Opera in 20th Century America: Overcoming the Racialization of Sound

The summer of 2015 will bring a revival of Voodoo, a Harlem Renaissance opera by H. Lawrence Freeman, in its first performance since its 1928 premiere. It is being revived by the Harlem Opera Theater at the Miller Theater at Columbia University. The opera was the first opera written by an African-American produced in the United States. Advertised at its premier as "A Negro Jazz Opera" (Poster, 1928, H. Lawrence Freeman Papers), the opera is set on a Louisiana plantation just after the Civil War. It focuses on a love triangle between three former slaves, one of whom turns to voodoo and magic to win the affection of her lover and to be rid of her rival. The opera combines western classical music with passages of period dance music, and includes re-settings of several AfricanAmerican spirituals, such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"(H. L. Freeman, 1914, Voodoo Manuscript, H. Lawrence Freeman Papers). Written, conducted, played, and sung by African-Americans, Freeman\u27s opera uses elements of Grand Opera-- the fusion of the vital elements of music, drama and dancecombined with rhythms and melodies of jazz and African-American music-- to challenge what I want to suggest is the constructed racialization of sound. Examining the preserved papers of H. Lawrence Freeman, I will explore and undermine the racialized properties of the history of sound and music, using Eric Lott\u27s Love & Theft, a historical and theoretical study of blackface minstrelsy in America, as a jumping off point. Shawn MarieGarrett\u27s article, "Return of the Repressed" will guide me through my analysis of H. L. Freeman and his African-American contemporaries, who deracialized sound by asking the questions what is black? What is white

Happiness, Womanhood, and Sexualized Media: An Analysis of 1950s and 1960s Popular Culture

America during the 1950s and 1960s was grounded in and centered on the conception of the nuclear family. The suburbanization of white middle class families after World War II yielded unique conditions for both media outlets and the U.S. government to push explicit messages on gender roles to preserve the sanctity of the nuclear family. The widespread affluence of millions of suburban, white middle class families served as a marker of success for the U.S. in the international community, which was a matter of national security during the Cold War. The preservation of the nuclear family, however, was highly dependent on women in their traditional roles as wives and mothers. Women across the nation were responsible for raising the next generation of Americans, approximately 76 million baby boomers from 1946 to 1964. 1American greatness was to be determined in the choices and actions of these baby boomers and therefore many messages on gender roles were strictly dictated to ensure that the nuclear family and capitalism would be upheld for generations to come

Front Matter

Front matter for New Errands Volume 7, Issue 2, Spring 2020 Special Issue

Disease Dialogues: How Medical Language Impacted the Lavender Scare

Disease is a fickle thing, often it silently slips from person to person, casually stalking just below the radar and calculating the next victim. Before long an epidemic is on hand and containment becomes the primary focus. A silent, paralyzing fear of illness is an arguable hallmark of the Cold War period. In this era, dialogues on disease and infection permeate every facet, from social developments, to cultural artifacts, to medical research, and most notably to politics. In this era, the prevalence of medical vernacular and disease dialogues became ever present in political discourse, as leaders from Roosevelt to Eisenhower discussed the threat of "ailments" that could cripple the United States. But in the 1950s, a new threat so great, yet so undetectable, threatened to infect the healthy body politic. Political discourse filled with dread over the development of Communist States and the threat to the United States\u27 vitality. As the dialogue developed, an association between communism and disease formed in the early stages in of the Cold War. This view held that the American capitalist system was a healthy body being threatened by the "communist disease." The United States was understood to be under attack by the nefarious disease of communism. Keeping within a medical framework, the immune system of the United States needed to be secured, through identification of threats, shoring up protection, and keeping vital functions safe. Therefore, the alignment of medical and political dialogue in the early part of the century arguably laid the framework for the Lavender Scare, which acted as a treatment to protect the United States against the new threat of communism.  Disease Dialogues: How Medical Language Impacted the Lavender Scare by David James Ward Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licens

Streamline Moderne Design in Consumer Culture and Transportation Infrastructure: Design for the Twentieth Century

Situated in the time between World War I and World War II, the design community sought a new design for a new century, free of the trappings and encumbrances of the past. The impact of this new design idea would be far-reaching and serve as a remarkable milestone in the American experience, ushering in modern contemporary mass-produced consumer culture, and stylistically and philosophically the successor to contemporary design practice. The Art Deco style pioneered in the years following World War I, exhibited at the L\u27Exposition Internationale des Artes Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes of 1925 (translated to English as the International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts). Art Deco, while certainly new, but was not entirely free of the ornamental motifs of the past. Additionally, Art Deco prioritized the handcrafted, high-end, and exclusive, providing exceptional design for those who could afford it. Streamline Moderne Design in Consumer Culture and Transportation Infrastructure: Design for the Twentieth Century by William Kowalik is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licens

Front Matter

Front matter for New Errands Volume 1, Issue 1, Fall 2013

Splish Splash, Splish Splash: Concepts of Hygiene in Women\u27s Prescriptive Literature Making of the Middle Class

As the author of the conduct guide, Hints to Young Ladies, Porter is significant for several reasons. First, Porter\u27s geographic situation and proximity to the Boston publishing market is important because this essay examines early nineteenth century urbanization and the expansion of the book industry in the Northeast and MidAtlantic. Changing demographic patterns as Americans moved to urban areas renewed debates over how one should fashion their appearance as a marker of socioeconomic status. Because this essay draws from prescriptive literature, it is also important to trace the growth of the book industry to understand where these works were published and distributed. In addition to locale, the content of Porter\u27s guide is equally important

Ritual Components of Black Friday

Each year, just as the Halloween moon is setting, retailers are preparing for what has become the single highest grossing retail day in America, Black Friday. Throughout November, as stores are filling their stock rooms, shoppers from Connecticut to California are readying their lists and honing their bargain hunting skills, in preparation for the biggest shopping day of the year. The Christmas season, and its abundance of shopping, is typically seen as a boon for retailers and a well needed boost to a struggling economy

The American Dinner Party

The dinner party is a seemingly simple part of the American culture. At its core, a dinner party is a gathering of family, friends or honored guests, who come together to share in food, drink and conversation. Contradictory to this simple appearance, dinner parties contain a wealth of historical influence, social expectations, and gender roles. This intriguing part of American life is, unfortunately disappearing from mainstream society. This decline can be explained by the shift in American dining, from formal to informal, as evidenced by dinner parties

Separating the Boy\u27s from the B\u27hoys: The Working Class Masculine Identity during the MidNineteenth Century

For the American man living during the nineteenth century, testing and proving ones "manhood" became a very significant process. Masculinity was the foremost concept behind the definition of a man. In order to gain respect, one needed to establish his own masculinity and demonstrate it amongst his peers. This was especially true in New York City, a standard of manhood was affecting the working class. A common understanding of appearance, attitude, and personality dominated the way working class men carried themselves. The thriving social atmosphere of New York\u27s urban center obliged men to "prove" themselves. It was essential for them to socialize with their peers, demonstrating their manhood as they drank and danced through working class neighborhoods. The desire for male camaraderie brought men into volunteer fire departments, where their masculinity was reinforced on a daily basis. Men gathered in the streets after stressful hours of work as they felt the need to release the tension associated with being a working man. Throughout the nineteenth century a new "manly culture" evolved which ritualized violence amongst men. A sense of competition grew and men struggled to gain respect in society. They were forced to fight by whatever means necessary to protect their manhood. By 1845, the New York City Police Department was established bringing authority figures into the streets. Police officers were to stop the violent nature of the working class but the presence of authority figures only introduced another layer of violence to society. The archetypal man was one who had a manly appearance, socialized with his fellow fire laddies, was always prepared for an honorable fight, and stood up to authority figures. Masculinity dominated every part of a working class man\u27s life forcing him to do whatever it took to uphold his reputation