance of narrative in the contexts of litigation and the courtroom. litigators realize that certain narratives channel the interpretative decoding process of understanding narratives in the juror’s minds. thus, litigators work within this process to persuade the jurors of a particular version of these facts. to do so, they expand or change the scene as the audience—in this case, the jurors—understood it. as people employ narrative to make sense of an experience or observation, that narrative ultimately tells them how the story should end. the same is seen in the courtroom, where jurors apply this everyday sense-making process to ascertain the facts from the evidence, and narratives influence and often decide the verdict of the case.12 in the case of the rodney king trial, the attorneys were responsible for making sense of the main evidence—the video—for the jurors. the jurors, like everyone else, watched the images throughout the video and had an initial reaction of shock and anger, but left the courtroom believing that king was the one who was dangerous.13 “the cops were simply doing what they’d been instructed to do,” a juror was quoted as saying. “they were afraid he was going to run or even attack them.”14 in order for the defense attorneys to successfully turn the media narrative on itself, an interpretive framing of these images, which set the foundation for the discourse, narrative, and characters that they would use, proved to be key. hasian explained that “‘forming one’s character’ means creating a persona that places oneself within communities of discourse that share cultures, interests, and languages. judicial actors may at times claim that they are merely ‘interpreting’ the law promulgated by a legislator, but as human creatures caught in the maelstrom of life, they are often simultaneously performing prudential characterizations that are taken out the broader ‘rhetorical culture.”15 the concept of character is undoubtedly related to broader ideologies, as it is the ideology of that culture that determines the significance and meaning of that character. as it relates to law, characters are especially important during trials because they allow for the process of evaluating the narratives that contain the legal as well as the cultural issues. however, the characterizations used in stories and trials often unfairly become accepted as accurate descriptions of a group of people, which influence the way we think about purpose and agency in society.16 the significance of these socially constructed meanings of images, characters, and metaphors rely on the ideology of this culture. ideology, according to hall, “refers to those images, concepts, and premises which provide the framework through which we represent, interpret, understand, and make sense of some aspect of social existence.”17 ideologies are the articulation of different elements into a distinctive set or chain of meanings rather than isolated and 85 alternative truths separate concepts. hall also said that ideologies represent a collection set of practices, structures, and discourses rather than those from individual human beings. therefore, although ideological statements can be made by individual people, ideologies cannot. racism, as an ideology, is no exception. ideologies work through the transformation of discourses and the transformation of subjects-for-action. the transformation of discourses refers to the articulation and re-articulation of ideological elements, while the transformation of subjects-for-action refers to their fracturing and re-composition. the way people see themselves and others is particularly important as it pertains to ideology because it informs their actions and practices. in the same vein, the way the jurors would come to see the video and the way the police experienced the events in the video were at least partly due to the way they saw themselves and others—as white people in society. due to the immense media attention that the controversy received, the officers requested that the court location be moved from racially diverse los angeles county to the predominantly white suburb of simi valley, california, which the public has often attributed to the verdict in the defense’s favor. the change in venue, of course, changed the racial composition of the jury from potentially having a few black jurors to having none at all, which influenced the way the images in the video were perceived.18 common sense tells us that images lend themselves to transparent interpretation due to their representational quality. messaris supported this view, claiming that “film and tv conventions appear to be constructed on the basis of preexisting cognitive principles for the perception of our physical and social environment.” images, according to messaris, “are not merely another form of arbitrary signification.” in other words, people do not need previous images to understand another image. the public thought the same about king’s video. “the tape is the tape. they can’t argue with that,” a resident of atladena, california said during the news coverage of the trial.19 this viewpoint illustrates that the meanings of some images are selfevident—they are either indexical (making material connections between the image and the referent) or iconic (structurally resembling the objects they represent). but even the most apparently self-evident images need the viewer to participate in the interpretive process of meaning-making.20 the meaning-making process of images helps explain the reactions to the videotape of rodney king’s beating. the jury’s and the public’s perceptions depended on the connections between their knowledge based on their experiences and the symbolic level of those images. what symbols people perceive images to be are based on cultural conventions and practices, and if the level of symbolism is strong enough, they become a character within the rhetorical culture of that group. for example, as it pertains to this case, an lapd officer symbolizes peace, order, and security to a white juror from a predominantly white suburb, while a black man symbolizes danger and crime. the primary obstacle for the defense due to the videotape, which was that the symbols in the video so departed from what was culturally expected of those symbols, could actually be seen as an advantage because “images that radically depart from invariant expectations compel further processing effort.”21 because the contents of the video so defied the expectations of the jurors, it left them more open to other ways of interpreting the video. additionally, since the defense was seen as “underdogs” due to the media coverage that excoriated the officers, they were given the advantage of lending drama to their testimony and protecting the sanctity of generic lapd policies and procedures. therefore, this combination of narrative, character, and ideology naturally set up the success of the defense, as the prosecution stubbornly argued for objectivity rather than create these narrative qualities in its own argument. . analysis and interpretation the defense in the rodney king trial understood these intertwining factors of ideology, narrative, and character and consequently exploited them to reframe the interpretation of the events in the videotape. throughout the trial, the defense employed the narrative of “the heroic team of rova caricature of rodney king in a press conference (courtesy of flickr) 86 elements : : fall 2016 “by fragmenting parts of the video while playing it in slow motion, duke justified the violence of the officers as a response to an ‘escalation of force’ shown by king.” ing police officers defending civilized society against the rampaging hordes of wild inner-city barbarians and barely holding their own by a combination of courage, discipline, skill, strength, and teamwork.”22,23 in order to maintain and establish the foundation for this narrative, the defense had to reconstruct the video in form and in content. one of the themes in the defense throughout the trial was that the officers had experienced the events of the video differently and that their experience was an alternative truth. dwight powell’s attorney, michael stone, consequently encouraged the jury to watch the video “not through the eye of the camera but through the eyes of the police officers who were at the scene.”24 by proposing the idea of alternative truths, the defense also opened the jurors’ interpretive process to a new way of viewing the video. because the original video had blurry and ambiguous images, the defense casted doubt on the quality of the tape and its value as a representation of reality. through this justification, the defense reconstructed the original video evidence to form a new piece of evidence. to do so, they employed five different techniques to construct a new reality, an alternative truth. the first method used by the defense to reconstruct the video was manipulating the speed at which they showed the video. when they wanted to emphasize that the officers took time to develop a reasoned response to king’s movements, for example, they would slow the video down. what happened in a split second in real time would appear to be enough time to reason out the best response to king’s “aggression.” this method of slowing down the video to illustrate that the officers had enough time to think was crucial, for the narrative of the defense was not that the officers were so fearful of king that they did not know what to do, but rather, that the officers were right and reasonable in their actions. however, the defense also increased the speed of the video when it supported their argument, as when they sped up the video to skip over unflattering moments. similarly, they used real time speed when it served their argument as well, including employing real time speed to show how fast king moved despite having just been hit with high electricity from the taser.25 another strategy used to reconstruct the video was stopping the video for certain segments to provide analytic commentary. the defense would run the tape in slow motion, and then interrupt the projection to ask their “use of force” expert witness, sergeant charles duke, to explain and interpret the fractional parts of the video in the context of police work. duke would then pair one of king’s “threatening” movements to a later strike that the police took to contain him. by fragmenting parts of the video while playing it in slow motion, duke justified the violence of the officers as a response to an “escalation of force” shown by king. if the video had been in real time speed and not fragmented, king’s actions would have looked like nothing more than resting on his elbows or kneeling, rather than an “escalation of force.”26 the third method used by the defense was alternating between the entire original version of the video and the stilled frames of individual parts of the video. they were aware that one of the prosecutors, prosecutor terry white, had shown the original video in its entirety in his opening statement, not just the 81-second clip shown by the media, and that the defense’s version of the video extensively used small extracts from the video. as a result, they did not want to be accused of doing exactly what they were criticizing the media of doing: distorting events and taking them out of context. to eliminate such accusation and to appear more comprehensive than the prosecution, the defense played an “fbi enhanced” tape during its opening statement and replayed this tape after their experts had analyzed certain isolated segments of the video to explain each blow and strike taken by the officers. it appeared, therefore, that the defense was allowing the jury to “doublecheck” and confirm for themselves whether the blows occurred for the reasons the expert claimed they did. however, the perception of the jurors’ had already been conditioned to the defense’s analysis because the “fbi enhanced” version had been shown after the prosecution’s analysis.27 the final technique that the defense used to reconstruct the old video was converting the original video into individual stills, forming a new body of texts. by remaking the 87 alternative truths video into single-page images, the visual scene changed from the chaos of the continuous video to order in this array of static photographs. they then made a sort of flip book out of the video, creating a series of discrete images that gave the impression of movement when flipped in sequence, but could be stopped at any moment to analyze a single page. thus, rather than a whole that represented one thing—i.e., the police brutally beating rodney king— the video became a series of distinct images and events, from the police’s perceived signs of aggression from king, to the police making the reasoned decision to contain this threat, to the strikes with the batons themselves.28 these still images made king appear more active than in the video, and therefore gave the jurors an illusion of movement and power to king, which they were quick to believe due to their ideology. the defense additionally distilled each individual photograph by putting overlays that had crayoned outlines on top of the photos. these outlines and a pointer were utilized by the defense and the “use of force” experts to focus the jury on king rather than on the officers. just as lines connect selected stars into a constellation, these outlines turned what had been blurs into a concrete shape for the jurors. the defense thus allowed the jurors to engage in the interpretive process, while outlining clearly king’s position relative to the officers, which was not as obvious in the quickly paced video.29 the white crayoning used to foreground king also shows the implicit racism used throughout the trial, as the defense continually contrasts king, a black man, with the white police officers, the jurors, and the white crayoned outline. richard sherwin noted that the media have made it more and more difficult for people to distinguish between “fiction and reality… [to] draw the line between historic events and their visual representations.” by making this new video, the defense changed reality in the original into fiction through altered and reconstituted versions of the incident in the form of overlays, diagrams, and photos. because of the media and the insistence by the jurors to view the new video from the officers’ perspectives, the line between fiction and reality had become blurred for the jurors as well.30 the defense realized that they needed the jurors to reject the old text—the original video. in reconstructing and reconstituting the video, the defense allowed the jurors to perform their role as meaning-makers through a “tabloidlike construction of the truth.”31 the defense guided the jurors to the verdict by presenting the scenes from the perspective of the police and encouraging the jurors to connect those scenes to their own reality, one in which police officers are moral and black men are associated with crime. at the same time, however, the defense acknowledged that the prosecution’s reality existed, and that the video was, in fact, violent: mr. mounger: how do you view looking at this videotape, sir? sgt. koon: it is violent and it is brutal. mr. mounger: was this anything that you enjoyed? sgt. koon: no. mr. mounger: why was it done? sgt. koon: it is done to control an aggressive combative suspect and sometimes police work is brutal. that is just a fact of life.32 yet, the defense added to this reality by insisting that there was also the reality of the officers, that they were following the procedures of their job, which they showed by breaking down the video into extemporal images. in doing so, they justified this violence and provided a new frame for the narrative they would use throughout the trial. in addition to reconstructing the video in terms of form, the defense would also reconstruct its narrative substance. by combining these two strategies, the defense framed the prosecution’s “objective truth” as one that was a “nonsensical, incredible tale too full of inconsistencies and loose ends to withstand the onslaught of reasonable doubt.” the new video was the medium through which they explained their narrative, and they did it in the context of the profession of the police. this combination allowed the defense to “because of the media and the insistence by the jurors to view the new video from the officers’ perspectives, the line between fiction and reality had become blurred for the jurors as well.”88 elements : : fall 2016 show the jurors that while experiences change according to perspective, the prosecution’s “objective truth” did not make sense.33 just as they did to formally reconstruct the video, the defense employed several major techniques to reconstruct it narratively as well. first, they needed to change the discourse used to explain the video. rather than continuing the discourse established by the news media, which was through the lens of civilians outside of the police force, the defense contextualized the video through the professional discourse of the lapd. by doing so, they also used a coding scheme that transformed the way their clients understood the world into categories and events that were according to the lives of the lapd. this professional discourse of the police allowed the jurors to interpret the video in a way that coincided with their cultural expectations as white people from a white suburb, thereby consolidating the narrative for the defense and providing the foundation for the “alternative truth” as experienced by the officers. however, this reasoning and discourse would not have been as effective if the racist ideology of the policemen had not overlapped with that of the jurors—that is, the way they viewed black men as threatening and the policemen as morally right. this overlap in ideology allowed the jurors to more easily believe the fear explained by the officers. sergeant stacy koon, a defendant, used this professional discourse in his testimony, saying that “this was a managed and controlled use of force. it followed the policies and procedure of the lapd, and the training.”34 thus, he provided the jurors a linguistic filter through which they watched the tape while helping to legitimatize the framing of the video: they were doing their jobs as law enforcers. this discourse was continued further when the defense called forth the main witnesses for the defense in trial, the “use of force” expert charles duke. this discourse, combined with the already reconstructed video, served to specifically detail the procedures the police took in response to the actions they perceived from king. in the segmented, slowed-down images of the beating, they introduced an “escalation/de-escalation” framework to interpret each movement by king on a “spectrum of aggression” from escalation, to de-escalation, to assessment, to escalation, and again to de-escalation. thus, what looks like, to a person outside of this discourse, the police striking, the victim reacting, the police then deciding whether to strike again, the police striking again, and then the victim reacting again, becomes only a measurement of where rodney king lies on this spectrum of aggression. in this discourse, king’s self-protective actions become signs of aggression, while this illusion is amplified through the slowed down, cut up images in the new video. as a result, simple actions by king such as bending down or resting on his elbows were repeatedly described by the officers as king being “on the rise.” duke, in contrast to the media portrayal of the video, was free to give agency to whomever he pleased due to the perspectival nature of the defense’s argument. because of this escalation/de-escalation framework that portrayed king as the aggressor, the agency shifted from the officers to rodney king. therefore, the framework not only changed the discourse for describing king’s actions, but also changed who had agency in the situation–indeed, most of king’s actions were described in the active language, while the officers’ were in passive language. while koon only “activated” the taser rather than shot it, the smallest head movement from king—even though it was after powell had knocked him to the ground—was described as renewed aggression. it is because of this jargon that the defense came to the conclusion that “rodney king, and rodney king alone, was in control of the situation.”35 by explaining the video in the professional discourse, as charles goodwin explains, duke, the expert, “[taught] the jury how to look at the tape and how to see relevant events within it... he provided them with an ethnography of seeing that situated the events visible on the tape within the worklife and phenomenal world of a particular community.”36 therefore, one of the implicit arguments the defense makes by bringing in an “expert” to interpret the video is that the jurors did not know the language and vocabulary with which to watch this video, and that there is important information outside of the average juror’s sphere of knowledge that only a person within this discourse would know. consequently, duke “walked them through” an elaborate chart of police “tools in escalation.” these “tools” began with “verbalization and presence,”or letting the criminal know of the police’s presence, and elevated to the chokehold and use of deadly force. after delineating these tools, duke correlated the policeman’s actions and matched them with the tools of escalation, to show that they were following police procedures. for example, he pointed to the stills on the video, perceived king’s movements as a “charge at an officer,” and subsequently reconstructed officer powell’s first blow—the one that knocked king to the ground—through a choreographic demonstration that was “an appropriate weapon to use to stop [the charge].” thus, duke continued to characterize king’s movements as signs of aggression and danger, and consequently charac89 alternative truths terized the actions of the officers as reasonable and just. this justification continued to form the characters of king and of the officers, thereby continuing to establish the narrative of the heroic policemen following procedures to protect society from “threats” like king.37 duke’s testimony was important also because it contextualized the testimonies of defendants sergeant koon and officer powell. because they were the most experienced officers on the scene, they also became the “experts” on the scene, embodying the same level of “professionalism” as duke. to establish their experience, they opened up their own testimonies by listing their extensive résumés. they also exemplified the professional jargon to distinguish their more knowledgeable perspectives from the jury’s: “mr. king went down on what i could call a one-point landing on his face,” koon said to describe a still of the video. he continued this jargon: “officer powell had what i would call kind of a pulsated back to evaluate.”38 this use of technical jargon by the police again emphasized to the jurors that there was an alternative truth to the beating, as it introduced them to a new way of defining and looking at the events of the video. because the prosecution’s main argument centered on the “objective truth” of the video, duke’s testimony sparked several problems for the prosecution. they could and did counter with their own expert witness, but doing more than that would risk conceding that the video required higher interpretation, and that the police possessed the expertise needed to do so. additionally, when experts disagree in a criminal trial, the burden-of-proof rule is supposed to work in favor of the prosecution (how could we as laypeople know beyond a reasonable doubt when even the experts can’t decide?), but the prosecution found itself at an atypical disadvantage: because the defendants were police officers who enforce the law, this usual advantage was offset. in addition, had the prosecution stuck purely to their argument—which was that the video speaks for itself and that, therefore, the officers were not excessively forceful—it would appear as if they had no counterargument to duke’s interpretation of the video. if the prosecution had not argued for the single truth of passively watching the video, and instead provided a narrative of its own, they would not have encountered these issues.39 another method the defense utilized was emphasizing the events that preceded the contents of the video. “rodney king refused instructions to stop, drove at over 100 miles per hour, refused instructions to assume a felony prone position, resisted attempts to determine whether he had a weapon, repelled four officers who grabbed his limbs, withstood 100,000 volts of electricity and lunged at officer powell,” said michael stone, dwight powell’s lawyer. while the media had largely shown only the 81-second video and emphasized its shocking nature, the defense illustrated that much had built up to necessitate, in the policemen’s perspective, the procedural use of force to contain rodney king. “how much force is needed to subdue this unruly, pcp-crazed giant?”40 . referring to king through descriptions such as an “unruly pcp-crazed giant” that the officers “needed to subdue” exemplifies the effectiveness of the language used by the defense throughout the trial. in this situation, “effective” language for the defense would be that which reaffirms the racist ideology of the white suburban jurors, and therefore, supports their narrative and further establishes the characters they have created. to form king’s character as a threatening, uncontrollable, all-powerful criminal that was insensate to pain, the defense used animal and gun metaphors—both symbols that elicit qualities related to stereotypes of big, black men according to the racist ideology of the jury.41 one of the claims all the officers made was that they believed king to be under the influence of pcp, a drug that would have made king exceptionally immune to pain, thereby endowing him with superhuman strength. by attaching this quality to king, the defense could now use hyperbolically dehumanizing imagery to highlight king’s character. darryl mounger, koon’s lawyer, did so by likening him to king kong: “but rather than causing rodney king to fall down, you are going to hear that rodney king rose up to his feet and groaned, ‘ahh, ahh’ and started advancing toward koon, and koon ordered him again, ‘get down, get down,’ but rodney king kept coming.”42 the continuous use of king’s full name without the use of pronouns makes king out to be the name of a creature, while koon appears to be accusing king even further through the repetition of his full name. by avoiding to use the pronoun of “he,” mounger seems to purposely implant the thought of king as a creature rather than a human in the minds of the jury. the loaded language supports this characterization as a lifeless, harmful creature and produces the image of a threatening creature like king kong approaching an innocent, heroic policeman who was only doing his duty to protect society. 90 elements : : fall 2016 this animal metaphor proceeds to be seen in mounger’s direct examination of koon, as the officer repeatedly describes king as “pumped up.” according to koon, after tasing king a second time, king “repeated this, uh, this groan, like similar to a wounded animal… i could see the vibrations on him, that he seemed to be overcoming it.”43 here, king is quite literally compared to an animal, which again implicitly invokes the stereotype of black men as subhuman brutes. the officers’ vivid details, such as the vibrations on king to the groan of a wounded animal, gives authenticity to their experience, which in turn, highlights the importance of alternative truths—that what was caught on camera could be different from what the officers had seen. mounger emphasized this concept and again criticized a way of thinking that believes in only one experience of events: you are going to hear that rodney king displayed the objective symptoms of being under the influence of something, and sergeant koon will tell you, “i knew he was under the influence of something. i saw a blank stare in his face. i saw watery eyes. i saw perspiration. i saw that he swayed. i saw that he was slow to follow the command of the officers. i saw him looking through me.44 this description again paints the image of king’s character to allow the jurors to vicariously feel the threat the officers claim they felt when facing king, while mounger explicitly devalues the “objective” experience people think they see when they watch the video without any context. michael stone later extended this metaphor of an animal using an officer’s own words: but her husband, timothy singer, what did he say? he wasn’t even involved in this and he said, “i was scared. this was like something out of a monster movie. this man, rodney king, got up, and i could see the the muscles in his face convulsing from the electricity and it was like right out of a monster movie.45 once stone began to believe king was under the influence of pcp after he had been tased twice, he again used similarly dehumanizing imagery: “and officer powell went up, grabbed his wrist and tried to move it back to a handcuffing position, and king began to laugh and suddenly he went into a push up position and with the full body weight of officer powell [193 lbs.] on his back he pushed up and powell rolled off and all of the officers scrambled away.”46 the image of king beginning to laugh at officer powell’s failed attempt to put king into a handcuffing position attaches a demonic quality to king, while transferring the victimization from king to the officers. as expected of the cultural conventions of white suburbia in america, king became the villain rather than the victim. king’s actions described by stone not only hinted that king dared to disrespect the policeman, but also amplified the sense of danger emanating from king’s character, justifying the measures the police would initially take to “subdue” king. stone further dehumanized king by using language that seemed to describe a zombie: “did king respond? not really. he continued to pat the ground and make strange noises. mr. king chose to do that. now, at that point every officer at the scene concluded, we got a duster on our hands and there is no doubt about that. there is no doubt about that. their perception was this guy is under the influence of pcp, and oh, boy, look at how big he is. we have got problems”47 another metaphor used by the defense to enhance the imagery of rodney king was weapon metaphors. what looked to everyone else like king helplessly flopping and flailing his legs and arms in response to the blows, koon and powell repeatedly described as king having his leg “cocked” or his arm “being in a trigger position.” hence, king’s body had become a gun. the fear that the danger of a weapon elicits in people, as well as the criminality associated with guns, again point to the defense’s deliberate effort to match the events of the video with the jury’s stereotypes of black men. as vogelman notes, this a caricature of the 1992 los angeles riots (courtesy of flickr) 91 alternative truths characterization of king could not be broken because king himself did not testify.48 the defense attorneys juxtaposed their characterization of king with that of the officers to cement their characters and, thus, the narrative that mirrored the cultural expectations of the jury. while justifying the violence of the video, the defense highlighted the “bravery” of the police officers taking measures to subdue king, who was made out to be an aggressive, threatening character. stone alluded to the duty and heroism of the police officers in their closing arguments: “these are not robocops, ladies and gentlemen. they hurt, they feel pain, bleed, and they die, just like everyone else. and we leave it to them to take care of the mean streets so that we can safely enjoy our lives.” by distinguishing the officers from the popular culture icon “robocop,” the defense again calls forth the experiential knowledge and the meaning-making process for the jurors. stone continued, “these officers, these defendants, do not get paid to lose street fights. they don’t get paid to roll around in the dirt with the likes of rodney glenn king. that is not their job. that is not their duty.” stone thus highlighted that, in spite of their vulnerability to danger because of their humanity, the officers courageously risked their lives to protect the rest of the world from “the likes of rodney glenn king.” because the defense had already established king’s character as an animal and menace to society, they utilized this character to contrast with the humanity of the officers. timothy wind’s attorney, paul depasquale, also continued this characterization: s the job that these law enforcement officers, these cops, are hired to perform and the job they perform is to constitute a line between the uncontrolled chaotic behavior of a person who drives wildly, who conducts himself wildly without thought for his own or other people’s safety. that is a job that falls to these police officers, the line between chaos and society.49 depasquale as well as stone, therefore, appealed to the cultural convention that the police represent the “thin blue line” that separates society from chaos, from “the likes of rodney glenn king.” ironically yet unsurprisingly, it was conveniently ignored that, just like the officers, king can also “hurt, feel pain, and die.” depasquale’s words, and the jury’s agreement with this narrative after the trial, illustrated that for both the officers and the jury, rodney king did not represent their society. rather than create his own narrative and form his own characters for king and the officers to combat the defense’s narrative, prosecutor white simply asked powell, “[king] wasn’t an animal, was he?” to which powell answered, “no, sir, just acting like one… because of his uncontrollable behavior.”50 although white’s intention, in addition to again emphasizing the “facts” of the case, was to delegitimize powell’s account of the events, this kind of questioning served no real purpose other than giving powell the opportunity to repeat king’s uncontrollability. thus, white himself contributed to forming king’s character as an exaggerated form of the stereotypical big, black man: animalistic, uncontrollable, monstrous, and dangerous. white and his co-counsel, alan yochelson, would stubbornly stick to what the videotape had shown without any context or further interpretation. their preoccupation with the “facts” deterred them from winning over the jury, as the inclination of the juror, as aforementioned by alper, is to make sense of the video in a way that resonated with his cultural expectations, ideology, and reality.51 in the end, the prosecutors shared the same viewpoint as messaris: that some images speak for themselves. white continued to express this viewpoint in his closing arguments: and what more could you ask for? you have a videotape in this particular case which shows objectively, without bias, impartially, what happened that night. this videotape is the central piece of evidence in this case. we don’t need to rely on stacey koon’s words. we don’t need to rely on lawrence [sic] powell’s word. we don’t need to rely on what they said happened that night. we don’t need to rely on what mr. king says happened that night. we have the videotape and the videotape shows conclusively what occurred that night and it is something that can’t be rebutted. it is there for everyone to see. it is the most objective piece of evidence you can have.52 this position not only underestimated the interpretive nature of the juror by demanding the jurors to be passive watchers of the video, but also failed to negate the defense’s narrative and the professional discourse of the police used to substantiate that narrative. as we can see from the rodney king trial and the resulting verdict, although we may think that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” words can be used to change what that picture means. thus, instead of taking an approach that was about the tape, the whole tape, and nothing but the tape, they could have tried to beat the defense with their own narrative. while acknowledging that the video did require further interpretation, the hypothetical narrative of the prosecution 92 elements : : fall 2016 calling for equality during the 1992 los angeles riots (courtesy of flickr) could have impressed upon the jury the frightening consequences of the means by which the defense arrived at their interpretation. with this approach, the prosecution would have maintained the juror’s role as active meaning-makers rather than passive fact-finders while questioning the kind of meaning they wanted to assign the events of the video, in which rodney king was beaten by the police who justified every strike according to their procedures. the conclusion that the defense’s argument was reasonable was based on the fact that it adhered to the lapd’s rules pertaining to the escalation and de-escalation of force to subdue the threat that king symbolized.53 what lay in this subtext was that the jury, according to their worldview, could not deny their city the police protection that it perceived to be necessary against the movement of crime and drugs among black carriers from los angeles. the difference between the defense’s narrative and the prosecution’s narrative, however, was that in all likelihood, the characters and narratives portrayed by the prosecution departed from the worldview and ideology of the simi valley jurors. naturally, they would have had to depict the officers as reprehensible characters. to counter duke’s technological professionalism and the professional discourse he used to establish the defense’s narrative, the prosecution could have formed a narrative that exposed this “professionalism” as belying common morality. hence, the use of force throughout the beating would change from a reasoned response to an outrageous overreaction in the context of common morality. alper proposed a concrete narrative that the prosecution could have utilized throughout the trial: the use of force that duke attempted to justify and duke’s own defense of it could have been depicted as an outrageous over-response to rodney king’s minor infractions of the law by a runaway police machine so obsessively programmed to overwhelm the slightest resistance that it was likely to destroy the very social order it existed to protect.54 this narrative would not be denying duke’s professionalism while simultaneously guiding the jurors to see that they can buy into that vision of the police, but only at a price that does not use force against society so easily. conclusion although the rodney king trial was the first case involving police brutality to receive such national attention, the legal aspects of the narratives, characters, and discourse are familiar due to the ideology that gave those specific aspects significance. the reason that the video was so shocking to begin with was that, out of context, it had so deviated from the public’s cultural expectations of police officers. as a result, it was covered by the media as an awful aberration, but with the video evidence clearly in everyone’s minds, the task of the defense was to reinterpret the video in a way that corresponded with the ideology of the simi valley jurors.55 their method was diametrically opposed to that of the prosecution, which emphasized the objective viewing of the video, de-valued the interpretive process, and did not construct any ideologically appealing narratives or characters. instead, the defense emphasized alternative truths— that there was more than one way of understanding the events of the video. consequently, the defense constructed its own video, one that portrayed the officers’ reality during the incident. they manipulated the original video by altering or maintaining its speed depending on what supported their narrative, and converted the video from a continuous clip to a virtual flip book that gave the illusion of movement while allowing the defense to analyze each moment. this reconstruction of the video allowed for the reconstruction of the narrative, that the policemen heroically followed the procedures according to their jobs despite the danger presented by the “animalistic” and “unruly” rodney king. by slowing down and analyzing each moment, the defense was able to make virtually any of king’s movements, even those that were in response to being attacked, to be viewed as signs of aggression to the police. because the racist ideology of the white police officers coincided with that of the simi valley jurors, this made more than enough sense to the jury. it 93 alternative truths was due to the defense’s narrative that the jurors were able to reconcile the deviation of expectations that were presented in the original video with their own reality that was constructed while living in a white suburb. the professional discourse the defense used throughout the trial amplified both the new video evidence as well as the alternative truth narrative of the heroic police officers vs. the barbaric criminal. this discourse not only shifted the agency from the officers to king, but also reminded the jurors of the likelihood of the alternative truth, as the jurors had not been a part of the discourse that allowed them to interpret the video the way the defense did. while the professional discourse established the context through which to view the video, the words of the officers and their attorneys also were influential in the metaphors they used to form the characters of rodney king and of the officers. these characters of the overall narrative again reflected the ideology of the policemen and the jurors, as shown by the use of weapon and animal metaphors to encapsulate king’s superhuman strength, subhuman nature, and criminal tendencies, thereby justifying the fear and violence of the police. conversely, the police were portrayed as humans who were brave enough to take the risk of being in danger on a daily basis for the sake of society, and when faced with such a situation, promptly followed the violent procedures that their jobs entailed. the effectiveness of these characters, and therefore the narrative, again depended on the ideology of the jurors. unfortunately, the jurors would not fail the defense team, as the verdict held that all four of the officers were not guilty. despite the video evidence that was shown all over the nation, the meaning of those images was not as clear as the public thought. the public and the prosecution believed that as the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” as rodney king’s criminal trial showed, however, with enough words and contextualization, the meaning of that picture can change. endnotes 1. william l. solomon and william s. solomon, images of rebellion: news coverage of rodney king, race, gender, class and the 1992 l.a. “riots,” 11, no. 1 (2004): 23-38. 2. ibid. 3. ibid. 4. seth mydans, the police verdict; los angeles policemen acquitted in taped beating, the new york times, april 30, 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/08/home/rodney-verdict.html. 5. ibid. 6. william l. solomon and william s. solomon, images of rebellion: news coverage of rodney king, race, gender, class and the 1992 l.a. “riots,” 11, no. 1 (2004): 23-38. 7. ibid. 8. sonjak foss, “rhetorical criticism as the asking of questions,” communication education 38 no.3 (1989), 191-196, doi: 10.1080/03634528909378755 9. ibid. 10. marouf hasian, “judicial rhetoric in a fragmentary world: ‘character’ and storytelling in the leo frank case,” communication monographs 64 no. 3 (1997): 250-269. doi: 10.1080/03637759709376419. 11. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 12. ibid. 13. seth mydans, the police verdict; los angeles policemen acquitted in taped beating, the new york times, april 30, 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/08/home/ rodney-verdict.html. 14. richard serrano, “chp officer’s testimony, memo on beating differ : trial: a key prosecution witness’s first report said king ‘kicked and punched’ police. on the stand she said he did not provoke them,” los angeles times, april 30, 1992, http:// articles.latimes.com/1992-03-10/local/me-3442_1_witness-stand. 15. marouf hasian, “judicial rhetoric in a fragmentary world: ‘character’ and storytelling in the leo frank case,” communication monographs 64 no. 3 (1997): 250-269. doi: 10.1080/03637759709376419. 16. ibid. 17. stuart hall, “the whites of their eyes: racist ideologies and the media. in silver linings some strategies for the eighties: contributions to the communist university of london,” (london: lawrence and wishart, 1981). 18. marvin zalman and maurisa gates, “rethinking venue in light of the rodney king case: an interest analysis,” cleveland state law review 41 (1993): 215, http://engagedscholarship. csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol41/iss2/4. 19. stanley m. weisberg, “out of the frying pan or into the fire? race and choice of venue after rodney king,” harvard law review 106, no. 3 (1993): 705-22, doi: 10.2307/1341660. 20. michael s. ball and gregory w. smith, analyzing visual data, qualitative research methods, sage publications, inc., 1992, doi: 10.4135/9781412983402. 21. john newhagen and byron reeves, “the evening’s bad news: effects of compelling negative television news images on memory,” journal of communication 42, no. 2 (spring, 1992): 25-41, doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1992.tb00776. 22. kimberle crenshaw and gary peller, “reel time/reel justice,” in reading rodney king/reading urban uprising, edited by robert gooding-williams, 15-22 (new york: routledge, 1993). 23. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 24. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” 94 elements : : fall 2016 accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 25. lou cannon, “prosecution rests case in rodney king beating trial” washington post, 1992. 26. robert m. entman, “framing: toward clarification of a fractured paradigm,” journal of communication 43, no. 4 (1993): 51–58, doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304. 27. charles goodwin and marjorie harness goodwin, “professional vision,” paper presented at the international conference on discourse and the professions, uppsala, sweden, august 28, 1992. 28. george holliday, “rodney king beating video full length footage screener,” filmed march 3, 1991, youtube video, 8:08, posted by “multishowtvweb,” mar 12, 2015, https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb1wywiputy. 29. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 30. richard k. sherwin, “symposium: picturing justice: images of law & (and) lawyers in the visual media introduction,” university of san francisco law review 30, no. 4 (1996): 891-902. 31. ronald n. jacobs, “civil society and crisis: culture, discourse, and the rodney king beating,” american journal of sociology 101, no. 5 (1996): 1238-272, doi: 10.1086/230822. 32. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 33. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 34. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 35. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 36. charles goodwin and marjorie harness goodwin, “professional vision,” paper presented at the international conference on discourse and the professions, uppsala, sweden, august 28, 1992. 37. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 38. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 39. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 40. jim newton, “defense says use of force on king was reasonable : courts: a motion in the upcoming civil rights case refers to a ‘pcp-crazed giant,’ suggesting that the officers’ lawyers will aggressively challenge king’s actions,” los angeles times, january 20, 1993, accessed april 27, 2015. 41. lawrence vogelman, “the big black man syndrome: the rodney king trial and the use of racial stereotypes in the courtroom,” fordham urban law journal 20 no. 3 (1993): 571-578, http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1580&context=ulj. 42. douglas linder, “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial,” accessed may 3, 2015, http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. 43. ibid. 44. ibid. 45. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 46. ibid. 47. ibid. 48. lawrence vogelman, “the big black man syndrome: the rodney king trial and the use of racial stereotypes in the courtroom,” fordham urban law journal 20 no. 3 (1993): 571-578, http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1580&context=ulj. 49. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 50. ibid. 51. ibid. 52. ibid. 53. ronald n. jacobs, “civil society and crisis: culture, discourse, and the rodney king beating,” american journal of sociology 101, no. 5 (1996): 1238-272, doi: 10.1086/230822. 54. ty alper, et. al, “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial,” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. 55. stanley m. weisberg, “out of the frying pan or into the fire? race and choice of venue after rodney king,” harvard law review 106, no. 3 (1993): 705-22, doi: 10.2307/1341660. references alper, ty, anthony g. amsterdam, todd e. edelman, randy hertz, rachel shapiro janger, jennifer mcallister-nevins, sonya rudenstine, and robin walker-sterling. “stories told and untold: lawyering theory analyses of the first rodney king assault trial.” clinical law review 12, no. 1 (2005): 1-189. ball, michael s. and gregory w. smith. analyzing visual data. qualitative research methods. sage publications, inc., 1992. doi: 10.4135/9781412983402. cannon, lou. “prosecution rests case in rodney king beating trial.” washington post, 1992. crenshaw, kimberle, and gary peller. “reel time/reel justice.” in reading rodney king/reading urban uprising, edited by robert gooding-williams, 15-22. new york: rout95 alternative truths ledge, 1993. entman, robert m. “framing: toward clarification of a fractured paradigm.” journal of communication 43, no. 4 (1993): 51–58. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304. foss, sonjak. “rhetorical criticism as the asking of questions.” communication education 38, no. 3 (1989): 191-96. doi: 10.1080/03634528909378755. goodwin, charles and marjorie harness goodwin. “professional vision.” paper presented at the international conference on discourse and the professions, uppsala, sweden, august 28, 1992. hall, stuart. “the whites of their eyes: racist ideologies and the media.” in silver linings some strategies for the eighties: contributions to the communist university of london, edited by george bridges and rosalind brunt. london: lawrence and wishart, 1981. hasian, marouf. “judicial rhetoric in a fragmentary world: “character” and storytelling in the leo frank case.” communication monographs 64, no. 3 (1997): 25069. doi: 10.1080/03637759709376419. holliday, george. “rodney king beating video full length footage screener.” filmed march 3, 1991. youtube video, 8:08. posted by “multishowtvweb,” mar 12, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb1wywiputy. jacobs, ronald n. “civil society and crisis: culture, discourse, and the rodney king beating.” american journal of sociology 101, no. 5 (1996): 1238-272. doi: 10.1086/230822. linder, douglas. “excerpts from the lapd officers’ trial.” accessed may 3, 2015. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/kingtranscript.html. mydans, seth. “the police verdict; los angeles policemen acquitted in taped beating.” the new york times, april 30, 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/08/home/ rodney-verdict.html. newhagen, john, and byron reeves. “the evening’s bad news: effects of compelling negative television news images on memory.” journal of communication 42, no. 2 (spring, 1992): 25-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1992. tb00776. newton, jim. “defense says use of force on king was reasonable : courts: a motion in the upcoming civil rights case refers to a ‘pcp-crazed giant,’ suggesting that the officers’ lawyers will aggressively challenge king’s actions.” los angeles times, january 20, 1993. accessed april 27, 2015. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-01-20/local/me1485_1_reasonable-force. serrano, richard. “chp officer’s testimony, memo on beating differ : trial: a key prosecution witness’s first report said king ‘kicked and punched’ police. on the stand she said he did not provoke them.” los angeles times, april 30, 1992. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-03-10/local/ me-3442_1_witness-stand. sherwin, richard k. “symposium: picturing justice: images of law & (and) lawyers in the visual media introduction.” university of san francisco law review 30, no. 4 (1996): 891-902. solomon, william l., and solomon, william s. “images of rebellion: news coverage of rodney king.” race, gender & class 11, no. 1 (2004): 23-38. vogelman, lawrence. “the big black man syndrome: the rodney king trial and the use of racial stereotypes in the courtroom.” fordham urban law journal 20.3 (1993): 571578. http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1580&context=ulj. weisberg, stanley m. “out of the frying pan or into the fire? race and choice of venue after rodney king.” harvard law review 106, no. 3 (1993): 705-22. doi: 10.2307/1341660. zalman, marvin, and maurisa gates. “rethinking venue in light of the rodney king case: an interest analysis. cleveland state law review 41, no. 2 (1993): 215-277. http:// engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol41/iss2/4. 96 elements : : fall 2016 restriction factors are implicated in long-term evolutionary “arms races,” in which viral antagonists drive the evolution of host proteins, and vice versa. consequently, restriction factors are remarkably variable, displaying polymorphism within species and divergence between species as a result of positive selection. this paper investigates diversity in the apobec3f (a3f) restriction factors of old world primates in order to determine whether they display evidence of involvement in an evolutionary “arms race.” we speculated that genetic variability in a3f could reflect evolutionary conflict with the vif proteins of primate lentiviruses, which are known to enhance viral replication by binding and degrading host a3 proteins. a3fs of several old world primate species were genotyped, and the sequences revealed both intra-species diversity and inter-species divergence. representative rhesus macaque (macaca mulatta) sequences were cloned and tested for sensitivity to vifs from various simian immunodeficiency viruses (sivs). evolution of a3f in the rhesus lineage is not due to selection by sivs, but may reflect antagonism by another retrovirus. a biological “arms race” apobec3f diversity and its influence on lentiviral resistance allyson tank introduction i. restriction factors: barriers to cross species transmission acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) was first identified as a disease in 1981, as increasing numbers of homosexual men were dying of opportunistic infections after becoming immunocompromised.1 the causative agent was soon discovered to be a lentivirus, classified as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1).2,3 hiv-1 and its close relative hiv type 2 (hiv-2) arose in human populations as a result of cross-species transmission events from natural simian hosts of the simian immunodeficiency viruses (sivs). the closest simian relative of hiv-1 is the strain naturally infecting chimpanzees (sivcpz),4 while the closest simian relative of hiv-2 is the strain naturally infecting sooty mangabeys (sivsm).5 over 40 species-specific sivs have since been identified in nonhuman primate species. a fraction of these infections result in immunodeficiency in the host species, while most are nonpathogenic in their natural hosts.6 the siv of a given primate species cannot readily infect a different species without undergoing numerous adaptations. part of this adaptation process involves evading host antiviral proteins known as restriction factors. restriction factors are host proteins that utilize numerous mechanisms to interfere with viral infections as part of the innate immune response. some interact directly with viral factors, while others make the cellular environment unsuitable for sustained viral replication.7 these defensive genes are subject to relatively rapid evolution under the selective pressure of viral counter-restriction mechanisms, and variants that confer greater fitness to the host during a viral outbreak will become fixed in a population much faster than would normally be expected as a result of genetic drift alone. the virus, in turn, can adapt to infect the host carrying these more fit alleles, creating a new selective pressure on the host. thus, over evolutionary time, a comparatively large number of non-synonymous, or protein-altering, mutations will be evident in genes that have participated in these virus-host “arms races.”8 genes can be examined for evidence of positive selection by comparing the rate of fixation of non-synonymous mutations (n) to the rate of fixation of synonymous mutations (s). dn/ds analysis demonstrates whether fixation of nonsynonymous changes is occurring faster than expected under neutral selection alone. a dn/ds value greater than one indicates that a particular site is evolving under positive selection, while a dn/ds value less than one indicates that a site is evolving under purifying selection.9 this idea of a virus-host “arms race” is a fairly simplified model. rna viruses can diversify their genome at a much higher rate than their hosts can. hosts keep up through diversity of antiviral mechanisms rather than rapid counterrevolution. a viral variant that efficiently evades one host restriction mechanism will likely become more susceptible to another.10 however, over evolutionary time and as a result of many interactions with diverse viruses, host restriction factors bear signatures of positive selection. another defining factor of restriction factors is their relationships with viral antagonist proteins. in many cases, viruses have evolved specific proteins to evade the mechanism of a particular restriction factor. this virus-host relationship is highly species-specific because of the rapid adaptation process. as a general rule, any given virus will have accessory proteins that are most effective at neutralizing the restriction mechanisms of its natural host, but may not be effective against the homologous restriction mechanisms of other organisms.11 a variety of restriction factors have been implicated in differential host resistance to primate lentiviruses, like hiv and the sivs. lentiviruses are part of the retrovirus family, and their life cycle is well understood. in order to infect a new target cell, the virion will first bind to a cd4 receptor and co-receptors on the cell surface. the virion membrane fuses with the cell membrane and the capsid is released into the cytoplasm. the viral rna within the capsid then undergoes reverse transcription in the cytoplasm to form dna that is transported into the nucleus and integrated into the host genome. the viral dna is transcribed and translated using host machinery, and then viral rna and proteins are localized to the cell membrane to form new virions. the restriction factors of primate lentiviruses have evolved to interfere with nearly every aspect of this life cycle, and thus act as barriers to cross-species transmission. ii. the apobec3 subfamily: a cluster of potent lentiviral restriction factors the apolipoprotein b mrna-editing catalytic polypetide-3 (apobec3) subfamily of cytidine deaminases represents one such group of restriction factors. primates encode seven apobec3 (a3) genes that form a cluster on chromosome 22 in humans and chromosome 10 in rhesus macaque monkeys: a3a, a3b, a3c, a3d, a3f, a3g, and 50 elements : : fall 2015 a3h. a3 proteins are most highly expressed in hiv-1 target cell types such as t-cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, and they are active in restricting retroviruses as well as some other viruses that do not replicate via reverse transcription.12,13 human a3d, a3f, a3g, and a3h are known to be involved with hiv restriction, and each of these proteins has a functionally conserved homolog in rhesus macaques.14 the structure of a3 proteins is characterized by a cytidine deaminase domain consisting of six α-helices coordinated around five β-strands. this domain sits between a short n-terminal α-helical domain and a short c-terminal peptide.15 the deaminase domain contains a conserved zincbinding catalytic hxex23-28pcx2-4c motif that coordinates deaminase activity. a3a, a3c, and a3h contain a single deaminase domain, while a3b, a3d, a3f, and a3g contain two deaminase domains. in the four a3s with two deaminase domains, only the c-terminal domain (ctd) is catalytically active.16,17 a3g and a3f have the greatest sequence similarity of the seven a3s, and they share many structural features that have been elucidated from the crystal structures of their ctds. the basic structure is maintained between the proteins, but differences paralleling the divergence in primary structure are evident.18 a3g is the most widely studied of the a3 subfamily, as it is believed to play the largest role in hiv-1 restriction.19 however, a3d, a3f, and a3h have also been implicated in viral restriction. a3s act by inducing cytidine-to-uracil mutations in the viral negative sense cdna produced during reverse transcription, consistent with the proteins’ known cytidine deaminase function.20 studies have shown a3g to be the more potent editor in humans, producing about 10 times more mutations in hiv-1 reverse transcripts than a3f in cell culture.21 yet, a3f is stably co-expressed with a3g in human cells and is also packaged into hiv-1 virions to inhibit infectivity.22 a3g preferentially deaminates cytidines on the 3’ end of 5’-ccc-3’ or 5’-cc-3’ sequences, while a3f and other a3 proteins preferentially deaminate the 3’ cytidine in 5’-tc-3’ sequences.23 iii. interaction between apobec3 and vif soon after the discovery of hiv-1, the viral protein termed viral infectivity factor (vif) was found to be necessary for successful infection.24 however, it was not necessary in every cell type; hiv-1δvif could infect certain permissive cell lines, while infection was unsuccessful in others.25 it was only later determined that a3 proteins were responsible for imparting resistance to vif-deficient virus in these nonpermissive cell types.26 vif has two domains, one crucial for binding a3 proteins and one that contains a highly conserved sequence required for mediating degradation.27 vif acts by targeting cytoplasmic a3 proteins for proteosomal degradation (figure 1).28 the interaction between a3s and vif is a crucial determinant of the species specificity of a virus, and it is likely that a vif from a given viral strain has evolved precisely to counteract the a3 proteins of its host species.29,30 the critical sites involved in a3-vif interactions have largely been elucidated via mutagenesis studies, and as little as a single amino acid can be responsible for conferring the ability of a3 proteins to resist degradation by vif. in a3g, the vif binding site has been localized to the n-terminal deaminase domain (ntd). it was found that the vif of an siv strain isolated from african green monkeys (sivagm) was inactive against human a3g (ha3g) but active against african green monkey a3g (agma3g). this discrepancy was mapped to amino acid 128, an aspartic acid in ha3g and a lysine in agma3g.31 this interface was expanded upon to include the proline at position 129 and the aspartic acid at position 130. together, these three residues create a crucial negatively charged binding surface for hiv-1 vif in ha3g.32 contrary to a3g, the hiv-1 vif binding site in a3f is localized at the ctd. the region comprising amino acids 289eflarh294 in ha3f and agma3f has been shown to be a critical region for hiv-1 vif interaction.33 another study suggested that amino acid 324 is a critical residue that confers ha3f susceptibility to hiv-1 vif and rhesus macaque a3f (rha3f) resistance to hiv-1 vif.34 more recently, the negatively charged surface of α-helices 3 and 4 in ha3f has been strongly implicated in hiv-1 vif binding.35 in hiv-1 vif, “thus, over evolutionary time, a comparatively large number of non-synonymous, or protein-altering, mutations will be evident in genes that have participated in these virus-host ‘arms races.’” 51 a biological “arms race” highly conserved n-terminal motifs are involved with a3g and a3f binding.36,37 iv. objective while much attention has been given to the primary structures of a3s in terms of their effect on cross-species transmission of primate lentiviruses, examination of the diversity in these genes has been largely unconsidered. the most widely utilized primate model for investigating lentiviral infection and disease is the siv infecting rhesus macaques (sivmac), with rhesus macaques of indian origin being the best characterized species.38 rhesus macaques are not natural hosts of siv in the wild; rather, sivmac emerged from cross-species transmission events in us primate centers and likely originated from infected sooty mangabeys.39,40 the adaptations allowing the virus to stably infect rhesus macaques likely occurred as a result of serial passages of the virus through multiple animals.41 unlike sivsm in its natural host, sivmac is pathogenic in rhesus macaques, resulting in an aids-like disease. given the well-established history of its emergence, sivmac is an excellent model for studying the adaptive processes that viruses must undergo in order to successfully infect a new host species. recent work has demonstrated that the rhesus macaque a3g gene (rha3g) is polymorphic at an n-terminal site, where three sequence variations are apparent. the variants displayed differential susceptibilities to sivsm vifmediated degradation in cell culture, but all three could be degraded by sivmac vif.42 thus, it is likely that sivmac vif had to adapt to counteract the sivsm vif-resistant rhesus macaque a3g allele in order for pathogenic sivmac to emerge. it is also known that a3g has evolved under strong positive selection, and that vif is not wholly responsible for this phenomenon.43 the present study is intended to further characterize the degree of variation in other a3 family members, more specifically a3f. old world primate a3fs were examined for the genetic signatures of a rapidly adapting restriction factor. in a manner analogous to a3g, polymorphic sites in a3f may indicate potential determinants of the ability of sivmac to infect its novel host. polymorphic sites were investigated for their potential influence on the ability of rha3f to resist degradation by vifs derived from various siv strains. examination of allelic variance in a3f provides valuable insight into the barriers to cross-species transmission of lentiviruses, and offers further support to the idea of an evolutionary “arms race” between restriction factors and their viral antagonists. materials and methods cell lines hek293t cells were maintained in dulbecco’s modified eagles medium (dmem) containing 10% fbs, 1% l-glutamine, 1% penicillin streptomycin mixture, and 2.5% hepes. reverse transcriptase pcr (rt-pcr) and cloning rt-pcr reactions were performed on rna samples (extracted previously at the new england primate research center) using the invitrogen (carlsbad, ca) superscript® iii one-step rt-pcr system or the qiagen (hilden, germany) onestep rt-pcr kit according their associated protocols. gateway cloning forward and reverse primers were used (table 1). products were identified via gel electrophoresis and purified using qiagen qiaquick gel extraction kit according to the protocols specified in the kit. purified dna samples were cloned using the invitrogen gateway® cloning system and its associated protocols. purified pcr samples were cloned into invitrogen pentr®/d-topo plasmids. the clones were transformed into invitrogen one shot® stbl3tm chemically competent e.coli and transformants were selected for via kanamycin selective plating. plasmid dna was isolated using the qiagen qiaprep spin miniprep kit and its associated protocols, and then sent to eton bioscience (charlestown, ma) for sequencing to confirm the identity of a3f sequence. selected clones were then subcloned into invitrogen pcdna3.2tm/v5-dest plasmids (figure 4). the clones were transformed into invitrogen one shot® stbl3tm competent e.coli and transformants were selected for via ampicillin selective plating. plasmid dna was isolated as before, and clones were sequenced again to confirm a3f insertion. dn/ds analysis a3f sequences from rhesus macaques and other primates obtained from our own clones and from the ncbi database (see appendix for sequences) were trimmed and aligned using the multiple align function in geneious 6.1.8 software (created by biomatters, available at http:// www.geneious.com). the trimmed sequences were edited such that extraneous sequence before or after the a3f open reading frame was deleted. the sequences were up52 elements : : fall 2015 loaded to datamonkey, a public server for comparative analysis of sequence alignments.44,45,46 all three available models for dn/ds analysis (slac, fel, rel) were run for the relatively small data set of 15 sequences. as suggested by prior research, the slac and fel models were run with p values of 0.25, while the rel model was run with the datamonkey-suggested bayes factor of 50.47 genotyping pcr was performed on rhesus macaque genomic dna samples obtained from multiple us primate research centers using invitrogen platinum® pcr supermix and its associated protocols. the primers used were genotyping forward and reverse (table 1). the pcr products were visualized via gel electrophoresis, purified using the qiagen qiaquick gel extraction kit according to its associated protocols, and sent to eton bioscience for sequencing. the sequence chromatograms were aligned using geneious 6.1.8 software and examined for the presence of the skeh/fqqy variants. mutagenesis around-the-horn pcr was used to mutate amino acids 60, 61, 63, and 64 from the fqqy variant to the skeh variant (or vice versa) in select rha3f clones. pcr was performed using thermo scientific (waltham, ma) phusion flash high fidelity pcr master mix and its associated protocols, and the patch mutant forward and reverse primers were used. pcr products were digested with 10u of dpni (new england biolabs; ipswich, ma) and purified using the qiagen qiaquick pcr purification kit and its associated protocols. ligation was performed using the promega (madison, wi) ligafasttm rapid ligation system and its associated protocols. the clones were transformed into invitrogen one shot® stbl3tm competent e.coli, and transformants were selected for via ampicillin selective plating. plasmid dna was isolated using the qiagen qiaprep spin miniprep kit and its associated protocols, and then sent to eton bioscience for sequencing to confirm successful mutagenesis of a3f. immunoblotting plasmids to be used in cell culture were prepared using the invitrogen purelink® hipure plasmid maxiprep kit and its associated protocols. hek293t cells were seeded in 6-well plates at a density of 800,000-1,000,000 cells/ well or 12-well plates at a density of 200,000-400,000 cells/well 24-48 hours prior to transfection. cells were transfected with 1-3ug total dna using genjet reagent (signagen laboratories; gaithersburg, md) and its associated protocols. cells were harvested 48 hours posttransfection using 100-200ul ip lysis buffer. samples were added to 2x laemmli buffer and boiled for 10 minutes. proteins were separated using sds/page and then transferred to pvdf or nitrocellulose membranes via bio-rad (hercules, ca) mini trans-blot electrophoretic transfer cell and its associated protocols. membranes were blocked overnight in 1.25% milk, washed in 1x pbs0.1% tween-20 solution, and incubated for 1 hour in antiv5-hrp (novex; carlsbad, ca) to probe for a3 protein or anti-β-actin-hrp antibody (abcam; cambridge, ma) to probe for β-actin. alternatively, a primary mouse monoclonal anti-β-actin antibody (sigma-aldrich; st. louis, mo) and secondary anti-mouse-hrp antibody (thermo scientific) were used to probe for β-actin. all antibodies were diluted in 1.25% milk according to manufacturer’s specifications. after washing again, blots were developed using either amersham ecl prime western blotting detection reagent (ge healthcare life sciences; little chalfont, buckinghamshire, united kingdom), or thermo scientific supersignaltm west femto maximum sensitivity substrate and then visualized using bio-rad chemidoc mp gel imaging system. results i. investigating diversity and positive selection in old world primate a3f in order to determine whether primate a3f displays the hallmarks of a restriction factor that has been antagonized over time, rhesus macaque (macaca mulatta) a3f sequences were first investigated for evidence of polymorphism. to examine polymorphism within species, rt-pcr was performed on rna samples obtained from 10 different rhesus macaques. the resulting dna was cloned and the sequences were examined for both silent and non-synonymous polymorphisms. the data showed that a3f is a highly polymorphic gene in rhesus macaques, and that many of the single nucleotide polymorphisms result in amino acid changes (figure 2). to examine inter-species diversity, rt-pcr was also performed on multiple rna samples from sooty mangabeys (cercocebus atys), crab-eating macaques (macaca fascicularis), and pigtail macaques (macaca nemestrina). a3f coding sequences from these related primates showed divergence from each other and from rhesus macaques, 53 a biological “arms race” demonstrating that there are fixed differences between a3f genes in old world primates (figure 3). after establishing that a3f is a polymorphic gene in rhesus macaques and that fixed differences exist between a3fs of related old world primates, a dn/ds analysis was performed in order to determine whether any codons have evolved under positive selection. the species that were included in this analysis were rhesus macaques, crab-eating macaques, pigtail macaques, sooty mangabeys, african green monkeys (chlorocebus sabaeus), humans (homo sapiens), chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), bonobos (pan paniscus), and drills (mandrillus leucophaeus). these sequences were uploaded to datamonkey, a public server for comparative analysis of sequence alignments (see dn/ds section in materials and methods). 11 codons were found to be evolving under positive selection. the sites were mapped relative to the deaminase domains and catalytic motifs in a3f (figure 4), and seven sites were found to overlap with those previously identified to be polymorphic in rhesus macaques. ii. a closer look at a polymorphic and positively selected site in rhesus macaques four codons at positions 60, 61, 63, and 64 in rhesus macaques showed evidence of both intra-species variability and positive selection. in the rha3f clones, these sites were linked and appeared as either 60fqpqy64 (henceforth referred to as fqqy) or 60skpeh64 (henceforth referred to as skeh). 20 of 35 clones showed the fqqy sequence, while 15 clones showed the skeh sequence. the patch change from fqqy to skeh is fairly significant at the amino acid level: bulky hydrophobic phenylalanine is exchanged for a small polar serine, polar uncharged glutamine is exchanged for a positively charged lysine and then a negatively charged glutamic acid, and hydrophobic tyrosine is exchanged for a positively charged histidine. thus, the skeh variant has three charged amino acids, whereas the fqqy variant is a neutral surface. a broader genomic survey was done in order to better understand the level of diversity in the patch. targeted pcr was used to amplify an approximately 680 base pair (bp) stretch of a3f from genomic dna samples representing 44 different rhesus macaques. 15 animals appeared to be heterozygous fqqy/skeh, 17 animals appeared to be homozygous fqqy/fqqy, and 12 animals appeared to be homozygous skeh/skeh. this frequency distribution correlated to the results from the cloned sequences. thus, it is reasonable to conclude that this patch has maintained a high level of diversity within rhesus macaques, and that this diversity is not unique to a particular population of animals or the result of a small data set. iii. the functional significance of diversity after demonstrating that there is a high level of diversity in primate a3f and that some sites in the gene have evolved under positive selection, experiments were done to determine whether the different a3f alleles displayed differential susceptibilities to vifs of various siv strains. first, a3f clones from rhesus macaques, crab-eating macaques, sooty mangabeys, and pigtail macaques were tested for expression in hek293t cells. of the 17 clones tested, 11 were found to express, as visualized via western blot (figure 5). they expressed at variable levels, and only a subset of clones that represented diverse sequences and were wellexpressed were chosen for further examination. in addition to these clones representing naturally occurring rha3fs, three point mutants were made by exchanging the fqqy and skeh patches by site-directed mutagenesis. the resulting clones contained identical sequence to their parent rha3f clone except for the four nucleotides that are responsible for the amino acid changes at this patch. these point mutants were also tested for expression in hek293t cells, and two of the three clones tested were found to be highly expressed as detected via western blot (figure 5). in order to determine whether the rha3f variation confers differential resistance to vif-mediated degradation, hek293t cells were simultaneously transfected with a3f expression constructs and vif expression constructs containing the vif coding sequences of different siv strains. the expression of a3f in the presence of these vif challenges was then detected via western blot and compared between the different clones as an indication of susceptibility to vif-mediated degradation. two rha3g expression constructs were also included as controls because their phenotypes against these vifs have been published previously.48 a representative blot is shown in figure 6, and it reveals three interesting observations. first, multiple rha3fs displayed resistance to the vif derived from rhesus macaque-adapted sivmac239. second, nearly all of the rha3fs were degraded by a sivsm vif and by vif from the stump-tailed macaque siv strain (sivstm). these are 54 elements : : fall 2015 somewhat surprising results, considering that the a3f-vif interaction tends to be species-specific. viral antagonist proteins are generally well-adapted to the restriction factors of their hosts, so one would expect vif from rhesus macaque-adapted sivmac to degrade the rha3fs and vifs from related sivs to not be as effective. however, this was not the case; sivmac vif did not degrade rha3fs, while vifs from related sivsm and sivstm did. finally, the fqqy/skeh patch genotype did not affect sensitivity to any of the vifs tested. discussion investigations into the diversity of primate a3f revealed that the gene displays the hallmarks of a restriction factor that has been subject to positive selective pressure by viral antagonists over evolutionary time. a3f is a highly polymorphic gene within rhesus macaques, and many singlenucleotide polymorphisms lead to significant amino acid changes. charged residues are often implicated in proteinprotein interactions, and therefore in the context of a restriction factor. polymorphisms that change the charge of the amino acid may be more likely to be involved in an evolutionary “arms race” than more functionally conservative polymorphisms. examination of the inter-species variation via dn/ds analysis indicated that multiple sites within the gene have been subject to positive selection, and some of these sites overlap with the polymorphic sites found in rhesus macaques. it is important to note that the input for dn/ds analysis had 15 sequences representing 10 different primate species. this does not represent the full range of primate a3fs, and the use of multiple a3f variants of certain species may have artificially influenced the results. however, eliminating variable alleles of a given species also would also have had the potential of producing artificially conservative results. comparing results of multiple analyses that differ in their level of conservativeness helped to address this issue, and 11 sites in primate a3f were shown to be under the influence of positive selection. this is potentially only a subset of sites that are subject to positive selection, as the different analysis models identified as many as 25 positively selected sites. an interesting patch of four linked amino acids was identified at codons 60, 61, 63, and 64, where two sequences were found at similar frequencies in rha3f clones. dn/ds analysis suggested that these codons have been subject to positive selective pressure. the fqqy allele appeared at a slightly higher frequency than the skeh allele in a broader genomic analysis of the region in rhesus macaques; however, the less common skeh haplotype did appear across multiple animals and clones, unlike many other polymorphic sites where the less common allele appeared at a significantly lower frequency and sometimes only in one animal. the changes at the amino acid level in this patch are rather significant, as three charged amino acids are introduced in the skeh haplotype while the patch is neutral in the fqqy haplotype. this patch was also notable because of its location in the structure of a3f. it borders the n-terminal catalytic motif, and is adjacent to a known determinant of strain-specific resistance to siv-vif mediated degradation in a3g. polymorphism at residue 59 in rha3g confers variable susceptibility to degradation by sivmac vif.49 together, these observations suggest that this patch may play a key role in an interaction with a viral protein, particularly with siv vif. however, functional tests did not suggest that variation at this site plays a role in determining susceptibility to vif, as rha3f clones that contained variable patch alleles did not display differential resistance to vifs from various siv strains. despite this patch’s proximity to residue 59, it is not necessarily surprising that it does not play a role in rhesus a3f interaction with vif. it is known that hiv-1 vif interacts with the ctd in a3f, unlike in a3g where it interacts with the ntd. while this interaction has not been precisely “the interaction between a3s and vif is a crucial determinant of the species specificity of a virus, and it is likely that a vif from a given viral strain has evolved precisely to counteract the a3 proteins of its host species.” 55 a biological “arms race” mapped with siv vifs, it is reasonable to believe that they will behave analogously to hiv-1 vif and interact at the ctd in a3f. therefore, this ntd patch would not be expected to play a direct role in interactions with vif. functional tests did reveal multiple surprising phenotypes relating to the siv vifs. the rha3f clones tested displayed resistance to degradation by sivmac vif. sivmac239 is a cloned viral isolate that is well adapted to its rhesus macaque host. thus, one would expect the vif derived from this macaque-adapted virus to degrade the rha3f clones, yet this was not observed. rha3f function was further tested against a more diverse panel of macaqueadapted vifs (data not shown), and similarly to the sivmac239 isolate, the rha3f alleles were resistant to degradation. thus, this phenotype does not appear to be a specific phenomenon of the sivmac239 isolate, but rather a more general property of rha3f. it is important to note that the rha3g controls confirm that this sivmac239 vif clone is active and behaves as expected with these rha3g alleles. it is possible to speculate that sivmac239 evolved to effectively counteract rha3g, the more potent deaminase, but in doing so it traded off the ability to neutralize rha3f. this proposal is supported by the fact that the more ancestral sivsme041 vif completely degraded the rha3f clones tested, with the exception of rha3f-wi, which showed an intermediate phenotype. a3f is known to restrict viruses other than lentiviruses, so it is reasonable to believe that a different retrovirus may be responsible for driving this high level of diversity in rhesus macaque a3f. a potential candidate is simian foamy virus (sfv), a member of the spumavirus genus of retroviruses. fvs are distinct from other retroviruses in many aspects, including their gene expression, protein processing, and replication. they are found in non-human primates, cats, cows, and horses, as well as humans who have been infected by non-human primates. they cause a persistent infection, but there are no known pathologies in natural or human hosts.50,51 it has been suggested that sfvs have coevolved with their old world primate hosts for over 30 million years, marking them as the oldest known rna viruses in vertebrates.52 a3 proteins have been implicated in restriction of fvs, and the fv accessory protein bet has been found to counteract a3 restriction mechanisms analogously to hiv-1 vif.53,54 the relatively old age of fvs as compared to sivs, their ubiquitous presence in old world primates, and the existence of an accessory protein that may have anti-a3 properties together suggest that sfvs may have acted as a selective pressure on a3f. this investigation offered valuable insight into the genetic diversity of a3f in old world primates. the presence of unusually high intraand inter-species variability indicates that a3f has been continuously exposed to positive selective pressure. while siv may not necessarily be the virus responsible for driving the polymorphism in rhesus macaque a3f, understanding the restriction factor’s genetic variability opens a line of inquiry into other potential selective pressures. it is also important to note that only one linked polymorphic patch was investigated; there are several other sites that may play a role in interactions with vif. further mutagenesis studies will reveal whether any of these sites play a role in siv restriction, or whether it truly is another virus altogether that has provided the selective pressure on rha3f. in addition, the sooty mangabey, crabeating macaque, and pigtail macaque a3f clones have not been fully characterized in terms of their susceptibility to various vifs. this information will provide a more complete picture of the role that vif has played in driving a3f evolution, and further elucidate mechanisms of cross-species transmission of primate lentiviruses. 56 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. sharp and hahn 2008. 2. barre-sinoussi et al., 1983. 3. gallo et al., 1984. 4. huet et al., 1990. 5. hirsch et al., 1989. 6. vandewoude and apetrei 2006. 7. mccarthy and johnson 2014. 8. emerman and malik 2010. 9. hurst 2002. 10. meyerson and sawyer 2011. 11. harris et al., 2012. 12. koning et al., 2009. 13. desimmie et al., 2014. 14. harris et al., 2012. 15. jarmuz et al., 2002. 16. ibid.. 17. desimmie et al., 2014. 18. bohn et al., 2013. 19. desimmie et al., 2014. 20. mangeat et al., 2003. 21. bishop et al., 2004. 22. wiegand et al., 2004. 23. harris and liddament 2004. 24. sodroski et al., 1986. 25. gabuzda et al., 1992. 26. sheehy et al., 2002. 27. marin et al., 2003. 28. sheehy et al., 2003. 29. simon et al., 1998. 30. holmes et al., 2007. 31. bogerd et al., 2004. 32. huthoff and malim 2007. 33. smith and pathak 2010. 34. albin et al., 2010. 35. land et al., 2014. 36. he et al., 2008. 37. russell and pathak 2007. 38. hatziioannou and evans 2012. 39. apetrei et al., 2005. 40. mansfield et al., 1995. 41. marx et al., 2004. 42. krupp et al., 2013. 43. sawyer et al., 2004. 44. delport et al., 2010. 45. kosakovsky pond and frost 2005a. 46. kosakovsky pond et al., 2005. 47. kosakovsky pond and frost 2005b. 48. krupp et al., 2013. 49. ibid.. 50. murray and linial 2006. 51. meiering and linial 2001. 52. switzer et al., 2004. 53. russell et al., 2005. 54. lochelt et al., 2005. references albin, j. s., r. s. larue, j. a. weaver, w. l. brown, k. shindo, e. harjes, h. matsuo, and r. s. harris. 2010. “a single amino acid in human apobec3f alters susceptibility to hiv-1 vif.” the journal of biological chemistry 285 (52): 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e275. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020275. sharp, p. m. and b. h. hahn. 2011. “origins of hiv and the aids pandemic.” cold spring harbor perspectives in medicine 1 (1): a006841. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a006841. sheehy, a. m., n. c. gaddis, j. d. choi, and m. h. malim. 2002. “isolation of a human gene that inhibits hiv-1 infection and is suppressed by the viral vif protein.” nature 418 (6898): 646-650. doi: 10.1038/nature00969. sheehy, a. m., n. c. gaddis, and m. h. malim. 2003. “the antiretroviral enzyme apobec3g is degraded by the proteasome in response to hiv-1 vif.” nature medicine 9 (11): 1404-1407. doi: 10.1038/nm945. simon, j. h., d. l. miller, r. a. fouchier, m. a. soares, k. w. peden, and m. h. malim. 1998. “the regulation of primate immunodeficiency virus infectivity by vif is cell species restricted: a role for vif in determining virus host range and cross-species transmission.” the embo journal 17 (5): 1259-1267. smith, j. l. and v. k. pathak. 2010. “identification of specific determinants of human apobec3f, apobec3c, 59 a biological “arms race” figure 1: a3 proteins interfere with lentiviral replication in the absence of vif. the top half of the figure exemplifies a cell infected with a virus that does not encode vif. host a3 proteins (triangles) incorporate into a budding virion, and then interfere with the process of reverse transcription in the target cell to prevent further viral replication. the bottom half of the figure exemplifies a cell infected with a virus that encodes vif. vif (¾ circles) prevents a3 proteins from incorporating into the budding virion by targeting them for proteosomal degradation, allowing replication to continue unhindered in the target cell. and apobec3de and african green monkey apobec3f that interact with hiv-1 vif.” journal of virology 84 (24): 12599-12608. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01437-10. sodroski, j., w. c. goh, c. rosen, a. tartar, d. portetelle, a. burny, and w. haseltine. 1986. “replicative and cytopathic potential of htlv-iii/lav with sor gene deletions.” science (new york, n.y.) 231 (4745): 1549-1553. switzer, w. m., m. salemi, v. shanmugam, f. gao, m. e. cong, c. kuiken, v. bhullar, et al. 2005. “ancient co-speciation of simian foamy viruses and primates.”  nature 434 (7031): 376-380. doi: 10.1038/nature03341. vandewoude, s. and c. apetrei. 2006. “going wild: lessons from naturally occurring t-lymphotropic lentiviruses.” clinical microbiology reviews 19 (4): 728-762. wiegand, h. l., b. p. doehle, h. p. bogerd, and b. r. cullen. 2004. “a second human antiretroviral factor, apobec3f, is suppressed by the hiv-1 and hiv-2 vif proteins.” the embo journal 23 (12): 2451-2458.60 elements : : fall 2015 figure 2: distribution of polymorphic sites in rhesus macaque a3f. the dark gray boxes represent the cytidine deaminase domains in a3f, and the blue shading indicates the catalytic motif. the lines show the approximate location of sites found to contain non-synonymous polymorphisms in two or more rhesus macaque clones. the codon numbers and coded amino acids are indicated above or below the image. only polymorphisms that were seen in at least two clones are included. bolded lines and codon numbers indicate that the polymorphism was found in multiple animals. figure 3: inter-species diversity of a3f in old world primates. the phylogenetic tree shows the degree of divergence between rhesus macaque a3f clones (rh), sooty mangabey a3f clones (sm), crab-eating macaque a3f clones (mf), and pigtail macaque a3f clones (mn). the species tend to group together into distinct lineages, and diversity within species is evident within these lineages. 61 a biological “arms race” figure 4: distribution of positively selected sites in primate a3f. the grey boxes represent the cytidine deaminase domains in a3f, and the shaded areas indicates the catalytic motifs. the triangles show the approximate locations of positively selected codons identified via dn/ds analysis. these sites are distributed fairly evenly throughout the a3f gene. figure 5: a3f alleles show variable levels of expression in cell culture. a3f expression constructs with coding sequence originating from rhesus macaques (lanes 1-10), crab-eating macaques (lanes 11-12), pigtail macaques (lanes 13-14), or sooty mangabeys (lanes 15-17), along with the rhesus macaque patch mutants (lanes 18-20) were transfected in hek293t cells. cells were harvested after 48 hours, and proteins were separated via sds/page and visualized via western blot (see immunoblotting section in materials and methods). 62 elements : : fall 2015 figure 6: western blot showing rha3f susceptibility to siv vif-mediated degradation. a3 and vif expression constructs were co-transfected into hek293t cells. cells were harvested 48 hours post-transfection and proteins were separated via sds/page and visualized via western blot (see immunoblotting section in materials and methods). the a3gs were included as controls for vif effectiveness, as their susceptibilities to these vifs have been previously investigated (krupp et al. 2013). the rha3fs are susceptible to sivsme041 vif and sivstm vif, but are resistant to sivmac239 vif. the fqqy/skeh patch does not affect susceptibility to the vifs tested. 63 a biological “arms race” thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the morrissey college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. all submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © wikimedia commons periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. electronic journal elements is also published as an open access electronic journal. it is available at http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/elements. issn 2380-6087 the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 13, issue 1, spring 2017 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by flagship press,150 flagship drive, north andover, ma 01845 copyright © 2017 by the trustees of boston college this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. elements staff editor-in-chief annie kim managing editors sydney apple betty (yunqing) wang deputy editors alessandra luedeking andrea ricca treasurer jessica bolduc layout xizi (kelsey) zhang, senior editor elise hon, senior editor asad pasha, assistant editor sewon (jason) oh, editor yahya yusuf, editor humanities jacob ciafone, senior editor isabella dow, senior editor jonessa st. lewis, editor social sciences billy hubschman, senior editor michelle kang, senior editor jacqueline chiu, editor natural sciences david fu, senior editor junghwan kim, editor josephine pandji, editor media & publicity rachel loos, senior editor julia buben, assistant editor web editors minki hong, senior editor kevin chen, assistant editor faculty advisor jason cavallari dear readers, in light of the current political, social, and cultural turmoil in which many countries around the world find themselves, it has become increasingly important for academic research to posit questions that strive for truth and progress. recently, one of the most significant developments has been the spread—both conscious and unconscious—of false information throughout society, which has resulted in seemingly irreconcilable disagreements on basic facts. the lack of agreement over these basic facts has allowed statements to be made that perpetuate various misconceptions, and the articles published in the spring 2017 issue of elements demonstrate a commitment to challenging these falsehoods and the status quo through academic research. several articles touch upon issues that are salient to ongoing political and cultural discussions within both the united states and throughout the rest of the world. the cover article, “a pageant politicized: the rise of intersectional activism in 1968,” questions and explores the role of the media in portraying a falsely antagonistic relationship between the women’s liberation movement and the black nationalism movement. author haley cormier analyzes the ways in which the media was able to pit the two movements against each other, emphasizing the profound influence that the media has within society. breck wills, samina gan, patrick sheerin, and jordan mindlin’s article, “brain circulation: a case study of high-skilled immigration from india,” touches upon a central topic of the 2016 u.s. presidential election: immigration and employment. wills, gan, sheerin, and mindlin discuss the increased migration of educated, high-skilled indian laborers to the united states and the effects that this has had on the economies of the u.s. and india. carly barnhardt’s article, “avert the gaze: an anti-self-portrait of the disabled female body,” focuses on artist laura swanson’s challenge to traditional understandings of disability and gender through art. finally, “confronting cultural imperialism: limitations of secularization and western feminism in the muslim world,” explores the concepts of western cultural imperialism and its role in the middle east. author emma howe challenges the widespread notion of a backwards, oppressive muslim world, and instead causes us to reconsider ways in which western thought has attempted to impose its ideals onto other countries. analyzing literature can often shed light upon the political and cultural climates of both the time when the work was written as well as the present. sabrina black’s article, “writing in a surveillance state: otherness in chris ta wolf’s what remains,” examines the positions in which writers found themselves under the surveillance of the german democratic republic state, and this topic of surveillance and censorship of writers and intellectuals is one that offers daunting implications for today. author monica coscia consider the concepts of truth, justice, and modernity within the brothers karamazov in her article, “trial and error: the malleability of truth in the conviction of dmitri karamazov.” she concludes that the failure of western court systems to seek and recognize truth prevents justice from taking its course within russian society. this relationship between truth and justice is particularly important to the present, especially when considering the increasing prevalence and proliferation of false information and news. often times, research can call attention to and question aspects of society that are either taken for granted or forgotten. elizabeth d’altrui’s article, “curb the thirst: efficacy of bottled water bans in reducing plastic waste,” discusses the need to reduce the use of the common plastic water bottle through policies, while zackary park’s article, “the road to a cure: characterization of a new hiv antibody,” reminds us of the complex (often unacknowledged) research that is required to develop and improve life-changing medicine. meanwhile, kyle baranko’s article, “the point of payment: a comparison of commercial behaviors across regions,” studies the ways in which informal economies operate across several countries and are marginalized by the government, and author caitlin sullivan examines the cost and inefficiency of incarcerating the elderly in her article, “no country for old men: an economic analysis of the incarcerated elderly.” elements seeks to support undergraduate research that is diverse and of the highest quality, and we also strive to facilitate discussions that inspire you to reflect upon and ask questions about society. we hope that the articles published in this issue of elements will spark such conversations. sincerely, annie kim editor in chief editor’s note the author analyzes the position of the writer in the german democratic republic (gdr) through an analysis of christa wolf’s novella what remains. the extensive surveillance of intellectuals in east germany provides a context for wolf’s work, which demonstrates the burden which this governmental scrutiny placed on thinkers in the gdr. the tension between the perceived moral responsibilities of writers and the pressures to conform to the regime’s standards of acceptability is in the foreground of what remains. this essay examines how the narrator’s inability to reconcile these demands causes her to undergo a process of “othering” that leaves her alienated from the government, her fellow citizens, and herself. writing in a surveillance state otherness in christa wolf’s what remains sabrina black when christa wolf’s novella what remains was published a decade after it was written, a wave of controversy surged around it. some viewed her choice to delay the publication of her work as an act of cowardice. her text explores the position of writers in the german democratic republic (gdr) and elucidates the pressures that led to her decision. in what remains, wolf provides first-hand insight into the role of the intellectuals in the gdr, illuminating the effects of state surveillance on east german writers. these authors had felt a duty to serve as moral beacons for their readers but remained subject to the regime’s standards of acceptability. wolf’s narrative reveals the consequences of authors’ inability to reconcile these obligations. through the motif of otherness, wolf demonstrates the various forms of alienation writers faced as a result of these irresolvable tensions. a number of scholars concur in asserting that the german intelligentsia has traditionally been tasked with parsing the complexities of life and serving as moral leaders. literary scholar robert von hallberg observes that the works of gdr authors such as wolf might have enabled contemporary readers to “[become aware of ] contradictions of which they were not yet fully conscious in their own lives,” to “feel consoled to read that others had similar difficulties,” and to “expand the range of political discussion in the public sphere.”1 similarly, historian michael geyer posits that “[i]n the german system of checks and balances, culture ascertained moral justice. the control of intellectuals over the sphere of culture guaranteed not just the reign of good taste but social betterment and bildung.”2 geyer identifies a tendency among germans to entrust cultural authorities with the responsibility of helping them navigate the world. scholars and gdr writers alike shared this understanding of literature as having both cultural and social significance. wolf herself stated, “‘[p]eople needed me. [...] people needed something to give them strength.’”3 this presumption of importance, which was perhaps reasonable given the great anticipation and remarkable sales of their works,4 caused gdr writers to be acutely aware of their perceived duties to provide emotional support and moral direction to their public. this authorial sense of duty manifests itself not only in the psyche of the gdr author, but also in his or her works, as evidenced in what remains by a pattern of references to the narrator’s role as a writer. the narrator states that “if there was one ethic i held to, it was the work ethic, not least because it seemed to be capable of balancing out inconsistencies in other ethical systems.”5 the protagonist’s conviction reveals wolf’s own assessment of her function in the gdr: that through her work she could ameliorate ethical shortcomings by providing moral guidance to her readers. subsequently, upon seeing that the berliner ensemble was performing galileo, the narrator reflects that “this was a play from the time when purified dialectics still counted for something, [...] when there was a reason for speaking the ‘truth’ and it was evil to suppress it; it was evil not to speak of the nasty lie which was harmful and gave the liar a bad conscience.”6 the narrator hearkens back to a time of clearly-defined dichotomies, implicitly contrasting it with her current lack of clarity regarding right and wrong, true and false, good and evil. the diarist’s moral muddle reflects wolf’s own position as an author who found herself unable to provide guidance to her readers with the simplicity with which she imagined her forebears, such as brecht, performed this task. wolf’s consciousness of her perceived moral obligations manifests itself in this text, but circumstances that limit her ability to fulfill these obligations also appear. the obstacle that impaired writers’ ability to exercise moral authority was the hulking threat of state scrutiny. as evidenced both by wolf’s depiction of the ministry for state security (mfs or stasi) in her text and by historical data, the shadow of surveillance loomed large over gdr writers. if anything, it was perhaps gdr authors’ moral purview that made them especially obvious surveillance targets. joseph stalin referred to writers as “‘ingenieur[e] der menschlichen seele,’”7 (engineers of the human soul) and leaders in the gdr shared his understanding of the potential power authors might wield. therefore, as scholars paul the author christa wolf during a book reading in berlin, 2007 (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 66 elements : : spring 2017 cooke and andrew plowman assert, “[ f ]rom the early days of the gdr, writers were seen as a crucial weapon in the state’s propaganda arsenal [...] who would help to educate the masses in the ways of socialism.”8 cultivating cooperation with authors was critical to the sed regime for purposes of promoting socialist values, encouraging citizen contentment, and improving the gdr’s reputation abroad. historian mike dennis explains that the stasi’s tactics of zersetzung (corrosion) as laid out in ministerial guideline 1/76 directed that “‘hostile-negative forces’ were to be ‘paralysed, disorganized and isolated’ and their activities ‘prevented, significantly reduced or completely terminated.’”9 the stasi employed a number of strategies to this end, including spreading injurious rumors about their targets, engineering setbacks for them, and intimidating them through phone calls and letters.10 they also employed comprehensive surveillance techniques, including tapping phones, searching residences, and reading correspondence,11 all methods which appear in wolf’s text.12 this degree of extremely insidious surveillance, impeded the expression of subversive views. intellectuals were particularly restrained, as they were subject to especially close watch. starting in 1969, an entire branch of the mfs (hauptabteilung xx) was devoted to cultural surveillance, and there were a significant number of inoffizielle mitarbeiter (ims) in this department.13 wolf herself was subject to surveillance as the target of operativen vorgang (ov) (unofficial employee) “doppelzüngler” (operation “double tongue”) from 1969 on.14 the high degree of surveillance created an environment in which writers had to be constantly wary of their behavior to avoid trouble with the stasi. a need to be on good terms with the regime, asserts scholar david bathrick, prevented writers from calling for modes of reform that lay outside or at ideological variance with the normative discourse of socialist institutional life: for the abolition of censorship, for a multiparty system, for a genuinely representative parliament, for total freedom of speech.15 these and similar taboos severely inhibited authors’ ability to provide meaningful moral judgments in their writings for fear of invoking the wrath of the state. the effects of stasi presence in preventing intellectuals from realizing their moral authority are evident in the texts produced by writers living in fear of surveillance. throughout what remains, surveillance is depicted as a counterforce to the narrator’s moral authority. contemplating the difficulties of living under the stasi, she muses, “we are all trapeze artists.”16 writers in the gdr had to attempt a balancing act between upholding their moral obligations and avoiding trouble with the stasi, knowing that they risked falling into either the rapacious jaws of the mfs or the pits of self-betrayal and public scorn. the protagonist imagines developing a new language, reflecting, my other language [. . .] would stop describing objects by their appearance [. . .] and would increasingly allow their invisible essence to emerge. this language would be gripping, loving, and protective, that much i thought i could foresee. i would hurt no one but myself.17 the narrator dreams of being able to express herself fully and without endangering others, likely mirroring wolf’s own desires in the face of oppression that prevented her from airing criticisms that might have resulted in negative consequence for herself and for her loved ones. ultimately, the narrator, imagining her former friend jürgen as the embodiment of the stasi, concludes, “since his objects are made of flesh and blood and do not exist only on paper, like my own, he is the actual master, the real lord.”18 she finds that she must surrender her moral power because of the very real threat of persecution by the stasi, demonstrating how the gdr writer became subservient to the forces of state surveillance. the conflict between state surveillance and the author’s moral jurisdiction is evident in wolf’s treatment of otherness. throughout the novella, the narrator refers to the stasi and the sed regime in terms of “the other,” indicating the negative effects surveillance has had on her. at one point, she describes the agents who are watching her as “messengers of the other.”19 it is clear from her discourse of otherness, which casts herself in opposition to the stasi and the gdr government, that the narrator views these agents as opponents rather than allies. the narrator subsequently reflects that “the measures taken by the others and our reactions to them meshed together like the teeth of a smoothly functioning zipper.”20 wolf’s language here conveys an atmosphere of ever-present hostility, in which she must constantly be on her guard in the face of state surveillance. in this way, the use of otherness in relation to the state reveals the dynamic of apprehension and unease that plagued gdr authors as a result of surveillance, impairing their exercise of moral authority. 67 writing in a surveillance state the narrator also senses a specter of “otherness” haunting her relationship with fellow gdr citizens as a result of the surveillance to which she is subjected, which further isolates her. when the narrator sees jürgen m. in the department store, he does not acknowledge her, and she admits that she is accustomed to “the curtain lowering before the eyes of the other.”21 the surveillance creates divisions between the narrator and those with whom she had previously been friends; awareness of the regime’s suspicion of her, she presumes, is responsible for jürgen m.’s snub. the fact that she is being watched creates a rift between the narrator and her old friends, for whom the surveillance and the accompanying threat of association with a subversive renders it advantageous not to know her. she is cut off from both her friends and from the general public: while standing in line at the grocery store, she notes that “that strong, isolating feeling of otherness would not go away.”22 she believes that rumors of surveillance cause her to appear “other” to citizens. thus, the surveillance that inhibits her moral authority also isolates her from the people whom she otherwise would have guided: an ironic effect of the socialist regime considering its collectivist values. the narrator’s level of success, however, affects her position as a moral leader, casting her as other even from those with whom she would presumably be able to commiserate: fellow writers. this is demonstrated in the case of the young poet who seeks her advice regarding his work; although the narrator does not explicitly use the terminology of otherness in his case, she clearly senses such a division between them. she writes, “[t]he young gentlemen standing in front of my door would not hesitate to pass through his door. that was the difference between the two of us—a major difference. a moat.”23 the narrator’s prominence as a popular writer renders her distinct from the young poet, because her eminence gives her some degree of power in relations with the stasi: while she dare not openly defy the regime, the stasi dare not persecute her in the same way they would an unknown subversive. while the stasi agents might “hesitate” at her door, they are ultimately willing to exert their authority over her, as demonstrated by the surveillance and intimidation tactics the protagonist describes. in this way, the very popularity that would have granted the narrator the ability to reach a large audience and effectively propagate a model of ethics contributes to the overwhelming isolation she feels even from other intellectuals. her fame, however, is not so great a force as to make her immune to the risks of defying the state. the divergent pressures of surveillance and morality render the narrator isolated from everyone in her society, and her inability to reconcile this tension creates a constant internal conflict that culminates in a process of self-othering and self-alienation. in one of her internal monologues, the narrator interrogates herself, writing, i myself. who was that? which of the multiple beings from which ‘myself’ was composed? the one that wanted to know itself? the one that wanted to protect itself? or that third one that was still tempted to dance to the same tune as the young gentlemen there outside my door?24 the oppressive surveillance fractures the narrator into three different personas, leading her to be detached from her identity as a whole and conscious only of these existing pulls within her: to seek truth, to keep her head down, and to cooperate with the stasi. her self-alienation results from the conflicting desires she experiences living under surveillance and is embodied by her self-censor: she observes that “[t]here was hardly anything left to think or say without getting my censor upset at me.”25 the voice of the censor expresses the narrator’s internal conflict that results from the self-fragmentation that occurs in life under surveillance, in which the cautious voice of self-preservation must silence the persistent voice of morality. this continuous state of conflict in which she resides alienates the protagonist from her own identity, reducing her to conflicting voices. the narrator observes at one point that “[i]t is a happy man who can place his enemy outside himself.”26 life in a surveillance state has caused the narrator “the use of otherness in relation to the state reveals the dynamic of apprehension and unease that plagued gdr authors as a result of surveillance, impairing their exercise of moral authority.”68 elements : : spring 2017 to become her own enemy, constantly engaging in a battle of wills with herself over whether to defy the stasi or submit to them, whether to take a moral stand or protect herself and those she loves. through this self-alienation, wolf depicts the perpetual internal division produced by the competing pressures that beset gdr writers. wolf’s use of otherness in what remains spells out the conflict between moral duty and submission to the state experienced by authors in the gdr. the competing pressures felt by the narrator culminate in a condition of alienation from all people, including herself, which is representative of the condition of gdr authors at large. based on an understanding of the author in the gdr as a moral guide, the sed regime’s surveillance of intellectuals arguably resulted in much larger-scale oppression than affected only those who were under watch. the restrictions on authors resulted in a body of writing that tread softly around certain potential subversive topics, thereby undermining the consciences of all those who turned to literature for guidance. endnotes 1. robert von hallberg, introduction to literary intellectuals and the dissolution of the state: professionalism and conformity in the gdr, trans. kenneth j. northcott (chicago: university of chicago press, 1996), 8. 2. michael geyer, introduction to the power of intellectuals in contemporary germany (chicago: the university of chicago press, 2001), 1-2. 3. quoted in katie hafner, “a nation of readers dumps its writers,” the new york times, january 10, 1993, http://www. nytimes.com/1993/01/10/magazine/a-nation-of-readers-dumpsits-writers.html, 2. 4. ibid., 1. 5. christa wolf, “what remains,” in what remains and other stories, trans. heike schwarzbauer and rick takvorian (new york: farrar, straus, and giroux, 1993), 243. 6. ibid., 245. 7. quoted in paul cooke and andrew plowman, introduction to german writers and the politics of culture: dealing with the stasi (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003), xv. 8. ibid. 9. mike dennis, “the east german ministry of state security and east german society during the honecker era, 1971-1989,” in german writers and the politics of culture: dealing with the stasi, ed. paul cooke and andrew plowman (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003), 6. 10. ibid. 11. ibid., 6-7. 12. see, for example, wolf, what remains, 242-43, 265. 13. dennis, “the east german ministry of state security,” 16-17. 14. wolfgang emerich, “autobiographical writing in three generations of a gdr family: christa wolf — annette simon — jana simon,” in twenty years on: competing memories of the gdr in postunification german culture, ed. renate rechtien and dennis tate (rochester: boydell & brewer, 2011), 145, http:// www.jstor.org.proxy.bc.edu/stable/10.7722/j.ctt1x72d3.14. 15. david bathrick, “language and power,” in the power of intellectuals in contemporary germany, ed. michael geyer (chicago: university of chicago press, 2001), 154-55. 16. wolf, what remains, 264. 17. ibid., 236. 18. ibid., 259. 19. ibid., 239. 20. ibid., 244. 21. ibid., 251. 22. ibid. 23. ibid., 261. 24. ibid., 262. 25. ibid., 267. 26. ibid., 237. 69 writing in a surveillance state references bathrick, david. “language and power.” in the power of intellectuals in contemporary germany, edited by michael geyer, 138-159. chicago: university of chicago press, 2001. cooke, paul and andrew plowman. introduction to german writers and the politics of culture: dealing with the stasi. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003. 10.1057/9781403938756 dennis, mike. “the east german ministry of state security and east german society during the honecker era, 1971-1989.” in german writers and the politics of culture: dealing with the stasi, edited by paul cooke and andrew plowman, 3-21. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2003. 10.1057/9781403938756_1 emmerich, wolfgang. “autobiographical writing in three generations of a gdr family: christa wolf — annette simon — jana simon.” in twenty years on: competing memories of the gdr in postunification german culture, edited by renate rechtien and dennis tate, 141–57. rochester: boydell & brewer, 2011. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.bc.edu/ stable/10.7722/j.ctt1x72d3.14. geyer, michael. introduction to the power of intellectuals in contemporary germany. chicago: university of chicago press, 2001. hafner, katie. “a nation of readers dumps its writers.” the new york times. january 10, 1993. http://www.nyt i m e s . c o m / 1 9 9 3 / 0 1 / 1 0 / magazine/a-nation-of-readers-dumps-its-writers. html?pagewanted=2. von hallberg, robert. introduction to literary intellectuals and the dissolution of the state: professionalism and conformity in the gdr. translated by kenneth j. northcott. chicago: university of chicago press, 1996. wolf, christa. what remains. in what remains and other stories, translated by heike schwarzbauer and rick takvorian, 231-295. new york: farrar, straus, and giroux, 1993. 70 elements : : spring 2017 while attitudes toward jews over the twelfth and thirteenth centuries certainly cooled, they did so less dramatically than the 1290 expulsion might suggest. chronicled hostility, alongside which the jewish ‘blood libel’ myth developed, increased with perceived jewish economic status. after their impoverishment, their status further decreased as royal policy perpetuated longstanding social divisions that largely originated from cultural, rather than religious or economic, cleavages. the treatment of the jews in this period may also be understood as one of english identity consolidation in the post-conquest period. this coincides with the jews’ first coexistence with anglo-saxons after the norman invasion. since economic reasoning alone does not explain the treatment of the jews in the latter half of the thirteenth century, this essay also examines instances of anti-jewish violence and successive plantagenet kings’ policies targeting the jews, indentifying them as indicators or constructions of religious and national alterity. ‘do not kill them, lest my people forget’ changes in attitudes towards jews in twelfth and thirteenth century england rebecca reilly patricia skinner writes that applying the term “medieval” characterizes an artificial periodization of jewish history. the jewish community underwent little of the social reorganization that the christian community did in the period, remaining fairly insular and autonomous despite its coexistence with gentile majorities.1 indeed, the “middle ages” were originally christian theologians’ demarcation for the period between christ’s first and second comings, not an issue of jewish concern.2 yet just as the speaker of psalm 59:11 implores god not to strike down his people’s enemies, lest his people forget their strife and their refuge in god, an examination of anti-jewish sentiment yields valuable insight into both groups’ perceived identities. i agree with paul hyams’ thesis that while attitudes toward jews over the twelfth and thirteenth centuries certainly worsened, they did so incrementally and inconsistently. the expulsion of england’s jewish population in 1290 should not be viewed as an inevitable policy. chronicled hostility, alongside which the jewish “blood libel” myth developed as justification, appears to have increased with perceived jewish economic status. their position decreased after their impoverishment, as royal policy perpetuated long standing social divisions. these cleavages were largely cultural, not religious or economic as might be expected. the jewish community in england formed with the advent of the normans, but it developed alongside the christian one without any lasting social integration. while there may have been jews in roman britain, none were present in anglo-saxon england. robert stacey goes so far as to theorize that they may have been banned in the centuries preceding 1066.3 medieval jewish society in england was an insular but close community whose enclaves in different cities maintained rapport, a fact which likely fostered rumors of conspiracy when religious antagonism arose.4 jews existed conspicuously apart from the medieval mentality that denoted the wait between the first and second comings of christ.5 jewish society thus diverged from christian england in the critical senses of community participation and the impending fact of the apocalypse. judaism had legal implications as well. jews could not swear on the gospel, so they appeared less trustworthy than the cohesive christian community.6 henry ii promulgated the first charters exempting jews from conventional judicial proceedings for this reason, but the codification of these and other privileges and their reiteration in later charters would likely have reminded both communities each time of the jews’ separation from the rest.7 jews also spoke french like the reviled norman elite.8 the dictates of christianity certainly fomented anti-jewish sentiment, even though they do not appear to have been the critical factor which escalated it to the point of violence in england. the church’s official position was that jews should be tolerated and that their conversion would precede the second coming. protective royal policy and sheltered “seigneurial jewries” throughout the twelfth century were largely compatible with this outlook.9 this system of royal tolerance of course had financial incentives , but major antipathy does not seem to predate the second half of the twelfth century. paul hyams in fact recounts several incidents from various other authors of peaceful jewish-christian coexistence until as late as 1270. the later moral preaching discouraging intermarriage and interaction may have been a response to this behavior which, he points out, was either widespread or widely known.10 attacks on jews throughout europe appear in records around the time of the first crusade, but records from the time do not even seem to evidence a collective english awareness of jews.11 the “blood libel” legend and accusations of ritual murder that emerge in the mid-twelfth century appear to have been a factor in increasing anti-jewish attitudes, but it seems more plausible to read the incidences as symptomatic instead of pathological. thomas of monmouth’s account of the incident of william of norwich appears in records from the mid-twelfth century, but there is evidence from european priestly orations to suggest that the william story held influence on the continent before the hagiclifford’s tower, site of the mass suicide of york’s medieval jews (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 30 elements : : spring 2018 ography’s publication.12 other observations seem to reinforce the idea of a growing intellectual exchange between england and europe, amplifying the myth within a christian echo chamber. one such study by anna sapir abulafia notes the influence of the twelfth-century renaissance’s rational reasoning on jewish-christian disputations, which evidences the increasing sophistication of christian action rationalization.13 increasingly sophisticated theology would have justified the growing religious cleavage. like earlier european anti-jewish attacks, the william myth and thomas of monmouth’s account of it could also have been spurred by the zeal of the second crusade, which further displays the effect of european christian, which is to say anti-jewish, thought on english attitudes.14 thomas of monmouth’s account was designed for reading by a general audience and explicitly analogizes william of norwich with christ, elements which testify to the antijewish sentiment it embodied, rationalized, and realized when it was propagated.15 thomas recounts how the jews of norwich knew william, and bought often from his tannery, although his community later discouraged contact with the jews. the converts to christianity in thomas’ account say that they chose william for the ritual murder at the beginning of lent, which reflected the anxieties and auspices christians saw in the jewish community as their holy days approached.16 translator miri rubin points out that, like judas, william’s mother gives her son to the jews’ messenger in exchange for thirty pieces of silver.17 the jews torture william, whom thomas calls an “innocent lamb” in the style of christ as the lamb of god, before crucifying him.18, they leave william’s body exposed to distance themselves from the murder.19 in the end, justice outs the murderers when the christians identify the wounds on the body as trademark torture injuries perpetrated as part of passover. a convert explains that the jews cannot return to their homeland without spilling human blood, a recognition of jews’ mobility and contact over distances, creating the myth of international conspiracy.20 in another notable creation of legend, some of the jews want to throw william’s corpse into a privy instead of leaving it outside. this is an early instance of jewish association with excrement.21 had they followed through, the narrative would have imploded, as william would likely not have been discovered. several details make thomas’ account less than trustworthy, more than just his reliance on testimony as evidence, which suggests that religious convictions might not be the only motive behind the attacks or the account’s publication. he embellishes by writing that one “wise” jew becomes “divinely inspired” and expresses hesitancy at his community’s crime, saying that they will be discovered and exiled from england.22 god is also later described to have punished the murderous jews by killing them.23 furthermore, the appearance of thirty pieces of silver as a trade object seems too coincidental with the christ story to be more than a fiction. as thomas wants his readers to recognize the parallels with christ and seems to intend for them to recognize his allusion to judas, william’s mother would probably have recognized the gesture and been alarmed if her christian convictions were strong. finally, a hint late in the chronicle suggests a more plausible cause of the jewish-christian disputes: a knight was indebted to the wealthiest jew and killed him to escape financial ruin, which thomas attributes to god’s will.24 economic imperilment seems to be a more likely cause than an unprecedented murder conspiracy, but perhaps this explanation underestimates the religious fervor of the period and its role in daily life. jeffrey cohen argues that the issue is more one of identity, which also has potential as an interpretive hypothesis. he writes that the william myth inaugurated a unified christian community in norwich, disrupted since the norman conquest and seeking normalcy as matilda and stephen circled in civil war.25 the city of norwich was not the only one which produced tales of children martyred by jews. the 1255 case of little st. hugh of lincoln drew the attention of henry iii, who not only convicted and executed eighteen jews but also appropriated their properties by right of their arrest. the child martyr trend picked up speed throughout england after monmouth’s report.26 whatever the truth of thomas of monmouth and the beatified child martyrs, the jews’ unpopularity rose with their financial status. another anecdotal account tells the “whatever the truth of thomas of monmouth and the beatified child martyrs, the jews’ unpopularity rose with their financial status.” 31 ‘do not kill them, lest my people forget’ story of richard malebisse, the ambitious progeny of a rich york family who helped to lead the attack on the city’s jews in 1190. his anglo-norman surname means “evil beast” and must have been given for a particular evil; in this context it makes the darkest moment in the history of the english jewry sound all the more sinister.27 after christians attacked jewish families and set their houses alight, york’s jewry retreated to the castle and royal protection. for unknown reasons, they turned away the castle steward after he briefly left the grounds, probably mistrusting even york’s royal officials. the attackers besieged the jews. they announced that any jew who wished to convert could surrender and live, but they immediately killed those who emerged. those trapped inside the tower chose to die rather than face the mob, killed by their husbands, their parents, and their own hand. hugh m. thomas presents three possible explanations for the grisly events of 1190. first, as malebisse patronized the church freely, the attacks may have been a microcosm for the religious tension of the middle ages, which would not have been helped by the crusades.28 second, and as r.b. dobson argues, it could have been a protest against economic oppression at the angevins’ hands. the jews could have been psychological targets as minorities, and royally protected ones at that. their wealth, conspicuous in the lavish houses where the first attacks occurred, could not have helped matters. finally, and as recalls thomas of monmouth’s story, richard and the other attack leaders had large debts to the households they first destroyed.29 the english jews’ prosperity and alignment with kings may have sealed their doom. the jews’ prosperity allowed for and excused their financial exploitation, perpetuated and justified by anti-jewish attitudes after they were driven into poverty. english christians obeyed the church’s often-reiterated condemnation of usury, or the business of collecting interest on loans, so england’s kings in the twelfth century relied largely on jewish moneylenders. as the jewish community accrued wealth, however, kings john, henry iii, and edward i created exorbitant taxes, which drove the jewish community into poverty well before their expulsion. the 1210 bristol tallage saw jews arrested on suspicion of not paying up, wherein they could either relinquish their property as war funds or be expelled from the country. in 1239, henry demanded a third of all jewish goods and debts, followed by two more large tallages from 1241-2 and 1244-50. perversely, most english still saw the jews as the tax-happy king’s agents and endorsers, perhaps not realizing or sympathizing with the financial burden of being the king’s property.30 abusing the jewish minority would have given an outlet not only to financial woes, but also to war-weariness and anxieties about security as well. english jews tried to compensate by increasing their money lending operations, which vexed tax-burdened christians.31 the 1275 statute of the jewry outlawed usury outright, banishing those jews caught practicing it and preventing all collection of interest on loans.32 the coin-clipping campaign originally targeting all of england came to focus on the impoverished jewish population, culminating in their arrest. this policy could an 1181 illumination of the martyrdom of st. robert of bury, allegedly killed by jews (courtesy of wikimedia commons) “abusing the jewish minority would have given an outlet not only to financial woes, but also to war-weariness and anxieties about security as well.” 32 elements : : spring 2018 indicate either that edward became more hostile towards jews or that he thought there was more money in jews paying to get out of prison than actual revenue from coin-clipping prosecutions.33 paul brand cogently calls the whole affair a ‘sting’ operation against the english jewry.34 robert stacey writes, however, that not all of the anti-jewish attitudes and policies recorded can be attributed to economics. no consensus exists about why they continued after all the jews’ money had been depleted.35 i argue above that social divisions divided the groups from the start and that religious fervor reinforced resentments, and examination of edward i supports this hypothesis. either by true faith or the desire to take advantage of an opportunity, the king stigmatized the jewish population to his economic and political profit. as predictive as the trend is for the change in english attitudes toward its jews overall, economics alone does not explain the religiosity edward himself incorporated into his jewish policy. edward echoed henry iii’s reign by partaking frequently in jewish legal cases, and his reign was marked by significant attention to the potential for jews to convert.36 legislation on the jews had previously provided privileges for converts to christianity, but edward showed more interest in the process than his predecessors. one pipe roll from edward’s rule notes that a sheriff is owed financial credit for baptizing jewish children, suggesting the presence of official incentives.37 along with its policy on conversion, edward also took heed of the century-old papal view of usury and actively enforced the 1275 statute forbidding it. edward’s faith is reported to have intensified when he recovered from deadly illness in 1286, and he associated himself intimately with the cult of little saint hugh.38 it is difficult to tell whether edward paraded his piety for political ends or actually felt his public convictions. either reality would have won him favor in the eyes of a population for whom parishes created local community and christianity reinforced national identity. either would also have made the jews’ mass arrest, extortion, and expulsion forgivable. while historians contest the inevitability of the expulsion in 1290, its coincidence with parliament enacting the largest tax of the middle ages makes its economic reasoning apparent. the jews were allegedly expelled because of their continued usury in violation of the 1275 statute forbidding it, a handy legal justification that likely would not have been questioned.39 even though there exists consensus between historians that these acts were linked as a quid pro quo, there is less agreement about whether the expulsion was avoidable. richard huscroft insists it was not, as the opportunity for such a hefty tax would have been tempting regardless of the jewish context. they were a depleted source of income with little use left.40 anna sapir abulafia writes that the expulsion was a natural consequence of the rising tide of christian resentment as well as a poor jewry.41 abulafia is right to point out increasingly negative christian attitudes as a causal factor which edward embraced, but huscroft’s assessment of edward as reactionary to a good deal seems more plausible than him having recognized a trend in jewish economic history. edward did not take advantage of jewish moneylending and therefore may not have seen the jewish treasuries as a lost cause, finding the community’s value only in the hate they inspired. contemporary religious beliefs certainly influenced growing anti-jewish attitudes, and economic trends even more, but it would be reductive to understand the treatment of jews in medieval england as anything less than an expression of anxieties threatening the christian community. many christians owed debts to jewish moneylenders, some dangerously exorbitant. jews prospered visibly even as christians suffered taxes, dismissing the fact that jews also suffered alongside them. jews spoke french, did not have to appear in local courts, absented themselves from town parishes, and allied themselves with such hated figures as kings john and stephen. jews did not force loans upon christians, inform royal policy, or wage expensive wars, but they stood out as psychological targets, an outgroup who could be blamed for frustrating social unity and security. the blood libel myth, popularized and just plausible from perceptions of jewish culture, justified collective insecurity and reciprocally enforced identity formation. it was not inevitable that edward expelled the jews, a silver penny bearing the image of edward i (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 33 ‘do not kill them, lest my people forget’ but his policy certainly reflected the anti-jewish culture, overtly religious but implicitly perpetuating social divides. it is regrettably impossible to untangle the complex mindset of the historical individuals involved, but the collective consciousness preserved in the record evidences a society grasping at drama to justify its unwitting desire: to live in peace, prosperity, and kinship, secure in the ancestral englishness lost to the anglo-saxon era. endnotes 1. patricia skinner, “viewpoint: confronting the medieval in medieval history: the jewish example,” past & present 181 (2003), 221-222. 2. ibid., 231. 3. robert c. stacey, “anti-semitism and the medieval english state,” the medieval state, ed. j.r. maddicott and d.m. palliser, london: hambledon, 2000, 166. 4. hyams 272. 5. see notes 1 and 2. 6. hymans faith, fealty and jewish ‘infideles’ in twelfthcentury england, 140-143. 7. brand 1138-1139. 8. stacey, 168. 9. huscroft 32-33. 10. hyams 274 and 278. 11. huscroft 22 and 31. 12. mcculloh jrm 740. 13. abulafia 106. 14. huscroft 35. 15. thomas of monmouth, the life and passion of william of norwich, ed. miri rubin, london: penguin classics, 2014, 6. 16. ibid., 13. 17. ibid., 15. 18. ibid., 16. 19. ibid., 21. 20. ibid., 58-61. 21. ibid., 18. 22. ibid., 18-19. 23. ibid., 64. 24. ibid., 63-65. 25. jeffrey j. cohen, “the flow of blood in medieval norwich,” speculum 79 no. .1 (2004), 40 and 44. 26. thomas, 101-102. 27. hugh m. thomas, “portrait of a medieval anti-semite: richard malebisse,” haskins society journal 5 (1993), 2-4. 28. ibid., 9 and 13. 29. ibid., 12-13. 30. huscroft, 59-61 and 88. 31. ibid., 93. 32. rokeah, roll 1214. 33. huscroft, 124-127. 34. paul, brand, “jews and the law in england, 1275-1290,” english historical review 115 no. 464 (2000), 1151. 35. stacey, 166. 36. huscroft 131-132 37. zefira entin rokéah, medieval english jews and royal officials, jerusalem: the hebrew university magnes press, 2000, roll 904. 38. huscroft 144-145 and 153-154. 39. huscroft 151-152. 40. 138. 41. anna sapir abulafia, “notions of jewish service in twelfth and thirteenth-century england,” in christians and jews in angevin england: the york massacre of 1190, narratives and 34 elements : : spring 2018 contexts, ed. sarah jones and sethina watson, york: york medieval press, 2013, 221. references abulafia, anna sapir. “jewish-christian disputations and the twelfth-century renaissance.” journal of medieval history 15 (1989): 105-125. brand, paul. “jews and the law in england, 1275-1290.” english historical review 115 no. 464 (2000): 1138–1158. cohen, jeffrey j. “the flow of blood in medieval norwich.” speculum 79 no. 1 (2004): 26-65. huscroft, richard. expulsion: england’s jewish solution. gloucestershire: the history press, 2013. hyams, paul. “the jewish minority in mediaeval england, 1066-1290.” journal of jewish studies 27 (1974): 270-293. jones, sarah rees and sethina watson (eds.). christians and jews in angevin england: the york massacre of 1190, narratives and contexts. york: york medieval press, 2013. mcculloh, john m. “jewish ritual murder: william of norwich, thomas of monmouth, and the early dissemination of the myth.” speculum 72 no. 3 (1997): 698-740. moore, r.i. the formation of a persecuting society. oxford: blackwell publishing, 2007. rokéah, zefira entin. medieval english jews and royal officials. jerusalem: the hebrew university magnes press, 2000. skinner, patricia. “viewpoint: confronting the medieval in medieval history: the jewish example.” past & present 181 (2003): 219-247. stacey, robert c. “anti-semitism and the medieval english state.” the medieval state, ed. j.r. maddicott and d.m. palliser. london: hambledon, 2000. thomas, hugh m. “portrait of a medieval anti-semite: richard malebisse,” haskins society journal 5 (1993): 1-16. 35 ‘do not kill them, lest my people forget’ ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, .&! -*/"&"#/ also featuring • unmasking medical frauds • pronouns and personhood!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#,# - 2 0 21 · . (& ) ! 1 7 · / '' & ! 1/ !-!) !* %' : : %0 ! & * 1 !"2 " #1 & #%! "!'!#"+0 3(& "* #(, 4( '%( * +(--!2! ,#-2 0 2 1 :: .( -& ) ! 17 :: /''& ! 1/ $"(1&+!1 45 %0! '%#,, (, !-!)!*%' !"#$ %&%'( &)&*+,'$ "-. !"' $!&!'-*'/'* *'0&*#,&!#-)$ &)1 )&!#-)&* *'0&*#,&!#-) -2 0&+ 3&((#&0' &22'4!'1 !"' )536'( -2 4"#*1(') &1-%!'1 #) !"' 5)#!'1 $!&!'$––6-!" -) &/'(&0' &)1 #) '&4" -2 !"' 2#/' &0' 0(-5%$. !!"#$ ')1, !"#$ %&%'( 5$'$ & 1#22'(')4' ('0('$$#-) 5$#)0 1&!& 2(-3 !"' 7#1$ 4-5)! 1&!& 4')!'(, ."#4" 1'!&#*$ !"' )536'( -2 4"#*1(') #) '&4" -2 2#/' &0' 0(-5%$ &1-%!'1 '&4" +'&( 2(-3 2000 !2017. !"#$ ('0('$$#/' &)&*+$#$ 2-5)1 & 9.1% #)4('&$' #) !"' )536'( -2 !-!&* &1-%!#-)$ &2!'( !"' 2016 )&!#-)&* *'0&*#,&!#-) -2 0&+ 3&((#&0'. "-.'/'(, !"' &)&*+$#$ &*$2-5)1 !"&! & $!&!'’$ *'0&*#,&!#-) .&$ 4-(('*&!'1 .#!" &) 8% 1'4('&$' #) &1-%!#-)$ #) !"&! $!&!', 4('&!#)0 & 4-3%*'8#!+ #) !"' ('$5*!$ !"&! 5)1'(*#)'$ !"' )''1 2-( 25(!"'( ('$'&(4". "-.'/'(, !"' 1#22'(')4' #) '22'4! 6'!.'') $!&!'-*'/'* &)1 )&!#-)&* *'0&*#,&!#-)$ 3&+ #3%*+ !"&! !"' 6&((#'($ !0&+ 4-5%*'$ &1-%!#)0 #) !"' 5)#!'1 $!&!'$ 3&+ 6' 3-(' 45*!5(&* !"&) '8%*#4#!*+ *'0&*. !"#$!%&%'# !()" understanding the e!ect of legalizing gay -marriage on adoption rates in the united states 7&!"'(#)' 0&(('!! 46 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 46 introduction in the united states, around 100,000 domestic children are in foster care waiting to be adopted during any given year. as such, the united states desperately needs willing and able adoptive parents (“foster care in the u.s. number of children waiting for adoption”). however, the laws governing the adoption process in the united states present a myriad of barriers for individuals wanting to adopt children, particularly for unmarried couples. according to federal statutes, individuals, or couples may legally adopt children. however, a child can only be adopted by a singular legal entity. individual people and married couples are legally recognized as one entity, but domestic partnerships are not. if a person in a domestic partnership applies to adopt a child as an individual, the adoption agency’s home study of this individual’s home must confirm their single status. if the potential adoptive parent is discovered to be living with a long-time partner, their eligibility may be jeopardized (“do i have to be married to adopt a child?”). furthermore, many adoptions in the united states are brokered by private adoption agencies, with little regulation on what kind of requirements they can set for their adoptions. despite federal laws not explicitly requiring marriage, the agency american adoptions requires couples to have been married two years or more, and many other agencies require couples to have been married even longer (american adoptions, inc.). with this background information in mind, this brief examines adoption data from 2000 to 2017 in order to assess how the legalization of same-sex marriage—on a state and national level—increased adoption rates in the united states. the first section of this brief will describe the empirical strategy used to explore the correlation between same-sex marriage legalization and adoption rates, while the discussion section will analyze the findings and their significance. finally, the concluding section will suggest an explanation for these findings and highlight the weaknesses of this analysis. empirical strategy this paper utilizes adoption data from the kids count data center, sponsored by the annie e. casey foundation. this data set, which has 540 observations, reveals the number of children that were adopted in each state and nationally from 2000 to 2017. unfortunately, this data set only provides raw numbers on how many children were adopted each year––not the percentage of children of those awaiting adoption that were taken in by a new family. this nuance limits the results of the regression for reasons discussed later in the paper. the data also indicate what age group the adopted children fell into, starting with those under one year old. naturally, the pool of children that were adopted each year were all unique, but by national averages, the age breakdown is as shown in table 1. for this analysis, the raw numbers of adopted children were converted into a logarithmic dependent variable in order to analyze how gay marriage changed adoption rates in the form of a percent change. the regression model for this paper also utilized variables that were generated by hand to indicate same-sex marriage legalization based on the year that each state had legalized it. observations that were taken from a state before that state’s legalization of gay marriage were labeled with a “o”, and observations from after a state’s legalization were labeled with a “1”. another variable was also generated by hand to indicate national legalization, which labeled all observations from after 2015 with a “1” to show that gay marriage had been legalized nationally at the time of the adoptions in question. table 2 displays the year of legalization for each state. !&6*' 1: &/'(&0' %'(4')! -2 4"#*1') &1-%!'1 #) !"' 5)#!'1 $!&!'$ '&4" +'&( 6+ &0' 0(-5% 2(-3 2000 ! 2017. !"#$!%&%'# !()" 47 thus, for this analysis, the log of the adoption numbers was regressed upon a binary variable indicating state legalization of gay marriage, a binary variable indicating national legalization, and a binary variable indicating early legalization. the model also controlled for state and year. this regression was performed separately for every age group, as well as for the aggregate adoption data. this model is intended to control for any di*erences in adoption numbers that may arise from demographic di*erences between individual states, such as population. it is also intended to control for the passing of time to try to isolate the e*ect of the policy change. results performing a regression analysis on these data yields several interesting conclusions. the most interesting finding is that the national legalization of same-sex marriage increased aggregate adoption rates by about 9.1% (coe+cient = 0.0907). this finding is statistically significant at the 10% level. this coe+cient indicates that when gay marriage was legalized, even states that had already legalized gay marriage experienced a statistically significant increase in adoptions. interestingly, the coe+cient on “statelegal” was -0.0793, implying that a state’s legalization of gay marriage decreased aggregate adoption rates in that state by about 8%. this is also statistically significant at the 10% level, but it is certainly an unexpected correlation. it is hard to say why this decrease occurred or if it is even causal. one potential explanation for this counterintuitive result is that the “statelegal” variable may not be well specified, therefore violating the first assumption of time series regressions. however, given the high adjusted r-squared values discussed later in this paper–– which indicate that the model fits the data very well––it seems likely that there is some other cause. alternatively, there could be correlation between the independent variables and the errors, which would violate the fourth assumption of time series regressions. nevertheless, the coe+cients on the “nationwidelegal” and “statelegal” variables for each age group are displayed in table 3. the statistically significant negative coe+cients on “statelegal” versus the statistically significant positive coe+cients on “nationwidelegal” could be interpreted to indicate that states’ legalizations of gay marriage had less of a positive impact on adoption rates than the national legalization. one possible explanation for this disparity could be the social stigma against homosexual couples as parents. it is possible that if a person is against gay marriage, their state governor or !&6*' 2: +'&( $&3'-$'8 3&((#&0' 6'4&3' *'0&* #) '&4" $!&!' (&*%"&6'!#4&*) $-5(4': 0'-(0'!-.) *&. *#6(&(+ !&6*' 3: 4-'22#4#')!$ -) “)&!#-).#1'*'0&*” &)1 “$!&!'*'0&*” 2-( '/'(+ &0' 0(-5% 48 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 48 state supreme court legalizing gay marriage would not be enough to make them reevaluate their homophobic views. however, the federal supreme court’s decision may have been more influential. it was heavily publicized, therefore placing the rights of same-sex couples in the political spotlight in an unprecedented way. giving the lgbt community the visibility that they had systematically been denied may have hindered their critics’ practice of sweeping them under the rug as sociological or biological anomalies. moreover, the positive, inclusive slogans like “love is love” could have helped to humanize the lgbt community to its critics. ultimately, by whatever avenue, the 2015 supreme court decision forced americans to recognize and respect samesex couples more than ever before, and it is possible that this shift in social attitudes towards gay couples may have led more adoption agencies to accept gay couples as adoptive parents. this would create the uptick in adoption rates after the national legalization that was not seen after state-level legalizations. graph 1 provides evidence to support this explanation, illustrating the average number of children adopted in the united states over time. since 2015, 2016, and 2017 all saw increasing levels of adoptions, this graph hints that the social normalization prompted by the legalization of gay marriage may have sparked an upward trend in adoption rates that may not yet be over. unfortunately, adoption data have a lag in availability, so numbers for recent years are unknown. however, assuming recent data follow the same pattern, one possible explanation for this upward trend is that the adoption-related e*ects of legalizing gay marriage may not have taken full e*ect yet. this inference is supported by the fact that the 2015 court decision did not instantly legalize adoption by gay couples in all states. some states recognized gay couples’ right to adopt in 2015, but some states didn’t recognize that right until they were mandated to by a 2017 supreme court ruling (“v.l. v. e.l.”). that was not the end of the story, however, as even today not all adoption agencies recognize homosexual married couples’ eligibility to adopt. as of january 2022, eleven states have legislation explicitly establishing a legal right for religiously a+liated adoption agencies to discriminate against homosexual couples (“foster and adoption laws,” 2022). these circumstances illustrate that the extent of homosexual couples’ eligibility to adopt in the united 0(&%" 1: )536'( -2 7#1$ &1-%!'1 #) !"' 5$ -/'( !#3' 2(-3 2000 !2017 !"#$!%&%'# !()" 49 states has been expanding––and likely will continue to. thus, while the legalization of gay marriage made adoption for gay couples considerably easier overall, there were certainly still more barriers in some states at that time. over time, as more and more of these statutes break down, an upward trend in adoption rates like the one illustrated in graph 1 may become even more concretely apparent. however, this explanation is just a conjecture. this data trend is too recent for this analysis to convincingly suggest a causal relationship. however, while many of the findings from the regression potentially tie into this greater, significant social trend, not all of the conclusions carry a practical significance. the analysis found that the coe+cient on “earlylegalize’’ was -.4816 for aggregate adoption data. the coe+cient was similarly negative across all age groups, indicating that states that legalized gay marriage earlier had lower adoption rates. this coe+cient was statistically significant from zero at the 1% level. despite this statistical significance, this finding may not have any causal significance, as it could be due to other factors. the group of states that legalized gay marriage early could be smaller states overall, thus having fewer kids up for adoption. alternatively, these could be states where adoption is less common on the whole. this variable simply compares one group of states to the other, and thus does not actually illuminate the e*ects of early legalization of gay marriage. in order to make this coe+cient more accurate, subsequent regressions should attempt to control for these variables. nevertheless, despite the unfortunate omission of some important control variables, overall, the model used in the regression fits the data well. the regression on the aggregate adoption rates had an r-squared value of .945 and an adjusted r-squared of .941. the five age groups had an average r-squared of .862 and an average adjusted r-squared of .853. the individual values are displayed in table 4. as illustrated in table 4, the only regressions with adjusted r-squared values less than .90 are those for the under one and 16-20 age groups. these might be outliers simply because there are fewer children adopted in these age groups overall. this amplifies the e*ect of any changes or any exceptional adoption years, making it harder for any regression to fit the data well. these relatively small adoption numbers likely also explain the disparities in the standard error values. the standard errors for all of the coe+cients in every regression are under. 1 except for those for the regression for the same two outlier age groups. these low standard errors indicate that this model fits the data relatively well. the regressions on children under one and above sixteen had slightly higher standard errors likely due to the same reasons as the lower r-squared values. overall though, the high adjusted r-squared values indicate that the independent variables included in this regression—state, year, and the coe+cients relating to same-sex marriage legalization—explain the variation in adoption rates well. conclusion and limitations overall, this data analysis provides some evidence supporting the hypothesis that the legalization of same-sex marriage increased adoption rates. however, the results from this analysis hint that this increase may not yet be fully realized. the fact that state legalization of same-sex marriage did not significantly increase adoption rates implies that the barriers to same-sex adoption extend beyond the legal ones discussed in the introduction of this paper. in fact, this result implies that the biggest barriers to same-sex adoption may be rooted in social stigma. this explanation is supported by the fact that national legalization increased adoption rates. it is possible that national legalization shifted public opinion significantly— considerably more than any one state’s legalization did — thus increasing adoption rates. this conclusion is further strengthened by the upward trend in adoption rates since 2015. as americans become more and more comfortable with same-sex couples, more and more adoption agencies !&6*' 4: (-$95&('1 &)1 &1:5$!'1 (-$95&('1 /&*5'$ 2-( '&4" ('0('$$#-) (6+ &0' 0(-5%) 50 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 50 are allowing gay adoptive parents, thus allowing homosexual couples to fill the united states’ need for adoptive parents. however, this is simply one possible explanation. these results may have been produced by a coalescence of other factors. overall, the only thing this analysis concretely indicates is that more investigation into this topic is needed. there are also a few weaknesses to this analysis that must be pointed out. firstly, in order to perform this regression with yearly adoption data, the dates on which gay marriage was legalized in each state had to be rounded to the nearest full year. unfortunately, this may have blurred the results, given that many legalizations—such as the national legalization in june of 2015—happened mid-year. if the adoption data were categorized by month, this analysis would have yielded more reliable conclusions. additionally, since the data are so recent, it is di+cult to determine whether the upward trend in adoptions since circa 2015 is significant, or if it is just a spike––like the increase in adoptions in 2008 and 2009. only time and further investigation will tell if this more recent increase constitutes a trend or not. furthermore, as referenced in the introduction, the format of the data is somewhat limiting. the data are presented in the number of children adopted per year, rather than a percentage of children adopted out of the pool of adoptable children. because the number of children up for adoption varies year to year, in an ideal world this regression should be performed with data on yearly adoption rates. these rates should remain relatively constant over time barring any significant social, political, or economic change. overall, while the results from this analysis are not conclusive, they certainly highlight the need for more investigative research into how the growing american acceptance of gay marriage may a*ect adoption rates in the united states. ultimately, further research could highlight an additional, hidden benefit in eroding our nation’s heteronormative cultural standards. through taking a stand for sexual equality, we may have the power to increase the number of children who are able to grow up with a permanent sense of belonging in generous, loving families. “through taking a stand for sexual equality, we may have the power to increase the number of children who are able to grow up with a permanent sense of belonging within generous, loving families.” !"#$!%&%'# !()" 51 ,"-","'."/ “a brief history of civil rights in the united states: a timeline of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the u.s.” guides. accessed december 10, 2020. https:// guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182201. american adoptions, inc. “requirements to adopt.” american adoptions adoption requirements in the u.s. accessed december 10, 2020. https://www.americanadoptions.com/adopt/requirements_to_adopt. “do i have to be married to adopt a child?” adoption network. accessed december 10, 2020. https://adoptionnetwork.com/do-i-have-to-be-married-to-adopt-a-child. 16, oct. “foster care in the u.s. number of children waiting for adoption” statista. october 16, 2020. accessed december 12, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/255375/number-of-children-waiting-to-be-adopted-inthe-united-states/. “foster and adoption laws.” movement advancement project. accessed january 7, 2022. https://www.lgbtmap. org/equality-maps/foster_and_adoption_laws. “v.l. v. e.l.” scotusblog. accessed december 10, 2020. https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/v-l-v-e-l/. “who may adopt, be adopted, or place a child for adoption?” january 2020. accessed december 10, 2020. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/parties.pdf. !%/0 ($,01(,2 '$%.-(7$"-%8 © wil540 art. (2021, october 2). espo workshop8 [photograph]. wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:espo_workshop8.jpg 13 41 4"&54'( '**'$3'(' © chaucer ellesmere. (2005, september 5). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaucer_ellesmere.jpg 54 2#05(' 1 © energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ dietary trends can have large implications on public health. there is a strong physiological connection between food consumption and one’s well-being. thus nutrition is an important factor in a nation’s overall health. many factors contribute to how and why an individual eats certain foods. in ecuador, historical, socioeconomic, cultural, behavioral, and environmental factors influence the different diets, and thereby, the nutritional conditions, of different ethnic, and regional geographic populations. discrepancies among these groups are particularly noticeable in sierra, ecuador’s the highland region. this paper examines the prevalence of malnutrition across ecuador. specifically, it considers how the ecuadorian diet took shape, and how different sub-cuisines contribute to malnutrition. while all regions are considered, a focus is placed primarily on the sierra, given that levels of malnutrition are noticeably higher in this region, and that this highland area is home to large rural and indigenous communities who are most significantly impacted by the area’s nutritional conditions. food for thought how food and economics intersect in rural ecuador lindsay stone fried plantains, steamed tubers, spice-rubbed beef, empanadas, sipping chocolate, flour tortillas… such is just a sampling of the variety of foods and meals that can be found across the different geographical regions of ecuador. this latin american country spans from the galapagos islands and the country’s pacific coast to the amazon jungle and is split down the middle by the andes mountain range. ecuador’s four regions – the galapagos islands, the costa, the sierra, and amazonia – are home to several different ethnic groups; (i.e., including people from amerindian lineages, such as the quechua who descend from the inca empire), afro-ecuadorians (i.e., descendants of african slaves, such as those commonly imported during the time of spanish colonization), and mestizo-ecuadorians (i.e., those of mixed european and amerindian ancestry). over the centuries, the different cultural groups across ecuador have adopted various food habits and diets due to their respective histories and geographical locations. through food’s “consumption… and the social and cultural processes it sustains,” what one eats “[contributes] to the creation of collective identities” (schlüter 91, 91). it is not surprising to find that “food is a very important aspect of the ethnic identity” for many in this latin american country (camacho 158). a diversity of diets and cuisines can be found across ecuador, which vary according to altitude, cultural heritage, and other “ecological and socioeconomic factors” (camacho 156). in this way, different eating patterns contain characteristic elements that distinguish a given dish or food item as belonging to specific categories; foods can be distinguished as belonging to the “highland/lowland [or] north/central/south,” as “urban/rural [or] “province/capital” fare, as stereotypically pre-hispanic/spanish-influenced or traditional/ indigenous/mestizo food, etc. (camacho 156; weismantel 120, 120). despite the ample and diverse set of foods which constitute ecuadorian cuisine, ecuador is home to a population afflicted by nutritional deficiencies. unsurprisingly, these varied diets and their determinants generate differing nutritional conditions (camacho 156). in fact, issues including undernutrition, obesity, and micronutrient deficiency lend themselves to the “deleterious nutritional situation” prescribed by the world bank in their most recent country study report on ecuador (walker et al. xiii). ethnic, socioeconomic, & geographical diversity: shaping of the ecuadorian diet though there is much richness and pride in ecuador – as expressed through ecuadorian culture, food, etc. – many among the country’s heterogenous society are subjected to inequalities that prohibit the population from sharing “the same general conditions of wellness” (ortega). currently, the majority of the ecuadorian population (approximately seventy-two percent) identifies themselves as mestizo; this social group became dominant in ecuadorian society upon its rebirth and independence from three hundred years of spanish colonization in 1830 (ortega). in the andes in particular, the mestizo people can be characterized by how “white… [they] have become,” while the indigenous people “have ‘remained’ … [as] shaped by the interaction of relations of power” (weismantel 38). though almost two hundred years have passed since ecuador’s liberation from spain, the smaller percentage of the republic’s population (which can trace its ancestry back to amerindian or african roots) maintains a lesser, subjugated position in society – like many cultures globally, the shadow of colonization still holds its grip on ecuador. because of the history of abuse, discrimination, and stereotyping (based on religion, skin color, language, etc.) that was born during ecuador’s spanish colonization and which remains in ecuadorian society today, twenty-seven generations of indigenous peoples and afro-ecuadorians have lived in static, impoverished conditions. consequently, for over five hundred years, these communities have figure 1: a map of the different regions of ecuador (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 10 elements : : fall 2017 experienced limited access to water and land, high levels of food insecurity, and general social discrimination (ortega). as a result, an “ongoing tension in ecuadorian society” has been established (walmsley 45). currently, ethnicity plays an especially important role in the diet of indigenous and afro-ecuadorian peoples; because of their recognition of “the discrimination they face in daily life,” these individuals “increasingly express pride in their cultural difference” – particularly in the form of food (walmsley 45). because one’s diet, and subsequently, one’s nutrition are “mediated by… socioeconomic factors” in addition to “cultural choices,” the history behind these determinants are an interesting consideration when looking at current dietary patterns (camacho 156). prior to the spanish colonization of ecuador, for instance, the native andean population consumed a diet containing “many of today’s basic products” including tomatoes, maize, beans, potatoes, and other tubers; quinoa, squash, and a variety of wild fruits, berries, and other plants were consumed regularly (camacho 157). upon the spaniards’ colonization, however, the “andean diet was modified” by “the transplantation of animals and plants … and new dietary habits” (camacho 157; schlüter 91). as new grains live., wheat and barley land protein sources such as chickens, pigs, cows, and other livestock, and legumes and vegetables were made available, a “much richer and more varied diet” emerged (camacho 157; schlüter 91). this was not without consequence, particularly in indigenous communities. without access to many of the new products, in addition to “colonial socioeconomic institutions” that “[transformed] the landscape and [exploited] native resources and labor,” such as plantations and sharecropping systems not all areas of society shared the same “improvements in diet and health” (camacho 157, 157, 167). the availability of both new foodstuffs and new socioeconomic hierarchies, which were established after the arrival of the spanish conquerors, also led to a decreased consumption of many traditional foods. all over latin america, “conquest and cultural colonization resulted in […] negative cultural stereotypes which clearly influenced the disappearance of traditional [ foods]” and ultimately caused the loss of “staple elements” of the traditional ecuadorian diet (schlüter 97). for instance, certain foods were deemed “peasant food,” and consequently no longer eaten despite their nutritional density; while all levels of ecuador’s society were necessarily affected by this designation, the impact of this newfound notion of “food prestige” most significantly affected those of poorer socioeconomic standing (i.e., the native, indigenous population). though many of these traditional products have been “rediscovered” and reintroduced into the ecuadorian diet – primarily in an attempt to reduce the country’s poverty levels and increase its nutritional outcomes – many have not been reestablished until somewhat recently (schlüter 92). a classic example of the issue of food prestige can be seen in the case of quinoa. this nutritious, protein-rich pseudocereal was long disregarded as “animal feed,” and not reintroduced into the ecuadorian diet until its “rediscovery” in the late 1990s and early 2000s (ortega et al.). because quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, it functions as a nutritious, vegetarian protein source – which is particularly beneficial for those communities that do not readily have access to animal proteins. for thousands of years, the native inhabitants of ecuador’s sierra cultivated and consumed quinoa, until the spanish conquest of the country; this marked a four-hundred year decline in quinoa production, as the seed was deemed “food for indians” and later “only fit for animal consumption” (dobkin; ortega et al). ironically and rather unfortunately, the disappearance of this nutritious protein and carbohydrate source was coupled with an increase in malnutrition in the population whose ancestors had originally considered quinoa a dietary staple – the indigenous peoples (dobkin). it was not until european agricultural researchers “rediscovered” quinoa that it was once again reintroduced into the diet and farming practices of andean communities (ortega et al.). since then, efforts to provide opportunities for the growth of this pseudo-grain have helped improve the lives of farmers and communities in the andes, “where poverty rates are historically high and nutrition miserably low” (dobkin). ultimately, quinoa’s rediscovery has led to in“over the centuries, the different cultural groups across ecuador have adopted various food habits and diets due to their respective histories and geographical locations.” 11 food for thought creased nutritional and socioeconomic outcomes in the sierra region, as the seed once again became a source of both vital nutrients and income for many in need of its dietary benefits (viz. the indigenous population). today in the rural portions of the sierra – and primarily, among the indigenous communities who have resided there for generations – “maize, quinoa, and tubers remain central crops” as they have for centuries (despite quinoa’s lengthy absence); in effect, the “persistence of a diet largely based on native crops” has considerably shaped the andean diet (camacho 157, 158). for the “traditional peasant,” a standard diet is characterized by a large presence of starches and carbohydrates (e.g., “cereals, tubers, [and] legumes” such as barley, potatoes, and fava beans). in fact, the importance of these food types is incorporated not only “into the structure of meals, but [also] into the structure of the landscape” and culture (camacho 158, 158; weismantel 117). grains and starches traditionally held “cultural and symbolic position in the andean cosmological vision,” and remain “synonymous with food” because of their nutritional properties that provide “a feeling of satiety and strength” (codesal; camacho 158, 158-159). for those of lower socioeconomic standing, they provide an important source of energy; in fact, for the region’s poor, other nourishing and satiating foodstuffs – viz. proteins sources such as meat, eggs, and dairy products – are only available according to a given community or family’s “economic opportunities” (camacho 158). because of this, in the sierra and particularly in rural, low-class and indigenous villages, nutritional needs are often not met. however, while ecuadorians living in the sierra consume these traditional foods for their affordability, convenience, and cultural significance, there is a marked tension between traditional culinary choices and more modern, mestizo foods. here, one can once again find traces of the issue of food prestige – despite the fact that similar dietary trends can be observed across ecuador. in effect, surveys indicate that “rice and oats, wheat-derived products, potatoes and manioc, sugar, lard and oil” and “plantains [and bananas]” appear to have a major role in the ecuadorian diet (camacho 158). but, because of the tie between food and social identity, perceptions of foods can be seen to impact the dietary choices of all class levels. for instance, some children in indigenous communities – such as those which live in cotacachi, a city in the sierra that is host to the highest density of indigenous peoples of any city in the country – often prefer “high status mestizo foods” (such as fast foods, foods prepared using more urban approaches, etc.) over their own traditional, rural fare (camacho 159). this social phenomenon is seen by some anthropologists as a reaction to the children’s “desire to become mestizo and to assimilate into the master culture (camacho 159). ultimately, it conveys the strength of the “language of food” in ecuadorian culture and the power of the notion of food prestige (camacho 159). a similar phenomenon can be seen in the middleand upper-class, albeit in a more elitist manner. while certain indigenous peoples choose to align themselves with mestizo culture, many other ecuadorians who are well-off (and especially those in urban centers) conversely wish to separate themselves from their lower-class (and indigenous) compatriots. for instance, in quito – ecuador’s capital, which is nestled in the highlands among the mountains and volcanos of the sierra – a tension exists between “competing cuisines” (including that between traditional vs. fast foods); ultimately, a “complex hierarchy of cuisines” exposes cultural schisms “between social roles… old and young, man and woman, [and] rich and poor” (weismantel 121, 122, 121). as cultural anthropologist dr. weismantel observes, many in quito and other urban centers have an often conflicting desire to not only uphold traditional ecuadorian cuisine – particularly in reaction to the fear of western, specifically american, encroachment on ecuador’s “integrity as a nation… and unique [ food] culture” (e.g., through the establishment of fast food restaurants and the importation of canned goods, snack foods, soft drinks, etc.) – but also figure 2: visualizing the stunting present in tingo, ecuador (courtesy of lindsay stone) 12 elements : : fall 2017 both differentiate their diet from that of the traditional cuisine and separate themselves from the people it represents (weismantel 122). consequently, ecuador’s traditional dishes – i.e., “platos tipicos” – can represent both the country’s cultural heritage, and “the poor, the ignorant, and the nonwhite: people with whom the elite, for the most part, do not wish to identify” (weismantel 122). because “race remains a defining, if often unspoken, feature of social relations” in ecuador, one’s attempt to identify oneself within their social construct is often affected by societal and cultural perceptions of foods. consequently, many ecuadorians struggle to “[emphasize] their country’s cultural heritage” while maintaining a discourse of food prestige (walmsley 46). however, the issue of food prestige can go beyond “traditional” foods and be applied to any food item deemed not prestigious enough for higher-class consumption. take baby carrots, for example: from an ethnocentric, american perspective, one could describe this colorful food item as a nutritious source of many vitamins, minerals, and fiber that is considered delicious by many adults and children alike. however, ecuadorian-born dr. marleen haboud explains how, in quito, baby carrots are deemed “animal food,” just as quinoa was for centuries (ortega et al.). from personal experience, she recalls how this food item is not considered an appropriate snack for children – she was, in fact, reproached by another parent upon giving baby carrots to her daughter as a snack to take to school – even though baby carrots are a healthy option, unlike many of the processed snack (and often junk) foods that many parents choose to give their kids instead (ortega et al.). because carrots are not viewed as a “high-class” option (as processed snack food has come to signify, at times) and thus do not fit in with the concept of food prestige that many try to uphold, many well-off ecuadorians disdain their consumption. ultimately, as a result of socioeconomic influences and ecuador’s history of colonization, repression, and classstratification, food in ecuadorian society can be seen to function in a semiotic manner, endowed with meaning according to cultural signification and its dissimilarity from other foods. accordingly, food and diet necessarily play a significant role in the establishment and maintenance of one’s social and cultural identity. however, the significance of the “alimentary language” – which, though not unique to ecuadorian society, is particularly noteworthy – can also lend itself to the possibility of an amplification and distortion of “rules of exclusion,” “alimentary taboos,” and “rules of association, as can be seen in the case of food prestige” (weismantel 124). despite the importance of culture and socioeconomics, “ecological [ factors] … [and] local environmental conditions” also contribute to the shaping of the ecuadorian diet (camacho 156). amidst the various considerations that form a population’s food choices, both geography and socioeconomics share similarly significant roles, and can, in fact, go so far as to build a “relationship between race and place” (walmsley 45). such is the case in ecuador, where “race is understood in terms of place” and “[these] intersecting social constructions” produce a sense of identity – thus, “regional cuisines… often become representative of local [afro-ecuadorian], indigenous, or mestizo culture” (walmsley 43). though nationally traditional ecuadorian foods are characterized by their “substantial, solid” nature, whereby meals are cooked via “a rather limited repertoire of techniques, condiments, and vegetables” and are often “starchy,” a substantial amount of diversity can be found among regional cuisines (weismantel 121, 120-121, 121). containing ingredients such as goat, beef, chicken, rice, potatoes, onions, and eggs, ecuador’s “platos tipicos” often vary by geographic area; for instance, the bland, potato dominated cuisine of the highlands is entirely distinctive from the spicy, rice focused meals served in the coastal region (weismantel 122). these regional differences can interact with discourses of socioeconomics and culture – and once again lend themselves to an alimentary language and the issue of food prestige – which further shapes “the relationship between race, place and cuisine in ecuador” (walmsley 46). ultimately, a “racial topography” can be mapped upon ecuador’s natural geography, which creates “racial identities that are spatially located and materially experienced through diverse culinary processes” – and, as a result, establishes a “racial/spatial order” (walmsley 49, 46, 49). in this way, foods, tastes, smells, and cuisines develop regional and cultural markers that are identifiable as belonging to a “designated cultural and geographical setting” (walmsley 50). aside from its “racial/spatial” element, geography also has its unique impact on the ecuadorian diet. between the north and south coastal plains, the mountainous andean highlands, and the amazon basin, ecuador is home to “considerable diversity of climate, ecosystems” and elevations – the latter of which can range from sea level to more 13 food for thought than twenty-thousand feet above sea level (walmsley 46). the country’s eco-geographical variations necessarily lend themselves to a diversity of food products in diets, which are associated with different regions. for instance, production zones and land use are ultimately established according to “[variations] in topography, altitude, and climate” (weismantel 39). though the transportation of food is not nonexistent, such that “foodstuffs do not, of course, remain within their places of origin,” many specific ingredients are stereotypic to a given region (walmsley 47). it is commonly held, for example, that “potatoes and cereals belong to the high andean mountainsides,” while “seafood… [and] tropical fruits, with their glowing colors and cloying fragrances” evoke the cuisine of coastal lowlands; these associations frequently stem from a food item’s ability to grow and thrive in a region’s ecogeographic landscape (walmsley 46-47, 47). much of the ecuadorian sierra, for instance, can be characterized by “high-altitude mountain slopes,” “wind [that] blows cold,” and “sun [that] beats down hard on the bare land” (walmsley 47). topography, soil quality, and water access in this region can all affect agricultural production, and thus its populations’ diets and agricultural opportunities (camacho 160-161). communities settled in lower altitudes in the sierra, for example, have the region’s “highest levels of agrobiodiversity given the more benign climatic conditions,” but are faced with issues relating to lower quality, drier soils and proximity to urban centers (camacho 161). moreover, in the more rural highland areas, “the ruggedness of the terrain, the lack of roads, and the extremely dispersed settlement pattern” further intensify the severity of the landscape (weismantel 39). this often-harsh environment of the sierra, particularly in rural areas, necessarily shapes the diet of the peoples living there, as it can limit options for crop growth and livestock husbandry, decrease opportunities for trade, etc. the rural, poor, indigenous community of zambagua, for example, lies high up in the sierra “above the zone of maize cultivation”; accordingly, they are unable to use this crop as a dietary staple and carbohydrate source and instead rely on potatoes as one of the three main crops (weismantel 118). the predominance of potatoes in rural andean societies is not uncommon; in fact, some have observed that “the potato is renowned as the mainstay of the indigenous andean diet” (weismantel 92). because potatoes, tubers, and other starches grow well in the sierra’s higher zones – potatoes, in particular, are observed to “grow bigger and better in this zone” – these foods’ prevalence “is written… into the structure of meals” (camacho 161; weismantel 118). patterns such as this are prevalent across ecuador, as regional diets are ultimately shaped by geography and ecology – such that “highland/lowland,” “north/central/ south,” “urban/rural.” (weismantel 120). external factors: the impact of the u.s. on the ecuadorian diet though many internal factors necessarily shape the dietary choices of ecuadorians, the country’s diet does not exist without external influences (as has been previously mentioned). while there has been, historically, the importation of new foods and eating habits, the mixing of native and non-local diets and cuisines, etc. (e.g., due to the spanish conquest of ecuador), the effect of other cultures on the ecuadorian diet can also be observed today; this is specifically the case with more industrialized countries such as the united states as a result of globalization, urbanization, and an increased exposure to other cultures. most notably, ecuador’s diet and nutritional status has been negatively impacted by “rapid urbanization and the adoption of western diets high in refined carbohydrates, saturated fats and sugars”. this has permitted the availability of food types which can lend themselves to obesity and improper nutrient intake – along with other health problems, such as diabetes, that have been correlated with the consumption of highly processed, high fat, high sugar, and/or high salt foods (world bank). across latin america, for instance, “the influence of ‘junk food’ from the united states” functions as an example of “cultural homogenization” – a phenomenon which often emphasizes “the features of industrialized countries at the expense of local traditions” (schlüter 90). accordingly, industrialized foods may become exalted and even function as an indicator of food prestige – though it is also possible “[the] often-harsh environment of the sierra…necessarily shapes the diet of the peoples living there...” 14 elements : : fall 2017 for the opposite to occur. in fact, not everyone is as enthralled with american fast food items in ecuador (though it is often very popular, especially with the youth); many parents, for instance, feel that “such meals are signposts on the road to perdition,” while others view “the cultural invasion of the north” as an encroachment on ecuador’s unique gastronomical heritage (weismantel 122). the influence of the industrialized countries can also be seen through instances of “cross-breeding” between non-local and local foods, whereby foreign tastes are “[adapted] to local tastes” (schlüter 90). for example, while mcdonald’s has been noted to generally have a “disinterest in modifying their menu to accommodate local tastes,” their offerings in ecuador include a “mcfiesta” – a “variety burger” topped with guacamole, that is not offered in the u.s. (oldakowski 46, 42). burger king, on the other hand, can be seen to “[demonstrate] noticeable deviation from their american menu” as they attempt to adapt to the local culture, by including menu items such as “a chicken sandwich with ecuadorian condiments named pollo frito” (oldakowski 43, 44). however, the effect of industrialized countries on ecuadorians is not only limited to their diet, but also their dietary practices. for instance, the marketing campaigns of many infant formula companies in developing countries, such as ecuador, inevitably led to the decrease in breastfeeding – and particularly exclusive breastfeeding – practices. though breastfeeding is popular among indigenous communities – around seventy-seven percent of indigenous women breastfeed their infants because it is cost effective (i.e., free), convenient, and deemed healthy– many others “[resist] exclusive breast-feeding and [instead partake in] inappropriate complementary feeding” practices which ultimately lead to increased infant mortality (ortega; walker et al. xvii, 4). while studies have shown that, when administered correctly, infant formula can be healthful, safe, and nutritious – though still suboptimal to breastmilk – ultimately “manufacturers [ failed] to gear the product to a developing society”. thus, by not considering the “environment of poverty, illiteracy, inadequate sanitation, unhealthy water and limited health services” that afflicts many in developing countries (including ecuador), infant formula companies failed to provide a truly beneficial and viable option – for, ultimately, “as more women [shifted] from breastfeeding to infant formula feeding… more infants [died]” (zelman 708; post qtd. in gilly et al. 23; zelman 708). because diets do not exist in isolation from outside influences, and are not exempt from the importation of new foods and habits, etc., it can be said that the ecuadorian diet was shaped – even to this day – by international (and particularly more industrialized) countries, such as the united states. while this is not without impact to the integrity of national traditions and the health of the population, it necessarily occurs given the globalized nature of the world today. while some aspects of cultural homogenization, cross-breeding, and international advertisement and marketing may have a null or even positive effect on ecuador’s diet, many (such as the importation of fast-food and junk food, marketing which promoted infant formula, etc.) can be seen to have adverse effects on the country’s health, wellbeing, and malnutrition. national patterns of malnutrition though the origin of much of the country’s social inequality can be traced back to the period of the spanish conquest and colonization of ecuador, history, and socioeconomics only tell a part of the story. as a result of geographical, cultural, social, and other factors, ecuador’s four regions – and the ethnic groups within them – have necessarily established very different levels of malnutrition and malnutrition-related conditions. for instance, the world bank suggests that the patterns of malnutrition observed across ecuador have been exacerbated by “limited access to nutritious food,” “poor infant feeding practices,” and “high disease burden” –since malnutrition and disease exist within a vicious cycle –among different populations (and at different levels) (world bank). moreover, because ecuador has failed to “target relevant populations with the right interventions,” this latin american country is among several in the region “which report persistently an average meal in rural tingo & urban quito, ecuador. (courtesy of mary ladesic, gabija pileika) 15 food for thought high rates of childhood nutritional deficiency” (walker et al. xiii, xiii). thus, “in this setting, the deleterious nutritional situation” has arisen (walker et al. xiii). while levels of the total percentage of under-five ecuadorians who are overweight or obese is around nine percent, it is indubitable that chronic malnutrition (which affects around twenty-five percent of the under-five-yearold population) has a greater effect on the ecuadorian population – and particularly those in the highland region (freire et al.). chronic malnutrition is manifested as stunting. when looking at a region’s stunting rates in relation to the national stunting levels, the sierra is home to sixty and sixty-three percent of the country’s moderately and severely stunted under-five year olds. among this stunted population, fifteen to twenty percent live in or around urban centers in the sierra (such as quito), as opposed to the remaining forty to fifty percent who live in rural highland areas. in the lowland coastal region, the moderately and severely underweight individuals account for thirty-four and twenty-nine percent of ecuador’s stunted under-five population, respectively (walker et al. 12). in addition to this regional data, it is also interesting to look at the levels of stunting in a given area relative to its population. for instance, though sierra is known for its high levels of stunting per capita, the amazonia’s rates are almost as high – as the world bank states, the likelihood of being moderately stunted in the highland population is roughly thirty-two percent, and approximately twentythree percent in the lowland, amazonia population (walker et al. 12). in contrast, the costa has significantly fewer levels of stunting than the other two regions, such that only around sixteen percent of its population is predicted to experience stunting in any form (walker et al. 15). ultimately this data indicates that the populace of the sierra experiences not only much higher levels of stunting relative to the country’s population – and, by association, malnutrition – but also larger disparities between rural and urban conditions than the other regions. urban-rural discrepancies in this area cause acute differences in the prevalence of malnutrition, as those in rural communities often endure more extreme environmental conditions, experience more energy-demanding lifestyles, and consume less nutrient-rich diets; such inconsistencies can be seen in the average meal. this pattern of higher levels of malnutrition in rural vs. urban areas is not unique to ecuador, and can also be found in other latin american countries. conclusion though eating is a daily activity whose significance is not necessarily given much thought, one can obtain valuable insights into an individual’s cultural and social settings, economic conditions, cultural heritage, and physiological well-being by observing the cuisines, foods, and meals that they consume. a variety of factors unique to each individual or population group can impact how it is prepared, what one chooses (or does not choose) to eat, how it is perceived culturally or socially, what parameters dictate why it is eaten, and in what manner it is eaten. consequently, analyzing the nutritional status – which is above all dependent upon the foods consumed, in addition to other secondary factors – in a country, region, or single community is an important method of understanding the many aspects of the population’s socioeconomic circumstances, environmental settings, and, particularly, their overall physical and mental health. when looking at ecuador, one can identify a variety of conditions which lend themselves to different food consumption patterns – and thus ultimately the nutritional state of the individuals who prescribe to them. among these circumstances, several in particular remain central to the development of ecuador’s current nutritional status: the country’s ongoing urbanization, the influence of industrialized nations on the traditional diet, the existence of a nutritional transition, the implications of ecuador’s colonial history, the presence of distinct ethnic groups, and other key factors can all be attributed to the high (although, in some cases, improving) levels of malnutrition. in particular, sierra is noteworthy as it is a geographically intense region within a developing country. moreover, the large percentage of indigenous peoples – who have a history of exploitation which continues today – living in the sierra are exposed to a variety of dietary, environmental, and socioeconomic factors which promote malnourishment. accordingly, it is not surprising to find that this highland region experiences the highest levels of chronic malnutrition in the country as is manifested through the presence of stunting. 16 elements : : fall 2017 references camacho, juana. “good to eat, good to think: food, culture and biodiversity in cotacachi.” development with identity: community, culture and sustainability in the andes. ed. robert e. rhoades. wallingford, uk: cabi pub., 2006. 156-70. google books. web. 2016. codesal, diana mata. “eating abroad, remembering (at) home. three foodscapes of ecuadorian migration in new york, london and santander.” anthropology of food 7 (2010). dobkin, leah. “quinoa comeback.” americas 60.5 (2008): 28-37. proquest. web. 10 jan. 2017. freire, w. b., k. m. silva-jaramillo, m. j. ramirezluzuriaga, p. belmont, and w. f. waters. “the double burden of undernutrition and excess body weight in ecuador.” american journal of clinical nutrition 100.6 (2014): 1636s-1643s. pubmed. web. feb. 2016. gilly, mary c., and john l. graham. “a macroeconomic study of the effects of promotion on the consumption of infant formula in developing countries.” journal of macromarketing 8.1 (1988): 21-31. ladesic, mary. “an average meal in quito, ecuador.” 2017. jpeg file. oldakowski, ray, and john mcewen. “the diffusion of american fast food to ecuador.” material culture (2010): 28-49. ortega, fernando, marleen haboud. personal interview. 24 october 2016. ortega, fernando. “health and inequality in ecuador.” 24 october 2016, boston college, chestnut hill, ma. guest lecture. pileika, gabija. “an average meal in tingo, ecuador.” 2014. jpeg file. schlüter, regina g. “promoting regional cuisine as intangible cultural heritage in latin america.” food and the tourism experience (2012): 89-99. stone, lindsay. “growth curve (height/age) for underfive male and female children in tingo, ecuador.” 2014. jpeg file. walker, ian, and alessandra marini. nutritional failure in ecuador: causes, consequences, and solutions. washington, d.c.: world bank, 2007. web. 2016. walmsley, emily. “race, place and taste: making identities through sensory experience in ecuador.” etnofoor, vol. 18, no. 1, 2005, pp. 43–60 weismantel, mary j. food, gender, and poverty in the ecuadorian andes. philadelphia: u of pennsylvania press, 1988. print. zelman, nancy ellen. “the nestle infant formula controversy: restricting the marketing practices of multinational corporations in the third world.” transnational lawyer 3.2 (1990): 697-758. 17 food for thought this paper examines cicero’s pro archia poeta oratio and the author’s implicit and explicit views on how roman cultural identity is constructed. while the speech itself is the legal defense of the poet archias’ claim to roman citizenship, it also situates the debate of legal citizenship within a broader context of roman cultural identity. more specifically, it is argued that the oration allows cicero to emphasize the combination of artes, in this context replacing the literal definition of “skill” or “art” with a foundational and necessary roman virtue, and humanitas as a means of describing the role education plays in creating roman identity. for cicero, the combination of artes and humanitas results in a type of education oriented toward characteristic roman virtues like honor, glory and public service, which serves as the basis for his definition of roman cultural identity. this argument comes primarily from the deconstruction of the oration and the examination of specific passages to identify key themes and expressions, and combining this analysis with recent academic scholarship on cicero’s orations. the art of citizenship roman cultural identity in cicero’s pro archia poeta fisher pressman cicero’s famous defense of the poet aulus licinius archias in pro archia poeta oratio remains one of the most eloquent and important works of latin literature to date. the work celebrates the merits of literature and art, which offers a powerful description of what makes an individual roman. at its most basic, the speech itself constitutes the verbal arguments supporting archias’ claim to roman citizenship. more broadly, the speech articulates cicero’s model of roman citizenship and cultural identity. historian vassiliki panoussi defines culture as a conglomeration of protocols, behavioral patterns, microsocial expectations, and ideological formations.”1 in the pro archia, cicero shares his own views of these cultural foundations for romans.2 this paper argues that cicero’s oration combines artes into a broader definition of humanitas, which defines the role of education in creating a roman identity. this combination of artes and humanitas results in education oriented toward the public service, and one which maintains the virtues of glory and honor in the face of sacrifice and personal loss. the pro archia poeta is a unique example of cicero’s orations at the height of his political and social success. in the year 63 b.c., cicero had secured the position of consul, the highest honor in rome, and the title of novus homo, which represented the ultimate political success and ascent in the roman republic. he had also successfully thwarted the catiline conspiracy by driving the tyrant from rome. it was in the wake of these victories, with cicero as former consul and savior of the republic, that the great orator defended his close friend archias. historian harold gotoff argues that cicero embraces an unusual literary forensic style in the pro archia, as he writes, “the pro archia is undoubtedly the least typical speech of the ciceronian corpus.”3 he continues, “perhaps cicero’s judgment and tact convinced him that the only way to present his argument, weak on evidence, was to evoke the elegant and decorative aspects of human letters in defense of a poet.”4 however, john dugan contends that this unusual style creates the foundation on which cicero defends his client and shapes the speech to fit his overall description of roman identity. dugan writes: by transforming the pro archia into an epideictic oration whose praise of poets and poetry defended archias’ claim to roman citizenship, cicero allows himself to subordinate the legal case to the cultural arguments that are the essence of his oration.5 the opening of the pro archia poetia signals an important shift from a forensic speech to a poetic and linguistically inspired oration. this establishes a better platform for cicero’s definition of roman citizenship and cultural identity to expand beyond the legal definition of both. cicero opens the pro archia by asking for the indulgence of the audience, the jury, and the praetor for the less traditional manner of speech used in his defense of archias. cicero says at the opening of the oration: sed ne cui vestrum mirum esse videatur me in quaestione legitima et in iudicio publico, cum res agatur apud praetorem populi romani, lectissimum virum, et apud severissimos iudices, tanto conventu hominum ac frequentia, hoc uti genere dicendi, quod non modo a consuetudine iudiciorum, verum etiam a forensi sermone abhorreat, quaeso a vobis, ut in hac causa mihi detis hanc veniam, accommodatam huic reo, vobis, quem ad modum spero, non molestam, ut me pro summo poëta atque eruditissimo homine dicentem, hoc concursu hominum litteratissimorum, hac vestra humanitate, hoc denique praetore exercente iudicium patiamini de studiis humanitatis ac litterarum paullo loqui liberius et in eius modi persona, quae propter otium ac studium minime in iudiciis periculisque tractata est, uti prope novo quodam et inusitato genere dicendi. it may, however, be a matter for surprise in some quarters that in an inquiry dealing with statute law, in a public trial held before a specially selected praetor of the roman people and a jury of high dignity, in the presence of a crowded audience of citizens, my speech should be made in a style out of keeping not merely with the conventions of the bar, but also with forensic language. but i crave your indulgence, an indulgence which will, i trust, cause you no inconvenience, and which is a painting depicting cicero’s defense of archias (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 30 elements : : fall 2017 peculiarly applicable to the nature of my client’s case; and i would ask you to allow me, speaking as i am on behalf of a distinguished poet and a consummate scholar, before a cultivated audience, an enlightened jury, and the praetor whom we see occupying the tribunal, to enlarge somewhat upon enlightened and cultivated pursuits, and to employ what is perhaps a novel and unconventional line of defense to suit the character of one whose studious seclusion has made him a stranger to the anxious perils of the courts.6 in the above passage, cicero elevates the audience and jury to a place of high culture and learnedness. he describes them as “cultivated” and “enlightened,” suggesting that he considers these qualities most important toward defining roman cultural identity. further, cicero uses this flattering and elevating language to transform the traditional legal style to suit his client archias and to suggest the major themes of his defense of the poet. historian erika nesholm suggests that the celebration of literature becomes the focal point of cicero’s speech. she writes: the ‘most serious jurors’ (severissimos iudices) have now become an ‘assembly of most learned men, this cultured jury’ (hoc concursu hominum litteratissimorum, hac vertra humanitate); the trial has become an occasion for cicero to speak about cultural and literary pursuits (de studiis humanitatis ac litterarum paulo loqui liberius).7 these themes noted by nesholm constitute cicero’s interpretation of what makes a man culturally and socially roman. he concludes that intellectual activities such as the “enlightened and cultivated pursuits” of literature and poetry, are fundamental to one’s roman cultural identity.8 in the beginning of the oration, cicero focuses on cultural and literary pursuits to broaden roman cultural identity and emphasizes the bonds between the artes and humanitas. he writes: etenim omnes artes quae ad humanitatem pertinent habent quoddam commune vinculum et quasi cognatione quadam inter se continentur. indeed, all the arts which pertain to a civilized society have a certain common bond, and by a certain, as it were, kindred relationship are connected to one another.9 this line suggests both the importance that the artes plays in humanitas, or civilized society, and the symbiotic relationship that arts and civilization have with one another. the two formerly dissimilar concepts – artes and humanitas – are linked by a special bond that both normalizes the relationship between the two concepts and connects the members of the trial (cicero, archias, the jury, and the praetor) in celebration of this bond.10 vassiliki panoussi writes that: the conceptualization of artes as a network of reciprocal relations establishes their relevance to and significance for society as a whole and thus grounds them implicitly – if not explicitly – within different facets of roman life: social, political, military.11 panoussi suggests that cicero positions the artes within a broader context of roman cultural identity and life and highlights the benefits derived from the study of artes, which include history, literature, and philosophy. the connection of literature and poetry with humanitas is a fundamental part of cicero’s understanding of cultural identity: a strong bond between the artes, like philosophy, literature, and poetry, and humanitas, informs the very fabric of roman virtues and identity. after establishing the more straightforward facts in defense of archias’ citizenship, cicero suggests that the “[cicero] concludes that intellectual activities, such as the ‘enlightened and culitvated pursuits’ of literature and poetry, are fundamental to one’s roman cultural identity.” 31 the art of citizenship artes are important in the development of moral and virtuous people.12 he says: sed pleni sunt onmes libri, plenae sapientium voces, plena exemplorum vetustas: quae iacerent in tenebris omnia, nisi litterarum lumen accederet. all literature, all philosophy, all history, abounds with incentives for noble action, incentives which would be buried in black darkness were the light of the written word not flashed upon them.13 this passage demonstrates that from the artes, civilized men can learn about noble action, which would otherwise be lost to the world. cicero suggests that without the writer, historian, or poet, light could not be shed on history and the foundation it provides to inform future, moralized action. in this way, cicero combines the artes with humanitas to support one another, and to prescribe a historically-rooted social, political, and military conception of roman cultural identity. panoussi writes, “art and literature play a pivotal role in making roman men, by instilling in them the venerable and time-honored roman ideals, which in turn make them better able to serve the state.”14 the necessity of civic service is a central part of cicero’s definition of roman cultural identity. furthermore, in the above passage cicero uses what nesholm terms “metaphors of artistic production” to “firmly situate literature in a familiar roman social and political context.”15 cicero’s aim, as nesholm suggests, is to position literature in the “place of ancestors in providing a distinguished background and establishing one’s social and political standing.”16 the artful metaphor used by cicero has three aims. he first establishes the role of the poet, in this case archias, as essential to the greatness of ancestral achievements and glory. then cicero places himself in the political crossroads of literature, political achievement, and legacy by supporting both the artes through archias and by incorporating artes into the humanitas context of the trial. finally, he depicts roman cultural identity as both socially and politically grounded in the arts. the practical role of grounding society in artes is more fully explained in the following lines of the above passage. here, cicero establishes the importance of literature and poetry with a detailed description of the moral benefits derived from such study, and he uses himself as the prime example of a roman citizen who has practiced this method. he says: nam nisi multorum praeceptis multisque litteris mihi ab adolescentia suasissem nihil esse in vita magno opere expetendum nisi laudem atque honestatem, in ea autem persequenda omnes cruciatus corporis, omnia pericula mortis atque exsilii parvi esse ducenda, numquam me pro salute vestra in tot ac tantas dimicationes atque in hos profligatorum hominum cotidianos impetus obiecissem. had i not persuaded myself from my youth up, thanks to the moral lessons derived from a wide reading, that nothing is to be greatly sought after in this life save glory and honor, and that in their quest all bodily pains and all dangers of death or exile should be lightly accounted, i should never have borne for the safety of you all the brunt of many a bitter encounter, or bared my breast to the daily onsets of abandoned persons.17 cicero again praises the use of literature in humanitas, which include the “moral lessons derived from a wide reading” (preaceptis multisque litteris).18 cicero teaches that nothing is greater in life than “glory and honor” (laudem atque honestatem), and that attention to these virtues ought to come before “bodily pains,” the “dangers of death,” or even shameful “exile.”19 it is interesting too that cicero begins to use himself as an example of these roman virtues, which suggests that as a result of his intense study of philosophy, history, and literature, he has braved many dangers in the name of honor and glory. he also does this daily, suggesting the importance of striving continuously towards these virtues. a marble bust of cicero (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 32 elements : : fall 2017 acting in this manner alone, however, is not enough; according to cicero, some level of public work and engagement is also necessary. cicero describes the central role that civic engagement plays in creating an ideal roman man though his own career as an orator and statesmen, which relates his political success prior to giving the pro archia. he writes: quam multas nobis imagines non solum ad intuendum, verum etiam ad imitandum fortissimorum virorum expressas scriptores et graeci et latini reliquerunt, quas ego mihi semper in administranda re publica proponens animum et mentem meam ipsa cogitatione hominum excellentium conformabam. how many pictures of high endeavor the great authors of greece and rome have drawn for our use, and bequeathed to us, not only for our contemplation, but for our emulation! these i have held ever before my vision throughout my public career, and have guided the workings of my brain and my soul by meditating upon patterns of excellence.20 in the above passage on history, literature, and poetry, cicero stresses that the “great authors” of greece and rome have provided “pictures of high endeavors” not just for contemplation, but more importantly for emulation.21 further, this emulation of great acts must also be accompanied by proper engagement within a social and political context. in the wake of his consulship, and with the status of novus homo, cicero exemplifies how literature, history, and poetry provides prime examples for leadership. these examples suggest not only that cicero has incorporated the teachings from ancient texts into his actions, but also that these actions have been directed towards the public good.22 further, these lofty values and moral teachings have guided cicero’s “brain and […] soul by meditating on patterns of excellence.”23 the takeaway from this passage is that a roman is well learned and uses this education and morality for the public good. cicero uses himself as an example of just how the artes combine with the humanitas to educate the individual, present a clear, ethical model, and direct action aimed at some public career. the combination of the above analysis suggests a fairly clear interpretation of how cicero viewed roman cultural identity. we have already seen that cicero firmly believes the artes and humanitas are not only related, but share a unique bond that informs the role of citizen in a special way. this bond creates a bridge between the artes of greece and rome, and the modern scholar, who reads and thinks about these influential works to cultivate a moral understanding of the world. more specifically, cicero highlights the virtues of honor and glory that a roman can learn from these artes, which are now a part of humanitas, and drives a man toward certain goals, even in the face of adversity. finally, it is the daily and lifelong pursuit of these noble virtues through a broader education, combined with public works or office, which makes someone truly roman. an important caveat involves what kind of person cicero ultimately considers to be worthy, or even capable, of embodying roman status. cicero seems to apply a certain type of classism in deciding who can be considered initials of the latin phrase senatus populusque romanus (“the senate and people of rome”) (courtesy of wikimedia commons) “cicero uses himself as an example of just how the artes combine with the humanitas to educate the individual, present a clear, ethical model, and direct action aimed at some public career.” 33 the art of citizenship culturally roman, which is surprising given his own humble origins. panoussi suggests that cicero delineates between high and low forms of art, contrasting the work of archias and a stage-actor roscius, to highlight that humanitas “applies only to a select few” who appreciate high art and can derive lessons from poetry and literature.24 while this does not necessarily detract from his overall discussion on what makes someone culturally roman, one must consider the type of person cicero believed capable of being roman. it is a loss to contemporary readers that the outcome of this trial remains unknown. however, what is not lost on readers of this fascinating and unique text is cicero’s understanding of what makes a person in the ancient world culturally roman. further, this text helps situate the petty politics and legal debates that surrounded the question of authentic roman identity, which appeared during the roman republic and afterwards. this text remains relevant today for just these reasons, and helps one answer questions regarding one’s own cultural identity. cicero makes a clear claim about his characterization of a roman, which is beneficial to historians and casual readers alike in understanding how and why some people were roman in a cultural, rather than in a strictly legal sense. and without reaching too far, one can see the application of cicero’s oration and our analysis of this text in the modern world. people too are steeped in political infighting and petty debate regarding how some people are culturally american, and why others are excluded. perhaps a reading of cicero can help shed light on their own problems. more likely, though, this masterful oration offers something more important to the modern reader: it allows him or her to bridge the debates and issues that occurred some two-and-a-half millennia ago to those of today in order to see the similar problems each society faced, and how they addressed these problems. as the adage goes, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” endnotes 1. “ vassiliki panoussi, “roman cultural identity in cicero’s pro archia,” antiphilesis: studies on classical, byzantine and modern greek literature and culture (2009): 516. 2. ibid. 516. 3. harold gotoff, cicero’s elegant style: an analysis of the ‘pro archia,’ (urbana: university of illinois press, 1979): 81. 4. ibid. 81. 5. john dugan, “how to make (and break) a cicero: expideixis, textuality, and self-fashioning in the pro archia and in pisonem,” classical antiquity 20 (2001): 44. 6. cicero, pro archia poeta, 3. 7. erika nesholm, “language and artistry in cicero’s ‘pro archia,’” the classical world 113 (2010): 481. 8. cicero, pro archia poeta, trans. n.h.watts, 8-9. 9. cicero, pro archia poeta, 2. 10. nesholm, “language and artistry in cicero’s ‘pro archia,’” 482. 11. panoussi, “roman cultural identity in cicero’s pro archia,” 517. 12. cicero cites a number of factual reasons for why archias should be considered a citizen before returning to the more literary forensic portion of the speech. some of these more straightforward and factual reasons include: archias had spent a great deal of time living in rome as a citizen before the trial took place; archias has been in the graces of the lucilli; archias had been entered as a full citizen of heraclea, a town which had full civic privileges given its treaty with rome; and because archias had complied with all the regulations necessary to be considered a citizen of rome. 13. cicero, pro archia poeta, 14. 14. panoussi, “roman cultural identity in cicero’s pro archia,” 519. 15. nesholm, “language and artistry in cicero’s ‘pro archia,’” 483. 16. ibid. 484. 17. cicero, pro archia poeta, 14. 18. cicero, pro archia poeta, trans. n.h.watts, 20-21. 19. ibid. 20-23. 20. cicero, pro archia poeta, 14. 21. cicero, pro archia poeta, trans. n.h.watts, 22-23. 22. ibid. 22-23. 23. ibid. 22-23. 24. panoussi, “roman cultural identity in cicero’s pro archia,” 520-521. 34 elements : : fall 2017 references arno, claudia i. “how romans became ‘roman’: creating identity in an expanding world.” phd diss., university of michigan, 2012. cerutti, steven m. and cicero, marcus tullius. cicero: pro archia poeta oratio: a structural analysis of the speech and companion to the commentary. wauconda: bolchazy-carducci publishers, 1999. cicero. pro archia. post reditum in senatu. post reditum ad quirites. de domo sua. de haruspicum responsis. pro plancio. translated by n. h. watts. loeb classical library 158. cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1923. dugan, john. “how to make (and break) a cicero: expideixis, textuality, and self-fashioning in the pro archia and in pisonem.” classical antiquity 20 (2001): 35-77. accessed april 5, 2017. doi:10.1525/ca.2001.20.1.35. gotoff, harold. cicero’s elegant style: an analysis of the ‘pro archia.’ urbana: university of illinois press, 1979. nesholm, erika. “language and artistry in cicero’s ‘pro archia.’” the classical world 113 (2010): 477-90. accessed march 21, 2017. doi:10.1353/clw.2010.0002 panoussi, vassiliki. “roman cultural identity in cicero’s pro archia.” in antiphilesis: studies on classical, byzantine and modern greek literature and culture, edited by eleni karamalengou and eugenia makrygianni, 516-23. stuttgart: steiner, 2009. 35 the art of citizenship scholars cite religion, foreign occupation, economic destitution, and lack of opportunity as reasons for terrorism, but gender and masculinity are nearly absent from the conversation. does masculinity shape the societal structures that foster terrorism? examining the taliban in pakistan and afghanistan and the provisional irish republican army (pira) in northern ireland demonstrates how masculinity establishes the physical spaces that radicalize men and exclude women. it is the force that propels group radicalization and tears apart societies. in scholarship, masculinity is obscured by colonialism and nationalism, but examining masculinity closer illuminates societal constructions that have deep, violent, and political consequences. gendered terrorism the link between sex and organized violence regina noonan introduction the black widows of chechnya, the veiled bombers of boko haram, and the san bernardino wife are all female terrorists burning up web pages, twitter feeds, and other media outlets. female terrorists are all the rage because they are breaking gendered assumptions of terrorist identities. while the increasing participation of women in terrorism is worthy of investigation, let us instead pursue the very characteristic of terrorism that makes female entry so notable: its maleness. to understand why female terrorists are apparent aberrations, it is necessary to examine whether terrorism is inherently masculine. in the fight against terrorism, the west is called upon to save muslim women. feminists proselytize about oppressed women, often for good reason. however, the subject of masculinity in the fight against terrorism has been overlooked by the media, scholars, policy makers, and public. why don’t we investigate gender dynamics to understand their implications for terrorism? examining the taliban in pakistan and afghanistan and the pira in northern ireland demonstrates how conceptions of masculinity lay the societal foundations that establish the physical spaces that radicalize men and exclude women— making terrorism an almost exclusively male phenomenon. scholars cite religion, foreign occupation, economic destitution, and lack of opportunity as reasons for terrorism. gender and masculinity are nearly absent from the conversation surrounding terrorism and its causes. perhaps this lack of an intersection exists because political science issues do not often coincide with sociological or gender studies issues, and thus gender and terrorism have not merged. the media, the public, and most scholars take the maleness of terrorism as a given, but it is time to examine the complexities of maleness and terrorism. first, i will introduce a conceptual understanding of masculinity to establish a foundation for the conversation. second, to strengthen this argument regarding the importance of masculinity in understanding terrorism and why terrorists radicalize, i will consider the merits of other arguments. third, i will introduce two cases of terrorist organizations, the taliban and the pira, one a salafi-jihadi islamist group and one a primarily catholic group, to test the theoretical concepts and to arrive at a greater understanding of the role of masculinity in terrorism. finally, i will conclude with observations of the potential impact of this line of study and hopes for future study of this topic. conceptualizing masculinity in the context of terrorism masculinity is a set of traits related or belonging to the male sex. it is important to note for the purpose of this paper that masculinity is also the set of performed acts that are prescribed to the male gender. this second part of the definition relies heavily on the work of judith butler and her idea of “gender performativity,” wherein “performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.”1 butler’s inclusion of “ritual” will be especially important in understanding how masculinity aids in radicalization, bonding, and execution of terrorist acts. peter jackson’s distinction of “masculinities” over “masculinity” further improves this definition.2 his distinction highlights the importance of recognizing the “attendant instabilities and contradictions, rather than assuming a uniform and unitary pattern of masculinity.”3 acknowledging the enrichment of the definition with peter jackson’s distinction, masculinity in the singular will be used throughout this paper for the purpose of ease. this clarification is especially important given the differences in the pira and taliban’s societies and cultures. examining masculinity in the framework of terrorism will rely upon work by scholars on the psychological structures within terrorism. charles l. ruby conceptualizes two ways taliban border guard in turkham, afghanistan (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 20 elements : : fall 2017 of examining the terrorist “mindset.”4 first, the “psychodynamic model” approaches a terrorist from the perspective that their actions are a “result of defects or disorders in one’s personality structure.”5 ruby conceptualizes the second approach to a terrorist as examining behavior for the purpose of political violence. while terroristic scholarship generally preferences the latter approach, the former model should be considered and amended. terrorism cannot be attributed entirely to mental defects or illness, but examining the psychological component of masculinity and gender performativity is enlightening. ruby further relates the psychodynamic model to the defects of family, but attention should be turned to outward social webs and not to inward family dynamics. for example, kinship networks are shown to aid in the recruitment and radicalization of terrorists, but friendship bonds demonstrate an expansion of powerful commonalities in radicalization narratives. another scholar, jerrold post, offers the view that terrorists develop out of “negative childhood experiences and a damaged sense of self.”6 post seems to postulate a negative starting point for terrorists. instead, let us conceptualize the appeal of terrorism as a way to achieve greater purpose or status in life.7 this model of self-improvement is especially important because terrorism offers community and a path paved by masculine models. both models asserted by ruby examine the terrorist on the individual level. it is important to understand masculinity on the individual psychological level, but the flaw in ruby’s argument is that masculinity is built upon group dynamic and mentality. masculinity cannot be invoked in a vacuum. if masculinity is an important organizing principle for terrorism and a critical component of the radicalization process, then why are there female terrorists? although there are female terrorists, their presence and attacks are largely overemphasized and sensationalized due to their rarity. according to the chicago project on security and terrorism, between 1982 and 2016, 2,552 terrorist attacks with a known gender of the attacker were perpetrated.8 male terrorists committed 2,335 of these attacks while women carried out 217 of these attacks.9 this translates to percentages of 91.5% of attacks by male terrorists as compared to 8.5% of attacks by female terrorists. female terrorists do not represent a negligible percentage, but male terrorists have historically committed mostattacks. masculinity is a causal mechanism for the independent variable of colonialism and the dependent variable of terrorism. frantz fanon argues that “political resistance, both in its spontaneous and organized forms, is often founded upon a reconstruction of masculinism and a restructuring of gender relations within native society.”10 this is an important argument in understanding terrorism and political violence because terrorism aims to reconstruct masculinity in a circumstance in which men feel it has been taken away. fanon pays particular attention to this triangulated relationship between colonialism, masculinity, and political violence. like fanon, scholars cite occupation and colonialism as causes for terrorism. this makes sense, especially if you take masculinity into account. colonialism emasculates men and their identities. men engage in political violence to assert agency, reaffirm their masculinity, and establish political identity. kalpana seshadri-crooks notes that: historians have shown how the dominant discourse on masculinity affected the formulation of colonial policy, shaped nationalist politics and ideology and determined the status of native women and their rights. however, these two observations about the presence of masculinism in national liberation movements and the politics of masculinity in the shaping of colonial ideology have not been analyzed together as related phenomena in a satisfactory way.11 frantz fanon considers colonization as a process of “depersonalization,” and it is in trying to regenerate gendered identity that masculine terrorism should be considered.12 seshadri-crooks further remarks that “what is important to note here is that a politics around masculinity emerges as the crux of colonial domination to deny the specifically gendered values of native subjectivity.”13 gender is critical to the intersection and understanding of colonialism, nationalism, and political violence. i will argue that masculinity is a key component in understanding terrorism and in linking waves and changes over time; masculinity remains constant. terrorism scholar marc sageman eschews commonly held beliefs that terrorism is caused by brainwashing, religion, or mental illness. “[t]errorism aims to reconstruct masculinity in a circumstance in which men feel it has been taken away.” 21 gendered terrorism regarding religion, sageman points out that, “the majority of terrorists come to their religious beliefs through selfinstruction…often, they have not started reading the quran seriously until they are in prison, because then it is provided to them and they have lots of time to read it.”14 additionally, he argues there is no formidable link between a strong muslim upbringing and terrorism later in life.15 so, if it is not scripture that initially attracts terrorists to terrorism, then what does? it must instead be the community, friendship, and the masculine bond that initially attracts men, and then radicalizes them. sageman refutes the argument about the relationship between terrorism and sex, calling it a “dead end.”16 it is accurate for him to assert that this argument has no foundation, but he fails to consider gender, and not sex, as having a relational impact. for example, sageman discusses the hamburg cell responsible for 9/11 quite extensively. he refers to them as “a bunch of guys” and says that they aided in each other’s self-radicalization.17 group-radicalization was their stepping stone into al-qaeda. sageman says, “the groups who came to afghan training camps were in search of thrills, fame, and glory…they wanted to impress their friends. in a sense, it was a constant, mutual self-recruiting atmosphere, and there was no need for an outside recruiter.”18 strength and masculinity are the foundation of this atmosphere; these men sought male role models in al-qaeda heroes. sageman further characterizes it as, “a collective process…it was a group adventure” and one that was distinctly masculine.19 if masculinity is so important, what about marxist-leninist groups who eschew social inequality and promote gender equality? gender equality was a false promise of the weather underground group as seen in the group’s policies about sex. the weatherman claimed that they “challenged the normative order of bourgeois society” by subverting the sexual practices of a heteronormative, sexist society. the “weather bureau” “ordered that all female revolutionaries sleep with all male revolutionaries, and vice versa.”20 this may seem equalizing, but the policy in which “women were also to make love to each other” does not. men were not made to have sex with each other. samesex relations were unequally distributed – a double standard in the subversion of heteronormative standards. emasculated, colonial pakistani men, and the taliban the taliban in pakistan and afghanistan demonstrates the impact of societal masculine structures, such as colonial legacy, madrassas, and male political spaces on terrorist activity. a secondary purpose of this case study will examine the breadth and depth that colonial legacy must have to influence terrorism. dr. maleeha aslam composed a study of masculinity in pakistani male populations. her study sought three objectives: 1) “documenting subjective interpretation of the masculine gender within a pakistani context” 2) “documenting potential reactionary behaviors of socially and economically incompetent or otherwise troubled men” and 3) “probing the nexus between cultural ideals of masculinity and one’s tendency to opt for militantjihadist islamism or terrorism.”21 i will use this study to determine the role and effectiveness of masculinity in perpetuating terrorism. pakistan has a colonial past, but not one that was always steeped in conflict. there is a “culture of protest” and political participation in pakistan that transcends age and class lines.22 british colonialism feminized pakistani men and characterized them as weak, asian bodies.23 this legacy continued with the zia regime and the incorporation of islam in official capacities.24 aslam notes in the background of her study that, “when the ‘feminine’ divine attributes of beauty, mercy and compassion are crushed in psycho-cultural-theological consciousness, the product one ends up with is ‘the taliban’.”25 did the taliban use the colonial feminization of its muslim men to regain independence, agency, and identity through gendered political violence? osama bin laden and the founders of al qaeda stationed themselves in peshawar, and today the taliban continues to carve itself the dominant political position in pakistan. colonial foreign occupation does not automatically lead to anger and political dissonance. aslam analyzes this process saying,: socially trivialized men experience phases of frustration and discontent that move them towards undertaking actions that are assumed and portrayed as potentially significant tools for regaining self-worth and masculine efficacy. to achieve this objective, muslim men use militant islamism, terrorism and suicide bombings.26 22 elements : : fall 2017 in response to 9/11 and the united states’ war on terror, in particular, “operation enduring freedom in afghanistan,” there was greater antagonism towards the u.s. and more support for the taliban in pakistan.27 perhaps to the taliban and would-be supporters, the war on terror resembled a second colonialist influence. pakistani youth helped to foment a culture of political opposition and protest.28 after the state emergency in 2007, the legacy of student participation bifurcated. as mullick notes: [t]oday, two main ideologies dominate student activism and, subsequently, political dissent in pakistan. the constitutionalists are fighting for the rule of law and freedom of speech through a democratic and, so far, peaceful modus operandi. the islamists are split disproportionately between a small number that still believe in parliamentary democracy and a large number increasingly inclined toward abetting, or worse, joining militant organizations loosely connected to the pakistani taliban.29 so, what could help predict, determine, or sway the path so that the youth would not join terrorist organizations? the taliban plays upon the domestic crises in afghanistan and pakistan to expand its control. this split between prodemocracy and pro-military islamist student protest presents an opportunity for counterterrorism because it offers a place to turn the tide against political violence. what would be the factors that would tend to trend students in one way or the other? as robert reilly noted, “the last time afghanistan found itself in chaos, it was the taliban, with pakistani sponsorship, that emerged as the basis for that community.”30 the u.s. failed with the war in afghanistan because it was a war of ideas and founded on the premise that “whoever wins the argument for justice wins the war of ideas and, concomitantly, the support of the people.”31 the taliban won people with its gendered, masculine tactics, in contrast to the american emasculating, colonialist initiative. the taliban exploits the ability for islam to unify people across borders in pakistan and afghanistan. those who joined the taliban joined as a reaction to the united states’ foreign occupation and emasculating colonialism. the masculine nature of the taliban parallels an image in the history of “the wandering talib band of exuberant young pashtun men in the mid-twentieth century”.32 pervez amirali hoodbhov claims that “the suicide bomber and the masked abductor have crippled pakistan’s urban life and shattered its national economy.”33 he also says that “the bearded ones, many operating out of madrassas, are hitting targets across the county. although a substantial part of the pakistani public insists upon lionizing them as ‘standing up to the americans’, they are neither seeking to evict a foreign occupier nor fighting for a homeland. they want nothing less than to seize power, and to turn pakistan into their version of the ideal islamic state.”34 this characterization of the goals of the taliban are significant in light of developments that the islamic state is attempting to form an islamic caliphate. what is most interesting in this, however, is the inclusion of madrassas and the assumption of a fight against americans. fighting against americans is a frequent rallying cry for the taliban and a secondary incarnation of fighting against western colonial power. madrassas are frequently blamed in much of the writing about the taliban in afghanistan and pakistan. madrassas can be as broadly defined as islamic religious schools or as narrowly defined as schools that inculcate their students with salafi-jihadi islamism. as one article described, “the madrassas in pakistan shut off all scientific inquiry from the afghan children, turned their ears only to the battle cry of jihad, and drove them to kill all infidels and be killed in the process.”35 this is a mischaracterization of both the role and the scope of madrassas. to blame terrorism on the madrassas is casting too broad of a stroke. while the empirics of madrassa-educated terrorists is not causal, they should be examined as something besides just “religious brainwashing.” for instance, madrassas could influence terrorism through friendship bonds and the way in which cultural lessons of masculinity are learned in a radicalized, group method. madrassas influenced the taliban through the hyper-masculine environment they fostered, not solely because of the religious teachings. in the looming tower, lawrence wright identifies three “streams” that fed into the taliban: foreign money, madrassas, and opium. the most important of these, in the lens of masculinity, is the madrassas feeding into the taliban. many of the madrassas were instituted to accommodate the three million afghan refugees.36 there was no adequate public school system that could educate them and the pakistani children. gulf states such as saudi arabia supported these madrassas and served the secondary purpose of scouring political support for wahhabis.37 these madrassas were more than just schools – they were an occupation for the students because they were residential, the students received a stipend, and 23 gendered terrorism as wright notes, they were “a vital source of support for many of these students’ families.”38 so did these madrassas just inculcate the students and make them terrorists? no, but they provided an isolating, hyper-masculine environment to foster radicalization. wright notes: these boys had grown up in an exclusively male world, separated from their families for long periods of time… they were stigmatized as beggars and sissies, and often preyed upon by men who were isolated from women. entrenched in their studies, which were rigidly concentrated on the quran and sharia and the glorification of jihad, the talibs imagined a perfect islamic society, while lawlessness and barbarity ran rampant all around them. they lived in the shadow of their fathers and older brothers, who had brought down the mighty superpower, and they were eager to gain glory for themselves.39 the description of the madrassas is steeped in masculinity, and this hyper-masculine environment aids in the radicalization of men. so what if the link between terrorism and masculinity is more of a link with the colonial emasculation of the native population? it is valuable to identify emasculation as a causal mechanism between the independent variable of colonialism and the dependent variable of terrorism. masculinity should be examined in the study of terrorism because it is the crucial causal link that so often is the foundation of terrorist ideologies. irish male warriors and the women they left behind the case of northern ireland demonstrates how masculinity defines the spaces where men are allowed and women are not. these spaces are carved out by masculinity for the purpose of political and, in this case, nationalist goals. masculinity helps individuals get to the point of radicalization, but it fails in totally achieving stated goals because it undermines the fabric of society. the period of conflict, referred to as the troubles, pulled apart northern irish society in the late 20th century. the conflict between the irish republican army (ira) and its outgrowths, most notably the provisional irish republican army (pira), against the united kingdom and its loyalist groups was largely viewed as a struggle over religion and nationalism. absent in this understanding of the conflict is the way in which space was carved for gender in order to achieve political goals. the case of northern ireland demonstrates how terrorism can disrupt the societal foundations terrorists painstakingly try to maintain. masculinity attempts to reestablish order upon a society. however, by engaging in this reestablishment of order through terrorism, the society is disrupted further. while these disruptions may be intentional and lead to the obtainment of some strategic goals, there can be immediate and long-lasting implications of the terrorist conflict. for example, in northern ireland, the families of terrorists were often impacted more and for longer periods of time than the terrorists themselves. this observation is interesting because a key tenet of masculinity is securing strong family units because they are the foundation of a society. however, terrorists abandoned protection of the family units to achieve nationalist goals. this is a failure of masculine pursuits of terrorism because nationalism and familial goals are both significant to sustaining masculinity, yet one is often achieved or pursued to the detriment of another. for example, a former member of the ira gave an interview in which he described a female informant who was not sentenced to death because she was a mother. he said, “a man most certainly would have been executed. but the ira see being a mum as the most important role to the struggle.”40 a key part of masculinity is defining roles for men and women in society. lorraine dowler observed from interviews that “women who become soldiers tend to lose their identities as mothers within this community.”41 women are not permitted to be both. the ‘warrior’ political space is reserved for men. second, with expectations of masculinity come expectations of femininity; society expects women to fulfill complementary roles to men for the achievement of societal goals. for example, a woman from belfast described the downsides of her husband’s involvement in the troubles. she said, “‘i haven’t seen my husband in 14 years. he’s on the run. he had to leave the north because he is wanted here and he is also wanted in the free state.’”42 while women’s responsibilities included “fighting for the sanctity of the hearth”43 and maintaining the order of the domestic sphere, this was often taken too far and served to persecute them – even to the extent of endangering the nationalist project because it destabilized society. as roisin noted: we can’t all be moving around the world…if he had just gone to prison he would have been out by now. my chil24 elements : : fall 2017 dren could have visited him. he didn’t want to go to prison. said it was his duty to stay on the outside. well then, why do i feel like i’m in prison?44 this interview, conducted by lorraine dowler, surfaces another consideration that terrorism wreaks upon societies, men become absentee members of society. this seems to be an especially important issue in relation to frequent suicide bombers. suicide bombers and other terrorist attacks concentrated within communities can entirely destabilize the social order. another woman from belfast described the generational impact of the troubles. she said: i’ve been going to that prison for my whole life, first to visit me da, then to visit my husband, then to see me daughter, that was hard because i had her young’uns while she was in armagh. now my grandson is in the kesh. i’ve been in the prison for each generation of my family.45 terrorist activities can make absent whole demographics of a society. men peddle the image of women as the supporters of warriors, but based on these women’s statements, they see themselves as inmates, not warriors.46 terrorism is a disease on society and an imprisoner of women. however, these interviews also provide a resurgent narrative wherein women provide a stabilizing, assertive influence on society. masculinity plays a key role in defining the roles of men and reasserts family as the foundational unit of society. men are supposed to be the heads of their families, but if they are dead or imprisoned as a result of terrorism, this undermines their own stated goals the fabric of society for generations. conclusion for the terrorist organizations with salafi-jihadist islamist ideology, does this societal disruption occur as a result of their broader misogynist culture? this is an important component of terrorism and it contributes to the perception of masculinity in society. however, there is a difference between the masculinity in society and the operationalization of masculinity for organizational purposes as seen in the madrassas, for example. one could also argue that there are more male terrorists because politics is generally, and specifically in the cases presented, a male sphere and not because of ‘masculinity.’ i argue that this proves the argument of this paper because in order to enter the political sphere, a man has to prove his masculinity. one of the chief grievances of terrorists is that they have been systematically excluded from the political arena, and this has emasculated them. their goal is the reentrance, reclamation, and expulsion of foreign forces – not just from physical land but also from their ideological, political space. why is this argument about masculinity and terrorism relevant to political science? masculinity serves as an impetus for political violence. masculinity helps shape and form terrorist organizations and the bonds between individual terrorists. terrorism scholars study the emotional responses of the victimized public, but largely eschew the emotions of terrorists. this is most likely due to the fact that the irrationality and emotionality have been disproven as causes of terrorism. while this is a productive a republican wall mural in coalisland, county tyrone (courtesy of wikimedia commons) “one of the chief grievances of terrorists is that they have been systematically excluded from the political arena, and this has emasculated them.” 25 gendered terrorism movement in the field of terrorism scholarship, masculinity needs to be understood as an organizing principle, and a performative concept, it directly affects behavior. lately, with discussions about counterterrorism strategies for salafi-jihadist islamist groups, there is concern that military defeat of an organization will not result in its complete destruction because physical defeat is not equivalent to ideological defeat. ideologies can be defeated by attacking what maintains and sustains it: gender and masculinity. aslam argues that counterterrorism strategies are “gender-deficient,” and this appears accurate.47 beyond identifying and attacking the gendered components of terrorism, what can be done to structurally improve them? this paper began by questioning the extent to which masculinity shapes the societal structures that foster terrorism. the case of the taliban demonstrated that this was true because colonial emasculation laid a foundation for political precedent and action. the establishment of madrassas that fed students into the taliban furthered this historical emasculation and political participation. these madrassas are notable not because of the religious radicalization that they engendered but because for many young men, they provided an all-male environment, apart from their families. this environment spurred not only religious radicalization, but also a radicalization of male behavior and beliefs. the second case from northern ireland demonstrated that masculinity helped define goals of terrorism such as establishing patriarchy and nationalism, but that the pursuit of goals undermined their intentions. what is clear in these two cases is that identifying the causes of terrorism based on religious and nationalist reasons is too oblique. it is important to understand that masculinity establishes the foundations upon which terrorism is both rationalized and enacted. masculinity helps tie together the individual and organizational levels of terrorism because they are inextricably linked. examining terrorism in this way begs for individual psychological approaches paired with understandings of the group dynamic. terrorism is tragic, but it is too often characterized as irrational and exclusively political. marking masculinity as a causal mechanism of terrorism brings us closer to understanding terrorism so that we can find the right policies to counter it. endnotes 1. butler, judith p. 1990. gender trouble : feminism and the subversion of identity. new york: routledge. xv. 2. jackson, peter. 1991. the cultural politics of masculinity: towards a social geography. transactions of the institute of british geographers 16 (2): 199-213. 200. 3. ibid. 4. jasbir k. puar, and amit rai. 2002. monster, terrorist, fag: the war on terrorism and the production of docile patriots. social text 20 (3): 117-48. 122. 5. ibid. 6. ibid., 123. 7. ibid. 8. chicago project on security and terrorism. in the university of chicago [database online]. 2016 [cited 11/25 available from http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_results_new.php. 9. ibid. 10. seshadri-crooks, kalpana. 2002. i am a master: terrorism, masculinity, and political violence in frantz fanon. parallax 8 (2) (04/01): 84-98. 84. 11. ibid., 93. 12. ibid., 94. 13. ibid. 14. sageman, marc. 2008. the jihadist’s profile. in , ed. marc sageman, 47-70 university of pennsylvania press. 51. 15. ibid. 16. ibid., 62. 17. ibid., 18. ibid., 70. 19. ibid., 20. sprinzak, ehud. 1990. the psychopolitical formation of extreme left terrorism in a democracy: the case of the weathermen. in origins of terrorism: psychologies, ideologies, theologies, states of mind., ed. walter reich. washington, d.c.: woodrow wilson center. 69. 21. aslam, maleeha. 2012. gender-based explosions. new york: united nations university. 151. 22. ibid., 154-155. 23. ibid., 156. 24. ibid., 158. 25. ibid. 26. ibid., 202. 27. fair, c. christine. 2004. militant recruitment in pakistan: implications for al qaeda and other organizations. studies in conflict & terrorism 27 (6) (11/01): 489-504. 493. 28. mullick, haider a. h. 2008. towards a civic culture: student activism and political dissent in pakistan. georgetown journal of international affairs 9 (2): 5-12.7. 29. ibid., 8-9. 30. reilly, robert. 2012. shaping strategic communication. in , 169-192 georgetown university press. 170. 31. ibid. 32. caron, james. 2012. taliban, real and imagined. in , 60-82 harvard university press. 66. 33. hoodbhoy, pervez amirali. 2008. towards theocracy? india 26 elements : : fall 2017 international centre quarterly 35 (3): 142-51. 143. 34. ibid. 35. banerjee, sumanta. 2001. children of the damned. economic and political weekly 36 (50): 4618-9. 4618. 36. wright, lawrence. 2006. the looming tower: al-qaeda and the road to 9/11. new york: vintage books. 258. 37. ibid. 38. ibid. 39. ibid. 40. dowler, lorraine. 1997. the mother of all warriors: women in west belfast, northern ireland. in gender and catastrophe., ed. ronit lentin. new york: zed books. 81. 41. ibid., 82. 42. ibid., 80. 43. ibid. 44. ibid. 45. ibid. 46. ibid., 81. 47. aslam, maleeha. 2012. gender-based explosions. new york: united nations university. 69. references aslam, maleeha. 2012. gender-based explosions. new york: united nations university. banerjee, sumanta. 2001. children of the damned. economic and political weekly 36 (50): 4618-9. 4618. butler, judith p. 1990. gender trouble : feminism and the subversion of identity. new york: routledge. xv. caron, james. 2012. taliban, real and imagined. in , 60-82 harvard university press. 66. chicago project on security and terrorism. in the university of chicago [database online]. 2016 [cited 11/25 available from http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_results_ new.php. dowler, lorraine. 1997. the mother of all warriors: women in west belfast, northern ireland. in gender and catastrophe., ed. ronit lentin. new york: zed books. 81. christine, fair. 2004. militant recruitment in pakistan: implications for al qaeda and other organizations. studies in conflict & terrorism 27 (6) (11/01): 489-504. 493. hoodbhoy, pervez amirali. 2008. towards theocracy? india international centre quarterly 35 (3): 142-51. 143. jackson, peter. 1991. the cultural politics of masculinity: towards a social geography. transactions of the institute of british geographers 16 (2): 199-213. 200. 27 gendered terrorism over the past decade, drinking plastic bottled water has become increasingly popular. as the demand for bottled water has increased, the damaging effects of un-recycled plastics and the pollution created in the making of the plastic bottles have greatly harmed the planet. many policymakers have sought new ways to avoid this problem. one option has been to completely ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles in some cities and on some college campuses. to illustrate the effectiveness of the ban of plastic water bottles, this article will examine two case studies: university of vermont and washington university in st. louis. these cases are indicative of the two very different possible outcomes of this ban. curb the thirst efficacy of bottled water bans in reducing plastic waste elizabeth mary d’altrui introduction drinking bottled water has become increasingly popular during the past decade.1 with the rising demand for plastic bottled water, comes the negative externality of greater pollution both on land and in the oceans. policymakers in cities, towns, and even universities have sought new methods to lessen the dramatic negative impact of plastic water bottles on the environment. a new and unique proposal has been to ban the sale of bottled water entirely in selected towns, national parks, and college campuses. why has this been the chosen policy and what have the outcomes been thus far been? the past decade has shown an increasing consumer preference of bottled water over tap water. as of 2015, bottled water held 19% of the consumption share of beverages in the united states, whereas tap water and other beverages only amounted to 13.6% of the consumption share. according to parag and roberts, the effects of the creation, transportation, and disposal of bottled water on the environment is more than 100 times higher than that of drinking tap water.2 the rise in bottled water use has huge implications for the environment. consequently, policy makers have sought new ways to reduce bottled water consumption. this paper will focus on the policy option to ban bottled water in select cities and college campuses. first, the paper will analyze the behavior of consumers. following, it will show the environmental effects of bottled water and the reasoning for the ban of bottled water. then, it will report on the findings of the ban at washington university in st. louis that show the environmental benefits of the prohibition of sale on campus and then analyze the negative externalities of the ban at the university of vermont. it will list the other potentially harmful effects of possible future bans. after this pro-con analysis of the policy, the paper will describe the best solution to resolve, or at least mitigate the current issue. it will also consider other attempts to alleviate the environmental damage of bottled water. incorperating ideas from all the different policies, i will demonstrate what i believe to be a comprehensive solution to the thirst for bottled water. background numerous studies have analyzed why consumer preferences have changed significantly over the past decade. annual us consumption of bottled water tripled from 12 billion bottles in 2000 to 36 billion bottles in 2006.3 this number has continued to rise over the past ten years. in 2015, the total volume of bottled water consumed in the us was 11.7 billion gallons, which is roughly 88.6 billion bottles since 2000, there have been two years of doubledigit percentage growth rates of bottled water volume.4 in 2002, bottled water volume grew by 12 percent and 10.8 percent in 2005. bottled water is now the second largest commercial beverage category in the us after carbonated soft drinks.5 the increase in the popularity of bottled water figure 1. united states per capita consumption of bottled water, 1999-2015 (courtesy of international bottled water association) figure 2. united states beverage consumption breakdown in 2015 (courtesy of international bottled water association) 54 elements : : spring 2017 is not limited to the us. there was an increased consumption worldwide from 2007 to 2012, and forecasts predict 391 billion liters to be consumed in 2017. also, consumption of bottled water in liters almost doubled between 2000 and 2006 in the united kingdom.6 for many consumers, bottled water has become a complete substitute for tap water. consumer preferences in many ways this rise is impossible to justify based on the market economy; the cost to drink bottled water is thousands of times more than tap water.7 consumers do not act in the expected manner. there are, however, many other factors that contribute to consumers’ preference for bottled water. studies have shown that the reasons include convenience, taste, mistrust of tap water, and health concerns.8 bottled water’s versatility makes it suitable for consumption at any time or place. the portability and various packaging types allows for a variety of uses.9 when considering taste of bottled water and mistrust of tap water, viscusi et al. found, “over two-fifths of the sample”10 believe that bottled water tastes better than tap water, and almost one-third of all respondents believe that bottled water is “safer than tap water.”11 according to ward et al., most participants in a bmc public health study believed that, compared to tap water, bottled water conferred additional health benefits even though the majority were unsure as to why.12 in actuality, bottled water has to meet less stringent regulations than tap water. this means that it can contain bacterial or chemical contaminants that exceed industry standards, whereas tap water must be inspected daily and contains small amounts of chlorine to kill bacteria.13 finally, bottled water is chosen due to health concerns. due to worries about obesity and other health matters, bottled water’s lack of calories and artificial ingredients attracts conscientious consumers.14 when analyzing the public policy issue of the ban, it is crucial to understand the recent change in consumer preferences because it will help to predict the response. bottled water has become more popular primarily because of its convenience, taste, and the perception that it is healthier. environmental impacts since the demand for bottled water has steadily increased during the last decade, the damaging effects of bottled water on the environment has also risen proportionally. according to parag and roberts, bottled water’s environmental impacts are local and global. pollution impacts stem from the production, to distribution, and disposal.15 one major environmental impact involves the extracting and processing of oil to make the plastic containers. bottled water production uses 17 million barrels of oil per year and requires triple the amount of water to make a bottle as it does to fill it.16 the earth policy institute found that it takes over 50 million barrels of oil every year to pump, process, transport, and refrigerate bottled water.17 most plastic bottles are not recycled and accumulate in landfills, taking hundreds of years to biodegrade.18 in 2005, two million tons of plastic bottles were dumped in landfills.19 water bottles are made completely of polyethylene terephthalate plastics (pets), but pets do not biodegrade quickly. they break down into smaller fragments that absorb toxins that pollute the waterways, contaminate the soil, and sicken animals.20 plastic bottled water companies also cause harm and damage to local bodies of water and watersheds by pumping groundwater to bottle and sell, causing local water levels to drop. for example, in mecosta county, michigan residents fought nestlé, a leading supplier of bottled water, to lower the amount of water pumped from dead stream and thompson lake in fear of reduced flow levels.21 plus, plastic bottles cause air pollution because the manufacturing of one ton of pets, the main component of plastic bottles, produces around three tons of carbon dioxide. according to palliser, in 2006, more than 2.5 million tons of co2 were emitted to make plastic water bottles.22 these plastic bottles clearly have damaging effects on the environment and many campuses and towns have taken action to protect the environment by banning the sale of bottled water. figure 3. global consumption of bottled water, 2007-2017 (courtesy of nestlé) 55 curb the thirst what is the ban? in response to environmental damages from bottled drinking water, cities such as san francisco and concord, and college campuses such as washington university in st. louis and the university of vermont, have implemented controversial policies to ban plastic bottles. the bans have been more pronounced on college campuses with more than 70 universities in the united states having implemented a campus-wide ban on the sale of plastic water bottles.23 what is the motivation for these bans and what are the specifications? most of these entities cite environmental reasons for implementing a ban. in the massachusetts town of concord, the bylaw states, “it shall be unlawful to sell non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water24 in single-service polyethylene terephthalate (pet) bottles of 1 liter or less in the town of concord on or after january 1, 2013.”25 in concord, stores that violate the law first receive a warning, then a $25 fine, followed by a $50 fine for all subsequent infractions.26 san francisco took similar action to ban the sale of plastic water bottles on city property. this ban exempts sporting events and gives food trucks and large nonprofits until 2018 to comply. in san francisco, all vendors selling single-service plastic bottles on city grounds after october, 2014, are subject to a fine up to $1000.27 among colleges, washington university in st. louis and the university of vermont enacted similar bottled bans. possible limitations it is necessary to note that there have been neither formal program evaluations of the bans nor in-depth analyses of the economic repercussions in any of the cities or universities with the exception of washington university in st. louis.28 the university of vermont, however, did publish qualitative evaluations. therefore, this paper will examine the ban at each university, interestingly, each universities produced very different results. a possible cause for the discrepancy could be the location of the school and the culture of the student body. washington university is located in the city of st. louis, whereas the university of vermont is located in the smaller town of burlington. in the city of st. louis, students might have access to different options to buy other than bottled water. also, washington university took other steps to increase sustainability across campus by adding newly retrofitted refill water stations, which might have had a positive impact on the results. the fact that st. louis tap water was rated as the best in the country in 2007 certainly could have positively influenced the school-wide movement to switch from bottled water to tap.29 additionally, while difficult to measure, the culture of the student body can directly affect the way in which students change their behavior, which could contribute to the discrepancy in results at each university. arguments for the bottled water ban washington university in st. louis washington university in st. louis was the first university to ban the sale and use of bottled water in administrative offices, dining services and vending machines. because of concerns about the environmental impact of bottled water, the university ended sales of the product, and administrative offices were no longer able to offer bottled water at events or meetings. students and faculty were encouraged to drink tap water especially through the student-led campaign of “tap it” on campus.30 on january 1, 2009, the university stopped selling bottled water in all retail outlets and vending machines on the primary campus, the danforth campus, and administrative west and north campuses.31 the university published an update on the policy in 2015, reporting that “since the 2009 bottled water ban went into effect, both bottled beverage purchases and fountain drink purchases have significantly decreased during a time when the university’s population has continued to increase”.32 the data indicate an overall 39.4% decrease of all bottled product purchases in the academic year 2014-2015 compared to the academic year 2008-2009. this decrease in plastic bottles confirms the effectiveness of the policy. the washington university update shows that the single-use plastic bottles are associfigure 4. united states bottled water sales by type in 2015 (courtesy of beverage world) 56 elements : : spring 2017 ated with a number of major environmental and public health issues. these issues stem from the production, storage, and transportation of the bottles. in response to these negative effects, the university enacted their plan to stop selling bottled water. according to figure 5, the purchases of all bottled beverages declined significantly since the beginning of the ban. carbonated beverages had the most significant decrease of almost 50%.33 the only category of bottled product purchases that increased was called “other,” which consisted of specific brands of energy drinks, flavored water, sparkling water, coconut water, and lemonade. previously, bottled water cases made up 10% of purchases, but as of the 2014-2015 academic year, bottled water purchases represented 2%34 of the total bottled purchases.35 the initial goal was to decrease the number of single-use plastic bottles consumed, and the significant drop in total purchases of bottled beverages confirms the success. another positive result of the washington university policy is that it allowed the school to plan for the long-run and enact new initiatives to continue to help the environment. for example, the school has invested time and money to retrofit approximately 108 water fountains, and plans to retrofit 170 more. additionally, the school added drinking fountain areas with refill stations in all newly constructed buildings.36 the university also installed 20 elkay filling stations.37 new students have the chance to learn about the bottled water ban through washington university’s team of 30 green ambassador peer-educators.38 the ban of bottled water produces an estimated net benefit of $337,030 each year for the university of washington. according to curtis-murphy and sessions, the benefits of the bottled water ban include decreased recycling costs and student expenditures, along with environmental benefits.39 the upfront costs of this ban include new and retrofitted water fountains and administrative costs. the ongoing yearly costs include increased water usage, lost revenue to food services, maintenance of new water fountains, administrative costs, and health costs.40 the “kaldor-hicks tableau” in table 1, clearly shows there are winners and losers of this ban, and the students/faculty/staff benefit far more than the administration. why then would the administration choose to implement a ban like this? it is likely figure 5. washinton university in st louis bottled beverage purchases, 2008-201531 (courtesy of washington university) table 1. cost-benefit analysis of bottled water ban at washinton university37 (courtesy of washington univeristy) “bottled water production uses 17 million barrels of oil per year and requires triple the amount of water to make a bottle as it does to fill it.” 57 curb the thirst that the university would receive reputational benefits far exceeding the monetary costs. arguments against the bottled water ban university of vermont the most surprising consequence from a bottled water ban occurred at the university of vermont, where the ban was initiated in 2012. the university of vermont enacted a two phase program to study the effects of a plastic water bottle ban. in august 2012, phase one of the plan required all campus locations to provide a 30% healthy beverage ratio in accordance with the alliance for a healthier generation’s beverage guideline.41 by january 2013, phase two required campus locations to remove bottled water while still maintaining the 30% healthy beverage ratio.42 the study used shipment data as a means for calculating calories, sugars, and total consumption under the assumption that the university only ordered drinks that consumers were buying, and people on campus purchased only beverages that they intended to consume. shipment data was collected one semester before any changes were made (spring 2012), the semester when beverage offerings were changed to meet the health guidelines (fall 2012), and the semester when bottled water was removed while still meeting the health guidelines (spring 2013). per capita shipments of bottled beverages did not change significantly between spring 2012 and spring 2013, but they did increase significantly from fall 2012 to spring 2013 shown in table 2. once the ban of bottled water was enacted, the number of bottles shipped to campus increased. this contradicts the purpose of the policy. the university made several efforts to increase the use of reusable water containers on campus, but bottled water consumers instead decided to purchase other plastic bottled beverages. as a result of phase one of the plan, the percentage of bottled water shipped to campus decreased significantly from 17.6% of total shipments to 13.2% as seen in table 3. table 3 also shows sugar-free drinks and sugar sweetened drinks increased from spring 2012 to fall 2012. once bottled water was banned, the consumption of these other beverages continued to increase.43 along with an increase in the shipments of bottles to campus, there was an increase in calories, total sugars, and added sugars according to table 2. this unintended negative consequence could have damaging effects on the student population and potentially lead to higher rates of obesity. although there are many causes of excess weight gain, many studies have shown that sugar-sweetened beverages (ssbs) are large contributors.44 “a 20-ounce soft drink has nearly 17 teaspoons of added sugars, far exceeding the american heart association’s recommended limit of 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons per day for men.”45 they also reported on other intervention studies that found limiting the consumption of ssbs by providing only bottled water or low-calorie beverages reduces the table 2. university of vermont per capita shipments of bottled beverages, spring 2012-spring 2013 (ban enacted fall 2012)42 (courtesy of university of vermont) table 3. percentage of various beverages shipped to 8 campus locations at the university of vermont42 (courtesy of university of vermont) 58 elements : : spring 2017 body mass index, skin-fold thickness, and fat mass of children compared to a control group with no intervention.46 according to block et al., “one major determinant of weight gain among adolescents and young adults is the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.”47 young adults consume the most calories from sugar sweetened sodas of any age group, about 230 calories per day.48 a study was performed to see how college students respond to intervention messages encouraging them to make healthier choices. the main result of the study regarding ssbs is that the major factors in beverage choice are taste and price. health and nutritional content of beverages were of limited interest for the young adults.49 it was also discovered that water is mostly only consumed for hydration.50 therefore, it is reasonable based on this study to assume that college students will substitute water with ssbs. the only other way to avoid the increased consumption of sugary drinks would be to raise the prices. other objections one major objection to the policy is that bottled water is crucial for certain situations. bottled water, for example, serves as the emergency source of drinking water when the public water system becomes contaminated.51 under the safe drinking water act, the utility must notify residents of such contamination so that they can switch to bottled water or purify their tap water.52 for example, in flint, michigan, the city’s water supply was contaminated with “toxic levels of lead and iron,” making unfiltered water unsafe to drink.53 in an effort to help the community of flint, organizations were sending shipments of bottled water. convoy of hope has donated and distributed more than 100 truckloads of bottled water to the city.54 the policy enacted in concord did adjust the bylaw to resolve any issues by declaring that there is an exemption for an “emergency adversely affecting the availability and/or quality of drinking water to concord residents.”55 this exemption was of extreme importance to the city because residents and tourists were purchasing plastic-bottled beverages by the truckload to cope with the extreme drought and recordbreaking temperatures in august.56 additionally, the complete ban of bottled water is simply not realistic for larger venues that prohibit individuals from bringing in open containers containing any liquid beverage. according to san francisco’s ban, for events on public property with 100 or more attendees, it is prohibited to sell plastic water bottles if there is an alternative city potable supply. the provision will eventually impact the venues for sporting teams such as the san francisco giants at at&t park as well as other major sports teams in the city. however, it will not happen for decades, because it is not feasible or cost efficient for the businesses.57 even at washington university in st. louis, the school made the decision to provide bottled water at a very limited number of special events where other methods of water access proved especially “challenging or costly.”58 clearly this issue is a realistic and reasonable aspect of the policy or else the policymakers would not be writing in provisions to their bans. the policy to ban bottled water is strongly opposed by the american beverage association, which represents the nonalcoholic beverage industry. according to spokeswoman for the american beverage association, kate krebs, “the consumers should have a choice on how they drink their water.”59 the policy decision to ban plastic bottles limits the freedom of choice for the residents and visitors to those cities and schools. policy options is there anything better that can be done to solve the environmental concerns? some other policy options have been to restore the public’s trust in tap water, incentivize recycling, or simply add a bottle tax. many of the studies mentioned above have noted that bottled water is strictly preferred to tap water partially because of health concerns. parag and roberts suggest a five stage plan to restore the trust in tap water.60 stage one is to create public awareness. media often highlights the trust-destroying events such as water contamination like the case of flint, michigan, but the media does not display the positive events such as reports of good tap water. stage two is to analyze and explore new tap-water quality standards. stage three is to ensure transparent decision-making procedures to contribute to building trust. the “consumer confidence reporting rule” is one example of a policy with the potential for trust building. it ensures the public is informed annually about the quality of tap water. stage four involves policy implementation and enforcement, both critical aspects of the plan. finally, stage five is continual policy evaluation. another policy worthy of consideration is to implement recycling laws and deposit policies. water bottles are made completely of recyclable pets, so why does society not recycle? the national recycle rate for pets is only 23 percent, which means $1 billion worth of plastic that should end up in the “recycling stream” is lost.61 there are 59 curb the thirst two principal policy instruments that promote water bottle recycling: bottle deposits and recycling laws.62 the bottle deposits provide a financial incentive to recycle, while the recycling laws reduce the time costs by providing curbside recycling and convenient recycling centers. most states do not include plastic water bottles on their deposit bills.63 oregon and connecticut both added water bottles to their deposit bills in 2009, right around the same time as the bottled water ban. in both of these states, the laws proved to be effective.64 to investigate the effect of the recycling laws and deposit policies, viscusi et al. examined data on recycling behavior for oregon and connecticut both before and after they each implemented their expanded bottle bills.65 in each case, individual consumers shifted from not recycling at all to becoming committed recyclers. they found that recycling and deposit policies have their greatest effect on those who would not already choose to recycle.66 this is a key aspect of human behavior that needs to be considered when instituting a new public policy. in early 2010, washington governor christine gregoire proposed taxing bottled water, both because of a need for tax revenue and because “products that negatively impact our environment or public health should be taxed to pay the costs of their effects.”67 by knowing the tax elasticity of water bottle demand, it is possible to know how best to reduce the purchasing of the product. berck et al. estimated that a 2.8% to 5.9% drop in bottled water consumption will occur in response to a tax of between 6.5% and 9.5%.68 unfortunately, this policy is unable to drastically change the behavior of the consumer. the growth rate of bottled water has been far above 5.9% over the past decades as mentioned above, so this drop would not make the difference that the policy makers intend to achieve. because of the low price elasticity of bottled water, a tax much greater than 6.5%-9.5% would be necessary to change the behavior of buying bottled water.69 a pigouvian tax, a tax levied on any market activity that generates negative externalities, would be most appropriate in the case of plastic bottled beverages.70 it would be implemented in order to eliminate the negative externality plastic bottles impose on the environment. according to figure 6, the optimal level of bottles would be found where the marginal social cost equals marginal benefit. unfortunately, a critique of the the pigouvian tax is that it would reduce willingness to produce. for the tax to prevent unwillingness to produce, it would have to be imposed on the polluting aspect of the factory rather than directly imposed on output levels, which can be difficult to do. this leads us back to wondering if the complete ban is really the best option. conclusion to answer the question posed in the beginning of this paper, the outcomes of the bottled water bans have not been the same in all cases. some studies have shown that the ban of bottled water has led to a decrease in consumption of bottled beverages, whereas other studies have shockingly displayed that the ban of bottled water has led to an increase in sugar sweetened beverages which is a main contributor to weight gain. based on these results, what really is the best policy option? many policymakers, politicians, and even economists have analyzed the pro and con list of this policy ban, and after reading this list, this paper would advise against a complete ban of bottled water. although washington university found that students reduced usage of plastic bottles, it cannot be assumed that all universities and even cities will act in the same manner. this policy is very clearly related to consumer preferences, and it is impossible to predict the behaviors of people in different age groups and regions. this paper believes the problem is not what is in the bottle, but the bottle itself. the best policy option would therefore be a plastic bottle tax. the governor of washington has proposed taxing bottled water, but what about taxing all beverages sold in plastic containers? increasing the price of all of these beverages, should result in a decreased demand and a reduction in the number of plastic bottles being used. this paper believes a pigouvian tax is the best figure 6. pigouvian tax model as possible solution to reduce bottled beverage consumption (courtesy of policonomics) 60 elements : : spring 2017 choice. there are flaws with all of the policy options, but it is important to find the option that will best achieve the goal with the fewest negative externalities. in a world concerned with global climate change, more must be done to completely eliminate the production of pets. it should not matter what people choose to drink. there should be efforts in place that ensure all options are not damaging to the earth. endnotes 1. figure 1 shows that the per capita consumption of bottled water in the u.s. has more than doubled since 2000. 2. parag and roberts. “a battle against the bottles: building, claiming, and regaining tap-water trustworthiness.” society & natural resources (2009). 3. viscusi, et al. “discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plastic water bottle deposits” no. w15585. cambridge, ma: national bureau of economic research (2009). 4. ward, et al. “health beliefs about bottled water: a qualitative study”. bmc public health, 9 (2009) 5. the total volume of carbonated soft drinks shrank in 2014, as it has done every year since the mid-2000s (rodwan, 2014). this reduction decreases the gap between soft drinks and bottled water. huerta-saenz, et al., “tap or bottled water: drinking preferences among urban minority children and adolescents.” journal of community health, (2012). 6. ward, et al. “health beliefs about bottled water: a qualitative study”. bmc public health, 9 (2009) 7. bottled water is considered a giffen good because it is a product that people consume more of as the price rises. it is often viewed as a symbol of status especially when looking at how consumers will choose the more expensive brand of bottled water, such as choosing smart water instead of poland spring. parag and roberts. “a battle against the bottles: building, claiming, and regaining tap-water trustworthiness.” society & natural resources (2009). 8. huerta-saenz, et al., “tap or bottled water: drinking preferences among urban minority children and adolescents.” journal of community health, (2012). 9. rodwan. “bottled water 2014: reinvigoration.” u.s. and international developments and statistic (2014). 10. the sample used for the analysis was taken from the author’s survey administered through the knowledge networks(kn) webbased panel in october 2009. the kn panel is regarded as the highest quality web-based panel. 1,639 panelists were invited to participate (viscusi et al., 2015). 11. viscusi, et al. “discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plastic water bottle deposits” no. w15585. cambridge, ma: national bureau of economic research (2009). 12. ward, et al. “health beliefs about bottled water: a qualitative study”. bmc public health, 9 (2009) 13. karlstrom and dell’amore. “why tap water is better than bottled water.” national geographic (2010). 14. rodwan. “bottled water 2014: reinvigoration.” u.s. and international developments and statistic (2014). 15. parag and roberts. “a battle against the bottles: building, claiming, and regaining tap-water trustworthiness.” society & natural resources (2009). 16. o’connor. “bottled water ban in san francisco would be one of nation’s strictest.” the huffington post (2013). 17. schriever. “plastic water bottles causing flood of harm to our environment.” the huffington post (2013). 18. parag and roberts. “a battle against the bottles: building, claiming, and regaining tap-water trustworthiness.” society & natural resources (2009). 19. palliser. “banning the bottle.” science scope (2010). 20. schriever. “plastic water bottles causing flood of harm to our environment.” the huffington post (2013). 21. palliser. “banning the bottle.” science scope (2010). 22. ibid. 23. boston college has not officially implemented a ban of plastic water bottles. however, bottled water is not available in the main dining halls of carney, corcoran, and lyons. bottled water may only be bought in vending machines, on the fly markets, and hillside, which all require the use of the flex meal plan. in an effort to decrease bottled-water consumption, boston college has promoted awareness of recycling and use of local water supplies. carapezza. “better bring your own: university of vermont bans bottled water.” national public radio (2013). 24. the bans only limit the sale of non-sparkling, unflavored drinking water in single-service pet bottles. according to figure 4 seltzer/sparkling/mineral water is a much smaller percentage of bottled water sales in the us. sales are only $1.9 billion compared to those of bottled water which are $10.6 billion. in the initial stages of the bottled water ban, it is not worth the extra costs to also ban the less popular sparkling water. 25. “massachusetts general laws.” chapter 40, §32 26. an infraction is when a store is caught selling single-service pet bottles of 1 liter or less (massachusetts general laws, 2012). 27. timm. “san francisco bans sale of plastic water bottles on city property.” msnbc (2014). 28. curtis-murphy and sessions. “ban the bottle: implementing a ban on the sale of plastic water bottles at the university of washington.” the evans school review (2014). 29. daues. “washington university in st. louis ends sales of bottled water.” the source, washington university in st. louis (2009). 30. ibid. 31. vasquez, et al. “bottled water ban: update 2015.” washington university in st. louis (2015). 32. ibid. 33. ibid. 34. the remaining bottled water purchases were for the school of medicine and special events. due to concerns about limiting water access to medical patients, the school of medicine continued to sell bottled water (vasquez et al. 2015). 35. ibid. 36. ibid. 61 curb the thirst 37. curtis-murphy and sessions. “ban the bottle: implementing a ban on the sale of plastic water bottles at the university of washington.” the evans school review (2014). 38. ibid. 39. ibid. 40. in the economic analysis of the policy, curtis-murphy and sessions (2014) found that there could possibly be a very small long-term health cost as a result of some students switching to sugar-sweetened beverages. while the health impacts are important to be considered, the actual cost incurred is negligible (ibid.). 41. the guideline presents a table of proper sized containers of different beverages that should be distributed at different school levels. the categories of beverages include plain water, low fat milk, non fat milk, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, no calorie beverages that are flavored and/or carbonated, and low calorie beverages that are flavored and/or carbonated. 42. berman, and johnson. “the unintended consequences of changes in beverage options and the removal of bottled water on a university campus.” american journal of public health (2015). 43. ibid. 44. ibid. 45. ibid. 46. ibid. 47. block et al. “’if it tastes good, i’m drinking it’: qualitative study of beverage consumption among college students.’” journal of adolescent health (2013) 48. ibid. 49. ibid. 50. ibid. 51. viscusi, et al. “discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plastic water bottle deposits” no. w15585. cambridge, ma: national bureau of economic research (2009). 52. ibid. 53. gulledge. “how to help with the flint water crisis.” cnn (2016). 54. ibid. 55. “massachusetts general laws.” chapter 40, §32 56. although there have been no official records published regarding the effectiveness of the ban in concord, town officials said the ban has produced no measurable reduction in plastic waste. the stores in town responded to the original ban by stocking their shelves with 1.5-liter water bottles, instead of the banned one liter bottles, and flavored beverages in plastic bottles. assistant public health director of concord, stanley soshicki, proposed that a statewide ban could have much more significant results.cline. “town that banned bottled water now can’t get enough of it.” ami newswire (2016). 57. sabatini. “supervisor proposal seeks to ban plastic water bottle sales on sf property.” the san francisco examiner (2013). 58. vasquez, et al. “bottled water ban: update 2015.” washington university in st. louis (2015). 59. sabatini. “supervisor proposal seeks to ban plastic water bottle sales on sf property.” the san francisco examiner (2013). 60. parag and roberts. “a battle against the bottles: building, claiming, and regaining tap-water trustworthiness.” society & natural resources (2009). 61. schriever. “plastic water bottles causing flood of harm to our environment.” the huffington post (2013) 62. viscusi, et al. “discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plastic water bottle deposits” no. w15585. cambridge, ma: national bureau of economic research (2009). 63. the unit price deposit raises the price paid at the time of purchase, but for every bottle returned to a recycling location or stores that accept the bottles, the recycler is paid the deposit amount (viscusi et al., 2009). 64. ibid. 65. viscusi, et al. “discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plastic water bottle deposits” no. w15585. cambridge, ma: national bureau of economic research (2009). 66. ibid. 67. berck, et al., “measuring consumer responses to a bottled water tax policy.” american journal of agricultural economics (2016). 68. ibid. 69. ibid. 70. polinsky and shavell. “pigouvian taxation with administrative costs.” journal of public economic (1982). references berck, peter, jacob moe-lange, andrew stevens, sofia villas-boas. “measuring consumer responses to a bottled water tax policy.” american journal of agricultural economics (2016). berman elizabeth r. and rachel k. johnson. “the unintended consequences of changes in beverage options and the removal of bottled water on a university campus.” american journal of public health, 105(7) (2015):1404– 1408. beverage world. (n.d.). bottled water sales in the united states in 2015, by segment (in million u.s. dollars). in statista the statistics portal. https://www.statista.com/. block jason p., matthew w. gillman, stephanie k. linakis, and roberta a. goldman. “’if it tastes good, i’m drinking it’: qualitative study of beverage consumption among college students.’” journal of adolescent health, 52(6) (2013): 702–6. carapezza, kirk. “better bring your own: university of vermont bans bottled water.” national public radio (2013, january 14). cline, andrew. town that banned bottled water now can’t 62 elements : : spring 2017 get enough of it. ami newswire (2016, august 17). curtis-murphy, megan and caroline sessions. “ban the bottle: implementing a ban on the sale of plastic water bottles at the university of washington.” the evans school review, 4(1) (2014). daues, jessica . “washington university in st. louis ends sales of bottled water.” the source, washington university in st. louis (2009, february 20). gulledge, jacqueline. how to help with the flint water crisis. cnn (2016, october 31). huerta-saenz lina, matilde irigoyen, jorge benavides, and maria mendoza. “tap or bottled water: drinking preferences among urban minority children and adolescents.” journal of community health, 37 (2012):54–8 international bottled water association. (n.d.). “per capita consumption of bottled water in the united states from 1999 to 2015 (in gallons).” in statista the statistics portal. https://www.statista.com/. international bottled water association. (n.d.). “consumption share of beverages in the united states in 2015, by segment.” in statista the statistics portal. https://www. statista.com/. karlstrom, solvie and christine dell’amore. “why tap water is better than bottled water.” national geographic (2010, march 13). “massachusetts general laws”. chapter 40, §32, “drinking water in single-serve pet bottles bylaw” adopted under article 32 (2012). nestlé. (n.d.). “bottled water consumption worldwide from 2007 to 2017 (in billion liters).” in statista the statistics portal. https://www.statista.com/. o’connor, lydia. bottled water ban in san francisco would be one of nation’s strictest. the huffington post (2013, december 17). palliser, janna (2010). “banning the bottle.” science scope, 34 (2): 8-11. parag, yael and j. timmons roberts. “a battle against the bottles: building, claiming, and regaining tap-water trustworthiness.” society & natural resources, 22(7) (2009):625-636, doi: 10.1080/08941920802017248 polinsky, a. mitchell, and steven shavell. “pigouvian taxation with administrative costs.” journal of public economic, 19(3) (1982):385-394 rodwan, john g. “bottled water 2014: reinvigoration.” u.s. and international developments and statistic (2014). bottledwater.org. roth, sara and pat dooris. “state approves next step for nestle water bottling plant despite country vote.” kgw news (2016, november 3). sabatini, jashua .” supervisor proposal seeks to ban plastic water bottle sales on sf property.” the san francisco examiner (2013, december 12). schriever, norm. “plastic water bottles causing flood of harm to our environment.” the huffington post (2013, july 29).. timm, jane c . “san francisco bans sale of plastic water bottles on city property.” msnbc (2014, march 13). vasquez, marisa, jen carter, and phil valko. “bottled water ban: update 2015.” washington university in st. louis (2015). viscusi, w. kip, joel huber, jason bell, and caroline cecot. “discontinuous behavioral responses to recycling laws and plastic water bottle deposits” no. w15585. cambridge, ma: national bureau of economic research (2009). viscusi, w. kip, joel huber, and jason bell. “the private rationality of bottled water drinking”, contemporary economic policy, 3(3) (2015):450-467. ward, l. a., cain, o. l., mullally, r. a., et al. “health beliefs about bottled water: a qualitative study”. bmc public health, 9 (2009): 196. 63 curb the thirst this paper aims to determine whether current practices ensure success for students with autism spectrum disorder who participate within an inclusive educational setting by examining four perspectives: students with autism spectrum disorder and their general education counterparts, educators, financial funding for such programs, and the academic achievement of autistic students who receive the service. while much literature on inclusive education is supportive, the findings indicate that the service operates on questionable intentions and practices that may or may not be beneficial for its recipients. despite the setbacks associated with inclusive education, autistic students are capable of succeeding within these classrooms. suggestions can be formulated to modify such practices to ensure that all autistic students are educated in a manner that allows them to share the same level of achievement as their general peers in education. classroom for debate when students with autism succeed in inclusive classrooms danielle abate “these factors contribute to more satisfying experiences at school, as special education students are no longer restricted by the status of their ability and can successfully become assimilated into the world of their general education peers.” inclusive education is a hot-button issue in the field of special education due to the questionability of the program’s intentions for students. literature on the topic overwhelmingly supports the inclusive education classroom model . inclusive classrooms create an intellectually stimulating environment for special education students, allow them to learn about appropriate behavior in a general education setting, and ensure that each student is educated in an environment that comfortably meets his or her individualized needs. however, the service may not be effective for all students. inclusive education can contribute to the social exclusion of some students on the basis of social impairment. in addition, many teachers of inclusive education are not sufficiently prepared to handle teaching both general education and learning-disabled students. a major contributing factor to this difficulty is the inability to apply teaching methods that work for one group of students to all of the students. special education students are also notably left out of score reporting for standardized examinations, for fear of their performance lowering school averages. in order to ensure success amongst autistic students, inclusive education programs must place a stronger emphasis upon equality, so that students can receive the maximum benefits of their education. by analyzing the views of students, educators, financial funding, and academic achievement, new methods of educating these students can be implemented to allow students to receive more equalized educational opportunities. student perspective the student perspective on inclusive education is an important one, since the children are the recipients and are directly impacted by the program’s services. despite a limited amount of direct testimony from students, the majority of literature written on inclusive education indicates that students support this classroom model (chmiliar, 2009; stein, 2013). one of the greatest benefits of inclusive classrooms is the student’s improved attitude towards education. in a case study of five male students within the same school district, all of the participants “reported that this year was the best year compared to previous years and that they were doing ‘better this year’” (chmiliar, 2009, p.80). the students typically have a more enjoyable experience within inclusive classrooms because they are exposed to strategies that help them develop the skills needed to succeed both academically and socially. when describing their experiences, chmiliar’s participants (2009), similar to many other students educated within inclusive classrooms, reported having a more enjoyable educational experience because of their increased ability to develop stronger relationships with their teachers and peers, complete more difficult classroom assignments, and develop a higher sense of self-perception. these factors contribute to more satisfying experiences at school, as special education students are no longer restricted by the status of their ability and can successfully become assimilated into the world of their general education peers. general education students also find inclusive education to be more beneficial in meeting their needs. students in seventh grade teacher elizabeth stein’s classroom were asked about their attitudes towards having two teachers in the classroom, as opposed to one. the large majority of them responded that they enjoyed this component of inclusive education, because they had an easier time receiving help on assignments (2013). however, this improved attitude towards school is not seen in all students who are placed in inclusive classrooms. much of this negative attitude is attributed to the social impairments of students with autism spectrum disorder. this behavior causes the students to behave atypically in comparison to the general education students that they share their classroom with. according to a study conducted by chamberlain’s research team (chamberlain, et. al, 2007) using loneliness questionnaires, children with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses reported experiencing feelings of isolation due to spending less time with their friends and not receiving reciprocal friendships. these students are also more likely to experience bullying by their peers because of their limited social skills and sensitivity to an unpredictable classroom setting (volkmar, et. 38 elements : : fall 2017 al, 2014). feelings of exclusion can contribute to negative student perceptions towards inclusion, as students would not be able to feel welcomed in an environment that proposes a notion of unity. if a unified relationship cannot be formulated between both types of students within the inclusive classroom, the environment is not right for them, as the general education students will not be allowing their special education peers to develop the skills needed for social and academic successes. although some special education students may experience bullying within their inclusive classrooms, this experience cannot be generalized to all students. even though the autistic students studied by chamberlain’s team (2007) reported experiencing bullying and feelings of loneliness, they were not completely excluded, as some students were able to maintain few, weak ties to the rest of the students while others were able to become more involved with their peers. weak social connections do not leave autistic students completely isolated from their peers as their reporting suggests. the majority of the students within theisstudy, actually report having lower rates of loneliness than their peers, because the perceived problems contributing to the loneliness of these students result from a disconnect between the student’s expectations of being included in groups and their reality. an overwhelming majority of students enjoy the inclusive classroom. as a result, this environment would be more beneficial for autistic students than isolating them from general education, becausestudents in general education would be unable to form such relationships with their peers. i can vouch for the testimony of these students because i have an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, and my individualized education plan (iep) allowed me to be completely integrated within a general classroom during elementary school. since my diagnosis allows me to be extremely high functioning, the setting of a general education classroom was most appropriate for me, as i would not have been able to achieve my academic and personal successes within an environment that included only other students with impairments. the inclusive classroom allowed me to learn how to develop longstanding relationships with other people because of the interaction component with teachers and other students. if i were educated within an environment catering strictly to special education students, i would not have been able to form such skills, as the teacher within that environment orchestrates all of the students’ decisions. this leaves students with little freedom to explore connections with one another since they need to be strictly following the guidelines of their i.e.p.s., thus creating dissonance between their educational environment and the world around them. students who dislike inclusive classrooms dislike them because of this dissonance. teacher perspective similar to the case with students, most literature on the topic of inclusive educational documents teacher support of the issue. teachers are supportive of this education practice because it allows students to experience an education that appropriately suits them. this movement lies within a contextthat allows special education students to have more opportunities for success (chmiliar, 2009; guthrie, 2003; idol, 2006). since the inclusive classroom caters to both general education and special education students, the classroom provides a more intellectually stimulating environment for special education students, as they are taught within the general curriculum. even though students are commonly expected to achieve more within an inclusive classroom, their teachers are often unable to provide for these services, thus creating a possibility for the program to discard the interests of special education students. one of the biggest concerns that the opposition holds towards teachers of inclusive education is that the concept does not meet their expectation of a “one-size-fits-all” education. many educators in the inclusive classrooms are not properly trained to teach both general and special education, since most college teaching curriculums only provide methods for standard k-12 education (guthrie, 2003; gabel, 2005). thus, teachers erroneously believe that these teaching ideas are applicable to all students and do not acknowledge individual differences between the learning abilities of general education and special education students. in addition, teachers of inclusive classrooms are not often certified to be teaching special education. the field of special education is infamously understaffed due to complexities in obtaining the necessary teaching licensure. unsurprisingly, this understaffing leads to more teachers leaving this workforce than entering it (guthrie, 2003). due to these factors, inclusive education may not be the best option for all students because the term “inclusion” is thrown around as a buzzword rather than truly understood by instructors. reporter john tulenko interviewed a special education instructor, ross kramer, on whether he would allow special education students to become inte39 classroom for debate grated into a main classroom. kramer rejected this notion due to his belief regarding the ineffectiveness of special education accommodations. with the implementation of these accommodations, students are incapable of retaining any material that they learn. (tulenko, 2016). if a student is unable to retain the general curriculum, then exposure to general education is not appropriate for them as their academic struggles will continue without receiving the proper support. while this statement maybe true, it cannot be applicable to all students since an autism diagnosis does not affect students in the same manner. autism is characterized as a spectrum with a wide variety of differing symptoms, so some students will require more assistance in their classroom than others. i have a diagnosis of asperger’s, a highly-functioning classification of autism, i was able to succeed within an inclusive classroom because i have limited impairments in comparison to other individuals on the spectrum. this lower amount of limitations allowed me to adapt to an environment that integrates both regular education and special education students more easily because i only needed assistance with communication within the classroom. an inclusive classroom would not be an appropriate setting for an individual with a lower-functioning diagnosis on the spectrum, as their individualized needs would extend beyond what a classroom catering to general education students can provide for them. these students may have additional behavioral or learning difficulties that would require them to be educated within the services of a more restrictive, resource room-type classroom since they would be unable to cope with the demands of a general education classroom. humanity is the driving force behind the continued presence and acceptance of inclusive classrooms, as teachers believe that all students are entitled to the right of an equal educational regardless of ability. by taking on the role of educating students of varying capabilities, teachers engineers of social change for being able to challenge the politicalized injustice of marginalizing special education students by teaching to their individualized needs (gabel, 2005). inclusive education is a socialized movement that has been occurring over the last four decades. prior to 1975, special education students received schooling in isolated environments, such as resource rooms, that did not entirely and properly provide for their needs (guthrie, 2003). under the mandates of the education for all handicapped children act, special education students receive an iep that is implemented in the educational environment that least restricts the student’s abilities, known as the least restrictive environment (lre) (guthrie, 2003). ieps and lres contribute to the theme of humanity ensuring that the student’s needs are being appropriately met, regardless of the circumstances behind them. if a student with a documented special need, such as an autism diagnosis, does not receive the opportunity to be educated in accordance with their individual needs, then such a system is unjust for depriving students of their right to a free and appropriate education, as the student would be educated in a manner contrary to the regulations that are federally imposed upon schools. financial perspective despite federal statute, under the individuals with disabilities education act, that requires that all special education students to be granted free and appropriate public education, these services are underfunded. the federal government continually fails to meet its required quota of funding 40% of the excess costs because it maintains that more localized sources should contribute more; students are receiving their education on the local level (guthrie, 2003; power-defur, 1997). it is odd that the government provides special education students with mandates to ensure that they receive the most out of their education based on their individualized needs, yet they do not supply the largest percentage of the services required to allow this to occur. this is counterproductive to their mandates, because as students may not be able to have their educational needs met due to budgeting conflicts and the availability of reliable resources that occur within the most localized levels of the funding system. the notion of opposition towards inclusion is evident in claiming that the program receives excessive funding. the overallocation of resources towards inclusive education will divert funding away from the special education classroom and towards the general classroom, where opponents find extra funding to be more appropriate (guthrie, “if a student is unable to retain the general curriculum, then exposure to general education is not appropriate for them...” 40 elements : : fall 2017 2003). this extra funding serves the purpose of covering the excess costs of a student’s education. state governments spend $9,600 on nondisabled students, while spending approximately twice as much on special education students due to the growing prevalence of disorders, such as autism, that require more intensive services (see appendix). even when special education students have less severe limitations, the spending allocated to them is still greater than that for general education students, merely because the student is documented as having a disability (legislative analyst’s office, 2013). in the face of the argument that inclusive education spends an unnecessarily large sum on special education students, many local communities are making the most out of the budget that they implement. communities utilize strategies such as resource pooling, which combine the available educational resources to produce a product that is believed to guarantee a more effective education (guthrie, 2003). this combination of resources aims to reduce the costs spent upon inclusive educational practices, as the service will be grouped along with other programs for students who need assistance to succeed the classroom, such as these who have limited english language proficiency (guthrie, 2003). frequency of service helps limit the costs of special education services. for example, many local education agencies (leas) offer a method of teaching known as the “itinerant model”, which employs a general education teacher to special education classes for one or two hours each week (odom, et. al, 2001). since special education students will only be exposed to the general curriculum for brief, infrequent periods of time, the cost-per-hour rate for this method is much lower than the cost of educating a special education student full-time within this environment. despite the existence of such low-cost services towards inclusive education, more funding should be allocated in order to provide higher quality education to the students. children who have special educational needs will be unable to benefit from underfunded special education services, such as the itinerant model, because of the limited amount of instruction time from a general education teacher. as itinerant model students receive the majority of their education from a special education teacher, they are unprepared for integration into a general classroom. academic achievement perspective academic achievement is the main motivation for providing inclusive educational services due to the program’s ability to educate students in a manner that most suits their academic needs. this purpose appears to be ideal as it promises to enforce federally mandated statutes on educating special education students to allow them to achieve success in their least restrictive educational environment, yet achievement is a questionable topic when performance reporting is either incomplete or dishonest (idol, 2006; national center of educational outcomes, 2015). many school systems throughout the united states need to rely upon their performance on standardized testing in order to secure portions of their funding, thus, poor test performances will reduce funding if they are released in annual score reporting (guthrie, 2003). in response to this threat to both the school’s budget and reputation, administrator commonly choose the practice of the exemption of special education students from score reporting, and standardized testing itself (guthrie, 2003). such dishonest score reporting discourages academic achievement for the special education population, as their exclusion from mandated examinations allows them to place less effort on their coursework. according to idol’s study, anywhere between 15% and 67% of students are exempted from the school’s standardized examinations (2006). similarly, the national center for educational outcome’s reporting on the 2012-2013 academic year (2015) indicates that out of all the states and territories within the united states, only 52 of the participating 61 areas reported data, with 85% reporting participation and performance for all state assessments, 12% not providing any reporting data for the state assessments, and 3% only providing data for some of these assessments. with such a large number of students not receiving accreditation for average costs of educating swds more than double those of mainstream students (courtesy of lao) 41 classroom for debate percentage of students passing common core math (courtesy of lao) any academic accomplishments that they have made, actual achievement rates may be lower than they appear. instead, special education students receive examinations that are much simpler for them to complete out of suspicion that they may not be able to adequately display their content mastery on the regular examinations (2006). in order for the academic accomplishments of a special education student to be truly acknowledged, he or she should be awarded to complete the same examinations as their general education peers. this belief is necessary since the aspect of passing or failing should be more important in determining whether a school is successful in preparing its students, rather than whether the student is documented as receiving special education services. students who need special education services are required by federal law to have an iep that documents the personalized educational services that they are to receive in the classroom (guthrie, 2003). this documentation requires material to be presented to students in a specific manner, which allows students to develop better relationships with their peers and teachers since they need to be involved in the planning process of their services. having an iep allows students to reliably receive assistance on classroom assignments students can comfortably approach a teacher or a general education classmate for assistance, a task that may have been difficult or nearly impossible in a resource room occupied by students with varying special needs. failing to provide students with an i.e.p. thus negatively impacts a student’s academic achievement. if a student does not receive the benefits of their status within special education, it is likely that their academic successes would be hindered, since they would be placed within classrooms that satisfy the his or her educational needs. test score reporting is also skewed in face of the spectrum characteristic of autism diagnoses. since individuals with higher functioning forms of autism, such as asperger’s syndrome, typically have high levels of intelligence, they are more capable of performing well on these examinations than peers who have lower-functioning forms of autism or even learning disabilities. as the intellect of these students contributes to their ability to attain high test scores, these students should be included within a school’s score reporting procedures because they are benefiting from the services that they are receiving at school in order to obtain the general education curriculum. due to factors regarding academic ability, students can still face struggles in their academics as their disabilities prevent them from playing catching up on the content that is easily processed by their general education peers. the 2013 reporting for the new york common core math curriculum during the elementary and middle school years indicates that only 7% of special education students are capable of achieving passing grades in the curriculum (engageny, 2013) (see appendix). a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching does not apply to special education students, as their needs in passing such classes are not understood by educators or peers, unless some method of accommodation is provided within the student’s i.e.p. a similar trend is exhibited in the standardized testing performance of special education students due to the perceived notion of their failure, if they were to complete such assessments with the capability of their general education counterparts. only 15% to 40% of special education students are capable of completing their english language arts examination with a score of proficient or higher; in comparison, 40% to 70% of general education students are able to accomplish this feat (legislative analyst’s office, 2013) (see appendix). while this reporting may be skewed by the exclusion of special education students from examinations and score reporting, the findings of the california legislative analyst’s office cannot be applicable to all students identified by the “special education” label. as previously mentioned, students with asperger’s diagnoses should be excluded from this labelling as “failures” within the general curriculum because their higher intellectual capabilities enable them to develop a better understanding of the general curriculum. while it is true that some special education students struggle with this material and cannot pass mandated examinations, it is important to know that these students may not necessarily be autistic. 42 elements : : fall 2017 conclusion in spite of the challenges associated with inclusive education, it is still manageable for students with autism spectrum disorder to succeed within this classroom environment. the highly positive attitudes that these students hold towards the classroom would allow for them to better enjoy their education through meaningful connections with peers and teachers. as teachers are able to modify curriculum practices to include special education students, they are able to properly apply their teaching methods, rather than erroneously applying ideals that can negatively harm a student’s performance. academic achievement results indicated by standardized testing performance should no longer continue to be skewed in favor of a positive image for the educational institution as students with autism spectrum disorder do not necessarily perform as poorly on their examinations as students who may have other forms of learning disabilities. accurate score reporting for special education that includes students rather than diminishing their accomplishments is more beneficial than the skewed reporting that is continually being released, as it will allow the school systems to understand where students are experiencing difficulties. by seeing where these difficulties exist, schools can determine where extra attention should be directed in order to improve testing performance, rather than ignore the presence of special education students within a testing community. some of these students do not perform as poorly as expected, so test reporting should include their results as stated rather than skew them for the sake of a school’s image. references california legislature. (2013). [bar graph illustrating average costs of educating swds more than double those of mainstream students]. overview of special education in california. retrieved from http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2013/edu/special-ed-primer/special-ed-primer-010313.aspx california legislature. (2013). [graph illustrating percent of students scoring proficient or advanced on fourth grade english language arts assessments]. overview of special education in california. retrieved from http://www. lao.ca.gov/reports/2013/edu/special-ed-primer/special-edprimer-010313.aspx chamberlain, b., kasari, c., & rotheram-fuller, e. (2007). involvement or isolation? the social networks of children with autism in regular classrooms. journal of autism anddevelopmental disorders, 37(2), 230-242. chmiliar, l. (2009). perspectives on inclusion: students with ld, their parents, and their teachers. exceptionality education international, 19(1), 72-88. engageny. (2013). [graph illustrating just 7 percent of special ed students pass common core math august, 2013]. a new baseline: measuring student progress on the common core learning standards, august 2013. retrieved from http://hechingerreport.org/can-special-education-students-keep-common-core/ guthrie, j.w. (2003). special education. in encyclopedia of education (2nd. ed., vol. 6, pp.2278-2294). new york, ny: macmillan reference usa. percentage of students passing english language arts assessment (courtesy of lao) 43 classroom for debate mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affirms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e elements spring 2016 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the morrissey college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. all submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © bénigne gagneraux / wikimedia commons periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. electronic journal elements is also published as an open access electronic journal. it is available at http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/elements. issn 2380-6087 the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 12, issue 1, spring 2016 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by flagship press,150 flagship drive, north andover, ma 01845 copyright © 2016 by the trustees of boston college this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. elements staff editors-in-chief marissa marandola betty (yunqing) wang managing editor annie kim deputy editor alessandra luedeking treasurer asher (seungwan) kang layout xizi (kelsey) zhang, senior editor elise hon, assistant editor shuang li, editor thao vu, editor humanities jacob ciafone, senior editor isabella dow, senior editor sierra dennehy, editor ciaran dillon-davidson, editor social sciences sydney apple, senior editor michelle kang, senior editor erica oh, editor reed piercey, editor natural sciences david fu, senior editor derek xu, editor media & publicity anne donnelly, senior editor madeline george, assistant editor web editor minki hong, senior editor office manager billy hubschman faculty advisors jason cavallari elizabeth chadwick http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/elements http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 dear readers, students at boston college are often invited to reflect on their academic and personal development in the context of the university’s jesuit tradition. here at elements, we are often prompted to ask ourselves, “how does our journal incorporate and advance the jesuit mission?” with this goal in mind, we seek to provide a platform for undergraduates to share their intellectual pursuits, increase awareness on complex yet critical scientific, ethical, and social issues, and foster an environment that encourages thought, discussion, and ultimately action. this issue of elements presents a more diverse collection of research topics than ever before, in an attempt to draw your attention to the myriad facets of human experience, no matter how familiar or distant from your everyday lives. in our cover article, “‘who would hire a blind poet?’”, author christopher kabacinski contrasts traditional representations of blindness in literature with the life writing of the partially blind american poet stephen kuusisto. he highlights kuusisto’s effort to move out of the shadow of oedipus and tiresias, and re-present the blind man in his embodied, lived personhood that transcends any labels society can impose. daniel park and clara lee examines a similar struggle between definition and identity in “divisions dissected” by focusing on the notion of the “asian bubble” and its impact on the experience and self-perceptions of asian american students at boston college. in “convict the deviant,” katherine quigley uses criminal narratives of accused rapists to highlight cultural standards of masculinity and the association of rape with unmanly deviance in the patriarchal society of early america. meanwhile, “two separate persons” by jennifer heine extends this discussion of gender perceptions to anthony trollope’s novel phineas finn, which employs gendered ethnic stereotypes to illustrate the duality of its main character’s identity. a close read of this set of articles encourages us to reconsider the relationships between external perceptions and self-understanding, and between societal norms and personal identity. despite tensions between the individual and society, there are unresolved questions that the human race has a collective stake in. in “on the wrong side of the tracks,” natalie panariello evaluates the ethical implications of needle resale by assessing the case of a needle black market seller who uses his profits to feed his drug addiction. juliana butron considers an equally pressing social issue in “a climate of inaction,” as she attributes the lack of effective response to climate change to the limitations of a relational understanding of morality. in addition, alessandra luedeking, author of “titan of terror,” presents the film godzilla, not as mere science-fiction, but as a physical embodiment of the destructive forces of nuclear bombings in japan. jesuit education aims to promote intellectual inquiry and dialogue across disciplines, and elements upholds this principle by continuously expanding into new subjects. rebecca moretti’s article, “the psychological puzzle,” provides a unique perspective on how the psychology of policymakers may both consciously and unconsciously lead to the top-down politicization of intelligence. katelyn johnson investigates the distribution of tmx and clo residues across various locations of stroubles creek in blacksburg, va, to determine their impact on “the dirt and the bees.” in “dreibens modulo 7,” the first mathematics research published by our journal, arthur diepnguyen analyzes the divisibility of strings of 3’s and 7’s (dreibens) by 7 as a first step in the search for prime dreibens. inspiring and fulfilling the desire to know has always been an essential component of jesuit education. as the new elements editor-in-chief this year, i hope our journal will continue to play a role in igniting undergraduates’ intellectual curiosity. our spring 2016 issue invites you to consider important questions that your fellow students raised, examine the conclusions that their research suggested, and bring your own experiences and insights to our perpetual search for truth, meaning, and justice, even after you turn the last page of our journal! happy reading! best, betty (yunqing) wang editor in chief editor’s note contents on the wrong side of the tracks?: ethical considerations of the needle black market natalie panariello debunking conventional moral assumptions regarding needle exchange programs and hiv prevention. 9 15 29 38 convict the deviant: masculinity and rape in early america katherine quigley characterizing patriarchal social norms through the confession narratives of convicted rapists. a climate of inaction: limitations of a relational understanding of morality juliana butron applying the framework of relational models theory to the global community’s complacency towards climate change. the dirt and the bees: the epidemiology of neonicotinoids katelyn johnson determining the distribution of tmx and clo in a surface stream and their transformation in sediment and soil. 75 71 61 49 “who would hire a blind poet?”: blindness in the eyes of stephen kuusisto christopher kabacinski probing the challenge of representing the blind man against the hegemony of masculinity and ability. divisions dissected: a deconstruction of boston college’s “asian bubble” daniel park & yoon-shin (clara) lee examining how external conceptions of bc’s asian community influence students’ sense of belonging. the psychological puzzle: contributing factors to the top-down politicization of intelligence rebecca moretti decoding the reciprocal strands of influence between policy makers and the intelligence community. “two separate persons”: ethnicity and identity in trollope’s phineas finn jennifer heine mapping 19th century english-irish cultural constructions over gendered identities. 88 dreibens modulo 7: a new formula for primality testing arthur diep-nguyen investigating the extent of prime numbers through strings of threes and sevens. author biographies list of artwork 102 106 titan of terror: a personification of the destroyer of worlds alessandra luedeking symbolizing the historic implications of the nuclear bombing of japan through the destructive power of godzilla. 82 ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, .&! -*/"&"#/ also featuring • unmasking medical frauds • pronouns and personhood!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#,# - 2 0 21 · . 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'#:$1'#* )!!#%!1-%. 1 2'-2-*# ) '##3).$)!1-% -/ !"# 2'-0.#4* -/ (#%&#' 1&#%!1!5 ).-%( 71!" !"# 1%!#'*#+!1-% -/ /'## 71.. )%& 01-.-(1+). &#!#'41%1*4 )%& !/1.. 1% !"# ()2* 1% 2'#31-$* !"1%81%( *$''-$%&1%( *-+1). +-%*!'$+!1-%, !"# *#./, )%& 2#'*-%"--& — ).. :$#*!1-%* 2'-42!#& 05 !"# (#%&#' '#3-.$!1-%. $"(*(&*' #*1 $!"'(*0((1 exploring the construction of gender identities from the feminist perspective +"'1*!1%# .#%)")% 12 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 “what really matters, of course, about biological determinism is how it a0ects people, how it a0ects human beings. . .. if [the lives of individuals] are thwarted by a structure imposed from, without, or for social reasons falsely identified as lying within, they never get another chance. that’s it. that’s the greatest tragedy. that biological determinism is imposed upon billions of people.” dr. stephen jay gould introduction social structures constitute our world, serving as frames of meaning within which we, as social beings, act. gender is among one of the largest impediments to just social structures in our world today.1 gender is systemically maintained in a culture because gender is performed in social roles and then is perpetuated by individuals who internalize society’s response to those social roles. as a feminist, a student of philosophy, and a self-identifying woman, i am eager to investigate these structures and contribute to the growing conversation surrounding gender theory, gender fluidity, and social construction through my research. i argue that to have gender is not to have certain reproductive anatomy, but instead, gender is the social meaning of sex. because we seek to identify and organize persons into a socio-sexual hierarchy, the gender revolution of the twenty-first century, especially through the identification of personal pronouns, poses a question greater than one of gender orientation. while sociologists are addressing the recent e6ects of personal pronoun usage, the purpose of this inquiry is to acknowledge the lack of new research material in philosophy and gender/queer theory. i propose a reevaluation of the problems of gender identity and the exploration of the intersection of free will and biological determinism. additionally, there is a need to fill in the gaps in previous thinking surrounding social construction, the self, and personhood. i will be approaching this question from two primary research narratives. in the perspective of biological determinism, how free are we to choose our gender and thus pronouns that correspond to it? from a feminist philosophical understanding of sex and gender, how do we end gender oppression and force an upheaval of the conventional gender binary, which creates a power imbalance between biological males and females in society? i will first investigate how pronouns play a part in the larger social constructs we exist in through the lens of social critical theory, working with texts by several prominent feminist philosophers. it is important to note that while much of my research will be theorizing, such theories are grounded in real world observation as well as the works of experts in the field of gender studies. my goal is to bring the ever-evolving gender culture of the twenty-first century into dialogue with the thought perspectives of sexologists, gender theorists, and social constructionists, ranging from works by the late philosopher simone de beauvoir to contemporary thinkers such as dr. sally haslanger. second, i will investigate the usage of gender pronouns on campuses in the united states. college campuses are a microcosm of the fresh and adaptable minds, and firstyear students are a growing resource for understanding gender theory and its social implications. i will be drawing upon surveys and interviews conducted among first-year students, noting how gender pronouns are used within college orientation programs. the factors which make us mark and announce genders, like dress code, body hair, and even fragrance, constitute the inequality between and oppression of sexes; they are essential to the maintenance of that social system. if conversations about gender pronouns could be addressed in college campuses from first-year experiences, like orientation, it would create a foundation for a community that has a sense of gender orientation and normalizes identifying pronouns in everyday usage. such normalization could lead to the end of gender oppression, the barriers that immobilize and mold those belonging to a particular biological sex and social gender groups. logically, the subordination and domination of respective gender groups presuppose that those groups may be easily identifiable by outward signals within society. one of those key identifiers is pronouns. if the usage of di6erent pronouns in everyday culture was ubiquitous, there would be more recognition of gender fluidity, thus blurring the presupposed social boundaries between those groups and eliminating the appearance that humans are biologically sex-dimorphic. increasing pronoun usage can be expected 13 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( to improve existing injustices by recognizing human beings in their fullness when their correct pronouns are used. yes, pronoun usage creates the possibility of misgendering, but it also fosters a space for correction and conversation without awkwardness. our gender is learned and is not biologically determined, which should allow us to have the autonomy to identify our own gender identities that may not correspond with the biological sex. if we increase pronoun usage in our everyday social lives, through our free will, we give up the social pressure to “act” in a masculine or feminine way, erasing the gender binary. with the social threat of clear gender identity removed, we may move towards social justice among the sexes. between your legs and in your brain: sex versus gender originally formulated to counter theories of biological determinism, the feminist distinction between sex and gender is not as direct as it may seem, despite the amount of scholarship on the subject since the mid-1900s. feminism, which is the support for all genders and opposition to the patriarchy and sexism, calls for a distinction between sex and gender in aiming to end gender stratification. sex, labeled as male and female, pertains to chromosomal, genetic, hormonal, and physical indicators.2 gender, however, pertains to how human beings express their personhood and how they identify within the social world. gender is often separated into man and woman, otherwise known as the gender binary, but gender is not the causal result of biological sex and should not exist in a binary system as biological sexes do.3 within the gender revolution of the twenty-first century, there is a large draw towards the dismantling of the gender binary and the introduction of a wide variety of identities including male, female, transgender, gender-neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none, or a combination of these. gender is the social meaning of sex—labels that we have created and systemically perpetuated within society. thus, taken to the extent of its logistics, “if gender is the cultural meanings that a sexed body assumes, then gender cannot be said to follow from a sex in any one way” (butler, 6). in fact, it is quite di7cult to theorize about the relationship between sex and gender when we do not have a concrete idea of what a woman is or what a man is because “women” and “men” cannot be said to exist. instead women and men are, in a sense, verbs. social construction, the institutions and principles that govern society, claims that women and men are concrete beings and that they align with the biological sexes of female and male. this is wholly untrue and cannot be conceptualized since men and women exist in the abstract; they were construed as binaries by human beings in society. instead, gender is a “performative” action. such is the perspective of judith butler, a gender theorist whose 1990s work, gender trouble, provides key insight into the social construction of gender. for butler, gender takes both a genealogical and philosophical approach; one that does not search for the origin or case of gender but rather one that searches for the e6ects of the !"#$% 1: &#'(!)!&#*( #( (+% %,&.-$/-'0,+-& +-.1!*$ # ,!$* (+#( 1!,&.#2, (+%!' &'-*-3* &'%4%'%*)%,. 14 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 societal institutions that construct the idea of gender and put it into practice. since the “performances” in question involve gesture, dress, movement, action, and language, it can be misinterpreted that gender as “performative” refers to a quasi-theatrical performance. this is not the case. according to butler, “[gender is] the stylized repetition of acts through time,” (butler, 78). in that phrasing, the “through time” portion is crucial because when an act is repeated through time, it becomes a part of the individual while maintaining a possibility of change. gender is not a one act show; we don’t perform masculinity or femininity and then cease gender expression. instead, gender is performative, which implies that it persists through time, sometimes unintentionally, and has consequences outside of the self. butler shies away from the idea of gender expression, which she understands to be an outward portrayal of an inward characteristic about our personhood. instead, gender applies in the reverse format; it is established by others, usually from birth, and then shapes an individual’s inward personhood over time. consider the idea of gender as being “performative” with this example of a common verb: to run. the phrase i run is logically valid because if i am propelling my legs through space in some direction, pumping my arms, and moving faster than walking pace, i would be considered to be running by an outside observer. now if i were to propel my legs with less force and slow down my pace, i would be considered to be walking by an outside observer. the same argument applies to gender. the phrase i am a woman is logically valid because i am carrying out actions that society has deemed to be “of a woman” for whatever reason, such as having long hair, being gentle and petite, even down to my scent. floral scents are largely considered feminine while musky scents are considered masculine. but, if i were to cut my hair short, start acting with a certain toughness or confidence and my actions appealed to society’s definition of a man, the phrase i am a man would also be valid. in each case, whether i am acting as a man or acting as a woman, my gender is performed; it is not inherent to me as a person but it is done as an action, just like running or walking. just as my heart size or lean muscle mass don’t define me as a runner, my action of running does. my sex organs or hormone levels don’t define my femininity or masculinity but rather my actions. ideas of gender can sometimes be contrary to a convention or logic. society creates both discrete and overt principles of how a “man” and “woman” should act, dress, smell, and biologically and linguistically be identified before the subject can decide for themselves. human beings that are regulated by these social constructs are thus formed, denied, and reproduced in accordance with the requirements of those constructs. thus, we reach the fault line of the gender binary. we assume that the titles of man and woman represent a common identity. man and woman are not exhaustive terms; “if one is a woman, that is surely not all one is” (butler, 3). in this way, the idea of gender identity is a misnomer, as identity is usually presumed to be a fixed idea. that is why i argue for the idea of personhood in accompaniment to gender identities, as gender identity falls under one aspect of personhood (personhood being a plural entirety). furthermore, gender intersects with racial, class, ethnic, historical, and sexually-constructed identities; man and woman in the united states do not map onto man and woman in vietnam.4 feminism, which is typically defined as the movement toward equality among the sexes, is facing a larger problem. in the distinction between sex and gender, the feminist perspective ought to strive for equality among the biological sexes and gender identities. the social structure of the gender binary remains ubiquitous in western culture, but we can resist it by subversive acts. as butler questions, “what would the acts of resistance be like, and what would we expect them to accomplish?” i o6er gender pronouns as a partial solution and concrete act of resistance that finds its roots in historical movements that have influenced the twenty-first century. in the following section, i will discuss at length the linguistic representation of gender through the usage of gender pronouns. 15 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( identifying gender by pronoun usage pgps: preferred gender pronouns pronouns are the most common gendered words in the english language. pronouns, in a grammatical sense, are also known as function words. on their own, function words have very little meaning. in english, there are fewer than five hundred function words yet they account for more than half of the words we speak, hear, and read every day. pronouns such as i, you, he/she/they di6erent greatly from gender pronouns. gender pronouns (sometimes called preferred gender pronouns) take the same form as functional pronouns (he/she/they) but denotes gender identity and personhood instead. this distinction is most often made on college campuses, where preferred gender pronouns are defined as: “a consciously chosen set of pronouns that allow a person to accurately represent their gender identity in a way that is comfortable for them. for example, a trans person may begin using a gender-neutral pronoun prior to transitioning, and a gendered pronoun afterwards, or an agender, bigender or third-gender person may choose to use a neutral or invented pronoun.” the two youngest generations, gen z and gen y, are more likely than others to see gender roles and binary labels as outdated. according to a new study conducted by the advertising insights agency bigeye, “half of members of generation z (or 50%) agree that traditional gender roles and binary gender labels [she/he pronouns] are outdated ” (bigeye 2021, 74). in their survey, bigeye discovered that “one half of the respondents identifying as nonbinary indicated their personal pronouns are they/ them/theirs.” personal pronouns do more than correctly refer to a person, they also validate that person’s gender identity. according to bigeye, “more than 12 percent of u.s. millennials identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming,” and globally, “25 percent of gen z individuals expect to change their gender identity at least once during their lifetime.” human beings ought to be recognized in the fullness of their personhood if we are to achieve equality among all peoples. the simplest way to do so is by normalizing widespread gender pronoun usage. within the transgender community there is a shift towards eliminating the use of the word “preferred” and simply calling them gender pronouns or just pronouns. this stems from a belief that including the word “preferred” implies that there is a desire of a wish to be seen as a specific gender rather than presenting who they truly are through authentic gender expression. it can be hurtful to assume that because something is preferred, it is not right or natural. the word “preferred” also implies that there is a choice for the speaker and user of certain gender pronouns. transgender people strive to eliminate the idea of “choice” over their gender and instead strive to present gender as an authentic demonstration of personhood and using a person’s gender pronouns is a form of mutual respect, solidarity, and understanding. moving forward in 2020, mastercard’s “truenametm” campaign announced that trans customers could use their preferred name on credit cards, and united airlines began o6ering passengers nonbinary booking options. twelve states have introduced gender-neutral ids and provide an “x” alternative to “m” and “f” on driver’s licenses. harvard’s faculty of arts and sciences’ registration tool now allows students to register their preferred gender pronouns, including printing them alongside their names on student ids. the importance of these policies is deeply personal: being able “if we are to recognize human beings in the fullness of their personhood, gender pronouns are one small yet pivotal step towards dismantling a binary that has oppressed genders for over a millennium.” 16 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 to use their chosen names and gender markers sanctions transgender and nonbinary gender identities. incorporation of gender pronouns ought to be ubiquitous: on name tags, in social media bios, in email signatures, on licenses and student ids. the benefits of such identification are twofold. if a nonbinary person signs their email they/them in their signature, it is an immediate clarification for the type of pronoun that may be used. additionally, although a cisgender person clarifying perferred cisgender pronouns (she/her, he/him) may seem futile, it may catch the attention of someone who is unfamiliar with gender pronouns, prompting a conversation. singular or plural? grammar mechanics of gender pronouns in the previous section, i covered the historical conception of gender pronouns and the modern-day linguistic representation of gender pronouns most commonly manifested in she/her/hers, he/him/his, and they/them/theirs. as our conceptions of gender evolve and adapt to the everchanging definition of masculine, feminine, and non-binary, so do the grammar mechanics that apply to the gender pronouns. my inclusion of grammar mechanics is crucial in striving for the normalization of gender pronouns. it clarifies the grammatical rules that apply to them and will only further aid those confused by pronouns. as my father, a member of the baby-boomer generation, has recently questioned, “they/them… they is swimming or they are swimming?” dad, they are swimming, and here is why: the singular they among professional linguists and everyday english speakers, the syntactic representation of gender through the usage of a singular they has gained curiosity for decades. the english language lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with “everyone” or “someone” and as a consequence, they has been used for this purpose for over six hundred years. they is sometimes said to have the advantage of being already part of english grammar, in contrast to atypical alternatives5 and is thus the most popular gender-neutral pronoun in use today. let’s take a look at some examples of the singular they in simple sentences. (1) grace and anthony are swimming. they are swimming. (2) janet is swimming. they are swimming. in example (1) they takes on its standard plural form, referring to two people swimming, while in example (2) they is being used for a specific, named individual in a particular context that calls for a non-binary pronoun. since janet prefers they/them pronouns, the speaker acknowledges and identifies them with the appropriate pronoun. even for innovative they users, the current status of they in english can meet its linguistic pitfalls, making syntax difficult depending upon the usage of they. for example, in the reflexive form: “janet presents themself as nonbinary. they presents themself as nonbinary.” not “janet present themselves as nonbinary. they present themselves as nonbinary. “ go ahead and read each sentence aloud, or better yet, type them out on your phone or computer and watch grammar suggestion tools grow furious as you ignore the syntax demands of a pronoun that must match its antecedent in gender and number. here we see the di7culty in adapting to certain features of the english language and the singular they, wherein the antecedent doesn’t have a particular gender. in the case of the reflexive form, we use themself and not themselves because janet is not presenting many plural selves but rather one self that does not conform to a singular binary. pronouns can be confusing and mistakes “correct your mistakes, ask questions, and normalize identifying your gender pronouns.” 17 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( can be made, but it is in the mistakes that we gain clarity about an individual’s gender presentation. misidentifying, a common error in nonbinary pronoun usage for someone who does not outwardly express one singular gender, should be met with compassion and conversation, not criticism and shame. correct your mistakes, ask questions, and normalize identifying your gender pronouns. they are who they are: gender and social construction theory social construction: defined “our beliefs about the world create the reality of that world, as opposed to the position that the world reveals what is really there” (kessler, 1998). the multiplicity of uses and definitions of social construction has transformed its meaning over time and now in common vernacular, describes something as “socially constructed.” this implies that it is illusionary or not fully real and, to a certain degree, such an impression holds true. the conservation surrounding social construction rests gently upon the surface of the larger philosophical debates of metaphysics and epistemology, which questions how we know what is real and what is not. in viewing gender through the social constructionist lens, the illusory nature of gender that is perpetuated by the usage of phrases like “gender is made up” or “gender doesn’t exist” is dismantled. i argue that gender does exist but due to society’s own conception and the meaning upon which we have ascribed it; gender does not exist naturally. instead, because of social construction, gender has undergone the process of determining separate groups (gender binaries of man and woman) and naturalizing their subordination to one another. this is a process not only unique to the construction of gender but also to other constructs like race. social construction looks at gender through a focal analysis that seeks to explain the phenomenon of men as dominant and women as subordinate in society as a pattern of social relations that has been performed, internalized, and thus systematically entrenched in our culture. the norms by which an individual’s personhood is evaluated must undergo ideological and institutional critique if we seek the eradication of the gender binary. “a critique of a concept is not a rejection of that concept but an exploration of its various meanings and limitations,” through a conceptual and narrative framework that governs the way in which we socially construct ourselves (anderson, 2001, p. 22). following this line of thought, gender influences how individuals organize all of society and how they distribute power, thus making the elimination of gender socially impossible. it is here we see the formulation of gender stratification, which is the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege across genders. patriarchal domination impedes equality among the genders, but conceptualizing gender oppression in terms of man-ness and woman-ness may also be misleading. it may foster false ideas and impressions based on the understanding that “man” is a single, ubiquitous, and unified category that necessarily subjugates the other single, ubiquitous, and unified category of “woman.” studies focusing on intra-gender inequality show that there exists numer“social construction looks at gender through a focal analysis that seeks to explain the phenomenon of men as dominant and women as subordinate in society as a pattern of social relations that has been performed and internalized and thus systemically maintained and deeply entrenched in our culture.” 18 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 ous forms of plural masculinities and femininities, which then a6ect the relations of domination not only between di6erent genders but also within the same gender category. the greatest domination exists between what sociologists call hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininities. these terms, as defined by social construction theorist raewyn connell in the late 1980s, refer to the forms of masculinity in a given historical and societal setting that legitimates unequal gender relations between men and women and within genders that then predispose the creation of stylized acts of femininity (connell 1978, 19). connell argued that hegemonic masculinity is always constructed in relation to subordinated femininities and other unconventional masculinities (connell 1978, 21). such terms allow an individual in society to understand the multifaceted dimensions of masculinity and femininity as well as the role of gender conventions in the structures of power and oppression that inadvertently and advertently govern the way in which individuals interact, particularly through their outward gender identification by means of personal pronouns. first, we must clearly define hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. hegemonic masculinities “initially formulated in the 1980s to shed light on a series of practices that promoted the favorable social condition of men over women, the concept of hegemonic masculinity is premised on the existence of a dominant form of masculinity. all men position themselves in relation to it, and therefore internalize personal codes of behavior that contribute to its reproduction.” (mortennti, 1). an americanized concept of outward masculinity reads as such: a man is, most notably, heterosexual and manifests his man-ness in his personhood through the pronouns he/ him/his. this man resists outward displays of vulnerability, weakness but instead should perform aggressive behaviors. he should “exhibit strength and toughness, and be competitive and successful” (mortennti, 1). therefore, men feel an immense social pressure to conform to the dominant ideas of being a man, which perpetuates genderbiased hierarchy in society. those who do not, are typically subordinated and socially marginalized. as a result, the genders deemed e6eminate or individuals in the lgbtqia+ community are subordinated while those who strive to conform to this ideal of man-ness are dominant and celebrated. hegemonic masculinity then a6ects the political and economic spheres of society which perpetuate the inequality between and within genders. consider women’s right to vote, autonomy over the female reproductive organs, the wage gap, the pink tax, or the infamous glass ceiling that perpetually hangs in the ether of a universe socially constituted as cisgender, socially conforming men dominating other human beings. because of the need to fill this socially-acceptable role, lack of life options and choices drastically reduces the degree of individual freedom in deciding the life an individual has reason to value, crushing their personhood. current cultural discourse surrounds inequality between the gender binaries, but there is a distinct lack of scholarship and advocacy for the social disparities between gender-non-conforming/gender fluid males who fall victim to the power structures of hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and “manly men’’ in society. the longterm authority of hegemonic masculinity over social structures resides in its conception of man. societal domination takes place not only between genders but also within them. therefore, the problem is not man himself but the types of behavior and attitudes associated with dominance and power. these behaviors and attitudes are bolstered by society’s continuation of sharply sex/genderdimorphic categorizations. normalizing various gender pronouns can begin to shift perspectives even in their simple, everyday isage by raising awareness to the fluidity of gener. men face gender-related problems, just like women and such shared experiences have the potential to create bonds of mutual understanding and solidarity between men and women, increasing a social consciousness on gender perceptions. emphasized femininities emphasized femininity is “the pattern of femininity which is given most cultural and ideological support . . . patterns such as sociability . . . compliance . . . [and] sexual receptivity [to men]” (connell 1987, 24). 19 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( an americanized concept of outward femininity believes a woman ought to be gentle and warm, but also a dependent and weak being who needs reassurance from men. her sexuality is for men to capitalize on: sexual relations in her heterosexuality (i.e. sexual intercourse) and sexual spectacle in her homosexuality (i.e. pornography and fetishization). a woman manifests her femininity in outward displays of woman-ness not only through her gender normative pronouns she/her/hers but also in her dress, mannerisms, hair and makeup, scent, and, most notably, in her ability to bear children. from this limiting conception of women, emphasized femininity is practiced in a complementary, compliant, and accommodating subordinate relationship with hegemonic masculinity. connell emphasized in her work that hegemonic masculinity has no meaning unless it is viewed in relation to its subordinated counterpart in emphasized femininity (connell 1978, 21). and vice versa: femininity as a term, can barely be understood on its own if not for the opposing relationship to masculinity. femininities are constructed in and through male bodies (what is commonly referred to as the “male gaze” in pop culture) and are emphasized through the repetition of stylized acts that foster and maintain a heteronormative, sex-dimorphic image of woman-ness. this, in turn, discursively emphasizes men in holding dominate roles, particularly in sexual relations within which the woman is deemed sexually compliant to the man. femininity in this case is practiced and performed as butler, being described in my earlier chapter, suggests (butler, 3). femininity is complementary to masculinity and the two work in a pseudo-social-symbiotic relationship: the “man” maintains his dominance, the “woman” maintains her subordination. a functionalist approach to such inequalities holds that the disparities in sociological relations to power structures and larger social institutions are a result of each gender adapting to the roles they are best suited for: women in childbirth and maintaining the home while men are tied to labor and primary financial support. in third wave feminist understanding, emphasized femininity can only be conceptualized by the intersectionality of being a female and the standard of the “woman identity” existing in society. social norms are further propagated into a unique form of social separation, known as “othering.” here, “othering” refers to the discrete social competition among women in attempting to best orient themselves to an unattainable standard of femininity, thus isolating those who do not seek to conform to such a standard. not only do women face subjugation to men but are isolated from other women in competition for femininity, which exists only as a complimentary social factor to men.this furthers women’s subjugation, essentially annexing the woman from her personhood out of need for social survival. concluding remarks gender is an entirely disjunctive class and a recent trend in feminist theory is to turn away from gender as a social classification on the whole. gender is inherently unclear and complicated, so i don’t believe there to be an answer to the social construction of gender. and yet i do not think gender needs to be removed from the conversation about social construction. in fact, gender is a primary example of the e6ects of social construction; our conversations should be directed towards it. within this debate about the inclusion or removal of gender and social construction theory, it can be hard to tell what gender is, or, if it is anything at all. context-sensitive gender distinctions, like in a position of social relations wherein the relations of domination constitute the categories of man and woman, depend upon the deepening discourse on gender theory. the aim of my work on the ubiquity of gender pronouns do just that. gender theory, in the feminized social constructionists view is not a search for a distinctive truth but collects a plethora of truth from multiple perspectives to build a framework for contextual theorizing like for gender how social forces, under the guise of biological forces work to perpetuate inequalities. if we are to capture what is morally significant about the human being in society, we must continue to foster debates on gender in social constitution and incorporate the normalization of gender pronouns, which are a direct outward reflection of an individual’s personhood corresponding to their gender or lack thereof. 20 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 "!,!"!*+!' amato, viola “introduction, intersex narratives: shifts in the representation of intersex lives in north american literature and popular culture.” jstor, 2016. baron, dennis. what’s your pronoun: beyond he & she. new york, ny: liveright corporation, 2021. beauvoir, simone de. the second sex. london: vintage classic, 2015. big eye agency. “gender: beyond the binary.” big eye research insights. 2021. bjorkman, bronwyn m. “singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in english.” glossa. open library of humanities, 06 sept. 2017. butler, judith. gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity. new york: routledge, 1989. butler, judith. undoing gender. new york: routledge, 2009. castañeda, donna. the essential handbook of women’s sexuality. santa barbara, ca: praeger, 2013. “caster semenya loses landmark legal case against iaaf over testosterone levels.” the guardian. guardian news and media, 01 may 2019. clifton, derrick. “50% of gen zers believe traditional gender norms are outdated.” them. them., 24 feb. 2021. crash course. “gender stratification: crash course sociology #32.” youtube. crash course, 06 nov. 2017. crash course. “harriet martineau & gender conflict theory: crash course sociology #8.” youtube. crash course, 01 may 2017. currier, danielle m. “strategic ambiguity: protecting emphasized femininity and hegemonic masculinity in the hookup culture” sage journals. 01 aug. 1970. cut. “pronouns | trans | one word | cut.” youtube. youtube, 11 aug. 2015. fausto-sterling, anne. sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of sexuality. new york: basic, 2020. fambrough, mary. “transcending gender: challenging the binary divide.” proquest, 1990. fessler, leah. “his, hers, everyone’s: gender-equal underwear goes (slightly more) mainstream.” the new york times. the new york times, 25 june 2021. hartocollis, anemona. “gender pronouns can be tricky on campus. harvard is making them stick.” the new york times, 19 feb. 2020. haslanger, sally anne. resisting reality social construction and social critique. oxford: oxford up, 2013. hooks, bell. feminist theory: from margin to center. new york, ny: routledge, 2015. jones, je6rey m. “lgbt identification rises to 5.6% in latest u.s. estimate.” gallup, 13 aug. 2021. messerschmidt, james w. “engendering gendered knowledge: assessing the academic appropriation of hegemonic masculinity” sage journals, dec. 2012. messerschmidt, james w. “masculinities and femicide.” qualitative sociology review, proquest, 2017. 21 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( endnotes 1. in this thesis, ‘sex’ denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features); ‘gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behavior or identity). !e primary feminist motivation for making this distinction is to counter biological determinism. !is theory is explained further in section 2. 2. in the remainder of this paper, i will be denoting the biological sexes of male and female with capital letters in order to preserve their scienti"c de"nitions. 3. or appear to do. sexes are not always binary in their biological morphology as seen in section 8. 4. vietnam is a widely used example of a historically matriarchal society. 5. some, but not all, neopronouns include per/per/pers, ve/ ver/vis, xe/xem/xyr, ze/zie/hir/hirs -/'% (, #"%8("9 #*27-'8*"-28 © wil540 art. (2021, october 2). espo workshop8 [photograph]. wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:espo_workshop8.jpg 13 41 +")$+#' #..#*4#'# © chaucer ellesmere. (2005, september 5). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaucer_ellesmere.jpg 54 /1($'# 1 © energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ this article is a response to the equal justice initiative’s 2015 report on lynching, which aimed to provide a comprehensive account of racial terror since 1877. although the study encompassed three years before the commonly used beginning date of research on lynching, the author argues that it omitted a great number of cases from the reconstruction era (1865-1877). in this essay, she evaluates testimonial evidence from the 13 volumes of the report of the joint select committee to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late insurrectionary states published by the u.s. congress in 1872, citing specific cases of atrocities committed by the ku klux klan in the years following the civil war. a close examination of these reports reveals that the level of extralegal violence inflicted on african americans in the reconstruction era has been severely underestimated. researchers are called to extend their investigations of lynching to include this period of history in order to develop a more truthful account of racial terror in this country. extralegal violence the ku klux klan in the reconstruction era sarah sullivan in february 2015, the equal justice initiative proved the underestimation of racial violence with their report, “lynching in america: confronting the legacy of racial terror.” historians have attempted to count the number of lynchings since 1882, when the chicago tribune began publishing an annual list of lynchings. in 1995, sociologists stewart tolnay and e. m. beck compiled what was considered to be the final inventory of lynchings in the country. the equal justice initiative’s expansive research resulted in the finding of 3,959 victims in twelve southern states from 1877 to 1950. more importantly, the equal justice initiative reported seven hundred names that have not been recorded on prior lists.1 clearly, the scale of this crime is a misunderstood aspect of our nation’s history that historians have failed to properly evaluate; ignoring the true scope of lynching prevents us from fully understanding past and current race relations and the justice system.2 the equal justice initiative claims their report is necessary in addressing america’s legacy of racial terror in order to achieve racial justice.3 yet, their research begins with the year 1877—three years before the commonly accepted beginning date of lynching research. between 1865 and 1877 of the reconstruction era, many victims of lynching are omitted from the equal justice initiative’s report. in order to continue to work toward a more truthful narrative of our nation’s history of lynching and racial terror, the reconstruction era must be fully analyzed and researched. if historians can meticulously scrutinize reconstruction violence, “lynching in america: confronting the legacy of racial terror” will need to be updated. at the end of the civil war, southern whites realized their lives would never be the same. historian eric foner characterizes whites as having expectations of being “treated with the same deference that they were accustomed to” before the war.4 they feared encroachment in the economic, political, and social realms. organizations such as the ku klux klan were established, which facilitated acts of violence for the purposes of defiance, self-preservation, and reestablishment of white supremacy.5 historian alan trelease describes violence ranging from “individual assaults and minor street encounters through mob lynchings to pitched battles involving hundreds on either side.”6 much of the violence committed by the ku klux klan was considered punishment for black criminality. crimes, whether real or imagined, demanded vengeance, said klansmen. expounding on the notion of extralegal violence, trelease explains the community consensus, noting that killing blacks was “simply not a punishable offense.”7 historian w. fitzhugh brundage considers lynching to be one of the least understood forms of lawlessness.8 scholars, the national association for the advancement of colored people (naacp), anti-lynching organizations, and politicians all defined lynching differently. historians, however, have used the conditions agreed upon at the 1940 summit conference for their investigations on lynching before and after 1940. the conference was a result of controversy surrounding antilynching activist jessie daniel ames’s campaign for a lynch-free year.9 the naacp also sought to campaign against lynchings, but its approach contrasted with those of ames and the tuskegee institute. the naacp wanted to count a broader range of deaths as lynchings, focusing on lynching as a symbol of the wider issue of white racism. if lynching was narrowly defined as a particular type of murder, the naacp contended that a lynch-free year would not necessarily mean a year free of “prejudice, brutality, and violence.”10 using the tuskegee institute’s more narrow definition, jessie ames declared a lynch-free year from may 1939 to may 1940. the naacp disagreed, claiming tuskegee’s definition of lynching omitted secret assassinations or killings by law enforcement officers.11 in order to resolve the controversy, the naacp and tuskegee agreed to a 1940 summit conference that decided that “there must be legal evidence that a person has been killed, and that he met his death ilruins of st john st finbar in charleston, south carolina 1865 (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 36 elements : : fall 2016 legally at the hands of a group acting under the pretext of service to justice, race or tradition,” in order to classify a murder as a lynching.12 brundage also considers the common elements of lynchings. he claims mobs executed their victims without proof of guilt and believes the lynching of blacks was intended to “enforce social conformity and punish individuals.” brundage asserts that all lynchings have a degree of community approval and complicity, whether it is “expressed in popular acclaim for the mob’s actions or in the failure of law officers to prosecute lynchers.”13 meanwhile, christopher waldrep connects lynching to the ku klux klan. he argues that “ku klux” is synonymous with lynch law and that “klansmen designed their killings to look like lynchings, hoping to win community support by making it look like they already had it.”14 while modern historians have denounced the ku klux klan as lynchers, “the implications of the powerful language [lynching] used to label the klan have yet to be explored.”15 this paper will investigate the link between lynching and the murders committed by the ku klux klan and vigilante groups during the reconstruction era. it will not redefine the act of lynching; rather, it will seek to further explore and broaden established qualifications. it will not argue that all murders committed during the reconstruction era can be classified as lynchings, although there was a class of murders that were extralegal in purpose. through exploiting claims of alleged black criminality, murderers saw violence as an application of justice. using the conditions from the 1940 summit conference, the murders committed by the ku klux klan and other vigilante groups suggest that lynching’s prevalence precedes the commonly accepted date of 1880. with this essay’s examination, it is clear how black progress became a matter of life and death. the transcripts of the kkk hearings pose challenges to the historian. it is important to note that those testifying could commit perjury. in addition, it is critical to account for the political bias within the questioning and answering. obviously, the historian can only read a transcript of the account and thus lacks the ability to see body language or hear tone. the background noise and chatter that could have affected the line of questioning or the words of a testimony are lost. the historian must also consider witness intimidation taking place outside of the hearings and at the hands of the democratic representatives tasked with questioning. these democrats may have even had klan connections, instilling an extra level of fear in their witnesses. in analyzing a primary source, especially these kkk hearings, one must account for the unwritten and the unsaid. only through bias-conscious analysis can one truly understand these reports. during the reconstruction, southern white democrats criticized the inefficiency of the government and the justice system. this criticism helped to promote the belief that extralegal measures were necessary to punish alleged black crime. the government was perceived as corrupt and illegitimate. whites believed there was no true government and that power was in the hands of the carpetbagger and the scalawag who were both “using the former slave as an instrument.”16additionally, whites believed that judges were politically motivated and that republican governors would pardon black criminals. the ku klux klan believed laws and punishments for particular crimes were ineffective. if blacks were guilty of petty crimes, such as theft, the punishment was viewed as too insignificant to deter future crimes. therefore, the ku klux klan took responsibility for implementing justice through their violent attacks, typically telling their victims the reasons they or their family members were being confronted with. the klan felt it needed to ensure that victims knew they were being punished for their alleged crimes against society and violations of the law.17 a prosecutor against the klan, g. wiley wells, believed the most significant aspect of the ku klux klan was its method of convincing the community that the person outraged “was guilty of crimes, was a terrible enemy to society, and that, in fact, it was a justice to society that the party was killed.”18 theft was a common crime for which the klan murdered alleged offenders. the white community’s collective anger with black thievery can be traced back to the antebellum south, when theft was a method of slave resistance. white owners punished slaves for stealing by whipping, branding, and hanging. after the civil war, whites feared that blacks operated on the belief that what belonged to their former masters also belonged to them. nedon l. angier, treasurer of georgia, believed that the majority of violence committed by the ku klux klan was in punishment for black stealing and pilfering. angier claimed blacks were “very much addicted to stealing” and in effect, he could “hardly keep garden tools or chickens about [his] lot.”19 william w. humphries jr. of mississippi testified to the amount of theft taking place in his neighborhood. while 37 extralegal violence he claimed to have no knowledge of any ku klux klan outrages, his tirade clearly represents the motive behind certain klan violence. humphries jr. was alarmed by the theft and hyperbolically claimed, “all the hogs in the country are being killed and stolen, cattle are being stolen and killed up, and i might say that the country is without stock.”20 humphries jr. alleged that blacks were responsible for the thievery but purposely did not steal more than twenty-five dollars worth of property so they could not be sent to the penitentiary for petty larceny. while he assumed that a recent pattern of fewer thefts was due to better schools for black children, it was more likely that it was attributable to the klan’s violence and intimidation. nevertheless, his statements reflected the belief that alternative approaches were more successful in controlling and curbing illegal conduct than the justice system. while the ku klux klan primarily punished thieves by whipping, some were murdered. hampton l. jarnagin offered an example of such a murder when he testified about a man who was “found dead in the tombigbee river.”21 the unnamed man had already admitted to stealing c.w. moore’s horse. he was sentenced to prison, but was removed from jail and killed before he could serve his sentence. the klan either distrusted the justice system or believed a harsher sentence should have been imposed upon the alleged criminal. clearly, jarnagin’s example of murder portrays the klan as imposing extralegal “justice.” additionally, the murder represented the protection of white tradition. whites supported president andrew johnson’s effective rejection of the promise of “forty acres and a mule.” the confiscation of white property threatened the same white power structure as alleged black thievery. like lynchers, the ku klux klan acted under the pretext of service to justice, race, and tradition. moreover, arson posed a more severe threat to white property than thievery. typical accusations posed by the ku klux klan included blacks burning houses, barns, ginhouses, and sawmills. even though the klan itself was guilty of arsons, especially of schoolhouses and churches, the act was seen as a crime only when committed by blacks. unsurprisingly, the klan also tended to sensationalize the threat of arson. whites reasoned that setting fire to property was merely the first action toward burning entire communities. joseph herndon of south carolina acknowledged fires in his county but pointed to white fears of the town being “laid in ashes.”22 herndon also connected the burnings to loyal league meetings, believing that the speeches at these meetings encouraged blacks to be more insolent. he criticized the governor for being “very liberal” in pardoning criminals, claiming his actions left the whites feeling insecure. herndon eventually revealed the shooting of anderson brown by the ku klux klan. brown was said to be the “principal man” of the party responsible for arson.23 blacks were not the only victims of the klan’s extrajudicial targeting, as the klan was also willing to punish white men who were connected to alleged black crimes. robert w. shand testified to the murder of a white man named owens, a “dangerous” man who was guilty of “organizing negroes.”24 owens was murdered by the klan because of a note, allegedly in his handwriting, threatening to burn the house of dr. wade fowler, although shand could not recall any proof that it was owens’s handwriting. it is possible that owens was a target and posed a threat to the klan, and that the klan would use any excuse to eliminate him. as lynching typically represented supposed dissatisfaction with the inefficiency or incompetence of the justice system, it is logical that many of those whom the ku klux klan murdered for arson had already been indicted or convicted of a crime. dr. pride jones of north carolina spoke of barn burnings and implied that only the klan had the ability to “prevent the further commission of crime.”25 jones alleged that it was particularly difficult to try men for offenses such as arson in the courts. he cited five hangings in the county; three of the five were for barn burnings, and two of the parties who were hanged had already been arrested for the crime. jones also mentioned a common ritual of the klan: the attachment of notes to those who “the confiscation of white property threatened the same white power structure as alleged black thievery. like lynchers, the ku klux klan acted under the pretext of service to justice, race, and tradition.”38 elements : : fall 2016 were hanged, including messages such as, “you are hung for barn burning.”26 in his opinion, the sole purpose of the klan was preventing crime and protecting whites, similar to the purpose of lynchers. h.d.d. twiggs, a judge from georgia, spoke of two other murders in which blacks had already been arrested for the alleged crime of arson. he first mentioned the murder of a black man who was charged with the burning of a gin house and a mill and was in jail awaiting his trial.27 the second murder twiggs testified to was the killing of a man from a sandserville jail who had been tried before a preliminary court for “arson in the night-time.”28 the klan shot the man and his body was found lying in a pond. in both of these cases, the ku klux klan was able to obtain keys from jailers with little difficulty because they were unable to resist. klansmen acquiring keys from jailers represents the literal taking of justice into their own hands. the klan’s punishment of blacks for alleged arson was hypocritical, as evidence proves whites were equally guilty of arson. the overarching fear of a burned down town was associated only with arsons related to blacks. if a black man allegedly set fire to a gin-house, it was believed he would stop at nothing to burn the town. but, if a white man set fire to a church, it was seen as an act of justice. like lynchers, the klan reinforced and manipulated innate racism to justify their violence. while the ku klux klan acted under pretext of tradition and justice when murdering for alleged arson, they primarily acted under a pretext of racial prejudice. similar to later lynchings, many of the ku klux klan’s victims had violated the region’s racial codes by having relationships across the color line. whites believed the purity of their race was at risk. charles l. stickney of alabama argued that black women do not have “an appreciation of virtue that white persons have.”29 additionally, nedon l. angier testified saying, “negroes have not been rightly trained morally.”30 these two testimonies reflected a rampant fear of miscegenation. in his testimony, william coleman mentioned the killing of allen bird, who was accused of “keeping a white girl.”31 klansmen visited bird in jail, beat him to death, and “shot a hole you could job your fist through.”32 joseph herndon of south carolina testified of a man who was shot on the steps of his home for “living in adultery with two old maids -two white women.”33 jasper carter offered another example when he confirmed the murder of john walthall. he carefully described the intricate torture that the klan inflicted upon walthall and his wife. over the course of the attack, the klansmen beat their heads together, and walthall was whipped three hundred times. walthall, according to the klan, was “always running after white women.”34 during the attack, the klan questioned when he was going to “sleep with another white woman.”35 black male victims were not the only ones who suffered from klan violence in the punishment of interracial relations. henry lowther testified to the murder of mat deason, a white sheriff elected by the republican party who had a black woman for a wife. deason was found with “five bullet-holes in his forehead” and the “back of his head was mashed in with a club.”36 in addition, a black woman was killed, but lowther’s testimony is unclear if this black woman was deason’s wife. the sheriff, who was supposed to be an administrator of justice, was guilty of a severe societal transgression in the eyes of the klan. white men could have intercourse with black women, but to marry or to live as husband and wife was against the code. like lynchers, the klan used its extralegal measures to maintain a racial hierarchy by ensuring the white race remained superior. it’s important to note that the klan was not consistent in its behavior, as racist-sexual etiquette only went one way. for example, edward e. holman and others testified about the murder of solomon triplett. triplett’s former master, jack triplett, had children by solomon’s wife. jack triplett “had an old grudge” against solomon and his murder was triplett’s way of “settling it.”37 holman also believed that the murder had to do with “putting him [solomon] out of the way.”38 in this case, the black man was not guilty of interracial relations. rather, the white man had relations freedmen’s schoolhouse burns in the 1866 memphis riot (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 39 extralegal violence with a black woman. the klan, however, disregarded any notion of crime and left the white man untouched. again, the klan’s actions are identical to those of lynchers, as they acted under pretext of tradition. during the time of slavery, it was common for white owners to have slave mistresses and to have children by them. attempting to maintain an antebellum way of life was a driving motive of the klan. a more serious offense than interracial relations was rape, as an attack on white womanhood was also an attack on white manhood. many black men lynched by the ku klux klan were accused of raping or attempting to rape a white woman. attacking a white man’s wife or daughter was emasculating and deemed a capital crime. nathan bedford forest, believed to be the first grand wizard of the klan, cited rape as one of the main reasons that the kkk formed.39 thomas m. allen testified to the murder of a black man in madison. he believed the man was murdered because he had attempted to rape a white girl. additionally, allen claimed that being sentenced to jail made it easier for the klan to attack its victims, as “they would just go there and demand the keys from the jailer, and take him out and kill him.”40 whites persistently contended that these rapes would continue if justice was not instituted.41 the ku klux klan chose to be the bearers of “justice.” in 1868, the fayetteville observer reported the lynching of an alleged black rapist. the newspaper described the lynching as “just and right.”42 additionally, it was reported that it was not known who committed the act, “whether the ku klux or the immediate neighbors, but we feel that they were only the instruments of divine vengeance in carrying out his holy and immutable decrees.”43 john c. norris told of one murder he had heard of because of an alleged rape. in 1866, a black man was accused of raping a sixteen-year-old white girl. the ku klux klan tied the accused man to a stake and burned him to death before a thousand people, by norris’s estimates.44 not only did these murders by the ku klux klan act under the pretext of justice, but they also acted without proof of guilt and with a degree of community support. the klan used those accused of rape as scapegoats for wider proclamations of proven rape, stirring up fear in the community. the aforementioned murder is similar to lynchings of later years, referred to as spectacle lynchings. sociologists stewart tolnay and e.m. beck stated that spectacle lynchings involved “large crowds of white people, often numbering in the thousands” witnessing “pre-planned heinous killings that featured prolonged torture, mutilation, dismemberment, and/or burning of the victim.”45 murders committed by the ku klux klan for alleged rape included similar, and in some cases identical, characteristics of later lynchings. the ku klux klan also targeted blacks who threatened or attacked whites. fears of a black uprising and of slave revolts existed in the antebellum south and even after the end of the civil war, even though historian eric foner proves there were very few instances in which blacks attacked whites during those times.46 norris recalled the murder of will culver, who was shot to death because of an alleged incident between himself and a white man soon after the end of the war. culver reportedly cut the white man across the face and was told that he would be killed “if he ever came back there.”47 fines h. little provides another example of murder for assault. little discussed the murder of joseph and willis flint. the flints had originally been arrested for “an assault upon three white men” concerning the division of a corn crop.48 one white man received a flesh wound on his shoulder. it was not likely the flesh wound that provoked the murder, rather the notion of assault on a white man. another act of klan violence involved a man named luke. peter m. dox testified to the killing of luke because he had “instigated the negroes.”49whites feared that luke’s influence would cause blacks to “destroy their town [cross plains] and slaughter the people.”50 dox claimed vigilantes executed luke to appease those who did not want to wait for “the slow process of the law.”51 the ku klux klan perpetuated white perception of minor infractions as threats on their lives and acted as if they had no choice but to murder in the name of justice. whites claimed they had an ina cartoon of freedman bureau harpers (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 40 elements : : fall 2016 efficient justice system in which it was impossible for blacks to be properly punished and threatened. klansmen, like lynchers, used their murders to set a precedent for justice if a black were to assault a white. murders by the klan for crimes of insolence are among the most shocking. blacks who expressed their newly won rights and autonomy were simultaneously risking their lives. john c. norris, who also testified to the aforementioned murder of will culver, testified to the murder of two black brothers. norris could not provide any specific reason for their murder other than being “very bad negroes”52 and further defined this as blacks who “contended for their rights and were not much afraid.”53 being “very bad” does not necessarily mean a crime has been committed, but it seems that this status was a crime in and of itself in the klan’s opinion. john m. church divulged his known information of the murders of dave starrett, lew mcmillian, and isaac payne by stating that the three black men were publically shot and killed in the streets of clarkesville. he claimed at least one man was killed because he had been drinking and “cutting up some there.”54 insolence was a broad term to classify black behavior that whites deemed unacceptable. jefferson falkner of alabama argued that the mission of the ku klux klan was “to get at persons who had been guilty of flagrant violations of law and public morals, especially where colored men had insulted white ladies.”55 he cited one example of the murder of a black man, implying the reason as being insolent to a white woman. thomas m. graham offered an example of a man killed in his home for being a “bad man.”56 this phrase was used to describe a black man who lived on a public road, had liquor, and was always surrounded by other blacks. graham explained that the law would not adequately punish for offenses, such as vagrancy or liquor, which necessitated the extralegal measures taken by the ku klux klan. freedmen’s bureau assistant commissioner, thomas w. conway, offered an accurate portrayal of vagrancy, stating, “a poor white man is deemed industrious till proved a vagrant; a poor black man is deemed a vagrant until proved industrious.”57 the prevalence of poor black men likely means many were accused of and suffered the consequences of vagrancy. it is difficult to understand how acts of insolence became crimes against the law. mack tinker identified the murders of mike dunn and isham ezell. whereas the former was murdered because he “talked too much” and effectively threatened the ku klux klan,58 the latter was murdered because of “a woman he took down” and for “cursing the white people.”59 an alabama overseer shot his black worker through the heart because the black man “gave him sarse [sic].”60 the texas freedmen’s bureau recorded the reasons for some of the one thousand murders of blacks by whites between 1865 and 1868. reasons included not removing one’s hat, refusal to give up a whiskey flask, and using insolent language.61 an examination of alleged black insolence proves whites found any excuse to denounce blacks. in effect, the ku klux klan used any reason to punish a black man or woman. as in later lynchings, whites of the reconstruction era used murder as the extreme method of preventing and rejecting black progress and civil rights. not all murders committed by the ku klux klan were lynchings. a majority of killings were strictly political in nature. for example, the murder of jack dupree, a president of a republican club, was for a political purpose.62 testimony states that dupree had no other crimes charged against him besides being boisterous. yet, even political assassinations could be linked to crimes: south carolina republican state senator benjamin franklin randolph was assassinated, and an attack on randolph was an attack on black suffrage, black schooling, and black autonomy. randolph was “charged” with crimes of “misleading negroes, alienating the two races, and advocating for social equality.”63 it seems that being a republican or advocating for radical policies was just as criminal as a black man refusing to yield the street to a white man. like many lynchers, the ku klux klan was mostly able to elude legal justice. the inability to prosecute stemmed from community support for the klan, klan intimidation tactics, and the inherent secrecy within the klan. with beliefs that criminal law in the country was not executed to the best of its ability and that too many people escaped punishment, whites saw organized vigilante justice as indispensable. the klan represented the expeditious fix that whites yearned for, using extralegal methods of violence to properly implement “justice.” in his testimony, b.f. tidwell of florida implied that the community approved of klan violence so long as parties were accused of crimes.64 from what he understood, whites complained of “no law” and “no protection to their property” but chose to not invoke lawful ways to seek solutions. the community was not only pleased with extralegal justice, but with the negative effects the klan’s violence had on blacks in the economic, political, and social spheres. 41 extralegal violence whites supported ku klux klan efforts in controlling black labor. for example, blacks were less likely to disrespect their white employers if there were looming fears of klan retaliation. southern white democrats were not likely to seek prosecution of the klan, as they benefited from the klan’s results and effects. the klan forcibly prevented and intimidated blacks from voting for the republican party. votes not cast for the republican party were indirectly votes cast for the democratic party. seeking a return to antebellum normalcy, whites supported any means, including klan violence, of overturning the decisions of radical reconstruction. whites supported any actions that resulted in less “provocative” behavior among blacks and that taught blacks their place. while blacks had won their freedom, it was difficult to express their newfound rights if it meant meeting death. there was simply no legal protection against the klan.65 through their violence, the ku klux klan was able to intimidate not only their victims, but also their communities. fear of klan retaliation was a deciding factor in reporting outrages. when studying statistics involving ku klux klan violence, it is necessary to note that many outrages went unreported. in cases of murder, victims could not testify for themselves and reporting relied on hearsay and witnesses. a webster shaffer cites a pertinent example of a man who refused to provide his statement because his name would be associated with an accusation of the klan’s whipping. before he learned that his name would be mentioned in the report, he was willing to swear to the klan’s illegality. once he learned his name would be used, he feared that the klan would “burn him out,” a customary klan reaction to those who attempted to bring them to justice.66 trembling and frightened, he stated to shaffer, “there were one hundred men that were whipped and mutilated and burned who did not report, to one who did.”67 klan members continued to evade justice in the joint select committee’s hearings. william l. saunders, ku klux klan chief organizer, refused to answer any questions or acknowledge the existence of the klan to avoid incriminating himself.68 klansmen went to great lengths to protect their identities. costumes not only provoked terror, but also provided secrecy. costumes typically included gowns and headpieces with matching disguises for their horses. costumes could also include cheap facial cloth or animal horns, ears, and tails.69 andrew cathcart testified to his experience during a klan attack, recalling “every time i would look him in the face, he would slap me.”70 if victims survived the attack, they would be more likely to report the outrage if they were able to positively identify their attackers. even with name identification, it was difficult for accusations against a klan member to hold up in court. during cathcart’s testimony, democratic representative van trump argued that knowledge of “shape and make” was not enough to prove guilt.71 additionally, van trump contended that tempers, voices, and dress were also inaccurate methods of assigning guilt. southern democratic congressmen helped klansmen dodge prosecution. in the joint select committee’s investigation, questioners were relentless in repeating similar or exact questions in the hearings. if there was even a slight inconsistency in the answers, the questioner would effectively repudiate the validity of the witness. democrats also attempted to uncover political bias and/or party allegiances of those testifying. van trump questioned spencer snoddy, for example, about his political background and his history of “making speeches,” likely for a union league or other republican coalition.72 if a questioner could convince the committee that the testimony was fabricated for a political purpose, their statements would be disregarded. when examining the reasons victims faced the klan’s wrath and the methods whites used to defend the klan’s actions, a pattern of extralegal violence emerges. the evidence proves that a certain sect of murders committed by the ku klux klan during reconstruction do, in fact, fit the 1940 definition of lynching. some lynchings acted under the pretext of justice, others race, and some tradition. “with beliefs that criminal law in the country was not executed to the best of its ability and that too many people escaped punishment, whites saw organized vigilante justice as indispensable.”42 elements : : fall 2016 more importantly, many lynchings done by the ku klux klan acted of the pretext of all three. yet, lynchers did not view themselves as criminals. lynching reflected a “corrupt popular will.”73 extralegal violence was seen as appropriate and necessary: it was deemed a right of the american people to combat an allegedly inept criminal justice system.74 lynchers used public support to elude prosecution. christopher waldrep, a scholarly expert on lynching, contends that community support is necessary to classify murders as lynchings. waldrep does not define the ku klux klan as a lynching organization, arguing that this classification depends on the level of white southern approval for extralegal violence. on the other hand, waldrep does not argue that klan killings were not lynchings: “testimonies by the victims of klan violence confirm its lynch-like character.”75 w. fitzhugh brundage classifies four categories of lynch mobs based on size, organization, motivation, and extent of ritual. lynch mobs are classified as terrorist mobs, private mobs, posses, and mass mobs. while specific klan lynchings could be the work of posses and terrorist mobs, the majority of violence would have been enacted by private mobs and mass mobs. lynchings done by posses were typically “public events that had the power to fuse entire communities,” unlike the secretive and night activities of the klan.76 terrorist mobs were secretive and defended “traditional codes of morality,” similar to the klan.77 on the other hand, terrorist mobs were typically condemned and prosecuted, contrasting with the community’s reaction to the klan. klansmen can be defined as private mobs. private mobs enacted “private vengeance” for alleged criminal offenses and were adorned in costumes or disguises to uphold their clandestine nature.78 they typically victimized those who had been charged with a crime but had not been yet punished by the community, especially those who were already in jail. klansmen also encompass the qualities of mass mobs. mass mobs were made up of hundreds who acted with local approval and “didactic aims” in their lynchings.79 many of the lynchings done by mass mobs included mutilation, hanging, and burning. the klan was most similar to mass mobs in their effect of “creating a climate in which other lynchings could seem legitimate.”80 the ku klux klan started the pattern of lynching that existed throughout reconstruction and our country’s later years. justifications for the ku klux klan’s extralegal violence parallel justifications for lynching. most importantly, justification was centered on a belief that the radical government did not provide a system to prevent and punish black criminality. southern whites wished for the klan to succeed in keeping blacks submissive and working. southern whites were frightened by the possibility of racial equality and miscegenation. in their minds, society was literally black and white. whites saw reconstruction and black progress as apocalyptic and a degradation of the white race.81 a mobile newspaper editor seethed “whenever you determine that your ignorant, brutal, filthy, and licentious negro, has a right to obtrude into white people’s houses, in their church pews, theatre boxes, &c., you make an issue of instant life or death.”82 the klan was referred to as “regulators” of law and was praised for intervening to punish alleged offenders.83 others believed the klan should not be prosecuted, as it was the klan, not the justice system, that maintained law and order. reuben o. reynolds of mississippi claimed that common opinion was in favor of lynch law for any man who had committed a crime. reynolds further stated that “it is not only reasonable, but probable,” that men should assemble for the specific purpose of lynching.84 the klan also claimed to be philanthropic in nature, helping impoverished confederate widows and orphans, which helped gain support in the white community.85 it is likely that community support for lynchings depended on the locality, ratio of blacks to whites, and the efficiency of the local government. the 1940 summit conference did not include community support as one of its qualifications for the classification of a murder as a lynching. instead, the condition states that murders must have acted under pretext of service to justice, race, or tradition. clearly, mur“new perspectives on lynching may draw new conclusions regarding segregation, the civil rights struggle, and race issues facing the nation now.” 43 extralegal violence ders committed by the ku klux klan for extralegal purposes fall under the pretext of justice, race, and tradition. the klan did not lack community support, but it is difficult to generalize the exact level of support that the organization had throughout the entire country. hon. wm. w. paine of georgia claims that his community accepted the klan’s lynch law as it was done for the “purpose of having such depredations [alleged crimes] stopped.”86 during the memphis riots of 1866, the community believed that murder and savagery were justified in the name of white civilization. there was little possibility of any public opinion that argued against the bloodshed of blacks.87 bryan stevenson, the executive director of the equal justice initiative, believes that our country has not yet “confronted the legacy of our history in a meaningful way.”88 if the end of the civil war unleashed such an “unprecedented wave of extralegal violence,” then why is the reconstruction era continuously omitted from lynching reports and studies?89 there is no doubting lynching’s prevalence during the reconstruction era; 1880 should no longer be the date that historians begin their research on lynching. by omitting such an influential era in recording our history, we are not only doing an injustice to the victims of klan lynchings, but also an injustice to the study of history. the ku klux klan represents an embarrassing and painful time for our nation and therefore, the organization must be truthfully and accurately represented. the better we understand history, the better we understand the present. new perspectives on lynching may draw new conclusions regarding segregation, the civil rights struggle, and race issues facing the nation now. remembering that lynching represents extralegal “justice,” a better understanding of lynching’s scope and history could prove helpful for searching for solutions to the fragmented and imbalanced criminal justice system. the equal justice initiative’s report on lynching mentions support for memorials. the equal justice initiative contends that “public acknowledgement and commemoration of mass violence is essential not only for victims and survivors, but also for perpetrators and bystanders who suffer from trauma and damage related to their participation in systematic violence and dehumanization.”90 acknowledging our history is the best mechanism for ensuring that our nation’s mistakes do not repeat themselves. endnotes 1. campbell robertson, “history of lynchings in the south documents nearly 4,000 names,” the new york times, february 10, 2015, accessed november 17, 2015, http://www. nythimes.com/2015/02/10/us/history-of-lynchings-in-the-southdocuments-nearly-4000-names.tml. 2. equal justice initiative, “lynching in america: confronting the legacy of racial terror,” 3. http://www.eji.org/files/eji%20 lynching%20in%20america%20summary.pdf. 3. ibid., ii. 4. eric foner, reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 1863-1877 (new york: harper perennial, 2014), 120. 5. giles vandal, “the policy of violence in caddo parish, 18651884,” louisiana history: the journal of the louisiana historical association 32, no. 2 (1991): 159. 6. alan trelease, white terror: the ku klux klan conspiracy and southern reconstruction (baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1995), xliii. 7. ibid. 8. w. fitzhugh brundage, lynching in the new south: georgia and virginia, 1880-1930 (urbana: university of illinois press, 1993), 1. 9. christopher waldrep, the many faces of judge lynch: extralegal violence and punishment in america (new york: palgrave macmillan, 2002), 127. 10. waldrep, the many faces of judge lynch, 137. 11. ibid,. 38. 12. brundage, lynching in the new south, 1. 13. ibid,. 18. 14. waldrep, the many faces of judge lynch, 73. 15. ibid,. 67. 16. ray granade, “violence: an instrument of policy in reconstruction alabama,” alabama historical quarterly 30, no 3. (1968): 185. 17. hannah rosen, terror in the heart of freedom: citizenship, sexual violence, and the meaning of race in the postemancipation south (chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 2009), 1. 18. ibid,. 196. 19. the research in this paper relies upon the 13 volumes of the report of the joint select committee to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late insurrectionary states (washington: government printing office, 1872), hereafter cited as joint select committee. joint select committee, georgia, 172. 20. joint select committee, mississippi, 1046. 21. joint select committee, mississippi, 518. 22. joint select committee, south carolina, 207. 23. joint select committee, south carolina, 210. 24. joint select committee, south carolina, 975. 25. joint select committee, north carolina, 3. 26. ibid. 27. joint select committee, georgia, 1043. 28. joint select committee, georgia, 1044. 29. joint select committee, alabama, 1525. 30. joint select committee, georgia, 172. 44 elements : : fall 2016 31. joint select committee, mississippi, 486. 32. ibid. 33. joint select committee, south carolina, 212. 34. joint select committee, georgia, 474. 35. ibid. 36. joint select committee, georgia, 359. 37. joint select committee, mississippi, 347. 38. ibid. 39. rosen, terror in the heart of freedom, 197. 40. joint select committee, georgia, 609. 41. rosen, terror in the heart of freedom, 195. 42. trelease, white terror, xxi. 43. ibid. 44. joint select committee, georgia, 193. 45. mark berman, “even more black people were lynched in the u.s. than previously thought, study finds,” the washington post february 10, 2015, accessed november 17, 2015, https:// www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/02/10/ even-more-black-people-were-lynched-in-the-u-s-than-previouslythought-study-finds/. 46. foner, reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 18631877, 121. 47. joint select committee, georgia, 206. 48. joint select committee, mississippi, 359. 49. joint select committee, alabama, 429. 50. ibid. 51. ibid. 52. joint select committee, georgia, 211. 53. ibid. 54. joint select committee, georgia, 485. 55. joint select committee, alabama, 1121. 56. joint select committee, south carolina, 701. 57. george rable, but there was no peace: the role of reconstruction violence in the politics of reconstruction (athens: university of georgia press, 2007), 45. 58. joint select committee, alabama, 1361. 59. ibid. 60. foner, reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 18631877, 120. 61. ibid. 62. joint select committee, mississippi, 270. 63. rable, but there was no peace, 73. 64. joint select committee, florida, 115. 65. trelease, white terror, 31. 66. joint select committee, north carolina, 39. 67. ibid. 68. joint select committee, north carolina, 354. 69. elaine frantz parsons, “midnight rangers: costume and performance in the reconstruction-era ku klux klan,” journal of american history 92, no. 3 (2005). 70. joint select committee, south carolina, 1591. 71. joint select committee, south carolina, 1594. 72. joint select committee, south carolina, 680. 73. waldrep, the many faces of judge lynch, 11. 74. ibid. 75. ibid., 73. 76. brundage, lynching in the new south, 33. 77. ibid., 20. 78. ibid., 28. 79. ibid., 39. 80. ibid,. 44. 81. rable, but there was no peace, 64. 82. ibid,. 63. 83. joint select committee, georgia, 191. 84. joint select committee, mississippi, 913. 85. trelease, white terror, 36. 86. joint select committee, georgia, 192. 87. rable, but there was no peace, 41. 88. berman, “even more black people were lynched in the u.s. than previously thought, study finds.” 89. brundage, lynching in the new south, 6. 90. equal justice initiative, “lynching in america: confronting the legacy of racial terror,” 23. references berman, mark. “even more black people were lynched in the u.s. than previously thought, study finds.” the washington post. february 10, 2015, accessed november 17, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/02/10/even-more-black-people-werelynched-in-the-u-s-than-previously-thought-study-finds/. brundage, w. fitzhugh. lynching in the new south: georgia and virginia, 1880-1930. urbana: university of illinois press, 1993. equal justice initiative, “lynching in america: confronting the legacy of racial terror,” 3. http://www.eji.org/ files/eji%20lynching%20in%20america%20summary.pdf. foner, eric. reconstruction: america’s unfinished revolution, 1863-1877. new york: harper perennial, 2014. granade, ray. “violence: an instrument of policy in reconstruction alabama,” alabama historical quarterly 30, no 3., 1968. parsons, elaine frantz. “midnight rangers: costume and performance in the reconstruction-era ku klux klan,” journal of american history 92, no. 3, 2005. rable, george. but there was no peace: the role of reconstruction violence in the politics of reconstruction. athens: university of georgia press, 2007. 45 extralegal violence report of the joint select committee to inquire into the condition of affairs in the late insurrectionary states. washington: government printing office, 1872. robertson, campbell. “history of lynchings in the south documents nearly 4,000 names,” the new york times, february 10, 2015, accessed november 17, 2015, http:// www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/us/history-of-lynchingsin-the-south-documents-nearly-4000-names.html. rosen, hannah. terror in the heart of freedom: citizenship, sexual violence, and the meaning of race in the postemancipation south. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press, 2009. trelease, ala. white terror: the ku klux klan conspiracy and southern reconstruction. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 1995. vandal, giles. “the policy of violence in caddo parish, 1865-1884,” louisiana history: the journal of the louisiana historical association 32, no. 2, 1991. waldrep, christopher. the many faces of judge lynch: extralegal violence and punishment in america. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2002. 46 elements : : fall 2016 the following review surveys the current role of intent in determining blameworthiness in the criminal justice system. through research on empathy, stress and the factors that contribute to antisocial personality disorder, the work aims to communicate the necessity for new technology in this field. in order to improve the accuracy of the criminal justice system in assigning punishment and rehabilitating offenders, there must be consideration for the nature and nurture that contributed to the individual’s decision making, not just the choices they make or the evidence presented against them. philosopher immanuel kant affirms that intention is the true indicator of character, and if the criminal justice system works to employ neurotechnology that is more accurate in determining guilt, society can improve. crime rates and the number of people in prison will decrease, as preventative measures can be taken once knowledge is spread about the environmental factors that can breed criminals. ignorance of this fundamental aspect of criminology will lead to the promotion of dishonesty in our culture, as well as cyclical crime as offenders may not be receiving the help they need. reading between the bars brain science suggests new considerations for the legal system isabella field philosopher immanuel kant prioritizes the assessment of motive over the examination of consequences. kant’s philosophy argues that despite the potentially negative outcomes of people’s decision-making, society should view that individual neutrally if their intention was inherently “good.” this philosophy is in opposition with current political and societal views regarding behaviors associated with crime. at present, individuals are judged based primarily on one’s actions and not one’s intent. how does a court of law accurately assess an individual’s “intent” related to allegations surrounding their criminal behavior in question? personal testimony is currently the primary evidence presented in criminal cases to classify intention. historically, technological advances have attempted to measure physiological properties like moisture through skin, conductance measurements, blood pressure, and changes in resting heart rate during interrogation. together, these data were phenomenologically classified as viable lie detection methods admissible in court. recently, there has been a surge in the development of engineering neurophysiological instruments with sophisticated computational neural modeling that aim to accurately predict the regions of the brain that activate during false memory recall (e.g., intentional lying) versus factual and personal accounts (e.g., truth-telling; citation). as of now, current lie detector technology exists, but lacks test-retest reliability. one of the main goals of employing these lie detection methods in court is to provide support for the suspect’s guilt rather than their innocence. the assessment of an individual’s intent in the criminal justice system is widely used to determine the degree of murder and the levels of punishment. for example, a judge’s sentence in murder trials is contingent on one’s extent of premeditation, whereas verdicts surrounding murder cases regarding self-defense appear to evaluate intent heavily. statistically speaking, less than ten percent of proper self-defense shootings lead to charges (cruz, 2015 & u.s. department of justice, 1995). while first and second degree murder cases both include references to defendant intentionality, first degree murder is still classified as being perpetrated deliberately with premeditation (degrees of murder, 2017). therefore, evidence-based measurements of intent should be required for defendant crime conviction. utilizing emerging technological advances in cognitive neuroscience can serve as a reproducible and accurate method to assess an individual’s character as opposed to using witness testimony for a jury and a judge to evaluate an alleged criminal action. thus, the burgeoning field of criminology has great potential to significantly improve its accuracy on assigning blameworthiness in an effort to expand societal thinking that being a “good” human is of value. rather than pursuing a machiavellian attempt to appear virtuous, one should actually be virtuous. due to lack of sufficient knowledge about the human brain, the range of assessment of intention in the court of law is limited. currently, there is a lack of technology that accurately evaluates culpability. in a study testing the effects of perceived efficacy of detection in the guilty actions test, which uses a polygraph, guilty participants responded more confidently if the accuracy of the polygraph was perceived to be lower. if trust in the accuracy of the test decreases, accuracy could decrease because the defendant under investigation may respond to questions more confidently and be perceived to be telling the truth even though they are not (zvi & elaad, 2016). in order to unequivocally assign blame and accurately assess the culpability of an individual, it is important to consider other predictive factors of intent, apart from the inherently variable physiological responses to a set question list. there are a variety of factors that lead people to commit random and heinous crimes. perhaps the criminal justice system should assess blameworthiness in individuals who feel remorse, apathetic, and pleasure from their crimes a portrait of immanuel kant (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 58 elements : : fall 2017 separately. a defendant who is genuinely pleased and selfconfident about the crime they committed may not exhibit the physiological responses relevant to the common set of results obtained from traditional lie detector tests because these data appear to be largely based on underlying guilt. for example, if an individual (e.g., a sadist) has a neurobiological disposition to feel pleasure from their crimes, the reward circuitry of the brain may not produce similar dopaminergic (da-ergic) responses to questions surrounding a specific crime relative to a normal individual’s brain responses interestingly, some individuals move past simply feeling apathetic about their crimes and actually exhibit an intense sense of pleasure surrounding their deviant behavior. this may have a neurological basis in an area of the brain’s reward system, such as the , nucleus accumbens (or nacc) where dopamine (da) is released during both pleasure and pain. prior research has found trait-associated hypersensitivity to pharmacologically induced da release in the nacc enhanced the possibility that impulsive-antisocial traits might be linked to reward-related information processing biases in this forebrain region (buckholtz et al., 2010). this study provided convincing evidence by testing nacc da activity during monetary reinforcement to evaluate underlying impulsive and antisocial behaviors a trait associated with psychopathy. impulsive-antisocial personality temperaments predicted excess neurochemical and functional engagement of the mesocorticolimbic nacc da response to reward processing. mounting research in rodents suggests that mesocorticolimbic da release is critical for the expression of aggressive behavior (buckholtz et al., 2010). violence is a significant behavioral correlate of impulsive-antisocial personality traits although other work demonstrates the two are not synonymous. even in situations where a defendant on trial appears irrefutably guilty, society should still be responsible for routinely examining biological and/or environmental factors that may have contributed to predisposition to criminal behavior. regularly employing these types of assessments of defendants on trial could provide better data-driven verdict assessment and provide more accurate evidence-based therapeutic treatment through rehabilitation whether when incarcerated or released back into society. results from several studies have found that remorse , in part, is genetically encoded, forcing some individuals to experience a heightened sense of emotional connections with others. thus, the expression of high levels of empathy is a significant predictor that an individual is less likely to commit crimes and more likely to experience intense feelings of remorse or guilt. there are two types of empathy--cognitive empathy, which appears to be environmentally conditioned, and affective empathy, which may be genetically determined. cognitive empathy is recognition of suffering and distress in another person whereas affective empathy is an emotional reaction (young et al., 2015). therefore, the multifactorial origin of empathy should be routinely considered in court because most law enforcement classifies cognitive behavior, like intentionality, as emerging from either nature or nurture. to empirically investigate the role of empathic response levels in at-risk individuals, researchers used vera-2 (victim empathy response assessment) to measure victim empathy among mentally disordered offenders. the results from this work substantiated vera-2 as a valid assessment for measuring victim empathy among offenders exhibiting mental illness. therefore vera-2 could represent a promising assessment to predict an individual’s risk to display criminal-like behavior in childhood. vera-2 may represent an essential assessment method to determine precautionary measures to lower the crime rate and to protect vulnerable individuals from straying down this destructive path (young et al., 2015). a significant conclusion drawn from the results of this investigation was that acceptance of violence and remorse for the index offense were the best predictors of both cognitive and affective empathy. empathy levels negatively correlated with antisocial personality disorder and patterns of violent cognition. this experimental evidence suggests that people who display characteristics associated with antisocial personality disorder have an increased risk for criminal behavior, possibly due to their lack of empathy. there is a societal tendency toward acceptance of simple explanations. multifactorial causality complicates the situation. but if one is to attain a complete picture of the truth, they must examine from many different angles. results “results from several studies have found that remorse, in part, is genetically encoded...” 59 reading between the bars from prior work examining levels of empathy among animals and infants suggests that cognitive empathy is instinctive (buckholtz et al., 2010). therefore, empathic responding may represent an inherent quality that some animals possess. individuals that fail to feel empathic are considered atypical emotional responders and a specific limbic circuit involving the amygdala and nacc may underlie these patterns of emotive responding relative to neuro-typical individuals experiencing empathy on a frequent basis. a common misconception in the criminal justice system is an ideology that individuals actively “choose” to perpetuate criminal activity. however, if the capacity to display empathy is an inherent emotional state humans possess and the developmental capacity for their brains to construct neuronal circuitry controlling these emotional responses, we as a society have a social responsibility to utilize reliable assessment tools to more accurately predict and prevent violence and criminal activity. to what extent can we blame biology for people’s shortcomings? perhaps people act a certain way due to their tragic fate of developing an antisocial disorder or a brain tumor. however, one can examine this debate from multiple angles. one perspective could defend the individual, questioning how anyone could blame the life choices of someone with a tumor affecting the way their brain functions by enacting in socially inappropriate or law-breaking types of behavior. others could question whether the tumor brought out a underlying behavior that unveiled a problematic set of personality traits. in this case, intent becomes irrelevant because one side of the person--the facade they present to the world--may represent an individual bearing good intentions, while another dimension of their character, masked beneath by more rational parts of the brain, may have malicious intentions and exhibit sociopathic tendencies. in fact, there are personality traits recognizable to anyone, not just psychoanalysts, that correlate with psychopathy and predict adolescent crime. using the psychopathy checklist, a large adolescent sample of justice-involved youth were assessed using item response theory. “impulsivity” and “irresponsibility” were the most likely to be rated high, and “failure to accept responsibility” was endorsed more frequently to describe adolescent girls. adolescent boys were more closely coupled with “grandiose sense of self-worth” and “lacks goals” (tsang et al., 2015). in the article neurocriminology: implications for the punishment, prediction and prevention of criminal behavior, the multifactorial causes and consequences for acts of criminal behavior are thoroughly discussed. antisocial personality disorder, which is highly correlated with criminality, can develop as early as in the womb. for example, if pregnant women consume drugs or alcohol, specifically nicotine, there is empirical evidence supporting a significant relationship between exposure to these teratogens in the womb and criminal behavior in adulthood. juvenile delinquency and aggressive behavior have also been linked to lead exposure in multiple studies. poor prenatal care, including drug use and poor nutrition, can be correlated with the development of antisocial personality characteristics in children (glenn & raine, 2014). how does this affect our current views on blameworthiness? is it just to blame an individual for their mother’s poor prenatal care? even after birth, reinforcement of these cognitive changes can occur from a negative social environment. if children are not exposed to a positive social environment (e.g., home, community) throughout development, these young children may be at an increased risk of lacking affective empathy (glenn & raine, 2014). one of the functional roles of displaying empathy is to aid in the establishment of interpersonal relationships and bring individuals closer together as a community, so the whole may be stronger than its component parts. if people develop in an environment that dampens their empathy, or are born with neural circuits that don’t process empathy in a neuro-typical fashion, they are essentially powerless against the society that a demonstration of a lie detector test (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 60 elements : : fall 2017 they live in. we, as a society, should become more aware and understanding of people who lack empathy. there is a neurological basis underlying all decisionmaking, yet the criminal justice system continues to judge people based on their decisions and actions. societies operate civilly when social order and specific laws are enforced to maintain order and prevent chaos. however, is it possible that the majority of individuals incarcerated were born with neuronal functioning making them more vulnerable to life stressors and/or criminally defined behavior? there must be a social order established to convince people to behave in the established “normal” way, but one must also consider the implications on our society if everyone that is born with a certain mind setends up in our country’s prison cells. what is normal and abnormal and who should establish what defines these two states of mind? each society determines what is socially acceptable and the people that behave in a manner that does not align with this code of conduct generally become outcasts and criminals. because people’s attitudes form judgment about what is “normal” versus “abnormal”, social stigma is pervasive across cultures and different societies around the world. due to the social stigma associated with admitting to oneself that he or shestruggling with mental faculties, the majority of those struggling with mental health problems internalize their issues instead of getting the help needed to live a content and healthy lifestyle. these implicit and explicit biases often lead to social exclusion and individuals can develop severe agoraphobia which socially isolates individuals. the lack of social support and interaction exacerbates the consequences of their underlying mental health conditions. in a study, stress is assessed as a catalyst for criminal behavior in individuals who are more vulnerable to develop a mental illness. results from this study indicated that prolactin was a predictor of psychosis transition. as both subjects who underwent their first episode of psychosis and subjects with prodromal symptoms of psychosis report more stressful life events, it is possible that stress plays a role in the risk of developing psychotic behavior. stress over the course of one’s life can create an environment that does not nurture the at-risk mind in a way that leads them to develop empathy and careful decision-making. as previously discussed, negative environmental experiences and life adversity can significantly impact the expression of affective empathy. without this state of mind, people are increasingly at risk to commit crimes because they lack the ability to feel for their victims. the classical diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia has been used to suggest that psychosocial stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis, which induces cortisol release and enhances da neurotransmission, contributing to the emergence of psychosis in vulnerable individuals. thus, stress can serve as a significant trigger in the nervous system to amplify psychosis in at-risk individuals (labad et al., 2015). stress is generally experienced as something external that can lead to impulsive, out-of-control behavior. impulsive tendencies can also originate from traits underlying antisocial behavior in psychopathy and be triggered by an overactive da reward system (buckholtz et al., 2010). findings using fallypride positron emission tomography and blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that impulsive antisocial psychopathic traits selectively predicted da release in the nacc. it rewards anticipated neural activity in response to pharmacological and monetary reinforcers. thus, coupled with a lack of empathy, psychopathic individuals can be predisposed to criminal behavior, particularly violent offenses. recent research on the neural substrates of psychopathy have focused on deficiencies in the capacity to process emotion and have emphasized that dysfunction in neuronal connectivity between the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex is a critical dysfunction to deficient fear processing and empathy. psychopathy is often confused with sexual sadism, individuals who gain joy and pleasure from the pain of others. the typical hollywood depiction of a serial killer combines the two. however, in a recent study, scientists scanned the brains of violent sexual offenders and found that when viewing pictures of pain, the sadists showed greater activation in their amygdala compared with other types of sexual offenders. furthermore, when viewing these graphic images, sadists rated the pain experienced by the victims as more intense than the non-sadists did. the more intense sadists perceived the pain was, the greater their neuronal activation in the insula-a brain region involved in monitoring one’s own feelings and bodily states. together, this evidence suggests that there is a physical translation of pain in victims to pleasure in sadists witnessing the pain (szalavitz, 2012). these types of feelings are probably highly correlated with blameworthiness because it appears that individuals feel no remorse for crimes they commit. however, these feelings are also neurochemical in nature. so can our society 61 reading between the bars blame sadists for feeling a way their brain chemistry makes them feel? moral ignorance does not preclude blameworthiness, and yet society treats these individuals as outcasts because their code of morals, or lack thereof, does not align with the general consensus for what is perceived to be acceptable. it is widely accepted in society that one should prevent harm on others. a truly virtuous person would be averse to doing anything to an innocent person that would cause great suffering. blameworthiness appears to have a lot more to do with choice, as culprits perpetrating acts of violence are generally viewed to have consciously “chosen” to inflict the pain and suffering to others. perhaps the criminal justice system should consider applying novel brain imaging tools being developed in neuroscience to assess mental faculties that are associated with an individual’s neurological predispositions prior to deciding blame. in summary, the body of work reviewed in this paper appears to indicate that often biology is to blame, but present knowledge of the human brain is still in its infancy and it would be difficult to persuade the u.s. courts to evaluate multiple dimensions of a person’s brain, dna, body, and personality when deciding sentencing and punishment in criminal trials. proper surveying of the biological and environmental factors that contribute to an individual’s predisposition to crime may change the perception of intentionality in the criminal context and help reframe the justice system. information brought forth to a trial about a defendant’s history could lead jurors and judges to consider the environment that may have contributed to the criminal behavior an individual is being accused of. not only could it help the defendant’s case, but this change in law policy may also have a much larger impact by allowing the government to implement preventative measures and allowing society to gain critical knowledge about how to decrease crime rate. for example, if pregnant mothers knew how serious the implications could be on their child’s future if they consume drugs of abuse or alcohol in excess during pregnancy, they may be more averse to doing so. if it becomes public knowledge that stress can unleash underlying psychotic behavior, perhaps society will attempt to decrease the stresses they put on every individual in an effort to significantly reduce and ultimately eradicate crime. empathy and stress are common psychological terms most people understand. these emotional states are critically involved in decision-making, particularly in terms of behavior that can be punishable by law enforcement. therefore, the judiciary system should initiate mandatory rehabilitation policy to improve the processing of affective empathy in individuals convicted or even accused, given the significant psychological trauma caused from being a suspect. target populations that society should focus on providing ample resources for treatment and high-level behavioral healthcare represent individuals currently incarcerated, about to be released, people on parole and individuals out of prison and reintegrated into society. perhaps one type of treatment could involve cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce psychological trauma caused by harmful life experiences in an effort to re-establish empathic responding. other viable treatment options may involve multiple sessions of deep introspection in an individual to accurately understand and predict life events that are likely to trigger antisocial patterns of behavior. these behaviors include drug/alcohol relapse, violence, stealing, lying, cheating, etc. this introspection treatment would be done out of a concerted effort to make the individual conscious of what types of social and work environments are less stressful in order to prevent re-entry into prison or criminal behavior choices in the first place. finally, the criminal justice system should continue to employ technology developed in the field of neuroscience to more accurately assess patterns of brain activity related to particular types of antisocial behaviors that may predict culpability. for example, perhaps individual differences in da kinetics in the nacc represent an accurate biomarker that predicts those individuals that are more vulnerable to displaying patterns of antisocial behavior during intense, stressful life experiences (buckholtz et al., 2010 & labad, 2015). if measuring levels of dopamine and testing responses to images of victims in pain more accurately represents the type of criminal the individual is defined as, judges and jurors may more accurately be able to assign blame to culprits and “proper surveying of the biological and environmental factors...may change the perception of intentionality in the criminal context and help reframe the justice system.” 62 elements : : fall 2017 prevent the destruction of lives due to a condition individuals are unable to control. ultimately, self-control is generally what is being assessed with regard to measuring intent in the criminal justice system. those who are declared “mentally ill” and are institutionalized rather than incarcerated are classified as being out of control and should not be held accountable for alleged crimes they have committed. mental illness is not clinically diagnosed in every individual convicted of a crime. however, if an insanity defense is currently the only argument justified to acquit an individual and not place blame for the alleged crime, the legal system should reassess how individuals with a clinically-based diagnosis of a specific challenge in mental functioning should be defended during trial. perhaps one day there will be a precise neurological assessment that is reliable enough to determine whether or not an individual accused of a crime has issues with their brain’s decision-making hardware that can lead to misguided judgment and lack of self-control. if that were to be the case, could the same argument be made that all people convicted of crime were out of control because they lacked cognitive or affective empathy when they committed the alleged illegal activity? references blair, r. r., sellars, c., strickland, i., clark, f., williams, a. o., smith, m., & jones, l. 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(2016, december). “contributions of personality dimensions to spontaneous and deliberate information processing in the guilty actions test.” retrieved april 26, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/27720748 64 elements : : fall 2017 beginning in 2014, a series of patterns of negligence by officials led to the flint water crisis, in which the residents of flint, michigan were exposed to toxic levels of lead in the drinking water. this will have long-lasting, detrimental effects, especially on the children of flint. what was done to the people of flint is not an isolated incident, but a symptom of the larger issue of environmental racism in the united states. historically, through the practice of redlining, the federal housing administration has systematically segregated people of color to less desirable land. today, racial minority communities are more likely to live in housing near hazardous waste facilities and sewer treatment plants. across the united states, unsafe and lead-tainted water is a huge issue for poor communities of color. flint, michigan serves as an example of how institutionalized environmental racism has contributed to extreme health crises for entire communities in the u.s. intentionally “mis-lead” environmental racism in flint, michigan rachel loos in a 2016 cnn video, eight-year-olds julian folgham and nadia baylor talk excitedly while playing with their “jake and the never land pirates” figurines. the children and their toys are sprawled out on a pink carpet, in a room with wood paneled walls and bare wires along the windowsill. both children are black. julian has dark curls, and nadia wears braids that end in plastic hair clips. they seem like normal children, carefree in their game, until reporter sara sidner asks them about the water. nadia’s face turns serious as she says “the water is poison” (simon and sidner). nadia has reason for reacting so strongly. the water that flows from the taps in her home in flint, michigan was once tainted with lead. nadia baylor’s home appears to have not been renovated in a long time: the decor in the video reflects a style popular in the 1960s. back then, flint was a booming metropolis, fueled by the prosperity of numerous general motor (gm) factories in the area. in the mid 20th century, the goodpaying manufacturing jobs at gm attracted many working class people to flint, especially african americans from the south. the growing population and the dumping of toxic waste in the flint river led city officials to purchase lake huron water from the detroit water and sewerage department (dwsd) (felton; kennedy). over the years most of the automotive plants closed, jobs moved overseas, and flint—once known as “vehicle city”—became “murdertown, usa,” with an underfunded police force and a homicide rate higher than newark, st. louis, and new orleans in 2010 (leduff). now more than 40 percent of residents live in households below the federal poverty line, and one in four is unemployed (kennedy; trounstine). flint is poor, but plenty of poor cities still provide safe water for inhabitants. what came to be known as the flint water crisis, during which 99,000 people were affected by lead-tainted water— the full impact of which will not be known for many years—was caused by systemic environmental racism that has historically denied people of color basic resources (fox). to fully understand, it is necessary to examine what happened in flint leading up to the crisis. in 2012, officials in the struggling city began planning to save money by switching from the dwsd water provider and building a pipeline to the karegnondi water authority (kwa), which also supplies water from lake huron. in april of 2014, while the pipeline to the kwa was being built, the city switched to the notoriously polluted flint river as an interim source of water. a month later residents began complaining of the smell and color of the new water. after escherichia coli (e. coli) and total coliform bacteria were detected in the water, the city increased chlorine levels in an attempt to make it safe to drink (kennedy). the difference in chemistry of the river water, coupled with this increase in chlorine, made the water highly corrosive to the protective coating on lead pipes. many of flint’s water pipes are made of lead, which is not necessarily a problem—an additive can be introduced to prevent the lead from leaching into the water. however, state officials did not immediately treat the flint river water to ensure it didn’t cause corrosion, instead they waited to see what would happen. while the michigan department of environmental quality (mdeq) insisted the water was safe to drink, the water was wearing away at lead pipes and poisoning the people of flint (kennedy; smith; trounstine). officials continued reassuring people that the water was harmless, but many residents were concerned, and rightly so, as numerous people had reported illnesses, rashes, and even hair loss. only after homes were tested for lead and city officials experienced scrutiny from the national media did flint switch back to the dwsd, a full 18 months after the initial switch to the flint river (felton; fonger; kennedy). by then, the damage had already been done. an independent test conducted by researchers from virginia tech found lead levels as high as 13,200 parts per billion (ppb) in some homes, enough to categorize it as hazardous waste (roy). by september 2015, a study from the local hurley medical center found that 2.1 percent of children age five and under had elevated blood lead levels prior to the flint river in flint, michigan (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 88 elements : : spring 2018 the switch to flint river water, compared to 4.0 percent after the switch (roy). the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) later analyzed over 7,000 children, and found that children who drank flint water had a 50 percent higher risk of dangerously elevated blood lead levels than before the switch. it is still unclear how many children were affected, or what it could mean for their futures (fox). unfortunately, the flint water crisis is not an isolated incident. it is merely one instance in a pattern of american cities segregating racial minorities to less desirable areas, denying them vital resources, and failing to offer help when presented with evidence of this injustice. clear evidence of this practice is in the distribution of hazardous waste sites in the united states. in 1987, the united church of christ found that communities near commercial hazardous waste facilities have far higher proportions of people of color than communities without such facilities. even when other socioeconomic characteristics of communities were taken into account, it was found that race was the single best predictor of the location of commercial hazardous waste facilities. after the report was released, dr. benjamin f. chavis jr. termed the racial biases in the location of commercial hazardous waste facilities “environmental racism,” a phrase that can help characterize what has been happening to minority communities across the us for decades (mohai and bryant 163-64). environmental racism has come to be associated with various studies demonstrating that racial minority communities are more likely to live in housing with leadbased paint and closer to freeways, sewer treatment plants, municipal and hazardous waste landfills, air pollution, and other environmental and health hazards (foster 731). this did not happen by accident. racism is often thought of as blatant, racially motivated actions by individuals, but since the creation of laws that punish this behavior, racism has become much more subtle and structural (foster 733). the prejudiced behavior of individuals within government institutions can affect environmental racism, but as michael gelobter explains, discriminatory outcomes are an “interaction of internal processes, external structures and wider ideological and historical contexts and understandings” (gelobter 74). throughout the 20th century, racism became gradually institutionalized with the help of the federal housing administration (fha). from its creation in 1934 until the late 1960s, the fha overtly denied mortgages based upon race and ethnicity. this practice came to be known as “redlining” because red lines drawn on maps were used to delineate the areas where financial institutions would not invest (madrigal). the fha helped many poor white people buy homes who otherwise could not have, but it influenced the segregation of whites and people of color in cities across the united states. several fha publications implied that different races should not share neighborhoods, and, according to james loewen in his 2006 book sundown towns, repeatedly listed neighborhood characteristics like “inharmonious racial or nationality groups” alongside environmental disturbances “smoke, odors, and fog.” this is an example of blatant racism, and while these guidelines do not still exist today, the general trend of separating the races has persisted. over time, the fha tended to isolate new, mostly white, residential developments to the edges of metropolitan areas creating suburbs, and stripping the inner city of a middle class. older inner city neighborhoods, mainly populated by people of color, often fell into disrepair or abandonment. the demographics of cities and suburbs still reflect this trend, and the stereotypes of black street “thugs,” and white suburban soccer moms still exist (historical shift). what began as overt racism slowly became institutionalized segregation within the housing industry, with effects that remain today. zoning policies, housing policies, and lending policies have contributed to the segregation of people of color and the poor. though most recognize that racial discrimination is wrong, this has not translated into either decisionmaking or reformative policies. like the rest of the u.s., segregation within flint, michigan has been ongoing for years, a result of both private discrimination and “unfortunately, the flint water crisis is not an isolated incident. it is merely one instance in a pattern of american cities segregating racial minorties to less desireable areas.” 89 intentionally “mis-lead” government policies that have forced people of color to remain in the same three or four neighborhoods within city limits, even as the city grew and other residents moved to the suburbs. by 1970 these policies were changed, but the legacy remained (demashkieh 3). because it has only been a few decades, and because there was no active desegregation attempts, population demographics have tended to stay the same. certain areas have remained largely white, while others tend to be inhabited by people of color. for example, 64 percent of flint residents are people of color, but the city of burton, directly to the east of flint is made up of 86 percent white people (trounstine). racial makeup is not the only difference between the two cities. between 2007 and 2012 the recession affected municipal budgets, and many city governments saw expenditures fall. in flint, spending decreased by $225 per resident; in burton it actually increased by $1 per resident. skeptics will explain the difference in the cities by income: the median household income in burton is $44,000 a year, while the median income is just under $25,000 a year in flint. but this does not account for the fact that in 2014 flint residents paid an average water bill of $140 while people in burton paid $58 (trounstine). burton inhabitants had clean, inexpensive water while flint inhabitants paid more to be poisoned by lead-tainted water. this is a result of decades of structural racism that has deprioritized supplying water to flint. if flint had been mostly white and wealthy, perhaps the authorities would have acted more quickly to solve the water issue. what happened in flint is nothing short of a tragedy. the biggest injustice has been done to the children of flint, who will not experience the full results of this crisis for years to come. when flint resident lee-anne walters had her home tested for lead, she found that it had a lead content of 104 parts per billion (ppb), (fifteen ppb is the environmental protection agency’s limit for lead in drinking water). soon after, walters’ twin sons were diagnosed with lead poisoning (roy). two years later, the five-year-old boys are already showing developmental delays. the twins have hand-eye coordination issues, and one of the boys is significantly stunted in growth. both struggle with remembering colors and the alphabet, and they have trouble communicating with other children (gulledge). it should not be surprising that lead poisoning has profound effects on a child’s health and development. lead is a neurotoxin: it kills neuron cells, damaging the central nervous system. there is significant evidence that childhood lead exposure can be detrimental to development. in a study of children in cincinnati who were measured for blood lead levels throughout early childhood, those with high blood lead levels had lower brain volumes (cecil et al. 741-750). lead exposure in childhood has also been associated with increased aggression and violence. needleman and colleagues found that boys with high lead levels had higher teacher ratings of aggressive behavior and higher self-reported delinquency scores (363-69). even children exposed to lead in utero are likely impacted. in a study of pregnant african american women, it was found that both prenatal and postnatal blood lead levels in offspring dramatically predicted adult criminal behavior and adult violence in the early twenties. for every 5 microgram increase in prenatal blood lead levels there was a 40 percent increase in the risk for arrest (wright et al. 732-740). flint has already earned the reputation of “murdertown, u.s.a.” once the lead-poisoned children grow up, a greater rise in violent crime would be unsurprising. a sample of water being tested for purity (courtesy of wikimedia commons) “if flint had been mostly white and wealthy, perhaps the authorities would have acted more quickly to solve the water issue.” 90 elements : : spring 2018 after the city of flint switched back to its original water source, mayor karen weaver declared a state of emergency over the elevated lead levels in the city’s water. michigan governor rick snyder and president obama soon followed with their own declarations (kennedy). in the years since, criminal charges were filed against three officials who neglected their duties, conspired to cover up evidence, and violated michigan’s safe drinking water act (domonoske). eventually, six more received criminal charges for misleading other officials about flint’s water treatment plan, which was not in compliance with lead and copper rules. those responsible are beginning to face the consequences of poisoning the people of flint, but things will likely never be the same again. residents are understandably reluctant to drink the water from their taps again, and governor snyder has pledged to drink flint water for 30 days to prove it is safe (kennedy). the flint water crisis left a community of people permanently shaken and distrustful of authority. now they must anxiously wait for the neurocognitive deficits and other health problems to appear in their children, who will serve as an experiment on the impact of lead poisoning for the rest of their lives. the problem of environmental racism extends far beyond flint, michigan. economically and politically vulnerable black and hispanic children still suffer disproportionately from the effects of lead in baltimore, maryland, herculaneum, missouri, sebring, ohio, and washington, dc, where lead contamination crises are ongoing (rosner and markowitz). unsafe and lead-tainted water is a huge issue for poor communities of color throughout the united states, a problem far more common than many people think. tests in multiple cities have shown dangerous levels of lead in the water, and quest diagnostics has found that more than 3 percent of 5 million children tested across the country had blood lead levels of more than five micrograms per deciliter of blood. most inner city kids have blood lead levels that are detectable in their blood (fox). it is hard not to feel hopeless about the future after the injustice in flint and the continuing environmental inequality throughout the nation. the good news is that the crisis in flint has given many people insight into the problems within cities and the environmental racism that persists in our society. the socioeconomic and racial issues attached to the flint water crisis have inspired people to take action who might not have engaged in environmental activism otherwise. many people of color are displaying increased political mobilization around environmental issues. organizations like the citizens clearing house for hazardous wastes (cchw) and the national toxins campaign (ntc) work with over three thousand community groups, many of which are composed solely of people of color, others are composed of mixed social classes and races (taylor 37). it is also encouraging that recent research in neuroscience has shown the links between lead and other social issues like violence and cognitive ability. awareness must be raised as to how important a clean environment is in ensuring healthy development, so people can prioritize it more than they had before. what happened in flint should serve as a stark reminder of the crucial role that access to clean water plays in social equality and personal dignity. former president barack obama sips water from flint (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 91 intentionally “mis-lead” references cecil, kim, et al. “decreased brain volume in adults with childhood lead exposure.” plos medicine, vol. 5, 2008, pp. 741-750. demashkieh, rasha, et al. “the flint water crisis: systemic racism through the lens of flint.” michigan civil rights commission, 17 feb. 2017. http://www.michigan.gov/ d o c u m e n t s / m d c r / v f l i n t c r i s i s r e p f edited3-13-17_554317_7.pdf. accessed 5 dec. 2017. domonoske, camila. “3 face criminal charges over flint water crisis.” national public radio (npr). 20 apr. 2016. web. 5 dec. 2017. felton, ryan. “what general motors did to flint.” jalopnik. gizmodo, 28 apr. 2017. web. 27 nov. 2017. fonger, ron. “state says flint river water meets all standards but more than twice the hardness of lake water.” mlive media group. advance digital, 23 may 2014. web. 20 nov. 2017. foster, sheila. “race(ial) matters: the quest for environmental justice review essay.” ecology law quarterly, vol. 20, 1993, pp. 721-753. fox, maggie. “cdc confirms lead levels shot up in flint kids after water switch.” nbc news. 24 jun. 2016. web. 6 dec. 2017. gelobter, michael. “toward a model of ‘environmental discrimination.” race and the incidence of environmental hazards, edited by paul mohai and bunyan bryant, westview press, 1992, pp. 64-81. gulledge, jacqueline. “flint water crisis leaves longterm impact on children’s health.” cable news network (cnn). 31 jan. 2017. web. 5 dec. 2017. “historical shift from explicit to implicit policies affecting housing segregation in eastern massachusetts.” the fair housing center of greater boston. web. 5 dec. 2017. kennedy, merrit. “lead-laced water in flint: a step-bystep look at the makings of a crisis.” national public radio (npr). 20 apr. 2016. web. 20 nov. 2017. leduff, charlie. “riding along with the cops in murdertown, u.s.a.” new york times. 15 apr. 2011. web. 4 dec. 2017. loewen, james. sundown towns. touchstone, 2006. madrigal, alexis. “the racist housing policy that made your neighborhood.” the atlantic. the atlantic monthly group, 22 may 2014. web. 4 dec. 2017. mohai, paul, and bryant, bunyan. “environmental racism: reviewing the evidence.” race and the incidence of environmental hazards, edited by paul mohai and bunyan bryant, westview press, 1992, pp. 163-76. needleman, herbert, et al. “bone lead levels and delinquent behavior.” journal of the american medical association, vol. 275, 1996, pp. 363-369. nevin, rick. “how lead exposure relates to temporal changes in iq, violent crime, and unwed pregnancy.” environmental research, vol. 83, 2000, pp. 1-22. rosner, david, and markowitz, gerald. “it’s not just flint. there’s an ugly history of lead poisoning and the poor in the us.” mother jones. mother jones and the foundation for national progress, 13 feb. 2016. web. 20 nov. 2017. roy, siddhartha. “pediatric lead exposure presentation from hurley medical center doctors concerning flint, mi.” flint water study, 24 sep. 2015. web. 5 dec. 2017. simon, mallory, and sidner, sara. “children of flint: inheriting anxiety, giving up hope.” cable news network (cnn), 7 mar. 2016. web. 27 nov. 2017. smith, lindsey. “after ignoring and trying to discredit people in flint, the state was forced to face the problem. michigan radio. national public radio (npr), 16 dec. 2015. web. 20 nov. 2017. taylor, dorceta. “can the environmental movement attract and maintain the support of minorities?” race and 92 elements : : spring 2018 the incidence of environmental hazards, edited by paul mohai and bunyan bryant, westview press, 1992, pp. 2854. trounstine, jessica. “how racial segregation and political mismanagement led to flint’s shocking water crisis.” washington post, 8 feb. 2016. web. 5 dec. 2017. wright, john paul, et al. “association of prenatal and childhood blood lead concentrations with criminal arrests in early adulthood.” plos medicine, vol. 5, 2008, pp. 732-740. 93 intentionally “mis-lead” ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# 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"'#2"!'-') ,7#)&!#8' $!('$$ /,0-) #&) +(&#-$. !"' 4#-) &-) )&$" )#'!$ "&8' +,!" +''$",.!, )#4#-#$" &13"'#4'(’$ #-*#)'-*'$, +0! !"' 4#-) )#'! %(,8'$ #!$'1/ !, +' 4,(' #4%&*!/01 !"&!"' )&$" )0' !, #!$ $%'*#/#* '4%"&$#$ ,!"' *,-$04%!#,,/ /,,)$ "#2" #&-!#,7#)&-!$. !""# !"$ %&"'(&% researching nutrition’s mitigating e!ects on the pathogenesis of alzheimer’s disease *&(,1#-' *,"''2"+/"/&'’$!"!+%/'3"/&' &( &1!+3** #!3*"# food has e4ects on your body and overall health that may not be completely obvious from the outside. many people believe that regardless of food choices, having a smaller body frame means being healthy. however, nutrition research has shown that certain nutrient groups have various e4ects on the body, including the brain, that prevent or promote the development of diseases and other health problems. following a nutrient-specific diet plan over one’s lifespan can serve as a preventative measure for the development of alzheimer’s disease (ad). numerous studies suggest that guided consumption of vitamin c, vitamin e, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids can mitigate the progression of amyloid-beta plaques, tau tangles, and oxidative stress, thus constituting a preventative and therapeutic, non-pharmaceutical approach to tackling ad. 3*5#!/%!+’+/-6 (37"&+3'$ 7&%%&' )+3/' 3)'&+%3*/"/! the hallmark brain markers found in ad patients are primarily tau tangles and amyloid-beta plaques. the presence of both of these lead to the impairment of memory that characterizes the illness. the accumulation of betaamyloid protein forms these plaques and triggers both synaptic and memory loss, therefore facilitating ad development (nakandakari et al., 2019). tau tangles are composed of aggregated tau proteins that interfere with cellular mechanisms, ultimately causing the cell to die (ibid). the diminishing size of the brain is a result of neuronal and synaptic death, which are more strongly correlated with the memory loss in ad than beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles (samadi et al., 2019). slowing the progression of plaques and tangles would elicit cessation, or at least slowing, of the development of the illness and is something that nutrition can feasibly do. in addition to these precursors, obesity is a main risk factor for ad (szczechowiak et al., 2019). this is widely unknown, for it is not typically mentioned among the commonly known health risks associated with obesity such as diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. given the rising rate of obesity today, the associated risk of alzheimer’s with obesity should be made known to the public. the current lack of awareness stems directly from the common disassociation made by consumers between what they eat and their health beyond body weight. food is meant to nourish and fuel the body, but when food choices are made ignorantly, they may lead to unexpected risks. (3" 7&'-2%."/&' 300+313"!)!"3-3%,*&/$ .+&"!/' 3772%2*3"/&' 3'$ (&+%3"/&' &( "32 "3'0*! high fat consumption has been shown to exaggerate betaamyloid and tau protein aggregation. nakandakari et al., 2019 conducted a study in which mice were given either standard chow or a short-term high-fat diet to assess the e4ects of a high-fat diet on the ad precursors. it was shown that consumption of the high-fat diet increased beta amyloid content and tau phosphorylation, which leads to tau tangles and neuronal death. the high fat diet was shown to trigger apoptotic alterations in the hippocampus, thus catalyzing the diminishing size of the hippocampus in ad. next, the researchers looked specifically at the impact of saturated fats, which are believed to be the most unhealthy and are recommended to be consumed in moderation. they directly applied palmitate, a component of saturated fatty acids, to neurons and microglial cells over a ten-day period. direct application of palmitate increased beta-amyloid and tau protein content. these results suggest that diets in saturated fat, amplify the production of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles. saturated fat is therefore a nutrient that should be consumed sparingly due to its neurodegenerative e4ects (nakandakari et al., 2019). “the diminishing size of the brain is a result of neuronal and synaptic death, which are more strongly correlated with the meomry loss in ad than beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles.” 68 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 another study conducted by theriault et al. in 2016 replicated these results with mice being fed a high-fat diet containing high levels of saturated fatty acids for four months. it was found that the mice given this high-fat diet showed increased amyloid-beta content in cerebral microvasculature compared to control animals (theriault et al., 2016). these results support the hypothesis that a high-fat diet exacerbates the development of ad. .&-/"/1! !((!7"&( 3 $/!" *&8 /' -3"2+3"!$ (3": "#! %/'$ $/!" the mediterranean-dash intervention for neurodegenerative delay (mind) diet focuses on the consumption of plant-based foods and fish to limit the intake of animal food sources and saturated fats. this diet is a hybrid between the mediterranean diet and the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (dash) diet, created with the goal of improving brain health. the mind and dash diets are compared later in this paper to examine the varying effectiveness of each due to a key di4erence in foods incorporated. following the guidelines of the mind diet has been shown to slow the development of the typical precursors of ad. when studied in mice, it was found that high intake of n-3 fatty acids from fish sources had the opposite e4ects of saturated fat. n-3 fat consumption was found to decrease beta-amyloid formation and oxidative stress and increase synaptic proteins and dendritic spine density (berendsen et al., 2018 as reviewed by samadi et al., 2019). this increase in synaptic proteins and dendritic spine density serves as a preventative mechanism from ad symptoms, given that losses in these entities have the greatest association with the memory impairments seen in ad. the n-3 fatty acids found in fish typically include omega-3, docosahexaenoic acid (dha), and eicosapentaenoic acid (eha) (vauzour et al., 2015 as reviewed by szczechowiak et al., 2019). all of these components have been shown to improve neuronal transmission and regulate the excitability of neuronal membranes, thus improving memory and learning in healthy, non-ad individuals (ibid). additionally, it has been found that these n-3 fatty acids can promote immunity in patients who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and have therefore not yet progressed to the level of decline that would constitute their impairment as ad. this immunity refers to n-3 fatty acids promoting the phagocytosis of amyloid-beta proteins, therefore dissolving plaque aggregation and reducing memory loss symptoms (fiala et al., 2017 as reviewed by szczechowiak et al., 2019). an additional study conducted by schaefer et al. in 2006 reported these same results of further deteriorating memory. elderly people were given a questionnaire regarding their fish intake habits and were then placed into quartiles based on their levels of consumption of fish that is high in dha. those found to consume the most dha-containing fish had a 47% lower risk of dementia relative to those in the bottom three quartiles (schaefer et al., 2006). this further demonstrates that dha consumption in fish is correlated with lower risk of cognitive decline. "#! %/'$ $/!" /!3-/!+ "& (&**&8 3'$ %&+! !((!7"/1! "#3' $3-# a well-balanced diet is one that naturally contains all of the vital nutrients without the need for supplementation. an example of a diet within this category is the dash diet, which emphasizes the consumption of non-processed, plant-based foods and limits the intake of animal products and other foods high in saturated fat (samadi et al., 2019). studies of this diet in elderly people show that subjects who followed the diet the most strictly and received high dash diet scores, were seen to have a 39% reduction in alzheimer’s incidence compared to those who received the lowest dash diet scores (morris et al., 2015). evidently, following a healthful, plant-based diet has the ability to lower the risk of alzhimer’s development considerably. one study conducted by morris et al. in 2015 observed that those following the mind diet had an even greater preventative e4ect on alzheimer’s incidence than did those following dash. the dash and mind diets focus on the same target and avoidance foods, but the mind diet specifically incorporates berries and green leafy vegetables. as a result of this addition, mind diet consumers were “...the mice given this high-fat diet showed increased amyloid-beta content in cerebral microvasculature compared to control animals.” 69 !""# !"$ %&"'(&% shown to have slower cognitive decline than dash consumers. those who complied most strongly to the mind diet and fell into the top tertile of mind diet scores had a 53% reduction in the incidence of ad, compared to those who fell in the lowest tertile of mind diet scores. those who fell in the middle tertile of mind diet scores still had a 35% reduction in the rate of ad development. even low compliance showed significant results, similar to those with the greatest compliance to dash. this indicates that the dash diet must be followed strictly to achieve the same results as a loose following of the mind diet (morris et al., 2015). it is important to note that the dash diet’s guidelines are far more demanding than those of the mind, and yet the mind diet is more powerful even at low compliance. to achieve a high mind diet score, consumption includes only two servings of vegetables per day, two servings of berries per week, and only one serving of fish per week (morris et al., 2015). in contrast, a high dash diet score requires three to four servings of fruits and three to four servings of vegetables per day, in addition to six or more servings of fish per week (ibid). the mind diet is far easier to follow and results in greater protection against ad. so what is it that makes the addition of blueberries and green leafy vegetables so significant? this answer lies within the high antioxidant content of these additions compared to other fruits and vegetable choices that may be made in the dash diet due to no specification. 3'"/&9/$3'" "+!3"%!'" /%.+&1!$ *!3+'/'0 3'$ %!%&+, /' %/7! oxidative stress refers to a damaging interaction between reactive oxygen species (ros) and vital compounds in their surroundings in the brain that are associated with the amyloid beta plaque and tau tangle precursors (huang et al., 2016). oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants, which occurs due to either decreased antioxidant defense or increased free radical concentration. free radicals contain at least one unpaired electron in their valence shell, which comes from the reduction of the oxygen in water. this reduction reaction creates strongly reactive hydroxyl radicals, which are a type of ros. these reactive hydroxyl radicals react with fats, proteins, nucleic acids, and other molecules and alter their functions and structures. oxidative stress occurs when ros molecules are created in excess concentrations, thus creating the imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants. antioxidants serve to prevent the formation of ros and are therefore an important component in protecting the brain (ibid). cells in the body typically contain antioxidant defense mechanisms to protect against oxidative stress on their own, but it has been found that ad patients have low levels of these anti-oxidative molecules in their cells (ansari et al., 2010 as reviewed by thapa et al., 2017). this suggests that these low levels of endogenous antioxidants may contribute to the ros overload that produces oxidative stress in ad patients. this endogenous anti-oxidative mechanism diminishes with age, therefore putting elderly people at a greater risk for developing ad (ibid). this demonstrates the importance for the elderly population and those knowingly at risk of ad to consume antioxidants through food sources. studies have tested the e4ects on oxidative stress of distributing the antioxidant ascorbic acid to mice, where it was shown that ascorbic acid and vitamin e treatment promoted facilitatory e4ects on memory retrieval and learning (shahidi et al., 2008 as reviewed by de oliveira et al., 2019). high levels of anxiety have been proven to impair learning capabilities and memory. the ascorbic acid given to the mice served to decrease oxidative stress and lower their anxiety levels, thus increasing their ability to both learn and draw from their memories (hasanein et al., 2010 as reviewed by de oliveira et al., 2019). the second portion of the study gave vitamin e in addition to the ascorbic acid to diabetic mice, in whom they found both improved memory and reversal of memory deficits (ibid). this addition of antioxidants in both groups served to diminish oxidative stress by reestablishing the balance between oxidants and antioxidants in the brain, thus mitigating the problems of memory loss seen that result from oxidative stress. it can therefore be concluded that consuming foods rich in antioxidants have the ability to reduce oxidative stress and improve deficits in learning and “...the dash diet’s guidelines are far more demanding than those of the mind, and yet the mind diet is more powerful even at low compliance.” 70 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 memory seen in ad and could thereby be used as a potential therapeutic or prevention mechanism for the disease. "#! %/'$ $/!" /%&+! !((!7"/1! "#3' $3-# $2! "& /"!%.#3-/&' 3'"/&9/$3'" /'"36! "#+&20# )!++/!3'$ *!3(, 0+!!' 1!0!"3)*! the mind specifically incorporates berries as a guideline for its fruit intake, which contain higher levels of antioxidants than other fruits. a study conducted by joseph et al. in 1999 shows the power of berries in mitigating oxidative stress which explains the heightened e4ectiveness of the mind diet over the dash, which does not specify berry consumption. the study was done on adult rats to determine the e4ects of both blueberry and strawberry consumption on brain health. rats were given blueberry or strawberry extract in their water for eight weeks. after the eight week period, the e4ects on oxidative stress were measured based on the production of ros in the rats’ brain tissues. results showed that the rats that consumed strawberries and blueberries showed greater oxidative stress protection than the rats in the control group, with the blueberry group showing slightly higher protection than the strawberry group (joseph et al., 1999). blueberry extract has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in the brain by increasing the synthesis of glutathione, which is an antioxidant (brewer et al., 2010 as reviewed by subash et al., 2014). berries contain higher antioxidant content than most other fruits, which is why they are added to the criteria of the mind diet and is ultimately what makes it more successful in reducing the risk of alzheimer’s. while the research on the e4ects of green leafy vegetables on the brain is inconclusive, it can be speculated that due to their high vitamin e content, their impact is the same as was shown in the study conducted by de oliveira et al. in 2019. 7&'7*2-/&' figure 1 shows the relationship between eating a healthy diet and having a healthy brain. in this context, a healthy diet is classified as a high intake of antioxidants and n-3 fatty acids, and an unhealthy diet consists of high consumption of saturated fats, trans fats, and simple carbohydrates. as has been outlined in this paper, the nutrients in the healthy diet decrease oxidative stress, thereby decreasing amyloid-beta plaque and tau tangle formation, thus mitigating the e4ects of ad. in contrast, consuming the nutrients within the unhealthy diet produces the opposite e4ects in each component. these e4ects serve to deem a healthy diet as a neuroprotective mechanism, and an unhealthy diet a neurodegenerative mechanism. nutrition is a non-pharmaceutical approach to decrease risk against ad, which is a highly feasible and easily !"#$%& 1: !"#$%&' &(" $)*+,")%" -* ./0$-,' ),&0$")& 10-,#' -) */%&-0' &(/& #+/2 / 0-+" $) &(" #/&(-1")"'$' -* /+3("$4"0’'. $& !"4-)'&0/&"' &5'#"%&0,4' -* ),&0$&$-) !"%+/0"! /' ("/+&(2 ."0',' ,)("/+&(2 /)! 5("&("0 &("$0 ),&0$")&' (/." 6"") '(-5) &/!4$& )",0-#0-&"%&$." "**"%&' -0 )",0-!"1")"0/&$." "**"%&', 0"'#"%&$."+2. &($' 10/#($% +/2' -,& &(" !$0"%& %-))"%&$-) 6"&5"") !$"& /)! 60/$) ("/+&( &(/& %/) #0-&"%& *0-4 -0 %-)&0$6,&" &&(" !"1")"0/&$-) -* &(" 60/$) $) /+3("$4"0’' !$'"/'". (*0-4 '/4/!$ "&. /+) 71 !""# !"$ %&"'(&% controllable factor that individuals can take upon themselves with minimal e4ort. given the little knowledge of the average person about the connection between the foods they eat and their brain health, the government should distribute a public service announcement to promote the importance of nutrition and how it can impact not just your weight and your heart, but also the brain. there are many claims about other nutrient groups, such as foods high in zinc and aluminum, however the evidence found is limited. with the current research available, it is di:cult to deduce the details to make a nutritional approach concretely e4ective. these gray areas include the duration of time this dietary approach needs to be followed for it to be e4ective, as well as how strictly. while one may argue that there are too many alternative factors involved to report a connection between food and the brain, with the few therapies available for alzheimer’s currently, any step toward a potential cure should be considered. we ought to take advantage of such scientific findings and promote more informed consumption as a society to increase longevity and influence the factors that contribute to chronic illness where we can. +!(!+!'7!oliveira, i. j. l. d., souza, v. v. d., carvalho, a. c. p., tomaz, c., & da-silva, s. l. (2019). e4ects of ascorbic acid combined to environmental enrichment on anxiety and memory. psychology & neuroscience, 12(3), 363–378. doi: 10.1037/pne0000171 huang, w.-j., zhang, x., & chen, w.-w. (2016). role of oxidative stress in alzheimer’s disease. biomedical reports, 4(5), 519–522. doi: 10.3892/br.2016.630 joseph, j. a., shukitt-hale, b., denisova, n. a., bielinski, d., martin, a., mcewen, j. j., & bickford, p. c. (1999). reversals of age-related declines in neuronal signal transduction, cognitive, and motor behavioral deficits with blueberry, spinach, or strawberry dietary supplementation. the journal of neuroscience, 19(18), 8114–8121. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.19-18-08114.1999 morris, m. c., tangney, c. c., wang, y., sacks, f. m., bennett, d. a., & aggarwal, n. t. (2015). mind diet associated with reduced incidence of alzheimer’s disease. alzheimer’s & dementia, 11(9), 1007–1014. doi: 10.1016/j. jalz.2014.11.009 nakandakari, s. c. b. r., muñoz, v. r., kuga, g. k., gaspar, r. c., santana, m. r., pavan, i. c. b., & pauli, j. r. (2019). short-term high-fat diet modulates several inflammatory, er stress, and apoptosis markers in the hippocampus of young mice. brain, behavior, and immunity, 79, 284–293. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.02.016 samadi, m., moradi, s., moradinazar, m., mostafai, r., & pasdar, y. (2019). dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review. neurological sciences, 40(10), 2031–2043. doi: 10.1007/s10072-01903976-3 schaefer, e. j., bongard, v., beiser, a. s., lamon-fava, s., robins, s. j., au, r., & wolf, p. a. (2006). plasma phosphatidylcholine docosahexaenoic acid content and risk of dementia and alzheimer’s disease. archives of neurology, 63(11), 1545. doi: 10.1001/archneur.63.11.1545 subash, s., al-adawi, s., memon, m., manivasagam, t., akbar, m., & essa, m. (2014). neuroprotective e4ects of berry fruits on neurodegenerative diseases. neural regeneration research, 9(16), 1557. doi: 10.4103/16735374.139483 szczechowiak, k., diniz, b. s., & leszek, j. (2019). diet and alzheimer’s dementia – nutritional approach to modulate inflammation. pharmacology biochemistry and behavior, 184, 172743. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2019.172743 thapa, a., & carroll, n. j. (2017). dietary modulation of oxidative stress in alzheimer’s disease. international journal of molecular sciences, 18(7), 1583. https://doi. org/10.3390/ijms18071583 thériault, p., elali, a., & rivest, s. (2016). high fat diet exacerbates alzheimer’s disease-related pathology in appswe/ps1 mice. oncotarget, 7(42). doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.12179 72 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 */-" &( 3+"8&+6 !"# $%!!&# '( !"# )'**# +'*,+: !"# )!'-. '( /,&&,%* *+(%01#%2 © creative centenaries. 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"#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e:ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e:ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 3+"8&+6 +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o:ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! '( 64)!,+# %*'23 '!"#-) %22'42+#0 23 +-,*,2%& +"%-3#) © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %*#-,+% 3&'$%& !-%0# 0#(,+,! © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 +"%-&#) +'43"&,2, &#%0#'( !"# +"-,)!,%2 (-'2! © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 3#-*%2 %*#-,+%2 $420 -%&&., 2#/ .'-9, *%0,)'2 )74%-# 3%-#2, (#$ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o:ce of the chief signal o:cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, .&! -*/"&"#/ also featuring • unmasking medical frauds • pronouns and personhood!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#,# - 2 0 21 · . (& ) ! 1 7 · / '' & ! 1/ !-!) !* %' : : %0 ! & * 1 !"2 " #1 & #%! "!'!#"+0 3(& "* #(, 4( '%( * +(--!2! ,#-2 0 2 1 :: .( -& ) ! 17 :: /''& ! 1/ $"(1&+!1 45 %0! '%#,, (, !-!)!*%' !"#$ %&%'( $'')$ !* &+&,-.' !"' #+/*+0(1*1$ +&!1(' *2 0'*22('/"&1/'( &$ !"' (*3&+/' %*'! &+4 &$ !"' /*1(!#'(. #+ !"#$ %&%'(, # 5#,, '6%,*(' /"&1/'( &$ & 2'3#+#$! 7 ,**)#+0 &! !"' !5* $#4'$ *2 "#$ %'($*+&0'—%'($*+&, &+4 %(*2'$$#*+&,. !"#$ %&%'( 5#,, 4',8' #+!* !"' "#$!*(*2 !"#$%& &+4 #!$ /1,!1(&, $#0+#2#/&+/' &! !"' !#3'—,**)#+0 #+ %&(!#/1,&( &! !"' /&$' *2 !"#$%& 7(*10"! &0&#+$! /"&1/'( #+8*,8#+0 /'/#, /"&13%&#0+' &+4 #!$ $17$'91'+! 4#$3#$$&,. 3*(&,'$ %,&+$ *+ "#0",#0"!#+0 !"' 4#/"*!*3*1$ !"'3'$ *2 !5* *2 /"&1/'(’$ 5*()$: $'( )"*$(!+%!, $"-(& &+4 $'( -(.(*/ 01 .00/ 203(* #+ %&(!#/1,&(. !"#$ %&%'( 5#,, &+&,-.' &+4 /"&,,'+0' !"' &+!#2'3#+#$! ('%('$'+!&!#*+$ *2 5*3'+ #+ !"*$' %*'3$ 2*1+4 #+ $'( )"*$(!+%!, $"-(& &$ /*3%&('4 !* $'( -(.(*/ 01 .00/ 203(*—#+ &44#!#*+ !* !"' 3'+!#*+ *2 *!"'( 3#$/',,&+'*1$ 5*()$. !"#$ %&%'( 5#,, '$!&7,#$" !"&! !"' #+/,1$#*+ *2 5*3'+ #+ /"&1/'(’$ /*+$#4'(&!#*+ *2 "#$ &14#'+/' &$ 5',, &$ "#$ '+0&0'3'+! 5#!" 4#8'($' 3*4'$ *2 5(#!!'+ 5*(4 "',%'4 /&!&,-.' !"' $"#2! 2(*3 !"' !(&4#!#*+&, (*,' *2 5*3'+ #+ (*3&+/' ,#!'(&!1(' &$ /*3%&('4 !* 5"&! /&+ 7' $''+ #+ $*3' *2 "#$ ,&!'( 5*()$. !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' discussing the incongruities of chaucer and feminism !&-,*( 3*(&,'$ 38 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 “as new thoughts and cultural norms came and went over this expanse of time, something as outlandish as early feminist theory would be safe to try out...” the fourteenth century was quite a tumultuous time to be alive in england; the hundred years war, black death, and peasants revolt are just a few examples of the events that occupied this short spread of history. despite all of this, individuals like geo,rey chaucer still managed to produce impactful poetry and literature that are still studied to this day by scholars around the world. one does not think to associate a time of such cultural upheaval as the fourteenth century in england with progressive thoughts like feminism. however, this is not the case as chaucer took advantage of his position as a well-received romance poet and helped catalyze what i would argue to be the beginning of feminist representation in romance poetry at that time. while it is largely understood that chaucer, the courtier, perpetuated systems that were inherently anti-feminist and even went so far as to have charges of raptus brought against him by individuals of high esteem, it is necessary to look at his contributions to feminism as a poet separate from his personage as a courtier. feminism—defined as the understanding of women to be autonomous and conscious-minded individuals who exist in a capacity outside of just physicality—was something that was nonexistent within the genre of romance at the time of chaucer’s career. his shift from the seemingly toxic patriarchal representations in his poems the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale to the progressive and empathetic depictions of women in the legend of good women can only be seen as feministic. as the succession of king edward iii by ten-year-old richard ii occurred, the ideal time to challenge the status quo had presented itself; a young king coming into power and a shift in the social order of the courts meant more leniency for literary publications. the unrelieved succession of events beginning with the hundred years war, black death plague, the statute of laborers, the western schism, and then peasants revolt meant there was no respite for english society to stop and think about things as nominal as written work. as new thoughts and cultural norms came and went over this expanse of time, something as outlandish as early feminist theory would be safe to try out—especially in a medium like romance poetry composed in the vernacular language of middle english. if early feminism was rejected, it could be chalked up to any number of the societal changes occurring at the time; however, if it stuck, the implications for the succeeding generations of romance poets and women in the realm of literature were great. in her article titled “the language of ravishment in medieval england,” caroline dunn asserts that “understanding raptus is the essential starting point for anyone exploring the o,enses of rape or abduction in medieval england” (dunn 87). as it was a highly contentious issue with an ambiguous etymology, raptus in the fourteenth century is something that has proven to be di-cult for historians to ascertain. as the raptus statutes in england at the time were encompassing to the three di,erent facets of the term—sexual assault, abduction, and theft—when dealing with cases brought to the legal system, it is hard to retroactively pinpoint the exact o,ense that one geo,rey chaucer was found guilty of in his case of raptus against cecilia chaumpaigne in 1380. while she o-cially dismissed all charges of raptus brought against him, it is important to question the actions of chaucer and the nature of his crime—especially when considering him through the lens of feminism. the verbiage found within chaumpaigne’s release of chaucer has been analyzed by many, particularly focusing on the term de raptu meo in the document as it “raises the troubling possibility that chaucer was a rapist” (cannon 75). furthermore, the phrase de raptu meo “cannot be found in any other document in [the close rolls] during any of these eight years” (cannon 77). cannon goes on to say that “there are in fact only two other records in the close rolls in this period that use some form of the verb rapere, from which the noun raptus is derived, and only one other record in these rolls that actually uses the noun raptus itself. the bulk of the releases during these eight years are so vague that in fact that their contents are described in the calendar of the close rolls as general” (cannon 77). the incongruity of this particular legal terminology as compared to the rest 39 !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' of those of similar nature should not be overlooked. dunn concludes her scholarship by citing, “chaucer’s contemporary john gower o,ers a view of rape that displays these necessary nuances, for he demonstrates that patriarchy was alive and well in later medieval england but that men’s preference for controlling women, along with their frequent ability to do so, did not make rape morally acceptable” (dunn 115). because there is no way of truly understanding the implications of chaucer’s engagement with raptus as a result of the intrinsic nuances present in the term itself, we should take gower’s lead in acknowledging that because of the nature of the patriarchy in the contemporary society they lived in, there was an a-nity for such ravishments that were more normalized than that of what our society accepts today. this understanding does not then free chaucer from any retroactive judgements but rather allows for future readers and historians to engage with his work in such a way that is mindful of the possibilities of his case of raptus while still considering the environment and society that might not be congruous with that of which we exist in. dunn works to bring some clarity to the di,erent delineations of raptus in the documented cases in the form of a table that classifies the 1,213 cases of ravishment as “abduction, rape, ambiguous, both” in addition to the breakdown by century from the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. her ability to do this lies in her close reading of the additional terms included in the legal documentation of the cases like “vi concubuit contra voluntatem,” meaning a man laid “with a woman violently against her will” (dunn 90). the terminology pertaining to abductions could be traced back to the legal verbiage of “cepit,” meaning “s/he took” (dunn 90). by looking to these external indicators within the documents and taking into account the possibility that “it is possible that some of the sexual relations prosecuted were consensual, and certainly some of the abductions were” (dunn 90), dunn is able to get a more holistic understanding of the nature of the majority or plurality of the raptus cases at the time. as she was able to deduce through her table in her writing, cases of raptus specifically and singularly pertaining to rape were in the gross minority in the fourteenth century— as represented as just 6% of the cases of raptus in that century. the majority of the cases—as represented as roughly 52% of the cases of raptus in the fourteenth century—were understood by dunn to be specifically and singularly pertaining to abduction. however, the statistic we have yet to account for, the ‘ambiguous’ category in her table, is of great importance to us when considering these figures in the present context. roughly 41% of the cases of raptus brought up in the fourteenth-century were ambiguous in nature—including that of geo,rey chaucer and cecilia chaumpaigne. while it would be easy to give chaucer the benefit of the doubt and assume that his case of raptus—as it was released by the victim herself and perceivably by her free will—would have fallen in with the majority of cases as involving abduction, this would be negligent when dealing with a character-based claim pertaining to feminism. it is di-cult to discern the motives behind a well-esteemed courtier like chaucer when regarding his case of raptus since cecilia chaumpaigne was likely the daughter of a baker and would have provided absolutely no mobility to chaucer within court circles. depending on the type of raptus case—either rapuit et abduxit (seized and abducted) or cepit et imprisonauit (took and imprisoned)—that was brought against chaucer, one can begin to question and narrow in on the motives that drove him to his crime. what is particularly interesting to note when connecting chaucer as the potential rapist with chaucer, the romance poet, is the timing of all of this. the legend of good women was understood to have occurred at some point during the composition of canterbury tales from 1387 until 1400. it is understood that chaucer undertook this project at the request of queen alceste as a sort of “assigned topic” (benson 587). separate from all of this, in 1380, chaumpaigne was drafting and submitting her statements of pardon towards chaucer. as the legend of good women is known to be unfinished, i propose a hypothetical timeline of events that would lend to an explanation of not only the “critical paradox” (benson 587) that was the legend of good women, but also of the external factors that would have lent to the shift in the character of chaucer. beginning with his raptus charge against chaumpaigne in 1380 and its subsequent dismissal that same year, we must look at the potential ramifications of such an accusation on an individual like chaucer at the time. the permissibility of his o,ense within the court circles is unknown to us, but the status of chaucer within these court circles as a low-ranking courtier is known. word of a charge of raptus against an individual with no perceivable social status and resulting in absolutely no mobility on chaucer’s end could have easily gotten around these circles and, even as far as the queen. in an attempt of imparting penance on the poet, it is understandable that queen alceste might have charged him with writing the legend of good women as a way of highlighting the value in powerful female figures 40 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 and promoting the cause of early feminism. as he engaged in the composition of the canterbury tales from around 1387 until his death, it is very much understandable that chaucer might have tabled the queen’s request until closer to the end of his project. i reason this because of the existence of traditionally patriarchal poems like the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale that are found in “fragment i” of the canterbury tales. as he reached the end of his writings in the canterbury tales, i believe he began an engagement with the previously ignored the legend of good women until his death in 1400. this hypothetical timeline of events would explain why the legend of good women is unfinished and why it appears to be out of place with the rest of the writings found in the canterbury tales—particularly in “fragment i.” taking a closer look at “fragment i” in the canterbury tales, in chapter two of her book indecent exposure: gender, politics, and obscene comedy in middle english literature, nicole sidhu recognizes it as chaucer’s attempt at exploring obscene comedy to “indicate that what is at stake in fragment one goes beyond gender to other power relations in medieval society” (sidhu 80). she then goes on to compare the tactics employed in this section to those used by middle english alliterative poet willian langland in his work piers plowman. sidhu suggests that while both poets seek to subtly “critique the power holders of [their] society,” (sidhu 78) chaucer looks to challenge the “ideologies that govern and justify their authority in the first place” (sidhu 78). while it is true that both poets might have weaponized their words in such a way as to subvert the untouchables within their society, chaucer’s proximity to these authorities makes his work even more important. it is only through the inclusion of such obscene “fabliau[s]” (sidhu 76) in the canterbury tales that the reader is able to recognize the power and e,ectiveness in chaucer’s poetry when it came to challenging the status quo. by introducing subversive narratives, like those found in “fragment i,” disguised in a chauvinistic way that would appear to appeal to the established attitudes that were maintained at the time—particularly in those circles—chaucer gains an access point. it is through establishing pathos with these aristocrats and other courtiers that he is able to introduce feminist sentiments like those found in the wife of bath’s tale and, separate from the canterbury tales entirely, in the legend of good women. while each one of these fabliaux— the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale—lend to the generally understood misogynistic tone of “fragment i,” each seeks to challenge the anti-female social norms in a di,erent way. starting with the knight’s tale, the main character is portrayed as a highly chivalrous man whose moral code seems to highlight a dangerous dichotomy between protecting innocent women and ravaging them—as represented in the line “kan hem therfore as muche thank as me,” (knight’s tale, ll.1808) which is understood to mean the women owing a debt of gratitude for bedding her. this line highlights the hypocritical code of chivalry that exists in the knight character. while the criticism of the anti-feminist code of chivalry through the lens of the knight is limited to the militaristic and feudal class of knights, the miller’s tale is a lot more inclusive to the lowborn peasants—as represented in the line “the miller is a cherl,” (miller’s tale, ll.3182) which is understood to mean the miller is a low-born fellow. since the aristocrats and courtiers would have perceived a tale whose main character is a low-born man engaging in obscene comedic endeavors as being lighthearted and nonthreatening to them, chaucer is able to “use the erotic to obscure the political” (sidhu 85) agenda behind the poem. since there is a large gap that separates the low-born peasants from anyone existing in the courts, it is easy to use the miller as a vehicle for more direct political critique “that patriarchal authorities deserve their power” (sidhu 86). while it is “while each of these favliaux—the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale—lend to the generally undestood misogynistic tone of “fragment i,” each seek to challenge the anti-female social norms in a di!erent way.” 41 !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' written that even the lowliest of the peasantry, the miller, recognizes the moral superiority that exists inherently in men as opposed to the “fabliau women [who] are almost always figured as immoral beings, wholly focused on the needs of the body, [and] who will do anything to satisfy their lust.” (sidhu 86) finally, we look at how the reeve’s tale challenges the social norms of antifeminism through the understanding that “all three men [in these tales] are motivated by an anxiety over their social status and a desire to move up the social hierarchy,” (sidhu 90) and see women as sexual temptresses who seek to lead them astray from this goal. these stereotypes that chaucer perpetuates in “fragment i” in conjunction with the retrospective understanding of the potentially politically-subversive motives that chaucer maintained while writing these over-the-top fabliaux should only be considered to be deeply ironic and should not be taken at face value. knowing the nature of the critiques, one would be remiss in reading these tales as anything but the opposite of what they are written to mean. recognizing these tales as such, the shift in tonality in the legend of good women is not as jarring. unlike the garish tactics used to engage the audience of the canterbury tales’ “fragment i,” the legend of good women’s “lukewarm critical reception has often been linked to the heavyhanded hints of boredom with which the narrator treats his material” (allen-gross 17). one might argue that due to the intrinsically feminist nature of the piece—depicting vignettes of well-to-do historic women as existing independently of their male counterparts. in the g-text of the legend of good women, this is represented as a bold statement translated from legend: “in making of a glorious legend of good women, maidens and wives, that were true in loving all their lives; and tells of false men that betrayed them, that all their (women) lives they did nothing to deserve this test, how many women can claim shame?” in order to o,set the possible rejection of the work in its entirety, as a result of content, i argue that chaucer’s seemingly lackluster portrayal of the legend of good women is entirely intentional and meant to draw the criticisms away from the content and towards the quality of the writing. in her book feminizing chaucer, jill mann argues that the legend of good women exists as “a provisional response to antifeminism, contradicting but not obliterating it…created as antifeminism’s mirrorimage” (mann 39). in another e,ort of painting chaucer to be a participant of protofeminist thought in fourteenth century england, i would like to look at chaucer’s appeals to a female audience. in her work “chaucer’s feminine pretexts: gendered genres in three frame moments,” madeleine saraceni states that “chaucer often sought to a-liate himself with genres of literature that bore strong associations with women readers in the medieval cultural imagination and that may have served to identify him with literature that was deemed feminine, that is, literature perceived as written for and consumed primarily by women” (saraceni 407). this sentiment is carried on in alison wiggins’ “frances wolfreston’s chaucer” where she claims “early modern women are often thought of as having been excluded from literary culture, which is seen as a masculine, homosocial realm” (wiggins 88). the niche area that was often perceived to be inhabited by women within the literary realm was religious devotional texts. these translations of religious manuscripts for the consumption of laywomen were growing more and more commonplace by the fourteenth century. saraceni chalks this phenomenon up to “a confluence of factors— including an increase in lay literacy, a climate of devotional fervor, and ecclesiastical reforms that encouraged the production of works designed to aid in the preaching to and instruction of the laity” (saraceni 416). in the prologue image 1: portrait of chaucer as a canterbury pilgrim, ellesmere manuscript of the canterbury tales. 42 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 of chaucer’s the legend of good women, a text known as “de maria” is referenced as chaucer’s perceived “vernacular devotional text” (saraceni 415). though this is a lost text and there is no way to confirm or dispute this belief and we cannot know for sure if chaucer dipped into the non-secular side of poetry, this could have been a way to appeal to the female-dominated audience that inhabited that space. another text that i feel deserves to be mentioned—albeit quickly—when discussing the feminist shift in tonality in chaucer’s poetry is the wife of bath’s prologue & tale. the nature of the wife and her portrayal in the wife of bath’s prologue is somewhat brutish and masculine. her ability to force the submission of her husbands and then the length at which she rants about their shortcomings, as well as the nature of her free speech, approach the idea of feminist representation in a new way. chaucer attempts to give the wife her autonomy through his stripping of her traditionally-feminine characteristics and replacement of them with masculine ones. jill mann introduces this idea in her chapter “antifeminism” in feminizing chaucer when she says, “antifeminism is appropriated by a woman’s voice in order to articulate feminist truths’, nevertheless, the wife ‘remains confined within the prison house of masculine language’” (mann 65). it is only through the voice of masculinity that feminism can exist and be heard as “chaucer could not invent a new ‘female language’ and sensibly did not try to do so” (mann 65). so while it may appear that chaucer’s employment of masculinity in the context of the characterization of the wife in the wife of bath’s prologue & tale, it is only as a result of the cutting-edge nature of his thought. since he was at the forefront of what feminist representation in literature would look like, there were no appropriate systems set in place for him to utilize and, as mann points out, it was sensible for him to use masculinity as a familiar vehicle for pushing unfamiliar characterizations across to his audience. in keeping with this notion, i stake the claim that chaucer’s progression as a poet and person towards the end of his life can be seen as a result of his awareness of and attempts towards inclusivity for women in his readership. this is evident in his contemporary john gower’s confessio amantis: “book 8 (lechery)” when venus, the goddess of love, says, “great chaucer when you meet him, as he is my disciple and poet: for in the flowers of his youth in various ways, as well as he could, made ditties and songs glad for my sake.” there are two things that must be recognized in this reading: the gender of love and the recognition of chaucer as an important romance poet in other works of equal prestige. firstly, the gendering of venus, goddess of love, as a woman is important to note as it is therefore implied that femininity is at the center of romance. to shift the power of romance away from the male that typically inhabits chivalric romance tales and towards an inherently feminine character of divine status is significant because it falls in line with the more progressive representation of femininity and feminism in romance poetry at that time. secondly, the acclaim of chaucer at the hands of the feminine figure of venus and her subsequent praise of his work on her behalf and the behalf of romance signifies approval of chaucer as a romance poet— particularly through the lens of women. by adding the line, “as he wel couthe,” venus acknowledges that chaucer’s romance repertoire is not infallible and his pro-feminist writings were done to the best of his abilities. so, is there really such an incongruity between chaucer the courtier and chaucer the poet? i would argue that the impact that chaucer had on fourteenth feminist theory and the movement away from the static, archetypical woman that inhabited medieval romance poetry was entirely a result of his proximity to the influential members of society and his ability to stay within those circles. touching on sidhu’s comparison of william langland to geo,rey chaucer when looking at their ability to use obscene comedy as a vehicle for political challenging, i would like to add that the reason chaucer was more successful in his critique of the societal status quo— referring to the perceptions of women specifically— because of his physical proximity to london. while chaucer resided in london, langland spent most of his “to shift the power of romance away from the male that typically inhabits chivalric romance tales and towards an inherently feminine character of divine status...” 43 !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' life in the west midlands—some distance from london. in his thesis, “the transport system of medieval england and wales a geographical synthesis,” james edwards presents maps of the basic medieval road networks and the known topographical maps of the time. based on the information presented in these maps, it is inferred that while william langland was thought to have been socialized in the london circles early in his life, his later years of authorship were not represented in the city. the region he lived in, the west midlands, were not easily accessible by the known road network and inferred routes of the time. as a result, the political happenings and the shifts in social norms and practices were not as prominent in langland’s writings, which meant his influence on any of those things was minimal at most. however, chaucer’s physical proximity to london and the courts meant that he was more directly influenced and, as a result, could reference the happenings through his work. now recognizing the significance of the proximity these poets had to the inner workings of those who monopolized the social power, we are able to impart some grace onto the seemingly counterproductive and anti-feminist works chaucer published. i would argue that these poems are not actually anti-feminist at all when considered in the context of their composition and when viewed not myopically, but rather intuitively. the poems of geo,rey chaucer are double-edged and powerful when read as political pieces. in her writing “chaucer, gower, and the vernacular rising,” lynn arner speaks to this saying, “chaucer’s and gower’s writings o,er some convergent and some disparate stances regarding this new vernacular poetry in relation to what would now be considered identity politics” (arner 154). identity politics in this situation are appropriately attributed to the role of gender identity being called into question in chaucer’s works. she then goes on to say that “chaucerian poetry instructed readers how to recognize and understand identity-based claims and encouraged them to discount such concerns as inartful, ignorant, and ultimately dismissible” (arner 155) at the beginning of english literature. this quote examines the relationship between the original intention of chaucerian poetry and the presently contested state it is known to be. arner is pointing out that chaucer armed his audience with the critical thinking skills necessary for the correct interpretation of the political messaging behind his poetry by giving them a cipher of sorts. the last bit of her quote— regarding the discounting of concerns as inartful, ignorant, and ultimately dismissible—can be applied to the necessary attitudes that the scholars are choosing to engage with seemingly problematic texts like those found in “fragment i” (the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale). rather than viewing these tales as antifeministic, chaucer would encourage the audience to simply dismiss the surface-level understanding of the identity politics at play and go deeper in their analysis of the underlying message that is being expressed underneath all of the bells and whistles that are meant to distract you. these two statements in conjunction with her critical understanding of the legend of good women as adopting an “anti-identity stance” (arner 154) allow for a clear comprehension of the poem’s political significance. in conclusion, geo,rey chaucer was a man of many hats. his contributions to the literary community at a time where there was such uncertainty and a loss of overall culture should not be overlooked or discounted as a result of the single unclear case of raptus brought against him. in a world where vapid cancel culture permeates our society, it is easy to pigeonhole an individual on the basis of a single transgression. while it might seem reasonable to assume the worst in chaucer as a result of the chaumpaigne raptus case, it is negligent on our part as scholars who operate with the innate privilege of retrospect. as a result of my challenging and exploring of raptusits etymological origins, cultural significance, and application to that of one geo,rey chaucer—i have been able to critically ascertain that chaucer’s writings were inherently pro-feminist and existed as vehicles for subtle political subservience. through this paper, i have come to the conclusion that the perceived incongruities between chaucer as the poet and chaucer as the person—and courtier—are nonexistent below the surface-level understanding of his character. 44 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 !'.'!'*+'& “antifeminism.” feminizing chaucer, by jill mann, ned new edition ed., boydell & brewer, woodbridge, su,olk; rochester, ny, 2002, pp. 39–69. jstor, www. jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt14brv3d.8. accessed 17 dec. 2020. attridge, derek. “lyric, romance, and alliterative verse in fourteenth-century england.” the experience of poetry: from homer’s listeners to shakespeare’s readers. : oxford university press, march 21, 2019. oxford scholarship online. date accessed 16 dec. 2020 <https://oxford. universi typressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/ oso/9780198833154.001.0001/oso-9780198833154-chapter-10>. cannon, christopher. “chaucer and rape: uncertainty’s certainties.” representing rape in medieval and early modern literature. ed. elizabeth robertson and christine m. rose. new york: palgrave, 2001. 255–79. cannon, christopher. “raptus in the chaumpaigne release and a newly discovered document concerning the life of geo,rey chaucer.” speculum, vol. 68, no. 1, 1993, pp. 74–94. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/2863835. accessed 17 dec. 2020. chaucer, geo,rey, and benson, larry dean. the riverside chaucer. 3rd ed.. boston, mass.: houghton mi/in co., 1987. print. “chaucer’s poetics of the obscene: classical narrative and fabliau politics in fragment one of the canterbury tales and the legend of good women.” indecent exposure: gender, politics, and obscene comedy in middle english literature, by nicole nolan sidhu, university of pennsylvania press, 2016, pp. 76–110. jstor, www.jstor. org/stable/j.ctt1b3t8kq.6. accessed 17 dec. 2020. “conclusion.” chaucer, gower, and the vernacular rising: poetry and the problem of the populace after 1381, by lynn arner, pennsylvania state university press, 2013, pp. 153–161. dunn, caroline. stolen women in medieval england: rape, abduction, and adultery, 1100–1500. cambridge university press, 2012. dunn, caroline. “the language of ravishment in medieval england.” speculum, vol. 86, no. 1, 2011, pp. 79–116. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/41105501. accessed 17 dec. 2020. edwards, james frederick. “ the transport system of medieval england and wales a geographical synthesis.” university of salford, 1987. gower, john, et al. confessio amantis. published for teams (the consortium for the teaching of the middle ages) in association with the university of rochester by medieval institute publications, western michigan university, 2000. “introduction: the origins of female desire.” female desire in chaucer’s legend of good women and middle english romance, by lucy m. allen-goss, boydell & brewer, 2020, pp. 1–34. “raptus, n.” oed online, oxford university press, december 2020, www.oed.com/view/entry/158242. accessed 16 december 2020. saraceni, madeleine l. “chaucer’s feminine pretexts: gendered genres in three frame moments.” the chaucer review, vol. 51, no. 4, 2016, pp. 403–435. jstor, www. jstor.org/stable/10.5325/chaucerrev.51.4.0403. accessed 17 dec. 2020. saul, nigel. “richard ii.” encyclopædia britannica, encyclopædia britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/biography/richard-ii-king-of-england. waymack, anna. de raptu meo, chaumpaigne.org/. weiskott, eric. middle english alliterative poetry, mediakron.bc.edu/alliterativepoetry/timeline-of-poems. wiggins, alison. “frances wolfreston’s chaucer.” women and writing, c.1340-c.1650: the domestication of print culture, edited by anne lawrence-mathers and phillipa hardman, ned new edition ed., boydell & brewer, woodbridge, su,olk; rochester, ny, 2010, pp. 77–89. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt9qdk7z.10. accessed 17 dec. 2020. -/'% (, #"%6("7 #*12-'3*"-18 © wil540 art. (2021, october 2). espo workshop8 [photograph]. wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:espo_workshop8.jpg 13 41 +")$+#' #..#*4#'# © chaucer ellesmere. (2005, september 5). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaucer_ellesmere.jpg 54 /5($'# 1 © energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ historical facts are sealed, but the memory of a particular history changes from one generation to the next. the highly politicized nature of historical memory determined that only one interpretation can be right at a time. yet when individual memories contradict what is taught publicly, such gap creates an identity conflict within generations of war survivors. such is the conventionality of okinawa’s unique history. focusing on the relationship between “memory” and “identity,” countering this conception is the suppressed memories of individuals whose recollection challenged the conventional portrayal of victimhood. drawing on the second-generation war survivor medoruma shun’s fictional novella droplets as primary document, this paper explores the conflict of identities of okinawans from a perspective of “memory.” emphasizing the consequence of prolonged war trauma created by the lapses in public and private memories, the paper points to the bridge of the two as a potential gateway to resolve not only identity conflicts within individual war survivors, but collective healing as a group in reconciliation with its own pastcrimes. oppression and suppression the lingering controversy surrounding the meaning of weijia vicky shen the battle of okinawa in japanese memory “the one responsible for the mass suicide on kerama, too, must have ceaselessly repeated that kind of attempt at self deception and fraud toward others. before there is too colossal a mass of sin to atone for, he wishes to somehow live on in sanity.” –kenzaburo oe, okinawa notes thirty-five years after the publication of his book, okinawa notes (okinawa noto), the famous japanese writer and nobel laureate, kenzaburo, oe found himself embroiled in an unexpected lawsuit over the disputed history in notes. families of two japanese wwii veterans depicted in the book, yutaka umezawa and hidekazu akamatsu, who were part of the 32nd imperial japanese army stationed in okinawa during the last months of the war, charged the writer for defamation—oe had explicitly named akamatsu in charge of the military order of mass suicides on kerama island, where over 700 villagers committed suicide. the lawsuit came at a time of change. in april 2006, the ministry of education (mext) had just revised the fundamental law of education (kyoiku ihonho), also known as the “patriotic education law.”1 in march 2007, mext, under the lead of the abe administration, ordered the six publishers to revise in their history textbooks the japanese military’s involvement in coercion and mass suicides during the battle of okinawa. the ministry further stated that such passages can “generate the misunderstanding that all these actions were carried out under orders from the military.”2 the revision decision was met with fierce protests in okinawa, resulting in the largest mass demonstration in the history of the island since its reversion to japan in 1972. these events are but two of many that show the contested memories behind the battle of okinawa, the last and the bloodiest battle of the pacific war. the eighty-two day campaign cost more than 200,000 lives, of which over 140,000 were okinawan civilians,3 about one third of the island’s population. not only was okinawa the only japanese territory that experienced ground battle, the okinawan people were also the first japanese civilians who came into contact with the united states military. okinawa’s status as a new japanese prefecture meant okinawans had to prove their loyalty as “imperial subjects,” leading a considerable number of civilians to commit suicide under the ideology of gumin-ittaika, by which civilians and the military share a common purpose and destiny.4 others killed themselves in fear of the brutality of the american soldiers as depicted in japanese propaganda. the imperial army distributed hand grenades to civilians, coercing many to kill themselves and their family rather than having them captured by the u.s. military.5 undoubtedly, the forced mass suicides of civilians by imperial japanese soldiers became the key issue in the writing of history of the battle of okinawa. many okinawans came to see the act of forced suicides as evidence of japanese discrimination against okinawan lives. however, as japanese historian laura e. hein points out in her short introductory article “the territory of identity and remembrance in okinawa,” it was unclear whether official brutality and forced assimilation policies toward the okinawans were racial discrimination or mere disregard for all but the elite japanese.6 like okinawans, rural farmers were also expected to assimilate linguistically and culturally, andas well as to sacrifice personal well-being for the war cause. she argues that, if the united states had invaded kyushu as planned before japan’s surrender in august 1945, the people of kyushu would have been asked to die “in circumstances very like those faced by okinawans a few months earlier.”7 however, if wartime policies on okinawa were in fact like those in other prefectures, how does one explain okinawans grievances about the way the history of the battle is written and discussed today? as a matter of fact, an aerial view of tokashiki island, okinawa taken during wwii (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 94 elements : : fall 2017 anti-base activists, intellectuals, and government officials often refer back to the battle of okinawa when speaking of the tokyo government’s persistent discrimination against the okinawans today.8 in order to understand the way war memory was constructed in okinawa, it is important to keep in mind the self-consciousness of the majority of okinawans as colonial subjects, who had to perform “japanese” in order to prove their loyalty. unlike the mountain farmers whose japanese citizenship were not and cannot be questioned, the okinawans however, fell into the category of the “other” due to their history of dualsubordination from both china and japan.9 this position between two dominating powers continued in the form of japanese “residual sovereignty” and u.s. occupation after the war, and okinawa was never fully assimilated into japan. hence, in order to understand the complex makeup of the way memory became constructed through the lens and experience of such people, the modern okinawa identity has to be studied the context of its prolonged subordination under the security alliance between japan and the united states. the memory of the battle came to shape a distinct okinawa identity as an ethnic minority that continues to be treated as second-class citizens whose welfare is expendable to the japanese state. this paper seeks an understanding of the okinawa identity through the study of war memory and the construction of the “okinawa peace philosophy” through governor ota’s “peace promotion” policies. these constitute the construction of a new war monument, a new prefectural peace memorial museum, as well as an okinawa peace research center which would serve as the administrative organ of the new museum and monument. by looking specifically at the making of an “okinawa spirit” in the corner stone of peace, this chapter hopes to present the conflicting nature of okinawa war memory—hence, okinawa identity—through an analysis of okinawa writer medoruma shun’s droplet in the context of the 90s “memory boom” and its repercussions in the post-memory revisionist era. shaping public memory through the corner stone of peace to an extent, the two incidents mentioned above reflect a continual nationalist backlash against the attempt to address japan’s war responsibilities in a post-cold war world in the early 1990s.10 the death of the showa emperor in 1989 and the end of the cold war brought forth new waves of debates on japan’s war responsibilities that were previously concealed under the cold war political division. exacerbating the debate was the united states’ demand that japan participate in the first gulf war in 1991, putting the constitutionality of the self defense forces again on the front page. the end of the ldp (liberal democratic party)’s dominance in 1993, however, suggested a possibility for japan to redefine its place internationally through reconciliation with its wartime deeds. japan was facing increasing pressures and criticisms from its close neighbors, notably on the issues of “comfort women” and the white-washing of history in japanese school textbooks. either out of international pressure or a changing historical consciousness, prime minister kiichi miyazawa made the first official apology after hirohito’s death during his visit to seoul in 1991. he was soon followed by prime minister morihiro hosakawa in 1993, who publicly acknowledged japan’s “aggressive war,” and tomiichi murayama, whose “personal” apology at the 50th anniversary of the end of wwii sparked intense international debates. for okinawa, the two events that marked japan’s transition were equally significant.. the japan-u.s. security alliance, which had been built in the context of the cold war order, where the united states had a justifiable reason (i.e. threat of communism) for maintaining its bases in japan and okinawa seemed to have lost its primary purpose. for some anti-base activists, the collapse of the ussr seemed to indicate the fulfillment of okinawa’s role as the “keystone of the pacific” and a final end to the military bases. the death of emperor hirohito not only marked the “the memory of the battle came to shape a distinct okinawa identity as an ethnic minority that continues to be treated as second-class citizens whose welfare is expendable to the japanese state.” 95 oppression and suppression end of the showa era, but also a completion of japan’s long “postwar” that was especially prominent in okinawa.f japan’s defeat in wwii predetermined its, and thus okinawa’s, subjugation, then the beginning of the heisei era and a new world order as the 1990s unfolded ought to have been a new beginning for both japan and okinawa. the response to the death of emperor hirohito on okinawa, however, contrasted drastically to that of mainland japan. the emperor has been a controversial figure in okinawa since the end of the u.s. occupation. in his 2008 article, “okinawa perspectives on japan’s imperial institution,” steve rabson notes that the general awareness and criticisms of the emperor in okinawa began around the time of reversion. publication of okinawa journalist kawamitsu shinichi’s “thought in okinawa on the emperor system” in 1970 marked the beginning of public debates regarding the emperor’s wartime role. intellectuals and political leaders alike began to express animosity towards hirohito and emperor system as concerns arose over japanese textbook’s inadequate address of its wartime aggression.11 since then, acts of violence often took place in opposition to the “emperor system,” notably the firebomb threats during then crown prince akihito and princess michio’s visit to okinawa in 1975. rabson notes the newspaper reporting of the taimusu and the ryukyu shimpo on january 7, 1989, where the word “goseikyo” was used instead of “hogyo,” which was used in the rest of japan. while both words denote death, the connotation differs greatly. the word “hogyo” is only used to indicate the death of the emperor or empress, where “goseikyo” is a mere honorific term referring to the death of any person. this contrast in terminology was said to be out of “consideration for the special sensitivities of the people in the prefecture.”12 radical change in okinawa’s politics followed the year after the showa emperor’s death. masahide ota, a professor of history at the university of ryukyus, defeated the incumbent ldp governor, junji nishime, on a nonparty platform to become the fifth governor of okinawa. an outspoken anti-base activist and a central figure in public intellectual debates of okinawa issues, ota often referred to his own experience as a student in the imperial blood and iron youth corps during the battle of okinawa to criticize japan’s continual disregard for okinawan wellbeing and human rights. based on a campaign to remove all military bases on okinawa, ota’s victory showed a collective desire for change. this is evident by his reelection in 1994 despite initial setbacks during his first term, mostly due to conservative oppositions in the prefectural assembly. ota captured the moment of change in the immediate years after 1989. like his counterparts in tokyo, he used the tide of shifting memory to reshape okinawa’s collective war remembrance beginning with the construction of a new prefectural peace memorial in 1991. before the construction of the corner stone of peace, most war memorials on okinawa were built in the 1960s during the height of the reversion movement. it is therefore unsurprising that more than half of these memorials contained expressions that glorify okinawa’s participation and sacrifices in the war. gerald figal, a professor of history at vanderbilt university, observed that the surge of patriotic memorials in the 1960s can be seen as “an assertion of new-found japanese national pride in the wake of postwar economic recovery and as a prelude to the japanese re-territorialization of okinawa.”14 among them was the reimi-no-to (break of dawn tower), a memorial for the 32nd imperial army commander mitsuru ushijima and his chief of staff cho isamu,15 both of whom committed seppuku at the end of the battle of okinawa. it was built on behest of the okinawa bereaved families association in 1962. this monument was accompanied by kenji-no-to (exemplary stalwart youth tower), which was dedicated to the students who fought along ushijima, glorifying the noble sacrifices and the heroic deeds of the prefectural youths. such memorials came to be increasingly at odds with okinawa’s anti-military base—thus anti-war— rhetoric, and the growing public criticism of japan’s continual disregard of the history of the battle of okinawa in school textbooks.16 the corner stone of peace, was meant to showcase a uniquely okinawa war memory. the unveiling of the corner stone of peace in june of 1995 at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of wwii in okinawa formally actualized the okinawa peace philosophy (heiwa no shiso), which would come to shape okinawa’s identity as the “locus for the promotion of world peace.”17 drawing on okinawa’s painful experience in the battle of okinawa and the daily reminder of war with the presence of the military bases, okinawa gained a unique qualification for peace promotion not unlike that of hiroshima and nagasaki. the peace memorial, titled “everlasting waves of peace”17 in the original design, took a 96 elements : : fall 2017 step further from its inspiration, the vietnam war memorial in washington d.c. on the black granite walls display the names of over 240,000 who lost their lives during the battle of okinawa, civilians and combatants alike, of all nationality and ethnicities. this unique characteristic of the corner stone of peace is to convey okinawa’s spirit of peace, which has developed through okinawa’s history and culture, to the people of japan and throughout the world. the names of all those who lost their lives in the battle of okinawa, military and civilian alike regardless of nationality, are inscribed on the cornerstone of peace as a prayer for eternal world peace.18 the okinawa peace ideology that crosses national boundaries, race, and religion, symbolized by the corner stone of peace, quickly extended to what figal calls “idealized history.” okinawa’s peace discourse is used to create historical consistency of a “peace identity,” tracing as far back to the “golden age of trade” in the 15th century, when “men from the tiny kingdom of ryukyu traveled without weapons, armed only with words, consideration and good nature, and maintained peaceful relations with peoples throughout east and southeast asia.”19 in one story, the okinawa king sho tai allegedly uttered “life is precious” (nuchi du takara) as he surrendered shuri castle to the meiji government in 1879. his words later came to be understood as a core statement of or the fundamental “okinawa spirit” (okinawa no kokoro) where “in face of oppression, militarism, and colonialism the okinawan people struggled to preserve the ideal of the supremacy of life over death, peace over war, the sanshin (samisen) over the gun.”20 these romanticized histories of the okinawan past not only show contemporary efforts to create an okinawa identity that is distinct from the “militant” japan, but also emphasizes okinawa’s place in the context of a globalized world where it continues to promote peace through the “okinawa spirit,” or as ota puts it, “devotion to peace and the absence of weapons.”21 1995, the year of flux with the unveiling of the corner stone of peace, the year 1995 marked an important transitional moment for both okinawa and japan. beginning with the great hanshin earthquake in january, japan faced one crisis after another. the tokyo subway gas attack in march sent shocks throughout the country, challenging the perception of japan as a safe and crime free country. in the midst of natural disaster and terrorist attacks, the ldp and jsp (japan socialist party) coalition government in tokyo was in fierce debate over the fusen ketsugi, also known as the “resolution to renew the determination for peace on the basis of lessons learned from history.” the socialist party had sought to make an official statement to formally apologize for japan’s wartime deeds, but the deeply diluted language of the resolution was criticized by many, which further discredited the jsp, having already made major ideological concessions in order to form its political alliance with the ldp. dissatisfied by the diet resolution, murayama delivered a “personal” apology that acknowledged japan’s “colonial rule and aggression” and apologized for “causing tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries.”22 his statement, however, could not undo the damages done by the resolution; he was further criticized by conservatives for using the commemoration to express his private opinion.23 the inability of the murayama cabinet to quickly respond to the earthquake, the deepening of the economic recession, and the political upheaval over the fusen ketsugi and muyarama’s personal apology, became the trigger to what scholars referred to as the “nationalist backlash.”24 as the conservative liberal democratic party (ldp) assumed premiership in 1996, previous reconciliatory effort was soon eviscerated with prime minister ryutaro hashimoto’s multiple visits to the yasukuni shrine, a place of controversy since the enshrinement of fourteen class a war criminals.25 corner stone of peace in okinawa, japan(courtesy of wikimedia commons) 97 oppression and suppression a protest regardind the us military base(courtesy of wikimedia commons) while okinawa was able to escape the disasters that imbued much of mainland japan, 1995 was also a momentous year for okinawa for multiple reasons. not only was it meaningful that it marked the 50th anniversary of the end of wwii, but it also was a pivotal moment for the ota government in its declaration of a new okinawa identity as it entered the third phase of its struggle against japanese and american subjectivity.26 a month after the nationwide august 15th commemoration of the end of the war, three u.s. servicemen associated with camp hansen abducted a twelve-year old okinawan schoolgirl as she was walking home at night. they beat her, and took turns raping her before dumping her body on an abandoned beach. painfully reminding the okinawans of the rape and murder of the six-year old yumiko-chan exactly forty years ago, the incident caused some of the largest island wide protests and demonstrations in okinawa and on mainland japan. landowners, women’s organizations, intellectuals, and students alike marched in protest, often demanding the removal of all u.s. bases in okinawa.27 the rape incident prompted fierce debates over the issue of “extraterritoriality,” given japanese authorities could not demand the u.s. military to turn over the three suspects.28 it took an entire twenty-five days for the us military to turn over the three suspects, after the naha district court formally charged the three men of rape.29 as a response to the rape, governor ota announced his refusal to “act as the proxy of the [tokyo] government,” which required him to perform “delegated functions” of governorship by overwriting land leases of local land owners who refused to renew their leases in protest of the military base. such incidents had became a normal occurrence in okinawa, and local mayors were often asked to act as proxy before it escalated to the prefectural government.30 however, in 1995, three local mayors had refused to act as proxies themselves.31 ota’s decision, while unexpected, demonstrated the renewed sense of okinawa consciousness that rejected its traditional self-subjugation under the imposition of the central government. as julia humphry summarizes, “[ota’s] action highlighted the extent to which the “okinawa issue” implicated the core of foundations of us-japan security relations and the democratic principles of japan’s postwar system.”32 after ota’s repeated refusal to concede, prime minister murayama filed a lawsuit against ota, making him the first prefectural governor sued by the central government.33 humphry points to murayama’s lawsuit against ota as an indication of the sdp’s power limits in a ldp dominated coalition government and the extent of the dissolution of the post-war liberal ideals.34 ota’s defeat in both the fukuoka high court and the rejection of his supreme court appeal in 1996 reduced any likelihood of successful negotiations with the central government. his prolonged opposition only caused murayama’s successor, ryutaro hashimoto, the leader of the ldp faction within the coalition government, to bypass ota and act as proxy himself. meanwhile, hashimoto attempted to strike a deal with ota by proposing a five-billion “adjustment fund” and the establishment of an “okinawa policy council” just for the discussion of okinawa economic development and the issue of u.s. military presence, provided that ota back down and enforce the leases. facing increasing pressure from okinawa conservatives and right-wing factions within his administration, ota eventually conceded to hashimoto, fearing that an extended standstill with the central government would result in the revision of the special measures law, which would permanently allow the prime minister authority to intervene in the land leasing process and act as proxy without going through legal proceedings.35 in light of the national turn towards conservatism, which emphasized on economic revival and a japan that the youth can be proud of, earlier progressive voices for apology and reconciliation with past atrocities grew soft. ota’s concession to the proxy issue and his disintegrating relationship with the central government did not help him 98 elements : : fall 2017 maintain public support. his stern opposition of the construction of an offshore helipad in replacement of the futenma airbase36 further cost him the support of the local business section. this lead to ota’s defeat in the gubernatorial election in 1998. the winner, keiichi inamine, promised to restore relations with the tokyo government—thus resuming the money pipeline, frozen under ota’s disobedience—through his direct connection to the ld soft. okinawa, whose economy still largely depends on mainland investment packages, was unable to stay aloof from changes in national politics. medoruma shun’s droplets and hidden memories it was in this atmosphere of intense political debates and civic movements of 1995 that medoruma shun began writing his akutagawa prize-winning piece, droplets. a second-generation war survivor, medoruma37 is not only renowned for his outspoken literary engagement with war memory, but also for his advent participation in public debates on political issues surrounding u.s. military bases.38 scholars of all disciplines have studied his works in depth. perhaps the most comprehensive among them, is kyle ikeda’s okinawa war memory: transgenerational trauma and the war fiction of medoruma shun, which remains the only volume completely dedicated to medoruma’s works in the frame of war memory. others situate medoruma’s literature in the context of okinawa’s unique history. almost all point to droplets as a turning point in medoruma’s writing career, which is of itself, a product of the turmoil of 1990s.39 set in a village of northern okinawa fifty years after the war, droplets unfolds as an imaginary encounter between a battle of okinawa survivor, tokusho, and dead soldiers whom tokusho had known as a blood and iron youth. portrayed as a lazy idler who avoids working in the fields, drinks excessively, and gambles away all his money, the protagonist’s deeply buried recollection of the war slowly reveals itself during the time he was incapacitated due to a sudden swelling of his leg. as tokusho recalls and confronts the suppressed memory of his abandonment of his friend ishimane, the swelling subsides and he fully recovers from the illness. the story ends without a transformation, as tokusho resumes his old habits of drinking and gambling, realizing that he would never be able to unleash the burden of his secret to anyone. droplets’ criticism of the construction of a unified war memory is apparent, as witnessed by tokusho’s suppression of his own misdeeds, as it does not fit into okinawa’s publicized victimhood.40 as demonstrated in droplets, such suppression carries a large amount of guilt for the individual. tokusho not only has to bear the burden of his own secret, he also reshapes his experience of the war in order to play into the “war hero” identity entrusted to him by others. “at first [tokusho] spoke with blind intensity, but eventually he began to grasp what his audience wanted to hear and learned not to appear too glib.”41 while he enjoyed the children’s praises and respect, tokusho is aware of nature of his lies, for “as soon as he finished a lecture he always vowed to make it his last,”42 and whenever “he [ forgets] himself, he would suddenly look up at the intent faces of the children and feel ashamed or even frightened.”43 medoruma skillfully depicts tokusho’s conflicted identities as both victim and perpetrator in the manifestation of his strange disease. incapacitated by the swollen leg, he is forced to come to terms with his own past by fulfilling what he had failed to do during the war—quenching the thirst of the soldiers by giving away his body. his initial fear and resentment towards the soldiers sucking his toe for water turned into a strange eroticism as he recognized ishimane amongst them, “when the tip of [ishimane’s] tongue brushed across the pond on his toe, a tingling shot up from his foot through his thigh to the root that had handed in his groin. a small moan escaped from tokusho’s mouth, and his aging body emitted the scent of young grass.”44 in other words, the release of his hidden memo“droplets’ criticism of the construction of a unified war memory is apparent, as witnessed by tokusho’s supression of his own misdeeds, as it does not fit into okinawa’s publicized victimhood.” 99 oppression and suppression ries, in the form of providing ishimane what tokusho had taken away from him (i.e. water) became both mental and physical liberation. however, medoruma limits tokusho’s liberation in the boundary of his dreamy encounter with the dead soldiers, for his personal apology to ishimine only lightened part of his burden. tokusho was able to come to terms with the trauma of his own war crime, but in a culture that was not ready to accept his other identity as perpetrator, the secret is to remain hidden. his transformation, thus, is half finished. droplets raises several key issues as a fictional piece in its historical context. jordi serrano munoz and kyle ikeda have already pointed out the dualism evident throughout the novel. their analysis can be summarized to that between the public and private. on the outside, tokusho is the honorable war survivor who represents okinawa’s victimhood subjected under japan, but privately, he is the lazy and unreliable husband who makes profit off the war. having said that, it is important to recognize the private identity of tokusho, as ikeda rightfully points out, is deeply connected to his war trauma that cannot be expressed in the public.45 medoruma engages such dualism to challenge not only the national, but also prefectural representation of history, suggesting the inadequate nature of such representations. he also emphasizes the undermining consequence it could have for not only the individuals who bears different memories, but perhaps also second and third generation war survivors like medoruma himself, who can only know the partial truth. one can interpret medoruma’s novella as a critique of the heightened identity politics through the construction of a shared war memory represented by the corner stone of peace. medoruma brings forth the issue of okinawan war responsibilities, which is seldom mentioned in okinawa’s history books or oral history accounts. instead of disputing historical factuality, he used droplets as a means to fill in the gaps of public memory while suggesting a potentiality to bridge such gaps between the public and private by coming to terms with trauma, not merely as an individual, but as a collective community.46 conclusion following ota’s defeat, okinawa returned to ldp rule under keiichi inamine, whose election saw a return to the pre-1990 “construction state” with high economic dependency on the mainland. like that of hashimoto’s, inamine’s election demonstrated a general consensus in japan as well as in okinawa for political and economical stability after the short experiment of the socialist party. immediately after inamine’s election, prime minister obuchi keizo doubled the amount of “adjustment funds” promised earlier to ota.47 in exchange, inamine was to resolve the futenma relocation issue. following the central government’s announcement to appoint nago as the host city for the 2000 g-8 summit in april 1999, the inamine government began secretly revising the proposed displays at the new yaeyama peace memorial museum. bypassing the supervisor of the original exhibition plans, the inamine administration altered eleven captions out of twenty-seven for photos and diagrams, including some that depicted the forced mass suicide of civilians.48 it was later revealed that inamine had allegedly stated that these exhibitions should consider museum displays in other parts of japan. he also declared that they “should not be too anti-japanese” out of respect for the different visitors of the g-8 summit from all parts of japan who make take offense at such displays.49 if ota’s effort to construct a new peace memorial was an okinawa reaction to the political shifts in japan, then the inamine administration’s alteration of museum displays can be seen as a direct counter to ota’s identity policies. the pendulum-swing-like battles on war memory as demonstrated by the ota and inamine administrations can “in the case of the battle of okinawa, the richness of private memories not only paint a fuller and more vivid picture of okinawa’s past, but also show a true commitment to the ‘okinawa spirit’ that upholds peace and life.” 100 elements : : fall 2017 only be contributed to the politicized nature of war memory. by appealing to memory, both ota and inamine sought to instill a sense of shared identity. whether that is okinawa as a “locus of peace promotion,” or okinawa as a prosperous prefecture of japan, any form of public commemoration is meant to leave out those who do not share a common past. the conflict of identities thus arises from an inability to share one’s own recollection of a communal past, as medoruma characterizes in the villager tokusho. in his 1995 song, the okinawan singer tsukayama hiroyoshi uses king sho tai’s famous phrase, nuchi du takara (life is a treasure), capturing the complex yet painful memory of the battle of okinawa: forget, i can’t forget, the sorrows of the warring world everytime i remember, my hair stands on end truly, we must tell of the war truly, life is a treasure to survive the war, we hid in caves but the caves also became hells, the houses of devils truly, we must tell of war truly, life is a treasure50 in appealing for truth, hiroyoshi resonates to medoruma’s presentation of tokusho’s magical reality in droplets. the complex and layered nature of okinawa identity proved that a publicly commemorated memory is certain to undermine the private, but the public and private need not to be in dualistic positions. by acknowledging conflicting memories and identities, the hidden memories of the individuals act as supplements to the gaps in public memories. in the case of the battle of okinawa, the richness of private memories not only paint a fuller and more vivid picture of okinawa’s past, but also show a true commitment to the “okinawa spirit” that upholds peace and life. endnotes 1. japanese scholar mark mullins had called this revision “a radical shift in the educational system from one that seeks to nurture individual character to one aimed at cultivating individuals who will comply with the policies of the state.” quoted in jeff kingston, “nationalism in the abe era,” the asiapacific journal 14, issue 20, no. 4, oct 2016, 3. accessed feb 27, 2017. http://apjjf.org/2016/20/kingston.html and yamasaki (2006). 2. “mass suicides in okinawa,” asahi shinbun editorial, december 27, 2007. 3. ryukyu shimpo, descent into hell: civilian memories of the battle of okinawa, trans. mark ealey and alastair mclauchlan (portland, me: merwin asia, 2014), xix. 4. masahide ota, “ryukyu shimpo, ota masahide, mark ealey and alastair mclauchlan, descent into hell: the battle of okinawa,” december 1, 2014, accessed dec 5, 2015, http://www. japanfocus.org/-ota-masahide/4230/article.html. 5. michael bradley, “‘banzai!’ the compulsory mass suicide of kerama islanders in the battle of okinawa,” trans. naoko maehara, the asia-pacific journal 11, no. 2 (june 2, 2014), accessed mar 17, 2017. http://apjjf.org/2014/11/22/michaelbradley/4125/article.html. 6. laura e. hein, “introduction: the territory of identity and remembrance in okinawa,” critical asian studies, 33:1, 34, doi: 10.1080/14672710122729 7. laura e. hein, “introduction: the territory of identity and remembrance in okinawa,” 34-35. 8. see aniya masaaki, “compulsory mass suicide, the battle of okinawa, and japan’s textbook controversy,” and kanata satoshi, “shattering jewels: 110,000 okinawans protest japanese state censorship of compulsory group suicides,” the asiapacific journal 6, no. 1, (jan 8, 2008), accessed feb 23, 2017, http://apjjf.org/-aniya-masaaki/2629/article.html, http://apjjf. org/-kamata-satoshi/2625/article.html. 9. christy observes the disproportional educational expenditure in okinawa in 1902(which is more than half of the prefecture’s revenue as compare to taiwan’s six-thousandth) as a result from okinawa’s past ties with china. see alan s. christy, “the making of imperial subjects in okinawa,” positions 1, no. 3 (1993): 607–39. 10. see akiko takenaka, “japanese memories of the asia-pacific war: analyzing the revisionist turn post-1995,” the asia-pacific journal 14, issue 20, no.9, (oct 2016), accessed feb 15, 2017. 11. keitoku okamoto, “okinawa ni okeru tenno-sei ron,” quoted in steve rabson, “okinawa perspective on japan’s imperial institution,” the asia-pacific journal 6, issue 2, no. 0, (feb 1, 2008). accessed feb 24, 2017. http://apjjf.org/-steverabson/2667/article.html 12. quoted in steve rabson,“okinawa perspective on japan’s imperial institution,” the asia-pacific journal 6, issue 2, no. 0, (feb 1, 2008). accessed feb 24, 2017. http://apjjf.org/-steverabson/2667/article.html 13. “corner stone of peace,” wikimedia commons, oct 2006. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:cornerstone_of_ peace.jpg. accessed mar 17, 2017. 14. gerald figal, “waging peace on okinawa,” critical asian studies, 33:1, (2001), 47. 15. cho isamu is often associated with the massacre of chinese prisoners during hi time in nanjing in december 1937 as an aide to prince yasuhito asaka. see note 2 of medoruma shun, trans. rum nakamoto and matthew allen, “we cannot allow governor nakaima to falsify the history of the battle of okinawa,” the asia-pacific journal 10, issue 15, no. 2, (april 2012). 16. the 1983 lawsuit against the ministry of education by historian saburo ienaga is representative of such contentions, but general dissatisfaction towards japanese textbooks began to appear as reversion approached. see rabson, “okinawa 101 oppression and suppression perspective on japan’s imperial institution,” and julia humphry, “making history from japan’s margins: ota masahide and okinawa,” phd diss., australian national university, canberra, 2002, 61-62. 17. masaie ishihara, “war experience of the people of okinawa and the development of the okinawa philosophy of peace,” okinawa international university, no.1, (dec 1995), 19. 18. peace memorial park, accessed mar 13, 2017. http://sp.heiwairei-okinawa.jp/stone/stone01.html. 19. ishihara, 16. 20. gavan mccormack and satoko norimatsu, “gavan mccormack, norimatsu satoko, ‘ryukyu/okinawa, from disposal to resistance,’” the asia-pacific journal, vol 10, issue 38, no. 1, (september 17, 2012), accessed mar 11, 2017, http:// www.japanfocus.org/-satoko-norimatsu/3828/article.html. 21. masahide ota, essays on okinawa problems, yui shuppan co., (okinawa, 2000), 274. 22. “statement by prime minister tomiichi murayama ‘on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war’s end’ (15 august 1995),” ministry of foreign affairs, accessed mar 14, 2017. http:// www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html 23. for an in depth analysis of japanese political apologies, see franziska seraphim, war memory and social politics in japan, 1945-2005, harvard university press (cambridge, ma and london 2006), 262-286. 24. jeff kingston, “nationalism in the abe era,” the asia-pacific journal 14, issue 20, no. 4, oct 2016, 3. accessed feb 27, 2017. http://apjjf.org/2016/20/kingston.html and yamasaki (2006). 25. “japan premier visits shrine to war dead,” the new york times, june 30, 1996. accessed mar 10, 2017. http://www. nytimes.com/1996/07/30/world/japan-premier-visits-shrine-towar-dead.html. 26. 1995 is considered a new phase of the okinawa struggle due to the military rape incident and the subsequent futenma base relocation controversy, which is yet to be resolved. 27. the resolution issued at the people’s rally on oct 21, 1995, which over 85,000 attended, demanded the enforcement of military discipline, apology and compensation to the victim, immediate reversion of sofa, and the reduction and realignment of u.s. bases in okinawa, okinawa peace network of los angeles, accessed mar 11, 2017. http://www.uchinanchu.org/ history/1995_rape_incident.htm 28. under article seventeen of the status of forces agreement declared that “the custody of an accused member of the united states armed forces or the civilian component over whom japan is to exercise jurisdiction shall, if he is in the hands of the united states, remain with the united states until he is charged by japan.” see “agreement regarding the status of united states armed forces in japan,” ministry of foreign affairs, accessed mar 14, 2017. http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/n-america/us/q&a/ ref/2.html 29. “americans charged in rape in okinawa,” the new york times, (sep 29, 1995). 30. julia humphry, “making history from japan’s margins: ota masahide and okinawa,” phd diss., australian national university, canberra, 2002, 240. 31. ibid, 240. 32. ibid, 242. 33. “japan sues on u.s. bases,” the new york times, dec 8, 1995. 34. humphry, 247. 35. humphry, 264-268. 36. the issue of futenma and anti-base movements are discussed in detail in the following chapter. 37. the author is often referred by his first name instead of last. 38. kyle ikeda, okinawa war memory: transgenerational trauma and the war fiction of medoruma shun, routledge, (abingdon and new york, 2014), 1-3. 39. divider bhowmik, “fractious memories in medoruma shun’s tales of war,” the asia-pacific journal 10, issue 38, no. 3, (sep 2012), 3. 40. see bhowmik, 8, and jordi serrano muñoz, “droplets, by medoruma shun: personal guilt as collective responsibility,” stanford journal of asian studies 15, (fall 2015), 115. 41. medoruma shun, “droplets.” in southern exposure: modern japanese literature from okinawa, ed. by michael molasky and steve rabson, (honolulu, hi: u of hawai’i, 2000), 271. 42. ibid, 271. 43. ibid, 271. 44. ibid, 265. 45. ikeda, 60. 46. ikeda, 69. 47. humphrey, 306. 48. julia yonetani, “contested memories: struggles over war and peace in contemporary okinawa,” in japan and okinawa: structure and subjectivity, ed. glenn d. hook and richard siddle (london; new york: routledgecurzon, 2003), 196. 49. ibid, 197. 50. tsukayama hiroyoshi, “nuchi du takara (life is a treasure),” cited in james e. roberson, “songs of war and peace: music and memory in okinawa,” the asia-pacific journal 8, no. 31 (july 2010), apjjf.org/-james-e--roberson/3394/article.pdf. references bradley, michael. “‘banzai!’ the compulsory mass suicide of kerama islanders in the battle of okinawa.” translated by naoko maehara. the asia-pacific journal 11, no. 2 (june 2, 2014). http://www.japanfocus.org/-michael-bradley/4125/article.html. christy, alan s. “the making of imperial subjects in okinawa.” positions 1, no. 3 (1993): 607–39. ota, masahide. “ryukyu shimpo, ota masahide, mark ealey and alastair mclauchlan, descent into hell: the battle of okinawa” december 1, 2014. http://www.japanfocus.org/-ota-masahide/4230/article.html. 102 elements : : fall 2017 roberson, james e. “songs of war and peace: music and memory in okinawa” the asia-pacific journal 8, no. 31 (july 2010). apjjf.org/-james-e--roberson/3394/article. pdf. yonetani, julia. “contested memories: struggles over war and peace in contemporary okinawa.” in japan and okinawa: structure and subjectivity, edited by glenn d. hook and richard siddle, 196. london; new york: routledgecurzon, 2003. shun, medoruma. “droplets.” in southern exposure: modern japanese literature from okinawa, edited by michael s. molasky and steve rabson. honolulu: university of hawai’i press, 2000. ota, masahide. essays on okinawa problems. okinawa, japan: yui shuppan co., 2000. seaton, philip a. japan’s contested war memories: the “memory rifts” in historical consciousness of world war ii. routledge contemporary japan series. london ; new york: routledge, 2007. muñoz, jordi serrano. “droplets, by medoruma shun: personal guilt as collective responsibility.” stanford journal of asian studies 15, (fall 2015). seraphim, franziska. war memory and social politics in japan, 1945-2005. cambridge, ma; london: harvard university press 2006. kingston, jeff. “nationalism in the abe era.” the asia-pacific journal 14, issue 20, no. 4, (oct 2016). accessed feb 27, 2017. humphry, julia. “making history from japan’s margins: ota masahide and okinawa,” phd diss. canberra: australian national university, 2002. takenaka, akiko. “japanese memories of the asia-pacific war: analyzing the revisionist turn post-1995.” the asiapacific journal 14, issue 20, no.9, (oct 2016), accessed feb 15, 2017. rabson, steve. “okinawa perspective on japan’s imperial institution,” the asia-pacific journal 6, issue 2, no. 0, (feb 1, 2008). accessed feb 24, 2017. figal, gerald. “waging peace on okinawa.” critical asian studies, 33:1, (2001). nakamoto, rum and allen, matthew. “we cannot allow governor nakaima to falsify the history of the battle of okinawa,” the asia-pacific journal 10, issue 15, no. 2, (april 2012). ishihara, masaie. “war experience of the people of okinawa and the development of the okinawa philosophy of peace.” okinawa international university, no.1, (dec 1995). mccormack gavan and norimatsu satoko. “gavan mccormack, norimatsu satoko, ‘ryukyu/okinawa, from disposal to resistance.’” the asia-pacific journal, vol 10, issue 38, no. 1, (september 17, 2012). accessed mar 11, 2017. ryukyu shimpo. descent into hell: civilian memories of the battle of okinawa. translated by mark ealey and alastair mclauchlan. portland, me: merwin asia, 2014. masaaki, aniya. “compulsory mass suicide, the battle of okinawa, and japan’s textbook controversy.” the asiapacific journal 6, no. 1, (jan 8, 2008). accessed feb 23, 2017. kanata satoshi, “shattering jewels: 110,000 okinawans protest japanese state censorship of compulsory group suicides.” the asia-pacific journal 6, no. 1, (jan 8, 2008). accessed feb 23, 2017. hein, laura e. “introduction: the territory of identity and remembrance in okinawa.” critical asian studies, 33:1. 103 oppression and suppression today, there exist two very different versions of jordan vying for superiority: that which is rooted in an indigenous arab culture and language, and that of a westernizing, wealthy, and influential minority. english language proficiency and fluency is an important contributor to this widening gap. it can determine employment opportunity, social interaction, and acceptance into various spaces. its causes, while complex and difficult to untangle, can ultimately be traced to an education system rife with class-based hierarchy and unequal resource distribution as well as a postcolonial association of english as a language of superiority. thus, rather than perpetuate the spread of english for nonessential purposes, jordan should undertake educational reform projects focusing on an arabic curriculum with universal standards across governorates and the public-private sector divide. furthermore, it should more efficiently enforce existing laws affirming the primacy of arabic in public life and take steps to tighten loopholes such as tourism permits for private businesses. lost in translation an exploration of english fluency and class division in jordan hailey burgess context of a language-driven class disparity in 1999, king abdullah ii assumed the throne of jordan, an arab country, after spending a lifetime speaking english as a first language and being educated in western civil and military institutions. in this respect, he was little different than “the elite class of amman,” who occupy spheres of english-language fluency and of increasing westernization and wealth (the guardian, 1999). they receive private school education and remain largely segregated on a societal and economic level from their less privileged countrymen, who oftentimes happen to be monolingual. jordan as a whole ranked among the bottom twenty countries in the 2017 ef english proficiency index despite its recent efforts and high educational spending relative to its neighbors and other regions of the world (ef, 2017). while such figures point to the issue of a lack of english fluency in jordan in general, the situational realities in the capital and beyond highlight stark socioeconomic stratifications in english proficiency. as english becomes more necessary and evident in everyday life, its exclusionary traits manifest in education, employment, and development, and thus permeate various facets of jordanian society. in terms of english language use, jordan exists in what christiaan prinsloo terms “the expanding circle,” in which countries have only one official language, yet english is becoming prominent and advantageous. prinsloo cites the case of south korea, whose exposure to english developed in a manner similar to that of jordan: while language training began among upper-class families, it soon manifested into compulsory english classes, and exists today as entire subjects—math and science in particular—are taught in english (prinsloo, 2017). in jordan, students in public schools have been mandated to take english beginning in first grade, a significant change from the fifth-grade start date prior to educational planning done in the early 2000s, and public universities continue the long-standing practice of teaching scientific subjects in english and the humanities in arabic. while rooted in good intentions of better preparing students for a global labor market, this focus on english helps to “nurture linguistic and cultural imperialist sentiments that configure the hierarchy of english norm-dependence […] that has a stronghold on the knowledge economy” (prinsloo, 2017). moreover, although there is a strong desire to portray the country and educational system as prioritizing english and western themes, efforts are falling short. thus, only a privileged class is achieving nominal english proficiency which is then used to emphasize class difference and inequality in jordan. in jordan and throughout the region, english language proficiency is an important factor in employment options and opportunity, especially as tourism and foreign ngo markets experience significant growth (alhabahba, pandian, and mahfoodh, 2016). in a survey of jordanian college students, the majority indicated their desire to learn english was rooted in obtaining a good job or to teach english, which is similarly linked to “the belief that teaching english was an easy, comfortable, and well-paid job” (abu-melhim, 2009). perpetuated by the education system, primarily through the tawjihi exam, this desire for stable and well-regarded employment often trumps genuine interest in a subject or commitment to its execution. the tawjihi, taken by high school seniors, requires extensive rote memorization and determines a student’s career path based on their score percentile. the highest scoring students are directed toward engineering and medical professions, while those in lower percentiles generally pursue careers in the humanities or teaching. of course, the role of english in job markets is not a uniquely jordanian or regional fact—as a lingua franca, or a common language used between speakers of different native languages, it is internationally advantageous to become proficient. in south africa, for example, “english proficiency among african men with post-secondary education resulted in approximately 90% better earnings” (prinsloo, 2017). beyond students’ decisions and future intentions to study the language, english directly affects business opportuniabdali mall complex with view of king abdullah i mosque (courtesy of hailey burgess) 46 elements : : spring 2018 ties and decisions in jordan. for example, “shop owners may have decided to resort to a foreign language and completely exclude their own tongue, as to show the highest degree of prestige” (obeidat, 2008). as english use is an emerging global trend in international markets and “the aura of englishness… is undoubtedly very lucrative,” it is not far-fetched to believe that business owners may find that catering to elite communities through selective language use produces greater yields than marketing to their neighbors (aristova, 2016). furthermore, as tourism, ngo, and other english-heavy professional sectors grow in jordan, an added dimension of economic exclusion develops. in addition to the de facto necessity of wasta—the influence of personal networks and social connections in colloquial arabic—that already dictates jordanian life and employment opportunities, many find themselves excluded from an english-language job market in a country with only one official language. however, labor markets don’t tell the whole story. in “limited areas of the capital amman” (bani-khaled, 2013), english is used as an everyday language. at a minimum, it is required as a tool for navigating wealthy spheres in the city, all of which are located in an expanding west amman. the abdali project is a prime example of english as a class divide and tool of exclusion in jordan. marketed as a “new downtown,” it seeks to implicitly focus the public’s attention on gulf-style wealth acquisition and westernization rather than the problems facing the majority of ammanis and especially those in east amman. luxury development in the new abdali claims to service jordanians, but chief buyers have consisted of “jordanian expats and high-networth individuals residing in jordan” (gulf news, 2017). the abdali mall and boulevard complex features exclusively english-language signage at restaurants, shops, and outdoor spaces, rendering it completely inaccessible to anyone lacking english proficiency. furthermore, it was constructed at the cost of hundreds of vendors affected by the downsizing and effective concealment of the popular friday market from abdali to the less-visible and farther east ras al-ain district (jordan times, 2014). while the city center consists of established, local businesses, and mixed-language or arabic signage, the “new downtown” contains little trace of jordanian popular culture or the country’s only official language. signage, while perhaps overlooked, is a key indicator of who is welcome in a certain space—particularly in amman, whose clear divides between classes, economic spheres, and nationalities has been established and defined. in neighborhoods such as abdoun and abdali, foreign, english-speaking expats comfortably navigate life in amman without ever speaking or caring to learn arabic, while neighborhoods in east amman carry security warnings from western organizations to their members and employees. thus, the divide in english-language knowledge, produced by an unequal education system that privileges those with resources to access a private education and ability to inhabit spaces where english is the dominant tongue, perpetuates markers of difference among jordanians and ensures that two completely separate spheres of existence are created. exposure to and empathy with a social condition is a key element of addressing it within wider audiences, as populations are “heavily influenced by the judgements about the kinds of values felt to be under threat” (manning, 2008). since english is closely tied to a culture of elitism, particularly in the capital of amman, there may be a greater impetus on those lacking fluency in english to learn it for themselves, thus removing responsibility from larger society. however, the “sociolinguistic national identity” at stake should be considered (prinsloo, 2017). as in other regions of the world where english is not a native language, “the appearance of english translations in public signs and other elements of urban cultural landscape” indicates the encroaching hegemony of globalization dominated by the english-speaking west (aristova, 2016). furthermore, the increased usage and popularity of english “[relies] heavily on matters of social prestige, economic or social benefits” to build upon existing socioeconomic structures and inequities (aristova, 2016). beyond the risk to the arabic language and culture should these spheres of english dominance expand, educational and environmen“the abdali mall and boulevard complex features exclusively english-language signage at restaurants, shops, and outdoor spaces, rendering it completely inaccessible to anyone lacking english proficiency.” 47 lost in translation tal stratification contributes to the dangerous economic and social fracturing of jordanian peoples and sectors. a note on refugee populations and crises in jordan should be addressed here. across the board, refugees do not create new burdens for jordan so much as exacerbate existing policy and infrastructure failings. the same is true of the issue of english language disparities. palestinian refugee camps in amman, inhabited since the first wave of palestinian forced migration during the 1948 nakba, make up a portion of east amman. although fully integrated into the city, their neighborhoods, like other downtown areas, feature little if any english signage and do not benefit economically from influxes of tourists and students to the city. for their exclusion and stigma, they may as well be located miles from amman. thus, refugees are but one example of the interconnected economic, nationality, and language privileges contributing to the de facto segregation of the city. policies of ostracism policy, of course, plays an essential role in perpetuating the spread of english and its consequences. it is official policy in amman that all advertisements and signage—public and private—must be written in arabic, where arabic is the largest and most noticeable language (amman municipal regulations, 2016). however, in 2016, at least 2,800 establishments in amman were documented in violation of such ordinances (alghad.com, 2016). in practice, english-language spaces can be showcased by way of the lack of police enforcement, or tourism permits. tourism permits require extra fees and are purchased through the ministry of tourism and antiquities (ministry of tourism and antiquities, 2017). based on the existing wasta culture that requires government connections for timely bureaucratic procedures as well as the class divide in many industries, one need not extrapolate far to assume that those with greater means tend to operate english-language establishments under the banner of tourism, thereby creating another layer of linguistic class divide. while policies are indeed in place to protect the arabic language, the divergent priorities of government toward a wealthier, westernized population are revealed implicitly through the allocation of resources, selective enforcement of law, and development projects. another such example of english as a language of exclusion is the increasingly utilized ability of employers to list opportunities exclusively in english or to explicitly exclude monolingual candidates from applying. unlike shop signs, which are symptomatic of changing norms in a given area, employment advertisements set such standards by institutionalizing english as a necessity. in a study examining ads from 1985, 1995, and 2005, there existed “a steady increase in the percentage of english ads… [and] a significant increase in the percentage of ads that make english proficiency a precondition for employment” (bani-khaled, 2013). thus, increasing economic hardship in jordan throughout the early 2000s correlated positively with exclusion of many jordanians from this growing, englishfluent workforce. success in a job market, though, is predicted by one’s educational experience. “the biggest determiner of having experienced quality education and being employed/employable is social class” and jordan, like other neighboring countries, has developed a starkly tiered education system in recent years spurred by decreased public school quality and subsequent growth of private sector education (erling, 2015). private schools now enroll at least a quarter of jordanian students, most of whom hail from solidly middle-orupper class backgrounds (jordan times, 2017). unlike public schools, no regulations govern the practices of private schools, including their english-language instruction, and the latter often outperform their counterparts, whose deficiencies in educational environment and teacher training are well documented (alhabahba, pandian, and mahfoodh, 2016). furthermore, there exist several international, english-language only private schools in jordan. these schools are among the most prestigious and, given the trend to teach highly-sought after scientific subjects in english at jordanian universities, are preparing their already-privileged students for high-powered careers. this use of english as an alternate language is widespread and similarly viewed as problematic in north african countries like morocco, where it “greatly privilege[s] the entry of those educated in french – privately, outside the state system” (erling, 2016). educational and consequent english-language stratification is not limited to public-private school disparities; outside the capital of amman, educational standards drop even lower. rural, generally poorer sectors of jordan are underserved across the board, but inequity is particularly pronounced relative to education. in the north badiah region, large classroom sizes and a lack of teacher preparedness combine with depleted economic opportunity and resources to create lower learning outcomes (bani-khaled, 48 elements : : spring 2018 2013). this concentration of resources, or lack thereof, inevitably spills into english-language instruction, which focuses on traditional methods of memorization, as is the case elsewhere in the jordanian educational system. thus, severe disparities in english language education not only creates pockets of opportunity and wealth in the capital, but also excludes citizenry from already poverty-stricken and resource deficient outer governorates. (tarawneh and husban, 2011). options for the road ahead educational focus the most straightforward approach to addressing a population disparately fluent or proficient in english would be to achieve equality in educational standards and success. that is, rather than address the complex root causes of english as a language of elitism, the problem could be remedied by students’ improved studying of english as a second language across socio-economic backgrounds. however, policy proposals would then inherently place the impetus upon less privileged citizenry to learn a foreign language as a prerequisite for success. this principle is deeply disturbing; yet, barring the sudden decline of the us and the west as hegemonic and neocolonial figures in the developing world, the realities of english as a lingua franca will not shift in the near future. thus, educational reform and the stripping of elitist and classist elements to english language learning could work to solve this single facet of the problem. this process would include reforms to teaching processes and syllabi, distribution of resources, and tailored regulatory procedures. moreover, it has been widely documented that the jordanian education system, with its focus on rote memorization at the expense of critical thinking, impedes students’ preparedness for the labor market (erling, 2015). this problem extends to english language learning, where classroom methods are largely contingent upon individual teachers. in 2016, only 24.9% of english language graduates passed the teaching qualifying exam, which is sometimes not even required to gain employment at lowerincome public schools (alhabahba, pandian, and mahfoodh, 2016). in many instances, teachers lack proper training in teaching itself, even if they have a firm grasp on the english language, and are unable to effectively impart knowledge to their students (roy and irelan, 1992). russia, another country marked with low efficiency in english, seeks to boost university proficiency by “increas[ing] the number of subjects taught in english and introduc[ing] compulsory teacher education programs in english” (ef, 2017). the latter would improve the jordanian classroom environment and assist in language instruction, especially if it consisted of mandatory sessions across the board, in public and private schools alike. however, without early intervention at the primary school levels, this recommendation could be too little, too late since it focuses on late-stage education when it is markedly more difficult to acquire a foreign language. furthermore, increasing english subject matter is unlikely to increase proficiency or general performance if the students lack a solid foundation in the language. to this end, spain’s example may be considered: about 20 years ago, the ministry of education (moe) began “starting english classes from an early age and implementing a full school approach […] [in] more than 350 public elementary schools in madrid and 180 other private primary schools […] teachers in these schools are required to have c1 level in english, with additional training for those who need it” (ef, 2017). increased exposure to foreign language, especially throughout an entire curriculum, would certainly serve students’ language interests, but at the expense of national linguistic identity and culture. furthermore, its effectiveness has been questioned, as some students exhibit less command of subjects learned in english. perhaps, then, the answer is not erasing the native language, but teaching subjects in both languages if necessary. in addition, quality of teacher training should remain the focus, since policy to address existing deficiencies is dependent upon proper execution. corridor staircase between the jabal al-lweibdeh and wasat al-balad neighborhoods in amman (courtesy of hailey burgess) 49 lost in translation however, such educational methods are rendered useless if they are directed only at certain schools or demographics. to this end, standard practices could be devised and implemented equally throughout the country. without “an educational body that is responsible for national standards and guidelines,” policies cannot be effectively applied and a system stratified by the availability of outside resources and circumstances—such as a stable family situation, socioeconomic status—etc., will persist (alhabahba, pandian, and mahfoodh, 2016). in germany, setting such universal standards has been instrumental in achieving increased english proficiency, although, it has been consistently high so comparisons to jordan should be taken rather lightly (ef, 2017). even though private schools should be regulated in the same manner as public ones to ensure equity, the issue is more complicated in jordan. wealthier families send their children to private schools, by and large, because of the blatant failures of the public system. thus, the ministry of education standards must be sufficiently competitive and effectively enforced, lest private schools lose their slight educational edge (jordan times, 2015). language and heritage preservation although emphasizing arabic goes against international trends that suggest english correlates with greater economic and educational opportunity, ensuring greater fluency in english comes at the price of diminishing the native language and traditions in favor of colonial ones. since “the spread of english is deeply rooted in american and british political and economic interests,” its adoption is often falsely billed as progressive globalization and modernity. arabic language, though, can solidify national or ethnic heritage in the face of encroaching westernization and extended neocolonialism (prinsloo, 2017). thus, it is also possible and incredibly necessary to address the underlying current that creates the perception of english as a language “of social prestige” (aristova, 2016). elitism through language and the postcolonial environment is also deeply connected to the educational process: in south africa, official policy is to teach afrikaans in conjunction with english, but most schools and students prefer english due in part to the apartheid stigma around african languages (prinsloo, 2017). however, it may well be impossible to both promote a native language and avoid the potential economic disadvantages associated with a lingua franca. the jordanian majma of the arabic language has partially carried the banner for arabic preservation. as an organization based in various arab countries, it seeks to promote the language’s use in official contexts and prevent its usurpation by foreign languages. in 2015, the law for the protection of the arabic language was passed in parliament (jordan times, 2015). among its most prominent provisions are those regulating arabic signage discussed previously, as well as requirements that all teachers pass an arabic proficiency test, and that all organizations use arabic in official documents or provide a translation (majma.org, 2015). majma also seeks to reverse the trend of english in academia by distributing arabic translations of scientific terms. thus, while other recommendations include increased subject matter in english, this route would relegate english to an exclusively foreign language. however, although the government approved the aforementioned law, it has not taken further steps to promote arabic language, such as restricting university policies or courses’ language. given this in the context of projects such as abdali and new amman, which threaten the sociolinguistic core of the city, the government has a thoroughly ambiguous position on arabic language preservation and its importance in light of possible tourism revenues and foreign investment. furthermore, it continues to foster a civil society and ngo complex in which foreign funding from western, english-speaking institutions and governments form the backbone of the industry. while efforts to resist neocolonial objectives are admirable, the positive effects of policies like majma’s in the absence of comprehensive reforms regarding csos and other means of foreign intervention in jordan may be minimal. there is a distinct possibility that, by discouraging english use, individuals’ economic opportunity and thus potential quality of life could be impeded, however misguided that reality may be. recommendations and conclusions based on the discussion of policy options and the contextual complexities of arabic and english language use in jordan, it is clear that there cannot be a single-faceted approach. any solution to this problem must address the multiple levels of elitism, class separation, practical english knowledge, inequity in education, and a fiercely competitive job market which intersect to create the layers of linguistic privilege in society. thus, despite its drawback of playing into colonial attitudes of adopting a lingua franca, educational equality must be achieved in jordan in order to address the elitist orientation of disparate english education. educational reform is at the core of addressing a mul50 elements : : spring 2018 tiplicity of social problems, and especially those with a component of shifting perspectives and attitudes about a subject. in this way, english language can be equitably improved as a foreign language, targeting current exclusion from social and economic spheres; simultaneously, the priority of arabic in society can be emphasized starting with the education system. in addition, educational reform as a whole, not limited to english, would improve prospects for all sectors of jordanian society, including employment and job market readiness. the most important steps in educational equity that should be taken to address english fluency and its class affiliations are universal implementation of educational standards and adoption of an arabic-centric curriculum. through these measures, the education system can direct the course of society in the direction of socioeconomic and linguistic equality among jordanians. universal implementation includes as an essential provision the equal distribution of resources, including teachers and teacher training, to schools in all governorates and regardless of public or private status. the potential threat to private schools’ elitism is exactly why they must be the focus of future policy: by applying even standards, education may become the public’s investment and a more level playing field for achievement. furthermore, a stipulated arabic curriculum would shift the focus of english as a marker of class difference to that of an important, but not supremely so, foreign language. rather than increasing courses taught in english, universal standards should eliminate this practice entirely and concentrate on quality of english foreign language instruction. students are entitled to “the right to receive education in one’s mother tongue or native language” under several international covenants, and an arabic-only curriculum would ensure the primacy of arabic in education and in the wider culture and society (unesco, 2017). the hierarchical, linguistic-related tiers of the educational system are a major source of english language and concurrent class divide, and dismantling them would signal one step toward toward societal equity. beyond education, the existing standards regarding arabic-language signage must be enforced and the standards for business tourism permits tightened. this can occur through more vigilant monitoring of and punishment for business owners as well as decreased approval of exceptional cases to arabic signage law. space inherently signals its inclusion or exclusion of certain groups. by continuing to promote, or implicitly support, english-language establishments, the lifestyle of scores of citizens is deemed as less valuable, as is the country’s language and culture itself. thus, it is essential that young jordanians are not only taught in an environment that embraces the arabic language through their curriculum, but also in communities that stress unity of country and people over linguistic and wealth driven class separation. in this way, jordan might reject tendencies toward english and western hegemony which serve only to exacerbate existing social gaps and unjustly concentrate resources and opportunities amongst an elite few. downtown amman as seen from rainbow street (courtesy of hailey burgess) “by continuing to promote, or implicitly support, englishlanguage establishments, the lifestyle of scores of citizens is deemed as less valuable, as is the country’s language and culture itself.” 51 lost in translation references alghad. (2016). monitoring more than 2,800 shops in amman in violation of legal regulations. [online] available at:http://www.alghad.com/articles/1070612 [accessed 23 nov. 2017]. alhabahba, m., pandian, a., and mahfoodh, o. (2016). english language education in jordan: some recent trends and challenges. cogent education. [online] available at:https://www.cogentoa.com/article/10.1080/233118 6x.2016.1156809 [accessed 5 nov. 2017]. aristova, n. (2016). english translations in the urban linguistic landscape as a marker of an emerging global city: the case of kazan, russia. international conference; meaning in translation: illusion of precision. procedia social and behavioral sciences, pp. 216-222. bani-khaled, t. (2013). learning english in difficult circumstances: the case of north badiah disadvantaged schools in jordan. australian journal of basic and applied sciences, 7(8), pp.269-284. ef education first. (2017). english proficiency index 2017. [online]. available at:http://www.ef.com/wwar/epi/regions/middle-east/jordan/ [accessed 14 oct. 2017]. erling, e. (2015). the relationship between english and employability in the mena region. british council, pp.1-88 gulf news. (2017). jordan developer reaches for the extraordinary. [online] available at:http://gulfnews.com/business/ property/jordan-developer-reaches-for-the-extraordinary-1.2046928 [accessed 7 oct. 2017]. the guardian. (1999). crown prince with an english accent [online] available at: https://www.theguardian.com/ world/1999/jan/29/1 [accessed 6 oct. 2017]. jordan times. (2017). regulating private schools. [online] available at:http://www.jordantimes.com/opinion/yusufmansur/regulating-private-schools [accessed 20 nov. 2017]. jordan times. (2015). senate committee approves bill to protect arabic. [online] available at:http://www.jordantimes. com/news/local/senate-committee-approves-bill-protectarabic [accessed 21 nov. 2017]. majma of the arabic language in jordan (2015). law for the protection of the arabic language. [online] available at:http://www.majma.org.jo/?page_id=120 [accessed 21 nov. 2017]. manning, n. (2012). social needs, social problems, and social welfare and well-being. the student’s companion to social policy. john wiley & sons, ltd, pp. 19-25. ministry of tourism and antiquities. (2017). tourism professions. [online] available at: http://www.mota.gov.jo/contents/start_your_tourism_business.aspx [accessed 25 nov. 2017]. obeidat, m. (2008). lost in translation: shop signs in jordan. meta: translators’ journal. erudit, pp. 717-727. prinsloo, c. (2017). sociolinguistic perspectives on the implications of thehomogenization of the circles of world englishes. international journal of english linguistics. canadian center of science and education, pp. 1-14. roy, d. and irelan, w. (1992). educational policy and human resource development in jordan. middle eastern studies, 28(1), pp.178-215. tarawneh, m. and husban, a. (2011). rural poverty in jordan: assessment and characterization. anthropology of the middle east, 6(1). berghahn journals, pp. 94-107. unesco. (2017). languages and the realization of the right to education. [online] available at:http://www.unesco.org/ new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/languages-in-education/international-mother-language-day/articles-imld-2012/ [accessed 28 nov. 2017]. 52 elements : : spring 2018 fyodor dostoevsky’s timeless novel, the brothers karamazov, explores the eternal question of whether judicial systems can actually attain justice and truth. set in nineteenth-century russia, the novel tells the story of fyodor pavlovich and his sons: the rationalist ivan, the religious alyosha, the sensualist dmitri, and the illegitimate smerdyakov. the sudden murder of fyodor spawns familial and societal discord, and dmitri is charged with patricide. the novel culminates in a thrilling courtroom drama that captures the attention of the karamazov family’s entire community. this discourse views dostoevsky’s jury trial in the brothers karamazov not only as the trial of dmitri karamazov, but also as a trial of russian culture, pitting traditionalism against modernity. this paper assesses how russia’s dualistic culture sets the stage for dostoevsky to invent attorneys, witnesses, judges, and spectators who illustrate the various facets of late-nineteenth-century russian society at its pivotal crossroads. the article ultimately explains how dostoevsky’s thrilling legal battle reveals his doubt that the russian courts, or any arbitrarily established legal system, could ever achieve true justice. trial and error the malleability of truth in monica coscia the conviction of dmitri karamazov during the latter part of fyodor dostoevsky’s life, russia lays “between a past which has not quite ended and a future which has not quite begun.”1 the beauty of dostoevsky’s literature lies in its depiction of both sides of this turning point in russian history: on one hand, he writes of russia’s rich, unique national identity and traditional values. on the other, he expresses ambivalence towards russia’s movement in the direction of europeanization, populism, and intellectualism.2 dostoevsky birthed the brothers karamazov in 1880 during this turbulence, just fourteen years after czar alexander ii instituted a distinctly western judicial system in russia, which included public hearings and jury trials. although dostoevsky initially supported these reforms, he became increasingly critical of their ability to adjudicate fairly.3 thus, the judicial trial and error in brothers karamazov not only determines dmitri karamazov’s guilt or innocence for the murder of his father, but also reveals dostoevsky’s prediction about the fate of russia’s future in the face of opposing cultural forces and divergent ideas regarding truth and justice. the dualistic culture that dostoevsky immersed himself in was integral to his inspiration to construct a trial of his own in the brothers karamazov. especially during the end of his life, dostoevsky was “very much rooted in his time… he was deeply preoccupied with events taking place in both russia and in europe.”4 accordingly, dostoevsky read innumerable types of literature from all regions of the cultural spectrum-novels, periodicals, christian literature, classic western works, psychological treatises, and traditional russian literature.5 dostoevsky learned about western liberalism and idealism and contrasted it with russian traditionalism and conservatism. he cultivated a passion for the unique national spirit of russia and protectiveness over values of family, community, and christian morality. as a result of his vast reading, dostoevsky became apprehensive about the threat of russia’s “danger of succumbing to the forces of modernization and capitalism” from the west.6 however, dostoevsky also grew to believe that russia should follow in the footsteps of european domination and exploitation in order to spread those values.7 his seemingly paradoxical belief that russia should become simultaneously more russian and more european mirror the contemporaneous russian dilemma in which “the old order has come to an end and in which the outlines of a new order are not yet distinguishable.”8 dostoevsky also undertook intensive reading of political disputes and trial proceedings; this gave him an extensive breadth of knowledge about the reformed judicial system, enabling him to write his very own, historically accurate trial proceeding in the brothers karamazov.9 even before he wrote this novel, dostoevsky composed opinion pieces that were frequently published in newspapers and journals, declaring what he thought judges should have decided in various cases.10 as a result of his broad and purposeful reading of literature from russia and elsewhere, dostoevsky developed both an infatuation and a concern for the increased european influence on russian culture, especially in the judicial realm.11 dostoevsky thus orchestrated a westernized jury trial in the brothers karamazov to serve as, “the perfect vehicle for advancing his moral, religious, and political ideas.”12 the trial that constitutes a large part of the novel is therefore dostoevsky’s comprehensive commentary on each element of the new judicial system. the brothers karamazov stands at the forefront of russia’s crossroads, reflecting dostoevsky’s apprehension about “russia’s historical identity.”13 one of the central features of russian traditionalism is strong, unbreakable family ties—particularly that of a father-son relationship. fyodor karamazov’s betrayal of his biological sons and dmitri’s alleged patricide, which inherently corrupts this father-son bond, represent the fact that russia’s most time-honored traditional values are at stake at this trial and at this point portrait of the author, fyodor dostoevsky, in 1872 (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 12 elements : : spring 2017 in russian history.14 throughout the novel, “the family… becomes the critical unit of society, and its unity and biological continuity are threatened by the loss of values which characterizes petersburg society as a whole.”15 the source of dostoevsky’s frustration and his criticism of the westernized jury trial is the fact that a non-russian justice system is adjudicating a matter of fundamental, familial russian values. dostoevsky’s primary concern with the european jury trial’s artificial transplantation into the russian social fabric was that the adversarial justice system’s alleged discovery of truth would supplant russia’s pure, christian attitude to truth. one of the most remarkable components of the 1864 judicial reform was its forceful separation of religion and law. before the europeanization of the russian courts, different courts existed for each social class and the system afforded the christian clergy special treatment. although european culture fascinated dostoevsky, he also feared that european modernization would monopolize russia’s future.16 consequently, dostoevsky portrays the europeanized jury trial as an anti-russian institution because it purportedly attains truth through deceit and theatrics; the attorneys on both sides intentionally distort reality in order to win the trial. instead of proposing an alternative to the europeanized jury trial, dostoevsky adopts a reluctant acceptance but continues to criticize the system: he resentfully recognizes that, “the future…belongs to the world of the court, that is, to western law and jurisprudence.”17 the brothers karamazov is a call to action for the russian people to avoid blindly accepting the court as the most civil and equitable means of achieving justice.18 contained in dostoevsky’s hand-crafted jury trial is a subtle, yet caustic critique of the spectacle of the attorneys’ statements, the institution of the jury itself, both the lay and expert witnesses, the judge, and the public’s response to the trial, revealing dostoevsky’s disillusionment with the western judicial reforms of 1864. dostoevsky’s main criticism of the prosecutor is that he treats dmitri’s murder trial as a performance to advance his career and reputation, rather than as an opportunity to help serve justice. the most convincing proof that the lawyers are performing to please the crowd rather than the jury is the fact that they employ complicated rhetorical arguments and literary allusions in their statements, but the jury is uneducated and does not understand such references.19 first, the prosecutor ippolit kirillovich takes up the case to prove himself as a litigator and directs his speech not to the jurors, but to the lawyers “who have ridiculed him and hindered his career.”20 the prosecutor does not even mention the defendant’s name until he is well into his closing statement. he knows that he could not win the case on the facts alone, as the evidence against dmitri was all circumstantial, so he resorts to preaching about russia’s moral and spiritual values, the civic duty of its citizens, and its future.21 kirillovich appeals to russia’s strong family values in asking, “shall i offend society if i say that [fyodor pavlovich] is even one of many modern day fathers?”22 instead of focusing primarily on the case at hand, the prosecutor universalizes the charge and condemns society for adopting a “broad, karamazovian nature” of depravity and degradation.23 ironically, kirillovich preemptively chastises the defense attorney for using “eloquent and moving words, aimed at your emotions,” and warns the jurors not to be convinced by them, although the prosecutor has been spewing empty rhetoric for three chapters.24 the prosecutor also distorts the truth by attempting to illustrate fyodor pavlovich as a pitiable, humble, and moral patriarch whom all russians can relate to, when the community knows quite well that he is a depraved sensualist.25 it is painfully ironic that kirillovich, who has just attempted to prove what the reader knows is a lie, ends his speech with a pathos-laden invocation to the jury about serving justice and truth,: “remember that you are the defenders of our truth, the defenders of holy russia, of her foundations, of her family, of all that is holy in her!”26 this statement epitomizes dostoevsky’s ideal judicial system in which justice and truth are inseparable; however, in the context of the prosecution’s elaborate lie, it is hypocritical and almost sardonically comical. although kirillovich attempts to bridge the russian conflict between traditional and modern values by appealing to russian values in his arguments, dostoevsky implicitly condemns the prosecutor for tainting precious russian morality by exploiting it to distort the truth. “the brothers karamazov is a call to action for the russian people to avoid blindly accepting the court as the most civil and equitable means of achieving justice.” 13 trial and error similarly, although the defense attorney is supposedly defending the truth by attempting to acquit an innocent man, he is still convoluting the truth by refusing to believe it. the fact that fetyukovich actually thinks that dmitri is guilty but still represents him is the strongest evidence that he takes this case to pursue self-aggrandizement, publicity, and “advancing his personal and political agenda.”27 fetyukovich skillfully pokes holes in the prosecution’s case and attacks the credibility of its witnesses,28 but is “not interested in dmitri as a person; he ‘vouches’ for his client from purely technical and strategic considerations.”29 in fact, the defense attorney explicitly admits that it was “certain juridical fact” and “characteristic peculiarities” that urged him to take the case.30 through the character of the defense attorney, dostoevsky comments on the unjust nature of the westernized court system by pointing out that once the witness examinations conclude, fetyukovich’s theatrical routine is the only word representing dmitri.31 and that word is focused on exploiting the impressionability of the people via rhetoric, rather than fulfilling his obligation to fight the charges against his client. similarly to the prosecutor, fetyukovich attempts to universalize the case to win over his audience with pathos: “the prosecutor threatens russia with the wrath of europe, just as fetyukovich threatens fathers with the wrath of their sons.”32 dostoevsky highlights the difference between truth and justice through characters who contradict themselves in court, while they are under oath. another element to support the idea that fetyukovich is simply performing for himself is that he entirely reverses the basis of his argument during his summative statement. he originally declares that dmitri is innocent: “i swear by all that’s holy. i believe completely in the explanation of the murder i have just presented to you.”33 however, just a few minutes later, fetyukovich asks his audience to consider the possibility that dmitri did, in fact, kill his father, and begs the jury to “overwhelm [dmitri] with your mercy” if they believe the defendant is guilty.34 the fact that fetyukovich changes his mind about the most important fact in the case midspeech deals a significant blow to his credibility and makes a mockery of the western judicial system—the defense attorney blatantly contradicts himself during his own statement, but the public is still invariably in awe of him. in short, fetyukovich symbolizes “a new stage in the history of the world—and the law—in which the world is torn loose not only from its former moral and spiritual moorings but from its ideological moorings as well.”35 another character who contradicts herself and perverts the relationship between truth and justice is dmitri’s former fiancée, katerina ivanovna, who introduces a genuine piece of evidence: a letter proclaiming dmitri’s intent to kill his father, which distorts the truth. katerina originally testified on dmitri’s side but suddenly switches to the prosecution, revealing how the justice system even pits lovers against one another just as it pits truth against justice. although dmitri fyodorovich is the one on trial for the murder of his father, the attorneys and audiences are much less concerned with his fate than they are interested in the spectacle of the courtroom drama.36 since he is innocent, dmitri represents both the truth and russia itself.37 just as russia is caught between progressive europe and its traditional past, dmitri must choose between his father fyodor pavlovich’s sensualist nature, his brother ivan fyodorovich’s cold rationality, and his brother alyosha fyodorovich’s unconditional love. the public essentially perceives dmitri as a scapegoat for betraying the invaluable russian paternal bond and for acting upon the impulse to get revenge on his father, which is societally intolerable—despite that most members of society have, and often repress, this vengeful impulse.38 dostoevsky depicts “the court as a deracinated un-russian institution that cannot abide dmitri’s quintessential earthy russian character.”39 dmitri makes several attempts throughout the brothers karamazov book cover (courtesy of flickr) 14 elements : : spring 2017 “this supports dostoevsky’s vision of westernized court as an instrument of propoganda through which judges adjudicated to advance their political agenda.” the trial to speak up for himself, both in spontaneous outbursts and solicited answers to the judge’s inquiries, but the judge constantly silences him: “‘watch your words, defendant…you are harming yourself in the opinion of your judges.’”40 the condemnation that dmitri receives from the court’s leader for speaking the honest truth represents dostoevsky’s belief that the modernized judicial system simply cannot perceive and accept the truth accurately: “dmitri’s word, the russian word, is effectively silenced.”41 he is not given a fair chance to make his voice heard, as the judge continually suppresses his truthful statements.42 this supports dostoevsky’s vision of the westernized court as an instrument of propaganda through which judges adjudicated to advance their political agenda.43 despite making several efforts to defend himself during the trial, when asked to speak at the end of the trial, dmitri “was terribly tired in body and spirit. the look of strength and independence…had all but vanished.”44 since dmitri represents russia as a whole on trial, this statement reflects russia’s retreat away from its time-honored values— its culture, too, is tired in body and spirit. ivan is another truthful defense witness whose testimony is rejected by the judicial system that, in dostoevsky’s opinion, has little regard for the actual truth. during his testimony, ivan shakily declares that smerdyakov is the true murderer of fyodor pavlovich, which the reader knows is the actual truth. however, because raw emotion and perceived mental instability accompany ivan’s testimony, “ivan’s confession is too true to be believed.”45 it is ironic that the audience and jury are swayed by the emotional words of the untruthful attorneys and witnesses, but are unconvinced by the emotional testimony of a truthful witness. the judge, who dostoevsky portrays as a suppressor of truth, bellows at ivan, “are you in your right mind? …witness, your words are incomprehensible and impossible in this place.”46 the judge’s demand for evidence in light of ivan’s confession is frustrating, because he lacks concrete proof to back up his word. on the other hand, the prosecution submits a great deal of concrete proof, in the form of physical evidence and legal exhibits. dostoevsky thus demonstrates what he believes to be a fundamental paradox of the new judicial system: although ivan is telling the truth, he cannot possibly back up his claim with evidence; although the prosecution is weaving a lie, they produce a plethora of evidence.47 dostoevsky also emphasizes the unreliability of evidence in the courtroom with the introduction of dubious expert witnesses on both sides of the trial. for example, the moscow doctor who testifies to dmitri’s temporary insanity without ever meeting him only does so at the behest of katerina —not even the defense attorney supports this testimony. dostoevsky satirizes the employment of pseudoscience in the courtroom to prove that expert witnesses are, more often than not, “bought or subjective.”48 the experts contradict one another, and the doctor from moscow and doctor herzenstube take the case to pursue their personal vendettas against each other, overall making “the expert testimony appear ludicrous.”49 the fact that evidence can be misconstrued to deny the truth and the fact that evidence is essential to proving the truth indicates dostoevsky’s belief that “evidence…is a knife (literally “a stick with two ends”) that can cut either way…the one small truth on which larger truths hinge.”50 the imperial council, west side, st. petersburg, the birthplace of dostoevsky (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 15 trial and error in addition to insinuating how the participants in dmitri’s trial itself depict the shortcomings of the justice system, dostoevsky also issues a polemic against the transformation of a judicial trial into a public spectacle. the masses gather in the courtroom not to see justice served, but because they take pleasure in the rhetoric of and competition between famous attorneys as “a contest between gladiators.”51 the public is almost comically irrational in that it believes that “this was not a controversial case at all,” and that “the criminal was guilty, clearly guilty, utterly guilty” before the trial even begins, before they see concrete evidence or hear arguments from either side.52 dostoevsky portrays the public as extremely fickle—one minute, the prosecutor convinces them that dmitri is guilty, and the next, they are swayed by the defense attorney’s argument. dostoevsky indicates just how illogical public opinion can be by writing that the women favored dmitri’s acquittal, even though they believed him to be guilty, because “an idea had been formed of him as a conqueror of women’s hearts.”53 on the other hand, the men of the city took pleasure in dmitri’s conviction out of jealousy and vanity, because their wives sympathized with him.54 both the press and the masses are preoccupied with the trial, and it becomes a source of daily public entertainment. accordingly, gary rosenshield opines that the o.j. simpson trial is a modern-day reappearance of the brothers karamazov trial in its transformation into a media spectacle and a theater for lawyers to advance their careers.55 the malleability and superficiality of the people renders the entire trial a courtroom drama. ivan’s frenzied cry of “circuses! bread and circuses!” embodies the public’s desire for public amusement in the place of a judicial trial. ultimately, the jury trial in the brothers karamazov advances dostoevsky’s opinion that the westernized courts installed by the russian government in 1864 do not fairly serve justice because they fail to recognize the truth. dostoevsky believed that truth of a crime, or lack thereof, should determine a just punishment: “the trial and the judgment that the court passes on dimitri are a judgment of russian society’s ability to perceive the truth—and they prove to be a withering judgment.”56 throughout the progression from smerdyakov’s confession to the trial’s verdict, the truth progressively grows more distorted through bias and rhetoric.57 as a result of misperceiving the truth, the court wrongfully convicts an innocent man.58 in the novel, the relationship between crime and punishment is perverted, contrary to dostoevsky’s belief that this relationship “must be rational—and to a certain extent impartial, standardized, formal, and codified” to serve justice.59 the westernized jury trial, however, strays from this standardization, employing deceit instead of truth, especially through deceptive attorneys. dostoevsky once published an article that epitomizes his pessimism with regards to the jury trial sarcastically entitled “deceit is necessary to truth. deceit multiplied by deceit produces truth. is this so?60 his anxiety regarding the new judicial reforms constitutes one aspect of his “fear of the westernization, secularization, and increasing individualism in russian society,” which he developed during the 1860s and 1870s when russia was on the brink of modernity.61 the western court system and law—“ephemeral, superficial, and of this world only”—are symbols of dostoevsky’s cynicism about russia’s future.62 after dmitri’s trial concludes and the court spectators converse, dostoevsky speaks through one of the members of the crowd: “do we have any truth in russia, gentlemen, or is there none at all?”63 “‘do we have any truth in russia, gentlemen, or is there none at all?’” 16 elements : : spring 2017 endnotes 1. geoffrey c. kabat, ideology and imagination: the image of society in dostoevsky (new york: columbia university press, 1978), 11. 2. ibid., 14-15. 3. gary rosenshield, western law, russian justice: dostoevsky, the jury trial, and the law (madison: the university of wisconsin press, 2005), 224. 4. kabat, x. 5. robert l. belknap, the genesis of the brothers karamazov: the aesthetics, ideology, and psychology of text making (evanston: northwestern university, 1990). 6. kabat, 30. 7. rosenshield, 169. 8. ibid., 10. 9. belknap, 19. 10. rosenshield, 132. 11. robert bird, “refiguring the russian type: dostoevsky and the limits of realism,” northwestern university press (2004), 24. 12. rosenshield, 137. 13. kabat, 165. 14. ibid., 142. 15. ibid., 142. 16. rosenshield,192. 17. rosenshield, 192. 18. ibid., 205. 19. ibid., 199. 20. ibid., 161. 21. ibid., 162. 22. fyodor dostoevsky, the brothers karamazov (new york: farrar, straus and giroux, 2002), 696. 23. ibid., 699. 24. ibid., 722. 25. ibid., 695-696. 26. ibid., 722. 27. rosenshield, 150. 28. amy d. ronner, dostoevsky and the law (durham: carolina academic press, 2015), 195. 29. rosenshield, 178. 30. dostoevsky, 725. 31. rosenshield, 151. 32. ibid., 168. 33. dostoevsky, 740. 34. ibid., 747. 35. rosenshield, 192. 36. ibid., 178. 37. ibid., 149-150. 38. kabat, 161-2. 39. rosenshield, 149. 40. dostoevsky, 666. 41. rosenshield, 150-151. 42. ibid., 150. 43. rosenshield, 193. 44. dostoevsky, 750. 45. ronner, 200. 46. dostoevsky, 686. 47. ronner, 197. 48. rosenshield 143 49. ibid., 143. 50. robin feuer miller, “the brothers karamazov today,” northwestern university press, 2004, 8. 51. rosenshield, 133. 52. dostoevsky, 662. 53. ibid., 657. 54. rosenshield, 153. 55. ibid., 193-4. 56. kabat, 160. 57. ibid., 160. 58. rosenshield, 220. 59. ibid., 217. 60. ibid., 133. 61. ibid., 192. 62. ibid., 224. 63. dostoevsky, 752. references belknap, robert l. the genesis of the brothers karamazov: the aesthetics, ideology, and psychology of text making. evanston: northwestern university, 1990. bird, robert. “refiguring the russian type: dostoevsky and the limits of realism.” northwestern university press, 2004. dostoevsky, fyodor. the brothers karamazov. new york: farrar, straus and giroux, 2002. kabat, geoffrey c. ideology and imagination: the image of society in dostoevsky. new york: columbia university press, 1978. miller, robin feuer, “the brothers karamazov today.” northwestern university press, 2004. ronner, amy d. dostoevsky and the law. durham: carolina academic press, 2015. rosenshield, gary. western law, russian justice: dostoevsky, the jury trial, and the law. madison: the university of wisconsin press, 2005. 17 trial and error the texts of jacques derrida (1930-2004) are known for their meticulously measured language, a quality that leads many readers to pass over his work. it is often relegated to the margins of thought as ‘nonsense’ or elusive in meaning. this short piece attempts to offer a partial elucidation on some key themes of jacques derrida’s 1968 essay, “différance.” this essay first contrasts différance, a french neo-graphism referring to the simultaneous processes of deferral and differentiation , with the prevalent motif of “presence” that has dominated large tracts of western philosophical discourses. it then moves to discuss the possible structural and methodological ways in which one may read différance, ultimately working to place it into conversation with philosophies of consciousness, understood as a selfpresence or a presence-to-oneself (présence à soi), mainly in conversation with the work of emmanuel levinas (1906-1995). consciousness in re-presentation towards a cross-textual definition of “différance” myles casey introduction absence and presence—in discourses of language, metaphysics, and consciousness—have been ubiquitous and influential motives throughout much of the history of western philosophy. this paper shall seek to present jacques derrida’s (1930-2004) solicitation of the authority that presence has been afforded throughout this tradition in his 1968 work, “différance.” further, i will present the strategies of deferral and differentiation, which derrida posits as an inherent structure of language enabling the very functionality of language, ultimately working toward the usurpation of such authoritative presence in language, generally, but more specifically, in discourses regarding consciousness. the presence of consciousness, as illustrated throughout derrida’s text, shall be put into further conversation with the phenomenological account of ethics as articulated by emmanuel levinas (1906-1995), with special attention to the privileged role levinas affords to the theories of consciousness throughout his philosophy. therefore, i will argue that the cross-pollination of these approaches—namely the reading of différance into levinas’ conceptualization of intentional and non-intentional theories of consciousness—stands to further augment the claims that levinas advances regarding the inherent violence of the appropriative renderings of re-presentations found within the interactions between the self as acting in accordance with her intentional and reflective consciousness, and the other. lastly, i will seek to understand this countersignature of derrida to further, and better, understand levinas’ seminal claim that the actions of the intentional consciousness’ attempts to re-present and apprehend the phenomenal presentation of the other necessarily constitute an act of epistemic violence and further, that derrida’s articulation of différance reveal additional supporting evidence for the claim that the presupposed domination and authority of the intentional consciousness over the alterity of an-other and of the self. différance and the authority of presence most famously presented in his aforementioned essay, “différance” (1968), derrida’s articulation of différance is ubiquitous throughout the large cannon of work that he produced over the course of his academic career. it is through painstakingly measured and often dense, language that derrida sought to explicate différance. in his address before the french society of philosophy, he explicated it as neither a concept nor a word, but as a neographism—a “discreet graphic intervention” which occurs at the level the orthographic structuring of language. différance is understood in the most comprehensive sense as a discreet graphic intervention as such a characterization does not seek to locate, or to limit, différance to one meaning or another. that is to say, that of différance nothing can be predicated, and the formation of any sentence as “différance is _____,” would necessarily fail, as this structure would intend to describe a specific meaning to différance. therefore, différance can only be accurately described as a discreet graphic intervention. as graphic, from grapheme, différance pertains to the “level of the letter” as opposed to a neologism, which would pertain to the rhetorical or spoken word. further, différance is a discreet intervention as, etymologically speaking, différance is derived from the french words to defer and to differ, which when spoken in derrida’s original french, are indistinguishable from one another. therefore, différance can be said, at least at this level, to have the dual aspects of difference and deferment. what is differentiated and deferred in différance is presence, and therefore différance cannot be “exposed” as a word or concept. this process of exposition would attempt to signify différance as a being-present (étant-present) within an order of truth, of referential definitions and localized an image of the french philosopher jacques derrida (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 76 elements : : fall 2017 meanings. resistance to such presencing does not, however, reduce différance into an order of absence for différance cannot be thought of as being within this binary of absence and presence, but rather seeks to solicit the grounds upon which each of these terms (absence and presence) are based. derrida particularly resists the temptation to define différance solely as a negative entity. this would presume an equally troubling array of metaphysical assumptions regarding absence that, as with presence, would determine and inform substantially the discourses within western philosophy. of différance, derrida says “we will be led to delineate also everything that it is not, that is, everything; and consequently that it has neither existence nor essence. it derives from no category of being, whether present or absent.” given that derrida is postulating that différance can be defined only by negating every definition and label, further investigation into the structure and functionality of différance is necessary. on the structure of différance derrida most clearly sketches the structure of différance when he writes: the word sheaf seems to mark more appropriately that the assemblage to be proposed has the complex structure of a weaving, an interlacing which permits the different threads and different lines of meaning—or of force—to go off again in different directions, just as it is always ready to tie itself up with others [my emphasis]. immediately, this analysis draws back to one made in the previous section, that of différance’s resistance to identification with one location of meaning or being identified with one set definition: it resists, totally, the ascription of a univocal meaning and definition. derrida situates différance within a meshwork of possible meanings, and it is apparent that, within this enmeshed assemblage of meaning, différance is located on, within, and throughout each thread. within such an array, no one locality could claim to have an authoritative definition of différance, as each location is imbued equally with différance. further, no linear teleology is capable of being distilled as the threads extend, theoretically, ad infinitum in all directions which further resists the desire to locate within différance a point of origin and of termination. if this above formulation holds true for language in general, différance, which is located throughout this meshwork of meaning, engages in a process of rooting, de-rooting, and re-rooting such that its functionality is further de-localized. yet différance is also ubiquitous and omnipresent throughout: nothing is exempt from the solicitation of différance and its solicitation of the orthodoxy of the orthographic structures that are read into the meaningfulness of language that is brought about through the “discovery” of this discreet graphic intervention. the motif of threading is often used in the analogizing of différance: the french word for thread, fil, which forms the root of “filiation,” roughly refers to familial relations, with fils also being translated to “son.” the “weave of differences,” therefore take on a familial tone, where the re-rooting process of différance retains some trace of past iterations, of past threads. this meshwork is always relational, derrida believes, but its threads are nonbinding. différance is always more than the binding together and separating which is the work of comparisons. this structure, which resists all absolute signification, functions analogously with ludwig wittgenstein’s (18891951) theory of “family resemblance” where, in accordance with a particular language game (i.e. a localized linguistic context), the understanding of a word is thought to change, while still bearing an irreducible resemblance with other occurrences of that same word. words, for wittgenstein, resist univocal definition as from one language to another, the functioning of that word is said to change. the “unbounded-ness” of words, for wittgenstein, places language within the meshwork of signification that is found in derrida’s articulation of différance. on the method of différance as discussed in the previous section, derrida’s method when using différance is not a straightforward methodological deployment of a concept, but rather one “derrida particularly resists the temptation to define différance solely as a negative entity.” 77 consciousness in re-presentation that takes its form as strategic and adventurous. derrida explains that this method is, “strategic because no transcendental truth present outside the field of writing can govern theologically the totality of this field.” theological governance pertains to an ordering that derives its authority from an external source, one that enacts its will upon the discourses of language. the strategic approach is coupled with the adventurous approach where, “this strategy is not a simple strategy in the sense that strategy orients tactics according to a final goal, a telos or theme of domination, a mastery and ultimate reappropriation of the development of the field.” together, these approaches of différance are best understood as operating in a fashion resembling that of the rhizome, rather than the telos of an arborescent structure. the botanical rhizome comes to be through an activity of rooting and re-rooting at different locations towards such a point where the enmeshing resists teleological interpretations such that the origin and end become indiscernible, perhaps even coincidental. the rhizomatic structuring of différance would resist the ability of totalitarian definition and univocal meanings—différance would exist throughout the entire structure, constantly changing location and emphasis, “immediately and irreducibly polysemic.” the general strategy of différance can, according to david wood, be understood “to infiltrate différance into the syntax of foundationalist and generative thinking with a view to depriving it of its attraction. (one might compare the release of sterile male mosquitoes as an antimalarial measure.)” however, the problem with this characterization of derrida’s strategy is that it implies, quite apparently with the infiltration and antimalarial analogies, an over emphasis on agency. it also appears to reduce différance to a tool of literary and philosophical criticism. this, of course, runs counter to the thrust of argumentation that derrida appears to be advancing: namely that différance is interwoven throughout the meshwork of language. derrida’s articulation of it should be taken to mean that he is “creating” it, rather than his articulation being presupposed by an initial discovery of différance. the solicitation of presence in consciousness and levinasian intentionality within his phenomenological account of ethics, emmanuel levinas assigns incredible importance to the role of consciousness and, specifically, the intentionality of consciousness. levinas sets up his philosophical project as a rejection of the historical interpretation of metaphysics that had privileged ontology and the acquisition of knowledge—a process he later argued contributed to the “filling out” of being. from this, levinas posited that knowledge entails a structure of appropriation: “thought, qua learning [apprendre], requires a taking [prendre], a seizure, a grip on what is learned, and a possession.” levinas argues that this structure of grasping is the methodological approach undertaken by the intentional consciousness and that this approach becomes particularly problematic when the other is reduced to another external known, or graspable object, of knowledge. this all, levinas believes, occurs at the level of the intentional consciousness, which strives toward a pure self-presence, présence à soi, through this process of “filling out.” through thought, the intentional consciousness is able to become true consciousness of itself. levinas often calls the intentional consciousness the “self positing portrait” that is always “assured of its right to be.” from this re-presentation of the self, to the self, begot by the unity of the cogito and the sum, intentional consciousness affirms itself as “absolute being […][and] identifies itself through all the differences as ‘master of itself as of the universe’ and capable of illuminating all the dark corners in which the i’s mastery would be challenged.” it is this présence à soi of the intentional conscious that levinas found so problematic that différance comes to solicit. the solicitation of the presence of intentional consciousness is made possible by the recognition that discourses of consciousness are predicated upon its presence, upon the belief that we may ‘know thy self,’ and therefore “there is the possibility of a reading of a “within his phenomenological account of ethics, emmanuel levinas assigns incredible importance to the role of consciousness.” 78 elements : : fall 2017 philosophical text that unmasks not just the difference and deferment involved in every ‘presence’ but the process of effacing or forgetting that difference.” intentional consciousness as a “self positing portrait” understands it’s being as something that can be read and something that can be afforded the presence that enables it to be read. the sign, for derrida, is representative of absent and deferred presence; the sign takes the place of presence in the order of meaning. the presence of consciousness is not produced endogenously, ie by the mere fact that i am conscious of myself, but “derrida is convinced that reference to mental phenomena can take place only via the mediation of signs. meaning, including the meaning in whose light the phenomena of consciousness come to grasp themselves, on dependent on signs.” the “signifying subject,” the intentional consciousness produced through the mediation of signs, owes its creation to the enmeshment of différance and functions as traces of this absent presence and therefore subjectivity is an effect of différance rather than as the master of language and orthography. this move fundamentally undermines the sovereign ipseity—or selfhood within the first-person experience—of the intentional consciousness that levinas spoke of prior: “thus one comes to posit presence—and specifically consciousness, the being besides itself of consciousness—no longer as the absolutely central form of being but as a ‘determination’ and as an ‘effect.’ a determination or an effect within a system which is no longer that of presence but of différance.” conclusion the significance of this is that, though levinas decried the reliance on intentionality as means of engaging with the world and other, he did not manage to adequately challenge the roots of its existence in the same way the exposure of différance within our consciousness does. the violence that levinas cautions against stems directly from the autarchy of presence, or at least from the presumption of presence and self-coherency, specifically the conceptualization of présence à soi of self-consciousness that “one grants to the ‘living present’ the power of synthesizing traces, and of instantly reassembling them.” the “living present” is that of the self’s consciousness of its own existence, and this power is the ability to supervene onto a meshwork the signs and traces of one coherent account of consciousness. derrida’s solicitation of levinas does not negate the efficacy of levinas’ phenomenological project, for i believe that both projects are allied but rather it further exposesthe tenuous construction of intentionality that provides further justification for levinas’ advocacy of pre-reflective engagement with the other. levinas’ treatment of intentionality was with disdain, but never did he challenge the groundings for its authority in the same fashion that the reading of différance, here, has done. 79 consciousness in re-presentation references bernasconi, robert. “the trace of levinas in derrida.” in derrida and différance, edited by david wood and robert bernasconi. evanston, il: northwestern university press, 1988. brogan, walter. “the original difference: différance.” in derrida and différance, edited by david wood and robert bernasconi. evanston, il: northwestern university press, 1988. derrida, jacques. “différance.” in margins of philosophy, translated by alan bass. chicago: univ. of chicago press, 2009. derrida, jacques. “signature event context.” in limited inc, translated by alan bass. evanston, ill: northwestern univ. pr, 1977. frank, manfred. “is self-consciousness a case of présence à soi? towards a meta-critique of the recent french critique of metaphysics.” in derrida: a critical reader, edited by david wood, translated by andrew bowie. oxford, u.k.: blackwell publishers, 1992. levinas, emmanuel. “ethics as first philosophy.” in the levinas reader, edited by sean hand. oxford, uk: blackwell, 1989. levinas, emmanuel. “from the one to the other: transcendence and time.” in entre nous: on thinking-ofthe-other, translated by michael b. smith and barbara harshav. new york: columbia university press, 1998. levinas, emmanuel. “nonintentional consciousness.” in entre nous: on thinking-of-the-other, translated by michael b. smith and barbara harshav. new york: columbia university press, 1998. levinas, emmanuel. “is ontology fundamental?” philosophy now 33, no. 2 (1989), 121-129. wittgenstein, ludwig. philosophical investigations. translated by g.e.m. anscombe, 2nd ed. oxford: basil blackwell, 1958. wood, david. “différance and the problem of strategy.” in derrida and différance, edited by david wood and robert bernasconi. evanston, il: northwestern university press, 1988. 80 elements : : fall 2017 mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affirms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e text goes here.rio. occulpa volorem rectemquo illuptate earuptaspit eium dollaccum sit, con res reptum as es conserum nis suntore ndundae ssusdae cum ut facest, qui te dolupti atiure, ommolesecae doluptaquias inis et desequa sperentiam nem. ita doluptatur ad mod maximporrunt reius pero ea debis ut aut renihictin necaerum fuga. itatur aut quas es dolum rehendandae nobis aut etur, ium andis re, consediae pelland erchicto quia que corioratus ea non comnien ihillam excesen imetur sit raerescia parcienisto dolum, as vererum et volore pos evel in etusani simpore officatem. ent inctaecab ipsant magnim dis dunt, qui temque consectur, aut quae aut dolupti nturis re, que natquam que lis ium nullaut ma commo et dit aut litiatist et et la que natur sanis nonestempos del es quat eum faccust, odignatiasi sandignis mi, consercimo modi rehenet es volor adiorupta et eos essequidi rem saernam non placeaq uiationesed moluptati dolupienimus voluptatem ad quae quaes estrum idem hit optiam nos nonsequat. necte ma voluptus. nestem. por moluptia que omnisque si blander entorporem volorer iosapis dolora volorem. et as dolore, cone ideleniminum reicae. erferisi qui idit duci dolutatiam, sedigendi dolorepudam sunderum vendenis ma illa doluptur sa derions equatiu ndundit omnia qui utem dolorum as audis acearchil ipsam facesto ratatest, offic temporatem. totatis millis moluptiis apicim imusa autaturit fuga. nequi beatiumet di audist occus autas ea cus etur, qui rerum autaqui diasim illendisitet volut faceribus descidusant, que prae cusam exero officidipsum ex et omnisci isciditat ut landi sunt lam et qui to et od que simetus, aliquis re nosapiduciam explab ilignia eaquibu samendae. optae et, sum eum im siminus niminis magnatiore, quibus aut invenem. necate est, sit laborem. same volumet quasperia inctem que sed ullabore sitecti as es inis aut liquam nis mossum reperatum issiniti ut re il iusciatatur, sum re commolorerum volore dolorem nonem faciet qui conet et quid magnam faccus sunt, cum quam et accatet fuga. equaero blaboratur, volorepudam, te non conseque peremposae nost doluptatur, natist, core alitem veliae pore ne latium enis doles excerum est, sitiur sum fuga. nam ea delendus, cullatestio. nequiat. apici omnis estio tecus alit, velibus solore ium quam doluptatur sit volorumquam voluptam quam, nem sim quae la nonesti orrunt eum in con conecabo. lum, torempo rporibus ella doluptatasit ent dem net optate perchil landiat unt. necte ma voluptus. nestem. por moluptia que omnisque si blander entorporem volorer iosapis dolora volorem. et as dolore, cone ideleniminum reicae. erferisi qui idit duci dolutatiam, sedigendi dolorepudam sunderum vendenis ma illa doluptur sa derions equatiu ndundit omnia qui utem dolorum as audis acearchil ipsam facesto ratatest, offic temporatem. totatis millis moluptiis apicim imusa autaturit fuga. nequi beatiumet di audist occus autas ea cus etur, qui rerum autaqui diasim illendisitet volut faceribus descidusant, que prae cusam exero officidipsum ex et omnisci isciditat ut landi sunt lam et qui to et od que simetus, aliquis re nosapiduciam explab ilignia eaquibu samendae. optae et, sum eum im siminus niminis magnatiore, quibus aut invenem. necate est, sit laborem. same volumet quasperia inctem que sed ullabore sitecti as es inis aut liquam nis mossum reperatum issiniti ut re il iusciatatur, sum re commolorerum volore dolorem nonem faciet qui conet et quid magnam faccus sunt, cum quam et accatet fuga. equaero blaboratur, volorepudam, te non conseque peremposae nost doluptatur, natist, core alitem veliae pore ne latium enis doles excerum est, sitiur sum fuga. nam ea delendus, cullatestio. nequiat. sincerely, signature emily simon editor-in-chief editor’s notethanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline is tuesday, november, 20, 2012. all submissions can be sent to elements.submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © bobbie hanvey photographic archives, john j. burns library, boston college periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 9, issue 2, fall 2013 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by the sheridan press, 450 fame avenue, hanover, pa 17331 copyright © 2013 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief emily simon managing editor brandon bavier deputy editor eric tracz layout editor frank a. direnno humanities grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor marie pellissier, editor lydia orr, editor marissa marandola, editor sciences frank a. direnno, senior editor corleone delaveris, senior editor alexander tingle, editor saljooq m. asif, editor ellen white, editor alex gilligan, editor anna whitman. editor web design grace west, senior editor patty owens, senior editor web design mike henry, senior editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick contents making corsets work: victorian working women and the corset marie pellissier unraveling the history and role of the corset among working women in the victorian era figures of existentialism: a cyclical relationship with psychology tracy lu assessing the reciprocal relationship between philosophy and psychology by examing the works of three of the world’s greatest writers “jes’ next to jesus christ”: slave attitudes towards abraham lincoln james newhouset examining the artful means by which ex-slaves criticized their southern oppressors without endangering themselves. the other side of midway: human exhibits at the world fairs, 1893 and 1904 claire marinello investigating racial stereotypes in the 1893 world’s columbian exposition in chicago and exhibited people’s unrecognized stories. blurred lines: variations on willem de kooning’s women, 1950-1966 emilie sintobin revealing the mind and the method behind the madness of de kooning’s modern canvases. “imprimatur of legitimacy”: grim prospects for accountability in post-untac cambodia jordan dorney analyzing the accountability relationship between the state of cambodia and its citizens, and western governments’ role in this dynamic. the decay of dignity: violence and heroism in the great war cameron givens exposing the grim reality of the great war to shatter illusions of heroism and question its place on the battlefield. author biographies list of artwork 8 20 28 42 72 64 52 89 91 the corset in the victorian era is often regarded as a representation of the overpowering social mores of the era. corsets, however, were also support garments, critical to a woman feeling fully dressed. despite arguments to the contrary, wearing a corset was, for members of the working class, often optional. this article uses photographs as well as corsets to explore how the choice to wear or not to wear a corset empowered working class women, and also examines the conditions which enabled these women to make that choice. making corsets work victorian working women and the corset marie pellissier no piece of women’s clothing is as emblematic of the victorian era as the corset. stiffened with whalebone, wooden strips, or sometimes steel, the corset, in the eyes of many historians, was an instrument of misogynistic torture inflicted upon victorian women by their husbands and fathers.1 it forced women’s bodies into an unnatural hourglass shape, constricting the waist for the express purpose of emphasizing a woman’s bust and hips. although the corset was essential to the victorian middle class and the moral systems they constructed for themselves, it was not an exclusively middle-class garment. indeed, when one considers how working-class women utilized the corset, it takes on a very different meaning. there has been much discussion of the corset and its place in victorian society, of its cultural meanings and implications. all too often, however, the discussion of women’s clothing in the victorian era involves only a small segment of the population—that is, upper and middle-class women. and yet, a majority of the population of this period could be classified as “working class,” and these women participated in the larger discourse on fashion as much as their social superiors did. while much has been written about the corset and its significance to the rising bourgeoisie,2 the use of the corset among the other eighty percent of the female population is equally important to an investigation of the history of the corset and of women’s body image. in order to explore the ways in which working-class women used the corset, and how the garment in turn shaped their lives, one must turn to the garments and the women themselves. through photographs of working women, one can discover both how essential the corset was to their perception of themselves as women, and how they refused to allow the inconvenience of the garment to get in the way of their everyday lives. working-class women, including african-americans and immigrants, wore their corsets when they wanted to, instead of when they had to. the choice between fashion and functionality in dress meant that these women had more agency in choosing their clothes than middle-class women did. counterintuitively, the corset helped to liberate these women instead of keeping them oppressed. by the time of queen victoria’s ascension to the throne in 1837, the industrial revolution was in full swing on both sides of the atlantic, and the newfound wealth it produced was restructuring society, particularly in great britain, where the concept of class had been ingrained for centuries.3 class in the victorian era, however, was related to more than simply bloodline: it was, according to susie steinbach, “related to, but not defined by income” as well as a social hierarchy that seemed embedded in the consciousness of everyone in victorian britain.4 society was split into three layers. the upper class constituted a very small percentage of the population. the middle class and the working class supported the upper class, and they constituted the majority of the population. in this tri-layer system, the middle class was complex and ever changing. in 1815, the middle class accounted for roughly fifteen percent of the population, but by 1871 “the number of solidly middle-class families had doubled.”5 it was the working classes, however, both urban and rural, that constituted the majority of the population.6 neither was there a solid boundary between the working class and the middle class—respectable members of the working class, the “labor aristocracy,” could make their way into the lower end of the spectrum of middle-class respectability. in order to be considered a member of the middle class, a man had to be able to support a family without doing manual labor.7 middle-class women, unlike working-class women, rarely “to many members of the middle class, the rigid, structured corset represented a contained woman, one who embodied the middle-class values of restraint and selfdiscipline.” 9 making corsets work the clothes that were so broadly available were always changing, just as fashions are today. by 1850, fashionable ladies were wearing crinolines, collapsible cages that expanded skirts to great circumferences, often several meters wide. crinoline and corset production was industrialized by the mid-1850s, and the ready-to-wear clothes and undergarments were instrumental in creating a unified body shape of late nineteenth-century women.14 as the nineteenth century progressed, skirts, sleeves, and bodices became narrower, making it necessary for women to wear corsets just to fit into them.15 women’s gowns became so fitted by the 1880s that a fashionably dressed woman had to wear a restrictive corset, and physical labor in such restrictive garment was nearly impossible. how, then, did working-class women, whose lives required that they participate in physical labor, manage? the corset and the middle-class woman in order for a bourgeois woman to be considered “respectable,” particularly in great britain but also america and france, she had to wear a corset.16 to many members of the middle class, the rigid, structured corset represented a contained woman, one who embodied the middle-class values of restraint and self-discipline. modern historians debate whether the use of corsets, particularly the practice of tight-lacing among middle-class women and girls, was representative of a domineering patriarchal system or whether women were using the corset to stand out in the only way allowed to them by society.17 none of these historians deny that the social expectations of the time dictated that a bourgeois woman would wear a corset at all times.18 indeed, women themselves believed in the necessity of corsets, and persisted in wearing them and following fashion despite numerous attacks on the corset by concerned doctors, husbands, and fathers.19 an essential part of the middle-class woman’s wardrobe and, indeed, her perception of self, the corset usually made its debut in a young girl’s wardrobe around early puberty, when her body was beginning to change. historian leigh summers suggests that the overtly prudish yet deeply sexworked outside the home—the only respectable profession for a middle-class woman was as a governess or a dressmaker. 8 despite their class differences, all women had something in common: they had very few political rights. they could not vote in national elections in great britain until 1918, and in america they did not gain the right to vote in national elections until 1919. regardless of whether she belonged to the upper class, bourgeoisie, or working class, once married, a woman lost all right to control her property. under the doctrine of coverture, a husband had the right to regulate how often his spouse saw her children, control any wages she earned, and could use the courts to enforce his right to his wife’s bed.9 nevertheless, though women did not technically have the right to incur debts in their own names, they were significant participants in the growing consumer economy. with industrialization came a change in the way goods were sold: now easily replaceable and cheap, many items, such as clothing, came ready-made, and instead of being sold in a market with negotiable prices, were sold in a shop or department store for a fixed cash price.10 during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, cities began to develop central shopping districts as well as department stores, where mass-produced products, including corsets, were available to anyone who chose to enter the store.11 the industrial revolution, to use the words of costume historian valerie steele, had changed the very structure of society, and “the very concept of sartorial display [that had been] associated with the ‘aristocratic body’ [in the eighteenth century] became transformed into a ‘feminine’ ideal of beauty that potentially applied to women of all classes.”12 women of all classes now had access to fashion through stores that contained a selection of fashionable clothes to match any price range.13 middle-class women were expected to expend as much effort as possible to make their homes a welcoming place for their husbands. that meant that not only did the home need to be clean and orderly, but also the wife herself had to be a model of femininity, dressing neatly and fashionably. ual victorians saw the developing young woman as “potentially unruly or dangerous…requir[ing] regulation and surveillance.”20 the corset served that purpose, restricting what the young woman could do physically at the same time as it molded her into a socially acceptable shape. the practice of corseting young girls raised eyebrows; numerous doctors and moralists argued against the use of corsets among adolescent girls, citing impeded development of the breasts and an inability to breastfeed their children because of tight lacing.21 other doctors took the opposite tack, arguing that females were more likely to suffer from poor posture and curved spines if they did not begin to use corsets at an early age.22 though there was debate about the benefits of corsets for adolescents, there was rarely debate about its use among adult women. philippe perrot writes in fashioning the bourgeoisie that for the victorians, the “opulence, softness, and fullness” of a woman “required wearing a corset, essentially for support.”23 the corset was the means by which women of all shapes and sizes achieved a uniformity of shape and adhered to the fashion of the day, which required an exaggerated hourglass silhouette otherwise impossible to achieve. the invention of the metal eyelet in 1828 made it possible for corsets to fit even more tightly to the body, and the invention of the steam-molding process by edwin izod in 1868 made mass-production easier and cheaper.24 in short, by the 1870s, there was no reason why any middleclass woman should be without a corset. an advertising pamphlet from the thompson’s glove-fitting corset company promotes several corsets, which came in many different incarnations and prices. this pamphlet, misleadingly titled “the lady and the dog,” goes through thompson’s entire catalogue of corsets in rhyming stanzas. a lady and her dog have entered a shop, and the saleslady, in order to inform the buyer of all of her options, explains the qualities and prices of every one of thompson’s genuine corsets. almost menacingly, the salesclerk tells the clearly middle-class woman that “the d. at three dollars even, / that’s [sic] none too expensive for you.”25 the underlying expectation was that the middle-class buyer would be able to imagine herself as the shopper, and in the end purchase a thompson’s glove-fitting corset. corsets were available on both sides of the atlantic from a number of companies, each trying to prove that their corsets were more healthful, better fitting, or more likely to bring about beauty than their competitors. symington in england, the royal worcester company, warner’s, and thompson’s in the united states were some of the major manufacturers, though they were certainly not the only ones.26 the corsets they produced and advertised became embedded in the consciousness of middle-class women during all stages of their lives. in order to maintain the image of perfection that was so necessary to the middle-class, women were told to wear corsets at all times. as one mid-nineteenth-century pamphlet stated: evening dress, c. 1887-8, new york. the structure of this dress demonstrates the necessity of the corset to creating an hourglass shape—no uncorseted woman has a waist so disproportionate. 10 11 elements : : fall 2013 making corsets work perfection in the human body is…rarely met with; and what the artist in dress has to do is… give grace and beauty to the homely and imperfect, that they may approximate nearer to that which they ought to be. in a few rare instances this may be done without corsets, but in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred the well-adapted corset is indispensable.27 madame roxy a. caplin, the author of this pamphlet, was a corsetiere of some repute, who had patented a type of health corset. her book health and beauty, or, woman and her clothing purported to be an advice book, but was actually a treatise on the necessity of corseting for every woman, at all stages of life, including during pregnancy.28 caplin herself had designed a “‘self regulating gestation corset’” that supposedly maintained the hourglass shape of the mother without causing harm to the fetus.29 the existence of maternity corsets and the wide discussions about the effect of corseting on unborn children demonstrates that the corset was embedded in the middle-class social consciousness, to the point where it was normal for women to put themselves through extreme discomfort during pregnancy in order to maintain a set of social values and norms. a maternity corset from the collections of the victoria and albert museum indicates just how far a woman might go to preserve her shape during pregnancy: aside from lacing on the sides that could be loosened as the fetus grew, and gussets to accommodate a changing breast, this corset is still fully boned and does not sacrifice fashion for the sake of the pregnant woman or the unborn child.30 this refusal on the part of many women to give up fashionable dress even while pregnant generated many criticisms from doctors and dress reformers, who believed that the first duty of a woman was to be a wife and a mother, and so by lacing themselves tightly during pregnancy they were acting against nature itself. as steele notes, “the mother [became] a scapegoat for anything bad that [happened] to her child” during and after pregnancy.31 though this seems completely irrational and contrary to modern sensibilities, it made sense to the victorian bourgeoisie, who depended on corsetry and clothing to help mark the differences between themselves and the working class in a very classconscious society. the difference between the middle class and the working class was demarcated by social behaviors and material culture. the bourgeoisie filled their homes with useless knickknacks, decorating every possible surface. the crowning jewel in the decoration of a middle-class home was a perfectly fashionable and corseted wife. thorstein veblen, the economic theorist, argued in his famous 1899 theory of the leisure class that for a man to be truly considered middle-class, he must have “dependents [that] perform vicarious leisure for him.”32 in other words, his wife must be free from the necessity of working for pay in order to focus her attentions on beautifying the home and spending her husband’s money. the corset, according to veblen, was a physical demonstration “that the wearer does not and cannot habitually engage in useful work.”33 veblen acknowledges that the corset may not have prevented work, but the message remains the same: a middle-class woman, through her clothing, helped create and maintain a wall between herself and the working class.34 creating this distinction was even more important for members of the lower middle class, because they were so near to being working class themselves.35 historian david kunzle argues that the practice of tight-lacing a corset, that is, lacing waists to unnaturally small (under sixteen inches) measurements, was primarily a practice of a few lower-middleclass women, rather than a practice widespread among victorian women.36 these women were closest to being lower class, and may have felt the need to practice tight lacing in order to emphasize their place on the social ladder. it is impossible to know for sure how many women really practiced tight lacing, since most of the literature concerning the practice appears in fetishist and pornographic literature rather than in more reliable sources.37 nevertheless, the corset remained, for the middle class, a symbol of respectability and propriety, a shield against the perceived vulgarity of the working classes. by no means, however, did the middle class hold a monopoly on the use of the corset. working-class women wore them as well, but more than class-consciousness determined their use of the corset. rather, a number of factors influenced the clothing choices of these women. working-class women and corsets since the rise of industrial clothing production, it has been possible for people to acquire clothes that match the fashions of the day in a variety of price ranges.38 this is no less true for victorian women than it is for women today. throughout much of western history, fashion has trickled down from the rich to the poor and had an impact on every strata of society.39 the nineteenth century in particular was a period when women in the lower social strata, with the help of fashion magazines such as godey’s ladies’ book and improvements in technology such as the sewing machine, easily copied the fashions worn by the rich and elite. however, these working-class women, by definition, had to work in order to earn their daily bread. they had to find a balance between looking fashionable and being practical, and the weight in each pan of the scales depended on each woman’s own situation. the corset was one of the most essential garments if one wanted to be fashionable in the nineteenth century—without it, tightly fitted bodices did not fit, and one lacked the right body shape for the clothes. a woman’s decision to wear a corset was both a choice made by her and a choice made for her: society dictated that in order to be respectably dressed, she must wear a corset, but the woman herself decided how important it was for her to be respectable in the narrow, middle-class definition of the term. the type of work performed by an individual woman did have a significant impact on her choice of whether or not to wear a corset. in general, women living on farms, especially married women, tended to be more likely not to wear a corset, or to only own one and wear it occasionally.40 conversely, women, particularly young women, who lived and worked in cities and towns, were much more likely to follow fashion, wearing corsets and even, on occasion, crinolines.41 practicality was an instrumental element in a woman’s decision, as was expense. these two factors were key to determining what a woman chose to wear, and how she chose to wear it. in 1850, farmers made up sixty-four percent of the working population of the united states.42 in europe, the figures were very similar. nonetheless, cities were flourishing on both sides of the atlantic, and many women were working in industrial settings and in service. indeed, the service sector was growing so rapidly that by 1871, roughly thirty-three percent of working women in great britain were domestic servants.43 both urban and rural women were faced with the same choices about fashion, and each group responded differently. for rural women, corsets were not an automatic choice when getting dressed in the morning. rural women, particularly married women, had more difficulty imitating the clothing of middle and upper-classes than did their husbands.44 men’s clothing across classes was generally the same; only the quality of the clothing changed. furthermore, men were more likely to work outside of the home, making fashionable clothes a necessity in order for them to put forth a respectable impression.45 fashionable women’s clothing, unlike men’s clothing, was designed to demonstrate that the wearer had no need to work, with large skirts, tight bodices, and tight corsets. these clothes were both impractical and expensive for rural women. it seems obvious that a corset would be impractical for farm labor—the garment was designed to be restrictive, and stories of women fainting from shortness of breath were not rare, though they were oftentimes exaggerated.46 modern researchers have come to the conclusion, however, that though corsets were indeed restrictive, they by no means incapacitated women. in 1999, dr. colleen gau reproduced studies of corseted women’s lung function by two victorian doctors, using female historical re-enactors who played a variety of roles in the living museums where they worked.47 her subjects were a variety of shapes and sizes and were wearing hourglass corsets in the style of the 1870s.48 gau observed a definite decrease in lung function after they had donned their corsets, averaging about a nine percent loss.49 volunteers observed that they had more difficulty completing chores, though despite heavy farm work, “none of the subjects reported faintness or other alarming symptoms” beyond shortness of breath and lower back pain.50 though they were not incapacitated, neither were they comfortable, particularly while doing strenuous work.51 gau’s study indicates that modern women perceived corsets to be uncomfortable, but not impossible. it is easier to 12 13 elements : : fall 2013 making corsets work understand, then, why farm women did not banish corsets from their wardrobes. instead, it appears that rural women utilized corsets, if they could afford them, on the days where it was most necessary to appear “respectable.” a rural wife was expected to manage the household, raise the children, maintain a kitchen garden, provide meals, help on the farm when necessary, and be concerned with how she appeared to the rest of the world.52 consequently, she had much less access to fashionable clothing than her sisters who lived and worked in cities. in a survey of rural french women from 1850 to 1875, social researcher frederic le play found that only one third of the women owned corsets.53 contrarily, nearly all of the photographs of american farmwomen collected by joan severa, the major source for my analysis of american working women, show them wearing corsets, though no doubt many of them are wearing their best clothes.54 indeed, farm women were most likely to only wear a corset when it would have been completely unthinkable not to. on sundays, for example, a rural woman was able to get off of the farm for church and socializing. consequently, sunday clothes were, according to crane, more likely “to be closer to the middle-class ideal than weekday” clothing.55 corsets were available via the sears and roebuck mail-order catalogue, priced from fifty cents to six dollars.56 therefore, though they were impractical for everyday wear, corsets were present in the “best” wardrobes of many rural farmwomen. for example, a photograph of a young california wife standing in front of a bleak little farmhouse is clearly wearing her best clothes, and only posing with a hoe for the photographer.57 beneath the fancy dress is a corset that creates the shape necessary for this young woman to appear fashionable. though this particular woman is evidently not dressed to perform labor, another photograph, this one from a california fruit farm in 1887, captures a man and a woman who have just come from work. the woman in this photograph, holding pruning shears, is wearing a corset as part of her no-nonsense ensemble.58 clearly, a corset was not a completely impractical option for work on a farm. from another photograph, however, it is equally clear that some women felt no inhibitions about going out in public sans corset. a young norwegian immigrant woman in la crosse, wisconsin, is wearing no corset as she strides down the street on her way to a fair.59 the fact that this woman clearly felt that there was nothing wrong with appearing in public without a corset indicates that she, at least, chose to ignore society’s respectability requirements in favor of her own comfort. her behavior, though most likely not the norm among women on farms, also demonstrates the effect that a rural environment had on women’s clothing choices. on farms or in small towns, far away from large manufacturing centers, women were less likely to be bombarded with the sort of advertising that created the perceived need for corsets. they were also, for most of the week, away from the prying eyes of neighbors, those who would judge a family’s rematernity corset from victoria and albert museum online collections. extra lacing is present on the sides of this corset, and the cups have extra gussets, possibly for accommodating changes to the body during pregnancy spectability by their neat and up-to-date clothing, or lack thereof. but for women who lived and worked in the upand-coming urban centers, interactions with people of a higher social class happened every day, and every day presented an opportunity to demonstrate to the world their prosperity and respectability through dress. as the world industrialized, urban centers became more important. within these cities, women of all ages worked to make a living, often as shopkeepers, factory workers, assistants in the new department stores, or, most frequently, as domestic servants. unlike the women living and working on farms or in rural areas, women in the cities had ample access to fashionable clothing, and corsets were essential to the fashionable shape. for these women, corsets were part of their everyday attire, whether they worked in factories or as domestic servants. as crane notes, “clothing was the principal consumer good that was available to working-class female employees, and they spent substantial proportions of their income on it.”60 for female factory workers, corsets and full skirts in the workplace were a way of demonstrating that though they were laboring at a menial task, that task did not define their entire lives. instead, the wearing of corsets in the workplace was meant to show that these women aspired to middleclass life and fashion. a photograph of two female telephone operators demonstrates clearly the importance young working women put on dressing nicely for the workplace (see fig. 9). though they are not necessarily engaged in a menial task, neither are they idle. both young women are dressed in an up-todate style, corseted and wearing full bustles. the only concession to the workplace is the apron that the seated woman wears.61 these women were expressing their concern for their position in society—clearly they hoped to move up in the world—and they were utilizing their clothes to demonstrate that fact. another example of the female worker following fashion is a photograph of two mill girls posing in front of a painted backdrop with their shuttles, symbols of their occupation (see fig. 10). these women are clearly wearing corsets beneath their dresses, and have made attempts to “dress up” their workaday clothes by adding elements such as fashionable collars.62 incredible as it may seem, the corsets these women wore may have provided back support during their long day standing and working on the factory floor. they may have chosen to wear corsets to work for the back support rather than to create a fashionable shape, or perhaps for both reasons. these women, like their sisters who worked in domestic service, were expected to present a respectable image to the world. as the bourgeoisie grew, so did the number of women working as domestic servants. service was an occupation, for many young women, between childhood and marriage, with a high turnover rate.63 how much control these women had over their clothing depended on their employer— many found themselves wearing uniforms, while others had the freedom to choose what they wore during the workday. young women entering service were often expected to provide their own clothing for the first year, after which point they would be able to purchase more with their wages.64 though their wages were not large, there were affordable corsets being produced specifically for housemaids. the pretty housemaid corset, produced and guaranteed by the symington company in england, is one such example (see fig. 11).65 this corset creates the same shape as every other 1890s corset. however, this one has minimal boning (whalebones inserted into slots in the cor“as part of the american middle-class identity to which they aspired, the corset became a part of the immigrant’s wardrobe, and represented both assimilation and prosperity.” 14 15 elements : : fall 2013 making corsets work set to give it stiffness), which gives it more flexibility, and a busk protector (a piece of covered steel stitched to the underside of the busk for more support), making it a corset well suited for a woman doing manual labor.66 the embroidery and lace on this corset, though they serve no practical purpose, indicate that the women who purchased the pretty housemaid corset wanted to feel pretty, even if they could not show it. hundreds of thousands of pretty housemaid corsets were sold, and the idea that the corset marked the difference between a middle-class woman and a working-class one was dispelled.67 four housemaids, posing together with a cat around 1889, are all wearing corsets, demonstrating how important keeping up with fashion was for women of all classes.68 upper servants, such as lady’s maids, often had access to their mistress’ cast-off clothes, and took full advantage of them to dress in a fashionable manner. fashion created a way for these women, whose lives were so often filled with drudgery, to participate in the larger “community outside the employer’s household.”69 the corset was an essential part of many servants’ wardrobes, especially those who worked in positions where they would be seen, such as nursemaids or housemaids. interestingly, even some house slaves in the american south wore corsets.70 though most slaves wore the cast-off clothing of their masters or new clothes made of the cheapest cloth available, there is evidence that some house slaves wore corsets, albeit under simple dresses provided by their masters in order to keep them in their place.71 in one photo, a younger slave woman is clearly wearing a corset beneath her simple dress. as a house slave, she would have been seen by visitors and the family for whom she worked every day, and therefore would have been required to conform to their standards of respectability.72 on the other hand, her sisters working in the fields would not have worn corsets, because they were provided with only the cheapest and most practical pieces of clothing.73 after the civil war, free blacks, many of them former slaves, made it a point to embrace fashion, including the corset, such as josephine beasley. in a photo from the 1890s, she is dressed in “an elegant and fashionable gown,” though her occupation, according to the census records, was as a domestic servant.74 just like other members of the working class after the civil war, african-american women made the effort to dress fashionably. indeed, for african-americans it was probably particularly important to demonstrate their status through their clothing, since they were fighting against racial prejudice as well. and yet, they were not the only group that chose to use clothing to demonstrate their ability to assimilate into american culture and society. for many immigrants during the latter half of the nineteenth century, a change in clothing was part of the transition from the old world to the new world. immigrants who arrived in cities were confronted with pressure to be american, to conform to a standard of dress often very different from the traditional clothing they had worn in europe. according to margareta matovic, “clothing helped turn a peasant maid into a city woman.”75 for polish immigrant women in chicago, one of their first goals was to acquire a new wardrobe, including a corset, whether or not they had worn one in the old country.76 for immigrants, regardless of their original culture, clothing was key to fitting in, to looking american--that is, middle class. immigrant women made a point of dressing themselves, and their daughters, in american fashions as quickly as possible. take, for example, a photograph of a norwegian family. all of the women in the family are wearing corsets, and although the mother’s dress is a few years out of date, the young girls are dressed in up-to-the-minute dresses, demonstrating the family’s pride in their success in america.77 as part of the american middle-class identity to which they aspired, the corset became a part of the immigrant’s wardrobe, and represented both assimilation and prosperity. indeed, for any woman who wanted to fit into respectable society, and possibly move up the victorian social ladder, a corset was a necessity anytime other people could see her. the corset was an essential part of victorian material culture. nearly every woman, whether she was the princess of wales or a kitchen maid, wore a corset at some point in her life, if not throughout her whole life. women of all classes participated in the culture of the era, which classified the corset as essential to feminine respectability. while trying to determine how the working-class woman’s use of the corset differed from the middle class woman’s, it is important to not only examine the values of victorian society, but also to look at the corsets themselves and the shapes they created underneath clothing. jules david prown suggests that there is “a high correlation between clothing and personal identity and values.”78 the choices working women made about their clothing, specifically their decision to wear corsets or not, indicated that they wanted to make an effort to keep up with current fashions, even though they had to do so on a budget. they wore corsets in the manner that best suited their needs, whether that was only on sundays, when they were going to town, or everyday. through their fashion decisions, working-class women demonstrated the agency they had over their own lives to society at large. unlike middle-class women, whose use of the corset was determined and enforced by a rigid set of social norms, working-class women tended to have more control over their decisions, because they had to balance their ability to work with their desire to stay fashionable. instead of being passive consumers of corset culture, these women took advantage of the corset when they needed to, and occasionally, were able to leave it off altogether if it suited them. their use of the corset made them the most “modern,” and certainly the most liberated, of all the women of the victorian era. endnotes 1 roberts (554-569) 2 davidoff (406-428) 3. steinbach (xiv) 4 steinbach (115) 5 steinbach (118) 6 ibid. 7 steinbach (124) 8 steinbach (125) 9 steinbach (136) 10 steinbach (99) 11 steinbach (102) 12 steele (36) 13 sears & roebuck co. catalogue 1893 (191) 14 ginsberg (39) 15 summers (20) 16 steele (35) 17 kunzle (574); roberts (556) 18 kunzle (575) 19 steele (51) 20 summers (81) 21 perrot (154) 22 perrot (155) 23 perrot (156) 24 steele (44, 47) 25 thompson’s glove-fitting corset pamphlet 26 steele (41) 27 caplin (83) 28 caplin (103) 29 summers (46) 30 maternity corset 31 steele (76) 32 veblen (80) 33 veblen (179) 34 perrot (89) 35 perrot (8) 36 kunzle (573) 37 steele (92) 38 sears & roebuck co. catalogue 1893 (191) 39 perrot (25) 40 crane (55) 41 crane (57) 42 growing a nation: the story of american agriculture 43 steinbach (91) 44 crane (29) 45 crane (49) 46 summers (99) 47 gau (63) 48 gau (64) 49 gau (66) 50 gau (67) 51 ibid. 52 crane (49) 53 crane (51) 54 severa (xvi) 55 crane (50) 56 sears & roebuck co. catalogue 1896 16 17 elements : : fall 2013 making corsets work 57 severa (494) 58 severa (423) 59 severa (513) 60 crane (60) 61 severa (404-5) 62 severa (370) 63 davidoff (408) 64 rose (81) 65 salen (59) 66 ibid. 67 steele (49) 68 severa (451) 69 crane (59) 70 severa (61) 71 severa (60); white and white (154) 72 severa (61) 73 group of slaves outside a cabin, cumberland, va 74 severa (479) 75 matovic (280) 76 knothe (330) 77 severa (345) 78 prown (89) references caplin, roxey ann. health and beauty, or, woman and her clothing, considered in relation to the physiological laws of the human body. london: 1864. crane, diana. fashion and its social agendas: class, gender, and identity in clothing. chicago: university of chicago press, 2000. davidoff, leonore. “mastered for life: servants and wife in victorian and edwardian england.” journal of social history 7 (1974): 406-428. gau, colleen. “physiologic effects of wearing corsets: studies with reenactors.” dress 26 (1999): 63-70. ginsberg, madeleine. “women’s dress before 1900.” in four hundred years of fashion, edited by natalie rothstein. london: v&a publishing, 1984. group of slaves outside a cabin, cumberland, va. image at http://www.sonofthesouth.net/slavery/photographs/slaves.htm. accessed april 26, 2012. growing a nation: the story of american agriculture. http:// www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farmers_land.htm. accessed march 28, 2012. knothe, maria anna. “recent arrivals: polish immigrant women’s response to the city. in peasant maids, city women: from the european countryside to urban america, edited by christiane harzig, 299-338. ithaca: cornell university press, 1997. kunzle, david. “dress reform as antifeminism: a response to helene e. roberts’ ‘the exquisite slave: the role of clothes in the making of the victorian woman.’’ signs 2 (1977): 570-579. maternity corset. image at http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/ o355208/corset/. accessed march 20, 2012. matovic, margareta. “embracing a middle-class life: swedishamerican women in lake view.” in peasant maids, city women: from the european countryside to urban america, edited by christiane harzig, 261-297. ithaca: cornell university press, 1997. perrot, philippe. fashioning the bourgeoisie: a history of clothing in the nineteenth century. translated by richard bienvenu. princeton: princeton university press, 1994. prown, jules david. art as evidence: writings on art and material culture. new haven: yale university press, 2002. roberts, helene e. “the exquisite slave: the role of clothes in the making of the victorian woman.” signs 2 (1977): 554-569. rose, clare. children’s clothes since 1750. new york: 1989. salen, jill. corsets: historical patterns and techniques. london: costume and fashion press, 2008. sears & roebuck co. catalogue (spring, 1893). image at http:// s e a r c h . a n c e s t r y l i b r a r y . c o m / b r o w s e / v i e w. a s p x ? dbid=1670&path=1896.spring.102.189. accessed april 26, 2012. sears & roebuck co. catalogue (1896). image at http://search. ancestrylibrary.com/browse/view.aspx?dbid=1670&path=1896. spring.102.189. accessed march 28, 2012. severa, joan. dressed for the photographer: everyday americans and fashion, 1840-1900. kent, oh: kent state university press, 1995. note: severa’s collection of hundreds of photographs of everyday americans covers the sixty years between the introduction of the daguerreotype in america in 1840 and the end of the nineteenth century. many of these photos, she says in her preface to the work, were chances for the people in the photos to “leave for posterity an image of themselves at their very best.” this book has been invaluable, not only because of the wealth of images it contains, but also because of severa’s deep knowledge of fashion. steele, valerie. the corset: a cultural history. new haven: yale university press, 2001. steinbach, susie l. understanding the victorians: politics, culture and society in nineteenth century britain. new york: routledge, 2012. summers, leigh. bound to please: a history of the victorian corset. new york: bloomsbury academic, 2001. thompson’s glove-fitting corset pamphlet. image at http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa_a0174/. accessed march 28, 2012. veblen, thorstein. the theory of the leisure class: an economic study of institutions. new york: 1899. white, shane and graham white. “slave clothing and africanamerican culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.” past and present 148 (1995): 149-186. 18 19 elements : : fall 2013 making corsets work between 1936 and 1938, writers from the works and progress administration conducted interviews of over 2,000 ex-slaves throughout the south. this essay examines slave responses to questions about former presidents abraham lincoln and jefferson davis. indeed, the responses of ex-slaves to the questions were as surprising as the existence of the question itself. given the hero status of davis and the south’s general contempt for lincoln, the interviewers’ interest in slave opinions on the two is notable. even more remarkable were the wide variety of responses given by exslaves; they made veiled criticisms of the southern culture that oppressed them. exslaves chose unique, subtle methods of criticism since blatant criticisms of dixie, a colloquial term for the south, often ended in racial violence. “jes’ next to jesus christ” slave attitudes towards abraham lincoln james newhouse in 1936, one hundred and twelve year old ex-slave phil town discussed with a works and progress administration (wpa) interviewer his version of how the civil war had begun.1 according to town, abraham lincoln met with jefferson davis and tried to convince davis that slavery was morally unacceptable according to the bible. davis refused to listen, so lincoln pulled out a gun and a bible and instructed davis to choose one. when davis chose the gun, lincoln left with the bible and the civil war began. town’s response refuted the common southern notion at the time that the civil war was the war of northern aggression and that “jeff davis was the christian martyr,” implicitly criticizing the accepted southern war narrative.2 in town’s account, davis was not only the aggressor, but also appeared unchristian, choosing the gun and ignoring the moral truth of the bible. town’s story serves as a safe yet stinging assault on slavery on a number of levels. first, town indicates that lincoln, not davis, “had god on his side.”3 second, in choosing the gun over the bible, davis acts as the aggressor, suggesting that southern greed was the impetus for the civil war. furthermore, davis’s inability to accept the morality and logic behind lincoln’s plea depicts southerners as close-minded and irrational.4 because town used a fictional narrative to carry out his assault on southern collective memory, southern whites were less likely to seek repercussions for town’s transgressions. in choosing to criticize slavery through folklore, town addressed the interviewer’s question without endangering himself. town was not the only freedman to give such an untraditional response to questions about slave perceptions of lincoln and davis. slaves often relied on folklore and religious anecdotes in answering the loaded, potentially dangerous questions of the interviewers. because the freedmen of the 1930s lived in a jim crow south in which slavery was considered “a god-ordained, spiritual institution,” any statement contrary to that assumption could only serve to endanger them.5 many whites in the jim crow south were nostalgic for the antebellum south and attributed utopian features to their slaveholding past. folklore, subtle criticism, and religious allusion allowed the ex-slaves to answer loaded questions about jefferson davis and abraham lincoln in a safe manner.6 a survey of ex-slave responses to stock questions about jefferson davis and abraham lincoln reveals much about not only antebellum but also jim crow race relations. exslaves attached religious significance to lincoln. their embrace of the martyred president was caused by, and in direct proportion to, their masters’ hatred of lincoln. the racial hierarchy of the jim crow south meant that former slaves—they were critical of all of the confederacy —had to be subtle. this essay relies solely on the wpa narratives as primary evidence to determine slaves’ perceptions of abraham lincoln and jefferson davis. while the wpa slave narratives today remain the most extensive and encompassing insights into slave life, historians have debated the viability of the narratives as a historical source. considering that the interviews were conducted more than seventy years after emancipation, were occasionally edited by the wpa, and contain instances in which the ex-slaves lied to protect their safety, concerns about the validity of the wpa sources are justified.7 david bailey asserts that the time gap between emancipation and the time the interviews were conducted presents a major dilemma for historians intending to use the interviews as a source.8 slave children often were exempt from fieldwork, and many acted as playmates or house pets to the young white children. wpa interviewees, who had been children while enslaved, had happier recollections of slavery than runaway slaves who wrote autobiographies.9 the wpa interviewee then, held a unique (and not completely representative) view of the peculiar institution. race relations in the 1930s south further limit the accuracy of the interviews. many ex-slaves could legitimately worry about their safety if they gave an unfavorable account of slavery. john blassingame notes that it was safest for slaves to “conceal their feelings towards whites as a matter of self-preservation.”10 since blacks often lived in the same county in which they had been enslaved, they risked upsetting their former masters’ children and grandchildren if they criticized the institution of slavery.11 while 21 “jes’ next to jesus christ” the inherent existence of racial tension in the interviews limits the historical accuracy of the accounts, the racial tension reveals much about race relations in the 1930s south. it was standard practice for the wpa interviewers to ask subjects their views on abraham lincoln and jefferson davis. despite the wealth of material such questions elicited, historians have yet to analyze ex-slave responses on the matter. though historians have addressed the slaves’ embrace of lincoln, no analysis exists of freedmen’s opinions of confederate leaders.12 in order to understand why ex-slaves held such reverence for lincoln, it is important to discern what factors had influence on their opinions of lincoln. while slaves believed lincoln intended to abolish slavery and end their bondage, lincoln initially told slaveholders that he had no intention of doing so. indeed, in his inaugural address of 1861, lincoln assured states that the federal government had no power to abolish slavery. however, as stephanie oates points out, “in dixie, orators and editors alike derided lincoln as a black-hearted radical.” harold holzer also noted that the southern practice of “assailing” the president’s character was commonplace. slave reverence for lincoln, then, was likely born of knowledge of their masters’ contempt for him.13 even though lincoln did not intend to abolish slavery upon taking office, in retrospect, ex-slaves held lincoln in reverence as a great figure in american history. instead of focusing on lincoln’s motives for ending slavery, africanamericans of the depression years focused on the effects of lincoln’s presidency, and celebrated him as a hero for african-american liberty. in a nation under our feet, stephen hahn offers another reason for ex-slaves’ exaggerated reverence for lincoln.14 hahn argues that slaves sought a “messianic” figure to end their bondage.15 indeed, many antebellum black churches eagerly awaited a savior who showed “the marks of several biblical characters, most notably moses and jesus.”16 in many slaves’ minds, lincoln became this figure.17 if lincoln was veiled by misconceptions, then former slaves had very different concerns when responding to questions about jefferson davis. immediately following their defeat, southern whites had developed what charles reagen wilson views as a civil religion centered on the sanctity of the southern people. central to this religion was the lost cause, a concept that claimed confederates had fought for a morally superior social order and only lost because of the north’s superior numbers. nostalgia for slavery and the notion that masters were benevolent to their slaves were central tenets of the lost cause. also central to the idea of the lost cause was the deification of confederate heroes such as robert e. lee, stonewall jackson, and jefferson davis. despite the cautions that ex-slaves had to take when speaking about lincoln and davis, ex-slave responses to questions about civil war leaders provide an abundance of information and insights about folklore, race relations in the depression, and freedmen’s political worldviews. abraham lincoln, 16th president of the united states, 1863. because religion was central to african-american life in the nineteen and early twentieth century, lincoln’s holy status in the slave mind comes as no surprise.18 ex-slaves viewed their emancipator through the lens of afro-christianity and used their religion to protest their treatment at the hands of the white community. because of the importance of religion in the african-american community, exslaves used christianity as a means of illustrating the righteousness of lincoln and the wickedness of slavery. ex-slaves depicted lincoln as a “man of god” and claimed lincoln had biblical justification for freeing the slaves.19 many slaves believed the civil war represented the “divine intervention that would end their collective oppression.”20 because freeing the slaves was a religious act endorsed by god, lincoln was a messianic, moses-like figure for many slaves.21 depictions of lincoln as a religious liberator are common in narratives. mattie lee proclaimed that because “christ died for to save de world and lincoln died to save de united states…lincoln died more christ like den any man dat ever lived.”22 lee’s observation represents a common belief among slaves: lincoln’s sacrifice for the slaves was comparable to the sacrifice jesus made for mankind. sarah waggoner of kentucky further sanctified lincoln’s image by claiming: “abe lincoln was jes’ next to jesus christ!”23 for many slaves, the distinction between lincoln and jesus was nonexistent. even slave children, when asked about jesus christ, responded that jesus was “massa’ linkum!”24 ruby pickens tart confirmed that slaves frequently depicted lincoln as god-like in stating that because of “what dey tole me ‘bout him, i thought he was partly god.”25 lincoln, then, assumed christ-like characteristics and the role of redeemer in slave representations of him.26 other slaves drew the religious analogy wider. charles h. anderson told his interviewer that “lincoln was a natural born man for the job he completed. just check it back to pharaoh’s time: there was moses born to deliver the children of israel.”27 the comparison of lincoln to moses accomplishes more than simply demonstrating the holiness for slaves of emancipation. by connecting lincoln to moses and the slaves to israel, anderson compared southern slave owners to the pharaoh and the south to egypt. this veiled criticism of the antebellum south is even more stinging considering that many southern whites in the 1930s compared the defeated south to the israelites.28 by claiming the slaves—not their masters—were the israelites, anderson inverted the image southerners had of themselves and recast it so that ex-slaves were the chosen people and whites were the wicked oppressors.29 reuben rosborough furthered the religious metaphor by incorporating franklin roosevelt. rosborough, like anderson, likened lincoln to moses by claiming that “mr. lincoln was raised up de be lord, just like moses, to fee a ‘culiar people.”30 rosborough then took anderson’s moses allusion a step further by arguing, “mr. roosevelt is de joshua dat come after him.”31 rosborough’s analogy also compared african-americans to the israelites by claiming the two great saviors of the african american people were equivalent to moses and joshua. rosborough ended his testimony with a nod to roosevelt, imploring god to “bless jefferson davis, president of the confederate states of america. 22 23 elements : : fall 2013 “jes’ next to jesus christ” him and ‘stain him in his visions and work to bring de kingdom of heaven into and upon earth.”32 by depicting those who help african-americans as holy men, rosborough implored racist southerners to end their practices of hate and inequality, which would contribute towards creating heaven on earth.33 some slaves believed that instead of inspiring lincoln, god had acted through him to free the slaves. easter wells claimed, “god worked through abraham lincoln and answered de prayers of dem dat was wearing de burden of slavery.”34 again, wells’ interpretation creates a parallel between the struggles of the israelites in the land of egypt and the struggles of the slaves. the black slaves cried out for freedom just as their hebrew brothers had prayed for freedom centuries before. wells ended his response with a defensive question: “we cullud folks all love and honor abraham lincoln’s memory and don’t you think we ought to?”35 sallie paul of south carolina gave god even more credit. paul declared, “god set de slaves free. de lord do it,” and lincoln simply was “de one what present de speech.”36 paul made it clear that emancipation was god’s deed and god’s will. in crediting lincoln’s emancipation proclamation to the lord, paul discredited the common southern notion that slavery provided the moral and social discipline necessary for blacks to attain salvation.37 ex-slaves’ use of religion as a tool to critique dixie stood in perfect contrast to the southern justification of slavery. southern plantation owners rationalized their bondage of an entire race of people through selective interpretation of the bible. indeed, ministers “leaned more heavily on the sanction of the bible than on anything else” and often “quoted old testament approvals of slavery” in their defense of slavery.38 in their interviews, ex-slaves challenged the notion that the bible legitimized slavery. instead, many slaves took it upon themselves to demonstrate that lincoln had biblical backing for his actions. elisha doc garey claimed that lincoln had used john 8:36, which read, “‘my son, therefore shall ye be free indeed,’” to decide that he ought “to wuk to sot us free.”39 just as charles h. anderson inverted the image of southerners as the chosen people, garey claimed it was lincoln, not the confederates, who had biblical support for his actions. green willbanks also cited john 8:36 in his justification for abolition. willbanks thought “abraham lincoln was a all right man; god so intended that we should be sot free.”40 when asked about whether he preferred freedom to bondage, willbanks exclaimed “sho! give me freedom all the time. jesus said: ‘if my son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.’”41 unlike garey, willbanks used john 8:36 to connect lincoln with jesus. since lincoln set the slaves free, and willbanks’ biblical justification for his abolition was that god allowed his son to free his people, lincoln was simply mirroring the actions of jesus in emancipating the slaves. by claiming lincoln acted as jesus had, willbanks skillfully debunked the southern notion that slavery was a holy institution. many former slaves also cited micah 4:4 to show god’s abhorrence of slavery. jim allen stated matter-of-fact that lincoln “worked by ‘pinions of de bible. he got his meanin’s from de bible.” allen then cited micah 4:4, “‘every man should live under his own vine and fig tree’” as the primary verse that inspired lincoln to believe that “‘no one man should work for another.”42 in order to emphasize the point, allen contrasted lincoln’s interpretation of the passage with jefferson davis, who “wanted po’ man to work for rich man.” davis was “wrong in one ‘pinion.”43 jim allen’s’ comparison of biblical interpretations made his point clear: the slaves, not the confederates, interpreted the bible correctly.44 despite their portrayal of lincoln as a religious figure, slave exaltation for lincoln appears largely misplaced. lincoln only freed the slaves reluctantly, and had no religious justification for doing so.45 lincoln’s policy involved preventing the spread of slavery to the frontier states and he claimed no constitutional power to abolish slavery in the south. indeed, only after he decided emancipation was a military necessity did lincoln opt to free the slaves.46 oates reminds us that lincoln initially made a concerted effort to establish that he was not the passionate abolitionist many southerners believed him to be. indeed, lincoln “conceded that slavery was a thoroughly entrenched institution, that it was protected by the constitution and could not be molested by the national government.”47 in fact, lincoln was prepared to ratify an 1861 amendment that would have ensured that slavery would be left untouched by the federal government.48 despite lincoln’s support for the constitutional amendment that protected slavery, religious depictions of lincoln continued because slaves based their perceptions of lincoln not on his actual policies but on the lincoln to whom they were exposed. one reason that slaves idolized lincoln was that their masters despised him. gabe emanuel noted that he “don’t recolle’ much ‘bout ‘im ‘ceptin what i hear’d in de big house ‘bout lincoln doin’ dis an’ lincoln doin’ dat.”49 since the majority of slaves were illiterate or only had a limited vocabulary, they depended on their masters for information. pauline worth also remembered hearing her mistress “readin de paper speak bout abraham lincoln en jefferson davis.”50 since southern newspapers maligned and lampooned lincoln, worth likely only received negative depictions of lincoln and positive ones of davis.51 moreover, “the worries of one slaveholder could influence the expectations of slaves in an entire neighborhood.”52 only one misconceived slave master could shape the opinions of hundreds of slaves in the region. charity austen’s interview confirms that slaves took their masters’ hateful depictions of lincoln and recreated him in a way that they preferred. austen observed that “from what de white folks, marster and missus tole us we thought lincoln wus terrible. by what mother and father tole me i thought he wus all right.”53 clearly austen and her parents heard much about lincoln through their masters and created a lincoln that fit their expectations. the first thing ex-slave george wamble remembered about the war was his master enoch wombly’s boast that he would “join the army and bring abe lincoln’s head back for a soap dish.”54 enoch wombly’s staunch anti-abolitionist stance was solidified through his promise that he would “wade in blood up to his neck to keep the slaves from being freed.”55 both austen’s and wombly’s narratives illustrate the intense hatred for lincoln to which slaves were exposed on a daily basis. since their masters’ hatred stemmed from the perception that lincoln wanted to free the slaves, austen and wombly retained a positive and benevolent image of the great emancipator. often, slaves had no choice but to be exposed to the hateful, anti-lincoln actions of southern whites. esther king casey and her father saw confederate soldiers hang and shoot at an effigy of lincoln.56 the charleston daily courier predicted that “the initials c.s.a. would eventually come to signify ‘couldn’t stand abe.’”57 slaves witnessed the violent opposition to lincoln and hateful rhetoric of white southerners and inferred that lincoln must be the religious savior for whom they had prayed. indeed, slaves and slaveholders alike interpreted political events in similar ways.58 both assumed “the republican party was actively hostile to the institution of slavery” despite lincoln’s efforts to prove the contrary.59 slaves took the information they were exposed to and created their own construct of the yankee president, recreating him in a way that suited their cultural needs. many interviewees reported having heard about lincoln through a short song that their masters sang repeatedly. george wood of south carolina claimed that all he knew about lincoln was that his mistress used to sing: “jeff davis rides a big gray horse, lincoln rides a mule; jeff davis is a fine old man, and lincoln is a fool.”60 wood is one of many slaves who responded that their perception of lincoln stemmed from the popular dixie song that lampooned him. other slaves took dixie’s favorite lincoln song and altered the lyrics in a way that lampooned the south, not lincoln. in changing the song, slaves challenged the southern culture that held them in bondage and mocked their captors. slaves from warren county, north carolina, added “knick knack dey say / walk ole georgia row” to the end of the song in order to parody it.61 the addition of “knick knack dey say” transformed the song from being highly critical of lincoln to a childish simplicity. this parody of southern culture succeeded in critiquing southern culture while remaining subtle enough to ensure the slaves’ safety. lou griffin of missouri recalled making up a response song “’bout how old lincoln got hold of jeff davis in de 24 25 elements : : fall 2013 “jes’ next to jesus christ” army and abe lincoln took and rode jeff davis’ big fine horse and jeff davis had to ride the mule.”62 by adding his own ending, griffin countered southern whites’ attempt to satirize lincoln and portrayed lincoln as powerful instead of foolish. griffin ended his edited version with “abe lincoln was united states president and jeff davis was de fool.”63 griffin completely refuted his master’s representation of lincoln by reversing the qualities of the two wartime presidents.64 susan snow’s rendition of the dixie song was even more confrontational than griffin’s. snow heard white children singing the song, and responded with a song of her own: “called a union band / made de rebels un’erstan’ / to leave de lan’ / submit to abraham.’”65 snow’s response, like the responses of griffin, wood, and many other slaves, provided an effective criticism of southern culture in a creative manner. while snow received a beating for her retort, she successfully criticized the south without risking her life. moreover, snow referred to the confederates as rebels, a word choice that challenged paternalistic southern assumptions that slaves were loyal to the confederacy during the war because they preferred slavery.66 prince johnson also remembered a young slave girl accidentally switching the names of lincoln and davis while singing the song. apparently, his mistress grew so upset at hearing the mistake that she had the child whipped.67 johnson’s mistress did not hesitate to whip the young girl for her accidental error, illustrating the extent to which the song was significant to southerners. that susan snow, lou griffin, amanda oliver and many slaves still chose to satirize the song and southern representations of lincoln despite the risk of whipping demonstrates the importance of lincoln in slave life. some of the most pointed criticisms of the south came through the form of folklore. through folklore, ex-slaves were able to make criticisms that otherwise would have been too dangerous to make in the jim crow south. guy miller of tennessee illustrated how wary blacks were of criticizing whites when he observed that if he got in trouble with whites, they’d kill him.68 because of the dangers that offending whites posed, many blacks turned to folklore as a means to critique their society because folklore allowed blacks to make subtle attacks on dixie that were not blatant enough to merit the violence that miller feared. one way in which folklore succeeded in critiquing the antebellum south was through contrasting depictions of the union and confederacy. h.b. holloway’s fictive memory of lincoln addressing atlanta after the civil war portrayed lincoln and the freedmen as powerful and the south as weak. according to holloway, lincoln gathered all the confederate money and had the oldest black man around set fire to the money in front of everyone.69 holloway emphasized the powerlessness of the defeated confederacy by having lincoln and an old black man destroy the currency necessary for the existence of the confederate nation. that southerners longed for a separate political nation of a “cohesive southern people with a separate cultural identity” only underscores the symbolic power of burning confederate currency.70 without currency, no such nation was possible. lincoln, then, destroyed the southern dream of autonomy when he and the slave burned confederate currency. frank freeman also characterized lincoln and the yankees as dominant in his folk story. according to freeman, lincoln asked davis three times to free the slaves before returning to the north to gather 140,000 yankees who “whupped” the confederates.71 “that southerners longed for a separate political nation of a ‘cohesive southern people with a separate cultural identity’ only underscores the symbolic power of a burning confederate currency.” ex-slaves also made frequent use of the trickster archetype in their lincoln folklore. in contrast to the domineering lincoln that holloway and freeman remembered, the trickster lincoln defeated his southern adversaries through deceit and trickery. charity austen said that lincoln, sherman, and grant traveled throughout the south in rags and spied on confederate meetings. by the time the confederates found out that their union counterparts had been spying on them, lincoln had left and they were furious.72 in depicting lincoln as a traveler who deceived southerners, austen succeeded not only in creating trickster tales based on lincoln but also in emphasizing the south’s incompetence.73 just like the trickster character in their folktales, lincoln was cunning and sly in his attempt to spy on the confederacy. annie alcott’s’ depiction of lincoln also portrays him as a trickster character. lacotts claimed that lincoln came to her plantation before the war wearing a “gray blanket around him for a cape” with a string tied around his neck to hold the cape in place and “jean pants and big mud boots.”74 lincoln’s outlandish costume underscores the function of trickster stories as “satirical descriptions of their own world and its social relations.”75 indeed, through her ridiculous description of lincoln, lacotts poked fun at the south’s inability to thwart lincoln in his quest to end slavery. in addition to being cast as a trickster, lincoln also assumed the role of a poor and downtrodden member of society in folklore. that lincoln often was described as poor is particularly fascinating considering his status as the most powerful man in america during the civil war. in choosing to depict lincoln as poor, ex-slaves characterized lincoln in an image consistent with the trickster, who was always weaker and less powerful than his opponent.76 in addition, slaves also connected lincoln with themselves and distanced him from the slave-owning elite that oppressed them. charity austin remembered lincoln as a ragged man by the railroad that had lost all his possessions. the slaves helped him out, and he returned to the white house, where he emancipated the slaves.77 the difference between lincoln and the slaves was minimized in austen’s story since lincoln is depicted as a homeless person who needed slaves’ charity. moreover, austen implied the slaves had a hand in their own emancipation, as it was their charity that saved the man who eventually saved them. austen was not the only ex-slave to use the railroad in her attempt to depict lincoln as similar to african-americans. sam polite claimed that lincoln traveled through the south as a “rail-splitter and spy” prior to returning to washington and deciding that southerners must free the slaves or there would be bloodshed.78 traveling incognito, lincoln embodied the trickster persona by deceiving southern whites. he used the knowledge gained from spying in the south to determine that he must end slavery. like the trickster, lincoln appeared to be weaker than his opponent but gained the upper hand through trickery and deceit. robert toatley described lincoln as a rail-splitter to draw similarities between lincoln’s life and the struggles african-americans underwent everyday to make ends meet. toatley knew “two men who split rails side by side wid him” and claimed slavery was “a hard time” for both poor whites and poor blacks.79 charlie davenport used folklore to take the connection between lincoln and african-americans a step further. lincoln “called hisse’f a railunited states works progress administration logo. 26 27 elements : : fall 2013 “jes’ next to jesus christ” splitter come her to talk wid us. he went all th’ough de country jus’ a-rantin’ an’ a-preachin’ ‘bout us bein’ his black brothers.”80 indeed, the narratives of davenport, toatley, and polite employed folklore both to satirize southern culture and make parallels between lincoln and the slaves. the folk story alice douglass of tennessee told to the wpa very clearly demonstrates the connection between the trickster and the marginalized slave population. douglass had lincoln assume both roles in her account. according to douglass, lincoln and his wife traveled through her hometown and “dressed jess lack tramps.” “nobody knowed it was him and his wife till he got to the white house and writ back and told ‘em to look twixt the leaves in the table where he had set and they sho’ nuff found out it was him,” she reported.81 lincoln’s trickster character manifested in his ability to fool southerners into believing he was a tramp. the note he sent taunted southerners for being unable to recognize him. douglass succeeds not only in connecting lincoln with the slaves by depicting lincoln as a tramp, but also satirizes dixie’s inability to defeat lincoln through her characterization of lincoln as a trickster.82 freedmen who chose not to employ religious allusion or folklore had limited options in their response to questions regarding lincoln and davis. any response that appeared overtly critical of davis or the antebellum south put them in danger.83 southerners had a profound sense of nostalgia for the confederacy and religious respect for jefferson davis.84 willis anderson exemplifies ex-slave caution to not appear critical of the confederate hero in their responses. anderson’s interviewer noted that he talked “very low when he mentions the name of jeff davis.”85 anderson’s fear of davis stemmed from his slave days when whites would eavesdrop on black cabins and “if yer sed’ that jeff davis was a good man, they barbequed a hog for you, but if yer’ sed’ that abe lincoln was a good man, yer’ had to fight or go to the woods.”86 anderson’s narrative reveals much about the ex-slave mindset on how to respond to questions regarding jefferson davis. ex-slaves realized the importance whites placed on their martyred president, as many had a lifetime of experience with whites enacting draconian punishments on any african-americans bold enough to speak freely about lincoln or davis. moreover, anderson’s hushed tone when responding to a question about davis demonstrates that whites were successful in making blacks fearful to even speak about davis. in this climate, many slaves chose the safest option: claiming they knew nothing about davis or lincoln. adeline crump grew upset when asked about lincoln and roosevelt. she claimed not to “know enough ‘bout abraham lincoln an’ mr. roosevelt to talk about ‘em. no i don’t know just what to say.” crump then pleaded with her interviewer to change the subject by complaining that she “sho’ hopes you will quit axin’ me so many things cause i forgot.”87 crump understood the dangers inherent to sharing her opinion, and chose not to risk her life for an interview. her frustration that the interviewer even asked the question demonstrates the degree to which speaking freely endangered blacks in the jim crow south. a close reading of ex-slaves’ responses, however, reveals their genuine thoughts on davis and lincoln. nellie smith of north carolina, for example, didn’t “know bout all dem old folks lincoln, davis, booker washington.”88 while smith claimed not to know anything about davis or lincoln, she effectively gave her opinion on the presidents by noting right after that “slavery wus a bad thing cause dey sold families apart, fathers from their wives and children, “african-americans knew that a genuine criticism of the south like the one given by mcwhorter could result in lynching.” and mothers away from their children.”89 smith, like many slaves confronted with this loaded question, elected not to risk offending her white interviewer with a truthful answer. smith’s stated abhorrence of slavery effectively communicated her opinions of lincoln and davis without speaking frankly and endangering herself. emeline moore also didn’t “remember nothing’ about lincoln” yet somehow knew that “he was president of the united states, an’ lived in washington, and gave us freedom.”90 responses like those given by moore and smith demonstrate not only the ex-slaves’ genuine opinions on lincoln and slavery but also the precautions many african-americans took to ensure they did not upset the racist social order. indeed, former slaves were wise to be wary of the consequences of their reactions. whites longed for the political structure of the antebellum south because they feared blacks were beginning to use their freedom as a license, which they believed threatened the moral fiber of the south.91 whites responded to black political consciousness with violence, such as lynching by groups such as the ku klux klan’s. more than 1,100 blacks were lynched in the first fifteen years of the twentieth century alone.92 because of this, responses like those given by lila nicholas and morris sheppard were the least likely to offend violent white southerners. nicholas claimed that ex-slaves “doan keer nothin’ bout mr. lincoln” because he did not care about ex-slaves and “jis doan want de south ter get rich.”93 sheppard’s response was even more geared towards pleasing the southern white man. sheppard was critical of lincoln because he “didn’t look after me and buy my crop right after i was free like old master did.”94 sheppard and nicholas represent a tiny minority of interviewees, but their responses demonstrate the influence southern whites could have on the interviewee’s responses.95 slaves that were blatantly critical and honest about their opinions of jefferson davis and abraham lincoln represented another tiny minority in the narratives. william mcwhorter’s response was the most radical and overtly critical. mcwhorter believed “jeff davis ought to be ‘shamed of hisself to want niggers kept in bondage.”96 despite white insistence that davis was a good man, mcwhorter was forthright in his assertion that “you cant ‘spect us niggers to b’lieve he was so awful good.”97 while mcwhorter was not alone in his disdain for davis and the southern system that expected reverence for the confederate president, his outspoken reaction separated him from other ex-slaves. african-americans knew that a genuine criticism of the south like the one given by mcwhorter could result in lynching. one popular means through which ex-slaves avoided endangering themselves like mcwhorter did was to focus their answer on their love of franklin roosevelt instead of risking sharing their thoughts on controversial figures like lincoln and davis. indeed, that the black community overwhelmingly supported roosevelt would come as no surprise to white southerners.98 zeb crowder noted that “from what little judgment i got i thought a right smart o’ abraham lincoln, but i tells you de truf mr. roosevelt has done a lot o’ good. dates de truf. i likes him.”99 given a choice between exalting lincoln and exalting roosevelt, crowder chose to praise the president who had not toppled the confederacy and ended the possibility of a holy southern nation. william scott of north carolina also praised roosevelt for his practical assistance to the poor black community. scott was thankful for lincoln who “done the colored man a heap of good” and argued that if it “hadn’t been for mr. roosevelt there are many livin’ today who would have perished to death. there are many people walkin’ about now who would have been dead if mr. roosevelt had not helped them.”100 scott chose instead to focus on the good deeds of lincoln and roosevelt instead of the negative actions of davis and their masters.101 comparisons between lincoln and roosevelt were common in the interviews. since the black community held roosevelt in such high reverence, comparisons between the presidents enabled ex-slaves to voice their support of the great emancipator. hannah plummer thought, “abraham lincoln was one of the best men that ever lived” and “roosevelt is just grand.”102 lincoln and roosevelt, then, held similar places in african american memory during the new deal. plummer added that she “pray to the lord to let [roosevelt] live to serve his country, and help his people.”103 plummer’s hope that roosevelt lived to serve his country implied that she was unhappy at lincoln’s assas28 29 elements : : fall 2013 “jes’ next to jesus christ” sination. alex woods summarized the opinions of many slaves when he said “abraham lincoln wus all right. he caused us to be free. franklin d. roosevelt is all right; he kept a lot of people from perishing to death.”104 woods’s response effectively praised lincoln in a way that ensured his safety. by connecting lincoln with roosevelt, interviewees were able to communicate their love of the great emancipator without offending davis-loving southerners. jefferson franklin henry navigated the question about lincoln and davis in a way that many slaves did. by praising lincoln and choosing not to reveal their opinions of davis, slaves quietly critiqued the jim crow south that exalted davis as “a symbol of the south’s holiness.”105 henry only offered positive feedback on lincoln, stating that “it was by god’s own plan that president abraham lincoln sot us free, and i can’t sing his praise enough.”106 when forced to comment on davis, henry explained that “miss martha named me for jeff davis, so i can’t down him when i’se got his name.”107 henry understood that criticism of davis would be interpreted as criticism of the confederacy, so he chose not to reveal on his thoughts on davis. he most likely had a negative opinion of davis, however, since his decision not to comment was based on the fact that he had davis’s name and thus could not insult him. indeed, many slaves’ opinions of davis can be inferred through their high praise for lincoln and lack of opinions or hidden opinions about davis. red richardson made his thoughts on the two presidents clear when he contrasted “good old lincoln; they wasn’t nothing like ‘im” with “old jefferson davis” who “was against the cullud man.”108 julia king made a similar critique of davis in exclaiming that “lincoln was a grand man!” but jeff davis “was no friend of the colored people. abe lincoln was a real friend.”109 king and richardson must have known the danger of confiding their thoughts on davis. instead of risking their lives to give an outright answer, they chose to allow the interviewer to deduce their feelings by contrasting the former presidents. ex-slaves often incorporated religion into their contrasting views of lincoln and davis. in doing so, slaves challenged the white assumption that davis had the moral high ground. ex-slave john c. bectom believed “abraham lincoln was one of the greatest men that ever lived” and “was the cause of us slaves being free.”110 bectom did not share the same enthusiasm for davis, noting that he “didn’t think anything of jeff davis.”111 bectom’s disdain for davis can be inferred through interpretation of his statement that davis “tried to keep us in slavery” and that “slavery was an injustice, not right. our privilege is to life right, and live according to the teachings of the bible, to treat our fellowman right.”112 charlie h. hunter and jane montgomery also cited religion as a difference between lincoln and davis in their contrast of the wartime presidents. hunter boasted that “lincoln wus one of my best friends. he set me free. the lawd is my best friend.”113 when asked about davis, he kept his response simple: “i don’t know much ‘bout jefferson davis.”114 hunter made the most flattering comparison possible of lincoln by comparing him to the lord. when asked about davis, hunter’s non-response tells all about his attitude towards the southern hero. jane montgomery also connected lincoln to god when she stated, “it was through mr. lincoln that god [saw] fit to free us,” but she “don’t know much ‘bout jeff davis and don’t care nothing ‘bout him.”115 while lincoln had divine connections, davis was not even worthy of montgomery’s concern. montgomery claimed she did not know enough about davis to offer an opinion, yet was quick to note that she did not care about him either. ned walker also made clear his feelings on davis and lincoln in his religious contrast of the presidents. while lincoln “was a mighty man of de lord,” davis was simply “all right, ‘accordin to his education” and was “just lak my white folks.”116 hunter, walker, and montgomery’s decision to attribute divine favor to lincoln and not davis countered white depictions of davis as a southern martyr. since neither hunter nor montgomery criticized davis outright in their response, neither risked their lives in their challenge to davis’s sanctity. in their responses, ex-slaves like hunter and montgomery found creative ways to attack the institution and culture that had oppressed them their entire life. some used religious analogy, while others employed folklore. many slaves inverted southern depictions of lincoln, and even more criticized the south through comparison between lincoln, davis, and roosevelt. the only constant in slave responses was an insistence that their voice be heard. despite the dangers to which voicing their opinion made them vulnerable, time and time again slaves elected in some way to criticize the old south. in doing so, they asserted their humanity in spite of a way of life that constantly rejected it. willis anderson’s recollection of being rewarded for praising jefferson davis and punished for praising abraham lincoln underscores that ex-slaves faced overwhelming opposition when they chose to share their true opinions of lincoln and davis.117 anderson’s narrative demonstrates the lengths whites were willing to go to ensure blacks did not insult their christian martyr. indeed, whites were willing to take violent measures to ensure the social order of the south was maintained. since davis represented the confederacy, a criticism of davis was in essence a criticism of the south. their decision to subtly criticize davis, despite the dangers inherent in doing so, illustrates the active role the african-american community played in resisting the jim crow south’s racial structure. africanamericans in the jim crow south were not submissive victims of their political reality. rather, they seized the opportunity presented to them by the wpa narratives to make veiled, pointed criticisms of the political reality that afflicted them on a daily basis. while ex-slaves may not have toppled the oppressive jim crow system that marginalized them in making criticisms of jefferson davis and the south, they contributed to a growing reality in which racial inequality and africanamerican rights were issues that could be addressed. simply by implying they disagreed with white racial beliefs, ex-slaves opened the door for future generations to make greater criticisms of the south that had held africanamericans in bondage for centuries. in the years to come, african-americans would form political groups committed to racial equality, organize sit-ins and strikes, and assert their right to basic american liberties. had the exslaves in the narratives attempted such radical demonstrations, whites would have responded with lynching and violence. the subtle criticisms made by the exslaves, then, weakened the system of race relations in the depression-era south, and in doing so, set the stage for the next generation’s demand for racial equality. endnotes 1 the wpa narratives can be found at the library of congress american memory site: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html hereafter cited as loc wpa, with the interviewee’s name, state, and volume number. 2 charles reagan wilson, baptized in blood: the religion of the los cause, 1865-1920 (athens: university of georgia press, 2009). 3 phil town, georgia narratives, volume 4, part 4, loc wpa. 4 wilson, baptized in blood, 104. 5 wilson, baptized in blood, 102. 6 ibid 7 essays on the narratives as historical sources include david thomas bailey, “a divided prism: two sources of black testimony on slavery,” the journal of southern history 46 (august 1980):381-404; john blassingame, “using the testimony of ex-slave: approaches and problems,” journal of southern history volume 41 number 4 (november 1975):473-492; paul escott, “the art and science of reading wpa slave narratives,” in the slave’s narrative, eds. charles t. davis and henry louis gates jr. (new york: oxford university press, 1991), 40; sharon ann musher, “contesting the way the almighty wants it,’” american quarterly 53, no. 1 (march 2001); donna j. spindel, “assessing memory: twentieth century slave narratives reconsidered,” the journal of interdisciplinary history 27 (autumn 1996):247-261; c. vann woodward, “history from slave sources,” the american historical review 79: (1974) 470-81. 8 bailey, “a divided prism” 402. 9 bailey, “a divided prism”391. 10 blassingame, “using the testimony of ex-slaves,” 482. 11 ibid. 12 scholarship on african-american life in the 19th and 20th century includes eric foner and joshua brown, forever free (new york: random house, inc., 2005); john hope franklin, from slavery to freedom a history of negro americans (new york: alfred a knopf, inc., 1980); stephen hahn, “what lincoln meant to the slaves,” new york times (february 30 31 elements : : fall 2013 “jes’ next to jesus christ” 2011); stephen hahn, one nation under our feet: black political struggles in the rural south from slavery to the great migration (cambridge: belknap press, 2003); harold holzer, lincoln seen and heard (lawrence: university press of kansas, 2000); robert hunt, the good men who won the war (tuscaloosa: the university of alabama press, 2010); r. douglas hurt, ed. african american life in the rural south, 1900-1950 (columbia and london: university of missouri press, 2003);stephanie p. oates, “the man of our redemption”: abraham lincoln and the emancipation of slaves,” presidential studies quarterly) 9 (winter 1979); barry schwartz, “the limits of gratitude: lincoln in african american memory” oah magazine of history 23 (january 2009): 27-33; barry schwartz and howard schuman, “history commemoration and belief: abraham lincoln in american memory 1945-2001,” american sociological association 70 (april 2005): 183-203; charles reagan wilson, baptized in blood: the religion of the lost cause 1865-1920 (athens: university of georgia press, 2009). 13 hahn, “what lincoln meant to the slaves”; oates, “’the man of our redemption’”, 17; holzer, lincoln seen and heard, 107; 14 hahn, one nation under our feet, 66; schwartz, “the limits of gratitude,”28. 15 hahn, one nation under our feet, 47-60. 16 ibid, 47. 17 hahn, one nation under our feet, 112. 18 ibid, 112. 19 among those to have discussed slave religion in depth are john blassingame, the slave community: plantation life in the 20 antebellum south, new york, oxford university press, 1972); and charles joyner, down by the riverside: a south carolina 21 slave community (urbana-champaign: university of illinois press, 1986). 22 jane arrington, north carolina narratives, volume 6 part 1, loc wpa. 23 hahn, one nation under our feet, 47. 24 ibid. 25 mattie lee, missouri narratives, volume 10, loc wpa. 26 sarah waggoner, missouri narratives, volume 10. 27 hahn, one nation under our feet, 112. 28 ruby pickens tart, alabama narratives, volume 1, loc wpa. 29 two other testimonies that compare lincoln to god are charlie aarons, alabama; and louisa adams, north carolina. loc wpa. 39 charles h. anderson, ohio narratives, volume 12, loc wpa. 31 wilson, baptized in blood, 43. 32 anderson was not the only slave to connect the bondage of his people to the biblical story of the israelites. mingo white remembers her slave community gathering to pray that the lord would “free dem like he did de chillum of is’ael.” (mingo white, alabama narratives, volume 1, loc wpa.) 33 reuben rosborough, north carolina narratives, volume 9, part 4, loc wpa. 34 ibid. 35 ibid. 36 many slaves praised roosevelt in their responses. for further analysis of the function of roosevelt in the narratives, see pages 21-22. 37 easter wells, oklahoma narratives, volume 13, loc wpa. 38 easter wells, oklahoma narratives, volume 13, loc wpa. 39 sallie paul, south carolina narratives, volume 9, part 3, loc wpa. 40 wilson, baptized in blood, 102. 41 ibid, 4. 42 elisha doc garey, georgia narratives, volume 4, part 2, loc wpa. 43 green willbanks, georgia narratives, volume 4, part 4, loc wpa. 44 ibid. 45 jim allen, mississippi narratives, volume 9, loc wpa. 46 ibid. 47 george briggs also employed micah 4:4 to criticize slavery in his interview. george briggs, south carolina narratives, volume 9, part 1, loc wpa. 48 oates, “the man of our redemption”, 21. 49 oates, “the man of our redemption”, 15-21. 50 ibid, 17. 51 ibid. 52 gabe emanuel, mississippi narratives, volume 9, loc wpa. 53 pauline worth, south carolina narratives, volume 9, part 4. 54 hahn, one nation under our feet, 50-78. 55 ibid, 67. 56 charity austin, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 57 george womble, georgia narratives, volume 4, part 4, loc wpa. 58 ibid. 59 esther king casey, alabama narratives, volume 1, loc wpa. 60 holzer, lincoln seen and heard, 145. 61 hahn, one nation under our feet, 65. 62 ibid. 63 george wood, texas narratives, volume 16, part 4, loc wpa. 64 tom wilcox, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 2, loc wpa. 65 lou griffin, missouri narratives, volume 10, loc wpa. 66 ibid. 67 amanda oliver also recalled her sons satirizing dixie through switching the roles of the dead presidents. . 68 susan snow, mississippi narratives, volume 9, loc wpa. 69 wilson, baptized in blood, 106. 70 prince johnson, mississippi narratives, volume 9, loc wpa. 71 hurt, african american life, 96. 72 h.b. holloway, arkansas narratives, volume 2, part 3, loc wpa. 73 wilson, baptized in blood, 1. 74 frank freeman, south carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1. 75 charity austen, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 76 joyner, down by the riverside, 173-192. 77 annie lacotts, arkansas narratives, volume 2, part 3, loc wpa. 78 joyner, down by the riverside, 173. 79 joyner, down by the riverside, 173-192 80 charity austen, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 81 same poilte, south carolina narratives, volume 3, part 3, loc wpa. 82 robert toatley, south carolina narratives, volume 4, part 1, loc wpa. 83 charlie davenport, mississippi narratives, volume 9, loc wpa. 84 alice douglass, oklahoma narratives, volume 8, loc wpa. 85 lincoln also tricked whites in disguise and only revealed himself by leaving an item behind in sam mitchell’s narrative. south carolina narratives, volume 9, part 3, loc wpa. 86 franklin, from slavery to freedom, 303. 87 wilson, baptized in blood,103. 88 willis anderson, texas narratives, volume 16, part 1, loc wpa. 89 ibid. 90 adeline crunp, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 91 nellie smith, north carolina narratives, volume 11, part 2. 92 ibid. 93 emeline moore, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 2. 94 wilson, baptized in blood, 41. 95 franklin, from slavery to freedom, 313. 96 lila nichols, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 2, loc wpa. 97 morris sheppard, oklahoma narratives, volume 8, loc wpa. 98 other narratives that gave favorable recollections of davis and/or negative recollections of lincoln include: charlie davenport, mississippi; john v. van hook, georgia; and henry pristell, south carolina. (loc wpa). 99 william mcwhorter, georgia narratives, volume 4, loc wpa. 100 ibid. 101 franklin, from slavery to freedom, 338-401. 102 zeb crowder, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 103 william scott, north carolina narratives, volume 11, part 2. 104 ex-slaves that compared lincoln to roosevelt include: william george hinton, north carolina; susan high; north carolina; george w. harris, north carolina; chana littlejohn, north carolina; parker pool, north carolina; samuel riddick, north carolina; jane johnson, south carolina;. not all narratives that mention roosevelt are listed here. 105 hannah plummer, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 2, loc wpa. 106 ibid. 107 alex woods, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 2, loc wpa. 108 wilson, baptized in blood, 51. 109 jefferson franklin henry, georgia narratives, volume 4, part 2, loc wpa. 110 ibid. 111 red richardson, oklahoma narratives, volume 13, loc wpa. 112 julia king, ohio narratives, volume 7, loc wpa. 113 john c. bectom, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 114 ibid. 115 ibid. 116 charlie h. hunter, north carolina narratives, volume 6, part 1, loc wpa. 117 ibid. 118 jane montgomery, oklahoma narratives, volume 8, loc wpa. 119 ned walker, south carolina narratives, volume 9, part 4, loc wpa. 120 willis anderson, texas narratives, volume 16, part 1, loc wpa. 32 33 elements : : fall 2013 “jes’ next to jesus christ” what is this feeling of unease that arises when we do something we know to be wrong? and where does it come from? these are questions that have provoked generations of philosophical inquiry. more recently, the psychologist has also joined the investigation. one well-known pioneer of psychology is none other than sigmund freud. by way of his psychoanalytic theory, freud made big steps by bringing vague philosophical ideas such as the unconscious and the psyche (id, ego, and super-ego) closer to the forefront for scientific study. this paper discusses freud’s part in furthering the existentialist movement, by focusing on select works of dostoevsky and camus as examples of the philosophical environment before and after freud’s ideas became well-known. the three-part psyche will be discussed as it relates to the philosophy of existence as explored by dostoevsky and camus in the brothers karamazov and the stranger. figures of existentialism a cyclical relationship with psychology tracy lu sigmund freud’s psychoanalytic theory begins by defining three parts of our consciousness and unconsciousness: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. these fragments have provided man with a haunting specter of his own mind and an emphasis on the vastness of that which he does not know. each piece of this mental puzzle has its role, and the interactions between them are what move an individual forward in his life. these three parts also function to cultivate our individual experiences of being. specifically, the conflict between the pleasure principle of the id and the sublimated super-ego is at the root end of many, if not most, existential dilemmas. although freud is commonly regarded as the father of psychology itself, we must not forget the influence of his predecessors, especially one philosopher and genius of psychological novels, fyodor dostoevsky. even before freud finished his primary education, this idea of dissonance between the super-ego and the id had been explored in detail in the works of dostoevsky, although the terms themselves had not yet been patented. these complex and contrasting characters in the brothers karamazov make for an excellent portrayal of dostoevsky’s stance on psychology and philosophy in relation to human nature. once freud added his psychoanalytic theory to the collective pool of human knowledge, philosophy’s bond with scientific inquiry was further strengthened, and both grappled with the idea of a ‘social science’. the world became a different place, and the existentialist movement found new fuel. the movement gave rise to an entire generation of thinkers who have shown traces of both freud and dostoevsky. one such example is albert camus who, often regarded as a principal player in the existential movement, brilliantly expresses such retrospective traces along with new insights into the human spirit. the most prevalent themes in dostoevsky’s novels and shorter narratives, representative of the pre-existentialist era, influenced freud’s psychoanalytic theory, which in turn helped existentialism develop into its current vigor. the few works focused upon henceforth have been selected in order to capture the roles of their respective authors in this area between existentialism and freud’s psychoanalytic framework. the intent of this paper is to outline a particular instance of the circular movement in which philosophy and psychology influence each other. looking specifically at the psychological strain arising from various interactions of the id, the ego, and the superego, it is possible to outline this circular movement as it pertains to existential philosophy and psychoanalysis. this movement can be traced through a historical and literary timeline from dostoevsky to freud to camus. nadryv as cognitive dissonance one central motif in dostoevsky’s work involves nadryv, more or less finding its english counterpart in the word “strain”.1 this term defines, among other quintessentially russian ideas, a psychological deterioration due the rupturing of one’s sanity. in the brothers karamazov, this phenomenon is prevalent in situations of unease, especially towards the end of the novel. it also plays a significant part in the development of the individual characters. a prime example of the expression is found in ivan karamazov, whose entire existence revolves around an unwillingness “once freud added his psychoanalytic theory to the collective pool of human knowledge, philosophy’s bond with scientific inquiry was further strengthened, and both shook hands with the idea of a ‘social science’”. 35 [need title] to accept the baser part of himself. within him we see an interminable struggle between the super-ego and the id, which disturbingly ends in a mental breakdown.2 if it is any consolation, the tragedy of ivan’s ending can be somewhat rationalized by freud’s theory of the mind. to do this, it is important to focus on the super-ego, particularly its origin. according to freud in his civilization and its discontents, the super-ego is a manifestation of the introjection of one’s natural aggression. he explains: “his aggressiveness is introjected, internalized; it is, in point of fact, sent back to where it came from—that is, it is directed towards his own ego. there it is taken over by a portion of the ego, which sets itself over against the rest of the ego as superego, and which now, in the form of ‘conscience’, is ready to put into action against the ego the same harsh aggressiveness that the ego would have liked to satisfy upon other, extraneous individuals. the tension between the harsh super-ego and the ego that is subjected to it, is called by us the sense of guilt; it expresses itself as a need for punishment.”3 the term ‘super-ego’ is used interchangeably with ‘conscience’, and expresses a fairly similar concept of internalized morality. in freud’s eyes, one’s conscience is a natural product along the course of human development. however, it becomes clear that the sophistication of the super-ego is important in one’s experience of being. to that extent, the strength of the ego must be enough to endure the strenuous battle between the super-ego and the id. this leads us back to ivan’s nadryv. ivan’s super-ego is quite highly developed, the root of which may be found in a deep hatred for his father and the consequential rejection of similar traits he sees within himself. from the very beginning of his childhood, ivan had a strict sense of his vulnerability and its implications.4 constantly opposed to his father’s greedy and libertine ways, ivan builds his identity around the focus of an objective totem of reason. armed with the twin blades of rationalism and atheism, ivan is able to deflect anything that may spark his baser instincts. in the chapter of the “grand inquisitor”, his brutal assessment of christianity is enough to make alyosha sufficiently uncomfortable. he makes the argument that given christianity’s current condition, the world would logically be unable to accept christ in his hypothetical second coming.5 in this allegorical story, ivan makes the argument that humans cannot bear the freedom that christ has allotted; the case against christianity aside, this idea reveals a key source of existential angst. confronted with the enigmatic conflict of simply being in the world, the ego is insufficient to cope. accordingly, ivan is unable to bear the burden heaped on by his conscience. his cool exterior houses a woeful internal struggle that soon forces his mind to collapse under the strain. thus dostoevsky’s expression for strain may well be defined by the newer term of cognitive dissonance.6 beyond the brothers karamazov, this internal conflict is also portrayed in the unnamed narrator of notes from the underamong fyodor dostoyevsky works is the famous russian novel, the brothers karamazov ground. this entity is constantly contradicting himself, and appears to be in a continual state of distress.7 suffering as a rupturing of the ego it would certainly agree with another one of dostoevsky’s idiosyncratic themes, that suffering ultimately offers a possibility of deliverance. there are many other examples of nadryv in the brothers karamazov, such as in the characters of alyosha, grushenka, and dmitri. however, unlike ivan, these three characters see relatively happy endings. they are each able to find some degree of inner peace and, spared the doomed fate of ivan, attain a reasonable way to deal with their conflicts. but why this difference? freud’s psychoanalysis tells us that these survivor characters perhaps possess stronger egos with which to mediate the everwrestling id and super-ego. is there a biological predisposition for a stronger ego, and thus a greater chance to survive the angst caused by the scuffle between two thirds of our psyche? philosophers of existence seem to collectively say no. kierkegaard, one of the first pioneers of the school of existentialist philosophy, proposes in his fear and trembling that the knight of faith can be any individual. to him, the solution to the problem of existence can be attained only by way of the struggle between the id and the conscience. philosophy-wise, the ego’s ability to mediate the other two is not a concrete determinant of who survives the strain of existence. camus and accepting the strain of the absurd albert camus explores this issue further, maintaining that in order to endure our suffering, we must learn to embrace it. there is no happy ending; the moment we realize this, we are saved. just like sisyphus persisting through his arduous and everlasting punishment, man is trapped in a permanent state of existential angst.8 camus explains: all sisyphus’ silent joy is contained therein. his fate belongs to him. his rock is his thing. likewise, the absurd man, when he contemplates his torment, silences all the idols….one always finds one’s burden again. but sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. he too concludes that all is well. this universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile…the struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. one must imagine sisyphus happy.9 he concludes that the moment we accomplish this, we are saved. in the face of existential suffering, we must not turn apathetic, and neither must we choose death. the secret is to realize the distress inherent in being and to accept it with a smile. we find in the brothers karamazov that therein lies the weakness behind ivan’s cracked ego. with such a profound intellect, ivan acquires extremely complex principles that are an amalgamation of his own flawless logic and a logic that simply opposes his father’s. his lofty morals restrict him from resolving the nadryv as he is fundamentally unable to accept the id. as portrayed by the courtroom scene and the grand inquisitor allegory, ivan finally chooses to abandon his conscience..10 in camus’ novel the stranger, we find in meursault a character that is the polar opposite of ivan. brutally honest, unaware of sublimity, and seldom introspective, meursault epitomizes camus’ method of embracing the absurd. in this case, the absurd is used to label the sensitivity of the individual in the face of an insensitive universe, and the sigmund freud is well-known for his ideas of the ego, superego, and the id. 36 37 elements : : fall 2013 [need title] strain that results from the contradiction. throughout the course of this philosophical novel, meursault maintains a startlingly detached attitude towards his life. affairs that are momentous such as death, love, and murder, are of little consequence to him. although meursault does not find a traditionally happy ending, he remains calm through the storm, and when at last he foresees his own death he accepts it rationally.11 yet in doing so, meursault somehow manages to hold on also to his humanity; the purpose of coming to terms with the nihilistic world is to “squeeze out the maximum of consolation”.12 as such, he reconciles the two opposing ends of the individual that thirsts for meaning, and the world, which is mostly meaningless. meursault differs most profoundly from ivan in his ability to handle the anxiety of being in the world. the former intuits a disconnect between the reality of existence and the expectations he constructs. the courtroom scene in the brothers karamazov illustrates a brief moment where ivan seems to grasp this concept of embracing the absurd. he gives in to the injustice and illogicality of his circumstances and in doing so renounces part of his super-ego.13 however, it is important to note that ivan’s manner of detachment fundamentally differs from meursault’s; where ivan turns to it only after he has been pushed to the edge of his sanity, meursault in fact finds relief in it. meursault masters his detachment without falling into the pit of apathy. he is constantly uninvolved in whatever conflicts face him, unmoved by any threatening consequences, yet he willingly and actively exists; meursault could never be coerced into suicide, by apathy or any other motivation. how does he maintain such a will to live, given the callousness of the world he sees? the answer to this question is where camus is leading his readers. meursault exemplifies this extraordinary ability to embrace the callousness, submerge himself in it, and be content to float wherever the current of the insensitive world takes him. ivan’s weakness lies in his inability to do the same. relation to the super-ego, the id, and nadryv unlike the paradigms of nadryv and psychoanalytical conflict, camus’ concept of absurdity is only partially internal. the foundations of this concept lie in a realization of the external world’s nihilism. from camus there is a shift from focus on the extremes of suffering to the daily existential angst that, as it happens, is much more aptly suited to the modern man. this general existential angst is certainly more relatable today than either the biblical struggles of abraham or the victorian struggles of the karamazovs. however, in one instance, dostoevsky displays dazzling foresight of this anxiety in a brief passage from ivan, who exclaims: “oh, with my pathetic, earthly, euclidean mind, i know only that there is suffering, that none are to blame, that all things follow simply and directly from one another, that everything flows and finds its level—but that is all just euclidean gibberish, of course i know that, and of course i cannot consent to live by it! what do i care that none are to blame and that i know it—i need retribution, otherwise i will destroy myself.”14 ivan’s angst here arises not from his ego, but rather from his super-ego. the latter is what wishes to ascribe significance and justice to the world, and now is at conflict with reality itself, in addition to the id as previously mentioned. this new relationship between the conscience and the external also underscores the beauty of meursault in the stranger. he unites the ruthlessness of the world with the individual’s humanism, thus exposing camus’ solution to the kind of existential angst that destroys ivan. given our inquiries so far, the super-ego seems to have offered nothing but a reservoir of existential and psychological issues. what good is this faculty of inner moralization if it only serves to burden us with guilt or inconsolable conflict with the external world? freud offers a response. we must remember that without the development of a conscience, civilization could never hope to survive, much less thrive.15 maturation of the super-ego comes with a double-edge. is existentialism, then, a simple modern manifestation of freud’s early psychology? there are certainly elements of freud’s ideas in every major existentialist figure, and a reasonable answer is: partially. “yes” would be an overstatement. existentialism itself is at times a contradictory arena, each school of thought reflective of the personal experiences of the philosopher. thus it would not do to disregard the influence of history, including the industrial revolution as well as certain remnants of romanticism. in fact, all things pertaining to the western tradition have left traces on new generations, and existentialism is simply another sojourn on the timeline. endnotes 1 nadryv, from the russian root ryv, ‘to rip’ is not a tugging or a stretching but a tearing open. there is a sequence of tearings in the novel that dissociate and estrange, just as there is a sequence of bows that eventually bind people together.” caryl emerson, “review: the brothers, complete,” the hudson review 44, no. 2 (summer 1991): 315. 2 the scene in the courtroom reveals the moment ivan suddenly comes to terms with his actions and loses his façade. he acquiesces to his id. unlike meursault, he loses himself to apathy as he realizes that his super-ego cannot win. see section on camus. fyodor dostoevsky, the brothers karamazov, trans. richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky (new york: farrar, straus and giroux, 1990), 685-7. 3 sigmund freud, civilization and its discontents, trans. james strachey (new york: w.w. norton & co., 1961), 84. 4 “…as if he had already perceived by the age of ten that they were indeed living in someone else’s family and on someone else’s charity, that their father was such that it was a shame to speak of him, and so on and so forth.” dostoevsky, 15. 5 “we shall not allow you to come to us. this deceit will constitute our suffering, for we shall have to lie…there is nothing more seductive for man than the freedom of his conscience, but there is nothing more tormenting either…you chose everything that was beyond men’s strength.” dostoevsky, 253-4. 6 “cognitive dissonance is a theory first proposed by leon festinger in the 1950’s. he theorized that when an individual holds two or more ideas that are related but inconsistent with each another the inconsistency creates a state of discomfort.” jay walker, “cognitive dissonance,” james randi educational foundation, last modified april 16, 2011, http://www.randi.org/site/index. php/swift-blog/1277-cognitive-dissonance.html. 7 “i might foam at the mouth, but just present me with some little toy…and i shouldn’t be at all surprised if i calmed down completely, even be deeply touched, though afterwards i should most certainly snarl at myself and be overcome with shame and suffer from insomnia for months”. notes from the underground is an early example of the existential novel. fyodor dostoevsky in gordon marino, ed., basic writings of existentialism (new york: the modern library / random house, 2004), 194. 8 it is interesting to note where this existential angst comes from. there are many different hypotheses, but one that is particularly insightful, and quite different from the struggle between superego and id. also by freud’s invention, it is the death instinct. “…as well as eros there was an instinct of death…a more fruitful idea was that a portion of the instinct is diverted towards the external world and comes to light as an instinct of aggressiveness and destructiveness.” freud ,77-8. 9 marino, 492. 10 see endnote 2. 11 “and, on a wide view, i could see that it makes little difference whether one dies at the age of thirty or three-score and tensince, in either case, other men and women will continue living, the world will go as before.” albert camus in robert c. solomon, ed., existentialism, college ed. (new york: the modern library / random house, 1974), 174. 12 ibid. 13 see endnote 2. 14 dostoevsky, 244. 15 the super-ego develops by dissolving some of the inherent aggression in every human, thus allowing people to come together in a functional society. freud, 84. references marino, gordon, ed. basic writings of existentialism. new york: the modern library / random house, 2004. solomon, robert c., ed. existentialism. college ed. new york: the modern library / random house, 1974. kearney, richard. modern movements in european philosophy . 38 39 elements : : fall 2013 [need title] 2nd ed. manchester, uk: manchester university press, 1994. dostoevsky, fyodor. the brothers karamazov. translated by richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky. new york: farrar, straus and giroux, 1990. freud, sigmund. civilization and its discontents. translated by james strachey. new york: w.w. norton & co., 1961. walker, jay. “cognitive dissonance.” james randi educational foundation. last modified april 16, 2011. http://www.randi.org/ site/index.php/swift-blog/1277-cognitive-dissonance.html. emerson, caryl. “review: the brothers, complete.” the hudson review 44, no. 2 (summer 1991): 309-316. 40 elements : : fall 2013 [need abstract] the other side of the midway human exhibits at world’s fairs, 1893 and 1904 claire marinello for over a century after the first world’s fair opened in london in 1851, the exposition medium was one of the most influential phenomena in the world. between 1883 and 1939, every major fair included live exhibits of “exotic” or “primitive” humans. these displays fell into two main categories: government-sponsored fairground exhibits and unofficial sideshows. the imperialist and racist motivations of people who organized such displays have been well studied, but the stories of the people inside the exhibits have largely been overlooked. each individual in a human exhibit at an american world’s fair agreed to be there. some of those exhibited worked at multiple fairs, turning the act of being exploited into their life’s work. because participants’ voices are underrepresented in historical records, it is difficult to explain why they were so willing— indeed, even eager—to participate in their own degradation. many exhibited people did not speak or write fluent english, and american observers were not necessarily interested in their opinions, so most of what they said while on display has been lost to history. for this study, therefore, i relied heavily on reports of their actions, traces of which have survived in newspaper archives, exposition company records, accounts of lawsuits, and similar secondhand records. although these sources create an incomplete picture, they demonstrate that the primary motivations of most human exhibit participants were financial. to most people on display, being displayed was a job, or even a career. the displays were a type of show business and the people in them were performers. they self-advertised, hired managers, played to audiences’ expectations, and used any available gimmicks to their best advantage. participants knew their jobs were exploitative. they suffered from a lack of privacy and frequently had to deal with rowdy and disrespectful crowds. some groups found their traditions of dress and behavior sexualized by ignorant observers. other groups had their cultural artifacts stolen by souvenir seekers. after the world’s columbian exposition closed in the autumn of 1893, mobs even tore apart and carried away the housing materials from the vacated javanese village.1 almost every exhibit’s participants were regularly called weak, stupid, barbaric, amusing, or similarly hurtful and dismissive names—both in the press and to their faces. the language used to describe each group depended on the popular stereotypes of the day, but was always insulting and often dehumanizing. as historian barbara vennman discusses in her article “dragons, dummies, and royals,” a review of a commercial chinese exhibit in 1892 explicitly equated the human participants with mannequins that were arranged in tableaux. to the chicago tribune reporter, both the people and the dummies were “models of chinese acquiescence.”2 while most people on display may not have been able to read or speak english, they noticed when audiences laughed at them. by agreeing to participate, however, these men and women were asserting agency over their situation and finding a way to profit from the imperialist age in which they lived. while performing in an exhibit, they could sometimes carve spaces for their own individuality. they shrewdly found spaces for human interaction, cultural exchange, and personal benefit in terrible situations. the 1893 world’s columbian exposition (wce) in chicago, which has been called the greatest american world’s fair, offers several excellent examples of people who used the act of being displayed to their own advantage. this sixmonth-long exposition, organized to celebrate the quadricentennial of christopher columbus’s landing in the americas, became the best-attended world’s fair in the history of the united states. on its single busiest day of operation, the ninth of october, 751,026 visitors came to the fair. at the time, this was hailed as the largest peaceful gathering in human history. hundreds of attractions dazzled, entertained, and educated the crowds. there were fountains, a lagoon, and boats of all shapes and sizes. there were electric lights, the first that many visitors had ever seen. there were buildings honoring nineteen foreign countries and thirty-six us states, plus one to honor the territories of arizona, new mexico, and oklahoma. there were large exhibit halls housing thousands of exhibits on art —manufactures and liberal arts—fisheries, horticulture, mines, electricity, transportation, machinery, agriculture, forestry, anthropology, and women’s achievements. there were a multitude of exhibits in dozens of smaller buildings, not to mention restaurants, vendors, and an entire police force.3 43 the other side of the midway there was also a thirteen-block avenue extending west from the main fairgrounds, known as the midway plaisance. this was the entertainment district of the fair, where more than thirty concessionaires ran independent exhibits. each concession charged separate admission and gave a portion of its profits to the exposition company. it was on the midway that visitors could dine at restaurants, hover in a tethered hot-air balloon, or ride a gigantic ferris wheel—the first in the world. the midway plaisance also featured exhibits of over three hundred nonwhite, “primitive” people living in seventeen “villages.” the villages were laid out so that those considered least civilized, i.e. the bedouin and dahoman groups, were the farthest away from the main fairgrounds.4 these human exhibits were nominally controlled by the ethnology department, and fair organizers initially intended them to educate the audience about the progress of civilization. in practice, however, visitors found them as entertaining as the amusements around them. one notable concession was the javanese village. the 135 inhabitants of this village were the only human exhibit participants who claimed to be there for political reasons. fair commissioner leigh s. lynch apparently promised a dutch planter, g.f.c. mundt, a fairgrounds exhibit to show off the culture and goods of java. mundt recruited the javanese participants, but, when they arrived in chicago, they were shocked to learn that they were expected to perform on the midway. there was a minor scandal, with mundt complaining, “i came here not to make money, but to show what we had in java and to try and bring about commercial relations.”5 the exposition company’s demand for half of this concession’s gross profits added insult to injury. the ferris wheel, one manager pointed out, was only required to pay half of its net profits. after less than three months, the javanese village closed its doors. as one of his reasons for closing, the javanese manager known as kallf stated, “we thought we were going to be located in [the main fairgrounds] as an exhibit, not here on the midway as a show.” in reference to the percentages he added, “it looks to us as though we are being taken advantage of, a thing we will not stand.”6 the conflict between the javanese and the fair managers was an exception to the usual pattern, however. the rest of the midway residents did not try to get displays on the main fairgrounds; they devoted their energies to succeeding at the midway’s particular brand of show business. this was certainly an exploitative style of show, and its success was due to the imperialist and racist expectations of the audience. but for the people inside the exhibits, it was also a career and a chance to profit from racism by acting out the stereotypes the audience expected minorities and foreigners to fit. all of the people on the midway plaisance, from the violent bedouin tribesmen to the alluring arab women to the buffoonish chinese waiters, were acting violent, alluring, or buffoonish for money. the press even referred to them as professional “actors.”7 in the quest to obtain coins from the audience more efficiently, these performers used every marketing trick available to them. bedouin and egyptian camel owners held races down the midway to drum up publicity. female performers tapped into the sexualized aspect of racism to attract crowds. daily, continuous danse du ventre (belly dancing) shows, performed with varying degrees of respectability by scantily clad, dark-skinned women, brought a steady stream of curious audiences to the algerian village, cairo street, the persian theater, and the turkish village. all four received criticism for being shockchicago world’s fair grounds, 1893 ing and immoral, but the criticism was often tongue-incheek and accompanied by lurid descriptions of how attractive and enticing the dancers were. when the persian theater was shut down amid accusations of obscenity, the tribune joked, “none of the visitors . . . had a chance to get their feelings shocked yesterday.” at least four of the dancers later took their act to the grand central palace in new york city, where a police raid and fines for immoral conduct attracted even larger crowds. a block away, one journalist described teenaged samoan girls as polite, talkative, and completely unashamed of being half-naked in front of fully clothed americans. the author took these traits as signs of naïveté, but did not hide his attraction to these young ladies. since they understood their audience’s language and were stared at for hours each day, mele, lola, and fetoia could hardly have been unaware of the effect their nakedness had on the male audience. nonetheless, they did not try to hide themselves. for the algerian, arab, turkish, and samoan women, being sexy paid well.8 where pretty women and publicity stunts could not attract customers, child stars could. american indian, bedouin, arab, javanese, chinese, samoan, sudanese, dahoman, and laplander (sami) parents trained their children to greet the public. during the brief time the javanese village was open for business, one father made the best of a bad situation by putting his toddler’s supper dish in front of their door so that she would be forced to face the audience. when customers offered her coins, a tribune reporter claimed, “a penny might cause a rebellion, a nickel or a dime might be accepted,” and she knew to put it in her father’s money jar right away. in the american indian village, a sign proclaimed, “to all people this baby is born on ground please drop money in his bag he will thank you for it.” a syrian mother carried her daughter around while selling ottoman coins, and eager customers woke the infant constantly.9 a few midway managers got into legal trouble, which contemporary observers took as evidence of savagery and degeneracy. several cases, however, might better be described as foreigners taking advantage of the chances they had. for example, congress made a special exemption to the chinese exclusion act, allowing the wah mee company, which ran the chinese village & theater, to bring chinese laborers to chicago. almost 500 chinese men and women emigrated to the united states under the company’s auspices, but the courts later estimated that two or three hundred of them never worked at the world’s fair. because they could not all be identified, they were able to stay in america.10 it was a clever scheme, but it outraged the nativist american public. another scandal came about because concessionaires were suspected of falsely declaring bankruptcy in order to increase their profits.11 when the wah mee company declared bankruptcy, american observers blamed poor management and marketing, but as historian barbara vennman has pointed out, it may have been a ploy to avoid paying to remove the exhibit.12 the american audience usually did not give the performers credit for their marketing and acting talents. there is evidence that some of them could have done more to challenge ethnic stereotypes, but intentionally confined themselves to acting out the parts expected of them. for example, sol bloom, a showman and impresario who was in charge of recruiting concessions for the midway plaisance, arranged for an algerian village concession to come to chicago after seeing the troupe perform at the 1889 exposition universelle in paris. the algerians landed in new york city a year early due to a miscommunication. on the docks, bloom initially tried to get their attention by swearing at them in french. one of them approached him and said, in perfectly accented english, “i suggest you be more civil.”13 to his astonishment, bloom discovered that these algerians spoke multiple languages and some could read and write. later, during the exposition, they earned a reputation for knowing american customs and slang far better “for the algerian, arab, turkish, and samoan woman, being sexy paid well.” 44 45 elements : : fall 2013 the other side of the midway than other recently arrived foreigners.14 because of their linguistic talents, bloom was able to find some of the women secretarial work to support themselves until the concession could open—but when it did, they worked as mute, sexualized belly dancers instead. they had the skills for more “respectable” careers, but chose the midway. in addition to marketing and showing their audience what it wanted to see, these performers were also visitors at the impressively large world’s columbian exposition. consequently, they were exposed to some degree of cultural exchange. one group of chinese men paid for a demonstration of the newly invented phonograph. the first to don the headphones smiled and began dancing when he heard the music. he and his friends then paid to hear several more songs. because they were chinese fair employees and not american visitors, their interest in the invention warranted a condescending newspaper article. but one of the purposes of the exposition medium was to expose people to inventions they might never have otherwise discovered, and this vignette showed that the world’s columbian exposition was succeeding in that goal.15 similarly, one interviewer reported that the samoans were fascinated by the midway plaisance and by the audiences coming to see them.16 their surroundings were certainly polyglot and exotic. in chicago, samoans lived across the street from javanese neighbors, diagonal from a japanese bazaar, and three doors down from turks. residents of the midway could ride the ferris wheel or visit hagenbeck’s animal show. although they spent most of their time on the other side of exhibit ropes, sometimes they took an interest in the same unique aspects of the exposition that other visitors did. of course, the humans being exhibited were not like other visitors. they had little privacy, they were constantly subjected to stereotyping and objectification by their audiences, and they had to perform for long hours every day. in spite of all that, some exhibited people were able to create spaces for individual existence and come to terms with the influence of western civilization. one obvious assertion of independence came through religious practices. muslim participants said their daily prayers in the mosque recreated for cairo street. a few turks and syrians also accepted reverend w.f. black’s invitation for the entire midway to attend services at the central church of christ. at least some of those who accepted were committed muslims who were curious about christianity; others may have been orthodox christians already, and curious about protestant sects. reportedly, two former atheists connected with the japanese commission actually accepted baptism under rev. black’s ministry. the reverend’s optimistic hope for “wholesale conversion,” as he put it, was not fulfilled, but he did find some people willing to explore a different religion. the several dozen attendees were investigating a cornerstone of western civilization, while still maintaining their own faiths.17 a more dramatic example of individuals cautiously accepting aspects of american life came about after a fight in the bedouin village. moustafa ahras, a camel driver, had met and become infatuated with the wife of a bedouin actor, mossley ahmed, when the village arrived on the midway. in late august, the couple eloped. hashad abdahla, a friend of ahmed’s, demanded that the bedouins explain where ahras had hidden ahmed’s wife. four of them attacked hashad instead. his response showed that he had learned a few things about american laws during his stay in the country: rather than come back with his friends and fight them, he hastened to the police station and had them javanese village house at the fair, 1893 arrested. a newspaper article reported that it was only after the manager posted their bail that “a general fight broke out and whips and sabers were freely used.” the incident offers a curious case of the blending of customs. the tribal fight over a woman was interrupted by appeals to the chicago police, almost as though abdahla did not know whether to experiment with american law or trust to custom. in this instance, the law failed him by releasing his attackers, while a “general fight” apparently settled the dispute.18 the sixty residents of the bedouin village did not lose faith in american justice, however. after the fair closed, they had to continue living on the midway while they waited for passage home. because they were not provided with heating for their temporary homes in the interim, they took the concessionaire to court in mid-november 1893 and demanded better living quarters.19 the bedouins were not the first group of midway performers to use the courts to demand satisfactory conditions. an earlier lawsuit concerned a group of “eskimos.”20 twelve inuit families from newfoundland arrived in chicago in october 1892, because winter weather would have made a later trip impossible. thus, the eskimo village, which was actually located just outside the midway plaisance on the main fairgrounds, opened early. the tiny community welcomed no fewer than four babies in the winter of 18921893, and the resulting free publicity contributed to the village’s initial success. by late february, however, the weather was warming up and the actors’ fur costumes were oppressively hot. the inuit tried to go on with the show in more appropriate clothing, but the concessionaires were set on forcing them to be “authentic.” the irony of european-americans telling inuit how to correctly demonstrate their culture was, apparently, lost on the managers. when two men purchased and wore jeans, the concessionaires locked them in their quarters. upset by such treatment, five young men left and took other jobs. annoyed by this show of agency from his exhibits, one concessionaire got a security guard to force the rest to stay. both the papers and the courts sympathized with the “imprisoned esquimaux [sic].” rather than give in and wear furs, though, the dozen wronged families hired a lawyer, obtained a writ of habeas corpus, and sued for damages. in an ironic twist, after winning their case, they chose to stay in chicago rather than return home. they simply moved the eskimo village outside the fairgrounds and went on with the show, under their own management and on their own terms.21 in fact, one of the families involved in the lawsuit went on to make a career out of exposition performances. fifteenyear-old inuit esther eneutsiak gave birth to a daughter on the midway plaisance. an unwed mother, esther warded off scandal and courted publicity by having the president of the wce’s board of lady managers become the child’s godmother and by naming the infant nancy columbia in honor of the exposition. little nancy never saw newfoundland, but starred in eskimo villages everywhere from world’s fairs to coney island to the barnum and bailey circus throughout her childhood and adolescence. this adorable child star continued to tour until 1910 along with her mother, her stepfather, and her younger siblings. the family then founded a permanent eskimo village in california and opened a props department for hollywood films. nancy even wrote and starred in a silent film, before finally retiring from the ethnological entertainment industry in her thirties. in other words, being on display actually helped esther eneutsiak overcome the stigma of having a child out of wedlock, support herself and her daughter, and make nancy columbia a national celebrity.22 both the behavior and the success of midway plaisance performers indicate that this type of acting could be a viable career choice. there is no evidence to suggest that the arab, inuit, samoan, american indian, chinese, japanese, bedouin, dahoman, sami, and turkish actors saw their time on the midway as an abuse of their human rights, despite the occasional violations of their legal rights. their opinions, however, are only half the story. sol bloom’s impressions of the people that he recruited and worked with were surprisingly open-minded for the time. given the eurocentric layout of the midway, the imperialist outlook of the exposition’s directors, and the casual xenophobia of the gilded age, a modern scholar might expect bloom, who was only twenty-one years old at the time of the fair, to have been a snarling racist who treated his charges like zoo animals. the rest of his life story belies this assumption, though. in 1922, he was elected to the house of represen46 47 elements : : fall 2013 the other side of the midway tatives as a democrat, served as a staunch liberal until his death twenty-seven years later, advocated with particular passion for refugee crises and civil rights, and helped draft the charter of the united nations. in other words, the man who organized the human exhibits at the world’s columbian exposition in 1893 was the same man who helped create an international organization committed to “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”23 how can one explain this paradox? a year before his death in 1949, bloom wrote his memoirs, from which a good deal of his mindset can be reconstructed. he was not immune to the prevailing racial attitudes of his generation, and it would be unreasonable to expect him to have been. the book is peppered with casual stereotypes and epithets that were perfectly appropriate in the 1940s and have since become unforgivable. nonetheless, bloom was an orthodox jew in a predominantly protestant america, and very sensitive to what it meant to be the object of prejudice. at several points throughout the narrative, he made a point of specifying ways in which he was not racist. he insisted his congressional offices were always open to petitions from “white and colored, democrats and republicans, jews and protestants and catholics. all of them [were] treated alike.” when he mentioned a particular “black” neighborhood in which he had once lived, he expressed happiness at the thought that at least some african-americans could afford to live there.24 significantly, he did not find it necessary to preface his stories of the world’s columbian exposition with such disclaimers. to him, the midway was just show business, and in no way incompatible with being socially conscious. he vehemently defended the virtue of his infamous belly dancers, calling them “artists” and insisting their dance was no more licentious than ballet. when describing the algerians, he more or less spoke of them the way he spoke about other acts he had booked for vaudeville tours, though he did mention their race in passing. they were performers, and he thought they would be a hit with audiences, so he hired them.25 bloom may not have represented the typical man involved in the organization of the 1893 fair, but his involvement challenges the assumption that everyone involved in the midway plaisance—organizers, participants, and spectators alike—saw it as a display of scientific racism and a justification of imperialism. regardless of bloom’s personal opinions or the outlook of the midway participants, life along the midway plaisance was neither comfortable nor dignified. the gawking crowds were racist and condescending, the living conditions were poor, and the job was culturally demeaning. still, the performers on display made the most of the situation by acting out their cultural stereotypes and profiting from the performance. there were lawsuits, fights, and scandals, but the shows went on and were wildly popular. similar human exhibits became a staple at american world’s fairs. endnotes 1 “bedlam in midway,” chicago daily tribune, oct 31, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174849907?account id=9673 (accessed december 28, 2012); charles a. kennedy, “when cairo met main street: little egypt, salome dancers, and the world’s fairs of 1893 and 1904,” in music and culture in america, 1861-1918, ed. michael saffle, 271-298 (new york: garland publishing, 1998); “vandals at the fair,” chicago daily tribune, jan 08, 1894, http://search.proquest.com/docview/1748 69852?accountid=9673, (accessed march 12, 2013). 2 cited in barbara vennman, “dragons, dummies, and royals: china at american world’s fairs, 1876-1904,” gateway heritage 17:2 (1996): 16-31. 3 erik larson, the devil in the white city: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed america (new york: crown publishers, 2003), 319; rand, mcnally & co. guide map, reproduced in stanley applebaum, the chicago world’s fair of 1893: a photographic record (new york: dover publications, 1980), viii-ix. 4 paul greenhalgh, fair world, 139; larson, the devil in the white city, 235; rand, mcnally & co. guide map, the chicago world’s fair of 1893, viii-ix; charles a. kennedy, “when cairo met main street,” 271-298. 5 cited in “javanese are angry,” chicago daily tribune, jun 07, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174815081?account id=9673 (accessed february 9, 2013). 6 cited in “close bamboo gates.” chicago daily tribune (18721922), aug 29, 1893. http://search.proquest.com/docview/17486 9581?accountid=9673. 7 see, for example, the mention of “a company of ten bedouin actors” in “steals ahmed’s wife,” chicago daily tribune, aug 21, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174822826?account id=9673, (accessed february 14, 2013). 8 “camel race at the fair,” chicago daily tribune, sep 10, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174826141?accou ntid=9673, (accessed february 10, 2013); “the world’s fair,” illustrated american special edition (1893): 59-74. series vi, box ff 60, folder 65, daniel h. burnham papers, ryerson & burnham archives, art institute of chicago; “persian girls do not dance,” chicago daily tribune, aug 06, 1893, http://search. proquest.com/docview/174864709?accountid=9673, (accessed february 15, 2013); kennedy, “when cairo met main street,” 271-298. 9 “midgets who make midway merry,” chicago daily tribune, oct 15, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174872396?ac countid=9673, (accessed february 9, 2013). 10 “many cannot be sent back,” chicago daily tribune, nov 12, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174848510?account id=9673 (accessed february 9, 2013). 11 see, for example, the account of the turkish bazaar in “the midway,” chicago daily tribune, nov 01, 1893, http://search. proquest.com/docview/174862342?accountid=9673, (accessed february 9, 2013). 12 vennman, “dragons, dummies, and royals,” 16-31. 13 cited in bloom, the autobiography of sol bloom, 123. 14 “the midway,” chicago daily tribune, nov 01, 1893. 15 “chinamen try edison’s phonograph,” chicago daily tribune, aug 20, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174 831501?accountid=9673, (accessed february 10, 2013). 16 “the world’s fair,” illustrated american special edition, series vi, box ff 60, folder 65, daniel h. burnham collection. 17 “runs amuck in cairo street,” chicago daily tribune, aug 28, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174901685?acco untid=9673 (accessed february 13, 2013); “converts on midway,” chicago daily tribune, aug 17, 1893, http://search.proquest. com/docview/174824978?accountid=9673, (accessed february 13, 2013). 18 “steals ahmed’s wife,” chicago daily tribune, aug 21, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174822826?account id=9673 (accessed february 14, 2013). 19 “orientals toddle on the stage,” chicago daily tribune, aug 22, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174851220?accou ntid=9673 (accessed december 30, 2012); “bedouins shiver with the cold,” chicago daily tribune, nov 16, 1893, http://search. proquest.com/docview/174891256?accountid=9673 (accessed february 17, 2013). 20 publicity materials variously spelled the concession “esquimaux village” or “eskimo village.” 21 “are against furs in hot weather,” chicago daily tribune, april 1, 1893, http://search.proquest.com/docview/174823850? accountid=9673 (accessed february 17, 2013); jim zwick, inuit entertainers in the united states, 1. 22 paula becker, “miss columbia is declared queen of the carnival at the alaska-yukon-pacific exposition in seattle on august 19, 1909,” http://www.historylink.org/index. cfm?displaypage=output.cfm&file_id=8881(accessed january 10, 2013); zwick; jessie tarbox beals, esquimaux sleigh with natives. photograph, 1904. pho: 34130. missouri history library, st.louis; official photographic company. inuit man with nancy columbia in door of igloo on the pike. photograph, 1904. pho:16730, missouri history library, st. louis. 23 charter of the united nations, chapter i, article 1. http:// www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml. 24 bloom, the autobiography of sol bloom, 131, 155. 225 ibid, 134, 142. references applebaum, stanley. the chicago world’s fair of 1893: a photographic record. new york: dover publications, 1980. print. “are against furs in hot weather.” chicago daily tribune (18721922): 1. apr 01 1893. proquest. web. 17 feb. 2013. becker, paula. “miss columbia is declared queen of the carnival at the alaska-yukon-pacific exposition in seattle on august 19, 1909.” web. historylink. accessed 10 jan. 2013. “bedlam in midway: rollicking night scenes along the street of nations.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 4. oct 31 1893. proquest. web. 28 dec. 2012. 48 49 elements : : fall 2013 the other side of the midway “bedouins shiver with the cold.” chicago daily tribune (18721922): 5. nov 16 1893. proquest. web. 17 feb. 2013. bloom, sol. the autobiography of sol bloom. 1948. whitefish: kessinger publishing llc, 2010. print. “camel race at the fair.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 5. sept 10 1893. proquest. web. 10 feb. 2013. “chinamen try edison’s phonograph.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 25. aug 20 1893. proquest. web. 10 feb. 2013. “close bamboo gates.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 3. aug 29 1893. proquest. web. 27 feb. 2013. “converts on the midway.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 3. aug 17 1893. proquest. web. 3 feb. 2013. greenhalgh, paul. fair world: a history of world’s fairs and expositions from london to shanghai 1851-2010. new york: papadakis dist. a/c, 2011. print. “javanese are angry.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 3. jun 07 1893. proquest. web. 9 feb. 2013. kennedy, charles a. “when cairo met main street: little egypt, salome dancers, and the world’s fairs of 1893 and 1904.” music and culture in america, 1861-1918. ed. michael saffle. new york: garland publishing, 1998. 271-198. print. larson, erik. the devil in the white city: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed america. new york: crown publishers, 2003. print. “many cannot be sent back.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 4. nov 12 1893. proquest. web. 9 feb. 2013. “midgets who make midway merry.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 34. oct 15 1893. proquest. web. 9 feb. 2013. “the midway.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 16. nov 01 1893. proquest. web. 9 feb. 2013. “orientals toddle on the stage.” chicago daily tribune (18721922): 2. aug 22 1893. proquest. web. 30 dec. 2012. “persian girls do not dance.” chicago daily tribune (18721922): 2. aug 06 1893. proquest. web. 15 feb. 2013. “runs amuck in cairo street.” chicago daily tribune (18721922): 3. aug 28 1893. proquest. web. 13 feb. 2013. “steals ahmed’s wife.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 3. aug 21 1893. proquest. web. 14 feb. 2013. united nations. “chapter 1.” charter of the united nations, 20 october 1945, 1 unts xvi. http://www.un.org/en/documents/ charter/chapter1.shtml. 3 feb. 2013. “vandals at the fair.” chicago daily tribune (1872-1922): 11. jan 08 1894. proquest. web. 12 march 2013. vennman, barbara. “dragons, dummies, and royals: china at the american world’s fairs, 1876-1904.” gateway heritage 17.2 (1996): 16-31. print. “the world’s fair.” illustrated american special edition. series vi, box ff 60, folder 65, daniel h. burnham papers, ryerson & burnham archives, art institute of chicago. zwick, jim. inuit entertainers in the united states: from the chicago’s world’s fair through the birth of hollywood. west conshohocken: infinity publishing, 2006. print. 50 elements : : fall 2013 willem de koonig is one of the most renowned and prolific modernist painters of the second half of the twentieth century. one of his most famous bodies of work, a series of paintings known as the women paintings, serves to exemplify the trends that exist throughoust de kooning’s work; trends of constant evolution and revision, of wild, unsettling colors and images, and of a sure awareness of his medium, the canvas. in addition, analysis of his life and work through the methodologies of goombrich, de saussure, and freud leads to a greater understanding of the artist’s mind and reasons. blurred lines variations on willem de kooning’s women, 1950-1966 emilie sintobin despite being one of the most renowned and accomplished artists of the second half of the twentieth century, willem de kooning remains to this day a fairly enigmatic character in the history of art. though he produced a remarkably large body of work throughout his career, and his work is decidedly characteristic of his own methods of painting, he never developed what many other abstract expressionist artists held as their “signature style.” this distinguished him among the painters of the new york school, who strove fastidiously to develop a distinctive aesthetic: there was rothko with his characteristic floating planes of amorphous color, pollock with his spirited, transcendental drip paintings, and newman with his authoritarian zip. de kooning, while his works are undoubtedly distinctive, does not subscribe to such an exacting principle of painting. his body of work exists more as a progression of experiments and trends rather than a motherwellesque decades-long study of the same subject. while de kooning certainly did explore themes in his work, no single trend or exploration lasted more than seven years at best, with the exception of one specific iconographical study. the one place that he did remain consistent in his work, however, was in his paintings of women: a subject he returned to time and time again throughout the fifty-orso years of his career as a professional artist. by implementing the methodologies of e.h. gombrich, ferdinand de saussure, and sigmund freud, this paper attempts to delve into de kooning’s at once non-committal and yet steadfast approaches to particular themes in his art. his woman paintings in particular, as we will see, provide a focused lens through which we can come to a fuller understanding of his sense of continued exploration. though regarded as one of the most american of the abstract expressionists, de kooning was in fact born in the netherlands in 1904, and emigrated to the states as a stowaway in 1924. as an adolescent, he received training at the rotterdam academy of fine arts; originally a sign painter, he later worked in the murals and easels division of the wpa federal art project. it was not until 1934, after he befriended arshile gorky, that he began his foray into the world of fine art. over the course of over half a century, he would establish himself as one of america’s—and the world’s—most accomplished painters. after gorky’s death in 1948, de kooning fell in with a number of artists known as the new york school. while the group did not present themselves as a bona-fide artistic movement, certain general motivations brought the group together: most notably, their pursuit of meaning through abstraction in painting. the writings of art critic harold rosenberg solidified the group. in his 1952 article “the american action painters,” rosenberg articulated what these artists had been doing: that is, revolutionizing the very idea of painting. no longer was it a quest to represent something upon a canvas; rather, above all else, it became evidence, evidence of an act of human agency and muscularity. “at a certain moment,” rosenberg wrote, “the canvas began to appear…as an arena in which to act…what was to go on the canvas was not a picture but an event.”1 what a spectator saw was no longer an image in the traditional sense of the word, but proof of the artist’s action and the manifestation of the emotion and furor that went into its creation. that sense of action was more than evident in the works of de kooning, who affirmed rosenberg’s principle both in image and in word. “painting is a way of living,” he once said. “art derives from life, but neither the artist nor the painting has a character that pre-exists their encounter.”2 by the time rosenberg’s article was published, the artist had become known for works like excavation, a six-foot-long mural of powerful brushstrokes and dynamism. in this sense, de kooning belonged entirely alongside other new york school painters: that sense of action and dynamism would pervade his paintings throughout the majority of his career. but the purpose served by that action seemed to change every handful of years. whereas rothko’s planes of color explored emotion to the point of exhaustion, and newman painted his zips ad nauseam, de kooning was constantly pursuing something new. it could be argued that part of the reason other new york school artists became so entrenched in one particular idiom was the prevalence of art critic clement greenberg’s writings. a sort of arch nemesis to rosenberg, greenberg saw the new developments in art not as the result of action-packed encounters, but as the result of a historical movement of art towards an ultimate aesthetic purity. in his 1965 essay “modernist painting,” greenberg coined the term ‘mod53 blurred lines ernism,’ by which he meant that each respective art form—be it sculpture or painting—should stress its intrinsic quality. as he wrote, “the unique and proper area of competence of each art coincided with all that was unique to the nature of its medium.”3 for painting, that quality was flatness; anything in a painting that recalled another artistic medium, such as sculpture, needed to be eliminated from the work of art in order for it to be truly modern and pure. “for the sake of its own autonomy,” greenberg wrote, “painting has had above all to divest itself of everything it might share with sculpture.”4 three-dimensionality thus became anathema to modern painting, and as the years progressed, greenberg’s writings pervaded the work of the majority of painters. for an artist subject to the greenbergian view, painting could no longer represent anything three-dimensional if it was to be met with favorable criticism. de kooning never took greenberg’s stipulations to heart, however. it could be said that his paintings fulfill greenberg’s conditions insofar as they become progressively abstracted throughout his career. but ultimately, they always retain an element of figural representation, never fully reaching that apex. throughout his career, de kooning never managed to relinquish figuration entirely; even excavation is made up of biomorphic forms that suggest some kind of recognizable imagery. de kooning paints a number of toothy mouths throughout the composition as well, bringing what might have been an abstract, compositionally flat image back to the figurative world. as gallerist sidney janis writes of the painting, “excavation belies its name: it is depthless. its violent thrust and counterthrust of biomorphic forms establish a precarious, densely packed equilibrium in the depthless arena of a mere surface…the whole surface of the canvas writhes with agitated motion.”5 in door to the river, painted ten years later in 1960, what appears at first glance as a layering of rapidly applied, muscular strokes in the most rosenbergian sense, is injected with figuration by its evocative title. the spectator suddenly sees the gray form in the center of the canvas as a portal, and the blue line below it as a river in the distance. with the suggestion of the title, we are henceforth unable to dissociate the image from a representational interpretation, which is precisely de kooning’s intention. when speaking of greenberg’s purity, de kooning once said, “no purity means no oneness…better to make a picture that trembles with anxiety than one that is static because it is stylistically pure.”6 the question of anti-greenbergian figuration is most prevalent, however, in de kooning’s women paintings. though he had painted women before, his work woman i, painted from 1950-1952, ignited what would prove to be the most compelling—and controversial—idioms of his artistic oeuvre. of about fifteen different series de kooning worked on from 1934 on, women comprise six of them, constituting roughly twenty years of work.7 the fact that the subject matter always remained figurative served as a foil to greenberg’s purist mandates. in a famed encounter between the authoritarian critic and the painter, greenberg told de kooning, “it is impossible today to paint a face.” de kooning, not one to be constrained by another’s demands, replied, “that’s right, and it’s impossible not to.”8 “greenberg told de kooning, ‘it is impossible today to paint a face.’ de kooning, not one to be constrained by another’s demands, replied, ‘that’s right, and it’s impossible not to.’” in any case, de kooning’s series of women are a collective study of progressions. as he moved from painting to painting, he sought to delve into another facet of his subject, transitioning from one to the next in a methodology of revision. in an interview with harold rosenberg in 1972, de kooning told the critic, “[my painting] is an event, and i won’t say it is kind of empty, but…i have no message. my paintings come from other paintings.”9 this sense of progression and permutation demonstrates the degree to which de kooning’s personal methods of creation coincide with the methodology of e.h. gombrich. in art and illusion, gombrich argues that the process of art making is always informed by a system that he terms schema and correction. we make sense of things, according to gombrich, by first approaching something with a general category, or schema, in mind. to arrive at the particular meaning, we must make corrections or modifications to that original assumption. as he writes, “every artist has to know and construct a schema before he can adjust to it the needs of portrayal.”10 the schema, then, is an inherited preconception that dictates how we see and visualize things; the spectator thus finds himself comparing what is in front of him to the schema, engaging in constant visual correction to arrive at meaning. gombrich is much like greenberg in this sense, insofar as both methodologists maintain that art will never stop progressing. whereas de kooning outright rejected greenberg, however, gombrich’s schema and correction system seems to be decidedly applicable to the entirety of his art. if, as he stated, his paintings came from other paintings, then in the gombrichian sense, his entire career revolved around a sort of schema and correction system, each painting serving as a launching pad for the next, a catalyst for a new investigation and analysis of an idea. “i never was interested in how to make a good painting,” de kooning once wrote. “i didn’t work on it with the idea of perfection, but to see how far one could go.”11 but gombrich maintained the idea that the system of schema and correction would ultimately produce a system of progression that would end in a final, evolved result. throughout his career, however, de kooning returned time and time again to themes he had already established and studied. the gombrichian schema and correction thus becomes in de kooning’s body of work more of a theme and variation—a leitmotif that reappears again and again in his work—though the style may not necessarily evolve or become more representational over the years. to illustrate this further, let us take into account a selection of de kooning’s women painted over a number of years. to begin, let us examine the most infamous of the women, woman i. the work is at once rosenberg’s dream and greenberg’s nightmare. from a cacophonous battlefield of brushstrokes emerges a female figure, severe and jarring to the spectator, and yet fiercely powerful. the lower half of her body dissipates into the rhythm of the paint, while her upper body, particularly her breasts and face, are clearly delineated within the abstract expressionist confusion. painted during the years that de kooning was also working on far more abstract images, woman i blends figuration and abstraction in the most rebellious of ways, and many younger artists of the time saw this as the resurwoman i 54 55 elements : : fall 2013 blurred lines gence of figuration in art. as de kooning scholar thomas hess writes, “many younger artists, already in reaction to the rigorously intellectual climate of abstract expressionism, considered [woman i] a permission to revive figure painting.”12 among the established artists, however, the painting was an act of treachery. as critic david sylvester writes, the avant-garde took woman i as a “gross betrayal of principles and of comrades that a leading member of the abstract expressionist movement, which had been struggling so desperately to get a foothold in the world of acceptable art, should do a set of paintings of a subject so readily identifiable and so utterly traditional. it was an act both of personal disloyalty and of aesthetic impropriety.”13 outside of artistic circles, woman i scandalized public audiences. her enormous, piercing eyes and bared teeth, coupled with the violent brushwork surrounding her made her violent, abused, threatening, and wild to the general public. critic marla prather summarized his mythical goddess as “predatory and rapacious…an evil muse…an exposition of hate and brutality.”14 even de kooning himself, looking at his composition ten years after its completion, remarked, “i look at them now and they seem vociferous and ferocious.”15 when asked about the intent of the work, de kooning was often hesitant, never providing an exact reply. in one interview, he described his motivation indecisively: “i think it had to do with the idol, the oracle, and above all the hilariousness of it,” he said. “i do think that if i didn’t look upon life that way, i wouldn’t know how to keep on being around.”16 while woman i serves as the first step in de kooning’s theme and variations, as we will see shortly, the painting is also a paradigm of the system in and of itself. over the two years it took to paint it, the work underwent at least eight stages of revision as de kooning struggled to arrive at a satisfactory image. as john elderfield, president of the museum of modern art, outlines in his essay “the beginnings of woman i,” each stage of the painting bespoke a greater degree of painterliness, with an assemblage of forms similar to those in excavation ultimately becoming fleshier, less graphically clear, so that the figure began to dissolve in the ground. as elderfield writes, with woman i, “de kooning had been struggling to picture a figure as much immanent as emergent.”17 since the beginning of his career, de kooning had perpetually struggled with finishing his paintings. never quite content with what he had put on a canvas, he would often stop working in a bout of frustration, either abandoning or destroying a work out of dissatisfaction. in his essay “content as a glimpse,” de kooning wrote of this struggle, saying “as to the painting being finished, i always have a miserable time over that. but it is getting better now. i just stop. i sometimes get rather hysterical and because of that i find sometimes a terrific picture.”18 as critic thomas hess wrote of de kooning’s process, “because de kooning wanted to put everything into his painting, each thing he got into it not only had its own presence, but represented the absence of something else…to finish meant to settle for the possible at any given moment, to abandon an effort and continue it elsewhere. but continuity itself then became an issue…if the painting is destroyed, its destruction opens the way to a fresh beginning.”19 woman i was initially abandoned in this very manner; after a year and a half of revisions and struggles, the canvas was pulled off the frame and discarded.20 de kooning returned to other less challenging canvases, until a few weeks later, when art historian meyer schapiro visited de kooning’s greenwich village studio, asking to see the abandoned painting, and eventually convinced the artist to resurrect her. as hess described the finished—or as finished as it could be —work, “the painting’s energetic and lucid surfaces, its resoundingly affirmative presence, give little indication of a vacillating, hamlet-like history. woman appears inevitable, like a myth that needed but a quick name to become universally applicable. but like any myth, its emergence was long, difficult and (to use one of the artist’s favourite adjectives) mysterious.”21 the painting is a testament to revision and correction, to theme and variation, and its greatest strength lies in that fact. mark stevens emphasizes this, saying that “woman i was not unresolved out of indecision or weakness, but out of strength: it was left to its imperfections by the aggressive decision of a great artist, in order to increase the work’s disruptive, expressive power.”22 the painting not only acts as the evidence of its own corrections, but also as the theme for de kooning’s ensuing women. as gombrich described, the schema “is the starting point for corrections, adjustments, adaptations, the means to probe reality and to wrestle with the particular.” 23 the same applies for de kooning’s theme. woman i ignited a fire of exploration within de kooning, who went on to exhaust the theme of the female for the next seven years. the images that followed were simply continuations in the same thematic: corrections of that original schema to get at a bigger sense of what de kooning was searching to understand, whether it was the venus, the classical nude, or a sumerian goddess. he recognized the connection between his women and the immense art historical tradition that had existed since the ancient greeks—depicting the woman in art is in its own right an overarching system of corrections and revisions. “painting the women,” de kooning wrote, “is a thing in art that has been done over and over—the idol, venus, the nude…the woman became compulsive in the sense of not being able to get hold of it.”24 for de kooning, unlike many of his new york school cohorts, painting was less about encapsulating an idea and making an intellectual statement, than about exploring a subject and studying it to the point of exhaustion. what becomes manifest on the canvas is the artist’s emotional response—often frustration, sometimes delight—to the subject at hand. it is a process of revision aimed at discovering something not only about the image, but also about himself. living in an environment confronted by existentialism and riddled with agony after world war ii, abstract expressionism, particularly in the case of de kooning, transformed painting into a mode of inquiry rather than statement-making. “behind de kooning’s voluptuous marks and ruthless pre-emptings,” writes sally yard, “figures the conviction that painting is a way of working through how we are in the world.”25 painting was thus a path to discovery, a study of what was for him a kind of idol. on numerous occasions de kooning referred to idols as a source of inspiration in his work. when speaking with david sylvester about the women, he admitted that “it had to do with the female painted through all the ages, all those idols.” “it’s rather like the mesopotamian idols,” he remarked in another interview.26 in his succeeding paintings, then, each woman acts first as a correction to the preceding one, and then assumes the role of theme as de kooning moves onto the next. woman ii, painted in 1952, retains the foundational features of its predecessor: the wide-eyed gaze, the toothy grin, the emphasized breasts, and the broad, almost giotto-esque shoulders. now, however, she falls into the background rather than emerging from it, subsumed by the gestural activity around her body. the surface of the picture plane woman and bicycle 56 57 elements : : fall 2013 blurred lines is far flatter in comparison to woman i, as figural parts begin to commingle with fragments of a surrounding environment. and despite however flat—or pure, in the greenbergian sense—it may be, the work retains a figure/ ground relationship that is intrinsic to its structure. in woman with bicycle, painted from 1952 to 1953, the canvas becomes even more chaotic. here again, de kooning depicts the face and breasts with greater clarity; he treats the rest of the canvas with attacks of his brush, at once flattening the canvas and bringing it to life with evocations of great movement and violence. what has changed, apart from the high-keyed colors and the inclusion of a prop, is the face of the woman herself. as elderfield writes, in this painting, de kooning for the first time paints directly staring eyes. “the earlier women,” he writes, “had misaligned gazes, one eye looking forward, the other away. now, a woman stares back unremittingly at the viewer.”27 that gaze is arguably the most conspicuous feature of all the subsequent women paintings: the spectator is confronted not only by the aggressive brushwork and garish colors, but also by the frontal positioning of the figure and her piercing eyes. the confrontation is heightened further in woman with bicycle by a manic grin, at once frightening and hilarious, that de kooning duplicates below the woman’s face. the artist was fascinated with the smile: he included several in excavation, and each of his 1950s-era women bears a toothy grin. he often cut a woman’s smile out of magazines, tacking them upon the canvas as he worked on the rest of the image. in a study for woman i, he left the cutout from a camel cigarette advertisement on the finished work, exaggerating the “hilariousness,” as he put it, of the female figure. ultimately, when considering all of the 1950s women paintings, there is no doubt that through them de kooning sought to encapsulate a new facet of his interest in moving from one painting to another. to say that one painting comes from the next, however, necessarily implies an inherent relationship between each work. if everything we perceive and understand, as gombrich argues, is based on relationships, it would then follow that there can be no meaning without some kind of relational connection. “without some standards of comparison,” he writes, “we cannot grasp reality.”28 gombrich does not elaborate on this statement, however, and we are thus left to search for an explanation within another methodology: that of structuralism and modern linguistics. established by french linguist ferdinand de saussure, structuralism maintains as a foundation the concept of language as a system of signs. the sign, as described by saussure, is comprised of both signifier and signified, where signifier is a form used to express the signified or original idea. the word ‘chair’, for instance, is the signifier of the physical chair, the signified. an idea without a signified, he argues, cannot be a sign: a word that refers to nothing is meaningless. and yet, though a signifier requires a signified in order to convey meaning, their relationship is entirely arbitrary. as jonathan culler writes in his explanation of saussure’s methodology, “there is no natural or inevitable link between the signifier and the signified.”29 because there is nothing inherent about a word or sound that has a particular significance, any other linguistic form could be applied to the signified and produce the same meaning: “the signified associated with a signifier can take any form; there is no essential core of meaning that it must retain in order to count as the proper signified for that signifier.”30 saussure goes on to argue that a signifier only retains meaning insofar as it is in relationship with another signifier: ‘chair’ refers to a chair only inasmuch as it does not refer to a couch or a table. without something against which to differentiate an object, that object has no meaning, for a concept, he argues, cannot exist in isolation. “because the sign is arbitrary,” culler writes, “because it is the result of dividing a continuum in ways peculiar to the language to which it belongs, we cannot treat the sign as an autonomous entity but must see it as part of a system.”31 here, we see saussure’s connection with gombrich’s insistence on relationships. just as a word conveys meaning only inasmuch as it distinguishes itself from other utterances, so too does a painting, according to gombrich, distinguish itself from the meaning of another. “you cannot create a faithful image out of nothing,” gombrich wrote. “you must have learned the trick if only from other pictures you have seen.”32 furthermore, in the case of a single painting, such as de kooning’s woman i, relationships—between one stage and the next—build layer upon layer of meaning for the artist himself to discover. as both saussure and gombrich argue, there can be no meaning without difference, and the relationships created by those differences. it is through the complexities and differences between each of the women paintings that both the spectator and the artist himself are able to find meaning. to derive meaning from those relationships, then, we must consider these works as both schemata and corrections of each other, progressing from one to the next as de kooning continues his course of discovery. the progression from woman i to woman ii, as has already been discussed, involved a movement from an intensely varied color palette to one that was more subdued, a figure who went from projecting assertively from the surface of the picture plane to one who blended in more with the surrounding gestural work. as john elderfield writes, the resulting effect of such a treatment is a “giving of greater corporeality to the space than to the figures.”33 the distinction between figure and ground becomes blurred in this second painting, though the spectator still registers the presence of a figure in the composition. what perhaps best contributes to that awareness is the woman’s eyes, almost a direct translation from woman i, where, with one eye partially obfuscated by the dynamic brushwork, we are not confronted directly by her gaze. this changes with woman with bicycle, where subject and spectator stare at each other with equal intensity. that intensity is only amplified by de kooning’s duplication of the woman’s mouth, but, in contrast to the two previous works, that sense of aggression is tempered by a certain amount of comic humor. in this sense, the work’s double smile serves as a prefiguration of pop art, particularly when considering the work of warhol. the effects of repetition, as he would prove in his [exhaustive] series, desensitize the spectator to a certain degree to a real, unmitigated experience. reproduction, as warhol demonstrated in works like mona lisa (30 is better than 1), neutralizes the power of a work of art such that a spectator can no longer truly see the original. as a result, in the case of de kooning, that desensitization mitigates what would be a formidably intense image, as woman i and ii are. in woman, painted in 1953, de kooning takes another approach to the issue of reproduction, this time duplicating both his figure’s eyes and mouth on her body. neither the gaze nor the smile are explicitly depicted, however. the duplicated mouth seems only half finished, stretched and scratched out on the left side, while the eyes look in different directions, one blurred and seeming to slip off the woman herself. her body is perhaps the most clearly defined among of the previously noted works, as she projects from the surface of bare canvas on the right. and yet, despite the fact that she is distinct from the surrounding en58 59 elements : : fall 2013 blurred lines vironment, the interior of her body is rendered quite imprecisely. the spectator can make sense of her arms and legs, but beyond that, the detail becomes blurred. roughly executed lines interrupt the fluidity of the rest of the body; where her neck should be, a jagged protrusion of either chin or collarbone disrupts the integrity of her body. the flat yellow plane of color negates any sense of volume, and sketchy skeins of paint extending from the more gestural areas overtake her figure as a whole. perhaps in an effort to return to the body, de kooning painted two women in the country the next year. whereas the details of the body in woman had been intentionally overlooked, here they make a return, and doubly so, as if to emphasize this return all the more. in the case of this painting, it is now the face that becomes the imprecise element. on the whole, the two women’s bodily features are readily detectable – each limb is designated with a thick black outline that cuts into the active colors in the background. he returns to the idiom of dramatically broad shoulders and oversized breasts that he developed in earlier works. the detail of their bodies exceeds perhaps all previous women paintings: de kooning even goes so far as to paint a shoe on the foot of the woman on the left. furthermore, de kooning leaves the bottom register of the canvas unfinished, the image above hovering over the solid grey field. that the image stops so abruptly as the spectator’s eye moves downward is de kooning’s tongue-incheek way of reminding his audience that this work is no more than paint on surface: by leaving this strip of canvas bare, he shatters the illusion of countryside created by the title. eleven years later, the broad-shouldered, assertive woman of the fifties had become for de kooning an immense foundation upon which to build: a schema which he could forever correct. in 1964, after moving to long island—a pastoral arcadia compared to his former home in new york city—he painted woman accabonac, a figure so unclear and obscured that it appears to be submerged under water. as elderfield writes of the painting, “the notion of a gravity-defying bodily image appears to have allowed the artist to imagine the component parts of a figure as floating weightlessly across the canvas surface.”34 likely influenced by his recent move and new proximity to the coast and water, de kooning transforms his woman into something affected by and part of nature. though woman accabonac bears comparison with the artist’s 1953 woman, insofar as a significant portion of the canvas is left bare, the figure/ground relationship does not remain the same. in the earlier painting, the white of the canvas pushes the figure forward toward the spectator. in woman accabonac, however, she is one with the background. much of the gestural brushwork around the top half of her body commingles with her figure; outlines are distorted, and colors blend with one another in a watery mix. of the blurring of this figure/ground distinction, de kooning once said, “the landscape is in the woman and there is woman in the landscape.”35 and yet her face still retains that same ferocious character of the past, despite its being blurred and distorted along with the rest of her figure. as we can see, though each of de kooning’s woman paintings possesses a distinctive character all its own, and maintains its own intrinsic gravitas in isolation, each work gains a new level of depth once it is placed within a context of comparison. “there is no way of looking at a work of art by itself,” de kooning once said. “it’s not self-evident. it needs a history, it needs a lot of talking about…it is part of a whole man’s life.”36 examining the works in chronological progression thus echoes de kooning’s own process of schema and correction, which in turn permits us to engage in the same process. we approach each work with the schema of its antecedent, acknowledging the differences between the two and correcting our first impressions to arrive at a truer comprehension of each work. but what is the ultimate meaning that we are meant to infer from these serial relational differences? as a pivotal member of a group of artists fastidiously dedicated to abstraction, de kooning always held fast to some element of figuration, never fully arriving at the point of non-objectivity—as was demonstrated with door to the river. in the case of the women, he makes his new york school lineage evidently manifest through brushstrokes and gesture that delighted the likes of rosenberg. and yet in the middle of this amalgam of activity, he places this ferocious character of a woman. the public and critics alike have debated the nature of de kooning’s women since woman i first came on the scene; to rosenberg, they were a perfect manifestation of the artist’s act upon the canvas: the fact that this included a figure didn’t make it any less of a one. for greenberg, however, the women were regressions from his hegelian track of artistic purity. to feminists, they were attacks upon the female body, the violent activity of the brushwork an embodiment of his hatred of and chauvinism toward women. as has been discussed, however, de kooning never spoke to this interpretation, and was instead more likely to reference the “hilariousness” of his women, their assertive presence, and their long-established heredity in the history of art. but as feminist critic lisa vogel rightly argues, in some way or another, the female figure was a medium through which he was able to channel a variety of perspectives, which could have included his “male ambivalence and confusion about women as ferocious, evil, consuming, iconic, motherly, romantic, vulgar, banal, and so on.” certainly, if de kooning maintained that his paintings depicted something iconic, he must have held other opinions about them as well. to delve further into what the women represented for de kooning, we can look to the philosophy of sigmund freud for guidance. in leonardo da vinci and a memory of his childhood, freud demonstrates his self-proclaimed aptitude in psychoanalyzing arguably the greatest artist of the western world. the father of modern psychology, freud maintained that an individual’s psychological life was often as, if not more, significant than their real life history. he believed there to be a causal link between a person’s emotional life—often a fantasy—and a particular neurotic symptom they expressed, because we as individuals systematically repress into the unconscious mind certain drives that run counter to the social fabric. thus, in freud’s method, one must examine the characteristics of a personality that people generally dismiss. phenomena such as the slip of the tongue or the dream, according to him, are vehicles through which the unconscious expresses itself. in the case of da vinci, freud latched onto a particular memory of the artist and used elements of his biography to elucidate its meaning. much of what freud proves comes from da vinci’s childhood, notably his relationships with his parents. if we are to apply this to de kooning, it is important to consider his childhood in the same way. to follow in the footsteps of freud, we can begin by investigating one of the more foundational relationships that influence an individual’s psychology: that of the mother and child. the likely influence of de kooning’s mother cornelia nobel on his women paintings is quite evident: a notoriously strict woman, she divorced de kooning’s father when he was just five years old, allowing only a limited amount of contact between father and son from that point on. thomas hess acknowledges this as well: his mother “was a bartender in a café largely patronized by sailors. i touch on these details,” hess writes, “because… they supply possible clues to de kooning’s magisterial woman of the early 1950s.”37 though de kooning did not speak much about his family, there is no doubt that such a developmental situation would affect his psychology later in life. in fact, in the freudian sense, it is so much the better that de kooning did not speak of it, for it is what the individual does not disclose that bears most importance in psychoanalysis. if we attempt to psychoanalyze de kooning, the role of the mother, just as it was for da vinci, is crucial for his later work. de kooning’s mother was undoubtedly a formidable woman: powerful, self-sufficient, and yet also a menace to de kooning, for she created a chasm in his relationship with his father and destroyed the solid foundation that a proper childhood requires. if we take the freudian perspective, then, we could assume that de kooning felt a considerable degree of resentment towards his mother for upending the essential father-son bond. in the woman paintings, whatever resentment might have been suppressed in the artist’s unconscious becomes manifested in an act of passionate gesture upon the canvas. the woman, as hess writes, takes on the role of “the mother who betrays the son, gets rid of the father, destroys the home.”38 sylvester concurs, writing that de kooning’s mother may have figured into the woman paintings as “the artist’s perception of the female as a monster and his infliction of violence upon her.”39 60 61 elements : : fall 2013 blurred lines in any case, freud’s investigation proves the necessity of biographical events to explain something about an artist’s work that might otherwise remain unexplained. looking into the artist’s life history is crucial to understanding how it affects their psychology. for an artist of the abstract expressionist ilk, in which action painting was essentially the equivalent of spilling one’s guts onto a canvas through gesture and color, the question of psychology is irrefutably paramount. as rosenberg noted, “the principle common to…the action movement is that painting is an extension of the artist’s inner life in its highest intensity.”40 that inner life, both biographically historical and highly emotional, is revealed upon de kooning’s canvas in a variety of manifestations. ultimately, however, though they pulled inspiration from a number of sources—his mother, venus, the nude, and many more—the women exemplify above all else a desire to discover something new, not necessarily to prove something explicit. rosenberg wrote that painting was for de kooning “the exhilaration of an adventure over depths in which he might find reflected the true image of his identity.”41 what mattered to him was not the subject matter contained within the confines of the frame, but the relationship between the works; as he said, “it’s not that you paint them, but it is the connection.”42 in an interview with david sylvester in 1963 entitled “content as a glimpse,” the artist stressed his interest in the ambiguous and the unclear, saying “content is a glimpse of something, an encounter like a flash. it’s very tiny—very tiny, content.”43 he used the term “slipping glimpses” frequently to describe the fragmentary, passing manner in which the content of his paintings presented itself to the spectator. for his women, then, the color, the brushwork, the form and the line are, as he says, tiny. what he was most interested in was the resulting relationship created between one work and another. as thomas hess writes, de kooning’s paintings make more sense as a collective entity than individually, “each feeding the other, each in a sense inhabiting the other.”44 this rings especially true in the case of his women, who, as this paper has discussed, build off of one another progressively, each an alteration of the same idiom, an effort on the part of the artist to “see how far one could go” to gain a new perspective on the schema he sought to understand.45 without considering them collectively, de kooning’s women remain rather ambiguous, not as a result of oversight but simply because content, that “slipping glimpse,” was not what de kooning was after. “that’s what fascinates me—” he said in an interview, “to make something i can never be sure of, and no one else can either. i will never know, and no one else will ever know…that’s the way art is.”46 endnotes 1 harold rosenberg, “the american action painters,” artnews, december 1952. 2 harold rosenberg, the anxious object: art today and its audience (new york: horizon press, 1964), 117. 3 clement greenberg, “modernist painting,” 1960, 6. 4 greenberg, 7. 5 sidney janis, willem de kooning (new york: grove press), 1960, 30. 6 john elderfield, willem de kooning (new york: museum of modern art), 2011, 16. 7 in his book willem de kooning, thomas hess establishes fifteen categories of de kooning’s painting, which are as follows: 1. early high-key color abstractions, 1934-1944 2. early figures (men), 1935-1940 3. early figures (women), 1938-1945 4. color abstractions, 1945-1950 5. largely black with white abstractions, 1945-1949 6. largely white with black abstractions, 1947-1949 7. women, series ii, 1947-1949 8. women, series iii, 1950-55 9. abstract urban landscapes, 1955-1958 10. abstract parkway landscapes, 1957-1961 11. abstract pastoral landscapes, 1960-1963 12. women, series iv, 1960-1963 13. women, series v, since 1963 14. women in the country, since 1965 15. abstract countryside landscapes, since 1965 8 thomas hess, willem de kooning (new york: museum of modern art, 1968), 74. 9 interview with harold rosenberg. 10 gombrich, art and illusion, (princeton: princteon university press, 1969), 116. 11 willem de kooning quoted from “content as a glimpse” in hess, 149. 12 hess, 74. 13 david sylvester, “the birth of woman i,” the burlington magazine, april 1995, 222. 14 ibid. 15 de kooning, “content is a glimpse,” 149. 16 sally yard, willem de kooning: works, writings, and interviews (barcelona: ediciones poligrafica, 2007), 56. 17 elderfield, 259. 18 de kooning, “content as a glimpse,” 150. 19 hess, 23. 20 thomas hess, “de kooning paints a picture,” artnews march 1953, p 30-32, 64-67 21 ibid., 30. 22 mark stevens, “the master of imperfection,” new republic, july 1994, 30. 23 gombrich, 173. 24 de kooning, “content as a glimpse,” 148. 25 yard, 86. 26 sylvester, 231. 27 elderfield, 277. 28 gombrich, 178. 29 jonathan culler, ferdinand de saussure (new york: cornell university press, 1986), 29. 30 ibid., 33. 31 ibid., (35) 32 gombrich (83) 33 elderfield (288) 34 elderfield (282) 35 elderfield (239) 36 elderfield (10) 37 hess, willem de kooning (12) 38 hess, willem de kooning (75) 39 sylvester (222) 40 harold rosenberg, art on the edge: creators and situations (new york: macmillan, 1975) (81) 41 rosenberg, “the american action painters” (48) 42 willem de kooning, “content as a glimpse” (149) 43 willem de kooning, “content as a glimpse” (148) 44 elderfield (13) 45 de kooning, “content as a glimpse” (149) 46 rosenberg, interview with de kooning, artnews, september 1972. references culler, jonathan. ferdinand de saussure. new york: cornell university press, 1986. print. elderfiled, john. willem de kooning. new york: museum of modern art, 2011. print. gombrich, e.h. art and illusion. princeton, princeton university press, 1968. print. greenberg, clement. “modernist painting.” modern art and modernism: a critical anthology. ed. francis frascina, charles harrison. london: the open university, 1982. 5-11. print. hess, barbara. willem de kooning 1904-1997: content as a glimpse. new york: taschen, 2001. print. hess, thomas. “de kooning paints a picture.” 1953. artnews. com 12 nov. 2012. web hess, thomas. willem de kooning. new york: museum of modern art, 1968. print. janis, sidney. willem de kooning. new york: grove press, 1960. print. rosenberg, harold. “the american action painters.” 1952. taken from barbara a. macadam’s “top ten artnews stories: ‘not a picture but an event.” artnews.com 1 nov. 2007. web. rosenberg, harold. the anxious object: art today and its audience. new york: horizon press, 1964. print. rosenberg, harold. art on the edge: creators and situations. new york: macmillan, 1975. print. sylvester, david. “the birth of woman i.” the burlington magazine 137.1105 (1995): 220-232. print. stevens, mark. “the master of imperfection.” the new republic 4 july 1994: 27-32. print. yard, sally. willem de kooning: works, writing, and interviews. barcelona: ediciones poligrafica, 2007. print. 62 63 elements : : fall 2013 blurred lines in response to the misdeeds of economic and political elites, democracy offers accountability. transnational forces, however, in seeking to promote state accountability, democracies can themselves become unaccountable. in post-conflict cambodia, political globalization—usually tied to a loss of state sovereignty—has in fact strengthened the existing regime by granting material aid and legitimacy. transnational forces undermine accountability from above by ignoring or exacerbating the profound problems in cambodia’s virtual “competitive authoritarianism,” while the regime itself destroys accountability from below through the suppression of civil society. “imprimatur of legitimacy” grim prospects for accountability in post-untac cambodia jordan dorney in her study of accountability and the relationship between state power and transnational forces, valerie sperling uses the case study of post-conflict cambodia to examine the transnational impact on democratic accountability.1 under the auspices of the united nations transitional authority in cambodia (untac), some beneficial political development occurred. however, as sperling argues, the “authoritarian leadership [was left] in place, legitimized by the imprimatur of the united nations.”2 despite elections and the growth of human rights organizations, the cambodian state has enacted little more than competitive authoritarianism. corruption and patronage remain commonplace, and electoral manipulation and a lack of a division of powers has solidified the rule of prime minister hun sen’s cambodian people’s party (cpp). to use sperling’s terminology, there is a culture of impunity. since sperling’s account focuses primarily on the period of untac involvement and the immediate aftermath, this study will examine the most recent developments in cambodia. sperling’s fear that political globalization has only brought legitimacy to an otherwise unaccountable regime was not overstated.3 since 2008, transnational forces, including western governments and international institutions, have continued to erode, whether in economic, political, military, judicial, or civic terms, the accountability relationship between the citizens and the state of cambodia. a brief overview of the most recent, most egregious abuses of the cpp regime will prepare one to assess the degree of accountability in cambodia. involved in the killings of opposition party members throughout the 1990s, hun sen and his allies have been tied to the recent slaying of a wellknown environmental activist who had been protesting corruption in the timber industry. the government also imprisoned a group of women for protesting their forced eviction from lucrative real estate in the capital.4,5 economic land concessions (elcs), made under cambodia’s 2001 land law, have been a sticking point for critics of the regime. widespread corruption has made hun sen incredibly wealthy, and continued suppression of the opposition has ensured that elections occur, as brad adams, a director at human rights watch and a lawyer who worked with the un in cambodia, put it, “in which no one imagines the vote will be free and fair or that an electoral defeat would result in hun sen leaving power.”6 according to andrew robert cock, hun sen has enacted a strategy of the personalization and consolidation of power over the political order, development projects, resource management, foreign aid, and civil society. the lack of accountability can be seen especially in the case of foreign investment, which cock argues allows elites to “appropriate wealth without having to play any substantive role in producing it.”7 hun sen and the cpp have largely been able to subvert transnational efforts at reform. another interpretation, albeit an unconvincing one, has been put forward to explain the success of the cpp and to judge the relative accountability of the regime. in direct response to adams’ critique, one writer for the economist appeals to the idea of democracy. the problem with the complaints against the regime, the claim goes, is precisely that hun sen “keeps on winning elections.” hun sen and the cpp are popular among cambodia’s predominately rural voters. responding to charges of irregularities in the most recent elections, the argument is, curiously, that things could have been much worse: the complaints the observers heard were not insignificant. they included charges that the government used the police and army to help it campaign; that the opposition’s access to the media was limited; and that radio stations were instructed by the information ministry not to carry certain stories. influential cpp officials were seen at polling booths, where they are alleged to have tried intimidating voters into supporting their candidates. the only improvement is that there were fewer violent incidents—fewer election-related murders. voter participation was significantly down to 54% from highs of 84% and 87% in 1993 and 2003. only the sam rainsy party (srp) and other opposition parties lost votes, which, it is argued, belies critics who claim “widespread disenchantment with the incumbent as well as a sense of inevitability about the outcome.” cambodians are unlikely to have their own arab spring—one way of holding the government accountable—since they remember the horrors of civil war and hun sen’s achieving peace where the un had failed.8 65 “imprimatur of legitimacy” transnational forces have, in fact, made reform more unlikely. in addition to the abuses described and the continued policy of cpp dominance, another recent political development is worthy of note. norodom sihanouk, former king of cambodia, died in october 2012. once deeply involved in cambodian politics, king sihanouk was considered by some a restraining force on hun sen. his death has left a vacuum of moral authority. the current king, norodom sihamoni, is unmarried, without an heir, and remains absent from politics. allies of hun sen and the cpp consider this detachment the king’s constitutional role.9 it remains to be seen what effect, if any, this change will have. the possibility that hun sen will oversee the selection of the next king does not bode well for those wishing to restore a counterbalancing force. we turn, then, to the particular ways in which transnational forces have affected accountability. economic interests are one such area. in cambodia, economic incentives have led to greater impunity. one development fund backed by the international finance corporation—the private arm of the world bank—and the norwegian and finnish governments noted the scarcity of capital in cambodia. low confidence in the judiciary, coupled with a lack of credit information, discourages investment. still, prior to the economic crisis of 2008, the cambodian economy grew at about nine percent for a decade. in coming years, it is expected to grow at five percent. cambodia continues to grow because it is a pro-business government. there are few restrictions about where one can invest. the failure of dispute resolution and the preponderance of corruption, while “important issues for the business community,” according to a phnom penh lawyer and adviser to the government, have not prevented economic growth.10 business interests reduce the regime’s accountability to its citizens. hun sen and the cpp, facing complaints about their human rights record, are tolerated for engineering growth. cambodia’s economic advantages—low wages and no-quota access to europe and the united states—have led to the growth of low-cost assembly work, especially garment production. with the country’s economic success, however, has come a newly empowered citizenry who seek more social and political rights. cambodia has seen an increase in strikes over working conditions and pay, along with protests against forced evictions. facing elections in 2013 and a newly unified opposition (the srp and the human rights party have combined to form the cambodian national rescue party), hun sen and hun sen is the sole prime minister of cambodia since 1998. the cpp have offered some concessions, suspending new land appropriations,11 ordering a ten dollar per month pay increase for every worker, and shelving a bill restricting ngo activities.12 here the cpp is not so much concerned with real accountability to voters, but with appeasing them in the way least painful to the regime. cambodia’s relationship with the united states is another possible source of the country’s democratic deficit. as with the involvement of untac and other international institutions, u.s. involvement in cambodia in recent years has given the “imprimatur of legitimacy” to hun sen’s government. opposition groups within cambodia, as well as members of human rights ingos, have warned that actions (even largely symbolic ones) by u.s. officials can stand in the way of accountability. in october 2012, sam rainsy, the opposition leader-in-exile, criticized president obama’s plans to visit cambodia, saying that the trip would be used by the cpp government to “deny cambodians the opportunity for self-determination that americans take for granted.” rainsy noted that in the aftermath of secretary hillary clinton’s visit to the association of southeast asian nations (asean) summit, the owner of an independent radio station was sentenced to 20 years in prison.13 cambodia is the current chair of asean and recently hosted a summit of foreign ministers, including sec. clinton. u.s. foreign policy toward china plays a large role in u.s. dealings with cambodia. in a november 2012 visit, secretary leon panetta warned cambodia that the united states supports “the protection of human rights, civilian oversight of the military, and respect for the rule of law and the right of full and fair participation in the political process.” nonetheless, the united states military continues to provide counterterrorism training to the cambodian military and conducts small-scale joint exercises.14 as a cost of such cooperation with the cpp, the u.s. faces the strengthening of the regime. critics continue to point to the un and other international agencies for much the same reason: regardless of pronouncements of support for human rights, western governments allow cambodia to participate, largely unimpeded, in the international system. adams contrasted diplomatic rhetoric after the arab spring with the continued rule of hun sen in cambodia. despite talk about confronting dictatorships, western governments have not taken action on cambodia.15 glenys kinnock, the former eu special representative to the cambodian national elections, criticized cambodia’s recent bid for the security council’s asia-pacific seat. though unlikely to succeed, cambodia, argues kinnock, “shouldn’t be in the running at all,” given the “land-grabbing crisis,” violence, and corruption.16 these symbolic gestures, however, hardly compare to the systemic problems of western international involvement in cambodia. some critics of the cambodian regime do believe that international agencies can help. for instance, bad press about the boeung kak lake incident forced the world bank to suspend loans to cambodia. in response, the government returned 30 acres to the 900 families who refused the initial, meager offer of compensation. the particular 30 acres to be returned were not specified, so protests continued. mu sochua, a cambodian member of parliament from the sam rainsy party, and cecilia wikström, a member of the european parliament, note that “local ngos, cambodian leislators and media all have a part to play” but that “as the world bank’s intervention…shows, foreign governments and international organizations can also help.” mu sochua has called on the u.s. to suspend military aid pending review of elcs. wikstom argues that the eu’s everything but arms (eba) initiative has directly contributed to elcs. the eu grants duty-free access to products from certain developing countries, including cambodia. this has led to the explosive growth of sugarcane production, and elcs have been used for that purpose. both mu sochua and wikstom called for an eu delegation to investigate the situation: “it’s time the cambodian government be held accountable for violating its people’s basic rights.”17 the problem, however, is that external actors are unable to consistently apply pressure to elites, since the imperative to provide aid fails to create well-defined interests.18 another example of un and international incompetence in promoting accountability has been in the tribunals of the extraordinary chambers in the courts of cambodia (eccc).19,20 three khmer rouge leaders were charged in 66 67 elements : : fall 2013 “imprimatur of legitimacy” the un-backed tribunal: khieu samphan,21 the head of state, ieng sary, the foreign minister, and nuon chea. in 2010, kaing guek eav, the commandant of a khmer rouge prison, was sentenced to 35 years, commuted to 19 years. james a. goldston, executive director of the open society justice initiative, has written on the inability of the un to address cambodian interference in the eccc. when the co-investigating judge siegfried blunk resigned over cambodian demands to cease all investigations, secretary general ban ki-moon treated the situation, in goldston’s words, as “business as usual,” thanking the judge for his service and announcing the search for a replacement. goldston places the blame on the un itself and the “principal donor governments,” including the u.s., france, japan, and australia.22,23 hanna bertleman points directly to the problem of accountability inherent in the eccc: a shared ownership may lead to an overall lack of ownership, which is evidenced by the fact that repeated allegations of corruption remained unaddressed for a period of over two years. in this regard, the inability to reach an agreement also demonstrates that a lack of ownership can imply a lack of accountability.24 the problem with the eccc lies in its joint operation by the state and the un. were it the exclusive jurisdiction of the cpp regime, fair-minded observers might simply regard it as illegitimate; were it the exclusive venture of the un, skeptical citizens of cambodia might do the same. yet, since both parties share in its operation, neither is accountable. as for the sphere of civil society, both the cambodian regime and transnational forces have weakened accountability. for the cpp, this has meant, as part of its wider political agenda of consolidation and control, the marginalization of and increasing influence over civil society organizations. in 2011, international human rights agencies denounced a proposed law to require ngos to register and unit logo for the force communication unit of untac, the australian component of the mssion follow certain reporting procedures. the government would have gained new powers to shut down ngos considered opposed to it. the law, said simon taylor of global witness, was a test for donor nations and international agencies. in fact, international aid to cambodia has increased. brad adams called the law a threat to one of cambodia’s few lasting post-conflict achievements: the development of civil society.25 internal factors limit the possibility of reform; however, since western governments and international institutions like the international monetary fund (imf) and the world bank underwrite the assistance that ultimately benefits the ruling elites, real reform would be unprofitable.26 cock notes the growing importance of china as an external influence on cambodia. facing cuts in aid from the west, cambodia secured aid, loans, and debt cancellations from china in the late 1990s. this in turn has granted cambodian elites increasing latitude on human rights.27 hun sen, through pragmatism and adaptability, has largely been able to harness or neutralize reform pressures. announcements of reform, for example, are tied to meetings with donor nations and do not represent “some coherent strategy of political and economic transformation.”28 though local ngos working with international institutions seek to combat corruption in cambodia, business groups are unwilling to promote an anticorruption agenda, seeing the cpp as “key to political stability and a continued flow of lucrative state contracts.”29 the cpp itself has largely ignored corruption reform; however, the state has worked in other areas to promote social accountability. in 2008, the world bank launched the demand for good governance (dfgg) program, in conjunction with the cambodian ministry of interior. despite public pronouncements from the bank about anticorruption efforts, the dfgg program was about moving activists “from shouting to counting.” the institutions involved are “marginal to the key areas of resource management and land, and consequently do not directly tackle the political economy of corruption underpinning cpp power.” in the same vein, the bank created the program for enhancing capacity for social accountability, to train civil society organizations in “global accountability practices.”30 the bank also sees these programs as an opportunity to “reduce distrust between the cambodian government and civil society.”31 instead, the bank’s efforts play directly into hun sen’s strategy of consolidation and control, with his critics shuffled away into marginal areas. “accountability from below” may not succeed from such a weakened position. questions of accountability in cambodia take on a rather different tone than more general concerns over the clash of state and transnational power. despite massive, direct intervention by the un, the bank, the imf, and other international agencies, the cambodian regime remains dominant. the regime’s authoritarian nature allows both impunity and power. the ruling elite has survived, in fact, according to some critics, not despite but because of the “provision of material aid and political legitimacy [provided] by external actors.”32 the state may be, in sperling’s parlance, “altered”—but that alteration has been one of making accountability almost a moot question. even as transnational forces actively seek to inculcate accountability based on moral or liberal ideas, they have helped preserve existing power structures.33 open eyes about the failure of democracy and the assault on civil society—the sources of accountability from above and below—may be the only way forward. precisely what international agencies mean to accomplish with their aid must be better defined. only such direct pressure, consistently applied, can combat the cambodian regime’s inherent drive to preserve itself. endnotes 1 valerie sperling, altered states: the globalization of accountability. cambridge: cambridge university press (2009). 18. 2 sperling, 107. 3 sperling, 138. 4 l.h., “justice in cambodia: the boeung kak 13,” the economist, 27 july 2012. http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/06/justice-cambodia. 68 69 elements : : fall 2013 “imprimatur of legitimacy” 5 a group of 13 women arrested for protesting their evictions were later freed by an appeals court. 4,000 families were evicted from the boeung kak lake section of phnom penh, a lucrative real estate area near the city center. the developers include a company owned by laeo men khin, a cpp senator, and a chinese investment group. human rights groups, including amnesty international and human rights watch, condemned the arrests. ibid. 6 brad adams, “10,000 days of hun sen,” international herald tribune. 31 may 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/ opinion/10000-days-of-hun-sen.html. 7 andrew robert cock, “external actors and the relative autonomy of the ruling elite in post-untac cambodia,” journal of southeast asia studies 41 (2010): 249, 256 8 l.h., “strongman of cambodia,” the economist, 8 june 2012. http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/06/hun-sen. 9 thomas fuller, “cambodia, mourning, casts an eye to the future,” new york times. 17 october 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/10/18/world/asia/thousands-mourn-former-king-sihanouk-in-cambodian-capital.html. 10 simon marks, “cambodia is hard sell for investment companies,” new york times, 29 june 2010. http://www.nytimes. com/2010/06/30/business/global/30rdbseacam.html. 11 domestic political pressure, as well as support from sec. clinton, forced hun sen to make nominal changes to land policy. of course, this suspension did not cover deals already made—even ones that had not yet been announced at the time of this policy change. 12 “cambodia’s economy: not a complete stitch-up,” the economist, 29 september 2012. http://www.economist.com/ node/21563763. 13 sam rainsy, “obama should stay away from cambodia,” international herald tribune. 31 october 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/10/31/opinion/obama-should-stay-away-from-cambodia.html. 14 “in cambodia, panetta reaffirms ties with authoritarian government,” new york times, 16 november 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/world/asia/in-cambodia-panetta-reaffirms-ties-with-authoritarian-government.html. “cambodia and islamism: courting the cham,” the economist, 30 september 2010. http://www.economist.com/node/17155688. 15 adams. 16 glenys kinnock, “cambodia’s brazen un bid,” international herald tribune. 17 october 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/10/17/opinion/cambodias-brazen-un-bid.html. 17 mu sochua and cecilia wikström, “land grabs in cambodia,” international herald tribune. 19 july 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/07/19/opinion/land-grabs-in-cambodia.html 18 cock, 246. 19 peter maguire, “cambodia and the pitfalls of political justice,” international herald tribune. 20 june 2011. http://www.nytimes. com/2011/06/21/opinion/21iht-edmaguire21.html. 20 peter maguire uses the term “political justice” to describe the end goal of tribunals like the extraordinary chambers in the courts of cambodia (eccc). it is “a strange admixture of law and politics…in a constant state of flux.” most of the khmer rouge killers have gone free, and the un and eccc spend large sums prosecuting only a few party members. the eccc and its supporters could not deliver the “therapeutic benefits of war crimes trials” that were promised: truth, reconciliation, and healing. see: peter magquire, facing death in cambodia. (see endnote for citation.) 21 khieu samphan testified that he hoped the trial would allow him to “explain to the cambodian public” how he could have been in a senior position without knowing “all that was happening” in the country. 22 james a. goldston, “justice delayed and denied,” international herald tribune. 13 october 2011. http://www.nytimes. com/2011/10/14/opinion/14iht-edgoldston14.html 23 goldston’s solutions place much of the burden on the ban kimoon himself but do not provide a compelling case that the un and the donor nations will feel any more accountable. 24 hanna bertelman, “international standards and national ownership? judicial independence in hybrid courts: the extraordinary chambers in the courts of cambodia,” nordic journal of international law 79 (2010): 381. 25 seth mydans, “donors asked to withhold aid over proposed law in cambodia,” new york times, 7 april 2011. http://www. nytimes.com/2011/04/08/world/asia/08cambodia.html. 26 cock, 257-258. 27 ibid., 259-260. 28 ibid., 261. 29 garry rodan and caroline hughes, “ideological coalitions and the internal promotion of social accountability: the philippines and cambodia compared,” international studies quarterly 56 (2012): 375. 30 ibid. 31 ibid., 376. 32 cock, 241. 33 rodan and hughes, 367. references adams, brad. “10,000 days of hun sen.” international herald tribune. 31 may 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/ opinion/10000-days-of-hun-sen.html. bertelman, hanna. “international standards and national ownership? judicial independence in hybrid courts: the extraordinary chambers in the courts of cambodia.” nordic journal of international law 79 (2010): 341-382. “cambodia and islamism: courting the cham.” the economist, 30 september 2010. http://www.economist.com/node/17155688. “cambodia’s economy: not a complete stitch-up.” the economist, 29 september 2012. http://www.economist.com/ node/21563763. cock, andrew robert. “external actors and the relative autonomy of the ruling elite in post-untac cambodia.” journal of southeast asia studies 41 (2010): 241-265. fuller, thomas. “cambodia, mourning, casts an eye to the future.” new york times. 17 october 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/10/18/world/asia/thousands-mourn-former-king-sihanouk-in-cambodian-capital.html. goldston, james a.. “justice delayed and denied.” international herald tribune. 13 october 2011. http://www.nytimes. com/2011/10/14/opinion/14iht-edgoldston14.html. “in cambodia, panetta reaffirms ties with authoritarian government.” new york times, 16 november 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/11/17/world/asia/in-cambodia-panetta-reaffirms-tieswith-authoritarian-government.html. kinnock, glenys. “cambodia’s brazen un bid.” international herald tribune. 17 october 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/10/17/opinion/cambodias-brazen-un-bid.html. l.h.. “justice in cambodia: the boeung kak 13.” the economist, 27 july 2012. http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/06/ justice-cambodia. —. “strongman of cambodia.” the economist, 8 june 2012. http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/06/hun-sen. maguire, peter. “cambodia and the pitfalls of political justice.” international herald tribune, 20 june 2011. http://www.nytimes. com/2011/06/21/opinion/21iht-edmaguire21.html. marks, simon. “cambodia is hard sell for investment companies.” new york times, 29 june 2010. http://www.nytimes. com/2010/06/30/business/global/30rdbseacam.html. mu sochua and cecilia wikström. “land grabs in cambodia.” international herald tribune. 19 july 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/07/19/opinion/land-grabs-in-cambodia.html mydans, seth. “donors asked to withhold aid over proposed law in cambodia.” new york times, 7 april 2011. http://www. nytimes.com/2011/04/08/world/asia/08cambodia.html. —. “ex-khmer rouge leader blames u.s..” new york times, 24 november 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/world/ asia/ex-khmer-rouge-leader-blames-us.html. rainsy, sam. “obama should stay away from cambodia.” international herald tribune, 31 october 2012. http://www.nytimes. com/2012/10/31/opinion/obama-should-stay-away-from-cambodia.html. rodan, garry and caroline hughes. “ideological coalitions and the internal promotion of social accountability: the phillipines and cambodia compared.” international studies quarterly 56 (2012): 367-380. sperling, valerie. altered states: the globalization of accountability. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2009. 70 71 elements : : fall 2013 “imprimatur of legitimacy” this article examines the shocking violence of the great war and its effect on the changing role of heroism in the minds of participants. before the conflict, glorified perceptions of the war prevailed, only to be shattered by unprecedented levels of brutality both on and off the battlefield. the impact of “total war” was largely responsible for the shift, as it looked to inflict maximum injury on the opposition through all available means – whether it was by gun, gas or the widespread mistreatment of civilians. the ruthless mentality of total war seemed to negate theories of a “civilizing process” in european society and, instead, appeared to demonstrate a trend of brutalization. against the backdrop of such horrific violence, soldiers were forced to question the place of heroism. as readers, we are made to do the same. the decay of dignity violence and heroism in the great war cameron givens introduction the words of german poet jacob vogel described death as an honorable sacrifice, transforming a brutal end into a hero’s reward solely because of the wartime context: no more blissful death in all the world, than he who is killed by the foe, on the green heath, in the wide field he will not hear great cries of woe. in a narrow bed where one has to go alone to the ranks of the dead. but here he will find fine company, falling with him like blossoms in may. … many a brave hero will thus have immortal glory. body and blood has he sacrificed for the sake of the fatherland.1 vogel’s poem, often quoted in soldiers’ letters and diaries, reflected the traditional view that closely associated the battlefield with masculinity, camaraderie, patriotism, and, above all, “immortal glory.” combat was presented as the theater for a young man’s self-actualization. the outbreak of the first world war in 1914 was marked by the resurgence of a traditional militarism that relied heavily on notions of heroism and glory. “daddy, what did you do in the great war?” a young girl asks her father on a recruiting poster. the insinuation is clear: to abstain from the fight was a shameful evasion of duty that would one day have to be justified to future generations, while participation was heroism at its finest. in his fascinating book on post-war commemorations and memorials, jay winter observes that, while monuments were initially erected to celebrate the call-to-arms (and formed, in some cases, a permanent excoriation of those who chose not to go), the commemoration soon shifted to the “stupendous character” of the conflict itself.2 the destructiveness of the war posed an immediate and unmistakable challenge to this “stupendous character.” the disfigured, troglodytic landscape left in the wake of combat held little resemblance to vogel’s “green heath,” while the horrible mutilation of the human body often ended in a death that did not seem to be glorious. the level of violence challenged the idea that western civilization had been the beneficiary of an ongoing ‘civilizing process,’ a theory promoted by german sociologist norbert elias. elias theorized that the process, when considered over long periods of time, resulted in an overall diminishment of social violence. similarly, other historians have emphasized an increase of the “in depth self-containment achieved by human beings.”3 for elias, the great war was merely a temporary aberration that could not undermine the larger line of development.4 historians stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker disagree, holding that the sustained violence of the great war constitutes a major rebuttal to the notion of a civilizing process in modern history.5 while acceptance of the war ranged from passive acquiescence to impassioned alacrity, it was the implementation of the violence by millions of men over a period of four and a half years that seemed to contradict elias’ thesis. the very men who were theoretically refined by the civilizing process were the same ones who left their civilian lives behind to participate in one of the most brutal episodes in human history. the unprecedented levels of violence revealed the dramatic transformation from the warfare of the past to that of the future. the extent to which the great war represented a significant break with past practices has been a subject of much historical analysis. john keegan’s comparative study of several battles from the fifteenth century through the great war relies heavily on the development of battlefield weaponry to understand the behavior of individual soldiers. in keegan’s estimation, to comprehend the use of different types of weapons and how, in the face of each, soldiers lived, suffered or died, is to approach an understanding of what battle was really like.6 undoubtedly, modern technology was largely responsible for the unprecedented level of destruction; machine guns, artillery shells, and toxic gases had devastating effects on land, mind, and body. according to audoin-rouzeau and becker, however, the intensification of warfare was not provoked by technologi73 the decay of dignity cal developments alone.7 an unmistakable change in the mindset of participants was equally responsible for the brutal paroxysms of violence. the psychology behind combat became a desire to eradicate the opposing side through any means necessary, a strategy often referred to as “total war.” along with this extermination mentality, it entailed the complete mobilization of society against the enemy. perhaps the deadliest contribution of total war was that it blurred the line between the battlefield and the home front, obfuscating the distinction between the enemy and the unarmed to a point where atrocities against women, children, the elderly, the wounded, and prisoners were sanctioned as an acceptable countermeasure against the opposition. some historians claim that there were successive stages leading to the drastic change in warfare. ian f.w. beckett argues that the nineteenth century can be taken as an extended transitional period of the increasing impact of total war.8 the revolutionary and imperial wars in france, followed by the american civil war and the franco prussian war of 1870-71, showed signs of total war in both the method of combat and the treatment of civilians.9 thus, the ongoing development of a violent, totalized methodology may point to a counter-trend of brutalization in modern history. while the earlier confrontations kept the tradition of ‘regulated warfare,’ which placed certain limitations on the levels of violence, the great war constituted a break with this tradition of ‘self-containment.’10 in great war, total war, roger chickering questions the ability of the nineteenth-century antecedents to predict the nature of the conflict, contending that the war represented a ‘wrenching discontinuity’ in the history of modern warfare.11 approaching the war, belligerent nations had no way to predict the gravity of the situation; most assumed that a quick, tidy conclusion to the war would return soldiers to their homes and families within several months. they were quickly disillusioned when the great war demonstrated a sustained brutality previously unseen in earlier conflicts. this article describes the brutalizing process that challenges the memory of the war as heroic and examines whether heroism held any meaning given the harsh realities of modern warfare. the conditions in which soldiers fought, lived, and died cannot be overlooked, as they fundamentally affected the experience of nearly every soldier. the harshest reality confronted by soldiers was violence (and, of course, the death that often followed). thus, violence is the primary lens through which we must view the events of 1914-18 if we are to truly understand the great war—to understand the thoughts and fears, the motivations and apprehensions of the common soldier sitting in the filth of a trench. violence between soldiers is examined, with a focus on the technology that intensified and brutalized the conflict. this is followed by an examination of violence against the unarmed as a distinct type of wartime violence propaganda posters like the one above were used to encourage recruitment during the war. against those who could not defend themselves. evidence of the brutalization of warfare is considered to determine how the mechanized slaughter challenged the notion of heroism both in the minds of soldiers at that time and in our minds today. part i: conditions after germany’s western offensive through france was halted in 1914, the remarkable speed of the war’s earlier days was replaced by the stagnant deadlock of trench warfare. significant progress became impossible, and so, both sides dug in to wage a long and costly war of attrition. consequently, it was warfare no longer defined by quixotic notions of glorified combat. soldiers often endured long periods of boredom. according to one french war novelist, the infantry had become a “waiting machine” by 1916.12 alan seeger, a member of the french foreign legion, wrote of the common soldier’s plight: exposed to all the dangers of war, but none of its enthusiasms or splendid élan, he is condemned to sit like an animal in its burrow and hear the shells whistle over his head and take their little daily toll from his comrades… how different from the popular notion of the evening campfire, the songs and good cheer.13 seeger gives us a valuable glimpse into the pre-war perceptions that anticipated camaraderie, merrymaking, and bravery. as he had already realized when writing this account, however, the trenches were painfully short on “good cheer” and there was little to imbue soldiers with patriotic or heroic ardor. bombardment became an incessant element of a soldier’s life and, from what seeger indicates, filled them with a frustration and helplessness that provoked a degradation of self-worth. under shelling, they became powerless, able only to wait and hope that they did not join the “little daily toll.” the effect of the experience was dehumanizing, reducing men to little more than animals, huddled in fear within their earthen shelters. in some cases, seeger’s description was not far from the truth. in the battle of the somme, for example, many germans endured the allied bombardment in “mined” dugouts that were up to thirty feet deep.14 if men began to think of themselves as animals, it was because they lived in conditions that were fit for only the lowest of creatures. alongside the constant threat from enemy guns, soldiers faced another foe that proved to be just as unrelenting. “we were all lousy and we couldn’t stop shitting because we had caught dysentery,” described leonard thompson, a soldier in the british army.15 lice were a constant annoyance to many soldiers but were a relatively small nuisance compared to dysentery. although the intestinal inflammation was usually only mild, the fever, abdominal pain, and increased defecation could prove extremely troublesome. the last symptom in particular did little to improve the overall conditions. the passing of human waste, usually done with some degree of privacy before the war, was often done in the trenches along with everything else. private frank richards of the royal welsh fusilìers wrote: our sanitary arrangements were very bad: we used empty bully-beef tins for urinating in, throwing it over the back of the parapet. if a man was taken short during the day he had to use the trench he was in and then throw it over the back of the trench and throw earth after it.16 bereft of any proper means for the disposal of waste, soldiers were forced to add the smell of human excrement to the already unpleasant olfactory potpourri. this presented a tangible challenge for those who tried to maintain a semblance of normal life in the trenches, desperately clinging to what remained of their humanity. “we wept, not because we were frightened but because we were so dirty,” thompson recalled.17 it would be misleading to suggest that the war erased all connections to civilian life, however. michael roper exam“we wept, not because we were frightened but because we were so dirty.” 74 75 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity ines the letter correspondence between british subalterns and their mothers as a strikingly human phenomenon amidst a highly desensitized atmosphere. the extraordinary degree of ‘mothering from a distance’ sheds a new light on the war, he argues, showing that the conflict actually enhanced the significance of home in the minds of soldiers.18 although roper offers some evidence that soldiers preserved a degree of humanity, we cannot assume that the delivery of letters and parcels from home mitigated the effects of life in the trenches. an examination of how soldiers managed the psychological burden of their experience, for example, demonstrates the profound impact of the conflict on its participants. ten minutes before the battle of passchendaele, arthur lapointe of the 22nd french-canadian battalion wrote: dawn is coming, and my heart is filled suddenly with bitterness when i realize that the day may be my last. . . .yesterday, i believed i could die with something approaching indifference. now i am aware of intense desire to live. i would give anything to know beyond doubt that i had even two whole days ahead of me. yesterday, i had made all preparation for the voyage from which no traveler returns. but now i am unwilling to go. i see things—differently than i did yesterday.19 lapointe showed no signs of excitement—no giddy anticipation for a chance to win glory. surpassing the desire for any individual heroism and eclipsing all patriotic sentiment was the fundamental and instinctual desire to live. soldiers in the trenches had a kind of morbid intimacy with death, and it became a permanent and unconquerable fear—one that undermined human reasoning, instincts and emotions.20 when reminded so often of their own mortality, they were forced to drastically change their relationship with death. in his memoir goodbye to all that, robert graves wrote: there has been a dead man lying on the fire-step waiting to be taken down to the cemetery to-night. he was a sanitary-man, killed last night in the open while burying lavatory stuff between our front and support lines. his arm was stretched out and, when he was got in, it was still stiff, so that when they put him on the fire-step his stiff arm stretched right across the trench. his comrades joke as they push it out of the way to get by. ‘out of the light, you old bastard. do you own this bloody trench?’ or they shake hands with him familiarly. ‘put it there, billy boy.’21 the soldiers had a certain familiarity with death—one that would not be appropriate in normal society. life in the war was starkly different than back home; traditional mores and attitudes toward the deceased held little resemblance to the values instilled by modern cultures. sigmund freud, the father of psychoanalysis who watched two of his sons join the austrian army, concluded that the war lessened soldiers’ susceptibility to culture and caused them to adopt a mode of expression that was less morally developed.22 while witnessing violent deaths temporarily shook the resolve of new soldiers, it eventually became routine for them.23 as graves’ account suggests, the banality of violence stripped the deceased of any sanctity and left soldiers either unable to, or unwilling to, mourn. there was no time to give an individual death much thought; there were simply too many bodies. we should consider whether the conditions in the trenches prompted a reevaluation of heroism and glory in the conflict. did the filth, lice, dysentery, dehumanization, and moral degeneration really live up to soldiers’ traditional ideals of war? to understand how these ideals were changed or forgotten, it is important to consider the violence of the war itself. part ii: violence for participants, violence was the crux of the wartime experience, as nothing else had such a profound impact on mind and body. audoin-rouzeau and becker describe violence as a prism, contending that it reveals much of what would otherwise remain hidden.24 under this prism, they argue, the thesis of the ‘civilizing process’ appears as nothing more than a veneer that can be stripped away from entire societies.25 even a brief examination of the violence on and off the battlefield reveals what lay beneath this thin veneer. it was not the traditional image of heroes defending the fatherland but a desperate, brutalized war that would scar the minds and bodies of all those involved. soldier-soldier violence the technology of combat was no accident. although the magnitude and severity of its effects may have been unexpected or even shocking, it was consciously implemented over the course of the war with a brutally simple goal in mind. whether it was by bullet, shell or gas, the different mediums of violence sought to cripple the enemy through any means available. there existed a “logic of annihilation,”26 and the physical and psychological devastation that resulted rendered any notions of glory virtually meaningless. typical artillery included “trench mortars” that lobbed 2-, 3-, or 4-inch bombs across no-man’s-land into enemy trenches, as well as three distinct sizes of guns: field artillery, medium artillery, and the heavy howitzers. the first consisted of 18-pounder guns and 4 .5-inch howitzers capable of firing small shrapnel, high explosives or gas shells to a range of 6000 yards. the medium artillery consisted of 60-pounder and 4.7-inch or 6-inch guns capable of firing highly explosive shells to a range of 10,000 yards. finally, the heavy howitzers of 6-, 8-, 9.2-, 12-, and 15-inch caliber fired shells, weighing 100-1400 lbs. to a range of 11,000 yards.27 the typical filling for shells was a compound called amatol that was forty percent ammonium nitrate and sixty percent tnt.28 these shells had devastating effects on the human body. of one patient, a nurse wrote: there was a great gash beneath his chest, and his stomach was literally lying outside of him, ripped and covered with mud. he had been lying in that condition out on a field for two days, and according to all human calculations should have died long ago.29 there seemed to be a vast disconnect between the horrible mutilation and suffering sharply contrasted with the idea of war as a theater for heroism and bravery. shells were capable of severing limbs, entombing men in their trenches, and even disintegrating men entirely. the shrapnel from a blast caused multiple, irregular wounds and, even if not fatal, often carried in bits of clothing or filth that could lead to infection. tetanus was a common outcome. it began with spasms in the jaw muscles that created an eerie and uncontrollable “grin.” eventually, more muscles contracted until the patient’s head was bent backwards and his body arched. the process was extremely painful and often resulted in a death from exhaustion or suffocation.30 “gas gangrene” presented an equally unpleasant fate. it resulted from several types of clostridia organisms (found in the digestive tracts of domestic animals and, therefore, common in heavily-manured fields of the western front) being driven into tissue by shrapnel or other projectiles. thriving in enclosed wounds where there was little oxygen, these forms of anaerobic bacteria caused severe infection. large amounts of muscular tissue a victim from mustard gas 76 77 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity were destroyed, resulting in gas bubbles that gave off a horrible stench. if not amputated immediately, patients became severely ill and died of toxemia soon after.31 aside from these noticeable effects, shells could also kill in ways that showed no signs of physical damage. capable of causing over-pressure or vacuums in the body’s organs, shells could rupture lungs or produce hemorrhages in the brain and spinal cord.32 nothing in civilian life could have prepared men for the experience of an artillery barrage. naturally, many feared that they would lose their self-control and betray themselves as cowards: “how i had subconsciously dreaded what my feelings would be and whether i would show them,” wrote one soldier.33 in addition to artillery, the machine gun wasted no time in demonstrating its importance to modern warfare. capable of firing up to 600 rounds a minute and requiring minimal human attention, it industrialized the act of killing. in the words of john keegan, the operator was nothing more than a “machine minder.”34 with no extraordinary skill, one man could now kill hundreds. in 1914, a united press war correspondent described his experience at a battle in russian poland: then came a new sound. first i saw a sudden, almost grotesque melting of the advancing line. it was different from anything that had taken place before. the men literally went down like dominoes in a row. those who had kept their feet were hurled back as though by a terrible gust of wind. almost in the second that i pondered, puzzled, the staccato rattle of machine guns reached us. my ear answered the query of my eye.35 the image is a powerful one, conveying the unnatural efficiency of the slaughter. the writer’s first inclination was to explain what he had witnessed by a natural phenomenon (“a terrible gust of wind”). shortly thereafter, he recognized that the horrific bloodshed was only possible through the new technology of the war. also notable was the improvement to the rifle, which increased its effective range to over a mile and allowed the operator to fire over a dozen rounds per minute.36 firing a high-velocity canonical bullet, it too was capable of inflicting a variety of injuries. if bullets did not pass through cleanly, they would often hit bone and “tumble,” sending bone splinters into surrounding tissues. some bullets even set up hydraulic effects, pushing bodily fluids away from the wound at pressures too high for the surrounding tissue to withstand.37 in a letter to a friend, a nurse wrote of the difficulty in dealing with the wounds: the bullet makes a tiny hole…which will be quite difficult to find when the patient is admitted, but inside the limb or body, if it has not passed right thro’, it will be found to have caused a large abscess with the bullet lying in the centre. you can understand in the abdomen, it means a very serious operation, and is nearly always fatal.38 not only did soldiers stand a small chance of surviving an operation after being shot in the abdomen, but they also had very little chance of ever receiving medical attention. there was a low incidence of those with chest and abdominal wounds being admitted to medical units because of the high mortality rates for such injuries.39 many would have died almost instantly, but still many others would have suffered through their last moments alone and in pain in the mud of the trenches or the craters of no-man’sland. first used by the german army in a 1915 attack on the ypres salient, gas is one of the most discussed developments of the war, despite the comparatively lower casualty rates.40 nonetheless, the use of gas certainly epitomized the destructiveness of modern technology and, to a greater extent, demonstrated the extreme measures combatant nations were willing to take against their enemies. in his study on the use of chemical agents in the war, rolf-dieter müller claims that gas, even more so than other new weapons, was a graphic display of the industrialized, total war ravaging europe.41 by 1916, both sides moved away from the discharge of gas by cylinders and began using gas shells.42 relying on the wind to carry the gas cloud to enemy trenches, cylinders had proven dangerous and unreliable. a sudden change in wind direction could easily make the use of gas a devastating military blunder. gas shells, however, increased accuracy, efficiency and, more importantly, lethality. the types of gases used in the war fell under three main categories: asphyxiating gases (phosgene and chlorine), lachrymatory gases (benzyl bromide and xylyl bromide), and blistering agents (mustard gas). chlorine gas was intensely irritating to the eyes, nose, and throat, often causing severe coughing and vomiting. inhalation damaged lung tissue and produced large amounts fluids that could cause the victim to die of asphyxia. phosgene gas, although less irritating, presented a serious danger. its reduced irritation allowed for more of the colorless, invisible gas to be inhaled before its effects became noticeable. this caused increased damage to lung tissue and a more rapid onset of asphyxia. lachrymatory, or tear-causing, gases were the least harmful of the three types. because they dissipated within several hours, they were used in areas that would soon be occupied by friendly forces. mustard gas, on the other hand, was a dark, oily liquid that could not be dispersed by wind or weather. it often persisted for months and continued to induce casualties by causing painful blisters to any tissue with which it came in contact.43 writing from her diary in wimereux, sister ellen cuthbert described the horrifying effects: the boys came in quite blind with enormously swollen eyelids they are quite unable to open them, and the eyes discharging freely, also the patient is burnt over the face and body with huge blisters burned by the effects of the mustard gas. these burns are very painful, and the patient is mostly of a dusky colour or may be quite black in the face and neck. frequently the patient is unable to speak above a whisper. the mucous membrane of the throat and digestive tract may also be burned.44 the human body was simply unable to withstand the unforgiving power and lethal efficiency of modern technology. unfortunately, the threat to soldiers did not end at physical harm. often, participants’ minds suffered more than their disfigured frames. the psychological consequence of combat presented an entirely separate dimension of the war worth remembering for its profound and unmistakable effect on soldiers’ wartime experiences. one of the biggest challenges presented by psychological injuries was the poor understanding of their causes. “functional illnesses” that seemed to disrupt a patient’s ability to function without the presence of any organic injuries plagued neurologists and psychiatrists from the beginning of the war.45 symptoms ranged from anxiety and depression to paralysis, muscle contractions, and mutism. many questions remained unanswered. were the disturbances the result of physical injuries? were they physical manifestations of the emotional and psychological shock induced by combat? were they merely the affected behavior of malingerers looking to escape the front lines? the conditions were poorly understood and often lumped together under general designations such as “shell shock,” “‘functional illness’ that seemed to disrupt a patient’s ability to function without the presence of any organic injuries plagued neurologists and psychiatrists from the beginning of the war.” 78 79 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity “commotional syndrome,” “war neurosis,” “battle hypnosis,” or simply “hysteria.”46 in treating the trauma of the great war, gregory m. thomas examines doctors’ variegated, wartime understanding of the causes. hereditary defects (such as a family history of alcoholism or melancholy), contagious illnesses, personality, race, and social class were all suggested as possible precursors to the development of mental or neurological illnesses.47 in the absence of somatic answers, the degeneracy theory gained popularity, especially among french asylum doctors. the theory attributed the illnesses to the “degeneration” of a victim’s family from the gradual accumulation of hereditary defects across successive generations.48 dennis e. showalter, examining the emasculating implications that became associated with soldiers’ conditions, shows that the psychological maladies were often diagnosed as feminine.49 other theories placed even more blame on the soldiers themselves, viewing their behavior as conscious malingering. french doctors’ conflation of the ‘mythomanic’ personality type (displaying an aptitude for inventing myths) with wartime hysteria led to a judgment of the afflicted as willful liars.50 george mosse examines the european perception of shell shock as a ‘social disease,’ one that was attributed to a weak will power or other abnormality.51 an overriding assumption was that the unselfish service in the name of a higher ideal would put a soldier in control of himself.52 in reality, the chaos of battle put the soldier in control of nothing—certainly not himself or his psychological state in the face of death. fighting for higher ideals that appeared meaningless next to the very real violence of war proved to offer little protection against the psychological onslaught of combat. robert gaupp, one of germany’s leading psychologists, discussed the effects of shell shock: from [december 14] on, the number of these cases grew ever more quickly…the main causes are terror and anxiety in the face of exploding enemy shells and mines, at the sight of dead and maimed comrades, wounds, or bodily injury on one’s own person. the results are the now familiar symptoms—sudden muteness, deafness, general trembling, the inability to stand and walk, fainting spells, and cramping.53 shell shock often had a completely debilitating effect on soldiers, rendering them incapable of completing most tasks and leaving them unable to engage in combat. the causes described by gaupp were so prevalent in the trench environment that they would have been nearly impossible to avoid. thus, shell shock affected everyone, from officers to common soldiers. arthur osborn, a soldier in the british army, described the actions of a staff officer: then suddenly, spasmodically, he began to dig furiously with his fingers. the huddled men, mostly stretcher-bearers of the r.a.m.c., stared at him in amazement, the pink tabs on his collar, and a decoration on his smart uniform, seemed strangely inconsistent with this extraordinary behavior. it was a case of complete loss of nerve and self-control…his behavior was simply less than human.54 as osborn’s reaction demonstrates, soldiers had the natural inclination to view officers as less susceptible to a psychological breakdown, as if their elevated rank somehow reflected some innate superiority that better equipped them to cope with the war. it became immediately clear that being an officer or wearing a “smart uniform” offered no assistance in retaining one’s mental faculties. exposed to the violent, brutalized environment for long stretches of time, many soldiers were left so psychologically battered that they became what osborn describes as “simply less than human.” the ease with which elias’ civilizing process could be reversed was remarkable. the soldier-soldier violence of the great war and the devastating effects that it had on body and mind called into question pre-war perceptions of the conflict. the importance of abstract notions like heroism, bravery, and glory were reassessed as soldiers confronted previously unimaginable levels of violence. “each writer tried to tell how painless the death was, and how bravely the brother met it,” wrote phelps harding, a lieutenant responsible for censoring letters, “but in each case i imagine the mother will think only of her loss, and not the fact that her boy died a true american.”55 in the eyes of wartime poet wilfred owen, dying for the fatherland was a horror rather than an honor: in all my dreams, before my helpless sight he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. if in some smothering dreams you too could pace behind the wagon that we flung him in, and watch the white eyes writhing in his face, his hanging face, like a devils’ sick of sin; if you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, my friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old lie; dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.56 soldier-unarmed violence the collision of unarmed men, women, and children with military policy led to a culture of atrocity and brutality that deeply affected the dynamic of the war. the total war mentality played a central role in shaping the belligerent nations’ perspectives. reacting to the unexpected duration and severity of the conflict, soldiers from both sides attempted to sway the deadlocked, attritional war by any means at their disposal. typical distinctions between enemy combatants and noncombatants were eroded to such a degree that the latter were increasingly seen as wholly legitimate participants. as the conflict dragged on, yielding horrific injuries, an ever-rising death count, and immeasurable grief, the mistreatment of innocents became increasingly commonplace, rationalized by either military necessity or warranted retaliation. the overall effect was an increase in the violence of a conflict that had already proven to be unimaginably brutal. this section examines the mistreatment of civilians and prisoners to understand chlorine gas being released on the battlefield 80 81 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity how this distinct form of wartime violence challenges the memory of the war as heroic. reflecting on the war, a soldier described the mark it left on combatants: in the midst of beautiful actions, of sacrifice and selfabnegation, it also awoke within us, sometimes to the point of paroxysm, ancient instincts of cruelty and barbarity. at times, i…who have never punched anyone, who loathes disorder and brutality, took pleasure in killing.…that barbarous, horrendous moment had a unique flavour for us, a morbid appeal; we were like those unfortunate drug addicts who know the magnitude of the risk but can’t keep themselves from taking more poison.57 the battlefield had a powerful impact on soldiers, provoking a startling transformation with regard to their perception of physical violence. thousands of men who represented the product of modern civilization now “took pleasure in killing.” most unsettling is that the writer recognizes the morbidity of his pleasure, readily acknowledging both the “cruelty and barbarity” of his primordial urge and his inability to overcome it. the brutalizing effects of the war became apparent from the outset when germany invaded the small, militarily weak nation of belgium. the report of the committee on alleged german outrages (more commonly known as the bryce report) emerged, detailing atrocities that ranged from babies being bayoneted to children being nailed to walls. it stunned the british and american public. although the testimonies contained no names, few identifying details, and a clear propagandistic intent, the violence that civilians suffered at the hands of german soldiers was undeniable.58 some belgians were taken as hostages and deported to germany, while many others were used as human shields, raped, and even collectively executed. numerous villages and towns were set ablaze under the german policy of punitive arson.59 overall, in excess of 6000 civilians were killed and 15,000-20,000 buildings were destroyed.60 the mistreatment of civilians was not confined to the western front. the report upon the atrocities committed by the austro-hungarian army during the first invasion of serbia, by professor r.a. reiss, detailed the horrific atrocities of the balkans: in this district the austrians killed 54 persons in various ways. most of them were disemboweled with the large sabers…k.k., aged 56, eyes put out, nose and ears cut off…m.v., aged 21, violated by about 40 soldiers, genital organs cut off, her hair pushed down the vagina. she was finally disemboweled, but only died immediately after. l.p., aged 46, one hand cut off and eyes put out. one family: m.p., aged 45, breasts cut off; d.p., 18, eyes put out; s.p., aged 14, eyes put out, nose cut off; a.p., aged 7, ears cut off. they were found in a ditch, with their dog, pinioned and all tied together, including the dog.61 the austro-hungarian soldiers apparently saw the civilians with whom they came in contact as nothing more than animals. professor reiss, the author of the report, concluded that the manner of the butchery constituted a “system of extermination.”62 this form of violence—really nothing more than a merciless slaughter against those who could not defend themselves—is one of the greatest challenges to memory of the war as heroic. even soldiers could find themselves in the defenseless role usually occupied by civilians. those who threw down their “characterizing the war as a solely heroic endeavor masked its true brutality and offered a form of rememberance that necessarily ignored the suffering” weapons and attempted to surrender effectively entrusted their lives to enemies. it was certainly dangerous to assume that that an opponent, who may have lost his own friends and family to the war, would be able to control his animosity. after his surrender at la frere on march 22, 1918, private alfred grosch of the post office rifles wrote: “the german has spared us. would we have spared him under the circumstances? god knows! perhaps not.”63 grosch’s remarkable honesty shows that soldiers considered the killing of unarmed prisoners to be a valid option—one that was decided on frighteningly mercurial bases. had his capturer held an intense hatred for the enemy, had wanted to avenge a fallen comrade, or simply had been in an unmerciful mood after a long night in the trenches, grosch’s life could have ended with just a small movement of the index finger. of course, the incidents in which the unarmed were mistreated or killed were often intended as acts of retaliation. murder was the harshest form of reprisal but there were certainly other forms. sometimes prisoners were concentrated in areas that were subject to an enemy air attack.64 more often, prisoners were sent immediately behind the front lines and made to reinforce enemy trenches or bury the enemy’s dead. audoin-rouzeau and becker note that this was the ultimate humiliation for prisoners—they were returned to the war as combatants against their own countries. no longer entitled to the treatment of ordinary prisoners, they were unable to receive mail or parcels and were not included on the published lists that notified their relatives if they were living or dead.65 both sides resorted to prisoner mistreatment as a form of reprisal, citing the treatment of their own prisoners as reason for further escalation. it was a cycle through which many on both sides would suffer. heather jones, who sought to investigate the forgotten issue of wartime violence towards prisoners, suggests that it may have been inevitable that military violence would spread into the pow system, given the totalized battlefield environment.66 the total war mentality did not see prisoners as human beings but, instead, as a means to pressure the enemy government to conclude the war. the harsh treatment of prisoners was thus seen as sound military policy. as early as 31 august, 1914 an order in the german 8th army, on the transport of russian prisoners from the eastern front, stated that ‘…all food must be reserved for the german troops…prisoners must be treated strictly… they are not to be given water at first; while they are in the vicinity of the battlefield it is good for them to be in a broken physical condition.67 although it did conform to military logic, the policy of keeping prisoners in a “broken” state was undeniably cruel. “i saw two men, or rather skeletons, because they were nothing more,” recalled sapper george waymark of his encounter with two prisoners being transported from the occupied zones behind the german line to worms.68 the influence of the total war doctrine had engrained the practice of prisoner mistreatment in military conduct. anyone who disregarded this policy was shown no mercy. in a famous incident on october 12, 1918, a german guard shot and fatally wounded yvonne vieslet, a ten-year-old belgian girl, as she attempted to give her school lunch to some french prisoners held at marchienne-au-pont.69 at the same time, it would be unfair to view germany as the sole perpetrator of prisoner mistreatment. jones notes that, while german prisoners in france generally received better food and were allowed to continue receiving parcels (the reverse was not true), they also experienced poor conditions after capture.70 a german prisoner who escaped from souilly, one of the main holding camps in france, stated that prisoners were beaten to obtain information, were fed watery rice, suffered from frozen hands or feet, and were punished if reported sick.71 regardless of how deplorable conditions became in western european camps, they paled in comparison to those along the eastern front. historian alon rachamimov’s study of captivity details the horrific challenges that prisoners faced. russian camps were particularly unpleasant—severe overcrowding and bad sanitary conditions often led to outbreaks of infectious diseases, especially epidemic typhus. because typhus was transmitted by body 82 83 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity lice, it spread rapidly. throughout the first week, men experienced high fevers, pain in the muscles and joints, and dark-red rashes. by the second week, they became delirious, lost control of their bowels, and faced a high risk of death. the poor living conditions were compounded by a 1:1500 ratio of doctors to prisoners, resulting in mortality rates of 50-70% from the disease.72 one prisoner described the situation in the transbaikalian camp of strentensk in 1915: at the height of the plague there were three patients to two beds, and you might wake up one night to find a dead man on either side of you, and so you would lie through the long hours till morning came.73 prisoners were exposed to such dreadful conditions because the overall camp environment placed little value on prisoners’ lives and even less value on proper sanitary conditions and food. elsa brändström, a swedish red cross nurse, remarked: [it is] hardly possible to describe the existence of these men without seeming to exaggerate, for the conditions under which they were forced to live almost surpassed the bounds of mental and physical endurance.…it is difficult to imagine a more dreary and wretched existence than of these working prisoners of war.74 brändström’s statement can be extended to almost all prisoners in the great war—the camp system presented a degree of physical and psychological hardship that would seem to push men to the breaking point. perhaps, her statement can be extended even further to encapsulate the nature of the conflict itself. in a sense, all unarmed participants were held captive by a violent, merciless war that treated them as enemy combatants. were they not also pushed to a point that seemed to transcend the threshold of human tolerance for suffering? sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, relatives, and friends were mistreated or murdered as a totalized war ravaged the ranks of the unarmed. this brutalization of warfare, so apparent in the shocking levels of violence, leaves little room for visions of a heroic war. conclusion of the faces carved into stone memorials throughout europe, jay winter notes, “fatigue, and a reflective acceptance of duty and fate, are etched into their features. they have been through the fire, and rarely proclaim its virtues.”75 those faces of stone were not the only ones to serve as a lasting testament to the character of the war. the “gueules cassées,” or “broken faces”, of those who returned from combat were a form of bodily memory, capturing and recording the devastating violence of the conflict. in another, perhaps more enduring way, the severe facial mutilations symbolized the enormous cost of the war—a cost that transcended mere physicality. still, there remained those who longed to see the returning victors as heroes. in a 1917 edition of the new york times, dr. joseph fraenkel wrote: ‘i do not think that women will let the marks of honor stand in their way of marrying war heroes who return, especially since these men will have the added appeal of heroism and glory.’76 dr. fraenkel’s attempt to convince women that the returning soldiers were the same as when they left (albeit with the added appeal of heroism and glory) was critically flawed. those who returned were simply not the same. characterizing the war as a solely heroic endeavor masked its true brutality and offered a form of remembrance that necessarily ignored the suffering. despite the relative brevity of the great war, the totality of the violence left deep scars on the face of western civilization, suggesting a brutalizing process rather than a civilizing one. our collective memory of the events from 1914-1918 is a palimpsest of the many emotions that surrounded the war: heroism, patriotism, horror, and grief. ultimately, each of us must judge which memory best characterizes the war and whether heroism deserves to be included at all. endnotes 1 fielder, ed., das oxforder buch deutscher dichtung, 19, quoted in alan kramer, dynamic of destruction: culture and mass killing in the first world war (new york: oxford university press, 2007), 230. 2 jay winter, sites of memory, sites of mourning: the great war in european cultural history (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1995), 80. 3 alain corbin, les village des cannibales, paris, aubier, 1990, p. 140. village of cannibals: rage and murder in france, 1870, trans. arthur goldhammer, cambridge, mass., harvard university press, 1992, quoted in stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 32. 4 norbert elias, the civilizing process, trans. edmund jephcott, oxford, uk and cambridge, usa, blackwell publishers, 1994, p. 102, quoted in stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 1418, 33. 5 stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, understanding the great war (new york: hill and wang, 2002), 34. 6 john keegan, the face of battle: a study of agincourt, waterloo and the somme (penguin books, 1976). 7 stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 31. 8 ian f.w. beckett, “total war,” in total war and historical change: europe 1914-1955, ed. arthur marwick, clive emsley, and wendy simpson (buckingham: open university press, 2001), 26. 9 stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 29. 10 ibid, 29. 11 roger chickering, “world war i and the theory of total war: reflections on the british and german cases, 1914-1915,” in great war, total war: combat and mobilization on the western front, 1914-1918, ed. roger chickering and stig förster (cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000), 37. 12 alistair horne, the price of glory: verdun 1916 (new york: st. martin’s press, 1963), 57. 13 alan seeger, 1914, in the mammoth book of eyewitness world war i, ed. jon e. lewis (new york: carroll and graf publishers, 2003), 63. 14 john keegan, the face of battle, 233. 15 leonard thompson, 1915, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 111. 16 frank richards, 1914, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 64. 17 leonard thompson, 1915, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 111. 18 michael roper, “maternal relations: moral manliness and emotional survival letters home during the first world war,” in masculinities in politics and war, 301. 19 arthur lapointe, 1917, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 307. 20 antoine prost, in the wake of war: “les anciens combattants” and french society 1914-1939 (providence: berg, 1992), 3. 21 robert graves, goodbye to all that: (providence: berghahn books, 1995), 120. 22 sigmund freud, “thoughts for the times on war and death” [1915], 7. 23 helen b. mccartney, citizen soldiers: the liverpool territorials in the first world war (new york: cambridge university press, 2005), 200. 24 stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 16. 25 ibid, 34. 26 alan kramer, dynamic of destruction, 39. 27 john keegan, the face of battle, 231. 28 guy hartcup, the war of invention: scientific developments, 1914-1918 (london: brassey’s defence, 1988), 48. 29 anon, a war nurse’s diary: sketches from a belgian field hospital (new york: the macmillan company, 1918), 25, quoted in christine e. hallett, containing trauma: nursing work in the first world war (manchester: manchester university press, 2009), 34. 30 christine e. hallett, containing trauma, 52. 31 geoffrey noon, “the treatment of casualties in the great war,” in british fighting methods in the great war, ed. paddy griffith (london: frank cass, 1996), 95. 32 john keegan, the face of battle, 269. 33 a. bryans, first time under shell fire, 13 march 1915, bryans scrapbook, lsm, acc. no. 545, quoted in helen b. mccartney, citizen soldiers, 200. 34 john keegan, the face of battle, 233. 35 karl h. von wiegand, 1914, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 57. 36 dennis e. showalter, “mass warfare and the impact of technology,” in great war, total war, 75. 37 john keegan, the face of battle, 270. 38 sybil harry, ms letter, imperial war museum, london, 84/41/1, quoted in christine e. hallett, containing trauma, 50. 84 85 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity 39 oh medical services, statistics, p. 279 in noon, “the treatment of casualties,” in british fighting methods in the great war, 100. 40 there were approximately 186,000 casualties (4% fatal) for the british, 130,000 (17.5% fatal) for the french and 107,000 (5% fatal) for the germans according to guy hartcup, the war of invention, 114. 41 rolf-dieter müller, “total war as a result of new weapons?: the use of chemical agents in world war i,” in great war, total war, 109. 42 guy hartcup, the war of invention, 104. 43 geoffrey noon, “the treatment of casualties,” in british fighting methods, 108. 44 sister ellen cuthbert, nurses narratives, butler collection, quoted in christine e. hallett, containing trauma, 60. 45 ibid, 24. 46 ibid, 21. 47 ibid, 62. 48 ian r. dowbiggen, inheriting madness: professionalization and psychiatric knowledge in nineteenth-century france (berkley: university of california press, 1991), cited in gregory m. thomas, treating the trauma of the great war, 62. 49 dennis e. showalter, “mass warfare and the impact of technology,” in great war, total war, 88. 50 gregory m. thomas, treating the trauma of the great war, 63. 51 ‘combat stress reactions’, world health, 47, 2 (1994), 24ff cited in george l. mosse, “shell-shock as a social disease,” journal of contemporary history 35, no. 1 (january 2000): 104. 52 ibid, 104. 53 robert gaupp, die nervenkranken des krieges, ihre beurteilung und behandlung: ein wort zur aufklärungund mahnung an weite kreise unseres volkes: vortrag, stuttgart, 1917 cited in alan kramer, dynamic of destruction, 259. 54 arthur osborn, 1918, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 371. 55 phelps harding, 1918, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 415. 56 wilfred owen, “dulce et decorum est,” 1918. the war poetry website. last modified 2011. accessed december 4, 2012. http:// www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html. 57 stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 42. 58 larry zuckerman, the rape of belgium, 133-5. 59 john horne and alan kramer, “war between soldiers and enemy civilians, 1914-1915” in great war, total war, 157. 60 ibid, 157. 61 dr. r.a. reiss, report upon the atrocities committed by the austro-hungarian army during the first invasion of serbia, trans. f.s. copeland, london, simpkin, marshall, hamilton, kent, c. 1916, pp. 70-71 in stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 47. 62 ibid., pp. 144, 184-5 in stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 48. 63 alfred grosch, 1918, in the mammoth book of eyewitness, 368. 64 robert jackson, the prisoners 1914-1918, (london: routledge, 1989), 78. 65 stéphane audoin-rouzeau and annette becker, 14-18, 88. 66 heather jones, violence against prisoners of war, 223. 67 ba-ma freiburg, ph 5 ii 185, 8. armee, i. aok, 1141 g, erfahrungen des i. reservekorps auf dem gebiete des gefangenenwesens, der trophaen usw. kortau, 31.8.14, quoted in alan kramer, dynamic of destruction, 63. 68 michael moynihan, black bread and barbed wire: prisoners in the first world war, (london: cooper, 1978), p. 155, quoted in heather jones, violence against prisoners of war, 213. 69 èloy druart, jusqu’à la mort. un nid des patriots. rené van coillie, l’abbé vital alexandre, le caporal trésignies, yvonne vieslet (brussels, 1923), pp. 111-18, quoted in heather jones, violence against prisoners of war, 213. 70 heather jones, violence against prisoners of war, 240. 71 shat, 16 n 1224, gqg, ètat-major, secteur postal 5, rapport mensuel de l’officier interpréte de la de du gac, 19.11.1917, quoted in heather jones, violence against prisoners of war, 241. 72 alon rachamimov, pows and the great war: captivity on the eastern front, (new york: berg, 2002), 104. 73 hereward thimbleby price, boche and bolshevik: experiences of an englishman in the german army and in russian prisons, (london: j. murray, 1919), p. 140, quoted in alon rachamimov, pows and the great war, 105. 74 brändström, elsa, unter kriegsgefangenen in russland und sibirien 1914-1920, berlin, 1920, pp. 133-4, quoted in alon rachamimov, pows and the great war, 111. 75 jay winter, sites of memory, 94. 76 “effect of the world-war on the babies of america: dr. joseph fraenkel declares it will leave its mark physically and mentally on the coming generation--nations duty to mothers.” new york times (1857-1922), sep 30, 1917. 1, http://search.proquest.com/do cview/98099957?accountid=9673. references bloch, marc. memoirs of war. translated by carole fink. london: cornell university press, 1980. freud, sigmund. “thoughts for the times on war and death” [1915]. graves, robert. goodbye to all that. providence: berghahn books, 1995. lewis, jon e., ed. the mammoth book of eyewitness world war i. new york: carroll and graf publishers, 2003. owen, wilfred. “dulce et decorum est,” 1918. the war poetry website. last modified 2011. accessed december 4, 2012. http:// www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html. audoin-rozeau, stéphane, and annette becker. 14-18: understanding the great war. new york: hill and wang, 2002. chickering, roger, and stig förster, eds. great war, total war: combat and mobilization on the western front, 1914-1918. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. dudink, stefan, karen hagemann, and john tosh, eds. masculinities in politics and war: gendering modern history. n.p.: manchester university press, 2004. fuller, j.g. troop morale and popular culture in the british and dominion armies 1914-1918. oxford: clarendon press, 1991. hallett, christine e. containing trauma: nursing work in the first world war. manchester: manchester university press, 2009. hartcup, guy. the war of invention: scientific developments, 1914-1918. london: brassey’s defence, 1988. horne, alistair. the price of glory: verdun 1916. new york: st. martin’s press, 1963. jackson, robert. the prisoners 1914-1918. london: routledge, 1989. jones, heather. violence against prisoners of war in the first world war: britain france and germany, 1914-1920. new york: cambridge university press, 2011. keegan, john. the face of battle: a study of agincourt, waterloo and the somme. n.p.: penguin books, 1976. kramer, alan. dynamic of destruction: culture and mass killing in the first world war. new york: oxford university press, 2007. marwick, arthur, clive emsley, and wendy simpson, eds. total war and historical change: europe 1914-1955. buckingham: open university press, 2001. mccartney, helen b. citizen soldiers: the liverpool territorials in the first world war. new york: cambridge university press, 2005. mosse, george l. “shell-shock as a social disease.” journal of contemporary history 35, no. 1 (january 2000): 101-08. noon, geoffrey. “the treatment of casualties in the great war.” in british fighting methods in the great war, edited by paddy griffith, 87-112. london: frank cass, 1996. prost, antoine. in the wake of war: “les anciens combattants” and french society 1914-1939. providence: berg, 1992. rachamimov, alon. pows and the great war: captivity on the eastern front. new york: berg, 2002. thomas, gregory m. treating the trauma of the great war: soldiers, civilians, and psychiatry in france, 1914-1940. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 2009. winter, jay. sites of memory, sites of mourning: the great war in european cultural history. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1995. zuckerman, larry. the rape of belgium: the untold story of world war i. new york: new york university press, 2004. 86 87 elements : : fall 2013 the decay of dignity jordan dorney is a 2013 graduate of the college of arts & sciences, having majored in political science with a minor in irish studies. for his honors thesis on plato’s “myths” of the afterlife in the republic and the gorgias, he received the donald s. carlisle award. for this article, the study of cambodia and the international political system was something of a departure from his usual interests. this fall jordan will begin graduate studies at the university of notre dame. cameron givens is a member of the honors program in the college of arts and sciences, class of 2015. he is double majoring in history and mathematics. his research focuses on the first world war and he is considering a senior thesis on the war’s medical history. tracy lu is a member of the 2013 class. she majored in philosophy and economics, and sampled enough psychology courses to make a minor. the inspiration of her paper “figures of existentialism” came from the dark optimism that she finds in philosophy as well as a love of russian literature. she currently works and lives in new york city, and hopes to write and research in the future. claire marinello is a native of new jersey and a graduate of the 2013 class at boston college, where she majored in history with a minor in islamic civilizations & society. she is the recipient of the patrick j. durcan award for excellence in history studies. she is currently an americorps volunteer in lynn, massachusetts, where she teaches english and civics to immigrants and refugees. james newhouse is a junior history major and environmental studies minor in the college of arts and sciences. his academic interests include latin american and us history, especially the civil war. in addition to studying history, james is also a member of the men’s cross country and track and field teams, los angeles native, and prospective law school student. marie pellissier is a junior in the college of arts and sciences, majoring in history.her interests include early american history, the colonial relationships of the atlantic world, and material culture. she is currently working on research into historic cooking, inspired by a book in the burns library special collections at boston college. she has served as a research assistant to professor owen stanwood of the history department and was a recipient of an advanced study grant to study historic cooking techniques and vocabulary in paris, france. a musician, marie sings with the madrigal singers of boston college, and is studying abroad this fall at university college london, london, england. emilie sintobin is from dallas, tx. she recently graduated from boston college in may witha bachelor of arts in french and art history, having also spent a semester studying at the sorbonne in paris. her paper was written for professor cernuschi’s art history seminar last fall, a course which looked in depth at foundational art theory from the early twentieth century to the present. emilie will continue her art historical studies this fall as she pursues a masters in contemporary art at sotheby’s institute of art in new york. author biographies list of artwork eeg of dreaming person © southern illinois university/science photo library writing © petro feketa/ istockphoto colin powell © charles haynes/ wikimedia commons you killed my brother libya protest © joel carilley/ istockphoto official photographic portrait of barack obama © pete souza/ wikimedia commons crooped of “the school of athens” ©web gallery of art/ wikimedia commons isocrates, 436 to 338 bc ©ken welsh/*/design pics/ corbis michelangelo’s “the creation of adam” © 1a2b3cy/ wikimedia commons mona lisa © leonardo da vinci/ wikimedia commons madona with child © verocchio/ wikimedia commons italiano: heinrich rickert (1863-1936) © sconosciuto/ wikimedia commons portrait of immanuel kant © steven wynn/istockphoto paul le jeune © livernois artiste/ wikimedia commons illustration of saint jean de brebeuf speaking to indian council © bettmann/corbis 24 25 32 33 34 39 44 57 60 60 76 78 83 88 this paper seeks to determine whether boston college’s decision to keep its investments in fossil fuel companies is consistent with the ethical responsibilities of a jesuit university. a student group that advocates for the university’s divestment has had a troubled relationship with the school’s leadership. the main obstacle has been that the divestment group claims that boston college’s refusal to divest does not align with the ethics to which it subscribes as a jesuit and catholic university. this inconsistency is particularly striking as boston college itself has a historical precedent of divesting from a sector of the economy for moral reasons. the apartheid divestment movement catalyzed the university to develop ethical investment guidelines to ensure that the school’s finances were consistent with its jesuit mission. moreover, canon law requires catholic universities to adhere to church teaching in all of its commitments and activities. by investing in fossil fuel companies, the university defies the teachings of the encyclical laudato si’, which is an infringement on canon law. this paper is an abridged version of the senior thesis completed for the perspectives honors sequence. setting the world aflame divestment, ethics, and jesuit identity at boston college maura lester mcsweeney boston college has had a troubled relationship with students organizing for fossil fuel divestment since 2013, when an unregistered student group called “bc fossil free” began to hold rallies on campus and sleep-outs in front of the university president’s office.1 within a couple of years, bc fossil free became well-known for these relatively radical actions, which often led to disciplinary sanctions on the protesters’ conduct records.2 many of the sanctions were due to holding events or posting flyers on campus without the university’s permission, which cannot be granted to unregistered student groups. thus, bc fossil free applied for registered status and was rejected. the group applied twice more, this time under the name “climate justice at boston college” (cjbc), before its acceptance as a registered student organization in the fall of 2015.3 cjbc is not, however, the first group to make divestment an issue at boston college. a case study on boston college’s divestment from apartheid in 1978, a student organization called south african liberation support group was formed at boston college.4 the group aimed to convince bc to divest from nearly half of the companies in its investment portfolio, as all of these had ties to south africa.5 this was an ambitious ask, especially since boston college’s endowment stood at an anemic $6.6 million.6 the late father donald monan, sj had been assigned the seat of university president six years earlier, and was tasked with turning boston college into the “prosperous, coeducational and nationally renowned university” that it is now.7 divestment was not a top priority for an institution that was struggling to climb the ranks. nonetheless, three years after students started calling for divestment on moral grounds, president monan began to integrate ethics into the university’s investment choices. the heights published an article in 1981 wherein financial vice president and treasurer john smith reported that the investment committee had begun to regularly review its portfolio for ethical discrepancies. the group, he said, “will choose the proper course of action which could include writing to management, voting proxies, supporting shareholder resolutions or divestment.”8 in other words, depending on the case, the committee would either attempt to use its shareholder status to leverage a change in a corporation’s practices, or it would choose to sell its stocks and dissociate from the company entirely. it is worth noting that at this point in time, boston college’s endowment stood at a healthier $36 million.9 in another interview with the heights a few years later, smith explained the process of reviewing the investments against the university’s ethical standards. members of the investment committee, he said, “recommend basic guidelines to the advisor. he then takes those recommendations and decides where to invest, taking into account father monan’s resolution on investing as well as the sullivan [principles].”10 father monan’s resolution was laid out by smith in the article from 1981, and the sullivan principles refer to a set of guidelines that were developed in light of apartheid to determine whether a company has been involved in unethical practices in south africa.11 smith added that divestment would be used as a final option because, “if we sell the questionable stocks, others would buy them who care less about human rights. our philosophy is that we could get proxy votes and use pressure to influence management.”12 this statement implies that although boston college held stock in companies implicated in apartheid, it was using proxy voting to effect change and thus was engaging in an ethical practice, according to the guidelines. smith ended the interview by saying: we are all for human rights, and we have a better chance of ensuring them if we attempt to influence management policy. but if our investment advisor bought stock in a company in clear violation of our ethical standards, we would dump it without questioning it. some stocks are just not worth it.13 in other words, boston college’s investment committee seemed to communicate that ethical standards were equally important to fiduciary considerations when evaluating investments, especially given the actions taken the following year. a year later, the heights published an article announcing that bc had divested from companies with ties to apartheid.14 fr. monan wrote a letter to the heights clarifying that although financial considerations did play a part in the decision, they were neither the only nor the most important factor. since 1981, the university consistently compared its investments against the sullivan principles and the guidelines set by father monan. the university found that its investments in companies that were involved in south africa accounted for such a small portion of the school’s portfolio that it no longer seemed 46 elements : : fall 2017 worthwhile to continue using voter proxies to change corporate policies. thus, boston college found that the ethical alternative was to divest. the board of trustees has a legacy of periodically reviewing its investments against a set of ethical guidelines and taking action accordingly. there is also historical precedent at boston college for choosing divestiture as the most appropriate response to an ethical dilemma. in light of this case study, can it be concluded that boston college’s responses to the fossil fuel divestment movement have been inconsistent with the university’s ethics, or are the cases importantly different? a university’s ethical responsibilities a university is a community with an articulated mission. all of its members—faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, etc.—have, allegedly, gathered at the university to participate in that mission. although every school will articulate its mission differently, it is safe to say that they will all include education as an essential part of their goal and identity. steven cahn, a prominent name in academic ethics, defined education as a process that not only forms students intellectually and gives them the capacity to perform certain tasks, but also imparts values that shape their morality. he expanded on this notion by claiming that the way universities choose to educate has serious implications for the welfare of democratic society.15 he asserted that “our educational philosophy rests on our political philosophy, for a commitment to the democratic system of government implies a concern for the education of every citizen.”16 if the best thing for a democracy is a wellinformed voter, and universities have claimed the task of educating their communities, then universities have a great deal of influence in the democratic process. furthermore, if politics and laws are ultimately about deciding how we relate to and treat one another, as aristotle said they are, then the political influence of universities comes with a great deal of ethical responsibility.17 the impact of these institutions extends beyond politics, as george keller noted in academic strategy: the management revolution in american higher education. in this book, he explained that prestigious universities in the united states are: [...]the main hothouses for research and new ideas, which increasingly drive the u.s. economy and culture in new directions... they are the powerful gatekeepers for individuals who will be the professionals, leaders, and political and economic chieftains of tomorrow.18 in other words, institutions of higher education are positioned to exert greater influence not only on politics, but also on the economy and culture of their society. in light of the enormous amount of influence that universities have in determining the directions in which society could turn, its ethical responsibilities should be handled very carefully. as a result, many argue that universities should act as neutral arbitrators in debates on public affairs. robert simon took this position in an essay called defense of the neutral university, in which he warned that “the university also may have an ethical obligation not to become just another partisan with an interest in defeating opponents.”19 he made a case for what he called “institutional critical neutrality.”20 he argued that, instead of choosing sides in an ethical dilemma, the role of a university should be to support rational discourse and to adhere to “the values, rules, and principles of critical inquiry and discussion regardless of which substantive positions are thereby advanced.”21 in this way, a university would be providing its community and the society that surrounds it a fair yet thoroughly critiqued analysis of all sides to an argument. this way, it is left to the community’s own discernment which side to choose when voting or making decisions as a leader in the professional world. “in light of this case study, can it be concluded that boston college’s responses to the fossil fuel divestment movement have been inconsistent with the university’s ethics?” 47 setting the world aflame simon’s defense of institutional critical neutrality is quite convincing. many universities have claimed a position of neutrality in the face of cries for fossil fuel divestment, but they seem to have missed simon’s point. the most prominent example is harvard president drew g. faust’s response to the issue. in an interview with the harvard gazette, she explained: universities enjoy many of the privileges that they’re given in our society—tax-free status, for example, other kinds of toleration of enormous amounts of free speech and free expression—because we are seen as not acting in political ways, that it comes from our nonpartisanship, our not committing ourselves to exert political pressure.22 thus far, that seems in line with simon’s position. what faust—and those who make the same argument—failed to acknowledge is that critical neutrality becomes more difficult when investments are the cause for debate. on the one hand, by investing in the success of the industry that is being targeted by a divestment campaign, her university has already chosen a side. on the other hand, if the university were to divest amidst the debate, then that would be perceived as choosing the side of divestment. when facing market-based ethical problems, it is extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, for a university that exists in the market to claim the position of neutral arbitrator in the way that simon proposed. the university’s value preferences have already been made evident. how universities got caught up in the market and why it matters the financial management approach to university administration did not gain prominence until the 1970s and 1980s.23 keller described the emergence of this “new management style,” by saying that at universities: the business officers ha[d] usually occupied a back seat quietly. they merely made suggestions and seldom dared to discuss academic matters. today, new vicepresidents of finance plan and decide alongside the president and academic vice-president. in fact, much of the planning is often driven by financial concerns for the near future.24 there is no denying then that institutions of higher education, after having faced severe declines in enrollments and financial deficits in the previous decades, intentionally became active members of the market.25 in fact, keller argued, they realized that if they did not do so, they might not make it through the decade or would suffer “wounds and distentions” for their inability to keep up with the competition.26 universities found themselves in a complicated position. through the adoption of the new management style, they became “dependent yet free; market-oriented yet outside cultural and intellectual fashions.”27 this is concerning, particularly since the daunting financial conditions that universities faced at the time made their management decisions urgent and hastened, usually without much consideration for the ethical implications of their decisions. stanford professor debra satz is very helpful in understanding why this should be cause for concern. her book why some things should not be for sale highlighted the “social embeddedness of markets” that smith, ricardo and marx, the classical economists, all recognized and emphasized in their own writings.28 as a result of their socially embedded nature, some markets can have noxious effects on society. satz defined four different kinds of noxious markets in her book, two of which are relevant to fossil fuel companies. the first kind encompasses markets that cause harmful outcomes; by which she means “outcomes that are deleterious, either for the participants themselves or for third parties.”29 the second kind are those which lead to extreme harms for society. these types of markets are noxious because they “can undermine the a coal-fired power plant (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 48 elements : : fall 2017 framework needed for people to interact as equals, as individuals with equal standing.”30 by these standards, the fossil fuel industry can be categorized as a noxious market because of its deleterious effects on society here. it qualifies as the first type because the continued burning of fossil fuels has depleted the cryosphere, caused the possible disappearance of islands like tuvalu, and has consistently ruined an overwhelming portion of crops in agricultural areas.31 thus, it is safe to say that fossil fuel companies have had deleterious effects on society. they have also contributed to greater forms of inequality, which makes them the second type of noxious markets as well. for instance, the destruction of crops in agricultural areas tends to affect developing countries the most, since a great number of their economies depend almost entirely on agriculture. by cutting out large portions of not only their exportable product but also their food source, the wealth gap between the global north and the global south broadens. countless more examples could be given of the ways in which greenhouse gas emissions create and exacerbate inequality. in other words, the fossil fuel industry is a noxious market in two important and farreaching ways. when university leaders choose noxious markets as investments, they communicate a set of noxious values and priorities to their spheres of influence. the management teams at universities might not realize the implications of their decisions—given the hurried and urgent manner in which they began their work—but keller helpfully highlightes this in his book. he illustrates how the values of academic leaders or trustees are transferred from the private sphere, where they have been perhaps unexamined by the public sphere, where their ethics can be critiqued and analyzed.32 therefore, university leaders must ensure that the values communicated by their management style are those that align with the university’s mission. the corporate management style currently in place at most universities seems to lack a culture of ethics. though many of them may have a written code of ethics, it has not been enough to established a commitment to or an understanding of those duties.33 there needs to be a culture where the values articulated in the code of ethics are not just words in a document, but an integral part of the university’s organizational structures and management style, embodied by every member of the community.34 the ethical responsibilities of a jesuit university boston college’s ethical duties are not only determined by its status as an institution of higher education but also by its catholic identity and ignatian values. this paper seeks to analyze the mission that the church has laid out for catholic universities and then look at how it is relevant to the issue of fossil fuel divestment. apostolic constitution of roman catholic institutions of higher education in 1990, pope john paul ii wrote ex corde ecclesiae, an apostolic constitution that dictated the way that catholic universities should live out their religious identity. this document is considered part of canon law and thus every institution that identifies as catholic must follow its guidelines. coincidentally, father j. donald monan, boston college’s former president, contributed to the writing and implementation of this constitution.35 a catholic university, as laid out by canon law, must recognize and adhere to “the teaching authority of the church in matters of faith and morals.”36 as a consequence, the general norms written in the apostolic document include that “catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities… any official action or commitment of the university is to be in accord with its catholic identity.”37 that is to say that no aspect of the university’s administration, including the management of its finances, is to be exempt from following the teachings of the church. students protesting fossil fuel divestment (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 49 setting the world aflame the culture of catholic ethics is not meant to exist simply inside the university for the purpose of building a community, but it is to be also applied to efforts that contribute to the progress of society. in fact, catholic universities have a responsibility to establish a connection between faith and life by applying church teachings to the sociocultural reality in which they exist.38 the document explains this responsibility by saying: a catholic university, as any university, is immersed in human society; as an extension of its service to the church, and always within its proper competence, it is called on to become an ever more effective instrument of cultural progress for individuals as well as for society… paying special attention to their ethical and religious dimensions.39 in some cases this might require a school to “speak uncomfortable truths” that may upset some members of the university community or its spheres of influence in order to protect the common good.40 in other words, seemingly radical actions are sometimes appropriate and necessary measures for catholic universities to take in light of their ethical responsibilities. church teaching on climate change now that the apostolic constitution of catholic universities has been laid out, i will examine the papal encyclical laudato si’: on care for our common home and its implications for a university like boston college. the encyclical begins by identifying the earth as “a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us.”41 we are so deeply connected to her, pope francis argues, that “we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement.”42 humanity is responsible for these pains; the way we have treated our common home has been self-centered, shortsighted, and exploitative.43 it is not only the earth that is affected by our actions affect however. they also ensure the poorest and most vulnerable among us that will face the most suffering.44 we cannot stand by idly while the consequences of our choices harm our brothers and sisters. if we do, “our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on our immediate needs.”45 there is an urgent need for humanity to change its lifestyle and adjust its needs, especially by turning away from the use of “highly polluting fossil fuels.”46 an interest in profiting off of highly polluting industries shows a “selfish lack of concern” and would inflict damages that are “much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained.”47 thus, the church has concluded, we must adopt a far-sighted and fraternal approach to caring for our planet. as a consequence, the encyclical insists that profit and measures of costs and benefits must not be the sole factors involved in financial planning.48 the environmental impact of a business proposal should be evaluated before an action plan is even drawn up. this would in turn ensuresa better prediction of the resulting profit, because it would account for “the eventual need for further investment to correct possible undesired effects.”49 laudato si’ asserts that economic development must lead to “an integrally higher quality of life”; otherwise it is not true development.50 thus catholics, and as a consequence, catholic universities, have accepted the moral imperative of evaluating their actions and its impact on the world.51 the encyclical concludes that the catholic response to environmental degradation should be civic and political acts of love that have an effect not just on individuals, but more importantly on “macro-relationships, social, economic and political ones.”52 one of the examples of civic and political love that pope francis gives is that of choosing to invest in alternative and sustainable sources of energy, rather than in other forms of so-called development.53 his analysis posits that, “the costs of this would be low, compared to the risks of climate change. in any event, these are primarily ethical decisions, rooted in solidarity “in other words, seemingly radical actions are sometimes appropriate and necessary measures for catholic universities to take in light of their ethical responsibilities.”50 elements : : fall 2017 between all peoples.”54 he realizes that although in the short-term an investor might stand to lose money, in the long-term, vying for the protection of natural resources and of human dignity will ensure “more diversified and innovative forms of production which impact less on the environment [yet] can prove very profitable.”55 this insight is especially applies to endowments, since their principle is held in perpetuity, which must focus on profitability over long periods of time. in other words, a university’s economic development cannot and therefore should not be considered in isolation from environmental concerns.56 analysis of boston college’s response to the fossil fuel divestment movement a group that is now referred to as “climate justice at boston college” or cjbc, has lead the voice in opposition to fossil fuel divestment at boston college since 2013.57 cjbc was able to question several high ranking university officials during the 2014-2015 academic year, and the responses they received all seemed to follow the same general script. the script relies on three main arguments, which i will now examine and evaluate against the ethical responsibilities of a jesuit university and against boston college’s historical approach to questions on the ethicality of its investments. the first argument is that boston college’s investments are far too complex and commingled to feasibly divest from all of the fossil fuel companies in the school’s portfolio, and that even if divestment were possible, it would negatively affect university funding.58 university spokesperson jack dunn presented this explanation to the gavel and added that “all major colleges and universities have holdings in some form or another in fossil fuel companies, as does any average american citizen with a 401(k).”59 even if the investment committee decided to divest from an industry as economically pervasive as fossil fuels, the consequence, dunn said, would be “felt by programs and opportunities at universities that receive less funding because of divestment.”60 thus divestment is a too complex and financially damaging of a project. unfortunately, church teaching does not accept this argument against divestment. in laudato si’, pope francis wrote that “environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits.”61 if boston college focuses only on the maximization of profits and not on safeguarding our common home, then it is not adhering to its catholic identity as the church intended.62 moreover, jack dunn offers a far too shortsighted view of the economy in terms of potential environmental impact. pope francis encourages a farsighted understanding of financial goals by noting that: efforts to promote a sustainable use of natural resources are not a waste of money, but rather an investment capable of providing other economic benefits in the medium term. if we look at the larger picture, we can see that more diversified and innovative forms of production which impact less on the environment can prove very profitable.63 as for the complexity of divestment, cambridge associates, an investment advisor to boston college, has recognized a demand for mission-driven investing that includes fossil fuel free portfolios. not only does the group offer mission-related investment choices that include the prioritization of sustainability, but it also helped pioneer the acadian sustainable emerging markets ex fossil fuel ucits fund.64 this fund was created “to help meet growing investor demand for divestment within portfolios, while maintaining investment returns, and ensuring investors are not penalised for investing in a sustainable manner.”65 in the three years since the fund’s launch, it has managed to achieve outperformance for its investors, and 50% of that outperformance is attributed to its sustainability screening factors, thus supporting pope francis’s claims of profitability.66 it seems then that regardless of the difficulty entailed in divesting, the catholic identity pope francis’ papal seal (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 51 setting the world aflame of the university does not accept complexity or financial setbacks as excuses against divestment. moreover, financial advisors to the university have already created investment plans that are fossil fuel free and incredibly profitable, which significantly weakens the complexity argument. the second claim that boston college officials have made against divestment is that the university has focused on more important and impactful ways of mitigating climate change. thus, its investments in fossil fuel companies are simply insignificant. vice president of student affairs, barb jones, notes that: our environmental studies program is robust, interdisciplinary, and growing, engaging natural scientists, social scientists, and theologians, as well as students from many disciplines. and our department of earth and environmental science carries the university’s scholarly interests and social commitments in its name.67 while the university has by no means ignored the issue of climate change in its classes and research, the apostolic constitution ex corde ecclesiae explicitly states that “catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities.”68 to encourage students to study the climate crisis, the university must embody a concern for the future of the planet in all of its endeavours, including investments. in order for the university to truly embody its jesuit mission and identity, it must make climate change an academic priority, implement sustainable practices on campus, and stop continual investing in the success of the fossil fuel industry. the third argument that boston college has used to defend its decision to keep investing in fossil fuels is that the endowment is simply a financial resource and has no social or political purpose. in the words of jack dunn: [the endowment] enables us to hire and retain the best faculty, it enables us to build state-of-the art environmentally sustainable buildings that we’re building around campus, from stokes hall to the new dormitory at 2150 commonwealth avenue. that is its purpose. it’s a resource to support these endeavors, and it’s not intended to be an instrument to induce political or societal change.69 his statement implies that the endowment exists in a moral vacuum, wherein its consequences are purely financial and should not be considered relevant to issues of social justice. the justification for this is that the endowment serves to fund its academics and student formation programs, many of which are social justice-oriented. debra satz has proven, however, that market preferences are intrinsically moral and some markets, like the fossil fuel industry, are noxious to society. this is because the success of fossil fuel companies has caused an extreme and accelerated change in the climate which has led to human suffering and a loss of natural resources. thus, by choosing to invest in these companies, boston college is revealing a preference for this industry in the market. it is by no means a value neutral decision. the endowment cannot exist in a moral vacuum. nonetheless, the university’s official stance is that the endowment is strengthened by resisting the influence of a movement like fossil free. jack dunn expressed this notion when he said: there will always be, on a college campus, issues that emerge that students are passionate about. our position has been to let the endowment serve as an investment that generates revenue for the university, and not to subject it to societal pressures or political stances.70 this approach fails to acknowledge that sometimes these societal pressures and political stances completely coincide with church teaching. this was the case in the apartheid divestment movement, and it is the case now in the fossil fuel divestment movement. the protection of human dignity and care for the most vulnerable are at the forefront “it is worth noting, however, that even erasing ethical language from the endowment web page does not exempt the univeristy from the moral imperative of ceasing fossil fuel investment.”52 elements : : fall 2017 of both of these issues, and the church has explicitly articulated a catholic obligation to prioritize environmental concerns. in the apartheid divestment case, university president donald monan, sj recognized the immorality of profiting off of those companies, and thus developed a set of ethical investment guidelines in order to ensure that all of the university’s financial choices were in line with its jesuit mission. boston college’s endowment web page clearly stated these guidelines. the university’s position on fossil fuel investments directly contradicts what had been stated in the ethical investment guidelines. numerous articles in both the heights and the gavel noted this inconsistency and quoted the guidelines in conjunction with jack dunn and barb jones’ statements from 2015 in order to highlight the incompatibility of their statements with the university’s mission.71 in january of 2016, the ethical guidelines were removed from the official boston college website. the university is obligated by canon law to uphold its catholic identity in its investments, regardless of whether or not the website explicitly states it. it cannot be concluded—given the lack of evidence for such a claim—that the guidelines were removed as a way of avoiding this responsibility. it is worth noting, however, that even erasing ethical language from the endowment web page does not exempt the university from the moral imperative of ceasing fossil fuel investment. in other words, the decision to divest from fossil fuels aligns both with boston college’s identity as a catholic institution of higher education and with its history of including ethical considerations in the management of its endowment. in fact, its catholic identity demands that a concern for environmental protection be included in its development plan. investing in the success of fossil fuel companies is in disaccord with the teachings of laudato si, which is, in turn, an infringement on canon law. the norms of canon law applicable to catholic universities and the ethical investment guidelines that were formerly on the boston college endowment web page are both salient elements of father monan’s legacy at boston college and of his contribution to the catholic church as an institution. therefore, the inconsistent application of these norms and the elimination of ethical investment guidelines from the university’s website have effaced important parts of father monan’s legacy. refusing to divest from fossil fuel companies thus disregards historical precedent established by father monan, in addition to being incongruent with canon law. endnotes 1. “jones, bar “lte: a letter on climate justice from vpsa barb jones.” the heights 16 04 2015. web. 2. merrell, gus. “‘we don’t even go here’: boston-area protesters challenge bc’s divestment views.” the heights 13 04 2015. 3. merrel, gus. “a long road to recognition ends for climate justice, with a stipulation.” the heights 17 09 2015. 4. holt, nate. “south african support group coalesces at bc.” the heights 09 10 1978: 1. 5. ibid. 6. boston college. “a wider horizon: the monan presidency, 1972-1996 .” 23 02 2015. 7. fitzgerald, paul. “bc maintains south african investments.” the heights 31 03 1980: web. 8. university communications. in memoriam. 18 03 2017. web. 9. white, patrick. “south african investment ties scrutinized: corporate portfolios under “orderly process”.” the heights 09 02 1981: 3. web. 10. boston college. “a wider horizon: the monan presidency, 1972-1996 .” 23 02 2015. web. 11. ibid. 12. university of minnesota. “the global sullivan principles.” n.d. human rights library. web. 13. ibid. 14. ibid. 15. van anglen, jim. “financial considerations cause bc to divest.” the heights 09 09 1985: 2. web. 16. cahn, steven. education and the democratic ideal. chicago: nelson-hall, 1979. 17. ibid. 18. aristotle. nichomachean ethics. new york: oxford university press, 2009, 153. 19. keller, george. academic strategy: the management revolution in american higher education. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1983. 43. 20. simon, robert. “ a defense of the neutral university.” cahn, steven. morality, responsibility, and the university. temple university press, 1990, 252. 21. ibid., 253 22. ibid. 23. walsh, colleen. “q&a with harvard president drew faust.” harvard gazette 17 09 2015. web. 24. keller, george. academic strategy: the management revolution in american higher education. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1983. 43. 25. ibid. 26. ibid. 27. ibid. 28. ibid. 29. satz, debra. why some things should not be for sale: the moral limits of markets. new york: oxford university press, 2010, 39 30. ibid. 31. ibid. see chapter 2 32. keller, george. academic strategy: the management revolution in 53 setting the world aflame american higher education. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1983. 70. 33. bowie, norman. “lessons for philosophers from business ethics: how philosophy can get its groove back.” talisse, robert, maureen eckert and steven cahn. a teacher’s life: essays for steven m. cahn. lanham: lexington books, 2009, 4. 34. ibid., 5 35. university communications. in memoriam. 18 03 2017. web. 36. ibid. 37. ibid., 38. ibid. 39. ibid. 40. ibid. 41. pope francis. on care for our common home: laudato si’ encyclical letter. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2015, 1. 42. ibid., 43 43. ibid., 1 44. ibid., 13 45. ibid., 5 46. ibid. 81 47. ibid., 17 48. ibid., 91 49. ibid. 50. ibid., 94 51. ibid., 101 52. ibid., 111 53. ibid., 84 54. ibid. 55. ibid., 93 56. ibid., 69 57. merrel, gus. “a long road to recognition ends for climate justice, with a stipulation.” the heights (boston college), sep. 9, 2015. 58. yuengert, mary. “boston college speaks up about divestment, climate justice.” the gavel 11 03 2015. web. 59. ibid. 60. ibid. 61. pope francis. on care for our common home: laudato si’ encyclical letter. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2015. 96. 62. ibid., 53 63. ibid., 93 64. acadian. “aam launches emerging market fossil fuel free strategy.” 12 12 2016. acadian. web. 65. ibid. 66. ibid. 67. jones, barb. “a letter on climate justice from vpsa barb jones.” the hights (boston college), apr. 16, 2015. 68. pope john paul ii. ex corde exxlesiae. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1990. 69. ibid. 70. ibid. 71. sudol, sean. “divestment is the best option.” the heights 24 04 2016. web. references acadian. “aam launches emerging market fossil fuel free strategy.” dec. 12, 2016. aristotle. nichomachean ethics. new york: oxford university press, 2009. boston college. “a wider horizon: the monan presidency, 1972-1996 .” feb. 23, 2015. bowie, norman. “lessons for philosophers from business ethics: how philosophy can get its groove back.” talisse, robert, maureen eckert and steven cahn. a teacher’s life: essays for steven m. cahn. lanham: lexington books, 2009. cahn, steven. education and the democratic ideal. chicago: nelson-hall, 1979. fitzgerald, paul. “bc maintains south african investments.” the heights (boston college) mar. 31, 1980. holt, nate. “south african support group coalesces at bc.” the heights (boston college), sep. 10 1978. jones, barb. “a letter on climate justice from vpsa barb jones.” the heights (boston college), apr. 16, 2015. keller, george. academic strategy: the management revolution in american higher education. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 1983. merrel, gus. “a long road to recognition ends for climate justice, with a stipulation.” the heights (boston college), sep. 9, 2015. merrell, gus. “‘we don’t even go here’: boston-area protesters challenge bc’s divestment views.” the heights (boston college), apr. 4, 2015. pope francis. on care for our common home: laudato si’ encyclical letter. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 2015. 54 elements : : fall 2017 pope john paul ii. ex corde exxlesiae. vatican city: libreria editrice vaticana, 1990. satz, debra. why some things should not be for sale: the moral limits of markets. new york: oxford university press, 2010. simon, robert. “ a defense of the neutral university.” cahn, steven. morality, responsibility, and the university. temple university press, 1990. sudol, sean. “divestment is the best option.” the heights (boston college). apr. 24, 2016. university communications. “in memoriam.” www.bc. e d u / b c w e b / b c n e w s / c a m p u s c o m m u n i t y / announcements/in_memoriam_j_donald_monan_ sj_24th_president_of_boston_college.html, mar. 18, 2017. university of minnesota. “the global sullivan principles.” n.d. human rights library. web. van anglen, jim. “financial considerations cause bc to divest.” the heights sep. 9 1985. walsh, colleen. “q&a with harvard president drew faust.” harvard gazette sep. 17 2015. white, patrick. “south african investment ties scrutinized: corporate portfolios under ‘orderly process’.” the heights (boston college), feb. 9, 1981 yuengert, mary. “boston college speaks up about divestment, climate justice.” the gavel (boston college), mar. 11, 2015. 55 setting the world aflame ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !"# $#%%& $'#((’( (#%()!*+%), -+.#')/# +0 !"# 1895 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"*/",*/"!#3 !"#*' +4(#((*+% 5*!" 3#.*)%! (#62),*!& )%3 /'2#(+1# .*+,#%-#. -+%!#1$+')'& %#5($)$#'( -+%!*%2),,& -*!#3 32'')%!’( ,)-7 +0 '+1)%!*(2--#((, "*/",*/"!#3 "*( $#-2,*)' 1#3*-), 4)-7/'+2%3, ($#-2,)!#3 )4+2! "*( *%!*1)!# '#,)!*+%("*$ 5*!" "*( 1+!"#', )%3 #1$")(*8#3 !"# 1)*3#%"++3 +0 "*( !5+ &+2%/ 0#1),# .*-!*1(—),, 5"*,# #%/)/*%/ *% 5")! (-"+,)' 7)'#% "),!2%%#% !#'1( !"# “$+'%+/')$"& +0 .*+,#%-#.” (-"+,)'( ").# %+! (200*-*#%!,& (!23*#3 "+5 %#5($)$#'( )%3 +!"#' 1#3*) 32'*%/ !"*( !*1# '+1)%!*-*8#3 !')3*!*+%), (#62), '#,)!*+%("*$( 5"*,# (*12,!)%#+2(,& 0#!*("*8*%/ .*+,#%-#—#($#-*),,& *0 !")! .*+,#%-# 5)( (#62), *% %)!2'#. !"*( $)$#' 5*,, )'/2# !")! ')$*3,& -")%/*%/ -+%-#$!*+%( +0 (#62), %+'1)!*.*!& 32'*%/ !"# /*,3#3 )/#—)%3 !"# -+%0,*-! 4#!5##% '#$'#(#%!)!*.#( +% 4+!" (*3#( +0 !")! 0*#'-# 3#4)!#—1)%*0#(!#3 !"#1(#,.#( *% !"# *1$,*-*!,&, )%3 +0!#% !*1#( #6$,*-*!,& (#62),*8#3 -+.#')/# +0 32'')%!. !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, investigating the evolution of the penny press and the emmanuel church murders (#)% (!#44*%( “…prosecutors charged durrant with the murders of both women, sending san francisco into a frenzy. newspapers nationwide picked up the story, marveling at the ferocity—and significantly, the sexual brutality—of the so-called “demon of the belfry” on april 3, 1895, william henry theodore durrant— theo, as his friends called him— made his way down 21st street in san francisco, california. a young student at cooper medical college, now stanford medical school, was heading to the emmanuel baptist church, at which he was a sunday school teacher. he was accompanied by 21-year-old blanche lamont, a fellow parishioner, and friend. eventually arriving in the early afternoon, the pair entered the building one after the other. though durrant left the church at around 5 pm, lamont was not seen again. nine days later, durrant entered the church with another parishioner—21-year-old minnie williams—before eventually leaving to attend a friend’s house party a few hours later. williams, too, had disappeared. as word began to spread throughout the city of the two young women’s disappearance, suspicion turned on durrant. several witnesses had seen theo enter the church with both women, and rumors of the young man’s purported romantic failures began to spread. on april 13th, as a few women of the church decorated for the upcoming easter holiday, one of them opened a cupboard—finding the unclothed and mutilated body of minnie williams. it was only a matter of hours before police had reached the church’s belfry, finding blanche lamont’s rotting, naked body draped across the floor, her bloodstained head stu!ed between two wooden planks. police arrested durrant just two days after discovering the bodies. doctors confirm both women were raped just before or even after death, and prosecutors charged durrant with the murders of both women, sending san francisco into a frenzy. newspapers nationwide picked up the story, marveling at the ferocity—and significantly, the sexual brutality—of the so-called “demon of the belfry.” the rise of the american penny press reached its height during the gilded age as newspapers across the country pumped out story after story detailing thrilling criminal investigations, daring feats of athleticism, astonishing technological innovations, and most profitably: chilling murders. the penny press’s sensational coverage of theodore durrant highlighted their obsession with deviant sexuality and gruesome violence. contemporary newspapers continually cited durrant’s lack of romantic success, highlighted his peculiar medical background, speculated about his intimate relationship with his mother, and emphasized the maidenhood of lamont and williams—all while engaging in what scholar karen haltunnen terms the “pornography of violence.” this paper will argue that rapidly changing conceptions of sexual normativity during the gilded age—and the conflict between representatives on both sides of that fierce debate—manifested themselves in the implicitly, and often explicitly, sexualized coverage of durrant. contextualizing the emmanuel church murders while there is no scholarly study of theodore durrant, there are books and articles that help contextualize his murders of blanche lamont and minnie williams and their obsessively sexual reportage. jesse battan’s articulation of the linguistic and political divide between victorian moralists and members of the free love movement, for example, counteracts traditional notions of the gilded age as an era dominated by sexual repression. as john d’emilio and estelle b. freedman point out in their comprehensive history of american sexuality intimate matters, americans during the late nineteenth-century were far more accepting of non-traditional sex than they had been in prior decades as forces opposed to sexual suppression (like the free lovers) became significantly more prominent and birthrates across the country steadily declined.1 in her study of late-nineteenth-century sexuality, freedman argues that during the gilded age, sex became less associated with procreation and more related to personal pleasure—a reality that engendered immense hostility on both sides of this new sexual divide.2 the conflict between tradition and liberation played out in all facets of american 42 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 society. however, it was especially pronounced in the penny press, which often made light of bizarre or eccentric sexual behavior to sell more newspapers. in the early days of the durrant case, the press obsessed over his rumored lack of romantic success as some harbinger of wrongdoing. oliver chan and kathleen heide’s research on sexual homicide somewhat vindicates this suspicion, revealing that most sexual murders of adult women happen at the hands of adult men seeking sex, as durrant was.3 james alan fox and jack levin’s study of patterns common to di!erent instances of “multiple homicide[s]” confirms that the desire for sex is often a chief motivation for crimes of passion.4 contemporary newsmen also suggested durrant’s status as a medical student—particularly his supposed interest in studying “female diseases”—all but proved his complete guilt. herbert kinnell’s insightful research on potential connections between the medical field and serial homicide reveals several unambiguous recalities relevant to this thesis: people interested in death seem to gravitate to the medical field.5 erich fromm’s psychological inquiry into motivations for violence further reveals the numerous links between necrophilia, which many of durrant’s classmates stated he had, and violence.6 as the penny press at the time lacked access to this body of research, they indicated that the dominant force behind their relentlessly sexual coverage was likely a battle over sexuality at the time rather than well-sourced psychology. contrasting these sexual accusations with the ones later hurled at famous dancer, and durrant’s sister, maud allen speaks to the gendered dichotomy of sexual discourse in the late nineteenth-century. toni bentely’s comprehensive review of numerous dancers reveals how the male audience commanded allan to “cover up” during many of her performances despite her growing popularity among women, illustrating this gendered divide.7 lacy mcdearmon’s research detailing how allan’s career ended because of a highly publicized scandal involving a british parliamentarian who accused her of countless sexual “vices” illustrates the broader battle over sexuality during the victorian era—and the ways in which media sensationally exploited this battle to their own advantage with incidents involving both men and women.8 newspapers often speculated about the unknowns of durrant’s murders in graphic detail, continually engaging in what karen haltunnen calls the “pornography of violence.”9 americans, she notes, developed a keen interest in horror and death during the mid-nineteenth century that accelerated in later decades, peaking during the gilded age with thrilling stories of murder and violence being published daily in newspapers across the nation. haltunnen explains that as interest in violence grew, so too did its “pornography,” with books, newspapers, and other media detailing brutal crimes—like the emmanuel baptist church murders—in increasingly graphic detail. theodore durrant, romantic failure newspapers that covered the durrant story obsessed over his perceived romantic failures in several di!erent ways but did so initially by exploring his failed attempts at an intimate relationship with both his victims: blanche lamont and minnie williams. an early report from the san francisco call explained how the two women “received a lover’s attention from durrant,” with journalists already hinting at some sort of failed attempt at courtship.10 when an acquaintance of williams’s informed readers that she had “‘indignantly repulsed’” a marriage proposal from durrant early last summer, the penny press confirmed its sexualized narrative.11 reporters soon seized upon the claims of blanche lamont’s aunt, mrs. c. g. noble, who testified to “the frequency of durrant’s visits at her house and his attentions to her niece,” and lauded her assertion that durrant had also “proposed marriage to blanche last december, but had been refused when the girl learned he was engaged to another woman.”12 papers also emphasized durrant’s supposed suggestion to noble (before being arrested) that they search for lamont’s body together “in a house of ill-fame”—a brothel.13 in the early days of his case, the penny press established theodore durrant as a !"#$%&' "#()$* #* &'%"#, ()$*#$# +,*& &' .*/0'$*., 1893 (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 43 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, sexually-deprived romantic failure who murdered to fulfill his brutal perversions, an inhuman monster so despicable he was even inclined to visit brothels while pretending to search for the bodies of women he killed. while some were later proven to be accurate , these relatively unfounded initial characterizations illustrate gilded age fetishizations of sexual violence. another element of the penny press’s obsession over durrant’s romantic failures relates to his physical appearance, which strongly suggested his guilt. the san francisco call, for example, diplomatically described how a murderer (not necessarily durrant) “will not be generally attractive to other men, [who] will have a feeling of utmost repugnance for him […]. for women, especially girls, he will be found to have a peculiar fascination, but he will lack the skill to use it shrewdly”—characteristics newspapers claimed durrant happened to have.14 a later story from the indianapolis journal contended that durrant’s “dominant” facial characteristics “are vanity and sensuality,” and that the shape of his head “would indicate not only extreme sensuality, but that its owner would be inconsistent, changing the object of his admiration frequently.”15 months later, once durrant’s trial had begun, newspapers still editorialized about how durrant’s “clean-shaven lips reveal the coarse sensuality of his mouth,” continuing to tie his physical features with sexual criminality.16 contemporary newspapers’ fascination with durrant’s physical features—and their claims that those features somehow illustrate all manner of romantic perversions—reflect the intensifying gilded age sexual divide between those committed to traditional conceptions of heteronormativity and those seeking to change them. newspapers also explored durrant’s attitude toward women, casting him as an aggressively sexual (if often unsuccessful) womanizer who frequently solicited their company. the salt lake herald, for instance, charged that “durrant was more than passionately fond of women, and at every opportunity sought their society,” but that “he confined himself to the purer and better girls of his circle of acquaintances,” like lamont and williams, who the press continually deified.17 others stunned readers with highly sexualized headlines like “the man was as licentious as he was pious,” “insulter of women,” “his baseness was boundless,” or even “no woman was safe.”18 and some newsmen unambiguously blamed durrant’s murders on his womanizing personality, with one paper directly stating that “no other motive for the crime can be assigned [than] passionate jealousy, which is known to have a wonderful power to transform the most peaceable into fiendish brutes.”19 again, durrant’s actual romantic proclivities— he often (though not always) did live up to his reputation in the press—are not entirely relevant. more significant is that the late nineteenth-century penny press exploited his rape and murder of two women to publish implicitly and explicitly sexual content for their readers, exposing the rapidly changing conceptions of sexuality during that time. while the press continually covered durrant’s perversions in a general fashion, they did analyze some of his specific romantic failures from time to time, most notably with a woman named lucile turner. on one soon-to-be infamous occasion, durrant accosted turner, another parishioner at the emmanuel baptist church like lamont and williams, and asked “if she had never been examined. she was somewhat surprised at his question and answered no. durrant then said she ought to be and that he could do it.”20 turner’s testimony engrossed journalists covering durrant, and they referred to it throughout their coverage of the case.21 the press also took special care to note durrant’s unusual apprehension during turner’s testimony, a break from what they characterized as his typically unfeeling demeanor: “during miss turner’s examination,” one paper noted, “durrant looked very pale and anxious, and has not shown such pronounced symptoms since his arrest.”22 for contemporary journalists, the turner incident was a goldmine. it o!ered readers licentious details “months later, once durrant’s trial had begun, newspapers still editorialized about how durrant’s ‘clean-shaven lips reveal the coarse sensuality of his mouth,’ continuing to tie his physical features with sexual criminality.” 44 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 day after day and perfectly conformed to their already wellestablished narrative of a sex-deprived monster whose romantic failures had triggered a murderous rampage—the perfect story for an american populace that craved scandalous sexual details like never before. the lucile turner episode presented the penny press with a profitable window into one of durrant’s specific romantic failures, but they relentlessly published details about his generally “poor luck” with women, too. the call, for instance, reported the vague remarks of several di!erent people throughout the course of the case, all of whom remarked things like “’ from what i knew of durrant he was not of the kind of men who are very successful in making love to young women.’”23 another man o!ered his investigative services and insisted that he had “’ located three young women who claim to have been taken into the church by durrant and compelled to leave the edifice on account of his improper conduct.’”24 other papers, like the arizona republican, discussed an instance in which durrant escorted another young parishioner to a room in the emmanuel baptist church, left her there for a few minutes, “and returned entirely nude,” further feeding into the sexual narrative.25 newsmen often followed detectives attempting to track down women rumored to be former lovers of durrant, like one case in which investigators traveled to neighboring san jose “looking for a young lady who is said to have received insulting proposals from theodore durrant, who selected emmanuel church as the place for his attempt.”26 even the strategy of durrant’s own lawyers hinged on the same kinds of sexual details being published by the press. the salt lake herald reported less than a month after durrant’s arrest that the defense would try to demonstrate his innocence by proving that “he did not have a reputation as a lady-killer; that another member (now an ex-member) had; that this person was one whom all the young ladies of the church distrusted; that he frequently took liberties with them; that upon one occasion he was alone with a young lady in the vestry and that his actions were such as to cause her to have a serious hysterical attack.”27 the barrage of details about durrant’s romantic ineptitude with a variety of women solidified his initial image in the penny press as a sexual freak driven to murder. but that barrage also underscored the penny press’s obsession with the most erotic aspects of his character possible rather than with the main bulk of evidence in an apparent e!ort to appeal to their sex scandal-driven readers. investigating durrant’s past while they did devote much of their sexual reporting to his romantic mishaps, the press also examined other aspects of theodore durrant’s past through a sexual lens, beginning with his time at cooper medical college. “durrant was looked upon as queer when at college,” one call report notes, going on to explain how even though he “was fond of the society of women he declared the year he entered college that his relations with them had never been intimate.”28 newsmen also jumped on comments from fellow students admitting that “he spoke strangely about women from time to time and read much on subjects which are safest in the hands of hard headed specialists,” indicating a “trend of mind which dwells upon the morbid.”29 other papers directly linked durrant’s medical schooling with his sexual perversions, one story describing how some faculty at cooper believed “durrant was a"icted with psycho-mania sexualis, a not unknown though infrequent mental disease,” another simply inquiring, “durrant studied surgery. did he study murder at the same time?”30 a particularly scathing assessment of durrant’s character out of the new york tribune went even further: “medical experts who have studied durrant’s case unite in declaring that he is an abnormal crank, whose perverted *&')0)-' 0/--#$*’. (/1.&)* (!"#$%&'( ") +0%&$0&% /$!1+2&) 45 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, nature has been stimulated by the study of sexual crimes. his medical college associates say that in private talk about women he revealed a foul imagination, and that his fondness for discussing topics that are usually ignored, even between men, gave him the reputation of being an erotic maniac. as assistant superintendent of the emmanuel sunday-school he performed all his duties in an irreproachable way, but since his arrest it is known that he insulted several young women and that he was in the habit of making weekly visits to the local [brothel].”31 rather than focusing on durrant’s bungled attempts at romance, these reports confirm newspapers’ narrative of his sexual perversions by approaching them from an altogether di!erent angle—medicine. they exemplify the penny press’s fixation upon durrant the sexual maniac rather than durrant the murderer and illustrate the growing divide between forces opposed to and supporting changing conceptions of sexual norms during the gilded age. contemporary newsmen further directed their readers’ attention to rumors that durrant committed the murders, as one paper put it, “for the purpose of medical investigation,” fueling sexualized narratives of his crimes even further.“32it is known that durrant was an ardent medical student and took a great interest in diseases of women,” one report from the herald read, “and being unable to conduct his investigations in any legitimate manner, murdered the girls for that purpose.”33journalists turned to his suggestion to miss lucile turner “that she allow him to make a medical examination of her, [him] telling her that he knew of a good place in the church where it could be done without anyone being the wiser” to link an already well established aspect of their coverage to these rumors.34 ironically, even by publishing dismissals of such reports, newspapers gave them more credence, one article outlining in great detail the rumor “that blanche lamont was lured to the church by durrant’s promise to perform a criminal operation on her to save her from disgrace” before briefly admitting that “the city autopsy physician [stated] the rumor was without foundation.”35 ultimately, the more analysis the penny press devoted to durrant’s supposed medically-motivated investigative appetites, the more they became part of the story. newsmen recognized this fact and intensified the practice anyways, reflecting their preoccupation with the sexual aspects of the emmanuel baptist church murders before all others. another part of durrant’s past scrutinized by newspapers relates to his actual academic performance at cooper medical college, which most outlets depicted as suspiciously strong. “[durrant] read textbooks, crammed science for his examinations and is said by his family to have read little or none of the lighter literature of the day” alleged one story from the call, hinting at durrant’s supposed peculiarity.”36his standing in none of his classes fell below 97 percent” read another out of the herald, the author conconcedes that “theodore durrant is the last man whom anybody would suspect of committing a murder.”37 even in jail, as multiple outlets discussed, “durrant is studying medical books and says upon his release he will continue his course until graduation”—an interest that surely bordered on an obsession.38 newspapers’ juxtaposition of these details chronicling durrant’s academic success with the aforementioned side e!ects of studying modern medicine constitutes another example of their sexualization of the emmanuel church murders. while not as explicit as lengthy tirades explaining durrant’s many perversions, these kinds of oblique associations nonetheless contributed to the penny press’s erotic narrative of durrant and his crimes. outside of his actual experience as a medical student, newspapers littered their stories with a variety of psychosexual speculation regarding durrant’s past behavior, all of which conveniently played into their depiction of him as a romantically deprived carnal maniac. durrant’s main in'((#$/'" !#2*,.* %&/-%&, +&'-' 0/--#$* (/-0'-'0 *+) 3'(#"' 2#-,.&,)$'-. ,$ 1895 (!"#$%&'( ") "3&0') 1+'%"$() 46 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 terest, as newsmen had already established, was his medical studies—but one story claimed that because he “was very much interested in his studies and work, fond of describing the horrors of a dissecting room,” he had in fact lost “any feeling of reverence for the human body.”39 when the city’s autopsy physician concluded his report, several stories almost excitedly noted the fact “that the murdered girl had been outraged [raped] prior to the murder,” adding an entirely new element to the existing sexual narrative.40 other stories made light of “expert” opinion linking durrant’s academic interests with seal violence, like that of police surgeon summers, who claimed medical backing for the theory that there were “‘men whose animal passions could not be aroused without the sight of blood,’” and insisted that “’the post mortem examination clearly proves that the victims were killed and afterwards outraged.’”41 an incredibly early report from the herald— released mere days after durrant’s arrest—testified to his “jekyll-hyde character”: “in emanuel church he was noted for his religious fervor. other residents of the mission district say he was a frequenter of saloons, played cards and billiards in wine rooms, nightly visited with other youths saloons with side entrances for women. his classmates at the medical college say that durrant was blasphemous and flippant in conversation, especially about women.”42 reporters gravitated towards the most outrageous and openly erotic elements of the durrant case in an unprecedented way, and often without much evidence. the uniformity of their narrative—and the fact that papers favored the sexually eccentric over the accurate—underscores the ways in which the changing sexual values and attitudes of the gilded age impacted reportage of durrant. scrutinizing durrant’s present another angle in the penny press’s coverage of the durrant case sought to examine not his past, but his present. more specifically, his behavior following his arrest. journalists initially directed this kind of reporting at durrant’s deportment in court and jail, which they claimed illustrated his guilt in the same implicitly sexual manner his romantic failures had. articles marveled at durrant’s lack of emotion throughout the legal proceedings, especially when the evidence was stacked against him. one report noted that “whether their testimony is strong against him or only inferentially accusing, his expression is the same. […] he talks very little to his lawyers, pays absolutely no attention to the crowd […], and watches the proceedings with unconcern.”43 other papers mentioned his “calm, imperturbable expression,” his “stolid indi!erence,” or his “air of unconcern,” hinting at an almost unnatural level of disinterest in his fate.44 reports discussing durrant’s behavior in jail were no di!erent—“durrant keeps up his wonderful composure,” one article observed, adding that at “about 10 o’clock yesterday morning several students, the majority being ladies […] paid him a visit.”45 to the american penny press, durrant’s lack of emotion in court and jail, his already well-established sexual perversions, and the fact that women flocked to see him throughout the legal proceedings (despite his apparent guilt) confirmed his status as a carnally-motivated villain that defied every traditional conception of sexuality. many newspapers’ vilification of durrant’s deportment in the courtroom reached entirely new heights during discussions of violence, especially when that violence was sexual in nature. newspapers described how durrant “showed no emotion” during descriptions of minnie williams’s brutal rape and murder, sitting “calm and unconcerned” with “about the same degree of interest that is manifested by the sphinx as it gazes over the sands of egypt.”46 descriptions like these hardly stood out. according to many newsmen, the person in whom the evidence “produces the least mental perturbation is the prisoner itself,” this particular “to the american penny press, durrant’s lack of emotion in court and jail, his already well-established sexual perversions, and the fact that women flocked to see him throughout the legal proceedings (despite his apparent guilt) confirmed his status as a carnally-motivated villain that defied every traditional conception of sexuality” 47 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, author choosing to revoke durrant’s humanity by simply referring to him as “it.”47 the same article cast durrant as “an enigma, a monster of crime and depravity”—a man whose sexual crimes were so heinous he no longer deserves that title.48 these reports continually ostracized durrant in truly remarkable ways. however, their main objective was to single out the sexual nature of his crimes as the thing that held the most significance. by portraying durrant as a violent sexual freak who listened to recitals of savagery “with no more emotion than he would display at a college lecture,” the penny press solidified their unabashedly erotic narrative to please their voracious readers’ yearning for that kind of content in ways americans had not in prior decades.49 in addition to their use of his cold demeanor as evidence of sexual impropriety, the penny press also examined durrant’s many female admirers as a means of amplifying the sexual undertones of their reporting. the first incident discussed by the national press occurred on april 24th, shortly after durrant’s arrest, when “a female crank” claiming to be “a gypsy queen” talked briefly with durrant in his cell before announcing to a pool of reporters “‘he is not the man.’”50 the episode sparked visits from women around the bay area, a development which journalists seized upon. “women are daft over durrant” declared one silver blade headline, its author marveling at how “the county jail is besieged with women daily, anxious to see durrant and leave flowers for him.”51 other articles reviewed the young women “who seem to regard [durrant] as something of a hero,” visiting his jail cell “to gape at him through the bars.”52 stories of his female admirers perfectly played into the already well-grounded sexual nature of his crimes, with durrant now appearing as some sort of hypnotic force with unnatural sexual charisma—at least enough to convince “foolish women,” as one author lamented, of his innocence.53 such stories typified the sexualization of the emmanuel baptist church murders, exposing yet more instances of the penny press’s obsession with the most erotic elements of his crimes. gilded age newsmen further pointed to durrant’s close relationship with his mother as evidence of his guilt thanks to some kind of troubled upbringing, often implying possible sexual impropriety. one call report, attempting to find a justification for durrant’s imperturbability in the courtroom, guessed that “the proximity of the mother of the defendant may have something to do with his easy manner.”54 what began as a series of seemingly innocent remarks about a mother and her son’s close relationship quickly spiraled out of control with speculative innuendo soon dominating all discussion of durrant’s mother. a story out of the louisiana populist, for example, found that “his mother is his staunchest advocate, just as was the aged mother of [infamous murderer and medical student] carlyle harris, whose history in some respects resembles that of durrant’s.”55 another story from the seattle postintelligencer speculated that a young miscreant out of spokane, washington named karl gerul!—“the son of a prostitute [and] a born criminal”—compared quite fittingly with “[monstrosities] like tom blanck or theodore durrant,” other criminals said to have troubled upbringings.56 newspapers’ scrutiny of durrant’s relationship with his mother indeed stemmed from, at least in part, nineteenthcentury conceptions of women as mothers (and therefore the primary architects of their children’s future behavior). but articles discussing their interactions, especially given the totality of their licentious coverage, unquestionably took on some sexual undertones, another reality that exposes the penny press’s fetishization of sexual violence. significantly, papers’ coverage of durrant’s mother actively excluded his father from nearly all discussion of his crimes. one article from the call took this exclusion to almost comical levels—after briefly mentioning durrant’s father’s entrance into the courtroom, the author remarked that “all eyes were turned in that direction to see if the mother of the prisoner would follow.”57 of their interactions in the courtroom, one journalist alluded to an unusually intimate relationship, writing: “the mother of the prisoner was, naturally, the object of a good deal of curiosity. but very few in the courtroom had seen her before, and “what began as a series of seemingly innocent remarks about a mother and her son’s close relationship quickly spiraled out of control with speculative innuendo soon dominating all discussion of durrant’s mother.” 48 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 were anxious to see how she was bearing up under the ordeal of her son’s imprisonment and approaching trial. those who expected to see red eyes and tears and agony was depicted upon the face of the unfortunate woman were disappointed. her eyes were bright, there were no traces of tears, and no agony was reflected in the countenance of the prisoner’s mother. she was calm—more than calm—talking to her son and smiling cheerfully upon him during the entire day in court.”58 the author followed this passage with a single line mentioning the presence of durrant’s father. again, while much of this undue focus on durrant’s mother can undoubtedly be attributed to nineteenth-century conceptions of women as the parents responsible for raising children, the penny press’s conscious exclusion of his father from the conversation underscored the implicitly sexual narrative they established from the very beginning of his case. romanticizing lamont and williams though they devoted the vast majority of their coverage to theodore durrant himself, newspapers sexualized the emmanuel baptist church murders in another way: by emphasizing the maidenhood of his victims. blanche lamont in particular, received much praise from the press, who frequently reiterated her womanhood. the day after her disappearance, for example, the call published a story concerning “a beautiful girl” that had gone missing.59 establishing her femininity from the outset. a subsequent report alleged lamont “had a filled-in frame and was a romantic,” paving the way for later stories that outlined durrant’s exploitation of those characteristics.60 indeed, after durrant’s arrest, papers highlighted witness testimony to this e!ect. one acquaintance, dr. vogel, told the call that “‘blanche was such a good girl that she thought everybody was as good as she was and she might have been taken advantage of.’”61 an early assessment from the herald epitomized journalists’ portrayal of lamont, the innocent victim of an erotic maniac, describing her as a “slender, graceful, well dressed, brown-haired, accomplished […]. she was simply a very pretty girl, romantic, according to some of her school friends, intensely matter-of-fact according to her relatives.”62 emphasizing lamont’s femininity alone would not necessarily have constituted a sexualization of the murders. but given that reporters juxtaposed such fawning descriptions of romantic purity with gruesome ones outlining sexual brutality, they clearly sought to create an apparent dichotomy between durrant and his victims with sex at its center. the penny press subjected minnie williams to similar treatment. however, given her temperamental di!erences from lamont, they highlighted distinct aspects of her character that could have (in their narrative) contributed to her murder. however often reporters brought up blanche lamont the romantic— “the picture of the girl in the fireside companion stories who has adventures among the traps of a great city,” according to one report from the herald—they just as often brought up minnie williams the vulnerable.63 shortly after her disappearance, for instance, the call wrote that minnie williams, “frail, weak, [and] inexperienced,” had vanished.64 whereas reporters had argued lamont’s confident personality and extensive romantic experience could have gotten her into trouble with potential wrongdoers, with minnie williams, they claimed the opposite: her romantic, and, yes, sexual “inexperience” made her an easy target for predators like durrant. from opposing, nearly contradictory angles, gilded age newsmen had identified both women’s unique susceptibilities that had contributed to their murder—doing so through an exclusively sexual lens. newsmen usually published stories discussing each victim individually, but they likewise sought to uphold their joint maidenhood by grouping lamont and williams together from time to time. some san franciscans accomplished this job for them. judge conlan, the justice presiding over durrant’s case, personally informed the san francisco call of the unfortunate nature of his crimes: “’[jack the ripper’s] crimes had for their victims women of bad character,’”65 he argued, suggesting it was lamont and williams’s sexual purity that made durrant’s murders all the more unacceptable. if, like jack the ripper, he had simply murdered prostitutes, perhaps the public outcry would not have been so severe. the call further summarized the remarks of a rev. mr. boynton (of san francisco’s first baptist church), who launched into a protracted tirade during one sermon that instructed women of the city to “promise themselves ‘i will not go anywhere, under any pretext whatever, unless accompanied by my father or my brother. i will not enter anyplace where there are not others.”66 opinions like those of conlan and boynton dominated reporting on durrant’s murders, at least during discussions of his victims. and while they certainly exposed the misogynistic conceptions of womanhood that pervaded late nineteenth-century america, they also exemplified the kind of sexual division the press sought to establish between durrant, the savage, and lamont and williams, the romantically vulnerable. 49 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, the “pornography of violence” another phenomenon present in nearly all newspaper coverage of the durrant case is something historian karen haltunnen terms “the pornography of violence”—that is, nineteenth-century america’s widespread fetishization of violence through its “pornography” in books, papers, and other media—all of which featured descriptions or images of vicious crimes in increasingly graphic detail.67 the penny press’s coverage of the emmanuel church murders embodied this pornography to the extreme. an early report from the san francisco call detailed how a “knife had been driven again and again and again into [minnie williams’s] breast” before delving into the minutiae of durrant’s violent acts in later coverage.68 durrant “cut her wrist so that she would bleed to death, and to complete the murderous work, had driven a knife to her heart and in a bestial fury slashed her breasts,” one story out of the wichita daily eagle read, concluding that “the stabbing and slashing was done after the girl was dead.”69 ironically, the violent pornography cultivated more violent pornography, much of this variety speculative. call reporter john mcnaught, for example, informed his readers of the (unquestionably racialized) divide between what he called the “brute” and the “fiend,” the latter of which durrant must be: “there are just two classes of criminals who outrage women and murder them. one of these is the low, brutish criminal whose lust and ferocity are tempered by an intellect hardly su!cient to lift him above the level of a gorilla. the second is the man of intellect whose intelligence is distorted by a species of sexual madness growing out of some perverse diabolism of nature. all criminal history attests that only these two classes often, the brute and the fiend, commit crimes of this kind.”70 as violent speculation ran wild, other stories began condemning the emmanuel baptist church itself, one report from the anaconda standard claiming “a stain of human blood marks its history.”71 the author, apparently horrified, went on to detail how one of the church’s former pastors “killed a newspaper proprietor,” while another, he added rather abruptly, “blew out his brains.”72 such absurd descriptions epitomized the pornography of violence produced by durrant’s murders, with newsmen devising evermore outlandish reports to satisfy the insatiable public. while newspapers certainly fetishized all types of violence in the durrant case, they especially did so if that violence was sexual in nature. in the immediate aftermath of the murders, newsmen raved whenever the police released shocking details, as in one call report which gawked at their discovery that the murderer had shoved “a portion of [lamont’s] underclothing” down her throat.73 indeed, such outrageously sexual details sent both newspapers and readers into a frenzy. another call story almost gleefully recounted how lamont’s dress “had been unbuttoned and then torn from the body through impatience,” leaving her lying on the floor of the church’s belfry “absolutely nude.”74 reporters even complained of a lack of excitement as the months went on—(authorities had finished collecting most of the facts over the course of april and may 1895)— the volume of licentious details released on a weekly basis waning accordingly. the herald, for example, lamented that “as the trial progresses interest in it seems to lag,” somberly describing how “the crowd of morbidly curious people who have assembled at the courtroom door day after day is growing less” as newspapers ran out of new durrant-related “pornography” to distribute. however, such sobering realities failed to dissuade the penny press, which found entirely new, and unconventional ways to fetishize the murders. one facet of this unorthodox approach involved reporting on the astonishing july 1895 development concerning a san francisco playwright who planned to dramatize durrant’s murders in his theatrical production. manager of san francisco’s alcazar theater w. r. daily, reported the “another visual assessment out of the louisiana populist depicted two versions of durrant posing as robert louis stevenson’s infamous villain dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, complemented by illustrations of a knife embedded in a skull” 50 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 oregon mist, “closed arrangements with richard c. white to make a dramatization of the durrant case,” adding that “mr. daily believes that there is plenty of material in the story of the emmanuel church murders.”75 lacking substantive coverage as durrant’s attorneys took their time selecting jurors, the penny press milked the theatrical development for weeks. reporters amplified the divide between those eager to see the performance and others, like the pastors discussed in one herald report, who believed the play would “demoralize the community.”76 as it became increasingly clear the play would not end up being performed, the dalles times-mountaineer went so far as to entertain the theory that “if the fiend durrant is acquitted of the charge against him he will be engaged at a remunerative salary to play the leading role in the play based on upon the heinous crimes.”77 in short, the penny press spent nearly a month producing new “pornography” by fetishizing the outrage over a theatrical production, the play itself a fetishization and pornographic o!shoot of theodore durrant’s violent crimes. such absurdities exemplified the pornography of violence produced by the penny press in their obsessive coverage of the emmanuel church murders. another way the penny press fetishized the murders when they lacked new developments involved publishing readers’ violent poetry. the call, for instance, published a “remarkable” poem by a man named george king, who put his unique spin on the church murders: “into the church they were decoyed by some fiend, but i won’t speak his name. / there to commit the bloody deed, he understood the game. […] there he did assault her [williams] in a fiendish way, / then took her life by strangling, that’s what the coroner’s jury say. […] the perpetrator of the deed did it in cold blood, / more than human nerves he had, his business he understood. […] young girls all take warning by the two innocent girls’ sad fate, / and be aware of all false young men, with them don’t stay out late. […] mothers all take warning by this sad a"air, / guard your girls day and night, of them take good care, / for if you don’t some day you may rue it when it is too late, / so remember well and bear in mind the two innocent girls’ fate.”78 newspapers littered their discussions of the church murders with similarly targeted poetry, highlighting the manner in which they relentlessly pumped out, or at the very least gave voice to durrant “pornography.” newspapers further accompanied their reportage with various gruesome illustrations that escalated their pornography of violence for voracious readers to new levels, visually. the dalles times-mountaineer, for instance, positioned several illustrations of blanche lamont’s rotting, naked corpse, the blood-stained floor of emmanuel baptist church, and one of the knives used to stab minnie williams next to their discussion of durrant’s romantic failures, rather heavy-handedly establishing their belief (or rather, lack thereof) in his innocence.79 another visual assessment out of the louisiana populist depicted two versions of durrant posing as robert louis stevenson’s infamous villain dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, complemented by illustrations of a knife embedded in a skull. at the bottom of the drawing, a snake slithered past durrant’s feet.80 because the cost of photography precluded most news outlets from using it during the late nineteenth-century, the penny press took an illustrative approach instead. their quest to reveal the most licentious and sensational details of the emmanuel church murdersthey produced yet another variety of violent pornography that overshadowed the entirety of their coverage of durrant. maud allan, durrant’s fate, and conclusion durrant’s sister, erotic dancer maud allan, su!ered similar treatment at the hands of the press a few years later after a brief (but successful) career in europe. whereas durrant’s accusers often straddled the line between implicitly “ultimately, print coverage of “the demon of the belfry” and his crimes during the gilded age underscores the ways in which media dramatically shapes public perception, an enduring reality that continues throughout the contemporary united states” 51 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, #$%$&'#( 1. john d’emilio and estelle b. freedman, intimate matters: a history of sexuality in america, (chicago: university of chicago press, 2013), 300. 2. estelle b. freedman, “sexuality in nineteenth-century america: behavior, ideology, and politics,” reviews in american history 10, no. 4 (1982): 196–215, www.jstor.org/stable/2701827. 3. oliver chan and kathleen m. heide, “sexual homicide: a synthesis of the literature,” trauma, violence & abuse 10, no. 1 (2009): 31-54, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26636179. 4. james alan fox and jack levin, “multiple homicide: patterns of serial and mass murder,” crime and justice 23 (1998): 407455, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147545. 5. herbert g. kinnell, “serial homicide by doctors: shipman in perspective,” bmj: british medical journal 321, no. 7276 (2000): 1594-1597, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25226531. 6. erich fromm, war within man: a psychological inquiry into the roots of destructiveness (philadelphia: peace literature service, american friends and service committee, 1963), 7-23. 7. toni bentley, sisters of salome, (new haven: yale university press, 2002), 49-84. 8. lacy mcdearmon, “maud allan: the public record,” dance chronicle 2, no. 2 (1978): 85-105, http://www.jstor.org/ stable/1567472. 9. karen haltunnen, murder most foul: the killer and the american gothic imagination (cambridge: harvard university press, 2001), 60-90. 10. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. the newspapers used for this essay come from the library of congress’s website, chronicling america, at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. 11. “forging the links on him,” the salt lake herald, 17 april 1895, 1. 12. “not a missing link,” rock island argus, 5 may 1895, 2. 13. “durrant’s examination,” the dalles-times mountaineer, 4 may 1895, 2. 14. weaving a web round theodore durrant,” san francisco call, 16 april 1895, 3. 15. the frisco mystery,” the indianapolis journal, 26 april 1895, 1. 16. “durrant in the courtroom,” the herald, 23 july 1895, 1. 17. “forging the links on him,” the salt lake herald, 17 april 1895, 1. and explicitly defining his sexual misdeeds, critics of allan and her rumored homosexuality showed no such hesitation. they characterized allan and her rumored sexual “degeneracy” as the antithesis of lamont and williams, idols of traditional nineteenth-century womanhood.81 scholars toni bentley and lacy mcdearmon have chronicled allan’s very open vilification in the british and american press because of those accusations, exposing the gendered dichotomy of sexual discourse in the victorian era—and how the media theatrically exploited this discourse with events involving both men and women.82 eventually, interest in the emmanuel church murders and their licentious details waned. after a media storm following the jury’s ruling, which found durrant guilty of murder on november 23, 1895, public interest moved elsewhere. the court sentenced durrant to death by hanging, and police transported him to san quentin prison just north of san francisco shortly after the conclusion of his trial—decisions which won much media praise. though he maintained his innocence and appealed the court’s ruling several times, (generating the occasional article in the san francisco call, the herald, or other papers that had covered his case), he was ultimately executed at san quentin on january 7, 1898, with his mother by his side. the late nineteenth-century penny press’s overtly sensual coverage of the emmanuel baptist church murders influenced theodore durrant’s conceptions, his crimes, and his victims in a sexual way, and was itself the product of changing conceptions of sexuality during the gilded age. both entire newspapers and individual journalists romanticized blanche lamont and minnie williams, whom they cast as icons of traditional sexuality, while simultaneously fetishizing durrant’s violence— particularly its sexual aspects. their emphasis on his romantic failures, scrutiny of his academic career, and sentimentalization of his victims all contributed to the development of his extraordinary image in the american public’s mind: not a murderer driven to kill in traditional ways by traditional means, but a sexual deviant hell-bent on destroying traditional notions of sensuality. again, such representations influenced theodore durrant’s public knowledge in specific, but they also—and more importantly— influenced the public’s conceptions of sexuality more generally. ultimately, print coverage of “the demon of the belfry” and his crimes during the gilded age underscores how media dramatically shapes public perception, an enduring reality that continues throughout the contemporary united states. 52 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 18. “new evidence against durrant,” the seattle postintelligencer, 21 august 1895, 3; “insulter of women,” the indianapolis journal, 21 august 1895, 2; “his baseness was boundless,” the salt lake herald, 21 august 1895, 2. 19. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held,” the dalles times-mountaineer, 20 april 1895, 2. 20. “blood stained church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 21. “durrant murder case,” the record-union, 24 april 1895, 1. 22. “miss turner weaves a web,” the salt lake herald, 24 april 1895, 1 23. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 24. “pawned a ring like blanche lamont’s,” san francisco call, 3 august 1895, 14. 25. weaving a web,” the arizona republican, 17 may 1895, 1. 26. “durrant’s trial continued until tomorrow morning,” the herald, 24 july 1895, 1. 27. “seeking to stem the tide,” the salt lake herald, 6 may 1895, 1. 28. “weaving a web round theodore durrant,” san francisco call, 16 april 1895, 3. 29. “review of durrant,” the louisiana populist, 21 june 1895, 4. 30. ibid., 4; “forging the links on him,” the salt lake herald, 17 april 1895, 1. 31. “the church murders,” the new york tribune, 21 april 1895, 22. 32. “looks dark for durrant,” the herald, 16 april 1895, 1. 33. ibid., 1. 34. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held,” the dalles times-mountaineer, 20 april 1895, 2. 35. “footgear is found,” the wichita daily eagle, 23 april 1895, 1. 36. “their request denied,” san francisco call, 1 may 1895, 5. 37. “blood stained the church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 38. “durrant runs a big blu!,” the salt lake herald, 10 may 1895, 1. 39. “blood stained the church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 40. “the examination resumed,” the dalles weekly chronicle, 4 may 1895, 1. 41. “looks dark,” arizona weekly citizen, 20 april 1895, 3. 42. “looks dark for durrant,” the herald, 16 april 1895, 1. 43. “told on the witness stand,” the herald, 24 april 1895, 1. 44. “durrant murder case,” the record-union, 24 july 1895, 1; “miss lamont’s death,” the indianapolis journal, 2 may 1895, 5; “same old bravado,” the salt lake herald, 30 may 1895, 1. 45. “a bloody shoe is found in the church,” san francisco call, 21 april 1895, 6. 46. “key carried by durrant,” the salt lake herald, 23 april 1895, 1; “blood-stained coat is found in berkeley,” san francisco call, 23 april 1895, 5. 47. “theo durrant is again before the bar,” san francisco call, 24 april 1895, 5. 48. ibid., 5. 49. “murder of miss williams,” the record-union, 20 april 1895, 1. 50. “the trial continues,” the daily morning astorian, 24 april 1895, 1. 51. ”women are daft over durrant,” the silver blade, 27 july 1895, 2. 52. “the durrant examination,” the record-union, 25 april 1895, 1. 53. ibid., 3. 54. “the durrant jurors, san francisco call, 24 july 1895, 14. 55. “review of durrant,” the louisiana populist, 21 june 1895, 4. 56. “notable dead,” the seattle post-intelligencer, 24 april 1895, 8. 57. “durrant moves for change in venue,” san francisco call, 23 july 1895, 15. 58. “durrant is denied change of venue,” san francisco call, 26 july 1895, 14. 59. “the mystery of a girl,” san francisco call, 10 april 1895, 14. 60. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 61. “must stand trial,” san francisco call, 3 may 1895, 5. 62. “blood stained the church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 63. ibid., 1. 64. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 65. “must stand trial,” san francisco call, 3 may 1895, 5. 66. “clews still lead to durrant,” san francisco call, 18 april 53 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, 1895, 5. 67. haltunnen, murder most foul, 60-90. 68. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 69. “goes into more detail,” the wichita daily eagle, 21 april 1895, 1. 70. “clews still lead to durrant,” san francisco call, 18 april 1895, 5. 71. “verdict of the jury,” the anaconda standard, 20 april 1895, 1. 72. ibid., 1. 73. “stuck down in the shadow of the altar,” san francisco call, 14 april 1895, 6. 74. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 75. “to dramatize the murders,” the oregon mist, 19 july 1895, 1. 76. “durrant in the courtroom,” the herald, 23 july 1895, 1. 77. “no title,” the dalles times-mountaineer, 10 august 1895, 2. 78. “in cell twenty-eight,” san francisco call, 5 may 1895, 5. 79. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held,” the dalles-times mountaineer, 20 april 1895, 2. 80. “review of durrant,” the louisiana populist, 21 june 1895, 4. 81. lacy mcdearmon, “maud allan: the public record,” dance chronicle 2, no. 2 (1978): 85-105, http://www.jstor.org/ stable/1567472. 82. toni bentley, sisters of salome, (new haven: yale university press, 2002), 49-84. )#*#)#$+#( bentley, toni. sisters of salome. new haven: yale university press, 2002. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church.” san francisco call, april 15, 1895. “blood stained church.” the herald, april 15, 1895. “blood-stained coat is found in berkeley.” san francisco call, april 23, 1895. “a bloody shoe is found in the church.” san francisco call, april 21, 1895. chan, heng-choon (oliver), and kathleen m. heide. “sexual homicide: a synthesis of the literature.” trauma, violence, & abuse 10, no. 1 (2009): 31–54. https://doi. org/10.1177/1524838008326478. “the church murders.” the new york tribune, april 21, 1895. “clews still lead to durrant.” san francisco call, april 18, 1895. d’emilio, john, and estelle b. freedman. intimate matters: a history of sexuality in america. university of chicago press, 2013. “to dramatize the murders.” the oregon mist, july 19, 1895. “the durrant examination.” the record-union, april 25, 1895. “durrant’s examination.” the dalles-times mountaineer, may 4, 1895. “durrant in the courtroom.” the herald, july 23, 1895. “durrant is denied change of venue.” san francisco call, july 26, 1895. “the durrant jurors.” san francisco call, july 24, 1895. “durrant moves for change in venue.” san francisco call, july 23, 1895. “durrant murder case.” the record-union, april 24, 1895. “durrant runs a big blu!.” the salt lake herald, may 10, 1895. “durrant’s trial continued until tomorrow morning.” the herald, july 24, 1895. 54 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 “the examination resumed.” the dalles weekly chronicle, may 4, 1895. “footgear is found.” the wichita daily eagle, april 23, 1895. “forging the links on him.” the salt lake herald, april 17, 1895. fox, james alan, and jack levin. “multiple homicide: patterns of serial and mass murder.” crime and justice 23 (1998): 407–55. https://doi.org/10.1086/449274. freedman, estelle b. “sexuality in nineteenth-century america: behavior, ideology, and politics.” reviews in american history 10, no. 4 (1982): 196–215. https://doi. org/10.2307/2701827. “the frisco mystery.” the indianapolis journal, april 26, 1895. fromm, erich. war within man: a psychological enquiry into the roots of destructiveness; a study and commentary. philadelphia: peace literature service of the american friends service committee, 1963. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held.” the dalles times-mountaineer, april 20, 1895. “goes into more detail.” the wichita daily eagle, april 21, 1895. halttunen, karen. murder most foul: the killer and the american gothic imagination. cambridge: harvard university press, 2001. “his baseness was boundless.” the salt lake herald, august 21, 1895. “in cell twenty-eight.” san francisco call, may 5, 1895. “insulter of women.” the indianapolis journal, august 21, 1895. “key carried by durrant.” the salt lake herald, april 23, 1895. kinnell, herbert g. “serial homicide by doctors: shipman in perspective.” bmj: british medical journal 321, no. 7276 (2000): 1594–97. https://doi. org/10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1594. “looks dark.” arizona weekly citizen, april 20, 1895. “looks dark for durrant.” the herald, april 16, 1895. mcdearmon, lacy. “maud allan: the public record.” dance chronicle 2, no. 2 (1978): 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/01472527808568721. “miss lamont’s death.” the indianapolis journal, may 2, 1895. “miss turner weaves a web.” the salt lake herald, april 24, 1895. “murder of miss williams.” the record-union, april 20, 1895. “must stand trial.” san francisco call, may 3, 1895. “the mystery of a girl.” san francisco call, april 10, 1895. “new evidence against durrant.” the seattle post-intelligencer, august 21, 1895. “no title.” the dalles times-mountaineer, august 10, 1895. “not a missing link.” rock island argus, may 5, 1895. “notable dead.” the seattle post-intelligencer, april 24, 1895. “pawned a ring like blanche lamont’s.” san francisco call, august 3, 1895. “review of durrant.” the louisiana populist, june 21, 1895. “same old bravado.” the salt lake herald, may 30, 1895. “seeking to stem the tide.” the salt lake herald, may 6, 55 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, 1895. “stuck down in the shadow of the altar.” san francisco call, april 14, 1895. “their request denied.” san francisco call, may 1, 1895. “theo durrant is again before the bar.” san francisco call, april 24, 1895. “told on the witness stand.” the herald, april 24, 1895. “the trial continues,” the daily morning astorian, 24 april 1895, 1. “verdict of the jury.” the anaconda standard, april 20, 1895. “weaving a web.” the arizona republican, may 17, 1895. “weaving a web round theodore durrant.” san francisco call, april 16, 1895. ”women are daft over durrant,” the silver blade, 27 july 1895, 2. 56 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 !"#$ %& '($)%(* !"# $%!!&# '( !"# )'**# +'*,+: !"# )!'-. '( /,&&,%* *+(%01#%2 © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 (,34-# 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. #%)!#5-'+&%*%!,'2 '( 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old (,34-# 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „rf estimates of e+ect of di+erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „2sls estimates of e+ect of di+erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel a: estimates on cases“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel b: estimates on deaths“. 35 38 43 45 !"#$%$&$!' 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"$-)-") #'+%#5-)+ 3#'%4-)+ 2$ ‘3-+ &'!(’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) $"&')&-%* 0-+)%&"#-'0, 0-+)%&"#-'0, %)5 $%#&-'0 &" &(' %--3 © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode !(-)%’0 ")+"-)+ &'##-&"#-%* 5-0$2&'0] © o+ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 20 5'$%#&/')& ". 720&-!' %/")+ "&('#0 %))"2)!'5 23 !#-/-)%* !(%#+'0 © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %/'#-!% +*"3%* &#%5' 5'.-!-& © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 !"#$%&' !()*"%+,, %&#-&$ (. /"& !"$+'/+#, .$(,/ © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 *&$0#, #0&$+!#, 1),$#%%2, ,&3 2($4, 0#-+'(, '5)#$& *#$&,, .&1 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o!ce of the chief signal o!cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us blood is a vital resource, but one that cannot be manufactured or reproduced commercially in an effective manner. with donations as the only method of supply, we often see dangerous imbalances between supply and demand, which poses a serious threat to the lives of many people. many policymakers believe that this issue can be managed more effectively through offering incentives for blood donations, thereby helping blood banks regulate supply. however, others find moral and ethical issues with paying blood donors, and have concerns about how this could compromise the safety of donated blood. to explore the effectiveness of incentive programs, this article will examine several studies, and argue that the most effective method to improve the market for blood in the united states is expansion of non-monetary incentive programs. blood money a comparison between altruistic and incentivized blood donations matthew sabal introduction ever since the science of blood circulation was first described, scientists have been attempting to create artificial blood. however, none of these artificially developed products meet all the required functions of blood. commercial production of a liquid that mimics all functions of natural blood is still a scientific dream, as no oxygen-carrying blood substitutes have been approved for use by the federal drug administration (fda). although scientists have made breakthroughs in the creation of artificial blood in recent years (such as erythromer, a powdered version of blood that can temporarily extend transfusion therapy, and a line of immortal red blood cell producing stem cells), artificial blood is still at the preliminary stages of development, with many hurdles to clear before we can routinely transfuse artificial blood into human vessels (gammon, 2017). some of these hurdles include the risk that the artificial cells could mutate and cause cancer, short cell half-lives, extremely high costs, and the need for blood to match a patient’s blood type. researchers at the united kingdom’s national health service say that even if a viable blood substitution product were created, blood donations would still be necessary in the future. blood substitutes would primarily be used to help people in acute situations of trauma, as well as special medical cases. “it would be unfeasible to make blood in the lab for everyone…but we could make blood for people with very rare blood types or who have reacted to donated blood and so are difficult to match,” according to ash toye, a biochemist at the university of bristol (gammon, 2017). lab-grown blood cells are not meant to replace blood donors. to fill a national blood service, or even supply a single hospital, will require another major leap in research. transfusion from donor blood will be much cheaper, readily available, and safe in the foreseeable future. there are two types of blood donations: the traditional donation of whole red blood cells and the donation of plasma. in the united states, paying for blood of either form is legal; it is a common misconception that any laws ban paying for blood. the law only requires that blood from paid donors be labeled that way. however, the red cross and hospitals across the country refuse to accept blood that has been paid for. according to mario macis, an economist at johns hopkins carey business school, “even though it’s legal, it’s still considered not totally moral or ethical to pay cash to blood donors” (preston, 2016). aside from the ethical issue of literal blood money, the fda fears that incentivized donations may lead to falsified information about health or risk behaviors, and, therefore, a higher risk of infected blood. the science behind this claim is disputed, but the world health organization (who) finds it convincing enough that they heavily discourage countries from paying blood donors. the risks associated with hiv in the 1980s has made the safety of the blood supply the most prevalent concern for all blood collection today. many plasma donations, on the other hand, are paid for and not required to be labeled because proteins in the plasma are processed and broken down to create various pharmaceuticals by for-profit corporations (timmermann, 2017). these proteins are processed several times to remove or kill any viruses, so the risk of infection is much lower. whole red blood cell donation and plasma donation are distinct and separate industries; this paper will focus on the former. amongst the most well-known literature on this topic, richard titmuss’s 1971 book the gift relationship came about from the ongoing debate in the 1960s and 1970s about paying donors for blood. titmuss argues that paying donors would attract higher-risk donors, thus compromising the safety of the blood supply as well as reducing overall donations because volunteers donating for altruistic reasons would be less willing to donate if paid. this book influenced the who to issue the guidelines which are still in place today, urging countries to have exclusively volunteer donations. while these guidelines aren’t legally binding, they have greatly reduced the frequency of incentives for blood donations in most high-income countries today. background every day in the u.s., approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities for cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, accident/trauma victims, and those suffering from various other diseases (aabb, 2013). as figure 1 indicates, keeping a single person alive can require many individual donors. in addition, the number of blood transfusions in the united states has increased from 1.1 million in 1997 to 2.7 million in 2007. large fluctuations in supply and demand for blood often lead to severe shortages. 4.5 million americans are saved each year by blood transfusions (brookhaven national laboratory, 2014), meaning that these shortages pose a serious threat to the lives of many people. moreover, as blood’s sensitivity to long distance transportation and short shelf life limit the transnational distribution of whole red blood cells, collection systems are generally isolated to individual countries. within the 54 elements : : spring 2018 united states, regional suppliers provide about half the nation’s blood supply, with the red cross contributing 45%, and the last 55% being generated through hospitals’ own blood drives. it is also important to note that the exact price to produce a unit of blood varies from place to place. generally, coastal blood is more expensive than blood from the midwest because the higher cost of living translates into higher overhead and labor costs, which then must get passed on to hospitals. blood centers in the midwest can harvest a lot more blood than they need since it is so much cheaper for them to run their operations. “the centers in iowa, for example, are able to collect from 12 percent of the population, compared to a national average of 3 percent” (engber, 2006). this surplus can be transported to more populated areas where the demand is higher. since there is a lack of market pricing in the market for blood, spikes in donations after natural disasters like hurricane katrina in 2005 and the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001 have caused excess supply, which later had to be destroyed due to short shelf life. in the case of 9/11, an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 units of blood (costing somewhere between $21 and $63 million) were eventually discarded (mulcahy, 2016). conversely, there are typically supply shortages during the winter and around other holidays, resulting in dangerous imbalances between aggregate supply and demand (slonim, 2014). in july 2017, for example, the american red cross was forced to issue an emergency call for eligible individuals to donate blood as soon as possible due to a shortage of 61,000 donations (american red cross, 2017). the american red cross and other organizations that collect blood aim to have, at any given point in time, enough blood for three days of demand at each location and of each blood type, but that target is rarely met. it is estimated that, worldwide, there is currently a shortage of about 22 million units of blood per year (lacetera et al. 2012). these statistics make clear that the current system of blood donations in the united states does not adequately match supply with demand. some economists believe that these issues can be managed more effectively by incentivizing blood donations, thereby helping blood banks regulate supply. however, many people also find moral and ethical issues with paying blood donors, and, like titmuss, have concerns about how this could compromise the safety of donated blood. in 2006, professor roland benabou conducted a study which provided evidence for these moral concerns, finding that people often refuse to enter in transactions which seem to have economic benefit for them, as they judge such transactions to be insulting to their dignity. a 2001 study found that 56% of american blood donors already received some kind of incentive, including items of appreciation (~30%), paid time off work (~20%), blood credits (~10%), and cash (0.2%) (abolghasemi, 2010). after an introduction to the market for blood and how it functions, as well as an explanation of the issues within it, it is important to examine the methods and results of several studies seeking to improve this market, which leads to the conclusion that expanding offerings of non-monetary incentives is the most effective way to improve the market for blood in the united states. studies and results one potential method for improving the market for blood without incentives is to increase the number of donations under the current system using pre-donation education and training. a study conducted by balegh et al. (2016) consisted of 244 eligible young adults who had never previously donated blood, and 4 different treatments: applied tension instruction , relaxation instruction, web browsing, and a no treatment control scenario. after 20 minutes of exposure to one of the treatments, half of the subjects watched short videos about injection and blood drawing, while the others did not. each subject’s intention to donate blood was then measured using a theory of planned behavior questionnaire. the results showed large increases in intention to donate compared to controls, and follow up analysis revealed a statistically significant association befigure 1. amount of blood needed for a given disease or accident (courtesy of canadian blood services) 55 blood money tween the degree of within-session increase in intention to donate and subsequent blood clinic attendance. this suggests that simple interventions can be effective in increasing non-donors’ attendance at blood collection drives. further analysis suggests that these interventions could be optimized by selectively targeting different psychological barriers associated with blood donation. while this study provided no direct experimental effect on blood clinic attendance, it would be reasonable to predict a positive impact on actual attendance given the impact on intentions and the positive association between intention to donate and subsequent attendance. it is difficult, however, to tailor this solution to spikes in demand, which is a critical part of the issue. solutions of this type may help increase overall levels of donation, but they fail to address sudden changes in demand. it is apparent that incentives are a crucial component of improving the market for blood in the united states, as they are the only method which can be adjusted to meet demand. standard economic theory suggests that adding extra incentives should increase donations by adding to the altruistic motivations of donors, but other studies bring up concerns that incentives may actually deter donors or decrease the quality of donated blood. lacetera et al. seek to provide robust evidence from both observational and field-experimental data that offering non-cash incentives increases blood donations, without increasing the fraction of donors who are ineligible to donate. their evidence comes from blood drives conducted by the american red cross in northern ohio between may 2006 and october 2008, totaling about 500,000 individual blood donations. they noted that 37% of all drives offered an incentive, and 78% of all drives took place at a location where there had previously been both incentives offered and no incentives offered. this is important to their regression, as it creates variance in incentives being offered while holding location and host constant, allowing them to more easily isolate the effects of the incentives across different types of organizations and neighborhoods. the american red cross does not assign incentives in a purely random fashion; they attempt to apportion them across all blood drive hosts in a nonsystematic way in order to treat all hosts fairly. lacetera et al. were able to confirm this by showing that the actual distribution of incentives across hosts cannot be distinguished from a simulated, random distribution. a regression analysis with host and location as fixed effects, therefore, would allow one to identify the relationship between the presence of rewards and the outcome at a blood drive. the most common item offered by the american red cross at nearly 50 percent of all drives was t-shirts. overall, there are 13 distinct items that the american red cross offered to donors at more than 40 drives. the results of the study showed that “the number of donors who attempt to donate and the number of units of blood collected significantly increase when incentives are offered. on average, offering incentives leads to between 5.0 and 6.7 extra donors presenting at a drive—an increase of 15-20 percent” (lacetera et al. 2012). they also found that giving incentives to donors did not increase the fraction of donors being deferred, suggesting that the quality of the donor pool did not change. they also found a significant positive relationship between the cost of the incentives and the number of units collected, with no negative effect on the percentage of deferred donors. the results show that items of higher monetary value generally attract a larger number of donors. it is also worth noting that “t-shirts, which cost $2.95, attract 6.5 extra donors; sweatshirts, which cost $6.67, attract 13.2 additional donors; and jackets, which cost $9.50, attract almost 25 extra donors” (lacetera et al. 2012). all three coefficients are statistically significant at the one percent confidence level. because all three of these items are nearly identical in shape, size, and design, we can reasonably assume that they have extremely similar social image value. however, the impact on turnout and units collected increases with their economic costs, suggesting that it is the item’s cost that explains the increasing effect of incentives on donor behavior. a sign advertising an american red cross bloodmobile donation center (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 56 elements : : spring 2018 following this observational study, the same researchers conducted a natural field experiment at 72 american red cross drives between september 2009 and august 2010. in this case, they were able to randomly divide drives into control conditions, and treatment conditions of $5, $10, and $15 gift cards for a variety of stores were offered. when comparing outcomes between control and treatment drives, there was statistically significant higher turnout and units collected under treatment conditions, with increasing effects in correspondence with higher gift card value. once again, there was no impact on the percentage of deferred donors. however, the researchers also found that when incentives were offered at a given drive, the subsequent turnout at nearby drives diminished over the course of the year-long study, especially when those nearby drives didn’t offer incentives. therefore, the incentives didn’t have as much of a positive effect on donor turnout as the regression originally predicted. if one additional neighboring drive among potential alternatives within two miles offers an incentive, the turnout will decline by an estimated 0.25 donors. drives that offer incentives but are located further away do not have any effect on turnout. column 3 estimates the effect of the monetary value of incentives offered across various drives, which results in a negative, somewhat significant coefficient, indicating that for every $1 increase in the highest monetary value of incentives offered at drives within 0-2 and 2-4 miles, 0.1 fewer donors turn out. we must therefore take these displacement effects into account, otherwise we risk overestimating the total effect of incentives. taking displacement into account, the incentives used by the american red cross “seem to be highly cost-effective, on average costing 4 percent or less of the social benefit …” of one extra unit of blood (lacetera et al. 2012). there are clearly positive effects on the number of units collected at blood drives through non-monetary incentives. there are also studies which have been conducted using cash as an incentive. research by mellstrom and johnnassen (2005) presents evidence that the altruistic appeal of charitable giving can be spoiled by cash rewards. a person who may be eager to donate blood may also be concerned that the value of their contribution could be tainted by the inference that material gain played a role in their decision to donate. following in the footsteps of titmuss, mellstrom and johannesson seek to verify his findings through their own field experiment. their study points to one of the primary reasons why many people think a direct cash per unit market for whole blood would not work. they studied the willingness of 238 swedish subjects to join a blood donor program and offered one of three treatments: no payment, a sek 50 payment (roughly $7), and a choice between accepting sek 50 of payment and donating that same money to charity. they found that results differed largely between men and women; there is a significant crowding out effect for women when they are offered an incentive (with the supply of blood donors decreasing by almost half) but no statistically significant effect on the participation of men. they hypothesized that it is more important for women to be perceived as caring and compassionate human beings, which is what lead to this result. interestingly, they also found that offering the option of donating the money to charity fully counteracts the crowding out effect for women and returns their level of supply to the original level. this suggests that the potential problem of introducing monetary payments could be resolved by simply adding an option to donate the money to charity. however, there are still concerns about the safety of the blood supply in the presence of cash donations. although studies referenced above showed no significant effects on the quality of the blood supply using non-cash incentives, there are several studies which provide concerning results when using monetary incentives. a 2009 study compiled information from many previous studies about the safety of paid blood donation, and noted that “some studies have shown that paid donors have a higher risk of transfusion-transmitted infections. paid donors are also more likely to disguise risk factors of infection, such as drug abuse” (buyx, 2009). it is also worth noting that a “it is apparent that incentives are a crucial component of improving the market for blood in the united states, as they are the only method which can be adjusted to meet demand.” 57 blood money collecting blood from a donor (courtesy of wikimedia commons) significant portion of paid donors in the compiled studies came from populations with higher risk profiles, especially from low-income groups, and it is expected that cash payments will continue to attract these high-risk groups. however, some empirical data indicates that, unlike cash payment, non-cash incentives are not problematic in terms of blood safety, as they are not necessarily tied to groups with problematic risk profiles (glynn, 2003). non-cash incentives ranging from tokens of appreciation, t-shirts, mugs, food, and gift cards to stores or restaurants have all been shown to work, similar to the items used by lacetera et al. in their 2012 study. with increased research, it is thought that a well-designed and specifically tailored incentive program could be developed based upon local demographics and donation setting. younger populations might be more attracted to things such as itunes gift cards, video game bonuses, or other kinds of software, whereas older populations might be drawn to wellness class vouchers, non-transferable theatre tickets, or restaurant gift cards. it is vital to note that this approach may only be useful temporarily in anticipation of (or during) shortages, as permanent incentives may cause donors to assocciate blood banks with selfish goals. according to ariely (2008), the reason for publically contributing to pro-social activities like blood donation is to be well-regarded by others. the long-term presence of incentives would dilute the idea of blood donation as a pro-social act, which could discourage individuals to take part in such activities. another study conducted by ellingsen (2008) showed that the motives of the counterparty are important to people taking part in an activity. the permanent presence of incentives may make blood donors change their perception of blood banks from non-selfish institutions to selfish ones. this could then lead to blood donors being less likely to act in a way that benefits the blood banks, because the incentives undermine their contribution. conclusion with the recent upward trend in critical season blood shortages, coupled with increasing demands for blood transfusions, the importance of this issue grows every day. on the basis of various studies, i argue that the united states needs to more widely implement non-cash incentives in order to more effectively meet both increased and changing demands for blood. many studies indicate that offering incentives has a positive impact on blood donors’ contributions, but the impact may become negative when offering money or cash-equivalent incentives. based on this, non-cash incentives are a more effective solution than monetary incentives. due to concerns that long-term, permanent presence of incentives may alter social perception of blood donation from a prosocial activity to a selfish one, i believe it is also important to introduce these incentive programs strategically, such as when shortages occur. this provides a middle ground between the two polar ideologies: completely altruistic donations and direct cash payment. in order to optimize the market for blood in the united states, this solution would also rely heavily on paying attention to donor motives and the construction of effective incentive programs. with more money and research devoted to this idea, the goal of a safe and sufficient blood supply may be attainable. “i argue that the united states needs to more widely implement non-cash incentives in order to more effectively meet both increased and changing demands for blood.” 58 elements : : spring 2018 references “56 facts about blood and blood donation.” bnl blood drives: 56 facts, brookhaven national laboratory, www. bnl.gov/hr/blooddrive/56facts.asp. “astonishing facts about the blood shortage.” online health care degrees, university of cincinnati, cahsonline.uc.edu/resources/mls/articles/astonishing-factsabout-the-blood-shortage/. “blood facts and statistics.” american red cross, american red cross, www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/ blood-facts-and-statistics. “blood faq.” advancing transfusion and cellular therapies worldwide, american association of blood banks, www.aabb.org/tm/pages/bloodfaq.aspx. “who does my donation help?” sfu blood for life, sfubloodforlife.com/who-does-my-donation-help/. abolghasemi, hassan, et al. “blood donor incentives: a step forward or backward.” asian journal of transfusion science, vol. 4, no. 1, jan. 2010, pp. 9–13., doi:10.4103/09736247.59385. ariely d, bracha a, meier s. “doing good or doing well? image motivation and monetary incentives in behaving prosocially.” am econ rev. 2008;99:7–9. balegh, s., marcus, n., dubuc, s., godin, g., france, c. r. and ditto, b. (2016), increasing nondonors’ intention to give blood: addressing common barriers. transfusion, 56: 433–439. doi:10.1111/trf.13386 buyx, alena m. “blood donation, payment, and non-cash incentives: classical questions drawing renewed interest.” transfusion medicine and hemotherapy, vol. 36, no. 5, oct. 2009, pp. 329–339., doi:10.1159/000235608. ellingsen t, johannesson m. pride and prejudice: the human side of incentive theory. am econ rev. 2008;98:990– 1008. engber, daniel. “does the red cross sell blood?” slate magazine, 11 sept. 2006, www.slate.com/articles/news_ and_politics/explainer/2006/09/the_business_of_blood. html. gammon, katharine. “the long quest to create artificial blood may soon be over.” nbcnews.com, nbcuniversal news group, 19 jan. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/long-quest-create-artificial-blood-may-soon-be-overn708576. gandhi, rohit. “when life-saving blood kills.” wion, 1 aug. 2016, www.wionews.com/south-asia/when-life-saving-blood-kills-3852. glynn, simone a., et al. “attitudes toward blood donation incentives in the united states: implications for donor recruitment.” transfusion, vol. 43, no. 1, 2003, pp. 7–16., doi:10.1046/j.1537-2995.2003.00252.x. klose, t, et al. “current concepts for quality assured longdistance transport of temperature-sensitive red blood cell concentrates.” vox sang, vol. 99, 1 july 2010, pp. 44–53., doi:10.1111/j.1423-0410.2009.01302.x. lacetera, nicola, et al. “will there be blood? incentives and displacement effects in pro-social behavior.” american economic journal: economic policy, vol. 4, no. 1, 2012, pp. 186–223., doi:10.1257/pol.4.1.186. macdonald, fiona. “immortal stem cells let scientists create an unlimited supply of artificial blood.” sciencealert, science alert, 28 mar. 2017, www.sciencealert.com/ immortal-stem-cells-let-scientists-create-an-unlimitedsupply-of-artificial-blood. mellstrom, carl, and magnus johannesson. 2005. “crowding out in blood donation: was titmuss right?” goetborg university working papers in economics180. moradi, samira, et al. “artificial blood substitutes: first steps on the long route to clinical utility.” clinical medicine insights: blood disorders, vol. 9, 27 oct. 2016, pp. 33–41., doi:10.4137/cmbd.s38461. mulcahy, andrew w., kandice a. kapinos, brian briscombe, lori uscher-pines, ritika chaturvedi, spencer 59 blood money r. case, jakub p. hlavka and benjamin m. miller. toward a sustainable blood supply in the united states: an analysis of the current system and alternatives for the future. santa monica, ca: rand corporation, 2016. https:// www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/rr1575.html. nagurney, anna. “america is almost out of blood.” good magazine, the conversation, 23 jan. 2017, health. good.is/articles/tracking-blood-supply-chains-shortages. nedelman, michael. “using stem cells to create an endless supply of blood.” cnn, cable news network, 28 mar. 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/health/stem-cells-synthetic-blood-study/index.html. reinhardt, uwe. projected percentage of the u.s. population aged 65 and over. physicians for a national health program, www.pnhp.org/news/2008/december/whydoes-us-health-care-cost-so-much-part-iii-an-aging-population-isnt-the-reason. slonim, robert, et al. “the market for blood.” journal of economic perspectives, vol. 28, 2014, pp. 177–196., pubs. aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.28.2.177. timmermann, mike. “americans are donating plasma to make up to $400 a month.” clark howard, clark howard, 4 july 2017, clark.com/health-health-care/donating-plasma-location-make-money/. titmuss, r. m. (1970). the gift relationship: from human blood to social policy. london: allen & unwin. 60 elements : : spring 2018 ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, .&! -*/"&"#/ also featuring • unmasking medical frauds • pronouns and personhood!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#,# - 2 0 21 · . (& ) ! 1 7 · / '' & ! 1/ !-!) !* %' : : %0 ! & * 1 !"2 " #1 & #%! "!'!#"+0 3(& "* #(, 4( '%( * +(--!2! ,#-2 0 2 1 :: .( -& ) ! 17 :: /''& ! 1/ $"(1&+!1 45 %0! '%#,, (, !-!)!*%' pv-battery systems offer a viable technological alternative to intermittent, standalone pv systems. when deployed at the residential level, pv-battery systems allow households to significantly reduce their reliance on the electric grid by storing excess electricity generated from their solar panels for self-consumption. this study investigates the extent to which residential pv-battery systems offer economic and environmental benefits to massachusetts homeowners throughout their operational lifetime. using spreadsheet models, i represent the energy flows, cash flows, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts under different economic and technological assumptions. results indicate that these systems are a viable means for homeowners to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. economic performance of residential pv-battery systems is deeply impacted by federal and state subsidies, as well as net metering offerings and electricity rate structures. system size also offers certain tradeoffs between economic and environmental performance. let the sun do the work analyzing the economic and environmental performance of residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts thomas rostad 54 elements : : fall 2021 1. introduction according to the “u.s. solar market insight – 2019 year in review”, produced by wood mackenzie and the solar energy industries association (seia), the u.s. saw recordsetting residential solar capacity added in 2019, with more than 2.8 gw installed (seia & wood mackenzie, 2020). in states with high retail electricity rates and robust incentives, installing solar can help homeowners save money on their electric bills. others choose to install solar as a means of reducing their carbon footprint, thus helping to mitigate climate change. an important limiting factor of solar power is its inherent intermittency. photovoltaic (pv) cells are only able to generate electricity when the sun is shining, and homeowners who install solar are only able to use electricity generated from their system during the daytime (energysage, 2018a). one potential solution to this problem is to integrate a large lithium-ion battery with the pv system. by storing excess electricity produced from the solar panels throughout the day, homeowners can continue using electricity generated from their pv system even when the sun is no longer shining (see figure 1). this comes with a few added benefits to the homeowner and society at large. unlike standalone pv systems, pv-battery systems can provide households with backup power in case of an outage. this has been a crucial driver of growth in california’s residential solar-plus-storage market, where last year’s wildfires, and subsequent public-safety power shutoff events, left hundreds of thousands of utility customers without electricity (lazo & carlton, 2019; st. john, 2020). residential pv-battery systems also have the potential to offer system-level benefits that improve the overall efficiency of the electric grid and reduce system-level costs. these benefits include the ability to offset generation from more expensive peaking units, reduce congestion on transmission and distribution lines, stabilize local electricity flows, control local voltage fluctuations, and defer transmission and distribution system upgrades. electricity storage is critical for realizing these benefits and without it, high penetration of distributed solar may actually increase, not decrease, costs (shlatz, buch & chan, 2013). this analysis focuses on the use of pv-battery systems within massachusetts from 2020-2050, a state that already offers robust incentives for its residential solar market. in addition to offering net metering at the full retail electricity rate, the state’s solar massachusetts renewable target (smart) program requires utilities to pay solar owners for every kwh of electricity their pv system produces monthly. the smart program also offers higher incentive payment rates to pv systems that include some form of energy storage (masscec, 2019). this research will help to quantify the economic and environmental benefits accrued to households that install pv-battery systems in the state of massachusetts. it will also shed light on the most important variables in determining this performance, allowing electricity consumers, policymakers, and utilities to make informed decisions on how to deploy the technology most effectively. figure 1: a visual representation of how pv-battery systems operate during the day versus the night (energysage, 2019) 55 letting the sun do the work 2. literature review 2.1 overview due to the nature of the article length in this journal, the literature review for this paper was removed to concentrate on the experiment and its conclusion. this literature review highlights the current state of knowledge on pv-battery systems with a focus on studies that aimed to model the performance of these systems in a residential setting. key findings from the literature review can be summarized as follows: pv-battery systems have been extensively studied to quantify the benefits of deploying such systems at the residential level. early research tended to focus on the application of these systems in countries that pioneered favorable policies for distributed generation. this often involved the simulation and optimization of residential pv-battery systems based on existing feed-in tariff (fit) incentives and net metering programs. most studies accounted for a similar variety of economic and technical parameters but used different model designs and assumptions to simulate energy flows and cash flows. although many studies acknowledged the potential environmental benefits of increasing self-consumption of solar-generated electricity with a battery, few quantified those benefits. 3. methods 3.1 research questions to quantify the economic and environmental performance of residential pv-battery systems in the state of massachusetts, i created the following models to represent the operation of these systems on one-year and 30-year time scales: • how effective are residential pv-battery systems at reducing a household’s reliance on the electric grid? • what is the expected payback period for a residential pv-battery system and how do government subsidies and net metering policies affect this timeline? • how effective are residential pv-battery systems at mitigating ghg emissions throughout their lifetime? • how does system size impact the economic performance of residential pv-battery systems? for most of the questions, i additionally look at how standalone pv systems would perform in comparison as a technology alternative. 3.2 model descriptions 3.2.1 overview this section describes the models created for this study to represent the energy flows, cash flows, and ghg emissions associated with residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts. the “year one energy flows” model quantifies a household’s hourly energy flows over a year under three scenarios that use the same annual hourly electricity consumption profile: baseline scenario represents a household with neither solar panels, nor battery system, standalone pv scenario represents a household with solar panels, but no battery system, and pv-battery scenario represents a household with both solar panels and an integrated battery system. the standalone pv and pvbattery scenarios pair the consumption profile with an annual hourly pv generation profile, then use a series of conditional statements to represent how each technology influences hourly energy flows. the “lifetime npv” model calculates the npv of both a standalone pv system and a pv-battery system in massachusetts over 30 year. the year one calculation of npv factors in outputs from the “year one energy flows” model, the amount of electricity consumed on-site from the standalone pv or pv-battery systems, and the amount of electricity sent back to the grid for net metering. for subsequent years, deflationary pressure is applied to those values to reflect technological degradation. retail electricity prices, net metering prices, and smart incentive payment rates interact with these technological parameters to determine the annual revenues generated by the standalone pv and pv-battery systems. capital costs and operating and maintenance (o&m) costs associated with each technology are calculated as a function of system size and years in operation. after taking the difference between total system costs and revenues, a discount rate is applied to factor in the time value of money. the “lifetime net emissions” model calculates net ghg emissions from using a standalone pv system or a pvbattery system in a residential setting over a 30-year period. net emissions are calculated by taking the difference between avoided emissions from using the standalone pv 56 elements : : fall 2021 or pv-battery system, and the life cycle emissions associated with the technology itself. avoided emissions factor in the amount of electricity consumed on-site from the standalone pv or pv-battery system over a 30-year period, a value drawn directly from the “lifetime npv” model. lifetime emissions data for each technology are based on estimates from relevant academic papers and industry reports. 3.2.2 year one energy flows 3.2.2.1 baseline in a household with neither solar panels nor energy storage system, all electricity demand is supplied directly from the grid: where refers to electricity drawn from the grid during hour h, and refers to household electricity consumption during that same hour. 3.2.2.2 standalone pv this scenario represents the same household after installing a pv system without an associated battery storage system. the household’s hourly demands for electricity from the grid are calculated using the following conditional statements: where refers to electricity generated from the solar panels during hour h. since massachusetts utilities offer net metering credits to residential customers who send electricity to the grid, any excess electricity generated from the pv system must be accounted for: where represents electricity sent to the grid for net metering credits during hour h. 3.2.2.3 pv-battery in a household with both solar panels and an integrated battery, hourly demand for electricity from the grid is calculated using the following algorithm: where is the battery’s level of charge at the end of hour h. the battery is charged and discharged in such a way as to maximize self-consumption. figure 2 shows the decision tree that defines this process. although, once the battery is fully charged, excess electricity is not merely “lost”. instead, it is sent to the grid for net metering. if the solar panels generate excess power , that electricity first goes to charge the battery. if the battery is full, any excess electricity is sent to the grid for net metering credits: where is the charge of the battery at the beginning of the hour, is the battery’s maximum capacity, and bat is the roundtrip efficiency of the battery. if load exceeds pv production , the battery is discharged until either the excess load is met, or the battery reaches its minimum capacity: figure 2: algorithm for pv-battery system energy flows (tero, et al., 2018) 57 letting the sun do the work where is the minimum capacity of the battery. in this case, no electricity is sent to the grid for net metering. 3.2.3 lifetime npv 3.2.3.1 standalone pv the npv of a grid-connected residential pv system after n years of operation is a function of the different costs and revenues it accumulates during those years. in massachusetts, sources of revenue for these systems include avoided costs of electricity, incentive payments offered by the smart program, and net metering credits: where is the retail price of electricity sold from the grid, is the smart program incentive payment rate, is the total amount of electricity produced by the pv system, and is the price of electricity sold back to the grid, all in the nth year of operation. costs for these systems include capital costs and operating and maintenance costs: where refers to the capital costs of the pv system, a function of system size, and refers to the operating and maintenance costs, a function of system size and years in operation. the npv of the pv system is calculated as the difference between system costs and revenues that have accumulated after n years of operation, factoring in the time value of money: where y is the system lifetime in years, and r is the discount rate. 3.2.3.2 pv-battery the same aforementioned formulas are applied when calculating the npv of the pv-battery system. the difference is that the battery adds an additional source of costs and revenues. additional revenues come from an increase in avoided electricity costs: where is electricity supplied directly to the household from the battery in year n. additional costs in this scenario come from the capital costs of the battery system, and its operating and maintenance costs over time: where equals the battery’s capital costs, and om equals the battery’s operation and maintenance costs in year n of operation. 3.2.4 lifetime net emissions 3.2.4.1 standalone pv the net ghg emissions for the standalone pv scenario are calculated by taking the difference between the technology’s expected lifetime emissions, and the emissions that would have been produced by the grid up until year n if the technology not been used at all. the system lifetime in years, referred to as y, acts as the upper limit for n. the following equation represents the avoided emissions for a residential pv system without a battery component: where refers to the average emissions intensity of the grid in metric tons of co2e/kwh. lifetime emissions of the pv system are calculated as follows: where is the nameplate capacity of the pv system, and is the life cycle emissions of the technology per kw of capacity. 3.2.45.2 pv-battery similar formulas to the ones mentioned above are applied when calculating the net ghg emissions of the pv-battery system. in this case, the battery adds an additional source of avoided emissions and lifetime emissions: where refers to the life cycle emissions of the battery per kwh of capacity. 58 elements : : fall 2021 3.3 data sources 3.3.1 technological input parameters .3.1.1 household consumption profile the household consumption profile was sourced from the u.s. department of energy’s openei database. these data are calculated by the office of energy efficiency and renewable energy (eere) using residential building models and the energyplus simulation software (office of energy efficiency & renewable energy, n.d.). the profile predicts hourly electricity consumption for a household in plymouth, ma, with an annual electricity demand of 8,853 kwh. this value was deemed reasonable given that the average new england household consumes 7,536 kwh of electricity per year (masscec, 2019). figure 3 illustrates the average annual hourly load for the household consumption profile. 3.3.1.2 pv generation profile the pv generation profile uses predicted values from the national renewable energy laboratory’s (nrel) pvwatts calculator (national renewable energy laboratory, 2016). the latitude and longitude of the profile are set to 41.97° n, 70.66° w, corresponding roughly to plymouth, ma. the base case pv system size is set at 7 kwdc, the average residential pv system size in massachusetts (masscec, 2019). other pv capacities tested in the analysis include a 3.5 kwdc system and a 10.5 kwdc system. the tool predicts ac system output in kilowatts for every hour of the year. technology specifications are set to standard modules in a fixed roof-mount array. the calculator assumes a 33° tilt angle since most homes in new england have roofs that are pitched at 33° or more to shed snow and ice (masscec, 2019). ideally, a fixed roof-mounted pv array should be at an angle equal to the latitude of the location where it is installed to maximize exposure to sunlight over the year. however, adding tilt to a solar racking can increase installation costs and may lead to panels shading one another (energysage, 2018b). azimuth is set to 180°, implying a southfacing roof. a capacity factor of 15.3%, a dc to ac size ratio of 1.2, and an inverter efficiency of 96% are all used based on the calculator’s recommendations. figure 4 shows the average annual hourly pv generation profiles for the three pv capacities tested in this analysis. 3.3.1.3 battery storage for the pv-battery base case, a maximum storage capacity of 13.5 kwh is used to reflect the capacity of the tesla powerwall 2, a market-leading product in the u.s. residential battery market. this analysis also tests the performance of 6.75 kwh and 20.25 kwh batteries, representing a 50% change in capacity from the base case. the round-trip efficiency of the batteries is assumed to be 87%, slightly less than the 90% figure tesla advertises to be conservative (tesla, 2019). 3.3.1.4 yearly degradation rate since the “lifetime npv” model requires measuring the figure 3: average annual hourly electricity consumption profile for a householf in plymouth, ma. figure 4: average annual hourly generation profiles projected for residential pv systems near plymouth, ma. 59 letting the sun do the work value of these technologies over many years, it needs to account for losses of value due to technology degradation. therefore, degradation rates are applied to both the pv and battery technologies. the pv degradation rate is based on an nrel study which found the median rate of degradation for solar panels to be 0.5% per year (jordan & kurtz, 2012). annual losses in maximum battery capacity and efficiency could either be a function of charge cycles or modeled using a fixed rate. i use a fixed rate derived from the 10year warranty of tesla’s powerwall 2 product. the warranty states that each powerwall will retain 70% of its 13.5 kwh capacity, or 9.75 kwh, at 10 years following its initial installation date (tesla, 2017). i use a 2% annual degradation rate, bringing the powerwall’s maximum capacity down to 11.26 kwh after 10 years. 3.3.2 economic input parameters 3.3.2.1 technology costs the capital cost of the pv system is assumed to be $2.84/ wdc based on estimates for the national average residential system cost in the us before federal tax credits (seia, 2020). operating and maintenance costs are based on the 2018 nrel o&m cost model which includes preventative maintenance, scheduled at regular intervals with costs increasing at an inflationary rate, and corrective maintenance to replace components. the model estimates annual o&m costs to be $22/kwdc (fu, et al., 2018). the capital cost of the battery system is assumed to be $800/kwh. this is based on pricing for the tesla powerwall 2 and includes estimates for system cost, installation costs, and additional hardware costs (sendy, 2020). operating and maintenance costs reflect the costs of replacing the battery at the end of its 10-year lifetime. a price deflation rate of 0.02% is applied to the battery’s capital cost value each year to account for future price decreases for lithium-ion battery products. under these conditions, battery costs are projected to drop to $667/ kwh by 2030, $545/ kwh by 2040, and $445/kwh by 2050. no price deflation rate is needed for the solar panels since this analysis assumes they are only installed once. 3.3.2.2 retail electricity price according to the u.s. energy information administration, the average price of electricity in 2020 for residential consumers in massachusetts is $0.22/kwh (u.s. energy information administration, 2020). prices are expected to increase in small increments over time given national trends in electricity rates over the past decade (u.s. energy information administration, 2019). therefore, a price inflation rate of 1% is applied annually. 3.3.2.3 net metering price massachusetts utilities currently offer net metering credits to residential customers at the retail electricity rate. in this analysis, i test scenarios where net metering prices are either offered at 50% of retail electricity prices or not offered at all. 3.3.2.4 government subsidies the federal itc partly subsidizes capital costs for pv and pv-battery systems. in 2020, the federal itc covers 26% of investment costs for both systems, so long as batteries are charged by the solar panels more than 75% of the time (national renewable energy laboratory, 2017). massachusetts also offers a personal income tax credit for 15% of total pv system capital costs, with a maximum credit of $1,000 (masscec, 2019). both tax credits are applied to capital costs in the “lifetime npv” model. massachusetts’ smart program offers incentive payments for a 10-year term to the owners of residential pv systems, with additional incentive payments provided to the owners of pv systems that integrate battery storage (masscec, 2019). a value of energy calculator is available on the program administrator’s webpage to help calculate expected incentive payments based on solar capacity, storage capacity, and the duration of the storage. i used this calculator to find the appropriate 10-year incentive payments for various standalone pv and pv-battery system sizes tested in the “lifetime npv” model. while the above mentioned subsidies all exist in reality, i decided to add one speculative subsidy into the “lifetime npv” model. if implemented, a carbon tax would increase the cost of electricity, thus incentivizing the use of standalone pv or pv-battery systems. based on a 2015 study conducted by the tax policy center, a $10/ton carbon tax would add about $0.05/kwh to the price of electricity generated from a typical fuel mix (marron, et al., 2015). i account for a $40/ton carbon tax in 2035, which would cause retail electricity rates to increase by approximately $0.02/kwh from that year forward. 60 elements : : fall 2021 3.3.2.5 discount rate based on a review of previous studies, 4% is chosen as the nominal discount rate to be applied in the “lifetime npv” model (hoppmann, et al., 2014). 3.3.3 environmental input parameters 3.3.3.1 life cycle ghg emissions through a meta-analysis of existing literature on pv life cycle assessments, nian (2016) found the median value for the life cycle emissions of solar panels to be about 1,320 kg co2e/kw. based on an extensive review of life cycle assessments for lithium-ion batteries, peters et al. (2017) found the average value for the life cycle emissions of lithium-ion batteries to be 110 kg co2e/kwh. i apply each of these in the “lifetime net emissions” model. 3.3.3.2 grid emissions intensity (annual) emissions data from iso new england shows that its network’s average ghg emission rate in 2017 was 682 lb. co2e /mwh (iso new england, 2019a). this translates to 0.31 kg co2e/kwh and represents a 3.9% decrease from the 2016 average. given the ambitious target set by new england states to reduce the region’s ghg emissions by 80% from 1990 levels, we can expect this average to continue declining (weiss et al., 2019). therefore, i apply a 4% annual decrease in average emission rates for the “lifetime net emissions” model. 4. results 4.1 energy flows 4.1.1 comparing standalone pv & pv-battery systems this analysis looks at how a massachusetts household with an annual electricity load of 8,853 kwh can reduce reliance on the electric grid using standalone pv or pvbattery technologies. with neither of these systems installed, the grid supplies all of the household’s electricity demands. after installing a 7 kw pv system, the household’s annual grid draw drops to 5,811 kwh. by pairing a 13.5 kwh battery with the 7 kw pv system, annual grid draw drops to 2,216 kwh. it is useful to measure these differences in terms of self-consumption, or the percentage of total electricity consumption supplied on-site. in this case, the homeowner is able to meet 74% of total electricity consumption needs through selfconsumption using a pv-battery system, compared to just 35% with solar panels and no battery. it is important to note that these values only represent each technology’s first year of operation. figure 5 demonstrates that grid reliance steadily increases in subsequent years as each technology degrades. small dips in annual grid draw for the pv-battery scenario occur every 10 years when the battery is replaced, reflecting the gains in efficiency with a newly installed battery. 4.1.2 effects of system size through testing alternative size configurations for standalone pv and pvbattery systems in the “year one energy flows” model, we see different levels of self-consumption associated with each configuration for the first year of operation (see table 1). as represented by configurations b and c, changes in pv capacity have very little impact on self-consumption under any standalone pv scenario. in these cases, figure 5: household grid reliance under the baselie, standalone pv, and pv-battery scenarios table 1: self-consumption levels for various pvbattery size configurations 61 letting the sun do the work the maximum difference in self-consumption resulting from a 50% change in pv capacity is just four percentage points. on the other hand, decreasing pv capacity has notable effects on self-consumption under the pv-battery scenario. self-consumption levels for configuration b are 25 percentage points lower than those of configuration a. a 50% increase in battery capacity (upgrading configuration a to configuration e) only results in a fivepercentage point increase in selfconsumption. decreasing battery capacity to 6.75 results in a 17 percentage point decrease in self-consumption which, although significant, is still less than the changes seen when the same amount decreases pv capacity. figures 6, 7, and 8 further illustrate how differences in battery size impact the energy flows of pv-battery systems. by contrasting the average annual hourly energy flows of configurations a, d, and e in their first year of operation, we can visualize differences in battery discharge, grid draw, and net metering. amongst the three systems, configuration d demands the most electricity from the grid, and sends the most electricity back to the grid for net metering. configuration e can continuously discharge electricity from its battery for long periods, and only demands small amounts of electricity from the grid throughout the night. configuration a typically operates somewhere in between these two extremes. 4.2 cash flows 4.2.1 comparing standalone pv & pvbattery systems when making any large financial investment, one important consideration is the amount of time it will take for the investment to become profitable. given that residential solar and solar-plusstorage installations can cost tens of thousands of dollars, homeowners would greatly benefit from knowing each technology’s expected payback period. in this analysis, i calculate the expected payback period for pv and pv-battery systems in massachusetts by determining when their npv becomes positive in the “lifetime npv” model. results show that after just five years, the base case standalone pv system attains a positive npv, compared with the pv-battery system, which takes seven years to figure 8. average annual hourly energy flows (configuration e). figure 7. average annual hourly energy flows (configuration d). figure 6. average annual hourly energy flows (configuration a). 62 elements : : fall 2021 break even. with higher capital costs at the outset of the study period, the pv-battery system’s npv experiences multiple dips throughout the 30-year period (see figure 9). these dips can be attributed to the high costs of replacing the battery at the end of its lifetime which, in this analysis, is every 10 years. homeowners may be able to continue using their battery past its intended lifetime. however, cost savings from not purchasing a replacement could be offset by losses in efficiency and maximum capacity as the battery continues to degrade. there may also be added safety risks when using large lithium-ion batteries past their lifetime. 4.2.2 effects of system size when deciding whether to install a residential pv-battery system, homeowners should always consider a variety of system sizes to determine which may best suit their needs. in this analysis, i examine how the pv-battery size configurations listed in table 1 compare in economic performance over a 30-year period. first, i measured differences in payback period between configurations a, d, and e, all of which share a 7 kw pv capacity but differ in battery size. figure 10 shows that configuration d, which has the smallest battery capacity, also has the shortest payback period. although configuration e only has a slightly longer payback period than configurations a and d, replacing the battery after 10 years incurs high maintenance costs. aside from higher replacement costs, other factors associated with battery size also contribute to differences in npv over each configuration’s lifetime. for example, larger batteries influence system revenues by increasing avoided electricity costs and, simultaneously, decreasing net metering revenues. the profitability of this tradeoff depends on factors such as the household’s electricity consumption profile, net metering rates, and pv capacity. additionally, smart incentive payments are partly influenced by battery capacity since the program’s “energy storage adder” is based on the ratio of pv capacity to battery capacity. as battery capacity increases relative to pv capacity, incentive payment rates increase, although the difference is quite small and payments only last for the first 10 years of operation. figure 9. npv for a standalone pv system and pv-battery system. figure 10. effects of battery capacity on pv-battery npv. figure 11. effects of pv capacity on pv-battery npv. 63 letting the sun do the work i then repeated this process with configurations a, b, and c, all of which have a battery capacity of 13.5 kwh but differ in pv capacity. although the changes in pv capacity do little to affect the payback period, the long-term effects on npv are significant. figure 11 shows that after 15 years of operation, configuration c surpasses configurations a and b in npv. interestingly, configuration b reaches its peak npv in year nine, but fails to recover that value throughout the rest of its operational lifetime. the payback period and maximum npv for all of the pv-battery configurations mentioned above are summarized in table 2. it becomes clear that configuration d has the best economic performance of all the pv-battery systems modeled in this analysis, both in terms of payback period and maximum npv. 4.2.3 effects of government subsidies it remains to be seen whether residential solar-plus-storage markets can survive without the support of robust government incentives. by omitting certain subsidies from the “lifetime npv” model, i was able to visualize their effects on the expected payback of residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts more clearly. for a 7 kw pv system paired with a 13.5 kwh battery (configuration a), certain subsidies have a significantly greater effect on npv then others. the system’s npv fails to break even throughout the 30-year study period without any government subsidies. the federal itc plays an important role in improving the economics of the system by reducing initial investment costs. however, federal subsidies alone only bring the payback period down to 25 years. figure 12 shows that massachusetts’ smart program has the greatest effect on payback time out of any subsidy by substantially increasing system revenues throughout operation. combining the federal itc and smart incentive payments ultimately reduces the expected payback time to just seven years. interestingly, implementing a $40/ton carbon tax in 2035, which would theoretically increase retail electricity prices, does virtually nothing to increase npv in the following years. 4.2.4 effects of net metering net metering has been proven to add significant value to table 2. payback period and maximum npv for different pv-battery size configurations. figure 13. effects of different net metering prices on standalone pv & pv-battery npv. figure 12. effects of different government subsidies on pv-battery npv. 64 elements : : fall 2021 residential pv systems over time when offered at the full retail rate. in this analysis, i attempted to quantify that value by modeling scenarios where net metering is offered at a reduced rate, or not offered at all. i then looked at how these same changes would affect the economic performance of a pv-battery system. my findings suggest that reducing net metering rates by 50% raises the payback time of a standalone 7 kw pv system from five years to seven years, and eliminating net metering extends that payback period to nine years. figure 13 shows just how little these changes affect pv-battery systems in comparison. lowering the net metering rate by 50% only extends the payback period of the base case pv-battery system to eight years. after eliminating net metering, the payback period remains below nine years, shorter than the time needed to pay back the standalone pv system under the same circumstances. these findings reveal just how dependent standalone pv systems are on net metering revenues for economic viability. the expected payback period for pv-battery systems is barely impacted by these revenues. 4.3 ghg emissions 4.3.1 comparing standalone pv and pv-battery systems in this study, i modeled the net ghg emissions associated with standalone pv systems and pv-battery systems over 30 years. my results indicate that the base case standalone pv system ends its 30-year lifetime with a net emissions value of -15.09 metric tons of co2e while the base case pv-battery system has a net emissions value of -34.36 metric tons of co2e. figure 14 shows that the pv-battery system begins its lifetime with higher net emissions than the standalone pv system. this is due to the emissions that come with the production of the battery. however, as the pv-battery system continues through its operational lifetime, net emissions drop at a rapid pace unmatched by the standalone pv system. this can be attributed to the pv-battery system’s enhanced ability to offset fossil fuel generation from the grid in favor of clean energy produced on-site. replacing the battery every 10 years has little impact on offsetting these gains in emissions abatement. it should be noted that this analysis assumes every kwh of electricity consumed from the grid results in the same amount of ghg emissions, regardless of the time of day or season. in reality, the emissions intensity of the electric grid changes hour by hour throughout the year. 5. discussion residential pv-battery systems have been proposed as a way for homeowners to reduce their reliance on the grid by storing excess power produced from their solar array for self-consumption. my analysis supports this claim, showing that pv-battery systems could increase a typical massachusetts household’s self-consumption percentage between 50% and 81%. in comparison, the standalone pv systems modeled in this study could only increase the same household’s self-consumption percentage to a maximum of 36%. although pv-battery configurations a, c, and e support self-consumption levels at or above 75%, this does not necessarily imply that the household in question could disconnect from the grid and meet its electricity needs for three quarters of the year. i cannot make this assertion because this model focuses on a battery’s ability to meet a household’s hourly energy demands without accounting for peaks in power usage. low maximum power output is a common characteristic of lithium-ion batteries and, without the support of the grid, home battery systems may only be able to power a few small appliances at a time. this has long been one of the major weaknesses of residential pv-battery systems considering that many homeowners install these systems with hopes of disconnecting from the grid, or having total figure 14. cumulative ghg emissions for standalone pv and pv-battery systems over a 30-year period. 65 letting the sun do the work backup power in an outage (cinnamon, 2019). additionally, the household consumption profile used in this analysis does not represent all massachusetts households. future analysis should attempt to uncover how high and low estimates for household electricity consumption affect grid reliance and optimal system sizing. looking at table 1, it is not surprising that the pv-battery configurations with the highest pv capacity and battery capacity, configurations c and e, respectively, also support the highest levels of self-consumption. however, in economic terms, these high-capacity systems do not perform as well as other configurations. in fact, table 2 shows that configurations c and e have the longest payback periods of all the pv-battery configurations. the shortest payback period and maximum npv belong to configuration d, a pv-battery system consisting of a 7 kw pv array and a 6.75 kwh battery. this enhanced performance is primarily driven by decreased capital costs and o&m costs associated with the smaller battery. one major shortcoming of the “lifetime npv” model is the assumption that capital costs for these technologies can be covered upfront without outside financing. while some homeowners may be able to afford these high upfront costs, many would struggle to afford them without a loan. ideally, this analysis would be repeated for different financing scenarios. one innovative idea piloted in parts of the u.s. is to have utilities lease pv-battery systems to their customers for a monthly fee. having access to thousands of customers’ batteries would enable utilities to draw power when needed most, shaving peak demand and reducing peak system usage charges. for green mountain power, vermont’s largest electric utility, this program resulted in increased reliability and lower overall costs for ratepayers (mingle, 2019). in return, customers get to enjoy the benefits of their pv-battery system, without the high upfront costs, on the condition that they surrender control over their batteries during peak events which can occur several times a month for hours at a time. the “lifetime npv” model makes it very clear that government subsidies still play a crucial role in supporting the economic viability of pv battery systems in massachusetts. without the federal itc, the payback period for a 7 kw solar array paired with a 13.5 kwh battery jumps from seven to 15 years. by cutting massachusetts’ smart incentive program on top of this, the same system fails to break even throughout its operational lifetime. given that the federal itc is set to phase out entirely for residential installations by 2022, massachusetts policymakers may want to consider scaling up the state’s personal income tax credit in compensation. on april 15, 2020, the massachusetts department of energy resources and governor charlie baker’s office released emergency regulations doubling the size of the smart program, bringing the program’s total capacity to 3.2 gw (sylvia, 2020). with specific carve-outs for smaller projects, any new standalone pv or pv-battery installations will likely qualify for incentive payments in the near future. another key takeaway from the “lifetime npv” model is the impact of net metering on the economic performance of pv-battery systems in the state of massachusetts. when offered at the full retail electricity rate, net metering seems to do more to hurt residential solar-plus-storage markets than to help them. under these circumstances, it is much more profitable for homeowners to install standalone pv systems than installing pv-battery systems because any excess electricity they produce can quickly be sold back to the grid. alternatively, if utilities were to forgo net metering entirely, owners of standalone pv systems would not be compensated for any of the excess electricity they produce. therefore, storing the electricity in a battery for eventual self-consumption would become the only way solar owners can extract value from their excess electricity generation. this represents significant upside for residential solarplus-storage markets, seeing that electric utilities across the nation are beginning to reconsider net metering offerings because of the way these programs shift costs to customers without solar (trabish, 2019b). regarding environmental performance, my findings suggest that pv-battery systems have net negative ghg emissions and outperform standalone pv systems in cumulative lifetime net emissions. compared to solar panels, the production of lithium-ion batteries contributes very little to net emissions. by offsetting a greater amount of electricity production from the grid, the base case pvbattery system helped abate 24.18 more metric tons of co2e than the standalone pv system after 30 years of operation. it should be noted that this analysis only accounts for one particular measure of environmental performance. while net ghg emissions are certainly an important metric to consider, other environmental impact measures such as resource use and toxicity also deserve consideration. 66 elements : : fall 2021 6. conclusion residential pv-battery systems have the potential to reduce homeowners’ reliance on the electric grid, helping them to save money and lessen their carbon footprint. this study was designed to measure how well pv-battery systems achieve those objectives in the state of massachusetts under various economic and technological assumptions. using several spreadsheet models to represent the energy flows, cash flows, and ghg emissions of pv-battery systems, i was able to produce the following insights: • residential pv-battery systems are already a viable means for massachusetts homeowners to reduce grid reliance, lower their electricity costs, and offset ghg emissions. • out of the six pv-battery system sizes considered, no one configuration stood out as the top performer across all categories of performance. for reducing grid reliance, pv-battery systems with high solar capacity are the best option. in terms of saving money and seeing those returns quickly, pv-battery systems with small batteries offer the most value. • government subsidies will continue to play a crucial role in supporting the economic viability of pv-battery systems in massachusetts, especially the state’s smart program, which substantially increases system revenues throughout operation. if the federal itc expires in 2022 as planned, the expected payback period for these systems will more than double. • net metering as it is currently offered in massachusetts incentivizes the adoption of standalone pv systems considerably more than pv-battery systems. in cases where net metering credits are not offered to electricity customers, the payback period for pv-battery systems becomes slightly shorter than that of standalone pv systems. further research on this topic would benefit from analyzing a wider variety of household electricity consumption profiles, financing scenarios, modes of operation for home battery systems, and metrics of environmental performance. additionally, increased penetration of residential pv-battery systems in society will demand more in-depth research on how these technologies impact day-to-day grid operations. 67 letting the sun do the work references cinnamon, b. 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(2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ this paper attempts to understand how the celebrated and controversial figure of sergei eisenstein understood and contributed to the formation of the soviet union through his films of the 1920s. the lens of visual metaphors offer a specific insight into how artistic choices of the director were informed by his own pedagogy for the russian revolution. the paper asks the questions: did eisenstein’s films reflect the official party rhetoric? how did they inform or motivate the public toward the communist ideology of the early soviet union? the primary sources used in this paper are from the films strike (1925), battleship potemkin (1926), october (1928), and the general line (1929). eisenstein created visual metaphors through the juxtaposition of images in his films which alluded to higher concepts. a shot of a worker followed by the shot of gears turning created the concept of industry in the minds of the audience. through visual metaphors, it is possible to understand the motives of eisenstein and the communist party. it is also possible, with the aid of secondary sources, to see how those motives differed. visual metaphors for the people a study of cinematic propoganda in sergei eisenstein’s film ashley brown “language is much closer to film than painting is. for example, in painting the form arises from abstract elements of line and color, while in cinema the material concreteness of the image within the frame presents—as an element—the greatest difficulty in manipulation. so why not lean towards the system of language, which is forced to use the same mechanics in inventing words and word-complexes”1—sergei eisenstein, a dialectical approach to film form the language of images similar to how individual words are arranged to construct meaning in language, individual images are used to create meaning in films. language constructs images, themes, and allegories for its audiences using concrete words, much like the way film constructs visual metaphors— associative points of similarity—through shots of concrete images. a visual metaphor is the representation of a concept through a suggested association with a similar or contrasting image.2 sergei eisenstein is most notable in his contributions to the field of film theory for his development of styles of montage, the “assemblage” or editing of shots that forms an aesthetic compilation. the sum of the montage is more valuable to the narrative than its parts. the images of each shot compose a visual metaphor that serves to connect the subject of the shot to the experiences of the audience through a symbolic relationship.3 audiences watching strike in 1925 saw factory workers crossing their arms overlaid by a shot of gears stopping; they could see that the workers had the power to stop the production.4 this allegorical relationship was employed by eisenstein in his silent films of the 1920s to establish a pedagogy of revolution. while eisenstein’s development of montage in film theory is widely acclaimed, scholars studying eisenstein’s works often fail to take visual metaphors on their own terms. historiography the deeply developed body of scholarly works devoted to eisenstein’s life and films in the realms of politics and film theory focuses mostly on the nuanced shifts in eisenstein’s political views and development of film theory over the course of his career. scholarly works that examine eisenstein’s career through a historical lens focus on his shift from marxist-influenced, optimistic revolution in the 1920s to the dogmatic genre of socialist realism under stalin.5 the department of culture and propaganda bureaucratized the field of cinema and encouraged filmmakers to follow the doctrine of social realism, which aimed at the “... organization of the psychology of the masses.”6 works about eisenstein in the field of film theory examine eisenstein’s career in theater, the evolution of his approach to montage, and his artistic expression.7 scholars have missed or failed to fully explore the importance of visual metaphors in eisenstein’s works because the use of objects to create allegories was critiqued for being too obscure for audiences to understand.8 although eisenstein’s use of visual metaphor, at times, made his works less accessible to the public because of the abstract ideas presented in his early films,9 visual metaphors are a valuable resource for unpacking eisenstein’s revolutionary credo. this paper will attempt to address gaps in the field of works produced on eisenstein by closely examining a singular component of his films from the first decade of his career in order to understand how eisenstein was able to craft his revolutionary ideology in his early career through visual metaphor. visual metaphors in sergei eisenstein’s pedagogy of revolution the visual metaphors of eisenstein’s early works can be used to unpack a pedagogy of revolution, which emphasizes themes of social change through collectivism. eisenstein evokes connections between the films’ narratives and real events and problems faced by the audience. the visual a cartoon of sergei eisenstein (courtesy of flickr) 62 elements : : spring 2018 metaphors emphasize collective bargaining power and social unity as driving forces toward social and economic restructuring. sergei eisenstein uses visual metaphor to teach audiences the benefits of cooperative action from all industries of production and defense. these allegories serve the pedagogy of revolution through visual cues and connections that influence the audience by introducing, reinforcing, and glamorizing concepts of collectivism that were propagated during and after the october revolution and the civil war. eisenstein’s films expose the monarchy and provisional government for obscuring from the people a manifest truth: the power to regulate politics and the economy has always been with the collective of the proletariat. the visual metaphors of eisenstein’s early films are valuable in understanding eisenstein’s visions of how society should change through the use of setting motifs that critique and remind people of the harsh socio-economic conditions before the revolution, the deconstruction of the value and symbols of the russian empire, and the power of the organized masses in affecting positive change. the artistic freedom which eisenstein experienced at the beginning of his film career allowed him to express a revolutionary pedagogy through film techniques including visual metaphor that venerated organization of the masses and collective cooperation as the pinnacle of justice. in the late 1920s, the bolshevik party’s consolidation of power diminished the artistic freedom of soviet directors and prevented eisenstein from using many of his early techniques to manifest his revolutionary pedagogy. eisenstein’s films from 1925-1928 eisenstein gained recognition for his second film, battleship potemkin (1925), in an era of bold avant-garde experimentation.10 during the revolution of 1917, many in the established film industry fled to yalta, which left a gap for new bolshevik innovators to emerge from other artistic fields. eisenstein established himself amongst the avantgarde during this time as a film theorist and later as a director. his first four films of the 1920s present and attempt to deconstruct the individualistic ideals of the capitalist economic system of the russian empire and emphasize the importance of collectivism. denise youngblood, author of movies for the masses: popular cinema and soviet society in the 1920s, notes, “this was the era of film without a hero (unless that ‘hero’ was the masses) and a film without a plot (unless that ‘plot’ was the revolution).”11 eisenstein’s films are intentionally directed at the working classes in order to appeal to, honor, and strengthen the bolshevik’s basis of power. the bolshevik party recruited its members directly from the working class for fifteen years following the revolution.12 eisenstein’s first film, strike (1925), serves as an example of bolshevik recruitment techniques in that it is set at a factory complex where the workers are portrayed as the heroes.13 following strike, eisenstein directed battleship potemkin (1925), which focused on sailors rebelling against inhumane treatment from their captains.14 film theorists hailed potemkin as an artistic feat. one critic called for films to “romanticize the struggle between the birth of the new and the death of the old.”15 early in his career, eisenstein’s films fit into the bolshevik pedagogy of revolution; eventually, romanticism of the revolution would not be enough to meet the party’s needs. in 1927 eisenstein was commissioned for the film october: ten days that shook the world for the tenth anniversary of the october revolution.16 its release was delayed until 1928 due to extensive re-editing mandated by the stalin administration to remove trotsky’s influence.17 october was eisenstein’s first soviet film to be creatively limited by the bolshevik party. the era of ‘film without a hero’ had concluded with or without eisenstein’s consent. he received criticism for casting a common worker to play lenin in october.18 eisenstein’s focus on the power of the masses did not translate into the idolatry of party figures which the bolsheviks required. he chose to have one main protagonist in his subsequent film, the general line, also known as old and new (1929).19 it depicted a poor farmer named marfa leading her community of “although eisenstein’s use of visual metaphor, at times, made his works less accessible to the public because of the abstract ideas presented in his early films, visual metaphors are a valuable resource for unpacking eisenstein’s revolutionary credo.” 63 visual metaphors for the people agrarian workers to benefit from the sharing their collective resources. similar to october, the general line also received party scrutiny for the use of complex metaphors. through a variety of techniques, eisenstein created visual metaphors that glorified the collective organization of workers as the base of the revolution until his freedom, in particular his use of objects to create visual metaphors, was limited by party interference. motifs and characterization eisenstein used motifs regarding the settings of each film to remind audiences of and criticize unjust socio-economic conditions before the revolution. he utilized the physical landscapes of his films’ settings as a motif to bring meaning to the experiences of the characters: the revolutionary quality of strike was exemplified by the fact that it took its renewing principle… from those that are directly utilitarian: specifically, the principle of the construction of the exposition of manufacturing processes in the film […] that sphere whose principles might alone define the ideology of the forms of revolutionary art just as they have defined revolutionary ideology in general: heavy industry, factory production, and the forms of the manufacturing process.20 the form of man is present—even in shots dominated by tools and mechanics—to remind the audience who is responsible for making and maintaining the factory. strike opens with a still shot of smokestacks billowing smoke.21 the productivity of the workers is constant, and the domination of the industrial landscape against the skyline reflects the advancements of mankind. the smokestacks set an appropriate theme for the workers attempting to advance towards a utopian future of their own making. the industrial landscape is a tool for the workers to use in order to bargain for a better future against the oppressive factory owners. in strike, the workers envision a happier future in which they have more of a say in their job conditions and more time to spend with their families. a secondary establishing shot is the turning of enormous gears, with the silhouettes of workers imposed on the gears as if they are caught in an unceasing cycle of productivity.22 during strike, the smokestacks and the wheel stop. a gear slows downt, overlaid with a frame of three men crossing their arms. as they glare into the camera, the gear stops.23 in marxist fashion, the people have seized the modes of production. as sheila fitzpatrick noted, “marxism was both an ideology of revolution and an ideology of economic development;” therefore, the smokestacks that “clutter the landscape of the former soviet union were, in their time, the fulfillment of revolutionary dream.”24 eisenstein defines the people by the landscape of industry and the factory by its workers. when the people refuse to work, the factory is still. there is no motion of one without motion of the other. where the workers are defined by mechanical imagery, the antagonists of the film are defined by bourgeois symbols of luxury and exotic animals. in one scene, the factory managers laugh over drinks served in decorative crystal decanters. one manager squeezes a lemon squeezer, metaphorically denoting his power to put pressure on the strikers until they give in.25 the spies are introduced by overlapping shots of the animals bearing each of their code names. the monkey jumps about, while the owl blinks slowly as his face is overlaid with the face of the animal.26 the spies have no belonging amongst their human peers as animals, they are marked out as an antithesis to the mechanical motifs of the workers. the factory workers are dialectically opposed to their oppressors through the contrast of imagery natural to and unnatural to the industrial landscape. eisenstein’s use of animal imagery to define the hopes and aspirations of the workers denotes collectivism and hope through common motifs of spring and renewal rather than otherness. the children mimic their parents by putting goats in wheelbarrows, imitating how the managers were pushed into the pond.27 where earlier the pet shop analogy denoted the subservience and otherness of the spies, this naturally-occurring animal life serves other metaphorical purposes. baby animals, including ducka photograph of the director sergei eisenstein (courtesy of flickr) 64 elements : : spring 2018 lings, kittens, pigs, and geese are all representative of the revolutionary hope for renewal of life.28 the connection between the child and the animals serves the pedagogy of revolution in the promise of a better future for the children of those who participated in strike (or the revolution, as the audience would connect). the hopeful images of animals in symbolic relationship with the workers is subverted as the pressures of the management take its toll. without food or money, the factory workers’ despair is revealed through the imagery of dead cats hanging from rafters.29 whereas young animals symbolize hope, adult animals serve as a reminder of the hardships and pain of life at the hands of oppressors. the climactic end to strike features the factory workers and their families being slaughtered by the police overlaid with shots depicting the butchering of a cow.30 the chief of police is denoted as the butcher. he upturns a bottle of ink and slams his hand into it.31 the metaphorical blood on his hands translates literally on the screen as strike is ended with the martyrdom of the entire factory. eisenstein claimed that his second film, battleship potemkin, was not “simply a successor to strike but a contemporary answer to it.” battleship potemkin makes use of similar setting motifs to characterize the sailors.32 characters in the movie are allegorically compared to rotten food in order to demonstrate their mistreatment, actions, and outlook. the sailors complain about rotten meat, each examining the maggots that crawl over the meat on hooks hanging in the open.33 the meat is a representation of the sailor’s poor treatment by their officers, and the poor conditions of the workers and people of russia in 1905. it signifies the rottenness of the system that provides these conditions. the meat on a hook represents not only the inadequate provisions given to the sailors but also their feelings of being “hung out” and “left to rot” by their corrupt government. eisenstein intended for this to be the final injustice that caused the sailors to rebel because it enforces the themes propagated by revolutionaries of rotten leadership with the workers being continuously mistreated and subjugated to inhumane conditions. the food, much like the government, is unpalatable. shots of boiling soup being prepared are cut together with the sailors’ increasing fervor and action. the more the soup boils, the angrier the sailors get.34 this serves to show there are multiple factors, or ‘ingredients,’ at play in the film: the sailors’ anger at being mistreated, the workers’ plight (which the sailors discuss supporting in the first scene), and the peasants who would later appear in support of the sailors. the contributing factors that are not evident at the beginning of the film are foreshadowed by the ingredients in the soup, the total picture that boils with revolutionary fervor. the sailors refuse to eat the soup, beginning their rebellion by acting out against the inadequate provisions. one critic hailed october as the “symphony after the étude of potemkin;”35 eisenstein again infused his film’s revolutionary quality with the motifs of its setting. eisenstein uses imagery of and related to the city of petrograd in october to comment on the freedoms or lack thereof of the working class during the reign of the provisional government. in a dramatic reproduction of a demonstration in july of 1917, the proletariat is cut off from the center of the city by a series of bridges being raised with the bodies of people shot by the army falling off them into the sea.36 this represents how the people were completely cut off, not only from the city center in the film, but from the access to basic luxuries enjoyed by the bourgeoisie. eisenstein recalled waking up in the nicholas library after shooting interior shots of the winter palace. he saw the palace bridge, a landmark that could unite or separate different parts of the city, through the window, and said: the bridge evolved into a symbol […] of the city’s split […] ultimately a symbol of two outstretched arms, reaching out to each other in a firm grip. this was of structural importance in my conception of the whole film.37 the structure of two outstretched hands represents the people’s struggle to connect with their collective ownership and relationship with their own city and culture. where the bourgeoisie enjoyed freedom of movement, the workers were restricted. the raised bridge symbolized the social stratification that the revolution was able to overcome. when the hands of the bridge were joined, the people were united. the use of visual metaphors taken from images characteristic to the setting of each film emphasizes the importance of each sphere of society. eisenstein noted the importance of the means of production in revolutionary ideology.38 the same can be said for his later films that draw from elements of scenery to imply the nature of both protagonists and antagonists. where the settings are familiar, the audience better understands the connections 65 visual metaphors for the people that eisenstein attempts to conceive through the use of visual metaphors. these messages share purpose in educating the people about the pedagogy of the revolution in eisenstein’s vision. the scenery exposes the exploitation of the workers and the cruelty of the ruling class, while serving to remind the people of their power should they organize and seize the means of production and the hope of a utopian future. in the general line and october, eisenstein again used the technique of creating visual metaphors from motifs of the setting to characterize the protagonists. the farmers receive a loan for a machine that separates milk to make butter. the shots of the shiny machine in the dull, low ceilinged house present an allegory for the modernization of the peasants’ lives.39 with their collective power, they have brought in new technology from which they will all benefit together. collectivism is the tool by which they can access success and the future. the revolution is characterized by utopian dreams. for eisenstein, these dreams were achievable through organization of the working class. the cultural revolution began in the spring of 1928, and caused a demand for films about collectivism starring peasants. eisenstein continued the tradition of his earlier works; he “certainly exhibited the requisite enthusiasm for collectivism in his movie,” but received criticism from the party for his focus on objects as narrative devices through visual metaphors. eisenstein was outspoken against social realism until 1929.40 following the release of the general line, he left the soviet union to travel through europe.41 eisenstein rejected the film trend of social realism which relied on internal rather than external characterization. social realism developed the revolutionary education and aspirations of characters through focus on internal psychology.42 throughout the 1920s eisenstein consistently attempted to appeal to a uniquely russian sense of identity in which the pride of the working class audiences was embodied by the landscape and geography—both manmade and natural—of their country. juxtaposition and intellectual montage eisenstein juxtaposes visual metaphors to deconstruct the cultural norms and values of the russian empire juxtaposition is the use of two opposing concepts put in conjunction with each other to emphasize contrast. in film, eisenstein uses montage to create juxtaposition. the images being juxtaposed in each shot create the metaphor. as eisenstein wrote, “from the collision of two given factors arises a concept. ‘linkage’ is, in my interpretation, only a possible special case […] thus montage is conflict.”43 the tension that arises from the juxtaposition of images and concepts allows for eisenstein’s films to challenge and break down normative cultural assumptions of supporters of the russian empire and the provisional government. the purpose of challenging the norms of the monarchy was to educate and agitate the russian people so that they would support and comply with the bolshevik regime. eisenstein joined the red army during the civil war. although eisenstein had less creative control over his later two films of the 1920s, he used the technique of intellectual montage to create visual metaphor to serve as communist propaganda. eisenstein created his films with the intention of agitation and propaganda.44 the conflict that arises from juxtaposition in montage is revolutionary agitation against the monarchy. eisenstein further evolved his theories on intellectual montage, in which two unrelated images shown sequentially would create a new concept in the minds of the audience. in october, a bolshevik accidentally crosses a soldier by the waterfront with his bourgeois girlfriend and older, upper class civilians. spotting him, they begin to attack.45 shots of an elderly aristocratic woman stamping on the pole of the bolshevik’s banner are cut with scenes of a white horse pulling a carriage slipping and falling, then sliding down the street. as the woman’s foot stomps down on the bolshevik dream, the elegant horse’s legs break.46 the conflict of the two shots results from the destruction of both bolshevik and bourgeois symbols. as the aristocrat attempts to break the revolutionary fervor, her foot almost appears to be the cause of the horse’s leg breaking in the cut between the two images. eisenstein draws out this tension through the implication that the harder the upper class fought the revolution, the more they damaged their own goals and way of life. in a long montage, eisenstein displays a baroque sculpture of jesus, followed by a hindu god, the buddha, and numerous pagan idols.47 this series of images, compared one after the other in close-up, minimizes the differences of each statue and implies that all religions are the same. christianity is no more correct than paganism.48 as each idol devolves in the complexity of its artistic form, from the ornate jesus to the simple humanistic, or animalistic, figures of the pagan idols, the importance of all idols diminishes. military medals are then shown, followed by shots of kings on statues being toppled over in reverse, so that the chairs tip backward to stand resurrected. this, again, is followed by an animalistic sculpture. the shot of 66 elements : : spring 2018 the king being reassembled speeds up as the shots of idols quickly intercut the action. the military and state are connected with religious fervor. eisenstein uses juxtaposition to condemn the old ways of religion and loyalty to the monarchy. he further develops theories of intellectual montage to emphasize bolshevik ideology, which justifies revolution against the monarchy and the provisional government. in order for the bolsheviks to create a new russian culture, it was important to show that the old ways of life were wrong and had been destroyed. along with getting rid of cultural traditions, the legacies of enemies of the bolsheviks had to be dismembered. october targeted alexander kerensky, the moderate socialist leader of the provisional government in 1917,49 is compared in one scene to a preening mechanical peacock. he climbs the stairs of the winter palace, shaking hands with and saluting leaders and officers as he climbs. at the top, he reaches a gilded door that does not open. kerensky holds his gloves behind his back. suddenly there appears the image of a mechanical peacock. it blinks to life and begins unfolding its prominent tail feather.50 the scene cuts back to kerensky holding the gloves behind his back. the images in this intellectual montage imply that kerensky is a vain, preening man.51 kerensky’s regime is depicted as an “anachronistic restoration of autocracy,” noted james goodwin, in which kerensky’s comparison to a peacock, his throne framed by ivory tusks, and his flask stopper that looks like a tiny crown,52 all draw the comparison of the many to an ornate artifact, a relic of the age of the russian monarchy, with aspirations of autocratic power.53 the juxtaposition of objects with kerensky dehumanizes the provisional government, serving the pedagogy of revolution in portraying the antagonists as authoritarian and inhuman. eisenstein’s personal history factored into his expansion of visual metaphor through depictions of alexander kerensky. the leader of the provisional government climbs the stairs of the winter palace and stands at the top. as he looks down on his generals, a statue of napoleon appears.54 the general slowly salutes kerensky, but the following shot displays the statue of napoleon once more, as if it is he whom they are saluting. kerensky is compared to the power-hungry emperor and implied to have visions of grandeur.55 eisenstein had personal motivation in his comparison of kerensky to napoleon. eisenstein first encountered the french dictator as a child perusing his father’s bookshelves. the man worshipped bonaparte as the ideal of “any self made man.” ronald bergan noted eisenstein’s depiction of kerensky shared similarities in mannerism and appearance to eisenstein’s father, who joined the white army after eisenstein joined the red.56 the intellectual montage serves to demonize the leader at a level relatable to the audiences familiar with bonaparte’s impact, while also serving eisenstein’s personal edification for rebelling against his father and the paternalistic view of the provisional government in eisenstein’s past. the question remains of the extent eisenstein’s use of juxtaposition was in service of the bolshevik teachings of the revolution. october’s characterization of kerensky is not entirely unsubstantiated by fact, noted author denise youngblood based off newsreel footage from esfir shub’s “the fall of the romanov dynasty”.57 sheila fitzpatrick described the dual power relationship between the bourgeois provisional government and the proletariat petrograd soviet. although the provisional government represented autocratic interests in terms of maintaining property and capital for the wealthier citizens, eisenstein’s films negate the backlash against radical revolution felt by the bolsheviks within their own party and from other socialist movements, presenting a unilateral front of workers against the provisional government, with little acknowledgement of parties that sought compromise. eisenstein’s visual metaphors denote the antagonists’ materialist natures and the workers’ martyrdom and self sacrifice, but wholly discard the fact that support for the bolsheviks was not universal from the lower classes. alexander kerensky, despite being a moderate socialist himself, was depicted negatively because he stood in opposition to lenin’s goal of a bolshevik ‘dictatorship of the proletariat.’58 the manner in which eisenstein depicted the provisional government, the ona movie still taken from one of sergei eisenstein’s films (courtesy of flickr) 67 visual metaphors for the people screen masses’ negative response to it, and their positive response to vladimir lenin leaves no room to question whether the bolshevik party served the will of the people. eisenstein used juxtaposition to deconstruct the power structures of the monarchy and the provisional government so that a new cultural norm based in the pedagogy of bolshevism could emerge. however, the bolshevik party’s aim to iconize lenin as the definitive father of the revolution could not be reconciled with eisenstein’s desire to depict the masses as the embodiment of revolution. eisenstein received criticism from the bolshevik party for his casting choices because the actor who played lenin was outshone by the actor who portrayed kerensky,59 eisenstein casted a member of the working class to play lenin named nikandrov. although the worker resembled lenin, his performance was subpar.60 eisenstein’s plan to honor the working classes in the revolution was his biggest detriment towards fulfilling the demands of the bolshevik party. the failure to depict lenin as a convincing hero undermined the bolshevik pedagogy which insisted on iconizing the leaders of the party in the minds of the people they ruled. eisenstein’s didacticism sought to depict the masses as the heroes of the revolution, and subsequently portrayed the antagonists—including kerensky— as individuals, while the protagonists were shown en-masse. framing the masses the dichotomy between wide shots and close ups gives allegorical significance to the importance of collectivism and shows the necessity of martyrdom in the pedagogy of revolution. every shot of the captains in battleship potemkin is a closeup, while most shots of the workers are wide shots.61 the officers are shown to be outnumbered, which reinforces the idea of collectivism giving strength to the masses. unity is essential to the marxist doctrine of the revolution. closeups of the antagonists demonstrate their separation from the collective—they stand against the majority of the people and are therefore evil. only one of the sailors is shown in a closeup; vakulinchuk,a leader of the revolution, is the only person in the shot as he makes a speech about the injustices faced by the sailors.62 the other sailors are shown to nod and agree with him. later he asks the guards who they are shooting at as they prepare to massacre a group of sailors. the guards hesitate, causing the men to escape and the rebellion to begin in earnest. vakulinchuk is shot in the head during the fight and almost gracefully falls backwards off the ship while grabbing a rope. he lands, crucified, on a massive rope pulley near the water, and is pulled up by the anguished, yet victorious, sailors. the shot ends by zooming in on vakulinchuk’s martyred face in the shape of a circle with the outside of the screen in black.63 the tension between the individualism of the villains and the masses is shown through. the tension between eisenstein’s focus on portraying the masses and protagonists and the need to captivate audiences through interesting individual characters manifests in eisenstein’s portrayal of martyrs in closeups. eisenstein created visual metaphors about the importance of the collective social consciousness of the people through framing. the film follows with shots of the peasants coming down to the harbor to honor vakulinchuk’s body and assemble to discuss revolution.64 the use of wide shots allows for the massive number of bodies to metaphorically emphasize the importance of collectivism, organization, and unity of the people. wide overhead shots reinforce the message that there are more peasants and sailors than there are those who oppress them. as the soldiers move in and begin shooting the people, a child is shot and trampled in the panic. the shots of the people in assembly were those of wide shots and midrange shots to emphasize collectiveness. however, once the people are being massacred, there are more shots that show the individual horrors expressed by the people sacrificing their lives for the freedom of others. the mother sees the body of her child and carries it, screaming, in front of the soldiers, holding them accountable for their unjust actions.65 she too is shot. this part of the scene is “eisenstein’s visual metaphors denote the antagonists’ materialist natures and the workers’ martyrdom and self sacrifice, but wholly discard the fact that support for the bolsheviks was not universal from the lower classes.”68 elements : : spring 2018 filmed in closeup to reinforce the humanity of the people and the inhumane actions of the autocratic authority controlling the soldiers. other closeups of martyrs reveal another mother being shot and her body causing her baby’s bassinet to fall down the steps, and an old woman with pince-nez is killed after watching the massacre unfold.66 the use of close ups personalizes the lives of the innocents being the victims of a tyrannical monarchy. the villains are shot in closeups or mid shots when they are ensemble. the people are often shot with wide shots to show the collective as a single powerful entity. the removal of individualism from the protagonists serves the philosophy of a marxist revolution. the exception to this is the portrayal of martyrs for the revolution, who filmed in close ups upon their death, to emphasize injustice of the state and imply that their heroic sacrifices that will be honored after their deaths. the appeal of individual glory was strong for audiences. eisenstein catered to this in the depictions of martyrs as individuals. later in his career, eisenstein used the same techniques, but received criticism for his depictions of the masses as the heroes. the bolshevik party favored the film genre of social realism in the late 1920s because it depicted individualistic stories of protagonists who were often passionate young men full of revolutionary fervor who were guided by bolshevik mentors.67 for eisenstein, the masses were the embodiment of the revolution. destruction of symbols of the old ways the on-screen destruction of figures and monuments allegorical to the russian empire serves as a metaphor for the deconstruction of the autocratic regime and its influence over the people of the soviet union. in battleship potemkin, the officers exert power over the sailors through an old monk with wild hair. he is depicted from a low angle with smoke billowing behind him, his face lit from below to emphasize the shadows on his face and his wide, unblinking eyes.68 the monk rebukes the sailors with an ornate cross. during the sailors’ rebellion, the monk falls, and his cross hits the deck like a knife. the wild, mystic depiction of the monk is allegorical to depictions of rasputin, the spiritual advisor and mystic of the tsar and tsarina, who is said to have had strange power over the ruling family. the defeat of the monk in potemkin is a metaphor for the people’s defeat of the mystic’s power over the monarchy and the government, and the power of religion as a whole as an “opium of the people.”69 eisenstein portrays a metaphorical depiction of workers taking back what karl marx claimed religion took from man: “qualities—moral ideals—of our natural human life and gives them, unnaturally, to an imaginary and alien being we call god.”70 in potemkin, visual metaphors serve marxist revolutionary pedagogy in the destruction of religious symbols as well as symbols of luxury. marx wrote, “as religion robs us of our human merits and gives them to god, so the capitalist economy robs us of our labor… and gives it… into the hands of those—the rich— who are able to buy it.”71 as the sailors rebel, there is a shot in the officer’s quarters in which a sailor chases an officer around the room and over the furniture. there is a closeup of the officer’s foot stepping on the piano and crushing the candle holder as he attempts to escape the sailor. there is no place for luxury in times of crisis; they are useless and unhelpful to the officers and are destroyed in the new era as remnants of old, ineffective opulence. october opens with the people tearing down the statues of tsar nicholas ii. the people tear down the statue of tsar nicholas to symbolize his abdication of power and the supposed joy felt by the masses, according to the pedagogical intent of the party.72 the bolsheviks storm the winter palace that has been appropriated by the provisional government. this serves to oust the provisional government in its search for replacing the monarchy, as alluded in descriptions of kerensky’s character. it also shows that the symbolic strength of the monarchy falls to the ideals and literal, rather than metaphorical, strength of the united bolsheviks. tearing down symbolic monuments and statues both undermines the power of the monarchy and didactically serves the revolution in portraying the people as fully supportive of the revolution, with all opposition being portrayed as militaristic and capitalistic, rather than civil. the nuances of socialist opposition to the bolsheviks are erased. eisenstein’s films supported the bolsheviks by revealing the uselessness of luxuries and symbols of the monarchy. the destruction of remnants of the monarchy were essential for the bolsheviks to create a new russian culture that the people would support. although the destruction of symbols depicted in eisenstein’s films created visual metaphors which were beneficial to the party, his reliance on objects as visual allegories over time undermined the bolshevik’s goals for the direction of cinema as propaganda. the bolshevik party realized that the future of the nation depended on the youth. cinema was popular with the younger generations and a useful tool for indoctrination and 69 visual metaphors for the people education.73 the party began to take control over the film industry in the late 1920s and favored a style of social realism which emphasized young, energetic protagonists who were often guided by wiser party members.74 eisenstein’s pedagogy remained the same throughout his works—he relied on techniques and themes of visual metaphors including the destruction of religious and monarchical symbols—until he was forced to change. conclusion the visual metaphors of eisenstein’s early films effectively inform on the teachings of the revolution through the use of setting motifs that critique and remind people of the harsh socio-economic conditions before the revolution, the deconstruction of the value and symbols of the russian empire, and the power of the organized masses in affecting positive change. eisenstein used a variety of film techniques to create visual metaphors that conveyed messages of revolution. the characteristics of the settings of each film were allegorical to the worker’s struggle and aspirations. the significance of the means of production in revolutionary ideology was emphasized by the use of the landscape motifs serving as characterization for the protagonists. where the hero was the collective proletariat, motifs of industry, agriculture, and animals revealed their collective condition. eisenstein used the juxtaposition of visual metaphors to deconstruct the cultural norms and values of the russian empire. the contrast between the subjects of two shots would create a third idea or concept for the audience. eisenstein coined this ‘intellectual montage” and used it to criticize the provisional government and religion. in drawing comparisons between all religions, or between alexander kerensky and a mechanical peacock, he critiqued the norms and character of the government before the revolution, emphasizing for the audience the fallacy of the old way of living. the dichotomy between wide shots and close-ups allowed eisenstein to portray the masses as the protagonist, and symbolized the toxic individualism of the upper class antagonists. only martyrs were given their own shots; their sacrifices to the revolution granted them glorified personhood. this way of portraying the honoring of those who died in the revolution appeases audiences should they too be called upon to serve the party. although eisenstein consistently served the bolshevik pedagogy of revolution through depictions of the destruction and devaluation of symbols of the monarchy and religion, his use of visual metaphors were criticized for being too complex for the masses to be an effective tool of propaganda for the party. the artistic freedom which eisenstein experienced at the beginning of his film career allowed him to express a revolutionary pedagogy that portrayed the collective populace as protagonists. by the late 1920s the established bolshevik pedagogy had changed to favoring depictions of individual heroes and wise leaders of the revolution. the bolshevik party no longer favored eisenstein’s methods of depicting the masses as heroes through obscure visual allegories. eisenstein was criticized for “thingism.” his use of objects undermined the prescribed narrative of social realism. eisenstein’s intellectual development of film theory was ultimately contradictory to certain mandates of bolshevism, but without the visual metaphors of his early films, eisenstein’s personal revolutionary ideology would be indecipherable. 70 elements : : spring 2018 endnotes 1. sergei eisenstein, “a dialectical approach to film form” (film form, 1949), 15. 2. richard nordquist, “what are visual metaphors?” (thoughtco, march 3, 2017). 3. ibid. 4. sergei eisenstein, strike (ussr: goskino 1925) fig. 3. 5. denise youngblood, movies for the masses: popular cinema and soviet society in the 1920s (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999). james goodwin, eisenstein, cinema, and history (urbana: university of illinois press., 1993). richard taylor, the politics of the soviet cinema, 1917-1929 (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1979). 6. david. bordwell, the cinema of eisenstein (cambridge, ma: harvard university press, 1993), 24. 7. ibid. ronald bergan, eisenstein, a life in conflict (woodstock, ny: overlook press, 1999). 8. youngblood, movies for the masses, 169. 9. taylor, the politics of the soviet cinema, 5. 10. youngblood, movies for the masses, 4. 11. ibid, 4. 12. sheila fitzpatrick, the russian revolution (oxford: oxford university press, 2017), 11. 13. eisenstein, strike. 14. sergei eisenstein, battleship potemkin (ussr: goskino, 1925). 15. taylor, the politics of the soviet cinema, 96. 16. sergei eisenstein, october: ten days that shook the world (soviet union: mosflim, 1928). 17. david a. cook and robert sklar, history of the motion picture, (encyclopaedia britannica, 2107), 1. 18. denise youngblood, soviet cinema in the silent era: 1918-1935 (austin, tx: university of texas press, 1991), 174. 19. sergei eisenstein, the general line (soviet union: sovkino, 1929). 20. quoted in goodwin, eisenstein, cinema, and history, 50. 21. eisenstein, strike, fig. 1. 22. eisenstein, strike, fig. 2. 23. ibid, fig. 3. 24. fitzpatrick, the russian revolution, 10. 25. eisenstein, strike, fig. 4. 26. ibid, fig. 5, 6. 27. eisenstein, strike, fig. 7. 28. ibid, fig. 8. 29. ibid, fig. 9. 30. ibid, fig. 10, 11. 31. ibid, fig. 12. 32. bordwell, the cinema of eisenstein, 60. 33. eisenstein, battleship potemkin, fig. 13. 34. ibid, fig. 14. 35. bergan, eisenstein, a life in conflict, 134. 36. eisenstein, october, fig. 15. 37. bergan, eisenstein, a life in conflict, 131. 38. goodwin, eisenstein, cinema, and history, 50. 39. eisenstein, the general line, fig. 16, 17. 40. goodwin, eisenstein, cinema, and history, 112. 41. bergan, eisenstein, a life in conflict, 155. 42. goodwin, eisenstein, cinema, and history, 112. 43. bergan, eisenstein, a life in conflict, 326. 44. taylor, the politics of the soviet cinema, 13. 45. eisenstein, october, fig. 18. 46. ibid, fig. 19, 20. 47. eisenstein, october, fig. 21, 22. 48. marie seton, sergei m. eisenstein: a biography (london: dobson, 1987). 49. youngblood, movies for the masses, 94. 50. eisenstein, october, fig. 23. 51. bordwell, the cinema of eisenstein, 45 . 52. eisenstein, october, fig. 24. 53. goodwin, eisenstein, cinema, and history, 85-86. 54. eisenstein, october, fig. 25. 55. youngblood, soviet cinema in the silent era, 174. 56. bergan, eisenstein, a life in conflict, 20, 26. 57. youngblood, soviet cinema in the silent era, 174. 58. fitzpatrick, the russian revolution, 63. 59. youngblood, movies for the masses, 94. 60. youngblood, soviet cinema in the silent era, 174. 61. eisenstein, battleship potemkin, fig. 26. 62. ibid, fig. 27. 63. ibid, fig. 28. 64. eisenstein, battleship potemkin, fig. 29. 65. ibid, fig. 30. 66. ibid, fig. 31. 67. youngblood, soviet cinema in the silent era, 82. 68. eisenstein, battleship potemkin, fig. 32. 69. daniel pals, nine theories of religion (new york: oxford university press, 2015), 129. 70. pals,nine theories, 128. 71. ibid, 128. 72. eisenstein, october, fig. 33. 73. taylor, the politics of the soviet cinema, 98. 74. youngblood, soviet cinema in the silent era, 82. 71 visual metaphors for the people references primary sources the battleship potemkin. directed by sergei eisenstein. performed by aleksandr antonov, vladimir barksy, grigori aleksandrov. ussr: goskino, 1925. february 23, 2012. eisenstein, sergei. “a dialectical approach to film form.” film form, 1949. the general line aka “old and new”. directed by sergei eisenstein and grigorii vasil’evich aleksandrov. by e. tisse. performed by martha lapkina, m. ivanin, konstantin vasilyev. soviet union: sovkino, 1929. august 26, 2011. october: ten days that shook the world. directed by sergei eisenstein and grigorii vasil’evich aleksandrov. by e. tisse. performed by e. tisse. soviet union: mosflim, 1928. april 21, 2011. strike. directed by sergei eisenstein. performed by maksim shtraukh, grigori aleksandrov, mikhail gomorov. ussr: goskino, 1925=. september 11, 2010. secondary sources bergan, ronald. eisenstein: a life in conflict. woodstock, new york: overlook press, 1999. bordwell, david. the cinema of eisenstein. cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press, 1993. goodwin, james. eisenstein, cinema, and history. urbana: university of illinois press, 1993. cook, david a., and robert sklar. history of the motion picture: the silent years. “https://www.britannica.com/art/ history-of-the-motion-picture”.encyclopaedia britannica. july 26, 2017. accessed october 22, 2017. fitzpatrick, sheila. the russian revolution. oxford: oxford university press, 2017. pals, daniel l. nine theories of religion. new york: oxford university press, 2015. seton, marie. sergei m. eisenstein: a biography. london: dobson, 1987. taylor, richard. the politics of the soviet cinema, 19171929. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1979. youngblood, denise jeanne. movies for the masses: popular cinema and soviet society in the 1920s. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1999. youngblood, denise j. soviet cinema in the silent era: 19181935. austin tx: university of texas press, 1991. 72 elements : : spring 2018 e e l m e n t se the histories of pharaoh amasis accounting for discrepancies among classical historians also featuring • rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood: an examination of oscar wilde’s the picture of dorian gray • the free soil party: turbulent times and minority politicsthe undergraduate research journal of boston college sp r in g 2 0 11 · v o lu m e 7 · i ss u e 1elem en ts : : th e u n d erg r ad u ate r esear ch jo u r n al o f bo sto n co lleg e sp r in g 2 0 11 :: v o lu m e 7 :: issu e 1 produced by the staff of elements mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, will showcase the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal will strengthen and affirm the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e this journal was printed using 100% renewable energy and zero voc inks. mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, will showcase the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal will strengthen and affirm the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e the cover image for this issue depicts a rather curious scene. adrien guignet’s cambyses and psammetich portrays egypt at a time of disarray, when persian conquest brought about the collapse of the twenty-sixth dynasty following the death of the eminent pharaoh amasis. as matthew richey points out in “the histories of pharaoh amasis: accounting for discrepancies among classical historians,” amasis was the last pharaoh capable of staving off an invasion from the east—no small feat. in a work of meticulous scholarly research, richey recounts the fascinating story of how amasis obtained the throne of egypt. however, an already complicated story becomes even more confusing when richey must confront the existence of four divergent accounts of the same event. at one point, he notes: both greek authors, then, provide a very simplified account of the struggle for power... in a number of subtle ways, herodotus’ portrayal of amasis is more flattering than the characterization given of him by diodorus siculus. this discrepancy is especially apparent since neither version adheres closely to the surviving egyptian and babylonian sources. here, and throughout the rest of the article, richey confidently, yet painstakingly, addresses the ambiguity resulting from multiple sources, piecing together a story long since torn apart. i am proud to feature “the histories of pharaoh amasis” as the cover article for this spring 2011 issue, certainly because of its extraordinary academic merit, but more importantly because it serves as an example of meeting ambiguity. as scholars and as people, let us grapple with the vagueness and realize the contradictions, employ all of our knowledge only to rely on all of our intuition. let us feel bewildered and overwhelmed, hesitant then doubtful. but whatever conclusions we draw, however tenuous, let us at least meet ambiguity. in presenting the seventh and final issue of elements that i have been privileged to work on over the past four years, i recall how the progression of this journal was often an ambiguous, winding course. and it was every bit a pleasure. sincerely, brian varian editor-in-chief editor’s note thanks the editors of elements would like to thank the following individuals for their generous support of and assistance with this issue of elements: mary crane, director, institute for the liberal arts susan dunn, administrative assistant, center for centers justine sundaram, reference librarian/bibliographer, john j. burns library we would also like to thank to boston college for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions or would like to contribute an article for the next issue, you may contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline for submission is friday, april 1, 2011. cover cambyses and psammetich © erich lessing / art resource, ny periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college volume 7, issue 1, spring 2011 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103 chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by dynagraf advancing printing solutions, 5 dan road, canton, ma 02021 copyright © 2011 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief brian varian managing editor r. brian tracz deputy editor jaime crowley humanities ali mcdonald, senior editor sam baron, editor sarah collier, editor mike henry, editor brendan kelly, editor john kinzer, editor dan sologuren, editor alison wawrzynek, editor natural sciences anne kornahrens, senior editor nick cochran-caggiano editor s. evan cooper, editor chris gagne, editor christina han, editor social sciences chris sheridan, senior editor adi ashok, editor kevin finnegan editor teja ganta, editor vinodh mechery, editor alexander tingle, editor eric tracz, editor nick cochran-caggiano editor andreina yanes, editor zach zimmermann, editor layout jaime crowley, senior editor nick cochran-caggiano editor sarah collier, editor s. evan cooper, editor christina han, editor eric tracz, editor web design dan sologuren, senior editor vinodh mechery, editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick motivations of genre: realism and fantasy in scottish drama benjamin key rendering early twentieth-century scottish plays of different genres—realism and fantasy—as vehicles for coping with human struggling. nearing god: meister eckhart’s theological mysticism sebastian n. agredo enlivening the writings of a fourteenth-century monk who grappled with the elusiveness of god, leaving an indelible imprint upon the german philosophical tradition. the nuremberg trials: precedent for international law dianna michelle martínez reaffirming the foundational influence of the nuremburg trials as extending, however imperfectly, to more recent occurences of genocide. author biographies list of artwork 69 61 53 92 94 the free soil party: turbulent times and minority politics dennis f. murphy situating the free soil party within the transitional political milieu of america in the 1840s and 1850s, while commenting on broader issues confronting minority parties. 81 contents the histories of pharaoh amasis: accounting for discrepancies among classical historians matthew richey nuancing the historical understanding of an empowered pharaoh through a meticulous examination and contextualization of various, often divergent ancient sources. rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood: an examination of oscar wilde’s the picture of dorian gray andrew tareila coloring the picture of dorian gray, carefully parsing its aesthetic evocations, accessing the gothic novel through textual analysis. dorothy good: the case of a child witch ellen zatkowski contextualizing the trial and eventual conviction of four-year-old dorothy good amid the distinctively puritan cultural mores of seventeenth-century massachusetts. down the rabbit hole: perceptual transformation in plato, heidegger, and zubiri r. brian tracz synthesizing three philosophers’ understanding of sense-perception to outline apprehension as a change from brute fact to meaningful object. 9 21 31 43 “viewing egypt as the source for many grecian practices and beliefs, the historian is very much predisposed to look favorably upon it, and he is also eager to depict the direct contact between greeks and egyptians that could have led to this cultural exchange.” in 570 bce, civil war erupted in egypt as apries, the current pharaoh, and amasis, one of his generals, battled for control of the pharaonic state. the conflict is narrated by sources from egypt, babylon, and greece, but the discrepancies in these accounts are great and puzzling. logistical and chronological details vary widely, making it difficult to determine the precise nature of amasis’ rebellion and its effects on greek mercenaries and traders living in egypt. in order to address some of these difficulties, this article considers the accounts given by greek historians, herodotus and diodorus siculus, and compares them to older sources from the ancient near east. such an examination reveals the implications of cultural bias in historiography and has the potential to be instructive for modern historians, who have often found it difficult to mitigate similar partiality in their own writings. the histories of pharaoh amasis accounting for discrepancies among classical historians matthew richey in his famous history, herodotus of halicarnassus surveys the entirety of human achievement up to his own lifetime and the complete expanse of the world as the ancient greeks knew it. though this was certainly seen as a legitimate mode of operation in antiquity, it might seem overly grand and ambitious to readers of the present day.1 in contemporary time, it is rare to find authors of scholarly or even popular volumes who claim to pursue such grand designs. for the modern historian, the task would be a herculean undertaking, mainly due to the meticulous research that is expected to back up any historical work, even those addressed, as herodotus’ was, to the general public. in reading and interpreting the classical historians—including, on the greek side of things, herodotus, thucydides, xenophon, and arrian—moderns often forget that the methods used by the ancients are in many instances starkly different than those currently employed. this becomes relevant when attempting to understand events which ancient historians, such as herodotus, appear to have misconstrued and reconciling the seeming absurdities that have often been incorporated into such accounts. at the same time, modern classicists have long noted various discrepancies in the historical works of earlier antiquity when compared with those of the hellenistic and roman eras. plutarch, in his essay, “on the malice of herodotus,” even saw fit to characterize the progenitor of the genre, herodotus himself, as “the father of lies.” among later historians, diodorus of sicily revised and updated some segments of herodotus to constitute parts of his now fragmentary library of history. one particular passage, which narrates the rise to power of amasis, a sixthcentury bce pharaoh of egypt’s twenty-sixth dynasty, is especially interesting in that it may provide some clues about the ways in which herodotus originally approached his subject material. his methods may have colored his historical retelling, which might otherwise give off the impression of impartiality.2 stories about the pharaoh amasis’ rise to power are extant in four independent sources. aside from the version according to herodotus, the accounts available of his rebellion against his predecessor on the throne, apries (589-567 bce), are minimal but illuminating. the rendition of diodorus siculus in his library of history looks to be derived largely from herodotus himself, but the details are different enough to suggest that he had at least one additional source at hand.3 an egyptian point of view is given in a stela (a vertical, inscribed stone monument) from elephantine, the only one of the eleven dating from amasis’ reign to describe the power struggle itself, albeit four years after the fact.4 lastly, a babylonian cuneiform text from year 37 of nebuchadrezzar’s reign— corresponding to year 4 of amasis’s rule—was shown by elmar edel (1978) to provide a corroborating external source for the later years of the conflict, including developments that herodotus seems to ignore entirely.5 diodorus siculus’ account is the closest to that of herodotus and so the easiest to contrast in terms of its minor differences. as in herodotus, the story begins when apries sends his forces to the north african city of cyrene, a greek colony, to quell an uprising. apries’ men are summarily defeated, and the pharaoh is immediately blamed for his lack of foresight and is even accused of having secretly plotted to destroy part of his army. certain egyptian survivors decide to join the cyreneans in revolt to express their displeasure at apries’ supposed treachery. it is when apries sends amasis, one of his right-hand men, to these new insurrectionists that the first difference between the accounts of diodorus and herodotus becomes apparent. diodorus reports that: “in reading and interpreting the classical historians—including, on the greek side of things, herodotus, thucydides, xenophon, and arrian— moderns often forget that the methods used by the ancients are in many instances starkly different than those currently employed.” 13 the histories of pharaoh amasis pharoah amasis of egypt, here depicted as a sphinx, was immortalized in the writings of classical greek historians. 14 elements : : spring 2011 ἀποσταλεὶς δὲ πρὸς τούτους ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἄμασις, ἀνὴρ ἐμφανὴς αἰγυπτιος, τῶν μὲν ῥηθέντων ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ πρὸς ὁμόνιαν ἠμέλησε, τοὐναντίον δ’ ἐκείνους προτρεψάμενος εἰς ἀλλοτριότητα συναπέστη καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸς ᾑρέθη (amasis, a prominent egyptian man, was sent to them by the king, but he ignored his orders, and on the contrary, encouraging their disaffection, he joined them in rebelling and was himself made king).6 it sounds here as though amasis was an active partner in the revolt, but herodotus’ view is quite different. in his telling, amasis is initially vigorous in his attempt to dissuade the rebels from their cause, but “λέγοντος αὐτοῦ τῶν τις αἰγυπτίων ὄπισθε στὰς περιέθηκέ οἱ κυνέην, καὶ πεπιτιθείς ἔφη ἐπὶ βασιληίῃ περιτιθέναι” (“as he was speaking, one of the egyptians came up behind him and put a helmet on his head, and having placed it, said it was a sign of kingship”).7 in the histories, all agency in making amasis king—and therefore inducing him to join the rebellion—has been assigned to an anonymous egyptian. amasis is transformed into a reluctant hero, forced to accept the mantle of responsibility despite his own valiant efforts to bring about the conflict’s peaceful resolution. diodorus and herodotus proceed along mostly parallel paths for much of the remainder of the story, up to the point of conclusion.8 one comment by herodotus, made in the context of the battle itself, seems aimed at mitigating the defeat of the greek mercenaries under apries by amasis’ native egyptian forces: “καὶ ἐμαχέσαντο μὲν εὖ οἱ ξεῖνοι, πλήθει δὲ πολλῷ ἐλάσονες ἐόντες κατὰ τοῦτο ἑσσώθησαν” (“and the foreigners [the greeks] fought well, but being much fewer in number, were inferior because of this”).9 diodorus provides no such excuse for his fellow greeks. however, an even more significant divergence appears with regard to apries’ ultimate fate. according to the latter historian, the outcome is simple: “ὁ μὲν ἀπρίης ζωγρηθεὶς ἀνήχθη καὶ στραγγαλισθεὶς ἐτελεύτησεν” (“apries was captured, alive, and, being strangled to death, died”).10 herodotus, however, prolongs the action to the benefit of amasis: “ἐνταῦθα δὲ τέως μὲν ἐτρέφετο ἐν τοῖσι βασιληίοισι, καί μιν ἄμασις εὖ περιεῖπε” (“he was kept in the palace chambers for a while, and amasis acted well towards him”).11 only later, when the mob demands the head of their former king, does amasis reluctantly hand apries over to them. it is easy to see herodotus’ amasis as a figure reminiscent of pontius pilate, as all of the blame for the old monarch’s death is conveniently transferred to the bloodthirsty people even as amasis washes his own hands clean. in addition to these disagreements, the two greek versions of the story also differ significantly from what can be drawn out of the other two sources, the elephantine stela and the babylonian fragment dating to year 37 of nebuchadrezzar.12 the former is unfortunately extremely worn, and as such, many scholars have found it almost unreadable. the sense of the text has proved, however, not impossible to make out. one of the greater difficulties in clarifying meaning lies in the confusion surrounding two dates inscribed on the stela, the first at the top of l. 1 (the hieroglyphs being written in vertical columns) and the second at the top of l.  14. originally, both daressy and breasted took the two dates to refer to, respectively, “year 3, second month of the third season (tenth month)… [and] year 3, third month of the first season (third month), day 8.”13 however, elmar edel, in a 1978 article, established that the two dates actually refer to events happening years apart, specifically in years 1 and 4 of amasis’ reign.14 the first part of the inscription, that dated by edel to year 1, describes amasis at his palace in sais, suddenly informed that his rival, apries, has arrived at sḫt-mfkʾt.15 he is accompanied by boats filled with ḥʾw-nbw, who are generally regarded to be greeks.16 hearing of this, amasis rushes off to meet the enemy at jmʾw and is victorious; no mention, however, is “it is easy to see herodotus’ amasis as a figure reminiscent of pontius pilate, as all of the blame for the old monarch’s death is conveniently transferred to the bloodthirsty people even as amasis washes his own hands clean.” 15 the histories of pharaoh amasis made of apries’ immediate fate. beginning at l. 14, the stela describes another invasion, this time by sttjw, or asiatic, forces, who are defeated at an unnamed location. in the same context, the death and honorable burial of apries is noted, though his actions during the battle, if he did participate, are not detailed. the babylonian cuneiform fragment provides additional elucidation of the history.17 most modern scholars have taken the inscription on this fragment to refer to an invasion of nebuchadrezzar in year 37 of his reign (568/7 bce); the babylonian king was presumably taking advantage of the confused situation in egypt with an eye towards neutralizing his pesky southern neighbor.18 past treatments of the fragment have generally accepted a reading of [am]a-su šar mi-ṣir (“amasis the king of egypt”) in the first line; however, the fragment lacks the beginning of what appears to be the name of the king who summons an army against the invader.19 edel’s article was the first to suggest that the fragment and the stela were in fact referring to the same event, an invasion from babylon into egypt, occurring in year 4 of amasis (year 37 of nebuchadrezzar), and somehow involving the death of the former pharaoh, apries. this interpretation has opened the door for new considerations of the greek accounts. in a 1988 article, leahy attempted to synthesize the four accounts as presented in herodotus, diodorus, the stela, and the babylonian tablet, to form one coherent sequence of events: the rebellious troops led by amasis advanced on sais [the capital of the 26th dynasty pharaohs] from some point in the north-western delta. there was an encounter early in 570 near the capital (diodorus’ marea) which resulted in the seizure of sais by amasis, and the discomfiture and retreat of apries. the former dated his reign from that point and was recognized as far south as sharuna within a very short space of time. after a lengthy period of consolidation and preparation, apries advanced from the direction of memphis on sais, was met en route by amasis and defeated at jmʾw, which can probably be identified with herodotus’ momemphis. apries again escaped and this time fled abroad, to return only in year 4 . . . ultimately to babylonian territory.20 such a sequence is valuable in that it takes both of the classical authors into account without taking many liberties with the testimony of the earliest sources. the elephantine stela mentions that apries fled to an “jw” (usually rendered “island”) after the original battle. leahy takes this retreat to an “jw” as signifying a strategic withdrawal to memphis, which functions as an “island” of support for the former king. this is especially valuable in explaining why some pockets of egypt supported the earlier king even into the latter months of year 1.21 herodotus, of course, nowhere acknowledges such a confused situation, preferring instead a single decisive battle; then again, diodorus does not portray a particularly complicated sequence, either. both greek authors, then, provide a very simplified account of the struggle for power. the story must have been naturally diluted through successive retellings over the course of the century between apries’ downfall and herodotus’ writing. this dilution emphasizes differences that accompany the simplified accounts of herodotus and diodorus all the more. in a number of subtle ways, herodotus’ portrayal of amasis is more flattering than the characterization given of him by diodorus siculus. this discrepancy is especially apparent since neither version herodotus misrepresented much of amasis’ reign. 16 elements : : spring 2011 adheres closely to the surviving egyptian and babylonian sources. the fundamental reason that diodorus’ and herodotus’ characterizations of amasis differ is that the histories originate in radically different cultural milieus, to which each history in its turn was appropriately adapted. a long standing argument holds that herodotus’ misrepresentation of the events stems from pro-amasis propaganda disseminated by the king’s supporters during the forty-four years of his long reign and later picked up by the historian as he travelled in egypt.22 instead, based on the differences in his version as contrasted with that of diodorus, herodotus’ pro-amasis slant stems rather from the graeco-centric, philaegyptic, and anti-persian viewpoint that the historian himself displays throughout his histories, not least of all in book ii. throughout this segment in particular, herodotus takes pains to equate greek religious and cultural practices with those of ancient egypt, the land which “πλεῖστα θωμάσια ἔχει” (“has exceeding wonders”).23 even in the midst of the account of amasis’ rebellion, he finds room to go on at length regarding egyptian class structure, which he subsequently ties strongly to its equivalent in certain greek cities, especially sparta.24 viewing egypt as the source for many grecian practices and beliefs, the historian is very much predisposed to look favorably upon it, and he is also eager to depict the direct contact between greeks and egyptians that could have led to this cultural exchange. thus, the historian compiles extensive records of amasis’ dedications to greek temples, his beneficent treatment of the greeks at naukratis, and his marriage to ladike, the beautiful grecian woman from cyrene, even as he ignores the wider cultural context of the ancient western mediterranean as well as amasis’ ulterior motives for these activities. herodotus declares amasis a “φιλέλλην” (or, “greeksympathizer”) and details a concrete example of amasis’ kindness towards the greeks in that “καὶ δὴ καὶ τοῖσι ἀπικνευμένοι ἐς αἴγυπτον ἔδωκε ναύκρατιν πόλιν ἐνοικῆσαι” (“he gave to those coming to egypt the city of naukratis in which to live”).25 here, the impression is very much that the greek occupation of naukratis dates from the reign of amasis and no earlier. this attribution, however, runs contrary to all archaeological evidence found on the site itself, as well as the literary testimony of other greek authors. as early as the excavations of sir flinders petrie in the 1880s, naukratis was recognized as being rather older, as a city, than herodotus claims.26 most modern scholars date the earliest pottery to approximately 620 bce, that is, at least fifty years before amasis could have “given” the city to the greeks.27 it is diodorus who comes much closer to the archaeological evidence in claiming that it was psammetichus i (664-610 bce), “φιλέλλην ὢν” (“being a philhellene”), who first opened the greek trading routes, both at naukratis and elsewhere.28 even if he had founded the city, amasis’ confining the greeks to naukratis is actually an example of a policy that egyptian kings commonly adopted in dealing with populations of foreign traders. over one thousand years earlier, senwosret iii (1876-1838 bce) had instituted essentially the same requirements for egyptian trade with the free nubians to the south: the southern frontier made in regnal year 8 under the majesty of the king of upper and lower egypt khakaurēʿ (may he live for ever and ever) in order to prevent it being passed by any nubian journeying north by land . . . with the exception of that nubian who shall come to traffic at jḳn or on an embassy.29 as in the case of naukratis and the greeks, the nubians are assigned a specific site, jḳn, at which to conduct their trade, but they may go no farther into the country and may arrive at no other point of entry. despite the similarities of this case to the greek situation at naukratis, no one has argued, as herodotus did in the case of amasis, that the designation of jkn was attributable to senwosret’s being amasis, king of egypt in the 6th century bce 17 the histories of pharaoh amasis a “philonubian.” as möller writes, “the uniqueness of this empórion is understood as a special distinction for naukratis, rather than as a restriction upon the greeks,” whereas the evidence suggests the latter interpretation.30 indeed, though herodotus perceives a kindness to the greeks in amasis’ giving them a city of their own, the pharaoh was actually restricting their trade, presumably in retaliation for the support that greek mercenaries had given to his enemy, apries.31 oswyn murray has shown that propaganda originating with the greeks in the port itself could have given herodotus probable cause for attributing the city’s establishment to amasis. certain greeks who wanted control of the city magistracy were at times apt to draw their legitimacy from the supposed “favoritism” that amasis had shown their ancestors.32 as a matter of fact, herodotus generally does not seem to have conjured his facts out of thin air, as some less generous commentators have alleged. instead, he may very well have taken multiple traditions into account before picking, consciously or unconsciously, the one that best suited his ideological bias. the story of ladike, amasis’ cyrenean wife, at ii.  181 presents another instance of the historian viewing the pharaoh’s actions through a graeco-centric lens. remarking on the likely motive behind this marriage, herodotus writes that amasis was, “εἴτ’ ἐπιθυμήσας ἑλληνíδος γυναικὸς εἴτε καὶ ἄλλως φιλότητος κυρηναίων εἵνεκα” (“either desiring a greek woman, or for some other reason seeking the friendship of cyrene”).33 herodotus here chooses to focus on the inherent alluring qualities of greek women, which would naturally have attracted this most admirable of exotic rulers, rather than the obvious political implications of the marriage. cyrene’s policy of expansion, adopted during the sixth century, was a genuine threat to the western border of egypt, at a time when egypt already had serious concerns on the eastern front.34 amasis had likely learned from his predecessor, apries, that the cyreneans could be a formidable enemy. therefore, he wanted both to avoid an immediate confrontation and to ensure extra support against imminent invasion from the east.35 with his graeco-centric depiction, herodotus misses an opportunity to illuminate the larger concerns of rulers in the western mediterranean and instead gives a rather biased account of the pharaoh’s supposed philhellenism. again, the historian probably did not fabricate the marriage, since it is perfectly in line with what is known of the rest of amasis’ foreign policy, but he did frame it in a manner which was surely overly flattering to the greeks and their women. in general, in discussing the presence of the greeks in egypt, herodotus chooses to ignore the reality that amasis’ purported friendship towards the greeks was almost entirely military in nature, as were the relations pursued by his immediate predecessors. it appears that amasis was at first fairly hesitant to employ the ethnic class of mercenaries who had formerly been loyal to apries, but with the downfall of babylon and the ascendancy of persia in the east, he realized that he had no choice but to enter into alliance with the cyreaneans to the west. where the greek historian portrays a ruler whose actions originate out of his unbridled philhellenism, amasis was actually behaving very pragmatically in searching out external support to combat the rising power of persia. why, then, does herodotus’ account of a pharaoh acting out of love for greeks and greek culture differ so starkly from the reality of a desperate emperor grasping at straws for support against the influence of persia? the answer is actually tied up in the existence of persia itself. as a direct result of the persian wars that had occupied the greeks for the first twenty years of the fifth century bce, nearly everybody who had resisted the persians in the recent past came to appear, to the greek mind, as a hero and ally of the cultured west, which at this time meant, for all intents and purposes, greece. these supposed allied “where the greek historian portrays a ruler whose actions originate out of his unbridled philhellenism, amasis was actually behaving very pragmatically in searching out external support to combat the rising power of persia.” 18 elements : : spring 2011 defenders thus included not only the coalition soldiers at marathon or the spartan warriors at thermopylae, but even the “barbarian” scythians, who resisted darius, and the egyptians who attempted to fight cambyses. amasis in particular receives praise and veneration because he was the last of the egyptians to oppose successfully the threat that was looming on the eastern horizon.36 for herodotus, this particular pharaoh became an enlightened bulwark against the east, whether or not amasis would have seen himself as such. this characterization is not present in diodorus because, by his time, the persians had ceased to be a direct threat to the greek way of life. diodorus lived in a radically different period, in which the roman republic was coming to the fore and the greek way of life had already spread throughout virtually all of the known world, thanks to the conquests of alexander the great. gone, then, is the herodotean emphasis on the uniqueness of the greek resistance to the barbaric east; as such, there is no further need for the glorification of such benevolent allies as amasis. diodorus apparently felt free to eliminate the more obvious fabrications and exaggerations of herodotus’ account, perhaps informed by his use of alternative sources.37 herodotus’ description of the rise and rule of amasis is one of the first examples of the cultural appropriation which came to dominate nineteenth and twentieth century scholarship in relation to such ancient near eastern empires as babylonia and egypt, who were, very soon after their “discovery,” bound to the empires of their discoverers. western scholars of the modern era have expended much ink in claiming certain cultures of antiquity as part of the european cultural heritage and in the process often distort the nature of those supposed connections, whether they be linguistic, artistic, or religious. as in herodotus, much of this endeavor is intended to prove the greater antiquity, and therefore glory, of the religious and cultural entity at the center of the narrative. for herodotus, this entity is the greek polis; in the modern case it is most often western europe and america. herodotus clearly saw those who had fallen to persia before the greek resistance as constituting, in some way, a preparation for the successful stand of the hellenes, and therefore in alliance with the supremely civilized race against the dark and despotic tyrants of the east. historians would do best to take herodotus’ distorted portrayal of the pharaoh amasis as a warning to be wary of the tendency to paint foreign cultures as solely supporting and encouraging of an imagined centrality. endnotes 1. among mythographers this is especially common; see hesiod, theogony and ovid, metamorphoses, both of which describe the progress of history from the origins of the cosmos to the rise of humanity. those historians who did not write such chronologically all-encompassing histories as that of herodotus largely saw themselves as continuing some predecessor’s work; thucydides’ history of the peloponnesian war and xenophon’s hellenika run very neatly together for this reason. 2. the herodotean occupies book ii.162-182, with some digressions. 3. for the ending date as contemporaneous with the middle of the reign of amasis, see below, as well as leahy, “the earliest dated monument of amasis and the end of the reign of apries.” jea 74 (1988), 183-199; lloyd historia 37 (1988), 45. cf. murphy, the antiquities of egypt, 87, n. 138. dio. sic. i.68; leahy, jea 74, 189. a. burton remarks on potential sources for all of chs. 43-68 (“the third section”) in diodorus siculus book i, a commentary (leiden, 1972), 25-29, though without mentioning the rebellion in particular; commentary on ch. 68 is on p. 206 ff. 4. lloyd, in historia 37 and herodotus, iii, 178 ff., calls this the “amasis stele,” which has the potential to be confusing, as it is certainly not the only stela to reference amasis. in aspects of the military documents of the ancient egyptians (new haven and london, 1982), a. spalinger generally terms it the “amasis historical stela.” i opt instead for leahy’s terminology. as regards the text itself, the only published copy of the inscription as a whole is g. daressy, rt 22 (1900) 2 ff.; photographs, albeit unclear, in p. der maneulian, living in the past (london, 1994), plates xi., xii.; partial translations in j. h. breasted, ancient records of egypt: historical documents from the earliest times to the persian conquest, iv. (chicago, 1906), §§996-1007; relatively recent studies in e. edel, “amasis und nebukadrezar ii,” gm 29 (1978), 13 ff.; leahy, jea 74, 189 ff; i. a. ladynin, “the elephantine stela of amasis,” gm 211 (2006), 31 ff. 5. the tablet is bm 33041 (nbk 329). see again edel, gm 29, 14 ff.; and ladynin, gm 211, 32 ff. cf. a. spalinger, “egypt and babylonia: a survey (c. 620 b.c. – 550 b.c.),” sak 5 (1977), 221 ff.; id., “the civil war between amasis and apries and the babylonian attack against egypt,” in schriften zur geschichte und kultur des alten orients 14 (berlin, 1979), 593 ff. the text itself is to be found in d. j. wiseman, chronicles of chaldean kings (london, 1956), 945, pls. xx-xxi); trans. a. oppenheim in ane texts relating to the ot, ed. j. b. pritchard (princeton, 1955), 308; partial trans. by p. berger, die neubabylonischen königsinschriften (neurkirchenvluyn, 1973), 6, 68-9, 321. leahy, jea 74, 191 n. 31 details changes that may be made to the text. 6. dio. i.68.3. 7. h. ii.162. 8. the differences that can be noted in the interim section (h. ii.162-3, dio. i.68.4) are (1) the lack of mention of the patarbemis affair in dio., who does not record a cause for “the rest of the egyptians” going over to amasis, whereas herodotus cites the exceedingly cruel treatment of one patarbemis by apries. dio. may have disregarded this portion of h. as an overly imaginative 19 the histories of pharaoh amasis retelling of the sequence, probably concocted to further illustrate the incredible brutality to which amasis was rightly opposed; and (2) the location of the battle. h. gives “momemphis,” while dio. locates the battle at “marea”; see lloyd, herodotus, iii, 181 ff.; a. j. ball, egypt in the classical geographers (cairo, 1942), 18, esp. n.2 for modern equivalents; cf. burton, diodorus, 208; for an attempt to reconcile the two accounts in terms of location, see leahy, jea 74, 192. 9. h. ii.169. 10. dio. i.68.5. 11. h. ii.169. see also lloyd, herodotus, iii, 202. 12. see n. 6 above for a bibliography of texts and translations of the stela. for the babylonian fragment bm 33041 (nbk 329), see n. 7 above and n. 21 below. 13. breasted labels it “so badly preserved that a consecutive translation is totally impossible” (ancient records of egypt, iv, §996). daressy, who nevertheless attempted such a consecutive translation, still lamented the state of the inscription at the start of his article: “ce monument est malheureusement en mauvais état de conservation: la surface en est usée par endroits, elle n’est plus polie; la lecture des inscriptions est des plus difficiles, les signes, peu profondément gravés, se perdent dans les inégalités du granit et n’ont laissé que des silhouettes sans détails” (daressy, rt 22, 1). also note breasted’s translation, but daressy concurs; see breasted, ancient records of egypt, iv, §§1002, 1006; cf. daressy rt 22. posener disagreed: “il serait sans doute plus exact de lire « an 1 » à la l. 1 et « an 2 » à la l. 14, que « an 3 » dans les deux cas, comme le fait daressy” (posener, rdph 21, 129) vandersleyen and de meulenaere later adopt the earlier terminology (“la stèle de l’an 3 d’amasis”), but note “malgré le nom que nous donnons à cette stèle, les dates que contient le document ne sont probablement pas « l’an 3 »” (vandersleyen, les guerres d’amosis, 144, n. 3). 14. edel, gm 29, 15 ff. 15. daressy, rdph 22, 2, col. 4. 16. ibid. col. 3. this point has met with some dispute. see, a. b. lloyd, “were necho’s triremes phoenician?” jhs 95 (1975), 59, n. 117. 17. see n. 7, above, for a bibliography of texts and translations relating to the fragment – bm 33041 (nbk 329). 18. trans. a. oppenheim in ane texts relating to the ot, 308. spalinger, sak 5, 237 ff. 19. however, cf. i. ladynin, gm 211, 33 ff, who calls this into question. still, it is difficult to see what other beginning might be proposed for this word, and indeed ladynin does not suggest an alternative to the traditional reading. as leahy writes, “the following phrase ‘king of egypt’ suggests that this is the end of the name of an egyptian king... amasis is the only king of the twenty-sixth dynasty whose name could end so.” 20. leahy, jea 74, 192. 21. the last text that regards apries as king is p. bm 10113, from thebes, ii šmw 10 (or mid-october), as cited in leahy, jea 74, 188. 22. lloyd, historia 37, 40 ff.: “the easiest explanation for the herodotean tradition is to argue that it is based on pro-amasis propaganda since amasis’ reputation benefits from this account in that apries is clearly blamed for his own death. according to herodotus, although amasis had deposed apries, the latter richly deserved it.. all this suggests that herodotus’ tradition is drawing on pro-amasis propaganda. the precise source cannot be established with certainty, but the fact that the same propagandist bias is exemplified in the amasis stele raises the distinct possibility that it is egyptian in origin.” nevertheless, lloyd also regards h. ii.172 as “cast in a form which looks very gk. indeed… if, on the other hand, de meulenaere is correct in assigning the narrative an eg. origin, we should have to assume a radical gk. reworking at some point to account for the version in h.” (herodotus, iii, 212). cf. leahy, jea 74, 197 ff. 23. h. ii.35 24. h. ii.167. though the historian writes “εἰ μέν νυν καὶ τοῦτο παρ’ αἰγυπτιῶν μεμαθήκασι οἱ ῞ελληνες, οὐκ ἔχω ἀτρεκέως κρῖναι” (“now whether the greek have received this, too, from the egyptians, i cannot exactly judge”), it is clear at the conclusion of his digression that he is implying that these customs are, in fact, inherited. 25. h. ii.178. 26. w. m. f. petrie, naukratis i (1884-5) (london, 1886), 5. “the style of the earliest pottery here is such, as is at the lowest date placed in the seventh century bc. the phoenician-greek ware, as it is called, is often found; and found in the temenos of apollo some way above the earliest remains. this would then bring the foundation of the city to at least the middle of the seventh century.” 27. lloyd, herodotus, iii, 222 ff. for a convenient summary of some sources up to 1988 for the dating of the pottery. the older studies include petrie, naukratis i (1884-5); e. a. gardner, naukratis ii (london, 1888); h. payne, necrocorinthia. a study of corinthian art in the archaic period (oxford, 1931) for the evidence of corinthian pottery at naukratis; c. roebuck, “the grain trade between greece and egypt” cph 45 (1950), 236 ff.; and j. boardman, the greeks overseas (london, 1980). see, more recently, a. leonard, jr., ancient naukratis: excavations at a greek emporium in egypt, 2 vols., annual of the american schools of oriental research, vols. 54-5 (1997-8); a. möller, naukratis: trade in archaic greece (oxford, 2000); k. smoláriková, abusir vii: greek imports in egypt (prague, 2002), 95 ff.; a. villing and u. schlotzhauer, eds., naukratis: greek diversity in egypt (london, 2006), 5 ff. 28. dio. i.66-68. corroborating testimony occurs in strabo, xvii, 1, 18 and in aristagoras of miletus (fgrh 608, f. 8). taken together, their writings indicate a date in the latter half of the 7th century; cf. lloyd, herodotus, i, 24 ff.; möller, naukratis, 182 ff. 29. k. sethe, ägyptische lesestücke, 3rd ed. (hildesheim, 1959), 23b, cited in lloyd, herodotus, i, 28. 30. möller, naukratis, 192. cf. f. k. kienitz, die politische geschichte ägyptens vom 7. bis zum 4. jahrhundert vor der zeitwende (berlin, 1953), 46 ff. 31. as is apparent both from the writing of herodotus himself (ii.161-9); see also the argument regarding the ḥʾw-nbw in n. 20, above; o. murray, “herodotus and oral history” in the historian’s craft in the age of herodotus, ed. n. luraghi (oxford, 2001). 32. o. murray, “herodotus and oral history” in the historian’s craft in the age of herodotus, ed. n. luraghi (oxford, 2001). 20 elements : : spring 2011 33. h. ii.182. 34. lloyd, herodotus, iii, 233. 35. depending on the time of the alliance, this prospective eastern enemy may have been either babylon under nebuchadrezzar ii, or the persians under cyrus and cambyses. many scholars have regarded the alliance as having occurred after the apries affair and the babylonian invasion of 568/7, in which case the aggressor would be persia. 36. as the pharaoh who lost the battle, amasis’ successor, psamettichus iii (526-525 bce), could hardly come in for such veneration. 37. for the question of dio.’s sources, see n. 5, above. references breasted, j. h. ancient records of egypt: historical documents from the earliest times to the persian conquest. 5 vols. chicago: university of chicago press, 1906-7. burton, anne. diodorus siculus book i: a commentary. leiden: e. j. brill, 1972. daressy, g. “stèle de l’an iii d’amasis.” rt 22, 1900: 1-9. der maneulian, peter. living in the past: studies in archaism of the egyptian twenty-sixth dynasty. london: kegan paul international, 1994. edel, elmar. “amasis und nebukadrezar ii.” gm 29, 1978:13-20. gardner, e. a. naukratis ii, london: the egypt exploration fund, 1888. harrison, thomas. “upside down and back to front: herodotus and the greek encounter with egypt.” in ancient perspectives on egypt, ed. roger matthews and cornelia roemer. london: university college london press, 2003: 146-155. hartog, f. the mirror of herodotus: the representation of the other in the writing of history. trans. j. lloyd. berkeley, ca: university of california press, 1988. kienitz, f. k. die politische geschichte ägyptens vom 7. bis zum 4. jahrhundert vor der zeitwende. berlin: academie-verlag, 1953. ladynin, ivan a. “the elephantine stela of amasis: some problems and prospects of study.” gm 211, 2006: 31-56. leahy, anthony. “the earliest dated monument of amasis and the end of the reign of apries.” jea 74, 1988: 183-199. lloyd, a.b. “were necho’s triremes phoenician?” jhs 95, 1975: 45-61, plates vi.-viii. ___. “herodotus’ account of pharaonic history.” historia 37, 1988: 22-53. ___. herodotus book ii: a commentary. 3 vols. leiden: e. j. brill, 1975-1989. möller, astrid. naukratis: trade in archaic greece. oxford: oxford university press, 2000. murray, oswyn. “hecataeus of abdera and pharaonic kingship.” jea 56, 1970: 141-171. petrie, w. m. f. naukratis i (1884-5), london: the egypt exploration fund, 1886. pritchard, james b., ed. ancient near eastern texts relating to the old testament. princeton: princeton university press, 1955. spalinger, a.j. “egypt and babylonia: a survey (c. 620 b.c. – 550 b.c.).” sak 5, 1977: 221-244. ___. “the civil war between amasis and apries and the babylonian attack against egypt.” in schriften zur geschichte und kultur des alten orients 14, ed. walter f. reineke. berlin: akademie, 1979: 593-604. ___. aspects of the military documents of ancient egyptians (yale near eastern researchs 9). new haven and london: yale universiy press, 1982. 21 the histories of pharaoh amasis “endowed with permanent youth, dorian’s life becomes a search for new sensations to mimic that first afternoon with lord henry.” this paper outlines the influence of lord henry wotton on dorian gray’s hedonistic transformation in oscar wilde’s the picture of dorian gray. noting the connections between wildean and paterian aestheticism, the paper concludes that dorian is both aesthete and artifact. considering the writings of literary critics kevin ohi and jeff nunokawa, this article dissects each figure—aesthete and artifact—in relation to both queer theory and paterian aesthetic theory, mainly from the perspective of pater’s the renaissance. finally, the paper analyzes moralistic, gothic readings of the novel’s ending, finding them destructive in light of the novel’s parallels with pater’s marius the epicurian and other aesthetic treatises. with a heavy reliance on close reading and formalist approaches to literary criticism, an analysis of the final moment in the novel concludes that dorian’s death serves as his final transformation into art, where life returns to art through death. rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood an examination of oscar wilde’s the picture of dorian gray andrew tareila oscar wilde’s the picture of dorian gray contains all the plot elements of a gothic novel; it is the supernatural story of a beautiful man who, once his hedonistic prayer to remain always youthful is answered, switches “roles” with his portrait. yet wilde writes with careful attention paid to the themes outlined by the aesthetic movement, especially as influenced by walter pater, his contemporary. accordingly, the novel’s characters embody these aesthetic themes. in truth, dorian gray could not be an aesthetic novel without the personality of lord henry wotton, whose influence forces dorian to assume a role comparable to pater’s marius the epicurean, whose role is perhaps more matured in the aesthetic sense. a deep analysis of lord henry’s influential role points to wilde’s aesthetic propositions and marks lord henry as the first cause of dorian’s transformation. lord henry is a character defined by his musical voice and epigrammatic witticisms, the combination of which takes a profound hold over dorian gray’s intellectual development. and while he never anticipates the negative effects of his hedonistic influence—dorian’s soul grows darker, unbeknownst to lord henry—his words shape and reshape dorian into both the aesthete and the aesthetic artifact while corrupting his own soul. the effect poses a compelling nexus between artist, artifact, and observer, necessitating careful dissection of each of these figures. lord henry is the first character to appear in the novel—an interesting point considering its title. while basil hallward is, in fact, the artist who paints the portrait of dorian gray, lord henry enacts a similarly artistic role in his ability to sculpt the nature of dorian’s intellect and, guided by the principles of the aesthetic movement, his soul. the first description of lord henry, arriving in only the second paragraph of the novel, says: from the corner of the divan of persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, lord henry wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-colored blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary japanese effect, and making him think of those pallid jade-faced painters of tokio who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion.1 kevin ohi’s analysis of this passage points to the novel’s “power to evoke simultaneities of movement and stasis,” as the description is one of the novel’s numerous examples of passages of free indirect discourse.2 here, readers enter into the consciousness of lord henry, who could “just catch the gleam” of the laburnum, a poisonous shrub containing blossoms of yellow flowers. the observation of the plant foreshadows three critical ideas encountered in the novel. first, the “honey-sweet and honey-colored” depiction of the laburnum echoes lord henry’s later description of dorian’s “rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood.”3 second, the flower’s poisonous nature prefigures the poison dorian reads in the “yellow book,” later given to him by lord henry. finally, its “flame-like” beauty whose burden seems so hard to bear is reminiscent of the paterian “gem-like flame.”4 however, as ohi points out, the flowers are unaware of their own beauty—they are flame-like, but not yet flaming: “the flowers bear the affect burdening the human observer gazing on them; this very exchange, in turn, figures the identificatory crossings in aesthetic absorption.”5 in this analysis of lord henry, this discourse marks his aesthetic maturity. the flowers are burdened with flame-like beauty because of his impression of the moment. in addition, it introduces the ecstasy of observation that lord henry will utilize in his attempt to dominate dorian’s intellect. lord henry views the “shadows of birds in flight” [emphasis added] and, later, contemplates dorian’s “complex personality” that “took the place and assumed the office of art,” providing a form to the feelings— the shadows—of art. the “japanese effect” is extended to the highest possible mode of transformation when dorian assumes his role as artifact, but both transformations— the “japanese effect” and dorian’s—require lord henry’s influence. “a deep analysis of lord henry’s influential role points to wilde’s aesthetic propositions and marks lord henry as the first cause of dorian’s transformation.” 25 rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood like the flowers, who “seem hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty as flame-like as theirs,” dorian requires the knowledge of his own beauty—a desire that necessitates the drama of aesthetic initiation here figured by the laburnum. however, it is clear in this passage that this initiation is deflected from the laburnum to lord henry, who perceives the beauty of a flower that is unable to share that perception. later, in the climax of dorian’s aesthetic initiation, he looks upon his own portrait; the artifact is the mirror image of the aesthete, and his inability to “bear the burden” of his own beauty is reflected both in the youthful face he sees and in his hedonistic prayer. as dorian and lord henry share their first conversation, basil hallward is a passive onlooker, painting the expression on dorian’s face as lord henry showers him with provocative eloquence. in this first conversation, lord henry elicits a response in dorian characterized by burning passion. he tells dorian: you, mr. gray, you yourself, with your rose-red youth and your rose-white boyhood, you have had passions that have made you afraid, thoughts that have filled you with terror, day-dreams and sleeping dreams whose mere memory might stain your cheek with shame.6 if his statements seem audacious, it is because they are; he is, after all, confessing dorian’s sins, his terrors, his innermost secrets, all on dorian’s behalf. furthermore, they cause the stain that he describes; dorian undoubtedly blushes out of self-awareness. the profound effect of these words “seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things”; the blush makes dorian’s beautiful cheek visible, eliciting a physical response to new emotion, as he is consequently filled with the terror of his own awakening.7 hallward enthusiastically notes the change in dorian’s countenance as he listens to lord henry, remarking, “i have caught the effect i wanted—the half-parted lips, and the bright look in the eyes.”8 therefore, when dorian sees his portrait for the first time, he is in fact looking at this “effect”—he sees the power of lord henry’s audacity painted in the colors and contours of his face. in switching roles with his portrait, his face forever reflects that innocent wonder. dorian desires similar awakenings later when, at the heart of the novel’s aesthetic meditations, he dwells on the impossibility of an infinite variety to life: there steals over us a terrible sense of the necessity for the continuance of energy in the same wearisome round of stereotyped habits, or a wild longing, it may be, that our eyelids might open some morning upon a world that had been refashioned anew in the darkness for our pleasure, a world in which things would have fresh shapes and colors, and be changed, or have other secrets.9 dorian’s attempts to recreate that moment of aesthetic initiation result from lord henry’s gift of eloquence. endowed with permanent youth, dorian’s life becomes a search for new sensations to mimic that first afternoon with lord henry.10 in this section of the novel, wilde’s narration reads like an aesthetic treatise. the buildup of clauses in sentences like the above mimic dorian’s shifting interests; the use of the word “or” causes the sentence to nineteenth-century print scene from the picture of dorian gray (1890), the only novel published by oscar wilde 26 elements : : spring 2011 irish writer oscar wilde (1854-1900) 27 rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood keep recreating itself, until arriving upon the very provocative phrase, “other secrets.” this phrase reminds us of lord henry’s original erotic audacity, the aggression that formed dorian’s aesthetic sensibility. the coupling of these shifting impressions with that moment in which we witness dorian’s innocent blush emphasizes his desire to embody pater’s gem-like flame. the “stereotyped habits” echo a similar sentiment in pater’s “conclusion” to the renaissance: in a sense, it might even be said that our failure is to form habits: for, after all, habit is relative to a stereotyped world, and meantime it is only the roughness of the eye that makes any two persons, things, situations, seem alike.11 surely dorian’s past feelings, those thoughts that make him blush at lord henry’s words, were but paterian failures—habits formed regarding his sexuality or his lifestyle. lord henry describes each failure as if it were the artist’s paint upon a blank canvas, the realization of which “stains” the canvas, giving form to formless things. lord henry’s audacity thus stains dorian, causing him to blush and creating the effect desired by hallward. when he views his portrait for the first time, dorian remolds into an aesthete like lord henry. as wilde narrates dorian’s impressions of the world, these moments of aesthetic fulfillment are described, “veil after veil of thin, dusky gauze is lifted, and by degrees the forms and colors of things are restored to them, and we watch the dawn remaking the world in its antique pattern.”12 the “dawn” draws upon dorian’s awakenings, and again, resembles the notions conveyed in pater’s “conclusion.” pater writes: while all melts under our feet, we may well grasp at any exquisite passion, or any contribution to knowledge that seems by a lifted horizon to set the spirit free for a moment, or any stirring of the senses, strange dyes, strange colors, and curious odors, or work of the artist’s hands, or the face of one’s friend.13 like wilde, pater repeatedly uses the conjunction “or” to mimic the effect he describes: form and content are brilliantly wedded together. dorian, in his magnificent beauty, embodies these passages in pater; he is a disciple of lord henry’s hedonism and, by extension, pater’s as well. in a conversation between lord henry and dorian near the end of the novel, wilde uses lord henry to describe the paterian goal: a chance tone of color in a room or a morning sky, a particular perfume that you had once loved and that brings subtle memories with it, a line from a forgotten poem that you had come across again, a cadence from a piece of music that you had ceased to play—i tell you, dorian, that it is on things like these that our lives depend.14 this sentence, aside from being one of the most beautiful sentences in the novel, notes the importance of impressions and experience, which, according to pater, “is the end.”15 to note these impressions, to remember the lines of verse and the cadences of a sonata, becomes success in life for dorian. his life is characterized by complete inaction and attention to detail, just as pater described. in the renaissance, pater declares, “all art constantly aspires towards the condition of music” because of the inability to distinguish its matter from its form.16 lord henry’s definition of influence from a musical standpoint evokes pater’s point perfectly: “to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. he does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions.  .  .  . he becomes an echo of some one else’s music.”17 lord henry’s own voice is repeatedly described as “low” and “musical,” and his influence causes the infiltration of his theories into dorian’s consciousness, so much so that in later chapters, dorian literally echoes these theories: “now and then he repeated to himself the words that lord henry had said to him on the first day they had met: ‘to cure the soul by means of the senses and the senses by means of the soul’” (an epigram which will be returned to below).18 yet in a further discussion of the musical nature of his influence, lord henry compares his tutorship to the playing of a musical instrument: “surely dorian’s past feelings, those thoughts that make him blush at lord henry’s words, were but paterian failures— habits formed regarding his sexuality or his lifestyle.” 28 elements : : spring 2011 talking to [dorian] was like playing upon an exquisite violin. he answered to every touch and thrill of the bow. . . . there was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. no other activity was like it. to project one’s soul into some gracious form, and let it tarry there for a moment; to hear one’s own intellectual views echoed back to one with all the added music of passion and youth; to convey one’s temperament into another, as though it were a subtle fluid of a strange perfume: there was a real joy in that.19 lord henry’s “low musical voice” plays on dorian, figured here as a violin. in presenting the exercise of influence in this moment, where dorian stands for basil hallward to paint, we see lord henry “speaks” through dorian as the painting is brought to life. much like dorian can become a violin, the painting can become a person. the ease with which this occurs is made fully possible by its musical form, where lord henry’s words cannot be extracted from the sounds with which they resonate. jeff nunokawa argues that because lord henry is motivated to exercise his influence by a homosexual desire for dorian, “the mentor is altogether sublimated in the course of instruction where his erotic attraction to the young man finds its field of play.”20 nunokawa emphasizes the homoeroticism of the passage, marking the effects of lord henry’s charisma over the charmed youth and dwelling on the way this intercourse sounds more like homosexual intercourse. furthermore, nunokawa lingers over the “alchemic transmutation” of lord henry’s music into a “strange perfume,” and contends that the transformation in form of the instruction constitutes lord henry’s self-dispersal. this transformation constitutes, for nunokawa, lord henry’s “depersonalization,” but for the purposes of this analysis, it is this act that allows the color to flow into dorian’s cheek in a movement from emotional to physical sensation. one particular theory that passes between these two characters is the theory that “nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.”21 the mere statement causes yet another physical change: “.  .  . the scarlet of [dorian’s] lips to shake and left them trembling.”22 this scarlet, like the color staining his cheek throughout the scene, is contrasted with lord henry’s “cool, white, flower-like hands.”23 the differences in both color and movement point to dorian’s ability to feel shame—a trait seemingly unfound in lord henry. however, just as this trait leaves dorian in the course of the story, his desire to “cure the soul by means of the senses”— a seemingly aesthetic goal—grows in an intellectual manner. shame declines in those striking moments when, upon looking at his portrait and the “face of his soul,” he simply becomes “more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul. . . . he mocked the misshapen body and the failing limbs.”24 the novel begins its exposition of this aesthetic desire, as described above, with a dense chapter on the development of dorian’s aesthetic interests, leaving the influence of lord henry temporarily aside. in addition to the more figurative aspects of the contrast in color between lord henry’s hands and dorian’s face, for the sake of the plot, dorian’s countenance in this scene, affected by lord henry, is the perfect countenance for basil’s depiction in the painting. as dorian is to wear the face of the painting for the rest of his life, this look of shame and youthful awakening marks his face with the innocence of a boy whose every moment relives this experience. his soul and his intellect are, in fact, the opposite of innocent: according to alan campbell, he simply goes from “corruption to corruption.”25 for an aesthete like lord henry, the prospect of having a work of art constantly in motion, yet constantly wearing that face of flowering innocence—of “rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood”—is likely the cause of his infatuation with dorian. to lord henry, dorian’s life itself transcends pater’s ideal form of art; although, as has been discussed, the music is of utmost importance in shaping dorian’s character. in his final conversation with dorian, he says, “you are the type of what the age is searching for, and what “as dorian is to wear the face of the painting for the rest of his life, this look of shame and youthful awakening marks his face with the innocence of a boy whose every moment relives this experience.” 29 rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood it is afraid it has found. . . . life has been your art. you have set yourself to music. your days are your sonnets.”26 in this final confession of his love for dorian gray, lord henry alludes to a type—the greek type, to be exact—that prolongs that fleeting, vanishing impression. moreover, lord henry sees dorian’s life as the result of symphonic orchestration; this music is not lord henry’s music, but the result of it, the singular lifestyle of one burning “always with that gem-like flame.” however, as the sonnet was the sole art form not perfected by the greeks, as noted by wilde in the artist as critic, this allusion to dorian’s days as sonnets reverberate a sense of newness. the greek type is transformed and his ability to live as both beholder and beheld excites aesthetes like lord henry—yet it also excites dorian. as in many other cases, he adopts lord henry’s views of the beauty of one’s life. in an earlier discussion with basil hallward, he says, “to become the spectator of one’s own life, as henry says, is to escape the suffering.”27 similarly, he maintains, “life itself was the first, the greatest of the arts, and for it all other arts seem to be but a preparation.”28 thus, the sonnets that characterize dorian’s days, the music to which he sets his life, are the preparatory art forms that dorian imagines for the art of his own life. this appreciation for preparatory forms gains an especially singular significance when, as will be discussed, he becomes infatuated with a book of “poison.” nunokawa observes that while readers see and hear less and less from lord henry as the novel progresses, dorian replaces his influence with the yellow book given to him by his tutor: “for years dorian gray could not free himself from the influence of this book; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he never sought to free himself from it.”29 the book is the first of many of dorian’s aesthetic obsessions; nine versions are bought and “bound in different colors, so that they might suit his various moods and the changing fancies of a nature over which he seemed, at times, to have almost entirely lost control.”30 it serves as an example of the way in which the outsides of things make the insides seem more beautiful—a common motif in the novel, and one especially compelling in regard to the discrepancies between dorian’s beautiful form and his ugly soul, which is of course explicitly shown in the portrait. however, the “poison” contained in the book, as dorian would call it, also reminds readers of the poison inside of dorian that seems out of his “control.” it is clear that lord henry influences this loss of control, yet, throughout the novel, it is obvious that lord henry does not guess at the harmful impacts of his influence over dorian. even in their final conversation before dorian’s death, dorian remarks on the yellow book’s poisonous nature, and lord henry replies: as for being poisoned by a book, there is no such thing as that. art has no influence upon action. it annihilates the desire to act. it is superbly sterile. the books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.31 once again, lord henry points to the unique emotion of shame. lord henry’s belief that the exposure of shame is, in fact, beneficial to the exposed, emphasizes his overwhelming desire to appear apathetic. surely if art had no influence upon action, his own musical voice would not have affected dorian’s developing tastes and curiosities throughout the novel, and basil hallward’s portrait would not have spawned hallward’s own death. the obvious discrepancies between lord henry’s statement and the truth of the novel emphasize his ignorance of dorian’s evil. at the end of wilde’s novel, dorian gray is found dead with a knife in his heart. 30 elements : : spring 2011 dorian moves from the yellow book to a series of aesthetically pleasing obsessions. like pater’s marius the epicurean, who moved from epicureanism to an obsession with heraclitus, to the school of cyrene, to christianity, and other interests, “he would often adopt certain modes of thought that he knew to be really alien to his nature, abandon himself to their subtle influences, and then, having, as it were, caught their color and satisfied his intellectual curiosity, leave them with that curious indifference.”32 when read alongside marius the epicurean, dorian’s series of aesthetic interests may be understood as lacking any sort of development. for dorian, and the same is true for walter pater, the aim of “passionate experience . . . was to be experience itself.”33 thus, while lord henry’s brief disappearance from the novel may hint at a sudden decline of his influence, dorian’s development is complete; he is the aesthete that lord henry sought to form through his musical voice, the “gem-like flame” who is “for ever curiously testing new opinions and courting new impressions.”34 in reading the assertion that dorian’s “development is complete,” however, it is necessary to note that his aesthetic life has just begun. in marius the epicurean, pater wrote: from that maxim life as the end of life, followed, as a practical consequence, the desirableness of refining all the instruments of inward and outward intuition, of developing all their capacities, of testing and exercising one’s self in them, till one’s whole nature became one complex medium of reception, towards the vision—the “beatific vision,” if we really cared to make it such—of our actual experience in the world.35 dorian enjoys the aesthetics of catholicism, the “cold marble pavement” and the “priest, in his stiff, flowered dalmatic”; and yet, “[dorian] never fell into the error of arresting his intellectual development by any formal acceptance of creed or system.”36 he then arbitrarily devotes himself to music, perfumes, jewels, embroideries; one cannot characterize his life with any theory except the aesthetic theory. once removed from the “low, musical voice” of lord henry, dorian follows his own music in a whimsical, unpredictable manner. his aesthetic theory lies outside the framework of the gothic novel in which it is found. thus, the aesthetic novel, the story of dorian’s enthusiasms, which includes the aesthetic treatise highlighted above, matches the novel’s title beautifully; the reader truly is left with a picture of dorian gray. for dorian, there “was no mood of the mind that had not its counterpart in the sensuous life.”37 a character so devoted to the senses, so keen on experimentation and impressions, can find only one exit from this life: the exit into art itself. pater’s maxim, life as the end of life, renders his sensuous enthusiasms—his aesthetic life—as driven towards an artistic, beatific ideal. dorian’s death at the end of the novel, for many critics, poses interesting moralizing questions concerning gothic themes of the novel’s era. on the one hand, many critics contend that his death serves to halt his hedonist life before his “evil influence” expands. as previously noted, however, his aesthetic enthusiasms do not maintain the plot of the gothic novel—they are the randomly assorted impressions of an epicurean. thus, his death cannot stand as the terminus of an immoral life. instead, when the servants creep upstairs and open the door: ...they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. he was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage.38 his death is his final initiation into art, and it serves to unite the aesthete and the artifact in the last moment. the vibrant beauty that his servants find in the picture replaces his soul that had, for years, idled in an agony of corruption. truly, for dorian, nothing could “cure the soul but the senses.” the crux of the aesthetic novel, that initiation followed by a series of newer, yet not necessarily grander initiations, can only end with artistic life replacing life itself. the contrast in the final sentences of the novel between the beautiful form of the painting and the “loathsome” man lying next to it, coupled with the servants’ inability to distinguish their dead master if not for his jeweled rings, which were remnants of one of his enthusiasms, allows not a sense of finality, but rather a staggering simplicity in death as a final aesthetic initiation. and if his series of enthusiasms is arbitrary, so is the timeliness of his death. wilde’s ability to separate the two plots—that of the gothic novel and that which is contrastingly plot-less receives its climax here, where the two stories come together in startling opposition. endnotes 1. wilde (3) 2. ohi (74) 3. wilde (21) 4. the specific reference is from walter pater’s final essay in the renaissance, “the conclusion”: “to burn always with this hard, gem-like flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life” (174). 5. ohi (74) 6. wilde (21) 31 rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood 7. ibid. 8. wilde (22) 9. wilde (135) 10. while many critics contend that the “aesthetic initiation” occurs when he views his completed portrait for the first time, the events outlined above emphasize the importance of lord henry’s erotic audacity in preparing dorian for his initial encounter with his “rose-red youth and rose-white boyhood.” the picture is, of course, necessary for dorian only after lord henry teaches him how to look at it. 11. pater 1980 (189) 12. wilde (134) 13. ibid. 14. wilde (223) 15. pater 1980 (188) 16. pater 1980 (106) 17. wilde (20) 18. wilde (189) 19. wilde (39) 20. nunokawa (317) 21. wilde (23) 22. ibid. 23. ibid. 24. wilde (161, 131) 25. wilde (176) 26. wilde (223) 27. wilde (114) 28. wilde (132) 29. wilde (130) 30. ibid. 31. wilde (224) 32. wilde (134) 33. wilde (134); cf. pater 1980 (188), “not the fruit of experience, but experience itself is the end.” 34. pater 1980 (189) 35. pater 1921 (143) 36. wilde (135-6) 37. wilde (136) 38. wilde (229) references nunokawa, jeff. “homosexual desire and the effacement of the self in the picture of dorian gray.” american imago 49, no. 3 (1992): 311-321. ohi, kevin. innocence and rapture. new york: palgrave macmillan, 2005. pater, walter. marius the epicurean: his sensations and ideas. londan: macmillan, 1921. pater, walter. the renaissance: studies in art and poetry. ed. donald l. hill. los angeles: university of california press, 1980. wilde, oscar. the picture of dorian gray. ed. camille cauti. new york: barnes & noble books, 2004. 32 elements : : spring 2011 accounts and dramatic portrayals of the salem witch trials often caricature the actual events. while salem’s courtrooms did produce a dramatic scene at the close of the seventeenth century, the individuals falsely accused of witchcraft by their fellow townspeople are often lost in the narrative. dorothy good, one such victim, does not initially seem exceptional since she was accused and convicted on charges of witchcraft just like so many other women. but dorothy’s case becomes much more troubling given her age—she was four years old. how could a mere toddler become involved in the chaos of the salem courtrooms, subject to frightful and vicious accusations? through primary sources from the period, this paper exposes some of the influences on dorothy’s story, particularly that of her parents, in the context of the cultural and social expectations of seventeenth-century salem in order to uncover the truth behind the unanswered questions surrounding dorothy good. dorothy good the case of a child witch ellen zatkowski the account of the trial of dorothy good reads like many other documents regarding the witch trials that consumed salem, massachusetts, in 1692. the accusations against dorothy included her appearance in ghost-like apparitions to the people of salem village, “biting, pricking and pinching . . . and almost choking [her victims] to death.”1 these allegations resemble numerous other accounts of witchcraft, making it appear that dorothy’s case was not unique. however, there is a twist to dorothy good’s story: dorothy, who was both convicted and imprisoned on charges of witchcraft, was only four years old. this fact shocks modern sensibilities. twenty-first century americans understand childhood as a crucial period of human development set apart from youth and adulthood. this was not the case in seventeenth-century salem. it begs the following question: how could the people of the massachusetts bay colony allow a mere toddler to be imprisoned for nine months?2 moreover, primary sources suggest that sarah good, dorothy’s mother, was pregnant at her trial and gave birth to another infant who died in prison.3 what social attitudes in 1692 allowed treatment of a child and pregnant woman that would be considered abusive today? the story becomes even more complicated as other court documents reveal that dorothy acted as a witness against sarah, aiding in the conviction and execution of her own mother. how did dorothy become a legally acceptable accuser equal to older girls such as abigail williams and elizabeth parris? by considering primary documents recounting the events of the salem witch trials, certain circumstances and beliefs shed some light on these questions. dorothy’s ordeal is intricately linked to the reputation and behavior of her mother sarah good both in salem village and during her own trial on allegations of witchcraft. the case against sarah good is likely the main reason why her young daughter dorothy was accused, imprisoned, put on trial, and convicted of witchcraft. witchcraft accusations against children were not unheard of in the seventeenth century. there are previously documented cases of child witchcraft in both england and germany. but these cases typically occurred as the witch crazes drew to a close.4 theories explaining this circumstance cite social and political turmoil and disorganization in europe caused by the protestant reformation and subsequent wars of religion. uncertainty regarding social rules and expectations may have influenced the increased role that children took in the witchcraft trials, acting as both accuser and accused.5 in the salem witch trials, dorothy good’s case differed greatly from those in europe; accusations were levied against her at the beginning of the witchhunt and under different political and social conditions. another difference is that the children involved in the european witch crazes were typically older than the age of four, a circumstance that makes dorothy’s trial exceptional. these conditions prompt an inquiry into how this could be sanctioned in salem.6 the pervasive atmosphere of suspicion in the witch trials may have allowed the villagers to overlook dorothy’s age because of their very real fear of a witch’s evil power. the allegations against various, mostly female, villagers originated from unexplainable afflictions and fits of young girls. historian mary beth norton argues that these girls’ actions arose out of the political uncertainty of the period and built upon pre-existing tensions.7 this same “preoccupation with conspiracy” also consumed dorothy who saw a way out of her imprisonment by providing evidence against her mother.8 this simplified explanation, however, does not take into account the specific circumstances surrounding the salem witch trials in general and dorothy’s case in particular. dorothy’s mother, sarah good, plays the most important role in the drama that unfolded in the court of magistrates john hathorne and jonathan corwin. sarah good’s tempestuous life culminated in her execution on charges of witchcraft on july 19, 1692. the events of her life provide insight into puritan society and help explain dorothy’s story. sarah solart poole good was born into a relatively “in the salem witch trials, dorothy good’s case differed greatly from those in europe; accusations were levied against her at the beginning of the witch-hunt and under different political and social conditions.” 35 dorothy good well to-do family in wenham, massachusetts. after her father committed suicide, sarah’s mother remarried. she subsequently refused to provide sarah with her rightful inheritance as stipulated in her father’s will. sarah’s first marriage to an indentured servant named daniel poole also ended in money problems after poole’s death left sarah in debt from which she was never able to recover. after her remarriage to william good, this ever-growing debt forced the goods to sell what remained of the land bequeathed to sarah by her late father. homeless and poor, the goods, along with their daughter dorothy, ultimately came to reside in salem village where they began a life of begging in order to survive.9 the good family’s situation was largely formed by salem society, one heavily influenced by puritanism. an offshoot of calvinism, puritanism was a protestant religious movement composed of christians who became disillusioned by the corruption of the anglican church and severed ties with anglicanism. the puritans, persecuted for their break from the church of england, fled to the new world and established plymouth colony, which became part of the larger massachusetts bay colony. these puritans, along with other english settlers, established a society influenced by their unfailing belief in god’s divine providence.10 while church and state were legally distinct, “religion framed the essential standards of conduct” in the colony, according to historian john demos.11 religion also served to “‘explain’ every manner of event, large and small, happy and painful, public and private.”12 the connection between an individual and the public steeped in religious tradition resulted in a basis of societal value. the goods were “undesirables” who violated these societal norms, contributing to the family’s reputation.13 the villagers’ reactions to the goods, specifically sarah, reveal an intolerance and intense suspicion of outsiders. the primary accusers of alleged witches targeted people who lived on the fringes of the community. elizabeth parris and abigail williams, the original instigators of the witch craze in salem village, were directly related to salem’s minister, samuel parris.14 since such an important leader was involved, the girls’ complaints of affliction at the hands of witches were of great interest to the villagers.15 both of these girls, however, were too young to testify in court, according to english law. the question then became how the authorities, including parris, should handle the girls’ accusations of torment at the hands of alleged witches. while many villagers took these accusations seriously, adults did not know how to manage the trials given the witnesses’ youth. initially, village leaders did not intend to allow the girls to testify in court since they were under the legal age limit of fourteen. while some of the girls, such as ann putnam jr. and abigail williams, were ultimately allowed to testify, their ages were conspicuously absent from the records. norton argues that the lack of information on the girls’ ages may have reflected “a desire to conceal the youth of these witnesses” in case accusations should ever arise regarding the “legitimacy of the proceedings.”16 it was not until betty hubbard, who was over the age of fourteen, came forward complaining of her own afflictions that the villagers sought legal action against the alleged witchguilty verdict pronounced at the salem witch trials in the massachusetts bay colony, 1692 36 elements : : spring 2011 es. the magistrates may then have allowed testimony from the other girls since betty hubbard legitimized their accusations. in dorothy good’s trial, no official action was taken until betty hubbard echoed the younger girls’ claims.17 the first women that the girls accused of witchcraft—tituba, sarah osborne, and sarah good—were all considered outsiders. that none of these women were native to salem implies this prejudice may have influenced their accusations.18 tituba’s origins are unknown but it is assumed that she came from a region near florida, called “new spain.” she was referred to as “tituba indian,” explicitly denoting her racial difference from the english members of the community. norton explains that the “villagers viewed her ethnicity as an inseparable part of her identity,” thus making her a permanent outsider.19 sarah osborne, originally from watertown, was notorious for her marriage to an indentured servant. osborne was also involved in a feud with an influential salem family, which further contributed to her infamy. sarah good, embittered by her socioeconomic status, was ostracized due to her odd character and hostility. many members of the community had already voiced suspicions of sarah’s practicing witchcraft. therefore, in her case, the girls’ accusations supplemented well-known gossip.20 upon sarah good’s arrest, people immediately volunteered incriminating evidence against her that revealed their attitudes towards both sarah and her family. the witnesses included male leaders in the salem community such as william allen, john hughes, and samuel brabooke, as well as the girls who remained at the center of every accusation during the trials: mercy lewis, abigail williams, and betty hubbard. they cited sarah good’s “muttering” and “mumbling” in her interactions with others as evidence of her poor intentions. after receiving some form of charity, sarah would walk away mumbling incoherently under her breath, neglecting to express gratitude. her behavior left a negative impression on the people who subsequently found an outlet for their frustrations and suspicion in sarah’s trial.21 when asked by john hathorne why she “muttered,” sarah replied: “i did not mutter but i thanked him for what he gave my child.”22 the presence of the “afflicted” girls in the courtroom only intensified the suspicions of sarah’s guilt as they dissolved into “torments” when she turned to look at them. witnesses present at the trial referred to sarah’s denials of the villagers’ accusations as “base and abusive words and many lies,” saying “her answers were in a very wicked pitiful manner.” it would seem, therefore, that the villagers’ problems with the good family may have stemmed partly from the goods’ failure to meet societal expectations.23 seventeenth-century society was based upon the institution of the family, ideally consisting of a father, mother, and children. the family was expected to provide “for the town at large,” an expectation presented in testimony at sarah good’s trial.24 just as the church and state coexisted relatively seamlessly within society, so too did family life and social life rely on one another. there was a “wide range of functions which the family in this era was expected to serve” including offering hospitality to “unfortunates,” who could not provide for themselves, like the goods.25 demos describes the importance of the family in contributing to community welfare: in an era when there were no hospitals, no poorhouses, indeed no specialized welfare institutions of any kind, the social importance of the family was extremely large [serving as a] house of correction, church, and welfare institution.26 english puritan minister william gouge, in his 1622 work on familial obligations, of domesticall duties [sic], likens the family to “a little church, and a little commonwealth” symbolizing the importance of the family’s contribution to society as a whole.27 the villagers would most likely be familiar with gouge’s work and views on family life due to the puritan influence in the massachusetts bay colony. this conduct book was also widely published in eight editions, making it accessible to the colony’s educated leaders.28 the goods’ poverty and outsider status kept them from upholding the expectations placed upon the family, likely contributing to the accusations against both sarah and her daughter. samuel and mary abbey, a salem village couple, attempted to live up to society’s expectations by providing hospitality for the good family, but they were ultimately unable to handle sarah good’s unsettling behavior. the abbeys reported that they invited the goods to stay in their home in 1659 since the goods were “destitute of a house to dwell in.” it was not long, however, before the abbeys had to end their hospitality. mary abbey recounted that she was forced to turn the goods out due to sarah’s “turbulent spirit, spitefull and so maliciously bent.”29 the abbeys believed that sarah maintained a grudge against them and had harmed their livestock. they cited this evidence as grounds for conviction on witchcraft charges.30 in addition to dem37 dorothy good onstrating society’s attitude towards “undesirable” members of the community, the abbeys’ encounter with sarah good reflected a common suspicion held by many other villagers who dealt with sarah’s ingratitude and troubled mind. even william good, sarah’s husband and dorothy’s father, believed his wife was guilty of consorting with the devil, a sentiment that would be echoed about the couple’s daughter. william good’s testimony condemning his wife offers insight into the goods’ family dynamic. in a statement before the magistrates, william declared “that he was afraid that she [sarah] either was a witch or would be one very quickly.” the worthy mr. hathorne asked him his reason for saying so, whether he had ever seen anything done by her, and mr. good answered “no, not in this nature, but it was her bad carriage to him,” and indeed said, “i may say with tears that she is an enemy to all good.”31 the fact that william good would readily condemn his wife to prison, and ultimately death, presents an image of a turbulent family life that did not conform to society’s standards. in addition to betraying his spouse, william appears to have disregarded any consideration for his daughter’s well being. clearly, the goods did not represent the ideal puritan family, a fact that can help answer the questions surrounding dorothy’s trial. notable writers of the period, mainly ministers, provided the image of an ideal family through their works on christian values. the expectation that families submit to the providence of god’s divine will was paramount in any contemporary discussion of familial duties. children, like dorothy, were held to high expectations concerning their behavior and attitude towards their elders. the fifth commandment to “honor thy father and mother” from chapter 20, verse 12 of the book of the ephesians encapsulates the relationship between child and parent.32 before all else, a child must respect his or her mother and father, a principle apparent in gouge’s work: let all reverence be manifested in children’s behavior to their parents . . . [and] let the countenance, and gesture of the body be so soberly and modestly ordered in the presence of the parents, as may argue due respect.33 the child’s respect must also be a combination of “a loving-feare or a fearinglove [sic], which is the ground of children’s duties.”34 the seventeenth-century household, established on the expectation present in the fifth commandment, was not a home of doting parental indulgence but rather built upon the reciprocal responsibilities between parent and child. childhood, while not viewed as a unique developmental stage in this period as it is today, was still a time for learning how to be an adult. demos states that puritan children were treated like “miniature adults” and their parents’ instruction helped train them to become contributing members of society.35 from a young age, children were expected to help with household chores. both boys and girls began working with their families by the age of five or six, learning necessary skills that were valued by the entire community.36 the notion of the importance of work contributed to the outsider status of the good family. since the goods were beggars who did not have a home of their own, they were unable to work in the traditional sense by contributing to salem’s collective well-being. instead, they relied on other families for survival, a dependency that many villagers resented. hans sebald examines the psychological mindset of some of the villagers during the witch trials: “pent-up fears and guilt of calvinist repression changed into anger and exploded into behavior that was vengeful and legitimate at the same time.”37 this resentment was evident in testimonies such as the abbeys’ against sarah good.38 while this bitterness helps to explain the sentiments expressed by the community toward sarah, it does not explicate the accusations against dorothy. at four years old, she “the seventeenth-century household, established on the expectation present in the fifth commandment, was not a home of doting parental indulgence but rather built upon the reciprocal responsibilities between parent and child.” 38 elements : : spring 2011 was not expected to contribute to society in the same capacity as an adult. but her parents, and therefore the entire good family, lacked other traditional virtues that further distanced them from the rest of the community. adults were expected to live a pious life in accordance with christ’s teachings. it was understood that they would impart these teachings to their sons and daughters. the good family, who were not churchgoers, could not fulfill this crucial component of their child’s education. a common principle spread by ministers of the period, like cotton mather, dictated that children should be taught to live a godly life from infancy. one of mather’s sermons focused on the formation of “gracious little children” and was entitled “the little child’s lesson; or a child wise unto salvation. a discourse instructing and inviting little children to the exercises of early piety. to which may be added, a short scriptural catechism, accommodated unto their capacities.”39 the sermon was published and spread throughout the colony so the educated people of salem would probably have been familiar with mather’s views on childrearing. in his “lesson” mather stresses the qualities of a pious child or the ideal that other children should emulate. mather presents a loving and paternal view of god’s care for his children on earth, encouraging his listeners and readers to believe and trust in their heavenly father through respect for earthly authority. the theme of obedience is also central to mather’s message as he instructs children to learn how to fear god, a fear that would translate into a respect for their parents and elders. children must “yield to god the submission which is due unto a father. they will by no means dispute the will of god, but render a most full, profound, absolute obedience thereunto.”40 gouge also provides examples of instances in which children must demonstrate respect for their mother and father such as direct obedience of orders, “reverent framing of speech to a parent,” and even table manners. children were expected to be “meeke and humble,” only speaking when spoken to: “by a present, ready, willing, pleasing answer, when by their parents they shall be spoken unto.”41 a child’s subordination to his or her parents’ wisdom must be apparent in his or her very “countenance, and the gesture of the body be so soberly and modestly ordered in the presence of the parent” thus demonstrating a fulfillment of the all-important fifth comthe writings of cotton mather were a potent influence upon seventeenth-century massachusetts. 39 dorothy good mandment.42 this obedience extended to submitting to the parents’ judgment—disobedience resulted in severe punishment. gouge explains corporal punishment as a form of “correction” that children must accept and utilize constructively by changing their behavior.43 the intention of beating was not cruelty but rather an expectation and hope that the child would learn from his or her mistakes and respect all earthly authority and ultimately god’s divine authority: parents must oft whet instruction upon their children and . . . beat into their children’s heads the lessons which they teach them: that so they may make a deeper impression in their hearts . . . so many admonitions doe settle good instructions in a childes heart, and cause that the heart be established in that which is taught.44 dorothy good’s imprisonment represents an extreme application of this principle. she was jailed in order to rectify her allegedly “evil” behavior. she was ultimately able to learn what society expected of her as a result of this imprisonment, which she exhibited by helping the magistrates create a stronger case against sarah. most discipline, however, did not take place in a prison cell but within the household.45 an exception existed regarding the authorities’ interference with parent-child relations in the massachusetts bay colony’s laws known as the “stubborn child law.” the “stubborn child law” allowed for the death penalty if a child exhibited flagrant and destructive disobedience towards his or her parents or other authority figures. in the eyes of the law, “an offense against one’s parents was also an offense against the basic values of the community,” further demonstrating the intrinsic link between families and society.46 while this law remained in the books on 1692, it was never utilized in any case involving a child or young adult.47 also, a child under the age of sixteen would not be held to the standards of the “stubborn child law.” it was understood that parents would discipline younger children at home.48 the law’s very existence, however, illustrates the severity of discipline in puritan-influenced society and provides a legal basis for dorothy’s imprisonment on witchcraft charges. this particular form of punishment seemed to accomplish its purpose since dorothy ultimately assisted the authorities by providing incriminating evidence against sarah. in doing so dorothy demonstrated her ability to submit to her elders, an aspect of mather’s “gracious” child. while mather’s tone attempts to appeal to young children, the sermon also reflects the seventeenth-century dualistic worldview, which accepted the existence of evil working in the world. norton writes: new england’s puritans . . . believed themselves to be surrounded by an invisible world of spirits as well as by a natural world of palpable objects. satan, leader of the ‘evil angels,’ played a major role in the invisible world.49 the witch trials reflected this belief in the pervasive presence of evil. the existence of servants to the devil in the form of witches was a common conception not limited to the people of the massachusetts bay colony.50 the case of the goods serves as a primary example of the interpretation of certain events as indicative of satan’s assault on christianity. the good family, homeless and penniless, did not live in accordance with the principles laid out by gouge and mather or the expectations of salem. the only alternative left for the villagers was to explain sarah’s incomprehensible behavior as influenced by the devil. this fear of the unknown fueled suspicions of sarah and dorothy good. both mather and gouge reflect these beliefs in their own references to the power of the devil and the consequences of sin. if parents did not live piously then they were leading their children down a dangerous path towards evil. mather uses the imagery of hell to convey the importance of his message to both parents and children. “gracious little children,” according to mather, “are sensible that they have been the children of wrath and the children of hell, and that while they were in their sins they have had the devil for their father.”51 mather does not limit his denunciation of sinful ways to children. he also presents the alternative to pious parenting: “what a terrible thing will it be for you to be then clap’d up in chains of darkness among black devils against the judgment of the great day!”52 gouge expounds upon the evil consequences that befall parents who pervert their responsibilities. like mather, he remarks upon the importance of a parent’s role in raising their offspring and the repercussions of poor parenting: many [parents] are so farre from teaching piety, as they teach their children profanenesse, pride, riot, lying, deceit, and such 40 elements : : spring 2011 like principles of the devil. it had beene better for such children to have lived among wilde beasts, then under such parents [sic].53 these same parents “make themselves vassals to satan” by neglecting their duties to provide a pious, upstanding example for their sons and daughters. the importance of parents and their influence over their children’s lives extended to the seventeenth-century notion of heredity, which implied that even specific character traits could be passed from parent to child, a belief that played a role in the witch trials. a parent’s example provided the necessary foundation for a child’s education and the formation of his or her character. in other words, in order for children to live piously their parents must also live piously: “let all parents endeavour that their children may be those gracious ones which may know god for their father.”54 gouge writes that the actions of parents will influence the lives of their offspring, for better or worse: “covetous and unjust parents . . . bring god’s curse into their house, and leave it unto their children.”55 this passage reflects the old testament notion of punishing children for the sins of their parents, thus continuing “god’s curse” through the family line. it was not just hereditary traits that were passed down from parent to child. parents also had tremendous influence over their children since they were the primary role models in their children’s lives. the lessons parents taught their children were crucial to the child’s development and sense of the world and imparting the wrong kind of knowledge could prove detrimental to an entire family. an english witchcraft case reflects this perception of heredity and offers insight on the circumstances of the good case. in 1612, elizabeth demdike, referred to as “old demdike,” was accused of being a witch. subsequently her children and grandchildren were also accused and imprisoned in the castle of lancaster.56 the author of a pamphlet documenting the case argued that “old demdike’s” offspring were guilty by association and that elizabeth’s devilish ways could be, and were, transferred to family members: “thus lived shee securely for many yeares, brought up her owne children, instructed her graund-children, and tooke great care and paines to bring them to be witches.”57 according to the court, old demdike’s daughter, elizabeth device, continued her mother’s work. at her trial she was called a “barbarous and inhuman monster” who brought her “owne naturall children into mischief and bondage.” device and her children were convicted and condemned to death.58 this case reflects a common trend that women, rather than men, were implicated by a relative’s conviction on charges of witchcraft since mothers were thought to have more influence over their children, specifically daughters, than fathers did.59 sarah good’s conviction as a witch implicated her daughter dorothy, who allegedly inherited sarah’s “turbulent spirit” as well as her wisdom in the ways of witchcraft. on march 23, 1692, a warrant was issued for dorothy good’s arrest on suspicion of witchcraft. the usual accusers came forward citing torments they suffered at the hand of dorothy’s apparition. for example, ann putnam jr., mercy lewis, and mary wolcott all complained of being bitten and pinched by dorothy.60 in every court record concerning dorothy good’s trial she is rarely referred to by name but rather as “sarah good’s child,” denoting the inseparable connection to her mother. the girls provided additional evidence against “sarah good’s child” saying that they were tempted “to writ in hir [sic] book,” a typical accusation against a witch.61 it was commonly believed that the pact with the devil was only made binding through signing the devil’s book. the girls and the magistrates cited this occurrence as proof of an alleged witch’s guilt.62 deodat lawson, a former pastor of the salem village “the importance of parents and their influence over their children’s lives extended to the seventeenthcentury notion of heredity, which implied that even specific character traits could be passed from parent to child, a belief that played a role in the witch trials.” 41 dorothy good church, described the first examination of dorothy good in the presence of her accusers on march 24, 1692: the magistrates and ministers also did informe me, that they apprehended a child of sarah g. and examined it, being between 4 and 5 years of age and as to matter of fact, they did unanimously affirm, that when this child, did but cast its eye upon the afflicted persons, they were tormented, and they held her head, and yet so many as her eye could fix upon were afflicted. which they did several times make careful observation of: the afflicted complained, they had often been bitten by this child, and produced the marks of a small set of teeth, accordingly, this was also committed to salem prison; the child looked hail, and well as other children.63 the presence of the “afflicted” in the courtroom provided physical evidence that the court used to legitimize allegations against witches. the appearance of the markings of “a small set of teeth” on the arms of the afflicted substantiated the girls’ claims against dorothy. the judges, john hathorne and jonathon corwin, recognized this striking evidence and ultimately sentenced dorothy to prison first in salem, then in boston in april of 1692.64 while in the boston prison, dorothy was implicated in other alleged witches’ trials, following a common trend in witchcraft cases. for example, mercy warren in her trial on may 12, 1692, stated that she saw “good’s child’s” name in the devil’s book but was instructed by dorothy and other convicted witches to “never tell of them nor anything about them.”65 another shocking twist appears in dorothy’s testimony describing her familiar, thereby confessing to being a witch and denouncing her mother. a familiar was an animal that served a witch and only lived by sucking the witch’s blood. the familiar was believed to act as a liaison between the witch and satan himself. the magistrates typically interrogated alleged witches about their familiars and searched for the point on the witch’s body from which the familiar gained “nourishment.”66 while dorothy was imprisoned in salem, the magistrates interrogated her about her familiar, which she described as “a little snake”: on the 26th of march, mr. hathorne, mr. corwin and mr. higison were at the prison-keepers house, to examine the child, and it told them there, it had a little snake that used to suck on the lowest joynt of it fore-finger; and when they inquired where, pointing to other places, it told them, not there, but there, pointing on the lowest point of the fore-finger; where they observed a deep red spot, about the bigness of a flea-bite, they asked who gave it that snake? whether the great black man [the devil], it said no, its mother gave it.67 this piece of evidence demonstrates that dorothy admitted to having a familiar as well as to learning witchcraft from her mother. the implication of her mother reflects the attribution to heredity since sarah allegedly imparted witchcraft on her daughter by teaching her malefic practices, further signifying her failure to exhibit the ideal responsibilities of a parent. dorothy’s testimony also reflects the message of puritan ministers like mather and gouge who warned of the consequences of neglectful parenting. sarah good led her daughter down the path towards the devil and as a result dorothy became “the very substance of her parents.”68 dorothy inherited her mother’s alleged witchcraft by admitting to possessing a familiar but also reflected the character of her father william by aiding in sarah’s conviction. dorothy, at the age of four or five, learned through her father’s actions and interrogations by the magistrates that she should also condemn her mother. dorothy provided further testimony in one of sarah’s hearings by citing details regarding her mother’s familiars: “she had three birds one black, one yellow & that these birds hurt the children & afflicted persons.”69 the exact circumstances of dorothy’s testimony are not explicitly clear. by examining her parents’ actions and reputations, however, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the motivations of a five-year-old girl, imprisoned for nine long months. after seeing her father testify in court, dorothy mimicked his actions, building upon stereotypes about witches and their familiars. evidence for this theory is found in gouge’s statement that “young children .  .  . are most pliable to follow the direction of their parents as is evident by the ordinary course of nature in all things.”70 william good and the other salem authorities clearly had a tremendous influence over dorothy, albeit a destructive one. dorothy good’s ordeal ended when she came up for bail on december 10, 1692. she had been in prison for nine months, since the day of her first examination in march to her release at the close of the tumultuous year of 1692. the pervasiveness of the evil influence of satan, propounded upon by puritan ministers such as mather and gouge, contributed to commonly held beliefs about the presence of evil that allowed the accusations of witchcraft to spread. dorothy’s story reveals the atmosphere of tension and suspicion caused by the witch craze in salem as 42 elements : : spring 2011 well as the repercussions for parents who were unable to live in accordance with the expectations of seventeenthcentury society. dorothy, without the necessary pious examples in her life, became a reflection of these parents, “learning” witchcraft from her mother and, like her father, betraying this same mother by testifying at her trial. the entire good family can be seen as victims of the salem witchcraft crisis, a family torn apart by socioeconomic conditions as well as the high expectations of seventeenthcentury society in the massachusetts bay colony. endnotes 1. woodward (1, 30) 2. boyer and nissenbaum (5) 3. rosenthal (871) 4. roper (109) 5. sebald (36-41) 6. roper (108) 7. norton (12, 18-19) 8. boyer and nissenbaum (188) 9. boyer and nissenbaum (203-206) 10. demos 1986 (3-5) 11. demos 1970 (13) 12. demos 1970 (13) 13. demos 1970 (184-186) 14. norton (24-25) 15. norton (20) 16. norton (21, 335) 17. norton (62) 18. norton (21-23) 19. norton (21) 20. norton (21-23) 21. woodward (16-26) 22. woodward (16, 18) 23. woodward (19) 24. demos 1970 (81) 25. demos 1970 (79) 26. demos 1970 (81, 183) 27. gouge (18) 28. pollock (116, 292) 29. woodward (24) 30. woodward (24-25) 31. woodward (19) 32. demos 1970 (100) 33. gouge (436-437) 34. gouge (428) 35. demos 1970 (57-58) 36. demos 1970 (140-141, 183) 37. sebald (212) 38. woodward (12-26) 39. mather 1690 40. mather (103) 41. gouge (434) 42. gouge (437) 43. gouge (462) 44. gouge (548) 45. pollock (14) 46. demos 1986 (101) 47. demos 1986 (29-30) 48. demos 1970 (101) 49. norton (295) 50. norton (6) 51. mather (101) 52. mather (121) 53. gouge (542) 54. mather (116) 55. gouge (504) 56. gibson (189) 57. gibson (182) 58. gibson (199) 59. gouge (546) 60. rosenthal (156, 170) 61. rosenthal (156) 62. norton (52-53) 63. rosenthal (155-156) 64. rosenthal (156, 182) 65. rosenthal (263) 66. norton (26) 67. rosenthal (171-172) 68. gouge (503) 69. rosenthal (417) 70. gouge (544) references boyer, paul s. and stephen nissenbaum. salem possessed. cambridge: harvard university press, 1974. demos, john. past, present and personal: the family and the life course in american history. new york: oxford university press, 1986. demos, john. a little commonwealth: family life in plymouth colony. new york: oxford university press, 1970. gibson, marion. early modern witches: witchcraft cases in contemporary writing. new york: routledge, 2000. gouge, william. of domesticall duties. london, 1622. mather, cotton. addresses to old men, and young men, and little children in three discourses. “the little child’s lesson.” boston: printed by r. pierce for nicholas buttolph at the corner shop, 1690. norton, mary beth. in the devil’s snare: the salem witchcraft crisis of 1692. new york: vintage books, 2003. pollock, linda a. forgotten children: parent-child relations from 1500 to 1900. new york: cambridge university press, 1983. records of salem witchcraft, copied from the original records. edited 43 dorothy good by w.e. woodward. 2 vols. new york: b. franklin, 1972. records of salem witch-hunt. edited by bernard rosenthal. new york: cambridge university press, 2009. roper, lyndal. “’evil imaginings and fantasies’: child witches and the end of the witch craze.” past and present 167, (2000): 107139. sebald, hans. witch-children: from salem witch-hunts to modern courtrooms. amherst, ny: prometheus books, 1995. sharpe. instruments of darkness: witchcraft in england 15501750. new york: penguin, 1996. 44 elements : : spring 2011 knowledge, perception, and sensing bear a complex relation among themselves. protagorus, as caricatured by plato, claims that “man is the measure of all things,” a statement which leads to the notion that “knowledge is perception.” plato challenges this notion by giving an account of perception “as such” for both humans and animals. the fundamental contention in theaetetus becomes “perception occurs with the soul by means of the senses.” this article contrasts this claim with the phenomenological account proposed by martin heidegger in which perception is a “striving” for a “being which in all circumstances is already present and there, not as a thing or any kind of object, but as that which is striven for in authentic striving.” though heidegger claims that he is providing a reading of plato, heidegger and plato ultimately have incompatible formulations of perception. xavier zubiri’s understanding of perception provides a different framework from both of these philosophers. perception can be thought of as the change of a perceived object from reality-thing to meaning-thing, distinctions used by zubiri. down the rabbit hole perceptual transformation in plato, heidegger, and zubiri r. brian tracz was i the same when i got up this morning? i almost think i can remember feeling a little different. but if i’m not the same, the next question is, ‘who in the world am i?’ ah, that’s the great puzzle!1 alice falls down the rabbit hole and drinks the liquid in the bottle that changes her bodily characteristics. after crying a flood of tears, she knows that something about her present experience is incompatible with her past lived experience. yet she does not view this change as a hallucination or a delusion but as a special change—we might call it “imagination.” she wonders why she has changed; the transformation has so altered her understanding of the world that she begins to question, as the world’s knower, who she is. perception also alters one’s mental life, but in a decidedly different way from how the rabbit hole altered alice. whereas imagined things undergo a change from being absent to being present, perceived things undergo a change from brute fact to meaningful object. who am i such that i can sense, perceive, and know something? this paper will focus on martin heidegger’s claim in his work on plato’s theaetetus, the second part of the essence of truth, that “‘seeing’ and ‘knowing-one’s-way-around’ are, in the first instance, two fundamentally different things. yet in the greek concept of knowledge in the broadest sense they are unified.”2 xavier zubiri, a spanish phenomenologist not yet widely read in english-speaking countries, approaches the issue differently is his seminal work inteligencia sentiente (“sentient intelligence”). this paper argues that perception is an essential aspect of knowledge and that sensing is an essential aspect of perception. however, perception is not identical to either sensation or knowledge. this opens up a space in which perception is a process of change from mere fact to meaningful object. i so let’s start again from the beginning, theaetetus: try to define knowledge . . . i think that someone knows something when he perceives it; my current impression, at any rate, is that knowledge and perception are the same.3 like his role model protagorus, theaetetus believes that to perceive is to know. after responding to socrates, let us imagine that theaetetus looks at a tree nearby and sees the greenness of the leaves. he keeps his gaze fixed momentarily on the tree before continuing to look at socrates as he talks. but as socrates begins his lengthy response, theaetetus thinks, “i saw the greenness of the leaves, but do i know the tree? sure, i know a morsel about the tree, but what about the tree itself? if i perceived all there is to perceive of the tree, then would i ‘know’ the tree?” theaetetus, one of plato’s late dialogues, addresses such a question. if knowledge is really just sense-perception, then knowledge, in the platonic view, is an illusion, given the variability of individual senses among persons and the fallibility of the human body, especially its sense organs. at the same time, knowledge is informed by perception. in sections 184 to 186, plato’s central argument is that a unity—the mind—perceives things.4 socrates claims that one perceives things by means of sense organs, not with sense organs.5 sensing might take place in a sense organ like the eyes, but perceiving itself takes place elsewhere. socrates illustrates this: yes, it would be peculiar . . . if each of us were like a trojan horse, with a whole bunch of senses sitting inside us, rather than that all these perceptions converge on to a single identity (mind, or whatever one ought to call it), with which we perceive whatever there is to be perceived by means of its organs, the senses.6 perception depends on what the senses deliver to it. yet without a mind, an individual’s senses would be like the men inside the trojan horse: individual and not unified. since the senses give content to a unified perception of an object, we must say that with our mind we perceive objects through the senses. in philebus, socrates adds, “when the soul [i.e. mind] and body are jointly affected and moved by one and the same affection, if you call this motion perception, you would say nothing out of the way.”7 socrates pictures the mind and the body as actually being moved, not independently but cooperatively, by that which moves it. perception occurs when sensible aspects of objects cause a response, a movement, in the senses and penetrate through to the mind. if an animal had no mind (more accurately “soul” for plato), even if the animal had a perfectly functioning body with perfectly functioning sense organs, the animal would perceive nothing. plato accounts for the possibility that sense organs could be affected while perception would not: “some of the various affections of the body are extinguished within the body before they reach the soul, leaving it unaffected.”8 though perception is cooperative, moving the body and its sense organs does not entail perception. 47 down the rabbit hole only when an object’s qualities make it “through” the body to the mind is something perceived. as will be clear with zubiri as well, plato observes that sense-perception not only involves arousal of the perceiver’s sense machinery but also a response—a movement—of sorts. there is a passive and active aspect of sensation. given this setup of the mind and senses, plato then claims that the mind allows for perceptual judgments and that without the unity of mind, judgments about objects would be impossible. when asked how the mind is able to distinguish between a sight and a sound, how the mind is able to categorize a sight or sound as such in the first place, theaetetus responds that it distinguishes these senses with “the faculty that operates by means of the tongue.”9 to be clear, this faculty is judgment, not language itself. it is judgment in a primitive sense, in a way that does not imply an act of conscious reflection or thinking. when the mind perceives “that something ‘is’ or ‘is not’ x,” it makes a pre-reflective judgment about an object, and this judgment could be, but need not be, expressed linguistically through a certain faculty that conceptualizes a given quality. perception is generally more immediate than linguistic formulation. indeed, plato’s overall argument is that judgments can have a reality in perception that is pre-linguistic because animals—beings with no linguistic capability— still have the ability to make perceptual judgments. with this in mind, socrates asks theaetetus: by means of what does the faculty operate which reveals to you the common ground shared by all objects . . . which you refer to when you say ‘is’ [and] ‘is not’ and talk about the other features which came up in the recent questions? . . . by means of what organs does the perceiving part of us perceive them?10 this common ground of “is and is not” is not “existence.” socrates notes that an object can both be and not be—a statement difficult to interpret as talking about “existence.” rather, socrates is talking about judgments in general, judgments like “the dog is brown” and “the dog is not two feet long.” we can say of the dog that it both “is and is not” under this interpretation. the real issue that socrates presses is that a lamp can “be dim,” “not be white,” “be warm,” and “smell of soot” only if we judge the lamp to have these qualities. i might sense warmth, but for plato this does not constitute any sort of judgment about the lamp. it is only a feeling of warmth, not a judgment “that the lamp is warm.” socrates notes that judgments about the senses occur with the faculty that operates “by means of the tongue” in order to unambiguously indicate the mind as the judger, not to indicate that linguistic formulation and reflection are necessary for judgment. with the premise that each sense organ has its domain of sensory stimuli, how is it that one is able to judge that an object is warm as opposed to merely sensing that one “feels warmth”? theatetus answers socrates: i think it is fundamentally wrong to look for a special organ for these things, analogous to the special organs for the other objects; it seems to me that in every case the mind investigates the common features by means of itself.11 socrates commends theaetetus. plato’s essential move here is that there is something—a notion of what “is” and “is not” mean—which is not present in the organs of sensation or the objects of perception but which is nevertheless part of the process of perception. an ability to judge “is” must originate in the mind, not in the objects of perception or any special organ, because one is able to judge that something “is x” or “is not x” regardless of the sensational character—visual, audio, or otherwise—of the perception. it is from here that one can judge of an object “that it is warm.” perception allows one to attribute certain feelings and sights to certain objects, without which one would be stuck with mere “feelings of warmth” and “sights of blue” dangling around without any association with a particular object. for plato, the notion of “common features” among objects is properly the domain of the mind. the mind is able to apprehend these features as universal and unified perceptions of objects, not just as episodic feelings or sensations. ii with plato’s argument in mind, let us turn to heidegger. the main thrust in heidegger’s philosophy is to under“it is judgment in a primitive sense, in a way that does not imply an act of conscious reflection or thinking.” 48 elements : : spring 2011 stand what “being” (sein in german) and “existence” (existenz in german) mean. intelligibility and being are intimately related for heidegger, and in many ways heidegger’s philosophy of being is comparable to plato’s philosophy of knowing. one of the primary points of contact between the two is in their description of perception. earlier in theaetetus, socrates says, “so appearance is the same as being perceived, in the case of warmth and so on. i mean, as each person perceives events to be, so they also are, i suppose, for each.”12 reading this, heidegger clings to an analysis of the greek word for appearance, claiming that what appears is “not any kind of subjective psychological activity or the faculty thereto, e.g. the ‘power of imagination’, but something objective.”13 that which appears in appearance is something distinct from the firstperson psychological process of viewing the appearance itself. this is not the only thing which outlines appearance, for what appears is “what is present in its presence. . . . it is something that shows itself from itself.”14 so appearance is two things: on one hand something objective and on the other hand something which “shows itself from itself,” something which is “present” to the perceiver. to clarify this formulation of appearance, it is helpful to observe that, as a phenomenologist, heidegger understands the word phenomenon (φαινόμενoν or phainomenon in greek) by its literal translation as “that which shows itself.” in being and time, heidegger explains what he is getting at in returning to the original greek: “now an entity can show itself from itself in many ways, depending in each case on the kind of access we have to it.”15 he reiterates: “appearing is possible only by reason of a showing-itself of something.”16 heidegger’s words are at first puzzling. heidegger states that a phenomenon is not a product of a detached mind because the phenomenon shows itself to the mind. more forcefully, the phenomenon is doing something in relation to the mind; it is not just sitting out there in the world waiting to be formed into a conceptual quality by the mind, nor is it somehow manufactured by an isolated mind. (this is in contrast to kant’s conception of phenomenon and noumenon. phenomenon is the act of something showing itself for heidegger, whereas kant dissociates the something—the noumenon—from the showing—the phenomenon.) heidegger notes that appearing happens as a result of a showing-itself of something, of some object, or about some thing. this is what phenomenologists call intentionality. the notion now that “an entity can show itself from itself in many ways, depending in each case on the kind of access we have to it” is clearer: only if what appears to the perceiver is distinct from the process of perception can the entity show itself in a different light in each interaction. the process of perception might include arousal, sensation, and response. one apprehends different aspects of what appears with each renewed attempt at fully discovering what appears during such a process. stated differently, each instance of showing makes it possible to know what is shown. heidegger strengthens the link between perception—a conscious process—and knowledge—a process involving more than momentary consciousness. heidegger claims: being is what it is really about, indeed precisely as that, ‘for which the soul itself strives through itself, for itself, and toward itself.’ it is being which in all circumstances is already present and there, not as a thing or any kind of object, but as that which is striven for in authentic striving.17martin heidegger 49 down the rabbit hole “striving” seems to be an odd thing with which to grasp being itself, but heidegger insists that it is in a person’s act of striving that perceived objects are even possible to talk about. one strives for something that one does not already have. striving arises in one’s need (goal-directed desire) for that which one is striving, so heidegger is claiming that the very being of the perceived object makes sense only in the context of grasping the relationship between a person and the world required to fulfill this need. without this relationship to the object, the very being of the perceived object would never arise because one would have no way of relating to the object. one must (and desires to) comport oneself in a certain way toward an object. in other words, perception is an intentional relationship to the world. the being of the perceived object expressed in this relationship heidegger labels as the “excess.” the excess comes as “an addition to what is sensed.”18 he insists that this excess is not “more” than the phenomena but a prerequisite which must be “held up . . . in order that something sensory can be perceived as being.”19 simply put, our subjective perception itself is the excess, and this excess extrapolates from the appearances of an object. consequently, senses would be left dangling without anything to give them meaning in a perceived object, or more precisely, a perceived being. heidegger introduces the striving-excess-being terminology to account for the attitude that phenomena are fundamentally other to the mind. plato need not do this because he is content that the mind gives rise to perception of an object without a multitude of showings or strivings. plato expresses that objects themselves indicate—though imperfectly—something about forms.20 these forms are inherently other, outside of a person’s environmental horizon. heidegger explicitly states that being is contingent upon a personal function of “authentic” striving aroused by a need in the world. the “excess” of heidegger is analogous to the “is” and “is not” of plato in that they are both the very preconditions for a perceived object to be formed in the mind. notice in the preceding discussion the distinction between heidegger’s and plato’s understanding of how perception relates to what is perceived. plato claims that sense organs tunnel qualities to the mind which in turn perceives the qualities as a unified object—a perceptual judgment of the object. heidegger, however, is making a different claim, even though he is ostensibly “reading plato.” heidegger claims that phenomena interact with the mind—a perceptual relation to the object. phenomena, such as being-blue, opposite-from-being-pleasant, and so on, are perceived as distinct, but the person perceives a single being with these phenomena. in summary, plato views perception as founded on an “is/is not” judgment of an object, whereas heidegger views perception as founded on a meaningful relation to “that which shows itself”— phenomena. “dasein is in such a way as to be something which understands something like being.”21 heidegger’s concept of a person—a dasein—is directly linked to the capacity to understand being. dasein perceives being through striving. plato’s argument would be in jeopardy if he agreed with heidegger’s dasein-centered account of perception. plato’s goal, after all, is to challenge protagorus’ dictum that “man is the measure of all things—of the things that are, that they are; of the things that are not, that they are not.”22 the device with which man measures the world—probes the world—is perception. but, socrates asks, do not animals also perceive things? why not say that monkey or hamster is the measure of all things? they both perceive things and measure their surroundings in one way or another in order to survive. it now seems that, since perception is knowledge, the entire animal kingdom is the measure of all things. but plato wishes to assert as a fact that animals do not have knowledge though they do perceive things. heidegger’s fault lies in that he interprets socrates’ statement of “judgments of ‘is and is not’” as referring to existence. if heidegger’s reading were correct, plato would assent to protagorus’ dictum above. man (dasein) would be the measure of all things if perceptual judgments were existential judgments because only humans (the dasein) can make existential judgments about the meaning objects have for themselves. in presenting his own philosophy, heidegger provides an apocryphal reading of plato’s thought. heidegger’s phenomenological description, brilliant though it is in illuminating knowledge, does not account for perception as such but, rather, relegates as secondary the fact that people are not the only things capable of per“plato’s argument would be in jeopardy if he agreed with heidegger’s daseincentered account of perception.” 50 elements : : spring 2011 ceiving, even though people are the only things capable of knowing. iii to address this problem, zubiri gives an account of “sensing as such” not only in humans but also in animals.23 a sensed object causes an “impression” on the sentient being (this includes non-human beings). this impression of what is sensed on that which senses it gives rise to a “moment of otherness.” the moment of otherness occurs as the sentient being recognizes something externally as other. it is this force—this externally-motivated movement— which gives rise to the process of sensing. sensing is comprised of three things in a single process.24 the first is the “moment of arousal” or “moment of awareness,” the aspect which induces action. then, arousal changes the “vital tone” of an animal, vital tone being the idea that the animal is itself awake and its body, in a certain sense, “online.” this is the “tonic modulation.” finally, the animal responds to this change in vital tone in the “moment of response.” this response is an action of the animal as a whole and not a mere bodily function. zubiri’s understanding of sensing is as holistic as plato’s in that it encompasses the initial response or movement that a sense impression evokes. this bleeding over of sensing into action is an intentional move that zubiri makes, emphasizing a holistic process of apprehension. what is “other”? zubiri says that impressions are not “of something” at all; the other is that something. the impressions, to continue with our earlier terminology, are not intentional but, as it seems, brute fact. at the same time, this other is announcing itself to the sentient being through these impressions. this other that is both independent of the sentient being and at the same time making itself present to the sentient being is what zubiri calls the “note.”25 the note is situated before the sentient being in the process just outlined, a unified sensible apprehension of reality. while heidegger insisted that perception of something “situated” in relation to someone is intentional, zubiri seems to stake out something even more fundamental than intentionality as the basis of perception. in a word, sensation is the non-intentional basis of perception. this is derived from the fact that, for zubiri, sensing is not sensing of anything but, rather, an impression. notes have an autonomy and a content. the sense in which notes are autonomous from the sentient being is so crucial that zubiri calls this aspect “formality.”26 formality “modulates” or toggles the content of a note. it is “on the one hand the mode of being situated in the apprehension, but on the other it is that of being situated ‘in its own right,’ of being de suyo.”27 the dual nature of note is both as situated in the world and as acting on the apprehending being. content depends on the system of receptors that the sentient being has—dogs do not see the greenness quality of a tree in the same way that humans do. so the content, given an animals’ set of sense receptors, changes the formality of a note—the way a note is apprehended as an independent entity. the extent to which an animal “formalizes” (apprehends as autonomous) a note, the more unified and distinct a note becomes: tree-tops, for instance, are more formalized for a tree-dwelling monkey than, say, a camel. a camel will perceive tree tops as less distinct, less separated from the background of its environment. in humans, colors, smells, sounds, and so on are so distinctly formalized, so well-present in their unity, that they are considered “elemental notes.”28 unlike the camel that overlooks the tree tops, humans sense things that really “pop” from the background environment—they are thoroughly formalized. these elemental notes are independent but can form “constellations of notes.” to quote zubiri, the apprehension of the constellation of notes: . . .is not simple sensation; it is “perception.” the elemental notes are sensed, the constellations of notes are perceived, etc. an animal not only apprehends sounds, colors, etc., but also apprehends, for example, its “prey.” . . . the formalization, the autonomization of content, now consists in that the unity of independence concerns the constellation itself, and not just one or a few notes arbitrarily selected.29 this makes sense biologically: the function of perception for an animal is not that it might derive enjoyment in seeing some individual aspect of another large beast but, rather, that it might perceive the predator that the large beast is. animals, for one, interact with constellations of notes as a single independence in their daily survival. for animals, most impressions consist in determining an immediate response; therefore, most impressions in animals are a type of “stimulus” that quickly brings about that the animal sees “a predator” as opposed to, say, “god’s creation.”30 importantly, intentionality arises at the level of constellations of notes—perception—not at the level of elemental notes and impressions—sensation. zubiri gives a finergrain analysis of perception than an analysis that focuses on intentionality. 51 down the rabbit hole for humans, most notes or impressions do not determine a response as they do for animals. rather, people apprehend notes as signs: “the note apprehended as ‘other’ . . . constitutes what i call sign.”31 notes signalize reality for humans and responses for animals. unlike a small animal, a person could view a large beast and derive some aesthetic enjoyment from it: the perception of another animal can be either a perception of “god’s creation” or a perception of “a predator.” people can arrange notes into a constellation most appropriate for a given situation. they can apprehend notes in their own right—they can apprehend reality as such. but even past this fact, humans can apprehend objects in a way which is neither completely contingent upon their “striving” relationship to an object nor relative to the situation in which they encounter the object. instead of taking “being” as the central term, zubiri moves both sensing and intelligence to the forefront. zubiri adopts part of heidegger’s stress on one’s interaction with the environment as determinate of a given object’s meaning. however, zubiri insists that the many notes—weight, color, smell, and so forth—are really out there. they have being aside from their function and meaning for the intelligent being. zubiri drives this point when he says that “nothing is a meaning-thing de suyo. the real thing apprehended as something de suyo is not a ‘meaning-thing,’ but what i have called a ‘reality-thing.’”32 i sit here, for instance, typing on a surface with mass, shape, electrical conductance, and elemental composition. it interacts with the environment via these features (e.g. it is pulled to the earth because of its mass), but i interact with it simply as a meaning-thing, as a table. the large clump of plant-derived carbon is pulled to the earth as a reality-thing, but i interact with a table, a meaning-thing, not with a mere lump of carbon. zubiri preserves both the de suyo, real nature of objects and the aspect without which perceived objects would lack any meaning whatsoever, devoid of their context in the human world. in distinguishing reality-thing from meaningthing, zubiri claims that it does not make sense in the first place to divide the two aspects of notes—the meaningthing and the reality-thing—in human perception. the reality of the object and my relation to it are intimately connected. this is all founded on a set of elementary notes that humans, rather artistically, form into a meaningful or useful collage—the object. iv we should now evaluate to what extent these thinkers actually proposed a theory of perception rather than a theory of objects and a theory of understanding coupled with a parochial account of sensing. to what extent has the “transforming process” between reality and my understanding of it been accounted for? socrates imagines a trojan horse full of men. if people had bodies like such a trojan horse, what would be the case? the trojan horse-person would sense notes—blueness itself or coarseness itself—but the constellation of notes would never materialize in perception. the notes are only raw starting material for perception; there is nothing to which they can announce themselves if the trojan horse-person has no mind to which all of the notes can become a constellation. in short, the notes are affecting the body but not penetrating to the mind. there is the arousal part of sensing but not the response part, for it is during the response that the animal as a whole comports itself in one way or another towards that which is noted. the disjointed trojan horse-person does not stand a chance of doing this. therefore, the trojan horse-person ultimately has no intentional relationship to things. what can be made of this state of affairs? recall heidegger’s words: “it is being which in all circumstances is already present and there, not as a thing or any kind of object, but as that which is striven for in authentic striving.” the language here is troublesome. the word “already” suggests that being is just there, “already,” without any need for the perceiver to enter into a relationship with the phenomena (the appearances) as “present” to him. but we know that, in order for something to be present, in order for something to announce itself to the perceiver, this relationship must be established in the act of “striving.” so the being is not really “already” present at all. for heidegger, it seems that in perception one either has a relationship with the phenomena or one does not. the time before one has such a relationship the appearances are not “already” present. heidegger would conclude that the trojan horse-person senses nothing at all: the striving relationship is not operative. the issue is not that heidegger is wrong but that his account falls short: it is just not an adequate account of zubiri’s “sensing as such.” we have to be able to talk of sensing as such, even when the sensing is so primitive as to lack an object or a unified response. for heidegger, sens52 elements : : spring 2011 ing in a trojan horse-person paradigm would be anomalous because the status of that which is sensed would be indeterminate. put differently, if the animal loses the function of perception, then it is not possible to talk about stimuli that are only sensed and not perceived. in heidegger’s defense, his idea of perception leads to this anomaly because his method is phenomenological to the end, whereas zubiri is extrapolating past his immediate phenomenological experience. it is not possible for people to consciously reflect on things that are only subconsciously sensed. sure, it is possible for us to subconsciously sense something, but to give a phenomenological account of something that is not presented in our phenomenological awareness is absurd. thus, the foundation of zubiri’s philosophy is not strict phenomenology. that said, zubiri, with his concept of the note, allows us to discuss animal (and subconscious) sensation in the context of perception. we are able to talk about the sensations that humans have as well as the sensations that we observe other beings having. as discussed before, according to zubiri, animals can sense stimuli which totally determine a response. most animals are able to perceive things over and above merely sensing them, but some small organisms, like an amoeba, sense stimuli which initiate a response, moving them from normal homeostasis to a different overall “vital tone.” when the amoeba senses high temperature, it retracts its pseudopods and moves away. but the amoeba perceives nothing. it senses “warmness,” but it does not judge “that this environment over here is too hot.” when a dog senses high pitched noises, it does not run to the noise in a predetermined way. rather, it runs to that which produced the noise—the whistle-blower. it can perceive “that this thing is the noise-maker.” suppose i sense high temperature, say from a stove. i not only react but also make a world of judgments that go beyond what is sensed. the constellation of notes becomes complex. i perceive the stove, but i also perceive that which my clumsy brother did not turn off. i get a burn, and after the perception of pain i can make hyperbolized comparisons to tanning on the surface of the sun to express my perception of pain linguistically. indeed, my subsequent responses become more complex as well. the process of change from reality-things to meaningthings is the outline of perception. without this joining of the object of perception with the process of apprehension, one’s eyes would see and one’s ears would hear, but all in vain. heidegger’s fundamental insight that our relation to our surroundings informs our perception makes it possible to talk about knowledge and perception in new ways. with zubiri’s vocabulary for approaching the problem of sensation as such, we are able to revisit plato’s text with new respect for how we each relate to the world in incredible, but not incomprehensible, ways through both the process and objects of perception. this result provides a framework for both philosophical and biological concepts of sensation and perception. endnotes 1. carrol (24-25) 2. heidegger 2010 (115) 3. plato, theaetetus (151d-e) 4. the greek word translated as “mind” (as robin waterfield did) is more properly translated “soul.” though plato uses other words which more closely approximate “mind,” for the comparative purposes of this essay, i will maintain waterfield’s translation. 5. plato, theaetetus (184c) 6. plato, theaetetus (184d) 7. plato, philebus (34a) 8. plato, philebus (33d) 9. plato, theaetetus (185c) 10. plato, theaetetus (185c) 11. plato, theaetetus (185d-e) 12. plato, theaetetus (152c) 13. heidegger, the essence of truth (119) 14. ibid. 15. heidegger 2008 (51) 16. heidegger 2008 (53) 17. heidegger 2010 (156) 18. heidegger 2010 (165) 19. heidegger 2010 (166) 20. plato, republic in 1997 (514a-520a). it is wrong to interpret the cave allegory as claiming that our perceptions are completely illusory. plato intends to show here that they are fundamentally limited and incomplete in respect to human knowledge (as opposed to opinion or viewing, doxa). “we have to be able to talk of sensing as such, even when the sensing is so primitive as to lack an object or a unified response.” 53 down the rabbit hole 21. heidegger 2008 (39) 22. plato, theaetetus (152a) 23. zubiri (11) 24. zubiri (13) 25. zubiri (15) 26. zubiri (15) 27. zubiri (24); “de suyo” means, roughly, “from itself” or “out of itself.” 28. zubiri (16) 29. zubiri (16) 30. zubiri (21) 31. zubiri (21) 32. zubiri (25) references carrol, lewis. alice’s adventures in wonderland. new york: barnes and noble, 2004. heidegger, martin. being and time. translated by john macquarrie and edward robinson. new york: harpercollins, 2008. heidegger, martin. the essence of truth. translated by ted sadler. new york: continuum, 2010. plato. complete works. edited by john m. cooper. indianapolis: hackett, 1997. plato. theaetetus. translated by robin waterfield. new york: penguin, 2004. zubiri, xavier. sentient intelligence. translated by thomas b. fowler. washington, dc: zubiri foundation, 1999. 54 elements : : spring 2011 despite the obvious differences in genre, fantasy and realism often serve the same purpose in drama. two outwardly different plays, joe corrie’s in time o’ strife and j.m. barrie’s peter pan, are interestingly similar in the motivations of the writers. corrie’s work deals largely with the real life struggle of a scottish mining community whereas barrie’s chief concern is the loss of childhood innocence. in their plays, both writers attempt to come to terms with their respective points of conflict and reach a somewhat hopeful resolution. for barrie, this is achieved by an escape into the realm of fantasy, hereas carrie focuses on utilizing realism to best express the realities of suffering. ultimately, both are stories of human perseverance in situations of strife. motivations of genre realism and fantasy in scottish drama benjamin key drama has the power to control the focus of an audience. a reader might, in the depths of a novel, find his eyes wandering from the page or his mind to matters elsewhere. but, while in their seats, the audience belongs to the playwright, giving the writer great sway. in two scottish plays —j.m. barrie’s peter pan and joe corrie’s in time o’ strife —writers take their audience to very different places. barrie creates a fantastical world that serves as an escape for both his characters and audience. the main conflicts of the play are either superficial or allegorical, while the major tension—namely the loss of innocence as a child passes into adulthood—is kept as a quiet heartbeat throughout the entire play. corrie, on the other hand, possesses no veils in his dramatic arsenal. his work is of and for the people—namely his fellow miners whose lives were worn to the core by the 1926 general strike. though both writers successfully address a human conflict, the audience experiences the tension differently due to the formulaic choices of subgenre. but is it fantasy or realism that delves deeper into the human heart? interestingly, the dissimilar barrie and corrie were similarly at odds with the conventions of their days. corrie was of the modern period, though not a stylistic modernist himself. he wrote simply and made no attempt to experiment in form. though to the lighthouse was published just a year after in time o’ strife was completed, corrie’s play is more obviously in line with american writers such as twain or steinbeck, who told regional stories in more structured and straightforward ways. similarly, it was said of barrie in the daily telegraph: “whether one liked his work or not, he owed nothing to anybody or any school. . . . [he was] a man who could see visions.”1 the two men shared a non-conformist literary vision, though their focuses were clearly divergent. 1926 general strike in england “though both writers successfully address a human conflict, the audience experiences the tension differently due to the formulaic choices of subgenre.” 57 motivations of genre in time o’ strife concentrates its three acts on the smith family. the action never takes place beyond a central room of the smith household in the mining village of carhill, scotland. the “strife” reflects upon what corrie refers to in the introductory notes simply as the “mining crisis of 1926.” corrie himself lived through the crisis, and his familiarity with the events is obvious. that the entirety of the play taking place in one room indicates the types of resources that would have been available to corrie’s unprofessional theatre troupe. yet there is more depth in the one-room setting. throughout the play, characters come in and out of the room constantly—smith family members, friends, and enemies alike. the constant interchange increases the sense of community; this room is representative of any other in the village. early in the play, as jenny and lizzie discuss school, agnes pettigrew enters looking for the girl’s mother.2 the girls do not find it peculiar when a non-family member welcomes herself into their home. this happens constantly. it is not that the smiths are a particularly central or important family to the village, but rather that this is how any home would be treated. just as the comings-and-goings of the smith household are common across the village, so are their troubles. corrie skillfully makes the audience feel the presence of a crisis beyond the walls of the stage. chanting is continuously heard through the windows, and news flows in constantly. following the death of agnes, jean enters the room tearfully: “oh, jock, she’s deid! .  .  . that’s an awfu’ sicht doon there; a’ the weans greetin’ like to break their wee he’rts, and kate tearin’ her hair and cryin’ on her mither to speak.”3 so in this way, without ever leaving the room, the audience is transported around the town. indeed, by the end of the play one has a very clear image of the village— though perhaps not in a perfect geographic sense. this all adds to the most important element of the play as a whole: community. this is a communal play in every sense. in his own words, corrie describes how in time o’ strife came to be: “our small group of miner players took it up, and met with such success that we entered the professional ranks with it.”4 the play was written about, for, and to be performed by a community. the overarching community is itself a vital character of the play, adding to the realism in a way the modern reader or audience could not fully appreciate. when the play was first performed, the miner crisis would have been ongoing. the play becomes something akin to metatheater within the tale of history. it would have been a microcosmic reflection of what was happening to the people who sat in the original audience. in time o’ strife was a play about what was happening literally around the stage at the time it was performed.5 corrie describes this process in the “joe corrie papers.” he depicts a village with roads “carpeted with mud,” “great wheels turn, halt, and turn again, and the clang of the signals can be heard in every home”—these are the sounds of the mine. he goes on, “in a kitchen in the center of the hamlet a small group of men and women sit with papers in their hands reading aloud. now and again, a voice bursts into song. they are rehearsing a play.”6 this scene reflects the atmosphere and action of the very play the villagers are likely rehearsing. consequently, barrie does not attempt to accomplish the same realism or communal sense in peter pan. barrie’s intent was not to bring his audience into the real world—the world of adults—but rather to let them escape from it. barrie, by all accounts, was much more comfortable in the world of childhood than he was in the real one. he seemed to wish to flee into the lives of children, and in writing peter pan, he imposes this desire onto his audience. as anthony lane suggests in his new yorker article: “the childhood that gripped him most tightly was not his own but that of other people; it is almost as if his own did not exist. the souls around him were like books, ripe for perusal, and he preferred their opening chapters.”7 the title character of barrie’s masterpiece is a strange, unnatural being. he is an odd man-child, almost entirely selfpossessed of absolute recklessness and utter violence. as lane points out, he enters the play chasing his own shadow. though he is certainly meant to be the physical agent of childhood, it is hard to imagine an actual child being capable of throwing his enemy into the jaws of a waiting crocodile.8 the surprising degree of peter pan’s violence further removes the audience from the real world. after “barrie’s intent was not to bring his audience into the real world—the world of adults—but rather to let them escape from it.” 58 elements : : spring 2011 the jealous (and apparently homicidal) tinkerbelle convinces tootles, one of the lost boys, to shoot wendy with his arrow as she flies over the tree tops, the character’s reactions are more akin to childhood playtime than reality. tootles ridiculously and bluntly laments, “when ladies used to come to me in dreams i said ‘pretty mother,’ but when she really came i shot her!” peter’s reactions are similarly odd. “wendy is dead,” he says simply, with barrie adding the curious stage direction: “he is not so much pained as puzzled.”9 yet wendy soon recovers in time to save tootles from peter’s vengeful dagger. in time o’ strife, human suffering is quite real. when agnes dies, the pain felt by all involved is palpable. characters do not come back from the dead, and their survivors do not puzzle at mortality with bemused innocence. that is not to say that peter pan is without its tragedies. though ultimately peter does save his friends from harm and vanquishes hook, he ends up losing many of the people he loves (if the boy is, indeed, capable of this emotion). he loses them to adulthood rather than death, to responsibility rather than starvation. by the end of the play, wendy has decided to return to her kensington home. the final scene of the original play shows wendy and peter a year after their great adventure. peter returns unchanged, making good on his promise to return each spring. but wendy “looks a little older” and “flies so badly now that she has to use a broomstick.”10 her lack of flight is, of course, a metaphor for her aging. barrie also suggests that “she does not see [peter] quite so clearly now as she used to do.”11 as she ages, her ability to live in peter’s world diminishes. apparently unsatisfied with his original ending, barrie added an epilogue several years after the initial publishing of his play. in it, peter returns to a grown wendy and her daughter, jane. the audience watches painfully as peter realizes that it was not “yesterday” that he was last with wendy, but rather many years ago. we still see the remnants of the odd relationship between the two, but it is hampered by their age distance. wendy, who still seems to be on some level in love with peter, asks: “what are your exact feelings for me?” peter responds quickly and proudly: “those of a devoted son.” wendy weeps, realizing fully now that peter pan is lost to her. she finally explains to the boy: “peter, i’m grown up—i couldn’t help it! i’m a married woman peter—and that little girl is my baby.”12 pan is an early performance of peter pan 59 motivations of genre horrified, and the scene is heartwrenching far beyond the original ending. this is the play’s conflict, a tragedy which inspired barrie: children inevitably grow up. though wendy is special enough that she can see peter even as an adult woman, his world is now foreign and forbidden, as interestingly suggested by her awkward confession as being married, as if peter is a potential paramour. the conclusion of this secondary ending is bittersweet. wendy allows jane to go forth with peter. the final lines before the curtain are uttered by wendy: “in this way may i go on forever and ever. . . . so long as children are young and innocent.”13 she is now the mother, which is an element shared by both plays. here is barrie’s ultimate conclusion. though children grow up, childhood fantasy is ageless. it befriends the young while they remain young, and then withers to a memory for adults. peter pan himself, the agent and metaphor for childhood, waits for each generation without tiring and with no remembrance of the last. here we see barrie’s fantasy has given way to human truths that are just as real as corrie’s. the characters dealt with different tragedies as well as they could. for a play about childhood, stark realism would seem forced and boring, just as a fantastical story about starving miners would seem inappropriate. the two men experiment with drama at opposite ends of life, but finally come to fundamental human conclusions. in the end, the differences in the plays are reflections of the differences between their respective authors. both scots were trapped in worlds they disliked—though they were disparate prisons. corrie was born into a system of struggle. in the best of times, he watched his family and fellows toil along with him each day for survival. contrastingly, in the worst of times, the miners stayed in their homes, impotent and useless, hoping to outlast the system in search of better lives. barrie, too, found himself in a world in which he seemed to have no stake. he longed to return to childhood so that he might escape the requirements of adulthood. marriage, sex, and responsibly wore on him.14 amid their stylistic differences, what the two men share is their coping method. barrie created a timeless character. the opening line to barrie’s novelization of his play sums up both his great tragedy, and his beacon of hope: “all children grow up, except for one.”15 through peter, barrie is able to keep childhood alive no matter his age. corrie, who refused to let fantasy or distraction keep his eyes from the struggle that consumed the lives of his kin, created a play that celebrated human triumph over strife. largely, the last lines of the play can be regarded as corrie’s own vision for his work: that’s the spirit, my he’rties! sing! sing! tho’ they ha’e ye chained to the wheels and the darkness. sing! tho’ they ha’e ye crushed in the mire. keep up your he’rts, my ladies, you’ll win though yet, for there’s nae power on earth can crush the men that can sing on a day like this. the words are jean’s bidding to the miners to sing on as they again plunge into the dank mines. with their songs, they save themselves from a world of struggle. barrie and corrie accomplish the same end. they created works to help their audience persevere, to guide others through the darkness of the mines or of adulthood. their words delivered those who sat in the theatre to a place of dueling conflict and hope—whether this place was neverland or the village outside. endnotes 1. birkin (viv) 2. corrie 2009 (157) 3. corrie 2009 (183) 4. corrie 1985 (170) 5. truitt (141-42) 6. corrie 1985 (167) 7. lane (1) 8. barrie 2008 (146) 9. barrie 2008 (11) 10. barrie 2008 (153-154) 11. ibid. 12. barrie 2008 (162) 13. ibid. 14. lane (3) 15. barrie 1985 (1) “the two men experiment with drama at opposite ends of life, but finally come to fundamental human conclusions.” 60 elements : : spring 2011 references barrie, james m., and peter hollindale. the admirable crichton: peter pan [u.a.]. j.m. barrie. ed. with an introduction and notes by peter hollindale. 3rd ed. oxford [u.a.] oxford up, 2008. barrie, j. m. peter pan. new york: bantam, 1985. birkin, andrew, and sharon goode. j.m. barrie & the lost boys. new haven: yale up, 2003. corrie, joe. “in time o’ strife.” the edinburgh anthology of scottish literature. ed. robert irvine. vol. 2. glasgow: kennedy & boyd, 2009. 156-95. corrie, joe. plays, poems & theatre writings. edinburgh: 7:84 publications, 1985. lane, anthony. “lost boys why j. m. barrie created peter pan.” the new yorker 22 nov, 2004. web. truitt, willis h. “realism.” the journal of aesthetics and art criticisms, 32. 3 (1978): 141-48. jstor. web. 28 apr. 2010. 61 motivations of genre philosophical investigation into god and the influence god has in the lives of his created beings was a focus for religious thinkers in pre-reformation europe. a wholly satisfying resolution still eludes the hearts and minds of theologians and religious people in general. in fourteenth century germany, a mystic by the name of meister eckhart endeavored to uncover the foundation and limits of a human understanding god. a gifted scholar and passionate orator, eckhart traveled throughout the christian realm to spread the word in his sermons and to reveal that knowing god is far more complicated than ordinary human comprehension. as a preaching friar, eckhart’s writings and scholarship provided a solid foundation for german mysticism, which shaped contemporary philosophy and theology in the rhineland and inspired the philosophical enthusiasm of future generations in germany and abroad. nearing god meister eckhart’s theological mysticism sebastian n. agredo the thirteenth century has been widely regarded as the pinnacle of the middle ages, a century that witnessed the vaulting of gothic architecture to its greatest heights, the success of the medieval universities, and the translation of aristotle’s texts from greek. by this point in time, the holy roman empire was in decline as the papacy began to extend its influence and deepen its “temporal and spiritual authority.”1 this was largely a result of the increased influence of franciscan and dominican friars, who, through their missions, championed and widened the reach of papal power throughout christendom. this rise ultimately led to a regeneration and vitalization of spiritual life. although the franciscans were the first to set foot in germany in 1219, the dominicans were quick to follow. in order to accommodate the promising scholars of the region, the dominican order established the studium generale in cologne in 1248, which soon became a pivotal center for learning in all of europe, boasting lecturers such as albert the great and thomas aquinas. it was in cologne that eckhart, a german noble from erfurt, studied as a young man. after entering the dominican order in 1278, eckhart asserted himself as a gifted theologian and philosopher. he was given the honor of studying in paris, and upon his graduation in 1302, eckhart was awarded the title meister to distinguish himself from friars of the same name and to signify his obvious talent and passion for theology. with this distinction, meister eckhart took on the role of preaching friar and traveled throughout christendom to preach. in germany he spoke in the vernacular of the native people, making him quite popular among the laity. eckhart’s “captivating personality,” coupled with his sermons concerning the relationship between man, the soul, and god, led to the development of a revolutionary movement known as german mysticism.2 as the head of this movement, eckhart helped to shape the philosophy and theology in the rhineland and invigorate the philosophical zeal of future generations in germany. the works of meister eckhart can be separated into two classes: his latin works and his collection of german sermons. his latin writings are indicative of his identity as a theologian and a philosopher, in which he takes up the doctrines of scholasticism and adopts its “dogmas, its phraseology, and its technique.”3 his form of scholasticism coincided with the scholastic tradition of the church and that of his dominican order, which affirmed his status as an eminent theologian. in addition to being a philosophizing theologian, eckhart has always been referred to as a mystic, a position which he articulates in his sermons. as a mystic, eckhart espouses a belief in a personal connection between man and god and preaches a faith grounded in this intimate relationship. considered to be his greatest work, the opus tripartitum illustrates eckhart’s duality in thought, a marriage of scholastic tradition with mystical devotion. the first two parts of the work, opus propositionum and opus quaestionum, deal with a systematic approach to theological and philosophical problems, whereas the third, opus expositionum, is composed of sermons and biblical commentaries. this work is meant to show how eckhart was not tied to one school of thought and was not restricted to one audience. instead, he felt free to approach god and man via two equally valuable styles. in asserting eckhart’s dual nature as a mystic and logician, davies insists that when referring to eckhart, he should be known as a “mystical theologian.”4 as a theologian and philosopher, eckhart attempted to systematically identify and characterize the natures of god and man. one might summarize eckhart’s characterization of god as “god is incomprehensible.”5 eckhart stresses repeatedly the “sublimity and majesty of god,” a god who exists so high above his creations that it is impossible for them to accurately understand him.6 the languages and terms used by mankind to discern, distinguish, and describe material objects cannot possibly be attributed to god because the minds of men are not adequate to “grasp the infinite.”7 although the entirety of the world is filled with god’s presence and is the product of his glory, man is not able to see him or give him a proper name. although god is concealed in his own existence, man is not left to “complete ignorance.”8 from this core idea, eckhart embarks on a mission to characterize the human knowledge of god. he proceeds to identify two kinds of knowledge: the imperfect knowledge of the philosopher, who tries to “eckhart helped to shape the philosophy and theology in the rhineland and invigorate the philosophical zeal of future generations in germany.” 65 nearing god confine god’s nature through definitions and terms, and the experience of the mystic, who seeks only a spiritual union with god, not an understanding of his characteristics. this imperfect knowledge can be achieved, as eckhart says, in three ways: negation, remotion, and cause. the first, negation, postulates simply that “god is not what men say he is, and that what one does not say of him is more true than what one says.”9 this alludes to the notion of god’s incomprehensibility. the words of man such as “good,” “just,” “wise,” and “merciful,” when assigned to god, only succeed in belittling his nature and bringing him down to the level of humans. this is so because human words and concepts born from human minds are necessarily imperfect, and it is an injustice to ascribe imperfect qualities to a perfect being. only by understanding what god is not is mankind able to see what he is. for example, by denying goodness to god, eckhart means to say that god is more good “in the sense in which we can say that man is good.”10 the human standard for goodness is inadequate to be applied to god, who is more good than goodness itself. this concept of negation can also refer to the issue of naming god, who essentially has no name. all the names that human beings can use to identify god are appropriate to him, but none are perfect enough to sufficiently encompass his perfection. the only name fully appropriate to him would be “nothing,” a name which does not insinuate god’s non-existence, but rather symbolizes how he is not a finite being, a “no thing.” in conjunction with the method of negation, eckhart describes the method of remotion, or eminence. here, eckhart explains a process in which man arrives at some knowledge of god by removing “from his conception of him everything that he is known not to be.”11 therefore, god is unchanging in contrast to man’s inclination to change; he is free from human emotion and all the limitations that plague the existence of man. the third method that the philosopher utilizes to understand god is that of cause; investigating that there must be a necessary cause to the world in which man is living in. the evaluation of cause and effect that eckhart alludes to is the same as the ontological proof of an “unmoved mover” postulated by aristotle and the proof of god as the first cause formulated by aquinas. with eckhart following in the tradition of aquinas’ theology, it is no mystery that he developed a similar ideology and consequently arrived at the same conclusion. as a mystic, however, eckhart did not require any proof of god’s existence but instead relied on his own experience to provide “overwhelming and indisputable evidence.”12 for eckhart, the denial of god’s existence was as absurd as denying one’s own existence, and yet he still offers a rational justification for his existence. eckhart borrows from his predecessor aquinas by stating that god’s existence belongs to his essence and is included in his definition. in order to emphasize the point that the philosopher’s knowledge is incomplete, eckhart insists that all three methods of knowing god are inadequate, regardless of their rigorous efforts, and lead only to a “limited and partial knowledge.”13 thus, the only true method of satisfying one’s desire to know god is to become unified with him. this is the method of the mystics. eckhart moves on to explore god’s oneness and the fact that he alone is being. eckhart frequently stresses the unity of god in comparison to man, who is a composite creation, made up of body and spirit, whereas god is “one and indivisible”; he exists in perfect harmony.14 the human intellect seems to automatically attribute qualities such as goodness, wisdom, and mercy to god. he is none of these writings of meister eckhart 66 elements : : spring 2011 because he cannot be divided, and yet he is all of these because of his oneness and unity within himself. our failure to truly recognize god for what he is follows from the imperfection of the human mind and instinctively supposes that a division of god into different characteristics exists. the only way that man is able to come close to understanding and comprehending god is to divide him into different aspects, which themselves are imperfections. one thing to keep in mind, however, is that christian theologians all hold the belief that god is three persons in one and that the three are united through relations. this seems to work against eckhart’s argument that god is wholly one, but he maintains the stance that the relation exhibited by the three persons are not separate in god’s nature. rather, they constitute his essence. even more important to god’s oneness is the fact that god exists. the first attribute that must be applied to god is that he is being: being at its highest, best, and most pure. eckhart takes it a step further by reiterating that god is not simply being but is actually above being because he is the necessary and first cause of being. god’s creatures possess being because it was bestowed upon them by god, who is being, and, therefore, “being in him is not the same as being in [creatures].”15 god’s existence is not dependent on anything because being is a part of his existence, but man’s existence is contingent and entirely dependent on god since he is responsible for man’s creation and preservation. without god’s being and the power that emanates from his existence, man does not have the capacity to exist. if god is being, then he must also be intelligence and truth, eckhart says. god knows all worldly things because he created them, and his understanding and intelligence is wholly true, without exception. god, in his being, is absolute compared to man who lives in a relative existence. having delimited an approach to god, the next move for eckhart is to define the nature of man as a composite being, one who is formed of the body and the soul. concerning the relation between body and soul, eckhart offers the gross misconception that “ignorant thinkers” hold by insisting that the soul is in the body.16 rather, it is necessary to say that the soul contains the body. the body and soul form an entity in which the soul is not located in any one particular piece of the body but is distributed throughout. in the material and earthly world, the soul is bound to the body and requires it in order to be able to act, meaning that when separate from the body, the soul has “neither reason nor will.”17 an interesting notion that eckhart introduces in regards to the soul is that when in unity with the body, the soul has two distinct faces, each with its own purpose. the first concentrates on the exterior world and the body to which it is attached, and it perceives all creatures. fittingly, this face has been named the outer eye of the soul. the second face, or inner eye, is oriented towards god and is influenced by his divine light. an integral subject of eckhart’s mystical philosophy is that the inner eye is oblivious to this light. the body is able to sustain life because of the soul, which would characterize the act of living as the power of the soul. the soul flows directly from god into the body, thus infusing it with god-given life. this is why human beings, which are manifestations of the unity of body and soul, desire life so much. life is essentially a gift from god and is therefore something to be desired to the fullest. more powerful than man’s desire for life is the soul’s desire to become one with god. eckhart states that the body received the soul so that it may be “purified,” but in reality the body is a prison that the soul cannot escape.18 thus, it longs for the end, signified by its unification with god. the unity of the soul with god is the heart of eckhart’s mystical philosophy, and he develops his views through his sermons. he gives clear instructions for his audience to follow if they are to be successfully endowed with god’s grace and presence. eckhart describes a special “power” residing in the soul that has the capacity to “be set free,” a power that he calls a “divine spark.”19 this power, like god himself, has no name or form and is solitary to the point where it cannot be tainted or corrupted by anyone, namely creation. this power is said to exist above the “created being of the soul . . . untouched by any createdness” and therefore exists as one, much like the divine nature.20 this quality of the soul has the capacity to know god, but only under the circumstance that the individual can “do away with himself” and rid himself of everything regarding creation.21 as long as the human being holds on to and adores material things, he will never be able to understand the nature of god. however, this power does not reach out to god, try to grasp the worldly qualities attributed to god such as goodness, or try to understand the magnitude of “the first attribute that must be applied to god is that he is being: being at its highest, best, and most pure.” 67 nearing god god’s goodness. instead, the power of the soul seeks to go beyond the human conceptions of god and arrive at the heart of his unity, his divinity, and his nature. the single greatest condition that is necessary of the individual if the soul is to become united with god is a complete detachment from “all that is created, not only from the appetites which bind us to created things, but also from the images of created things.”22 being completely empty of all creatures and fighting against their influence of the soul is the only way to be filled with god. in order for the soul to receive “the all highest, it must be reduced to nothingness.”23 the person to whom god is reaching out must remove everything from his heart so that he can receive god’s will. only when he is reduced to nothing can man be filled with everything. eckhart states that the “whole of human perfection” is to distance oneself from creatures, to be in a state of mind where everything means the same, and to no longer be influenced by emotion or attachment to created objects.24 from the perspective of the reader, it is easy to see why the soul should be united with god, united with his grace, but we must also wonder why god would feel inclined to become one with the human soul. eckhart answers this question by revealing to us that god too has a desire, a desire to become our sole possession in a world of created things. the less love we hold for material objects, the more love we are able to surrender to him, and the poorer our spirit, the richer it can become through our reception of him. a peculiar notion that eckhart takes up is that all things we thought belonged to us were really only lent to us by god. the things that god has allowed us to borrow from him include the body, soul, senses, faculties, friends, relatives, and material goods. by accepting this fact, we are able to more easily detach ourselves from worldly desires and give them up for the sake of god and in exchange for a union with him. as aforementioned, the union of soul and god is the fundamental claim of eckhart’s mystical philosophy, and it is only through this phenomenon that a human being can possibly understand the nature of god. in the soul’s desire of him, we are able to look beyond the realm of the temporal being, past the world of creation that we see, and finally to embrace god’s divine light. it comes as no surprise that meister eckhart’s mysticism came under heavy scrutiny and criticism from church authorities because of the seemingly heretical nature of his claims. the leading figures of the church, however, misinterpreted the words of eckhart and based their condemnations on literal interpretations instead of reading into the meaning behind his sermons. eckhart admits that his arguments and propositions might seem heretical and blasphemous upon first glance, but if his works are “studied with understanding and care,” the reader can come to realize the true meaning.25 an example is eckhart’s claim that “god is neither good, nor better, nor the best.”26 taken at face value, this clearly gives off the air of heresy. yet, eckhart is simply portraying that finite adjectives such as “good,” “better,” or “best” cannot be applied to a being that is infinite and perfect in every way. additionally, christian orthodoxy maintains that a clear distinction be made between god as the creator and man as the created, even within the context of mystical union. accordingly, church leaders did not appreciate that eckhart advocated man’s ability to become like god and the soul’s capacity to assume a divine character. eckhart’s mysticism also appears to describe a rift between the “spiritual and moral life.”27 if human beings enjoy an inner union with god, then they are no longer bound to do good works. some of his contemporaries interpreted the soul’s union with god as a means of elevating human beings above all notions of meister eckhart adopted many of his theological doctrines from thomas aquinas. 68 elements : : spring 2011 good and evil and therefore absolving man from sin. this was not eckhart’s intention. as with other mystics, eckhart was inclined to “despise the world,” so he called for a detachment from the desire for worldly possessions and supported a concerted effort to look inward for the grace of god.28 in addition to german mysticism being a revolutionary religious movement, it played a unique role in the advance of the german cultural tradition. from the point of view of literary history, eckhart’s vernacular prose is of great importance. latin was the traditional language of theology in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but eckhart broadened the scope of understanding and spoke to the german people in their native tongue. in order for the people to understand his ideas, eckhart had to coin german words to express theological concepts. he had to invent a “vocabulary of mysticism.”29 by using german, he was able to address the laity and to express the ideas and interests of the peasantry. the influence of his religious ideas and vernacular prose is evident in the ideology of martin luther, the champion of the protestant reformation in germany. luther was the first to transcribe the bible into a form of german spoken by a majority of the population and subsequently was able to expose the scriptures to a large audience. eckhart’s view of an inner and intimate relationship with god corresponds to some of the religious beliefs that luther spread throughout the reformation. luther believed that salvation and redemption are a gift of god’s grace and that justification is solely an act of god. according to eckhart, the only gift from god is himself and man must learn to see god in all works. in regards to justification, eckhart states that “our blessedness does not lie in our action, but in the way we allow god to act in us” and “our fulfillment lies not in our action but in his.”30 like eckhart, martin luther recognized how the material world of creation had corrupted the church and caused it to sway from the central themes of christianity. a more introspective perspective on faith, like that of the soul’s union with god, was necessary. interestingly, for an extended period of time in the middle ages, he and his writings had fallen rather far into obscurity. a century after his death he was commonly remembered as a dangerous and heretical friar, more famous for the papal condemnation of his writings than the writings themselves. this did not mean, however, that his influence ceased; it lived on through his pupils, fellow german mystics, and in the work of theologians who referenced his writings. with the resurfacing of eckhart’s sermons and the revival of “religious consciousness” in the nineteenth century, a renewed scholarship of eckhart’s works made an effort to rediscover the phenomena of spiritualism and mysticism.31 an edition of eckhart’s sermons published by franz pfeiffer created a new-found respect for eckhart, hailing him as “the father of german philosophy, a mystic of the foremost rank, a great master of german prose, a central spirit of mysticism, and the greatest the middle ages had produced.”32 the admiration of eckhart went so far as to warrant members of the nazi government wanting to use his texts as propaganda, even though his words were vastly misinterpreted and taken out of context. nevertheless, eckhart had a positive influence on several modern german philosophers: hegel, who claims he inspired idealism; nietzsche and schopenhauer, who make respectful mention of him; and heidegger, who admits that eckhart served as an inspiration for his own philosophy of being. meister eckhart was an invigorating force in the fourteenth century and fostered the spread of german mysticism in the rhineland. although he faced heavy criticism during his lifetime, meister eckhart’s work undoubtedly shaped the tradition of german literature and christianity. endnotes 1. clark 1970 (3) 2. clark 1970 (10) 3. clark 1970 (18) 4. clark 1970 (7) 5. clark 1957 (27) 6. clark 1957 (26) 7. ibid. 8. ibid. “although he faced heavy criticism during his lifetime, meister eckhart’s work undoubtedly shaped the tradition of german literature and christianity.” 69 nearing god 9. clark 1957 (27) 10. ibid. 11. clark 1957 (28) 12. clark 1957 (30) 13. clark 1957 (31) 14. clark 1957 (32) 15. clark 1957 (33) 16. clark 1970 (57) 17. ibid. 18. clark 1970 (60) 19. davies (30) 20. davies (31) 21. ibid. 22. davies (8) 23. davies (39) 24. eckhart (56) 25. clark 1970 (17) 26. ibid. 27. clark 1970 (9) 28. clark 1957 (21) 29. clark 1957 (22) 30. davies (51) 31. clark 1970 (26) 32. clark 1970 (30) references clark, james m. the great german mystics. new york, ny: russell & russell, 1970. clark, james m. meister eckhart. new york, ny: thomas nelson and sons ltd, 1957. davies, oliver. rhineland mystics. new york, ny: crossroads publishing company, 1989. eckhart, meister. wandering joy: meister eckhart’s mystical philosophy. translated by reiner schürmann. great barrington, ma. lindisfarne books, 2001. 70 elements : : spring 2011 following the holocaust and the nuremberg trials, the international community sought to “break with the past” and establish a system of accountability. this paper explores the development of international law and international legal organizations following the nuremberg trials, their historical and legal role, as well as the challenges their legacy has faced. as global atrocities have historically evinced, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide have not ceased to be a reality in the modern world. unfortunately, the politics of the international arena sometimes lead states to act according to their interests rather than to curtail and punish gross violations. regardless of skeptics’ assertions about the “failure” of international law following nuremberg, it is undeniable that despite the few flaws in the way that states deter and punish crimes, the post-nuremberg order demonstrates the international community’s commitment to pursuing justice and matters of human dignity. the nuremberg trials precedent for international law dianna michelle martínez jean-paul sartre once noted that “the fact of genocide is as old as humanity,” but the legal term and consequences are “relatively new.” the right to state sovereignty had historically been upheld over the right to intervene in other states for the purpose of protecting foreign individuals’ rights. not until after the horrific crimes committed during the holocaust, when nazi germany’s wartime behavior was so “unprecedented and horrifying,” did the international community see the need for a system of criminal punishment.1 it set up the nuremberg trials, ultimately paving the way for an innovative system of international criminal law that, while facing challenges, would seek to hold any and all individuals accountable for inhumane actions in which they might participate. as an allied triumph over the nazis became the most likely outcome of world war ii, and as news of the atrocities committed by nazi germany spread, the soon-to-be-victors began to consider how they would bring the nazi war criminals to justice.2 nuremberg was selected as the location for the trial given its symbolic value within the nazi regime, as well as the practical aspect of having one of the sole remaining courthouses in post-war germany.3 though some states proposed having a case overseen by a civilian court, or even carrying out summary executions, president harry truman pushed for an international military tribunal which would give each individual a full and fair trial. in the trial of the major nazi war criminals, the allies sought to convict these individuals on four separate charges. these charges included “crimes against peace,” which consisted of the “planning, preparation, and waging wars of aggression” in violation of international treaties.4 the second charge was that of “war crimes,” which was defined as “crimes against civilians and prisoners of war” in violation of the laws of war as stipulated in the hague and geneva conventions.5 thirdly, they devised an additional “conspiracy” charge in order to cover those who did not “get their hands dirty.” additionally, they sought convictions for “crimes against humanity,” which dealt with numerous types of “assault on civilians,” particularly murder and persecution of individuals “based on race, religion or national origin.”6 the charge was designed to cover all assaults committed against civilians outside the sphere of “war crimes.” in doing so, the allies emphasized the desire to ensure that the world would no longer “turn a blind eye to crimes against civilians” solely because the perpetrator was a sovereign state.7 the allies thus met in 1945 in order to codify the definition of this sweeping, innovative charge under the london charter as: murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war; or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds in furtherance of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the international tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated.8 defendants awaiting trial in nuremberg 73 the nuremberg trials for the first time in history, there was a public and international acknowledgement that: . . .individuals had a right to be treated with a minimum civility by their own governments a right which all other governments had a correlative duty to uphold by trying the torturers who fell into their hands [and by setting up international courts to hold them accountable.] 9 with this single paragraph, the london charter declared that citizens of the world had “rights never before recognized,” rights which would prevail even against heads of state and top officials.10 this is considered the fundamental legal legacy of nuremberg, accompanied by the equally important creation of a process to ensure that human rights are universally protected. while groundbreaking in nature, nuremberg also had its share of shortcomings and criticisms. particularly, the trial was seen as the epitome of victor’s justice. the crimes committed by the allies, especially those of the soviet union, went ignored, thus detracting from the tribunal’s credibility.11 it was also criticized for allegedly implementing laws retroactively. in spite of these critiques, it is important to note that, ultimately, nuremberg’s problems were less significant than its contributions to advancing the international rule of law.12 robert h. jackson, the chief prosecutor for the united states at nuremberg, contended that the trial represented a significant “break with the past,” setting “new benchmarks for all people’s behavior by replacing the law of force with the force of law.”13 as jackson said at the beginning of the trials, “as we pass a poison chalice to the lips of these defendants, we pass it to our lips as well.”14 he noted that they were to represent a new stage in the history of equity among the states. these changes would also serve to govern their behavior and international standards in the future, emphasizing the intent to create an objective system of international criminal law. the french prosecutor at nuremberg, champetier de ribes, noted how the crimes committed by nazi germany were “so monstrous, so undreamt of in history through the christian era up to the birth of hitlerism,” that the term ‘genocide’ had to be coined in order to describe these events.15 the nuremberg charter, however, had insisted upon a “nexus between the crime against humanity and the international conflict,” negating any accountability for atrocities committed outside the sphere of war.16 therefore, no legal foundation existed for crimes committed in the absence of armed conflict. according to the principle of nullum crimen sine lege, no crime could be punished without its being part of a previous penal law. for these reasons, the final judgment in the trial of the major war criminals at nuremberg could not use the term ‘genocide’ to describe the crimes committed. after the trials, however, it became evident that the crimes prosecuted were “very much consecutive of genocide.”17 many feared that future crimes would go unpunished because of the possibility of crimes committed outside the context of war. in an effort to prevent this from occuring, cuba, india and panamá initiated the process to define and declare genocide an international crime. just a few months after the nuremberg trials had concluded, resolution 96 (i) was adopted unanimously and without debate, thereby modifying the “unfortunate legacy of nuremberg jurisprudence” of the nexus between genocide and armed conflict.18 this resolution, which constituted the foundational basis for the 1948 convention, defined genocide as: . . . the denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to life of individual human beings; such denial of the right of existence shocks the conscience of mankind, results in great losses to humanity in the form of cultural and other contributions represented by these human groups, and is contrary to moral law and to the spirit and aims of the un.19 the nuremberg trials established a definition and precedent for jurisdiction over “crimes against humanity.” in the wake of these changes, numerous other initiatives continued the legacy of nuremberg in international law. particularly worth noting is the international community’s ratification of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide in 1948. combined with the nuremberg trials, the genocide convention narrowed the gap between “crimes against humanity” and “genocide” by cementing and codifying the idea of gross human rights violations both within and outside the context of armed conflict. the trials’ conclusions were a significant driving force, as well as a model, for the signing and ratification of the genocide convention of 1948, the universal declaration of human rights, the nuremberg principles of 1950, the geneva conventions of 1949, and the convention on the 74 elements : : spring 2011 abolition of the statute of limitations on war crimes and crimes against humanity in 1968. besides leading to the ratification of further agreements and the definition of more juridical obligations in international criminal law, the nuremberg trials also set the precedent for the creation of ad hoc international criminal tribunals, which eventually led to the establishment of a permanent international criminal tribunal, the international criminal court (icc), in the late 1990s. the nuremberg trials became a model for the subsequent tribunals set up in tokyo, former yugoslavia, and rwanda, with the tokyo tribunal constituting the most immediate example of an ad hoc tribunal following nuremberg. the tokyo war crimes trial prosecuted 28 high-ranking japanese officials for war crimes committed during world war ii. though all of them were found guilty of committing war crimes, the entire imperial family was exonerated in order to “preserve the image of the emperor” who had agreed to japan’s unconditional surrender as a way to ensure “better political cooperation” with the allies.20 this politicized decision provoked criticism, especially since the war had been waged under emperor hirohito’s name, and only a trial would have determined if he was in fact a “puppet or a puppeteer.”21 most telling of the increasing politicization of international law in the era was the united states’ desire to preserve japan’s “stability and strength” by not “humiliating japan” with the consequences of prosecuting its emperor.22 with political considerations successfully overshadowing the need to provide effective accountability, the united states forged a strategic alliance. following these trials, there was a significant period of time that was distinguished by an absence of trials. the fact that there were no military tribunals set up between 1946 and the mid-1990s does not represent an absence of human rights violations in war crimes, but rather the start of the cold war and realpolitik, which was dominated by the hypocrisy of signing numerous documents but failing to engage in any meaningful enforcement action. in this period, the accountability component of the movement stalled, whereas gross violations did not; lebanon, vietnam, cambodia and indonesia, among many others, suffered grave atrocities while other states ignored their newly established obligations. this led some to note sardonically that the genocide convention was “unnecessary when applicable and inapplicable when necessary.”23 this inaction during the cold war, despite the international community’s stance to fight unilateral aggression, reaffirmed as the basic feature of international relations that “states pursue interests defined in terms of power.”24 therefore, states act according to their interests, and not in response to “abstract legal, moral, ethical, or altruistic principles,” as these two frequently clash.25 throughout this period, states did just that, prioritizing their interests above protecting rights. this prioritization contributed greatly to the unfortunate limitation of international law during this period. in the post-cold war new world order, attempts to “capitalize on the nuremberg legacy” led to the establishment of international tribunals at the hague and at arusha to punish perpetrators of crimes against humanity during “genocidal conflicts” in former yugoslavia and rwanda.26 after “more than four decades of marginalization,” once the world faced the horrors that took place in rwanda and yugoslavia, the convention arose as an “imperative legal tool for the prosecution of individual offenders in situations where its applicability was unchallengeable.”27 after almost half a century of silence, the international community finally resumed pursuit of individual responsibility and accountability.28 the international military tribunal at yugoslavia (imty), established in 1993, focused on the serbian-run concentration camps, where muslims and croats were incarcerated during the war. yugoslav president slobodan milosevic “the fact that there were no military tribunals set up between 1946 and the mid-1990s does not represent an absence of human rights violations in war crimes, but rather the start of the cold war.” 75 the nuremberg trials was considered the primary figure responsible for both the war and the atrocities in the balkans but was not immediately tried following the establishment of the imty since he was “the most valuable to the u.s. in their campaign for a peace agreement.”29 the clinton administration continued to support milosevic’s rule until 1998, when his “reputation began a downslide,” eventually resulting in his arrest and subsequent trial. 30 the imty brought charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but made no mention of genocide, even in the trial of former president milosevic. the difficulty of establishing the intent to destroy groups of people presents a judicial problem in charging genocide. in addition to the impossibility of proving milosevic’s intent, international politics also played a crucial role in the way the situation in yugoslavia took place. neither the united nations, nor any other states, intervened in the crisis until it had “spiraled out of control,” thus emphasizing the inability of the international penal process to prevent and restrain these atrocities.31 when it came to rwanda a few years later, the absence of an immediate response continued to represent a “portrait of a reluctant international community.”32 many now depict the case of rwanda as the epitome of the failure to prevent genocide and the “culmination of many years of cynical indifference and willful blindness to the plight of the rwandan people.”33 once the killings of tutsis by the hutu militia had begun in early 1994, u.s. and european policymakers insisted on withdrawing peacekeeping officials and refrained from labeling the slaughter as “genocide” to defuse any pressure to act.34 as this was happening, the west opted to focus on the yugoslav trial, “the most violent conflict in europe since world war ii,” while the “far removed” conflict of rwanda took place.35 it wasn’t until six weeks later, when 800,000 tutsi and hutu moderates had already died, that the security council finally acknowledged genocide was taking place in rwanda. the united states, however, continued its stance of not addressing it as ‘genocide,’ with secretary of state warren christopher stating that there was no “magic” behind the mere action of saying those words.36 using excess soviet arms, the rwandan patriotic front, a militant rebel group, initiated the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of tutsis and hutu moderates. 76 elements : : spring 2011 though just labeling it as such would not have sufficed to solve the situation that was taking place in rwanda, there was great need to use the term in order to bind the states to act. by avoiding the term “genocide,” states manipulated the system of international criminal law that was established, opting to find loopholes in order to selectively intervene. by failing to acknowledge the events as consequential of genocide, the united states and other states refused to recognize and accept their responsibility to the rwandan people. although rwanda “was not as closely tied to their national interests as [was] the former yugoslavia,” security council members finally acknowledged that they “had to respond” to the situation in rwanda. 37 in 1994, on the same day as the yugoslav tribunal issued its first indictment, and as the tutsi slaughter had essentially come to an end, the un established the international criminal tribunal for rwanda.38 contrary to the yugoslav tribunal, the charge of genocide was systematically used against the perpetrators that were tried, including former prime minister of the caretaker government, jean kambanda. his trial was particularly important, insofar as it set the precedent of refusing to allow or grant heads of state immunity from prosecution for genocide. this judgment had ramifications for the 1998 extradition of former chilean head of state augusto pinochet from the united kingdom, and the 1999 indictment and subsequent transfer of slobodan milosevic. the rwandan tribunal has been met with some criticism, despite the indictment of a former head of state. the tribunal, which has a multimillion-dollar budget, had completed only 4 trials with 48 other cases pending between 1994 and 2000.39 it has also been criticized for only focusing on “high-profile defendants” while ignoring the crimes committed by lower level individuals and locals.40 the original actions, or non-actions, against the atrocities were also pointedly criticized, with many blaming the united nations and the united states for what constituted a “preventable genocide.”41 though these two trials represent a “return to the model of nuremberg” and the ways in which the international penal system can work, the inability to thwart these acts of genocide indicate that several obstacles remain and must be overcome in order to fully implement the prevention promulgated by the genocide convention and related agreements.42 the issue of preventing genocide is currently considered a “blank sheet,” given the ambiguity surrounding how states can impede genocide.43 the real challenge of preventing genocide is the problem of distinguishing between “garden-variety ethnic conflict” and signs of a possible looming genocide. the scope of the international community’s fight against genocide is further problematic, as “selective justice” has been a challenge since the nuremburg trials. this consists of the complaint that with the creation of ad hoc tribunals, only a few of the guilty individuals are punished, while others are left unmolested or prosecuted in lesser courts with smaller punishment. the argument put forth by the rome statute of the icc is that with the creation of a permanent court, the problem of selective justice, as well as that of impunity and “tribunal fatigue,” would be resolved.44 besides being selective in regard to the individuals that are prosecuted, critics argue that the ad hoc tribunals, as well as the icc, are “unfairly selective” as to whom they identify as criminals. they choose to target individuals from particularly unpopular states, while essentially giving others a “free pass.” this explains why states like the united states and china have remained essentially unmolested for their violations of human rights, while states like somalia, rwanda, and colombia have been criticized for their actions. many argue that this problem was also present at the time of the nuremberg trials with its implementation of a “victor’s justice.” the trial was silent on allies’ crimes such as the hiroshima bombings and the soviet union’s pogroms, focusing exclusively on the axis’ misdeeds during world war ii. this remains the case today when it comes to more recent trials, given criticisms that anti-serb and anti-hutu biases prevailed in the yugoslavian and rwandan trials. the fact that few bosnian muslims, croats, or kosovars were prosecuted in international tribunals, and that no tutsis were put to trial for criminal acts conducted during the civil war further supports this idea. the problem of impunity, which left retribution for such crimes “to history or to god,” was not limited to the united states’ post-world war ii decision to exempt emperor hirohito from trial, but extended to other amoral leaders.45 barbaric rulers of recent times, even when they are overthrown from power, have found themselves able to “live happily ever after” under the protection of other unethical governments.46 these include paraguay’s alfredo stroessner, chad’s hissène habré, guilty of killing more than 77 the nuremberg trials 40,000 during his rule, and uganda’s idi amin, all of whom lived comfortably in neighboring states following their tyrannical rule. while the political landscape remains problematic, changes in the method of selecting individuals for prosecution has resulted in a more effective trial process. in 1999, chile’s former dictator, general augusto pinochet, travelled to london under the assumption that previous inaction by the international legal community would protect him. at this point, he was unaware that “as an outgrowth of nuremberg, a new legal concept known as universal jurisdiction” would allow any nation to arrest and prosecute someone for crimes against humanity.47 after a lengthy extradition-request process, the house of lords’ ruling to extradite pinochet to spain for trial represented a “significant triumph of the nuremberg legacy” since it successfully demonstrated that no individual is above the law.48 this precedent began to be invoked during the trials of former heads of state, the first of which was chad’s hissène habré. there are also a few institutional obstacles when it comes to ensure that human rights violations and crimes are prosecuted. tribunals rely on national agencies to make arrests. this has led to problems in the extradition of war criminals, allowing some key indictees in the yugoslavia and rwanda cases, and some more recent culprits such as sudan’s president, to remain “fugitives” without having been tried yet. to further complicate the situation, individuals can no longer be tried in their absence, as was done in nuremberg, further requiring states to extradite and try these war criminals. the problem of “intent” further hinders the prosecution of human rights atrocities. with respect to determining whether or not “genocide” is in fact taking place, a necessary element is the presence of an “intent to destroy, in whole or in part . . . a group.”49 it is both challenging and complicated to distinguish between what constitutes a purely military objective and what is in fact a genuine desire to destroy a group. this expenditure of time prolongs the process of stopping an ongoing genocide. this issue is currently at play in darfur, which simultaneously embodies both the lack of a response and the continued need for the international community to act. though the icc indicted sudanese president omar al-bashir on war crimes and genocide charges in 2008, it has no jurisdiction to investigate the crimes without united nations approval since sudan is not a signatory to the rome statute. importantly, the atrocities committed in darfur have garnered much attention in the international community. though state entities might not be initiating any juridical or military action, mass media coverage as well as denouncements of the atrocities by organizations and individuals have received are reminders of the prevalence of universal human rights in the global consciousness. although obstacles to taking action might remain, nuremberg’s legacy has ensured that these matters of war crimes and genocide achieve international recognition, promote awareness, and advocate responsibility toward human rights. some theorists call this the “cnn factor,” in which pressure on states is intensified as the media and individuals campaign for involvement.50 some contend that how the situation in darfur unfolds will ultimately be the “litmus test for the viability of the system of international criminal justice launched at nuremberg.”51 the international criminal court is a potentially permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression, thus representing the institutionalization of nuremberg and therefore the de-politicization of international law. it is critical to note that the icc is an “armless, legless giant that needs artificial limbs to act and move. these limbs are state authorities . . . if they fail to carry out their responsibilities, the giant is paralyzed, no matter how determined its efforts.”52 with the united states, china, and russia opposed to its creation, the road to de-politicizing the international judicial process has been paradoxically domi“nuremberg’s legacy ensured that these matters of war crimes and genocide achieve international recognition, promote awareness, and advocate responsibility towards human rights.” 78 elements : : spring 2011 nated by international politics, which essentially paralyzes this “giant.” the fact that the icc would be able to exercise its jurisdiction when national courts are unwilling or unable to do so makes states vote “arrogantly” against the icc, concerned that its creation would lead them to lose sovereignty to an international legal body.53 the nuremberg trials played a prominent role in the elaboration and the enforcement of international criminal law, especially when it comes to the relative successes of holding individuals accountable for human rights violations.54 many people might be cautious or critical about the legacy of nuremberg, highlighting the unfortunate role that politics play from time to time in the sphere of international law. others might choose to focus on those flaws that underlie the system, such as that of the possible lack of impartiality, victor’s justice, and the seeming inability to prevent or deter genocide.55 while it is important to acknowledge that nuremberg is by no means a “perfect trial” or a “perfect precedent,” it was groundbreaking in many respects and played a crucial historical and legal role in more ways than one.56 the conflicts and bloodshed that continue in iraq, the former yugoslavia, somalia, rwanda, afghanistan, burundi, liberia, sierra leone, colombia, the congo, chechnya, indonesia, and sudan are “grim reminders that international law continues to fail us all” and that there is still room for improving the system.57 while international law continues to face challenges and has significant room for improvement, it is in no way a complete failure. the ratification of documents in the decades following nuremberg has demonstrated that the international community is open and willing to engage in a discussion of human rights and seeks to continue improving upon the system it created more than sixty years ago. as a turning point for individual responsibility and state sovereignty, nuremberg played a crucial role in the establishment of a system of accountability and represented a driving force in the modern international criminal justice system.58 its contributions in the form of precedence and resulting conventions and resolutions are important affirmations of human dignity, more so than empty promises.59 the fact that war criminals are being held accountable for their actions and that the international community is conscious of the need to enforce international norms indicates that international criminal justice is workable.60 besides noting what nuremberg has meant in terms of international law, it is important to recall the historical legacy of the trials. by delving into the details concerning the atrocities committed by nazi officials, the trials left an indisputable historical record of the events that took place during the holocaust. though eventually there will be no human voice to provide an authentic, first person account of the genocide, the tortures, gas chambers, and the concentration camps, nuremberg provided a record of the nature of the holocaust that will continue to live on as part of its legacy.61 if summary executions had followed the wars, rather than full, fair trials such as those that took place, there would have been no record, no legal precedent for all subsequent conventions and cases, and thus no nuremberg legacy.62 whereas it might be easy to contend that crimes against humanity have not stopped, one must also pose the more complex question of how many war crimes have not been committed because of nuremberg. when individuals now mention “nuremberg,” the word has come to transcend the meaning of a mere time and place in history. “nuremberg” has come to represent a “commitment to justice.” additionally, the international community has embraced the higher standards of law and due process stemming from nuremberg.63 from a legal, historical, and moral perspective, nuremberg’s legacy is one of great importance and of significant implications. even considering its short“the nuremberg trials played a prominent role in the elaboration and the enforcement of international criminal law, especially when it comes to the relative successes of holding individuals accountable for human rights violations.” 79 the nuremberg trials comings, nuremburg’s achievements during 1946 continue to define a global sense of justice, responsibilities, and rights to this day. endnotes 1. griech-polelle (13) 2. fraser (124) 3. griech-polelle (13) 4. henry t. king (8) 5. ibid. 6. ibid. 7. ibid. 8. schabas (36) 9. robertson (xiv) 10. ehrenfreund (121) 11. wolfe (443) 12. cooper (18) 13. king (10) 14. ibid. 15. schabas (38) 16. schabas (543) 17. schabas (10) 18. schabas (46) 19. ratner & abrams (352) 20. maogoto (104) 21. ibid. 22. maogoto (106) 23. schabas (544) 24. maogoto 237 25. ibid. 26. robertson (xvii) 27. schabas (545) 28. maogoto (237) 29. ehrenfreund (154) 30. ibid. 31. maogoto (164) 32. maogoto (179) 33. ibid. 34. maogoto (182) 35. ibid. 36. ibid. 37. maogoto (185) 38. maogoto (180) 39. maogoto (190) 40. maogoto (193) 41. maogoto (192) 42. maogoto (193) 43. schabas (546) 44. united nations. 45. robertson (204) 46. ibid. 47. ehrenfreund (128) 48. ibid. 49. schabas (94) 50. falk (123) 51. tomuschat (844) 52. maogoto (203) 53. wolfe (434) 54. ratner & abrams (190) 55. ibid. 56. cooper (17) 57. maogoto (240) 58. maogoto (99) 59. maogoto (238) 60. ibid. 61. ehrenfreund (139) 62. ibid. 63. ehrenfreund (153) references cooper, belinda, ed. war crimes: the legacy of nuremberg. new york: tv books, 1999. ehrenfreund, norbert. the nuremberg legacy. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. falk, richard. “accountability and the legacy of nuremberg,” in war crimes: the legacy of nuremberg, ed. aleksander jokic (oxford:blackwell publishers, 2001). fraser, david. law after auschwitz. durham: carolina academic press, 2005. griech-polelle, beth, ed. the nuremberg war crimes trial and its policy consequences today. munich: nomos, 2009. human rights watch. “us: hold torturers accountable.” february 4, 2008. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/02/04/ us-hold-torturers-accountable (accessed may 11, 2010). jokic, aleksandar, ed. war crimes and collective wrongdoing: a reader. oxford: blackwell publishers, 2001. king jr., henry t. “the spirit of nuremberg--idealism,” preface to the nuremberg war crimes trial and its policy consequences today, by beth a. griech-polelle (ed.) (munich: nomos, 2009), 8. maogoto, jackson nyamuya. war crimes and realpolitik. boulder: lynne rienner publishers, 2004. ratner, steven r., and jason s. abrams. accountability for human rights atrocities in international law: beyond the nuremberg legacy. oxford: oxford university press, 2001. robertson, geoffrey. crimes against humanity: the struggle for global justice. new york: ww norton & company, 2000. schabas, william a. genocide in international law. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2000. shane, scott. “waterboarding used 266 times on two suspects,” new york times. april, 19, 2009. http://www.nytimes. com/2009/04/20/world/20detain.html?_r=1 (accessed may 3, 80 elements : : spring 2011 2010). stoltzfus, nathan, and henry friedlander, eds. nazi crimes and the law. cambridge: cambridge university press, 2008. tomuschat, christian. “the legacy of nuremberg.” journal of international criminal justice 4 (2006): 830-844. http://jicj. oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/4/4/830 (accessed may 11, 2010). united nations, “rome statute of the international criminal court,” http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/general/overview.htm. wolfe, robert. “flaws in the nuremberg legacy.” holocaust and genocide studies 12, no. 3 (winter 1998): 434-453. http://hgs. oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/12/3/434?maxtoshow=&hits=1 0&resultformat=&fulltext=nuremberg&searched=1&fir stindex= 0&resourcetype=hwcit (accessed may 10, 2010). 81 the nuremberg trials “the free soil party looked and acted like a major political party with rallies and speeches given by prominent political men, such as benjamin butler and john van buren.” for a political party that existed for less than a decade, the free soil party had a tremendous impact on american politics in the late 1840s and early 1850s. it swung the 1848 presidential election, brought the issue of the westward expansion of slavery to the forefront, and paved the way for abraham lincoln and the republican party to achieve national prominence in 1860. although it floundered on issues involving race and failed to put forth a strong party platform encompasssing issues beyond slavery, the free soil party proved to be one of the most influential third parties in american history. this article focuses on the history and legacy of the free soilers. the free soil party turbulent times and minority politics dennis f. murphy when lewis cass obtained the 1848 presidential nomination of the democratic party and the new york state democratic convention refused to endorse the wilmot proviso, many members of the party separated to form the free soil party in that same year. basing its formation on the rejection of slavery extension into the western territories, the free soilers propelled themselves onto the national stage with a controversial issue in the hopes that some supporters of the two major political parties might be drawn away to support the values and ideals of this new third party. the free soil party had a tremendous effect on american politics in the late 1840s and early 1850s, opening the door for anti-slavery parties in the future. even though the free soil party enjoyed only a brief run on the national stage, it greatly influenced the major parties’ stances on slavery, determined the outcome of the 1848 presidential election, and brought about the rise of the republican party in 1854 culminating in abraham lincoln’s election in 1860. in the early 1840s, there grew a demand among northern radicals for a strong anti-slavery voice in the white house. slavery was a controversial issue during this time due to the possibility of its expansion into the new western territories. the presidential election year of 1844 proved to be the starting point for many of these radicals in forming an anti-slavery political party. as eric foner points out in his book on anti-slavery activity prior to the republican party, in the year 1844, “martin van buren, who was universally expected to be the democratic candidate for president, was deprived of the nomination because of his opposition to the immediate annexation of texas as a slave state.”1 many of van buren’s supporters were furious with the southern wing of the democratic party, and they were convinced that van buren lost the nomination because of the party’s desire to appease voters. even though james polk won the nomination and the presidential election for the democrats in 1844, the van burenites within the party “resented what they considered southern efforts to force pro-slavery views upon the party as a whole.”2 during polk’s administration, many northern democrats felt that polk was controlled by the southern wing of the party. in 1847, these thoughts turned into political action as the democrats split over the wilmot proviso. the new york van burenites, more commonly known as barnburners, “walked out of the democratic state convention when the pro-administration hunkers refused to endorse the principle of the nonextension of slavery.”3 in 1848, at the buffalo convention, many of the northern democrats joined with additional dissenters from the other political parties to form the free soil party, supporting martin van buren in the 1848 presidential election. the free soil party was split into two groups: those, like preston scott, who strongly believed in the anti-slavery cause and those, like van buren, who were mainly “interested in challenging southern domination of the democratic party.”4 the free soilers felt that lewis cass, the democratic presidential nominee in 1848, would act just like polk in the white house, constantly catering to the southerners’ interests. even with the desire to halt the expansion of slavery into the territories, many of the members of the newly formed free soil party encountered difficulty crafting a platform and explaining to americans their reasons for separating from the major parties. salmon chase, however, led the way in forming an anti-slavery platform for the free soil party. at the buffalo convention, chase “restated his constitutional-historical argument that the founders had intended to make slavery a local institution, and that the federal government was barred by the fifth amendment from creating the condition of bondage anywhere in its jurisdiclewis cass, the democratic nominee in 1848 85 the free soil party an 1848 campaign poster for the free soil party’s presidential candidate martin van buren and his running mate, charles f. adams 86 elements : : spring 2011 tion.”5 since the federal government controlled the territories, chase’s statement was intended to assert the constitutional elimination of slavery in the territories. while the free soil party used the anti-slavery position as its rallying cry during the election, james bilotta points out in his book about race in the free soil and republican parties that the free soil party stood for eliminating slavery in the territories but not in the south. resolution two of the free soil party platform declared that the goal of the party was “to limit, localize and discourage slavery . . . in all the territories of the united states.”6 in another resolution of the platform, the free soilers said, “let the soil of our extensive domain be kept free for the hardy pioneers of our own land, and the oppressed and banished of other lands, seeking homes of comfort and fields of enterprise in the new world.”7 bilotta maintains that the free soilers acceptedslavery so long as it stayed in the south. even though such may have been the belief of many men within the free soil party, outsiders treated it as the anti-slavery party since it attracted members from the ex-liberty party as well as people splitting off from the whigs, referred to as the conscience whigs. in addition to discussions about slavery, free soilers at the party convention in 1848 also “included several resolutions dealing with internal improvements, tariffs, and homestead legislation.”8 in the northern newspapers, the free soil party enjoyed much support for its crusade to eliminate slavery in the territories. by centering its platform against slavery, the free soil party both helped and hurt its cause. on the one hand, very few people in the northern states opposed an anti-slavery campaign, so the north generally supported the cause. on the other hand, the free soil party was based upon one cause, and it failed to address other pertinent issues during the election. even so, many northern newspapers supported the party, publishing articles expressing fear for the free white man. the buffalo daily republic, during its report on the 1848 convention “attacked democratic party regulars by noting in bold letters: ‘behold the traitors to the white man and to freedom.’”9 many northern newspapers published articles expressing fear for the free white man if he had to deal with southern slave plantations in the west; thus, as a result, these newspapers threw their support behind the free soil party. the liberty press, the free soil newspaper of utica, new york, described the south as “ ‘polluted,’ because it had ‘insisted on the right to spread over that young and fertile soil (the free west) the curse which has cursed the whole south and is fast sinking the nation.’”10 these northern newspapers played an important role in gathering support for the free soil party. as bilotta argues in his book, he believes that race was used to assemble support for the party, claiming, “from the above sampling it is evident that the leaders of the anti-expansionist movement in the northeast employed the theme of race to secure support for their free soil philosophy.”11 even if the leaders of the party believed in the superiority of whites over blacks, they stressed the importance of a free west to such an extent that the publicity and attention on their party focused solely on anti-slavery, which was a cause gaining momentum at this time in the north. for the free soilers, the election of 1848 proved to be their best showing on the national stage. using the slogan, “free soil, free labor, free speech, free men,” as its rallying cry, the free soil party looked to make slavery the main issue in the 1848 presidential election.12 the democrats, running lewis cass, and the whigs, running zachary taylor, knew that whichever party best avoided the slavery issue would be the winner. since the free soilers took a strong stand on the slavery issue, cass felt compelled to make some statement about slavery since many of his former party members were in the free soil party. cass made it clear that he supported the people of each individual territory to decide for themselves about slavery; and even though he did not avoid the slavery issue like taylor did, “any stand on slavery was open to attack.”13 cass was heavily criticized for his stance on slavery since it was impossible to appeal to both the northern and southern democrats in his party when taking a stand on the issue. even with a short amount of time to get organized, the free soilers managed to mobilize voters and develop a strong election strategy to put up a fight in 1848. the free soil party “carried on a spirited campaign fully consonant “the free soil party was based upon one cause, and it failed to address other pertinent issues during the election.” 87 the free soil party with the usual style and energy levels of the major parties,” managing to “put up candidates for a number of offices throughout the north, including several governorships and seats in congress.”14 the free soil party looked and acted like a major political party with rallies and speeches given by prominent political men, such as benjamin butler and john van buren. in one of their pamphlets, the free soilers called cass a “northern man with southern principles” and taylor a “southern man with southern principles,” with each of them being “utterly unworthy [of ] the suffrage of a free people.”15 the free soil party tried to persuade northerners that both cass and taylor would be controlled by the south once in the white house. even though van buren finished third in the presidential election, the free soil party achieved several milestones for third parties in america while directly affecting the outcome of the election. van buren and the free soil party received ten percent of the popular vote with just under 300,000 votes. both of these figures were all-time highs for parties principally advocating for the anti-slavery movement. additionally, van buren was able to steal much of the vote cass expected to receive in the northeast. for example, “van buren’s strong vote in new york handed taylor the state’s 36 electoral votes, and when the electoral college met, cass lost by precisely 36 votes” in the overall election.16 clearly, cass suffered from the lack of the barnburners’ votes in new york and other northeastern states. although the free soilers did well on the national level, they suffered on the state level due to generally less organized campaigns. a pattern emerged where it became clear that the party benefited greatly from having a big name on its national ballot. many men who voted for van buren in previous elections remained loyal to him in 1848. furthermore, as a detriment to the free soil party, many of the free soilers believed that “having accomplished much of their purpose in cass’s defeat, and in the humiliation of those who had brought van buren down four years before, it was time to return to their natural political home.”17 many of the members of the free soil party had united under the common theme of revenge, and with this revenge having been achieved in cass’s defeat in 1848, the free soil party lost some of its momentum for the upcoming years as party members left to return to the two major political parties. maintaining party organization and enthusiasm in the years following the 1848 presidential election became the most difficult hurdle for the free soil party to overcome. the free soilers had successfully emerged on the national scene with one strong stance on a controversial issue. now, they had to develop their stance into some sort of national policy. unfortunately for the free soilers, “the party itself existed primarily as a collection of state coalitions, not all of which acted from the same motivations and none of which could draw on the excitement of a presidential campaign in the years between 1848 and 1852.”18 the free soilers had difficulty explaining to people on a local level that slavery was not just a national issue, and this difficulty resulted in few local victories for the party in between the presidential elections. further damaging the free soil campaign was the compromise of 1850 that essentially ended the debate over how the slavery issue would be decided in the western territories. the only common ground among the different coalitions within the free soil party “was simply preventing the extension of slavery.”19 many of the members of the free soil party, including van buren, were happy with the compromise of 1850, ultivan buren’s effect on the vote distribution resulted in the triumph of a third party. 88 elements : : spring 2011 mately deciding to leave the rebellious party. with the threat of the extension of slavery essentially decided by the compromise of 1850, the free soil party began to decline and lose the momentum that it had built in 1848. with members defecting from the party following the 1848 presidential election and the passage of the compromise of 1850, the free soil party was in poor shape for the 1852 presidential election. with the party holding its convention in pittsburgh, the “leaders moved in an atmosphere of suspicion and mutual distrust.”20 the convention elected john p. hale as its presidential candidate in 1852 on a platform of universal abolition as opposed to just preventing the western expansion of slavery. as the party platform was passed, “most of the resolutions dealt with severing the federal government from all ties with slavery and placing ‘the exercise of its legitimate and constitutional influence on the side of freedom.’”21 since it experienced massive defection in the years leading up to the election, the free soil party faired poorly in the 1852 presidential election. the vote total dropped in every state when compared with the 1848 election results. hale managed to get only about half as many votes as van buren did. the result that hurt the free soilers the most was the fact that “in no state did the free soilers hold a balance of power between major parties. they were left with nothing, literally, with which to bargain.”22 the free soilers suffered from the fact that their relatively large, broad base of support from 1848 had dwindled down significantly in 1852 with most of the ex-democrats leaving the free soil movement to return to the democratic party. in 1854, with the passage of the kansas-nebraska act, politics and political parties in america were thrown into chaos. the kansas-nebraska act and the violence resulting from the concept of popular sovereignty changed the antislavery movement “from the loose coalition exemplified by the free soil party, to a sectionally more unified and powerful third party that quickly came to political dominance in the free states of the north and west.”23 it would seem like an act such as the kansas-nebraska act would reinvigorate the free soil movement and party, but the act was so polarizing that it actually resulted in a new, much better organized republican party in 1854. as elections in kansas deciding whether the state would be a slave or free state reduced the territory to violence, opponents of the kansasnebraska act “issued a call for the organization of a new political party and suggested that ‘republican’ would be the most appropriate name.”24 radical leaders led the republican cause looking to end political compromise over slavery. at this time, the free soil party was hurting from massive defection following the 1852 presidential election, and its leaders were not prepared for another massive antislavery crusade resulting from the passage of the 1854 act. thus, after the passage of the kansas-nebraska act, “radicals in every northern state fought to strengthen the republican party, to give it a more comprehensive program than mere non-extension, and to keep the issue of slavery in the political forefront.”25 one former free soiler, salmon chase, showed great interest in the radical tone of the republicans as he helped to write the inaugural addresses for two newly elected republican governors in iowa and michigan in 1855. with the republicans gaining in popularity as the main opponents to the democrats, the free soil party declined significantly as most of its members joined the newly formed republican party in 1854. even though the defection of many members to the republican party in 1854 essentially ended the free soil party, several other important factors, both ideological and organizational, brought about the demise of the party. the party suffered from weak organization, and “in every state but new york, free soilers relied almost solely upon the emotional and moral appeal of their ideology to attract voters.”26 rallying voters behind the cause of prohibiting slavery in the territories worked well in 1848 because the issue was at the forefront of american politics with the recent treaty with mexico. the major effect of rallying people behind one issue is that “[anti-slavery] tended to confine the party’s strength to areas where antislavery sentiment was already strong. in districts where hostility to slave exten“with the republicans gaining in popularity as the main opponents to the democrats, the free soil party declined significantly as most of its members joined the newly formed republican party in 1854.” 89 the free soil party sion was less outspoken, free soil gained only a weak foothold.”27 in order to gain power during the years in between the presidential elections, the free soilers had to form coalitions with other major political parties. coalitions proved difficult to do with poor organization and no real focus within the party as members realized that their only common bond was preventing slavery from entering the territories. additionally, many members “found it hard to give up their past party loyalties,” as former members quickly returned to the two major parties.28 continuing to hurt the free soil cause were its relationships with blacks in america. the free soil party focused its platform on preventing slavery from extending to the territories, but it never addressed the issue of slavery already existing in the south. in an address to other free soilers in 1847, john van buren said, “in behalf of the free white laborers of the north and south, in behalf of the emigrant from abroad… we protest against the extension…of an institution, whose inevitable concomitant is the social and political degradation of the white laborer.”29 the free soilers were not about to allow the cause of total black emancipation onto their party platform. as a result, many black abolitionists denounced the free soil party, and the free soilers did not receive much support from free blacks in the north and west. even with its relative failure to achieve its goal of stopping the extension of slavery into the territories during its run as a third party between 1848 and 1854, the free soil party left a lasting legacy in american politics. many of the original members of the party went on to have long political careers, where they brought their ideas from the free soil party to the national stage. salmon chase was the most successful free soiler as he “went on to serve well as lincoln’s secretary of the treasury,” and he “later became chief justice of the united states during the critical reconstruction period.”30 in addition to chase, other former free soilers enjoyed political success, as charles sumner was a powerful member of the senate foreign relations committee, joshua giddings and john p. hale “both became diplomats,” and samuel tilden “was governor of new york when he narrowly missed becoming president in 1877.”31 in terms of political ideology, much of the free soil platform from 1848 was carried over to the republican platform in the 1850s as both party platforms demanded that slavery be excluded from the territories. at the time, the free soil party “helped open the slavery question, forced it before the nation in political debate, and thus laid the basis for future northern politicians to form a broad antislavery party.”32 the free soil party helped to open the door for the republican party to take up the anti-slavery cause and to unite anti-slavery advocates across the country to form a national party. by opening the door, the free soilers laid the groundwork for the success of the republican party in organizing its members into a national political party. although their impact and legacy may not be apparent on the national stage, minor parties play a necessary role in american politics. minor parties play an important role in pushing and pressuring major parties to take political stands and adopt issues current with the times. in some presidential elections, both major parties may decide to ignore certain controversial issues, believing that taking a stand on these issues will tip the scale in the favor of their opponents. the free soil party in 1848 almost singlehandedly forced cass to take a stand on the issue of slavery in the territories. when cass commented on the slavery issue, support was overwhelmingly thrown to taylor and the whigs in what was supposed to be an even closer presidential election. minor parties can also play the role of a spoiler in elections, especially on the local and state level. even though a minor party may lose the election, it may take away enough votes from an opposing major party to allow the other major party to win. this is exactly what happened with the free soilers and the democrats in new york, where the whigs won the state because the democrats lost so many votes to the free soilers in the 1848 presidential election. even though minor parties play less of a role in american politics today, these smaller parties can still pressure major parties into adopting certain ideas once in power, and they can “steal” votes from the major “the free soil party focused its platform on preventing slavery from extending to the territories, but it never addressed the issue of slavery already existing in the south.” 90 elements : : spring 2011 parties on the local and state levels. while the free soil party did not stay relevant on the national stage for a long period of time, its influence in defining the role of a minor party continues to be felt in modern american politics. endnotes 1. foner (150) 2. foner (152) 3. foner (152-153) 4. foner (153) 5. foner (83) 6. bilotta (98) 7. ibid. 8. ibid. 9. bilotta (115) 10. bilotta (116) 11. bilotta (117) 12. mayfield (119) 13. mayfield (122) 14. silbey (200) 15. ibid. 16. mayfield (123) 17. silbey (202) 18. mayfield (127) 19. mayfield (189) 20. mayfield (179) 21. mayfield (180) 22. mayfield (182) 23. bilotta (192) 24. foner (127) 25. foner (128) 26. mayfield (184) 27. ibid. 28. mayfield (186) 29. bilotta (99) 30. mayfield (189) 31. ibid. 32. mayfield (190) references bilotta, james d. 2005. race and the rise of the republican party, 1848-1865. bloomington, in: xlibris corporation. foner, eric. 1970. free soil, free labor, free men: the ideology of the republican party before the civil war. london: oxford university press. mayfield, john. 1980. rehearsal for republicanism: free soil and the politics of antislavery. port washington, ny: kennikat press. silbey, joel h. 2002. martin van buren and the emergence of american popular politics. new york: rowman & littlefield publishers, inc. 91 the free soil party benjamin key is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2011, majoring in political science and english with a concentration in creative writing. originally from norfolk, ma, his research interests span from developmental and constitutional political studies to english literature. his senior honors thesis is a collection of short stories written under the direction of the english department. “motivations of genre: realism and fantasy in scottish drama” was written during a semester abroad at the university of edinburgh. dianna michelle martínez is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2011, majoring in political science and minoring in international studies and french. in the spring of 2009, she took prof. dietrich’s course, “hitler, churches, and the holocaust,” for which she wrote this paper as a way to incorporate her interests in history, politics, and law. she was born in san juan, puerto rico. dennis f. murphy is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2011, majoring in history and political science. originally from san francisco, california, dennis wrote this research paper for a political science course on american interest groups and political parties. besides having a passion for u.s. history, especially during the civil war and post-world war ii eras, he also enjoys working as executive producer for the student-run news and variety show, bctv, and he can be seen playing all different kinds of intramural sports, hoping to win a championship before he graduates. sebastian n. agredo is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2011, majoring in philosophy and minoring in german studies. sebastian’s article was inspired by his interest in german history and philosophy, strongly rooted in meister eckhart’s ideas. he is most grateful to prof. jean-luc solere, for whose “medieval philosophy” course he wrote this paper in his sophomore year. after graduation from boston college, sebastian plans to obtain a master’s degree in bioethics and eventually hopes to enter a ph.d. program in bioethics or philosophy. matthew richey is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2012, majoring in theology and english. he is also a member of the boston college honors program. this paper is the result of his summer 2010 advanced study grant project, “the greeks in egypt: cultural contact in the eastern mediterranean,” the research for which was undertaken at the british museum’s department of ancient egypt and sudan. he is most interested in ancient societies’ perceptions of the past, both with regard to themselves and to other cultures. andrew tareila is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2011, majoring in english. this paper, written for prof. kevin ohi’s graduate seminar on walter pater and oscar wilde, sparked andrew’s interest in aesthetic theory. he is currently writing an honors thesis that analyzes connections between late victorian aestheticism and the poetry of wallace stevens. after graduation, andrew plans to travel and teach for a year while applying to ph.d. programs for continued work on modernist aesthetics. he is grateful for the opportunity to work with ohi, whose attention to andrew’s writing continues to inspire him. r. brian tracz is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2012, majoring in biology and philosophy. his focus is on molecular and cognitive neuroscience with an interest in the philosophy of science and philosophy of mind related to these fields. he is especially interested in synthesizing continental and analytic approaches to philosophy of mind to work beyond the analytic/continental divide. brian enjoys playing piano and has an interest in the aesthetics of music. he is grateful to fr. gary gurtler, s.j. for his assistance and support in the writing of this article. ellen zatkowski is a member of the college of arts and sciences class of 2012, majoring in history. she wrote this article for prof. reinburg’s course on the study and writing of history, which focused on witch trials of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. ellen plans to pursue either history or education at the graduate level following boston college, hoping to expand upon her interest in either research or teaching. author biographies miners during strike at newdigate colliery © hulton-deutsch collection / corbis. scene from peter pan by jm barrie with captain hook and duel © gwen watford collection / lebrecht music & arts / corbis. mei, bernadino (1615-1676) © scala / art resource, ny. writings of meister eckhart nicholas cochran-caggiano / john j. burns library, boston college. nuremberg war crime trial / defendants © akg-images / alamy. congolese government soldier in north kivu, congo © eddie gerald / alamy. campaign banner for martin van buren and charles francis adams © everett collection inc / alamy. lewis cass with his autograph © north wind picture archives / alamy. martin van buren © hulton archive. 54 56 65 63 70 73 83 82 85 list of artwork pharaoh amasis depicted as sphinx © araldo de luca / corbis. statue in bodrum turkey of herodotus or herodotos of halicarnassus © robert morris / alamy. green siltstone head of a king © the trustees of the british museum. 19th-century print of scene from the picture of dorian gray © corbis. sarony, napoleon (1821-1896) © adoc-photos / art resource, ny. death of dorian gray © mary evans picture library / alamy. guilty verdict at the salem witch trials in massachusetts bay colony 1692 © north wind picture archives / alamy. letter from cotton mather to william stoughton nicholas cochran-caggiano / john j. burns library, boston college. heidegger, martin © interfoto / alamy. 11 13 14 23 24 27 33 36 46 this journal was printed using 100% renewable energy and zero voc inks. the hormone cortisol has many functions, such as glucose metabolism maintainance, blood pressure regulation, and inflammatory response. when cortisol levels spike, as with stress, there can be a negative effect on the individual. it is reported that when under stress, one tends to to either eat more or less than normal, which can potentially influence the body mass index (bmi) of an individual. while increased stress can lead to an abnormal cortisol level and bmi in adults, the role in adolescents is not entirely clear. this study investigated the relationship between stress and bmi in high-achieving adolescents, aged 14 to 18. the perceived stress scale survey paired with additional questions were administered to determine overall stress levels in each subject. to determine cortisol levels, a competitive enzyme immunoassay was used. this study indicated that there were no significant correlations between perceived stress levels, salivary cortisol levels, and bmi in this group of individuals. however, a distinct difference in self-assessed stress levels was apparent between males and females. also, a negative relationship was found between bmi and salivary cortisol levels and perceived stress and salivary cortisol levels. a spitting image how salivary cortisol levels reflect stress levels in high school adolescents sara samir introduction stress plays a major role in the lives of numerous adolescents. with the pressure to establish themselves in high school and decide their futures, students are often under a great amount of stress. the stress these teenagers experience oftentimes has a direct influence on their mental health (turner et al., 1995). family life, sexuality, relocation, accident and illness, autonomy, high self-expectation, competitive learning environments, and financial concerns are just a few of the factors that impact stress levels (stilger et al., 2001; newcomb et al., 1981; lin et al., 2013). all of these elements, especially parental attachment style and family life (stenhammar et al., 2010; parks et al., 2012; olstad et al., 2016) can potentially impact body mass index. stress can easily be broken up into two categories: acute and chronic. acute stress stems from short term demands and pressures. it is much more common on a daily basis. high school students frequently experience acute stressors in the school setting. a few of these stressors are standardized testing, course work, college applications, social bearings and extracurricular activities. in certain situations, acute stress can stimulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, causing a greater accumulation of abdominal fat (rodriguez et al., 2015). chronic stress comes from uncomfortable emotional experiences that occur for long periods of time. it has been shown to increase the consumption of sugary, calorie-dense foods (tryon et al., 2013). this aligns with the fact that stress often causes people to overeat (greeno & wing, 1994). at this point in their lives, adolescents often experience a myriad of emotion. these positive and negative emotions can possibly dictate their eating habits. people who are generally emotional eaters tend to eat more when upset than when happy. this could perhaps be the case for many teenagers as well (strien et al., 2013). as the “stress hormone,” cortisol (figure 1) is a viable, accurate way to measure the stress level of an individual (shirtcliff et al., 2015). synthesized by the adrenal cortex, cortisol is a paramount glucocorticoid. cortisol is the most commonly used biomarker because it is linked with a multitude of different physiological processes (cicchetti et al., 2015). cortisol production follows a circadian rhythm, peaking in the early morning and dropping at night to its lowest values (figure 2). salivary cortisol level is one reliable indicator of stress level. high correlations between salivary and serum cortisol are often reported. serum cortisol that is unbound goes into the saliva through intracellular mechanisms. generally, most salivary cortisol is not bound to protein (“cortisol elisa kit (saliva)”). salivary flow rate has no effect on salivary cortisol levels. body mass index (bmi) is often one of the many tools used to determine the general health of an individual. using height and weight, bmi is calculated through a formula: (weight (lbs) * 703) / height (in)2) (national institute of health). a bmi less than 18.5 classifies an individual as figure 1. chemical structure of cortisol (courtesy of wikimedia commons) figure 2. shows the normal differing salivary cortisol levels throughout the day, beginning at 6:30am-7:30am to 10:00pm-11:00pm. as seen in the figure, salivary cortisol levels are normally the highest in the morning around 7:00am-8:00am and the lowest at the end of the day, around 10:00pm-11:00pm (salimetrics, 2016). 74 elements : : spring 2018 underweight. between 18.5 and 24.9 classifies an individual as average weight, and is often referred to as a target range. a bmi between 25-29.9 classifies an individual as overweight, while a bmi of 30 and above is considered obese (national institute of health). additionally, through the measurement of waist circumferences, we are able to better predict the negative health impact of weight. in recent years, there have been major breakthroughs in the field of nutrition, and this project can further contribute to those findings. the goal of this paper is to add to the existing literature studying the relationship between stress and weight among adolescents. this study hypothesizes that a greater score on the perceived stress scale and a higher salivary cortisol level will be linked to a higher bmi and waist circumference in adolescents. the results of this experiment can potentially foster new strategies for parents, educators, counselors and students themselves, to change the behaviors of teenagers for better health. methods and materials participants to determine the relationship between stress, salivary corrtisol levels and body mass index (bmi), a total of 49 subjects participated in this study. institutional review board (irb) approval and consent from both long island university and sanford h. calhoun high school were obtained prior to the beginning of this study. participants were recruited from a pool of high-achieving students at sanford h. calhoun high school, mainly from advanced placement (ap) classes such as ap biology, ap chemistry, advanced science research, and introduction to research classes. subjects ranged in age from 14 years to 18 years, were healthy male and female high school students. primary recruiting methods included the use of fliers, announcements, and incentives. science teachers encouraged their students to participate in the study. teachers could have offered extra credit, but it was ultimately left to the discretion of the teachers to determine how much extra credit, if any, they gave. procedure all paperwork and sample vials were tagged with an identification number that corresponded to an individual participant. no names or identifying information were used in order to protect individuals’ privacy and anonymity. for all participants, the procedure took place around 3 pm to minimize inherent salivary cortisol differences throughout different times of the day. upon arrival at the secure study room, subjects were instructed to sit down and close their eyes as part of a relaxation exercise led by the principal investigator. subjects listened to five minutes of soothing music, which is considered as an auditory stimulus (hanser, 1985), to allow the participants to calm down after a busy school day (rogue et al., 2013). the music was “spa music” including songs to help relax, sleep, and meditate, and is not associated with normal classroom activities. musical selections were played through the smartboard speaker (smart technologies, calgary, alberta) that the room was equipped with. following the relaxation exercise each subject had their height, weight, and waist circumference measured individually in a private room by two licensed and certified nutrition professionals from long island university. a seca scale (seca north america, hanover, md) model 700 was used for height, measured in feet and inches and weight, measured in pounds. a flexible tape measure (tasharina, china) was used for waist circumference measurements in inches. measurements were recorded on an individual form with an identification number corresponding to the subject’s cortisol sample vial and survey to ensure confidentiality. upon completion of these measurements, subjects returned to the secure study room. here, they were instructed on how to provide saliva samples for cortisol measurements. saliva was collected via passive collection using salivabio oral swabs and a sample vial (salimetrics, carlsbad, ca). dr. azad gucwa, assistant professor at the department of biomedical sciences at long island university (liu), kindly instructed participants on the collection method as set forth by the salivabio collection insert (salimetrics, carlsbad, ca). “this study hypothesizes that a greater score on the perceived stress scale and a higher salivary cortisol level will be linked to a higher bmi and waist circumference in adolescents.” 75 a spitting image universal precautions were followed as every subject: researchers wore vinyl gloves during collection and all waste was disposed of as biohazardous waste. vials for the study were collected in a sealed, iced cooler by dr. gucwa and returned to a biomedical lab at liu to be processed for cortisol levels. samples were stored in this laboratory at -20°c until tested. finally, all subjects answered a questionnaire that was designed to determine their selfperceived stress levels (see appendix a). this was composed of the widely used, 10-question perceived stress scale (pss) (cohen, 1994), as well as seven additional questions to determine possible causes of stress and stress levels. these questions were related to grades, academic class levels, parental education, familial income, physical activity, and eating history from the 60 minutes prior to participating in the study. participants were given the option to answer “i am unaware of this information” and/or “i prefer not to answer”. these options, however were never chosen, therefore they were not included in the analysis. measuring cortisol levels in saliva utilizing a competitive immunoassay salivary cortisol measurements were taken using a commercially available enzymelinked-immunosorbent assay (elisa) kit obtained from salimetrics (figure 3). once the samples were ready to be measured, they were taken out of the freezer, and the vials containing the swabs were centrifuged through the beckman coulter allegra x-12r centrifuge to collect saliva at the bottom of the vial. to measure the cortisol, a competitive enzyme immunoassay was used (cortisol elisa assays, 1-3002) (salimetrics, carlsbad, ca). samples were processed according to manufacturer recommendations. briefly, a 96-well microwell plate coated with monoclonal anti-cortisol antibodies was used. cortisol from the saliva samples were then added for binding to anti-cortisol antibodies. after washing, horseradish peroxidase enzymelinked secondary antibodies were added followed by the substrate tetramethylbenzidine (tmb), resulting in a color change detected by a spectrophotometric microtiter plate reader. the processed optical density (od) value was determined by measuring its absorbance at 450 nm. next, the concentration of cortisol was determined using a 4-parameter nonlinear regression curve. a standard was used to determine the concentration of our samples. additionally, low and high cortisol controls were used with every plate and tested within the expected reference range that was provided by the manufacturer. all samples, including standards and controls were tested in duplicate wells to minimize variability. determination of individual stress levels all individual paperwork was kept in a locked vault at s.h. calhoun high school where it will be kept for a minimum of 5 years, at which point all confidential information will be destroyed. when measurements and stress scale results were organized and analyzed, papers were signed out and returned when completed. the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) was used to organize data. dr. bernard gorman kindly trained the lead investigator in this statistical program. statistical analysis regressions were run in spss to determine correlations between variables. subsequently, descriptive tests, frequencies, correlations, and t-tests were run to compare the data. data was later broken up based on sex and two tables were created to further determine relationships (see appendix c and d). results descriptive statistics after outliers were removed from the sample, there were a total of 49 students tested. their ages ranged from 14 to 18, as is expected among high school students. height and weight between the participants greatly varied. as seen in table 1, the bmi measurements had a great range from the underweight category under (<18.5) to the overweight catfigure 3. an example of the elisa kit (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 76 elements : : spring 2018 egory (25.0 – 29.9) (“about adult bmi”) (table 2). pss values ranged from 8.00 to 40.00, so there was clearly a distinct difference in stress levels among participants. as shown in table 3, the mean values for weight, bmi, and pss greatly differed between the males and females in this sample. notably, though self-assessed stress levels were different for males and females, the mean cortisol levels for both sexes were almost the same: females 0.19 ug/dl and males 0.18 ug/dl. table 4 (see appendix b) which is based on the non-pss questions from the questionnaire, shows much demographic information about the participants. all but one participant had grades in the top tier range from 90%100%. additionally, all participants were enrolled in honors and at least one advanced placement (ap) course at school. both factors prove that this group consider themselves high achievers, possibly causing their stress levels to be affected by both their grades and coursework. the majority of participants perceived their combined familial income to be $100,000 or more. evidently, this group of students would be considered at least upper middle class, having a high socioeconomic status (ses) (francis, 2012). 37 mothers of participants earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, while only 7 did not finish college or only have a high school diploma. 24 fathers earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. 3 fathers received an associate or technical degree and 13 either did not finish college, have only a high school diploma, or did not finish high school at all. the education levels of parents could have influenced the type of students their children came to be, namely if their children were perhaps more motivated to complete school work and advance their education or not, following in the footsteps of their parents. table 1. the various descriptive statistics for the sample of participants used in the study. overall, 49 participants were used. the minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation values are shown for cortisol levels, age, height, weight, bmi, waist circumference, and pss level. table 2. bmi classifications (centers for disease control and prevention) table 3. the group statistics table, in which cortisol levels, age, height, weight, bmi, waist circumference, and pss values are reported, broken up by gender. 77 a spitting image overall, 42 participants exercised at least twice a week. notably, this also could have affected their cortisol levels. overtime, exercise lowers cortisol levels, so this could have been the case for some of these participants (brogaard, 2015). an additional factor that could have impacted cortisol levels was the participants’ eating patterns. 10 of the participants reported that they had eaten in the 60 minutes prior to the testing section. this could have caused their salivary cortisol levels to be higher and not as accurate compared to a fasting sample (toda et al., 2004). overall, the correlation between sex and pss scores was significant, with a p-value of 0.004. both height and weight positively correlated with one another. bmi was also positively correlated with weight and waist circumference. contrary to the hypothesis, there are no significant correlations between cortisol, stress, and bmi (table 5). while the relationship was not significant, it appears that both cortisol and bmi were negatively correlated, therefore participants who had higher cortisol levels generally had a lower bmi. notably, bmi and self-assessed stress levels were also negatively correlated. ergo, participants with a lower bmi generally perceived themselves to have a higher level of stress. discussion studies relating bmi to stress among adolescents have been very inconsistent. some find that the higher the cortisol level, the higher the bmi (kiess et al., 1995; abraham et al., 2012; melbin & vuille, 1989). others find that the lower the cortisol level, the greater the bmi (odeniyi et al., 2015). others do not find much of a correlation at all. the group of participants used in this study proved to be very valuable. oftentimes, there are a multitude of factors that influence stress in adolescents, such as income level, parental education, and academic workload. because the subjects of this study were high achieving adolescents, their stress levels could have been inherently higher (hopkins, 2012). additionally, the majority of students also all came from households with a familial income of over $100,000. thus the subjects’ stress levels could have been lower due to their high socioeconomic status (chen et al., 2004). generally, social disadvantage relating to low socioeconomic status and minority race/ethnicity causes greater stress levels (goodman et al., 2004; champaneri et al., 2013). this relatively homogenous group of subjects was able to control for several of these factors that influence stress, because numerous participants had the same background. consequently, we were able to better understand the relationship between stress and bmi. the participants in this study have a great sense of will power. with 42 of them exercising at least 2 times a week, it is evident that they are conscious of their health. this exercise directly impacts their bmi, and it helps to prove why the bmi range in this group is predominantly in the healthy range. oftentimes, physical activity is associated with healthier dietary patterns (miles, 2007), which serve as another reason for their healthy bmis. it is often observed that over time, chronic stress contributes to higher “while the relationship was not significant, it appears that both cortisol and bmi were negatively correlated, therefore participants who had higher cortisol levels generally had a lower bmi.” table 5. overall statistical correlations 78 elements : : spring 2018 bmis (tryon et al., 2013). on the other hand, instances of acute stress can often contribute to a lower bmi (kivimäki et al., 2006). in these adolescents’ lives, they experience acute stressors often, from college applications, to standardized testing, to coursework. these acute stressors could potentially explain why there seems to be a negative relationship between perceived stress and bmi. as found in previous studies, males and females differed when it came to perceived stress (yamamoto et al., 2010; jaarsveld et al., 2009). females appeared to have a higher self-assessed stress level. overall, more females are depressed than males (kessler, 2003). consequently, they would perceive their stress levels to be higher than men do. however, there was not much of a difference between the sexes in salivary cortisol levels, which aligns with past studies (kiess et al., 1995; kjolhede et al., 2013). because the procedure was conducted around 3 pm, cortisol levels were inherently affected. with the peak of cortisol occurring in the morning and the trough in the evening, the cortisol levels obtained during this experiment were naturally lower in samples due to the time of day. overall, though not significant, relationships between self-assessed stress, bmi, and salivary cortisol were found. consequently, all of these factors impact one another limitations the sample used in this study serves as a convenience sample. these high school students were an easily obtained group of adolescents. however, the small sample size of this study proved to be a limitation. with only 17 males and 32 females, we were not able to gain results that accurately represent all adolescents. self-selection was prevalent in this study because of the sample of participants. because subjects self-reported whether they ate, there could have been error, which would have in turn affected their salivary cortisol levels. medications can also possibly affect cortisol levels (granger et al., 2009), and this was not taken into account. additionally, cortisol levels are drastically higher in depressed people, and this variable was not measured in this study (booij et al., 2015). this variable could have potentially changed the results if it was accounted for, so it would be valuable to look into in the future. future work there is still a multitude of research to be done regarding this topic. it would be beneficial if the sample size of adolescents in a future study was much larger than 49 participants to improve the accuracy of the results. race/ethnicity have proven to have an impact on stress levels (goodman et al., 2004), which although not considered during this experiment, would be beneficial to take into account when pursuing further studies regarding this topic. additionally, the use of a heterogeneous sample with people hailing from different ethnic and ses backgrounds could be beneficial to examine if these factors impact stress, bmi, and/ or cortisol levels. adolescents may possibly be one of the most stressed age groups. with this, many of them suffer from sleep deprivation. this lack of sleep could potentially contribute to weight gain as well (bose et al., 2009). therefore, it would be valuable to determine the hours of sleep each participant gets per night to see if it has an impact on his or her stress levels and bmi. as mentioned, it would also be valuable to determine if participants are currently taking any medication that could impact cortisol levels. acknowledgements both long island university and sanford h. calhoun high school supported this research. i appreciate the work and time of the other investigators, the staff, and the participants of this study for their beneficial contributions. references “about adult bmi.” cdc, www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/. abraham, s. b., et al. “cortisol, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome: a cross sectional study of obese subjects and review of the literature.” obesity21.1 (2013): e105-e117. booij, sanne h., et al. “cortisol and a-amylase 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between men and women.” psychoneuroendocrinology26.7 (2001): 711 720. yamamoto, kazuhiko, ai okazaki, and susumu ohmori. “the relationship between psychosocial stress, age, bmi, crp, lifestyle, and the metabolic syndrome in apparently healthy subjects.” journal of physiological anthropology 30.1 (2011): 15-22. 81 a spitting image appendix a. questionnaire 82 elements : : spring 2018 83 a spitting image 84 elements : : spring 2018 appendix b. non-pss quations (table 4) 85 a spitting image appendix c. male and female correlations (table 5 and 6) 86 elements : : spring 2018 this paper examines the difference between a river that has had no human intervention and rivers with various amounts. huamn influence were evaluated through stream chemistry to determine each one’s overall water quality. water’s composition changes as it falls from the sky and flows over ground. this research makes use of the water chemistry data provided by the hubbard brook experimental forest as well as from the new england costal basin national water quality assessment. the data was used to compute monthly averages of ions such as sodium, chloride, calcium and magnesium. these averages were graphed and the trends analyzed. data about each river’s drainage area, surrounding population density, and land usage lend insight to the reason for each river’s chemical composition. the study concluded that the land usage around a river has an effect on the chemical composition of the waters. the rivers surrounded by urban areas had significantly more total dissolved solids and high levels of dissolved sodium chloride, especially during the winter months. this is evidence that anthropogenic effects controlled the stream chemistry. new england watersheds a data driven portrait of water pollution in the luis morales north eastern united states introduction earth is uniquely suited to have liquid water. this liquid— the basis for all life—covers nearly 70% of the planet’s surface. of that, only about 3% is natural freshwater, and most of it is inaccessible, as it is frozen into ice caps. a large portion of freshwater is below the surface in groundwater, and a mere .03% of earth’s freshwater is found at the surface. it is this water though that gives the human race life. clearly, it is crucial that we protect this water to allow for the human race to flourish. it is estimated that over $450 billion worth of foods, fiber, manufactured goods and tourism depend on clean, healthy, natural waters. but these waters often fall victim to anthropogenic pollution. the resulting chemical imbalances not only alter the water’s natural state, but also affect the surrounding soil, vegetation, and their chemical compositions. it is important to study the hydrologic chemistry of natural water to have a baseline by which to evaluate polluted water. understanding the chemical processes and interactions will also aid in developing comprehensive methods through which humans can correct the problems caused in these waters. water’s chemical composition changes depending on its environment. these changes occur as the waters run through the land surface and take on the chemical signature thereof. a study of the stream waters of a watershed is the best indicator for a general outlook of the health of the surrounding environment. this paper will aim to discuss how anthropogenic land use affects the water quality of local stream waters as non-pristine water versus natural forest water without anthropogenic influences as a baseline. background the hubbard brook ecosystem study pioneered evaluations of small watersheds under differing conditions. its original purpose was studying the effects of acid rain on stream waters and their surrounding terrestrial environments. the study was expanded to include the hydrology, biology, geology and chemistry of a forest and its associated aquatic ecosystems. hubbard brook is broken up into ten different watersheds, each of which is its own experiment. as seen in figure 1, watersheds 1-6 are southern facing slopes while watersheds 7-9 are northern facing slopes. the sixth watershed in the experiment (ws6) was the control; it is considered to be a benchmark of pristine water, with data extending back to 1964. this breadth of about five decades allows for the data to be analyzed for trends over long periods of time. hubbard brook located in new hampshire consists mainly of a forest ecosystem that provides the area with a variety of vegetation as well as stable water flow and some of the purest water qualities. it is important to note that because there is limited vehicle access to the hubbard brook experimental forest, anthropogenic effects are negligible on the control of ws6. this exemplifies why ws6 is the closest extant data to what a pre-colonial forest would look like and what its stream chemistry would be. the hubbard brook forest has thrived without the effects of humans. the new england coastal basin (necb) national water quality assessment (nawqa) data spans a variety of rivers throughout the region. nawqa assembled for a national water quality database in 1997-2002, with lesser activity continuing through present day. the necb shown in figure 2 is one of the 62 regions of water studies across the united states. the necb was created to aid in understanding of water quality and hydro-chemical reaction between soil and water. each of the rivers was studied and data was collected for a two-year span. this does not give the same depth as the hubbard brook data, but rather offers glimpses into the stream water chemistry of different rivers that are under different levels of anthropogenic influences. the streams vary in surrounding land use from forestry and agriculture, to urban areas more densely populated by humans. these anthropogenic effects negatively affect streams by disrupting the balance between the stream and its surrounding land area. figure 1. map of the hubbard brook experimental forest with watersheds numbered sequentially throughout. 82 elements : : fall 2017 objective the goal of this study is to examine the relationship between stream water quality and land use within the watershed area. a combination of the long-running hubbard brook data set and the necb nawqa data provides a useful data set that shows both a pristine watershed as well as watersheds that reflect anthropogenic effects. the necb nawqa data provides small two-year glimpses into the water quality of multiple sites in the region. the available data allows a comprehensive view of the effects of land use on stream water quality as well as the undeniable connection between the two. methods once the sites had been chosen, the next step was to obtain the actual collected data set. from their respective websites <hubbardbrook.org> and <http://nh.water.usgs.gov>, the data was downloaded (last accessed on 11/10/16) under the agreement that the result of such analysis would only be used for post-secondary educational purposes. with a basic knowledge of chemistry, inferences could be made of trends and relationships between certain constituents. data points could then be plotted on graphs both against time and against other data sets. aside from excel, another program used in the methods of this analysis was the standard student edition of geochemists work bench (gwb). it was used in conjunction with excel because it allowed varying plots to be created, for instance it allowed for thermodynamic assessment (saturation indices and fugacities) of aqueous equilibrium. a fugacity is a partial pressure that relates to a real gas instead of an ideal gas. fugacities must often be determined via experiments and then collected in databases. gwb has access to all of these databases and can calculate fugacities. fugacities are useful in showing how saturated a gas is in a water. saturation indices are similar except they show the saturation of a mineral in water. data hubbard brook data displayed for major ions (i.e. sodium, calcium, silica, etc.) was collected weekly and then averaged monthly. therefore analysis of the stream water chemistry at hubbard brook could show seasonal variations and trends. the data was divided by month and by ion, and then averaged to generate a value for each month. it was useful to plot the data onto an xy scatter plot to visualize trends or variations over the seasons. figure 2. map of the region covered by the new england coastal basin national water quality assessment study. figure 3. chart of the 9 necb nawqa sites being assessed and their drainage sizes. 83 new england watersheds the hubbard brook site is determined to be in equilibrium of silica with the surrounding bedrock as the only source of silica nearby. this equilibrium is 4 ppm and deviation from this value either means a dilution or a concentration. therefore, all data trends across the monthly averages are normalized to the silica equilibrium to either amplify or weaken some trends. this varied according to whether there was more or less water entering the watershed. the seasonal trend for silica shows that during the early months (january, february) there is an increase in the concentration of silica in the waters mainly due to water being withheld in snow and ice. through the later winter and spring, there is dilution of silica as all the ice and snow melts, while rain increases. then throughout the summer and early fall the concentration increases as water is being used extensively for the growth of vegetation and throughout the ecosystem. in fall and early winter, an equilibrium of 4 ppm is reached once again, as vegetation dies and all water flows to the stream. the only ion to track a near identical pattern is sodium. when normalized to silica the resulting plot is nearly a straight line. due to a lack of anthropogenic additions of sodium to this environment it is shown that sodium naturally tracks about the same pattern as silica does throughout the seasons. potassium dissolved from rocks and the surrounding soil has a pattern of two peaks and a valley. the first peak of potassium concentration is observed in the late winter to early spring. the valley is found when potassium is taken up in the soils to provide nutrients to vegetation. the second peak of potassium comes in the fall. as trees begin to lose their leaves, their leaves releases plentiful potassium back into the soils and in turn can dissolve into the stream waters. as the dissolved potassium washes out of the watershed and the dead plant matters stops decaying, the potassium levels return to equilibrium with the soil and surrounding rock. figure 4. a line plot of average monthly silica levels in hubbard brook stream water from ws6. figure 5. a line graph of average monthly sodium levels in the stream waters of ws6 at hubbard brook forest (dot line). also shows that data normalized to the silica content of that month (square line). figure 6. a line graph of average monthly potassium levels in the stream waters of ws6 at hubbard brook forest (dotline). also shows that data normalized to the silica content of that month (square line). figure 7. a line graph of average monthly nitrate levels in the stream waters of ws6 at hubbard brook forest (dot line). also shows that data normalized to the silica content of that month (square line). 84 elements : : fall 2017 nitrates trend such that there is a large increase in their concentration during the early spring as soil thaws and release the nitrates from the previous year’s decay of vegetation. nitrogen, a limiting nutrient, is quickly taken up throughout the ecosystem both by plants as well as algae. from june until october there are almost no nitrates left in the stream waters as they are all being used for organismal growth. as winter begins again, the productivity of vegetation ends and waters become too cold for algae to bloom. the significant decay of plant material results in a steady climb of nitrates in the stream waters and thereby in the soils throughout the watershed as well. calcium and magnesium follow similar paths throughout the seasons. both calcium and magnesium are nutrients indispensable for the proper growth of vegetation. therefore their seasonal variations are largely dependent on the growth and decay of plants. from february to may calcium and magnesium surges into the stream waters. this surge is due to snowmelt that carries these cations into the waters as the soils are already saturated and plants are not ingesting the nutrients yet as they have not begun to grow. during the growing season, summer and fall, there are low concentrations of these nutrients in the stream waters as they are being taken up by vegetation. when normalized to silica, the trend becomes even more apparent as the concentrations are lower, despite the fact that according to silica, they should be. from october into the winter the growing in concentrations again begin to increase as the vegetation is no longer using these nutrients. chloride is an anion that balances out some of the cations found in the stream waters. chloride, therefore, is controlled by the presence of these cations; the chlorides of calcium, magnesium, and sodium are very soluble in water. the trend of chloride is proportional to that of calcium, magnesium, and with some regards, to sodium as well. as these ionic compounds dissolve in water they release the chloride and cation, creating a more amplified version to the trends of the cations individually. the inter-component plot of chloride vs sodium exhibits that at hubbard brook there is no correlation between sodium and chloride. the r^2 value is far too low for the data to be reliable; there is too much variation in the points to say that either sodium or chloride has a controlling effect on the other. on the other hand, the mg vs ca diagram has a much higher r^2 value showing that there is most likely a correlation between calcium and magnesium in the stream waters. figure 8: a line graph of average monthly calcium levels in the stream waters of ws6 at hubbard brook forest (dotline). also shows that data normalized to the silica content of that month (square line). figure 9. a line graph of average monthly magnesium levels in the stream waters of ws6 at hubbard brook forest (dot line). also shows that data normalized to the silica content of that month (square line). figure 10: a line graph of average monthly chloride levels in the stream waters of ws6 at hubbard brook forest (dot line). also shows that data normalized to the silica content of that month (square line). 85 new england watersheds necb nawqa of the necb naqwa sites, the kennebec river is the least impacted by humans, with nearly 80% of its land use being forestry. it has the largest drainage area of these 9 sites therein having the most soil to naturally filter the water before it enters the stream. its silica levels also fall in line with the benchmark of hubbard brook levels with a maximum at 5 ppm and a minimum at 2.5 ppm. chloride levels at the kennebec river are the lowest amongst all the testing sites, amounting to an overall lower total dissolved solids (tds) content of its stream waters. the magnesium to calcium ratio at the kennebec river falls in line with the levels observed at the other nine sites. its r^2 value lends a reasonable evidence for a correlation between the two components. however, the chloride and sodium ratio does not fall within error of the other observed ratios. it is much lower with nearly no correlation confidence between the two components having such a low r^2 value. the merrimack river and its watershed have a population density ten times that of the kennebec watershed. its main land use is forestry followed by urban development and agriculture. the inter-component diagrams depict a clear figure 11. the inter-component relationship between chloride and sodium at the hubbard brook forest, accompanied by the trend line with its equation and the r^2 value. figure 12. the inter-component relationship between magnesium and calcium at the hubbard brook forest, accompanied by the trend line with its equation and the r^2 value. figure 13. each necb site’s location, drainage area, population density, precipitation, and three major land uses. figure 14. the 9 necb nawqa sites and a summary of the ratios of magnesium vs calcium level and r^2 as well as sodium to chloride levels with their r^2 values. the maximum chloride levels are also displayed as well as both the maximum and minimum silica levels. 86 elements : : fall 2017 correlation between chloride and sodium with the atomic ratio being one to one. this suggests the concentration of the two constituents is controlled by salt (nacl). the concentrations of chloride and sodium at the merrimack river are eight times higher than they are at the kennebec river. there is more variation in the silica levels at the merrimack river with the minimum being at 1.4 ppm while the maximum is 7 ppm. the magnesium to calcium ratio indicates a correlation within a range of error in the other rivers, suggesting chemical weathering of surrounding bedrock controls the trend. the neponset river is a small watershed with a high population density. the main land use is forestry but a fair figure 16. magnesium vs calcium levels at kennebec as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 15. sodium vs chloride levels at kennebec as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 18. magnesium vs calcium levels at merrimack as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 17. sodium vs chloride levels at merrimack as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 20. magnesium vs calcium levels at neponset as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 19. sodium vs chloride levels at neponset as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. 87 new england watersheds amount of the land is also urban. the chloride – sodium inter-component diagram shows there is a correlation between the two about equal with the average levels of the other rivers. therefore the sodium levels are lower than the chloride levels, which reach a maximum of 64 ppm. the data is reliable such that there is an r^2 value of over 0.90. overall the silica levels of the neponset river are higher than that of kennebec ranging between 3.1 ppm and 10.2 ppm. the magnesium to calcium ratio is 2.15 with a r^2 value of nearly 0.90, the second lowest magnesium to calcium ratio of all of the test watersheds. in the saugus watershed the land is over 50% urban, followed by 27% forested. the watershed is very small with a high population density. in saugus the chloride to sodium ratio is 0.80 with a very high r^2 value of 0.98. the ratio of is slightly lower but still in line with the average values of the rest of the sites, with slightly elevated levels of chloride over sodium. the chloride level reaches a maximum of 197 ppm. the silica levels are the second highest maximum and minimum silica values of all of the rivers. the magnesium to calcium ratio is not conclusive with a variation wide enough to have an r^2 value of less than 0.60. stillwater is a relatively small watershed with a low population density. the land use is primarily forested at 75%, followed by agriculture at 10%. the chloride to sodium ratio at stillwater is slightly below a one to one ratio. with chloride slightly higher than sodium, the r^2 value at 0.87 percent depicts a fairly reasonable correlation. the chloride maximum at stillwater was 34.3 ppm, which is the second lowest observed level over all of the rivers. the magnesium to calcium ratio of 3.41 has a strong correlation with a r^2 value of 0.96. the silica ranged from 3.8 ppm to 9.1 ppm. wading river is a relatively small watershed with a median population density amongst the necb rivers. its maily forested at 63.5% followed by urban at 18.4%. the chloride to sodium ratio is 0.90. there is a strong correlation in this ratio with a r^2 value of 0.91. the maximum chloride figure 21. chloride vs sodium levels at the saugus river as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 22. magnesium vs calcium levels at the saugus river as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 23. chloride vs sodium levels at stillwater as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 24. magnesium vs calcium levels at stillwater as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. 88 elements : : fall 2017 level recorded at wading river was 63.7ppm. the magnesium to calcium ratio of 2.6 has a strong correlation with a r^2 value of o.90. the silica values ranged from 1.3 ppm to 9.5 ppm. the ipswich watershed is fairly small but has a relatively high population density. its main land uses are 39.4% forested and 38% urban. the chloride to sodium ratio is 0.86 with a strong correlation of an r^2 value of 0.90. the slightly higher levels of chloride reach a maximum of 98.7 ppm. the magnesium to calcium ratio is 2.76 with a strong correlation of 0.91. the silica levels at the ipswich river range from 1.6 ppm and 14.3 ppm. figure 25. chloride vs sodium levels at wading as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 26. magnesium vs calcium levels at wading as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 27. chloride vs sodium levels at ipswich as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 28. magnesium vs calcium levels at ipswich as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value figure 29. chloride vs sodium levels at aberjona as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 28: plot showing magnesium vs calcium levels at ipswich as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value figure 30. magnesium vs calcium levels at aberjona as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. 89 new england watersheds the aberjona watershed is small but has a high population density. its main land use is 67.3% urban followed by forestry at 23.8%. the chloride to sodium ratio is 0.85 with a strong correlation of an r^2 value of 0.98. the slightly higher levels of chloride reach a very high maximum of 259 ppm. the magnesium to calcium ratio is 3.35 with a strong correlation of 0.97. the silica levels at the aberjona river range between 2.7 ppm and 10.3 ppm. the charles watershed is midsize with a high population density. its main land use is 53% forestry with its second land use as urban at 29.8%. the chloride to sodium ratio is 0.86 with a strong correlation of a 0.98 r^2 value. the slightly higher levels of chloride reach a very high maximum of 216 ppm. the magnesium to calcium ratio is 2.68 with a strong correlation of 0.90. the silica levels at the charles river range between 1.3ppm and 10.7ppm. discussion in the data of the pristine waters of hubbard brook there are relatively low concentrations of each of the chemical components in the water. it can be deduced that without anthropogenic effects, natural waters, precipitation, and chemical weathering control the water’s composition. at hubbard brook, the precipitation volume has not changed significantly over the six decades of data. therefore hubbard brook is a good indicator of what pre-colonial water quality would be, as well as a overall environment. in the steep slopes of hubbard brook, the residence time of water is fairly fast, flushing out into the stream. the stark difference in the composition of the majority of the necb nawqa sites can be attributed to the land use in those areas. the more urban sites such as aberjona show how polluted stream waters can become due to anthropogenic effects. altering the landscape from forested areas changes the natural nutrient cycling characteristically found in environments less impacted by human activity such as the hubbard brook forest. the stream waters are no longer controlled by chemical weathering, but by anthropogenic runoff and other human-caused imbalances. one of the primary discrepancies between the baseline hubbard brook data and the necb data is that the sodium chloride levels are much higher in urban areas than in forested areas. this problem is most prevalent throughout the winter months. road salts distribute large amounts of added sodium chloride into the environment. this added sodium chloride runs off the roads and enters the stream waters. the slightly higher levels of chloride in the waters suggest some of the sodium is not making it to the water, but is caught up in the soil replacing calcium chloride. when comparing the effect of land use on water chemistry and quality there are a multitude of different sites that can be used as markers. hubbard brook is an example of pristine, untouched natural waters and is used as a benchmark for comparing the necb nawqa data. the area that remains most untouched is the kennebec river. with silica levels that are very close to one another, it is possible that the composition of the kennebec river is still mostly controlled by chemical weathering rather than anthropogenic effects. kennebec’s main land use being forested land would support the claim that while humans do live on the surrounding land, the kennebec is still a healthy river when being compared to hubbard brook. one similarity is that neither stream naturally has a trend in the relationship between chloride and sodium. another similarity is how low the levels of both sodium and chloride are both being well under 1 mmol. the correlation between the magnesium and calcium in both is fairly strong and the figure 31. chloride vs sodium levels at charles as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. figure 32. magnesium vs calcium levels at charles as well as the trend line, its equation, and r^2 value. 90 elements : : fall 2017 slope of the trend line is within error bars of one another at 2.2-2.8. stillwater is a suburban area that is a main contributor of the drinking water to the greater boston area. when comparing the chloride-sodium ratios, it is apparent there is a much stronger trend between the two components, and that the ratio is approaching 1 with a slightly higher level of chloride than sodium. the interesting factor is the lowest levels of both sodium and chloride at stillwater are right in line with the highest levels of these elements found at the kennebec river, and much higher than those found at hubbard brook. the merrimack river, found in a suburban area, has a strong correlation between sodium and chloride with the ratio between the two virtually being 1. the lowest observed levels of the constituents are even higher than those found at stillwater. this is cause to believe the similar land use of these two suburban areas has transformed the stream chemistry from where it otherwise would be. the most urban area by far is aberjona with a land use of over 67% urban. the sheer volume of dissolved solids in the water is much higher than any of the rivers that are less urban. with regard to the ratio chloride to sodium, there is one of the strongest correlations of any of the observed sites. the lowest values for both chloride as well as sodium are well above the very low values found at hubbard brook. in the transformation from forested to urban areas, the concentration of these components continues to increase to levels that are excessive in comparison to the concentration at sites that have little to no anthropogenic effects. thus land use has a direct effect on the composition of the stream water chemistry. conclusion water takes on the chemistry of surrounding soils, thus land use has an effect on local stream water chemistry. thussodium chloride is a stream water constituent that is highly impacted by anthropogenic activities. in the pristine, untouched waters of hubbard brook or the remote waters of the kennebec river, levels of sodium chloride are very low. areas such as aberjona or the saugus rivers, according to the usgs have urbanization percentages of 67% and 56% respectively, are the two highest amongst the rivers in this study. in turn the levels of sodium chloride are much higher in these rivers. throughout the rivers there is a correlation between increased sodium chloride concentration and urbanized areas. hubbard brook ws6 data is an example of a pristine watershed that can be used as a reference to judge the necb rivers. this data gives insight as to what water chemistry looked like in pre-colonial times as the constituent levels as well as the precipitation amounts have remained virtually the same over the past 60 years when data has been collected. here, water quality is mostly determined by the weathering of rocks, creating equilibria with the stream waters. this is displayed through the silica saturation index that was calculated using the gwb software where the equilibria point with the weathering rock was determined to be a consistent 4 ppm. variations in concentrations seen in the data are examples of dilutions of the silica in the water after a snowmelt, or due to evaporation during the summer. seasonally there are variations in the levels of the stream chemistry constituents. throughout the winter much of the water is frozen in snow and ice and then during the spring the snowmelt causes a dilution of all of the constituents. this dilution is contrasted by a concentration due to an increase in evapotranspiration during the summer. for constituents that are also limiting nutrients, the growing season causes them to be taken up by plants rather than run into the stream water. this is why the levels of calcium, magnesium, sulfates, and nitrates lower in concentration during the warmer months, despite the expected increase in concentration due to evapotranspiration. in the multicomponent diagrams, the sodium to chloride ratio approaches a one to one ratio in most of the watersheds tested with slightly elevated chloride levels compared to sodium. this would suggest dissolved sodium chloride is the controlling factor in the levels of these components in stream waters. however, some of the sodium ions get trapped in soils through a cation exchange relationship with calcium. the lack of correlation in the watersheds that are primarily forested as well as the much lower levels show that the sodium to chloride relationship is not sodium chloride controlled in more pristine watersheds. all of the waters analyzed in this paper are in equilibrium with the atmosphere and the earth. in terms of the atmosphere, it would be remiss to not consider the fugacity of oxygen and carbon dioxide. oxygen is widely under saturated in these stream systems while carbon dioxide is more often oversaturated in the waters. while under saturation of oxygen impacts the ability of organisms to live in the waters, especially fish, oversaturation of carbon dioxide can be an indicator of anthropogenic effects. on the other 91 new england watersheds hand, dissolved nitrogen plays little to no part in the biologic cycles as opposed to its counterpart no3, which is a very important contributor to plant cycles. regarding equilibrium with the earth, saturation indices of the waters with silica derived from quartz commands that there is about 4 ppm of silica coming from dissolving quartz consistently. variations from this concentration can be attributed to changes in the amount of water present in the streams at a given time. being able to quantify the chemistry changes in watersheds that interact with humans is evidence that anthropogenic activities have a significant impact on the surrounding environment. this reality instills an important responsibility onto humans to use rivers and the land surrounding them with prudence. therefore it is necessary to make use of the information acquired in studies such as this one to make informed decision regarding the protection of waterways and their shorelines. creating policy that ensures their protection is integral to solving the problem of water pollution. anyone can help by knowing the status of pollution in waterways near them, and urging local government to allocate funding to environmental projects that promote sustainability. references likens, g. e. (n.d.). chemistry of streamwater at the hubbard brook experimental forest, watershed 6, 1963 present. hubbard brook ecosystem study. robinson, k. w., flanagan, s. m., ayotte, j. d., campo, k. w., chalmers, a., coles, j. f., & cuffney, t. f. (2016). water quality in the new england coastal basins. u.s. geological survey circular , (1226). 92 elements : : fall 2017 ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !"#$%&'’( '#)%'# *+ )#&,#&%"!#( (2012-2022) )*--#-*"%,#( .!(,*"!)%$ -!$#(,*&#( ,.%, $#' ,* ,.# )*/&,"0’( !&'#1#&'#&)# +"*2"#%, 3"!,%!& %&' ,.# )"#%,!*& *+ ,.# "#1/3$!) *+ !"#$%&'. .*4#5#", (!&)# ,.# %'5#&, *+ ,.# !"!(. &%,!*&, !,( .!(,*"0 .%( %$4%0( 3##& % )*&,#(,#' (1%)#— 4.#"# *11*(!&2 1*$!,!)%$, (*)!%$, %&' )/$,/"%$ 2"*/1( &#2*,!%,# 3#,4##& .!(,*"!)%$ &%""%,!5#(—,* $%0 )$%!,* % ‘,"/#’ !"!(. .!(,*"0. ,.!( 1%1#" 1"#(#&,( ,.# )*-1#,!&2 .!(,*"!*2"%1.!#( !&5*$5#' !& ,.# !"!(. 2*5#"&-#&,’( '#)%'# *+ )#&,#&%"!#( %&' !'#&,!+!#( ,.# (*)!*-1*$!,!)%$ %2#&'% 3#.!&' (,%,# )*--#-*"%,!*&(. % .!(,*"!)%$ %&%$0(!( *+ ,.# )*--#-*"%,!*&( ,.%, ,**6 1$%)# !& ,.# 2010( 1"*5#( ,.%, (*)!*-1*$!,!)%$ )*&(!'#"%,!*&( +%),*"#' !& ,.# 4%0 !"#$%&'’( +*/&'!&2 4%( 1*","%0#' 30 ,.# 2*5#"&-#&,, ,.# 1/3$!), %&' )!5!$ (*)!#,0. *5#"%$$, ,.!( 1%1#" )*&)$/'#( ,.%, ,.# !"!(. 2*5#"&-#&,’( ).!#+ %!-( 4#"# ,* (,"!6# % )*&)!$!%,*"0 ,*&# 4!,. &*",.#"& !"#$%&', ‘)"*4'-*/,’ *11*(!&2 .!(,*"!)%$ &%""%,!5#(, %&' 1"*7#), !"#$%&'’( #)*&*-!) 1"*2"#(( ,."*/2. ,.# !"!(. 1"*)$%-%,!*&. &#5#",.#$#((, %)%'#-!) .!(,*"!%&( %&' ,.# 1/3$!) !&,#"5#&#' !& ,.!( &#2*,!%,!*& ,* )"#%,# "#-!-%2!&#' .!(,*"!#( *+ !"#$%&'. !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' grasping historical perceptions for the decade of centenaries )8%" (#1# “it is apparent that commemoration is intrinsically linked with the past. nevertheless, commemoration is manifested in the present, and is subject to a society’s values, whether it is nineteenth-century nation-building or twenty-first century traumatic healing.” ireland’s ‘decade of centenaries’ (doc) can be characterized as a negotiation between competing historical interpretations and present socio-political concerns. in particular, themes of inclusion, transnationalism, and intersectionality colored commemoration events. to further explore this, the paper will provide the conceptual framework of a ‘negotiation’ of historical memory. then, it will analyze the doc expert advisory group’s mission, the first world war and easter rising commemorations, the online platform century ireland, and the #wakethefeminist movement. overall, the irish government brought certain needs to the negotiating table: (1) a conciliatory tone with northern ireland (ni), (2) a ‘crowding-out’ of opposing historical narratives, and (3) a projection of ireland’s progress in relation to the irish proclamation. in the end, the government was somewhat successful in this negotiation. with the intervention of academic historians and the public, the doc accommodated ‘re-imagined’ histories of ireland, outside of the state’s initial scope. in order to delve into the doc commemorations, it is essential to provide a conceptual schema for commemoration as a negotiation between historical narratives and current socio-political needs. pierre nora challenges the traditional separation between history and memory by proposing lieux de mémoire. such crossover spaces include commemoration, in which both “memory attaches itself to sites,” while “history attaches itself to events” (nora, 1989). further, eric hobsbawm comments on the rise of state commemoration during the nineteenth-century, as “…rulers…rediscovered the importance of ‘irrational’ elements in the maintenance of the social fabric…” of newly formed nation-states (hobsbawn, 1983). accordingly, this topdown concept is challenged in the twenty-first century, considering the idea of historical victimhood, which guy beiner notes that “…public remembrance of victims tend to be exclusive and monopolistic, denying the trauma of others and ranking one’s own su3ering above theirs” (beiner, 2007). it is apparent that commemoration is intrinsically linked with the past. nevertheless, commemoration is manifested in the present, and is subject to a society’s values, whether it be nineteenth-century nation-building or twenty-first century traumatic healing. what is unique to today’s notion of commemoration is that it can no longer be imposed solely by the state, rather, a dialogue must take place between historical memories throughout a broad spectrum of society. politics must be considered in the irish context because “…commemorative rituals have become historical forces in their own right” (mcbride, 2001). as this ‘lieux’ is limited because of financial constraints, physical space, and public will, a society must prioritize what is and is not remembered. therefore, commemoration becomes a multi-faceted negotiation between di3ering historical narratives on one hand and di3ering socio-political interests on the other. from this viewpoint, the expert advisory group (eag) was tasked to navigate the centenary of ireland’s foundational years. in 2012, the doc programme was launched, designed to be “…broad and inclusive, highlighting the economic and social conditions of the period, [and] the shifts in cultural norms and the experience of the irish abroad” (decade of centenaries, 2020). a year earlier, the eag was established to advise the government on how to approach the decade, chaired by dr. maurice manning. it is noteworthy that a respected irish academic and politician was appointed to this role. the eag, supplementing the doc’s statements, argued that “commemoration will be measured and reflective, and will be informed by a full acknowledgement of the complexity of historical events and their legacy…” and “…of the multiple identities and traditions which are part of the irish historical experience” (department of culture, heritage, and the gaeltacht, 2015). this spirit of inclusion is molded by past commemorations of the 1916 easter rising, most notably the fiftieth anniversary of the rising in 1966, which will be discussed later. moreover, attempts to create a shared history come in the aftermath of the 1998 good friday agreement, in 12 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 which there came a strong imperative to maintain peace on the island. this is reflected in northern ireland’s approach to the decade, in which paul mullan explains that “by embracing the nuances and complexity of past events, a new understanding can emerge that may help mitigate the potential for further conflict” (mullan, 2018). clearly, the notion of inclusion, as well as transnationalism and intersectionality in public commemoration, arose as a result of a fear of conflict and ireland’s past experiences with historical commemoration. was the doc successful in orchestrating their expressed goals? a marker of the doc’s success in tackling the issues of inclusion and transnationalism is the commemoration of the first world war and leading up to the battle of the somme in 2016. until the beginning of the twenty-first century, the war was overlooked by irish society, in what historian f.x. martin decried as a ‘national amnesia.’ however, keith je3ery focuses on contemporary trends in first world war commemoration, such as the fact that it “…began to be drawn into a wider, more general commemoration of all irish people who had died for war,” rather than a unionist-dominated narrative prevalent in recent history (je3ery, 2013). the war, through the unionist lens, legitimized ni’s place in the british empire. with its ultimate sacrifice at the battle of the somme, ulster unionists incorporated first world war commemoration as a key part of their heritage. meanwhile, northern irish nationalists viewed the war with contempt because of unionism’s fervent embrace of it. during the ‘troubles’—a thirty-year sectarian conflict in northern ireland pitting protestant unionists against catholic nationalists—these antipathies were heightened so much so that remembrance day was a target for provisional ira attacks, namely the 1987 enniskillen bombing. though some loyalists sco3 at the ‘greening’ of great war history, both irish and northern irish state o4cials embarked on a transnational e3ort to paint a reconciliatory picture. first, it started with joint commemorations in continental battlefields, like in messines in 2014, which “… demonstrated the power of using foreign locations as ‘safe’ spaces for irish first world war commemoration,” as catriona pennell contends (pennell, 2017). placed in a broader european historical context, the republic can better grapple with its role in the war. irish president michael d. higgins, in an interview on rté news, notes the republic’s duty is to “be able to take all of the experience of its citizens into account” (century ireland, 2014). ireland’s participation in the events is premised in the wider european context and in the inclusion of all irish people. as for the irish, “there has been an unprecedented and sustained public engagement…” as “…a way of dealing with the instability of the present and future” (pennell, 2017). by the 2010s, the public welcomed the new consensus of ‘re-discovery’ and reconciliation as a new historical motif that colored public commemoration. in e3ect, this phenomenon cannot be explained wholly by a ‘top-down’ theory of commemoration but also with a give-and-take between levels of society. indeed, this sense of shared loss culminated in the state commemorations of the battle of the somme on 10 july 2016. in the republic’s state ceremony at islandbridge, all irish regimental flags, including the 36th ulster division, were displayed. in addition, representatives of the northern irish government, like the secretary of state and the deputy first minister, laid wreaths representing both unionist and nationalist traditions. in belfast city hall, the irish minister for social protection laid a wreath at the cenotaph on behalf of the irish government (century ireland, 2016). the reciprocity of representation signals the island’s attempt to reinforce the inclusive narrative of a shared loss, in which all can relate to the horror of the somme’s carnage. james evershed, on the other hand, posits that “the ‘sharedness’ of the irish government’s !"# 0)!!.# -/ !"# *-11# +-12+: !"# *!-'3 -/ 42...2)1 1+/)&5#)% 13 !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' approach to commemoration…has not engender[ed] any meaningful reflection on the violence of [britain’s] imperial heritage…” (evershed, 2019). this critique is not unfounded. for example, the creative centenaries graphic novel, the battle of the somme, depicts the heroism of billy mcfadzean in the trenches. supported by the northern ireland department of culture, arts and leisure, the graphic novel focuses on ulster’s pride and hints at the triumphalist tone that both states supposedly sought to dampen this time around. thus, the concept of a shared historical loss shone through in first world war commemorations, following the eag’s inclusive and globalized vision, and a brokered consensus between the republic and northern ireland on historical reconciliation was widely accepted. after the first world war commemorations, the doc reached its peak with its remembrance of the 1916 easter rising and the irish republic’s proclamation. there are two inherent historical issues with the commemoration of the rising; (1) it was orchestrated in direct opposition to the united kingdom, of which northern ireland is still part of, and (2) that it was an undemocratic, violent rebellion that ultimately achieved its goal of independence, which violates today’s political norms. nonetheless, the rising is central to the irish state’s founding narrative. in this regard, how will the doc programme adhere to its core tenets of inclusivity, intersectionality, and transnationalism? rising commemoration has been marred by allegations that they were partisan in the past. for instance, the rising’s fiftieth anniversary in 1966 was commemorated in a patriotic, militarized manner. the highlypoliticized events linked irish president éamon de valera, the last surviving rising leader, with his government as they wished to cement their legacy as the bearer of irish independence. some even argue that the commemorations stirred the forces that would cause the troubles a few years later. the southern government chose to forgo o4cial commemoration during the late-twentieth century until the ninetieth anniversary in 2006—eight years after the good friday agreement. hence, there were credible concerns about commemorating the centenary of easter 1916. from the onset, the eag unequivocally stated that although they outlined a commemoration based on a multiplicity of traditions and identities, “…the state should not be expected to be neutral about its own existence” (department of culture, heritage, and the gaeltacht, 2015). the group acknowledged that there is a limit to the principles of inclusion, especially to the events of the rising. though it may be a noble attempt to de-politicize the rising, the eag soon came under government pressure to integrate the peace process into commemorations. according to the irish times, the advisory committee “…‘point blank’ refused a government request to use the northern ireland peace process as a frame of reference” (mcgreevy, 2016). however, roisín higgins attests to the innate politics of rising commemorations, as “easter 1916 came to represent a moment of possibility against which all subsequent realities could be measured or on which they could be blamed” (higgins, 2016). for their part, the eag’s resistance to the political interventions still did not prevent the government, nor other political actors from bringing commemoration to the bargaining table. of course, higgins’ insight on the ideas proclaimed during the rising as a ‘measuring-stick’ of progress is evident throughout several aspects of the doc. in particular, rté’s dramatic production of “centenary the proclamation” projected what seems to be an accomplishment of the ideas enshrined in the document, showcasing the irish people’s diversity and the diaspora community. beginning with the unfurling of the tricolor by two descendants of leaders in the rising, the video pans into the scenic countryside and lush farmland of the island. as di3erent people read parts of the proclamation, one notices the wide-ranging locations of the people reading it. there is certainly no coincidence that a man with an american accent, who is assumed to be irish-american, reads “…and supported by her exiled children in america…”(rté-ireland’s national public service media). in essence, higgins’ analysis strikes at the heart of why so many resources were a3orded to the easter rising commemoration. for the state, remembering the easter rising meant remembering how far ireland has come since its foundation and in the realization of its ideals. portraying a progressive, prosperous nation able to “for the state, remembering the easter rising was meant to remember how far ireland has come since its foundation, in the realization of its ideals.” 14 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 embrace its history and heritage, the irish government was keen on underscoring the doc’s tenets of inclusivity, transnationalism, and intersectionality. in northern ireland, the rising commemorations were not as simple and proved to be a complicated negotiation between competing political actors. as demonstrated in the first world war commemorations, both the republic and ni were committed to what john brewer describes as “ethical remembering,” based on “truth, tolerance and trajectory” (brewer, 2016). this is hard to do for the rising in ni, especially for unionists, because the event’s meaning is against the rationale behind the formation of the northern irish state. alvin jackson contextualizes the unionist historical interpretation, concluding that the rising “…was not just about the safely distant history of the neighbouring state, it was also interlinked with the contemporary history and experience of northern ireland,” although this was not always the case (jackson, 2018). this is why unionists have more trouble acknowledging the event, as “…they feel that honoring the sacrifices of the ‘martyrs’ of the rising could, in fact, signal some agreement with their aim of extricating all of ireland from the united kingdom” (hancock, 2019). on the other hand, sinn féin—the leading republican political party—is not exempt from scrutiny, as landon hancock points out that they “…tried to use their willingness to acknowledge [the somme] as a platform to insist upon unionist recognition of the importance of the easter rising…” (hancock, 2019). thus, the ni republican movement e3ectively pin unionists against a wall when they could claim that their unionist counterparts are not holding up to the parity of esteem—their end of the bargain. meanwhile, northern irish minority republican groups created their own commemorative spaces to rea4rm their legitimacy as the “true” heir to easter 1916. brendan ciarán browne shares incredible insight on the republican groups’ divergent rising commemorative practices, which is surprising for an event that seemed to unify the republican cause. as an example, he accounts of the groups’ choreographed dance in the belfast republican cemetery. interestingly, “…rather than have any ‘official’ discussion between group hierarchies…the events are organised in deference to the historical precedent set in previous years” (browne, 2016). one can view this as a gentleman’s agreement with the ultimate aim of “…embedding an historical narrative and about keeping the unique and distinct republican politics of the individual groups alive in the public arena” (browne, 2016). this is the identity-rea4rming element of commemoration, pivotal to these marginalized groups’ sense of solidarity. there is no need for understanding the other side when nationalist commemoration is the lifeblood of these political groups. in this case, republican actors were crowded out of commemoration by the state, so they negotiated a partition of alternative commemorative space amongst themselves. although the doc was a complicated a3air in the irish and northern irish political spheres, the decade accomplished great strides in an intersectional and interdisciplinary study of irish history, whether from statesponsored events or grassroots activism. century ireland, formed in conjunction with boston college, rté, and the /2($'# 2: 6'-+.)1)!2-% -/ !"# 2'2*" '#6$0.2+ 15 !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' irish government, provided an innovative tool in irish history’s public engagement. this approach towards digital history “[tried] to capture the full extent of how lives were lived in ireland those years and not simply give the narrative of the major political and military happenings,” as mike cronin explains (cronin, 2017). the website o3ers podcasts, video interviews, archival photos, and its signature weekly newspaper, which reports on the week’s events from a century ago (century ireland, 2020). lauded by the government and cultural organizations, century ireland received a warm reception by the irish public, as deep interest in “every day” history during this period was cultivated. remarkably, this project demonstrates an acute awareness of its own historical significance, that “it will undoubtedly be seen as a product of its time, but one that o3ers…a contemporary record of commemoration” (cronin, 2017). another example of the doc’s intersectional approach is its initial failure to be adequately intersectional, as highlighted by the #wakingthefeminists (#wtf) movement. after the abbey theatre’s 2016 “waking the nation” repertoire featured only male irish playwrights, a grassroots campaign mobilized to protest the lack of representation of women in irish arts in general. a resurgence of irish feminism in culture took hold as #wtf organizers successfully forced a nationwide reconsideration of women’s role in irish society. how can the doc, trumpeting inclusive thematic histories, be so blind to the fact that its own advisory group is made up of a disproportionate number of men? oona frawley explains this phenomenon through irish academia’s proclivity for “oblivious remembering,” which “…lacks awareness of or dismisses the systemic biases present in its institutional and/or o4cial approaches to the past” (frawley, 2021). as a result of this pushback, irish institutions introspectively looked at its governing structures, ultimately increasing the number of women in decision-making positions, including in the eag. on the whole, this bottom-up e3ort pushed state-sponsored commemoration to democratize and better represent the irish experience, to the benefit of a more nuanced understanding founded upon the irish proclamation’s notion of equality—of “irishmen and irishwomen.” lastly, the popularization of public historical engagement during the doc should be embraced by historians, who serve as the sentinels for good history. diarmaid ferriter, an eag committee member, viewed “…that in relation to commemoration, ‘we [the eag] have a duty to prevent hijacking by the government or anyone else’” (ferriter, 2018). in his opinion, historians are not mere fact-checkers, they also carry ethical obligations to maintain integrity. however, dominic bryan adamantly disagrees with ferriter’s claims, saying that “the danger of using commemoration as a moment for historical engagement is that you collude with a statement of political identity…” (bryan, 2016). instead, he argues that social scientists, like anthropologists and political scientists, better explain commemoration. unfortunately, bryan’s picture of history is outdated and generalized, rooted in the nineteenth-century historical method. contemporary academic history is specialized, with themes of labor, cultural, and gender history emerging as proper historical spheres. in addition, irish public historians have demonstrated a consistent commitment to “…create about a meaningful and considered state programme…” and “…to highlight and expose political abuses of the commemorations…,” which drastically contrasts with bryan’s simple characterizations (ferriter, 2018). after all, it would not be fair to base criticism of modern anthropology on its imperialistic, racist origins. on the contrary, public historians must be at the forefront of commemoration, serving as sentinels against propaganda. it must be understood that “public commemoration is futile unless driven by the conviction that it will bring social dividends…,” or, simply put, that history cannot be apolitical (fitzpatrick, 2013). even so, this should not deter historians from supporting or critiquing events publicly. the doc has renewed public interest in irish history, and local communities took the lead in most ceremonies. this democratized history, aided by increased open access to archival material, has made history personal for many. given this public platform, historians have a moral duty in twenty-first century commemoration to mold a historically-educated society. 16 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 professional historians, therefore, should provide the contextual roadmap for the public’s understanding of the centenary so that people can be guided in their historical pursuits. given this public platform, historians have a moral duty in twenty-first century commemoration to mold a historically educated society. in conclusion, the decade of centenaries has been a negotiation between varying historiographies and multiple socio-political actors. the first half of the decade has proven that public commemoration conforms to present irish values, namely, an emphasis on inclusion, intersectionality, and transnationalism. its multi-faceted approach, encompassing irish culture and transnationality brings nuance to irish history. the doc, at times, failed to reflect its aspirations accurately, but the historians and the people pushed back and won. nevertheless, the doc has benefitted ireland, not because irish history has been re-examined or re-discovered but because it has been re-imagined. +!(!+!'5!‘about century ireland’, century ireland; https://www.rte. ie/centuryireland/index.php/about-century-ireland/. last checked 29 april 2020. guy beiner, between trauma and triumphalism: the easter rising, the somme, and the crux of deep memory in modern ireland’ in journal of british studies, 46, no. 2 (2007), pp. 366-89. david w. blight, ‘the memory boom: why and why now?’ in pascal boyer and james v. wertsch (eds.), memory in mind and culture (new york, 2009), pp. 238-51. john brewer, ‘how to mark the easter rising in northern ireland’, the conversation, 5 april 2016. brendan ciarán browne, ‘choreographed segregation: irish republican commemoration of the 1916 easter rising in ‘post-conflict’ belfast’ in irish political studies, 31, no. 1 (2016), pp. 101-21. dominic bryan, ‘ritual, identity and nation: when the historian becomes the high priest of commemoration’ in richard s. grayson and fearghal mcgarry (eds.), remembering 1916: the easter rising, the somme and the politics of memory in ireland (cambridge, 2016), pp. 2442. mike cronin, ‘irish history online and in real time: century ireland and the decade of centenaries’ in éire-ireland, 52, no. 1&2 (2017), pp. 269-84. ‘decade of centenaries’, department of culture, heritage and the gaeltacht; https://www.decadeofcentenaries.com/ about/. last checked 27 april 2020. jonathan evershed, ‘a war that stopped a war? the necropolitics of (northern) ireland’s first world war centenary’ in global discourse, 9, no. 3 (2019), pp. 537-56. diarmaid ferriter, ‘1916 in 2016: personal reflections of an irish historian’ in irish historical studies, 42, no. 161 (2018), pp. 161-74. david fitzpatrick, ‘historians and the commemoration of irish conflicts, 1912-23’ in john horne and edward madigan (eds.), towards commemoration: ireland in war and revolution, 1912-1923 (dublin, 2013), pp. 126-33. oona frawley, ‘naming names: countering oblivious remembering in the decade of commemorations’ in oona frawley (ed.), women and the decade of commemorations (ms: indiana university press, forthcoming), pp. 1-28. landon e. hancock, ‘narratives of commemoration: identity, memory, and conflict in northern ireland 1916-2016’ in peace and change, 44, no. 2 (2019), pp. 244-65. roisín higgins, ‘“the irish republic was proclaimed by poster”: the politics of commemorating the easter rising’ in richard s. grayson and fearghal mcgarry (eds.), remembering 1916: the easter rising, the somme and the politics of memory in ireland (cambridge, 2016), pp. 43-61. eric hobsbawn, ‘mass-producing traditions: europe, 1870-1914’ in eric hobsbawm and terence ranger (eds.), the invention of tradition (cambridge and new york, 1983), pp. 263-307. ‘initial statement by advisory group on centenary commemorations’, department of culture, heritage and the gaeltacht; https://www.chg.gov.ie/app/uploads/2015/07/ 17 !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' advisory_group_statement.pdf. last checked 26 april 2020. alvin jackson, ‘mrs foster and the rebels: irish unionist approaches to the easter rising, 1916-2016’ in irish historical studies, 42, no. 161 (2018), pp. 143-60. keith je3ery, ‘irish varieties of great war commemorations’ in john horne and edward madigan (eds.), towards commemoration: ireland in war and revolution, 19121923 (dublin, 2013), pp. 117-25. peter leary, ‘negotiating ireland’s “decade of centenaries” in the new age of brexit’ in history workshop journal, 85 (2018), pp. 295-301. ian mcbride, ‘memory and national identity in modern ireland’ in ian mcbride (ed.), history and memory in modern ireland (cambridge and new york, 2001), pp. 1-41. ronan mcgreevy, ‘historians said no to politics in 1916 commemorations’, irish times, 11 aug 2016. paul mullan, ‘the decade of centenaries and a methodology for engaging with “di4cult heritage”’ in elizabeth m. crooke and tom maguire (eds.), heritage after conflict: northern ireland (abingdon and new york, 2018), pp. 3448. pierre nora, ‘between memory and history: les lieux de mémoire’ in representations, no. 26 (1989), pp. 7-24. catriona pennell, ‘choreography by the angels? ireland and the centenary of the first world war’ in war and society, 36, no. 4 (2017), p. 263. ‘rté news, 11 aug 2014: president michael d. higgins on the commemoration of ww1’, century ireland; https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydpbxbm5ies. last checked 27 april 2020. ‘rté news, 1 july 2016: somme commemorations’, century ireland; https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vpxjm8vx-hk. last checked 27 april 2020. ‘rté one: centenary the proclamation’; https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=ercvsdileo0. last checked 28 april 2020. 18 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 */-" &( 6+"7&+8 !"# $%!!&# '( !"# )'**# +'*,+: !"# )!'-. '( /,&&,%* *+(%01#%2 © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 (,34-# 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. #%)!#5-'+&%*%!,'2 '( 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old (,34-# 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „rf estimates of e3ect of di3erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „2sls estimates of e3ect of di3erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel a: estimates on cases“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel b: estimates on deaths“. 35 38 43 45 %-!,(,+,%& ).2%5)#) $%)#0 '2 (#--'-#&#+!-,+ !422#& 642+!,'2) © mike davies intel labs, intel corporation et. al: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:artificial_synapses_based_on_ftjs.png), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode !%$&# ,,, ,2(#-#2+# 5'/#%20 5'/#4!,&,1%!,'2 © tasbolat taunyazov, weicong sng, hian hian see, brian lim, jethro kuan, abdul fatir ansari, benjamin c.k. tee, and harold soh: (http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss16/p020.pdf), „table iii: inference speed and power utilization“ $&%+"# &%*'2! %! "#+&%, *'2!%2%, /,!" "#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e4ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e4ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 6+"7&+8 +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o4ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! '( 64)!,+# %*'23 '!"#-) %22'42+#0 23 +-,*,2%& +"%-3#) © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %*#-,+% 3&'$%& !-%0# 0#(,+,! © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 +"%-&#) +'43"&,2, &#%0#'( !"# +"-,)!,%2 (-'2! © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 3#-*%2 %*#-,+%2 $420 -%&&., 2#/ .'-9, *%0,)'2 )74%-# 3%-#2, (#$ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o4ce of the chief signal o4cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !" #$% &'(% )& !"(*%'+!",-. -'*,% ()/01#'#!)"'2%/'"2+ '"2 #$% !/0%"2!", $'-# #) /))*%’+ -'3, #$% +%/!()"21(#)* !"21+#*. $'+ 4%%" &)*(%2 #) *%-%5'-1'#% #$% #*'2!#!)"'()/01#!", 0'*'2!,/. (%"#*'#) #$!+ *%-%5'-1'#!)" $'+ 4%%" #$% ")5%2%5%-)0/%"# )& "%1*)/)*0$!( ()/01#!",–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explaining how projected snn training will largely impact our interactions with technology 3!-*!$%*2 ed on the algorithmic front. in terms of research and resources, in october of 2020, intel announced a three-year contract with sandia national laboratories (a government nuclear research lab) to advance neuromorphic computing beyond edge applications to progressively complex computational problems. the result will be the development of increasingly large neuromorphic systems with the intent of integrating over one billion neurons. creating a system with such neural capacity exhibits moderate uncertainty in the short-term. given a) the progress intel has made when it comes to scaling loihi and b) the di3culty of integrating an increasingly large number of neurons, the project has an uncertainty factor of around two on the lowand highend (i.e., the system will be developed within one half to two times the expected implementation time frame). neuromorphic computing will also experience strong research in edge applications (particularly energy e3cient robotics) as members of the inrc continue to deploy loihi in realtime audio and video processing tests.11 while gartner predicts that traditional computing will hit a wall in 2025 (specifically mentioning neuromorphic computing as the leading technology for a shift in the computing paradigm), it is unlikely that a robust commercial product will be available within the next five years due to software limitations. unlike traditional anns, snns lack a learning algorithm when it comes to parameter optimization: it is impossible to use gradient descent given the non-di4erentiable nature of spiking neurons (soni).12 yann lecun, the head of ai at facebook, is a leading skeptic when it comes to neuromorphic implementation, writing that it is “premature to build a chip” when snns face a fundamental training challenge.13 there is also skepticism regarding the performance of the underlying snns; specifically, skeptics point to the fact that snns do not outperform anns (e.g. convolutional neural networks) when it comes to traditional tests of image recognition (pfei4er and pfeil).14 medium term (5-10 years) while snns currently face learning challenges, it is expected that within the next five to ten years, researchers will develop novel and e3cient approaches to snn training. current advancements have largely been focused on implementing a form of transfer learning (i.e., a process by which parameters are optimized in one “place” and transferred to a new “place”). in march of 2019, terry sejnowski of the salk institute of la jolla and his team were able to train a standard recurrent neural network (rnn) via gradient descent methods and transfer the learned parameters to an snn (tiernan, “neuromorphic computing finds new life”). while parameter transferring is a step in the right direction, sejnowski admits that the next step—learning the snn itself—is still “in the early days,” but that there is “going to be another big shift, which will probably occur within the next five to ten years.” given both the di3culty and current progress of snn training, there is moderate uncertainty regarding how quickly development will occur on the algorithmic front, with a general uncertainty factor of one and one-half to two times on the high-end. if an e3cient learning rule is established, it is possible we will begin to see commercially viable neuromorphic chips within the decade, allowing for complex, energy e3cient tasks on the “edge” (e.g., smartphones). such commercial implementation, however, is highly dependent on the economic feasibility of widespread production, an aspect of neuromorphic chip development that is still in its infancy. long term (10+ years) although the future of snn training and the economic practicality of neuromorphic hardware is uncertain in the near-term, it is possible that beyond 2030 we begin to witness a shift in the current computing paradigm. such a shift would be characterized by the wide-spread use of neuromorphic chips in energy-constrained edge devices (e.g., mobile devices, computers, robotics, etc.). sejnowski predicts that once the software is developed and the hardware is “su3ciently cheap,” the implementation of such chips will be “ubiquitous...like sensors in phones.” abu sebastian, principal research sta4 member at ibm zurich, predicts that neuromorphic computing will play a vital role in the future feasibility of autonomous vehicles, making the point that you cannot “collect a frame, pass it )'!1/1+1). *2%)3*#* 0)*#& -% /#''--#.#+!'1+ !$%%#. ,$%+!1-%* (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 35 !"#$%&%$'()* *%&'#+)!, through to a deep neural net, and wait for the response when you’re traveling down a freeway at 70 miles an hour” (greengard). the long-term draw of neuromorphic computing, is energy-e3cient, on-board processing that is applicable to a wide range of technologies, from autonomous vehicles to independently operating interstellar spacecraft. neuromorphic chips are also poised to play a large role in future medical devices and artificial body parts that can benefit from increasingly fast, on-site processing. while neuromorphic architecture could become ubiquitous beyond 2030, it is important to note the false dichotomy between standard computer architecture and neuromorphic hardware.15 the promise of neuromorphic chips lies in the creation of an adaptive system capable of the e3cient processing of highly noisy, increasingly complex, spatio-temporal data, not the high-speed processing of predictable, deterministic processes (greengard). it is shortsighted, therefore, to view neuromorphic computing as a fundamental alternative to traditional computing: the two technologies are complementary to each other, excelling in tasks suited to their specific design. it is also important to note the uncertainty surrounding the long-term ubiquity of neuromorphic computing, namely, that there is a threeway race between neuromorphic computing, high performance computing, and quantum computing (vorhies).16 given the advancements of competing fields, it is possible the technology is outperformed before it is commercially viable (either by existing competitors or a novel approach yet to be developed). the future of computing, then, is largely undecided, with the only certainty being that our current computing paradigm will shift in response to the impending halt to gordon moore’s 1965 prediction. implications consumers and ai integration despite uncertainties regarding the path of computing, a future characterized by the widespread adoption of neuromorphic technology would have significant implications on the way consumers interact with digital devices. peter suma, co-ceo of applied brain research, imagines a world in which neuromorphic technology enables an extreme integration of artificial intelligence into our daily lives (ferry). suma describes a future in which a technology like siri transcends basic voice commands (i.e., a siri that listens and sees all of your conversations and interactions). if you were to ask siri what idea your friend melissa came up with regarding your wife’s birthday gift, the e3cient, continuous, on-board processing of data made possible by neuromorphic computing would enable siri to recall the conversation with your friend the week prior, bringing up both the idea and a variety of similar, personalized ideas. the salient point in suma’s eyes is that the e3ciency of neuromorphic chips would enable the local storage of information, resolving widespread privacy concerns regarding consumer data. from autonomous vehicles to smart homes and edge devices, suma’s point is clear: the promise of neuromorphic technology is a future characterized by the extreme integration of artificial intelligence into our daily lives. semiconductor industry research scientist at hewlett packard enterprise, suhas kumar, summarizes the state of computing as a “huge rush to find something” that can continue the improvement in computer science that we have witnessed the past half century. semiconductor manufacturers, therefore, are faced with a critical choice of whether to invest in risky chip research to compete in a future characterized by advanced computing technologies. while ibm has seen success with its truenorth system, intel has exhibited the strongest commitment to neuromorphic research, evidenced by its continued progress in creating increasingly scalable neuromorphic systems. intel’s competitors are also faced with the challenge of determining the type of research they wish to undertake (i.e., whether they believe high performance or quantum computing will ultimately outperform the neuromorphic approach). regardless, the challenge is clear: the computing industry will witness a shift in the coming decades, and the companies that lead this shift will capitalize on the widespread adoption of their novel technology. “the promise of neuromorphic chips lies in the cration of an adaptive system capable of the e4cient processing of highly noisy, increasingly complex, spatio-temporal data” 36 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 large technology firms beyond the semiconductor industry, large technology companies (e.g., google, facebook, amazon, etc.) are faced with the decision to embark upon internal research regarding computing hardware. as deep learning processes continue to surpass the capabilities of existing technology, companies with large workloads and available capital are faced with the decision of whether to invest internally in chip development. in february of 2019, facebook’s yann lecun briefly described “internal activities” the firm was taking to address the growing computational divide, referencing google’s tensor processing unit as another example of the type of internal e4orts large technology firms are capable of taking (tiernan, “facebook’s yann lecun”). while the future is uncertain, it is clear there is a demand for change, and the feasibility of neuromorphic hardware should figure prominently in the minds of firm leaders who are considering undertaking or continuing internal development activities. conclusion from computer science and biology to mathematics, physics, and electrical engineering, neuromorphic computing is a cross-disciplinary challenge that requires a fundamental rethinking of the way computers operate. neuromorphic research, however, is progressing: firms like intel are leading the charge in chip development, and the success of their e4orts will have large-scale implications on consumers, the semiconductor industry, and technology firms alike. it is vital, therefore, that business leaders consider the possibilities and threats of this novel technology, understanding that the future computing paradigm will be decided by innovative firms who are rethinking current processes. !'$'&"!1. the term neuromorphic means “taking the form of the brain” (fulton iii). intel (a leader in neuromorphic research) summarizes neuromorphic technology as “chips that function less like traditional computers and more like the human brain” (“intel newsroom–neuromorphic computing”). 2. it can be argued that the original notion of neuromorphic computing was first proposed in alan turing’s 1948 paper, intelligent machinery. however, the concept is typically attributed to carver mead’s 1989 analog vlsi and neural systems, a paper in which mead argued that chips with an increasingly dense collection of transistors could best communicate via a replication of the brain’s neural wiring. 3. the downside of traditional computer architecture is typically referred to as the von neumann bottleneck—the notion that despite increases in processing speed, processors are forced to remain idle while data is transferred to and from the memory of a chip, resulting in increased latency. 4. neuromorphic chips employ analog circuitry to transfer electrical signals between “neurons.” the idea is that the system will be able to modulate the amount of electricity flowing between nodes, mimicking the fact that brain signals naturally have varying degrees of strength. 5. a key emphasis of neuromorphic computing is the selective mapping of neural connections. in order to operate at maximum e3ciency, the brain uses only the specific neurons and synapses necessary to perform a given task. neuromorphic systems, therefore, seek to emulate this e3ciency by strategically and selectively forming connections between neighboring neurons. 6. each “spike” in an snn is a single-bit impulse that is analogous to an action potential in a naturally occurring neuron. a given node in the network is capable of spiking only if a state variable exceeds a given threshold. 7. in fully-connected anns, all nodes compute and send their output to the next layer at each time step, even if nothing has significantly changed, making the overall network computationally expensive. conversely, snns employ neurons that process input separately and are only connected to local neighbors, implying that the entire layer does not need to be calculated for information to proceed to the next layer. 8. in 1965 intel’s co-founder gordon moore predicted that the number of transistors that could be placed on an integrated circuit would double every two years while costs remain constant / decline. 9. loihi comprises 128 neuromorphic cores, 131,000 “neurons”, and 130 million “synapses” (connections). the chip is named after an active submarine volcano o4 the coast of hawaii that is set to emerge one day. the idea is that neuromorphic computing is analogously “emerging” and will eventually break the “surface” of the current computing environment. 10. in december 2018 intel announced the creation of kapoho bay, intel’s smallest neuromorphic system consisting of two loihi chips. in july of 2019 intel was able to scale loihi into their 64-chip pohoiki beach, representing the neural capacity of 8 million neurons. most recently, intel debuted its 768-chip pohoiki springs with a collective neural capacity of 100 million neurons. the chips reside in a chassis the size of five standard servers and is provided to members of the intel neuromorphic research community via a cloud-based system. intel hopes it will emerge as a “tool for researchers to develop and characterize new neuroinspired algorithms for real-time processing, problem solving, adaptation and learning” (“intel newsroom–pohoiki springs”). 11. in july of 2020 the national university of singapore ran an event-driven, visual-tactile perception test on intel’s loihi chip 37 !"#$%&%$'()* *%&'#+)!, as well as various gpu systems to compare power consumption (russel). the loihi test chip slightly outperformed the gpu systems (in inferences per second) at significantly lower power consumption. it is important to note that loihi’s strong performance is largely the result of the entire system (in this case, robotic sensors, data formats, algorithms, and the loihi architecture) being “re-engineered in an event-based paradigm” (mike davies, director of neuromorphic research at intel. see russel). put simply, when the system is consistent with loihi’s event-based architecture, neuromorphic hardware outperforms traditional gpu’s when it comes to energy e3ciency. 12. existing deep learning algorithms depend on stochastic gradient descent and error backpropagation to e3ciently “learn” a given ann. since snns operate in discontinuous, non-di4erentiable spikes, it is impossible to apply existing learning rules directly to snn training (pfei4er and pfeil). 13. at the 2019 international solid state circuits conference in san francisco, lecun heavily criticized neuromorphic computing in his opening keynote address. while intel’s mike davies agrees that there is a lot of progress to be made on the algorithmic front, which he claims is “holding back the field,” yann’s criticism resulted in a fireback from davies citing the e3cacy of neuromorphic chips in a december report produced by applied brain research of waterloo, ontario. davies’s fireback was met with a detailed facebook post by lecun outlining the issues he sees with neuromorphic hardware, specifically citing the lack of an e3cient training algorithm. 14. it is important to point out that snns are not optimized for performance on existing ai benchmarks (e.g., imagenet). just how the brain is not optimized (but capable of) classifying an image that is quickly flashed on the retina, snns struggle with the typical frame-based test of software accuracy. the evaluation of snns, therefore, requires benchmark testing that emphasizes the functionality of spiking networks—i.e., “making decisions based on continuous input streams while moving in the real world” (pfei4er and pfeil). 15. dan hutcheson, ceo of vlsi research (an independent market analysis and consulting firm that tracks the semiconductor industry), describes the false dichotomy as follows: “today’s computers are very good at what they do. they will continue to outperform neuromorphic computing systems for conventional processing tasks. the technologies are complementary and so they will coexist.” adam stieg, associate director of the california nanosystems institute at the university of california at los angeles, further describes how “conventional von neumann-based computing systems” perform very well with “high-speed, predictable, deterministic processes,” but struggle with increasing complexity. the promise of neuromorphic computing, therefore, is the opening up of “an entirely new and unexplored area of computing”—one that allows us to “do things with computers that we couldn’t have imagined in the past” (see greengard). 16. high-performance computing (hpc) can be generalized as a process of optimizing chip architecture for existing deep learning algorithms (vorhies). the majority of attention is currently placed on hpc, with large technology firms beginning to enter the chip manufacturing field by developing their own proprietary chips (e.g., google’s tensor processing unit) (tiernan, “facebook’s yann lecun”). conversely, quantum computing is analogous to neuromorphic computing in that it represents a rethinking of existing computer architecture. rather than operating in bits (0 or 1), quantum computing employs quantum bits (qubits) that can be set to 0, 1, or both simultaneously (cho). +!(!+!'5!best, jo. “neuromorphic computing could solve the tech industry’s looming crisis.” zdnet, 5 oct. 2020, ` www.zdnet.com/article/neuromorphic-computing-couldsolve-the-tech-industrys-looming-crisis/. blain, loz. “intel’s neuromorphic loihi chip is rapidly learning to discern smells.” new atlas, 17 mar. 2020, newatlas.com/science/intel-neuromorphic-loihi-smells/. cho, adrian. “the biggest flipping challenge in quantum computing.” science, the american association for the advancement of science, 9 july 2020, www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/biggest-flipping-challengequantum-computing. davies, mike, et al. “2018 ces: neuromorphic computing mimics the human brain.” youtube, intel newsroom, 8 jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gxncz26uhyy&feature=emb_title. ferry, je4. “the future of ai is neuromorphic.” circuit insight, www.circuitinsight.com/programs/55035.html. fulton iii, scott. “what neuromorphic engineering is, and why it’s triggered an analog revolution.” zdnet, 8 feb. 2019, www.zdnet.com/article/what-neuromorphicengineering-is-and-why-its-triggered-an-analog-revolution/. 38 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 greengard, samuel. “neuromorphic chips take shape.” communications of the acm, 1 aug. 2020, cacm.acm. org/magazines/2020/8/246356-neuromorphic-chipstake-shape/fulltext. hamblen, matt. “intel shares pohoiki springs chassis with ai researchers.” fierceelectronics, 18 mar. 2020, www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/intel-shares-pohoiki-springs-chassis-ai-researchers. irving, michael. “artificial synapses fill the gaps for brainier computer chips.” new atlas, 23 jan. 2018, newatl a s . c o m / n e u r o m o r p h i c c h i p m i t / 5 3 0 8 1 / ? i t m _ source=newatlas. jhonsa, eric. “intel teams with uncle sam to research chip packages, ‘neuromorphic’ systems.” thestreet, 2 oct. 2020, www.thestreet.com/investing/intel-teamswith-uncle-sam-to-research-chip-packages-neuromorphicsystems-loihi-foveros-emib. lecun, yann. issc keynote address. facebook, 23 feb. 2019, https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1015 5808247852143&id=722677142. molter, tim. “a brief history of neuromorphic computing.” knowm.org, 4 apr. 2015, knowm. org/a-brief-history-of-neuromorphic-computing/. muir, dylan. “putting the neural back into networks.” medium, 15 jan. 2020, medium.com/neuromorphic-intelligence/putting-the-neural-back-into-networks-f0fdb19a5efd. norman, jeremy m. “carver mead writes the first book on neuromorphic computing.” carver mead writes the first book on neuromorphic computing : history of information, 25 oct. 2020, www.historyofinformation.com/ detail.php?id=3900. panetta, kasey. “gartner top 10 strategic predictions for 2021 and beyond.” smarter with gartner, 21 oct. 2020, www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top10-strategic-predictions-for-2021-and-beyond/. pfei4er, michael, and thomas pfeil. “deep learning with spiking neurons: opportunities and challenges.” frontiers in neuroscience vol. 12 774. 25 oct. 2018, doi:10.3389/ fnins.2018.00774. ray, tiernan. “facebook’s yann lecun says ‘internal activity’ proceeds on ai chips.” zdnet, 18 feb. 2019, www. zdnet.com/article/facebooks-yann-lecun-says-internal-activity-proceeds-on-ai-chips/. ray, tiernan. “intel’s neuro guru slams deep learning: ‘it’s not actually learning’.” zdnet, 23 feb. 2019, www. zdnet.com/article/intels-neuro-guru-slams-deep-learningits-not-actually-learning/. ray, tiernan. “neuromorphic computing finds new life in machine learning.” zdnet, 1 july 2019, www.zdnet. com/article/neuromorphic-computing-finds-new-life-inmachine-learning/. rouse, margaret. “what is neuromorphic computing?” searchenterpriseai, techtarget, 11 feb. 2020, searchenterpriseai.techtarget.com/definition/neuromorphic-computing. russell, john. “get a grip: intel neuromorphic chip used to give robotics arm a sense of touch.” hpcwire, 17 july 2020, www.hpcwire.com/2020/07/15/get-a-grip-intelneuromorphic-chip-used-to-give-robotics-arm-a-sense-oftouch/. soni, devin. “spiking neural networks, the next generation of machine learning.” medium, towards data science, 16 july 2019, https://towardsdatascience.com/spiking-neural-networks-the-next-generation-of-machinelearning-84e167f4eb2b vorhies, william. “the three way race to the future of ai. quantum vs. neuromorphic vs. high performance computing.” data science central, tech target, 14 nov. 2017, www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/thethree-way-race-to-the-future-of-ai-quantum-vs-neuromorphic-vs. wiggers, kyle. “intel debuts pohoiki springs, a powerful neuromorphic research system for ai workloads.” venturebeat, 18 mar. 2020, venturebeat.com/2020/03/18/intel-debuts-pohoiki-springs-a-powerful-neuromorphic-research-system-for-ai-workloads/. “neuromorphic computing next generation of ai.” intel–neuromorphic computing, intel, 2020, www.intel. com/content/www/us/en/research/neuromorphic-computing.html. 39 !"#$%&%$'()* *%&'#+)!, “intel and sandia national labs collaborate on neuromorphic computing.” intel newsroom, intel, 2 oct. 2020, newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-sandia-national-labsneuromorphic-computing/. “intel scales neuromorphic research system to 100 million neurons.” intel newsroom, intel, 18 mar. 2020, newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-scales-neuromorphic-research-system-100-million-neurons/. “intel’s pohoiki beach, a 64-chip neuromorphic system, delivers breakthrough results in research tests.” intel newsroom, intel, 15 july 2019, newsroom.intel.com/ news/intels-pohoiki-beach-64-chip-neuromorphic-system-delivers-breakthrough-results-research-tests/. “loihi intel.” wikichip, 15 july 2019, en.wikichip.org/ wiki/intel/loihi. 40 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 */-" &( 6+"7&+8 !"# $%!!&# '( !"# )'**# +'*,+: !"# )!'-. '( /,&&,%* *+(%01#%2 © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 (,34-# 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. #%)!#5-'+&%*%!,'2 '( 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old (,34-# 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. 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"#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e3ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e3ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 6+"7&+8 +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o3ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! '( 64)!,+# %*'23 '!"#-) %22'42+#0 23 +-,*,2%& +"%-3#) © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %*#-,+% 3&'$%& !-%0# 0#(,+,! © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 +"%-&#) +'43"&,2, &#%0#'( !"# +"-,)!,%2 (-'2! © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 3#-*%2 %*#-,+%2 $420 -%&&., 2#/ .'-9, *%0,)'2 )74%-# 3%-#2, (#$ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o3ce of the chief signal o3cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us for generations, wonder woman has been a staple of both the comic book industry and popular feminist discourse. her deeply feminist creators, william moulton marston, elizabeth holloway marston, and olive bryne, would surely be proud of how their character has maintained her relevancy in american life. however, the recent wonder woman movie seems to abandon those roots, and exposes a bleaker side of modern feminism. the rising commodification of feminism and the stubbornness of derogatory representations of women in cinema are evident in the film, in spite of its immediate adoption as a feminist victory. the lasso of truth a critique of feminist portrayals in wonder woman sophia fox wielding her lasso of truth and flying in her invisible airplane, the amazonian enigma that is wonder woman still holds the position as the most prominent female superhero of all time. the brainchild of william moulton marston, his wife elizabeth holloway marston, and his live-in mistress olive bryne, wonder woman was born of a uniquely feminist mindset. as harvard professor jill lepore argues in her novel, the secret history of wonder woman, the larger-than-life fictional character acts as a link between the various stages of the feminist movement. exploding back into popularity in 2017 with a feature film of the same name, wonder woman, as depicted on screen as well as in text, can be read as a comment on modern feminism just as much as a link to the movement’s past. the depiction of wonder woman in 2017 illuminates the desirability and popularity of feminism, as well as its commodification and the lack of progress surrounding representations of women in hollywood. one key aspect of the 2017 wonder woman movie is the ways in which it shines a light on the rising popularity of feminism. due to celebrity endorsement, feminism has gained immense popularity, both among supporters and dissenters, in the past few years. 2014 in particular was seen as a watershed year for the feminist movement. as charlotte alter described in her article for time magazine, “this may have been the best year for women since the dawn of time,” feminism took center stage at nearly every level of american society. malala yousafzai made international headlines when she became the youngest recipient of the nobel peace prize, janet yellen became the first woman to head the federal reserve, president barack obama established a task force to address sexual assault on college campuses, maryam mirzakhani became the first woman to win the fields medal for mathematics, and disney’s frozen became the highest grossing animated movie in history (alter, 2014). all of these achievements, however, have taken a backseat to two other moments in 2014: the beginning of emma watson’s #heforshe campaign (and the subsequent wave of male actors who pledged their support), and beyoncé’s influential performance at the video music awards . the latter of the two has produced images that, to this day, are often evoked in support of the feminist movement: beyoncé backlit by a giant video screen simply displaying the word “feminist.” in similar ways, celebrity endorsement has become the dominant conversation of modern feminism. the marketing power of celebrities has, somewhat inadvertently, been applied to feminism. just as the kardashians sell makeup products, beyoncé has helped to sell an ideology simply by attaching her image to it. people may recognize the names elizabeth cady stanton, sojourner truth, betty friedan, and gloria steinem, but reading their works has become far less important than being able to boldly proclaim oneself a feminist, just like their favorite celebrity. due to the overall rise in the popularity of modern feminism, claiming the title for oneself is met with less resistance than in the early years of the movement. this glorification of the title of “feminist” does not, however, indicate a total abandonment of content-based feminism. less restrictive access to birth control, abortion rights, increasing presence of women in traditionally maledominated fields, and most recently, low awareness of prevalent sexual harassment and assault are all issues that a feminist quote from beyoncé (courtesy of flickr) “the marketing power of celebrities has, somewhat inadvertently, been applied to the feminist movement. ” 38 elements : : spring 2018 feminists champion. within the movement itself, people are adopting a focus on greater intersectionality, especially racial inclusivity, as the new standard for feminism. the continuation of issue-focused feminism is perhaps best encapsulated in the women’s march, one of the largest marches in u.s. history, which extended to several other countries and continents, and focused on a wide range of women’s issues and their potential future under the trump administration (garfield, 2017). the main difference between the past of the feminist movement and its current form is that feminism in the later years of the 21st century is not centered around one particular issue, or group of issues, so much as ideals and self-assigned labels. a feminist can still be defined by the words of nigerian writer chimamanda ngozi adichie as “a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes” (adichie, 2012). it can just as easily be described as a woman who believes in herself and wants to be called a feminist. thanks in large part to celebrity endorsements, feminism is no longer solely defined by the issue, or issues, at its center. but how does this relate to wonder woman? to address this question, it is critical to understand that wonder woman herself is the ultimate feminist. as jill lepore describes in her book, the secret history of wonder woman, the character was forged in the fires of the early feminist movement by william moulton marston and his lovers, elizabeth holloway marston and olive bryne. as lepore states, “[wonder woman is] the missing link in a chain of events that begins with the woman suffrage campaigns of the 1910s and ends with the troubled place of feminism fully a century later. feminism made wonder woman. and then wonder woman remade feminism, which hasn’t been altogether good for feminism” (lepore, 2015). it is easy to assume that the new wonder woman movie was a way of bringing an old character into the modern age, but this notion is incorrect. the three creators of the amazonian princess were deeply embedded in the feminist movement of the time, and the character they made is an intentional culmination of these ideologies. feminism did in fact make wonder woman, and wonder woman in turn molded the later ages of the feminist movement. this ability to both revise feminism, as well as show the movement for what it is, is on full display in the new wonder woman movie. the current age of feminism is one of massive popularity and titles, and the movie exemplified that reality. even before its release, wonder woman was largely heralded as a feminist triumph. the fact that it is the first major superhero movie with a female lead in the current age of superhero franchises, and that the film performed exceptionally well at the box office, was enough for feminist to claim it as their own (woerner, 2017). wonder woman made feminism in this case; most people did not feel the need to see the movie to pass judgement on it, the title of “wonder woman” seems to have automatically made it a feminist movie. even the bechdel test website engaged in this behavior, giving the film a passing grade before it was released (although it did later prove that evaluation correct). the wonder woman movie itself was popular because of the popularity of feminism, and in turn, feminism gained more popularity because of the constant discussion of the film as a feminist triumph. this cyclic relationship between feminism and wonder woman demonstrates both the popularity of feminism, as well as wonder woman’s permanent place within the movement. the fact that the wonder woman movie was heralded as a feminist success long before it was even released demonstrates the preemption of labels, rather than substance, in modern feminism. another aspect of modern feminism highlighted by the film is the commodification of the movement. as the movement itself has gained popularity, the prevalence of feminist products has too. a symbol of the women’s march was the ‘pussy hat’ a pink knit cap with cat ears, conveniently available for purchase on amazon (garfield, 2017). buttons with phrases such as ‘this is what a feminist looks like’ are also common, and even certain websites, like wildfang.com, sell almost exclusively feminist products. it seems that people do not just want to be feminists, they want to proclaim that they are. the wonder woman movie did not escape this phenomenon, but rather actively engaged it. in preparation for the film, dc celebrated the 75-year anniversary of the creation of wonder woman by releasing a line of wonder woman themed products. wonder woman, in the context of the 2017 film, was also licensed to thinkthin protein bars, a move that was widely criticized (loughrey, 2017). the wonder woman movie was not just made; it was actively sold through other products targeted at women. although this is similar to the tactics dc uses with its other superhero movies, the image of wonder woman as a feminist icon was often used in branding. while the film itself ultimately fails to live up to the feminist hype surrounding it, the marketing of the film relies heavily on its being accepted as feminist. dc, after the lukewarm receptions of suicide squad and batman vs su39 the lasso of truth perman, needed a movie that could bring them commercial success. based on the current moment in feminism, they saw their opportunity with wonder woman, and focused their marketing campaign accordingly (thilk, 2017). the film trailer focuses heavily on the relationship between diana price and her mother, while minimizing the role of the men that feature prominently in the actual film. additionally, the trailer devotes time to a relatively minor scene in the film where diana expresses discomfort with traditional women’s fashion, a moment that actively comments on gender roles but does not really matter to the plot as a whole. to close out the subliminal messaging of the trailer, a scene of men referring to diana as a ‘young woman’ is directly followed by a scene of her fighting other men and winning (jenkins, 2017). the overall statement of the trailer is clear: this is a movie about a strong woman, so you should pay money to come see it. in fact, the majority of the marketing campaign and press coverage of the film focused on gal gadot herself rather than her character. dc was criticized for not producing as wide of a marketing campaign as they have for their past several movies, but the popularity of gal gadot herself gave the company plenty of free press (thilk, 2017). the narrative became gal gadot, the beautiful former model and israeli soldier who was pregnant for some of the reshoots of the movie, as wonder woman. this focus on the actress, and her physical appearance, covers up the feminist history of wonder woman as a character for the sake of making the most profit possible. the success of this marketing tactic, making wonder woman just feminist enough to be widely popular, demonstrates how wonder woman has again shaped feminism in ways that are not altogether good proving it to be a highly profitable brand. perhaps the most important thing the wonder woman movie says about modern feminism is that the representation of women in hollywood, particularly the use of the virgin-whore dichotomy and downplaying female intelligence, has not seen much progress. there are a few glaring flaws with the movie, such as wonder woman’s perpetually and improbably perfect hair, the fact that almost every male character in the move makes some sort of comment on her physical appearance, and the perplexing reality that no character ever uses the name wonder woman (opting instead to call her diana prince, an alias given to her by a man) (jenkins, 2017). no matter how frustrating or unfortunate these plot points are, the more damaging issues with the film are the subtler ways in which long standing portrayals of women on the silver screen are reinforced. one of the most significant issues with the film is its engagement with the virgin-whore dichotomy. as molly haskell explains in her book, from reverence to rape: the treatment of women in the movies, “the whore-virgin dichotomy took hold with a vengeance in the uptight fifties…on the one hand, the tarts and tootsies played by monroe, taylor, russell...were incapable of an intelligent thought or a lapse of sexual appetite; on the other, the gamines, golightlys, and the virgins played by hepburn, kelly, doris day, and debbie reynolds were equally incapable of a base instinct or the hint of sexual appetite” (lepore, 2015). this manifests in wonder woman with diana being portrayed as the stereotypical naïve virgin. as soon as diana and her love interest steve trevor are left alone, the topic of heteronormative sex quickly ensues (jenkins, 2017). although diana states that she is thoroughly read on the topic of sex and understands it from an academic standpoint, she fails to grasp other concepts such as marriage, and is at one point so thoroughly fascinated with a baby that she runs across a street to swoon over it (jenkins, 2017). this scene, and her overall portrayal as a virgin, are problematic for several reasons. painting diana as an almost helplessly naïve woman makes her seem much more like the damsel in distress than the hero of the film, thus negating its importance as a female-led superhero film. additionally, the character of wonder woman has traditionally been portrayed as queer, and not necessarily a virgin. although the film makes a a cover from the wonder woman comic (courtesy of flickr) 40 elements : : spring 2018 small nod to this history, it otherwise exchanges it in favor of stark heteronormativity, and characters that exemplify traditional gender roles (jenkins, 2017). wonder woman, for all her knowledge and grit, is painted as completely oblivious in the face of the constant sexual advances made towards her. although the movie does complicate the archetype of naive virgin with a half-baked romance between diana and steve, another digression from the spirit of the original wonder woman character, it does so in one of the least feminist ways possible. diana and steve consummate their barely developed romance in the middle of a warzone, a scene that is, at best, haphazardly thrown into the plot of the film. marginal progress, in this case, is as useful as no progress at all. yes, the movie has a female lead, and yes, she is not a perfect mold of the naïve virgin, but she is portrayed as sexually inept in ways that serve no positive purpose to the film as a whole. in spite of its feminist hype, wonder woman does little to advance the presentation of women in film. sex is not the only realm in which wonder woman exposes the lack of progress in presentations of women in film. the constant minimization of wonder woman’s supposed intelligence falls in line with another of haskell’s observations of hollywood. haskell states that in the 1950’s and 60’s, “audiences for the most part were not interested in seeing, and hollywood was not interested in sponsoring, a smart, ambitious woman as a popular heroine. a woman who could compete and conceivably win in a man’s world would defy emotional gravity, would go against the grain of prevailing notions about the female sex. a woman’s intelligence was the equivalent of a man’s penis: something to be kept out of sight” (haskell, 2016). again, wonder woman attempts, but ultimately fails, to defy this reality. although wonder woman clearly explains, as she is sailing away from paradise island, that in addition to reading the twelve-volume academic study of sex she also speaks over one hundred languages, this intelligence is nowhere to be found in the rest of the film (jenkins, 2017). diana’s complete inability to understand the human world, ranging from revolving doors to assuming that all women are battle trained just as she is, portrays her as a fool. although these moments can arguably be seen as played for comedic effect, their prevalence throughout the film leaves little to be found humorous. charging down the streets of london wielding a sword, demanding to be taken to the front at once, and insisting on defeating ares shows a complete lack of comprehending social ques unbecoming to a character of her level of intelligence (jenkins, 2017). even wonder woman’s characteristic crusade for truth and justice is portrayed as an extreme form of innocence bordering on stupidity. this portrayal, although in line with the traditions of hollywood, completely disregards the historical foundations in which the character was created, and the people who created her. although she is in many ways equal, or superior, to the men surrounding her in the film, diana prince is not allowed to be irrefutably better than them. the watering-down of her intelligence levels her with the gritty men she fights alongside, an ironic portrayal considering william moulton marston believed firmly in the intellectual and moral superiority of women. one may ask why hollywood ignored much of wonder woman’s key characteristics. the answer lies in dc’s bottom line: a truly feminist hero would not entice the typically male audience of superhero movies, and thus would not make as much money at the box office. as charlotte e. howell explains in her essay “‘tricky’ connotations: wonder woman as dc’s brand distributer,” wonder woman was indebted to “bohemianism, socialism, free love, androgyny, sex radicalism, and feminism.” (lepore, 2015). overall, a pretty tough sell to an industry trying to make billions of dollars on a superhero movie. moreover, in the 1970s, she became for many the face of the second-wave feminist movement, appearing on the inaugural cover in july 1972 of ms. magazine and used as a key symbol in feminist debates.9 … thus, franchise branding of wonder woman often seeks to minimize that which makes her character unique: her close ties to feminism, which are seen industrially as unmarketable, especially to male superhero fans (howell, 2015). not only were wonder woman’s roots sacrificed for the plot of a movie, they were also sacrificed at the altar of capitalism and male opinion. the wonder woman movie “marginal progress, in this case, is as useful as no progress at all.” 41 the lasso of truth does not just show the commodification of feminism; it actively engages in it. the film as a whole creates a strange dichotomyit uses feminism to make more money, but rejects feminism in order to make more money. in the process, it perpetuates a degrading view of women while dodging criticism by having women as the lead role and director of the film. on the surface, wonder woman is a groundbreaking film and a success for the feminist movement. upon closer inspection, however, it is little more than an exploitation of feminism, and a complete rejection of the roots of wonder woman’s character. in 2017, one of history’s greatest feminist icons was finally brought to the silver screen. as the creation of william moulton marston, elizabeth holloway marston, and olive bryne, wonder woman was created as a reflection of the feminist movements of the 1910’s and 1920’s. as jill lepore argues, she was taken up by later feminist movements and served as the link between the feminist movement’s past and present. in the turbulent times of 2017, wonder woman serves as much as a representation of the past as a way to interpret the current moment of feminism. the wild popularity of the movie reflects the popularity of feminism as a whole, while its marketing campaign shows the recent commodification of the movement. the film itself, however, contains several troubling aspects that exemplify how little progress has been made in the representations of women in hollywood. overall, the new wonder woman movie both demonstrates and embodies feminism in its newest form. 42 elements : : spring 2018 references adichie, chimamanda ngozi. “we should all be feminists.” www.ted.com, ted conferences, llc, nov. 2012. alter, charlotte. “2014: the best year for women since the dawn of time.” time, time, 23 dec. 2014, time. com/3639944/feminism-2014-womens-rights-ray-ricebill-cosby/. barker, andrew. “film review: ‘.’” variety, variety media llc, 30 may 2017, variety.com/2017/film/reviews/film-review-wonder-woman-1202446320/. “bechdel test movie list.” wonder woman bechdel test movie list, 4 nov. 2016, bechdeltest.com/view/7241/wonder_woman/. berlatsky, noah. “the free-love experiment that created wonder woman.” the atlantic, atlantic media company, 18 oct. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/10/wonder-womans-feminism/381579/. caprino, kathy. “what is feminism, and why do so many women and men hate it?” forbes, forbes magazine, 9 m a r. 2 0 1 7, w w w. f o r b e s . c o m / s i t e s / k a t h y c a p r i no/2017/03/08/what-is-feminism-and-why-do-so-manywomen-and-men-hate-it/#1981d54a7e8e. caranicas, peter. “‘wonder woman’ dp matthew jensen reteams with patty jenkins, chris pine on tv show.” variety, variety media llc, 15 nov. 2017, variety.com/2017/tv/ news/wonder-woman-matthew-jensen-patty-jenkinschris-pine-1202614922/. dockterman, eliana. “beyoncé: lessons in modern feminism.” time, time, 17 dec. 2013, time.com/1851/flawless5-lessons-in-modern-feminism-from-beyonce/. fernandez, matt. “james cameron calls ‘wonder woman’ a ‘step backwards’ for female protagonists.” variety, variety media llc, 24 aug. 2017, variety.com/2017/film/news/ james-cameron-wonder-woman-praise-misguided-stepbackwards-1202538440/. garfield, leanna. “the 11 biggest marches and protests in american history.” business insider, business insider, 8 feb. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/largest-marches-ushistory-2017-2/#the-womens-march-on-washington-january-21-2017-11. haskell, molly. “introduction, chapter 1.” from reverence to rape: the treatment of women in the movies, u. of chicago p., 2016, pp. xiii-4. howell, charlotte e. “‘tricky’ connotations: wonder woman as dc’s brand distributer.” cinema journal, vol. 55, no. 1, 2015, muse-jhu-edu.proxy.bc.edu/article/595612. jenkins, patty, director. wonder woman. dc, 2017. lepore, jill. the secret history of wonder woman. scribe, 2015. lepore, jill. “the surprising origin story of wonder woman.” smithsonian.com, smithsonian institution, 1 oct. 2014, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/origin-story-wonder-woman-180952710/. loughrey, clarisse. “wonder woman film makes questionable advertising choice by partnering with weight loss brand.” the independent, independent digital news and media, 4 may 2017, www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/wonder-woman-film-gal-gadot-advertising-thinkthin-weight-loss-brand-backlash-a7718191. html. woerner, meredith. “the world needs wonder woman. director patty jenkins explains why.” www.latimes.com, 30 may 2017, www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-wonder-woman-patty-jenkins-20170530-story.html. “wonder woman – official movie site – trailer, final.” edited by dc, wonder woman – official movie site, warner bros, wonderwomanfilm.com/. thilk, chris. “why the marketing of wonder woman at warner bros. is coming under fire.” – adweek, adweek, 17 may 2017, www.adweek.com/creativity/why-the-marketing-of43 the lasso of truth mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affirms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e elements spring 2013 volume 9 : : issue 1 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. the next deadline is wednesday, april 10, 2013. all submissions can be sent to elements.submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © bobbie hanvey photographic archives, john j. burns library, boston college periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 9, issue 1, spring 2013 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by the sheridan press, 450 fame avenue, hanover, pa 17331 copyright © 2013 by the trustees of boston college elements staff editor-in-chief nick cochran-caggiano managing editor emily simon deputy editor ali mcdonald layout editor brandon bavier humanities grace west, senior editor eric tracz, senior editor ali mcdonald, editor patty owens, editor marie pellissier, editor lydia orr, editor marissa maldonado, editor anna whitman. editor sciences brandon bavier, senior editor corleone delaveris, senior editor frank a. direnno, editor alexander tingle, editor saljooq m. asif, editor ellen white, editor alex gilligan, editor web design mike henry, senior editor faculty advisor elizabeth chadwick conflict is considered by many to be an inherent part of human existence. as far back as long as we have been considered homo sapiens —“wise men”— there is evidence of conflict. the bible begins with creation. second comes the fall from grace, and thirdly, in gen 4, violent conflict begins. cain slays his brother abel in the first violent death in human history. from that act, humanity grew in violence, swelling in its depravity until god became so displeased that he opened the firmament and allowed the waters to sweep over the earth, purging evil with chaos. our world today faces conflict and violence at every turn. in the last year, we have witnessed conflicts in mali and syria as well as repeated acts of horrific violence at home in the united states. in the selection process, we received a flood of submissions analyzing a great variety of conflicts. the elements staff chose to pick the strongest of those articles and present a, albeit unintentionally, themed issue. i am proud to present articles that approach conflict in a number of ways. on the cover, we have the excellent work of brendon anderson in “with heart and hand and sword and shield: coping with tragedy in northern ireland through song.” as the name describes, this piece addresses some of the atrocities of northern ireland and approaches the tremendous body of music that has been inspired as a result. sean keeley looked at vichy france, to some of the great works of cinema that came to exist under the thumb of nazi censorship. from censorship to propaganda, the media is universally understood to be critical in conflicts. “in the fine details of broad brushstrokes,” zachary herhold analyzes the role of the bbc in world war two propaganda. many have heard the song “christmas in the trenches” a folk ballad to the miraculous night december 24, 1914 when soldiers of both sides of the great war played football (soccer) before trading “chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home.” matt farnum recounts a less heartwarming tale, of captain neville of the east surrey regiment kicking his football into no man’s land, beginning a suicide charge with a punt. this story, and the culture behind it, are the subject of farnum’s excellent: “playing the greater game”. with all of these wonderful articles, i am proud to present this, the first issue of volume 9 of elements. sincerely, nicholas c. cochran-caggiano editor-in-chief editor’s note contents “with heart and hand and sword and shield”: coping with tragedy in northern ireland through song brendon anderson analyzing the music of the troubles to understand its power and place in this dark and difficult period of irish history. “what preyed on gatsby”: feminine sentimentality in a heteronormative society emily simon performing a queer theory reading of the social environment and narrative techniques at work in f. scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby. a possible cure: reviewing the efficacy of the gabab agonist baclofen for substance dependence disorders andrew abbate assessing the ability of the gabab agonist baclofen to treat substance dependence disorders. playing the greater game: the influence of sport on the psyche of the boys of britain during the great war matt farnum considering the relationship between england’s sporting culture and british perceptions of world war i. 10 21 27 37 perspectives7 the fine details of broad brushstrokes: propaganda and the bbc in world war ii zachary herhold challenging the british broadcasting corporation’s reputation as an autonomous and unbiased news source during world war ii. an occupied cinema: political intimations in three popular films of vichy france sean keeley probing possible political undercurrents in the creation and reception of three popular films of the vichy period. author biographies list of artwork 75 64 87 89 an obsolete paradox: the self-defeating flaw of south korea’s “catch-up” economic model han-sam lee examining the past successes of south korea’s “catch-up” economic model and its possible hindrance to future economic growth. 51 biased? “it goes without saying” by corleone delaveris the sheer volume and variety of news and information available today is staggering. while this is a benefit, it also poses a challenge to anyone attempting to sift through the bulk of the information to find what is relevant or important. however, mainstream media outlets remain the most prevalent source of information for those citizens want to be well informed. as a result, it is crucial that all information that is received be put into a larger perspective because of possible bias. for example, in the 2012 us presidential election, vice-presidential candidate paul ryan was quoted as saying that, “it goes without saying there is definitely media bias.” ryan was referring to the perceived liberal media bias in american society, and his assessment is likely correct.1 in this same new york times article, the author, david carr, discussed an open letter to the left-wing media from the right wing media signed by the “conservative royalty.” the word choice hardly paints conservatives in a flattering light.2 however, in an open letter to the biased news media, many well-known media conservatives stated that the liberal media is “rigging the election and taking sides in order to predetermine the outcome”: evidence that biased allegations also exist in the conservative media.3 thus, regardless of which view holds more of the truth, bias is undoubtedly present in media. but what happens when the state is the entity controlling the media? the bias of the state would logically be towards the state, and thus it often spawns propaganda machines, such as in modern day north korea, or historically, in nazi germany. during world war ii, dr. joseph goebbels was infamously hired to propagate the ideals of the third reich amidst the populace. however, it is not only the infamous that employed propaganda. even the american government, which did not control wartime media, produced propaganda such as why we fight series of films directed by frank capra. however, in the midst of the second world war, one of the only news sources to emerge with a clean slate in the public view, was actually state-run: the bbc. still, even the pristine reputation of the bbc can be called into question, perhaps demonstrating that bias will persist. the true issue, then, is how it is handled: it can be reigned back, as in the case of the bbc, or it will flourish like an unculled disease as it did in nazi germany. 1. paul ryan. source: “tired cries of bias don’t help romney.” the new york times. sept. 30, 2012. 2. david carr. “tired cries of bias don’t help romney.” the new york times. sept. 30, 2012. 3. bozell, brent l., et al. “an open letter to the biased news media.” the media research center.m sept. 25, 2012. pitch-ed battle by frank direnno war and sport are not often discussed together in serious academic frameworks. popular media may often discuss certain sporting events with terms used most often in contexts of war. yet, when discussing the impact of war on the psychological mindset of the soldiers on the ground, factors such as stress, hostility, and combat are most often considered. however, what is often overlooked is the role that sport plays in the lives of the troops on the ground. sport has served as a coping mechanism, a morale booster, and even a recruiting theme through many war periods. while it is difficult to compare war with something as entertaining as sport, the similarities are striking. the adrenaline, teamwork, and camaraderie demonstrated on the soccer field mirrors that on the battlefield. the role sport plays in the everyday life of a soldier is crucial, and it is no different today than it was in world war i almost a century ago. in world war i, football helped the soldiers to cope and achieve a sense of normalcy whilst in the trenches. while the same may be true today, football is taking on an even greater role for the british in the current war in afghanistan. since february 2002, uk forces and nato-led international security assistance forces (isaf) have used football matches between the isaf and the afghan national army (ana) to help foster teamwork and cooperation between the two sides. a number of matches between both sides have marked increases in cooperation, even amongst female soldiers and afghan women. while football may not hold the same recruitment power that it did in world war i, the role it plays in modern warfare is as crucial as ever. perspectives 8 “a beautiful little fool”: fitzgerald’s females by patty owens f. scott fitzgerald is often seen as the “chronicler of the jazz age”, an era identified with the growing societal and sexual liberation of women. in one of the most famous passages of his novel the great gatsby, daisy buchanan tells nick carraway that upon the birth of her daughter, she wept and hoped for her to be a fool, for “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”1 consider the green luminescent tear streaming out of the hypnotic female eyes in francis cugart’s original cover design in contrast with gatsby’s enchantment with the green light representing daisy.2 these two seem to represent the way fitzgerald illustrates the tensions faced by modern female between freedom and expectation. fitzgerald’s novel, which is steeped in gender driven themes, invokes the question of a female identity in this world. each principle female character embodies a different category of fitzgerald’s modern woman: daisy buchanan the golden girl, myrtle wilson, the lower-class sexualized woman and jordan baker, the modern androgynous woman. fitzgerald is often credited with popularizing the carefree, sexually liberated image of “flappers” of the 1920s, however the women in the great gatsby are not simply stock depictions of this persona.3 while they are not given great narrative depth, neither are they rendered as flat characters. rather, they are presented twice removed by male narrative perspective, that of nick carraway and fitzgerald himself.4 critics have often discussed fitzerald’s works as autobiographical in nature. the mystical seductive nature of woman and the shifting gender binary of a new age creates a tension throughout the novel that seems to be reflected from fitzgerald’s own life. he wrote, “i am half feminine—at least my mind is… even my feminine characters are feminine scott fitzgeralds.”5 even through male narration, fitzgerald creates female characters that symbolize the tension between the masculine expectations and modern liberation. this tension for all three is resolved in tragedy. the romantic daisy never escapes her unhappy marriage; myrtle, seeking to live through sexual liberation, only receives redemption in death; the rather passive pairing of jordan baker and nick carraway results in nothing. the tragic story of the jazz age is not a didactic commentary on changing gender roles, but rather a complex illustration of the experience of fluid and shifting distinction between sexes. fitzgerald seems to be strongly present in carraway’s voice when he muses, “i was within and without, simultaneous enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”6 the women of the great gatsby question if the only escape from the “simultaneous enchantment and repulsion” of the female experience in society is to be born a beautiful little fool. 1. fitzgerald, f. scott. the great gatsby. scribner, new york, 1925, 17. 2. scribner, charles iii. “the dust jacket: celestial eyes—from metamorphosis to masterpiece,” in f. scott fitezgerald’s the great gatsby: a literary reference, ed. matthew j. rruccoli. carroll & graf publishers. new york: 2000, 160-161. 3. sanderson, rena. “daisy, jordan, and myrtle,” in class conflict in f. scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby, ed. claudia johnson. greenhaven press. detroit: 2008, 88. 4. beuka, robert. american icon: fitzgerald’s the great gatsby in critical and cultural context. camden house. rochester: 2011, 101. 5. quoted in keath fraser, “another reading of the great gatsby,” in critical essays on fitzgerald’s the great gatsby, ed. scott donaldson. g.k. hall & co. boston: 1984, 144. 6. fitzgerald, 35. 9 when violence consumes a country, it is easy and perhaps preferable to focus on the images of tanks, guns, and covered corpses. in times of such brutal warfare though, some of the most moving works art are created. elie weisel’s night, pablo picasso’s guernica, and steve mccurry’s “afghan girl” are just three examples of the incredible artwork resulting from the horrors of war. often described as a fundamentally musical people, it seems almost natural that during the decades long span of the troubles, the irish would use music to tell of their experiences. from u2 to van morrison, musicians helped to capture the truly human side of a vicious, prolonged struggle. “with heart and hand and sword and shield” coping with tradgedy in northern ireland through song brendon anderson lasting from 1968 to 1998, the troubles may have stripped the people of northern ireland of almost everything they had, but music remained one of the most critical components of the irish experience in both the catholic and protestant communities. faced with overwhelming violence, many turned to music to voice their ambitions, angers, and regrets. some used marching songs and anthems to fuel the rage and pride of the sectarian violence, while others sang songs like “sunday bloody sunday” by u2 to lament the death and hatred caused by the fighting. hurtling through the twentieth century, ireland faced sweeping social changes and disastrous political and religious warfare. throughout this upheaval, music, whether in the form of republican hymns or rock anthems, provided a voice for the incredible range of the human experience during the troubles. music has consistently played a key role in the protestant community, particularly during its summer marching season, which centered around the july 12 celebration of the protestant victory at the battle of the boyne. protestants used song to “recall the constitutional fidelity of their fathers of glorious memory” and to commemorate its history, including events such as the siege of derry, the battle of the boyne, and the establishment of the orange order.1 these songs like ”the sash” and “orange standard” often focused on a limited number of events and ideas, drilling them into the listener’s head. phrases like “orange heroes,” “popish idolaters,” “no surrender,” and “derry’s deathless glory”2 are consistently repeated, indicating the protestant community’s sense of their own righteousness, heroism, and historical importance. easily memorable, the tunes were often fiercely anti-catholic and used as protestant displays of power during the marching season. when passing through catholic communities the drumming, flute playing, and singing would grow to a powerful roar, and it often elicited violent reactions from the catholic observers. consequently, the months of the marching season were often the most violent times in the troubles. an excellent example of an orange order parade song is “derry’s walls,” commemorating the siege of derry and the apprentice boys’ closing the derry gates on the catholic king james3. as the tune tells the story, it relates three central loyalist ideas: a history of blood sacrifice, “no popery,” and “no surrender.” since their plantation in ireland, many english, welsh, and especially scottish protestants remained connected to the english crown and felt that they must give their lives to defend it against the gaels and catholics. the lines “when blood it flow in crimson streams / through many a winter’s night / they knew the lord was on their side”4 play directly into this idea, recalling past bloodshed while bringing attention to the sanctity of giving up one’s life for the faith. while this song is less explicit in its anti-catholic sentiments, it does celebrate the defeat of the catholic faith and the protestant ascendancy, the socioeconomic dominance of protestants resulting from the restrictive laws against catholics. during a march the message would be clear: catholics were and continue to be the enemy. the final idea of “no surrender” is most apparent in the chorus, which claims, “we’ll fight and won’t surrender / but come when duty calls.”5 this uncompromising belief in their rightness becomes problematic when considering the troubles. if the protestants vow to fight until they have won, it seems unlikely that there can ever be complete peace. as long as the songs, parades, and unbending beliefs continue to be a part of the unionist culture, followers will be ready to take up the sword and shield to guard against whatever new adversaries attack old derry’s walls. although less focused on parades and celebrations, music factored crucially into the republican tradition as well. celebrating their gaelic musical heritage and bringing specific attention to their own telling of history, nationalists would sing songs of protest at meetings, in pubs, and in jail. these republican tunes focused on particular ideas and events such as the 1916 uprising, ireland’s traditional cultural legacy, and a long history of anti-catholic discrimination and cruelty. interestingly, the predominantly cath“as long as the songs, parades, and unbending beliefs continue to be a part of the unionist culture, followers will be ready to take up the sword and shield to guard against whatever new adversaries attack old derry’s walls.” 11 “with heart and hand and sword and shield” olic songs concentrated mainly on abuses at the hands of the british empire, rather than blindly hating protestants simply based on religious differences. the republican songs often told a much more personal and specific story of english cruelty. the “songs from the barricades” collection provides an excellent example of these kinds of intensely stirring tales like “the battle of inglis’ bakery,” “the ballad of billy reid,” and “the wind that shakes the barley.”6 much like the orange songs, the nationalist hymns were a kind of polarizing propaganda: initiating the listener into a cult of republican folklore, history, and dogma. a prime model of this type of song is “james connolly,” memorializing the life of the famous revolutionary of the same name. when performed by the dublin city ramblers it gives a good idea of the republican movement’s emphasis on ireland’s time-honored musical heritage, with an easily accessible tune for all to sing. the song details the nationalist focus on sacrifice for country and freedom. it celebrates connolly because “his life for his country had vowed to lay down / he went to death like a true son of ireland.”7 this demonizes the english firing squad, while raising connolly to a heroic, godlike status. for many, it was the bold ira who maintained this honorable tradition of rebellion, sacrificing their lives for a free, united ireland, “as blood from their bodies flowed down sackville street.”8 these seditious words give an accurate picture of how history never died during the troubles. although the british may have killed connolly years ago, his spirit of rebellion, liberty, and determination will remain while revolutionaries like the ira continue to cry “no surrender” in face of continued abuse. in much the same way “derry walls” vowed to carry on fighting for unionism, this song suggests a continually violent future as long as grievances against the english and the ghosts of men like connolly remain fresh in people’s mind. while paramilitary organizations and republican sympathizers may have used the songs of their history, during the 1960s a different kind of revival of traditional irish music occurred. acting in response to the rapidly changing modern music scene and a lack of popular interest in ireland’s undeniable musical roots, bands like the chieftains revitalized traditional music while at the same time moving towards hybridity and experimentation.9 these ideas seem to resonate particularly with the civil rights demonstrators who demanded progress in the face of cripplingly strict traditions. the revival shifted “trad” music from “a primarily past-oriented practice” to more “present and future—oriented practices associated with discourses of authenticity and technical expertise.”10 this shift becomes spectacularly important when considering the combatants’ focus on their distinct senses of history. the revival points to the idea that only when focusing on the present and future can change and peace ever become options. two examples of the use of folk and traditional music as means of change are that of phil coulter’s “the town i loved so well” and tommy makem’s “four green fields.” born and raised in derry, musician phil coulter wrote perhaps his most emotional song about his boyhood home, and the destruction that came to it with the troubles. written in a melodic b flat minor, “the town i loved so well” features a kind of dreamy, reminiscent flowing of notes that calls the listener back in time. for coulter, that time was his childhood, spent in derry in the 1950s. coulter sings about the happiness of playing ball, the iconic images of men on the dole, and the sadness with which he left it all. upon his return to derry in the midst of the troubles, his heart broke at the sight of the town that was destroyed by the violence of barbed wire, guns, armored cars, and bombs. coulter’s last verse brings the message of the song home in the most powerful of ways: they will not forget, but their hearts are set on tomorrow and peace once again for what’s done is done, and what’s won is won and what’s lost is lost and gone forever: i can only pray for a bright, brand new day in the town i love so well12 coulter’s song becomes so moving because of its intensely personal account of the troubles, and its avoidance of assigning blame. the town he loved so well, is simply a town, not an exclusively catholic or protestant neighborhood. fingers are not pointed at the ira or the b-specials; rather, what matters is that fighting has destroyed a city and its common language: music. just as coulter helped revive the irish “trad” movement, “the town i loved so well” revives a city torn apart by violence. it shows the world as a resilient, hopeful, and peaceful people, rather than the brutal, divided city broadcasted by television and news reports. in this way, coulter beautifully shows that only in accepting that “what’s done is done” and understanding the actions past can his brighter future be made a reality. 12 elements : : spring 2013 although more republican in its sympathies than “the town i loved so well,” tommy makem’s “four green fields” is another critical troubles song in the traditional revival. an allegory for the divisions in ireland resulting from imperial, religious, and political conflicts, each field symbolizes one of the four provinces of ireland. in the spirit of the traditional revival, the song calls upon the brutal imagery of the past to construct a hopeful future for ireland. the tune uses the familiar beautiful, pastoral image of ireland to contrast with the murder and pillaging of the irish people at the hands of the british. in this way, makem’s song becomes reminiscent of a republican anthem, blaming the english occupation for ireland’s problems, and calling upon the idea of republican’s continued sacrifice with the inciting words, “and my four green fields ran red with their blood.” while it is certainly anti-unionist, the focus of the last verse shifts to the present and future oriented traditional revival. makem expertly changes the focus from the predominantly nationalist historical perspective to a more peaceful vision of the future. perhaps the most crucial moment in the song is during the lines “but my sons had sons, as brave as were their fathers / my fourth green field will bloom once again said she.” this resounding moment brings forward an image of a future of unity, peace, and a strong, national ireland to be established by ireland’s youth. this idea of peace is arguably different from that of coulter’s. makem’s ireland is one that is strictly republican, and seems to require continued sacrifice to achieve an end to the troubles. with this idea, “four green fields” was even more of an adherent to a traditional structure in its continued reliance upon a national ireland with past full of abuses, even when discussing a nonviolent future. the long years of the troubles were not simply politically turbulent times for the irish, but were also a period of complex religious, social, and musical change. the story of irish rock and roll is often said to have begun with the arrival of the beatles in dublin in 1963, which served to crystallize the different factors that led to the rock revolution. many young irish felt that they were oppressed by a staunchly conservative, overly religious, and downright boring culture, and the new musical styles brought a “kind of liberating hedonism.” after the beatles, rock began to take its own course, dealing with difficult issues presented by the period’s critical social and political movements. irish rock musicians also needed to reconcile the genre’s inherently foreign nature with their own irish musical heritage. rock music’s relationship with the troubles is then understandably complex, but the songs of u2, the cranberries, the pogues, and van morrison can give at least some picture of their deep connection. releasing his seminal work astral weeks in ireland only a month after the violence of the troubles began to ravage belfast, van morrison beautifully captures the dreamy, imaginative belfast of his adolescence. the song that perhaps best conveys morrison’s belfast is the long, bluesy ballad “cyprus avenue.” the song drags him back to his life in the city with its coming-of-age, frustrated loves, working class life, and sense of mysticism. the sheer ordinariness of the street—its tree-lined vista, the schoolgirls rhyming songs on their way home, the leaves falling in autumn—is conjured. however, this ordinariness then sparks a mediation on love and an evocation of the transcendent power of nature, the ability of a few trees, and falling leaves, or the snatch of a rhyme to lift the young morrison out of the back streets and onto a higher level.14 in this way, astral weeks is indirectly one of the most powerful collections of songs of peace in the musical tradition of troubles. the belfast of morrison’s memory was one of music, routine, transcendence, and love. the belfast of the troubles was one of silence, violence, and van morrison 13 “with heart and hand and sword and shield” death. since the conflict, morrison distanced himself from his home city, but he is consistently “caught up one more time on cyprus avenue.”15 van morrison’s self-imposed exile is telling of the north as it moves on from the troubles: it must distance itself from its past, while finding meaning in the times when it is returned to its history. accordingly, the beautifully poetic and remarkably banal life of the young morrison is one of memory rather than history, an important distinction for the troubles. while this dreamy, innocent belfast lifestyle of astral weeks may never be recreated, the album provides a showcase of the potential present-day for belfast to become a place of passion, dreams, and nostalgia for the young artists once more. van morrison may have written of a dreamlike past of peace, but the pogues wrote about the harsh reality of the frighteningly brutal present. living as mainly second generation irishmen in london, the band, led by shane macgowan, blended english punk styles with a distinctly irish folk sound that was reminiscent of the republican songs. the pogues provided a voice for young, marginalized irishmen both at home and abroad, “no small achievement in thatcher’s britain, where anti-irish prejudice had become a routine response to the provos vicious bombing campaign.”16 as a result, they were often proudly nationalist in their perspective, unlike many other rock acts during the time who denounced violence of any kind. this is best evidenced in 1988’s “streets of sorrow / birmingham six”: a song divided into two movements connected by a single message, an idea that certainly resonated with the group’s republican, anti-partition fans. the “streets of sorrow” section is a quiet, slow ballad lamenting how the streets of belfast have been forever darkened by terror and killings. this movement simply decries the violence, without bridging the issue of politics, but it makes a quick transition into a fast-paced anti-british anthem. even with its elements of a punked-up stereotypical irish drinking song, “birmingham six” is a shockingly biting condemnation of the english justice system that wrongly imprisoned six irishmen accused of setting off a bomb in a birmingham pub. the song perhaps justly highlights the manipulation of english courts that framed men for “being irish in the wrong place at the wrong time.” the most resounding condemnation comes with the verse: may the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds and sweat as they count out the sins on their heads while over in ireland eight more men lie dead kicked down and shot in the back of the head. the song quite accurately questions the violent anti-republican bias of the british courts and military, and suggests that nonviolence, while certainly attractive, is ineffective in the face of such abuses. it does an powerful job of capturing the very real and honest anger felt by many ira and nationalist supporters against the british system of “justice” that went mostly unnoticed by other popular artists. any discussion of irish rock would be incomplete without mentioning the legendary dublin—based u2. called “ireland’s best known export in any field,”17 u2 has achieved an extraordinary level of worldwide stardom, performing everywhere from liveaid to the inauguration of barack obama. playing off this incredible success, the band was able to break across what seemed to be a silent boundary in rock music and release an overt troubles song, “sunday bloody sunday,” in 1983.18 the track has become nearly synonymous with the shocking events of january 20, 1972 in derry, and contains a still-potent message about the nature of violence. u2’s sunday bloody sunday 14 elements : : spring 2013 “sunday bloody sunday” creates a tense, grating atmosphere from the start with its militaristic drumbeat, continuing guitar riff, and bono’s soaring, pained vocals. this martial feel is starkly contrasted with the message within the lyrics that staunchly condemn the sectarian killings. if anything, bono becomes a warrior for peace, singing “but i won’t heed the battle call / it puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall.” in doing this, u2 creates a message for peace that is both specific to the troubles as well as universal in its appeal. in response to some criticisms about its “universalizing,” mclaughlin and mcloone argue that its mournful chant of the eponymous chorus and wordless opening invoke the irish tradition of lament, while the drumming brings up the british war machine and the republican and unionist marches.19 in its both specific and universal demands for peace, the song reaches its height. the deaths due to the troubles in derry and in any conflict are an atrocity, and the true battle is to “claim the victory jesus won” through nonviolence and love. only by removing the “trench [that] is dug within our hearts” can we ever fulfill bono’s vision of living as one. one of the later entries into the trouble’s musical canon is “zombie” by the limerick-based band the cranberries. although the band achieved commercial and critical success, “zombie” has come under fire from a variety of sources.20 as the song’s release coincided with the emerging peace process in 1994, some claimed the song attempted to greedily cash in on the violence. noel mclaughlin and martin mcloone classified it as “arguably more conservative than british media representations of the troubles at their height.”21 the song’s incredible success is still worth noting. it helped draw attention to the cost of violence and brought the struggles of the troubles to the world stage once more. “zombie’s” success as a troubles song lies in a few key components: its female voice, surprising aggression, and earnest lyrics and music video. dolores o’riordan’s role as a powerful woman’s voice is significant because it gives a uniquely female perspective on the affairs in a country that was still grappling with traditional gender roles. the track’s startling heaviness and grunge elements provide insights into the incalculable drain the killings and arrests of the troubles had on a largely silent generation of women. the lyrics create an intense plea for peace, focusing only on the wrongness of violence of any kind. the cranberries quite accurately blame the struggle on the “same old theme since 1916,” the lengthy history of brutality, discrimination, and destruction set off by the easter uprising. the song paints the paramilitaries as zombies: mindless individuals who got swept up by ideologies and propaganda, and participated in the beatings, bombings, and gun battles without realizing the uselessness of violence. peace is only viable if both sides lay down their tanks, bombs, and guns, as well as their unfounded beliefs in their own righteousness. the accompanying music video is suitably dramatic, with images of soldiers, children playing, and most notably, o’riordan painted completely in gold on a crucifix surrounded by silver angelic boys. this striking image sums up the song quite accurately: who and how many must be sacrificed for one side to be able to claim victory? with the good friday agreement, northern ireland has worked to move on from its dark past in order to establish itself as a modern, trusted player on the world stage. cersnow patrol’s chocolate 15 “with heart and hand and sword and shield” tainly one of the most effective means for renewed growth is for belfast to revitalize its storied musical past. indeed, with the success of events like the 2012 mtv european video music awards, which earned belfast $32 million, the government has found it increasingly profitable to support artists who have the power to bring life (and money) to northern ireland.22 one band indicative of belfast’s reemergence as a music center is snow patrol, which solidified its reputation as a world-famous band with the release of its smash hit “chasing cars” in 2006. still, the band’s greatest song, at least when put in the context of the troubles, is “chocolate.” with a series of simple chords and a driving beat, “chocolate” gets its emotive power from lead singer and guitarist gary lightbody’s earnest vocals.23 at its best it is an honestly simple song about mistakes, regrets, and reconciliation. despite its obviously personal subject, with snow patrol’s belfast roots, it is difficult not to view the song through the lens of the troubles. at the heart of the peace process is the idea that both parties involved have made terrible mistakes and must somehow learn to live through them, however hard that is to do. for ireland’s generation coming of age in the aftermath of the troubles, riddled with unemployment and teenage pregnancy, this is a promising idea. it is the message at the heart of lightbody’s words: “with a name i’d never chosen i can make my first steps as a child of twenty-five.” the youth may have had no choice in the history they inherited, but they are given a remarkable chance to move forward. with a renewed interest in music and a general spirit of progress, northern ireland’s youth can realize at any moment that they’re aware they’re alive. the troubles continue to be one of the darkest periods of ireland’s history, yet the country maintained an extensive and beautiful tradition of song through the violence. the era’s musical canon describes a culture on the edge of oblivion and the painfully human lives that were caught up in the madness: catholic, protestant, woman, soldier, child, and peaceful demonstrator. indeed, it seems that the music permeated every facet of society, both causing violence and helping to bring it to an end. as with everything in the troubles, it unavoidably comes down to history: the irish have always used their distinct musical form to weave the tales of their past and present. yet as northern ireland moves away from the clash of two irreconcilable senses of history, music provides an avenue for creating a singular, peaceful, and prosperous future. 16 elements : : spring 2013 derry’s walls unknown the time has scarce gone round boys three hundred years ago when rebels on old derry’s walls their faces dare not show when james and all his rebel band came up to bishop’s gate with heart and hand and sword and shield we forced him to retreat we’ll fight and don’t surrender but come when duty calls with heart and hand and sword and shield we’ll guard old derry’s walls when blood did flow in crimson streams through many a winter’s night they knew the lord was on their side to help them in their fight they nobly stood up on the walls determined for to fight or fight and gain the victory and raise the crimson high we’ll fight and don’t surrender but come when duty calls with heart and hand and sword and shield we’ll guard old derry’s walls at last, at last with one broadside kind heaven sent them aid the boom that crossed the foyle was broke and james he was dismayed the banner boys that floated was run aloft with joy god bless the hands that broke the boom and saved the aprentice boys we’ll fight and don’t surrender but come when duty calls with heart and hand and sword and shield we’ll guard old derry’s walls james connolly unknown a great crowd had gathered outside of kilmainham, with their heads uncovered they knelt on the ground. from inside that grim prison lay a brave irish soldier, his life for his country about to lay down. he went to his death like a true son of ireland, the firing party he bravely did face, then the order rang out: “present arms, fire!” james connolly fell into a ready-made grave. the black flag they hoisted the cruel deed was over, gone was the man who loved ireland so well. there was many a sad heart in dublin that morning, when they murdered james connolly, the irish rebel! god’s curse on you, england, you cruelhearted monster your deeds they would shame all the devils in hell. there are no flowers blooming but the shamrock is growing on the grave of james connolly, the irish rebel! many years have rolled by since that irish rebellion, when the guns of britannia they loudly did speak. the bold i.r.a. they stood shoulder to shoulder, and the blood from their bodies flowed down sackville street. the four courts of dublin the english bombarded, the spirit of freedom they tried hard to quell. for above all the din rose the cry “no surrender,” ‘twas the voice of james connolly, the irish rebel. the town i loved so well by: phil coulter in my memory i will always see the town that i have loved so well where our school played ball by the gasyard wall and we laughed through the smoke and the smell going home in the rain, running up the dark lane past the jail and down behind the fountain those were happy days in so many, many ways in the town i loved so well in the early morning the shirt factory horn called women from creggan, the moor and the bog while the men on the dole played a mother’s role, fed the children and then trained the dogs and when times got tough there was just about enough but they saw it through without complaining for deep inside was a burning pride in the town i loved so well there was music there in the derry air like a language that we all could understand i remember the day when i earned my first pay and i played in a small pick-up band there i spent my youth and to tell you the truth i was sad to leave it all behind me for i learned about life and i’d found a wife in the town i loved so well but when i returned how my eyes have burned to see how a town could be brought to its knees by the armoured cars and the bombed—out bars and the gas that hangs on to every tree now the army’s installed by that old gasyard wall and the damned barbed wire gets higher and higher 17 “with heart and hand and sword and shield” with their tanks and their guns, oh my god, what have they done to the town i loved so well now the music’s gone but they carry on for their spirit’s been bruised, never broken they will not forget but their hearts are set on tomorrow and peace once again for what’s done is done and what’s won is won and what’s lost is lost and gone forever i can only pray for a bright, brand new day in the town i loved so well four green fields by: tommy makem what did i have, said the fine old woman what did i have, this proud old woman did say i had four green fields, each one was a jewel but strangers came and tried to take them from me i had fine strong sons, who fought to save my jewels they fought and they died, and that was my grief said she long time ago, said the fine old woman long time ago, this proud old woman did say there was war and death, plundering and pillage my children starved, by mountain, valley and sea and their wailing cries, they shook the very heavens my four green fields ran red with their blood, said she what have i now, said the fine old woman what have i now, this proud old woman did say i have four green fields, one of them’s in bondage in stranger’s hands, that tried to take it from me but my sons had sons, as brave as were their fathers my fourth green field will bloom once again said she cyprus avenue by: van morrison well, i’m caught one more time up on cyprus avenue caught one more time up on cyprus avenue and i’m conquered in a car seat not a thing that i can do i may go crazy before that mansion on the hill i may go crazy before that mansion on the hill but my heart keeps beating faster and my feet can’t keep still and all the little girls rhyme something on the way back home from school and all the little girls rhyme something on the way back home from school and the leaves fall one by one and call the autumn time a fool yeah, my t-tongue gets tied every, every, every time i try to speak my tongue gets tied every time i try to speak and my inside shakes just like a leaf on a tree i think i’ll go on by the river with my cherry, cherry wine i believe i’ll go walking by the railroad with my cherry, cherry wine if i pass the rumbling station where the lonesome engine drivers pine wait a minute, yonder come my lady rainbow ribbons in her hair yonder come my lady rainbow ribbons in her hair six white horses and a carriage she’s returning from the fair baby, baby, baby and i’m caught one more time up on cyprus avenue and if i’m, yeah, caught one more time up on cyprus avenue and i’m conquered in a car seat and i’m looking straight at you way up on, way up on, way up on the avenue of trees keep walking down in the wind and the rain, darling you keep walking down when the sun shone through the trees nobody, no, no, no, no, nobody stops me from loving you baby so young and bold, fourteen-year old baby, baby, baby streets of sorrow/birmingham six by: the pogues oh farewell you streets of sorrow and farewell you streets of pain i’ll not return to feel more sorrow nor to see more young men slain through the last six years i’ve lived through terror and in the darkened streets the pain oh how i long to find some solace in my mind i curse the strain so farewell you streets of sorrow and farewell you streets of pain no i’ll not return to feel more sorrow nor to see more young men slain there were six men in birmingham in guildford there’s four that were picked up and tortured and framed by the law and the filth got promotion but they’re still doing time for being irish in the wrong place and at the wrong time in ireland they’ll put you away in the maze in england they’ll keep you for seven long days 18 elements : : spring 2013 god help you if ever you’re caught on these shores the coppers need someone and they walk through that door you’ll be counting years first five, then ten growing old in a lonely hell round the yard and the stinking cell from wall to wall, and back again a curse on the judges, the coppers and screws who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused for the price of promotion and justice to sell may the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell you’ll be counting years first five, then ten growing old in a lonely hell round the yard and the lousy cell from wall to wall, and back again may the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds and sweat as they count out the sins on their heads while over in ireland eight more men lie dead kicked down and shot in the back of the head you’ll be counting years first five, then ten growing old in a freezing hell round the yard and the lousy cell from wall to wall, and back again you’ll be counting years first five, then ten growing old in a lonely hell round the yard and the lousy cell from wall to wall, and back again sunday bloody sunday by: u2 i can’t believe the news today oh, i can’t close my eyes and make it go away how long, how long must we sing this song? how long? how long? ‘cause tonight we can be as one, tonight broken bottles under children’s feet bodies strewn across the dead end streets but i won’t heed the battle call it puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall sunday, bloody sunday sunday, bloody sunday sunday, bloody sunday and the battle’s just begun there’s many lost but tell me who has won the trench is dug within our hearts and mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart sunday, bloody sunday sunday, bloody sunday how long, how long must we sing this song? how long? how long? ‘cause tonight we can be as one tonight, tonight sunday, bloody sunday sunday, bloody sunday wipe the tears from your eyes wipe your tears away oh, wipe your tears away oh, wipe your tears away oh, wipe your blood shot eyes sunday, bloody sunday sunday, bloody sunday and it’s true we are immune when fact is fiction and tv reality and today the millions cry we eat and drink while tomorrow they die the real battle just begun to claim the victory jesus won on sunday bloody sunday sunday bloody sunday zombie by: the cranberries another head hangs lowly, child is slowly taken. and the violence caused such silence, who are we mistaken? but you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family. in your head, in your head they are fighting, with their tanks and their bombs, and their bombs and their guns. in your head, in your head, they are crying... in your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey. what’s in your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie? hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, dou, dou, dou, dou, dou another mother’s breakin’, heart is taking over. when the vi’lence causes silence, we must be mistaken. it’s the same old theme since nineteen-sixteen. in your head, in your head they’re still fighting, with their tanks and their bombs, and their bombs and their guns. in your head, in your head, they are dying... in your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey. what’s in your head, in your head, zombie, zombie, zombie? hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, oh, ya, ya-a 19 “with heart and hand and sword and shield” endnotes 1. the armagh guardian office, the standard orange songbook (6) 2. downpatrick, comp. a collection of orange and protestant songs 3. kinallen: the lodge. a collection of orange and protestants songs (23) 4. ibid. 5. ibid. 6. people’s democracy. songs from the barricades, 1970 7. the dublin ramblers irish republican jail songs 1978 8. ibid. 9. mcglaughlin (41) 10. campbell (3) 11. coulter (87) 12. coulter (91) 13. mclaughlin (26) 14. mclaughlin (113) 15. mclaughlin (114) 16. campbell (98) 17. campbell (152) 18. campbell (77) 19. mcglaughlin (179-80) 20. campbell (123) 21. mcglaughlin (296) 22. brownell (17) 23. campbell (171) references armagh guardian office, comp. the standard orange songbook. (armagh: armagh guardian office, 1848). downpatrick, william peake, comp. a collection of orange and protestant songs. (belfast: w. bridgett, 1900b). dublin ramblers, perf. irish republican jail songs. (dolphin records, 1978. vinyl recording). ginanne brownell, “northern ireland’s musical riches emerge from the shadows” new york times. n.p., 17 oct. 2012. web. 8 nov. 2012. kinallen: the lodge. a collection of orange and protestants songs. (kinallen: the lodge, 1986). noel mcglaughlin and martin mcloone, rock and popular music in ireland before and after u2 (dublin: irish academic, 2012). people’s democracy. songs from the barricades. (belfast: people’s democracy, 1970.). phil coulter, the songs i love so well (dublin: four seasons music limited, 2000). sean campbell and gerry smyth, beautiful day: forty years of irish rock (cork: atrium, 2005). 20 elements : : spring 2013 21 “with heart and hand and sword and shield” f. scott fitzgerald’s modern american classic the great gatsby is a novel often consigned to high school reading lists and reductive appraisals, which ignore the complexities underlying the text. informed by the theory of judith butler, this article performs a queer theory reading of gatsby: a theoretical approach that assesses the changeability of the self by analyzing narrative cues suggestive of variable gender and sexual identities. if queer theory identifies strains that run counter to an accepted, constructed norm, then the norm of fitzgerald’s jazz age is what gender theorists term “heteronormativity,” which privileges heterosexuality as the organized, dominant sexuality. jay gatsby is postured as anti-normative by virtue of his purportedly feminine “extraordinary gift for hope,” so “what preyed on gatsby” becomes his failure to conform to the performative sexual binary of his time. narrator nick carraway is both repulsed by and sympathetic to gatsby’s “femininity,” and this complex response results in an equally complex narrative style, characterized by the mainstays of modernism: fragmentation, omission, and unreliability. “what preyed on gatsby” feminine sympathy in a heternormative society emily simon critic h.l. mencken, in his scathing 1925 review of the now-classic the great gatsby, condemns the eponymous character as possessing “the simple sentimentality of a somewhat sclerotic fat woman.”1 the severity of mencken’s attack may be attributable to his office as book critic, but the questions of gender identity raised by his pejorative are integral to this seminal text of a society predicated upon the importance of public persona. that mencken aligns sentimentality with femininity, and that he does so critically, suggests societal perception of this disposition as anti-masculine, and thus implicates traditional gender identity as socially constructed. gender, in an era characterized as glittering and meretricious, augments societal performativity, in the sense of judith butler’s definition of gender as “a kind of imitation for which there is no original . . . a kind of imitation that produces the very notion of the original as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself.”2 jay gatsby, by virtue of his “sentimentality,” and his “extraordinary gift for hope,” challenges the heterosexual “norm”—and especially the hypermasculine standard of the day—made a matter of fashion by jazz age society.3 gatsby, if one is to cautiously assent to mencken’s assessment, is thus posited as a “queer” character—not for any homosexual tendencies, but for the manner in which his sentimental proclivities are anti-normative. through the queer theory lens, in which such details advocate a reading that “criticiz[es] the dominant heterosexual binary, masculine/feminine, which enthrones ‘the’ two sexes and which casts other sexualities as abnormal, illicit, or criminal,” gatsby’s character emphasizes the invalidity of this heterosexual binary through the very way in which he strives to match it.4 an entirely self-made “man,” gatsby vainly endeavors to achieve “heteronormativity”—to satisfy, through his performative public persona: the institutions, structures of understanding, and practical orientations that make heterosexuality seem not only coherent— that is, organized as a sexuality—but also privileged.5 couched in the importance of public perception, this gender identity is complicated by the subjective narration of nick carraway, who, as an unreliable narrator similarly striving for heteronormativity, is both repulsed by and sympathetic to gatsby’s “femininity.” it is thus that the “queer” details of nick’s narration reenter the reader’s consciousness as deliberate modernist techniques. of his last night in new york, nick recounts: i went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more. on the white steps an obscene word, scrawled out by some boy with a piece of brick, stood out clearly in the moonlight, and i erased it.6 for nick, the act of narrating embodies this seemingly random action: the erasure of gatsby’s “queer” behavior—denounced as “obscene” in the milieu—through narrative imbrication, to the point that gatsby is superficially presented as heteronormative. the “interior rules” under which nick carraway operates aid gatsby in his act of gender passing, though they are incommensurate to the task of forging an identity capable of withstanding traditional society’s strict binary.7 fitzgerald’s narrative omission and fragmentation, through employment of disruptive punctuation and the coding of gatsby’s feminine characteristics in extended, “masculine” metaphors, ultimately betray the fallacy of socially-mandated gender performativity. gatsby’s self entirely vanishes behind this narrative, beaten back into the private sphere by literary techniques that portend the dissolution of his persona at the hands of societal expectations. “what preyed on gatsby” is ultimately his anti-normative sentimentality, and the way in which the heterosexual binary arrests it, threatening societal stagnation in the face of a rigid division.8 enforcement of this binary is embodied in the character of tom buchanan, who is presented as the paragon of heteronormative behavior by nick’s coevally enchanted and cowed description. his physicality indicates the “privilege” bestowed upon this societal norm: its capacity for “enormous leverage” evokes his hypermasculinity as a vehicle of economic ascent. this ascent is predicated upon the subjugation of queer behavior, with which nick’s narrative tone suggests solidarity; his fears are evident in his perception of tom’s body as “cruel.” that tom’s “shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face” mirrors the elected, but now-long entrenched, sovereignty of heteronormativity in society.9 tom’s presentation as “sturdy,” “established,” and “paternal” acknowledges the now compulsory nature of subjugation to the traditional gender norm, and the consequent fiscal success that it has ensured him. gender roles have thus become delineated and performative in the manner defined by butler: “heterosexuality only constitutes itself as the original through a convincing act of repetition.”10 tom’s masculinity is figuratively realized in a recurring symbol within gatsby: his home—itself synecdoche for the traditional, albeit illusory, american dream. so secure in his perennial american identity, tom can afford “a sunken italian garden,” while the “snub23 “what preyed on gatsby” nosed motor-boat” haughtily personifies the assumed superiority which nick imagines for tom: that he is irrevocably right on the hollow grounds of simply being “stronger and more of a man than you are.”11 with this same symbol, fitzgerald disparately establishes gatsby’s insufficient striving to appear similarly heteronormative. that same house that appears an “incoherent failure” at the novel’s end embodies the performative and forced nature of gatsby’s public persona. inasmuch as the west egg figures as an imitation of east egg, gatsby’s mansion is “a factual imitation of some hôtel de ville in normandy”—a hollow attempt to project established wealth.12 gatsby’s performativity is betrayed by “the thin beard of raw ivy” incongruently enmeshing the “spanking new” building. nick, sympathetically attributing to gatsby the masculine seniority suggested by the modifier “beard,” only underscores its failings. the “tower on one side,” with its symbolically phallic over-compensation for gatsby’s feminine qualities, reads as ungainly rather than authentic. furthermore, in making the uninformed distinction that he was not yet aware that this mansion was gatsby’s, but merely one “inhabited by a gentleman of that name,” nick symbolically constructs gatsby’s public identity as inhabited by a separate, unknown and private self.13 while nick strives simply to vanish altogether, as his modest house “had been overlooked,” gatsby paradoxically enterprises to divert attention by vanishing behind something so outrageously public. through these literal constructs, both gatsby’s actions and nick’s narration project gatsby’s heteronormative identity. to successfully pass as acceptably masculine means to “vanish”—a word effectively repeated throughout the novel—which accounts for the incompleteness of the narrative style. it is thus fitting that, in nick’s first interaction with gatsby, nick does not immediately recognize him. what follows gatsby’s nominal introduction is nick’s description of gatsby’s smile, metonymically intimating gatsby’s privately feminine self. traditionally feminine sympathy is implicit in gatsby’s “eternal reassurance” and “irresistible prejudice in your favor,” which suggests, moreover, nick’s narrative sympathy for such tendencies.14 however, the employment of the characteristically modern dash following the significant verb “vanished” divides the passage’s tone in two, consequently delineating the dichotomy between gatsby’s private identity and his heteronormative performance. this narrative interruption suggests nick’s revision of gatsby’s character, just as gatsby revises his own social persona, “picking his words with care.” this smile, of remarkably interior warmth, is set in direct opposition to the “exterior world” that gatsby briefly opposes, but with which he ultimately strives to align himself. with the same caution that nick’s corrective narration undertakes, gatsby vanishes behind the outwardly heteronormative persona of an “elegant young roughneck” in the public eye.15 it is within the conflation of public and private realms that this self-corrective performativity begins to attenuate. the act behind gatsby’s identity is suggested in the confines of his closet, a word already rife with significance for gender theorists. if, the 1925 cover of the great gatsby 24 elements : : spring 2013 “the closet is a man’s collective words and actions that confirm his social alliance with heterosexual men while effectively hiding from public view—and sometimes from his own full consciousness—his potential femininity,” then when gatsby opens his closet to the outside world, he admits his heteronormative inauthenticity.16 his shirts represent masculinity and material prosperity, but that he has so many, and in a “many-colored disarray,” suggests a multiplicitous identity bordering on gender-schizophrenia. “piled like bricks,” they form a protectively male wall around his private self, constructing an image of suppressive containment by society’s restrictive heterosexual binary.17 the shirts become gatsby’s costume upon the stage of gender performativity, for which daisy, in her own feminine sympathy, “began to cry stormily.” this hysteria perhaps acknowledges that it is gatsby’s exclusion from the “rather distinguished society to which she and tom belonged” that impels his perpetually histrionic life.18 permanent exclusion from this “society,” and thus the sexually polarized jazz age society as a whole, plays out figuratively within the peculiar dialogue that unfolds before the climatic trip to the plaza hotel. nick again codes gatsby’s anti-normative reservations in irrevocably masculine, suggestively phallic, metaphors: cars. following nick’s romantic musings on daisy as “the golden girl,” ellipses dissolve this lyricism into tom and gatsby’s debate over transportation to the city, and more urgently, a polemic over the potency of their manhood. while tom’s car is a hyper-masculine, stream-lined coupé, gatsby’s is condemned as anti-normative, as an ungainly, showy “circus wagon.” pitted against this privileged norm, gatsby realizes the inevitable breakdown of his gender passing, in his dually significant objection, “i don’t think there’s much gas.” tom counters with a condemnation of gatsby’s performativity with the slight, “you can buy anything at a drug-store nowadays,” insinuating that gatsby has purchased his projected identity. his public persona threatened, gatsby belies his mysterious, private self with a look to which nick ambiguously refers as “an undefinable expression, at once definitely unfamiliar and vaguely recognizable, as if i had only heard it described in words.”19 that it defies tangible expression suggests the suppression of anti-normativity from national consciousness, further realized in fitzgerald’s modern, stylistic omission. the dashes in tom’s dialogue betray his inability to recognize existence outside of the heteronormative sphere; to disavow the insecurity of the heterosexual binary is to preserve the false sense of stability predicated upon this performative divide. in response to tom’s “tentative” interaction with the car’s “unfamiliar gears”—suggestive of gatsby’s illusory and dissentient manhood—tom is unable to voice what it is that he finds queer about gatsby, resisting any such challenge to the normative standard upon which his authority is founded. “maybe you don’t believe that,” tom consents, as he expresses his reservations to nick and jordan, “but science—” he protests before his own speciously theoretical existence halts him.20 for tom, a man based in “ivory tower,” scientific theory, anything that dares to upset the societal balance becomes unmentionable: “obscene,” even. that the image of an oxford man is, to tom, incompatible with gatsby’s “pink suit,” evokes a society couched in unchallenged and incontrovertible gender spheres. in the hands of this paragon of traditional heteronormativity, gatsby’s identity proves to be anything but. the car, literally the agent of death for myrtle, becomes the figurative agent of death for gatsby’s projected identity. thus, gatsby fails because the heterosexual binary underlying the world of the novel does not allow for his “queer” attributes, suggesting the way in which society perpetuates sexual identity as a performance, and sexual norms as intractable, for “like all identity, sexual identity is a social construct subject to regulations and norms set against instabilities.”21 gatsby’s femininity, embodied in the unstable character of daisy, commandeers and crashes his last barrier of manhood, irrevocably preventing complete realization of his social aspirations. instead, he careens into the “theoretical abyss” that had initially impelled his performativity. “the tragedy of gatsby’s character, then, lies in the irreconcilability of his transgressive self with a genteel society entrenched in an obsolete, and increasingly non-normal, ‘normalcy.’” 25 “what preyed on gatsby” the tragedy of gatsby’s character, then, lies in the irreconcilability of his transgressive self with a genteel society entrenched in obsolete, and increasingly non-normal, “normalcy.” fitzgerald, self-classified as “half-feminine” for the subjectivity and androgyny of his writing, leaves the novel’s ending narratively ambiguous.22 but it is the details that betray him, and the way in which identity is a social construct subject to the heterosexual norm. in his lyrical meditation on the american dream, nick makes mention of “an aesthetic contemplation [man] neither understood nor desired.”23 it is this nebulous inkling of feminine sympathy that is repressed by the social construction of heteronormativity, and it is this same proclivity that is quashed by fitzgerald’s style. just as the disruptive punctuation and fragmentation interrupt cogent and enduring thought, gatsby’s public heterosexuality founders upon the smaller details, prey to the incompleteness of character imposed by societal standards. the sexual connotation of nick’s progressive aspirations, in “the orgastic future” embodied by gatsby’s romantic hopes, is cut off before its climax by the disruptive dash. this omissive punctuation figures as a barrier, embodying the binary that its literally linear nature signifies. the dash separates nick from this dream’s fulfillment, for his understanding that this narrative will be read inhibits him from complete alignment with gatsby’s alienated self. the “one fine morning” of authentic gender identity is unrealizable in a society in which this dichotomy is an enduring presence, manifest in the regressive statement succeeding this dash: “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”24 the progressive current, then, moves forward, but society reverts due to the heterosexual binary charged by nick’s narration as contrived, and perhaps even unnatural. that nick incorporates the universal “we” into his conclusion suggests the social implications of gatsby’s tragedy. “whatever it was that kept [tom and daisy] together” is their careless, selfish concern for order: order manifested in a heterosexual binary that, through stagnating progression, reinforces their position in the social hierarchy.25 bound by this stringent social construction, gatsby must disappear behind a heteronormative projection of himself, until the reader’s true sense of gatsby becomes as incoherent and fragmented as the narrative style. this modern narrative suggests the very way in which society is “borne back ceaselessly” towards the “redemptive pastoralism of sex” framed by heteronormative institutions.26 if, national heterosexuality is the mechanism by which a core national culture can be imagined as a sanitized space of sentimental feeling and immaculate behavior, a space of pure citizenship, then it is regressive, fundamentally, by the fault of its imaginative foundations.27 insofar as gender, like the act of nick’s writing itself, is performative, it contributes to a societal ideal as illusory and caustic as the american dream to which jay gatsby, in his heteronormative aspirations, fell prey. if gender theorist eve sedgwick is valid in her claim that “our society could not cease to be homophobic and have its economic and political structures remain unchanged,”28 then fitzgerald suggests that gender identity must return to a state predating performativity—if one exists—in which the territory of “normativity” is as uncharted as “the fresh green breast of the new world.”29 endnotes 1. mencken 2. butler (313) 3. fitzgerald (2) 4. leitch (26) 5. berland (2600) 6. fitzgerald (180) 7. fitzgerald (57) 8. fitzgerald (2) 9. fitzgerald (7) 10. butler (380) 11. fitzgerald (7) 12. fitzgerald (5) 13. ibid. 14. fitzgerald (48) 15. ibid. 16. kerr (416) 17. fitzgerald (92) 18. fitzgerald (17) 19. fitzgerald (121) 20. ibid. 21. letich (27) 22. kerr (426) 23. fitzgerald (180) 24. ibid. 25. fitzgerald (179) 26. berland (2615) 27. berland (2601) 28. sedgwick (2469) 29. fitzgerald (180) 26 elements : : spring 2013 references berland, lauren, and michael warner. “sex in public.” the norton anthology of theory and criticism. ed. vincent b. leitch. new york: w.w. norton & company, 2010. 2600-2615. print. butler, judith. “imitation and gender insubordination.” the lesbian and gay studies reader. eds. abelove, barale, halperin. new york: routledge, 1993. 307-318. print. fitzgerald, f. scott. the great gatsby. new york: scribner, 1925. print. kerr, frances. “feeling ‘half feminine’: modernism and the politics of emotion in the great gatsby.” american literature, vol 68, no. 2 (june 1996): 405-341. web. 27 november 2011. leitch, vincent b. “introduction to theory and criticism: queer theory.” the norton anthology of theory and criticism. ed. vincent b. leitch. new york: w.w. norton & company, 2010. 26-27. print. mencken h.l. “the great gatsby.” the baltimore evening sun. 1925. sedgwick, eve. “from between men: english literature and male homosocial desire.” the norton anthology of theory and criticism. ed. vincent b. leitch. new york: w.w. norton & company, 2010. 2466-2470. print. 27 “what preyed on gatsby” this article assesses the efficacy of the gabab agonist baclofen as a treatment option for substance dependence disorders including alcohol, cocaine, and opioid dependencies. a systematic literature review synthesizes material from studies examining the effects of baclofen on substance craving, abstinence promotion, self-administration rates, depression, and anxiety. upon studied consideration of nine doubleblind randomized controlled trials, it appears that baclofen is an applicable pharmacotherapeautic agent for various substance disorders, as it lowers self-administration rates and craving and promotes self-abstinence. however, further long-term research investigating the relationship between baclofen and psychotherapy is necessary before any conclusive results may be reached. a possible cure reviewing the efficacy of gaba agonist baclofen for substance dependence disorders andrew abbate introduction according to the world health organization (who), in 2002, there were over two billion alcohol users, one billion smokers and 180,000,000 illicit drug users worldwide. these problematic statistics are said to account for over 10% of all deaths worldwide every year.1 in 2008, seven million people in the united states over the age of twelve were considered substance dependent.2 thus, more research on intervention methods for substance use disorders is imperative. while d2 dopamine receptor antagonists such as haloperidol and olanzepine may result in decreased release of dopamine and subsequent decline in rewarding behavior associated with drug use, usage of d2 receptor antagonists has been observed to result in parkinson’s like symptoms in patients.3 as a result, the use of d2 antagonists has decreased, and alternative systems have been investigated for the treatment of substance use disorders.4 this review will discuss the effectiveness of the gabab agonist baclofen in the treatment of substance use disorders related to the use of alcohol, cocaine, and opioids. the effectiveness of baclofen will also be compared to traditional pharmacotherapies traditionally employed in clinical settings, with mention of baclofen’s potential side-effect. the link between pathophysiology implicated in substance use disorders and the baclofen will also be discussed. data sources a comprehensive literature search was performed using medline (01-01-1960 to 05-01-2011), cochrane central register of controlled trials (01-01-1960 to 05-01-2011), and the worldcat library system (01-01-1960 to 05-012011). search terms included: gabab agonist, addiction, and baclofen. articles published in english reporting on animal and human data with specific methodological designs were used for this review. the inclusive experimental design criteria were that the experiment had to contain a sample size of at least ten participants, that the researchers included a placebo control, and that the administration of baclofen be double-blinded. studies using a positive control were also included. this review discusses the findings of 9 randomized, double-blind controlled trials (n=429) that examined the effects of baclofen relating to factors such as substance craving, abstinence promotion, self-administration rates, and secondary substance related factors such as trait anxiety. addiction substance use disorders as defined by the dsm-iv tr the current diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-iv tr) states that patients diagnosed with a substance use disorder can have one of two disorders: substance abuse or substance dependence. substances such as alcohol, opioids, and cocaine all have similar diagnostic criteria in the dsm-iv tr for substance use disorders, with the differences between the substances being accounted for by varying symptoms required for withdrawal to be established.5 the focus of this report will be substance dependence disorders. neurobiology of addiction research on substance use disorders and addiction traditionally focuses on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which consists of the ventral tegmental area (vta), the nucleus accumbens, and the fibers connecting them. this system is implicated with the mechanisms behind reward behavior and motivation. although dopaminergic drugs may differ in their mechanisms on this system, all known drugs of abuse have been observed to result in an elevation of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.3, 6, 7 of importance in this system are the receptors associated with the d2 like family of dopamine metabotropic g protein-coupled receptors, with the d2 receptor being of most importance.8 gaba and addiction gaba mediates its effects in gabaergic neurons by binding to and activating receptor types gabaa and gabab. both receptors elicit an inhibitory response, but they are ionotropic and metabotropic respectively.11 gabab agonists are of particular interest, relating to their neurobiology influence in the brain areas involved in addiction. gabab receptors are distributed in various areas of the brain, where they are involved in both the excitatory and inhibitory processes involved in addiction via their presynaptic and postsynaptic mechanisms.12 gababreceptors are present as heteroreceptors on dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons in the vta, and as presynaptic autoreceptors on gaba interneurons.13, 16 29 a possible cure baclofen overview of baclofen (rs)-4-amino-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid (baclofen) is a lipophilic derivative of gaba, first synthesized in 1962 to improve the lipophilicity of gaba in order to achieve penetration of the blood brain barrier that administration of gaba would not normally achieve.17, 18 baclofen was found to have two stereoisomers present, with a (r)-(-)-enantiomer and a (s)-(+)-enantiomer observed.19 bowery et al. found that the (r)-(-)-enantiomer was over 100 times more active than the (s)-(+)-enantiomer with regards to reducing transmitter output, and that baclofen in general was as active as gaba with regards to reduction of transmitter output.19 baclofen therefore acts as a selective agonist for gababreceptors.20 the gababreceptor agonist baclofen has been traditionally prescribed as a muscle relaxant for patients with spastic movement disorders20, and appears to have promising results relating to the treatment of a variety of disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder and trait anxiety.21, 22 pharmacology of baclofen baclofen is able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier because it is a butanoic acid derivative with a lipophilic phenyl ring.23 baclofen selectively binds to and activates metabotropic gababreceptors, mediating inhibitory effects in the central and peripheral nervous systems. baclofen can exhibit both anticonvulsant and pro-convulsant actions in a dose-dependent manner,20 likely because baclofen is not only observed to act as an agonist at gababreceptors, but has also been found to inhibit gaba release in the rat model by activating presynaptic gabab autoreceptors. 24 pharmacodynamics of baclofen in addiction baclofen acts on a variety of systems in the nervous system areas related to addiction, most notably the dopaminergic and glutamatergic related systems. the use of iontophoretically administrated baclofen has demonstrated that baclofen peripherally blocked dopaminergic neuronal activity in the vta, and that this inhibitory effect was reversed by administration of the gabab antagonist cgp 35348.25 results from studies using local injections of baclofen have also found that baclofen suppressed extracellular dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, and the prefrontal cortex.26-29 studies have also shown that baclofen administration resulted in inhibitory effects on dopaminergic neuronal activity in the substantia nigra, the striatum, the nucleus accumbens, and the frontal cortex, and that these effects were reversed by the administration of the gabab antagonist sch 50911.29, 30-32 the proposed mechanism of action for these effects is that baclofen may inhibit dopaminergic activity in the vta via stimulation of the gababreceptors. these dopaminergic cell bodies are thought to project into the nucleus accumbens, and when baclofen hyperpolarizes these dopaminergic cell bodies, this potentially leads to the inhibition of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens.13, 14, 16 in alcohol dependence, it is likely that baclofen attenuates the reinforcing effects of alcohol by altering dopamine transmission in the mesolimbic system. vta interneurons tonically inhibit dopamine release from dopamine containing neurons in the vta.45, 46-51 another possible mechanism is this metabotropic camp—pka pathway in gabaergic neurons, which increases gababinhibitory postsynaptic potentials.52 concerning cocaine dependence, neuroimaging studies on cocaine use suggest that both cue and drug induced activation of the mesolimbic system correlate with drug craving in cocaine dependent subjects, and that a larger dopaminergic response to acute stimulant drug administration predicts more rapid acquisition of drug self-administration.55, 56 neuroimaging has also shown that the orbitofrontal cortex was hyperactive in proportion to the intensity of the craving following cocaine use.9, 10 this result reveals that chronic cocaine use leads to a reduction in dopamine d2 receptors and the amount of dopamine released by receptors.13, 57 these findings may explain why compulsive self-administration is observed even though there is a reduction in the amount of d2 dopamine receptors and the amount of dopamine they release in the brains of chronic cocaine users.57 further, baclofen’s actions on the glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems are involved in its application to treatment in cocaine abuse. baclofen has been observed to attenuate the increase of extracellular glutamate levels in the nucleus accumbens that occurs during the process of conditioning locomotion to cues associated with cocaine.34 in addition, microdialysis experiments have demonstrated that baclofen attenuates non-contingent cocaine induced 30 elements : : spring 2013 increases in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens.26, 62 gababreceptors are also localized on the presynaptic terminals of glutamatergic cell bodies in the prefrontal cortex, where they can attenuate extracellular glutamatergic levels associated with cue-induced conditioning of locomotion.33, 34 clinical implications of baclofen alcohol dependence according to the who, there were over 76.3 million individuals worldwide with diagnosable alcohol use disorders in 2004.35 a major concern with the abuse of alcohol is that for most illicit drugs, alcohol is used in a simultaneous drug use context, but the dsm-iv tr only defines substance dependence disorders in a singular manner. this does not allow for comorbidity of substance use disorders, and clinical research normally only focuses on one specific substance even though participants are likely to be using multiple drugs.37 the concurrent use of alcohol with other substances has been shown to be synergistically more dangerous than the additive effects of the substances involved.38 current treatments for alcohol dependence include disulfiram, naltrexone, acamprosate, and topiramate. the two most used in clinical practice are disulfiram, used to block the metabolism of acetaldehyde in order to cause a conditioned association of nausea with alcohol use, and naltrexone, an opioid antagonist that decreases the pleasurable effects of alcohol. these treatments have had varying rates of success, with studies indicating that by three months post-treatment, over 40% of individuals have relapsed, and this statistic jumps to over 70% after twelve months posttreatment, indicating the need for alternatives.39 conrod et al. found that the effects of the ascending limb of the blood alcohol concentration curve (bacc) were tied to increased release of dopamine, and the effects of the decaying limb of the bacc were tied to the effects of increased gaba release (which in turn also inhibits dopamine release); hence, baclofen may be applicable in treating alcohol dependence.36 short term research on baclofen has been very promising for the treatment of alcohol dependence. a thirty day randomized, double-blind controlled trial with a sample of thity-nine detoxified alcohol dependent subjects comparing a group who took 10 mg of baclofen t.i.d (three times in a day) to a placebo group found that the baclofen group demonstrated significant increases in percentage of total abstinence (71% compared to 21% in the placebo group; p<0.005). they found that fourteen patients in the baclofen group (n=20) remained abstinent throughout the trial, compared to four patients in the placebo group (n=19). this trial also found that baclofen helped attenuate or prevent trait anxiety (p<0.05), reduced alcohol craving (p<0.05), and lowered alcohol intake, from eighteen drinks per day at week zero to under 0.5 drinks per day at week 4 (p<0.005). the placebo group, on the other hand, lowered intake from ten drinks per day at week zero to 3.5-4.5 per day at week 4 (p> 0.05).40 addolorato et al. performed a twelve week randomized, double-blind controlled trial (n=42) to examine the doseresponse effects of baclofen on daily alcohol intake, using a placebo group (n=14), a 10 mg t.i.d baclofen group (n=14), and a 20mg t.i.d baclofen group (n=14). they found that patients receiving 10mg baclofen t.i.d had a 53% reduction in the number of drinks per day, from three drinks per day to 1.5. [(p < 0.0001) when compared to placebo group]. patients allocated to the 20mg baclofen t.i.d group had a 68% reduction in the number of drinks per day (from 3 drinks per day to 1) when compared to placebo (p < 0.0001). the average alcohol intake for all subject prior to the initiation period was recorded as 3 drinks per day. the effect of 20 mg baclofen t.i.d was greater than that of 10mg baclofen t.i.d, indicating a dose-dependent effect relationship.41 another randomized, double-blind controlled trial (n=84) conducted by addolorato et al. (2007) examined the effects of baclofen as an alcohol abstinence-promoting agent in alcohol dependent patients with liver cirrhosis over the course of twelve weeks. administering 5 mg t.i.d for days 1-3 followed by 10 mg t.i.d for the remainder of the trial, they found that baclofen had a significant effect in promoting alcohol abstinence after thirty, sixty, and eighty-four days of use (p<0.0001). after thirty days of use, only six patients from the baclofen group (n=42) had relapsed, compared to sixteen in the placebo group (n=42). after sixty days, only eight from the baclofen group had relapsed, compared to nineteen in the placebo group (p<0.05). by the end of the trial, thirty individuals in the baclofen group were totally abstinent throughout the whole trial, compared to twelve in the placebo group 31 a possible cure (p=0.0001). they also found that baclofen use resulted in significant decreases in self-reported alcohol craving (p<0.0001), and that the difference in alcohol abstinence observed was enough to observe significant reductions in clinical markers of liver injury, such as serum bilirubin and albumin.42 in a four week randomized double-blind controlled study of ninety alcohol dependent patients with comorbid secondary anxiety or depression, the use of baclofen at 12.5mg t.i.d displayed the same anxiolytic effects as the 15mg per day diazepam and 75mg per day amitriptyline, without the sedation noticed by the latter two.43 baclofen has also been shown to reverse the anxiogenic response induced by withdrawal from alcohol treatment.44 these results indicate that baclofen can also be useful in treating anxiety disorders for those diagnosed with alcohol dependence. cocaine dependence according to the united nationsoffice on drugs and crime, cocaine is the fourth most used substance from the illicit substance category.2 cocaine acts as a dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin re-uptake inhibitor by occupying a receptor on the transporter molecule correlated with each respective neurotransmitter.53 robbins et al. observed in their clinical trial that the average craving ratings during the cocaine use intervals were double the ratings given during intervals of abstinence, and that cocaine use was four times more likely to occur during a period of elevated craving than during comparison intervals, making any treatment that can reduce cocaine related craving essential to treating cocaine dependence. 54 naltrexone, an opioid antagonist which was earlier discussed for alcohol dependence is also a commonly used pharmacotherapy for reducing cocaine craving, although relapse is quite high, with over 70% of patients relapsing within twelve months of substance abstinence.39 thus, an alternative to naltrexone for cocaine dependence would be of use to the medical community. childress et al. found that cocaine video cues triggered craving and differential limbic system activation in cocaine patients not seen in control subjects. in a sample of seventeen patients with cocaine dependence, patients who were given baclofen (10-20mg bid) for sevent to ten days prior to the pet session as a pre-treatment showed a substantial reduction in cue-induced craving compared to control subjects who received placebo, and did not show the same limbic system activation that the control subjects did. the regions that were activated in the subjects who did not receive baclofen were the anterior cingulate, right inferior parietal lobe, and the caudate nucleus.58 a sixteen week randomized, double-blind controlled trial (n=70) conducted by shoptaw et al. found that subjects in the baclofen group (n=35), who received baclofen 20mg t.i.d were less likely to test positive on a urinalysis (p=0.001) for substance use than subjects in the placebo group (n=35), which showed no significant effect, indicating baclofen promoted self-abstinence.59 this study was similar to the findings of a preliminary open label clinical trial conducted by ling et al.61 an experiment (n=17) conducted in an in-patient unit using a mixed factorial design examined the differences in baclofen-induced responses following cocaine use on various factors such as self-administration and self-craving to cocaine relating to individuals who were either dependent on cocaine (n=10), or individuals who were dependent on both cocaine and opioids (n=7). this is the first such study examining the effects of baclofen on individuals diagnosed with more than one substance dependence disorder. the main difference between these two groups is that the cocaine and opioid dependent group (methadone group) were also receiving methadone for their opioid dependence, while the cocaine dependent group (non-methadone group) only received baclofen.61 over the course of twenty-one days, individuals were maintained on each of the baclofen dosages (0 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg) for a period of seven days, and throughout these seven days, they were all exposed to each the different cocaine conditions (0, 12, 25, 50 mg). the baclofen conditions were administrated in a double-blind manner, while only the patients were blinded to the cocaine conditions, and subjects were blinded to the cocaine condition. in the non-methadone group, only the 60mg per day baclofen maintenance condition displayed statistically significant decreases in 12mg cocaine self-administration compared to placebo, resulting in a 25% reduction of selfadministration [(three times compared to four observed in the placebo group, (p<0.05)]. the use of baclofen did not have statistically significant effect relating to self-adminis32 elements : : spring 2013 tration for the other 2 cocaine doses (25mg and 50mg). baclofen did not alter cocaine self-administration in the group receiving methadone. this study also found that the 60mg per day baclofen condition in the methadone group significantly decreases self-reported cocaine craving following all active cocaine doses (p<0.0002).61 opioid dependence the opioid class of substances includes drugs such as morphine and heroin. opioids have several receptors, which differ in their distribution in the cns and their affinity for opioids. opioids may be the third most used class of illicit substances,2 but they are the most dangerous group of illicit substances in the world, rated as the most addictive and as most notorious for reported overdoses.63 opiate-related treatments have recently exhibited a large increase in north america, from 10% (2006) to 23% (2008), indicating a rise in prevalence use.2 research conducted in transgenic animal models has suggested that opposing activity of the μ and κ opioid receptors form the basis for the dual euphoric-dysphoric activity of various addictive substances, along with the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway projecting from the vta to the nucleus accumbens, which is seen as a critical site for the initiation of psychological dependence on opioids.64-66 the more recent treatment of opioid dependence has focused on buprenorphine, naltrexone, and methadone. buprenorphine is a partial agonist on the μ-opioid receptor found to be effective for reduction of opioid use, and promoting abstinence.67 buprenorphine treatment is becoming as popular as methadone maintenance therapy,68 and may be a viable alternative to methadone outpatient treatment with respect to effectiveness and cost.69-71 as is the case with alcohol and cocaine dependence, studies using naltrexone for opioid dependence found that after a twelve month follow up, there was no difference observed between the naltrexone and placebo groups,72, 73 along with the potential for naltrexone to display dose-related hepatotoxicity.74 a two week randomized, double-blind controlled trial (n=30) was conducted on opioid dependent patients to compare the effectiveness of baclofen to clonidine. they found that while both medications were equally effective in treating the physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal, the baclofen group (n=15) displayed significantly more effective results compared to the clonidine group (n=15) in treating mental symptoms associated with withdrawal (p=0.001), and that this difference was significant on the total scores recorded at the end of the trial (p<0.029).75 assadi et al. performed a twelve week randomized, doubleblind controlled trial study (n=40) to assess the effectiveness of baclofen as an opioid maintenance therapy on opioid dependent subjects. the subjects in their study received either 60mg of baclofen per day (20mg t.i.d) or placebo. they found that the baclofen group (n=20) had a significant effect in treatment retention (p<0.05) and opiate withdrawal syndrome (p<0.05) compared to the placebo group (n=20), and a non-significant effect on opioid craving (p=0.23).76 assadi et al. also observed that attrition rates in their baclofen study were nearly twice the rates reported by studies on methadone and buprenorphine maintenance treatments that included psychological interventions along with the pharmaceutical intervention.77-80 these attrition rates are similar to these types of treatments when they do not include psychological interventions with the pharmacotherapy.76, 81 limitations a critical limitation of baclofen administration for substance use disorders is that the amount of research from clinical trials in human subjects is lacking, and although the results of trials seem to be positive, more clinical trials are required. there is a severe lack of clinical trials on the use of baclofen for substance use disorders compared to the other pharmacotherapies discussed in this report. there is also a lack of long-term studies on the efficacy of baclofen for substance use disorders compared to the fda-approved pharmacotherapies discussed in this report. due to these limitations, more research is required before baclofen should be recommended as a treatment for a substance use disorder. summary baclofen appears potentially applicable in treating various substance use disorders, as it elicits comparable results to current intervention methods utilized in clinical practices. baclofen has been observed to have significant treatment effects in varying aspects of alcohol, cocaine, and opioid dependence such as lowering self-administration rates, 33 a possible cure craving, and promoting self-abstinence. it is possible that baclofen attenuates the reinforcing effects of these substance use disorders involved in self-administration and craving by attenuating levels of extracellular dopamine and glutamate in brain areas involved in addiction. future studies should investigate the relationship between the effectiveness of baclofen administration when implemented alongside some form of psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, compared to the use of baclofen alone on outcomes such as self-abstinence, relapse rates, self-administration, and craving. due to the low risk of serious adverse events from the dosages of baclofen utilized in clinical research (shown in table 1), and the lack of trials examining the long-term effects of baclofen administration relating to substance use disorders, it is imperative that more research on this topic be conducted to determine reliable rates of relapse following discontinuation of medication and benefit from baclofen use. endnotes 1. who. statistics on the global burden of substance abuse. genva switzerland world health organisation 2002. 2. undoc. world drug report 2010. vienna, austria united nations 2010. 3. di chiara g, bassareo v, fenu s, et al. dopamine and drug addiction the nucleus accumbens shell connection. neuropharmacology 2004;47(suppl 1):227—241. 4. kienast t, heinz a. dopamine and the diseased brain. cns neurol disord drug targets 2006;5:109—131. 5. american psychiatric association. diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 4th ed text rev. washington dc author 2000. 6. bear m, connors b, paradiso m. neuroscience: exploring the brain (3rd ed.). philadelphia: 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addiction 2002;97:533-542. 36 elements : : spring 2013 substance use disorder study design nu m b e r of subjects s t u d y l e n g t h (weeks) primary results b a c l o f e n dose (mg) source(s) alcohol dependence db*, rct † 39 4 promoted self-abstinence, lowered trait anxiety, lowered daily drink intake 10 (t.i.d‡) addolorato et al.40 alcohol dependence db, rct 42 12 reduction in daily drink intake 10-20 (t.i.d.) addolorato et al.41 alcohol dependence db, rct 84 12 promoted self-abstinence, lowered reported craving 20 (t.i.d.) addolorato et al.42 alcohol dependence db, rct 90 4 anxiolytic effects without sedation 12.5 (t.i.d.) k r u p i t s k y et al.43 cocaine dependence db, rct 17 2 reduced cue-induced craving 10-20 (twice a day) childress et al.58 cocaine dependence db, rct 70 16 promoted self-abstinence 20 (t.i.d.) shoptaw et al.59 cocaine dependence db, rct 17 3 decreased self-administration, decreased reported craving 20 (t.i.d.) haney et al.61 opiod dependence db, rct 30 2 as effective as clonidine in treating physical symptoms of opiate withdrawal syndrome, more effect than clonidine in treating mental withdrawal symptoms 12.5 (t.i.d.) ahmadi-abhari et al.75 opiod dependence db, rct 40 12 higher rates of treatment retention and lowered effects of opiate withdrawal syndrome 20 (t.i.d.) assadi et al.76 table 1. summary of clinical trials *= double blind; †= randomized controlled trial; ‡= three times in a day 37 a possible cure on the surface, recreational sport and wartime service seem worlds away. however, in times of war, when incomprehensible horrors become commonplace, sport can offer a diversion to counter the fomentation of despair in the ranks. this article explores the relationship between the rich british sporting culture—especially that of football—and a soldier’s duty on the front. during world war i, british soldiers in battle, and their families back home, viewed war through the lens of sport in order to cope with the struggles and disillusionment engendered by conflict. together, they faced the “great match” of world war i with a mindset that made their toils more familiar to them, and served as a reminder of the great cause for which they fought. playing the greater game the influence of sport on the psyche of the boys of britain during the great war matthew r. farnum the assiduous and organized cultivation of sport, and what is more important the spirit of sport, has become one of the most distinctive marks of the british army, and it will be a task worthy of the greatest historians to record what this sporting spirit has done . . . for the british army . . . for the british empire.1 —field magazine, 16 march 1918 introduction it was 7:30 am on july 1, 1916 when captain nevill of the east surrey regiment kicked a football into no man’s land, signaling the start of a battle that would claim 57,470 lives by nightfall.2 an observing soldier noted: as the gun-fire died away i saw an infantryman climb into no man’s land, beckoning others to follow. as he did so he kicked off a football; a good kick, the ball rose and travelled well towards the german line. that seemed to be the signal to advance.3 traversing three hundred yards to the german trenches, british soldiers dribbled the four footballs provided by nevill as a reassuringly familiar symbol to rationalize the lunacy of their charge. captain nevill’s kick into no man’s land at the battle of the somme encapsulates, in miniature characteristic, features of the british sporting culture that pervaded world war i. the historian colin veitch writes: it has passed into british folklore as illustrative of the national sporting character; an act of bravado that was shared by a group of men united in their devotion to sport.4 england’s sporting culture had a profound impact on how the british soldier perceived world war i.this study is confined to the front, where british anxiety and sporting culture was most pronounced, and focuses largely on football: the most popular sport both in england and on the front. as far back as the middle ages, england’s sporting culture transcends its history as a nation. this is best illustrated by victorian and edwardian “public schools” where sport was introduced for didactic purposes. much literature is emerging on this important topic, such as j.a. mangan’s book athleticism in the victorian and edwardian public school: the emergence and consolidation of an educational ideology. henry allingham, in his biography kitchener’s last volunteer: the life of henry allingham, affirmed the undeniable existence of a sporting-curriculum in british public schools. for the privileged products of the public schools sport was an opportunity to participate in a group activity. according to a number of secondary sources, it is evident that victorian and edwardian public schools built the framework for a perdurable sporting mindset that evolved into a national characteristic. with the inclusion of blue-collar laborers, sport in great britain was rapidly popularized. for the working classes, access to cheap sport was a relief from the drudgery and toils of the factories, coal mines, and mills. colin veitch’s work, “‘play up! play up!,’ the nation and the first world war,” effectively argues that football was popularized by the working class before the great war. tony mason and eliza riedi’s book sport and the military: the british armed forces 1880-1960 has been an excellent source regarding the influx of sport enthusiasts in england. the popularization of sport coincided with british involvement in world war i. the historian peter simkins argues in his book kitchener’s new army: the raising of new armies, 1914-1916 that it was a wave of patriotism that created the excitement for war. i contend that the pre-war sporting boom generated the wartime fervour. this is evidenced by an increase in sport recruitment propaganda. with war looming, recruiters exploited the sporting culture in great britain. wartime propaganda took many forms throughout this period. i will focus on wartime recruitment poetry and posters to show that recruiters framed their strategy around the sporting boom in england. i rely on war recruitment propaganda found in the times as a reliable source, but also james walvin’s the people’s game: a social history of british football. british soldiers entered the war expecting a “great match.” captain nevill’s notorious kick at the somme is symbolic of this prevalent sporting mindset. the tragic irony of nevill’s kick is that he was shortly cut down by german bullets, a sharp contrast between sport and war, fantasy and reality. paul fussell contends in his book the great war and modern memory that war is innately ironic, calling the great war a “satire of circumstance.” this irony would inevitably lead to disillusionment, a position argued by colin veitch in “‘play up! play up! and win the war!’ football, the nation and the first world war.” i support positions taken by fussell and veitch, and have referred to john lewis’s collection of firsthand accounts the mammoth book of eyewitness world war i to show that soldiers’ visions of the war were thoroughly shattered by the realities of industrialized warfare. 39 playing the greater game i will expand on fussell and veitch’s position and argue that the british sporting-war philosophy paradoxically disillusioned soldiers while simultaneously functioning as a coping mechanism. to cope with their disillusionment, troops reverted to their roots in british sporting culture. john fuller’s book troop morale and popular culture in the british and dominion armies 1914-1918 and numerous wartime journal entries indicate that under duress, soldiers used sport to rationalize and humanize the horrors of the front. sport functioned in this way as a familiar point of contact in an otherwise indistinguishable world. as a recreational activity and memory of the past, british soldiers used sport to create a sphere separate from the horrors of the front. richard tawney, in the attack, and other papers, and john fuller suggest that soldiers created a “new england” in the trenches, transposing activities and values characteristic of their motherland to the front. mason and riedi write: if sport, despite the assertions of its enthusiasts, did not quite win the war, it nonetheless played an important part in the experiences of many soldiers between 1914 and 1918. as a distraction from the horrors of the conflict, as much-needed amusement and diversion, and as a link with home and civilian life, sport helped to make war bearable.5 though the value of sport in wartime is implied by numerous scholars, little has been written explicitly on this subject. an extensive study of the works of these scholars supplemented original primary source research will reveal the proufound impact of the sporting spirit on england’s world war i experience. england’s sporting war the british sporting culture dates back as early as the middle ages. this is evidenced by “the english bowman’s glory,” a hymn written in 1415 commemorating henry v’s victory in northern france: agincourt, agincourt! know ye not agincourt? oh, it was noble sport! then did we owe men; men, who a victory won us ‘gainst any odds among us: such were our bowmen.6 as an early example of the british sporting culture, the hymn pays homage to: the games and field-sports in which [the author] acquired the basal elements of all true discipline confidence in his companions and readiness to sacrifice the desire for personal distinction to the common interest of his team, which is, of course, a mimic army in being.7 educationalists realized that team sports fostered discipline and self-control while simultaneously contributing to the character development of the british youth. british public schools introduced sport to better prepare those who would form the elite of the british empire.8 after defeating napoleon bonaparte, the famous english general lord wellington reportedly said “the battle of waterloo was won on the playing fields of eton.”9 the authenticity of the source is challenged, but the point is valid. eton is the best known of the elite public schools located down the road from windsor castle, and we may surmise that football was popular as early as 1519 from a sentence written for translation: “we will play with a bag full of wynde.”10 the notion that sport imparted important life skills was strengthened in victorian and edwardian public schools. colin veitch notes: private educational establishments known as “public schools” . . . began to encourage the introduction of games into the curriculum for distinct moral and educational purposes.11 sport was so important in communicating life skills that some headmasters, like hely hutchinson almond of the “the tragic irony of nevill’s kick is that he was shortly cut down by german bullets, a sharp contrast between sport and war, fantasy and reality.” 40 elements : : spring 2013 loretto school, considered it the life blood of the public school system.12 the headmaster of harrow school said in 1906, “the spirit of subordination and cooperation, the complete authority, the ready obedience, the self-respect and self-sacrifice of the playing field enter largely into life.”13 in his autobiography, rigger aero henry allingham, the last survivor of kitchener’s new army, who died in 2009 at the age of 113, acknowledged the prominent role sport played in his adolescent life. a product of the fourth avenue school in manor park, allingham learned sport at a young age. “it was at this school that i discovered sport. i loved playing football and cricket.”14 heralding the rise of a sporting culture in great britain, allingham’s early childhood, like that of many british youths, was ridden with sport. usually i played in the streets after school was over with friends who were always keen for a game. when we played football we used coats for goalposts. but i preferred cricket, had my own bat and used the lampposts for wickets.15 using coats for goalposts and lampposts for wickets portrays the british youth as an ardent sport lover, ready to play at the drop of a hat. lessons taught to british youths transcended public schools and exerted their influence over the populace. feepaying public school students embraced football as a civilized sport that taught the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship. these privileged products of the public schools imparted lessons learned through sport on their communities. veitch writes: the belief in the simple linear equation “games build character” blossomed. in the following years, it became self-supporting and self-generating as the influential products of the public school system left their “alma maters,” taking with them their enthusiasm for games.16 when the working class embraced football in the late nineteenth century, england experienced a sporting “boom.” several mid-nineteenth century factory acts afforded workers more recreational time, which they spent playing football.17 veitch comments: part of kitchener’s new army at exeter.35 41 playing the greater game football, or “soccer” as it had become known, had been rapturously embraced by the working class, and the teams emerging from the industrial heartlands of england . . . began to gain ascendency.18 mason and riedi acknowledge football’s rapid increase in popularity: between 1875 and 1884 the average attendance at fa [football association] cup finals in england was 4,900; by 1905-14, it had risen to 79,300.19 an increase of almost 75,000 fans in just twenty years is testament to the rising popularity of football in british society. with the inclusion of the working class, sport had become part of the social and ideological make-up of the british.20 when archduke franz ferdinand of austria, heir to the austro-hungarian throne, was assassinated on june 28, 1914, the wheels of war were set in motion. following declarations of war made by austria-hungary, russia, germany, and france, great britain issued its declaration on august 4, 1914. influenced by a relatively peaceful time period and a sporting boom, many englishmen anticipated the war with sporting optimism. osbert sitwell has remarked that before the war, we were still in the trough of peace that had lasted a hundred years between two great conflicts. in it, such wars as arose were not general, but only a brief armed version of the olympic games. you won a round; the enemy won the next. there was no talk of extermination, or of fights to a finish, than would occur in a boxing match.21 as a distinct national characteristic, the notion of fighting as the greatest of all games transcended early british history and revealed itself in attitudes towards the great war. it was not long before the british began linking success in sport to success in warfare. this was particularly true in public schools. mason and riedi comment: the belief that sport and war were in some sense the same, that sport was “mimic war” and war only the “greater game,” was certainly firmly held in the late victorian and edwardian public schools.22 it was commonly maintained that british public schools groomed officers, and, as british military influence spread throughout the globe, there developed a familiar stereotype of the schoolboy-sportsman-soldier, patriotically doing his duty throughout the empire.23 war recruitment propaganda recognized this undercurrent of sporting enthusiasm and successfully implemented it as a strategy. glorifying the war as the most noble and honourable game to play, newspapers, literary works, posters, and other forms of propaganda reinforced the sporting-war mentality in enlistees. two weeks after the war began in 1914, the times published robert e. vernede’s “the call”: lad with the merry smile and the eyes, quick as hawk’s and clear as the day, you, who have counted the game the prize, here is the game of games to play. never a goal—the captains say— matches the one that’s needed now: put the old blazer and cap away, england’s colours await your brow.24 this blatant call to arms played on the powerful analogy between sport and war to attract youths to the fray. “put the old blazer and cap away” was a direct reference to public school students, which emphasizes their important contribution to the sporting-war mentality. recruiters transferred the concept of teamwork in sport to teamwork in war. the call to participate in the “greater game” effectively likened a player’s duty to his team to a civilian’s duty to his country. poet a. lochhead’s first stanza of “the game” declares: take your place in a greater game where worthier deeds are done . . . but rally all! if you’re men at all, there’s room in the team for you.25 his second stanza: you may find your place in the battle-front if you’d play the forward game, to carry the trench and man the guns with dash and deadly aim. o, the field is wide, and the foe is strong, and it’s far from wing to wing, but we’ll carry through, and it’s there that you may shoot for your flag and king.26 42 elements : : spring 2013 curiously, the germans used british sporting-enthusiasm in their own propaganda. claiming that the british were too occupied with sport to participate in war, german propaganda underscored the prominent sporting culture in england. in response to this german claim, a british poster encouraged soldiers to “give them the lie! play the greater game and join the football battalion.”27 recruiters emphasized that soldiers were similar to footballers. the publicity department of the central london recruiting depot issued a poster in november 1914 which read, “men of millwall. hundreds of football enthusiasts are joining the army daily. don’t be left behind. let the enemy hear the ‘lions roar.’”28 appealing to british sport enthusiasts, the football recruiting drive implied that sport and war walked hand-in-hand. the football association reinforced the analogy with its own recruitment tactics, using matches and tournaments as recruiting drives.29 in stadiums throughout england, football clubs appealed to the crowd to take up the war effort. james walvin writes, “footballers often set the example for their followers by joining the forces in front of the assembled crowd.”30 glorified athletes championing the war effort in front of their devoted fans reinforced the sportsmanlike emphasis to enlisting. a poster displayed at a london football ground read: do you want to be a chelsea die-hard? if so join the 17th battalion middlesex regiment “the old die-hards” and follow the lead given by your favourite football players.31 the football association estimated that its recruitment tactic contributed more than 500,000 men to the war effort by the end of 1914, almost half of the 1,186,337 volunteers of that year.32 convinced that the war would be a great match, british citizens voluntarily enlisted by the thousands. british enthusiasm was marked by recruitment queues up to a mile long. the times noted: the crowd of applicants was so large and so persistent that mounted police were necessary to hold them in check, and the gates were only opened to admit six at a time . . . there was no cheering and little excitement, but there was an undercurrent of enthusiasm, and the disappointment of those who failed to pass one or other of the tests was obvious.33 fueled by a sporting boom and encouraged through wartime propaganda, the british entered the war with sportsmanlike enthusiasm. this is especially true for citizens with a background in sport, like the alums of the victorian and edwardian public school system. veitch writes “the public school and university men responded to the nation’s plight with alacrity.”34 pam salzmann’s picture shows a long line of men ready for battle, an indication of successful recruiting and british enthusiasm. british sporting culture, which was influential in the recruitment process, retained its prominence on the front. describing the british in world war i, richard tawney writes when, as has happened in the present war, men have taken up arms under the influence of some emotion or principle, they tend to be ruled by the idea which compelled them to enlist.36 nevill’s kick at the somme reinforces the notion that the british thought they were “playing the game.” caton woodville’s elegy commemorating the event provides an apt summary of the british sporting mentality: on through the heart of slaughter where gallant comrades fall where blood is poured like water they drive the trickling ball the fear of death before them is but an empty name true to the land that bore them the surreys play the game.37 the elegy pays homage to england’s sporting culture and the impact it had on the british perception of the war. soldiers confidently bragged that they would be home for christmas. more importantly, soldiers earnestly believed that they would be. british hubris is further evidenced by the quixotic vision of going “home to tea.” donald hankey of the first royal warwickshire regiment wrote: 43 playing the greater game battle! battle, murder and sudden death. maiming, slaughter, blood, extremities of fear and discomfort and pain! how incredibly remote all that seems. we don’t believe in it really. it is just a great game we are learning. it is part of the game to make little short rushes in extended order, to lie on our bellies and keep our heads down, snap our rifles and fix our bayonets. just a game, that’s all, and then home to tea.38 the mantra “home to tea” expressed similar confidence that the war would be a series of quickly decided matches. conditioned to see war as analogous to sport, soldiers became disillusioned once they reached the front. the horrors of industrialized warfare were inconceivable, and british soldiers, with lofty expectations of a swift, sporting victory, had difficulty transitioning. one british soldier in the 17th battalion highland light infantry noted his first experience: nothing we had ever seen or heard of could prepare us for that terrible initiation period, when we encountered more difficulties and hardships than we had ever dreamt of in our philosophy.39 “our philosophy” refers to the british mindset molded by a prevalent sporting culture. many soldiers were utterly confused once they reached the front. a similar disillusionment permeated the home front. the surge of enthusiasm leading up to the war conditioned the british public to think like the soldiers. also expecting a quickly decided war, handled in a sporting fashion, the public was stunned when they learned of the horrors of the front. michael macdonagh, a times journalist, wrote in october 1914: a large section of the public continue to suffer from the first bewildering shock of being at war. their nerves are still jangling, and they are subject to hallucinations. they seem to be enveloped in a mysterious darkness . . .40 the great american cultural and literary historian paul fussell notes that the war seemed to develop into a satire of circumstance. british naïveté manifested itself in “the universal commitment to the sporting spirit,” as he writes.41 seen in this light, nevill’s kick reinforces fussell’s satire of circumstance. contrary to british expectations, the great war lasted four years and resulted in more than 887,000 casualties.42 landscapes bombed to oblivion, towns pulverized and vacant, homes exploded to pieces, families grieving and confused, bodies rendered useless: this was the reality soldiers faced during the great war. constant mental and physical anguish pushed the soldier to the limits and challenged his semblance of humanity. how did soldiers deal with this “satire of circumstance”? if nevill’s kick reveals a level of absurdity in the british sporting mindset, it may also reinforce the notion that sport functioned as a coping mechanism in times of duress. kicking the ball through no man’s land may have been nevill’s method for rationalizing the lunacy of charging head on into enemy fire. by simplifying the attack to something accessible, he was able to make sense of the situation. arnaud waquet aptly describes football “as an analogy of the ‘great match’ played in the trenches.”43 many british soldiers viewed it the same way—as a competition between two nations. john g. fuller writes: the idea of such a contest, in which lives were forfeit for no larger reason than rivalry, was sufficiently absurd, but it was as a recruitment poster emphasizes the connection between soldiers and footballers congress. 44 elements : : spring 2013 just such a mad contest of nations, arranged and staged by the politicians, that the war appeared to many men.44 reducing war to a game helped soldiers to understand why they were fighting. the tendency to compare war to sport is not altogether irrational. the similarities between trench raids and football matches are clear even to the non-participant. after careful deliberation, the invading party devised a plan of attack and advanced into no man’s land. this is similar to a coach drawing up a play and testing it on the pitch. making the initial climb over the parapet required a distraction. a new york times article likened this to “an ‘interference,’ as they say in football.”45 dodging bullets and explosions as if they were defenders, soldiers advanced towards the enemy like players dribbling and passing the football while the defending team protected their territory, or goal if you will. trenches were, in effect, the sidelines filled with “substitutes” to replace injured (or dead) players. soldiers were the players, generals the coaches, and the objective was to win. nevill’s kick into no man’s land signaled the start of the game. soldiers came equipped with a built-in coping mechanism that helped them humanize the front and overcome their disillusionment. mason and riedi write “the realities of mass warfare did not immediately curb the edwardian tendency to see sport and war as versions of each other.”46 this is suggestive of a paradox. soldiers entered the fray with sporting enthusiasm, leading to disillusionment once exposed to the harsh realities of the front. to overcome this disillusionment, soldiers reverted back to their sporting enthusiasm as a coping mechanism. a soldier wrote in the outpost: there is no doubt about it, life out here is pretty much what we make it, and we, who always make the best of everything, never let the thought of war interfere with our enjoyment.47 even death, the most overwhelming source of disillusionment, was streamlined. to cope with the inescapable a perdurable method of rationalization, soldiers belittled death and thereby suspended the gripping realities of warfare. a poem composed for the 23rd royal fusiliers’ exploits on july 27, 1916 honored the men who lost their lives at delville wood: aye, and the game was good, a game for a man to play, though there’s many that lie in delville wood awaiting the judgement day. but living and dead are made one till the final call when we meet once more on the last parade, soldiers and sportsmen all!48 testament to the intensity of the fighting, soldiers aptly referred to the struggle as the battle at “the devil’s wood,” a revealing title exposing the nature and severity of the fight. yet, soldiers disparaged the war by calling it a “game for a man to play,” a cognitive attempt to downplay the extremities of the perturbing battle. a prominent characteristic of british culture, the sporting mindset prevailed in times of turmoil. the overwhelming presence of death in the trenches necessitated coping strategies, lest the soldiers lose their sanity. fuller writes that british soldiers “carried over from civilian life many institutions and attitudes which helped them to adjust to, and humanize, the new world in which they found themselves.”49 part of sport’s value in the great war may have been that it provided a familiar point of contact for soldiers.50 this “familiar point of contact” was utilized as an analogy. pamm kellett writes that the analogy “assist[ed] in general understanding of complex terms and situations.”51 private frank richards of the royal welsh fusiliers compared his near-death experience to a horse race: “battle! battle, murder and sudden death. maiming, slaughter, blood, extremities of fear and discomfort and pain! . . . it is just a game we are learning . . . just a game, that’s all, and then home to tea.” 45 playing the greater game he passed word up the trench for the whole platoon to open out with rapid fire which would make the enemy keep their heads down and give us a decent chance to get home without being hit. we got back safely; i never knew how well i could jump until that morning. i was out of the ditch and into the trench in the twinkling of an eye: duffy said that i clared the parapet like a grand national winner.52 metaphorically speaking, private richards’s race against death through obstacle-ridden no man’s land was like a national hunt horse race, where horses traversed obstacles and jumped trenches and fences. his survival meant that he was the “grand national winner.” during the battle of aubers ridge in 1915, lionel sotheby, a junior officer in france, simplified the horrors of the battlefield to something comprehensible: cricket. enemy started shelling us with pip squeaks & high explosive shrapnel, an awful deadly weapon. each ball of which when the shell bursts 30 feet up, will make a hole in the ground big enough to place a cricket ball in. its radius of death is about 100 by 50 yards or more according to height of burst.53 it is no coincidence that his analogy follows a description of the shrapnel as “an awful deadly weapon” and is preceded by a description of “its radius of death.” the soldierpoet ivor gurney similarly used sport as a humanizing medium when he noted in his war diary: “shrapnel makes a horrid clatter. trench mortars at a little distance sound like footballs well blown up bouncing hard.”54 sporting culture on the home front similarly functioned as a coping mechanism. true to their roots, british civilians viewed the october 8, 1915 german zeppelin raid on london as a form of entertainment. the londoner beatrice webb wrote: there was apparently no panic, even in the crowded strand. the londoner persists in taking zeppelin raids as an entertainment—a risky entertainment—but no more risky than some forms of sport. “did you see the zeppelins?” was the first question, in the most cheerful voice, which every man, woman and child asked each other for at least four and twenty hours afterwards.55 viewing the zeppelin raids on london as a form of entertainment affirms the undeniable existence of a sporting culture that shaped the way the british understood and coped with the war both on and off the front. preserving a link with home was essential in safeguarding a soldier’s identity. many englishmen maintained this link through sport. soldiers were uprooted from their homes and cast into a world filled with death and destruction. the front was different from anything they had ever known, the landscape rendered indistinguishable through mechanized warfare. trees were leveled, trenches gouged out of the earth, artillery shells pounded the ground, and dust, debris, and gas choked the air. unable to familiarize themselves with the environment on the front, soldiers related it to what they could comprehend. brandon luedtke notes: to manage the horrors and unfamiliarity of these places, soldiers worked to transform them both materially and imaginatively into a distinctly recognisable space — the football pitch. by refracting an unfamiliar landscape through a more familiar one, english servicemen forged, however fleeting, some token of normalcy with which to make sense of the ‘rougher’ fields of the war front.56 general james jack wrote on july 21, 1916: the peaceful countryside is far behind . . . the military targets ahead are subject to periodical bombardments. tonight we must bivouac, and there seems to be scarcely a bit of vacant ground the size of a football pitch.57 this entry is significant because it reveals an attempt to relate the foreign territory to something jack could understand. after leaving the peaceful countryside, jack traversed into hostile territory, the sound of artillery pounding the ground ahead. his anxiety is noted in his next entry: “what with this noise, the all-night rumble of transport and the reverberations of our cannon in the vicinity, sleep is elusive; one’s nerves are a little “on edge.”58 by relating his immediate surroundings to a football pitch, jack forges a semblance of home that helps him retain his composure. recalling the pre-war freedom that allowed for playing sport provided an important link with home and was a reminder of civilian life and identity. after receiving a book full of descriptions of sport, ivor gurney wrote: “‘pip’ is a jolly book, and full of descriptions of sport, which i always liked. (o, what would a clean hit for four feel like now?)”59 john fuller notes one instance when men from the 17th battalion highland light infantry, while on leave, took buses to the semi-final of their divisional cup competition: “traveling by ‘motor’ in the early hours of a saturday 46 elements : : spring 2013 afternoon to a football match is one of the nearest approaches we have had to the old days before the war.”60 perhaps the greatest demonstration of the pervasiveness of british sporting culture throughout the war, soldiers actively played sports behind the front. the caption of a photo of british soldiers playing football in the chicago daily tribune noted in 1914: from appearances, it is not all work for the british trooper in france. the wearying hardships of the fighting line are quickly forgotten if the opportunity presents itself for a game of their favorite sport—football. they may be facing death at any moment, but their interest in the game apparently is not dimmed by any dreaded forebodings.61 testament to the importance of sport to the british, mason and riedi note how through sport, soldiers felt alive.62 soldiers used sport to retreat to an inner sanctum and create their own sphere separate from the reality and horror of the war: they were effectively transported from their wartime situation to their pre-war identity. jan tolleneer writes “in the middle of acts of war and the spilling of blood, these sports offered the soldiers . . . an oasis of peace.”63 soldiers used sport to displace war anxiety with play stress, yielding escape and excitement innocent of fear.64 the military historian f.c. grimwade writes: sport allowed above all a brief mental escape from stress and horror: the longer the war continued the more obvious it became that if “rest” periods were to do any good to the men at all there must be a period of mental as well as physical rest, and games of all sorts provided the required relaxation more than anything else.65 sport was acknowledged as an undeniable mental alleviant by officers. bombardier cornfoot, serving in france, told his girlfriend in a letter “we are arranging football matches and boxing to keep our minds off this terrible war as much as possible.”66 officers encouraged troops to play sport to take their minds off from the war, thereby improving morale. general jack wrote in his war journal: “i am engaged in arranging a football cup tie for one team from every platoon.”67 taking the initiative to organize games, officers made it clear that they valued sport as a mental alleviant and morale booster. “anything to keep the men going” was the mantra echoed by officers. an unidentified officer in 1915 wrote: our last football will be in use monday, and i dread to think of it bursting in this dreary hole. i suppose i shall have to improvise a ball or two from pigs’ bladders—anything to keep the game and the boys going.68 sport was the dominant form of recreation among the british soldiers, or “tommies.” activities like reading, poetry, music, and cards were second rate as a result of the prevalent sporting culture on the front. general jack noted how british soldiers were almost always playing a sport: “little as is the time for recreation, games have to be sandwiched in somehow, since no british troops ever travel without football or the energy to kick them.” ernest brooks’ photo of the first battalion wiltshire regiment shows men kicking a football through a clearing behind the front.(see previous page) the british played sports in all conditions, irrespective of the danger close to the front or the lousy weather. one soldier wrote: the slush on our football “pitch” is awful. shall recommend in the future all football matches be postponed until the mud is knee-deep. we were called the mudlarkers at home and truly we’ve sustained the reputation since coming to france.71 tourist jack robinson noted in march 1915 how british soldiers played football as bombs were dropping from overhead: our boys out yonder will have their game of football under all sorts of conditions. it comes as a tonic and relaxation from trench duty and i cannot understand anybody in england ever questioning the advisability of the game.72 it did not matter that bombs were dropping left and right, artillery shells exploding within sight. when british soldiers played sport, they forged a fleeting image of a safe haven. the strong presence of sport on the front was reminiscent of england’s sporting culture. fuller noted how many soldiers believed they had brought the english sporting culture with them to the front: to find the real england, you have to come to france; that the real england was not an island or an empire, but a wet populous dyke stretching from flanders to the somme.73 47 playing the greater game indeed, the “real england” could be found on the front, where sport persisted amongst the tommies. soldiers on the western front encapsulated values characteristic of their motherland. as tawney noted, “the war acted in this way precisely to reinforce certain values and to foster a cultural conservatism.”74 as the war drew to a close in 1918, england was widely considered a nation of sportsmen. the periodical field noted on march 16, 1918 the assiduous and organized cultivation of sport, and what is more important the spirit of sport, has become one of the most distinctive marks of the british army.75 through their interactions with soldiers from the world over, the tommies fostered an international image of england as a sporting nation. an australian on the front wrote: “i really do believe that they are the best sportsmen in the world.”76 with its early roots in british public schools the sporting culture was brought to the front and profoundly impacted the way soldiers viewed the war. as a cause of disillusionment, a coping mechanism, and source of recreation, sport on the front proves the pervasiveness of the british sporting culture and its influence on the experience of the war. for many tommies, sport served as a reminder of the way of life for which they were fighting. endnotes 1. mason (80) 2. veitch (363) 3. fussell (27) 4. veitch (363) 5. mason (109) 6. osborn (ix) 7. ibid. british soldiers playing football.70 48 elements : : spring 2013 8. veitch (364) 9. veitch (366) 10. “eton college history.” school life in the early days. eton college, 2012. web. 11. veitch (364) 12. mangan (56) 13. reader (97) 14. allingham (38) 15. allingham (42) 16. veitch (365) 17. baker (242) 18. veitch (368) 19. mason (12) 20. mason (13) 21. sitwell (199) 22. mason (3) 23. veitch (366) 24. vernède. “the call” the times [london] 19 aug. 1914: 7. the times digital archive. 25. lochhead. “the game” the times [london] 24 nov. 1914: 9. the times digital archive. 26. ibid. 27. young men of britain! the germans said you were not in earnest. “we knew you’d come and give them the lie!” play the greater game and join the football battalion. 1915. (photograph. johnson, riddle & co, london. n.p.: n.p., n.d. n. pag. library of congress.) 28. simkins (123) 29. mason (84) 30. walvin (89) 31. holland (78) 32. walvin (89) 33. simkins (49) 34. veitch (369) 35. salzmann 1914 36. tawney (22-3) 37. manchester (540) 38. lewis (81) 39. “editorial.” the outpost 1916 40. lewis (62) 41. fussell (21) 42. england. commonwealth war graves commission. commonwealth war graves commission: annual report 2009-2010. 43. waquet (335) 44. fuller (142) 45. “trench raids become keenest war ‘sport’: fine strategy in attacks wherein men fight hand to hand and guns are least needed.” new york times (new york, 30 may 1916, proquest): 2. 46. mason (89) 47. the outpost magazine of the 17th battalion highland light infantry. (feb 1916, archive internet): 178. 48. andrew riddoch and john kemp. when the whistle blows: the story of the footballers’ battalion in the great war. (sparkford, yeovil, somerset: haynes pub., 2008): 127-128. 49. fuller (175) 50. mason (110) 51. kellett (60) 52. lewis (62) 53. sotheby (98) 54. gurney (83) 55. lewis (126) 56. luedtke (107) 57. jack (230) 58. ibid. 59. gurney (88) 60. fuller (89) 61. “human side of the british tommy survives the terrors of war.” chicago daily tribune. (3 dec. 1914. proquest): 7. 62. mason (325) 63. tolleneer (330) 64. fuller (94) 65. grimwade (293) 66. fuller (92) 67. jack (118) 68. collins (14) 69. jack (226-27) 70. brooks, photograph 1916 71. collins (14) 72. ibid. 73. fuller (141) 74. tawney (22-3) 75. mason (80) 76. fuller (140) references allingham, henry, and goodwin, dennis. kitchener’s last volunteer: the life of henry allingham, baker, william j. “the making of a working-class football culture in victorian england.”journal of social history 13.2 (1979): 241-51. jstor. web. battalion in the great war. sparkford, yeovil, somerset: haynes pub., 2008. print. 49 playing the greater game brooks, ernest. men of the first battalion, wiltshire regiment playing football near bouzincourt. collins, tony. rugby league twentieth century britain: a social and cultural history. n.p.: routledge, 2006. google books. google. web. 1 nov. 2012. commonwealth war graves commission. commonwealth war graves commission: annual report 2009-2010. maidenhead, uk: maidenhead, 2010. print. “editorial.” the outpost—magazine of the 17th battalion highland light infantry. feb. 1916: n.pag. archive internet. web. 12 nov. 2012. “eton college history.” school life in the early days. eton college, 2012. web. fuller, john g. troop morale and popular culture in the british and dominion armies, 1914-1918. oxford: clarendon, 1990. print. fussell, paul. the great war and modern memory. new york: oxford up, 1975. print. greater game and join the football battalion. 1915. grimwade, f. c. war history of the 4th battalion the london regiment (royal fusiliers). 1914-1919. london: headquarters of the 4th london regiment, 1922. hathitrust digital library. web. 19 nov. 2012. gurney, ivor, and robert k. e. thornton. ivor gurney war letters: a selection. ashington: mid northumberland arts group, 1983. print. holland, peter. swifter than the arrow: wilfred bartrop, football and war. leicester: matador, 2009. print. “human side of the british tommy survives the terrors of war.” chicago daily tribune 3 dec. imperial war museums. web. jack, james, and john terraine. general jack’s diary: 1914-1918. london: eyre & spottiswoode, 1964. print. kellett, pamm. “football-as-war, coach-as-general: analogy, metaphor and management implications.” football studies 5.1 (2002): 60-76. la 84 foundation. web. 27 oct. 2012. lewis, jon e., ed. the mammoth book of eyewitness world war i. new york: carroll & graf, 2003. print. lochhead, a. “the game” the times [london] 24 nov. 1914: 9. the times digital archive. web luedtke, brandon. “playing fields and battlefields: the football pitch, england and the first world war.” britain and the world 5.1 (2012): 96-115. edinburgh university press. web. 26 oct. 2012. manchester, william. the last lion: winston spencer churchill : visions of glory 1874-1932. london: sphere, 1984. print. mangan, j. a. athleticism in the victorian and edwardian public school: the emergence and consolidation of an educational ideology. cambridge, eng.: cambridge up, 1981. print. mason, tony, and riedi, eliza. sport and the military: the british armed forces 1880-1960. new york: cambridge up, 2010. print. osborn, e. b. the muse in arms; a collection of war poems. london: j. murray, 1918.hathi trust digital library. hathi trust. web. 11 nov. 2012. the oldest surviving veteran of the great war. edinburgh: mainstream pub., 2008. print. the outpost—magazine of the 17th battalion highland light infantry. feb. 1916: n.pag. archive internet. web. 12 nov. 2012. photograph. 1916. ministry of information first world war official collection, bouzincourt. photograph. johnson, riddle & co, london. n.p.: n.p., n.d. n. pag. library of congress. web. 3 nov. 2012 proquest. web. 1914: 7. reader, william j. ‘at duty’s call’: a study in obsolete patriotism. new york: manchester up, 1988. print. riddoch, andrew, and john kemp. when the whistle blows: the story of the footballers’ 50 elements : : spring 2013 salzmann, pam. kitchener’s army. 1914. photograph. exeter in the great war, exeter. exeter memories 1910’s scrapbook. web. 5 nov. 2012. simkins, peter. kitchener’s army: the raising of the new armies, 1914-1916. barnsley, south yorkshire: pen & sword military, 2007. print. sitwell, osbert. great morning! boston: little, brown, 1947. print. sotheby, lionel. lionel sotheby’s great war. ed. donald c. richter. athens, ohio: ohio up, 1997. print. tawney, richard h. the attack, and other papers. london: allen & unwin, 1953. print. “trench raids become keenest war “sport”: fine strategy in attacks wherein men fight hand to hand and guns are least needed.” new york times[new york, n.y.] 30 may 1916: 2. proquest. web. 29 oct. 2012. tolleneer, jan. “preface: masters of the game.” the international journal of the history of sport 28.3 (2011): 329-30. taylor & francis online. web. oct. 2012. veitch, colin. “’play up! play up! and win the war!’ football, the nation and the first world war 1914-15.” journal of contemporary history 20.3 (1985): 363-78. print. vernède, robert e. “the call” the times [london] 19 aug. 1914: 7. the times digital archive. web. waquet, arnaud. “sport in the trenches: the new deal for masculinity in france.” the international journal of the history of sport 28.3 (2011): 331-50. taylor & francis online. web. oct. 2012. walvin, james. the people’s game: a social history of british football. london: allen lane, 1975. print. young men of britain! the germans said you were not in earnest. “we knew you’d come and give them the lie!” play the 51 playing the greater game in the wake of terrible war, south korea was one of the world’s poorest countries in the mid 20th century. when president park chung-hee rose to power in 1962, south korea’s economy witnessed a significant turnaround. revived by the “catch-up” economic model and the presence of jaebeols in the country’s financial proceedings, south korea effectively became one of the world’s wealthiest nations in a matter of decades. however, as this article elucidates, a paradox underlies this improved economic status: the very same growth model that catalyzed south korea’s meteoric economic success also threatens to preclude any further progress. the current system must be replaced if south korea is to do more than “catch-up” with other world economies. an obsolete paradox the self-defeating flaw of south korea’s “catch-up” economic model han-sam lee reeling in the repercussions of a devastating war, south korea was one of the poorest countries in the world in 1957, with a per capita gdp comparable to that of ghana.1 between 1953 and 1961, the economy subsisted on international assistance, mainly in the form of us grants.2 with president park chung-hee’s rise to military dictatorship in 1962,3 the economy quickly began to improve. by 1995, south korea’s rapid growth facilitated its removal from the world bank’s lending-list4 to its addition as an oecd country by 1996. in 2009 south korea joined the g20 and the oecd’s development assistance committee (dac).5 since 2011, south korea has been richer than the european union average, with a per capita gdp of 31,750 usd. the only nation in the world thus far to transition from being the recipient of development aid to acting as a donor within a working life, south korea is considered to be the model for the developing world. moreover, the country boasts developments in democracy and equity, which have complemented its growth.8 south korea’s gini coefficient stands at 31.0, again, proximate to the eu average of 30.4.9,10 south korea was arguably one of the countries that suffered the most heavily in the 1997 east asian crisis.11 however, in the current aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, it has proven itself to be the most resilient of the oecd countries: a feat that should not be understated. its export-centered economy and open financial system leaves it highly vulnerable to external shocks and volatility. between june 2008 and february 2009, south korea lost 1.2 million jobs, in addition to 1.1 billion usd in stock market losses and a subsequent 10 percent drop in currency. but by 2010 the gdp grew by 6 percent and the unemployment rate dropped back down to 3 percent.12 growth continued in 2011 at 4.5 percent and the imf projects a similar growth of 4.2 percent in 2012. permitted that the present growth trend continues, south korea is projected to overtake america in ppp within the next couple years. since the early 1960s, south korea has consistently developed at an impressive rate, keeping in line with the exportmodel initiated by president park (albeit adjustmented accordingly in the 1980s and after the 1997 asian crisis). naturally, the first step was to catch up to advanced countries with a method corresponding to an already well-established framework.14 essentially, catch-up economies base industrialization in acquisition of and improvement upon existing technologies. south korea’s strategy involved a highly interventionist, “renaissance state,” which used allocation of capital to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.15 these funds were concentrated to chosen “national champion” conglomerates (jaebeols) and their respective economies of scale.16 buttressing these initiatives was an ample and stakhanovite workforce.17 the long-standing tradition of valuing education, in combination with the single, “one-shot” system, contributes to the high quality workforce.18,19 president park chung-hee 53 an obsolete paradox south korea’s economic model, centered on a “renaissance state”, will continue to promote growth, thereby facilitating the “catch-up” in developing countries. however, south korea has already completed this first step, it has caught-up and joined the ranks of rich-countries.20 its policies must change accordingly to encourage innovation using a different model. in fact, the mechanisms that once spurred its economic success are the same ones obstructing its potential for innovation and threatening its current growth projectile. powerful, self-sufficient jaebeols, still supported by state policies, crowd out small and mediumsized firms (smes). this overcrowding exacerbates the prospects of south korea’s smes already suffering from inefficient policies and the resulting lack of competition and incentives. the rigorous traditional education system and “one-shot” testing prioritize rote learning (stifling innovative thinking), while further constricting limited routes to success. this educational system--over aganst a system of vocational education--also exhausts household incomes, further increasing their already high percentage of debt.21,22 furthermore, the robust workforce is swiftly ageing, while low fertility stagnates at a rate of 1.2: the lowest in the oecd. a disproportionately poor elderly population exacerbates daunting public spending implications of the low birth rate: 45 percent are mired in poverty.23 worse still, according to the economist, the weak social safety net will become exceedingly problematic, when, “by 2050, there will be seven over 65’s for every ten working-age adults.”24,25 these neglections result from low tax policies intended to promote work and foreign investments. the government’s oversight of this mounting problem is evident in its consistently export-oriented mindset. this external preoccupation is indicated by recent undertakings in vast investments in odas and fta efforts.26,27 although export-oriented jaebeol giants drive the economy,28 south korea must break from their dependency on them to refocus on growing domestic disparities. south korea’s paradox lies in the condition that, in order to sustain economic growth, it must move away from the export-centered formula that has served it so well, and revert back to within its boundaries. initial growth under president park’s authoritarian regime from its infancy, south korea enjoyed rapid growth, partly due to extensive international assistance. as aid in the first 15 years came in grants, they yielded high rates of return— particularly by optimal investments in the construction of a fundamental infrastructural base.29,30,31 this foundation paved the way for subsequent growth, which was sustained and accelerated by president park’s ambitious catch-up agenda in the 1960s. north and south korea’s divergent economic paths, following their exogenous separation into radically different political and economic institutions, testify to park’s integral role in the south’s prosperity.32 the difference in growth, in comparison to that expereinced under the leadership of prior president sungman rhee, reinforces evidence of this relationship.33 during park’s eighteen-year rule, south korea embarked on its economic ascent with an impressive average annual gdp of 10 percent. under the “five-year economic development plan,” park promoted economic nationalism, stamping south korea as an “export-led country.”34 foremost, park implemented policies providing incentives to increase domestic savings; which were used to finance heavy investment demands.35 while foreign savings persisted at 10 percent of the gdp, economic nationalism pushed for domestic ownership, which called for domestic     54 elements : : spring 2013 financial mobilization. by increasing the interest rate from 15 percent to 30 percent on one-year fixed deposits, the domestic savings supply rose from 3.2 percent to 15.5 percent between 1962 and 1971.36,37 this allowed domestic savings to supplant foreign capital’s dominant role in financing investments by 1972 (close to 75 percent from 20 percent in 1960).38 the considerable increase in income, almost five fold for the average manufacturing wage and complementing a similar increase for the average farm income, significantly augmented the domestic savings increase.39,40 more importantly, tax reforms introduced in 1964 eliminated the chronic budgetary deficit and boosted government revenue to more than 16 percent of gdp by 1971.41 in eight years, park’s policies succeeded in more than tripling south korea’s domestic savings supply. due to south korea’s limited supply of capital—again typical of catch-up economies in the initial stages of industrialization—it was tightly controlled by the state-owned banking system. the state’s advantageous ability to analyze both positive externalities and the public good nature of investments was maximized by the repressed financial sector. werlin refers to this model as “corporatism,” in which the government is the “script-writer” to actors primarily from the private sector.42,43 for example, in the mid-1970s, the state identified the it industry as a highly profitable export, and banks subsequently awarded exceedingly low interest rates accordingly to a few chosen domestic enterprises (jaebeols)44 over 38 different policy tools sustaining market incentives and disincentives optimally mobilized tight capital supply towards promising export-sectors. for example, a firm successful in meeting export targets enjoyed reductions in tax rates, and entrepreneurs successful in exports were showered with public recognitions and honors by the president and high-ranking officials.45,46 the banking system played an integral role in allocating and supplying 80 percent of funds. this approach allowed successful investments inheavy industry, including shipbuilding, steel, machinery, petrochemicals, and automobiles. these two sectors are still south korea’s most competitive industries today.47 part of the benign high-debt financial policy constituted low interest rates directed towards specified “national champion.” access to the state’s supply of “unlimited” capital allowed firms to quickly assimilate to existing technologies. this concentrated policy laid the groundwork for the high-debt jaebeol business model and their eventual monopoly of the economy. but in order for jaebeols to successfully compete in the international markets, they also had to improve upon on existing technologies. a high-debt and high-volume production strategy was selected in order to maximize on the state’s supportive high-debt financial policies. jaebeols then zeroed in on single products using economies of scale to boost competitiveness. as wade better articulates, “by mass-producing a less diversified product, they succeeded in taking advantage of the economies of scale in dealing with large volume orders and devoting resources to the technological improvement of single products.”48 between 1983 and 1986, and buttressed by the state’s financial support, the four leading jaebeols (hyundai, samsung, goldstar, and daewoo) invested more than 1.2 billion usd in the mass-production of chips.49 this was ten times the scale of the investment made by taiwan’s semiconductor industry over the same three years. with this high-volume production strategy, the jaebeols could compete with japanese productions by providing the standardized commodity product at a lower cost. the devotion of extensive resources to single products paid off. by the late 1980s, jaebeols had the capacity for innovation, developing their own products such as the 4m dram.   55 an obsolete paradox the highly supportive state-owned banking system meant that the jaebeols were capable of financing a high proportion of their investments with bank debts. the vast sunk costs involved in foundational research were undertaken by state funding.50 the state’s tight financial control indicates a closed capital account that buffered the highly leveraged jaebeols from systemic shocks. furthermore, high domestic savings allowed domestic financing and evasion from prudential debt-limits of western banks.51 these factors explain the jaebeols’ ability to carry a large amount of debt relative to retained earnings or equity. while this expedited economic development, it also meant the economy was highly vulnerable to external shocks; this was especially problematic considering that the jaebeols’ business model subsists on the export of a single-product. expansion into the global market with the ascent of president kim young-sam, south korea solidified its political democratization process, which had been taking place since the 1980s. kim’s “new economic plan” (1993-1997) promoted liberalization based on a neoliberal approach in order bring the country up to par with developed advanced economies.52 this was to the advantage of jaebeols, whose ambitious globalization efforts resulting from their scale economies model could no longer subsist on finances from the domestic market. in order to stay competitive, as the cost of technological developments increased, they needed massive investments that could only be satisfied by access to global capital supply. kim’s program ushered in south korea’s new period of greater freedom and liberalized financial systems, and particularly access to external capital accounts. this was accomplished by relinquishing state control of the financial markets, including policy loans that allowed state “scriptwriting,” dating back to president park in the early 1960.53 the economic plan board was eliminated—a domestic safeguard capable of providing full convertibility of the south korean won for the foreign currency on demand through a sufficient supply of international reserves. essentially, the government had completely surrendered its capacity to coordinate foreign private borrowing. democratization that pushed greater autonomy from the state simultaneously increased jaebeols’ political power to freely pursue their expansionist agenda. accordingly, foreign agents had access to south korea’s budding domestic financial market. this double transition initiated the country’s progressive accumulation of foreign liabilities, propelling the trajectory to its fate in the 1997 east asian crisis.54,55 swift liberalization proved overwhelming for south korea’s juvenile financial sector, having just left the state’s tight grip without the support of complementary safeguards in bank regulation and supervision. the expected challenges of tackling a novel international financial market as a nascent entity were compounded by sharp increases in inflows and outflows by non-conventional actors (non-bank jaebeols borrowing abroad), and the jaebeols’ high debt-to-equity model—exceedingly dependent on bank-based financing. further increasing liabilities, these conditions propagated under a pegged currency exchange rate.56 the president’s previous financial system was completely undermined by a novel order that south korea’s (and the rest of asia’s) embryonic structures could not manage. the spike in inflows was partly energized by south korea’s pegged currency exchange rate tied to the us dollar. although the government made no guarantees about the stability of the exchange rate, its long-standing constancy signaled permanence to eager foreign markets. due to savings excess in japan and a post-mexican crisis (19941995) flight in europe, the japanese and european central banks held large volumes of capital. looking to stimulate their domestic economies and to disseminate their abundant capital, both lent liberally to south korean banks and firms. foreign creditors exploited their abiliy to borrow at low rates while subsequently lending back at higher rates in short-term loans to south korean banks and firms. south korean markets played the perfect counterpart; the new foreign capital finally indulged the jaebeols’ insatiable investments beyond domestic saving capacity.57 withal, the costs of borrowing abroad (albeit in short-term loans) halved the costs of borrowing domestically, and the jaebeols indulged. their globalist model thrived, accelerating for56 elements : : spring 2013 eign inflows.58 existing risks of moral hazard and adverse selection as state protectorates were exacerbated by their renewed “too-big-to-fail” mentality.59 the immature financial institutions also lacked the capacity to restrain and balance excessive risk-taking ventures. the banks’ acceptance of bad loans from jaebeols jeopardized balance sheets and their own viability; this reflects the implicit reliance on the government to bail them out. their inability is only exacerbated during a credit growth leading to a lending boom, as regulatory resources are stretched.60 in fact, the imf, the world bank, and the oecd all acknowledged the need for a parallel strengthening of regulatory systems. however, they overrode the alarming imbalances, prioritizing liberalization. the protraction continued by a naive confidence of us dollar pegged won. at its crest, mid-1997, short-term foreign borrowing constituted 67 percent of all foreign debt, 300 percent of foreign reserves, and the top 10 jaebeols’ debt-to-equity ratio escalated to 622 percent.61 however, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. the hike in inflows under the fixed currency regime meant an upward pressure on the rate and a consequent appreciation of the south korean won (also increasing domestic costs). the jaebeols failed to combat the trade shock rising domestic costs with faster productivity. as a result, they lost competitiveness in semiconductors: south korea’s biggest single export item.62 trade of its other major export goods involving heavy industry (steel, chemical products) also fell during the same period. the following decrease in it exports was especially detrimental to the “export-led country,” driving up its deficits and precipitating the deterioration of its current account.63 the excessive risks taken by the jaebeols then came to fruition. the thin profit margins did not allow the highly vulnerable jaebeols to adjust to the trade shocks; in early 1997, five of the thirty top jaebeols went bankrupt, and 1,431 promissory notes defaulted on average each month.64,65 their defaults were especially detrimental to the unsupervised non-bank financial industry financing jaebeols loans.66,67 asymmetric information problems increased as the south korean stock market index began to decline. once the attacks and panic spread from thailand reached south korea, european, japanese, and us bankers demanded immediate full repayments of shortterm loans. the foreign short-term liabilities hinged on now indefensible long-term high-yield assets. south korea’s level of foreign exchange reserves proved insufficient. the foreign creditor’s run to collect, followed by a decline in south korea’s sovereign credit rating, drove their exit from the south korean market; these factors contributed to the drastic depreciation of the south korean won, the country’s full blown crisis, and their inevitable turn to the imf for a 57* billion usd rescue package in december, 1997.68,69,70 by 1998, the real gdp shrunk to a rate of negative 5.8 percent, and unemployment peaked at 8.1 percent.71 post-1997 reforms in 1998, kim dae-jung’s new administration pushed through two major policy reforms, instrumental to dispelling asymmetric information and stabilizing south korea’s financial system. hahm and mishkin cite evolution with prudential supervision and change in monetary policy strategy.72 various policies contributed to an increased supervision of the financial sector, in addition to a general message conveying government authority over reckless, pre-protectorate jaebeols. breaking the “too-big-to-fail” mentality by allowing the bankruptcy of top jaebeols made this stance clear. restructuring pressures to reduce debt-to-equity ratios followed for the surviving jaebeols.73 the reversal of previous restrictive fdi policy (thereby favoring foreign   57 an obsolete paradox loans), allowed the entry of foreign banks and foreigners access to purchase bankrupt domestic banks. not only does the diversified nature of foreign banking limit exposure to risk; they also bring expertise in risk management practices.74 the stock market also opened up to foreign agents; according to seri, the ratio of stock owned by foreigners increased from 12.3 percent in 1997 to 21.9 percent in 1999 and 40.1 percent at the end of 2003.75 although the dollar-linked pegged exchange rate regime was released, confidence was restored in prioritizing price stability through an inflation-targeting regime in the bank of south korea act and transparent, independent policy making. the central back was established as independent from politics in removed election and appointment policies.76 the inflation-targeting regime replaced the currency peg as an explicit nominal anchor. similar to the previous exchange-rate peg, the institutional commitment to meeting targets communicated transparency and increased accountability to both the public and the markets. south korea’s ability to cap inflation to stable rates of 2 to 3 percent by 1999 has been praised as laudable monetary policy.77 initially, the situation was protracted by poor policies derived from faulty rationales. the interest rate was hiked up from 16.4 percent to 23.9 percent 1997q4 to 1998q1, in a desperate, futile attempt to salvage the value of the south korean won. the imf pushed for domestic austerity and fundamental structural reforms (providing bailout funds in return). the underlying rationale was that high interest rates would keep domestic capital at home while encourage foreign lending, ultimately boosting the depreciating currency, limiting rising inflation, and combatting instability from dollarized balance sheets. in practice, the domestic austerity package (involving higher interest rates, higher taxes, cuts in government expenditure) produced opposite results. adding salt to the wound, the imf required a guarantee of foreign debts. this safeguard insured foreign creditors from default and reduced their incentive to lend, worsening the hard currency squeeze on local agents. the jaebeols’ cash depressed while their shortterm loans obligations continued to rise. their insolvency was perpetuated; outflows gushing out, while inflows ebbed. furthermore, the cyclical nature of private capital flows guaranteed that while the economy was in a state of depression and instability, foreign capital flows would not return.78 fortunately, by july of 1998, south korea had reversed austerity measures and was back on track to continuing its financial neo-liberalization. in addition, they had had adopted expansionary policy, which lowered interest rates, expanded the monetary base, and ran bigger fiscal deficits. moreover, the enacted it regime allowed a significant amount of flexibility in providing both a ceiling and floor in its central target.79,80 this provided an opportunit for advantage, in which the central bank could mitigate the effects of negative and positive shocks to aggregate demand.81 the successes and progress of south korean authorities in monitoring financial institutions and following prudent policies is most pronounced in reflecting on south korea’s contrasting experience and impressive resilience in the 2008 global financial crisis.     58 elements : : spring 2013 pressing financial and fiscal reforms holding 304 billion usd in foreign reserves, south korea claims the seventh largest in the world, and benefits are pronounced in the current account surplus.81,82 the growing momentum of confidence in south korea’s economic prospects has led to large portfolio inflows, boosting equity prices. the external foreign short-term debt has been maintained at around 30 percent, and the trend resumes.84 the fiscal policy consolidation strategy is humming along, and efforts to reduce budget deficit are producing substantial results.85 in line with the rest of south korea’s overall progression, the commercial banking system is sound, with a capital adequacy ratio at 14.3 percent. nonperforming loan ratio stands at an impressively low level of 1.3 percent.86 the current sound economic fundamentals disguise the perpetuation of the south korean economy’s greatest vice: jaebeols. the government continues to give leverage to the jaebeols, most overtly in the allocation of its ambitious r&d expenditures.87 the state’s growing r&d expenditure is concentrated in the it sector, which feeds into the mouths of top jaebeols.88,89,90 the lack of equity is further distorted by a concentration to the upper tier within the jaebeols.91 already profitable with capabilities to invest in independent r&d expenditures, they continue to receive r&d subsidies from the public. the convergence of bureaucratic and corporate interests, a characteristic result of high state intervention in addition to interchanges between careers, perpetuates the jaebeols’ disproportionate influence and overcrowding effects, pronounced in stagnant smes and growing social polarities.92 the government’s interventionist policies, once successful in prioritizing the creation and protection of new knowledge; in gathering and analyzing data to pinpoint the most productive, promising sectors; and in choosing “national champions,” is now captive to the very same policies. the policies have nurtured and catapulted jaebeols to great heights, as they have maximized their capabilities by locking the system in an inertia that protects their interests and neglects ever pressing reforms.93 the economic monopoly held by jaebeols has vast consequences, firstly affecting their own livelihood. as an advanced economy, competitiveness in the global market is dependent on ample innovation. jaebeols disproportionately lack human capital, only employing 10 percent of total workforce.94 given that innovation is grounded in human capital, this is disconcerting.95 further cause for alarm: the smes who dominate the services sector, employing 6.6 million people, face a growing productivity gap against jaebeols.96 the table in footnote 96 clearly illustrates the severe difference in r&d spending, which translates to the same levels of disparities all throughout: “value added per worker in small firms is less than half that in large ones. smes’ operating profits were 4.5% of sales in 2007, compared with about 7% for large firms. small firms spend about half as much on research and development as large ones per unit of sales and borrow far more relative to assets.”97 this has been a prolonged trend as the performance of south korean smes continues to deteriorate. weak smes not only translates to an underdeveloped services sector, signaling the lack of diversification in a promising non-tradable sector, but more importantly, it exposes a failure in honing in potential innovation capital stemming from the entrepreneurial spirit.98 according to the global entrepreneurship monitor, opportunity for entrepreneurship is perceived by south koreans to be the lowest (after japan).99 again, this stems from the jaebeols’ ability to propagate their own venture capital businesses, finding and feeding the best into their own companies. those individuals who do choose the harrowing path of south korean entrepreneurship must compete with jaebeols.100 inevitably, jaebeols have effectively crowded out small start-ups, whose subordination is only reinforced by the weak social safety net and a “captive” employment system that favor jaebeols.101,102 as state subsidies continue for jaebeol-dominated sectors, the question of increased risks of adverse selection returns. its excessive investment in hcis, while neglecting the rising high-tech industries, serves as a prime example.103,104 although jaebeols take credit for spear-heading south korea’s economic growth with their export focus 59 an obsolete paradox and unignorable revenues, the smes dominated services sector employs 70 percent of the total workforce and a turnover accounting for 51 percent of gdp.105 the deepening productivity gap testifies to its neglect by government initiatives and funding. as of 2011, the south korea institute of design promotion (kidp) still does not offer design support to the continuously growing private service industry, while jaebeol-dominated sectors have been receiving subsidies since the 1980s.106 increasing demand for services (mainly in advanced countries) and the smes’ inability to compete any further exposes the state’s gaffe in its neglect.107 increased risk of moral hazard naturally follows adverse selection. the notorious corruption in jaebeols has reached such levels that its crippling effect on the kospi 200 has been nicknamed the “south korean discount.”108 pricefixing is rampant, with over 3,500 cases of price-fixing detected in 2010 (only 66 ending up with minor fines). both samsung and lg have been caught for price-fixing three times in the past two years.109 tongyang securities, a broker, has pinpointed routine practices of “tunneling” and “propping” as perpetrating kospi’s low price-to-earnings ratio.110 the successes of these methods expose poor corporate governance, allowing family-run jaebeols to maintain their tight grip over the economy. this same lack of jaebeol supervision left gaping schisms that were detrimental in south korea’s 1997 collapse the rigidity of south korea’s current economic system, like its “one-shot” education system, only allows one route to success.111 the talents of avant-garde individuals, late bloomers that did not perform well in their exams, and the growing older population are shut out of the narrow, traditional system. the grave consequences of neglecting the ballooning older population (especially in relation to the shrinking overall population) will be felt as they begin to burden the social services. necessary fiscal expansion needs to compensate for the ageing population, but once again, the trade priorities of jaebeols dominate. total tax revenues have been stagnant around 22 percent since 2007 and are even lower for labor.112 to the jaebeols’ benefit, the low rate is meant to increase work and foreign investment. in return, the social safety net has been compromised. at 11 percent, the social spending is exceptionally low, explaining the exceptionally high household debt.113 once embryonic and highly dependent on the south korean government, jaebeols have flourished into worldwide establishments leading the world in it and hci. with their exceptional rise, they lifted up a war-ravaged, destitute citizenry to catch-up and to join the ranks of the richest.114 however, they must not forget that it was, and still is, the government that revived and sustains their prosperity by efficient allocation of public funds. in order for south korea to continue its current trajectory of economic fortune, it must detach itself from the formula that served it so well.115,116 the symbiotic relationship between the jaebeols and state authorities must be severed. the “renaissance state” must return, it must restore equity with effective regulations, and it must enact policy reforms to blaze new trails for dynamic, domestic innovation. endnotes 1. in 1957 ghana’s per capita income was at 491 usd, against south korea’s 490 usd (in 1980 dollars). herbert werlin, 1991 (245) 2. between 1945 and the early 1990’s south korea received total assistance of 12 .8 billion usd. these funds were used to curb post-war hyperinflation, to secure financial stability and to invest in new industrial facilities. hong-min chun, et al 2010 (789-790) 3. president park held his post for 18 years until his assassination in 1979. he is accredited with south korea’s industrialization and export-oriented economic successes, but also widely criticized for his military authoritarian leadership. 4. chun (790) 5. both memberships bolster a world recognized standing as an advanced, high-tech, developed country. 6. compared with 31,550 usd for the eu—the figures are calculated on the basis on purchasing-power parity (ppp). “what do you do when you reach the top?” the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 60 elements : : spring 2013 7. although china, taiwan, singapore and hong kong are richer, each have qualities too unique to serve as models; china is too vast to copy, singapore and hon kong are city-states, and taiwan’s sovereignty is contested. south korea, as a mid-sized country, combined with its recent history of state initiated growth, serves as the medium-model attracting emissaries from around the globe (this opinion is debated as evidenced by the positions of frank, et al. (1975)). cambodia, vietnam, indonesia, bangladesh, mongolia, uzbekistan, kazakhtan and kyrgyzstan have all recently flocked to the country’s development institutes. “this year’s model,” the economist, 18 feb. 2012. 8. although this subject is outside the scope of this paper, it is worth noting that since president park’s assassination, the country’s parliamentary system is on par with japan in the democracy assessment by freedom house (a washington d.c. think-tank). furthermore, democracy provided the first stepping-stone to liberalization of the economy. “what do you do when you reach the top?” the economist, 12 nov. 2011. this is especially true in the 1970s and 1980’s when farm and industrial income disparity grew (as the export focus was heavily pushed). however, the industrial sector focusing on low value-added, labor-intensive products began losing competitiveness from other developing countries. this spurred the government-led transition from products like textiles, clothing and shoes to an exporter of technology and knowledge-intensive goods in the it and heavy industry sectors. the rapid inflation was also brought under control by cutting the growth of the money supply by half. imports were liberalized improving competition, investments in public projects and farm mechanization allowed economic restructuring. by 1982 the average inflation fell to 7.32 percent from 28.60 percent in 1980—a continued trend. “inflation south korea 1985.” cpi inflation south korea 1985. 9. between 1980 and 1997, it fell from 33.0 to 28.0 before rising back up during the 1997 east asian crisis. the economist, 28 jan. 2012. 10. for relativity, a scandinavian country is better off with an index of 25.0, canada a little worse off at 32.1. “the world factbook: gini index,” cia. 11. south korea suffered a 36 percent fall in exchange rates, 34 percent in stock prices. only thailand and indonesia had declines on a similar level (36:17, 72:24 respectively). robert wade, “from ‘miracle’ to ‘cronyism’ explaining the great asian slump” 1998 (694) 12. the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 13. republic of south korea 2011 article iv. rep. imf, 2011. 14. reinert‘s paper concerns the fundamental role of the state in western growth since the renaissance. he draws many parallels to south korea’s economic development today, whose development is in line with the preceding 500 years of development projectiles. erik reinert, “the role of the state in economic growth” 1999 15. this term is taken from reinert’s paper that defines it as an “activistic and idealistic state” part of the “production-centered and acitivistic-idealistic renaissance tradition.” he argues the strong state is in fact an “obligatory passage point” for a country to become developed country. reinert (271) 16. the specific sectors are often dictated by the renaissance state, explicitly coerced or through incentives. in the 1980s, samsung was coerced into changing sectors: from trading activities to manufacturing semi-conductors. but the state has used other means: premiums, cheap credit, and temporary protection of local markets, among others. reinert explains these investments made by renaissance states create new learning feedback systems— “new learning is the basis for economic development, and new learning is able to create development.” he argues “development” is essentially “dynamic rent” where labor, capital, and the government collect from the feedback system. reinert (297) 17. there was a bulge of working-age south koreans between 1970 and 1990. “the one-shot society,” the economist. 17 dec. 2011. 18. each year, students take a single set of multiple-choice sets that essentially determines their future. high scorers enter one of south korea’s best universities, which usually guarantees a jobfor-life at a prestigious jaebeol or in the government. ibid. 19. south korean schools top international comparisons of educational standards, and its students ranked second (right behind shanghai, which again is more of a city than a state) in the latest pisa study by the oecd. “pisa 2009 results,” organisation for economic co-operation and development. 20. its jaebeols have surpassed competition of japanese companiessamsung electronics even leads apple in smartphone sales, while accounting for 26 percent of the iphone’s component costs. the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 21. the average household in seoul spends 16 percent of their income on private tuition. the economist, 17 dec. 2011. 22. household debt is 125 percent of household disposable income. republic of south korea 2011 article iv. rep. imf, 2011 (2) 23. jack kim, et al., “analysis: south korea’s unloved chaebol.” reuters, 5 apr. 2012. 61 an obsolete paradox 24. in fact, its tax-benefit system to reduce inequality and poverty is the weakest of the oecd countries. the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 25. ibid. 26. the south korean government has committed to an increase from the current 0.15 percent of oda/gni ratio to 0.25 percent by 2015. to put into perspective, the current contribution exceeds the total oda of four dac member countries: greece, luxembourg, new zealand, and portugal. chun et al. (791) 27. this is largely due to not only the rising demands from emerging market countries, but also the shift of the richest countries to services produced by south korea’s uncompetitive smes. since the drop in demand after the 2008 global crisis from its then main exporters of the developed markets, south korea has shifted its export model towards emerging markets. as of may 2011, 12 south korean ftas with emerging markets have been in effect. there are presently 9 ftas under negotiation and 14 others in review. an alternative problematic could have considered the viability of south korea’s perpetual export-model. bun-soon park, “south korea’s new growth engine: ftas with emerging market economies,” 2011 (39) 28. jaebeols account for more than half the country’s output. the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 29. the average annual growth rate was 4.9 percent of gdp between 1954 and 1960, which has been largely attributed to the flowing foreign aid. chun, et al 2010, (789-790) 30. the foreign aid curbed hyperinflation, restored financial stability and allowed for investments in industrial facilities. chun, 31. the south korean experiment is the prime case illustrating the natural experiment model. at the drawing of the 38th parallel latitude, they shared all possible variables attributing to growth (economics, culture, demographics, geography). their radically different economic projectiles after the split into the pro-communist north and the pro-us south support the hypothesis that institutions are the ultimate cause of instigating and promoting growth. roberto galbiati, class lecture, “law and economics.” sciences po, paris, april 2012. 32. due to the overvalued currency, rhee’s policy of import substitution of non-durable consumer and intermediate goods through high taxes and restrictive quotas, exports only contributed 1 percent of the gdp. by 1961, gdp per capita stagnated at 85 usd. werlin (250) 33. ibid. 34. the vigorous investments resulted from high rates of return on capital. this is characteristic of an undeveloped country with a large workforce (from the demographic bulge see footnote 18 and 24) and scarce capital. 35. their nature changed as south korea gradually weaned off foreign grants and transitioned into foreign commercial loans. by 1961-1975, loans and grants were at equilibrium. refer to table of footnote 33. 36. werlin (250) 37. frank et al. (106) 38. from -18.02 billion won in 1964 to 99.73 billion won in 1972. frank (229) 39. an annual manufacturing wage household income from 46,560 won in 1964 to 208,128 won in 1971, farm household income from 56,618 won to 179,990. ibid., 224. the equity in rural and urban income distribution is worth noting -wade argues it explains net saving tendencies. wade (695) 40. wade (230) 41. arthur silve, class notes, “economic policies in emerging markets,” class 5 page 17, 2012. 42. werlin (251) 43. wang (1090) 44. werlin (251) 45. frank et al. (233) 46. improvements on chips (r&d and dram) by samsung accounts for much of its success as the world’s largest player in 1993—also see footnote 21. wang (1090) 47. the hci investments faced criticisms of excess in the 1980s, when south korea’s exports faced a crisis. but the inefficiencies were quickly clamped down reviving the sector. this would repeat in the 1997 asian crisis, when once again the exports began to lose competitiveness. unlike the first time around, when the government was able to prevent a full-blown currency and financial crisis, (under a fully-repressed domestic financial system, they could work out prompt debt restructuring and cuts in interest rates without causing massive capital outflows) it was exposed to external capital liabilities out of its control. yoon je cho, “financial repression, liberalisation, crisis and restructuring: lessons of south korea’s financial sector policies,” 2002 (2) 48. triple e-class container ships being developed by south korean shipyards are the largest and most efficient ever built. the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 49. wang (1092) 50. wang (1090) 62 elements : : spring 2013 51. silve., class 5. 52. wade (695) 53. wang (1093) 54. both the imf and the world bank encouraged this transition, as well as the elite jaebeols looking to increase competitiveness and profits. wade (696) 55. wang (1093) 56. islam fleshes the process out in the following excerpt: “locals could open foreign bank accounts; banks could extend credit in foreign currencies in the domestic markets; non-bank financial institutions and private corporations could borrow abroad; foreigners could own shares listed by national companies on domestic stock markets; foreign banks could enjoy wider freedom of entry into the domestic banking sector; and off-shore banks could borrow abroad and lend domestically.” azizul islam, “the dynamics of asian economic crisis and selected policy implications,” un escap, 1998. 57. guillermo calvo, and frederic mishkin, “the mirage of exchange rate regimes for emerging market countries,” 2003. (99) 58. wade inducts how “high-speed growth generated gross domestic investment demand even higher than gross domestic saving, itself about the highest in the world”(referring to asian saving pre-1997). wade (69) 59. wade (695) 60. joon-ho hahm, and frederic s. mishkin, “causes of the south korean financial crisis: lessons for policy,” 2000. (16-18) 61. hahm and mishkin, (7) 62. wang (1093) 63. the unit price of semiconductor chip fell by more than 70 percent. hahm and mishkin, 23. 64. wade (697) although as hahm and mishkin point out, the issue wasn’t of quantity: external liability at 33 percent in 1997 was by itself not a liability. rather, the quality, the fact that they were short-term external debt in combination with a term mismatch was the underlying liability. 65. again, this was a result of their highly leveraged privileges (high levels of debt insured by implicit government support) and following inefficient investments. 66. hahm and mishkin (20) 67. during the crisis, 17 out of 30 of exiting merchant banking corporations went to bust. hahm and mishkin (17) 68. their non-performing loan to capital ratio was at 31.19 percent respective to the12.2 percent ratio in the strictly supervised commercial banking sector. ibid. 69. cho refers to these banks as liberalized nbfis (nonbanking financial institutions), which were in fact liberalized back in the 1980s in a compromise of its control and industrialists after the heavy chemical industries investment mistake and resulting slump in the economy. as most nbfis were founded and owned by jaebeols, it follows they enjoyed little regulation (lax interest rate regulations and entry barriers). cho (13) 70. *the south korean government later revealed the short-term debt was in fact double, at 97 billion usd. hahm and mishkin (25) 71. high foreign liabilities and loans in the unsupervised frenzy accumulated in liability dollarization, which south korea’s growing currency mismatch could not mitigate. the jaebeols and banks had invested and borrowed in us dollars but received returns in south korean wons. as the south korean won drastically depreciated, the net worth of borrowers also fell, especially for those entities with earnings primarily of local currency. as repayments were now improbable, defaults ensued and the economy contracted. calvo and mishkin (105) 72. wade (699) 73. hahm and mishkin (1) 74. hahm and mishkin (33) 75. according to seri, by 2002, the average ratio was reduced to 130.0 percent, down to 100 in 2003. wang, 1101. 76. hahm and mishkin (45-46) 77. the same pattern of increased foreign equity is seen in top jaebeols. wang, 1094. 78. hahm and mishkin (48) 79. marcelo sanchez, “characterizing the inflation targeting regim in south korea,” european central bank, 17. 80. wade (700-701) 81. for example, short-term (around a month) interbank debts were rolled over into one to three-year government guaranteed bonds. de bolle et al. (12) 82. +/1 percent until 2002, +/0.5 percent after, 2.5 +/0.5 percent forth 2004-2006 and 2007-2009. sanchez (15) 83. hahm and mishkin (51) 84. republic of south korea 2011 article iv. rep. imf, 2011, 2. 85. reuters. 5 apr. 2012. 63 an obsolete paradox 86. in 2007 external short-term debt was at 160.2 billion usd over 333.4 billion usd in total external debt, 140.7 over 399.7 in 2012 and projected to be 143.5 over 419.6 in 2013. imf, 31. 87. the downward progression of the deficit from 1.1 percent of gdp in 2010 to 0.6 in 2011, thanks to expenditure restraints and broadened taxes. imf (2) 88. imf (2) 89. at 3 percent of gdp highest in oecd 90. mest, 2009. 91. semiconductors dominate the top three percentages of r&d expenditure rate to sales by industry sectors at 8.14 percent, followed by medical, precision and optical machinery and watches at 7.29, then communications and broadcasting equipment at 6.23 percent. mest, 2009. 92. this table reflects the high concentration of r&d efforts of global firms (jaebeols); only natural considering 80 percent of the government’s r&d expenditures was channeled into the it and automobile sectors. anthony bartzokas, “country review: south korea,” unu-merit, 2007. 93. wang, 1095. 94. as silve points, out moral hazard may be incited in state intervention rather than avoided as “it may favor collusion between high-ranking civil servants and business, as it is notorious at this level of responsibility, individuals tend to alternate both careers, to evolve in identical circles and to have interwoven interests.” silve, class 5 (17) 95. the most overt example is the current president lee myungbak, a former jaebeol ceo (hyundai engineering and construction). kim, et al., reuters, 5 apr. 2012. 96. powerful jaebeol lobby groups (such as the federation of south korean industries) have effectively silenced efforts for jaebeol reforms. ibid. 97. the economist, 18 feb. 2012. 98. reinert (287) 99. the small business sector workforce alone constitutes 27.5 percent of total workforce, of which 1.7 million are from the bottom 20 percent income bracket. kim, et al., reuters, 5 apr. 2012. 100. the economist, 18 feb. 2012. 101. the economist encapsulates, “south korea, in short, has first-world manufacturing exporters and third-world services.” ibid. 102. an annual survey conducted by the london business school and babson college, massachusetts. ibid. 103. two south korean start-ups interviewed by the economist explain the difficulty in recruiting competent staff, when the brightest have already been snapped up by the jaebeols. ibid. 104. the economist, 12 nov. 2011. 105. the 79 percent of south korean workers expecting to work for the same employer reveals the rigidity in the employment system. ibid. but it also implies insurance in its permanence that discourages venture business risk taking. 106. leading to the economic slump in the 1970s and 1980s that required major restructuring of industrial structures, among other reforms—refer to footnote 8 for further explanation. 107. choi, et al., (78) 108. these figures are according to 2001 seri data. ibid. 109. choi, etal. (80) 110. chun (79) 111. south korea composite stock price index, an index of leading shares and the south korean won, with unusually low equity valuations. the economist, 18 feb. 2012. 112. ibid. 113. ibid. 114. pisa 115. imf (32) 116. republic of south korea 2011 article iv. rep. imf, 2011, 2. 117. the economist, 18 feb. 2012. 118. reinert 119. the ongoing legal disputes between samsung and apple, and the ruling in san jose on august 24th , 2012 illustrate the potential repercussions of samsung’s infringements and its general business model of “copying”. 64 elements : : spring 2013 65 an obsolete paradox in the midst of the paranoia and uncertainty that accompanied the onset of world war ii, radio emerged as a source of information and much-needed entertainment for the british people. the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) developed a sterling reputation as a source of unbiased news and a shining counter-example to the blatant “black” propaganda utilized by the nazi government in world war ii germany. however, some historians contend that wartime programs broadcast by the bbc were not wholly free of government intervention or manipulation. rather, instances of “white” propaganda underly bbc broadcasts during world war ii, and serve to challenge the “honesty” usually characteristic of the corporation. the fine details of broad brushstrokes propaganda and the bbc in world war ii zachary herhold “what of the future? our object is, and will be, to continue to give you the best possible service, whatever the conditions may be; to continue to give you a news service which is truthful and objective.” —frederick ogilvie, director-general of the bbc, september 1939 bbc independence during the second world war, people came to rely on the radio as their best source of consistent entertainment and information. in great britain, all broadcasting and the majority of radio programming were controlled by one organization, the british broadcasting corporation (bbc). it served an audience that was fickle, divided, and generally skeptical of propaganda. the bbc was acclaimed for its ability to report information in an independent and comparatively unbiased way. it successfully gained the trust and respect of their listeners during the war, and it has been the embodiment of british opinion ever since. in a time of total war, the traditional expectations of government intervention and corporate independence are often cast aside. wartime commitments and public sentiment often necessitate the full cooperation of a country’s assets without hesitation. during world war ii (wwii), governments often used institutions within their borders for their own personal disposal. in germany, the nazi government took over all broadcasting and media within the country, creating a propaganda machine that was unparalleled in modern history. such propaganda was quickly associated as a vile trait of totalitarianism, and hitler’s largest rivals around the world condemned it. when the british government entered wwii, it was unable to take advantage of a similar propaganda machine. the allies committed to themselves to fighting a war in which all information and broadcasting would be open to dissent and free from government intervention. the british government itself declared that the bbc was to remain “truthful and independent” during the war. thus, the war of broadcasting became a conflict of ideologies: the independent and trustworthy bbc versus the propaganda machines of the german empire. when the allies won, it was believed that their superior values had ultimately led them to victory. with that victory, that bbc had secured a reputation as an independent and reliable news source. such independence implies, as its definition states, that the bbc was not subject to control by others or not affiliated with a larger controlling unit.1 that reputation remains largely uncontested in the present day. historical evidence even asserts that the government never played a major role in the programming of the bbc, and that the bbc was left to carry on “independently.” however, there are numerous instances during the war in which the bbc manipulated its broadcasting to meet the demands of an overbearing government. unfortunately, while these censorships and manipulations allowed the bbc to remain free on paper, they truly cost the institution its autonomy. war dictates a very fine line between cooperation and independence. no one can deny that the bbc cooperated with the government, just as any british institution would have done during the war; however, whether or not the bbc remained “independent” is still a subject of some debate. though the british government and bbc leadership both made claims that they would remain separate throughout the war, the bbc did not manage to remain independent of government influence during world war ii. historiography there are two notable schools of thought concerning bbc independence since the war. the majority of historians have defended the bbc’s sterling reputation, while others refute the coat of arms of the british broadcasting corporation. the coat of arms served as the logo for the bbc up until 1970. 67 the fine details of broad brushstrokes the bbc’s supposed independence. the latter seeks to expose the bbc as nothing more than an arm of some devious government propaganda machine. they appear to be a sizable minority amongst educated historians. they are rebuked by mainstream histories of the bbc that document it as an independent news source free from the use of propaganda. these two groups of distinguished historians have more or less debated this same topic since the end of the war in 1945. a majority of historians have come to agree that the bbc’s reputation as an independent and honest news source during the war is more or less deserved. these historians include michael balfour and asa briggs, both of whom wrote comprehensive histories of the bbc during the war. these historians cite two major commonly held beliefs about the bbc from this era. first, they argue that the bbc not only stayed independent of the government, but at some points was openly critical of it. government documents and leaders all vow that the bbc was left entirely independent of government intervention. the bbc sponsored some programs that mocked and criticized the government. in a time of war, programs like these were an unexpected change of pace. the bbc was hailed as a representative of strength of “liberty” and “free speech” that had led the allies to victory against fascist regimes in europe. the themes of the bbc coincided with the general notion of the day: that liberty had prevailed over oppression and solidified the reputation of the corporation in history. furthermore, historians tend to compare the bbc to other media sources of the era to show that it actively avoided the use of both blatant propaganda and government intervention. even before the war, the british were weary of such devices, and “there was a reluctance to imitate the strident self-advertisement and abusiveness of the bolsheviks and fascists.”2 they had established an early “emphasis on ‘truth’ and ‘consistency,’ which came naturally to the broadcasters, [and] produced long-term dividends as the war continued.”3 the bbc was quickly recognized at home and across europe as the most honest source of news and information. leon blum, a notable french socialist, stated after the war, “in a world of poison, the bbc became the great antiseptic.”4 the truth is that the british had no real choice but to be honest in their broadcasts; they were preaching to an already similarly minded audience that could detect certain lies. the british use of propaganda could only have had an adverse effect on popular opinion. the leader of the bbc during the start of the war, f.w. ogilvie, did not think of himself as a propagandist and, as a whole, his bbc “prided itself that it was independent of the government of the day.”5 although that independence would be challenged, ogilvie’s leadership sought to avoid such interference at all costs. histories of the era have conclusively shown the government stance was to “leave the bbc to carry on . . . with a very close liaison between themselves and the moi (ministry of information) and definite regulations as to how the work should be carried on.”6 most historians have accepted this as conclusive evidence that the bbc remained independent and genuine in its broadcasting. therefore, a significant number of prominent historians agree that the bbc deserves the sterling reputation it has received. there remains, however, a notable group of historians that argue the bbc was merely another agency of propaganda employed by the government in a time of war. perhaps the most prominent of these historians is sian nicholas, the author of echo of war. these historians cite many government and bbc officials who had privately agreed that, “in circumstances of national emergency ‘full government control’ over the bbc would be necessary.”7 the full takeover of the bbc was a constant threat throughout the war. in fact, at one point in the war, the government did initiate a complete takeover of the bbc. when that failed, they chose simply to maintain close ties through the moi. this relationship ultimately dictated the direction of the bbc throughout the war. these historians note that the bbc was dependent on the government for its operating budget. british citizens paid a “license fee” to the government that was then distributed to the bbc. in addition to that, multiple members of the moi often had very close ties with the bbc. the former head of the bbc was named minister, and “the moi radio and communications division was . . . given a senior bbc official as director.”8 at the beginning of the war, the government actually played a key role in restructuring bbc leadership so as to make it more efficient. it imposed a series of censorship regulations on what the bbc could and could not report. the moi “would be given advanced details of programming, and would be responsible for censoring bbc programmes,” and “the bbc news department would come directly under moi control.”9 the bbc was ultimately reliant on the government for its success. its programming was not only subject to government approval, but often times much of it was actually written by the moi itself. evidence from the era can be manipulated to support both points of view: that the bbc served as another outlet of propaganda for the british government or, alternatively, that it remained altogether independent throughout the war. in wartime, it can be difficult to establish the difference between cooperation and coercion. domestic institutions pride themselves on their loyalty and devotion to national causes such as war. the bbc was a british institution, and as such, it was 68 elements : : spring 2013 going to use its power to defend the british government. while its cooperation can certainly be condoned, it also consistently declared its own independence. that claim is the basis for this historical debate. interestingly, in 1941 the bbc published a handbook that stated “the use of broadcasting as an instrument of propaganda in this war is a subject that must await the historian.”10 ultimately, it may be concluded that the bbc did not remain independent of government intervention, and even actively employed the use of propaganda in its broadcasting. radio broadcasting as the definitive invention of the 1930s, radio was undoubtedly the most influential disseminator of information during wwii. in 1931, only about twenty-seven percent of households in the united kingdom had a radio license. by 1938, that figure had nearly tripled to an unbelievable seventy-one percent, or thirty-four million listeners.11 the radio provided information and entertainment in a quick and consistent manner, and it was becoming smaller, lighter and more attractive to everyday buyers. it was not an item of luxury, but an appliance of sheer convenience, and it quickly became a fixture within british households during this period. the radio typically rivaled newspapers and cinema in the media, but unlike these two, the radio “not only reached everyone but could tailor particular messages to particular audiences with far more precision than any other medium.”12 in 1939, george orwell famously noted, “twenty million people are underfed, but literally everyone in england has access to a radio.”13 radio became the most convenient type of media before the war, and people came to rely on it for their entertainment and news. the bbc had capitalized on manufacturing early on, and was granted a government monopoly almost from the beginning. they had no competition, and the public was subject solely to their programming, for better or for worse. the british people truly became wholly dependent on the bbc. when she temporarily lost service, one british diarist noted that she would “never grumble about the programs again. i had been, i thought, ‘fed up’ with the things we got but now that i can’t get anything i feel i am lost…. i can’t get any news no matter what is happening.”14 she likened the radio to a sort of “friend,” who kept her updated. by the eve of war in 1939, the radio had become a staple of the british household, and it would play a major role in their understanding of impending conflicts. the bbc and the british government have always been connected financially. in the twenties, the british government instituted a “receiving licence” for all radio listeners.15 this fee was collected by the general post office and then paid out to the bbc. a select group of citizens questioned this tax because it required them to pay the government for the use of private services. social historian mark pegg agrees, writing, “before the creation of the corporation, it could be argued that it was unethical for a government department to collect money on behalf of a private company.”16 ultimately, it was decided that such a tax could be collected as long as it was voluntary. thus, radio license fees became a common occurrence in british society, and they were more or less unquestioned by the majority of british citizens. in 1939, every license holder played the government £1.10 annually in order to listen to the radio, and that fee accounted for the majority of the bbc’s operating budget. although the bbc still remained independent from government influence, this fee kept them reliant on government collection. in 1942, in a speech to parliament, the minister of information, brendan bracken, stated that “the moi has power to direct the bbc not only because of the pledge given to the government by the chairman of the governors in the first year of the war but also because the bbc now derives its finances directly from monies voted by parliament.”17 radio propaganda before the beginning of hostilities in 1939, both the british and the german governments had explored ways to utilize radio in the war effort. as nicholas notes in her book, “because of the scope of its appeal, the range of presentation styles it offered and its sheer ubiquity, radio was a propaganda disseminator of vast potential.”18 leaders of these combatting powers realized that the radio was the best distributor of information and thus needed to decide how they would use it to manipulate public opinion. propaganda generally has two forms, and each power chose to utilize a different style. “black” propaganda, the type that is typically associated cultural conceptions of propaganda, is the blatant use of lies and deception to influence the hearts and minds of a targeted au“radio was undoubtedly the most influential disseminator of information during wwii” 69 the fine details of broad brushstrokes dience. its ultimate goal is to “turn the public by devious means away from their natural and patriotic inclinations.”19 “white” propaganda, on the other hand, is “the necessary fostering and maintenance of [a] people’s innate will to win.”20 when referencing propaganda during this period, people generally only noted the black propaganda, which was simply more obvious and prevalent. white propaganda is considered more complicated, for it must influence while being subtle. the germans came to perfect, and ultimately capitalize on, a “propaganda machine” that utilized elements of black propaganda. as early as 1933, the german government took control of all of the nation’s broadcasting, under the notorious ministry of propaganda, and its even more notorious minister, joseph goebbels. opposition newspapers were quickly banned, and the nazi party effectively controlled the distribution of all information in germany. it even went as far as “ensuring the production of radio sets that only received german radio stations, and by jamming enemy broadcasts.”21 these extreme steps left broadcasting in germany entirely dependent on the government. this domination was blatant and straightforward, and the german government did not pretend otherwise or apologize for its actions. the british government and its citizens noted the terrible extent at which the nazis had commandeered the media, and they condemned them for it. it would become ultimately impossible for the british government to utilize the same tactics on their own people; it quickly learned that it had to tailor its propaganda into a form more suitable to its interrogative audience. german tactics in europe had made propaganda a matter of serious concern in britain. the british citizens were capable of recognizing propaganda, and they knew that they should fear it. in 1939, the times proclaimed, “if a government can cut off its people from almost all sources of information except those directly inspired by its own propaganda, those people have no check or standard of comparison. undoubtedly lies and suppression of truth can play a very effective part in propaganda under these conditions.”22 this is the epitome of “black” propaganda, and examples of it were quite common in britain. one british citizen in essex noted propaganda’s presence as a regular topic of debate; one of her friends had remarked, “i think its one of the weak things about german business, their propaganda,” and another said, “it’s so stupid.”23 they had seen firsthand how this propaganda was being used on the german people, and they were terrified of similar government manipulation at home. as early as 1933, british cabinet papers noted that the german government under adolf hitler “has embarked on a programme of political propaganda on a scale for which there is no analogy in history.”24 this warning did not really raise any concern until tensions with germany increased near the end of the decade. in 1938, the british parliament discussed the censorship of its news abroad. mr. lee jones noted, “but today we hear from various quarters of ministers of propaganda, subsidized and controlled news services, which either suppress entirely british news or so mix it with false deductions as to make an entirely erroneous picture of the people of this country.”25 times editorials criticized the use of such flagrant deception. british citizens called the prime minister’s attention to “the continuance of propaganda by radio from german stations and begged him to “make representations to the german government to stop this propaganda.”26 many articles concluded with sayings similar to this one that stated, “the times of saturday, april 1, was confiscated on arrival in berlin.”27 the british quickly learned to distrust german propaganda before the war had even begun. they become skeptical of all news sources and would slowly turn their attention to the validity of their domestic broadcasting. a general fear of propaganda ultimately gripped public opinion in great britain. the british government knew that a complete take-over of british broadcasting would not have the same effect that it had in germany. in a cabinet paper written in 1938, the newly appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs, lord halifax, wrote a very detailed memorandum concerning the problem of propaganda that might arise in britain. in this paper, he claimed that the british could prove themselves to be superior by not actively developing propaganda. he said that the british citizens were already afraid of propaganda, so “any propaganda done from here should be unobtrusive and unprovocative, as the german government will do their best it or even stop it, but it also means that our propaganda if properly done, may have a big effect.”28 lord halifax implied that the best way to combat such an aggressive propaganda machine was with honesty. he claimed that both totalitarian governments and parliamentary-based governments have strengths and weaknesses, but if the british government were to openly expose its faults it could ultimately protect its “prestige.”29 while this idea would ultimately underlie the british choice to utilize white propaganda, it would not be their first attempt at propaganda. early government intervention the british government had initially proposed a complete control of information similar to that of the germans. in october of 1935, 70 elements : : spring 2013 “the committee of imperial defence (cid) . . . resolved that ‘in time of war or when the threat of an emergency was imminent, the government should assume effective control over broadcasting and the bbc.’”30 this notion was generally undisputed, and as the war drew nearer, similar plans were proposed. in 1938, the director of the bbc, john reith, proposed a plan in which the bbc would remain independent, but subject to government intervention. the plan stated that “the ministry of information would be given advanced details of programming, and would be responsible for censoring bbc programmes; within these limits the bbc would have a free hand.”31 reith’s plan would make the bbc independent in name alone, as its programming was entirely at the hand of the british government. nicholas comments that, “what is striking about these discussions, apart from the obsession with microphone security, is the absence of any provision for independent news and current affairs analysis.”32 before the start of wwii, it had been agreed that the government would assume full control over the bbc. when war broke out in september of 1939, the moi effectively took control of the bbc. it tried to employ many of the same techniques that had made the nazis so effective in germany. unfortunately, it had a terrible debut. the bbc’s programs were relatively boring and “consisted of ten daily news bulletins—there had been five before the war broke out.”33 people were generally displeased with this change, especially during a time when real entertainment could have been an enormous comfort. on september 11, just ten days after the war began, the moi “seized newspapers that reported action by the british expeditionary forces in flanders, this information having first been released then withdrawn.”34 such an action might have been expected in nazi germany, but it made headline news in great britain. the government had assumed that “if were going to fight the germans again, we ought to have the same weapons as they did,” by which they meant propaganda.35 this phase marked a relatively low moment in the bbc’s reputation. in the press, “words like ‘puerile,’ ‘travesty,’ and funeral’ now replaced ‘admirable,’ ‘invaluable,’ and ‘triumph.’”36 the british press took this opportunity to harshly criticize the bbc and its productions. the bbc, which had no choice but to yield to any and all demands from the moi, was said to have “missed a magnificent opportunity of proving its mettle” against government intervention.37 it was quickly realized in great britain that black propaganda would simply not work. a state-run broadcasting corporation simply could not hold the attention of british popular opinion. finally, the bbc stated, “conscious propaganda in entertainment is generally ineffectual.”38 both the government and the bbc agreed that a new plan would have to take effect in order to meet the needs of britons. a dependent bbc the british government ultimately chose to employ white propaganda to influence the population, as the type of propaganda employed by the nazis simply did not appeal to british audiences. the government’s “objection to such things was presumably based not simply on grounds of morality but also on the belief they were ineffective with audiences.”39 british propaganda started to embrace mild honesty as its policy in an effort to combat the blatant fabrications of truth in germany. it did not bother to block german transmissions or impede access to alternative sources in any way.40 white propaganda acknowledges the truth while still attempting to influence the opinions of its audiences, and it was in the government’s best interest for the bbc to maintain a large audience with a small amount of differing opinion and independence, in order to sway public opinion as a whole. the government quickly realized that the bbc “under strict cone.f.l. wood: 1st earl of halifax and one of the premiere politicians of the time. 71 the fine details of broad brushstrokes trol might have been left with no choice but to broadcast communiqués and other announcements verbatim, and in general to fill programmes with material which seemed important to the government but boring the listener.”41 had the government formally kept control of the bbc, the official programming and lack of any variety probably would have turned the majority of british listeners away from the bbc or the government in general. as a result, the bbc was encouraged to remain independent and broadcast relatively honest opinions. if the bbc had not offered multiple opinions, historian michael balfour contends that, “it would have been giving its listeners inadequate reasons for the things it wished them to believe.”42 this freedom of broadcasting gave the bbc the illusion of honesty, which was more deceptive than actual. while asserting its independence the government privately assumed that, where a public are not spontaneously united, or where a government is pursuing a policy which does not enjoy preponderant support, the choice must arise between leaving the freedom to differ, with the risk that this may prevent policies from getting the support needed to make them effective, and removing the freedom, with the risk that the disunity to make them effective, and removing the freedom, with the risk that the disunity, though hidden, will in fact become greater.43 the british government accurately assumed that it could not maintain popular support without some dissention among its press, but they gambled that this dissention would not ultimately compromise public opinion towards war. rather, these small variations in opinion would distract people from the larger conflicts of ideology at hand. initially, the government decided to appoint two “advisors” to the bbc; one advisor would deal with mainly domestic programming while the other would deal mainly with foreign programming. the government expected that “in the ordinary course of events the advice of the two ministers would be accepted, but [it] added that there would be the right of appeal to the minister in case of any difference.”44 bbc leadership did not initially welcome the appointment of these two advisors. one of the governors, sir allan powell “expressed fears that the persons appointed would be able to range freely and without check over the whole field of the corporation’s activities and administration.”45 the bbc reluctantly accepted the proposal, and two new advisors were added to the board. the government reassured the bbc that “there was no intention to supersede the governors or the director-general and that the only purpose of the proposed moves was to strengthen the machinery by which the ministry’s directives on news and propaganda could be given to the bbc.”46 these ministers ultimately did have a significant role in determining the bbc’s programming, and they serve as another example of the government’s influence in the day-to-day affairs of the bbc. in the spring of 1940, the government’s new plan boasted that the bbc would remain entirely independent. they were of the opinion that “the government, through the moi, had complete power but chose not to exercise it.”47 this statement simultaneously assured and wrested the bbc’s independence. the bbc was constantly at risk of being subverted by government take-over, and yet the government had promised not to interfere. the brief government take-over had left the bbc more docile, and it was much more willing to collaborate rather than again surrender its influence. its independence was based more on the personal fears of its leaders than any concrete assurances. the bbc, as all media during this era, depended on government news bulletins. as the government published bulletins about the progress of the war, and the bbc subsequently broadcast them. bbc leaders were really in no position to question or check the reliability of these bulletins, but had to publish them as fact. in fact, “if they had started openly to question the veracity of the bulletins, the government would have made short work of them.”48 had the bbc published anything contrary, the government surely would have reasserted its control over the corporation. the bbc could really only provide varied opinions within the parameters set by the government. the government could control broadcasting simply by withholding information. balfour went as far as to say that, “a decision by the government to withhold bad news could hardly have been defied without contravening the defence regulations.”49 the bbc really had no option but to relay the information it was given by the government, wich effectively gave the government control over all news in great britain. british citizens often criticized the bbc and the british government for the reporting of battle figures during the initial days of conflict and in the battle of britain. prime minister chamberlain announced early on that the british government would not follow the german example of concealing its losses “except when it would be helpful to the enemy to have it.”50 despite this proclamation, the british government remained reluctant about publishing casualty information about ships and airplanes that had been sunk or shot down. the reports they did publish during this era were often inaccurate and scarce. in one cabinet paper written by lord macmillan, 72 elements : : spring 2013 the minister of information, he suggested that the bbc should be careful with how they present this information, including the tone or emphasis of the speaker, the extent to which the details are dwelt on, the context, its reiteration, etc.51 the scarcity of these reports and the dependence on government news bulletins made it absolutely impossible for the bbc to regularly report accurate casualty estimates. british citizens simply learned to expect these numbers to be fabrications of the truth. one mass observation diarist noted that this information was being accepted “by most people with reserve. they cannot believe that we go over france and germany doing such damage, and then it is announced that all our planes returned safely — or nearly always so.”53 the bbc had no choice but to report the estimates the government had released in the time and manner the government wanted. these early reports compromised the credibility of both the government and the bbc. unfortunately, it would not be the last time the bbc subjected its programming to government coercion. there are multiple instances in the war when the bbc handed over a great deal of its programming to the government. these large chunks of airtime were devoted to promoting government policies. the most popular of these collaborations was the “kitchen front,” a news program designed to help people ration. nicholas notes, “the bbc was the obvious medium for food advice. it had a long tradition of programmes devoted to household management, and it took little adaptation to introduce a housewife-in-wartime theme.”54 the bbc was reluctant to allow the government so much broadcasting time, and it only agreed to a short segment on rationing. the food programs soon became a smashing success in britain; in some cities mass-observation estimated that nearly 71% of housewives were tuning in.55 the bbc had no choice but to grant the ministry of food additional airtime, and these programs began to dominate the daytime programming of the bbc. the bbc however, had very little part in writing the programming, but rather “the presenter would write the script daily at the ministry, and the bbc would be responsible for presentation.” unfortunately, such privileges were constantly being granted to the government as a “courtesy” despite the bbc’s supposed independence.56 eventually “discrepancies . . . emerged in the mof’s and bbc’s conceptions of the planned programme.”56 in one case, the mof wanted someone popular to represent this food related programming, while the bbc desired a spokesman with considerable content knowledge. ultimately the bbc was forced to accept a compromise.57 had the bbc truly been independent, they would not have had to cooperate with government obligations. these humble food programmes were merely another form of government-mandated propaganda that had appropriated large portions of the bbc’s programming, as the bbc learned to accept such influences begrudgingly. bbc leaders informed their colleagues that “we cannot . . . afford to allow things to be said in talks about food which are contrary to the policy of mof, and any mistake is likely to lead to stricter control of our broadcasts.”58 the kitchen front talks ultimately influenced five million viewers, more than four times the audience of any other daytime talk show.59 the bbc and the government cooperated again in 1942 to promote fuel economy. the people that had eagerly tuned in to food rationing programs were beginning to grow weary of the government’s mandates. even brendan bracken, the minister of information, warned that “one makes it furious, the other resentful . . .there are too many people already working to limit of their capacity or unable to do so for reasons beyond their control.”61 again, the british people began to grow tired of any form of direct propaganda, but the government insisted on programming time from the bbc. it tried to utilize the same techniques that had been so successful with the kitchen front programs, including, “direct informational propaganda.”61 this again caused contention between the government and the bbc leadership. in this particular case, the bbc directors-general found themselves at odds with the ministry’s liaison officer, felix felton. he had insisted “that any reference on the air to fuel had to be cleared by him.”62 ultimately the public attacked the bbc and its campaign for its insistence on conserving fuel. listener research showed that “the prevailing public attitude was ‘definitely critical’” and that “people felt the campaign should be directed at public bodies and wealthier people, not at working-class housewives.”63 the true irony of this campaign was that it had been written by the government and merely produced by the bbc. when the bbc did produce its own programming, it often criticized the british government, and some of their most famous programs during this era actually openly mocked the government. the bbc saw the use of playful humor as a good morale booster during this era, and it gave rise to some of the most renowned comedians and programs in british history. one of the most famous of these programs was it’s that man again (itma) starring thomas handley. handley played the minister of the “office of twerps,” and later the mayor of “foaming at the mouth.” all these roles poked fun at contemporary british leaders and government bureaucracy, but not enough to significantly damage the credibility of the government. one listener claimed “in wartime [itma] was a 73 the fine details of broad brushstrokes national, morale-boosting institution, relieving stress and promoting solidarity. with an audience approaching twenty million a week it was a gift to the ministry of information.”64 the ministry allowed many of these shows to exist because they kept the citizens occupied without damaging any of the government’s standing. had these shows actually hurt the government, they would have certainly been taken off the air. there is certainly no better example of this than j.b. priestley. the bbc gave priestley a weekly broadcasting segment, from which he built an enormous following among british citizens. they considered him a “man of the people.”65 priestley’s perceived flaw, however, was his tendency to genuinely criticize british leaders in attempt to be more sincere. in october of 1940, priestley decided that he “ought to stop broadcasting for awhile” after he received pressure from a disappointed government.66 priestley’s replacements were put under greater government scrutiny, and none of them achieved the same following that he had. even the programs that had criticized the government were designed to improve morale rather than to truly disparage the government’s reputation. when the government displeased of bbc programming, it had the power to take it off the air. conclusion the british broadcasting corporation was not nearly as independent as its reputation suggests. there are multiple instances in which government manipulation and censorship impeded the bbc’s ability to effectively produce its own programming. it wartime, there exists the expectation that a government can require the cooperation and loyalty of domestic institutions. in some cases, the government commandeers public institutions entirely, while in other cases, it merely pressures the institutions it requires. the nazis controlled all forms of media, using them to create a black propaganda machine that was unparalleled in human history. if done properly, there is perhaps no better system for a government to advocate in a time of crisis. the germans were not the only government to employ this blatant and direct form of propaganda. at the start of the war, the bbc allowed its programming and leadership to be entirely appropriated by government intervention, much like the nazis had done before them. however, british citizens did not allow themselves to be manipulated in the same way the german people had; british audiences were already weary of propaganda and were not willing to accept it in such a blatant form. therefore, the government had to utilize a more subtle form of propaganda to capture the “hearts and minds” of their citizens. the goals of both the british and german governments were the same: to effectively promote their rational for war and maintain support at home. although their methods were different, they ultimately utilized propaganda in much of the same way. while the british government claimed the bbc was independent and of it, there were many moments that it effectively controlled the corporation. the bbc was constantly subject to censorship from the moi and dependent on ministry approval; it was also subject to government scripting and approval for all programming. the moi appointed two advisors to the bbc that sat on the board, and took part in key decisions regarding broadcasting. in addition to these restrictions, the bbc was constantly at risk of complete takeover, making much more willing to produce government-approved prothis famous slogan was one of the most succesful campaigns of the ministry of information. 74 elements : : spring 2013 gramming in exchange for even the most marginal amounts of independence. as the war went on, the bbc constantly relinquished large amounts of their programming for government-sanctioned productions, such as “kitchen front,” that were designed to help promote war-time era orders. even programming that was thought to be mildly subversive and satirical had actual been subject to government approval, as the government did not allow any truly subversive programs to be broadcast. although bbc leadership often complained, they always yielded when asked. how can an agency truly be independent if its programming is dictated by someone else? the bbc’s unbiased reputation was one of ideals rather than actual merit. as the only broadcasting corporation in great britain, it came to represent everything that britain represented. it represented the allies: the just, egalitarian, honest countries, who were combatting the unjust, totalitarian and oppressive ones. the honest truth, however, is that during wwii, these countries wielded much of the same weapons and propaganda in much of the same way. their reputation might have been solidified in their victory, but historical evidence suggests that the bbc was not the corporation that it is assumed to be. endnotes 1. “independent.” merriam-webster.com. merriam-webster, 2011. web. 23 october 2011. 2. stenton (3) 3. briggs (9) 4. briggs (11) 5. briggs (6) 6. balfour (81) 7. nicholas (15) 8. balfour (82) 9. balfour (18) 10. briggs (3) 11. pegg (12) 12. nicholas (71) 13. scannell (363) 14. mass observation (7) 15. pegg (40) 16. pegg (43) 17. balfour (85) 18. nicholas (4-5) 19. nicholas (3) 20. nicholas (3) 21. nicholas (40) 22. “propaganda and its use: the interpretation of facts,” times, july 4, 1939, 10. 23. mo (260) 24. eden (259) 25. jones 1938 26. times (6) 27. times (16) 28. lord hallifax (281) 29. halifax (2) 30. nicholas (15) 31. nicholas (18) 32. nicholas (19) 33. briggs (96) 34. mclaine (38); nicholas (30) 35. balfour (54) 36. nicholas (30) 37. briggs (97) 38. nicholas (46) 39. balfour (87) 40. nicholas (40) 41. balfour (88) 42. ibid. 43. ibid. 44. briggs (332) 45. briggs (332-333) 46. briggs (333) 47. balfour (85) 48. balfour (87) 49. ibid. 50. lord macmillan (53) 51. lord macmillan (2) 52. mo (37) 53. nicholas (73) 54. nicholas (75) 55. ibid. 56. ibid. 57. nicholas (76) 58. nicholas (78) 59. nicholas (84) 60. nicholas (85) 61. nicholas (87) 62. ibid. 63. nicholas (89) 64. jim dillon, “a wireless child,” ww2 people’s war, (bbc: november 2003). http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/84/a1963884.shtml (accessed november 23, 2011). 65. briggs (211) 66. briggs (213) 75 the fine details of broad brushstrokes references “independent.” merriam-webster.com. merriam-webster, 2011. web. 23 october 2011. michael stenton, radio london and resistance in occupied europe: british political warfare 1939-1943 (oxford: oxford university press, 2000) asa briggs, the history of broadcasting in the united kingdom: the war of words, vol 3 (london: oxford university press) michael balfour, propaganda in war 1939-1945: organizations, policies and publics in britain and germany (london: routledge & kegan) sian nicholas, the echo of war: home front propaganda and the wartime bbc, 1939-45 (manchester: manchester university press) mark pegg, broadcasting and society 1918-1939 (london: croom and helm) george orwell, as cited in paddy scannell and david cardiff, a social history of british broadcasting volume one 1922-1939: serving the nation (oxford: basil blackwell, inc) mass observation, online edition, diarist 5399, november 1939, 7. “propaganda and its use: the interpretation of facts,” times, july 4, 1939 sir h. rumbold to sir john simon, april 26, 1933, appendix to anthony eden, “the german danger,” c.p. 13 (36), january 17, 1936, cab 24/259. lee jones, speech, parliamentary debates, 331, cc1909-69, february 16, 1938. “house of commons,” times, october 5, 1938 “germany and britain: propaganda at work,” times, april 4, 1939 lord hallifax,”british propaganda in germany,” c.p. 284 (38), december 8 1938, cab 24/281. ian mclaine, ministry of morale: home front morale and the ministry of information in world war ii (london: george allen & unwin) lord macmillan, “announcement of shipping losses in the british broadcasting corporation news bulletins,” w.p. (g) (39) 165, december 28, 1939, cab 67/3/53. jim dillon, “a wireless child,” ww2 people’s war, (bbc: november 2003). http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/84/ a1963884.shtml (accessed november 23, 2011). 76 elements : : spring 2013 77 the fine details of broad brushstrokes during the four-year german occupation of france in world war ii, french cinema experienced a significant surge in production and popularity. this article examines the period by analyzing three of its most popular and controversial films, focusing on their political undercurrents and their reception in the french press. marcel carné’s les visiteurs du soir was an escapist fantasy misconstrued by the public as a patriotic statement of endurance in the face of occupation. robert bresson’s les anges du péché was a spiritually-themed drama whose apolitical nature disguised its makers’ strongly anti-vichy leanings. finally, henri-georges clouzot’s le corbeau was the most controversial and misunderstood movie of the period, a villificationof the period’s paranoia and dubious ideology in the guise of a dark thriller. though it was denounced and banned in its day, le corbeau emerges as the period’s truest and most provocative cinematic testament. an occupied cinema political intimations in three popular films of vichy france sean keeley on june 14, 1940, the german army completed its successful invasion of france as its tanks and troops rolled into a dramatically vacated paris. eight days later, marshall philippe pétain—the eighty-four-year-old hero of world war i—broadcast a radio message to the french people conceding military defeat and insisting that the fighting must end. days later, an armistice was signed with germany, a new french government headed by pétain was established in the town of vichy, and the most controversial, perplexing period of modern french history began. for the next four years, france’s government was in thrall to its occupying power, and, despite postwar revisionism that postulated the image of a unified résistante france, most french citizens adjusted to their new life without open resistance. and, as alan riding demonstrates in his book and the show went on, so too did entertainment industries: many theaters, cabarets, ballets, and operas in paris were alive and well during the war, and indeed prospered due to their new german patrons. more so than any other entertainment industry, though, it was french cinema that flourished under the occupation. it is, in one sense, surprising that in a time of austerity and war—not to mention censorship—the film industry could be so prolific. on the other hand, though, as the french director françois truffaut recalled in 1975, “movie theaters became a refuge for all, and not only in the figurative sense of the word.”1 they were certainly a refuge in terms of the escapism their movies offered: tales of romance, fantasy, and comedy in a country beset by a grim and vicious war. but cinemas were also a literal refuge from the bitter daily realities of cold apartments, food rationing, and occupied streets. as a result of these forces, movie attendance soared during the occupation.2 this popular demand for movies was matched by the french studios’ accelerated rate of output. a total of 219 movies were made in france during the four years of the occupation—an unusually large number, due in part to german policies that banned american and other european films. with foreign competition removed, cinemas could only look to french product to fill their screens. most of the films released under the occupation remain mired in obscurity today, frivolous thrillers or romances that were produced cheaply, released quickly, and soon forgotten. a few films, though, produced a more lasting impression. marcel carné’s les visiteurs du soir (1942), robert bresson’s les anges du péché (1943), and henri-georges clouzot’s le corbeau (1943) remain pivotal films of the period, unique exceptions to the era’s trends in some ways and utterly beholden to them in others. all three films were helmed by masterful directors who would be canonized as giants of french cinema, yet not one of the films can reasonably be said to belong exclusively to its director. the legacies of les visiteurs du soir and le corbeau, especially, lie not so much in their artistic merits as in the heated controversies that arose surrounding the films’ supposed political implications. indeed, the films of the french occupation, more so than those of any other period, were films shaped by the unique circumstances of the industry and by public opinion, which dramatically influenced how they were perceived and which reinterpreted their meanings in ways the films’ makers could never have anticipated. les visiteurs du soir (literally translated as the night visitors, and released in the us as the devil’s envoys) is a perfect example. with its script by jacques prévert (one of the most acclaimed and popular french poets of the era), its medieval romance of star-crossed lovers, and the casting of philippe pétain, marshall of france’s army in world war i, leader of the viche french state 79 an occupied cinema popular stars like arletty and alain cuny, the film was conceived as a surefire popular hit—and the kind of escapist fantasy that could not possibly engender controversy. indeed, carné recalls in his memoirs that prévert pitched the idea to him on those terms: “in order to avoid vichy’s censorship as far as possible, [prévert] thought that we should take refuge in the past: we could thus enjoy a greater freedom.”3 carné and prévert’s fears of censorship were not mere paranoia: the film industry of the occupation was subject to the scrutiny of both german and vichy censors, before and after production. referat film, a section of germany’s propaganda staffel, had approval authority on screenplays, casts, crews, production schedules and distribution plans of new french films. they also enforced vichy’s notorious statute on jews, passed in october 1940, which barred jews from working in the film industry.4 in addition to german censorship, the vichy government created its own censorship board, the commission de contrôle, which largely concerned itself with ideological content. the vichy government wanted the film industry to project an image of french virtue and patriotism, in line with the country’s new motto: “travaille, famille, patrie” (“work, family, fatherland”). films that featured noble and hardworking french citizens, devoted motherly figures, and themes of french pride were celebrated; films that questioned such themes, or even featured plot elements like divorce, were likely to face the scissors of the commission de contrôle. 5 the story that prévert concocted was designed to avoid such controversy. les visiteurs du soir is a romantic fable set in late 15th century france. two travelling minstrels, gilles and dominique, arrive at the magnificent castle of baron hugues just as his daughter anne is set to marry her fiancé, baron renaud. it soon becomes apparent, however, that gilles and dominique are in fact envoys from the devil sent to sabotage the engagement. in a famous early scene, the two freeze time during a ball to cast a spell on the engaged couple. gilles uses his powers to seduce anne, while dominique bewitches baron renaud. the plan goes awry when gilles genuinely falls in love with anne, causing the devil himself to appear at the castle to intervene. the devil imprisons gilles, wipes his memory and takes anne for himself—but when gilles meets anne again, his memory revives and their love rekindles. in a desperate final act, the devil turns both lovers into stone, but the movie’s final shot shows that their hearts continue to beat, and their love persists. in carné and prévert’s understanding, les visiteurs du soir was merely a diverting fantasy, right up to its “love conquers all” ending. yet when the film was released in december 1942, the french public saw something quite different: an allegory of persistence in the face of occupation. as jean-pierre bertin-maghit, a leading scholar of the period’s cinema, writes, the film’s opening scenes had powerful thematic resonances: we are in the presence of a society (that of the castle) turned towards amusement, unaware of the danger that threatens it (the stopping of the ball). a society without contradiction, where the only apparent problems are born of the contact between the intruders, strangers to the established order . . . implicitly, the film takes us back to the situation before june 1940.6 the film’s middle section, too, was suggestive, with the devil character seen as a stand-in for hitler. most of all, though, it was the film’s ending that cemented its controversy: the beating hearts of the two stone-set lovers was coat of arms of the vichy state 80 elements : : spring 2013 widely seen as an allegory for france’s spirit of freedom, still thriving even under occupation.7 this interpretation of les visiteurs du soir became widespread as word of mouth spread, yet reviews in french newspapers of the time did not dare to mention it for fear of censorship. still, most reviews were laudatory, often excessively so. in oeuvre, jean laffray gushed: “marcel carné gives us today not just a beautiful film, but a magisterial work bringing cinematic art to a high degree of perfection.”8 henri gerard, the critic for cine-vogue, called the film a work that can be compared to none other and whose appearance marks a strangely happy date in the history of world cinema. we are very proud that it was on the shores of france that such a work was conceived and that it was here it saw the light of day!9 the film’s many rave reviews often touched on the same points. they praised carné’s skillful direction and his ability to switch from historical realism to fantasy, they praised the film’s design and art direction, and they praised the witty script by prévert as well as the affecting performances of arletty and alain cuny. yet, as gerard’s review demonstrates, the overwhelmingly ecstatic nature of such reviews suggests more than just admiration for a well-crafted film. many french critics held up the movie as an emblem of national pride, proof that the french film industry was still capable of grandeur and greatness. such high praise, coupled with the film’s thematic controversy and its calculated commercial appeal, made the film a huge hit—and a hot topic of discussion. an august 1943 article by roger régent in les nouveaux temps, a collaborationist daily paper, suggests the controversy the film engendered upon its reception: a certain crack sometimes appeared between journalists and spectators; marcel carné’s film has its passionate defenders and its adversaries. each side brings to the discussion a strong conviction and arguments that they have chewed over and matured during long weeks and even long months of meditation and stubbornness!10 régent’s article goes on to dismiss such arguments as tiresome and sterile, instead encouraging the public to appreciate the film on the basis of its aesthetic qualities and “poetic sense.” likewise, the critic michel aubriant, writing for franc-jeu (the newspaper of a collaborationist youth group) in february 1943, praised the film as a masterpiece but scorned those who stirred up controversy around it: “let’s forget the opinion of attorneys or fruit merchants, the irritating perorations of professional gossipers.”11 the message that such vichy-friendly papers was sending was clear enough: enjoy the film, but don’t read too much into it. for their part, the film’s makers affirmed that they had never intended a political message, but said that the public was free to interpret the film as they pleased. prévert stated to the newspaper l’action that he and his co-writer pierre laroche “only ever wanted to tell a story.”12 even years after the war, carné insisted that he had not intended the film to be a political allegory. in his memoirs, carné addressed the allegorical interpretation to the film’s ending but did not take credit for it: i would not swear that jacques and i had thought of that. but in any event we accepted that interpretation since it responded to robert bresson, director of les anges du péché 81 an occupied cinema a real need on part of the public when the film was released in late 1942.13 ultimately, then, for all the speculation its ending produced among the french public, les visiteurs du soir was not a brave political allegory. it was a masterful piece of entertainment that managed to please everyone for different reasons. it offered a reassuring political message to those inclined to read it that way, it was considered harmless by the german authorities, and it satisfied the public’s desire for quality escapism. les visiteurs du soir was so beloved that it won the french government’s prize for best film of the year in 1942. the following year, the honor went to another critically acclaimed and popular film, les anges du péché (angels of sin, released abroad as angels of the streets).14 the film began as something of a risky commercial bet, though, with a story set almost exclusively in a convent and a then-unknown director, robert bresson, in the director’s chair. but on the basis of a script by acclaimed writer jean giraudoux and a cast led by star jany holt, the film was greenlit and largely funded by the crédit national, a nationally owned financing agency which since 1941 had partnered with the vichy government’s film committee to co-finance new productions.15 this explicit connection to vichy is telling: though the movie is certainly not propagandistic, it is the kind of moralistic, high-minded film the government wanted to associate itself with. les anges du péché dramatizes a battle of wills between two very different women: anne-marie, an eager young novice in a dominican congregation of sisters, and therese, a former prisoner who seeks refuge in the convent after killing her former lover. anne-marie tries to take therese under her wing and rehabilitate her, but she encounters hostility and resistance: therese is in the convent to hide, not to find god. eventually, anne-marie’s headstrong ways and her insistence on perfectly pious behavior stir up trouble at the convent, and the other sisters decide to expel her from the community as a “necessary sacrifice.” in the end, though, a deathly sick anne-marie returns with a dying wish to say her vows and be fully initiated. as anne-marie is unable to pronounce her vows on her deathbed, therese, who has now been located by the police, agrees to say them for her. with this symbolic redemption, the police arrive to arrest therese and escort her to jail. today, the movie is best remembered as the first feature by the great director robert bresson. at the time, though, bresson was unknown, and publicity emphasized the film’s writers: father r.l. bruckberger, a dominican priest and public intellectual, and the celebrated dramatist jean giraudoux. these two men collaborated with bresson to create a decidedly catholic moral fable. even apart from its obvious religious context—the convent setting, the fact that all the major characters are nuns—the film abounds with catholic themes of sin, guilt, sacrifice, and redemption. the script sets up a schematic divide between its two main characters: the pious, almost saintly anne-marie and the scornful, sinful therese. throughout the film, annemarie’s attempts to reach therese are consistently rejected; it is only with anne-marie’s death that therese undergoes a spiritual transformation. the grave austerity of the final shots—as therese reverently recites anne-marie’s vows, and then silently descends the stairs to the police, past the watchful eyes of the other nuns, to calmly accept her fate—suggests repentance, a lost sheep coming back to the flocks. with its explicitly religious nature, les anges du péché was appealing to the catholic vichy government, representing the kind of high-minded, morally serious film the government’s film committee liked to finance. yet to consider les anges du péché vichy propaganda would be to overstate the case, and to ignore many complicating factors about the film’s production. certainly the film’s makers were no stooges of the vichy government. in fact, many of them were quite the opposite. the film’s star, jany holt, was an active member of the resistance who later received the croix de guerre (cross of war, awarded for courageous and/or heric efforts in the name of france) for her efforts.16 bruckberger, the co-screenwriter, was the chaplain general of the french resistance, and after the liberation in 1944 had the honor of saying mass at notre-dame for france’s new hero, charles de gaulle.17 bresson knew firsthand the horrors of the germans, having spent a year as a prisoner of war in a german camp just before helming les anges du péché.18 thirteen years later, he would make one of his greatest masterpieces, a man escaped, about an imprisoned resistance fighter, opening the film with an onscreen commemoration of the thousands imprisoned during the german occupation of france. three of the movie’s prime shapers, then, clearly had no love for vichy, and with such historical hindsight it is tempting to read an allegory of the resistance in les anges du péché. there are certainly parallels to be found between 82 elements : : spring 2013 the convent depicted in the film and the real-life french resistance. the community of nuns in the film is shown to be a force of good that nonetheless draws from the lowest ranks of society, including former criminals. the character of anne-marie—the fervent, eager young volunteer—resembles the idealistic students, many of them communists, who joined the resistance in significant numbers. most significantly, underlying the entire film is a sympathetic depiction of the nuns’ isolation from the outside world as a result of devotion to their cause. in one early scene, anne-marie burns her personal effects and pictures, severing ties with friends and family to devote herself wholly to her new life. likewise, many members of the resistance had to go into hiding, change their names, and discard their former identities. these resonances cannot be entirely ignored, yet they are most likely unconscious ones. bruckberger’s experience working with resistance members and bresson’s imprisonment may have manifested themselves in the film’s depiction of claustrophobic community life, yet there is no evidence suggesting that either man deliberately intended a political message about the resistance. the movie’s theme aims at the spiritual, not the political—and like many films of the period, it is set in a peculiar, alternate france where the realities of the war and occupation seem not to exist. indeed, what may be most surprising about the film is how apolitical it is, given its makers’ political leanings. the fact that the likes of bresson, bruckberger, and holt were willing to make such a film under vichy suggests a larger reality of the period: there were virtually no conscientious objectors to working under the new circumstances. a few french directors fled abroad before the occupation, but those who remained felt little compunction about going back to work in a vichy-supervised film industry, even one that now excluded jews and was at the mercy of two censorship boards. some directors even felt that it was their moral duty to continue making films for the french public during a time of hardship; others merely needed the work. for whatever reason, a vast majority of french directors happily worked under vichy’s new rules, and saw no moral complicity in doing so. ultimately, then, it is doubtful that the makers of les anges du péché intended a direct allegory about the resistance. more realistically, they separated their political leanings from their professional life, and avoided any conscious political message. certainly there was no talk of hidden meanings upon the film’s release, though the film was greeted with much the same enthusiasm as les visiteurs du soir. the famous actor, playwright, and director sacha guitry raved that the film had “not a lapse in taste from beginning to end . . . no sentimentality, no vulgarity, no pretensions . . . it is much better than cinema!”19 the critic andré bazin—a voracious cinephile who would go on to found the magazine cahiers du cinéma (notebooks on cinema)and help usher in the french new wave—praised the film as “the dazzling exception to the rule that makes an artistic hell of french hagiographic or edifying cinema.”20 in bazin’s view, the film deftly skirted the traps of sentimentality and pretension, instead proving itself a film “of ‘international stature’” and demonstrating that “the efforts of french cinema are not limited to those of a technical order but spill over into the intellectual and spiritual stance of our production.”21 in the same 1943 article in which he discussed carné’s film, roger régent praised les anges du péché for its “grandeur” and “purity” and for treating such a high spiritual subject, especially in an art form that he characterized as being dominated by commercial calculation and base subject matter.22 both les visiteurs du soir and les anges du péché were prestigious films with respectable subject matter, and they attained the effusive praise of french critics. henri-georges clouzot’s 1943 film le corbeau (the raven) was another matter entirely. in some respects, the movie is representative of the many thrillers and murder mysteries that flooded the french marketplace during the occupation. lacking the historical sumptuousness of les visiteurs du soir and the religious themes of les anges du péché, le corbeau is instead a lean, mean little thriller. it is also perhaps the boldest, most truthful, and most political french film to emerge from the occupation. the uncomfortable truths presented in le corbeau struck a nerve with french audiences, and after the war the film served as a whipping boy for both left and right, leading to a ban on the film and its director. years later, the french public’s rejection of the movie speaks to its power and honesty. of all the movies released during the occupation, le corbeau is the one that seems to reflect the period’s realities most deeply, and the one that most needs to be understood in its proper context. paradoxically, though, the movie’s origins go back to the early 1920s and the small french city of tulle. for many years, the residents of tulle were subjected to a slate of anonymous letters bearing cruel and scandalous accusations. national newspapers picked up on the juicy story, until the culprits were found to be two 83 an occupied cinema local women with no apparent motive but misanthropy and gossip-mongering. years later, the aspiring screenwriter louis chavance seized on the story for a movie idea.23 as early as may 1933, chavance was researching the case and seeking the advice of psychological experts on the motives of anonymous letter writers, and in 1937 the first draft of l’oeil de serpent (the serpent’s eye) had been finished.24 over the next six years, l’oeil de serpent slowly morphed into le corbeau. the final film is not a historical account of the tulle affair, but rather an original story of poison-pen letters inspired by the earlier case. the movie opens with a title card identifying the location vaguely as “a little town, here or there,” and soon plunges the viewer into a decidedly unpleasant village. first we meet dr. germain, the film’s misanthropic protagonist, washing his hands after overseeing a miscarriage. emotionally unaffected by this failure, he heads to the hospital where we meet marie, a disagreeable and meddlesome nurse who is in the habit of stealing morphine for her own use. germain then takes a house call to visit denise, a voluptuous blonde who is clearly faking illness in an attempt to seduce him. even denise’s preteen sister is shown in these opening scenes to be an eavesdropping snoop; in short, virtually everyone in the village seems rather odious. the two shining exceptions are dr. vorzet, an eldery psychiatrist and upstanding member of the community, and his young wife laura, for whom germain clearly harbors feelings. soon enough, anonymous letters—signed by “le corbeau”—begin flooding the village. germain is accused of being an abortionist, laura is said to be unfaithful to her husband, and rumors spread as more villagers receive scandalous notes. the accusations cause one suicide and soon foster an environment of mistrust and paranoia, as villagers begin ganging up on suspects and demanding their arrest. accusations are tossed around freely until germain finally determines that the two culprits are none other than the two pillars of the community, dr. vorzet and laura. at the film’s end, laura is taken off to prison, while her husband is murdered in an act of vengeance. as this reductive plot summary suggests, le corbeau is a profoundly dark, misanthropic movie. the film’s director, henri-georges clouzot (here making his second film) would develop a reputation for cynical thrillers about the darker side of human nature, including classics like diabolique and the wages of fear. but le corbeau had a more biting social context than anything else in clouzot’s filmography. with its depiction of a tiny french town where citizens turn each other in out of fear, paranoia, and cowardly self-interest, le corbeau resonated with the realities of the occupation. even without any explicit references to the war, the underlying plot device of anonymous letters took on an uncomfortable significance for the french. during the occupation, authorities offered rewards for citizens to denounce known resistance members or other dissidents, and an estimated 3 million letters were sent to the authorities for this purpose.25 le corbeau turned an unflattering allegorical mirror on this reality. the tone of the first reviews suggests the film’s chilling effect. even those critics who celebrated le corbeau—and there were many—did not react with the kind of ecstatic praise that greeted les visiteurs du soir and les anges du péché. instead, their notices carried a weightier, more unsettling tone, suggesting that the film had frightening implications. jules lhost, writing for the publication cassandre, said that the movie had a way of “revealing the invisible, what is hidden behind the faces of the men, women, and children we rub elbows with every day” and that the film “must necessarily provoke a shock, a reaction, a sudden start.”26 rené barjavel, writing in the pages of spectateur, celebrated clouzot’s way of showing the corruption of even hospital doctors, but went on to state that clouzot’s characters were “no more ignoble in their work than most of their colleagues, than most other businessmen, than most men, than you and me.”27 roger régent said that he could not talk about the film in the same way as he did other films; his ambiguous assessment of the movie expressed amazement that it got by the censors and “the movie’s theme aims at the spiritual, not the political—and like many films of the period, it is set in a peculiar, alternate france where the realities of the war and occupation seem not to exist.” 84 elements : : spring 2013 highlighted its “anticlericalism and, maybe, its subversive power against a certain bourgeois conception of society.”28 régent’s words about the film’s power proved prophetic, yet it is unlikely that he could have predicted the extent of the controversy the movie would provoke. le corbeau managed to alienate virtually every faction of french society. the church called it blasphemous, likely objecting to its discussion of taboo subjects like abortion and its critical view of church members—especially the priest character, who encourages the lynch mob mentality of his congregation.29 proponents of the vichy regime saw a loaded attack on their ideological values of work, family, and homeland. leftists protested even more strongly, seeing the film not as a denunciation of bourgeois vichy society but as an antipatriotic condemnation of the french character. the clandestine resistance paper l’écran français argued that the movie’s characters were “crippled, immoral, corrupted and dishonored,” characters “which the servile imagination of m. clouzot has made up as if under nazi orders.” the article went so far as to claim that the movie was “produced and encouraged by the germans in camouflage” and that it “feeds an anti-french propaganda.”30 the idea that le corbeau was pro-german propaganda was fueled by many factors, but especially by clouzot’s connection with continental films. continental was a germanrun studio that had come to france soon after the occupation. run by alfred greven—a producer appointed by goebbels to kick-start the french film industry—continental soon became the most prolific studio in france, and clouzot was one of many french directors who signed a contract with them. yet the studio was not in the business of creating nazi propaganda; goebbels left that to the newsreel division. instead, greven’s goal at continental was to recruit top french directors and stars to create a prestigious commercial movie studio that would, in the proposed new order, rival hollywood.31 even though continental did not make propaganda, clouzot’s association with greven—not to mention his personal history of working in germany before the war—increased suspicions that he was a secret german sympathizer who wanted to undercut french nationalism. what made his case even more damning was the pernicious (and false) rumor that the film had been released in germany under the title a little town in france, implying that the film’s beastly little village was a microcosm for all french society. after the liberation, various comités d’épuration (purging committees) were established to weed out those french who had collaborated with the germans. the most extreme collaborators were executed, others were punished with jail time while some offenders were entirely overlooked. it was, in many cases, an arbitrary process, yet the controversy surrounding le corbeau ensured that clouzot and his team were scrutinized with particular attention. the movie certainly had its defenders: prominent intellectuals like jacques prévert and jean-paul sartre argued that it was not anti-french, while chavance argued fervently in editorials that he had begun his screenplay in the mid-30s and had never intended a political statement.32 perhaps the strongest piece of evidence in le corbeau’s favor was a letter from french lieutenant colin-reval to the president of the commission, proving that the film had not only never been released abroad, but indeed that german authorities had rejected it for foreign distribution because it “did not convene to a german mentality.”33 despite all this evidence, though, the commission d’épuration du cinéma banned the movie, banned clouzot and chavance from working, and even imprisoned or banned some of the movie’s actors.34 though the bans were lifted by 1947, the harshness of the commission’s verdict shows the intensity of the reactions it provoked. even thirty-six years after its release, in 1979, committee member and communist film director louis daquin stated that he did not regret its condemnation.35 “even if the film does not espouse an explicitly political message...the damning subtext of le corbeau boldly defies the ideological underpinnings of the vichy regime, something that no other film of the period dared to do.” 85 an occupied cinema peeling back all these layers of controversy, distortions, and accusations, the question remains: who or what does le corbeau really target? one answer seems clear enough: the movie casts a scornful eye on anonymous letter writers, and by extension all those french who denounced their fellow citizens under the occupation. yet, as film scholar evelyn ehrlich argues persuasively, the movie has bigger targets than that: it is profoundly anti-vichy, an evisceration of that government’s dubious conservative ideology.36 the film repeatedly subverts expectations regarding traditional societal roles. laura, the virtuous, dutiful young wife, is revealed to be a malicious liar. dr. vorzet, the wise elder trusted by the whole community, turns out to be the culprit whose rancorous letters drive a sick boy to suicide. everywhere throughout the film, symbols of moral and societal authority—doctors, priests, prefects, policemen— are exposed as frauds, while characters that would be condemned by the standards of vichy morality—like denise, who initially seems merely a lusty sexpot, and germain, who is accused of being an abortionist—become the unlikely heroes who stand up to the hysteria. even if the film doesn’t espouse an explicitly political message—there is no figure corresponding to hitler or pétain, nor does the movie have anything to say about the resistance—the damning subtext of le corbeau boldly defies the ideological underpinnings of the vichy regime, something that no other film of the period dared to do. unlike marcel carné, who always denied an intentional political allegory in les visiteurs du soir, clouzot later declared that he did have such meanings on his mind. years after the film’s release, he admitted: here is exactly why i made [the film]: i was up to the head in anonymous letters; we were living in a frightening regime of denunciation . . . i scuffled with greven who said to me: ‘it’s an extremely dangerous film’ . . . but i insisted upon doing it, i liked it; it was a revolutionary film.37 one of the many paradoxes of the occupation was that to make his anti-vichy “revolutionary film,” clouzot had to collaborate closely with the very forces he was railing against. so, too, did bresson and carné, and indeed any filmmakers who hoped to make a living during the period. from a modern perspective, it can be easy to judge such men for even the smallest complicity in the corrupt institution that was vichy france. they did, after all, submit to a film industry that excluded jews and had close ties to the occupying nazi powers. yet such facile judgments belie the complex realities at play. the story of the french occupation is not a simple tale of heroes and villains, but an unsettling one of moral ambiguity. le corbeau has a famous scene that still speaks to this reality. in a darkened classroom, dr. vorzet gives germain a lesson in moral complexity, as he turns on a lamp hanging from the ceiling and watches it swing back and forth. “you think that good is light and darkness is evil,” vorzet says. “but where is darkness, where is light? where is the border of evil? do you know which side you are on?” like so many french during the occupation, french filmmakers lived on that ambiguous border, working with forces of darkness to bring their works of art to light. endnotes 1. truffaut (7-8) 2. see appendix b (203-204) to ehrlich’s cinema of paradox: french filmmaking under the german occupation for figures on filmgoing before and during the occupation. 3. carné and guiguet (125), translation mine. 4. riding (59) 5. ehrlich, cinema of paradox (29-32) 6. bertin-maghit (144-145), translation mine. 7. see ehrlich’s cinema of paradox (103), bertin-maghit (144-145), riding (194-195). 8. laffray. translation mine. 9. gerard. translation mine. 10. régent. translation mine. 11. aubriant. translation mine. tulle, the city upon which the poison letter plot of le corbeau is beleved to have been based. 86 elements : : spring 2013 12. clipping from l’action, 1942, accessed in dossier carles 259-b75 in the researchers’ space at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. translation mine. 13. carné (156-157). translation from citation in riding (195) 14. ehrlich, cinema of paradox (107) 15. ehrlich, cinema of paradox (25-26) 16. bergan 17. pace 18. ehrlich, cinema of paradox (118) 19. sacha guitry, in panorama, july 22, 1943, reprinted in le cinéma et moi (paris: ramsay, 1977), cited in robert bresson: a passion for film by tony pipolo (oxford: oxford university press, 2010). 20. bazin (48) 21. bazin. (50) 22. régent. translation mine. 23. ehrlich, “french film during the german occupation : the case of le corbeau.” (12) 24. personal correspondence dated may 24, 1933 from dr. edmond locard to louis chavance. accessed in the archives scenaristiques for le corbeau in the louis chavance files at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. 25. lloyd (38-39) 26. lhost, jules. rev. of le corbeau, by henri-georges clouzot. cassandre 12 december 1943, reprinted in les classiques du cinema français: le corbeau (paris: la nouvelle edition, 1948). translation mine. 27. barjavel, rené. rev. of le corbeau, by henri-georges clouzot. spectateur 1943, reprinted in les classiques du cinema français: le corbeau (paris: la nouvelle edition, 1948). translation mine. 28. régent, roger. rev. of le corbeau, by henri-georges clouzot. les nouveaux temps 9 october 1943, reprinted in les classiques du cinema français: le corbeau (paris: la nouvelle edition, 1948). translation mine. 29. ehrlich, “french film during the german occupation : the case of le corbeau.” (14) 30. “le corbeau est déplumé,” “l’écran français (march 1944), p. 3. quoted in ehrlich, cinema of paradox (122-123) 31. riding (188) 32. chavance, louis. editorial. le film français 16 mar. 1945: n. pag. print. accessed in the archives de carrière du film for le corbeau in the louis chavance files at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. 33. correspondence from lt. colin-reval to the president of the commission d’épuration du cinéma, dated october 20, 1944. accessed in the archives de distribution for le corbeau in the louis chavance files at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. 34. ehrlich, cinema of paradox, (176) 35. ehrlich, “french film during the german occupation : the case of le corbeau.” (12) 36. ehrlich, “french film during the german occupation: the case of le corbeau” (14-16) 37. bocquet and godin (33) translation mine. references bazin, andré, and françois truffaut. french cinema of the occupation and resistance: the birth of a critical esthetic. new york, ny: f. ungar pub., 1981. print. bertin-maghit, jean pierre. le cinéma sous l’occupation: le monde du cinéma français de 1940 à 1946. paris: o. orban, 1989. print. bocquet, josé-louis, and marc godin. henri-georges clouzot, cinéaste. sèvres: la sirène, 1993. print. carné, marcel, and claude guiguet. la vie à belles dents: souvenirs. paris: p. belfond, 1989. print. chavance, louis and henri-georges clouzot. les classiques du cinema français: le corbeau. paris: la nouvelle edition, 1948. print. ehrlich, evelyn. cinema of paradox: french filmmaking under the german occupation. new york: columbia up, 1985. print. lloyd, christopher. french film directors: henri-georges clouzot. manchester: manchester university press, 2007. print. pipolo, tony. robert bresson: a passion for film. oxford: oxford up, 2010. print. riding, alan. and the show went on: cultural life in nazi-occupied paris. new york: vintage, 2011. print. truffaut, françois. “andré bazin, the occupation, and i.” introduction. french cinema of the occupation and resistance. by andré bazin. trans. stanley hochman. new york: frederick ungar, 1981. 3-21. print. aubriant, michel. “prélude à l’accouchement d’un autre cinéma.” franc-jeu [vichy] 5 feb. 1943: n. pag. print. translation mine. bergan, ronald. “jany holt.” the guardian [london] 17 nov. 2005: n. pag. 17 nov. 2005. web. 17 nov. 2012. <http://www.guardian. co.uk/news/2005/nov/18/guardianobituaries.film>. laffray, jean. “les visiteurs du soir au madeleine et au lord byron.” l’œuvre [paris] 9 dec. 1942: n. pag. print. translation mine. pace, eric. “raymond-leopold bruckberger, priest and author, dies at 90.” the new york times. the new york times, 12 jan. 1998. web. 01 sept. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/12/ 87 an occupied cinema world/raymond-leopold-bruckberger-priest-and-author-diesat-90.html>. régent, roger. “le cinéma -faisons les comptes.” les nouveaux temps [paris] aug. 1943: n. pag. print. translation mine. chavance, louis. editorial. le film français 16 mar. 1945: n. pag. print. accessed in the archives de carrière du film for le corbeau in the louis chavance files at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. ehrlich, evelyn. “french film during the german occupation : the case of le corbeau.” wide angle, vol. 4, no. 4, may 1981, pp.12-17 gerard, henri. rev. of les visiteurs du soir. cine-vogue 17 dec. 1942: n. pag. print. translation mine. clipping from l’action, 1942, accessed in dossier carles 259b75 in the researchers’ space at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. translation mine. correspondence from lt. colin-reval to the president of the commission d’épuration du cinéma, dated october 20, 1944. accessed in the archives de distribution for le corbeau in the louis chavance files at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. personal correspondence dated may 24, 1933 from dr. edmond locard to louis chavance. accessed in the archives scenaristiques for le corbeau in the louis chavance files at the cinémathèque française, paris, france. 88 elements : : spring 2013 andrew abbate is a senior with extensive research experience in chemistry and human physiology. his current interests include, but are not limited to, sports supplementation, hormonal modulation, and neuro optimization. andy specializes in biomedical writing and research. his goals are to research and develop treatments for the maximization of human performance and health. brendon anderson is a sophomore in the college of arts & sciences and is majoring in international studies with a concentration in ethics and social justice. this article was written for professor o’neill’s class, politics of northern ireland 1921-present. brendon’s interests include law, immigration, irish studies, and social justice. he is also a part of the a&s honors program and is a member of 4boston, arrupe, and the irish society. matt farnum is a sophomore in the college of arts & sciences from oxford, maine. he is a history major and philosophy minor. he has spent the past two years working for the boston college football team as a video manager and is a member of the boston college buddhist club. he intends to investigate musical and artistic interests in his remaining two years at boston college. inspiration for his paper stems from professor thomas dodman, who has encouraged him to explore paths untrodden in history. zachary herhold author biographies sean keeley is a sophomore at boston college majoring in international studies with a concentration in political science. his article was the result of a three-week independent research project in paris generously funded by an advanced study grant, which allowed him to explore two of his strongest interests: french and classic film. on campus, sean serves as the arts & review editor for the heights and is studying russian in the hopes of studying abroad in st. petersburg next year. he dedicates his article to his parisian hosts, claudine and thibault guilhem, in gratitude for their hospitable welcome and continued cross-cultural friendship, and in the sincere hope that he may return to paris soon. han-sam lee is a senior in the college of arts & sciences, and was born in madison, wisconsin. she is an islamic civilization and societies major, working on her senior thesis concerning nationalisms in lebanon. her article on south korean economic policy was written during her time abroad at sciences po-paris, where she received an exchange program certificate in economics. she hopes to serve in the peace corps after graduation and is working on attaining a tesol certification. after serving, she hopes to continue her studies at the american university of beirut. her interests outside of academics include french and italian language, german culture, fashion, and travelling. emily simon is a sophomore in the college of arts & sciences honors at boston college. she is pursuing a major in english and is a prospective psychoanalytic studies minor. her paper was written for lori harrison-kahan’s course making and re-making americans: race, sex, and gender in american literature and film, and it reflects her passion for modernist literature and literary theory. emily was born in new orleans, louisiana but attended high school at the american school of kuwait, to which she attributes her enthusiasm for education, cultural theory, and maintaining an open, global perspective. her love for the written word is evident in her extracurricular activities: she is currently the managing editor for elements and serves on the editorial board for stylus, the literary magazine at boston college. she hopes to continue this devotion to literature by attending graduate school and seeking a career in higher education and literary research. list of artwork van morrison © art siegel/wikimedia commons sunday bloody sunday © island records/ wikimedia commons snow patrol’s chocolate © snow patrol/ wikimedia commons f scott fitzgerald’s the great gatsby © francis cugat/ wikimedia commons part of kitchener’s new army at exeter © pete souza/ wikimedia commons ©web gallery of art/ wikimedia commons berlin, staatsbesuch präsident von süd-korea © ludwig wegmann/wikimedia commons coat of arms of the bbc © bbc/ wikimedia commons halifax, lord © bioh00034 last name: halifax first name: lord notes: repository: san diego air and space museum archive/ wikimedia commons keep calm and carry on © government of the united kingdom/ wikimedia commons petain, henri p. marshall © harris & ewing collection, library of congress, reproduction number: lc-dig-hec-21606/ wikimedia commons coat of arms of the vichy state © adelbrecht/wikimedia commons french film director robert bresson. © photo courtesy of the film reference library toronto/ wikimedia commons 13 14 15 23 40 43 52 65 69 60 77 78 79 tulle, devant la cathédrale. ©vassile/wikimedia commons 84 ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, 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'54).($ .) 2)$!"$ *%44.)" *+*"$5* /.) *"%-$&"* ./ 2.,.) *#.%,0$ $&2.%)!1$-. !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ exploring how mentors influence sense of belonging for undergraduate students of color 5!'+! 6#!,$& 30 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 1. introduction “sense of belonging” is an idea that has existed in multiple fields, including sociology, education, and other social sciences. in general terms, a sense of belonging means a “feeling of relatedness or connection to others,” (booker, 2016). more specifically, a sense of belonging at the university level entails an intrinsic motivation to persist in their degree as well as social acceptance within the student community (booker 208 2016). students’ sense of belonging has also been recognized as a possible lever to foster success, engagement, and well-being at university (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine [nas], 2017). research has revealed that students at four-year schools, students in the racial-ethnic minority, and first-generation students report lower senses of belonging than their peers (gopalan & brady, 2019). moreover, students of color struggle with feelings of isolation, separation, as well as weariness from the lack of race representation and microaggressions (booker, 2016). these feelings of isolation, separation, as well as weariness from race related issues can have a serious impact on whether or not students feel as though they belong at their university. research has also shown that “college students’ sense of belonging, especially early in their college careers, may be important for their academic motivation and success in that setting,” (freeman, 2007). it is clear that the sense of belonging of students of color is a)ected by race-related issues, as well as academic motivation and social acceptance. where these issues interfere with academic motivation and social acceptance is where students of color must be significantly supported. although researchers have explored the sense of belonging and experiences of students of color at predominantly white institutions, as well as the dynamics of mentoring relationships between students and sta) of color, it is unclear whether having a mentor of color as a student of color influences their sense of belonging. thus, the goal of this study is to explore the potential contribution of having mentors of color has on the sense of belonging of undergraduate students of color. 2. literature review there are multiple definitions of sense of belonging for students. according to goodenow (1993), sense of belonging is the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in their school’s social environment. finn and zimmer (2012) posited a model of school engagement that included three components: identification with the school to a small extent, a sense of belonging to the school, and a belief that they are welcomed, respected, and valued by their peers and other members of the school. researchers have also found associations between students’ sense of belonging and a number of adaptive motivational beliefs, between academic engagement and success, and between emotional well-being and avoidance of risk taking behaviors (freeman, 2007). for the purposes of this study, we will use a definition of sense of belonging that focuses on the academic engagement of students as well as social acceptance. sense of belonging has been thoroughly researched at multiple levels of education, including kindergarten through 12th grade (goodenow, 1993), as well as at the postsecondary education level (gopalan & brady, 2019). at four-year universities, feelings of belonging projected better persistence, engagement, and mental health (gopalan & brady, 2019). for students of color, if they do not feel like a part of the greater learning community, they may feel excluded, which negatively a)ects their performance in the course and subsequently influences degree persistence (booker, 2016). a number of researchers have also found that a sense of belonging has a powerful impact on academic performance and motivation of students. furrer and skinner (2003), as well as stipek (2002), demonstrated that students’ sense of relatedness to key figures, which is a notion related to a sense of belonging, is connected to their emotional and behavioral engagement in school. support from teachers and peers is also essential to fostering students’ academic motivation in elementary, middle, and high school levels of education (covington & dray, 2002). at the collegiate level, findings have suggested that sense of belonging is also associated with academic motivation, as it is with younger students. in particular, instructors who encouraged student participation and interaction contributed remarkably to college students’ sense of belonging (freeman, 2007). 3. methods participants this study utilized a survey as well as an interview to collect data. the survey was the best method to collect quantitative data on the views of participants, while the interview was ideal to elaborate on the data collected by the survey. the survey was completed by eighteen undergraduate students at a private, predominantly white 31 !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ institution on the east coast who identified themselves as students of color among a range of di)erent ethnicities. of the participants in the survey,there were twelve freshmen, four juniors, one sophomore, and one senior. participation was voluntary and anonymous. this study also interviewed a student of color who was a senior at the university. data collection the survey used branching capabilities to allow for di)erent questions based on whether or not a student had a mentor of color. nine students indicated that they had a mentor of color on campus, and the remaining nine students did not have a mentor of color on campus. the survey also utilized a variety of question types, such as questions involving a likert scale, yes or no questions, as well as open ended questions with a text box to gain a broad array of information. the use of questions that provided some qualitative data allowed there to be flexibility in the answers that were gleaned. the quantitative data collected by surveys showed areas where more intimate research was necessary. these areas were able to be more fully explored in the interview segment of the study, as the questions asked in the interview portion of the study were formulated based on the results of the survey and which areas needed to be further explored. 4. findings survey the survey contained a variety of questions that asked primarily about meaningful relationships with professors of color vs. white professors, levels of engagement with professors, how having or not having a mentor of color has impacted students’ academic lives, and how microaggressions and racially motivated incidents have influenced their academic persistence. there was variation in which professors students of color developed meaningful relationships with; professors of color maintained the most number of students however, students reported similar levels of engagement with both white professors and professors of color, with the exception being no report of level 10 engagement in classes taught by white professors, while there was a significant amount of level 10 engagement reported in classes taught by professors of color. for students that did have a mentor of color, having a mentor of color had a largely positive impact on their perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. in numerous situations, mentors were able to show their mentees that people of color could have certain jobs that they believe they could not have or were recommended to job and opportunities outside they may have otherwise not have pursued. an open-ended question concerning unique ways that mentors supported their academic careers was included to gain insight into how mentors supported their students both emotionally and academically. a shocking conclusion gathered by these questions included that all of the students who had a mentor of color have seen or experienced micro-aggressions or harassment based on race, while 66.7 percent of students without a mentor of color have. based on following questions in the survey, even though there is some variation in the answers, it seems as though racially motivated incidents do not impact the decisions of students to persist at the university level and continue their schooling. some students reported the incidents do impact other aspects of their life, such as social life or overall college experience. this survey generally revealed that students generally agreed that having meaningful relationships with a professor or mentor of color positively helped or could help navigate di*cult situations. interview the interview was conducted with one senior at the university that identified as a student of color. the survey revealed the importance of having mentors of color for students of color became clearer; both in professional and emotional ways that mentors support students. the social implications of being a person of color and the positive role that mentors play in social life became apparent. of note, not all mentors discussed were professors or part of administration; they were fellow students as well. the survey brought up the question of what professors of color may be bringing to their classes that warranted such high feelings of engagement, and the interview revealed that certain professors of color may take a certain level of care for sensitive topics. the interviewee noted that regarding the murder of emmett till, one of her black professors, “focused on the response of the people rather than focusing on the specific act even though she did talk about it because it’s important to address them and raise awareness for them.” this may have been a response to the situation that other professors may not have had. the survey revealed that for students with a mentor of color, having a mentor of color had a largely positive impact on their perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. their answers as to how mentors supported 32 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 them included both academic and emotional support, which pointed to interpersonal support being an important part of mentorship. this finding was further supported by the interview. the interviewee discussed not only how multiple mentors helped her find a job, but how they also gave her time, listened to her problems, and gave good advice. the interviewee believed that “wisdom is key to a mentor,” and that one of her mentors is “someone i can vent to and cry.” regarding jobs, the interviewee noted that seeing people of color in positions of power or in the career she aspired to be in was “very powerful” for her, which supports the survey finding that having a mentor of color has a largely positive impact on students’ perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. the survey also revealed that racist incidents impact other aspects of their life such as social life and overall college experience, and this became more apparent during the interview. the interviewee described a situation where her friends decided to give all the illegal alcohol they had to their friend who was “white-passing,” to avoid getting in trouble. overall, the interviewee agreed that having mentors of color was extremely beneficial for her both personally and professionally. 5. discussion this study has supported and expanded upon the existing literature concerning students’ subjective sense of belonging as well as the interpersonal and academic support that mentors provide. more specifically, this study has extended the literature concerning the unique experiences students of color have in academia and how mentors are able to support them, as demonstrated by the various relationships formed between professors and students of color. six students reported professors of color,, while three students reported white professors, four students reported both white professors and professors of color, and five students reported developing meaningful relationships with neither. the interviewee pointed to the fact that sometimes students of color can run into obstacles with white professors because of issues concerning possible white savior complexes, while professors of color tend to “keep it more real.” these findings relate to previous research that revealed that the decision of a group of african american students to persist at college was based on faculty being accessible, approachable, and providing authentic instruction (booker 2016). issues with “white savior complexes,” may feel inauthentic to students of color, which may influence their decision to reach out to these professors as mentors or persist with the class or their degree. survey participants reported similar levels of engagement with both white professors and professors of color, with the exception being no report of level 10 engagement in classes taught by white professors, while there was a significant amount of level 10 engagement reported in classes taught by professors of color. the interviewee mentioned that a class that she took with a professor of color made her feel “very empowered as a person of color,” and that it is “good having the person in the room with all the power being a black woman,” which could point to shared or personal experiences being a large part of engagement. for students of color with mentors, having a mentor of color had a largely positive impact on their perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. an open-ended question concerning unique ways that mentors supported their academic careers was included to gain insight into the multitude of ways mentors support students; the answers to this question included both emotional as well as academic support which points to interpersonal support being an important part of mentorship. this finding relates to previous research which found that mentors maintaining honesty and making themselves available to students were integral parts of a positive mentoring relationship (luedke, 2017). this finding was further supported by the interview. the interviewee discussed not only how multiple mentors helped her find a job, but how they also gave her time, listened to her problems, and gave good advice. the interviewee believed that “wisdom is key to a mentor,” and that one of her mentors is “someone i “...sometimes students of color can run into obstacles with white professors because of issues concerning possible white savior complexes, while professors of color tend to ‘keep it more real’...” 33 !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ can vent to and cry.” survey participants also revealed that their mentors supported their academic careers through writing letters of recommendation and sponsoring independent study. regarding jobs, the interviewee also noted that seeing people of color in positions of power or in the career she aspired to be in was “very powerful” for her which supports the survey finding that having a mentor of color has a largely positive impact on students’ perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. the role of mentors finding students jobs relates to ideas of social capital discussed in previous research that found that students of color sought out sta) of color who were able to develop meaningful relationships with the students by nurturing the multiple forms of capital the students brought with them (luedke 2017). 100 percent of the survey participants who had a mentor of color have seen or experienced micro-aggressions or harassment based on race, while only 66.7 percent of students without a mentor of color have. although it is a relatively small di)erence, a possible explanation for this could be that those who have seen or experienced microaggressions or harassment based on race are more likely to seek out support by forming a relationship with a mentor. previous research discovered that students of color struggled with feelings of isolation, separation, and weariness from race representation and microaggressions (booker 2016). these feelings from racially-motivated incidents may be a strong reason for students of color to seek out mentors. an anecdote from the interviewee supported the weariness that students of color feel from race representation; she described a situation where the name tags of the multicultural community were torn o) their doors by a group of male students. the interviewee felt “embarrassed,” and did not understand how it only happened to the floor housing students of color instead of hallways housing white students. this relates to previous findings that students of color have an “awareness” of the division between the separate worlds of the white majority and the world of the students of color (morrison 2010). some survey participants reported the incidents impact their social life and overall college experience and the survey also revealed that students generally agreed that having meaningful relationships with a professor or mentor of color positively helped or could help navigate di*cult situations. this became more apparent during the interview when the interviewee described a situation where her friends decided to give all the illegal alcohol they were carrying to their friend who was “white-passing,” to avoid getting in trouble. this relates to previous literature that revealed how students of color being stereotyped contributed to the division of the white majority and students of color (morrison 2010). this may point to di)erent social “rules” that students of color have to follow because they feel as though they will get into trouble more often than their white peers. the interviewee also noted that when a friend of hers got into trouble with the university, she knew she could call her mentors and say “we really need a person of color to help us here,” because they understand administration and what it is like to be a person of color. overall, both the survey participants as well as the interviewee agreed that it was valuable to have mentors of color as a student of color, and it is clear that mentors provide significant support to students of color both emotionally and professionally. 6. conclusion limitations while the use of a survey and an interview was deemed most suitable, these research methods were not without limitations. the sample of survey participants was small, so the generalizability of the findings is uncertain. the interview was only conducted with one participant, so her experiences may not be consistent with the experiences of other students of color. in addition, what participants say in interviews may be di)erent than their actions in particular settings such as classrooms or social settings. future research future research in race and sense of belonging among college students would benefit from exploring the impact of student mentors versus administrative mentors or the di)ering social rules that students of color have to follow. “100 percent of students who had a mentor of color have seen or experienced micro-aggressions or harassment based on race...” 34 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 research into developing mentorship programs for students of color would be beneficial as well. researchers would also benefit from using multiple research methods, including observational approaches, and using larger groups of participants. conclusion despite the limitations of the study, the findings illustrate the importance of further research into students of color’s sense of belonging and how having a mentor of color may influence that. understanding the positive benefits of having a mentor has the potential to remedy lower senses of belonging that minority students experience (gopalan & brady, 2019). it is clear that both emotional and academic support are influential in positive mentorship, so e)orts to improve or create support systems for students of color should be encouraged. in summary, the results of this study suggest that college students of color benefit from having mentors of color. this study identified how mentors support the academic and professional components of a sense of belonging through job placements and writing recommendation letters. mentors of color also provided emotional and interpersonal support to students who don’t feel included in the predominantly white student body.the findings of this study ultimately indicate that a combination of both academic and interpersonal support from mentors of color are uniquely influential for students of color and their sense of belonging at the university level. 35 !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ +$,$+$%-$! booker, k. (2016). connection and commitment: how sense of belonging and classroom community influence degree persistence for african american undergraduate women. international journal of teaching and learning in higher education, 28(2), 218-229. covington, m., & dray, e. (2002). the developmental course of achievement motivation: a need-based approach. development of achievement motivation, 33-56. finn, j., & zimmer, k. (2012). student engagement: what is it? why does it matter? handbook of research on student engagement, 97-131. freeman, t., anderman, l., & jensen, j. (2007). sense of belonging in college freshman at the classroom and campus levels. the journal of experimental education, 75(3), 203-220. furrer, c., & skinner, e. (2003). sense of relatedness as a factor in children’s academic engagement and performance. journal of educational psychology, 95(1), 148-162. goodenow, c. (n.d.). the psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: scale development and educational correlates. psychology in the schools, 30(1), 79-90. gopalan, m., & brady, s. (2019). college students’ sense of belonging: a national perspective. educational researcher, 49(2), 134-137. luedke, c. (2017). person first, student second: sta) and administrators of color supporting students of color authentically in higher education. journal of college student development, 58(1), 37-52. national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine. (2017). supporting students’ college success: the role of assessment of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. national academies press. stipek, d. (2002). good instruction is motivating. development of achievement motivation, 309-332. zanolini morrison, g. (2010). two separate worlds: students of color at a predominantly white university. journal of black studies, 40(5), 987-1015. -/'% (, #"%6("7 #*12-'3*"-18 © wil540 art. (2021, october 2). espo workshop8 [photograph]. wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:espo_workshop8.jpg 13 41 +")$+#' #..#*4#'# © chaucer ellesmere. (2005, september 5). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaucer_ellesmere.jpg 54 /5($'# 1 © energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, .&! -*/"&"#/ also featuring • unmasking medical frauds • pronouns and personhood!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#,# - 2 0 21 · . (& ) ! 1 7 · / '' & ! 1/ !-!) !* %' : : %0 ! & * 1 !"2 " #1 & #%! "!'!#"+0 3(& "* #(, 4( '%( * +(--!2! ,#-2 0 2 1 :: .( -& ) ! 17 :: /''& ! 1/ $"(1&+!1 45 %0! '%#,, (, !-!)!*%' !"#$ %&%'( #)*'$!#+&!'$ ",!"' '*,./!#,) ,0 !"' '-1,22'(1' 2&(3'! #) 1,)4/)1!#,) -#!" !"' 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'2'(+')1#'$ .#3' !"' 1/((')! %&)9'2#1. !"#$%&'"( #)*'+$, -.$!*% exposing the details and implications of illicit trade in the medical sector )#)& )&(&8&) 24 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 the trade of counterfeit drugs makes up a large portion of the global market in illegal goods, empowered and perpetuated by the growing and easily accessible e-commerce market. according to the oecd/euipo (2019) study, the value of global trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals was up to usd 4.4 billion in 2016. investigating globalization in the context of the healthcare sector and the implications of the international counterfeit healthcare trade demonstrates the immensity of the impact illicit trade has on both communities and local economies around the globe. data from interpol has shown that as of 2020, tra/cking of falsified health products is ten to twenty times more profitable than heroin tra/cking, emphasizing the magnitude of the dangers of this sector of illicit trade (sanofi, 2021). the world health organization (who) has proposed that counterfeit medicine (branded or generic products) can be defined as one that is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source, which has obvious potential for endangering unsuspecting consumers. a reiterated version of matthew sparke’s definition of globalization describes it as “the extension, acceleration, and intensification of consequential worldwide interconnections” (glass, 2014). when considered in the context of illicit trade in the healthcare sector, this quote emphasizes the consequential nature of these processes for everyone involved in the supply chain, from manufacturers in faraway countries to patients and consumers on the ground. illicit trade in the healthcare sector, greatly enabled by the ever-expanding reach of the e-commerce market, significantly impacts the global economy and well-being of people across the globe. the counterfeit trade of medicines, medical devices, non-drug accessories, and personal protective equipment (ppe) creates safety and legitimacy concerns as they endanger those who fall victim to falsely advertised products, making technologies and policies that assist in curbing counterfeit trade increasingly crucial in the context of today’s global value chains and worldwide challenges in healthcare. counterfeit trade of drugs & medicine access to healthcare and treatment options is limited for many communities, especially in developing countries, sustaining and further increasing the demand for accessible medication and, consequently, for counterfeit medicine and prescription drug suppliers. according to the who, “counterfeit medicines potentially make up more than 50% of the global drug market” with a significant presence of these goods circulating in developing countries due to a lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms and enforcement measures and the increasing sophistication of drug counterfeiters. the ripple e0ect of this trade sector impacts consumer confidence in healthcare and supply chains and undermines the e0orts of legitimate pharmaceutical providers. according to staake et al., counterfeiters can be classified into five groups: 1) disaggregators; 2) imitators; 3) fraudsters; 4) desperados; and 5) smugglers, labels that assist in developing a more organized approach to the issue of counterfeiting in the healthcare market. the desperados group represents products with medium to high visual quality, while the functional quality and product complexity is low. consequently, they are said to pose a severe threat to consumers (glass, 2014). counterfeit products lack active pharmaceutical ingredients (apis) or include incorrect ingredients which may or may not be toxic and have impurities and/or contain incorrect quantities of these apis, which are usually less than the stated amount. the united states food and drug administration (fda) has reported counterfeit and substandard medicines in both developed and developing countries, with 25% of these medicines being consumed in developing regions, such as latin america, southeast asia, or sub-saharan africa (glass, 2014). the detrimental e0ects the magnitude of this problem has on the health of developing-world consumers make the e/cacy of regulatory measures that much more crucial. counterfeit trade of ppe, medical devices, & other non-drug accessories illegitimate ppe, medical devices, and other non-drug accessories comprise a large sector of the products involved in the overwhelmingly large scope of the trade circulation of counterfeit healthcare-related goods and are less likely to be intercepted before reaching consumers compared to prescription drugs. this is due to non-drug products often having misleadingly accurate and convincing appearances and basic functionality. there is less data on the extent of the production and circulation of counterfeit medical devices because, according to the national institute for public health and the environment (rivm). at the same time, the distribution of prescription drugs is legally restricted to pharmacies and drugstores, the legitimate supply chain for medical devices is broader and includes various other suppliers like supermarkets, department stores, and even public vending machines (de bruijin et al., 2009). there have been significant di0erences in the medical device regulatory procedures of the developed 25 !"#$%&'"( #)*'+$, -.$!*% nations of the united states, the european union (eu), and japan. these have prompted the e0orts and attention of the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (ttip) towards its goal of fostering “enhanced compatibility of regulations and standards” (lee-makiyama et al., 2021). market integration among the developed countries of the eu along with japan and the us comprise almost 90% of global production and consumption of medical devices. integration would not only ensure a greater level of economic stability but also eliminate several loopholes caused by regulatory discrepancies that allow for a large amount of the trade of counterfeit medical devices (leemakiyama et al., 2021). safety & legitimacy concerns & the societal impact the consequences of the growing counterfeit healthcare trade involve pressing safety concerns for those in need and the detrimental e0ects of circulating illegitimate products on the individual and corporate levels. those with low income and limited literacy will ultimately still choose to purchase counterfeit products by assuming that non-authenticated treatment options are better than no treatment at all (glass, 2014). one example of the impact of this stems from the manufacturing of altered and lowquality antivirals: “antibiotics, antituberculosis drugs, and antimalarial and antiretroviral drugs are frequently targeted, with reports of 60% of the anti-infective drugs in asia and africa containing apis outside their pharmacopoeial limits” (glass, 2014). the direct implications involve increasing drug resistance and therefore undermining the e0orts put into developing e0ective drug formulas, especially in developing countries where treatment for fatal diseases and infections is imperative to the well-being of many. counterfeits significantly impact global public health because drugs lacking in quality, safety, correct make-up, and e/cacy that are not e0ectively regulated could result in long-term consequences. these include prolonged therapy and hospitalization, promotion of resistance, and the causation of adverse e0ects in consumers, which are then not accurately recorded or monitored (glass, 2014). on the individual economic level, counterfeits contribute to increasing out-of-pocket spending on healthcare, lost income due to prolonged illness or death, and lost productivity costs to individuals and households when seeking additional medical care, the e0ects of which are felt by businesses and the wider economy (oecd/euipo, 2020). the environmental impact is another significant though often overlooked implication of the counterfeit trade since legitimate pharmaceutical companies must adhere to established environmental protection and antipollution regulations while illicit manufacturers do not; they often dispose of toxic dyes and chemicals without oversight and disregard the importance of avoiding chemical leaks into streams and other natural resources (oecd/euipo, 2020). it is also important to acknowledge that other crimes such as money laundering, human tra/cking for sexual exploitation, and the smuggling of illegal arms can be linked to criminals involved in pharmaceutical crime (oecd/euipo, 2020), so the scope of this issue expands far beyond the sole impact of fake drugs and medical apparatuses on individuals and companies. the economic impact & ftzs counterfeiters impact both genuine manufacturers and consumers economically, making regulatory measures beneficial to both ends of the supply chain and requiring the attention of regional and international organizations in addressing the problem. the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd), for instance, has contributed significantly to informing policy-makers through detailed research and analysis of the economic impact of counterfeit circulation in the market. they recognize various factors that are conducive to the success of illicit traders, including trade routes and politics. counterfeit producers determine the who, what, and where of their operations through considering “1) the characteristics of the market, which determine market potential; 2) technological and logistical considerations, which determine the feasibility of counterfeiting; and 3) “those with low income and limited literacy will ultimately choose to purchase counterfeit products by assuming that non0authenticated treatment options are better than no treatment at all.” 26 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 the institutional environment, which determines the risks of being caught” (oecd/euipo, 2020). the complexity of the trade routes utilized by counterfeit suppliers is vital to recognize because it “facilitates the falsification of documents in ways that camouflage the original point of departure, establish distribution centres for counterfeit and pirated goods, and repackage or re-label goods,” all of which often are undetected due to the fact that in-transit goods are outside the scope of local authorities (oecd/ euipo, 2019). counterfeiters also thrive in politically unstable environments where corruption and ine0ective property protection policies greatly influence the amount of exports of fake goods from an economy. despite their beneficial aspects, countries with free trade zones (ftzs) with strong infrastructure and limited surveillance also provide a relatively stable environment for counterfeiters to operate in. interestingly the existence, number, and size of ftzs in a country positively correlate with increases in the number of counterfeit products exported by that country’s economy (oecd/euipo, 2019). a notable case of such an occurrence took place in 2006 when a counterfeit shipment from the sharjah ftz in dubai was seized in transit to the ftz of freeport in the bahamas and involved several countries. after the fake products were intercepted in the bahamas, suspicious products still being stored in the sharjah ftz were moved to another facility in the jebel ali free zone in dubai in an attempt to evade authorities. the investigation eventually exposed an elaborate supply chain of knocko0 drugs that ran from china through hong kong, the united arab emirates, the uk, and the bahamas to eventually be sold online to unsuspecting consumers as canadian medicines. this exhibits the convoluted nature of the crime at hand and how ftzs serve as low-risk stepping stones in the elaborate schemes behind successful counterfeit operations, making regulatory adjustment measures crucial, especially in areas with limited surveillance. countries that encounter large amounts of counterfeit healthcare products risk discouraging foreign investment, thus limiting their potential for economic growth and opportunities for further innovation and development in the healthcare sector (oecd/euipo, 2020). technologies and policies assisting in curbing counterfeit trade beyond easily targeting those with lower socioeconomic status and limited healthcare availability, the everexpanding e-commerce market has provided illicit suppliers the opportunity to reach an even greater consumer base, largely including those who unknowingly fall victim to well-advertised illegitimate pharmacies and websites. many fake drug products enter the market through illegal online pharmacies that operate globally and often beyond the scope of local or international regulators, and digital channels enable these illicit companies to evade detection (kuppuraj, 2018). large sums of money are involved in transnational criminal networks and enterprises, with one illicit online pharmacy network earning usd 55 million during only two years of active operations (oecd/euipo, 2020). another important term involving the dangerous distribution of certain products to specifically targeted countries or demographics is anti-diversion, which aims “to ensure that products that have been developed for a specific market, perhaps with materials that are not allowed in other countries but are authorised for the intended market… are not removed from the supply chain, repackaged and sent into a country that should not receive that item” (ellison & prisym id, 2019). there are both passive and active approaches to addressing the dangers of counterfeit healthcare, like the aforementioned diversion tactics. the passive strategy focuses on the three levels of packaging of products, with manufacturers being encouraged to include visual deterrents in the form of holograms, uv codes, or unique barcode labels that could assist in proving authenticity. the active approach involves using technology in regulating products as they pass through the supply chain. unique serial or reference numbers (urn) allow mass serialization systems to check authenticity and assist in tracking products through the supply chain, which is becoming increasingly e/cient and e0ective as technology advances (ellison & prisym id, 2019). several facilitation policy strategies could prove helpful in decreasing the number of counterfeit healthcare products being exported. specifically, these would involve the availability of detailed information on trade flows, the degree of involvement of an economy in the trade community, transparent and methodical review of fees and charges imposed on imports and exports, and reliable internal cooperation between border agencies and other government units (oecd/euipo, 2019). regarding the specific problem of counterfeit healthcare, the international medical products anti-counterfeiting taskforce (impact) was established in 2006 to coordinate a response to the growing issue of counterfeit drugs and to focus on the 27 !"#$%&'"( #)*'+$, -.$!*% following key areas: legislative and regulatory infrastructure, regulatory implementation, enforcement, technology, and communication (glass, 2014). impact demonstrates that successfully combating the trade of counterfeit medical products requires the e0orts of others beyond the health sector. collaboration among other sectors including law enforcement, border control, justice departments (at all administrative levels), and the private sector, which includes members of the supply chain like manufacturers, importers, distributors, health professionals, media, and patients and other consumers is essential (world health organization, 2019). initiatives from the who’s “prevent, detect, and respond” approach have introduced and begun to maintain a global database of reports relating to the interception of substandard or counterfeit medicines for use by regulatory agencies globally as well as a “rapid alerts” mechanism that facilitates international communication and data exchange (oecd/euipo, 2020). governments and regional justice systems hold a great deal of responsibility to be involved in e0orts to protect global public health, especially regarding legislation. one example of higher power organizations taking initiative is when the council of europe developed the medicrime convention, which equipped countries with a prototype of a legal framework for facing the threat of counterfeit medicines and other types of medical sector crimes that threaten public health and the economy (oecd/euipo, 2020). the biopharmaceutical company sanofi has also become a leading example of providers increasing their responsibility for being aware of the importance of screening for counterfeits. in 2008, they opened their central anti-counterfeit laboratory (lcac) to counter illicit companies targeting their product design for profit and recorded over 43,000 suspicious products. furthermore, they developed a specific label containing visible and invisible authentication known as the sanofi security label to prevent mistakes in the supply chain (kuppuraj, 2018). their o/cial website provides guidance made available to the public in how to personally inspect products at home before consuming them as well as in recognizing red flags in pharmaceutical websites and online web pages, demonstrating how regulating false products can be a responsibility of everyone involved in the supply chain from manufacturers to suppliers to consumers to ensure safety and damage control. conclusion & modern context evidently, the increasing amount of counterfeit trade in the healthcare industry is a pressing global public health concern. economically, ambiguity and lack of e0ective regulatory systems throughout the supply chains involved in circulating falsely advertised and manufactured medicines, medical devices, and non-drug accessories like ppe impact not only local and global value chains and economies but also the faith of the public in reputable companies and healthcare as a whole. a cooperative, joint e0ort between suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, customs o/cials, and even consumers to continue developing more e0ective policies, technological systems, and protective strategies to decrease the presence of counterfeit healthcare goods in the market is essential to addressing the gravity of this problem, which has only worsened since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. a myriad of issues has emerged in the face of the novel coronavirus involving counterfeits that endanger healthcare workers and patients, including the production of insu/cient filtering facepiece respirators and masks during the ppe shortage of early to mid-2020 (ippolito et al., 2020). this problem required the e0orts of trustworthy organizations like the center for disease control (cdc) to inform the public on identifying authenticity in protective gear, though the growth of the e-commerce market and dire circumstances often led consumers to feel that unauthenticated equipment would be better than nothing. n95 masks were also in high demand at the time, creating a new target market for counterfeiters to take advantage of. according to a reputable news source, counterfeits began appearing at the front lines with, for example, holy name medical center in teaneck, new jersey, receiving a batch “...the dangers of the counterfeit healthcare trade willcontinue to worsen in the face of new global health challenges and an every-changing technological world...” 28 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 .)-).)"+)% de bruijin, a.c.p., c.g.j.c.a. de vries, and h.p.h. hermsen. 2009. “counterfeit medical devices: a risk indication.” national institute for public health & the environment, no. open repository (august), 2-21. letter report 360060001. ellison, steve, and prisym id. 2019. “combat counterfeiters: the battle against counterfeit medical devices.” medtechdive. https://www.medtechdive.com/pressrelease/20190712-combat-counterfeiters-the-battleagainst-counterfeit-medical-devices/. glass, beverley d. “counterfeit drugs and medical devices in developing countries.” research and reports in tropical medicine 5 (2014): 11+. gale academic onefile (accessed april 18, 2021).https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/ a 4 1 2 4 1 1 7 4 3 / a o n e ? u = m l i n _ m _ bostcoll&sid=aone&xid=b1ce9de2 ippolito, mariachiara, cesare gregoretti, and andrea cortegiani. 2020. “counterfeit filtering facepiece respirators are posing an additional risk to health care workers during covid-19 pandemic.” american journal of infection control, no. 48, 853-854. 0196-6553. kavilanz, parija. 2020. “n95 masks are in short supply - and scammers know it.” cnn, april 1, 2020. https://www. cnn.com/2020/04/01/business/n95-masks-counterfeitssupply-chain/index.html. kuppuraj, gopi. 2018. “technologies curbing counterfeit threats in the healthcare industry.” prescouter. https:// www.prescouter.com/2018/06/technologies-curbingcounterfeit-threats-in-healthcare/. lee-makiyama, hosuk, and lisa brandt. report. european centre for international political economy, 2016. accessed april 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep23963. oecd/euipo (2019), trends in trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, illicit trade, oecd publishing, paris/european union intellectual property o/ce. https://doi. org/10.1787/g2g9f533-en. oecd/euipo (2020), trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products, illicit trade, oecd publishing, paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a7c7e054-en. sanofi. 2021. “fighting against falsified medicine.” sanofi. https://www.sanofi.com/en/our r e s p o n s i b i l i t y / healthcare-for-all/fighting-against-falsified-medicine. world health organization. 2019. “frequently asked questions with answers.” impact. access to healthcare and treatment https://www.who.int/medicines/services/ counterfeit/impact-faqwa.pdf. of 1,000 n95 masks from a trusted longtime vendor that turned out to be fake at the epicenter of the outbreak in the state (kavilanz, 2020). this incident, among other evidence, indicates that the dangers of the counterfeit healthcare trade will continue to worsen in the face of new global health challenges and an ever-changing technological world, requiring the consistent e0orts of countries worldwide in countering its e0ects in the best interests of both local and international communities. -/'% (, #"%6("7 #*12-'3*"-18 © wil540 art. (2021, october 2). espo workshop8 [photograph]. wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:espo_workshop8.jpg 13 41 +")$+#' #..#*4#'# © chaucer ellesmere. (2005, september 5). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaucer_ellesmere.jpg 54 /5($'# 1 © energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ this paper explores multiple published articles regarding the societal assumption that women’s sports are less competitive and less engaging than men’s sports. some articles, such as women’s sports foundation (2010) and carpenter & acosta (2005), cite lack of funds and media visibility as to why women’s sports are not as highly regarded as men’s sports. other articles, such as messner (2000) and nwlc (2012), explain that the disproportion in coverage of men’s and women’s sports is based on society’s expectations of women and the assumption feminine“weaknesses” this paper examines the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams at boston college and details the issues surrounding team schedules, fan attendance, university support, and media presence in an attempt to determine whether bc women’s ice hockey receives different levels of support and investment from bc compared to the bc men’s hockey team, and whether this differential investment leads to a unique spectator experience that may explain the lack of spectator attendance at bc women’s hockey games. leveling the ice the discrepancy between male and isabelle kennedy, molly mccabe, katelyn rodgers female athletics at boston college introduction since its introduction in 1978, competitive women’s sports have consistently been viewed as less competitive, less entertaining, and less worthy of spectator support than men’s sports. consequently, men’s sports enjoy large spectator and fan bases while women’s sports often struggle to draw fans, resulting in fewer, less lucrative professional opportunities for female athletes. we, however, challenge this stereotype; women’s sports are often just as competitive as men’s sports, and are equally worthy of spectator support. in her article, “exposing sport as a continuum” (1995), kane argues that the separation of men’s and women’s sports protects the myth of biological determinism, which uses sport as proof that men are naturally superior to women. we argue that this stereotype has been used to justify the lack of spectator support for women’s sports, precluding an examination of spectator support as an aspect of the unequal gender hierarchy within sporting structure. professional female athletes are paid significantly less than their male counterparts. in fact, the national women’s hockey league (nwhl), established in 2015, is the first women’s hockey league to pay its players a salary. however, the women’s league still has a long way to go to become equal with the men’s league. the team salary cap for the nwhl is $270,000, with the highest paid players receiving $22,000 per year (which is not a living wage in most american cities). in contrast, in the national (men’s) hockey league (nhl), the lowest paid players are paid $500,000 per year—nearly double the salary cap of an entire nwhl team (larkin, 2015). the average salary for a player in the nhl is $2.4 million per year (mckinven, 2015). as john smallwood (2017) points out, professional female players receive only a fraction of the salary of male players because women’s games generate only a fraction of the profit of men’s games. however, in attempting to justify why professional female athletes should be paid less, smallwood fails to explore why women’s games generate less money. spectator sports function as social and cultural events, which, to a great degree, owe their existence to media and advertising. a sporting event requires a significant investment to become a spectator event. a team, club, or league must make a monetary investment in the infrastructure of spectator sport, including (but not limited to): pre-, during-, and post-game talk shows and announcers; tv and media coverage; spectator and fan events, tailgating, giveaways, and promotions; and concessions and player merchandise. together, these factors create an atmosphere that transforms a sporting competition into a spectator event. in turn, the spectators create advertising opportunities that are the basis of profit generated by the game. this is a long-established pattern in the world of men’s sports, where years of investment have created clubs with generations of spectator-following and complex systems of media coverage. however, there is a dearth of similar investment in women’s sports. while women’s sports receive little to no mainstream media coverage, men’s sports make up 96% of all network sports coverage (women’s sports foundation, 2010). the lack of audience at women’s sporting competitions is often used to justify the lack of investment in the infrastructure of spectator sport, as john smallwood proposed. the assumption follows that because women’s sports are not currently producing a significant profit, no further investment should be made in the spectator infrastructure. however, without an attempt to promote women’s sports as spectator events, women’s sports will continue to fail to draw crowds and consequently fail to turn a profit. this assumption becomes cyclical, allowing stereotypes about women’s sports to take the blame for the lack of spectator attendance. this narrative accuses women’s inferior playing ability for the lack of spectator fan base, as though women’s sports have lost their fan base due to their supposed lack of skill, when in fact women’s sports, particularly women’s hockey, have rarely had any spectator support at all. women’s sporting events fail to turn the kind of profit that men’s sporting events do because of a lack of spectator fan base, which is due primarily to a lack of investment in women’s sports as spectator events. this lack of profit results in poor pay for female athletes and a shortage of professional opportunities for women in athletics. the lack of profit should not be used to justify a lack of investment in spectator infrastructure, as it is this very investment that would eventually result in an increase in spectators at women’s sporting events, and therefore, an increase in profits. investing in this sporting infrastructure would be a critical step in rectifying the inequality between men and women’s sports. we believe that the lack of investment in spectator infrastructure for women’s sporting events constitutes a violation of the equality required by title ix. this is a critical problem because the fan bases of collegiate sports 66 elements : : fall 2017 feed directly into professional sports. title ix lays out a series of measures based on the three criteria of proportionality, progress, and satisfied interests by which equality can be determined: scheduling of games and practice time, equal publicity, and failure to provide the necessary funds required for teams to access equal opportunity (carpenter & acosta, 2005). furthermore, financial support for one team over another may be considered a “possible pretext for discrimination” (carpenter & acosta, 2005). as a result, we decided to examine women’s ice hockey (wih) at boston college. more specifically, we researched whether bc’s investment in spectator infrastructure is equal for the men and women’s hockey teams. at the onset of this project we hypothesized that a) investment in spectator infrastructure for bc wih is much lower than the investment in men’s ice hockey (mih), and b) that this functions as a major source of the disparity in spectator turnout at these events. our hypothesis directly challenges the assumption that lack of support for women’s sports is due solely to the “fact” that women’s sports are less entertaining or competitive than men’s sports. we chose women’s ice hockey specifically because wih at bc is a prime example of a sport which, statistically, justifies a solid fan base. of the four major winter sports sponsored at bc, including women’s and men’s basketball and ice hockey, women’s ice hockey has been the most successful in recent years. in the 2015-16 season, the team went undefeated until the frozen four of the ncaa championships, and in 2016-17 won the beanpot and made it to the semifinals of the ncaa championships, beating out the men, who failed to make the ncaa tournament. wih had a 25-6-5 win record for the season, winning 69% of all games, while mih had a 21-15-4 win record, winning only 52% of all games. in short, the success of wih at bc easily justifies a robust fan base. we sought to determine whether bc wih receives different levels of support and investment from bc as an institution compared to the bc men’s hockey team, and whether this differential investment leads to a different spectator experience that may explain the lack of spectator attendance at bc women’s hockey games. methods to conduct our research, we attended a total of four women’s home games and four men’s home games during the season. we divided this work by attending at least one women’s game and one men’s game each, and then splitting up the remainder of the games that were left. it was important for each member of our group to attend at least one game of each team in order to make comparisons between them. we recognize that four games of each team is not representative of the whole season and could be a potential limitation of our study, but we were limited on available games left since the study began during a second semester class. in addition, we found it sufficient enough to collect reasonably accurate data of the sports culture surrounding hockey at bc. the timing of our study (second semester, post-beanpot tournament) could also be a potential limitation, as early-season games often enjoy larger crowds of bc students looking to parlay gold pass points into beanpot tickets. while we were observing each game, we collected research on the pep and cheering taking place, music, jumbotron effects, concession stands, and crowd dynamics. the bc gold pass application on our phones allowed us to verify the number of students who checked into each game as well as the number of points awarded for checking in. since the bc gold pass app only tracks student attendance, taking pictures of the crowd allowed us to see how full the stands were separate from the student section (alumni, professors, visiting team guests, community members, etc.). a sample of these pictures can be found below. additionally, we followed social media outlets to watch for the scheduling, promotion, and coverage of games. we were unable to stay for the entirety of a few of the games, providing a limitation for our research, as wecould not examine whether crowds remained constant for the full game. “women’s sporting events fail to turn the kind of profit that men’s sporting events do because of a lack of spectator fan base, which is due primarily to a lack of investment in women’s sports as spectator events.” 67 leveling the ice results and discussion the results of our study were essentially consistent, but were still intriguing to prove. the men’s games had baldwin, the band, and much more pep and cheering from the crowd, while the women’s games never had the band and often did not have baldwin except for special circumstances. the men’s games featured more modern, pump-up, energizing music, while the women’s games were characterized by organ music and a much quieter, subdued overall atmosphere. it was particularly shocking that the band played “for boston” after every score made by the men’s team, just like football and basketball games, but bc did not even play a recording of “for boston” for the women’s hockey team. not even playing a recording of the victory song when they score devalues the work and success the female players experience. all 19 of the concession stands were open throughout the men’s games while the women’s games usually offered no concessions, or just one for hot chocolate when it was snowing outside. social media coverage of the men’s games was much more frequent including more action on the jumbotron. student check-ins on the gold pass application were usually over 150 for the men’s games and under 25 for the women’s games. crowds for the men’s game were often made up of both students and families, but the women’s games were mostly families with young girls, potential hockey players themselves who might look up to the bc players. the emotion and intensity during sporting events with larger crowds is palpable and further influences even more people to attend. players are also likely to feed off this energy, so the women’s games that have hardly anyone in the crowd do not appear as inviting and do not act as a support system for the women. in-game entertainment was much more prevalent during the men’s games as well. bc offered captains’ puck giveaways, sledding races, goal shots, and many other games or forms of entertainment between periods to keep the crowd interested. as a result, men’s games become a social gathering where spectators can simply enjoy the experience with friends even if they are not actually interested in hockey, but the women’s games are mainly targeted only to dedicated hockey fans. this can also be seen in the fact that men’s games cost money and offer season tickets for purchase whereas the women’s games have free entrance. we would think free entrance would be a positive opportunity to promote spectatorship, but the fact that men’s games are often soldout despite costing money and the women’s games are empty when they are free demonstrates the lack of interest for female sports and lack of effort bc is putting into promoting them or making them inviting. schools place an emphasis on spectator sports teams’ revenue production rather than realizing the lifelong health benefits of participating in physical activity and social interaction, which leads to a higher level of importance placed on men’s hockey as compared to women’s hockey (boutilier & sangiovanni, 1994). this distinction can be seen in the fact that the bc women’s team has statistically been performing better than the men’s team recently, but the school values the promotion of the men’s team and their revenue more. furthermore, we noticed that none of the retired jerseys hanging up in the stadium are a woman’s. we also analyzed the scheduling of games between women’s and men’s hockey. title ix indicates that scheduling of games is a measure by which equality should be determined (carpenter & acosta, 2005). we define primetime boston college man’s hockey game crowd.boston college women’s hockey game crowd. 68 elements : : fall 2017 games as games taking place friday or saturday evenings after 6 pm or sunday afternoons between 1-5 pm, as these are times during which spectators are most likely to be able to attend. in addition, these games line up with traditional primetime tv coverage windows. of the 19 games played on campus by the bc women’s team, only five were played at primetime, while nine of the men’s 17 games were played during this timeframe. bc clearly favors men’s games over women’s games for primetime slots. however, sometimes bc is not in charge of game scheduling—because of this, we also analyzed game scheduling across the whole season. the women’s and men’s teams each played 41 games throughout the season. however, of those 41 games, 25 men’s games were at primetime, while only nine of the women’s games were at primetime. clearly, the unequal scheduling of games is an ncaa-wide epidemic and violation of title ix. boutilier and sangiovanni (1994) examine these differences in bc hockey with a socialist feminist lens that recognizes economic inequality and sexism as significant forms of oppression. bc’s two hockey teams play in the same venue and have the same access to equipment, locker rooms, and quality coaches because title ix requires it, but the differences in times of game, promotion, cost, concessions, and pep are all differences that give unfair treatment by prioritizing the men’s team. these differences in opportunity and treatment of the two teams is related to much of the data presented by the national women’s law center (2012). more than half of the students at ncaa schools are women, but they receive only 44% of the opportunities. female athletes at these schools receive only 28% of the total money spent on athletics, 31% of the recruiting dollars, and 42% of the athletic scholarship dollars—a separation of funds that is clearly not equal. also according to the nwlc (2012), for every dollar spent on women’s sports about $2.50 is spent on men’s sports. putting more effort into the men’s sports because they are revenue sports does not qualify for equality under title ix on boston college’s campus. our research outside of the games themselves, including social media and promotional measures, provided supporting evidence of the discrimination of the women’s hockey team. the posters for scheduling of games portray the men’s team with aggressive stances, emphasizing their masculinity and athleticism, while the women’s team is perfectly lined up and smiling. messner (2000) argues that each sex typically takes on the role of a warrior narrative vs. a barbie narrative and uses daily interactions, such as posing for a picture, to create and recreate gender in daily interactions. warrior narratives can be used to justify violence in men’s sports, particularly the violent nature of hockey, when it is used as a struggle between good and evil to defeat the opposing team. this justification of aggression does not hold true for women who are expected to maintain their feminine appeal and play more conservatively in a “men’s sport.” portraying the teams differently on their posters allows for bc to emphasize the differences between them rather than seeing the fact that they are all hockey players and celebrating their athleticism. lucas and smith (1978) also suggest ideas that can also be used to analyze these promotional posters. they discuss the women’s anti-competitive movement as one of the initial programs that was against women’s sports. the movement gained traction when they presented their original argument to the international olympic committee (ioc) boston college women’s hockey team poster boston college men’s hockey team poster 69 leveling the ice that women’s sports were “impractical, uninteresting, wrong, and that watching them was undignified,” an attitude that has not changed much despite the common occurrence of as made evident by the difference in treatment (lucas & smith, 1978). at one time, it was believed that women were incapable of prolonged physical activity and that they should not participate in men’s sports for health reasons including childbearing. on the contrary, however, sports actually have a positive impact on women’s health according to the nwlc (2012). studies have shown that participating in athletics reduces the risks of heart disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer for women. since the implementation of title ix, obesity in girls has decreased by 7% (nwlc, 2012). despite this, it is still a common belief that certain sports such as hockey are too aggressive for women and that their games are thus much calmer and more subdued than men’s games. in order to combat discriminatory media portrayals, the highly successful, multidisciplined babe didrikson changed her clothes, her hair, started wearing high heels, and married a professional wrestler, but her strength was still decidedly unaccepted (lucas & smith, 1978). the women in this poster smiling and needing to appear attractive, emphasizing their femininity rather than their athletic accomplishments, is similar to didrikson’s achievements being questioned for her femininity and estrogen levels. media depictions of female athletes also often focus on their family or roles as mothers, as can be seen in the works of american writer nancy lopez, as discussed by jamieson (1998). highlighting her family role trivializes her athleticism in the same way that all female athletes are expected to place their role as women ahead of their role as athletes. race, class, and gender are distinguishing characteristics in sport settings, especially in the creation of masculinities and femininities. furthermore, lopez’s marriage demonstrates a heteronormative relationship with hegemonic gender hierarchies. lopez’s husband supports her without being a part of her sport and does not have her bring it home to the family, but lopez constantly helps him practice his sport at home (jamieson, 1998). race played an important role in her background, which is a noteworthy aspect within all hockey domains including bc because both the men’s and women’s teams are almost entirely made up of white players. hockey may lack racial diversity because it is such an expensive sport and women of color often have lower socioeconomic status (ses) that may prevent them from playing. these factors influence who is able to participate in women’s sports and interact with each other to make experiences unique; “only 64% of african american and hispanic girls and 53% of asian girls play sports, while 76% of caucasian girls do” (nwlc, 2012). therefore, the racial disparities in women’s sports continues to show the unfair treatment that is stereotyped in society. we also analyzed the instagram photos that @bcathletics posted regarding the men’s and women’s teams. from this past season, the women’s team was featured 38 times, while the men’s team was featured 26 times. this was surprising because one would assume that the men’s team would be featured more often than the women. however, when actually looking at the photos, we noticed that the men’s posts were often before their games and were encouraging fans to come to the home games. the women’s posts were mostly post-game statistics or individual player accolades. so, while technically the women are showcased more than the men’s team on the boston college athletics instagram page, the women are still being disadvantaged because their team is not being promoted as a spectator sport. in one instance, boston college led a social media campaign to help achieve a soldout men’s hockey game for the match against notre dame. this campaign was successful, which was an exciting feat for the men’s team. however, bc has never made such an effort for the women’s team. besides social media posts advertising athletic events on campus, bc athletics also sends out emails to gold pass members to remind them of upcoming games and competitions. one email sent out during the year showcased a men’s hockey game, a women’s hockey game, and a women’s basketball game. the men’s hockey game was featured and shown at the top with bright colors and bold lettering and the graphic used was bigger than the women’s hockey and basketball, which were considered “other “highlighting her family role trivializes her athleticism in the same way that all female athletes are expected to place their role as women ahead of their role as athletes.” 70 elements : : fall 2017 games” happening on campus. the other two graphics were greyed out and one had to look closely to see that it was actually the senior night for both of these women’s teams. it was also advertised on the women’s graphics that both games were free admission. under title ix, the email should have shown equal attention to all three teams and included similarly themed and sized graphics. the disproportionate treatment of men’s and women’s ice hockey is not limited to boston college. recently, the us women’s national team threatened to boycott the world championships because they believed they were being treated unfairly in comparison to men. according to garcia (2017), the us men’s hockey team was being flown in first class, had family members stay for free, and each player was given his own hotel room to sleep in. in contrast, the women’s team was flown out in coach, they could not have their family members paid to fly to the games, and the women often had to share hotel rooms with teammates (garcia, 2017). as stated in title ix, men’s and women’s teams must be treated equally, which would include the women receiving the exact same travel arrangements as the men’s team. they were supported by organizations such as the nfl, nba, and mlb. the men’s national team even threatened to boycott as well if the women’s demands were not met (garcia, 2017). an agreement was eventually made between the league and the women’s team, but the fact that they had to go to such extreme measures to get equal treatment is troubling. this is especially relevant to boston college women’s hockey because six current and former players were on that team. the women’s team eventually went on to take home gold in the championship. the women’s team also made it a point to not only explain the situation from their perspective, but they also made the issue broader to encompass all women that are affected by unfair treatment because of their gender. according to macur (2017), meghan duggan, the team’s captain, stated, “we want to do the fair thing, and the right thing — not just for hockey but for all women.” the team recognized that this is not an issue that only relates to their sport or their race, but that it is a problem that all women face in some shape or form. this can be analyzed with crenshaw’s (2006) importance of intersectionality. crenshaw (2006) states that women have come to realize that many voices together is more successful than one voice alone. women have made strides throughout history by coming together to support various causes, such as the right to vote. there are differences between races that must be understood and included in these fights, but there are also differences within racial groups as well. the us women’s hockey team, while not going into a deep analysis of how sexism affects women differently depending on criteria such as race and socioeconomic status, did acknowledge that their specific team is not the only women that experience unfair treatment based on sex or gender. conclusion and recommendations we believe that boston college is investing fewer resources in promoting women’s hockey as a spectator event, an act that further perpetuates the stereotypes that women’s hockey and women’s sports in general are less interesting, competitive, and spectator-worthy than men’s sports. while it has been over 40 years since the implementation of title ix, men’s and women’s sports are still unequal. the lack of investment on the part of boston college in spectator infrastructure for women’s hockey may not directly cause the lack of spectator attendance at women’s games, but it certainly extends the issue. considering the significant difference in professional opportunities for men and women, the lack of fan support at the collegiate level produces and maintains disparate outcomes for women and men’s sports. it is not only important for women’s hockey to receive more university support because the players deserve it, but also because the majority of fans at these women’s games are young female hockey players. when these girls see empty stands, they get the impression that their sport does not matter. some of these girls may feel discouraged and decide to quit hockey for a sport deemed more “feminine.” the very best talent in women’s hockey may never make it to the collegiate level because they are receiving messages that, as athletes, they will never be valued as highly as men. in light of our research findings, we believe that unequal spending on the part of ncaa institutions in women and men’s sports must be considered discriminatory. in order to combat this lack of support, boston college can make an effort to promote the women’s hockey games more on social media and around campus. shortly after the passage of title ix, the association for intercollegiate athletics for women (aiaw) reimagined the world of sports, placing a significant emphasis on requiring equal network tv coverage of all women and men’s sports, increased commitment to bringing in spectators, and paid particular attention to ensuring that funding was not allocated primarily to money making sports, but rather spread out evenly to all 71 leveling the ice sports (slatton, 1982). these are reasonable, attainable measures which boston college and the ncaa can take in order to increase spectator and fan attendance. to start, the women’s team should get a sign on the parking garage similar to what the men’s and women’s basketball teams have, along with the men’s hockey team. boston college should also utilize their social media pages to encourage fans to attend the women’s games. while the bc pages have a myriad of posts involving the women’s team, their posts are mainly post-game statistics. they rarely, if ever, post before their games. they should be posting before home games to entice more student fans to attend the games. additionally, boston college and the ncaa equalize the scheduling of games across the season, allowing men and women the opportunity to play at times that are easily accessible for spectators. finally, boston college must make a concerted effort to invest in spectator infrastructure by increasing the number of concession stands and effects at women’s games, energizing the atmosphere by inviting the band, and increasing spectator events and promotions at the games. though it is unlikely that a robust fan-base for women’s hockey will emerge overnight, taking these steps to ensure equitable investment in men’s and women’s sports will begin the long process of creating an equal playing field for all athletes. references boutilier, m., & sangiovanni, l. (1994). politics, public policy and title ix: some limitations of liberal feminism. in s. birrell & c. cole (eds.), women, sport & culture. (pp. 97-109). champaign: human kinetics. carpenter, j.j., & acosta, r.v. (2005). title ix. chapter 1. the law. (pp. 3-33). champaign,il: human kinetics. crenshaw, k. (2006). mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. in i. grewal & c. kaplan (eds.), an introduction to women’s studies: gender is a transnational world. 2nd ed. (pp. 200-206). boston: mcgraw-hill. garcia, a. (2017). while the u.s. men’s hockey team sat in business class, the women sat in coach. retrieved april 10, 2017, from http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/24/news/ companies/usa-hockey-womens-pay-dispute/ jamieson, k. (1998). reading nancy lopez: decoding representations of race, class, and sexuality. sociology of sport journal, 15. 343-358. kane, m.j. (1995). resistance/transformation of the oppositional binary: exposing sport as a continuum. journal of sport and social issues, 19 (2). 191-218. w-14. larkin, m. (2015, september 28, 2015). and the highestpaid player in women’s hockey is... the hockey news. lucas, j., & smith, r. (1978). women’s sport: a trial of equality. in the saga of american sport. (pp. 342-372). philadelphia: lea & feinberg. macur, j. (2017). u.s. women’s hockey team boycott echoes a fight that isn’t over. retrieved april 10, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/sports/hockey/uswomen-world-championship-boycott-contract.html. mckinven, j. (2015). the hierarchy of pro hockey. retrieved from https://glassandout.com/2015/09/the-hierarchy-ofpro-hockey/. messner, m. (2000). barbie girls versus sea monsters: 72 elements : : fall 2017 children’s constructing gender. gender & society, 14(6). 765-784. national women’s law center. (2012). the next generation of title ix: athletics. slatton, b. (1982). aiaw: the greening of american sport. in j. frey (ed.), the governance of intercollegiate athletics. west point: leisure press. smallwood, j. (2017). smallwood: women’s national hockey team pay argument doesn’t hold up. retrieved from http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pattisonave/ women-usa-hockey-pay-dispute-olympics-equal.html. women’s sports foundation. (2010). women play sports but not on tv. retrieved from https://www. womenssportsfoundation.org/research/article-andreport/media-issues/women-play-sports-not-tv/. 73 leveling the ice ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !" #$%&'"%$ (' )!#*+ %&#$*,% ',!%!"-'#.*(!'" !" 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'&+*(-'#.-32-&+*(-'#. ,$0!%!'"% '" /'5 (' 3$%( 0'.&+2 5!(/ (/$ %(*(1($. ! *#61$ #$)'9!"6 %$0(!'" 230 !% "'( * #$*%'"*3+$ %'+1(!'", #*(/$# * %(*(1('#2 .',!-!0*(!'" 0'1&+$, 5!(/ /$!6/($"$, !",1%(#2 0'++*3'#*(!'" 5!++ %$#)$ (' 1&/'+, (/$ %$0(!'"’% '#!6!"*+ '3:$0(!)$% %$( -'#(/ !" 1996. !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, averting negative externalities of disinformation through platforms #2*" 0*((!0/ “this is the cost of disinformation” – atul gawande, responding to nurse jodi doering’s story of her covid-19 patients’ denial of their condition1 1. introduction eight months into a global pandemic and it appears the spread of the novel coronavirus is supplemented by the spread of disinformation. one story, in particular, illustrates just that – south dakota er nurse jodi doering recounts a few days’ worth of covid-19 patients in a twitter thread: “the ones that stick out are those who still don’t believe the virus is real…they tell you there must be another reason they are sick. they call you names and ask why you have to wear all that ‘stu3’ because they don’t have covid because it’s not real” (orth, 2020). how did we get here? doering’s story draws a destitute parallel to developing countries. despite e3ective remedies like mosquito nets and deworming pills, people in developing countries neglect to use them at large, partly citing a lack of available information, or misinformation more generally (pulford et al., 2011). in the united states, with an abundance of readily accessible information at our fingertips, how are we, too, in a position where people neglect reality? outside of the externalities inherent in a pandemic, widespread disinformation hinders and undermines the very integrity and the accuracy of fact. disinformation has the potential to influence civic engagement, election results, and, most unfortunately, downstream health outcomes. in search of a remedy, we must begin at the root of the problem: section 230 of the communications decency act. in so doing, the evaluations and recommendations in this paper contribute to a literature on the e3ects of media and disinformation on behavior and health outcomes (bursztyn et al., 2020; banerjee et al., 2019a; bursztyn et al., 2019; la ferrara, 2016; dellavigna and la ferrara, 2015; la ferrara et al., 2012; chiang and knight, 2011; jensen and oster, 2009). prior work has revealed that media exposure can increase hate crimes (muller and schwarz, 2018; bursztyn et al., 2019) and mass killings (yanagizawa-drott, 2014); it can also a3ect domestic violence (card and dahl, 2011; banerjee et al., 2019b), fertility choices (la ferrara et al., 2012; kearny and levine, 2015), and responses to natural disasters (long et al., 2019). related to this analysis is contemporaneous work calling for a reinterpretation and a reassessment of section 230 of the communications decency act as it stands today. lotty (2020) argues the current interpretations of the scope of section 230 immunity wrongfully deny individuals who have been sexually harassed or assaulted an opportunity to hold online services accountable for causing or exacerbating their harms (lotty, 2020). thus, lotty prescribes a necessary revision to section 230 to better align with contemporary views regarding the role of the internet user and the responsibility of technology companies to deter sexual misconduct. in a similar vein, sloss (2020) responds to the myanmar military carrying out brutal attacks via facebook against rohingya muslim communities in rakhine state in 2017. going further than lotty, sloss argues for a statutory exception in 230 to permit civil suits against internet companies on account of their alleged complicity in genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity (sloss, 2020). with a civil liability exception, rohingya plainti3s could then bring a state tort law claim against facebook alleging that facebook was negligent in permitting its platform to be utilized to spark mass violence against the rohingya in myanmar. as the law stands today, such a case would be immediately nullified under the current federal preemption defense to state tort law claims. irrespective of the study, the written law, or the lack thereof, section 230 most certainly demands a statutory modification – a modification which provides a positive incentive for companies to internalize the risk prevention of disseminating misinformation on their platforms. the remainder of this paper proceeds as follows. in section 2, i provide a brief history of the communications decency act, followed by a substantive overview of the clauses under section 230. in section 3, i present a platform-by-platform analysis of their prior and current e3orts to prevent the spread of disinformation. in section 4, i introduce potential amendments to the current legislation, present notable downstream implications, and provide empirical evidence of disinformation as a negative externality to society. section 5 concludes. 2. history 2.1 inception of the communications decency act introduced in february of 1995 by senator james exon, the federal communications decency act (cda) was created to combat a growing issue of extensive pornography and obscenity on the internet (cannon, 1996). as passed, the cda extends the “antiharassment, indecency, and antiobscenity” restrictions currently placed on telephones to 20 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 interactive computer service providers (“icsps”). the bill was promptly met with opposition from some lawmakers and interest groups who opposed the idea of interfering with the internet, along with concerns that the act was a “violation of free speech and … of the right of adults to communicate with each other” (cannon, 1996). opposing the cda on the basis of these concerns, coupled with the 1995 new york supreme court decision stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., representatives christopher cox and ron wyden proposed the “cox-wyden amendment” to exon’s bill, some parts of which would ultimately become section 230 of the cda as it stands today. in stratton oakmont, the court held that an online bulletin board service provider could be held liable for defamatory content posted by users on its platform, given that the website proactively monitored, screened, and removed o3ensive user content, thereby serving as an editor and publisher of all posted content and assuming legal responsibility for it (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). by contrast, a 1991 new york case, cubby, inc. v. compuserve, inc., held that an icsp that did not regulate third-party user content evaded liability for libel since it did not know of and had no editorial control over posted defamatory material. astonishingly, stratton oakmont asserted that an online service that does nothing by means of monitoring for problematic content can never be legally responsible for the content of its users; in addition, a service that takes good-faith steps to screen such content subjects itself to liability (ardia, 2010). as a direct response, the cox-wyden amendment was proposed to encourage online services to take proactive measures to improve online safety and regulate objectionable content without fear of increased liability (ardia, 2010). thus, this amendment allowed private icsps to address the problem of online indecency, while concurrently upholding the representatives’ policy goal of fostering the “vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the internet and other interactive services” (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). subsequently, congress passed the telecommunications act of 1996, which included the communications decency act and the cox-wyden amendment – legislation presently regarded as section 230 of the cda (ardia, 2010). 2.2 section 230 of the communications decency act section 230 of the communications decency act is the most significant piece of legislation regarding internet regulation, praised by commentators for allowing the internet as we know it today to prosper. this statute largely restricts the scope of potential liability for interactive computer service providers based on content transmitted by third-party users of the service and an icsp’s good-faith actions to limit access to objectionable material transmitted by users. the icsp definition extends to “any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer service,” which includes most websites and internet-based apps (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). as written, section 230 bears the name “protection for private blocking and screening of o3ensive material” (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). section 230(b) lists the policy objectives, which include: promoting the continued development of the internet, preserving the free market that is the internet, spurring technological innovation that maximizes user control, eliminating “disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies,” and guaranteeing the enforcement "[section 230 of the communications decency act] largely restricts the scope of potential liability for interactive computer service providers based on content transmitted by third-party users of the service and an icsp's good faith actions to limit access to objectionable material transmitted by users." 21 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, of federal online security laws (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). section 230(c) sheds light on what constitutes “good samaritan” neutral actors and publishers online. below the heading “protection for ‘good samaritan’ blocking and screening of o3ensive material,” section 230(c)(1) states: “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). successively, section 230(c) safeguards civil liability for any “provider or user of an interactive computer service” given “any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable,” irrespective of if such material is protected by the constitution (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). overruling stratton oakmont, this legislation issues icsps that make bona fide e3orts to monitor and screen content immunity from legal actions based on user content generated or transmitted on their platforms. nevertheless, the act explicitly does not permit icsp immunity from liability for specific o3enses: violations of federal criminal law, communications privacy law, intellectual property law, and federal sex tra4cking law (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). however, not included in the legislation: what constitutes such bona fide voluntary action, which explicit actions separate platforms from publishers, and how these specific, yet ambiguous policy goals can be e4ciently achieved.1 at present, courts are progressively interpreting section 230 to broadly restrict the scope of potential civil and state law liability for icsps, thus fostering a safe environment for web-based corporations against a multitude of claims. how those companies do so is, evidently, up to them. 3. platform-by-platform evaluation as of now, technology companies and media platforms are left to self-regulate, experimenting on their own with various moderation strategies and models of platform governance. essentially, individual companies are tasked with not only aligning their platform objectives with the needs of their users but to promote the principles of the common good as well. 3.1 twitter in an interview with boston college magazine, colin crowell, former vice president of global public policy and corporate philanthropy at twitter, discusses the ramifications of twitter flagging one of donald trump’s tweets for the first time (figure 1). signaling a new approach to combatting disinformation, crowell asserts that “navigating the emerging and evolving online terrain of disinformation to protect the integrity of vital civic conversations, without succumbing to excessive censorship, is critical to safeguarding the internet as a vibrant platform for human expression” (tempera, 2020). here, crowell echoes twitter ceo jack dorsey’s overarching commitment to serving the public conversation. although twitter does not have an explicit policy on general disinformation, twitter does present specific guidelines and policies on the following areas: violent threats policy, glorification of violence policy, platform manipulation, synthetic and manipulated media policy, and, most notably, civic integrity policy. according to crowell, “when you have a platform as large as twitter, it is important to recognize when there is a need to help users understand what they are viewing with additional context,” and twitter’s civic integrity policy does just that (tempera, 2020). updated in october of 2020 ahead of the presidential election, twitter asserts they will “label or remove false or misleading information about how to participate in an election or other civic process” (twitter, 2020). this policy includes but is not limited to posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process. further, twitter explicitly commits to removing and labeling false or misleading information intended to intimidate or dissuade people from participating in a civic process, in conjunction with any intent to undermine public confidence in an election. on the same webpage, twitter includes the subheadings: “what is not a violation of this policy?”; “who can report violations of this policy?”; and “what happens if you violate this policy?” (twitter, 2020). thus, twitter makes it abundantly clear both the ramifications and the qualifications of their policy violations in an e3ort to transparently combat negative externalities to society. but is twitter doing to prevent the spread of disinformation with this approach? in defense of twitter’s civic integrity policies, crowell praises the decision to take action. the flagging feature, according to crowell, “provide[s] a screen that [says], basi22 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 cally, this tweet is in violation of twitter rules, but it is remaining on the service in the public interest,” as figures like donald trump are democratically elected heads of state (tempera, 2020). firmly, crowell asserts that “twitter can and should take action when online speech risks o5ine harm,” touching on negative societal externalities like disenfranchising voters and downplaying risks of covid-19 (tempera, 2020). previously, twitter only had the binary choice of either removing a tweet or leaving it up; now, twitter allows journalists and the public to comment, links access to factual information, and takes steps to limit the ability of content to reach viral spread (tempera, 2020). in accordance with section 230, simply flagging tweets does not invoke publisher status on twitter’s behalf; however, twitter begins to stray from the comfort of the “neutral actor” position.2 the existence of such policy pages represents an act in good faith on part of twitter to screen for objectionable content, thus shielding them from civil and state liabilities. nevertheless, twitter is well within its right as an icsp to prohibit attempts to use its services to manipulate or disrupt civic processes, along with distributing false or misleading information. 3.2 facebook in a testimony before the united states senate committee on the judiciary, facebook ceo mark zuckerberg verbalizes facebook’s mission to “‘give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together’” (testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc., 2020). zuckerberg touts that facebook removed false claims about civic processes and displayed more than 150 million warnings on posts, after review by independent third-party factcheckers (testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc., 2020). however, in response to twitter’s fact-check labels, zuckerberg takes a di3erent approach, “[believing] strongly that facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth,” in an interview with fox news (halon, 2020). nevertheless, facebook, too, makes an explicit commitment to stop the spread of misinformation. under the heading, “working to stop misinformation and false news,” facebook makes its objectives clear in fostering accurate information on its platform. specifically, focus is given to three areas: disrupting economic incentives, building new products, and helping people make more informed decisions (facebook, 2020). citing financial motivations behind fake news, facebook commits to removing the economic incentives for tra4ckers of misinformation – doing so through third-party fact-checking organizations, strict enforcement of their policies, and applying machine learning to assist response teams (facebook, 2020). reinforcing zuckerberg’s stance against becoming arbiters of truth, facebook is “building, testing and iterating on new products to identify and limit the spread of false news,” engaging with their community “oversight board” to elicit help in fact-checking (facebook, 2020). in doing so, facebook is explicitly making bona fide e3orts to screen for misinformation, upholding an impartial position, rather than a publisher position in working with external, unbiased groups. through the “news integrity initiative,” facebook is pulling together over 25 funders and participants, including tech industry leaders, academic institutions, non-profits, and third-party organizations, to help people make informed judgments about what they read online.35 as a result of this initiative, facebook positions itself to advance global news literacy, bolster trust in journalism, and better inform the public conversation. irrespective of hate speech and promotion of violence violations, facebook takes a hands-o3 approach to content moderation. per the “community standards” page, facebook makes its position clear: “we want to help people stay informed without suppressing productive public debate,” justifying the rationale behind not removing fake news from the platform (facebook, 2020). rather, facebook makes good faith e3orts to reduce the circulation of misinformation by adjusting their algorithms so as to “display [ fake news] further down in the news section,” thus averting viral spread (facebook, 2020). essentially, facebook encourages users to decide for themselves what to read, "voluntary action superseded by profit in no way advances the e5ort on combatting the spread of misinformation; thus, there must be a disincentive to the 1 step forward, 2 steps back approach." 23 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, what sources to trust, and what content to post, all the while attempting to not overstep their boundaries as a neutral actor. 3.3 youtube in the time leading up to the 2020 presidential election, a youtube ad likening democratic nominee joe biden to venezuelan socialism circulated in the state of florida (donald j. trump, 2020). despite a published fact-check by the associated press, youtube showed the ad more than 100,000 times in the eight days leading up to the election (merrill & mccarthy, 2020). trump went on to win the state of florida by roughly 375,000 votes – the largest margin in a presidential election there since 1988 – and carried about 55% of the cuban american vote (merrill & mccarthy, 2020). in retrospect, this ad illustrates key gaps in the policing of misinformation by google, the parent company of youtube; while nominally prohibiting false claims in advertising, google rarely takes down political ads (google, 2020). however, youtube takes a more nuanced approach to this issue. per the “how does youtube combat misinformation” page, youtube engages a range of practices: removing content in violation of policies, raising up authoritative sources for news and information, and reducing recommendations of borderline content and harmful misinformation (youtube, 2020). in an attempt to satisfy the voluntary action conditions of section 230, youtube algorithms go as far as to not proactively recommend content that comes close to violating community guidelines; thus, taking action to limit the spread of disinformation. to determine what qualifies as “harmful” misinformation, youtube states that they consult “external human evaluators” and experts to determine whether content promotes unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, or inaccurate information – reviewing “hundreds of thousands of hours” of video each day (youtube, 2020). unarguably, youtube explicitly makes commitments and takes action to remove objectionable content, within their rights as an icsp. despite these articulated commitments, no capacity exists in which youtube can be held accountable for defaulting on their expressed promises on deterring misinformation. circling back to the youtube ad; if the associated press fact-check does not qualify as an external expert evaluation on unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, what does? negating their own policy, company spokeswoman charlotte smith claims that the campaign ad “does not violate our policies…and we’re not going to attempt to adjudicate every claim or counterclaim” on the platform (merrill & mccarthy, 2020). albeit not a direct violation of section 230, this event underscores the urgent need for companies to be held accountable for what spreads on their platforms, rather than merely relying on an honor system for e4cient platform governance. given people watch over a billion hours of video any given day on youtube, financial incentives could be a driving force behind the platform falling short of enforcing its policies (“press youtube”, 2020). in 2020 alone, the trump campaign spent $106 million – $37.2 million in the last month of the campaign – on both youtube and google search ads alone (thompson, 2020). incalculable, however, is the e3ect running these ads had on disenfranchising and dissuading potential latin american voters in the state of florida. with tens of millions of dollars in prospective ad revenue on the line, the clauses currently set forth under section 230 do little to counter any perverse commercial incentives at companies like youtube. thus, although youtube makes voluntary efforts to publish their commitments like twitter and facebook, the commitments themselves appear vague and uncorroborated by decisive action. 3.4 google in 2019, google was heavily criticized in a 2019 senate investigation for its role in spreading misinformation during the 2016 presidential election (wells, 2019). in october of that same year, a senate intelligence committee released a report describing just how fast misinformation can spread on the platform; just days after the 2016 election, a false news story claiming that trump had won the popular vote ranked higher on google than accurate stories (cassady, 2020). although a mixed bag in its history with politics, google’s present-day initiatives to combat the spread of misinformation are centered around fact-checking. specifically, the “google news initiative” (gni) is supporting “first draft,” a nonprofit protecting communities from harmful misinformation, with a $6.5 million grant (mantzarlis, 2020). with an immediate focus on coronavirus information, the funding goes directly to fact checkers fighting misinformation around the world. in response to misinformation circulating about covid-19, google is supporting journalism fellowships at stanford university to “collate data from around the world and help journalists tell data-driven stories that have [an] impact in their communities” (mantzarlis, 2020). additionally, google says it 24 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 has made google trends data available in “localized pages with embeddable visualizations,” in an e3ort to help journalists understand and meet people’s information needs around the world. however, despite the promise of these initiatives, they appear reactionary. in march of 2020, the global disinformation index found that 1,400 sites spreading covid-19 misinformation earned a collective $76 million in ad revenue, with the vast majority coming from google (figure 2). thus, google seemingly understands the dilemma: they can take down a conspiracy theorist’s youtube channel for making false claims about covid-19; however, continuing to run ads on the website negates the entire purpose. voluntary action superseded by profit in no way advances the e3ort on combatting the spread of misinformation; hence, there must be a disincentive to the “1 step forward, 2 steps back” approach.3 4. proposals and implications passing judgment on the regulation of free speech entails a balancing act, as zuckerberg calls it, “‘of competing equities’” (testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc., 2020). in some cases, the right thing to do from a safety or security viewpoint is not the most ideal for privacy or free expression; thus, there will always be somewhat of a tradeo3 between disappointing people and promoting the common good.4 deciding upon such tradeo3s is anything but straightforward and passing down this moderation to individual companies raises much ambiguity surrounding the enforcement of section 230. given the relative ease of switching between platforms, augmentation of the statute is of the uttermost importance – working with technology companies, rather than against them. 4.1 statutory recommendations first, congress should create a statutory exception in section 230(c) that permits civil liability against any icsp’s complicity in the spread and circulation of disinformation. not uncommon, last year lawmakers passed a bill that added a new exception to section 230 that positions platforms to be liable for any third-party content that facilitates sex tra4cking (romano, 2018). in addition to modifications in this clause, section 230(c) must unambiguously specify what constitutes “any voluntary action taken in good faith” to provide clear guidance to all icsps on the explicit steps they must take (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). parallel to sloss (2020) in his push to hold companies accountable for complicity in mass genocide, a statutory exception that withdraws civil liability could also work in internalizing the negative externalities of disinformation. under section 230(c), such an exception to liability would arise in the case that a company fails to prevent transmission of inaccurate information if that information: a) would be understood by ordinary readers as incitement or inducement to mislead or suppress people of factual information and the written law; and b) there is a significant risk that any recipient of the inaccurate information is exposed to harm. the statute should also include a duty for companies to remove such content within the 24-hour time frame since the content’s inception. nevertheless, the statute should continue to preserve immunity from civil liability for any company that makes a reasonable, bona fide e3ort to comply with content removal, but is unable to do so for a justifiable reason. to do so, however, such bona fide e3orts must be clearly defined in section 230(c). between facebook and twitter alone, the approaches to taking preventative steps in combatting misinformation are noticeably di3erent. on the one hand, flagging violations and linking them to factual journalism raises concerns of anti-conservative social media bias; however, there is currently no evidence to support this exists (ingram, 2019). on the other hand, allowing users to simply decide for themselves what to read does little by means of taking tangible, good faith steps in countering false information. ideally, it is the work of journalists to hold those in power accountable and to provide context to readers; however, given the scale of platforms like twitter and facebook, the clauses in section 230 must recognize the need to take action. thus, to define what proper good faith action is in practice, the legislation should mandate aspects of both the twitter and facebook approaches in outlining what such voluntary steps look like for all icsps. the approach should: require companies to take action to "there will always be somewhat of a tradeo5 between disappointing people and promoting the common good." 25 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, limit the ability of disinformation to go viral through algorithmic modifications, flag inaccurate information linked to third-party fact checks, and allow content to be seen such that people can debate it, support it, refute it, or dissect it, and do so publicly.5 4.2 consequential incentives an exception to section 230 that withdraws liability from companies that perpetuate disinformation could have a preventative e3ect by providing a positive incentive for companies. typically, the mens rea for civil liability is a negligence standard, rather than specific intent. such a negligence standard would incentivize companies to adopt sensible measures to inhibit third parties from violating their community guidelines and policies on misinformation. in fact, given the global reach of major platforms like twitter, facebook, and google, these companies arguably have greater power to prevent negative externalities to society than do some national governments. one could argue that icsps do not need additional incentives to limit users from posting inaccurate information because they have already taken steps to address the problem. for example, after hearing about violence in myanmar, facebook removed accounts associated with the myanmar military and hired burmese language speakers to monitor content (ellis-peterson, 2018). however, facebook did not take such actions until after users in myanmar already used the platform to spark genocidal violence (stecklow, 2018). thus, a federal statute subjecting companies to potential civil liability would incentivize companies to act proactively to prevent harms before they occur, rather than issuing reactionary responses. to avoid liability, companies would need, among other things, to hire teams to specifically monitor objectionable content; hence, the liability risk provides a financial incentive for companies to incur that cost to avoid future adverse judgments. without such an incentive, icsps would neglect to incur the costs of risk prevention until after it is too late. additionally, we can leverage aspects of behavioral theory in order to “nudge” platform users into taking their own steps in combatting the spread of disinformation.6 in the introduction to their book nudge, thaler and sunstein present a nudge as “any aspect of choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options” (thaler & sunstein, 2008). such an intervention closely mirrors what twitter already does: flagging tweets in violation of its community guidelines, nudging users to follow the link to accurate information. as thaler and sunstein put it, “putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. banning junk food does not” (thaler & sunstein, 2008). twitter, through flagging, places accurate information at eye level, rather than banning it altogether. along with linking accurate information, twitter can also leverage advancements in machine learning in order to curate feed algorithms in such a way that presents information in an objective, unbiased manner. in totality, such behavioral nudges demand more in the way of freedom of choice and less so in the way of government constraint and compulsion. 4.3 “revoke 230” is not the solution as recently as december 2020, president trump threatened to veto an annual defense bill unless congress revoked section 230 of the cda (brandom, 2020). just one year prior, in december of 2019, now president-elect joe biden, in an interview with the new york times, said “‘section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one’” (the new york times editorial board, 2020). given the communications decency act is now over 20 years old, lawmakers are trying to amend the statute to best align with present-day needs; simply put, all-out revoking section 230 is not the solution. above all, section 230 serves one main purpose: protecting icsps from the liability for the speech of others on their platforms. if it were to be revoked, former twitter vp crowell suggests doing so “creates a dilemma for the companies because they would have to over censor and start taking down anything that might remotely run a liability risk,” noting it would cause a ripple e3ect in the timeliness of the internet (tempera, 2020). thus, before any content could be posted on an icsp, it would essentially "revise, revoke, repeal — whatever ‘r’ word you choose — the debate over the future of section 230 boils down to one, simple idea: the law exists to protect people." 26 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 have to be approved by lawyers, having the involuntary e3ect of making the largest companies more powerful. larger companies, like twitter and facebook, have the financial means to a3ord legal teams; as crowell puts it, “it would really create a mess” (tempera, 2020). section 230, albeit not perfect, is essential to allowing platforms to exist while still within their discretion to do some moderation. protecting everything from facebook and youtube to the recently rebranded 8chan, the central point of section 230 is to provide platforms with the certainty that they can adopt specific, good faith moderation practices that users deem necessary without fear of liability. without this statute as it stands today, the entire internet environment would look vastly di3erent, some platforms shutting down and others stopping moderation altogether. 4.4 empirical evidence for a negative societal externality “we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic” – dr. tedros ghebreyesus, who director-general70 reforming section 230 to account for disinformation draws reasonable skepticism. notably, matthew waxman, a professor at columbia law school and specialist on national security law, states that “disinformation is a broad category that’s tough to define, and resulting liability for its harms is very uncertain,” suggesting that there is some ambiguity to the negative externalities (inside cybersecurity, 2020). waxman’s skepticism is mainly centered around disinformation as it relates to foreign campaigns; however, domestic disinformation “campaigns” pose real, calculable e3ects on the health and safety of u.s. citizens. bursztyn et al. (2020) presents the e3ects of news coverage of covid-19 by the two most widely viewed cable news shows in the united states, hannity and tucker carlson tonight, on viewers’ behavior and downstream health outcomes (bursztyn, 2020). carlson warned viewers about the severity of covid-19 from early february, while hannity originally dismissed the associated risks before incrementally adjusting his position in late february. via constructed epidemiological models, as exhibited in appendices c and d, di3erent e3ect sizes provide empirical evidence that misinformation is an important mechanism driving the observed e3ects on increased cases and deaths. given notable, inherent externalities in a pandemic, misinformation may have detrimental e3ects far beyond those on viewers themselves by a3ecting disease transmission trajectories in the broader population (bursztyn, 2020). although confined to television networks, this study sheds light on the potential e3ects media platforms have by disseminating misinformation, as exacerbated during a pandemic. hence, misinformation on mass media of any kind can and does have empirically calculable consequences to society at large. 5. conclusion revise, revoke, repeal – whatever ‘r’ word you choose – the debate over the future of section 230 boils down to one, simple idea: the law exists to protect people. how can we, as lawmakers and policy drafters, orient the clauses of section 230 such that the statute exists to protect all people? looking forward, congress must: a) enact a statutory exemption in section 230(c) that permits civil liability for any platform’s complicity in the spread or harboring of disinformation; and b) unambiguously define and recommend good faith steps all icsps can put into practice. integral to the main objectives of a section 230 modification is to ensure more reliable and truthful content appears, spreads, and lives on online platforms. it would be wrong to assume this is solely a debate over the future of free speech; thus, pleas to revoke section 230 in its totality are both unsubstantiated and grounded in misaligned priorities. platforms like facebook and twitter, for example, are aggressively taking action to suppress the spread of disinformation; however, they are plagued by the subjectivity of their own policy decisions. hence, there exists a deep desire for heightened collaboration and information sharing between the tech and social media industries and the u.s. government. in the very near future, the path of least resistance in determining how the internet should be governed is to solve these tensions and ambiguities together as a society, in a way people feel is both reasonable and equitable. to do so, lawmakers must continue to invite input from technology companies, citing their individual moderation approaches, as well as input from the public in order to make progressive strides in the forthcoming year. 27 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, -2..*!%!'"6+, 6..!'$/7 appendix a figure 1: may 26, 2020 tweets made by donald j. trump notes: pictured above is the first instance of twitter flagging tweets made by the president of the united states. marked with the label “get the facts about mail-in ballots,” users, upon clicking, are taken to a “twitter moments” page, which links articles and tweets from journalists and experts that debunk misinformation claims. brad parscale, the trump campaign manager, labeled this action as a blatant display of twitter’s political bias.75 appendix b figure 2: share of ad revenues generated from covid-19 disinformation sites notes: the top three companies shown (google, openx, and amazon) generate 95% of the ad revenues to the site in the sample. google ad services alone delivers $3 out of every $4 that these sites earn in ad revenues. important to note: for google, the ad shares and revenues for google adsense/adx and google dfp have been combined. appendix c figure 3: reduced-form and 2sls estimates of e3ect of differential viewership on cases and deaths (extended) notes: figure 3 displays day-by-day reduced form (panel a) and 2sls (panel b) estimates on log one plus cases and log one plus deaths. panela a portrays day-by-day e3ects of the instrument, foxshared, on log deaths and log cases, conditional on state fixed e3ects and a large set of controls: fox news’ and msnbc’s share of cable in january 2018, fox news’ share of television in january 2020, the population density of the country, the log of the country’s 1)%#. ) 1)%#. 0 28 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 total population, the number of predicted tv’s turned to non-fox channels during hannity, tucker carlson tonight, and the ingraham angle, the population-weighted latitude and longitude, the percent in the country living in rural areas, the percent white, hispanic, and black, the percent over the age of sixty-five, the share of men and women lacking high school degrees, the share of men and women lacking college degrees, the fraction of the population lacking health insurance, an age-adjusted measure of the average physical health in the county from 2018, the percent under the federal poverty line, log median household income, the unemployment rate, the 2016 republican vote share, and the log total number of votes cast in 2016. panel b presents day-by-day e3ects of the standardized di3erence in viewership of hannity vs. tucker carlson tonight, instrumented by foxshared and controlling for state fixed e3ects and the same set of covariates as in panel a. standard errors are clustered at the dma level and report 95 percent confidence intervals. appendix d figure 4: implied covid-19 curves notes: panel a of figure 4 plots, in black, the logarithm of (one plus the) mean number of cases in each day across all counties. in gray, the figure plots the implied counterfactual values (based on the 2sls estimates) for a county with one standard deviation higher viewership di3erence between hannity and tucker carlson tonight. panel b replicates panel a, taking log one plus deaths as the outcome rather than log one plus cases. this is presented with 95 percent confidence intervals on the counterfactual estimates. standard errors are clustered at the dma level. 1)%#. ) 1)%#. 0 29 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, !'$'&"!1. here, “e!ciency” denotes the completion of the core objectives: promoting further development, preserving the free market of ideas, allowing for innovation concurrent with user control, and to do so in a manageable, secure way. but, in a way least reminiscent of george orwell’s “big brother” in 1984, yet still prevents the negative externalities of disinformation. 2. important to note, commercial entities should not have the role of determining what constitutes fact over falsehood online. linking factual articles to tweets gives rise to a multitude of ethical considerations regarding information and perspective biases, beyond the scope of this paper. 3. evaluating platforms like reddit and yelp, for example, are key for future study on this issue, yet are outside the scope of this paper. 4. again, ethical considerations arise when the onus falls upon companies, or any governing body, to determine the “right” thing to do. in a way, defaulting to the indivudual companies on platform moderation serves to limit the role and presence of government in our everyday lives. 5. for possible future study, it would be of importance to evaluate the various court interpretations of the term “publisher,” as it either relates or di"ers from the term “platform” in both legal provisions and court decisions. 6. #e nuances behind both qualitative and empirical behavioral theory are crucial to examine in the context of this topic; however, they exist outside the scope of this paper. +!(!+!'8!“an update on our political ads policy,” november 20, 2019. https://blog.google/technology/ads/update-our-political-ads-policy/. ardia, david. “free speech savior or shield for scoundrels: an empirical study of intermediary immunity under section 230 of the communications decency act.” loyola l.a. law review 43, no. 2 (2010): 373,410. the new york times editorial board. “opinion | joe biden says age is just a number.” the new york times, january 17, 2020, sec. opinion. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/17/opinion/joe-biden-nytimes interview. html. brandom, russell. “trump calls for last-minute 230 repeal as part of defense spending bill.” the verge, december 2, 2020. https://www.theverge. com/2020/12/2/22037118/trump-section-230-repealndaa-rider facebook-twitter-moderation. bursztyn, leonardo. “misinformation during a pandemic.” the becker friedman institute of the university of chicago, june 17, 2020. cannon, robert. “the legislative history of senator exon’s communications decency act: regulating barbarians on the information superhighway.” federal communications law journal 49, no. 1 (november 1996): 52–94. cassady, daniel. “google announces measures to crack down on misinformation ahead of presidential election.” forbes. accessed december 16, 2020. https://www. forbes.com/sites/danielcassady/2020/07/31/google-announces-measures to-crack-down-on-misinformationahead-of-presidential-election/. twitter. “civic integrity policy,” october 2020. https:// help.twitter.com/en/rules-and policies/election-integritypolicy. communications decency act, 47 u.s. § 230 (2018). facebook. “community standards,” 2020. https://www. facebook.com/communitystandards/false_news. inside cybersecurity. “fcc seeks input on regulatory review of ‘section 230’ liability protection; issues touch on countering disinformation,” august 4, 2020. https://insidecybersecurity.com/share/11499. ghebreyesus, tedros. “speech at the munich security conference.” munich, germany, 2020. lotty, alexandra. “apps too: modifying interactive computer service provider immunity under section 230 of the communications decency act in the wake of ‘me too.’” southern california law review 93, no. 4 (spring 2020): 855–921. mantzarlis. “covid-19: $6.5 million to help fight coronavirus misinformation.” google, april 2, 2020. https:// blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/ covid-1965-million-help-fight-coronavirus-misinformation/. merrill, jeremy, and ryan mccarthy. “trump won florida after running a false ad tying biden to venezuelan socialists.” electionland, november 12, 2020. 30 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 “press youtube.” accessed december 16, 2020. https:// www.youtube.com/intl/en gb/about/press/. global disinformation index. “research – gdi.” accessed december 16, 2020. https://disinformationindex.org/research/. sloss, david. “section 230 and the duty to prevent mass atrocities.” case western reserve journal of international law 52, no. 1/2 (spring 2020): 199–212. stratton oakmont, inc v. prodigy services co. (supreme court, nassau county, new york 1995). tempera, jacqueline. “behind the scenes.” boston college magazine, fall 2020. thaler, richard, and cass sunstein. nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. yale university press, 2008. thompson, alex. “trump deploys youtube as his secret weapon in 2020.” politico, september 6, 2020. https:// www.politico.com/news/2020/09/06/trumpyoutube election-comeback-408576. volz, georgia wells, robert mcmillan and dustin. “senate faults google, other tech giants for role in russian election meddling.” wall street journal, october 8, 2019, sec. politics. https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-reportseeks-to-curb-possible russian-influence-in-2020-election-11570556521. working to stop misinformation and false news | facebook media. “working to stop misinformation and false news,” 2020. https://www.facebook.com/formedia/blog/ working-to-stop-misinformation-and-false news. youtube how youtube works. “youtube misinformation how youtube works.” accessed december 16, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/ourcommitments/fighting misinformation/. zuckerberg, mark. “testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc.” testimony presented at the hearing before the united states senate committee on the judiciary, november 17, 2020. https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/ media/doc/zuckerberg%20testimony.pdf. pulford, j., hetzel, m. w., bryant, m., siba, p. m., & mueller, i. (2011). reported reasons for not using a mosquito net when one is available: a review of the published literature. malaria journal, 10(1), 1-10. gawande, a. [@atul_gawande]. (2020 november 16) this is the cost of disinformation. it’s not only about the reality of deaths but also health & economic damage. mi stats on covid hospital patients: typical survivor age = 50-70. at 60 days, 40% either lost their job or were still too sick to work. http://acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m2… [tweet]. twitter. https://twitter.com/atul_gawande/status/132840 9592959823875?lang=en orth, j. [@jodiorth]. (2020 november 14) i have a night o3 from the hospital. as i’m on my couch with my dog i can’t help but think of the covid patients the last few days. the ones that stick out are those who still don’t believe the virus is real. the ones who scream at you for a magic medicine and that joe biden is [tweet]. twitter. https://twitter. com/jodiorth/status/1327771329555292162 halon, y. (2020, may 28). zuckerberg knocks twitter for fact-checking trump, says private companies shouldn’t be ‘the arbiter of truth’. fox news. retrieved 2020, from https://www.foxnews.com/media/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-twitter-fact-checking-trump donald j. trump. (2020, october 20). salga a votar [video]. youtube. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bta1i0ujgrq about. first draft. (2022, january 12). retrieved 2020, from https://firstdraftnews.org/about/ romano, a. (2018, april 13). a new law intended to curb sex tra4cking threatens the future of the internet as we know it. vox. retrieved 2020, from https://www.vox.com/ culture/2018/4/13/17172762/fosta-sesta-backpage-230-internet-freedom ingram, m. (2019, august 8). the myth of social media anti-conservative bias refuses to die. columbia journalism review. retrieved 2020, from https://www.cjr.org/the_ media_today/platform-bias.php ellis-peterson, h. (2018, august 27). facebook removes accounts associated with myanmar military. the guardian. retrieved 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/ 31 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, technology/2018/aug/27/facebook-removes-accountsmyanmar-military-un-report-genocide-rohingya stecklow, s. (2018, august 15). special reports from reuters journalists around the world. reuters. retrieved 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-facebook-hate/ 25 32 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 */-" &( 6+"9&+: !"# $%!!&# '( !"# )'**# +'*,+: !"# )!'-. '( /,&&,%* *+(%01#%2 © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 (,34-# 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. #%)!#5-'+&%*%!,'2 '( 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old (,34-# 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „rf estimates of e3ect of di3erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „2sls estimates of e3ect of di3erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel a: estimates on cases“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel b: estimates on deaths“. 35 38 43 45 %-!,(,+,%& ).2%5)#) $%)#0 '2 (#--'-#&#+!-,+ !422#& 642+!,'2) © mike davies intel labs, intel corporation et. al: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:artificial_synapses_based_on_ftjs.png), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode !%$&# ,,, ,2(#-#2+# 5'/#%20 5'/#4!,&,1%!,'2 © tasbolat taunyazov, weicong sng, hian hian see, brian lim, jethro kuan, abdul fatir ansari, benjamin c.k. tee, and harold soh: (http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss16/p020.pdf), „table iii: inference speed and power utilization“ $&%+"# &%*'2! %! "#+&%, *'2!%2%, /,!" "#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e4ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e4ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 6+"9&+: +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o4ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! '( 64)!,+# %*'23 '!"#-) %22'42+#0 23 +-,*,2%& +"%-3#) © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %*#-,+% 3&'$%& !-%0# 0#(,+,! © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 +"%-&#) +'43"&,2, &#%0#'( !"# +"-,)!,%2 (-'2! © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 3#-*%2 %*#-,+%2 $420 -%&&., 2#/ .'-9, *%0,)'2 )74%-# 3%-#2, (#$ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o4ce of the chief signal o4cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !"#$# #%&'!' ( '"&)!&*+ ,(-(*.# /) 0/1#$ &* #('! ('&(. ."&*(, !"# $&'&*+ 0/1#$, &' (!!#20!&*+ !/ 3&'2(*!-# (2#$&.(* "#+#2/*4 &* !"# &*3/-0(.&)&.. !/ ./5*!#$ +$/1&*+ ."&*#'# .(0(,&-&!&#', !"# !$520 (32&*&'!$(!&/* "(' (3/0!#3 ( 0/-&.4 /) (.!&6# ./*!(&*2#*!, #'.(-(!&*+ 5.'.-."&*( !#*'&/*'. !"&' 0(0#$ 1&-#%0-/$# ."&*(’' $&'# )$/2 !"# 0#$'0#.!&6# /) +$#(! 0/1#$ 0/-&!&.', #'!(,-&'" !"#$# &' ( 0/1#$ !$(*'&!&/*, (*3 -('!-4, ($+5# !"(! !"# !$520 (32&*&'!$(!&/*’' ./*!(&*2#*! '!$(!#+4 "(' ,##* )5*3(2#*!(--4 ./5*!#$-0$/35.!&6# !/ (2#$&.(* &*!#$#'!' &* !"# $#+&/* (*3 5*'5..#'')5(! 2/3#$(!&*+ ."&*#'# ,#"(6&/$. -#''/*' .(* ,# 3$(1* )$/2 !"# !$520 (32&*&'!$(!&/*’' 2&''!#0' !"(! .(* ,# 5'#3 !/ )/$25-(!# 2/$# #))#.!&6# ."&*( 0/-&.4 5*3#$ !"# ,&3#* (32&*&'!$(!&/*. !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! evaluating the trump administration’s china containment strategy on eastern regions and beyond 3(*&#)5 “...containment has exacerbated chinese concern regarding strategic encirclement, compelling beijing to double down on assertive behavior in the taiwan strait and the south china sea.” introduction in east asia, a power transition is occurring in which china is actively trying to displace the u.s. as the primary regional hegemon. china’s rising military and economic capabilities, and the u.s.’ diminishing capacity to balance china’s rise, have contributed to a shifting balance of power in the region. in response, the trump administration has adopted a policy of active containment to constrain china’s rise, escalating sino-u.s. tensions. these tensions have led academics such as graham allison to warn about the “thucydides trap,” which assumes that the u.s. and china are “destined for war.”1 such tensions have seen washington, as realists such as john mearsheimer have predicted,2 move to curtail the number of chinese students studying at american universities, launch a trade war, and bolster deterrence-building in the indo-pacific through cooperation with security partners. this paper will outline china’s objectives in the region, establish a power transition, and argue that trump’s china strategy has been fundamentally counter-productive to u.s. objectives in the region and unsuccessful in moderating chinese behavior. instead, containment has exacerbated chinese concern regarding strategic encirclement, compelling beijing to double down on assertive behavior in the taiwan strait and the south china sea. lessons from containment can be drawn to formulate a more e3ective american strategy to confront china’s continued rise. maritime hegemony for states to consolidate maritime hegemony, it is necessary for them to first eliminate threats along their continental periphery. this was true for great britain and the united states, the only great powers to have existed in the past two hundred years. great britain was able to project its naval capabilities overseas because of maritime bu3ers that separated it from continental europe, both against france3 and germany.4 the united states could not consolidate regional hegemony until it possessed the land borders necessary to enable naval buildup. when the u.s. first gained independence in 1783, it faced a perilous periphery, with threats on all sides. the british and spanish empires surrounded the country, and hostile tribes of native americans continued to control large swaths of territory5. the u.s. responded by instigating an aggressive campaign of expansionism under the guise of ‘manifest destiny’. throughout the 17th century, the u.s. gained continental-based security through a series of purchases from european and other north american powers.6 the u.s. then set out to achieve regional hegemony by pushing european powers out of the western hemisphere through the monroe doctrine of 1823. at that time, the united states did not have the capabilities to fulfill the doctrine’s objectives. by the end of the 19th century, however, the u.s. had pushed the great european powers out of its backyard, allowing the u.s. to consolidate regional hegemony and ultimately, great power status.7 china is now in a similar position to how the united states was at the end of the 19th century. traditionally, china has had a contentious periphery: seven out of fifteen of the largest countries in the world, with a collective population of over 90 million, border china. five of those countries have engaged china in a war since 1949, and beijing maintains border disputes with nearly all of its neighbors. over time however, china has gradually eliminated threats along its borders. tensions stemming from the sino-soviet split have disappeared as sino-russian ties grow increasingly robust. furthermore, russia’s preoccupation with nato forces in western europe, and domestic challenges in a slowing economy, declining population, and growing internal unrest, has rendered moscow unable to balance china’s rising military capabilities.8 relative to china, russia is a declining power. likewise, india does not possess the military, economic, or technological capabilities to balance china or challenge chinese security. gdp and technology gaps expand between beijing and new delhi every year, rendering india a declining power.9 having consolidated a 74 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 secure periphery, china has “followed in uncle sam’s footsteps,”10 and invested significantly in consolidating robust naval capabilities. power transition in east asia as paul kennedy notes, the rise and fall of great powers is most often the result of “di3erentials in growth rates and technological change, leading to shifts in the global economic balance, which in turn gradually impinge upon the political and military balances.”11 under kaiser wilhelm and bismarck, germany’s rise was enabled by rapid expansion in industrial potential that allowed it to instigate a naval buildup outpacing shipbuilding rates seen in great britain and france.12 similarly, china’s military rise has been facilitated by increasingly robust economic capabilities that have enabled china to contest the u.s. for hegemony in the maritime domain. economic trends since deng xiaoping’s economic reforms in 1978, china’s economy has grown at astonishing rates. between 1979 and 2018, china’s annual real gdp growth averaged 9.5% a year—essentially, china’s economy doubled in size every eight years.13 china’s gdp, measured according to domestic purchasing power, is already more significant than that of the u.s., and is also on the verge of overtaking the u.s.14 to become the world’s top consumer goods market.15 by 2049, china aims to be a fully developed nation.16 by 2050, china’s economy is projected to be the world’s largest, surpassing that of india and the u.s, projected to rank second and third respectively.17 as economic trends continue to favor china, beijing has steadily become the primary architect for asian-pacific economic relations. long dissatisfied with structural disadvantages it perceives in u.s-dominated multilateral financial institutions, beijing has actively sought to create its own. in 2015, for example, china launched the asian infrastructure investment bank (aiib), which has since become a mechanism for belt and road initiative (bri) financing and rmb internationalization.18 in the aiib, china’s vote share is disproportionately large at 28.7%, compared to that of the second-largest aiib nation, india, which has 8.3%.19 china also maintains de facto voting power over important issues, such as deciding the board of directors’ size and election of the president.20 despite stark u.s. warnings cautioning allies not to partake in the aiib, u.s. security partners such as the united kingdom, france, germany, australia, and south korea joined the initiative. the creation of the aiib and the subsequent reactions of u.s. allies led to concerns in washington about its ability to sustain leadership in international economic order21. china has also steadily become the primary architect of trade relations in the asia-pacific. the ccp has long prioritized the creation of trade flows, setting up trade zones in shanghai in 2013 and tianjin, guangdong, and fujian in 2015. beijing also signed ftas with countries such as switzerland, australia, and south korea in 2015.22 xi linked free trade with the bri in 2014, stating that “radiating belt and road” would “gradually build a network of 1-!#%!2). *2(%)!-'2#*, *2(%)!-'2#* )%& 1)'!2#* ! !"# )*2)% 2%/')*!'$+!$'# 2%3#*!4#%! 0)%5 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('##%: 1'-*1#+!23# 4#40#'* ('#(2-%).) 0.$#: 4#40#'* (%-%-'#(2-%).) .2("! 0.$#: 1'-*1#+!23# 4#40#'* (%-%-'#(2-%).) (!"#$%&'( )*+*,&-*. !",,"/') “similarly, china’s military rise has been facilitated by increasingly robust economic capabilities that have enabled china to contest the u.s. for hegemony in the maritime domain” 75 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! free trade zones.”23 through enabling 6 trillion usd in new trade,24 the bri also provides opportunities for china’s export-oriented economy. the recent promulgation of china’s first multilateral trade deal, the regional comprehensive economic partnership (rcep), further bolsters china’s status as an economic leader.25 rcep will cover 48% of the world’s population, 30% of total world gdp, and 28% of global trade flows.26 shenmeng hui and li tianguo, researchers at the state-a4liated chinese academy of social sciences (cass), estimate that rcep will add 0.22% to real gdp growth and 11.4% to china’s total exports.27 chinese elites have also extensively discussed the prospects of joining the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-pacific partnership (cptpp).28 the u.s, notably, is absent from both these agreements. chinese elites have asserted that china should capitalize on washington’s recent skepticism of free trade to further its economic objectives. wang huiyao for example, president of the state-a4liated china center for globalization (ccg), has written that “the 2017 withdrawal of the u.s. from tpp” has provided “china the window to join the cptpp.”29 as the u.s. retrenches from the liberal economic order washington created, china’s global leadership has become increasingly notable. thus, china has actively pursued the internalization of the rmb to decrease its reliance on the usd. in 2008, the governor of the people’s bank of china, zhou xiaochuan, criticized the status quo international monetary system and called for an international reserve currency “disconnected from economic conditions and sovereign interests of any single country.”30 chinese concerns were exacerbated by the 2008 u.s. financial crisis, which sparked anxiety about the volatility of the usd.31 xiao lisheng, deputy director of the international finance research office at the cass institute of world economics, has argued that rmb internationalization can minimize the impact of “external shocks or crises” and thus improve china’s “financial security level.”32 through the creation of the crossborder inter-bank payments system (cips), a funds transfer system created to process rmb transactions independently of the american-dominated swift, china has pursued rmb internationalization. between 2017 and 2018 for example, cips processed an additional 26 trillion rmb, enabling an 80% increase in the number of global rmb transactions.33 through initiatives such as made in china 2025 (mic 2025), china has also pursued growth via high-tech, advanced industries in information technology, artificial intelligence, aviation, and energy vehicle sectors. the plan’s primary goal is also to achieve self-su4ciency in tech, aiming, for example, for 70% self-su4ciency in core imports and basic materials for chinese aerospace and telecommunications industries.34 chinese vice-premier liu he recently stated that china will continue to bolster technological capabilities to accommodate growing demand from a wealthier population while also citing foreign containment in chinese tech sectors as a reason to pursue increased self-su4ciency in tech.35 through compelling foreign firms to enter into joint ventures with chinese ones in exchange for market access, the provision of government subsidies of over 426 billion usd, acquisition of foreign firms, and improved human capital, mic 2025 has motivated substantial improvements in china’s high-tech sectors.36 experts note that china’s severe economic challenges, including negative total factor productivity (tfp),37 overcapacity a5icting its state-owned enterprises (soe’s), rising youth unemployment, and associated internal unrest among others, could stymie planned improvements in china’s military capabilities. beijing, however, will likely do everything possible to keep its economic growth afloat, including artificially propping up its economy. thus, it would be remiss to assume that china’s economic challenges will restrain its expansionist foreign policy vision; in fact, the opposite may occur. as jack levy’s “scapegoat hypothesis” suggests, states may instigate conflict abroad to distract from growing discontent at home.38 particularly vulnerable is taiwan, which expects u.s. intervention during prospective cross-strait conflict under the provisions of the 1979 taiwan relations act (tra). furthermore, china’s economic troubles must be assessed relative to those a5icting the u.s. economy. in 2020, the american economy is expected to contract by 8% and rebound by 5.2% in “thus, military trends provide the most accurate measure of power in security competition. particularly important are china’s growing maritime capabilities.” 76 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 2021,39 in contrast to china’s economy, which is expected to grow by 2% in 2020 and 7.9% afterwards.40 relative to china, the u.s. is a declining power. economic power, however, is of secondary importance to military power. as john mearsheimer notes, states maximize survival over the preservation of economic ties.41 furthermore, robert ross notes that economic power is not “fungible in international security a3airs”, pointing out that chinese market control over singapore, malaysia, and australia grew at the same time those countries were deepening defense ties with the u.s.42 thus, military trends provide the most accurate measure of power in security competition. military trends military trends in east asia, similar to economic trends, are favorable for china. china’s primary goal in east asia is to displace the u.s. as the primary hegemon in the region. having eliminated threats along its continental periphery, china has investigated significantly in bolstering its naval capabilities to counter u.s. maritime hegemony in the indo-pacific. to this end, china has actively increased its fleet size while aggressively pursuing military modernization. between 2010 and 2017, the number of pla navy (pla-n) vessels increased from 210 to 320, making it larger than the u.s. navy.43 it has also accelerated the production and commission of destroyers, frigates, corvettes, and submarines. between 2015 and 2017, china launched almost 400,000 tons of new naval vessels, twice the output of american shipyards during the same period.44 robert ross estimates that by 2033, china could possess a fleet consisting of 430 surface ships and a hundred submarines.45 a 2016 u.s. naval war college study estimated that the pla-n could possess an active fleet of 530 warships and submarines by 2030.46 chinese naval spending indicates that an emphasis on bolstering maritime capabilities will persist. between 2015 and 2021, chinese defense spending is expected to increase 55% from 167.9 billion to 260.8 billion usd, with the pla-n’s share of the budget increasing 82% from 31.4 billion to 57.1 billion usd.47 additionally by 2023, china is expected to launch a new aircraft carrier, its third following the commission of the liaoning and shandong.48 at the same time, the pla-n has undergone substantial modernization. in 2010, less than 50% of pla-n ships could be classified as modern; by 2017, over 70% of pla-n ships were modern.49 the pla-n has acquired capabilities in carrier operations and ballistic-missile submarine patrols,50 and has benefited from increasingly sophisticated ship-launched and air-launched cruise missiles with precision targeting capabilities.51 china’s submarines, for example, are now equipped with 290 nm-range yj-18 antiship missiles.52 the pla-n has also shown improved command, coordination, and operational capabilities, integral to what barry posen calls the “command of the commons.”53 in april 2018, the pla-n’s new aircraft carrier liaoning conducted its first carrier strike group operations in the philippine sea.54 in august 2020, the pla-n demonstrated the ability to conduct military drills in four regions across the eastern pacific ocean simultaneously.55 it has also shown an ability to assert global presence. in august 2018, u.s. chief of naval operations adm. john richardson stated that the pla-n is “ready and capable of operating wherever beijing wants,” noting that the pla-n had already conducted operations in the north atlantic.56 simultaneously, china’s intermediate and long-range ballistic missile capabilities have improved. long-range df15s, of which the pla could have 730,57 can strike u.s. bases in japan, the korean peninsula, and targets in taiwan and india. they have been shown to be highly precise, with a circular error probability (cep) of less than fifty meters.58 in august 2020, china successfully tested the df21d and df-26b “carrier-killer” and guam-killer” missiles in the south china sea.59 wang xiangsui, a former pla colonel, has stated that the missiles could hit a moving target.60 andrew erickson estimates that china may have more than two hundred df-26 missiles in its arsenal.61 china’s strides in missile r&d has also led to the creation of the df-5b liquid-fueled intercontinental ballis“having eliminated threats along its continental periphery, china has investigated significantly in bolstering its naval capabilities to counter u.s. maritime hegemony in the indo-pacific.” 77 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! tic missile (icbm), and the jl-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile (slbm), the latter of which can equip china’s jin-class ballistic-missile submarines.62 such improvements have made u.s. bases in areas of southeast asia vulnerable to chinese ballistic missiles. meanwhile, u.s. navy capabilities are diminishing. in twelve years, the u.s. navy will consist of 237 ships, a decrease from the 282 currently in its fleet.63 moreover, the u.s.’ capacity to respond to china’s growing capabilities is constrained. in 2015, the u.s. developed a plan to increase the size of the active fleet to 308 ships by 2022.64 in 2017, the trump administration announced its desire for a 355ship navy.65 to reach 355 ships, however, the navy would have to increase its budget by 50% more than the average of the past six years.66 a shift in spending would also inevitably entail decreased spending on the army and air force, a move that would spark infighting in the pentagon. compounding these problems are challenges facing other service branches and prior u.s. commitments in europe and the middle east. first, rising demand for additional funding from other service branches hinders the navy’s ability to receive the resources necessary for u.s. balancing of the pla-n. in a 2020 report, for example, retired gen. mike holmes (usaf) warned that “because the air force has not been allocated enough money to maintain the number of units required to meet current demands, ensure the readiness for countering peer adversaries, and transform force structure to meet the new threats, the service is at a breaking point.”67 second, the u.s. still has to contend with challenges posed by developments in the middle east, in addition to a prolonged campaign of russian expansionism. this stands in stark contrast to china, whose navy’s primary goal is to consolidate maritime hegemony in its region. the pla-n already possesses geographical advantages over the u.s. in this regard, given the proximity of contested areas in the south and east china sea to chinese port facilities. in this sense, the u.s. is languishing under what paul kennedy describes as “imperial overstretch,” in which the global commitments of great powers become too costly to maintain.68 hal brands and evan montgomery argue that the u.s. must inevitably “pare back its commitments to bring them into alignment with existing resources,” a move that would inevitably diminish washington’s global credibility.69 analysts note that congressional budgetary irresponsibility, in addition to hesitancy within the navy to advance necessary reforms, are challenges that hinder plans to bolster naval capabilities.70 american naval leaders have already warned of diminishing american maritime capabilities vis-à-vis china’s. in 2018 the commander of u.s. indo-pacific command, adm. phillip davidson, testified that in all scenarios “short of a war with the united states,” china is “capable of controlling the south china sea.” he also warned that “there is no guarantee that the united states would win a future conflict with china.”71 in february 2020, the u.s. o4ce of naval intelligence stated that by 2030, china’s force of “major surface combatants” including aircraft +"2%)’* -%(-2%( !#''2!-'2). &2*1$!#* (!"#$%&'( "0 )*+*,&-*. !",,"/') “the u.s. is languishing under what paul kennedy describes as ‘imperial overstretch,’ in which the global commitments of great powers become too costly to maintain.”78 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 carriers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes will exceed those possessed by the u.s.72. in december 2020, retired adm. joe sestak warned that the “navy has now lost its assured command of the seasfor the first time in the postworld war ii era – to china in the western pacific.”73 trump containment strategy in response to china’s rise and growing assertiveness, the trump administration has espoused a policy of containment, as is consistent with the behavior of any declining power. great power competition has since become a central theme of u.s. foreign policy, as exemplified by the 2017 national security strategy (nss) and 2018 national defense strategy (nds).74 elbridge colby and wess mitchell, two former trump administration o4cials, wrote in foreign a3airs that “beneath today’s ephemeral headlines, it is this shift, and the reordering of u.s. military, economic, and diplomatic behavior that it entails, that will stand out and likely drive u.s. foreign policy under president from either party for a long time to come.”75 rhetoric, human rights, sanctions the first element of trump’s containment strategy is rooted in heightened criticism of china in o4cial statements, briefings, and strategies. in october 2020, national security advisor robert o’brien named china “the threat of the century.”76 in december 2020, director of national intelligence (dni) john ratcli3e asserted that china was “national security threat no.1” in an op-ed published in the wall street journal.77 the trump administration has also emphasized china as a national security threat in several strategic documents, including the nss and nds, which labeled china a ‘revisionist power’. in november 2020, the policy planning sta3 at the state department also released a 70-page paper titled “the elements of the china challenge”, which details a u.s. response to china’s “hegemonic ambitions” and desire to “revise the world order.”78 on human rights issues, the u.s. has actively emphasized the plight of the uyghurs in xinjiang and the prodemocracy movement in hong kong. in october 2020, robert o’brien stated that “something close to genocide” was occurring in xinjiang.79 in december 2020, the u.s. o4cially banned imports of all chinese cotton products made by the xinjiang production and construction corps (xpcc) due to concerns regarding forced labor.80 washington has also made symbolic moves to highlight its support for the uyghurs. in october 2019, the white house appointed uyghur-american elnigar iltebir to be the director for china a3airs at the national security council (nsc).81 a similar story exists with hong kong. in november 2019, trump signed the hong kong human rights and democracy act, authorizing the u.s. to sanction hong kong o4cials. the administration also signed an executive order ending hong kong’s preferential trade status with the u.s. following beijing’s imposition of the national security law (nsl).82 moreover, washington has actively rallied allies to partake in such causes. in november 2020, for example, the five-eyes intelligencesharing alliance of australia, canada, new zealand, the uk, and the u.s. released a joint statement urging china to revise their imposition of authoritarian measures in hong kong.83 in october 2020, the state department appointed assistant secretary of state robert destro to be special coordinator for tibetan issues, signaling a renewed commitment to raising awareness for the issue of religious repression in tibet.84 the u.s. has also put pressure on china through highprofile diplomatic challenges. in july 2020, the u.s. ordered china to shut down its consulate in houston, labeling it a hub for chinese espionage and influence operations. this prompted the chinese to shut down the u.s. consulate-general in chengdu.85 in june 2020, the state department imposed new limits on the number of chinese journalists allowed in the u.s., and designated specific chinese media entities as “foreign missions,” asserting that the latter were “essentially owned by the “in response to china’s rise and growing assertiveness, the trump administration has espoused a policy of containment, as is consistent with the behavior of any declining power.” 79 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! prc.”86 furthermore, in several key speeches, american o4cials have designated china as the u.s.’ primary national security threat. this began in october 2018, when vice-president mike pence delivered confrontational remarks at the hudson institute.87 in july 2020, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo delivered a speech called “communist china and the free world’s future,” asserting that engagement with china had failed.88 in september 2020, president trump lambasted china for its mishandling of the covid-19 pandemic in front of the un general assembly.89 the u.s. has also specifically targeted ccp o4cials for sanction and punishment. in july 2020, the trump administration imposed sanctions on chinese politburo member chen quanguo for his involvement in human rights abuses in xinjiang.90 in december 2020, the trump administration also released new guidelines limiting all members of the ccp to single-entry visas.91 economic realm the second element of the trump administration’s containment strategy has occurred in the economic realm, where the u.s. has actively sought a redress of trade concerns regarding a growing trade deficit, the dumping of chinese products such as steel, and lack of intellectual property (ip) rights, through relying on tari3s and coercive economic measures. in 2018, the trump administration imposed a 25% tari3 on chinese imports worth a collective 34 billion92 usd. following the imposition of retaliatory tari3s by beijing, the u.s. imposed 10% tari3s on chinese imports worth an increased total of 200 billion usd.93 following negotiations over the phase one trade deal, tari3s were reduced, although they have remained. the u.s. has reduced tari3s to 7.5% on chinese imports worth 120 billion usd, and china has reduced tari3s on u.s. goods worth $75 billion from 15% to 7.5%.94 in august 2019, the u.s. also labeled china a currency manipulator, noting that china’s central bank has arbitrarily weakened the rmb on several occasions.95 in december 2020, trump is also expected to sign a bill that prevents chinese companies from listing on american stock exchanges, unless they submit to u.s. auditing standards.96 furthermore, the trump administration has sought to contain the success of chinese technology giants such as huawei, instructing canadian authorities to arrest its cfo in 2018,97 issuing new export controls in may 2020, and o4cially naming huawei a national security threat in june 2020.98 in november 2020, nsa robert o’brien named huawei “the number one concern for democracy going forward.”99 to this end, the u.s. has actively pressured allies to espouse similar policies against huawei, including great britain and india.100 it has also placed huawei, along with telecom firms such as zte, on “entity lists” published by the commerce department, which essentially prohibits “...the trump administration has sought to contain the success of chinese technology giants such as huawei, instructing canadian authorities to arrest its cfo in 2018, issuing new export controls in may 2020, and o4cially naming huawei a national security threat in june 2020.” $.*. &#1)'!4#%! -/ ,$*!2+# )4-%( -!"#'* )%%-$%+#& 23 +'242%). +")'(#* )()2%*! "$)6#2 7 2!* +/6)%8"-$ 4#%( (!"#$%&'( "0 )*+*,&-*. !",,"/') 80 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 american firms from conducting transactions with them.101 china’s ant group, formerly known as alipay, has also been blacklisted.102 the trump administration has also placed thirty-five chinese companies with alleged links to the pla on defense blacklists, most recently adding chip making giant smic and gas producer cnooc.103 such moves block their access to u.s. investors and restrict their supply of critical equipment from american suppliers. american concerns regarding semiconductor supply-chain security have also motivated the department of commerce to bar entry for chinese firms, mandating companies to obtain a license before they can be allowed to provide goods and services to firms such as smic.104 in november 2020, the u.s. drafted another list of eightynine chinese firms with ties to the pla.105 military realm the third element of trump’s containment strategy is in the military realm, where the united states has actively built an emerging coalition in the indo-pacific to check china’s increasing assertiveness in the east china and south china seas. together with members of the “quad,” namely india, japan, and australia, the u.s. has increased the number of freedom of navigation operations (fonops) it conducts in the south china sea and has participated in a growing number of multilateral naval exercises. in november 2018, secretary of defense james mattis stated that the u.s. would “demonstrate resolve through operational presence in the south china sea.”106 between 2018 and 2019 alone, u.s navy vessels sailed in a twelvemile range of chinese-claimed territory over twelve times, a substantial increase in numbers seen during the obama administration.107 in november 2020, naval ships and aircraft from all quad members participated in the malabar 2020 exercises, in the bay of bengal.108 in the same month, the u.s. navy conducted a four-day mine warfare exercise with naval vessels from the japanese maritime self-defense force (jmsdf).109 defense ties between the u.s. and indo-pacific partners have also deepened. in november 2020, for example, nsa robert o’brien announced the delivery of precision-guided missiles among other weapons to the philippine military, while a4rming that an attack on a philippine vessel in its territorial waters would trigger american defense obligations.110 american defense contractors have also cooperated with japan to produce joint weapons capabilities, most recently completing the development of the sm-3 ballistic missile interceptor, which was successfully tested in november 2020.111 the u.s. has also actively expanded defense ties with taiwan, which china considers a wayward province. arms sales to taiwan have occurred at a far greater frequency, and weapons sold to taiwan have become increasingly sophisticated. in 2018, the trump administration approved the sale of submarine-related subsystems to aid taiwan’s fledging indigenous submarine program.112 in july 2020, the u.s. approved the sale of patriot missiles to replenish taiwan’s aging arsenal.113 in october 2020, the u.s. approved the sale of agm-84h slam-er missiles and himars batteries, which when deployed in taiwan, will be capable of striking targets on chinese bases and airfields.114 the u.s. navy has also conducted operations aimed at bolstering deterrence in the taiwan strait. in june 2020 for example, the aegis destroyer uss russell crossed the taiwan strait.115 moreover, the u.s. has adopted additional advisory and logistical support roles for taiwan’s military. in june 2020, the u.s. army took the rare move of publicizing joint military training between american and taiwanese special forces in annual “balance temper” training sessions.116 in november 2020, o4cials from taiwan’s naval command confirmed reports that members of the u.s. marine corps’ (usmc) marine raider regiment had conducted training alongside taiwanese troops in taiwan.117 in the same month, two-star navy admiral michael studeman, who oversees u.s. military intelligence in the asia-pacific, paid an unannounced visit to taiwan.118 lastly, the u.s. has highlighted the indo-pacific as the priority theater for its armed forces now and moving into the future. in june 2020, three u.s. aircraft carrier strike groups conducted simultaneous operations in the indopacific in a robust show of force.119 in september 2020, the ronald reagan carrier strike group integrated over eleventhousand personnel and one hundred aircraft between four service branches to conduct operation valiant shield in the philippine sea.120 the following month, the south china sea probing initiative (scspi) released a report stating that u.s. spy planes had conducted flights targeting china sixty times across the span of september.121 in october 2020, a chinese military spokesperson stated that “the u.s. has also actively expanded defense ties with taiwan, which china considers a wayward province.” 81 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! the uss john mccain had entered disputed waters near the paracel islands.122 in november 2020, the u.s. secretary of the navy called for the establishment of a u.s. 1st fleet, to be based at the intersection of the indian and pacific oceans.123 it has also sought increased engagement with allies to facilitate u.s. hegemony. in october 2020 for example, secretary of state mike pompeo urged indonesia to find “new ways” of cooperation in the south china sea.124 lastly, the pacific deterrence initiative, recently authorized by the 2021 national defense authorization act (ndaa), will see the u.s. allocate an additional 6 billion usd in military funding to bolster deterrence in the indo-pacific.125 effectiveness and chinese responses the trump administration’s containment policy has not led to productive trade relations with china, stability in the indo-pacific, or more robust alliances. washington’s trade war has hurt the american taxpayer and firms more than it has the chinese economy. more fonopss and increased cooperation with the quad have not compelled china to moderate its assertive behavior in the south china sea. the imposition of sanctions on chinese o4cials over human rights concerns, has similarly not compelled china to cease its campaigns of ethnic cleansing and repression in xinjiang and hong kong, respectively. instead, china’s exports have grown while the u.s. trade deficit has ballooned, chinese military activity in the south china sea and taiwan strait has increased, and vulnerabilities in u.s. alliance structure have become more apparent. china’s economic and military capabilities, furthermore, continue to grow. in this sense, trump’s containment policy has failed to reverse trends favoring china in power relations with the u.s. trade war vulnerabilities: despite the trump administration’s touted successes, the u.s.-china war has imposed high costs on american taxpayers rather than chinese firms. the nonpartisan tax foundation notes that the u.s.-china trade conflict has imposed 80 billion usd worth of new taxes on the american public due to u.s. tari3s on thousands of chinese products.126 tari3s imposed by the administration are estimated to reduce long-term gdp by 0.23%, wage levels by 0.15%, and result in the loss of over 179,000 full-time jobs.127 a september 2019 study by moody’s analytics was even more pessimistic, estimating that the trade war had already decreased u.s. real gdp by 0.3% and resulted in the loss of 300,000 american jobs.128 furthermore, a report from the federal reserve bank of new york and columbia university concluded that the trade war would result in the loss of 316 billion usd for the u.s. economy by the end of 2020.129 especially hurt are u.s. soybean, pork, and dairy farmers, who have seen revenue decline as china’s tari3s hurt exports.130 concerns prompted a spokesperson for the american farm bureau to warn that farmers have “lost the vast majority of what was once a $24 billion market in china.”131 furthermore, the trade war has not succeeded in achieving its primary goal of lessening the u.s. global trade deficit. in october 2020, the u.s. trade deficit ballooned to 67.1 billion usd, a fourteen-year high.132 the trade deficit with china has not decreased substantially either. between 2017 and 2018, the u.s. trade deficit with china in goods actually grew from 375 billion to 418 billion usd, although it has since decreased to $252 billion in 2020.133 additionally, the trade war has not succeeded in slowing china’s economic growth. china’s economy is projected to grow even amidst the covid-19 pandemic, and growth in exports recently reached its highest rate since february 2018. the amount of chinese exports in december 2020 was 21.1% greater than total exports in december 2019.134 firms such as huawei have also continued to see growth in revenue, hitting a record 122 billion usd in profits during the 2019 fiscal year.135 moreover, targets in the phase one trade deal have been shown to be simply unrealistic. in the first half of 2020, china had only purchased 23% of the goods they were supposed to purchase annually. china has pledged to )4#'2+)% (.-0). !')&# &#/2+2! (!"#$%&'( "0 '%.%*'%.) 82 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 spend an additional 60 billion usd on american goods in 2018, but this would be practically impossible, given that american exports to china have declined significantly year-on-year.136 lastly, the trade war has bolstered perceptions among chinese elites that washington feels threatened by its rise, reinforcing chinese confidence. wei jianguo, a former top chinese trade o4cial, has stated that “the essence of the trade war is to destroy” an increasingly capable china.137 fu ying, former vice minister of foreign a3airs, has stated that u.s. policy towards china is to “slow it down through suppression”, as it contends with a fight “the declining superpower cannot a3ord to lose.”138 as the u.s. pushes economic containment, chinese elites become increasingly aware of the shortcomings in u.s. capacity to respond e3ectively. compounding chinese fears of encirclement: trump’s china policy has also exacerbated chinese fears regarding its external security infrastructure, motivating increased assertiveness from the pla, as opposed to less. fears regarding encirclement were particularly evident following obama’s pivot to asia in 2012, and have accelerated rapidly in the context of u.s. containment policy. the pivot to asia first emerged in 2011, when secretary of state hillary clinton wrote an article in foreign policy titled “america’s pacific century”. clinton a4rmed that “the future of politics will be decided in asia”, and that the “united states will be right at the center of the action.”139 through “forward-deployed diplomacy”, clinton articulated u.s. desire to “build a web of partnerships and institutions across the pacific that is as durable and as consistent with american interests...as the web we have built across the atlantic.”140 in 2012, u.s. secretary of defense leon panetta said that the u.s military would bring “enhanced capabilities to this vital region.”141 key features of the obama administration’s “pivot to asia” included the proposed deployment of 60% of u.s.’ submarines to the asia-pacific by 2020.142 during the pivot, the u.s. announced arms sales to taiwan,143 started annual exercises with the vietnamese navy, expanded naval exercises with japan, signed new arms agreements with the philippines, and bolstered u.s. military capabilities on the korean peninsula.144 in 2012, australia, japan, and south korea participated in u.s.-philippine military exercises for the first time.145 in november 2011, clinton announced u.s. opposition to bilateral negotiations over china’s territorial claims, opting to support asean’s calls for multilateral talks. in 2012, she asserted that chinese claims violated the law of the sea.146 this contrasted with the approach of previous administrations, which emphasized only u.s. interests in freedom of navigation and peaceful dispute settlement.147 chinese leaders understand that beijing’s own aggressive maneuvering, rooted in rising confidence and regional ambitions, was the catalyst for these developments. regardless, they have long viewed these attempts as a multilateral e3ort to encircle china with a network of u.s. allies.148 in the 2000s, former president hu jintao said in private deliberations that “the united states has strengthened its military deployments in the asia-pacific region. they have extended outposts and placed pressure points on us from the east, south, and west. this marks a great change in our geopolitical environment.”149 pla air force colonel dai xu warned in 2010 that american interests in japan, the south china sea, india, and afghanistan create a “c-shaped encirclement ring” that restricts china’s “strategic space.”150 a ministry of defense white paper, published in 2015, asserted that china must “safeguard its national unification, territorial integrity, and development interests” as “the world economic and strategic center of gravity is shifting ever more rapidly to the asia-pacific region.”151 the trump administration has exacerbated these concerns through bolstering force posture in the region, and expanding security cooperation with china’s neighbors in the indo-pacific. while these deterrence-building moves are perceived as defensive by washington, they are likely perceived di3erently in beijing, given challenges associated with robert jervis’ notion of the “security dilemma.”152 jervis contends that it is di4cult for states to di3erentiate between o3ensive and defensive capabilities. the deployment of ballistic missile defense by an actor may be defensive in orientation for example, but it still increases the threat perception “trump’s china policy has also exacerbated chinese fears regarding its external security infrastructure, motivating increased assertiveness from the pla...” 83 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! !'$'&"!1. “can america and china escape thucydides’s trap?”, belfer center for science and international a3airs, at https://www. belfercenter.org/thucydides-trap/overview-thucydides-trap. 2. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014, at http://www.eastlaw.net/ wp-content/uploads/2016/09/can-china-rise-peacefully_-_the-national-interest.pdf. 3. robert s. ross, “the rise of the chinese navy: from regional naval power to global naval power?” in china’s global engagement: cooperation, competition, and influence in the 21st century, jacques delisle and avery goldstein, eds. (washington, d.c.: brookings institution, 2017). other states hold of the actor given that it diminishes their o3ensive capabilities. this happens despite neither side intending to escalate tensions.153 moreover, in an anarchic structure, the intentions of other states are always obfuscated, leading to potential misconceptions in any great power relationship. in response to increased american activity in the region, china has ramped up military activity. in ladakh during june 2020, the pla engaged in skirmishes with indian troops, ultimately claiming the lives of twenty. gen. zhao zongqi, head of the pla western theater command, has suggested that the motivation behind china’s attack was to ensure it did “not appear weak” during “exploitation by the u.s.”154 in the taiwan strait, on an almost-daily basis, pla air force (plaaf) y-8 and y-9 surveillance aircraft have incurred on taiwan’s declared air defense identification zone (adiz). in october 2020, taiwanese defense minister yan de-fa announced that taiwan’s air force had scrambled fighters 2,972 times throughout the year, marking a 129% increase in scrambles from 2019. this had aroused worries among analysts that china is pursuing ‘grayzone’ warfare through gradually weakening taiwan by exhausting its air force.155 the pla has also conducted an increased number of drills and exercises aimed at taiwan.156 on taiwan’s national day in october 2020, the pla conducted a large-scale exercise featuring drones, special forces, and airborne troops meant to simulate an invasion of taiwan. following the exercise, the pla announced a four-day, livefire exercise in the taiwan strait. in the south china sea, chinese assertiveness has been growing as well. in may 2019, china deployed its coast guard to harass vietnamese and malaysian vessels servicing a drilling platform o3 vietnamese waters.157, 158 in march 2020, china built two new research stations in fiery cross reef and subi reef in the spratly islands, equipping them with defense silos and runaways that can support pla air force (plaaf) fighter jets.159 in april 2020, vietnam lodged an o4cial complaint after a chinese maritime surveillance vessel sunk a vietnamese shipping boat.160 in july 2020, the pla-n conducted exercises in the south china sea centered around amphibious assault activities.161 thus, it is clear that increased deterrence-building in the indo-pacific has not moderated china’s military assertiveness. instead, it has compounded long-held chinese fears of encirclement, driving increasingly aggressive behavior as beijing seeks to discourage renewed american commitment to the indo-pacific. the beginnings of an arms race and naval buildup between the two sides, as seen prior to wwi between britain and germany, have substantially decreased the prospects for peace and stability in the region. conclusion ultimately, the trump administration’s containment policy against china has failed to slow china’s economic growth or moderate assertive chinese behavior. instead, the chinese have benefited from continued growth in export demand, seen record profits for flagship companies such as huawei, and ramped up military activity in the taiwan strait and the south china sea. the u.s-china trade war has provided comprehensive proof that decoupling with china is unfeasible, and that full-fledged, mearsheimer-style containment against beijing does nothing but exacerbate chinese insecurities regarding strategic encirclement, motivating arms races and thus, regional instability. this is not to say, that decline is inevitable. indeed, the u.sthe only multicultural great power in the history of the worldpossesses a host of advantages in its geography, and pre-existing economic, military, and technological capabilities that could be leveraged to sustain the continuation of pax americana. under president-elect biden, washington is expected to eschew an isolationist mentality, bridge divisions at home, and place renewed emphasis on american alliances. it is also expected to upgrade u.s. defense capabilities, specifically in high-tech domains such as ai and 5g, make c4isr networks more resilient, and test new joint operational concepts such as multi-domain operations as part of a broader shift in defense policy away from power in mass.162 whether the biden administration succeeds in these endeavors will determine whether this remains the american century. 84 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 4. robert s. ross, “the rise of the chinese navy: from regional naval power to global naval power?” in china’s global engagement: cooperation, competition, and influence in the 21st century, jacques delisle and avery goldstein, eds. (washington, d.c.: brookings institution, 2017). 5. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014. 6. ibid. 7. ibid. 8. robert s. ross, “sino-russian relations: the false promise of russian balancing,” international politics, vol 53, no. 1 (2019). 9. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019, at https://nationalinterest.org/ feature/keeping-chinas-plan-25383. 10. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014. 11. paul kennedy, the rise and fall of the great powers (new york: vintage, 1989). 12. ibid. 13. wayne m. morrison, “china’s economic rise: history, trends, challenges, and implications for the united states”, congressional research service, october 21, 2015, at https://fas. org/sgp/crs/row/rl33534.pdf. 14. melanie hart and kelly masgamen, “limit leverage, and compete: a new strategy on china”, center for american progress (cap), april 3, 2019 at https://www.americanprogress. org/issues/security/reports/2019/04/03/468136/limit-leveragecompete-new-strategy-china/. 15. frank tang, “china to overtake the us to become world’s top consumer goods market ‘very soon’”, scmp, november 30, 2020, at https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/ article/3111954/china-overtake-us-become-worlds-top-consumergoods-market. 16. graham allison, “what xi jinping wants”, the atlantic, may 31, 2017, at https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/what-china-wants/528561/. 17. “the world in 2050”, pricewaterhouse coopers (pwc), 2017, at https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/research-insights/economy/theworld-in-2050.html. 18. park, miran. “china-led aiib as a gradual modification of asian financial order: chinese strategies to launch new financial institution.” journal of international and area studies 24, no. 2 (2017): 57-76. 19. martin a. weiss, “asian infrastructure investment bank (aiib)”, congressional research service, february 3, 2017, at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/r44754.pdf. 20. bin gu, “chinese multilateralism in the aiib”, journal of international economic law, 20, no.1 (march 2017): 137-158, 149. 21. phillippe le corre, “dividing the west: china’s new investment bank and america’s diplomatic failure”, brookings institution, march 17, 2015, at https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ order-from-chaos/2015/03/17/dividing-the-west-chinas-newinvestment-bank-and-americas-diplomatic-failure/. 22. wang, yong. “o3ensive for defensive: the belt and road initiative and china’s new grand strategy.” the pacific review 29, no.3 (2016): 455-463. 23. “xi jinping: speed up implementing free trade zones and accelerate construction of a new open economic system (⃯扠 ㄂᧶┯㉺⸭㡌呹䟀忇㢢◉㒧䟴 ┯㉺㨓ㆉ㆏㟍⨚兞㿝㠿⇢ⓟ)”, xinhua news, december 6, 2014 at http://www.xinhuanet.com// politics/2014-12/06/c_1113546075.htm. 24. zhu, zhiqun, critical decade, a: china’s foreign policy (2008-2018). (bucknell, nj: world scientific). 25. robert ward, “rcep trade deal: a geopolitical win for china”, international institute for strategic studies (iiss), november 25, 2020, at https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2020/11/rceptrade-deal 26. cai, penghong. “china’s responses to mega-regional ftas: a chinese perspective.” asian survey 56, no. 6 (2016): 1123-144, 1137. 27. finbarr bermingham and frank tang, “china’s marginal rcep gains will not o3set trade war impact on economy, studies show”, scmp, november 16, 2020, at https://www.scmp.com/ economy/china-economy/article/3110022/chinas-marginal-rcepgains-will-not-o3set-trade-war-impact. 28. su qingyi, “should china join the cptpp(₼⦌㢾⚵ㄣ年┯ ⏴cptpp?)”,�⦌棔兞㿝幓幉(international economic review), april 2019, at https://gb.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.as px?filename=gjpp201904006&dbcode=cjfd&dbname=cjfd temp 29. wang huiyao, “ we should show the attitude of joining cptpp and start negotiations as soon as possible (䘚战劏᧶ ㄣ⻌㉺⻤䘿┯⏴cptpp䤓ⲏ㊐ㄅ㆏⻤店⒳)”, ce.cn, october 13, 2020, at http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/202010/13/ t20201013_35881042.shtml. 30. “will china’s push to internationalize the renminbi succeed?” chinapower project (csis), 2020, at https://chinapower. csis.org/china-renminbi-rmb-internationalization/. 31. rolland, nadège. security the belt and road: prospects for chinese military expansion along the silk roads. washington dc: national bureau of asian research, 2019. 104. 32. xu yanyan (㈟䑤䑤) and wang jiaxin (䘚∂㢤), “bri has become a driving force for rmb internationalization (₏サ₏恾” 㒟ⅉ㺠ゐ⦌棔▥㠿┷┪)”, china business news, august 1, 2017 at https://www.yicai.com/news/5324679.html. 33. “will china’s push to internationalize the renminbi succeed?”, chinapower project at csis, 2020, at https://chinapower.csis.org/china-renminbi-rmb-internationalization/. 34. kim min-hyung, “a real driver of us–china trade conflict: the sino–us competition for global hegemony and its 85 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! implications for the future,” international trade, politics and development, vol. 3, no. 1 (2019). 35. frank tang, “china’s liu he says foreign hostility spurring nation’s push for high-tech independence”, scmp, october 22, 2020 at, https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/ article/3106644/chinas-liu-he-says-foreign-hostility-spurringnations-push-hi. 36. “made in china 2025: industrial policies and issues for congress”, congressional research service (crs), august 11, 2020, at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/if10964.pdf. 37. yang, yao. “china’s economic growth in retrospect.” in china 2049: economic challenges of a rising global power, edited by david dollar, huang yiping, and yao yang, 3-28. washington, d.c.: brookings institution press, 2020. 38. jack s. levy. “domestic politics and war.” the journal of interdisciplinary history 18, no. 4 (1988): 653-73. doi:10.2307/204819. 39. “imf releases most pessimistic economic projections for the united states to date”, peter g. peterson foundation, august 3, 2020, at https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/08/imfreleases-most-pessimistic-economic-projections-for-the-unitedstates-to-date; beth ann bovino and satyam panday, “economic research: the u.s. faces a longer and slower climb from the bottom”, s&p global rankings, june 25, 2020 at https://www. spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/200625-economicresearch-the-u-s-faces-a-longer-and-slower-climb-from-thebottom-11547633. 40. “world bank october 2020 report says china economy to grow by 7.9% in 2021”, china briefing, september 29, 2020, at https://www.china-briefing.com/news/world-bank-october2020-report-says-china-economy-to-grow-by-7-9-in-2021/. 41. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014. 42. ross, robert s. “on the fungibility of economic power: china’s economic rise and the east asian security order.” european journal of international relations 25, no. 1 (march 2019): 302–27. 43. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019, at https://nationalinterest.org/ feature/keeping-chinas-plan-25383 44. david lague and benjamin kang lim, “the china challengeruling the waves”, reuters, april 30, 2019, at https:// www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-navy/. 45. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019. 46. david lague and benjamin kang lim, “the china challengeruling the waves”, reuters, april 30, 2019, at https:// www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-navy/. 47. ibid. 48. “carrier likely to deploy third aircraft carrier by 2025: report”, nikkei asian review, november 4, 2020, at https://asia.nikkei. com/politics/china-likely-to-deploy-third-aircraft-carrier-by2025-report. 49. ibid. 50. james e. fanell, “china’s global-navytoday’s challenge for the united states and the u.s. navy,” naval war college review 73, no. 4 (autumn 2020), pp. 14-39. 51. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019, at https://nationalinterest.org/ feature/keeping-chinas-plan-25383 52. james e. fanell, “asia rising: china’s global naval strategy and expanding force structure”, naval college war review, 72, no.1 (2019): 11-50. 53. posen, barry r. “command of the commons: the military strategy, force structure, and force posture of restraint.” in restraint: a new foundation for u.s. grand strategy, 135-63. cornell university press, 2014. 54. ibid. 55. kristin huang, “china’s navy drills in 4 regions show ability to counter us, observers say”, scmp, august 25, 2020 at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3098671/ chinas-navy-drills-4-regions-show-ability-counter-us-observers 56. james e. fanell, “china’s global-navytoday’s challenge for the united states and the u.s. navy,” naval war college review 73, no. 4 (autumn 2020), pp. 14-39. 57. “df-15 (dong feng-15/m-9/css-6)”, missilethreat csis, at https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/df-15-css-6/. 58. evan braden montgomery, “contested primacy in the western pacific,” international security 38, no.4 (spring 2014), pp. 115-149. 59. kristin huang, “chinese military fires ‘aircraft-carrier killer missile into south china sea ‘in warning to the united states’”, scmp, august 26, 2020 at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/ military/article/3098972/chinese-military-launches-two-missiles-south-china-sea-warning 60. ibid. 61. andrew s. erickson, “china’s df-21d and df-26 asbms: is the u.s. military ready?’, 19fortyfive, november 15, 2020, at https://www.19fortyfive.com/2020/11/chinas-df-21d-and-df-26basbms-is-the-u-s-military-ready/. 62. “china’s ballistic missiles”, institute for international strategic studies (iiss), 2016, at https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/the-military-balance-2016/mb201601-essays-2. 63. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019. 64. christopher p. cavas, “new us navy fleet goal: 308 ships”, defensenews, april 5, 2015, at https://www.defensenews.com/ home/2015/04/05/new-us-navy-fleet-goal-308-ships/. 86 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 65. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019. 66. robert ross, “the end of u.s. naval dominance in asia”, lawfare, november 18, 2018, at https://www.lawfareblog.com/ end-us-naval-dominance-asia. 67. gen. mike holmes, “air force structure in the next national defense strategy”, center for new american security (cnas), december 7, 2020, at https://www.cnas.org/publications/commentary/air-force-structure-in-the-next-national-defense-strategy. 68. paul kennedy, the rise and fall of the great powers (new york: vintage, 1989). 69. hal brands and evan braden montgomery, “one war is not enough: strategy and force planning for great-power competition,” texas national security review, 3, no. 2 (spring 2020). 70. robert c. o’brien, “why the united states needs a 355-ship navy now”, national review, october 18, 2017, at https://www. nationalreview.com/2017/10/us-navy-355-ships-needed/. 71. adm. philip davidson, “advance policy questions for admiral philip davidson, usn expected nominee for commander, u.s. pacific command,” senate armed services committee, april 17, 2018, 18, 11, https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/ imo/media/doc/davidson_apqs_04-17-18.pdf. 72. “updated china: naval construction trends vis-à-vis u.s. navy shipbuilding plans, 2020-2030”, o4ce of naval intelligence, farragut technical analysis center naval platforms department, february 6, 2020, at https://fas.org/irp/agency/ oni/plan-trends.pdf. 73. joe sestak, “the u.s. navy’s loss of command of the seas to china and how to regain it,” texas national security review, 4, no. 1 (winter 2020). 74. ryan hass, “lessons from the trump administration’s policy experiment on china”, penn project on the future of u.s-china relations, 2020, at https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2020/09/ryan-hass_lessons-from-the-trump-administrations-policy-experiment-on-china_final.pdf. 75. elbridge a. colby and a. wess mitchell, “the age of greatpower competition”, foreign a3airs, feburary 2020, at https:// www.foreigna3airs.com/articles/2019-12-10/age-great-powercompetition. 76. tim hepher, “trump’s security adviser says: china is the threat of the century”, reuters, october 21, 2020, at https:// www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china/trumps-security-advisersays-china-is-the-threat-of-the-century-iduskbn2762z4. 77. john ratcli3e, “china is national security threat no.1”, wall street journal, december 3, 2020, at https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-is-national-security-threat-no-1-11607019599. 78. “the elements of the china challenge”, u.s. department of state, november 2020, at https://www.state.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2020/11/20-02832-elements-of-china-challenge-508. pdf. 79. david brunnstrom, “something close to genocide in china’s xinjiang says u.s. security adviser”, reuters, october 16, 2020, at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-xinjiang/ something-close-to-genocide-in-chinas-xinjiang-says-u-s-securityadviser-iduskbn2712hh. 80. owen churchill and jacob fromer, “us to block import of cotton goods produced by china’s leading supplier in xinjiang”, scmp, december 3, 2020 at https://www.scmp.com/news/ china/society/article/3112327/us-block-import-cotton-goodsproduced-chinas-leading-supplier. 81. amy mackinnon and robbie gramer, “as china cracks down on uighurs, a uighur american joins the white house”, foreign policy, august 14, 2019, at https://foreignpolicy. com/2019/08/14/why-a-new-trump-appointee-could-be-thelatest-sticking-point-between-the-u-s-and-china-uighur-americandirector-nsc/. 82. “u.s.-relations with china, 1949-2020”, council of foreign relations, at https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-relations-china. 83. “five eyes alliance urges china to end crackdown on hong kong legislators”, reuters, november 18, 2020, at 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covid-19”, npr, september 22, 2020, at https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-liveupdates/2020/09/22/915630892/in-u-n-speech-trump-blastschina-and-who-blaming-them-for-spread-of-covid-19. 90. john ruwitch, “u.s. sanctions chinese o4cials, including politburo member, for xinjiang abuses,”, npr, july 9, 2020 at https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889406296/u-s-sanctionschinese-o4cials-including-politburo-member-for-xinjiangabuses. 91. paul mozur and raymond zhong, “u.s. tightens visa rules for chinese communist party members”, new york times, december 14, 2020, at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/ 87 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! world/asia/us-visa-china-communist-party.html. 92. kim min-hyung, “a real driver of us–china trade conflict: the sino–us competition for global hegemony and its implications for the future,” international trade, politics and development, vol. 3, no. 1 (2019). 93. ibid. 94. erica york, “tracking the economic impact of u.s. tari3s and retaliatory actions”, tax 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"#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e4ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e4ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 7+"8&+9 +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o4ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! 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(09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us ! e l m e n t se "#$%&' !% "()#&*+! !"#$%##"&' ()* "&$+&',%"("*# +$).%$*, .&! -*/"&"#/ also featuring • unmasking medical frauds • pronouns and personhood!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#,# - 2 0 21 · . (& ) ! 1 7 · / '' & ! 1/ !-!) !* %' : : %0 ! & * 1 !"2 " #1 & #%! "!'!#"+0 3(& "* #(, 4( '%( * +(--!2! ,#-2 0 2 1 :: .( -& ) ! 17 :: /''& ! 1/ $"(1&+!1 45 %0! '%#,, (, !-!)!*%' !"##"$% #&'&(!(%& elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and a)rms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. ! elements fall 2021 "#$%&' we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the o(ce of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. )*!'"+,%' .,%"/+0*"+,%' if you have any questions, please contact the journal at bcurjelements@gmail.com. all submissions can also be sent to bcurjelements@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. .,1!/ katyal, p. (2020, july 19). stack of books on brown wooden shelf. unsplash. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https://unsplash.com/photos/tl0lyxcyt-a 2!/+,3+.+"4 elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 17, issue ii, fall 2021 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by eagle print, 140 commonwealth avenue, chestnut hill, ma 02467 copyright © 2022 by the trustees of boston college !5!6!%"' '"$77 !"#$%&'-#(-)*#!+ ,#)*-!./-./%(# 0%-(()*%! ,-(-1#(1 !"#$%& &#.!2 ',#$* .-2%3$ !"#$%& "-(#!. )-#, senior editor ,#)*-!./-./%(#, editor $&!-'3&!& ,-"!.#(! 4*-(1 *3,-(#$#!' 5-&#("!.-(!2, senior editor '%)#-. ')#!()!' 6 (-$3&-. ')#!()!' ,!.#'',-%, senior editor +-)3.$2 -"7#'%& 0-'%( )-7-..-&# dear readers, the jesuit tradition and liberal arts education of boston college is often lauded as one of the most versatile and e8ective ways to cultivate critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and intellectual dexterity—among a vast array of other skills so desirable to employers and the world in general. and yet, we are asked time and again the same question facing many undergraduate student research journals: “beyond the educational benefit of practicing post-graduate work, where is the value in undergraduate research?” a perfectly valid response lies in the assertion that there is no well-defined chasm between inexperience and expertise that students leap across on the day of their graduation. rather, each student undergoes a gradual accumulation of knowledge which can be competently utilized in real-world applications at any point throughout their college education, and this process, when taken in consort with fresh perspective, can yield incredible results. taken further within the context of element’s environment, students exposed to the concept of cura personalis—literally “care for the whole person”—likewise have the capability to inquire intellectually, to search for the truth in all things, and to passionately use their knowledge in service to others. indeed, the research present in this issue demonstrates the well-rounded intellect of its authors who, through careful analysis, o8er enriched interpretations of— and in some cases potential solutions to—some of the most pertinent issues of our time. in our cover article, “raptus et romaunce”, taylor morales analyzes the incongruities of geo8rey chaucer and feminism from the personal and professional perspective. morales will compare the dichotomous themes of two of chaucer’s works, while challenging the antifeminist representation of women in others. our first feature article “pronouns and personhood” by chistine lenahan examines the construction of gender identities from the feminist perspectives across multiple fields. lenahan proposes a reevaluation of the problem of gender identity and the intersection of free will and biological determinism to fill in the gaps of understanding social construction, the self, and personhood. nina narayan’s article “unmasking medical frauds” delves into the complicated details and implications of illicit trade in the medical sector. narayan discusses how the evolution of the ecommerce market in conjunction with the extensive reach of globalization has brought about new ways for illicit trade to circumvent regulation. in maiya whalen’s article “someone like me”, she discusses how mentors can influence the sense of belonging for undergraduate students of color. whalen emphasizes the crucial need for support of students of color when this relationship with belonging begins to impact their academic motivation and social acceptance. katherine garrett’s article “legalizing love” explores how the state-level legalizations and national legalization of gay marriage a8ected the number of children adopted in the united states. and lastly thomas rostad’s “let the sun do the work” examines the economic and environmental performance of residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts across a plethora of points. rostad explores how, when deployed at the residential level, pv-battery systems allow households to significantly reduce their reliance on the electric grid by storing excess electricity generated from their solar panels for self-consumption. the range of perspectives and topics in this issue serve to highlight the vast and unique society that we live in. whether it struggles to define the boundaries of ethical investment or create socioeconomic chasms in its summer learning loss, society has been challenged to think more about the issues deeply embedded and engrained in our system. these articles provide a well-written and well-crafted deep examination of these issues; an introspective challenge that requires us to understand the roles of aspects in our society that create these issues. this edition of elements is a nod to those that want to illuminate and bring forth the di(cult assumptions in our society; ones that through shared understanding can create constructive discourse. happy reading! sincerely, michaela balboni & joanna choe editors in chief !3+",/’' %,"! .,%"!%"' pronnouns and personhood christine lenahan exploring the construction of gender identities from the feminist perspective 11 23 29 37 45 unmasking medical frauds nina narayan exposing the details and implications of illicit trade in the medical sector someone like me maiya whalen exploring how mentors influence sense of belonging for undergraduate students of color raptus et romaunce taylor morales discussing the incroguities of chaucer and feminism legalizing love katherine garrett understanding the e8ect of legalizing gay marriage on adoption rates in the united states 72 70 51 let the sun do the work thomas rostad analyzing the economic and environmental performance of residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts author biographies list of artwork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— -.. ;3!'$#%(' 8&%,8$!" /2 $*! 1!("!& &!7%.3$#%(. 2/,%,*%' $%3 2!/',%#,,3 exploring the construction of gender identities from the feminist perspective )*&#'$#(! .!(-*-( 12 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 “what really matters, of course, about biological determinism is how it a!ects people, how it a!ects human beings. . .. if [the lives of individuals] are thwarted by a structure imposed from, without, or for social reasons falsely identified as lying within, they never get another chance. that’s it. that’s the greatest tragedy. that biological determinism is imposed upon billions of people.” dr. stephen jay gould introduction social structures constitute our world, serving as frames of meaning within which we, as social beings, act. gender is among one of the largest impediments to just social structures in our world today.1 gender is systemically maintained in a culture because gender is performed in social roles and then is perpetuated by individuals who internalize society’s response to those social roles. as a feminist, a student of philosophy, and a self-identifying woman, i am eager to investigate these structures and contribute to the growing conversation surrounding gender theory, gender fluidity, and social construction through my research. i argue that to have gender is not to have certain reproductive anatomy, but instead, gender is the social meaning of sex. because we seek to identify and organize persons into a socio-sexual hierarchy, the gender revolution of the twenty-first century, especially through the identification of personal pronouns, poses a question greater than one of gender orientation. while sociologists are addressing the recent e8ects of personal pronoun usage, the purpose of this inquiry is to acknowledge the lack of new research material in philosophy and gender/queer theory. i propose a reevaluation of the problems of gender identity and the exploration of the intersection of free will and biological determinism. additionally, there is a need to fill in the gaps in previous thinking surrounding social construction, the self, and personhood. i will be approaching this question from two primary research narratives. in the perspective of biological determinism, how free are we to choose our gender and thus pronouns that correspond to it? from a feminist philosophical understanding of sex and gender, how do we end gender oppression and force an upheaval of the conventional gender binary, which creates a power imbalance between biological males and females in society? i will first investigate how pronouns play a part in the larger social constructs we exist in through the lens of social critical theory, working with texts by several prominent feminist philosophers. it is important to note that while much of my research will be theorizing, such theories are grounded in real world observation as well as the works of experts in the field of gender studies. my goal is to bring the ever-evolving gender culture of the twenty-first century into dialogue with the thought perspectives of sexologists, gender theorists, and social constructionists, ranging from works by the late philosopher simone de beauvoir to contemporary thinkers such as dr. sally haslanger. second, i will investigate the usage of gender pronouns on campuses in the united states. college campuses are a microcosm of the fresh and adaptable minds, and firstyear students are a growing resource for understanding gender theory and its social implications. i will be drawing upon surveys and interviews conducted among first-year students, noting how gender pronouns are used within college orientation programs. the factors which make us mark and announce genders, like dress code, body hair, and even fragrance, constitute the inequality between and oppression of sexes; they are essential to the maintenance of that social system. if conversations about gender pronouns could be addressed in college campuses from first-year experiences, like orientation, it would create a foundation for a community that has a sense of gender orientation and normalizes identifying pronouns in everyday usage. such normalization could lead to the end of gender oppression, the barriers that immobilize and mold those belonging to a particular biological sex and social gender groups. logically, the subordination and domination of respective gender groups presuppose that those groups may be easily identifiable by outward signals within society. one of those key identifiers is pronouns. if the usage of di8erent pronouns in everyday culture was ubiquitous, there would be more recognition of gender fluidity, thus blurring the presupposed social boundaries between those groups and eliminating the appearance that humans are biologically sex-dimorphic. increasing pronoun usage can be expected 13 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( to improve existing injustices by recognizing human beings in their fullness when their correct pronouns are used. yes, pronoun usage creates the possibility of misgendering, but it also fosters a space for correction and conversation without awkwardness. our gender is learned and is not biologically determined, which should allow us to have the autonomy to identify our own gender identities that may not correspond with the biological sex. if we increase pronoun usage in our everyday social lives, through our free will, we give up the social pressure to “act” in a masculine or feminine way, erasing the gender binary. with the social threat of clear gender identity removed, we may move towards social justice among the sexes. between your legs and in your brain: sex versus gender originally formulated to counter theories of biological determinism, the feminist distinction between sex and gender is not as direct as it may seem, despite the amount of scholarship on the subject since the mid-1900s. feminism, which is the support for all genders and opposition to the patriarchy and sexism, calls for a distinction between sex and gender in aiming to end gender stratification. sex, labeled as male and female, pertains to chromosomal, genetic, hormonal, and physical indicators.2 gender, however, pertains to how human beings express their personhood and how they identify within the social world. gender is often separated into man and woman, otherwise known as the gender binary, but gender is not the causal result of biological sex and should not exist in a binary system as biological sexes do.3 within the gender revolution of the twenty-first century, there is a large draw towards the dismantling of the gender binary and the introduction of a wide variety of identities including male, female, transgender, gender-neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none, or a combination of these. gender is the social meaning of sex—labels that we have created and systemically perpetuated within society. thus, taken to the extent of its logistics, “if gender is the cultural meanings that a sexed body assumes, then gender cannot be said to follow from a sex in any one way” (butler, 6). in fact, it is quite di(cult to theorize about the relationship between sex and gender when we do not have a concrete idea of what a woman is or what a man is because “women” and “men” cannot be said to exist. instead women and men are, in a sense, verbs. social construction, the institutions and principles that govern society, claims that women and men are concrete beings and that they align with the biological sexes of female and male. this is wholly untrue and cannot be conceptualized since men and women exist in the abstract; they were construed as binaries by human beings in society. instead, gender is a “performative” action. such is the perspective of judith butler, a gender theorist whose 1990s work, gender trouble, provides key insight into the social construction of gender. for butler, gender takes both a genealogical and philosophical approach; one that does not search for the origin or case of gender but rather one that searches for the e8ects of the !"#$% 1: &#'(!)!&#*( #( (+% %,&.-$/-'0,+-& +-.1!*$ # ,!$* (+#( 1!,&.#2, (+%!' &'-*-3* &'%4%'%*)%,. 14 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 societal institutions that construct the idea of gender and put it into practice. since the “performances” in question involve gesture, dress, movement, action, and language, it can be misinterpreted that gender as “performative” refers to a quasi-theatrical performance. this is not the case. according to butler, “[gender is] the stylized repetition of acts through time,” (butler, 78). in that phrasing, the “through time” portion is crucial because when an act is repeated through time, it becomes a part of the individual while maintaining a possibility of change. gender is not a one act show; we don’t perform masculinity or femininity and then cease gender expression. instead, gender is performative, which implies that it persists through time, sometimes unintentionally, and has consequences outside of the self. butler shies away from the idea of gender expression, which she understands to be an outward portrayal of an inward characteristic about our personhood. instead, gender applies in the reverse format; it is established by others, usually from birth, and then shapes an individual’s inward personhood over time. consider the idea of gender as being “performative” with this example of a common verb: to run. the phrase i run is logically valid because if i am propelling my legs through space in some direction, pumping my arms, and moving faster than walking pace, i would be considered to be running by an outside observer. now if i were to propel my legs with less force and slow down my pace, i would be considered to be walking by an outside observer. the same argument applies to gender. the phrase i am a woman is logically valid because i am carrying out actions that society has deemed to be “of a woman” for whatever reason, such as having long hair, being gentle and petite, even down to my scent. floral scents are largely considered feminine while musky scents are considered masculine. but, if i were to cut my hair short, start acting with a certain toughness or confidence and my actions appealed to society’s definition of a man, the phrase i am a man would also be valid. in each case, whether i am acting as a man or acting as a woman, my gender is performed; it is not inherent to me as a person but it is done as an action, just like running or walking. just as my heart size or lean muscle mass don’t define me as a runner, my action of running does. my sex organs or hormone levels don’t define my femininity or masculinity but rather my actions. ideas of gender can sometimes be contrary to a convention or logic. society creates both discrete and overt principles of how a “man” and “woman” should act, dress, smell, and biologically and linguistically be identified before the subject can decide for themselves. human beings that are regulated by these social constructs are thus formed, denied, and reproduced in accordance with the requirements of those constructs. thus, we reach the fault line of the gender binary. we assume that the titles of man and woman represent a common identity. man and woman are not exhaustive terms; “if one is a woman, that is surely not all one is” (butler, 3). in this way, the idea of gender identity is a misnomer, as identity is usually presumed to be a fixed idea. that is why i argue for the idea of personhood in accompaniment to gender identities, as gender identity falls under one aspect of personhood (personhood being a plural entirety). furthermore, gender intersects with racial, class, ethnic, historical, and sexually-constructed identities; man and woman in the united states do not map onto man and woman in vietnam.4 feminism, which is typically defined as the movement toward equality among the sexes, is facing a larger problem. in the distinction between sex and gender, the feminist perspective ought to strive for equality among the biological sexes and gender identities. the social structure of the gender binary remains ubiquitous in western culture, but we can resist it by subversive acts. as butler questions, “what would the acts of resistance be like, and what would we expect them to accomplish?” i o8er gender pronouns as a partial solution and concrete act of resistance that finds its roots in historical movements that have influenced the twenty-first century. in the following section, i will discuss at length the linguistic representation of gender through the usage of gender pronouns. 15 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( identifying gender by pronoun usage pgps: preferred gender pronouns pronouns are the most common gendered words in the english language. pronouns, in a grammatical sense, are also known as function words. on their own, function words have very little meaning. in english, there are fewer than five hundred function words yet they account for more than half of the words we speak, hear, and read every day. pronouns such as i, you, he/she/they di8erent greatly from gender pronouns. gender pronouns (sometimes called preferred gender pronouns) take the same form as functional pronouns (he/she/they) but denotes gender identity and personhood instead. this distinction is most often made on college campuses, where preferred gender pronouns are defined as: “a consciously chosen set of pronouns that allow a person to accurately represent their gender identity in a way that is comfortable for them. for example, a trans person may begin using a gender-neutral pronoun prior to transitioning, and a gendered pronoun afterwards, or an agender, bigender or third-gender person may choose to use a neutral or invented pronoun.” the two youngest generations, gen z and gen y, are more likely than others to see gender roles and binary labels as outdated. according to a new study conducted by the advertising insights agency bigeye, “half of members of generation z (or 50%) agree that traditional gender roles and binary gender labels [she/he pronouns] are outdated ” (bigeye 2021, 74). in their survey, bigeye discovered that “one half of the respondents identifying as nonbinary indicated their personal pronouns are they/ them/theirs.” personal pronouns do more than correctly refer to a person, they also validate that person’s gender identity. according to bigeye, “more than 12 percent of u.s. millennials identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming,” and globally, “25 percent of gen z individuals expect to change their gender identity at least once during their lifetime.” human beings ought to be recognized in the fullness of their personhood if we are to achieve equality among all peoples. the simplest way to do so is by normalizing widespread gender pronoun usage. within the transgender community there is a shift towards eliminating the use of the word “preferred” and simply calling them gender pronouns or just pronouns. this stems from a belief that including the word “preferred” implies that there is a desire of a wish to be seen as a specific gender rather than presenting who they truly are through authentic gender expression. it can be hurtful to assume that because something is preferred, it is not right or natural. the word “preferred” also implies that there is a choice for the speaker and user of certain gender pronouns. transgender people strive to eliminate the idea of “choice” over their gender and instead strive to present gender as an authentic demonstration of personhood and using a person’s gender pronouns is a form of mutual respect, solidarity, and understanding. moving forward in 2020, mastercard’s “truenametm” campaign announced that trans customers could use their preferred name on credit cards, and united airlines began o8ering passengers nonbinary booking options. twelve states have introduced gender-neutral ids and provide an “x” alternative to “m” and “f” on driver’s licenses. harvard’s faculty of arts and sciences’ registration tool now allows students to register their preferred gender pronouns, including printing them alongside their names on student ids. the importance of these policies is deeply personal: being able “if we are to recognize human beings in the fullness of their personhood, gender pronouns are one small yet pivotal step towards dismantling a binary that has oppressed genders for over a millennium.” 16 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 to use their chosen names and gender markers sanctions transgender and nonbinary gender identities. incorporation of gender pronouns ought to be ubiquitous: on name tags, in social media bios, in email signatures, on licenses and student ids. the benefits of such identification are twofold. if a nonbinary person signs their email they/them in their signature, it is an immediate clarification for the type of pronoun that may be used. additionally, although a cisgender person clarifying perferred cisgender pronouns (she/her, he/him) may seem futile, it may catch the attention of someone who is unfamiliar with gender pronouns, prompting a conversation. singular or plural? grammar mechanics of gender pronouns in the previous section, i covered the historical conception of gender pronouns and the modern-day linguistic representation of gender pronouns most commonly manifested in she/her/hers, he/him/his, and they/them/theirs. as our conceptions of gender evolve and adapt to the everchanging definition of masculine, feminine, and non-binary, so do the grammar mechanics that apply to the gender pronouns. my inclusion of grammar mechanics is crucial in striving for the normalization of gender pronouns. it clarifies the grammatical rules that apply to them and will only further aid those confused by pronouns. as my father, a member of the baby-boomer generation, has recently questioned, “they/them… they is swimming or they are swimming?” dad, they are swimming, and here is why: the singular they among professional linguists and everyday english speakers, the syntactic representation of gender through the usage of a singular they has gained curiosity for decades. the english language lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with “everyone” or “someone” and as a consequence, they has been used for this purpose for over six hundred years. they is sometimes said to have the advantage of being already part of english grammar, in contrast to atypical alternatives5 and is thus the most popular gender-neutral pronoun in use today. let’s take a look at some examples of the singular they in simple sentences. (1) grace and anthony are swimming. they are swimming. (2) janet is swimming. they are swimming. in example (1) they takes on its standard plural form, referring to two people swimming, while in example (2) they is being used for a specific, named individual in a particular context that calls for a non-binary pronoun. since janet prefers they/them pronouns, the speaker acknowledges and identifies them with the appropriate pronoun. even for innovative they users, the current status of they in english can meet its linguistic pitfalls, making syntax difficult depending upon the usage of they. for example, in the reflexive form: “janet presents themself as nonbinary. they presents themself as nonbinary.” not “janet present themselves as nonbinary. they present themselves as nonbinary. “ go ahead and read each sentence aloud, or better yet, type them out on your phone or computer and watch grammar suggestion tools grow furious as you ignore the syntax demands of a pronoun that must match its antecedent in gender and number. here we see the di(culty in adapting to certain features of the english language and the singular they, wherein the antecedent doesn’t have a particular gender. in the case of the reflexive form, we use themself and not themselves because janet is not presenting many plural selves but rather one self that does not conform to a singular binary. pronouns can be confusing and mistakes “correct your mistakes, ask questions, and normalize identifying your gender pronouns.” 17 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( can be made, but it is in the mistakes that we gain clarity about an individual’s gender presentation. misidentifying, a common error in nonbinary pronoun usage for someone who does not outwardly express one singular gender, should be met with compassion and conversation, not criticism and shame. correct your mistakes, ask questions, and normalize identifying your gender pronouns. they are who they are: gender and social construction theory social construction: defined “our beliefs about the world create the reality of that world, as opposed to the position that the world reveals what is really there” (kessler, 1998). the multiplicity of uses and definitions of social construction has transformed its meaning over time and now in common vernacular, describes something as “socially constructed.” this implies that it is illusionary or not fully real and, to a certain degree, such an impression holds true. the conservation surrounding social construction rests gently upon the surface of the larger philosophical debates of metaphysics and epistemology, which questions how we know what is real and what is not. in viewing gender through the social constructionist lens, the illusory nature of gender that is perpetuated by the usage of phrases like “gender is made up” or “gender doesn’t exist” is dismantled. i argue that gender does exist but due to society’s own conception and the meaning upon which we have ascribed it; gender does not exist naturally. instead, because of social construction, gender has undergone the process of determining separate groups (gender binaries of man and woman) and naturalizing their subordination to one another. this is a process not only unique to the construction of gender but also to other constructs like race. social construction looks at gender through a focal analysis that seeks to explain the phenomenon of men as dominant and women as subordinate in society as a pattern of social relations that has been performed, internalized, and thus systematically entrenched in our culture. the norms by which an individual’s personhood is evaluated must undergo ideological and institutional critique if we seek the eradication of the gender binary. “a critique of a concept is not a rejection of that concept but an exploration of its various meanings and limitations,” through a conceptual and narrative framework that governs the way in which we socially construct ourselves (anderson, 2001, p. 22). following this line of thought, gender influences how individuals organize all of society and how they distribute power, thus making the elimination of gender socially impossible. it is here we see the formulation of gender stratification, which is the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege across genders. patriarchal domination impedes equality among the genders, but conceptualizing gender oppression in terms of man-ness and woman-ness may also be misleading. it may foster false ideas and impressions based on the understanding that “man” is a single, ubiquitous, and unified category that necessarily subjugates the other single, ubiquitous, and unified category of “woman.” studies focusing on intra-gender inequality show that there exists numer“social construction looks at gender through a focal analysis that seeks to explain the phenomenon of men as dominant and women as subordinate in society as a pattern of social relations that has been performed and internalized and thus systemically maintained and deeply entrenched in our culture.” 18 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 ous forms of plural masculinities and femininities, which then a8ect the relations of domination not only between di8erent genders but also within the same gender category. the greatest domination exists between what sociologists call hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininities. these terms, as defined by social construction theorist raewyn connell in the late 1980s, refer to the forms of masculinity in a given historical and societal setting that legitimates unequal gender relations between men and women and within genders that then predispose the creation of stylized acts of femininity (connell 1978, 19). connell argued that hegemonic masculinity is always constructed in relation to subordinated femininities and other unconventional masculinities (connell 1978, 21). such terms allow an individual in society to understand the multifaceted dimensions of masculinity and femininity as well as the role of gender conventions in the structures of power and oppression that inadvertently and advertently govern the way in which individuals interact, particularly through their outward gender identification by means of personal pronouns. first, we must clearly define hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. hegemonic masculinities “initially formulated in the 1980s to shed light on a series of practices that promoted the favorable social condition of men over women, the concept of hegemonic masculinity is premised on the existence of a dominant form of masculinity. all men position themselves in relation to it, and therefore internalize personal codes of behavior that contribute to its reproduction.” (mortennti, 1). an americanized concept of outward masculinity reads as such: a man is, most notably, heterosexual and manifests his man-ness in his personhood through the pronouns he/ him/his. this man resists outward displays of vulnerability, weakness but instead should perform aggressive behaviors. he should “exhibit strength and toughness, and be competitive and successful” (mortennti, 1). therefore, men feel an immense social pressure to conform to the dominant ideas of being a man, which perpetuates genderbiased hierarchy in society. those who do not, are typically subordinated and socially marginalized. as a result, the genders deemed e8eminate or individuals in the lgbtqia+ community are subordinated while those who strive to conform to this ideal of man-ness are dominant and celebrated. hegemonic masculinity then a8ects the political and economic spheres of society which perpetuate the inequality between and within genders. consider women’s right to vote, autonomy over the female reproductive organs, the wage gap, the pink tax, or the infamous glass ceiling that perpetually hangs in the ether of a universe socially constituted as cisgender, socially conforming men dominating other human beings. because of the need to fill this socially-acceptable role, lack of life options and choices drastically reduces the degree of individual freedom in deciding the life an individual has reason to value, crushing their personhood. current cultural discourse surrounds inequality between the gender binaries, but there is a distinct lack of scholarship and advocacy for the social disparities between gender-non-conforming/gender fluid males who fall victim to the power structures of hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and “manly men’’ in society. the longterm authority of hegemonic masculinity over social structures resides in its conception of man. societal domination takes place not only between genders but also within them. therefore, the problem is not man himself but the types of behavior and attitudes associated with dominance and power. these behaviors and attitudes are bolstered by society’s continuation of sharply sex/genderdimorphic categorizations. normalizing various gender pronouns can begin to shift perspectives even in their simple, everyday isage by raising awareness to the fluidity of gener. men face gender-related problems, just like women and such shared experiences have the potential to create bonds of mutual understanding and solidarity between men and women, increasing a social consciousness on gender perceptions. emphasized femininities emphasized femininity is “the pattern of femininity which is given most cultural and ideological support . . . patterns such as sociability . . . compliance . . . [and] sexual receptivity [to men]” (connell 1987, 24). 19 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( an americanized concept of outward femininity believes a woman ought to be gentle and warm, but also a dependent and weak being who needs reassurance from men. her sexuality is for men to capitalize on: sexual relations in her heterosexuality (i.e. sexual intercourse) and sexual spectacle in her homosexuality (i.e. pornography and fetishization). a woman manifests her femininity in outward displays of woman-ness not only through her gender normative pronouns she/her/hers but also in her dress, mannerisms, hair and makeup, scent, and, most notably, in her ability to bear children. from this limiting conception of women, emphasized femininity is practiced in a complementary, compliant, and accommodating subordinate relationship with hegemonic masculinity. connell emphasized in her work that hegemonic masculinity has no meaning unless it is viewed in relation to its subordinated counterpart in emphasized femininity (connell 1978, 21). and vice versa: femininity as a term, can barely be understood on its own if not for the opposing relationship to masculinity. femininities are constructed in and through male bodies (what is commonly referred to as the “male gaze” in pop culture) and are emphasized through the repetition of stylized acts that foster and maintain a heteronormative, sex-dimorphic image of woman-ness. this, in turn, discursively emphasizes men in holding dominate roles, particularly in sexual relations within which the woman is deemed sexually compliant to the man. femininity in this case is practiced and performed as butler, being described in my earlier chapter, suggests (butler, 3). femininity is complementary to masculinity and the two work in a pseudo-social-symbiotic relationship: the “man” maintains his dominance, the “woman” maintains her subordination. a functionalist approach to such inequalities holds that the disparities in sociological relations to power structures and larger social institutions are a result of each gender adapting to the roles they are best suited for: women in childbirth and maintaining the home while men are tied to labor and primary financial support. in third wave feminist understanding, emphasized femininity can only be conceptualized by the intersectionality of being a female and the standard of the “woman identity” existing in society. social norms are further propagated into a unique form of social separation, known as “othering.” here, “othering” refers to the discrete social competition among women in attempting to best orient themselves to an unattainable standard of femininity, thus isolating those who do not seek to conform to such a standard. not only do women face subjugation to men but are isolated from other women in competition for femininity, which exists only as a complimentary social factor to men.this furthers women’s subjugation, essentially annexing the woman from her personhood out of need for social survival. concluding remarks gender is an entirely disjunctive class and a recent trend in feminist theory is to turn away from gender as a social classification on the whole. gender is inherently unclear and complicated, so i don’t believe there to be an answer to the social construction of gender. and yet i do not think gender needs to be removed from the conversation about social construction. in fact, gender is a primary example of the e8ects of social construction; our conversations should be directed towards it. within this debate about the inclusion or removal of gender and social construction theory, it can be hard to tell what gender is, or, if it is anything at all. context-sensitive gender distinctions, like in a position of social relations wherein the relations of domination constitute the categories of man and woman, depend upon the deepening discourse on gender theory. the aim of my work on the ubiquity of gender pronouns do just that. gender theory, in the feminized social constructionists view is not a search for a distinctive truth but collects a plethora of truth from multiple perspectives to build a framework for contextual theorizing like for gender how social forces, under the guise of biological forces work to perpetuate inequalities. if we are to capture what is morally significant about the human being in society, we must continue to foster debates on gender in social constitution and incorporate the normalization of gender pronouns, which are a direct outward reflection of an individual’s personhood corresponding to their gender or lack thereof. 20 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 /!7!/!%.!' amato, viola “introduction, intersex narratives: shifts in the representation of intersex lives in north american literature and popular culture.” jstor, 2016. baron, dennis. what’s your pronoun: beyond he & she. new york, ny: liveright corporation, 2021. beauvoir, simone de. the second sex. london: vintage classic, 2015. big eye agency. “gender: beyond the binary.” big eye research insights. 2021. bjorkman, bronwyn m. “singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in english.” glossa. open library of humanities, 06 sept. 2017. butler, judith. gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity. new york: routledge, 1989. butler, judith. undoing gender. new york: routledge, 2009. castañeda, donna. the essential handbook of women’s sexuality. santa barbara, ca: praeger, 2013. “caster semenya loses landmark legal case against iaaf over testosterone levels.” the guardian. guardian news and media, 01 may 2019. clifton, derrick. “50% of gen zers believe traditional gender norms are outdated.” them. them., 24 feb. 2021. crash course. “gender stratification: crash course sociology #32.” youtube. crash course, 06 nov. 2017. crash course. “harriet martineau & gender conflict theory: crash course sociology #8.” youtube. crash course, 01 may 2017. currier, danielle m. “strategic ambiguity: protecting emphasized femininity and hegemonic masculinity in the hookup culture” sage journals. 01 aug. 1970. cut. “pronouns | trans | one word | cut.” youtube. youtube, 11 aug. 2015. fausto-sterling, anne. sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of sexuality. new york: basic, 2020. fambrough, mary. “transcending gender: challenging the binary divide.” proquest, 1990. fessler, leah. “his, hers, everyone’s: gender-equal underwear goes (slightly more) mainstream.” the new york times. the new york times, 25 june 2021. hartocollis, anemona. “gender pronouns can be tricky on campus. harvard is making them stick.” the new york times, 19 feb. 2020. haslanger, sally anne. resisting reality social construction and social critique. oxford: oxford up, 2013. hooks, bell. feminist theory: from margin to center. new york, ny: routledge, 2015. jones, je8rey m. “lgbt identification rises to 5.6% in latest u.s. estimate.” gallup, 13 aug. 2021. messerschmidt, james w. “engendering gendered knowledge: assessing the academic appropriation of hegemonic masculinity” sage journals, dec. 2012. messerschmidt, james w. “masculinities and femicide.” qualitative sociology review, proquest, 2017. 21 !"#$#%$& '$( !)"&#$*##( endnotes 1. in this thesis, ‘sex’ denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features); ‘gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behavior or identity). !e primary feminist motivation for making this distinction is to counter biological determinism. !is theory is explained further in section 2. 2. in the remainder of this paper, i will be denoting the biological sexes of male and female with capital letters in order to preserve their scienti"c de"nitions. 3. or appear to do. sexes are not always binary in their biological morphology as seen in section 8. 4. vietnam is a widely used example of a historically matriarchal society. 5. some, but not all, neopronouns include per/per/pers, ve/ ver/vis, xe/xem/xyr, ze/zie/hir/hirs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exposing the details and implications of illicit trade in the medical sector (#((-&-2-( 24 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 the trade of counterfeit drugs makes up a large portion of the global market in illegal goods, empowered and perpetuated by the growing and easily accessible e-commerce market. according to the oecd/euipo (2019) study, the value of global trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals was up to usd 4.4 billion in 2016. investigating globalization in the context of the healthcare sector and the implications of the international counterfeit healthcare trade demonstrates the immensity of the impact illicit trade has on both communities and local economies around the globe. data from interpol has shown that as of 2020, tra(cking of falsified health products is ten to twenty times more profitable than heroin tra(cking, emphasizing the magnitude of the dangers of this sector of illicit trade (sanofi, 2021). the world health organization (who) has proposed that counterfeit medicine (branded or generic products) can be defined as one that is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source, which has obvious potential for endangering unsuspecting consumers. a reiterated version of matthew sparke’s definition of globalization describes it as “the extension, acceleration, and intensification of consequential worldwide interconnections” (glass, 2014). when considered in the context of illicit trade in the healthcare sector, this quote emphasizes the consequential nature of these processes for everyone involved in the supply chain, from manufacturers in faraway countries to patients and consumers on the ground. illicit trade in the healthcare sector, greatly enabled by the ever-expanding reach of the e-commerce market, significantly impacts the global economy and well-being of people across the globe. the counterfeit trade of medicines, medical devices, non-drug accessories, and personal protective equipment (ppe) creates safety and legitimacy concerns as they endanger those who fall victim to falsely advertised products, making technologies and policies that assist in curbing counterfeit trade increasingly crucial in the context of today’s global value chains and worldwide challenges in healthcare. counterfeit trade of drugs & medicine access to healthcare and treatment options is limited for many communities, especially in developing countries, sustaining and further increasing the demand for accessible medication and, consequently, for counterfeit medicine and prescription drug suppliers. according to the who, “counterfeit medicines potentially make up more than 50% of the global drug market” with a significant presence of these goods circulating in developing countries due to a lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms and enforcement measures and the increasing sophistication of drug counterfeiters. the ripple e8ect of this trade sector impacts consumer confidence in healthcare and supply chains and undermines the e8orts of legitimate pharmaceutical providers. according to staake et al., counterfeiters can be classified into five groups: 1) disaggregators; 2) imitators; 3) fraudsters; 4) desperados; and 5) smugglers, labels that assist in developing a more organized approach to the issue of counterfeiting in the healthcare market. the desperados group represents products with medium to high visual quality, while the functional quality and product complexity is low. consequently, they are said to pose a severe threat to consumers (glass, 2014). counterfeit products lack active pharmaceutical ingredients (apis) or include incorrect ingredients which may or may not be toxic and have impurities and/or contain incorrect quantities of these apis, which are usually less than the stated amount. the united states food and drug administration (fda) has reported counterfeit and substandard medicines in both developed and developing countries, with 25% of these medicines being consumed in developing regions, such as latin america, southeast asia, or sub-saharan africa (glass, 2014). the detrimental e8ects the magnitude of this problem has on the health of developing-world consumers make the e(cacy of regulatory measures that much more crucial. counterfeit trade of ppe, medical devices, & other non-drug accessories illegitimate ppe, medical devices, and other non-drug accessories comprise a large sector of the products involved in the overwhelmingly large scope of the trade circulation of counterfeit healthcare-related goods and are less likely to be intercepted before reaching consumers compared to prescription drugs. this is due to non-drug products often having misleadingly accurate and convincing appearances and basic functionality. there is less data on the extent of the production and circulation of counterfeit medical devices because, according to the national institute for public health and the environment (rivm). at the same time, the distribution of prescription drugs is legally restricted to pharmacies and drugstores, the legitimate supply chain for medical devices is broader and includes various other suppliers like supermarkets, department stores, and even public vending machines (de bruijin et al., 2009). there have been significant di8erences in the medical device regulatory procedures of the developed 25 !"#$%&'"( #)*'+$, -.$!*% nations of the united states, the european union (eu), and japan. these have prompted the e8orts and attention of the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (ttip) towards its goal of fostering “enhanced compatibility of regulations and standards” (lee-makiyama et al., 2021). market integration among the developed countries of the eu along with japan and the us comprise almost 90% of global production and consumption of medical devices. integration would not only ensure a greater level of economic stability but also eliminate several loopholes caused by regulatory discrepancies that allow for a large amount of the trade of counterfeit medical devices (leemakiyama et al., 2021). safety & legitimacy concerns & the societal impact the consequences of the growing counterfeit healthcare trade involve pressing safety concerns for those in need and the detrimental e8ects of circulating illegitimate products on the individual and corporate levels. those with low income and limited literacy will ultimately still choose to purchase counterfeit products by assuming that non-authenticated treatment options are better than no treatment at all (glass, 2014). one example of the impact of this stems from the manufacturing of altered and lowquality antivirals: “antibiotics, antituberculosis drugs, and antimalarial and antiretroviral drugs are frequently targeted, with reports of 60% of the anti-infective drugs in asia and africa containing apis outside their pharmacopoeial limits” (glass, 2014). the direct implications involve increasing drug resistance and therefore undermining the e8orts put into developing e8ective drug formulas, especially in developing countries where treatment for fatal diseases and infections is imperative to the well-being of many. counterfeits significantly impact global public health because drugs lacking in quality, safety, correct make-up, and e(cacy that are not e8ectively regulated could result in long-term consequences. these include prolonged therapy and hospitalization, promotion of resistance, and the causation of adverse e8ects in consumers, which are then not accurately recorded or monitored (glass, 2014). on the individual economic level, counterfeits contribute to increasing out-of-pocket spending on healthcare, lost income due to prolonged illness or death, and lost productivity costs to individuals and households when seeking additional medical care, the e8ects of which are felt by businesses and the wider economy (oecd/euipo, 2020). the environmental impact is another significant though often overlooked implication of the counterfeit trade since legitimate pharmaceutical companies must adhere to established environmental protection and antipollution regulations while illicit manufacturers do not; they often dispose of toxic dyes and chemicals without oversight and disregard the importance of avoiding chemical leaks into streams and other natural resources (oecd/euipo, 2020). it is also important to acknowledge that other crimes such as money laundering, human tra(cking for sexual exploitation, and the smuggling of illegal arms can be linked to criminals involved in pharmaceutical crime (oecd/euipo, 2020), so the scope of this issue expands far beyond the sole impact of fake drugs and medical apparatuses on individuals and companies. the economic impact & ftzs counterfeiters impact both genuine manufacturers and consumers economically, making regulatory measures beneficial to both ends of the supply chain and requiring the attention of regional and international organizations in addressing the problem. the organisation for economic co-operation and development (oecd), for instance, has contributed significantly to informing policy-makers through detailed research and analysis of the economic impact of counterfeit circulation in the market. they recognize various factors that are conducive to the success of illicit traders, including trade routes and politics. counterfeit producers determine the who, what, and where of their operations through considering “1) the characteristics of the market, which determine market potential; 2) technological and logistical considerations, which determine the feasibility of counterfeiting; and 3) “those with low income and limited literacy will ultimately choose to purchase counterfeit products by assuming that non0authenticated treatment options are better than no treatment at all.” 26 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 the institutional environment, which determines the risks of being caught” (oecd/euipo, 2020). the complexity of the trade routes utilized by counterfeit suppliers is vital to recognize because it “facilitates the falsification of documents in ways that camouflage the original point of departure, establish distribution centres for counterfeit and pirated goods, and repackage or re-label goods,” all of which often are undetected due to the fact that in-transit goods are outside the scope of local authorities (oecd/ euipo, 2019). counterfeiters also thrive in politically unstable environments where corruption and ine8ective property protection policies greatly influence the amount of exports of fake goods from an economy. despite their beneficial aspects, countries with free trade zones (ftzs) with strong infrastructure and limited surveillance also provide a relatively stable environment for counterfeiters to operate in. interestingly the existence, number, and size of ftzs in a country positively correlate with increases in the number of counterfeit products exported by that country’s economy (oecd/euipo, 2019). a notable case of such an occurrence took place in 2006 when a counterfeit shipment from the sharjah ftz in dubai was seized in transit to the ftz of freeport in the bahamas and involved several countries. after the fake products were intercepted in the bahamas, suspicious products still being stored in the sharjah ftz were moved to another facility in the jebel ali free zone in dubai in an attempt to evade authorities. the investigation eventually exposed an elaborate supply chain of knocko8 drugs that ran from china through hong kong, the united arab emirates, the uk, and the bahamas to eventually be sold online to unsuspecting consumers as canadian medicines. this exhibits the convoluted nature of the crime at hand and how ftzs serve as low-risk stepping stones in the elaborate schemes behind successful counterfeit operations, making regulatory adjustment measures crucial, especially in areas with limited surveillance. countries that encounter large amounts of counterfeit healthcare products risk discouraging foreign investment, thus limiting their potential for economic growth and opportunities for further innovation and development in the healthcare sector (oecd/euipo, 2020). technologies and policies assisting in curbing counterfeit trade beyond easily targeting those with lower socioeconomic status and limited healthcare availability, the everexpanding e-commerce market has provided illicit suppliers the opportunity to reach an even greater consumer base, largely including those who unknowingly fall victim to well-advertised illegitimate pharmacies and websites. many fake drug products enter the market through illegal online pharmacies that operate globally and often beyond the scope of local or international regulators, and digital channels enable these illicit companies to evade detection (kuppuraj, 2018). large sums of money are involved in transnational criminal networks and enterprises, with one illicit online pharmacy network earning usd 55 million during only two years of active operations (oecd/euipo, 2020). another important term involving the dangerous distribution of certain products to specifically targeted countries or demographics is anti-diversion, which aims “to ensure that products that have been developed for a specific market, perhaps with materials that are not allowed in other countries but are authorised for the intended market… are not removed from the supply chain, repackaged and sent into a country that should not receive that item” (ellison & prisym id, 2019). there are both passive and active approaches to addressing the dangers of counterfeit healthcare, like the aforementioned diversion tactics. the passive strategy focuses on the three levels of packaging of products, with manufacturers being encouraged to include visual deterrents in the form of holograms, uv codes, or unique barcode labels that could assist in proving authenticity. the active approach involves using technology in regulating products as they pass through the supply chain. unique serial or reference numbers (urn) allow mass serialization systems to check authenticity and assist in tracking products through the supply chain, which is becoming increasingly e(cient and e8ective as technology advances (ellison & prisym id, 2019). several facilitation policy strategies could prove helpful in decreasing the number of counterfeit healthcare products being exported. specifically, these would involve the availability of detailed information on trade flows, the degree of involvement of an economy in the trade community, transparent and methodical review of fees and charges imposed on imports and exports, and reliable internal cooperation between border agencies and other government units (oecd/euipo, 2019). regarding the specific problem of counterfeit healthcare, the international medical products anti-counterfeiting taskforce (impact) was established in 2006 to coordinate a response to the growing issue of counterfeit drugs and to focus on the 27 !"#$%&'"( #)*'+$, -.$!*% following key areas: legislative and regulatory infrastructure, regulatory implementation, enforcement, technology, and communication (glass, 2014). impact demonstrates that successfully combating the trade of counterfeit medical products requires the e8orts of others beyond the health sector. collaboration among other sectors including law enforcement, border control, justice departments (at all administrative levels), and the private sector, which includes members of the supply chain like manufacturers, importers, distributors, health professionals, media, and patients and other consumers is essential (world health organization, 2019). initiatives from the who’s “prevent, detect, and respond” approach have introduced and begun to maintain a global database of reports relating to the interception of substandard or counterfeit medicines for use by regulatory agencies globally as well as a “rapid alerts” mechanism that facilitates international communication and data exchange (oecd/euipo, 2020). governments and regional justice systems hold a great deal of responsibility to be involved in e8orts to protect global public health, especially regarding legislation. one example of higher power organizations taking initiative is when the council of europe developed the medicrime convention, which equipped countries with a prototype of a legal framework for facing the threat of counterfeit medicines and other types of medical sector crimes that threaten public health and the economy (oecd/euipo, 2020). the biopharmaceutical company sanofi has also become a leading example of providers increasing their responsibility for being aware of the importance of screening for counterfeits. in 2008, they opened their central anti-counterfeit laboratory (lcac) to counter illicit companies targeting their product design for profit and recorded over 43,000 suspicious products. furthermore, they developed a specific label containing visible and invisible authentication known as the sanofi security label to prevent mistakes in the supply chain (kuppuraj, 2018). their o(cial website provides guidance made available to the public in how to personally inspect products at home before consuming them as well as in recognizing red flags in pharmaceutical websites and online web pages, demonstrating how regulating false products can be a responsibility of everyone involved in the supply chain from manufacturers to suppliers to consumers to ensure safety and damage control. conclusion & modern context evidently, the increasing amount of counterfeit trade in the healthcare industry is a pressing global public health concern. economically, ambiguity and lack of e8ective regulatory systems throughout the supply chains involved in circulating falsely advertised and manufactured medicines, medical devices, and non-drug accessories like ppe impact not only local and global value chains and economies but also the faith of the public in reputable companies and healthcare as a whole. a cooperative, joint e8ort between suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, customs o(cials, and even consumers to continue developing more e8ective policies, technological systems, and protective strategies to decrease the presence of counterfeit healthcare goods in the market is essential to addressing the gravity of this problem, which has only worsened since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. a myriad of issues has emerged in the face of the novel coronavirus involving counterfeits that endanger healthcare workers and patients, including the production of insu(cient filtering facepiece respirators and masks during the ppe shortage of early to mid-2020 (ippolito et al., 2020). this problem required the e8orts of trustworthy organizations like the center for disease control (cdc) to inform the public on identifying authenticity in protective gear, though the growth of the e-commerce market and dire circumstances often led consumers to feel that unauthenticated equipment would be better than nothing. n95 masks were also in high demand at the time, creating a new target market for counterfeiters to take advantage of. according to a reputable news source, counterfeits began appearing at the front lines with, for example, holy name medical center in teaneck, new jersey, receiving a batch “...the dangers of the counterfeit healthcare trade willcontinue to worsen in the face of new global health challenges and an every-changing technological world...” 28 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 /!7!/!%.!' de bruijin, a.c.p., c.g.j.c.a. de vries, and h.p.h. hermsen. 2009. “counterfeit medical devices: a risk indication.” national institute for public health & the environment, no. open repository (august), 2-21. letter report 360060001. ellison, steve, and prisym id. 2019. “combat counterfeiters: the battle against counterfeit medical devices.” medtechdive. https://www.medtechdive.com/pressrelease/20190712-combat-counterfeiters-the-battleagainst-counterfeit-medical-devices/. glass, beverley d. “counterfeit drugs and medical devices in developing countries.” research and reports in tropical medicine 5 (2014): 11+. gale academic onefile (accessed april 18, 2021).https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/ a 4 1 2 4 1 1 7 4 3 / a o n e ? u = m l i n _ m _ bostcoll&sid=aone&xid=b1ce9de2 ippolito, mariachiara, cesare gregoretti, and andrea cortegiani. 2020. “counterfeit filtering facepiece respirators are posing an additional risk to health care workers during covid-19 pandemic.” american journal of infection control, no. 48, 853-854. 0196-6553. kavilanz, parija. 2020. “n95 masks are in short supply - and scammers know it.” cnn, april 1, 2020. https://www. cnn.com/2020/04/01/business/n95-masks-counterfeitssupply-chain/index.html. kuppuraj, gopi. 2018. “technologies curbing counterfeit threats in the healthcare industry.” prescouter. https:// www.prescouter.com/2018/06/technologies-curbingcounterfeit-threats-in-healthcare/. lee-makiyama, hosuk, and lisa brandt. report. european centre for international political economy, 2016. accessed april 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep23963. oecd/euipo (2019), trends in trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, illicit trade, oecd publishing, paris/european union intellectual property o(ce. https://doi. org/10.1787/g2g9f533-en. oecd/euipo (2020), trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products, illicit trade, oecd publishing, paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a7c7e054-en. sanofi. 2021. “fighting against falsified medicine.” sanofi. https://www.sanofi.com/en/our r e s p o n s i b i l i t y / healthcare-for-all/fighting-against-falsified-medicine. world health organization. 2019. “frequently asked questions with answers.” impact. access to healthcare and treatment https://www.who.int/medicines/services/ counterfeit/impact-faqwa.pdf. of 1,000 n95 masks from a trusted longtime vendor that turned out to be fake at the epicenter of the outbreak in the state (kavilanz, 2020). this incident, among other evidence, indicates that the dangers of the counterfeit healthcare trade will continue to worsen in the face of new global health challenges and an ever-changing technological world, requiring the consistent e8orts of countries worldwide in countering its e8ects in the best interests of both local and international communities. -$ $*! 3(#7!&'#$2 .!7!., '$3"!($'’ '!('! %+ /!.%(1#(1 *-' /!!( &!)%1(#4!" -' 8%''#/.! .!7!& $% +%'$!& '3))!'', !(1-1!,!($, -(" :!..-/!#(1. 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',6!,%! 5+&! 6! exploring how mentors influence sense of belonging for undergraduate students of color ,-#2:*-.!( 30 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 1. introduction “sense of belonging” is an idea that has existed in multiple fields, including sociology, education, and other social sciences. in general terms, a sense of belonging means a “feeling of relatedness or connection to others,” (booker, 2016). more specifically, a sense of belonging at the university level entails an intrinsic motivation to persist in their degree as well as social acceptance within the student community (booker 208 2016). students’ sense of belonging has also been recognized as a possible lever to foster success, engagement, and well-being at university (national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine [nas], 2017). research has revealed that students at four-year schools, students in the racial-ethnic minority, and first-generation students report lower senses of belonging than their peers (gopalan & brady, 2019). moreover, students of color struggle with feelings of isolation, separation, as well as weariness from the lack of race representation and microaggressions (booker, 2016). these feelings of isolation, separation, as well as weariness from race related issues can have a serious impact on whether or not students feel as though they belong at their university. research has also shown that “college students’ sense of belonging, especially early in their college careers, may be important for their academic motivation and success in that setting,” (freeman, 2007). it is clear that the sense of belonging of students of color is a8ected by race-related issues, as well as academic motivation and social acceptance. where these issues interfere with academic motivation and social acceptance is where students of color must be significantly supported. although researchers have explored the sense of belonging and experiences of students of color at predominantly white institutions, as well as the dynamics of mentoring relationships between students and sta8 of color, it is unclear whether having a mentor of color as a student of color influences their sense of belonging. thus, the goal of this study is to explore the potential contribution of having mentors of color has on the sense of belonging of undergraduate students of color. 2. literature review there are multiple definitions of sense of belonging for students. according to goodenow (1993), sense of belonging is the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in their school’s social environment. finn and zimmer (2012) posited a model of school engagement that included three components: identification with the school to a small extent, a sense of belonging to the school, and a belief that they are welcomed, respected, and valued by their peers and other members of the school. researchers have also found associations between students’ sense of belonging and a number of adaptive motivational beliefs, between academic engagement and success, and between emotional well-being and avoidance of risk taking behaviors (freeman, 2007). for the purposes of this study, we will use a definition of sense of belonging that focuses on the academic engagement of students as well as social acceptance. sense of belonging has been thoroughly researched at multiple levels of education, including kindergarten through 12th grade (goodenow, 1993), as well as at the postsecondary education level (gopalan & brady, 2019). at four-year universities, feelings of belonging projected better persistence, engagement, and mental health (gopalan & brady, 2019). for students of color, if they do not feel like a part of the greater learning community, they may feel excluded, which negatively a8ects their performance in the course and subsequently influences degree persistence (booker, 2016). a number of researchers have also found that a sense of belonging has a powerful impact on academic performance and motivation of students. furrer and skinner (2003), as well as stipek (2002), demonstrated that students’ sense of relatedness to key figures, which is a notion related to a sense of belonging, is connected to their emotional and behavioral engagement in school. support from teachers and peers is also essential to fostering students’ academic motivation in elementary, middle, and high school levels of education (covington & dray, 2002). at the collegiate level, findings have suggested that sense of belonging is also associated with academic motivation, as it is with younger students. in particular, instructors who encouraged student participation and interaction contributed remarkably to college students’ sense of belonging (freeman, 2007). 3. methods participants this study utilized a survey as well as an interview to collect data. the survey was the best method to collect quantitative data on the views of participants, while the interview was ideal to elaborate on the data collected by the survey. the survey was completed by eighteen undergraduate students at a private, predominantly white 31 !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ institution on the east coast who identified themselves as students of color among a range of di8erent ethnicities. of the participants in the survey,there were twelve freshmen, four juniors, one sophomore, and one senior. participation was voluntary and anonymous. this study also interviewed a student of color who was a senior at the university. data collection the survey used branching capabilities to allow for di8erent questions based on whether or not a student had a mentor of color. nine students indicated that they had a mentor of color on campus, and the remaining nine students did not have a mentor of color on campus. the survey also utilized a variety of question types, such as questions involving a likert scale, yes or no questions, as well as open ended questions with a text box to gain a broad array of information. the use of questions that provided some qualitative data allowed there to be flexibility in the answers that were gleaned. the quantitative data collected by surveys showed areas where more intimate research was necessary. these areas were able to be more fully explored in the interview segment of the study, as the questions asked in the interview portion of the study were formulated based on the results of the survey and which areas needed to be further explored. 4. findings survey the survey contained a variety of questions that asked primarily about meaningful relationships with professors of color vs. white professors, levels of engagement with professors, how having or not having a mentor of color has impacted students’ academic lives, and how microaggressions and racially motivated incidents have influenced their academic persistence. there was variation in which professors students of color developed meaningful relationships with; professors of color maintained the most number of students however, students reported similar levels of engagement with both white professors and professors of color, with the exception being no report of level 10 engagement in classes taught by white professors, while there was a significant amount of level 10 engagement reported in classes taught by professors of color. for students that did have a mentor of color, having a mentor of color had a largely positive impact on their perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. in numerous situations, mentors were able to show their mentees that people of color could have certain jobs that they believe they could not have or were recommended to job and opportunities outside they may have otherwise not have pursued. an open-ended question concerning unique ways that mentors supported their academic careers was included to gain insight into how mentors supported their students both emotionally and academically. a shocking conclusion gathered by these questions included that all of the students who had a mentor of color have seen or experienced micro-aggressions or harassment based on race, while 66.7 percent of students without a mentor of color have. based on following questions in the survey, even though there is some variation in the answers, it seems as though racially motivated incidents do not impact the decisions of students to persist at the university level and continue their schooling. some students reported the incidents do impact other aspects of their life, such as social life or overall college experience. this survey generally revealed that students generally agreed that having meaningful relationships with a professor or mentor of color positively helped or could help navigate di(cult situations. interview the interview was conducted with one senior at the university that identified as a student of color. the survey revealed the importance of having mentors of color for students of color became clearer; both in professional and emotional ways that mentors support students. the social implications of being a person of color and the positive role that mentors play in social life became apparent. of note, not all mentors discussed were professors or part of administration; they were fellow students as well. the survey brought up the question of what professors of color may be bringing to their classes that warranted such high feelings of engagement, and the interview revealed that certain professors of color may take a certain level of care for sensitive topics. the interviewee noted that regarding the murder of emmett till, one of her black professors, “focused on the response of the people rather than focusing on the specific act even though she did talk about it because it’s important to address them and raise awareness for them.” this may have been a response to the situation that other professors may not have had. the survey revealed that for students with a mentor of color, having a mentor of color had a largely positive impact on their perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. their answers as to how mentors supported 32 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 them included both academic and emotional support, which pointed to interpersonal support being an important part of mentorship. this finding was further supported by the interview. the interviewee discussed not only how multiple mentors helped her find a job, but how they also gave her time, listened to her problems, and gave good advice. the interviewee believed that “wisdom is key to a mentor,” and that one of her mentors is “someone i can vent to and cry.” regarding jobs, the interviewee noted that seeing people of color in positions of power or in the career she aspired to be in was “very powerful” for her, which supports the survey finding that having a mentor of color has a largely positive impact on students’ perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. the survey also revealed that racist incidents impact other aspects of their life such as social life and overall college experience, and this became more apparent during the interview. the interviewee described a situation where her friends decided to give all the illegal alcohol they had to their friend who was “white-passing,” to avoid getting in trouble. overall, the interviewee agreed that having mentors of color was extremely beneficial for her both personally and professionally. 5. discussion this study has supported and expanded upon the existing literature concerning students’ subjective sense of belonging as well as the interpersonal and academic support that mentors provide. more specifically, this study has extended the literature concerning the unique experiences students of color have in academia and how mentors are able to support them, as demonstrated by the various relationships formed between professors and students of color. six students reported professors of color,, while three students reported white professors, four students reported both white professors and professors of color, and five students reported developing meaningful relationships with neither. the interviewee pointed to the fact that sometimes students of color can run into obstacles with white professors because of issues concerning possible white savior complexes, while professors of color tend to “keep it more real.” these findings relate to previous research that revealed that the decision of a group of african american students to persist at college was based on faculty being accessible, approachable, and providing authentic instruction (booker 2016). issues with “white savior complexes,” may feel inauthentic to students of color, which may influence their decision to reach out to these professors as mentors or persist with the class or their degree. survey participants reported similar levels of engagement with both white professors and professors of color, with the exception being no report of level 10 engagement in classes taught by white professors, while there was a significant amount of level 10 engagement reported in classes taught by professors of color. the interviewee mentioned that a class that she took with a professor of color made her feel “very empowered as a person of color,” and that it is “good having the person in the room with all the power being a black woman,” which could point to shared or personal experiences being a large part of engagement. for students of color with mentors, having a mentor of color had a largely positive impact on their perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. an open-ended question concerning unique ways that mentors supported their academic careers was included to gain insight into the multitude of ways mentors support students; the answers to this question included both emotional as well as academic support which points to interpersonal support being an important part of mentorship. this finding relates to previous research which found that mentors maintaining honesty and making themselves available to students were integral parts of a positive mentoring relationship (luedke, 2017). this finding was further supported by the interview. the interviewee discussed not only how multiple mentors helped her find a job, but how they also gave her time, listened to her problems, and gave good advice. the interviewee believed that “wisdom is key to a mentor,” and that one of her mentors is “someone i “...sometimes students of color can run into obstacles with white professors because of issues concerning possible white savior complexes, while professors of color tend to ‘keep it more real’...” 33 !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ can vent to and cry.” survey participants also revealed that their mentors supported their academic careers through writing letters of recommendation and sponsoring independent study. regarding jobs, the interviewee also noted that seeing people of color in positions of power or in the career she aspired to be in was “very powerful” for her which supports the survey finding that having a mentor of color has a largely positive impact on students’ perception of what jobs are possible for themselves. the role of mentors finding students jobs relates to ideas of social capital discussed in previous research that found that students of color sought out sta8 of color who were able to develop meaningful relationships with the students by nurturing the multiple forms of capital the students brought with them (luedke 2017). 100 percent of the survey participants who had a mentor of color have seen or experienced micro-aggressions or harassment based on race, while only 66.7 percent of students without a mentor of color have. although it is a relatively small di8erence, a possible explanation for this could be that those who have seen or experienced microaggressions or harassment based on race are more likely to seek out support by forming a relationship with a mentor. previous research discovered that students of color struggled with feelings of isolation, separation, and weariness from race representation and microaggressions (booker 2016). these feelings from racially-motivated incidents may be a strong reason for students of color to seek out mentors. an anecdote from the interviewee supported the weariness that students of color feel from race representation; she described a situation where the name tags of the multicultural community were torn o8 their doors by a group of male students. the interviewee felt “embarrassed,” and did not understand how it only happened to the floor housing students of color instead of hallways housing white students. this relates to previous findings that students of color have an “awareness” of the division between the separate worlds of the white majority and the world of the students of color (morrison 2010). some survey participants reported the incidents impact their social life and overall college experience and the survey also revealed that students generally agreed that having meaningful relationships with a professor or mentor of color positively helped or could help navigate di(cult situations. this became more apparent during the interview when the interviewee described a situation where her friends decided to give all the illegal alcohol they were carrying to their friend who was “white-passing,” to avoid getting in trouble. this relates to previous literature that revealed how students of color being stereotyped contributed to the division of the white majority and students of color (morrison 2010). this may point to di8erent social “rules” that students of color have to follow because they feel as though they will get into trouble more often than their white peers. the interviewee also noted that when a friend of hers got into trouble with the university, she knew she could call her mentors and say “we really need a person of color to help us here,” because they understand administration and what it is like to be a person of color. overall, both the survey participants as well as the interviewee agreed that it was valuable to have mentors of color as a student of color, and it is clear that mentors provide significant support to students of color both emotionally and professionally. 6. conclusion limitations while the use of a survey and an interview was deemed most suitable, these research methods were not without limitations. the sample of survey participants was small, so the generalizability of the findings is uncertain. the interview was only conducted with one participant, so her experiences may not be consistent with the experiences of other students of color. in addition, what participants say in interviews may be di8erent than their actions in particular settings such as classrooms or social settings. future research future research in race and sense of belonging among college students would benefit from exploring the impact of student mentors versus administrative mentors or the di8ering social rules that students of color have to follow. “100 percent of students who had a mentor of color have seen or experienced micro-aggressions or harassment based on race...” 34 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 research into developing mentorship programs for students of color would be beneficial as well. researchers would also benefit from using multiple research methods, including observational approaches, and using larger groups of participants. conclusion despite the limitations of the study, the findings illustrate the importance of further research into students of color’s sense of belonging and how having a mentor of color may influence that. understanding the positive benefits of having a mentor has the potential to remedy lower senses of belonging that minority students experience (gopalan & brady, 2019). it is clear that both emotional and academic support are influential in positive mentorship, so e8orts to improve or create support systems for students of color should be encouraged. in summary, the results of this study suggest that college students of color benefit from having mentors of color. this study identified how mentors support the academic and professional components of a sense of belonging through job placements and writing recommendation letters. mentors of color also provided emotional and interpersonal support to students who don’t feel included in the predominantly white student body.the findings of this study ultimately indicate that a combination of both academic and interpersonal support from mentors of color are uniquely influential for students of color and their sense of belonging at the university level. 35 !"#$"%$ &'($ #$ /!7!/!%.!' booker, k. (2016). connection and commitment: how sense of belonging and classroom community influence degree persistence for african american undergraduate women. international journal of teaching and learning in higher education, 28(2), 218-229. covington, m., & dray, e. (2002). the developmental course of achievement motivation: a need-based approach. development of achievement motivation, 33-56. finn, j., & zimmer, k. (2012). student engagement: what is it? why does it matter? handbook of research on student engagement, 97-131. freeman, t., anderman, l., & jensen, j. (2007). sense of belonging in college freshman at the classroom and campus levels. the journal of experimental education, 75(3), 203-220. furrer, c., & skinner, e. (2003). sense of relatedness as a factor in children’s academic engagement and performance. journal of educational psychology, 95(1), 148-162. goodenow, c. (n.d.). the psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: scale development and educational correlates. psychology in the schools, 30(1), 79-90. gopalan, m., & brady, s. (2019). college students’ sense of belonging: a national perspective. educational researcher, 49(2), 134-137. luedke, c. (2017). person first, student second: sta8 and administrators of color supporting students of color authentically in higher education. journal of college student development, 58(1), 37-52. national academies of sciences, engineering, and medicine. (2017). supporting students’ college success: the role of assessment of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. national academies press. stipek, d. (2002). good instruction is motivating. development of achievement motivation, 309-332. zanolini morrison, g. (2010). two separate worlds: students of color at a predominantly white university. journal of black studies, 40(5), 987-1015. $*#' 8-8!& '!!5' $% -(-.24! $*! #()%(1&3%3' (-$3&! %+ 1!%++&!2 )*-3)!& -' $*! &%,-()! 8%!$ -(" -' $*! )%3&$#!&. #( $*#' 8-8!&, # :#.. !98.%&! )*-3)!& -' +!,#(#'$ /2 .%%5#(1 -$ $*! $:% '#"!' %+ *#' 8!&'%(-1!—8!&'%(-. -(" 8&%+!''#%(-.. $*#' 8-8!& :#.. "!.7! #($% $*! *#'$%&2 %+ !"#$%& -(" #$' )3.$3&-. '#1(#+#)-()! -$ $*! $#,!—.%%5#(1 #( 8-&$#)3.-& -$ $*! )-'! %+ !"#$%& /&%31*$ -1-#('$ )*-3)!& #(7%.7#(1 )!)#.2 )*-3,8-#1(! -(" #$' '3/'!;3!($ "#',#''-.. ,%&-.!' 8.-(' %( *#1*.#1*$#(1 $*! 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'!!( #( '%,! %+ *#' .-$!& :%&5'. /$2"*' !" /,6$*%.! discussing the incongruities of chaucer and feminism $-2.%& ,%&-.!' 38 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 “as new thoughts and cultural norms came and went over this expanse of time, something as outlandish as early feminist theory would be safe to try out...” the fourteenth century was quite a tumultuous time to be alive in england; the hundred years war, black death, and peasants revolt are just a few examples of the events that occupied this short spread of history. despite all of this, individuals like geo8rey chaucer still managed to produce impactful poetry and literature that are still studied to this day by scholars around the world. one does not think to associate a time of such cultural upheaval as the fourteenth century in england with progressive thoughts like feminism. however, this is not the case as chaucer took advantage of his position as a well-received romance poet and helped catalyze what i would argue to be the beginning of feminist representation in romance poetry at that time. while it is largely understood that chaucer, the courtier, perpetuated systems that were inherently anti-feminist and even went so far as to have charges of raptus brought against him by individuals of high esteem, it is necessary to look at his contributions to feminism as a poet separate from his personage as a courtier. feminism—defined as the understanding of women to be autonomous and conscious-minded individuals who exist in a capacity outside of just physicality—was something that was nonexistent within the genre of romance at the time of chaucer’s career. his shift from the seemingly toxic patriarchal representations in his poems the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale to the progressive and empathetic depictions of women in the legend of good women can only be seen as feministic. as the succession of king edward iii by ten-year-old richard ii occurred, the ideal time to challenge the status quo had presented itself; a young king coming into power and a shift in the social order of the courts meant more leniency for literary publications. the unrelieved succession of events beginning with the hundred years war, black death plague, the statute of laborers, the western schism, and then peasants revolt meant there was no respite for english society to stop and think about things as nominal as written work. as new thoughts and cultural norms came and went over this expanse of time, something as outlandish as early feminist theory would be safe to try out—especially in a medium like romance poetry composed in the vernacular language of middle english. if early feminism was rejected, it could be chalked up to any number of the societal changes occurring at the time; however, if it stuck, the implications for the succeeding generations of romance poets and women in the realm of literature were great. in her article titled “the language of ravishment in medieval england,” caroline dunn asserts that “understanding raptus is the essential starting point for anyone exploring the o8enses of rape or abduction in medieval england” (dunn 87). as it was a highly contentious issue with an ambiguous etymology, raptus in the fourteenth century is something that has proven to be di(cult for historians to ascertain. as the raptus statutes in england at the time were encompassing to the three di8erent facets of the term—sexual assault, abduction, and theft—when dealing with cases brought to the legal system, it is hard to retroactively pinpoint the exact o8ense that one geo8rey chaucer was found guilty of in his case of raptus against cecilia chaumpaigne in 1380. while she o(cially dismissed all charges of raptus brought against him, it is important to question the actions of chaucer and the nature of his crime—especially when considering him through the lens of feminism. the verbiage found within chaumpaigne’s release of chaucer has been analyzed by many, particularly focusing on the term de raptu meo in the document as it “raises the troubling possibility that chaucer was a rapist” (cannon 75). furthermore, the phrase de raptu meo “cannot be found in any other document in [the close rolls] during any of these eight years” (cannon 77). cannon goes on to say that “there are in fact only two other records in the close rolls in this period that use some form of the verb rapere, from which the noun raptus is derived, and only one other record in these rolls that actually uses the noun raptus itself. the bulk of the releases during these eight years are so vague that in fact that their contents are described in the calendar of the close rolls as general” (cannon 77). the incongruity of this particular legal terminology as compared to the rest 39 !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' of those of similar nature should not be overlooked. dunn concludes her scholarship by citing, “chaucer’s contemporary john gower o8ers a view of rape that displays these necessary nuances, for he demonstrates that patriarchy was alive and well in later medieval england but that men’s preference for controlling women, along with their frequent ability to do so, did not make rape morally acceptable” (dunn 115). because there is no way of truly understanding the implications of chaucer’s engagement with raptus as a result of the intrinsic nuances present in the term itself, we should take gower’s lead in acknowledging that because of the nature of the patriarchy in the contemporary society they lived in, there was an a(nity for such ravishments that were more normalized than that of what our society accepts today. this understanding does not then free chaucer from any retroactive judgements but rather allows for future readers and historians to engage with his work in such a way that is mindful of the possibilities of his case of raptus while still considering the environment and society that might not be congruous with that of which we exist in. dunn works to bring some clarity to the di8erent delineations of raptus in the documented cases in the form of a table that classifies the 1,213 cases of ravishment as “abduction, rape, ambiguous, both” in addition to the breakdown by century from the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. her ability to do this lies in her close reading of the additional terms included in the legal documentation of the cases like “vi concubuit contra voluntatem,” meaning a man laid “with a woman violently against her will” (dunn 90). the terminology pertaining to abductions could be traced back to the legal verbiage of “cepit,” meaning “s/he took” (dunn 90). by looking to these external indicators within the documents and taking into account the possibility that “it is possible that some of the sexual relations prosecuted were consensual, and certainly some of the abductions were” (dunn 90), dunn is able to get a more holistic understanding of the nature of the majority or plurality of the raptus cases at the time. as she was able to deduce through her table in her writing, cases of raptus specifically and singularly pertaining to rape were in the gross minority in the fourteenth century— as represented as just 6% of the cases of raptus in that century. the majority of the cases—as represented as roughly 52% of the cases of raptus in the fourteenth century—were understood by dunn to be specifically and singularly pertaining to abduction. however, the statistic we have yet to account for, the ‘ambiguous’ category in her table, is of great importance to us when considering these figures in the present context. roughly 41% of the cases of raptus brought up in the fourteenth-century were ambiguous in nature—including that of geo8rey chaucer and cecilia chaumpaigne. while it would be easy to give chaucer the benefit of the doubt and assume that his case of raptus—as it was released by the victim herself and perceivably by her free will—would have fallen in with the majority of cases as involving abduction, this would be negligent when dealing with a character-based claim pertaining to feminism. it is di(cult to discern the motives behind a well-esteemed courtier like chaucer when regarding his case of raptus since cecilia chaumpaigne was likely the daughter of a baker and would have provided absolutely no mobility to chaucer within court circles. depending on the type of raptus case—either rapuit et abduxit (seized and abducted) or cepit et imprisonauit (took and imprisoned)—that was brought against chaucer, one can begin to question and narrow in on the motives that drove him to his crime. what is particularly interesting to note when connecting chaucer as the potential rapist with chaucer, the romance poet, is the timing of all of this. the legend of good women was understood to have occurred at some point during the composition of canterbury tales from 1387 until 1400. it is understood that chaucer undertook this project at the request of queen alceste as a sort of “assigned topic” (benson 587). separate from all of this, in 1380, chaumpaigne was drafting and submitting her statements of pardon towards chaucer. as the legend of good women is known to be unfinished, i propose a hypothetical timeline of events that would lend to an explanation of not only the “critical paradox” (benson 587) that was the legend of good women, but also of the external factors that would have lent to the shift in the character of chaucer. beginning with his raptus charge against chaumpaigne in 1380 and its subsequent dismissal that same year, we must look at the potential ramifications of such an accusation on an individual like chaucer at the time. the permissibility of his o8ense within the court circles is unknown to us, but the status of chaucer within these court circles as a low-ranking courtier is known. word of a charge of raptus against an individual with no perceivable social status and resulting in absolutely no mobility on chaucer’s end could have easily gotten around these circles and, even as far as the queen. in an attempt of imparting penance on the poet, it is understandable that queen alceste might have charged him with writing the legend of good women as a way of highlighting the value in powerful female figures 40 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 and promoting the cause of early feminism. as he engaged in the composition of the canterbury tales from around 1387 until his death, it is very much understandable that chaucer might have tabled the queen’s request until closer to the end of his project. i reason this because of the existence of traditionally patriarchal poems like the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale that are found in “fragment i” of the canterbury tales. as he reached the end of his writings in the canterbury tales, i believe he began an engagement with the previously ignored the legend of good women until his death in 1400. this hypothetical timeline of events would explain why the legend of good women is unfinished and why it appears to be out of place with the rest of the writings found in the canterbury tales—particularly in “fragment i.” taking a closer look at “fragment i” in the canterbury tales, in chapter two of her book indecent exposure: gender, politics, and obscene comedy in middle english literature, nicole sidhu recognizes it as chaucer’s attempt at exploring obscene comedy to “indicate that what is at stake in fragment one goes beyond gender to other power relations in medieval society” (sidhu 80). she then goes on to compare the tactics employed in this section to those used by middle english alliterative poet willian langland in his work piers plowman. sidhu suggests that while both poets seek to subtly “critique the power holders of [their] society,” (sidhu 78) chaucer looks to challenge the “ideologies that govern and justify their authority in the first place” (sidhu 78). while it is true that both poets might have weaponized their words in such a way as to subvert the untouchables within their society, chaucer’s proximity to these authorities makes his work even more important. it is only through the inclusion of such obscene “fabliau[s]” (sidhu 76) in the canterbury tales that the reader is able to recognize the power and e8ectiveness in chaucer’s poetry when it came to challenging the status quo. by introducing subversive narratives, like those found in “fragment i,” disguised in a chauvinistic way that would appear to appeal to the established attitudes that were maintained at the time—particularly in those circles—chaucer gains an access point. it is through establishing pathos with these aristocrats and other courtiers that he is able to introduce feminist sentiments like those found in the wife of bath’s tale and, separate from the canterbury tales entirely, in the legend of good women. while each one of these fabliaux— the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale—lend to the generally understood misogynistic tone of “fragment i,” each seeks to challenge the anti-female social norms in a di8erent way. starting with the knight’s tale, the main character is portrayed as a highly chivalrous man whose moral code seems to highlight a dangerous dichotomy between protecting innocent women and ravaging them—as represented in the line “kan hem therfore as muche thank as me,” (knight’s tale, ll.1808) which is understood to mean the women owing a debt of gratitude for bedding her. this line highlights the hypocritical code of chivalry that exists in the knight character. while the criticism of the anti-feminist code of chivalry through the lens of the knight is limited to the militaristic and feudal class of knights, the miller’s tale is a lot more inclusive to the lowborn peasants—as represented in the line “the miller is a cherl,” (miller’s tale, ll.3182) which is understood to mean the miller is a low-born fellow. since the aristocrats and courtiers would have perceived a tale whose main character is a low-born man engaging in obscene comedic endeavors as being lighthearted and nonthreatening to them, chaucer is able to “use the erotic to obscure the political” (sidhu 85) agenda behind the poem. since there is a large gap that separates the low-born peasants from anyone existing in the courts, it is easy to use the miller as a vehicle for more direct political critique “that patriarchal authorities deserve their power” (sidhu 86). while it is “while each of these favliaux—the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale—lend to the generally undestood misogynistic tone of “fragment i,” each seek to challenge the anti-female social norms in a di!erent way.” 41 !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' written that even the lowliest of the peasantry, the miller, recognizes the moral superiority that exists inherently in men as opposed to the “fabliau women [who] are almost always figured as immoral beings, wholly focused on the needs of the body, [and] who will do anything to satisfy their lust.” (sidhu 86) finally, we look at how the reeve’s tale challenges the social norms of antifeminism through the understanding that “all three men [in these tales] are motivated by an anxiety over their social status and a desire to move up the social hierarchy,” (sidhu 90) and see women as sexual temptresses who seek to lead them astray from this goal. these stereotypes that chaucer perpetuates in “fragment i” in conjunction with the retrospective understanding of the potentially politically-subversive motives that chaucer maintained while writing these over-the-top fabliaux should only be considered to be deeply ironic and should not be taken at face value. knowing the nature of the critiques, one would be remiss in reading these tales as anything but the opposite of what they are written to mean. recognizing these tales as such, the shift in tonality in the legend of good women is not as jarring. unlike the garish tactics used to engage the audience of the canterbury tales’ “fragment i,” the legend of good women’s “lukewarm critical reception has often been linked to the heavyhanded hints of boredom with which the narrator treats his material” (allen-gross 17). one might argue that due to the intrinsically feminist nature of the piece—depicting vignettes of well-to-do historic women as existing independently of their male counterparts. in the g-text of the legend of good women, this is represented as a bold statement translated from legend: “in making of a glorious legend of good women, maidens and wives, that were true in loving all their lives; and tells of false men that betrayed them, that all their (women) lives they did nothing to deserve this test, how many women can claim shame?” in order to o8set the possible rejection of the work in its entirety, as a result of content, i argue that chaucer’s seemingly lackluster portrayal of the legend of good women is entirely intentional and meant to draw the criticisms away from the content and towards the quality of the writing. in her book feminizing chaucer, jill mann argues that the legend of good women exists as “a provisional response to antifeminism, contradicting but not obliterating it…created as antifeminism’s mirrorimage” (mann 39). in another e8ort of painting chaucer to be a participant of protofeminist thought in fourteenth century england, i would like to look at chaucer’s appeals to a female audience. in her work “chaucer’s feminine pretexts: gendered genres in three frame moments,” madeleine saraceni states that “chaucer often sought to a(liate himself with genres of literature that bore strong associations with women readers in the medieval cultural imagination and that may have served to identify him with literature that was deemed feminine, that is, literature perceived as written for and consumed primarily by women” (saraceni 407). this sentiment is carried on in alison wiggins’ “frances wolfreston’s chaucer” where she claims “early modern women are often thought of as having been excluded from literary culture, which is seen as a masculine, homosocial realm” (wiggins 88). the niche area that was often perceived to be inhabited by women within the literary realm was religious devotional texts. these translations of religious manuscripts for the consumption of laywomen were growing more and more commonplace by the fourteenth century. saraceni chalks this phenomenon up to “a confluence of factors— including an increase in lay literacy, a climate of devotional fervor, and ecclesiastical reforms that encouraged the production of works designed to aid in the preaching to and instruction of the laity” (saraceni 416). in the prologue image 1: portrait of chaucer as a canterbury pilgrim, ellesmere manuscript of the canterbury tales. 42 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 of chaucer’s the legend of good women, a text known as “de maria” is referenced as chaucer’s perceived “vernacular devotional text” (saraceni 415). though this is a lost text and there is no way to confirm or dispute this belief and we cannot know for sure if chaucer dipped into the non-secular side of poetry, this could have been a way to appeal to the female-dominated audience that inhabited that space. another text that i feel deserves to be mentioned—albeit quickly—when discussing the feminist shift in tonality in chaucer’s poetry is the wife of bath’s prologue & tale. the nature of the wife and her portrayal in the wife of bath’s prologue is somewhat brutish and masculine. her ability to force the submission of her husbands and then the length at which she rants about their shortcomings, as well as the nature of her free speech, approach the idea of feminist representation in a new way. chaucer attempts to give the wife her autonomy through his stripping of her traditionally-feminine characteristics and replacement of them with masculine ones. jill mann introduces this idea in her chapter “antifeminism” in feminizing chaucer when she says, “antifeminism is appropriated by a woman’s voice in order to articulate feminist truths’, nevertheless, the wife ‘remains confined within the prison house of masculine language’” (mann 65). it is only through the voice of masculinity that feminism can exist and be heard as “chaucer could not invent a new ‘female language’ and sensibly did not try to do so” (mann 65). so while it may appear that chaucer’s employment of masculinity in the context of the characterization of the wife in the wife of bath’s prologue & tale, it is only as a result of the cutting-edge nature of his thought. since he was at the forefront of what feminist representation in literature would look like, there were no appropriate systems set in place for him to utilize and, as mann points out, it was sensible for him to use masculinity as a familiar vehicle for pushing unfamiliar characterizations across to his audience. in keeping with this notion, i stake the claim that chaucer’s progression as a poet and person towards the end of his life can be seen as a result of his awareness of and attempts towards inclusivity for women in his readership. this is evident in his contemporary john gower’s confessio amantis: “book 8 (lechery)” when venus, the goddess of love, says, “great chaucer when you meet him, as he is my disciple and poet: for in the flowers of his youth in various ways, as well as he could, made ditties and songs glad for my sake.” there are two things that must be recognized in this reading: the gender of love and the recognition of chaucer as an important romance poet in other works of equal prestige. firstly, the gendering of venus, goddess of love, as a woman is important to note as it is therefore implied that femininity is at the center of romance. to shift the power of romance away from the male that typically inhabits chivalric romance tales and towards an inherently feminine character of divine status is significant because it falls in line with the more progressive representation of femininity and feminism in romance poetry at that time. secondly, the acclaim of chaucer at the hands of the feminine figure of venus and her subsequent praise of his work on her behalf and the behalf of romance signifies approval of chaucer as a romance poet— particularly through the lens of women. by adding the line, “as he wel couthe,” venus acknowledges that chaucer’s romance repertoire is not infallible and his pro-feminist writings were done to the best of his abilities. so, is there really such an incongruity between chaucer the courtier and chaucer the poet? i would argue that the impact that chaucer had on fourteenth feminist theory and the movement away from the static, archetypical woman that inhabited medieval romance poetry was entirely a result of his proximity to the influential members of society and his ability to stay within those circles. touching on sidhu’s comparison of william langland to geo8rey chaucer when looking at their ability to use obscene comedy as a vehicle for political challenging, i would like to add that the reason chaucer was more successful in his critique of the societal status quo— referring to the perceptions of women specifically— because of his physical proximity to london. while chaucer resided in london, langland spent most of his “to shift the power of romance away from the male that typically inhabits chivalric romance tales and towards an inherently feminine character of divine status...” 43 !"#$%& '$ !()"%*+' life in the west midlands—some distance from london. in his thesis, “the transport system of medieval england and wales a geographical synthesis,” james edwards presents maps of the basic medieval road networks and the known topographical maps of the time. based on the information presented in these maps, it is inferred that while william langland was thought to have been socialized in the london circles early in his life, his later years of authorship were not represented in the city. the region he lived in, the west midlands, were not easily accessible by the known road network and inferred routes of the time. as a result, the political happenings and the shifts in social norms and practices were not as prominent in langland’s writings, which meant his influence on any of those things was minimal at most. however, chaucer’s physical proximity to london and the courts meant that he was more directly influenced and, as a result, could reference the happenings through his work. now recognizing the significance of the proximity these poets had to the inner workings of those who monopolized the social power, we are able to impart some grace onto the seemingly counterproductive and anti-feminist works chaucer published. i would argue that these poems are not actually anti-feminist at all when considered in the context of their composition and when viewed not myopically, but rather intuitively. the poems of geo8rey chaucer are double-edged and powerful when read as political pieces. in her writing “chaucer, gower, and the vernacular rising,” lynn arner speaks to this saying, “chaucer’s and gower’s writings o8er some convergent and some disparate stances regarding this new vernacular poetry in relation to what would now be considered identity politics” (arner 154). identity politics in this situation are appropriately attributed to the role of gender identity being called into question in chaucer’s works. she then goes on to say that “chaucerian poetry instructed readers how to recognize and understand identity-based claims and encouraged them to discount such concerns as inartful, ignorant, and ultimately dismissible” (arner 155) at the beginning of english literature. this quote examines the relationship between the original intention of chaucerian poetry and the presently contested state it is known to be. arner is pointing out that chaucer armed his audience with the critical thinking skills necessary for the correct interpretation of the political messaging behind his poetry by giving them a cipher of sorts. the last bit of her quote— regarding the discounting of concerns as inartful, ignorant, and ultimately dismissible—can be applied to the necessary attitudes that the scholars are choosing to engage with seemingly problematic texts like those found in “fragment i” (the knight’s tale, the miller’s tale, and the reeve’s tale). rather than viewing these tales as antifeministic, chaucer would encourage the audience to simply dismiss the surface-level understanding of the identity politics at play and go deeper in their analysis of the underlying message that is being expressed underneath all of the bells and whistles that are meant to distract you. these two statements in conjunction with her critical understanding of the legend of good women as adopting an “anti-identity stance” (arner 154) allow for a clear comprehension of the poem’s political significance. in conclusion, geo8rey chaucer was a man of many hats. his contributions to the literary community at a time where there was such uncertainty and a loss of overall culture should not be overlooked or discounted as a result of the single unclear case of raptus brought against him. in a world where vapid cancel culture permeates our society, it is easy to pigeonhole an individual on the basis of a single transgression. while it might seem reasonable to assume the worst in chaucer as a result of the chaumpaigne raptus case, it is negligent on our part as scholars who operate with the innate privilege of retrospect. as a result of my challenging and exploring of raptusits etymological origins, cultural significance, and application to that of one geo8rey chaucer—i have been able to critically ascertain that chaucer’s writings were inherently pro-feminist and existed as vehicles for subtle political subservience. through this paper, i have come to the conclusion that the perceived incongruities between chaucer as the poet and chaucer as the person—and courtier—are nonexistent below the surface-level understanding of his character. 44 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 /!7!/!%.!' “antifeminism.” feminizing chaucer, by jill mann, ned new edition ed., boydell & brewer, woodbridge, su8olk; rochester, ny, 2002, pp. 39–69. jstor, www. jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt14brv3d.8. accessed 17 dec. 2020. attridge, derek. “lyric, romance, and alliterative verse in fourteenth-century england.” the experience of poetry: from homer’s listeners to shakespeare’s readers. : oxford university press, march 21, 2019. oxford scholarship online. date accessed 16 dec. 2020 <https://oxford. universi typressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/ oso/9780198833154.001.0001/oso-9780198833154-chapter-10>. cannon, christopher. “chaucer and rape: uncertainty’s certainties.” representing rape in medieval and early modern literature. ed. elizabeth robertson and christine m. rose. new york: palgrave, 2001. 255–79. cannon, christopher. “raptus in the chaumpaigne release and a newly discovered document concerning the life of geo8rey chaucer.” speculum, vol. 68, no. 1, 1993, pp. 74–94. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/2863835. accessed 17 dec. 2020. chaucer, geo8rey, and benson, larry dean. the riverside chaucer. 3rd ed.. boston, mass.: houghton mi:in co., 1987. print. “chaucer’s poetics of the obscene: classical narrative and fabliau politics in fragment one of the canterbury tales and the legend of good women.” indecent exposure: gender, politics, and obscene comedy in middle english literature, by nicole nolan sidhu, university of pennsylvania press, 2016, pp. 76–110. jstor, www.jstor. org/stable/j.ctt1b3t8kq.6. accessed 17 dec. 2020. “conclusion.” chaucer, gower, and the vernacular rising: poetry and the problem of the populace after 1381, by lynn arner, pennsylvania state university press, 2013, pp. 153–161. dunn, caroline. stolen women in medieval england: rape, abduction, and adultery, 1100–1500. cambridge university press, 2012. dunn, caroline. “the language of ravishment in medieval england.” speculum, vol. 86, no. 1, 2011, pp. 79–116. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/41105501. accessed 17 dec. 2020. edwards, james frederick. “ the transport system of medieval england and wales a geographical synthesis.” university of salford, 1987. gower, john, et al. confessio amantis. published for teams (the consortium for the teaching of the middle ages) in association with the university of rochester by medieval institute publications, western michigan university, 2000. “introduction: the origins of female desire.” female desire in chaucer’s legend of good women and middle english romance, by lucy m. allen-goss, boydell & brewer, 2020, pp. 1–34. “raptus, n.” oed online, oxford university press, december 2020, www.oed.com/view/entry/158242. accessed 16 december 2020. saraceni, madeleine l. “chaucer’s feminine pretexts: gendered genres in three frame moments.” the chaucer review, vol. 51, no. 4, 2016, pp. 403–435. jstor, www. jstor.org/stable/10.5325/chaucerrev.51.4.0403. accessed 17 dec. 2020. saul, nigel. “richard ii.” encyclopædia britannica, encyclopædia britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/biography/richard-ii-king-of-england. waymack, anna. de raptu meo, chaumpaigne.org/. weiskott, eric. middle english alliterative poetry, mediakron.bc.edu/alliterativepoetry/timeline-of-poems. wiggins, alison. “frances wolfreston’s chaucer.” women and writing, c.1340-c.1650: the domestication of print culture, edited by anne lawrence-mathers and phillipa hardman, ned new edition ed., boydell & brewer, woodbridge, su8olk; rochester, ny, 2010, pp. 77–89. jstor, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt9qdk7z.10. accessed 17 dec. 2020. $*#' 8-8!& -(-.24!' *%: $*! 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'$-$!' ,-2 /! ,%&! )3.$3&-. $*-( !98.#)#$.2 .!1-.. 5!9$5+;+%9 5,1! understanding the e!ect of legalizing gay -marriage on adoption rates in the united states 5-$*!&#(! 1-&&!$$ 46 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 46 introduction in the united states, around 100,000 domestic children are in foster care waiting to be adopted during any given year. as such, the united states desperately needs willing and able adoptive parents (“foster care in the u.s. number of children waiting for adoption”). however, the laws governing the adoption process in the united states present a myriad of barriers for individuals wanting to adopt children, particularly for unmarried couples. according to federal statutes, individuals, or couples may legally adopt children. however, a child can only be adopted by a singular legal entity. individual people and married couples are legally recognized as one entity, but domestic partnerships are not. if a person in a domestic partnership applies to adopt a child as an individual, the adoption agency’s home study of this individual’s home must confirm their single status. if the potential adoptive parent is discovered to be living with a long-time partner, their eligibility may be jeopardized (“do i have to be married to adopt a child?”). furthermore, many adoptions in the united states are brokered by private adoption agencies, with little regulation on what kind of requirements they can set for their adoptions. despite federal laws not explicitly requiring marriage, the agency american adoptions requires couples to have been married two years or more, and many other agencies require couples to have been married even longer (american adoptions, inc.). with this background information in mind, this brief examines adoption data from 2000 to 2017 in order to assess how the legalization of same-sex marriage—on a state and national level—increased adoption rates in the united states. the first section of this brief will describe the empirical strategy used to explore the correlation between same-sex marriage legalization and adoption rates, while the discussion section will analyze the findings and their significance. finally, the concluding section will suggest an explanation for these findings and highlight the weaknesses of this analysis. empirical strategy this paper utilizes adoption data from the kids count data center, sponsored by the annie e. casey foundation. this data set, which has 540 observations, reveals the number of children that were adopted in each state and nationally from 2000 to 2017. unfortunately, this data set only provides raw numbers on how many children were adopted each year––not the percentage of children of those awaiting adoption that were taken in by a new family. this nuance limits the results of the regression for reasons discussed later in the paper. the data also indicate what age group the adopted children fell into, starting with those under one year old. naturally, the pool of children that were adopted each year were all unique, but by national averages, the age breakdown is as shown in table 1. for this analysis, the raw numbers of adopted children were converted into a logarithmic dependent variable in order to analyze how gay marriage changed adoption rates in the form of a percent change. the regression model for this paper also utilized variables that were generated by hand to indicate same-sex marriage legalization based on the year that each state had legalized it. observations that were taken from a state before that state’s legalization of gay marriage were labeled with a “o”, and observations from after a state’s legalization were labeled with a “1”. another variable was also generated by hand to indicate national legalization, which labeled all observations from after 2015 with a “1” to show that gay marriage had been legalized nationally at the time of the adoptions in question. table 2 displays the year of legalization for each state. $-/.! 1: -7!&-1! 8!&)!($ %+ )*#."!( -"%8$!" #( $*! 3(#$!" '$-$!' !-)* 2!-& /2 -1! 1&%38 +&%, 2000 $% 2017. !"#$!%&%'# !()" 47 thus, for this analysis, the log of the adoption numbers was regressed upon a binary variable indicating state legalization of gay marriage, a binary variable indicating national legalization, and a binary variable indicating early legalization. the model also controlled for state and year. this regression was performed separately for every age group, as well as for the aggregate adoption data. this model is intended to control for any di8erences in adoption numbers that may arise from demographic di8erences between individual states, such as population. it is also intended to control for the passing of time to try to isolate the e8ect of the policy change. results performing a regression analysis on these data yields several interesting conclusions. the most interesting finding is that the national legalization of same-sex marriage increased aggregate adoption rates by about 9.1% (coe(cient = 0.0907). this finding is statistically significant at the 10% level. this coe(cient indicates that when gay marriage was legalized, even states that had already legalized gay marriage experienced a statistically significant increase in adoptions. interestingly, the coe(cient on “statelegal” was -0.0793, implying that a state’s legalization of gay marriage decreased aggregate adoption rates in that state by about 8%. this is also statistically significant at the 10% level, but it is certainly an unexpected correlation. it is hard to say why this decrease occurred or if it is even causal. one potential explanation for this counterintuitive result is that the “statelegal” variable may not be well specified, therefore violating the first assumption of time series regressions. however, given the high adjusted r-squared values discussed later in this paper–– which indicate that the model fits the data very well––it seems likely that there is some other cause. alternatively, there could be correlation between the independent variables and the errors, which would violate the fourth assumption of time series regressions. nevertheless, the coe(cients on the “nationwidelegal” and “statelegal” variables for each age group are displayed in table 3. the statistically significant negative coe(cients on “statelegal” versus the statistically significant positive coe(cients on “nationwidelegal” could be interpreted to indicate that states’ legalizations of gay marriage had less of a positive impact on adoption rates than the national legalization. one possible explanation for this disparity could be the social stigma against homosexual couples as parents. it is possible that if a person is against gay marriage, their state governor or $-/.! 2: 2!-& '-,!-'!9 ,-&&#-1! /!)-,! .!1-. #( !-)* '$-$! (-.8*-/!$#)-.) '%3&)!: 1!%&1!$%:( .-: .#/&-&2 $-/.! 3: )%!++#)#!($' %( “(-$#%(:#"!.!1-.” -(" “'$-$!.!1-.” +%& !7!&2 -1! 1&%38 48 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 48 state supreme court legalizing gay marriage would not be enough to make them reevaluate their homophobic views. however, the federal supreme court’s decision may have been more influential. it was heavily publicized, therefore placing the rights of same-sex couples in the political spotlight in an unprecedented way. giving the lgbt community the visibility that they had systematically been denied may have hindered their critics’ practice of sweeping them under the rug as sociological or biological anomalies. moreover, the positive, inclusive slogans like “love is love” could have helped to humanize the lgbt community to its critics. ultimately, by whatever avenue, the 2015 supreme court decision forced americans to recognize and respect samesex couples more than ever before, and it is possible that this shift in social attitudes towards gay couples may have led more adoption agencies to accept gay couples as adoptive parents. this would create the uptick in adoption rates after the national legalization that was not seen after state-level legalizations. graph 1 provides evidence to support this explanation, illustrating the average number of children adopted in the united states over time. since 2015, 2016, and 2017 all saw increasing levels of adoptions, this graph hints that the social normalization prompted by the legalization of gay marriage may have sparked an upward trend in adoption rates that may not yet be over. unfortunately, adoption data have a lag in availability, so numbers for recent years are unknown. however, assuming recent data follow the same pattern, one possible explanation for this upward trend is that the adoption-related e8ects of legalizing gay marriage may not have taken full e8ect yet. this inference is supported by the fact that the 2015 court decision did not instantly legalize adoption by gay couples in all states. some states recognized gay couples’ right to adopt in 2015, but some states didn’t recognize that right until they were mandated to by a 2017 supreme court ruling (“v.l. v. e.l.”). that was not the end of the story, however, as even today not all adoption agencies recognize homosexual married couples’ eligibility to adopt. as of january 2022, eleven states have legislation explicitly establishing a legal right for religiously a(liated adoption agencies to discriminate against homosexual couples (“foster and adoption laws,” 2022). these circumstances illustrate that the extent of homosexual couples’ eligibility to adopt in the united 1&-8* 1: (3,/!& %+ 5#"' -"%8$!" #( $*! 3' %7!& $#,! +&%, 2000 $% 2017 !"#$!%&%'# !()" 49 states has been expanding––and likely will continue to. thus, while the legalization of gay marriage made adoption for gay couples considerably easier overall, there were certainly still more barriers in some states at that time. over time, as more and more of these statutes break down, an upward trend in adoption rates like the one illustrated in graph 1 may become even more concretely apparent. however, this explanation is just a conjecture. this data trend is too recent for this analysis to convincingly suggest a causal relationship. however, while many of the findings from the regression potentially tie into this greater, significant social trend, not all of the conclusions carry a practical significance. the analysis found that the coe(cient on “earlylegalize’’ was -.4816 for aggregate adoption data. the coe(cient was similarly negative across all age groups, indicating that states that legalized gay marriage earlier had lower adoption rates. this coe(cient was statistically significant from zero at the 1% level. despite this statistical significance, this finding may not have any causal significance, as it could be due to other factors. the group of states that legalized gay marriage early could be smaller states overall, thus having fewer kids up for adoption. alternatively, these could be states where adoption is less common on the whole. this variable simply compares one group of states to the other, and thus does not actually illuminate the e8ects of early legalization of gay marriage. in order to make this coe(cient more accurate, subsequent regressions should attempt to control for these variables. nevertheless, despite the unfortunate omission of some important control variables, overall, the model used in the regression fits the data well. the regression on the aggregate adoption rates had an r-squared value of .945 and an adjusted r-squared of .941. the five age groups had an average r-squared of .862 and an average adjusted r-squared of .853. the individual values are displayed in table 4. as illustrated in table 4, the only regressions with adjusted r-squared values less than .90 are those for the under one and 16-20 age groups. these might be outliers simply because there are fewer children adopted in these age groups overall. this amplifies the e8ect of any changes or any exceptional adoption years, making it harder for any regression to fit the data well. these relatively small adoption numbers likely also explain the disparities in the standard error values. the standard errors for all of the coe(cients in every regression are under. 1 except for those for the regression for the same two outlier age groups. these low standard errors indicate that this model fits the data relatively well. the regressions on children under one and above sixteen had slightly higher standard errors likely due to the same reasons as the lower r-squared values. overall though, the high adjusted r-squared values indicate that the independent variables included in this regression—state, year, and the coe(cients relating to same-sex marriage legalization—explain the variation in adoption rates well. conclusion and limitations overall, this data analysis provides some evidence supporting the hypothesis that the legalization of same-sex marriage increased adoption rates. however, the results from this analysis hint that this increase may not yet be fully realized. the fact that state legalization of same-sex marriage did not significantly increase adoption rates implies that the barriers to same-sex adoption extend beyond the legal ones discussed in the introduction of this paper. in fact, this result implies that the biggest barriers to same-sex adoption may be rooted in social stigma. this explanation is supported by the fact that national legalization increased adoption rates. it is possible that national legalization shifted public opinion significantly— considerably more than any one state’s legalization did — thus increasing adoption rates. this conclusion is further strengthened by the upward trend in adoption rates since 2015. as americans become more and more comfortable with same-sex couples, more and more adoption agencies $-/.! 4: &-';3-&!" -(" -"03'$!" &-';3-&!" 7-.3!' +%& !-)* &!1&!''#%( (/2 -1! 1&%38) 50 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 50 are allowing gay adoptive parents, thus allowing homosexual couples to fill the united states’ need for adoptive parents. however, this is simply one possible explanation. these results may have been produced by a coalescence of other factors. overall, the only thing this analysis concretely indicates is that more investigation into this topic is needed. there are also a few weaknesses to this analysis that must be pointed out. firstly, in order to perform this regression with yearly adoption data, the dates on which gay marriage was legalized in each state had to be rounded to the nearest full year. unfortunately, this may have blurred the results, given that many legalizations—such as the national legalization in june of 2015—happened mid-year. if the adoption data were categorized by month, this analysis would have yielded more reliable conclusions. additionally, since the data are so recent, it is di(cult to determine whether the upward trend in adoptions since circa 2015 is significant, or if it is just a spike––like the increase in adoptions in 2008 and 2009. only time and further investigation will tell if this more recent increase constitutes a trend or not. furthermore, as referenced in the introduction, the format of the data is somewhat limiting. the data are presented in the number of children adopted per year, rather than a percentage of children adopted out of the pool of adoptable children. because the number of children up for adoption varies year to year, in an ideal world this regression should be performed with data on yearly adoption rates. these rates should remain relatively constant over time barring any significant social, political, or economic change. overall, while the results from this analysis are not conclusive, they certainly highlight the need for more investigative research into how the growing american acceptance of gay marriage may a8ect adoption rates in the united states. ultimately, further research could highlight an additional, hidden benefit in eroding our nation’s heteronormative cultural standards. through taking a stand for sexual equality, we may have the power to increase the number of children who are able to grow up with a permanent sense of belonging in generous, loving families. “through taking a stand for sexual equality, we may have the power to increase the number of children who are able to grow up with a permanent sense of belonging within generous, loving families.” !"#$!%&%'# !()" 51 /!7!/!%.!' “a brief history of civil rights in the united states: a timeline of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the u.s.” guides. accessed december 10, 2020. https:// guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=592919&p=4182201. american adoptions, inc. “requirements to adopt.” american adoptions adoption requirements in the u.s. accessed december 10, 2020. https://www.americanadoptions.com/adopt/requirements_to_adopt. “do i have to be married to adopt a child?” adoption network. accessed december 10, 2020. https://adoptionnetwork.com/do-i-have-to-be-married-to-adopt-a-child. 16, oct. “foster care in the u.s. number of children waiting for adoption” statista. october 16, 2020. accessed december 12, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/255375/number-of-children-waiting-to-be-adopted-inthe-united-states/. “foster and adoption laws.” movement advancement project. accessed january 7, 2022. https://www.lgbtmap. org/equality-maps/foster_and_adoption_laws. “v.l. v. e.l.” scotusblog. accessed december 10, 2020. https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/v-l-v-e-l/. “who may adopt, be adopted, or place a child for adoption?” january 2020. accessed december 10, 2020. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/parties.pdf. 87-/-$$!&2 '2'$!,' %++!& 7#-/.! 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'*% 3, "#! <,/& analyzing the economic and environmental performance of residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts $*%,-' &%'$-" 54 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 1. introduction according to the “u.s. solar market insight – 2019 year in review”, produced by wood mackenzie and the solar energy industries association (seia), the u.s. saw recordsetting residential solar capacity added in 2019, with more than 2.8 gw installed (seia & wood mackenzie, 2020). in states with high retail electricity rates and robust incentives, installing solar can help homeowners save money on their electric bills. others choose to install solar as a means of reducing their carbon footprint, thus helping to mitigate climate change. an important limiting factor of solar power is its inherent intermittency. photovoltaic (pv) cells are only able to generate electricity when the sun is shining, and homeowners who install solar are only able to use electricity generated from their system during the daytime (energysage, 2018a). one potential solution to this problem is to integrate a large lithium-ion battery with the pv system. by storing excess electricity produced from the solar panels throughout the day, homeowners can continue using electricity generated from their pv system even when the sun is no longer shining (see figure 1). this comes with a few added benefits to the homeowner and society at large. unlike standalone pv systems, pv-battery systems can provide households with backup power in case of an outage. this has been a crucial driver of growth in california’s residential solar-plus-storage market, where last year’s wildfires, and subsequent public-safety power shuto8 events, left hundreds of thousands of utility customers without electricity (lazo & carlton, 2019; st. john, 2020). residential pv-battery systems also have the potential to o8er system-level benefits that improve the overall e(ciency of the electric grid and reduce system-level costs. these benefits include the ability to o8set generation from more expensive peaking units, reduce congestion on transmission and distribution lines, stabilize local electricity flows, control local voltage fluctuations, and defer transmission and distribution system upgrades. electricity storage is critical for realizing these benefits and without it, high penetration of distributed solar may actually increase, not decrease, costs (shlatz, buch & chan, 2013). this analysis focuses on the use of pv-battery systems within massachusetts from 2020-2050, a state that already o8ers robust incentives for its residential solar market. in addition to o8ering net metering at the full retail electricity rate, the state’s solar massachusetts renewable target (smart) program requires utilities to pay solar owners for every kwh of electricity their pv system produces monthly. the smart program also o8ers higher incentive payment rates to pv systems that include some form of energy storage (masscec, 2019). this research will help to quantify the economic and environmental benefits accrued to households that install pv-battery systems in the state of massachusetts. it will also shed light on the most important variables in determining this performance, allowing electricity consumers, policymakers, and utilities to make informed decisions on how to deploy the technology most e8ectively. +#13&! 1: 7#'3-. &!8&!'!($-$#%( %+ *%: 87-/-$$!&2 '2'$!,' %8!&-$! "3&#(1 $*! "-2 7!&'3' $*! (#1*$ (!(!&12'-1!, 2019) 55 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. 2. literature review 2.1 overview due to the nature of the article length in this journal, the literature review for this paper was removed to concentrate on the experiment and its conclusion. this literature review highlights the current state of knowledge on pv-battery systems with a focus on studies that aimed to model the performance of these systems in a residential setting. key findings from the literature review can be summarized as follows: pv-battery systems have been extensively studied to quantify the benefits of deploying such systems at the residential level. early research tended to focus on the application of these systems in countries that pioneered favorable policies for distributed generation. this often involved the simulation and optimization of residential pv-battery systems based on existing feed-in tari8 (fit) incentives and net metering programs. most studies accounted for a similar variety of economic and technical parameters but used di8erent model designs and assumptions to simulate energy flows and cash flows. although many studies acknowledged the potential environmental benefits of increasing self-consumption of solar-generated electricity with a battery, few quantified those benefits. 3. methods 3.1 research questions to quantify the economic and environmental performance of residential pv-battery systems in the state of massachusetts, i created the following models to represent the operation of these systems on one-year and 30-year time scales: • how e8ective are residential pv-battery systems at reducing a household’s reliance on the electric grid? • what is the expected payback period for a residential pv-battery system and how do government subsidies and net metering policies a8ect this timeline? • how e8ective are residential pv-battery systems at mitigating ghg emissions throughout their lifetime? • how does system size impact the economic performance of residential pv-battery systems? for most of the questions, i additionally look at how standalone pv systems would perform in comparison as a technology alternative. 3.2 model descriptions 3.2.1 overview this section describes the models created for this study to represent the energy flows, cash flows, and ghg emissions associated with residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts. the “year one energy flows” model quantifies a household’s hourly energy flows over a year under three scenarios that use the same annual hourly electricity consumption profile: baseline scenario represents a household with neither solar panels, nor battery system, standalone pv scenario represents a household with solar panels, but no battery system, and pv-battery scenario represents a household with both solar panels and an integrated battery system. the standalone pv and pvbattery scenarios pair the consumption profile with an annual hourly pv generation profile, then use a series of conditional statements to represent how each technology influences hourly energy flows. the “lifetime npv” model calculates the npv of both a standalone pv system and a pv-battery system in massachusetts over 30 year. the year one calculation of npv factors in outputs from the “year one energy flows” model, the amount of electricity consumed on-site from the standalone pv or pv-battery systems, and the amount of electricity sent back to the grid for net metering. for subsequent years, deflationary pressure is applied to those values to reflect technological degradation. retail electricity prices, net metering prices, and smart incentive payment rates interact with these technological parameters to determine the annual revenues generated by the standalone pv and pv-battery systems. capital costs and operating and maintenance (o&m) costs associated with each technology are calculated as a function of system size and years in operation. after taking the di8erence between total system costs and revenues, a discount rate is applied to factor in the time value of money. the “lifetime net emissions” model calculates net ghg emissions from using a standalone pv system or a pvbattery system in a residential setting over a 30-year period. net emissions are calculated by taking the di8erence between avoided emissions from using the standalone pv 56 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 or pv-battery system, and the life cycle emissions associated with the technology itself. avoided emissions factor in the amount of electricity consumed on-site from the standalone pv or pv-battery system over a 30-year period, a value drawn directly from the “lifetime npv” model. lifetime emissions data for each technology are based on estimates from relevant academic papers and industry reports. 3.2.2 year one energy flows 3.2.2.1 baseline in a household with neither solar panels nor energy storage system, all electricity demand is supplied directly from the grid: where refers to electricity drawn from the grid during hour h, and refers to household electricity consumption during that same hour. 3.2.2.2 standalone pv this scenario represents the same household after installing a pv system without an associated battery storage system. the household’s hourly demands for electricity from the grid are calculated using the following conditional statements: where refers to electricity generated from the solar panels during hour h. since massachusetts utilities o8er net metering credits to residential customers who send electricity to the grid, any excess electricity generated from the pv system must be accounted for: where represents electricity sent to the grid for net metering credits during hour h. 3.2.2.3 pv-battery in a household with both solar panels and an integrated battery, hourly demand for electricity from the grid is calculated using the following algorithm: where is the battery’s level of charge at the end of hour h. the battery is charged and discharged in such a way as to maximize self-consumption. figure 2 shows the decision tree that defines this process. although, once the battery is fully charged, excess electricity is not merely “lost”. instead, it is sent to the grid for net metering. if the solar panels generate excess power , that electricity first goes to charge the battery. if the battery is full, any excess electricity is sent to the grid for net metering credits: where is the charge of the battery at the beginning of the hour, is the battery’s maximum capacity, and bat is the roundtrip e(ciency of the battery. if load exceeds pv production , the battery is discharged until either the excess load is met, or the battery reaches its minimum capacity: +#13&! 2: -.1%&#$*, +%& 87-/-$$!&2 '2'$!, !(!&12 +.%:' ($!&%, !$ -.., 2018) 57 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. where is the minimum capacity of the battery. in this case, no electricity is sent to the grid for net metering. 3.2.3 lifetime npv 3.2.3.1 standalone pv the npv of a grid-connected residential pv system after n years of operation is a function of the di8erent costs and revenues it accumulates during those years. in massachusetts, sources of revenue for these systems include avoided costs of electricity, incentive payments o8ered by the smart program, and net metering credits: where is the retail price of electricity sold from the grid, is the smart program incentive payment rate, is the total amount of electricity produced by the pv system, and is the price of electricity sold back to the grid, all in the nth year of operation. costs for these systems include capital costs and operating and maintenance costs: where refers to the capital costs of the pv system, a function of system size, and refers to the operating and maintenance costs, a function of system size and years in operation. the npv of the pv system is calculated as the di8erence between system costs and revenues that have accumulated after n years of operation, factoring in the time value of money: where y is the system lifetime in years, and r is the discount rate. 3.2.3.2 pv-battery the same aforementioned formulas are applied when calculating the npv of the pv-battery system. the di8erence is that the battery adds an additional source of costs and revenues. additional revenues come from an increase in avoided electricity costs: where is electricity supplied directly to the household from the battery in year n. additional costs in this scenario come from the capital costs of the battery system, and its operating and maintenance costs over time: where equals the battery’s capital costs, and om equals the battery’s operation and maintenance costs in year n of operation. 3.2.4 lifetime net emissions 3.2.4.1 standalone pv the net ghg emissions for the standalone pv scenario are calculated by taking the di8erence between the technology’s expected lifetime emissions, and the emissions that would have been produced by the grid up until year n if the technology not been used at all. the system lifetime in years, referred to as y, acts as the upper limit for n. the following equation represents the avoided emissions for a residential pv system without a battery component: where refers to the average emissions intensity of the grid in metric tons of co2e/kwh. lifetime emissions of the pv system are calculated as follows: where is the nameplate capacity of the pv system, and is the life cycle emissions of the technology per kw of capacity. 3.2.45.2 pv-battery similar formulas to the ones mentioned above are applied when calculating the net ghg emissions of the pv-battery system. in this case, the battery adds an additional source of avoided emissions and lifetime emissions: where refers to the life cycle emissions of the battery per kwh of capacity. 58 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 3.3 data sources 3.3.1 technological input parameters .3.1.1 household consumption profile the household consumption profile was sourced from the u.s. department of energy’s openei database. these data are calculated by the o(ce of energy e(ciency and renewable energy (eere) using residential building models and the energyplus simulation software (o(ce of energy e(ciency & renewable energy, n.d.). the profile predicts hourly electricity consumption for a household in plymouth, ma, with an annual electricity demand of 8,853 kwh. this value was deemed reasonable given that the average new england household consumes 7,536 kwh of electricity per year (masscec, 2019). figure 3 illustrates the average annual hourly load for the household consumption profile. 3.3.1.2 pv generation profile the pv generation profile uses predicted values from the national renewable energy laboratory’s (nrel) pvwatts calculator (national renewable energy laboratory, 2016). the latitude and longitude of the profile are set to 41.97° n, 70.66° w, corresponding roughly to plymouth, ma. the base case pv system size is set at 7 kwdc, the average residential pv system size in massachusetts (masscec, 2019). other pv capacities tested in the analysis include a 3.5 kwdc system and a 10.5 kwdc system. the tool predicts ac system output in kilowatts for every hour of the year. technology specifications are set to standard modules in a fixed roof-mount array. the calculator assumes a 33° tilt angle since most homes in new england have roofs that are pitched at 33° or more to shed snow and ice (masscec, 2019). ideally, a fixed roof-mounted pv array should be at an angle equal to the latitude of the location where it is installed to maximize exposure to sunlight over the year. however, adding tilt to a solar racking can increase installation costs and may lead to panels shading one another (energysage, 2018b). azimuth is set to 180°, implying a southfacing roof. a capacity factor of 15.3%, a dc to ac size ratio of 1.2, and an inverter e(ciency of 96% are all used based on the calculator’s recommendations. figure 4 shows the average annual hourly pv generation profiles for the three pv capacities tested in this analysis. 3.3.1.3 battery storage for the pv-battery base case, a maximum storage capacity of 13.5 kwh is used to reflect the capacity of the tesla powerwall 2, a market-leading product in the u.s. residential battery market. this analysis also tests the performance of 6.75 kwh and 20.25 kwh batteries, representing a 50% change in capacity from the base case. the round-trip e(ciency of the batteries is assumed to be 87%, slightly less than the 90% figure tesla advertises to be conservative (tesla, 2019). 3.3.1.4 yearly degradation rate since the “lifetime npv” model requires measuring the +#13&! 3: -7!&-1! -((3-. *%3&.2 !.!)$&#)#$2 )%('3,8$#%( 8&%+#.! +%& *%3'!*%.+ #( 8.2,%3$*, ,-. +#13&! 4: -7!&-1! -((3-. *%3&.2 1!(!&-$#%( 8&%+#.!' 8&%0!)$!" +%& &!'#"!($#-. 87 '2'$!,' (!-& 8.2,%3$*, ,-. 59 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. value of these technologies over many years, it needs to account for losses of value due to technology degradation. therefore, degradation rates are applied to both the pv and battery technologies. the pv degradation rate is based on an nrel study which found the median rate of degradation for solar panels to be 0.5% per year (jordan & kurtz, 2012). annual losses in maximum battery capacity and e(ciency could either be a function of charge cycles or modeled using a fixed rate. i use a fixed rate derived from the 10year warranty of tesla’s powerwall 2 product. the warranty states that each powerwall will retain 70% of its 13.5 kwh capacity, or 9.75 kwh, at 10 years following its initial installation date (tesla, 2017). i use a 2% annual degradation rate, bringing the powerwall’s maximum capacity down to 11.26 kwh after 10 years. 3.3.2 economic input parameters 3.3.2.1 technology costs the capital cost of the pv system is assumed to be $2.84/ wdc based on estimates for the national average residential system cost in the us before federal tax credits (seia, 2020). operating and maintenance costs are based on the 2018 nrel o&m cost model which includes preventative maintenance, scheduled at regular intervals with costs increasing at an inflationary rate, and corrective maintenance to replace components. the model estimates annual o&m costs to be $22/kwdc (fu, et al., 2018). the capital cost of the battery system is assumed to be $800/kwh. this is based on pricing for the tesla powerwall 2 and includes estimates for system cost, installation costs, and additional hardware costs (sendy, 2020). operating and maintenance costs reflect the costs of replacing the battery at the end of its 10-year lifetime. a price deflation rate of 0.02% is applied to the battery’s capital cost value each year to account for future price decreases for lithium-ion battery products. under these conditions, battery costs are projected to drop to $667/ kwh by 2030, $545/ kwh by 2040, and $445/kwh by 2050. no price deflation rate is needed for the solar panels since this analysis assumes they are only installed once. 3.3.2.2 retail electricity price according to the u.s. energy information administration, the average price of electricity in 2020 for residential consumers in massachusetts is $0.22/kwh (u.s. energy information administration, 2020). prices are expected to increase in small increments over time given national trends in electricity rates over the past decade (u.s. energy information administration, 2019). therefore, a price inflation rate of 1% is applied annually. 3.3.2.3 net metering price massachusetts utilities currently o8er net metering credits to residential customers at the retail electricity rate. in this analysis, i test scenarios where net metering prices are either o8ered at 50% of retail electricity prices or not o8ered at all. 3.3.2.4 government subsidies the federal itc partly subsidizes capital costs for pv and pv-battery systems. in 2020, the federal itc covers 26% of investment costs for both systems, so long as batteries are charged by the solar panels more than 75% of the time (national renewable energy laboratory, 2017). massachusetts also o8ers a personal income tax credit for 15% of total pv system capital costs, with a maximum credit of $1,000 (masscec, 2019). both tax credits are applied to capital costs in the “lifetime npv” model. massachusetts’ smart program o8ers incentive payments for a 10-year term to the owners of residential pv systems, with additional incentive payments provided to the owners of pv systems that integrate battery storage (masscec, 2019). a value of energy calculator is available on the program administrator’s webpage to help calculate expected incentive payments based on solar capacity, storage capacity, and the duration of the storage. i used this calculator to find the appropriate 10-year incentive payments for various standalone pv and pv-battery system sizes tested in the “lifetime npv” model. while the above mentioned subsidies all exist in reality, i decided to add one speculative subsidy into the “lifetime npv” model. if implemented, a carbon tax would increase the cost of electricity, thus incentivizing the use of standalone pv or pv-battery systems. based on a 2015 study conducted by the tax policy center, a $10/ton carbon tax would add about $0.05/kwh to the price of electricity generated from a typical fuel mix (marron, et al., 2015). i account for a $40/ton carbon tax in 2035, which would cause retail electricity rates to increase by approximately $0.02/kwh from that year forward. 60 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 3.3.2.5 discount rate based on a review of previous studies, 4% is chosen as the nominal discount rate to be applied in the “lifetime npv” model (hoppmann, et al., 2014). 3.3.3 environmental input parameters 3.3.3.1 life cycle ghg emissions through a meta-analysis of existing literature on pv life cycle assessments, nian (2016) found the median value for the life cycle emissions of solar panels to be about 1,320 kg co2e/kw. based on an extensive review of life cycle assessments for lithium-ion batteries, peters et al. (2017) found the average value for the life cycle emissions of lithium-ion batteries to be 110 kg co2e/kwh. i apply each of these in the “lifetime net emissions” model. 3.3.3.2 grid emissions intensity (annual) emissions data from iso new england shows that its network’s average ghg emission rate in 2017 was 682 lb. co2e /mwh (iso new england, 2019a). this translates to 0.31 kg co2e/kwh and represents a 3.9% decrease from the 2016 average. given the ambitious target set by new england states to reduce the region’s ghg emissions by 80% from 1990 levels, we can expect this average to continue declining (weiss et al., 2019). therefore, i apply a 4% annual decrease in average emission rates for the “lifetime net emissions” model. 4. results 4.1 energy flows 4.1.1 comparing standalone pv & pv-battery systems this analysis looks at how a massachusetts household with an annual electricity load of 8,853 kwh can reduce reliance on the electric grid using standalone pv or pvbattery technologies. with neither of these systems installed, the grid supplies all of the household’s electricity demands. after installing a 7 kw pv system, the household’s annual grid draw drops to 5,811 kwh. by pairing a 13.5 kwh battery with the 7 kw pv system, annual grid draw drops to 2,216 kwh. it is useful to measure these di8erences in terms of self-consumption, or the percentage of total electricity consumption supplied on-site. in this case, the homeowner is able to meet 74% of total electricity consumption needs through selfconsumption using a pv-battery system, compared to just 35% with solar panels and no battery. it is important to note that these values only represent each technology’s first year of operation. figure 5 demonstrates that grid reliance steadily increases in subsequent years as each technology degrades. small dips in annual grid draw for the pv-battery scenario occur every 10 years when the battery is replaced, reflecting the gains in e(ciency with a newly installed battery. 4.1.2 e8ects of system size through testing alternative size configurations for standalone pv and pvbattery systems in the “year one energy flows” model, we see di8erent levels of self-consumption associated with each configuration for the first year of operation (see table 1). as represented by configurations b and c, changes in pv capacity have very little impact on self-consumption under any standalone pv scenario. in these cases, +#13&! 5: *%3'!*%." 1&#" &!.#-()! 3("!& $*! /-'!.#!, '$-("-.%(! 87, -(" 87-/-$$!&2 ')!(-&#%' $-/.! 1: '!.+-)%('3,8$#%( .!7!.' +%& 7-&#%3' 87/-$$!&2 '#4! )%(+#13&-$#%(' 61 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. the maximum di8erence in self-consumption resulting from a 50% change in pv capacity is just four percentage points. on the other hand, decreasing pv capacity has notable e8ects on self-consumption under the pv-battery scenario. self-consumption levels for configuration b are 25 percentage points lower than those of configuration a. a 50% increase in battery capacity (upgrading configuration a to configuration e) only results in a fivepercentage point increase in selfconsumption. decreasing battery capacity to 6.75 results in a 17 percentage point decrease in self-consumption which, although significant, is still less than the changes seen when the same amount decreases pv capacity. figures 6, 7, and 8 further illustrate how di8erences in battery size impact the energy flows of pv-battery systems. by contrasting the average annual hourly energy flows of configurations a, d, and e in their first year of operation, we can visualize di8erences in battery discharge, grid draw, and net metering. amongst the three systems, configuration d demands the most electricity from the grid, and sends the most electricity back to the grid for net metering. configuration e can continuously discharge electricity from its battery for long periods, and only demands small amounts of electricity from the grid throughout the night. configuration a typically operates somewhere in between these two extremes. 4.2 cash flows 4.2.1 comparing standalone pv & pvbattery systems when making any large financial investment, one important consideration is the amount of time it will take for the investment to become profitable. given that residential solar and solar-plusstorage installations can cost tens of thousands of dollars, homeowners would greatly benefit from knowing each technology’s expected payback period. in this analysis, i calculate the expected payback period for pv and pv-battery systems in massachusetts by determining when their npv becomes positive in the “lifetime npv” model. results show that after just five years, the base case standalone pv system attains a positive npv, compared with the pv-battery system, which takes seven years to +#13&! 8. -7!&-1! -((3-. *%3&.2 !(!&12 +.%:' ()%(+#13&-$#%( !). +#13&! 7. -7!&-1! -((3-. *%3&.2 !(!&12 +.%:' ()%(+#13&-$#%( "). +#13&! 6. -7!&-1! -((3-. *%3&.2 !(!&12 +.%:' ()%(+#13&-$#%( -). 62 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 break even. with higher capital costs at the outset of the study period, the pv-battery system’s npv experiences multiple dips throughout the 30-year period (see figure 9). these dips can be attributed to the high costs of replacing the battery at the end of its lifetime which, in this analysis, is every 10 years. homeowners may be able to continue using their battery past its intended lifetime. however, cost savings from not purchasing a replacement could be o8set by losses in e(ciency and maximum capacity as the battery continues to degrade. there may also be added safety risks when using large lithium-ion batteries past their lifetime. 4.2.2 e8ects of system size when deciding whether to install a residential pv-battery system, homeowners should always consider a variety of system sizes to determine which may best suit their needs. in this analysis, i examine how the pv-battery size configurations listed in table 1 compare in economic performance over a 30-year period. first, i measured di8erences in payback period between configurations a, d, and e, all of which share a 7 kw pv capacity but di8er in battery size. figure 10 shows that configuration d, which has the smallest battery capacity, also has the shortest payback period. although configuration e only has a slightly longer payback period than configurations a and d, replacing the battery after 10 years incurs high maintenance costs. aside from higher replacement costs, other factors associated with battery size also contribute to di8erences in npv over each configuration’s lifetime. for example, larger batteries influence system revenues by increasing avoided electricity costs and, simultaneously, decreasing net metering revenues. the profitability of this tradeo8 depends on factors such as the household’s electricity consumption profile, net metering rates, and pv capacity. additionally, smart incentive payments are partly influenced by battery capacity since the program’s “energy storage adder” is based on the ratio of pv capacity to battery capacity. as battery capacity increases relative to pv capacity, incentive payment rates increase, although the di8erence is quite small and payments only last for the first 10 years of operation. +#13&! 9. (87 +%& '$-("-.%(! 87 '2'$!, -(" 87-/-$$!&2 '2'$!,. +#13&! 10. !++!)$' %+ /-$$!&2 )-8-)#$2 %( 87-/-$$!&2 (87. +#13&! 11. !++!)$' %+ 87 )-8-)#$2 %( 87-/-$$!&2 (87. 63 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. i then repeated this process with configurations a, b, and c, all of which have a battery capacity of 13.5 kwh but di8er in pv capacity. although the changes in pv capacity do little to a8ect the payback period, the long-term e8ects on npv are significant. figure 11 shows that after 15 years of operation, configuration c surpasses configurations a and b in npv. interestingly, configuration b reaches its peak npv in year nine, but fails to recover that value throughout the rest of its operational lifetime. the payback period and maximum npv for all of the pv-battery configurations mentioned above are summarized in table 2. it becomes clear that configuration d has the best economic performance of all the pv-battery systems modeled in this analysis, both in terms of payback period and maximum npv. 4.2.3 e8ects of government subsidies it remains to be seen whether residential solar-plus-storage markets can survive without the support of robust government incentives. by omitting certain subsidies from the “lifetime npv” model, i was able to visualize their e8ects on the expected payback of residential pv-battery systems in massachusetts more clearly. for a 7 kw pv system paired with a 13.5 kwh battery (configuration a), certain subsidies have a significantly greater e8ect on npv then others. the system’s npv fails to break even throughout the 30-year study period without any government subsidies. the federal itc plays an important role in improving the economics of the system by reducing initial investment costs. however, federal subsidies alone only bring the payback period down to 25 years. figure 12 shows that massachusetts’ smart program has the greatest e8ect on payback time out of any subsidy by substantially increasing system revenues throughout operation. combining the federal itc and smart incentive payments ultimately reduces the expected payback time to just seven years. interestingly, implementing a $40/ton carbon tax in 2035, which would theoretically increase retail electricity prices, does virtually nothing to increase npv in the following years. 4.2.4 e8ects of net metering net metering has been proven to add significant value to $-/.! 2. 8-2/-)5 8!&#%" -(" ,-9#,3, (87 +%& "#++!&!($ 87-/-$$!&2 '#4! )%(+#13&-$#%('. +#13&! 13. !++!)$' %+ "#++!&!($ (!$ ,!$!&#(1 8&#)!' %( '$-("-.%(! 87 6 87-/-$$!&2 (87. +#13&! 12. !++!)$' %+ "#++!&!($ 1%7!&(,!($ '3/'#"#!' %( 87-/-$$!&2 (87. 64 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 residential pv systems over time when o8ered at the full retail rate. in this analysis, i attempted to quantify that value by modeling scenarios where net metering is o8ered at a reduced rate, or not o8ered at all. i then looked at how these same changes would a8ect the economic performance of a pv-battery system. my findings suggest that reducing net metering rates by 50% raises the payback time of a standalone 7 kw pv system from five years to seven years, and eliminating net metering extends that payback period to nine years. figure 13 shows just how little these changes a8ect pv-battery systems in comparison. lowering the net metering rate by 50% only extends the payback period of the base case pv-battery system to eight years. after eliminating net metering, the payback period remains below nine years, shorter than the time needed to pay back the standalone pv system under the same circumstances. these findings reveal just how dependent standalone pv systems are on net metering revenues for economic viability. the expected payback period for pv-battery systems is barely impacted by these revenues. 4.3 ghg emissions 4.3.1 comparing standalone pv and pv-battery systems in this study, i modeled the net ghg emissions associated with standalone pv systems and pv-battery systems over 30 years. my results indicate that the base case standalone pv system ends its 30-year lifetime with a net emissions value of -15.09 metric tons of co2e while the base case pv-battery system has a net emissions value of -34.36 metric tons of co2e. figure 14 shows that the pv-battery system begins its lifetime with higher net emissions than the standalone pv system. this is due to the emissions that come with the production of the battery. however, as the pv-battery system continues through its operational lifetime, net emissions drop at a rapid pace unmatched by the standalone pv system. this can be attributed to the pv-battery system’s enhanced ability to o8set fossil fuel generation from the grid in favor of clean energy produced on-site. replacing the battery every 10 years has little impact on o8setting these gains in emissions abatement. it should be noted that this analysis assumes every kwh of electricity consumed from the grid results in the same amount of ghg emissions, regardless of the time of day or season. in reality, the emissions intensity of the electric grid changes hour by hour throughout the year. 5. discussion residential pv-battery systems have been proposed as a way for homeowners to reduce their reliance on the grid by storing excess power produced from their solar array for self-consumption. my analysis supports this claim, showing that pv-battery systems could increase a typical massachusetts household’s self-consumption percentage between 50% and 81%. in comparison, the standalone pv systems modeled in this study could only increase the same household’s self-consumption percentage to a maximum of 36%. although pv-battery configurations a, c, and e support self-consumption levels at or above 75%, this does not necessarily imply that the household in question could disconnect from the grid and meet its electricity needs for three quarters of the year. i cannot make this assertion because this model focuses on a battery’s ability to meet a household’s hourly energy demands without accounting for peaks in power usage. low maximum power output is a common characteristic of lithium-ion batteries and, without the support of the grid, home battery systems may only be able to power a few small appliances at a time. this has long been one of the major weaknesses of residential pv-battery systems considering that many homeowners install these systems with hopes of disconnecting from the grid, or having total +#13&! 14. )3,3.-$#7! 1*1 !,#''#%(' +%& '$-("-.%(! 87 -(" 87-/-$$!&2 '2'$!,' %7!& 30-2!-& 8!&#%". 65 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. backup power in an outage (cinnamon, 2019). additionally, the household consumption profile used in this analysis does not represent all massachusetts households. future analysis should attempt to uncover how high and low estimates for household electricity consumption a8ect grid reliance and optimal system sizing. looking at table 1, it is not surprising that the pv-battery configurations with the highest pv capacity and battery capacity, configurations c and e, respectively, also support the highest levels of self-consumption. however, in economic terms, these high-capacity systems do not perform as well as other configurations. in fact, table 2 shows that configurations c and e have the longest payback periods of all the pv-battery configurations. the shortest payback period and maximum npv belong to configuration d, a pv-battery system consisting of a 7 kw pv array and a 6.75 kwh battery. this enhanced performance is primarily driven by decreased capital costs and o&m costs associated with the smaller battery. one major shortcoming of the “lifetime npv” model is the assumption that capital costs for these technologies can be covered upfront without outside financing. while some homeowners may be able to a8ord these high upfront costs, many would struggle to a8ord them without a loan. ideally, this analysis would be repeated for di8erent financing scenarios. one innovative idea piloted in parts of the u.s. is to have utilities lease pv-battery systems to their customers for a monthly fee. having access to thousands of customers’ batteries would enable utilities to draw power when needed most, shaving peak demand and reducing peak system usage charges. for green mountain power, vermont’s largest electric utility, this program resulted in increased reliability and lower overall costs for ratepayers (mingle, 2019). in return, customers get to enjoy the benefits of their pv-battery system, without the high upfront costs, on the condition that they surrender control over their batteries during peak events which can occur several times a month for hours at a time. the “lifetime npv” model makes it very clear that government subsidies still play a crucial role in supporting the economic viability of pv battery systems in massachusetts. without the federal itc, the payback period for a 7 kw solar array paired with a 13.5 kwh battery jumps from seven to 15 years. by cutting massachusetts’ smart incentive program on top of this, the same system fails to break even throughout its operational lifetime. given that the federal itc is set to phase out entirely for residential installations by 2022, massachusetts policymakers may want to consider scaling up the state’s personal income tax credit in compensation. on april 15, 2020, the massachusetts department of energy resources and governor charlie baker’s o(ce released emergency regulations doubling the size of the smart program, bringing the program’s total capacity to 3.2 gw (sylvia, 2020). with specific carve-outs for smaller projects, any new standalone pv or pv-battery installations will likely qualify for incentive payments in the near future. another key takeaway from the “lifetime npv” model is the impact of net metering on the economic performance of pv-battery systems in the state of massachusetts. when o8ered at the full retail electricity rate, net metering seems to do more to hurt residential solar-plus-storage markets than to help them. under these circumstances, it is much more profitable for homeowners to install standalone pv systems than installing pv-battery systems because any excess electricity they produce can quickly be sold back to the grid. alternatively, if utilities were to forgo net metering entirely, owners of standalone pv systems would not be compensated for any of the excess electricity they produce. therefore, storing the electricity in a battery for eventual self-consumption would become the only way solar owners can extract value from their excess electricity generation. this represents significant upside for residential solarplus-storage markets, seeing that electric utilities across the nation are beginning to reconsider net metering o8erings because of the way these programs shift costs to customers without solar (trabish, 2019b). regarding environmental performance, my findings suggest that pv-battery systems have net negative ghg emissions and outperform standalone pv systems in cumulative lifetime net emissions. compared to solar panels, the production of lithium-ion batteries contributes very little to net emissions. by o8setting a greater amount of electricity production from the grid, the base case pvbattery system helped abate 24.18 more metric tons of co2e than the standalone pv system after 30 years of operation. it should be noted that this analysis only accounts for one particular measure of environmental performance. while net ghg emissions are certainly an important metric to consider, other environmental impact measures such as resource use and toxicity also deserve consideration. 66 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 6. conclusion residential pv-battery systems have the potential to reduce homeowners’ reliance on the electric grid, helping them to save money and lessen their carbon footprint. this study was designed to measure how well pv-battery systems achieve those objectives in the state of massachusetts under various economic and technological assumptions. using several spreadsheet models to represent the energy flows, cash flows, and ghg emissions of pv-battery systems, i was able to produce the following insights: • residential pv-battery systems are already a viable means for massachusetts homeowners to reduce grid reliance, lower their electricity costs, and o8set ghg emissions. • out of the six pv-battery system sizes considered, no one configuration stood out as the top performer across all categories of performance. for reducing grid reliance, pv-battery systems with high solar capacity are the best option. in terms of saving money and seeing those returns quickly, pv-battery systems with small batteries o8er the most value. • government subsidies will continue to play a crucial role in supporting the economic viability of pv-battery systems in massachusetts, especially the state’s smart program, which substantially increases system revenues throughout operation. if the federal itc expires in 2022 as planned, the expected payback period for these systems will more than double. • net metering as it is currently o8ered in massachusetts incentivizes the adoption of standalone pv systems considerably more than pv-battery systems. in cases where net metering credits are not o8ered to electricity customers, the payback period for pv-battery systems becomes slightly shorter than that of standalone pv systems. further research on this topic would benefit from analyzing a wider variety of household electricity consumption profiles, financing scenarios, modes of operation for home battery systems, and metrics of environmental performance. additionally, increased penetration of residential pv-battery systems in society will demand more in-depth research on how these technologies impact day-to-day grid operations. 67 !"##$%& #'" ()% *+ #'" ,+-. /!7!/!%.!' cinnamon, b. (2019, may 16). “10 mistakes i’ve made selling and installing battery storage systems”. utility dive. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/ten-mistakes-ive-made-selling-and-installing-battery-storage-systems energysage. (2018a, october 28). “do solar panels work at night or on cloudy days?”. https://news.energysage. com/solar-panels-work-night-cloudy-day/ energysage. (2018b, july 26). “what’s the best angle for my solar panels?” https://news.energysage.com/whatsthe-best-angle-for-my-solar-panels/ energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage.com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ fu, r., feldman, d., & margolis, r. (2018, november). “u.s. solar photovoltaic system cost benchmark: q1 2018”. national renewable energy laboratory. https:// www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/72399.pdf hoppmann, j., volland, j., schmidt, t. s., & ho8mann, v. h. (2014, november). “the economic viability of battery storage for residential solar photovoltaic systems – a review and a simulation model”. renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 39. 1101-1118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. rser.2014.07.068 iso new england. (2019a, april 11). “2017 iso new england electric generator air emissions report”. https:// www.iso-ne.com/system-planning/system-plans-studies/ emissions/ jordan, d. c., & kurtz, s. r. (2012, june) “photovoltaic degradation rates — an analytical review”. national renewable energy laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/ fy12osti/51664.pdf lazo, a., & carlton, j. (2019, october 10). “power outage in california a8ects millions as pg&e tries to avoid wildfire”. wall street journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ millions-in-california-begin-losing-power-as-pg-e-tries-toavoid-wildfire-11570632347 marron, d., toder, e., & austin, l. (2015, june). “taxing carbon: what, why, and how”. tax policy center. https:// www.taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000274-taxing-carbon-what-why-andhow.pdf masscec. (2019, march). “massachusetts residential guide to solar electricity”. https://files.masscec.com/solar-loan/solarelectricityresidentialguide.pdf mingle, j. (2019, october 22). “in vermont, green mountain power seeks to expand home battery storage pilot”. energy news network. https://energynews. us/2019/10/22/northeast/in-vermont-green-mountainpower-seeks-to-expand-home-battery-storage-pilot/ national renewable energy laboratory. (2017, january). “federal tax incentives for battery storage systems”. h t t p s : / / w w w. b u i l d n a t i v e . c o m / w p c o n t e n t / u p loads/2017/12/67558.pdf national renewable energy laboratory. (2016). “pvwatts® calculator – version 5.3.8”. https://pvwatts. nrel.gov/index.php nian, v. (2016, december). “impacts of changing design considerations on the life cycle carbon emissions of solar photovoltaic systems”. applied energy, 183. 1471-1487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.176 o(ce of energy e(ciency & renewable energy. (n.d.). “commercial and residential hourly load profiles for all tmy3 locations in the united states”. openei. http:// en.openei.org/doe-opendata/dataset/commercial-and-residential-hourly-load-profiles-for-all-tmy3-locations-in-theunited-states peters, j. f., baumann, m., zimmermann, b., braun, j., & weil, m. (2017, january). “the environmental impact of liion batteries and the role of key parameters – a review”. renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 67. 491-506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.08.039 seia. (n.d.). “solar investment tax credit”. https://www. seia.org/initiatives/solar-investment-tax-credit-itc seia & wood mackenzie. (2020, march) “us solar market insight – 2019 year in review”. https://www.seia.org/ research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-2019-yearreview 68 !"!#!$%& : : '("" 2021 sendy, a. (2020, february 25). is the tesla powerwall the best solar energy storage solution in 2020? https://www. solarreviews.com/blog/is-the-tesla-powerwall-the-best-solar-battery-available shlatz, e., buch, n., chan, m. (2013, november). “distributed generation integration cost study: analytical framework”. navigant consulting, inc. https://www.pjm.com/~/ media/committees-groups/committees/pc/20140530advance/20140530-distributed-generation-integrationcost-study-by-navigant-consulting.ashx st. john, j. (2020, january 21). “california finalizes plan shifting key energy storage incentive toward blackout resilience”. greentech media. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/california-finalizes-plan-shiftingkey-energy-storage-incentive-toward-blac sylvia, t. (2020, april 16). “massachusetts doubles the size of its smart solar incentive”. pv magazine usa. https:// pv-magazine-usa.com/2020/04/16/massachusetts-doubles-the-size-of-smart/ tervo, e., agbim, k., deangelis, f., hernandez, j., kim, h. k., & odukomaiya, a. (2018, october). “an economic analysis of residential photovoltaic systems with lithium-ion battery storage in the united states”. renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 94. 1057-1066. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.06.055 tesla. (2017, april 19). “tesla powerwall limited warranty (usa)”. https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/ powerwall/powerwall_2_ac_warranty_us_1-4.pdf tesla. (2019, june 11). “tesla powerwall 2 datasheet – north america”. https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/ files/pdfs/powerwall/powerwall%202_ac_datasheet_ en_northamerica.pdf trabish, h. (2019b, december 19). “tax credit, net metering declines strike distributed solar, but falling costs, storage o8er new hope”. utility dive. https://www.utilitydive. com/news/tax-credit-net-metering-declines-strike-distributed-solar-but-falling-cos/569098/ u.s. energy information administration. (2020). “average price of electricity to ultimate customers by end-use sector”. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a u.s. energy information administration. (2019). “average retail price of electricity, annual”. electricity data browser. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/ weiss, j., hagerty, m. j., castañer, m., & higham, j. (2019, september). “achieving 80% ghg reduction in new england by 2050”. the brattle group. https://brattlefiles. blob.core.windows.net/files/17233_achieving_80_percent_ghg_reduction_in_new_england_by_20150_september_2019.pdf )*&#'$#(! .!(-*-( is a third year undergraduate student at boston college studying english, philosophy, and women and gender studies. at boston college, christine is an undergraduate research fellow in both the english department and irish studies department and was awarded an advanced study grant by the university fellowships committee in 2021. her work pronouns and personhood: the construction of gender identities from the feminist perspective is a result of that reserach grant. $*"#,/ 0+,9/$2#+!' $-2.%& ,%&-.!' is a junior majoring in english, with a concentration in creative writing and film studies. on campus, taylor is the editor-in-chief of the maverick, an online political publication, and serves on the e-board for the glbtq+ leadership council in the undergraduate student government. morales is a social fellow for the university’s o5ce of communications. post-grad, she hopes to attend film school and pursue a career in the film industry. 5-$*!&#(! 1-&&!$$ is a los angeles native and currently in her third year studying economics with minors in history and environmental studies. through her work within boston college’s economics department and her 2021 internship with the o5ce of the public defender of los angeles county, she has developed a deep interest in the intersection of economics and policy. this passion fuels her current work with professor geo6ery sanzenbacher on a research paper examining the pathways through which childhood maltreatment diminishes a person’s adult net worth. (#((-&-2-( is a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in english with a minor in international studies. her academic interests include contemporary literature, studies in french language and culture, and global research in the humanities and social sciences. while at boston college, nina interned for post road magazine and served as a writing specialist with the university’s pilot writing center program. nina hopes to pursue a career that allows her to engage in work across disciplines and remain true to her passion for creating content that educates and entertains. ,-#2:*-.!( is a sophomore from brookline, massachusetts in the morrissey college of arts and sciences double majoring in biology and sociology. her interests include social justice, healthcare equality, and global health. on campus, she works as a copy editor for the gavel and is a member of the mcgillycuddy-logue fellows program. she also works as a research intern at massachusetts eye and ear researching gene therapies for blindness. after completing her undergraduate degree, she hopes to attend medical school. $*%,-' &%'$-" graduated from boston college in the spring of 2020 with a bachelor of arts degree in environmental studies. rostad has a wide variety of academic interests including philosophy, history, data science, and ecology. while at bc, rostad became particularly interested in the energy transition and the challenges that come with ending fossil fuel consumption. after two summer internships with clean energy companies, rostad knew he had found the right career path. 5+'" ,7 $/"<,/& !'8% :%&5'*%88 © wil540 art. (2021, october 2). espo workshop8 [photograph]. wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:espo_workshop8.jpg 13 41 )*-3)!& !..!',!&! © chaucer ellesmere. (2005, september 5). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaucer_ellesmere.jpg 54 +#13&! 1 © energysage. (2019, may 10). “storing solar energy: how solar batteries work”. https://www.energysage. com/solar/solar-energy-storage/how-do-solar-batteries-work/ ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !" !# $%&$'#"!(%)*+' ",)" ",' -(./)%!'# ",)" ,(+0 ",' /$*+!'1' "(0)1 )2' .(#"+1 32(. ",' "'-,%(+(41 #'-"(2. 42(5!%4 2)/!0+1 32(. ",' 1990# )%0 (%5)20#, ",' -$22'%" +')0'2# !% ",' 3!'+0 %(5 #'' ",'.#'+6'# )" ",' -'%"'2 (3 -(%-'2%# (6'2 .(%(/(+1 )%0 "2$#" 3(2.!%4 !##$'# ",)" ,)6' +'0 "( 2'%'5'0 !%"'2'#" 32(. ",' $# )""(2%'1 4'%'2)+’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probing the pertinance of antitrust law for big law +$2!(20)% /'"+&$23"/&' of the ten most valuable companies in the world as of november 3rd 2020, seven are technology companies, with five of those seven based in the united states and leaders in their respective sub industries. google, through alphabet inc., facebook and microsoft are three of these companies that have come under scrutiny for allegations of monopolistic or monopoly-forming behavior that could violate competition law of the united states in order to benefit themselves to an outsized degree. as the age of industrial power in the united states has waned, these types of companies have risen to take the place of the jp morgans and standard oils, at least in the eyes of consumer groups and trust-busting minded politicians of capitol hill. however, the fears of these groups are not entirely unfounded. dating back to the earlier telecoms boom and the rise of at&t, there have been fears of a growth of a new age of robber barons in the technology field that could come to dominate competition, forming their own trusts and ensuring that control of their markets is uncontested. dissent appears in this topic over whether or not so-called ‘high technology’ should be considered to fall under the purview of antitrust law, and there was considerable opposition to united states v. microsoft corp. in the academic world, with a combined 240 economists from institutions across the country coming together to warn of the dangers of overzealous enforcement of antitrust measures. worried that this prosecutorial appetite would hamper innovation, scholars wrote an open letter that demonstrated the complexity of the issue and raised the question of how far to go when it came to e4orts to protect competition and consumers from monopolistic tendencies. in this paper, i intend to lay out a brief history of antitrust in the united states and how it relates to the technology industry, focusing on a few major cases that relate to ongoing investigations being conducted by the department of justice and federal trade commision today. i will attempt to show the damages that monopolies can have on an economy, relating these to actions undertaken by certain companies before discussing the merits and demerits of enforcement and current laws enforced in the present day. the issue at hand is not solely an economic one, as even being perceived as a monopoly can prove to be detrimental to a company’s image, adding increased social costs to real or perceived economic costs. greater scrutiny and an increase in bureaucratic oversight can hamper development as more resources are dedicated to litigation, fact finding, and lobbying to counteract these developments. ultimately, there seems to be little agreement on the facts of antitrust measures going forward, with a general fear of ‘big tech’ and concerns over innovation incentives and protectionism weighing down the progress of the issues. criticism of antitrust action is not likely to recede whether it be related to increased or decreased measures, but as the united states raises new concerns regarding the nature of companies in the the technology field like facebook and google, there is likely to be increased discussion that relates to how far to go with the current and following rounds of antitrust action undertaken. however, the end goal will likely always remain the same in the technology industry and the general idea underpinning all antitrust regulation: ensure innovation and a lower barrier to entry is protected while making sure that no one individual or cartel can exert undue control over the market. #/-"&+, monopolization and anti-competitive actions have spanned the history of the united states, dating back to the progressive era and the robber barons who dominated much of the early industrialization of the north american continent. more recently, there have been serious instances where the issue of monopolization was brought to the forefront of the legal and political world, based on the understanding of the sherman act of 1890. the sherman act sought to ensure that no one company, or grouping of companies, could accrue so much power that they were able to dictate the nature in which trade, primarily with foreign powers but also across state boundaries,to allow for free competition and avoid the associated costs that could arrive with a coercive monopoly in the united states. trust busting and enforcement of the antitrust laws in the united states were prominent in the progressive era of the early 1900s. theodore roosevelt was particularly prominent in this e4ort and presided over one of the largest antitrust e4orts of the era with the northern securities co. case ruled to have violated competition law in 1904. the case held that the merger of the great northern and northern pacific railroads was unlawful as it would have created an e4ective monopoly over railroad tra5c in the western half of the united states, and at the time would have become the single largest company in the world. the major consideration underpinning the judgement was the 58 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 assertion that by combining these two railroads under a single holding, they would cease to be in competition with each other and would therefore constitute the creation of a restraint on interstate commerce (northern securities co. v. united states, 1904). more recently, technology companies have become the target for much of the antitrust action undertaken in the last forty or so years. at&t became a target in the case in 1982, breaking up the company’s local holdings into separate regional bell operating companies. it was suspected that at&t was using profits from western electric in order to subsidize the operation of their telecoms network. eventually a settlement was reached where the company was found to be in breach of us antitrust law and was ordered to divest from their network of bell companies and relinquish control of the yellow pages, creating the regional bell operating company system (enis & sullivan, 1985). twenty years later, microsoft came under attack for what was perceived to be acting in an uncompetitive manner. much of the complaint, filed by the us attorney general and twenty other states’ attorney generals, was based on the belief that the bundling of microsoft programs into their operating system was in the pursuit of a monopoly. this act was alleged to give away a microsoft-created product for free in order to further the control of the market that they already enjoyed. specifically, microsoft was alleged to have forced the inclusion of internet explorer into the windows suite, claiming it was an integrated feature of windows and not an extra product that they were bundling into the separate windows product. the court held that the bundling of microsoft’s own browsing program was indeed a violation of the sherman act and therefore anti-competitive. judge jackson ordered the breakup of microsoft into software development and operating system development components, but this was later reversed by an appeals court (united states v. microsoft corp., 2000). after this we see the continuation of antitrust laws in technology and telecoms focused on software and programs with the more recent filings against both facebook and google. in the past few months, the ceos of amazon, facebook, twitter and google all appeared before congress in order to testify over their practices in the virtual space and whether or not these actions have constituted a violation of us competition law. in a 2010 article, fortune stated that, “it’s safe to say social networking is facebook” demonstrating just how prominent that company in particular is in the popular imagination (kevin kelleher, 2010). however, popular image is not the only aspect in which these companies are seen as juggernauts of industry. as with microsoft becoming involved in action by the federal government, recent months have seen the growth of the department of justice and federal trade commission interest in pursuing action against both facebook and microsoft under the provisions of the sherman act. in complaints issued on october 20, 2020 and december 9, 2020 respectively, the federal government seems to be increasing their interest in antitrust action. citing both the 1974 and 1998 cases against at&t and microsoft, deputy attorney general rosenstein called the suit against google, “[an enforcement of ] the sherman act to restore the role of competition and open the door to the next wave of innovation … in digital markets” (o5ce of public a4airs, doj, 2020). additionally, and more recently, the filing of a suit against facebook may be one of the largest and most expansively supported actions taken by the ftc in technology antitrust cases. supported by an investigation from “attorney generals of 46 states, the district of columbia and guam” the complaint issued on december 9, 2020 describes the anticompetitive actions of facebook as including the strategic acquisitions of growing competitors whatsapp and instagram (o5ce of public a4airs, ftc, 2020). it also focuses on platform conduct that required companies developing applications that could interface with facebook to refrain from creating any competing products, e4ectively locking the developers into subservience to facebook’s own applications. the complaint specifically cites the case of vine, a social media app launched by twitter, that was denied access to friends lists originating from facebook due to the perceived threat the new application represented (o5ce of public a4airs, ftc, 2020). this suit is not without merit, as consumer watchdog submitted a complaint to the ftc alleging anti-competitive practices in facebook’s gaming department, requiring that developers using facebook as a social aspect of their games exclusively use facebook credits. consumer watchdog estimated this would bring in $2.1 billion in 2011 alone (simpson, 2011). 6'6*,-/from an economic theory standpoint, the issues present in monopolization cases are clear. monopolization is harmful by nature due to the incentives to maximize the individual profit of monopolists rather than producing at the free market equilibrium. as shown by even the most basic economics textbook, a monopolist will not produce at the intersection of the supply and demand curves, but will 59 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ instead produce at a point where marginal revenue equals marginal costs, creating a market where a smaller quantity of goods are produced for a higher price than we would see in even a marginally more competitive market. additionally, monopolized markets will see issues arise with consumer and producer surplus. as the number of suppliers drops to a single one and production shifts back on the price-quantity scale, we will see a combined increase in producer surplus with a similar, but not equal, decrease in consumer surplus along with the deadweight loss of this monopolized market. therefore, we can see that there is a clear and basic need for action to be taken against monopolizers, since the presence of these market practices leads to not only a decrease in the well-being of consumers but also for society as a whole in the deadweight loss. all this for the benefit of just an individual company or consortium. as it relates to technology companies, there are some economic concerns that arise as the government looks to prevent the formation of monopolies in the marketchief among these being the network e4ects that are so prominent in the technology industry. in the department of justice suit against microsoft in 1994, competitors of microsoft submitted a brief with a warning of the network e4ects that were far more prominent in technology than in almost any other market (elzinga et al., 2001). the economic section of this brief argued that by allowing microsoft to grow to such an extent, that the simple nature of their products would lock users into their use, which could lead to the crowding out of potentially superior technology. monopolization in the technology market is not just about the nature of the market itself, nor is antitrust law limited to simply growing too large through that. the sherman act outlaws assaults on competitive practices, and this concern in the tech industry was raised by cornell and cessna when discussing the e4ects that acquisitions can have on the technology market. citing the idea of ‘killer acquisitions’, the article talks about predatory practices in mergers and acquisitions that are outlined in the sherman act as anti-competitive actions (cornell & cessna, 2019). according to their article in competition law international, these acquisitions can be termed ‘acquihires’ due to their goal of taking in talented workers while denying the acquired firms the ability to present new products to the market. data from 2020 may support this assertion of strategic and anti-competitive acquisitions, with a total of 406 mergers and acquisitions in the technology service sector in 2020 with a combined value of over $114 billion. as seen in graph 2, the technology sector had the second largest number of mergers and acquisitions behind only commercial services but outperformed all over sectors in value by at least $70 billion. in fact, the only sector coming anywhere near that number being the health services industry with only $41.8 billion in value from 108 transactions. this suggests that the technology market is seeing vast consolidation of valuable companies that completely outpaces the rates of consolidation of other industries. linking this back to the concerns of network e4ects brought to the forefront in the 1994 case, there is a clear concern here that domination of the technology market can lead to the dumbing down of the field with inferior products, with market share protected only by the size of the networks and financial power given to them and the use of said power to absorb smaller firms that may threaten their dominance. even though the fears of monopoly are clear in the already mentioned microsoft case, there is a key factor that does cast some doubt on how truly anti-competitive microsoft was in their actions leading up to the suit. an open letter, published by the independent institute and run in both the washington post and new york times, decried the suit (')1" 1: (')1" 2..$*!')!2%( !"# *"2/!* 2% 1'2+# )%& 3$)%!2!4 *$11.4 )* ) 5)'6#! +")%(#* /'-5 ) 1#'/#+!.4 +-51#!2!27# 5)'6#! !) !'$# 5-%-1-.4. (!"#$%&'( ") '*(+"$,"%"$-.-.%/#0..") 60 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 brought against microsoft as nothing more than action that would benefit none but the company’s competitors. the letter, signed by 240 economists from across the united states, claimed that by allowing the action to go forward, the government would in e4ect be hampering the innovation of the technology industry that had driven microsoft to its position of dominance in the market. the signatories claimed that consumers saw falling prices rather than rising, suggesting that monopoly power was not being exerted by microsoft and that the dominance of bill gates’ company could be attributed to the free markets and dynamism of technology. this dynamism was also credited with driving competitors of the company in 1994 to provide the economic brief mentioned earlier. decrying actions that were being taken as protectionist, the letter warned that too much government overreach into the market would invariably lead to a situation where “successful innovators are penalized, scale economies are lost, and competition is thwarted, not enhanced. instead of preventing prices from rising, antitrust protectionism keeps prices from falling” (the independent institute, 1999). in terms of the formal determination of what is a monopoly, the united states has a relatively robust understanding that allows for market domination but likely not complete control. “a rough rule of thumb in the united states is that a 90% share of a well-defined relevant market is a monopoly, 66% may be a monopoly, and 33% clearly is not.” (waller, 2012, p. 1776) as it pertains to both google as a search engine, it is almost certainly a monopoly. over the last 10 years, google has maintained between 86% and 92% of the global search engine market, making it by definition a monopoly or near monopoly by the standards of the united states, while in the united states alone, there is less clear evidence of this with market share maintained only a little over 60%. since 2008 we can see that it did peak at 68.8% in january of 2016, but this would only make it a likely monopoly by us standards. (')1" 2: (')1"* *"-82%( !"# %$50#' )%& 7).$# -/ 5#'(#'* )%& )+3$2*2!2-%* 2% *#.#+!#& 2%&$*!'2#*. (!"#$%&'( ") '%*%.'%*) (')1" 3: (')1"* *"-82%( (.-0). *#)'+" #%(2%# 5)'6#! *")'# )%& &-5#*!2+ $* *#)'+" 3$#'4 *")'# 04 *#.#+! *#)'+" #%(2%#*. (!"#$%&'( ") '%*%.'%*) 61 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ when we consider the growth of microsoft market share in search query handling, which peaked in july 2020 at 25.9%, it becomes questionable as to how strong is google’s monopoly over this aspect of technology. in 1994, the antitrust case against microsoft was driven in part by evidence brought to the judge by gary reback, an attorney for some of microsoft’s competitors. the evidence consisted of a 96-page amicus brief that provided details he claimed was pertinent to the case (elzinga et al., 2001, p. 637). the clients represented by reback were kept confidential, which raises some questions regarding the incentives for antitrust action in the technology sphere, especially when you consider that reback was also involved in lobbying for such action against microsoft before the suit was brought (elzinga et al., 2001, p. 637). fighting against calls to break up microsoft in 1995, the department of justice had called the attempt a remedy that might advance the interests of microsoft’s competitors but would invariably act against the interests of the public. they claimed that the actions of microsoft had brought benefits to the technology sector as a whole, increasing the rate of innovation and providing a lower barrier to entry for new firms (elzinga et al., 2001, pp. 640–641). table 1 includes the findings from corptech as to the number of software firms in the market around the time of the suits against microsoft. while microsoft may have shown dominance in the market, it is clear that they could not have been acting as an e4ective monopoly with firm formation occurring in such a way. by allowing for suits that target industry drivers, there is ample incentive for companies to latch on to these actions if it will reduce the market share of their competitors. as discussed before, a concern with the technology industry is the presence of strong network e4ects that could drive monopolization. yet, should monopolization be avoided, hindering companies for fear of these e4ects could hamper the growth of the industry as a whole in favor of what would ostensibly become a cartel that controls development for their own needs. potential monopolization in technology has not only created vast economic reserves for the companies suspected of the practices but has also given them vast lobbying power and a reputation in the eyes of the american public as predatory corporations that seek nothing more than the extension of their monopoly power in the market. graph 4 displays a breakdown of just how pervasive the idea of monopolization in the technology industry has become in the united states. indeed the attitudes expressed here are not only held by the average public, but also by academics. discussing the classification of social media in 2013, adam thierer referenced academic zeynep tufecki and her categorization of facebook and google as potential “social utilities” that are at risk of becoming corporatized regardless of their nature as “essential to one’s social existence” (thierer, 2013, p. 254). however, this approach to classifying social media is warned against in the article, regardless of the beliefs of academics. thierer argues that while networks like facebook and twitter provide strong networked services, they are not the endpoint of social media interaction, pointing out that applications like friendster and myspace have faded from the spotlight despite being dominant (thierer, 2013, p. 275). so far, antitrust law has seemed to work well as a measure against monopolization in technology, as it allows for the flexibility of the government in whether to break up com!)0.# 1: +-'1-')!# !#+"%-.-(4 2%/-'5)!2-% *#'72+#*, +-'1!#+" &)!)0)*#, $%1$0.2*"#& !)0$.)!2-% (2000) (')1" 4: !"# 0'#)6&-8% -/ -12%2-% '#()'&2%( 0'#)62%( $1 ‘02( !#+"’ 04 1-.2!2+). )//2.2)!2-% 2% !"# $%2!#& *!)!#* (!"#$%&'( ") '%*%.'%*) 62 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 panies-as was the case with at&t-or to allow companies to continue to exist as they were with simple changes to their own business practices-as was the case with microsoft in 1994. however, in his testimony to congress in october of 2020, bill baer of the brookings institute warned of underenforcement of antitrust measures (baer, 2020). he claimed that the standards for antitrust action were far too high and had led to consolidation of firms in markets that would have been quashed in the 1990s. highlighting the overturned decision against microsoft in 2001, he stated that antitrust action is “too cautious, too worried about adverse e4ects of ‘over enforcement’ (so called type i errors)” (baer, 2020) and that consequently the minimum standard for enforcement was higher than the given black letter law standard of a preponderance of evidence. this fear of error is present in elzinga et al.’s article on the cases against microsoft, stating, “as in medicine, antitrust remedies must be considered for their side e4ects. the antitrust parallel to the hippocratic oath’s “do no harm” is “don’t make it worse.” (elzinga et al., 2001, p. 689). baer went on to decry current antitrust law as omitting the presumption that certain behaviours were likely to lead to the reduction of competition. this would then allow defendants in any antitrust case to simply claim that they were only acting in the same way that any other company would in their position. baer’s final criticism on antitrust actions as of 2020 was not the law itself but the lack of resources available to those enforcing it. in fact, his assertion was not so much a call to action but a call to observation: “but second, more resources would allow for after-action studies of what happened in markets where the agencies decided not to bring enforcement actions or where the courts rejected an antitrust challenge. developing that data would allow the antitrust enforcers to demonstrate to the courts what happens when there is under-enforcement” (baer, 2020). this evaluation of the current state of law could avoid the pitfalls of the type 1 errors he mentioned earlier in his testimony, as further understanding of how the market reacts to actions considered potentially anti-competitive could allow for a more concrete understanding of the ways in which these actions a4ect the market. this can avoid either the problem of overenforcement or underenforcement that has damaged antitrust action over time. 3&'3*2-/&' 6'$ /%.*/36"/&'so far, the only unifying factor that we can see in antitrust law today is that there is little consensus on where it should go in the future. as discussed, there have been calls for the breakup of larger companies, particularly for microsoft in the cases brought against them by the federal government between 1990 and 2001. all the while, there has also been pushback against this kind of bureaucratic involvement in the market from economists that credit control over the market to the dynamism of technological development and the natural flow of economic cycles. yet what can be agreed upon likely is that there is too much that is currently unclear in antitrust measures as it pertains to technology. some broad conclusions can be drawn about the state of the technology market to give future policy makers an idea of what they are dealing with. looking back to the analysis section, we can see that this sector of the economy is potentially the single greatest value creator of any market in which economic activity currently takes place. that provides lawmakers with a clear dilemma with regulation. obviously the government would want to encourage growth of economic activity in this field, as more activity provides more jobs and higher tax income from profitable companies and employed citizens. however, this kind of market also incentivizes practices that the government may deem unwanted. the department of justice complaint filed this year details the practices said to be used by google to ensure its dominance in such a valuable market, claiming the use of exclusivity agreements and irreversible pre-installations of their own products on devices regardless of the desires of customers. so a balance must be struck that must prevent exploitation but, as the independent institute warned in 1999, does not result in restrictions that muzzle innovation in the field. “...a balance must be struck that must prevent exploitation but, as the independent institute warned in 1999, does not result in restrictions that muzzle innovation in the field.” 63 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ additionally, there is a worry that over-enforcement of these actions as the opening of cases into a competitor by the government may provide a perverse incentive for companies to submit evidence or lobby the government to break up individual companies that have gained a dominant spot simply because of their business acumen, technology, or just random chance that the sherman act does allow for in a competitive market. legislators and regulators must therefore be wary of being overzealous in their approach to the topic at hand, lest they create a less competitive market in search of just the opposite. antitrust law can be tricky for these reasons and the success of the technology industry may be down to the laissez-faire approach the government in the united states has taken, as opposed to the stricter regulation that befalls the european markets. the public perception of companies in the technology sector does leave the average viewer wondering what can be done to restore trust in the technology sector and allow for the innovation that has led to such a growth of economic activity. the most prominent of ideas that could be implemented to answer the problem may be by protecting personal data as a way to reduce the control that large companies exert, particularly on social media. the largest concern about social media control has to do with the level of control to which they exert over the choice of platform. with the acquisition of instagram and whatsapp, facebook was able to allow users to port their data from one platform to another, expanding their network between these three apps and creating a closed system that was mutually beneficial between them. twitter data cannot be shared across these apps and in a similar way, google can port data between devices that use their search engine and create a history and profile from a user’s queries. e4ectively, these companies control a user’s data that they input into their network and can e4ectively lock them in using that data as a ‘sunkcost’. if a user has spent so much time on one platform or network, why would they switch over to another that requires them to build a completely new profile? no matter if the technology on this new network is superior, they simply do not have the interconnectivity that the original network provides. the mit technology review suggests that this policy of data regulation is the best way forward and indeed implies a breakup of technology companies would be more ine5cient and costly than simply regulating their practices (chen, 2019). by removing a user’s data from the control of social media giants, the government could successfully eliminate much of the detrimental lock-in network e4ects of ‘big tech’ and provide a jumping o4 point for increased innovation. instead of exclusive access to data that user’s provide to technology companies, the government could legislate to give control of said data back to consumers or mandate that data be considered an integral part of the online persona of internet users. these users would then be able to lend out that data to platforms and remove it at will. by doing so, technology companies would simply be purveyors of platforms for the data, turning the market from one driven by the collection and control of data to one that would again reward technology and innovation rather than consolidation. this does raise some questions about what kind of data could be shared across platforms and how those platforms could use said data. however, by forcing data to be shared between platforms the advertising market could be opened up as more suppliers enter the market and the barrier to entry for new firms in the social and technology space would be lowered by the newfound prevalence of data in the market. ultimately we would hope to see this policy boost the rate of innovation in the technology sector as mentioned, but some will be at a disadvantage, even as the market would likely grow. facebook, twitter, google, and other technology giants would naturally see their market dominance decrease, particularly in social media , as google seems well insulated in the search engine market. depending on what legislation or amendments to the sherman act are passed, there would likely be litigation that challenges the nature of the data in a similar way to the 2000 microsoft case, potentially claiming said data as a feature of the products and not separate entities over which they exert uncompetitive control. however, should a hands-o4 approach be taken, as suggested in bill baer’s testimony to the house committee on the judiciary, a more scientific approach could lead to more concrete standards of what actions truly lead to monopolistic consolidation. ultimately, the nature of the technology sector is unlikely to change drastically with new antitrust measures undertaken. based on previous cases, if the court rules against facebook and google, there will likely be a challenge and potential settlement that allows for the maintenance of the companies but forces them to release data that they previously held exclusively and orders them to refrain from exclusivity deals, such as google’s deal with apple as cited in the doj complaint of this year (o5ce of public a4airs, doj, 2020). ultimately, americans may dislike “big tech,” but many 64 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 believe they cannot live without it. facebook and google are unlikely to disappear in the same way that microsoft is still a major player in the technology industry. however, should more e4ective standards be determined, we should hope to see a new growth in technology innovation that may upset the power of the established juggernauts. +!(!+!'3!baer, b. (2020, october 1). proposals to strengthen the antitrust laws and restore competition online [testimony]. chen, a. (2019, june 7). how to regulate big tech without breaking it up. mit technology review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/07/135034/big-tech-monopoly-breakup-ama zon-apple-facebook-google-regulation-policy/ cornell, t., & cessna, a. (2019). do not pass go: a new card in us antitrust enforcement of the tech titans. competition law international (iba), 1502. elzinga, k. g., evans, d. s., & nichols, a. l. (2001). united states v. microsoft: remedy or malady. george mason law review, 9. enis, b., & sullivan, t. (1985). the at&t settlement: legal summary, economic analysis, and marketing implications. journal of marketing, 49(1), 127–136. kevin kelleher. (2010, november 19). how facebook learned from myspace’s mistakes. fortune. https://fortune.com/2010/11/19/how-facebook-learned-frommyspaces-mistakes/ northern securities co. v. united states, (supreme court of the united states 1904). o5ce of public a4airs, doj. (2020, october 20). justice department sues monopolist google for violating antitrust laws. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-monopolist-google-violating-antitr ust-laws o5ce of public a4airs, ftc. (2020, december 9). ftc sues facebook for illegal monopolization. federal trade commission. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/12/ftc-sues-facebook-illegal-mono polization simpson, j. (2011). consumer watchdog says facebook credits used in online games violate antitrust law; asks federal trade commission to intervene | consumer watchdog. consumer watchdog. https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/consumer-watchdog-says-facebook-cr edits-used-online-games-violate-antitrust-lawasks-fed the independent institute. (1999, june 2). an open letter to president bill clinton from 240 economists on antitrust protectionism. washington post. thierer, a. (2013). the perils of classifying social media platforms as public utilities. catholic university journal of law and technology, 21. united states v. microsoft corp., (united states district court, district of columbia june 7, 2000). waller, s. w. (2012). social networks and the law: antitrust and social networking. north carolina law review, 90. 65 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ */-" &( 6+"7&+8 !"# $%!!&# '( !"# )'**# +'*,+: !"# )!'-. '( /,&&,%* *+(%01#%2 © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 (,34-# 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. #%)!#5-'+&%*%!,'2 '( 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old (,34-# 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „rf estimates of e4ect of di4erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 3, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „2sls estimates of e4ect of di4erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& % © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel a: estimates on cases“. (,34-# 4, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel b: estimates on deaths“. 35 38 43 45 %-!,(,+,%& ).2%5)#) $%)#0 '2 (#--'-#&#+!-,+ !422#& 642+!,'2) © mike davies intel labs, intel corporation et. al: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:artificial_synapses_based_on_ftjs.png), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode !%$&# ,,, ,2(#-#2+# 5'/#%20 5'/#4!,&,1%!,'2 © tasbolat taunyazov, weicong sng, hian hian see, brian lim, jethro kuan, abdul fatir ansari, benjamin c.k. tee, and harold soh: (http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss16/p020.pdf), „table iii: inference speed and power utilization“ $&%+"# &%*'2! %! "#+&%, *'2!%2%, /,!" "#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e5ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e5ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 6+"7&+8 +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o5ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! '( 64)!,+# %*'23 '!"#-) %22'42+#0 23 +-,*,2%& +"%-3#) © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %*#-,+% 3&'$%& !-%0# 0#(,+,! © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 +"%-&#) +'43"&,2, &#%0#'( !"# +"-,)!,%2 (-'2! © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 3#-*%2 %*#-,+%2 $420 -%&&., 2#/ .'-9, *%0,)'2 )74%-# 3%-#2, (#$ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o5ce of the chief signal o5cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 ·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’0&#$&/-. 4$*+ . #.,3& $,$-+-%.*+"#$% !"#$%& /",%&, $* $&($6&'* *+.* *+& !"#$%& '"* "'#2 +.6 )&)0&,-+$! $' *+& %+,$-*$.' /,"'* 05* .#-" *+"-& -2)!.*+&*$% *" *+& )"(&)&'*. *+& -*,"'3+"#6 "/ *+& %+,$-*$.' /,"'* .'6 *+& .'*$--&)$*$% 0&#$&/!,&(.#&'* *+,"53+"5* *+& '2!6 ,&-5#*&6 $' *+& %,&.*$"' "/ .' &'($,"')&'* 4+&,& .'*$--&)$*$% .**.%1%"5#6 !,"#$/&,.*& 5'.66,&--&6, .'6 4+&,& $,$-+ %.*+"#$% '.*$"'.#$-*%"5#6 -!,&.6 .'6 $)!"-& *+&$, 0&#$&/"/ .'*$--&)$*$-) .'6 *+,"53+ *+&$, !"-$*$"'"/ !"4&, $' . #.4 &'/",%&)&'* ,"#&. !"# $%&'# %( !"# $&%(! analyzing the police sympathy for the christian front movement in brooklyn from 1938-1940 -$"0+.' !&'6&, introduction there is significant evidence of police membership in the christian front in the 1930s and 40s in new york city and largely in the borough of brooklyn, drawing on support from the sizable irish catholic population of this area and the enticing leadership of irish catholic priest father coughlin (milner, 1971). the legacy of the cf and of father coughlin on the national level was strongly shaken with the 1940 arrest of seventeen brooklyn-based members, after the fbi discovered their terror plot created to destroy jewish businesses, blow up areas of new york, and assassinate members of congress; however, in brooklyn there still remained strong support from their irishcatholic members (vials, 2014). in this paper, i would like to argue that upon an examination of primary documents such as newspapers from the time of the 1940 fbi arrest of cf radicals as well as other scholarly works on police and radical groups, the christian front was able to grow in popularity in brooklyn due to its population of irishcatholics and large participation in the police force. therefore policemen held these anti-semitic beliefs and potential cf membership at the time. this fact is further emphasized by the lack of police action against the many anti-semitic attacks, especially from irish gangs, as well as the tendency for the police to not address those accused of cf membership in their ranks, even after the 1940 fbi raid and arrest of the radical christian fronters in brooklyn. irish catholic american involvement it is important to consider the cultural background of the people who made up the cf group in nyc. there are connections between the fascist movement in ireland and similar beliefs being held by irish-americans in the brooklyn borough. these beliefs were similarly espoused by the cf, so it is no surprise that a large part of their membership was irish americans who likely grew up in this ideology which had ingrained in it an inherent refusal to distinguish between communists and jews and denouncing both groups. the christian front was a religious organization with a largely irish catholic membership base, which enabled the large population of irish-catholic americans in brooklyn during the 20th century to drive the membership of the cf in this area. as fein notes in his work, “[a] nother important aspect of the membership of the christian front was that it was a religiously based organization, led by an irish catholic priest. as was the case with so much of the cf’s ideology, its religiously-based anti-semitism derived directly from coughlin and his program of social justice,” making it an organization with a religious basis for it’s anti-semitism (fein, 2009). the role of anti-semitism catholic anti-semitism, especially from irish catholics, grew from the deicide accusation of the jews being responsible for jesus’ death that was propagated by priests and nuns in catholic schools and churches for centuries; this sentiment became increasingly severe during the 1930s, which resulted in a dangerous environment for jews in the northeast, where heavily catholic populations resided, such as in brooklyn, ny (norwood, 2003). in new york city during the time of wwii, irish catholic youths terrorized jews in the streets. this was inspired by the christian front and its anti-semitic gangs, which had a “deliberate policy of provoking violence against the jews” (norwood, 2003). “young christian front hoodlums in the german, irish and italian communities were fond of jew-bashing,” and the areas in new york in which these assaults of jews occurred the most were known to be heavily irish american neighborhoods, and the christian front was considered to be made up of almost entirely all irish and catholic individuals (murray, 2018).+")'.#* +-$(".1%, .#)&#' -/ !"# +"'1*!1)% /'-%! (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 98 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 even before the arrest, the police were accused of being hesitant to reply to anti-semitic hate crimes or assaults. the culture surrounding irish-americans’ reluctance to act, and even their voicing of anti-semitic rhetoric and committing violence against jewish people, was already established prior to the rise of the christian front and the subsequent irish— and police—involvement. therefore, this anti-semitic behavior did not just simply dissipate following the 1940 arrest of cf radicals, even as the cf nationally lost its credibility due to its association with a terrorist group. they remained prevalent in the populations of irish catholics in brooklyn who still held the same sentiments promoted by the front. in new york, a significant number of policemen were christian front members or sympathizers, which resulted in a general disinterest in protecting the safety of jews who were being attacked in the streets by these anti-semitic, christian front gangs. according to a new york post columnist victor riesel, the fbi director j. edgar hoover had supplied mayor laguardia with a list of 1,500 policemen who had applied to be members of the christian front, which the city government never took disciplinary action against (norwood, 2003). some of the jewish merchants who had been picketed by christian fronters had reached out to new york police commissioner lewis valentine to ask for police help against these anti-semitic harassment, but perhaps due to the fact that nearly two thirds of new york’s policemen were irish-americans who may have held anti-semitic sentiments, the merchants were told that the police could not help in preventing “peaceful picketing” (norwood, 2003). additionally, mayor laguardia viewed the anti-semitic “incidents” in new york as “sporadic and unorganized,” and therefore the police remained unsympathetic to calls to take action to stop the violence; it was even reported that the new york police would often describe acts of anti-semitic vandalism as “boyish pranks” rather than actual crimes, diminishing the significance of the threat to jewish people in nyc (norwood, 2003). the 1940 fbi arrest and the police reaction the 1940 fbi arrest notably sparked questions about the other members of the christian front organization, which in turn led to the quest for police members either sympathetic to or participating in the cf. this sympathetic nature of the police had enabled the cf to grow and proliferate in the 1930s since its population included irish catholic nationalists. ten of the arrested christian front members in 1940 were irish-americans, who the fbi believed imitated irish republican army (ira) techniques in manufacturing explosives. the federal government’s arrest of these activists on charges of conspiring to overthrow the us government and steal ammunition from a national guard armory did not significantly undermine the support for this group in irish catholic neighborhoods. in fact, anti-semitism continued to increase there, even as coughlin and his christian front began to decrease in nationwide popularity (norwood, 2003). the public pressure following the 1940 arrest to address the question of whether nypd members were part of the christian front required the mayor and the commissioner to take action. as noted in the 1940 newspaper article from the daily worker, “[r]eacting to persistent demands that the police department be probed for existence of cells of the terrorist christian front, police commissioner lewis valentine yesterday ordered all cops in the city to state whether they were ever connected with the front or the nazi bund.” the police commissioner valentine ordered the distribution of a questionnaire to all policemen in the force, asking them to answer about their political habits, for the first time addressing the public demands to search out for subversive activity within the force. as noted by gene fein in his dissertation, “[t]he arrest of the [christian] fronters [in nyc] gave mayor laguardia enough political currency to address the charges of police laxity in anti-semitic matters that plagued his o3ce since 1938…the mayor ordered investigations commissioner william herlands to investigate police membership in the “in new york, a significant number of policemen were christian front members or sympathizers, which resulted in a general disinterest in protecting the safety of jews who were being attacked in the streets by these anti-semitic, christian front ganges.” 99 !"# $%&'# %( !"# $&%(! christian front” (fein, 2006). while almost all but a few of the policemen filled out this questionnaire, “fronters denied that membership interfered with the ability of police o3cers to do their jobs. they said it should make no di4erence to the city what police o3cers’ activities were while o4-duty” (fein, 2006). when it was reported that the new york fire department had firemen with membership in the christian front, this sentiment was similarly echoed by fire commissioner john j. mcelligott who was quoted as saying: ‘what laws are being violated by being members of these organizations, including the christian front? i hold no brief for anti-semitism or anti-religious groups, but a fireman’s first job is to be a good fireman, and his second is to be a good citizen. if he is both, and violates no laws, i am not inquiring into anything else.’ (norwood, 2003) this statement is very similar to the words of the fronters who opposed the distribution of the survey amongst the police department, which demonstrates the reluctance of the leaders of the police and fire department to identify and investigate radicals within their forces. the intention of the questionnaire that mayor laguardia ordered was “chiefly for the protection of the men themselves,” so that they could disprove the accusations that the police force had a large number of o3cers that were also christian front members. the mayor asserted that the questionnaire would demonstrate that police in the christian front are “few and far between,” and that those who did join or had filed for membership applications did so under the assumption that it was for a religious or fraternal organization (the brooklyn daily eagle, 1940). the motivation for the distribution of the questionnaire resulted from an inquiry from the year before, “when word reached mayor laguardia and mr. valentine that one patrolman had boasted that several manhattan precincts were ‘“controlled by christians’” and they were “getting rid of all the jews” in those precincts (the brooklyn daily eagle, 1940). the decision to investigate these statements from the patrolman came after organizations in nyc interested in combatting anti-semitism and racial prejudice protested to the mayor and the commissioner of long previous inaction on the part of the police to address anti-semitism. in new york city and in boston, it was shown that a large proportion of the police force was made up of followers, and not necessarily declared members, of the revolutionary christian front (zi4, 1944). as noted in the daily worker 1940 newspaper article, “[t]he non-sectarian antinazi league to champion human rights charged last month that 40 members of the police department were members of the christian front. valentine said they know who are the members of the christian front,” and that there is an ongoing investigation (daily worker, 1940). from the survey sent out, “[o]nly twenty-seven admitted to being members of the christian front at the time of the survey, although 407 admitted having been members in the past. most claimed to have joined the front because they thought it was a religious organization. all previous members had voluntarily quit before the questionnaire was sent out” (fein, 2006). the ideals and goals of the radical anti-semitic group were held by many o3cers, evidenced by either their previous membership within the cf or by their lack of action in addressing anti-semitic incidents. not only were police criticized for their overall inaction to address anti-semitic attacks, but also the police force was accused of ignoring and disregarding christian front membership in their force, even after the 1940 fbi arrest. the mayor and the police commissioner were publicly criticized in one of these articles from 1943 for not condemning the police o3cer james l. drew who was accused of subversive activities, including anti-semitic a3liations, three years after the fbi arrest. this clearance was met with opposition and disapproval, as corporation counsel deau wilkinson concluded that drew “should be found guilty and dismissed from the service.” commissioner of investigation william b. herlands was another expert who concurred with the sentiment that drew should be dismissed, and after hearing that drew was cleared, (#'2)% )2#'1+)% 0$%& ')..3, %#4 3-'5, 2)&1*-% *6$)'# ()'#%, /#0'$)'3 1939(!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 100 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 herlands commented, “the police commissioner’s decision in the drew case is a major defeat on the home front… in my opinion the police commissioner’s decision is contrary to the evidence and sound public policy. i am at a complete loss to understand the basis for his decision” (margoshes, 1943). drew admitted to consorting with “the jew-haters of the mcwilliams outfit, with the fascists of the christian front, with bundists of the nazi persuasion” (margoshes, 1943). through his involvement in this fascist groups, he had in his possession “a great quantity of anti-semitic and antiamerican propaganda material,” further mounting the evidence against him for his involvement in these anti-semitic organizations (margoshes, 1943). after the exoneration of james drew, dr. margoshes, editor of the day, declared that drew was only one of the many nyc police o4ers who held “subversive, anti-democratic, and anti-semitic views,” even in the years following the distribution of the questionnaire regarding police involvement in subversive groups that was intended to seek out this membership (margoshes, 1943). such divisiveness and criticism of the police handling of the cf members within their organization reflects the sentiment that the lenient sentiment of the police enabled the cf to flourish and attract membership not only from the population of brooklyn but also from within the police force itself. delayed reaction and criticisms police commissioner louis valentine did not explain why the city government waited so long to seek out the subversives within the nypd, but this delay was likely due to the nature of the police force and the prevalence of anti-semitic sentiments in alignment with the movement of the christian front. the “catholic supporters of the christian front expressed indignation. they complained that the survey was a violation of civil rights and demanded an apology from the mayor” (fein, 2006). the questions from the survey asked about their involvement in any “subversive” group, such as a nazi, fascist, or communist organization, interestingly grouping fascism and communism together, as they were viewed during this time as opposing perspectives, but were associated together in this survey. from the daily worker in february 1940, the journalist noted that, “the commissioner, however, failed to di4erentiate between the reactionary front and bund from the working class, the communist party. he said his probe was aimed at the christian front, but the questionnaire sent out to 20,000 policemen to only asked if they were members of the front, but also: “have you ever been a member of any subversive, communist, bund and fascist organization?” linking of the word “communist” with “bund and fascist,” a dangerous confusion, was seen as opening the way for a local police drive against not only communists but other labor leaders under the pretext of fighting such subversive forces as coughlinite and nazi terror and anti-labor gangs.” (daily worker, 1940). publications such as the brooklyn tablet deemed the questionnaire “the police inquisition” and considered it to be a hypocritical procedure due to the “known atheists, radicals and communists” found in the city government. the mayor was oftentimes accused of being a communist, and gene fein notes in his dissertation, “[t]he questionnaire was viewed as part of laguardia’s plan to discredit the front because o3cers who dropped out of the cf were forced to say they had left because it was a “subversive group.” when only twenty-seven policemen admitted to being christian fronters, the mayor, who was “surrounded by communists and a few phony catholics,” immediately called for an investigation,” indicating his hypocrisy – as viewed by cf sympathizers – in cracking down on subversives within the police force but not his own government (fein, 2006). “the questions from the survey asked about their involvement in any ‘subversive ‘ group, such as a nazi, fascist, or communist organization, interestingly grouping fascism and communism together, as they were viewed during this time as opposing perspectives...” 101 !"# $%&'# %( !"# $&%(! conclusion in this paper, i have argued that the police involvement in the christian front movement in brooklyn, ny grew unnoticed, resulting in the proliferation of anti-semitic violence in these regions, even after the police commissioner and mayor were forced to address the issue after the arrest in 1940 of 17 christian front members accused of planning terrorist activities. the christian front was able to grow in an area like brooklyn due to its high population of irish-catholics, and since the christian front was a religiously-based anti-semitic group led by an irish catholic priest, these people aligned well with the movement’s beliefs; it was here that the cf was able to garner and maintain strong support, even after a scandal such as the 1940 fbi arrest that otherwise discredited the group nationwide. these facts are evidenced by the lack of police action to address anti-semitic issues in nyc, in the times before the 1940 arrest of the cf radicals but also in the years after, as the beliefs did not dissipate with the downfall of coughlin and the cf’s national popularity due to their association with the terrorist group, but were maintained in areas with substantial christian front membership (vials, 2014). the stronghold of the christian front and the anti-semitic beliefs prevalent throughout the nypd resulted in the creation of an environment where anti-semitic attacks could proliferate unaddressed, and where irish catholic nationalists could spread their beliefs of anti-semitism and impose them through their positions of power in a law enforcement role. +!(!+!'5!“cops asked if they belong to christian front: valentine question seen dangerously confusing on issue of c.p.” daily worker (new york, ny), feb. 9, 1940. file:///users/ siobhanpender/desktop/bc%20junior%20year/christian%20front%20police.pdf fein, gene. “for christ and country: the christian front in new york city, 1938-1951.” 2006. fein, gene. “twisted social justice: father coughlin & the christian front.” forum on public policy: a journal of the oxford round table (2009). gale academic onefile (accessed december 6, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/ d o c / a 2 1 6 6 8 2 6 1 4 / a o n e ? u = m l i n _ b _ massblc&sid=aone&xid=f5bc3a5d. margoshes, dr. s. “again about the drew case. is it closed? not by a long shot. write to mayor laguardia!” 1943. (newspaper source) murray, peter. “big causes and small nations: michael sayers, writing, fascism, communism and jewish-irishness.” irish studies review, 26:4, 531-548 (2018). taylor and francis online (accessed december 6, 2020). https:// www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09670882.2018. 1519967 neal a. milner. “supreme court e4ectiveness and the police organization,” law and contemporary problems 36, no. 4 (autumn 1971). page 467-487. https://heinonline. org/hol/page?men_tab=srchresults&handle=hein.journals/lcp36&id=487&size=2&collection=journals&terms= christian%20front&termtype=phrase&set_as_cursor= norwood, stephen h. “marauding youth and the christian front: antisemitic violence in boston and new york during world war ii.” american jewish history 91, no. 2 (2003): 233-67. accessed november 24, 2020. http://www. jstor.org/stable/23887201. “police ‘isms’ quiz traced to mayor: aimed to disprove boasts of ‘front’ orators, he says.” the brooklyn daily eagle (brooklyn, ny), feb. 9, 1940. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52689966/ vials, chris. haunted by hitler : liberals, the left, and the fight against fascism in the united states. amherst: university of massachusetts press, 2014. zi4 william b. gentlemen talk of peace. 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(n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 (,34-# 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. #%)!#5-'+&%*%!,'2 '( 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old (,34-# 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. 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(,34-# 4, 5%2#& $ © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel b: estimates on deaths“. 35 38 43 45 %-!,(,+,%& ).2%5)#) $%)#0 '2 (#--'-#&#+!-,+ !422#& 642+!,'2) © mike davies intel labs, intel corporation et. al: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:artificial_synapses_based_on_ftjs.png), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode !%$&# ,,, ,2(#-#2+# 5'/#%20 5'/#4!,&,1%!,'2 © tasbolat taunyazov, weicong sng, hian hian see, brian lim, jethro kuan, abdul fatir ansari, benjamin c.k. tee, and harold soh: (http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss16/p020.pdf), „table iii: inference speed and power utilization“ $&%+"# &%*'2! %! "#+&%, *'2!%2%, /,!" "#)!40#2!), 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us !"#'0'-# 04--%2!’) *43)"'! © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 3-%5" ,&&4)!-%!,23 !"# )",(!) ,2 5-,+# %20 74%2!,!. )455&. © originally published in 31.11 e3ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e3ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 3-%5") )"'/,23 !"# 24*$#%20 8%&4# '( *#-3#-) %20 %+74,),!,'2) © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 3-%5") )"'/,23 3&'$%& 74#-. )"%-# $. )##&+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 3-%5") )"'/,23 0'*#)!,+ 4) )#%-+" 74#-. )"%-# $. )#&#+! )#%-+" #23,2#) © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). */-" &( 6+"7&+8 +'-5'-%!# !#+"2'&'3. ,2('-*%!,'2 )#-8,+#) © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 (,34-# 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ !"# $-#%90'/2 '( '5,2,'2 -#3%-0,23 $-#%9,23 45 ‘$,3 !#+"’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 5'!#2!,%& ),32%!'-,#), ),32%!'-,#), %20 5%-!,#) !' !"# %,,$ © l.tak (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:asian_infrastructure_investment_bank_map.svg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode +",2%’) '23',23 !#--,!'-,%& 0,)54!#)] © o3ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 4) 0#5%-!*#2! '( 64)!,+# %*'23 '!"#-) %22'42+#0 23 +-,*,2%& +"%-3#) © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us %*#-,+% 3&'$%& !-%0# 0#(,+,! © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 +"%-&#) +'43"&,2, &#%0#'( !"# +"-,)!,%2 (-'2! © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 3#-*%2 %*#-,+%2 $420 -%&&., 2#/ .'-9, *%0,)'2 )74%-# 3%-#2, (#$ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o3ce of the chief signal o3cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us mission statement elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and affirms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. e elements fall 2015 thanks we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the office of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. questions & contributions if you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. all submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. cover © scott liebenson/ wikimedia commons periodicity elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. electronic journal elements is also published as an open access electronic journal. it is available at http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/elements. issn 2380-6087 the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 11, issue 2, fall 2015 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by flagship press,150 flagship drive, north andover, ma 01845 copyright © 2015 by the trustees of boston college this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license. elements staff editor-in-chief marissa marandola managing editor betty (yunqing) wang deputy editor alessandra luedeking treasurer michelle kang layout xizi (kelsey) zhang, senior editor marissa hollyer, editor rebecca mcgeorge, editor emmy ye, editor humanities jacob ciafone, senior editor mary kate cahill, editor domenick fazzolari, editor jingzong yan, editor social sciences annie kim, senior editor tobie kim, editor natural sciences david fu, senior editor peter czajka, editor nick yu, editor media & publicity editor anne donnelly, senior editor faculty advisors elizabeth chadwick jason cavallari dear readers, we live in a world of constant change, where an unyielding flow of innovation forces existing systems to adapt, often in the face of significant resistance. how do we measure the impact of new developments in technology, business, politics, and scholarly methodology? is the process of transforming from old to new unequivocally good? throughout history, these questions have arisen whenever a period of rapid shifts approaches. however, they take on greater importance in our 21st century context, characterized by changes in all arenas at unprecedented speed. simultaneous revolutions in multiple facets of human life challenge our understanding of what it means to live in relation to one another. this issue of elements explores the implications of disruptive innovation in a variety of contexts, in an attempt to reconcile the vestiges of the past with the realities of the present. we seek to present the process of 21st century evolution as it unfolds in diverse arenas. “uber takes the passing lane,” our cover article, provides an in-depth analysis of a disruptive innovation that increasingly permeates daily life for urban residents. author allison schneider examines the ripple effect of uber’s arrival in the taxi-livery market and its potential consequences at the macro and micro levels, from shifts in regulatory structures to new frameworks for employee-employer relations. doyle calhoun invites linguistic scholars to consider renewed theoretical frameworks through his efforts to decode “a grammar of punctuation in poetry.” allyson tank draws us to “a biological arms race” in the sciences that could shed new light on our understanding of lentiviral resistance. in contrast to these examples of transformations occurring in our cultural moment, alec walker offers a historical perspective on the social forces that provide an impetus for new ideas in “dissent in the wirtschaftswunder,” an exploration of the 1968 german student movements. together, this set of articles reminds us that change is a constant in human life, a force that touches us in uncountable ways. even as disruptive innovation transforms some fields beyond recognition, lingering remnants of obsolete structures inhibit essential changes in others. catherine larrabee describes how such “inherited injustice” allows the vertical transmission of hiv/aids to endure in india. in “latino masculinity,” maria vazquez brings larrabee’s concern for social stigmas stateside as she attempts to dissect the influence of cultural stereotypes on college completion rates among first-generation latinos. featured author olivia mccaffrey goes beyond the symptoms of stagnation to root causes in her analysis of voters who are “neither red nor blue,” the massachusetts voters for whom the big tent, two-party system no longer suffices as an expression of political ideology. through their examination of social systems struggling to adapt to 21st century circumstances, these three pieces highlight the risks inherent to resisting change. this issue of elements marks the integration of disruptive innovations in our own publication process. we are now operating under a creative commons license, meaning that articles published in elements are non-exclusive and may be shared and cited, with attribution, by readers worldwide. through a partnership with boston college university libraries, elements debuted a live, open access e-scholarship website this semester, which houses an archive of all past issues of the journal and will serve as a hub for our future publications. in combination with our indexing with the library of congress as a print and digital journal, these advances represent a new phase in elements’ maturation as a publication. as we close our first decade, we continue the traditions of academic excellence, intellectual diversity, and integrity initiated by our founding members and look ahead to the digital future of scholarship at the university. i invite you to explore our print edition, a legacy to which we remain devoted, and then to browse our digital book, an innovation we welcome. happy reading! best, marissa marandola editor in chief editor’s note contents uber takes the passing lane: disruptive competition and taxi-livery service regulations allison schneider reflecting on how municipal regulatory structures thwart disruptive competition in the ride-sharing market. 11 24 31 42 49 a grammar of punctuation in poetry: modern computational linguistic perspectives doyle calhoun decoding the language of punctuation and its relevance to literary studies and textual criticism. latino masculinity: underlying factors in college persistence levels maria vazquez dissecting the intersection between latino culture and college completion rates among first-generation males. dissent in the wirtschaftswunder: historical memory and the german student movement alec walker examining the 1968 youth backlash against west germany’s ambiguous relationship with its fascist heritage. a biological “arms race”: apobec3f diversity and its influence on lentiviral resistance allyson tank investigating the genetic diversity of old world primates and its implications for selective pressures on host proteins. author biographies list of artwork 82 72 64 100 102 cartographers in the caribbean: economics and mapping in the colonial new world benjamin shapiro charting european perceptions of their atlantic holdings through the jefferys west india atlas. performing redemption: metzian theology in the art of kendrick lamar evan goldstein positioning the harsh reality of lamar’s good kid, m.a.a.d city within johann baptist metz’ theory of salvation. neither red nor blue: the influence of independent voters in massachusetts olivia mccaffrey exploring the increase in significance of unaffiliated voters in the commonwealth of massachusetts. 91 inherited injustice: stigma and gender discrimination as barriers to aids prevention in india catherine larrabee exposing how the remnants of the caste system perpetuate vertical transmission in india’s aids crisis. it is rare that municipalities have the opportunity to remake a significant portion of key infrastructure, and to do so without significant cost burden on the citizens. the advent of uber and similar entities that have moved the ride-sharing concept into the 21st century provide that unique chance in the public transportation arena. however, cities such as los angeles, new york, and chicago are responding to uber as a threat to established taxi-livery services and their accompanying regulatory structures rather than an opportunity for modernization. in order to capitalize on this transformative moment, cities and governments must rethink and address decadesold rules, regulations, and entrenched interests. the benefits to and acceptance by the public that surround the ride-sharing movement are unprecedented. whether today’s politicians and regulators have the courage and foresight to embrace this fundamental change will determine the long-term success and the meaningful evolution of our national transportation network. uber takes the passing lane disruptive competition and taxi-livery service regulations allison schneider technology has transformed much of our ingrained way of life. we no longer watch television at designated times or on predetermined days. we are no longer attached to a wall when making a phone call, and we no longer depend upon paper maps to guide us to our destinations. similarly, the taxicab industry, an urban institution that dates back at least one hundred years, is being disrupted by the combination of smartphones, robust wireless connections, and ever-growing social networks.1 the requirement to “hail a cab” or make a pre-determined appointment with a black car service has begun to diminish thanks to a new competitor that leverages the latest technology in order to bypass and streamline those requirements. the most successful player in this compensatory ridesharing space is known as uber.2 founded just five years ago, uber now operates in more than forty countries and two hundred cities around the globe.3 uber has rethought the entire transportation process, from initiating and completing a transaction, to the ride itself, to even the customer’s experience of the drivers and the cars they use. acceptance has been extraordinarily successful, and as a result, has caught the attention not only of entrenched competitors, but also of those charged with regulating an industry that has changed only incrementally over the last several decades.4 any industry so deeply established in urban life, when challenged, raises significant questions regarding the way forward. traditional transportation providers largely operate on the basis of a regulated oligopoly through the issuance of medallions, or franchised licenses, and are subject to a complex set of regulations. those investments are upfront and based upon the value of limited competition.5 however, they now face largely unregulated competitors who have limited oversight, minimal investment, and no requirement to pay upfront or as a percentage of their revenues for the right to operate. regulators are now charged with oversight of minimum standards of operation, safety, vehicle selection, insurance requirements, and ensuring service areas that meet community requirements. because uber operates in a regulatory grey area, however, local officials have found that their powers of oversight are somewhat limited and have not kept pace with this dramatic change in service delivery.6 therefore, they must determine the correct path toward the exercise of their office with respect to a business that does not fit into the existing regime of rules and regulations. as small and even large businesses, taxi and livery providers must discern whether the model is still viable and determine the long-term impact on the valuation of investments.7 from the standpoint of a municipality, the issue becomes a deeper financial question as well. because the livery industry operates in the public right of way, the money derived from a right to operate is a meaningful source of municipal revenue. since competition diminishes the value of these licenses, the municipality has a vested interest in protecting the status quo.8 the political implications have become somewhat clouded as it is citizens who have taken uber from start-up to its current success. the balance between preserving the institution and giving the constituents what they want is tenuous at best. overview this research paper explores a relatively new and disruptive social and economic force in major metropolitan areas. ridesharing services such as uber not only present a new competitive force in the marketplace, but also challenge the fundamental underpinnings of a long established regulatory framework. as a technological phenomenon, uber goes further, changing the way its customers use and pay for transport services. by putting dispatch services directly in the hands of the consumer and breaking down barriers to entry, uber has truly exploited the “social network” in a unique way.9 in order to understand and fully explore the integration of the opposing forces, this paper will look at the impact of this new transportation concept from the standpoint of each of the key players. in order to set a historical background, i will first explain uber’s structure and why it be-taxis in new york (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 12 elements : : fall 2015 lieves it can operate outside of the regulatory environment. additionally, i will analyze the legacy taxi and livery business, reviewing its economic, operating, and regulatory underpinnings to determine its strengths and weaknesses. i will further explore the motivating factors in the response to the new competition in an otherwise exclusive franchise environment. as the research has revealed, a large portion of what motivates the taxi and livery business is a strict and complex regulatory structure. one might say that this business is truly an extension of the municipal transportation system that it serves. as a result, it is crucial to understand this framework and its political motivations both from a public policy and economic point of view. the municipal response has varied from passive to legislative to legal, each seeking to deal with the opposing forces while appeasing a growing number of ridesharing customers whose patronage is growing rapidly. for example, while uber is a private company with limited public information, app research firm 7park estimates that uber’s transaction growth is up over 400% with sales growth over 250% during 2014, through november 15.10 it is this popularity among consumers that has made this issue so dynamic. although there is always someone “looking to develop a better mousetrap,” the uber service has turned a decades-old business on its ear. and while it is important to understand what fuels this acceptance, it is also crucial to account for the ancillary benefits of this new urban transportation system. after exploring this, i will then lay out the case for uber’s ridesharing business concept, not only in terms of the economics, but also of the coincident benefits that impact users, providers, and communities in ways not originally contemplated. finally, i will draw conclusions based on research and historical precedents as they relate to current activity. one must draw these determinations, however, with the understanding that this experiment in alternative transportation is still somewhat in its infancy. the competitive responses are still muted, the regulatory framework is in a state of flux, and perhaps most importantly, the customers and drivers who use and deliver the service are still “inventing” its full application. my conclusions will focus on the reality that competition in the taxi business has become a permanent part of the urban transportation network. they will center on providing incentives to traditional providers so that they are encouraged to upgrade and modernize their operations and technology. in addition, i will recommend minimum operating standards for all providers so that all participants act in the best interest of the customer and for the betterment of the network. finally, i will explore and ultimately reject any notion of directly compensating legacy license holders in order to protect their initial investments. instead, i will conclude that traditional providers have a first mover advantage, an operating history, and the unique public center access to compete effectively, and as such, their ultimate success should be tied to that end. what is uber? uber, along with its smaller competitors, lyft and sidecar, is a ridesharing service that uses smartphone applications to connect riders and drivers. this system eliminates the concept of calling a dispatcher or hailing a taxi on the street. no cash is exchanged with the driver; rather, a credit or debit card stored in the application pays uber, which then transfers the funds to the driver. the transaction on both sides is swift and elegant. both the passenger and driver know the economics before the ride begins as it is calculated based on time, distance (provided by gps), and demand (a so-called dynamic pricing model).11 potential riders can use their application to track the location of the driver, as well as his/her timing and approach to the pickup location. similarly, the driver can easily locate the passenger in order to determine the most efficient approach. in complex urban environments with many one-way streets and minimal stopping and standing zones, this can be an invaluable tool. once the ride begins, each driver uses a standard smartphone (provided by uber) to determine the most efficient route, taking into account traffic, construction, special events, and other “although there is always someone ‘looking to develop a better mousetrap,’ the uber service has turned a decadesold business on its ear.” 13 uber takes the passing lane known obstacles along the route. as there is no tipping involved, passenger and driver can make a quick and convenient exit. each of these features stands in stark contrast to the traditional taxi service, which requires a transaction of cash or credit in the vehicle, calculated at the completion of a ride. the driver, without an objective measure of efficiency, determines the length and route of the ride. further, there is no convenient way to track a taxi (even if it is obtained through dispatch) or for the driver to determine the passenger’s exact location. uber’s service also includes a self-monitoring feature not found in the traditional taxi: a driver and passenger review program. after each ride, the passenger is prompted and encouraged to rate their experience. each phase, from pick-up to drop-off and from vehicle to driver, is rated for quality and efficiency. at the same time, drivers have an opportunity to report passengers who are problematic or present challenges to the system. this provides instant feedback that allows uber to leverage its network and deal with consistently subpar service, as well as maintain an ongoing relationship with a customer base that is spread among diverse geographies, communities, and cultures. as a relative newcomer to the marketplace, uber has sought to establish credibility for safety and reliability, especially given the unique personal relationship each transaction provides. most recently, uber has sought to solidify its background check standards for drivers, an area of concern for municipalities and passengers alike. to that end, uber hired the consulting firm giuliani partners (led by the former mayor of new york, rudolf giuliani) to review the processes and procedures as well as the minimum standards. giuliani’s report draws some early conclusions: “uber is on track to complete more than 2 million background checks in 2014 … uber is setting the safety standard in the ride-sourcing industry.” giuliani further notes, “the normal background check by many taxi services in major cities is a 3-5 year background check compared to uber’s 7 year check … multi-dimensionally [is] more thorough … blazing new ground in a quickly evolving industry.”12 when it comes to stepping into a vehicle, insurance is always top of mind. uber provides insurance coverage for trips in the amount of $1,000,000, which is triggered for driver, vehicle, and occupants from the moment a driver accepts a trip.13 this coverage is consistent across each city that is serviced by uber and is nearly double that for taxicab accidents in most major cities. the methodology for such coverage is displayed in the chart below, which shows the insurance coverage for uberx cars.15 why is uber different from taxis? at first glance, ridesharing may look like a taxi service: it uses a handheld ‘smart’ device to summon a ride to a specified location, for a fee. however, there are subtle differences that have a meaningful impact. primarily, uber drivers are not employees of uber; they are each independent contractors who use privately-owned vehicles to offer rides (“rideshares”) for a fee. in fact, such forms of legal and well-practiced ridesharing have been around and practiced through all manner of personal transportation: offering an acquaintance a ride for some remuneration, for instance reimbursement for gas and tolls, or putting in an expense report for the business use of a car. in fact, all uber has done is create an efficient way to organize and brand these activities. from a regulatory perspective, uber is not a car and driver, but a network that connects a willing rider to a willing driver for a pre-arranged fee. while this may appear to be a distinction without a difference, most governing municipalities have not only recognized that current law is not of force, but have also begun the process of modernizing regulations to encompass ridesharing activities. for example, in 2013, california redefined these services into a category called “transportation network services” with the intent to regulate.16 other states and municipalities such as chicago, uberx ridesharing insurance coverage (source: uber blog) 14 elements : : fall 2015 new york, and los angeles, which are addressed in this paper, have both recognized their need for expanded regulation and tried to accomplish this through the courts, legislation, statute, and administrative actions. while there is disagreement on how to deal with ridesharing services among the various agencies of the government, there seems to be a somewhat universal acceptance that such services are not directly or adequately covered by existing law. impact on the taxi-livery businesses the modern taxicab business was established during the early twentieth century and has proliferated along with the expansion of infrastructure, the explosive growth of the gasoline-powered vehicle, and continued population growth in and around america’s urban areas. generally authorized to serve a municipality by license, taxis are subject to regulated rates, service areas, fares, quality, and insurance. in return, these cars-for-hire expect to be subject to limited competition in their service areas.17 the economics of this business were originally simple. in most large cities, the required capital an investor needed included an upfront payment for a medallion, franchise, or license, and an investment in a vehicle that met predetermined criteria.18 ongoing operating costs included the cost of the driver, maintenance, tolls, insurance, and fuel. the efficiency of the driver, the demand from the local economy, and the nature of the service area set the revenue stream to determine profitability.19 because of the limited number of entrants, the business became not only profitable, but quite predictable. as a result, the medallion or license values consistently grew over time. medallions were consolidated into large corporate holdings within a single market, with values for single medallions in new york city surpassing the $1 million mark in 2011.20 as uber entered the ridesharing business with superior technology and no cost of entry, the taxi and livery businesses fell under fire for poor service quality, inadequate service areas,21 and rate schedules that limited the ability of riders to predict fares.22 uber’s sophisticated ridesharing, however, sits in a grey area largely outside of historical regulation. the impact of competition on the regulated taxicab business has been swift and meaningful. a recent auction of medallions in chicago drew no buyers.23 new york, a city that has rarely seen a decline in medallion value, saw the first decline in fifteen years, the last being a slight decline after 9/11.24 this, along with the growing operational issues of having a new competitor in the market, has left traditional taxi and livery companies on their heels. the value of the new york city taxi medallion has increased in the pre-competitive period and declined slightly in the more recent competitive environment.25 the lines have been clearly drawn for the competitors as well as regulators and policy-makers. lawsuits against cities have been filed as taxi medallion owners sought for protection for the exclusive territory that they are contracted for.26 uber claims there are no regulations to cover what they do, as this kind of operation was never conceived. adding to the complexity, technology, social networks, and the flexibility of the new business model allows the business to morph and change based on the needs and desires of users, who in great numbers have been the beneficiaries of increased access and utility of the service. regulators: bridging the past and the future regulation and oversight have historically been evolutionary processes, particularly in the area of municipal transportation. the slow and methodical development of the means of municipal transport save politicians the luxury of time to determine and refine policy as circumstances changed. for example, in 1907, when taxi medallions were first issued in the u.s., there were fewer than 150,000 cars nationwide.27 while that number has grown to over 254 million in the current decade, the pace of vehicle growth was moderate, at around five percent, since the 1960s.28 as a result, there was plenty of time to develop an incre“from a regulatory perspective, uber is not a car and driver, but a network that connects a willing rider to a willing driver for a pre-arranged fee.” 15 uber takes the passing lane mental approach to the use of public infrastructure. similar incrementalism can be seen with respect to the rollout of air, rail, and livery services. in new york city, there are 13,327 medallions currently in service, actually fewer than the 13,500 that existed in 1937.29 government agencies are, by definition, deliberative institutions designed to be methodical. regulations regarding livery services have not changed much in years except after exhaustive studies in areas related to safety, pollution, and consumer protection. uber’s entrance into the taxi and livery service marketplace has challenged the status quo on every level in a small amount of time. municipalities faced with this disruption of the status quo have sought to gain leverage over uber’s activities in order to assert control and maintain regulatory authority and relevance. at the same time, they have incentive to protect their financial and contractual benefits with their current “lessees”: the medallion holders. cities are now faced with a set of regulations that do not fit this new form of ridesharing, and as a result are trying to fashion existing rules into an area they were not designed to cover, all during a time when technology in general is morphing daily. for example, the city of los angeles, among other large california cities, sent cease and desist orders to uber through their department of transportation. citing a lack of authority to operate, it ordered uber to stop picking up “passengers for hire.” the order was made on the basis of public safety, perhaps the only omnibus regulation that could be stretched to accommodate their goal, threatening drivers with arrest and auto confiscation.30 the cities, however, did not seem to understand that there was a new entrant in the discussion--the constituent. regulation or not, consumers have adopted the rideshare service with great gusto. the los angeles times, in a timely and pointed editorial just days after l.a.’s assertion noted out the lack of municipal authority, wrote: “the problem is…[the city] does not have the authority to do so… the companies offer ride for hire services that the state public utilities commission oversees… the main danger the companies pose at this point is to the cabbie’s hold on what used to be a captive market”.31 despite the threats, the ridesharing companies still operate in the city of los angeles and throughout the rest of california. in chicago, the city’s mayor, rahm emanuel, took a much more direct approach, introducing a law that sought to redefine rideshare companies and protect the entrenched taxi and livery business. a seven-point plan was offered, which included preventing these companies from owning or financing vehicles, eliminating uberx cars, prohibiting advertisements on the vehicles, prohibiting airport drop offs, and a series of mandatory reporting requirements.32 the ordinance, clearly aimed at gutting the core of the ridesharing service, drew the ire of populist organizations. jacob huebert, senior attorney for the liberty justice center, laid out a view directed toward the citizenry: “citizens should be disturbed by a city government that is more concerned about pleasing a politically connected special-interest group than in letting consumers choose the services they like best. and they should be more disturbed that government officials are more interested in continuing cronyism for as long as possible than in letting chicago thrive in the twenty-first century.”33 in august, the city of chicago rejected the mayor’s plan and instead passed an ordinance with a much more relaxed and workable set of requirements, based largely on feedback from constituents. in new york city, meanwhile regulators took a different tack. with no desire to change or amend regulations to accommodate the ridesharing service, the attorney general of the state of new york brought a lawsuit seeking to re-characterize ridesharing, pushing to fit it back into twentieth century standards: “as it has done in every other city in which it operates, defendant has simply waltzed into new york and set up shop while defying every law passed whose very purpose is to protect the people of the state of new york. defendant runs what is at the core a for-hire livery or taxi service. defendant portrays itself as a twenty-first century technology business. in reality, it uses a smartphone app to run a twentieth century business…”34 whether through regulatory edict, the passage of legislation, or the courts, municipalities are struggling to transition to a service that cannot be put comfortably into an existing regime. benefits of the uber model uber’s opportunity to rethink the urban ride-for-hire concept arose out of its recognition that the nearly century-old taxi business had, for the most part, become stagnant. the number of taxi medallions or licenses had barely changed since the early 1900s, yet the population in major cities like new york had nearly tripled.35 uber’s management saw what they perceived as a hole in demand, service offerings, and a faulty municipal framework that allowed for a new, largely unregulated service. perhaps most important was uber’s ability to marry this concept of alternative transportation with an immediately addressable network of mobile smartphone users who could act as their own 16 elements : : fall 2015 dispatchers, effectively calling on available drivers for rides. wireless services, gps, and sophisticated applications not only surpassed the current system, but also drove overhead dollars out of the model.36 of course, no service can be characterized as successful or disruptive unless it provides demonstrable benefits in the marketplace. uber services are aimed squarely at providing an enhanced experience, but the benefits generally fall into three general categories: (1) the direct customer usage; (2) the enhancement to the public transportation system; and (3) those who provide the service as drivers. in general, uber and other ridesharing users have shown approval of the service. the ceo of uber, travis kalanick, recently described his company growth: “the company is growing at an alarming rate, quadrupling its sales every year on the back of hundreds of thousands of drivers and millions of riders”.37 since its founding in 2009, uber has expanded into forty-five countries and more than 200 cities. however, while these numbers are impressive, they do not fully explain the factors that drive the popularity of uber’s concept.38 a study by the university of california berkeley, based upon surveys done with ridesharing customers, sheds light on the motivating factors of using uber.39 the top five factors all focus on the simplification of the transportation process. from the payment and the speed to the initiation of the transaction, participants were more impressed with ridesharing companies than with other forms of transportation. it is no wonder, then, that the existing oligopoly providers are concerned enough to take the actions discussed in this paper. it is interesting to note that, beyond the convenience of use and the immediate need of getting from place to place, users are also developing appreciation based on lifestyle issues. more than twenty percent of respondents noted that this was a convenient alternative to driving under the influence--a meaningful percentage, possibly based upon the technological ease of use and availability of the uber service as compared to taxis. this social benefit portends additional attributes that appear to be bolstering adoption.40 this, along with other social motivations such as not needing a parking space, are signs that uber customers see lifestyle benefits beyond simply having an alternative to taxi or livery services, which is a powerful driving force in uber’s penetration of the marketplace. uber, and ridesharing in general, appears to have a positive impact on the general infrastructure of transportation as well. if the purpose of the transit network is to provide safe, reliable, and on-time transit to its users, uber seems to be pulling its weight, if not setting a new standard: “uc berkeley researchers found that in the evening rush, 92 percent of rideshare cars arrived in under 10 minutes, while only 16 percent of taxis did so. and while 37 percent of taxis took longer than 20 minutes, only one percent of rideshares took that long.”41 another social benefit of uber is the ability for urban and suburban residents to reduce or even eliminate their reliance on personally owned vehicles. a survey commissioned by the city of san francisco revealed that there is a shortage of taxi services, which affects the overall use of the public transportation system. since taxis function in large part as the initial or final leg of access to the mass transit system, the lack of availability drives consumers toward private ownership of vehicles: “28% percent would take public transit more often if taxis were more reliable … 11% would consider giving up one or more of their cars.”42 because uber provides greater availability of transportation, the number of cars on the road decreases, and the realization of such a goal becomes more apparent. “over the next few years, if uber and other such services do reduce the need for private vehicle ownership, they could help lower the cost of living in urban areas, reduce the environmental toll exacted by privately owned automobiles … in a january 2015 protest, portland taxi drivers demanded that city leaders make ridesharing companies play by the same rules as cabs and town cars. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 17 uber takes the passing lane and reallocate space now being wasted on parking lots to more valuable uses, like housing.”43 another benefit of uber’s ascension is that of increased employment. uber’s model is based upon drivers who are not uber employees, but rather, a new breed of small business owners.44 as opposed to the upfront fees required for taxi ownership such as medallions or other licensing fees, there are few barriers to entry. access to a clean car and a somewhat flexible schedule is all that is needed. uber provides the technology and hardware to connect a driver to the network, helps to initiate and complete the transaction, and handles the bookkeeping. according to its website, uber creates 20,000 jobs per month.45 those jobs come with meaningful compensation for drivers in major urban areas. “uberx driver partners are small business entrepreneurs demonstrating across the country that being a driver is sustainable and profitable. for example, the median income on uberx is more than $90,000/year/driver in new york and more than $74,000/year/driver in san francisco.”46 while these large cities are areas where uber has operated for some time, results portray the ease of entry and high demand for those who choose local transportation as a profession, a job, or a part-time enhancement to their income. public policy suggestions while it is still too early in the evolution of ridesharing to determine the long-term financial impact on the legacy taxi industry, it is clear that the effect of uber, as a new competitor in the market, will be financially material and create significant change. from a regulatory standpoint, municipalities should seek to ensure that this essential portion of the urban transportation system continues to operate efficiently, protect the consumer from potential harm, and ease ridesharing’s inevitable transition from a regulated oligopoly to full-fledged competition. this transition has already benefited the consumer and municipal systems by providing more choice, more predictable pricing, and additional technological leverage in order to provide better and timelier information to the user. specifically, the municipalities should seek to level the operational playing field through the adoption of minimum standards. these could include vehicle standards, driver qualifications, insurance requirements, and service standards to ensure consistency in operating the performance necessary to stabilize and ultimately enhance the transportation network. while such standards and regulations should be codified, it is interesting to note that, as documented in this research, uber currently meets or exceeds many of the standards that exist for the taxi industry. regulators should not, however, adopt the current framework, which protects the status quo of the taxi business and whose methods of operation, pricing systems, equipment, and customer service are quickly becoming obsolete. while entrenched medallion, license, and franchise holders have lobbied vigorously to protect their legacy advantages, it does not appear that they have put that same level of vigor toward a competitive response. perhaps this is where municipalities can incentivize change. regulators have the opportunity to go a step further and induce traditional taxi improvements. providing relief from license or franchise fees to operators who upgrade their fleet or technology would balance operational enhancements with the current financial framework. at the same time, cities should adopt a more flexible pricing structure that can be implemented as certain levels of competitive market penetration are met. allowing licensed taxis to simplify rates can provide both a competitive tool and an incentive to match market demand with economic return. while it is tempting to try to recover the original cost of entry through the medallion process, there is little precedent for such relief. history shows no such reimbursement to the horse-drawn carriages of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, when the original medallions and franchises were issued to motor vehicles, nor any governmental assistance to regulated telephone companies when its monopoly was dismantled by competition from unregulated wireless carriers such as sprint and mci.47 similarly, cable television companies that operate pursuant to municipal franchise now compete with unregulated cell phone and satellite signal providers. in each case, the companies, originally provided with a monopoly advantage in the early stage of development, were forced to reinvent themselves or face extinction. while meaningful competition has arrived and does not appear to be going away, taxi companies have advantages that are directly related to their implied role as a transportation provider of “last resort”: a long operational history, brand recognition, and a loyal customer base that has come to rely on the ability to “hail and go.” in addition, they understand how to acquire, own, and operate large vehicle fleets, and have preferred logistical positions at public transportation centers such as airports, train station, and city centers. it is in the interest of the taxi indus18 elements : : fall 2015 try to leverage these advantages as they recognize the inevitability of a fully competitive environment. conclusion uber’s success and its concept of ridesharing have been driven in large part by technology and more so by the power and reach of the social network, and its implications are nothing short of dramatic. within five years of operation and with fewer than three hundred employees, uber has managed to disrupt the taxi and livery business, a business that has otherwise operated without competition for more than one hundred years.48 along the way, a loyal following of customers have re-imagined how personal transportation in urban areas may be effectively used. from an alternative to privately-owned vehicles to a “safe-ride” substitute for driving under the influence, customers are molding the product. as a result, the benefits of uber have become personal to its following, something the entrenched taxi monopoly could never claim. just as interesting as the loyalty of uber’s customers is the opposition to its mere presence on the urban stage. the reaction of the taxi and livery business has been to “circle the wagons.” rather than take this disruption as a wake-up call and use their incumbency to their advantage, they have chosen to fight for the status quo, staging protests rather than restaging their operating and consumer service strategy. one such high-profile reaction came in los angeles, when two hundred taxis circled city hall and honked their horns--surely a less than high-tech response with little follow-up support.49 in fact, there is likely little chance of going back to the taxi and livery model of limited competition. with such clear and compelling benefits, acceptance by the consumer is without question; the real issues left to be ironed out are clearly in the hands of regulators. courts will have their say, but that will only serve to guide the political edge of public policy. public officials will have the opportunity to shape the future of urban transportation, perhaps for decades to come, but the looming question is whether, and how, they will rise to the challenge. with cities resorting to cease and desist letters, restraining orders, and hurried ordinances, thoughtful regulation and reaction have been pushed to the side. rick wartzman of the drucker institute capsulized the challenge, stating, “as peter drucker would have seen it,50 both taxi operators and their local government overseers are focused on the wrong thing; trying to sweep uber into yesterday’s reality, rather than moving the entire system toward tomorrow’s”.51 it is those overseers who will eventually lay out the parameters of uber’s success or failure. regulations are the instruments of practice for those charged with the public trust, and they must be handled with care. as drucker himself wrote, “regulations, no matter how badly needed at any one time, and how beneficial at any one time, always become obsolete eventually”.52 the taxi and livery system will continue to fight, perhaps with good intention, and perhaps out of self-preservation. however, without redirecting some of their energy and resources to improved quality, technology, and customer service, they are in danger of going the way of the payphone: eventually becoming extinct despite their preferred position on our city streets. city and state officials have the opportunity to stay relevant on this issue, but only after objective recognition of the economic, technological, and municipal advantages of this new augmentation to the public transportation system, while working in the best interest of their constituents. the question that remains is whether those regulators will be looking forward or through the rear-view mirror. endnotes 1. downs, lessons from uber, 2014. 2. ridesharing is a ride matching system that formally or informally links riders to drivers traveling between the same places at the same times. so-called “dynamic” or “real-time” ridesharing is a form of ridesharing that is used for single, oneway trips rather than for trips made on a regular basis at the same time (levofsky and greenburg 3). 3. seward 2014:3 uber was founded in 2009 by travis kalanick, the then and current ceo, along with garrett camp. both men had financial and technological success selling prior businesses to established internet companies. the original idea for uber stemmed from trying to solve what kalanick described as a “horrific taxi problem in san francisco” (kalanick 2014). the name uber appears to have come from an american interpretation of the german “über”. in america, the word uber has become a relatively common, if slangy synonym for “super” or “topmost”; it reflects what uber ceo travis kalanick has called in interviews the company’s “disruptive ambitions” (peterson 2014). 4. an ‘uber’ problem for cities, 2012. 5. badger, taxi medallions, 2014. 6. mann, cities move to rein in smartphone taxi services, 2012 7. generally, the difference between a taxi service and livery service is two-fold. first is the way they are dispatched. one can “hail” a cab on the streets. for example, in new york city, only yellow medallion cabs can legally pickup street hails. livery, or black car, services generally only respond to radio calls. the other difference relates to pricing. taxi cabs have a metered pricing 19 uber takes the passing lane system based upon time and distance while livery cars operate on a zone pricing system, which is fixed fees based upon location or distance (dawid 2011). 8. badger, taxi medallions, 2014. 9. uber is not alone in as a force of change in highly regulated environments. another example with similar impact is airbnb, which is challenging the hotel business by allowing users to share their homes or otherwise rent them to prospective “tenants”. using a similar matching application, airbnb brings interested parties together outside of the conventional regulatory framework that controls the traditional hotel business. rebranding and refreshing an outdated means of access, while at the same time allowing providers and consumers to define their niche in the marketplace has created what is referred to as the “platform culture” (sundararajan 2014). the social network platform allows an organized interaction between market participants where market content is created and distributed through local channels rather than a central dominant provider. uber, airbnb, and other such application platforms provide an elegant way to interact, while the forces of market demand are shaking the foundations of legacy providers. 10. lunden, uber ride high, 2014. 11. dynamic pricing refers to the setting of prices for a good or service based upon demand at a particular moment and the availability of supply; the added complexity in uber’s case is that pricing becomes a moving target, changing almost in real time depending upon what is happening in the market at a particular moment (morphy 2014). according to uber, with dynamic pricing (referred to as “surge pricing”), rates increase to get more cars on the road during the busiest times. when enough cars are on the road to meet the demand, prices go down (“what is surge pricing” 2014). 12. giuliani, uber setting the standard, 2014. 13. nairi, insurance for uberx, 2014. 14. generally, states require taxi companies to carry between $250,000 and $500,000 of liability insurance, and there is no uniform requirement to carry uninsured motorist coverage (denmon 2014). 15. uberx is the brand name that uber uses for its lower cost option, with fares targeted at 20% below that of a taxi. uberx drivers have mid-range or hybrid vehicles with seating for up to four passengers. this is distinguished from uber black car service, which provides luxury level cars and suvs. while uberx cars are driven by licensed drivers, uber black cars are driven by licensed limousine drivers (fiorillo 2014). 16. geron, california becomes first state to regulate, 2013. 17. federal trade commission, bureau of economics, an economic analysis of taxicab regulation, 1984:64 18. approximately 60% of the top-ten u.s. cities by population operate on a franchise or medallion basis while the other 40% operate on a license platform. while both formats have strict regulatory requirements, they differ in that medallion and franchise holders pay substantially higher upfront payments, while licenses pay a higher percentage of revenue to the municipality on an ongoing basis. an expanded review of large, but not top ten, cities reveals that older and more densely populated urban environments, such as boston, detroit and newark, tend to operate on a medallion or franchise basis, while newer, more expansive cities with several urban centers tend to license taxi businesses. see the chart below for the specific methods for taxi regulation in the top ten u.s. cities. top-ten u.s. cities by population (and their methods for taxi regulation): new york city (medallion) los angeles (franchise) chicago (medallion) houston (license/permit) philadelphia (medallion) phoenix (license/permit) san diego (franchise) dallas (franchise) san jose (license/permit) san antonio (license/permit) source: us census and individual municipalities’ transportation regulations 19. federal trade commission, bureau of economics, an economic analysis of taxicab regulation 1984:80-2. 20. coscarelli, taxi medallions hit 1 million mark, 2011. 21. many urban taxi companies are reluctant to carry passengers beyond their local service area. to do so would limit the number of trips that could be made on a particular shift. the further a taxi travels from its core service area, the less likely a return fare will be available, creating an uncompensated or “dead” run. while regulations discourage this behavior, it has been difficult to enforce (mcardale 2012). 22. badger, taxi medallions, 2014 taxicab fares, while highly regulated, can be confusing and difficult to predict. in the metered environment, fares are based on both mileage as well as time. both are variable and dependent on traffic and detours, as well as the route taken by the driver (mathis 2008). in addition, the rate of fares can be highly complex. in new york city, the fare starts based on $0.50 per 1/5 of a mile, depending on the rate of speed. there are also surcharges depending on time of day. as a result, the regulated fare cannot be easily predicted or calculated (“rate of fare” 2014). this is in contrast to the uber practice, which predicts the full fare to the customer before the trip is initiated. 23. ibid. 24. “the average price fell by $5 in june [2014]—a slight decline for medallions, which trade for a bit more than $1 million apiece, but still an unheard-of occurrence in recent years … bloomberg keeps quarterly data on new york medallion pricing going back 10 years, and the last time prices fell for a full year was from 2000 to 2001 … there are similar signs of strain on medallion values in chicago and san francisco” (brustein 2014). 25. brustein, uber’s fare war, 2014. 26. tuttle, rideshare battle shifts to l.a., 2013. 27. facts and figures of the automobile, 2013 28. us department of transportation, section b, national transportation statistics, 2011. 29. horowitz and cumming, taken for a ride, 2012; schaller and gilbert, villain or bogeyman?, 1996. 20 elements : : fall 2015 30. tuttle, rideshare battle shifts to l.a., 2013. 31. the times editorial board, l.a. times, uber, sidecar and lyft, 2013. 32. huebert, chicago’s uber ordinance, 2014. 33. ibid. 34. state of new york v. lyft, inc., 2014. 35. census scope, population growth, 2014. 36. elliott, taxi or tech company?, 2014. 37. segall, our growth is unprecedented, 2014. 38. (seward 2014:3) 39. rayle et al., comparing taxi and ridesourcing in san francisco, 2014. 40. ibid. 41. ferenstein, 2 new studies show how uber makes cities more productive, 2014. 42. hara and canapary, best practices studies of taxi regulation, 2013. 43. manjoo, less reason to own a car, 2014. 44. craig, an uber impact, 2014. 45. ibid. 46. ibid. 47. both mci communications and sprint corp. started as telecommunications bypass companies. building or acquiring private networks, each offered businesses and then consumers lower cost access to the long distance communications network. they relied on loopholes in a complex and archaic set of regulations (not unlike uber) that were, at the time 70 years old. using a simple and direct rate structure and the perception of higher quality service, each made inroads with respect to market share. ultimately, mci brought a lawsuit against the bell system of telecommunications companies that led to their ultimate breakup (cantelon 1993). 48. lagorio-chafkin, resistance is futile, 2013 49. srikrishnan, l.a. taxi drivers refuse to protest uber, 2014 50. according to the drucker institute website, “peter f. drucker was a writer, professor, management consultant and self described ‘social ecologist’ … hailed by businessweek as ‘the man who invented management,’ drucker directly influenced a huge number of leaders from a wide range of organizations across all sectors of society.” 51. wartzman, the uber challenge, 2013. 52. ibid. references badger, emily. “taxi medallions have been the best investment in america for years. now uber may be changing that.” washington post. n.p., 20 june 2014. web. 5 oct. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/20/taxi-medallions-havebeen-the-best-investment-in-america-for-years-now-ubermay-be-changing-that/>. brustein, joshua. “uber’s fare war on new york taxis puts million-dollar medallions at risk.” bloomberg businessweek. bloomberg l.p., 7 july 2014. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http:// www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/ubers-farewar-on-new-york-taxis-puts-million-dollar-medallions-atrisk>. cantelon, philip l. the history of mci: the early years 1968-1988. new york: heritage, 1993. print. coscarelli, joe. “taxi medallions hit $1 million mark.” new york magazine. new york media, 20 oct. 2011. web. 5 oct. 2014. <http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2011/10/ taxi_medallions_hit_1_million.html>. craig. “an uber impact: 20,000 jobs created on the uber platform every month.” uber. n.p., 27 may 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://blog.uber.com/uberimpact>. dawid, irvin. “distinguishing taxis from livery cars.” planetizen. n.p., 29 jan. 2011. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http:// www.planetizen.com/node/47809>. denmon, christian, esq. “ride sharing vs. traditional taxis: how do injury insurance claims compare?” huffington post business. thehuffingtonpost.com, 7 may 2014. web. 28 nov. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiandenmon/ride-sharing-vs-tradition_b_5273964.html>. downes, larry. “lessons from uber: why innovation and regulation don’t mix.” forbes. n.p., 6 feb. 2013. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ larrydownes/2013/02/06/lessons-from-uber-whyinnovation-and-regulation-dont-mix/>. elliott, josh. “uber ride share: taxi or tech company?” business news network. n.p., 8 oct. 2014. web. 13 oct. 2014. <http://www.bnn.ca/news/2014/10/8/uber-rideshare-taxi-or-tech-company.aspx>. 21 uber takes the passing lane “facts and figures of the automobile industry.” rails and trails. n.p., feb. 2013. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www. railsandtrails.com/autofacts/>. federal trade commission. bureau of economics. an economic analysis of taxicab regulation. by mark w. frankena and paul a. pautler. n.p.: n.p., 1984. print. http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ reports/economic-analysis-taxicab-regulation/233832.pdf ferenstein, gregory. “two new studies show why uber makes cities more productive and less congested.” venture beat. n.p., 3 sept. 2014. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/03/two-new-studiesshow-why-uber-makes-cities-more-productive-and-lesscongested/>. fiorillo, victor. “uber launches uberx in philadelphia, but ppa says ‘not so fast.’” philadelphia magazine. metro corp, 25 oct. 2014. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www. phillymag.com/news/2014/10/25/uber-launches-uberxphiladelphia/>. geron, tomio. “california becomes first state to regulate ridesharing services lyft, sidecar, uberx.” forbes. n.p., 19 sept. 2013. web. 15 nov. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/ sites/tomiogeron/2013/09/19/california-becomes-firststate-to-regulate-ridesharing-services-lyft-sidecar-uberx/>. giuliani, rudolph. “uber setting the standard for safety in ridesharing.” uber. n.p., 29 oct. 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http://blog.uber.com/giuliani>. hara, dan, and jon canapary. best practices studies of taxi regulation: managing taxi supply. n.p.: n.p., 2013. sfmta. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://archives.sfmta.com/ cms/cmta/documents/4-16-13board.medallions.13.pdf>. horwitz, jeff, and chris cumming. “taken for a ride.” slate. n.p., 6 june 2012. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http:// www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/06/ taxi_medallions_how_new_york_s_terrible_taxi_system_ makes_fares_higher_and_drivers_poorer_.html>. huebert, jacob. “the 7 worst things in chicago’s uber ordinance.” illinois policy. n.p., 10 feb. 2014. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http://www.illinoispolicy.org/the-7-worst-thingsin-chicagos-proposed-uber-ordinance/>. kalanick, travis. “uber’s founding.” uber. n.p., 22 dec. 2010. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http://blog.uber. com/2010/12/22/ubers-founding/>. lagorio-chafkin, christine. “resistance is futile.” inc. magazine july-aug. 2013: n. pag. inc. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http://www.inc.com/magazine/201307/christinelagorio/uber-the-car-service-explosive-growth.html>. levofsky, amber, and allen greenburg. “organized dynamic ride sharing: the potential environmental benefits and the opportunity for advancing the concept.” transportation research board annual meeting. washington, dc. 7 jan. 2001. print. lunden, ingrid. “uber rides high, dominates transport app revenues and downloads up to november.” tech crunch. n.p., 24 nov. 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http:// techcrunch.com/2014/11/24/uber-is-riding-highdominating-transport-app-revenues-and-downloads-up-tonovember/>. manjoo, farhad. “with uber, less reason to own a car.” the new york times. n.p., 11 june 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/technology/ personaltech/with-ubers-cars-maybe-we-dont-need-ourown.html>. mann, ted. “cities move to rein in smartphone taxi services.” the wall street journal. n.p., 15 nov. 2012. web. 2 oct. 2014. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/sb100 01424127887324595904578121440962068074?mod=w sj_tech_lefttopnews&mg=reno64-wsj>. mathis, sommer. “some d.c taxi rides just as confusing with meters.” dcist. n.p., 1 july 2008. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://dcist.com/2008/07/some_taxicab_rides_just_as_ confusin.php>. mcardale, megan. “why you can’t get a taxi, and how an upstart company may change that.” the atlantic. n.p., 2 apr. 2012. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic. com/magazine/archive/2012/05/why-you-cant-get-ataxi/308942/>. morphy, erika. “dynamic pricing in a post-uber world.” forbes. n.p., 31 aug. 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http:// www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2014/08/31/ dynamic-pricing-in-a-post-uber-world/>. 22 elements : : fall 2015 nairi. “insurance for uberx with ridesharing.” uber. n.p., 10 feb. 2014. web. 17 nov. 2014. <http://blog.uber.com/ ridesharinginsurance>. peterson, britt. “the long strange journey of ‘über’.” the boston globe. n.p., 27 july 2014. web. 24 nov. 2014. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/07/26/thelong-strange-journey-uber/6dfrmi3xckjdxutljsdkto/ story.html>. “population growth.” census scope. n.p., n.d. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www.censusscope.org/us/chart_popl. html>. “rate of fare.” nyc taxi & limousine commission. city of new york, 2014. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www.nyc.gov/ html/tlc/html/passenger/taxicab_rate.shtml>. rayle, lisa, et al. app-based, on-demand ride services: comparing taxi and ridesourcing trips and user characteristics in san francisco. university of california transportation center. n.p., aug. 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www.uctc.net/research/papers/uctcfr-2014-08.pdf>. schaller, bruce, and gorman gilbert. “villain or bogeyman? new york’s taxi medallion system.” schaller consult. eno transportation foundation, 1996. web. 26 nov. 2014. <http://www.schallerconsult.com/taxi/taxi2. htm>. segall, laurie. “uber ceo: ‘our growth is unprecedented.’” cnn money. cnn, 12 june 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/12/ technology/innovation/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick/>. srikrishnan, maya. “l.a. taxi drivers to protest uber, other ride-share apps at city hall.” los angeles times. n.p., 10 june 2014. web. 13 oct. 2014. <http://www. latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-la-taxi-drivers-protestride-sharing-apps-uber-20140610-story.html>. state of new york v. lyft, inc. supreme court of the state of new york. attorney general eric t. schneiderman. n.p., 25 july 2014. web. 12 oct. 2014. <http://www.ag.ny.gov/ pdfs/doc_2014.pdf>. sundararajan, arun. “what airbnb gets about culture that uber doesn’t.” harvard business review. harvard business school, 27 nov. 2014. web. 28 nov. 2014. <https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-airbnb-gets-about-culturethat-uber-doesnt>. “taxi drivers disgruntled by uber ride-share.” general one. n.p., 9 sept. 2014. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http://uwire. com/?s=uwire+text&x=26&y=14&=go>. tuttle, brad. “rideshare battle shifts to l.a.: city tells uber, lyft, sidecar to stop picking up riders.” time. n.p., 27 june 2013. web. 5 oct. 2014. <http://business.time. com/2013/06/27/rideshare-battle-shifts-to-l-a-city-tellsuber-lyft-sidecar-to-stop-picking-up-riders/>. “an ‘uber’ problem for cities: balancing innovation with regulation.” knowledge@wharton. university of pennsylvania, 20 nov. 2012. web. 24 sept. 2014. <http:// knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/an-uber-problemfor-cities-balancing-innovation-with-regulation/>. “uber, sidecar and lyft: don’t call them cabs.” los angeles times. n.p., 26 june 2013. web. 11 oct. 2014. <http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/26/opinion/la-edtaxi-uber-lyft-sidecar-crackdown-20130626>. us department of transportation. bureau of transportation statistics. national transportation statistics. n.p.: n.p., 2011. research and innovative technology administration. web. 12 oct. 2014. <https://www.rita.dot. gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_ transportation_statistics/2011/pdf/entire.pdf>. wartzman, rick. “the uber challenge.” drucker institute. n.p., 3 july 2013. web. 13 oct. 2014. <http://www. druckerinstitute.com/2013/07/the-uber-challenge/>. “what is surge pricing and how does it work?” uber. n.p., n.d. web. 24 nov. 2014. <https://support.uber.com/ hc/en-us/articles/201836656-what-is-surge-pricing-andhow-does-it-work->. 23 uber takes the passing lane the field of linguistics focuses on the spoken incarnation of language and considers written phenomena as an imperfect approximation of the former. the author argues that present understanding of punctuation as a subsystem of human language is inadequate, and that even when studies examine punctuation from a linguistic standpoint, they emphasize modern written language and american english in particular. it is, however, quite possible to describe the behavior of punctuations with the same methodology that was until recently reserved for spoken language. just as language develops over time and changes from place to place, so too does punctuation. this paper argues for the compatibility between recent developments in computational linguistics’ approaches to punctuation and textual criticism that attends to punctuation in poetry. a full understanding of its conventions is critical for a proper interpretation of meaning. furthermore, the author shows that the relevance of these studies to literary analysis remains unexplored. nevertheless, with the developing techniques made possible through computational linguistics, the potential for in-depth study is expanding. a grammar of punctuation in poetry modern computational linguistic perspectives doyle calhoun while the punctuation of a poem may not always figure into its critical analysis, literary critics and textual scholars seem to agree that punctuation constitutes at least one of the non-verbal tools of poetic expression available to the poet. as such, it is one of the features to which the critic could attend. it would be unusual, for instance, for an analysis of e. e. cumming’s poem “l(a” to fail to mention the twisting parentheses, or for a critical edition of dickinson’s verse to not make some ruling on typesetting the length of her dashes. the extent to which scholars perceive punctuation as relevant to their text-interpretive or text-critical endeavor varies. nonetheless, punctuation has its discernible place in literary studies: john lennard gives a book-long treatment to the use of parentheses in english verse (1991); christopher ricks attributes an almost metaphysical aspect to punctuation in the force of poetry— it is “at once a uniting and a separating” (1984); robert l. kellogg and oliver l. steele dedicate an entire article to alternative punctuations of the last two lines of the faerie queene (1963). punctuation has not benefitted from the same sustained attention in linguistics. only in the past thirty years has punctuation become an object of empirical linguistic study, apart from prescriptive accounts of its usage. this is probably because formal linguistics, unlike literary studies, tends to view written language as a byproduct of spoken language or its imperfect image, a stance that reduces punctuation to a deficient and inadequate mode of representing or registering prosodic features of speech stream, like intonation. or, perhaps, the reluctance of modern generative linguistics to see punctuation as a worthwhile focus for linguistic inquiry stems from the reality that it is an extra-verbal phenomenon. punctuation is not a necessary (or very common) feature of human language: not all speech communities have written language, and not all written languages have punctuation. typological studies on punctuation systems vary in different linguistic subfields: psycholinguistic work on how punctuation is realized in the lexicon; large-scale empirical investigation into punctuation at various synchronic stages of a single language; context-specific analyses of punctuation (particularities of its use in literary or legal language, as an example). all these areas remain under-examined. recent efforts in computational linguistics, however, make use of computerized corpora to bring attention to the fact that punctuation is a coherent, rule-governed linguistic subsystem in its own right. b. say and v. akman survey extant research on punctuation marks from the point of view of natural language processing (nlp), and propose an information-based framework for describing and understanding punctuation (1997). according to their model, punctuation can be seen as contributing to the information conveyed by a sentence or intrasentential clauses.1 taking information to mean propositional content which constitutes a contribution of knowledge to [sic] reader’s knowledge store, they demonstrate how to use discourse representation theory (drt) and segmented discourse representation theory (sdrt) to deal with punctuated written texts.2 drt and sdrt use representational boxes with a set of referents (entities in the discourse) and conditions (properties that relate the referents), which are built incrementally over the course of the discourse and which can be resolved into a construction algorithm. the major contribution of this highly technical work is to demonstrate that punctuation can be described systematically, and as they suggest, (eventually) accounted for in a unified theory that computational linguists can apply to both analyzing and generating written language. the points raised by say and akman and their exercise of formalizing punctuation in terms of drt and sdrt are relevant to literary studies and textual criticism. the absence of any unified linguistic theory of punctuation and the dearth of research programs aimed at formulating one disadvantage the linguist and literary scholar alike. the result of this gap in language science and literary studies is that the modern understanding of punctuation as a feature of human language is unclear, its use at any given synchronic stage in any given language even less clear, and its marked use in literary contexts totally unexplored. to complicate the matter, studying punctuation, especially punctuation in poetry, gives rise to a problem of definition: namely, what counts as punctuation? in his brown corpus study, meyer distinguishes between structural punctuation symbols (those that act on units not larger than the orthographic sentence and not smaller than the word, i.e. not hyphens or apostrophes) and other punctuation (textgraphical features like paragraph breaks, font changes, lists) (1986). the distinction is a useful one in linguistics, but obfuscates features of punctuation that might be relevant to literary criticism or poetics: one can imagine a poem in which intra-morphemic punctuation or suprasegmentals, such as diacritics, function in a non-trivial way. in addition, a purely formal description of punctuation elides certain features of punctuation that are particular to 25 a grammar of punctuation in poetry literature, and poetry in particular. such particularities of literary punctuation include its: rhetorical force, aesthetic or visual dimension, meta-physical qualities, allusive potential, and effect on meter. the ability of a hyphen to suggest a unique kind of bond that, in ricks’ terms, holds apart at the same time it holds together, is a dimension that is relevant and meaningful to the literary critic but one which the computational linguistic is likely uninterested in capturing. all this is not to diminish the potential of computational work on punctuation to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of punctuation in literary studies. rather, it is to point out that for such research to be truly useful to the literary critic, it must be specific enough to accurately describe punctuation as a subsystem of human language and general enough to handle additional factors based on stylistic register or context. the work of nunberg (1990) gets closest to that balance, at least according to say and akman (1997).. as they point out, nunberg’s (1990) treatise retains its influential status as the first comprehensive attempt to approach punctuation from within the generative, or chomskian, paradigm: to decipher it in terms of a text-grammar and to conceive of it as a generative system describable by rule-governed operations. working within this framework, nunberg builds a collection of rules he uses to explain the distribution of text-categories — the inter-punctuational units (text-adjuncts, text-clauses, text-phrases) dealt with by the lexical grammar.3 an example of such a rule treats the interaction of two english punctuation marks: “the point absorption rule dictates that a period will absorb a comma when they are immediately adjacent.”4 nunberg’s account of punctuation recognizes that punctuation marks are not distributed randomly or arbitrarily, but like natural language reflect a series of hierarchically ordered abstract rules. what say and akman find lacking in nunberg (1990)— and what they identify as a desideratum in the field of computational linguistics— is a formal theoretical apparatus that can characterize punctuation not just in terms of its relationship to syntax, but also account for its semantic and discourse-related effects.5 work in algebraic linguistics underscores the importance of attending to these effects. at least in terms of logical value, punctuation is as much an observable feature for the critic to attend to in a poet’s work as it is in his or her own writing on a poet’s work. in his article “punctuation and human freedom”, linguist geoffrey k. pullum provides the following example of how a simple transposition of punctuation marks alters the truth-conditions of a statement: (i) shakespeare’s king richard iii contains the line “now is the winter of our discontent.” (ii) shakespeare’s king richard iii contains the line “now is the winter of our discontent”.6 the claim in (i), he argues, is false. for shakespeare’s play does not contain the line “now is the winter of our discontent.” rather, it contains the line “now is the winter of our discontent”, which is actually the first of two lines that form the sentence: “now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of york.” in the playtext, as pullum points out, “now is the winter of our discontent” is not even a syntactic constituent; although, in (i), the convention of placing terminal punctuation before quotes makes it look as if it were. pullum’s point here seems a slight one—or, perhaps, an overly-fastidious one—but it is important to realize that he is not leveling a prescriptive stylistic complaint; he is pointing out the linguistic reality that punctuation marks interact with, and have the ability to alter, the truth-conditions of a claim. the question is one of logical truth, not of style. an alternative approach to nunberg’s generative-style grammar of punctuation might be a purely distributional one. in his corpus studies, karlsson (1994) demonstrates the possibility of describing punctuation in terms of statis“recent efforts in computational linguistics, however, make use of computerized corpora to bring attention to the fact that punctuation is a coherent, rule-governed linguistic subsystem in its own right.” 26 elements : : fall 2015 tical frequency, rather than binary tag-features like [±stoppedness], which nunberg (1990) makes use of. as karlsson’s findings suggest, it is possible to characterize punctuation marks based on their immediate context. for instance, he reports: “a punctuation mark to the left of a finite verb dramatically decreases the probability that the preceding word is a grammatical subject (of all the finite verbs preceded by a punctuation mark, less than 5% had the preceding word as subject).”7 karlsson’s work is conducted within and for the milieu of computational linguistics; his concerns are necessarily different from those of the literary critic. but might literary researchers employ a similar distributional approach to more accurately determine statistical patterns of punctuation use? the presence of digitized corpora makes such a task possible and, most importantly, allows researchers to carry out their analyses without reference or subservience to other linguistic features. with the recent understanding of punctuation as a rule-governed system in its own right, rather than as an artifact treated indirectly or filtered through other levels of linguistic inquiry like syntax, comes the ability to claim punctuation as a singular object of study in research. this might, but need not, extend beyond the workings of the suite of punctuation marks. also of particular interest is the potential for linguistic research on punctuation to provide insight into cruxes of textual scholarship based on historiographical concerns. inadequate understanding of punctuation at a particular synchronic stage of the language (herein, english) is not a new problem in literary analysis. but the reality remains that most modern readers— and, to a lesser extent (one hopes), textual scholars— are limited by their own linguistics in that they inevitably read in reference to modern punctuation. kellogg and steele (1963) raise this crucial historiographical point when they caution against analyses built on hasty— or, as they write, “sanguine”— generalizations like ‘punctuation marks syntax’ or ‘punctuation marks intonation’: the critic cannot afford to work on the assumption that spenser’s syntax can be explained by analogy with similar but not identical structures in present-day english. two considerations must temper our hasty analysis of elizabethan poetry: first, we do not understand elizabethan syntax thoroughly; and, second, we do not know what intonation was used to signal syntactical relationships.8 one might add to their point a further concession: even if we do achieve an accurate reconstruction of elizabethan syntax and phonemics, we cannot assume the poet operated within those conventions or norms. moreover, kellogg and steele’s stance presupposes that punctuation in a poem is limited to demarcating syntactic constituents and transcribing the prosodic features of inner speech. a critic cannot afford to work on that assumption either. a more accurate approach would examine punctuation, syntax, and phonemics independently and not as mixedlevels— but, rather, as phenomena that are interrelated but not dependent on or subservient to one another. it would be informed by a reconstruction of elizabethan syntax and phonemics as well as a reconstruction of a grammar of elizabethan punctuation. what might such an approach look like? placing a consideration of elizabethan syntax and phonemics aside, a series of corpus-based studies on punctuation conducted in the following contexts would yield multiple and increasingly marked perspectives on punctuation as it functioned in the target time-period: elizabethan texts (including newspapers, legal documents, and other non-literary publications); contemporary elizabethan poetry; as well as a more concentrated analysis of punctuation in the poet’s own writings (which would consider works in prose and works in poetry separately). computational linguistic techniques allow such corpus searches to be exacting. in the style of karlsson (1994), it is possible to determine the statistical frequency of, say, an ellipses separating a verb and its subject, or the probability that the word preceding an em dash is in the nominal case when the word that follows is a finite verb. admittedly, exhaustive corpora for this type of research will not be availthe formulation of a linguistic rule in standard notation (font licenced through adobe indesign) 27 a grammar of punctuation in poetry able in all cases. already, though, digitized corpora for various genres of literary texts or author-specific databases exist. if and when corpora become available, though, applying computational linguistic techniques of the kind detailed by say and akman (1967) seems like a useful but unexplored resource for literary studies. accommodating a linguistic theory of punctuation—formal, as in nunberg’s case, or distributional, as in karlsson’s— to literary analysis might provide the literary critic with surer footing while navigating historically remote punctuation systems. a body of research that examines punctuation in this manner offers to the critic and textual scholar a hereto-unavailable interpretive tool. it would allow for cross-comparison between the poet’s deployment of punctuation and statistical patterns or norms of punctuation in use in the particular socio-cultural milieu in which he or she was writing. in this way, the critic or scholar could more easily, and more systematically, decenter a reading of a text from his or her own linguistics of punctuation. historiographer of the language sciences konrad koerner (1997) points to the value of a similar process of re-orientation or recalibration when approaching non-contemporary (linguistic) texts: “[m]odern scholars have been mislead in their assessment… probably because they could not or did not divest themselves of their own twentieth-century structuralist background.”9 a similar concern holds true for an analysis of punctuation in poetry. a critically responsible treatment of a poem’s punctuation recognizes that reading only with reference to contemporary punctuation results in a limited interpretive stance, and also constitutes a critical move based on presupposition. the critic might work around this logical fallacy by drawing on the technical apparatus of computational linguistics to equip himor herself with descriptions of: contemporary punctuation, punctuation in the target time-period, and punctuation within the body of work being examined. only by refracting a historically displaced reading of the poem through these multiple lenses can we hope to achieve a more historiographically sound and interpretively accurate assessment of the working of the poem’s punctuation. this paper does not propose a unified theory of punctuation, or even attempt to define in detail how such a theory might be applied to literary criticism or textual scholarship; the current lack of research makes this unlikely. rather, it aims to draw attention to the general paucity of research directed at constructing an empirical theory of punctuation for use in both linguistics and literary studies. and, furthermore, to suggest the utility of such a theory and its compatibility between recent efforts in computational linguistics and the recognition in literary studies, especially among scholars of poetry, that punctuation warrants attention as a non-verbal resource of creative expression. present understanding of punctuation as a subsystem of human language is inadequate. even when studies do examine punctuation from a linguistic standpoint, they privilege modern written language and american english in particular. moreover, the application of these studies beyond their use in natural language processing systems and punctuation pedagogy is unexplored, their relevance to literary analysis undocumented. what wants in literary studies is a body of research that approaches punctuation linguistically— making use of corpus and computational methods of analysis— in order to attend more accurately to the particularities of its workings in poetry. 28 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. akman, current approaches to punctuation, 464. 2. ibid. 3. akman, current approaches to punctuation, 460. 4. ibid. 5. akman, current approaches to punctuation, 467. 6 pullum, natural language and linguistic theory, 421-422. 7 akman , current approaches to punctuation, 461. 8 kellogg, on the punctuation of two lines, 174. 9 koerner, einar haugen, 228. references akman, v., and b. say. “current approaches to punctuation in computational linguistics.” computers and the humanities, no. 6 (1996): 457-69. kellogg, robert l., and oliver l. steele. “on the punctuation of two lines in the faerie queene.” pmla, no. 78 (1963): 147-148. doi: 10.2307/461235. koerner, e. f. k. “einar haugen as a historian of linguistics.” american journal of germanic linguistics and literatures, no. 9 (1997): 221-38. lennard, john. but i digress: the exploitation of parentheses in english printed verse. oxford: oxford up, 1991. pullum, geoffrey. “topic... comment: punctuation and human freedom.” natural language & linguistic theory, no. 4 (1984): 419–25. ricks, christopher. the force of poetry. new york: clarendon, 1984. 29 a grammar of punctuation in poetry despite growing numbers, latinos lag behind whites in higher education. this gap is especially salient for latino men, who earned only 37.6 percent of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees awarded to latino students in 2010. the following study uses interviews with thirteen ethnically diverse, first-generation, self-identified latino men currently enrolled in four-year universities in the greater boston area to explore the influences latino men identify as impacting their college success and persistence rates. grounded theory analysis of the interview data reveals the correlations between previous academic experiences and family influence on participants’ ability to graduate. the paramount role of participants’ cultural constructions of masculinity and their effect on help-seeking behaviors was a surprising and unique finding. masculinity and help-seeking behaviors were, therefore, found to play a key role in college achievement and persistence for the men in this study. this article also discusses implications for mental health practitioners, educational advocacy groups, and universities. latino masculinity underlying factors in college persistence levels maria vasquez introduction latinos are growing in number and influence in the united states. by 2050, hispanics/latinos will comprise 29% of the population.1 despite growing numbers, latinos lag behind whites in higher education, with only 13.5% of associate’s degrees and 8.8% of bachelor’s degrees being awarded to students identifying as latino or hispanic in 2010.2 moreover, only 37.6% of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees were awarded to students who identified as male and latino.3 the discrepancy between latino female and male college enrollment and graduation rates is linked to sociocultural factors, such as gender roles, socioeconomic status, criminalization of the latino male, and neighborhood and environmental contexts. this paper investigates the academic, social, and psychological factors that influence latino males’ decisions about postsecondary education and the implications of these decisions. literature review despite the recent increase in research about ethnicity and higher education, there remains a large gap in the literature on latino men in college. ojeda, navarro, and morales4 documented the link between family, identity, and college persistence intentions for mexican-american men, concluding that, given the family’s centrality to gender identity, high parental involvement positively impacted college persistence intentions. the strong relationship between latino male identity and the concept of family has been established not only for mexican-americans, but also for latinos of all ethnic backgrounds.5 specifically, the importance of “familismo,” which “encompasses the loyalty, commitment, and dedication to “la familia” is repeatedly identified in the literature as a significant influence on latino consciousness.6 latino males are expected to support their family financially and emotionally—a reality that undeniably affects their educational, professional, and personal development.7 the concept of family can be a double-edged sword, providing extensive support and positive involvement for latino male college students, but also demanding a level of commitment that often interferes with college persistence.8 the complex topic of latino male college persistence involves the interrelation of a variety of systems and factors. the literature identifies four prevalent themes that have large influences on latino males’ college access and completion: (a) level of awareness of educational obstacles on the part of communities and administrators; (b) the importance of the concept of family; (c) the impact of male peers and mentors; and (d) the absence of outreach programs specifically designed for this population.9 clark et al.’s study on educator perspectives on latino male educational pursuits reveals “the strong influence of the latino patriarchal and cultural norms imposes unique demands and expectations on latino men.”10 family pressure to fulfill the male role, paired with institutional and financial barriers to latino male college access and retention create an environment unsupportive of latino males’ educational pursuits. researchers also found that peer and mentor relationships can enhance success and persistence of latino men in high school and college. understanding the unique cultural experience of latino males is a key component of latino success in higher education. contextual variables contribute to the lack of latino male access to higher education. administrators and students identified failing high schools (lacking in materials, committed teachers, mentors, helpful counselors) and home environments with little to no knowledge of the college admission and application process (financial planning and aid for college, university culture, etc.), as serious impediments to getting into and persisting through college.11 both the challenging nature of the college application process and the lack of awareness of opportunities available hinder latino males’ college attendance and completion. negotiating the financial stresses of college, acquiring financial aid, and paying for school without familial help work to create an “uphill battle”.12 “despite growing numbers, latinos lag behind in higher education, with only 13.5% of associate’s degrees and 8.8% of bachelor’s degrees being awarded to students identifying as latino or hispanic in 2010.” 32 elements : : fall 2015 numerous psychological factors strongly impact mexicanamerican students’ decisions to pursue and obtain a college degree.13 precollege racial micro-aggressions and family pride are significant factors in mexican-americans’ intentions and abilities to complete college. cerezo et al. documented that teachers, administrators, and peers discouraged college aspirations, claiming that college would be “too difficult,” that latino male students would not be “capable,” or suggesting that they join the military, attend a trade school, or even “engage in criminal activity”.14 although the literature identifies issues that latino students face in accessing college, it is primarily focused on mexican-american college students. while mexicanamericans are the largest of the latino populations in the united states,15 it is essential to gather information from a diverse and nationally representative sample to make generalizations concerning latinos as a whole. secondly, student voices are lacking in the literature. scholars, administrators, and psychologists discuss latino males’ college persistence, but there are very few studies in which latinos themselves speak on the issue. the role of methodology is crucial here. few studies are qualitative and provide space for students to voice their experiences in all their nuanced complexity.16 the present study explores a more diverse group of male latino college students’ constructions of the factors that influence their ability to complete a college degree. it seeks to provide an opportunity for latino males to talk about their access to college, their challenges once there, and their understandings of how their identity and cultural background influence whether or not they graduate. methodology the purpose of this study is to understand how latino men define the obstacles and challenges they have encountered or are currently experiencing in their attempt to complete a college degree through the lens of a sociocultural framework. in other words, what factors do latino college males describe as impacting their educational options, decisions, and experiences? thirteen self-identified latino men between the ages of 18 and 23, currently enrolled in four-year universities in the greater boston area, were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview. participants attended predominantly white, private, four-year institutions. using a snowball sampling method, 2-3 original participants reached out to other latino men who were interested in participating in the study. this sampling method allowed a transfer of trust between participants and researcher, an essential component to the ability to gather valid and reliable data.17 participants were screened for ethnic background to ensure diversity in the final sample, which consisted of mostly american-born latinos with ethnic ties to mexico, el salvador, colombia, puerto rico, cuba, the dominican republic, and guatemala. one participant was born in puerto rico but immigrated to the united states at the age of ten, while another self-identified as a second-generation chicano. participants attended high schools in california, florida, texas, massachusetts, connecticut, and new york. all identified as low to low-middle income. given the study’s inductive nature, interviews were conducted in a flexible format, relying on prepared questions as guiding points. if the participant felt strongly about a topic, focused on certain themes, or even raised a new perspective, the interview would be directed towards that particular topic. thus, data elaborate on and deviate from the literature to keep the process open to fresh perspectives and understandings.18 the focus of this study was how the individual men understood and constructed the obstacles and challenges to completing a college degree, and an open-ended interview ensured that participants had the space and opportunity to explore and share experiences freely. interviews ranged in length from twenty to ninety minutes and were recorded and transcribed with signed consent from participants. coding was informed by themes found in the literature,19 and revealed themes that students march in washington for the cause of affirmative action in american higher education. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 33 latino masculinity matched those found in the literature review as well as other themes not discussed at all in the literature. the names of participants in this study are pseudonyms. results findings addressed academic preparedness, family dynamics, and gender roles. there was also an emphasis on gendered understandings of help-seeking behaviors that were specifically relevant to college navigation, success, and well-being. in this research, “help-seeking” includes academic assistance (tutoring, professors office hours, etc.), career and fiscal advising (additional funding needs, etc.), and psychological assistance (stress management, emotional support, etc.), in both formal (professional) and informal (peer and family network) settings. refer to table 1 for a guide to theme incidence by interview. previous academic experiences participants identified high school environments and interactions as strong influences on perceptions of college access, academic preparedness once in college, and awareness of resources and services supporting college transition. the academic rigors of college contributed to participants’ beliefs about self-efficacy, as participants explicitly feared they would not be able to overcome poor preparation, thus creating a sense of inadequacy and failure. limited prior exposure to academic supports exacerbated feelings of inefficacy and hopelessness, and participants highlighted the importance of resource awareness and willingness to access resources as essential to academic progress and success. family influence family factors contributed to participants’ conceptions of education, success, and well-being. enrolling in college was not a personal choice for personal success, but a choice to provide a better future for the participant, parents, and future family. the role of the family was paradoxical — family encouragement and support were important to participants’ intentions and decisions to attend and persist through college, but family expectations and retable 1. theme incidence per interview 34 elements : : fall 2015 sponsibilities negatively influenced graduation rates. participants talked about financial stresses and the expectation of taking care of the family as potential barriers to college persistence. masculinity gender played a significant role in how latino males situated their education in relation to identity, family, and their future. participants perceived education as necessary for the financial independence and security needed to support a family. while some participants wanted future partners to be financially independent, most identified the male as the primary provider. self-sufficiency and success in the primary provider role were essential to how these men made decisions about their education. masculinity also played a major role in how participants sought help during college. participants’ constructions of masculinity blended traditional latino constructions of gender with mainstream american notions. this “americanized machismo” acknowledges self-sufficiency and independence, and when integrated with a multicultural construction of gender, strongly influences how these men viewed formal and informal help-seeking. gender policing in the latino community also discouraged help-seeking considerations and behaviors. discussion the role of the family and the importance of access to resources in high school and college for first-generation college students were significant points for many participants. the lack of secondary school resources rendered not only the college application process, but also the transition to college life, difficult. andres, a sophomore, illustrates this point: i didn’t know that you could get free tutoring…i didn’t know that there were people on campus that you could go to and talk to and try to appeal a financial aid decision. none of that stuff was available to me in high school, so the possibility that they would be available in college…didn’t even cross my mind. andres’ experience showcases how a prior lack of access to resources and assistance continues to affect individuals even as they enter more encouraging environments. family support and expectations for higher education permeated the discussion on what influenced participants’ goals of going to college. participants emphasized the need “to achieve what my parents were never given the opportunity to achieve. i was born here [in the united states] so…there was no reason for me not to go to college—if i wanted to succeed.” attending college and receiving a diploma could realize the value of parents’ hard work. families demanded that sons avail themselves of american privileges. this theme pervaded all interviews. one participant talked about his family’s immigration to the united states in this context, explaining how his parents struggled with the most difficult jobs, and that “going to college meant showing them that all they had sacrificed was not done in vain. my job was to get to college and i did.” obtaining a college degree seemed to be individually and family-motivated; participants identified the benefits of a college education as the main incentives behind enrolling in, and graduating from, college. the intersection of gender and culture was the most critical theme. participants deconstructed their journeys to college and during college within the context of their identity as latino men, noting how gender and culture shaped their conceptions of education, success, and ability. gender construction, defined by one participant as an “all-consuming way of thinking that tells you how you have to live as a man,” shaped participants personal and professional aspirations. attending college was not only something that participants felt they owed their parents, but also something that ensured financial success for themselves as male role models. once at college, latino males often struggle to access resources and support. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 35 latino masculinity “this ‘americanized machismo’ acknowledges selfsufficiency and independence, and when integrated with a multicultural construction of gender, strongly influences how these men viewed formal and informal help-seeking.” definitions of success included the ability to “support my family, have a house, and take care of my wife and kids… my parents always told me that i needed to be able to take care of my family—i need to be the provider and college will help me to do that.” the concept of family itself, for many of the participants, corroborated the literature on the concept of familismo. interviewees perceived an expectation of responsibility, not only to future families, but also to parents and siblings, which extended particularly to female family members. as david, a senior, shared, “if something were to happen to my father, or any of my brothers, i would have to take care of my mother and sisters—it’s just what i would have to do—it’s what would be expected of me and what i would expect, too.” this selfimposed obligation to support family members, and to support women specifically, reinforces “latino male as provider” as an integral component to latino male identity. this concept is also closely linked to being “the man of the house.” most participants identified a direct expectation from family members, both male and female, to fulfill this role by virtue of being a male in the home. “when my dad died…my mom told me that i was the man of the house now…i had to be strong and take care of the family,” shared gustavo whose father died when he was nine years old. “those words stayed with me—i still feel like i am the man the house, like i have a family to take care of, like… this [college] isn’t just about me, you know?” the interplay of gender-based family expectations and success yielded very specific reasons why latino men were in college. going to college, therefore, meant guaranteeing their ability to assume the role of provider and support current and future families. such interplay created a paradoxical effect: a motivator to college success in the face of positive family involvement and support, became a stressor in the face of family hardship and adversity. participants’ constructions of masculinity were at the crux of the conversation on college achievement and persistence. participants branded the ideal latino man as possessing qualities that coincide with traditional masculine norms, such as independence, virility, emotional control, industriousness, aggression, and dominance.20 yet, participants identified latino masculine norms to be “exaggerated” and “much more intense.” as benny noted, “latinos have very clear separations between men and women. it’s very traditional in a sense and not open for negotiation.” gender roles in the latino community are closely tied to cultural identity and social practice where, “being a man is not thrust upon me, it’s shown to me. i know i will make them proud if i [imitate].” women also sustain and adhere to these conceptions of latino masculinity. leal, a junior, explained that his mother instructed him how to be a man:“be strong…stand up and dominate—to not let anyone disrespect or put me down. my father wasn’t around and so she said i had to be strong for her and the family.” his aunts and sisters agreed: “men can’t cry, they have to provide, they have to be tough.” cousins and sisters considered a man who was not in control unattractive because he “wasn’t acting like a man should…it’s a cultural thing.” gender roles are so entrenched in the latino community that women uphold and co-construct them in spite of growing support for gender equality and a movement away from the traditional, and often destructive, understandings of gender in the latino community (as cited by other participants). a few participants shared how some people are challenging gender norms in the latino community, but these individuals seem to be the exceptions. messages and lessons about gender during upbringing affected the development of participants’ individual and relational identities. identities as individuals were closely linked to communal identities as latino men, with integrated personal identifiers and tastes:“i like cars, and there are a lot of guys in my family that also like cars. we bond over that, you know. i like cars because they’re dirty and 36 elements : : fall 2015 hands on and fast and kind of dangerous—all of us [latinos] just like that [stuff ].” gender and gender identity inform decisions and impact the choices and experiences of latino males in the college environment. all but one participant identified help-seeking in relation to masculinity as a major determinant of success in both the academic and socio-emotional domains of college. asking for help was an essential but difficult behavior. what it meant to be a latino man clashed with the willingness to engage in help-seeking. “a man has it all together, doesn’t need to ask anyone for help—they’re independent and strong and have it all under control,” shared cesar, a sophomore, “you go for help and…i know it sounds stupid, but, it’s almost like you are no longer a man.” academic help-seeking was defined as going to professors’ office hours, building mentoring relationships with campus leaders and administrators, and accessing resources like tutoring and academic advising. seeking academic help resulted in psychological and social difficulties. cesar explains that the most profound obstacle to help-seeking is his reluctance to admit that he is having a hard time: “if i admitted that i needed help [then that] meant that i didn’t have everything under control—that i needed somebody else to help me out, to do what i couldn’t”. taught to be independent, cesar viewed asking for help as losing self-sufficiency. “i definitely didn’t want my friends to see me struggling—they looked like they had it all together and i pretended to, too.” help-seeking as dependency was common among most participants and clashed directly with internalized constructions of masculinity—signaling not only a lack of independence but also a suggestion of failure. gender policing, a social phenomenon that imposes normative gender expressions on individuals who are perceived to be non-conforming to the expectations of their perceived sex,21 was especially notable among latino men. hyper-policing of gender systematically prevailed in the latino community. as one participant shared, “you start acting a little funny, like too sensitive or like you care too much about a girl or a test or something, your [latino] friends will check you…they’ll let you know you’re not being a man and they won’t let you live that…down.” another participant agreed: “my latino friends are so much more obsessed with acting manly and being stereotypically male than any of my other non-latino friends.” this hyper-policing also affects socio-emotional, helpseeking behaviors. “you can’t be weak—you don’t cry, you don’t let people get you vulnerable…you act strong and you keep your cool. the only time you let emotions get in the way is when someone disrespects you or your loved ones.” the expectation of emotional stoicism is critical to latino men’s psychological well-being; needs are shrouded to present the façade of incontestable “maleness.” participants talked about facing stress, anxiety, emotional, and interpersonal problems during college but not feeling comfortable disclosing such experiences to anyone because of the dissonance between emotional expression and male identity. such issues were handled privately and independently: when i feel stressed out, or something is going on with my family or a girl, i just go and hang out by myself. i deal with it myself. i don’t need anyone to listen to me—i don’t like talking about my feelings. i just feel uncomfortable doing it… i don’t know how to go to people and talk to them about my private life—i can’t even describe how i feel sometimes to myself, how am i supposed to go and do that with someone who will probably just judge me for it? fear of judgment and gender-policing prevented many participants from self-disclosing and encouraged them to distinguish between support networks in their lives. several men discussed talking to certain friend groups about specific problems depending on whether or not those friends ascribed to prevailing latino understandings of masculinity. peter, a freshman, shared, “i go to my white guy friends about an issue with a girl or about feeling stressed out. they are so much more open to that kind of stuff. when i go to my latino friends, they just make a “‘my latino friends are so much more obsessed with acting manly and being stereotypically male than any of my other non-latino friends.’” 37 latino masculinity joke out of everything.” corroborating peter’s sentiment, joseph shared, “my latino friends just make jokes…they tell me to man up and that everything will work out fine— but sometimes you just need someone to say they understand how you feel and that it’s okay.” dealing with emotional or psychological needs through humor was also prevalent. the fact that latino men felt more comfortable talking about emotional topics with non-latino friends amplifies the validity of exploring latino males’ concepts of masculinity and gender-policing and their effect on college persistence. participants identified emotional and relational difficulties as having a negative impact on academic involvement and achievement. not talking about stress and feelings led to distress and inadequacy: i was too easily overwhelmed, i felt so much pressure; school just started to become harder and harder for me. believing that he had to do everything himself, one participant remarked that, “any challenge that comes your way becomes ten times bigger, ten times harder to overcome, ten times more likely to break you down.” latino males identify help-seeking as especially pertinent to college persistence, and this shows that helpseeking is relevant not only academically, but also socioemotionally. help-seeking seems to be a critical variable in the context of latino men’s low rates of college persistence. limitations of the present study there are several limitations of this study. first of all, the small sample size prevents generalizability of findings, and the snowball sampling method, albeit necessary in transferring trust, can result in a sample that is homogenous in terms of experiences, values, and beliefs. a study that uses a random probability sampling method would limit such a risk. another limitation is the unique educational make-up of the sample. given that all participants derived from predominantly white, private universities, findings cannot be linked closely to the experiences of students at public or more ethnically diverse university settings. the general environment of the university and the presence of greater academic and social supports for latino men may have influenced the shared experiences of the current study’s participants. strengths of the present study the paucity of literature that includes ethnically diverse latino male voices on the topic of college persistence was a significant motivator for this study, and thus contributes to the literature by including an ethnically diverse sample in an in-depth, qualitative exploration. participants shared experiences, perspectives, and understandings in a way that validated their contributions. this study also reflects the present demographics of a significant portion of america’s latino population. participants’ ethnic ties reflect the majority ethnic composition of the latino population in the united states, and their identification as first-generation also reflects the immigrant make-up of latinos between the ages of 18 and 25.22 conclusion constructions of masculinity appear to be the most salient influence on latino male enrollment and persistence intentions in college. despite the importance of resources and support services in high school and universities, participants described their struggles in college as primarily influenced by their understandings of identity and masculinity in a cultural context. participants’ positionality as first-generation latino-americans enabled a gender identity constructed as a hybrid of both american and latino cultural influences in an “americanized machismo” paradigm. the inflation of gender roles in the latino community creates an environment of hyper-gender policing that restricts many latino men in college from engaging in behaviors that would threaten their masculinity, even when such behaviors might ensure academic or personal success. masculinity as a performance, relevant and established in the literature,23 seems to be more significant for latino males. furthermore, the interplay of gendered identity constructions and help-seeking behaviors was a significant finding. participants explicitly related internalized understandings of masculinity to their inability to engage in help-seeking behaviors, yielding a dynamic with very noticeable academic, financial, and psychological ramifications. obstacles pertaining to academic and financial help-seeking, attending professors’ office hours, making use of on-campus tutoring resources, seeking financial aid advocates, etc., have to be overcome for latino males to logistically make it “through” college. the socio-emotional, psychological piece of help-seeking was particularly critical. cultural conceptions of what it means to be a man were closely linked to psychological and emotional well-being, undoubtedly important factors in college persistence and success. participants’ unwilling38 elements : : fall 2015 ness to seek help in all domains for fear of losing their masculine appearance, in addition to their refusal to obtain emotional support from friends, significantly undermined their academic performance and psychological well-being. participants explicitly linked their emotional and psychological health to feelings of self-efficacy and motivation for college completion. this reveals the expected finding that masculinity plays an important role in mental health, which is essential to college persistence. implications and recommendations for future research the current study provides evidence for the complexity of factors that influence latino men’s college persistence levels. improving high schools and universities to better address latino men’s unique academic and social needs is crucial to ensuring higher college graduation rates. validating and understanding the significant role of the family in the lives of latino men and its influence on their academic and professional decisions must be a tenet of any intervention or outreach program that aims to work with this population. additionally, understanding the role that masculinity plays in latino male identity development and definitions of appropriate and inappropriate help-seeking behaviors is vital for educators and psychologists, if they seek to improve up the low rates of latino male degree attainment. finally, future research should further explore the intricate relationship between masculinity, help-seeking, and psychological distress. participants noted psychological well-being as critical to college success and persistence, and yet, they are unwilling to seek support. exploring the causes of such contradictory behavior may uncover ways to develop a more productive synergy between gender identity, help-seeking behaviors, and academic, social, and emotional well-being among latino men in college. 39 latino masculinity endnotes 1. passel & cohn, 2008. 2. u.s. department of education, 2012. 3. ibid. 4. ojeda, navarro, and morales, 2010. 5. arciniega, anderson, tovar-blank, & tracey, 2008; castillo, cano, chen, blucker, & olds, 2008; french & chavez, 2010; ovink, 2013. 6. ojeda et al., 2010, 223. 7. french & chavez, 2010. 8. ojeda et al., 2010. 9. clark, ponjuan, ossock, wilson, and flores, 2013; cerezo & chang, 2013; ingram & gonzalez-matthews, 2013; nuñez, sparks, and hernandez, 2011; ojeda, castillo, rosales meza, and piña-watson, 2013. 10. clark et al., 458. 11. cerezo et al., 2012; cerezo & chang, 2013. 12. cerezo et al., 2012, 359. 13. ibid. 14. cerezo et al., 2012, 357-358. 15. pew research center, 2010. 16. neuman, 2006. 17. ibid. 18. ibid. 19. ibid. 20. mahalik, locke, ludlow, diemer, gottfried, scott & freitas, 2003. 21. helgeson, 2011. 22. krogstad & lopez, 2014. 23. kimmel, 1994. references arciniega, g. miguel, thomas c. anderson, zoila g. tovar-blank, terence j. g. tracey, and mallinckrodt, brent. “toward a fuller conception of machismo: development of a traditional machismo and caballerismo scale.” journal of counseling psychology 55, no. 1 (2008): 19-33. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.55.1.19. castillo, linda g., collie w. conoley, catherine choi-pearson, debra j. archuleta, marion j. phoummarath, and alisa van landingham. “university enrollment as a mediator of latino ethnic identity and persistence attitudes.” journal of counseling psychology 53, no. 2 (2006): 267-271. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.2.67. castillo, linda g., miguel a. cano, sylvia w. chen, ryan t. blucker, tori s. olds, and vandenbos, gary. “family conflict and intragroup marginalization as predictors of acculturative stress in latino college students.” international journal of stress management 15, no. 1 (2008): 43-52. doi: 10.1037/1072-5245.15.1.43. cerezo, alison, james lyda, matthew beristianos, alma enriquez, michael connor, and levant, ronald f. “latino men in college: giving voice to their struggles and triumphs.” psychology of men & masculinity 14, no. 4 (2013): 352-62. doi: 10.1037/a0029646. cerezo, alison, and chang, tai. “latina/o achievement at predominantly white universities: the importance of culture and ethnic community.” journal of hispanic higher education 12, no. 1 (2013): 72-85. doi: 10.1177/1538192712465626. clark, mary ann, luis ponjuan, jason orrock, timothy wilson, and griselda flores. “support and barriers for latino male students’ educational pursuits: perceptions of counselors and administrators.” journal of counseling & development 91, no. 4 (2013): 458-66. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00118.x. french, sabine elizabeth, and chavez, noe r. “the relationship of ethnicity-related stressors and latino ethnic identity to well-being.” hispanic journal of behavioral sciences 32, no. 3 (2010): 410-28. doi: 10.1177/0739986310374716. gallagher, charles a. “white like me? methods, meaning, 40 elements : : fall 2015 and manipulations in the field of white studies.” in racing research, researching race: methodological dilemmas in critical race studies, edited by france winddance twine, and jonathan w. warren, 67-92. new york: new york university press, 2000. helgeson, vicki s. the psychology of gender. 4th ed. upper saddle river, nj: pearson education inc., 2011. ingram, ted n., and melissa gonzalez-matthews. “moving towards engagement: promoting persistence among latino male undergraduates at an urban community college.” community college journal of research and practice 37, no. 8 (2013): 636-48. doi: 10.1080/10668921003723185. kimmel, michael s. “masculinity as homophobia: fear, shame, and silence in the construction of gender identity.” in research on men and masculinities series: theorizing masculinities, edited by harry brod and michael kaufman, 119-142. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications, 1994. lee, john michael, and tafaya ransom. the college board advocacy and policy center. “the educational experience of men of color: a review of research, pathways, and progress.” the college board, 2011. liu, michelle camacho. national conference of state legislatures. “investing in higher education for latinos: trends in latino college access and success.” national conference of state legislatures, 2011. mahalik, james r., benjamin d. locke, larry h. ludlow, matthew a. diemer, ryan p. j. scott, michael gottfried, gary freitas, and lisak, david. “development of the conformity to masculine norms inventory.” psychology of men & masculinity 4, no. 1 (2003): 3-25. doi: 10.1037/15249220.4.1.3. mcintyre, alice. “constructing meaning about violence, school, and community: participatory action research with urban youth.” the urban review 32, no. 2 (2000): 123-54. doi: 10.1023/a:1005181731698. nunez, anne-marie, sparks, p. johnelle, and hernandez, eliza a. “latino access to community colleges and hispanic-serving institutions: a national study.” journal of hispanic higher education 10, no. 1 (2011): 18-40. doi: 10.1177/1538192710391801. ojeda, lizette, rachel l. navarro, alejandro morales, and levant, ronald f. “the role of la familia on mexican american men’s college persistence intentions.” psychology of men & masculinity 12, no. 3 (2011): 216-29. doi: 10.1037/a0020091. ojeda, lizette, castillo, linda g., rosales meza, rocío, and piña-watson, brandy. “mexican americans in higher education: cultural adaptation and marginalization as predictors of college persistence intentions and life satisfaction.” journal of hispanic higher education 13, no. 1 (2014): 3-14. doi: 10.1177/1538192713498899. ovink, sarah m. ““they always call me an investment”.” gender & society 28, no. 2, 265-88. doi: 10.1177/0891243213508308. passel, jeffrey s., and d’vera cohn. “u.s. population projections: 2005-2050.” pew research center social and demographic trends. pew research center, 2008. krogstad, j. m., and m.h., lopez. “hispanic nativity shift: u.s. births drive population growth as immigration stalls.” pew research center’s hispanic trends project. pew research center, 2014. saenz, victor b., and ponjuan, luis. “the vanishing latino male in higher education.” journal of hispanic higher education 8, no. 1 (2009): 54-89. doi: 10.1177/1538192708326995. sanchez, gabriel r. “latino group consciousness and perceptions of commonality with african americans *.” social science quarterly 89, no. 2 (2008): 428-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00540.x. united states census bureau. “income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the united states.” u.s. census bureau, 2010. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/ briefs/c2010br-04.pdf united states department of education: national center for education statistics. “the condition of education 2012 (2012-045).” u.s. department of education, 2012. http:// nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=72 41 latino masculinity this paper deals with the west german student movement, which, like most student movements, was active in the 1960s and focused primarily on social issues. it attempts to interpret the critiques levied by the movement in relation to those events and thoughts which preceded it. the author argues that there was a distinct rhetorical and philosophical connection between the 68er-bewegung and the critical theory of the frankfurt school. this connection shaped the methods and goals of the student movement, which sought to integrate a process of coming to terms with the realities of germany’s fascist, anti-democratic past into the german mindset following the rich period of remarkable postwar economic development. these methods and influences, which are called “critical historical memory,” are then argued to have been deployed so as to bring to light the continued presence of fascistic tendencies in contemporary german politics, with the hope of coming to terms with the recent past. dissent in the wirtschaftswunder historical memory and the german student movement alec walker the writings, speeches, and pamphlets of the german student movement display a contemporarily unique approach to historical memory. the period following world war ii called for a historical reckoning of recent events in germany. due to conditions on the ground, however, such immediacy was either made impossible by turmoil or forced and subsequently repressed by denazification. given its ostensibly democratic structure and ideals, western germany seemed positioned for a reckoning of memory and conscience with the dawn of a new sovereignty in the mid1950s. as konrad adenauer and his administration regained the reigns of governance, though, the extent to which a recovery of conscious, critical historical memory occurred is unclear. while west german economic standards rose rapidly to levels similar to their western allies, it is not evident that there was any discourse aimed at coming to terms with the fascist, antidemocratic tendencies that had until recently carried so much political and cultural clout. indeed, in the nexus that became known as the german student movement, or the 68er-bewegung, the criticism that the recovery to date had been merely material and disturbingly ahistorical is brought to light. in this sense, the german student movement can be interpreted as movement of critical historical memory. an outline of this concern is found in a speech titled “the students and the revolution,” delivered by rudi dutschke, a figurehead of the movement. dutschke stated that, “in the fifties the left in west germany believed that capitalism no longer contained any contradictions.”1 the old guard, dutschke claimed, had acquiesced too readily to an easy definition of progress, a superficial economic solution that attempted to pave over the problematic parts of recent history. to understand both dutschke’s speech and the movement it epitomized, one must observe the insistence on historical memory that spurred the movement’s inception, how this concern impacted the movement’s means of demonstration, and to what degree it was successful in its complicated conclusion. the fact that critique of recent history occurred in german universities is, in one sense, historically expected. in western germany, between 1960 and 1966, there was a precipitous rise in the student population from 195,000 to 281,000, resulting in overcrowded facilities and reduced contact with faculty.2 while this would be cause for alarm in any political climate, it resulted in particularly shocking outcomes in western germany due to a number of factors external to the university. the student body felt stifled and politically impotent. as willibald karl notes in the journal of contemporary history, the student unions of various german universities “proved [themselves] incapable of meeting the needs of the students or of getting their demands accepted.”3 as a result, the students sought political means of recourse — specifically in the socially liberal, and classically socialist, sozialdemokratische partei deutschlands (spd.) however, the spd, in its 1959 party convention, had abandoned its classical marxist views in favor of a capitalistic, social market economy platform, beginning a process of what michael schmidtke of the university of bielefeld termed “de-ideologization.”4 those ideals, historically crucial to liberal student politics, were being actively abandoned. it was these first sparks of agitation that originally ignited the german student movement, represented by the sozialistischer deutscher studentenbund (sds) and a number of other attendant extra-parliamentary agencies. unlike many protest movements of the past, the body of the sds was not foreign to the rulers they criticized. as a result, “the dominant parent culture…sensed that this protest movement [was] emerging from its own center — the middle class.”5 they emerged as an educated and engaged contingent, which felt society was partaking in mass historical repression. the students’ initial discontent, contained and pressurized in the universities, was fanned further by the winds of the 1960s. by 1966, the new spd had formed a grand coalition government with the more conservative christlich demokratische union deutschlands (cdu), making it “nearly impossible to articulate opposition views outside of the two dominant political parties.”6 the new coalition enacted policies 1968 hamburg lehrling demonstration (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 43 dissent in the wirtschaftswunder showing no regard for recent history, proposed by leaders implicated in the recent atrocities of national socialism. kurt georg kiesinger was accepted as chancellor, despite his involvement in the third reich, and franz joseph strauß was appointed finance minister, despite his numerous attempts to limit the free voice of the german press.7 the appointment of these men, readily indictable of antidemocratic activity, appeared as a flagrant dismissal of history in the eyes of the students, and the policies they sought to pass appeared reminiscent of times both recent and repressive. with precisely these concerns in mind, the students criticized the proposed emergency laws of the grand coalition, which would endow the government with overarching power in times of vaguely defined “crisis,” due to their similarity to the weimar laws of the 1930s.8 politics at large seemed at best conservative, at worst regressively forgetful. as belinda davis of rutgers university notes, a variety of obstacles caused the students to create their own sphere of thought. this independent space allowed “alternative modes of living…offering protection from repression,” a place where they could critically address the present and, ultimately, the past.9 here, then, is the scent of the real issue, by which the student movements can be understood as engaging in a discourse not only on the present, but also on the not-distant past — a generation’s reaction to the reviving of a smell repressed, and their insistence that it not be perfumed. their critique, and the sphere they created to propagate it, began to expand intellectually beyond the present situation in the universities to the images and memories of fascism lingering in society at large, which, in sabine von dirke’s words, “overshadowed the democratic-humanitarian rhetoric of mainstream west germany with which the youth had grown up.”10 in this sense, the students’ insistence on recalling the “functions of fascism” in the 1920s and 1930s can be understood. dutschke’s indictment that “after the second world war a new form of fascism” arose can also be interpreted through this perspective.11 fearing a revival of authoritarian principals, the students, barred from parliament and the orthodox university, founded a critical perspective backed by their own interpretation of recent history. the core methodological backings of the movement were, in their very nature, a recollection of recent intellectual history. much of the movement’s method was based upon the revival of the frankfurt school, that famous house of critical theory, which had been “partially lost due to nazism and partially repressed.”12 theodor adorno, a member of the frankfurt school contemporary to the student movement, surmised the student’s opposition to authoritarianism when he wrote of “the bestial fury of the brownshirts” against those critical of them as the “incursion of the wild horde into the preserve of the mind.”13 the reader does not miss the historicity of the phrase, in its explicitly critical memory of national socialism. but adorno went further, diagnosing modernity, explicating a mood, and endowing the students with a guiding method, when he stated that the critic would “have willingly excelled the less clever tyrants who were to succeed him”, arguing that the once usurped critic now reigns rather than thinks; it was the students’ contention and expansion that this is a particularly apt analysis in the realm of politics.14 the goal, then, was to actively keep the past of fascism in mind as a means of critiquing the present. the movement’s very method was a historical revival, opposed both to fascism and forgetting. the students’ main mode was memory. theirs was the realization that the modern germany hegemony, to quote schmidtke, “paralleled the traumatic weimar experience,” and thus threatened to bring about equally traumatic consequences.15 tracing the premise that the students borrowed their memory and their historical method from the frankfurt school, the manner in which they advanced adorno’s realization that “once culture itself has been debased to ‘cultural goods’…it has already defamed its raison d’être” must be observed.16 rather than theorizing about cultural debasement, the students attempted to actively engage the forces responsible for its defamation. herbert marcuse, in writing on the student movements, noted that the first movement of the students was one of negation, a refusal “to participate, to play along, [out of ] disgust with the lifestyle of the ‘affluent society.’”17 this negation then desired motion, incapable of being contained within the university. in 1966, following a series of sit-ins at the free university of berlin, the students passed a resolution in which “the appointment of these men, readily indictable of antidemocratic activity, appeared as a flagrant dismissal of history in the eyes of the students.” 44 elements : : fall 2015 they stated that their movement was “about viewing freedom in the university as a problem that points beyond the realm of the university itself.”18 this required a move into society at large, propagated by subversive political action, inspired by the frankfurt school, and based on the belief that such actions “could result in ‘moments of self-consciousness’ for the protester” which would then spread across culture.19 convinced that the situation in the university was, as rudi dutschke phrased it, “closely interlocked with the entire structure of society and government in a late-capitalist society,” the students sought to engage with power structures which ensured the status quo by denying the continued presence of fascistic tendencies — those hidden tendencies which sought to reify and sterilize culture and history.20 these protestors, with their critical methodology in hand, “developed a strategy which aimed to create situations where power structures would be unveiled, and where participants would define themselves independently from authority.”21 this critical revelation of power is seen in the protests against the shah’s visit to germany in june of 1967. as a student-produced pamphlet described, the protestors were objecting to a leader who had “been shown to have tortured and murdered hundreds of politicians, journalists, students, and workers” — a despot who embodied every authoritarian tendencies.22 however, despite various accounts of police brutality and the murder of student activist benno ohnesorg, the protestors remained peaceful, establishing themselves as the antithetical, historically aware opposition. they used this antithesis, the stark contrast of violence and peace, to generate rhetorical power. the only crime that the students were guilty of, as their pamphlet said, was “speaking out for freedom, democracy, and social justice.”23 the students were unquestionably successful in bringing power structures to light — forcing both contemporary german society and twenty-first entury historians to reckon with the fact that the spd, in the words of davis, “oversaw the suppression of nonviolent oppositional…expression arguably more repressively than had [the cdu].”24 the question arose as to whether the spd was not more “right,” even more authoritarian, than it had originally appeared. more generally, the potential for formerly politically progressive parties to be ideologically debased as the result of political success was poignantly brought to light. the movement’s antiauthoritarianism, its main mode of leaving the strictures of the university, was also historical in nature, calling into question not only their current leaders, but also the regimes of adenauer and the third reich and what they saw as their repressive tendencies — seeking to engage more with the public and bring it to awareness.25 rather than a movement of divisive violence, rudi dutschke, the sds, and the students in general sought a universal “coalition of workers and students in the organizational form of [revolutionary] councils.”26 despite the violence generated by the authoritarian camp, the students strove to remain peaceful. in an interview with der spiegel regarding his critique of the springer press, dutschke explicitly stated, “violence, murder, and killing…would be wrong and virtually counterrevolutionary” — in this sense, they would also be ahistorical, reminiscent of the fascism the students sought to critique.27 the object was to move into society at large, to expand their view’s power while establishing a broader base of support. through this broad union, the movement would establish “scholarship that bases its analysis on present-day conflict situations throughout the world.”28 it is now possible, with dutschke’s idea of a self-aware, active scholarship, to see the manner in which a generational movement -critically aware, highly educated, antagonistically seeking unity -presented a unique means of coming to terms with germany’s unique past. it is in this sense that dutschke’s “students and the revolution,” dealt with earlier, can be understood. dutschke argued that “german fascism has lost its definite historical form” — in other words, though the iconic party of fascism was recently dethroned, elements of its ideology persisted, colonizing various elements of political, social, and intellectual life.29 the students’ goal was to bring this to the attention of the world at large. all the movement’s actions should be seen in precisely this light, as a vigorous viewing and criticism of all forms of fascism, both historical and present. emerging from this movement was a new, antagonistic history, one that opposes the idea that “history is a result of the german youth expressing their dissatisfaction (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 45 dissent in the wirtschaftswunder personalities of world history,” the notion that “bourgeoisie thinking can only understand the conflict in society…as a result of outstanding individuals.”30 in dutschke’s argument, the students and their work produce a method “that emancipates and that does not need leaders as chief ideologist,” constituted by a mass of individuals characterized by “the fact that they take part in a steady critical dialogue,” aware that “any personal powers they have can be removed at any time.”31 this call to work was a call to responsibility, to awareness, and to resolution. aware of history and the dangers of authority, the movement finally returned, though altered, to one of its foundational thinkers, adorno, in his invective that criticism must “become aware of its own questionable position.”32 to end on such a laudatory note, though, would be to miss the critical point. the turbulence that followed the end of the movement questioned the very basis on which it seemed founded. following an attempt on dutschke’s life, a wave of violent protests, breaking from the previously peaceful tones of the movement, arose — culminating on easter sunday, when a massive brawl broke out between students and police. as schmidtke notes, these riots “marked a turning point for the student movement in germany” — the observable fracture that portended a shattering.33 in the following months, the movement continued to split, and by the sds conference of 1968, the various conflicting ideals of the movement “became obvious… paralyz[ing] further activities.”34 in the instant of its final iteration, as “the focus shifted away from...individual subjectivity to that of social class,” the movement lost the collectively individualistic force, the constant critique with history in mind, which inspired it in the first place.35 without the strong, individual voice of dutschke, the movement lost much of its collective will. in a philosophical sense, this acts to bring to light the rather odd aporia of a movement seeming to seek collective consciousness predicated upon individual acts of critique. pragmatically, the movement failed to achieve of any of its aims in full: the emergency laws ultimately passed, the universities saw no sweeping reform, and there was no grand calling to consciousness. horst krüger, a critic of the students, may have been right in stating that the students “spoke a language whose rigid, formulaic shorthand” forms a “new esoteric party lingo” the students began to appear as yet another political body.36 yet more problematic, the once peaceful protest moved to one of active, militaristic violence. the red army faction, a splinter group formerly affiliated with the sds, viewed violence “as a simultaneous act of emancipation and defense” that would “force the state to reveal openly its fascism,” and terrorized germany in the 1970s. this was clearly hypocritical in view of the movement’s original, peaceful, antifascist intent, yet it is also a violently clever reappropriation, revealing the frightening mutability of the student’s rhetoric.37 that a movement aiming to function outside of governmental strictures ultimately adopted the language of a political party, and that a peaceful antifascist movement resolved in violence’s authority obviously questions its historical awareness. perhaps, though, rather than making present analysis impossible, this reality can be used to better circumscribe a historically significant moment. while the movement, like so many others, petered out, it was for a time aware, as analysis has shown. as von dirke notes, “the frankfurt auschwitz trial in 1965 … introduced the majority of the german youth for the first time to the horrors of the holocaust and heightened their sensibility for the question of historical failure and guilt.”38 with a new generation came a hope for new thought and fresh eyes. adorno, though not a member of the student’s generation, stated that “to write poetry after auschwitz is barbaric.”39 it is precisely this realization, of the utter barbarism and deep-seated unacknowledged hypocrisy that lay at the heart of contemporary germany, which the students at their highest moment achieved. for this reason, the refusal of german society to allow the students, in their call to consciousness, to develop into a call to dogmatism and violence, perhaps showed the first signs of coming to terms with those atrocities which had just so recently, and so querulously, ended. “the goal, then, was to actively keep the past of fascism in mind as a means of critiquing the present.” 46 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. rudi dutschke, “the students and the revolution (7 march 1968)” in the global revolution of 1968 ed. jeremi suri trans. patricia howard (new york: norton, 2007) 122. 2. michael a. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock? student radicalism and 1968 in germany,” south central review 16/17 (december 1, 1999) 78. 3. willibald karl, “students and the youth movement in germany: attempt at a structural comparison,” journal of contemporary history 5, no. 1 (january 1, 1970): 114. 4. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 78. 5. sabine von dirke, “all power to the imagination!” : the west german counterculture from the student movement to the greens (lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1997), 31. 6. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 80. 7. schmidtke, 78—79. 8. schmidtke., 79. 9. belinda davis, “what’s left? popular political participation in postwar europe,” the american historical review 113, no. 2 (april 1, 2008): 370. 10. von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 31. 11. dutschke, “the students and the revolution (7 march 1968)” 121. 12. von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 32. 13. theodor adorno, “cultural criticism and society” in prisms ed. theodor adorno trans. samuel and shiery webber (cambridge: the mit press, 1981) 22. 14. ibid. 15. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 81. 16. adorno, “cultural criticism and society,” 22. 17. marcuse, herbert, “herbert marcuse denounces the vietnam war (may 22, 1966)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/sub_ document.cfm?document_id=890 18. bergmann, uwe, “the “sit-in” as a means for reforming the university (june 22, 1966)” trans. allison brown german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/ sub_document.cfm?document_id=891 19. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 83. 20. dutschke, rudi, “the students and the revolution,” 115. 21. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 83. 22. social democratic student association “social democratic student association flyer on the death of benno ohnesorg (june 3, 1967)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/docpage. cfm?docpage_id=1620 23. ibid. 24. davis, “what’s left?”. 117. 25. sabine von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 33. 26. ibid. 27. dutschke, rudi, “rudi dutschke demands the expropriation of the springer press empire (july 10, 1967)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=893 28. ibid. 29. dutschke, rudi, “the students and the revolution,” 118. 30. ibid., 128 31. ibid., 129. 32. adorno, thodor, “cultural criticism and society,” 28. 33. schmidtke, “cultural revolution or cultural shock?,” 87. 34. webler, “the sixties and the seventies,” 157. 35. von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 33. 36. horst krüger, “liberal musings on the character of the generational revolt (october 18, 1968)” trans. allison brown. german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_id=126 37. karrin hanshew, “daring more democracy? internal security and the social democratic fight against west german terrorism,” central european history 43, no. 1 (march 1, 2010): 117. 38. sabine von dirke, all power to the imagination!, 138. 39. adorno, theodor, “cultural criticism and society,” 34. references adorno, theodor, “cultural criticism and society” in prisms edited by theodor adorno, translated by samuel and shiery webber (cambridge: the mit press, 1981): 1734. bergmann, uwe, “the “sit-in” as a means for reforming the university (june 22, 1966)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/sub_document. cfm?document_id=891 davis, belinda. “what’s left? popular political participation in postwar europe.” the american historical review 113, no. 2 (april 1, 2008): 363-90. dutschke, rudi, “rudi dutschke demands the expropriation of the springer press empire (july 10, 1967)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/ sub_document.cfm?document_id=893 dutschke, rudi, “the students and the revolution (7 march 1968)” in the global revolution of 1968 edited by jeremi suri translated by patricia howard (new york: norton, 2007): 118-131. hanshew, karrin. “daring more democracy? internal security and the social democratic fight against west german terrorism.” central european history 43, no. 1 (march 1, 2010): 117-47. 47 dissent in the wirtschaftswunder karl, willibald. “students and the youth movement in germany: attempt at a structural comparison.” journal of contemporary history 5, no. 1 (january 1, 1970): 113-27. krüger, horst, “liberal musings on the character of the generational revolt (october 18, 1968)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/docpage. cfm?docpage_id=126 marcuse, herbert, “herbert marcuse denounces the vietnam war (may 22, 1966)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. 19 april 2014, http://ghdi.ghidc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_ id=890 sabine von dirke. “all power to the imagination!” : the west german counterculture from the student movement to the greens. lincoln: university of nebraska press, 1997. schmidtke, michael a. “cultural revolution or cultural shock? student radicalism and 1968 in germany.” south central review 16/17 (december 1, 1999): 77-89. socialist democratic student association, “socialist democratic student association flyer on the death of benno ohnesorg (june 3, 1967)” translated by allison brown german history in documents and images. accessed april 19, 2014,http://ghdi.ghidc.org/docpage.cfm?docpage_ id=1620 webler, wolff-dietrich. “the sixties and the seventies: aspects of student activism in west germany.” higher education 9, no. 2 (march 1, 1980): 155-68. 48 elements : : fall 2015 restriction factors are implicated in long-term evolutionary “arms races,” in which viral antagonists drive the evolution of host proteins, and vice versa. consequently, restriction factors are remarkably variable, displaying polymorphism within species and divergence between species as a result of positive selection. this paper investigates diversity in the apobec3f (a3f) restriction factors of old world primates in order to determine whether they display evidence of involvement in an evolutionary “arms race.” we speculated that genetic variability in a3f could reflect evolutionary conflict with the vif proteins of primate lentiviruses, which are known to enhance viral replication by binding and degrading host a3 proteins. a3fs of several old world primate species were genotyped, and the sequences revealed both intra-species diversity and inter-species divergence. representative rhesus macaque (macaca mulatta) sequences were cloned and tested for sensitivity to vifs from various simian immunodeficiency viruses (sivs). evolution of a3f in the rhesus lineage is not due to selection by sivs, but may reflect antagonism by another retrovirus. a biological “arms race” apobec3f diversity and its influence on lentiviral resistance allyson tank introduction i. restriction factors: barriers to cross species transmission acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) was first identified as a disease in 1981, as increasing numbers of homosexual men were dying of opportunistic infections after becoming immunocompromised.1 the causative agent was soon discovered to be a lentivirus, classified as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1).2,3 hiv-1 and its close relative hiv type 2 (hiv-2) arose in human populations as a result of cross-species transmission events from natural simian hosts of the simian immunodeficiency viruses (sivs). the closest simian relative of hiv-1 is the strain naturally infecting chimpanzees (sivcpz),4 while the closest simian relative of hiv-2 is the strain naturally infecting sooty mangabeys (sivsm).5 over 40 species-specific sivs have since been identified in nonhuman primate species. a fraction of these infections result in immunodeficiency in the host species, while most are nonpathogenic in their natural hosts.6 the siv of a given primate species cannot readily infect a different species without undergoing numerous adaptations. part of this adaptation process involves evading host antiviral proteins known as restriction factors. restriction factors are host proteins that utilize numerous mechanisms to interfere with viral infections as part of the innate immune response. some interact directly with viral factors, while others make the cellular environment unsuitable for sustained viral replication.7 these defensive genes are subject to relatively rapid evolution under the selective pressure of viral counter-restriction mechanisms, and variants that confer greater fitness to the host during a viral outbreak will become fixed in a population much faster than would normally be expected as a result of genetic drift alone. the virus, in turn, can adapt to infect the host carrying these more fit alleles, creating a new selective pressure on the host. thus, over evolutionary time, a comparatively large number of non-synonymous, or protein-altering, mutations will be evident in genes that have participated in these virus-host “arms races.”8 genes can be examined for evidence of positive selection by comparing the rate of fixation of non-synonymous mutations (n) to the rate of fixation of synonymous mutations (s). dn/ds analysis demonstrates whether fixation of nonsynonymous changes is occurring faster than expected under neutral selection alone. a dn/ds value greater than one indicates that a particular site is evolving under positive selection, while a dn/ds value less than one indicates that a site is evolving under purifying selection.9 this idea of a virus-host “arms race” is a fairly simplified model. rna viruses can diversify their genome at a much higher rate than their hosts can. hosts keep up through diversity of antiviral mechanisms rather than rapid counterrevolution. a viral variant that efficiently evades one host restriction mechanism will likely become more susceptible to another.10 however, over evolutionary time and as a result of many interactions with diverse viruses, host restriction factors bear signatures of positive selection. another defining factor of restriction factors is their relationships with viral antagonist proteins. in many cases, viruses have evolved specific proteins to evade the mechanism of a particular restriction factor. this virus-host relationship is highly species-specific because of the rapid adaptation process. as a general rule, any given virus will have accessory proteins that are most effective at neutralizing the restriction mechanisms of its natural host, but may not be effective against the homologous restriction mechanisms of other organisms.11 a variety of restriction factors have been implicated in differential host resistance to primate lentiviruses, like hiv and the sivs. lentiviruses are part of the retrovirus family, and their life cycle is well understood. in order to infect a new target cell, the virion will first bind to a cd4 receptor and co-receptors on the cell surface. the virion membrane fuses with the cell membrane and the capsid is released into the cytoplasm. the viral rna within the capsid then undergoes reverse transcription in the cytoplasm to form dna that is transported into the nucleus and integrated into the host genome. the viral dna is transcribed and translated using host machinery, and then viral rna and proteins are localized to the cell membrane to form new virions. the restriction factors of primate lentiviruses have evolved to interfere with nearly every aspect of this life cycle, and thus act as barriers to cross-species transmission. ii. the apobec3 subfamily: a cluster of potent lentiviral restriction factors the apolipoprotein b mrna-editing catalytic polypetide-3 (apobec3) subfamily of cytidine deaminases represents one such group of restriction factors. primates encode seven apobec3 (a3) genes that form a cluster on chromosome 22 in humans and chromosome 10 in rhesus macaque monkeys: a3a, a3b, a3c, a3d, a3f, a3g, and 50 elements : : fall 2015 a3h. a3 proteins are most highly expressed in hiv-1 target cell types such as t-cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, and they are active in restricting retroviruses as well as some other viruses that do not replicate via reverse transcription.12,13 human a3d, a3f, a3g, and a3h are known to be involved with hiv restriction, and each of these proteins has a functionally conserved homolog in rhesus macaques.14 the structure of a3 proteins is characterized by a cytidine deaminase domain consisting of six α-helices coordinated around five β-strands. this domain sits between a short n-terminal α-helical domain and a short c-terminal peptide.15 the deaminase domain contains a conserved zincbinding catalytic hxex23-28pcx2-4c motif that coordinates deaminase activity. a3a, a3c, and a3h contain a single deaminase domain, while a3b, a3d, a3f, and a3g contain two deaminase domains. in the four a3s with two deaminase domains, only the c-terminal domain (ctd) is catalytically active.16,17 a3g and a3f have the greatest sequence similarity of the seven a3s, and they share many structural features that have been elucidated from the crystal structures of their ctds. the basic structure is maintained between the proteins, but differences paralleling the divergence in primary structure are evident.18 a3g is the most widely studied of the a3 subfamily, as it is believed to play the largest role in hiv-1 restriction.19 however, a3d, a3f, and a3h have also been implicated in viral restriction. a3s act by inducing cytidine-to-uracil mutations in the viral negative sense cdna produced during reverse transcription, consistent with the proteins’ known cytidine deaminase function.20 studies have shown a3g to be the more potent editor in humans, producing about 10 times more mutations in hiv-1 reverse transcripts than a3f in cell culture.21 yet, a3f is stably co-expressed with a3g in human cells and is also packaged into hiv-1 virions to inhibit infectivity.22 a3g preferentially deaminates cytidines on the 3’ end of 5’-ccc-3’ or 5’-cc-3’ sequences, while a3f and other a3 proteins preferentially deaminate the 3’ cytidine in 5’-tc-3’ sequences.23 iii. interaction between apobec3 and vif soon after the discovery of hiv-1, the viral protein termed viral infectivity factor (vif) was found to be necessary for successful infection.24 however, it was not necessary in every cell type; hiv-1δvif could infect certain permissive cell lines, while infection was unsuccessful in others.25 it was only later determined that a3 proteins were responsible for imparting resistance to vif-deficient virus in these nonpermissive cell types.26 vif has two domains, one crucial for binding a3 proteins and one that contains a highly conserved sequence required for mediating degradation.27 vif acts by targeting cytoplasmic a3 proteins for proteosomal degradation (figure 1).28 the interaction between a3s and vif is a crucial determinant of the species specificity of a virus, and it is likely that a vif from a given viral strain has evolved precisely to counteract the a3 proteins of its host species.29,30 the critical sites involved in a3-vif interactions have largely been elucidated via mutagenesis studies, and as little as a single amino acid can be responsible for conferring the ability of a3 proteins to resist degradation by vif. in a3g, the vif binding site has been localized to the n-terminal deaminase domain (ntd). it was found that the vif of an siv strain isolated from african green monkeys (sivagm) was inactive against human a3g (ha3g) but active against african green monkey a3g (agma3g). this discrepancy was mapped to amino acid 128, an aspartic acid in ha3g and a lysine in agma3g.31 this interface was expanded upon to include the proline at position 129 and the aspartic acid at position 130. together, these three residues create a crucial negatively charged binding surface for hiv-1 vif in ha3g.32 contrary to a3g, the hiv-1 vif binding site in a3f is localized at the ctd. the region comprising amino acids 289eflarh294 in ha3f and agma3f has been shown to be a critical region for hiv-1 vif interaction.33 another study suggested that amino acid 324 is a critical residue that confers ha3f susceptibility to hiv-1 vif and rhesus macaque a3f (rha3f) resistance to hiv-1 vif.34 more recently, the negatively charged surface of α-helices 3 and 4 in ha3f has been strongly implicated in hiv-1 vif binding.35 in hiv-1 vif, “thus, over evolutionary time, a comparatively large number of non-synonymous, or protein-altering, mutations will be evident in genes that have participated in these virus-host ‘arms races.’” 51 a biological “arms race” highly conserved n-terminal motifs are involved with a3g and a3f binding.36,37 iv. objective while much attention has been given to the primary structures of a3s in terms of their effect on cross-species transmission of primate lentiviruses, examination of the diversity in these genes has been largely unconsidered. the most widely utilized primate model for investigating lentiviral infection and disease is the siv infecting rhesus macaques (sivmac), with rhesus macaques of indian origin being the best characterized species.38 rhesus macaques are not natural hosts of siv in the wild; rather, sivmac emerged from cross-species transmission events in us primate centers and likely originated from infected sooty mangabeys.39,40 the adaptations allowing the virus to stably infect rhesus macaques likely occurred as a result of serial passages of the virus through multiple animals.41 unlike sivsm in its natural host, sivmac is pathogenic in rhesus macaques, resulting in an aids-like disease. given the well-established history of its emergence, sivmac is an excellent model for studying the adaptive processes that viruses must undergo in order to successfully infect a new host species. recent work has demonstrated that the rhesus macaque a3g gene (rha3g) is polymorphic at an n-terminal site, where three sequence variations are apparent. the variants displayed differential susceptibilities to sivsm vifmediated degradation in cell culture, but all three could be degraded by sivmac vif.42 thus, it is likely that sivmac vif had to adapt to counteract the sivsm vif-resistant rhesus macaque a3g allele in order for pathogenic sivmac to emerge. it is also known that a3g has evolved under strong positive selection, and that vif is not wholly responsible for this phenomenon.43 the present study is intended to further characterize the degree of variation in other a3 family members, more specifically a3f. old world primate a3fs were examined for the genetic signatures of a rapidly adapting restriction factor. in a manner analogous to a3g, polymorphic sites in a3f may indicate potential determinants of the ability of sivmac to infect its novel host. polymorphic sites were investigated for their potential influence on the ability of rha3f to resist degradation by vifs derived from various siv strains. examination of allelic variance in a3f provides valuable insight into the barriers to cross-species transmission of lentiviruses, and offers further support to the idea of an evolutionary “arms race” between restriction factors and their viral antagonists. materials and methods cell lines hek293t cells were maintained in dulbecco’s modified eagles medium (dmem) containing 10% fbs, 1% l-glutamine, 1% penicillin streptomycin mixture, and 2.5% hepes. reverse transcriptase pcr (rt-pcr) and cloning rt-pcr reactions were performed on rna samples (extracted previously at the new england primate research center) using the invitrogen (carlsbad, ca) superscript® iii one-step rt-pcr system or the qiagen (hilden, germany) onestep rt-pcr kit according their associated protocols. gateway cloning forward and reverse primers were used (table 1). products were identified via gel electrophoresis and purified using qiagen qiaquick gel extraction kit according to the protocols specified in the kit. purified dna samples were cloned using the invitrogen gateway® cloning system and its associated protocols. purified pcr samples were cloned into invitrogen pentr®/d-topo plasmids. the clones were transformed into invitrogen one shot® stbl3tm chemically competent e.coli and transformants were selected for via kanamycin selective plating. plasmid dna was isolated using the qiagen qiaprep spin miniprep kit and its associated protocols, and then sent to eton bioscience (charlestown, ma) for sequencing to confirm the identity of a3f sequence. selected clones were then subcloned into invitrogen pcdna3.2tm/v5-dest plasmids (figure 4). the clones were transformed into invitrogen one shot® stbl3tm competent e.coli and transformants were selected for via ampicillin selective plating. plasmid dna was isolated as before, and clones were sequenced again to confirm a3f insertion. dn/ds analysis a3f sequences from rhesus macaques and other primates obtained from our own clones and from the ncbi database (see appendix for sequences) were trimmed and aligned using the multiple align function in geneious 6.1.8 software (created by biomatters, available at http:// www.geneious.com). the trimmed sequences were edited such that extraneous sequence before or after the a3f open reading frame was deleted. the sequences were up52 elements : : fall 2015 loaded to datamonkey, a public server for comparative analysis of sequence alignments.44,45,46 all three available models for dn/ds analysis (slac, fel, rel) were run for the relatively small data set of 15 sequences. as suggested by prior research, the slac and fel models were run with p values of 0.25, while the rel model was run with the datamonkey-suggested bayes factor of 50.47 genotyping pcr was performed on rhesus macaque genomic dna samples obtained from multiple us primate research centers using invitrogen platinum® pcr supermix and its associated protocols. the primers used were genotyping forward and reverse (table 1). the pcr products were visualized via gel electrophoresis, purified using the qiagen qiaquick gel extraction kit according to its associated protocols, and sent to eton bioscience for sequencing. the sequence chromatograms were aligned using geneious 6.1.8 software and examined for the presence of the skeh/fqqy variants. mutagenesis around-the-horn pcr was used to mutate amino acids 60, 61, 63, and 64 from the fqqy variant to the skeh variant (or vice versa) in select rha3f clones. pcr was performed using thermo scientific (waltham, ma) phusion flash high fidelity pcr master mix and its associated protocols, and the patch mutant forward and reverse primers were used. pcr products were digested with 10u of dpni (new england biolabs; ipswich, ma) and purified using the qiagen qiaquick pcr purification kit and its associated protocols. ligation was performed using the promega (madison, wi) ligafasttm rapid ligation system and its associated protocols. the clones were transformed into invitrogen one shot® stbl3tm competent e.coli, and transformants were selected for via ampicillin selective plating. plasmid dna was isolated using the qiagen qiaprep spin miniprep kit and its associated protocols, and then sent to eton bioscience for sequencing to confirm successful mutagenesis of a3f. immunoblotting plasmids to be used in cell culture were prepared using the invitrogen purelink® hipure plasmid maxiprep kit and its associated protocols. hek293t cells were seeded in 6-well plates at a density of 800,000-1,000,000 cells/ well or 12-well plates at a density of 200,000-400,000 cells/well 24-48 hours prior to transfection. cells were transfected with 1-3ug total dna using genjet reagent (signagen laboratories; gaithersburg, md) and its associated protocols. cells were harvested 48 hours posttransfection using 100-200ul ip lysis buffer. samples were added to 2x laemmli buffer and boiled for 10 minutes. proteins were separated using sds/page and then transferred to pvdf or nitrocellulose membranes via bio-rad (hercules, ca) mini trans-blot electrophoretic transfer cell and its associated protocols. membranes were blocked overnight in 1.25% milk, washed in 1x pbs0.1% tween-20 solution, and incubated for 1 hour in antiv5-hrp (novex; carlsbad, ca) to probe for a3 protein or anti-β-actin-hrp antibody (abcam; cambridge, ma) to probe for β-actin. alternatively, a primary mouse monoclonal anti-β-actin antibody (sigma-aldrich; st. louis, mo) and secondary anti-mouse-hrp antibody (thermo scientific) were used to probe for β-actin. all antibodies were diluted in 1.25% milk according to manufacturer’s specifications. after washing again, blots were developed using either amersham ecl prime western blotting detection reagent (ge healthcare life sciences; little chalfont, buckinghamshire, united kingdom), or thermo scientific supersignaltm west femto maximum sensitivity substrate and then visualized using bio-rad chemidoc mp gel imaging system. results i. investigating diversity and positive selection in old world primate a3f in order to determine whether primate a3f displays the hallmarks of a restriction factor that has been antagonized over time, rhesus macaque (macaca mulatta) a3f sequences were first investigated for evidence of polymorphism. to examine polymorphism within species, rt-pcr was performed on rna samples obtained from 10 different rhesus macaques. the resulting dna was cloned and the sequences were examined for both silent and non-synonymous polymorphisms. the data showed that a3f is a highly polymorphic gene in rhesus macaques, and that many of the single nucleotide polymorphisms result in amino acid changes (figure 2). to examine inter-species diversity, rt-pcr was also performed on multiple rna samples from sooty mangabeys (cercocebus atys), crab-eating macaques (macaca fascicularis), and pigtail macaques (macaca nemestrina). a3f coding sequences from these related primates showed divergence from each other and from rhesus macaques, 53 a biological “arms race” demonstrating that there are fixed differences between a3f genes in old world primates (figure 3). after establishing that a3f is a polymorphic gene in rhesus macaques and that fixed differences exist between a3fs of related old world primates, a dn/ds analysis was performed in order to determine whether any codons have evolved under positive selection. the species that were included in this analysis were rhesus macaques, crab-eating macaques, pigtail macaques, sooty mangabeys, african green monkeys (chlorocebus sabaeus), humans (homo sapiens), chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), bonobos (pan paniscus), and drills (mandrillus leucophaeus). these sequences were uploaded to datamonkey, a public server for comparative analysis of sequence alignments (see dn/ds section in materials and methods). 11 codons were found to be evolving under positive selection. the sites were mapped relative to the deaminase domains and catalytic motifs in a3f (figure 4), and seven sites were found to overlap with those previously identified to be polymorphic in rhesus macaques. ii. a closer look at a polymorphic and positively selected site in rhesus macaques four codons at positions 60, 61, 63, and 64 in rhesus macaques showed evidence of both intra-species variability and positive selection. in the rha3f clones, these sites were linked and appeared as either 60fqpqy64 (henceforth referred to as fqqy) or 60skpeh64 (henceforth referred to as skeh). 20 of 35 clones showed the fqqy sequence, while 15 clones showed the skeh sequence. the patch change from fqqy to skeh is fairly significant at the amino acid level: bulky hydrophobic phenylalanine is exchanged for a small polar serine, polar uncharged glutamine is exchanged for a positively charged lysine and then a negatively charged glutamic acid, and hydrophobic tyrosine is exchanged for a positively charged histidine. thus, the skeh variant has three charged amino acids, whereas the fqqy variant is a neutral surface. a broader genomic survey was done in order to better understand the level of diversity in the patch. targeted pcr was used to amplify an approximately 680 base pair (bp) stretch of a3f from genomic dna samples representing 44 different rhesus macaques. 15 animals appeared to be heterozygous fqqy/skeh, 17 animals appeared to be homozygous fqqy/fqqy, and 12 animals appeared to be homozygous skeh/skeh. this frequency distribution correlated to the results from the cloned sequences. thus, it is reasonable to conclude that this patch has maintained a high level of diversity within rhesus macaques, and that this diversity is not unique to a particular population of animals or the result of a small data set. iii. the functional significance of diversity after demonstrating that there is a high level of diversity in primate a3f and that some sites in the gene have evolved under positive selection, experiments were done to determine whether the different a3f alleles displayed differential susceptibilities to vifs of various siv strains. first, a3f clones from rhesus macaques, crab-eating macaques, sooty mangabeys, and pigtail macaques were tested for expression in hek293t cells. of the 17 clones tested, 11 were found to express, as visualized via western blot (figure 5). they expressed at variable levels, and only a subset of clones that represented diverse sequences and were wellexpressed were chosen for further examination. in addition to these clones representing naturally occurring rha3fs, three point mutants were made by exchanging the fqqy and skeh patches by site-directed mutagenesis. the resulting clones contained identical sequence to their parent rha3f clone except for the four nucleotides that are responsible for the amino acid changes at this patch. these point mutants were also tested for expression in hek293t cells, and two of the three clones tested were found to be highly expressed as detected via western blot (figure 5). in order to determine whether the rha3f variation confers differential resistance to vif-mediated degradation, hek293t cells were simultaneously transfected with a3f expression constructs and vif expression constructs containing the vif coding sequences of different siv strains. the expression of a3f in the presence of these vif challenges was then detected via western blot and compared between the different clones as an indication of susceptibility to vif-mediated degradation. two rha3g expression constructs were also included as controls because their phenotypes against these vifs have been published previously.48 a representative blot is shown in figure 6, and it reveals three interesting observations. first, multiple rha3fs displayed resistance to the vif derived from rhesus macaque-adapted sivmac239. second, nearly all of the rha3fs were degraded by a sivsm vif and by vif from the stump-tailed macaque siv strain (sivstm). these are 54 elements : : fall 2015 somewhat surprising results, considering that the a3f-vif interaction tends to be species-specific. viral antagonist proteins are generally well-adapted to the restriction factors of their hosts, so one would expect vif from rhesus macaque-adapted sivmac to degrade the rha3fs and vifs from related sivs to not be as effective. however, this was not the case; sivmac vif did not degrade rha3fs, while vifs from related sivsm and sivstm did. finally, the fqqy/skeh patch genotype did not affect sensitivity to any of the vifs tested. discussion investigations into the diversity of primate a3f revealed that the gene displays the hallmarks of a restriction factor that has been subject to positive selective pressure by viral antagonists over evolutionary time. a3f is a highly polymorphic gene within rhesus macaques, and many singlenucleotide polymorphisms lead to significant amino acid changes. charged residues are often implicated in proteinprotein interactions, and therefore in the context of a restriction factor. polymorphisms that change the charge of the amino acid may be more likely to be involved in an evolutionary “arms race” than more functionally conservative polymorphisms. examination of the inter-species variation via dn/ds analysis indicated that multiple sites within the gene have been subject to positive selection, and some of these sites overlap with the polymorphic sites found in rhesus macaques. it is important to note that the input for dn/ds analysis had 15 sequences representing 10 different primate species. this does not represent the full range of primate a3fs, and the use of multiple a3f variants of certain species may have artificially influenced the results. however, eliminating variable alleles of a given species also would also have had the potential of producing artificially conservative results. comparing results of multiple analyses that differ in their level of conservativeness helped to address this issue, and 11 sites in primate a3f were shown to be under the influence of positive selection. this is potentially only a subset of sites that are subject to positive selection, as the different analysis models identified as many as 25 positively selected sites. an interesting patch of four linked amino acids was identified at codons 60, 61, 63, and 64, where two sequences were found at similar frequencies in rha3f clones. dn/ds analysis suggested that these codons have been subject to positive selective pressure. the fqqy allele appeared at a slightly higher frequency than the skeh allele in a broader genomic analysis of the region in rhesus macaques; however, the less common skeh haplotype did appear across multiple animals and clones, unlike many other polymorphic sites where the less common allele appeared at a significantly lower frequency and sometimes only in one animal. the changes at the amino acid level in this patch are rather significant, as three charged amino acids are introduced in the skeh haplotype while the patch is neutral in the fqqy haplotype. this patch was also notable because of its location in the structure of a3f. it borders the n-terminal catalytic motif, and is adjacent to a known determinant of strain-specific resistance to siv-vif mediated degradation in a3g. polymorphism at residue 59 in rha3g confers variable susceptibility to degradation by sivmac vif.49 together, these observations suggest that this patch may play a key role in an interaction with a viral protein, particularly with siv vif. however, functional tests did not suggest that variation at this site plays a role in determining susceptibility to vif, as rha3f clones that contained variable patch alleles did not display differential resistance to vifs from various siv strains. despite this patch’s proximity to residue 59, it is not necessarily surprising that it does not play a role in rhesus a3f interaction with vif. it is known that hiv-1 vif interacts with the ctd in a3f, unlike in a3g where it interacts with the ntd. while this interaction has not been precisely “the interaction between a3s and vif is a crucial determinant of the species specificity of a virus, and it is likely that a vif from a given viral strain has evolved precisely to counteract the a3 proteins of its host species.” 55 a biological “arms race” mapped with siv vifs, it is reasonable to believe that they will behave analogously to hiv-1 vif and interact at the ctd in a3f. therefore, this ntd patch would not be expected to play a direct role in interactions with vif. functional tests did reveal multiple surprising phenotypes relating to the siv vifs. the rha3f clones tested displayed resistance to degradation by sivmac vif. sivmac239 is a cloned viral isolate that is well adapted to its rhesus macaque host. thus, one would expect the vif derived from this macaque-adapted virus to degrade the rha3f clones, yet this was not observed. rha3f function was further tested against a more diverse panel of macaqueadapted vifs (data not shown), and similarly to the sivmac239 isolate, the rha3f alleles were resistant to degradation. thus, this phenotype does not appear to be a specific phenomenon of the sivmac239 isolate, but rather a more general property of rha3f. it is important to note that the rha3g controls confirm that this sivmac239 vif clone is active and behaves as expected with these rha3g alleles. it is possible to speculate that sivmac239 evolved to effectively counteract rha3g, the more potent deaminase, but in doing so it traded off the ability to neutralize rha3f. this proposal is supported by the fact that the more ancestral sivsme041 vif completely degraded the rha3f clones tested, with the exception of rha3f-wi, which showed an intermediate phenotype. a3f is known to restrict viruses other than lentiviruses, so it is reasonable to believe that a different retrovirus may be responsible for driving this high level of diversity in rhesus macaque a3f. a potential candidate is simian foamy virus (sfv), a member of the spumavirus genus of retroviruses. fvs are distinct from other retroviruses in many aspects, including their gene expression, protein processing, and replication. they are found in non-human primates, cats, cows, and horses, as well as humans who have been infected by non-human primates. they cause a persistent infection, but there are no known pathologies in natural or human hosts.50,51 it has been suggested that sfvs have coevolved with their old world primate hosts for over 30 million years, marking them as the oldest known rna viruses in vertebrates.52 a3 proteins have been implicated in restriction of fvs, and the fv accessory protein bet has been found to counteract a3 restriction mechanisms analogously to hiv-1 vif.53,54 the relatively old age of fvs as compared to sivs, their ubiquitous presence in old world primates, and the existence of an accessory protein that may have anti-a3 properties together suggest that sfvs may have acted as a selective pressure on a3f. this investigation offered valuable insight into the genetic diversity of a3f in old world primates. the presence of unusually high intraand inter-species variability indicates that a3f has been continuously exposed to positive selective pressure. while siv may not necessarily be the virus responsible for driving the polymorphism in rhesus macaque a3f, understanding the restriction factor’s genetic variability opens a line of inquiry into other potential selective pressures. it is also important to note that only one linked polymorphic patch was investigated; there are several other sites that may play a role in interactions with vif. further mutagenesis studies will reveal whether any of these sites play a role in siv restriction, or whether it truly is another virus altogether that has provided the selective pressure on rha3f. in addition, the sooty mangabey, crabeating macaque, and pigtail macaque a3f clones have not been fully characterized in terms of their susceptibility to various vifs. this information will provide a more complete picture of the role that vif has played in driving a3f evolution, and further elucidate mechanisms of cross-species transmission of primate lentiviruses. 56 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. sharp and hahn 2008. 2. barre-sinoussi et al., 1983. 3. gallo et al., 1984. 4. huet et al., 1990. 5. hirsch et al., 1989. 6. vandewoude and apetrei 2006. 7. mccarthy and johnson 2014. 8. emerman and malik 2010. 9. hurst 2002. 10. meyerson and sawyer 2011. 11. harris et al., 2012. 12. koning et al., 2009. 13. desimmie et al., 2014. 14. harris et al., 2012. 15. jarmuz et al., 2002. 16. ibid.. 17. desimmie et al., 2014. 18. bohn et al., 2013. 19. desimmie et al., 2014. 20. mangeat et al., 2003. 21. bishop et al., 2004. 22. wiegand et al., 2004. 23. harris and liddament 2004. 24. sodroski et al., 1986. 25. gabuzda et al., 1992. 26. sheehy et al., 2002. 27. marin et al., 2003. 28. sheehy et al., 2003. 29. simon et al., 1998. 30. holmes et al., 2007. 31. bogerd et al., 2004. 32. huthoff and malim 2007. 33. smith and pathak 2010. 34. albin et al., 2010. 35. land et al., 2014. 36. he et al., 2008. 37. russell and pathak 2007. 38. hatziioannou and evans 2012. 39. apetrei et al., 2005. 40. mansfield et al., 1995. 41. marx et al., 2004. 42. krupp et al., 2013. 43. sawyer et al., 2004. 44. delport et al., 2010. 45. kosakovsky pond and frost 2005a. 46. kosakovsky pond et al., 2005. 47. kosakovsky pond and frost 2005b. 48. krupp et al., 2013. 49. ibid.. 50. murray and linial 2006. 51. meiering and linial 2001. 52. switzer et al., 2004. 53. russell et al., 2005. 54. lochelt et al., 2005. references albin, j. s., r. s. larue, j. a. weaver, w. l. brown, k. shindo, e. harjes, h. matsuo, and r. s. harris. 2010. “a single amino acid in human apobec3f alters susceptibility to hiv-1 vif.” the journal of biological chemistry 285 (52): 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“origins of simian immunodeficiency virus infection in macaques at the new england regional primate research center.” journal of medical primatology 24 (3): 116-122. marin, m., k. m. rose, s. l. kozak, and d. kabat. 2003. “hiv-1 vif protein binds the editing enzyme apobec3g and induces its degradation.” nature medicine 9 (11): 13981403. doi: 10.1038/nm946. marx, p. a., c. apetrei, and e. drucker. 2004. “aids as a zoonosis? confusion over the origin of the virus and the origin of the epidemics.” journal of medical primatology 33 (5-6): 220-226. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0684.2004.00078.x. mccarthy, k. r. and w. e. johnson. 2014. “plastic proteins and monkey blocks: how lentiviruses evolved to replicate in the presence of primate restriction factors.” plos pathogens 10 (4): e1004017. doi:10.1371/ journal. ppat.1004017. meiering, c. d. and m. l. linial. 2001. “historical perspective of foamy virus epidemiology and infection.” clinical microbiology reviews 14 (1): 165-176. meyerson, n. r. and s. 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e275. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020275. sharp, p. m. and b. h. hahn. 2011. “origins of hiv and the aids pandemic.” cold spring harbor perspectives in medicine 1 (1): a006841. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a006841. sheehy, a. m., n. c. gaddis, j. d. choi, and m. h. malim. 2002. “isolation of a human gene that inhibits hiv-1 infection and is suppressed by the viral vif protein.” nature 418 (6898): 646-650. doi: 10.1038/nature00969. sheehy, a. m., n. c. gaddis, and m. h. malim. 2003. “the antiretroviral enzyme apobec3g is degraded by the proteasome in response to hiv-1 vif.” nature medicine 9 (11): 1404-1407. doi: 10.1038/nm945. simon, j. h., d. l. miller, r. a. fouchier, m. a. soares, k. w. peden, and m. h. malim. 1998. “the regulation of primate immunodeficiency virus infectivity by vif is cell species restricted: a role for vif in determining virus host range and cross-species transmission.” the embo journal 17 (5): 1259-1267. smith, j. l. and v. k. pathak. 2010. “identification of specific determinants of human apobec3f, apobec3c, 59 a biological “arms race” figure 1: a3 proteins interfere with lentiviral replication in the absence of vif. the top half of the figure exemplifies a cell infected with a virus that does not encode vif. host a3 proteins (triangles) incorporate into a budding virion, and then interfere with the process of reverse transcription in the target cell to prevent further viral replication. the bottom half of the figure exemplifies a cell infected with a virus that encodes vif. vif (¾ circles) prevents a3 proteins from incorporating into the budding virion by targeting them for proteosomal degradation, allowing replication to continue unhindered in the target cell. and apobec3de and african green monkey apobec3f that interact with hiv-1 vif.” journal of virology 84 (24): 12599-12608. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01437-10. sodroski, j., w. c. goh, c. rosen, a. tartar, d. portetelle, a. burny, and w. haseltine. 1986. “replicative and cytopathic potential of htlv-iii/lav with sor gene deletions.” science (new york, n.y.) 231 (4745): 1549-1553. switzer, w. m., m. salemi, v. shanmugam, f. gao, m. e. cong, c. kuiken, v. bhullar, et al. 2005. “ancient co-speciation of simian foamy viruses and primates.”  nature 434 (7031): 376-380. doi: 10.1038/nature03341. vandewoude, s. and c. apetrei. 2006. “going wild: lessons from naturally occurring t-lymphotropic lentiviruses.” clinical microbiology reviews 19 (4): 728-762. wiegand, h. l., b. p. doehle, h. p. bogerd, and b. r. cullen. 2004. “a second human antiretroviral factor, apobec3f, is suppressed by the hiv-1 and hiv-2 vif proteins.” the embo journal 23 (12): 2451-2458.60 elements : : fall 2015 figure 2: distribution of polymorphic sites in rhesus macaque a3f. the dark gray boxes represent the cytidine deaminase domains in a3f, and the blue shading indicates the catalytic motif. the lines show the approximate location of sites found to contain non-synonymous polymorphisms in two or more rhesus macaque clones. the codon numbers and coded amino acids are indicated above or below the image. only polymorphisms that were seen in at least two clones are included. bolded lines and codon numbers indicate that the polymorphism was found in multiple animals. figure 3: inter-species diversity of a3f in old world primates. the phylogenetic tree shows the degree of divergence between rhesus macaque a3f clones (rh), sooty mangabey a3f clones (sm), crab-eating macaque a3f clones (mf), and pigtail macaque a3f clones (mn). the species tend to group together into distinct lineages, and diversity within species is evident within these lineages. 61 a biological “arms race” figure 4: distribution of positively selected sites in primate a3f. the grey boxes represent the cytidine deaminase domains in a3f, and the shaded areas indicates the catalytic motifs. the triangles show the approximate locations of positively selected codons identified via dn/ds analysis. these sites are distributed fairly evenly throughout the a3f gene. figure 5: a3f alleles show variable levels of expression in cell culture. a3f expression constructs with coding sequence originating from rhesus macaques (lanes 1-10), crab-eating macaques (lanes 11-12), pigtail macaques (lanes 13-14), or sooty mangabeys (lanes 15-17), along with the rhesus macaque patch mutants (lanes 18-20) were transfected in hek293t cells. cells were harvested after 48 hours, and proteins were separated via sds/page and visualized via western blot (see immunoblotting section in materials and methods). 62 elements : : fall 2015 figure 6: western blot showing rha3f susceptibility to siv vif-mediated degradation. a3 and vif expression constructs were co-transfected into hek293t cells. cells were harvested 48 hours post-transfection and proteins were separated via sds/page and visualized via western blot (see immunoblotting section in materials and methods). the a3gs were included as controls for vif effectiveness, as their susceptibilities to these vifs have been previously investigated (krupp et al. 2013). the rha3fs are susceptible to sivsme041 vif and sivstm vif, but are resistant to sivmac239 vif. the fqqy/skeh patch does not affect susceptibility to the vifs tested. 63 a biological “arms race” this paper is the culmination of a semester’s worth of research and work conducted at the burns library at boston college as part of dr. sylvia sellers-garcia’s “making history public” course in the spring of 2014. this class focused on cartography from the early modern era, and this article focuses on an incredible atlas that was published in 1775 entitled the west india atlas. the atlas, which is a detailed example of colonial-era cartography, was published by an assistant to a mr. thomas jefferys, who was the geographer to king george iii at the time of his death in 1771. this remarkable text features not only accurate maps and representations of the caribbean islands, but also vivid descriptions of the various territories and their histories. both the economic contexts at the time the atlas was published and how jefferys and his assistants chose to represent these contexts within the various maps through symbols and references to navigational resources were examined and analyzed. cartographers in the caribbean economics and mapping in the colonial new world benjamin shapiro introduction as a region of tropical islands and countless waterways, the caribbean represented far more than just a picturesque landscape for exploration to those who lived there during the eighteenth century. from the pirate haven of nassau to the sweltering plantations of barbados, people from across europe and other parts of the world came together in this region for opportunities in the realms of trade and wealth. this vast amount of wealth manifested itself in items and concepts such as precious metals, personal glory, and mass quantities of commodities like sugar and rum, which attracted those from the highest and lowest echelons of society to locations as diverse as their backgrounds. the islands themselves even reflected these differences to an extreme degree; on islands like jamaica and cuba, lush tropical forests dominated the landscape and contrasted sharply with the islands of the sandy and flat bahama archipelago.1,2 exoticism, to most europeans, remained a very broad term at this time, but the consensus on its definition seems to include foreign flora, fauna, climate, societies, and language. with islands occupied by the spanish, french, dutch, and british, the caribbean embodied this exoticism during the colonial times. tropical jungles containing wild species of mammals and birds fascinated many of these europeans, who became evermore curious about the islands. they came to view these exotic islands, and the surrounding regions of mexico and florida, through pieces of artwork and the tales of individuals who lived and traded there. combined with the growing merchant networks of individuals in the region, these methods of portraying exoticism seemed to draw most of the migrants to the region. depending on their background, many of these migrants sought their fortunes in trade, pirating or privateering, or plantation agriculture. this influx of labor and use of merchant networks and agricultural lands for economic gain constituted the most important foundational pieces for the industrial revolution in the early nineteenth century.3 the romanticized nature of the caribbean during this time also provided some measure of inducement for migrants to make the journey across the atlantic, though this effect is difficult to gauge. romanticizing the region impacted various social groups in different ways during the colonial era. tales of the high seas and abundant wealth available for the taking likely inspired the ruffians of society, pirates and privateers, far more than rational and economically sound merchants. collectively, one can refer to the system that characterized the increase in trade and growth on an economic basis as mercantilism, and the method in which this system operated as the triangular trade. as a system of trading networks across the vast atlantic ocean, the triangular trade required extremely precise charts and maps for sailors and merchants who carried and directed shipments of cargo to specific ports. in the mid-eighteenth century, an english cartographer and geographer to the king of england named thomas jefferys began compiling a series of charts and maps that formed the basis of his atlas entitled, the west indian atlas or a general description of the west indies: taken from actual surveys and observations.4 unfortunately, jefferys passed away in 1771 before the completion of his work, which subsequently fell to one of his editors to complete and publish.5 because of his role as the king’s geographer, jefferys, and subsequently the maps he created, carried strong credibility and respect. in this particular atlas of the west indies, jefferys clearly focused on the aspects he deemed necessary for travelers and inhabitants of the region to know. by charting out the vast territories and wide stretches of open waters within a merchant and economic context, jefferys presented the atlas under the heavy influence of the mercantilist attitude prevalent throughout europe, which ultimately resulted in the map’s limited objectivity. the images and drawings associated with the maps, along with the context of mercantilism that existed during this time, indicate that jefferys created the atlas for the specific purpose of providing topographic and economic information “situated thousands of miles away from europe, the caribbean represented an extremely distant and exotic place to many europeans, both figuratively and literally.” 65 cartographers in the caribbean about some of the significant islands to expose the trade potentiality of the caribbean. however, he makes no specific references to mercantilism itself in the atlas, and is therefore not likely to make an argument for or against it. european governments, in contrast, heavily promoted these mercantilist doctrines of encouraging government control over trade for the accumulation of wealth, often depleting the finite amount of available resources on the planet.6 these doctrines also ignored the well-being of the lands where the resources came from, as conveyed by jefferys’s editor: “europe is continually enriched by carrying constantly to america not only all the goods which it produces or manufactures, but likewise those that its ships fetch from asia or africa.”7 from this quote and indicators within the maps, it becomes clear that this ideology heavily influenced the atlas jefferys created, which truly limited the objectivity of the maps. one can infer that europeans viewed, and utilized partially through accurate mapping, the caribbean and its islands as a vital economic hub of trade and resources. mapping and imagery situated thousands of miles away from europe, the caribbean represented an extremely distant and exotic place to many europeans, both figuratively and literally. artists and cartographers like jefferys sought ways to convey the characteristics of this strange region, including the island jungles’ stifling humid climate and their newly discovered creatures. by describing a land full of bountiful resources and wealth prime for the taking, many eighteenth-century literary and cartographic pieces attracted european merchants and lower-class citizens to the islands. in jefferys’s atlas alone, there exist significant depictions of this economic thinking through an ornate drawing on the title page, as well as smaller references within the introductory text. the title page drawing, which depicts a type of island scenery with a european man and several africans on the beach, gives some indication about the kind of presence europeans imposed on the region. in the picture, one of the africans pictured is smoking a pipe of tobacco and is sitting amongst a group of barrels that, by the presence of a bottle on top of one of them, seems to indicate barrels of rum.8 rum, developed from sugar, became a massive export to both mainland north america and europe, while tobacco became a heavily addictive substance in both of these regions as well. the basic formatting system jefferys employs for the atlas bears some resemblance to the practices illustrated in modern cartography; however, he also uses some protoanthropologic analysis throughout the atlas. the map of texas, for example, is meticulously accurate in and of itself, but jefferys also places a description of the local inhabitants by writing the information in a wide arc on the map itself. his emphasis on the exotic nature of the caribbean region and the new world in general, which contrasts heavily with many european ideals and social norms, is evident in his account of some of these natives as “tribes of wandering indians.”9 jefferys also follows a trend of many european cartographers by indicating the impact of christianity on the region through the labeling of towns and villages in mexico. on these labels, the only indicator besides the name is a symbol of a church steeple, which dominated many eighteenth-century cityscapes in europe and in the european colonies of the new world.10 as a series of islands surrounded by water, trade through overseas shipping became critical for the survival of colonial populations in the caribbean. jefferys takes very careful note of this through his maps and points out several locations that might interest ship captains, such as “good anchoring and watering for ships” on a bahamian island as well as the presence of “fresh water” in florida (figure 1).11 trying to facilitate the passage of ships in the region indicated, at the very least, an understanding by jefferys of the vast merchant networks under development in the region. figure 1: a map of the northern coast of cuba, emphasizing the wind currents and regional geography to aid in navigation of merchant fleets.11 66 elements : : fall 2015 on a far narrower scale, jefferys also mentions a very specific trade route: that of the spanish treasure fleet, the flota, on its return journey from the americas to spain. considering that this is an english atlas, it seems rather provocative and suggestive for jefferys to deliver such crucial information regarding another country’s property.12 this inclusion ties in directly with the inherently competitive nature of mercantilism found in jefferys’s atlas. he also takes care to decorate most of the larger maps with other drawings of european vessels on the water, which further emphasizes the naval and commercial lifestyle of the region (figure 2).13 within the mappings of territories outside english control, jefferys includes detailed locations of towns, roads, and physical features of these different regions. most of these details are likely due to the acquisition of charts from spanish ships in the 1760s during the most recent war with spain, which is assumed to be the seven years’ war.14 for example, the mapping of the southern coast of hispaniola is notable for its french labeling, along with the english equivalents in some locations. the markings of the land’s physical features were also useful for sailors in that region (figure 3).15 the anglo-spanish rivalry, as seen in the map of the southern part of cuba, can also be seen through english intrusions and surveying of spanish possessions for their own benefit.16 jefferys, or possibly his editor, did not just limit his illustrations to his maps; he also included in the atlas an elaborate illustration following the introductory descriptions of the different islands and regions. the image is very clearly that of an angel standing, in a classical pose, on the beach of an island, which seems to exist somewhere in the caribbean considering the surrounding flora. the most poignant connections to the ideals of european superiority and exploitation lie within the objects that surround the angel in the picture. signs of civilization, ranging from a telescope to a sheet music book, lie at the angel’s feet amid further clutter, while a european vessel is present in the background. the symbolic nature of all these different images refers to the notion many europeans held of the transfer of culture and civilization from europe to the caribbean islands.17 not all development of the caribbean region stemmed from european intrusions, as many agricultural practices in the region and its immediate surrounding areas originated from native american practices. for example, the physician sir hans sloane provided a depiction of the exotic practice of how natives grew cactus plants in southern mexico for the production of red dye, which they accomplished by taking acid from the body of the beetle that feeds on the cactus.18 geography in a tropical climate like the caribbean, europeans discovered a wide variety of physical features and wildlife foreign to these settlers amongst their small settlements and plantations. ranging from the tropical jungles of cuba to the flat swamplands of south florida, this geography often posed problems for settlement and economic development, but the european settlers on each island utilized these physical features to their advantage. one could usually classify these advantages in terms of natural fortificafigure 3: an illustration found in the opening pages of the atlas that illustrates the exotic characteristics of the caribbean that europeans emphasized. 15 figure 2: a map of central jamaica with very distinctive indications of settlements, plantations, and roads on the island surrounding kingston and the port royal area. 13 67 cartographers in the caribbean tions or suitable climates for agriculture. for example, the “great mountains” of jamaica provided great natural fortifications against intrusion of foreigners or pirates hostile to the british settlers in kingston and port royal.19 jefferys’s atlas depicts these massive mountains through detailed and accurate illustrations of multi-layered mountainous formations (figure 4).20 he also offers a sea-level depiction of the island of barbados by sketching the mountains from the perspective of a sailor approaching the island from the northwest.21 topographical differences between the islands ultimately influenced the respective successes of different colonists within the region. in the bahamian archipelago, for example, the settlers in the early eighteenth century primarily consisted of pirates and privateers who settled the island of providence and established a colony at nassau. because of a lack of drinking water and suitable soil for cultivation, the colony and its descendants generally relied on the spoils of their plunder.22 in contrast, the agricultural islands of the lesser antilles produced huge amounts of crops for export, such as the french-owned island of guadeloupe that annually yielded “46 million weight of sugar.”23 numbers from other sugar-producing islands such as barbados remained similar, trading “above 432,000l. sterling,” to different points throughout the triangular trade regions.24 relative stability in english governance and victories over the french and spanish in several wars during the eighteenth century truly provided the british with a distinct economic advantage over their competition. with an expanded economic base in north america following the seven years’ war and the transfer of experienced seamen to the caribbean following the war of spanish succession, the available markets for goods and the sailors to transport those goods expanded as well. in jefferys’s atlas, the presence and importance of these plantations was significant enough that he felt it necessary to mark their borders within detailed maps of individual islands in the lesser antilles.25 however, the most notable topographical descriptions of the islands actually lie off the coasts of each island through the presence of water depth indicators. these measurements, utilized by european ship captains to ensure goods safely arrived to their destinations, proved critical for the facilitation of trade in the caribbean. jefferys’ maps include not only depth measurements along coastal waters, but also small indicators of rocks and other hazards located in the water.26 these critical measurements and indicators dictate the importance of shipping to europeans in the caribbean, and further emphasize the intent of exploitation of the region’s natural fruitfulness by the europeans. with accurate depth measurements that facilitated this exchange, european merchants eventually helped provide the basis for further economic growth in other colonies and in europe.27 to assist in the establishment of colonies within these islands, european explorers and adventurers took great care to give accurate descriptions of exotic flora and fauna within the region. in the late seventeenth century, sloane journeyed to the caribbean with the recently appointed governor of jamaica, the duke of albemarle.28 his extensive accounts of the flora in jamaica, addressed to queen anne of great britain, constitutes one of “the largest and most considerable” collections of natural descriptions from this period.29 sloane, throughout the book, makes constant references to the potential of different plants and wildlife in providing sustenance for those who arrived. however, there do seem to be some exceptions to the natural fruitfulness of the land, including a type of seaweed that is “saltish to the taste” and “delightful to the irish palats.”30 fauna in the region, relatively untouched by man except for native interaction, also became a very important source of sustenance for european explorers venturing throughout the caribbean islands. sloane mentions bird species figure 4: a map of the western islands in the bahamas, with a special note emphasizing where ships could anchor and take on fresh water.20 68 elements : : fall 2015 such as boobies and noddies that “suffer themselves to be catch’d by the hand,” which further emphasizes the need of europeans to survive on animals rather than agriculture during their long voyages. because the voyages required being at sea for weeks at a time, food for the sailors became an absolute necessity, and fishing was the primary means of providing it. his sketches of the tropical bonito fish and its corresponding description, for example, emphasize their rather large size and “savoury” taste.31 to continue development of shipping lanes and traffic, information such as this for european ship captains became vital. making connections from home to other regions provided the european sailors with some familiarity, such as the acknowledgment of specific types of shellfish being present in both jamaica and scotland.32 this simple mention of a connection between foodstuffs and geography likely gave a reader of this volume residing in great britain a sense of perspective and a guide to where one could seek food. mercantilism and triangular trade the ideologies of mercantilism and exchange manifested themselves through the establishment of the trans-atlantic triangular trade networks between europe, africa, and the colonies of the new world.33 the trade networks connected to the caribbean colonies often relied on individual ship captains operating under very specific directives from their respective merchants, who resided thousands of miles away in europe. one prominent london merchant, william freeman, even gave one of his ship captains a directive to lie to officials who boarded their ships, a common practice among merchants in order to make sure goods reached their destinations.34 merchants formed consistent bonds with ship captains that made regular voyages to the new world territories like jamaica generally out of a need for familiarity and consistency in dealings.35 in terms of mapping, jefferys clearly realizes the vast array of shipping throughout the caribbean during the period of triangular trade, and he decorates many of his maps with illustrations of his ships on the open seas. these ships, pictured in countless different locations, seem to concentrate around regions where shipping is at its highest volume in different channels or straits. throughout the maps, many of these pictured ships follow the directions of the small “darts” which represent the currents on the open seas.36 to ship captains and merchants, these current markings are an invaluable tool for navigation and transporting goods at a more rapid pace than relying on wind alone. jefferys and his editor make other allusions to practices such as the cultivation of sugar throughout the atlas. the map key of st. vincent in the lesser antilles notes that the island possesses twenty-two rivers capable of driving sugar mills, which indicates the importance of sugar cultivation in the region.37 the trials and tribulations of agriculture extended far beyond the english realms however, as the french in la martinique discovered during the eighteenth century. with little progress made in the production of cacao or sugar, the planters on the island started producing coffee beans that became a raging success.38 likewise, in puerto rico, jefferys describes how the island does not produce enough goods beyond the basic needs of its “lazy possessors.”39 this blatant and unwarranted bias against the spanish likely stems from historical conflicts with the spanish, some of which led to jefferys gaining possession of many of the maps in the first place. conclusion accurately describing, much less depicting, a varied landscape such as the caribbean presented an enormously challenging task for the cartographer thomas jefferys during the eighteenth century. his work, along with that of other europeans, utilizes several different methods to accomplish this task, and consequently provides modern day historians with a perspective on the region and mercantilism. through an analysis of imagery within jefferys’ maps and the methods he utilizes to describe geography and his important references to trade and mercantilism, the general european viewpoint on the caribbean seems clear. as a tropical land with a favorable climate for the cultivation of sugar, tobacco, indigo, coffee beans, and cacao, the caribbean region represented an enormous opportunity for exchange during the eighteenth century. this trade, manifested through the practice of triangular trade as well as the economic doctrine of mercantilism, dominated every aspect of caribbean colonial life during this time. however, the most important role the caribbean played during the colonial era truly came after the eighteenth century, when the goods it exported helped provide the capital for industrialists and economies to expand in the industrial revolution. analysis of the economic exchange in the caribbean unfortunately never takes into account the lasting human impact on people such as african slaves or native americans living in the caribbean. for example, on the passage from africa to america, slave mortality rates ranged from 8.2-21 percent.40 these figures, while shocking themselves, do not even account for the countless oth69 cartographers in the caribbean ers who passed away from the malicious treatment received on the plantations in the region. european mortality rates, while evidently lower, also create a deeper understanding of the horrid conditions that many of the colonizers went through during the triangular trade era. the suffering that many people endured in the caribbean during this time are tragedies best classified as silences within these maps. they are also representative of the major disadvantages to the economic development of the region. instead of trying to describe these horrific stories, jefferys creates a series of truly remarkable and incredibly detailed maps that likely facilitated the passage of ships and cargo, and gives a much clearer understanding of life in the caribbean at the time. this understanding really serves a dual purpose, however, as it both feeds into the romanticized european image of the exotic colonial caribbean while telling a mercantilist history of the region. his atlas, although it does not specifically argue for mercantilist ideals, clearly embodies the pri nciples of this colonial economic system and focuses specifically on the aspects of naval commerce. jefferys, and other europeans like him, understood that accurate maps of this region could facilitate the development process and provide merchants with the best possible opportunity for successful exchange of goods in the colonial era. endnotes 1. thomas jefferys, the west indian atlas or a general description of the west indies: taken from actual surveys and observations, (london: robert laurie and james whittle, 1794), 18. 2. ibid., 22. 3. penelope ismay. “financing the industrial revolution.” class lecture, the credit nexus: the secret economy in britain, 1600s-1900s from boston college, chestnut hill, ma, february 24, 2014. 4. jefferys, the west indian atlas, i. 5. “jefferys, thomas (c.1719–1771),” laurence worms in oxford dictionary of national biography, eee ed. h. c. g. matthew and brian harrison (oxford: oup, 2004); online ed., ed. lawrence goldman, january 2008, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/ article/14696 (accessed march 16, 2014). 6. “mercantilism (economics) -britannica online encyclopedia.” http://www.britannica.com/ebchecked/ topic/375578/mercantilism. 7. jefferys, the west indian atlas, 7. 8. ibid. 9. ibid., plate 2. 10. ibid., plate 5. 11. ibid., plate 4. 12. ibid, plate 4. 13. ibid., plate 7. 14. ibid., i. 15. ibid., plate 12. 16. ibid., plate 8. 17. ibid, iv. 18. sir hans sloane, a voyage to the islands madera, barbados, nieves, s. christophers and jamaica, with the natural history ... of the last of those islands; to which is prefix’d an introduction, wherein is an account of the inhabitants, air, waters, diseases, trade, &c. ... illustrated with the figures of the things describ’d, ... by hans sloane, ... in two volumes. ... london: printed by bmfor the author, 1707. 19. christian lilly. description of jamaica [by capt. lilly, the engineer], june 18, 1700. http://gateway.proquest.com/ openurl?url_ver=z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:csp-us:&rft_ dat=xri:csp:rec:v18-e000990. 20. jefferys, the west indian atlas, plate 1. 21. ibid., plate 10. 22. ibid., 23. 23. ibid., 25. 24. ibid., 20. 25. ibid, plate 13. 26. ibid., plate 4. 27. robert brenner, “the social basis of english commercial expansion,” in merchant networks in the early modern world, ed. sanjay subrahmanyam (brookfield, vermont: ashgate publishing company, 1996), 300. 28. “sloane, sir hans, baronet (1660–1753),” arthur macgregor in oxford dictionary of national biography, eee online ed., ed. lawrence goldman, oxford: oup, , http://www.oxforddnb.com/ view/article/25730. 29. sloane. a voyage to the islands volume 1, title page. 30. ibid., 49. 31. ibid., 28. 32. sloane, a voyage to the islands volume 2, 256. 33. brenner, “the social basis”, 300. 34. david hancock, the letters of william freeman, london merchant, 1678-1685 (london record society), (london: london record society, 2002), 31. 35. kenneth morgan, bristol and the atlantic trade in the eighteenth century, (wiltshire, great britain: cambridge university press, 1993), 81. 36. jefferys, the west indian atlas, plate 7. 37. ibid, plate 11. 38. ibid., 25. 39. ibid., 15. 40. herbert s. klein, new approaches to the americas: atlantic slave trade (2nd edition), (cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2010), 141. 70 elements : : fall 2015 references brenner, robert. “the social basis of english commercial expansion.” in merchant networks in the early modern world, edited by sanjay subrahmanyam, 300. brookfield, vt: ashgate publishing company, 1996. hancock, david. the letters of william freeman, london merchant, 1678-1685 (london record society). london: london record society, 2002. ismay, penelope. “financing the industrial revolution.” class lecture, the credit nexus: the secret economy in britain, 1600s-1900s from boston college, chestnut hill, ma, february 24, 2014. jefferys, thomas. the west-india atlas : or, a compendious description of the west-indies : illustrated with forty-one correct charts and maps, taken from actual surveys, together with an historical account of the several countries and islands which compose that part of the world ... london: r. laurie and j. whittle, 1794. klein, herbert s. new approaches to the americas: atlantic slave trade (2nd edition). cambridge, uk: cambridge university press, 2010. lilly, christian. description of jamaica [by capt. lilly, the engineer], june 18, 1700. http://gateway.proquest.com/ openurl?url_ver=z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:csp-us:&rft_ dat=xri:csp:rec:v18-e000990. macgregor, arthur. “sloane, sir hans, baronet (1660– 1753).” arthur macgregor in oxford dictionary of national biography, online ed., edited by lawrence goldman. oxford: oup. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25730. “mercantilism (economics) -britannica online encyclopedia.” accessed march 16, 2014. http://www.britannica. com/ebchecked/topic/375578/mercantilism. morgan, kenneth. bristol and the atlantic trade in the eighteenth century. wiltshire, great britain: cambridge university press, 1993. sloane. hans. a voyage to the islands madera, barbados, nieves, s. christophers and jamaica, with the natural history ... of the last of those islands; to which is prefix’d an intro duction, wherein is an account of the inhabitants, air, waters, diseases, trade, &c. ... illustrated with the figures of the things describ’d, ... by hans sloane, ... in two volumes. ... london: printed by bmfor the author, 1707. worms, laurence. “jefferys, thomas (c.1719–1771).” laurence worms in oxford dictionary of national biography, edited by h. c. g. matthew and brian harrison. oxford: oup, 2004. online ed., edited by lawrence goldman, january 2008. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/14696. 71 cartographers in the caribbean the german catholic theologian johann baptist metz makes a convincing case that in the face of the catastrophes of the 20th century, christian theology can no longer isolate itself from its role as a perpetrator of injustice. to that end, he seeks to challenge abstract answers to theological questions with a renewed sensitivity to past transgressions. for metz, christian faith cannot simply be a matter of assent to theoretical propositions, but rather a practical engagement with “dangerous memories” of systematic injustice. in this paper, the author takes up metz’s conceptual framework for political theology and uses it to examine kendrick lamar’s “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” as a theological, and specifically soteriological, performance. by re-telling in his own voice the stories of friends who have died, kendrick both documents the struggle they lived and reveals his own vulnerability to the same conditions (of sin). but in addressing this vulnerability, he transcends it, protecting himself from sin precisely by telling the story. the paper closes with some reflections on how kendrick’s track might gesture towards a mode of doing theology that subverts the abstract tendencies of the hegemonic western tradition. performing redemption metzian theology in the art of kendrick lamar evan goldstein towards the end of his life, the philosopher walter benjamin wrote that, “the true picture of the past flits by…[and] can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the moment when it can be recognized and is never seen again.”1 according to this view, philosophical inquiry cannot presuppose the accessibility of a universal history as such, but rather must seek absolute truth in and through the concrete “temporality” of every historical moment.2 through this thesis, benjamin did not intend to merely criticize modernity’s prevailing bourgeois history (qua history of progress), but also to articulate the task of the philosopher as “to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up in a moment of danger,” and to establish these memories as the inaugural site of a constructive, critical response. the german catholic theologian johann baptist metz appropriates benjamin’s thesis in his call for a christian theology grounded in “dangerous memories” of suffering.3 reacting against a corrupted theological discourse that he terms “bourgeois religion,”4 metz articulates the need for a “practical, fundamental theology of the subject” that does not flee from history but rather attempts to talk about god in view of history’s victims.5 at the center of this attempt is the theodicy problem, or “the question of how one is to talk about god in the face of the abysmal histories of suffering in the world.”6 metz criticizes mainstream theology for prioritizing soteriology over theodicy, producing a “soteriologically-overdetermined” discourse which he suggests functions as an “exoneration mechanism” alleviating the bourgeois subject’s responsibility for suffering in history.7 against abstract theologies of justification, metz maintains that a “purely argumentative soteriology” (one that does not account for histories of suffering) reenacts the bourgeois banishment of religion to the private (and thus, non-political) sphere, thereby uncritically affirming the prevailing socio-political order. instead, following benjamin, metz re-articulates faith as a “praxis in history and society” that struggles to speak about god from the underside of modernity.8 in this paper, i read kendrick lamar’s “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” as a performance of dangerous memory.9 specifically, i read this song as a soteriological performance, one in which the artist struggles for redemption from what he explicitly frames as a condition of sin. the sin lamar confronts is not the abstract, ontological sin of the dominant christian tradition of theological anthropology, but rather a social condition of “dying of thirst,” described in the second half of the two-part track. lamar’s performance of dangerous memory operates on two levels: on the one hand, lamar’s stories of friends who have passed function as representations of the lived experience he characterizes elsewhere as “[growing] up ‘round some people livin’ they life in bottles.”10 in other words, the stories are descriptions of the sinful reality lamar inhabits. at the same time, lamar speaks from within that reality, and therefore presents himself as vulnerable to its destructive tendencies as well. as such, the song (including his embodiment of others’ stories) itself functions soteriologically.11 lamar does not simply represent his struggle against sin, but indeed performs that struggle in and through his music. thus, “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” is a musical performance of metz’s soteriology, which is neither “purely argumentative” nor content to stop at rationally-deduced propositions, but rather represents the drama of salvation (and, truthfully, of theology itself). lamar’s soteriology is unstable, resisting the pervasive influence of sin at the very moment that he performs his vulnerability to sin’s destruction and his ultimate inability to overcome sin on his own.12 he expresses, we might say, a dialectic of resistance and vulnerability, which is the situation of a “good kid” in a “m.a.a.d city.”13 as such, the theological resonances of his work are not important simply for understanding his musical project, but also make a contribution to theology itself. following metz, theological truth cannot be deduced from within the walls of the academy, but must ground itself in the dangerous memories that convey the ambiguity of speech about god. as such, my aim is to read lamar in a way that problematizes abstract conceptions of salvation and reveals the danger of speaking about god. lamar performing at way out west in august 2013 (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 73 performing redemption “promise that you will sing about me”: representation at the boundaries of life and death “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” is the penultimate track on kendrick lamar’s debut major-label album, good kid, m.a.a.d city (2012). like every song on the album, it is a memoiristic portrayal of lamar’s life in compton. in many ways, good kid, m.a.a.d city is less a sequence of divergent tracks than it is a continuous, unified narrative of suffering, struggling, swaggering, sex, and much more. one hesitates to name a primary theme, for fear of obscuring other indispensable elements of the work; however, to the extent that we can venture to do so, we might draw on james h. cone’s characterization of the spirituals and the blues: “black music…is not an artistic creation for its own sake; rather, it tells us about the feeling and thinking of an african people, and the kinds of mental adjustments they had to make in order to survive in an alien land.”14 the particular focus of this study, “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst,” unfolds in two parts of about six minutes each. the first part opens with its hook: “when the lights shut off, and it’s my turn to settle down/my main concern: promise that you will sing about me.” already, the metzian resonances of this track come through, as the voice (perhaps lamar’s but it is left somewhat unclear) implores someone (perhaps lamar, perhaps the listener; again, it is not specified; as we shall see, the identity of both the voice and the addressee shift throughout the track in significant ways) to retell their story after they are gone. even this opening line, simple as it is, conveys something important about the speaker: namely, that they feel compelled to consider how others will memorialize them. important for a comparison with twentieth century philosophy and theology, the fact of death’s possibility (and even imminence) does not itself appear to be troubling; rather, what concerns this speaker is whether and how they will be remembered. thus, it is already apparent that what we are hearing disrupts an abstract, existential mode of being in the world, in which the fear of death is the primary crisis of human existence.15 the following two verses present two stories of lamar’s friends who have passed, suggesting an answer to the question of who it is that urges lamar to sing about them. both stories, however, are recounted in lamar’s voice, presenting an interesting interplay between remembranceing (eingedenken) and remembrance-er (i.e., the one who is remembering) that shall be explored in more depth below.16 the theme suggested in the hook-of death’s imminent possibility, or, possible imminence-pervades the first verse. beginning, “i woke up this morning and figured i’d call you/in case i’m not here tomorrow,” the verse’s “protagonist” is a gang member whose slain brother (identified in the previous track as dave) was close with lamar.17 indeed, we learn that lamar held dave as he died.18 the verse centers around the inability of dave’s brother to extricate himself from the gang life, which is presented as an irrevocable, almost intrinsic quality of his personhood. he draws upon the language of biology and disease, declaring his situation as the “prognosis of a problem child,” juxtaposed against lamar’s musical “recovery.”19 thus, he has called lamar to “borrow a peace of mind”; in other words, a brief (and temporary) respite from the ineradicable “piru shit [that’s] been in me forever.”20 he is displays a certain ambivalence about this condition. on the one hand, he acknowledges that he is “behind on what’s really important,” but he also describes his violent reaction to his brother’s murder in blood-chillingly mundane terms: “as blood spilled on your hands/my plan’s rather vindictive/…a demon glued to my back, whispering ‘get ‘em’/i got em/and i ain’t give a fuck.” this verse’s seemingly contradictory dynamic exemplifies what i consider to be the central problematic of the song: being stuck in a seemingly irrevocable situation of violence, wherein resistance seems completely hopeless and passive acceptance inevitably results in death. there is a sense of proximity to death, evidenced by the verse’s opening, as well as it’s ending, in which dave’s brother tells lamar, “if i die before your album drop, i hope-“ before he is abruptly cut off by gun shots, and we are left to wonder for what he dared hope.21 his call to lamar functions both to express that hope before the former’s “lamar does not simply represent his struggle against sin, but indeed performs that struggle in and through his music.” 74 elements : : fall 2015 impending death (to which he was especially vulnerable because of the conditions of his life), and to ensure an afterlife for his hope beyond bodily death. the desire to have one’s story retold does not, in this instance, stem from vanity, but rather from the (perhaps unspoken) conviction that to be forgotten would be to reinforce the system responsible for one’s death. if, as max horkheimer and theodor adorno suggest, “the capacity to be represented is the measure of power,” then to insist upon posthumous representation is to hope that one might matter in death, even when one’s life is systematically neglected and discarded.22 this is the representation of the underside of metz’s eingedenken, not the academic specialist seeking critical distance from bourgeois thoughtforms, but the precarious subject himself anxious about the prospect of being posthumously disregarded.23 the second verse expresses similar themes-being stuck in cycles of destruction (and self-destruction) with death as a constant possibility-but in a somewhat modulated form. here the “speaker” is the sister of keisha, a slain teenaged prostitute whose story lamar previously recounted (from a third person perspective) on the track, “keisha’s song (her pain).”24 in contrast to the cordial tone of the previous verse, keisha’s sister criticizes lamar for “judging her [sister’s] past” by “put[ting] her on blast” in “keisha’s song.”25 immediately, though, the verse comes back to her present (“her past…well, it’s completely my future”), as a prostitute for her sister’s pimp. juxtaposed with the first verse, her narration represents the second of two (gendered) roles available to compton’s children in situations of economic exigency: men can become gang members, and women can become prostitutes.26 the latter shares the former’s proximity to death; even as keisha’s sister proclaims that, “i’ll probably live longer than you, and never fade away,” she knows that her survival is at stake and in jeopardy (“i’m on the grind for this cake/i’ma get it or die trying”). like dave’s brother, keisha’s sister characterizes her situation in biological terms, as a “family gene,” thus underscoring its insurmountability. keisha’s sister does not just criticize lamar for using keisha’s story, but also calls into question the possibility articulated in the previous verse that lamar’s music might be a source of “recovery.”27 indeed, her criticism of lamar’s previous attempt at representing black female experience articulates at the same time the possibility that the present representation will fail. this brings us to the second, and perhaps more important, layer of these opening verses: lamar is not simply telling the story of others’ but is, in fact, telling us his own story through that very representation. thus, we cannot simply read this as a portrayal of gendered navigation of the ghetto, but must also ask where lamar is situating himself in this narrative matrix, as well as what the track does for him; in other words, if the actual narrators of the two verses (whose words, it must be noted, we do not actually hear in an unmediated form) speak in order to both represent and resist their circumstances, what is being performed by lamar’s representation of those representations?28 to this point, we have seen that the opening two verses of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” represent life on the boundaries of life, wherein death is constantly, to borrow a phrase from tupac shakur, just “around the corner.”29 the narrators narrate with the intent of reclaiming their humanity from death-dealing systems that have forced its negation, even as they acknowledge the ultimate impossibility of transforming their situation. it might, therefore, be unclear what the theological dimension of this track is. kendrick lamar at große freiheit 36, hamburg (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 75 performing redemption as i have suggested, though, the primary locus of our analysis is not simply what is represented in those verses, but what is represented in lamar’s performance, which is explicitly framed not just in terms of death and life, but also of sin and redemption. lamar’s performance navigates the ghetto in search of redemption, which comes partially in and through his musical resistance to pervasive social sin, but ultimately only through a messianic intervention that re-inaugurates, and thereby redeems, time itself. “i’m dying of thirst”: kendrick lamar’s soteriological imagination though this section of the paper deals primarily with the “dying of thirst” section of the track, we must begin our considerations with lamar’s verse in the “sing about me” section. as i have already suggested, lamar’s verse here marks the transition from the retelling of others’ stories to a response to his deceased friends, as well as telling his own story. indeed, lamar situates himself within the social world of those whom we must sing about to keep alive, indicating the way in which the previous verses were also, in a meaningful way, “lamar’s verses,” though this is the first one that directly expresses his perspective. as with the previous two verses, lamar is “infatuated with death” and aware of its proximity. lamar himself confirmed in an interview with rapgenius that “that whole verse is about grasping the idea of death, for a kid [in compton].” in the early part of the verse, he sounds a prayerful wish that “if i’m doomed/may the wound help my mother be blessed for many moons.” this also captures an essential dialectic of the verse, and the song as a whole: rap music functions both as “the wound,” since his lyrics “make sure that my lifeline/reeking the scent of a reaper, ensuring my allegiance/with the otherside may come soon,” and as a saving grace. lamar suggests that the fate of his previous two interlocutors is “exactly what’d happen if i ain’t continue rapping.” indeed, these stories form the basis of his music (“by any means, wasn’t tryna offend or come between/her personal life, i was like, it need to be told”), and compel him to “count lives all on these songs” even as that very act draws danger to him. lamar’s self-implication in the cycle of destruction that killed his friends alters the meaning of the hook. no longer is the voice we hear simply the words that prompt lamar to make the track; we now hear lamar addressing himself to his listeners, bringing us under the obligation of telling his story, precisely as he has done for others, in the (not inconceivable) event of his death. the conclusion of the verse sounds a poignantly simple challenge: “am i worth it?/did i put enough work in?” unlike the previous two verses, the nearness of death is conceived in soteriological terms. lamar hopes to “hear a cry out from heaven so loud it can water down a demon/ with the holy ghost ‘till it drown in the blood of jesus.” it becomes clear, throughout this verse and into the “dying of thirst” section, that lamar does not simply figure his situation in terms of suffering and pleasure (as one might wrongly surmise from tracks like “swimming pools (drank)” and “m.a.a.d. city”), but precisely as sin and repentance, a reading that becomes more apparent with maya angelou’s intervention at the end of the song (“see, you young men are dying of thirst. do you know what that means? that means you need water, holy water. you need to be baptized with the spirit of the lord”). following a brief dramatic interlude (the significance of which we shall examine later), the track transitions into graffiti of jesus at corso di porta ticinese (milan) (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 76 elements : : fall 2015 “dying of thirst.” the tempo speeds up as the “dying of thirst” beat rises underneath the frustrated final words of the interlude: “fuck, i’m tired of this shit! i’m tired of fuckin’ runnin’, i’m tired of this shit!”30 lamar takes up this refrain (“tired of runnin’”), interspersing each repetition with an esophageal “uh,” as if to indicate a breathlessness induced by the accelerando. lamar rehashes familiar scenes: casualties of gang violence,31 unfulfilled hopes,32 and his own sense of being trapped in sinful structures.33 here the operation of his music as resistance to sin is made explicit, as he “hope(s) we can tower/over the city with vanity with the music louder,” using success as an artist to drown out the sounds of gang violence. more specifically, he promises to “show you how to/dye your thirst,” suggesting that the expressions of “a black flower” (and here he evokes tupac’s “the rose that grew from concrete”) cannot eliminate sin, but can mitigate its influence. this is a crucially important bar, insofar as it captures the central thrust of lamar’s soteriological argument: lamar’s music performatively constitutes itself as a necessary but not sufficient soteriological mechanism. this is to say, lamar’s struggle for salvation from conditions of social sin takes place in and through his performance, rendering the performance soteriologically obligatory, but that salvation is not complete. thus, though the second half of “dying of thirst” becomes increasingly, and more traditionally, soteriological, it would be wrong to read lamar as advocating a simple “conversion.”34 though his final exhortation (citing his mother) is to “hop in that water, and pray that it works,” lamar is not advocating an abstract “acceptance” of god’s grace as an entirely soteriologically efficacious act. without attempting to situate lamar’s logic of salvation within the protestant-catholic divide, one might read lamar as saying that we cannot do nothing in our salvation. for lamar, salvation is a struggle, a drama, a project, something that must be continually enacted. importantly, lamar’s soteriology questions its own efficacy, containing within itself a reflexive awareness of the possibility of its own failure. because the struggle for salvation is tied to certain social conditions, it is not a purely individual project, but one that we as listeners are exhorted to become partners in. indeed, perhaps one of the effects of lamar’s track is to enter into a relationship with those distant from himself, giving soteriology a translational character that implicates us all in each others’ salvation. we are called to discern our complicity in the perpetuation of sinful structures and reminded that our salvation is conditioned by the eradication of all sin. lamar’s track is a call, which demands a response from those with ears to hear. lamar performs metz’s critique of soteriology in another crucial respect: he ties redemption from sin with the anticipation of a future messianic intervention. as previously noted, the two sections of the track are divided by a skit that dramatizes the reaction of dave’s brother to dave’s death. following lamar’s “dying of thirst” verses, we return to that scene, but this time we hear a new voice: maya angelou, who recognizes that the boys are “dying of thirst” through their sin, and leads them through a version of the sinner’s prayer, pronouncing this action as “the start of a new life: your real life.” of course, we know, or can at least suspect, that this did not actually happen, as we have already seen how dave’s brother reacts.29 thus, angelou’s intervention should be understood as lamar’s imaginative dramatization of salvation itself, one that projects hope for a messianic future through the conjuring of a redeemed past. by dramatizing a past in which the arrival of death was not inevitable (for dave’s brother, and, by extension, for lamar himself), lamar expresses hope in a future in which redemption is possible. in other words, lamar imagines a salvific life where “death doesn’t reside” not as eternal life, but as “real life.”35 though he is not sure the water will work, he yearns for the intervention of someone who might give him a new life, a real life.36 further, despite the usage of a fairly standard evangelical prayer, i would suggest that to see lamar as advocating a purely interiorized “acceptance” of jesus christ’s salvific status is a misreading. to the contrary, we must understand this skit in the context of what lamar has already shown us regard“by dramatizing a past in which the arrival of death was not inevitable (for dave’s brother, and, by extension, for lamar himself), lamar expresses hope in a future in which redemption is possible.” 77 performing redemption ing the soteriological status of his music. angelou’s intervention represents a messianic vision of a life beyond the constraints of death’s nearness. salvation, then, is not “heaven” or “sinlessness,” but rather life itself. only with the coming of the messiah will life not be tainted by the proximity of death, as it is elsewhere in the track. the hope in a messianic intervention does not negate the imperative of political and aesthetic struggle against sin (which is what the rest of the track does), but merely emphasizes that ultimate soteriological efficacy lays beyond the boundaries of struggle alone. thus, lamar’s track functions as a “witness for the future” of redemption, without legitimizing the present on the basis of the future’s possibility.37 we have seen the contribution that theological analysis can make to an appreciation of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst”; what can theological discourse learn from lamar’s track? on one level, the contribution is obvious: lamar’s performance is an enactment of metz’s criticism, a demonstration of what a soteriology looks like when it refuses to be, because it cannot be, “purely argumentative.” another way of putting this (one that resonates with metz’s own language and the language of the frankfurt school) is that lamar’s track is an example of a non-mythological soteriology. but on a deeper level, i want to suggest that lamar’s track functions as a critique of the theological enterprise itself. once we acknowledge that lamar is doing theology, we have already destabilized the hegemonic claim of the academy to be a privileged domain of theology as such. indeed, to even portray theology as something that must be done (understanding this verb in its most active sense) requires that we consider the possibility of theology beyond the academy. in so doing, we must distance ourselves from the label “theologian,” at least to the extent that we acknowledge that a “theologian” might not simply be one who studies, teaches, and writes theology in an academic context. i see this self-critical distancing as a positive move, insofar as it urges us to continually discern whether we are truly doing theology, in conversation with the painful losses, unfulfilled hopes, and subversive beauty of the world we cohabit,38 or whether we are simply going through the motions, however artfully, in a space that is ultimately not innocent.39 reading lamar’s performative soteriology next to metz’s interruptive theodicy suggests that questioning the possibility of theology is an essential precondition of theology itself. theology cannot simply seek to include the excluded (though it should certainly do this), but must also de-center hegemonic notions of what it is to do theology, essentially undermining its own validity. discourses of “inclusion,” while not altogether unhelpful, risk maintaining the centrality of theology, hegemonically understood, and merely establishing terms of entry for marginal voices.40 the reading of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst” that i have proposed here challenges us to go beyond inclusion to re-conceptualizing theology itself, a move that i suggest is prefigured in metz (though he remains rather vague about what such a theology beyond theology might look like, and continues to do theology in a basically conventional way). lamar presents an alternative foundation upon which to build the theological guild: rather than seeking to produce praiseworthy essays and books, or to bring people to conversion, the task of the theologian is to sing a song of hope in a world of sin, to attempt to demonstrate how to “dye your thirst” without resorting to naïve platitudes. such a task is, as metz suggests, basically apologetic, a defense of (christian) hope that does not prescind from the darkness of history but rather struggles against it.41 the theologian poses “disturbing questions”as a practical strategy for survival, carrying on the cause of the forgotten past while anticipating the real life of the salvific future.42 78 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. benjamin, theses on the concept of history, 253-264. 2. buck-morss, the dialectics of seeing: walter benjamin and the arcades project,19-20. 3. metz, faith in history and society, 109ff, 200ff. 4. metz, the emergent church: the future of christianity in a post-bourgeois world 1-16. 5. metz, faith in history and society, 46-47, 60-70, 183-237. 6. metz, a passion for god: the mystical-political dimension of christianity, 56ff. 7. metz, memoria passionis: eine provozierendes gedachtnis in pluralistischer gesellschaft, 57. 8. metz, faith in history and society, 73. 9. from the 2012 album, good kid, m.a.a.d. city. though the title is somewhat lengthy, i will continue to cite it in full due to the structure of the track, which consists of two distinct sections that could function as songs in their own right. the first repeats the refrain “promise that you will sing about me,” while the second is organized around the repetition of “dying of thirst.” thus, to avoid the perception that i am referring to only the first half of the track, i will refer to it by its full title. see the full lyrics (with crowd-sourced annotations) here: http://genius.com/ kendrick-lamar-sing-about-me-im-dying-of-thirst-lyrics. 10. lamar, “swimming pools (drank)-extended version,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city (2012). 11. see also his “poetic justice” on the same album: “i could never right my wrongs unless i write it down, for real.” 12. cf. walter benjamin’s “theses,” in which “the messiah comes not only as the redeemer, he comes as the subduer of the antichrist,” (p. 255). i read kendrick’s resistance to history’s un-redeemed status alongside the salvific intervention of maya angelou at the song’s ending in a similar manner: the salvation kendrick envisions is not merely a positive state of redemption, but an overcoming of social sin. 13. this framing is supported by the meanings of the acronym “m.a.a.d,” which signifies both “my angry adolescence divided” and “my angels on angel dust.” both meanings (as well as the word as it is vocalized: “mad city”) represent the dialectic i describe here, of a subject who seeks to resist destructive social influences while simultaneously participating in them. 14. cone, the spirituals and the blues: an interpretation, 98 (emphasis original). to be sure, this description cannot be uncritically appropriated in this case. for instance, kendrick does not necessarily understand his project as navigating “an alien land” (compton is his home), and one can debate what the label “an african people” might mean in terms of kendrick’s musical project. still, kendrick’s album is, broadly speaking, an expression of the thinking and feeling of the good kid navigating a mad city. moreover, though kendrick seems to display a deeply-engrained need to be in the studio, creating, he has repeatedly emphasized that he intends his music to have a broader impact. it is thus not “an artistic creation for its own sake,” but rather a project that grapples with, and seeks to resist, concrete conditions of suffering. 15. j. matthew ashley describes how metz’s theology seeks to move beyond an abstract problematic of finite/infinite: “just as the seinsfrage for heidegger and rahner irritates us, keeps us from closing ourselves off in some finite realm of beings in our attempts to understand what it means to be human, so in metz’s thought does the theodicy question irritate us. it keeps us from falling into the various exculpation strategies which entrap us in the dialectic of enlightenment, opening up instead the possibility of a different existentiell stance toward our involvement in the world and history,” (p. 160). see also metz in “communicating a dangerous memory”: “the basic theological question…is not ‘who saves me?’ but rather, ‘who saves you?’…the question, ‘what dare i hope?’ is transformed for me into the question, ‘what dare i hope for you, and, in the end, also for me?’” (p. 40). this is not precisely what is expressed here, in the opening moments of “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst,” but it does shed light on metz’s re-orientation of theological reflection towards the voices of those who suffer. moreover, the perspective heard in kendrick’s track, which is alien to the more theoretical fundamental anthropologies of thinkers like rahner and heidegger, validates metz’s claim that sensitivity to dangerous memory presents an interruptive challenge to “mainstream” theology, a challenge that cannot go unanswered. 16. eingedenken is a german neologism coined by metz most nearly meaning “remembrance-ing” in the liturgical sense of “do this in memory of me.” see metz, see a passion for god, p. 181, n. 10; and ashley, p. 161-162. 17. see “swimming pools (drank).” 18. “you ran outside when you heard my brother cry for help/ held him like a newborn baby, and made him feel/like everything was alright.” 19. “in actuality, it’s a trip how we trip off of colors/i wonder if i’ll ever discover/a passion like you and recover.” 20. “piru” refers to a street in compton that is associated with the bloods. dave’s brother is underscoring his quasi-intrinsic inability to resist the gang life. it is crucially important to that his somewhat biological language not be equated to racist stereotypes of black criminality that often cite gang activity as “evidence.” the fact that he is unable to extricate himself from cycles of gang violence should not imply a negative moral judgment against him. indeed, that kendrick embodies the narration of a gang member (who, in this very verse, admits to killing a rival gang member) and, later, a prostitute, demonstrates that his intent is not to moralize, but rather to humanize. 21. cf. j. kameron carter’s discussion of abjection as “a figure neither of life nor death but of living death” in “the politics of the atonement,” the immanent frame, july 18th, 2011, http:// blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2011/07/18/the-politics-of-the-atonement/. see also his (theological) genealogy of racialized “death-bound subjects” in race: a theological account (oxford university press: oxford, uk, 2008), p. 79-121, especially 118-121. 22. max horkheimer and theodor adorno, dialectic of enlightenment: philosophical fragments trans. edmund jephcott (stanford university press: stanford, ca, 2002), p. 27. tupac shakur, whose music serves as a major influence on kendrick, 79 performing redemption articulates the (un)representation of black people (specifically men) as a socio-political problem. see, for instance, “my block” (“only time they notice a n****a is when he’s clutchin on a four-five”), “me against the world” (“what’s the use/unless we shootin/no one notices the youth”), and “thugz mansion” (“no one knows my struggle/they only see the trouble”). tupac also expresses the emotional dimension of society’s disregard for black men in an early poem: “[the world] is painful and sad and sometimes i cry/and no one cares about why.” see “sometimes i cry” in the rose that grew from concrete (pocket books: new york, ny, 1999), p. 7. though kendrick’s album (and especially this track) tends to stay in the register of narration rather than manifesto, the socio-political dimensions that tupac articulates are undoubtedly present. 23. i borrow the concept of “precarity” from judith butler, who takes it to mean the basic state of physical vulnerability that is the precondition of embodied, socio-political existence. butler suggests that the unequal social distribution of precarity (i.e., certain people and groups of people are systematically more susceptible to physical violence and death than others) inscribes a “hierarchy of grief,” in which the nation-state reproduces itself via public adjudication of whose life is grievable, and, thus, which people are people. see butler, precarious life: the powers of mourning and violence (verso: new york, ny, 2006), p. 19-49. 24. see kendrick’s debut studio album, section.80 (2011). 25. it’s unclear if keisha’s sister objects to a particular element of the song (one could imagine her taking issue with the ending, in which kendrick plays the song for his little sister as a cautionary tale) or the fact that kendrick made the song at all. nonetheless, her objection to being represented stands in stark contrast to the previous verse, as well as the song’s hook. 26. indeed, keisha’s sister (or, perhaps here the voice of kendrick) frames her prostitution as “a family gene that shows women how to be woman.” prostitution, for her, functions pedagogically, to inscribe and reinforce particular gendered performances. 27. “you lying to these motherfuckers, talking ‘bout you can help them with my story/you can help me if you sell this pussy for me, n***a.” 28. another question that must be asked is what is left out of kendrick’s representations. it would be a mistake to entirely identify kendrick’s re-narration of their narrations with the narrations (and, even more so, experiences) themselves, and thus it is important to discern what is excluded. a full exploration of this dimension of representation, however, is beyond the scope of this essay. for our purposes, it is sufficient to note that kendrick represents these narrations in order to express something about himself, and to do something; it is that “something” which constitutes the primary focus of this essay. 29. see tupac, “death around the corner,” me against the world (1995). 30. as we shall see, these are the words of dave’s brother (the slain gang member voiced by kendrick in the track’s first verse). we finally hear, in his own words, the anger he over the murder of his brother that he communicated to kendrick, anger that, as we already know, leads him to kill in revenge, and ultimately leads to his death. 31. “daughter is dead, mother is mournin’ her.” 32. “dreams of balling, like spalding/but only shotty bounce.” 33. “it’s hard to channel your energy when you know you’re crooked/banana split, split his banana pudding/i’m like tre, that’s cuba gooding/i know i’m good at dying of thirst/dying of thirst/dying of thirst.” 34. the final two verses of “dying of thirst” (according to the numbering on rapgenius) declare that “hell is hot, fire is proven/to burn for eternity.” interestingly, kendrick returns to the use of biological language, terming his sinfulness “hereditary, all my cousins/dying of thirst, dying of thirst, dying of thirst.” in the final verse, kendrick’s rapping is actually interrupted by a plea for redemption (“lord, forgive me for all my sins for i do not know…”), and the track’s final lyrics are kendrick’s recollection: “back once my momma say/’see a pastor, give me a promise/what if today was the rapture and you completely tarnished/the truth will set you free, so to me be completely honest/you dying of thirst, you dying of thirst/so hop in that water, and pray that it works.’” 35. see nas’s remix of tupac’s “thugz mansion,” god’s son (2002). 36. cf. the track “real” on good kid, m.a.a.d. city (2012). 37. pierre bouretz, witnesses for the future: philosophy and messianism, 6-11, 200ff. the phrase “witnesses for the future” is found in a 1927 letter from walter benjamin to gershom scholem, in which history is described “as a trial in which man as an advocate for mute nature makes a complaint against the nonappearance of the promised messiah. the court, however, decides to hear witnesses for the future.” the artist, then, produces a vision of the future as a witness for messianic hope, even when the rest of society has left the courtroom entirely. 38. i evoke “cohabitation” rather than “inhabitation” in keeping butler’s understanding of our political existence as constituted by the condition of sharing the world with others with whom we did not choose to cohabit. see butler’s parting ways: jewishness and the critique of zionism (columbia university press: new york, ny, 2012), p. 23-24, 43-44, 125-131, 151-180. 39. rieger, god and the excluded: visions and blind spots in contemporary theology,1-16. 40.rieger, god and the excluded: visions and blind spots in contemporary theology,113-123. 41. see the introduction to faith in history and society. i put christian in parenthesis because i do not believe that this reading of kendrick’s soteriological vision need be relegated to a particular religious tradition, though obviously it may not apply equally well for all traditions. 42. metz, a passion for god, p. 66. 43. 80 elements : : fall 2015 references ashley, j. matthew. interruptions: mysticism, politics, and theology in the work of johann baptist metz. notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1998. benjamin, walter. “theses on the concept of history.” in illuminations: essays and reflections, edited by hannah arendt. new york: schocken books, 1965. bouretz, pierre. witnesses for the future: philosophy and messianism. translated by michael b. smith. baltimore: johns hopkins university press, 2010. buck-morss, sorsan. the dialectics of seeing: walter benjamin and the arcades project. cambridge: mit press, 1991. butler, judith. precarious life: the powers of mourning and violence. new york: verso, 2006. butler, judith. parting ways: jewishness and the critique of zionism. new york: columbia university press, 2012. carter, j. kameron. race: a theological account. oxford: oxford university press, 2008. doi: 10.1093/acprof:o so/9780195152791.001.0001 carter, j. kameron. “the politics of the atonement.” the immanent frame. july 18, 2011. http://blogs.ssrc.org/ tif/2011/07/18/the-politics-of-the-atonement/. cone, james h. the spirituals and the blues: an interpretation. maryknoll: orbis books, 1972. horkheimer, max, and theodor adorno. dialectic of enlightenment: philosophical fragments. translated by edmund jephcott. stanford: stanford university press, 2002. lamar, kendrick. keisha’s song (her pain). section.80, 2011. lamar, kendrick. “poetic justice,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. lamar, kendrick. “real,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. lamar, kendrick. “sing about me, i’m dying of thirst,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. lamar, kendrick. “swimming pools (drank)-extended version,” good kid, m.a.a.d. city, 2012. metz, johann baptist. a passion for god: the mystical-political dimension of christianity. translated by j. matthew ashley . mahwah: paulist press, 1998. metz, johann baptist. “communicating a dangerous memory.” in communicating a dangerous memory: new soundings in political theology, edited by fred lawrence. atlanta: scholars press, 1988. metz, johann baptist. faith in history and society. translated by david smith. new york: seabury press, 1980. metz, johann baptist. memoria passionis: eine provozierendes gedachtnis in pluralistischer gesellschaft. freiburg im breisgau: herder, 2006. metz, johann baptist. the emergent church: the future of christianity in a post-bourgeois world. translated by peter mann. new york: crossroad, 1981. nas, “thugz mansion (n.y.),” god’s son, 2002. rieger, joerg. god and the excluded: visions and blind spots in contemporary theology. minneapolis: fortress press, 2001. shakur, tupac. “death around the corner,” me against the world, 1995. shakur, tupac. “me against the world,” me against the world, 1995. shakur, tupac. “my block,” better dayz, 2002. shakur, tupac. the rose that grew from concrete. new york: pocket books, 1999. shakur, tupac. “thugz mansion,” better dayz, 2002. 81 performing redemption in a time when candidates feel pressure to tout their independent attitude and bipartisan spirit in order to win elections, the growing presence of the independent political mindset among voters cannot be ignored. massachusetts is a perfect microcosm through which to explore the influence of independent voters. the perception of massachusetts as a predominantly blue state in which democratic candidates dominate is misleading. while this is true of the legislature, the electorate of the bay state is over one-half independent, giving massachusetts the largest proportion of independent voters in the united states. this piece explores how a predominantly independent constituency elects a predominantly single-party legislature. using registration and election data as well as first-hand accounts from massachusetts legislators, this article seeks to uncover how the independent voter fits into america’s dominant two-party system. in this process, it confronts questions on the merit of the two-party system as well as the identity of the american voter. neither red nor blue the influence of independent voters in massachusetts olivia mccaffrey independent voters are relevant in today’s political world. they are constantly being analyzed in polls, sought after in political campaigns, and heavily scrutinized by the twoparty system. figure 1 shows just a few of the many recent articles and studies written about independent voters and their influence on politics.1,2,3 their growing popularity raises two important questions: are the numbers of independent voters increasing, and if so, what is their influence on the commonwealth? massachusetts is the frontrunner for independent voters in america, with over 53% of its registered voters being independent.4 figure 2 shows how massachusetts leads the top five states in which independents exceed party membership. according to the most recent gallup poll, 42% of americans nationwide identify themselves as independent voters, the highest proportion in history. the rate hovered between 20% and 32% in the years since 1988, and has started increasing steadily following 2004.5 what constitutes an independent voter, according to the state of massachusetts? the encyclopedia of third parties in america defines independent voters as “[t]hose who have registered to vote, but are not affiliated with a political party.”6 for example, independent voters in massachusetts are those who have registered to vote in the state, and have access to the benefits of being a registered voter; however, they have elected to remain free of a party designation. what are the objectives of independent voters? as unenrollment is not an organized party, there is no singular answer to this question. the massachusetts coalition of independent voters believes in “making the political process more open and fair, and less partisan.”7 independentvoting.org, along the same strand of ideology, states that independent voters seek to “diminish the regressive influence of parties and partisanship by opening up the democratic process,” “support new models of nonpartisan governance,” and “strive for the broadest terms of ‘bottom-up’ participation”8 when a person registers to vote in massachusetts, he or she has six party identifaction options. there are the two main parties, democrat and republican, as well as massachusetts’ two major third parties, the green rainbow party and united independent party. if these do not suit the voter, he or she can elect to be unenrolled (independent) or choose from massachusetts’ 26 third parties, listed in table 1. massachusetts has open primaries, so independents can vote in primaries and pull whichever of the two main party figure 2: states where independents exceed party membership4 figure 1: recent headlines about independent voters in massachusetts. 83 neither red nor blue ballots they want. voters enrolled in any of the alternate political designations, however, cannot vote in primaries. primaries in massachusetts are restricted to registered democrat, republican, and unenrolled voters. democrats and republicans must pull their respective party’s ballot, but independents can pull either. in bold are the most popular parties by enrollment. the green rainbow party, for example, is one of the more common third parties. it has over 6,500 registrants in massachusetts, or about 0.1% of the commonwealth’s registered voters. the pizza party, though it sounds fictitious, garnered enough signatures to be recognized as a legal third party in the state of massachusetts, but only has one member. the prevalence of independent voters in massachusetts the percentage of independent voters in massachusetts has increased during every presidential administration since that of dwight d. eisenhower in 1953-1961. the only exception is ronald reagan’s presidency, which saw a 0.056% decrease in independent registration, though the general number of total registered voters decreased during this time.10 figure 3 shows registered voter enrollment in massachusetts from 1948-2012.11 unenrolled voters have always been larger in number than republicans since 1948, and they surpassed even democratic enrollment in 1990. 50 years ago, unenrollment was 35.72% in massachusetts, and it has since increased steadily to over 53% today.12 independent voter registration has shown a strongly consistent linear increase over the past ten years. as figure 4 shows, unenrollment has increased every single year of this past decade, from 48.80% in 2004 to 53.27% today. this 4.47% increase is a significant political trend. today, massachusetts boasts over 2.2 million independent voters, an increase of almost 300,000 in the past decade alone.13 this is akin to half the population of boston becoming independent. both in massachusetts and the united states as a whole, the shift has come at more of a cost to republicans. massachusetts democrats lost about 3% of their supporters, while republicans lost almost 15%.14 how democratic or republican is my town? massachusetts may seem like a one-dimensional state in the realm of party affiliation, but the individual affiliation of each municipality tells a different story. of the 351 towns in massachusetts, 186 lean democrat, and 165 lean republican.15 massachusetts is not strictly a “blue” state. it is worth noting, however, that the range of democrat-leaning figure 3: massachusetts registered voter enrollment, 1948-2012 figure 4: independent voter registration as a percentage of total enrollment, 2004-2014 table 1: alternate legal political designations in massachusetts 9 84 elements : : fall 2015 and republican-leaning towns is skewed. massachusetts’s uniquely democratic identity is maintained by the large gap between the most heavily leaning democrat and republican towns. in the most democratic town, provincetown, democratic candidates receive 73% more votes on average, whereas republican candidates in the most republican town, lynnfield, receive only 28% more of the vote on average. it is significant to note that these statistics come from election returns, not registration data. even though certain towns consistently vote for republican candidates, there are no municipalities in massachusetts with a majority of republican voters.16 municipalities with the most evenly balanced votes (less than 0.15% gap between votes for the democratic candidate and republican candidate) are: ayer, shrewsbury, groton, and southampton.17 it is also interesting to note the regional trends of party support. the greater boston area, as well as western massachusetts, is largely democratic, surrounded by large areas of republican support in central and southeastern massachusetts. when it comes to electing the massachusetts legislature, the political identity of the commonwealth remains stubbornly one-sided. the current composition of massachusetts legislators elected to the united states congress is 100% democrat us senators ed markey and elizabeth warren are both democrats, as is each representative from massachusetts’ nine congressional districts. massachusetts’ state-level government has slightly more republican representation: the senate is 85% democrat (34 democrats to 6 republicans), and the house of representatives is 78.5% democrat (125 democrats to 35 republicans).18 the massachusetts legislature has a history of democratic predominance. the 85% democrat’s presence in the senate is a decrease from previous years, when democrats traditionally held an even larger portion of the senate. massachusetts republicans, on the other hand, have not won a seat in the us house since 1994. there are currently no independent legislators representing massachusetts in the state-level house and senate or in the us congress.19 reasons for being independent a 2007 study examined the ideologies of independent voters and characterized them into five categories. their titles and respective distributions are shown in table 2. disguised partisans are voters whose ideologies align with a single party, but elect to remain free of a partisan designation. along with disengaged independents, who characterize themselves as more apathetic voters, disguised partisans account for 48% of independent voters. dislocated independents, who make up 16% of the independent population, are those whose ideologies straddle the twoparty divide. the remaining 36% of independent voters are comprised of the disillusioned, or “angry” voters, and the deliberators—voters who like to begin from square one when determining for whom to cast their vote.20 independent voters have the lowest rate of election participation. they continually underperform registered democrats and republicans at the voting booth by 20%.21 this supports the categorization of a large portion of independent voters as disillusioned or disengaged. such voters have little incentive to make their voice heard at the figure 5: the most democratic towns, by election results, in massachusetts are provincetown, cambridge, and amherst. the most republican are lynnfield, boxford, and hanover. table 2: ideologies of independent voters20 85 neither red nor blue ballot box. independents in the 2014 massachusetts general election and noteworthy independent campaigns in the most recent general election in massachusetts, there were five candidates in the race for governor. nowgovernor charlie baker, a republican, and martha coakley, a democrat, led the race. they were joined by three independent candidates, evan falchuk, scott lively, and jeff mccormick, who together garnered over 100,000 votes, or almost 5% of total votes cast.22 figure 6 shows all independent and third party candidates who ran in the 2014 massachusetts general election.23 it may be easy to think of an independent candidacy as a rare occurrence, but the vast number of such political hopefuls in 2014 proves otherwise. the names in bold are those candidates who garnered more than 20% of the vote in their race. suzanne t. seguin, whose name is italicized, won her race for register of probate of hampden county as an independent. analyzing these candidates and their corresponding offices shows evidence that independent and third party bids for political office are more successful on two spectrums. one is in less politicized positions, like the executive councilor and register of probate. these are positions that function within the political sphere, but do not include overt party alliances or voting that could prove ideologically divisive. second, independents have a greater opportunity to flourish by running for smaller, more local titles. because of the smaller constituency, independents, who often have limited funds and rely instead on personal connections and name recognition, can more easily appeal directly and personally to their constituents about why they should be elected. as stated in the goals set out by independentvoting.org, the concept of “bottom-up” politics is instrumental to independent voters and candidates.24 major-party candidates enjoy more support from the party structure and can therefore launch more traditional, successful campaigns across a larger cross-section of massachusetts. however, there have been several successful independent candidates in higher offices throughout the history of the commonwealth. in 1972, john joseph moakley, for whom the district courthouse is named, won his seat in congress representing the 9th congressional district, and later declared himself a democrat. in 1988 david hudson won a seat in the us house representing the 5th congressional district. in the massachusetts state house, figure 6: independent and third party candidates in the 2014 election 86 elements : : fall 2015 “independent candidates face many barriers to election, one being the lack of party support and financing during campaigns, and another being the disadvantageous redistricting that puts one party clearly in the majority.” there have been 22 independents who won election to the house of representatives, many of whom declared party affiliation soon after. in the 2012 race for representative for the 24th middlesex district, independent candidate james gammill received more of the popular vote than the republican challenger. lastly, in the 2010 race for the massachusetts house, all candidates for the 8th bristol district were independent.25 one of the most notable nation-wide independent campaigns was led by ross perot in the 1992 presidential election. perot waged an aggressive campaign and won 18.91% of the general election votes.26 some political analysts herald perot’s run as proof that independents are viable candidates who can successfully challenge the two-party system and appeal to a significant amount of voters. others say that perot’s success is not a success for the independent name. perot, a successful businessman from texas, contributed 90% of his own campaign funds.27 he did not need the financial support of a major party because he could supply it on his own. to these people, perot was more of the same—a wealthy politician whose success stemmed not from the quality of his ideals, but from his ability to buy publicity. legislative outlook when asked about how they approach and engage their independent constituents, massachusetts legislators share varied responses.28 one republican representative espouses benevolent indifference toward independent voters in his district. this legislator believes that independent voters are not significant to him specifically, because his duty as a public servant is to represent all of his constituents. he acknowledges that a vast majority of his district is independent, and he feels that they vote “person, not party” and that they value bipartisanship. the same representative also believes that independent candidates will not find success in the massachusetts state house. he notes that both independent candidates who have won in the recent past, representatives paul mcmurtry and tom sannicandro, declared party affiliation (democrat) soon after coming to office. many legislators shared in this profound doubt that the rise in independent voters would allow independent politicians to become more successful in the future. independent candidates face many barriers to election, one being the lack of party support and financing during campaigns, and another being the disadvantageous redistricting that puts one party clearly in the majority. partisan candidates have access to a large and well-funded support base; they can more easily fund publicity and get-out-the-vote media, as well as count on the support of their party’s leadership. legislators noted that independent candidates do best in local elections where they can more easily rely on grassroots campaign tactics and face-to-face publicity. one representative conjectures that a possible solution to the barriers faced by independent candidates is an election reform law providing independent candidates with proper funding. other legislators acknowledge that they believe the presence of independent officials in the legislature would be beneficial to the policy process, but again cite redistricting and financial deficits as obstacles. one democratic senator is adamant that voters do not have time to invest their support in non-party candidates, and one democratic congressman notes the rise of “hyperpartisanship.” interestingly, both of these legislators say they take moderate policy stances and do not always vote with their party leadership. furthermore, it can be difficult for politicians to target independent voters because there is not a single set of issues with which all independent voters identify. the congressman notes that the house ethics committee prohibits members of congress from reaching out to voters based on party identity. in the aggregate, all legislators who were interviewed 87 neither red nor blue expressed the sentiment that independent politicians would not become more successful in the future because they face too many barriers, namely lack of financing, partisan control of redistricting, and their status as newcomers. these often prove to be insurmountable during campaigns. conclusion it is clear that the prevalence of independent voters is growing. massachusetts is at the national forefront of independent voter enrollment, and its independent voters have been increasing steadily over the past 50 years. there are many reasons for registering unenrolled, and there continue to be diverse regions of party affiliation throughout the commonwealth. though legislators remain skeptical about the viability of independent politicians winning office, there have been several independent victors throughout massachusetts history, and there was a strong showing of independent candidates in the 2014 massachusetts general election. an increasingly independent electorate, however, is not a harbinger of an increasingly independent legislature, and massachusetts remains a rigidly “blue” state. the overwhelmingly democratic composition of the massachusetts legislature at the state and national level cannot be ignored. it is also important to reiterate that the influx of independent voters is coming primarily from those who would have otherwise registered republican. the success of independent candidates remains dim and ambiguous at best. whereas independence provides ideological freedom for voters, it imposes restrictions on legislators. it is less consequential to remain free of party affiliation as a voter than as a legislator, where the latter can impede a politician’s ability to promote policy, engage in negotiation, and garner electoral support. reasons for being an independent voter vary, and the nature of unenrollment is not conducive to producing a united coalition of independent voters that can rally behind a political campaign. it is undeniable that the composition of the massachusetts electorate is shifting, and independents contribute to a significant part of this trend. it remains to be seen how this affects the commonwealth as a whole. optimistically, this shift proves the resiliency of the american political system. though many voters are disillusioned or feel unrepresented by the party system, the increase in independent voters shows that citizens take seriously their civic duty. instead of not registering to vote, independent voters channel their ideologies into participation that transcends partisan affiliation. 88 elements : : fall 2015 endnotes 1. associated press, “percentage of independent voters climbs in mass,” boston globe, february 27, 2012. 2. frank phillips, “for independents, a tough road to november.” boston globe, september 25, 2014. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/25/for-independents-tough-road-november/mvv7loszvyre4obpyqpxzn/story.html>. 3. david scharfenberg, “charlie baker pushes for independent votes,” boston globe, november 3, 2014. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/03/charlie-baker-searching-for-independent-votes-final-day-campaigning-for-republican-candidate/ vlvdgzccawrhq8janun4fp/story.html#>. 4. alex gauthier, “independents exceed party registration in key states,” ivnus, independent voter network unfiltered news by independent authors, 2013. http://ivn.us/2013/06/18/independents-exceed-party-registration-in-5-states/. 5. jeffrey m. jones, “record-high 42% of americans identify as independents,” the gallup poll, 2014. <http://www.gallup.com/ poll/166763/record-high-americans-identify-independents. aspx.>. 6. james ciment, ed. immanuel ness, the encyclopedia of third parties in america, armonk, new york, sharpe reference, 2000, (319). 7. massachusetts coalition of independent voters, “who are we?,” macoiv, accessed june 29, 2014. <http://www.macoiv. org/>. 8. independent voting coalition, “what is cuip & independentvoting.org and what is its mission?” independentvoting.org, 2010, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.independentvoting. org/about>. 9. “massachusetts directory of political parties and designations,” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.sec.state. ma.us/ele/elepar/paridx.htm>. 10. “massachusetts registered voter enrollment: 1948-2012,” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ ele/eleenr/enridx.htm>. 11. ibid. 12. ibid. 13. alex gauthier, “independents exceed party registration in key states,” ivnus, independent voter network unfiltered news by independent authors, 2013. 14. “massachusetts registered voter enrollment: 1948-2012,” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, accessed june 25, 2014. 15. brent benson, “how democratic or republican is my town?” mass. numbers (blog), november 15, 2012. <http://massnumbers. blogspot.com/2012/11/how-democratic-or-republic-is-my-town. html>. 16. kimball w. brace, the election data book: a statistical portrait of voting in america, 1992. lanham, md, bernan, 1993. (450) 17. brent benson, “how democratic or republican is my town?” mass. numbers (blog), november 15, 2012. <http://massnumbers. blogspot.com/2012/11/how-democratic-or-republic-is-my-town. html>. 18. “massachusetts,” govtrack/civic impulse, accessed june 25, 2014. <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ma>. 19. kimball w. brace, the election data book: a statistical portrait of voting in america, 1992. lanham, md, bernan, 1993. (450). 20. donald p. haider-markel and michael a. card, political encyclopedia of u.s. states and regions, washington, d.c. cq, 2009. 21. james ciment, ed. immanuel ness, the encyclopedia of third parties in america, armonk, new york, sharpe reference, 2000, (319). 22. commonwealth of massachusetts, secretary of the commonwealthelections division, “return of votes for massachusetts state election,” william f. galvin. william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, november 4, 2014. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/rov14.pdf>. 23. ibid. 24. independent voting coalition, “what is cuip & independentvoting.org and what is its mission?” independentvoting.org, 2010, accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.independentvoting. org/about>. 25. commonwealth of massachusetts, secretary of the commonwealthelections division, “return of votes for massachusetts state election,” william f. galvin. william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, november 4, 2014. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/rov14.pdf>. 26. “1992 presidential general election results,” us election atlas, 1992. <http://uselectionatlas.org/results/national. php?year=1992>. 27. “perot says he’s close to decision,” los angeles daily news, april 17, 1992. <https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817& dat=19920416&id=ntqdaaaaibaj&sjid=kkueaaaaibaj&pg =5906,5196626&hl=en>. 28. personal interviews in discussion with author, june-july 2014. 89 neither red nor blue references associated press, “percentage of independent voters climbs in mass,” boston globe, february 27, 2012. http:// www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/02/27/percentage_of_independent_voters_ climbs_in_mass/. benson, brent. 2012. “how democratic or republican is my town?” mass. numbers (blog). november 15, 2012. accessed june 29, 2014. http://massnumbers.blogspot. com/2012/11/how-democratic-or-republic-is-my-town. html. brace, kimball w. the election data book: a statistical portrait of voting in america, 1992. lanham, md: bernan, 1993. ciment, james. the encyclopedia of third parties in america. edited by immanuel ness. armonk, ny: sharpe reference, 2000. commonwealth of massachusetts, secretary of the commonwealthelections division. “return of votes for massachusetts state election.” william f. galvin. william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts, november 4, 2014. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/rov14.pdf. gauthier, alex. “independents exceed party registration in key states.” ivnus. independent voter network unfiltered news by independent authors last modified 2013. accessed june 29, 2014. http://ivn.us/2013/06/18/independents-exceed-party-registration-in-5-states/. haider-markel, donald p., and michael a. card. political encyclopedia of u.s. states and regions. washington, d.c.: cq, 2009. independent voting coalition. “what is cuip & independentvoting.org and what is its mission?” independentvoting.org. last modified 2010. accessed june 25, 2014. http://www.independentvoting.org/about. jones, jeffrey m. “record-high 42% of americans identify as independents.” the gallup poll. last modified 2014. accessed january 8, 2014. http://www.gallup.com/ poll/166763/record-high-americans-identify-independents.aspx. “massachusetts.” govtrack/civic impulse. accessed june 25, 2014 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ ma. massachusetts coalition of independent voters. “who are we?,” macoiv. accessed june 29, 2014. http://www.macoiv.org/. “massachusetts directory of political parties and designations.” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts. accessed june 25, 2014 <http:// www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepar/paridx.htm>. “massachusetts registered voter enrollment: 1948-2012.” william francis galvin, secretary of the commonwealth of massachusetts. accessed june 25, 2014. <http://www.sec. state.ma.us/ele/eleenr/enridx.htm>. “perot says he’s close to decision.” los angeles daily news, april 17, 1992. https://news.google.com/newspaper s?nid=1817&dat=19920416&id=ntqdaaaaibaj&sjid=k kueaaaaibaj&pg=5906,5196626&hl=en. personal interviews in discussion with author, june-july 2014. phillips, frank. “for independents, a tough road to november.” the boston globe, september 25, 2014. http:// www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/09/25/for-independents-tough-road-november/mvv7loszvyre4obpyqpxzn/story.html. scharfenberg, david. “charlie baker pushes for independent votes.” the boston globe. november 3, 2014. http:// www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/03/charlie-bakersearching-for-independent-votes-final-day-campaigningfor-republican-candidate/vlvdgzccawrhq8janun4fp/ story.html#. “1992 presidential general election results.” us election atlas. last modified 1992. accessed april 27, 2015 http:// uselectionatlas.org/results/national.php?year=1992. 90 elements : : fall 2015 over the past decade, programs that prevent the vertical transmission of hiv from parents to their children have become widely accessible in india. despite this ostensible success, most indian women and their unborn babies do not utilize these programs, and therefore remain vulnerable to vertical transmission. this article explores this troubling phenomenon by highlighting the particular effect of hiv/ aids-related stigma on women who live in highly patriarchal societies. in these contexts, the effects of stigma become tangible rather than simply emotional. when stigma exists alongside gender inequality, these forces collude and become a structural barrier that keeps women from safely obtaining the treatment to prevent vertical transmission. this problem is double-pronged as negative attitudes from health care staff create prejudice and prompt patients to keep their health status a secret out of fear of judgement. attending to issues of stigma and gender injustice is a necessary step in the mission of holistically addressing the crisis of hiv/aids in india as well as the global community. inherited injustice stigma and gender discrimination as barriers to aids prevention in india catherine larrabee introduction every year, 49,000 women living with hiv in india become pregnant and give birth.1 these women are at a high risk of transmitting hiv to their babies while pregnant, during delivery, or through breastfeeding. their difficulties are compounded by the intense social stigmatization that they experience throughout their pregnancies, especially if they openly seek treatment in hopes of preventing transmission to their children. given how little agency women possess in the context of a patriarchal society, addressing the issues surrounding hiv-positive pregnancies is an urgent ethical and public health concern. the situation of a pregnant woman who is hiv-positive presents a unique opportunity in which a potential transmission can be immediately foreseen and prevented. despite this occasion, unaids maintains “there are currently few interventions being implemented to help women to remain hiv-free during pregnancy, breastfeeding and beyond. more effort is needed to address this gap.”2 as a result, hiv is still the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age.3 vertical transmission, the transmission of hiv from mother to child, is the largest source of hiv in children.4 socioeconomic disadvantages can further increase transmission risks, as “women in the poorest quintile are two to three times less likely than those in the richest households to have access to or to use these vital interventions.”5 as the gap report suggests, the quantitative lack of prevention of parent to child transmission (pptct) programs is one factor that limits access to care. however, the solution transcends simply creating more services. powerful cultural factors often preclude women from utilizing the programs that already are in place, and india is a society in which these cultural barriers are in full force. the case above is the introduction to a thorough study of the experience of hiv-positive women and their interaction with and attitudes toward pptct programs in the south indian state of tamil nadu. this case begins to illuminate the underlying cultural issues that prevent women from accessing pptct services. these social factors are symptomatic of an underlying problem that keeps women from utilizing pptct programs and predisposes them to hiv in the first place: the marginalization of women in patriarchal cultures. pptct programs and their limits in response to the problem of parent to child transmission, the most common solution has been the implementation of pptct programs. though these programs have proven to reduce transmission rates when utilized, societal stigma often limits their efficacy. around the world, wherever pptct programs exist and are utilized, they have been instrumental in reducing the rate of hiv transmission from mother to child (vertical transmission). in fact, effective pptct interventions reduce the risk of vertical transmission from 33% to 3%.6 these programs have had a positive global effect. according to the unaids gap report, “the rate of mother-tochild transmission [has fallen]—16% of children born to women living with hiv became infected compared to 25.8% in 2009.”7 consistent with this global trend, the pptct program implemented by the government of india has met many of its goals.8 by 2008, “4.61 million pregnant women were counseled and tested for hiv during their prenatal care in government maternity hospitals; 21,483 pregnant women were found to be hiv-positive; and 10,494 mother-baby pairs were given a single dose of nevirapine.”9 however, these promising figures hide the difficulties inherent in baiga woman and child in india (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 92 elements : : fall 2015 ensuring access to pptct programs. as cecilia van hollen notes, “while the government of india has made progress increasing the availability of prevention of mother-tochild transmission of hiv services, only about one quarter of pregnant women received an hiv test in 2010, and about one-in-five that were found positive for hiv received interventions to prevent vertical transmission of hiv”.10 despite the successes of pptct, the majority of hiv-positive pregnant women in india remain vulnerable to vertical transmission. in her case study, van hollen indicates that this gap could be caused by underlying cultural factors that stigmatize women with hiv/aids and therefore deter pregnant women from seeking treatment. when women publicly disclose their hiv status by participating in pptct, they face discrimination throughout their pregnancy and birth by the community, family members, and healthcare workers. this experience of stigmatization can be extremely isolating, and detracts from what little agency these women had to begin with. for this reason, pregnant women in india who fear discrimination might be less likely to seek out pptct programs and undergo hiv testing, therefore risking their own health, the health of their unborn child, and the health of the community. in light of these high stakes, it is necessary to examine the societal factors that facilitate such a decision. firstly, participation in pptct programs implies a risk of revealing one’s hiv-positive status to the community, and therefore a resulting risk of societal stigmatization and isolation. in many communities, those with hiv are labeled as “harijan or dalit (“untouchable” in the context of the historical indian caste system).”11 in the words of a nineteenyear-old indian mother, “i do not think it is advisable for the people infected with hiv/aids to tell others about their [hiv] status because if they do so they will be treated as untouchables. they will not be allowed to mingle with other people . . . they will not be allowed to speak to others. the food they prepare will not be touched by anybody; nor will they [community] give them food. they will not be allowed to touch others, sit with others, etc.”12 this mother’s advice stems from a concern for social flourishment and material wellbeing. a mother considering how she and her future child will fit into and thrive within the community will likely be deterred by the emotional and material detriment that could ensue if her hiv status becomes public. therefore, fears of community stigmatization become a legitimate factor that hinders women from pursuing the pptct services they need. pptct participation can also risk disclosure of women’s hiv status to her relatives, from whom hiv-positive women often experience blame and rejection. due to the intensely patriarchal kinship models common in india, females are already alienated within the context of the family. van hollen notes that an unintended effect of india’s pptct programs leads women to be diagnosed as hivpositive before their husbands, which “can have negative repercussions on the status of women within the extended patrilocal, patrilineal family structure, because women are accused of being promiscuous and are blamed for bringing hiv/aids into the family, thereby exacerbating preexisting gender inequalities.”13 as a result, the husband’s family may throw the wife out of the house and refuse to care for either her or her children.14 for an hiv-positive woman responsible for hiv-positive children in the context of a highly patriarchal society, this could be a death sentence. the potential consequences of a mother’s relatives discovering her hiv status are often enough to deter her from risking participation in a pptct program, even in light of the potential long-term benefits it could bring. lastly, women fear discrimination and maltreatment from healthcare workers when they opt for obstetric care through a pptct program as openly hiv-positive. medical employees that perform pptct services are often influenced by the same cultural stigmas about hiv that inform indian society as a whole. these prejudices are manifested in the report that “hiv-positive mothers had experienced refusal for treatment, abusive behavior, moral judgment and lack confidentiality by health staff.”15 one woman reports, “during the delivery, there were two nurses and they did not even touch me during delivery even “despite the successes of pptct, the majority of hivpositive pregnant women in india remain vulnerable to vertical transmission.” 93 inherited injustice when i was suffering from pain . . . even when i was bleeding they did not come to my help. they scolded my grandmother to wipe the blood, and they even did not touch my child.”16 in addition to being emotionally traumatizing and physically painful, this lack of intervention drastically increases the likelihood of poor quality of obstetric care and complications during childbirth. additionally, discrimination by health workers increases the chances of vertical hiv transmission, the very event pptct care is supposed to prevent. if this is the quality of care women risk when opting into pptct programs, it should come as no surprise when they decide to avoid the effects of discrimination and avoid hiv-specific services. these potentially deadly consequences associated with disclosing one’s hiv status deter pregnant women from seeking the resources they need to prevent vertical transmission. these examples indicate that the significance of stigma transcends the emotional realm. rather, the effects of societal stigma have concrete effects upon women known to be hiv-positive: they are rejected by their communities, cast out from their families, and discriminated against by health workers. these consequences disproportionally affect females in patriarchal communities, where women are already disenfranchised. in the words of an hiv-positive mother in tamil nadu, “society is more unkind to hiv-positive women.”17 understandably, women fear hiv-related stigma and try to avoid the risk pptcts pose to the confidentiality of their hiv status. given the patriarchal society in which women are already relegated to the margins, women rationally choose to avoid jeopardizing what little agency they have to begin with. however, public health consequences of this phenomenon are too dire to ignore. therefore, the barriers women face in accessing pptct programs must be examined and addressed at the cultural level. structural barriers to pptct access the barriers women face in accessing pptct programs illuminate the underlying cultural dynamics that prevent them from experiencing safe pregnancies, delivering healthy babies, and ultimately thriving as individuals. the realities of female life in india persist, regardless of what services are currently available to pregnant women. therefore, in order to truly prevent the transmission of hiv from mother to child, we must recognize the manifestations of structural violence in india that devalue and diminish the female experience. in order to effectively decrease the vertical transmission of hiv, we must first reconsider what factors put women at risk for contracting the virus in the first place. though married women are not typically considered a high-risk group by those working to combat aids in india, “a substantial proportion of new hiv infections are occurring among stable heterosexual couples.”18 this observation should serve as a red flag. it indicates that risk is correlated with a standard, “stable” element of the female experience in india, rather than deviation from social norms. furthermore, a study of pregnant women in western india suggests the following: “[a woman’s] hiv risk perception seems more influenced by her socio-demographic status and her couple relationship than by her level of hiv-related knowledge… the significant factors identified in this study point out to the fact that risk perception and hence risk reduction among pregnant women, and probably overall women within stable heterosexual couples, must go far beyond imparting knowledge about hiv and must address the more deep-rooted issues such as partner communication, domestic violence, alcoholism, and lack of education among women.”19 therefore, the factors that predispose women to hiv vulnerability are the same ones that decrease their quality of life, social status, and perceived value in society. unsurprisingly, these are also the effects of second-class citizena woman welcoming a female patient at a health clinic in india. smaller illustrations demonstrate the ways in which aids can be transmitted. (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 94 elements : : fall 2015 ship in a patriarchal society. therefore, working towards the general empowerment of women within indian communities will simultaneously work to prevent the spread of hiv/aids. progress in women’s empowerment will increase female agency in all areas of life, including the ability to pursue pptct services without fear of stigma and its effects. as demonstrated above, a substantial barrier to women’s pptct access is their fear of the devastating consequences that follow from beings labeled as hiv-positive. the devastation of these consequences is not inherent, but results from the relative lack of agency females in indian society have to cope with them. as gillian paterson reminds us, “it is the way we relate to each other that creates the conditions for transmission. we are actively welcoming aids when a person’s identity is defined in terms of how successful an adjunct she or he is to wishes of family and culture.”20 in light of this wisdom, it becomes clear that in order to decrease hiv transmission rates and increase access to pptct programs, we must adjust our definition of female identity and work to empower women in all aspects of life. moving forward: catholic duties the obstacles faced by pregnant women with hiv in india reveal the extent to which women struggle with discrimination, marginalization, and a lack of agency in their everyday lives. unfortunately, the availability of pptct programs cannot serve as a comprehensive solution for the issue at its root, no matter how effective they may be. as long as gender inequality exists, women will be systemically vulnerable insofar as acquiring hiv and transmitting the virus to their children. to ameliorate the issue in the long term, it is necessary to diminish the stigmatization of hiv and to promote gender justice. stigma and the status quo are powerful forces, but we are called as a global church to overcome them in hopes of bringing about justice. the first step is radical inclusion. gillian paterson reminds us that “the focus on stigma calls us to take a new look at the theological meaning of community … an hiv-friendly church is not just one where people with hiv are welcome: it is one where those who are most vulnerable to transmission (often rejected by ‘the world’) are also welcome.”21 christopher vogt notes how the gospels’ “insistence that there be no limit upon who is to be considered a “neighbor” and [jesus’s] example of repeatedly attempting to build bridges between marginalized persons and the rest of the community”22 challenge the church to stand up to stigma and social injustice. jesus healed the leper not for the sake of public health, but to relocate him from social isolation back into the community. we must accept the challenge of the gospel by working to eliminate oppressive and isolating conditions on earth, including hiv/aids. we must also accept the challenge by making an option for those who are most condemned by society, including pregnant, hiv-positive women in india. as the hands and feet of god on earth, we must take seriously the dignity of each human person by actively and radically relocating all isolated individuals into our communities. the more we accomplish this task, the closer the world will come to eliminating the risk of hiv/aids for all its people. 95 inherited injustice endnotes 1. rahangdale, lisa, et al. “stigma as experienced by women accessing prevention of parent-to-child transmission of hiv services in karnataka, india.” aids care 22.7 (2010): 836-42. 2. joint united nations programme on hiv/aids (unaids), the gap report, (2014), 234. 3. ibid., 232. 4. joshi, urvish, et al. “studying pptct services, interventions, coverage and utilization in india.” journal of global infectious diseases 3.4 (2011): 371-7. 5. gap report, 235. 6. joshi, 371. 7. gap report, 233. 8. the success of india’s pptct program is detailed on van hollen 53 (see note 9). 9. van hollen cecilia. birth in the age of aids women, reproduction and hiv/aids in india. palo alto: stanford up, 2013, 54. 10. madhivanan, purnima, et al. “hiv testing among pregnant women living with hiv in india: are private healthcare providers routinely violating women’s human rights?” bmc international health and human rights 14 (2014): 7. 11. rahangdale, 839. 12. ibid. 13. van hollen, 11. 14. rahangdale, 839. 15. subramaniyan, 2203. 16. rahangdale, 839. 17. van hollen, 104. 18. darak, shrinivas, et al. “hiv risk perception among pregnant women in western india: need for reducing vulnerabilities rather than improving knowledge!” aids care 26.6 (2014): 709. 19. darak, 712. 20. paterson, gillian, escaping the gender trap: unraveling the patriarchy in a time of aids, 106. 21. paterson, gillian, stigma in the context of development: a christian response to the hiv pandemic, progressio, (2009), 11. 22. vogt, christopher, recognizing the addict as neighbour: christian hospitality and the establishment of safe injection facilities in canada, theoforum 35 (2004), 322-23. references darak, shrinivas, et al. “hiv risk perception among pregnant women in western india: need for reducing vulnerabilities rather than improving knowledge!” aids care 26, no. 6 (2014): 709-15. joint united nations programme on hiv/aids (unaids), the gap report. 2014. joshi, urvish, et al. “studying pptct services, interventions, coverage and utilization in india.” journal of global infectious diseases 3, no. 4 (2011): 371-77. madhivanan, purnima, et al. “hiv testing among pregnant women living with hiv in india: are private healthcare providers routinely violating women’s human rights?” bmc international health and human rights 14 (2014): 7. paterson, gillian. “escaping the gender trap: unraveling the patriarchy in a time of aids.” concilium, 3 (2007). paterson, gillian. “stigma in the context of development: a christian response to the hiv pandemic.” progressio (2009). rahangdale, lisa, et al. “stigma as experienced by women accessing prevention of parent-to-child transmission of hiv services in karnataka, india.” aids care 22, no. 7 (2010): 836-42. doi: 10.1080/09540120903499212. subramaniyan, anbarasi, et al. “experiences of hiv positive mothers from rural south india during intra-natal period.” journal of clinical and diagnostic research: jcdr 7, no. 10 (2013): 2203. doi: 10.7860/jcdr/2013/5782.3471. van hollen, cecilia. birth in the age of aids women, reproduction and hiv/aids in india. palo alto: stanford university press, 2013. vogt, christopher. “recognizing the addict as neighbour: christian hospitality and the establishment of safe injection facilities in canada.” theoforum 35 (2004): 317-342. 96 elements : : fall 2015 evan goldstein graduated from boston college cum laude with a b.a. in theology and a minor in philosophy. this fall, he begins an m.a. in theology and ethics at union theological seminary, and hopes to pursue doctoral studies in the future. his research interests include questions of identity, such as race, gender, and sexuality, in theology, political theology, and re-evaluating jewish and christian traditions in light of developments in critical philosophical theories. author biographies catherine larrabee is a senior in the morrissey college of arts & sciences. she is majoring in theology and minoring in medical humanities. on campus, she is involved with the gabelli presidential scholars program, the women’s center, and the arrupe international immersion program. she has spent her summers working at haley house, studying spanish in costa rica, and interning at commonweal magazine. she is interested in social justice issues such as religion, gender, migration, and poverty, and hopes to continue studying these subjects in the future. doyle calhoun is a senior majoring in linguistics and french in the morrissey college of arts and sciences honors program. he has also studied at boston university’s editorial institute. his interests involve the history of linguistics, french missionary linguistics, and literary linguistics. investigation into the ways linguistic approaches to text can inform text-critical, interpretive, and editorial decisions continues to be a focus in his work. doyle works as a undergraduate research fellow for dr. margaret thomas. for his senior thesis research project, he will focus on a set of french missionary grammars from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. olivia mccaffrey is a junior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences majoring in international studies and minoring in french. she received an advanced study grant to examine the prevalence of independent voters in massachusetts, which is the topic of her article in this issue. she has completed an internship at the massachusetts state house and worked in the library of congress. olivia spent the summer of 2015 studying modernism in paris. she plays for the boston college symphony orchestra and has worked with high school students as a presenter for international outreach and a teacher for the bc splash program. allison schneider is a senior in the morrissey college of arts & sciences majoring in economics. she plans to continue in the carroll school of management after receiving her undergraduate studies to earn an m.b.a. with a concentration in finance. outside of her coursework in economics, allison has concentrated her efforts in the area of social justice and has been active in bc’s service learning pulse program. she also serves as the treasurer for the boston college chapter of omicron delta epsilon, a national economics honor society. maria vazquez was born in miami, fl and moved to quincy, ma when she was ten years old. maria, a first-generation college student, attends the university of california at santa barbara pursuing a doctorate in counseling psychology. her interests include identity development, the role of psychosocial stressors on mental health, and programs for low-income communities of color. at bc, she worked with the mcnair and community research programs, and completed research with professors in the lynch school of education. she was also an era peer advisor and facilitator and the president of the cuban-american student association. allyson tank grew up in long valley, nj. she studied biology at boston college, and was part of the morrissey college of arts and sciences honors program as well as the biology department honors program. through these programs, she had the opportunity to complete a senior thesis on her research project in dr. welkin johnson’s laboratory. outside of her research, she also enjoyed volunteering at brigham and women’s hospital and mt. alvernia elementary school. after graduation, she will be working for a year as a patient care coordinator at a local dermatology practice and beginning her applications for medical school. benjamin shapiro is a member of the carroll school of management class of 2016, double majoring in marketing and history. born in jamestown, new york, but raised in indian harbour beach, florida, benjamin became an avid student of american colonial and mercantile history after numerous childhood visits to the former spanish settlement of st. augustine, florida, and the former whaling town of nantucket, massachusetts. in the near future, benjamin hopes to finish his education at boston college and then work in the creative realm of the marketing and advertising field as a creative producer or ad copywriter, and eventually return to school to obtain his m.b.a. alec walker is a senior from new london, new hampshire. he studies history with a minor in german. he is particularly interested in german intellectual history as it relates to the conception and critique of human rights. after graduating in the spring of 2016, alec hopes to take a year or two away from school in order to study and teach abroad. after this time off, he aspires to enter a ph.d. program in history. list of artwork taxis in new york © wikimedia commons 12 14 17 33 35 43 45 73 75 76 2015 portland uber protest © wikimedia commons uber ridesharing insurance coverage © uber blog affirmative action march © wikimedia commons college quad © wikimedia commons 1968 hamburg lehrling demonstration © wikimedia commons german youth protesting © wikimedia commons kendrick lamar at way out west in august 2013 © wikimedia commons kendrick lamar at große freiheit 36, hamburg © wikimedia commons graffiti of jesus © wikimedia commons 27 formulation of linguistic rule (font) © adobe indesign cs5 94 92 baiga woman and child in india © wikimedia commons aids transmission illustration © wikimedia commons list of artwork the visit of the angel gabriel to the virgin mary © simone martini [public domain], via wikimedia commons 10 12 16 20 28 29 30 30 32 33 the egyptian revolution in tahrir square © maged helal, https://flic.kr/p/9kxifh, via flickr muhammad preaching to his followers © [public domain], via wikimedia commons free tunisia © wassim ben rhouma, free tunisa, https://flic.kr/p/9ek3fo, via flickr pallas athena, 1898 © gustav klimt [public domain], via wikimedia commons philosophy (destroyed), 1900 © gustav klimt [public domain], via wikimedia commons preparatory study for jurisprudence, 1897-98 © clark art institute, https://flic.kr/p/68s8qu, via flickr jurisprudence, 1903-1907 © gustav klimt [public domain], via wikimedia commons beethoven frieze (“the hostile powers”), 1902 © gustav klimt [public domain], via wikimedia commons the kiss for the whole world, 1902 © gustav klimt [public domain], via wikimedia commons 19 a protest in tunisia © amine ghrabi, https://flic.kr/p/bjxe8p, via flickr 39 36 ruins st john st finbar charleston south carolina 1865 © george n. barnard [public domain], via wikimedia commons freedmen’s schoolhouse burns in 1866 memphis riot © alfred rudolph waud, [public domain], via wikimedia commons a cartoon of freedman bureau harpers © alfred rudolph waud, [public domain], via wikimedia commons apollos © slices of light, icarus falls, https://flic.kr/p/6mz9ta, via flickr dionysus © sofi, sir joseph noel paton, “dionysus and sea nymphs”, https://flic.kr/p/dzzcvp, via flickr the 1686 copy of the life of st. ifnatius, founder of the society of jesus © violet caswell 84 orange is the new black logo © netflix company, jenji kohan (producer), jordan jacobs (art director) [public domain], via wikimedia commons screenshot of the video of rodney king’s beating © atomic hot links, los angele’s three day shoot, loot & scoot 1992 (rodney king beating) https://flic.kr/p/5k1eta, via flickr rodney king caricature © cass anaya, https://flic.kr/p/bglrcz, via flickr la riots caricature © atomic hot links, los angele’s three day shoot, loot & scoot 1992, https://flic.kr/p/5k1fr3, via flickr 40 50 50 70 78 86 91 calling for equality in the la riots © atomic hot links, los angele’s three day shoot, loot & scoot 1992 (man’s inhumanity to man), https:// flic.kr/p/5k5vhf, via flickr 93 list of artwork children gathered for a music lesson © admin [cc by 2.5], via wikimedia commons98 100 children learning to play the guitar © henk van mierlo, [cc by-sa 1.0], via wikimedia commons contents trial and error: the malleability of truth in the conviction of dmitri karamazov monica coscia contrasting truth and justice in dostoyevsky's the brothers karamzov 11 19 27 31 the point of payment: a comparison of commercial behaviors across regions kyle baranko investigating how informal systems of exchange perpetuate inequality in buenos aires, hanoi, and cape town averting the gaze: an anti-self-portrait of the disabled female body carly barnhardt reimagining traditional representations of disability in laura swanson's "peggy lee" brain circulation: a case study of high-skilled immigration from india samina gan, jordan mindlin, patrick sheerin, breck wills exploring the mutually beneficial nature of the h-1b visa program for both the united states and india 71 65 53 43 a pageant politicized: the rise of intersectional activism in 1968 haley cormier analyzing how print media contributed to the divide between the women’s liberation and black nationalism movements of the 1960s curb the thirst: efficacy of bottled water bans in reducing plastic waste elizabeth d'altrui analyzing the economic costs and benefits of bottled water consumption as well as policy options to disincentivize plastic use writing in a surveillance state: otherness in christa wolf’s what remains sabrina black discussing a totalitarian state's ability to alienate the artist in the context of east germany the road to a cure: characterization of a new hiv antibody zackary park et al. elucidating the properties of ll25x to further development of an effective hiv-aids vaccine 91 confronting cultural imperialism: limitations of secularization and western feminism in the muslim world emma howe challenging the applicability and universality of the "secularization thesis" author biographies list of artwork 105 110 no country for old men: an economic analysis of incarnated elderly caitlin sullivan exposing america’s inefficient incarnated elderly 81 this essay provides a rigorous and readable background to what is perhaps the most pressing geopolitical issue in twenty-first-century latin america: the humanitarian crisis under president nicolás maduro of the united socialist party of venezuela (psuv). to this end, it analyzes and connects three distinct political phenomena in venezuelan history whose interrelated development underpins the country’s current instability: puntofijismo (1958-1998), chavismo (1998-2013), and madurismo (2013-present). it first describes the collapse of puntofijismo, venezuela’s style of pacted democracy and its oil-dependent petro-state to contextualize the rise of hugo chávez’s political project in 1990 known as bolivarianism. the paper then considers chávez’s regime and how it continued and ruptured with puntofijismo through clientelism, exclusionary politics, and the creation of an illiberal hybrid regime. upon this foreground, the paper situates the current student protests, military repression, and humanitarian crisis under president maduro. using both english and spanish-language source material, this paper lays bare the current complex reality that is venezuela. the tipping point how decades of unrest culminated in the humanitarian crisis of venezuela today jorge mejia “today, venezuela is the sick man of latin america.”1 so observes moisés naím, distinguished fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace, regarding the humanitarian crisis in venezuela under current president nicolás maduro moros of the united socialist party of venezuela. the country’s crisis––distinguished by food shortages, political instability and hyperinflation, among other things––has garnered the attention of observers worldwide. but this rediscovery of venezuela does not mean that this situation was altogether unexpected. in fact, contemporary politics in venezuela are the culmination of longstanding regime characteristics that persist from venezuela’s transition to democracy in 1958. from 1958 to 1998, venezuela functioned as a pacted democracy (partidocracia) and oil-rich petro-state (petroestado)––an arrangement called puntofijismo. an oil bust in the early 1980s, however, undercut this system, while also opening a window of opportunity for a reformist political project to overhaul the regime with an alternative state ideology, administrative structure, and economic program––that of former president hugo chávez’s bolivarianism from 1998 to 2013. upon his death in 2013, chávez left behind a legacy of clientelism and exclusionary politics for his successor and current president of venezuela, nicolás maduro––a period of political repression known as madurismo. this backgrounder, however, shows that maduro’s autocratic rule was not unexpected. since the mid-twentieth century, venezuela has always changed in structure, but seldom in content. to talk about venezuela today is to first discuss the collapse of the system of public governance that characterized venezuela from 1958 to 1998: puntofijismo. daniel hellinger writes, “most of the recent works on venezuela concentrate on the collapse of the punto fijo system and on the character of chavismo and the bolivarian government.”2 venezuela’s transition from the military dictatorship of marco pérez jiménez to democracy arrived in 1958 after representatives of venezuela’s three main political parties––democratic action (ad), the social christian party (copei), and democratic republican union (urd)––signed a formal agreement to accept the results of the december 1958 presidential election of ad candidate rómulo betancourt. this “pacto de punto fijo” enshrined what political scientists term “consociational democracy,” a power-sharing arrangement whereby parties agreed to alternate the presidency, respect election results, equally apportion government agency positions, and prevent single-party hegemony.3 equally, it affirmed petroleum’s dominance in the economy. the resulting institutional arrangement is referred to as puntofijismo. puntofijista democracy had several important characteristics that contextualize the subsequent erosion of venezuelan democracy. scholars of venezuelan history have underscored two especially defining qualities––the notion of the “petro-state” and “partyarchy” (or pacted democracy). terry lynn karl is authoritative on the former with her 1997 book, the paradox of plenty. karl defines a petro-state as the distinctive type of institutional setting produced by an outsized dependence on petroleum revenue.4 petro-states such as venezuela are noted for their extractive and distributive state capacities. more importantly, s-uch reliance on non-productive and capital-intensive resources, more importantly, affects political arrangements. indeed, oil dependence influences social classes, regime types, state institutions, as well as the decision calculus of policymakers. regime type is especially subject to oil dependence due to the “symbiotic interaction between the…incentives created by the petro-state and a particular type of democracy.”5 the latter hints at the second aforesaid characteristic of puntofijista democracy: “partryarchy,” a coinage of michael coppedge in his 1997 book, strong parties and lame ducks.6 this refers to venezuela’s post-transition tradition of corporatist elite bargaining, intra-elite compromise, and economic conservatism in managing petroleum revenues and state-society relations.7 as hellinger notes about ad and copei’s talks at punto fijo, “the issue was not whether some type of system would be better…than democracy, but whether this particular democracy was delivering on the city of valencia, venezuela at sunset(courtesy of wikimedia commons) 22 elements : : spring 2018 the promise of ‘sowing the oil’ in a project of national development that would include all venezuelans.”8 from 1958 to 1979, venezuela’s petro-state and pacted democracy resulted in a system of consistent economic growth, strong political parties, and governability. during the 1980s, this stability began to erode. equally important, the events constituting this erosion explain the reason for which hugo chávez and his ideology of bolivarianismo (bolivarianism) successfully channeled this institutional anomie and social demand into a revolutionary political platform. in his 2002 article, “the decline and fall of democracy in venezuela,” daniel levine notes that the synergy between the dynamics of the petro-state and the machinations of pacted democracy reinforced certain systemic ills in venezuela, such as corruption, truncated political participation, corporatism, patronage, presidentialism, and bureaucratization. thomas friedman captures these ideas in his famous “first law of petropolitics,” which posits that the price of oil and the pace of freedom move in opposite directions in oil-rich states.9 indeed, in 1983, when oil prices dwindled, the stability of these arrangements weakened. several events followed that foreclosed the legitimacy of puntofijismo. among these is the caracazo, the caracas-based riots of february 27, 1989 in response to the government’s structural adjustment program. equally crucial were the attempted military coups of 1992 on february 4 (led by then-military lieutenant hugo chávez) and november 27, coupled with the december 1993 impeachment of former president carlos andrés pérez (who abandoned copei and won on an anti-party platform). levine explains the implications of these events for venezuela’s puntofijista democracy: at each of these points a key pillar of the system was undermined or removed: economic strength (black friday); social pacts, control, and civil order (27 february); a depoliticised and controlled military (4 february and 27 november); and unquestioned executive dominance and party hegemony (the destitution of pérez and the election of caldera). the nature of the crisis reflects the dimensions of decline: economic decay, political ossification and immobilism, and rising protest.10 evidently, the 1980s issued a terminus to venezuela’s puntofijista democracy. the qualities of petro-state and pacted democracy––economic growth, stability, governability, controlled organized social life, and military subordination to civilian rule––were no longer guaranteed. factionalism, social outcry from civil society, and polarization were underway. this collapse of puntofijismo ran parallel with the emergence of an alternative political project of special relevance to contemporary venezuela: hugo chávez’s bolivarianismo. to be precise, bolivarianism refers to the political thought embodied in the military movement called the movimiento revolucionario bolivariano (mrb), involved in the aforesaid coup d’état against president carlos andrés pérez in 1992. in his essay, “explaining political change in venezuela,” pedro sanoja observes, “the ideas of bolivarianism are derived from contradictions inherent to existing institutions, and can only be understood in relation to the values and practices embedded in them, which bolivarianism aimed to replace.”11 he is referring to the opportunities presented by the decay of the puntofijista institutional order. these opportunities include the inability of ad and copei in the corporatist pre-chávez institutional setting to placate social demands. this breakdown of social consensus is seen in the rise of civil society groups during the 1980s, such as human rights organizations, barrio (district) associations, local church groups, and insurgent unionism, all assuming an anti-establishment disposition.12 coincident with this social activism was party disaffiliation and competing political programs alongside chávez’s mrb, such as convergencia and causa r.13 this political opportunity is what laclau terms a “populist rupture.”14 hugo chávez’s ideology of bolivarianism successfully channeled this opportunity into a political project. sanoja provides a useful analysis of such ideology. chávez’s bolivaranism invokes the philosophies of figures from 19th century venezuela, specifically the “trinity” of the liberator, simón bolívar, his tutor, the pedagogue simón rodríguez and ezequiel zamora, a military leader during the independence wars (1810-1823). it also incorporates rousseauian notions of direct democracy, socialism, christianity and tercermundismo (“third worldism”).15these ideologies amount to an effective critique of puntofijismo.16 this project critically recognized civil society’s unifying plea–– “[t]he price of oil and the pace of freedom move in opposite directions in oil-rich states.” 23 the tipping point the overhaul of puntofijista democracy––by linking the venezuela of 1830 with the venezuela of 1990 so as to paint an unfinished manichean struggle for freedom. in short, chávez’s bolivarian ideology during the 1990s made strategic use of anti-puntofijista civil society demand. ultimately, bolivarianism––and its repudiation of pacted democracy––became institutionalized in december 1998, when hugo rafael chávez frías of the united socialist party of venezuela (psuv) became the democratically elected president of venezuela. hugo chávez’s fifteen-year-long administration (19982013) was distinguished by a reformist rupture with previous institutional arrangements, but also a continuity with past governance structures, norms, and practices. this duality, while seemingly contradictory, helps to situate contemporary venezuela within its prior development (e.g., pacted democracy and a rentier economy), but also account for contingencies (e.g., chávez’s 1999 constitutional reform and regime hybridity). this perspective, as will be shown, allows for a more complete understanding of the current humanitarian crisis in venezuela under president nicolás maduro. interestingly, chávez’s government shared several characteristics with the punto fijo system. according to julia buxton, “while the political crisis has been…portrayed as a new phenomenon that emerged as a result of chávez’s policy programme and style of government…the conflict has deep historical roots and…has been shaped by the legacy of political organisation in the pre-chávez era.” one such legacy or continuity is what buxton calls the “politics of exclusion.” she views the policies and social constituency of chávez and chavismo as a product of the state apparatus molded by the historically dominant parties (ad and copei)––of rent distribution, inter-elite compromise, restricted political choice, and oil dependence. indeed, puntofijista governance relied on restricted access to the state. venezuela’s “fourth republic” prevented the poor from organizational representation––the confederación de trabajadores de venezuela (ctv), for instance, concentrated welfare benefits among urban workers affiliated to democratic action.18 buxton asserts that chávez’s “fifth republic” while increasing electoral access to the politically disenfranchised such as afro-venezuelans, also excluded beneficiaries of the partidocracia such as urban elites. exclusionary politics, of course, is just one continuity from the pre-chávez era into the chávez era. other continuities under chávez’s regime relate to the economy. specifically, the nature of the venezuelan economy under chávez reflected the one that preceded it since the 1920s: the oil-dependent petro-state, which some scholars refer to as “rentier socialism.”19 the council on foreign relations reports that today, as under chávez, oil accounts for about 95 percent of venezuela’s export earnings.20 enjoying international prices of over $110 a barrel, while also never creating a reserve fund for future oil busts (as kuwait and norway have done), chávez continued rentier policies unabatedly. after dispatching 18,000 employees from petroléos de venezuela (pdvsa), the state’s oil company, in 2003, he initiated a number of misiones bolivarianas (“bolivarian missions”), social programs aiming to eradicate short-term social ills, such as misión mercal (fighting food scarcity) and misión barrio adentro (providing free preventative primary care in poor working-class neighborhoods).21 for that reason, buxton notes, “chávez is very much a symptom…of the political crisis in the country.”22 evidently, chávez’s regime partly continued the legacy of puntofijismo, such as the exclusionary politics and rentierism. however, chávez also departed considerably from puntofijismo in several ways. according to javier corrales in dragon in the tropics, chávez’s constitutional reforms constructed a “hybrid regime.”23 the first change chávez made in 1999 was to rewrite the 1961 constitution into the bolivarian constitution of venezuela (crbv).24 this document monumentally reorganized political life. it provided for recall referendums for public officials, replaced the bicameral legislature with a unicameral national asthe queue to enter the polling station in the presidential election of 2012 in venezuela (courtesy of wikimedia commons) 24 elements : : spring 2018 sembly, lengthened the presidential term to six years from four, and allowed for re-election of the president. these amendments, corrales argues, foreclosed pacted democracy in venezuela, allowing for increased access for the politically disempowered, but they also transformed the country into a hybrid regime. these are political systems that combine democratic traits (e.g., free elections) with autocratic ones (e.g., political repression).25 the 1999 constitution allowed for rousseauian council-based democracy, but also created a “high-stakes” political system that reduced checks and balances and centralized political leadership. the advantages of holding executive office were indeed heightened, but the cost of remaining in the antichavista opposition proved increasingly overwhelming because state resources were deployed to party loyalists. such clientelism or opportunistic social spending, corrales posits, results from increased political competition and declining institutional constraints, both of which were especially true after the failed 2004 recall referendum. corrales calls this, “crowding out the opposition.”26 ultimately, chávez’s death in march 5, 2013 would leave venezuela with a regime that not only reiterated features of thirty-year-long puntofijismo, such as the politics of exclusion and rentier socialism, but also produced contingent dynamics of its own, such as an illiberal and authoritarian hybrid regime. on april 19, 2013, current president of venezuela, nicolás maduro, inherited this complicated legacy. the vicious circles of pacted democracy and the petro-state have conditioned the calculus of maduro’s decision-making––what some latin american observers have termed madurismo.27 the petro-state’s statist, oil-centric, and rentier development continue to define venezuela’s economy. likewise, partidocracia furnished maduro’s government with selfsustaining practices, such as exclusionary politics, rentier socialism, and clientelism. but chavismo, while conditioned by ad and copei’s puntofijista legacy, introduced its own dynamics such as control of the media, manichean ideology, and the creation of a “high-stakes” political system such that the opposition is isolated. of course, the petro-state can never be divorced from its political sibling (puntofijismo, chavismo, or madurismo), especially when global oil prices crash, which they did in 2016 to $26 a barrel. this would again provide a new opportunity for a shift in venezuelan politics. as under chávez, this would be a shift not toward liberal democracy but toward illiberalism and, increasingly, autocratic rule. put this way, maduro’s current regime is the product of a decades-long combination of elite intentions, institutional legacies, and historical contingencies. of course, madurista governance is not just a replay of chavismo. unlike chávez, who used oil revenue to weaken oppositionists, maduro has used political repression in the face of diminished oil revenues and scant savings. since maduro’s narrow victory over mud (democratic unity roundtable) candidate henrique capriles in 2013, over 800 public protests have occurred in caracas, mostly led by students like gaby arellano from universidad de los andes. maduro has correspondingly purged opponents and employed military repression. moisés naím calls this venezuela’s “plan b: strip virtually all power from every institution it [has] lost control of,” namely the national assembly, where the opposition obtained two-thirds of the seats in 2015.28 in response, in 2017, maduro jailed the mayor of caracas (antonio ledezma) and fired both the minister of defense (diego molero) and the minister of the interior (miguel rodríguez torres).29 also, earlier in 2016, when the opposition requested a recall referendum, the loyalist-dominated supreme court cancelled the process. by march 2017, the supreme court nullified the national assembly.30 a joint communique issued by several venezuelan human rights ngos (such as todos por la libertad) reported a tally of over 400 political prisoners in december 2017.31 amnesty international reports that the military has been conducting arbitrary detentions and illegal raids.32 opposition leader lilian tintori frequently uploads videos to her instagram account (@liliantintori) featuring the police attacking protesters with bats, tear gas, water hoses, and marble pellets.33 in december 2017, maduro forbade certain opposition parties “the vicious circles of pacted democracy and the petrostate have conditioned the calculus of maduro’s decisionmaking––what some latin american observers have termed madurismo.” 25 the tipping point from participating in national elections. in short, maduro’s regime is distinguished by dictatorial, autocratic, and repressive one-man rule. but venezuela’s crisis is not just political and economic–– it is also, more importantly, humanitarian. poverty is now back to pre-chávez levels. infant mortality in 2016 increased 30 percent and maternal mortality 65 percent. malaria, previously eradicated, has reemerged. also in 2016, venezuela saw its highest-ever number of homicides: 28,479.34 juan maragall, secretary of education in the northern department of miranda, reveals that in the 201617 academic year, approximately 10,000 students (mostly of age twelve and up) have left school to start employment and provide parents with supplementary household income to purchase groceries and other household necessities.35 hundreds are now also fleeing to neighboring colombia. $196 billion in debt has prompted venezuela to seek aid from russia, as china’s sinopec in november 2017 sued pdvsa for $23.7b in unpaid loans.36 in december 2017, maduro initiated negotiations with opposition leaders in the dominican republic on a six-point agenda, including the release of political prisoners.37 the nephews of the first lady, efraín flores and franqui freitas, have been jailed in the u.s. on drug charges.38 the list of cataclysms under maduro are endless, but they all indicate one thing: madurismo is neither puntofijismo nor chavismo. it is a quintessentially new phenomenon that venezuela has never seen before. it is the latest chapter in the unraveling of a discredited pacted democracy, feeble petro-state, clamorous civil society, and hybridist chavismo. ultimately, venezuela is a country is crisis. such contemporary tumult, this backgrounder has shown, is rooted in, conditioned by, and inseparable from venezuela’s midtwentieth century history. this history is one of puntofijismo between ad and copei from 1958 to 1998, defined by two interrelated pillars: the petroestado (petro-state, an oildependent economy) and partidocracia (pacted democracy, a system of inter-elite bargaining). the former has rendered state-society relations in venezuela dependent on the extraction and distribution of oil rent; the latter has created restricted political participation, corporatist civil society, patronage, presidentialism, and bloated bureaucracies. what happened during the 1980s forewarned a forthcoming storm in venezuela––one of social demand, radical reform, and high political competition. when oil prices dwindled in 1983, civil society actors emerged calling for an overthrow of puntofijismo and its exclusionary politics, and hugo chávez’s movimiento revolucionario bolivariano (mrb) successfully channeled this demand into a democratically elected political project. this “bolivarian revolution,” however, proved just as exclusionary and clientelistic through misiones bolivarianas, while simultaneously creating an illiberal hybrid regime via his rewritten 1999 constitution. nicolás maduro has inherited this regime, but diminished oil revenues have caused him to become increasingly autocratic, purging political opponents, using military violence, isolating the country diplomatically, and engaging in drug trafficking. venezuela is at a tipping point. the time has come for transition–– to genuine democracy. endnotes 1. moisés naím, “venezuela’s democratic façade has completely crumbled,” carnegie endowment for international peace, last modified july 1, 2016, http://ceip.org/2kyz2ek 2. daniel hellinger, “hugo chávez and the bolivarian revolution in venezuela,” oxford university press, last modified may 28, 2013, http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/ obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0074.xml?rskey=96o mhp&result=1&q=venezuela+crisis#firstmatch 3. javier corrales, “strong societies, weak parties: regime change in cuba and venezuela in the 1950s and today,” latin american politics and society 43, no. 2 (2001): 81-114. 4. terry lynn karl, the paradox of plenty: oil booms and petrostates (berkeley: university of california press, 1997), 16. 5. ibid., 93. 6. michael coppedge, strong parties and lame ducks: presidential partyarchy and factionalism in venezuela (stanford: stanford university press, 1997). 7. pedro sanoja, “ideology, institutions and ideas: explaining political change in venezuela,” bulletin of latin american research 28, no. 3 (2009): 394-410. 8. daniel hellinger, “venezuelan oil: free gift of nature or wealth of a nation?” international journal 62, no. 1 (2007): 59. 9. thomas l. friedman, “the first law of petropolitics,” foreign policy, last modified october 16, 2009, http://foreignpolicy. com/2009/10/16/the-first-law-of-petropolitics/ 10. daniel h. levine, “the decline and fall of democracy in venezuela: ten theses,” bulletin of latin american research 21, no. 2 (2002): 251. 11. sanoja, “explaining political change in venezuela,” 394. 12. richard lapper, “venezuela and the rise of chávez: a background discussion paper,” council on foreign relations, last modified november 22, 2005, https://www.cfr.org/ backgrounder/venezuela-and-rise-chavez-backgrounddiscussion-paper 13. ronald chacín fuenmayor, “hacia una evaluación del pluralismo democrático en venezuela: los partidos políticos y las agrupaciones sociales en el periodo 1989-1993,” espacio abierto 10, no. 2 (2001). 14. ernesto laclau, on populist reason (london: verso, 2005). 26 elements : : spring 2018 15. barry cannon, hugo chávez and the bolivarian revolution: populism and democracy in a globalised age (oxford university press, 2009). 16. julia buxton, “venezuela’s contemporary political crisis in historical context,” bulletin of latin american research 24, no. 3 (2005): 339. 17. ibid., 328. 18. lapper, “a background discussion paper.” 19. margarita lópez maya, “venezuela: the political crisis of post-chavismo,” social justice 40, no. 4 (2014): 70. 20. danielle renwick, “venezuela in crisis,” council on foreign relations, last modified august 1, 2017, https://www.cfr.org/ backgrounder/venezuela-crisis 21. lacruz, tito, “la propuesta social del gobierno bolivariano: las misiones,” in una mirada sobre venezuela: reflexiones para construir una visión compartida (caracas: universidad católica andrés bello, 2006): 171-182. 22. buxton, “venezuela’s contemporary political crisis,” 346. 23. javier corrales and michael penfold-becerra, dragon in the tropics: hugo chávez and the political economy of revolution in venezuela (brookings institution press, 2011). 24. “constitución de la república bolivariana de venezuela,” organization of american states, last modified 1999, https:// www.oas.org/juridico/mla/sp/ven/sp_ven-int-const.html 25. jean francois gagne, “hybrid regimes,” oxford university press, last modified march 10, 2015, http://bit.ly/2bwnkqe 26. javier corrales and michael penfold-becerra, “venezuela: crowding out the opposition,” journal of democracy 18, no. 2 (2007): 99-113. 27. pedro benítez, “en venezuela muere el chavismo y ahora vive el madurismo,” alnavío, last modified nov 3, 2017, https:// alnavio.com/noticia/11875/firmas/en-venezuela-muere-elchavismo-y-ahora-vive-el-madurismo.html 28. naím, “venezuela’s democratic façade.” 29. benítez, “ahora vive el madurismo.” 30. dany bahar and harold trinkunas, “10 things you should know about the current crisis in venezuela,” brookings institution, last modified april 24, 2017, http://brook. gs/2qgnbv2 31. “ongs venezolanos resaltan la dramática situación de los presos politicos,” la patilla, december 15, 2017, http://bit. ly/2zgysfu 32. “venezuela 2016/2017,” amnesty international, last modified 2017, http://bit.ly/2jndj6q 33. lilian tintori’s official instagram account can be accessed online here: https://www.instagram.com/liliantintori/?hl=en 34. barrette janney and myroslav dobroshynskyi, “panel looks at origins and future of venezuela crisis,” the heights, last modified october 28, 2017, http://bcheights.com/2017/10/28/ panel-looks-origins-future-venezuelan-crisis/ 35. “tristemente en venezuela aumentan cifras por deserción escolar entre 2016-2017,” el político, last modified september 6, 2017, http://www.elpolitico.com/tristemente-en-venezuelaaumentan-cifras-por-desercion-escolar-entre-2016-2017/ 36. sherisse pham, “china sues venezuela’s oil company over unpaid bills,” cnn money, last modified december 7, 2017, http://cnnmon.ie/2bjgklp 37. valentín romero, “gobierno y oposción retomarán proceso de diálogo el 11 y 12 de enero,” el universal, last modified december 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2chjitw 38. “sobrinos de nicolás maduro fueron condenados a 18 años por narcotráfico,” semana, last modified december 14, 2017, http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/eeuu-sobrinosde-primera-dama-de-venezuela-condenados-a-18-anos-pornarcotrafico/550684 references bahar, dany and harold trinkunas. “10 things you should know about the current crisis in venezuela.” brookings institution. last modified april 24, 2017, http:// brook.gs/2qgnbv2 benítez, pedro. “en venezuela muere el chavismo y ahora vive el madurismo.” alnavío. last modified nov 3, 2017, https://alnavio.com/noticia/11875/firmas/en-venezuelamuere-el-chavismo-y-ahora-vive-el-madurismo.html buxton, julia. “venezuela’s contemporary political crisis in historical context.” bulletin of latin american research 24, no. 3 (2005): 328-347. cannon, barry. hugo chávez and the bolivarian revolution: populism and democracy in a globalised age. oxford university press, 2009. “constitución de la república bolivariana de venezuela.” organization of american states. last modified 1999, https://www.oas.org/juridico/mla/sp/ven/sp_ven-intconst.html corrales, javier. “strong societies, weak parties: regime change in cuba and venezuela in the 1950s and today.” latin american politics and society 43, no. 2 (2001): 81-114. corrales, javier, and michael penfold-becerra. dragon in the tropics: hugo chávez and the political economy of revolution in venezuela. brookings institution press, 2011. corrales, javier, and michael penfold-becerra. “venezuela: crowding out the opposition.” journal of democracy 18, no. 2 (2007): 99-113. fuenmayor, ronald chacín. “hacia una evaluación del 27 the tipping point pluralismo democrático en venezuela: los partidos políticos y las agrupaciones sociales en el periodo 1989-1993.” espacio abierto 10, no. 2 (2001). friedman, thomas l. “the first law of petropolitics.” foreign policy. last modified october 16, 2009, http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/16/the-first-law-of-petropolitics/ gagne, jean francois. “hybrid regimes.” oxford university press. last modified march 10, 2015, http://bit. ly/2bwnkqe hellinger, daniel. “venezuelan oil: free gift of nature or wealth of a nation?” international journal 62, no. 1 (2007): 55-67. hellinger, daniel. “hugo chávez and the bolivarian revolution in venezuela.” oxford university press. last modified may 28, 2013, http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/ v i e w / d o c u m e n t / o b o 9 7 8 0 1 9 9 7 6 6 5 8 1 / o b o 9780199766581-0074.xml?rskey=96omhp&result=1&q =venezuela+crisis#firstmatch janney, barrette and myroslav dobroshynskyi. “panel looks at origins and future of venezuela crisis.” the heights. last modified october 28, 2017, http://bcheights. com/2017/10/28/panel-looks-origins-future-venezuelancrisis/ karl, terry lynn. the paradox of plenty: oil booms and petro-states. berkely: university of california press, 1997. laclau, ernesto. on populist reason (london: verso, 2005). lacruz, tito. “la propuesta social del gobierno bolivariano: las misiones.” in una mirada sobre venezuela: reflexiones para construir una visión compartida, 171-182. caracas: universidad católica andrés bello, 2006. lapper, richard. “venezuela and the rise of chávez: a background discussion paper.” council on foreign relations. last modified november 22, 2005, http://on.cfr. org/2yj5v1k levine, daniel h. “the decline and fall of democracy in venezuela: ten theses.” bulletin of latin american research 21, no. 2 (2002): 248-269. maya, margarita lópez. “venezuela: the political crisis of post-chavismo.” social justice 40, no. 4 (2014): 68-87. naím, moisés. “venezuela’s democratic façade has completely crumbled.” carnegie endowment for international peace. last modified july 1, 2016, http://ceip.org/2kyz2ek “ongs venezolanos resaltan la dramática situación de los presos politicos.” la patilla. december 15, 2017, http://bit. ly/2zgysfu pham, sherisse. “china sues venezuela’s oil company over unpaid bills.” cnn money. last modified december 7, 2017, http://cnnmon.ie/2bjgklp renwick, danielle. “venezuela in crisis.” council on foreign relations. last modified august 1, 2017, https://www. cfr.org/backgrounder/venezuela-crisis romero, valentín. “gobierno y oposción retomarán proceso de diálogo el 11 y 12 de enero.” el universal. last modified december 15, 2017, http://bit.ly/2chjitw sanoja, pedro. “ideology, institutions and ideas: explaining political change in venezuela.” bulletin of latin american research 28, no. 3 (2009): 394-410. “sobrinos de nicolás maduro fueron condenados a 18 años por narcotráfico.” semana. last modified december 14, 2017, http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/eeuu-sobrinos-de-primera-dama-de-venezuela-condenados-a18-anos-por-narcotrafico/550684 “tristemente en venezuela aumentan cifras por deserción escolar entre 2016-2017.” el político. last modified september 6, 2017, http://www.elpolitico.com/tristementeen-venezuela-aumentan-cifras-por-desercion-escolar-entre-2016-2017/ “venezuela 2016/2017.” amnesty international. last modified 2017, http://bit.ly/2jndj6q 28 elements : : spring 2018 ! e l m e n t se "#! $!%&' &( "#! )!*(+, !"#$%&!'(&!"' &)$ $#*+,&!*" *&)$ .$""/ .0$%% ("1 &)$ $22(",$+ 3),03) 2,01$0% also featuring • the digital pandemic • the force on the front!"# $%&#'(')&$)!# '#*#)'+" ,-$'%). -/ 0-*!-% +-..#(#-. +/ ' 0 2 0 21 · 1 &* 2 % ! 1 7 · / -2 ! 1 !"##"$% #&'&(!(%& elements, the undergraduate research journal of boston college, showcases the varied research endeavors of fellow undergraduates to the greater academic community. by fostering intellectual curiosity and discussion, the journal strengthens and a)rms the community of undergraduate students at boston college. ! elements spring 2021 "#$%&' we would like to thank boston college, the institute for the liberal arts, and the o(ce of the dean for the college of arts and sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. )*!'"+,%' .,%"/+0*"+,%' if you have any questions, please contact the journal at bcurjelements@gmail.com. all submissions can also be sent to bcurjelements@gmail.com. visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. .,1!/ seymour, m. (2019, december 3). concrete buildings during foggy weather. unsplash. retrieved january 18, 2022, from https://unsplash. com/photos/3e5ckkho-x0. 2!/+,3+.+"4 elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. the information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by elements. the materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of elements or the boston college community. elements, undergraduate research journal, volume 17, issue ii, fall 2021 boston college, 140 commonwealth avenue, service building 103, chestnut hill, ma 02467 printed by eagleprint, 140 commonwealth avenue, chestnut hill, ma 02467 copyright © 2022 by the trustees of boston college !5!6!%"' '"$77 !"#$%&'-#(-)*#!+ ,#)*-!./-./%(# 0%-(()*%! ,-(-1#(1 !"#$%& &#.!2 ',#$* .-2%3$ !"#$%& "-(#!. )-# $&!-'3&!& ,-"!.#(! 4*-(1 *3,-(#$#!' 5-&#("!.-(!2 '%)#-. ')#!()!' 6 (-$3&-. ')#!()!' ,!.#'',-% +-)3.$2 -"7#'%& 0-'%( )-7-..-&# dear readers, the jesuit tradition and liberal arts education of boston college is often lauded as one of the most versatile and e8ective ways to cultivate critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and intellectual dexterity—among a vast array of other skills so desirable to employers and the world in general. and yet, we are asked time and again the same question facing many undergraduate student research journals: “beyond the educational benefit of practicing post-graduate work, where is the value in undergraduate research?” a perfectly valid response lies in the assertion that there is no well-defined chasm between inexperience and expertise that students leap across on the day of their graduation. rather, each student undergoes a gradual accumulation of knowledge which can be competently utilized in real-world applications at any point throughout their college education, and this process, when taken in consort with fresh perspective, can yield incredible results. taken further within the context of element’s environment, students exposed to the concept of cura personalis—literally “care for the whole person”—likewise have the capability to inquire intellectually, to search for the truth in all things, and to passionately use their knowledge in service to others. indeed, the research present in this issue demonstrates the well-rounded intellect of its authors who, through careful analysis, o8er enriched interpretations of— and in some cases potential solutions to—some of the most pertinent is sues of our time. in our cover article, “‘the demon of belfry’: the penny press, the emmanual church murders, and gilded age sexuality”, sean stebbins delves into the changing perspectives on sexuality in the nineteenth century documented in the news coverage of the emmanuel baptist church murders during the gilded age. in the attempt to find reason for the gruesome details and motivations of the murders, the press demonstrated how media can have a profound impact on the cultural perceptions of the time. our first feature article “ireland re-imagined: irish commemoration during the decade of centenaries” by czar sepe reviews how the decade of centenaries comprises the di8ering recollections of ireland’s history from various communities of people and a modern response to those historical narratives from the irish government. this story shows how the personalized values of history are influenced by how it is recorded in time. will riherd’s article “neuromorphic computing” brings to light a new concept in technology that is inspired by the human brain. this innovative restructuring of computer operations illustrates the potential of interdisciplinary solutions in the future. the article “wrestling with giants: antitrust measures in the technology sector” by luc riordan analyzes the current economic and political interplay in the trend toward monopolization in the technology industry and the need to evaluate the extent to which these companies can operate under law. in caroline cohen’s article “nutrition’s mitigating e8ects on the pathogenesis of alzeimer’s disease,” she details the physical e8ects that food can have on the brain and how a balanced diet with a focus on antioxidants and n-3 fatty acids can support long-term brain health. additionally, the issue contains daniel fu’s “trump’s china containment strategy” that scrutinizes president donald trump’s approach to china’s growing presence on the global stage and the ongoing necessity for attention by future leaders. and lastly siobhan pender’s “the force on the front” probes the anti-semitic motivations of the police force that aligned with the growing christian front in brooklyn, new york from 1938 to 1940. pender identifies the consequences of action and inaction by those who take on leadership roles in law enforcement. the range of perspectives and topics in this issue serve to highlight the vast and unique society that we live in. whether it struggles to define the boundaries of the technology industry or document the complex relationships and tensions in history, society has been challenged to think more about the issues deeply embedded and engrained in our system. these articles provide a well-written and well-crafted deep examination of these issues; an introspective challenge that requires us to understand the roles of aspects in our society that create these issues. this edition of elements is a nod to those that want to illuminate and bring forth the di(cult assumptions in our society; ones that through shared understanding can create constructive discourse. happy reading! sincerely, michaela balboni, joanna choe editors in chief !3+",/’' %,"! .,%"!%"' ireland re!imagined czar sepe grasping historical perceptions for the decade of centenaries 10 28 42 50 56 the digital pandemic ryan cattich averting negative externalities of disinformation through platforms neuromorphic computing will riherd explaining how projected snn training will largely impact our interactions with technology the demon of belfry sean stebbins investingating the evolution of the penny press and the emmanuel church murders wrestling with giants luc riordan probing the pertinence of antitrust law for big techs author biographies list of artwork 86 79 65 94 99 food for thought caroline cohen researching nutrition’s mitigating e8ects on the pathogenesis of alzheimer’s disease the continuing containment daniel fu evaluating the trump administration’s china containment strategy on eastern regions and beyond the force on the front siobhan pender analyzing the police sympathy for the christian front movement in brooklyn from 1938-1940 !"#$%&'’( '#)%'# *+ )#&,#&%"!#( (2012-2022) )*--#-*"%,#( .!(,*"!)%$ -!$#(,*&#( ,.%, $#' ,* ,.# )*/&,"0’( !&'#1#&'#&)# +"*2"#%, 3"!,%!& %&' ,.# )"#%,!*& *+ ,.# "#1/3$!) *+ !"#$%&'. .*4#5#", (!&)# ,.# %'5#&, *+ ,.# !"!(. &%,!*&, !,( .!(,*"0 .%( %$4%0( 3##& % )*&,#(,#' (1%)#— 4.#"# *11*(!&2 1*$!,!)%$, (*)!%$, %&' )/$,/"%$ 2"*/1( &#2*,!%,# 3#,4##& .!(,*"!)%$ &%""%,!5#(—,* $%0 )$%!,* % ‘,"/#’ !"!(. .!(,*"0. ,.!( 1%1#" 1"#(#&,( ,.# )*-1#,!&2 .!(,*"!*2"%1.!#( !&5*$5#' !& ,.# !"!(. 2*5#"&-#&,’( '#)%'# *+ )#&,#&%"!#( %&' !'#&,!+!#( ,.# (*)!*-1*$!,!)%$ %2#&'% 3#.!&' (,%,# )*--#-*"%,!*&(. % .!(,*"!)%$ %&%$0(!( *+ ,.# )*--#-*"%,!*&( ,.%, ,**6 1$%)# !& ,.# 2010( 1"*5#( ,.%, (*)!*-1*$!,!)%$ )*&(!'#"%,!*&( +%),*"#' !& ,.# 4%0 !"#$%&'’( +*/&'!&2 4%( 1*","%0#' 30 ,.# 2*5#"&-#&,, ,.# 1/3$!), %&' )!5!$ (*)!#,0. *5#"%$$, ,.!( 1%1#" )*&)$/'#( ,.%, ,.# !"!(. 2*5#"&-#&,’( ).!#+ %!-( 4#"# ,* (,"!6# % )*&)!$!%,*"0 ,*&# 4!,. &*",.#"& !"#$%&', ‘)"*4'-*/,’ *11*(!&2 .!(,*"!)%$ &%""%,!5#(, %&' 1"*7#), !"#$%&'’( #)*&*-!) 1"*2"#(( ,."*/2. ,.# !"!(. 1"*)$%-%,!*&. &#5#",.#$#((, %)%'#-!) .!(,*"!%&( %&' ,.# 1/3$!) !&,#"5#&#' !& ,.!( &#2*,!%,!*& ,* )"#%,# "#-!-%2!&#' .!(,*"!#( *+ !"#$%&'. !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' grasping historical perceptions for the decade of centenaries )8%" (#1# “it is apparent that commemoration is intrinsically linked with the past. nevertheless, commemoration is manifested in the present, and is subject to a society’s values, whether it is nineteenth-century nation-building or twenty-first century traumatic healing.” ireland’s ‘decade of centenaries’ (doc) can be characterized as a negotiation between competing historical interpretations and present socio-political concerns. in particular, themes of inclusion, transnationalism, and intersectionality colored commemoration events. to further explore this, the paper will provide the conceptual framework of a ‘negotiation’ of historical memory. then, it will analyze the doc expert advisory group’s mission, the first world war and easter rising commemorations, the online platform century ireland, and the #wakethefeminist movement. overall, the irish government brought certain needs to the negotiating table: (1) a conciliatory tone with northern ireland (ni), (2) a ‘crowding-out’ of opposing historical narratives, and (3) a projection of ireland’s progress in relation to the irish proclamation. in the end, the government was somewhat successful in this negotiation. with the intervention of academic historians and the public, the doc accommodated ‘re-imagined’ histories of ireland, outside of the state’s initial scope. in order to delve into the doc commemorations, it is essential to provide a conceptual schema for commemoration as a negotiation between historical narratives and current socio-political needs. pierre nora challenges the traditional separation between history and memory by proposing lieux de mémoire. such crossover spaces include commemoration, in which both “memory attaches itself to sites,” while “history attaches itself to events” (nora, 1989). further, eric hobsbawm comments on the rise of state commemoration during the nineteenth-century, as “…rulers…rediscovered the importance of ‘irrational’ elements in the maintenance of the social fabric…” of newly formed nation-states (hobsbawn, 1983). accordingly, this topdown concept is challenged in the twenty-first century, considering the idea of historical victimhood, which guy beiner notes that “…public remembrance of victims tend to be exclusive and monopolistic, denying the trauma of others and ranking one’s own su8ering above theirs” (beiner, 2007). it is apparent that commemoration is intrinsically linked with the past. nevertheless, commemoration is manifested in the present, and is subject to a society’s values, whether it be nineteenth-century nation-building or twenty-first century traumatic healing. what is unique to today’s notion of commemoration is that it can no longer be imposed solely by the state, rather, a dialogue must take place between historical memories throughout a broad spectrum of society. politics must be considered in the irish context because “…commemorative rituals have become historical forces in their own right” (mcbride, 2001). as this ‘lieux’ is limited because of financial constraints, physical space, and public will, a society must prioritize what is and is not remembered. therefore, commemoration becomes a multi-faceted negotiation between di8ering historical narratives on one hand and di8ering socio-political interests on the other. from this viewpoint, the expert advisory group (eag) was tasked to navigate the centenary of ireland’s foundational years. in 2012, the doc programme was launched, designed to be “…broad and inclusive, highlighting the economic and social conditions of the period, [and] the shifts in cultural norms and the experience of the irish abroad” (decade of centenaries, 2020). a year earlier, the eag was established to advise the government on how to approach the decade, chaired by dr. maurice manning. it is noteworthy that a respected irish academic and politician was appointed to this role. the eag, supplementing the doc’s statements, argued that “commemoration will be measured and reflective, and will be informed by a full acknowledgement of the complexity of historical events and their legacy…” and “…of the multiple identities and traditions which are part of the irish historical experience” (department of culture, heritage, and the gaeltacht, 2015). this spirit of inclusion is molded by past commemorations of the 1916 easter rising, most notably the fiftieth anniversary of the rising in 1966, which will be discussed later. moreover, attempts to create a shared history come in the aftermath of the 1998 good friday agreement, in 12 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 which there came a strong imperative to maintain peace on the island. this is reflected in northern ireland’s approach to the decade, in which paul mullan explains that “by embracing the nuances and complexity of past events, a new understanding can emerge that may help mitigate the potential for further conflict” (mullan, 2018). clearly, the notion of inclusion, as well as transnationalism and intersectionality in public commemoration, arose as a result of a fear of conflict and ireland’s past experiences with historical commemoration. was the doc successful in orchestrating their expressed goals? a marker of the doc’s success in tackling the issues of inclusion and transnationalism is the commemoration of the first world war and leading up to the battle of the somme in 2016. until the beginning of the twenty-first century, the war was overlooked by irish society, in what historian f.x. martin decried as a ‘national amnesia.’ however, keith je8ery focuses on contemporary trends in first world war commemoration, such as the fact that it “…began to be drawn into a wider, more general commemoration of all irish people who had died for war,” rather than a unionist-dominated narrative prevalent in recent history (je8ery, 2013). the war, through the unionist lens, legitimized ni’s place in the british empire. with its ultimate sacrifice at the battle of the somme, ulster unionists incorporated first world war commemoration as a key part of their heritage. meanwhile, northern irish nationalists viewed the war with contempt because of unionism’s fervent embrace of it. during the ‘troubles’—a thirty-year sectarian conflict in northern ireland pitting protestant unionists against catholic nationalists—these antipathies were heightened so much so that remembrance day was a target for provisional ira attacks, namely the 1987 enniskillen bombing. though some loyalists sco8 at the ‘greening’ of great war history, both irish and northern irish state o(cials embarked on a transnational e8ort to paint a reconciliatory picture. first, it started with joint commemorations in continental battlefields, like in messines in 2014, which “… demonstrated the power of using foreign locations as ‘safe’ spaces for irish first world war commemoration,” as catriona pennell contends (pennell, 2017). placed in a broader european historical context, the republic can better grapple with its role in the war. irish president michael d. higgins, in an interview on rté news, notes the republic’s duty is to “be able to take all of the experience of its citizens into account” (century ireland, 2014). ireland’s participation in the events is premised in the wider european context and in the inclusion of all irish people. as for the irish, “there has been an unprecedented and sustained public engagement…” as “…a way of dealing with the instability of the present and future” (pennell, 2017). by the 2010s, the public welcomed the new consensus of ‘re-discovery’ and reconciliation as a new historical motif that colored public commemoration. in e8ect, this phenomenon cannot be explained wholly by a ‘top-down’ theory of commemoration but also with a give-and-take between levels of society. indeed, this sense of shared loss culminated in the state commemorations of the battle of the somme on 10 july 2016. in the republic’s state ceremony at islandbridge, all irish regimental flags, including the 36th ulster division, were displayed. in addition, representatives of the northern irish government, like the secretary of state and the deputy first minister, laid wreaths representing both unionist and nationalist traditions. in belfast city hall, the irish minister for social protection laid a wreath at the cenotaph on behalf of the irish government (century ireland, 2016). the reciprocity of representation signals the island’s attempt to reinforce the inclusive narrative of a shared loss, in which all can relate to the horror of the somme’s carnage. james evershed, on the other hand, posits that “the ‘sharedness’ of the irish government’s "#$ %&""'$ () "#$ *(++$ ,(+-,: "#$ *"(./ () 0-'''-&+ +,)&12$&3 13 !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' approach to commemoration…has not engender[ed] any meaningful reflection on the violence of [britain’s] imperial heritage…” (evershed, 2019). this critique is not unfounded. for example, the creative centenaries graphic novel, the battle of the somme, depicts the heroism of billy mcfadzean in the trenches. supported by the northern ireland department of culture, arts and leisure, the graphic novel focuses on ulster’s pride and hints at the triumphalist tone that both states supposedly sought to dampen this time around. thus, the concept of a shared historical loss shone through in first world war commemorations, following the eag’s inclusive and globalized vision, and a brokered consensus between the republic and northern ireland on historical reconciliation was widely accepted. after the first world war commemorations, the doc reached its peak with its remembrance of the 1916 easter rising and the irish republic’s proclamation. there are two inherent historical issues with the commemoration of the rising; (1) it was orchestrated in direct opposition to the united kingdom, of which northern ireland is still part of, and (2) that it was an undemocratic, violent rebellion that ultimately achieved its goal of independence, which violates today’s political norms. nonetheless, the rising is central to the irish state’s founding narrative. in this regard, how will the doc programme adhere to its core tenets of inclusivity, intersectionality, and transnationalism? rising commemoration has been marred by allegations that they were partisan in the past. for instance, the rising’s fiftieth anniversary in 1966 was commemorated in a patriotic, militarized manner. the highlypoliticized events linked irish president éamon de valera, the last surviving rising leader, with his government as they wished to cement their legacy as the bearer of irish independence. some even argue that the commemorations stirred the forces that would cause the troubles a few years later. the southern government chose to forgo o(cial commemoration during the late-twentieth century until the ninetieth anniversary in 2006—eight years after the good friday agreement. hence, there were credible concerns about commemorating the centenary of easter 1916. from the onset, the eag unequivocally stated that although they outlined a commemoration based on a multiplicity of traditions and identities, “…the state should not be expected to be neutral about its own existence” (department of culture, heritage, and the gaeltacht, 2015). the group acknowledged that there is a limit to the principles of inclusion, especially to the events of the rising. though it may be a noble attempt to de-politicize the rising, the eag soon came under government pressure to integrate the peace process into commemorations. according to the irish times, the advisory committee “…‘point blank’ refused a government request to use the northern ireland peace process as a frame of reference” (mcgreevy, 2016). however, roisín higgins attests to the innate politics of rising commemorations, as “easter 1916 came to represent a moment of possibility against which all subsequent realities could be measured or on which they could be blamed” (higgins, 2016). for their part, the eag’s resistance to the political interventions still did not prevent the government, nor other political actors from bringing commemoration to the bargaining table. of course, higgins’ insight on the ideas proclaimed during the rising as a ‘measuring-stick’ of progress is evident throughout several aspects of the doc. in particular, rté’s dramatic production of “centenary the proclamation” projected what seems to be an accomplishment of the ideas enshrined in the document, showcasing the irish people’s diversity and the diaspora community. beginning with the unfurling of the tricolor by two descendants of leaders in the rising, the video pans into the scenic countryside and lush farmland of the island. as di8erent people read parts of the proclamation, one notices the wide-ranging locations of the people reading it. there is certainly no coincidence that a man with an american accent, who is assumed to be irish-american, reads “…and supported by her exiled children in america…”(rté-ireland’s national public service media). in essence, higgins’ analysis strikes at the heart of why so many resources were a8orded to the easter rising commemoration. for the state, remembering the easter rising meant remembering how far ireland has come since its foundation and in the realization of its ideals. portraying a progressive, prosperous nation able to “for the state, remembering the easter rising was meant to remember how far ireland has come since its foundation, in the realization of its ideals.” 14 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 embrace its history and heritage, the irish government was keen on underscoring the doc’s tenets of inclusivity, transnationalism, and intersectionality. in northern ireland, the rising commemorations were not as simple and proved to be a complicated negotiation between competing political actors. as demonstrated in the first world war commemorations, both the republic and ni were committed to what john brewer describes as “ethical remembering,” based on “truth, tolerance and trajectory” (brewer, 2016). this is hard to do for the rising in ni, especially for unionists, because the event’s meaning is against the rationale behind the formation of the northern irish state. alvin jackson contextualizes the unionist historical interpretation, concluding that the rising “…was not just about the safely distant history of the neighbouring state, it was also interlinked with the contemporary history and experience of northern ireland,” although this was not always the case (jackson, 2018). this is why unionists have more trouble acknowledging the event, as “…they feel that honoring the sacrifices of the ‘martyrs’ of the rising could, in fact, signal some agreement with their aim of extricating all of ireland from the united kingdom” (hancock, 2019). on the other hand, sinn féin—the leading republican political party—is not exempt from scrutiny, as landon hancock points out that they “…tried to use their willingness to acknowledge [the somme] as a platform to insist upon unionist recognition of the importance of the easter rising…” (hancock, 2019). thus, the ni republican movement e8ectively pin unionists against a wall when they could claim that their unionist counterparts are not holding up to the parity of esteem—their end of the bargain. meanwhile, northern irish minority republican groups created their own commemorative spaces to rea(rm their legitimacy as the “true” heir to easter 1916. brendan ciarán browne shares incredible insight on the republican groups’ divergent rising commemorative practices, which is surprising for an event that seemed to unify the republican cause. as an example, he accounts of the groups’ choreographed dance in the belfast republican cemetery. interestingly, “…rather than have any ‘official’ discussion between group hierarchies…the events are organised in deference to the historical precedent set in previous years” (browne, 2016). one can view this as a gentleman’s agreement with the ultimate aim of “…embedding an historical narrative and about keeping the unique and distinct republican politics of the individual groups alive in the public arena” (browne, 2016). this is the identity-rea(rming element of commemoration, pivotal to these marginalized groups’ sense of solidarity. there is no need for understanding the other side when nationalist commemoration is the lifeblood of these political groups. in this case, republican actors were crowded out of commemoration by the state, so they negotiated a partition of alternative commemorative space amongst themselves. although the doc was a complicated a8air in the irish and northern irish political spheres, the decade accomplished great strides in an intersectional and interdisciplinary study of irish history, whether from statesponsored events or grassroots activism. century ireland, formed in conjunction with boston college, rté, and the )-45.$ 2: 6.(,'&+&"-(3 () "#$ -.-*# .$65%'-, 15 !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' irish government, provided an innovative tool in irish history’s public engagement. this approach towards digital history “[tried] to capture the full extent of how lives were lived in ireland those years and not simply give the narrative of the major political and military happenings,” as mike cronin explains (cronin, 2017). the website o8ers podcasts, video interviews, archival photos, and its signature weekly newspaper, which reports on the week’s events from a century ago (century ireland, 2020). lauded by the government and cultural organizations, century ireland received a warm reception by the irish public, as deep interest in “every day” history during this period was cultivated. remarkably, this project demonstrates an acute awareness of its own historical significance, that “it will undoubtedly be seen as a product of its time, but one that o8ers…a contemporary record of commemoration” (cronin, 2017). another example of the doc’s intersectional approach is its initial failure to be adequately intersectional, as highlighted by the #wakingthefeminists (#wtf) movement. after the abbey theatre’s 2016 “waking the nation” repertoire featured only male irish playwrights, a grassroots campaign mobilized to protest the lack of representation of women in irish arts in general. a resurgence of irish feminism in culture took hold as #wtf organizers successfully forced a nationwide reconsideration of women’s role in irish society. how can the doc, trumpeting inclusive thematic histories, be so blind to the fact that its own advisory group is made up of a disproportionate number of men? oona frawley explains this phenomenon through irish academia’s proclivity for “oblivious remembering,” which “…lacks awareness of or dismisses the systemic biases present in its institutional and/or o(cial approaches to the past” (frawley, 2021). as a result of this pushback, irish institutions introspectively looked at its governing structures, ultimately increasing the number of women in decision-making positions, including in the eag. on the whole, this bottom-up e8ort pushed state-sponsored commemoration to democratize and better represent the irish experience, to the benefit of a more nuanced understanding founded upon the irish proclamation’s notion of equality—of “irishmen and irishwomen.” lastly, the popularization of public historical engagement during the doc should be embraced by historians, who serve as the sentinels for good history. diarmaid ferriter, an eag committee member, viewed “…that in relation to commemoration, ‘we [the eag] have a duty to prevent hijacking by the government or anyone else’” (ferriter, 2018). in his opinion, historians are not mere fact-checkers, they also carry ethical obligations to maintain integrity. however, dominic bryan adamantly disagrees with ferriter’s claims, saying that “the danger of using commemoration as a moment for historical engagement is that you collude with a statement of political identity…” (bryan, 2016). instead, he argues that social scientists, like anthropologists and political scientists, better explain commemoration. unfortunately, bryan’s picture of history is outdated and generalized, rooted in the nineteenth-century historical method. contemporary academic history is specialized, with themes of labor, cultural, and gender history emerging as proper historical spheres. in addition, irish public historians have demonstrated a consistent commitment to “…create about a meaningful and considered state programme…” and “…to highlight and expose political abuses of the commemorations…,” which drastically contrasts with bryan’s simple characterizations (ferriter, 2018). after all, it would not be fair to base criticism of modern anthropology on its imperialistic, racist origins. on the contrary, public historians must be at the forefront of commemoration, serving as sentinels against propaganda. it must be understood that “public commemoration is futile unless driven by the conviction that it will bring social dividends…,” or, simply put, that history cannot be apolitical (fitzpatrick, 2013). even so, this should not deter historians from supporting or critiquing events publicly. the doc has renewed public interest in irish history, and local communities took the lead in most ceremonies. this democratized history, aided by increased open access to archival material, has made history personal for many. given this public platform, historians have a moral duty in twenty-first century commemoration to mold a historically-educated society. 16 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 professional historians, therefore, should provide the contextual roadmap for the public’s understanding of the centenary so that people can be guided in their historical pursuits. given this public platform, historians have a moral duty in twenty-first century commemoration to mold a historically educated society. in conclusion, the decade of centenaries has been a negotiation between varying historiographies and multiple socio-political actors. the first half of the decade has proven that public commemoration conforms to present irish values, namely, an emphasis on inclusion, intersectionality, and transnationalism. its multi-faceted approach, encompassing irish culture and transnationality brings nuance to irish history. the doc, at times, failed to reflect its aspirations accurately, but the historians and the people pushed back and won. nevertheless, the doc has benefitted ireland, not because irish history has been re-examined or re-discovered but because it has been re-imagined. /!7!/!%.!' ‘about century ireland’, century ireland; https://www.rte. ie/centuryireland/index.php/about-century-ireland/. last checked 29 april 2020. guy beiner, between trauma and triumphalism: the easter rising, the somme, and the crux of deep memory in modern ireland’ in journal of british studies, 46, no. 2 (2007), pp. 366-89. david w. blight, ‘the memory boom: why and why now?’ in pascal boyer and james v. wertsch (eds.), memory in mind and culture (new york, 2009), pp. 238-51. john brewer, ‘how to mark the easter rising in northern ireland’, the conversation, 5 april 2016. brendan ciarán browne, ‘choreographed segregation: irish republican commemoration of the 1916 easter rising in ‘post-conflict’ belfast’ in irish political studies, 31, no. 1 (2016), pp. 101-21. dominic bryan, ‘ritual, identity and nation: when the historian becomes the high priest of commemoration’ in richard s. grayson and fearghal mcgarry (eds.), remembering 1916: the easter rising, the somme and the politics of memory in ireland (cambridge, 2016), pp. 2442. mike cronin, ‘irish history online and in real time: century ireland and the decade of centenaries’ in éire-ireland, 52, no. 1&2 (2017), pp. 269-84. ‘decade of centenaries’, department of culture, heritage and the gaeltacht; https://www.decadeofcentenaries.com/ about/. last checked 27 april 2020. jonathan evershed, ‘a war that stopped a war? the necropolitics of (northern) ireland’s first world war centenary’ in global discourse, 9, no. 3 (2019), pp. 537-56. diarmaid ferriter, ‘1916 in 2016: personal reflections of an irish historian’ in irish historical studies, 42, no. 161 (2018), pp. 161-74. david fitzpatrick, ‘historians and the commemoration of irish conflicts, 1912-23’ in john horne and edward madigan (eds.), towards commemoration: ireland in war and revolution, 1912-1923 (dublin, 2013), pp. 126-33. oona frawley, ‘naming names: countering oblivious remembering in the decade of commemorations’ in oona frawley (ed.), women and the decade of commemorations (ms: indiana university press, forthcoming), pp. 1-28. landon e. hancock, ‘narratives of commemoration: identity, memory, and conflict in northern ireland 1916-2016’ in peace and change, 44, no. 2 (2019), pp. 244-65. roisín higgins, ‘“the irish republic was proclaimed by poster”: the politics of commemorating the easter rising’ in richard s. grayson and fearghal mcgarry (eds.), remembering 1916: the easter rising, the somme and the politics of memory in ireland (cambridge, 2016), pp. 43-61. eric hobsbawn, ‘mass-producing traditions: europe, 1870-1914’ in eric hobsbawm and terence ranger (eds.), the invention of tradition (cambridge and new york, 1983), pp. 263-307. ‘initial statement by advisory group on centenary commemorations’, department of culture, heritage and the gaeltacht; https://www.chg.gov.ie/app/uploads/2015/07/ 17 !"#$%&' "#-!(%)!&#' advisory_group_statement.pdf. last checked 26 april 2020. alvin jackson, ‘mrs foster and the rebels: irish unionist approaches to the easter rising, 1916-2016’ in irish historical studies, 42, no. 161 (2018), pp. 143-60. keith je8ery, ‘irish varieties of great war commemorations’ in john horne and edward madigan (eds.), towards commemoration: ireland in war and revolution, 19121923 (dublin, 2013), pp. 117-25. peter leary, ‘negotiating ireland’s “decade of centenaries” in the new age of brexit’ in history workshop journal, 85 (2018), pp. 295-301. ian mcbride, ‘memory and national identity in modern ireland’ in ian mcbride (ed.), history and memory in modern ireland (cambridge and new york, 2001), pp. 1-41. ronan mcgreevy, ‘historians said no to politics in 1916 commemorations’, irish times, 11 aug 2016. paul mullan, ‘the decade of centenaries and a methodology for engaging with “di(cult heritage”’ in elizabeth m. crooke and tom maguire (eds.), heritage after conflict: northern ireland (abingdon and new york, 2018), pp. 3448. pierre nora, ‘between memory and history: les lieux de mémoire’ in representations, no. 26 (1989), pp. 7-24. catriona pennell, ‘choreography by the angels? ireland and the centenary of the first world war’ in war and society, 36, no. 4 (2017), p. 263. ‘rté news, 11 aug 2014: president michael d. higgins on the commemoration of ww1’, century ireland; https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydpbxbm5ies. last checked 27 april 2020. ‘rté news, 1 july 2016: somme commemorations’, century ireland; https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vpxjm8vx-hk. last checked 27 april 2020. ‘rté one: centenary the proclamation’; https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=ercvsdileo0. last checked 28 april 2020. 18 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 !" #$%&'"%$ (' )!#*+ %&#$*,% ',!%!"-'#.*(!'" !" 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'&+*(-'#.-32-&+*(-'#. ,$0!%!'"% '" /'5 (' 3$%( 0'.&+2 5!(/ (/$ %(*(1($. ! *#61$ #$)'9!"6 %$0(!'" 230 !% "'( * #$*%'"*3+$ %'+1(!'", #*(/$# * %(*(1('#2 .',!-!0*(!'" 0'1&+$, 5!(/ /$!6/($"$, !",1%(#2 0'++*3'#*(!'" 5!++ %$#)$ (' 1&/'+, (/$ %$0(!'"’% '#!6!"*+ '3:$0(!)$% %$( -'#(/ !" 1996. !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, averting negative externalities of disinformation through platforms #2*" 0*((!0/ “this is the cost of disinformation” – atul gawande, responding to nurse jodi doering’s story of her covid-19 patients’ denial of their condition1 1. introduction eight months into a global pandemic and it appears the spread of the novel coronavirus is supplemented by the spread of disinformation. one story, in particular, illustrates just that – south dakota er nurse jodi doering recounts a few days’ worth of covid-19 patients in a twitter thread: “the ones that stick out are those who still don’t believe the virus is real…they tell you there must be another reason they are sick. they call you names and ask why you have to wear all that ‘stu8’ because they don’t have covid because it’s not real” (orth, 2020). how did we get here? doering’s story draws a destitute parallel to developing countries. despite e8ective remedies like mosquito nets and deworming pills, people in developing countries neglect to use them at large, partly citing a lack of available information, or misinformation more generally (pulford et al., 2011). in the united states, with an abundance of readily accessible information at our fingertips, how are we, too, in a position where people neglect reality? outside of the externalities inherent in a pandemic, widespread disinformation hinders and undermines the very integrity and the accuracy of fact. disinformation has the potential to influence civic engagement, election results, and, most unfortunately, downstream health outcomes. in search of a remedy, we must begin at the root of the problem: section 230 of the communications decency act. in so doing, the evaluations and recommendations in this paper contribute to a literature on the e8ects of media and disinformation on behavior and health outcomes (bursztyn et al., 2020; banerjee et al., 2019a; bursztyn et al., 2019; la ferrara, 2016; dellavigna and la ferrara, 2015; la ferrara et al., 2012; chiang and knight, 2011; jensen and oster, 2009). prior work has revealed that media exposure can increase hate crimes (muller and schwarz, 2018; bursztyn et al., 2019) and mass killings (yanagizawa-drott, 2014); it can also a8ect domestic violence (card and dahl, 2011; banerjee et al., 2019b), fertility choices (la ferrara et al., 2012; kearny and levine, 2015), and responses to natural disasters (long et al., 2019). related to this analysis is contemporaneous work calling for a reinterpretation and a reassessment of section 230 of the communications decency act as it stands today. lotty (2020) argues the current interpretations of the scope of section 230 immunity wrongfully deny individuals who have been sexually harassed or assaulted an opportunity to hold online services accountable for causing or exacerbating their harms (lotty, 2020). thus, lotty prescribes a necessary revision to section 230 to better align with contemporary views regarding the role of the internet user and the responsibility of technology companies to deter sexual misconduct. in a similar vein, sloss (2020) responds to the myanmar military carrying out brutal attacks via facebook against rohingya muslim communities in rakhine state in 2017. going further than lotty, sloss argues for a statutory exception in 230 to permit civil suits against internet companies on account of their alleged complicity in genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity (sloss, 2020). with a civil liability exception, rohingya plainti8s could then bring a state tort law claim against facebook alleging that facebook was negligent in permitting its platform to be utilized to spark mass violence against the rohingya in myanmar. as the law stands today, such a case would be immediately nullified under the current federal preemption defense to state tort law claims. irrespective of the study, the written law, or the lack thereof, section 230 most certainly demands a statutory modification – a modification which provides a positive incentive for companies to internalize the risk prevention of disseminating misinformation on their platforms. the remainder of this paper proceeds as follows. in section 2, i provide a brief history of the communications decency act, followed by a substantive overview of the clauses under section 230. in section 3, i present a platform-by-platform analysis of their prior and current e8orts to prevent the spread of disinformation. in section 4, i introduce potential amendments to the current legislation, present notable downstream implications, and provide empirical evidence of disinformation as a negative externality to society. section 5 concludes. 2. history 2.1 inception of the communications decency act introduced in february of 1995 by senator james exon, the federal communications decency act (cda) was created to combat a growing issue of extensive pornography and obscenity on the internet (cannon, 1996). as passed, the cda extends the “antiharassment, indecency, and antiobscenity” restrictions currently placed on telephones to 20 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 interactive computer service providers (“icsps”). the bill was promptly met with opposition from some lawmakers and interest groups who opposed the idea of interfering with the internet, along with concerns that the act was a “violation of free speech and … of the right of adults to communicate with each other” (cannon, 1996). opposing the cda on the basis of these concerns, coupled with the 1995 new york supreme court decision stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., representatives christopher cox and ron wyden proposed the “cox-wyden amendment” to exon’s bill, some parts of which would ultimately become section 230 of the cda as it stands today. in stratton oakmont, the court held that an online bulletin board service provider could be held liable for defamatory content posted by users on its platform, given that the website proactively monitored, screened, and removed o8ensive user content, thereby serving as an editor and publisher of all posted content and assuming legal responsibility for it (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). by contrast, a 1991 new york case, cubby, inc. v. compuserve, inc., held that an icsp that did not regulate third-party user content evaded liability for libel since it did not know of and had no editorial control over posted defamatory material. astonishingly, stratton oakmont asserted that an online service that does nothing by means of monitoring for problematic content can never be legally responsible for the content of its users; in addition, a service that takes good-faith steps to screen such content subjects itself to liability (ardia, 2010). as a direct response, the cox-wyden amendment was proposed to encourage online services to take proactive measures to improve online safety and regulate objectionable content without fear of increased liability (ardia, 2010). thus, this amendment allowed private icsps to address the problem of online indecency, while concurrently upholding the representatives’ policy goal of fostering the “vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the internet and other interactive services” (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). subsequently, congress passed the telecommunications act of 1996, which included the communications decency act and the cox-wyden amendment – legislation presently regarded as section 230 of the cda (ardia, 2010). 2.2 section 230 of the communications decency act section 230 of the communications decency act is the most significant piece of legislation regarding internet regulation, praised by commentators for allowing the internet as we know it today to prosper. this statute largely restricts the scope of potential liability for interactive computer service providers based on content transmitted by third-party users of the service and an icsp’s good-faith actions to limit access to objectionable material transmitted by users. the icsp definition extends to “any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer service,” which includes most websites and internet-based apps (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). as written, section 230 bears the name “protection for private blocking and screening of o8ensive material” (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). section 230(b) lists the policy objectives, which include: promoting the continued development of the internet, preserving the free market that is the internet, spurring technological innovation that maximizes user control, eliminating “disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies,” and guaranteeing the enforcement "[section 230 of the communications decency act] largely restricts the scope of potential liability for interactive computer service providers based on content transmitted by third-party users of the service and an icsp's good faith actions to limit access to objectionable material transmitted by users." 21 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, of federal online security laws (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). section 230(c) sheds light on what constitutes “good samaritan” neutral actors and publishers online. below the heading “protection for ‘good samaritan’ blocking and screening of o8ensive material,” section 230(c)(1) states: “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider” (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). successively, section 230(c) safeguards civil liability for any “provider or user of an interactive computer service” given “any action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable,” irrespective of if such material is protected by the constitution (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). overruling stratton oakmont, this legislation issues icsps that make bona fide e8orts to monitor and screen content immunity from legal actions based on user content generated or transmitted on their platforms. nevertheless, the act explicitly does not permit icsp immunity from liability for specific o8enses: violations of federal criminal law, communications privacy law, intellectual property law, and federal sex tra(cking law (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). however, not included in the legislation: what constitutes such bona fide voluntary action, which explicit actions separate platforms from publishers, and how these specific, yet ambiguous policy goals can be e!ciently achieved.1 at present, courts are progressively interpreting section 230 to broadly restrict the scope of potential civil and state law liability for icsps, thus fostering a safe environment for web-based corporations against a multitude of claims. how those companies do so is, evidently, up to them. 3. platform-by-platform evaluation as of now, technology companies and media platforms are left to self-regulate, experimenting on their own with various moderation strategies and models of platform governance. essentially, individual companies are tasked with not only aligning their platform objectives with the needs of their users but to promote the principles of the common good as well. 3.1 twitter in an interview with boston college magazine, colin crowell, former vice president of global public policy and corporate philanthropy at twitter, discusses the ramifications of twitter flagging one of donald trump’s tweets for the first time (figure 1). signaling a new approach to combatting disinformation, crowell asserts that “navigating the emerging and evolving online terrain of disinformation to protect the integrity of vital civic conversations, without succumbing to excessive censorship, is critical to safeguarding the internet as a vibrant platform for human expression” (tempera, 2020). here, crowell echoes twitter ceo jack dorsey’s overarching commitment to serving the public conversation. although twitter does not have an explicit policy on general disinformation, twitter does present specific guidelines and policies on the following areas: violent threats policy, glorification of violence policy, platform manipulation, synthetic and manipulated media policy, and, most notably, civic integrity policy. according to crowell, “when you have a platform as large as twitter, it is important to recognize when there is a need to help users understand what they are viewing with additional context,” and twitter’s civic integrity policy does just that (tempera, 2020). updated in october of 2020 ahead of the presidential election, twitter asserts they will “label or remove false or misleading information about how to participate in an election or other civic process” (twitter, 2020). this policy includes but is not limited to posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process. further, twitter explicitly commits to removing and labeling false or misleading information intended to intimidate or dissuade people from participating in a civic process, in conjunction with any intent to undermine public confidence in an election. on the same webpage, twitter includes the subheadings: “what is not a violation of this policy?”; “who can report violations of this policy?”; and “what happens if you violate this policy?” (twitter, 2020). thus, twitter makes it abundantly clear both the ramifications and the qualifications of their policy violations in an e8ort to transparently combat negative externalities to society. but is twitter doing to prevent the spread of disinformation with this approach? in defense of twitter’s civic integrity policies, crowell praises the decision to take action. the flagging feature, according to crowell, “provide[s] a screen that [says], basi22 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 cally, this tweet is in violation of twitter rules, but it is remaining on the service in the public interest,” as figures like donald trump are democratically elected heads of state (tempera, 2020). firmly, crowell asserts that “twitter can and should take action when online speech risks o9ine harm,” touching on negative societal externalities like disenfranchising voters and downplaying risks of covid-19 (tempera, 2020). previously, twitter only had the binary choice of either removing a tweet or leaving it up; now, twitter allows journalists and the public to comment, links access to factual information, and takes steps to limit the ability of content to reach viral spread (tempera, 2020). in accordance with section 230, simply flagging tweets does not invoke publisher status on twitter’s behalf; however, twitter begins to stray from the comfort of the “neutral actor” position.2 the existence of such policy pages represents an act in good faith on part of twitter to screen for objectionable content, thus shielding them from civil and state liabilities. nevertheless, twitter is well within its right as an icsp to prohibit attempts to use its services to manipulate or disrupt civic processes, along with distributing false or misleading information. 3.2 facebook in a testimony before the united states senate committee on the judiciary, facebook ceo mark zuckerberg verbalizes facebook’s mission to “‘give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together’” (testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc., 2020). zuckerberg touts that facebook removed false claims about civic processes and displayed more than 150 million warnings on posts, after review by independent third-party factcheckers (testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc., 2020). however, in response to twitter’s fact-check labels, zuckerberg takes a di8erent approach, “[believing] strongly that facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth,” in an interview with fox news (halon, 2020). nevertheless, facebook, too, makes an explicit commitment to stop the spread of misinformation. under the heading, “working to stop misinformation and false news,” facebook makes its objectives clear in fostering accurate information on its platform. specifically, focus is given to three areas: disrupting economic incentives, building new products, and helping people make more informed decisions (facebook, 2020). citing financial motivations behind fake news, facebook commits to removing the economic incentives for tra(ckers of misinformation – doing so through third-party fact-checking organizations, strict enforcement of their policies, and applying machine learning to assist response teams (facebook, 2020). reinforcing zuckerberg’s stance against becoming arbiters of truth, facebook is “building, testing and iterating on new products to identify and limit the spread of false news,” engaging with their community “oversight board” to elicit help in fact-checking (facebook, 2020). in doing so, facebook is explicitly making bona fide e8orts to screen for misinformation, upholding an impartial position, rather than a publisher position in working with external, unbiased groups. through the “news integrity initiative,” facebook is pulling together over 25 funders and participants, including tech industry leaders, academic institutions, non-profits, and third-party organizations, to help people make informed judgments about what they read online.35 as a result of this initiative, facebook positions itself to advance global news literacy, bolster trust in journalism, and better inform the public conversation. irrespective of hate speech and promotion of violence violations, facebook takes a hands-o8 approach to content moderation. per the “community standards” page, facebook makes its position clear: “we want to help people stay informed without suppressing productive public debate,” justifying the rationale behind not removing fake news from the platform (facebook, 2020). rather, facebook makes good faith e8orts to reduce the circulation of misinformation by adjusting their algorithms so as to “display [ fake news] further down in the news section,” thus averting viral spread (facebook, 2020). essentially, facebook encourages users to decide for themselves what to read, "voluntary action superseded by profit in no way advances the e"ort on combatting the spread of misinformation; thus, there must be a disincentive to the 1 step forward, 2 steps back approach." 23 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, what sources to trust, and what content to post, all the while attempting to not overstep their boundaries as a neutral actor. 3.3 youtube in the time leading up to the 2020 presidential election, a youtube ad likening democratic nominee joe biden to venezuelan socialism circulated in the state of florida (donald j. trump, 2020). despite a published fact-check by the associated press, youtube showed the ad more than 100,000 times in the eight days leading up to the election (merrill & mccarthy, 2020). trump went on to win the state of florida by roughly 375,000 votes – the largest margin in a presidential election there since 1988 – and carried about 55% of the cuban american vote (merrill & mccarthy, 2020). in retrospect, this ad illustrates key gaps in the policing of misinformation by google, the parent company of youtube; while nominally prohibiting false claims in advertising, google rarely takes down political ads (google, 2020). however, youtube takes a more nuanced approach to this issue. per the “how does youtube combat misinformation” page, youtube engages a range of practices: removing content in violation of policies, raising up authoritative sources for news and information, and reducing recommendations of borderline content and harmful misinformation (youtube, 2020). in an attempt to satisfy the voluntary action conditions of section 230, youtube algorithms go as far as to not proactively recommend content that comes close to violating community guidelines; thus, taking action to limit the spread of disinformation. to determine what qualifies as “harmful” misinformation, youtube states that they consult “external human evaluators” and experts to determine whether content promotes unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, or inaccurate information – reviewing “hundreds of thousands of hours” of video each day (youtube, 2020). unarguably, youtube explicitly makes commitments and takes action to remove objectionable content, within their rights as an icsp. despite these articulated commitments, no capacity exists in which youtube can be held accountable for defaulting on their expressed promises on deterring misinformation. circling back to the youtube ad; if the associated press fact-check does not qualify as an external expert evaluation on unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, what does? negating their own policy, company spokeswoman charlotte smith claims that the campaign ad “does not violate our policies…and we’re not going to attempt to adjudicate every claim or counterclaim” on the platform (merrill & mccarthy, 2020). albeit not a direct violation of section 230, this event underscores the urgent need for companies to be held accountable for what spreads on their platforms, rather than merely relying on an honor system for e(cient platform governance. given people watch over a billion hours of video any given day on youtube, financial incentives could be a driving force behind the platform falling short of enforcing its policies (“press youtube”, 2020). in 2020 alone, the trump campaign spent $106 million – $37.2 million in the last month of the campaign – on both youtube and google search ads alone (thompson, 2020). incalculable, however, is the e8ect running these ads had on disenfranchising and dissuading potential latin american voters in the state of florida. with tens of millions of dollars in prospective ad revenue on the line, the clauses currently set forth under section 230 do little to counter any perverse commercial incentives at companies like youtube. thus, although youtube makes voluntary efforts to publish their commitments like twitter and facebook, the commitments themselves appear vague and uncorroborated by decisive action. 3.4 google in 2019, google was heavily criticized in a 2019 senate investigation for its role in spreading misinformation during the 2016 presidential election (wells, 2019). in october of that same year, a senate intelligence committee released a report describing just how fast misinformation can spread on the platform; just days after the 2016 election, a false news story claiming that trump had won the popular vote ranked higher on google than accurate stories (cassady, 2020). although a mixed bag in its history with politics, google’s present-day initiatives to combat the spread of misinformation are centered around fact-checking. specifically, the “google news initiative” (gni) is supporting “first draft,” a nonprofit protecting communities from harmful misinformation, with a $6.5 million grant (mantzarlis, 2020). with an immediate focus on coronavirus information, the funding goes directly to fact checkers fighting misinformation around the world. in response to misinformation circulating about covid-19, google is supporting journalism fellowships at stanford university to “collate data from around the world and help journalists tell data-driven stories that have [an] impact in their communities” (mantzarlis, 2020). additionally, google says it 24 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 has made google trends data available in “localized pages with embeddable visualizations,” in an e8ort to help journalists understand and meet people’s information needs around the world. however, despite the promise of these initiatives, they appear reactionary. in march of 2020, the global disinformation index found that 1,400 sites spreading covid-19 misinformation earned a collective $76 million in ad revenue, with the vast majority coming from google (figure 2). thus, google seemingly understands the dilemma: they can take down a conspiracy theorist’s youtube channel for making false claims about covid-19; however, continuing to run ads on the website negates the entire purpose. voluntary action superseded by profit in no way advances the e8ort on combatting the spread of misinformation; hence, there must be a disincentive to the “1 step forward, 2 steps back” approach.3 4. proposals and implications passing judgment on the regulation of free speech entails a balancing act, as zuckerberg calls it, “‘of competing equities’” (testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc., 2020). in some cases, the right thing to do from a safety or security viewpoint is not the most ideal for privacy or free expression; thus, there will always be somewhat of a tradeo8 between disappointing people and promoting the common good.4 deciding upon such tradeo8s is anything but straightforward and passing down this moderation to individual companies raises much ambiguity surrounding the enforcement of section 230. given the relative ease of switching between platforms, augmentation of the statute is of the uttermost importance – working with technology companies, rather than against them. 4.1 statutory recommendations first, congress should create a statutory exception in section 230(c) that permits civil liability against any icsp’s complicity in the spread and circulation of disinformation. not uncommon, last year lawmakers passed a bill that added a new exception to section 230 that positions platforms to be liable for any third-party content that facilitates sex tra(cking (romano, 2018). in addition to modifications in this clause, section 230(c) must unambiguously specify what constitutes “any voluntary action taken in good faith” to provide clear guidance to all icsps on the explicit steps they must take (stratton oakmont v. prodigy services co., 2018). parallel to sloss (2020) in his push to hold companies accountable for complicity in mass genocide, a statutory exception that withdraws civil liability could also work in internalizing the negative externalities of disinformation. under section 230(c), such an exception to liability would arise in the case that a company fails to prevent transmission of inaccurate information if that information: a) would be understood by ordinary readers as incitement or inducement to mislead or suppress people of factual information and the written law; and b) there is a significant risk that any recipient of the inaccurate information is exposed to harm. the statute should also include a duty for companies to remove such content within the 24-hour time frame since the content’s inception. nevertheless, the statute should continue to preserve immunity from civil liability for any company that makes a reasonable, bona fide e8ort to comply with content removal, but is unable to do so for a justifiable reason. to do so, however, such bona fide e8orts must be clearly defined in section 230(c). between facebook and twitter alone, the approaches to taking preventative steps in combatting misinformation are noticeably di8erent. on the one hand, flagging violations and linking them to factual journalism raises concerns of anti-conservative social media bias; however, there is currently no evidence to support this exists (ingram, 2019). on the other hand, allowing users to simply decide for themselves what to read does little by means of taking tangible, good faith steps in countering false information. ideally, it is the work of journalists to hold those in power accountable and to provide context to readers; however, given the scale of platforms like twitter and facebook, the clauses in section 230 must recognize the need to take action. thus, to define what proper good faith action is in practice, the legislation should mandate aspects of both the twitter and facebook approaches in outlining what such voluntary steps look like for all icsps. the approach should: require companies to take action to "there will always be somewhat of a tradeo" between disappointing people and promoting the common good." 25 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, limit the ability of disinformation to go viral through algorithmic modifications, flag inaccurate information linked to third-party fact checks, and allow content to be seen such that people can debate it, support it, refute it, or dissect it, and do so publicly.5 4.2 consequential incentives an exception to section 230 that withdraws liability from companies that perpetuate disinformation could have a preventative e8ect by providing a positive incentive for companies. typically, the mens rea for civil liability is a negligence standard, rather than specific intent. such a negligence standard would incentivize companies to adopt sensible measures to inhibit third parties from violating their community guidelines and policies on misinformation. in fact, given the global reach of major platforms like twitter, facebook, and google, these companies arguably have greater power to prevent negative externalities to society than do some national governments. one could argue that icsps do not need additional incentives to limit users from posting inaccurate information because they have already taken steps to address the problem. for example, after hearing about violence in myanmar, facebook removed accounts associated with the myanmar military and hired burmese language speakers to monitor content (ellis-peterson, 2018). however, facebook did not take such actions until after users in myanmar already used the platform to spark genocidal violence (stecklow, 2018). thus, a federal statute subjecting companies to potential civil liability would incentivize companies to act proactively to prevent harms before they occur, rather than issuing reactionary responses. to avoid liability, companies would need, among other things, to hire teams to specifically monitor objectionable content; hence, the liability risk provides a financial incentive for companies to incur that cost to avoid future adverse judgments. without such an incentive, icsps would neglect to incur the costs of risk prevention until after it is too late. additionally, we can leverage aspects of behavioral theory in order to “nudge” platform users into taking their own steps in combatting the spread of disinformation.6 in the introduction to their book nudge, thaler and sunstein present a nudge as “any aspect of choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options” (thaler & sunstein, 2008). such an intervention closely mirrors what twitter already does: flagging tweets in violation of its community guidelines, nudging users to follow the link to accurate information. as thaler and sunstein put it, “putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. banning junk food does not” (thaler & sunstein, 2008). twitter, through flagging, places accurate information at eye level, rather than banning it altogether. along with linking accurate information, twitter can also leverage advancements in machine learning in order to curate feed algorithms in such a way that presents information in an objective, unbiased manner. in totality, such behavioral nudges demand more in the way of freedom of choice and less so in the way of government constraint and compulsion. 4.3 “revoke 230” is not the solution as recently as december 2020, president trump threatened to veto an annual defense bill unless congress revoked section 230 of the cda (brandom, 2020). just one year prior, in december of 2019, now president-elect joe biden, in an interview with the new york times, said “‘section 230 should be revoked, immediately should be revoked, number one’” (the new york times editorial board, 2020). given the communications decency act is now over 20 years old, lawmakers are trying to amend the statute to best align with present-day needs; simply put, all-out revoking section 230 is not the solution. above all, section 230 serves one main purpose: protecting icsps from the liability for the speech of others on their platforms. if it were to be revoked, former twitter vp crowell suggests doing so “creates a dilemma for the companies because they would have to over censor and start taking down anything that might remotely run a liability risk,” noting it would cause a ripple e8ect in the timeliness of the internet (tempera, 2020). thus, before any content could be posted on an icsp, it would essentially "revise, revoke, repeal — whatever ‘r’ word you choose — the debate over the future of section 230 boils down to one, simple idea: the law exists to protect people." 26 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 have to be approved by lawyers, having the involuntary e8ect of making the largest companies more powerful. larger companies, like twitter and facebook, have the financial means to a8ord legal teams; as crowell puts it, “it would really create a mess” (tempera, 2020). section 230, albeit not perfect, is essential to allowing platforms to exist while still within their discretion to do some moderation. protecting everything from facebook and youtube to the recently rebranded 8chan, the central point of section 230 is to provide platforms with the certainty that they can adopt specific, good faith moderation practices that users deem necessary without fear of liability. without this statute as it stands today, the entire internet environment would look vastly di8erent, some platforms shutting down and others stopping moderation altogether. 4.4 empirical evidence for a negative societal externality “we’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic” – dr. tedros ghebreyesus, who director-general70 reforming section 230 to account for disinformation draws reasonable skepticism. notably, matthew waxman, a professor at columbia law school and specialist on national security law, states that “disinformation is a broad category that’s tough to define, and resulting liability for its harms is very uncertain,” suggesting that there is some ambiguity to the negative externalities (inside cybersecurity, 2020). waxman’s skepticism is mainly centered around disinformation as it relates to foreign campaigns; however, domestic disinformation “campaigns” pose real, calculable e8ects on the health and safety of u.s. citizens. bursztyn et al. (2020) presents the e8ects of news coverage of covid-19 by the two most widely viewed cable news shows in the united states, hannity and tucker carlson tonight, on viewers’ behavior and downstream health outcomes (bursztyn, 2020). carlson warned viewers about the severity of covid-19 from early february, while hannity originally dismissed the associated risks before incrementally adjusting his position in late february. via constructed epidemiological models, as exhibited in appendices c and d, di8erent e8ect sizes provide empirical evidence that misinformation is an important mechanism driving the observed e8ects on increased cases and deaths. given notable, inherent externalities in a pandemic, misinformation may have detrimental e8ects far beyond those on viewers themselves by a8ecting disease transmission trajectories in the broader population (bursztyn, 2020). although confined to television networks, this study sheds light on the potential e8ects media platforms have by disseminating misinformation, as exacerbated during a pandemic. hence, misinformation on mass media of any kind can and does have empirically calculable consequences to society at large. 5. conclusion revise, revoke, repeal – whatever ‘r’ word you choose – the debate over the future of section 230 boils down to one, simple idea: the law exists to protect people. how can we, as lawmakers and policy drafters, orient the clauses of section 230 such that the statute exists to protect all people? looking forward, congress must: a) enact a statutory exemption in section 230(c) that permits civil liability for any platform’s complicity in the spread or harboring of disinformation; and b) unambiguously define and recommend good faith steps all icsps can put into practice. integral to the main objectives of a section 230 modification is to ensure more reliable and truthful content appears, spreads, and lives on online platforms. it would be wrong to assume this is solely a debate over the future of free speech; thus, pleas to revoke section 230 in its totality are both unsubstantiated and grounded in misaligned priorities. platforms like facebook and twitter, for example, are aggressively taking action to suppress the spread of disinformation; however, they are plagued by the subjectivity of their own policy decisions. hence, there exists a deep desire for heightened collaboration and information sharing between the tech and social media industries and the u.s. government. in the very near future, the path of least resistance in determining how the internet should be governed is to solve these tensions and ambiguities together as a society, in a way people feel is both reasonable and equitable. to do so, lawmakers must continue to invite input from technology companies, citing their individual moderation approaches, as well as input from the public in order to make progressive strides in the forthcoming year. 27 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, '*225!6!%"$/4 $22!%3+: appendix a figure 1: may 26, 2020 tweets made by donald j. trump notes: pictured above is the first instance of twitter flagging tweets made by the president of the united states. marked with the label “get the facts about mail-in ballots,” users, upon clicking, are taken to a “twitter moments” page, which links articles and tweets from journalists and experts that debunk misinformation claims. brad parscale, the trump campaign manager, labeled this action as a blatant display of twitter’s political bias.75 appendix b figure 2: share of ad revenues generated from covid-19 disinformation sites notes: the top three companies shown (google, openx, and amazon) generate 95% of the ad revenues to the site in the sample. google ad services alone delivers $3 out of every $4 that these sites earn in ad revenues. important to note: for google, the ad shares and revenues for google adsense/adx and google dfp have been combined. appendix c figure 3: reduced-form and 2sls estimates of e8ect of differential viewership on cases and deaths (extended) notes: figure 3 displays day-by-day reduced form (panel a) and 2sls (panel b) estimates on log one plus cases and log one plus deaths. panela a portrays day-by-day e8ects of the instrument, foxshared, on log deaths and log cases, conditional on state fixed e8ects and a large set of controls: fox news’ and msnbc’s share of cable in january 2018, fox news’ share of television in january 2020, the population density of the country, the log of the country’s 6&3$' & 6&3$' % 28 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 total population, the number of predicted tv’s turned to non-fox channels during hannity, tucker carlson tonight, and the ingraham angle, the population-weighted latitude and longitude, the percent in the country living in rural areas, the percent white, hispanic, and black, the percent over the age of sixty-five, the share of men and women lacking high school degrees, the share of men and women lacking college degrees, the fraction of the population lacking health insurance, an age-adjusted measure of the average physical health in the county from 2018, the percent under the federal poverty line, log median household income, the unemployment rate, the 2016 republican vote share, and the log total number of votes cast in 2016. panel b presents day-by-day e8ects of the standardized di8erence in viewership of hannity vs. tucker carlson tonight, instrumented by foxshared and controlling for state fixed e8ects and the same set of covariates as in panel a. standard errors are clustered at the dma level and report 95 percent confidence intervals. appendix d figure 4: implied covid-19 curves notes: panel a of figure 4 plots, in black, the logarithm of (one plus the) mean number of cases in each day across all counties. in gray, the figure plots the implied counterfactual values (based on the 2sls estimates) for a county with one standard deviation higher viewership di8erence between hannity and tucker carlson tonight. panel b replicates panel a, taking log one plus deaths as the outcome rather than log one plus cases. this is presented with 95 percent confidence intervals on the counterfactual estimates. standard errors are clustered at the dma level. 6&3$' & 6&3$' % 29 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, !%3%,"!' 1. here, “e!ciency” denotes the completion of the core objectives: promoting further development, preserving the free market of ideas, allowing for innovation concurrent with user control, and to do so in a manageable, secure way. but, in a way least reminiscent of george orwell’s “big brother” in 1984, yet still prevents the negative externalities of disinformation. 2. important to note, commercial entities should not have the role of determining what constitutes fact over falsehood online. linking factual articles to tweets gives rise to a multitude of ethical considerations regarding information and perspective biases, beyond the scope of this paper. 3. evaluating platforms like reddit and yelp, for example, are key for future study on this issue, yet are outside the scope of this paper. 4. again, ethical considerations arise when the onus falls upon companies, or any governing body, to determine the “right” thing to do. in a way, defaulting to the indivudual companies on platform moderation serves to limit the role and presence of government in our everyday lives. 5. for possible future study, it would be of importance to evaluate the various court interpretations of the term “publisher,” as it either relates or di"ers from the term “platform” in both legal provisions and court decisions. 6. #e nuances behind both qualitative and empirical behavioral theory are crucial to examine in the context of this topic; however, they exist outside the scope of this paper. /!7!/!%.!' “an update on our political ads policy,” november 20, 2019. https://blog.google/technology/ads/update-our-political-ads-policy/. ardia, david. “free speech savior or shield for scoundrels: an empirical study of intermediary immunity under section 230 of the communications decency act.” loyola l.a. law review 43, no. 2 (2010): 373,410. the new york times editorial board. “opinion | joe biden says age is just a number.” the new york times, january 17, 2020, sec. opinion. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/17/opinion/joe-biden-nytimes interview. html. brandom, russell. “trump calls for last-minute 230 repeal as part of defense spending bill.” the verge, december 2, 2020. https://www.theverge. com/2020/12/2/22037118/trump-section-230-repealndaa-rider facebook-twitter-moderation. bursztyn, leonardo. “misinformation during a pandemic.” the becker friedman institute of the university of chicago, june 17, 2020. cannon, robert. “the legislative history of senator exon’s communications decency act: regulating barbarians on the information superhighway.” federal communications law journal 49, no. 1 (november 1996): 52–94. cassady, daniel. “google announces measures to crack down on misinformation ahead of presidential election.” forbes. accessed december 16, 2020. https://www. forbes.com/sites/danielcassady/2020/07/31/google-announces-measures to-crack-down-on-misinformationahead-of-presidential-election/. twitter. “civic integrity policy,” october 2020. https:// help.twitter.com/en/rules-and policies/election-integritypolicy. communications decency act, 47 u.s. § 230 (2018). facebook. “community standards,” 2020. https://www. facebook.com/communitystandards/false_news. inside cybersecurity. “fcc seeks input on regulatory review of ‘section 230’ liability protection; issues touch on countering disinformation,” august 4, 2020. https://insidecybersecurity.com/share/11499. ghebreyesus, tedros. “speech at the munich security conference.” munich, germany, 2020. lotty, alexandra. “apps too: modifying interactive computer service provider immunity under section 230 of the communications decency act in the wake of ‘me too.’” southern california law review 93, no. 4 (spring 2020): 855–921. mantzarlis. “covid-19: $6.5 million to help fight coronavirus misinformation.” google, april 2, 2020. https:// blog.google/outreach-initiatives/google-news-initiative/ covid-1965-million-help-fight-coronavirus-misinformation/. merrill, jeremy, and ryan mccarthy. “trump won florida after running a false ad tying biden to venezuelan socialists.” electionland, november 12, 2020. 30 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 “press youtube.” accessed december 16, 2020. https:// www.youtube.com/intl/en gb/about/press/. global disinformation index. “research – gdi.” accessed december 16, 2020. https://disinformationindex.org/research/. sloss, david. “section 230 and the duty to prevent mass atrocities.” case western reserve journal of international law 52, no. 1/2 (spring 2020): 199–212. stratton oakmont, inc v. prodigy services co. (supreme court, nassau county, new york 1995). tempera, jacqueline. “behind the scenes.” boston college magazine, fall 2020. thaler, richard, and cass sunstein. nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. yale university press, 2008. thompson, alex. “trump deploys youtube as his secret weapon in 2020.” politico, september 6, 2020. https:// www.politico.com/news/2020/09/06/trumpyoutube election-comeback-408576. volz, georgia wells, robert mcmillan and dustin. “senate faults google, other tech giants for role in russian election meddling.” wall street journal, october 8, 2019, sec. politics. https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-reportseeks-to-curb-possible russian-influence-in-2020-election-11570556521. working to stop misinformation and false news | facebook media. “working to stop misinformation and false news,” 2020. https://www.facebook.com/formedia/blog/ working-to-stop-misinformation-and-false news. youtube how youtube works. “youtube misinformation how youtube works.” accessed december 16, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/howyoutubeworks/ourcommitments/fighting misinformation/. zuckerberg, mark. “testimony of mark zuckerberg facebook, inc.” testimony presented at the hearing before the united states senate committee on the judiciary, november 17, 2020. https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/ media/doc/zuckerberg%20testimony.pdf. pulford, j., hetzel, m. w., bryant, m., siba, p. m., & mueller, i. (2011). reported reasons for not using a mosquito net when one is available: a review of the published literature. malaria journal, 10(1), 1-10. gawande, a. [@atul_gawande]. (2020 november 16) this is the cost of disinformation. it’s not only about the reality of deaths but also health & economic damage. mi stats on covid hospital patients: typical survivor age = 50-70. at 60 days, 40% either lost their job or were still too sick to work. http://acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m2… [tweet]. twitter. https://twitter.com/atul_gawande/status/132840 9592959823875?lang=en orth, j. [@jodiorth]. (2020 november 14) i have a night o8 from the hospital. as i’m on my couch with my dog i can’t help but think of the covid patients the last few days. the ones that stick out are those who still don’t believe the virus is real. the ones who scream at you for a magic medicine and that joe biden is [tweet]. twitter. https://twitter. com/jodiorth/status/1327771329555292162 halon, y. (2020, may 28). zuckerberg knocks twitter for fact-checking trump, says private companies shouldn’t be ‘the arbiter of truth’. fox news. retrieved 2020, from https://www.foxnews.com/media/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-twitter-fact-checking-trump donald j. trump. (2020, october 20). salga a votar [video]. youtube. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=bta1i0ujgrq about. first draft. (2022, january 12). retrieved 2020, from https://firstdraftnews.org/about/ romano, a. (2018, april 13). a new law intended to curb sex tra(cking threatens the future of the internet as we know it. vox. retrieved 2020, from https://www.vox.com/ culture/2018/4/13/17172762/fosta-sesta-backpage-230-internet-freedom ingram, m. (2019, august 8). the myth of social media anti-conservative bias refuses to die. columbia journalism review. retrieved 2020, from https://www.cjr.org/the_ media_today/platform-bias.php ellis-peterson, h. (2018, august 27). facebook removes accounts associated with myanmar military. the guardian. retrieved 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/ 31 !"# $%&%!'( )'*$#+%, technology/2018/aug/27/facebook-removes-accountsmyanmar-military-un-report-genocide-rohingya stecklow, s. (2018, august 15). special reports from reuters journalists around the world. reuters. retrieved 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-facebook-hate/ 25 32 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 !" #$% &'(% )& !"(*%'+!",-. -'*,% ()/01#'#!)"'2%/'"2+ '"2 #$% !/0%"2!", $'-# #) /))*%’+ -'3, #$% +%/!()"21(#)* !"21+#*. $'+ 4%%" &)*(%2 #) *%-%5'-1'#% #$% #*'2!#!)"'()/01#!", 0'*'2!,/. (%"#*'#) #$!+ *%-%5'-1'#!)" $'+ 4%%" #$% ")5%2%5%-)0/%"# )& "%1*)/)*0$!( ()/01#!",–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explaining how projected snn training will largely impact our interactions with technology 3!-*!$%*2 “neuromorphic computing...is, at its core, the novel attempt to replicate the brain in silicon.” introduction the human brain’s e(ciency has long fascinated scientists. from dynamically remapping neural connections to strategically limiting its conductive operations, the brain is able to process information at an unparalleled baseline state of 20 watts. it is no surprise that computer engineers at intel and ibm are imagining a new era of computing inspired directly by neurobiology. while nascent in development, neuromorphic computing represents a fundamental digression from the way we think about traditional computers. it is, at its core, the novel attempt to replicate the brain in silicon—one that researchers hope will result in dynamic, strategically e(cient, massively parallel systems that will redefine the way we interact with technology. overview, hitory, and status overview and history neuromorphic computing can be generalized as a method of computer engineering that is inspired directly by the human brain.1 neuromorphic computing was originally conceived in the 1980s by caltech electrical engineering and computer science professor, carver mead.2 it seeks to match the brain’s e(ciency and adaptability with an asynchronous approach to computer processing that fundamentally digresses from the traditional von neumann computer architecture (i.e., the original separation of the central processing unit and memory on a chip).3 rather than isolating these functions, neuromorphic computing combines processing and storage on individual “neurons.” the resulting neurons are then characterized by both independence and connectivity: neurons are capable of firing independently of others, though they are selectively connected to neighboring neurons in the network.4 the outcome is parallel, asynchronous processing with an e(cient flow of information.5 neuromorphic computing, therefore, mirrors the brain in three key ways: 1) a consolidation of processing and memory, 2) selective mapping of neurons, and 3) massive parallelism. it is important to note that neuromorphic computing is a hardware solution to meet a software demand. specifically, neuromorphic chips are designed for the e(cient performance of spiking neural networks (snns)—a novel algorithmic approach that deviates from typical artificial neural networks (anns). snns are unique in that they 1) are not characterized by fully connected layers and 2) incorporate a temporal component; each “neuron” connects sparsely, and information is processed via a neuron’s spike and the timing of each spike.6 the key result of the snn architecture is that the network does not move one layer at a time (pfei8er and pfeil). a given spike can propagate to higher layers without waiting for lower layers to be evaluated in their entirety, meaning salient information reaches the output layer quicker.7 while there are arguments over whether snns are preferred over traditional deep learning models, this paper focuses on the fact that event-driven, asynchronous snns stand in stark contrast to the sequential and central processing of data characterized by the traditional von neumann architecture. in other words, snns do not run well on existing computer hardware, resulting in the need for a novel chip specifically designed for snns. current status while the original concept of neuromorphic computing emerged in the 1980s, the recent rise in neuromorphic research is largely the result of the perceived end of moore’s law and the increasingly large computational demands of advanced software.8 intel has emerged as a key player in such research, introducing its neuromorphic test chip, loihi (pronounced lo-ee-hee), in 2017.9 despite remaining in the research phase, intel has made significant progress incorporating the loihi chip into progressively large neuromorphic systems. the largest to date is intel’s 2019 pohoiki springs with 768 chips.10 intel has also established the intel neuromorphic research community (inrc)—a collaborative, interdisciplinary consortium of academic, government and industry organizations to advance neuromorphic research. the goal is to provide access to the loihi test chip in order to refine and progress the company’s research into a scalable, commercially viable product. predictions short term (0-5 years) in the near future it is expected that 1) resources dedicated to neuromorphic research will increase, 2) neuromorphic computing will continue to show promising results in novel edge applications, and 3) the field will remain limit34 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 ed on the algorithmic front. in terms of research and resources, in october of 2020, intel announced a three-year contract with sandia national laboratories (a government nuclear research lab) to advance neuromorphic computing beyond edge applications to progressively complex computational problems. the result will be the development of increasingly large neuromorphic systems with the intent of integrating over one billion neurons. creating a system with such neural capacity exhibits moderate uncertainty in the short-term. given a) the progress intel has made when it comes to scaling loihi and b) the di(culty of integrating an increasingly large number of neurons, the project has an uncertainty factor of around two on the lowand highend (i.e., the system will be developed within one half to two times the expected implementation time frame). neuromorphic computing will also experience strong research in edge applications (particularly energy e(cient robotics) as members of the inrc continue to deploy loihi in realtime audio and video processing tests.11 while gartner predicts that traditional computing will hit a wall in 2025 (specifically mentioning neuromorphic computing as the leading technology for a shift in the computing paradigm), it is unlikely that a robust commercial product will be available within the next five years due to software limitations. unlike traditional anns, snns lack a learning algorithm when it comes to parameter optimization: it is impossible to use gradient descent given the non-di8erentiable nature of spiking neurons (soni).12 yann lecun, the head of ai at facebook, is a leading skeptic when it comes to neuromorphic implementation, writing that it is “premature to build a chip” when snns face a fundamental training challenge.13 there is also skepticism regarding the performance of the underlying snns; specifically, skeptics point to the fact that snns do not outperform anns (e.g. convolutional neural networks) when it comes to traditional tests of image recognition (pfei8er and pfeil).14 medium term (5-10 years) while snns currently face learning challenges, it is expected that within the next five to ten years, researchers will develop novel and e(cient approaches to snn training. current advancements have largely been focused on implementing a form of transfer learning (i.e., a process by which parameters are optimized in one “place” and transferred to a new “place”). in march of 2019, terry sejnowski of the salk institute of la jolla and his team were able to train a standard recurrent neural network (rnn) via gradient descent methods and transfer the learned parameters to an snn (tiernan, “neuromorphic computing finds new life”). while parameter transferring is a step in the right direction, sejnowski admits that the next step—learning the snn itself—is still “in the early days,” but that there is “going to be another big shift, which will probably occur within the next five to ten years.” given both the di(culty and current progress of snn training, there is moderate uncertainty regarding how quickly development will occur on the algorithmic front, with a general uncertainty factor of one and one-half to two times on the high-end. if an e(cient learning rule is established, it is possible we will begin to see commercially viable neuromorphic chips within the decade, allowing for complex, energy e(cient tasks on the “edge” (e.g., smartphones). such commercial implementation, however, is highly dependent on the economic feasibility of widespread production, an aspect of neuromorphic chip development that is still in its infancy. long term (10+ years) although the future of snn training and the economic practicality of neuromorphic hardware is uncertain in the near-term, it is possible that beyond 2030 we begin to witness a shift in the current computing paradigm. such a shift would be characterized by the wide-spread use of neuromorphic chips in energy-constrained edge devices (e.g., mobile devices, computers, robotics, etc.). sejnowski predicts that once the software is developed and the hardware is “su(ciently cheap,” the implementation of such chips will be “ubiquitous...like sensors in phones.” abu sebastian, principal research sta8 member at ibm zurich, predicts that neuromorphic computing will play a vital role in the future feasibility of autonomous vehicles, making the point that you cannot “collect a frame, pass it &."-)-,-&' */3&6*$* %&*$1 (3 )$..(-$'$,".-, "533$' 753,"-(3* (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 35 !"#$%&%$'()* *%&'#+)!, through to a deep neural net, and wait for the response when you’re traveling down a freeway at 70 miles an hour” (greengard). the long-term draw of neuromorphic computing, is energy-e(cient, on-board processing that is applicable to a wide range of technologies, from autonomous vehicles to independently operating interstellar spacecraft. neuromorphic chips are also poised to play a large role in future medical devices and artificial body parts that can benefit from increasingly fast, on-site processing. while neuromorphic architecture could become ubiquitous beyond 2030, it is important to note the false dichotomy between standard computer architecture and neuromorphic hardware.15 the promise of neuromorphic chips lies in the creation of an adaptive system capable of the e(cient processing of highly noisy, increasingly complex, spatio-temporal data, not the high-speed processing of predictable, deterministic processes (greengard). it is shortsighted, therefore, to view neuromorphic computing as a fundamental alternative to traditional computing: the two technologies are complementary to each other, excelling in tasks suited to their specific design. it is also important to note the uncertainty surrounding the long-term ubiquity of neuromorphic computing, namely, that there is a threeway race between neuromorphic computing, high performance computing, and quantum computing (vorhies).16 given the advancements of competing fields, it is possible the technology is outperformed before it is commercially viable (either by existing competitors or a novel approach yet to be developed). the future of computing, then, is largely undecided, with the only certainty being that our current computing paradigm will shift in response to the impending halt to gordon moore’s 1965 prediction. implications consumers and ai integration despite uncertainties regarding the path of computing, a future characterized by the widespread adoption of neuromorphic technology would have significant implications on the way consumers interact with digital devices. peter suma, co-ceo of applied brain research, imagines a world in which neuromorphic technology enables an extreme integration of artificial intelligence into our daily lives (ferry). suma describes a future in which a technology like siri transcends basic voice commands (i.e., a siri that listens and sees all of your conversations and interactions). if you were to ask siri what idea your friend melissa came up with regarding your wife’s birthday gift, the e(cient, continuous, on-board processing of data made possible by neuromorphic computing would enable siri to recall the conversation with your friend the week prior, bringing up both the idea and a variety of similar, personalized ideas. the salient point in suma’s eyes is that the e(ciency of neuromorphic chips would enable the local storage of information, resolving widespread privacy concerns regarding consumer data. from autonomous vehicles to smart homes and edge devices, suma’s point is clear: the promise of neuromorphic technology is a future characterized by the extreme integration of artificial intelligence into our daily lives. semiconductor industry research scientist at hewlett packard enterprise, suhas kumar, summarizes the state of computing as a “huge rush to find something” that can continue the improvement in computer science that we have witnessed the past half century. semiconductor manufacturers, therefore, are faced with a critical choice of whether to invest in risky chip research to compete in a future characterized by advanced computing technologies. while ibm has seen success with its truenorth system, intel has exhibited the strongest commitment to neuromorphic research, evidenced by its continued progress in creating increasingly scalable neuromorphic systems. intel’s competitors are also faced with the challenge of determining the type of research they wish to undertake (i.e., whether they believe high performance or quantum computing will ultimately outperform the neuromorphic approach). regardless, the challenge is clear: the computing industry will witness a shift in the coming decades, and the companies that lead this shift will capitalize on the widespread adoption of their novel technology. “the promise of neuromorphic chips lies in the cration of an adaptive system capable of the e!cient processing of highly noisy, increasingly complex, spatio-temporal data” 36 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 large technology firms beyond the semiconductor industry, large technology companies (e.g., google, facebook, amazon, etc.) are faced with the decision to embark upon internal research regarding computing hardware. as deep learning processes continue to surpass the capabilities of existing technology, companies with large workloads and available capital are faced with the decision of whether to invest internally in chip development. in february of 2019, facebook’s yann lecun briefly described “internal activities” the firm was taking to address the growing computational divide, referencing google’s tensor processing unit as another example of the type of internal e8orts large technology firms are capable of taking (tiernan, “facebook’s yann lecun”). while the future is uncertain, it is clear there is a demand for change, and the feasibility of neuromorphic hardware should figure prominently in the minds of firm leaders who are considering undertaking or continuing internal development activities. conclusion from computer science and biology to mathematics, physics, and electrical engineering, neuromorphic computing is a cross-disciplinary challenge that requires a fundamental rethinking of the way computers operate. neuromorphic research, however, is progressing: firms like intel are leading the charge in chip development, and the success of their e8orts will have large-scale implications on consumers, the semiconductor industry, and technology firms alike. it is vital, therefore, that business leaders consider the possibilities and threats of this novel technology, understanding that the future computing paradigm will be decided by innovative firms who are rethinking current processes. !%3%,"!' 1. the term neuromorphic means “taking the form of the brain” (fulton iii). intel (a leader in neuromorphic research) summarizes neuromorphic technology as “chips that function less like traditional computers and more like the human brain” (“intel newsroom–neuromorphic computing”). 2. it can be argued that the original notion of neuromorphic computing was first proposed in alan turing’s 1948 paper, intelligent machinery. however, the concept is typically attributed to carver mead’s 1989 analog vlsi and neural systems, a paper in which mead argued that chips with an increasingly dense collection of transistors could best communicate via a replication of the brain’s neural wiring. 3. the downside of traditional computer architecture is typically referred to as the von neumann bottleneck—the notion that despite increases in processing speed, processors are forced to remain idle while data is transferred to and from the memory of a chip, resulting in increased latency. 4. neuromorphic chips employ analog circuitry to transfer electrical signals between “neurons.” the idea is that the system will be able to modulate the amount of electricity flowing between nodes, mimicking the fact that brain signals naturally have varying degrees of strength. 5. a key emphasis of neuromorphic computing is the selective mapping of neural connections. in order to operate at maximum e(ciency, the brain uses only the specific neurons and synapses necessary to perform a given task. neuromorphic systems, therefore, seek to emulate this e(ciency by strategically and selectively forming connections between neighboring neurons. 6. each “spike” in an snn is a single-bit impulse that is analogous to an action potential in a naturally occurring neuron. a given node in the network is capable of spiking only if a state variable exceeds a given threshold. 7. in fully-connected anns, all nodes compute and send their output to the next layer at each time step, even if nothing has significantly changed, making the overall network computationally expensive. conversely, snns employ neurons that process input separately and are only connected to local neighbors, implying that the entire layer does not need to be calculated for information to proceed to the next layer. 8. in 1965 intel’s co-founder gordon moore predicted that the number of transistors that could be placed on an integrated circuit would double every two years while costs remain constant / decline. 9. loihi comprises 128 neuromorphic cores, 131,000 “neurons”, and 130 million “synapses” (connections). the chip is named after an active submarine volcano o8 the coast of hawaii that is set to emerge one day. the idea is that neuromorphic computing is analogously “emerging” and will eventually break the “surface” of the current computing environment. 10. in december 2018 intel announced the creation of kapoho bay, intel’s smallest neuromorphic system consisting of two loihi chips. in july of 2019 intel was able to scale loihi into their 64-chip pohoiki beach, representing the neural capacity of 8 million neurons. most recently, intel debuted its 768-chip pohoiki springs with a collective neural capacity of 100 million neurons. the chips reside in a chassis the size of five standard servers and is provided to members of the intel neuromorphic research community via a cloud-based system. intel hopes it will emerge as a “tool for researchers to develop and characterize new neuroinspired algorithms for real-time processing, problem solving, adaptation and learning” (“intel newsroom–pohoiki springs”). 11. in july of 2020 the national university of singapore ran an event-driven, visual-tactile perception test on intel’s loihi chip 37 !"#$%&%$'()* *%&'#+)!, as well as various gpu systems to compare power consumption (russel). the loihi test chip slightly outperformed the gpu systems (in inferences per second) at significantly lower power consumption. it is important to note that loihi’s strong performance is largely the result of the entire system (in this case, robotic sensors, data formats, algorithms, and the loihi architecture) being “re-engineered in an event-based paradigm” (mike davies, director of neuromorphic research at intel. see russel). put simply, when the system is consistent with loihi’s event-based architecture, neuromorphic hardware outperforms traditional gpu’s when it comes to energy e(ciency. 12. existing deep learning algorithms depend on stochastic gradient descent and error backpropagation to e(ciently “learn” a given ann. since snns operate in discontinuous, non-di8erentiable spikes, it is impossible to apply existing learning rules directly to snn training (pfei8er and pfeil). 13. at the 2019 international solid state circuits conference in san francisco, lecun heavily criticized neuromorphic computing in his opening keynote address. while intel’s mike davies agrees that there is a lot of progress to be made on the algorithmic front, which he claims is “holding back the field,” yann’s criticism resulted in a fireback from davies citing the e(cacy of neuromorphic chips in a december report produced by applied brain research of waterloo, ontario. davies’s fireback was met with a detailed facebook post by lecun outlining the issues he sees with neuromorphic hardware, specifically citing the lack of an e(cient training algorithm. 14. it is important to point out that snns are not optimized for performance on existing ai benchmarks (e.g., imagenet). just how the brain is not optimized (but capable of) classifying an image that is quickly flashed on the retina, snns struggle with the typical frame-based test of software accuracy. the evaluation of snns, therefore, requires benchmark testing that emphasizes the functionality of spiking networks—i.e., “making decisions based on continuous input streams while moving in the real world” (pfei8er and pfeil). 15. dan hutcheson, ceo of vlsi research (an independent market analysis and consulting firm that tracks the semiconductor industry), describes the false dichotomy as follows: “today’s computers are very good at what they do. they will continue to outperform neuromorphic computing systems for conventional processing tasks. the technologies are complementary and so they will coexist.” adam stieg, associate director of the california nanosystems institute at the university of california at los angeles, further describes how “conventional von neumann-based computing systems” perform very well with “high-speed, predictable, deterministic processes,” but struggle with increasing complexity. the promise of neuromorphic computing, therefore, is the opening up of “an entirely new and unexplored area of computing”—one that allows us to “do things with computers that we couldn’t have imagined in the past” (see greengard). 16. high-performance computing (hpc) can be generalized as a process of optimizing chip architecture for existing deep learning algorithms (vorhies). the majority of attention is currently placed on hpc, with large technology firms beginning to enter the chip manufacturing field by developing their own proprietary chips (e.g., google’s tensor processing unit) (tiernan, “facebook’s yann lecun”). conversely, quantum computing is analogous to neuromorphic computing in that it represents a rethinking of existing computer architecture. rather than operating in bits (0 or 1), quantum computing employs quantum bits (qubits) that can be set to 0, 1, or both simultaneously (cho). /!7!/!%.!' best, jo. “neuromorphic computing could solve the tech industry’s looming crisis.” zdnet, 5 oct. 2020, ` www.zdnet.com/article/neuromorphic-computing-couldsolve-the-tech-industrys-looming-crisis/. blain, loz. “intel’s neuromorphic loihi chip is rapidly learning to discern smells.” new atlas, 17 mar. 2020, newatlas.com/science/intel-neuromorphic-loihi-smells/. cho, adrian. “the biggest flipping challenge in quantum computing.” science, the american association for the advancement of science, 9 july 2020, www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/biggest-flipping-challengequantum-computing. davies, mike, et al. “2018 ces: neuromorphic computing mimics the human brain.” youtube, intel newsroom, 8 jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gxncz26uhyy&feature=emb_title. ferry, je8. “the future of ai is neuromorphic.” circuit insight, www.circuitinsight.com/programs/55035.html. fulton iii, scott. “what neuromorphic engineering is, and why it’s triggered an analog revolution.” zdnet, 8 feb. 2019, www.zdnet.com/article/what-neuromorphicengineering-is-and-why-its-triggered-an-analog-revolution/. 38 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 greengard, samuel. “neuromorphic chips take shape.” communications of the acm, 1 aug. 2020, cacm.acm. org/magazines/2020/8/246356-neuromorphic-chipstake-shape/fulltext. hamblen, matt. “intel shares pohoiki springs chassis with ai researchers.” fierceelectronics, 18 mar. 2020, www.fierceelectronics.com/electronics/intel-shares-pohoiki-springs-chassis-ai-researchers. irving, michael. “artificial synapses fill the gaps for brainier computer chips.” new atlas, 23 jan. 2018, newatl a s . c o m / n e u r o m o r p h i c c h i p m i t / 5 3 0 8 1 / ? i t m _ source=newatlas. jhonsa, eric. “intel teams with uncle sam to research chip packages, ‘neuromorphic’ systems.” thestreet, 2 oct. 2020, www.thestreet.com/investing/intel-teamswith-uncle-sam-to-research-chip-packages-neuromorphicsystems-loihi-foveros-emib. lecun, yann. issc keynote address. facebook, 23 feb. 2019, https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1015 5808247852143&id=722677142. molter, tim. “a brief history of neuromorphic computing.” knowm.org, 4 apr. 2015, knowm. org/a-brief-history-of-neuromorphic-computing/. muir, dylan. “putting the neural back into networks.” medium, 15 jan. 2020, medium.com/neuromorphic-intelligence/putting-the-neural-back-into-networks-f0fdb19a5efd. norman, jeremy m. “carver mead writes the first book on neuromorphic computing.” carver mead writes the first book on neuromorphic computing : history of information, 25 oct. 2020, www.historyofinformation.com/ detail.php?id=3900. panetta, kasey. “gartner top 10 strategic predictions for 2021 and beyond.” smarter with gartner, 21 oct. 2020, www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top10-strategic-predictions-for-2021-and-beyond/. pfei8er, michael, and thomas pfeil. “deep learning with spiking neurons: opportunities and challenges.” frontiers in neuroscience vol. 12 774. 25 oct. 2018, doi:10.3389/ fnins.2018.00774. ray, tiernan. “facebook’s yann lecun says ‘internal activity’ proceeds on ai chips.” zdnet, 18 feb. 2019, www. zdnet.com/article/facebooks-yann-lecun-says-internal-activity-proceeds-on-ai-chips/. ray, tiernan. “intel’s neuro guru slams deep learning: ‘it’s not actually learning’.” zdnet, 23 feb. 2019, www. zdnet.com/article/intels-neuro-guru-slams-deep-learningits-not-actually-learning/. ray, tiernan. “neuromorphic computing finds new life in machine learning.” zdnet, 1 july 2019, www.zdnet. com/article/neuromorphic-computing-finds-new-life-inmachine-learning/. rouse, margaret. “what is neuromorphic computing?” searchenterpriseai, techtarget, 11 feb. 2020, searchenterpriseai.techtarget.com/definition/neuromorphic-computing. russell, john. “get a grip: intel neuromorphic chip used to give robotics arm a sense of touch.” hpcwire, 17 july 2020, www.hpcwire.com/2020/07/15/get-a-grip-intelneuromorphic-chip-used-to-give-robotics-arm-a-sense-oftouch/. soni, devin. “spiking neural networks, the next generation of machine learning.” medium, towards data science, 16 july 2019, https://towardsdatascience.com/spiking-neural-networks-the-next-generation-of-machinelearning-84e167f4eb2b vorhies, william. “the three way race to the future of ai. quantum vs. neuromorphic vs. high performance computing.” data science central, tech target, 14 nov. 2017, www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/thethree-way-race-to-the-future-of-ai-quantum-vs-neuromorphic-vs. wiggers, kyle. “intel debuts pohoiki springs, a powerful neuromorphic research system for ai workloads.” venturebeat, 18 mar. 2020, venturebeat.com/2020/03/18/intel-debuts-pohoiki-springs-a-powerful-neuromorphic-research-system-for-ai-workloads/. “neuromorphic computing next generation of ai.” intel–neuromorphic computing, intel, 2020, www.intel. com/content/www/us/en/research/neuromorphic-computing.html. 39 !"#$%&%$'()* *%&'#+)!, “intel and sandia national labs collaborate on neuromorphic computing.” intel newsroom, intel, 2 oct. 2020, newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-sandia-national-labsneuromorphic-computing/. “intel scales neuromorphic research system to 100 million neurons.” intel newsroom, intel, 18 mar. 2020, newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-scales-neuromorphic-research-system-100-million-neurons/. “intel’s pohoiki beach, a 64-chip neuromorphic system, delivers breakthrough results in research tests.” intel newsroom, intel, 15 july 2019, newsroom.intel.com/ news/intels-pohoiki-beach-64-chip-neuromorphic-system-delivers-breakthrough-results-research-tests/. “loihi intel.” wikichip, 15 july 2019, en.wikichip.org/ wiki/intel/loihi. 40 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 !"# $#%%& $'#((’( (#%()!*+%), -+.#')/# +0 !"# 1895 #11)%2#, -"2'-" 12'3#'( (-+11*!!#3 4& ()% 0')%-*(-+ 1#3*-), (!23#%! !"#+3+'# 32'')%!) "*/",*/"!#3 !"#*' +4(#((*+% 5*!" 3#.*)%! (#62),*!& )%3 /'2#(+1# .*+,#%-#. -+%!#1$+')'& %#5($)$#'( -+%!*%2),,& -*!#3 32'')%!’( ,)-7 +0 '+1)%!*(2--#((, "*/",*/"!#3 "*( $#-2,*)' 1#3*-), 4)-7/'+2%3, ($#-2,)!#3 )4+2! "*( *%!*1)!# '#,)!*+%("*$ 5*!" "*( 1+!"#', )%3 #1$")(*8#3 !"# 1)*3#%"++3 +0 "*( !5+ &+2%/ 0#1),# .*-!*1(—),, 5"*,# #%/)/*%/ *% 5")! (-"+,)' 7)'#% "),!2%%#% !#'1( !"# “$+'%+/')$"& +0 .*+,#%-#.” (-"+,)'( ").# %+! (200*-*#%!,& (!23*#3 "+5 %#5($)$#'( )%3 +!"#' 1#3*) 32'*%/ !"*( !*1# '+1)%!*-*8#3 !')3*!*+%), (#62), '#,)!*+%("*$( 5"*,# (*12,!)%#+2(,& 0#!*("*8*%/ .*+,#%-#—#($#-*),,& *0 !")! .*+,#%-# 5)( (#62), *% %)!2'#. !"*( $)$#' 5*,, )'/2# !")! ')$*3,& -")%/*%/ -+%-#$!*+%( +0 (#62), %+'1)!*.*!& 32'*%/ !"# /*,3#3 )/#—)%3 !"# -+%0,*-! 4#!5##% '#$'#(#%!)!*.#( +% 4+!" (*3#( +0 !")! 0*#'-# 3#4)!#—1)%*0#(!#3 !"#1(#,.#( *% !"# *1$,*-*!,&, )%3 +0!#% !*1#( #6$,*-*!,& (#62),*8#3 -+.#')/# +0 32'')%!. !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, investigating the evolution of the penny press and the emmanuel church murders (#)% (!#44*%( “…prosecutors charged durrant with the murders of both women, sending san francisco into a frenzy. newspapers nationwide picked up the story, marveling at the ferocity—and significantly, the sexual brutality—of the so-called “demon of the belfry” on april 3, 1895, william henry theodore durrant— theo, as his friends called him— made his way down 21st street in san francisco, california. a young student at cooper medical college, now stanford medical school, was heading to the emmanuel baptist church, at which he was a sunday school teacher. he was accompanied by 21-year-old blanche lamont, a fellow parishioner, and friend. eventually arriving in the early afternoon, the pair entered the building one after the other. though durrant left the church at around 5 pm, lamont was not seen again. nine days later, durrant entered the church with another parishioner—21-year-old minnie williams—before eventually leaving to attend a friend’s house party a few hours later. williams, too, had disappeared. as word began to spread throughout the city of the two young women’s disappearance, suspicion turned on durrant. several witnesses had seen theo enter the church with both women, and rumors of the young man’s purported romantic failures began to spread. on april 13th, as a few women of the church decorated for the upcoming easter holiday, one of them opened a cupboard—finding the unclothed and mutilated body of minnie williams. it was only a matter of hours before police had reached the church’s belfry, finding blanche lamont’s rotting, naked body draped across the floor, her bloodstained head stu8ed between two wooden planks. police arrested durrant just two days after discovering the bodies. doctors confirm both women were raped just before or even after death, and prosecutors charged durrant with the murders of both women, sending san francisco into a frenzy. newspapers nationwide picked up the story, marveling at the ferocity—and significantly, the sexual brutality—of the so-called “demon of the belfry.” the rise of the american penny press reached its height during the gilded age as newspapers across the country pumped out story after story detailing thrilling criminal investigations, daring feats of athleticism, astonishing technological innovations, and most profitably: chilling murders. the penny press’s sensational coverage of theodore durrant highlighted their obsession with deviant sexuality and gruesome violence. contemporary newspapers continually cited durrant’s lack of romantic success, highlighted his peculiar medical background, speculated about his intimate relationship with his mother, and emphasized the maidenhood of lamont and williams—all while engaging in what scholar karen haltunnen terms the “pornography of violence.” this paper will argue that rapidly changing conceptions of sexual normativity during the gilded age—and the conflict between representatives on both sides of that fierce debate—manifested themselves in the implicitly, and often explicitly, sexualized coverage of durrant. contextualizing the emmanuel church murders while there is no scholarly study of theodore durrant, there are books and articles that help contextualize his murders of blanche lamont and minnie williams and their obsessively sexual reportage. jesse battan’s articulation of the linguistic and political divide between victorian moralists and members of the free love movement, for example, counteracts traditional notions of the gilded age as an era dominated by sexual repression. as john d’emilio and estelle b. freedman point out in their comprehensive history of american sexuality intimate matters, americans during the late nineteenth-century were far more accepting of non-traditional sex than they had been in prior decades as forces opposed to sexual suppression (like the free lovers) became significantly more prominent and birthrates across the country steadily declined1. in her study of late-nineteenth-century sexuality, freedman argues that during the gilded age, sex became less associated with procreation and more related to personal pleasure—a reality that engendered immense hostility on both sides of this new sexual divide2. the conflict between tradition and liberation played out in all facets of american 42 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 society. however, it was especially pronounced in the penny press, which often made light of bizarre or eccentric sexual behavior to sell more newspapers. in the early days of the durrant case, the press obsessed over his rumored lack of romantic success as some harbinger of wrongdoing. oliver chan and kathleen heide’s research on sexual homicide somewhat vindicates this suspicion, revealing that most sexual murders of adult women happen at the hands of adult men seeking sex, as durrant was.3 james alan fox and jack levin’s study of patterns common to di8erent instances of “multiple homicide[s]” confirms that the desire for sex is often a chief motivation for crimes of passion4. contemporary newsmen also suggested durrant’s status as a medical student—particularly his supposed interest in studying “female diseases”—all but proved his complete guilt. herbert kinnell’s insightful research on potential connections between the medical field and serial homicide reveals several unambiguous recalities relevant to this thesis: people interested in death seem to gravitate to the medical field5. erich fromm’s psychological inquiry into motivations for violence further reveals the numerous links between necrophilia, which many of durrant’s classmates stated he had, and violence6. as the penny press at the time lacked access to this body of research, they indicated that the dominant force behind their relentlessly sexual coverage was likely a battle over sexuality at the time rather than well-sourced psychology. contrasting these sexual accusations with the ones later hurled at famous dancer, and durrant’s sister, maud allen speaks to the gendered dichotomy of sexual discourse in the late nineteenth-century. toni bentely’s comprehensive review of numerous dancers reveals how the male audience commanded allan to “cover up” during many of her performances despite her growing popularity among women, illustrating this gendered divide7. lacy mcdearmon’s research detailing how allan’s career ended because of a highly publicized scandal involving a british parliamentarian who accused her of countless sexual “vices” illustrates the broader battle over sexuality during the victorian era—and the ways in which media sensationally exploited this battle to their own advantage with incidents involving both men and women8. newspapers often speculated about the unknowns of durrant’s murders in graphic detail, continually engaging in what karen haltunnen calls the “pornography of violence.”9 americans, she notes, developed a keen interest in horror and death during the mid-nineteenth century that accelerated in later decades, peaking during the gilded age with thrilling stories of murder and violence being published daily in newspapers across the nation. haltunnen explains that as interest in violence grew, so too did its “pornography,” with books, newspapers, and other media detailing brutal crimes—like the emmanuel baptist church murders—in increasingly graphic detail. theodore durrant, romantic failure newspapers that covered the durrant story obsessed over his perceived romantic failures in several di8erent ways but did so initially by exploring his failed attempts at an intimate relationship with both his victims: blanche lamont and minnie williams. an early report from the san francisco call explained how the two women “received a lover’s attention from durrant,” with journalists already hinting at some sort of failed attempt at courtship10. when an acquaintance of williams’s informed readers that she had “‘indignantly repulsed’” a marriage proposal from durrant early last summer, the penny press confirmed its sexualized narrative11. reporters soon seized upon the claims of blanche lamont’s aunt, mrs. c. g. noble, who testified to “the frequency of durrant’s visits at her house and his attentions to her niece,” and lauded her assertion that durrant had also “proposed marriage to blanche last december, but had been refused when the girl learned he was engaged to another woman.”12 papers also emphasized durrant’s supposed suggestion to noble (before being arrested) that they search for lamont’s body together “in a house of ill-fame”—a brothel13. in the early days of his case, the penny press established theodore durrant as a %'&,#$ '&+(3" &" #$,'&, +(3"&3& 0-"# #$. *"51$3"*, 1893 (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 43 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, sexually-deprived romantic failure who murdered to fulfill his brutal perversions, an inhuman monster so despicable he was even inclined to visit brothels while pretending to search for the bodies of women he killed. while some were later proven to be accurate , these relatively unfounded initial characterizations illustrate gilded age fetishizations of sexual violence. another element of the penny press’s obsession over durrant’s romantic failures relates to his physical appearance, which strongly suggested his guilt. the san francisco call, for example, diplomatically described how a murderer (not necessarily durrant) “will not be generally attractive to other men, [who] will have a feeling of utmost repugnance for him […]. for women, especially girls, he will be found to have a peculiar fascination, but he will lack the skill to use it shrewdly”—characteristics newspapers claimed durrant happened to have14. a later story from the indianapolis journal contended that durrant’s “dominant” facial characteristics “are vanity and sensuality,” and that the shape of his head “would indicate not only extreme sensuality, but that its owner would be inconsistent, changing the object of his admiration frequently.”15 months later, once durrant’s trial had begun, newspapers still editorialized about how durrant’s “clean-shaven lips reveal the coarse sensuality of his mouth,” continuing to tie his physical features with sexual criminality16. contemporary newspapers’ fascination with durrant’s physical features—and their claims that those features somehow illustrate all manner of romantic perversions—reflect the intensifying gilded age sexual divide between those committed to traditional conceptions of heteronormativity and those seeking to change them. newspapers also explored durrant’s attitude toward women, casting him as an aggressively sexual (if often unsuccessful) womanizer who frequently solicited their company. the salt lake herald, for instance, charged that “durrant was more than passionately fond of women, and at every opportunity sought their society,” but that “he confined himself to the purer and better girls of his circle of acquaintances,” like lamont and williams, who the press continually deified17. others stunned readers with highly sexualized headlines like “the man was as licentious as he was pious,” “insulter of women,” “his baseness was boundless,” or even “no woman was safe.”18 and some newsmen unambiguously blamed durrant’s murders on his womanizing personality, with one paper directly stating that “no other motive for the crime can be assigned [than] passionate jealousy, which is known to have a wonderful power to transform the most peaceable into fiendish brutes.”19 again, durrant’s actual romantic proclivities— he often (though not always) did live up to his reputation in the press—are not entirely relevant. more significant is that the late nineteenth-century penny press exploited his rape and murder of two women to publish implicitly and explicitly sexual content for their readers, exposing the rapidly changing conceptions of sexuality during that time. while the press continually covered durrant’s perversions in a general fashion, they did analyze some of his specific romantic failures from time to time, most notably with a woman named lucile turner. on one soon-to-be infamous occasion, durrant accosted turner, another parishioner at the emmanuel baptist church like lamont and williams, and asked “if she had never been examined. she was somewhat surprised at his question and answered no. durrant then said she ought to be and that he could do it.”20 turner’s testimony engrossed journalists covering durrant, and they referred to it throughout their coverage of the case21. the press also took special care to note durrant’s unusual apprehension during turner’s testimony, a break from what they characterized as his typically unfeeling demeanor: “during miss turner’s examination,” one paper noted, “durrant looked very pale and anxious, and has not shown such pronounced symptoms since his arrest.”22 for contemporary journalists, the turner incident was a goldmine. it o8ered readers licentious details “months later, once durran’ts trial had begun, newspapers still editorialized about how durrant’s ‘clean-shaven lips reveal the coarse sensuality of his mouth,’ continuing to tie his physical features with sexual criminality.” 44 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 day after day and perfectly conformed to their already wellestablished narrative of a sex-deprived monster whose romantic failures had triggered a murderous rampage—the perfect story for an american populace that craved scandalous sexual details like never before. the lucile turner episode presented the penny press with a profitable window into one of durrant’s specific romantic failures, but they relentlessly published details about his generally “poor luck” with women, too. the call, for instance, reported the vague remarks of several di8erent people throughout the course of the case, all of whom remarked things like “’ from what i knew of durrant he was not of the kind of men who are very successful in making love to young women.’”23 another man o8ered his investigative services and insisted that he had “’ located three young women who claim to have been taken into the church by durrant and compelled to leave the edifice on account of his improper conduct.’”24 other papers, like the arizona republican, discussed an instance in which durrant escorted another young parishioner to a room in the emmanuel baptist church, left her there for a few minutes, “and returned entirely nude,” further feeding into the sexual narrative25. newsmen often followed detectives attempting to track down women rumored to be former lovers of durrant, like one case in which investigators traveled to neighboring san jose “looking for a young lady who is said to have received insulting proposals from theodore durrant, who selected emmanuel church as the place for his attempt.”26 even the strategy of durrant’s own lawyers hinged on the same kinds of sexual details being published by the press. the salt lake herald reported less than a month after durrant’s arrest that the defense would try to demonstrate his innocence by proving that “he did not have a reputation as a lady-killer; that another member (now an ex-member) had; that this person was one whom all the young ladies of the church distrusted; that he frequently took liberties with them; that upon one occasion he was alone with a young lady in the vestry and that his actions were such as to cause her to have a serious hysterical attack.”27 the barrage of details about durrant’s romantic ineptitude with a variety of women solidified his initial image in the penny press as a sexual freak driven to murder. but that barrage also underscored the penny press’s obsession with the most erotic aspects of his character possible rather than with the main bulk of evidence in an apparent e8ort to appeal to their sex scandal-driven readers. investigating durrant’s past while they did devote much of their sexual reporting to his romantic mishaps, the press also examined other aspects of theodore durrant’s past through a sexual lens, beginning with his time at cooper medical college. “durrant was looked upon as queer when at college,” one call report notes, going on to explain how even though he “was fond of the society of women he declared the year he entered college that his relations with them had never been intimate.”28 newsmen also jumped on comments from fellow students admitting that “he spoke strangely about women from time to time and read much on subjects which are safest in the hands of hard headed specialists,” indicating a “trend of mind which dwells upon the morbid.”29 other papers directly linked durrant’s medical schooling with his sexual perversions, one story describing how some faculty at cooper believed “durrant was a9icted with psycho-mania sexualis, a not unknown though infrequent mental disease,” another simply inquiring, “durrant studied surgery. did he study murder at the same time?”30 a particularly scathing assessment of durrant’s character out of the new york tribune went even further: “medical experts who have studied durrant’s case unite in declaring that he is an abnormal crank, whose perverted "#$(1(. 15..&3"’* +54*#(" (!"#$%&'( ") +0%&$0&% /$!1+2&) 45 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, nature has been stimulated by the study of sexual crimes. his medical college associates say that in private talk about women he revealed a foul imagination, and that his fondness for discussing topics that are usually ignored, even between men, gave him the reputation of being an erotic maniac. as assistant superintendent of the emmanuel sunday-school he performed all his duties in an irreproachable way, but since his arrest it is known that he insulted several young women and that he was in the habit of making weekly visits to the local [brothel].”31 rather than focusing on durrant’s bungled attempts at romance, these reports confirm newspapers’ narrative of his sexual perversions by approaching them from an altogether di8erent angle—medicine. they exemplify the penny press’s fixation upon durrant the sexual maniac rather than durrant the murderer and illustrate the growing divide between forces opposed to and supporting changing conceptions of sexual norms during the gilded age. contemporary newsmen further directed their readers’ attention to rumors that durrant committed the murders, as one paper put it, “for the purpose of medical investigation,” fueling sexualized narratives of his crimes even further.“32it is known that durrant was an ardent medical student and took a great interest in diseases of women,” one report from the herald read, “and being unable to conduct his investigations in any legitimate manner, murdered the girls for that purpose.”33journalists turned to his suggestion to miss lucile turner “that she allow him to make a medical examination of her, [him] telling her that he knew of a good place in the church where it could be done without anyone being the wiser” to link an already well established aspect of their coverage to these rumors34. ironically, even by publishing dismissals of such reports, newspapers gave them more credence, one article outlining in great detail the rumor “that blanche lamont was lured to the church by durrant’s promise to perform a criminal operation on her to save her from disgrace” before briefly admitting that “the city autopsy physician [stated] the rumor was without foundation.”35 ultimately, the more analysis the penny press devoted to durrant’s supposed medically-motivated investigative appetites, the more they became part of the story. newsmen recognized this fact and intensified the practice anyways, reflecting their preoccupation with the sexual aspects of the emmanuel baptist church murders before all others. another part of durrant’s past scrutinized by newspapers relates to his actual academic performance at cooper medical college, which most outlets depicted as suspiciously strong. “[durrant] read textbooks, crammed science for his examinations and is said by his family to have read little or none of the lighter literature of the day” alleged one story from the call, hinting at durrant’s supposed peculiarity.”36his standing in none of his classes fell below 97 percent” read another out of the herald, the author conconcedes that “theodore durrant is the last man whom anybody would suspect of committing a murder.”37 even in jail, as multiple outlets discussed, “durrant is studying medical books and says upon his release he will continue his course until graduation”—an interest that surely bordered on an obsession38. newspapers’ juxtaposition of these details chronicling durrant’s academic success with the aforementioned side e8ects of studying modern medicine constitutes another example of their sexualization of the emmanuel church murders. while not as explicit as lengthy tirades explaining durrant’s many perversions, these kinds of oblique associations nonetheless contributed to the penny press’s erotic narrative of durrant and his crimes. outside of his actual experience as a medical student, newspapers littered their stories with a variety of psychosexual speculation regarding durrant’s past behavior, all of which conveniently played into their depiction of him as a romantically deprived carnal maniac. durrant’s main in$++&35$' %&6"-*" ,#5.,#, 0#$.$ 15..&3" +5.1$.$1 "0( 0(+$3 6&.-*#-(3$.* -3 1895 (!"#$%&'( ") "3&0') 1+'%"$() 46 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 terest, as newsmen had already established, was his medical studies—but one story claimed that because he “was very much interested in his studies and work, fond of describing the horrors of a dissecting room,” he had in fact lost “any feeling of reverence for the human body.”39 when the city’s autopsy physician concluded his report, several stories almost excitedly noted the fact “that the murdered girl had been outraged [raped] prior to the murder,” adding an entirely new element to the existing sexual narrative40. other stories made light of “expert” opinion linking durrant’s academic interests with seal violence, like that of police surgeon summers, who claimed medical backing for the theory that there were “‘men whose animal passions could not be aroused without the sight of blood,’” and insisted that “’the post mortem examination clearly proves that the victims were killed and afterwards outraged.’”41 an incredibly early report from the herald— released mere days after durrant’s arrest—testified to his “jekyll-hyde character”: “in emanuel church he was noted for his religious fervor. other residents of the mission district say he was a frequenter of saloons, played cards and billiards in wine rooms, nightly visited with other youths saloons with side entrances for women. his classmates at the medical college say that durrant was blasphemous and flippant in conversation, especially about women.”42 reporters gravitated towards the most outrageous and openly erotic elements of the durrant case in an unprecedented way, and often without much evidence. the uniformity of their narrative—and the fact that papers favored the sexually eccentric over the accurate—underscores the ways in which the changing sexual values and attitudes of the gilded age impacted reportage of durrant. scrutinizing durrant’s present another angle in the penny press’s coverage of the durrant case sought to examine not his past, but his present. more specifically, his behavior following his arrest. journalists initially directed this kind of reporting at durrant’s deportment in court and jail, which they claimed illustrated his guilt in the same implicitly sexual manner his romantic failures had. articles marveled at durrant’s lack of emotion throughout the legal proceedings, especially when the evidence was stacked against him. one report noted that “whether their testimony is strong against him or only inferentially accusing, his expression is the same. […] he talks very little to his lawyers, pays absolutely no attention to the crowd […], and watches the proceedings with unconcern.”43 other papers mentioned his “calm, imperturbable expression,” his “stolid indi8erence,” or his “air of unconcern,” hinting at an almost unnatural level of disinterest in his fate.44 reports discussing durrant’s behavior in jail were no di8erent—“durrant keeps up his wonderful composure,” one article observed, adding that at “about 10 o’clock yesterday morning several students, the majority being ladies […] paid him a visit.”45 to the american penny press, durrant’s lack of emotion in court and jail, his already well-established sexual perversions, and the fact that women flocked to see him throughout the legal proceedings (despite his apparent guilt) confirmed his status as a carnally-motivated villain that defied every traditional conception of sexuality. many newspapers’ vilification of durrant’s deportment in the courtroom reached entirely new heights during discussions of violence, especially when that violence was sexual in nature. newspapers described how durrant “showed no emotion” during descriptions of minnie williams’s brutal rape and murder, sitting “calm and unconcerned” with “about the same degree of interest that is manifested by the sphinx as it gazes over the sands of egypt.”46 descriptions like these hardly stood out. according to many newsmen, the person in whom the evidence “produces the least mental perturbation is the prisoner itself,” this particular “to the american penny press, durrant’s lack of emotion in court and jail, his already well-established sexual perversions, and the fact that women flocked to see him throughout the legal proceedings (despite his apparent guilt) confirmed his status as a carnally-motivated villain that defied every traditional conception of sexuality” 47 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, author choosing to revoke durrant’s humanity by simply referring to him as “it.”47 the same article cast durrant as “an enigma, a monster of crime and depravity”—a man whose sexual crimes were so heinous he no longer deserves that title48. these reports continually ostracized durrant in truly remarkable ways. however, their main objective was to single out the sexual nature of his crimes as the thing that held the most significance. by portraying durrant as a violent sexual freak who listened to recitals of savagery “with no more emotion than he would display at a college lecture,” the penny press solidified their unabashedly erotic narrative to please their voracious readers’ yearning for that kind of content in ways americans had not in prior decades49. in addition to their use of his cold demeanor as evidence of sexual impropriety, the penny press also examined durrant’s many female admirers as a means of amplifying the sexual undertones of their reporting. the first incident discussed by the national press occurred on april 24th, shortly after durrant’s arrest, when “a female crank” claiming to be “a gypsy queen” talked briefly with durrant in his cell before announcing to a pool of reporters “‘he is not the man.’”50 the episode sparked visits from women around the bay area, a development which journalists seized upon. “women are daft over durrant” declared one silver blade headline, its author marveling at how “the county jail is besieged with women daily, anxious to see durrant and leave flowers for him.”51 other articles reviewed the young women “who seem to regard [durrant] as something of a hero,” visiting his jail cell “to gape at him through the bars.”52 stories of his female admirers perfectly played into the already well-grounded sexual nature of his crimes, with durrant now appearing as some sort of hypnotic force with unnatural sexual charisma—at least enough to convince “foolish women,” as one author lamented, of his innocence53. such stories typified the sexualization of the emmanuel baptist church murders, exposing yet more instances of the penny press’s obsession with the most erotic elements of his crimes. gilded age newsmen further pointed to durrant’s close relationship with his mother as evidence of his guilt thanks to some kind of troubled upbringing, often implying possible sexual impropriety. one call report, attempting to find a justification for durrant’s imperturbability in the courtroom, guessed that “the proximity of the mother of the defendant may have something to do with his easy manner.”54 what began as a series of seemingly innocent remarks about a mother and her son’s close relationship quickly spiraled out of control with speculative innuendo soon dominating all discussion of durrant’s mother. a story out of the louisiana populist, for example, found that “his mother is his staunchest advocate, just as was the aged mother of [infamous murderer and medical student] carlyle harris, whose history in some respects resembles that of durrant’s.”55 another story from the seattle postintelligencer speculated that a young miscreant out of spokane, washington named karl gerul8—“the son of a prostitute [and] a born criminal”—compared quite fittingly with “[monstrosities] like tom blanck or theodore durrant,” other criminals said to have troubled upbringings56. newspapers’ scrutiny of durrant’s relationship with his mother indeed stemmed from, at least in part, nineteenthcentury conceptions of women as mothers (and therefore the primary architects of their children’s future behavior). but articles discussing their interactions, especially given the totality of their licentious coverage, unquestionably took on some sexual undertones, another reality that exposes the penny press’s fetishization of sexual violence. significantly, papers’ coverage of durrant’s mother actively excluded his father from nearly all discussion of his crimes. one article from the call took this exclusion to almost comical levels—after briefly mentioning durrant’s father’s entrance into the courtroom, the author remarked that “all eyes were turned in that direction to see if the mother of the prisoner would follow.”57 of their interactions in the courtroom, one journalist alluded to an unusually intimate relationship, writing: “the mother of the prisoner was, naturally, the object of a good deal of curiosity. but very few in the courtroom had seen her before, and “what began as a series of seemingly innocent remarks about a mother and her son’s close relationship quickly spiraled out of control with speculative innuendo soon dominating all discussion of durrant’s mother.” 48 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 were anxious to see how she was bearing up under the ordeal of her son’s imprisonment and approaching trial. those who expected to see red eyes and tears and agony was depicted upon the face of the unfortunate woman were disappointed. her eyes were bright, there were no traces of tears, and no agony was reflected in the countenance of the prisoner’s mother. she was calm—more than calm—talking to her son and smiling cheerfully upon him during the entire day in court.”58 the author followed this passage with a single line mentioning the presence of durrant’s father. again, while much of this undue focus on durrant’s mother can undoubtedly be attributed to nineteenth-century conceptions of women as the parents responsible for raising children, the penny press’s conscious exclusion of his father from the conversation underscored the implicitly sexual narrative they established from the very beginning of his case. romanticizing lamont and williams though they devoted the vast majority of their coverage to theodore durrant himself, newspapers sexualized the emmanuel baptist church murders in another way: by emphasizing the maidenhood of his victims. blanche lamont in particular, received much praise from the press, who frequently reiterated her womanhood. the day after her disappearance, for example, the call published a story concerning “a beautiful girl” that had59 gone missing, establishing her femininity from the outset. a subsequent report alleged lamont “had a filled-in frame and was a romantic,” paving the way for later stories that outlined durrant’s exploitation of those characteristics60. indeed, after durrant’s arrest, papers highlighted witness testimony to this e8ect. one acquaintance, dr. vogel, told the call that “‘blanche was such a good girl that she thought everybody was as good as she was and she might have been taken advantage of.’”61 an early assessment from the herald epitomized journalists’ portrayal of lamont, the innocent victim of an erotic maniac, describing her as a “slender, graceful, well dressed, brown-haired, accomplished […]. she was simply a very pretty girl, romantic, according to some of her school friends, intensely matter-of-fact according to her relatives.”62 emphasizing lamont’s femininity alone would not necessarily have constituted a sexualization of the murders. but given that reporters juxtaposed such fawning descriptions of romantic purity with gruesome ones outlining sexual brutality, they clearly sought to create an apparent dichotomy between durrant and his victims with sex at its center. the penny press subjected minnie williams to similar treatment. however, given her temperamental di8erences from lamont, they highlighted distinct aspects of her character that could have (in their narrative) contributed to her murder. however often reporters brought up blanche lamont the romantic— “the picture of the girl in the fireside companion stories who has adventures among the traps of a great city,” according to one report from the herald—they just as often brought up minnie williams the vulnerable63. shortly after her disappearance, for instance, the call wrote that minnie williams, “frail, weak, [and] inexperienced,” had vanished64. whereas reporters had argued lamont’s confident personality and extensive romantic experience could have gotten her into trouble with potential wrongdoers, with minnie williams, they claimed the opposite: her romantic, and, yes, sexual “inexperience” made her an easy target for predators like durrant. from opposing, nearly contradictory angles, gilded age newsmen had identified both women’s unique susceptibilities that had contributed to their murder—doing so through an exclusively sexual lens. newsmen usually published stories discussing each victim individually, but they likewise sought to uphold their joint maidenhood by grouping lamont and williams together from time to time. some san franciscans accomplished this job for them. judge conlan, the justice presiding over durrant’s case, personally informed the san francisco call of the unfortunate nature of his crimes: “’[jack the ripper’s] crimes had for their victims women of bad character,’”65 he argued, suggesting it was lamont and williams’s sexual purity that made durrant’s murders all the more unacceptable. if, like jack the ripper, he had simply murdered prostitutes, perhaps the public outcry would not have been so severe. the call further summarized the remarks of a rev. mr. boynton (of san francisco’s first baptist church), who launched into a protracted tirade during one sermon that instructed women of the city to “promise themselves ‘i will not go anywhere, under any pretext whatever, unless accompanied by my father or my brother. i will not enter anyplace where there are not others.”66 opinions like those of conlan and boynton dominated reporting on durrant’s murders, at least during discussions of his victims. and while they certainly exposed the misogynistic conceptions of womanhood that pervaded late nineteenth-century america, they also exemplified the kind of sexual division the press sought to establish between durrant, the savage, and lamont and williams, the romantically vulnerable. 49 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, the “pornography of violence” another phenomenon present in nearly all newspaper coverage of the durrant case is something historian karen haltunnen terms “the pornography of violence”—that is, nineteenth-century america’s widespread fetishization of violence through its “pornography” in books, papers, and other media—all of which featured descriptions or images of vicious crimes in increasingly graphic detail67. the penny press’s coverage of the emmanuel church murders embodied this pornography to the extreme. an early report from the san francisco call detailed how a “knife had been driven again and again and again into [minnie williams’s] breast” before delving into the minutiae of durrant’s violent acts in later coverage68. durrant “cut her wrist so that she would bleed to death, and to complete the murderous work, had driven a knife to her heart and in a bestial fury slashed her breasts,” one story out of the wichita daily eagle read, concluding that “the stabbing and slashing was done after the girl was dead.”69 ironically, the violent pornography cultivated more violent pornography, much of this variety speculative. call reporter john mcnaught, for example, informed his readers of the (unquestionably racialized) divide between what he called the “brute” and the “fiend,” the latter of which durrant must be: “there are just two classes of criminals who outrage women and murder them. one of these is the low, brutish criminal whose lust and ferocity are tempered by an intellect hardly su!cient to lift him above the level of a gorilla. the second is the man of intellect whose intelligence is distorted by a species of sexual madness growing out of some perverse diabolism of nature. all criminal history attests that only these two classes often, the brute and the fiend, commit crimes of this kind.”70 as violent speculation ran wild, other stories began condemning the emmanuel baptist church itself, one report from the anaconda standard claiming “a stain of human blood marks its history.”71 the author, apparently horrified, went on to detail how one of the church’s former pastors “killed a newspaper proprietor,” while another, he added rather abruptly, “blew out his brains.”72 such absurd descriptions epitomized the pornography of violence produced by durrant’s murders, with newsmen devising evermore outlandish reports to satisfy the insatiable public. while newspapers certainly fetishized all types of violence in the durrant case, they especially did so if that violence was sexual in nature. in the immediate aftermath of the murders, newsmen raved whenever the police released shocking details, as in one call report which gawked at their discovery that the murderer had shoved “a portion of [lamont’s] underclothing” down her throat73. indeed, such outrageously sexual details sent both newspapers and readers into a frenzy. another call story almost gleefully recounted how lamont’s dress “had been unbuttoned and then torn from the body through impatience,” leaving her lying on the floor of the church’s belfry “absolutely nude.”74 reporters even complained of a lack of excitement as the months went on—(authorities had finished collecting most of the facts over the course of april and may 1895)— the volume of licentious details released on a weekly basis waning accordingly. the herald, for example, lamented that “as the trial progresses interest in it seems to lag,” somberly describing how “the crowd of morbidly curious people who have assembled at the courtroom door day after day is growing less” as newspapers ran out of new durrant-related “pornography” to distribute. however, such sobering realities failed to dissuade the penny press, which found entirely new, and unconventional ways to fetishize the murders. one facet of this unorthodox approach involved reporting on the astonishing july 1895 development concerning a san francisco playwright who planned to dramatize durrant’s murders in his theatrical production. manager of san francisco’s alcazar theater w. r. daily, reported the “another visual assessment out of the louisiana populist depicted two versions of durrant posing as robert louis stevenson’s infamous villain dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, complemented by illustrations of a knife embedded in a skull” 50 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 oregon mist, “closed arrangements with richard c. white to make a dramatization of the durrant case,” adding that “mr. daily believes that there is plenty of material in the story of the emmanuel church murders.”75 lacking substantive coverage as durrant’s attorneys took their time selecting jurors, the penny press milked the theatrical development for weeks. reporters amplified the divide between those eager to see the performance and others, like the pastors discussed in one herald report, who believed the play would “demoralize the community.”76 as it became increasingly clear the play would not end up being performed, the dalles times-mountaineer went so far as to entertain the theory that “if the fiend durrant is acquitted of the charge against him he will be engaged at a remunerative salary to play the leading role in the play based on upon the heinous crimes.”77 in short, the penny press spent nearly a month producing new “pornography” by fetishizing the outrage over a theatrical production, the play itself a fetishization and pornographic o8shoot of theodore durrant’s violent crimes. such absurdities exemplified the pornography of violence produced by the penny press in their obsessive coverage of the emmanuel church murders. another way the penny press fetishized the murders when they lacked new developments involved publishing readers’ violent poetry. the call, for instance, published a “remarkable” poem by a man named george king, who put his unique spin on the church murders: “into the church they were decoyed by some fiend, but i won’t speak his name. / there to commit the bloody deed, he understood the game. […] there he did assault her [williams] in a fiendish way, / then took her life by strangling, that’s what the coroner’s jury say. […] the perpetrator of the deed did it in cold blood, / more than human nerves he had, his business he understood. […] young girls all take warning by the two innocent girls’ sad fate, / and be aware of all false young men, with them don’t stay out late. […] mothers all take warning by this sad a"air, / guard your girls day and night, of them take good care, / for if you don’t some day you may rue it when it is too late, / so remember well and bear in mind the two innocent girls’ fate.”78 newspapers littered their discussions of the church murders with similarly targeted poetry, highlighting the manner in which they relentlessly pumped out, or at the very least gave voice to durrant “pornography.” newspapers further accompanied their reportage with various gruesome illustrations that escalated their pornography of violence for voracious readers to new levels, visually. the dalles times-mountaineer, for instance, positioned several illustrations of blanche lamont’s rotting, naked corpse, the blood-stained floor of emmanuel baptist church, and one of the knives used to stab minnie williams next to their discussion of durrant’s romantic failures, rather heavy-handedly establishing their belief (or rather, lack thereof) in his innocence.79 another visual assessment out of the louisiana populist depicted two versions of durrant posing as robert louis stevenson’s infamous villain dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, complemented by illustrations of a knife embedded in a skull. at the bottom of the drawing, a snake slithered past durrant’s feet.80 because the cost of photography precluded most news outlets from using it during the late nineteenth-century, the penny press took an illustrative approach instead. their quest to reveal the most licentious and sensational details of the emmanuel church murdersthey produced yet another variety of violent pornography that overshadowed the entirety of their coverage of durrant. maud allan, durrant’s fate, and conclusion durrant’s sister, erotic dancer maud allan, su8ered similar treatment at the hands of the press a few years later after a brief (but successful) career in europe. whereas durrant’s accusers often straddled the line between implicitly “ultimately, print coverage of “the demon of the belfry” and his crimes during the gilded age underscores the ways in which media dramatically shapes public perception, an enduring reality that continues throughout the contemporary united states” 51 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, !%3%,"!' 1. john d’emilio and estelle b. freedman, intimate matters: a history of sexuality in america, (chicago: university of chicago press, 2013), 300. 2. estelle b. freedman, “sexuality in nineteenth-century america: behavior, ideology, and politics,” reviews in american history 10, no. 4 (1982): 196–215, www.jstor.org/stable/2701827. 3. oliver chan and kathleen m. heide, “sexual homicide: a synthesis of the literature,” trauma, violence & abuse 10, no. 1 (2009): 31-54, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26636179. 4. james alan fox and jack levin, “multiple homicide: patterns of serial and mass murder,” crime and justice 23 (1998): 407455, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147545. 5. herbert g. kinnell, “serial homicide by doctors: shipman in perspective,” bmj: british medical journal 321, no. 7276 (2000): 1594-1597, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25226531. 6. erich fromm, war within man: a psychological inquiry into the roots of destructiveness (philadelphia: peace literature service, american friends and service committee, 1963), 7-23. 7. toni bentley, sisters of salome, (new haven: yale university press, 2002), 49-84. 8. lacy mcdearmon, “maud allan: the public record,” dance chronicle 2, no. 2 (1978): 85-105, http://www.jstor.org/ stable/1567472. 9. karen haltunnen, murder most foul: the killer and the american gothic imagination (cambridge: harvard university press, 2001), 60-90. 10. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. the newspapers used for this essay come from the library of congress’s website, chronicling america, at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. 11. “forging the links on him,” the salt lake herald, 17 april 1895, 1. 12. “not a missing link,” rock island argus, 5 may 1895, 2. 13. “durrant’s examination,” the dalles-times mountaineer, 4 may 1895, 2. 14. weaving a web round theodore durrant,” san francisco call, 16 april 1895, 3. 15. the frisco mystery,” the indianapolis journal, 26 april 1895, 1. 16. “durrant in the courtroom,” the herald, 23 july 1895, 1. 17. “forging the links on him,” the salt lake herald, 17 april 1895, 1. and explicitly defining his sexual misdeeds, critics of allan and her rumored homosexuality showed no such hesitation. they characterized allan and her rumored sexual “degeneracy” as the antithesis of lamont and williams, idols of traditional nineteenth-century womanhood81. scholars toni bentley and lacy mcdearmon have chronicled allan’s very open vilification in the british and american press because of those accusations, exposing the gendered dichotomy of sexual discourse in the victorian era—and how the media theatrically exploited this discourse with events involving both men and women82. eventually, interest in the emmanuel church murders and their licentious details waned. after a media storm following the jury’s ruling, which found durrant guilty of murder on november 23, 1895, public interest moved elsewhere. the court sentenced durrant to death by hanging, and police transported him to san quentin prison just north of san francisco shortly after the conclusion of his trial—decisions which won much media praise. though he maintained his innocence and appealed the court’s ruling several times, (generating the occasional article in the san francisco call, the herald, or other papers that had covered his case), he was ultimately executed at san quentin on january 7, 1898, with his mother by his side. the late nineteenth-century penny press’s overtly sensual coverage of the emmanuel baptist church murders influenced theodore durrant’s conceptions, his crimes, and his victims in a sexual way, and was itself the product of changing conceptions of sexuality during the gilded age. both entire newspapers and individual journalists romanticized blanche lamont and minnie williams, whom they cast as icons of traditional sexuality, while simultaneously fetishizing durrant’s violence— particularly its sexual aspects. their emphasis on his romantic failures, scrutiny of his academic career, and sentimentalization of his victims all contributed to the development of his extraordinary image in the american public’s mind: not a murderer driven to kill in traditional ways by traditional means, but a sexual deviant hell-bent on destroying traditional notions of sensuality. again, such representations influenced theodore durrant’s public knowledge in specific, but they also—and more importantly— influenced the public’s conceptions of sexuality more generally. ultimately, print coverage of “the demon of the belfry” and his crimes during the gilded age underscores how media dramatically shapes public perception, an enduring reality that continues throughout the contemporary united states. 52 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 18. “new evidence against durrant,” the seattle postintelligencer, 21 august 1895, 3; “insulter of women,” the indianapolis journal, 21 august 1895, 2; “his baseness was boundless,” the salt lake herald, 21 august 1895, 2. 19. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held,” the dalles times-mountaineer, 20 april 1895, 2. 20. “blood stained church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 21. “durrant murder case,” the record-union, 24 april 1895, 1. 22. “miss turner weaves a web,” the salt lake herald, 24 april 1895, 1 23. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 24. “pawned a ring like blanche lamont’s,” san francisco call, 3 august 1895, 14. 25. weaving a web,” the arizona republican, 17 may 1895, 1. 26. “durrant’s trial continued until tomorrow morning,” the herald, 24 july 1895, 1. 27. “seeking to stem the tide,” the salt lake herald, 6 may 1895, 1. 28. “weaving a web round theodore durrant,” san francisco call, 16 april 1895, 3. 29. “review of durrant,” the louisiana populist, 21 june 1895, 4. 30. ibid., 4; “forging the links on him,” the salt lake herald, 17 april 1895, 1. 31. “the church murders,” the new york tribune, 21 april 1895, 22. 32. “looks dark for durrant,” the herald, 16 april 1895, 1. 33. ibid., 1. 34. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held,” the dalles times-mountaineer, 20 april 1895, 2. 35. “footgear is found,” the wichita daily eagle, 23 april 1895, 1. 36. “their request denied,” san francisco call, 1 may 1895, 5. 37. “blood stained the church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 38. “durrant runs a big blu8,” the salt lake herald, 10 may 1895, 1. 39. “blood stained the church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 40. “the examination resumed,” the dalles weekly chronicle, 4 may 1895, 1. 41. “looks dark,” arizona weekly citizen, 20 april 1895, 3. 42. “looks dark for durrant,” the herald, 16 april 1895, 1. 43. “told on the witness stand,” the herald, 24 april 1895, 1. 44. “durrant murder case,” the record-union, 24 july 1895, 1; “miss lamont’s death,” the indianapolis journal, 2 may 1895, 5; “same old bravado,” the salt lake herald, 30 may 1895, 1. 45. “a bloody shoe is found in the church,” san francisco call, 21 april 1895, 6. 46. “key carried by durrant,” the salt lake herald, 23 april 1895, 1; “blood-stained coat is found in berkeley,” san francisco call, 23 april 1895, 5. 47. “theo durrant is again before the bar,” san francisco call, 24 april 1895, 5. 48. ibid., 5. 49. “murder of miss williams,” the record-union, 20 april 1895, 1. 50. “the trial continues,” the daily morning astorian, 24 april 1895, 1. 51. ”women are daft over durrant,” the silver blade, 27 july 1895, 2. 52. “the durrant examination,” the record-union, 25 april 1895, 1. 53. ibid., 3. 54. “the durrant jurors, san francisco call, 24 july 1895, 14. 55. “review of durrant,” the louisiana populist, 21 june 1895, 4. 56. “notable dead,” the seattle post-intelligencer, 24 april 1895, 8. 57. “durrant moves for change in venue,” san francisco call, 23 july 1895, 15. 58. “durrant is denied change of venue,” san francisco call, 26 july 1895, 14. 59. “the mystery of a girl,” san francisco call, 10 april 1895, 14. 60. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 61. “must stand trial,” san francisco call, 3 may 1895, 5. 62. “blood stained the church,” the herald, 15 april 1895, 1. 63. ibid., 1. 64. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 65. “must stand trial,” san francisco call, 3 may 1895, 5. 66. “clews still lead to durrant,” san francisco call, 18 april 53 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, 1895, 5. 67. haltunnen, murder most foul, 60-90. 68. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 69. “goes into more detail,” the wichita daily eagle, 21 april 1895, 1. 70. “clews still lead to durrant,” san francisco call, 18 april 1895, 5. 71. “verdict of the jury,” the anaconda standard, 20 april 1895, 1. 72. ibid., 1. 73. “stuck down in the shadow of the altar,” san francisco call, 14 april 1895, 6. 74. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church,” san francisco call, 15 april 1895, 3. 75. “to dramatize the murders,” the oregon mist, 19 july 1895, 1. 76. “durrant in the courtroom,” the herald, 23 july 1895, 1. 77. “no title,” the dalles times-mountaineer, 10 august 1895, 2. 78. “in cell twenty-eight,” san francisco call, 5 may 1895, 5. 79. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held,” the dalles-times mountaineer, 20 april 1895, 2. 80. “review of durrant,” the louisiana populist, 21 june 1895, 4. 81. lacy mcdearmon, “maud allan: the public record,” dance chronicle 2, no. 2 (1978): 85-105, http://www.jstor.org/ stable/1567472. 82. toni bentley, sisters of salome, (new haven: yale university press, 2002), 49-84. /!7!/!%.!' bentley, toni. sisters of salome. new haven: yale university press, 2002. “blacker grows the cloud over emmanuel baptist church.” san francisco call, april 15, 1895. “blood stained church.” the herald, april 15, 1895. “blood-stained coat is found in berkeley.” san francisco call, april 23, 1895. “a bloody shoe is found in the church.” san francisco call, april 21, 1895. chan, heng-choon (oliver), and kathleen m. heide. “sexual homicide: a synthesis of the literature.” trauma, violence, & abuse 10, no. 1 (2009): 31–54. https://doi. org/10.1177/1524838008326478. “the church murders.” the new york tribune, april 21, 1895. “clews still lead to durrant.” san francisco call, april 18, 1895. d’emilio, john, and estelle b. freedman. intimate matters: a history of sexuality in america. university of chicago press, 2013. “to dramatize the murders.” the oregon mist, july 19, 1895. “the durrant examination.” the record-union, april 25, 1895. “durrant’s examination.” the dalles-times mountaineer, may 4, 1895. “durrant in the courtroom.” the herald, july 23, 1895. “durrant is denied change of venue.” san francisco call, july 26, 1895. “the durrant jurors.” san francisco call, july 24, 1895. “durrant moves for change in venue.” san francisco call, july 23, 1895. “durrant murder case.” the record-union, april 24, 1895. “durrant runs a big blu8.” the salt lake herald, may 10, 1895. “durrant’s trial continued until tomorrow morning.” the herald, july 24, 1895. 54 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 “the examination resumed.” the dalles weekly chronicle, may 4, 1895. “footgear is found.” the wichita daily eagle, april 23, 1895. “forging the links on him.” the salt lake herald, april 17, 1895. fox, james alan, and jack levin. “multiple homicide: patterns of serial and mass murder.” crime and justice 23 (1998): 407–55. https://doi.org/10.1086/449274. freedman, estelle b. “sexuality in nineteenth-century america: behavior, ideology, and politics.” reviews in american history 10, no. 4 (1982): 196–215. https://doi. org/10.2307/2701827. “the frisco mystery.” the indianapolis journal, april 26, 1895. fromm, erich. war within man: a psychological enquiry into the roots of destructiveness; a study and commentary. philadelphia: peace literature service of the american friends service committee, 1963. “further testimony in regard of the crime for which durrant is held.” the dalles times-mountaineer, april 20, 1895. “goes into more detail.” the wichita daily eagle, april 21, 1895. halttunen, karen. murder most foul: the killer and the american gothic imagination. cambridge: harvard university press, 2001. “his baseness was boundless.” the salt lake herald, august 21, 1895. “in cell twenty-eight.” san francisco call, may 5, 1895. “insulter of women.” the indianapolis journal, august 21, 1895. “key carried by durrant.” the salt lake herald, april 23, 1895. kinnell, herbert g. “serial homicide by doctors: shipman in perspective.” bmj: british medical journal 321, no. 7276 (2000): 1594–97. https://doi. org/10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1594. “looks dark.” arizona weekly citizen, april 20, 1895. “looks dark for durrant.” the herald, april 16, 1895. mcdearmon, lacy. “maud allan: the public record.” dance chronicle 2, no. 2 (1978): 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/01472527808568721. “miss lamont’s death.” the indianapolis journal, may 2, 1895. “miss turner weaves a web.” the salt lake herald, april 24, 1895. “murder of miss williams.” the record-union, april 20, 1895. “must stand trial.” san francisco call, may 3, 1895. “the mystery of a girl.” san francisco call, april 10, 1895. “new evidence against durrant.” the seattle post-intelligencer, august 21, 1895. “no title.” the dalles times-mountaineer, august 10, 1895. “not a missing link.” rock island argus, may 5, 1895. “notable dead.” the seattle post-intelligencer, april 24, 1895. “pawned a ring like blanche lamont’s.” san francisco call, august 3, 1895. “review of durrant.” the louisiana populist, june 21, 1895. “same old bravado.” the salt lake herald, may 30, 1895. “seeking to stem the tide.” the salt lake herald, may 6, 55 !"# $#%&' &( !"# )#*(+, 1895. “stuck down in the shadow of the altar.” san francisco call, april 14, 1895. “their request denied.” san francisco call, may 1, 1895. “theo durrant is again before the bar.” san francisco call, april 24, 1895. “told on the witness stand.” the herald, april 24, 1895. “the trial continues,” the daily morning astorian, 24 april 1895, 1. “verdict of the jury.” the anaconda standard, april 20, 1895. “weaving a web.” the arizona republican, may 17, 1895. “weaving a web round theodore durrant.” san francisco call, april 16, 1895. ”women are daft over durrant,” the silver blade, 27 july 1895, 2. 56 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 !" !# $%&$'#"!(%)*+' ",)" ",' -(./)%!'# ",)" ,(+0 ",' /$*+!'1' "(0)1 )2' .(#"+1 32(. ",' "'-,%(+(41 #'-"(2. 42(5!%4 2)/!0+1 32(. ",' 1990# )%0 (%5)20#, ",' -$22'%" +')0'2# !% ",' 3!'+0 %(5 #'' ",'.#'+6'# )" ",' -'%"'2 (3 -(%-'2%# (6'2 .(%(/(+1 )%0 "2$#" 3(2.!%4 !##$'# ",)" ,)6' +'0 "( 2'%'5'0 !%"'2'#" 32(. ",' $# )""(2%'1 4'%'2)+’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probing the pertinance of antitrust law for big law +$2!(20)% +%"/,3*."+,% of the ten most valuable companies in the world as of november 3rd 2020, seven are technology companies, with five of those seven based in the united states and leaders in their respective sub industries. google, through alphabet inc., facebook and microsoft are three of these companies that have come under scrutiny for allegations of monopolistic or monopoly-forming behavior that could violate competition law of the united states in order to benefit themselves to an outsized degree. as the age of industrial power in the united states has waned, these types of companies have risen to take the place of the jp morgans and standard oils, at least in the eyes of consumer groups and trust-busting minded politicians of capitol hill. however, the fears of these groups are not entirely unfounded. dating back to the earlier telecoms boom and the rise of at&t, there have been fears of a growth of a new age of robber barons in the technology field that could come to dominate competition, forming their own trusts and ensuring that control of their markets is uncontested. dissent appears in this topic over whether or not so-called ‘high technology’ should be considered to fall under the purview of antitrust law, and there was considerable opposition to united states v. microsoft corp. in the academic world, with a combined 240 economists from institutions across the country coming together to warn of the dangers of overzealous enforcement of antitrust measures. worried that this prosecutorial appetite would hamper innovation, scholars wrote an open letter that demonstrated the complexity of the issue and raised the question of how far to go when it came to e8orts to protect competition and consumers from monopolistic tendencies. in this paper, i intend to lay out a brief history of antitrust in the united states and how it relates to the technology industry, focusing on a few major cases that relate to ongoing investigations being conducted by the department of justice and federal trade commision today. i will attempt to show the damages that monopolies can have on an economy, relating these to actions undertaken by certain companies before discussing the merits and demerits of enforcement and current laws enforced in the present day. the issue at hand is not solely an economic one, as even being perceived as a monopoly can prove to be detrimental to a company’s image, adding increased social costs to real or perceived economic costs. greater scrutiny and an increase in bureaucratic oversight can hamper development as more resources are dedicated to litigation, fact finding, and lobbying to counteract these developments. ultimately, there seems to be little agreement on the facts of antitrust measures going forward, with a general fear of ‘big tech’ and concerns over innovation incentives and protectionism weighing down the progress of the issues. criticism of antitrust action is not likely to recede whether it be related to increased or decreased measures, but as the united states raises new concerns regarding the nature of companies in the the technology field like facebook and google, there is likely to be increased discussion that relates to how far to go with the current and following rounds of antitrust action undertaken. however, the end goal will likely always remain the same in the technology industry and the general idea underpinning all antitrust regulation: ensure innovation and a lower barrier to entry is protected while making sure that no one individual or cartel can exert undue control over the market. #+'",/4 monopolization and anti-competitive actions have spanned the history of the united states, dating back to the progressive era and the robber barons who dominated much of the early industrialization of the north american continent. more recently, there have been serious instances where the issue of monopolization was brought to the forefront of the legal and political world, based on the understanding of the sherman act of 1890. the sherman act sought to ensure that no one company, or grouping of companies, could accrue so much power that they were able to dictate the nature in which trade, primarily with foreign powers but also across state boundaries,to allow for free competition and avoid the associated costs that could arrive with a coercive monopoly in the united states. trust busting and enforcement of the antitrust laws in the united states were prominent in the progressive era of the early 1900s. theodore roosevelt was particularly prominent in this e8ort and presided over one of the largest antitrust e8orts of the era with the northern securities co. case ruled to have violated competition law in 1904. the case held that the merger of the great northern and northern pacific railroads was unlawful as it would have created an e8ective monopoly over railroad tra(c in the western half of the united states, and at the time would have become the single largest company in the world. the major consideration underpinning the judgement was the 58 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 assertion that by combining these two railroads under a single holding, they would cease to be in competition with each other and would therefore constitute the creation of a restraint on interstate commerce (northern securities co. v. united states, 1904). more recently, technology companies have become the target for much of the antitrust action undertaken in the last forty or so years. at&t became a target in the case in 1982, breaking up the company’s local holdings into separate regional bell operating companies. it was suspected that at&t was using profits from western electric in order to subsidize the operation of their telecoms network. eventually a settlement was reached where the company was found to be in breach of us antitrust law and was ordered to divest from their network of bell companies and relinquish control of the yellow pages, creating the regional bell operating company system (enis & sullivan, 1985). twenty years later, microsoft came under attack for what was perceived to be acting in an uncompetitive manner. much of the complaint, filed by the us attorney general and twenty other states’ attorney generals, was based on the belief that the bundling of microsoft programs into their operating system was in the pursuit of a monopoly. this act was alleged to give away a microsoft-created product for free in order to further the control of the market that they already enjoyed. specifically, microsoft was alleged to have forced the inclusion of internet explorer into the windows suite, claiming it was an integrated feature of windows and not an extra product that they were bundling into the separate windows product. the court held that the bundling of microsoft’s own browsing program was indeed a violation of the sherman act and therefore anti-competitive. judge jackson ordered the breakup of microsoft into software development and operating system development components, but this was later reversed by an appeals court (united states v. microsoft corp., 2000). after this we see the continuation of antitrust laws in technology and telecoms focused on software and programs with the more recent filings against both facebook and google. in the past few months, the ceos of amazon, facebook, twitter and google all appeared before congress in order to testify over their practices in the virtual space and whether or not these actions have constituted a violation of us competition law. in a 2010 article, fortune stated that, “it’s safe to say social networking is facebook” demonstrating just how prominent that company in particular is in the popular imagination (kevin kelleher, 2010). however, popular image is not the only aspect in which these companies are seen as juggernauts of industry. as with microsoft becoming involved in action by the federal government, recent months have seen the growth of the department of justice and federal trade commission interest in pursuing action against both facebook and microsoft under the provisions of the sherman act. in complaints issued on october 20, 2020 and december 9, 2020 respectively, the federal government seems to be increasing their interest in antitrust action. citing both the 1974 and 1998 cases against at&t and microsoft, deputy attorney general rosenstein called the suit against google, “[an enforcement of ] the sherman act to restore the role of competition and open the door to the next wave of innovation … in digital markets” (o(ce of public a8airs, doj, 2020). additionally, and more recently, the filing of a suit against facebook may be one of the largest and most expansively supported actions taken by the ftc in technology antitrust cases. supported by an investigation from “attorney generals of 46 states, the district of columbia and guam” the complaint issued on december 9, 2020 describes the anticompetitive actions of facebook as including the strategic acquisitions of growing competitors whatsapp and instagram (o(ce of public a8airs, ftc, 2020). it also focuses on platform conduct that required companies developing applications that could interface with facebook to refrain from creating any competing products, e8ectively locking the developers into subservience to facebook’s own applications. the complaint specifically cites the case of vine, a social media app launched by twitter, that was denied access to friends lists originating from facebook due to the perceived threat the new application represented (o(ce of public a8airs, ftc, 2020). this suit is not without merit, as consumer watchdog submitted a complaint to the ftc alleging anti-competitive practices in facebook’s gaming department, requiring that developers using facebook as a social aspect of their games exclusively use facebook credits. consumer watchdog estimated this would bring in $2.1 billion in 2011 alone (simpson, 2011). $%$54'+' from an economic theory standpoint, the issues present in monopolization cases are clear. monopolization is harmful by nature due to the incentives to maximize the individual profit of monopolists rather than producing at the free market equilibrium. as shown by even the most basic economics textbook, a monopolist will not produce at the intersection of the supply and demand curves, but will 59 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ instead produce at a point where marginal revenue equals marginal costs, creating a market where a smaller quantity of goods are produced for a higher price than we would see in even a marginally more competitive market. additionally, monopolized markets will see issues arise with consumer and producer surplus. as the number of suppliers drops to a single one and production shifts back on the price-quantity scale, we will see a combined increase in producer surplus with a similar, but not equal, decrease in consumer surplus along with the deadweight loss of this monopolized market. therefore, we can see that there is a clear and basic need for action to be taken against monopolizers, since the presence of these market practices leads to not only a decrease in the well-being of consumers but also for society as a whole in the deadweight loss. all this for the benefit of just an individual company or consortium. as it relates to technology companies, there are some economic concerns that arise as the government looks to prevent the formation of monopolies in the marketchief among these being the network e8ects that are so prominent in the technology industry. in the department of justice suit against microsoft in 1994, competitors of microsoft submitted a brief with a warning of the network e8ects that were far more prominent in technology than in almost any other market (elzinga et al., 2001). the economic section of this brief argued that by allowing microsoft to grow to such an extent, that the simple nature of their products would lock users into their use, which could lead to the crowding out of potentially superior technology. monopolization in the technology market is not just about the nature of the market itself, nor is antitrust law limited to simply growing too large through that. the sherman act outlaws assaults on competitive practices, and this concern in the tech industry was raised by cornell and cessna when discussing the e8ects that acquisitions can have on the technology market. citing the idea of ‘killer acquisitions’, the article talks about predatory practices in mergers and acquisitions that are outlined in the sherman act as anti-competitive actions (cornell & cessna, 2019). according to their article in competition law international, these acquisitions can be termed ‘acquihires’ due to their goal of taking in talented workers while denying the acquired firms the ability to present new products to the market. data from 2020 may support this assertion of strategic and anti-competitive acquisitions, with a total of 406 mergers and acquisitions in the technology service sector in 2020 with a combined value of over $114 billion. as seen in graph 2, the technology sector had the second largest number of mergers and acquisitions behind only commercial services but outperformed all over sectors in value by at least $70 billion. in fact, the only sector coming anywhere near that number being the health services industry with only $41.8 billion in value from 108 transactions. this suggests that the technology market is seeing vast consolidation of valuable companies that completely outpaces the rates of consolidation of other industries. linking this back to the concerns of network e8ects brought to the forefront in the 1994 case, there is a clear concern here that domination of the technology market can lead to the dumbing down of the field with inferior products, with market share protected only by the size of the networks and financial power given to them and the use of said power to absorb smaller firms that may threaten their dominance. even though the fears of monopoly are clear in the already mentioned microsoft case, there is a key factor that does cast some doubt on how truly anti-competitive microsoft was in their actions leading up to the suit. an open letter, published by the independent institute and run in both the washington post and new york times, decried the suit 4.&6# 1: 4.&6# -''5*".&"-34 "#$ *#-)"* -3 6.-,$ &31 85&3"-"/ *566'/ &* & +&.9$" ,#&34$* ).(+ & 6$.)$,"'/ ,(+6$"-"-:$ +&.9$" "( & ".5$ +(3(6('/. (!"#$%&'( ") '/(4"$."%"$5.5+%1#6.+") 60 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 brought against microsoft as nothing more than action that would benefit none but the company’s competitors. the letter, signed by 240 economists from across the united states, claimed that by allowing the action to go forward, the government would in e8ect be hampering the innovation of the technology industry that had driven microsoft to its position of dominance in the market. the signatories claimed that consumers saw falling prices rather than rising, suggesting that monopoly power was not being exerted by microsoft and that the dominance of bill gates’ company could be attributed to the free markets and dynamism of technology. this dynamism was also credited with driving competitors of the company in 1994 to provide the economic brief mentioned earlier. decrying actions that were being taken as protectionist, the letter warned that too much government overreach into the market would invariably lead to a situation where “successful innovators are penalized, scale economies are lost, and competition is thwarted, not enhanced. instead of preventing prices from rising, antitrust protectionism keeps prices from falling” (the independent institute, 1999). in terms of the formal determination of what is a monopoly, the united states has a relatively robust understanding that allows for market domination but likely not complete control. “a rough rule of thumb in the united states is that a 90% share of a well-defined relevant market is a monopoly, 66% may be a monopoly, and 33% clearly is not.” (waller, 2012, p. 1776) as it pertains to both google as a search engine, it is almost certainly a monopoly. over the last 10 years, google has maintained between 86% and 92% of the global search engine market, making it by definition a monopoly or near monopoly by the standards of the united states, while in the united states alone, there is less clear evidence of this with market share maintained only a little over 60%. since 2008 we can see that it did peak at 68.8% in january of 2016, but this would only make it a likely monopoly by us standards. 4.&6# 2: 4.&6#* *#(0-34 "#$ 35+%$. &31 :&'5$ () +$.4$.* &31 &,85-*-"-(3* -3 *$'$,"$1 -315*".-$*. (!"#$%&'( ") '%/%+'%/) 4.&6# 3: 4.&6#* *#(0-34 4'(%&' *$&.,# $34-3$ +&.9$" *#&.$ &31 1(+$*"-, 5* *$&.,# 85$./ *#&.$ %/ *$'$," *$&.,# $34-3$*. (!"#$%&'( ") '%/%+'%/) 61 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ when we consider the growth of microsoft market share in search query handling, which peaked in july 2020 at 25.9%, it becomes questionable as to how strong is google’s monopoly over this aspect of technology. in 1994, the antitrust case against microsoft was driven in part by evidence brought to the judge by gary reback, an attorney for some of microsoft’s competitors. the evidence consisted of a 96-page amicus brief that provided details he claimed was pertinent to the case (elzinga et al., 2001, p. 637). the clients represented by reback were kept confidential, which raises some questions regarding the incentives for antitrust action in the technology sphere, especially when you consider that reback was also involved in lobbying for such action against microsoft before the suit was brought (elzinga et al., 2001, p. 637). fighting against calls to break up microsoft in 1995, the department of justice had called the attempt a remedy that might advance the interests of microsoft’s competitors but would invariably act against the interests of the public. they claimed that the actions of microsoft had brought benefits to the technology sector as a whole, increasing the rate of innovation and providing a lower barrier to entry for new firms (elzinga et al., 2001, pp. 640–641). table 1 includes the findings from corptech as to the number of software firms in the market around the time of the suits against microsoft. while microsoft may have shown dominance in the market, it is clear that they could not have been acting as an e8ective monopoly with firm formation occurring in such a way. by allowing for suits that target industry drivers, there is ample incentive for companies to latch on to these actions if it will reduce the market share of their competitors. as discussed before, a concern with the technology industry is the presence of strong network e8ects that could drive monopolization. yet, should monopolization be avoided, hindering companies for fear of these e8ects could hamper the growth of the industry as a whole in favor of what would ostensibly become a cartel that controls development for their own needs. potential monopolization in technology has not only created vast economic reserves for the companies suspected of the practices but has also given them vast lobbying power and a reputation in the eyes of the american public as predatory corporations that seek nothing more than the extension of their monopoly power in the market. graph 4 displays a breakdown of just how pervasive the idea of monopolization in the technology industry has become in the united states. indeed the attitudes expressed here are not only held by the average public, but also by academics. discussing the classification of social media in 2013, adam thierer referenced academic zeynep tufecki and her categorization of facebook and google as potential “social utilities” that are at risk of becoming corporatized regardless of their nature as “essential to one’s social existence” (thierer, 2013, p. 254). however, this approach to classifying social media is warned against in the article, regardless of the beliefs of academics. thierer argues that while networks like facebook and twitter provide strong networked services, they are not the endpoint of social media interaction, pointing out that applications like friendster and myspace have faded from the spotlight despite being dominant (thierer, 2013, p. 275). so far, antitrust law has seemed to work well as a measure against monopolization in technology, as it allows for the flexibility of the government in whether to break up com"&%'$ 1: ,(.6(.&"$ "$,#3('(4/ -3)(.+&"-(3 *$.:-,$*, ,(.6"$,# 1&"&%&*$, 5365%'-*#$1 "&%5'&"-(3 (2000) 4.&6# 4: "#$ %.$&91(03 () (6-3-(3 .$4&.1-34 %.$&9-34 56 ‘%-4 "$,#’ %/ 6('-"-,&' &))-'-&"-(3 -3 "#$ 53-"$1 *"&"$* (!"#$%&'( ") '%/%+'%/) 62 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 panies-as was the case with at&t-or to allow companies to continue to exist as they were with simple changes to their own business practices-as was the case with microsoft in 1994. however, in his testimony to congress in october of 2020, bill baer of the brookings institute warned of underenforcement of antitrust measures (baer, 2020). he claimed that the standards for antitrust action were far too high and had led to consolidation of firms in markets that would have been quashed in the 1990s. highlighting the overturned decision against microsoft in 2001, he stated that antitrust action is “too cautious, too worried about adverse e8ects of ‘over enforcement’ (so called type i errors)” (baer, 2020) and that consequently the minimum standard for enforcement was higher than the given black letter law standard of a preponderance of evidence. this fear of error is present in elzinga et al.’s article on the cases against microsoft, stating, “as in medicine, antitrust remedies must be considered for their side e8ects. the antitrust parallel to the hippocratic oath’s “do no harm” is “don’t make it worse.” (elzinga et al., 2001, p. 689). baer went on to decry current antitrust law as omitting the presumption that certain behaviours were likely to lead to the reduction of competition. this would then allow defendants in any antitrust case to simply claim that they were only acting in the same way that any other company would in their position. baer’s final criticism on antitrust actions as of 2020 was not the law itself but the lack of resources available to those enforcing it. in fact, his assertion was not so much a call to action but a call to observation: “but second, more resources would allow for after-action studies of what happened in markets where the agencies decided not to bring enforcement actions or where the courts rejected an antitrust challenge. developing that data would allow the antitrust enforcers to demonstrate to the courts what happens when there is under-enforcement” (baer, 2020). this evaluation of the current state of law could avoid the pitfalls of the type 1 errors he mentioned earlier in his testimony, as further understanding of how the market reacts to actions considered potentially anti-competitive could allow for a more concrete understanding of the ways in which these actions a8ect the market. this can avoid either the problem of overenforcement or underenforcement that has damaged antitrust action over time. .,%.5*'+,% $%3 +625+.$"+,%' so far, the only unifying factor that we can see in antitrust law today is that there is little consensus on where it should go in the future. as discussed, there have been calls for the breakup of larger companies, particularly for microsoft in the cases brought against them by the federal government between 1990 and 2001. all the while, there has also been pushback against this kind of bureaucratic involvement in the market from economists that credit control over the market to the dynamism of technological development and the natural flow of economic cycles. yet what can be agreed upon likely is that there is too much that is currently unclear in antitrust measures as it pertains to technology. some broad conclusions can be drawn about the state of the technology market to give future policy makers an idea of what they are dealing with. looking back to the analysis section, we can see that this sector of the economy is potentially the single greatest value creator of any market in which economic activity currently takes place. that provides lawmakers with a clear dilemma with regulation. obviously the government would want to encourage growth of economic activity in this field, as more activity provides more jobs and higher tax income from profitable companies and employed citizens. however, this kind of market also incentivizes practices that the government may deem unwanted. the department of justice complaint filed this year details the practices said to be used by google to ensure its dominance in such a valuable market, claiming the use of exclusivity agreements and irreversible pre-installations of their own products on devices regardless of the desires of customers. so a balance must be struck that must prevent exploitation but, as the independent institute warned in 1999, does not result in restrictions that muzzle innovation in the field. “...a balance must be struck that must prevent exploitation but, as the independent institute warned in 1999, does not result in restrictions that muzzle innovation in the field.” 63 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ additionally, there is a worry that over-enforcement of these actions as the opening of cases into a competitor by the government may provide a perverse incentive for companies to submit evidence or lobby the government to break up individual companies that have gained a dominant spot simply because of their business acumen, technology, or just random chance that the sherman act does allow for in a competitive market. legislators and regulators must therefore be wary of being overzealous in their approach to the topic at hand, lest they create a less competitive market in search of just the opposite. antitrust law can be tricky for these reasons and the success of the technology industry may be down to the laissez-faire approach the government in the united states has taken, as opposed to the stricter regulation that befalls the european markets. the public perception of companies in the technology sector does leave the average viewer wondering what can be done to restore trust in the technology sector and allow for the innovation that has led to such a growth of economic activity. the most prominent of ideas that could be implemented to answer the problem may be by protecting personal data as a way to reduce the control that large companies exert, particularly on social media. the largest concern about social media control has to do with the level of control to which they exert over the choice of platform. with the acquisition of instagram and whatsapp, facebook was able to allow users to port their data from one platform to another, expanding their network between these three apps and creating a closed system that was mutually beneficial between them. twitter data cannot be shared across these apps and in a similar way, google can port data between devices that use their search engine and create a history and profile from a user’s queries. e8ectively, these companies control a user’s data that they input into their network and can e8ectively lock them in using that data as a ‘sunkcost’. if a user has spent so much time on one platform or network, why would they switch over to another that requires them to build a completely new profile? no matter if the technology on this new network is superior, they simply do not have the interconnectivity that the original network provides. the mit technology review suggests that this policy of data regulation is the best way forward and indeed implies a breakup of technology companies would be more ine(cient and costly than simply regulating their practices (chen, 2019). by removing a user’s data from the control of social media giants, the government could successfully eliminate much of the detrimental lock-in network e8ects of ‘big tech’ and provide a jumping o8 point for increased innovation. instead of exclusive access to data that user’s provide to technology companies, the government could legislate to give control of said data back to consumers or mandate that data be considered an integral part of the online persona of internet users. these users would then be able to lend out that data to platforms and remove it at will. by doing so, technology companies would simply be purveyors of platforms for the data, turning the market from one driven by the collection and control of data to one that would again reward technology and innovation rather than consolidation. this does raise some questions about what kind of data could be shared across platforms and how those platforms could use said data. however, by forcing data to be shared between platforms the advertising market could be opened up as more suppliers enter the market and the barrier to entry for new firms in the social and technology space would be lowered by the newfound prevalence of data in the market. ultimately we would hope to see this policy boost the rate of innovation in the technology sector as mentioned, but some will be at a disadvantage, even as the market would likely grow. facebook, twitter, google, and other technology giants would naturally see their market dominance decrease, particularly in social media , as google seems well insulated in the search engine market. depending on what legislation or amendments to the sherman act are passed, there would likely be litigation that challenges the nature of the data in a similar way to the 2000 microsoft case, potentially claiming said data as a feature of the products and not separate entities over which they exert uncompetitive control. however, should a hands-o8 approach be taken, as suggested in bill baer’s testimony to the house committee on the judiciary, a more scientific approach could lead to more concrete standards of what actions truly lead to monopolistic consolidation. ultimately, the nature of the technology sector is unlikely to change drastically with new antitrust measures undertaken. based on previous cases, if the court rules against facebook and google, there will likely be a challenge and potential settlement that allows for the maintenance of the companies but forces them to release data that they previously held exclusively and orders them to refrain from exclusivity deals, such as google’s deal with apple as cited in the doj complaint of this year (o(ce of public a8airs, doj, 2020). ultimately, americans may dislike “big tech,” but many 64 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 believe they cannot live without it. facebook and google are unlikely to disappear in the same way that microsoft is still a major player in the technology industry. however, should more e8ective standards be determined, we should hope to see a new growth in technology innovation that may upset the power of the established juggernauts. /!7!/!%.!' baer, b. (2020, october 1). proposals to strengthen the antitrust laws and restore competition online [testimony]. chen, a. (2019, june 7). how to regulate big tech without breaking it up. mit technology review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/07/135034/big-tech-monopoly-breakup-ama zon-apple-facebook-google-regulation-policy/ cornell, t., & cessna, a. (2019). do not pass go: a new card in us antitrust enforcement of the tech titans. competition law international (iba), 1502. elzinga, k. g., evans, d. s., & nichols, a. l. (2001). united states v. microsoft: remedy or malady. george mason law review, 9. enis, b., & sullivan, t. (1985). the at&t settlement: legal summary, economic analysis, and marketing implications. journal of marketing, 49(1), 127–136. kevin kelleher. (2010, november 19). how facebook learned from myspace’s mistakes. fortune. https://fortune.com/2010/11/19/how-facebook-learned-frommyspaces-mistakes/ northern securities co. v. united states, (supreme court of the united states 1904). o(ce of public a8airs, doj. (2020, october 20). justice department sues monopolist google for violating antitrust laws. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-monopolist-google-violating-antitr ust-laws o(ce of public a8airs, ftc. (2020, december 9). ftc sues facebook for illegal monopolization. federal trade commission. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2020/12/ftc-sues-facebook-illegal-mono polization simpson, j. (2011). consumer watchdog says facebook credits used in online games violate antitrust law; asks federal trade commission to intervene | consumer watchdog. consumer watchdog. https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/consumer-watchdog-says-facebook-cr edits-used-online-games-violate-antitrust-lawasks-fed the independent institute. (1999, june 2). an open letter to president bill clinton from 240 economists on antitrust protectionism. washington post. thierer, a. (2013). the perils of classifying social media platforms as public utilities. catholic university journal of law and technology, 21. united states v. microsoft corp., (united states district court, district of columbia june 7, 2000). waller, s. w. (2012). social networks and the law: antitrust and social networking. north carolina law review, 90. 65 !"#$%&'() !'%* )'+(%$ !"#$ %&%'( )'$*(#+'$ !"' *,--'*!#,+'!.''!"' /,,)$ .' '&! &-) ,0( +(&#"'&1!". #! &$$'$$'$ !"' '//'*!$ ,/ *'(!&#-0!(#'-! 2(,0%$ ,!"' +(&#&-) !"'#( (,1' #!"' %&!",2'-'$#$ ,/ &13"'#4'(’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’$ #-*#)'-*'$, +0! !"' 4#-) )#'! %(,8'$ #!$'1/ !, +' 4,(' #4%&*!/01 !"&!"' )&$" )0' !, #!$ $%'*#/#* '4%"&$#$ ,!"' *,-$04%!#,,/ /,,)$ "#2" #&-!#,7#)&-!$. !""# !"$ %&"'(&% researching nutrition’s mitigating e!ects on the pathogenesis of alzheimer’s disease *&(,1#-' *,"'%*"/+"+,%’' 3!"!/6+%$"+,% ,7 ,1!/$55 #!$5"# food has e8ects on your body and overall health that may not be completely obvious from the outside. many people believe that regardless of food choices, having a smaller body frame means being healthy. however, nutrition research has shown that certain nutrient groups have various e8ects on the body, including the brain, that prevent or promote the development of diseases and other health problems. following a nutrient-specific diet plan over one’s lifespan can serve as a preventative measure for the development of alzheimer’s disease (ad). numerous studies suggest that guided consumption of vitamin c, vitamin e, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids can mitigate the progression of amyloid-beta plaques, tau tangles, and oxidative stress, thus constituting a preventative and therapeutic, non-pharmaceutical approach to tackling ad. $5;#!+6!/’' /+'& 7$.",/' $%3 .,66,% 0/$+% $0%,/6$5+"+!' the hallmark brain markers found in ad patients are primarily tau tangles and amyloid-beta plaques. the presence of both of these lead to the impairment of memory that characterizes the illness. the accumulation of betaamyloid protein forms these plaques and triggers both synaptic and memory loss, therefore facilitating ad development (nakandakari et al., 2019). tau tangles are composed of aggregated tau proteins that interfere with cellular mechanisms, ultimately causing the cell to die (ibid). the diminishing size of the brain is a result of neuronal and synaptic death, which are more strongly correlated with the memory loss in ad than beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles (samadi et al., 2019). slowing the progression of plaques and tangles would elicit cessation, or at least slowing, of the development of the illness and is something that nutrition can feasibly do. in addition to these precursors, obesity is a main risk factor for ad (szczechowiak et al., 2019). this is widely unknown, for it is not typically mentioned among the commonly known health risks associated with obesity such as diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. given the rising rate of obesity today, the associated risk of alzheimer’s with obesity should be made known to the public. the current lack of awareness stems directly from the common disassociation made by consumers between what they eat and their health beyond body weight. food is meant to nourish and fuel the body, but when food choices are made ignorantly, they may lead to unexpected risks. 7$" .,%'*62"+,% $<</$1$"!' 0!"$-$645,+3 2/,"!+% $..*6*5$"+,% $%3 7,/6$"+,% ,7 "$* "$%<5!' high fat consumption has been shown to exaggerate betaamyloid and tau protein aggregation. nakandakari et al., 2019 conducted a study in which mice were given either standard chow or a short-term high-fat diet to assess the e8ects of a high-fat diet on the ad precursors. it was shown that consumption of the high-fat diet increased beta amyloid content and tau phosphorylation, which leads to tau tangles and neuronal death. the high fat diet was shown to trigger apoptotic alterations in the hippocampus, thus catalyzing the diminishing size of the hippocampus in ad. next, the researchers looked specifically at the impact of saturated fats, which are believed to be the most unhealthy and are recommended to be consumed in moderation. they directly applied palmitate, a component of saturated fatty acids, to neurons and microglial cells over a ten-day period. direct application of palmitate increased beta-amyloid and tau protein content. these results suggest that diets in saturated fat, amplify the production of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles. saturated fat is therefore a nutrient that should be consumed sparingly due to its neurodegenerative e8ects (nakandakari et al., 2019). “the diminishing size of the brain is a result of neuronal and synaptic death, which are more strongly correlated with the meomry loss in ad than beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles.” 68 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 another study conducted by theriault et al. in 2016 replicated these results with mice being fed a high-fat diet containing high levels of saturated fatty acids for four months. it was found that the mice given this high-fat diet showed increased amyloid-beta content in cerebral microvasculature compared to control animals (theriault et al., 2016). these results support the hypothesis that a high-fat diet exacerbates the development of ad. 2,'+"+1! !77!."' ,7 $ 3+!" 5,= +% '$"*/$"!3 7$": "#! 6+%3 3+!" the mediterranean-dash intervention for neurodegenerative delay (mind) diet focuses on the consumption of plant-based foods and fish to limit the intake of animal food sources and saturated fats. this diet is a hybrid between the mediterranean diet and the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (dash) diet, created with the goal of improving brain health. the mind and dash diets are compared later in this paper to examine the varying effectiveness of each due to a key di8erence in foods incorporated. following the guidelines of the mind diet has been shown to slow the development of the typical precursors of ad. when studied in mice, it was found that high intake of n-3 fatty acids from fish sources had the opposite e8ects of saturated fat. n-3 fat consumption was found to decrease beta-amyloid formation and oxidative stress and increase synaptic proteins and dendritic spine density (berendsen et al., 2018 as reviewed by samadi et al., 2019). this increase in synaptic proteins and dendritic spine density serves as a preventative mechanism from ad symptoms, given that losses in these entities have the greatest association with the memory impairments seen in ad. the n-3 fatty acids found in fish typically include omega-3, docosahexaenoic acid (dha), and eicosapentaenoic acid (eha) (vauzour et al., 2015 as reviewed by szczechowiak et al., 2019). all of these components have been shown to improve neuronal transmission and regulate the excitability of neuronal membranes, thus improving memory and learning in healthy, non-ad individuals (ibid). additionally, it has been found that these n-3 fatty acids can promote immunity in patients who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and have therefore not yet progressed to the level of decline that would constitute their impairment as ad. this immunity refers to n-3 fatty acids promoting the phagocytosis of amyloid-beta proteins, therefore dissolving plaque aggregation and reducing memory loss symptoms (fiala et al., 2017 as reviewed by szczechowiak et al., 2019). an additional study conducted by schaefer et al. in 2006 reported these same results of further deteriorating memory. elderly people were given a questionnaire regarding their fish intake habits and were then placed into quartiles based on their levels of consumption of fish that is high in dha. those found to consume the most dha-containing fish had a 47% lower risk of dementia relative to those in the bottom three quartiles (schaefer et al., 2006). this further demonstrates that dha consumption in fish is correlated with lower risk of cognitive decline. "#! 6+%3 3+!" +' !$'+!/ ", 7,55,= $%3 6,/! !77!."+1! "#$% 3$'# a well-balanced diet is one that naturally contains all of the vital nutrients without the need for supplementation. an example of a diet within this category is the dash diet, which emphasizes the consumption of non-processed, plant-based foods and limits the intake of animal products and other foods high in saturated fat (samadi et al., 2019). studies of this diet in elderly people show that subjects who followed the diet the most strictly and received high dash diet scores, were seen to have a 39% reduction in alzheimer’s incidence compared to those who received the lowest dash diet scores (morris et al., 2015). evidently, following a healthful, plant-based diet has the ability to lower the risk of alzhimer’s development considerably. one study conducted by morris et al. in 2015 observed that those following the mind diet had an even greater preventative e8ect on alzheimer’s incidence than did those following dash. the dash and mind diets focus on the same target and avoidance foods, but the mind diet specifically incorporates berries and green leafy vegetables. as a result of this addition, mind diet consumers were “...the mice given this high-fat diet showed increased amyloid-beta content in cerebral microvasculature compared to control animals.” 69 !""# !"$ %&"'(&% shown to have slower cognitive decline than dash consumers. those who complied most strongly to the mind diet and fell into the top tertile of mind diet scores had a 53% reduction in the incidence of ad, compared to those who fell in the lowest tertile of mind diet scores. those who fell in the middle tertile of mind diet scores still had a 35% reduction in the rate of ad development. even low compliance showed significant results, similar to those with the greatest compliance to dash. this indicates that the dash diet must be followed strictly to achieve the same results as a loose following of the mind diet (morris et al., 2015). it is important to note that the dash diet’s guidelines are far more demanding than those of the mind, and yet the mind diet is more powerful even at low compliance. to achieve a high mind diet score, consumption includes only two servings of vegetables per day, two servings of berries per week, and only one serving of fish per week (morris et al., 2015). in contrast, a high dash diet score requires three to four servings of fruits and three to four servings of vegetables per day, in addition to six or more servings of fish per week (ibid). the mind diet is far easier to follow and results in greater protection against ad. so what is it that makes the addition of blueberries and green leafy vegetables so significant? this answer lies within the high antioxidant content of these additions compared to other fruits and vegetable choices that may be made in the dash diet due to no specification. $%"+,:+3$%" "/!$"6!%" +62/,1!3 5!$/%+%< $%3 6!6,/4 +% 6+.! oxidative stress refers to a damaging interaction between reactive oxygen species (ros) and vital compounds in their surroundings in the brain that are associated with the amyloid beta plaque and tau tangle precursors (huang et al., 2016). oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants, which occurs due to either decreased antioxidant defense or increased free radical concentration. free radicals contain at least one unpaired electron in their valence shell, which comes from the reduction of the oxygen in water. this reduction reaction creates strongly reactive hydroxyl radicals, which are a type of ros. these reactive hydroxyl radicals react with fats, proteins, nucleic acids, and other molecules and alter their functions and structures. oxidative stress occurs when ros molecules are created in excess concentrations, thus creating the imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants. antioxidants serve to prevent the formation of ros and are therefore an important component in protecting the brain (ibid). cells in the body typically contain antioxidant defense mechanisms to protect against oxidative stress on their own, but it has been found that ad patients have low levels of these anti-oxidative molecules in their cells (ansari et al., 2010 as reviewed by thapa et al., 2017). this suggests that these low levels of endogenous antioxidants may contribute to the ros overload that produces oxidative stress in ad patients. this endogenous anti-oxidative mechanism diminishes with age, therefore putting elderly people at a greater risk for developing ad (ibid). this demonstrates the importance for the elderly population and those knowingly at risk of ad to consume antioxidants through food sources. studies have tested the e8ects on oxidative stress of distributing the antioxidant ascorbic acid to mice, where it was shown that ascorbic acid and vitamin e treatment promoted facilitatory e8ects on memory retrieval and learning (shahidi et al., 2008 as reviewed by de oliveira et al., 2019). high levels of anxiety have been proven to impair learning capabilities and memory. the ascorbic acid given to the mice served to decrease oxidative stress and lower their anxiety levels, thus increasing their ability to both learn and draw from their memories (hasanein et al., 2010 as reviewed by de oliveira et al., 2019). the second portion of the study gave vitamin e in addition to the ascorbic acid to diabetic mice, in whom they found both improved memory and reversal of memory deficits (ibid). this addition of antioxidants in both groups served to diminish oxidative stress by reestablishing the balance between oxidants and antioxidants in the brain, thus mitigating the problems of memory loss seen that result from oxidative stress. it can therefore be concluded that consuming foods rich in antioxidants have the ability to reduce oxidative stress and improve deficits in learning and “...the dash diet’s guidelines are far more demanding than those of the mind, and yet the mind diet is more powerful even at low compliance.” 70 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 memory seen in ad and could thereby be used as a potential therapeutic or prevention mechanism for the disease. "#! 6+%3 3+!" +' 6,/! !77!."+1! "#$% 3$'# 3*! ", +"' !62#$'+' ,% $%"+,:+3$%" +%"$&! "#/,*<# 0!//+!' $%3 5!$74 </!!% 1!<!"$05!' the mind specifically incorporates berries as a guideline for its fruit intake, which contain higher levels of antioxidants than other fruits. a study conducted by joseph et al. in 1999 shows the power of berries in mitigating oxidative stress which explains the heightened e8ectiveness of the mind diet over the dash, which does not specify berry consumption. the study was done on adult rats to determine the e8ects of both blueberry and strawberry consumption on brain health. rats were given blueberry or strawberry extract in their water for eight weeks. after the eight week period, the e8ects on oxidative stress were measured based on the production of ros in the rats’ brain tissues. results showed that the rats that consumed strawberries and blueberries showed greater oxidative stress protection than the rats in the control group, with the blueberry group showing slightly higher protection than the strawberry group (joseph et al., 1999). blueberry extract has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in the brain by increasing the synthesis of glutathione, which is an antioxidant (brewer et al., 2010 as reviewed by subash et al., 2014). berries contain higher antioxidant content than most other fruits, which is why they are added to the criteria of the mind diet and is ultimately what makes it more successful in reducing the risk of alzheimer’s. while the research on the e8ects of green leafy vegetables on the brain is inconclusive, it can be speculated that due to their high vitamin e content, their impact is the same as was shown in the study conducted by de oliveira et al. in 2019. .,%.5*'+,% figure 1 shows the relationship between eating a healthy diet and having a healthy brain. in this context, a healthy diet is classified as a high intake of antioxidants and n-3 fatty acids, and an unhealthy diet consists of high consumption of saturated fats, trans fats, and simple carbohydrates. as has been outlined in this paper, the nutrients in the healthy diet decrease oxidative stress, thereby decreasing amyloid-beta plaque and tau tangle formation, thus mitigating the e8ects of ad. in contrast, consuming the nutrients within the unhealthy diet produces the opposite e8ects in each component. these e8ects serve to deem a healthy diet as a neuroprotective mechanism, and an unhealthy diet a neurodegenerative mechanism. nutrition is a non-pharmaceutical approach to decrease risk against ad, which is a highly feasible and easily !"#$%& 1: .&3+!%' %1& +0)4#&0!& ") 2/$+"#' 0#%$+&0% 5$"#3' "0 )/!%"$' %1/% 34/( / $"4& +0 %1& 3/%1"5&0&'+' ") /471&+-&$’'. +% .&-"0'%$/%&' %*" '3&!%$#-' ") 0#%$+%+"0 .&!4/$&. /' 1&/4%1( 2&$'#' #01&/4%1( /0. *1&%1&$ %1&+$ 0#%$+&0%' 1/2& 6&&0 '1"*0 %" /.-+% 0&#$"3$"%&!%+2& &))&!%' "$ 0&#$".&5&0&$/%+2& &))&!%', $&'3&!%+2&4(. %1+' 5$/31+! 4/(' "#% %1& .+$&!% !"00&!%+"0 6&%*&&0 .+&% /0. 6$/+0 1&/4%1 %1/% !/0 3$"%&!% )$""$ !"0%$+6#%& %" %1& .&5&0&$/%+"0 ") %1& 6$/+0 +0 /471&+-&$’' .+'&/'&. ()$"'/-/.+ &%. /4) 71 !""# !"$ %&"'(&% controllable factor that individuals can take upon themselves with minimal e8ort. given the little knowledge of the average person about the connection between the foods they eat and their brain health, the government should distribute a public service announcement to promote the importance of nutrition and how it can impact not just your weight and your heart, but also the brain. there are many claims about other nutrient groups, such as foods high in zinc and aluminum, however the evidence found is limited. with the current research available, it is di(cult to deduce the details to make a nutritional approach concretely e8ective. these gray areas include the duration of time this dietary approach needs to be followed for it to be e8ective, as well as how strictly. while one may argue that there are too many alternative factors involved to report a connection between food and the brain, with the few therapies available for alzheimer’s currently, any step toward a potential cure should be considered. we ought to take advantage of such scientific findings and promote more informed consumption as a society to increase longevity and influence the factors that contribute to chronic illness where we can. /!7!/!%.!' oliveira, i. j. l. d., souza, v. v. d., carvalho, a. c. p., tomaz, c., & da-silva, s. l. (2019). e8ects of ascorbic acid combined to environmental enrichment on anxiety and memory. psychology & neuroscience, 12(3), 363–378. doi: 10.1037/pne0000171 huang, w.-j., zhang, x., & chen, w.-w. (2016). role of oxidative stress in alzheimer’s disease. biomedical reports, 4(5), 519–522. doi: 10.3892/br.2016.630 joseph, j. a., shukitt-hale, b., denisova, n. a., bielinski, d., martin, a., mcewen, j. j., & bickford, p. c. (1999). reversals of age-related declines in neuronal signal transduction, cognitive, and motor behavioral deficits with blueberry, spinach, or strawberry dietary supplementation. the journal of neuroscience, 19(18), 8114–8121. doi: 10.1523/jneurosci.19-18-08114.1999 morris, m. c., tangney, c. c., wang, y., sacks, f. m., bennett, d. a., & aggarwal, n. t. (2015). mind diet associated with reduced incidence of alzheimer’s disease. alzheimer’s & dementia, 11(9), 1007–1014. doi: 10.1016/j. jalz.2014.11.009 nakandakari, s. c. b. r., muñoz, v. r., kuga, g. k., gaspar, r. c., santana, m. r., pavan, i. c. b., & pauli, j. r. (2019). short-term high-fat diet modulates several inflammatory, er stress, and apoptosis markers in the hippocampus of young mice. brain, behavior, and immunity, 79, 284–293. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.02.016 samadi, m., moradi, s., moradinazar, m., mostafai, r., & pasdar, y. (2019). dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review. neurological sciences, 40(10), 2031–2043. doi: 10.1007/s10072-01903976-3 schaefer, e. j., bongard, v., beiser, a. s., lamon-fava, s., robins, s. j., au, r., & wolf, p. a. (2006). plasma phosphatidylcholine docosahexaenoic acid content and risk of dementia and alzheimer’s disease. archives of neurology, 63(11), 1545. doi: 10.1001/archneur.63.11.1545 subash, s., al-adawi, s., memon, m., manivasagam, t., akbar, m., & essa, m. (2014). neuroprotective e8ects of berry fruits on neurodegenerative diseases. neural regeneration research, 9(16), 1557. doi: 10.4103/16735374.139483 szczechowiak, k., diniz, b. s., & leszek, j. (2019). diet and alzheimer’s dementia – nutritional approach to modulate inflammation. pharmacology biochemistry and behavior, 184, 172743. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2019.172743 thapa, a., & carroll, n. j. (2017). dietary modulation of oxidative stress in alzheimer’s disease. international journal of molecular sciences, 18(7), 1583. https://doi. org/10.3390/ijms18071583 thériault, p., elali, a., & rivest, s. (2016). high fat diet exacerbates alzheimer’s disease-related pathology in appswe/ps1 mice. oncotarget, 7(42). doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.12179 72 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 !"#$# #%&'!' ( '"&)!&*+ ,(-(*.# /) 0/1#$ &* #('! ('&(. ."&*(, !"# $&'&*+ 0/1#$, &' (!!#20!&*+ !/ 3&'2(*!-# (2#$&.(* "#+#2/*4 &* !"# &*3/-0(.&)&.. !/ ./5*!#$ +$/1&*+ ."&*#'# .(0(,&-&!&#', !"# !$520 (32&*&'!$(!&/* "(' (3/0!#3 ( 0/-&.4 /) (.!&6# ./*!(&*2#*!, #'.(-(!&*+ 5.'.-."&*( !#*'&/*'. !"&' 0(0#$ 1&-#%0-/$# ."&*(’' $&'# )$/2 !"# 0#$'0#.!&6# /) +$#(! 0/1#$ 0/-&!&.', #'!(,-&'" !"#$# &' ( 0/1#$ !$(*'&!&/*, (*3 -('!-4, ($+5# !"(! !"# !$520 (32&*&'!$(!&/*’' ./*!(&*2#*! '!$(!#+4 "(' ,##* )5*3(2#*!(--4 ./5*!#$-0$/35.!&6# !/ (2#$&.(* &*!#$#'!' &* !"# $#+&/* (*3 5*'5..#'')5(! 2/3#$(!&*+ ."&*#'# ,#"(6&/$. -#''/*' .(* ,# 3$(1* )$/2 !"# !$520 (32&*&'!$(!&/*’' 2&''!#0' !"(! .(* ,# 5'#3 !/ )/$25-(!# 2/$# #))#.!&6# ."&*( 0/-&.4 5*3#$ !"# ,&3#* (32&*&'!$(!&/*. !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! evaluating the trump administration’s china containment strategy on eastern regions and beyond 3(*&#)5 “...containment has exacerbated chinese concern regarding strategic encirclement, compelling beijing to double down on assertive behavior in the taiwan strait and the south china sea.” introduction in east asia, a power transition is occurring in which china is actively trying to displace the u.s. as the primary regional hegemon. china’s rising military and economic capabilities, and the u.s.’ diminishing capacity to balance china’s rise, have contributed to a shifting balance of power in the region. in response, the trump administration has adopted a policy of active containment to constrain china’s rise, escalating sino-u.s. tensions. these tensions have led academics such as graham allison to warn about the “thucydides trap,” which assumes that the u.s. and china are “destined for war.”1 such tensions have seen washington, as realists such as john mearsheimer have predicted,2 move to curtail the number of chinese students studying at american universities, launch a trade war, and bolster deterrence-building in the indo-pacific through cooperation with security partners. this paper will outline china’s objectives in the region, establish a power transition, and argue that trump’s china strategy has been fundamentally counter-productive to u.s. objectives in the region and unsuccessful in moderating chinese behavior. instead, containment has exacerbated chinese concern regarding strategic encirclement, compelling beijing to double down on assertive behavior in the taiwan strait and the south china sea. lessons from containment can be drawn to formulate a more e8ective american strategy to confront china’s continued rise. maritime hegemony for states to consolidate maritime hegemony, it is necessary for them to first eliminate threats along their continental periphery. this was true for great britain and the united states, the only great powers to have existed in the past two hundred years. great britain was able to project its naval capabilities overseas because of maritime bu8ers that separated it from continental europe, both against france3 and germany.4 the united states could not consolidate regional hegemony until it possessed the land borders necessary to enable naval buildup. when the u.s. first gained independence in 1783, it faced a perilous periphery, with threats on all sides. the british and spanish empires surrounded the country, and hostile tribes of native americans continued to control large swaths of territory5. the u.s. responded by instigating an aggressive campaign of expansionism under the guise of ‘manifest destiny’. throughout the 17th century, the u.s. gained continental-based security through a series of purchases from european and other north american powers.6 the u.s. then set out to achieve regional hegemony by pushing european powers out of the western hemisphere through the monroe doctrine of 1823. at that time, the united states did not have the capabilities to fulfill the doctrine’s objectives. by the end of the 19th century, however, the u.s. had pushed the great european powers out of its backyard, allowing the u.s. to consolidate regional hegemony and ultimately, great power status.7 china is now in a similar position to how the united states was at the end of the 19th century. traditionally, china has had a contentious periphery: seven out of fifteen of the largest countries in the world, with a collective population of over 90 million, border china. five of those countries have engaged china in a war since 1949, and beijing maintains border disputes with nearly all of its neighbors. over time however, china has gradually eliminated threats along its borders. tensions stemming from the sino-soviet split have disappeared as sino-russian ties grow increasingly robust. furthermore, russia’s preoccupation with nato forces in western europe, and domestic challenges in a slowing economy, declining population, and growing internal unrest, has rendered moscow unable to balance china’s rising military capabilities.8 relative to china, russia is a declining power. likewise, india does not possess the military, economic, or technological capabilities to balance china or challenge chinese security. gdp and technology gaps expand between beijing and new delhi every year, rendering india a declining power.9 having consolidated a 74 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 secure periphery, china has “followed in uncle sam’s footsteps,”10 and invested significantly in consolidating robust naval capabilities. power transition in east asia as paul kennedy notes, the rise and fall of great powers is most often the result of “di8erentials in growth rates and technological change, leading to shifts in the global economic balance, which in turn gradually impinge upon the political and military balances.”11 under kaiser wilhelm and bismarck, germany’s rise was enabled by rapid expansion in industrial potential that allowed it to instigate a naval buildup outpacing shipbuilding rates seen in great britain and france.12 similarly, china’s military rise has been facilitated by increasingly robust economic capabilities that have enabled china to contest the u.s. for hegemony in the maritime domain. economic trends since deng xiaoping’s economic reforms in 1978, china’s economy has grown at astonishing rates. between 1979 and 2018, china’s annual real gdp growth averaged 9.5% a year—essentially, china’s economy doubled in size every eight years.13 china’s gdp, measured according to domestic purchasing power, is already more significant than that of the u.s., and is also on the verge of overtaking the u.s.14 to become the world’s top consumer goods market.15 by 2049, china aims to be a fully developed nation.16 by 2050, china’s economy is projected to be the world’s largest, surpassing that of india and the u.s, projected to rank second and third respectively.17 as economic trends continue to favor china, beijing has steadily become the primary architect for asian-pacific economic relations. long dissatisfied with structural disadvantages it perceives in u.s-dominated multilateral financial institutions, beijing has actively sought to create its own. in 2015, for example, china launched the asian infrastructure investment bank (aiib), which has since become a mechanism for belt and road initiative (bri) financing and rmb internationalization.18 in the aiib, china’s vote share is disproportionately large at 28.7%, compared to that of the second-largest aiib nation, india, which has 8.3%.19 china also maintains de facto voting power over important issues, such as deciding the board of directors’ size and election of the president.20 despite stark u.s. warnings cautioning allies not to partake in the aiib, u.s. security partners such as the united kingdom, france, germany, australia, and south korea joined the initiative. the creation of the aiib and the subsequent reactions of u.s. allies led to concerns in washington about its ability to sustain leadership in international economic order21. china has also steadily become the primary architect of trade relations in the asia-pacific. the ccp has long prioritized the creation of trade flows, setting up trade zones in shanghai in 2013 and tianjin, guangdong, and fujian in 2015. beijing also signed ftas with countries such as switzerland, australia, and south korea in 2015.22 xi linked free trade with the bri in 2014, stating that “radiating belt and road” would “gradually build a network of 6("$3"-&' *-43&"(.-$*, *-43&"(.-$* &31 6&."-$* "( "#$ &*-&3 -3).&*".5,"5.$ -3:$*"+$3" %&39 4.$$3: +$+%$.* (.$4-(3&') '-4#" 4.$$3: 6.(*6$,"-:$ +$+%$.* (.$4-(3&') %'5$: +$+%$.* (3(3-.$4-(3&') '-4#" %'5$: 6.(*6$,"-:$ +$+%$.* (3(3-.$4-(3&') (!"#$%&'( *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') “similarly, china’s military rise has been facilitated by increasingly robust economic capabilities that have enabled china to contest the u.s. for hegemony in the maritime domain” 75 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! free trade zones.”23 through enabling 6 trillion usd in new trade,24 the bri also provides opportunities for china’s export-oriented economy. the recent promulgation of china’s first multilateral trade deal, the regional comprehensive economic partnership (rcep), further bolsters china’s status as an economic leader.25 rcep will cover 48% of the world’s population, 30% of total world gdp, and 28% of global trade flows.26 shenmeng hui and li tianguo, researchers at the state-a(liated chinese academy of social sciences (cass), estimate that rcep will add 0.22% to real gdp growth and 11.4% to china’s total exports.27 chinese elites have also extensively discussed the prospects of joining the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-pacific partnership (cptpp).28 the u.s, notably, is absent from both these agreements. chinese elites have asserted that china should capitalize on washington’s recent skepticism of free trade to further its economic objectives. wang huiyao for example, president of the state-a(liated china center for globalization (ccg), has written that “the 2017 withdrawal of the u.s. from tpp” has provided “china the window to join the cptpp.”29 as the u.s. retrenches from the liberal economic order washington created, china’s global leadership has become increasingly notable. thus, china has actively pursued the internalization of the rmb to decrease its reliance on the usd. in 2008, the governor of the people’s bank of china, zhou xiaochuan, criticized the status quo international monetary system and called for an international reserve currency “disconnected from economic conditions and sovereign interests of any single country.”30 chinese concerns were exacerbated by the 2008 u.s. financial crisis, which sparked anxiety about the volatility of the usd.31 xiao lisheng, deputy director of the international finance research office at the cass institute of world economics, has argued that rmb internationalization can minimize the impact of “external shocks or crises” and thus improve china’s “financial security level.”32 through the creation of the crossborder inter-bank payments system (cips), a funds transfer system created to process rmb transactions independently of the american-dominated swift, china has pursued rmb internationalization. between 2017 and 2018 for example, cips processed an additional 26 trillion rmb, enabling an 80% increase in the number of global rmb transactions.33 through initiatives such as made in china 2025 (mic 2025), china has also pursued growth via high-tech, advanced industries in information technology, artificial intelligence, aviation, and energy vehicle sectors. the plan’s primary goal is also to achieve self-su(ciency in tech, aiming, for example, for 70% self-su(ciency in core imports and basic materials for chinese aerospace and telecommunications industries.34 chinese vice-premier liu he recently stated that china will continue to bolster technological capabilities to accommodate growing demand from a wealthier population while also citing foreign containment in chinese tech sectors as a reason to pursue increased self-su(ciency in tech.35 through compelling foreign firms to enter into joint ventures with chinese ones in exchange for market access, the provision of government subsidies of over 426 billion usd, acquisition of foreign firms, and improved human capital, mic 2025 has motivated substantial improvements in china’s high-tech sectors.36 experts note that china’s severe economic challenges, including negative total factor productivity (tfp),37 overcapacity a9icting its state-owned enterprises (soe’s), rising youth unemployment, and associated internal unrest among others, could stymie planned improvements in china’s military capabilities. beijing, however, will likely do everything possible to keep its economic growth afloat, including artificially propping up its economy. thus, it would be remiss to assume that china’s economic challenges will restrain its expansionist foreign policy vision; in fact, the opposite may occur. as jack levy’s “scapegoat hypothesis” suggests, states may instigate conflict abroad to distract from growing discontent at home.38 particularly vulnerable is taiwan, which expects u.s. intervention during prospective cross-strait conflict under the provisions of the 1979 taiwan relations act (tra). furthermore, china’s economic troubles must be assessed relative to those a9icting the u.s. economy. in 2020, the american economy is expected to contract by 8% and rebound by 5.2% in “thus, military trends provide the most accurate measure of power in security competition. particularly important are china’s growing maritime capabilities.” 76 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 2021,39 in contrast to china’s economy, which is expected to grow by 2% in 2020 and 7.9% afterwards.40 relative to china, the u.s. is a declining power. economic power, however, is of secondary importance to military power. as john mearsheimer notes, states maximize survival over the preservation of economic ties.41 furthermore, robert ross notes that economic power is not “fungible in international security a8airs”, pointing out that chinese market control over singapore, malaysia, and australia grew at the same time those countries were deepening defense ties with the u.s.42 thus, military trends provide the most accurate measure of power in security competition. military trends military trends in east asia, similar to economic trends, are favorable for china. china’s primary goal in east asia is to displace the u.s. as the primary hegemon in the region. having eliminated threats along its continental periphery, china has investigated significantly in bolstering its naval capabilities to counter u.s. maritime hegemony in the indo-pacific. to this end, china has actively increased its fleet size while aggressively pursuing military modernization. between 2010 and 2017, the number of pla navy (pla-n) vessels increased from 210 to 320, making it larger than the u.s. navy.43 it has also accelerated the production and commission of destroyers, frigates, corvettes, and submarines. between 2015 and 2017, china launched almost 400,000 tons of new naval vessels, twice the output of american shipyards during the same period.44 robert ross estimates that by 2033, china could possess a fleet consisting of 430 surface ships and a hundred submarines.45 a 2016 u.s. naval war college study estimated that the pla-n could possess an active fleet of 530 warships and submarines by 2030.46 chinese naval spending indicates that an emphasis on bolstering maritime capabilities will persist. between 2015 and 2021, chinese defense spending is expected to increase 55% from 167.9 billion to 260.8 billion usd, with the pla-n’s share of the budget increasing 82% from 31.4 billion to 57.1 billion usd.47 additionally by 2023, china is expected to launch a new aircraft carrier, its third following the commission of the liaoning and shandong.48 at the same time, the pla-n has undergone substantial modernization. in 2010, less than 50% of pla-n ships could be classified as modern; by 2017, over 70% of pla-n ships were modern.49 the pla-n has acquired capabilities in carrier operations and ballistic-missile submarine patrols,50 and has benefited from increasingly sophisticated ship-launched and air-launched cruise missiles with precision targeting capabilities.51 china’s submarines, for example, are now equipped with 290 nm-range yj-18 antiship missiles.52 the pla-n has also shown improved command, coordination, and operational capabilities, integral to what barry posen calls the “command of the commons.”53 in april 2018, the pla-n’s new aircraft carrier liaoning conducted its first carrier strike group operations in the philippine sea.54 in august 2020, the pla-n demonstrated the ability to conduct military drills in four regions across the eastern pacific ocean simultaneously.55 it has also shown an ability to assert global presence. in august 2018, u.s. chief of naval operations adm. john richardson stated that the pla-n is “ready and capable of operating wherever beijing wants,” noting that the pla-n had already conducted operations in the north atlantic.56 simultaneously, china’s intermediate and long-range ballistic missile capabilities have improved. long-range df15s, of which the pla could have 730,57 can strike u.s. bases in japan, the korean peninsula, and targets in taiwan and india. they have been shown to be highly precise, with a circular error probability (cep) of less than fifty meters.58 in august 2020, china successfully tested the df21d and df-26b “carrier-killer” and guam-killer” missiles in the south china sea.59 wang xiangsui, a former pla colonel, has stated that the missiles could hit a moving target.60 andrew erickson estimates that china may have more than two hundred df-26 missiles in its arsenal.61 china’s strides in missile r&d has also led to the creation of the df-5b liquid-fueled intercontinental ballis“having eliminated threats along its continental periphery, china has investigated significantly in bolstering its naval capabilities to counter u.s. maritime hegemony in the indo-pacific.” 77 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! tic missile (icbm), and the jl-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile (slbm), the latter of which can equip china’s jin-class ballistic-missile submarines.62 such improvements have made u.s. bases in areas of southeast asia vulnerable to chinese ballistic missiles. meanwhile, u.s. navy capabilities are diminishing. in twelve years, the u.s. navy will consist of 237 ships, a decrease from the 282 currently in its fleet.63 moreover, the u.s.’ capacity to respond to china’s growing capabilities is constrained. in 2015, the u.s. developed a plan to increase the size of the active fleet to 308 ships by 2022.64 in 2017, the trump administration announced its desire for a 355ship navy.65 to reach 355 ships, however, the navy would have to increase its budget by 50% more than the average of the past six years.66 a shift in spending would also inevitably entail decreased spending on the army and air force, a move that would spark infighting in the pentagon. compounding these problems are challenges facing other service branches and prior u.s. commitments in europe and the middle east. first, rising demand for additional funding from other service branches hinders the navy’s ability to receive the resources necessary for u.s. balancing of the pla-n. in a 2020 report, for example, retired gen. mike holmes (usaf) warned that “because the air force has not been allocated enough money to maintain the number of units required to meet current demands, ensure the readiness for countering peer adversaries, and transform force structure to meet the new threats, the service is at a breaking point.”67 second, the u.s. still has to contend with challenges posed by developments in the middle east, in addition to a prolonged campaign of russian expansionism. this stands in stark contrast to china, whose navy’s primary goal is to consolidate maritime hegemony in its region. the pla-n already possesses geographical advantages over the u.s. in this regard, given the proximity of contested areas in the south and east china sea to chinese port facilities. in this sense, the u.s. is languishing under what paul kennedy describes as “imperial overstretch,” in which the global commitments of great powers become too costly to maintain.68 hal brands and evan montgomery argue that the u.s. must inevitably “pare back its commitments to bring them into alignment with existing resources,” a move that would inevitably diminish washington’s global credibility.69 analysts note that congressional budgetary irresponsibility, in addition to hesitancy within the navy to advance necessary reforms, are challenges that hinder plans to bolster naval capabilities.70 american naval leaders have already warned of diminishing american maritime capabilities vis-à-vis china’s. in 2018 the commander of u.s. indo-pacific command, adm. phillip davidson, testified that in all scenarios “short of a war with the united states,” china is “capable of controlling the south china sea.” he also warned that “there is no guarantee that the united states would win a future conflict with china.”71 in february 2020, the u.s. o(ce of naval intelligence stated that by 2030, china’s force of “major surface combatants” including aircraft ,#-3&’* (34(-34 "$..-"(.-&' 1-*65"$* (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') “the u.s. is languishing under what paul kennedy describes as ‘imperial overstretch,’ in which the global commitments of great powers become too costly to maintain.”78 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 carriers, destroyers, frigates, and corvettes will exceed those possessed by the u.s.72. in december 2020, retired adm. joe sestak warned that the “navy has now lost its assured command of the seasfor the first time in the postworld war ii era – to china in the western pacific.”73 trump containment strategy in response to china’s rise and growing assertiveness, the trump administration has espoused a policy of containment, as is consistent with the behavior of any declining power. great power competition has since become a central theme of u.s. foreign policy, as exemplified by the 2017 national security strategy (nss) and 2018 national defense strategy (nds).74 elbridge colby and wess mitchell, two former trump administration o(cials, wrote in foreign a8airs that “beneath today’s ephemeral headlines, it is this shift, and the reordering of u.s. military, economic, and diplomatic behavior that it entails, that will stand out and likely drive u.s. foreign policy under president from either party for a long time to come.”75 rhetoric, human rights, sanctions the first element of trump’s containment strategy is rooted in heightened criticism of china in o(cial statements, briefings, and strategies. in october 2020, national security advisor robert o’brien named china “the threat of the century.”76 in december 2020, director of national intelligence (dni) john ratcli8e asserted that china was “national security threat no.1” in an op-ed published in the wall street journal.77 the trump administration has also emphasized china as a national security threat in several strategic documents, including the nss and nds, which labeled china a ‘revisionist power’. in november 2020, the policy planning sta8 at the state department also released a 70-page paper titled “the elements of the china challenge”, which details a u.s. response to china’s “hegemonic ambitions” and desire to “revise the world order.”78 on human rights issues, the u.s. has actively emphasized the plight of the uyghurs in xinjiang and the prodemocracy movement in hong kong. in october 2020, robert o’brien stated that “something close to genocide” was occurring in xinjiang.79 in december 2020, the u.s. o(cially banned imports of all chinese cotton products made by the xinjiang production and construction corps (xpcc) due to concerns regarding forced labor.80 washington has also made symbolic moves to highlight its support for the uyghurs. in october 2019, the white house appointed uyghur-american elnigar iltebir to be the director for china a8airs at the national security council (nsc).81 a similar story exists with hong kong. in november 2019, trump signed the hong kong human rights and democracy act, authorizing the u.s. to sanction hong kong o(cials. the administration also signed an executive order ending hong kong’s preferential trade status with the u.s. following beijing’s imposition of the national security law (nsl).82 moreover, washington has actively rallied allies to partake in such causes. in november 2020, for example, the five-eyes intelligencesharing alliance of australia, canada, new zealand, the uk, and the u.s. released a joint statement urging china to revise their imposition of authoritarian measures in hong kong.83 in october 2020, the state department appointed assistant secretary of state robert destro to be special coordinator for tibetan issues, signaling a renewed commitment to raising awareness for the issue of religious repression in tibet.84 the u.s. has also put pressure on china through highprofile diplomatic challenges. in july 2020, the u.s. ordered china to shut down its consulate in houston, labeling it a hub for chinese espionage and influence operations. this prompted the chinese to shut down the u.s. consulate-general in chengdu.85 in june 2020, the state department imposed new limits on the number of chinese journalists allowed in the u.s., and designated specific chinese media entities as “foreign missions,” asserting that the latter were “essentially owned by the “in response to china’s rise and growing assertiveness, the trump administration has espoused a policy of containment, as is consistent with the behavior of any declining power.” 79 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! prc.”86 furthermore, in several key speeches, american o(cials have designated china as the u.s.’ primary national security threat. this began in october 2018, when vice-president mike pence delivered confrontational remarks at the hudson institute.87 in july 2020, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo delivered a speech called “communist china and the free world’s future,” asserting that engagement with china had failed.88 in september 2020, president trump lambasted china for its mishandling of the covid-19 pandemic in front of the un general assembly.89 the u.s. has also specifically targeted ccp o(cials for sanction and punishment. in july 2020, the trump administration imposed sanctions on chinese politburo member chen quanguo for his involvement in human rights abuses in xinjiang.90 in december 2020, the trump administration also released new guidelines limiting all members of the ccp to single-entry visas.91 economic realm the second element of the trump administration’s containment strategy has occurred in the economic realm, where the u.s. has actively sought a redress of trade concerns regarding a growing trade deficit, the dumping of chinese products such as steel, and lack of intellectual property (ip) rights, through relying on tari8s and coercive economic measures. in 2018, the trump administration imposed a 25% tari8 on chinese imports worth a collective 34 billion92 usd. following the imposition of retaliatory tari8s by beijing, the u.s. imposed 10% tari8s on chinese imports worth an increased total of 200 billion usd.93 following negotiations over the phase one trade deal, tari8s were reduced, although they have remained. the u.s. has reduced tari8s to 7.5% on chinese imports worth 120 billion usd, and china has reduced tari8s on u.s. goods worth $75 billion from 15% to 7.5%.94 in august 2019, the u.s. also labeled china a currency manipulator, noting that china’s central bank has arbitrarily weakened the rmb on several occasions.95 in december 2020, trump is also expected to sign a bill that prevents chinese companies from listing on american stock exchanges, unless they submit to u.s. auditing standards.96 furthermore, the trump administration has sought to contain the success of chinese technology giants such as huawei, instructing canadian authorities to arrest its cfo in 2018,97 issuing new export controls in may 2020, and o(cially naming huawei a national security threat in june 2020.98 in november 2020, nsa robert o’brien named huawei “the number one concern for democracy going forward.”99 to this end, the u.s. has actively pressured allies to espouse similar policies against huawei, including great britain and india.100 it has also placed huawei, along with telecom firms such as zte, on “entity lists” published by the commerce department, which essentially prohibits “...the trump administration has sought to contain the success of chinese technology giants such as huawei, instructing canadian authorities to arrest its cfo in 2018, issuing new export controls in may 2020, and o!cially naming huawei a national security threat in june 2020.” 5.*. 1$6&."+$3" () 75*"-,$ &+(34 ("#$.* &33(53,$1 23 ,.-+-3&' ,#&.4$* &4&-3*" #5&0$ ; -"* ,)( 0&32#(5 +$34 (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 80 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 american firms from conducting transactions with them.101 china’s ant group, formerly known as alipay, has also been blacklisted.102 the trump administration has also placed thirty-five chinese companies with alleged links to the pla on defense blacklists, most recently adding chip making giant smic and gas producer cnooc.103 such moves block their access to u.s. investors and restrict their supply of critical equipment from american suppliers. american concerns regarding semiconductor supply-chain security have also motivated the department of commerce to bar entry for chinese firms, mandating companies to obtain a license before they can be allowed to provide goods and services to firms such as smic.104 in november 2020, the u.s. drafted another list of eightynine chinese firms with ties to the pla.105 military realm the third element of trump’s containment strategy is in the military realm, where the united states has actively built an emerging coalition in the indo-pacific to check china’s increasing assertiveness in the east china and south china seas. together with members of the “quad,” namely india, japan, and australia, the u.s. has increased the number of freedom of navigation operations (fonops) it conducts in the south china sea and has participated in a growing number of multilateral naval exercises. in november 2018, secretary of defense james mattis stated that the u.s. would “demonstrate resolve through operational presence in the south china sea.”106 between 2018 and 2019 alone, u.s navy vessels sailed in a twelvemile range of chinese-claimed territory over twelve times, a substantial increase in numbers seen during the obama administration.107 in november 2020, naval ships and aircraft from all quad members participated in the malabar 2020 exercises, in the bay of bengal.108 in the same month, the u.s. navy conducted a four-day mine warfare exercise with naval vessels from the japanese maritime self-defense force (jmsdf).109 defense ties between the u.s. and indo-pacific partners have also deepened. in november 2020, for example, nsa robert o’brien announced the delivery of precision-guided missiles among other weapons to the philippine military, while a(rming that an attack on a philippine vessel in its territorial waters would trigger american defense obligations.110 american defense contractors have also cooperated with japan to produce joint weapons capabilities, most recently completing the development of the sm-3 ballistic missile interceptor, which was successfully tested in november 2020.111 the u.s. has also actively expanded defense ties with taiwan, which china considers a wayward province. arms sales to taiwan have occurred at a far greater frequency, and weapons sold to taiwan have become increasingly sophisticated. in 2018, the trump administration approved the sale of submarine-related subsystems to aid taiwan’s fledging indigenous submarine program.112 in july 2020, the u.s. approved the sale of patriot missiles to replenish taiwan’s aging arsenal.113 in october 2020, the u.s. approved the sale of agm-84h slam-er missiles and himars batteries, which when deployed in taiwan, will be capable of striking targets on chinese bases and airfields.114 the u.s. navy has also conducted operations aimed at bolstering deterrence in the taiwan strait. in june 2020 for example, the aegis destroyer uss russell crossed the taiwan strait.115 moreover, the u.s. has adopted additional advisory and logistical support roles for taiwan’s military. in june 2020, the u.s. army took the rare move of publicizing joint military training between american and taiwanese special forces in annual “balance temper” training sessions.116 in november 2020, o(cials from taiwan’s naval command confirmed reports that members of the u.s. marine corps’ (usmc) marine raider regiment had conducted training alongside taiwanese troops in taiwan.117 in the same month, two-star navy admiral michael studeman, who oversees u.s. military intelligence in the asia-pacific, paid an unannounced visit to taiwan.118 lastly, the u.s. has highlighted the indo-pacific as the priority theater for its armed forces now and moving into the future. in june 2020, three u.s. aircraft carrier strike groups conducted simultaneous operations in the indopacific in a robust show of force.119 in september 2020, the ronald reagan carrier strike group integrated over eleventhousand personnel and one hundred aircraft between four service branches to conduct operation valiant shield in the philippine sea.120 the following month, the south china sea probing initiative (scspi) released a report stating that u.s. spy planes had conducted flights targeting china sixty times across the span of september.121 in october 2020, a chinese military spokesperson stated that “the u.s. has also actively expanded defense ties with taiwan, which china considers a wayward province.” 81 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! the uss john mccain had entered disputed waters near the paracel islands.122 in november 2020, the u.s. secretary of the navy called for the establishment of a u.s. 1st fleet, to be based at the intersection of the indian and pacific oceans.123 it has also sought increased engagement with allies to facilitate u.s. hegemony. in october 2020 for example, secretary of state mike pompeo urged indonesia to find “new ways” of cooperation in the south china sea.124 lastly, the pacific deterrence initiative, recently authorized by the 2021 national defense authorization act (ndaa), will see the u.s. allocate an additional 6 billion usd in military funding to bolster deterrence in the indo-pacific.125 effectiveness and chinese responses the trump administration’s containment policy has not led to productive trade relations with china, stability in the indo-pacific, or more robust alliances. washington’s trade war has hurt the american taxpayer and firms more than it has the chinese economy. more fonopss and increased cooperation with the quad have not compelled china to moderate its assertive behavior in the south china sea. the imposition of sanctions on chinese o(cials over human rights concerns, has similarly not compelled china to cease its campaigns of ethnic cleansing and repression in xinjiang and hong kong, respectively. instead, china’s exports have grown while the u.s. trade deficit has ballooned, chinese military activity in the south china sea and taiwan strait has increased, and vulnerabilities in u.s. alliance structure have become more apparent. china’s economic and military capabilities, furthermore, continue to grow. in this sense, trump’s containment policy has failed to reverse trends favoring china in power relations with the u.s. trade war vulnerabilities: despite the trump administration’s touted successes, the u.s.-china war has imposed high costs on american taxpayers rather than chinese firms. the nonpartisan tax foundation notes that the u.s.-china trade conflict has imposed 80 billion usd worth of new taxes on the american public due to u.s. tari8s on thousands of chinese products.126 tari8s imposed by the administration are estimated to reduce long-term gdp by 0.23%, wage levels by 0.15%, and result in the loss of over 179,000 full-time jobs.127 a september 2019 study by moody’s analytics was even more pessimistic, estimating that the trade war had already decreased u.s. real gdp by 0.3% and resulted in the loss of 300,000 american jobs.128 furthermore, a report from the federal reserve bank of new york and columbia university concluded that the trade war would result in the loss of 316 billion usd for the u.s. economy by the end of 2020.129 especially hurt are u.s. soybean, pork, and dairy farmers, who have seen revenue decline as china’s tari8s hurt exports.130 concerns prompted a spokesperson for the american farm bureau to warn that farmers have “lost the vast majority of what was once a $24 billion market in china.”131 furthermore, the trade war has not succeeded in achieving its primary goal of lessening the u.s. global trade deficit. in october 2020, the u.s. trade deficit ballooned to 67.1 billion usd, a fourteen-year high.132 the trade deficit with china has not decreased substantially either. between 2017 and 2018, the u.s. trade deficit with china in goods actually grew from 375 billion to 418 billion usd, although it has since decreased to $252 billion in 2020.133 additionally, the trade war has not succeeded in slowing china’s economic growth. china’s economy is projected to grow even amidst the covid-19 pandemic, and growth in exports recently reached its highest rate since february 2018. the amount of chinese exports in december 2020 was 21.1% greater than total exports in december 2019.134 firms such as huawei have also continued to see growth in revenue, hitting a record 122 billion usd in profits during the 2019 fiscal year.135 moreover, targets in the phase one trade deal have been shown to be simply unrealistic. in the first half of 2020, china had only purchased 23% of the goods they were supposed to purchase annually. china has pledged to &+$.-,&3 4'(%&' ".&1$ 1$)-,-" (!"#$%&'( ") '%/%+'%/) 82 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 spend an additional 60 billion usd on american goods in 2018, but this would be practically impossible, given that american exports to china have declined significantly year-on-year.136 lastly, the trade war has bolstered perceptions among chinese elites that washington feels threatened by its rise, reinforcing chinese confidence. wei jianguo, a former top chinese trade o(cial, has stated that “the essence of the trade war is to destroy” an increasingly capable china.137 fu ying, former vice minister of foreign a8airs, has stated that u.s. policy towards china is to “slow it down through suppression”, as it contends with a fight “the declining superpower cannot a8ord to lose.”138 as the u.s. pushes economic containment, chinese elites become increasingly aware of the shortcomings in u.s. capacity to respond e8ectively. compounding chinese fears of encirclement: trump’s china policy has also exacerbated chinese fears regarding its external security infrastructure, motivating increased assertiveness from the pla, as opposed to less. fears regarding encirclement were particularly evident following obama’s pivot to asia in 2012, and have accelerated rapidly in the context of u.s. containment policy. the pivot to asia first emerged in 2011, when secretary of state hillary clinton wrote an article in foreign policy titled “america’s pacific century”. clinton a(rmed that “the future of politics will be decided in asia”, and that the “united states will be right at the center of the action.”139 through “forward-deployed diplomacy”, clinton articulated u.s. desire to “build a web of partnerships and institutions across the pacific that is as durable and as consistent with american interests...as the web we have built across the atlantic.”140 in 2012, u.s. secretary of defense leon panetta said that the u.s military would bring “enhanced capabilities to this vital region.”141 key features of the obama administration’s “pivot to asia” included the proposed deployment of 60% of u.s.’ submarines to the asia-pacific by 2020.142 during the pivot, the u.s. announced arms sales to taiwan,143 started annual exercises with the vietnamese navy, expanded naval exercises with japan, signed new arms agreements with the philippines, and bolstered u.s. military capabilities on the korean peninsula.144 in 2012, australia, japan, and south korea participated in u.s.-philippine military exercises for the first time.145 in november 2011, clinton announced u.s. opposition to bilateral negotiations over china’s territorial claims, opting to support asean’s calls for multilateral talks. in 2012, she asserted that chinese claims violated the law of the sea.146 this contrasted with the approach of previous administrations, which emphasized only u.s. interests in freedom of navigation and peaceful dispute settlement.147 chinese leaders understand that beijing’s own aggressive maneuvering, rooted in rising confidence and regional ambitions, was the catalyst for these developments. regardless, they have long viewed these attempts as a multilateral e8ort to encircle china with a network of u.s. allies.148 in the 2000s, former president hu jintao said in private deliberations that “the united states has strengthened its military deployments in the asia-pacific region. they have extended outposts and placed pressure points on us from the east, south, and west. this marks a great change in our geopolitical environment.”149 pla air force colonel dai xu warned in 2010 that american interests in japan, the south china sea, india, and afghanistan create a “c-shaped encirclement ring” that restricts china’s “strategic space.”150 a ministry of defense white paper, published in 2015, asserted that china must “safeguard its national unification, territorial integrity, and development interests” as “the world economic and strategic center of gravity is shifting ever more rapidly to the asia-pacific region.”151 the trump administration has exacerbated these concerns through bolstering force posture in the region, and expanding security cooperation with china’s neighbors in the indo-pacific. while these deterrence-building moves are perceived as defensive by washington, they are likely perceived di8erently in beijing, given challenges associated with robert jervis’ notion of the “security dilemma.”152 jervis contends that it is di(cult for states to di8erentiate between o8ensive and defensive capabilities. the deployment of ballistic missile defense by an actor may be defensive in orientation for example, but it still increases the threat perception “trump’s china policy has also exacerbated chinese fears regarding its external security infrastructure, motivating increased assertiveness from the pla...” 83 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! !%3%,"!' 1. “can america and china escape thucydides’s trap?”, belfer center for science and international a8airs, at https://www. belfercenter.org/thucydides-trap/overview-thucydides-trap. 2. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014, at http://www.eastlaw.net/ wp-content/uploads/2016/09/can-china-rise-peacefully_-_the-national-interest.pdf. 3. robert s. ross, “the rise of the chinese navy: from regional naval power to global naval power?” in china’s global engagement: cooperation, competition, and influence in the 21st century, jacques delisle and avery goldstein, eds. (washington, d.c.: brookings institution, 2017). other states hold of the actor given that it diminishes their o8ensive capabilities. this happens despite neither side intending to escalate tensions.153 moreover, in an anarchic structure, the intentions of other states are always obfuscated, leading to potential misconceptions in any great power relationship. in response to increased american activity in the region, china has ramped up military activity. in ladakh during june 2020, the pla engaged in skirmishes with indian troops, ultimately claiming the lives of twenty. gen. zhao zongqi, head of the pla western theater command, has suggested that the motivation behind china’s attack was to ensure it did “not appear weak” during “exploitation by the u.s.”154 in the taiwan strait, on an almost-daily basis, pla air force (plaaf) y-8 and y-9 surveillance aircraft have incurred on taiwan’s declared air defense identification zone (adiz). in october 2020, taiwanese defense minister yan de-fa announced that taiwan’s air force had scrambled fighters 2,972 times throughout the year, marking a 129% increase in scrambles from 2019. this had aroused worries among analysts that china is pursuing ‘grayzone’ warfare through gradually weakening taiwan by exhausting its air force.155 the pla has also conducted an increased number of drills and exercises aimed at taiwan.156 on taiwan’s national day in october 2020, the pla conducted a large-scale exercise featuring drones, special forces, and airborne troops meant to simulate an invasion of taiwan. following the exercise, the pla announced a four-day, livefire exercise in the taiwan strait. in the south china sea, chinese assertiveness has been growing as well. in may 2019, china deployed its coast guard to harass vietnamese and malaysian vessels servicing a drilling platform o8 vietnamese waters.157, 158 in march 2020, china built two new research stations in fiery cross reef and subi reef in the spratly islands, equipping them with defense silos and runaways that can support pla air force (plaaf) fighter jets.159 in april 2020, vietnam lodged an o(cial complaint after a chinese maritime surveillance vessel sunk a vietnamese shipping boat.160 in july 2020, the pla-n conducted exercises in the south china sea centered around amphibious assault activities.161 thus, it is clear that increased deterrence-building in the indo-pacific has not moderated china’s military assertiveness. instead, it has compounded long-held chinese fears of encirclement, driving increasingly aggressive behavior as beijing seeks to discourage renewed american commitment to the indo-pacific. the beginnings of an arms race and naval buildup between the two sides, as seen prior to wwi between britain and germany, have substantially decreased the prospects for peace and stability in the region. conclusion ultimately, the trump administration’s containment policy against china has failed to slow china’s economic growth or moderate assertive chinese behavior. instead, the chinese have benefited from continued growth in export demand, seen record profits for flagship companies such as huawei, and ramped up military activity in the taiwan strait and the south china sea. the u.s-china trade war has provided comprehensive proof that decoupling with china is unfeasible, and that full-fledged, mearsheimer-style containment against beijing does nothing but exacerbate chinese insecurities regarding strategic encirclement, motivating arms races and thus, regional instability. this is not to say, that decline is inevitable. indeed, the u.sthe only multicultural great power in the history of the worldpossesses a host of advantages in its geography, and pre-existing economic, military, and technological capabilities that could be leveraged to sustain the continuation of pax americana. under president-elect biden, washington is expected to eschew an isolationist mentality, bridge divisions at home, and place renewed emphasis on american alliances. it is also expected to upgrade u.s. defense capabilities, specifically in high-tech domains such as ai and 5g, make c4isr networks more resilient, and test new joint operational concepts such as multi-domain operations as part of a broader shift in defense policy away from power in mass.162 whether the biden administration succeeds in these endeavors will determine whether this remains the american century. 84 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 4. robert s. ross, “the rise of the chinese navy: from regional naval power to global naval power?” in china’s global engagement: cooperation, competition, and influence in the 21st century, jacques delisle and avery goldstein, eds. (washington, d.c.: brookings institution, 2017). 5. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014. 6. ibid. 7. ibid. 8. robert s. ross, “sino-russian relations: the false promise of russian balancing,” international politics, vol 53, no. 1 (2019). 9. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019, at https://nationalinterest.org/ feature/keeping-chinas-plan-25383. 10. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014. 11. paul kennedy, the rise and fall of the great powers (new york: vintage, 1989). 12. ibid. 13. wayne m. morrison, “china’s economic rise: history, trends, challenges, and implications for the united states”, congressional research service, october 21, 2015, at https://fas. org/sgp/crs/row/rl33534.pdf. 14. melanie hart and kelly masgamen, “limit leverage, and compete: a new strategy on china”, center for american progress (cap), april 3, 2019 at https://www.americanprogress. org/issues/security/reports/2019/04/03/468136/limit-leveragecompete-new-strategy-china/. 15. frank tang, “china to overtake the us to become world’s top consumer goods market ‘very soon’”, scmp, november 30, 2020, at https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/ article/3111954/china-overtake-us-become-worlds-top-consumergoods-market. 16. graham allison, “what xi jinping wants”, the atlantic, may 31, 2017, at https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/05/what-china-wants/528561/. 17. “the world in 2050”, pricewaterhouse coopers (pwc), 2017, at https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/research-insights/economy/theworld-in-2050.html. 18. park, miran. “china-led aiib as a gradual modification of asian financial order: chinese strategies to launch new financial institution.” journal of international and area studies 24, no. 2 (2017): 57-76. 19. martin a. weiss, “asian infrastructure investment bank (aiib)”, congressional research service, february 3, 2017, at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/r44754.pdf. 20. bin gu, “chinese multilateralism in the aiib”, journal of international economic law, 20, no.1 (march 2017): 137-158, 149. 21. phillippe le corre, “dividing the west: china’s new investment bank and america’s diplomatic failure”, brookings institution, march 17, 2015, at https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ order-from-chaos/2015/03/17/dividing-the-west-chinas-newinvestment-bank-and-americas-diplomatic-failure/. 22. wang, yong. “o8ensive for defensive: the belt and road initiative and china’s new grand strategy.” the pacific review 29, no.3 (2016): 455-463. 23. “xi jinping: speed up implementing free trade zones and accelerate construction of a new open economic system (⃯扠 ㄂᧶┯㉺⸭㡌呹䟀忇㢢◉㒧䟴 ┯㉺㨓ㆉ㆏㟍⨚兞㿝㠿⇢ⓟ)”, xinhua news, december 6, 2014 at http://www.xinhuanet.com// politics/2014-12/06/c_1113546075.htm. 24. zhu, zhiqun, critical decade, a: china’s foreign policy (2008-2018). (bucknell, nj: world scientific). 25. robert ward, “rcep trade deal: a geopolitical win for china”, international institute for strategic studies (iiss), november 25, 2020, at https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2020/11/rceptrade-deal 26. cai, penghong. “china’s responses to mega-regional ftas: a chinese perspective.” asian survey 56, no. 6 (2016): 1123-144, 1137. 27. finbarr bermingham and frank tang, “china’s marginal rcep gains will not o8set trade war impact on economy, studies show”, scmp, november 16, 2020, at https://www.scmp.com/ economy/china-economy/article/3110022/chinas-marginal-rcepgains-will-not-o8set-trade-war-impact. 28. su qingyi, “should china join the cptpp(₼⦌㢾⚵ㄣ年┯ ⏴cptpp?)”,�⦌棔兞㿝幓幉(international economic review), april 2019, at https://gb.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.as px?filename=gjpp201904006&dbcode=cjfd&dbname=cjfd temp 29. wang huiyao, “ we should show the attitude of joining cptpp and start negotiations as soon as possible (䘚战劏᧶ ㄣ⻌㉺⻤䘿┯⏴cptpp䤓ⲏ㊐ㄅ㆏⻤店⒳)”, ce.cn, october 13, 2020, at http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/202010/13/ t20201013_35881042.shtml. 30. “will china’s push to internationalize the renminbi succeed?” chinapower project (csis), 2020, at https://chinapower. csis.org/china-renminbi-rmb-internationalization/. 31. rolland, nadège. security the belt and road: prospects for chinese military expansion along the silk roads. washington dc: national bureau of asian research, 2019. 104. 32. xu yanyan (㈟䑤䑤) and wang jiaxin (䘚∂㢤), “bri has become a driving force for rmb internationalization (₏サ₏恾” 㒟ⅉ㺠ゐ⦌棔▥㠿┷┪)”, china business news, august 1, 2017 at https://www.yicai.com/news/5324679.html. 33. “will china’s push to internationalize the renminbi succeed?”, chinapower project at csis, 2020, at https://chinapower.csis.org/china-renminbi-rmb-internationalization/. 34. kim min-hyung, “a real driver of us–china trade conflict: the sino–us competition for global hegemony and its 85 !"# $%&!'&('&) $%&!*'&+#&! implications for the future,” international trade, politics and development, vol. 3, no. 1 (2019). 35. frank tang, “china’s liu he says foreign hostility spurring nation’s push for high-tech independence”, scmp, october 22, 2020 at, https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/ article/3106644/chinas-liu-he-says-foreign-hostility-spurringnations-push-hi. 36. “made in china 2025: industrial policies and issues for congress”, congressional research service (crs), august 11, 2020, at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/if10964.pdf. 37. yang, yao. “china’s economic growth in retrospect.” in china 2049: economic challenges of a rising global power, edited by david dollar, huang yiping, and yao yang, 3-28. washington, d.c.: brookings institution press, 2020. 38. jack s. levy. “domestic politics and war.” the journal of interdisciplinary history 18, no. 4 (1988): 653-73. doi:10.2307/204819. 39. “imf releases most pessimistic economic projections for the united states to date”, peter g. peterson foundation, august 3, 2020, at https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2020/08/imfreleases-most-pessimistic-economic-projections-for-the-unitedstates-to-date; beth ann bovino and satyam panday, “economic research: the u.s. faces a longer and slower climb from the bottom”, s&p global rankings, june 25, 2020 at https://www. spglobal.com/ratings/en/research/articles/200625-economicresearch-the-u-s-faces-a-longer-and-slower-climb-from-thebottom-11547633. 40. “world bank october 2020 report says china economy to grow by 7.9% in 2021”, china briefing, september 29, 2020, at https://www.china-briefing.com/news/world-bank-october2020-report-says-china-economy-to-grow-by-7-9-in-2021/. 41. john j. mearsheimer, “can china rise peacefully?,” the national interest, october 25, 2014. 42. ross, robert s. “on the fungibility of economic power: china’s economic rise and the east asian security order.” european journal of international relations 25, no. 1 (march 2019): 302–27. 43. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019, at https://nationalinterest.org/ feature/keeping-chinas-plan-25383 44. david lague and benjamin kang lim, “the china challengeruling the waves”, reuters, april 30, 2019, at https:// www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-navy/. 45. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, december 12, 2019. 46. david lague and benjamin kang lim, “the china challengeruling the waves”, reuters, april 30, 2019, at https:// www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-army-navy/. 47. ibid. 48. “carrier likely to deploy third aircraft carrier by 2025: report”, nikkei asian review, november 4, 2020, at https://asia.nikkei. com/politics/china-likely-to-deploy-third-aircraft-carrier-by2025-report. 49. ibid. 50. james e. fanell, “china’s global-navytoday’s challenge for the united states and the u.s. navy,” naval war college review 73, no. 4 (autumn 2020), pp. 14-39. 51. robert ross, “keeping up with china’s plan”, the national interest, 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(bucknell, nj: world scientific). https://gb.oversea.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?filename=g jpp201904006&dbcode=cjfd&dbname=cjfdtemp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’0&#$&/-. 4$*+ . #.,3& $,$-+-%.*+"#$% !"#$%& /",%&, $* $&($6&'* *+.* *+& !"#$%& '"* "'#2 +.6 )&)0&,-+$! $' *+& %+,$-*$.' /,"'* 05* .#-" *+"-& -2)!.*+&*$% *" *+& )"(&)&'*. *+& -*,"'3+"#6 "/ *+& %+,$-*$.' /,"'* .'6 *+& .'*$--&)$*$% 0&#$&/!,&(.#&'* *+,"53+"5* *+& '2!6 ,&-5#*&6 $' *+& %,&.*$"' "/ .' &'($,"')&'* 4+&,& .'*$--&)$*$% .**.%1%"5#6 !,"#$/&,.*& 5'.66,&--&6, .'6 4+&,& $,$-+ %.*+"#$% '.*$"'.#$-*%"5#6 -!,&.6 .'6 $)!"-& *+&$, 0&#$&/"/ .'*$--&)$*$-) .'6 *+,"53+ *+&$, !"-$*$"'"/ !"4&, $' . #.4 &'/",%&)&'* ,"#&. !"# $%&'# %( !"# $&%(! analyzing the police sympathy for the christian front movement in brooklyn from 1938-1940 -$"0+.' !&'6&, introduction there is significant evidence of police membership in the christian front in the 1930s and 40s in new york city and largely in the borough of brooklyn, drawing on support from the sizable irish catholic population of this area and the enticing leadership of irish catholic priest father coughlin (milner, 1971). the legacy of the cf and of father coughlin on the national level was strongly shaken with the 1940 arrest of seventeen brooklyn-based members, after the fbi discovered their terror plot created to destroy jewish businesses, blow up areas of new york, and assassinate members of congress; however, in brooklyn there still remained strong support from their irishcatholic members (vials, 2014). in this paper, i would like to argue that upon an examination of primary documents such as newspapers from the time of the 1940 fbi arrest of cf radicals as well as other scholarly works on police and radical groups, the christian front was able to grow in popularity in brooklyn due to its population of irishcatholics and large participation in the police force. therefore policemen held these anti-semitic beliefs and potential cf membership at the time. this fact is further emphasized by the lack of police action against the many anti-semitic attacks, especially from irish gangs, as well as the tendency for the police to not address those accused of cf membership in their ranks, even after the 1940 fbi raid and arrest of the radical christian fronters in brooklyn. irish catholic american involvement it is important to consider the cultural background of the people who made up the cf group in nyc. there are connections between the fascist movement in ireland and similar beliefs being held by irish-americans in the brooklyn borough. these beliefs were similarly espoused by the cf, so it is no surprise that a large part of their membership was irish americans who likely grew up in this ideology which had ingrained in it an inherent refusal to distinguish between communists and jews and denouncing both groups. the christian front was a religious organization with a largely irish catholic membership base, which enabled the large population of irish-catholic americans in brooklyn during the 20th century to drive the membership of the cf in this area. as fein notes in his work, “[a] nother important aspect of the membership of the christian front was that it was a religiously based organization, led by an irish catholic priest. as was the case with so much of the cf’s ideology, its religiously-based anti-semitism derived directly from coughlin and his program of social justice,” making it an organization with a religious basis for it’s anti-semitism (fein, 2009). the role of anti-semitism catholic anti-semitism, especially from irish catholics, grew from the deicide accusation of the jews being responsible for jesus’ death that was propagated by priests and nuns in catholic schools and churches for centuries; this sentiment became increasingly severe during the 1930s, which resulted in a dangerous environment for jews in the northeast, where heavily catholic populations resided, such as in brooklyn, ny (norwood, 2003). in new york city during the time of wwii, irish catholic youths terrorized jews in the streets. this was inspired by the christian front and its anti-semitic gangs, which had a “deliberate policy of provoking violence against the jews” (norwood, 2003). “young christian front hoodlums in the german, irish and italian communities were fond of jew-bashing,” and the areas in new york in which these assaults of jews occurred the most were known to be heavily irish american neighborhoods, and the christian front was considered to be made up of almost entirely all irish and catholic individuals (murray, 2018).,#&.'$* ,(54#'-3, '$&1$. () "#$ ,#.-*"-&3 ).(3" (!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 98 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 even before the arrest, the police were accused of being hesitant to reply to anti-semitic hate crimes or assaults. the culture surrounding irish-americans’ reluctance to act, and even their voicing of anti-semitic rhetoric and committing violence against jewish people, was already established prior to the rise of the christian front and the subsequent irish— and police—involvement. therefore, this anti-semitic behavior did not just simply dissipate following the 1940 arrest of cf radicals, even as the cf nationally lost its credibility due to its association with a terrorist group. they remained prevalent in the populations of irish catholics in brooklyn who still held the same sentiments promoted by the front. in new york, a significant number of policemen were christian front members or sympathizers, which resulted in a general disinterest in protecting the safety of jews who were being attacked in the streets by these anti-semitic, christian front gangs. according to a new york post columnist victor riesel, the fbi director j. edgar hoover had supplied mayor laguardia with a list of 1,500 policemen who had applied to be members of the christian front, which the city government never took disciplinary action against (norwood, 2003). some of the jewish merchants who had been picketed by christian fronters had reached out to new york police commissioner lewis valentine to ask for police help against these anti-semitic harassment, but perhaps due to the fact that nearly two thirds of new york’s policemen were irish-americans who may have held anti-semitic sentiments, the merchants were told that the police could not help in preventing “peaceful picketing” (norwood, 2003). additionally, mayor laguardia viewed the anti-semitic “incidents” in new york as “sporadic and unorganized,” and therefore the police remained unsympathetic to calls to take action to stop the violence; it was even reported that the new york police would often describe acts of anti-semitic vandalism as “boyish pranks” rather than actual crimes, diminishing the significance of the threat to jewish people in nyc (norwood, 2003). the 1940 fbi arrest and the police reaction the 1940 fbi arrest notably sparked questions about the other members of the christian front organization, which in turn led to the quest for police members either sympathetic to or participating in the cf. this sympathetic nature of the police had enabled the cf to grow and proliferate in the 1930s since its population included irish catholic nationalists. ten of the arrested christian front members in 1940 were irish-americans, who the fbi believed imitated irish republican army (ira) techniques in manufacturing explosives. the federal government’s arrest of these activists on charges of conspiring to overthrow the us government and steal ammunition from a national guard armory did not significantly undermine the support for this group in irish catholic neighborhoods. in fact, anti-semitism continued to increase there, even as coughlin and his christian front began to decrease in nationwide popularity (norwood, 2003). the public pressure following the 1940 arrest to address the question of whether nypd members were part of the christian front required the mayor and the commissioner to take action. as noted in the 1940 newspaper article from the daily worker, “[r]eacting to persistent demands that the police department be probed for existence of cells of the terrorist christian front, police commissioner lewis valentine yesterday ordered all cops in the city to state whether they were ever connected with the front or the nazi bund.” the police commissioner valentine ordered the distribution of a questionnaire to all policemen in the force, asking them to answer about their political habits, for the first time addressing the public demands to search out for subversive activity within the force. as noted by gene fein in his dissertation, “[t]he arrest of the [christian] fronters [in nyc] gave mayor laguardia enough political currency to address the charges of police laxity in anti-semitic matters that plagued his o(ce since 1938…the mayor ordered investigations commissioner william herlands to investigate police membership in the “in new york, a significant number of policemen were christian front members or sympathizers, which resulted in a general disinterest in protecting the safety of jews who were being attacked in the streets by these anti-semitic, christian front ganges.” 99 !"# $%&'# %( !"# $&%(! christian front” (fein, 2006). while almost all but a few of the policemen filled out this questionnaire, “fronters denied that membership interfered with the ability of police o(cers to do their jobs. they said it should make no di8erence to the city what police o(cers’ activities were while o8-duty” (fein, 2006). when it was reported that the new york fire department had firemen with membership in the christian front, this sentiment was similarly echoed by fire commissioner john j. mcelligott who was quoted as saying: ‘what laws are being violated by being members of these organizations, including the christian front? i hold no brief for anti-semitism or anti-religious groups, but a fireman’s first job is to be a good fireman, and his second is to be a good citizen. if he is both, and violates no laws, i am not inquiring into anything else.’ (norwood, 2003) this statement is very similar to the words of the fronters who opposed the distribution of the survey amongst the police department, which demonstrates the reluctance of the leaders of the police and fire department to identify and investigate radicals within their forces. the intention of the questionnaire that mayor laguardia ordered was “chiefly for the protection of the men themselves,” so that they could disprove the accusations that the police force had a large number of o(cers that were also christian front members. the mayor asserted that the questionnaire would demonstrate that police in the christian front are “few and far between,” and that those who did join or had filed for membership applications did so under the assumption that it was for a religious or fraternal organization (the brooklyn daily eagle, 1940). the motivation for the distribution of the questionnaire resulted from an inquiry from the year before, “when word reached mayor laguardia and mr. valentine that one patrolman had boasted that several manhattan precincts were ‘“controlled by christians’” and they were “getting rid of all the jews” in those precincts (the brooklyn daily eagle, 1940). the decision to investigate these statements from the patrolman came after organizations in nyc interested in combatting anti-semitism and racial prejudice protested to the mayor and the commissioner of long previous inaction on the part of the police to address anti-semitism. in new york city and in boston, it was shown that a large proportion of the police force was made up of followers, and not necessarily declared members, of the revolutionary christian front (zi8, 1944). as noted in the daily worker 1940 newspaper article, “[t]he non-sectarian antinazi league to champion human rights charged last month that 40 members of the police department were members of the christian front. valentine said they know who are the members of the christian front,” and that there is an ongoing investigation (daily worker, 1940). from the survey sent out, “[o]nly twenty-seven admitted to being members of the christian front at the time of the survey, although 407 admitted having been members in the past. most claimed to have joined the front because they thought it was a religious organization. all previous members had voluntarily quit before the questionnaire was sent out” (fein, 2006). the ideals and goals of the radical anti-semitic group were held by many o(cers, evidenced by either their previous membership within the cf or by their lack of action in addressing anti-semitic incidents. not only were police criticized for their overall inaction to address anti-semitic attacks, but also the police force was accused of ignoring and disregarding christian front membership in their force, even after the 1940 fbi arrest. the mayor and the police commissioner were publicly criticized in one of these articles from 1943 for not condemning the police o(cer james l. drew who was accused of subversive activities, including anti-semitic a(liations, three years after the fbi arrest. this clearance was met with opposition and disapproval, as corporation counsel deau wilkinson concluded that drew “should be found guilty and dismissed from the service.” commissioner of investigation william b. herlands was another expert who concurred with the sentiment that drew should be dismissed, and after hearing that drew was cleared, 4$.+&3 &+$.-,&3 %531 .&''/, 3$0 /(.9, +&1-*(3 *85&.$ 4&.$3, )$%.5&./ 1939(!"#$%&'( ") *+,+-&.+/ !"--"0') 100 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 herlands commented, “the police commissioner’s decision in the drew case is a major defeat on the home front… in my opinion the police commissioner’s decision is contrary to the evidence and sound public policy. i am at a complete loss to understand the basis for his decision” (margoshes, 1943). drew admitted to consorting with “the jew-haters of the mcwilliams outfit, with the fascists of the christian front, with bundists of the nazi persuasion” (margoshes, 1943). through his involvement in this fascist groups, he had in his possession “a great quantity of anti-semitic and antiamerican propaganda material,” further mounting the evidence against him for his involvement in these anti-semitic organizations (margoshes, 1943). after the exoneration of james drew, dr. margoshes, editor of the day, declared that drew was only one of the many nyc police o8ers who held “subversive, anti-democratic, and anti-semitic views,” even in the years following the distribution of the questionnaire regarding police involvement in subversive groups that was intended to seek out this membership (margoshes, 1943). such divisiveness and criticism of the police handling of the cf members within their organization reflects the sentiment that the lenient sentiment of the police enabled the cf to flourish and attract membership not only from the population of brooklyn but also from within the police force itself. delayed reaction and criticisms police commissioner louis valentine did not explain why the city government waited so long to seek out the subversives within the nypd, but this delay was likely due to the nature of the police force and the prevalence of anti-semitic sentiments in alignment with the movement of the christian front. the “catholic supporters of the christian front expressed indignation. they complained that the survey was a violation of civil rights and demanded an apology from the mayor” (fein, 2006). the questions from the survey asked about their involvement in any “subversive” group, such as a nazi, fascist, or communist organization, interestingly grouping fascism and communism together, as they were viewed during this time as opposing perspectives, but were associated together in this survey. from the daily worker in february 1940, the journalist noted that, “the commissioner, however, failed to di"erentiate between the reactionary front and bund from the working class, the communist party. he said his probe was aimed at the christian front, but the questionnaire sent out to 20,000 policemen to only asked if they were members of the front, but also: “have you ever been a member of any subversive, communist, bund and fascist organization?” linking of the word “communist” with “bund and fascist,” a dangerous confusion, was seen as opening the way for a local police drive against not only communists but other labor leaders under the pretext of fighting such subversive forces as coughlinite and nazi terror and anti-labor gangs.” (daily worker, 1940). publications such as the brooklyn tablet deemed the questionnaire “the police inquisition” and considered it to be a hypocritical procedure due to the “known atheists, radicals and communists” found in the city government. the mayor was oftentimes accused of being a communist, and gene fein notes in his dissertation, “[t]he questionnaire was viewed as part of laguardia’s plan to discredit the front because o(cers who dropped out of the cf were forced to say they had left because it was a “subversive group.” when only twenty-seven policemen admitted to being christian fronters, the mayor, who was “surrounded by communists and a few phony catholics,” immediately called for an investigation,” indicating his hypocrisy – as viewed by cf sympathizers – in cracking down on subversives within the police force but not his own government (fein, 2006). “the questions from the survey asked about their involvement in any ‘subversive ‘ group, such as a nazi, fascist, or communist organization, interestingly grouping fascism and communism together, as they were viewed during this time as opposing perspectives...” 101 !"# $%&'# %( !"# $&%(! conclusion in this paper, i have argued that the police involvement in the christian front movement in brooklyn, ny grew unnoticed, resulting in the proliferation of anti-semitic violence in these regions, even after the police commissioner and mayor were forced to address the issue after the arrest in 1940 of 17 christian front members accused of planning terrorist activities. the christian front was able to grow in an area like brooklyn due to its high population of irish-catholics, and since the christian front was a religiously-based anti-semitic group led by an irish catholic priest, these people aligned well with the movement’s beliefs; it was here that the cf was able to garner and maintain strong support, even after a scandal such as the 1940 fbi arrest that otherwise discredited the group nationwide. these facts are evidenced by the lack of police action to address anti-semitic issues in nyc, in the times before the 1940 arrest of the cf radicals but also in the years after, as the beliefs did not dissipate with the downfall of coughlin and the cf’s national popularity due to their association with the terrorist group, but were maintained in areas with substantial christian front membership (vials, 2014). the stronghold of the christian front and the anti-semitic beliefs prevalent throughout the nypd resulted in the creation of an environment where anti-semitic attacks could proliferate unaddressed, and where irish catholic nationalists could spread their beliefs of anti-semitism and impose them through their positions of power in a law enforcement role. /!7!/!%.!' “cops asked if they belong to christian front: valentine question seen dangerously confusing on issue of c.p.” daily worker (new york, ny), feb. 9, 1940. file:///users/ siobhanpender/desktop/bc%20junior%20year/christian%20front%20police.pdf fein, gene. “for christ and country: the christian front in new york city, 1938-1951.” 2006. fein, gene. “twisted social justice: father coughlin & the christian front.” forum on public policy: a journal of the oxford round table (2009). gale academic onefile (accessed december 6, 2020). https://link.gale.com/apps/ d o c / a 2 1 6 6 8 2 6 1 4 / a o n e ? u = m l i n _ b _ massblc&sid=aone&xid=f5bc3a5d. margoshes, dr. s. “again about the drew case. is it closed? not by a long shot. write to mayor laguardia!” 1943. (newspaper source) murray, peter. “big causes and small nations: michael sayers, writing, fascism, communism and jewish-irishness.” irish studies review, 26:4, 531-548 (2018). taylor and francis online (accessed december 6, 2020). https:// www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09670882.2018. 1519967 neal a. milner. “supreme court e8ectiveness and the police organization,” law and contemporary problems 36, no. 4 (autumn 1971). page 467-487. https://heinonline. org/hol/page?men_tab=srchresults&handle=hein.journals/lcp36&id=487&size=2&collection=journals&terms= christian%20front&termtype=phrase&set_as_cursor= norwood, stephen h. “marauding youth and the christian front: antisemitic violence in boston and new york during world war ii.” american jewish history 91, no. 2 (2003): 233-67. accessed november 24, 2020. http://www. jstor.org/stable/23887201. “police ‘isms’ quiz traced to mayor: aimed to disprove boasts of ‘front’ orators, he says.” the brooklyn daily eagle (brooklyn, ny), feb. 9, 1940. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52689966/ vials, chris. haunted by hitler : liberals, the left, and the fight against fascism in the united states. amherst: university of massachusetts press, 2014. zi8 william b. gentlemen talk of peace. (1944) new york, macmillan company. page 268, section xii. https://hein o n l i n e . o r g / h o l / p a g e ? m e n _ tab=srchresults&handle=hein.hoil/gntlmtp0001&id=282 &size=2&col lec t ion=hoi l&terms=chris t ian%20 front|front&termtype=phrase&set_as_cursor 102 !"!#!$%& : : &'()$* 2021 )-&%.#(! )%*!( is a senior in the morrissey college of arts and sciences class of 2021 studying neuroscience and french. her interests in neuroscience are widespread, though degenerative diseases and possible interventions are of particular interest to her. caroline grew up in sudbury, massachusetts, and plans to spend the next year working in healthcare in boston, ultimately to go on to pursue a career in public health. she hopes that one day there is a cure for alzheimer’s and is excited to see how the field of neuroscience advances in the years to come. $*"#,/ 0+,</$2#+!' "-(#!. +3 is a senior at boston college, majoring in political science with minors in asian and international studies. he is an incoming m.a. candidate in political science at columbia university’s graduate school of arts and sciences. daniel’s past research experience include internships at the project2049 institute and the american enterprise institute’s asia studies program. he is an incoming research intern at bowergroupasia, an advisory firm specializing in the asia-pacific. at boston college, daniel has served as an undergraduate research fellow (urf). &2-( )-$$#)* is originally from san clemente, california. cattich is currently a junior in mcas studying economics with minors in management and leadership and hispanic studies. after graduation, he plan on pursuing a jd, working in some capacity involving the intersection of law and behavioral/decision sciences. '#%/*-( 8!("!& is a current junior at boston college, double majoring in environmental studies and economics with a history minor. she attended high school at notre dame school of manhattan, located in the west village neighborhood of new york city. she is considering attending law school as a part of her post-graduate education plans. for the past year, she has been conducting research as an assistant for professor jennifer schauer of the sociology department studying shark behavior and the impacts of shark ecotourism. she is passionate about environmental activism, and loves spending time outside and at the beach, as well as visiting museums. '!-( '$!//#(' is a sophomore in the morrissey college of arts and sciences double majoring in history and political science. he is from san jose, california, and graduated from bellarmine college preparatory in 2019. spurred by time spent with his history-loving grandfather, his academic interests include 19th century colonialism, the cold war, and american politics. sean has helped conduct undergraduate research on 19th century qing-british relations and the american crack cocaine epidemic throughout his sophomore year, and he plans to attend law school. )4-& '!8! will graduate with a degree in political science and history this spring. czar is interested in the interplay between history, politics, and conflict, writing his senior thesis on the relationship between power-sharing agreements and ethnic tensions in northern ireland and lebanon. in previous undergraduate journals, he wrote articles in the fields of international relations and philosophy. czar was the 2019 omar aggad fellow, awarded for his language studies in beirut. .3) &#%&"-( is a current senior at boston college finishing his undergraduate degree in economics with a minor in history, previously attending tonbridge school in kent, united kingdom for his high school education. while at boston college, his studies have focused on economic development while exploring the idea of the intersection of law and economics. he gained an interest in the subject of regulated companies after an internship with heathrow airport’s finance division and is now looking at the possibility of law school after graduation. 9#.. &#*!&" is a third-year gabelli presidential scholar at boston college studying finance, business analytics, information systems, and philosophy. while originally from the bay area, he decided to switch coasts for education where he developed a strong interest in data analytics and the application of machine learning in the financial services industry. riherd hopes in the future to attend graduate school and ultimately apply for a fulbright research fellowship where he intends to analyze the application of artificial intelligence in microfinancial lending. 5+'" ,7 $/"=,/& $*! /-$$.! %+ $*! '%,,! )%,#): $*! '$%&2 %+ 9#..#-, ,)+-"4!-( © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 11 29 35 43 46 51 59 /.-()*! .-,%($ 9#$* '$3"!($' © united states library of congress’s prints and photographs division. (1893). blanche lamont with students [photograph]. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg !-'$!& 8&%).-,-$#%( %+ 1916 © easter proclamation of 1916. (n.d.). wikimedia commons. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png $*! ,31'*%$ %+ $*!%"%&! "3&&-($, $*! #(+-,%3' "!,%( %+ $*! /!.+&2. © dowd, k. (2020, april 30). the tale of the “demon of the belfry,” san francisco’s forgotten jack the ripper. sfgate. retrieved january 21, 2022, from https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/theodore-durrant-demonof-the-belfry-sf-murders-10418597.php 3($#$.!" © blanco, j. i. (n.d.). theodore durrant | photos | murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. murderpedia. https://murderpedia.org/male.d/d/durrant-theodore-photos.htm $*!%"%&! "3&&-($ © theodore durrant. (2018, july 31). alchetron.com. retrieved january 21, 2022, from https://alchetron.com/ theodore-durrant $*!%"%&! "3&&-($ © theodore durrant. (n.d.). granger. retrieved january 21, 2022, from https://www.granger.com/results.asp?image=0068609 61 68 )*-&.!')%31.#()&-#(!"!$&%#$8%&$&-#$ © craine, detroit. (1933). charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait [photograph]. wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg (-4# '$&#5! 2 © department of defense, department of the army, department of the chief signal o(cer. (1939, february). nazi strike [photo]. wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/file:nazi_strike_2.jpg 5+'" ,7 $/"=,/& $*! /-$$.! %+ $*! '%,,! )%,#): $*! '$%&2 %+ 9#..#-, ,)+-"4!-( © creative centenaries. (n.d.). the battle of the somme comic: the story of william mcfadzean | ccea. cea. retrieved january 19, 2022, from https://ccea.org.uk/learning-resources/understanding-1916/creative-centenaries/battle-somme-comic-story-william 13 15 28 28 28 28 29 29 +#13&! 1 © originally tweeted by user:@realdonaldtrump (account suspended) on 26 may, 2020. !-'$!& 8&%).-,-$#%( %+ 1916 © originally uploaded to the english wikipedia by w:user:jtdirl (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:easter_proclamation_of_1916.png), „easter proclamation of 1916“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-old +#13&! 2 © gdi report: ad-funded covid-19 disinformation: money, brands, and tech (https://disinformationindex. org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gdi_ad-funded-covid-19-disinformation-1.pdf), „share of ad revenues generated by covid disinfo sites“. +#13&! 3, 8-(!. © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „rf estimates of e8ect of di8erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. +#13&! 3, 8-(!. / © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „2sls estimates of e8ect of di8erential viewership on cases and deaths (extended)“. +#13&! 4, 8-(!. © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel a: estimates on cases“. +#13&! 4, 8-(!. / © originally published in bursztyn, rao, roth, yanagaziwa-drott: misinformation during a pandemic (https:// www.nber.org/papers/w27417), „implied covid-19 curves, panel b: estimates on deaths“. 35 38 43 45 -&$#+#)#-. '2(-8'!' /-'!" %( +!&&%-!.!)$&#) $3((!. 03()$#%(' © mike davies intel labs, intel corporation et. al: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:artificial_synapses_based_on_ftjs.png), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode $-/.! ### #(+!&!()! 8%9!& -(" 8%9!& 3$#.#4-$#%( © tasbolat taunyazov, weicong sng, hian hian see, brian lim, jethro kuan, abdul fatir ansari, benjamin c.k. tee, and harold soh: (http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss16/p020.pdf), „table iii: inference speed and power utilization“ /.-)*! .-,%($ -$ *!).-, ,%($-(-, 9#$* *!& '$3"!($', 1893 © unknown authorunknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:blanche_lamont_with_students.jpg), „blanche lamont with students“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us $*!%"%&! "3&&-($’' ,31'*%$ © originally published in report of the trial of william henry theodore durrant (https://archive.org/details/ reportoftrialofw00durr/page/10/mode/2up), marked as public domain. 60 61 61 61 1&-8* #..3'$&-$#(1 $*! '*#+$' #( 8&#)! -(" :3-($#$2 '388.2 © originally published in 31.11 e(ciency and deadweight loss (https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_economicstheory-through-applications/s35-11-e(ciency-and-deadweight-loss.html), „figure 31.8 deadweight loss“ 1&-8*' '*%9#(1 $*! (3,/!& -(" 7-.3! %+ ,!&1!&' -(" -):3#'#$#%(' © originally published in statista: mergers and acquisitions in the united states (https://www.statista.com/ study/65232/mergers-and-acquisitions-in-the-united-states). 1&-8*' '*%9#(1 1.%/-. :3!&2 '*-&! /2 '!!.)$ '!-&)* !(1#(!' © originally published in statista: global market share of search engines 2010-2022 (https://www.statista.com/ statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines). 1&-8*' '*%9#(1 "%,!'$#) 3' '!-&)* :3!&2 '*-&! /2 '!.!)$ '!-&)* !(1#(!' © originally published in statista: market share of search engines in the united states 2008-2022 (https:// www.statista.com/statistics/267161/market-share-of-search-engines-in-the-united-states). 5+'" ,7 $/"=,/& )%&8%&-$! $!)*(%.%12 #(+%&,-$#%( '!&7#)!' © unpublished tabulation from corptech database 62 62 71 75 78 80 82 +#13&! 1 © samadi, moradi, moradinazar, mostafai, pasdar: dietary pattern in relation to the risk of alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-019-03976-3), „figure 2: healthy and unhealthy diet in relation to ad.“ $*! /&!-5"%9( %+ %8#(#%( &!1-&"#(1 /&!-5#(1 38 ‘/#1 $!)*’ © statista : majority of americans in favor of breaking up big tech (https://www.statista.com/chart/19440/ survey-responses-breaking-up-big-tech) 8%$!($#-. 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"#'83$!'] © o(ce of the secretary of defense (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:china’s_disputed_territories. png), „china’s disputed territories“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 3' "!8-&$,!($ %+ 03'$#)! -,%(1 %$*!&' -((%3()!" 23 )&#,#(-. )*-&1!' © u.s. department of justice (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:u.s._commerce_secretary_wilbur_ ross,_acting_attorney_general_matthew_whitaker,_homeland_security_secretary_kirstjen_nielsen,_fbi_ director_christopher_wray_announces_23_criminal_charges_against_china’s_huawei_&_wanzhou_ meng.jpg), „u.s. commerce secretary wilbur ross, acting attorney general matthew whitaker, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen, fbi director christopher wray announces 23 criminal charges against china’s huawei & wanzhou meng“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us -,!&#)1.%/-. $&-"! "!+#)#$ © statista: u.s. trade deficit in goods reaches record high, (https://www.statista.com/chart/17281/us-tradebalance). 98 )*-&.!' )%31*.#(, .!-"!& %+ $*! )*&#'$#-( +&%($ © craine, detroit (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait.jpg), „charlescouglincrainedetroitportrait“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us 100 1!&,-( -,!&#)-( /3(" &-..2, (!9 2%&5, ,-"#'%( ':3-&! 1-&!(, +!/ 1939 © department of defense. department of the army. o(ce of the chief signal o(cer. (09/18/1947 02/28/1964); arc identifier 36068 / local identifier 111-of-2 1943 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ file:nazi_strike_2.jpg), „nazi strike 2“, marked as public domain, more details on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/template:pd-us