Alcohol Prohibition and Homicide: Evidence from Early 20th-Century United States of America

This article reviews the history of empirical aesthetics since its foundation by Fechner in 1876 to Berlyne’s new empirical aesthetics in the 1970s. The authors explain why and how Fechner founded the field, and how Wundt and Müller’s students continued his work in the early 20th century. In the United States, empirical aesthetics flourished as part of American functional psychology at first, and later as part of behaviorists’ interest in reward value. The heyday of behaviorism was also a golden age for the development of all sorts of tests for artistic and aesthetic aptitudes. The authors end the article by covering the contributions of Gestalt psychology and Berlyne’s motivational theory to empirical aesthetics.

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Other People’s Cabins: German Inversions of Onkel Tom’s Hutte

Lateral ◽

10.25158/l4.1.6 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kristin Moriah

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

20Th Century ◽

The United States ◽

Early 20Th Century ◽

The Novel ◽

Housing Projects ◽

Uncle Tom's Cabin ◽

The Us ◽

Archival Work

Kristin Moriah’s essay is rooted in extensive archival work in the US and Germany, examining the transatlantic circulation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin through markets of performance and literature in and between Germany and the United States. The essay follows the performative tropes of Uncle Tom’s Cabin from its originary political resonances to the present-day restaurants, train-stops, and housing projects named for the novel. Moriah reveals how the figurations of blackness arising from these texts are foundational to the construction of Germanness and American-German relations in the early 20th century and beyond.

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The Snapshots of A. Thomas Nelson: A Case Study in the Preservation of Early 20th-century Vernacular Albums

Collections ◽

10.1177/155019061801400205 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 171-193

Author(s):

Stephanie Becker

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New York ◽

20Th Century ◽

The United States ◽

Early 20Th Century ◽

Single Object ◽

Critical Questions ◽

Selection Of

Throughout the early 20th century, A. Thomas Nelson took snapshots while traveling the United States and Canada. His wife, Catherine Nelson, made a selection of these and placed them within eight photographic albums, later acquired by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. Using one of these, “Snapshots from Travels in the United States and Canada (1904–1940),” as a case study, this article explores preservation practices for early 20th-century vernacular albums. While such albums are a valuable part of any collection, they present many complex preservation challenges due to the variety of materials contained within a single object. Critical questions about cataloging, digitizing, and rehousing methods guide decisions on how to stabilize the album's fragile condition and allow for access. This case study offers insight for collection managers and archivists who find themselves caring for similar snapshot albums.

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