Editorial

The Mount Royal Undergraduate Humanities Review (MRUHR) is an online, student-run, annual journal of undergraduate research in the Humanities. The MRUHR invites submissions from Mount Royal University students of essays or other kinds of intellectual work appropriate for an online journal that are relevant to the subjects taught by the Mount Royal Department of Humanities (History, Philosophy, Women’s Studies, Religious Studies, Indigenous Studies, Canadian Studies, or Art History).

Sodomitical Butterflies: Male Homosexual Desire in Colonial Latin America

Despite the vast research done by contemporary historians concerning the history of sexuality, relatively little is known about gender and sexual identities in what is now Latin America. Much of what is known has been altered by the experiences and backgrounds of historians in this field, leading to interpretations which are either dismayingly negative or wholly positive. Some publications focus more on inference than fact, or ignore much of the context for why homosexuality and non-binary gender identity were treated as they were by Spanish colonists and conquistadors. This paper aims to construct a more complete analysis of sodomy throughout the history of colonial Latin America by comparing existing discourses regarding sodomy in colonial Latin America, as well as a few select colonial documents and court cases. An evaluation of this documentation reveals that the nature of sodomy in Spanish America is too complicated to describe in a binary manner. Authority did not always condemn homosexuality outright, and though most criollos were not for same-sex relations, some had more neutral feelings towards homosexual desires. This anaylsis adds to the growing body of research regarding American sexuality before and after European ideology altered continental perspectives. In using publications with varying perspectives, the role of male homosexuality, the perception of sodomy, the culture of honour in regards to sodomy, and the consequences of same-sex desire in Spain's American colonies can be better understood.

The Submissive Sex

Men hold power over women in almost every aspect of life; this is a historical and cross-cultural fact that becomes exemplified in heterosexual relationships. Males are expected to fulfill the role of provider and ruler while females take order and surrender emotional and physical care. Considering these roles and expectations, the unequal power dynamics within relationships often blur the lines of sexism and domination, often manifesting within sex as the fetishism of control. With a quick glance through Craigslist men seeking women personal ads, we are given a window into some of the fetishes expressed in heterosexual relationships.

Influences of Racial Science in Hitler’s Europe

The origins of the Holocaust have been debated and evaluated by historians for decades. Since, historians have evaluated the Holocaust to not have a single origin, but rather view the Holocaust as an evolving narrative of suffrage of European Jewry and other groups. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the influences that racial science had on the Holocaust. Extensive research, and evaluation of historical context of antisemitic influences reveal that racial science was laden in policies implemented by the Nazi regime. The impact that racial science had on Europe during the Third Reich’s reign, effected social, political, and cultural aspects that ultimately led to the murder of millions of Jews and other groups.

Anti-Slavery Movements in British North America and the Transnational life of “Obedient Servant” Samuel Ringgold Ward

This paper argues that the writings of abolitionist Samuel Ringgold Ward and other anti-slavery groups were indicative of a larger trend of African Americans becoming influenced by Moral Colonialism. This colonialism was based on the belief that British colonizers were civilizing and therefore saving non-white populations, through measures such as appointing “protectors” to prevent non-white people from being taken into slavery and other forms of exploitation. In these writings, there are many descriptions given to the British Empire, describing it as a “glorious nation” and other similar labels, which argued that the British Empire was the most progressive power. Samuel Ringgold Ward lived a mobile life in America, Canada, Switzerland, Britain, and Jamaica, so this paper will use a transnational approach, showing the connections British North America had to other colonies in the British Empire, while also demonstrating the many influences on the views of Ward and other African Americans.

From Courtship to “Occasional Prostitution”: Acceptable and Unacceptable Public Displays of Sexuality in Canada from 1880 to 1920

This paper explores the sexual regulation and the social construction of sexual norms for men and women in the period of 1880 to 1920 in Canada. At this time, sexuality was closely tied with reputation, character, and morality, which required strict regulation of behaviour. With the growth of urban centers, social norms were tested, resulting in what I call an "early dating culture," which was mistaken as "occasional prostitution." I argue that as “proper” societal norms were tested by the effects of urbanization, there emerged an early dating culture that challenged notions of morality in relation to acceptable and unacceptable public displays of heterosexuality.

The 19th Century Parisian: Social Hierarchy and Female Sexuality Through the Lens of Impressionist Art and Naturalist Literature

Throughout the 19th century, the formation of modern, industrial Paris resulted in a dramatic rise in prostitution. An intense period of urbanization resulting from an ever increasing fixation with commodification and industrialization, in addition to the relentless objectification and sexualization of women at the hands of the patriarchy, acted as a catalyst for the commodification of women (partiuclarly those associated with the working class) - a phenomenon that was to capture the attention of numerous 19th century artists and writers.

Communism and Toronto Schools: Contention and Politics in the Toronto School Board, 1941-1962.

In the decades following World War II, the Toronto School Board was subjected to the Cold War anti-communist fear that permeated political, religious, and educational concerns in Toronto. Despite this continuous anxiety, communists were able to hold positions on the board and enact influence upon schools. Communists on the Board exercised a certain degree of influence in the Board’s decision making and continued to be a voice of opposition among increasingly anti-communist members until 1951. The politics of the Toronto School Board occurred within a larger context of communist anxiety related to education. Throughout the Board’s changing membership and elections during the 1940s and into the early 1950s, The Globe and Mail covered its policies and campaigns through an often anti-communist lens, reflecting the increasingly hostile public opinion towards communists in Toronto’s government and public life.

Feminist Interpretations of the Holocaust

The emergence of the study of the history of the Holocaust following the “silent years”, which occupied nearly two decades of the post-war era, coincided with the establishment of second wave feminism. Despite the creation of the discipline of Women’s and Gender Studies and the emerging variety of women’s history within post secondary institution, discussion of women in the Holocaust did not become a part of the discourse of history until the late seventies. In addition to the lag in addressing the study of the history of women in the Holocaust, the application of feminist theory to Holocaust history was late to the academic conversation. Feminist history of the Holocaust was finally studied in the early eighties, in order to better understand not only women in the Holocaust but also the Holocaust more generally. However, the discourse failed to evolve and diversify as quickly as other forms of feminist history. As a result of the perceived exceptionality of the Holocaust within the context of history and even within the more specified picture of the history of genocide, the application of feminist theory as well as the understanding of the experiences of women and the implications of gender within the Holocaust remain relatively stunted within the context of Holocaust and feminist history.

“I Wish to be Free of All Things I Am Not and Will Never Be”: Reorientation of Self Through the (re)Framing of (post)Colonial Consciousness in Marie Clements’ The Edward Curtis Project.

The works of Edward Curtis are weighty historical records considered as seminal projects that have been the international communities main representations of Aboriginal cultures and their peoples. However, Curtis' projects, as ethno-anthropological work, limit the avenues of representation afforded to Aboriginal peoples; through attempting to preserve an image of authenticity, Curtis' work entraps and filters the multifaceted compontents of Aboriginal culture(s) into a homogenous static group through a colonial lens. In opposition to these colonial standards, contemporary aboriginal literature attempts to carve a path in which Aboriginal people are represented in their own dynamic cultures and identities; the dramatic work of Marie Clements, The Edward Curtis Project, acts as a direct response to the work of Edward Curtis as it (re)frames and problematizes discourse regarding (re)presentation, (post)colonial conscioussness, and the (re)positioning of subject/object dynamics.