Bailey Lowrey

During this day and age, it is easy to be consumed with the mentality of what is happening in the present and what will happen in the future.  In a society driven by technology and the potential it has for the human race, the past can be overlooked and its presence can seem unnecessary.  Although a focus on the present and future is always on the minds of the masses, the general population does not typically understand why they are drawn to places with distinctly known histories or why the historic architecture of these places seems more appealing than that of contemporary architecture (Levi, 2005).  In the present paper, the elements of historic preservation such as its processes, successes, benefits, and failures will be investigated.  It is hypothesized that by understanding the influence of historic preservation with its ability to convey “sense of place” (connection to a place due to evoked emotions and feelings caused by memories and associations with the place) to communities, neighborhoods, campuses, and cities, the role and importance of historic places on the human experience will be revealed.
This paper explains the preference the general public has for historic buildings, the benefits of historic places and their ability to convey sense of place, the disadvantages of historic preservation when design overlooked its users, the difficulties of implementing preservation strategies, and additional issues that are fundamental to the success of historic communities. The research reveals the important role historic architecture plays in the day-to- day life of humans especially in their personal experiences of an area. Connecting history and sense of place allows preservation to be significant to the people who experience it.  This may be a difficult task that requires the present’s time, money, and energy, but providing a future that contains the preserved past and may be enjoyed by generations to come is worth the effort.

The Salt Museum of Salins-les-Bains and the Castelvecchio are restoration projects that incorporate historic structure with that of modern techniques and materials. The projects maintain the clarity of modern space, materials, and design and the purity of the historical buildings creating structures that function in both the past and present.

The human experience includes day-by-day encounters with the built realm. People interact, function, and live their lives within buildings that not only provide shelter, but also create environments that influence an individual’s understanding of the world around them. As one observes and tries to better comprehend their surroundings, a person might question the intentions of the architects that designed their built environment. As Mark Gelernter writes, “At the beginning of the design process, the architect possesses only a random collection of information, requirements, intentions, and assumptions, and then suddenly on the drawing board appears a proposal for a building form. How is this idea generated, what influences its shape, from what is it derived?”. The answers to these questions are found through exploring the beliefs and theories held by the designer. The architect’s intentions and motivations become a testament to the process of the design and are seen in the completed building. Through the analysis of the architect’s strategy and theoretical beliefs, this paper examines the Teatro del Mondo by Aldo Rossi, a contemporary, though ephemeral, building that was able to integrate and communicate with the historical context of the city of Venice.

Temperance was one of the most notable reform movements during the antebellum period. It encompassed the nature of society at the time due to the focus of the movement: alcohol. In the nineteenth century, alcohol was a substance that had not only become a staple of the day-to-day life of an American, but also a poison that destroyed the livelihood of citizens and their families. The movement was not directly motivated by region, political gain or religious affiliation (although all three played a role as the movement progressed) but instead it was directed towards the individual conscience and a person’s decision to abstain from temptation of alcohol for the betterment of himself/herself and society as a whole. This appeal to the individual allowed for the Temperance Movement to gather large numbers of followers in every part of the United States, which led it to being a popular topic in American newspapers during the time. These contemporary newspapers of the antebellum period reveal several key connections between temperance and social life, in particular, a relationship between the movement and minorities. The information given in these newspapers about temperance and its association with family, marriage, gender, and race can be seen through exploring the issues of why temperance was significant to maintaining family structure, why the movement was so appealing to women and African Americans, and the backlash that the movement received from society. In addition, revelations about the nature of reporting in these newspapers led to some regional, social, and political affiliations with the Temperance Movement. This exploration of the antebellum period will ultimately reveal the use of the less radical temperance movement to bring forth the main reform and political issue of the time, abolitionism that was conceived by anti-slavery African American newspapers through their social class connection to women.

From the days of the country’s beginnings where resistance to England brought together the founding fathers, to the present day two-party system of Republican versus Democrats, the United States of America was a country founded on political opposition.  Politics have always been a passionate endeavor of the American culture. Propaganda of political views has been able to seep into the American psyche since the creation of the penny press. The penny press newspapers that were invented during the antebellum years, made news and information readily available to people of all classes. They created new ploys to appeal to the masses and engage their desire to be political involved in the Republic. The newspapers became politically affiliated and soon their information began to disclose party’s political views as well as attacking opposing parties’ beliefs. During the antebellum years, a regional location could determine the views of its papers due to a political parties pro- or anti- slavery beliefs. Democrats were typically associated with the South and were pro-slavery, while Republicans were found in the North and were anti-slavery. Although these parties were not completely regionalized, this was a common trend that could be seen in many cases throughout the later stages of the antebellum period. By examining two different newspapers, one from the North and one from the South, the contrasting views of political parties based on region can be observed as well as the typical day-to-day use of newspapers during the antebellum period regardless of location.

The early modern period of architecture was directly influenced by the rise of wealthy elites who gained power and status through their riches to create architectural design that reflected their high-class positions in society. The patrons of the early Renaissance through the Baroque years produced residences that became objects of communication through personal touches that displayed individualized details about the patron of the home. In Bourges, France, the House of Jacques Cœur (1443-51) was an example of the French courtyard house that was altered by its patron to contain ornamental elements throughout the estate that reflected Cœur’s profession, country, and king as well as altering design portions of the home to better serve the public and private functions of the patron’s family and his guests. In the sixteenth century, Hardwick Hall (1590-97) in Derbyshire, England was built for the Countess of Shrewsbury, Elizabeth Hardwick. The English country style home featured large lavish windows that were atypical of the architectural style and revealed the vast wealth of the Elizabeth. In addition, the Countess desired modification of the hall location within the plan of the home that better suited the female patron and her abilities to monitor her residence. By the seventeenth century, however, the scope of self-fashioning in architecture had expanded to the grounds surrounding the residence. Vaux le Vicomte (1653-61) was commissioned by Nicolas Fouquet as a private French chateau garden house that reflected the superior power of the men of France through seemingly infinite perspective views of the residence and gardens. Additional elements of Fouquet’s coat of arms, squirrels (“fouquet” in French), and his motto, “Quo non ascendant?” were seen as ornamentation throughout the design of the interiors of the home. While many scholars have studied the House of Jacques Cœur, Hardwick Hall, and Vaux le Vicomte and noted that all were elite residential housing of the early modern period that reflect the influence of wealth and patron authority over architectural design, a close and careful analysis using scholarly books and articles shows that in the end, regardless of the patrons’ self-assertion through architecture, the supremacy of the monarchs of the time had ultimate dominion over architectural representation of elites which limited and controlled structural presentation under the crown’s rule.

Prostitution is one of the world’s oldest professions. Prostitution supplies a demand that is constantly seeking to be met. Due to financial need, involuntary force, poor education, and just bad luck many women have fallen into this profession that will always be available to the misfortunate.  This was no different in both the rural and urban parts of the United States during the 19th century.  In Anne M. Butler’s Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery, an investigation of the prostitutes of the frontier west is explored. In The History of Prostitution by William W. Sanger, the lives and experiences of New York prostitutes during this same time are described. Using Butler’s accounts of the fallen women of the west based on her own research using local newspapers, jail registries, diaries, censuses of the time as well as other scholarly monographs on the subject, and Sanger’s first-hand interviews with prostitutes living in New York City, an analysis of the similarities and differences between the way the lives of these prostitutes are depicted by the two authors, can be examined. Analysis of each theses presented by both authors will be explored to compare their two different uses of sources (primary and secondary) and the effectiveness of those sources towards their arguments.

The essay, “A Plain Man’s Guide to the Theory of Signs in Architecture” by Geoffrey Broadbent, provides a discussion of semiotics of architectural theory and the meaning of buildings through sensory interpretation of their features. In the analysis of Schlitz Tavern in Chicago, Broadbent’s essay becomes a tool to explore the various signs of this architectural detail, which leads to the understanding of its conveyed meaning.

Twelve years after WWI ended, the film, All Quiet on the Western Front, was introduced to American audiences. This film promoted a strong anti-war message through the telling of one German soldier and his experiences on the front lines. Although, All Quiet on the Western Front focuses on the lives of German soldiers, it is slightly manipulated through the lens of an Americanized viewpoint. By comparing the film’s message, audience, and purpose, in contrast to real life German soldier’s letters from the war with the accompaniment of other secondary sources, the analysis of the historical accuracy of the film can be concluded.

The year 1914 is a year that will be remembered as a year of significance for generations to come. It was the beginning of The Great War, a war that would affect all of the world economically, socially, and politically. No citizen of any nation was exempt from the toll the war. The Great War, or World War I, would leave the world in a state of unease that would eventually lead to World War II and the Cold War. Even though this war was so influential in the history of the world, the cause of it is still greatly debated to this day. In David Fromkin’s book, Europe’s Last Summer, an exploration of the causes that led up to WWI is discussed. Fromkin analyzes the internal affairs of the nations of Europe to decide not only why the war happened, but also why it happened when and where it did. Through his writing, Fromkin is able to provide a conclusion that clearly describes the two main sources of the war, the German and Austrian Empires and their two separate battles that led to the beginning of The Great War.

In Europe’s Last Summer, David Fromkin provides his beliefs in the causes of WWI. Fromkin suggests a two part cause that is intertwined and yet separate in motive: Austria wanting to overtaking Serbia for its own expansion and Germany wanting to destroy the other European powers to gain total control of Europe.  Fromkin uses these causes to support a strong argument contradicting other views that state that WWI lacked purpose. Fromkin conveys the importance of WWI and its relevance to all wars that follow. Fromkin concludes with, “The decision for war in 1914 was purposeful; and the war itself, was not as generation of historians have, meaningless. On the contrary, it was fought to decide the essential questions in international politics: who would achieve mastery in Europe, and therefore in the world, and under the banners of what faith,” (p. 296)

The modern world, particularly the western world, has become a fast-paced, every minute counts, technologically driven society that is focused on the growth of itself. It is a society that wants to be enlightened scientifically with knowledge in as short a period of time as possible. The western world desires for all parts of the human experience to have light shed upon them so that a totality of their ideas and concepts can be understood. In the essay, In Praise of Shadows, Jun’ichiro Tanizaki takes this modern ideology and contrasts it with traditional Japanese beliefs and how this affects views on beauty and aesthetics.  Tanizaki’s essay focuses on elements of daily life in Japan, from architecture, to tableware, to women’s fashion, and uses these examples to describe a world that has a different visual experience as well as attitude from what is seen in Western culture.

Every day people are affected by their surroundings whether they are knowingly aware of it or not. People live in relation to their environment and function accordingly. In the book, Thermal Delight in Architecture by Lisa Heschong, the effects of temperature and climate on the design of architecture is discussed. Heschong uses examples of different architectural elements and how those respond to one of the most important human desires: the desire to be comfortable in one’s surroundings.